Should Students Have to Take Swimming in School?
By Gracie Reed
February 13, 2023
Why do you have to swim in school if you already know how to swim? Many people find school swimming to be a waste of time or energy, especially if they already know how to swim. So, what if you didn’t have to?
Although a lot of people can swim, not everyone can. Some people would still participate in school swimming. How would you know who can swim and who can’t? One option is to bring both of the classes together and do a test at the beginning of each semester with both classes. The test would consist of basic swimming skills. That way, the gym teachers would be able to see who can do certain skills and who can’t. Based on how you performed, they would decide if you needed to take swimming or if you didn’t need to. For half of a quarter one or both of the gym teachers would teach the class, while the other kids who passed their test would be in the actual gym teaching the other kids land sports.
Another option is to see if they passed their Mack Park Pool swim test or if they are on the swim team. Many students over the summer take their Mack Park Pool swim test so they can swim all summer long at the local pool. Other kids are on the swim team. To be on the swim team, you also have to take a swim test. The gym teachers would send an email home explaining what they are going to do, to let the parents know that they would be sending a form home so the parent can approve if the student has or hasn’t taken a swim test in the past. There would also be a survey in the email for the parents to fill out by a certain date if they saw the paper so students would not forge their signature. The form/paper sent home would ask the parent if their child has taken a swim test, if they have where at, and other reasonable things. The forms would be due at a certain time and the teachers would look over them and see who has or hasn’t taken a swim test. The students who have, won’t have to take the school swim test and will not have to participate in school swimming.
These two components would greatly affect the IJHS population. Many kids’ PE grades would go up because they won’t lose points for not swimming. This would also affect the IJHS population because many kids would come into PE class more hyped up and excited instead of dreading it because they have to swim.
Overall, there are ways for not all students to have to participate in school swimming. Without school swimming, many kids would look forward to PE instead of dreading it. So, why not look into this and maybe consider this as an option for the Indiana Junior High School 2023-2024 school year.
What would You do if you won the Mega Millions?
Runaway Chromebooks
By Carman McAdoo
January20, 2023
What would you do if you won the Mega Millions? Students were asked if they knew what the MegaMillions was and what they would do if they won the jackpot, which currently sits at over $1 billion.
Brianna Jarvie (6) said if she won, she would stand in shock. She would not scream or run; she would stand still in shock. Brianna would give all the money to her parents to help pay bills and taxes, and if there was left over money she would give it to charity and the poor.
Gianna Vello (6) would scream and cheer if she won. She said she would give the money to her grandma to help with the homes for the elderly and give the rest to her family.
Moriah Onder (6) wants to keep half of the money to buy new things such as new shoes and room decor. Moriah said “millions of dollars is just too much for me, so I will buy a new house for my parents and surprise them.”
Rilyn Caruso (6) would scream and cry if she won the MegaMillions jackpot. She would save her money for college or if she wanted to start her own business, she would have a head start. Rilyn said, “Since my parents gave me everything I want, if I won I would give a lot of the money to them.”
Hugo Rummel (6) would be super happy but not tell anyone about the Mega Million. Hugo said with the money he won he would go to Italy for a vacation and buy their peanuts.
Update: there was just one winner for the $1.35 billion Mega Millions Jackpot that was drawn on Friday, January 13th, so better luck next time!
By Cassie Wren
October 11, 2022
The influx of Chromebooks going missing from our school is getting to be annoying. You walk into class, you sit down, the bell rings, the teacher walks in, makes an announcement on there being ANOTHER missing chromebook. Indiana Area Junior High school is an amazing place, we have an amazing budget to afford all of these chromebooks. So, what is happening with losing these chromebooks?
Now while this issue is pressing, there is a way to fix it. For example, certain classes are putting their room number, and checking periodically to see if you have a chromebook. Our school can prevent this. All in all, chromebooks are running away, ending up in other classrooms, and in book bags. It kinda hurts our school as a whole because we have fewer Chromebooks to use.
In the end, the chromebook issue is going to be solved one way or another, the chromebook carts may have faults, but this can be fixed with a little bit of care by the student body.
