Volume 12, Issue 2 IN THIS ISSUE

IN THIS ISSUE:
Halloween fun
p. 6
Playoff bound
p. 9
There’s no secret tp success
p. 10
Storm Tracker
THE United High School NewsLine
Volume 12, Issue 2
STORM ALERTS
FFA blood drive this
Monday at HS
United High School’s
FFA twice annually for
the past several years has
hosted a blood drive for
the Mississippi Valley
Regional Blood Center,
and this year’s first drive
in scheduled for Monday,
November 2, from 9:00
a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the
high school’s ag shop, located at 1905 100th Street
in Monmouth.
For more information
or to schedule a donor
appointment, contact Emily Ludolph at the Blood
Center by calling 319208-0158 or via email at
[email protected]
Appointments are
scheduled every five minutes from 9-2, although it
will take up to a half hour
to complete the donation
process.
Calendar notes
There will be a 1:00
dismissal on Tuesday,
November 10, for a
school improvement day.
There is NO SCHOOL
on Wednesday, November 11, in observance of
Veterans’ Day,
Classes will dismiss at
2:00 on Wednesday, November 25, and there will
be no classes on Thursday and Friday, November 26-27, in observance
of Thanksgiving.
Christmas break this
year will fall on December 19-January 4, with
classes resuming Tuesday, January 5.
Book banning not an issue at UHS, so far
By Natalie Johnson
More than 129 million books
have been published in America
alone, yet almost every single
one of those books have been
challenged or, in other words,
someone wants the book
banned.
United High School has
never had any books become
banned from its library; however, most books in the library’s
collection have been challenged
at one time or another.
If a book is challenged, the
argument must first come from
a parent or guardian. The situation then goes to the school
board, which makes the final
decision.
Any book that is purchased
by a school must be examined
prior to be put on the library
Just a few titles of books frequently
challenged and banned in schools.
shelves.
“The problem with books being challenged is that if a parent
wants the book pulled for their
kid, they are also pulling it for
everyone,” said United High
School librarian Mary Murray.
Many factors contribute to a
book being challenged.
If the book has to do with
wizardry, violence, dirty words
or sexual content, there is little
doubt the book will be challenged.
Murray tries to make ethical choices when choosing new
books to place in the library, but
she also knows she must walk a
line.
“I don’t believe in censorship,
but I do believe that the books
See “Banned” on page 2
New technology moving onto college campuses
By Cass Singleton
Editor-in-Chief
Increasingly over the
years, more and more
schools have begun trying
to incorporate new technology into the classrooms
of elementary, junior high
and high schools across the
country, but now colleges
are getting their turn to
begin this initiative.
At the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), located at the
University of Indiana, their
focus is to put more tech-
nology in the classrooms
and keep students more engaged at the college level.
“We are trying to move
people out of the lecture
setting and into a smaller
table and chair setting,”
Leslie Hammersmith, principal instructional technology consultant of CILT
said.
A test the CITL is trying to find the answers to
through this innovative is
the unanswered question
of why in a study was it
shown that male students
do better at multiple choice
tests while female student
get better scores on things
such as projects.
“By engaging students
in this manner (technology), you are emerging and
learning better. If we can
change the curriculum then
we can even out the gender scores,” Hammersmith
said.
Several idea the program talked about were the
concept of clickers in the
classroom during lecture so
the teacher could create and
host a live survey.
Technology in the
classroom has already been
a major change in school
districts all across the country and the CITL agree that
the use for technology at
school is helpful even way
before students even think
about entering college.
“There is a lot of innovation going on in high
school and a lot of learning there. It really depends
upon what they are doing
See “Tech” on page 3
The State of Illinois owes the United School District...
$202,622.79!
Source:
Illinois State Board of Education (10/30/2015)
STORM TRACKER
1905 100th Street
Monmouth, IL 61462
(309) 734-9411
The Storm Tracker is published
monthly, wth additional issues as warranted, by the journalism students of
United High School, and is distributed
online via the World Wide Web. The
material published does not necessarily
reflect the viewpoint of the administration
of United School District #304.
While every attempt is made to
determine the validity of advertising
contained herein, the advertising in the
Storm Tracker is not to be construed
as endorsement of a specific product or
service. The Storm Tracker assumes no
responsibility of liability resulting from
the content of paid advertisements.
The Storm Tracker does not knowingly accept advertsements that discriminate
on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion,
color, handicapped status, veteran or
sexual orientation, nor does it knowingly
print ads that violate any local, state, or
federal laws.
Parties interested in advertising in
the Storm Tracker should contact Mr.
Kozelichki at the address and/or phone
number listed above.
Letters to the editor must be mailed
to the address above and cannot be more
than 350 words. The author’s name and
phone number must be included for verification purposes. The Storm Tracker
only edits letters in cases of timeliness
and obscenity and does not guarantee
publication of all letters.
STORM TRACKER
Cass Singleton, Editor
Reporters:
Carena Choate, Bridget
Perkins, Becca Rutledge,
Maggie Simkins, Miranda
Bryan, Hanna Dunton,
Emma Giese, Natalie
Johnson, Lauren Sperry &
Nathan Studer
“Some material courtesy
of American Society of
Newspaper Editors/MCT
Campus High School
Newspaper Service.”
WEBPAGE ADDRESS
www.united.k12.il.us
The webpage contains
links to each district building and office, as well as
access to the online grading
system and calendar.
UNITED CUSD #304
contact numbers
page 2
State financial problems and policies may
force school board to look at raising taxes
By Emma Giese
The United school district board meeting held on
October 8 discussed various subjects, but the most
essential topic of the meeting was the 2016 tax levy.
