By Jenna Kreh

Co-Features Editor

Senior year for the class of 2020 was not what anyone expected. These students left their school in March for a temporary “break” to keep students and teachers safe from COVID-19, which then turned into online schooling for the rest of the year. It is heartbreaking that our seniors did not get to finish out their high school experience the way they intended, and many are very disappointed. However, the Howard County Public School System has hundreds of amazing teachers that were not going to give up on the class of 2020. Teachers, students, and parents worked together to pull off a spectacular online graduation ceremony for the seniors this past Monday, June 8, at 3:00 PM.

The ceremony aired live on YouTube and could be viewed by each senior and their family in their own home. The commencement began with Hammond’s own Wind Ensemble playing various tunes, including the famous “Pomp and Circumstance.” Hammond’s choir then took the screen to sing the National Anthem. Senior Kayla Hendershot remarked how incredible it was to see the band and choir come together online. Each talented student recorded their own piece of the music in their own home, keeping time with a sample in their headphones. Each video was then pieced together to show everyone on one screen at the same time. 

After the choir, senior Jaden Freshwater welcomed everyone to the ceremony with a charming and humorous speech. Next, viewers watched Seniors Juanita Mackey and Abdulmalik Shuaib introduce a few special guests. After that, it was back to another impressive performance of “Deep River” by Hammond’s Senior Choir and Chamber Singers. This performance was followed by two more Senior student speakers, Esmerelda Puga and Ananda Annan, and then two more performances: “When You Are Smiling,” by a Hammond Jazz Combo with Carlos O’Ryan singing, and “The Greatest Love of All,” sung by Torera Aloyinlapa and accompanied on the piano by Sarah England.

Calvin Ball, the County Executive of Howard County, then made a few commencement remarks, followed by Hammond Principal John DiPaula, with a presentation of the class of 2020. Howard County’s Superintendent, Micheal J. Martirano, gave a speech including a recognition of the graduates, and finally it was time for the presentation of the diplomas by Vicky Cutroneo, the Vice Chair of the Board of Education. Each student’s name was read while either a picture or video sent in by each of them was displayed on screen. Some students took quite an interesting take on their videos: one student even edited himself to look as though he was flying with a bunch of balloons! After each senior had their moment to shine, Senior David Aodu led the class of 2020 in the turning of the tassels. Each senior was asked to stand in their own home, and lift their tassel from the right side of their hat to the left. 

Finally, the Hammond Wind Ensemble played “Pomp and Circumstance” one last time, finishing off the ceremony. It was a bit sad to see Hammond’s seniors have to leave this way, but they are extremely grateful to have had such a fantastic staff to support them during this time. Senior Jordan Kreh even remarked that, while she would have liked a real graduation, it was nice to be able to watch from her own home. Students can also send the ceremony to friends and family, as the link will remain active. If you would like to join in on congratulating our Hammond seniors, here is the link to their commencement ceremony: https://youtu.be/ewd12JFmEkw. A huge thank you goes out to Hammond’s amazing teachers, parents, and especially seniors. Congratulations, class of 2020! You did it!

By: Marissa Yelenik

Co-News Editor

School cancellations due to the spread of Coronavirus, and Howard County’s shift to online schooling have heavily affected many school plans including the last day of school, everyday learning, and the grading system itself. As the end of the school year approaches, more and more questions have been answered, allowing students to prepare themselves as best they can.

On May 27, Maryland’s Board of Education approved Howard County’s request for a waiver of five school days. This will make the last day of school for the 2019-2020 school year June 23. The last three days of school, which will take place on June 19, 22, and 23, will be half days. Adjusted online schedules will be sent out to students for these dates. Despite any changes in this school year, there have not yet been any adaptations in dates for the 2020-2021 school year, making the first day of school August 25. 

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By: Chinaza Ezeh and Kayla Hendershot

Online Editor and Editor-in-Chief

As we all know, COVID-19 has changed life and drastically affected our school year and the events us students at Hammond High were looking forward to. For seniors especially, events like Prom, the senior crab feast, graduation, Mr. HHS, and senior games for sports are all up in the air, leaving seniors disappointed and unsure of what is to come. As students are hopeful to go back to school, seniors are hopeful for their last year to be what they were looking forward to all four years of their high school experience. 

Recently, senior representatives from each high school connected virtually to discuss the future of senior activities. Hammond’s 2020 class president, David Aodu, attended this meeting and said, “We discussed different ways to make seniors feel valued and honored still for all their hard work and about possibly having some of the missed senior events due to corona at a later time with modifications.” One big senior event that will be facing a big modification is the culmination of the high school career: graduation.

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By Uma Ribiero

Co-News Editor

Pictured: Ms. DuPuis, Intern Baylee Slepko from Long Reach High School, and Uma Ribeiro

Thanks to the planning and organization of Ms. Danielle DuPuis and the support of the other SAGA club sponsors, Ms. Holly, Ms. Hart, and Ms. Reisman, Howard County’s first-ever Rainbow Conference will be held on May 15, 2020. Due to the coronavirus lockdown, the conference will now be held online and registration will remain open until May 12th. Registration is free and open to all. To fill out registration forms, go to the Rainbow Conference website, bit.ly/HCPSSRainbow. Registration is quick and easy!

Those who have already registered must register again for the online conference. The majority of the originally scheduled conference session presenters will be attending the online conference as well. The conference will celebrate pride among members of Howard County with LGBTQ activities and resources. Students and teachers from all Howard County schools along with family members and friends are all welcome to attend the conference. 

