Volume 20, Issue 3

Brendan Valentin (12), Daytona State College; Tatiana Torres (12), Brewton-Parker College; Ana Roman (12), University of Alabama; Olivia Cachat (12), Guilford College; Alexandra Beldowicz, University of South Florida

Photos | Kailey Calvo, Lacee Ginga and Ava Medina

Leadership students navigate high amounts of pressure

Greta Carrasco | Online editor

At the end of her junior year, senior Amanda Rubio prepared for one of the most important interviews of her high school career—an interview with Leadership teachers and administration. The interview was for the position of executive board president.

Rubio found out she got the position in late April. While the moment was a huge step, like all Leadership students, her rise in the ranks did not come without initial struggle.

Rubio joined Leadership class her freshman year. To make it into the class she had to submit an application and send out recommendation letters, which were later reviewed by the Leadership teachers Kari Miller and Sarah Bearss.

Who can be a leader

All students interested in Leadership start their application between January and February. The course is open to all four grades. Every student must reapply to the Leadership class every year with no guaranteed entrance.

“We are looking for students who want to have a voice, who maybe have a different perspective,

who are comfortable speaking their thoughts and their opinions and sharing,” Miller said.

The leadership subdivisions

Hagerty’s student leadership is divided into three different organizations: executive board, Leadership class and Student Government Association. While each organization has different assigned roles, they all overlap with the Leadership class.

The executive board are the heads of student government. The board has a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and director of PR. They are in charge of planning day-to-day assignments like small spirit days, giveaways, and budget management. They are also in charge of running the Interclub Council, designed to connect all the clubs around campus into a defined community. The executive board also attends a county-wide meeting every other month.

Leadership class is known for planning big events like homecoming, prom and winter week, but they are also in charge of lots of lesser-known (smaller) activities throughout the years.

While most Leadership students enter through application, all class presidents are required to be part of the Leadership class, giving them a direct admission to the class. But, as with any applicant admission, all four years are not guaranteed. They are in charge of their respective class events like fundraising, spirit week participation.

sophomore, junior and now senior year. Throughout her Leadership career, she learned to assign work to teammates, something she struggled with previously.

“The class helped me learn how to work with people, I had troubles sort of like delegating things,” Romero said. “Now, obviously, we have so much stuff to do, I can’t try to do everything by myself.”

In the face of criticism

In their most recent county-wide meeting, the executive board brought up an issue they have grappled with for the past few years: school spirit.

Despite gathering ideas from other schools, leadership needs more to get any new event approved. They first need to brainstorm a plausible idea, get approval from administration and then send it for approval to the county. Depending on the event, further approval may be needed from additional people like risk management.

“I want people to realize we are trying to address [school spirit],” Romero said. “But obviously we have limitations when it comes to admin or even risk management, because that prevents us from planning things that might be more fun.”

I wish students knew how much time, effort, and energy these kids give of themselves.

- Kari Miller, Leadership Teacher “

Rubio also notes that it takes more than one person to increase school spirit.

For junior class president Mitchell Richmond, his Leadership journey did not begin until his sophomore year. After a denied application his freshman year, Richmond decided to run for class president. By becoming class president his sophomore year, he was able to get a direct admission to Leadership. But getting into the class was not the hardest part.

“The biggest stress I faced probably was last year. I was doing my first committee ever and being expected to know how to do certain things that I might not have been the best at took a toll on me,” Richmond said. “So just trying to adapt to what the actual class is.”

A class of points

Apart from planning events and completing lessons on interviewing and public speaking, Leadership students are graded for a total of 50 points per quarter, which is worth 50% of their grades. The points are referred to activity points, gained by attending different events during students’ free time. Each point is 20 minutes.

Lessons in the chaos

Senior class president Valeria Romero joined Leadership her sophomore year. She served as class vice president her freshman year and class president

LEADING

THE WAY

“I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the dress up days and how they’re boring and nobody wants to do them,” Rubio said. “But it’s that way because student participation is so low. We have those easy dress up days, so it’s easier for students to participate.”

Despite all the long hours and negative reactions from students, they still find the class and the job rewarding.

“Being able to go to homecoming and seeing

Salas

Flick on the 50 brought back for Winter Week

Leadership hosts movie night as part of Winter Week celebration

Holly Smyers | Staff Reporter

Students clamor into the stadium, blankets in hand, ready to endure the weather in the 40s to watch a 10-year-old give two adults enough lasting damage to kill them three times over. On Thursday, Dec. 12, Hagerty hosted Flick on the 50, a movie night held on the 50-yard line at Sam Momary Stadium. The cost of the entry ticket entitled each student a bottle of water and a bag of popcorn to further the experience. The movie of choice? “Home Alone.“

“I think that it kind of just brings everyone together. [It’s] just something to look forward to, on a Thursday night especially,” Leadership sophomore Jaya Persaud said. “And it’s just a fun little thing we can do for our school. That’s really cute for the holidays and we have it every year. So it’s just tradition.”

wore some form of pajamas, in addition to bringing pillows and blankets for both maximum comfort and (mostly) to protect against the elements.

“Some people weren’t dressed for the cold weather. But all in all, I think it went really well,” leadership sponsor Sarah Bearss said. “I absolutely love when it’s cold weather, because if we do it during homecoming, it tends to still be hot and muggy or rainy.”

This year, the event took place during Winter Week, a time right before school ends when leadership hosts a week of events. Usually, the movie event is held during homecoming week; however, leadership was unable to obtain the permits on time, so the event was pushed back to winter week.

I think some kids have mixed feelings about the holiday season, but when you do events like this, everybody gets to feel like a part of the community and spend time with people they care about.”

- Yaishkenielis Cordero, 11

With tickets priced at only $5, any student had the opportunity to participate.

“It was a very connected event. I think some kids have mixed feelings about the holiday season,” junior Yaishkenielis Cordero said. “ When you do events like this, everybody gets to feel like a part of the community and spend time with people they care about.”

The movie coincided with Winter Week’s Pajama Day, encouraging students to show up in cozy attire for the movie. Nearly every student

“The company takes a long time to get through everything, especially with all the new permission slip rules. So that’s the only reason why it took so long. It all worked out well in the end.”

The movie was chosen by the student body, in a poll with over 200 students participating.

“It’s a lot of student choice. The students get to pick the movie and they get to pick the group of friends that they come with,” Bearss said. “I like that there’s a lot of student freedom, and they get to pick how they want to enjoy the movie.”

With over 300 tickets sold, everything that could have went well for the event’s seventh year did so without a hitch.

“It went smoothly,” Bearss said, “I enjoy watching everybody sit and watch the movie with their friends... I feel like everybody is more in the moment.”

JSU wraps up community sock drive

Isabella Ross | Staff Reporter

Asthe season is in full swing, the Jewish Student Union announced the beginning of a sock drive in collaboration with Avalanche’s Attic, a resource launched in 2023 by counselor Erin Isaacs for students in need, that lasted from Nov. 4 to Dec. 4.

Partnering with the newly established JSU, Isaacs worked alongside assistant principal and JSU sponsor Erin Mandell in hopes of collecting and supplying socks to students and families with limited access to clothing.

“We wanted to fill those smaller gaps of items that may not always be recognized because we want to support the community tenfold,”Mandell said.

By the end of the drive, the bins, placed in the front office and at soccer and basketball games, collected over 150 packs of socks, half of which were donated to Avalanche’s Attic, while the others were donated to local schools with similar programs to help students in need.

Junior Mitchell Richmond grabbed a red Christmasthemed goodie bags from a white foldout table manned by National Honor Society officers. Walking back to a table filled with his friends, he started filling the gift bag with goodies.

On Dec. 2, the National Honor Society hosted their Deck the Desks fundraiser, which aimed to surprise teachers around campus with gift bags. The event lasted an hour after school, from 2:303:30.

It was hosted by Key Club president, junior Brenda Maciel, and NHS president, senior Meghna Vikram. As leaders of the two largest community service clubs on campus, Vikram and Maciel planned the event because they wanted to give back to the community.

“A lot of our [usual] community activities are for underserved communities,” said Vikram, “but we also have to realize that our teachers do a lot for us, and so we wanted to kind of bring back to our teacher community.”

Withthe holiday season in full swing, area residents have been looking for fun events to attend to help get into a festive mood. The Oviedo Fire Department recently had their annual Santa Tours (Dec. 9 -13). The final tour, started Friday at 5:30 p.m. and passed through the Aulin’s Landing, Riverside, Live Oak, and Sanctuary neighborhoods. For students with younger siblings or those who just wanted to embrace their inner kid before winter break, the Santa Tour was perfect.

“My favorite part is definitely making the kids smile,” Deputy Chief Stephen Livingston said. “The lights, seeing Santa, and getting candy thrown, it all really brightens up their day. It also helps us reach out to the community and make our presence more known.”

For residents who missed it, this is a yearly event, and a schedule is posted on the City of Oviedo website.

