Carter High School has a new nurse named Ms. Kara West. There was another nurse named Ms. Shelton, but she has since gone on maternity leave until January. She said,” I was always going to fill in for her,but she was put on bed rest for now to her due date so i started early.”Ms. West has worked at 10 different school before working at Carter. Ms.West also works at ETSU teaching mental heath clinicals to college nursing students. Some fun things she likes to do is read The Lovely Bones. She also has 2 cats, Wiz and Olive. Ms. West like Carter because it was an opportunity to be at one school instead of how she used to bounce around schools. She said that it is harder being a nurse during the pandemic beacuas it is difficult having to make sure that students and faculty will be safe. She said it has been overwhelming at first, especially because there is a constant worry that the virus will shut down the school or get worse, but since forming a routine now it’s been better.     

Vision specialists accompany blind and visually impaired students in public schools, and assist them in many ways. Gretchen Hartmann is one of them; she assists Zoe Strope, a student at Carter High. Gretchen arrives at Carter in the afternoon to assist Zoe in algebra, a more difficult class for a low-vision student, and then uses a few minutes of the next period to teach braille, Independence skills, and other blind specific things. “When I’m not with Zoe, I am working with other students.” Explains Ms. Hartmann. “Right now, I have about fifteen students in six schools.”Ms. Hartmann also stated that Carter has done an excellent job accommodating for her and Zoe’s needs. “The teachers and staff are helpful and friendly, the administration makes sure we have what we need, and the students have all been very accepting.”

Covid-19, widely regarded as the biggest negative to plague our world; but in reality, there are a lot of positives to this unworldly virus. In this article I will be talking about all of the positive effects that covid-19 has had on this school. I know that covid-19 has allowed for each student to express themselves creatively; in addition to this, the virus will also help us better prepare for any and all future disasters here at carter high school. No matter where you stand on this topic, I think we can all agree that this virus has had a positive impact on the way that we live our lives, while still being a negative of course.

“I think it’s fair to say we, as a school, have learned to adapt and change on so many levels and in such a short amount of time (from something seemingly small like adding a 5th lunch to even bigger challenges like learning how to teach students who aren’t in the building every single day). I believe that is something that we should all be proud of.” said Sarah Groover, an algebra 2 teacher at Carter High school, when asked about her stance on this topic.

Covid-19 has allowed many students to express themselves creatively; without the stresses of school. Because of covid-19; we, being the students and staff, will be better prepared to handle bigger catastrophes, and the school closures that come with it. Covid-19 has led to a whole new outlook on life for many students.

Some may say that covid-19 has negatively impacted the school, and those who are involved with it, like the mask mandate, and the social distancing guidelines; however these are only minor setbacks to what I would consider, a huge period of creative independence; like being able to work on novels, and being able to read books, even being able to write and play music.

In conclusion, there may be some negatives (some would say a lot of negatives) to covid-19;  but as I’ve hopefully shown you here there are some positives as well; and I think I’ve proven that those positives far outweigh the negatives.

If you have a very strong passion for driving, whether it be the feeling you get behind the wheel, how you feel when you’re cruising down the interstate, or even just driving in general, then you’ll want to keep reading. Drivers ed should be put back into the school’s curriculum. Drivers ed was taken out of most of the schools in the Knox County district simply because there wasn’t enough funding for it. Because of this action, the families who are struggling financially but want their kid(s) to learn to drive can’t afford the drivers school. The drivers school is a one week class in the summer that costs $200 to $800 depending on what sessions you want to take. In these sessions you are taught driving etiquette. If there was a drivers ed class in schools, those low income families wouldn’t have to spend their money on the drivers school; they could put their kid(s) in the class in the schools. Some students don’t necessarily have a good grasp of understanding some things, especially about driving, and because of this they may tend to feel more stressed about even attempting to get behind the wheel. Because of this these students will more than likely freak out over things the experienced drivers don’t really think twice about but are more of a problem for these students who just started driving. People may have the opinion that putting drivers-ed back in schools isn’t a good idea because of the reason it got taken out because the school doesn’t have the money. For drivers-ed, the school would have to pay a teacher to teach it, insurance for the possible accidents, and a car to test drive. This would be difficult, but if student driving ability really is a priority, then we should be able to make it happen. There are negative and positive outcomes to putting drivers-ed back in schools, but at the end of the day you just have to go with the one that does the most good and benefits all the factors.

Fall, most widely known for the changing of the leaves, the football games, and the massive influx of pumpkin spice products; but for one class here at Carter High School, fall means a garden, yes you read that right! Ms. Jani Chollman and her Ecology class are growing a garden on school grounds this fall.

What started out as a few students applying for a grant to plant a garden; turned into a yearly project for this class of young Ecology students. I have gathered the opinions of a few members of the Ecology class, and they are rather different.

