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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
Brenna Batchelder

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist

As Brenna enters her senior year, she returns to her third year on the CATalyst and MWHS Wildcat News staff. Journalism provides her the opportunity to create art and share her opinions and the stories of other students at Millard West. Outside of journalism, She is involved in the National Honors Society and the Kent Bellows Mentorship Program. In her freetime, she enjoys creating more art, working and hanging out with her friends.

All content by Brenna Batchelder
AP Seminar works especially hard throughout their semester to ensure that their AP Test, including a presentation and a written exam, goes well. With the completion of their presentation, they have their written AP exam left. “Our teacher taught us how to format and build our presentations, but in the actual process of researching and presenting, she couldn't help us very much at all,” Junior Elsa Covi said. “Our team multimedia presentations and individual multimedia presentations were part of the AP exams, so she wasn't allowed to give us many pointers and it was important to depend upon classmates.”

Presenting their skills

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
May 12, 2022

One last performance

Brenna Batchelder and Annabelle Harshbarger
May 5, 2022

New year, new schedule

Brenna Batchelder and Annabelle Harshbarger
April 28, 2022

One last song

Brenna Batchelder and Kaden Roth
April 20, 2022
On March 25, Wallows released their sophomore album titled "Tell Me That It's Over."

A new era for indie

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
April 1, 2022

Music to the ears

Kaden Roth and Brenna Batchelder
March 17, 2022

A Thank You to our teachers

Brenna Batchelder and Annabelle Harshbarger
March 17, 2022
The Justice and Diversity League put up a display that celebrates important women throughout our history. In hopes to educate the student body, the club worked hard to achieve this. “I also hope this inspires all females in our school to reach for their dreams, keep fighting, and not let others put them down,” sophomore and Justice and Diversity member Zianya Salgado said. “It would be great if more people acknowledged our display and maybe stopped to read the information to educate themselves about Women's history month, and for every history month this year.”

Sharing their stories

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
March 4, 2022
In order to create a weekly broadcast, Senior Kaden Roth and Kaitlin Reynolds collaborate together to anchor for the MWHS Wildcat news. The anchors prepare for the weekly broadcast and film. ‘The most rewarding part is knowing that I am creating a broadcast that will be enjoyed by my community,” Reynolds said. “There's a lot of work that goes into each broadcast: writing a script, performing the segments and repeating if any issues arise.”

Dedicating her all

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
March 1, 2022
Censoring important issues by banning books limits the perspectives and world view of students nationally.

Erasing our history

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
February 25, 2022

Calling his future

Kaitlin Reynolds and Brenna Batchelder
February 9, 2022

Masking PSA

Kaden Roth and Brenna Batchelder
February 3, 2022

Striding towards a new skill

Brenna Batchelder and Zianya Salgado
January 25, 2022

Custodial bondings

Brenna Batchelder and Miguel Paredes Reyes
December 21, 2021

Passion for plants

Brenna Batchelder and Annabelle Harshbarger
December 9, 2021
With the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version,)” fans are welcomed to a new outlook into Swift’s work with the premiere of a short film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien.

Mastering a new medium

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
December 2, 2021

Loud Music PSA

Brenna Batchelder and Morgan Weir
November 18, 2021
While battling it out on the ice, senior Brooke Flanigan plays a game for the Lady Jr. Lancers U19 team. Flanigan has to focus on many different aspects of the game as a left-wing. “The most challenging part of hockey is that there is so much going on and how fast it is moving,” Flanigan said. “You have to think about where the puck is, who is open, who you have to cover, where the open person is and what to do when you have the puck and what to do when you don't have the puck.”

Breaking the ice

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
November 11, 2021
Information regarding shelters are found on their website. They offer animals for adoption and donation and volunteering resources.

Adopt, don’t shop

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Cartoonist
November 4, 2021

Raising the bar

Brenna Batchelder and Annabelle Harshbarger
October 28, 2021
The Iced White Mocha at Green Beans in the largest size is somewhat an overwhelming amount of coffee, but I enjoyed every sip of it.

Coffee for a cause

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor
October 6, 2021

The new Millard mural

Brenna Batchelder and Annabelle Harshbarger
September 30, 2021

Heroes of the heart

Brenna Batchelder and Kaden Roth
September 23, 2021

Coffee for a cause

Kaden Roth and Brenna Batchelder
September 10, 2021
On her third album, “Solar Power,” Lorde uses a photograph of herself on the main and alternate album covers.

Stepping into the sun

Brenna Batchelder, Arts & Entertainment Editor
September 3, 2021

Disconnect to reconnect

Brenna Batchelder, Kaitlin Reynolds, Brooke Sliva, Riley Kramolisch, and Samantha Vojslavek
August 24, 2021
The food industry faced many challenges because of the pandemic. As it ends, it will continue to face issues with labor shortages until conditions get better.

