The news site of Marquette High School

Marquette Messenger
The news site of Marquette High School

Marquette Messenger
The news site of Marquette High School

Marquette Messenger
Samantha Perz

Samantha Perz, Co-Editor In Chief

Samantha Perz, senior, is one of the editors-in-chief of the Messenger, with this being her third year on staff. She is also involved in Student Council and Key Club. Outside of school, Samantha dances competitively, runs track in the spring, and loves exploring local coffee shops with her friends.

All content by Samantha Perz
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, the community voted to not pass Prop S, a tax levy that would have dedicated funds to staff salaries. The district is now reflecting on the vote before moving forward, Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain said.

Community Fails to Pass Prop S

Samantha Perz and Morgan Siegel
2 days ago
The Ground is a local coffee and plant shop located at 109 Ballpark Dr, Ballwin, MO 63011. It first opened in June 2024 and now offers coffee, baked goods, plants and merchandise from local artisans.

Explore STL: The Ground

Samantha Perz, Perz
November 7, 2025
Ashwin Premkumar, sophomore, works with students at Wild Horse Elementary during a Gluons elementary school visit on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Alongside collaborating with local elementary schools, Gluons also began a STEM resource drive.

Robotics Team Hosts STEM Resource Drive

Samantha Perz, Editor-in-Chief
November 5, 2025
Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain speaks with Tammy Rhomberg, Vice President of the community members during a coffee with Dr. Cain meeting on Oct. 3. Dr. Cain hosted four of these informational meetings to spread awareness about Prop S and answer any questions people may have.

Community Continues Prop S Talks

Samantha Perz and Morgan Siegel
November 3, 2025
Screenshot 2025-10-29 1.50.17 PM

[Photo] Shutdown Approaches Historic Length

Zoey Srote and Siya Taneja
October 30, 2025
Over the summer, Missouri legislators passed Senate Bill 68, which prohibits students in K-12 public schools from using personal devices, such as phones, from the first to last bell of the school day. As a result of the ban, students and staff have noticed differences in how focused students are, as well as increased interactions during the school day.

NO PHONE ZONE

Samantha Perz, Editor-in-Chief
October 24, 2025
Patrick Schrappen, science teacher, works with Alita Kiron, sophomore, during Ac Lab on Wednesday, Sept. 17. If passed, funds from Proposition S (Prop S) would go to increasing teacher and staff salaries.

Community to Vote on Teacher Salary Increases

Samantha Perz and Morgan Siegel
October 8, 2025
Arnab Panda, junior, studies for his U.S. Government class during Ac Lab on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Students can now study using the new AI tools Google Gemini and NotebookLM.

District Updates AI Guidelines

Grayson Bowen and Samantha Perz
October 7, 2025
For some, the end of the weekend brings anxiety as they transition into the school or work week. Building in time for well-being can help alleviate the dread, or Sunday Scaries, people may feel before their week starts.

Sunday Scaries

Samantha Perz, Editor-in-Chief
September 29, 2025
School Resource Officer Steve Aspinall watches students walk to class on Thursday, Sept. 4. Officer Aspinall will work with new School Safety Officer Kelly Murray, who will assist at MHS as needed.

District Hires New School Safety Officer

Lucy Gillian and Samantha Perz
September 4, 2025
Katie Bauman, AP European History teacher, hosted a Victorian tea party in her AP European History classes on Wednesday, May 14 and Thursday, May 15. Students attended as important historical figures from the late 1800s and discussed topics such as imperialism and industrialization from the lens of their figure.

AP European History Classes Host Victorian Tea Party

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
May 20, 2025
Ed Bolton, science teacher, and Lucas McKay, senior, use IQ and EQ, different types of intelligence, while having a conversation. Both IQ and EQ, or emotional intelligence, are beneficial in understanding and completing daily tasks

Student, Staff Reflect on Emotional Intelligence

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
May 13, 2025
Emily Thompson, French teacher, goes over a writing test with Addison Risenhoover, junior. Thompson said she tries to incorporate fun elements into her lessons by inviting guests and other teachers to do activities with her students.

Staff Awarded Second Annual MHS Community Awards

Samantha Perz and Morgan Siegel
May 12, 2025
Lauren Williams, language arts teacher, works with her fifth hour Advanced Language Arts Research Presentation class. The district is currently asking the community to weigh in on a survey that includes questions about directing funds from a potential tax levy to teacher salaries.

