2024-2025 Issue 1

Mouth of the River

Publication of Oyster River High School

TABLE OF CONTENTS

News

Phone Practice pg. 5

Orchestra Changes pg. 7

Ms. Goldberg pg. 15

Ms. Keeley pg. 17

Mr. Troy pg. 19

Back In My Day pg, 22

Mr. Suoth pg. 29

Opinion

Sports & Culture

Dear Readers,

MOR is back for the 2024-2025 school year.

Our first issue cover was shot by MOR’s Ian Hilfiker and edited by Natalie Fernald. The front is a nod to Kevin Kell’s “The New ORHS Phone Zones” on pg. 5 while the back features a reference to Jahrie Houle’s article “Deleting social media didn’t fix my life” on pg. 10.

For more reading on the new practices in place surrounding phone usage, read Ulysses Smith’s “Without Phones, Community Returns” on pg. 43. Once you’re sick of reading about phones, you can learn which teacher had their ear pierced in high school by reading Hannah Klarov’s and Sadie Goldberg’s article “Back in My Day” on pg. 22.

Thank you to our sponsors who make MOR possible! We are beyond grateful for your support, which allows us to cover the stories we care about. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor for our remaining issues this year, reach out to 25nielk@orcsd.org.

If you’re an ORHS student who’s interested in having your voice heard in MOR, reach out to skelly@orcsd.org.

See you next issue,

Kevin Kell and Amelia Rury

Mouth of the River seeks to reliably inform the student body, as well as the surrounding community, of interesting and newsworthy content in a modern, compelling format. Our goal as a staff is to give voice to the students of Oyster River, and have it heard by all our students. The opinions expressed in Mouth of the River represent those of the writers and staff.

Sleep Deprived

Mouth of the River Mission Statement

Meet the Staff

Curated by Annie Graff

Annie asked our staff “what musical artist would you be and why?”

Byline Photos by Elise Bacon

Amelia Rury (she/her) (‘25)

Co-Editor in Chief

Amelia Rury is our co-editor in Chief. Some like to call her the Girl Kevin. Personally, I like to call Kevin, “Boy Amelia”. Take that, patriarchy. She kept her answer short and sweet, “Travis Scott. Mouth of the River is my utopia.” Holy yikes. I don’t want to know what her dystopia looks like. Do you think they’ll play FE!N?

Kevin Kell (he/him) (‘25)

Co-Editor in Chief

Kevin Kell is our Co-Editor in Chief. A.K.A “Boy Amelia.” (Annie: 2, Patriarchy: 0). If he could be any musical artist, he would DJ Khaled because, “nobody knows what he does, and it doesn’t matter what he says.” Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t know what Boy Amelia does. He kind of just shows up and hangs out with Kai. He might have said “anotha one” at some point but I really couldn’t tell you. I like to zone out when he talks.

This is Olivia; Anderson, she’s the Multimedia editor. She also has a habit of not finishing her sentences. For example, she said she would be The Weekend because “they had the best super bowl performance of all time.” I know she meant to say, “second to Beyonce” at the end of that so I’m gonna let it slide.

Meet Bella Jackman, who has great lashes... I’ve always wanted to ask her what lash serum she uses. Bella if you’re reading this, please put me on. If she could be an artist, she would be Gracie Abrams because “she is quietly iconic.” I have to disagree with this because I think Bella is so iconic it’s impossible to be quiet about it. She’s more like Taylor Swift, or Ariana Grande minus the homewrecking.

Elise Bacon (BACON!) is the Social Media and Events Manager. If she could be an artist, she would be Billy Joel because he “seems chill and can play piano and I’ve always wanted to learn.” I can picture Elise absolutely shredding some harmonica and maybe dancing in the street. We didn’t start the fire, but Elise might have with those crazy harmonica skills. These Billy Joel puns are starting to not make sense. I think it’s the concussion talking.

Hannah Klarov is the Creative Director. That means that I pray to her whenever InDesign doesn’t work. She answered “Ariana Grande because my friends say I talk like her, and we are basically the same person. I also wore high ponies every day in elementary school, so we twinning.” I hope your love life isn’t twinning. Can Olivia and Hannah collab and sing Die for You (Remix)? I love that song.

Sadie Goldberg is the Features Editor. She’s also one of the cooler people I know. If she could be an artist, she would be Selena Gomez. She chose Selena because Mr. Towle said that they were similar because “she does a lot of things and has a chronic illness.” Sadie does do a lot of things, but she doesn’t have a chronic illness. She did have a sinus infection though and that’s pretty close. I feel like Mr. Towle just wants to be Selena Gomez and is living vicariously through Sadie.

Here we have Kai Nield, wooooow get a load of this guy. He’s our Marketing Director. Should’ve directed a better head shot am I right? He wants to be Playboi Carti because, “I like to keep my stuff vaulted and hidden away.” Thank god, let’s keep that vault closed buddy. Now that we have Travis Scott and Carti, I’m one step closer to getting FE!N on the MOR class playlist.

Olivia Andersen (she/her) (‘25)

Multimedia Editor

Elise Bacon (she/her) (‘26) Social Media and Events Manager

Sadie Goldberg (she/her) (‘26) Features Editor

Bella Jackman (she/her) (‘26) Website Manager

Hannah Klarov (she/her) (‘25) Creative Director

Kai Nield (he/him) (‘25) Marketing Director

Layout Editor

I’m the layout editor this year. I’m also what some might call the personality hire. I don’t really know what that means but it sounds cool. The musical artist I would be is Beyonce, both because I’m a diva but also because I’m the one really pulling the strings.

Ian Hilfiker

Archive Manager

Ian Hilfiker is the Archive Manager. He’s a pretty funny guy like 60% of the time. If he could be a musical artist, he would be Mac Demarco because, “then I could do tons of absurd things and just have it written off as ‘Oh it’s okay he’s just doing Mac things, don’t worry about him.’” I don’t really think anyone is writing off what Ian does, at least I’m not anyway. That’s right, I’ve got my eyes on you. I know what you did, Ian.

& Culture Editor

Ulysses Smith is our Sports and Culture editor. He’d be Slowdive because, “It’s not everyday dream pop and shoe gaze merge together effortlessly. And to have been hated, yet to continually succeed, that is something of note.” Can we talk about how this guy always has a pencil behind his ear? Like there’s no way you need to write stuff down that often. I’m not pointing fingers or anything, but I feel like the pencil has a secret, more sinister use.

Opinion Editor

Jahrie Houle is our opinion editor, and she couldn’t figure what musical artist she was, so she had to take a Buzzfeed quiz. She got Kanye West. I feel like I don’t even have to finish this, that really speaks for itself. Let’s just keep Jahrie away from the Opinion articles or that might go south really quickly.

Our one and only News Editor is Paige Stehle. If she could be a music artist, she would be Mitski. Paige says, “Her music is cool, and her self-reflective lyrics are really relatable.” I see this for Paige, I feel like she is very Thought Daughter. Maybe someone should check up on her though.

(he/him) (‘25)

Jahrie Houle (she/her) (‘26)

Annie Graff (she/her) (‘26)

Ulysses Smith (he/him) (‘25) Sports

Paige Stehle (she/her) (‘25) News Editor

The New ORHS Phone Zones

A new Oyster River High School schoolwide practice is changing the way students learn.

written by KEVIN KELL

Midnight in Paris, 7 AM in Tokyo, 3 PM in Los Angeles, 6 PM in Durham, New Hampshire. That was the moment on August 27th when Oyster River High School (ORHS) students received an email from principal Rebecca Noe that was set to change the way they went about their school day.

Directly before the school year started, the ORHS administration announced a schoolwide practice that banned the use of cell phones during classes. When students walk into their class, they must place their cell phones in designated “Phone Zones” and pick them back up when the period ends.

The practice was met with immediate praise from staff yet disapproval from students. However, as the school year has

eased in, this practice has started to become the new norm.

Schools all over America are cracking down on the use of cell phones during school hours. According to a CBS News article titled “Schools across the U.S. restrict cellphones amid growing behavior, mental health, academic concerns,” 76% of schools around the country decided to prohibit the use of cell phones for nonacademic purposes. Many schools local to ORHS such as Saint Thomas and Exeter have also begun to pick up policies or practices restricting phone use.

The practice in place at ORHS came together because a group of staff members were tired of cell phones getting in the way of students doing their work. “I was tired of the

“IwastiredoftheWritingCenterbeing notveryproductive.”

ORHS math teacher Brendan Whalen

Writing Center being not very productive,” said ORHS writing tutor Jake Baver, who was a member of the group that worked on the new policy. “If I could pinpoint one thing in

sixty” when it comes to restricting students’ phones. “I don’t agree with the policy. The issue before was that it wasn’t being enforced.” said Jack Smith (‘25). He thinks the old prac-

our school system last year that could be changed to ben efit productivity and mental attentiveness across the board, it would be getting rid of phones.”

Noe, who was also heavily involved in the process of implementing the phone policy, continued to emphasize that whether students like it or not, phones have been a problem. “In my first three years, there are two things that I’ve heard a lot about from teachers consistently. Cell phones are one of them, flex time is the other,” said Noe.

Baver speaks for most of the ORHS staff by praising how well the practice has gone so far this year. “The Writing Center is a more academic, quiet space. Advisory is more engaged than I’ve ever seen it.” He continues by saying, “I’m not a classroom teacher but from what I’ve heard, students are more focused, and wandering is down.”

tice should have worked but students never took it seriously because there were no reprocussions.

Smith chooses to leave his phone at home for the day as opposed to leaving it in the designated phone zones. “As much as people think that the school is low on theft, I’ve been here for four years. It’s happened. It’s quite publicly happened. Stuff has been stolen before,” he adds.

“Studentsaremorefocused, andwanderingisdown.”

Xander Ahn (‘27), who only had one year of complete freedom when it comes to phone use in school has been mostly on board with it. “[The phone rule] hasn’t really bothered me that much,” he says. However, Ahn is a part of the large group of students who believe that the school should back off during advisory and flex periods.

However, many students feel there were much better ways of going about this issue. The buzz around the school is that in a lot of cases, it feels like the school went from “zero to

While “Phone Zones” exist, questions about whether taking away the student’s opportunity to build on a number of important life skills was the right move. But the immediate positive classroom effects this practice has brought will never be discounted.

Changes in the Orchestra Program

This year begins a shift in Oyster River High School’s Strings Orchestra class.

written by PAIGE STEHLE

PhotocourtesyofOysterRiverCooperativeSchoolDistrict

Returning students to Oyster River High School’s (ORHS) orchestra program have grown used to performing in a large ensemble in a location that constantly changed from room-to-room. This year, however, is different.

we can differentiate a little bit more for students to have smaller groups and have more individual time. It’s easier to help folks who need a little bit of extra help,” says von Oeyen.

