January 2023 Pepper Box

PEPPER BOX

RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL

Ritenour reflects on Colorado Springs shooting

SKYLAR POWERS Staff Reporter

In a recent tragedy at a LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, three people died and many people ended up in the local hospital injured.

The events of November 19, 2022 have led to many members of the community feeling unsafe or anxious in public situations, even if it is in a space they should feel safe and welcomed. At this point in time, many people have become numb due to the heartbreaking reality of how often tragedies similar to this occur or the distance between you and where it occurred.

“When shootings like this occur, it is very easy to become numb to such situations that take place miles away from you but when bigotry and hate show their ugly face to you, one cannot help but to sit on the sidelines and respond outwardly,” Game Changers sponsor Blake Hernton said.

When learning the news, senior Mika Giardina was very angry that these places that cater to the LGBTQ+ community were becoming unsafe for them.

“I've taken notice

that the majority of the community, and me as well, aren't surprised but rather exhausted and disappointed that more people in our community are being killed and deceived for our existence,” Giardina said.

Ritenour’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) is a club that gives students the opportunity to express themselves and feel a sense of community within the school in a safe space. GSA has not spoken on the recent tragedy yet, but is planning to do so soon.

“The purpose of the club is not to be a space to focus on the negative things happening in the world,” GSA sponsor Kevin Daniels said. “However, the negative things that happen to the community cannot be ignored.”

According to the clubs other sponsor, Grace Manternach, GSA is planning on discussing this in a future meeting with support that will help the members in the best possible way.

“When we plan to discuss the matter, we are asking a counseling department member to be present to help support our students,” Manternach said.

Another club at Ritenour, Game Changers, deals with injustice and social inequality

in every aspect. They spoke on the heartbreaking event of the shooting in their meeting following the event. Specifically, they discussed how and why events like this one make such an impact on our society in todays age.

“While most would shy away from having such difficult conversations on LGBT topics, I felt proud to be able to share with students and be an example of what pride within our community should look like when

tragedies like this occur,” Hernton said.

Daniels also is incredibly familiar with this fear found in members of the community.

“Nearly every year I have had at least one student come to me with fears of being open about them-self either at school or at home. Unfortunately, this is an issue that has always been present in my 16 years as a sponsor of GSA,” Daniels said.

The Colorado Springs

shooting has been brought to the light through various different social media platforms. If it wasn’t for these posts, many people would be unaware of things happening within the community.

“Regarding the shooting in Colorado Springs, I found out about it through scrolling on social media. Usually, my feed shares events associated with the community, so I'm sort of

CONRAD SENTMAN Staff Reporter

On November 18th, the school during lunch period started locking the doors. This started because a bunch of students started abusing the ability to walk out during lunch and do prohibited

things.

"The problem we saw was the number of students roaming the halls during lunch period, they were unsupervised which is never a good situation, they were very loud which disturbed classes that were going on a session,”

Dean of Students Greg Jones

said. “ Some of our friends were doing things they shouldn't do because they were loud and unsupervised, so we had to come up with a solution of what we could do to fix it."

SEL monitor and girls track coach Jantelle McNeil added that there were also some students who were attempting to stay at all four lunches and have fun with their friends, rather than going back to their classroom.

She thinks the new policy is generally having a positive effect on those issues.

"I do think it is effective, but for all those students that were slipping out of class, it gets them riled up because they can't slip out anymore. Plus it helps me at lunch so we're not confused about who is out of class and who’s not

supposed to be down here,” McNeil said. “Every time someone does get stopped by the door, it means it's working to keep everyone where they're supposed to be."

Students have varying views of the policy.

Sophomore Lucas Wojtanowski actually overheard the initial interview with Jones, and asked a question about different circumstances, like when his bus from North Tech arrives late and he can’t get to his class. Jones wasted no time in his response.

"Well, you go up to the office and tell them your bus was late and get to class. Even if that was an issue, you can still access every floor by the stairs on either side of the English hallway," Jones said.

Junior Darryl Young

believes that while the staff may be seeing positive outcomes of the policy, there are some other side effects that harm students.

"Honestly, I’m going to be real; it's stupid as heck. It's having a negative effect in the fact it causes some people to arrive late to class because some people mess around and play in the hallways, not helping anyone. Sometimes it's the student's fault, but more often than not it causes you to be late,” Young said.

Young said that it has not affected him personally, but knows friends who have been late due to the policy.

“I am able to beat traffic in a very safe way by taking the longer route with fewer people going faster. It doesn't affect me really but it's still a bit of a bother nonetheless,” Young said.

Six new female wrestlers have joined the team after only

Photo by Elvert Barnes via Flickr

A candlelight vigil was held for Colorado Springs Club Q Nightclub Victims at DuPont Circle, NW, Washington DC on Monday, November 21.

Photo by Layla Fouche

Junior Jayden Bock tries to leave through the cafeteria doors, but is told by Assistant Principal Oriana Creel that the doors are to remain locked. This new policy was put into place this year in order to prevent skipping during lunch.

