My Loneliness Is (Not) Killing Me: Tips on Surviving Quarantine Wake up. Eat breakfast. Watch a home workout video on YouTube. Shower. Watch TV. Eat lunch. Watch the news. Freak out about the news. Scroll through Twitter. Watch Instagram stories. Eat dinner. Facetime friends. Watch TV. Go to bed. Rinse. Repeat. This is our new […]

Much of my daily routine hasn’t changed since the coronavirus pandemic began. I work from home aside from a few trips per year to the Business Insider newsroom in New York City, writing and editing stories with my cat in my lap and a robe tied around my waist.  Once the workday ends, not much […]

Life in New York is largely unrecognizable. For the first time, the subway is shut down overnight. Pools aren’t opening for the summer. Restaurants are boarded up. People with second homes have left the city. The Mayor has closed off many streets to cars, so that people can get out of their homes and exercise […]

Life for anyone in the social work field is chaotic, but there’s never a dull moment. I’ve been a case manager at Meals on Wheels Central Texas for almost two years. My day to day at Meals on Wheels looks something like this: go into the office in the mornings to do paperwork and return […]

Close your eyes and try to imagine the most crowded room you’ve ever been in. What do you see? Perhaps you’re picturing a crowded church on a Sunday morning, or that midnight premiere of your favorite movie franchise reboot. Maybe you’re hearing the crowd roar as your favorite singer takes the stage of a packed […]

With UIL abruptly cancelling all sporting events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many athletes had to say goodbye to the season they thought they would have. For some students, it was their final year of high school, for others they were just getting a taste of what a varsity sport was like, and though sophomore Sailor Todaro still has two years of eligibility to compete, she was leading the pole vaulting team and was prepared to advance through the post season.

Dear Future Historian,
If, for some reason, you are searching for evidence of what it was like for the average person during the COVID-19 lockdown and you have stumbled across this article, let me tell you some things that will make your job a little easier.

Asthma is a relatively common disease. In many instances, it is mild, and people can get by with using an inhaler when the need arises. For senior Phoebe Hancock, asthma has taken a much larger role in her life. She suffers from severe allergic asthma, meaning her reactions are mostly caused by her allergies. Combatting this disease and its side effects has meant countless visits to the doctor, numerous tests, and even a few operations.

With social distancing orders in place, many extracurricular activities require coaches and directors to take a different approach to creating a team for the 2020-2021 school year.

When the baseball coaches and players realized that students would not be returning to the classroom this school year, they felt it was important to do something to connect with the community. Individuals on the team created videos of themselves wearing their Viking jerseys and reading their favorite children’s book aloud. “Read with the Vikes” became a regular post that many families looked forward to.

Over Spring Break, Bryan ISD learned they would need an option to ensure instruction despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing the world to screech to a standstill. 

One of the first things that they wanted to do was get at least one device in every household. They approached the problem by first identifying how many households there are in the district: 8,972. Then they looked at how many Chromebooks they could pull from campuses and determined that 9,068 devices could be used. 

“Watching my dad get shot and die in front of me when I was three still traumatized me because I didn’t have him growing up. I never had a dad to throw a ball with, never had a dad to talk about girls with, it’s just always been me and my grandma.”

Senior Deion Johnson experienced a difficult life from the start, but he has found a way to succeed by relying on people who love him and pushing himself to try new things. After his dad was killed when he was little, his grandmother took him in and raised him as her own.

Serving over 19,000 meals per week when school is not in session is a daunting task that the food and nutrition services department in BISD has handled with love, care, and consideration of all involved in the process.

The art of writing letters has been replaced by grammatically lacking text messages and snapchat videos. Society uses phones and email to send a message in mere seconds. For the students in the 18+ program, which helps students continue to learn life skills after they graduate from high school through the special education department, experiencing the same social interactions that other students do can sometimes be difficult.

The dozens of pictures taken daily on phones can make people lose sight of the skill photography requires. With photographers needing to learn abilities ranging from staging to exposure to shutter speed, along with many terms most people have never heard before, photography is a complex art. SkillsUSA allows students in photography, in addition to other disciplines, to showcase their abilities. At this year’s SkillsUSA competition, senior Laura Salazar competed in photography where her submission featured a patio home building with unique architecture from Florida to earn third place and advance to state.

