UNCAGED V25 Edition 1

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UNCAGED

HERE & UNPREPARED Outside looking in: Students express frustration over discrepancies between their knowledge and the grade level expectations

The independent student voice of stockbridge high school|Volume 25|Edition 1|stockbridge, mi|nov 2021

In this edition, we report on the state of affairs for teens in a pandemic.

FRONT PAGE CONTENTS & ART. COVER DESIGN AND PHOTO ILLUSTRATION KAITELYN WALKER COVER MODEL BROOKLYN ROCHOW

Too fast.

Unprecendented: an overused phrase to describe our times.

Yet, here we are, scrambling to normal standards in a time that has never been known before. Where is the stop button? Our coursework hasn’t slowed down and our expectations remain as they always were. We are here but we are unprepared fall all that is expected. In this edition we will be asking teens how they are coping with the shocking speed of life after a year and a half slow

Chicken watch: the plot chickens MAGGIE MAXWELL. Reporter In Timothy Salow’s agriculture class, some new classmates have joined, and they’re not like the others.

Twenty-five baby chickens have been introduced to the class to be studied this semester.

Through Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Townline Hatcheries, these chickens were brought to Stockbridge along with hundreds of other agriculture classes across the country.

This breed, called a Ross 708, are meat birds designed specifically for

learning opportunities for students in agriculture classes and similar classes, as well as competition.

After 3 weeks, the chickens have doubled, perhaps even tripled, in size, and have started growing in their adult feathers.

They are on the right track for proper growth and maturity.

This development to our plot will benefit agriculture greatly so the poultry can be shown at competition.

“We will raise them for about 7 weeks, get them plumped up and then take them

to competition in November.” Kalysta Connolly, a student in the class, said.

The chickens, which will be staying at the student’s houses for routine care, will be the biggest project of this semester.

Students will learn about how to care for poultry, how to monitor the growth and development of the chickens, and learn about their anatomy and physiology.

“They provide us with all of the biological functions to have, so they have circulatory, respiration, nervous

system, disease, care, nutrition, and handling,” Salow said.

Chickens, given that they grow quickly, should be fully grown by the time the semester ends.

“Chickens are a very short project, so it’s easy to do in school,” Salow said.

“They’re about a 7 week turnaround.”

This experience allows students to study the entire growth cycle of the chickens.

Uncaged will be reporting more on this story as the chicks begin to fly the coop.

NOVEMBER 6, 2021

OCTOBER 26, 2021

down. Maybe it’s time to press the brakes.

Justin Jaszkowski Kaitelyn Walker EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Uncaged is the student-run newspaper for the students of Stockbridge High School. An open forum for student expression, Uncaged provides independent reporting and opinion. Something to say? Letters to the editor must include the writer’s full name, cell phone number, and be 150 words or less in length.

Response to ideas presented through the newspaper and web are encouraged.

Letters are subject to editing and may not be anonymous or to third parties.

Leave letters in Elizabeth Cyr’s room #207 in the CTE hallway or email us at uncaged@panthernet.net.

Uncaged receives individual critique through state and national competition through various state and national organizations. Staff awards may be viewed at uncagednews.com in the About section.

ContentS Editor-in-Chief Kaitelyn Walker Web Editor Justin Jaszkowski Managing Editor Sam Aiken Social Media Kathryn Brumm Business Manager Gaven Numinen Creative Editor Olyvia Hoard

CONTACT US Stockbridge High School 416 N. Clinton Stockbridge, Mich. 49285 Adviser Elizabeth Cyr, Room 207 P: (517) 851-7770 E: uncaged@panthernet.net

NEWS

Staff Reporter Audrey Austin Staff Reporter Maggie Maxwell Staff Reporter Kaitlyn James Staff Reporter Gwen Rogozinski Staff Reporter Merle Wilson Staff Reporter Veronica Wilson Staff Reporter Lilly Williams

FIND US ONLINE AT Web: uncagednews.com Twitter: @uncagedshs Facebook: Uncaged Online Instagram: @uncagedstudentnews Snapchat: uncagednews #UareUncaged

Chickens in their smallest stage, which they don’t stay at for long, given their rapid development.

