March 2020

The Shield February Issue

Dynamic Duo

Seniors Lauren McEnroe and Reagan Dreiling celebrate their last WPA. Photo courtesy of Maddie Huigens (Medallion Editor-in-Chief).

Volume 32

Staff Members Adviser I Matt Hallauer Editor-in-Chief I Rachael Lawler Senior Reporter I Brennan Schroeder Reporter I Alycen Ellwanger Reporter I Anabelle Goone Reporter I Anna Stoll Reporter I Hailey Krumm

Volume 32

The Shield Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

Reporter I Maria Palazuelos Reporter I Moorea Gailloux Reporter I Connor Klocke Freelancer I Rose Kindred Freelancer I Lorelei Teddy Freelancer I Lydia Saunders

The Shield

Social Media

stashield aquinasgameday Saint Thomas Aquinas Shield stashield stashield

M I S S I ON S TATE ME NT The Shield is the student’s’ voice of Saint Thomas Aquinas High School.

Published by students for the good of the whole Aquinas community, The Shield serves as a source of information and as a spark for productive change. Student reporters learn about the world of journalism while practicing ethical, holistic reporting practices. The Shield staff is responsible for the content published, striving to share information accurately, objectively, and completely for all members of the Saint Thomas Aquinas High School community.

A DV E RTIS ING The Shield sells advertisements to help with publication costs. All ads will be subject to the same scrutiny as stories. The Shield will not print any obscenities or any ads promoting products illegal to those under the age of 18. For advertising, please call (913) 319-2418, send an email to mhallauer@stasaints.net, or visit www.stasaints.net/shield

S UB S CR I P TIO NS Subscriptions to The Shield are $3 per issue. Subscriptions can be sent to Saint Thomas Aquinas High School c/o Matt Hallauer. Digital subscriptions are free and sent via email monthly. Orders can be sent to mhallauer@stasaints.net

L E T T E R S P O L ICY Letters may be accepted by The Shield, provided that they are signed and do not contain libelous statements. The Shield reserves the right to edit the letters for grammar, obscenity, or space consideration, and also reserves the right to not print a letter.

Volume 32 I February Issue

CONTENTS

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8

The Currans: A Love Story

WPA: A Truly Dynamic Day

NHS: A Bloody Good Day

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14

16

Z: A New Generation

A Golden Age of KC Sports

Embarassing Crush Stories

20 Speaking with Mr. DuBois

24 Great Date Ideas

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26 The Aqua-Men of Aquinas

Jumping Into

Spring

Letter from the Editor

H

ey Saints!

It’s already almost halfway through the second semester! Spring break is almost here, and I know I am not alone in my excitement for it to be here. Some seniors are gearing up for Rome, so long as the coronavirus doesn’t stop them.

Lent has also just begun, meaning we are approaching some of Catholicism’s most important holidays (i.e. Easter and the Triduum). Although the next few weeks will be a time of reflection and atonement, of fasting and prayer, Easter is on the horizon, serving as a bright point to look forward to.

In the meantime though, we will be kept very busy by school, spring sports, and all the Aquinas social events, including the still distant (yet not distant enough for peole to not have already looked for and/or bought their dresses) Prom. The year will continue to whizz by though.

Even though it is still winter, it certainly does not feel like it as much recently. There has been some almost warm days and a lot less snow. Who knows if this warm streak will continue.

Anyways, this issue was a lot of work. but the staff and I were thrilled to have been able to create it. There is definitely something in it for every single student, as detailed in the following paragraphs.

Moorea wrote about the golden age of KC sports we happen to be living in, with Sporting KC, the Royals, and the Chiefs all having won championiships within the last ten years.

Connor covered the NHS blood drive in depth while Hailey wrote about the beloved CYO showdown. Brennan ended up covering the boys’ swim and dive team’s season.

Sophomore Rose Kindred gives readers a glimpse into a beloved teacher and Aquinas Debate and Forensics coach, Mr. Dubois.

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Alycen wrote a piece on a famous Aquinas couple: the Currans.

Maria compiled a variety of embarassing crush stories while Anabelle went into details on popular date ideas and this year’s senior crushes.

In this issue, I wrote about both this year’s WPA, which had a very dynamic theme, and two Aquinas students that are making a name for themselves when it comes to mental health awareness. They even went to Topeka to testify to Kansas lawmakers.