PEPPER BOX STAFF

Staff Editorial - The holiday haggle

Editorial

Now that we have approached the winter holiday season, shopping bags are getting heavier while our wallets are getting lighter.

Everyone has different financial hardships, and the more presents we buy for our loved ones means more time away from those same people to earn the money to buy the

presents. Students at Ritenour are often asked to participate in Secret Santa gift exchanges for their clubs and sports, and while each one doesn’t require an expensive gift, they all start to add up.

The problem is that even though it is difficult to pay for all of these gift exchanges, they are all really enjoyable. We enjoy getting gifts for those that are close to us, and it does bring a more positive experience to the winter

Word on the

landscape. Sometimes the response you get from your gift is not what you hoped it would be, and sometimes the other person does not get you what you feel is the reciprocal value. Instead of holding people back from spending too much money, there should be a minimum dollar value of gifts. This could help fix the problem of reciprocity.

Another alternate to the traditional winter gift giving

swap would be to ignore the dollar value and focus on sentimentality. Something personal like a card with an emotional message combined with something simple like candy, snacks, or a drink could make for a great low price gift. In addition, going with something homemade might save from buying an expensive present that your giftee may or may not appreciate.

If you find yourself with

"My best memory of 2022 is going camping in Iowa with my family."

What is your best memory from 2022?

"My best 2022 memory would have to be finishing 9th grade with a 4.1 GPA, after going through a lot of mental struggles. I had times where I felt like I couldn't do it, but then I proved myself wrong and did a good job."

"Baseball season. In particular, winning against O’Fallon Christian in a walk off at Hoots Stadium."

Comics

a multitude of gift-giving requirements, no matter how much you love all the people who are involved, it is important to remember not to just spend all your hard earned money on gifts that you hope people will like. Try to remember that some people are just happy with a personal gift from the heart and your wallet does not have to suffer in order to bring your friends joy.

"I'm not sure, but probably since I'm a freshman it would have to be the last day of 8th grade."

"My memory of 2022 is getting my friend a shirt with a picture of them on it as a gift for their birthday."

Visual EIC: Danielle Haynes

Content EIC: Chloe Sapp

Production EIC: Jennifer Huerta Lopez

Online Editor : Leanna Duncan Opinion and A&E Editor: Tori Pratt Social Media Manager: Julia Lohnes News and Spotlight Editor: Caroline Groceman Special Edition and Sports Editor: Layla Fouche Adviser: Ron Steinschriber

Staff Members:Mya Cates, Elizabeth Dobbs, Billie Ford, Caden Gaither, Peyton House, Jack Jamison, Allison Madrid, Kya Merriman, Trinidy Millsapp, Amareona Muhammad, Dan Mutegeki, Mariam Neeb, Logan Overall, Alivia Pearia, Skylar Powers, Jimena Rosales-Martinex, Conrad Sentman, Margaret Susovica, Cinthia Talbott Perdomo, Hallie Thornburgh, Brandon Treat, Klayton Wilkinson

Editorial Policy: The Pepper Box is designed and created by members of the newspaper staff of Ritenour High School. The purpose of the newspaper is to provide a forum for the students to focus on issues, give opinions, and share information with the Ritenour High School community. The opinions expressed in this paper do not reflect opinions of our faculty or administration.

Evelyn Araiza Garcia- Senior

Daniel JonesGerman teacher

Alexzandra JimenezFreshman

Tatiana FloydSophomore

The Kitchen - Klayton Wilkinson

Nathan Hayden - Junior

Businesses mistreat and overuse working teens

all of the time, falling behind in school, while also being at employee pay instead of manager pay. It became very self depreciating.

I have constantly faced the backlash of a store which in return couldn’t care less where the mental and physical health of their minors was. A few of the problems I faced were disrespect from other managers, employees, and customers.

Many students who want to keep jobs face challenging issues as they also partake in schooling. As someone who became a manager of a job at 17, I have faced that first hand.

Kids who are underaged face a lot of responsibilities at jobs that are not needed. As a 17-year-old, I was handed keys to a business, and was expected to run it all alone from 4 in the evening to 2 in the morning or later some nights. I was expected to keep track of the safe, and had so many more adult responsibilities.

I was racking up 40+ hours by the end of the week, all while still trying to keep up with school. I was exhausted

I was constantly getting yelled at by customers over things out of my control. A customer came up to me and yelled at me over a menu item that we no longer served. He told me that if his kid was not in the car, he would have beat the mess out of me. Meanwhile the company did absolutely nothing.

I have also faced problems with pay and not getting the recognition I had deserved. I am not one to walk around entitled and I do not need recognition for everything I do, but I was constantly getting belittled and undermined because I was a minor, even though I had constantly proved my capabilities.

My point to all of this is

minors are very mistreated in workplaces.

Many adults believe that kids are naive and have no idea they are being walked upon, even though I believe it is the complete opposite. In my case, I knew I was being walked upon and mistreated. I just was constantly forced to dismiss that.

