Trunk Or Treat!: Halloween Drive Through
Graphic Design by Senior Ellen Haney
This Halloween, student government is helping Jesuit students get into the spooky spirit with the first ever Trunk Or Treat!: Halloween Drive Through event. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on October 31st with separate time slots for each grade level, and take place in the Cronin parking lot on campus. Freshmen and Edison students can participate from 11-12 p.m., Sophomores and Edison students from 12-1 p.m., Juniors from 1-2 p.m., and Seniors can arrive anytime from 2-3 p.m.
At this event, students will have a chance to drive through festive Halloween decorations and get some candy from student government members along with a few teachers. Students will also have an option to donate to the Blanchet House Winterpack Kits Drive as they drive past a designated donation station. At the end of the drive, students will have a socially distanced photo opportunity.
Members of student government will be visiting campus in small cohorts this week to begin preparing for the event, setting up decorations in the Cronin lot as well as bagging up candy to safely deliver to students.
Because large gatherings and many Halloween festivities are limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, student government has organized this event to hopefully help bring a sense of community to the students during this holiday.
Chase Kerman, a Junior at Jesuit High School, is excited to explore Journalism and grow as a writer in her first year taking the class. At Jesuit, Chase...
Jesuit Clubs Have Returned
Kavish S
The Jesuit online club fair website in which every student has the opportunity to come and join the diverse variety of clubs.
With the COVID-19 virus causing Jesuit High School to switch to online learning, many students questioned if having clubs this year would be feasible.
Two weeks ago, Jesuit hosted its first ever online club fair due to COVID-19 complications. Jesuit created a website with different hyperlinks to all of Jesuit’s intriguing clubs.
“The club fair was a huge success and with the increased number of students who came to the fair this year, we could potentially think about doing the online fair again next year,” Mock Trial leader David Exley said.
As many Jesuit clubs have started their year online, many students are still adjusting to the online atmosphere. Some students may enjoy clubs because they feel it’s a safe space to connect with others, but being online, there is still a sense of uncertainty. Another issue facing students is the amount of set time for club meetings.
“We only have two activity periods, and there are many kids who are in multiple clubs and because there are only two windows of club time, it’s difficult for kids to be actively involved,” Model United Nations leader Mark Flamoe said.
Even with the set times for clubs, many students have trouble staying engaged over Zoom.When clubs meet in person, students may feel more compelled to participate because they are in the midst of the activities, but the online format decreases the pressure of participating.“The biggest difficulty is getting students to actively engage,” Chess Club leader Zane Godil said.
On Zoom, there is a tendency for students to turn their camera and mic off and mentally check out, so having interactions with club members is difficult. The larger impact of online clubs on students is the uncertainty regarding club competitions. Many of the clubs that compete in debates, mock trials, and tournaments are now up in the air due to safety concerns. Luckily, many club competitions don’t start until April, so there is time for potential changes.
With the Model United Nations conference still in the air, “ the main impediment the club competition would have is for all kids to have good online access so they can fully participate in the conference,” Flamoe said.
Despite the difficulties of online club meetings, there have also been numerous benefits of meeting online. Dr. Exley proposed that an online club format may allow students to participate in a less stressful environment. “There many kids who may feel more comfortable coming to a club through zoom than to walk through the halls of lower Arrupe and talk to upperclassmen,” Exley said.
“There are some kids with specific personalities where there’s a certain element of safety and anonymity with joining a club when they have the ability at any point in time to turn their camera off or leave,” Flamoe said.
Students now have the ability to be as interactive as they want and students with different learning preferences can learn together. The new club format has benefitted many students by allowing them to engage in a safe space where they can be creative and comfortable.
“One positive aspect is that it’s very easy to disseminate information by screen sharing so the entire group can see,” Godil said.
Fortunately for all clubs, Zoom allows for teachers to project assignments and information on the call for all students to see easily. Club leaders also have the ability to be more flexible when setting club appointments. Even though clubs need to have moderators present, the after-school sports practices adjustments have made it easier for clubs to find set times to meet.
Although clubs are meeting in person, the new method of meeting online may benefit students in the long run. Students will be expected to work just as hard as they would in in-person club meetings, and to communicate positively with others. Although the new club system may not appease everyone, it allows for all students to have a safe and equal opportunity to learn and grow. If all students and faculty remain open to striving for greatness, the 20-21 Jesuit High School club year can be one of the best.
