TALON - Riley County USD 378, KS - Official Website | Official Website

THE
TALON
RILEY COUNTY STUDENT NEWSPAPER
More Than Just Kings and Queens
Homecoming isn’t just about the candidates. It is about the experience
of this crazy week.The week where students go insane dressing-up, and
it’s not unusual to see boys wearing tutus and tights.
Part of the madness includes dressing up for spirit week. To start
the week off, students dress-up to the theme of the day. These include,
‘Merica Monday, Twin Tuesday, Western Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, and Falcon Friday. Unlike past years, students recieve points for the
days they dress-up.
Student Council has included a new element to homecoming this
year. Students will be competing as a grade, in Homecoming Olympics.
The whole student body will be participating in a series of team building
games. Groups earn points for each activity completed.
The most anticipated part of homecoming are the class floats. With the
theme “The Faces of Riley County”, each grade picked a social group
seen around the high school. On Friday, the parade will start downtown
Candidates pictured left to right: Jacoby Roeser, Kate Bowen, Ian Eastes, Heidi Prockish, Bri
at 2pm. Immediately followed by a pep rally at the grade school.
Engle, and Landin Griffiths.
To determine the winner of homecoming, points will be tallied from spirit week participation, Homecoming Olympic Games, and the
float. The class, with the most points, will be announced before the crowning ceremony.
The king and queen will be crowned at halftime of the football game Friday night. This year’s candidates are Jacoby Roeser, Kate
Bowen, Ian Eastes, Heidi Prockish, Bri Engle, and Landin Griffiths. After interviewing these six individuals using unordinary questions,
the answers that follow stuck out.
BRI
HEIDI
IAN
Q: How would you get an elephant into a Q: What kitchen utensil would you be and
Q: A penguin walks through the door
refrigerator?
why?
wearing a sombrero. Why is he here?
A: “I would use a little baby elephant and A: “If I were a kitchen utensil, I would be a
A: “Well, obvisously, he’s looking for the
a very large refrigerator.”
mixing bowl, because without that utensil
fiesta and says AY YAY YAH YAH YAAAA!!”
nothing would ever be made from the heart.
JACOBY
LANDIN
Also, the mixing bowl holds everything toQ: If you could pick two celebrities to
Q: If you could be a superhero, who would
gether and serves as a foundation to somebe your parents who would they be and thing enjoybale.”
you be and why?
why?
A: “Batman, because he doesn’t really
KATE
A: “Oprah because she is an angel an
have powers but he does good to all peoQ:
What
do
you
think
of
garden
gnomes?
Jim Carey because he is funny.”
ple even when they are ungrateful or even
A: “They are kinda cute in a creepy way...I
when they don’t deserve it.”
personally wouldn’t want them in my garden!”
By: Sheridan VanSickle
>> CONTENTS | OCTOBER 2013
2
Crossfire
3
Club Feature
Fashion
4
Earl
Entertainment
5
Day in the Life
Calendar
6
New Students
7
Morgan’s Minute
Find the Falcon
Senior Tips
Poll
8
Spotlight
Riley County Student Newspaper Pg 2
Crossfire: Miley Cyrus
Against Her
By: Ian
You get the best of both worlds.
We are not going to twerk to work this out.
Miley Cyrus, or as I still call her, Hannah
Montana, has broken the hearts of many by
her recent outbreaks of “unique” (actually just
down-right disgusting) performances. Now, I
do not know about you, but I look at Miley and
still see her switching from brunette to blonde
to grace her many adoring fans with good
singing, and a loving character. Yes, that was
in her TV show, but it is a clear representation of the real life impact she has on society
today.
In the Hannah Montana show, Miley Cyrus
uses her alter-ego to develop attention and a
strong fan base. With the current Miley situation, she has developed attention, but for
all the wrong reasons. Miley Cyrus has not
developed attention for her singing or talent,
she has developed attention from her disturbing new look and her obnoxious, care-free
attitude. People are not watching her because
she is good at what she does, they are watching her to see what will happen next. It’s like a
sick, musical soap opera with no end in sight.