Chickens currently, reaching their mid-growth stage. Their adult feathers are growing in, and the baby fuzz molts.

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Is social media changing everything we once thought about relationships and our ability to communicate? Can we ever go back to normal?

Athletes are wrapping up fall sports, so you will a season roundup of how the teams performed, along with some of the ways the team members felt about their seasons.

The entertainment page is finally back after a dozen years. See if you can find the difference in the illustrations and identify the seniors in the baby photos. Do you think you are the first person to guess the seniors correctly? Follow the QR code for a chance to win a $5-15 gift card to Plane Food Market.

THE PANDEMIC CHANGED OUR MINDSeTS

UNCAGEDNEWS.COM | 2 | NOV 2021

Fall round-up: sports season final standing

the return of the game page

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Passing through Homecoming 2021 After two years of not having a normal school year or even having a homecoming that everyone could attend, students finally get the chance to celebrate.

AUDREY AUSTIN. Reporter

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Starting their run all the way in Saint Charles and running all the way back to Stockbridge, the Cross Country team pushed through to support the school for Homecoming.

“Though it was difficult and look a lot of endurance, the Homecoming run was really fun and was great for team building.” senior Ben Chapmen said.

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“Some of us were irritated by the rain, but not everyone. We had to walk all around town in the rain and play our instruments, and we had the ponchos that were in the way,” senior Grace Drier said.

“Regardless, we had an amazing time together.”

They played for the town in the parade, the game, in the bleachers and at halftime for the queens.

Through the rain, the band stuck together as a family to perform for their community.

Gathered in a huddle, the football and cross country team begin their prayer.

The goal was to bring closeness to the players, and good luck to win their game later on that night.

“I thought it was awesome, everybody was there supporting the team,” senior Drew Philipp said.

“We didn’t get to do it last year so there was a lot of excitement leading up to it.”

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After not having a pep assembly for almost 2 years students got together and cheered on the games with excitement like they did before.

“I think it was nice considering [all that has happened with] COVID. I didn’t think we were gonna have one and it was nice to have that experience for my senior year,” senior McKenzie Hatfield said.

The pouring rain became a light drizzle as the time on the scoreboard hit 0. The queens began to walk onto the field.

Eleven girls stood on the field waiting to hear who won. Finally, over the speakers, they announce Kaitelyn Walker.

“I had been outside all day with cross country so I was kind of used to the cold,” Walker said. “Being out there in the rain was definitely hard because you know, hair

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Future Farmers of America is a unique class to the high school. They were able to participate and make a float for the homecoming parade. “We all worked together really well as a team,” junior Hannah Marshall said.

“Personally, my favorite part of the parade was getting to interact with people in the community and getting to do something together as an official FFA chapter.”

and makeup and all that. But it definitely made me appreciate the fact that I could be there.”

“It feels good to win a game and have success. We didn’t give up, we pushed through and it means a lot to us and our fans,” senior wide receiver and defensive end Jeremy Pilch said. Slipping and sliding on the soaking field all night, they finally took the win against St. Charles High School.

PHOTOS SAMANTHA AIKEN AND GAVEN NUMINEN

NEWS

Rise in misinformation lowers trust In Media

Trust in American media has been low with 60% of Americans saying they had little or no trust in the year 2020 according to Gallup.

A factor in this is the rise of misinformation on social media sites like Facebook where, according to a poll, 29% of high school students get their news.

“It’s funny that most of my family members get into arguments on Facebook over stuff that’s not even true,” junior Alyssa VanHook said.

GWEN ROGOZINSKI. Reporter LILLY WILLIAMS. Reporter

83%

of students do not “believe most things you see on the media.”

60%

of Americans say they had little or no trust in the media in the year 2020.

Uncaged poll and Gallup

According to the Washington Post, misinformation on Facebook receives 6 times more interactions than factual news. According to an article posted to Forbes in February, Facebook has tried to combat this by pushing reliable

information and deleting millions of posts spreading misinformation on COVID-19.

