The Echo is a monthly publication of the newspaper staff of Webster Groves High School, 100 Selma Ave., Webster Groves, MO.
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WGHS community helps with flood relief
Turkey Day offers more than just game for district ‘Santas on the Loose’ run held to support charity
Review: ‘Wicked’ presents talented cast, powerful story
Gifted program experiences major changes
Hockey player killed highlights gun violence issues
WGHS community helps teacher with flood relief
Ali Schulz Editor-in-Chief
Science teacher Collin Todd woke up on Nov. 5, to a flooded basement due to excessive rainfall. Students decided to raise money to help.
According to the GoFundMe page, Todd “has lost access to heat, hot water, air conditioning and a car.”
Todd had just moved into the house and was “only in possession of $2,000 out of the $12,000 needed for repairs after insurance,” the GoFundMe added.
A GoFundMe was started by “students in Mx. Todd’s Physics class,” according to an Instagram set up to help spread the word about the fundraiser.
“As a teacher they struggle to handle this payment and just sunk all their money into the house moving recently,” the Instagram page added as one of their reasons for getting involved.
However, the school paused the fundraiser on Nov. 8, according to the Instagram.
“The school has shut us down. It shouldn’t be, but we have
made it clear we’re not connected to the school, just students trying to help,” the page said.
Principal Matt Irvin said the reason the administration paused the fundraiser was because the school’s questions had not been answered. The administration wanted to make sure that there were no impediments, and it wanted to make sure it was clear where the money was going.
However, “we have addressed these concerns and things are moving forward,” Irvin said.
On Nov. 19, a faculty member took over the GoFundMe, and donations were resumed.
All previous donations were still valid, and the goal of raising $13,000 remained the same. The GoFundMe has currently raised $8,355.
To donate, people can visit the GoFundMe page, and search “Collin Todd” to find the donation page. The GoFundMe is titled, “Help Collin Todd recover from flood damage.”
“It would be greatly appreciated if we could help our fellow community member and teacher recover, the GoFundMe said.
Science teacher Collin Todd’s basement suffers damage from flood the flood.
Photo from GoFundMe page
Turkey Day offers more than just game for district
Sam Enlund Social Media/Sports Editor
For 117 years the annual Turkey Day game has been a tradition with Webster Groves High School playing against Kirkwood High School on Thanksgiving. However, the tradition is more than just a game. Different aspects of Turkey Day impact both students and the surrounding community.
For weeks before-hand, Webster Advisories participated in contests attempting to win in different categories such as the door decorating, Turkey Day Baskets, trivia and more. Each grade level tries to collect the most points with this year’s winner being the class of 2026.
Having Advisories compete is not just about a friendly competition, or having fun before the game. This year, with the food collected and donated by students, Webster Groves High School was able to feed 30 families for Thanksgiving.
The tradition brings the community together as well. This year Webster hosted both the Chili Fest and a Turkey Day assembly for the community.
About Turkey Day, Parent’s Club president Michelle Willis said, “Turkey Day/ Week is a unique tradition. I know the alumni love coming back and seeing old friends and experiencing all of the fun events
around It- like Chili Fest and the pep rally.”
About the Chili Fest’s attendance and goal amount of money, Parent’s Club member Amelia Heard said, “There were 880 Chili Fest tickets sold, but there were many people that came and only purchased concessions. We estimate 1,000 people participated in the event this year.”
Senior Will Jankel runs with the Webster flag while supporting the JV team at the Turkey Day Game. The Game was held on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Webster lost 6-46.
Heard added, “We don’t have the final tally on Chili Fest yet, but our goal was to raise $20,000 this year. It looks like we may have hit the goal, but it will be another week before we know for sure. That is a significant increase over last year.”
The money the Parent’s Club makes is used to fund student scholarships, grants for teachers, the senior graduation party, and smaller things like teacher appreciation gifts and supporting student fundraisers.
Other fundraising events in Webster are the Best Seat at Pep Rally Raffle, and the VIP Turkey Day Package Raffle
which includes Best Seats, four tickets, reserved parking, swag bag and snacks. The Best Seat Raffle raised $255, and the VIP Raffle raised $500.
Because of the involvement with the community at the assembly, students are able to have fun and put on a show for family and friends.
Senior men are able to dress as “Kirkwood Cheerleaders” and try to perform stunts as
a comical routine meant to entertain and bring the community together.
Senior Will Hotze was one student who chose to participate and said, “I think it just ties us all a little closer together. It brings a sense of community because we all have something to stand behind, like our football team. It just helps us come a little closer.”
Aside from the festivities, the game itself, with around 3,000 tickets sold this year, is also important to the district, and not just because of the long history and tradition behind it.
Athletic director Chris Johnson said “Every day in the weeks leading up to the actual game itself we do all online sales or you can come into the building and buy a hard copy, and all of those sales go straight to Webster. In that capacity we probably made I don’t know maybe eight or nine thousand on just our ticket sales. On the day of the game everything gets split up between us and Kirkwood.”