It all started with the hair. With the bald
spots and the pig-tails, Miley has sacrificed
her own image for the “shock factor.” From
the hair cut came the attrocious actions. First,
came her raunchy video for her song “We
Can’t Stop,” then came her VMA performance.
Her music video features obscene gestures
and lewd behavior, all for the sake of garnering the most attention. Well, that attention paid
off! Miley landed herself a spot as a VMA performer. Needless to say, we all know how she
acted in that performance. Shortly after that
performance, Miley’s engagement to Liam Hemsworth fell through.
Miley does not realize that she is changing the world’s view of
what is acceptable. By her actions, she is telling young girls that
one of the best ways to gain attention is to be disgusting and
sexual. She is making the shock factor a norm, as one of the developing ways to make a name for yourself. Kids who do have talent are going to start thinking they have to act strange or standout
by shocking, rather than working on and refining their talent. Why
should they be a good singer if the person next to them is getting
all the attention for licking chains while half- naked?
This new Miley transformation is disturbing, I only hope this new
wig can come off.
For Her
By: Lexy
Twerking. Miley didn’t invent it, but she made
it famous. Many were scandalized by her performance at the VMAs in August, where she
danced provocatively during her song, “We
Can’t Stop.” Celebrities and fans alike were
offended by the scantily-clad starlet. TV personality Michael Strahan tweeted, “That was
uncomfortable, weird and hard to watch.”
Not even a month later, Cyrus awed us yet
again with her new song and music video,
“Wrecking Ball.” In the video, there was more
provocative dancing and even a few clothesless scenes. Has Miley become a celebrity that
no one wants to claim? Possibly, but maybe
her actions are just misunderstood.
Miley’s main goal was to get people talking,
and by that measure, she was pretty successful. She made national news, for goodness
sake! No matter what opinion you have of her,
the fact that you have an opinion means she
got what she wanted. In this digital world, it’s
all about the views, tweets, and posts. You may
be wondering, “How many views did her new
music video get?” As I’m writing, the viewcount
is 128,183,051. Over one million people have
seen and heard her. That’s pretty impressive.
Besides her dancing, the biggest issue people had with Miley was her choice of attire - a
nude tankini. Interestingly enough, Lady Gaga
wore less in her performance; she sported a bikini with seashells. Why didn’t she get criticized
for her costume, but Miley did? The answer is
simple: We’re used to being shocked by Gaga.
From meat, to bubbles, to imitiating an egg,
she’s quite literally done it all. A seashell bikini
is tame compared to past costumes. Cyrus,
on the other hand, has been implanted in our brains as Hannah
Montana, and Hannah Montana would never, ever twerk. It’s just
not right. If you think about it, comparing Miley to her TV personality isn’t right either.
Not every celebrity is anti-Miley. Justin Timberlake defended
her, saying, “I think, you know, she’s growing up.” He also argued,
“I just think it’s the VMAs. It’s not like she did it at the Grammys.”
This hits the nail on the head; It’s the VMAs. No one expects a PG
VMA show. It is MTV, after all. Miley Cyrus is a singer, actress, and
most importantly, a performer. If she wants to twerk, then she can.
It’s her performance, song, and music video, and honestly, it’s her
life. And you know the saying, any publicity is good publicity.
Riley County Student Newspaper Pg 3
Keeping up with Art Club
By: Lexy Witcher
“To promote creativity in the school and
community,” replied Ms. Meadows, when
asked about Art Club’s role. Ms. Meadows
is the Art Club sponsor, as well as the high
school art and yoga instructor.
“We have a lot of members this year.”
There are 47 members to be exact. In past
years, Art Club has painted detailed murals,
including a patriotic scene on a side-wall
on Main Street. They also have participated
in the Memory Project. Art Club received
pictures of orphans from far-away countries
and painted portraits of them. Then, they
sent back the paintings to the children.