I was told that I was not at manager pay after four months because of my “work ethic” and “lack of respect from employees.” Yet,

how was I supposed to be respected by my employees when I wasn’t respected by my higher ups?

In reality as a minor I was doing a fantastic job. As a 17 year old I was told I was doing it better than most adults.

Kids who partake in schooling and are also in the workforce are very mistreated and I feel there isn’t enough coverage on the damages it causes. To come home from work at two in the morning

and have to wake back up at seven in the morning just to go to school and repeat it has been very detrimental.

Jobs can constantly belittle minors. They can attempt to make kids choose work over my schooling. Kids who would love to keep jobs find it very hard as workplaces continuously mistreat and take advantage of them.

world stage

countries that send large numbers of people, like the Philippines and Kenya - so there are higher numbers we are unaware of.

Most of these deaths are classified “natural deaths” caused by “acute heart or respiratory failure”. However, the working condition of these migrant workers building the stadiums for the World Cup is what caused these deaths.

will say a worker died of “cardiac arrest”, but the Qatar government will only describe the death as “natural causes”.

However citizens have reported seeing people falling from high ledges, heavy items falling on workers heads, suicides from work stress, and death by asphyxiation from dirty air.

it seems unfair and scary for this large population. You would think a country with such a large percentage of migrant workers would want to accommodate those people working; but unfortunately that’s not the situation here.

6,500 migrant workers have died since Qatar became the host for the World Cup in 2010. 2,711 from India, 1,641 from Nepal, 1,018 from Bangladesh, 824 from Pakistan, and 557 from Sri Lanka.

According to the Guardian, these numbers do not include people from

Overworking, dangerous working conditions and heat exhaustion from the summer of 2019 were the cause for lots of these deaths.

There are also discrepancies between different countries’ governments and what they report surrounding the deaths. For example, the Nepalese government

Qatar has been treating migrant workers as if they have no humans rights and are dispensable while building the seven soccer stadiums and other World Cup assignments in the last decade. Human rights groups have been accusing Qatar of labor abuses but the charges have been rejected and dropped by the government.

Considering 86% of Qatar’s population are immigrants,

Violation of worker’s rights and safety are just one of the facets in play here. Corruption, xenophobia, classism, and racism are all parts of what happens to migrant workers everywhere. Loopholes in laws created by governments are made to specifically target marginalized groups of people; even if in Qatar’s case, they are the majority of workers. As stated by BOUNDLESS, 95% of Qatar’s work force is made up of migrants.

So what am I trying to

say with this? I’m trying to say that you need to stay educated on what you consume and support. It would be useless for me to tell you to stop watching the World Cup because not only is that sentiment virtually impossible since the event is so culturally influential, it’s also hypocritical. I’ve also been tuned in every now and then. But, I do believe we should spread the word and be active in trying to fix corruption and human rights violations. A good way to do this is by donating to nonprofit organizations like Human Rights Watch and participating politically by voting for more humane policies and making your voice heard.

Allison Madrid

Tori Pratt

Illustration by Margaret Susovica

Image courtesy of Canva

Illustration by Klayton Wilkinson

HEALTHFrom COVID to the Flu

CAIDEN GAITHER Staff Reporter

Influenza cases have been skyrocketing in recent weeks, reaching numbers that haven’t been seen since February of 2020.

When the COVID-19 virus first appeared in the United States in January of 2020, very few expected the 2-year quarantine that followed. Masks, social distancing, and confinement to homes were all common practices. Humanity hid away to avoid the illness consuming the planet.

However, in the months soon after the beginning of the quarantine, another virus reared its head and struck: Influenza. According to Dennis Thompson of the Medical Express, 2020 saw “92 flu-related deaths among children, a higher total … than any season in the past decade”

Juliann Tinsley, RN, a nurse practitioner at Ritenour, also said that the combination of cold weather and quarantine likely exacerbated the 2020 flu season; With so many people indoors and sharing germs, influenza spread like wildfire.

“Viruses tend to spread when there’s cold air, and you aren’t able to fight things off easily,” Tinsley said.

As restrictions stood

strong, COVID vaccinations became available, and more people became accustomed to wearing masks. 2021 saw unusually few influenza cases both locally and globally; bans on travel and social distancing kept people safe from the disease. However, 2022 did not continue the trend. Since late October, flu cases have begun to appear at rates similar to the 2020 spike.

Tinsley believes the majority’s abandonment of masks has contributed to the spike.

“I think peoples’ immune systems weren’t able to fight things off,” Tinsley said. “[Everyone’s] bodies have to re-learn what germs they’ve had before.”

Weak immune systems may not be the only cause of the sudden spread. With the tumultuous weather of the winter months, people have been inside more and sharing germs through touch, coughing, and sneezing. In such small spaces, the flu can spread easily, as it did in its 2020 surge.

With the middle of winter approaching, it’s critical to the safety of yourself and others to train habits that defend against the spread of influenza. Washing your hands with soap and water as hot as is comfortable, wearing surgical face masks outside

of your home, and staying at home if you feel sick will help slow the spread of the virus.

