Happy New Year! Welcome to 2025, and what a year it is shaping up to be! Starting with NTI days, a new president, and moving into a new high school.
Students preparing to return to school were thrilled when they found out the school had been called off due to a massive snowfront that dumped half a foot of snow and ice on Woodford County. A historic storm like this one was bound to have unprecedented aftereffects, including power outages, road closures, and school cancellations for the district.
Woodford had NTI days on Wednesday, January 8th, Thursday the 9th, then a snow day on the 10th, followed by two more NTI days due to cold weather the next week on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 21st and 22nd. These non-traditional days set students back, causing the focus of students to be staggering as they returned to school. Not to mention the effects of the newly implemented phone policy on WCHS students.
There have been mixed reviews, especially the first couple of weeks when everyone was just coming off winter break where they had unlimited access to screens. But as everyone gets settled into the regular ebb and flow of the school day, students are coming to appreciate the productivity the new regulation brings. Addie Clayton, a Junior here at WCHS said, “I don’t have to worry about it. I can get my work done and read my book without getting written up.”
“I’m locked in during every class and I’m not playing BlockBlast all class.” Added Junior Harper Brady.
On Monday, January 20th, was the Inauguration of our nation’s current President, Donald Trump. He outlined policies he planned on signing within the first few days of office, including the controversial change of the title of The Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, as well as other political decisions. Notable people in attendance were former president Bill Clinton, his wife Mrs. Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris.
On the morning of Friday, January 24th there was a school-wide impromptu fire drill when a student accidentally ran into an uncovered fire alarm in the gym. All students and staff were evacuated when the announcement came that it was not a drill. After 3 minutes word reached teachers that it was a false alarm, everyone was filed back into the building, and the school day resumed as usual.
As for the new school, there have been mixed reviews from the students. Negative opinions claim its exterior setup is impractical because there aren’t enough parking spots for all the student drivers. Others refute that the well-organized interior is the more important benefit of the new building.
Jacketfest was one of the main school-wide events this month, on January 24th. A surprising turnout thanks to the attention won by the prior basketball game. The Lady Jackets crushed Collins in an impressive win. The boy’s game had fans on the edge of their seats in overtime but culminated in a 2-point loss for Woodford.
That’s all for this month, but I’ll be back at the end of February with The Digest so stay tuned.
