Beyond the Classroom - Pepper Box Special Edition

By: Kya Merriman

On November 2, three members of the Ritenour High School class of 2023 took part in a volunteer trip to the Ritenour Co Care Food Pantry

Language Teacher Daniel Jones and student teachers Heather Williford and Justin Bohm also attended and chaperoned the trip The seniors who attended, Chloe Sapp, Enrique Castillo, and Lesly Rodriguez, all volunteered for the visit.

During their visit, the volunteers worked to check, prepare, and package the food that is distributed to the food pantry attendees. This volunteer work helped to make sure portions are distributed in a safe manner

The purpose of this volunteer visit was to get back into volunteering Through this visit, the class of 2023 members have begun to reintroduce the idea of volunteering back to the school.

The seniors have also helped to spread the word about the “Milk Club”, where people can donate $3 a month to the Ritenour Co Care Food Pantry dairy fund These donations aid the food pantry in the task of affording and supplying dairy products

The class of 2023 leaders spoke about wanting to volunteer at the Ritenour Co Care Food Pantry for years. However, the idea was set aside until this year due to the pandemic.

“Students were able to experience the operation at the food pantry and gain an understanding of the role the food pantry plays in our community,” Jones said

Not only were the students able to earn service hours, but they were also able to learn about the way their community functions and take on a new challenge. The participants were able to develop new skills and become a more involved member of the community.

“My favorite part of the trip was meeting new people and being able to help others in need,” Castillo said “I’m looking forward to continuing to help ”

Students and teachers are able to benefit from this experience because they are able to gain the realization that there are other people who might need some help. They have the opportunity to put a face to the struggle and gain humility.

“Others can also benefit from this experience because they too, will be able to understand that there are people who are in need,” Castillo said

There are more volunteer events similar to this one coming up in the near future The date for the next food pantry visit is December 6th and will take place during Husky Time A few more trips are going to be held throughout the remainder of the 2022 2023 school year.

Photo courtesy : Daniel Jones

Student teacher Heather Williford joined the senior leaders on their trip to the Co-Care Food Pantry.

Photo courtesy : Daniel Jones

HHomecoming Homecoming omecoming

”It

Pep Rally Pep Rally Pep

Rally

“We,

parade parade parade

“It was chillin, cool if you will”Madi Berry Sophomore

“Itwasfun workingwith everyonein newspaper”Amareona Muhammad Junior

“Best pep rally ever” -Elizabeth Dobbs Senior

was a lot of fun”- Roi Mundin Senior

“I loved playing with the band in front of the whole school”Jack Jamison Junior

as a leadership class, put in so much work, and we are very pleased with the way it turned out”- Brooke Carlile Senior

Robert Chamberlain

Danielle Swallow and Keaton Strong

Ronald Johnson

Peyton House

Amareona Muhammad and Kya Merriman

Caden Gaither, Leilana Bazan and Mariam Neeb (dinosaur)

Brooke Carlile

Game on Game on Game on

Dance Dance Dance Court Court Court

Football Football Football Game Game Game

“It was my last homecoming, I’m glad we won”

Omarion KirkhamLovett Senior

“The cafeteria had tasty snacks”

Allison Madrid Junior

“It was heartwarming that people would vote for me”

Kyle Williams Senior

“I could’ve danced all night”Arianna Farris Junior

“Hearing that my best friends won felt really good.”

Margaret Bannester Sophomore

“Wining HOCO king was really monumental for me”

Uilses Hernandez Senior

“Being on court was fun and made me feel special.”

Charli Homes

Senior

Semira Belay and Holden Myers

Leadership students

Kyle Williams

Kyle Williams and Ulises Hernandez

Corey Holmes

Ulises Hernandez

Charli Holmes

Photos by: Danielle Haynes, Amareona Muhammed and Chloe Sapp

News channel 5, KSDK, visited Ritenour High School on August 26 and September 30 for early morning pep rallies that showed off the football team and the school

The band, cheerleaders, Rhythmettes, and football team were required to arrive at around 4:45 A M in August and 5:45 A M in September to be featured in the morning spotlight This feature gave opportunities for Ritenour teams to be highlighted and viewed differently.

This early start time was something that Lee Laskowski, Assistant Manager of Activities/Athletics, had to consider when accepting their invitation to this event.

