Skip to Main Content
The Student News Site of Gretna East High School

The Wingspan

  • Aug 26 / V. SoftballGretna East High School - 9, Elkhorn North - 0
  • Aug 23 / V. SoftballGretna East High School - 6, Lincoln Pius X - 1
  • Aug 21 / V. SoftballGretna East High School - 5, Elkhorn - 3
  • May 6 / V. Girls SoccerGretna East High School - 10, Conestoga - 0
  • May 5 / V. Boys SoccerGretna East High School - 4, Conestoga - 0
  • May 5 / V. BaseballGretna East High School - 6, Waverly - 2
  • May 3 / V. BaseballGretna East High School - 1, Grand Island - 0
  • May 3 / V. BaseballGretna East High School - 4, Elkhorn North - 0
  • Apr 29 / V. Boys SoccerGretna East High School - 2, Bennington - 4
  • Apr 29 / V. Girls SoccerGretna East High School - 3, Bennington - 0
The Student News Site of Gretna East High School

The Wingspan

The Student News Site of Gretna East High School

The Wingspan

Leena Macklin

Leena Macklin, Reporter

Leena Macklin is a junior at GEHS and this is her second year on the Wingspan staff, where she serves as the Feature Editor. 

Last year, she won 7th place for Editorial Writing at the NSAA High School State Journalism competition. Additionally, she won numerous awards for graphics, editorial, review and feature story writing at the Nebraska Press Women High School Communications Conference. 

Macklin joined journalism for her love of writing and to continue her passion for writing throughout the year. She hopes to qualify for State this year and to continue improving her placements at the competition. She is excited for this year and having a bigger staff.

Outside of journalism, she is involved in Cross Country, NHS and One Act. She hopes to continue writing after high school with a focus on creative writing.

See more awards here.

All content by Leena Macklin
Speaking aloud, senior Kathryn Albarran practices her informative speech for junior Kristin Tuff in the courtyard on Oct. 4 for their Dual Credit Public Speaking class.

Dual credit classes to remain tuition-free for upcoming school year

Leena Macklin, Reporter December 19, 2024

From selecting required classes to choosing electives, students have many options when creating their class schedules. For some incoming juniors and seniors, those options are even more vast as they have...

On display, Valas apples can be seen in the lunch room on Oct. 22. They are labeled with signs to show how the school locally provides much of its food.

Local farms fuel school lunches

Leena Macklin, Reporter December 17, 2024

As the lunch bell echoes through the halls, a bustling crowd of students spills into the cafeteria, eager to grab their midday meal. Students have many options with steaming trays of today's main dish,...

Visiting the math center after school, senior Asher Siskow gets help from math teacher Lauren Michal on his homework assignment for his Calculus 1 class. According to Michal, there was an average, 10-15 students who visited the center each week. "Centers are a good way for students to get more one-on-one help from teachers.  It can also be a good opportunity to get caught up on work," Michal said. "Even if a student's teacher is not available, there are other math teachers there who are ready to help, which is a huge benefit."

GPS accountability policy not a student favorite, provides opportunity ungranted to others

Leena Macklin, Reporter December 10, 2024

DISCLOSURE: This is an opinion article. Please note that unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of The Wingspan student news staff and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the adviser...

Smiling brightly, senior Cameron Anderson holds up the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) A-2 district competition first place award. The team will be performing at the State Championship on Dec. 13.

Jekyll & Hyde performance wins districts, heads to State [Photo Gallery]

Leena Macklin, Reporter December 10, 2024

The One Act performance of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde "won first place at the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) A-2 district competition on Dec. 7 at Gretna East. Seniors...

Getting ready to start their new unit in English 10CP, sophomores Timothy White and Jaylimet Lobaina check out dystopian novels during a class visit to the library on Sept. 6. The library staff pulled hundreds of dystopian books and put them on display for the sophomores to choose from.

Library eliminates fees, new policies implemented

Leena Macklin, Reporter November 5, 2024

Students may have noticed an influx of emails from the library over the past few weeks building up in their inbox. These emails are the result of the school’s decision to not charge library fines for...

After parking in the student section of the north parking lot, students make their way to their first period classes.

Parking lot becomes danger zone

Leena Macklin, Reporter October 18, 2024

DISCLOSURE: This is an opinion article. Please note that unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of The Wingspan student news staff and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the...

Sarpy County Sheriff's Department to host annual Summer Camp

Sarpy County Sheriff’s Department to host annual Summer Camp

Leena Macklin, Reporter May 17, 2024

Summer is only six days away and aside from sports, vacations and jobs there are still lots of opportunities to have fun. The Sarpy County Sheriff's Department is hosting its free Sarpy County Summer Youth...

Best last-minute Mother's Day gifts

Best last-minute Mother’s Day gifts

Leena Macklin, Reporter May 5, 2024

Mother’s Day is only one week away which means it’s time to think of those last-minute gifts. Skip the flowers and chocolates and find something that she will really like with this gift guide.   Trendy...

Counting down, sophomore class officer Natalie Kraaz assists with the class competition during the spring pep rally on March 12.

Class officer applications, duties as deadline approaches

Leena Macklin, Reporter April 30, 2024

While many students are aware that the student council assists with events like Homecoming and Spirit Week, they also assume that they arrange pep rallies and other big school events. However, this is...

