Let’s Hear it for the Spirit
Gianna Matassa, Editor - West Campus
May 1, 2019
Spirit rallies and pep assemblies have always been the heart and soul of school spirit from middle school all the way through high school. But what do you do when the spirit rallies and pep assemblies die out? At McHenry Community High School, East and West Campus have begun piloting a new competitio...
Students take on College and Career Expo
Gianna Matassa, Editor - West Campus
May 1, 2019
When students enter high school, typically, they do not know what they want to do after they graduate, so many high schools help provide opportunities for students to explore their options. On Thursday, April 18, McHenry West High School hosted its fifth annual College and Career Fair that allows stu...
Bubble Burnout
Gianna Matassa, Editor - West Campus
April 30, 2019
Testing season has reared its ugly head once again and schools across Illinois have been busy administering the SAT and other state-mandated standardized tests. MCHS is no stranger to standardized testing, which was implemented along with the Common Core curriculum in 2009, but many question its v...
11 Years and Still Going Bald
Gianna Matassa, Editor/ Staff Reporter
April 3, 2019
At this time in March every year, the halls are painted in a sea of green and white not only for St. Patrick’s Day, but also to draw attention to a cause even more deserving of celebration: McHenry's Annual St. Baldrick's fundraiser. St. Baldrick's, an event which raises money for cancer research ...
Spanish Students Attend Weekend Field Trip at Art Institute
Madison Loewe, Editor - West Campus
April 2, 2019
On Feb. 16, Spanish teachers Jordan Deener, Otto Corzo, and 36 students from the upper-level Spanish classes extended their learning beyond the walls of MCHS by taking a trip down to the Art Institute of Chicago for a day filled with culture, art, food, and fun. In the class, students were learning about S...
Poetry Slam Judges Evaluate Diverse and Entertaining Sophomore Poets
Roan Murray, Staff Writer
March 10, 2019
On Friday, February 7th, a panel of judges consisting of two community members, two students and three teachers, judged and selected winners for East’s school-wide annual sophomore English poetry slam. In assessing the performances, each judge is given an evaluation sheet with the names of all the poet...
East Campus’s Mr. McHenry Cancelled by Supervisor
Logan Von Allmen and Meier Glab, Staff Reporters - East Campus
February 27, 2019
Mr. McHenry, the annual winter talent show and pageant, has been canceled at East Campus this year, due to lack of student participation. The show, which historically has run independently at both East and West Campus, features junior and senior level male students exhibiting their talents in a va...
Resisting the Ache to Vape
Madison Loewe and Jack Lischewski
February 27, 2019
Like many schools across the nation, MCHS is experiencing a vaping epidemic. While the student body has long been aware of the trend, faculty awareness was more limited, allowing a number of students to get away with vaping while in school. According to an article in Cardiovascular Business, "U.S. Sur...
Superintendent Consults Weather Service, Colleagues In Decision to Cancel School
Aleece Black, Staff Reporter
February 27, 2019
Dr. Ryan McTague, Superintendent of District 156, makes the decision to cancel school due to weather based on a variety of factors including consideration of cold temperatures and forecasted severity of precipitation. McTague watches the forecast and looks to the National Weather Service for inf...
Students and Staff Prepare for Upcoming Changes in District
Chase Creech, Staff Reporter
February 27, 2019
With the passage of the referendum in the fall, East Campus will become a freshman-only building and West Campus will house all sophomore through senior level classes in the district. With these changes, McHenry East High School is projected to see enrollment fall to less than 500 students, while W...
Student Stress on the Rise
Madison Loewe, Editor - West Campus
February 27, 2019
Some say high school is like a pressure cooker. In 2019, many high schoolers are under an immense amount of stress. Many high schoolers must juggle both their school work and a job and struggle to find a balance in their schedules. The journal Frontiers in Psychology recently published a...
Hidden Homelessness
Gianna Matassa, Editor - West Campus
February 27, 2019
In District 156, there are more than 1,000 students who call McHenry home. However, a portion of those students does not have a house to go home to. When the term "homeless" comes to mind, often people think of people with ragged clothing begging for money along the sidewalks of crowded city st...
