Anna Kinasewitz | Staff Writer In a pandemic year when everyone pressed pause the Mason Schools Foundation (MSF) pressed forward in their efforts to fund innovative learning programs in the Mason City School District. As the local economy came to a standstill when the Coronavirus shutdown occurred, the foundation still managed to find unique ways to generate funds in order […]
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Abby Waechter | Staff Writer Mason Heights closed its doors for the last time ten years ago, and all that remains of it are three time capsules. Mason Heights in 2011 was quite different compared to the current organization which is housed in both the Intermediate and Elementary schools now. Eric Messer was the principal, the school was in […]
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Shravani Page | Staff Writer The Mason community takes bias seriously. That was made evident when community members used the bias reporting option in the SafeSchools Tipline to report a swastika that had been marked on a playground at Mason Early Childhood Center (MECC) on March 22. Mason’s response team was able to generate a quick response from the numerous […]
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Evelina Gaivoronskaia | Staff Writer After noticing a lack of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), Mason High School junior Marissa Riehm decided she was going to do something about it. She chose to create a club that allows young women to explore their STEM interests. The young women of MHS have a variety of STEM courses available […]
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Della Johnson | Staff Writer As cases of COVID-19 begin to level out and even decline in some areas of the United States, the virus has given rise to another unfortunate symptom of the pandemic. There has been a significant increase in violence and hate speech toward Asian Americans. As the world found itself in the grips of a pandemic […]
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Shravani Page | Staff Writer Abby Waechter | Staff Writer On March 13, 2020, Mason High School closed its doors to students and teachers, promising a quick and safe return after Governor Mike DeWine announced a state-wide shutdown. What the community and most of the world did not know, however, is that it would be the start to an ongoing […]
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Scott Reckers | Staff Writer Through an unprecedented year, Prom is finally on the horizon. With last year’s Prom being canceled and this year’s homecoming meeting the same fate, students have been in a drought of high school dances. Student Activities Director Lorri Fox Allen has been working hard to devise a plan for Prom that is safe and fun […]
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Alisha Soni | Staff Writer Mason Science Olympiad strives to make its first invitational as exciting and unique as possible despite COVID restraints. During a typical invitational, schools nationwide bring multiple teams of 15 members to a chosen school who then compete in pairs among the 23 set events and additional trial events. With their designated schedules, the participants compete […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer At Mason High School (MHS), aspiring teachers are casting aside their curriculum to make their school a more inclusive learning environment. Over the past few months, students at MHS’s Teacher Academy have paused their curriculum to work on a large-scale project alongside the Mason City Schools’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) council. The result is […]
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Alisha Soni | Staff Writer Through increased awareness surrounding mental health, Mason administrators are aiming to break down the negative stigma once associated with it. During a time when students are faced with everyday environmental issues– social, economic, academic, and health, among others– Mason administrators have allocated more resources towards mental health and wellness. After a series of tragic suicides […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer At their January 26 meeting, the Mason City Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the proposal for a new Ethnic Studies course at Mason High School. The course, a single-semester Social Studies elective available to all grades at the high school, is set to be included in the MHS 2021-22 Program of Studies, meaning that […]
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Scott Reckers | Staff Writer The Mason High School eSports club has joined the game. ESports, competitive video gaming, has been around since the 1970s, but has gained a lot of traction in recent years due to the rising popularity of video games and increasing the demand for competition. Players can compete in team games, like tactical shooter game Tom […]
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Risha Chada | Staff Writer With the upcoming Advanced Placement (AP) tests in May, online AP teachers face the challenge of preparing their students virtually. Come May, students of a variety of advanced subjects will face a grueling test covering the information they have learned throughout the course of the entire year. The timed test consists of a multiple choice […]
Read moreRilee Malloy | Staff Writer Knowing when a COVID-19 vaccine would be readily available was a shot in the dark for healthcare professionals last March. Now, almost a year later, Mason City Schools (MCS) staff and some students are in a priority group for the COVID-19 vaccine. As frontline workers in high-risk locations such as nursing homes, some Mason High […]
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Meghan Dincler | Online Editor While the fate of the Mason High School prom is still uncertain, the MHS administrative staff is expecting to have to modify the event in order to comply with safety guidelines if they want to still host a dance or prom related festivities. After homecoming was cancelled, many Juniors and Seniors at Mason High School […]
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Scott Reckers | Staff Writer The price to educate children during a global pandemic is not cheap. After taking costly precautions to keep students and staff safe, Mason City Schools is working hard to balance their books. Since the start of the pandemic, MCS has experienced countless unexpected expenses as a result of preventative measures taken to slow the spread […]
Read moreAnn Vettikkal | News Editor On Monday, December 14, junior Gianna Gonzalez went to school, worked a shift at Carraba’s Italian Grill, and came home completely normal. More than a month later, she struggles to breathe, is still recovering from pneumonia, and can only taste foods with extreme flavor. Gonzalez is part of a small but present group of healthy […]
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Ally Guo | Staff Writer Language barriers are being broken thanks to Mason High School’s (MHS) Global Language Initiative. Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and American Sign Language are offered during the school day as classes to Mason students. However, the Global Language Initiative (GLI) was established two years ago so that students could learn an even wider array of languages. […]
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