And just like that, summer ends. Even though it feels like we were just in school a minute ago, students return (or freshmen arrive) to Appleton North for the 2024-25 school year. Even though this summer flew by faster than a Twister in Oklahoma, there’s been a full 360° of events. Let’s cover what happened, from pop culture to national news, and even our school.
POP CULTURE
To start in Pop Culture, many will recall this as the “brat” summer. For those who missed it, on June 7, pop artist Charli XCX released her first studio album since 2019. Immediately topping billboard charts, “Brat” is the musical embodiment of a 2014 Tumblr party girl in our modern age. With synth beats and high-energy backgrounds, the album became the anthem of the summer. Charli’s lyrics create an image of ultra-hyper, neon, and raving parties. It touches on the struggles of adolescence and adulthood while maintaining an exciting and energized vibe. “Brat” guided people to celebrate and embrace the chaos, angst, fun, and carefree joy of summer. On the note of Pop anthems, singer-songwriter Chappell Roan made her debut this summer as well. After her song, “Casual,” started trending on TikTok, Chappell’s 2023 album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” experienced a rocket boost of streams. Although when the album was originally released last year it was a flop, the new spike of interest shot it to the tops of the charts- quickly becoming #1 in the U.S. Roan’s music highlights her journey from living in Missouri to Los Angeles. The album shares her experiences of love, heartbreak, and finding herself through music. Some summer blockbusters include, “Inside Out 2,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Deadpool and Wolverine,” “It Ends With Us,” and “Twisters.” With a box office revenue of over 1.6 billion dollars, “Inside Out 2,” became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. And the reboot of the 1996 film, “Twisters,” starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones was crowned the most popular movie of the summer.
NATIONAL
Through July and August, the world was united in Paris for the Summer 2024 Olympics. From the opening to closing ceremonies, the United States showed great patriotism by supporting our athletes. The first gold medal won for the U.S. was awarded to the Men’s Swim team in the 4×100 freestyle relay on July 27th- and the Women’s basketball team won the last on August 11th. In between those dates, the United States competed and won an additional 124 medals in a large variety of athletic events- placing first in the world beating out China and Japan. With summer closing and fall approaching, the United States prepares for our next presidential election. This year’s campaigns have been nothing short of eventful. Republican candidate and former president, Donald Trump, was in an assassination attempt on July 13th, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Thomas Matthew Crooks shot eight rounds from an illegally purchased firearm at the former president, missing and hitting three male audience members. Killing one- 50-year-old Corey Comperatore. In the Democratic party, the original candidate and current president, Joe Biden, released a statement that he would be stepping out of the presidential campaign and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris as the new nominee. Starting immediately, the Harris campaign was launched into full force. On August 6, Tim Walz, the current governor of Minnesota, was announced to be Harris’ running mate.
SCHOOL
Even though the students haven’t been in the building, many changes have taken place. Several teachers, such as Mr. Ramponi and Ms. Lidbury have moved rooms. And North is welcoming several new teachers as well! To learn more about our new teachers, take a look at the staff editorial in the next issue. In mid-July, the theater program put on Shakespeare’s classic play “King Lear,” which was a smashing success, bringing in large audiences and sold-out shows. In August, North’s fall sports began working hard in their pre-seasons. Football, boys and girls volleyball, cross country, boys soccer, girls tennis, and girls swim have all been dedicating time and effort to their sports by practicing during the summer. As we return to school, we can look back at all the events that took place over the summer, and look forward to all the forthcoming pop culture, national, and school news!
