Liam Piekarczyk - Photography Editor
Podcast: Start to F1 ’26 season
Lights out and away we go! Podcast Co-Editor and Editor-in-Chief Ethan Monahan and Photography Editor Liam Piekarczyk discuss the start of the F1 season in Australia and offer their opinions and predictions on the exciting races and everything in between.
OH seniors prepare for graduation, keynote speaker applications now available
As graduation season approaches, OH seniors receive an invitation to serve as the keynote speaker at graduation, with applications closing on Mar. 13. “Anyone can be a keynote speaker as long as they’re representing themselves or their school in the right way,” said OH Assistant Principal Brian Cooney. “So it all opens up an opportunity for a kid who’s got a different experience to be able to stand in front of the graduating class and speak.” According to the invitation sent to seniors by the OH administration, each speech must be submitted in a video format between two and three minutes. In that time frame, videos will be judged on the ability to communicate the overall theme, accuracy of facts, articulation, and delivery.
OH weighs in on updated weight room: Jumbotron, TeamBuildr added
In order to update how students work out during Physical Education classes, the weight room has recently been updated and reorganized, most visibly with and a new jumbotron. The changes, including structure and training with new programming, were implemented by PE teacher and track and field pole vault coach Tucker Platt. “My experience here at OHS has been second to none," Platt said. "I have been blown away by the things we have been able to accomplish and implement in such a short period of time through working to unify all strength & speed training within the Kinetic Wellness Department.”
Vocal and instrumental talent shines at OH: 13 participants attend ILMEA All-State
OH vocal and instrumental music departments attained honors at the Illinois Music Education Association's (ILMEA) All-State performance in Peoria, with a record of 13 participants. After auditioning for ILMEA in November and getting results back in December, OH choir and band students earning a spot performed in January at a district festival featuring multiple schools. OH's district, the ninth, includes the southwest suburbs of Chicago. For those who earned a spot, it was an award born out of hard work. “This was my first year making it to [[ILMEA]] All- State," said OH junior Hayden Esborn. "For the Oswego Vocal Music Department, OVMD, you’re able to audition for ILMEA in sophomore year. Looking back, I was very unprepared for my auditions, so this year I chose to familiarize myself with music and really make sure I was practicing it.”
Fans’ mixed feelings about the stranger ‘finale’ of beloved decade-long series
The final season of Netflix's hit Stranger Things had exciting and plot-twisting moments, but fans are left divided on whether it was a good sendoff to the story. On New Year's Eve, Netflix released Volume Three, the two-hour series finale of the beloved series which started in 2019. The final battle against Vecna had been described by the Duffer brother creators as a bloodbath with loss of characters. Nobody, it seemed, was going to be safe at series' end.