The levy is the amount
of money the district gets
each year from taxpayers.
United always asks
more than it needs because it never gets the full
amount requested. This
money goes to operating
funds such as salary, transportation, facilities, etc.
If the district continues
to operate a deficit budgtet,
cuts will have to be made
in the spring, and that could
possibly be personnel and
programs.
United plans on making
cuts because the district
has lost more than state $1
million in funding over the
past past six years.
An important issue that
may impact this year’s
levy is Governor Bruce
Rauner’s proposal to freeze
property taxes.
“The farmers and other
taxpayers think they won’t
pay more if this comes into
effect, but they are wrong,”
said United superintendent
Jeff Whitsitt.
If the tax freeze is
POSITION
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Board of Education of the United Community Unit School District #304 is accepting
applications for the following positions for the
2015-2016 school year:
Non-certified:
Classroom paraprofessional – Pre-K
Stipend Positions:
HS Play(s)--Winter/Spring
All letters of application inquires and credentials are to be sent to:
Jeff Whitsitt, Superintendent
United Community School District #304
1905 100th St. Monmouth, IL 61462
The Superintendent will screen all applications.
The administrative staff will conduct interviews.
Applicants are not to contact board members.
Superintendent’s Office
734-9413
FAX 734-0223
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734-9411
FAX 734-6090
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734-8511
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482-3332
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734-8513
FAX 734-8515
passed, it will be in effect
for two years, 2017-2018.
“If it gets active at all it
will be like that forever,”
said Whitsitt.
He believes this because
taxpayers will think they
won’t be paying as much in
property taxes and so will
prefer to keep a freeze in
effect.
This year’s tax levy will
be determined in December. A truth-in-taxation
hearing has been set for
December 10 prior to the
regular board meeting.
On another subject,
United has recently expelled a student from
United High School.
In the past 12 years
United has only expelled
five students so this isn’t
something that occurs
regularly.
The board also approbed
the application of four students to graduate early, the
resignation of elementary
special education teacher
Jenifer Hffmann ad the dismissal of bus driver Austin
Loving.
Appointmenrts gaining
approval included Susie
Frieden as high school
scholastic bowl coach, Abbey McGuire as junior high
cheerleading coach, Hannah Baker as junior high
girls’ basketball coach and
Fred Lucas as high school
boys’ track coach.
The next board meeting
is set for November 12.
Banned books are often classics
Continued from page 1
must be appropriate for the
library,” said Murray, who
has never personally had a
book banned in her library
but has heard numerous
stories about other schools.
The American Library
Association website has
every single book that has
been banned or challenged.
It can be found at:
ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics
Everyone’s favorite
wizard who became famous
for the lightening bolt on
his forehead, Harry Potter,
is even on the list.
Among the books taught
in United High School’s
English classes in the past
that appear on the current
list include The Call of
the Wild by Jack London,
Animal Farm and 1984 by
George Orwell, Of Mice
and Men and The Grapes of
Wrath by John Steinbeck,
The Lord of the Flies by
William Golding, To Kill
a Mockingbird by Harper
Lee, The Great Gatsby by
F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The
Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Over the past decade
5,099 challenges were
reported to the Office for
Intellectual Freedom.
210 N. Main Monmouth
734-5100
page 3
United Junior High welcomes four new teachers
By Maggie Simkins
The high school is not
the only school that is welcoming new teachers to the
United School District.
The junior high school
has welcomed four new
teachers to the West Campus: Nicole Cole, Melinda
Fry, Jordan Hohenboken
and Tyler Zumdahl.
Hohenboken is help-
ing out students who need
a better understanding of
how to do their homework
as the new special education teacher.
She graduated from
Riverdale High School and
Central College in Pella,
IA.
She student taught at
two different schools,
North Mahaska Elementary
in New Sharon, IA and
Jefferson Intermediate in
Pella, IA.
She was an instructional
aide in the East Moline
School District for three
years and taught K-8 special education at Hampton
Elementary in Hampton, IL
for a year.
“I choose United Junior
High because I wanted to
Tech: An invaluable addition to education
Continued from page 1
online,” Hammersmith
said.
One example of students
using technology in a high
school classroom setting is
the idea that in a chemistry
class they can do interactive experiments online
instead having to read
about it or have the school
pay the expensive chemical
costs.
“Many teachers feel
their students have done
better in the active learning classroom, and students
have said that in the future
they are going to be looking to take more classes
in the active rooms,” said
Hammersmith.
One concern for the program is that students would
spend their time online
doing other things and not
focused on the lecture.
“A concern every instructor has is that people
will use their IPads for
texting. It does happen. The
concern is real. The faculty
has to integrate the technol-
United students arte ahead of the game when it comes
to the technology of “clickers,” seen here in a geometry class.
ogy so it is engaging. Faculty can see when you are
off task and it affects everyone in the room. There has
to be that level of respect,”
Hammersmith said.
One hard part for the
initiative has been teachers
agreeing and changing their
curriculum so it fits more
of the technological formatting
. “The active learning is
so different you do have to
change curriculum. Lecture
does still have its place.
Some though change their
lecture to group work. Then
they change how they ac-
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cess the student's work and
how to grade,” Hammersmith said.
A misconception that
students don’t understand
about adding technology
to the classroom is that
the students believe they
already know how to use
their device for education,
but they don’t.
“When you enter college you have to be prepared to use your device
differently. Your technology will become a different
part of your life,” Hammersmith said.