Finally, Art Club received photos of the
orphans posing with their portraits.
Art Club plans to do both of these projects this year. One of their goals is to
create a charcoal drawing inside the new
Gambino’s. Plans include a falcon, representing Riley County, and a ram, representing Blue Valley. The Memory Project
is making a comeback as well. This year
they will receive 36 photos from Nepal.
This project will overlap Art Club and the art
classes, as it will be an activity and assignment.
2013-14 officers of Art Club are: President Kayla Wilkinson, Vice-President Ian
Eastes, Secretary Kate Bowen, Treasurer
Abbi Collins, Photographer Sheridan VanSickle, and STUCO Rep Kristy Nixon.
When asked what her favorite project this
year has been so far, Kate Bowen chose
the Poppin’ Colors: Splatter the Eagles at
the Falcon Fun Zone, a creative fundraiserwith darts and paint-filled balloons. “Everyone seemed excited, including the workers.
We wanted to throw darts when the kids
weren’t there!”
Art Club has many other plans for the
school year, including Project Good Fortune, the art exchange at Christmas, and
making students’ art more present in the
community. There are many talented artists
at Riley, so keep your eyes open for student work around the school and the community.
FASHION
By Josey Thomspon
FALL
Because of the warm weather
this fall, it is not unusual to still
have your short sleeved shirts and
sandals out! Even though it might
seem tempting to wear shorts or
tank tops to school, we all need
to remember to follow the dress
code. Here’s a quick reminder of
some of the rules regarding dress
in the student handbook:
1.“Neatness and cleanliness are the
basic requirements for good appearence”
2. Skirts/shorts must be no shorter
than four inches above the knee
3. Sleeveless shirts must extend to
“end of shoulder” and have “armholes the size of a standard sleeve”
For casual days you can’t go
wrong with a Victoria’s Secret
Pink Collection sweatshirt, distressed skinnies, and Converse
All Stars. Carry your essentials
with a Vera Bradley wristlet.
When you want to dress up this
fall, try colored skinnies with a
sheer top and a jean jacket or vest
with a chunky necklace. Essie nail
polish is perfect for adding a little
something to your nails.
Every boy should have a good
pair of cargos to make any
causal outfit a little cuter! Add
a tee from American Eagle or
Pac Sun and the new Nike Free
Trainers to finish off the look.
Riley County Student Newspaper Pg 4
EXPLAIN THIS
Q: I really liked Dee Dee’s answers, what
makes you qualified for this position?
A:Whooooah, man. That’s like a totally off
the wave question. Like, whoah Aunt Dee
Dee just sent me this letter, and there was
like half of a chicken skeleton in the postvelope, and she was just like, “Earl, honey,
I need you man.” But anyway man, like this
letter said all of this “honey” this and “honey” that, and I’m just like, whatever, man,
sure. But then I started getting all of these
letters, and it’s just like taking my gnar
romping time off of the waves. I’m just like,
“Mr. Postman-man, where did all this insurge of postvelopes come from?” And he’s
just like, “Man.” Yeah, whoah. But what?
Qualifications? Well, this thought was perusing my brain one ‘Fornia aftermorning
on the boog’ board. And I was like, “What
makes me qualified?” And out of the sand
this little hermy crab was just like, “Meester,
Meester! You are qualified because you
pickled the sea cucumber!” And I was like,
“This is true, little bro.” Hope that’s tubular
enough for you dude.
By Emma Glessner
New Releases
Movies
Albums
Battle of the Year
Baggage Claim
September 20
PG-13
Drama
Chris Brown and
Josh Holloway
September 27
PG-13
Comedy
Paula Palton and Jill
Scott
A hip hop persona
recruits his friend,
a former basketball coach, to train
a dream team of
American boys to
win a break dancing
world championship
in France.
As her younger
sister’s wedding gets
closer, an unmarried
flight attendant goes
on a cross-county
search to find a husband of her own.
The Voice
CBS
Thursday nights
8 p.m.
