Libby High School students launch annual care packages with high hopes
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In the end, many would find their prototypes fail. Some of those failures following initial success during trial drops, others despite adjustments considered and applied. Yet several would also walk away from the week’s assignment victorious – the only challenge then left before them to execute one final transport of the precious cargo back to the classroom sans any unfortunately-timed demise. Those who returned their eggs to the factory unmarred received a $100 bonus-profit towards their final grade.
Could the next David Donoghue be amidst this year’s lot of budding problem solvers? Donoghue, who threw an egg from a helicopter at a height of 700 ft onto a golf course in 1994, still holds the world-record for the longest drop without damaging cargo.
Following Friday’s final product-testing, each LHS student was charged with completing an essay for the final half of their project grade. Revisiting their work, reflecting upon the engineering practices utilized, and describing in detail why they believed their outcomes were or were not successful were all to be written and submitted to Mrs. Rose on Monday morning.
“Good luck describing that one!” said one student to another as reflections first ensued. Indeed, building a successfully designed product aimed to serve and protect could and had been done with reckless, albeit somewhat logical approach.
Yet many would come to learn that efficiency and compliance – while extremely critical to success – must be accompanied by considerable communication shelled-out in such a manner that future problem-solvers might reflect upon the successful work accomplished by others and potentially build upon those notations for future exploration and benefit to be found upon paths not yet beaten.
By Stacy Bender, The Montanian
COVID-19 Part 2 : My firsthand experience with the virus
By Stacy Bender
As cases rise in Lincoln County, communication amidst those affected by the Covid-19 virus has also increased. “I didn’t want to be a pain,” shared Kaide Dodson, recently reassigned from her position as Principal at Libby Elementary School. “I think it is so important that we share our stories. So we can learn from one another’s experience and find support as so many are now finding similar residual symptoms.”
Since sharing her journal which documents the first three weeks after being diagnosed with Covid-19, Dodson’s recovery has been littered with several such residual affects, including the unfortunate spread of the virus within her own home. New developments in her experience have now augmented and redirected the course of a previously designed article aimed to share a glimpse of Dodson’s journey through illness, her active road to sustained recovery, and the process of identifying and managing residual symptoms which may last a lifetime.
Kaide remains steadfast in choosing share that road to date and is working actively with The Montanian to release her firsthand testimony. In the interim, she wished one message to resound firmly with her community as the Covid-19 virus continues to linger and pose a potential threat to any neighbor’s health. “So many people tend to care for others first. I am guilty of that in multiple ways. But it is so important that we take time to listen to our bodies and care for our own well-being first and foremost in the best ways possible.”
“My cousin lost his life at just 34-years old this past summer. He had so many symptoms similar to my own. I feared often that I might lose the battle, too,” Dodson shared. “This virus has been described as ‘the beast in the night.’ And I have to agree. This virus has been the scariest monster I have ever had to face – most often intensified at night – because it seems to affect everyone differently and is extremely unpredictable by nature.
See next week’s edition of The Montanian for the rest of the story. Along with several accounts of similar and equally informative personal documentations with the virus here in Lincoln County. All aimed at helping others to better understand what to expect if/when faced with navigating the road of life during and after Covid – and how one might more effectively increase the odds of avoiding the experience altogether.
**Leading in to the final article’s pending release, The Montanian would like to thank Dodson along with all those who have been candidly open in describing their experiences firsthand amidst the trials they continue to face daily following their positive encounters with the Covid-19 virus.