AD SPACE AS LOW AS
$10 A YEAR!
CONTACT THE STORM TRACKER FOR MORE INFORMATION
ALEXIS
Public Library
102 N. Broadway
(309) 482-6109
M-W-Th-F
2:00-5:00 p.m.
Saturday
9:00 a.m.-Noon
(closed Tue & Sun)
Large Print Books, Interlibrary
Loan, Children’s Stories, Programs,
Copy Machine, Magazines,
Monmouth Review Atlas,
Computer Use
work with special education students who need
extra help. I enjoy working for United! Everyone
is friendly and makes me
feel like this is where I
belong. The students are
great to work with. Most of
my students are respectful
and well behaved which
makes teaching a lot easier.
The faculty has been great!
Everyone has been very
helpful. The staff has also
been very supportive and
understanding as I try to
adjust to a new district,”
Hohenboken said.
Zumdahl has the job
of keeping the kids active
teaching physical education.
He graduated from
Eastland High School in
Lanark, IL and Western Illinois University. He student
taught at Lewistown, previously taught high school
PE at Abingdon-Avon for
the second half of last year
and this is his second year
teaching.
“Everything I heard
about United was positive,
from the faculty to the student body. I also grew up
in the same type of rural/
small school area as United
which is the type of setting
I like to teach in.
“I’ve really enjoyed my
time so far. The faculty
here at the junior high has
been awesome and very
friendly and helpful. Mrs.
Runge and Mrs. Ryner are
great to work with and have
made it very enjoyable. The
kids here are great and I’ve
enjoyed getting to know
them,” Zumdahl said.
Cole and Fry are the two
new language arts teachers
at the junior high.
Cole attended Yorkwood
High School and graduated
in 1995, then graduated
from Augustana College in
Rock Island, IL.
Cole student taught at
Orion School District and
was also was at CR Hanna
Elementary.
When Cole graduated
from Augustana, she began
my teaching career at Clinton County RIII Middle
School in Plattsburg, MO.
There she taught 6th grade
language arts.
She was there three years
before moving back to Illinois.
When she moved back
to Illinois, she taught First
Grade at Union (now part
of the West Central School
District) and was there for
two years.
At that time her middle
son was born with major health issues, and she
needed to take some time
off to stay home with him.
Beginning in 2012, she
began teaching part time at
Community Preschool in
Galesburg.
page 4
SCENES FROM THE SOUTH SIDE
High school hopes “Connections” leads to more academic success
By Becca Rutledge
United High School
holds a program called
“Connections” every Tuesday and Thursday.
Connections is set up to
help the incoming freshman with adjusting to high
school.
The high school had
Connections last year but
many things changed, this
year they have to connec-
tion leaders.
Connection leaders are
chosen by teachers in the
high school. Each leader is
given a group of freshman
to help with homework and
any other problems they are
having.
“I really enjoy having
Connections and being
able to get help on my
homework from the older
students,” freshman Erin
Journalism class gets
yearbook instruction
from the professionals
The journalism class spent a day at Kaplan University
in Davenport, IA, to learn new techniques and layout procedures to improve publication of this year’s
yearbook, All Eyes on Us. The session on October 1
led the class to design the yearbook’s cover. The event
was organized by Walsworth Yearbooks and included
five others schools: , Fulton, Galva, Ridgewood and
Wethersfield High Schools. Among the possibilities
for this year’s yearbook are a phone ap that will allow
videos to be accessed via a still picture in the yearbook.
Bushong said.
Those students who
are ineligible go to Connections on Tuesday and
Thursday to get help from
their leaders.
On the first day of Connections, all freshman met
their leaders and joined
together to talk about how
school was going for them.
“I was in Connections
last year, but I like it a lot
better this year because we
don’t do it every day like
before,” senior Eli Olin
said.
Another new thing
Connections want to start
is having activities for the
freshman. Oen idea they
had was a dodgeball tournament.
ILMEA auditons net United students
By Bridget Perkins
ILMEA, or Illinois Music Education Association,
is an organization of teachers from across the state
that are split up into districts and each district has
honor concert bands, jazz
bands, orchestras, choirs
and jazz choirs for both
junior high and high school
students.
Auditions were held
on Saturday, October 3, in
Geneseo.
Freshman Sydney
Elswick and senior Kaitlin
Grace advanced onto the
District Music Festival
on November 14 for their
choir group.
“It was really fun and
I had a great time. I can’t
wait for the district festival,” Elswick said.
“It has always been a lot
of fun and a great learning
experience. I have made the
district festival every year
since freshman year and it
is always a new learning
experience for me,” Grace
said.
Seniors Brody Frieden,
Liz Pleshko, junior Sarah
Purlee, sophomores Darrin Ross, Mary Smith and
freshmen Erin Glisan and
Alex King were all chosen
to advance on to the district music festival for their
band group.
Ross was also selected
for the ILMEA Jazz Festival on Saturday, November 7, at Farmington High
School.
This is the first time
United has ever had a musician selected for the Jazz
Festival.
Seven is the highest
number of students ever
selected from the band in
United’s history.
ILMEA is one of the
largest fine arts education
organization in Illinois and
is among the largest in the
nation.
Students have to audition on certain etudes,
which are small pieces of
music and a scale sheet
provided by the ILMEA
judges.
Students who are chosen
are picked to be a part of
the district honor music ensemble they auditioned for.
On to sectionals
Carolina Cruz-Ramirez (middle, right) advanced to
the sectional cross country meet. See story on page 9.
