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Sports

Ice hockey gives fans chills

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     Stow hockey had their first season game against Kenston on Dec. 1.

     In preseason they were struggling to catch a rhythm. 

     “We have a lot of younger talent this year. We lost a lot of key players that held our team together last year, so we have to rebuild our team this year,” senior Aiden Brebant said. 

     Hockey lost four starting players last season, all being key components on offense, as well as their goalie. As the team is working on connecting the puck on the ice to catch momentum during games to get ahead during preseason, they had previously played Kenston. 

     “They play dirty, and last time we played them they injured one of our players, and he’s no longer allowed to play as of now until he is healed. He was a strong player, and with him being out it is really hurting our team,” sophomore AJ Halsne said.

     Liam Schelien had his clavicle broken last time Stow played Kenston, and with angry teammates, the game against Kenston was bound to be an aggressive game. 

     “We can win–we just all have to focus. We can’t get caught up in the anger. We have to play the puck and ignore Kenston trying to get in our heads and not stoop to their level of playing dirty,” senior Alessio Simpson stated. 

     Bulldogs headed to the Pond to face Kenston for round two, and they already did not have home rink advantage, so they really had to focus and work together. The game started at 8:50 p.m. The Bulldogs were out to avenge their teammate and take a win to start their season off on the right foot. 

     Each game consists of three periods, each 15 minutes long. When the first period started, they started off strongly attacking the Kenston goal and getting good opportunities to score, but nothing seemed to hit the back of the net. 

Source: Stohion/Kenzie Gash
Senior Alessio Simpson skates down the rink in the Dec. 1 game against Kenston. The team lost 7-4.

     Kenston took the lead early in the first period. Towards the end of the first period, the Bulldogs fell behind 4-0. The first intermission started and both teams headed to the locker room to regroup. 

     “We were all frustrated, but we couldn’t get in our heads. We were still in this game–we just had to connect more on offense and not force shots that aren’t there,” senior Mason Schelien said. 

     They were falling behind, but there were still two more periods for them to get in rhythm with each other and come out on top. They hit the floor running in the second period. Schelien found the back of the net first and put Stow back in the game. 

     With a point on the board, the Bulldogs were out for more. Simpson found the net not too long after Schelien, and Stow was only trailing by two. Stow fans spirits were high in hopes they could keep up this momentum and come out victorious. 

     Kenston came back with some defense and scored for a fifth time. Both teams started playing dirty, and many athletes ended up in the penalty box. 

     Close to the end of the second period, senior Reed Surrena scored, which helped the Bulldogs keep their heads up as they headed into the third period. 

     Both teams were off to the locker rooms where they go to debrief the past period and get a game plan for the final period. The third period started, and it was back and forth, no scoring for the majority of the last period. 

     Finally, freshman Lex Watts had a big goal to get Stow’s energy back up. There was still time for the Bulldogs to come back, as they were only down by one. The game got very physical as both teams were going at each other. It became less about the puck and more about slamming one another into the boards. 

     Schelien got a penalty, which if he served, would have given Kenston an advantage; instead, Stow took a risk, and Kenston got to take a penalty shot. The goalie, freshman Seraphina Nyitray, could not let her team down. 

     With only minutes to spare and Stow only trailing by one point, it was a huge play that could change the energy of the game. The shot was taken, and saved. 

     A huge save from Nyitray, put the Bulldogs back even with Kenston as Shelien was still on the ice. 

    Even with the momentum of a save, Stow could not seem to find the net for a fifth time in the last remaining minutes of the game; however for Kenston, they were able to score two more times to end the game 7-4. 

     Stow battled to the very end, but struggled on offense to make something happen. They will face Kenston again later in their season and hope to have a better outcome.

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Could a four day school week be beneficial?

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Currently, the high school, along with most other schools operate on a five day week: school from Monday-Friday, then a break on Saturday and Sunday. However, many have come to question the efficiency of this system. It is possible a four day week may be more beneficial for students and teachers.

Switching to a four day school week could reap numerous benefits. The National Conference of State Legislatures said, “with a longer weekend, students have more time to rest and engage in extracurricular activities, which can lead to better attendance during the week. This, in turn, can lead to improved academic performance.”

While a five day week does give teachers more time to teach their lessons, it may be overwhelming for students, especially those who are very involved.

“I feel like [a five day school week] is definitely a downside for those who have a really hard schedule because they can get burnt out easily,” Senior Daniella Vasquez explained. “Most students will get burnt out easily and like can affect their mental health in a negative way.”

