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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

Margaret Heffernan

Margaret Heffernan, Visual Content Editor

Margaret Heffernan is a 400-year-old hermit that has been living in Wilson’s air ducts for the past 27 years. If you want to find her you can’t she’ll find you you. When she isn’t busy working tirelessly on visuals for the newspaper, eating the leftover flyers from above the water fountains, or playing frisbee (which she most def catches with her mouth), she she can be heard sleeping not so soundly in the smelliest room in school, the Beacon office or beneath your bed you don’t know.

All content by Margaret Heffernan

Spring sports postponed due to COVID-19

Margaret Heffernan, Visual Content Editor March 16, 2020

Wilson spring sports are temporarily suspended due to the DCPS closure of schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chancellor Lewis Ferebee notified all DCPS staff and families on Friday March 13 that...

Photo courtesy of Ethan Leifman

Wilson always needs soap, not just during a pandemic

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor March 13, 2020

It should not have taken the current outbreak of the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus to get soap in Wilson’s bathrooms. As a person who washes their hands after using the bathroom (which, disturbingly,...

22 metrobus lines could be “eliminated”, affecting Wilson students' commutes

22 metrobus lines could be “eliminated”, affecting Wilson students’ commutes

Ethan Leifman and Jaden Morgan February 26, 2020

22 metrobus lines are currently being considered by Metro for “elimination,” meaning bus routes will be either discontinued or absorbed into other bus lines on a similar corridor. With many Wilson...

“The Rise of Skywalker” lets down the saga

“The Rise of Skywalker” lets down the saga

Margaret Heffernan and Alex Holmes February 6, 2020

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is a mess of a movie that can be confounding at times and lacks a compelling aesthetic. Yet despite its flaws, if you ignore the red flags pulsating from your brain...

Students hoop in Jelleff rec league

Students hoop in Jelleff rec league

Alex Cirino and Margaret Heffernan February 1, 2020

The Jelleff Basketball League is more than just a weekend recreational program, it is an influential and welcoming basketball community. Through Jelleff, teams meet up once a week and participate in an...

A look back at 2010s trends

A look back at 2010s trends

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor January 30, 2020

The 2010s were a wild time, and there are so many trends that left a big impact on us growing up. Here are some of the biggest.   Silly Bandz Silly Bandz were the coolest thing you could...

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...

New DCPS food policy prohibits sale of Pizza Boli's, Krispy Kreme

New DCPS food policy prohibits sale of Pizza Boli’s, Krispy Kreme

Margaret Heffernan, Visual Content Editor November 20, 2019

Wilson is no longer allowed to sell “unhealthy foods” during school hours, including pizza, Krispy Kreme fundraising doughnuts, and bake sale goods. The sale of pizza and donuts is in violation of...

DC education budget grows by $70 million

DC education budget grows by $70 million

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor November 20, 2019

DC increased education spending for fiscal year 2020 by $70 million. Public and charter schools will receive the same amount of funding per student, as mandated by federal law.  Last year, DCPS faced...

Students walk out for climate

Students walk out for climate

Margaret Heffernan and Alex Holmes October 11, 2019

On September 20, students and adults all over the world participated in the International Climate Strike. They walked out of class and work, and in DC, they ended up at the Capitol. The Beacon talked to...

The Clean and Green Team's mission to curb Wilson’s waste

The Clean and Green Team’s mission to curb Wilson’s waste

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor October 11, 2019

If you saw a cartoon telling you to pick up your trash, would you? That’s part of the goal behind Wilson’s Clean and Green Team, which seeks to keep Wilson’s halls clean and promote self-responsibility.  The...

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[Photo] Athlete of the Month: Kate Joos

Alex Cirino, Sports Editor October 10, 2019

La actualizacion deportiva del otoño

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor October 6, 2019

¡Es una temporada muy emocionante para los deportes en DC! En este tiempo del año, se pueden ver todos los cinco deportes más populares! Aquí están las  actualizaciones para todos los equipos:   Beisbol-...

Graphic by Margaret Heffernan

I love Prime Day, but Amazon deserves scrutiny

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor September 7, 2019

It’s not an exaggeration to say my family couldn’t survive without Amazon. We use Amazon Prime for nearly every odd but necessary purchase, the Washington Post can be found on our kitchen table, and...

Activistas del grupo Code Pink occuparon la embajada Venezolana en DC para 33 dias

El caos de Venezuela llega a DC

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor June 3, 2019

Cuatro manifestantes del grupo activista Code Pink fueron arrestados y eliminados de la embajada Venezolana en Georgetown en el 16 de Mayo. Muchas activistas del Code Pink habian comenzado su occupacion...

SAT Adversity Score quantifies the unquantifiable

SAT Adversity Score quantifies the unquantifiable

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor May 24, 2019

The College Board recently announced that it will expand its pilot of its adversity score program, tested at 50 colleges and universities last year. The adversity score attempts to give colleges more context...