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AND
ROCK
HAULING
NEEDS
WAYNE PIERCE
and
DENNIS HIGGINS
2076 U.S. Hwy 67
Monmouth, IL
Phone
309-734-2218
Cell
309-221-6171
page 5
CSC Presents THE COLLEGIATE CONNECTION
Stories, clues and hints to help you prepare for life after high school
CSC to welcome visiting professor from Cuba
GALESBURG — Dr.
Mario Masvidal, a professor at University of the Arts
in Havana, Cuba, will give
presentations at 12:15 p.m.
and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18 in
the Student Center on Carl
Sandburg College’s Main
Campus in Galesburg, 2400
Tom L. Wilson Blvd. Both
lectures are free and open
to the public.
Masvidal’s visit comes
as a result of the trip President Dr. Lori Sundberg and
other Illinois community
college leaders made to
Cuba last February. Their
trip was an opportunity
to learn and understand
the educational system in
Cuba and took place just
after the United States’ ties
with Cuba were being reestablished. Masvidal was
the first lecturer the Illinois
contingent of presidents
had during their visit.
“Professor Masvidal’s
presentation was absolutely the most insightful
discussion I have heard
on Cuba,” Sundberg said.
“Everyone in the room
could have listened to him
for hours. As he grew up
in Cuba and was educated
there, he has a perspective
of Cuba that is unique. He
is quite fluent in English
and understands the curiosity associated with his
country. He can speak on
Cuban history or Hemingway with equal passion. He
is an absolute delight!”
Masvidal has worked in
education in Cuba for more
than 40 years and currently
teaches undergraduate and
graduate courses in semiotics, communication theory
and other related disciplines. He also has taught
courses and led workshops
on the history of Englishspeaking countries, English
as a second language, linguistics, English stylistics,
Spanish stylistics and professional communication.
Masvidal also has hosted a
radio talk show in Havana
since 2009 and participates
in four Cuban TV shows as
an interviewer, presenter
and writer.
He is a founding member of the Cuban Linguists
Association as well as the
Teachers Association of
Cuba. Masvidal also is a
member of the Cuban Artists and Writers Association, Economic Society of
Friends of Cuba’s, Cuban
Association of Film Critics
and Cuban Association of
Social Communication.
Going to college is still worthwhile financially, study says
By Walter Hamilton
Los Angeles Times
(MCT)
Going to college is still
a worthwhile financial
investment despite
soaring tuition costs
and burdensome student
debt, according to a new
government study.
From 1970 to 2013, the
average college graduate
has earned about $64,500
a year versus $41,000 for
someone with only a high
school diploma, according
to the analysis by the
Federal Reserve Bank of
New York.
Over a full working
career, total earnings of the
average college graduate
topped those of a high
school graduate by more
than $1 million, the study
found.
“Once the full set of
costs and benefits is taken
into account, investing
White House launches new online tool to help
families make informed decisions on college
By Larry Gordon
Los Angeles Times
The Obama administration has unveiled a new
online search tool that is
aimed at helping potential
college students and their
families learn much more
about schools, including
the financial aid they offer
and how much their graduates earn later in life.
President Obama said he
proposed a ratings system
two years ago but, after
much study and controversy, his administration
abandoned the idea and
turned instead to improving
existing federal databases.
Department of Edu-
cation officials said the
administration backed
away from a ratings system because it proved too
complicated to develop and
they were afraid it might
confuse consumers.
The new scorecard can
be accessed at collegecost.
ed.gov.
The scorecard appears
to be easier for families to
search and navigate than
the previous federal College Navigator and College
Scorecard, and improved
graphics provide for better visual comparisons of
schools.
The information is
expanded as well, including
data about net pricing for
low-income and high-income students, graduation
rates, ethnic diversity, loan
defaults and former students’ median incomes 10
years after starting college.
(c)2015 Los Angeles Times
Visit the Los Angeles
Times at www.latimes.com
Distributed by Tribune
Content Agency, LLC.
in a college education
still appears to be a wise
economic decision for the
average person,” the study
concludes.
But the picture isn’t
nearly as bright for college
students as it may seem.
The comparative value
of a college degree is
due partly to the steadily
declining fortunes of high
school grads rather than to
sunny prospects for those
attending college.
In fact, in the past dozen
years, annual salaries for
those with bachelor’s
degrees have fallen 10.3
percent, according to the
New York Fed. That’s even
worse than the 7.6 percent
drop for high school grads.
It’s unclear why college
students have fared so
badly, although the sluggish
employment market for
recent graduates has been
well chronicled.
“The average wages
of college graduates have
been falling for the better
part of a decade, with the
pace of decline accelerating
after the Great Recession,”
the study says.
The study also
found that college grads
majoring in fields such
as engineering, math and
computers, and health care
outearned those studying
liberal arts or education.
“Not all college degrees
are an equally good
investment,” the report
said.
———
©2014 Los Angeles Times
Visit the Los Angeles
Times at www.latimes.com
Distributed by MCT
Information Services
CSC CALENDAR REMINDERS
Monday, November 2 Spring Registration Begins
Tuesday, December 8 Spring Tuition Due
Thursday, December 10 Fall Semester Ends
page 6
November North Campus Lunch Menu
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
2
Hamburger
Baked Beans
Pear Half
Fruit Snack
3
Chicken Nuggets
Broccoli & Cheese
Apple Crips
Ice Cream
4
Taco Tator
Lettuce & Tomato
Mandarin Oranges
Teddy Grahams
5
Roast Pork Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Mixed Vegetables
Tropical Fruit
6
Corn Dog
Macaroni & Cheese
Green Beans
Peach
9
Breaded Chicken Sand.