However, Ike Williams (’26), a violist, thinks that what von Oeyen saw as a problem wasn’t so bad. “There was less attention on each individual, and larger groups meant we had more of [a range of] players,” says Williams.

Now that there’s two separate sections students can be scheduled for, players of different instruments are placed randomly, making the instrument distribution not ideal for an orchestra ensemble. One section has two students who play double bass, while the other has none, and one section has an overflowing number of violinists while the other barely has enough. This lack of a full orchestra and even distribution of players is a problem von Oeyen is combatting by scheduling monthly, before-school, full-orchestra rehearsals.

In class-time rehearsals, students aren’t used to no longer having the large sound of the group to cover up their mistakes. With more focus on the individual player, it pushes students to improve and avoid the mistakes that the larger group allowed for.

“Before, in the big ensemble, you could dig into your strings and you wouldn’t hear the scratchy sounds—now

“Wesplititsowecandifferentiatealittlebitmore forstudentstohavesmallergroupsandhavemore individualtime.”-AndreavonOeyen

111Headed by ORHS and Oyster River Middle School (ORMS) orchestra teacher Andrea von Oeyen, the orchestra class has undergone several changes this year. These changes have lessened the stress on the teacher, made the class more manageable, and allowed more individual focus on students. Even with concerns of balance and student vulnerability, the discomfort of a changed orchestra will only make these string instrument players stronger.

The formerly 55-70-person class has now been split into two sections (B4 and W4) and has been permanently moved to the band room. Von Oeyen now also mainly teaches at the high school with the exception of the 8th grade orchestra class.

Dividing the orchestra in two was this year’s biggest change. It has been a long time coming: typically, high school classes shouldn’t be more than 20-30 kids, and the orchestra class was much over that limit, putting extra pressure on both the teacher and the students. “We split it so

AndreavonOeyenmid-conducting.

PhotocourtesyofOysterRiverCooperativeSchoolDistrict

you can hear every individual person in your section, which is a little bit overwhelming and intimidating, but I think we can grow into it,” says violinist Courtney George (’25).

Not only do this year’s changes to the program affect students, they affect the orchestra teacher as well. In previous years, von Oeyen ran back and forth between the middle and high schools to teach grades 5-12. Now, von Oeyen has a more workable schedule due to the hiring of the new middle school orchestra teacher, Carrie Young.

“Traveling between two schools [was] a lot...keeping track of instruments for over 200 kids [was] a lot, especially these types of instruments where things break all the time, or kids need to size up [their instruments]… multiple concerts a year, festivals, it just was getting to be overly busy. I wasn’t feeling like I could handle all of it,” says von Oeyen.

Williams says that in the past few years, “Mrs. von Oeyen was a lot more stressed, with being a part of the middle school program and the high school program.”

Now, von Oeyen no longer has to go back and forth multiple times from both schools, reducing this stress by a mile. Instead, she starts her day teaching eighth grade then drives down to the high school to finish the school day. “Now that Mrs. von Oeyen is here [mostly] full-time, she has a lot of room to play with what she’s doing in the high school,” says George.

not the best scenario for the class. String instruments can go out of tune with the slightest change in environment, and the best sound of an orchestra is really only produced in certain spaces designed for its sound. The auditorium can’t fit the orchestra onstage, the MPR isn’t built for the sound of string ensembles, and neither is the library, due to its carpeting.

This year, the group has permanently relocated to the band room. With the smaller sections, the band room fits the orchestra and enhances the ensemble’s tone quality. “I like the band room...it’s nice to be in a room that’s actually made for music,” says violist Maggie O’Shea (‘27). With von Oeyen’s office situated in the corner, eliminating her need for her traveling rollie-cart, all the student’s musical supplies in one spot, and a room that makes music sound its best, the band room is a welcome transition for students.

These changes are viewed in many types of ways: welcomeness, comfortability, and unfamiliarity. Nonetheless, the strings orchestra program is moving forward, and is ultimately improving. Von Oeyen is grateful for the community and administration’s willingness to make these changes and improvements.

Because she’s at ORHS nearly full time, von Oeyen, now more than ever, needs a permanent classroom. Space has been an issue in the past for the larger orchestra, and its “classroom” has been many different rooms.

The ever-changing orchestra classroom was difficult and

“I’d love to say thank you for everyone who’s supported music or supported the orchestra,” she says.

The The Lunch Crunch

written by SADIE GOLDBERG with contributions from MITCHELL KEESEE

Deleting social media didn’t fix my life.

I deleted social media for a week. Here’s what happened.

written by JAHRIE HOULE

This is my third time writing this article. When I first sat down in front of my laptop at the end of my weeklong social media hiatus, I was stumped. I had been anticipating this moment all week - this was when I was supposed to return from my completely stress-free and productive week of self-reflection and write a beautiful memoir educating my peers on all the ways social media has ruined their lives.

However, that wasn’t the case. Not only had my brilliant experiment yielded far from optimal results, but my first rough draft resembled something more of a poorly written lab report than the poetic masterpiece I was manifesting.

The truth is, I was expecting my brief disappearance from the online world to solve all my problems in some shape or form.

When that didn’t happen, I deemed the whole thing a failure.

In hindsight, this reaction is what made my experience more powerful. If everything had gone perfectly to plan, I would have my own version of every other social media essay on the internet; one that very few high schoolers would willingly read.

I initially came up with this idea after reading an MOR article from 2020 by Emily Hamilton titled “slumped,” and I began to realize just how much social media was interfering with my everyday life. Hamilton’s article talks about how ORHS students aren’t getting enough sleep and points out that most students’ lack of sleep has less to do with the amount of homework they have and more to do with the amount of time they spend procrastinating said homework, usually on their phone.

Thus began my challenge. For one week, I deleted all forms of social media from my phone, to see how truly productive and ‘in the moment’ I could be.

Like many teenagers, social media accounts for a large percentage of the time I spend on devices. I wanted to see how much more productive and present I could be without the constant distraction of apps like Instagram and TikTok.

The first thing I realized when I woke up on Monday morning was how strong my instinct was to open my phone. Usually, I would spend the next few minutes scrolling Instagram or Pinterest, catching up on everything I’d missed over the few hours I was asleep. But, with those apps deleted from my phone, I was forced to turn off my alarm and start getting ready for school. This ultimately led to me feeling less rushed, having an extra 10 minutes that would be otherwise spent on social media – an encouraging revelation to kick off the day.

2 ...

I had a conversation with one of my friends about what technically counted as social media. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, social media is defined as websites and applications which enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. By these standards, I wasn’t using social media, but that didn’t mean I was completely detached from the internet.

I still spent a significant amount of time staring at a screen, either from working on my computer or finding other ways to distract myself on my phone like reorganizing my entire camera roll. I also still found myself saving my homework until late at night, despite the absence of social media which has been a major distraction in the past.

By this point I seemed to be getting the hang of living life unplugged. So much so that I forgot to grab my phone at the end of the school day and ended up leaving it overnight in Mr. Kelly’s classroom—ironically, the teacher for whose class I’m writing this for.

While leaving my phone in my classrooms is becoming an increasingly regular occurrence, especially with the recent implementation of the ‘phone zone,” locking it inside the school for the entire night was a first.

Part of me was upset of course, but I was also interested to see how the rest of the day would go for the sake of my journalism project. While the evening itself was anticlimactic in terms of interesting details to add to this story, I was pleased to find that my primary worry was not missing out on all my friends’ posts like it might have been on a different week. Instead, it was the fact that my rather embarrassingly titled alarm was scheduled to go off at seven in the morning when I wouldn’t be around to turn it off.

By days four and five, I remember feeling frustrated. Staying off social media wasn’t the problem for me, it was the fact that it wasn’t magically making me more productive and happier, at least not in the way I had hoped it would. Despite spending about two less hours than usual pumping meaningless content into my brain, there wasn’t a dramatic shift in the amount of work I was able to get done or in my quality of sleep. Perhaps even more discouraging was the fact that I still found plenty of ways to compare myself to others.

4/5 6 7

It’s shocking to think about how much of my life revolves around catering to other people’s perceptions of me. While I’d consider myself to be a pretty self-aware person, it still comes as a surprise just how easy it is to get caught in the ‘comparison trap’. My first instinct is to blame this on the strategically edited highlight posts that pop up on my phone every day, but I found that even without that, my thoughts were consistently focused on how I compared to others, even just walking around the cross-country venue at which my race was being held.

“I wish I had her hair.”

“I wish I had their confidence.”

“IwishIcouldrunasfastassomeofmyteammates.”

In my experience, social media isn’t the direct cause of our insecurities, but rather perpetuates ones we already have. I can always find a way to put myself down, social media simply hands it to me on a silver platter.

As my thumb hovered over the ‘reinstall’ button, I noticed that I wasn’t excited to go back to having my entire social life at my fingertips once again. Not only did my experiment ‘fail’ but I was about to slip right back into my old fake dopamine seeking habits. To say I hadn’t missed the infinite stream of content to distract me from all my problems wouldn’t be the truth, but that’s exactly what it was to me. A distraction. Not necessarily from my schoolwork, although I have procrastinated my fair share of assignments, but from my own personal worries that were much easier to forget about with every scroll, every new personally targeted post, than confront.

People love to paint social media as the ultimate evil— including myself. For every eye roll I’ve given my parents for telling me to get off my phone, I’ve made just as many negative comments about my own screen time. As someone who generally tries to distance myself from the inherent dangers of social media as much as possible (pretty unsuccessfully might I add), I am fully aware of how bad these apps can make me feel about myself.

It wasn’t until I sat down to write this section that I realized just how much time I spend trying to get people to like me both in person, and online. I can sit here and talk about how annoyed I get when my friends spend hours making perfectly curated posts of their life highlights only to second guess everything down to the color of the heart emoji in the caption, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do the same thing.

Recently, I had a lengthy conversation with Abby Owens, former MOR editor in chief over the phone and she spoke about her own unique experiences with social media. Owens realized that her obsession with self-improvement, a result of her increase in social media use during the pandemic, was becoming unhealthy and decided to take a break. Her absence from social media ended up lasting several years and it wasn’t until the beginning of her senior year of high school that she returned with aspirations of finding a college roommate. Owens expressed her frustration in feeling like every moment of her life was lived for the sake of her online profile since her reappearance.

