Latest news with #SouthingtonHighSchool
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
CT high school student charged in connection with TikTok trend involving Chromebook
A high school student in Wallingford faces charges in connection with a TikTok challenge that encourages students to start a fire using their Chromebook in school. The student reportedly stuck a graphite pencil into the Chromebook USB port on May 7 at Lyman Hall High School, according to the Wallingford Police Department. The device started to spark and created a fire hazard, police said. The building did not need to be evacuated, according to police. No injuries were reported. The student was charged with third-degree criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit reckless burning. This is at least the fifth incident in Connecticut where a student attempted a TikTok challenge that has been reported across other parts of the country. The challenge encourages students to insert a metallic device into a Chromebook, which can cause them to catch on fire and smoke. Two students were charged after a laptop caught on fire on May 7 at Southington High School where a teacher threw the smoking Chromebook out a window before firefighters responded and the building was evacuated, according to the Southington Police Department. A similar incident was reported on May 8 at the Middle School of Plainville where a student was treated for smoke inhalation after reportedly causing a Chromebook to catch on fire, school officials said. The student was expected to face charges. Similar incidents have also been reported at schools in Cromwell, Newington and other towns.
Fast Company
15-05-2025
- Fast Company
Teens are still setting fire to Chromebooks for TikTok clout
Students are still setting fire to their Chromebooks for TikTok—and now they're facing the consequences. Fast Company first reported on the #ChromebookChallenge trend last week, following a series of school evacuations caused by students igniting laptop fires. The fires are started by inserting items such as pencils, paper clips, and pushpins into the charging ports of school-issued Chromebooks. This can cause the battery to overheat, potentially sparking a fire or explosion that releases toxic fumes. The #ChromebookChallenge reportedly began in Connecticut and has since spread rapidly. Newington High School was the first to evacuate students on May 1 after a laptop caught fire and the fire department was called. Since then, two students at Southington High School were arrested in connection with a separate laptop fire on May 7. The teens were charged with reckless burning, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and second-degree breach of peace. On May 8, a Plainville middle school student was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and is now facing criminal charges for deliberately causing the incident. That same day, Belleville High School in New Jersey was evacuated after a laptop fire started outside a classroom. Responding officers and firefighters found a charred Chromebook just outside the building. A 15-year-old student has since been charged with arson and criminal mischief. The trend has spread westward: As of late last week, Denver Public Schools had received 30 reports of students attempting to ignite their laptops, according to Axios. The Colorado Springs Fire Department has reported at least 16 similar incidents. With no sign of the trend slowing, schools across the country—including in California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Washington—have issued warnings about the reckless challenge. Parents and guardians are also being urged to talk to their children about fire safety and the dangers of blindly following social media trends. A TikTok spokesperson tells Fast Company that it takes down content that violates the platform's Dangerous Activities and Challenges policy. The company is currently working closely with the National PTA to fund programs in high schools about online safety and civility. In addition, searching for the term 'Chromebook challenge' on TikTok brings up a safety warning: 'Some online challenges can be dangerous, disturbing, or even fabricated,' it reads. 'Learn how to recognize harmful challenges so you can protect your health and well-being.' However, the trend is still circulating under other hashtags, such as #ChromebookDurabilityTest and #FStudent. Many of these videos go viral, garnering thousands of views and comments from fellow students and baffled adults. The clips often feature a sound bite from fitness podcaster Ben Azoulay: 'The F students are inventors,' Azoulay says. 'They're so creative that they couldn't sit in class.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
2 Southington high schoolers charged after laptop fire
SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — Two students at Southington High School face charges after a laptop caught fire — an incident that police said was possibly influenced by a social media challenge trending on TikTok. Police said the school resource officer responded to a report of smoke from a room around 12:45 p.m. on May 7. The officer learned that the smoke was coming from a Chromebook laptop computer. A school staff member had thrown the computer out the window before theofficer arrived, according to police. Laptop catches fire at Southington High School Police determined that two boys—a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old—stuck objects into the laptop, causing it to catch fire. The school was temporarily evacuated. No students or staff were injured, and no otherproperty was reported damaged, police said. 'It should be noted that this incident may have been influenced by an apparent TikTok trend referred to as the 'Chromebook Challenge,' which involves inserting metal objects into the Chromebook in [an] attempt to cause a fire,' police said. The two teens were arrested and charged with reckless burning, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and second-degree breach of peace. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Health
- USA Today
She can't see home plate. But this softball pitcher just landed a D1 scholarship
CHESHIRE, Conn. – As a Cheshire High School sophomore, Jenica Matos threw three no-hitters last season before the Rams squared off against their archrival, Southington High School, in a Connecticut Class LL State Championship semifinal game last June. One of those no-hitters came at the expense of the Blue Knights, so they were focused heading into the game, but Matos nearly repeated her performance, yielded just one hit while striking out 13 to help Cheshire win 4-0. A few days later, Chesire lost the state championship game to Fairfield Ludlowe, 3-2 in 10 innings, but Matos sparkled again as she threw 191 pitches, allowed just three hits and recorded 16 strikeouts. Not bad for a young woman who is legally blind. A rare diagnosis In 2018, after her 10-year-old daughter complained that her vision was fuzzy, Becky Matos took Jenica to a local eye doctor to have her vision checked. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the doctor felt the girl needed glasses and fit her for them. However, as days and weeks passed, Becky Matos noticed her daughter was striking out a lot, and her maternal intuition told her something was wrong. "We took her back to the eye doctor, and this time the doctor was like, 'Can I check the back of her eyes?'" Becky Matos said. "We're like, 'Yeah, sure, do what you've got to do.'" The local eye doctor ran tests, got the results and sent them to doctors at nearby Yale New Haven Hospital for a second opinion. Henri Matos, Jenica's father, got the call and immediately reached out to his wife. "He called me and said, 'I need to take her to Yale, like, now. Today,'" Becky Matos recalled. After a battery of tests, doctors determined that Jenica Matos has a rare genetic disorder called Stargardt disease. It is linked to a mutation in the ABCA4 gene, which is responsible for making proteins that remove toxic substances from the retina. In people with Stargardt disease, fatty deposits and material form over time on a small part of the retina called the macula, which is used for sharp, central vision. As the deposits enlarge or grow in number, central vision gets blurrier, sensitivity to bright light often develops, and dark areas form in a person's central vision. There is no treatment or cure for Stargardt disease, and while estimates on the number of people in the United States who have it vary, according to the Cleveland Clinic, the number is between 30,000 and 200,000. "We left after everything and I went to my mom's house and just broke down," Becky Matos said. "I was like, 'I don't know what to do.' I came home and talked to Henri, and we just cried." "It started getting blurrier when I was 11 or so," Jenica Matos said. "When I was maybe 13, I really couldn't see. Since I was 13, I think it got like a little bit worse, but right now, it's steady." Today, Matos is legally blind but does not see a world of black or total darkness. If you talk with her, she looks at you, but even faces across a kitchen table are somewhat blurry. She can't clearly see someone standing 5 or 6 feet away, and while contact lenses help, they don't fix the problem. "It just like, it goes from everything being blurry to being more clear, but if there is a sign somewhere, I can't really read it," she explained. "But without them, everything just looks like a big blur and the colors kind of blend." Overcoming challenges Matos turned 17 on April 17, but her vision will prevent her from ever having a driver's license, and she can't read the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Her teachers often provide her with notes she can copy and study. While Matos can't see home plate when she is standing in the pitcher's circle, she can find the strike zone with her fastball, which reaches speeds up to 64 mph. For context, that translates to a baseball pitcher throwing in the low 90s. In addition to playing for Cheshire High School, Matos plays for a travel team, the Empire State Huskies 16U National, and has competed in events as far from New England as Colorado, Florida and Georgia. At 5 feet, 6 inches tall, she is not as physically imposing as some pitchers, but Matos is powerful and intense on the mound, with her sunglasses – which she wears rain or shine – giving her an imposing presence. "She's a competitor, and she's a thinking competitor," said Kristine Drust, Cheshire's head softball coach. "She truly does seek out the game within the game to beat her opponents. When you see her, you