NBC
Monday/Tuesday nights
7 p.m.
1. “Before you
make those kinds
of demands you
should put a note
on your door that
says,’Do not come
into room and read
my diary and wear
my clothes.”-???
Justin Timberlake
September 30
- Gimmie What I Don’t
Know (I Want)
- True Blood
- Cabarbet
- TKO
- Take Back the Night
- Murder
- Drink You Away
- You Got It On
TV Series
The Crazy Ones
Robin Williams, Sarah
Michelle Gellar, James
Wolk, Hamish Linklater,
and Amanda Setton
The 20/20
Experience 2 of 2
Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine,
and Blake Shelton
See you Tonight
Scotty McCreery
October 15
- Now
- See You Tonight
-Get Gone With You
-Feein’ It
- Feel Good Summer
Song
- Buzzin’
Can You Feel It
-The Dash
- Blue Jean Baby
Pretty Little Liars
Grey’s Anatomy
ABC
Tuesday nights
7p.m.
Life
Thursday nights
9 p.m.
Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario,
Shay Mitchell, and Tyler
Blackburn
Name That Quote
Ellen Pompeo, Sandra
Oh, Justin Chambers,
and Chandra Wilson
2. “What are you 4. Person 1-
right! Ha-ha! Just
kidding. But not really.”-???
3. “ Look at you!
5. “Mom! Are
turd burgers talking
about?”-???
You just killed... a
place mat!”-???
“White? What are
you doing? How do
you know where I
live?” Person 2- “It’s
called the Freedom
of Informaton Act,
Kate. The hippies finally got something
you sure this water
is sanitary? It looks
questionable to
me!”-???
ANSWERS 1. Bridesmaids 2. Pitch Perfect 3. The Hunger Games 4. Dodge Ball 5. Tarzan Earl...
Entertainment
Riley County Student Newspaper Pg 5
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...
JUNIOR,
Cassandra Anderson
6:00am : Wake up and get
cleaned up
7:00am : Eat breakfast
Riley County HS Events
Oct. 1 VB @ Rossville 5pm
Oct. 3 CC @ Council Grove 4pm
Oct. 4 FB vs Wabaunsee 7pm
Oct. 5 VB @ Concorida Tournament 9am
Oct. 5 VB @ Abilene JV Tournament 9am
Oct. 8 VB @ Silver Lake 5pm
Oct. 11 FB @ St. Marys 7pm
Oct. 12 VB @ Marysville Tournament 9am
7:40am : Leave for school
Oct. 12 VB @ Rock Creek JV Tournament 9am
Oct. 12 CC Riley County Invite 10am
12:00pm : Eat lunch
Oct. 15 VB vs St. Marys 5pm
Oct. 17 CC MEL @ Wabaunsee 4pm
Oct. 18 FB vs Nemaha Valley 7pm
Oct. 22 VB @ Rock Creek 5pm
5:00pm Attend Volleyball
game and
WIN!
Oct. 25 FB @ Marysville 7pm
Oct. 26 CC @ Regionals TBA
Oct. 31 FB vs Rock Creek 7pm
Nov. 2 CC @ State TBA
Nov. 5 FB @ Bi-Districts TBA
Nov. 9 FB @ Regionals TBA
8:00pm Get things and go
home
Nov. 15 FB @ Sectional TBA
Nov. 22 FB @ Sub-State TBA
10:00pm : Go to bed
SOPHOMORE,
Matt Bruckerhoff
Nov. 30 FB @ State TBA
6:00am : Wake up
7:20am : Attend Renassiance Choir
October/November
8:00am : Eat a protein bar
for breakfast
October/November Birthdays
9:40am : Watch Scouting
report
3:30pm : Eat a Subway
sandwich
4:00pm : GET IN THE
ZONE FOR THE GAME!