Obviously, this issue has something for everyone!

Some exciting things are on the horizon for The Shield, so stay tuned. Our next issue may be the best one yet, and we may introduce a surprise or two. And don’t forget to take the surveys sent to your school email; they help us tremendously and are a lot of fun to fill out as well.

Overall, quite a bit of time, effort, and hard work was put into this issue, and I hope you get half as much enjoyment out of it as the staff did making it (if that’s even possible).

Before I go, I want to end this letter with a classic quote:

Make This Day Count!

Enjoy your reading and discoveries, Saints!

Until next time, yours, etc:

Rachael Lawler Editor-In-Chief

What's going on?

The Coronavirus C oronavirus Thousands of people have been quarantined in cruise ships, homes, and makeshift hospitals. Many scientists are scrambling to find a vaccine for the elusive virus as more cases of the coronavirus keep surging. There is anxiety everywhere sparked in the media, but is there really cause for concern?

What is COVID-19?

Recently, there has been a new, mutated strand of the coronavirus called the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Cases of COVID-19 have originated in

Cameron Elias Freelancer

Wuhan, China, but many cases have spread to other countries such as the United States. According to the article “Coronavirus,” by Dr. Kevin McIntosh, patients that have been infected with the coronavirus have trouble breathing “when the infection affects the lungs and causes pneumonia.” The COVID-19 mostly targets the lungs, leading to increased lung damage to the point of death. COVID-19, however, is hard to classify since the symptoms are very common to other illnesses. For instance, patients afflicted with the coronavirus will develop a fever, coughing, fatigue,

and trouble breathing. Touching fluids from infected patients will transmit the virus.

Concern?

Due to the increasing number of cases of the coronavirus, it is completely reasonable to be concerned about being infected and the consequences of the epidemic. In addition to concerns about the global economy, there are many people dying from the virus. It is a very safe bet that many people are not going to China anytime soon. In the meantime, we should worry more about influenza and keep ourselves from getting sick.

February Issue

5

a Couple of Currans An inside look at an aquinas family

S

ome of Aquinas’ most beloved teachers are Mr. and Mrs. Curran. Mr. Curran teaches DCA and Statistics and he also coaches boys basketball.

Mrs. Curran teaches Algebra and is an assistant cross country coach. They are both well liked by students for being kind, caring, and always willing to help out students.

Mr. and Mrs. Curran both attended Kansas State University, but didn’t meet until after college at a friend’s wedding.

Mr. Curran’s friend was getting married to Mrs. Curran’s friend.

Mr. Curran had just recently graduated and was looking for math teaching job.

Mrs. Curran was already teaching

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at Aquinas when they met and their initial discussions revolved around a math opening at Aquinas.

There were some pre-wedding dinner parties and gatherings that they talked briefly at. At the wedding they danced and had their first date the following week.

Mrs. Curran began teaching at Aquinas in 1997 and they began dating in 1999.

Mr. Curran was teaching and coaching at Shawnee Mission South until he came to Aquinas in 2015.

The initial discussion of him coming to Aquinas happened at the faculty Christmas party when a few people inquired if he’d be interested.

Mrs. Curran said “knowing that our kids would be coming to Aquinas

NYC Trip

Mr. and Mrs. in New York CIty on a trip a couple of years ago.

made it easier to have one high school They enjoy having their whole community to be a part of” family apart of one highschool community.

The Curran’s do enjoy working together. They say it makes getting involved easier

“We have had a great experience and they feel more connected as a family. working together.

We The Cuuran’s have “We enjoy being don’t really see each other been impacting students apart of the same during the day, but we lives for many years and community.” enjoy being part of the will continue to do so in same community.” the years to come.

-Mrs. Curran

The Curran’s have They have set a three boys. Their oldest, Frank Curran, great example of marrriage and family. is a sophomore at Aquinas and their two Through their dedictaion to Aquinas younger boys go to Holy Trinity. and eachother they have inspired many

students.

Alycen Ellwanger Reporter

February Issue

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A Cher-ful experience

Juniors Erika Moll, Kate Weisner, and Addison Ruder the WPA dance. Kate Weisner rocked a Clueless inspired costume that looked straight out of the film.. Photo by Medallion Staff.

WPA: A TRULY Green with Envy

Juniors Callan Rysavy and Ellie Ward smile for the camera in costumes that would make anyone jealous. Both girls danced the night away. Photo by Sarah LeBourveau (Medallion Staff)..

