SPRING RESET
YOUNG LEADERS
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
The arrival of spring has pushed students towards self improvement
The cast of the spring musical has been preparing for the performance
SPOTLIGHT Pg. 4-5
SPOTLIGHT PG. 6
A group of six juniors begin their third season of varsity soccer
SPORTS Page 8
THE PEPPER BOX RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL
ISSUE 6, VOLUME 97
9100 ST. CHARLES ROCK ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63114
MARCH 2020
Four staff members return to work after maternity leave Three teachers and one principal are adjusting to their new work and life balance after having babies AUSTYN ELLIOTT Pepper Box Staff
principal position on March 2, said she has had a wonderful time just focusing At Ritenour, three teachers on her family. and one assistant principal “I thought a lot about were on maternity leave this school frequently in the school year. Each one of beginning, and often towards them had their own unique the end of leave. I am experience. happy to come back, though Maternity leave is when spending time with my an expecting mother stops newborn, Loralei, has been working because she is fantastic, and I wish I had about to have a child. A even more time with her,” study conducted by Society Schulte said. for Human Resource In addition to spending Management found that 60% time with her daughter, of employees were given up to Schulte also has been 12 weeks for maternity leave communicating with another and 33% of employers have teacher who was on leave. allowed more than twelve “I have been weeks. Some mothers on communicating with other maternity leave do not get staff members, especially paid for the time missed at (Christina) Melly who had a work. In the United States, baby the same week as I had only 58% of mothers on Loralei,” Schulte said. leave actually still receive a For Melly, most of paycheck while they are out. December and January have Dr. Lindsay Schulte, who been a blur. came back to her assistant “I was so busy trying to figure out how to keep this tiny human alive; whether he is getting enough to eat, how to help him sleep. There were a lot of days at the start when all I ate were granola bars because I was learning how to manage this new person,” Melly said. Melly had plenty of 2 a.m. wakeups where she often thought of school. While she did have some concerns about coming back, she was also very optimistic. “There was some worrying Photo courtesy: Lindsay Schulte about how I would shift back Assistant Principal Dr. Lindsay into school full-time. Every Schulte poses with her once in a while, someone daughter Loralei. would email me and need
information or a favor (like a letter of recommendation or something), so I tried to help with that as I was able,” Melly said. While Melly was out, Reading Specialist Elizabeth Kelly helped her out by giving her advice, keeping her in the loop of school, and giving Melly onesies for her son, Oliver. Kelly had twins in May, giving her more time to connect with both of her sons over the summer. “Maternity leave allowed me to bond with my newborns and let my body heal. The first few months home with the twins were very busy. I only got to sleep for 45 minutes at a time, about three times a day for the first three weeks or so,” Kelly said. “When I got a little more sleep, it was not much. It would have been impossible to work, so I was thankful for the time off.” At two months old, one of the twins had open heart surgery because he had been born with a CHD (congenital heart defect). A congenital heart defect is when there are problems with the structure of the heart. It was a difficult situation for Kelly and her husband because of the pain their son had gone through. “It was extremely hard for my husband and I to watch our little baby go through this, but we had an excellent surgery team at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. I had to stay home with him until he was completely
Photo courtesy: Christina Melly English teacher Christina Melly had her first child, Oliver, in November of last year. She and Dr. Schulte both returned to school on March 2, and communicated with each other during their leave.
recovered and was able to attend daycare,” Kelly said. “Today, he is doing extremely well, and was actually the first of the twins to start crawling.” Orchestra teacher Julianna Campbell also experienced some health issues, which affected both her baby and herself. “During the pregnancy, I was really sick. After that, the baby had health issues. Everyone was saying ‘oh it’s your third baby, third babies are always harder on your body,’” Campbell said. After coming back to school, Campbell said she was able to pick up from where she left off. “I tried to make sure all assignments were put on Google Classroom before I left. I had a really awesome sub who was able to do all the music stuff, all the concerts, she did a really great job,”
Campbell said. “Coming back was easy, I did not have to catch them up to where they should be. I just stepped in and took over from where they should have been.” All of these new moms have returned to school and are now managing their new life situation. Schulte and Melly leaned on each other during their time outside of school and plan on continuing the relationship. “Dr. Schulte and I text each other when we aree up at night with Loralei and Oliver. Since the babies are almost exactly the same age, we have had some struggles and bright moments in common,” Melly said. “It makes an incredible difference to share the experience with someone else. We can celebrate together, and also know we are not on our own in the tough times.”
Ritenour School District proposes Proposition S on the April 7 ballot The new proposition would allow the district to update site and safety features to all of its buildings KAITLYN BROOMFIELD Pepper Box Staff Coming to the voting ballot on April 7 is Proposition S. Proposition S plans to bring in money that the district can use for maintenance and safety in every school. “Proposition S is a $19.5 million bond issue that is being placed on the April 7 ballot. Money from bond issues can only be used for capital expenses, such as major maintenance, repairs, renovations, and equipment. Voter approval would allow Ritenour to address pressing facility needs at all elementary and middle schools and Ritenour High School,”
IN THIS ISSUE
Director of Operations Michael Smith said. If the vote passes, the district plans to borrow $19.5 million in a bond issue. The money will go toward repairing and maintaining schools within the Ritenour district as well as helping secure them. With this change, the tax rate would not increase, but the bond will be repaid using already set taxes. “We need to keep our learning environment safe for teachers, students, and staff. A bond issue provides money without raising the tax rate,” board member Dr. Stacy Albin-Wilson said. What brought about this proposition was the
maintenance of the Ritenour district buildings, especially due to the average age of most schools. “The average age of Ritenour schools is 50 years. Our buildings are safe and well constructed, but require extensive ongoing maintenance, repair, and renovation just like our homes,” Smith said. Not only would this bond issue improve the schools within the Ritenour district, but the community along with it. “By properly reinvesting in the buildings, it stabilizes and improves the property value of the homes and business property that are within the boundaries of the Ritenour
WORD ON THE R
VOTING AGE
THE THEMES OF SPRING
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School District,” AlbinWilson said. Many of the proposed plans will affect areas of the high school, as well as other buildings throughout the district. “With voter approval, we will be able to complete important maintenance projects that are currently outside of our budget,” Smith said. “The scope of work includes adding a weight room and wellness center at RHS, safety and security upgrades, heating/cooling system repair/replacement, playground pad replacement, cafeteria upgrades, asphalt repair, and other projects.” In order for this
proposition to be passed the approval vote will have to be over half. “Passage of Proposition S requires a 57.14% yes vote. Students that are 18 are encouraged to register to vote.” Smith said. The goal of this bond issue is to ensure that the Ritenour district is a safe place for everyone in it and the board believes that this bond issue will help that goal. “In the Ritenour School District, we have many buildings that require expensive maintenance, replacement, or repairs. In the long run, we need to have safe buildings that are ready for students to learn,” AlbinWilson said.
PHANTOM OF MARCH MADNESS SPRING SPORTS THE OPERA NETFLIX PROFILES ORAL HISTORY TOURNAMENT PAGE 6
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