By: Chelsey Schartz
Ashlyn Kabriel Oct 2nd
Kezia Shibler Oct 3rd
Sadie Wallace Oct 3rd
Josey Thompson Oct 4th
Jessica Smith Oct 5th
Cody Davis Oct 6th
Patience Graham Oct 6th
Abigail Collins Oct 9th
Ian Eastes Oct 10th
Conor O’Boyle Oct 10th
Tori Owensby Oct 15th
Cordell Weis Oct 15th
Lexy Witcher Oct 16th
Marco Flores Oct 20th
Shianne Powers Oct 20th
Stephanie Greer Oct 24th
Kayla Wilkinson Oct 25th
Christopher Marienau Oct 26th
Wyatt Howe Nov 1st
Kobie Camerlinck Nov 2nd
Gage Foreman Nov 4th
Jackson Wagner Nov 5th
Spencer Bowman Nov 7th
Casey Guthals Nov 8th
Lane Howe Nov 9th
Joshua Henderson Nov 12th
Julia Satzler Nov 12th
Gabriel Bond Nov 17th
Nicholas Elder Nov 18th
Noah Rignell Nov 18th
Sherri Waggoner Nov 19th
Raelyn Hess Nov 21st
Katie Messerla Nov 22nd
Ariel Adolph Nov 23rd
Steven Thurlow Nov 25th
Chelsey Schartz Nov 28th
Riley County Student Newspaper Pg 6
New Kids on the Block
By Josey Thompson and Kate Bowen
What was your first impression of Riley County?
Whether it is across the country or just the county,
moving schools can be extremely terrifying. In order
to get to know these knew students, we asked the
eleven newcomers what their first impression was of
our high school. To no surprise, many replies had to
do with it being “small”, although there were unique
answers as well!
“The people are nice.”
-Junior Cheyanne Thomas, Manhattan, Kansas
“The people were welcoming!”
-Freshman Nelsa Beckman, Keats, Kansas
“A lot smaller.”
-Junior Marquez Boyd, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
“That you guys are nice.”
-Sophomore Sabrina Charania, Harlingen, Texas
“It’s small!”
-Junior Alexandra Stewart, Melbourne Beach, Florida
“It’s surrounded by farmland.”
-Junior Madeline McFall, San Antonio, Texas
“Small...”
-Freshman Isabell McFall, San Antonio, Texas
“There’s no uniforms.”
-Junior Angel Martinez, Wadesboro, North Carolina
“I was surprised that everyone isn’t a hick.”
-Sophomore Renee Ramos, Matton, Illinois
Pictured Above:
Sabrina Charania
Middle: Bethany Crubel
Right: Angel Martinez
“There was more people than I thought there would be and everyone
was friendly.”
-Freshman Bethany Crubel, Manhattan, Kansas
“It’s small.”
-Freshman Gage Foreman, Dallas, Texas
Riley County Student Newspaper Pg 7
Morgan’s Minute:
One minute. Go!
Q: Have you ever tazed anyone?
A: No.
Q: What’s the fastest someone’s been
going when you pulled them over?
A: Oh it was...92 in a 65
Q: Whats your middle name?
A: Mitchell.
Q: What do you drive besides a police
car?
A: A Ford free style or an Isuzu pickup
truck.
Q: What do you wear (besides your
uniform)?
A: Blue jeans...normal people clothes!
Q: Have you considered using A
Touch of Gray?
A: No.
Second to Mrs. Hartenbower, Officer Morgan
is known as the school’s
Chatty Cathy. He was
forced to spit out his
answers and complete
the questions as quickly
as he could!
Q: Have you been in a high speed
chase?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you prefer British or American
sirens better?
A: American!
Q: Do you prefer sweet or unsweet
tea?
A: Sweet Tea.
--WANTED-
Clues:
Ouch! Does anyone have any tweezers? I think I have a
splinter. If it weren’t for this thumping giving me a headache,
I might fall asleep from the music.
Find the Falcon!
Rules for Find The Falcon:
1. Flash will NOT be in a classroom, so don’t look there!
2. You can only look before and after school, so don’t ask
your teachers to leave class!