“It was a consideration of time, transportation, and the fact that we had a game later that day,” Laskowski said. “You’re getting up at 4:30 in the morning and you’re here until 10:30 at night, and if you’re not used to it at the end of the game, it can kind of wear on you ”

Senior Running Back Elijah Fry believes the pep rally, even though early, brought extra attention to the team

“I think it got more people out to the game to support the team,” Fry stated “It was definitely an outlet for people who didn’t know about us ”

Senior cheerleader Jayden Bock’s favorite part was when cheer was featured

“We were all so tired and cold but we had to repeat the same cheer over and over again until the producer said stop,” Bock said “The producer even made a joke that all of St. Louis would be saying our cheer throughout the day.”

However, with this new early morning rally, it came with some negative aspects. Both the band and cheerleaders were exhausted by the time it got to the game.

Ritenour Superintendent Chris Kilbride is interviewed by KSDK as football players, leadership students, and cheerleaders celebrate in the background.

Senior Kyle Williams is interviewed by Rene Knott. Williams was shocked at all the positive feedback he got after his interview.

By: Skylar Powers and Jack Jamison

Photos by: Danielle Haynes

“Later that night I was so tired that my playing wasn’t its best and I found myself not wanting to hold up my instrument,” Kriss Davis said

Bock was one of many that felt honored to be a part of the news segment and of the Ritenour community 0

“I find pride in supporting other groups because I truly love being a husky Ritenour has given me an Immense amount of opportunities and love The culture and community make it worth it each and every time I step out on the sidelines ”

Kyle Williams, Drum Major in the Ritenour Marching Huskies, recounted his highlight of the first day with KSDK

“The highlight of my time with KSDK was being interviewed personally, and getting all the messages from Dr. Kilbride and the messages he’s gotten,” Williams said. “Then hearing from everybody throughout the school day which made it seem like it was such a success, and made me feel good about the responses that I gave.”

Even members of the football team who had an extremely long day both times KSDK came to the school had some enjoyment from the event. Percy Childs, #55 on the Huskies, remembers it because of how the team was all on the news and able to promote themselves

“Being able to do the pep rally before our game, just being out there, you k families,” Childs said

Below:

Elijah Fry, Yavonte Williams, Kyndall Bolden get hyped up for the game later that evening. The team was fortunate to be named as the game of the week twice, so they got to experience a lot of extra press coverage.

Ritenour was chosen as the KSDK game of the week on two separate occasions this year as the football team progressed in year two with coach Kirkseych

Above: Elijah Mitchell is interviewed on the morning broadcast while Billy Hall looks on.

Janiah Harris leads the cheerleaders in a cheer on the morning broadcast.

Photo by: Danielle Haynes

Photo by: Danielle Haynes

Photo by: Amareona Muhammed

RaisingMoney for a Cause

Photocourtesy:RHSAthletics

By: Hallie Thornburgh

Ritenour volleyball’s Pink Out game ended in wins all around.

On Tuesday, October 18, 2022, Ritenour’s girl's volleyball team competed against Hazelwood West for their Pink Out game Junior Varsity bagged a win of 2 0 for the night along with Varsity winning 3 1 “We really fought for it ” player Jada Bradley mentioned The games and sales started at 4:15 pm and ended around 7:30 pm The event consisted of several different ways to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness, such as raffle baskets and ribbon and t shirt sales There were also sponsors who brought in $1,800 which was the majority of the funds raised “It was a lot of work but all the coaches, players, and managers chipped in,” coach Kim commented “The parents The r actual p group o “It w to come those ra The v the sale This great ab sponso parents

Left: All three teams of RHS volleyball pose in their pink uniforms for the Pink Out game. The team raised over $3000. Right: The team huddles mid game against Hazelwood West.

Photo courtesy: RHS Volleyball

Photo Courtesy: RHS Athletics

journalism conference journalism conference

Pepper Box and KRHS head downtown to strengthen their programs

comes to STL comes to STL

By: Mya Cates

Ritenour students traveled downtown to the National Student Press Association high school journalism conference.