Wilson mourns beloved custodian Derick Davis

Wilson mourns beloved custodian Derick Davis

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor May 5, 2019

Derick Davis, who worked at Wilson as a night custodian since June 2016, died last weekend. He was 36 years old. His untimely death shocked Wilson’s close-knit custodial staff. Davis lived in Northeast...

Tracing Wilson's carbon footprint

Tracing Wilson’s carbon footprint

How much paper does Wilson use? Is it too much? By the end of a normal day, the average student accumulates about 14 pieces of paper. That is more than 2,300 pieces of paper per student per year, which...

Los dos candidatos presidenciales que hablan Español

Los candidatos que estaban cortejando los votos hispanohablantes con Español

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor April 3, 2019

El partido democrático es más confiado cada año a los votos latinos. Latinos forman 16.7% de la población, y ese demográfico es un campo de batalla por los dos partidos políticos. En general, el...

Target replacing Best Buy in Tenleytown

Target replacing Best Buy in Tenleytown

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor March 13, 2019

A new Target store will open in Tenleytown in 2020, filling the retail space formerly occupied by Best Buy. The retail chain is expanding nationwide as it moves to focus more on clothes as opposed to household...

Wawa still coming to Tenley despite delay

Wawa still coming to Tenley despite delay

Max Karp and Ethan Leifman February 17, 2019

The opening of a Wawa store in Tenleytown has been delayed. The popular Philadelphia-area convenience store chain has recently been expanding across the East Coast, with numerous locations opening in Florida...

Photo by Isa Thompson

Beyond the meme: #HurtBae joins Wilson administration

Ethan Leifman and Anna Parra-Jordan January 27, 2019

“That’s insane, it’s just crazy that a meme works at our school,” senior Julia Ravenscroft said. “It is kinda awkward, it’s like ‘You went viral on Twitter, now you work at my school,’”...

I tried Mochi Balls so you don’t have to

I tried Mochi Balls so you don’t have to

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor January 27, 2019

Ben and Jerry’s seems to constantly be coming up with wackier flavors; the potato chip filled Tonight Dough was one of my favorite flavors until it vanished from Whole Foods. But sometimes, ice cream...

Wilson weight room makes gains

Wilson weight room makes gains

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor January 26, 2019

Thanks to an anonymous donation, Wilson’s weight room has received a much-needed refresh. “It’s a very generous gift,” said Wilson Athletic Director, Mitch Gore, who noted that the estimated value...

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[Photo] AOTM – Tara Cousins

Noah Gross, Sports Editor December 16, 2018

Charity or Danish cult: Investigating the murky business of Planet Aid

Charity or Danish cult: Investigating the murky business of Planet Aid

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor December 15, 2018

Pop quiz: What’s big, yellow, right in front of a good chunk of DCPS schools, and could be linked to a Danish cult? The Planet Aid donation bins are the answer. Planet Aid claims they are a charity...

Roadblocks prevented SGA from using surplus funds

Roadblocks prevented SGA from using surplus funds

Elie Salem and Ethan Leifman December 15, 2018

Wilson’s Student Government Association (SGA) made over $10,000 from ticket sales for the Homecoming dance and spent less than $1,000 on decorations and entertainment for the event. The organization...

Wilson students donate blood in memory of Reilly Webb

Wilson students donate blood in memory of Reilly Webb

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor November 15, 2018

Wilson recently hosted its third blood drive in honor of Reilly Webb, a Wilson student who died of leukemia in September of 2017. Junior Nora Webb, Reilly’s sister, played a huge part in organizing the...

Male field hockey opponent confuses Wilson players

Male field hockey opponent confuses Wilson players

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor November 12, 2018

It’s rare for your field hockey team to win in a shootout. It’s even rarer when a member of the opposing team is a boy. Jaap Leeggangers, a male foreign-exchange student from the Netherlands, is a...

'Rent' allows for reflection of Wilson's diversity

‘Rent’ allows for reflection of Wilson’s diversity

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor November 12, 2018

It was clear from the first auditions that “Rent” was going to be a different type of show. Unlike previous musicals which featured race-based casting, “Rent” focuses on eight New Yorkers living...

October’s news of the month

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor November 10, 2018

The DCIAA Championship was captured by both the boys and girls soccer teams last week. The boys beat Bell 3-0, while the girls beat Walls 2-1. Read the full articles on page 16. Lowering the voting...

Wilson cross country: climbing despite injuries

Wilson cross country: climbing despite injuries

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor October 8, 2018

The Wilson cross country teams boasted impressive records last year, with Wilson runners finishing in top spots across the board in multiple race divisions. Though they have lost crucial seniors, the now-juniors...

Beyond the numbers: a look at a crowded class

Ethan Leifman and Ava Nicely October 5, 2018

Kids sit in the far back, squinting to read the board at the front of the room. There are hardly enough chairs or desks for everyone to have a seat and there are not enough supplies for everyone to use....

Wilson volleyball struggles with Sidwell

Wilson volleyball struggles with Sidwell

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor September 14, 2018

Sidwell volleyball beat Wilson in an impressive match. While Wilson put up a valiant fight, they unfortunately still lost all 3 games. Sidwell was dominant from the start and seemed to quickly foil all...