BRRRR! Students gather on the football field with blankets, chairs, and warm attire for a showing of the 1990 action comedy “Home Alone.” Despite the cold weather students still attended to watch the classic. Photo | Antonio Pizza

Angelina Habib | Staff Reporter

Isaiah Macri | Staff Reporter

NHS hosts Deck the Desks event

Sock drive drop box

Santa tours Oviedo

Christin Smith, 12

TRIAL BY

TTELEVISION (holiday)

Lia Miller | Opinions Editor

he holidays are about love? False. The holidays are about sitcom Christmas specials. I asked sit-com watchers for their takes on the best holiday specials of all time, added in a few of my own, and searched Google for more. Eventually, I had a list of 25 episodes that other people liked, and after watching all of them, I condensed them into categories based on my own opinion, which is objectively more correct.

Feel free to leave a comment on our website with your favorite!

Weird but not bad

“It’s A Very Sunny Christmas”

See all 25 reviews and add your thoughts here!

Here’s an approximate log of my thoughts as I watched this episode:

8:40 p.m. WAIT THAT GUY LOOKS JUST LIKE PETE WENTZ! (He does; look it up.) 8:45 p.m. Woah, people really aren’t exaggerating when they talk about this show. 9:05 p.m. This is so incredibly disturbing. Why do people like this? 9:06 p.m. All right, I almost respect it at this point. 9:07 p.m. Never mind.

Naturally, after I finished, I immediately began watching the entire series from the beginning.

I definitely saw some things that I never expected to see in a sitcom. It has a lot of gore and explicit content, and ends with a claymation sequence that makes me hope to someday uncover the secret to targeted memory removal. If you do watch this, be prepared.

Photo | “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” Fox, 2010

This is really cute!

Best overall “Yippie Kayak”

If you haven’t seen this before, change that this season. The entire episode is an homage to the greatest Christmas movie of all time (“Die Hard”), so I’m already on board, but the writing and situational humor makes it even better (if that was even possible).

Jake’s obsession with “Die Hard” throughout the show has undoubtedly inspired many a viewer (myself included) to watch the legendary movie, and in this episode, the writers proved that they too were capable of creating a holiday classic police action film while also balancing that plot line with other typical aspects of the show.

Photo | “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, Fox, 2015

Heartwarming “Mork’s First Christmas”

Not so festive “Afternoon Delight”

This does not make much sense without context, nor does it feel very Christmas-y, but it’s definitely a lot of fun!

Aesthetically speaking, I have never before seen something so clearly made in the ‘70s, and it’s pretty fun.

In the episode, Mindy explains Christmas to Mork, and he becomes determined to celebrate it--rather untraditionally.

The gifts that Mork makes for his friends have a certain…uniqueness: a sculpture made of dried-up chewing gum, a terrible hat, a bracelet of dead flies (a personal favorite), and a singular shallow saucer. Watch out, loved ones! I’m getting ideas.

Photo | “Mork & Mindy,” ABC, 1978

Good to watch once “Citizen Knope”

With Leslie suspended and Ben having resigned in disgrace, both find distractions during the holiday season, Ben through a job search and Leslie through a series of citizen action groups.

In Leslie’s absence, the department bands together to build a giant gingerbread model of the office as a gift for her. The building is actually pretty cool, and “Marshmallow Ron Swanson” (with his arms crossed because he hates the other marshmallow employees!) makes an iconic appearance.

Photo | “Parks and Recreation,” NBC, 2011

The repetition of the “afternoon delight” joke is by far the best part, with all of the characters taking the phrase to mean different things, leading to a chain of events that results in a spectacular disaster. (That’s how you execute a good misunderstanding-based joke. Take notes, “Modern Family.”)

“Arrested Development,”

Photo | Fox, 2004

Avoid at all costs

“The Last Christmas”

Just okay “The Cooper Extraction”

While Sheldon goes to visit his sister when she has a baby, the entire group jumps at the chance to actually celebrate a normal Christmas without him around. Then, instead of doing that, they sit and discuss what life would have been like without Sheldon entirely. Sheldon’s appearances on a FaceTime call are probably a highlight of the episode, since he contributed a few good jokes, and his presence made the show feel complete without inhibiting the premise.

Photo | “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS,

Some people may see this listed and say, “You should watch a different episode if you’re going to do one from ‘Modern Family,’” or “What about the one where they go stay in that cabin?” or “They have good Christmas episodes, and this isn’t the best representation of the show!” Well, regardless of which I chose, it still would’ve made the bottom of my list. I’ve seen all of them. Yes, even the one where they go stay in that cabin. And “The Last Christmas” perfectly represents the show as a whole, because it demonstrates the repetitive plots, lack of comedy and underutilized potential that plague the entire series.

Photo | “Modern Family,” ABC, 2019

FRENCH FRY FRENZY

Angelina taste-tests fries from six fast food chains to find the best fries

Angelina Habib | Staff Reporter

Fries are the go-to side for every fast food meal. There are 16,334 fast food restaurants in Florida alone, and the average American eats 30 pounds of french fries every year. Let’s see which ones are worth the hype.

1) McDonald’s

Rating: 7/10

McDonald’s is the O.G. fry, and while they’re good, some of the ones I ordered were quite dry. I feel like a little more salt would have made it better, but I like my food extra salty, so for most people, the saltiness would have been perfect. The fries were pretty good for $1.50.

2) Arby’s

Rating: 6/10

Arby’s is known for its roast beef sandwiches, but they also have straight and curly fries. I chose the more unique curly fries. Majority of them were soft, which is better than crunchy fries. For a medium, it costs $3.99, and honestly McDonald’s was better and cheaper.

3) Chick- fil-a

Rating: 5/10

I liked how they have a unique waffle shape. Most people would eat these fries with Chick-fil-A sauce, but the fry is the main part so I am grading it without the sauce. The saltiness was also good and they

were soft. However, they make my throat dry. I don’t to keep drinking water over and over again, and I don’t think anyone would want to either. For $2.55, they are pretty good for their cheap price.

4) Popeyes

Rating: 10/10

The fries were Cajun-flavored, making them stand out from the rest. It had the perfect amount of salt and was not super crunchy or soft, making it the perfect in-between. Although they do not have a unique shape or texture, I still loved it. Even though it is the most expensive option out of all of them, I would say it is worth $4.97.

5) Wendy’s

Rating: 6/10

These fries had decent flavor, but not much salt. The fries are not dry, and they have a slightly crunchy outer layer. I thought these were really good considering they cost only $1.79. I would have rated them higher, but they are straight-up basic fries and do not have the same street cred as McDonald’s.

6) Wingstop

Rating: 3/10

I do not know if it was just this time, but the fries were nasty. They were dry and their fry seasoning tasted just horrible. The only reason why I did not give it a lower rating is because I did not throw up, plus I have had their fries before and they were okay. It is not worth the $3.79.

Greta Carrasco | Online

Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution states that the Senate can confirm or deny presidential cabinet appointees and other executive positions by vote, a crucial check and balance that the Senate has over the executive branch. And a process that has sparked pivotal conversation between Congress and the public.

A month ago, Donald Trump won the presidential election. His cabinet picks were announced quickly after—perhaps too quickly. Among them were former Florida representative Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, former Democratic representative of Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Service Secretary.

The concerns of Trump’s picks are within reason. Gabbard, Hegseth and Kennedy’s lack of qualification in their appointed fields is a major topic of conversation, and Gaetz’ countless run-ins with the law have brought much-needed skepticism to all the appointees.

Matt Gaetz is a name Floridians know well. Recently, he withdrew his nomination as attorney general, but the fact that he was even considered is ridiculous. His accused misdemeanors include having sex with a minor, accepting bribes, participating in sex trafficking, etc. It is unbelievable that someone with a history of illegal activity is even considered for this position; the attorney general is supposed to uphold the law, not run away from it.

Yet, Gaetz is not the only questionable nominee. Hegseth was nominated to lead the Department of Defense after years as a journalist and Fox News host. For many, this candidate was shocking considering his minimal background in the military. The assigned overseer of America’s armed forces should be someone who has not only served in the military but also handled administrative matters that the role requires.

Still, Hegseth is far from last when it comes to inexperience. Gabbard does not meet the qualifications to be the next Director of National Intelligence—she does not have the required experience to lead 18 different organizations including the CIA and FBI. And that is not the only criticism she has faced: she has been scrutinized by lawmakers for accepting Russia propaganda as truth.

Adding to the satirical feel of these nominations, Kennedy Jr., a vocal vaccine skeptic, was announced to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy’s beliefs often contradict those of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as he’s devoted to removing fluoride, a mineral used to prevent tooth decay, from the water supply. And worst of all, he has no previous experience in the health industry.

Bottom line, Trump’s picks are absurd and hold no real merit. For a candidate who repeatedly exclaims he will “make America great again,” his chosen advisors are clearly not the greatest that America can offer.

