Skip to Main Content
Covering the Bronco Nation.

The Rider Online | Legacy HS Student Media

Covering the Bronco Nation.

The Rider Online | Legacy HS Student Media

Covering the Bronco Nation.

The Rider Online | Legacy HS Student Media

Amanda Granato

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief

I’m Amanda. My last name is twelve different kinds of complicated, but around here I go by Granato. I’m the Editor-in-Chief of the Rider Online. This webpage you’re looking at right now is my baby, and chances are on any given day I’ve spent six more hours than you staring at it. I also compete in UIL Academics for Journalism, so chances are I’ve also spent many more Saturdays devoting myself to nerdy journalism things than you have. I like old music, and old movies, and old antiques, and computers. Hey, no one ever said I had to make sense. I’ve been with this publication since my sophomore year, and looking back as a senior I realize that many of the best memories I’ve had in high school have been made in the very office I’m sitting in right now, typing this. I know that between Jesse Wright and Brynnon Walker- my minions…err, I mean, Assistant Editors- and myself we can make this publication better than it ever has been before.

agranato@therideronline.com

All content by Amanda Granato
Final Blog: Amanda Granato

Final Blog: Amanda Granato

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief
May 31, 2013

I never planned to be a journalism nerd. In fact, newspaper never crossed my mind when I poured through the extensive list of courses my new school offered. Sadly, I had my hopes of classes I actually wanted dashed when I realized that students new to MISD got the last pick of schedules. But I've always...

Continue Reading
AcaDec team members dress up on competition day for interviews and speeches.

Academic Decathlon Teams Advance to State Competition

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief
January 29, 2013

The Academic Decathlon team advanced to the state competition in the 18th wild card slot after placing second overall at regionals. With a total score of 37,416, the team finished just behind Summit, tying them for first in SuperQuiz. AcaDec team captain senior Laura Baker expected good things of...

Continue Reading
2012 Homecoming Court

2012 Homecoming Court

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief
September 28, 2012

Homecoming court for the 2012 school year has been announced as follows: Freshman: Lady: Catherine Williams Lord: Parker Brown Sophomore: Duchess: Aubrey Copeland Duke: Austin Hebert Junior: Princess: Chloe Beck Prince: KJ Amous Senior: Addy Rivas Bri Rojas Hannah Matula Rae Wallace Kalyn...

Continue Reading

On Feb. 4, In a (3D) Galaxy Far, Far Away…

Amanda Granato, Assistant/ Copy Editor
February 13, 2012

...Star Wars Episode I— The Phantom Menace was re-released in theatres in 3D and nerds everywhere rejoiced. Now we just have to wait for what all the nerds really want— the original(better) trilogy in 3D.

Continue Reading

Legacy Babies

Amanda Granato, Assistant/ Copy Editor
February 13, 2012

2012 has welcomed Parker Lee Shackelford, born Jan. 17, and Rosalind Hillery Ferman, born Feb. 10, as the newest members of the Bronco Nation. Parker was born to English IV teacher Stephanie Shackelford and her husband Jason, and Rosalind to Theater teacher Jeremy Ferman and his wife Emilie.

Continue Reading
End of Course Signals Start of Success

End of Course Signals Start of Success

Amanda Granato, Assistant/ Copy Editor
January 6, 2012

End of Course (EOC) exams, along with State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) will replace the once standard Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) for entering freshmen this school year. By replacing the none-too-demanding TAKS tests with tests that will better determine the...

Continue Reading
Video Games vs Teen Violence

Video Games vs Teen Violence

Amanda Granato, Staff Writer
August 29, 2011

Guts. Guns. Gore. All popular traits in many video games, which in turn are popular with teenagers. The connection between the two lead people to believe video games make teens more violent. Graphic content shown in video games, as well as other forms of media, should not be held accountable for the...

Continue Reading

Breakfast: Is it really needed?

Amanda Granato
April 4, 2011

Breakfast, commonly venerated as ‘the most important meal of the day’, supposedly has numerous benefits for your health; from keeping you awake during the day to helping you eat less. However, a recent German study has provided evidence to the contrary, stating that people tend to consume the same...

Continue Reading

Texas Tech University ISD Offers Courses In Mansfield

Amanda Granato
January 20, 2011

Students who wish to take high school credit classes during the summer now have the option to enroll in Texas Tech University ISD supplemental courses. The courses, which cover most basic academic classes as well as several basic elective programs, cost $150 for online and paper-based only courses, and...