Earning a spot in the all-state choir is a prestigious accomplishment that only the top seven vocalists in each voice part are awarded each year. Senior Claire Beesaw earned third chair all-state mixed choir soprano and senior Abby Surley was selected as ninth chair (1st runner-up) for all-state treble choir.

Prom, graduation, saying goodbyes, and more are things the class of 2020 are missing out on in their final year of high school due to COVID-19. Though most seniors will eventually be able to go to the makeup prom and graduation, some won’t have any of the special traditions to attend to. To help, teachers and parents are celebrating the class online.

So the word on the street is that some fancy-schmancy song about existential crises in humans and puppets is “God’s greatest creation, praise be, praise be.” This is horrifically wrong.

Having the ability to play and understand music is a skill that anyone can acquire over time. Being able to play an instrument is one thing while being able to comprehend and understand what is happening and what it is trying to portray is another, greater thing. Completely learning to play an instrument or a piece can take years of hard work and dedication that not many people have the stamina to stick with.

I never watched any sort of dog show until this year, so when I turned on the Westminster Dog Show this year, I was a little surprised myself. I caught it at the very end, where the judge decides which dog out of the six category winners is Best in Show. As a poodle owner, I was pleased when a standard poodle was chosen. Of course, all of the other dogs present were wonderful models of their breeds, and I wouldn’t have been upset had one of them won.

Everyone has a favorite song. Whether it be rock, classical, or pop, when you ask someone to name their favorite song, they can name at least one.

There are multiple emotions a person can feel while listening to music and each one connects to an individual emotional experience. Although some people have one playlist where they add all their favorite songs, I have eight different playlists depending on my mood. Songs in different emotions deserve to be put in different playlists rather than all of them being put into one to be the most effective.

After coming home from a long day, what is the first thing the average person does? Turn on the TV? Watch a movie? Play a video game, maybe? It seems books have been the odd man out for modern entertainment as very few people choose books over visual entertainment in today’s technology-centered environment.

The Norseman staff sent out a form for people to respond with their thoughts and feelings about what is going on in the community right now. We will post some of their thoughts each day to provide people with a better understanding about what people are thinking. Currently, over 200 people have responded and we will try to post each person’s thoughts on our web page. If you would like to contribute, please click the link here: https://forms.gle/WWs8dduUpCyZd9Za9

While we are all under Quarantine, here’s something for you to read.

The Norseman staff sent out a form for people to respond with their thoughts and feelings about what is going on in the community right now. We will post some of their thoughts each day to provide people with a better understanding about what people are thinking. Currently, over 200 people have responded and we […]

Four decades ago, Ruth Whiteley started teaching and coaching the girls basketball program at Bryan High. For 10 years she coached the team until she transitioned into a full time history teacher.

When thinking about an army soldier and a wrestler, one would initially think that the two are perfectly different. One is a massive, ripped, shirtless guy yelling at the crowd for glory, and the other is an astute, straight-backed fighter in a camo outfit and a rifle. Learning to fill one of these jobs might seem like it would take up all eight high school classes, there’s so much to learn and train before you’re even close to ready.

The Daughters of the American Revolution honor two students with awards for their essays in February.  Junior Jaci Siegert was honored by the chapter as the overall winner for the Christopher Columbus essay contest.  The contest was open to all students in grades nine through twelve and the prompt asked students to write an essay […]

Shooting pain in the arm and jaw. A general feeling of being ill at ease. Tightness in the chest. Having a healthy heart is something a lot of people bypass and take for granted. It is one of the most important organs and should be cared for. Another important thing to watch out for are the signs of a heart attack. Without knowing the signs, a person could be paralyzed or even die. Luckily for fashion design teacher Rhonda Cupit, she recognized the signs and knew to tell someone to go to the hospital when she felt pain in her jaw and arm.

There is a social stigma around marijuana, but that stigma is widely inaccurate and has created problems for those who need it to improve their quality of life on a day-to-day basis.