Editor

Angelina Habib

A cabinet of clowns

BLUEPRINT the

Hagerty High School

3225 Lockwood Blvd.

Oviedo, FL 32765

hagertyjourn@gmail.com

Phone: (407) 871-0750

EDITORIAL POLICY

The BluePrint is a studentproduced newspaper in which the student editors make all content decisions. The newspaper belongs to the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association and the Florida Scholastic Press Association.

Opinions expressed within the newspaper do not represent the staff’s views as a whole, the views of Seminole County Public Schools’ or Hagerty High School’s administration and staff.

STAFF

Editor-in-Chief

Kailey Calvo

Print Editor

Josephine Lim

Online Editor

Greta Carrasco-Garcia

News Editor

Holly Smyers

Features Editors

Gabriella Navarro, Elleigh Ackerman

Opinions Editor

Lia Miller

Sports Editor

Kaitlyn Taylor

Staff Reporters

Kayla Agnos, Angelina Habib, Luca Huff, Jessica Johnson, Isaiah Macri, Delaney Roberts, Isabella Ross, Paul Simone, Luke Thompson, Faith Walsh

Multimedia Editor

Johnathan Persaud

Photo Editors

Kayla Rrapi, Sydney Muchow, Brooke Bohan

Staff Illustrator

Christin Smith

Advisor

Brit Taylor

Principal

Robert Frasca

Listen to Elleigh talk through the process of applying to colleges with seniors

OUR TAKE: College catastrophe

BluePrint staff

Nov. 1: Early action/decision applications close.

Jan. 2: Regular admission applications close.

Mid-January: early decisions release.

Jan. 31: Regular supplemental materials due.

Ordinary dates suddenly become life-changing milestones during the college application season. As admission rates drop and tuition costs rise, the US college system has gained an infamous reputation in the last decade. The National Association for College Admission Counseling reported that more than 50% of students label college applications as “their most stressful academic experience to date.”

The average American student spends 12 years of schooling without much competition. Then, senior year starts. Trickles of college emails turn into deluges. Test scores become more than a matter of personal pride. Major and school choices inhabit every conversation. Friends start comparing stats.

Welcome to the college application season.

believe their income is too high for their student to qualify for aid,” discouraging many from trying at all. Additionally, changes made to the FAFSA last year, intended to simplify the process, decreased the form’s completion by 30%. Money is always tough—why make it tougher?

FAFSA difficulties become especially problematic with college costs increasing exponentially in recent years. In 2010, a fouryear degree cost $22,677. Now, it costs $89,556. Even though 85% of students received some sort of financial aid, the average aid package only comes in at $9,000.

“

Changes made to the FAFSA last year, intended to simplify the process, decreased the form’s completion by 30%.

“Despite claiming education as the great equalizing factor, American colleges sure do not follow that mantra.

While our new College and Career Center is certainly a step in the right direction, most students are still wholly unprepared for the application process.

The FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the perfect example. While it is a crucial source of financial aid, many families remain unfamiliar about the process. Sallie Mae, a banking company, found that “33% of families

If finances were the only issue, it would be bad enough, but college admissions are equally complicated. There are four different admission plans: early action, early decision, regular and rolling. But each university’s deadlines differ, and all the different due dates are confusing for firsttime applicants.

CommonApp, seen as the one-stop shop to simplify the process, suffers from technical issues during peak submitting times, a cap of 20 colleges, and confusing supplemental prompts.

Admission criteria add more complexity. Holistic admissions, the norm in private and public university spheres, evaluates

applicants as a whole instead of just test scores and grades. While amazing in theory, this mystifies the process. Some people insist grades are all that matter; others champion extracurriculars; others claim essays completely change the game. The vagueness of holistic admissions has 75% of students worried that “one small application error could lessen their admission chances,” according to the NACAC’s poll. Despite claiming education as the great equalizing factor, American colleges sure do not follow that mantra. The average college application fee costs $50, which can add up as students apply to multiple schools. SAT registration costs $68 and the ACT costs $69, and most students take both tests multiple times. While Hagerty offers free SATs and ACTs, most schools require students to pay themselves. While fee waivers are available for all three costs, families must (1) know they are available and eligible, and (2) understand how to fill out the paperwork–both of which are unlikely if students’ parents did not go to college or immigrated from a different country, keeping the most underrepresented populations, well, underrepresented.

Colleges need to get it together— their purpose is to produce wellrounded, mature young adults who can change the world for the better; a frustrating admissions process is not going to help that cause. If anything, college admissions is the dictionary definition of starting off on the wrong foot.

Al l I want for Christmas is… EARPLUGS

Luca Huff | Staff Reporter

You’re running some errands on a bright and somehow still warm November day.

No matter if it’s a department store, a restaurant, or a gas station—as the days get shorter and the air gets slightly less humid, the incessant ringing of sleigh bells and lyrics about old Saint Nick, fir trees, and snow that never comes seem inescapable.

The holidays are supposed to be the “season of giving,” yet every year it seems like the first present the world springs on us is forcing the same few songs onto us until the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Some even play holiday games like Whamageddon—a game centered around the idea of not hearing “Last Christmas” by the band Wham! for the entire month of December. Many, including myself, have a split opinion on the genre. For some, it can provide a sense of comfort and indicate that the festive season is approaching . Others can find themselves dreading the day the Halloween decorations come down and the loop of holiday songs begins again.

Opinions on holiday classics tend to be rather intense. Songs like the nonsensical tale of “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” by Elmo & Patsy, or the newer “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson make me wish that summer never ended. Perhaps the worst offender is the bizarrely performed and produced “Wonderful Christmas Time” by Paul McCartney, who is undeniably a music legend, likely because he never tried to release another holiday song on his own.

However, there are also classics like “Let it Snow” by Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra’s holiday works that I can’t help but love, regardless of whether I’ll hear both 312 times between now and New Year’s Eve. The slower and more melodic tracks embody the holiday spirit to me. Additionally, the world peace-centered track “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band-Aid has always been a central part of my own celebrations, with an instrumental that walks the tightrope of catchy but not irritating. The undeniable most popular holiday song is “All I Want For Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey. Along with its popularity, it’s one of the more divisive songs of the genre. Personally, I think it’s a nice song that is a fun listen. However, it is easy to understand how people can get tired of it. The song was streamed almost 25 million times on

by

Christmas Eve last year, smashing the single day streaming record for a song, and more than likely to the resentment of others.

Overall, festive tracks that one holds near and dear are like nails on a chalkboard to another. Many of these intense feelings originate less from the actual sound of the song and more from personal experiences during the holidays. I can remember laughing and sharing presents with my family while listening to Sinatra’s classics in the background. I can also remember groaning hours into a family shopping trip when the ridiculous instrumental for McCartney’s smash hit began for the fi fth time that day. Part of the spirit of the festivities is first finding the right people to spend it with, then finding a soundtrack that won’t drive you all mad.

Worst holiday songs of all time

• ”Wonderful Christmas Time”- Paul McCartney

• “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” - Elmo & Patsy

• “Little Saint Nick”- The Beach Boys

• “Underneath The Tree”- Kelly Clarkson

• “When A Child Is Born”- Johnny Mathis

• “Merry Christmas”- Ed Sheeran & Elton John

• “Mistletoe”- Justin Bieber

Talk Santa to Me

Gabriella Navarro | Features Editor

“Talk Santa to Me” by Linda Urban is like that cozy Hallmark movie you watch when you’re wrapped up in blankets, hot cocoa in hand and the Christmas tree lights twinkling in the background: nothing too exciting but a feel-good time for sure.

Francie, the 15-year-old protagonist, has grown up in the heart of her family’s Christmas business. Born in the stable of their beloved Hollydale Holiday Shop, she has practically lived and breathed the holiday spirit her entire life. But as the holidays roll around, things are not as merry as they seem. Francie is at odds with her Aunt Carole, who’s trying to modernize the family’s business in ways Francie doesn’t exactly approve of.

This conflict over the future of their Christmas empire takes up so much of the plot that it overshadows everything else. It was disappointing because it pulled the focus away from what I really wanted—a cute holiday love story. I was looking forward to the YA romance between Francie and Hector (the hockey player who works at the tree lot next door) that the book cover promised. They still have the “willthey-won’t-they” charm you’d expect from a holiday story (I mean, who doesn’t love a good kiss under the mistletoe?), but it’s delayed until the second half of the story and worse, it was underdeveloped.

Francie herself really made up for the book’s shortcomings, however. She was spunky and very passionate about Christmas (obviously). My favorite part about her was when she accidentally became semi-famous as Santa’s intern. Suddenly she got a ton of letters from kids around town and she was determined to respond the way her late grandpa (who used to play Santa) would have.

It’s her way of honoring her late grandpa, who taught her that a child’s belief in Santa is sacred. It was like a better version of those scenes in any Lifetime holiday movie because it kept all of the Christmas magic without having too many cheesy moments.