Tator Triangle
Pineapple Tidbits
Marble Square
10
Cavatini
Garlic Stix
Lettuce Salad
Cherry Freeze
11
NO SCHOOL
Veterans’ Day
12
Sausage Pizza
Corn
Ants on a Log
Pudding
13
Stormburger
Chips & Salsa
Peas
Pear
16
Italian Chicken Sandwich
Broccoli & Rice
Tropical Fruit
17
Hot Dog
Sweet Tots
Peach
Fruit Snack
18
Turkey Dinner
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Pumpkin Bar
19
Chicken Fajita
Lettuce & Tomato
Spanish Rice
Mandarin Oranges
20
BBQ Rib Sandwich
Tator Triangle
Pear
Cookie
23
Tenderloin
French Fries
Fruit Cocktail
Fruit Snack
24
Chicken Strips
Pasta Salad
Mixed Vegetables
Mandarin Oranges
25
Cheeseburger
Chips & Salsa
Baked Beans
Applesauce
26
NO SCHOOL
Thanksgiving Day
27
NO SCHOOL
30
Chicken Noodle Soup
Grilled Cheese
Veggies & Dip
Peach
FFA taking a group of only girls to National Convention
By Carena Choate
On October 28, seven
FFA members went to Louisville, Kentucky, for the
National Convention.
This year was the girls’
time to shine as all of the
members who attended
were female.
Kaylyn Hall, Randi
Shimmin, Ashton Chandler,
Jillnell King, Katy Livingston, Lauren Fox and Jessica
Richardson are the gals
along for the ride.
“There isn’t really a
reason (why all girls),”
said FFA advisor Mr. Scott
Riden. “That’s just how it
worked out.”
“This is my first time
going,” said senior Kaylyn
Hall, “but I know it’s going
to be amazing.”
“(At convention), there’s
like 60,000 peoplemfrom
all 50 states, said Riden.
“There’s motivational
speakers, awards at the
national level and a career
show for colleges and universities to talk to students
and try to recruit for their
school.”
On Friday, October 23,
the high school FFA members also hosted the north
and west elementaries for
their annual pumpkin carving.
“That’s always fun” said
Hall.
On November 2, when
the ladies return from
convention, FFA will host
its first blood drive of the
year, running from 9:00
a.m. until 2:00 p.m., in the
ag shop.
The goal this year is to
have 40 units donated.
A second blood drive
will be held in the spring.
Under the watchful eyes
of FFA members, elementary schoolers carve their
pumpkins.
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@UHSStormTracker
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page 7
November High School & West Campus Lunch Menu & Calendar
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
2
Hot Dog
Baked Beans
Celery
Apple Slices
3
Tacos
Lettuce/Tomato
Refried Beans
Strawberries
4
Chicken Nuggets
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans
Grapes
5
Chicken Sandwich
Sun Chips
Broccoli & Cheese
Watermelon
6
Pizza
Romaine Salad
Peaches
Spirit Cake
9
Corn Dog
Baked Beans
Tator Tots
Strawberries
10
Taco in a Bag
Spanish Rice
Steamed Carrots
Pears
11
NO SCHOOL
Veteran’s Day
12
Tenderloin Sandwich
Au Gratin Potatoes
Peas
Banana
13
Grilled Chicken Strips
Romaine Salad
Bosco Stick
Spirit Cake
16
Storm Burger
Baked Beans
French Fries
Fruit Cocktail
17
Fajita
Refried Beans
Mexican Corn
Applesauce Sweetie
18
Turkey
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans
Pumpkin Pie
19
BBQ Rib Sandwich
Corn
Sun Chips
Pears
20
Fiestada
Romaine Salad
Orange
Jello
23
Cheeseburger
Baked Beans
Hash Browns
Apple
24
Super Nachos
Peas
Spanish Rice
Mandarin Oranges
25
Ham Sandwich
Shredded Romaine
Baby Carrots
Apple Slices
26
NO SCHOOL
Thanksgiving Day
27
NO SCHOOL
30
TBD
Mondays throughout the
month will also feature a
Vegan Option for high
school students.