The opposing team has the ball, and they’re dribbling down the soccer field, getting ready to kick the ball into the net to score. Senior Yanni Vasilakis stands at the center-mid of the field and waits for the ball to be kicked towards him. There’s only a couple seconds left until the game is over and this kick determines the fate of whether or not the team will take home a win. The opposing team kicks a power shot towards the net but he strides towards the ball and kicks it towards the opposing team’s net, leading his team to another victory.

The cosmetology department has deep roots that have helped ground the program and make it flourish. Teacher Sharonda Williams first started with the cosmetology program in 1989 while attending Bryan High. The program helped her find her purpose and place in life and she continues to strive to help others students do the same.

The proverbial cliche about sports is that they are 90% mental, but how does that actually look in practice? Though sophomore golfer Luke Robertson has worked to improve his performance this season through physical practices, he has also focused on the mental and emotional aspects of the game to get an edge over his opponents on the course. Being cognizant about his reaction to each stroke and how the game is played from the first hole to the last has helped him grow as a golfer.

In June, the National Championship for theatre will be held in Bloomington, Indiana. All 18 students from Bryan High who competed in qualifying will advance to the National Championship. “It feels great to be advancing to the championship,” theatre director Jacob Justice said. “I’m not surprised that we advanced. We have students that are incredibly […]

Ah, 2020, the start of a new decade. The summer Olympics are set for Tokyo this year, and the United States has some strong athletes that the country should unify around. But never fear! The presidential election is here to rip that unity apart and destroy any semblance of camaraderie.

The Orchestra/Mariachi students participated in UIL Solo/Ensemble contest. The following students qualified for state: Harmony Smith, Violin solo received Division One and qualified for State. Audrey Vestal, Violin solo received Division One and qualified for State. Viking String Quartet-Harmony Smith, Audrey Vestal,Evelyn Mayo,Brandon Acevedo received a Division One and qualified for State Mariachi Los Vikingos […]

At the Brazos Valley Regional History Fair on Friday, seven BHS students competed. All of them placed and 5 will be advancing to the Texas State History Day in Austin on Saturday, April 25th. Courtney Lamb (10th Grade)Historical Paper – 1st PlaceTopic — The Apollo Soyuz Test Project Brandy Winkle, Maya Richards (10th Grade)Group Website – 3rd PlaceTopic […]

The following students placed at regional competition for FCCLA and will compete at state in April. Rebekah Byers & Olive Ray- 2nd Place Interpersonal CommunicationsTori Chambers- 3rd Place Sports NutritionCheyenne Cupit, Tabitha Curtiss & Ysidra Yolanda Madujano- 3rd Place Repurpose & Redesign BHS was also recognized for the school with the most students completing all […]

Playing sports, riding roller coasters, drinking caffeine, all things most teenagers take for granted. But for junior Jaci Siegert, each of these poses a potentially-deadly risk.

Animation studios are in a constant battle to get their movies the most attention from the public. Some studios never fail to provide a good movie for their intended audiences. Walt Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks are all examples of studios that provide good movies quite frequently. On the other hand, Illumination is one of those studios that makes low quality movies just for profit. They don’t really care about making entertaining movies. They simply don’t care about their audience or movies as much as other studios do and primarily focus on marketing.

Drama. Mystery. Thriller. My top three favorite genres of all time when it comes to entertainment, and combined together into one show, it’s nearly perfect. Criminal Minds captures all three of these genres which makes the show my favorite show of all time. The show is the right mix of intrigue and suspense.

Overall, Disney has done a pretty decent job with the Star Wars franchise. The movies themselves are done well, and I find all of the Disney Star Wars movies enjoyable. The Rise of Skywalker was no exception, and through the first three quarters of the movie I was almost ready to say it was my favorite Star Wars movie in the sequel series…but of course, leave it to Disney to mess things up.

To all the extroverts out there, isn’t it hard always being the most outgoing and friendly person in the room? Do you ever sit at parties and think: “Wow, I just wish I wasn’t so good at talking?”

