OHS Journalism
by MaKenzie Dorsey
There were many challenges that the students at OHS faced during the first quarter of the school year, some of which included issues involving sports and academics. Freshman Andi Wegman said “my struggles were keeping up with my math and adjusting to getting home so late every night compared to junior high.” Sophomore Tristan Kuhlman said “Some of my struggles were getting used to doing homework, getting it done at a certain time and trying to stay consistent with the work”.
Some students chose to take a different route for the first quarter, but that was unusually uncommon. Junior Abbie Ringel said “I haven’t really had any struggles. I choose not to stress about things!”
The first quarter tends to be a very crazy time for students. Teachers seem to cram the work in before all of the late fall and winter breaks, so they can get their lessons complete before the semester classes are done. The students of USD 322 face many challenges, but many still work exceptionally hard to stay on task and get their work turned in. Senior Annie Force said “one of my challenges was staying on top of homework and getting everything turned in on time while excelling in athletics.”
While students have struggles during the opening quarter of the school year, teachers are faced with challenges of their own. High school social studies teacher Mr. Kufahl said "It's always a challenge for not only us teachers to get out of our summer routine and back to the engagement that it takes to educate young people on a daily basis, but it's also a bit of a task getting students out of their summer break frame of mind and back to having a desire to learn. It seems to take a few weeks before the summer frame of mind is in the rear view mirror and the daily school routine feels normal again."
The beginning of the school year also brought new students to the U.S., which gave them new experiences. The veteran students of OHS made sure the new students were made accustomed to the area.
A large interest for many students at Onaga are high school and middle school is sports. The middle school wrapped up their football and volleyball season at the end of the quarter. Winning all but one of their games, the football team ended successfully. The volleyball team was not as strong, winning 6 out of their 21 games, but luckily there is time to grow. Both teams still had, overall, great seasons.
Onaga also provides clubs that high school students can participate in. One of the clubs offered is KAYs club. On October 16th, the KAY club departed in groups and went out into the city of Onaga asking for spare change to donate in order to help combat world hunger. It is titled “Trick or Treat for World Hunger.” This gives many students responsibility skills and gives students the opportunity to speak to people in their community about how they want to make the world a better place and help those in need.
Another club that consists of elected members is the Student Council. On October 18th, the STUCO members went out and helped clean up the highway. This was a good way to help the students acquire community service hours and provide good to their community.
The first quarter has been jam-packed full of excitement and struggles, but overall, the 2024-25 school year is off to a great start for the students of USD 322!