She told me how, in her opinion, this change made it nearly impossible for her to fully live in the moment. Owens shared that she occasionally felt as if some of the things she did with her friends were done solely for the sake of posting about it.

“‘Let’s do this thing because we love each other but also so we can take pictures, and so other people can see how much we love each other,’” said Owens as she described the internal thought process of her friend group.

As Owens put it, getting social media can feel like signing a deal with the devil.

“‘Let’sdothisthingbecausewe love each other but also so we cantakepictures,andsoother peoplecanseehowmuchwe loveeachother”’ -AbbyOwens

What she found most intriguing was that despite already knowing its negative effects, we still willingly allow ourselves to get engrossed in these apps for the sake of connection and entertainment.

Obviously, breaking free of this for one singular week isn’t going to fix every problem in my life. However, what it did do is give me time to get things done without the looming distraction of ‘one more video’ and to reflect on why I constantly find myself trapped in an obsessive pattern of self-comparison - something that is only enhanced by social media.

At the end of the day (or in this case, week), it’s all about finding a healthy balance.

A few weeks ago, I spoke with Erinn Doherty (‘25) about the different methods she’s used to reduce her daily social media consumption. As someone who is passionate about maintaining a healthy relationship with social media, she’s taken matters into her own hands. “I set my own screen time limits for apps that I spend the most amount of time on... I bypass it a lot, but it makes me more aware of how much time I’m spending.”

Doherty recognizes the many positives to social media, in addition to its downsides. That said, it’s important to her that she also has time to focus on her hobbies like painting in addition to her schoolwork instead of scrolling through meaningless content for hours at a time. “If nothing else, [social media] takes up so much time,” said Doherty. Owens agrees; however, she highlights that it’s important to understand why you’re procrastinating in the first place, either simply from boredom, or a bigger underlying issue. “Wasted time is wasted time, it doesn’t have to be spent on social media.”

Our generation lives with a double-edged sword in our pocket.

We live in a time in which these platforms are inevitably going to have an impact on our high school experience. While, to my ultimate disappointment, my time spent away from social media did not give me a perfectly clear vision on how to properly wield it, it certainly gave me clarity into my own life and helped me begin to develop a healthier relationship with the apps I spend hours scrolling through, one that we all need.

Icanalwaysfindaway toputmyselfdown, socialmediasimply hands it to me on a silverplatter.

LMadame/Señora Grove

ORHS welcomes its newest addition to the World Language department.

written by PAIGE STEHLE photography by IAN HILFIKER

a vida es un viaje, and for Fiona Grove, the new French and Spanish teacher at Oyster River High School (ORHS), son voyage a été très intéressant.

For those who haven’t taken Spanish or French with Grove: life is a journey, and her journey has been very interesting. Grove, a former ORHS student, spent her high school years knowing her goal: to one day work for the United Nations (UN). A determined and goal-ori ented person, Grove embarked on her post-high school journey and gained experiences working and living in two foreign countries. However, instead of leading her to the UN, her journey led her on a different path and helped her discover what she truly wanted: to become a world-language teacher.

Her journey to this realization starts at ORHS, circa 2013-17. Grove was the epitome of a high-achieving student. “She was phenomenal, and I cannot stress that enough. In the years since, when we’d talk about a really strong, amazing student, a once-in-ablue-moon type student...we’d say they’re like a Fiona,” says Wendy Gibson, ORHS Spanish teacher. Gibson had Grove as a stu dent and now works as her colleague in the World Language department. The study of language was a defining part of Grove’s high school experience. She took French in middle school and continued taking French in high school while also starting Spanish her freshman year. After a Spanish-immersion summer program at Middlebury College the summer before her sophomore year, she

rejoined her age group in Spanish 3. Later on, she took French at the UNH level, and helped Shawn Kelly, ORHS English teacher, in creating the high school’s Linguistics class for an independent study her senior year. Grove wasdrawn to this because of her passion for foreign languages. She was dedicated not only to language learning but also to academics. “I was pretty serious, I was driven by a couple of concrete goals, and I had a relatively strong sense of who I wanted to be in the world,” says Grove.

Grove maintained these goals into her college career, and when she enrolled at Colgate University in New York, she was determined to one day work for the UN or the state department. She majored in International Relations and East Asian Studies with a concentration in Japan, continuing her language education by learning Japanese.

For a few months in spring of 2020, she interned with the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, putting her foreign language skills to use. However, she didn’t enjoy those few months at all.

“I didn’t feel very excited by the work I was doing; it really didn’t allow me to explore my interests in the way that I thought it would,” says

After striving to work for the UN all those years and believing for so long that this was her dream, she had a bit of an identity crisis when she realized it wasn’t. However, the work she had done to achieve the goal also gave her the tools to become the teacher she is today.

Before teaching, Grove was an au pair in Paris, France,

“Iwasprettyserious,Iwasdrivenbyacoupleof concretegoals,andIhadarelativelystrongsense of who I wanted to be in the world.”

-Fiona Grove

meaning she was essentially a French nanny on a special cultural Visa. She enjoyed this experience immensely, having the opportunity to walk around Paris and soak up the culture and the people for a year, according to Colgate University Magazine’s article “Relocate to Paris With Fiona Grove, ‘21.”

Then, she returned to the States, and the issue of her career-identity-crisis returned.

“One of the reasons I was interested in working for the UN or going into politics is because I’m interested in global politics, I’m interested in history, I love language learning, and I also kind of enjoy public speaking, which I think makes being a teacher a little bit easier,” Grove says. “My parents are both teachers... I love academia, I love language learning, I love sharing my passion with others, and so becoming a teacher just kind of felt like the next logical option.”

LeiLuna Plourde (‘28), is a member of Grove’s advisory and in her Spanish 2 class. “She doesn’t just go to work, she... helps people to not be so nervous when they come in... she asks how we are all the time,” says Plourde. Even though she’s only known her advisor for about a month, Plourde appreciates Grove’s accepting and positive attitude.

tors are just amazing: the administration, the students I have in class, the orientation that we had at the beginning that really gave a thorough rundown of what to expect here, and what was expected of me.”

Gibson is grateful that Grove was willing to come back to ORHS to teach the next generations of language learners. “We’re really lucky to have her. It’s hard to find a teacher who can teach French and Spanish, and the fact that she has that flexibility is a great thing for the language department,” she says. Grove’s journey from high school to now has made her a well-prepared ORHS world language teacher. “I was really positively influenced by most of the teachers that I had at Oyster River in terms of my interests and aspirations, my growth, my desire to be the kind of person I wanted to be in the world. And I was also really heavily influenced by both of my parents who are teachers, and their worldview.”

While Grove’s goal throughout high school and early college was to work for the UN, her experiences gained from pursuing that goal, combined with her innate sense of self and input from her parents and teachers, will inevitably benefit her newfound purpose of teaching and her work in this district.

“It’s been a good transition,” Grove says, regarding the beginning of the school year. “One of the things that has been great about Oyster River so far is all the external fac-

“She was a really hard-working student, and the same is true of her as a teacher,” says Gibson.

Goldberg

Rachel Goldberg is a new English teacher whose warm yet professional demeaner has made her an excellent addition to the Writing Center and ORHS community.

Awritten by ELISE BACON

poet at heart, Rachel Goldberg has always had a love for, and fascination with writing and literature. Now, she has a chance to share that passion with students every day.

Goldberg is the newest addition to the Oyster River High School (ORHS) English department, and though we are still early in the new school year, she’s already creating a positive impact.

When Goldberg isn’t teaching, she works in the Writing Center. She’s taken advantage of being thrown into a central part of our school’s community, connecting with students she otherwise couldn’t have.

Ellie Macmanes (‘25) is a student in one of Goldberg’s Expository Writing classes and has worked with her closely outside of class in the Writing Center. “I think that has been helpful for me to feel more comfortable in her class [...] Seeing her outside of the class made me feel more connected to at least one person.”

Goldberg recalled a meaningful moment in another one of her Expository Writing classes when students volunteered to share 100-word personal narratives with the class. “I think that writing is often a site of vulnerability which can lead to really meaning full connections, and so I saw that moment of sharing in my class as the start of a movement towards more vulnerability with that group of students.”

This belief in the relationship between vulnerability and writing is part of why Goldberg has always been very passionate about English and literature. She recalls that there wasn’t one specific moment where she fell in love with it all, but that it was poetry that had initially sparked her interest at a very young age. “The first time that I thought about wanting to be a teacher was actually in second grade, and that was largely because that was my first memorable experience with poetry,” Goldberg says.

She remembers she always wanted to teach at the level she was learning, before reaching high school and realizing that this is where she belongs.

“I loved my second-grade teacher. I thought, ‘okay I want to teach elementary school.’ I got to middle school, continued to love reading, writing, analyzing literature, and I thought, ‘okay I want to teach middle school.’ Got to high school and I thought, ‘okay, no I really want to work with high schoolers.”

Before coming to ORHS, Goldberg attended Colby College as a double major in English and education, with a minor in sociology. During her senior year she had

“Thisisapersonthatisnottakingtheeducationof youngpeoplelighly.”

-JakeBaver,WritingCenterTutor

done a semester of student teaching, but being a teacher at ORHS is her first full-time position.

Jake Baver, a tutor in the Writing Center, said that from the first time they met last year he could tell how committed she was, and that she was going to be a great fit at ORHS. “This is a person that is not taking the education of young people lightly.”

Macmanes said that when working with Goldberg, “She doesn’t want to change your writing style or anything she just wants to try to really understand where you’re coming from, and how to improve your personal writing.”

One of her advisees, Danika Harington (‘28), has also worked with her a lot on schoolwork, and said that she’s

been an amazing resource. “She set up a binder for me to help me organize myself.” Goldberg has a freshman advisory, meaning that they are all navigating a new environment this year. Nevertheless, she is excited for the rest of the year and the opportunity to learn and grow right alongside her students.

Goldberg says, “It feels exciting that this ambition I’ve had since second grade has come to fruition in a very special place, and to feel like I’ve already made some meaningful connections with students... I’m looking forward to the rest of the school year, and for me, it’s like everyday thinking, ‘okay, what do I want to do differently tomorrow?’”

“BandAid”wasapoemGoldbergwroteincollegewhileworkingonapoetrythesis.Thepoemexplores themesofclimatechangeandtheburdenplacedonyoungpeopletodaytomakeachange.

A New Face in the Art Room

ORHS art department welcomes Colleen Keeley.

written by AMELIA RURY

olleen Keeley started her teaching career at Oyster River High School (ORHS) in a pair of red adidas Gazelles, and a thrifted t-shirt with birds printed on the front in black ink from her hand carved stamp.