Facebook recently decided to rebrand to Meta after a long history of controversies involving everything from privacy to misinformation.

This included not only a change in name but also a change in the logo that everyone has come to associate the social media with.

COVID-19 misinformation has been a large concern for many Americans with 74% of them being worried about finding reliable information in 2020 according to Statista.

“There are things that I do believe because I can look it up and see if it’s right,” senior Makayla Myers said, “But I think maybe 80% or 90% of information on social media isn’t true.”

Myers isn’t the only student who thinks this. According to a poll sent to gather information about students’ news consumption habits, 83% of students tend not to believe most of the information they see on social media.

“They’re not factual unless you actually do your research,”

junior Makayla Surline said.

The most popular news sources among students are TV news channels like FOX and CNN, with 57% of students indicating them as a source, and social media app Tik Tok with 43% of students gathering their news there.

“It’s really easy to give out misinformation on social media because it’s not a cited source,” Myers said, “It’s just what someone else is saying.”

The least popular news sources were newspapers with only 11% of students using them as a source and Snapchat with 18% of students getting news there.

Trust of the media is lower among Republicans than Democrats, with only 10% of Republicans claiming a high amount of trust in the media in 2020. This could be because of the great political divide that has been so prevalent in America in recent years.

The number of Democrats was much higher, with 73% of them trusting the mass media according to Gallup.

“I think society is very divided, especially in our school. You’re either very far

right or your very far left,” said Maddie Dalton, “The misinformation in the media really influences that because a lot of people are stupid enough to believe the lies.”

The trust may be low because 59% of Americans believe that most news sources are pushing an ideology or attempting to sway public opinion.

Many believe that news sources are focusing less on informing people and have instead prioritized pushing their ideas on their audience, according to Forbes.

A large number of high school students agree that sources attempt to convince people to believe the organization’s own ideas, with 88% of them answering this way in a poll. This could be a result of subconscious biases held by the writer.

“I feel like misinformation is the leading cause of political divide because if people were actually educated on the issues they were discussing they would realize there isn’t actually a divide at all,” VanHook said.

Social media causes student stress On October 26, a hearing was held by the U.S. Senate with YouTube, Tik Tok and Snapchat.

This action was due to the negative effects that social media has on young people.

Popular influencers and celebrities frequently use social media to showcase the more extravagant parts of their lifestyles to thousands, or even millions, of strangers online.

Many of the strangers that see this are teenagers.

Surveys by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Society indicate that 90% of kids between 13 and 17 have used social media.

“There are people who say their lives are all good and it’s not true,”

FEATURE

senior Nickole Mons said, “There’s gonna be bad things and it makes people feel bad about themselves.”

The pictures posted on sites like Instagram, which, according to Pew Research, is used by 72% of teenagers, can be easily edited to improve a person’s appearance which can then negatively impact the people that see them.

This posting of edited pictures can further enforce the societal view that people, especially young girls, have to look perfect at all times which causes issues with self esteem and feelings of inadequacy.

“A lot of people facetune their bodies and people think they should look like that but it’s not even real,” junior Jolie Smith said.

There have always been celebrities

and models that dominated the media, but it was easy to turn off the TV or throw away the magazine to shut them out.

Now, phones and social media have become an essential part of most people’s daily lives and it’s harder for people to turn away. They are something that people grow up with which isn’t something older generations had to deal with.

This could be one of the reasons why kids today seem to have so many more mental health problems than the generations that came before.

“A lot of people have social issues now and anxiety when they go out and talk to people,” freshman Clare Beutler said.

UNCAGEDNEWS.COM | 4 | Nov 2021

Anxiety in teenagers rose by 20% between 2007 and 2012 according to an article published by the Healthy Children organization.

Because it’s so easy to access, social media is an easy thing for people to become addicted to.

It is estimated by the addiction center that 5-10% of Americans are addicted to social media.

Social media can also negatively affect the physical health of students. According to Tech Prevue, the main reason for many teenagers sleep deprivation is social media.

