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The Student News Site of Vel Phillips Memorial

Sword & Shield

Sword & Shield

Sword & Shield

The Student News Site of Vel Phillips Memorial

2025 Senior Honors Convocation Overview

Max Knight June 1, 2025

Every year, Memorial holds an honors convocation to celebrate students who have been awarded scholarships or honors by the school. This year, the Fifty-Eighth Scholastic Honors and Awards Convocation was...

Spirit Day 2025

Spirit Day 2025

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor May 1, 2025

Spirit Day is back, Spartans! If you didn’t know, Spirit Day is an annual volunteering event organized by Spartan Youth Service (SYS) that brings close to 300 Memorial volunteers to our feeder elementary...

AP Exams 2025

AP Exams 2025

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor May 1, 2025

AP exam season is right around the corner, and most students are nervously preparing and reviewing a year’s worth of content for a several-hour test at the Alliant Energy Center. As a reminder, here...

Prom 2025

Prom 2025

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor May 1, 2025

Happy May, Spartans—Prom is right around the corner! This year, Prom will be on Saturday, May 3rd, from 7:30 to 10:30 P.M. at the Alliant Energy Center. The theme will be “Santorini Nights,” and...

School Parking Lot Now Valet-Only

School Parking Lot Now Valet-Only

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor April 1, 2025

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE IS SATIRE AND MEANT FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. For the hundreds of students and staff who park their cars in our parking lots every day, Memorial’s newest policy could...

Spring Break Extended One Week

Spring Break Extended One Week

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor April 1, 2025

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE IS SATIRE AND MEANT FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Last week, Memorial announced that spring break would be extended one week, meaning that students and teachers will not...

AP Exams Now Open-Note

AP Exams Now Open-Note

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor April 1, 2025

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE IS SATIRE AND MEANT FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. With May just around the corner, AP exams are on many students’ minds. However, this year, the College Board has decided...

Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor March 1, 2025

Spring is quickly approaching, Spartans! Every year, that means daylight savings time, or DST, begins on the second Sunday of March and ends in November. This year, daylight savings time will begin at...

Norovirus Outbreak

Norovirus Outbreak

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor February 1, 2025

Although winter is coming to an end, at least in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, winter illnesses are still running rampant, especially in crowded schools and public places. One disease that you...

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor January 1, 2025

Happy second semester, Spartans! The last day of the first semester is January 24, and the beginning of the second semester is January 28, with no school on Monday, January 27. Before that, Demonstration...

How to Prep for Exam Season

How to Prep for Exam Season

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor December 1, 2024

Although the end of first semester and Demonstration of Learning week won’t be until January, it’s always good to get a head start on preparing for exams. Here are some helpful tips to set yourself...

Winter Break!

Winter Break!

Nina Zhu, Student Life Editor December 1, 2024

Congratulations Spartans, we’ve officially (almost) made it to winter break! Winter break this year is from December 23 to January 3, so mark your calendars. This also means the end of first semester...

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