Senior of the Month
January’s senior of the month is Maggie Nicol. Maggie is the daughter of Derek and Brigit Nicol of Marysville. She is a four-year member of the varsity cheerleading squad and also participates in FCCLA. She attends Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and is a 10-year member of 4-H. She recently completed an internship with the City of Marysville. After graduation, she plans to attend a four-year university to major in Business with a minor in nutrition. When asked what advice she has for the underclassmen, she replied, “Stay organized, find an inspirational quote to carry you, and always show gratitude to others. You did not begin this journey on your own.” (Photo submitted)
Substitute teachers step up
By: Linsey Eddy
Covid has created an unprecedented year for students and teachers alike; for some teachers, like Mrs. Betty Lowe, the situation opened a door to a unique opportunity. Mrs. Lowe has spent the last several years working as a substitute teacher at Fairbanks and surrounding school districts. This year, she went out on a limb to take a year long position filling in for a Fairbanks High School Spanish teacher and has encountered many challenges and triumphs along the way. Mrs. Lowe admitted that she was hesitant to take on the project at first, due to its overwhelming nature. However, she says her years of experience with the polite students and willingly helpful staff at Fairbanks paired in a strong support system that allowed her to take on the role.
Throughout the first semester, Mrs. Lowe came to realize that the biggest challenge facing her Spanish classes was the hybrid learning model. She says that “foreign language requires consistent repetition”- something that has been difficult to achieve safely over the past few months. The course is not intended for online instruction, so navigating technology to create successful lesson plans has been a consistent complication.
Nonetheless, Mrs. Lowe notes, “the students have been amazingly patient and cooperative with my trials and errors.” She says as she continues to develop her teaching and technology skills, she often jokes that she has learned so much that she will never need again. Despite the fair amount of struggle, Mrs. Lowe thinks the year is going quite well. Although she admits it will be a relief to return to occasional subbing at the conclusion of the school year, she assures that she has certainly enjoyed working with these students, and will surely miss them next year.
FCCLA partners with NJHS
By: Aubrey Tillman
January was a big month for Fairbanks FCCLA. At the beginning of January, FCCLA officers put up a “Take What You Need, Give What You Can” board by the front office in the high school. They are super excited to see the engagement with the board and are encouraging students and staff to visit the board during the day. The goal of this board is to create a supportive environment and encourage random acts of kindness between students. The group ended the month by partnering with Fairbanks NJHS to make blankets for Project Linus. Both groups are extremely appreciative of the donations from the community that made this project possible. FCCLA also put together meal kits for members of the community who are in temporary housing situations. Officers were able to purchase the items for these kits using a donation from Marysville Meijer. The club is excited that they got to help out the community and work with NJHS this month!
Students work on council with Superintendent
By: Madeline Conroy
Last school year, a new group was started for juniors and seniors, the Superintendent’s Advisory Council (SAC). Fairbanks’ Superintendent, Adham Schirg, wanted to learn more about what was happening at the school and wanted to hear it directly from the students. This group began to give students a voice to discuss their opinions whether it be about what was happening currently, or what some future plans might be for the school. It includes events that students can take the initiative to start, or any other topic that students want to talk about. SAC is an open space to talk about anything.
Due to the struggles with the COVID-19 virus, the group has also been a place for students to discuss their opinions and concerns regarding shifts in learning levels, as well as considering classroom, sport, and club safety. Students are the ones experiencing these types of situations first-hand, so they are able to give direct feedback on what they are experiencing every day in these meetings. They can discuss problems and come up with possible solutions.
These meetings happen monthly and are open to any Fairbanks junior or senior to voice their ideas and opinions. Mr. Schirg hopes to bring the Fairbanks Community together by having an open discussion and allowing the students’ perspectives to be heard, considered, and acted upon. The next meeting will be on February 22 at 6:00 p.m. in the Fairbanks High School Media Center. Hope to see you there!
Yearbook course goes digital
By: Ally Gerty
Many of Fairbanks’ classes this year have had to reevaluate how to safely teach and work with students; yearbook is included in this.
Yearbook requires a lot of student collaboration with athletes, clubs, families, staff, peers, and the community.
One piece that is crucial to the beauty and sentiment of the yearbook, is the photographs.
The moments captured in sporting events, school dances, pep rallies, and numerous other activities are memories that people cherish for decades.
So how has the course been changed? They’ve taken the digital path.
Yearbook has reached out to families to receive pictures from their favorite moments of their student’s year.
They have also opened a folder on Schoology where students can submit any photo they may want included in their yearbook.
This method makes the yearbook much more personalized and special to all students, freshman to seniors!
Members prep for FFA Week
By: Montana Burns
Recently the Fairbanks FFA has had four members apply for the State Degree – Cade Ziegler, Montana Burns, Brynne Stanley, and Shelby Burns. They have also had three apply for their American Degree – Autumn Scheiderer, Keagan Nicol, and Abby Underhill. The chapter is getting ready for National FFA week, which is coming up this February. They will be announcing spirit days soon. The Livestock Judging team is preparing for upcoming competitions this year as well.
National Honor Society continues to serve
By: Hunter Jackson
This last month, the Fairbanks National Honor Society has been doing its best to continue serving the school and the community while remaining within the health and safety guidelines of the current situation.
The NHS has been helping with ticket gates as well as helping keep the campus grounds clean from litter. They would like to commend both Amelia Cameron and Linsey Eddy for their amazing leadership throughout the year.