My only other criticism is that a few storylines started strong but fizzled out, leaving me wanting more closure. Francie’s school project group had the potential to play a bigger role but ended up fading into the background throughout the story. And then there’s Aunt Carole, who felt less like a complex character and more like a onedimensional Grinch. Her clashes with Francie drove the plot, but she never really evolved beyond being the holiday villain, which made the conflict fall a bit flat. A little more depth or even a hint of a redemption arc could’ve made her a lot more compelling.

All in all, “Talk Santa to Me” is a quick read that is for those who love Christmas and aren’t afraid of a little family drama with a side of romance. It’s not going to make you rethink life’s big questions, but if you’re looking for a nice, lowstakes holiday story, this one’s a good pick. Grab a blanket, pour some cocoa, and settle in for a read that’s full of Christmas cheer.

Jessica and Delaney get ready for the holiday season

trying Starbucks Holiday drinks

Original album artwork from Columbia Records. Photo Illustration by Luca Huff

Streng t hening the M ind

Seeking outside therapy services improves students’ emotional well-being

Elleigh Ackerman | Features Editor

Carrying around a heavy backpack, folders full of math worksheets, three books to read for AP Literature, then after school, a seven-hour work shift and football practice, plus your significant other is refusing to text you back; these are just some of the stressors high school students face on a daily basis. The impact of school life, work and other demands take their toll, and a prevalent number of students are using therapy services outside of school to help.

the way I have someone and is able to so I can become life,” senior Sydney In-school vs In recent have increased various mental their campuses, lessons and a However, there resources that best-suited for the intensity the severity of Mental health Bartlett meets appointment-based able to talk with amount of time.

“

Therapy is easily accessible for anyone willing to ask. A diagnosis or personal recommendation is not required to find a therapist–all that students need is to take initiative. Mental health therapist Kristy Conley, a special education teacher at Carillon Elementary School, has patients in all seasons of life, ranging from elementary to high school to adulthood. The National Alliance on Mental Illness identified that 50% of lifetime mental health illnesses begin as early as age 14, demonstrating the need to identify these problems early on. She noted that high school students often pursue therapy to grow and improve themselves, a quality she admires in her adolescent patients.

I think students want more self-awareness about their own mental health. A lot of students are now questioning the ‘why’ feeling certain ways. — Kristy Conley, therapist

With outside able to choose of their therapy more control

“I have [therapy] days, so I do the different move therapy Schmidt said.

Overcoming

“I think students want more selfawareness about their own mental health. A lot of students are now questioning the ‘why’ of feeling certain ways. Anxiety tends to also be a big reason for high schoolers, as well, since there is a lot of pressure in high school from various things,” Conley said. “If anything, those who seek therapy are the strongest and want better for themselves.”

19.7% of adolescents were treated for mental health concerns on school campuses — National Institute of Health

Students seek therapy for a variety of reasons. Some desire to face a past trauma, while others long for someone who will genuinely listen to what they have to say. By speaking to a professional, they are able to unpack their daily lives and dive deeper into what they are feeling.

“Sometimes not everyone always listens to what I have to say, and this

After finding important factor acquainted and process. Senior with high stress, therapy sessions other people She believes session, and bash on it, but again,” Acuna honestly think them, which I the whole truth, yeah, it’s not Facing the therapy is not are reluctant and stereotypes having a therapist. admitting they avoid seeking friends, adults

someone that does listen to provide great feedback become a better person in my Sydney Schmidt said.

own students ‘why’ of

vs outside services years, high schools increased efforts to incorporate mental health resources on campuses, including mental health a mental health counselor. there are restrictions on these that prevent them from being for a student’s schedule, of their mental needs and of a student’s condition. health counselor James meets with students on an appointment-based schedule, being with them for only a set time. Outside therapy has more structure that Bartlett cannot provide operating within a school. He cannot guarantee a student will be seen, considering the possibility that he will be out of office or pulled out for a risk assessment on another student. counseling, students are choose the dates and times therapy sessions, giving them over their schedule. [therapy] after school some have to modify it around clubs I’m involved in [and] therapy appointments around,” said.

Overcoming the stigma nding a therapist, an factor is becoming and being open to the Senior Daniela Acuna deals stress, learning from her sessions that the actions of are beyond her control. that a comfortable space is integral to breeding an honest and successful therapy experience.

“I feel like for some people they have that one bad therapist or that one bad therapy then all of a sudden, they but you got to give it a try Acuna said. “Some people just think that therapy doesn’t help feel like, if you’re not telling truth, or being yourself, then going to help.” the negative stigma of not easy; other students due to social pressures stereotypes associated with therapist. Fueled by a fear of they need support, students seeking consolation from trusted adults and counselors.

A study conducted by the National Institute of Health found that only 19.7% of adolescents were treated for mental health concerns, noting the tendency of patients to internalize their problems.

“I think so many students are afraid to take that first step because of how they’re going to feel, what people are going to think about them, [what] their peers are going to think about them,” Bartlett said. “The knee-jerk reaction for a lot of students is just to say no when therapy is brought up, just ‘I don’t need it.’”

conceptualize, compartmentalize and essentially be able to process their lives as a whole,” Conley said.

Unique approaches to

Facing external pressures

50% of all mental illnesses begin as early as age 14

Social media and television programs contribute to this lack of mental health awareness, including the negative assumptions people have about reaching out for support. Seeking out therapy is portrayed as a cry for help, signaling the presence of a mental health illness.

“I think movies and shows do a disservice, because they portray, if you’re going to a therapist, there’s something wrong with you,” Bartlett said. “You’re crazy…[and] you hear voices, everything like that. [In reality,] 99.9% of counseling and therapy is just talking to somebody.”

Generational gaps and religious/ cultural beliefs are other contributors to students’ hesitance to reach out for help. Therapy is stereotypically viewed as a medical diagnosis, instead of an opportunity to push students toward a healthier lifestyle.

Each therapist works with their patients through different approaches, and it looks a lot different from the stereotypical therapistpatient relationship people might expect. Activities are procured for the varying personalities of each patient and the concerns they discuss with their therapist.

For instance, Yip was tasked with calling a pizza place and asking for an item not on the menu to help with her anxiety and sense of perfectionism.

Schmidt’s therapist gives her “homework” to complete outside of sessions, serving as extensions to the discussions they had. These activities enable Schmidt to think further about what’s bothering her and how she can take the necessary steps to heal.

“Sometimes she’ll give me something to write about or draw about, and then we’ll talk about it at the next session. Sometimes, things are hidden within the poems that I write or my drawings that I didn’t even realize,” Schmidt said.

Adapted from Tell Me More: Therapy, host Elleigh talks to senior Yesenia NievesMarrero about her experience with therapy and information people should know about it. To listen more, scan the QR code!

What do you do at therapy?

“I tell her my problems. I tell her things that might be bothering me, emotions I might be feeling that might confuse me, and she helps me, like, figure things out and make everything make sense and also make me realize I’m not a bad person for feeling things.”

Would you recommend therapy to others and why?

I would recommend therapy because sometimes as humans we need people to talk to about our struggles…[that is] how we can grow.

— Angelina Yip, 12

“People from previous generations have a hard time understanding why therapy is important due many misconceptions and lack of understanding,” senior Angelina Yip said. “Especially with coming from various cultural beliefs and values.”

Yip’s father was hesitant to allow her to get into therapy for strict cultural reasons, believing she didn’t need it. However, after she was able to get the help she wanted, it became an eye-opening experience for everyone in her family, as they saw her change her mindset, regulate her emotions more effectively and strengthen her relationships with other people.

Therapy is often stereotyped as lying down on a couch and talking about problems to a person with a clipboard, but more accurately, therapists foster discussion and allow for the patient to lay out what they have been going through to more deeply analyze it.

“I feel like people know their lives the most and having time to say things out in the open allows the brain time to

Each therapist has different specializations, dealing with a range of mental health disorders. Conley specializes in dealing with anxiety, panic, and stress, but has separate, individual counseling for more severe illnesses. Incorporating their own methodology, therapists are able to connect and better understand the inner workings of patients’ minds.

For some, therapy is more than a practice, but an essential part of their lives, learning more about themselves than they even knew possible.

“I would recommend therapy because sometimes we need people to talk to about our struggles…[that is] how we can grow,” Yip said. “It helps us to understand ourselves, which then allows us to improve our relationships and build healthier habits.”

Conley encourages people to give therapy a chance. She sees it as taking the first step to connecting authentically with yourself.

“I would definitely recommend therapy to like literally anyone. Because It’s just, even if you don’t have issues going on, like it’s helpful just to be more mindful of everything, honestly.”

“While I don’t have all the answers as to why life plays out the way it does, I do know that at our core, we are the same regarding our human condition and ability to have compassion,” Conley said. “Go into therapy with no judgment of yourself, whether you want therapy for one month or one year.”

Do you think there are stereotypes about therapy?

