Volume 6 Issue 1

SEPT. 2020, VOL. 6, ISSUE 1

THE CHARIOT TROY HIGH STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Students react to the first week of school - page 4

The junior material distribution on Thursday, Sept. 10

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR FIRST NEWSLETTER! PAGE

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The Chariot

The Chariot Mission Statement The Chariot is a student-produced news publication that publishes information relevant to the times as well as material that is essential to the overall well-being of its readers. It is The Chariot’s responsibility to cover school, city, state, national and international events and issues that affect the concerns of the campus, its students and its readers.

The Chariot operates as a designated public forum for student expression. The Editorial Board, consisting of student editors, is the sole decision-making and policysetting body of The Chariot and has final say over all content decisions.

Opinions expressed in letters to the editors represent those of the author. Letters to the editors should be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s name, signature and class or position. Names of individuals may be withheld upon request, pending a vote of the Editorial Board. Letters may be submitted via email at troychariot@gmail.com. All letters are subject to review by the Editorial Board. Letters will not be edited except to fix space limitations. Should the Editorial Board deem a letter to be potentially libelous or containing content inappropriate for publication, it will be returned to the author with an opportunity for corrections. The Editorial Board is solely responsible for these decisions.

The Chariot’s purpose is to be the voice of the school. Its purpose is to shed light on groups and people that are not often discussed while bringing news that is important to the community.

THE VOICE OF TROY HIGH. WE SEE YOU. WE HEAR YOU. WE GET YOU.

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A Word from Our Editors

Dear Readers, Last year we had the opportunity to make traditional newspapers and pass each issue out during class. This year we’re trying something new. Due to the fact that we are undergoing virtual learning, we have decided to make a newsletter via email. This gives us the freedom and space to be creative. This is the first time we will be making an online newsletter and experimenting with the new structure online. Although this is new, we can assure you that we will try our hardest to bring you something great to read, as you sip your morning coffee.

Something else we are trying this year, we are now accepting contributors! Anyone can have the chance to possibly be in our newsletter. You can submit stories, articles, graphics, photos, etc. We are excited to see what great addition you could make to The Chariot!

Last year, we didn't get to do as many podcasts as we wanted. We hope to give our readers something to listen to as well! We also didn’t do fundraising. This year, we will be trying to do as much fundraising as we can, following precautionary safety measures. We are going to be trying many new things this year and we hope you can ride along with us for the journey. We are The Chariot, the Troy High student newspaper.

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How was the first week of school?

Many students have been wondering what the 2020-2021 school year would look like. While most were expecting to return in the fall, some said we might never again see the lockers we never used.

Now that the school year has started, The Chariot asked students how the first week of online learning went.

By: Andy DeGrand// Print Editor-in-Chief Tim Weaks “I don’t love or hate virtual learning because I’m more of an auditory and visual learner anyways so I’m indifferent to being hands on or not.”

Sai Upparapalle “I like that I can sleep in a little more and study comfortably.”

Sabreen Sais “I like it because I have less anxiety than usual. And I like being able to have longer breaks and at home in my room.”

Sally Craig “Teachers were way more prepared for this new technology challenge.”

Rebekah Cummings “It’s nice, just a little hard because all my siblings are on at the same time.

Break out rooms can be tough to cause sometimes people don’t want to talk.”

Jessica Green "It’s not good for us to sit in a seat for 95 minutes starring at a screen."

Rachel Stroia “I like it so far. I seem to focus better now that I don’t really have many distractions around me, and I feel like I can take more take to learn and do my homework since we have three classes a day instead of six, it’s a more manageable workload”

June Tegge “I kinda like online learning because it’s very similar to in school learning just in your own room. I miss being with my friends though.”

Veronica Tananko "It’s taking a bit of time getting used to the different curriculum, but so far it’s been alright.”

Abigail Rizk “I don’t really like it because learning from home is more difficult. There are distractions everywhere and it’s not the same as being in a classroom with face to face instruction.

Abby Werenka “It went better than I was expecting. I was ready for all sorts of tech issues. Between in person schooling or virtual learning I prefer in person learning. But virtual learning is the safest option right now, and safety should be the number one priority. It’s not what we wanted, but we made our beds, and we have to sleep in them.”

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FACE TO FACE The

Troy

School

transition

to

District

hybrid

announces

model

in

an

plan

to

email.

Since the transition to virtual learning in mid-March due to the coronavirus, for many students school hasn’t been the same. Now rise hybrid learning, a supposedly safe and inclusive system of learning that will, hopefully, not suppress those that choose to stay online but let those who want to go to school, go to school. As written in an email on Monday, Sept. 14, , Kerry Birmingham, director of Communications & Strategic Initiatives, states the districts plan to reopen.

This information will simply allow us to know—in a broad sense—approximately how many students we will need to prepare for in-seat and how many students we will need to plan for remotely for the very beginning of our transition plan,” Birmingham said.

Although explicit dates have not yet been given, the district expresses the reasoning for the upcoming return plan.

"When we made the difficult decision to begin the school year in a 100% virtual model, the data trends on COVID-19 in our area had become significantly worse from June (when we first surveyed parents) through mid-August,” Birmingham said. “... In the last three weeks, the trend lines have declined or held steady and are within thresholds for managing community spread. The health department has created reporting methods and protocols for positive cases and helped us to address potential scenarios.”

With all these changes to school and education many are unsure of what is to come. More information will come in the near future.

By Vanisa Kumar// Business Editor PAGE 5

If you plan to participate, please email your address at troychariot@gmail.com PAGE 6

Thanks for reading!

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