Member FDIC
Alpha 629-4361
New Windsor 667-2735
SUNDAY
MONDAY
1
•
Equal Housing Lender
Aledo 582-3150
•
•
Viola 596-2189 •
Alexis 482-5511
Woodhull 334-2802
Visit our website at www.fsbwil.comd
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
2
3
GBB Practice begins
FFA Fall Blood Drive
4
5
Cult. History Field
Trip to Chicago
JHBBB @ Canton
6
JH IESA State
Speech Meet
7
FFA Hare & Hound
Race
8
9
BBB Practice begins
Veteran’s Day Con
cert @ Jr High
10
HS Fall Sports
Awards
FFA Crops CDE
11
NO SCHOOL
Veteran’s Day
12
FFA Sect Crops CDE
JHBBB vs Knoxville
School Board Mtg
13
JHBBB United Trny
14
JHBBB United Trny
HS Winter Sports
Pictures
15
16
JHBBB @ West
Central
Sports Booster Mtg
17
JHBBB vs LaHarpe
18
19
20
21
22
23
BBB @ Williamsfield
Tourney
JHBBB vs Costa
24
BBB @ Williamsfield
Tourney
JHBBB vs M/R
GBB vs Erie
25
2:00 Dissmissal
Progress Reports
26
NO SCHOOL
Thanksgiving
27
NO SCHOOL
BBB @ Williamsfield
Tourney
28
BBB @ Williamsfield
Tourney
29
30
BBB @ Williamsfield
Tourney
GBB vs West Prairie
1
2
JH Music Trip to
Circa 21
JHBBB vs A-Town
GBB @ Annawan
3
BBB vs Southeastern
FS GBB @ Fulton
Unity Christian
4
5
FS BBB @ Galva
JHBBB @ Orion
GBB vs Rockridge
BBB @ A-Town
page 8
1st Quarter High School and JH Honor Roll
United High School is
pleased to announce the
following students have
attained honor roll status
for the first quartrer of the
2015-2016 school year:
HIGH HONORS
3.67 and higher GPA
Seniors: Lance Anderson, Michael Brown, John
Campbell, Wyatt Chandler,
Dalton Chenault, Carena
Choate, Christian Christy,
Caitlyn Costner-Withee,
Shelby Davin, Taydem
Devlin, Kaleb Dew, Isabella Ewalt, Cierra Fire
Thunder, Brody Frieden,
Emma Giese, Baylee Gillette, Kaitlin Grace, Kaylyn
Hall, Derek Hart, Tiffany
Hart, Blaze Hawk, Steven
Hawks, Noah Hennenfent,
Natalie Johnson, Kathryn
Lee, Adriana Martin, Addison McKee, Cole McKee,
Greyson McKee, Kaylee
McLaughlin, Meghan Medhurst, Elijah Olin, Nicholas Penn, Madison Perry,
Elizabeth Pleshko, Ashley
Raes, Drew Raymond,
Jessica Richardson, Noah
Runge, Rebecca Rutledge,
Randi Shimmin, Margaret
Simkins, Cassandra Singleton, Lauren Sperry.
Juniors: Ian Allaman,
Shelia Bowling, Samuel
Brownlee, Adam Burnett,
Hunter Butler, Brittany
Chapman, Ellie Cheline,
Hanna Dunton, Tristin
Eckert, Mallory Flynn,
Loren Fox, Andrew Frakes,
Nicolette Fredrickson,
Madeline Gavin, Presslie
Gillen, Noah Harshbarger,
Zoe Hawk, Bailey John-
ston, William Kane, Emma
Marshall, Jacelyn Marshall,
Marshall McDorman,
Aubrey McMillen, Michael Moore, Sydney Orth,
Alexandra Perry, Kaitlyn
Pleshko, Sarah Purlee,
Olivia Roden, Brooke
Ryner, Kaily Scott, Alyssa
Shea, Joelle Shea, Kodiak
Shimmin, Kealy Simkins,
Rachel Straitiff, Jesse
Struble, Kayla Stull, Victoria Taylor, Rachel Watson,
Claire Wynne, Kal
Youngquist.
Sophomores: Kenneth
Bergren, Olivia Bishop, Tyler Bitar, Cheyenne Brownlee, Ashton Chandler, Sarah
Colbrese, Jordian Cook,
Hayley Corbin, Carolina Cruz-Ramirez, Riley
Davin, Allison Feltmeyer,
Zachary Frieden, Claire
Gregory, Vada Gregory,
Jessica Hall, Laura Hart,
Janelle King, Madalyn
McKee, Noah Northrup,
Claire Oetting, Samuel
Olson, Emma Poole, Nicole
Poole, Darrin Ross, Alyssa
Schneider, Matthew Simonson, Sara Simonson, Allie
Smith, Margaret Studer,
Jenna Tippett, Toby Whitsitt.
Freshmen: Savannah
Ballard, Alena Buckley,
Makayla Crain, Sydney
Elswick, Erin Glisan,
Kelsey Hart, Tyler Hendrickson, Ayla Johnston,
Yovani Larios-Saavedra,
Adriana Nunez, Emma
Parkins, Bailey Shimmin,
Carly Thompson, Benjamin
Watson.
HONORS
3.34 – 3.66 GPA
Seniors: Miranda Bryan,
Kyle Flicek, Adrian Gillette, Brenton Guldenzopf,
Billy Monroe, Bridget Perkins, Haley Sims, Nathan
Tippett, Tiffany Vancil, Ian
Walters.
Juniors: Tracy Brady,
Andrew Burnett, Tavis
Colbrese, Austin Davis,
Trystan Dell, Emily Glisan,
Hannah Hitchcock, Jordan
Lemley, Brandon Montooth, Bailee Olson, Bailey Stombaugh, Courtney
Watts.
Sophomores: Caitlin Bennett, Tanner Gorden, Tylar
Gosney, Zachary Marshall,
Dakota Mettler, Hanafin
Miller, Karissa Pierce, Regan Raymond, Alexander
Tharp, Elias Van Norman.
Freshmen: Nathaniel
Clark, Carter Ehlen, Logan
Ewing, Emanuel Flores,
Kyle Holmberg, Carson
Huff, Adam Johnson,
Eryka Keeney, Alexandria
King, Alejandro Martin,
Melissa Poole, Ivy Roden,
Makenzie Rutledge, Blake
Ryner, Breanna Shea,
Khloe Trulson, Mercedes
Wells, Avery Yung.
United Junior High
School is pleased to announce the following students have attained honor
roll status for the first
quarter of the 2015-2016
school year:
6th Grade High Honors
(3.75 and higher GPA)
Elaina Allaman, Amelia
Bennett, Benjamin Bennett,
Steven Armstrong, Mgr.