Book Reviews– What to Read, and Not Read, This Summer
By Lily Manzi
May 25, 2022
One Of Us Is Lying – This is a great book for people who enjoy murder mystery. This was one of my favorite murder mystery books I have read this year. This is the first book in a series by Karen M. Mcmanus. I would recommend this for ages 12-16. 8/10
One Of Us Is Next – This is a page turner that I could not put down until I finished reading it. It has great ties to the first book and the plot line connects just enough that it doesn’t give anything away. When you finally figure out what really happened, you will be very surprised on who did it and would have never seen it coming. I would recommend this book for ages 12-16. 9/10
Two Can Keep A Secret, If One Is Dead – This is the last book in the One Of Us Is Lying series. This is an amazing end to the series but also makes me hope that there would be more in the series. This is the perfect combination of mystery and suspense. When all the pieces are put together it makes one of the best mureder mystery. I think that this is my favorite book of the series. I would recommend this book for ages 12-16. 10/10
As Good As Dead – This is the final book in a series by Holly Jackson. The other books are Good Girl’s Guide To Murder and Good Girl, Bad Blood. After I took a break from this series I was so happy that this was the last book. This is the perfect mix of emotions from romance to sadness and anger. The ending of this book topped any ending I’ve ever read. I would recommend this book for ages 13- 16. 11/10
The Cousins – This book is a perfect mix of suspense, romance, and mystery. The beginning of the book was a little slow but around halfway through the book I could not put it down. The climax of this story was so captivating and perfect. I would recommend this book to ages 12 – 16. 8/10
Ugly Love – This book was my first book by Colleen Hoover and after the first page I was hooked. It was the first book I read this year that was a romance novel and I was not disappointed. This is a book I wish I could read for the first time again. The emotions swirling throughout this story were perfect and this was my second favorite book this entire year. I would recommend this book for ages 14 – 16. 12/10
November 9th – This was a book with so many emotions that I didn’t know how to feel when I was reading it. This was one of the best romance novels I have read and I would read this so many times and I know I will. I read most of this book in one day because of how captivating it was. I would recommend this for ages 13-16. 10/10
It Ends With Us – This was my favorite book of the year and I loved it more than anything I’ve ever read. This is an amazing book and because of it Colleen Hoover is my favorite author. I read this entire book in less than a day and it made me want to read more from this author. I would recommend this book to ages 13- 16. 13/10
IJHS Students rate the “Best of”
By Lily Manzi
May 4, 2022
What is your favorite pizza place? What’s the best coffee? Favorite Color? Favorite subject? Many students in Indiana Area Junior High School took a survey with these questions and many others. The survey was open for one week and got a total of 156 responses. Though we appreciate all the responses, not all will be included if you wrote in your response.
For favorite pizza place the winner is Domino’s with 31 votes. The other votes are;
- Papa John’s – 44 votes
- Romeo’s – 12 votes
- Pizza Hut – 11 votes
- Bob’s – 10 votes
- Subs and Suds – 9 votes
- Italian Village – 8 votes
- Tom’s Pizza & Restaurant – 9 votes
- Josephine’s – 5 votes
- Luigi’s – 3 votes
- H.B. Culpeppers – 2 votes
- Venice – 1 vote
For best coffee the winner is Starbucks with 76 votes. The other votes are;
- Dunkin – 27 votes