“I feel like people, when they think of therapy, they’re like your laying there on a couch, and you’re just yapping about all your problems but…[therapy is] a lot more helpful than like ‘And how did that make you feel?’“

Is there anything to add about having a therapist?

“I feel like you just have to be open to the process, open to going to therapy, and it really is just about being open-minded just in general. Just don’t be in your own bubble about it. It’s going to be okay.”

Trust the

PROCESS

AP Research students complete year-long projects on topics from hair to sad-themed songs

Angelina Habib | Staff Reporter

Aclass where students have to write a 4,000-5,000 word paper and give a 15-20 minute presentation–most people’s nightmare. But for AP Research students, this is just seventh period.

AP Research is a college elective course, earning students up to three college credit hours, where students choose one topic, and work on it all year. Unlike most AP classes with a two-hour long exam at the end of the year, AP Research students must submit a finished research paper and answer questions from an administrative board during individual presentations in May.

in class, students often still have work for home.

“It is more student-driven and more student-motivated. So it depends on how motivated you are in the class that day to get your work done versus what you have to do at home,” Campbell said.

Many students take this class because they wanted to continue working with the skills they learned in AP Seminar.

Since students are expected to explore one topic so deeply, they typically choose something that connects to them personally. Junior Suriyah Ali chose to research hair growth in African American men and women.

moment for me as I’ve grown up.”

To support her thesis, Kilic is going to parse through Billboard Top 100 data from the past eight years and search for rising trends in sad music, following the same requirements as Ali.

I thought I was going to fail this class... I just felt I wouldn’t be able to do it. But toward the end, I ended up writing an amazing paper by just trusting myself.

In order to take this class, students must take AP Seminar, and both classes are part of the Capstone diploma program.

- Emiaj Jaime, 12 “

During class, students have time to work on their paper, with sparse lessons throughout the year on proper research ethics, citations, and more. Teachers cannot give extensive feedback on students’ papers, with most grades coming from peer review. The class is self-paced but has due dates to keep students on track. Even though AP Research teacher Angela Campbell gives students time

The club behind

Woof TV

“I aspire to do research in the future, and I feel like this class was a really good way for me to gain exposure,” senior Neil Roy said. Last year, Roy studied how studentteacher relationships impact grades. The class pushes students to work on time management with a lot of work and long periods of time between due dates. Overall, students learn how to conduct better and more credible research.

“I realized how important statistics plays a role in research,” Roy said.“I also learned how to juggle multiple things at once.”

Roy used his Spanish class to conduct his research and asked his teacher if he could survey the class throughout the year to obtain information.

Luke Thompson | Staff Reporter

The third period bell rings.

As everyone gets settled, the teacher plays the daily announcements. For three minutes, the video news channel plays, discussing sports, campus events, and school updates.

That is just the surface of WOOF TV. Run by TV Production students and teacher Donna Parker, WOOF TV has explanded to Film Club, teaching students outside of the class how the process works. The goal of the club is to gather students interested in film, including those who cannot join the class. They meet every Thursday to discuss film and the behind-thescenes of WOOF TV.

Senior Eastin Mathies serves as president of the club.

“I’m African American, and the topic of our hair has a stigma around it,” Ali said.

Ali made a survey and is planning to send it out to people in Atlanta, Georgia in order to get more data for her topic. She is also going to need some online research, but there are more restrictions for finding data on the internet.

Choosing a topic for this class is not a quick or easy decision, due to its large amount of requirements. A research topic can be anything, but it has to be something important enough to the student for them to be able to talk about it for 15-20 minutes.

Junior Gulce Kilic chose to research the rise of sad themes in songs in the Billboard Top 100 since the pandemic.

“I feel like music has been a big part of my life,” Kilic said.“I’ve always gone to every concert with my sister, and music has been a big bonding

“I’m extremely proud of being the president. It’s something I aspired to do from the moment that I laid eyes on Hagerty,” Mathies said.

As the leader of a relatively new club, Mathies faces challenges.

“It’s tough to get exposure and members, [but] once people actually get into the club, they’ll stay because [of] the environment,” Mathies said.

“It’s definitely hard at first to figure out your research question, but afterwards, once you figure it out and you get into the groove of writing, it’s pretty simple,” Kilic said.

Though this year’s students still have the majority of the work in front of them, seniors who completed the course last year admit the process is difficult but rewarding.

“I thought I was going to fail this class, like I just felt very hopeless and I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Jaime said. “But toward the end, I ended up writing an amazing paper by just trusting myself.”

Former students recommend the class to their peers who have good time management and enjoy the process of writing.

“If this is one of the classes you want to take for an easy A, I don’t recommend it, but if you genuinely want to learn [then take it],” Roy said.

everyone,” Mathies said.

Currently, the club is hosting a competition to introduce the filmmaking process.

As WOOF TV’s Director of Broadcasting, junior Roger Phipps helps guide club members as an unofficial mentor.

I’m extremely proud of being the president. It’s something I aspired to do from the moment that I laid eyes on Hagerty

- Eastin Mathies, 12 “

This is the second year of the Film Club. Mathies hopes to help members create something inspiring.

“As soon as I heard that we didn’t have a club, I decided that’s what I’m going to do. I love hanging out with

“I’ve really enjoyed the opportunities it presents me to work on my video projects outside of my TV Production period, and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to pass on my knowledge and passion to individuals interested in learning how the TV Production world works,” Phipps said.

BEAST MODE Juniors Gulce Kilic and Jihan Bentaj and senior Guadalupe Maggio work on their projects during the AP Research period. In this class, students write their research paper and have to present their findings. Photo | Ava Medina

BEHIND THE SCENES Senior Antonio Pizza films an episode of Woof TV. Pizza tried to teach Film Club members similar skills. Photo | Luke Thompson

Veterans

find new calling in guiding the next generation as teachers

Faith Walsh | Staff Reporter

When people imagine military service, they imagine officers barking orders and soldiers marching in formation. They probably don’t imagine singing on the White House lawn, like theater teacher Jamaal Solomon did when he was a part of the Air Force’s expeditionary entertainment unit, Tops in Blue.

For Solomon, it was more than a job. In one of his years of service, he participated in the Air Force Worldwide Talent Contest and was chosen to represent the best of the best by being a part of the 30-member group, Tops in Blue.

“It was our job to go out and be ambassadors for the Air Force. We went out and sang in almost every base statewide, and multiple locations

BATTLEFIELD TO FROM

BLACKBOARD

overseas. When we were offered the opportunity to go sing at the White House, we did,” Solomon said.

Service members are exposed to diverse cultures, places, and challenges through deployments and training. During her time in Afghanistan, English teacher Gina Pereira witnessed the remnants of past conflicts such as rusting Russian tanks and downed planes.

“I ended up doing a lot of convoys across the country in Afghanistan… and we would drive across the country and see a plane down, or a tank that was just still there, which was really weird,” Pereira said.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are 5.6 million teachers who are veterans. At

Hagerty, nine staff members served in the military before entering education. Major Martin Johnson (ROTC), Master Sgt. Daniel Weber (ROTC), James Baird III (Social Studies), Melissa Barnett (Clerical), and Carla Hanson (ESE) served in the Army.

“

“I acquired a desire to share my experiences while having a commitment to instilling leadership and discipline in the next generation.”

Solomon served in the Air Force, and Pereira served in the Army and Marines. Ruth Casiano (Social Studies) and Keith Miessau (Science) served in the Coast Guard. For each of the nine, there are many unique stories about their experiences.

- Daniel Weber, Master Sergeant

by her time in the Army. After leaving active duty and moving to Florida to care for her mother, Barnett found her way back to education at Hagerty. Pereira credits her military experience for shaping her teaching approach. With various opportunities to exhibit leadership skills during training in the military, Pereira’s desire to become a teacher blossomed from her military service, and now she encourages her students to foster deeper connections.

For Weber, a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps teacher, the switch from serving in the Army for 22 years to becoming an educator was driven by his passion for mentoring the youth.

“I acquired a desire to share my experiences while having a commitment to instilling leadership and discipline in the next generation,” Weber said.

Solomon was inspired by his time working in youth theater after the military to become a teacher and finish his degree at Purdue University, majoring in liberal studies.

Many people also use the military as a stepping stone to shape their future. Barnett joined the military at 18 to fund her college education. Although she initially dreamed of teaching, she found her path altered

“The military taught me to care deeply about others and to always strive to be better because others rely on you,” Pereira said. “You foster connections with those you’re guiding, and that principle has helped me engage with students.”

Solomon’s teaching approach has been impacted by his time in various wars, fighting in Iraq and traveling to 16 countries in the Middle East. He says the military taught him patience, responsibility, duty and honor.

These educators’ stories serve as a reminder of how the skills learned in the military—discipline, leadership and a commitment to excellence—can translate into the classroom.

Coughing up class time

Senior Amya Waters missed two weeks of school due to illness–and returned to find 20 missing assignments in her AP Macroeconomics class. With the already heavy AP load increasing, Waters’ stress skyrocketed, her frustration compounded by the fact her sickness was not something within her control.