Reassessing the kitchen

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
May 19, 2021

Senior Sign-Off

Miguel Paredes Reyes, Logan Moseley, Kaden Roth, and Brenna Batchelder
May 18, 2021
The iced tuxedo latte and the strawberry scone from Zen Coffee Company are delicious parts of the company’s menu and fit right in with the aesthetic of their store.

Treats worth tasting

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
May 3, 2021
As a way to spread awareness and support of their cause, groups in support of AAPI spread infographics, statistics, and resources. People share these on social media and educate others.

Stop the hate

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
April 16, 2021
Lana Del Ray gathers with her friends to strike a pose for the “Chemtrails Over The Country Club” album cover.

From Hollywood to suburbia

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
March 26, 2021
The collage displays prominent women in history with facts about their lives, the hardships they faced and the accomplishments that are worth commemorating throughout the month of March. Posters are also displayed around the various parts of the school containing facts about issues women face, like workplace discrimination and sexual assault

Celebrating women of the past

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
March 19, 2021

COVID caroling

Kaden Roth and Brenna Batchelder
December 15, 2020

3Cs PSA

Kaden Roth, Brenna Batchelder, and Annabelle Harshbarger
November 19, 2020

Exploring diversity in theatre

Kaden Roth and Brenna Batchelder
November 12, 2020
Students within Millard West follow the mask mandate, but there is a lot of room for students to ignore it. Enforcing this rule will ensure that students and teachers stay safe and protected from COVID-19.

The major mandate

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
November 4, 2020

Meet the 2020-21 HOCO Candidates

Annabelle Harshbarger, Kaden Roth, Brenna Batchelder, Madelyn Christiansen, and Bailey Vincent
October 28, 2020
The Neighborhood releases its fourth studio album. The album cover features lead singer Jesse Rutherford dressed as his alter ego, “Chip Chrome.”

A new look

Brenna Batchelder, Staff reporter
October 13, 2020
Starbucks workers receive tips from their customers throughout their workday. A customer’s generosity benefits the workers by providing them more wage and appreciation for their hard work.

To tip or not to tip

Brenna Batchelder, Staff reporter
October 9, 2020

ACT taken during senior year

Jenna Reynolds, Brenna Batchelder, Joseph Ebmeier, and Jonathan Jimenez
October 9, 2020

Local Mexican restaurant opens by Hy-Vee

Brenna Batchelder and Haden Batchelder
September 18, 2020

Hand Washing PSA

Brenna Batchelder and Haden Batchelder
September 11, 2020
On July 24, 2020 musician Taylor Swift released her 8th studio album. She gives many perspectives about relationships and life in general.

A new era of Taylor Swift

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
September 2, 2020
During a pandemic, keeping your hands clean is a priority. Hand washing for 20 seconds and using hand sanitizer correctly helps keeps people protected from the virus.

Precaution within a pandemic

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
August 27, 2020
Studies done by the University of California have all proved that studying abroad positively impacts students’ futures. It should be something all students consider looking to the future.

A new way to learn

Brenna Batchelder, Staff reporter
March 12, 2020
The recommendation of caffeine for teens is 100 mg, unfortunately, many popular energy drinks go above this amount. Recognizing this is important to student’s health to ensure they don’t abuse caffeine.

The dangers of caffeine

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
March 5, 2020
With 12 new songs for fans, Tame Impala gives his audience a new perspective of his ideas on time and life.

The Slow Rush

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
February 28, 2020

Sewing to success

Brenna Batchelder and Haden Batchelder
February 20, 2020
Showing off her latest project, Junior Carlie Kottich models a red overall dress she made in a textiles and clothing design class. “I was able to have as many pattern pieces and fabric as I wanted as I made this dress,” Kottich said. “It was a really easy project, I just needed to make it very neat. I ended up getting a good grade.”

Needles and thread

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
February 7, 2020
Local Goodwill located near Millard west winding down for the night. Trends on social media are responsible for the rise in the popularity of shopping at thrift stores. The cheap prices and wide inventory attract teens to the stores, but there are more unseen benefits of shopping at thrift stores.

Truth about thrifting

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
January 31, 2020
Holding the result of her hard work, Senior Brianna Nelson showcases her scholarship. Having auditioned a few days prior, the accomplishment was huge in Nelson’s dreams of performing. “The experience of auditioning has taught me that anything and everything is possible if you put your mind to it,” Said Nelson. “Now the experience of the Broadway Intensive? That’s to be determined. But I’m sure it’s going to be everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more.”

Audition of a lifetime

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
January 24, 2020
Battling the fires, the firefighters use any means necessary to control and contain the fires. A helicopter tackles a fire in East Gippsland, Victoria state, Australia.

A raging issue

Brenna Batchelder, Staff Reporter
January 16, 2020
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