ROBOTICS
FALL PLAY
NEW COACH
The Ritenour Robohounds continue to compete year round.
Staff and students prepare to make “The Odd Couple” a success on stage
Robert Kennedy takes over the girls basketball program
SPOTLIGHT Page 7
SPOTLIGHT Page 4-5
SPORTS, Page 8
THE PEPPER BOX RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL
ISSUE 3, VOLUME 96
9100 ST. CHARLES ROCK ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63114
NOVEMBER 2018
Helping the growth of the school
Custodian Juana Murillo is a face of Ritenour that helps keep positivity throughout the halls By: DANIELA SAENZ Pepper Box Staff “What motivates me are the students,” custodian Juana Murillo said. Murillo is a common sight all around the school, always flashing a smile and asking students how they are doing. She can also be seen watering and caring for all plants in the building, making sure that they are as full of life as the students in the building. “The plants give you life, like oxygen, so I want to keep them alive,” Murillo said. Murillo likes taking care of all of her responsibilities, and said that her favorite activity is actually going to work every day. “I also like to go to my house and rest for a bit, but then I have to work again, like cleaning my house, or doing chores,” Murillo said. Murillo is originally from Michoacan, Mexico, and she is 52 years old. She has been working at the school for 12 years, and her children have actually been students at Ritenour. “I have been married for 32 years and I have two daughters. One is 30 years old and the other is 24 years old. I also have a grandchild, but we don’t really see each other since we all have to work, so we don’t have that much time to see each other,” Murillo said.
Before Ritenour, Murillo held a number of jobs, including at a bakery making bread when she first moved to the United States. “When I started making bread I wasn’t that good, but I eventually learned,” Murillo said. In Mexico, her father owned a butcher shop. She also said that she owned an ice cream shop, a tortilla shop, and also rented movies. She also worked at a laundromat, but she said that the job she likes the most is this one. One of the reasons she loves this job is that she feels she can teach life lessons to students. She remembers one time in particular when a student tried to play a trick on her, but she turned the lesson around. “One time there was this student that placed a lot of liquids on his plate, like ketchup, mayonnaise, and juice, and before that, he had placed glue on the tray so when I would pick up the plate, all that mess would fall on me. When he left and I saw that he had left that mess there I called a principal and I told them to call him back, and when he did, I asked him to pick it up. When he did, he got soaked up in all that,” Murillo said. “After all that happened, he had graduated and he came back saying to me how much he thanked
Daniela Saenz Custodian Juana Murillo waters a plant in the lower lobby of the auditorium. Murillo has worked at the high school for 12 years, and says it is the best job she has ever held.
me for that time, and that he learned a lesson from that and he left.” She also says that she tries her best to correct some of the wrongdoings that some students do, even if it means she might lose her standing amongst those students. “I feel that some children might not like me because I try to tell them what they are doing wrong and try to correct them. They are going to become adolescents, but
when they start to like, ‘play’ or they are messing with each other maybe in a playful way, their games might be too heavy for them, and I tell them that’s not right, you should have respect for other people. Also, maybe others, like me,” Murillo said. Murillo’s coworker Baxter Dukes is proud to work with Murillo, and the two have been working together for many years. “She’s a coworker, and she’s
a good person” Dukes said. “She’s great.” Whether it is taking care of plants, cleaning up in the halls, or teaching students lessons, Murillo is happy to take on anything that is in front of her over the course of a day. “I like cleaning, I like my job, I like it very much. Also, I like it so much because I can talk to many people,” Murillo said.
Fake news sites try to sway recent election In a repeat of the 2016 election, fake news sources attempted to convince voters By QUYNH TRINH Pepper Box Staff As the 2018 election approached, there was a hike in fake news being spread on social media. Facebook reported 32 fake pages created between March 2017 and May 2018. Among these fake pages are the “Aztlan Warriors”, “Black Elevation”, “Mindful Being”, and “Resisters”. It has been observed that these pages, rather than pushing for certain candidates, were causing anger over divisive issues such as race and immigration. They have created over 9,500 posts, and spent an estimated $11,000 on 150 ads. These fake accounts were carefully disguised, using VPNs, Internet
IN THIS ISSUE
phone services, and third parties to purchase ads. Working these back roads, it becomes difficult to trace the transactions back to its source. Former long term substitute teacher Seth Tripp believes that the amount of effort fake news sites exert into spreading stories is nothing new in politics, it is just a more technologically based form of misinformation. “It’s dishonest. But honesty has never been the name of the game in politics. These bots or Russian hackers or PAC’s are just using the tools at their disposal. There is not much of a check on information that is distributed via social media. Unless somebody flags an article, then there is not
ELECTION RESULTS PAGE 2
even somebody checking it’s validity. But even if you do, you get into a free speech issue. Ultimately it is underhanded, but it is unfortunately the way that politics is done in the digital age,” Tripp said. This is not the first time a plague of fake news has interfered with the election. During the 2016 election, making headlines were stories that Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump for president and Hillary Clinton sold weapons to ISIS, and even though fact-checks would expose that these stories were entirely fabricated, many people took them at face value. Then there were stories about Clinton’s poor health, claiming she had a brain injury and was losing her
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ORAL HISTORY OF THE PLAY PAGES 4-5
mind, while simultaneously running a human trafficking ring that was using a pizza parlor as a cover up. This story became known as the “Pizzagate” scandal, which was also proven to be false. Science teacher Krisstin Swyres remembers hearing this news and laughing in disbelief. “I literally just laughed and figured that it was an intended distraction from the opposing party. They talk trash and try to make the other side look bad,” Swyres said. Investigators ruled Russia and Kremlin as the culprits of the fake news released during the 2016 election, and suspect they are behind the stories circulating during the 2018 election as well. Fake news has even gone
STUDENTS AS MENTORS PAGE 6