Keeley is both filling a needed position and bringing a new wave of creativity to the ORHS art department, already creating a notable presence for herself in the art room. Her students have learned how she’s receptive to clarifying questions, but also easy to converse with about music or hobbies.

Age and relatability are concerns every new teacher has, but Ella Boyd (‘25) noticed how Keeley is truly making an effort to connect with her students. Boyd says, “You can tell how she’s expressing her own interest in certain areas, especially in music. She has a playlist with her favorite artists for the class and will really connect to kids with similar music taste.”

Most importantly, her sense of creativity is present in her self expression. “I don’t usually include art in my introduction. I just assume people know I’m into art because I teach art,” said Keeley. Although it’s assumed, it’s cool to know she might be wearing one of her own creations, like her bird stamped t-shirt.

To spark this creativity outside the classroom, Keeley finds small ‘bucket list’ items to keep herself entertained. This past summer, Keeley described her list. She said, “They’re silly things. Paint a tote bag, make a calendar, have cheese and crackers at the beach.”

Her experience with art classes in high school set off her ability to express her creativity freely.

“My art teacher was such a positive person in my life. Even though I didn’t feel like I was the best student, but, she pushed me to take AP or honors art classes. For once, a teacher was noticing something I’m good at,” said Keeley. Her path since high school hasn’t been completely straightforward, but she knew she was meant to end up teaching high schoolers. When she graduated from college, she landed her first job teaching art in a kindergarten-eighth grade environment. After eight years, she eagerly moved on to ORHS, saying that, “Now I feel comfortable, I know what I’m doing, and I’ve felt like I always wanted [to teach high school], and it’s the right time in my career.”

ORHS is a completely different environment compared to a K-8 school, which left Keeley out of her element at first.

Keeley’sprintmadeartpiece

Keeley’sdigitallydesignedandillustrated deck of cards

“My classes have been silent, everyone is listening and attentive, and there’s no little kids saying ‘can I tell you about my birthday party this weekend?’’’ Keeley said.

The teaching habits she built after eight years spent teaching K-8 have influenced the way Keeley has started off her time at ORHS. She prioritizes the basics and safety. Boyd, who’s taking her Introduction to Sculpture class, said, “She’s done a great job teaching the basic skills you need to know as a beginner. For example, we’re using Exacto knives in our projects, and most kids have used them before. But, she’s starting from the top with the safe ways to use them and the way to maximize the tool.”

Keeley is also teaching Introduction to Art and Introduction to Digital Art. While she’s only working with introductory level classes, she’s happy to be getting comfortable with the different materials and skills the ORHS art department has to offer.

Art teacher Maria Rosi said, “Ms. Haudenschield and I gave

[Keeley] a binder with everything as the curriculum currently exists, and she has the autonomy as a teacher here at Oyster River to use that or adjust it to her liking.”

Even with this opportunity, Keeley is enthusiastic about the curriculum in place already. While Intro to Art is similar to what she has taught before, she’s excited to branch outside of her comfort zone while teaching. She said, “Sculpture was something I was super excited about because I really liked it in high school. Digital art is something I’ve never had to teach, but it’s something I’ve been teaching myself at the same time, so I’m excited to dive into that one.”

Although Keeley has only just begun to bring her talents to the ORHS art department, it welcomes her with nothing but enthusiasm. Rosi said, “Ms. Keeley, Ms. Haudenschield and myself, all agree we feel as though we’re at the beginning of a really wonderful team.”

Mr.Troy

Same but Different

The legacy continues as another Troy has come to take up the mantle in the ORHS Industrial Arts shop.

written by ELISE BACON

Students with Mr. Troy on their schedule this year might be surprised by the severe lack of mustache present on the man standing in front of them. This may be due to the fact that they are not looking at Troy, but Troy instead.

Lucas Troy is the new Industrial Arts teacher at Oyster River High School (ORHS). Taking over for his father, Mike Troy, who had run the shop for 28 years, he’s excited to continue the department and make it his own through his passion for students and the arts.

[Because these two share a last name, “Mike Troy” will henceforth be refered to as “Troy Sr.”]

Growing up in the very shop he now runs, teach-

ing wasn’t the path Troy had always seen for himself. He is a passionate musician and pursued art for a time in college, those experiences give him a unique perspective and appreciation for creative expression that he plans to share with his students.

Troy says, “I want to see what the kids can come up with. I can tell them how to assemble a picture frame or some bookshelves, but I want to see their creative drive. I wanna see what kind of ideas they can bring to the table.”

Though Troy never finished college he’ll be getting his teaching certification through the school. He is grateful to have found his way here, “A lot of

“It’ssohardtodescribethejoy,knowingthatthe shopwillcontinuewithMr.Troy” -MikeTroy

the things that Oyster River seems focused on is making sure that you’re good with the kids, that you’re a positive person for the kids to look towards for guidance.”

Assistant Principal Mike McCann was on the committee that interviewed Troy, “I think we’re just really lucky to have him you know, he’s really dedicated, and he seems very excited about the work that he’s doing, and he really cares about helping people.”

Troy sees a lot of value in celebrating differences in the classroom and giving students the space to explore their individual interests. One of Troy’s advisees, Lucy Zent (’28) mentioned, “He said that he worked with special needs kids before he worked here and that was nice to hear cause he knows that people have different experiences with learning.”

Before ORHS, Troy worked at The Birchtree Center, which is a small school in Portsmouth for kids with autism. There, he worked with high school aged kids, individually and in classes. He taught mostly life skills, incorporating his industrial experience into the curriculum and work around the school.

“I was also the maintenance coordinator at the school, so af-

ter school I was the handy man, and I tried to incorporate that with my students too. I’d get them to help me out repairing the school too,” Troy added.

“When I started working at the Birch Tree Center, I realized, I really really love working with kids [and] making an impact on their lives. I saw it through my dad’s work,” said Troy.

Connor Long (’25), a long time Industrial Arts student of Troy Sr.’s, said that his first impression of Troy was that, “he’s really energetic, happy to be here.” Long is taking three of Troy’s classes this year and is excited to get to know him.

Troy Sr. could not be more relieved, excited, and proud that the program is staying in the family. “I can’t even describe to you what it feels like, I am so proud. I worked very hard for 28 years here to build a program, and it was killing me to think that I would be leaving… it’s so hard to describe the joy, knowing that the shop will continue with Mr. Troy. I can sleep at night.”

Troy is proud to carry on the legacy but is excited to make it his own, pushing his students to incorporate their own passions into their work, and take their creativity to the next level.

MOR Presents:

Straight from his favorite corner of the Writing Center,

73 Questions With Mr. Baver

filmed by AMELIA RURY

Guess who?

Match the fun fact with the teacher!

1. Which teacher had one ear pierced in highschool?

a. Harwood b. Philbrick

c. Thompson d. Fan

3. Which teacher rated people’s lockers for a video?

a. Yatsevitch b. Philbrick

c. Thompson d. Fan

5. Which teacher helped make a play about her school?

a. Yatsevitch b. Fan

c. Thompson d. Harwood

7. Which teacher sang at their graduation?

a. Fan b. Philbrick

c. Fleming d. Yatsevitch

2. Which teacher worked at a pharmacy?

a. Thompson b. Yatsevitch

c. Wainwright d. Fleming

4. Which teacher worked for the secret service?

a. Fleming b. Thompson

c. Yatsevitch d. Wainwright

6. Which teacher had classes of 60 people each?

a. Harwood b. Thompson

c. Fan d. Yatsevitch

Flip the page and read on to find out the answers!

Back in my Day Back in my Day

Read the stories of seven ORHS teachers when they were in high school!

written by SADIE GOLDBERG and HANNAH KLAROV photos

courtesy of teachers interviewed

Always wondered what your teachers were like when they were in high school?

Just like us students, they have stories to tell and lessons they’ve learned that make them who they are today. We got the scoop on these stories, as well as a bit of advice from each teacher that they wish they had been told when they were our

place. We hope that you have as much fun reading them as we did collecting them!

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, seventeen-year-old Megan Thompson quickly ran out of the doors of her small K-12 school and jumped into her car. With excitement traveling in her veins, she drove up to the Pats Peak Ski Area, the ski resort that she had been teaching at since she was thirteen.

Although working at thirteen probably violates a lot of child labor laws today, Thompson thought of her part-time job as anything but labor.

“I started with a kids program and learned how to teach very small kids, hung out with [them] all weekend long, pushed them down the mountain. Then they hired me as a ski instructor, and I started teaching in an after-school program. You no longer can work when you’re thirteen...at thirteen, they would pay me cookies.”

Thompsonandthekids’programshetaught.Noticethelackof helmets,whichisconsideredstandardequipmentnow

Thompson still instructs at the mountain and the community is still strong. Most of the people that started instructing

there when she was in school have never left.

Back in her school, Thompson’s graduating class was also wellknown for having a strong community and personality. In her senior year English class, Thompson and her fifteen other classmates didn’t want to just learn the curriculum anymore. They wanted to try something else.

“We did a whole school spirit play about the school and our uniforms. We went crazy with it. So, we put the name of our school on our glasses, pants, and everywhere. We made a parody of some of the extremes and of our teachers in the play. That was my class...we were just unapologetically us, and we did it with tons of personality.”

Her advice to today’s high school students is to pursue the high school experience that they want. Instead of just talking or dreaming about it, make plans and go for it, because it flies by fast.

“Atthirteen,theywouldpaymecookies.”

-MeganThompson

Thompson remembers being proactive in her grade, especially when she became a senior. For example, she wanted a senior video and trip for her class, and they had one because she brought up the idea and went for it. She states, “I just did it because these are experiences that I wanted. Find the people and find the resources.”

ThompsonandhermotheratPatsPeak. ShewasalsoaskiinstructorandinspiredThompson’sloveforskiing (notethenametaginthecorner).

Surrounded by a dozen other students in a small, cozy cafe in the downtown area near her high school, Marjke Yatsevitch was focused on deciphering what the painting above her, by Mexican painter Diego Rivera, could possibly mean. Her peers around her were doing the same, as that was this week’s topic of the club she created: the IF Club.

delved into the topics through conversation over a cup of coffee.

Along with extracurriculars, Yatsevitch was also a big fan of school spirit events. Almost everyone in her school was. Different from school spirit today as a whole, it wasn’t just focused on the athletics portion of school spirit nor the

“Wewouldalljustcomedownoffofthebleachers anddanceinthemiddleofthegymfloor.”