Because it can be accessed so easily, social media is something young children have the ability to use without any supervision.

“Kids are experiencing more

adult things at a young age,” Smith said.

Because pretty much anything goes on the internet, these “adult things” could be anything from politics to extreme violence that could traumatize young minds and force them to grow up faster.

The parading of wealth and attractiveness is done most by the people with the most followers.

The more followers someone has, the more money they are able to make and in return the more they have to show off.

It’s a vicious cycle that lowers self esteem and raises the speed at which people feel they have to grow up.

LILLY WILLIAMS. Reporter

Students stress and the turn on the TV From the outside, Joseph Cool is just your ordinary high schooler. But, in all actuality, he has his struggles. Through days of arguments with friends, pressure for his future and the importunate feeling of his senior year creeping in, it is a lot for one teen to handle.

Cool tries to boost his GPA, a path that many students struggle with today.

Juggling all of his responsibilities and a social life in one go is quite a challenge.

“Everything has just been stacking up these past few weeks,” Cool said, “with drama in friendship, and stressing about what I’m going to do for the future.”

How does one in Cool’s situation deal with being pulled every which way? It has to do with coping.

With modern entertainment, people often turn to television for comfort from anxiety.

According to a survey, 81.8% of students have a

comfort show or movie.

But what is a comfort show or movie? Well, due to the word “comfort”, it means what you think.

It’s a piece of media that one consumes primarily when stressed, or sad. This piece of media can range from movies, to series, to even books or music. But the most common form is books or movies. Any media can be a comfort, but most prefer happy endings, compelling characters, and comedy.

“It’s got me going back through all the streaming services I have, and looking at all the shows I’ve watched,” Cool said.

“Mostly, I like the humor and how relatable some of the characters are or how relatable the topic of the episode is.”

Others may have a feeling of a break, a vacation from their worries when they watch comfort media. Many feel a sensation of relaxation while watching.

“They’re all happy and heartfelt. They’re not sad,” senior Sidney Gipe said.

“So, they kind of bring me a sense of joy—it’s not my life. It’s somebody else’s.

So, I get to take a break from mine.”

Adults watch comfort media, too. According to The Wall Street Journal, the number of streaming subscriptions in total reached 1.1 billion during the pandemic.

“It’s like what helps us escape, or kind of decompress from things that we’re dealing with in the moment,” counselor Keila Kilgore said. “So, I think that’s an option to just be able to escape a little bit, in a way.”

With many buying into comfort movies, shows, songs, games, and more, it’s no wonder so many people spend hours diving into Netflix or Hulu. Many have personal favorites.

“For movies it definitely has to be ‘Forrest Gump,’

‘The Longest Ride’ and ‘50 First Dates,’” Gipe said. For shows, she loves ‘Heartland.’

Others prefer cartoons, or even music-driven shows.

“I like the humor in ‘Gravity Falls’— it’s kind of a trip because I really got into the series,” Cool said. “‘Steven Universe’ is a good one, especially towards the later seasons.

And ‘Rick and Morty’ because of the comedy.”

And even Kilgore has her favorites.

“My kind of shows that I would watch would be things that have to do with travel, or fixing things up.

Maybe some shows that I might have watched as a kid that bring back some good memories.”

Whatever you prefer, from “Riverdale’ to “Saw,” media can make a huge difference in people’s everyday lives, and provide a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

KATHRYN BRUMM.

Social Media Editor

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Playing video games increases healthy brain stimulation

PHOTO SAMANTHA AIKEN

Senior Sam Nichols playing “Bloons Tower Defense” in the computer lab. Like 36% of the adolescent population, Nichols likes to play video games in her free time. “I play video games to just get away from life and to decompress when I’m anxious,” she said.

PHOTO JUSTIN JASZKOWSKI

After long durations of tireless gaming, when the crust begins to form in the corner of your eyes, there are two decisions to choose from: either to keep going, or to pause and resume at a different time. Playing video games non excessively can have some benefits like improved reaction times, brain stimulation and help students collaborate with others.

