Pilot Final Issue

School To Summer

Pilot

Magazine

The Future for Finals Finals for the 2020-2021 School Year and What it Means for the Future Elaine Ottens

As the 2020-2021 Lindbergh school year comes to a close, most students are enjoying the lack of finals they have to take this year. For the rest of the students, their AP finals loom over them with the strangeness from an abnormal year. What do these altered finals- or lack thereof- mean for the students of Lindbergh High School as a whole?

For a student such as Kenna Kelly (10), she is not worried about not taking the finals.

“I feel more relieved because it has been a crazy year and all of the information being taught has not stuck in my brain,” Kelly said.

At the beginning of the school year, all students were learning virtually. Many people struggled with retaining information because of their work environments. As a result, having finals, the end-of-year assessment, would make it more of a hassle for those people already struggling to remember what was learned.

“I think that teachers haven’t given us much time to prepare, other than math I felt like I have not had as many resources because this year was so delayed,” Elsa Davinroy (11) said.

The delay of the school year is what caused the absence of all finals except for the college classes.

“Technically, all finals at LHS were canceled at LHS unless there was a requirement by the affiliated university that requires them in a course that is earning college credit. All teachers at LHS still had the option of giving a summative exam at the end of the semester, but it was not required. The major reason why they were canceled is because we were trying to maximize the amount of potential time for new learning. With so much lost time this year, we didn’t want to take more time away for exams that could be spent for further learning,” Dr. Eric Cochran (Principal) said.

However, this may be a good thing for the students.

“There is still next year, and also it is a chance for me to be able to better understand the curriculum without having to rush into a test with information from a long time ago,” Kelly said.

The finals have been a confusing topic, since the community does not know whether or not it will affect the students’ future. This was also seen last year in full affect when COVID-19 first hit. Student’s were in their fourth quarter, and it was apparent that they would not be having finals due to the lockdown.

WorldBank Blogs wrote an article on April 1st, 2020, stating

Editor-in-Chief what consequences would come out of the decision to postpone, cancel, or continue to take the exam. For U.S. universities that cancelled their exams, the students would just be given diplomas based on the effort they put into the rest of the school year. The Economic Policy Institute studied the school environment at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, finding that students were not doing well in terms of at-home learning. The article states that the limitations of standardized tests has come from the student’s performance in school during the pandemic.

“Digital divides and disparities in parental resources are fueling the growth of opportunity gaps that likely will make it harder for disadvantaged students to engage with their schoolwork and easier for these students to lose interest in school,” the article said.

There is no doubt this year will have an impact on all students, whether it is good for them or bad for them. Those who won’t be taking their finals this year will be prone to missing out on an entire year.

“They probably won’t be prepared for next year. I think it’s kind of weird that not all classes are having finals because that’s just what we’ve always done,” Davinroy said.

The multipurpose room set up for testing at Lindbergh High School. The room is split into two, each seating four students and one teacher. Photo credit: Elaine Ottens.

News 5.27.21

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Volunteer During Summer 2021

There are plenty of opportunities to help make a difference within the local community this summer through spending time as a volunteer for various organizations and causes. Whether it’s to polish up your college applications, meet service hour requirements or pay it forward, there are multiple opportunities to be found!

Mallory Broom Staff Writer

Missouri Department of Conservation

Looking to brighten up Missouri’s environment? One of the many volunteer programs offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation are Stream Teams, which aim to monitor water quality, collect trash, organize river clean-ups and more to help keep Missouri’s streams as healthy as possible. Individuals have the options of creating their own Stream Team or joining other nearby teams.

Missouri Department of Conservation

Stream Team

Endangered Wolf Center

Maybe aiding critically endangered species or protecting wildlife is of more interest. Anyone ages 14 to 17 are encouraged to become a junior volunteer at the Endangered Wolf Center. Junior volunteers can host tours, help with fundraising events like Wolf Fest, create enrichment for the animals, and assist with Wolf Howls and summer camps.

Rachel Broom, EWC Director of Development, mentions “Volunteers are a major part of the Center and their efforts help us spend as much time and money as we can on caring for our animals and educating people about how vital wolves are to our fragile ecosystems. We’re always looking for new motivated volunteers!”

St. Louis Crisis Center

The St. Louis Crisis Center is also looking for volunteers. The facility has five nursery locations and on their website asks for volunteers who “have an understanding of children and respect for their privacy with a non-judgmental attitude towards the children and their parents. Volunteers must also be at least 14 years old and be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian until the age of 16 years old.” A volunteer must complete a volunteer packet and attend a volunteer orientation to prepare themselves.

According to their website, “Children’s Volunteers care for our kids by engaging them in the day’s activities, including playtime (arts & crafts, dress up, games, outside play), meal/snack time, quiet/nap time, rocking and feeding our babies, etc.”

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Advice

5.27.21

Magic House Help is needed at the Magic House. Let your inner kid out a bit this summer and apply to volunteer as a Museum Assistant to one of the country’s best children’s museums! Volunteers must be at least 13-years-old, commit to serving a minimum of 30 hours within a year and be patient and courteous to all guests, especially children. After submitting the application, volunteers will undergo a personal interview and if accepted, an orientation session.

Crestwood Animal Shelter Crestwood Animal Shelter does not accept outside visitors at the moment due to COVID-19, but is searching for volunteers ages 18 and up who have a passion for animals and adoptions as those are still open! Don’t get discouraged if you’re under 18years-old, since the shelter is still in need of donations. Consider fundraising for them by selling lemonade, bracelets or spreading the word on social media with a donation campaign.