Kavish Siddhartha is a staff writer for the Jesuit Chronicle. Kavish is a junior at Jesuit High School and has been interested in journalism since a young...
Student-led Organization Students Tutor Students Grows Drastically
Student-led and founded organization Students Tutor Students (STS) has drastically grown throughout the quarantine, gaining recognition from the greater public such as KGW News.
Students Tutor Students began as a small group of students aimed to match struggling students with tutors, and now the organization has expanded large enough to develop a website, prevalent social media presence, summer camp, and soon an app.
“When we began we were a small organization and all we wanted to focus on was getting kids the tutors they needed so they could succeed in online school,” said senior Ziggy Berkoff, Public Relations Director of STS. “Since then, we’ve…expanded [STS] to more about affecting education in Oregon as a whole and less about getting tutors to people, [although] that’s still our main point. We’ve grown so much that we have over 100 tutors.”
The summer program, titled the Kickstart Summer Program, was developed during this past summer, with a goal to have multiple student-teachers from different schools participate in creating a variety of classes, with subjects ranging from art to math
“We were able to work with over 110 students on bolstering their summer education,” senior Devansh Khunteta said. “In addition, we were able to create a sense of community through movie nights and these fun activities we continually held [during the summer program].”
Khunteta, the Chief Technology Officer on the executive board for STS, is also currently working on developing an app in order to make education as accessible as possible during this time of social distancing.
“I hope to release the app with the rest of my team sometime later in October, and that’s one initiative that we’ve been focusing on quite a lot,” Khunteta said. “The impetus and motivation behind why we want to do it was because we recognize that students oftentimes use their mobile devices a lot more for work. For example, [we] use our iPads a lot, so it’d be really awesome to have that mobile application where you can automatically be matched with a tutor who can help you out, as well as chat with them all throughout this one interface.”
In addition to the app, STS’s social media presence brought them to KGW’s attention. Through their Instagram profile and email, STS has been talking to KGW, but decided to pause the conversation as KGW was busy covering the election. However, the upcoming feature on STS developed when a photographer from KGW reached out to the organization.
“We had a lot of posts concerning Kickstart and how our summer program went, and apparently they found it pretty intriguing, so they had a photographer reach out to us on Instagram,” Khunteta said. “He was sort of just like, ‘Hey we saw what you guys are doing and we want to talk more about Kickstart and your future initiatives. Would you mind setting up this interview and discussing?’”
In order to prepare for the interview, the executive board met over Zoom and reviewed key points they wished to make during the interview so viewers could better understand their mission and organizational goals. The feature on STS is predicted to air next week, and focuses on STS’s future goals as well as current progress.
“I think that STS is an ambitious organization and we are going to try our hardest to impact education in Oregon for the better before we all graduate,” Berkoff said.
Scout Jacobs is a managing editor for the Jesuit Chronicles at Jesuit High School. As a senior in high school, this is her third year doing...
Dairy Queen Summer Workers
https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Dairy_Queen
Due to the stay at home orders concerning COVID-19 some students decided to find a summer job. Multiple Jesuit students sought work at the Garden Home Dairy Queen.
“My job was taking orders, making any menu item that had ice cream and candy in it, except cake, and toward the end of my job I also had to train the new hires,” senior Aidan Alexander said.“It was fun, especially because I worked with a few of my friends. It is really demanding though because you always have to be moving super fast and you have to learn how to deal with difficult customers.”
Difficult customers were not the only challenge of working at Dairy Queen.
“My least favorite part was cleaning the grease collector.” Senior Grant Carufel said.
“Blizzards were super messy,” Alexander said. “Especially the Oreo Cheesecake one. It had Oreos, lots of cheesecake pieces, and this black paste. All the toppings filled the cup so there wasn’t any room for the toppings to blend in. They just spit out everywhere and onto me.”
“Being a chef at Dairy Queen Garden Home was a laborious and stressful job,” senior Jack Koontz said. “My Least favorite thing to make had to have been the oven baked sandwiches. That was an item that had to be prepared beforehand and placed in the huge walk-in fridge, but when you walk into the fridge and there are no more left, you have to sprint around the hot, stuffy kitchen to gather the ingredients to make it. Oftentimes you burnt your hand, as these sandwiches were pipin’ hot, no doubt about it.”
Although the work was tedious at times, the students also enjoyed themselves throughout the summer.