Video games have been a controversial topic for a long time on how they may affect physical and mental health or how they may affect a person’s social skills.

There are many opinions for and against video gaming.

Nonetheless, video games are very popular amongst people of all ages, but are especially popular among teens and students. In a survey of students, 91.5% responded that they play video games.

Lots of controversy swirls around whether video games are good or bad, and any benefits of video games are often ignored or are buried. Yet, benefits come along with playing video games that some might not even realize.

A study done on 33 Laparoscopic surgeons found that those who played video games were 27% faster and made 37% less mistakes than those who did not play. A better reaction time can help you make less mistakes when in serious or time sensitive situations.

Social anxiety can make it difficult for kids to start conversations with their peers or make friendships.

It has been found that talking with people over the mic reduces the anxiety-inducing part of making friends, but in some circumstances the social and

UNCAGEDNEWS.COM | 5 | Nov 2021

collaborative aspects of most games can improve those skills in school and other public settings. Even just the topic of video games can be an easy way to start or carry conversations.

Video games have made eighth grader Shelby Palmer more social when talking with new people. “Oh, yes, 100 percent,” Palmer said.

Gaming can be a perfect way for teens to destress from a long day at school or pass the time when there is nothing to do. Some games promote physical activity and/or getting outside, such as the popular game Pokemon Go, which was one of the most played interactive games in 2016.

Games similar to Tetris have been found to reduce stress and depression.

It has also been found that during collaborative gaming on online servers that most gaming groups even unite together to help each other with their real life problems, which can be very therapeutic.

Gaming can bring lots of benefits like reducing anxiety and stress, improve reaction times, and can make you more collaborative with your peers.

However, if the player spends an excessive amount of time on the game it could become harmful.

“When I don’t have time to like, because then that would just stress me out more, I only play them if I have the time,” senior Grace Drier said.

KAITLYN JAMES. Reporter VERONICA WILSON. Reporter

FEATURE

Grow up, they say.

Slow down, we say.

Please redefine normal Our last normal day of school was 619 days ago.

Our last day without masks, without going virtual, without COVID-19.

While this is already shocking alone, consider this: a study done by Brown University in students in grades 1-8 found that there is a 17-34% loss of the prior school year’s learning.

Except a typical summer is around 80 days, not 528 days.

So, why is it that we have simply started this year as if we didn’t lose over six times that?

School feels so hard now because we aren’t used to the normal five day weeks with full class sizes. Due dates feel less important as they haven’t actually mattered in so long.

The idea of returning to this idea of normalcy is absurd; it is not real. The idea of normal school and normal life we refer to has been romanticized over the past year. Expecting students, or anyone in general, to just jump back in as if nothing happened is counter productive to education.

After spending the entire past school year being forced to be creative and innovative, we found new ways to learn, to be engaged, to interact, to compete and to grow. Just for all of that to stop once the original scare was gone and we became more used to this lifestyle.

To create successful students there is a need for continuing this creativity.

Each group of students has missed different opportunities, causing learners

opinion

to be at vastly different levels of knowledge. It is easy to forget this simple fact and assume students understand because every year prior they did.

One way to combat this difference is using scaffolding to teach students.

This allows students to be supported while also discovering how to do something themselves.

In this model, positive reinforcement is key to moving the process along, with the end goal being for the student to become independent and complete the task or do the work themselves.

There is another common issue I have found as well: confusion.

I often hear from many peers how they are confused about what they are doing or the class question, “So, how does this work?” As a senior, younger students look up to me for the answers to those types of questions. Except, I don’t entirely know the answer. It is hard to remember how things worked before COVID-19. It is stressful being expected to just know what you are doing.

To fix this gap, we need to take a moment and really think about what we are doing. We need to practice patience and provide a little extra support for each other as we begin to get back on track in school.

You can’t erase 619 days of loss in 24 hours.

This is something that requires a long term conscious effort. It is possible to get through this difficult transition together and feel in control of our lives again.