as far as influencing people to commit acts of violence. Patrick Stein, Curtis Allen, and Gavin Wright are Kansas militia members who collaborated to bomb a mosque and apartment complex housing Somali immigrants. They planned to carry out this attack the day after the 2016 election, but were arrested after another member of their group tipped the authorities. All three men were Facebook friends who liked and shared Russian propaganda with each other. Their attorneys recently blamed the Russian operated news for the planned attack. Social studies teacher Michael Murray shared his thoughts about the onslaught
SEE FAKE NEWS - 2
ROBOTICS EVENTS PAGE 7
NEW BASKETBALL COACH PAGE 8
News
November 2018
FAKE NEWS - Cont’d from Front Page of fake news during the presidential election. “Unfortunately, I think [fake news] does have a small effect [on election results]. It’s tricky. I think [the fake news] we heard in the last presidential election were people basically trying to draw battle lines and get people to hate the other side, instead of just disagreeing with them,” Murray said. Fake news has also affected
the trust between the people and the media. “I think what has happened is that so much of what is considered “news” has become convoluted. We had such an influx in misinformation in the last election that the dependability of media is in doubt,” Tripp said. “That’s the thing that fake news makes us do. It makes us doubt the validity of things we used to
believe as fact.” Tripp received first hand feedback to the validity questions of news on a recent Facebook post he made. “There was a billboard at 170 and Saint Charles Rock Road that had the Bible verse, “And the word became flesh...”, which is John 1:14. The verse talking about Jesus has a picture of Trump on it, insinuating that Trump is like Jesus or even Jesus himself. This was highly offensive to local Christian groups, even
though it was sponsored by a group called “Make the Gospel Great Again.” I shared the post on Facebook and a Republican friend of mine said that maybe it is a bunch of Democrats playing political games,” said Tripp. While this continues to happen, Facebook has started to take a stand against this flood of false stories. Social Science One is an independent research commission on a mission to investigate the spread of
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misinformation. They have been granted access to data inside the website, including privacy-protected posts and links to fabricated stories. The initial review process will take roughly six weeks, and then the actual research could take anywhere from days to years to complete. Gary King, co-founder of Social Science One hopes to uncover useful data that will develop rules that are effective in classifying news as true or false.
The class of 2022 helped the co-care pantry The group led a canned food drive and gave free smoothie vouchers to those who donated By ALBERTO LINARESCERVANTES Pepper Box Staff
From November 5 through the 16, the Class of 2022 officers and sponsor Christina DeMuri took donations to help the Ritenour Co-Care Pantry. Donating four cans of vegetable or meat to Room 112 earned students a free smoothie voucher, which was available for use on Tuesday, November 20 and was limited to one per student. “The Ritenour Co-Care Food Pantry is overseen by the Ritenour Co-Care Inc., a 501 c nonprofit board which is composed of leaders from area churches and businesses. The pantry serves anyone who needs food who lives in the Ritenour School District” DeMuri said.
The smoothie sale fundraiser aids in feeding many who live within the Ritenour School District. It provides vegetables and meat for families or members of the community struggling to put food on the table. The smoothie sale fundraiser has been going on for four years, donating to many causes in need, such as Hurricane Harvey and will continue on donating to such causes as long as smoothies are selling. “The Class of 2022 came up with the idea to give back to the community with the profits that they are earning from smoothie sales. They will be doing another donation in the month of December. The class of 2016 started smoothie sales back in 2014. Mr. Rodgers and I were
their class sponsor at that time and we have continued the fundraise ever since,” Demuri said. “One year, we donated money toward a coat drive. We also gave money to Hurricane Harvey and another charity a different time.” DeMuri said that the Class of 2022 was very intentional with combining smoothie sales with a canned food drive to help the community. “We decided to give smoothie vouchers in exchange for canned foods to help further stock the food bank with food,” DeMuri said. The smoothie sale fundraiser has no goal for the amount of food needed for the community, but with the smoothie sales and the prize of a smoothie voucher, food is expected to be abundant.
“We do not have a goal in mind as to the amount of food or money that will be donated. Hopefully it will be a good amount in order to help them with both their food and monetary need” DeMuri said. The class officers of the Class of 2022 are President Caroline Slunaker, Vice President Gabriela Rojo, Secretary John Deckard, and Treasurer Eli McCombs. Rojo has been involved with fundraisers before she had reached high school. She attended Hoech Middle School, and participated in fundraisers such as the Valentines Fundraiser. “As Vice President I am in charge of selling smoothies during lunches. I am also required to attend weekly meetings on Tuesday
mornings to talk about future fundraisers and review smoothie sales. I have worked on fundraisers before,” Rojo said. “I was a part of Student Leadership Council at Hoech Middle School last year. We sold valentines and roses to raise money. We also did a canned food drive, and sold candy-cane grams.” Not only has Ritenour High school donated food for the community, Hoech Middle School has as well, adding food for members in the community in need. “I love the Smoothie Fundraiser. It brings in a lot of profits and is a great way to get to know more faces in the school. It is a delicious way to help out the school. It is really affordable for people, every smoothie helps out” said Rojo.
Election results - November 6, 2018 Josh Hawley US Senator
Republican Josh Hawley won the Senate race over incumbent Claire McCaskill. Hawley is an advocate for religious freedom. He has also fought the Washington overreach against farmers and family businesses. Hawley thanked everyone that helped out Team Hawley on his campaign on his campaign website. “I am so proud of Team Hawley and the campaign we ran. I know that I would not be here today without you in my corner. I Photo courtesy: Logan Jackson am extremely humbled by your generous via Flickr support and encouragement. Thank you!”
Lacy Clay
US House of Rep. District 1
Photo courtesy: Heartbeat International via Flickr
Missouri’s U.S Representative for District 1 is Democrat William Lacy Clay, who won his tenth term. Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay was first elected in 2000. “I value your opinion and views on the issues that confront our great nation and Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, as I strive to represent your voice in the United States House of Representatives,” said Clay on his welcome message to his website.
