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The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor

Amelia Bergeron is The Beacon’s country music lover who also enjoys Disney movies and has no shame about either of them! When she isn’t trying out a new recipe from a food blog, she is the Web Executive Editor, constantly advocating for people to read our online publication! She loves The Beacon and is super excited to see what this year brings!

 

All content by Amelia Bergeron
Edna B. Jackson

Edna B. Jackson

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor December 8, 2020

Edna B. Jackson was the first female Black teacher to be hired at Wilson following the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. She began in 1955 as a social studies teacher. When she started, she...

Hump day hiatus: new 4x4 schedule includes asynchronous Wednesdays

Hump day hiatus: new 4×4 schedule includes asynchronous Wednesdays

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor September 27, 2020

Sleeping in and not being swamped with work may seem like a dream during the school week, but with Wilson’s newly adopted 4x4 system for the 2020-21 school year, that dream has become a reality. In the...

Seniors graduate in online ceremony

Seniors graduate in online ceremony

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor June 23, 2020

The Wilson Class of 2020 graduated in an online ceremony held via Microsoft Teams on June 17. Lasting for about an hour and a half, the ceremony consisted of musical performances, speeches, guest speakers,...

Senior plans change due to college uncertainty

Senior plans change due to college uncertainty

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor June 14, 2020

For many seniors, the end of March is highly anticipated. It is the time when all college decisions are released and students have to choose a school that they want to attend for the next four years. However,...

The powerful stories of female Native artists

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor May 3, 2020

Vibrant color, multiple mediums, and seemingly endless rooms of art are what I experienced walking into “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists” at the Renwick Gallery. The exhibit focuses on traditional...

Teachers plan for remote learning in event of Wilson closure

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor March 12, 2020

With dozens of schools in the DC area closing due to COVID-19 and Mayor Muriel Bowser declaring a state of emergency in the District, a DCPS closure seems increasingly likely. To prepare for a temporary...

Courtesy of Amelia Bergeron

The colorful, artistic story of Moira Dryer

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor March 8, 2020

In a white-painted room hangs rectangular pieces of bold and spectacular color. The art ranges from abstract to patterned, but the strong use of color variation remains constant. Moira Dryer’s artistic...

Graph of the month: subject GPA by grade

Graph of the month: subject GPA by grade

Anna Arnsberger and Amelia Bergeron March 7, 2020

Welcome back, statistics lovers! Bet you didn’t think we’d make it two consecutive months. Lucky for you, we’re too dedicated to the numbers to have given up that easily. And to prove our dedication,...

SGA creates class to improve effectiveness, work in committees

SGA creates class to improve effectiveness, work in committees

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor February 2, 2020

In order to increase productivity levels of Wilson’s Student Government Association (SGA), English teacher Natalie Zuravleff, Italian teacher Simona Spicciani, and 12th grade Assistant Principal Gregory...

Graph of the Month: AP enrollment by race

Graph of the Month: AP enrollment by race

Anna Arnsberger and Amelia Bergeron January 30, 2020

Hello loyal readers and data enthusiasts! If you’ve been keeping up with The Beacon lately, it’s likely that you, like us, have noticed a disappointing lack of graphs in our past few issues. We painfully...

Battle of the sections

Battle of the sections

There are eight sections of The Beacon, including visuals, that the average reader diligently scans through as they peruse the paper—and never throw on the atrium floor. For those who ask "ok... but...

Multimedia extraordinaire Grover Massenburg to retire

Multimedia extraordinaire Grover Massenburg to retire

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor December 20, 2019

Grover Massenburg spends his day in a computer-congested classroom teaching countless students to design apps and websites. Through his career, mentoring students has been a rewarding experience for Massenburg,...

Underclassmen should get off-campus lunch

Underclassmen should get off-campus lunch

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor November 19, 2019

The bell rings, marking the end of fourth period, and you gather your stuff to go to lunch, see friends, and eat. You mindlessly make your way to the spot you have sat in since freshman year, but a group...

A firsthand account of the Danish exchange trip

A firsthand account of the Danish exchange trip

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor November 19, 2019

It is still dark outside during the 10-minute walk to the train station. After passengers use a transportation card to check in, the train’s manual doors open at the push of a button and reveal soft...

Class contracts: Engaging students and building community

Class contracts: Engaging students and building community

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor October 11, 2019

It's the first week of school and your class is tasked with creating a set of classroom norms that will drive your learning and success throughout the school year. Only given ten minutes, it’s up to...

Small but mighty: the lesser known clubs of Wilson

Small but mighty: the lesser known clubs of Wilson

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor September 7, 2019

Controllers click-click-click as students compete against each other on a race course, skidding as they turn right and left to try and get into first place. Projected on the classroom smartboard are the...

History of Pride Month

History of Pride Month

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor June 8, 2019

The road to Pride Month has been a long and rocky one that has its roots in the 1960s. The month of recognition for the LGBTQ community began as a way to honor the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village,...

Danish exchange students come to DC

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor April 19, 2019

On March 30 at Dulles International Airport a group of 30 Danish exchange students and two staff arrived to spend a week in Washington, DC. For many, this was their first time in the city. The exchange...

Every month should be women’s history month

Every month should be women’s history month

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor April 1, 2019

In the United States, March marks the month where we celebrate women’s history. We reflect and discuss the accomplishments of past and present women to society. The inclusion of women’s history month...

Photo by Andrew Wiseman via Wikimedia commons

100 word rants

9:30 club blues   For club venue concerts, crowding is inevitable. But does that mean personal space is ignored entirely? It was Sunday night and the girl behind me really wanted to ruin the...

Teachers adapt to Yondr one semester in

Teachers adapt to Yondr one semester in

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor March 18, 2019

At the beginning of this school year, Wilson instituted a new policy stating that students must place their cell phones into individual bags for the entire class. Initial backlash was expressed by students,...

Valentine's Day: A history of the day of love

Valentine’s Day: A history of the day of love

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor February 14, 2019

Valentine’s Day is a holiday filled with love. Today, the holiday is characterized by chocolate, roses, and cards, but its true history is more complex. The holiday originates from the Roman festival...

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Levenson

Wilson mourns beloved custodian Byron Kelly

Custodian Byron Kelly, who had been working at Wilson for three years, died Saturday, January 5. He was the night foreman of the custodial staff, but he went beyond his role as a supervisor and co-worker—for...

A popping new take on a famous classic

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor January 17, 2019

2018 was a year full of the release of great movies for all ages ending with a modern take on on a famous classic. “Mary Poppins Returns,” rated PG, was released everywhere in the United States on...

Holiday festivities at the Wharf

Holiday festivities at the Wharf

Anna Arnsberger and Amelia Bergeron December 10, 2018

You may already know of the annual White House Christmas tree lighting or the Washington Ballet’s “Nutcracker” performances, but the District’s Holiday Boat Parade is a hidden gem to add to your...

Fall recipe: Apple of her eye pie

Fall recipe: Apple of her eye pie

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor November 12, 2018

Every October since I was born, my family and I have gone apple picking. Once we’ve picked our fill, we go to the barn at the center of the farm to get homemade apple fritters and apple cider. We then...

Why, Wilson?

Why, Wilson?

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor October 5, 2018

We wait to go through security, and then are late to class. We wait to get our schedule changed. We wait hungrily for the school lunch. We wait anxiously for teachers to put in our grades. We Wilson students...

Summer reading book reviews

Summer reading book reviews

  9th Grade: “The Lord of the Flies” By Arianna Lowengrub “The Lord of the Flies,” written by William Golding, tells the story of a group of boys whose plane crashed on an island....

Teachers and students reflect on how smartphones have changed the classroom

Teachers and students reflect on how smartphones have changed the classroom

Chloe Fatsis and Amelia Bergeron August 31, 2018

“Put your phone away.” These four words have been repeated over and over again in the classroom since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. For teachers, it can be exasperating to have to repeatedly...

Photo courtesy of Aaron Besser

Students and teachers remember summers past and present

Amelia Bergeron and Margot Durfee June 10, 2018

When sophomore Caroline Durr took a summer job working at a local farmer’s market, she figured she’d learn to tell a McIntosh apple from a honeycrisp, and parsley from parsnip. Instead, she found herself...

A closer look: Wilson's substance abuse resources

A closer look: Wilson’s substance abuse resources

Amelia Bergeron, Web Executive Editor May 9, 2018

In light of the recent incident with student drug use at Wilson, teen drug consumption has grabbed public attention. Within a high school setting, this is not hugely uncommon, and often involves marijuana...

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