In Jessica Bonnin’s Spanish 3 Honors class, sophomore Malory Kemmerer practices for her speaking quiz. Students were expected to hold a conversation with Bonnin for a few minutes utilizing the tenses of present, preterit, and imperfect. “The most difficult part of a speaking quiz is making sure it all flows. Since English is wired into our brains, it takes a minute to process and so the conversation can tend to die down awkwardly between sentences,” Kemmerer said. “To prepare, I practice talking with my friends for the days leading up to the quiz and look through my notes for the vocab subject we’re talking about.”

Junior Aryan Kapoor stocks bread at the IMPACT Center. As a result of the snow day, students like Kapoor were left with hours of free time. “I wanted to help have a strong impact on the community while gaining extra volunteer hours for National Honors Society,” Kapoor said.

Sitting in AP Lang, junior Sara McComas plays with a NeeDoh to help her focus. The popular squishy toy, NeeDoh is popular with students in classrooms across the school, as students used them torelieve stress and help focus. “It helps me to stay focused on my work. It’s just fun to have it there and it is satisfying to squish it,” McComas said.

During C lunch, junior Sam Vance plays chess against friend Brandon Tripp. “I challenged Brandon to a game and it kind of just became a thing,” Vance said. “I play chess outside of school, so it’s something I’m extremely passionate about along with piano. Chess is a game like no other, and it feels good to win a hard fought game.”

Senior Bailey Rugenstein helps cut out positivity cards at a BC2M meeting. The club met on Wednesday during AIM to discuss upcoming events and future planned activities. “BC2M is about creating a space where people feel safe enough to talk honestly about what they’re going through, and even small projects like this reflect our larger goal of building a more supportive community at school,” Rugenstein said.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, junior Abigale Lyle purchases a flower. The PTO provided students a way to get a simple gift for friends, teachers and valentines. “I like this because I am not able to buy flowers at home,” Lyle said. “It’s a good way to help students who aren’t always able to get them.”

In Amy Rupp’s chemistry class, sophomore Neta Wiser works on a practice problem over the previous class period’s lesson. Rupp started class by giving students time to work out problems and ask questions in order to comprehend the unit better. “Doing these problems before class helps me understand the lesson better because it allows me to ask more questions and grow a deeper understanding of the topic,” Wiser said.

During Honors Physics, senior Avery Osborn sets up a circuit for a lab practical. This activity aimed to teach students how circuit calculations apply to a hands-on example. “We were tasked with the challenge of building a circuit and measuring different aspects like resistance, current and voltage,” Osborn said. “The hands on aspect really deepened my understanding of the topic.”

Working in the Hall of Excellence, senior Abby Mueller prepares her set up for her photo. During Advanced Photography class, students used foods and materials brought from home to learn more about the different aspects of photography. “The purpose of this was to explore different fields of photography in addition to being creative with how we style objects in photographs,” Mueller said.

Seniors Keegan Mennel, Isaac Banks, Blake Downen and Luke Dagley prepare to ski down a trail.The seniors were avid skiers, and planned a trip to Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia last weekend to get a break from the stress of school. “Going on a trip with my friends during my senior year was always something I thought about, but during September, I actually started planning the trip,” Dagley said. “Being able to have a break from school was really beneficial to my mental health, and I feel like now that I’m less stressed I can do my schoolwork more efficiently.”

Senior Lucas Kappas watches the 2026 Winter Olympics in social studies teacher Cale Hoover’s AP Government class. After students finished testing, Hoover played the Olympics so that students could keep up with the competition. “It was really interesting to watch sports which typically don’t have a large following,” Kappas said. “Especially regarding winter sports, the variety of athletes is insane and it’s really fun to watch them compete.”