Wesley Bell
County Prosecutor The winner of the County Prosecutor is Democrat Wesley Bell. Bell ran unopposed. Bell has focused his studies on representing the poor. Bell believes that every person should have equal right and opportunities within the criminal justice system. Bell wants to focus on strategies to combat serious crimes, focus juvenile prosecution on rehabilitation; not punishment, and treat everyone humanely and fair. Photo courtesy: Jamelle Bouie via Flickr
Steve Stenger
St. Louis County Executive
St. Louis’ County Executive is Democrat Steve Stenger. Stenger plans to focus his first term on public safety and economic investment. Stenger has a wife, Ali, and 2 kids, Madeline and Lincoln. Stenger graduated from the University of MissouriSt. Louis and attended law school at St. Louis University.
Photo courtesy: Wikimedia
Kevin Windham
Missouri House of Rep. District 85 In Mo. State District 85, the winner of the election was Democrat Kevin Windham. Windham was a member of Cigna’s inaugural Ferguson-St. Louis Internship program. He was awarded SEMO’s Distinguished Student Award for making a positive change in April of 2015. He believes that the next representative of the 85th District should center their public service on justice, equity, and transparency. Photo courtesy: Twitter
Nicole Galloway
Missouri State Auditor
The State Auditor is Democrat Nicole Galloway. Galloway was sworn in as auditor in April of 2015 and won re-election on November 6. She has uncovered more than $100 million in fraud, waste, mismanagement, and abuse. Some of her audits have led to repayments to business owners and charges filed against a dozen corrupt public officials. Galloway received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Missouri. She also received degrees from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in applied mathematics and economics.
Proposition Z
Amendment 2
Proposition Z passed. This allows people to be taxed to help the St. Louis Zoo. The money is will be going to help care for the animals and repairing the buildings, as well as provide funds to expand into north St. Louis County.
Missouri Amendment 2 is the medical marijuana and veteran health care services initiative. This amendment was voted in, and it legalized marijuana use for medical purposes. It also allows there to be a tax of 4%. The revenue will be spent on tax revenue on health care services for veterans.
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Opinion
November 2018
Visual Editor In Chief: Coralis Bobe
PEPPER BOX STAFF
Content Editor In Chief: Martin Trujillo Carrazco
Production Editor In Chief: Victoria Taylor
Opinion Editor: Amelia Sloan-Ule
Sports Editor: Caroline Ramos-Herrera
Spotlight Editor: Trystan Bell
Online Editor: Madison Waldrup
Business Manager: Catalina Mundin
Adviser: Ron Steinschriber
Staff Members: Jada Baylor, Faith Boyd, Pierre Brown, Makari Buress, Jersie Cox, Faith Curd, Mackenzie Davis, Morgan Eaves, Alberto LinaresCervantes, Amelia Norman, Chloe Pagan, Abigail Richardson, Andrea Rojo, Daniela Saenz, Quynh Trinh, Caroline Wong
The attempt at transgender erasure will not stand “That’s not
The Salty Spitoon a real gender!”
people exclaimed when I stated I was bigender. “You’re embarrassing yourself,” others would say. I became a target, By Amelia Sloan-Ule just for being myself. Once I decided that I was going to finally change my name in school after going by it online for years, and finally come out of the closet about it, some people were outraged and are still resigned to call me by my deadname (Calling a trans person by their biological name instead of their preferred name). Do you know how disrespectful that is to a Transgender person? To deadname them despite their protests? It’s extremely disrespectful. It’s invalidating, demeaning. It’s not supportive. It is utter disrespect to call someone a name that they are not comfortable with. Even if you do not believe or support transgender people, you can still call them by their preferred name. It is not that different than calling someone by a nickname. Recently, the Trump administration is doing
what I just described. They are trying to erase purely unacceptable. They can’t regulate a social Transgender people. Whether it’s purposefully construct. misgendering them, or deadnaming them, it’s This recent change is part of the repeal of many disrespectful and the Trump administration is of Barack Obama’s prior executive orders. This is doing just that. because Trump believes and ran on the platform The Trump idea that he is anti-Obama. Obama administration is trying released an executive order that to define gender as “loosened the legal concept of gender binary, so it would in federal programs, including in be defined the same education and health care, recognizing as sex under the gender largely as an individual’s new administration. choice and not determined by the sex According to a story assigned at birth.” according to the in the New York New York Times. Trump wants to Times, the Trump change this because he doesn’t believe administration is it and because it was created under considering narrowly the Obama administration. Trump is defining gender as a not an ally, nor does he know what biological, immutable he is doing concerning gender. We, condition determined trans people will continue to speak out by genitalia at birth. against this discrimination. Transgender people Illustration by Abby Richardson Transgender people did not go through don’t get to choose a transition, an identity crisis, and how they feel about hours upon hours of turmoil just to be themselves, or what body they are born with. They invalidated by others. get to choose what to do with said body after they Transgender people are real, they are valid, and are born. The Trump administration trying to they will be seen. Whether it’s now, whether it’s regulate gender, which is a social construct, is just later, they will be seen.
Pittsburgh synagogue shooter exposes hate Recently, tragedy hit the entire nation when a synagogue was attacked by suspect, Robert Bowers. This is America. A land where we get used to seeing hate crimes. Looking further and investigating deeper, detectives found the “Gab” account of the suspect. By Caroline Ramos-Herrera Gab is a website where everyone is given the opportunity to spread their opinion or even spread hate, which is what most of the users “opinions” seem to be. On Bowers’ Gab account, there was him being featured in anti-Semitic comments and conspiracy theories, including one referenced in his last post saying that the organization HIAS, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is bringing, “invaders in to kill our people.” Another comment Bowers mentioned on his GAB account before the attack was this: “I can’t sit by an watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in.” Basically, he is a cruel racist. I believe that if people of a different religion, culture, race, etc., come into America, minding their own business, they should be left alone. I do not understand what makes everyone so different from everyone
Sweet Caroline
else. There is only the human race of people, which should bring people closer but people see the differences in others and hate their differences instead of accepting we’re all different in a way. Instead of bringing everyone closer, these white supremacists want to take down everyone who is not white; trying to claim a land that is not theirs to begin with. It is also the same men who claim to be good Christians, when in the bible it literally tells you not to kill. I do not understand how your religion can send you and make you think that it is okay to kill groups of people. If you look back into history, you do not even have to search deeply to know the history of the hatred of Jews, with the Holocaust as the main examples. One of the victims killed in the synagogue shooting was a Holocaust survivor. Can you imagine being taken from your home, put in a concentration camp, surviving when many did not, and then being killed many years later for the same reason they wanted you to die in the first place? Imagine going to a place where you praise
Editorial Cartoons
and pray, only for it to become deadly. Imagine being scared to enter a place filled with the faith that keeps you going in life. Imagine questioning your faith and whether it actually is worth it because of the constant target sign that is on your back. It is truly sick how people are given the freedom of religion, but hate filled supremacists think America is theirs and they have the right to do whatever they want. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, and many other religions that exist in this country are all different, but we should all respect each other because whatever god you believe in, we are all created equal.
