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The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
Completing her work on her first eLearning day on Friday Jan. 28th, senior Riley Kramolisch transfers her knowledge from in-person instruction to apply herself while at home. With two more remote days in the future Kramolisch begins productive habits while working at home. “ELearning days are a benefit to our health and our learning itself,” Kramolisch said. “I think it’s a good time for kids or teachers who are out sick to get caught up.”

Masking the spread

Samantha Vojslavek, Feature Story Editor
February 2, 2022
West in the Groove performs on Jan. 16 at their premiere event. This was an opportunity for members like senior Ally Dunne to show friends and family what performances they’ll be competing with this coming season. “A lot of people really like our song ‘Juice’ by Lizzo,” Dunne said. “We sang that with some fun mirror choreography and soloist parts which got a good reaction out of the audience.”

Premiering at last

Kaden Roth, Catalyst Online Editor-in-Chief
January 25, 2022
Freshman Madalynn Johnson sings “Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home” from the musical “Daddy Long Legs” during the mainstage showcase of the State Thespian Festival. Before the event Johnson qualified for a callback and then took part in four rounds of auditions throughout the festival that landed her one of seven spots. “It was a decently long process,” Johnson said. “I went through the call back process and then at the teacher award ceremony it was announced that I would be performing in the final showcase.”

Taking a statewide stage

Kaitlin Reynolds, News Director
January 18, 2022
Using a magnifying tool senior Riley Kramolisch looks at the hidden coding on the side of a proof. As a member of the Prowler Yearbook staff she had the opportunity to travel to Marceline, Missouri to tour the Walworth printing facilities. “The tour was such a great experience to learn more about where our yearbook is printed,” Kramolisch said. “Looking at all of the little details that go into printing other papers and prints was really impressive.”

Planting their feet in Marceline

Kaitlin Reynolds, News Director
December 21, 2021
Seniors Carly Finch, Charlotte Kittle, Bella Delgadillo and Brenna Matthews package food for the Backpack Program. Eight hundred fifty kids were able to have food over the weekend, thanks to the students’ generosity. “I learned how to be fast and efficient and make the best of the time we had there,” Delgadillo said. “I felt good we made over 800 packages of food, so it was good to know we could give so many people food and help them.”

Fighting hunger

Camille O'Neill, Sports Director
December 20, 2021
Director Tiffanie McCowin and Coordinator Toni Jimenez of the Salvation Army Angel Tree Program awarded this certificate of appreciation to Millard West to show their appreciation.

Giving for the good

Nolan Nemitz, Staff Reporter
December 15, 2021
Millard West’s newspaper, the Catalyst, was submitted at the end of the 2020-2021 school year for Pacemakers. The Catalyst, along with the MWHS Wildcat News, won a Pacemaker under the hard work and leadership of editors. “In my two years, I moved from staff reporter to editor in chief,” former Millard West Catalyst editor-in-chief Emma Baker said. “I had zero design experience at the beginning of that second year and had to learn as I went. Being in that leadership position, I learned how important it is to be adaptive and communicative.”

Setting the pace

Morgan Weir, Editor-in-Chief
December 10, 2021
Reaching for a ball, senior Ivan Smith prepares himself to get ready to bowl at the District tournament. Having been to Districts the previous year Smith had better knowledge of how Districts are run. “Going into Districts I wanted to do good for my teammates,” Smith said. “My goal was to not get any gutter balls, and bowl the best I could.”

It’s not how you bowl, it’s how you roll

Riley Kramolisch, Managing Editor
December 10, 2021
On stage both teams took turns performing “Scenes from a Bench”. The team Your Friendly Neighborhood Dads starts off this game strong.

Improv Night

Brooke Sliva, Social Media Manager
December 9, 2021
Before the Greenhouse Club decided to fix up the area, the greenhouse was used for extra storage for science teachers. The club is important because it gives people the responsibility to care for something living, junior Peyton Westervelt said. The club also makes sure the greenhouse is being used like it was meant to, not just as an extra storage room.

West goes green

Sadie Smith, Staff Reporter
December 9, 2021
Two members got to run under the parachute near the end of the session. There is music playing and volunteers direct the members on how to move the parachute. “I’ve loved Special Musicians because it provides another opportunity for expression for people with intellectual disabilities,” volunteer Sophia Hill said.

Making moving music

Olivia Ray, Staff Reporter
December 6, 2021
The Millard West Spanish Honors Society (SHS) helps run a Spanish club for third graders at Willowdale Elementary. Young students are introduced to the language and culture by participating in a number of activities. “The SHS students run the different stations and teach the third graders the lesson,” Spanish Honors Society sponsor Alexander Jameson said. “We have four stations and the kids rotate around every eight to 10 minutes. We always have a culture station and then three Spanish language stations.”

Planting the seeds of cultural appreciation

Kaden Roth, Online Editor-in-Chief
December 2, 2021
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