-MarjkeYatsevitch

She explains, “I started a club called the IF Club, which stood for intellectually frustrated, and we basically used it as an excuse to play around with ideas that we didn’t think got enough attention.”

There were no assignments or lectures, they just spontaneously learned about whatever they felt like, driven only by their curiosity. Whether it was Italian art films or the Harlem Renaissance, they

competitiveness of it either.

Yatsevitch also remembers that there would also be a focus on the arts and culture.

“We would have student bands on the floor of the gym and the sports teams coming in in full costumes on tricycles, while my friends would all be playing the bass and guitars and drums, and we would all just come down off of the bleachers and dance in the middle of the gym floor.”

Her grade was tight knit, and this famously came

Yatsevitch in her childhood room.

through on her graduation day.

She remembers her class president and valedictorian giving their speeches. At the end of those speeches, everyone split into parts of a choir and sang along with the band that was performing there.

Yatsevitch recognizes that if she wasn’t open to meeting people that were outside of her group, she wouldn’t have the experience she had. Although in high school there is always some element of wanting to conform, she assures students that it won’t matter much in the long run.

Her advice to high school students today is, “Have an open heart over being concerned of what other people think of you...focus on the community around you and celebrate it.”

Oliver Philbrick was sitting in study hall, doodling in his English notebook, when suddenly one of his friends — who was standing outside of the hallway with the door ajar — motioned to him. As Philbrick walked out, his friend shared the latest project he was working on: a video called Ratemy Locker. He needed Philbrick’s help.

RatemyLockerwas one of the many creative projects that he took part in during that time. “We shot videos for one of my friend’s video projects called RateMyLocker and he

Philbrickbuildingatowerwithhisfriend,inthesameroomthat he teaches in now.

went to a couple of friends lockers and rated what was in there...I watched the video back, kind of like a year ago and I was struck by the freedom of movement we had at that time.”

This remains one of his fondest memories of high school and it was a time where he could freely be creative and spontaneous.

Although Philbrick graduated in 2018, he recognizes that this probably wouldn’t be able to happen so easily today. “A part of that is the new culture; security in

schools, really controlling who’s entering, who’s leaving in hall or being in the cafeteria...it feels a little more constricted than I remember.”

A lesson that he learned through high school that he took to his adult life, is remaining passionate about his hobbies and interests, and not being embarrassed of them.

“When I was a kid, the nerd culture wasn’t quite as prevalent as it is now. But Mr. Garman was particularly open about his love for nerd culture. Seeing that as a kid was really important, just seeing that you don’t have to hide your interests.” Not hiding his interests and who he was, helped Philbrick find the people that he’s still close with to this day.

Philbrick’s advice for students today is to take risks socially. “Get out there and get to know people. I’m still really good friends with a lot of the people I met in high school. Every year now we host a music festival in the summer, for just friends of mine, people we know. I appreciate that I get to be part of that community.”

“Iwasstruckbythefreedomofmovementwehadat thattime.”-OliverPhilbrick(‘18)

Yatsevitchsittingonthelawnofherschoolwithherfriend.

Philbrickduringaspiritweekfieldday.

Causing laughter that could be heard down the halls, Colleen Fleming, who was voted Class Clown at graduation, sat in her last class of the day. As the bell rang, she said her goodbyes to friends and walked out the school doors. She began switching gears to another side of her as she made her way to work as a secretary for the Secret Service. She didn’t quite realize how lucky she was to be able to

take that job when she was in high school. “I guess kids in general don’t get calls from the President of the United States,” she said with a smile. “I was 17 and 18, so I didn’t appreciate it.”

As she recalled what the job entailed, she said that she would support the Secret Service agents that came in and help them prepare reports. This meant she had top secret

“Iguesskidsingeneraldon’tgetcallsfromthe

President of the United States.”

-ColleenFleming

In the back of the chemistry class sat Jennifer Wainwright hoping more than anything that she wouldn’t be called on. She was terrified of even the thought of speaking up in class, much less in a class she didn’t quite enjoy. She thought chemistry was particularly boring and would have rather been in a class that would contribute to her becoming a marine biologist someday, or a class she found simple enjoyment in, like a math class. She would have even wished to be at the pharmacy, working her shift which wasn’t exactly her favorite either.

When Wainwright was in high school, she liked her math and science classes the best. She was a quiet student who

clearance and even had access to the President’s itinerary. She went to a few White House Christmas Parties and was able to see the world’s politicians in person. That job in high school eventually led to her job as a federal agent, which she kept for 25 years, before coming to work at ORHS as a retirement job in 2022.

Before she got the job with the Secret Service, she was a three-season athlete, running indoor and outdoor track, as well as playing field hockey, which was her favorite. Playing as an aggressive half-back on the team, she earned herself the nickname, Animal.

In school, she admits that she was quite the class distraction, always having something sarcastic or funny to say that would derail the whole lesson.

She says, “I was someone who was kind of upset when I graduated because I never really enjoyed the school part, but I enjoyed the socialization part… [Now I think], ‘how I wasted my days in school! I could have learned so much more!’ ”

Fleming says that because of the opportunities she’s been given between going to college and her agent experience, she always tells her kids to “get an education because it’s something no one can ever take away from you and you’re always going to have it as backup.”

wanted to talk in class as little as possible, but still took it seriously. She took upper-level classes and was on honor roll all throughout her high school career.

She not only worked hard in her classes, but also in her extracurriculars outside of school. She was a member of the National Honors Society and was on the math team, which she loved. She tutored her peers in math during school, and even got paid to tutor outside of school.

On top of that she had a job at a pharmacy near school, which later in life helped her to figure out that she didn’t want a customer service job, or a monotonous job like working in a lab. That eventually lead to her decision to become

18yearoldFlemingandPresidentGeorgeBushSr.in1989

“Have your dreams of what you want to do, but just know that reality might hit.”

- Jennifer Wainwright

a chemistry teacher, after she began to find her love of the subject in college when she had a great professor in her college chemistry class.

When she wasn’t doing homework, extracurriculars or her job, she remembers how she used to go to the mall with friends, something that she wishes was still common. She says they also loved to go to the beach, the movies and to football games on Friday nights. She has fond memories of doing “fire drills” with her friends at stop lights, where everybody would jump out of the car, run all the way around and get back into another person’s seat. She still bumps into some of her high school friends in town and smiles while recalling years of Christmas cards received from them.

Her advice for high schoolers of today, is to “have your dreams of what you want to do, but just know that reality might hit, and you might go, ‘I don’t want to do that,’ or ‘maybe I want to do this first!’ It’s ok to not end up doing what you dreamed of doing.”

Trudging home after a 12-hour day of classes with heavy bags full of textbooks, and the weight of society’s expectations to do well on her back, an exhausted Lisa Fan made her way home. After a week full of days like these, class all day and being tutored at night, she was more than ready to have a weekend of relaxation. But exams were coming up, and she was expected to be up bright and early the next morning to head to the library and work on her homework packets with her friends.

Fan says that the school system in China was much different than it is here. She says that the classes are as large as 60 people, and rather than having the students switch classrooms, they stay in their home rooms with the teachers switching every period.

“Chinese school is one way teaching. I get it because we had a big class group, and the teachers just wanted to

Wainwright’sseniorphoto

feed you all the knowledge and prepare you for the exam because the system is more exam oriented. We didn’t really have time to ask questions. We would just take notes, memorize things, and go to exams.”

Studying was her whole life, and it was the same for everyone at her school. Even classes other than core classes were called a waste of time. Before exams all physical education and art classes would switch to core classes to help the students review. Rather than playing a sport or doing a club after school, students were expected to go to tutoring or night classes if they wanted to do well.

Even though the experience was incredibly difficult, Fan says, “What I appreciated for my education experiences in China was it built a strong foundation (especially in math) and fostered resilience in me. There is a saying in Chinese, ‘You will only taste the happiness/sweetness in life after

“ThereisasayinginChinese,‘Youwillonlytaste

going through all the hardship/bitterness.’ ”

Today, Fan tells her students that her goal is not to prepare them to get all As, it’s to keep their passion to learn language.

She wants to say to the high school students of today that, “when you’re in high school it’s very easy to confuse what you want to do with what you want to do to please your parents, or teachers or people around you. I think the line is very blurry because you have so many uncertainties about your future. I think as long as you’re trying different things the answer will come to you.”

Sitting down in his first class of the day, Peter Harwood couldn’t help but get excited for his game after school. It was the first baseball game of the season, and he was more than ready to start competing again. He was impatient, but in science class, his favorite class, he could distract himself with equations and explanations, and when the day was over, then he’d allow himself to start thinking about baseball.

Harwood was a three-season athlete and also participated in a youth leadership program. He played baseball and ice hockey and ran cross country. His favorite at the time was baseball, but today he’s partial to ice hockey.

In high school, Harwood says he did well academically but focused more on sports than getting perfect grades. In 9th grade he took all advanced classes, but during his sophomore year dropped down to college prep classes for every subject other than math and science.

“Don’tpanicifwhatyourplanisnowdoesn’twork out.” - Peter Harwood

He preferred science over math because he says, “The way my brain works is I like to be able to explain everything. I like to have a reason something happens.”

When not focusing on school or sports, he would hang out with his group of friends. Harwood grew up on Cape Cod, which meant that during the school year it was quiet, with not many people coming and going, which meant he and his friends did a lot of outdoor activities. In the summer, there was no shortage of things to do when the tourists came. He scooped ice cream as a job over the summer and enjoyed the new influx of people to see and meet.

He took a math heavy job after college and then moved unexpectedly, at which point he took a job as a hockey referee and wanted to continue to gain experience to eventually make a living off the job. When he realized how much he enjoyed working with kids and figured out that he wanted to teach as well, he decided he could do both, which is how he became a math teacher at ORHS, and our boys ice hockey coach.

He wants to say to today’s highschoolers, “don’t panic if what your plan is now doesn’t work out… sometimes you have a plan and you get all bent out of shape when you don’t achieve it. Other things will pop up that you may end up liking better than original plan.”

The Suoth Factor

As Eden Suoth begins his second year teaching at Oyster River High School, we explore just what makes his classes memorable.

written by IAN HILFIKER

When I first stepped into my Citizens Education (Cit-Ed) class, I expected nothing but another boring graduation requirement. Instead, I ended up meeting Eden Suoth.

It has been one year since Suoth came to Oyster River High School (ORHS), and if there is one thing that I hear said most about him, it is that he is different from any other teacher in the school. This is thanks to his student-driven lesson planning.

He makes sure that all voices and any opinions that want to be heard, are heard in their entirety. He also allows students the freedom to decide what they want to learn, which makes his class more engaging. Now, Suoth has his own class taught under his own curriculum: his philosophy class.