- Caffè Amadeus Roast & Brew – 5 votes
- Mcdonald’s – 5 votes
- Commonplace Coffee – 4 votes
- Crouse’s Cafe – 3 votes
- Artist Hand Gallery and Espresso Bar – 1 vote
- Perkins Restaurant and Bakery – 1 vote
- Lemoona House Restaurant – 1 vote
- Don’t drink coffee or from somewhere else – 20 votes
For favorite color the winner is Blue with 37 votes. The other votes are;
- Red – 20 votes
- Black – 17 votes
- Green – 15 votes
- Purple – 12 votes
- Pink – 11 votes
- Orange – 8 votes
- Yellow – 8 votes
- White – 2 votes
- Indigo – 1 vote
- Brown – 1 vote
- Periwinkle – 1 vote
- Light Gray – 1 vote
- Chrome – 1 vote
- Pastel Blue – 1 vote
- Cyan – 1 vote
For Favorite Subject the winner is Math with 26 votes. The other votes are;
- English – 24 votes
- Gym – 21 votes
- History – 19 votes
- Win/Flex – 19 votes
- Art – 12 votes
- Fam & Con Science – 9 votes
- Science – 7 votes
- Literature – 7 votes
- Tech Ed – 3 votes
- Music – 2 votes
For favorite shoe brand the winner was Nike with 55 votes. The other votes are;
- Converse – 25 votes
- Adidas – 16 votes
- Vans – 11 votes
- Under Armor – 9 votes
- Crocs – 7 votes
- Birkenstocks – 4 votes
- Hey Dudes – 4 votes
- New Balance – 3 votes
- Fila – 2 votes
- Puma – 2 votes
- Jordans – 2 votes
- Lazy JoJo – 1 vote
For favorite sport the winner is Swimming with 15 votes. The other votes are;
- Baseball – 13 votes
- Softball – 12 votes
- Football – 12 votes
- Basketball – 12 votes
- Cheer/Dance – 12 votes
- Hockey – 9 votes
- Track – 6 votes
- Gymnastics – 5 votes
- Figure Skating – 4 votes
- Lacrosse – 4 votes
- Soccer – 4 votes
- Volleyball – 4 votes
- Cross Country – 2 votes
- Golf – 2 votes
For favorite breakfast food the winner is Pancakes with 22 votes. The other votes are;
- Smoothies – 21 votes
- Waffles – 18 votes
- French Toast – 16 votes
- Muffin – 13 votes
- Bagel – 10 votes
- Pizza – 10 votes
- Cereal – 9 votes
- Eggs – 7 votes
- Shakes – 5 votes
- Toast – 4 votes
- Leftovers – 2 votes
Are people nervous for the PSSA’s
- Sorta – 65 votes
- No – 50 votes
- Yes – 35 votes
For favorite place to hang out the winner is friends house with 40 votes. The other votes are;
- Ice Skating – 26 votes
- Mall – 12 votes
- Sporting events – 11 votes
- Movies – 10 votes
- Meadows – 10 votes
- Mack park & pool – 6 votes
- Bowling – 3 votes
- Restaurants – 3 votes
- My house – 3 votes
For the favorite state the winner is Pennsylvania with 21 votes. The other votes are;
- Florida – 17 votes
- California – 15 votes
- New York – 12 votes
- Hawaii – 9 votes
- North Carolina – 9 votes
- Alabama – 7 votes
- Tennessee- 7 votes
- Texas – 7 votes
- New Mexico – 6 votes
- Maryland – 5 votes
- Ohio – 4 votes
- Alaska – 3 votes
- New Jersey- 3 votes
- South Carolina – 3 votes
- Arizona – 2 votes
- Colorado – 2 votes
- Georgia – 2 votes
- Indiana – 2 votes
- Michigan – 2 votes
- Utah – 2 votes
- Virginia – 2 votes
- Washington – 2 votes
- West Virginia – 2 votes
- Kentucky – 1 vote
- Maine – 1 vote
- Massachusetts – 1 vote
- Montana – 1 vote
- Nebraska – 1 vote
- Nevada – 1 vote
- New Hampshire – 1 vote
- Oregon – 1 vote
- South Dakota – 1 vote
- Wisconsin – 1 vote
Spring Photo Contest
By Stella Empfield
To get out of the cold winter, let’s look for signs of spring. Take photos of different signs of spring to make everyone excited for the warmer weather. All of the participants will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a gift card. All of the entries should be submitted by April 22, 2022. Email all of your spring photos to clockard@iasd.cc with your name and grade. There will be prizes for the TOP 3 ENTRIES!
Winter Photo Contest
Congratulations to Sydney Adamsky for winning the Crimson Arrow winter photo contest! Sydney will take home a $10 gift card to Starbucks so that she can warm up on the next winter day!
Crimson Arrow 