F

ebruary is known for its chilly weather, being the shortest month, and of course, Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day brings up many different emotions in people, from outright disgust to pure excitement, sometimes both depending on how the day goes. And Valentine’s Day would definitely not be the same at Aquinas without WPA, or Women Pay All, the classic winter dance at Aquinas.

Although it’s informal, it is often flocked to by the freshman as it is the only dance they can attend. At the same time though, seniors enjoy the evening as one of the last large events of their time in high school. The rest of the grades attend as well, but not in quite the same extent.

This year’s dance was held on Saturday, February 15, in the Aquinas commons. The theme was Dynamic Duos, and there were more than a few epic pairings, including the Irwins, Squints and the lifeguard from The Sandlot, and a single can of pringles. Some popular choices included Sandy and Danny from Grease, Barbie and Ken, and of course,

A Super Trio

Seniors Reece Lovitt, Arianna Long, and Megan Rusch smile for the camera. The trio seemed ready to save the day. Photo by Medallion Staff.

DYNAMIC DAY Crowd Surfing

The Irwins lost their crocdile to the crowd. This was not the only time that the crocdile enjoyed being the center of attention. Photo by Medallion Staff.

Disney characters.

Every year, it is the sophomore StuCo that comes up with theme, which is a result of lots of ideas and discussions, votes on top themes, and dealing with another school stealing a favorite theme. Eventually, they settled on Dynamic Duos with the approval of the rest of StuCo.

In addition to finding the theme, the sophomore StuCo is in charge of finding a DJ, doing the decorations, and selling tickets, with the help of their class moderators.

As for planning WPA, the sophomore StuCo thinks it will help them when it comes to tackling prom next year.

Rachael Lawler Editor-In-Chief

PARTY ON

The attendees cluster together in the center of the commons.. Students danced with a variety of people over the course of the evening. Photo by Ellie Loe (Medallion Staff).

A Bloody Good Day Two days before Valentine’s Day was a tremendous day for the Aquinas community to show some love (save for the few faint of heart among them!).

There were many walking examples of great love and sacrifice: students who donated blood to the NHS blood drive. A total of 116 students registered for the drive, which meant that the Aquinas school goal of 100 donors was met. Of the 116 students that registered, however, 21 were unable to donate due to physical conditions or limitations such as high blood pressure, recent sickness, exposure Isabel to certain illnesses, or medications.

Nevertheless, much credit is due to all the students who signed up, including the 21 who were deferred, for their willingness to sacrifice for an incredibly noble cause.

Among those who registered to donate blood, there were an astounding 69 first time donors! One

of those first time donors was junior Isabel Pflumm, who conquered a fear of needles in order to donate.

“I was very nervous and kind of shocked when I realized it was my turn to donate,” she said. “It was a little terrifying at first, but all in all it was a good experience and I’m really glad that I did it.”

Her favorite part of the experience?

“The snack table was great, there was all kinds of good stuff.

And I was pretty happy to hear that for the next few days I had to eat a lot of junk food!”

Pflumm

Seniors Elizabeth Myers and Sophia Hill helped organize the drive, serving as cochairs.

“It’s really cool to be able to say that I played a part in it this year,” Myers said.

Hill said, “This year’s drive was very successful.

We were able to reach our goal of one hundred

“It was a little terrifying at first, but all in all it was a good experience.”

Snacc Shacc

National Honor Society members Ellie Jurgensmeyer, Christine Pham and Anna Deschamp sit at the snack table. NHS members arrived before dawn to unload the trucks, kept watch for sick students at the snack table, and reloaded the Community Blood Center’s trucks at the end of the day. Photo by Maddy Gaddy, Medallion yearbook staff.

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March Issue

donors, and we were very happy about that.”

This year, donors had an extra reward besides the great satisfaction of contributing to save lives and a free snack. Donors were able to receive a free Stranger Things inspired t-shirt with “BLOOD DONOR” emblazoned on the front, courtesy of Community Co-chair Blood Center, who orchestrated the drive. (Some pretty neato stickers were given to donors as well. You can’t overlook the small perks of being a donor.)

There were so many selfless individuals amongst the Aquinas student community who faced some quite intimidating needles to donate to the drive.