The conference consisted of many sessions for students to attend and gain information on how to improve the school newspaper. Students chosen by newspaper advisor and English teacher Ron Steinschriber were seniors Chloe Sapp, Jennifer Huerta Lopez, Danielle Haynes, and Layla Fouche, who all play a role in the Pepper Box

“These four students are the longest tenured editors on the staff,” Steinschriber said “There are a lot of editorial focused sessions there, so I was hoping they could see what some other schools are doing and bring that back to our class to implement Three of the four are also looking to major in journalism in college, so I want to give them as many opportunities as I can to make connections for their future ”

Sapp is currently The Pepper Box’s Content Editor In Chief, so she is in charge of stories in The Pepper Box

“The sessions would help give lessons on how to be a better editor and leader and also tip on photography skills,’’ Sapp said

Sapp was also excited to attend a session that focused on what journalism school will be like in college and how to approach the field

“It was great because it wasn't someone older telling me how it was like when they went, but someone younger that has newer experience,” Sapp said.

Lopez's position in the Pepper Box is Production Editor in Chief. She is in charge of making sure everyone has their articles done and ready to go.

Students from KRHS Pepper Box talk together at the end of the conference, discussing what they had learned.

Below: Top photo: Students and staff walk towards their bus in downtown St. Louis.

Bottom photo: Jennifer Huerta-Lopez, Layla Fouche, Roi Mundin and Chloe Sapp gather materials from the college booths.

In addition, Lopez said that going to a session, she learned things such as how to ‘’communicate and bond with staff better.’’ She took away skills that help communicate with her team better and with her writers.

The speaker that she felt impacted the most was by a reporter. He taught her that when you interview you need to not get nervous and get comfortable by asking personal questions when talking about deeper questions and get to know them first so they're comfortable to tell you things Fouche, who is the Sports Editor and Special Edition Manager, caught up on what journalism skills can help with after high school

"You develop skills that make you a team player with many people,” Fouche said

"You don't have to stay in the route of journalism and can apply journalism to many aspects and skills from a seminar of a college student that is going to school for journalism.”

Haynes is the Visual Editor in Chief for the Pepper Box, and is also the general manager of KRHS. She got to experience the event from both viewpoints.

“I was more interested in more things, so I got to go to a lot of different sessions and see different perspectives,” Haynes said.

This significant event did have an impact on the editors of the Pepper Box.

“The whole reason I love these conventions is that I come back with pages of notes on how we can improve,” Steinschriber said “We've already updated some things on Ritenour Live based on some sessions, and having the ability to work one on one with teachers from all throughout the country and share ideas about good writing and pitfalls to avoid was amazing ’’

Photos by: Maggie Bannester

Night Out with Night Out with krhs krhs

By: Chloe Sapp and Logan Overall

KRHS Media hosted a school meet up at Six Flags: Frightfest on Oct. 22 to celebrate Halloween and bring the school together.

Last year, the media group, led by media convergence teacher Jane Bannester, started its yearly tradition of group meet ups These events were held to bring the school community back together after the COVID 19 pandemic separated everyone

“We started the event last year when we were limited on events at school due to COVID 19 concerns,” Bannester said “We had students who were interested in them doing it again ”

The trip to Six Flags was similar to a self led field trip If students want to participate, they were to go to Six Flags on their own and buy their own ticket The school was brought together when every participant met at the entrance

One of KRHS’ Radio students, senior Blake Dingledine, enjoyed the meet up and would like to continue the tradition.

“Seeing everyone from school showing up was my favorite memory of the event,” Dingledine said. “There were about 10 15 people involved. I think we should keep doing this because it raises school spirit and gets people active.”

Along with KRHS’s staff, students interested in the event showed up. One of these participants was senior Brian Brown

“It was fun being with people from school We rode rides together,” Brown said “I actually went to the one last year, too, and it was fun ”

DIngledine expressed that the event's purpose was to gain school spirit and try to get people involved and Brown seems to say that KRHS succeeded “You can connect with people and meet people you don’t know,” Brown said “You can make good bonds ”

KRHS Media brings the school together with its first meet up of the year at six flags

Students from KRHS met up with other Ritenour students at their first meet up of the year for Six Flags Fright Fest.