“My favorite part of the job is the relationships that I have made with my younger coworkers, the majority of the staff is made up of teenagers so it is nice to work with someone in my age group,” senior Taylor Andreas said.
“My favorite thing to make was the triple chocolate brownie because it was simple and it looked really good when I finished it,” Alexander said. “Blizzards were incredibly messy to make, so it was nice when somebody ordered something that was not a blizzard.”
Jack Koontz even thought of the experience as a learning opportunity.
“It taught me to manage fast pace stress and I feel like my experience as a chef strengthened very much.”
When school resumed, Carufel, Alexander, and Koontz decided to no longer work to focus more on their studies and college applications. Andreas was willing to continue working through the school year.
Lucy Menendez is a senior at Jesuit High School and first time journalism student. Lucy plays basketball at Jesuit and is involved in multiple clubs. Her...
Digital Learning: The Difference Between Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning
A student’s digital learning setup during distance synchronous learning at Jesuit High School.
With digital learning becoming the new reality for students due to COVID-19, administrators and teachers have developed new and innovative ways to conduct learning.
Online learning can be categorized into three learning styles: synchronous, asynchronous, and a hybrid of the two.
At Jesuit High School, digital learning for the 2020-2021 school year is partially synchronous with intermittent periods of asynchronous learning through Zoom calls. In the spring of 2020, however, asynchronous learning was enforced.
“When we talk about synchronous learning we are talking about activities that students are doing in real-time,” Alyssa Tormala, the vice principal of professional development and innovation at Jesuit, said. “It could consist of a class discussion over Zoom or online, as well as group projects as a class or in small groups.”
Asynchronous learning is taught without real-time interaction where assignments and instructions are posted online for students to work through.
According to TheBestSchools.org, asynchronous learning can take the form of pre-recorded videos, self-guided lessons, lecture notes, or online discussions.
Based on the feedback Jesuit collected during the spring, while some students enjoyed the flexibility of self-paced asynchronous work, the majority of students struggled with a lack of structure.
“There were students… struggling because they did not have that specific structure in the day to help them keep track with where they were and what they were doing in any given time,” Tormala said.
Other Portland area institutions, like Lincoln High School, are also online.
For Katlyn Kenney, a senior at Lincoln High School, her teachers’ material didn’t translate well through an online environment, which impacted her ability to retain information.
“I would rather have someone teaching and lecturing me, or showing me math problems to my face then giving me a worksheet to read,” Kenney said. “Watching a video a teacher made or watching a Khan Academy video just doesn’t really click.”
Without face-to-face interaction during asynchronous learning, student morale also decreased because of a lack of connection with peers and teachers.
“We got a lot of feedback from teachers and parents [saying] that they were missing the person-to-person contact,” Tormala said. “Students and parents reported that the lack of personal connection with classmates and teachers made students feel disconnected and isolated. Even though Zoom is not the same as being in-person, it still provides a level of connection that purely asynchronous learning did not.”
Because the asynchronous model wasn’t conducive to learning and mentally sustainable for students and teachers alike, Jesuit switched to a mainly synchronous model in the fall, consisting of three to four 80-minute zoom calls a day through a block schedule.
When asked about what led to the consensus on 80-minute Zoom calls, Tormala said it took a lot of research and communication with other schools nationwide and in the local Portland area.
“Most schools seemed to be moving toward that block schedule and 80 minutes appears to be the average,” Tormala said. “If you talk with other Catholic schools in the area, they are all using a similar structure of a block schedule of three to four classes a day somewhere between 65-85 minutes. So are many of our fellow Jesuit schools around the country.”
Throughout the 80 minutes provided for each class, whether or not students are required to stay on Zoom the entire period or break-off asynchronously is dependent on the teacher and subject they are teaching.
“If you as a teacher feel it’s important that students be in a synchronous learning situation, such as learning a new topic…where you want to keep everyone in the same sequence, you can use the 80 minutes for that,” Tormala said. “We trust our teachers to have good professional judgment about what the learning needs to look like at the point that they are in their unit and for a particular content area, and what their students are needing.”
Now six weeks into the school year, Jesuit has been gathering feedback from students, teachers, and parents on the new partially synchronous model.
“We all miss being in school with each other in person,” Tormala said. “But we have received deep gratitude from many of our students and our parents especially. We’ve had a lot of students say that they really like the block schedule as long as their teachers keep it interesting.”
Among the students at Jesuit who are embracing synchronous learning is junior Eli Flamoe.