District Asks for Community Input

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
May 5, 2025

Mustang Mashup April 23 – 30

Avery Ehrhart, Angel DiSalvo, Samantha Perz, and Morgan Siegel
April 23, 2025
Sarah Boyer, left, and Dr. Mara Vorachek-Warren, right, are the candidates for this year's Board of Education (BOE) election. Voting will take place on Tuesday, April 8.

Meet the Candidates

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
April 4, 2025
Sophomores Georgia Fleming, Aniyah Davis and Paige Winka walk the track during their third hour class on Tuesday, March 11. Walking has many physical and mental health benefits.

Walking Provides Physical, Mental Benefits

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
March 28, 2025
Spreading meaningful compliments and affirmations can boost self-esteem and confidence but are also linked to further benefits. These benefits may include better career outcomes and faster salary progressions, according to Dr. Chris Thomas, professor of management Saint Louis University.

Compliments Impact Students, Staff

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
March 24, 2025
Teachers attend the Board of Education meeting on Thursday, Feb. 6, in Eureka. Many teachers in attendance wore red shirts to express their support for the ongoing teacher pay negotiations.

BREAKING NEWS: District, teachers reach negotiation agreement

Samantha Perz, Morgan Siegel, and David Moss
March 12, 2025
Kayla Kozielek, junior, wipes down the glass on the doors in the theatre lobby as part of the fall cleanup on Wednesday, Nov. 27. Students will help clean the school again on Tuesday, March 18, for the second annual spring cleanup.

Annual Spring Cleanup Scheduled for Spring Break

Marshay Gibbs and Samantha Perz
March 3, 2025
On the morning of Friday, Feb. 21. teachers positioned themselves at the front entrance of MHS to spread their message regarding teacher salary. Around 24 teachers participated in this event.

Teacher Contract Negotiations at Impasse; Educators React

Samantha Perz and Morgan Siegel
February 26, 2025
Over the years, thousands of books have been challenged or banned. Some of the most commonly banned titles include "Looking for Alaska" by John Green and "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson.

[Photo] Book Bans Increase

Kaylie Horstmann, Staff Reporter
February 22, 2025
To help pay the $45,000 fee of replacing the stage floor, Marquette Theater Company hosted a variety of fundraising events in 2022. Along with the bowling night, MTC has also done an apparel drive, Martin Sexton concert, and a MOD Pizza fundraiser.

West County Lanes Closure Affects Community

Emily Chien and Samantha Perz
February 13, 2025
Mehul Mushuni, junior, works on his AP Calculus AB homework while watching a TV show. Students often multitask in an attempt to reach peak productivity, but experts question the effectiveness of this habit.

Multitasking

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
January 21, 2025
Ellie Pagan, junior, provides food, water and a clean living space for optimal research of mice. Pagan is researching how fluctuations in anxiety affect the gut microbiome.

Students Lead the Lab

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
January 3, 2025
Aaliyah Jackson, junior, fills up her water bottle at a drinking fountain. Water from this fountain and others was tested for lead and found safe for consumption.

Water Outlets Tested for Lead

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
December 19, 2024
Juniors Keerthi Pakalapati, Jamie Park and Ellie Pagan (left to right) write Gratitude Grams in their Ac Lab homeroom. Students could choose to deliver the notes themselves or give them to Student Council members to deliver at a later date.

Students, Staff Practice Gratitude

Luke Graves and Samantha Perz
November 18, 2024
Ethan George, junior, works under a fume hood in the science lab. George represented Missouri at the Global Youth Institute where he learned about food security, agriculture and sustainability.

Junior Dedicates Research Project to Food Security

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
November 12, 2024
Girls tennis players work on their homework during a match. Students often juggle sports, schoolwork and other activities, and sometimes this load becomes excessive. Despite the pressure to be involved in everything, students need to prioritize a few areas they are passionate about to be successful.

Opinion: Students Don’t Need to be Sensational to Succeed

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
November 8, 2024
Maggie Caskey, junior, founded the True Crime Club. Caskey enjoys listening to true crime podcasts in her free time and is currently listening to season one and episode two of the“Serial.” The episode is called “The Breakup” and is about the disappearance of high school senior Hae Min Lee.

