Category: News

Pictured is the Sem campus covered in snow! (photo courtesy of @semstudentlife)

By Alex Kristellar ‘19

Snow Days! Who doesn’t love snow days? My personal routine on a snow day is to wake up around noon, make some Ramen Noodles, and then relax and watch Netflix, but I found that what the majority of the Sem community did was much more interesting.

Something that I couldn’t believe is that 44% of the Sem community woke up bright and early! The other 56% did a combination of sleeping all day, sleeping till noon, just waking up periodically for food, and then falling back asleep – this I can understand. For the people who actually woke up, the most popular activity was to watch Netflix, followed up by playing Fortnite, and finally more sleep.

As I said before, I like to eat Ramen Noodles, but what everyone else eats is quite different. The top foods and drinks that were eaten on the snow days were mac n’ cheese, hot chocolate, and pancakes.

The most popular shows being watched on Netflix by Sem students right now are The Office, Stranger Things, Jane the Virgin, and The Flash.

Lastly, I wanted to know everyone’s opinion on this winter. For me, I’m just done with winter; I’m tired of having a big snowfall, having it get warmer, getting my car washed, more snow, and repeat. Don’t get me wrong, I love snow days just as much as the next guy, and making bets on whether we will have school the next day. Anyways, it seems like half of all the students want winter to go and half want it to stay. I don’t know which one is better but as long as we keep getting snow days and 2-hour delays, I’m alright with anything.

Eight alumni returned to Sem to answer questions from the student body about their college experiences.

By Thomas Rydzewski

In a recent assembly, Sem alumni, who are currently in college, came and relayed information about their first year at a higher education school to Sem students, along with some suggestions from their college experiences. One of the questions asked was about the workload, which apparently wasn’t as much as expected.

Many students asked about the daunting workload of college, and the alumni said it was less stressful than expected. Some of these alumni are those who play Division 1 and three sports. One alum even claimed that Sem was harder than college, and all said that they were prepared for college due to Sem.

Of course, the alumni did more than just complement Sem. They gave helpful advice; adding on to the generic “you should actually study” advice, the alumni suggested we do many things: get enough sleep (naps count), study a week in advance, conference; use meal passes; check out all scholarships; and know you’re not the only new student (so be outgoing.) “The friends you make in the first week will stick with you forever!”

Overall, it was great to see the alumni return to Sem, and their advice will be helpful to not only seniors, but juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, too!

By Kyleigh O’Hara ’21

Pennies for Patients was a fundraiser ran by Kaley Rider for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that took place from December 4th to December 15th. This year’s fundraiser was particularly special because it was in memory of Mrs. Kathryn Hughes, an inspirational person who helped out the community in many ways. She was the mother to senior James Hughes and recently passed due to Leukemia. Since the fundraiser was in honor of her, Kaley wanted everyone to contribute so that last year’s goal of $700 could be surpassed.

The fundraiser was a major success. Money was collected in donation boxes, from half of the proceeds from the dress down day on December 6th, and from the bake sale. Many students donated on the first day, already passing last year’s amount in the first collection alone. As the week went on, The goal of $1,000 was quickly reached. Kaley was very ecstatic with the outcome of the fundraiser, as she said in a school-wide email, “I was crying in joy from the total.” She also noted that the fundraiser showed how united the Sem community is.