Their small, yet draining (pun intended) contribution and sacrifice will likely save many lives, as every donation goes directly Sophia Hill towards blood banks and hospitals. It was certainly inspiring to see this act of sacrifice and love, especially as it fell just days before Valentines Day!

“We were able to reach our goal of 100 donors, and we were very happy about that.”

Connor Klocke Reporter

Hol’ Up

Sophomore Elizabeth Hinds holds up a “Give Blood” sign. She was one of the many students who donated. Photo by Maddy Gaddy, Medallion yearbook staff.

Say “Needles!”

Seniors Reece Lovitt and Greta Woolway pose for a picture together after donating. Students who donated received free t-shirts. Photo by Maddy Gaddy, Medallion yearbook staff.

March Issue

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Z

: A new generation G

eneration Z is coming of age and with it, a renewed passion to fix problems that have gone unchecked for far too long.

One such endeavor is that of mental illness and suicide, which in recent years has begun to lose some of its stigma, partly due to efforts by students like Morgan Ramsey and Mike Zingg.

After years of these topics being underdiscussed and underrepresented in schools, there is a possibility of a complete 180 in terms of mental health eductaion for younger students in the state of Kansas.

On Wednessday, February 19, Ramsey and Zingg traveled to Topeka to testify before a joint committee of representatives from the Kansas House of Representatives about mental health and suicide prevention.

This was done in the hopes of the creation of a bill that would put in place the implementation and integration of mental health education earlier on and more in-depth in students’ school careers, so students learn healthy coping skills for mental health issues at a younger age, before any crises.

Although this bill is not in place yet, there has been a lot of collaboration between legislators and students in terms of brainstorming what such a bill should offer.

Ramsey and Zingg were able to do this based on the One Heart Project, a mental health awareness program, which former Aquinas teacher Sean Reilly worked on, leading

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And they're Off!

Morgan Ramsey and Mike Zingg head for Topeka. In Topeka, they met with state legislators about mental health. Photo courtesy of Morgan Ramsey.

to Northeastern Kansas representation by both Aquinas and Olathe.

Journalism teacher and counselor Matt Hallauer recommended both Zingg and Ramsey for the task based on their experience in the world of mental health awareness.

Ramsey serves as the Aquinas Student Ambassador for Zero Reasons Why, a program aimed at both suicide awareness and prevention. She also spoke at the Mental Health Convening,

a multi-school and organization coalition for suicide prevention.

Zingg started a group that helps high school seniors understand the deeper implications of mental health issues.

Both Ramsey and Zingg attended the Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force hosted by the Kansas Attorney General on January 24-25 in junction City. This ocnference was all about discussing current suicide prevention programs in effect, and ideas for new ones that could be formed.

When asked about any exciting things that will help with mental health awareness, Ramsey brought up a new Snapchat feature that will allow users struggling with suicidal ideation or mental illness to reach out to helpful services and programs.

A new generation is coming of age, and with it, a whole new host of developments and advancements.

This is perhaps best exemplified by the tireless work of seniors Morgan Ramsey and Mike Zingg.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughs or actions, call the National Suicide Prevntion Hotline at: 1-800-273-8255

Rachael Lawler Editor-In-Chief

Mental Health Warriors Ramsey and Zingg pose at the Kansas State Capital, along with a fellow mental health advocate . They testified about mental health education in schools. Photo courtesy of Morgan Ramsey.

February Issue

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The Golden Age of

In the past ten years, the Kansas City sports teams have been excelling in their fields. Sporting KC, the Royals, and the Chiefs have all been winners which creates a

new buzz for our city!

The Kansas City Chiefs just won the Superbowl against the San Francisco 49ers! Our city has been filled with red and yellow celebrating the new championship for our team.

CELEBRATING THEIR WIN

Patrick Mahomes, the Super Bowl MVP, led the team to 21 points within the last quarter for victory.

With a complete comeback, the Chiefs were able

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are cheering while they recieve the Super Bowl trophy. Photo courtesy of US Today Sports.

to score 31 points against the 49ers.

“[They] never lost faith. That’s the biggest thing. Everybody on [the] team, no one had their head down.”

Patrick Mahomes

After a 50 year wait, the championship has finally arrived

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in back in our city.

Brendan Curran, our Statistics and Digital Design teacher, designed Super Bowl shirts in commoration of the Chiefs victories.

He is the founder of the Three KC clothing brand which was “inspired by the Three Kings of Kansas City: [barbeque], [crowns], and [arrows].”