Students attend first SGA General Assembly

Students attend first SGA General Assembly

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor September 9, 2018

SGA hosted its first-ever General Assembly last Tuesday in the auditorium, the meeting is intended as a place for students to communicate with their representatives about pressing issues and upcoming events. The...

Los Estados Unidos debe admitir los inmigrantes de la caravana

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor June 13, 2018

Durante el último mes, muchos conservadores han estado muy enojados con la “caravana de inmigrantes” que viajó a través de América Central a los Estados Unidos. El viaje de la caravana es un evento...

Tiger baseball lifts first ever DCSAA title

Tiger baseball lifts first ever DCSAA title

Ethan Leifman and Noam Jacobovitz June 11, 2018

Extra innings. Two outs, two strikes. St. Albans up 4-3. And then, almost out of a movie, senior Sam Himmelfarb hit a walk off double in the bottom of the ninth inning over the left fielder’s head, flipping...

Sheridan School reopens downgraded park for weekends

Sheridan School reopens downgraded park for weekends

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor June 10, 2018

Located at  36th Street in NW DC is the Sheridan School, a local private school that has a park that I frequent. They renovated their park over the school year and it recently opened to the public on...

Recent events in Israel leave Tigers on both sides of the debate

Recent events in Israel leave Tigers on both sides of the debate

Ethan Leifman, Aviv Roskes, and Elie Salem June 8, 2018

America needs to stand up to Israel Elie Salem America’s love for Israel is as stubborn as it is strong. In the past decades, Israel’s stunning military successes in the Middle East have been accompanied...

Ellington Parents Sue OSSE

Ellington Parents Sue OSSE

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor June 7, 2018

In the latest twist of events in the Ellington residency fraud scandal, several school families are suing the DC government, claiming that the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) mishandled...

Photo courtesy of www.goldentriangledc.com

Summer events at the Golden Triangle

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor May 29, 2018

DC neighborhoods haven’t always been so defined. Only last year, I learned that I had wrongly been telling everyone my whole life that I lived in Tenleytown when I, in fact, lived in North Cleveland...

Bringing the birdie to Wilson: Badminton club in the works

Bringing the birdie to Wilson: Badminton club in the works

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor May 9, 2018

Anybody who has ever taken a gym class with physical education teacher Desmond Dunham knows that he loves badminton. Few have ever seen someone actually play competitively against Dunham, but I was fortunate...

Senior hopes to continue neurodiversity program

Senior hopes to continue neurodiversity program

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor May 9, 2018

April is Autism Awareness Month, and that means recently you’ve likely seen something like a donation box for an organization, or maybe a picture of lots of people wearing blue. But for many neurotypical...

Council member introduces bill to lower D.C. voting age

Council member introduces bill to lower D.C. voting age

Ethan Leifman and Elie Salem April 10, 2018

A bill introduced Tuesday in the DC Council would lower the voting age for federal and local elections from 18 to 16 years of age within the District. Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who proposed the...

Lights! Camera! Awards!: Wilson mass media wins big at national competition

Lights! Camera! Awards!: Wilson mass media wins big at national competition

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor April 10, 2018

Way back in January, The Beacon wrote about how Wilson’s Mass Media team was unsure how they would secure funding for their annual trip to the Student Television Network Convention (STN), the premier...

Mid-winter vacation provides much-needed break in DCPS calendar

Mid-winter vacation provides much-needed break in DCPS calendar

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor April 3, 2018

Mid-winter break is among the few good things DCPS has accomplished in recent months. Sure, it doesn't cancel out the numerous scandals that have plagued the school system, but it's definitely a start....

Indoor Track competes in national competition

Indoor Track competes in national competition

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor March 12, 2018

On March 9th, Wilson seniors Jacob Boss, Dominick Hogans, Isaac Frumkin, and sophomore Raymond Stevens ran in the sprint medley relay (SMR) at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York. The team was...

DC population hits 700,000

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor March 1, 2018

13 years ago, DC was a very different city. Crime was higher, the city’s high schools were not meeting Common Core standards, many areas had not been hyper-gentrified, and the city’s population was...

Wilson honors Black History Month with assembly celebration

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor March 1, 2018

On Friday, February 23rd, Wilson hosted its annual Black History Month assembly to celebrating Black history and culture on a citywide and national level. The assembly began with the JROTC color guard...

JROTC wins big at citywide competition

JROTC wins big at citywide competition

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor February 25, 2018

Wilson’s JROTC drill team recently won the Best Elite Overall award at the General Earle Wheeler Drill Contest, a citywide drill team competition in which 10 schools from across the region competed for...

Wilson volleyball takes second in DCSAA after successful season

Wilson volleyball takes second in DCSAA after successful season

Ethan Leifman, Digital Editor November 16, 2017

Wilson’s volleyball team wrapped up an incredible season on Friday, coming in second place in all of DC after a loss to St. John’s in the DCSAA Championship. With a 34-3 season record, the team demolished...

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