Photo courtesy Brian Brown

PPerformance erformance

of a lifetime of a lifetime

By: Allison Madrid

On Nov 11, the Ritenour band and orchestra went on a field trip to Powell Hall to attend a concert from the St Louis Symphony

Orchestra and band watch a concert at powell hall

The Ritenour music group and other schools’ music groups were invited to listen to the enthralling performance while taking in an educational musical experience

There were three movements the music group listened to The movements, in order, include Night Ride and Sunrise op 55 by Jean Sibelius, Violin Concerto by Helen Grime, and Symphony No 4 in B flat Major, op 60 by Ludwig Van Beethoven

“The experience was amazing because Powell hall is so beautiful,” sophomore bass player Leilani Bazan said. “It’s a wonderful place you can hear classical music that people put their heart and soul into. I would say the second piece was my favorite, not only because we were the first ones in the United States to hear it, but also because the person who had the solo put a lot of emotion in it.”

First violist Katie Kurtz also agreed that the Powell Hall trip was a unique experience

“The overall experience of Powell hall was interesting, very energizing, and it was a unique experience,” Kurtz said. “The first piece was my favorite because of how quick it was in the beginning and how prolonged it was "

The first violinist of the Ritenour orchestra, Cailan Wooten, and Ritenour band clarinet player and first chair clarinet player in jazz band, Braden Alanis, gave their own opinions on the field trip as well “It was something,” said Alanis “The person in front of me kept jumping in her seat and that made me feel unsafe, however, the music was pretty good The first movement was my favorite because it had lots of energy”

Wooten said she was close to tears at some points “It was so good. It was a great experience to have. I’m grateful to have been able to have the experience. I definitely learned a lot just by watching. My favorite piece was the second song because it was more focused on a story telling aspect more than anything else. You could really tell it gave a grotesque, ominous vibe. For me, the story was about conformity and an outcast arguing with an outside world.”

The Ritenour orchestra conductor, Blake Hernton, also gave his opinion on the field trip and how his experience could’ve been different to a student’s.

“Powell Hall was really fun. It was a cool experience to see all the professional musicians in their natural form,” Hernton said. “It was a very educational experience and something worth seeing because as a musician, and as an orchestra teacher, you strive for your students to get that sound. As a teacher, I was noticing how many people were in each section and how all the harmonies went together My favorite piece on the program was probably the Beethoven because it was traditional and resonated well with some of the music I like to write on my own Next time, I would love to be able to find an opportunity for my students to be able to have a Q&A session with maybe a few panel members of the symphony, the conductor, or the soloist I think that would better the educational side of the field trip ”

Concert goers wait in the lobby of Powell Hall.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performs at Powell Hall. The orchestra played Night Ride and Sunrise op. 55 by Jean Sibelius, Violin Concerto by Helen Grime, and Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, op.60 by Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Photo by: Amareona Muhammed

Photo by: Amareona Muhammad

RRenewed enewed hharmony armony

By: Mariam Neeb

The Ritenour choir is being led to new heights under the leader ship of the new choir teacher, Stephanie Ruggles

Many students know the latest choirmaster from middle school as Ruggles was a choir teacher at Ritenour Middle School

“I’ve been trying to reach out to students who have been in choir before, who I’ve had at Ritenour Middle School, and also to students who had Ms Carson at Hoech Middle to see if they would like to come back and sing in the choir in their future years,” Ruggles said

Part of the process of strengthening the choir program is to involve more music that represents the Ritenour population

“I have tried really hard to choose music that is relevant to our student body by programing a variety of styles and genres of music, looking closely at who the composers are and what backgrounds, ethnicities, races etc. they’re coming from so our student can see themselves in the music that we are performing,” Ruggles said.

The new choirmaster has been seeking new and interesting events for the choir students to be a part of. One of the events is exposing the students to different and unfamiliar directors.

“I’m in a place where I can bring choir directors from colleges and universities to come and talk to our students and also work with our choirs so that they understand what would be expected of them in a collegiate choir setting,” Ruggles said “We’ll hopefully do some some events such as solo and small ensemble that will happen in the spring ”

Another thing that Ruggles has included this year is the honors choir According to the president of choir, Danielle Haynes, it is comprised of students from schools in St Louis city and county “We all have to audition for a spot in either the treble SSAA honors choir or the Mixed honors choir They pick the best singers from each school to sing with each other, and it's amazing because you're singing with a bunch of people who have the same love of music that you do,” Haynes said

SSAA stands for Soprano Soprano Alto Alto which is a choir composed of two distinct Soprano sections and two distinct Alto sections. It is a good way for singers from all over the area to come together and perform.

