Listen In

Math teacher Kevin O'Gorman sat down with Opinions Editor Samantha Haney to talk about his experience celebrating Pi Day. He sometimes celebrates with his class, but often sits down to enjoy pie on his own if he doesn't celebrate during the school day.

On this episode of Listen In, social studies teacher Krista Silvernail sat down with Opinions Editor Samantha Haney to discuss the positive psychological impacts of compliments for National Compliment Day on March 1. Silvernail teaches AP Psychology and covers types of relationships between different people. "Psychology focuses a lot on how important it is that people feel a sense of belonging and that people want to connect with others," Silvernail said. Giving a compliment benefits both the compliment giver and the compliment receiver by creating a relationship that makes both people feel good. A study by Psychology Today in 2021 suggested that more people should start giving compliments more frequently because of the psychological benefits. "Especially if a person is intuitive and is paying close attention to the expressions of the person that they're giving the compliment to," Silvernail said. "We never know what's going on in somebody's day but to see somebody light u

On this episode of Listen In, junior Jessica Guan sits down with Opinions Editor Samantha Haney to discuss the importance of the Lunar New Year in Chinese culture. Since she was a child, Guan has celebrated the Lunar New Year. Guan's parents are from China and the majority of their family still live there so they follow some of the traditional practices such as wearing red, decorating with fish for good luck and hanging red papers around the house. The holiday prompts cleaning, wearing new clothes and other traditions to start the new year with prosperity. This year's celebration is extra special Guan said since 2024 is the year of the dragon, one of the 12 Chinese zodiacs. "The creature largely symbolizes luck, strength, ambition and charm," Time Magazine said. China has the largest Lunar New Year celebration in the world, prompting the largest mass migration as people travel home to China to celebrate. Although Guan has never made it due to the holiday's timing being in the middle of t

Class of 2011 graduate Charles Zimmerman recently competed in season 5 of Holiday Wars, a baking competition show. As a high school student, Zimmerman won a gingerbread house contest as part of the Lafayette Culinary team. That was his first culinary arts competition. Zimmerman sat down with Multimedia Editor Samantha Haney to talk about what he took away from the show and how he got into his current field.

Gifted teacher Shannon Batt sat down with Multimedia Editor Samantha Haney to discuss her experience as a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She has been able to pass down her tribal heritage to her sons and over the past month has chatted with both Lafayette and middle school students about her culture. Batt said that although she doesn't live with her tribe, it still feels like home every time she's able to visit.

Car Club is a new, non-school-sponsored club that has started meeting outside of school, giving students an opportunity to learn engineering skills. Sophomore Adit Swami sat down with Multimedia Editor Samantha Haney and reporter Neel Patil to discuss the future of the club. The club has begun building a go-kart with an engine that they collectively fundraised to purchase. Soon, Swami hopes to start entering the club’s custom go-kart in drifting races, and interested club members will be able to drive it.

When sophomore Thomas Steiger woke up on the morning of soccer tryouts, he wasn't expecting to end the day in the hospital. Athletic trainer Eric Doherty used an AED on Steiger to stabilize him until the ambulance arrived. Opinions editor Samantha Haney sat down with Doherty and Steiger to discuss the importance of knowing CPR and taking care of your heart.

Ever since she came back from Japan, freshman Akiko Field has seen notable differences in American culture. From differences in culture at home and school to differences in overall experience, Field talks about what she has seen and how it has impacted her.  

Sophomore Chris Songco discusses growing up in a Philippine household and how it has affected him. Along with this, Songco discusses balancing growing up with both American and Philippine culture.

Language arts teacher Melissa Schumacher discusses the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and how it allows students to understand autism from the perspective of the main character.

Guidance Department Chair Terence Small discusses Black History Month. Small talks about how reflecting back on all the different parts of history will let people see history through a more diverse lens and prevent past mistakes from being repeated.

College and career counselors Sarah Hicks and Alex Dusenberry discuss what students can do after high school. From the traditional 2-year or 4-year college route to trade school or an apprenticeship, all options are possible for students and students can discover these options at the college and career office.

Art teacher Lauren Sakowski and sophomore Sarah Ebenezer both grew up making costumes with their moms. Now, Sakowski does this with her own children while Ebenezer started creating her own. Both use this holiday as a chance to connect with their friends and family. In this episode, Sakowski and Ebeneezer talk about what Halloween means to them and how they celebrate it.

Stephanie Hruby has been teaching at Lafayette for 13 years. Over that time, with the rising popularity of cellphones, she developed a way to prevent students from using them unnecessarily in class - phone boxes. In this episode, Hruby talks about the phone boxes in general, but also how they have worked for her and the response she has gotten from students.  Listen in was created as an outlet for the many voices of Lafayette. We are open to discussing a wide range of topics from terrifying bear attacks to what it’s like to grow up with a whole lot of siblings. If you’re interested in being a featured guest, contact us via @thelancerfeed on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or email thelancerfeed@gmail.com.

In this episode, staff reporter Sonya Sud talks with science teacher Shannon Campbell, who shares her story about 9/11. Campbell's husband worked at a company office on the 50th floor of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Listen in to learn more about how this has influenced the Campbells' lives. Listen in was created as an outlet for the many voices of Lafayette. We are open to discussing a wide range of topics from terrifying bear attacks to what it’s like to grow up with a whole lot of siblings. If you’re interested in being a featured guest, contact us via @thelancerfeed on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or email thelancerfeed@gmail.com.

In this episode, staff reporter Vijay Viswanathan sits down with junior Tom Richards to discuss his predictions for the upcoming Major League Baseball season, which begins on April 1, 2021. 

In this episode, staff reporter Samantha Haney talks to business teacher Holly Green about what 'shop local' means and how we can participate in our own communities.

In this episode, staff reporter Juli Mejia talks to freshman Yasmin Hassan and sophomore Pooja Reddy about their experiences as first generation Americans. They discuss the struggles they have come across as well as how their individual cultures have given them unique perspectives on the world. 

Rockwood's Alternative Learning Plan (ALP) was implemented on March 26 as a way for students to stay connected to their classes and continue coursework. This past week, teachers have held virtual classes on Zoom and collected assignments on Canvas and Google Classroom. In this podcast, Digital Media Editor Jack Weaver talks to Principal Karen Calcaterra, Rockwood Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Support Services Shelly Willott and Lafayette Music Department Chair Brad Balog about how the ALP has been utilized.

Starting the first week in March, ten sports will begin their season with week-long tryouts to determine freshmen, junior varsity and varsity levels. In this episode, sports editor Morgan Vehige sits down with assistant varsity coach Scott Holtmann and senior lacrosse co-captain Kari Kamrud to talk about how they approach tryouts, along with the mental and physical aspects of each that come along with it.