Box 185 Cameron, IL 309-563-9612
FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
FOR HEALTHY LIVING
FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Cadence Brownlee, Laney
Butler, Parker Cassidy,
Kathryn Douglas, Jacob
Dutton, Paige Hall, Jaylee
Hasten, Luci Kane, Daniel Kimball, Nolan Lefler,
Josie McElwee, Madison
Penn, Mackenzie Smock,
Karragan Sperry, Austin
Thompson & Reed Yung
Mono, Cameron Morris, Noah Olson, Hunter
Osborn, Sullivan Ross,
Spencer Schneider, Kloey
Scott, Riley Tyrrell, Mikel
Walker, Devin Webb &
Paige Widger
6th Grade Honors
(3.0 – 3.74 GPA)
Nicole Baker, Taylor Carlson, Dylan Cheline, Carson
Clayton, DJ Dutton, Natalie
Gillette, Emily Grodjesk,
Courtney Hinton, Owen
Jenks, Keirstyn Johnson,
Natalie King, Madisyn Lee,
Avery Lefler, Shalyn Lucas,
Quinton McVey, Olivia
Mitchell, Cassiday Tierney, Ellie VanFleet, Cade
Whitsitt, Avery WinKing &
Evan Wynne
Cole Boock, Sarrah Brown,
Jenna Bushong, Jared
Butts, Claire Carnes, Grant
Gillen, Eva Green, Taylor
Gustafson, Kimberly Hays,
Lainey Hickman, Madelynn Higbee, Abby Hinton, Mason Hootman, Colin
Jenks, Dakota McNabb,
David Oberhaus, Ellie Robinson, Angelina Sargeant,
Savanna Seidl, Blake Stewart, Andrea Teel, Addyson
Trego, Zander Updike &
Ashlyn Vallero
7th Grade High Honors
(3.75 and higher GPA)
Kylene Albany, Tyler Barrington, Alyssa Beltran,
Jackson Bergren, Danielle
Bowling, Drew Brown,
Mallorie Brunswig, Emma
Colbrese, Zucka Cruz,
Makaila Hootman, Riley
Horner, Derek Johnston,
Jordan Lantz, Haley Marshall, Rebecca Merry,
Morgaine Olson, Coleman
Orth, Jennifer Shimmin,
Kaylan Sperry, Laney Tabb,
Aubrey Thompson & Trace
Titus
8th Grade High Honors
( 3.75 and higher GPA)
8th Grade Honors
(3.0 – 3.74 GPA)
Kristian Albany, Michael
Brown, Kaylee Cornell,
Adonay Cruz, Jalyn Curtis,
Austin Davis, Justin Dell,
William Douglas, Blake
Edwin, Ashleigh Ferguson,
Hayleigh Ferguson, Anne
Gregory, Dyhlan Hepner,
Nick Hodges, Jerzi Johnson, Alexis Johnston, Isabella Kilgore, Kalyn Lee,
Sam Mono, William Ornduff, Maggie Peel, Stewart Svob, Damian Tharp,
Ariana Villarreal, Brooke
Wells, Emily Wilson &
Emily Younge
7th Grade Honors
(3.0 – 3.74 GPA)
Hunter Austin, Mallory
Cooper, Bennett Frisby,
Richelle Keller, Richard
Kroncke III, Tyler Matern,
Paige McKeown, Grace
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page 9
Football team takes to the road for opening round playoff game
By Cass Singleton
October was a month
full of celebration for the
United High School football team as they celebrated
clinching a playoff berth
for the second time in three
years.
“I feel pretty good about
playoffs this year, and we
have the potential to go
far,” senior Brett Welch
said.
The playoffs begin on
October 31 at Spring Valley, a team that finished its
season with a record of 7-2,
but the team said that for
the most part the game plan
stays the same regardless
who they are playing.
“ Offensively, we are
still going to do what we do
and make them game plan
around it. Defensively, we
just have to break down
their film and game plan
on how we will play our
defense vs what they are
trying to do,” head coach
Fred Lucas said.
Seniors are feeling the
added pressure this time
around in the playoffs
knowing this is their last
shot at a chance to go all
Alred Mono runs but United loses its regular season
the way.
finale at Mercer County.
“ This year is different
because it’s my last year so
“It’s a special night for
it’s not like I’ll have anoth- during the annual senior
night game where seniors,
them and their parents to
er shot next year,” senior
along with their parents,
celebrate their careers and
Eli Olin said.
were honored before the
to be recognized in front
Another celebration for
game on October 16.
of the community,” Lucas
the team this month was
said.
Seniors who were honor
were Olin, Welch, Nick
Penn, Lance Anderson,
Nathan Tippett, Michael
Brown, Jeremy Olson,
Aaron Cortez, Adrian Gillette and Derek Hart.
“ I’m sad that it will be
over soon, but hopefully we
can end it on a high note,”
Olin said.
“As a freshman watching the seniors play their
last year as a United player
is actually satisfying. To
know that these people who
have played for everything
since their freshman year,
makes it all more satisfying,” freshman Joey Jones
said.
Cross country team advances soph Cruz-Ramirez to sectional
By Becca Rutledge
United’s cross country
team sends Carolina Cruz­
Ramriez off to sectionals
this Saturday, October 31.
Cruz­-Ramriez reached
many of her goals and beat
her personal record this
season, which helped her
proceed to sectionals.
“Carolina has a fair shot
at advancing to state, which
is a big deal,” coach Danielle Cano said.
This season was not
only successful in racing
but also making memories.
“My favorite memory
was when our coach took
on a surprise trip to Dairy
Queen,” sophomore, Olivia
Bishop said.
The team was made
up of one male and four
females.
“As far as being the
only male on the team, it
made me become more of
a leader than I have been
in the past, and I think that
Like a NASCAR race, getting off to a good and fast
start is always paramount in a cross country meet, as
junir Adam Burnett (center, in red) can attest.