“It’s really hard to come back from missing school. When I miss too much school, piled on top of the normal course load that I already have, it just becomes too stressful for me,” Waters said.

Beyond the normal problems that come from being sick, a bigger stress is often the worry that classes run on a teaching schedule that can’t just wait on everybody to be present to move on, so sick students are bound to miss out.

Student absences can also be very stressful for teachers, as they have a curriculum to cover within a certain time frame, and tests to prepare for. On

top of that, they have multiple classes with many students they have to take into consideration when moving along in the class.

“Having to go back and re-teach is not something that is usually built into the SCPS instructional plan,” US History teacher Julie Duncan said. “[Students being absent] means cutting something new in favor of trying to reteach concepts that were missed due to student absences. US History is too important to take a day off.”

Another issue students face when missing school is the emotional toll of all the makeup work. Finding motivation to do the work can be harder than actually doing it.

“I always end up just kind of pushing my work aside and not thinking about it, and then it just keeps building up over time, and… it’s just not good. It’s so hard to come back,” Waters said.

Many have found strategies to stay on top of their schoolwork, like having a planner. For some,

“You need lots of patience to do the things in the military, the same way you would have to have patience in teaching,” Solomon said.

having a physical planner can be more beneficial, while others prefer to have a digital planner for quicker access. Most teachers do update their Canvas page, and some even have a specific section dedicated to absent students to go and look at to stay caught up. However, some teachers do not update their Canvas page, making it more difficult for students to find what is due and at what times. In a situation like this, it is most beneficial to email the teacher and ask about what work needs to be done, before falling behind.

“All of the work is [on Canvas]. Students can easily log in at the beginning of the week and see everything that we are going to do,” Duncan said. “If a student has to miss a week of school, the weekly assignments are posted on Monday at 7a.m. They are able to complete the work as long as they have a device and internet connection.”

Mikayla Agnos | Staff Reporter

ATTENTION Master Sergeant Weber instructs his JROTC class. Before coming to Hagerty, Weber spent 22 years serving in the Army. Photo | Sydney Munchow

features

A WORLD OF WINTER

A look at the holiday season from a multi-cultural lens

Holly Smyers | News Editor

Almost every culture has some sort of big celebration during winter. Winter’s symbolism as a time of hardship often serves as a basis for religious holidays to be celebrated, typically with some sort of ‘miracle’ occurring, that holidays aim to commemorate. Usually the celebrations that accompany miracles serve as a way for family and community to connect through this shared culture and event.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah is celebrated to honor the Maccabean Revolt and the miracle of the menorah, where a small amount of oil lasted eight days, symbolizing light and faith during the cold month of Kislev.

“You’re commemorating the past and the triumph. For me, it’s a reminder that God is always there even when times are dark,” sophomore Leyla Marmelstein said. “Even when there seems like there’s absolutely no hope, there’s this little miracle [of] God.”

A big part of the Hanukkah is the dreidel game, where players spin a four-sided dreidel to see whether they get or lose chocolate, with the person winning the most chocolate at the end being victorious

“I always had this one dreidel, I called it the lucky dreidel because every time I spin it, I’d always get the entire pile of chocolate.” Marmelstein said. “Everyone always thought I was cheating somehow.”

St. Lucia’s Day

Junior Olivia Ahlqvist learned to celebrate St. Lucia’s Day from her parents, who are immigrants from Sweden. Often celebrated on Dec. 13, St. Lucia’s is a Nordic holiday that involves a young girl who is chosen to represent St. Lucia to symbolize light and hope. The person wears a crown of candles and robes, followed by a procession of young girls and boys in white robes carrying candles or starshaped wands as the hymn, “Sankta Lucia,” is sung in the background.

Kings Day is celebrated on Jan. 6, celebrating the day the three wise men came to pay homage to baby Jesus. On the night of Jan. 5, some kids leave out dried grass under their bed since the wise men rode on camels. Despite also celebrating Christmas with a Santa Claus, the main gift giving happens on the morning of Three Kings Day. These traditions elicit fond memories from Ariza.

Chinese New Year

In China, Chinese New Year is celebrated in January or February of each year. In the days leading up to the holiday, the whole house is cleaned as a symbolic way of getting rid of the old, and making room for what is to come. Mainly, the holiday centers around being with family, with meals being shared between relatives.

It’s an amazing bonding experience because it’s not just family and friends, but everyone in your community. It’s so amazing.

-Juliana Alvarez, 11

“[I remember] Everyone was looking at me, and I wore this fancy wreath in my hair. It’s really important to me that we celebrate it, just to keep the Swedish part of us,” Ahlqvist said.

Three Kings Day

Other cultures carry on their traditions after moving to a foreign country as well. Spanish teacher Nitza Ariza also continues celebrating Three Kings Day with her kids, after growing up with it in Puerto Rico.

“I think [my kids] will continue the tradition with their kids because they really enjoy knowing that this is something that is celebrated when we go back home to Puerto Rico,” Ariza said.

Also known as the Epiphany of the Lord, Three

Red in China is considered a lucky color, so many wear red to symbolize prosperity and decorate their home with lanterns of that color. One of the most iconic traditions of Chinese new year involves older relatives giving children red envelopes full of money.

“My favorite part is the red envelopes,” senior Huixin Chen said. “When I was younger I would save all the money I got from my mom and my aunt and I would use it throughout the year. Now I’m looking forward to getting older, when I can give the envelopes to others.”

Año Viejo

While holidays serve as something linking a family’s lineage, it can link everyone to a part of a culture as well. In Ecuador, they celebrate Año Viejo, a new years holiday that involves making dolls out of old clothes and items the celebrators no longer need, before setting the dolls on fire to bring in the new year and cleanse the past.

“It’s just an amazing bonding experience because it’s not just family and friends, but everyone in your community. It’s so amazing to see all these people happy and having fun,” junior Juliana Alvarez said.

Isabella Ross | Staff Reporter Tracelyn Witsell - filmmaking

Costuming, set design, storyboarding; filmmaking is a lengthy process that includes many steps, but one that senior Tracelyn Witsell has fallen in love with.

Finding their passion at a young age, Witsell experienced an immediate connection to the step-by-step process of filmmaking. They joined their school’s news team in fi fth grade and explored the intricate operation of making films, often making short films on their phone for practice. Witsell continued on the school news team in middle school and high school.

“I actually understand terminology and what I’m doing now. My equipment has gone from a tiny iPad or iPhone to actual digital cameras. I’m much more creative, I use actual sets and actors rather than my room/backyard and toys,” Witsell said.

Among the many areas of filmmaking, Witsell works in creative direction, focusing on the complex but essential facets of film such as set design, character creation, and script writing. Balancing all these responsibilities can prove chaotic and stressful, requiring close orchestration of each element.

“You have to find a good place to film for a few hours, schedule the best date and time for everyone working, cast characters, write and draw the script and storyboard, get props/ clothes, and make sure we have all the technical equipment,” Witsell said. “A lot goes into making a film.”

Regardless of these obstacles, Witsell has never wavered in their love for film making. While their work focuses on creating films for others to watch, what happens behind the camera is what they enjoy the most.

Taking the hobby beyond home projects, Witsell works with a team of other students to create short films, which they submit to various film contests such as the STN Horrorfest. In a recent film titled “It Lies Silent,” Witsell was able to work as assistant director, overseeing each step of the process.

“My group got to work on an actual set at the mall and it was awesome. I got to storyboard and draw character designs, along with creating, filming, and watching edits… overall an amazing experience,” Witsell said Intending on pursuing film after graduation, Witsell plans on continuing to submit films into contests to build their portfolio.

“Making movies is expensive, time consuming and stressful. You have to have a lot of passion to continue. It’s fun and easy to watch movies, but the behind the scenes can take weeks [or] years. Motivation can be hard to find but you need to have it, and you have to have it with passion,” Witsell said.

Illustration | Josephine Lim

The evolution of AI in creative art

The Role of AI in Writing and Its Implications

written by ChatGPT

AI is increasingly being integrated into the writing industry, with tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT revolutionizing how content is produced. These AI-powered platforms are helping businesses and content creators generate articles, social media posts, and marketing copy more efficiently. For example, OpenAI’s ChatGPT can draft a blog post in seconds, assisting writers by suggesting ideas or even completing entire paragraphs. This technology is valuable for highvolume content production, allowing users to save time while maintaining quality.

However, critics argue that AI-generated content lacks the depth and perspective that human writers bring, prompting discussions on how to balance efficiency with creativity. As AI continues to evolve, it is clear that its role in writing will only grow, necessitating ongoing dialogue about its impact on creativity.

On Sept. 19, 771,510 people excitedly clicked on the trailer for a new “Futurama” movie starring Ryan Reynolds and Brie Larson, only to find out that the movie does not exist—what they saw was really a combination of text-based, vocal and image-generating AI coming together to create that trailer.

