A look into Catoctin’s academic organizations

Richelle Zheng - CHS Class of 2025

(3/2024) Not only does Catoctin have outstanding sports teams, they also have great academic clubs filled with intelligent and passionate students.

The 2024 mock trial season began in December with members preparing well before their first trial on January 3 against Frederick High School. This year's mock trial team consists of the lawyers: Lillian Holden, Cobalt Wivell, Amelia Phillips, and Kayla Delcid and the witnesses: Dale Gervase, Richelle Zheng, Savannah Cregger, Aliyah Mclain, Rigby Hendrickson and Shalini Weitzel. This year’s civil case concerns the plaintiff, Parker Harper, and the defendant, Dakota Reese.

Parker Harper is suing Dakota Reese for $75,000 due to negligence on their behalf. The incident that led to the case began when Vale Taylor, a neighbor of Dakota Reese, Parker Harper, and Whitney Jones asked Harper to clean out their gutters. Harper was offered $100 to clean Taylor’s gutters. Taylor had set up a ladder for Harper to use that night. However, Reese, who is a nurse working late night shifts and sleeps from 6am to 2pm was disturbed by the noisiness of Taylor’s work. This instigates Reese to remove Taylor’s ladder shoes, in an attempt to prevent Harper Taylor from using the ladder the next morning, not knowing it would be Harper who would be using the ladder the next day. After Reese took off the ladder shoes they went home and made a note warning Taylor about the absence of their ladder shoes that reads, "Good luck trying to get any work done without your shoes. Don’t worry you’ll get them back on Tuesday. Nighty night." Then, the following day, May 27, Harper attempted to clean out Taylor’s gutter but fell off the ladder sustaining numerous back injuries. In addition to Harper’s injuries from the ladder fall, they also sustained further trauma to their body after being in a car accident four days later. The car accident occurred due to Jones rear ending Harper at a stop light. This worsened Harper’s original injuries. Subsequently, Harper sought a chiropractor named Dr. Chris Morgan. Additionally, Dr. Dylan Avery comes into the scene because they think that Dr. Morgan had overcharged Harper for Harper’s treatments, leading to the debate over the money owed by Reese.

The plaintiff consists of Parker Harper played by Cregger, Dr. Chris Morgan played by Hendrickson, and Vale Taylor played by Weitzel. The defense consists of Dakota Reese played by Mclain, Whitney Jones played by Gervase, and I played the role of Dr. Dylan Avery. During the first trial against Frederick High School, Catoctin played defense. We were all extremely nervous, due to this trial being our first for the season. Nonetheless, we pushed through our anxiety and competed with our well thought out crosses and come-backs. The trial ended in a tie between Catoctin and Frederick High School with Frederick obtaining the tie-breaking point. This did not discourage us as we used the loss as motivation to come up with greater strategies to counter the next team. At the next trial we were plaintiffs competing against Linganore High School on January 24. Since none of the plaintiff witnesses had prior mock trial experience, they were testing the waters in this trial. They had practiced earnestly and memorized their roles. During the trial, our witnesses had great come-backs during the cross and impressed the opponent. Linganore won the neck-to-neck trial only by three points.

On January 31, the defense went against Middletown High School. Our team grew more comfortable after acquiring some experience. Our hard work had paid off and the match ended with Catoctin taking the victory 110-105! Then, on February 6, our team played as plaintiffs against Oakdale, a strong competitor. Ultimately, Oakdale secured the victory. Our last trial occurred on February 14, against Governor Thomas Johnson High School. We played plaintiff— our team did an outstanding job at the trial scoring a seasonal record of 119 points! My first year being on the team was an enjoyable one. Although it was a new and challenging experience, I had fun working with my team members to develop new strategies after each trial, to take on the next team. The advisor of the team, Mr. Cree, also made this an amazing experience because no matter our losses, he would continue to encourage us with feedback, helping us improve after each trial. I loved being a part of the team and seeing our progress throughout the season. Mock trial is definitely a challenging extracurricular, and one that requires time and commitment. Despite that, I would highly suggest for other students to try it out if they are interested in something exciting and thought-provoking. Ultimately, I am glad to have signed up for Mock trial this year and I can’t wait for the next season!

At Catoctin High School there are numerous students who are passionate about protecting the environment. Some of these students represent the Catoctin Conservation Club, which was founded in 2019. Since the club’s establishment, they have been working diligently towards sustainability, with the goal of increasing environmental awareness at CHS and implementing various forms of sustainability practices. But, many of the club's efforts have been lost due to the pandemic, such as CHS’s green school certification. However the members continue to work towards rebuilding and advancing further what the club has done in the past. CCC takes on many jobs such as reclaiming Catoctin’s title as a Maryland Green School, where the members are working to meet the application deadline in March… Some accomplishments of the club in the past year include planting 60 Maryland native tree species. By working with the National Park Services, they made on campus tree planting possible! Additionally, students also spoke at staff professional development sessions, advocating for sustainability changes to be made.

This year the club members are working towards new goals and have made influential strides. The club has applied for the Maryland State Department of Education grant, School Waste Reduction and Composting Program. If selected, the school grant will be provided $500-$8000 to cover for the cost of composting and waste reduction programs lasting three months.

Furthermore, the club is hosting a student lead recycling challenge called the "Recycling Battle Royale" which started February 20. This challenge was created to encourage correct recycling in schools with the hope that those habits will follow the students outside of schools as well. To increase participation, the challenge comes with incentives, donuts for the winning teacher’s classes! Members of CCC have helped with the challenge by creating recycling bin covers, making posters advertising the event, and educating students presenting to every student regarding recycling habits.

Some members of the club have also been attending budget hearings to advocate for increased sustainable practices. Natalie Hoyt, Keelyn Swaney, and Gina Lin attended a recent Frederick County District 5 Budget Hearing. These students bravely spoke out about the need for increased assistance and composting and waste reduction programs in schools. In addition, Lin not only advocated for the importance of sustainability practices in schools but the whole of Frederick County. Lin said, " In addition to organizing smaller grassroots movements, student leaders realize the importance of advocacy. Both components must work simultaneously to achieve our goals." Hoyt also spoke on sustainability in addition concerning teachers salaries.

The activism displayed by these students have definitely made an impact. Catoctin is proud to have both talented athletic and academic students!