There are fourteen sessions to choose from, with panels focusing on a variety of topics, from LGBTQ literature and games to behind the scenes of the LGBTQ movement, activism, and experience. Those who register have the option of attending seven sessions, from nine am to four in the afternoon or choosing a few sessions throughout different times of the day. Registration also gives the option of receiving a free copy of the first edition of the Rainbow Vision Literary Magazine, complete with creative writing, artwork, photography, and additional resources. 

The conference not only gives Howard County residents a chance to celebrate their pride, but also allows for LGBTQ students and other members of the community to gain important resources and learn more about the LGBTQ-based events and activities which take place within Maryland. The conference also gives allies an opportunity to learn more about how they can support their LGBTQ friends and family as well. will be distributed to attendees,

Ms. DuPuis, who has been organizing the Rainbow Conference and securing sponsors, commented on what inspired her to plan this event. “Over the years at SAGA meetings, students would comment how they would love to meet up with other students from other schools, and also, as a sponsor, I was kind of like “I feel pretty in-the-know about a lot of things,” but I was also learning a lot of new things from students, like things that were going on around the school, and I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we had a conference that could bring students from other schools here, so other LGBTQ students and their allies could meet up, get together, and meet one another and plan, but also that would inform these students as well as other educators about LGBTQ issues in and outside of the school system. I feel like it’s one of those things that you don’t know what you don’t know and the more that we bring awareness to these things, the better. For instance, I had not even heard about non-binary genders until like two years ago, so…to be able to have other teachers and educators come and not feel judged for maybe not knowing proper [LGBTQ] protocol and be able to attend these sessions that are going to be offered that will help them in the classroom and just in general, I think is going to be good.”

Hammond students have been looking forward to the conference for months. Sophomore Kelly Kujawa commented, “I am really excited for the Rainbow Conference because it provides an opportunity for members of the LGBTQ+ community to be surrounded by members of the Hammond and Howard County community who support them!”

Sophomore Jordan Galeone added on, “I’m looking forward to the Rainbow Conference…because of the opportunities it holds for me.”

For more information and updates about the conference, be sure to follow @hcpss_pride on Instagram and Twitter.

Sarah Meklir 

Staff Writer

This year, Pizza Wars marked the official start to Hammond’s 2019-20 Spirit Week. The four classes competed to see who could eat the most pizzas by the end of the night. After a hard-fought battle—and a whole lot of pizza consumed—the final tally was as follows: 

First Place: 2020

Second Place: 2022

Third Place: 2021

Fourth Place: 2023

Seniors in the class of 2020 prevailed by a large margin. After taking an early lead, they sustained that initial momentum throughout the competition. 29 seniors independently devoured entire pies and made it onto the “Bragging Board.” Three students went above and beyond the call of duty, eating two 8-slice pies each. 

Isaiah Olujide, one of those three, predicted the win for his class. “Of course the seniors are gonna end up on top. That’s not even a question, that’s for sure.” This sentiment was shared by Malik Shuaib, fellow senior and dual-pie consumer. “2020 is [going to win], obviously. We’re winning right now, and we’re gonna keep winning. That’s the motto for this year.” 

Across the competition, most people with their names on the “Bragging Board” shared two thoughts. First, humans aren’t designed to eat full pizzas in one sitting:

“[I ate] An entire pizza. I’m not feeling good. Not feeling good at all.” -Sam Van Bemmel (2022)

“I ate a whole pizza, and then almost a second. [I feel] dead inside.” -Ali Ahmed (2022)

“I ate a whole box. Yeah, I’m hurting right now.” -Riley Woodward (2023)

But the upperclassmen felt the sacrifice was worth it for the good of their class:

“I ate two whole boxes of cheese pizza. I feel horrible. But I also feel great because it’s a point scored for my class.” -Malik Shauib (2020) 

“I ate one whole pizza. Cheese. It felt… empowering.” -Skylar Shaffer (2021)

“I ate 16 slices, two boxes. I’m feeling terrible, but… it’s worth it.” -Isaiah Olujide (2020)

The class of 2022 won second place in an upset over 2021. “It was neck and neck between the sophomores and juniors,” explained Ms. Pfanstiel, who coordinated the event. 

Mr. Livieratos expressed his hope for the sophomores to extend their upward trajectory into Spirit Week. “These sophomores are very organized and what they got done on their first day of spirit week was super impressive. I think it’s going to be an amazing competition. The freshmen are great this year, and as always, the juniors and seniors are gonna do awesome. It’s anyone’s game, so I’m excited to see who ends up on top.” 

In the end, however, Mr. Livieratos remained dedicated to the seniors. “The seniors will dominate…. Personally, I ate one pizza. It went to the senior class.” His airtight reasoning? “Because.” He eventually elaborated with, “Because I love them.” 

Malik Shauib commented on this as well, explaining the teacher’s motives. “He actually ate a pizza for our class. We didn’t do anything, he just loves our class. Yeah.” Both opted not to respond to claims of bribery. 

Now that Spirit Week’s begun, students can look forward to six days of intense competition and inexorable amounts of Hammond spirit. When asked about what makes Hammond’s Spirit Week so special, Vice Principal Mr. DiFato replied, “Literally everyone participates. Some schools, they do wacky-tacky day and you have maybe 50% participation… But here, you get pointed out if you don’t dress up. Everybody participates every day, and they go all-out. The seniors take the time to tell the freshmen what to expect so they know to go all-out. And that’s unique.” 

Students agreed. According to senior Isaiah Olujide, “Spirit Week is a time where we can all come together and participate in one holistic activity we all bond over.” Junior Skylar Shaffer added, “We pave the way for every other Howard County spirit week. No other school can compare to us. We are the mother of spirit week in Howard county.”