“It has actually gone a lot smoother than I was expecting it to, and it feels more like real school,” Flamoe said.
Tormala commented that having 80-minute class periods “gives teachers more flexibility” and a “clear structure so they know what is happening on any given day.”
Despite the synchronous model promoting more interactive and structured learning, the challenge that remains is maintaining engagement while spending hours on Zoom.
“It’s just so much harder to pay attention online,” Flamoe said.
“I think everyone is feeling Zoom fatigue which is kind of to be expected and kind of unavoidable,” Tormala said. “Yet we have to encounter each other through this lens. It is the only way we can right now.”
There are many factors determining the success of synchronous or asynchronous learning with the main takeaway being that there will have to have a lot of trial and error before consistency and normalcy is established.
“With anything new it takes a while,” Tormala said. “Learning is a struggle no matter what it is that we are learning and right now we are learning how to engage in this environment on a regular basis. It will get easier because our brains will build new pathways to figure it out.”
Isabel Crespo is an editor for the Jesuit Chronicle. She is a Junior at Jesuit High School and is excited to pursue her passion for writing on a deeper...
Creating lasting change in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department
Miyako Barnett
2020 Jesuit Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Logo
In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, many schools and companies have released public statements about their commitments to racial equity. Jesuit, too, has released such a statement and makes a commitment to creating lasting change related to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department.
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department has made tremendous progress in the last six years under the guidance of Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Melissa Lowery. The office has extended its outreach with parent affinity groups, student clubs, community conversations, and a new webpage on the Jesuit website. However, Lowery asserts that lasting change is only possible with a shift in culture.
“We are a resource for DEI, but for real change to happen, it requires all hands on deck in the community to do the work,” Lowery said.
The DEI program continues to grow with the addition of a full-time staff member, Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Brenda Cruz Jaimes. Cruz aims to support current efforts in DEI and work to implement curriculum changes and community dialogues in the near future.
As a former counselor at De La Salle North Catholic, Cruz has seen an overwhelming number of students working for change.
“All of the clubs that are under the DEI umbrella have really stood out to me,” Cruz said. “Without the support and leadership of our students, we wouldn’t be able to make as much lasting change.”
While the institution is committed to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community, Lowery argues that a shift in Jesuit culture is needed for lasting change.
“Culture is a big factor in how communities work, feel, and move,” Lowery said. “It affects curriculum, programming, policy, and all the things you can think of.”
In addition, Brenda Cruz emphasizes the importance of dialogue among students, parents, and faculty. While Jesuit has assisted open dialogues with the monthly Community Conversations and Peer-2-Peer conversations, the community needs to continue making genuine efforts to have discussions about race, identity, and culture Cruz says.
From a student perspective, senior Miyako Barnett calls for representation of underrepresented voices. She asserts that a culture change can only be achieved through hearing from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented communities. Barnett also stresses the importance of accountability and awareness.
“We need to hold each other accountable for our actions,” Barnett said. “Avoiding passiveness and actively working together is how we create change.”
Lowery, Cruz, and Barnett are hopeful for the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Jesuit High School. They are committed to working with the Jesuit community to create lasting and sustainable change.
A senior at Jesuit High School, Reet Chatterjee strives to better humanity with his writing. His writing focuses include social justice, politics, reform,...
As Oregon Battles Coronavirus, Kate Brown Says No School Until Infection Rates Drop
Last month, Oregon Governor Kate Brown stated that unless infection rates drop, students won’t be seeing the classroom anytime soon(Willamette Week).
The news came at a press conference when Brown announced that, at Oregon’s current rate of infection, it would take over 200 days to get back to school, although more recent data shows that daily case rates have risen more than 30% since September 11 (Willamette Week/OregonLive).
The Governor’s requirements for returning to in-person learning are a less than five percent positive test rate statewide and an infection rate of fewer than 10 per 100,000 Oregonians in each county over the course of a week (Oregon.gov). Jesuit principal Paul Hogan weighed in on this issue.
“I trust that Governor Brown is making the best decisions she can with the information that she’s getting,” Hogan said. “The 10/100,000 is a very strict measure compared to other states. At the same time, we’ve had families in our community that have experienced COVID and even one is too many.”
Principal Hogan also said that he believes the campus is safe enough to bring back small groups of students for in-person instruction.
“I do think we can begin to bring groups of students back safely, as other states have done,” Hogan said.
Junior Rishabh Sharma stated that Governor Brown’s shutdowns and mask mandates have prevented a lot of Oregonians from contracting the virus.
