Did you know that this fall, many colleges, and universities will be visiting East Ridge? These visits will be held throughout the school day, either through an online forum or an in-person visit. College visits are a great way to learn more and to have your questions answered.
Ms. Jones has formed an emotional connection with her students and has been a big part of their acting careers. Carter is planning on attending New York University next year to continue acting. “She was definitely a big part of that. A lot of her direction and a lot of her help along the way pushed me into this.”
School District Looks to SoWashCo Online to Alleviate Budget Woes
According to Dan Pyan, the district financial director, SoWashCo needs 10-15 students outside the district while also drawing students back from other programs to meet its budget goal, with a “projected 50 students enrolled in the 2022-2023 school year, and the number doubling in 2023-2024,” adds Nash. If they do not meet their goal, budget cuts will continue but will be found outside the schools.
Jim Smokrovich, principal of East Ridge High School says, “I’ve been a principal for 23 years in the state of Minnesota, 6 years in East Ridge, and this has probably been the hardest two years of my career.”
”If you replace a couple of planks on a ship, and keep doing it over and over, eventually the ship might be all new planks. Is it the same ship or not? Does that ship’s identity change or is it the same ship? It’s kind of the same conversation with human beings. We change a lot, so are you the same you as when you were five?” says Kenley.
“We wanted to pick a production that would go well outside, and the drive-in and 50s theme of ‘Grease’ does that well,” says Ms. Kajsa Jones, The Loft Stage musical director.
“With the 6 week break, you're forced to remember everything in the previous hexmester as well as learn things for the current hexmester. The amount of stuff compounds and becomes very overwhelming,” said Senior Anita Chetty, who has taken 14 out of the 16 AP classes offered.
Major changes include: cutting band and orchestra from the elementary level, eliminating media specialists from middle and high schools, increasing middle and high school class sizes and closing the Nuevas Fronteras and Woodbury Middle School pools. Parking permits at the high schools will also increase by $20 per trimester.
“I guess I feel floaty like I barely remember finishing school last year and have sort of lost the concept of time. I feel numb like I’m moving forward through the year but it doesn’t feel like it,” Marina said.
When asked if she believes the current curriculum is as comprehensive as it could be, Amitrano said, “No, not at all. I don't think we should be talking about Native Americans once a year. I think it needs to be at least a monthly thing, because this is the land that we come from, and to not have that be recognized or acknowledged is disheartening.”
“Many students will really benefit from these changes,” said Raeann Schultz, a counselor at East Ridge High School.
As vaccinations become more available, students say they are eager to return to a regular school year, but are also concerned about safety among their peers.
Distance learning has created so much isolation between students and teachers and also between teachers and their colleagues that teachers have to take that initiative to reach out to students themselves. “I try to make it clear that mental and emotional well being is a priority,” says Carbone.
“The biggest thing is communicating,” states Mr. Smokrovich. In response to Helena Dowler’s letter, the administration has created more opportunities for students to interact with peers and adults and upped communication and attempts to reach out.
“This year has been hard; we have had our world turned upside down by a pandemic, members of our community have died, the biggest election in history, lockdowns, curfews, protests, riots, etc.”
along with the excitement and energy of Prom comes chaos, from hurt feelings, to confusing plans, and mixed signals. All of which threaten what is supposed to be a magical night to remember. So here are some common problems and complicated situations with some helpful tips on how to handle such problems.
Two seniors in the program, Nathan Casas and Makehba Nelson, both describe AVID to be more of a family than anything else.
The actors work hard to make the characters as believable as possible, but what about the rest of the show? Would you want to see “The Little Mermaid” on a dull, poorly lit stage? Outside without any props or sound effects? Probably not.
Sage Winmill, a female-to-male transgender senior here at East Ridge offered insight into what the school environment is like.