Many of the STA teachers were seen wearing his merchandise around school on Red Friday!

The winning legacy does not stop there.

Our Sporting Kansas City soccer team won the MLS Cup Championship back in 2013!

The team had finished second in the Eastern Conference with 17 wins and 10 losses in regular season.

In the MLS Playoffs, Sporting KC defeated NE Revolution in the conference semifinals and Houston Dynamo in the conference finals.

Then, the Sporting Kansas City advanced to the MLS championship where the team defeated Real Salt Lake on penalties (7–6) after the matchwas tied 1–1 in regulation and overtime.

jUMPING FOR JOY

The Kansas City Royals won their championship back in 2015. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

SCREAMING SPORTING KC

Sporting Kansas City finally won the MLS championship against Real Salt Lake.. Photo courtesy of US Today Sports.

U.S. national team players Graham Zusi and Matt Besler were the leading players hat helped this team to victory!

To top off all of the Kansas City championships, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series back in 2015.

The Royals became the first team since the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 World Series to win the World Series after losing in the previous year.

Our city was a river of blue for the two year journey through the playoffs. Then, finally in 2015, the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets with a 7-2 score.

“Hey guess what? Cy Young winner, not on our team, beat him.

Rookie of the year, not on our team, we beat him. MVP of the whole league, sorry

guys not on our team.

But we beat that guy too!”

Johnny Gomez The 2015 Royals Outfielder

The Golden Age of Kansas City sports is not over yet however. The Chiefs plan to continue their legacy and train until they are the best.

Moorea GailLoux Reporter

February Issue

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Most Embarrassing Crush Stories

Crushes have a funny way of making you act in all sorts of epic, intense, strange, hilarious, amazing ways. We have all experienced the emotions that come with having a big crush on someone. Whenever we see that special person, speaking often becomes difficult and it sometimes leads to us doing some pretty stupid things. Very often, things don’t go quite as planned. In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are some of the most embarrassing crush stories submitted by the students at Aquinas.

1. “In third grade, I had a huge crush on this boy. He was in my English class and we were reading partners that day because my teacher assigned us to be partners. As we were reading, I got super nervous and my stomach started hurting. I farted and it smelled really bad so I went to the bathroom.

It turns out that I sharted my pants. I ran back to my classroom and told the teacher that I sharted my pants and I had to go to the nurse and get a new pair of underwear. To this day, he still doesn’t know what happened.”

2. “My crush fainted on me in Church once and I thought he was in love with me so I let him lay there.”

3. “Getting rejected by my friend of over 12 years.”

4. “One time I went to a store my crush worked at just to see him. I went in, walked around the store like four times until I saw him and then walked out without buying anything. I didn’t even talk to him.”

5. “I told him I liked him and he said ‘cool.’”

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True Love in Mass

What would you do if your crush fainted on you in mass? One student said they let their crush lay there because they were in love. Photo by Moorea Gailloux.

6. “I told my crush that I liked him... by telling him I hated his girlfriend. We’ve now been dating for 7 months.”

7. “I liked this boy from K-8th grade and then he started dating my best friend.”

8. “I liked a guy once and I started flirting with him in front of people and then he told me he was gay.”

9. “My nose started bleeding when this guy kissed me. What would be even more embarrassing, though, is if this is actually published. “

A Stinky Situation

A student said that their crush told them to put on deodorant. This was not quite the conversation they were hoping for. Photo by Moorea Gailloux.

10. “When my friend mentioned that the guy I liked was ‘totally checking [me] out’ and mentioned him by name without realizing he was standing right behind us. I died a little bit inside but 4 years later we started dating so I think it’s safe to say he didn’t hear or mind.”

11. “One time in eight grade, my class and I had play practice and a bunch of people and I were bored because it wasn’t our scene so were were quietly playing volleyball a little ways away. The ball was about to hit the floor to I did a little bit of a dive and ended up diving right into my crushes crotch. I was never able to look him in the face again.”

12. “When I was in sixth grade, I had a huge crush on a boy. One night, he snapchatted me and asked me out.

I said yes, and he said it was a prank.

The next day I had to sit next to him in English. It was really embarrassing.”

13. “In first grade I had a huge crush on a guy in my class and for

show-and-tell, I took my pink Justice journal to show everybody. I had ‘written’ about my crush in the journal.