“From what I’ve seen and heard on the news, I think she’s done a pretty good job of trying to handle COVID,” Sharma said. “She closed everything down, and after a little bit she allowed some stuff to reopen but still restricted other stuff, and she has been strict requiring masks in public places.”
Although Sharma supports Brown’s efforts, not everyone in the Jesuit community thinks the same. Junior Matteo Campbell says her handling of the virus has not been satisfactory.
“Some of the stuff she’s done has not been extremely positive in my opinion,” Campbell said. “Closing schools way back was a very poor decision.”
As a result of Sharma and Campbell’s different takes on the Governor’s handling of the virus, their views of when to return to campus vary widely as well. Campbell believes that we should return to school as soon as possible.
“If people are so concerned with masks, why can’t we just go to school with masks on?” Campbell said. “People who want to go back to school on the hybrid schedule can go…and the people who don’t want to go back to school…can stay home and watch [Zoom].”
Sharma, on the other hand, believes that vaccination is when schools should open.
“I don’t think we can have full school until there’s a vaccine,” Sharma said. “In Oregon… [in-person] school should not be a possibility right now.”
But when might a return to campus happen? Principal Hogan gave us much needed hope, saying that hybrid school could come next semester.
“I think it’s going to take us through the fall to see if rates stabilize while people start to go inside,” Hogan said. “I’m hesitant to speculate, but hopefully we can enter a hybrid phase before the end of the semester.”
Anton Baricevic is a proud editor for the Jesuit Chronicle. As a member of the class of 2022, Anton decided to take Journalism because his sister Mia,...
Mental health challenges among students during quarantine
Charlie Crusader says hello to his geese friends over Zoom.
Mental health decreases amongst high school students during quarantine
By Steele Clevenger
It’s no surprise that COVID-19 has hindered people—with no exception for age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, or location in the world—from day to day interaction with one another. For students at Jesuit High School, they are spending some of the most formative years of their lives cooped up in their homes, missing out on the social connection required for the mental well-being of teenagers.
“Kids are struggling a lot more not being able to hang out with their friends, not being able to be on campus, not being able to go outside the house. It didn’t have as much to do with school. It more so had to do with the social aspect [of their day],” said Jesuit High School counselor Jason Barry.
Additionally, Barry noticed that social distancing is difficult, since teens are at an emotionally-driven stage in their lives.
Said Barry, “Teenagers struggle with [social distancing] because their first instinct is to hug and to touch. Look how many kids are shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, in the hallways or at Mass. They want physical contact with their friends. When you put five kids next to each other and tell them “don’t touch,” it’s hard.”
Teenagers aren’t the only ones having a hard time adjusting to the all-virtual school setting. For health teacher and Mental Health Awareness Club moderator Liz Kaempf, “For the first week, I went into school because I thought it would make the kids feel more like they were at school, but it just made me sad because I missed the students.”
Kaempf pointed out that while it is difficult for her to have relationships with the students, it is even more difficult for the students to have relationships with one another.
“The hardest part is not being able to interact in person with students and with colleagues. The kids give me energy, but I miss that face-to-face interaction with them because they get me excited for the day. Now, trying to develop relationships with students that you are just meeting for the first time on a screen is super hard,” said Kaempf.
Amidst the decrease in mental health, one Jesuit student not only noticed the disconnection and loneliness the Jesuit community is facing, but created a solution to ease those feelings.
Junior Jenny Duan, leader and creator of Jesuit’s Mental Health Awareness Club, recognized anxiety and stress amongst her peers, and has come up with effective ways to correspond with club members and focus on improving their mental well-being.
Duan said, “We try to facilitate conversations in our club and through social media. The other part of our club is focused on self-care. We play games together, we do short meditations, and we provide ideas for practicing self-care at home.”
What are some ways students can improve their mental health right now? Duan suggests focusing on what is most meaningful.
“Take a larger outlook on things. It’s easy to focus on a test or something, but we need to remember there’s more to life than that,” said Duan.
Kaempf encourages students to set a schedule.“Establish some type of normalcy in your day. Get outside, even if you just sit outside. Reach out to people. I challenged some of my students to text some of their friends and meet for a Zoom lunch,” said Kaempf.
Both Barry and Kaempf suggest ways to physically distance safely. They propose teenagers get outside and meet up with friends while wearing masks and remaining six feet apart.