January is the best month of the year. I love the crisp cool air, the cute sweater outfits, and it’s National Soup Month, and who doesn’t love that. BUT, there is one thing that tops the air, sweaters, and yes, even soup. Three words: Girl Scout Cookies.

There are over 2000 games on the Nintendo Switch, some better than others. Nintendo has put its best into making sure that only the highest quality of games get into their consumer’s hands. They’ve also flooded the e-shop with really bad, tiny games that cost way too much. So I’m going to look at 8 of their best and slap them into a randomly-generated tournament!

https://bryanhs.bryanisd.org/apps/news/article/1150299

The UIL Academic team competed at the mini-meet at College Station High School on Saturday, January 11. The following students earned awards at the meet: Copy Editing1st Shannon Keyser3rd Abby Mendes4th Jaci Siegert News1st Abby Mendez2nd Shannon Keyser Feature3rd Jaci Siegert4th Shannon Keyser6th Megan Keyser Editorial1st Shannon Keyser3rd Abby Mendez6th Jaci Siegert Headline1st Abby Mendez3rd […]

The swimming and diving teams competed against the A&M Consolidated TIgers on Tuesday night at the TAMU Rec Center.  The Consolidated girls won 176-113 and the boys won 166-118.  Leading the way for the Viking girls were first place finishes from Elizabeth Tag in the 200 yard freestyle and Cayla Jimenez in 1 meter diving.  […]

For more information click here: https://www.bryanisd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1296146&type=d&pREC_ID=929837&fbclid=IwAR3Bw3RfaqUYPlS8OPJW1Up2Jjre_nQIH9773McvLKXyXoAUtrOBrDPHWlo

Playing and competing in a sport with an injury can seem like a big obstacle on the way to success, but athletes still try to compete and improve even with their problems. Senior Maddie Moore plays tennis and suffers from a shoulder injury from two years ago but receives encouragement and help from her teammates to keep going.

It’s a cold December afternoon in the 1940s. Kids are playing in the snow outside, you’re bundled up in front of the fire with someone you love, and you decide to turn on the radio. When the static clears, you begin to hear the sounds of voices playing characters, telling a timeless story you’ve familiarized yourself with. Some seventy years later, students at Bryan High are taking the stage at the Queen Theatre to recreate one of those moments.
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a timeless story that has touched many hearts across the world through countless variations. The tale is told yet again as Viking Theater performs it as a radio play. As opposed to direct movement and visual aids, this show relies on actors’ voices and sounds as they take to their microphones.

Steam rises from the water as the sun comes up over the Bryan Aquatic Center. The temperature may be well into the low 40s, but swimmers dive into the pool and begin their warm-up laps before working on specific strokes. Junior Ayden Ayers has been a member of the swimming and diving team throughout high school and has continued to show resilience and determination in each practice as has times have continued to drop and his dives have continued to earn higher scores.

As basketball season gets into full swing, the team has made it a priority to involve the student body in a way that will impact the spirit of the school as a whole. The relationship between the fans and the players is symbiotic as one feeds off the other to create a successful season.

“Alright, have a good first day of school, don’t be nervous, you’ll have fun.” The passenger door closes, and the driver drives away. The new student clenches the straps of their back pack and begins heading towards the entrance of the school. Their feet drag as they are hesitant to walk inside, their stomach turns, and they feel sick. As they walked inside, their eyes begin to look in all directions, especially at the hundreds of students filling the cafeteria running around and yelling. The whistle blows and suddenly the kids begin heading to class. With their schedule clenched in one hand, the backpack strap in the other, they read the room number and head to their first class at the new school. Starting at a new school can be overwhelming, encountering a new culture only makes things more difficult.

While most people only think of December 25 as the day George Washington crossed the Delaware, a minority celebrate a holiday called Christmas. “What is Christmas?” you may find yourself wondering. Christmas is a commercialized holiday celebrating consumerism and materialism with Christmas movies as the backbone of this most joyous holiday.

Not everyone considers school a place they want to be, but some students aspire to become teachers and create a fun and enjoyable learning environment for the next generation. Over the years, some teachers have felt a connection that pulled them back to Bryan High to help other students and provide them with some of the experiences that made them fall in love with being a Viking.

