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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
Interaction between students is important as they learn to communicate in English.

Learning English

Ariana Griffin, Catalyst Online Editor-in-Chief
March 1, 2023
Stopping at the display outside the library, senior Ally Fortney observes the Black History wall created by the Justice and Diversity League. Throughout the month of January, the group of students did plenty of research to get as many prominent African American leaders on the wall as possible. “Even though this display has been up every year since my freshman year, this was really the first time I really took the time to read through it,” Fortney said. “I really wish more people did so because I know there is so much history and we don’t always have the time or resources to cover all of it during structured class time.”

Black history in the classroom

Kelsey Nunnenkamp, Staff Reporter
February 9, 2023
One of the stops on the trip was the Beth El Synagogue. Here, they learned about the architecture within and what it means to the Jews who worship there. “The colorful curtains are meant to represent the seven days it took G-d to create the world, and, while it isnt very apparent in the picture, the front half of the seats are in the shape of semi-circles,” senior Deepasri Bylore said. “The seats are a recent change from the original design inspired from the linear seat layout of churches and gives what the rabbi describes as a more personal atmosphere between a congregation and speaker.”

Exploring faiths

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
May 11, 2022
Throughout the month of February, Millard West, alongside the rest of the country, celebrates Black History Month. The Justice and Diversity League put up a display in front of the library on Feb. 1 that includes a timeline of Black historical figures, graphics, informational posters and interactive book QR codes for students to learn from. “Mostly its informational and designed for anyone to stop by anytime and take a look,” social studies teacher and Justice and Diversity Leauge sponsor Bryant Bull said. “So its not necessary for a person to read everything we included in one sitting. We hope people will stop by multiple times this month.”

Sharing a Black background

Kaitlin Reynolds, News Director
February 15, 2022
School diversity inclusion and representation are crucial in education, in terms of student demographics, staffing and lessons. There are many educational benefits from introducing new thoughts on racial or cultural differences in the classroom.

Incorporating diversity into the classroom

Brielle Wilson, Staff Reporter
December 9, 2021
Students need more culturally diverse books in schools in order to represent all students and foster a more accepting future.

Books are breeding bias

Kaitlin Reynolds, News Director
December 2, 2021
Dr. Franklin Thompson speaks about the Equal Justice Initiative essay contest at the Diversity Council’s luncheon. Thompson also mentioned other competitions and activities students can get involved in to combat racism and inequality. “I am so proud that people in West Omaha want to do this [the contest] because we were hoping it wouldn’t just be an OPS or East Omaha thing,” Thompson said. “I believe that we have kind of plateaued, and we need to reignite and get some new momentum and new ideas.

Inspiring change through shared stories and achievable steps

Emma Baker, Catalyst Editor-in-Chief
March 29, 2021

Promoting discussion and change

Jenna Reynolds and Dana Summers
March 25, 2021
A young Friedland lights her hanukkiah. “I was raised Jewish so I have celebrated it [Hanukkah] since I was a baby,” junior Abby Friedland said. “Hanukkah, to me, is just family time, like many who celebrate Christmas. It’s a good way to feel connected to those around you.”

Eight days of love and light

Emma Baker, Catalyst Editor-in-Chief
December 7, 2020
Diversity Council members eat lunch and discuss at an October meeting. They focused on the topic of racial identity. I am looking forward to hopefully making school a safer place for every student, junior Emery Golliday said. I hope that the Diversity Council will be able to make visible changes in the community.

Discussing diversity

Morgan Weir, Opinions Editor
October 12, 2020
Unrealistic beauty standards are a plague to today’s society. Women look around and see expectations of what to look like everywhere around them. This can lead to mental health issues and other issues. It can also cause women to try to change themselves to fit society’s image.

The toxicity of beauty standards

Elizabeth Hahn, Entertainment Editor
November 15, 2019
The 2019 Promoting Empowerment workshop was held at Temple Israel, the oldest Jewish reform synagogue in Omaha.

Promoting empowerment

Morgan Weir, Staff Reporter
November 11, 2019
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