Columbus Online Academy Times
Columbus City Schools
Sa'Breya Miller
By Willowhawk Bowen
Sa’Breya Miller is an 18-year-old student in 12th grade. She enrolled in COA to have a flexible schedule due to working at Meijer, babysitting, and having an internship at a car lot.
Miller says, “The best part of COA is the teachers. They are always willing to help no matter what it is, and they definitely make you feel cared for.” She says that the hardest part about COA is time management because it’s easy to fall behind if you don’t manage time well.
Miller is currently in the coding club, nature club, and National Honor Society. She has received honor roll her whole life. She enjoys track, R&B music, and her pet ferret.
Miller states, “My long-term goal is to be a biomedical engineer and have a beauty business. My short-term goal is to learn how to program robots.” Miller takes CCP classes at Columbus State Community College to progress toward reaching her goals.
Jack Hopper
By Amani Douglas
Jack Hopper is a 17-year-old senior at Columbus Online Academy. Explaining why he enrolled in COA, Jack said, “Throughout the pandemic, students like myself had to teach ourselves to learn online, which led me to discover that I work a lot better independently and at my own pace.” He also enrolled to focus more on his interest in songwriting and audio production.
His father was an avid musician throughout his entire life until he was diagnosed with ALS and lost the use of his hands. After his passing Hopper really locked in on the music, and it's his dad that Hopper gives credit to for the passion he now holds for the art.
Hopper’s favorite musician is Dominic Fike, his favorite food is mac n cheese, his favorite color is purple, and his favorite TV show is "The 100."
When asked what he liked about COA Hopper said, “The best part is the teachers. They are all so kind and extremely helpful, and they respond very quickly, considering they have so many students that are constantly sending them emails throughout the day.”
He said, “The most challenging part about COA is the intervention classes because I often don't have anything to work on, considering my only class is English, but I still have to attend the Zoom class early in the morning when I would rather just get a little extra sleep.”
Hopper earned Scholar-Athlete Award his freshman year, and he’s earned honor roll throughout high school. His main hobby is writing and producing his own music, but he plays basketball and lacrosse whenever possible.
Hopper works at Care After School, an elementary school program that runs activities and crafts after school every day of the week. “I love my job so much that it doesn't even feel like a job. The connections with the kids are what make it worth it, and I love being a role model for them.”
Some of his short-term goals include graduating and getting into a good audio program in college. A few of his long-term goals include signing a record deal, helping his mom so that she can retire, and buying her a house.
Lyric Miller
Lyric Miller is a 17-year-old senior who enrolled in COA because after Covid-19, she did not want to return to in-person learning. Miller said, “Online just worked and fit better, and Covid... yuck! Plus, my old school just wasn't the right fit for me.”
Miller said, “I love the environment and how lovely the teachers, especially mine, are. They try to make the online experience fun and less lonely in any way they can and have it be a nice, educational time.”
Miller said that a challenge with online learning is feeling out of touch with people her age. She said, “I'm really socially awkward and quiet sometimes.” To stay busy she does arts and crafts, acrylic nails, painting, reading, and playing video games. She also likes “Monster High.”
When asked about favorite music, Miller said, “Right now, ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ and ‘Planet Her’ are my favorite albums. My favorite song is Ms. Lauryn's ‘Doo Wap (That Thing)’. My favorite Fandom is ‘Game of Thrones’ and the ‘World of Westeros,’ and anything Harry Potter.”
Miller lives in what she likes to call her “Female Tribe,” with her mom and her four little sisters. In the future, she wants to own a salon and a tattoo parlor. Miller said, “To do that I need to obtain my nail tech and esthetician license and get a tattoo apprenticeship somewhere so I can keep that ball rolling.”
An interesting fact about Miller is that she once saved an abandoned baby goose. Miller explained, “At my old place there was this giant lake in my apartment complex, and I would walk by it every day to and from my bus. One day while I was walking home, in late May when there were little yellow chicks everywhere, I saw a little baby goose swimming around all by itself. I knew it wasn't safe or normal for it to be by itself, so I followed it for a little while. When I called my mom she told me that find their family based off a distinct smell. So, after watching the little goose for a while and getting too emotionally attached, I wanted to get the goose out the water because all the other geese were bullying the little guy. Mind you, I can't swim so my mom was like ‘Lyric, no.’ But somehow, the little guy got out and came close to the shore, so I could grab it, and it just hugged and lay on me, I wanted to keep it. I was gonna be the chick with a goose. Sadly, my mom said no, and told me to find a goose family that would accept him. So that's what I did, I found a gaggle that had a lot of babies, so they would have friends and stuff, blend in. And they waddled out my life. I will always remember my little buddy though.”
Miller is pictured above at a volunteer event with Teacher Byrd Prillerman.
Ayra Burk Speaks For COA
Ayra Burk, COA student ambassador, presented information about COA on Wednesday, December 14. Principal Christian Angel attended the event with her. All student ambassadors and their principals were invited to attend the event which was held at Columbus Downtown High School. Each student prepared and presented a slide about their passion project and spoke for about two minutes. Burk said, "I thought it was really fun and Informative."
Graduate Assistant Rachelle Moses and Otterbein student Zack Conkins show teachers the finished products after the print and cut process.
Shoutout to Jolene Starner
By Lisa Ciminillo
Jolene Starner came to the Hilltop Library for OST testing this month. She is a graduating senior who started her online academic high school career at Digital Academy, then BlendEd, and now Columbus Online Academy. She will be part of the first class to graduate from Columbus Online Academy. Her plans are to apply for the Columbus Promise scholarship and attend Columbus State Community College. Once she completes her two-year degree, she wants to continue with her bachelor's degree and eventually earn her law degree. She likes being in an online school because it helps her stay focused and not be so easily distracted. She is proud of her hard work in her classes, and so are we. Way to go, Jolene!
Shoutout to Testers
By Teacher Michelle Jeffries
I would like to personally thank the many of you that came in for testing. All of you were kind, patient, and engaged. It was so good to see faces, even under the circumstances of state testing. I'm so proud of all of you for taking the responsibility to handle your testing requirements, and do that with such grace. I'm glad I was able to speak with a lot of you, and hope to see you all soon, especially at graduation for our seniors!
Coding Club Meets Thursdays
Columbus Online Academy offers two after-school coding clubs via Zoom. No experience? No problem! Join us on Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Do you have some coding experience but want to learn more? Join us on Fridays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Can't come this week? No problem! Join us when you can! The Zoom link is on our school Google Classroom in the stream (posted October 27).
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Columbus Online Academy Times is a Student-Run Newsletter
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December Newsletter 2021
January Newsletter 2022
February Newsletter 2022
March Newsletter 2022
April Newsletter 2022
May Newsletter 2022
Staff: Willowhawk Bowen, Kayleigh Dodge, Amani Douglas, Trevon Goins-Boykin, Jalonnie Gossett, Hannah Painter, Ja'Kia Smith, Ya'Mailah Thomas
Adviser: Kathy McQuate
Email: kmcquate@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: https://www.ccsoh.us/domain/4199
Location: 4841 E Livingston Ave, Columbus, OH 43227, USA
Phone: (614) 365-8472