Johnson added, “But financially overall, I just think that getting the community out, getting everybody to attend the game, being able to pay police officers to be able to work. A lot of the people internally here get paid to work the day of the game...We are able to take that and spend that and put it back into our athletic teams and to different activities… so just overall being able to have an event like that does financially benefit everybody involved in it.”
Sports | December 2024
Photo by Sam Enlund
Junior Maggie Cook cheers from the sideline during the annual Turkey Day Game held on Thanksgiving.
Photo by Sam Enlund
Santas on the Loose Run held to support char ity
Arianna Peper Junior Editor/Business Manager
“I love the joy and excitement that this race brings to the kids in our community,” Webster resident and participant in the Santa’s on the Loose Run, Abbie Enlund said.
Enlund has participated in this event for several years and said, “being dressed up as The Elf just helps to add a bit more fun to the event and makes it more fun for me.”
On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Santas on the Loose Run was held in Old Webster where community members were able to dress up in festive attire. The 5k race started at 8 a.m. and the one mile run/ walk began at 8:45 a.m. Following this the children’s 100 dash was held at 9:15 a.m.
Runners and walkers received a shirt as well as a medal for finishing the race.
Webster residents Tilly and Erin Ketcherside and Charlotte and Kate Schaeffer stand together at the finish line with their medals after participating in the Santas on the Loose run on Saturday, Dec. 7.
A portion of the proceeds from the run will be donated to St. Louis Crisis Nursery, which is a charity dedicated to providing children with a short term, safe haven.
STL Crisis Nursery helps 4,000 children, birth through age 12, whose families face an emergency caused by illness, homelessness, domestic violence or overwhelming parental stress according to its official website.
Enlund said, “I work for a nonprofit here in St. Louis, and I know how hard the staff for nonprofits have to work every day to raise the funds they need to support their mission. I do my best to support a wide range of organizations doing great work in our communities. This race is a very fun way to bring much needed funds to Crisis Nursery.”
Photo by Arianna Peper
Review: ‘Wicked’ presents talented cast
Margaret Korte Print/Podcast Editor
After being bombarded with clips of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in their press interviews, audiences have already made “Wicked” a financial success—and in many ways, it’s worth the fanfare. “Wicked” is pretty remarkable.
Grande and Erivo (“Harriet”) star as Elphaba and Glinda, two witches studying at Shiz University. They’re polar opposites: Elphaba is used to being ignored, while Glinda is used to getting her way. Both want to study sorcery but are forced to be roommates and quarrel because of their differences.
As well as being set in the same universe, and featuring similar characters to “The “Wizard of Oz,” the movie is adapted from the popular Broadway musical of the same name. It pays tribute to it well, including cameos by the musical’s original leads.
The soundtrack, all songs taken from the stage version, fits the story well and comes to life with the skillful voices of Erivo and Grande. Each song lives up to its Broadway counterpart, bringing something new while honoring the original.
The acting of Erivo and Grande, along with other actors such as Jonathan Bailey (“Bridgerton”) and Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park”), is impressive, and each actor is well-cast in their role. Grande, for her part, manages to slip into her role and make her portrayal of Glinda believable, despite her fame. In “Wicked,” it feels like watching a character, instead of just Ariana Grande. The same is true for Erivo, whose dramatic acting skills, in addition to her powerful voice, make her an asset to the film.
As for the story, the movie tries to cover so much, and while it is long, it is still just one movie. It attempts to cover themes of exclusion, animal abuse, oppression, female friendships and more. These are all noble topics for the movie to cover; however, it ends up just touching on each subject, never really coming to a full conclusion on any of them. This is just part one, and it’s possible that in part two, all loose ends are tied together and all of these issues will have been solved and properly discussed.
Though “Wicked” is somewhat convoluted, it makes sense coming from a two-hour-and-45 minute movie.
Many audience members have also criticized the movie for its runtime (which will be double, more or less, when its sequel comes out next year). While “Wicked” could probably be much shorter than it is—some scenes feel like they could be condensed, or just taken out all together—there is something to be said about not trying to over-edit and force a film to conform to shorter attention spans. It takes its time: its priority is to tell the story, and not just to do it as efficiently as possible.
While the longer runtime is definitely noticeable, “Wicked” does manage to stay engaging. Even the somewhat drawn-out scenes are important to the story, and when the story isn’t evolving, the characters are. Despite being so long, the movie is certainly packed full.
Some moviegoers have also criticized the physical appearance of “Wicked”: while the sets and visuals are impressive, the coloring of the movie makes it look more monotone and understated—it feels more realistic than it should, especially for a movie where one of the main characters is literally green. There is definitely something ironic about the movie that is a follow-up to “The Wizard of Oz,” one of the very first technicolor films, being criticized for its lack of vibrant color. Still, the impressive scenery and visual effects make up for what is lost in the color, and then some.