WHO DONE IT?

Samantha Perz, Copyeditor
November 8, 2024
Follow the arrows to learn how to fact check materials.

[Photo] Fake News Surges Amid Election

David Moss, Editor in Chief
November 4, 2024
Sohum Tokekar, senior, hands out flyers for Politics Club during the Activities Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Tokekar is vice president of the club and said the role of social media in politics is brought up often during meetings.

Social Media Plays a Role in Political Campaigning

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
October 7, 2024
During all her Muny stage performances, Keira Leung, senior, was a part of the plays' ensembles. In the musical "Waitress" this summer, Leung was able to dance alongside lead character Jenna, played by Jessica Vosk.

Students Perform at the Muny

Samantha Perz, Copy Editor
September 24, 2024
72,000 Taylor Swift fans await her performance at the Eras Tour concert in Kansas City. Swift recently endorsed Kamala Harris after the presidential debate, garnering the likes of more than 8.9 million people on Instagram.

Discussions Swarm Political Celebrity Endorsements

Siddharth Sawant and Samantha Perz
September 12, 2024
After changes in club policy, students creating or continuing a club must fill out an application by Sunday, Sept. 15.

New Club Application Deadline Affects Students, Staff

Samantha Perz and Siddharth Sawant
August 28, 2024
Teju Venkatesan, sophomore, works on Honors Algebra II with Trigonometry homework. Honors Algebra II with Trigonometry is one of the classes offered at MHS that requires summer work.

Students Take Classes With Summer Work

Samantha Perz, Staff Reporter
May 24, 2024
Lauren Steidtmann, sophomore, is an only child but thinks birth order influences how children grow up. “I think that birth order definitely changes the expectations that parents put on you and how you’re expected to perform, both in school and in other responsibilities,” Steidtmann said.

What Does Birth Order Say About You?

Samantha Perz, Staff Reporter
May 23, 2024
Step 5

[Photo] Freshman creates Chinese Ladder bracelets

May 13, 2024

How Do I?

Samantha Perz and Owen Plein
May 10, 2024
Many students use filler words when they communicate without realizing it. “For a person who’s listening to you, it can undermine your message and your confidence level so that you don’t look as though you are prepared,” Cate Sanazaro, language arts teacher, said.

It’s, Like, a Habit I Guess

Samantha Perz, Staff Reporter
May 8, 2024
After Spring Break, mirrors in MHS bathrooms were moved or removed. This is a way to protect students' privacy since bathroom doors are now being propped open, Freshman Principal Kyle Devine said.

Bathroom Mirror Removal Frustrates Students

Morgan Siegel and Samantha Perz
April 11, 2024
Students and staff work together to clean G23 as part of Marquette's first Spring Cleaning. Participants spent the day wiping down chairs, tables and windows and mopping the floors of 116 classrooms.

Students, Staff Participate in Spring Cleaning

Samantha Perz, Staff Reporter
April 5, 2024
People gathered at Holy Infant Catholic Church for the weekly fish fry from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8.

Lenten Fish Fries Bring Community Together

Samantha Perz, Staff Reporter
March 14, 2024
Students in Lauren Willams' 9th Accelerated Language Arts class read in the Library. To celebrate Rockwood Reading Day, the Library invited over 30 classes to read for 20 minutes of their periods throughout the day.

Library Hosts Celebration for Rockwood Reading Day

Samantha Perz, Staff Reporter
March 6, 2024
Juniors Zoya Shah (left) and Maira Waqar (middle) and Skyla Barlow, public health coordinator, (right) gave a presentation on opioids during Ac Lab.

HOSA Hosts Opioid Awareness Presentation During Ac Lab

Morgan Siegel and Samantha Perz
March 6, 2024
Katelyn Heitert, senior, and a group of friends honor Rhegan Sajben each February by fundraising for different animal shelters. Sajben often volunteered at animal shelters with her family and adopted her dog Billie from a shelter she volunteered at. (Media by Laura Heitert)

PAWS for Rhegan Raises Money For Shelters

Samantha Perz, Staff Reporter
February 23, 2024
Grace Dai, sophomore, works on homework in the library. After overexerting herself to prepare for tennis tryouts, Dai said she now tries to use stress as a motivator to get things done.

In-Depth: Stressed for Success

Samantha Perz and Justin Small
February 14, 2024
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