The Student Voice of North Allegheny Senior High School

The Uproar

The Student Voice of North Allegheny Senior High School

The Uproar

The Student Voice of North Allegheny Senior High School

The Uproar

Rin Swann
When I was a little girl, I used to imagine myself graduating. I thought eighteen meant I was an adult, ready for the world, and by the day I graduated, I would have it all figured out. That… That did not happen. What did happen was that I met good people, none of whom had it figured out either. But thats a large part of high school. Figuring it out with people who are in the same spot. Truthfully, you’ll never know everything, or always succeed, or feel like an “adult.” But you will become a little older and a lot wiser. So make the most of these years. Find people who make you feel good, and do things that make you happy. You only get to do this once.

Rin Swann, Reporter

Rin Swann is a senior at NASH and, in her spare time, she enjoys drinking Peach Snapple, musical theater, and plotting for her inevitable take-over of the modern world. She will be attending the University of Iowa in the fall for creative writing and journalism.

All content by Rin Swann
Protips: Summer

Protips: Summer

Rin Swann, Reporter June 7, 2019

So, we did it! Nine months of pain and suffering, tests and essays have ended. There will be no more breaking down in tears in the bathroom because your GPA took a hit, no more stressing about what your...

Lifting the Backpack

Lifting the Backpack

Rin Swann, Reporter June 3, 2019

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment and thank procrastination and caffeine for getting me this far. There comes a point in everyone’s life when they have to accept some unpleasant truths....

One Last Lesson

One Last Lesson

Rin Swann, Reporter June 3, 2019

Our teachers have been there through it all. And now at the end, the greatest influencers on our education have some last words of wisdom... "Pay attention to what's going on around you, and take responsibility...

Protips: Finals Week

Protips: Finals Week

Rin Swann, Reporter May 30, 2019

Over the next few days, an epidemic is going to settle upon this school. Kids, stumbling from class to class will clutch Monsters and coffee as they break down in tears, wearing sweatshirts they haven’t...

Like everything else, high school has an expiration date, and that can be cause for both dread and joy.

Shots Fired / 4th Ed.

Rin Swann, Reporter May 7, 2019

One of the side effects of graduation creeping nearer is a constant mental flux between absolute joy and melancholic pain. They’re the "senioritis" symptoms no one told you about: a whiplash between...

College Opt-Out

College “Opt-Out”

Rin Swann, Reporter April 24, 2019

For most high schoolers at NA, the thought of not going to college has probably never occurred. After all, college is designed to help you get a job, propel you into the future, and without a degree, earning...

Protips: Spring Break

Protips: Spring Break

Rin Swann, Reporter April 18, 2019

Spring break. The classical movie trope about teenagers going wild, the last hurrah before the school year ends, and the “best” time to travel and visit colleges. Or, if you are a North Allegheny Student...

The seniors will never attend North Allegheny again, and as they move on toward their futures, despite how tempting the end may seem, it is still the end.

Last Quarter Crisis

Rin Swann, Reporter April 9, 2019

So we’ve done it…mostly. We’re in the home stretch, the last quarter of the year before returning to a life of summer sun, close friends, and, for some of us, packing for college. This should be...

In an era of serious concern about student stress, an alteration to the grading scale could prove to deter students from taking courses that are beyond their abilities.

Tipping the Scales

Rin Swann, Reporter April 1, 2019

DISCLAIMER:  The dateline of this article might have been a dead giveaway... but in case you were expecting an actual news article, you are hereby on notice that the following is an April Fools' prank. ...

Good Talk: Mr. Caruso

Good Talk: Mr. Caruso

Samantha Solenday and Rin Swann March 21, 2019

How did you become a teacher at NASH? I was the director of the writing center at Bethel Park High School, and in 1996, I got a phone call from former NASH principal Larry Butterini. They were looking...

The numbers from the Attendance Office bear out the belief that students are  getting sick more often this year than in recent years past.

The NASH Plague

Rin Swann, Reporter March 18, 2019

Like a swarm of locusts settling upon Egypt, a wave of illness has settled over NASH. Stuffy noses, coughs, vomiting, strep, high fever, the flu... Each one piles up to form one definition for the misery...

An ominous stack of essays fatefully awaits grading in Mrs. Walters English class.

Shots Fired / 3rd. Ed.

Rin Swann, Reporter February 28, 2019

A few weeks ago, I caught what has become known as the "NASH Plague,” which left me with splitting headaches, dripping sinuses, and nausea so bad that the only cure was to curl up in a ball until I was...

On Thursday, NATV produced a livestream of the Safe2Say Something presentation by Sandy Hook Promises Brandon Rainey

On the Safe Side

Samantha Solenday and Rin Swann February 21, 2019

On Thursday morning, NASH and NAI students shuffled off to their second period class as usual, but upon arriving to class, students watched a 90-minute live stream of the Safe2Say Something presentation,...