Suoth values student engagement over anything. Any time a class latches on to a certain subject, he always makes sure to make ample time to run with it. “He really values the students; like today he rearranged the agenda because we wanted to spend more time on one of the subjects,” said Oliver Lehman (‘27), a student in his philosophy class.

Last year, during the Columbia University protests, many students in my CitEd class were very passionate about the issue. Even though there is a tightly structured curriculum in Cit-ed, he man-

aged to create time for the class to research and have discussions about the issue, tying it into the news credibility unit. What compelled me the most about his class was how he pushed his students. Of course he cared that I was paying attention and learning the required content, but it mattered much more to him that I fulfilled my personal journey of bettering my work ethic. He pushed me to challenge my perspective on learning, and find joy in my education.

Suoth shared a powerful quote from writer Jane Thompson, to provide some context to the way he teaches. “There is no such thing as a neutral education process. Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of generations, into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the ‘practice of freedom’, the means by which men and women deal critically with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”

Freedom of students is one of the main concepts in his classroom. “Education has to be the practice of freedom,” said Suoth. He places a lot of emphasis on making sure nobody feels trapped in his class. He creates an environment where everyone is excited to learn.

His students experience this freedom first-hand in his classroom. AJ Trifiro (’27), recalled his flexibility in his World Cultures class. “I remem-

ber I had a massive English project due, and it was finals week. Even though we had his final, he let four of us in the same English class work on the project in his class, because he knows us and he knows that this project will be done and done well.”

Suoth always makes sure that students can pick and choose what they are able to do in his classroom. “If you don’t feel you have agency in a classroom, what does that teach you. It might teach you that when you graduate you won’t have agency in your life... I don’t want that to be taught implicitly in my classroom,” said Suoth.

Not only has Suoth working at ORHS benefitted students, but it’s benefitted him as well.

Suoth has been given the opportunity to teach a philosophy class, one of his longtime dreams, which he wasn’t able to do when he taught at Spaulding. “It really means a lot to me. I think I bring philosophy into all of my classes, but it truly means the world to have a whole curriculum built around this class,” said Suoth.

He has four blocks of Philosophy classes this year, and every one of them is filled up. Many students, including me, were introduced to philosophy through taking his other courses. Before I took his class, I had no interest in philosophy.

fundamentally interesting questions!”

Suoth isn’t starting this course from the ground up. There is an entire archive of countless lesson plans and ideas left behind by the late Pam Raiford, the previous philosophy teacher. “It is so evident that she loved what she did… she was beloved, and it was obvious that she put a lot of thought into her philosophy curriculum,” said Suoth. “Even though I am very excited to teach philosophy, this isn’t entirely my philosophy curriculum. I thought it would be stupid of me to jump in and just teach my own curriculum and not explore what Pam has left.”

However, his enthusiasm and application of the subject led me to sign up for his philosophy class this year. Suoth takes less credit than people give him for the success of his class. “It’s just such an interesting discipline by itself. It just asks

While Raiford’s lesson plans have been an influential part of the way the curriculum of the class is structured, the class certainly wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t taught by Suoth. “He has so much passion for what he teaches, to the point where it feels like the curriculum is in the background… Obviously we are doing all the things [in the curriculum] like reading philosophical documents and writing responses, as well as annotating, but it really just feels like an open-ended discussion,” said Lehman.

If you told me a year ago that my Cit-Ed class would be one of the best classes I ever took, I would have never believed you. Suoth brings his classes beyond the curriculum, with his attitude towards learning and encouragement to his students to both grow as learners and as people.

“Ithoughtitwouldbestupidofmetojumpinandjust

Sleep Deprived

ORHS is overworking students, requiring them to sacrifice sleep for success.

written by ULYSSES SMITH art by GIVANNI MACISSO

It is a frigid Monday morning in October, and the cold seeps through the walls as I roll out of bed. The blaring alarm breaks my sleep—it’s six a.m. I stumble to the clock, hit the switch, and crawl back under the covers, desperate for more rest.

Teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep per night according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But despite this statistic, many Oyster River High School (ORHS) students find themselves consistently with excessive homework, making those eight hours feel impossible.

Last night, I got six hours. The night before? Maybe seven. Today? Six again. At the time of writing this article, my mind burns from exhaustion, my eyes waver shut, and I’m not alone.

For most ORHS students, eight hours of sleep means going to bed at ten and waking up around six. But there simply is not enough time in the day to be in school for seven to nine hours and still manage homework,

time I am sleep deprived. Recently I have found this unavoidable feeling sucking the enjoyment out of my usual positive experience at ORHS.

It is a negative cycle too. I remember during my earlier years of high school I would nap after I got home. The naps I used to compensate for my sleep deprivation could span up to two hours. This made me stay up even later into the night, as I wasn’t tired anymore after that rejuvenation, and the cycle continued.

Harrison Burnham (’25) doesn’t share Ovchinnikov’s opinion. “I choose when I go to sleep, I choose to watch football until eleven-thirty at night, and I [also] choose to work until eleven at night, so it’s all in my control.

However, contrary to Burnham’s point, teenagers’ circadian rhythms push sleep back later into the night according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Because of this, their attentiveness is also delayed until later in the day. So, yes, technically it is the choice of the individual as Burnham points out, but the freedom in that choice is limited.

“Thenaturalplacetostealtimeisfrom yourownsleep.”-EdenSuoth

extracurriculars, work, and family responsibilities, while continuing to designate time to decompress and socialize. Sleep is often the last priority for most students, who are often forced to sacrifice sleep for success.

This is not an issue of time management. This is an issue of ORHS overworking students.

I contacted Yury Ovchinnikov (’25), one of the busiest seniors I know. I wanted to know his thoughts on this issue. So, we set up an interview over the phone. When I asked him how much sleep he regularly gets, he said four hours.

This is not healthy.

I was wondering what the most detrimental effects of sleep deprivation are, so I sat down with ORHS Nurse Kim Wolfe. She told me that when you are sleep deprived “your concentration is off, you’re not going to be as mindful, you’re not going to be paying attention like you should... [and you’ll be] thinking ‘I can’t wait to get home to sleep’ instead of thinking about the calculus or whatever is in front of you.”

Wolfe’s explanation perfectly summed up how I feel every

Every time I discuss sleep deprivation with people, I hear the descriptions of similar causes: social media, the usage of technology immediately before bedtime, poor time management, and procrastination. But none of these ideas really circle back to the root of the problem.

You might be wondering: Whyissleepdeprivationsucha pressingissuenow? It comes directly from students consistently working hard and juggling more than ever to succeed, with the schedule that serving as a limitation.

Since social media algorithms utilize our inherent human vulnerabilities for profit, we are helpless. So, the argument of using screen time among teens to explain why students are not getting enough sleep feels convoluted. This is not an issue we can solve. But we can change how we create the schedule to better serve ORHS students.

“I think having classes every other day is beneficial [compared to 7 classes a day]. That said, why stop there? Why not keep looking into different ideas for alternatives?” says ORHS social studies teacher Derek Cangello who believes “We have basically the same schedule that we’ve had since

1950.”

You might be thinking we solved this issue when we changed the start time from seven to eight. a.m. in the last decade. But when I asked Ovchinnikov if he thought less time in school per day would resolve this issue, he said “I don’t think [shortening the school day] will change anything, because if the teachers have less time to teach during school hours, then they will just assign more homework.”

The issue of overworking still persists. “[I think teachers need to] be more mindful of how much time [homework] should take,” he adds.

As a solution, Ovchinnikov proposes a calendar idea, where teachers could see how much work students manage each day, making them more mindful of students’ time. The calendar would likely be visible alongside Schoology, to make it easier for teachers to see how many commitments students are managing beyond each respective class.

This discrepancy in the homework ORHS is giving compared to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) could suggest that colleges like UNH have made the necessary systemic changes to benefit student sleep schedules.

Some argue that homework in high school is meant to foster student exploration. However, it is important to remember that students are typically willing to explore on

their own, outside the confines of school.

Students’ time is already scarce, yet social media companies are continuing to monetize that scarce time. And we cannot escape. Think about all the times you were bored and picked up your phone to text a friend. This isn’t something we can control. We need to work with the variables that we can control, like the schedule itself.

On the topic of the schedule, Cangello says, “We need to think outside the box.” He explains how during COVID, Wednesdays off school allowed students to devote time and energy to schoolwork during the school day. This change prevented day-to-day activities from interfering with student sleep schedules.

I’m not saying we need more remote learning. But we do need to find a way to incorporate more unstructured time into our days and more time for what is important to each individual student. We cannot operate a public school like ORHS with a one-size-fits-all approach. It is detrimental to those working diligently, tirelessly, and around the clock to succeed.

“The natural place to steal time is from your own sleep,” says ORHS philosophy teacher Eden Suoth. But what are we truly stealing from?

HOW TO PLAY SPORTS IN COLLEGE

Hear from various athletes about their own college recruitment journeys written by OLIVIA ANDERSEN

How do I play sports in college?

This is a question that I faced when I first got started on my recruitment journey. I spent many nights sitting at the computer with my mom, sending emails and creating profiles on various recruiting websites. In the end it all paid off, as I have now verbally committed to Southern New Hampshire University for field hockey, but looking back at the process, it was stressful trying to find the school that was right for me.

For many student athletes looking to play at the next level, it can be hard to know where to start or even how to continue once you’ve gotten started. Something that helped me in my process was hearing from other athletes about their own journeys. Here’s some advice I compiled from other athletes either done or in the middle of the process themselves.

Oyster River High School (ORHS) is a school that produces many collegiate athletes and has many more students in the recruiting process,

so thankfully ORHS students have a lot of resources to help them on their own journeys.

A huge help for Claire Jorgensen (‘26) was Annabelle Svenson (‘24). “I started reaching out to coaches at the beginning of my sophomore year. I got an email template from Annabelle and started emailing schools.”

Svenson was someone who had already gone through the process and was eager to lend a hand to Jorgensen. Svenson is currently in her freshmen year at Stonehill College playing Division 1 volleyball.

Kate Michaud (‘26) also started her college search at the beginning of her sophomore year. “I was sending a lot of introductory emails, just saying ‘Hey I’m Kate I play softball...’ and just sending the same email to a bunch of coaches.”

After this initial step comes a lot of waiting. A big thing to note is that most NCAA D1 and D2 schools aren’t allowed to reach out to you until June 15th before your Junior year, so if you don’t get a response, don’t get discouraged. However, sometimes you can get a response inviting you to a camp or clinic. Attending these clinics is a great way to build a relationship with coaches and to get on their radar.