will see that she is a gritty, gritty competitor." Drust said that while she and her coaching staff could make defensive accommodations for Matos' vision, that hasn't been necessary. "She's a great defensive player, she really is, and I wish that we could all really understand what she sees and how she sees it. But she does, and she gets it done," Drust said. "We have never, ever found any holes in how she fields her position on the mound." Matos only needs two accommodations in order to pitch. First, her catcher needs to have a chest protector and glove that are in contrasting colors. To make sure that happens, the family bought a white chest protector and brings it to games because most catcher's gloves are black or dark brown. Last season, Cheshire's catcher had a white chest protector and a white glove, which necessitated some creativity. "We colored in the webbing of her glove with a black Sharpie," Matos said. The second thing Matos needs is a way to get pitching signals from her coaches. Ordinarily, catchers relay signals and information on what pitch to throw, but Matos can't tell how many fingers her catcher may be flashing, so once again, Matos's coaches have used some creativity. "Coach Kelly (Brenner-Hennessey, Cheshire's pitching coach) also wears a black coat or black clothes, and she wears a neon winter glove," Drust said. "That's how she signals the signs to the catcher and Jenica." Starting in January, when she plays for the Empire State Huskies, Matos and her coaches began using a high-tech watch. "It's got a white screen with black lettering, and it'll say like 'FB Out' for fastball outside," Jenica explained, gesturing that she needs to hold the watch close to her eyes to read the notes. "It's kind of simple." Recruiting and college commitment A high school sophomore who throws in the 60s, tosses three no-hitters and routinely collects double-digit strikeouts will get the attention of college softball coaches, but the Matos family was nervous about the recruiting process. "I was kind of concerned that, like, colleges wouldn't look at me or take me because of (my condition)," said Jenica Matos, who is now a junior. "At the same time, I kind of wanted them to know, rather than not know, because if they knew and they still contacted me, then I'd know that it wouldn't bother them as much." Drust, on the other hand, saw the challenges Matos faces and her track record of success as a positive—something that could attract coaches. "I had concerns, but it was super important to get out to the public just how much success, even with some adversity, she was obtaining," Drust said. "In my conversations with the coaches that were recruiting her, that was a huge plus. Yes, she does have a disability, but to know how much grit, resiliency and success she has found. That is a player that every coach wants." It turns out Drust's instincts were correct, and Matos had no reason to worry. At midnight on Sept. 1, the moment college coaches could contact her, Matos started receiving text messages and emails. "She went from 8 a.m. on Sept. 1 until like 8 or 9 at night talking to college coaches," Becky Matos said. After being contacted and visiting schools such as Seton Hall, the University of Massachusetts and other northeastern colleges, on Nov. 3, Matos announced her verbal commitment to play college softball at St. John's University on X. Located on Long Island in Jamaica, New York, the Red Storm's campus is less than 100 miles from Matos' house. "I want my parents to be able to come and see my games," she said. Looking ahead For the last four years, Matos' central vision has not deteriorated as quickly as it has for others diagnosed with Stargardt disease. She gets her eyes checked routinely, and while Stargardt disease typically does not lead to complete blindness, that does not provide much comfort. "I don't know if I'm going lose my vision or not," she said, sitting at her family's dinner table. "That's kind of hard." Many things about Jenica Matos's future are out of her control, but with the winter's snow gone and her high school team's season started, she is back in a place where she is in total control—the softball field. "I want to get the Gatorade Player of the Year award," she said, referring to an all-sport honor bestowed every year on one athlete in every state. As lofty as that goal may seem, it's attainable. Matos was named to the Connecticut Class LL All-State team and was the Pitcher of the Year last season after posting a record of 21-2 while compiling 318 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings. As for her high school team, Matos wants the Rams to repeat as the Southern Connecticut Conference champions and win the state championship. Through April 29, the team was 11-1, with the lone loss to LaSalle Academy, a private school in Rhode Island. Cheshire is ranked No. 1 in the state. On Monday, Cheshire defeated No. 4 Amity 1-0 in 11 innings, behind Matos' two-hitter with 25 strikeouts. "Even though I have an eye disease, it doesn't really shape who I am as a player and a person," Matos said. "It's my talent and how hard I work. I don't get anything given to me because I have an eye disease. I actually work for it, and I love doing what I do, even if it's hard most of the time." Share your feedback to help improve our site!
