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The Student News Site of Altoona Area High School

Mountain Echo
Online newspaper of Altoona Area High School in Altoona, Pennsylvania
  • December 20Breakfast 12/20/24 - French Toast
  • December 20Lunch 12/20/24 - Cheesy Breadsticks with Sauce
  • December 20Announcements for 12/20/24
  • December 19Breakfast 12/19/24 - Bacon, Egg and Cheese Croissant
  • December 19Lunch 12/19/24 - Turkey Stack
  • December 19Announcements for 12/19/24
  • December 18Breakfast 12/18/24 - Cheese Omelette
The Student News Site of Altoona Area High School

Mountain Echo
The Student News Site of Altoona Area High School

Mountain Echo
Melissa Krainer

Melissa Krainer, Reporter

Ciao! This is my third year reporting for the Mountain Echo. I’m very excited to be a part of the staff this year as a junior! I’ve always been passionate about writing, and I can’t wait to help report on school and community events this year. In my free time, you might find me crocheting, reading, playing the violin or working on math puzzles. I speak both English and German fluently. This is one of my favorite quotes:

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

 

All content by Melissa Krainer
Crawl to victory. Junior Academy of Science members pose on a statue of a caterpillar during their 2023 state competition. Junior Academy of Science members may advance to the state competition.

[Photo] Junior Academy of Science goes to regionals

Lincoln Frank, Associate Editor
December 18, 2024
Elected. Rep. Schmitt was re-elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Legislative District 79, representing portions of Blair County. (Courtesy of the candidate's campaign website)

AAHS Alumnus Louis Schmitt re-elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
December 5, 2024
Hallways. The Black Student Union will leave the school building on November 20 to visit Baker Mansion. (Courtesy of the Mountain Echo staff)

Black Student Union club to go to Baker Mansion

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
November 20, 2024
Philadelphia at night. The City of Brotherly Love shines under a dark sky.

For the Love of Journalism: JEA and NSPA National Fall Convention

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
November 18, 2024
Spooky season. Orchestra director Kelly Detwiler conducts the String Ensemble on Thursday, Oct. 31 during morning security checks. The ensemble played holiday classics like "Thriller."

String Ensemble: Playing through Fall

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
November 6, 2024
Representing Pennsylvania. The U.S. Capitol building is home to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. (Created with Canva)

An in-depth look at the Blair County ballot: Federal House of Representatives Q&A

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
November 4, 2024
Pennsylvania State Capitol. Located in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania State Capitol building will soon house one of the five candidates competing for the Attorney General position. (Image credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons) (Created with Canva)

An in-depth look at the Blair County ballot: Pennsylvania Attorney General Q&A

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
November 4, 2024
Washington, D.C. The U.S. Capitol building is home to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. (Image credit: By Martin Falbisoner - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28359031) (Created with Canva)

An in-depth look at the Blair County ballot: Federal Senate Q&A

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
November 4, 2024
Harrisburg. After Tuesday, Nov. 5, the Pennsylvania State Capitol will welcome one of the five candidates currently competing for the Auditor General position. (Image credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons) (Created with Canva)

An in-depth look at the Blair County ballot: Pennsylvania Auditor General Q&A

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
November 4, 2024
Treasury. The Finance Building, located in the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex in Harrisburg, houses the Pennsylvania Department of the Treasury and the Treasury Investment Center. (Image credit: Gobetz, Wally. "PA - Harrisburg: Capitol Complex - Finance Building." Photograph. 27 August 2011. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/akhi9t. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/)

An in-depth look at the Blair County ballot: Pennsylvania Treasurer Q&A

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
October 30, 2024
Election. President Donald Trump addresses the crowd at Target Center in Minneapolis, MN, for his 2020 presidential campaign rally on October 10, 2019. Photo by Nikolas Liepins.

Why you should go vote – but not for Trump

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
October 17, 2024

Announcements for 10/08/24

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
October 8, 2024
Chemistry creations. Irwin poses in her classroom with the student element icosahedron creations on her shelves. For over 20 years, she's been using this project to start off the school year in her chemistry classes. “First, students need to sign up for an element, and no two students can sign up for the same element,” Irwin said. “The last class that I teach is fifth period, so I usually wait till the end of day for them to have to come back to me to sign up, so it's first come, first serve. The kids that are really, really interested in the projects already know what element they want to do, and they're literally at my door before 2:45 and that's kind of cute, too. I give them 26 ideas. They usually just look through those. Sometimes when they're in the process of looking at the element, they find other facts that are really interesting, so they'll start researching more, and then they have to put it together.”

When math meets science

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
October 7, 2024
Lithium. Faith showcases her 3-D printed element icosahedron in Irwin's classroom.

Smashing it. Senior Courtney Irwin returns her opponent's deep ball at the Kiski Area away match on Thursday, Sept. 19. C. Irwin played singles during the match.

Top spin: girls’ tennis away match at Kiski Area

Melissa Krainer and Adalia Lopez-Oakes
October 1, 2024
School spirit. Football coach Vince Nedimyer hypes up the crowd in the gym before the annual Hollidaysburg-Altoona football game. The entire student body packed into the bleachers for the pep rally.

Kicking the tiger (and Altoona sense) out of the gymnasium

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
September 12, 2024
Senior Seamas Shumac plans to attend college after high school. (Courtesy of Seamas Shumac)

Climbing the steps. Yohn and Matosziuk celebrated their placement at the FBLA SLC after the awards ceremony on stage. (Courtesy of Connor Matosziuk)

Coding to the top

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
May 17, 2024
Helping out. Sophomores Marley Kelleher and Erinn Wertz help out in the community for the Sophomore Executive Committee.

Sophomore Executive Committee gives back

Melissa Krainer, Reporter
May 10, 2024
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Melissa Krainer