Tinsley offers her advice on the matter of influenza safety as well, both for now and in the future.

“Get vaccinated between October and November. Wash your hands, start wearing a mask again … If you’re sick, stay home, even if it just seems like allergies,” Tinsley said.

SPORTS - Local team roundup

PRO SOCCER TEAM BEGINS IN STL

The stadium for the St. Louis City SC was completed in 2022, and the team is starting to form its roster. This will bring another professional sport to St. Louis, which has long been a hotbed of soccer activity. The Citypark stadium was built next to Union Station, continuing a revitalization of the St. Louis downtown area.

season saw him end his career with multiple milestones and free Chick-fil-A fries for each homerun he hit at the end of the season. In addition to the milestones seen by Pujols and Molina, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt won the MVP award with third baseman Nolen Arenado finishing third.

BLUES UP AND DOWN IN 2022

THE HISTORIC 2022 CARDINALS

Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina retired. The two have been a part of St. Louis sports for the last 20 years and they were the faces of the Cardinals. Even though Pujols left, his return this

The Blues finished 49-22-11 in the 21-22 season. They lost in the second round of the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. The 2223 season started with high expectations, but the team has ended the year with a .500 record.

LAW - Supreme court cases that shaped the year

Fencing was put around the Supreme Court on May 5, after the release of the draft Alito memo overturning Roe. On June 24, the Supreme Court actually did overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Women's Health Organization ruling in a 6-3 decision.

Trump v. Thompson - January 19

The Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision that there were limits to executive privilege. The court ruled that President Donald J. Trump could not block the release of White House records from the House January 6 committee.

Shurtleff v. Boston - May 2

The Supreme Court ruled in a 9-0 decision that the First Amendment was violated by the City of Boston when they refused to fly a religious group’s flag with a Christian cross, even though other organizations had been allowed to fly their own flags previously.

NY State Rifle & Pistol Association v. BruenJune 23

The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that it is a violation of the second amendment for states to have strict limits on carrying guns in public.

Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Org.June 24

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court overturned the results of Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. This new ruling leaves the legality up to each state.

Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District - June 27

The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that a public high school football coach was legally allowed to lead a prayer with his players at the 50-yard-line at the end of their football game, challenging the traditional view of separation of church and state.

Biden vs. Texas - June 30

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the “Remain in Mexico” policy instituted during the Trump presidency could come to an end. The policy originally forced immigrants at the Southwestern border to wait for approval in Mexico, rather than the US.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

The

Cardinals and Blues have memorable moments and a new team is formed

Photo courtesy of All Pro Reels via Flickr

Art by Danielle Haynes

Art by Danielle Haynes

Photo courtesy of Victoria Pickering via Flickr

SOCIAL MEDIABeReal storms the social media scene

BeReal has become the most highly embraced new social media platform in 2022. It is rare because it only goes off once a day. Everyone

is a part of it, so it is like a community. It also has people take more photos to remember their life.

STREAMING - The year's top shows

Wednesday became a major hit on Netflix in the winter

MYA CATES Staff Reporter

Members of the Pepper Box engage with BeReal in class in December. BeReal has been a popular new social media source among teenagers in the last year.

MUSIC - SZA's new album sizzles

SZA had not released an album since 2017, so SOS was highly anticipated. “Kill Bill” has become

a popular song, and it is an emotional outlet for dealing with a breakup.

The original Addams family movie debuted on November 22 1991. Director Tim Burton brought the old horror back to life in the new series, “Wednesday.”

One of the problems that Tim Burton faced was choosing actors. Some fans took issue with Luis Guzmán as Gomez compared to previous versions. Main character’s alongside Jenna Ortega as Wednesday include Catherine Zeta-Jones as Wednesday's mother, Morticia and Luis Guzmán as Wednesday’s father Gomez. Also, Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie plays Larissa Weems, the head of the academy, and Emma Myers plays Wednesday's cheery roommate, Enid Sinclair.

The show has some iconic

Hulu

lines like ‘’The only one who can torture my brother is me.’’ Wednesday says this to begin the series, referencing back to the classic. It gives the audience a taste of how she is a girl that obsessed with death. The show was a hit on Netflix being the mostwatched show with its theme of a message for racism and prejudice. It talks about real issues that are affecting the modern world.

A scene from the show that has taken over social media is the iconic dance Ortega choreographed herself. Wednesday's dance takes place in episode four of Wednesday, titled “Woe What a Night,” when Nevermore has its annual Rave'N Dance. It is said that she had COVID on the first day of filming.

“I'm not a dancer and I'm sure that's obvious,” Ortega told Rolling Stone in an interview. “I'd gotten the song

about a week before and I just pulled from whatever I could.”

The Netflix show did justice to continuing the series of the Addams legacy. The overall message they gave the audience was beautiful, giving the younger audience something to take away and love and giving the older audience nostalgia from the old movies.