KAITELYN WALKER. Editor-in-Chief

Living in a small town, we ache to grow up. Many of us can’t wait to get our license, graduate and move as far away as possible. Are we growing up a little too fast? Every once in a while we realize that we are not little kids anymore. We have the pressure of picking what college we want to go to and deciding what job we want to do for the rest of our lives at only seventeen years old, and were forced to start thinking about it at an even younger age.

Sometimes, it feels like we are being forced to grow up and mature way too fast.

We are expected to be mature even though we are still children.

In this society, if we do not have our own opinions we are too childish, but if we do we’re trying too hard to grow up.

It is hard to say when the phenomenon of children maturing so fast occurred, but we know it is very prominent within Gen Z. While before, kids were able to just

UNCAGEDNEWS.COM | 8 | NOV 2021

live their lives and have fun, but we are now expected to get a job, drive ourselves, and do mountains of schoolwork daily instead of just having a bit of time to actually be kids.

Social media may be part of the problem.

Nowadays, kids are exposed to so much on the internet, much more than their young, impressionable minds should see.

Since social media has shown children so many borderline traumatizing things, they have to mature and be able to face the terrible reality of the real world.

Seeing things kids before would never be exposed to at such a young age like politics, war, and other terrible things can influence children’s minds.

Growing up in this time period is a lot more difficult than parents might think, they would think they have a lot more control over their kids and how fast they grow up. It is time for them to face

the facts. A lot of kids now not only have access to more things like the internet and transportation to go places or see the world and parents might be thinking their child is just exploring the world, but in reality what is happening is that they are growing up.

The kids are rushing to grow up, rushing to get away from either their homes or just their towns.

Either way, they are leaving. Parents also have a big part in this as well, pushing their kids to get jobs while being piled on with school work and trying to be sociable.

We need to slow down and enjoy our childhood. We have the rest of our lives to be adults, but only right now to live out this part of our lives.

So, dye your hair a bright color, do your makeup the way you want, live out your life just the way you want, and do not let anyone else tell you that you need to grow up.

EDITORIAL. Staff

“Are we growing up a little too fast? Every once in a while we realize that we are not little kids anymore.”

Apart even when together.

PHOTO OLYVIA HOARD

The pandemic changed our mindsets And how to get back to who we once were With everyone spending so much time at home, many people fell down the rabbit hole of trying to be productive. Many learned a new hobby or skill, took up fitness or cooked a new recipe. Those who didn’t likely fell down a different rabbit hole: social media and the controversies and arguments that take place there.

Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media forced us to form our own opinions on everything from fashion choices to political beliefs over the past year. This transformation has caused us to be farther and farther apart from our peers in society, our opinions separating us from people we once called friends.

After being isolated from each other for so long, we were forced to form our own beliefs.

We were influenced to hate others who had a different belief system than we had. In a poll representing about 10% of students, 57.1% said they had a change in beliefs over the past year and a half.

Lately, it feels like everyone is always pinned against each other. No matter what, we are constantly being judged. The way you dress, how you do your hair, and of course, which politicians you support.

Why is it impossible for us to go back to the way things used to be, when we were just kids and nobody cared about our

political beliefs?

The key is social media.

Before the pandemic, social media always felt like a fun, safe place to go to when I was sad, bored or just needed a break from everything. Nowadays, it just feels toxic. Everyone is always arguing about everything, especially when it comes to politics. According to Pew Research Center, about 18% of people get their information off of social media instead of a reliable source.

I understand not agreeing with someone. I do not agree with a lot of people when it comes to politics, but I still respect them and their beliefs, even

UNCAGEDNEWS.COM | 9 | nov 2021

if they go against mine.

This is the way we can get back to become one again. We need to respect everyone, no matter their beliefs, especially if it is not a belief that is not actively harming something or someone.

Instead of Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, and whatever other name you call them, we’re still one: the human race.

Even if we disagree sometimes, we can still all be friends.

Remembering that truth is the key to getting back to normalcy, and becoming friends again.

OLYVIA HOARD. Creative Editor

opinion

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Fall round-up: Sports season final standings Football The varsity football team ended the season with two good wins after several gains and losses.