Science teacher and Green Team sponsor Sierra Arnold is known for the abundance of plants in her classroom that are kept under UV light.

Planting seeds, spreading awareness Green Team to celebrate Earth Day

Leena Macklin, Reporter April 19, 2024

Earth Day was founded to inspire environmental activism and planet preservation, and on Monday, April 22, the school’s Green Team is planning to do just that. They will be hosting a Planting Party to...

At Prom, there will be a traditional Court; however, there will be two sets of Prince and Princesses, one from Gretna East and one from Gretna High. To be a candidate for King or Queen, a student must be a senior, so Gretna East will only have a Prince and Princess.

GEHS Prom Court: juniors Sonora De Fini, Emily Woods, Lily Matya, Addison Larock, Colton Knott, Trevor Cox, Tyler Cox, Andrew Jones and Drew Rhoades (not pictured: Addison Upton)

Griffins to crown first Prince, Princess Saturday at combined Prom

Leena Macklin, Reporter April 3, 2024

In three days, students will be preparing to ‘see the lights’ at the Gretna Public Schools combined prom. While Homecoming didn’t have a traditional royal court, the "At Last We See The Light" Prom...

Work piles up, causes stress after snow days

Work piles up, causes stress after snow days

Leena Macklin, Reporter February 9, 2024

Going full force into the second semester, students have already started to complain about the workload being thrown at them so early on in the new semester. Gretna Public Schools has been back in session...

In 1956, English teacher Blaine Christen's uncle, Leo Christen, went missing. His car was found near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Teacher’s story of missing uncle inspires creative writing class

Leena Macklin, Reporter January 24, 2024

Trying to inspire his first-hour Intro. to Creative Writing class for their nonfiction narrative projects right before winter, English teacher Blaine Christen told the unsolved, true story of his uncle...

Black Friday or Cyber Month?

Black Friday or Cyber Month?

Leena Macklin, Reporter November 23, 2023

-OPINION- From a Walmart employee being trampled to death in 2008 to a dying man dropping to the floor while shoppers stepped over his body in 2011, Black Friday stories are some of the wildest to be...

‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ movie, a mix of thrills and disappointment

Leena Macklin and Brayden Hansen November 8, 2023

-REVIEW- Nine years ago, the very first “Five Nights at Freddy’s” video game was published by a small game developer named Scott Cawthon. At first, the game told the story of a lonely night shift...

Now that fall has officially begun and it gets darker earlier, sophomore Adelaide Brosh captures a photo of the full moon on Sept. 28. "I like Halloween because I like scary stuff. I'm not easy to scare so I enjoy spooky things. I took the moon picture during a walk the other day. I hadn't realized it got so dark till I saw the moon" Brosh said.

Scare up the perfect Halloween movie night with these top horror film picks

Madeline Petrick and Leena Macklin October 30, 2023

-OPINION- With the hallmark holiday of spooky season being tomorrow, many students may find themselves in a paradox because they want to do something for Halloween, but feel they are too old to trick-or-treat,...

Girls cross country coach Megan Sughroue takes a picture of the state qualifiers with their medals after Districts. "I am so proud of Braden, Elliot, and Evynn for being the first ever state qualifiers for cross country in Gretna East history," Sughroue said. "The hard work they put in over the summer and all season paid off. They are building a strong foundation for our program to grow on in the coming years."

Graver, Lofquest, Reece hit the trail today at Class B championships

Leena Macklin, Reporter October 20, 2023

The first-ever state qualifiers for cross country, junior Braden Lofquest and sophomores Elliot Reece and Evynn Graver are in Kearney, Neb. today at the Kearney Country Club to represent the school...

Editorial Cartoon

Homecoming court replacement, Griffin Student Leaders, needs to be more inclusive

Leena Macklin, Reporter September 21, 2023

-EDITORIAL- It has been announced that Gretna East High School will not have a homecoming court since there is no senior class. Traditionally, students at most schools vote seniors for positions like...

Teachers go extra mile, bridge gap between schools to meet student needs

Teachers go extra mile, bridge gap between schools to meet student needs

Leena Macklin, Reporter September 19, 2023

With a lack of seniors, the school does not have as many teachers as it will in the future. As a result of not needing as many teachers this year, this has created a situation where seven out of 54...

Profile photo editing rights restored to GPS high schoolers Thursday evening

Profile photo editing rights restored to GPS high schoolers Thursday evening

Leena Macklin, Reporter August 24, 2023

After the ability to change Google account profile pictures was stripped from Gretna Public Schools' middle and high school students earlier this week, "high school students' ability to change Google profile...

From Growth and Struggle, Hozier's Album "Unreal Unearth" Captivates With Its Beauty

From Growth and Struggle, Hozier’s Album “Unreal Unearth” Captivates With Its Beauty

Leena Macklin, Reporter August 22, 2023

-Review- Nearly four years ago Hozier, an Irish indie music artist, released his second album, “Wasteland, Baby!”  This was an instant indie music hit. He has also written many popular songs such...

Load More Stories
Activate Search
The Student News Site of Gretna East High School
Leena Macklin