CONCERTS - Many top musicians came to St. Louis in 2022

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Abbot Elementary Disney Plus - She HulkAttorney at Law

MOVIESA return to Wakanda makes viewers happy

LAYLA FOUCHE Special Edition Manager and Sports Editor

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was the sixth highest grossing movie of 2022, but the staff believes that it resonated most with teenagers. The sequel pays respect to Chadwick Boseman, who passed away from colon cancer in 2020 after playing T'challa in the original Black Panther movie.

In addition to paying respects to the fallen star, the new movie created powerful roles for women, and continued its positive representation of black culture.

Photo courtesy of IMDB

Photo courtesy of IMDB

Photo courtesy of IMDB

Some major acts came through St. Louis last year. Among them were Rod Wave, Big Time Rush, and Morgan Wallen

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Photo by Layla Fouche

Photo courtesy of IMDB

Photos by Hallie Thornburgh

COLORADO - Continued from page 1

being updated on important things from time to time,” Giardina stated.

The LGBTQ+ community should not have to fear their lives simply because of expressing themselves or sharing their story. Many may express this fear in different ways. Some may simply not

show themselves in the ways they would prefer to, while some may simply deal with these fears internally.

“As a trans person, I haven't let the said event suppress me from selfexpression, but knowing there is a risk of going out in public places invokes paranoia,”

Giaradina shared.

Hernton shared a part of his own story, sharing how he worked as a bartender before joining the Ritenour staff.

“I served members of the LGBT Community regularly who were just there to have a good time and express their pride for who they are. I

could not imagine a similar situation where close friends are gunned down, in an act of such violence.” Hernton shared.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community want to be able to live their lives, but being in danger creates a constant state of worry in their lives.

“Like everyone else, we want to freely express ourselves and live happy lives, yet being in danger on a daily basis and not knowing if or when something may happen is haunting,” Giaradina stated.

The goal of the World Cup: to take over Ritenour

Ritenour

MARIAM NEEB Staff Reporter

The 2022 FIFA World Cup began this past year on November 20 and has greatly affected the students and staff here at Ritenour.

When Argentina defeated France in a thrilling overtime game on December 18, it capped off a full month of soccer madness at Ritenour. With so many soccer fans that walk through the hallways, the World Cup took the attention of many people over the last month. There were constantly games being played on a Chromebook or conversations about the latest soccer match in the hallway. People cheered for their favorite team or become frustrated with an unfair play.

The World Cup this year is being watched a lot more than the last one in 2018. Junior Johcer Godinez-Islas stated that he has definitely noticed a lot more people watching the games than last time.

“I see that the popularity

a

is increasing and I’m seeing everyone at this school is hooked into the competition more than it was four years ago,” Godinez-Islas said. Since the global pandemic of COVID in 2020, the World Cup is one of the big international events, like the Olympics, after such a huge economic and social disruption.

Everyday, so many different people from many other countries watch the World Cup games being played. It brings people with the same interests together to watch and enjoy. Thousands of fans have filled up the seats of the eight different stadiums in Qatar, regardless of what country they come from, coming to support their team.

“It kind of unites everybody and you get to cherish something that’s worldwide. Personally, being Hispanic, soccer is a very important part of my culture,” senior Ingrid Toledo-Herrera said.

The students here at

time

Ritenour are especially involved and excited to watch their teams play. Since the World cup occurs every four years, it is definitely a big deal because not every country has the opportunity to play in such a big event.

“People have drawn a lot more attention to it because its held in a country [Qatar] that it normally would be held in,” sophomore Lojin Ibnoucheikh said.

Ibnoucheikh is originally from Morocco and is very passionate about her country’s soccer team. She dressed up for every game that Morocco played, and excitedly told anybody who would listen to her about how proud she was that Morocco made it to the semifinals; a first for any African team.

Many staff and students are finding it difficult to stay on top of school work while watching the World Cup matches. Ibnoucheikh said she tried to work ahead and if she could, so that she could watch matches in class.

Club makes blankets to aid the homeless

KYA MERRIMAN Staff Reporter

In late October, The Ritenour High School Spanish Honor Society began the process of making crochet mats to donate to a local homeless shelter.

John Becker, language teacher, leads the Spanish Honor Society and chaperons the mat making meetings. Ritenour students, Kay Hardy and Nadyah MajeedAli, have played a key role in the mat making process.

Homelessness is a huge issue within the Ritenour community and the Spanish Honor Society is taking steps to aid people in need. The mats that are being made can help to prevent hypothermia and even death within the unhoused community. The Spanish Honor Society plans to donate these mats to the St. Patrick's Center, like they have done in the past. Their goal is to donate some time in the spring of 2023.

Members of the Spanish Honor Society are the main participants of this matmaking activity. However, it is not limited to members, anyone is welcome to join and students do receive community service hours for participating. Students have been working in Becker’s classroom after school.

“The experience from making the mats not only can be beneficial in learning how to produce them, but also for

things such as community service hours, As well as knowing that you are helping people who need it the most,” Hardy said.

Through participating, students have broadened their experience with helping those in need and have contributed to removing plastic waste from land fills.