“We want kids to be interacting. We had a lot of kids playing video games where you put on a headset and talk to your friends.” Barry said. “Some kids talk back and forth through social media—anything that we can encourage kids to do in a safe social distancing manner.”
Sarcastic. Artistic. Enthusiastic. These are three words Steele Clevenger would use to describe herself. A senior at Jesuit High School and a veteran journalism...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Champion of Women
(Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an American lawyer, jurist and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court died September 18th as a result of implications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87 years old.
“It’s one of those deaths where you know [that] when you talk to your kids, you’re gonna tell them ‘Oh, I remember when that person died, I was in high school,’” junior Vanessa Auth said. “It’s one of those events you’re always going to remember.”
Justice Ginsburg began a career in law as one of nine female students in her class at Harvard Law, later transferring to Columbia University Law School where she graduated at the top of her class.
Justice Ginsburg was known to many as a champion of women, making her mark in American politics as the second female justice to serve on the Supreme Court. She was an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and spent much of her career fighting for gender equality, arguing six gender discrimination cases before a male dominated Supreme Court and winning five of them.
“She’s done so much great work for a lot of people, but especially for women’s rights,” French teacher Ms. Schmidt said. “She’s done some really amazing and radical work over her career, so I think it’s a pretty big loss for our country.”
The legal legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg can be traced back to her work as the founder and leader of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project in 1972, which took part in almost 300 gender discrimination cases nationwide.
“She obviously went through a lot, and went against some really tough [opponents] that people didn’t think she should,” junior Hannah Noguchi said. “And I think that is very inspirational.”
Following her death, many Jesuit students spoke out on social media to share how Justice Ginsburg had inspired them.
“She was the embodiment of strength to me,” junior Sophie Schmidt said. “Just because of everything she fought for and all the adversity she faced to get where she was.”
Justice Ginsburg’s impact can be seen throughout many aspects of modern American life, specifically rulings related to equity, gender and women’s rights.
“No matter what side of the aisle you were on, you knew that RBG was someone who fought for the rights of Americans and wasn’t going to back down,” junior Vanessa Auth said.
With the departure of a Supreme Court Justice, Republican senators are taking this opportunity to appoint a new justice, signaling plans to begin a confirmation process before November’s Presidential election. Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham has begun to outline how the committee will handle this nomination, and has said that the committee plans to hold three days of hearing for the Supreme Court nominee in October. With only 29 days until the election, this may be the quickest confirmation in history.
Chase Kerman, a Junior at Jesuit High School, is excited to explore Journalism and grow as a writer in her first year taking the class. At Jesuit, Chase...
Jack Ensminger: Bringing Students Together in a Time of Distance
Jack Ensminger
ASB President Jack Ensimnger (left) posing with last year’s ASB President Will Deklotz during the Ignation Family Teach In.
As Jesuit High School embarks on their first semester in a fully virtual school setting, senior Jack Ensminger is taking on the difficult task of representing the Jesuit student body as ASB President… without actually being at Jesuit.
Jack Ensminger, who has been enthusiastically involved in track, mock trial and CCA, was elected ASB President for the 2020-21 school year back in May.
“[Jack] is very personable,” said senior Ellen Haney, who has worked with Jack in student government for three years. “He’s very enthusiastic about wanting to help the students.”
Jack has been a devoted member of Jesuit’s student government, led by Dr. Exley, for the last three years.
“Jack does a good job speaking up for the students in a way that can get his voice across, but also be respectful of faculty and staff,” said Dr. Exley. “That’s something I really respect about him.”
An ASB President is normally responsible for representing the voices of both the staff and the students of Jesuit High School, as well as presenting to a diverse population of students with different interests, hobbies, backgrounds, etc. As Jesuit transitions to an online format, the normal responsibilities of an ASB President begin to shift.
“A big part of [Jack’s] job is showing students how they can ‘buy in’ to a virtual community, and how they can ‘buy in’ to what we’re trying to get done here at Jesuit,” said Dr. Exley. “When a leader buys in, that gives other people the permission to buy in.”
Although Jack expressed feelings of nervousness at the prospect of representing a virtual community, he is looking forward to new opportunities that the online format may present.
“This year is really different, so I’m excited to see how we can push ourselves as a community to try new things and go to fun new events.” said Jack.