A resource that all ORHS athletes have access to is our Athletic Director, Andy Lathrop. Lathrop has recently started opening his doors to kids who might want to play at the next level. “One of my goals this year was to get more involved with the students that really want to play in college and help them through the process.”

Lathrop only has a small amount of students he’s working with right now, but he’s hoping to make this opportunity more known. “I have probably five to six kids right now but there are some other kids who have started to ask about it. I’m not going to push my help on anybody, it’s for anyone that wants it.”

Another opportunity for student athletes to get noticed

Imagecourtesyof OysterRiverAthletics

ImagecourtesyofLilyFitzgerald

ImagecourtesyofGabiSelig

is playing on a club team. Club sports give athletes the opportunity to play their sport with other athletes from around the state, allowing them to compete at a high level that high school teams can’t always offer.

Jorgensen plays for 603 United Club Volleyball, and they’ve had a huge impact on her journey. 603 United not only helps Jorgensen improve in the off season, but they also help with recruiting.

“The owner comes

sports can be very expensive and time-consuming. If you’re someone who doesn’t have the resources to play a club sport, don’t worry, because that’s not the only way to get recruited.

The most worthwhile part of my process was attending clinics and creating relationships with coaches. I went to clinics at SNHU, Roger Williams University, and Ithaca College.

Eventually it comes down to picking the best school for you, and a big piece of that is getting an inside perspective on the program itself.

Despite touring many other schools Mackenzie Cook (‘25) only went on one official visit to Syracuse University, and the team culture was something that really stood out to her.

“Youjusthavetodecideyourselfifyoureallywant toworkhardandcontinueplayingincollege.”

-KateMichaud(‘26)

in every once in a while, and will talk about recruiting. He tells you what to do and who to send the email to,” says Jorgensen “[603 United’s] main focus is to really help with recruiting.”

Michaud plays for Granite State Elite Softball who provide very similar resources for recruiting. “The owner talks about what coaches like to see and what coaches don’t like to see. They put a lot of information out about how to get started,” says Michaud “You just have to decide yourself if you really want to work hard and continue playing in college.”

During the end of my freshman year and beginning of my sophomore year, I played for Summit Field Hockey Club. They helped me improve a lot, but during the spring of my sophomore year I wanted to play club basketball instead, so I could play with my friends and improve for the season. Even though playing club field hockey helped me improve, clubs aren’t entirely necessary to play sports in college. Club

“The team was so tight knit, which was one of my top things. I would go drive around with all the girls on the team and hang out, and I just really wanted to be a part of that.” Cook committed to Syracuse for cross country and track and field at the start of the school year.

For me it came down to SNHU and Ithaca College, and SNHU just had more to offer for what I was looking for in a school. It was close to home, had great academics, and had an amazing team culture. I am looking forward to my next four years as a Penman.

Although this process can be stressful and difficult at times, in the end it all pays off and you find the best place for you.

If you want to read about more Oyster River student recruitment journeys, read Ethan Wilson’s article, “ORHS Class of 2021 Athletic College Commits.”

Congradulations to Mackenzie for commiting to Syracuse University for D1 cross country and track and field.

Congradulations to Kate who just recently announced her commitment to Merrimack College for D1 softball

ImagecourtesyofAnaClaraFigueiredo

ImagesubmittedbyMackenzieCook

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SAVERS TO SUPER STAR (BELLIED SNEECH)

An inside look into the life and times of Oyster River’s most enigmatic sports team mascot.

written by JAHRIE HOULE with contributions by SADIE GOLDBERG

As a few members of the Oyster River High School (ORHS) girls’ cross-country team whipped around and plastered their faces to the back window of the bus, they erupted in shouts of despair and shock at what they had just witnessed. The remainder of the team had mere seconds to catch a glimpse of the utter catastrophe that had just occurred. The team could do nothing but watch and yell, as their beloved mascot, face down on the highway, grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

Even the girls who had been immersed in a book or a particularly intriguing conversation began to hear the news as it spread through the bus, and it didn’t take long for chaos to ensue.

The shouts only grew louder and more desperate as the severity of the situation set in. The ball of fluff that had flown out the window had been more than just a stuffed animal to them. They felt as if they had lost a member of their team.

Anyone who is on a successful competitive sports team will tell you the importance of team chemistry. For the Oyster River girls’ cross-country team, their team spirit comes in an unusual form: a stuffed animal Dr. Seuss character who goes by the name of Myrtle.

this book is targeted at kids, anyone can enjoy this narrative about acceptance and unity, both of which are important values to uphold on sports teams.

Ironically, even though the moral of “The Sneeches” is that appearance is far less important than what’s on the inside, the girls were originally inspired by a photograph of a teammate running. Race pictures are notoriously bad and in this particular photo, they joked that the runner looked eerily like a Sneech, a creature many remembered fondly from years of elementary school read-a-louds.

Myrtle’s character, known as a Star-bellied Sneech, comes from the children’s book The Sneeches and Other Stories written by Dr. Seuss. Although

Little did they know, less than a week later at an Olive Garden team dinner, they would find Myrtle, who’d been patiently waiting for them on a shelf in Savers. Maddy Cook (‘27) happily recounts this moment. “We went to the back, towards blankets and stuffed animals, and I looked to my right and I saw this yellow fuzzy thing. I was like, “ew what is that,” and I picked her up by her hair and then she turned around. I saw that she was a star-bellied sneech, and I was like ‘isn’t this what we called HB?’”

From that night on, Myrtle became her own entity, not just a reference to the photo of HB (nickname for one of the girls on the team). Myrtle was now an essential part of cross country for the girls, much to both the dismay and delight of the boys’

“You’reoutthererunningformorethanjust yourself;you’rerunningforyourteammateswho youtrainwitheverydayandaresomeofyour best friends.”-Patrick O’Brien

Bezanson(HB)posingwithMyrtleinSavers.

PhotocourtesyofMakenzieCook.

team who had recently acquired their own team mascot named Patrick the Bear (after coach Patrick O’Brien.)

While the relationship between PTB (Patrick the Bear) and Myrtle is a heavily debated topic among team members, everyone can agree that the ‘rivalry’ has helped strengthen the bond between the two teams. Although PTB and Myrtle are often

gether, but she also provides extra motivation on race day. “She’s come to every single one of our meets since we got her... At meets when everybody is stressed out, it’s just really nice to have something you can just goof around with. She definitely reduces a lot of anxiety which is big in running,” said Roy.

As a nationally ranked team competing to win state championships and regional titles, there is often a tremendous amount of pressure placed on the athletes to perform well in races. Roy shares how it’s important to stay calm. “We’re just high schoolers and we’re just doing this for fun. Myrtle is there to remind us of that.”

Many members of the girls’ team also say that knowing Myrtle is there and rooting for them even helps them perform better at meets. Haley Bezanson (‘27), a top runner on the team, shares how she views Myrtle simply as a constant supportive presence. “I see her in the tent hanging by her hair and I’m just like ‘oh yeah, she’s there, she’s cheering us on.’”

“We’rejusthighschoolersandwe’rejust doingthisforfun.Myrtleisthereto remindusofthat.”-NeelyRoy(‘26)

set against each other in disputes about which is ‘better,’ the teams have agreed that the two stuffed animals have their own relationship, as a married couple.

Ollie Lehman (‘27), a second-year runner on the boys’ cross-country team, says, “I think the mutual bonding of Myrtle [and Patrick the Bear] getting married is like a symbolization of the [boys and girls] teams merging together.”

Neely Roy (‘26) agrees. “The two teams can definitely feel very divided at times. [The girls team] think the boys are really weird and we just kind of stand there and laugh at them. But when we’re weird with them and Myrtle and Patrick are together and in love it just forms a connection that brings us together.”

Head coach Patrick O’Brien also highlights the importance of having a strong team bond. He shares that while most people see cross country or running in general as a highly individual activity, there is actually a huge team aspect to the sport. “You’re out there running for more than just yourself; you’re running for your teammates who you train with every day and are some of your best friends.”

O’Brien thinks that having a team mascot like Myrtle has only strengthened the team chemistry, creating something tangible that makes everyone feel involved. “She’s kind of just part of the team at this point.”

Not only does Myrtle help bring the team closer to-

Some also think that Myrtle is truly lucky. Drew Verweij (‘28), a freshman on the team, has a strong opinion on this topic. “I think Myrtle completely controls the results,” she says.

Even O’Brien agrees to some extent, saying, “I feel like our team’s been consistent, and Myrtle seems to be at every meet we go to so if you want to connect the dots there, I see no problem with that.”

MyrtlewithtrophieswonatWickham Park invitational.

SadiesleepingwithMyrtleonthebusride to an outdoor track meet.

MyrtleandPatricktheBear.PhotocourtesyofDylanDulac.

Although Myrtle is the mascot and, as some might say, good luck charm of the girls’ cross-country team, she also made herself known to the rest of the track team, coming to every single meet during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Olivia Diaz (‘27) is currently running her first year of cross country after exclusively being on the track and field team her freshman year. She recalls the first time she met Myrtle at an outdoor track meet in spring of 2024. “[The girls distance runners] were super excited. They were holding her and showing her off like she was a brand-new car. It was really funny.”

Although Diaz was already aware of the cross-country teams’ odd mascot, most of the first-year runners were first introduced to Myrtle on the bus ride to Camp Wilmot, the annual 3-day team training camp during the last week of summer.

The trip started out great, the upperclassmen doing their best to explain all the team traditions to the newcomers. However, in a shocking turn of events, Myrtle ended up falling out of a window and facedown onto the busy highway halfway there.

The hour that followed was a roller coaster of emotions.

Sam Caron (‘28) recounts her experience of the event. “I thought [the girls team members] were weird because [they] had a doll but then [after Myrtle fell out the window], I realized that she had some actual core meaning within the team.”

When the bus finally arrived, the girls rushed to fill in Nick Ricciardi, the assistant coach who had been driving up on his own, a few minutes behind the rest of the team on the events of the day.

Cook says, “I was like “Nick! Myrtle flew out of the bus window, and we don’t know what to do” and he was like “really?” and then grabs this black bag and rips Myrtle out

and I was stunned… that was quite literally the best day of my life.”

Thankfully, Myrtle was rescued from her horrible fate due to the quick thinking of O’Brien, who after hearing the commotion from the back, texted Nick who was a few minutes down the road to keep his eyes peeled for a certain Star-bellied Sneech.