The team got two good wins to end their season.

After beating St. Charles 28-14 for a win on Homecoming night, the next game was against Dansville, which the team ended up winning 20-14 in a super close game. This victory gave the seniors their last win of their season and high school careers.

“We are all really excited and happy. Senior night was a little tough because it was their last football game most kids are ever going to play, but it was really good after those games,” senior Jeremy Pilch said of the last two wins of the season.

Several seniors this season who worked hard over the years. These seniors had important roles on the team because of their experience and

PHOTO SAMANTHA CHAMBERLAIN

the importance of their last year.

“They have improved a lot on leadership. We are all seniors this season, and I hope I helped them all improve on leadership.

I also helped them just grow as an individual as well and to not get frustrated with themselves,” Pilch said.

Over the season, these seniors saw the developments that the team had made.

“We definitely improved a lot on leadership and team building throughout the season,” senior Drew Philipp said.

The team improved over the season and ended their season with a 4-5 record.

boys Cross Country The boys cross country team ran exceptionally well this season. The boys had a special bond this season, which contributed to the team success.

“It feels amazing because this team just has some kind of special feel, the team chemistry is just amazing. It just feels great to get a win with all these guys,” junior runner Micah Bolton said.

They ended their season with a league championship, which was very special for the group of boys they had

because of their special bond. They all had the same goal in mind for this season, which was to win.

“We put in a lot of work this season and we’re looking forward to the rest of this coming season.” Senior Dalton Satkowiak said. “We started the year pretty small staffed, and with not a lot of runners, but we strengthened our runners that we had.”

After a successful season the cross country ended their year with a league championship.

volleyball

soccer The boys soccer team had many new players in 2021 with a new start and lots of learning to be done at the beginning of the season. In 2020, seniors dominated the roster bringing lots of experience, so in the new year there were lots of big changes for the team.

“I think that even though there was a lot of struggle in this season, there was a lot of growth in the team.

Our team was very new.

So, I think that the team’s ability to come together even though it’s such a young team, and still have some success was very good,” senior Jonah HuskeyWright said.

The team improved on the ability to talk to each other, which overall benefited them as the season went on.

“Communication. It started off rough in the beginning. But as we got to know each other more and work on it, it got better,” senior Carson Oversmith said.

The team ended the season with a huge district win.

This volleyball season, the team had many highs and lows.

The common thought that the players agreed on was that over the season they improved on teamwork and communication.

Even though their record was not what they wanted, the end of the season seemed better. They were communicating better in their last games, making them more fun and helping them feel more together as a team.

“We learned to work together throughout the season,” sophomore Gracee Robidou said.

“I think my team improved most on communication and talking with each other,” sophomore Maddie Dalton said.

In the team’s win against Maple Valley the communication was amazing, creating a fun win for the girls.

The team is headed to districts on November first in Fowlerville to end their season.

The team is hoping to get another win to end their season.

There are a few key focuses for their last games of the season, which would be to keep their heads in a good place as well as

keeping good energy.

“I think the most important thing is to keep a positive attitude,” said Robidou.

The Panthers will play Williamston in their district game.

“I think we need to have fun and keep the energy up,” Dalton said.

The team ended their season with a record of 7-20 after losing a tough game to Williamston in districts.

PHOTO JUSTIN JASZKOWSKI

Girls Cross Country The girls cross country team ran a season to remember. They competed all throughout their season for the league championship.

They were tied several times, but did not want to lose the opportunity for a league championship. They battled back in for all season, but in the end pulled through with everything they had to get the win.

“It really feels great because it was one of our biggest goals throughout the season,” senior Brooklyn Rochow said.

“It was actually on the

line. We were actually tied throughout the season for a league championship. So, it feels really good to come out with a win.”

The team improved lots over the season, which helped a lot to get the league championships.

“Our overall improvement was really great. We have had a lot of new girls this season that have never ran before in their life, and they improved so much this season,” Rochow said.

The cross country team ended it’s season with a league championship.

PHOTO MICHELLE RUTLEDGE-WALKER

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