Choir is also looking to get involved outside of the classroom setting is with caroling. Haynes said that the choir has done caroling in the past and they “plan to restart this tradition this year.”

THe Ritenour choir is headed in new directions under director Stephanie Ruggles

Below:

Above: Choir members Brandy Charlton, Danielle Haynes, Audrey Stuvland, An Nguyen sing "I Put A Spell on You" at the fall concert.

Eighth grade choir members join the A Capella group at the fall concert.

Photo by: Yearbook

Photo by: Yearbook

Friendship Q&A Friendship Q&A

By: Jimena Rosales-Martinez

Q: How do you make friends at school?

A: “Usually when it comes to making friends, they come up to me and start a conversation and sometimes we usually connect and become mutuals.”

Q: Is it a struggle to make friends at school? Why or why not?

A: “It is quite difficult for me to be in a group of friends because everyone at school has a group of friends and I am unable to fit myself in because of it Also, since it’s high school, you already have friends from middle school so it makes it hard for me to find a group of friends”

Q: How do you make friends at school?

A;” Personally me, I go up to them if they seem cool. I start up a conversation with them, people don’t talk to me first, so I just go out of my way to talk to them first ”

Q: Is it a struggle to make friends? Why or why not?

A: “Not really to be honest When I meet new people, they usually talk to me.”

Q: Do you talk to people outside of school that are here at Ritenour?

A:“Yea, I do actually We’re fairly close and we hang out on a day to day basis.”

Bazan Leilani Bazan

Q: How do you make friends at school?

A: “To be honest. I have no idea, I usually just talk to people or go with the flow of things ”

Q: Is it a struggle to make friends? Why or why not?

A: “I don’t really think so, here at this school everyone is diverse and you can easily find who else has the same interests as you.”

Q: Do you talk to people outside of school that are here at Ritenour?

A: “Yes I do, actually. I sometimes have plans with them or just go and hangout with them ”

Lily King Lily King Jocelyn Vasquez Jocelyn Vasquez

Leilani

The stress of The stress of work and school work and school

Students and teachers must deal with other professional responsibilities outside of RHS

By: Klayton Wilkinson

Managing work and school is no easy feat, but according to employed students, it is worth spending time and energy on Working as a high school student can be very important to an individual's growth as a young adult It can be a better teacher for real world experience than a classroom, not mention, you can earn your own money

The grit of managing work while in school is something both students and teachers experience The work itself can be challenging, as it is work, and can prove to be that wa often, as consistency goes. But one of the more challenging parts of working and learni time management.

Blake Hernton, the orchestra conductor, is a professional musician outside of school. He is part of a string quartet that does many gigs and rehearsals. With a busy schedule outside of class, Hernton said that it’s very important to manage time wisely.

“There is definitely a balance that I have to find in terms of making sure that I devote enough time to all the stuff that I have to do to prepare for class outside of the actual school schedule and then, of course, planning rehearsals outside of school for any events or gigs that I have coming up.” Hernton said. “I’d say it’s definitely a challenge.”

As he says, there's an important balance to maintain, so that everything gets the right amount of attention Essentially it’s important to have priorities and a goal “I try to make it a goal to make time for what's important,” Hernton explained

HowamI supposedto handleallofthis

Junior Braden Alanis works at Dairy Queen, working the counter. He has also experienced the hard part of working in school which again is the time management.

“It can be tough maintaining both school and work mainly because I get out very late and I have no energy to do any of my school work, which makes me fall behind,” Alanis said.

Working can have its setbacks, and can most definitely affect students’ general flow at school It can make doing school work harder, as there is an added pressure of even less time Although, this is only a cost for the many rewards discussed previously, they are very valuable and very useful for anyone who wants to be prepared

Herandy Guerrero Ortiz is another junior who works at a restaurant, filling out orders inside, and outside in the drive through line She also has had the tough background of time management and the stress that comes with it, but recognizes the good things too

“Once you get the hang of things, having a job can be beneficial with experience, and getting out of your comfort zone,” GuerreroOrtiz said. “Like before I used to never talk, really, but now I talk a lot, so it kinda did me a favor and didn’t at the same time.”

Orchestra director Blake Hernton performs professional gigs outside of teaching at RHS. He says the key to success is in the time management.