“While I was disappointed that she ended up out the window, I know how much she does mean to you [the girls team] and how bummed [they] would be to have lost her... And knowing that Nick was right behind us, it was a no brainer to have him save the day and let Myrtle live on,” says O’Brien.

Myrtle’s near-death experience only reiterated how much of an impact she’s made over the past year on the team.

Roy’s wish is that Myrtle will become a tradition that continues even after she and the other current runners graduate. Roy hopes that Myrtle will spark the same joy and team chemistry for future generations of Oyster River cross country athletes that she did for Roy and her teammates.

“I definitely had a moment when I thought Myrtle was gone for good. That was an eyeopener for me. When she got sucked out of that window, so many things went rushing through my head and it was kind of hard to process but that bus ride gave me a lot of time to think... It really gave me a clear view on Myrtle’s destiny and that is to be the official Oyster River [girls cross country] mascot for a very long time,” says Roy.

Make sure you keep an eye out for Myrtle any time you happen to find yourself at a cross-country or track and field meet in the state of New Hampshire (or who knows, you might find her in the breakdown lane when driving on route 16.) You can also keep up with her adventures online @myrtlethestarbelliedsneech on Instagram.

Whether jewels adorn their cuticles, or the nail beds are covered with intricate designs, nails can be a way to express one’s style and the story behind them. Each person has a unique style, and nails can be a way to add onto their outfit and add a little sparkle to their everyday look and life.

Some people have a love-hate relationship with nail polish. Often, they don’t want to do their nails because of the smell of acetone, the ability to chip easily, or they have a job that uses their hands.

Casey Crowell (‘25) had that problem, but eventually came across organic nail polish. She says, “I like that it smells better because it’s not as toxic in terms of the acetone-feel on my actual nails. Organic polish [just] feels better.”

The organic polish is also water-based, meaning that it’s easier to take off after it had its time. Crowell likes that she can repaint her nails as frequently as she wants, since the polish is water-based and doesn’t feel heavy on her nails. Especially with her past job, a cashier at Rite Aid, nails can easily get in the way with tasks, such as picking up change or opening up packages. Crowell needs nails that work with her, not against her, at and away from work.

“Whenever I can, I try to paint them as

often as possible. But as soon as they start chipping, I usually repaint them so I don’t bite them, because that’s a bad habit I have.”

Because of this, Crowell has stayed loyal to organic nail polishes, collecting them in different colors and matching them with her day-today outfits. The polish she uses is the SallyHansenGood. Kind.Pure Polishand is bound to be a nail staple of hers for a lifetime.

In contrast to others, Odin Whiteley (‘25) got roped into painting his nails for the first time last year and it was an outcome of “peer pressure” by his friends. Before that, he’s never even thought of painting them. He never really had the desire, time, or the materials to do so.

He recalls, “I didn’t paint my nails, a friend of mine did. She just kind of said it was happening. They were glossy, a little shiny, and as black as my soul.”

Most people around him were also indifferent, and he didn’t pay attention to those who weren’t. Whiteley didn’t think much of it after painting them, his nails were just...there. He states, “I just kind of went day-today not noticing it until I would look down and be like, oh, my nails are painted. I was kind of indifferent about it.”

Nails can add to a person’s appearance and they can also strengthen the bond between the people who are doing the nails.

Zo Copeland’s (‘25) sister, a nail tech, does her nails once a month and the routine has strengthened their bond more. “When my sister’s doing my nails, we just talk and that’s the time that we get to spend together. She doesn’t come over a lot, but the times that she does my nails is our designated time and it’s a common interest that we both have.”

Copeland usually asks her sister to give her longer nails. Without them, Copeland just feels like something is missing. She states, “If I don’t have them [and I’m] not hearing the tap of my nails on stuff, I’m like, ‘Where did my nails go? Like, where are they?’ I’m just used to having long

nails. I really can’t think about life without them.”

Not only does this strengthen their sisterly bond, it also strengthens the bond between Copeland’s nails and nail beds.

“I work as a dishwasher, which normally would be kind of hard to do with long nails, but my sister is really good at her job. So, usually in the hot water, my nails don’t come off at all.”

You can find more of her sister’s work on Instagram @autumn_glossnh.

Some students have taken up the hobby and job of doing other people’s nails, Bridget Hawley (‘26) being one of them. She sees nails as art, and the fact that the art she does on customers’ nails is often shown off to others or at events makes her feel really proud of her work.

She states, “My favorite nails to do are prom nails. I love seeing pictures of them at prom and that makes me feel really good.”

Being able to do nails takes practice. Hawley only started doing her own and other people’s nails two years ago. She first started off with doing simple designs and then steadily progressed into more complicated designs and materials. “I started off doing just gel and then later on, for my birthdays and Christmases, I got more products and started doing dip and acrylic.” Gel is her favorite to do on herself and on someone else.

To get to the point where Hawley could comfortably do nails on other people, it took a lot of work and consistency, qualities that she thinks is important for anyone looking to do nails should have. Her advice is, “At first, my nails sucked, so it’s really just about consistency. If you just do it once and you hate them and think they’re ugly, trust the process, they’re going to be good eventually. And of course, practice makes perfect.”

Right beside Hawley, Leah Lynskey (‘26) also does nails for others. She wants to make sure that the nails come out as perfect as possible and doing nails can often take her longer to do. “I’m so picky personally. So, it always takes forever if I don’t think it looks good, and I redo the designs all the time.” It’s all worth it for her though when people she did nails for come back with compliments they got from other people.

“I do my brother’s girlfriend’s nails, and I love it when she comes back to tell me who complimented the nails. There are all these people who said that they look good, and they want me to do theirs,” she says.

Lynskey has also been experimenting with different types of application for nails for herself, since she plays volleyball and she wants her nails to stay on. She states, “One time I started doing my nail application a different way and got hit with my nail and it didn’t pop off, but it hurt so bad. Sometimes it’s hard for me to do hand-stuff, but it’s also just nice to look down and think, ‘I did that.’”

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commentated

Without Phones, Community Returns

The ORHS community is flourishing as a direct result of the phone practice.

written by ULYSSES SMITH

art by OLIVER RODI

When I was a freshman, I walked through the hallways of Oyster River High School (ORHS), looking at countless faces buried in phones. When I was a sophomore, there was a spark of community. When I was a junior, there was a fire. And now, it’s blazing.

In past years, even as I passed friends I had known forever, there were never conversations. But this year, with extreme limits on phone usage at ORHS, the school’s community has truly begun to flourish again.

The phone practice implemented at the beginning of the 2024-2025 ORHS school year was a serious change for students. They were required to leave their phones in “phone zones” during classes, where each phone slept dormant until the passing period afterwards (to read more about the phone practice, see “The New ORHS Phone Zones” by Kevin Kell). The buzzing of texts no longer interfered

with classroom environments, the digital world was no longer readily available, and students were forced to build their own communities in their respective classes. Initially, many fought back against the change. But now, as a direct result of the shift, students and teachers alike are beginning to see a strong initiative for building community that wasn’t present before.

Students aren’t just more attentive in class: their screen time is down, they’re conversing amongst themselves, and some are even making new friends.

ORHS English teacher Kara Sullivan recently noticed one of her students made a new friend as a direct result of the phone practice. “[One of my students] talked to a person she’s known and sat next to before in class, but whenever there’s downtime she would just be on her phone, and that other person would be too, and this year they talked,

and now they’re hanging out.”

I have noticed this difference too.

This year, when I am in the company of peers, I’m more inclined to start conversation. I don’t feel like I will be ignored and regarded below technology on the ladder of importance.

When I asked for Corey Nelson’s (‘26)thoughts on the matter, he said “[The shift] reminds me of what I would think school before phones would be.” Nelson continued, comparing high school now to before the prevalence of cell phones, saying, “I’ve seen some videos of what school was like before phones, and [everyone looks] like they’re having a great time.”

considered the possibility of the phone practice and school motto interacting. But when I asked Noe if they were intertwined, she agreed that they are now. “I’m hearing from people about how engaged kids are, how much more discussion there is, how even in the cafeteria, when kids can have their phones, they’re talking to each other more than they used to.”

Though it wasn’t preplanned, the motto inherently aims to foster meaningful relationships that exist beyond the digital world.

“[Students are] still on their phone, but there’s a lot more engagement between actual people sitting at a table,”

stare into space, or they’re going to interact with each other.” Pushing for her ideal of an entirely phone-free school, she says, “I would love to see us have no phones [in school] at all.”

At the beginning, we might have been unhappy with the policy change, but evidence has shown it has been a net positive for the ORHS community. “People are [actually in the library] they’re takingbooks, they’re using the supplies,” says Harling. “Kids stop at the desk to talk to us; they didn’t used to do that. We’re finding out what their interests are, what they’re involved with.”

One student even told Sullivan with-

“[The shift] reminds me of what I would thinkschoolbeforephoneswouldbe.”

Our collective observations support the change primarily spearheaded by the ORHS administration’s interpretation of The Anxious Generation by Jonothan Haidt. In the book, Haidt argues that smartphones have drastically reduced face-to-face socialization, making many teenagers feel disconnected and lonely. So, with the phone practice, they seem to be working to combat these feelings of negativity with the removal of their perpetuator.

But surprisingly, the ORHS motto “Creating Impactful Community Connections” wasn’t built with the phone practice in mind. “We never talked about the phone policy, that wasn’t part of our organic discussions [when we created it],” says ORHS Principal Rebecca Noe.

Initially, the administration had not

Noe continued, “In the past couple of years, you would see a whole table of kids and everybody’s on their phone, and no one’s talking to each other.”

Initially, students like James Kinsey (‘27) felt like it was tough to make plans after school with friends. However, without access to his phone, he admits that “If [admin’s] goal was to make us talk more, it worked.” I share this sentiment with Kinsey. Originally, I felt like my autonomy was taken away. I felt like I could manage my time without the practice, and one bad apple ruined it for everyone. But deep down I knew the change had students’ best interests in mind.

When I talked to ORHS librarian Lisa Harling, she seconded Kinsey’s conclusion, saying, “People can’t escape into their phones. They’re either going to

out her prompting “I hate to admit it, but [the phone practice] is actually really nice.” After and between classes conversations continue. No longer do we doomscroll instead, we embrace our community.

Students like Kinsey, who realized they can’t text their friends to meet up during school anymore are being tasked with creating organic connections with people they hadn’t conversed with before now. Cliques are not as integral as they were in past years, and the community is flourishing again, as a direct result of the phone practice.

With this shift arises the question: how can we truly work to create Impactful Community Connections? And what do they mean for the future of ORHS?