Illustration by Chloe Pagan
Comics
Illustration by Chloe Pagan Editorial Policy: The Pepper Box is designed and created by members of the newspaper staff of Ritenour High School. The purpose of the newspaper is to provide a forum for the students to focus on issues, give opinions, and share information with the Ritenour High School community. The opinions expressed in this paper do not reflect opinions of our faculty or administration.
Illustration by Abby Richardson
Illustration by Chloe Pagan
Illustration by Abby Richardson
Letters to the editor are welcome and accepted, but they may not contain profanity, obscenity, or anything inappropriate to school. They may be e-mailed to Ron Steinschriber at steinschriberr@ ritenourschools.org, or dropped off in room 240. The staff reserves the right to edit these letters.
Spotlight
November2018
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An odd couple of months Staff and students are working hard to create the perfect version of “The Odd Couple”
Jada Baylor
Senior Amelia Sloan-Ule and sophomores Eva Gleckler and Kayley Norman console Junior Abby Richardson during play rehearsal. The group is part of the core of an all female cast which will perform “The Odd Couple” at the end of November.
By MORGAN EAVES Pepper Box Staff The cast of “The Odd Couple” has gone through auditions and is finishing their rehearsals as they head towards their performances on November 29, 30 and December 1. The cast and crew provided the Pepper Box with a history of the play from their first day of auditions to today. Junior Abby Richardson - Flo (Mr. Jones) had us read from another play called “Barefoot in the Park.” Basically he paired us up differently and gave us a scene to read in the play, so we would just go out in the hall to practice it a little bit and then we would do it over again with different groups and different characters. So, for one scene I might play one character, and then the next scene I would play the other one. Drama Teacher Greg Jones - Director Too many women auditioned and not enough guys. Therefore, I started looking for a play that would showcase as many female parts as possible. Luckily, I was able to find a play by the same playwright that was as funny as the original play. Abby Richardson I felt pretty confident while auditioning. Jones kept giving me positive feedback, so I felt pretty confident that I might get a lead role. Noel Rilea - Stage Director I think it’s great, especially because we have so many female actors. It’s a lot easier than having a lot of guys. Last year, we had so many guys that it was difficult because we had to cross-dress in order to find a role. Sophomore Kayley Norman - Sylvie Theatre, in general, is really very female dominated I’ve noticed. I feel like having a female dominated cast is easier, but it’s also a lack of diversity, so it seems discouraging. Especially if a guy is
auditioning: I think it will make them think “Oh, there’s mostly girls up here, so maybe I’ll be made fun of if I go try out.” I think that’s also what keeps them from doing it in general, is that they’re scared because it’s such a female dominated thing. Sophomore Kayla Baker - Olive I feel like it’s easier on Jones because it’s mostly females who try out, so it’s easier for him to keep track of everyone; we don’t have to switch genders very much. Abby Richardson I’m excited because I know that Jones thought that there was a lot of female talent. Since we normally do male dominated plays, it’s nice to see change and more of an opportunity for female students. Greg Jones I’m outnumbered....definitely outnumbered! Kayley Norman Last year I was in the play and the musical. Before that, I had never been a part of play, because I’ve actually kind of avoided that before I came to high school. This play was definitely a new experience for me. It was definitely challenging. I think what pushed me, really, was my 8th grade drama class. We had to read monologues in front of the class and I did it and was like “Oh, this is okay. So maybe I’ll be okay to try out for plays or something.” Kayla Baker For experience, I’ve tried out for an academy once with Kayley Norman. It was awful and I didn’t make it; it was the worst gig ever. I don’t have any experience, but I do like acting, it’s fun.” Kayley Norman I really love acting now, honestly, and never thought I’d actually like it because I used to be really, really nervous all the time and I still kind of am. I find that when I have anxiety and normalize the social setting, I’m perfectly fine on stage. I really like acting, I really like being on stage, otherwise I
wouldn’t be in the cast. Abby Richardson I really like acting. I’ve been trying to get on to the cast since I was a freshman. I have experience in technical crews, but this is my first major role. Kayley Norman “The Odd Couple” is a comedy. It’s something I haven’t had much experience with yet. So, in general, comedy can be hard, especially when you have to memorize your lines; you have to memorize the timing. It’s not like your filming a video where you get multiple tries. It’s where you do it once and you gotta get it right that time, otherwise you’re gonna miss the laugh. So I think that part’s just hard, with the timing and the jokes. I think that’s probably the most challenging thing. Greg Jones It’s going well. Comedy is a lot harder than drama. Finding the “timing” in the comedy and hitting the lines takes a lot of work. I’m never where I want to be in the process. I always feel as if we are behind. The cast is doing great, just running out of time. Kayla Baker It’s definitely difficult. I’m awful at memorizing things, so having to memorize 2 hours worth of repetitiveness is hard.” Abby Richardson I think it is going pretty well. I think that reducing it to a smaller cast was a smart idea. With a bigger cast it is very difficult to try to control each character and each line. Kayley Norman We’re still in rehearsal right now, so we haven’t been on stage yet. It’s basically just us looking like a group of friends getting together to hang out, but we’re still getting stuff done. So It’s comfortable, always very comfortable; I think everyone feels fine with each other. It looks like we’re hanging out, but we’re getting stuff done, which I think is a good Left: Director Greg Jones reacts to his actresses during rehearsal, and gives instruction on what he would like to see from them in their next attempt at performing that scene. Right: Senior Amelia SloanUle gives the thumbs up to direction from Director Greg Jones while rehearsing a scene from the play.