Someone in my class stole the journal from the table and showed our teacher the page where I had written the name of my crush all over. The girl that showed the teacher later came up to me and confronted me about the fact that she liked the same person. We did not stay close friends.”

14. “In 6th grade, my crush told me to put on deodorant.”

15. “When the whole school is about to find out I’m in love with Isaiah Gavin.”

16. “I farted really loudly while watching a movie with her.”

Maria Palazuelos Reporter

Journal Secrets

Writing about your crush in your journal can sometimes be dangerous. One student was confronted about the person she had written about. Photo by Moorea Gailloux.

February Issue

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e r a s y a d r u t a S s i o b u D r o f

Forensics SZN is here

Mr. Dubois smiles with this year’s Forensics shirt.

Mr. Dubois has been at Aquinas for 19 years. Photo

by Rachael Lawler.

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M

r. Dubois has been teaching at Aquinas for the last nineteen years, leading to three debate state championships as a head coach and one forensics championship as an assistant coach.

Mr. Dubois said that his favorite thing about coaching is “being able to create a place that a group of kids can call home.” A welcoming environment can do so much for a teen’s self esteem; finding their niche is what competitive speaking also aims to do. There are many different events in which one can compete in, as Mr. Dubois showed through his time competing in high school.

Mr. Dubois has always been involved in competitive speaking. He started in high school and competed in both debate and forensics. He had national-level success in both policydebate and extemporaneous speaking.

He was also the state champion in humorous interpretation.

Mr. Dubois discovered many of his close friends in debate/ forensics, as well. He also knew Paul Rudd, although not well, Ben Lerner, a novelist and poet, and Ajit Pai, chairman of the FCC. Finding a close group of friends in debate/ forensics helped Mr. Dubois to grow throughout high school.

Mr. Dubois dabbled in journalism before teaching which fits seeing as he is also an author. He has published a few stories and is hoping to have more published soon.

Mr. Dubois has even run into a kid performing a piece of his at a forensics tournament. Mr. Dubois enjoys using humor in much of his writing, which is evident in how he tells stories as well. One story that comes to mind for Mr. Dubois is the one time when he was at the Topeka Zoo, looked up at the wrong moment, and was given a mouthful of bird

poop. He also mentioned that having “benevolent gnomes” that would want to finish certain stories for him would be incredibly helpful. Little moments such as this truly show the writing process for Mr. Dubois’s more humorous stories.

Mr. Dubois also recognizes the power of speech in everyday life. One person that has inspired him throughout his life is Daryl Davis. Davis is an African American that uses kind speech to turn over members of the Klan. They then give him their robes; Davis has collected many robes due to this method. Mr. Dubois believes that open dialogue is truly the way to better relations among those with different views.

Mr. Dubois is working with the novices, also known as beginners, in forensics to become performance ready. This means that they would be able to go perform at tournaments.

He wants to create an environment where the kids can really succeed.

Mr. Dubois has said multiple times that he wants to help them create a performance that they are proud of.

Mr. Dubois truly wants all the kids that he works with, whether that be in speech, forensics, or debate, to feel comfortable and proud when speaking publicly.

Story by Rose Kindred Freelancer

DUBOI S

The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

Design by Rachael Lawler Editor-In-Chief

Date Ideas Good dates don’t have to be fancy and expensive. The best dates can be simple.

These are real dates that students at Aquinas would love to go on. So take some inspiration and ask out your crush to go on one of these fun dates.

aPicinic in the park/ under the stars;

o Jacob L. Loose Park o The Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden playing video games

A great way to show your competitve side during a date. Photo by: JESHOOTS.com

Picnic in loose park

Imagine. how beautiful a picnic in the park would be. Photo by Kcparks.org

aPlay video games

o Mario kart oJust dance owii sports/resort

aConcerts

oMarch 28th Cole Swindell oApril 9th Dan and Shay oApril 16th Zac Brown Band oJuly 6th Justin Bieber oJuly 11th Kenney Chesney 24

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Best night ever

A more expensive date, bt deienetly one to remeber Photo by Anabelle Goone

Senior Crushes

We polled the Aquinas students to see who their Senior crushes were and the following seniors were the seniors with the most votes.

