District 99 adopting modified hybrid schedule effective Oct. 19
Luc Alvarez, Editor-in-Chief
September 22, 2020
Beginning the week of Oct. 19, District 99 will move to a modified hybrid schedule. Over a two-week span, each student will have one in-person class for each of their class periods with the rest of their class periods occurring remotely. Every third week will remain fully remote. Teachers will te...
Technology and Zoom create problems in the virtual classroom
Andrew Calek, Features Editor
September 22, 2020
In the first four weeks of school since District 99 announced they were beginning the school year fully remote, both students and teachers have had technology troubles with Zoom. Teachers and students have had to work through some troubleshooting with Zoom and their own technology. Librarian Christopher...
District 99 Board of Education shares new guidelines that will shape future hybrid learning plans
Kassem Ossman and Jacqueline Barba
September 16, 2020
On Aug. 14, the District 99 Board discussed the possibility of reopening the school and rethinking the hybrid schedule. New guidelines provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) provide the board with gauges as to whether they stand in the minimal, moderate...
DGS students, administration respond to “Zoom bombing” incidents
Alex Miranda, Editor-In-Chief
September 9, 2020
Since the beginning of the semester on Aug. 17, instances have occurred where unauthorized individuals entered scheduled Zoom calls and engaged in inappropriate behavior. The offense, coined “Zoom bombing” by students and staff, has raised questions related to security and ethical concerns in the...
District 99 starting 2020-2021 school year fully remote
Luc Alvarez, Editor-in-Chief
August 14, 2020
On Aug. 12, District 99 announced via email that the district will be going fully remote to begin the school year due to updated, more restrictive ISBE health guidelines. Sports and activities will continue as scheduled and a combined pick-up day for PPE and school materials is currently being planned...
District 99 Board approves hybrid learning plan for 2020-2021 school year
Luc Alvarez, Editor-in-Chief
August 4, 2020
At the Aug. 3 District 99 board meeting, the board voted unanimously to begin the school year with the proposed hybrid plan, where students will learn part in-school and part remotely. Because of staff limitations, the school year will begin with one week of hybrid learning and two weeks of fully remo...
May 12 Downers Grove village council meeting recap
Vincent Llanes, Copy Editor
May 15, 2020
On May 12, 2020, the Downers Grove council had a remote meeting led by mayor Robert Barnett. This meeting took place in the village hall of downtown Downers Grove. The council ensures viewers that high quality equipment was used to capture both the video and audio of the meeting. Most of the meeting’s...
DGS building repurposed to help community during COVID-19; MFP work continues while students are away
Jacqueline Barba, Alex Miranda, and Luc Alvarez
April 23, 2020
As of April 23, 41 days have passed since the student body has attended class within the walls of the DGS building. While the hallways may appear deserted without thousands of students to fill them, the campus is anything but abandoned. With meal preparation and packaging in the kitchen, 3D printers...
State mandate suspends in-person learning for the year, remote learning to continue
Tatum Mitchell, Print Editor-in-Chief
April 21, 2020
Remote learning will continue throughout the remainder of the semester as all in-person instruction in Illinois has been suspended due to COVID-19, according to Governor JB Pritzker’s state-wide mandate. “[A number of] challenges weighed heavily on me as we came to this decision – but my priority...
How grocery stores are operating amidst global pandemic
Alison Goulding, Print News Editor
April 14, 2020
District 99 confirms first COVID-19 case within school community
Alex Miranda and Jacqueline Barba
March 24, 2020
On Mar. 24, District 99 alerted via email the first confirmed case of COVID-19 within the District 99 and District 58 community. The affected individual is not a student or staff member. As of Mar. 23, The DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) reported 95 total cases within the county; this number is...
SAT and ACT cancelled; AP Exams online amid COVID-19 outbreak
Jacqueline Barba, Managing Editor
March 23, 2020
On Mar. 20, the Trump Administration announced that they will not be enforcing standardized testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year. With the closing of many schools across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all SAT and ACT testing has been cancelled through May and an online version...