Twenty-one students made the TMEA choir and a record 15 are advancing to the Pre-Area round.Bryan High Choir All-Region results: Soprano 1: Madeline Chilek – Adv., Jenna Mowad – Adv., Claire Beesaw – Adv.Soprano 2: Abby Surley – Adv., Taylor Speier – Adv., Sarah Stuart – Adv., Olivia Cole,  Kindall Zemanek – 2nd Alt.Alto 1: Leah […]

FFA students competed in the Brazos Valley District Leadership Development contest last week. The following student earned awards: 2nd – Ag Advocacy (advancing to area)Maggie Jedlicka, Cade Conrad, Pablo ‘Trey’ Vargas, Morgan Kelbly2nd- Sr. Skills (advancing to area)Mark McMath, Colby Fagan, Jacob Incardona3rd- Radio BroadcastingEmma Brunson, Ty Greenlee, Hunter Harlin3rd- Greenhand SkillsLane Pierce, Saul Lopez, […]

Internet trends come and go, but a select few manage to grow and adapt with the times. Although popular media sites like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook have taken on very similar appearances and functions, the TikTok app has managed to maintain a level of originality that other media sites have failed to keep.

When it comes to the animated film industry, Walt Disney Studios dominates the market with a long list of classic, award-winning movies. I remember getting up early on weekends when I was little to peruse our collection of VHS tapes under the TV and pop one into the VCR. I’d watch my selection, and if I could, would rewind the tape to watch it again. Those movies hold a special place in my heart because of the nostalgia of VCRs, the memories associated with them, and the quality of the movies.

Some of the most popular internet groups and personalities are the VSCO, e-, and soft. The trends became popular on TikTok in early 2019. Each of the groups has a male and female version, so everyone can fit into some of the categories and characteristics of the different groups.

For the past few years, Broadway has swept the world with hit after massive hit. Both young and old fans cheer for modern Broadway successes, such as Hamilton, Come From Away, Heathers, and Hadestown. Even past musicals have gained more attention, like Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and Little Shop of Horrors. Community and high school theater programs have been popping up nationwide, and showtunes have become classic household names in theater-loving towns and cities.

Are you trying to sleep at night but you can’t because your parents are in the next room arguing over money, or are you an insomniac like me and you just can’t seem to get tired no matter what you do and the NyQuil just isn’t working anymore, then ASMR is for you! Possibly…

As the lights dim and the curtain closes, applause breaks out from around the theater, and one person stands, followed by another until the rest of the auditorium is in a standing ovation. For an actor, this is the ideal reaction from an audience. But it’s not easy to get. An actor must shed their identity and take on that of a stranger. Every step and facial twitch must match that of the character they portray. Every word must be interpreted to best convey the emotion of the moment. While some may find this too difficult and shy away from the limelight, senior Evan Pope revels in it.

The top 3-4% of students are recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as commended students. Seniors Brandon Garza, Shannon Keyser, Caleb Peterson, Trey Weltens, and Lauryn Woods earned recognition as National Merit Commended students this year. They finished in the top 50,000 out of 1.5 million students taking the PSAT.

Even though the whole world seems focused on Apple each September when the new iPhone is unveiled, I think iPhones are over-anticipated, overpriced, and overrated. iPhone users focus too much on familiarity instead of practicality.

Lucifer Samael Morningstar. Satan. The Devil. Lucifer is characterized in scripture as being the ultimate vessel of evil. When Neil Gaiman created the comic Lucifer, he answered a simple question: what if the devil wasn’t evil?

See You at the Pole is a student-initiated, student-organized, and student-led event. A global day of student prayer, See you at the Pole began in 1990 as a grassroots movement with ten students praying at their school. Twenty years later, millions pray on their campuses on the fourth Wednesday in September. See You at the Pole is simply a prayer rally where students meet at the school flagpole before school to lift up their friends, families, teachers, school, and nation to God.

The freedom of expression is important to most teenagers, as their years in high school help define who they will become as an adult. The school continues to support their creativity by partnering with the Project Graduation committee to allow seniors to paint their parking spots with designs that reflect their personalities.