Overall, while complicated, “Wicked” still manages to be full of powerful vocals and heartfelt acting. The movie is empowering and convinces audiences to look forward to part two next year—and any movie that manages to be nearly three hours and still move audiences, has to be a success.
“Wicked” is showing in theaters and is rated PG for “scary action, thematic material, and brief suggestive material.” It will be streaming on Peacock after it leaves theaters.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in “Wicked,” which premiered Nov. 22.
Photo from Wickedmovie.com
Gifted program to experience major changes
Jasper Winterton Feature/Video Editor
“I think all students deserve a class that supports their brain and their heart,” Gwyndolyn Savens, Gifted English teacher, said via email.
The Gifted program will undergo changes during the 20252026 school year, making it less English focused by separating from the English department and getting rid of the Gifted English classes, according to Savens.
“Over the course of the next three years, there will no longer be any Gifted English classes. Instead, there will be an AP Seminar and an AP Research class taught by a Gifted teacher. These classes will be open to anyone, and they will count towards an AP Capstone,” Savens added.
boring, then I don’t care about the class, so my grade will go down. The Gifted program really allows me to be more interested and put in more effort,” Bruner said.
Spellecy added another issue with the changes being made is that seniors might not have the space to take a Gifted class as an elective, and the program as a whole might suffer because of it.
Savens said her “biggest fear is that making the Gifted classes an elective credit will essentially end the program, and it has been a good, successful program for many decades.”
“Over the course of the next three years, there will no longer be any Gifted English Classes. Instead, there will be an AP Seminar and an AP Research class taught by a Gifted teacher. These classes will be open to anyone and they will count towards an AP Capstone,”
-Gwyndolyn Savens
Kate Spellecy, junior, said she has “known all of the people in the gifted program since at least fifth grade. I always know that if I’m taking a gifted class there’s going to be people that I like and get along with, and I’m going to lose that community my senior year, and it’s really sad.”
Along with students being impacted socially, Spellecy said since the curriculum for Gifted English is different from other AP English classes; she is worried about having to adjust to a new learning style when taking an English class next year.
Kate Bruner, junior, is also in the Gifted program, and she said the Gifted program allows her to be more interested in what is being taught.
“If we’re doing nothing in the class, or if it’s super easy or
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Savens added, “Gifted was housed in the English Department for many reasons. The first is that math and science classes can be accelerated for students that are ready to move ahead making gifted math or science classes unnecessary. The second is that Gifted students (sometimes) need a different level of social and emotional support due to predictable sensitivities, and the final reason is that English has the most flexibility.”
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Hockey player killed highlights gun violence issues
Ali Schulz Editor-in-Chief
Hockey player and Christian Brother College High School student Colin Brown died after being hit by a stray bullet on I-55, a reminder of the continual gun issues in St. Louis.
Brown was struck by the bullet on Nov. 23, after heading
Since this shooting, the hockey community has rallied around Brown’s family for sup port. “Brown’s hockey coaches for CBC and Affton said that their players are doing their best. They said playing again is what Brown would have wanted,” 5 On Your Side said.
start of their game on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
“The Blues left a hockey stick outside their locker room in memory of the youth star,” and Blues coaches wore pins that read, ‘72 strong,’ during Wednesday’s game, in nod to Brown’s jersey number with the Affton Americans team,” the NHL website said.
“It is good to see that people are coming together to support him and his family,” the sophomore said about the remembrances.
However, the sophomore also acknowledged that the death of their friend says something about the gun violence in St. Louis and is a glaring reminder of the continual problems gun violence causes.
As Brown’s teams have continued to play, however, they have held remembrances.
“The CBC hockey team honored Colin with a group huddle and stick tapping before the opening faceoff,” Fox 2 Now said.
Hockey fans who attended the game also “paid respects with a round of applause, signs and T-shirts in Colin’s memory,” Fox said.
381 more gun deaths than in 2014,” Everytown said.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, “in an average year, 1,381 people die by guns [in Missouri].”
Everytown added, “Missouri has the eighth-highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S.,” and there is an average of 20 unintentional gun deaths a year.
In addition, gun deaths are on a rise in Missouri. “The rate of gun deaths has increased 40% from 2014 to 2023 in Missouri, compared to a 34% increase nationwide. This means that in 2023 there were
However, this gun violence does not just takes the lives of others. It is estimated that “gun violence costs Missouri $17.6 billion each year, of which $455.3 million is paid by taxpayers,” Everytown said.
“It’s a weird feeling, knowing that Collin’s gone. His death shows that there is a gun violence issue that needs to be fixed. His death could have been avoided,” the sophomore said.
However, the CBC team was not the only team to remember Brown. The St. Louis Blues also remembered Brown before the Graphic made in Canva
