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ART COURTESY OF Aussie Lura Aussie Lura launches their own

Etsy Shop, selling art stickers @AussieTaylorArts

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Cole Miller is the only sophomore as varsity season begins

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THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 18, 2022

Animal shelters are full after a decrease in pandemic adoptions

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February 21

Student Holiday

March 11

End of the Third Nine Weeks

March 14-18

Spring Break

April 1

Student Holiday Vol. 34, Issue 4 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX, 78749

Pride in Publishing OMICRON OUTBREAK CONTINUES

New Omicron COVID-19 variant creates a surge in case numbers in Travis County

Arushi Sharma Editor-in-Chief

Cases were rising. The classrooms were basically empty. Several teachers and staff members were absent from school. After winter break, students and staff expected to return to their normal school schedule, with COVID restrictions, but quickly learned that the new semester had not followed their assumptions. As the number of Omicron cases skyrockets, with over 3,000 cases in Austin per day, disruption of 'normality' continues to occur. “My classes have been depleted because of Omicron,” English teacher Judd Pfeiffer said. “Most infected students are missing at least a full week. Trying to get so many students caught up is extremely challenging. Teachers are spending a great deal of time communicating with absent students and providing them with as many resources as possible.” Senior Lizzie Jensen started her first day of the second semester scared for her health. She had never experienced anything like this before. Although she was fully vaccinated, boosted, and had been wearing her mask in public, Jensen tested positive for COVID-19’s Omicron variant a few days after New Year’s Day. “A week before I got COVID-19, I found out that my lung capacity was below 60%, meaning that my lungs aren’t growing,” Jensen said. “My doctor had told me that if I were to catch an infectious disease like COVID-19 it would be a lot harder to deal with. Thankfully, because of the vaccine, my symptoms weren’t as bad as I had expected and I was able to come back to school after a week.” In an article by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting sick with COVID-19 can offer some protection from future illness, or “natural immunity,” but the level of protection people get from having COVID-19 may vary depending on how mild or severe their illness was, the time since their infection, and their age. “I’m not vaccinated, and I don’t plan on getting the vaccine in the foreseeable future,” senior Kaelie Douglass said. “I already have significant natural immunity from early August and I hold intervention treatments, or supplements such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc and fostering an overall healthy lifestyle as more effective methods in aiding my body's ability to fight infection.” Aside from several missing students, Bowie and other schools in the Austin Independent School

District (AISD) have been facing substitute teacher, bus driver, and custodian shortages. With the absence of staff, it has been difficult for the administration to keep the school running smoothly this semester, causing students to miss out on learning and working.

“We’ve been fortunate that not many teachers have needed to be out because of COVID compared to other schools in the district,” assistant principal Whitney Black said. “Ms. Brett has constantly been working to get people to cover classes because AISD doesn’t have enough substitute teachers to cover the whole district at the moment.”

In addition to AISD’s COVID-19 protocols, such as sanitizing the classrooms each day, screening and temperature checks, and mask mandates, AISD has created a ‘Contact Tracing’ system. The system works with assigned seating in each classroom to send out a notification to students and staff members when an individual who notifies the school tests positive for COVID-19.

“Contact tracing doesn’t assist in preventing the spread, because if someone tests positive, that means they might have already spread it to people because they were around people and carrying the virus before getting tested,” senior Austin Dalbey said. “They don’t need a school-issued notification that someone else is sick to know that they are sick.”

According to AISD, fully COVID-19-vaccinated people (two weeks after the second dose in a 2-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson) per CDC guidelines will not need to quarantine if they come in close contact with someone who tests positive.

“I think that contact tracing is intended to be effective, but it’s very difficult to moderate tracing for so many students in such a big school,” math teacher Sophie Lloyd said. “I believe that Bowie’s trying its best to enforce as many rules to protect students and staff members, but maybe there could be something more effective.”

Despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order regarding masks in schools, AISD Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde has continued to require masks in all AISD buildings. While other school districts have made the mask policy optional as the school year continued, Elizalde has remained firm in her stance on masks. READ MORE “COVID-19 Cases Surge” pg. 2

ART BY Isabella del Nido

Anticipating low temperatures and a potential freeze

Amilia Velez Dispatch Reporter

Last winter, Texas was devastated by an unexpected winter storm. Record low temperatures and severe snowfall swept the state and left many citizens unprepared and stripped of resources.

February 11, 2021 through February 20, 2021 was a difficult time for many Texans. According to the Texas Tribune, over 10 million people lost electricity and water, including sophomore Emma Munsinger.

“The winter storm was hard on my family; we lost electricity and water for a few days,” Munsinger said. “My house was really cold and I wasn't able to shower. Going to the grocery store was a challenge and we ran out of many essentials such as dog food.”

A snowstorm of this magnitude had never occurred in Texas and the pipes were not prepared for the freeze. According to ABC, the power outages along with freezing temperatures caused pipes all around the state to burst, plummeting pressure and draining reserves. Losing water was devastating for many people including senior Kyla Ferrante.

“For my family, our power went out originally and then was sporadic, '' Ferrante said. “It came on every five hours and then turned off, kind of like rolling blackouts. We also lost water for around a week and not being able to shower or cook was difficult. Our only source of heat was the fireplace so we cuddled up by the fireplace playing board games because that's all we could do.”

The Texas winter storm was costly due to infrastructure damage and power loss. According to the National Weather Service,

THREE TIPS TO PREPARE YOURSELF FROM A WINTER STORM

COVER YOUR PLANTS KEEP YOURSELF

INFORMED

DRIP YOUR FAUCETS

ART BY Amilia Velez this was potentially the most costly weather disaster for the state of Texas in history, surpassing even Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Texas can not afford to lose this much money again and being prepared in case of another storm is essential.

“Since winter storms are so unpredictable, I think Texas should be prepared for anything,” Munsinger said. “Having salt available for roads and maybe even snowplows would ensure safety while driving.”

On a local level, another winter storm would be disastrous for Bowie. Last year's storm has had lasting effects on the pipes and plumbing. With these issues revealing months after the storm, there's no telling what damage another storm could cause.

“I don't think Bowie is prepared for another winter storm,” Ferrante said. “We have really bad plumbing so if it happened again, I think all their pipes would freeze and they would break again.”

Climate change has caused unusual weather patterns all around the world. According to the Texas Tribune, the winter of 2021 was both the coldest and warmest winter in Texas. Many people are noticing the unusual changes including Bowie science teacher Dane Smith.

“Climate change seems to have made winter weather in the South and Southeast more variable,” Smith said. “Whenever I talk to the older members of my family, they note the strangeness of going from the upper 70's one day to below freezing the next.”

With Texas weather changing constantly it is unclear whether we will experience another storm of this capacity. This dilemma has caused much speculation from Bowie students as they attempt prepare for any uncertainties that can occur.

“I do think there might be another winter storm around mid-February, but hopefully Texas is more prepared,” Ferrante said.

In case Texas does have another winter storm, being prepared is important for everyone's safety. A CNN news report recommends tips such as stocking up on food and fresh water, letting your faucets drip to avoid freezing, and staying informed on the latest news.

“My family bought more covers to put over your outside water sources and more tarps for our plants so they don't freeze,'' Ferrante said.