Jada Baylor
Jada Baylor
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Spotlight
November 2018
thing because, well, this play is just like a group of friends hanging out, playing a board game, while trying to figure out their friends’ problems. Kayla Baker We try to stay on task, but most of the time we mess around a lot just because everyone’s close with each other. We have a lot inside jokes too. Noel Rilea We have two types of rehearsals. We have a rehearsal and a blocking rehearsal, where everyone just sits and writes for 20-30 mins. Everyone writes down their blockings, making sure everyone knows where to go, and then we run through the play with the blocking in their lines and we see if it works. If it doesn’t work then we change it. During regular rehearsal day it’s no script and you have to know all your blocking and we do it about 3 times and we have 2 breaks.” Greg Jones Right now, they are “off book” (meaning that everything is memorized). We are fine tuning the scenes and discussing and working on the characters and their reasons for saying what they say. This is where the work begins. Memorization is just the first part. Working on characterization and hitting the timing is the hard part. Noel Rilea I like working with the actors because basically you are the assistant director. I help Jones with all his work, I write down all the blockings in case he doesn’t and read some lines when the actors aren’t there. A normal stage director would actually come in a week before the show and be the director for that time. Kayla Baker I make fun of Mr. Jones because he stands with his legs and arms out, as we call it “Jonesposing.” So we stand and wait outside of class like that, and sometimes he chases us like that; it’s my favorite thing. Abby Richardson There are a lot of stumbles on lines. We also started “Jonesposing,” which is something that we all do now to greet each other or express our emotions. Noel Rilea Yesterday one of the actors said their line funny, her line was “ its your favorite category! Media!” and
she said, “it’s your favorite media! Category!” It was so funny because we were all rushing and it’s just that scene where we go fast and when she said it, we all looked up and stopped and were like “that isn’t the correct line” and it was funny.
Greg Jones This group is a pretty tight group of ensemble actors. They have really started to come together as a team and family. I mean, they are talking about doing a Secret Santa....who does that?
Greg Jones The kids saw and heard a ghost
Noel Rilea i think it’s going good, I mean obviously they still need to work on it, but I think it will be good by the time the play comes.
Kayla Baker I asked Mr. Haux if I could go rehearse lines with my friends in the auditorium. Mr. Daly unlocked it for us, but he refused to turn on the lights for some reason. We read lines, until one of my lines was interrupted with a faint whistling coming from the left side of the auditorium. We started joking about Jones trying to scare us, just because he was the only one that could possibly be in there. All of the doors were locked. We tried to ignore it, reading through more lines, trying to pretend we weren’t a little freaked out by the noise. Then, the whistling got louder and longer. We decided to leave, and as we were walking, another loud whistle screeched out and we started sprinting like scared little kids. I hurried up and ran to Jones’ room because I was sure it was him messing with us, but I found him chomping on carrots in his office. Abby Richardson That same afternoon during rehearsals, I was offstage and waiting for my cue when a man walked into the theater. We noticed that nobody knew who he was, and nobody had ever seen him at this school. Nobody could really make out the man’s face, only that he was wearing a vest, had dark hair, and glasses. The rest of his face was fuzzy. I was staring at the man the entire time, as I was offstage, and so was our stage director, Noel. The man seemed to be holding something up to his eye; it was super thin, and rectangular. I glanced at my fellow actors for two seconds, and the man was gone. The door never closed behind him, and it was as if he vanished. All I know for sure, is that there is something...in...that...theater.
Abby Richardson I really like bringing my character to life and seeing what she is all about. It’s really fun to try to bring characters to life. To try to bring your own personality to them. Kayley Norman It’s definitely on its way to being something really good because our cast all have a really good potential to be really good friends. I think we all get along really well, which I’m really happy about, and that means we’re going to have a lot more chemistry on stage. It’s going to be easier to all become like actual friends, which is a part of the play; a big piece of this play is about friendships. Being able to create that bond, in real life, will look better on stage and I just think this play is going to be really good, so I’m excited.”
Jada Baylor Above: Senior Abby Richardson walks off stage with Director Greg Jones giving her feedback. Below: The group of actresses all head for a door onstage. The all female cast says that they have grown very close to each other and formed a bond.
Jada Baylor
Jada Baylor Above: Sophomores Kayley Norman and Eva Gleckler react to each other in a scene of the play. Norman said that the play is progressing well because it is focused on a group of friends, and the actresses in the play have all formed a quick friendship during the rehearsal process. Right: Director Greg Jones walks by a scene and gives feedback to actresses Amelia SloanUle, and sophomores Kayley Norman and Eva Gleckler. Jones said that he is happy to have found an all female play that keeps the same style of comedy of the original play he was planning to cast. Jada Baylor
Junior Abby Richardson breaks character as she is dragged off in a scene by sophomore Kayley Norman and senior Amelia SloanUle. Richardson says that she has created a lot of memories through the rehearsal stage of the play, including seeing a ghost in the audience while they were performing.
