OH hallways and classrooms are filled with squishy ice creams, donuts, gumdrops, and plenty more.
Needohs are making a bigger and better return since their first wave of popularity in the mid 2010s, bringing stress relief and a little fun back into students' daily lives.
Needohs, which are made in many different shapes and designs, are often collected for their unique shapes. OH junior Payton Forbes said, “My favorite Needoh is the ice cream [[one]] or the cool cat.”
Moving into the spring season, OH baseball is in full swing, and seniors, like Andrew Zwemke and Aiden Jaquez, are ready to take the field for one last season with OH baseball.
On the mound, pitchers Zwemke and Jaquez have played baseball all four years of high school. At the same time, both are competing to perform on the mound.
Sometimes the smallest gestures can make the biggest difference. At OH, students in the new Letters of Love club are turning simple handwritten notes into messages of hope for people facing difficult times.
“Every meeting that we have, there is a list that we should write on a card, and things we shouldn’t write on a card,” said OH senior and club president Emma Chabot. “So every meeting is us writing these cards, and then we send them to the global nonprofit, where they then send them to hospitals that are nearby.”
Starting as early as freshman year, students begin feeling the pressure to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. This understandably leaves many feel overwhelmed. Luckily, OH has the College and Career Center, run by the center's director Tracy Kroger and her interns, to assist all students.
“There are people who have things all together … and there are people who have no idea. And both of those are okay ... and so coming here [[makes you feel]] like being a part of everybody else,” says Kroger.
The College and Career Center is open to all students: freshmen to seniors. Many days a week, the center holds special events to assist with career options.
Between Mar 19-21, Illinois YMCA Youth and Government’s yearly program concluded with a meeting at the Illinois Capitol to debate issues in actual political facilities.
According to the YMCA Youth and Government website, “Illinois YMCA Youth & Government is a leadership development program for high school students,” according to the YMCA Youth and Government website.
This program influences many students across the state, especially at OH.