On the days you feel most alone, remind those who love you that you love them back.

Protips: Valentine’s Day

Rin Swann, Reporter February 13, 2019

Valentine’s Day is a notorious day of love, of showing that special someone how much you care - or recognizing the fact that you are destined to die alone and unhappy. There are two extremes here, ladies:...

The basic lifecycle of cafeteria food can be broken down into three basic components: where it comes from, how its made, and what it contains. But despite what TV might have us believe, cafeteria meals are not randomly sourced parts tossed together in a blender to make something vaguely edible.

The Mystery in Mystery Meat

Rin Swann, Reporter February 12, 2019

It’s a running joke in every high school drama. There is always a scene where the main characters get in a line, hold out their trays, and receive a slab of a gelatinous, grey substance cleverly called...

Nearly 700 student laptops were collected during 1st period in order for Technology Services to conduct battery tests in response to an HP recall late yesterday.

Laptop Lowdown

Rin Swann, Reporter February 7, 2019

Now more than ever before, technology has become a daily part of student life. From online homework to tests to study materials, student life has become wrapped around the laptop, and NA is no exception....

No one is ever truly visible and the most put-together people in the world are usually the ones who have the most to hide.

Invisible

Rin Swann, Reporter January 16, 2019

Earlier this week, I received a letter from the administration reminding me, in hard black letters, that I had missed more than 18 days of school and, in the future, I will need a doctor’s excuse for...

News channels like Fox News and Buzzfeed could take the exact same story about Trump with the same facts and still create different narratives.

Shots Fired / 2nd Ed.

Rin Swann, Reporter December 28, 2018

Fake News Noun, /feɪk ˈnuːz/ Definition: False stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke. “There...

Lovin’ the Oven

Rin Swann, Reporter December 20, 2018

Classic Sugar Cookies  2 cups butter (softened) 1 1/2 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or to taste) 5 1/2 cups flour 2 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoon cream of...

Protips: Jingle All the Way!

Protips: Jingle All the Way!

Rin Swann, Reporter December 18, 2018

Christmas: the most wonderful time of the year. A time of giving and receiving, Santa Baby, because, on the first day of Christmas, all I want is you. Yet between all the decked halls and boughs of holly,...

Protips: How to Survive Thanksgiving

Protips: How to Survive Thanksgiving

Rin Swann, Reporter November 20, 2018

Thanksgiving: a time for family, good food, and some of the most scorching arguments of the year shouted over mashed potatoes and gravy. Thanksgiving is wonderful, but it’s stressful, so we here at Protips...

No Excuses

No Excuses

Rin Swann, Reporter November 2, 2018

We get it: sometimes life is rough and homework is impossible. Maybe you forgot, maybe you didn’t want to do it, or maybe the temptation of the next season of Grey’s Anatomy was just too good to pass...

Protips: Surviving Pumpkin Spice Latte Season

Protips: Surviving Pumpkin Spice Latte Season

Rin Swann, Reporter October 23, 2018

Now that fall is here and the stress of Homecoming is gone, we have entered that awkward time of year known as “Pumpkin Spice Latte Season” - the period of horror between the beginning of October to...

Spread the Word

Spread the Word

Rin Swann, Reporter October 10, 2018

Last Friday marked the return of former North Allegheny student, now well-known poet, Kelly Forsythe. Fresh off the release of her book Perennial in August, she took the time to return to her former school...

Popcorn / 1st Ed.

Popcorn / 1st Ed.

Rin Swann, Reporter October 3, 2018

Welcome to Popcorn: your reliable source of information for everything awesome in pop culture. This was a busy week for the internet, folks, so strap yourself in and get ready to jump. Literally jump,...

The next time someone tells you that you have to know what youre doing with your life, ask them how their plans worked out.

Shots Fired / 1st Ed.

Rin Swann, Reporter September 27, 2018

Autumn brings a wave of leaves, pumpkin spice lattes–and debilitating expectations of seniors. This year, a projected 19.9 million high school seniors will apply to a college or university and, every...

Where Were You On 9/11?

Where Were You On 9/11?

Rin Swann, Reporter September 11, 2018

They all remember. They will never forget. These are the stories of some of the NASH faculty on where they were that fateful day. “I remember looking at the TV and thinking, "What movie has a plane...

Protips: From Seniors to You

Protips: From Seniors to You

Rin Swann, Reporter September 6, 2018

You heard every story from your siblings, your neighbors and/or your older friends. You went to the orientation and prepared yourself for the yellow brick walls, new teachers, and the labyrinth that is...

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