Jada Baylor
Spotlight
November2018
Page 6
Students help out their peers in the classroom Students can sign up to become Students as Mentors and earn tutoring hours for the A+ program By FAITH BOYD Pepper Box Staff High school students are working as mentors throughout the Ritenour School District as certification for the A+ program. Their help has been beneficial to staff and students from kindergarten to 12th grade. In order to qualify for Ritenour’s A+ program, students must dedicate at least 50 hours of their time to mentoring and tutoring at one of the district’s locations. Mentors can volunteer their help in clubs or after-school activities, tutoring sessions, and classrooms during the day. A student mentor is expected to meet certain standards related to their attitude, organizational skills, and willingness to take initiative. “Mentors need to be patient and willing to explain things several ways or times. They are willing to assist the teachers when additional help is needed, read tests, take notes, and work with students who have been absent. They are role models both in and out of the classroom,” says Denise Schindler, one of the sponsors for the A+ program. Students at Ritenour High School are gaining a lot from their experience as mentors, and it has allowed them to connect much better with
their peer mentees. Senior Dakota Wagster serves as a Student as Mentor for math teacher Danielle Swallow’s class. “Mentoring has helped me become closer with some students that I didn’t know very well, and I’ve also gotten to meet new people since I’m in the classroom so often. It’s been a great way to open up,” Wagster said. Along with the current student mentors, there are also other students lined up to volunteer their time for second semester. They have been chosen by teachers who believe they are qualified and experienced in the area they have been assigned to work in. These students are anxious to fulfill their future duties as a student mentor. “I will most likely be mentoring in a freshman music class, and I think I’m going to enjoy sharing my skills with the students. I’m confident in my abilities as a musician in band, so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” senior Kylon Taylor said. The student mentoring program is an efficient way for students to learn and improve when a teacher may be too busy to meet with every individual. Students find it easier to ask questions and seek guidance from someone closer to their age who they can connect with on a more personal level than
Catalina Mundin Senior Sydney Coleman helps freshman Trinity Jones in Molly Dahlquist’s English class. Coleman is a Student as Mentor this semester, which allows her to serve as another mentor in the room for younger students.
their authority figures. “Students can really benefit from having a peer influence. They often have difficulty believing what an adult is
saying because they are older and don’t understand the pressures of being a teenager today. Students can relate more with their mentors. They are more familiar
with their stories and feel comfortable talking with them,” math teacher Jennifer Montgomery said.
Classroom of the month - AMPED DEPARTMENT: Math CLASSES: AMPED WHAT MAKES THESE CLASSES UNIQUE: Students in this class learn about merchandising, entrepreneurship and design. They learn about Algebra I, and put their learning into practical effect by doing things like making t-shirts and banners for clubs around school.
Freshman Anthony Darevsky “It is math, but it is like using the actual math for business. I think it is fun because you get to make legitimate money and run a legitimate business. It is not something that is just getting you to do math.”
Trystan Bell
The role of learning in the grading system Students and staff discuss how they navigate learning new material while getting good grades By FAITH CURD Pepper Box Staff The standard high school movie presents a consistent picture of students; they are always under a lot of stress, whether it be from grades, sports, clubs, or jobs, they must find a way to somehow incorporate all of these things into their daily schedule. From a young age students are taught the importance of getting good grades. They’re told if they don’t get outstanding grades, they won’t succeed at life. At such a young age, this is a lot of information to take in. The school system is based on letter grades. However, students say that the grading system could make it easier for them to just find answers and get their grade, rather than focus on learning the material. Sophomore Taitum Curd notices this problem and has identified solutions which
teachers can make. “Learning the material is, to me, the most important. The method of learning is how we apply things to life. But we don’t learn anymore. I usually just get assigned fill-in-the-blank worksheets on Google Classroom, and it’s so tempting to just look up the answers and get the good grade easy. I wish that teachers would do more than just post something on Google classroom, like talk us through a lesson with examples,” Curd said. Curd believes that if students saw the true beauty in learning and how it benefits them, they might be inclined to actually want to learn. To get to this point, though, teachers must make an effort on that part. In an article by educator Alfie Kohn in Education Leadership, Kohn wrote that if schools push for putting number and letter scores on everything, that it devalues
the idea of actually learning material. He argued that it can lead to a reduction of student interest in learning, restrict students from taking risks in their assignments, and stop students from actually thinking while completing work. Social Studies teacher Catherine Lampshire believes that there can be both authentic learning and critical thinking, while also working towards good grades. “What teachers try to do when they engage students in class with assignments of all levels is assist students in acquiring skills and information they need to become better at both, learning and thinking critically. Learning, learning to critically think, and completing assignments for grades are not mutually exclusive,” Lampshire said. “Every day, in many ways, and for the rest of our lives we will be evaluated in one
way or another. It may be a paycheck, an allowance, a smile, or even grades, but each day we enter in hundreds of transitions, how we behave or what we produce or are willing and not so willing to do in order to obtain a specific outcome.” Senior Craig Thomas says that students don’t always see this, and they think all that matters is what a student does during a quiz or exam and nothing else. “I do think that learning should be more important. Yes, the transcript is what carries us throughout the remainder of high school and college, but what happens if when you get to college, you have all these good grades, but no knowledge to show for it?” Thomas said. Junior Skyler Faupel believes that sometimes students just become statistics without any individuality. She believes that individuality is more important than an ACT
score. “I feel like both are pretty important. The grade sticks with you on your record forever, but the material is what you’ve learned from the class. We care more about grades than we do our personal growth. Especially if we’re in all of these extracurriculars, we don’t have the time to sit down and actually learn from our homework at night,” Faupel said. It is ultimately up to students to determine what they want out of a class; whether the grade is as important or more than the material they are learning. “Learning and critical thinking come from doing. Grades are achieved from doing. So put down the iphones and close the extra tabs on your chromebook and do. Do learning. Do critical thinking. Do what needs to be done to get the grades do you can do your life,” Lampshire said.
