Senior of the Month
December’s Senior of the Month is Amelia Cameron. Amelia is the daughter of Steve and Janell Cameron of Marysville. She has been a runner for 7 years and has been a three time State qualifier in Cross Country, as well as finishing 11th in the 3200m Track State meet her sophomore year. She is a four-year letterman, participating in Cross Country, Track, and Basketball and was a member of her previous school’s competitive Dance Ensemble. She has been involved in National Honor Society and is currently serving as president. When not running or doing schoolwork, you can find her exploring her love for photography, music and the fine arts, as well as horticulture and gardening. Amelia plans to attend a four-year university to pursue a B.S. in Environmental Engineering then eventually an MBA and a Masters in Engineering. When asked for a word of advice to underclassmen she responded, “Enjoy your high school years as it felt like just yesterday I was an incoming freshman. A lot will change over four years, so take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself because you will never know what that opportunity will lead to, both in the people you may meet and the memories you will make.”
(Photo submitted)
Students, staff transition between learning levels
By: Madeline Conroy
Returning from Thanksgiving break, Fairbanks Local Schools went back to a hybrid schedule. Half the school went Monday and Tuesday, and the other half went Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday as a cleaning day. Fairbanks continued this through the end of the first semester.
For most students, it can be very difficult to switch from full time for a month, and then the last week before Thanksgiving break having to go full remote.
It can be a dramatic change from seeing teachers’ faces and friends almost every day to being back to staring at a computer screen day in and day out.
Many students were grateful when they were able to return to at least being in hybrid instead of full remote. It is still quite difficult to be in a hybrid learning level; however, teachers and students are working together to make it as smooth as possible.
For teachers, it can also be hard to switch between full remote and hybrid.
Teachers usually plan their schedules for the year, before it even starts. But this year has been very different for them.
Some teachers are recording video lessons and posting them for students at home, while also teaching the students that are in class.
Other teachers are having Google Meets or even having videos where the teacher updates the students on what they should be working on.
Both teachers and students are trying to make the best out of this unique year. Everyone is approaching the situation as positively as they possibly can with what is going on and that is all anyone could ask for.
All we hope for is that next semester we have the opportunity to go to school full time with all the students being in the building.
Weather reporting with Madeline Headings
Student hopes to make career in meteorology
By: Linsey Eddy
Madeline Headings is a sophomore at Fairbanks with a future in meteorology.
Recently, she pursued this interest in weather by taking a class taught by the National Weather Service, provided free by the Union County Emergency Management Agency.
Headings said she had always wanted to take this class, and was happy to do so with her grandfather, Paul Powers (a former Fairbanks science teacher), by her side.
The National Weather Service training instructs weather spotters to properly assess rainfall, snowfall, wind damage, tornado warning signs, and more. Weather spotters are then encouraged to report these measurements and observations to help keep their communities safe and informed.
Madeline’s passion for weather extends far beyond her participation in this class, however.
She says that she constantly checks her local weather stations to stay updated, and even has a few old-fashioned barometers in her house and rain gauges set up around the farm. Her family also likes to joke that as the pressure drops, grumpy attitudes skyrocket around the house.
Madeline enjoys the practical aspects of weather, as well as its representation in entertainment through sci-fi films, and hopes to make a career out of her interest someday.
NHS hosts successful Christmas toy drive
By: Hunter Jackson
This month the Fairbanks National Honor Society has had to restructure some of its plans due to the school’s shift back to a hybrid learning scheme.
Despite this the NHS has been able to run the gates for many sports events in the last month. Alongside this, there has been a successful workaround for the annual toy drive, which was to opt for online orders rather than in person.
Choir Class relies on technology to stay safe
By: Ally Gerty
This year, Fairbanks has a record amount of students participating in choir.
With forty-one students, Ms. Cooper has had to reimagine the class to comply with Covid guidelines. Instead of meeting in a typical classroom, students are seated six feet apart throughout the high school gymnasium. However, a gym does not provide the technical setup needed to teach.
Ms. Cooper has found a number of websites used to safely interact with her students, while they are in person or remote. She’s introduced Peardeck, Flipgrid, and Whiteboard.fi, which have become essential to teaching and evaluating students.
These are interactive websites where students can see presentations on Peardeck, submit videos of themselves singing on Flipgrid, and write notes that she can view from her computer on Whiteboard.fi. She has also used racquet balls in exercises to learn beat and beat division.
This new creative approach to choir keeps students engaged and excited for class!
FFA places 2nd at district competition
By: Montana Burns
Recently, the Fairbanks FFA chapter had their Senior Parliamentary Procedure team participate in the competition. The team consisting of Linsey Eddy, Bayleigh Miller, Wyatt Rausch, Montana Burns, Brynne Stanley, and Cade Ziegler, placed 2nd in districts. In a normal year this would allow them to move onto the state competition, but with COVID-19, the protocols were changed and only one team was able to move on. They finished strong this season and are excited for next season. They have continued with virtual meetings and are looking into planning a virtual movie night for members since they have not been able to participate in many activities this year. The chapter was able to feed three families for Thanksgiving and is looking forward to more ways to help the community this year!
FCCLA spreads kindness
By: Aubrey Tillman
FCCLA missed their weekly meeting in November so there are not many new activities going on. Members were excited to go Christmas shopping for a local family in need. Which happened earlier this month. At their December meeting, members wrote uplifting quotes and random acts of kindness for their “Take what you need, give what you can board”. The officers will be putting the board together in early January. All students and staff members are encouraged to visit the board, located by the office when it is up. FCCLA will also be creating food kits for the homeless in our community. They are working with the Hope Center to determine what the need is and will hopefully be assembling these kits in January. The club would like to thank Marysville Meijer for making this possible by donating a $400 gift card so the officers can purchase the supplies needed for this project. The officers do not have solid plans for the rest of the year yet but they are excited to see what the next semester brings for the club!