“The great part about this project is that not only are we providing a resource to unhoused individuals but we are also diverting plastic bags from the landfill,” Becker said.

The mats that are in the process of being made are constructed from recycled

plastic shopping bags. Any generic shopping bag can be used. The plastic bags are cut into strips, weaved into yarn-like string, and then crocheted into mats.

“Knowing that I can spend my time helping people in need is the best thing I can ask for.” Hardy said.

Becker believes that everyone can benefit from the activity.

“Students can benefit from this experience by thinking about the situation of people who are unhoused and the calming, mindful nature of crocheting.” Becker said

History teacher and soccer coach Zachary Buxman said that it was difficult to stay focused on school when a worldwide event was happening.

“At times, it's challenging to get them on task when the games are on,” Buxman said.

English Language teacher Eliot Bamford, originally from England, is also impassioned about his home team and can agree with many of our staff and students.

“It’s been very difficult,” Bamford said. “I’ve been casually watching some of the games that aren’t England or the US, but I’ve even taken time off to watch the US and England.”

Bamford said it's very important to watch the England games live to “experience them like everyone else.”

The World Cup has become an important influence at Ritenour over the past month by uniting all kinds of people together

Lojin

Sophomore Lojin Ibnoucheikh proudly displayed her Moroccan fandom. "Even though we didn't win the World Cup, I'm proud that we made it this far. We made history and won the hearts of millions."

to watch the many matches being played in Qatar.

“I’ve tried not to let it being a distraction, but I also think it’s something good that brings us together,” government teacher Michael Murray said.

Students celebrate holiday diversity

BILLIE FORD Staff Reporter

The holidays are a special time for almost everyone, especially for children. Shopping for presents and going to see the Christmas lights are activities that are enjoyed by many. All public schools, especially with kids of elementary school age, aim to be inclusive when it comes to holidays of different cultures.

This could involve playing

holiday games, decorating little paper Christmas trees, making ornaments and having class parties or gift exchanges. In the past, it has not always been as inclusive, and some students may not have truly understood the variety of holidays celebrated in winter. The Pepper Box is showing our appreciation of diversity by interviewing a few people and asking how their families celebrate the holidays.

dinner. I think we should incorporate everyone to celebrate the holiday they want.

Las Posadas is celebrated in Mexico more than America. Every night for nine days each family member is given a day to host and a small gift is given to that family member that night.

You light a candle and give a gift every night for 8 nights. Last night we had a big family

Usually the day before Christmas we have a Christmas party in our pajamas at my great grandmother's house. On Christmas day we wake up to Christmas music and a Christmas breakfast. It's always very joyful and heartwarming. I think people should celebrate all holidays in school and that we should be more inclusive to others cultural holidays, especially in the classroom setting.

students and teachers had

hard

concentrating on work when the tournament was on

The Spanish Honors Society is working on a project to provide blankets to those in need

Photo courtesy of: John Becker

Valery Escalante helps Nadya Madjeed-Ali create the blankets at a work section before winter break.

Photo courtesy of:

Ibnoucheikh

Ingrid Toledo-Herrera

Las Posadas

Hanukkah Christmas

Violent Night is a funny, brutal, heartwarming Christmas movie

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas alright because Santa Claus is back but this time he is like John Wick and is about to deliver some “seasons beatings.”

“Violent Night” is a 2022 Christmas action/comedy film and it is a spectacle. It’s a fun throwback to Christmas movies like Home Alone, Die Hard, a little bit of Christmas Vacation, and a dose of John Wick and Rambo. With all of these combined, you get this fun adrenaline rush Christmas movie.

Now, Violent Night is not just the name of the film, but it actually gets really violent. There is a bunch of carnage candy that everyone in the theater laughed and gasped at because of how violent the parts were. This movie is like if Santa Claus was in Mortal Kombat and he looks all innocent until he gives out some seasons beatings and turns you into a human candy cane, then looks at you and says “ Ho, Ho, Oh No!”

Violent Night is also a heartwarming movie that centers around this mother and father that loves their daughter very much. They are having some personal problems themselves and they try their best to make Christmas very special for her.

The young actress that plays the daughter truly did such a spectacular job. There are moments that her character made the theater laugh very hard. She is a very likable character and the mother and the father played by Alex Hassel and Alexis Louder did a great job as portraying as the parental figures. They felt like real parents with their performances and they are very likable as well.

The villain in the movie, called Mr. Scrooge, is played by John Leguizamo, who did a fantastic job as the villain. He gives Jim Carrey's Riddler from Batman Forever vibes. He is serious and yet very hilarious as the villain, and sometimes, you're in fear of what he will do to the family. Now let’s talk about the

stand out performance, David Harbour as Santa Claus.

David Harbour’s Santa is a mixture of Rambo and John Wick. He is a tough Santa that does not mess around. He could be a biker Santa.

In the movie, Santa didn’t want to be bad to the bad guys, but since they were trying to hurt him, Santa had to fight back. It was insane and yet brutal what Santa did to the bad guys that were on his naughty list. There is also kind of a origin story of Santa, so stay tuned for that.