Some, like Shane Blanton, are interested in getting their hands dirty, and are excited to “catch a snake”. Others like Diana Fisher, are enthusiastic about the garden, but not so much about getting muddy while working in the garden, Fisher herself, was not available for an interview. 

I also contacted Mrs. Chollman herself, this is what she had to say. “I believe the garden is a way to show different ecosystems and how to maintain those ecosystems, struggles with the garden this year is there is a giant fire ant hill that we cannot get moved; also we need a lot of dirt, we just got the money for the dirt so it will be the week before fall break before we can actually put the dirt in and start planting. A good idea is if we are able to grow things, and eat them out of the garden; and also sell them to the teachers, and make money. We will grow things like kale and spinach and that way we can teach students how to make healthy smoothies. I love the idea of a garden, but sometimes the constraints of money and time constraints pushes it back, and this year the fire ants have really hurt us. Another bit of it is it shows symbiotic relationships between plants and animals.” said Ms. Jani Chollman when asked about her stance on the garden.

pictured above: ecology class gardens, located behind the tennis courts.

No matter where you stand on the topic of a school garden managed by the ecology class, I think we can all agree that this is a very unique way of learning the subject of ecology. 

Among the garden the ecology class also boasts an outdoor classroom, located only a few feet from their garden; and in the spirit of the fall, the class has plans for fixing both in some way. From minor features of the outdoor classroom, to a complete overhaul of the garden.

pictured above: ecology class outdoor classroom, located only a few feet from the garden.

John shippers (front) and Emily wiliford (back), at an event for the East Tennessee performing arts association.

Chastin Maples (front) and Jessie Fouraker (back), also at an event for the east tennessee performing arts association.

The pandemic has hit a lot of clubs incredibly hard, none more so than the carter high school band; I sat down with a member of the drumline and asked them a few questions about what they thought about all of the mandatory changes, such as the mask mandate and the social distancing guidelines; and how they were affecting the band. Here is what they had to say.“It’s the little things, like the cheer we march to”; said Thomas Fields, a member of the Carter High percussion since 2018, when asked about what was different this year, as opposed to last year. Fields added followed the conservation with, “the social distancing was an adjustment, yes; but I would say the real struggle is and was marching while wearing masks.”

pictured above: Chastin Maples (front), and Jesse Fouraker (back) at an event for the east Tennessee performing arts association.

When asked if he still enjoyed the band, Fields had this to say, “yes of course, there is nothing that would make me hate the band, I love getting to play every friday night.” When asked about his thoughts on the new ways of band, Fields said, “It’s different, I’ll say that. but seriously, there are a few changes that maybe aren’t the best like for example having to wear masks, and having to stay six feet apart. I asked mr. Fields if there was anything he didn’t like about the new way of doing things, to which he said, “I don’t particularly like having to learn a new way of playing a song, that I thought was fine as is.” on the same topic, Fields also answered this when asked about what he would change, “I would probably go back to the old cadence that we played in the years prior. Before wrapping up the interview, I asked Mr. Fields if there was anything else that he wanted the public to know, to which he responded; “perhaps it would be, that despite everything going on (including what’s written above); nothing will ever make me hate the band, or the rush of adrenaline that comes with it; and I will most definitely be in the band until I graduate.”

Have you ever marked on your skin with ink only to find that it was very hard to get off later? The hand stamps that we receive in the mornings at school are a perfect example of this, and they should be switched out with less permanent ones. There are several problems with these stamps, which leads me to believe that they should be replaced. 

The first problem would be the amount of scrubbing, rubbing, or washing that it takes to get these off. I have personally experienced this myself. After taking a 40-minute shower, with soap and other chemicals, a blue smiley-face stamp is still visible on my right arm. I have heard multiple people state that they could not get them off while attempting to scrub the darned ink off in the shower. If students wash their hands too many times, it could cause them to dry out. On the other hand, rubbing at their skin too much might cause it to become raw or sore. 

Secondly, the stamps are only necessary for tracking who has had their temperature checked during school hours, so they shouldn’t be visible by the end of the day when we go to sleep. In the day, it is understandable that these stamps need to be visible on our skin for security reasons. But we do not want these blots of ink staying on us throughout the night and into the next day. There seems to be no real reason to keep them on, as we only need them for seven hours maximum. It’s rather unnecessary.

Finally, the stamps can get in the way when people are participating in activities that may require them to be off. What if you were dressing up for a fancy night out with your friends or a significant other? Many of us might want the stamps gone in order to appear fresh. Now imagine you are a model that’s about to head off to a photo shoot, and your stamp is still on you. You wipe it, maybe even scrub at it, but it won’t come off, no matter what you do. The permanency of these imprints is ridiculous. Another example might be picture day. Who wants a blue or red mark on their arm showing up in their school photos?