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Health
- USA Today
She can't see home plate. But this softball pitcher just landed a D1 scholarship
She can't see home plate. But this softball pitcher just landed a D1 scholarship CHESHIRE, Conn. – Cheshire High School sophomore Jenica Matos threw three no-hitters last season before the Rams squared off against their archrival, Southington High School, in a Connecticut Class LL State Championship semifinal game last June. One of those no-hitters came at the expense of the Blue Knights, so they were focused heading into the game, but Matos nearly repeated her performance, yielded just one hit while striking out 13 to help Cheshire win 4-0. A few days later, Chesire lost the state championship game to Fairfield Ludlowe, 3-2 in 10 innings, but Matos sparkled again as she threw 191 pitches, allowed just three hits and recorded 16 strikeouts. Not bad for a young woman who is legally blind. A rare diagnosis In 2018, after her 10-year-old daughter complained that her vision was fuzzy, Becky Matos took Jenica to a local eye doctor to have her vision checked. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the doctor felt the girl needed glasses and fit her for them. However, as days and weeks passed, Becky Matos noticed her daughter was striking out a lot, and her maternal intuition told her something was wrong. "We took her back to the eye doctor, and this time the doctor was like, 'Can I check the back of her eyes?'" Becky Matos said. "We're like, 'Yeah, sure, do what you've got to do.'" The local eye doctor ran tests, got the results and sent them to doctors at nearby Yale New Haven Hospital for a second opinion. Henri Matos, Jenica's father, got the call and immediately reached out to his wife. "He called me and said, 'I need to take her to Yale, like, now. Today,'" Becky Matos recalled. After a battery of tests, doctors determined that Jenica Matos has a rare genetic disorder called Stargardt disease. It is linked to a mutation in the ABCA4 gene, which is responsible for making proteins that remove toxic substances from the retina. In people with Stargardt disease, fatty deposits and material form over time on a small part of the retina called the macula, which is used for sharp, central vision. As the deposits enlarge or grow in number, central vision gets blurrier, sensitivity to bright light often develops, and dark areas form in a person's central vision. There is no treatment or cure for Stargardt disease, and while estimates on the number of people in the United States who have it vary, according to the Cleveland Clinic, the number is between 30,000 and 200,000. "We left after everything and I went to my mom's house and just broke down," Becky Matos said. "I was like, 'I don't know what to do.' I came home and talked to Henri, and we just cried." "It started getting blurrier when I was 11 or so," Jenica Matos said. "When I was maybe 13, I really couldn't see. Since I was 13, I think it got like a little bit worse, but right now, it's steady." Today, Matos is legally blind but does not see a world of black or total darkness. If you talk with her, she looks at you, but even faces across a kitchen table are somewhat blurry. She can't clearly see someone standing 5 or 6 feet away, and while contact lenses help, they don't fix the problem. "It just like, it goes from everything being blurry to being more clear, but if there is a sign somewhere, I can't really read it," she explained. "But without them, everything just looks like a big blur and the colors kind of blend." Overcoming challenges Matos turned 17 on April 17, but her vision will prevent her from ever having a driver's license, and she can't read the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Her teachers often provide her with notes she can copy and study. While Matos can't see home plate when she is standing in the pitcher's circle, she can find the strike zone with her fastball, which reaches speeds up to 64 mph. For context, that translates to a baseball pitcher throwing in the low 90s. In addition to playing for Cheshire High School, Matos plays for a travel team, the Empire State Huskies 16U National, and has competed in events as far from New England as Colorado, Florida and Georgia. At 5 feet, 6 inches tall, she is not as physically imposing as some pitchers, but Matos is powerful and intense on the mound, with her sunglasses – which she wears rain or shine – giving her an imposing presence. "She's a competitor, and she's a thinking competitor," said Kristine Drust, Cheshire's head softball coach. "She truly does seek out the game within the game to beat her opponents. When you see her, you will see that she is a gritty, gritty competitor." Drust said that while she and her coaching staff could make defensive accommodations for Matos' vision, that hasn't been necessary. "She's a great defensive player, she really is, and I wish that we could all really understand what she sees