The final battle of Violent Night is like if you took the final fight of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers from Halloween Ends and have a wrestling match with fire all around. It’s a no holds barred match mixed with some Mortal Kombat. You’re going to have a sweet tooth because the carnage candy for the final fight was so awesome you will have your jaws hanging on the floor.

Verdict: Violent Night is a great Christmas Movie that has brutal elements, great funny moments and a

Pepper Box ranks: boxed holiday treats

I love how festive it is, but I'd rather have the cupcake be chocolate flavored. - Layla Fouche

It’s like eating Spongebob, but it’s decent.Hallie Thornburgh

I could feel my blood sugar going up.Danielle Haynes

Absolutely foul. I don't know why they did Debbie like this. - Victoria Pratt

BEST THING EVER, nothing beats the cosmic brownie. - Caroline Groceman

Very similar to fudge, and the mini M&Ms on top make it better. - Caden Gaither

They taste the same as the Christmas trees without the nostalgia. However, the pretty design of the snowflake slays (sleighs) even more. - Skylar Powers

The same as the other brownie, but this one is prettier so +1 point. - Chloe Sapp

They tasted better than the tree brownie,Jennifer Huerta Lopez

It tasted like if powdered hot cocoa combined with bottom of the barrel processed chocolate. - Billie Ford

It was good, but plain for a holiday snack. There wasn't anything special about it but it was good. - Jennifer Huerta Lopez

Kinda mid, nothing super special about them. - Caroline Groceman

It tasted like when you eat a chocolate bar after you brush your teeth. The worst thing ever. - Skylar Powers

Really good. Itreminds me of the astronaut ice cream. - Liz Dobbs

Not awful, but the mint sticks around for way too long and overpowers everything else and I feel like I just drank melted mint ice cream. - Caden Gaither

Top winter spots

LIZ DOBBS Staff Reporter

Steinberg Skating Rink - Forest Park

For a family night out in Forest Park, the Steinberg Skating Rink is fun for all ages. General admission is $10 along with a skate rental being $6 if needed. Hangout by the fire and enjoy some hot chocolate right on the ice!

Skating at the Steinberg Skating Rink in Forest Park is a cheap option to have some outdoor fun in the winter.

These three local places allow for good times during the cold winter months

Hidden Valley Ski Resort City Museum

Hidden Valley Ski Resort The resort stretches over 65 acres with 15 trails and 17 runs. All skill levels are welcomed and lessons are offered along with rentals for the day. Not only does the resort have skiing, but they also offer tubing if skiing isn’t appealing. To rent helmets, it will be $12, while renting skis/snowboards may run up to $42. *Must be 18 to rent*

Celebrate the holidays with wacky shows and activities throughout the museum. Say ‘Merry Kitschmas’ to family and friends at Beatnik Bob’s while enjoying jazz and karaoke through the night. A general admission ticket to these fun festivities will cost around $20.

While some of the holiday features may be gone, the City Museum is still a great place to explore indoors during the cold winter.

heartwarming story behind it, all with homages paid to classic Christmas movies. It makes you feel nice and toasty on a cold winters night while drinking some hot cocoa by the fireplace. Violent

Night is the movie to watch this holiday season and it’s a delightful Christmas treat that will become a Christmas classic in the next coming years. 8.5/10.

BRANDON

Photo courtesy IMDB

Gross and left a gritty film in my mouth.Billie Ford

It leaves a waxy texture in your mouth - Liz Dobbs

It melts in your mouth in a bad way. - Layla Fouche

Photo courtesy of: David Shane via Flickr

Photo courtesy of: Thomas Hawk via Flickr

Girls team grows on the wrestling mat

PEYTON HOUSE Staff Reporter

Wrestling as a female can be very intimidating due to the fact of it being a male dominated sport. With the change of the separation of the team, finding a match as a girl can be harder going from school to school.

However, the girls on the Ritenour wrestling team have not felt like any less than the rest of their teams.

“You feel powerful like if you show the guys you're a better wrestler then they are it's a pretty big accomplishment,” freshman Julian Smith. “It makes you work harder because you don't want guys to think you're weak, I do wish girl got to wrestle more but that will come sooner or later I think.”

The wrestling team has had historical success at Ritenour, with male wrestlers going to state most years. While there was a strong female presence on the team before COVID, these past few years the girls side of the team hasn’t

exactly been there. Last year sophomore Calli Hodges was the only girl on the wresting team. She had a difficult time becoming comfortable at meets. She would have to warm up with random girls from different schools. This year there are seven girls on the team this year.

“It’s not as weird this year having girls on the team,” Hodges said. “It’s feels great and I’m so glad more girls joined.”

Senior Roi Mundin is one of the male returners, and has been impressed with the new core of female wrestlers.

“It’s pretty cool having more and new people on the teams, guys and girls. We have people that care and put in hard work,” Mundin said.

Assistant coach James Sellers believes that you have to be very determined and prepared to wrestle, both mentally and physically. He has seen these attributes in the new wrestlers.