The results for Senior Crush are in:

In first place with 6 votes is Michael McNamara Coming next, all with 3 votes are Isaiah Gavin, Ryan English, Amanda Hamm, Tom Downey, and Zarian Navy The seniors with 2 votes were Nolan Mauk, Hunter Moffet, and Arden Meade Honorable mentions include: Aidan Schieders, Aiden Higgerson, Anna Simmons, Brandon Oddo, Brett Davis, Christian Mozingo, Claire Cox, Cole Theut, Connor Morrissey, Corbin Haskett, Danny Eckerberg.

Drew English, Ellie Johnson, Grant Schugart, Jake Berger, Jarod Frederick, Justin Gallagher Lauren Mcenroe, Maddie Harruch, Maggie Ryan, Megan McNellis, Paul Do, Reece Lovitt, Rhett Heide, Ryan Schenk, Ryan Seiler, Sydney Taylor, Tommy Carroll Tori Sarver, Will Myer, Wrigley Russell March Issue

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BOYS in BLue... And gold

The team competes in different types of swimming, including the freestyle (left) and breastroke (above). Photo by Sarah LeBourveau.

The Aqua-Men

“Splish, splash, splish, splash.” To the outside viewer, the rhythmic and flowing activity of swimming may seem easy and uninteresting. In truth, however, swimming is a very difficult sport, the most difficult according to swim team senior Alex Haskett.

Swimming works a whole different set of muscles from other sports, making it not only difficult to learn, but almost impossible to master. On top of this, a swimmer has to have the endurance necessary to compete over long distances.

When compared to swimming, divers have a completely different mentality.

Where swimmers have to maintain a steady pace over long distances, divers need to maintain perfect technique for only a few seconds at a time. During those few seconds, a diver needs maximum

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concentration and ability, an ability that only comes after hours of practice.

While swimming is certainly not the most popular sport, it provides something few other High School sports provide: a sense of togetherness with the competition, instead of rivalry.

“My favorite thing [about the swim team] is the camaraderie among Truan swimmers,” said Truan Leiker, another swim team senior.

The swim/dive team presents a unique sense of community, even with members of other teams.

According to Danny Eckerberg, a senior diver, “[The Swim/Dive team] is a great way to get to know people from other schools.”

That being said, the sense of competition is still very high. For the many swimmers and divers at Aquinas, performing well at state is the pinnacle of their sport. These state meets provide the opportunity to excel; to push themselves to go faster than ever before, or to perfect even the most challenging of dives.

While swimming is certainly not Leiker an easy sport, newcomers are always welcome. “Everyone should join the swim team if they want [to be] challeneged,” said Haskett. “It works the entire body, so it’s a great way to stay in shape.” The Aquinas swimmers are always looking to add more people into their unique

“My favorite thing is the camaraderie among the swimmers.”

community. While the sense of competition is undoubtedly high, the swim team provides many fun and wholesome experiences. “It’s a fun sport with great people,” said Eckerberg. While swimming is not the most popular Aquinas sport, it will always be a true representation of the Aquinas community: Friendly, faithful, and a whole lot of fun!

Brennan Schroeder Senior Reporter

DIVing in

The initial dive is a crucial part of any swimming race. It is often the deciding factor between victory and defeat. Photos by Sarah LeBourveau.

February Issue

27

Celebrity LookAlikes Aquinas students were asked if any of their classmates resembled a celebrity. Here are some of the most popular responses.

Kate Weisner & Madelaine Petsch

Kendall Diggs & Russell Wilson

Paramount Piuctures

Temi Akinwuntan & Whoopi Goldberg

Michael Luchtefeld & Andy Samberg

Mia Sisul & Taissa Farmiga

anna stoll

28

The Shield

Reporter

Gianna Giarraputo & Anne Hathaway

Jake Berger & Logan Paul

Disney Television Animation

Warner Bros. Television

Carter Diggs & Baljeet

Amy Gassel & Reese Witherspoon

Paramount Pictures

Olivia Cadenas & Olivia Hussey

February Issue

40

The Social Spread

30

The Shield

Survey Spread Favorite celebrity couple?

Charli D’Amelio & Lil Huddy

Zendaya & Jacob Elordi

15.6%

19.9%

Justin & Hailey Bieber

Blake Lively & Ryan Renolds

SWEET, SALTY, SOUR, or savory?

77

19.1%

45.4%

26

FAVORITE VALENTINES DAY MOVIE: 19.1%

19.1%

33.3%

28.4%

20

25

March Issue

31

March Issue

32