Page 7
Spotlight
November 2018
Ritenour robotics shows off their work year round The robotics team members give back to their community through the help of their robots By PIERRE BROWN The Pepper Box Staff The Ritenour robotics team is known for their designs pertaining to the various charity events around their community, where they combine their love of robotics and charity. Partnering with their local McDonalds, they are planning to create a robot that will drive around at Children’s Hospital and deliver toys to the kids around the hospital. “We aren’t sure if it’s happening yet but if it does, we are hoping to build a robot that’ll drive around and deliver toys to kids”, sophomore Ariana Anderson said. As of right now the children’s hospital event is just an idea, but Senior Tai Huynh says that they’ve already
management at McDonald’s since they boosted their sales as well. “It was amazing to see so many people interested in our robotics team and our school. A lot of parents and kids were really interested, and we’ve built a nice relationship with the management at McDonald’s since we boost their sales as well,” Huynh said. During the Back-to-School Bash, the team created a smaller demonstration robot made from parts of last year’s competition. The idea was to give the community and students an insight on what the team does. “People seemed to really enjoy the cute aesthetics of the tiny robot”, Huynh says. “They’ve also done this kind of event during E-Week, STEAM Night, and 8th-grade night, which are all held at the high school.” The robotics team also partnered with Mehlville High School and other high schools to hold a canned food drive to raise food for the less fortunate. During this event the team was able to interact and build relationships Martin Trujillo with other schools and The robotics club allows a customer at McDonalds to operate their their robotics teams while robot. The group brought the robot to the McDonalds near the high collecting food. school on October 4 to serve customers as a fundraiser. Near the end of October, the team decided to partner their community, making take place in January. Last with Hoech Middle School a name for themselves. year, the team qualified for to start a “demo-testing” From canned food drives, to the state competition and program with one of their building robots to showcase received fourth place in their robots. The plan was to, once at events for their school, division. a month, take the robot to partnering with companies If the team qualifies again Hoech and allow the students and other schools to improve this year, they will return to drive and even break the their robot as well as helping to the state competition in robot, that way they are able their community. March to make adjustments and The robotics team is “Our seasons generally strengthen the robot before also working towards their never end,” Huynh said. competing competitions. qualifying events, which will Robotics stays active in
contacted their local McDonalds and have begun sketching the robot. In the past, the robotics team has collaborated with McDonalds and created a “RoboWaiter” and “HappyMealBot”. The RoboWaiter was a robot designed to drive around the restaurant and deliver food to customers inside, and the HappyMealBot, designed as a Happy Meal box, was created for the kids to drive around. This outreach event was held on October 4 to spread awareness of the STEM education at Ritenour High School and to raise money for the team. It was estimated that over 100 customers showed up in total and the robotics team may have even built a relationship with the
Victoria Taylor Senior Wei Tai works with a robot during Black and Orange Day in September. This is just one of the events where the robotics club shows off their work throughout the course of the school year.
Life skills classes help students prepare for the real world By JERSIE COX Pepper Box Staff From learning how to write to learning how to balance money, the Life Skills mentoring program gives students an extra boost with learning so they will come prepared for the outside world. Alissa Yakimov is one of the Life Skills teachers, and said that the group is learning skills that they will need before they leave the high school. The students involved in the program are those who require a smaller setting to learn, and who may learn more through one-on-on interactions. “Sometimes we have
students that can’t do things that others are able to do automatically, so we train them and teach them these skills so they will know before they get out to the real world,” Yakimov said. There are multiple classes, for the students to participate in. All of these courses help these students build up knowledge for them to become more independent. During freshman and sophomore year,the students are with teachers learning the basics of skills. Some students move up and become more independent and are able to help more throughout the school by doing things such as laundry and folding of clothes, or helping out in
another one of the programs out of school and more. “There is so much improvement from the kids from when they first come to our program verses when they leave our program,” Yakimov says The students are able to be interactive and do things such as walk up to the Schnucks by the school for food shopping, and then learn how to cook. “We walk to the Schnucks and teach the kids how to go food shopping, then we teach them how to cook simple meals like quesadillas and sometimes the kids are really generous and they make food for the teachers, which is really heartwarming. The kids are just really big helpers,”
Yakimov said. The Life Skills hall consists of multiple teachers, Each teacher has different roles that will help the students in need to have more skills for life. There are also core classes such as English, Math, Social studies etc, so the regular classes students take are the same classes that these students take, just more to their pace and level. Life skills teacher Marvin Moehle has worked at Ritenour for 16 years as a teacher in the program. “There used to be 6 or 7 worksites. I was hired for the worksite, but it has changed over time. They do a lot of things with math, cleaning, and all other things at places
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off campus,” Moehle said. “I like working directly with the kids. I’ve been here for 16 years and I love working with the kids and learning their personalities.” The students in life skills mentoring are very diverse and come from different backgrounds. They all learn and behave differently which makes them unique, As they get older and their potential shines more they will soon have enough skills to be able to do and participate strong tasks individually thanks to life skills mentoring. “People sometimes make judgments about this hallway, but this hall is no different than any other hall,” Yakimov said.
Sports
November 2018
Page 8
Coach Kennedy takes over girls basketball program Robert Kennedy comes to the high school from the St. Louis Surge semi-professional team By CAROLINE WONG The Pepper Box Staff As sports continue to progress into the winter, so does the recruitment of new coaches. This year, Ritenour recruited the new girls varsity basketball coach, Robert Kennedy. Kennedy grew up in a small town in Venice, Ill. He attended Venice High School and transferred to Madison High School where he later graduated. After graduating, Kennedy went on to play basketball in college while attending Mineral Area Community College and later, Murray State University. “I played basketball professionally for the Memphis Blues, a semi-pro league in Memphis, Tenn.” Kennedy said. Along with playing for the Memphis Blues basketball league, Kennedy holds
substantial experience in basketball. This includes an overseas contract to play in Ponte De Sor, Portugal and Shanghai, China. Coaching also plays a vital part of experience in Kennedy’s life. “I started off coaching for the same program I played for when I was a kid, the St. Louis Eagles.” Kennedy said. “I have been coaching in the program for six years and counting.” Kennedy also holds experience in coaching at Hazelwood East High for four years, Madison High School for one year, and is currently coaching for St. Louis Surge Women’s Professional Basketball Team. “Basketball as a whole, whether I am watching, coaching, or being a student of the game, is what I’m always doing,” Kennedy said. Assistant varsity girls basketball coach Marsha Rozelle is in her fifth year
coaching basketball for Ritenour. Even though she has not known Kennedy for very long, Rozelle is very confident in his ability to coach this years season. “From the little that I know of the new coach, I can tell he has high expectations and will give his all and best,” Rozelle said. Rozelle believes he will bring valuable knowledge and experience that he is bringing to the program. “I expect good things from him as he learns about our girls and their skill set,” Rozelle said. With the knowledge, experience, and a good mindset, Kennedy expects that the Lady Huskies will work extremely hard during the season and work together all season long. “I just expect the studentathletes to just trust us as the coaches help them become great on and off the court,”
Ron Steinschriber Sophomore Amiya Clark swims in a meet last season. Clark and sophomore Jayden Frost are both returning All-Conference swimmers.
