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Upper Campus principal to leave MCHS at end of school year
Dr. Prickett, who has been a principal at MCHS since 2017, will move to an elementary district to end his career
Ffion Curtain Online Managing Editor
On Wednesday, Dr Jeff Prickett announced his resignation from MCHS as the Principal of Upper Campus He is heading to Meadowview Elementary School in Grayslake, IL
Prickett has been an administrator at MCHS for nine years
“It’s the question of the hour right?” asked Prickett “Well, it wasn’t an easy choice but for a while now, I’ve had thoughts about going back to the elementary school level ”
Prickett started his principal journey at Murphy Elementary in Round Lake, IL , so going back to being a principal at an elementary school is a full circle moment for him
“I’m not getting any younger so this opportunity showed up and I applied for it,” said Prickett “Low and behold, I got the job!”
Prickett spent five years being an administrator in middle school, and eight at MCHS, including a few years as East Campus’ principal and principal of both campuses until becoming just the Upper Campus principal last year
Junior Kyra Hanneman believes that Prickett had a major impact on her high school career
“Dr P has had a major impact on me during my highschool career,” says Hannaman “He came to me during my
reshman year asking me personally if I would like to go to another school to learn more about how to instill a positive culture and climate at MCHS This meant a lot to me that others saw potential in me to be a leader ”
Prickett has the ability to make sure that people feel mattered and that they belong here at McHenry
“At meetings he ensures everyone has a voice,” said Hanneman, “and he even goes out of his way to make sure he knows everyone’s names He likes to talk to students directly rather than just talking with other adults in the building ”
The school district hopes to solidify the process of hiring a new principal by the end of next week
District 156’s Superintendent Dr Ryan McTague said, “I appreciate Dr Prickett’s contributions and service to our school community and wish him the best in all his future endeavors ” Prickett did a lot for district 156, like bringing early release on Wednesdays, and the staff meetings after school on those days, starting the portrait of a graduate, and starting the Renaissance team that focuses on school culture
“I think that what I’m most proud of is the work that we have done on the portrait of a graduate,” Prickett said, “which defines our core values for the district and the kind of direction that we are heading I’m just so blown away all the time by how much all of you have grown in just a couple of years ”
Warrior Buddies hosts Inclusion week
Rose Wenckebach
Artistic Director
Warrior Buddies are celebrating
Inclusion week during March 3-8 During this time students are aiming to make others feel included despite differences
During this week MCHS and Warrior Buddies will participate in this worldwide holiday making sure that students of all differences feel included within their school
Next week students will be able to participate in writing positive notes, a Goose chase scavenger hunt and a photoshoot on friday
“Inclusion week is actually a national week” Special Educator, Rachel Hanson says “It's called Spread the word It was originally Spread the Word to End the Word, meaning end the word retardation, because it's not a word we use anymore ” By using this week to eliminate discriminating words, teachers, staff and students will participate in making everyone in school feel included Another way we include students here at MCHS is through Warrior Buddies
“Warrior Buddies is a club where we aim to take students from our adjusted learning program and have them have opportunities to interact with other students in the school who are not in the adjusted learning program ” Hanson says
This club helps bring confidence to students involved while having fun
Seniors Christian Scaccia and Phoebe Pace both expressed that this club has been a fun and grateful opportunity for them
Students are encouraged to help spread inclusivity not only this week but throughout the school years
Dr Jeff Prickett who has served as one of MCHS's principals since 2017
that he will be leaving District 156 at the end of the school year | Photo by : Berenice Santiago
Starting Monday students at MCHS are encouraged to engage in Inclusion Week
groups of people | Photo by: Rose Wenckebach
Opinion | Stop allowing disrespect
Students have been increasingly disrespectful in classrooms with lower levels of authority — but is this a new problem at MCHS?
Ele Kinser Staff Writer
A girl seated in the back of the class, pencil in hand, just trying to listen to the lecture being given by her teacher and take notes The rest of the class, though, doesn’t care – everybody is shouting over her teacher, who is awkwardly trying to lecture over the many conversations Her notes are horrible, but she can’t do anything about it, and she’s greeted with a lovely D- on her next test
It’s not just this student who experiences the killer combo of disrespect and lack of authority in classrooms Students are no longer acting with the level of respect that they used to and teachers don’t have the authority to combat it Countless classrooms are filled with rude, chatty students who talk over the teacher who can’t muster the courage to effectively stop their conversations
It’s not just MCHS either In a Harris Poll survey conducted in 2014, it’s stated that participants who believed students respected teachers dropped from 71% to 39% in one year The lack of respect has impacted schools around the country and made it difficult for the few respectful students to learn properly
Disrespect isn’t reported to be directed at just teachers, though “I see more disrespectful behavior between students,” says Belinda Flynn, an English teacher at MCHS “Even like on the whiteboard, sometimes people write things that are not very nice to one another, which is always surprising to
me ” Flynn has taken on a very laid back and chill role in her classroom, giving students lots of freedom She states that while she could be an authoritarian, she chooses not to The lack of such control, even if it’s a choice, allows students to get away with disrespectful behavior
“I feel like teachers have situations where kids are taking advantage,” says English teacher Marla Currie She expressed that she feels her students can sometimes take advantage of her work time, prioritizing other classes over her work Some kids don’t care as much about school and can become disruptive because of it
It’s easy to dismiss the disrespect as “being a teenager,” or “having fun in the class ” However, classrooms were made for learning – if students are given too much freedom and not controlled, their learning is impacted Choosing to have a more chill classroom has allowed students to be more disruptive than in other classes
There are teachers who choose to be more laid back, and there are teachers who aren’t Both classrooms should be treated with respect of all forms, students to teachers, teachers to students and students to each other There’s a time and place to have fun in class without becoming disruptive Make sure to think about that girl who’s taking notes during the lecture – let her, the conversations can wait
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Dominic Burnett Puzzlemaster
Sometimes, teachers feel as if students take control of the classrooms more than anything Students should ease up on their teachers and teachers should step up and be the grown up in the room | Photo by: Rose Wenckebach