Shelter Amazon Wishlist

Volunteer Sign Up (18+)

St. Louis Area Foodbank

Additionally, St. Louis Area Foodbank is a member of Feeding America, a nationwide hunger relief organization, and seeks volunteers 16 years of age and older (if someone falls under the age requirement, they must be accompanied by a parental guardian). According to their website, volunteers signing up for three-hour shifts at the center will “serve as part of a volunteer crew focused on packing meal boxes, sorting donated products, repacking produce for distribution, and other tasks directly related to preparing food for distribution.” Mobile distributions, data entry and aiding at special fundraising events are other ways volunteers can help support the Foodbank.

Keep in mind that cash donations go a long way in meeting the specific needs of the organization, but people are also welcome to organize a food drive (virtual or in-person) or petition food industries to donate a portion of their products as well and help prevent food waste by donating food that isn’t deemed attractive enough, is too odd looking for sale, or is in the narrow window of being about to expire or just past its sell-by date but is still safe to consume within a certain period of time.

Distribution Event Sign Up

Other Ways to Help

Finally, be sure to research each organization’s varying COVID-19 restrictions which each volunteer will be required to follow, such as scheduling your service appointments weeks or days in advance online, completing a coronavirus symptoms questionnaire, mandatory masks, physical distancing and other important guidelines implemented for the safety of all volunteers and employees.

Advice 5.27.21

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School's out...

Summer's In!

Over the past year and a half, the whole world has had to adjust to a new normal and alter their whole lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the many things the world has had to adjust to is school during a global pandemic.

Schools around the country tackled learning lots of different ways. Some schools in each state started school by going to all in-person classes. Other schools started a hybrid schedule and/or an all virtual schedule. These schedules affected students in lots of different ways.

According to Education Week, “E-learning has been touted as a potential tool for minimizing disruption and keeping instruction flowing during an extended break — but significant gaps in access and resources mean not all schools are prepared to offer virtual classes, and not all students are equipped to learn online.”

Some people had differening opinions on all virtual classes, according to June Ahn, an associate professor of learning sciences and research-practice partnerships at the University of California, Irvine school of education, “A growing number of studies show a negative impact on student achievement when K-12 students move to online formats compared to their usual in-school experience.”

In-person school was a common way for most schools around the country to end the 20202021 school year. According to an article by Headspace, in-person learning has lots of benefits for students,

“You can gain greater understanding, stories and real-world examples from teachers and other students, You have the opportunity to connect with, problem-solve, and network with other students from a wide range of backgrounds.”

According to a statement by American Academy of Pediatrics, “Children learn best when physically present in the classroom. But children get much more than academics at school. They also learn social and emotional skills at school, get healthy meals and exercise, mental health support and other services that cannot be easily replicated online.”

There are lots of pros and cons to learning in school during an in-person schedule and lots of pros and cons to learning in school during a virtual learning environment.

Sports are a huge part of the high school experience for all students, teachers, coaches and parents. In fall 2020, Sam Page, the county executive for Saint Louis County, announced fall sports would have major changes since COVID-19 spreads in high-contact environments.

According to Page, “For moderate frequency contact sports there will be no games for kids 14 and older in sports including soccer and volleyball. For kids under 14 in this moderate frequency category, games will be allowed but there will be no tournaments and no spectators.”

Lots of schools in Saint Louis County decided they were better off not doing fall sports at all for moderate to high contact sports.

In spring 2021, a light was starting to appear at the end of the tunnel, lots of schools including Lindbergh High School decided it was time to start allowing sports for the spring sports season.

Page announced that he had decided to ease up on the COVID-19 restrictions for school sports.

News

“Tournaments can return for both youth sports and adult leagues. However, there will be several restrictions in place to limit the number of people in one place at a time and the number of people interacting with each other,” Page said.

This was a huge change compared to fall 2020, however there were still lots of restrictions such as masks and a limited number of fans and spectators at these sporting events.

Lindbergh High School students faced the largest challenges in the 2020-2021 school year due to the inconsistent changes in the restrictions and school schedules. In a recent poll, Lindbergh students opened up about how COVID-19 has impacted their school year. Elle Grage (9) said, “having less social events and having less time to see friends” impacted her.

Other students, like Isabelle Mercille (9), felt the impact of COVID-19 to their education, “it made my grades go down drastically because none of the assignments were assigned on paper, which is the most effective way to learn and retain information,” she said.

Students were also asked “What was your favorite part of the 2020-21 school year?” Jackson Hart (11) responded, “The more lax, understanding due dates, although part of this may have been teachers being overwhelmed by Canvas.”

Students were also asked “What was your least favorite part of the 2020-21 school year?”

Logan Taggert (10) said, “Learning and finishing assignments. It was extremely challenging for me to understand and finish some assignments because online learning is completely different from in person learning.”

The last question students at Lindbergh were asked was, “What Would You Change About the 2020-21 School Year?” Roie Randelman (11) said, “Honestly I think that the biggest thing would be having power lunch. Power lunch gave me ways to be in more groups and work on my homework as well as hang out with friends. I think that if there was one thing that I could get back [it] would be Power Lunch. Although removing COVID-19 would also be great.”

Brian Kim (11) added, “I would change the schedule so that classes are shorter, but meet more times during the week. This would make it easier for students to focus during shorter class periods and have more opportunities to learn new material.”

Students at Lindbergh all had different opinions and views on how they think this year should’ve gone and what it should not have been like. However, it can be said this year allowed for a lot of learning and growing for students, staff and faculty alike.

News

Audrey Branding

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5.27.21

Staff Writer

5.27.21

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