Dear Students, Staff and Lake Stevens Community Members:

As the current Editor-in-chief, my priority for The Valhalla is to offer stories relevant to Lake Stevens students and community members, as well as to provide a platform for student creativity and talent. As a result, The Valhalla staff have been dedicated to improving our website design and layout, as well as focusing on providing a platform for student creativity along with ASB. We hope that you like the changes and if you are new to this publication that you keep coming back. I would like to invite you to take a look at some work from our latest cycle that highlights a lot of what our Lake Stevens community has been up to during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Springtime is upon us as we pass the anniversary of school closures due to COVID-19. After a year of adapting to online learning and teaching, the return to in-person learning is a bright spot. The hope for students to return to hybrid in-person learning could mean a return to a semi-normal way of life.

Social Media Editor, senior Mikayla Finnerty, reported student and staff opinions about returning to school as the District prepares to shift towards hybrid learning.

While many students and teachers are hopeful to return to in-person learning after spring break, The Valhalla staff has written about the students who, in addition to adapting to a new way of learning, have also continued to allow their creativity and talents to flourish in new and innovative ways.

Arts and Entertainment Section Editor senior Nadia Tucey wrote about senior class President Oliver Bashour’s hopes to find a platform for student expression. Sophomore Viking Gallery Editor Lillian Carpenter and Website Editor Rachel Howard have been working closely with Bashour in creating this new section to promote student art through the Valhalla website. In response, we created a new section called Viking Gallery that will feature original student writing, photography, drawings, videography, music and any other form of student art that students wish to submit. You can read more about the new Viking Gallery section here.

Students, who are interested in submitting work or have any questions, can email Viking Gallery Editor Lillian Carpenter ([email protected]), or myself at ([email protected]).

LSHS athletes’ lives have been majorly impacted by the school closure as well, and we have a few stories this month that highlight the changes. As sports begin to return, video production students are using their talent and creativity to ensure that the community is able to view sporting events, despite the fact that audiences cannot be present.

Read more about this decision in senior staff reporter Jordan Ross’s article. Find the streamed events on either LSHS Viking Athletics Channel #1 or LSHS Viking Athletics Channel #2.

While continuing our learning from home is important, I implore students and staff to consider that student art and talent should take precedent during this period of time where our priorities, interests, and talents change and grow. It’s incredibly important that students are able to find outlets for their talents and creativity in the midst of such a priority-changing pandemic. The Valhalla hopes to provide students with such a platform.

I invite you to take a look at the work that The Valhalla staff has completed so far this year.

Follow The Valhalla’s Instagram page @lshsvalhalla to see when new stories have been posted, and subscribe to our newly added email subscription feature designed by Rachel Howard. The Valhalla staff can’t wait to continue to report about the happenings of our community and school as we transition again to a new way of learning.