and how she sees it. But she does, and she gets it done," Drust said. "We have never, ever found any holes in how she fields her position on the mound." Matos only needs two accommodations in order to pitch. First, her catcher needs to have a chest protector and glove that are in contrasting colors. To make sure that happens, the family bought a white chest protector and brings it to games because most catcher's gloves are black or dark brown. Last season, Cheshire's catcher had a white chest protector and a white glove, which necessitated some creativity. "We colored in the webbing of her glove with a black Sharpie," Matos said. The second thing Matos needs is a way to get pitching signals from her coaches. Ordinarily, catchers relay signals and information on what pitch to throw, but Matos can't tell how many fingers her catcher may be flashing, so once again, Matos's coaches have used some creativity. "Coach Kelly (Brenner-Hennessey, Cheshire's pitching coach) also wears a black coat or black clothes, and she wears a neon winter glove," Drust said. "That's how she signals the signs to the catcher and Jenica." Starting in January, when she plays for the Empire State Huskies, Matos and her coaches began using a high-tech watch. "It's got a white screen with black lettering, and it'll say like 'FB Out' for fastball outside," Jenica explained, gesturing that she needs to hold the watch close to her eyes to read the notes. "It's kind of simple." Recruiting and college commitment A high school sophomore who throws in the 60s, tosses three no-hitters and routinely collects double-digit strikeouts will get the attention of college softball coaches, but the Matos family was nervous about the recruiting process. "I was kind of concerned that, like, colleges wouldn't look at me or take me because of (my condition)," Jenica Matos said. "At the same time, I kind of wanted them to know, rather than not know, because if they knew and they still contacted me, then I'd know that it wouldn't bother them as much." Drust, on the other hand, saw the challenges Matos faces and her track record of success as a positive—something that could attract coaches. "I had concerns, but it was super important to get out to the public just how much success, even with some adversity, she was obtaining," Drust said. "In my conversations with the coaches that were recruiting her, that was a huge plus. Yes, she does have a disability, but to know how much grit, resiliency and success she has found. That is a player that every coach wants." It turns out Drust's instincts were correct, and Matos had no reason to worry. At midnight on Sept. 1, the moment college coaches could contact her, Matos started receiving text messages and emails. "She went from 8 a.m. on Sept. 1 until like 8 or 9 at night talking to college coaches," Becky Matos said. After being contacted and visiting schools such as Seton Hall, the University of Massachusetts and other northeastern colleges, on Nov. 3, Matos announced her verbal commitment to play college softball at St. John's University on X. Located on Long Island in Jamaica, New York, the Red Storm's campus is less than 100 miles from Matos' house. "I want my parents to be able to come and see my games," she said. Looking ahead For the last four years, Matos' central vision has not deteriorated as quickly as it has for others diagnosed with Stargardt disease. She gets her eyes checked routinely, and while Stargardt disease typically does not lead to complete blindness, that does not provide much comfort. "I don't know if I'm going lose my vision or not," she said, sitting at her family's dinner table. "That's kind of hard." Many things about Jenica Matos's future are out of her control, but with the winter's snow gone and her high school team's season started, she is back in a place where she is in total control—the softball field. "I want to get the Gatorade Player of the Year award," she said, referring to an all-sport honor bestowed every year on one athlete in every state. As lofty as that goal may seem, it's attainable. Matos was named to the Connecticut Class LL All-State team and was the Pitcher of the Year last season after posting a record of 21-2 while compiling 318 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings. As for her high school team, Matos wants the Rams to repeat as the Southern Connecticut Conference champions and win the state championship. Through April 29, the team was 11-1, with the lone loss to LaSalle Academy, a private school in Rhode Island. Cheshire is ranked No. 1 in the state. On Monday, Cheshire defeated No. 4 Amity 1-0 in 11 innings, behind Matos' two-hitter with 25 strikeouts. "Even though I have an eye disease, it doesn't really shape who I am as a player and a person," Matos said. "It's my talent and how hard I work. I don't get anything given to me because I have an eye disease. I actually work for it, and I love doing what I do, even if it's hard most of the time."