Students with vigorous schedules and students involved in extracurriculars commonly feel spread thin with the five day school week. When accounting for academics, extracurricular activities, work and free time, the five day school week does not seem to provide students with the time they need.

Freshman Keira Sayre shared what she thinks of the current five day school week: “I feel like some of the benefits are that it gives teachers more time to teach us,” Sayre then continued sharing downsides, “But I feel like some of the downsides are it can over-stress students and we don’t have a lot of time to do our own things or do our own activities.”

A four day school week would provide students with more rest, leading to better performance during the school week.

Senior Allie Bloom stated, “I think [a four day school week] would definitely be beneficial so that people can get more sleep and be more productive on the days that they are in school.”

According to Healthline, research shows 73 percent of high school students regularly do not get a healthy amount of sleep. A lack of sleep leads to decreased academic performance.

Vasquez shared how she thinks students’ attitudes could change if switched to a four day work week. “I think it could definitely help improve mental health because kids would get more time to themselves
and, if you’re burnt out you can have more time to rest.”

Vasquez also introduces a teacher perspective, saying it will give [teachers] more time to plan out better work.

“The four day week could be beneficial to everyone, from students who say they are stressed and overwhelmed to teachers who could appreciate the extra time for lesson planning,” Vasquez explained.

There are many benefits to a four day school week, and many students would prefer it to a five day school week.

Sayre said, “I would personally like to switch to a four day week. I feel like it would be so much easier, especially because of a lot of homework being in honors classes, and I don’t have that much time because of activities after school, so it gives me a lot less time to do my work and it just leaves me stressed out.”

A four day week could exponentially decrease stress of students and increase academic performance.

News

Drama Club hosts Trunk or Treat

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     In the heart of the school’s parking lot, where the leaves painted the streets with shades of orange and red, a community tradition was underway: the annual Trunk or Treat event hosted by the local Drama Club. With costumes more imaginative than ever and trunks adorned with creativity, the event promised a night of theatrical thrills and Halloween chills.

     The scene was set in the parking lot of the high school, where the Drama Club members had transformed their cars into whimsical spectacles of horror and delight. Ghoulishly decorated, each trunk served as a stage for their unique Halloween-themed displays.

     From the moment visitors entered the lot, they were transported to a world of enchantment. 

Source: Stohion/Nick Fennegan
In the high school parking lot, many cars were on display like this one for the Trunk or Treat event. Most students designed their cars to incorporate certain themes.

     Vice President of the Drama club, Tyler Jones, was asked about some information on the Trunk or Treat. 

     “This is an event we do every year, around halloween time where we set up a bunch of trunks and do trick or treating in the school parking lot. We have a lot of kids come around and do activities and give kids candy,” Jones stated.

     Jones also explained how they have been promoting these events on social media. Mayor Pribonic additionally helps endorse the program’s activities. He strongly believes in supporting the school’s activities due to his alumni status, as well as being a part of the Board of Education for 11 years.

     Drama officer Will Gee also commented on the activities for the night.

Source: Stohion/Nick Fennegan
Senior Ian Barter stands outside his car waiting for the trick-or-treaters to beg for candy. Barter’s car was decorated with a skeleton and tombstones.

     “Even though it’s cold we’re going to keep going,” Gee commented.

     The officers commented on the recent uptick in turn out due to Mayor Pribonic’s influence. They’re very appreciative for the numbers growing and being able to provide entertainment, candy, and activities for the children of Stow.

News

Hide-and-seek with Mr. O’Keefe

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     On September 21 and October 17, Algebra and Trigonometry teacher Andrew O’Keefe organized hide-and-seek events for high school staff. The goal was to find O’Keefe in the fifteen minutes after school ends between 2:30 and 2:45 for a gift card prize money.

    O’Keefe sent out complex clues on the day of the first event, Sept. 21, to staff which alluded to where he was hiding. The clues were written out as follows (answers are included): 

The fifth prime / Na / The Texas Chain Saw Massacre = 11/11/1974: Leonardo DiCaprio, actor, auditorium 

Days of Christmas / Bill of Rights / MLK prize = 12/10/1964: Bobby Flay, chef, kitchen

Father of the Constitution / Patrick Mahomes / Frederick III crowned = 04/15/1452: Leonardo da Vinci, artist, art room.

   O’Keefe explained that he added in the aspect of clues only the night before but it quickly became an integral part of the event. 

