Beacon Times MGLVA HS

Volume 2 Issue 1

MGLVA HIGH SCHOOL

BEACON TIMES January Graduates pg. 2 New Semester Tips pg. 2 Are Androids better than iPhones? pg. 3

December 2023

MGLVA HIGH SCHOOL

BEACON TIMES Volume 2 | Issue 001

December 2023

Refocus for a New Semester Staff

Turning the Tassel: January Grads Hannah Wejrowski

Traditional graduation time rolls around each year in June, but did you know that some students graduate in January after completing the first semester? This year we have over sixty anticipated January grads and they deserve some accolades.

Students graduate in January for different reasons. Some students take extra courses leading up to their senior year and don’t need the second semester. Finishing school a semester early lets them get a head start on college or a career. Other students may get behind in required credits.

With some determination, these students can complete requirements in a single semester instead of a full school year.

The following students are MGLVA High School’s anticipated* January 2024 Graduates.

S. Abdus-Sabur S. Adams H. Alexander A. Alexander S. Allen D. Allen S. Basner B. Blackford I. Chojnacki C. Chunko J. Cotes M. Darke M. Davis A. Decker Jr S. DeCocker Z. Eadie J. Eberhart S. Foglia E. Ford U. Ford

L. Harp J. Jinks R. Johnson J. Johnson L. Junior T. Jury M. Kallmannsohn M. Ketab R. King A. Kulman J. Lange O. Langin T. Levanseler V. Lewandowski T. Lucas M. Lukasiewicz M. Magee T. Marcott F. Merrill A. Miranda Moll

J. Morris A. Navarro-Sutliff E. Norris T. Oberlander R. Parker M. Saleh A. Shivlie T. Smith D. Smith N. Smith L. Stevens B. Stillson T. Stoutmeyer K. Strang N. Sutton C. Tan A. Traylor A. West S. Williams H. Young

*These students are currently anticipated to graduate in January.

Confirmation is pending until final scores are posted for the fall semester.

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It’s the end of the year and the end of a semester.

Time to refocus and pay more attention in class.

No one likes seeing overdue notices and stressing out about being behind.

Start by attending and paying attention in live sessions.

Teachers create lessons and practice that are meant to support you. Muting the tab after joining the session means missing valuable information about assignments and quizzes.

Review presentations from your classes; most teachers keep these in their courses.

Get a planner to keep your class schedule and your tasks. Seek help from your teachers. Our teachers at MGLVA are always understanding.

Go to a homework help session, send out emails, and go to any W.I.N. sessions on your schedule.

THE MORE EFFORT YOU PUT INTO SCHOOL, THE MORE PROGRESS YOU WILL SEE. The more effort you put into school, the more progress you will see.

Now, go tackle those overdues, read your emails and start the new semester motivated, with a positive mindset.

Artists Wanted

The Beacon Times welcomes guest cover artists.

If you are interested in featuring your art on the cover, please email: dstoops@mglva.org

DECEMBER

15-20: Final Exams 21: 1/2 Day & Grades Posted 22: Winter Break Begins No School

JANUARY

8: Return from Winter Break 8-11: Semester Kick-Off 12: Beacon Buddies 15: MLK Jr Day - No School 19: Regular Schedule Friday 25: Skilled Trades Fair

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FEBRUARY

9: Beacon Buddies 12: Homeroom 13: Math Night Career Fair 14: COUNT DAY 19: President’s Day No School

Volume | Issue 001 001 Beacon 2 Time | Issue

December 20231 13 December, 2023/Vol.

Polar Bears different types of seals Morgan Heim

Visually, Polar Bears are fuzzy and adorable creatures.

Despite wanting to cuddle with one, these mammals can be vicious.

Polar Bears are the largest living species of bear with adult males weighing in at a whopping 350-590 kg, while females can weigh in between 150 and 295 kg.

A polar bear’s size is underestimated, these marine mammals' paws are as big as a full-sized dinner plate.

Their diet consists of meat. Specifically,

they come across, though they eat around 12,000 calories per day.

These creatures live in the arctic regions, such as Canada, Alaska, Russia, Greenland, and Norway, and they typically live from 20-30 years.

The already low Polar Bear population is still drastically decreasing.

Their overall population is predicted to drop a whopping 30% by 2050.

Polar Bear conservation has never been more important.

Do your part to help Polar Bears by saving energy when you can

TEACHER

Issue of the

AWARD

and recycling plastics. If you’re able, consider adopting a Polar Bear through one of the many charities that support research and conservation.

When asked about his general feelings towards Garden Gnomes, Mr. White responded with more questions than answers. Eventually he said, “weird, but to each their own.” I’m still not clear if that idiom was directed towards me for asking that question or to the Garden Gnomes.

All joking aside, Mr. White is the kind of teacher I wanted as a student. He treats his students as individuals. His authenticity and genuine love for teaching is obvious and is what makes him The Beacon Times Teacher of the Issue.

Congratulations, Mr. White, and thank you.

If you’d like to nominate a teacher to receive the next Teacher of the Issue Award, please submit this form.

At MGLVA High School, we’re fortunate to have many incredible teachers, and anyone who has taken a class with Mr. White knows he is one of them.

With such high regard held among students and staff alike, it may come as a shock to hear that Mr. White was a bit of a troublemaker in high school.

Even though he is slaying in virtual-world right now, he doesn’t think he would have enjoyed virtual school in the nineteen hundreds. But that makes sense. How would he cause enough trouble going to virtual school? More importantly, how would he attend class with AOL dial-up?

Hot Take:

Android vs. Apple

Preston Herrington

Android is Better than IOS. Before you panic, let me explain.

The emulators available for Android allow me to play retro games for GameBoy, NES, SNES. Need I say more?

On the iPhone, emulators require jailbreak which can be difficult to do.

Continued on page 4

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Volume 2 | Issue 001

December 2023

Hot Take: Cont’d.

Preston Herrington

Let’s say you remember an old app from 2013.

Chances are that The App Store won’t have that app anymore. Not with Android. You can quickly find and download these old apps from Google Chrome on websites such as APKpure, and FDroid.This is also an app market where all apps are free and open source.

Android phones have more personality.

They are considered a free and open source, which means anyone can make their own version of an Android. Apple makes all of the iPhones (unless you bought a fake from Temu). Where is the creativity in that?

Android phones have superior customization whether it be with something small like adding weather widgets or changing the entire home screen, you can essentially modify the entire atmosphere of your Android device.

It is settled: Android is better than IOS.

Beacon Times Staff Hannah Wejrowski | Editor-in-Chief Nora Yaklic | Design Editor Zahraa Asfar | Design Editor Preston Herrington | Staff Isaac Wejrowski | Staff Morgan Heim | Staff Mrs. Stoops | Advisor dstoops@mglva.org

Letter from Staff After months of preparation, planning, and persistence, the staff of the Beacon Times is ready to bring the latest edition of the BT to our community.

In this issue, staff worked to bring a sense of togetherness to our virtual school family with tips, events, and student highlights.

At the BT, we are always looking for talented writers, designers, artists, and creators. If you are interested in working on the newspaper staff, please consider signing up for Mrs. Stoops’ Journalism course next semester.

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