Spirit week is often used to involve students with their school, but Student Council found a way to support a good cause at the same time.

The Battle of the Classes took place during the week of Feb. 9 and involved a competition between all four grade levels. Points were earned by the amount of money donated and the winning of the events.

Events during BOTC were attending the luau, following the BOTC twitter account, being the most spirited in a class, tweeting pictures, an obstacle course, a game of dodgeball and a three-legged race.

Students were allowed told to donate money to the bins in the lobby or the buckets in the lunch room. All of the donations went to the Akron Children’s Hospital Radiothon.

The Radiothon is an opportunity for patients and parents to share their personal stories on a radio station powered by 98.1 WKDD. People could then call and make pledges or school and other groups could make donations.

Those who made pledges were considered Change Bandits and the money contributes to the purchasing of child- size medical equipment and funding research and outreach for the community.

On the first day of the Battle of the Classes, there was a twin day. The next day’s theme was tye-dye, followed by well dressed, Valentine’s Day colors and class color day.

“I like spirit week because I think it is cool to see everyone dress up,” sophomore Lauryn Jones said.

The spirit days were chosen by the members of Student Council after students voted on what they wanted.

“I think spirit week for homecoming is a good idea, but then after I do not like it; however, I do like that we get the choice of the days,” junior Taylor Hostetler said.

Even though students had the ability to vote on the days, some students were still unsatisfied with the choices.

“Yeah I like spirit week, but I wish the days were different,” freshman Abby Johnson said.

Although the spirit week brought attention to a great cause, some students disagreed with the decision.
“The only spirit day I liked was well- groomed Wednesday because I am a fashionable guy, but I do not normally like spirit week. No one participates, and I do not want to go out of my way to buy things for it,” sophomore Andrew Shockling said.

When difficult days to dress for are chosen, sometimes students lose the desire to participate because they would have to go and buy items just for spirit week.

Nonetheless, spirit week still grants the possibility for students to get involved with their school and show their school spirit. Student Council also invited the opportunity to support both the school and a good cause.

Freshman Sophie Press said, “I like spirit weeks because you get involved with the school. You get to see who is involved, and it is just really fun.”

This year, the high school welcomes Angela Kibler to the math department. Kibler is excited to join the staff here. Kibler teaches Enriched Math I and Integrated Math II.

Although this is her first year at Stow, Kibler also taught at Maplewood, a school in Ravenna, for a year. There, she taught Algebra II and Technical Math.

Kibler did not start her career off as a teacher. She originally worked at Charles Schwab, an investment firm, under a Business Finance degree. She was there for 11 years before she went back to school so she could become a teacher.

“I have no regrets,” Kibler said.

Kibler graduated from Salem High School, which is near Youngstown, Ohio. She went to Kent State University for her undergraduate degree and the University of Akron for her Master’s Degree.

Kibler student taught at Coventry High School in Akron.

Last July, Kibler married Chris, and then she went to Hawaii for her honeymoon. She has two pets: an 18-year- old cat named Felix and a four-year-old dog named Hank.

One gym, eight teams, and many spherical projectiles: all of the ingredients of a battle to crown Stow’s dodgeball champion.
The annual dodgeball tournament was held Feb. 11, 2015 in the main gym. It was a night filled with energy, loud music and for many teams, disappointment.

Student Council put together this year’s dodgeball tournament in hopes of another successful event, much like the last. Word must have spread, as this year’s event was a great success.

“This was by far a better turnout than last year. We’ve raised more than three-hundred dollars that will all be donated to charity, which makes putting the tournament together much more worth it,” senior and Student Council President Allie Laber said.

With three courts of grueling dodgeball matches going on at once, the action was endless, and the energy was intense, as teams rose up in tournament play and others were sent home.

“Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun. I like seeing how competitive and excited everyone can get during the games. I certainly wouldn’t be out there though,” Laber said.

The brutality of the game and simplicity of the rules makes dodgeball fun to watch, but hard to strategize a victory plan. Some teams had no game plan, which worked for few but proved fatal for many. The Purple Cobras were not unprepared as they came ready to play with a game plan.