Keeping up to date with popular name brands should never come at an extreme cost. Here is a list of trendy items and their fraction of the cost Amazon dupes; 

  LuluLemon has been a commonly purchased brand since the mid 2000s and their prices have steadily increased along with their popularity. LuluLemon align 28” leggings are one of their most popular products, which cost about $98. The most common dupe for these leggings are the Buttery Soft high waisted yoga pants on Amazon, which cost around $22. 

It is no secret Ray Ban sunglasses are a popular sunglass brand for many teens, but is it really worth the cost? The most common Ray Ban glasses I see people wearing are the Round Metal Classic G-15 + Gold, which cost around $154 before tax and shipping. You would be lucky to find these in store and especially on sale, but fortunately Amazon has an almost identical pair for $19.99 and is offered with Amazon Prime.

Hydro Flask water bottles have been around for a couple years now and their popularity has only increased. Hydro Flasks are great water bottles, especially the 32 oz. bottle with the wide mouth straw lid, which tends to be about $49.95. To me $5o for a water bottle is a bit extreme, but once again Amazon is coming to the rescue. Amazon sells a “Simple Modern Insulated Water Bottle with Straw Lid 1 Liter Reusable Wide Mouth Stainless Steel Flask Thermos”, which is also 32 oz and cost about $19.99 and also comes with Amazon Prime! 

What to get for Moms:

• Air fryer

  • Ranges from $40-100 on Amazon

• Personalized birthstone necklace

  • Around $30 on Etsy

• Heated or weighted blanket

  • Around $40 on Amazon, TJ Maxx, & Target

What to get for Dads:

• Personalized cutting board

  • $35 on Etsy

• Make your own hot sauce kit

  • $40 on Uncommongoods

• Yeti Mugs

  • Ranges $20-30 on Amazon

What to get for Sisters:

• Custom face or pet socks

  • $12 on amazon

• Fun clay or wire earrings & rings

  • Very common on Etsy for under $20

• Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser

  • $15-20 on Amazon

What to get for Brothers:

• Leather travel pouch

  • Ranges from $20-50 on Amazon

• Door hanging pull up bar

  • $35 on Amazon

• Mens Ugg Neumel Boot

  • $130 on Ugg website, tons of colors

This Friday Kickapoo had a parade in the parking lot to display clubs and homecoming court. The seniors on court were; Ava Araujo-Tice, Kate McCarville, and Helen Ashley Bodenhamer. Following the parade Kickapoo played Hillcrest High School and won 39-20. During half time the homecoming queen was announced and the winner was Kate McCarville. Congrats Kate McCarville on being the 2020 Homecoming queen!

Springfield Public Schools has recently announced the new learning plans for students k-12. As of now kindergarten through 8th grade students will be transferring to a 4 day learning week in the beginning weeks of November. Students will attend school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday is still left open as a day for the schools to clean and sanitize. As for students in High School, there will be no changes or adjustments. High school students will still follow the hybrid learning plan from August, which included; students A-K attend school on Monday and Tuesday, while L-Z attend school on Thursday and Friday. This new plan for the k-8 students is intended for the remainder of first semester/second quarter. There are still no updates on how school will look for SPS students coming back from Winter break continuing into second semester.

Students and staff were preparing to host the annual talent show, which was scheduled to take place February 20th. Due to a lack of auditions, the talent show was cancelled. 

There were five auditions for the talent show, four of which were actually approved, but this did not meet the minimum of 15 performances needed to have the show.  

“There won’t be a talent show this year, but we will hopefully be back next year,” Kyle Loudis said.

Loudis is a communications arts teacher, and teaches broadcast journalism. He has been teaching for 15 years. In those 15 years he has never had this happen before, but he is still positive about the upcoming years.

“I hope it will be different next year, and we will have a rocking show,” Loudis said.