Kennedy said. Senior Adreona McCraw is one of the top leaders on the basketball team. With an upcoming fourth year of basketball experience at Ritenour, McCraw also expects to have a successful season, especially with the new coach. “I have met Coach Kennedy.” McCraw said. “He is definitely a great coach. He is pushing us to be great”.
The girls varsity basketball team’s first home game is on Thursday December 6 against Hazelwood West. With the background and experience Kennedy holds, he is confident in this year’s team. “I am very excited in the direction that this program is going. With hard work and dedication, this could be something special,” Kennedy said.
Athletes continue training after their seasons end Ritenour athletes play for club or AAU teams in the offseason to keep improving year round By MIA NORMAN The Pepper Box Staff Club teams play a huge role in the improvement of many athletes here at Ritenour. Most athletes not only devote time to play on our teams during the season, but they also join club teams after the season is over. These athletes choose to join a club team outside of Ritenour once the season is over because it is helpful to them in many ways. It gives each athlete more opportunities for improvement, as well as experience and extra practice. Many of the athletes feel
that playing on a club team is a good opportunity to experience something different when it comes to their sport. Varsity volleyball player Ava Biesterfeld enjoys playing on a club team because it has given her the opportunity to work with new teams and new people. “The best thing about playing for a club team is that you get to continue your sport even (after the end of the high school) season and you get to work with different people and different teams,” Biesterfeld said. Athletes who play for club teams are able to get connected with different
people than they are used to, who also enjoy the sport. Meeting different athletes from different schools and programs is a chance for the athletes here at Ritenour to gain more experience and teamwork skills. ”Because I played club I got a whole lot more experience, especially playing with different people,” Biesterfeld said. Playing for club is also a different experience for the athletes because club teams and club practices are often structured differently than school teams and practices. Swimmer Alyssa Lane has seen that the focus on a club team tends to be different
than the focus on the teams here at Ritenour. “On a club team, the coaches really focus on technique and helping you as an individual,” Lane said. During club, the athletes get a chance to work on the things that they specifically need improvement on. They are able to get more feedback from other coaches and often a greater push to improve. “I have met a lot of new people and I can see different teaching techniques from other coaches,” Lane said. As well as having a different focus when it comes to the improvement of an individual, the practice structure of a club team
is often different from the school teams. Soccer player Brian Bautista has been given the opportunity to learn different drills and work on new skills through playing for club. “For club we do more drills, more running, and we work on footwork,” said Bautista Overall, many athletes enjoy playing for club because it is less structured and a lot less pressure, so they are really able to just have fun. “I would say it is a lot less strict, it’s not so stressful,” said Biesterfeld.
2018 Winter Sports Preseason Capsules Swimming • • •
• RHS Athletics Sophomore Amiya Clark swims in a meet last season. Clark and three other swimmers are returning AllConference swimmers.
Coach Andrea Rivera 2017-2018 Record: 6-9 Top Returners: Senior Lexy Alanis had an injury that ended her season but we are anxious for her return. Junior Alyssa Lane, Sophomores Jayden Frost and Amiya Clark all earned All Conference honors as last year and we are happy to have them back as experienced leaders. Coach Rivera’s expectations for the season: “We are in a new conference this year, which was very successful for boys’ swimming, so we are hoping for similar results with the girls’ team.”
Wrestling • • •
•
RHS Athletics • Sophomore Brandon Lock hooks arms with an opponent last year.
Coach Dean Cochran 2017-2018 Record: 7-7 Top Returners : Anthony Chrunn, Nataneal Mendez Torres, Cordan Hampton, Gavin Ross, Devin Busch, Brandon Lock,Noah Royal, Geraldine Flores, Juzaya Scott, and Kayla Baker. Top Newcomers: Tyler Grayson, Richard McNary, Ahmond Oates, Justin Teoli, Koreon Harris, Sam Jordan, Oswald Lopez,Josh McClelland, Taylor Engelmeyer, Coach Cochran’s expectations for the season: “We expect to have four state qualifiers for the season. Our greatest expectation is to fill the room with veteran wrestlers who can lead the way for the younger wrestlers and instill in them the Ritenour wrestling tradition. Go Huskies.”
Boys Basketball • • •
• •
RHS Athletics Senior Jordan Holmes takes a jump shot during a game last season. Coach Nelke listed him as a key returner this season.
Coach Mike Nelke 2017-2018 Record: 13-14 Top Returners: We have some seniors who are returning from last year Da’mon Sanders, Darrell Bolden, and Jordan Holmes. Top Newcomers: We have a lot of new players Coach Nelke’s Expectations for the season: “I think we will be very competitive, I think we will be very tough to beat and when teams play us they will notice they are in for a battle so I am really looking forward to this year. We are going to fill some pieces with some guys who do not have a lot of varsity experience, but a lot of skill.”
Girls Basketball • • • •
• RHS Athletics Senior Adreona McCraw drives against Rockwood Summit last season. She is one of a few returning players from last year’s varsity team.
Coach Robert Kennedy 2017-2018 Record: 11-14 Top Returners: Adreona McCraw SR. Nature Frost SR. Jasmine Logan SR. Brooke Madison JR. Top Newcomers: We have a lot of freshman that will be good. Freshman Niya Spann has good upside with good development she will help this program. Coach Kennedy’s expectations for the season: “My expectations for this season is for these girls to be great in the classroom because being a student comes first. When it comes to basketball my expectations for these girls will be to get better everyday at your craft, work hard, and be a great teammate.”