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that’s been beneficial to the
team as a whole,” junior
Adam Burnett said.
Even though many of
their meets were held in
the cold and rain, the team
still continued to be successful; Burnett beat his
personal record by cutting
off a whole minute.
page 10
Secret to success? It still comes down to hard work
The success of United’s
volleyball program continues with this year’s team
sporting a record of 30­5
going into Regionals and
prompting the commonly­
asked question, “How do
they do it year after year?”
Head coach Carrie
Boone has continued the
winning tradition implemented by former head
coach Donn Damos since
their coaching philosophies
are similar: hard work pays
off.
“Every year the girls
raise the bar and push each
other to be better. Hard
work is expected by coaches and players in order to
keep our tradition going
and to obtain our team
goals each year,” Boone
said.
In addition to intensive
weight lifting in the summer and tough practices six
days a week when school
begins, Boone encourages the girls to spend time
together off the court to
bond and learn to trust each
other which improves their
on­court performance.
Team bonding begins
in the summer through
open gyms and camps,
along with an overnight
stay before school begins
and continuing through
the season with journaling
and even pumpkin carving
at assistant coach Kristie
Murdock’s house.
“Bonding outside of
volleyball really helps our
communication on the
court. This is probably the
closest group that I’ve been
apart of,” junior Ellie Cheline said.
With 11 juniors on the
roster this year and the
junior varsity having a
record of 18­-2 with one tie
this season, it is projected
that United will continue
on with their successful
volleyball program.
Lack of individual success doesn’t
make golf season any less fun
By Miranda Bryan
With United High
School’s 2015 golf season
coming to an abrupt end
with no one advancing
beyond regionals, the team
looks past stats and into
their personal gains and
memories with their fellow
teammates.
“Through golf I’ve not
only gained a lot of friends,
but a family. Being with
the same group of people
every day for a few months
makes you really care for
and appreciate them. It was
a very good way to spend
the beginning of my senior
year.” said senior Mcken-
The driving range makes
for an impromptu coordinated swing from three
United teammates.
zie Campbell.
With a lot of their time
being spent on the bus to
and from practices every
day and meets a few times
every week, they had a lot
of time to get to know one
another.
“This was only my first
year of golf and I’ve already made so many memories. The funniest memory
I have is of Coach Wood
always having “talks” with
us when she feels we’re
being disrespectful
towards each other. It
keeps our team from
fighting so it doesn’t
affect our playing.”
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Senior Lauren Sperry is one of the individual success
stories for the United volleyball team, which keeps
rolling through the competition
page 11
Beyond the Playing Field:
Deer season underway, but not for shotgunners
By Hanna Dunton
As the fall sport season
starts to reluctantly draw
to a close, a new sport with
a different kind of athlete
emerges.
This sport may be one
of the most challenging
of them all, and to many
United students this means
getting up at the crack of
dawn and dressing in heavy
dark colored clothing.
Now you may be asking just what some of these
United students are up to,
but don’t fret, it is just deer
season.
Deer season for archery
hunters opened the first of
October, and for many students here at United, it was
an event they have been
preparing for all year.
“This may be my first
season but I am sure that it
won’t be my last. I haven’t
gotten a deer yet, but I am
confident that I will get a
good one before the season
ends.” said junior Caitlyn
Becker.
On October 18, West
Elementary physical education teacher Jeff Runge, father of United senior Noah
shot a doe weighing as
much as 140 pounds before
being field dressed.
After being processed
the doe yielded around 5060 pounds of meat.
Some only enjoy the
sport of hunting and rather
than letting the deer waste,
they give it to someone
who will use the meat and
appreciate the gift.
The Runges have several families they will bring
the deer to for processing
as they do not enjoy much
meat.
Many do not realize this
is actually legal and as long
as you follow the process
correctly, you will not get
in trouble.
To transfer the deer in
question to another person
you must fill out the leg tag
properly and sign it.
Then you must call the
animal in and report the
harvest.
There is a short survey
to ask what kinds of animals you saw while out and
if you noticed any problems.
The most common mistake hunters make is they
forget to transfer the leg tag
to the person that will have
final possession of the deer,
or they forget to call in the
harvested animal.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources)
states that now broadheads
must be used with arrows
and must be a minimum of
⅞ inches in diameter when
fully opened.
Deer hunting season much
more than two weekends
Deer hunting remains
a popular sport for many
in our area, but most don’t
know that deer season runs
more than the two weekends often associated with
shotgun hunting.
Archery season started
October 1 and run through
November 19. It also runs
November 23--December 2
and December 7--January
17.
Shotgun, pistol and
muzzeloading season is
scheduled the weekends
of November 20-22 and
December 3-6; however,
a separate muzzleloading
season is set for December
11-13.
Finally, a lesser known
firearm season is scheduled
in January.
Handgun, shotgun and
muzzleloaders can also
hunt antlerless deer December 31--January 3 and
January 15--17.
Source: dnr.illinois.gov
Basketball seasons about to tipoff
United West Elementary teacher Jeff Runge nabbed this doe nearly two weeks ago
as archery season for deer hunters is underway. Many more United students and
their families will participate in shotgun season which runs the weekends of November 20-22 and December 3-6.
With the fall season of
golf, cross country, football
and volleyball winding
down, it’s already time to
start thinking about basketball seasons here at United
High School.
New coach Lisa Gartelos’ girls’ team will
begin practice on Monday,
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Coach Jim Noonan’s
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November 23.
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