3. Bring Flash to Mrs. Steiner to claim your prize!
Senior Tips
Straight from the Seniors to Freshmen:
By Emma Glessner and Josey Thompson
1. “Don’t make bad decisions, they follow you for the
rest of high school.”
-Bri Engle
2. “Don’t procrastinate AR points.”
-Taylor Oliver
3. “Stay organized.”
-Blake Dodson
4. “Don’t mess with the seniors.”
-Gibson Eyestone
5. “Don’t do PDA!”
-Jessica Smith and Casey Guthals
6. “Don’t steal stuff in the locker rooms.”
-Makayla Vargo
7. “Be smart with your guy decisions.”
-Braden Cook
8. “Don’t vote for Landin for homecoming.”
-Jacoby Roeser
9. “Vote for Landin.”
-Landin Griffiths
10. “Don’t be obnoxious.”
-Gavin Grater
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST FACTOR WHEN
CHOOSING YOUR CLASSES?
A) Required
46%
B) Enjoyment
46%
C.
A.
B.
C) Challenge
8%
After asking the student body what their biggest factor was when
choosing their classes, required and enjoyment tied with 46% of
the student body picking these as their answers. Challenge, on
the other hand was the least popular, with 8%.
Riley County Student Newspaper Pg 8
Get in the Spotlight at...
Riley County High School
FFA | ART CLUB | FCCLA | FOOTBALL | KEY CLUB | FBLA | DEBATE | CROSS COUNTRY | FCA | PEP CLUB | STUCO
Students of the Month
On Saturday, September 21, John
Burnett and his dad, Greg, fished
the 3rd annual Wounded Warrior
Tournament on Milford Lake. The
tournament, sponsored by local clubs
and operated by Veterans Outdoors,
raises money for wounded warriors
and is open to any soldier who would
like to be involved. John and Greg
have participated each year. This
year, they placed 5th and won the
Big Bass trophy and prize with John’s
catch of a 3.77 lb small-mouth bass.
This school year, student council is
sponsoring a student of the month
from each grade. Students are nominated by teachers based on their
character, reliablity and work ethic.
Students of the month get lunch line
privileges, a prize and their photo
on the wall. September’s students of
the month were, freshman, Isabella
Wernholm, sophomore, Olivia Lowe,
junior, Raelyn Hess, and senior,
Sheridan VanSickle.
STUCO
sponsored a Drive-In
Movie Night after the home
Silver Lake game. Students pulled up their trucks
and dropped their tailgates
to watch Remember the
Titans. The night was full
of fun, pizza, and blankets. Student Council is
sponsoring the upcoming
Homecoming Olympics to
create a fun, competitive
class competition.
GAVIN GRATER
McDonald’s KMAN
“Student Athlete of the Week”
Week of September 10-17
BLAKE DODSON,
Earned first place at the Clay Center Cross Country Meet,
with a time of 17 minutes and 40 seconds, running a distance of 3.1 miles. He defeated the second place runner
by a 28 second margin.
Front row, left to right: Cierra Dugan, Michaella Wahl, Kyla
Lindell, Haley Lindell, Gunnar Jackson
Back row, left to right: Dalton Willbrant, Clay Cales, Alyssa
Kulp, Kelli Graham, Rachael Peterson, Nelsa Beckman.
Employee of the
Month:
Mark Laurie
Nominated by the
student council members, September’s
employee of the month
was Mr. Laurie.
FFA competed in the North
Central District Land and
Homesite Evaluation Career Development Event on
Wednesday, September 18
in Chapman. Earning 3rd
place as a team, was the
Riley County FFA Greenhand
team. Earning individual honors were; Michaella Wahl-4th,
Dalton Willbrant-6th, Gunnar
Jackson-7th, Kelli Graham and
Nelsa Bechman-tied for 10th.
S C H O L A R S B O W L | N H S | B A N D | S C I E N C E C L U B | V O L L E Y B A L L | C U LT U R E C L U B | C H E E R L E A D I N G | T R I - M