Six News Stories To Keep You Updated and Informed
Watching the deconstruction of the old Francis Howell North building while sitting in classes has shown the depleting history the school once boasted.
“There was a lot of wood paneling, and that was really cool,” principal Jeff Fletcher said. “There were also a lot of murals that kids had done on the walls. A lot of really cool traditions over the years that kids and teachers had added to that building that I think that part gets lost.”
But the loss of some school history is worth it for the massive benefits FHN students have gained. As of now, the old school should be completely demolished by the end of fall. The old building is being replaced with new guest bleachers for the football field, grass practice fields and a dedicated area for marching band rehearsals, with construction set to begin in the spring.
“It’ll give us the opportunity to kind of spread out and everybody to be practicing on campus right after school,” Fletcher said.
The other big change coming from the new construction is a change in how parking and departure in the afternoons will go. A new road, planned to be completed next year, will be exclusively for buses to enter and leave.
“All of that traffic, where we have to, like, hold everybody, to let the buses go through, that won’t happen next year when that drive is complete, because the buses will all exit out the other side, and so it’ll improve the flow,” Fletcher said.
One of the most important things to any high schooler is lunch. If the food is good, then the people will be happy. However, with the new building, there have been a lot of new challenges with finding staff to utilize the new space.
“It’s very difficult to find staff that are willing to work,” Executive Chef for Sodexo Francis Howell Karin Mann said. “If you don’t have adequate staff, then something has to give. We’re not miracle workers.”
The new cafeteria space at North is one of the best high school kitchen areas in the state. Without proper staffing, though, they cannot fully utilize the new kitchen equipment. In order for progress to be made, more resources will need to be dedicated to helping the cafeteria staff.
Many have looked next to the cafeteria and wondered when the doors under the “coffee shop” sign will be open, but few have answers.
“We still have to make all the plans, and figure out what type of coffee we’re making, and price points and all that stuff,” principal Jeff Fletcher said.
It seems as though the shop will not be open anytime soon because of a food license the school has to get and the people that need to be trained on the coffee machines. Those people will include both administrators and the Special Education department.
“I envision that it will be once or twice a week, and then possibly expanding to potentially every day in the morning,” Fletcher said.
While it may look like no progress is being made, things are happening behind the scenes to make it happen.
Monkeypox, also known as Mpox, has been circulating the internet, taking over social media platforms from TikTok to Facebook, filling people with fear and concern.
According to the World Health Organization or WHO, monkeypox was first discovered in South Africa in the 1970s and started back up in June 2022, raising concern with a new strand known as “clade two” commonly passed from skin-to-skin contact. According to the CDC, monkeypox is considered a Zoonotic disease, meaning it can be spread back and forth between both animals and people.
“At this time, I would say there shouldn’t be any concerns, there have been no cases reported here in Missouri,” FHN school nurse Heather Marren said. “It is a virus so it can spread quickly, but as of right now I would say FHN students are safe.”
According to both the CDC and WHO, the people who are currently at risk are children under the age of one, people with a very weak immune system, people with a history of eczema and people who are pregnant. According to the Northeastern Global News, around 20,000 cases have been reported and around 975 deaths to date, two thirds of which are children under the ages of five.
This year, FHN is adopting a new club for students who want to experience what it’s like to work in government positions. The Youth and Government club, formed by junior Harper Schneider, stimulates a real government and gives students the choice to be in either the Legislative, Executive or Judicial Branch.
“The students basically do what each real branch does,” club sponsor Jill Rudolph said. “If they join the Legislative Branch, they write bills and they submit them at the conference. The Executive Branch is going to practice leadership and then the Judicial Branch is going to get a case and decide the outcome of that case.”
The club has been struggling to find members, so they are more than willing to take in anyone who is interested in joining.
“I think more students should join because it’s a good way to be involved,” Rudolph said. “Colleges that offer scholarships want to take in students who have been in some type of leadership position.”
Rudolph encourages students to find out more about the club by paying her a visit in room 1419.
“Youth and Government is a great hands-on way to see what government is about,” Rudolph said.
As the fall guard season comes to a close, winter guard is looking forward to the upcoming season and new members that will be joining the team.
“I’m feeling great about this season, we have a lot of freshmen coming in this year which I haven’t seen much since I started,” junior Esther Lin said.
Lin has been in guard for a total of five seasons, including both fall and winter teams. This past fall season, there were 12 people on the team, three of those being current freshmen.
“I’m really excited because the incoming freshmen are really excited to learn the show, and passion is a big part of guard,” Lin said.
Fall guard consists of marching on football fields with the marching band during football games and at marching band competitions. Winter guard is a little different, with the competitions being indoors and choreography set to recorded music, so the show only involves the guard.
“The audience at winter guard competitions, they know the sport, and so they know when something cool happens, so the cheers are extra loud,” Lin said.
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