     “I wanted to give the locations of where I could potentially be hiding so I did that through famous people. I knew I was going to hide in one of these three spots but I didn’t know which spot I would be able to get to in time and during eleventh period without being seen. I didn’t want someone to watch me go there. There were some teachers who were joking, ‘I’m going to have a student tail you.’ I wanted to narrow down the search because they only had fifteen minutes and they were sprinting. Teachers were sprinting around the building.” O’Keefe stated.

     O’Keefe explained how the new building principal, Amanda Murray, has made school spirit and pride one of her goals this year and he wanted to do something to help boost morale.

     “Mr. Yeagley, one of the new assistant principals, we were talking about fun ideas for the staff to boost morale and school spirit and that was one of the ideas that we discussed, and then I twisted it a little and took it and ran with it,” O’Keefe stated.

     Freshman English and creative writing teacher, Emma Walkinshaw was heavily invested in the hide-and-seek event.

     “I’m way too competitive to let this slide. As soon as I heard we were doing it I was like ‘Oh bet, I’m one hundred percent participating,’” Walkinshaw expressed.

     September 21 event had a prize money amount of 25 dollars in gift cards, but when no one found him hiding underneath Joshua’s kitchen sink, the money doubled and was added to the Oct. 17 event where he hid in the janitor’s closet. This time O’Keefe was found by Jessica Merrill in four minutes.

Source: Stohion/Annika Young

Jessica Merrill finds Andrew O’Keefe in the janitor’s closet. O’Keefe held two hide-and-seek events for the staff on Sept. 21 and Oct. 17.

     Many of the staff were very involved with the clues, even getting students to help decipher and get more information out of O’Keefe. 

     Colin Martau, an American History and AP World History teacher, expressed, “I didn’t even care about the money, I just wanted to solve the riddle.”

     Martua spent a lot of time attempting to decode the clues.

     “Anytime I had that day that wasn’t instructional time with kids whether it was my planning or my lunch, I was legit spending trying to solve these clues because I wanted to be the one to find him,” Martua said.

     He also stated that some of O’Keefe’s students were so intrigued by the riddles that they wanted to help him solve them, even going as far as using Trigonometry to decode the clues. 

     Walkinshaw took a different approach to solving clues, expressing that she “tried not to think about what goes through his brain.” 

     As teachers kept getting information from O’Keefe’s students a rumor spread and they began to think some were being fed false information to make the game more interesting. 

     O’Keefe cleared up this theory stating, “A bunch of classes were working on the riddle and trying to get information out of me throughout the day. I did not lie to anybody.”

     A popular strategy many of the staff adopted was splitting up into groups. Both Walkinshaw and 

Martau used this approach, as Martau explained, “I had multiple groups, I was like on ‘Survivor’ trying to form alliances, I was working with [Ms.] Kester, I was working with Mr. Budd, I went and talked to Ms. Keyser, and it became a whole competition where we were trying to figure it out.”

     Activities like a hide-and-seek can be very beneficial for bringing colleagues together and creating a better working environment, and when the staff has a good working environment it directly translates to the students, and their learning environment.

      “It gets us excited for things throughout the day, I think sometimes you get into the routine of school and everything is kind of mundane and that’s true for students too, so having an activity like that would force you to use your brain to solve a puzzle but also be physically active and go around the building trying to find him,” Martua observed.

     As Murray set out to achieve this year, the staff morale has been raised just simply from a small event like a staff hide-and-seek.

     O’Keefe believed the event was a success, bringing staff together and creating a fun activity to look forward to.

     O’Keefe reflected, “I thought everyone had a good time with it. It was fun, people were laughing and meeting other teachers who they didn’t even know while they were out running around and searching.”

     With O’Keefe not being fo​und in the first event it left staff wanting to find him even more. 

Source: Stohion/Annika Young
Andrew O’Keefe reveals himself to the staff on Sept. 21 after no one found him hiding under a sink in Joshua’s. The prize money from the Sept. 21 event was put toward the Oct. 17 event.

     “The fact that I’m way too competitive and the fact that we ended up with him winning. We need someone to find him. If this continues on with no winner I’m going to lose it,” Walkinshaw admitted.

     For those hoping events such as the hide-and-seek’s will continue are in luck, because O’Keefe disclosed possible future ideas.

     “We have some other things in the works right now. Another idea we’re talking through is a staff scavenger hunt,” O’Keefe suggested

     Overall, Martau agreed that these hide-and-seek events boosted staff morale and “gave us an opportunity to do something together and collaborate and be excited about something that ultimately was a no-pressure, just have fun situation.”