Some might use the popular claim that the harder the stamps are to come off, the more students will wash their hands. However, if students could not get them off after trying so hard, why would they ever try again? The statement contradicts itself, and can also relate back to my first claim that using harsh methods to get the markings off can be harmful. All in all, we should start using washable stamps because it can benefit our skin, it can come off easily for particular activities, and it doesn’t stay on for an unnecessary amount of time.

Should there really be homework, like what’s the point? Does it really help or does it make things worse?

 Yes, it does help some understand the topic and get more of an understanding; but does it really help? If stress was an object it would be homework. As for some teenagers, we work late nights and some have practice or even games on some nights and we come home tired and we are in need of relaxation; but we don’t have that luxury because of homework. Some stay up until 12 or 1 o’clock doing homework just to get up in 5 hours to do it again which makes us tired for the next day. Then there is the fear of not doing your homework and stressing because you didn’t get it done. Not having homework could possibly help students focus more in school because we get to bed at a reasonable time. We have 8 hours in school to get it down, some might not finish in school but we could always do it the next day. Some assignments are confusing and being at home without   a teacher stresses us out. We overthink about failing it or even the whole class because we don’t understand it. Therefore, all homework does is stress students out more. My father told me “It does help you understand more but it keeps you up late at night”, and talking to other students, they said the same thing. For example, Carlos, a student at Carter High School, had this to say: “ Being a soccer player, with practice and games it’s hard to find time to do homework and oftentimes I’m up really late trying to get it done, which makes me really tired the next day and I can’t focus.” All homework does is stress students out with not knowing how to do, staying up late nights, being tired in the morning. I have nothing against the teachers but I think some give too much, having 2-3 sheets of homework or even an essay due, not everyone has the time to just sit down for 2 hours and type an essay.

Ask anyone here at Carter High School how they feel about the food in the school cafeteria and their response will often be complete disgust. It’s dry, flavorless and generally revolting. Many students pack their own lunch or even don’t eat lunch at all because pizza that has the same texture as cardboard will never be anything close to appetizing. Probably the most prominent reason that people have a problem with the school food is that it doesn’t taste good at all. It is nowhere even close to being considered good in any way. An abundance of students have stopped eating the school food altogether because of how genuinely awful it is. Not eating can have a wide range of negative effects on the human body, especially for people in the high school age range. The biggest issue is that it can have a major effect on students’ energy levels. This makes it more difficult to stay awake in class and therefore affecting our ability to learn properly. This means that even teachers can be on students’ side in this argument. However, even though the food tastes awful, it is actually nutritious and follows the Myplate Guidelines. The health science and nutrition teacher here at Carter High School, Ms. Wade, says “I do think students who eat food provided by the school are getting proper nutrition. Schools and districts must follow federal guidelines when it comes to school lunch and breakfast.” Even though it is nutritious, tasting good is just as important. The budget spent on student’s meals is ridiculously low. On average, the government spends about $3 per student lunch. Personally, I feel like they could spend a little more to at least make the food taste good, even though it is giving students the proper nutrition. Altogether, though, the food here at CHS is nowhere close to enjoyable and it needs to change.

Carter High School has many different sports that they fund except for one major sport: soccer. The boys and girls soccer teams win more games than they lose most of the time, which means that the soccer teams represent the school in a very good way and they excel in other ways too. For example, Raegan Boring, a senior girls soccer player, has kept very good grades in her classes. On top of that, she has two dual enrollment classes: (Statistics and English). Another example is Owen Keener, a junior in high school and plays for Carter’s boys soccer team. He is very well rounded in his personality. Last year in his free time he coached little league soccer. He has three AP courses in school and is very well-liked by his teachers. Mrs. Gilbert had this to say about Owen: “Owen is a good student. He always asks questions if he needs help. Also, he has good attendance. Owen is challenging himself by taking multiple AP classes.” It is not just those two, everyone on the boys and girls soccer teams are very well liked and have a really great bond with each other. Before every game, the boys pray even if it’s not in their religion; they still participate because they know that it’s important to others on the team. A bond like that is very helpful for the team to play like one and will generate a better outcome. The girls’ record is 5-5-2. This record is better than most sports. The football team gets funded by the school, and for the past three seasons they’ve won no more than 3 games. Parents and coaches are having to buy all food and drinks for the concessions, equipment, and jerseys for the boys soccer team. The soccer coach spends $600 on the socks alone. Soccer balls that are good quality are $50 per ball, and we need enough balls for each player to have their own when we practice. Soccer is an important sport because it is a way for the athletes to get a scholarship for college. This is a rare sport for people to want to play so there aren’t many opportunities for these athletes to get an offer from a college. People say we already have a way of getting the things we need, but the football team has plenty of players and parents that could help pay for the equipment they need, but they still get funded by the school. It is important for the soccer teams to be funded by the school because it is a sport that represents the school, the parents and coaches pay for everything needed, and it’s a way for students to get into college. On top of this, people go out and support the soccer teams even if they don’t understand what is going on during the game.