Lately, anything seems possible with the use of generative AI. While a couple of years ago, the extent of AI was preprogrammed responses from Siri or Alexa, now AI is capable of copying the voices of celebrities and creating fully animated videos from a single command.

AI is implemented in a variety of ways online; from viewing the yearly recap on Spotify, looking something up on Google or even just scrolling through social media. Although it is labeled as “Artificial Intelligence,” in reality, currentgeneration AI simply mimics human creations based on what is available on the internet.

launched in May 2023 called “Masterpiece,” which was created with the help of Real Magic AI, CocaCola’s AI software. It shows a bottle of Coke getting passed through multiple paintings before making its way to a man sitting on a bench. Coca-Cola has not confirmed how much of the graphics were created with Real Magic.

AI in writing

AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Zendesk and Intercom have taken the internet by storm with their ability to write informational articles, essays and stories. As the technology has evolved, AI has become capable of generating more human-like texts and caused many to wonder if AI will replace human writing as it improves. As an aspiring author, junior Madison Smith wonders how AI could change writing.

collected from these websites.

“I’ve seen [AI art] a lot because social media has so many different uses for it and then you look it up and it’s actually an AI, and you’re being tricked into thinking it isn’t.” sophomore Kaylin Rhodes said.

Rhodes has previously used AI in other classes to combine different animals in Photoshop, which exposed her to the abilities of AI and worried her for the future of art.

It can help if you’re using it as an idea, but if you’re … copying it, [it’s] kind of abusing the AI system.

-Kaylin Rhodes, 10

“It’s getting stronger, and people are creating more specific things involving writing,” Smith said. “But I think creativity-wise, it won’t be an issue because art is a part of human nature. You won’t get as much life and emotion out of an AI bot.”

AI has made its debut into the publishing world with multiple books completely written by AI. Novels like “The Serious: A Proven Divorce” with 3.2/10 stars and “1 The Road” rated 4.3/10 stars are available for purchase on Amazon.

Although AI can write stories surrounding a topic, it cannot create a story about a new topic. AI works by replicating and combining already invented ideas and stories into new ones.

“It can help if you’re using it as an idea, but if you’re … copying it, [it’s] kind of abusing the AI system,” Rhodes said.

As AI improves, its ability to make art that recreates the tendencies of humans improves too. AI has been able to copy specific genres of art, realistic brush strokes and lighting- even portraying fantasy and supernatural ideas in its images.

“If [AI art] was to replace [human-made art]. It’s just a computer, it doesn’t really have emotions. It doesn’t have that feeling or that personalized touch of what [the artist is] trying to explain,” Bolden said.

As AI continues to grow, it will advance in its ability to mimic human behavior, becoming more realistic in its ability to generate images, text and entertainment with each new generation. This has led many people to fear an AI take over of human fields. However, others remain confident that AI won’t replace human ingenuity.

“Human ideas are basically the starting point from everything, and that everything that AI [has created] was created by a human at one point,” Rhodes said.

But I think creativity-wise, it won’t be an issue because art is a part of human nature. You won’t get

as

much life and emotion out of an AI bot.

-Madison Smith, 11 “

Large-name companies have taken notice of the mass appeal AI has, attempting to make use of its ability to easily create images as part of ad campaigns or, in the case of Adobe Stock, even its product.

In an ad campaign launched on Nov. 18, CocaCola aired “The Holiday Magic is coming,” where it showed various animals and trucks branded with the Coca-Cola logo in different cities. This sparked a lot of controversy about the ethics of such a largename corporation using AI rather than hiring a film squad or animators.

This was not Coca-Cola’s first time facing controversy for using AI in advertisements. They had gotten a similar response with their campaign

Some people, like AP Language and Composition teacher Jamie Ling, fear that the continual use of AI on writing assignments in school will limit writing competency later in life and prevent students from discovering an appreciation for writing due to the convenience of AI writing tools.

“I completely respect those who feel like [AI] is a good thing. And I understand those who feel like [AI] is not a good thing. However, I worry,” Ling said. “Where I use a calculator for…the most simple math, now I rely on that. Math that I used to be able to do in my head, I can’t any more, because I’m just out of practice. And so when writing is thinking, do we really want something else thinking for us? You don’t want someone else speaking for you. No one likes to be spoken for.”

AI in art

Many artists use digital tools for art because of its general accessibility and quality of life aspects. Due to the availability of digital art online on sites like Tumblr, Instagram, X and most other platforms that allow for users to post artwork, many AI programs have been able to recreate images and even generate new ones based on the data

FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT This is an AI-generated photo posted on Instagram. AI art accounts are starting to become more common on all

THE GAME BE OND

Fans love football for food, family and fun

Jessica Johnson | Staff Reporter

Chicken wing platters and nachos; everyone in red, white and black screaming at the TV; Ohio State scores a touchdown on the TV screen. Sophomore Ian Thornsbury's family loves college football, and like most big football fans, they get together every game day.

Why do you love football?

The thing that unites football fans is their massive love for the game of football, and even greater love for their team.

Junior Ryan Davis is a Florida Gators fan who has attended two games this season and many more before then. He has always loved going to the games with his family.

“I love football because it’s exciting to watch and I can bond with friends and family while watching,” Davis said.

For most fans, their love of football, and the teams they follow, is passed down from their parents.

“My love for football definitely comes from my father. He was a college football player and me and him have always been watching football together,” senior Colton Stephens said, who is also a fan of the Florida Gators. “It’s just a thing we bond over.”

While most people support local teams, other fans support teams from all over the country, usually from a city or state they used to live in, or where they have a lot of relatives, which creates other challenges. To go to most out of area games, fans have to fly there and turn it into a multi-day trip.

ever not love the sport,” Gutierrez said.

Born and raised

While there are fans who start to follow a team when they are good or get popular, the most hard-core fans are fans from birth. They are born into the team due to their parents or even grandparents.

“I'm a fan of the Florida Gators because they are relatively close to where I've lived all my life and both my parents and two of my grandparents went to UF, so they are huge fans,”Davis said.

Usually, the entire family roots together, but dads are almost always the biggest fans. The moms usually still watch but do not care nearly as much.

Gameday traditions

Whether they are sitting with friends eating, watching the game or bonding with the family, everyone has a different way to watch.

Freshman Colton Beams, a diehard Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, has been to a couple of games throughout the years.

“We normally would have a cookout at the house or tailgate if I'm going to the game,” Beams said.

We just sit down and watch and my dad has a thing that he can’t walk away from the game or they will start losing. — Elle Kushner, 11 “

Sophomore Ian Thornsbury was born into a family of Ohio State fans, and while he has never been to a football game, he plans on going to one this season. “My love for Ohio state has been passed down from generations because the family has always lived in Ohio so we have always loved it,” Thornsbury said.

For many fans their game day consists of eating, watching the game, and screaming at the TV for the next three hours. Some even go to restaurants that play the games like Miller's Ale House.

“We just sit down and watch and my dad has a thing that he can’t walk away from the game or they will start losing,” Kushner said.

— Leandro Gutierrez , 11 “

When it comes to football I don’t think I will ever not love the sport.

Football might bring everyone together, but it is more meaningful when the love is passed down from generation to generation. From dad to grandpa loving the same team, the love is not just for sports, it is for the memories it holds.

Football is not only about supporting a team, it is about the history and relationships that come out of it. From crazy fans that go to every game to fans who watch at home, to different styles of enjoying the game, but all of them have one thing in common: a love for football.

Junior Leandro Gutierrez does not like the local college teams. Instead, he is a huge Nebraska Cornhusker fan. When he lived in Virginia, it was still a big trip, but he went to many games. However, ever since moving to Florida he has not been to one since 2016.

“Ever since I was 5, I have been playing football and I have been a fan for as long as I can remember. When it comes to football I don’t think I will

“I love the Steelers whether they are having the best run of their life or if they are biting the dust…I’ll always be a fan and that comes from how I was raised,” junior Elle Kushner said.

While most fans get their love from parents, some find their own team and start new traditions, which might someday be passed down to future generations.

“I became a Steelers fan when I started watching a really good game one day when I was waiting in an airport between Pittsburgh and Green Bay,” junior Carson Schumacher said.

GATOR GANG Ryan Davis and Peyton Farwig at the Florida Gators game. Photo | Ryan Davis

FAN SINCE BIRTH Ian Thornsbury when he was young, to now older in the same teams jersey. Photo | Ian Thornsbury

GAME ON Ian Thornsbury's family watching an OSU game. Photo | Ian Thornsbury

BIRTHDAY ROAD TRIP Kyle Galarza at a Miami Dolphins game celebrating his birthday with friends and family. Photo | Kyle Galarza

Soccer dominates on senior night

Kailey Calvo | Editor-in-chief

Up 7-0 in the second half, the girls varsity soccer team was feeling the energy. Senior Valeria Romero took the opportunity to shoot, scoring her third goal of the night, earning a mercy ruling. Then it hit her—she had finally played in, and won, her senior night game versus East River.