Continue Reading

Percussion Selected to Perform At International Convention

Amanda Granato
October 20, 2010

Legacy’s Percussion Section will perform at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Indianapolis, Indiana on Nov. 13. The percussionists will leave for the convention on Nov. 11 and return on Nov. 13. The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) currently stands as the world’s largest...

Continue Reading

Album: All About Tonight by Blake Shelton

Amanda Granato
September 16, 2010

All About Tonight houses an impeccable collection of some of Shelton’s best work, and takes the listener on a journey of highs and lows, traveling unerringly from rowdy and upbeat to deep and reflective and back again. Shelton seamlessly mixes his signature country sound with a modern flair and provides...

Continue Reading
Stewart, McDade Accept Positions in Garland ISD

Stewart, McDade Accept Positions in Garland ISD

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief
May 15, 2013

Following in the footsteps of former MISD Superintendent Dr. Bob Morrison, Principal Des Stewart and Ben Barber Principal Janet McDade will leave Mansfield ISD for positions as Area Directors in Garland ISD. Mr. Stewart will stay on as principal for the remainder of the year, through graduation and next...

Continue Reading

Legacy Mock Election Results

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief
November 8, 2012

The results of Legacy's 2012 mock presidential election are as follows: Republican Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan— 247 votes, 53 percent Democrat Barack Obama and Joe Biden— 185 votes, 40 percent Libertarian Gary Johnson and Jim Gray— 20 votes, 5 percent Green Party Jill Stein and Cheri...

Continue Reading
New Policy Mandates Schedule For Assigning Homework, Tests, Projects

New Policy Mandates Schedule For Assigning Homework, Tests, Projects

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief
November 8, 2012

Senior Samantha Singarella walks out the school doors at 1:15 p.m. every day, making a mental tally of the work she has to complete that night as she goes. Even with double-blocked senior release, Singarella, second in her class and taking six AP courses, will not finish with her homework until late...

Continue Reading
Staff Members Move to Lake Ridge

Staff Members Move to Lake Ridge

Amanda Granato, Assistant Editor
May 18, 2012

For five years Brandon Austin has walked the halls of Legacy, making funny faces, decrying his hatred of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and helping shape the school’s culture from the ground up. Next year, however, Mr. Austin will move along with 25 other teachers and administrators to staff Lake Ridge...

Continue Reading

Every 15 Minutes

Amanda Granato, Assistant/ Copy Editor
January 31, 2012

Every 15 Minutes teaches students about the real world consequences of drinking and driving. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving(MADD), this year 10,839 people will die in accidents involving drunk driving, and one of every three fatal teenage car crashes is alcohol related.

Continue Reading
Lily Masuda

Lily Masuda

Amanda Granato, Assistant Editor
September 17, 2011

Junior Lily Masuda climbs out the pool dripping wet and exhausted. She smiles, knowing that she just beat her time by a few seconds, a feat by no means insignificant in swimming. She walks away, proud of herself, and prepares for her next event. How long have you been swimming? “I’ve been swimming...

Continue Reading
MISD Expands With High School Five

MISD Expands With High School Five

Amanda Granato, Staff Writer
May 31, 2011

Mansfield ISD will open a fifth high school for the 2012-2013 school year. As the student population continues to grow and overcrowding becomes an issue in both the Mansfield and Timberview High Schools, Superintendent Bob Morrison believes the addition of a fifth high school will provide students with...

Continue Reading

10 Things Not To Do In A Horror Movie

Amanda Granato
January 29, 2011

As anyone who has seen a horror movie surely knows, there are always characters— usually the ones who end up taking some kind of blunt force trauma to various parts of their bodies— who do some kind of incomprehensibly stupid action which inevitably leads to the aforementioned trauma via the bad...

Continue Reading

District Offers Alternative Education For Pregnant Students

Amanda Granato
November 18, 2010

During the 2010-11 school year, pregnant or parenting MISD female students can receive services through Comprehensive Education Homebound Instruction services (CEHI). The pregnant student will remain on her home campus until she reaches the point in her pregnancy when she becomes eligible to go on...

Continue Reading

Senate Ratifies Seatbelt Bill for Buses

Amanda Granato
September 23, 2010

On average, 17,000 children seek treatment for school bus related accidents each year. The Texas Legislature has passed a law that may significantly reduce that number by requiring all school buses to have seat belts. The senate passed House Bill 323 on May 17, 2007 and the law applies to all buses...