“I love wrestling I think that it built me into the determined hardworking

person I am today. I think that you have heart to be a wrestler and everyone on this team has heart,” Sellers said.

Smith has fully embraced the wrestling mentality as a freshman, and feels that it is starting to become one of the most important parts of her life.

“I love wrestling, my love for it grows stronger each day it's all I really think about heading to sleep, waking up, being at school, I always try and find ways I can get better,” Smith said. “Sometimes I get mad at myself because I did lazy work and I didn't give all I had, but I have no excuses because it's all me, I did it all on my own. Wrestling helps you own up to your truth, the things you lack in, and I lack in laziness when I'm tired, but learning this made me work even harder and prove to myself.”

There is room for tons of self improvement and ways to boost your confidence

“You get this thrill or rush when you do something right

or win a match in wrestling, it’s very exciting!” Hodges said.

The new people that have joined this year have had overall healthy feelings on wresting.

“It is peaceful, all your worries go away and it feels like you can breathe and control your thoughts that might have been taken over you for awhile,” Smith said.

When you play for the right team or school it feels more than just like a team there’s a bond you build with your teammates and your

coach’s, or as a coach with you athletes.

“I am very close with all of the people associated with the wrestling team. We spend a lot of time together and start to become a family and honestly that is my favorite part of this sport is how close everyone gets and how much hard work and dedication that we put into being the best we can be! I would do anything for these kids and coaches on the staff no matter what that would be,” Sellers said.

Inside the Huddle - Special game

Question:

What game was circled on your calendar for this winter season?

Kevon Moore Boys Basketball

Our first home game, that is us against Parkway West. A team that had beat us last year.

Mikahya French Girls Basketball

We do have one coming up now that I'm excited for since it's against a harder team.

Teresa Thomas Girls Swimming

Senior night and conferences. Because conferences are against all of the schools and they are important. And senior night is more like a meet, but I'm excited since I'm a senior.

Calli Hodges Wrestling

•

Winter Season Sports Capsules

LAYLA FOUCHE Sports Editor

Girls Swimming

• Record: 2-2

• Key Returner(s): We have a number of key returners. Seniors: Teresa Thomas, Elizabeth Dobbs and also Audrey Buttry, Sammy & Julia Lohnes, Peyton House, Karlee Beaird, and Jasmine Kpomblekou.

• Achieving Newcomer(s): We also have a solid group of newcomers who are really learning a lot and dropping time daily. They are: Jada Bradley, Sara Hernandez, Julissa Moreno, Timarah Roark, Hannah Tabor, and Christina Vo.

• Hopes for the season: We are pretty much in the same boat as we were last year where we had almost the same amount of new swimmers as we do veterans. So we can call this rebuilding year, part 2 - but I am excited that we already had 15 personal bests from our time trials to our first meet. I am hopeful that we can make another solid stand in the conference to finish in the top three.

Boys Basketball

• Coach: George Lee

• Record: 7-6

• Key Returner(s): We returned everyone with the exception of one player (Grayson Rogers-1st team all conf/ Jaylen Patterson-2nd team/Rahsheed Taggert-2nd team).

• Achieving Newcomer(s): Shayn Bishop, Alex Robinson, Tai-Shaun Ewing, Saraun Thomas, Stephen Lipsey, basically all of my underclassmen are achieving and have been giving the team solid minutes.

Girls Swim Girls Basketball

• Hopes for the season: My hopes for the season are first, to win the conference. Even though we did not finish as we wanted last year in my first season, we still had an opportunity to win the conference. 15 wins or more! Get out of Districts & advance in the Playoffs. Finish the season with an average 3.0 GPA for the second year in a row.

• Coach: Darren Wade

• Record: 4-3

• Key Returner(s): Senior Mikahya French, Junior Kelcey Jones

• Achieving Newcomer(s): Freshmen Kah'Myla Bell and Mariah Green-Williams & Junior Johanna Wood

• Hopes for the season: Our hope for this season is for our team to be competitive and reach their full potential. When growing a program you have to understand that there are steps in the process and so we want our players to trust the process and we focus on getting better each time we step out on the basketball court.

Wrestling

• Coach: John Howard

• Key Returner(s): Billy Hall, Elijah Fry, Michael Tran, Roi Mundin

• Achieving Newcomer(s): Tyler Hewitt, Michael Stewart, Caleb Secrease, Julian Smith

• Hopes for the season: I hope everyone finishes with an above .500 record and we get a couple of state placers.

"The Ritenour Vs Pattonville for wrestling the 7th of this December was a meet I was really excited for!"

The team jumped from one female member last season to seven and it has strengthened the group

Photo by Chloe Sapp

Sophomore Calli Hodges wrestles against Brentwood. Hodges was the only returning female wrestler.

Photo by Hallie Thornburgh Karlee Beaird competes in a swim meet this season.

Photo by Chloe Sapp

Billy Hall competes in a meet against Brentwood High School. He was named as one of the key returners by Coach John Howard.