“After I scored my second goal of the night, I think it really started to sink in that we were going to win,” right-wing striker Romero said. “Our confidence as a team was really up, and we were able to be aggressive with the ball and really take

this win for ourselves,” Romero said.

Senior Katherine Smith also led the way during the East River matchup, with two goals scored, and sophomores Mali Burke and Sienna Stafford and freshman Madison Tobey followed with one goal each. Senior captains Emma Roberts and Olivia Cachat and Tobey assisted six goals respectively.

The team lost valuable seniors last year, so their focus this season as been rebuilding with and starting underclassmen players.

“We started the season a little slow being that we are a young team, but have started to build from our strength and weaknesses well,” captain and defensive midfielder Chaney Maurer said. “I have definitely seen an improvement with possessing and moving the ball together down the field, but we always want to continue to improve and become more efficient at scoring.”

While the team has had a successful season thus far, they got off to a rocky start with a 1-0 loss to Monteverde Academy. The team was able to quickly bounce back for their second game of the season versus Lyman, with an 8-0 win.

“Monteverde was a good game to learn from being that we have a lot of young people stepping into big roles,” Maurer said. “We knew everyone had each other’s backs and were able to use that confidence as we played Lyman to connect and play our more aggressive style of soccer.”

For the past two seasons, the team has tied against Oviedo, but senior Brynn Waddell believes that this game highlighted their strengths as a team, and hopes that they can continue to develop those skills for upcoming games against Seminole and Lake Brantley.

“While we’ve been playing pretty well this season, our best game overall was against Oviedo. We didn’t get the outcome we hoped for, but I think we were really able to show off our off the ball movement and cleanliness with the ball, which I hope we can display moving forward,” Waddell said.

Scan the QR code to see Kaitlyn Taylor break down the East River matchup with captain Olivia Cachat and goalkeeper Tatiana Torres.

Cross country takes second at states

OnDelaney Roberts Staff Reporter

Nov. 16, runners gathered in Regional Park, Tallahassee for the cross country state championship. The boys went against 31 of the other top teams in the state, placing second behind Bucholz.

The overall score was 160, second to Buchholz’ 143.

“I felt strong during the race and pushed the last mile in order to place well for my team,” junior Noah Mott said. Mott crossed the finish line with a time of 15:56 in 11th place.

“I’m proud of how I performed individually and made the all-state team,” Mott said.

To get to states, on Nov. 2 the team took on the regional championship, placing second. The team was just 17 points away from first, close to winning like states.

“Even though we didn’t get first it still felt amazing to get second at states and a lot of work was put in to just put ourselves in the position to run well,” Leon said.

Overall, the season was a win, and the runner-up finish was the highest in the history of the program.

Girls weightlifting wins over Lyman

Isabella Ross Staff Reporter

Finishing the regular season without a loss, the girls weightlifting team defeated Lyman on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Senior Alyssa Basilo, who usually competes in the 169-pound weight class, placed third in the 183-pound weight class

Following the 183-pound weight class, Vanhoozer placed first in the 199-pound weight class.

This win marked the end of the girls weightlifting team’s regular season, leaving the team with a record of 5-0. The team continuously took home victories, beating Seminole on Nov. 20 61-29, with senior Alexis Williamson placing second in the 183-pound weight class. The team also succeeded over Lake Mary in a 58-34 win, as well as Winter Springs 64-26, and Oviedo 50-36.

After the end of their regular season, the team will compete in the Seminole Athletic Conference Competition on Dec. 13. District meets will take place in late January.

Wrestlers in second at Johnny Rouse

OnKailey Calvo Editor-in-chief

Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14, Hagerty boys wrestling hosted and competed in the Johnny Rouse Invitational wrestling tournament.

The tournament itself was separated into three pools by region, with the Black Pool featuring high school from Seminole County: Hagerty, Winter Springs and Lake Howell.

Hagerty won their bracket on Friday, leading them to the championship rounds, finishing second place overall to South Dade High School.

Junior Nikolas Blake led the team with a 6-0 record over both days of the event, while freshman Brentley Crawley and sophomores Jude DiCicco and Hunter Jessee followed with 5-1 records respectively.

Jacob Leon, 12

Valerie Rios, 11

Cruz Salazar, 11

KICKIN’ IT Senior captain Olivia Cachat keeps the ball away from her opponents. During the senior night game against East River, Cachat and fellow captain Emma Roberts each had multiple assists. Photo | Kayla Rrapi

REACHING THEIR GOALS Senior Katherine Smith high fi ves her teammates during the 8-0 girls soccer victory over East River Photo | Kayla Rrapi

PUTTING IT ALL ON THE

Kaitlyn Taylor | Sports Editor

From big sports like baseball and football to smaller sports like bowling or even riding horses, high school athletes dream of playing at the next level. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, 22 athletes made that dream into reality, signing to play their sport at the collegiate level. The auditorium was filled with family and friends as they watched the student athletes sign their letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college.

Baseball had the most commits out of all of the sports, with seven students signing. The baseball program has a long history of athlete signees, with several even making the major leagues. Kentucky commit, senior Ryan Foscolo, hopes to follow a similar trajectory into the major leagues.

LINE

attended a few camps and decided to commit to the University of Kentucky.

Similarly, senior Ana Roman had to choose between multiple schools during her recruitment process. She has been nationally ranked since her freshman year and even made the 18U Puerto Rican Junior National Team before committing to the University of Alabama this fall. She has a career .399 batting average.

Tell them about why you’re interested in their program, what you want to do in the future, and why you think it will be a good fit.

- Mikayla Miessler, 11 “

“From the day I first started playing the game, I fell in love and knew I wanted to play in the MLB. Part of that process is to play college baseball first, so that’s what I set my sights on and I am just grateful I have the opportunity to do so,” outfielder Foscolo said.

The recruitment process started when Foscolo made varsity his freshman year and played effectively throughout.

“The main steps in my recruitment process were pretty simple. Play good. The better I played, the more people that came to watch me and it turned into more opportunities. The spring season of 2023 (my sophomore year) is really what got my name out there,” Foscolo said.

After that, multiple schools began to reach out to him and he narrowed the schools down to those he was interested in attending. He then

“My recruiting process was just getting on a good team that will play in good tournaments where college coaches will then see me. Then when I narrowed it down to the colleges I wanted to go to, I would go to camps and see if it’s a match for me,” Roman said. Going to college camps can be a helpful way to get noticed among other high school athletes. Collecting and posting highlight videos is also a good way for athletes to get recognition. This was very beneficial to Brewton-Parker College commit, senior Tatiana Torres, helping her recruitment process go in the right direction.

“The first part of the process was capturing video of game footage and practices. It took several months to develop good videos with all my highlights. I also created an Instagram account to follow coaches and post clips of me playing as well as pictures from games,” Torres said. “During the course of my junior year, I started attending college ID camps to get more exposure.”

Varsity volleyball coach Juanita Hitt, who is also a coach and the recruitment coordinator at Top Select Volleyball Academy, believes that the recruitment process starts freshman year. She suggests that players should start by identifying 25-30 colleges that they are interested in

and then after doing research on their major and whether or not they have that position in that grad year, reach out by emailing them.

“The biggest thing is keeping contact with them because [Division I] schools can’t talk to kids until the summer going into their junior year, so they have to have good communication with them. Now with the NIL changing, it’s a year-to-year on financial aid ability, so kids need to do their research on whether it’s a good fit,” Hitt said.

She also noted that by the player’s junior year, they should be attending camps and taking visits to narrow down their choices.

Varsity volleyball junior Mikayla Miessler is staying active in her

recruitment process. She has been attending camps, sending emails, and doing as much as she can to stay noticed.

“Right now I’m sending out emails, and I’ve had a few calls…went on a visit over the summer. It’s kind of a dead period because all of the teams are in season, so I’m emailing the coaches that were interested and they’re getting back saying they’ll come and watch me during club season,” Miessler said.

She suggests that underclassmen start emailing potential fits as soon as possible by personally inviting coaches to their court, field, or wherever they play. Along with sending out emails, sending highlight films is also extremely helpful.

“Tell them about why you’re interested in their program, what you want to do in the future, and why you think it will be a good fit. Coaches want to hear more about you,” Miessler said.

Naturally, for a player to get noticed, they have to be extremely dedicated and committed to putting the work in both on and off the field. The recruitment process is very complex, and getting to signing day is the last step of the long, in depth journey.

“To me, it means that all of the hard work, all of the blood, sweat, and tears, was worth it to make it to the point where I am today,” Torres said.

years of hard work, 22 Hagerty athletes have signed their letters of intent to play at the collegiate level. Photo | Jay Getty

GROUND GAME Infielder/pitcher, Alexandra Beldowicz, officially signed to play collegiate softball at the University of South Florida. She has been on varsity all four years. Photo | Caydee Claps