Continue Reading

Theater Hosts Auditions for ‘The Crucible’

Amanda Granato
September 2, 2010

People mill about, studying monologues, joking with each other and filling out audition sheets. Someone makes a comment about the ‘what accents can you do?’ question on the sheet and Ferman shouts from the back of the theatre “Ello gov’na!” As time nears to perform, the eager auditioners...

Continue Reading
Journalism Students Win National Awards

Journalism Students Win National Awards

Amanda Granato and Dini Wyatt
May 7, 2013

Sitting in a packed ballroom with hundreds of other journalism students, the editors of The Rider Online and The Arena yearbook waited in suspense. Having traveled hundreds of miles to San Francisco for the chance to hear “The Rider Online” over the microphone, tension was high. As the National Scholastic...

Continue Reading
Toys for Tots Partnership Brings Community Together

Toys for Tots Partnership Brings Community Together

Amanda Granato, Editor-in-Chief
December 20, 2012

The community event for Toys for Tots held Dec. 12 at the Mansfield ISD Center generated 16,148 toys and $15,550 in donations, and was covered by the Fox 4 media team on the nightly news. Principal Des Stewart felt very strongly about the success of the toy drive. “Understanding that it’s tough...

Continue Reading
Back to School: Schedule Pick Up Schedule

Back to School: Schedule Pick Up Schedule

Amanda Granato, Editor-In-Chief
July 15, 2012

Schedule pickup dates for the 2012-13 school year will take place as follows: Girls | 8:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Boys | 12:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Seniors - Tuesday, August 14 Juniors - Thursday, August 16 Sophomores - Friday, August 17 Freshman - Wednesday, August 15 Updated proof of residency-...

Continue Reading

Valentine’s Day

Amanda Granato, Assistant/ Copy Editor
February 13, 2012

Despite the cynical stigma surrounding Valentine's Day, there's nothing wrong with this most lovey-dovey of holidays— as long as the PDA stays at a minimum. While every day should be a day when you show your loved ones how much you love them, Valentine's day provides a good excuse for a more extravagant...

Continue Reading

‘Winter’ Weather

Amanda Granato, Assistant/ Copy Editor
February 1, 2012

Winter generally heralds the time of year when the mercury dips below freezing and snow- or at least, in Texas, sleet- becomes a regular wonder and annoyance. However, this winter Texas weather, notorious for its bi-polar tendencies, has swung wildly from unseasonably warm to just cold enough to annoy...

Continue Reading
Freshmen to Take End Of Course Exams

Freshmen to Take End Of Course Exams

Amanda Granato, Assistant/Copy Editor
October 3, 2011

End of Course (EOC) exams, along with State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) will replace the once standard Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Freshmen entering during the 2011-2012 school year taking courses with EOC exams tied to them will take the exams as their exit-level...

Continue Reading
Understanding the Brain: What causes certain disabilities?

Understanding the Brain: What causes certain disabilities?

Amanda Granato, Staff Writer
June 6, 2011

For most people, the brain has its own built in ‘to-do list’, full of things you really don’t have to think about doing. Wash your hair. Brush your teeth. Put your clothes on. Tie your shoes. But for the 1-3 percent of the population who live each day with a mental handicap, completing even those...

Continue Reading

Reed Steward

Amanda Granato
February 1, 2011

Sophomore Reed Steward marches in band. Which means his life revolves around band. His free time, when he gets any, he devotes to eating, sleeping, and doing homework. But on the weekends and during summer, Steward donates his time to Church, going on mission and choir trips to help the poor and impoverished. Band:“This...

Continue Reading

Deadlines

Amanda Granato
November 29, 2010

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” -Douglas Adams Deadline. It’s a word that pops up every now and then like a loud, buzzing alarm whenever I sit for nearly an hour looking at a blank screen and dimly wondering why the only words coming to my head are song...

Continue Reading

Meredith Bell

Amanda Granato
September 27, 2010

Freshman Meredith Bell concentrates on the line that flows from her pencil. She smiles as she proceeds to shade in the shape with confident strokes, content in doing ‘her thing’. When Bell isn’t drawing, she spends her time dancing at a studio, writing, and listening to music. Dancer- “I’ve...

Continue Reading

Summer Reading: Love it or Hate it

Amanda Granato
September 8, 2010

Pre-AP and AP students of all grades and in various stages in the completion of their books prepare to take tests over summer reading assignments. Freshman Daniel Slavik didn’t care for the summer reading assignment, The Princess Bride by William Goldman. “Half of the book was in parentheses,...

Continue Reading
Load More Stories
Donate to The Rider Online | Legacy HS Student Media
$2935
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal