Volume 5, Issue 17

Toast & Roast, a new coffee shop, opened in downtown McHenry in the beginning of March

You open the door and you are hit with a strong aroma of coffee The scent lures you in and before you know it you have a smile on your face and cup of coffee in your right hand The owners of Toast & Roast have been keeping their new coffee shop a mystery until it opened in the beginning of March The location will be serving breakfast, sandwiches, coffee, salad, acai bowls, smoothies, and ice cream sundays throughout the day

The owners weren't originally going to choose McHenry until they saw all how much potential this area had Sophomore Charles Crockett said, “I like the managing staff They are very supportive and know how to teach newcomers “

The people you choose to spend your time with can either make that time really

located

pleasant or could make it really unpleasant Sophomore Lena Curfman said “The connections I've made at my job have been amazing, not every business has a team as great as them ” Crockett said, “Mornings at Toast & Toast

We’re lonely dancers

Conan Gray’s new album could be one of his best, it introduces a new type of music for him, and shows an expansion in his music The album shows emotion even though most of the songs are pretty upbeat, it just shows how talented Conan Gray is “Found Heaven” has 13 songs, five of those, “Never Ending Song,” “Lonely Dancers,” “Alley Rose,” “Killing Me” and “Winner,” were previously released in late 2023 early 2024 “I think it’s very different from his other styles of music,” says sophomore Lean Curfman “I definitely think he did a good job with the album ” Gray has previously released two albums and one EP along with some singles over several years of releasing music He has become a very popular artist, and still has a lot more he can and will do with his career

Conan Gray’s third album “Found Heaven” shows upbeat emotion Roast are very fast paced for the staff who work in the kitchen ” The Northwest Herald reported that “What they plan is a Starbucks meets Chipotle meets a Baskin Robbins at the location, which was the Hidden Pearl Cafe until summer 2022 ”

Miss McHenry, the returning scholarship pageant, claims to prioritize inclusivity, but it’s rules say otherwise

After four years of hiatus, the Miss McHenry scholarship pageant has returned to the community with the goal of being more inclusive than ever Its rules and requirements, however, leave many feeling left out, discouraged, and excluded, and with answers from higher-ups lacking, it is possible this issue is rooted even deeper thanjustinacountypageant

The Miss McHenry scholarship pageant is a 70+ year old tradition that just recently came back from an extended break caused by COVID-19 The winner of the competition receivesa2000dollaracademicscholarship, sash, crown, and is expected to compete in the larger Miss McHenry *County* pageant (nottobeconfusedwiththeformer)

“I like alot of the stuff he puts out,” says senior Hannah Covalt, “I think this album is very versatile, as opposed to his last two albums I think it was just a really good contrast in his discography ” This new album shows a new variety to Gray’s music that fans haven't seen before he started the release of “Found Heaven ”

“[My favorite song] would probably have to be Winner,” says Curfman, “because that's the one I listened to the most” Winner is one of the songs Gray released before the album, it was released Aug 25, 2023

“Kid Krow is always going to have a special place in my heart,” says Covalt “because that’s what got me

hooked on him I also love a lot of his newer stuff, I think he’s eating it up ”

Conan Gray has a very original take on music, especially with his lyrics; they are raw and he doesn't try to hide emotion behind them His music is relatable to a variety of audiences, and whether a persons been a fan for five years or five weeks they are going to love this album

This year, pageant director Danielle Badgley has named “inclusivity” as its number one goal, hoping to include anyone and everyone who wishes to participate in thepageantasitmakesitsreturn

“We really want to include everyone who wants to participate," said Badgley “We don’t wanna turn away anybody that wants to be involved in something like Miss McHenry ”

However,therequirementstoparticipate, as laid out in the application, leave much to be desired in the way of inclusion Numerous rules within have led would-be contestants and would-be sponsors alike to turnawayfromthepageant

For one, many familial restrictions have rubbed people the wrong way Contestants are not allowed to be married, previously annulled, divorced, or have children Some have labeled this rule as regressive and unfairinthecurrentage

“Ithinkthemessagethey’retryingtosend with that is a bit outdated,” said an MCHS student, considering applying for Miss McHenry, who wished to remain anonymous “I think that requirement is kindoftheonethatsetmeoff ”

As well, contestants are not allowed to bring any family, friends, or otherwise to the competition If they win, Miss McHenry is expected to attend social events with her crownandsash,andthesamerulesapply

“It’s more for their protection,” said Badgley “When you have that emotional relationship, you know, if it’s your daughter or significant other it’s more for their security, because things can get heated sometimesandwejustwanttohavean

See “MISS MCHENRY” on side two

impartial person there somebody that’s not gonna get over emotional or over involved if something were to happen ”

Rules regarding fashion for the competition have also been a big reason for lacking applicants Notably, contestants can not have tattoos, and are expected to cover them up with makeup if they do have them Certain jewelry and clothes are prohibited, as well as (this is a direct quote from the rules) “extreme cleavage ”

“Their whole image is to empower women” said the potential applicant, “but at the same time you’re telling them to remove something from their bodies Girls just have cleavage There’s nothing they can do about that, and that kind of makes me sad that that is even included in the rule book ”

When asked about this, Badgley claimed that beauty and looks really has nothing to do with someone’s chances in Miss McHenry “It’s a scholarship pageant, not a beauty pageant,” said Badgley

Like all controversies, Miss McHenry’s rules come with nuances While many of the rules included do feel restrictive or controlling in a way, it is important to understand that a lot of them are normal for pageants

“Most pageant rules are that way,” said the potential applicant “I just thought Miss McHenry was gonna be different ”

Additionally, it is important to note

that these regulations are enforced by the state pageant competitions, not by Miss McHenry itself, and for Miss McHenry to happen, they have to play along During her interview, Director Badgley was unable to explain why many rules were in place, making it apparent that Miss McHenry’s problems are rooted far deeper than just in a small-town pageant

The most glaring problem in the rules for Miss McHenry is that trans women are not allowed to participate This demonstrates the prejudice and outdatedness of the rules most apparently, as larger pageants like Miss America and Miss Universe have allowed trans women as early as 2018– far before Miss McHenry’s hiatus

When asked to clarify this rule's inclusion, Badgley was unable to provide an answer

“Miss McHenry has always been with, you know, female contestants ” said Badgley “I think that’s just something that has historically been that way Again, I don't come up with the rules, we just have to follow them in order to participate in Miss McHenry County I’m not sure if that’s something they’re looking into changing to grow with how things are changing in America in general and I don’t know how the rules are formed ”

Despite the clear issues and hard restrictions that keep specific groups of students such as trans women out of the competition, Badgley is unsure why anyone would think Miss McHenry is exclusive “As far as ‘restrictive’ I guess I just

Eye opening research

Physical Education Teacher

Anthony Swanson conducts a new research on student motivation and performance in general PE versus Strength and Conditioning

Contributing Writer

Mchenry High School has been having an issue with student motivation, so they have been trying to come up with ways to “Beat the Blahs” Anthony Swanson sees this as an opportunity to conduct research to see if Strength PE is as beneficial in motivation, if not more, than general PE He wonders if lifting weights and conditioning can be more motivating than floor hockey

Physical education teacher Anthony Swanson teaches strength and conditioning PE at the Freshman Campus He is conducting research on student motivation and student performance in general PE classes versus strength and conditioning classes “I think strength is extremely beneficial,” said Swanson “Even though I don't teach all the PE classes that we offer, I think strength has to be the most beneficial of them all ”

Swanson motivates and coaches his students every day and helps them get better in the weight room He prescribes a workout and encourages his students to complete it to their full potential He teaches students how to lift weights for a multitude of different kinds of lifts and how to operate in a weight room safely and productively Swanson says, “I like to get kids to love fitness ” “Swanson is a really great coach,” said freshman Lily Ahrens “He walks around and talks and engages with everyone and just makes strength a fun class He

wanna know what they think or what parts of the application they feel are restrictive,” said Badgley “It’s something that is a positive experience and that people benefit from ”

It is important to understand that Miss McHenry is not being criticized for being a negative experience, but for its lack of progressiveness The opportunity to compete, be on stage and the camaraderie contestants will have with each other is not lost on Miss McHenry prospects

“The reason I wanted to join Miss McHenry is because I’m in theater,” said the potential applicant “You’re putting on a character an over-dramatised version of yourself, and I think that’s really fun I want to dress up in a pretty dress and be up there and it’s just the fact that Miss McHenry is about promoting women I really like that ”

Additionally, changes do not happen overnight Some believe it will take a younger crowd to make the changes in the way of inclusivity

“Miss McHenry is trying its best,” said the potential applicant “But it is run by higher ups (and) older people that don’t really understand the youth If we were actually going to make a change in Miss McHenry, we would have to have it be run by younger people ”

Miss McHenry can undoubtedly be a positive experience for young women, but unfortunately not everyone is allowed to participate as Miss McHenry would like you to believe That being said, with the pageant facing a lack of applicants, it seems that many are not believing the “inclusive” image anyway Hopefully, this will lead to change come next year allowing for more young women to take advantage of the opportunity

doesn’t yell at us He just makes the class entertaining ”

MCHS has been having an issue of student motivation Swanson sees this as an opportunity to conduct research for his college study He is going to compare student motivation and student performance in general PE classes versus strength and conditioning classes

“I think Swansons study could benefit me, as well as many other MCHS students,” said freshman Oliva Meyer “The fitness tests not only motivate students to see improvement, but to enhance their athletic ability ”

To conduct this study, Swanson is going to take all of the fitness testing data, analyze it, and do some comparisons amongst the classes Students will also fill out a motivation questionnaire about how motivated they are during, and after their class “Strength definitely motivates people to play sports more,” said Ahrens, “since you can't really get in the class easily if you're not playing sports So I feel like it encourages students to be more active in their daily lives ”

conditioning program can have on students ”

score was 30 in either class

Swanson assumes that strength and conditioning classes will have better performances in their fitness testing and have greater motivation versus general PE classes The results of this research can also be beneficial to society in a lot of different ways

“My hope is,” said Swanson, “that it'll show other schools that maybe don't have a strength and conditioning program, the values that a strength and

The fitness testing shows strength classes have a slightly better performance than general PE classes, but not a significant difference

The average number of pacer laps ran in strength is 41 875, versus general PE with average 33 laps The average number of sit ups in one minute in strength is 36 125 versus general PE with average 28 444 The difference in Push Ups between the two classes was 0 361, the average score was 10 in either class The difference in Sit & Reach between the two classes was 0 513, the average

This study can be beneficial to teachers like Swanson, to improve their physical education curriculum It can also be beneficial to schools, as a way to convince them to invest in a weight room, which would be beneficial to students to help motivate them to be more active

Swansons research could have a big impact on MCHS and other schools all around Overall, the motivation and performance of students is important and there are lots of different ways to improve Statistics can be our first step