February 6, 2025 by Olivia Clemmensen (‘26)
Local:
-Saratoga Springs High School’s Winter Dance this Weekend CANCELED: On February 8th, Saratoga High School planned to hold their annual winter dance. Starting at 7pm, the Valentine’s Day themed school event was planning to be a night of photos, music and of course dancing. However, due to what may be lack of interest or simply time conflicts, the student body did not purchase enough tickets to hold this event. SSHS was forced to cancel the dance on Friday.
-Saratoga’s Own High School Student Wins Poetry Out Loud Regionals: On January 31st, the Capital Region’s Poetry Out Loud competition welcomed Saratoga Springs High School (SSHS) Students Ana Sandu and Amaife Uzo-Menkiti to the SUNY Adirondack campus to participate. With a strong delivery of her three poems, SSHS junior Ana Sandu won and is now preparing for the state-wide competition held in New York City. Congratulations Ana!
National:
-6 More Weeks of Winter Predicted by Punxsutawney Phil: On February 2nd, the nation-known icon and beloved groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil crawled on top Gobbler’s Knob hill for the 139th time to predict the end of winter. On the cold and partly cloudy day in Punxsutawney, Phil, as expected, predicted 6 more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow.
Photo source: delewareonline.com
-President Trump Signs an Executive Order Banning Transgender Women from Female Sports: At 3:00 pm on Wednesday, also National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Trump signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”. This order affirms the goals of his administration in establishing that there are only two genders. This order is following his executive order signed on January 28th to end federal support in the sex/gender change operations involving surgery or hormone blockers of those under 19 years old in the United States. The “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order will prevent people who were biologically male at birth but transitioned to female from taking part in female sporting events.
Ground News – Trump to sign executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports
Trump signs order to block federal support for minors’ gender transitions | CNN Politics
Trump takes action to ban transgender women from women’s sports | CNN Politics
-Eagles vs. Chiefs Game for 2025’s Super Bowl LIX: With many football fans either buying out all the swag for their favorite team or dissatisfied with the wrap up of the NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl LIX is approaching. On February 9th, The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will play at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, with a kickoff time of 6:30 p.m. eastern time. The Halftime show will be performed by 17-time Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar and 5-time Grammy winner SZA. Winning 4 out of the 6 Super Bowls they have played in; the Kansas City Chiefs are planning to win their third straight Super Bowl, a “three-peat”. However, the Eagles played in 4 super bowls over a stretch of years and are not far behind the Chiefs’ season stats of 15-2, with a close 14-3. The Chiefs may be riding high on victory and hoping for the same luck on the field as they had last year, but only time will tell what this year’s super-bowl-Sunday will bring.
Photo source: msn.com
Global:
-January 29th Marked the Start of The Year of the Snake: The New Lunar New Year has begun! Celebrated in the U.S., Vietnam, China, and Korea along with many other countries, a holiday commonly known as Asian Lunar New Year or “Spring Festival” started January 29th. In 2023, New York Governor Hochul signed legislation to mark Asian Lunar New Year as a public holiday to be observed in schools, and since for the past two years it has fallen on the weekend, 2025 is the first year schools had a day off for this holiday. Asian Lunar New Year is an annual 15-day festival beginning with the late January new moon and ending with the next full moon. There are 12 cycling Chinese zodiacs associated with Lunar New Year; each year being deemed as a different animal. This year, 2025, is deemed the Year of the Snake, where the last Year of the Snake was 2013. Read more about this holiday here!
Chinese New Year 2025: What to know about Lunar New Year celebrations
Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Declare Lunar New Year a School Holiday | Governor Kathy Hochul
-Sweden Experiences Their Largest Mass Shooting in History: On Tuesday, February 4th, Swedish police received calls of a shooting in Örebro, Sweden, a city around 100 miles west of the country’s capital of Stockholm. The shooting was in a school for adults who had not yet finished their earlier stages of education, known as a “Komvux” in Sweden, said CNN. These schools hold classes for those needing qualifications for employment and provide academic support for refugees and immigrants. The sudden attack on the school left 11 people dead and 6 injured, making it the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history. As the shooting and the events afterward played out in the city of Örebro, other Komvux and public schools in Sweden were forced into lock down, cautiously awaiting further information. As Sweden is considered a very safe and peaceful country, this mass shooting came as a large shock to the world. However, in the wake of this shooting, Sweden is planning to further enforce their eligibility restrictions on gun ownership and support the families who lost loved ones in this event.
11 dead in worst mass shooting in Sweden’s history, authorities say – ABC News
Sweden just experienced the worst mass shooting in its history. Here’s what we know | CNN
Photo source: news.sky.com