At a time when things seem more distant than ever, Jack Ensminger is looking for ways to bring the Jesuit community together. In Jack’s original platform for ASB Elections, he stated that he “hopes to make Jesuit a place where people are excited to go to school every day!”, which may prove challenging in a time where a students’ day consists of multiple 80-minute Zoom meetings.
“Being online makes being excited about going to school a lot harder,” said Jack. “I think by making class manageable and getting kids excited about learning, we can make school more manageable and fun.”
As a student, Jack understands the struggle of online learning and zoom fatigue, but he hopes that he can find ways to help students “buy in” to the Jesuit community and make the most of their school year.
“Although I know it’s hard, try to put yourself out there and have an open mind,” said Jack. “Little things do matter, like talking in breakout rooms or joining a call. Try to push yourself!”
An excellent representative of Jesuit High School, Jack’s leadership will be demonstrated throughout the school year as he works on uniting the Jesuit community, even in unexpected circumstances.
Chase Kerman, a Junior at Jesuit High School, is excited to explore Journalism and grow as a writer in her first year taking the class. At Jesuit, Chase...
Honoring our seniors: Shawna Muckle
Shawna served for three years on the staff of Jesuit Chronicle. She served as a writer, page editor, and Chief Editor during her time on the newspaper. She had multiple articles honored as Best of SNO and wrote about topics ranging from race relations to politics. She will attend Washington and Lee University in the fall where she will be majoring in journalism. Her favorite memory was making a podcast about the Portland Boat Show.
- “Shawna is an inspiring writer and a great person to work with!” -Rosa Madden
- “Shawna was never afraid to put her voice and thoughts out into the community and to the world. She is a
fearless journalist and dedicated to her craft. She still manages to be humble and kind despite her incredible
journalistic skills and I can’t wait to see where she goes!” -Jayla Lowery - “Shawna is such an amazing journalist and very smart. She always helps anyone who is struggling and is
there for you.” -Annie Landgraf - “Shawna is definitely the best writer I met in high school. She consistently made enlightening, valuable
articles about serious issues both in the Jesuit community and the world and the entire Journalism class
could always rely on her for good input on articles. She could consistently make the Chronicle a source of
discussion in the broader Jesuit community.” -James Martini - “Focused, overachieving, super smart. First time I met Shawna, I thought, that’s the journalist I want to
embody.” -Steele Clevenger - “The high level work you put into this class and your overall level of writing truly stood out in every
newspaper published this year.” -Michael Lang - “Shawna always inspired me to be a better writer. Such a chill girl and will miss seeing her sprint past me in
valley everyday” -Gwynne Olson - “Shawna is such an amazing writer and always has the best ideas. My favorite memory with her is Fall
Press Day and ending up in the wrong sessions!” -Virginia Larner
Honoring our seniors: Virginia Larner
Virginia served three years on the Jesuit Chronicle as a writer, page editor, and ultimately a chief editor for the paper during her senior year. A talented writer who focused on school culture and health related topics, despite the website only being a member of SNO since December, her writing was featured twice on Best of SNO. She will attend Pitzer College in the fall. Her favorite memory of journalism was working on the Christmas editions.
- “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Virginia when she’s not smiling or laughing. She is sweet, while still getting things done.” -Steele Clevenger
- “So kind and thoughtful, Virginia is amazing to work with!” -Rosa Madden
- “Virginia is not only an amazing journalist, she’s an incredibly sweet and understanding human being. She is always willing to help other people even if it means taking time away from her own work, she made the class so much more hilarious and fun. There were a few times I was just super stuck, whether that was trying to figure out how to work photoshop or just having a rough morning, and Virginia never failed to cheer me up or to help me in any way that she could. She’s going places!” -Jayla Lowery
- “Virginia was a great leader this year. She was really great at helping choose interesting articles for the issues and consistently wrote important articles. If we needed an article written on short notice, Virginia was always there to step in and write it.” -James Martini
- “I laughed so much over the funniest, weirdest, and most random things you, Jayla, and myself would hear or talk about during class.” -Michael Lang
- “Virginia is so sweet and caring, and she never fails to brighten my day. I’m so glad I had Journalism with her, and I’ll miss her so much next year!” -Scout Jacobs
- “Always fun to see her in class or pass her in the hall. Had so much fun getting to know her this year and I loved her style. The fuzzy sweaters always made me smile.” -Gwynne Olson
- “Since starting Journalism lat year, Viriginia has always been there to help me and talk to me whenever I needed her. She is so sweet and hardworking. I will miss her so much next year!” -Annie Landgraf