Performing on-stage can be intimidating for any actor, but when that performance is complicated by another challenge, it can be even more so. Senior Trey Weltens takes it all in stride and has worked through his high school years to perfect his craft despite the difficulties he has faced because of hearing loss.

FCCLA, which stands for Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, iis a national organization for youth that focuses on leadership. Students in the FCCLA program have the opportunity to travel to Galveston for competitions and have the opportunity to advance to state in Dallas. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the organization, and the Bryan High branch plans to make the most of it through connecting with the community even more.

Winning isn’t everything. Many people believe they should only be involved in an activity or a hobby if they excel at it, but rewards come in many different forms. Senior Caleb Peterson proves each day that persistence and doing something because he loves it is key while running cross country.

Football is a calculated sport. Anticipation and planning paired with the mathematics of velocity and angles require players to think quickly. Junior quarterback Nico Bulhoff possesses traits of a great quarterback and excels on the field and in the classroom.

Ready. Aim. Fire. Freshman Sophia Bradley started shooting a recurve bow when she was in third grade through 4-H shooting sports. By participating in USA archery, 4-H archery, and ASA archery she has been able to enjoy much success over the years.

After four years of being on the varsity volleyball team, leadership and teamwork are almost like sixth senses for senior Coco Gillett. With each passing year, Coco has gained experience and responsibility, helping her gain recognition at the collegiate level and respect on the team.

While most people learn about how the legislature works in their government class, very few people have the chance to go through the procedures of Congress. This summer, senior Caleb Merell was chosen for this opportunity and was able to go to Washington DC with Boys Nation.

A mother and a child walk through Sue Haswell Park near Downtown Bryan one Saturday morning in late fall. As they cross the grass, they see a group of teenagers with trash bags picking up cigarette butts from the ground. The students are with the Vikings Kick Out Tobacco group and work within the community to increase awareness about tobacco prevention.

Swinging from building to building. Super powers developed from the bite of a radioactive arachnid. Attending high school by day, fighting criminals by night. The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has captured audiences hearts, with Tom Holland’s rendition of the masked hero. As the final chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe phase three came to a close, audiences were already looking forward to the next Spider-Man movie released three months later. With Holland’s character guaranteed an additional solo movie and the Marvel Universe depending on Spider-Man’s character to tell the story, audiences were pleased, but all of that has been thrown out the window by Disney’s greed.

There are important things to argue about in life like political issues, environmental change, and how expensive stuff is (news flash: it’s really expensive). However, there are also completely trivial things to worry about like whether or not Google Docs is better than Microsoft Word, but boy is it fun to argue about.

Fine art classes allow students to have a creative outlet and foster a love for the arts. There are multiple choices for fine art classes, and they are all very contrasting. Though the classes span everything from visual arts to theatre and choir to band, orchestra is still the superior choice.

Take a moment and think about what a penny looks like, easy right? Could you sketch out the front, or maybe the back? As simple as it seems, the vast majority of people can’t remember the details of this basic American currency.

Five figures stand in unison. A human wizard, a dwarf cleric, an elf ranger, a halfling rogue, and a tiefling bard. Towering over them is the terrifying prince of chaos and ruler of demonkind; Demogorgon. All brimming with confidence as they charge against each other. Only the jowls of luck can end the conflict of good and evil.

In the world, there are a ton of music genres that people like, whether it’s jazz, R&B, country, rock. There’s even music in different languages such as, English, Spanish, Japanese, and many more. Everyone has a specific music taste that they prefer over others and mine happens to be K-pop.

In 2007, society experienced a technological breakthrough when Steve Jobs and Apple introduced the iPhone. Fast forward to 2019 and almost everyone owns a smartphone.

I guess I could do a fancy introduction, but this is going to be a long article, so I’ll just jump straight to the point. An unfortunate number of people are suffering under the delusion that Google Docs is actually better than Microsoft Word. Perhaps I should cut people some slack, especially teenagers. In school, all of us are required to use Google Docs. Why? In elementary and middle school, it was a great option for classroom settings, allowing things like sharing and internet access.