Like many other high school seniors out there, this is not how I thought my senior year would end. When we got the news that we were going to be out of school for about two weeks, everyone was like, “Sweet! Two week break,” but little did we know that those were our last moments in high school. It’s been three months since and it still feels so strange. Although I’m extremely sad of what we lost- prom and [possibly] graduation- I’m very excited for the future. 

The pandemic that is COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, has been affecting many worldwide. Many countries, including the U.S. have been on a country-wide quarantine since the middle of March, so staying positive during this very negative time has been difficult for many. However, since being on this quarantine, there have been many positives that have come from it.

On January 26, nine people, including Kobe and Gianna Bryant, passed away in a helicopter crash in California. Since then, the whole world has been mourning these deaths, especially Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant. At the memorial held on February 24, 2020 at the Staples Center, Vanessa Bryant along with friends Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal, gave some very heartfelt, tear jerking speeches. 

Australian bushfires are a nationwide phenomenon. These wildfires are unlike anything the world has seen before, especially in Australia. They started in late October 2019 and are still burning throughout the entire country. Large bushfires like this mostly happen in lowly populated and forested areas of the world like Canada, not in very populated places like Australia.

Early this December, Typhoon Kammuri struck Central Philippines and their most populous island, Luzon. It is the 20th storm of the typhoon season to hit the Philippines this year, so to Philippines locals, this is just routine. The typhoon season starts in the middle of May and runs until  the end of the year. Local Filipino names are given to each storm. This one is called Kammuri.

At Nutley High School, in mid-October and early Spring, students have the opportunity to take part in community service, either within the building or around Nutley. Not only does the community benefit from this day, the students do, too. They get their service hours for college which helps add to their college resume.  This event was organized by the NHS Student Council. 

This year, the school offered a plethora of volunteer options at locations such as the Nutley Family Service Bureau, Washington Elementary School, NHS.