April final - USD 306 Southeast of Saline

Trojournal
Southeast of Saline High School
April 24, 2014 Southeast of Saline, 5056 E. K-4 Highway, Gypsum KS 67448 Vol. XLI, No.8
See the Trojournal online and in color at http://www.usd306.k12.ks.us
Juniors Carlos Henry and Alex Bell goof around in the photo booth at after-prom. (Photo courtesy of Mrs. Janet Sauber)
2 << OPINION
Students question point system tardy penalty
A
year ago, the point system
was introduced. Though
it has stirred negative
responses from some students, it
stays with us.
The biggest change the point
system brought has been the larger amount of students in In-School
Suspension (ISS). The group of
students tends to be the same.
Thus, the game has changed but
the players remain the same; students are committing the same acts
but there is now a harsher penalty.
With harsher penalties in place
for common infractions, the question of whether the penalties are
too harsh arises, and in some cases, there may be reason to modify
the points policy.
Maybe, for example, it is a little
harsh that with as few as three tardies, one can be put in ISS, and
with 15, one can be punished with
expulsion.
Instead of forcing detention
upon students for tardies, perhaps
administrators could offer a less
harsh punishment such as community service.
Currently, after a student is given a detention and it is served, the
student is given one point on the
points system. After the students
are given a point, they then have
the chance to work it off through
community service.
Our goal should be to use as little
punishment as possible to achieve
the desired compliance with the
rule, and the option of community
service (which requires the same
time but allows students to use it
more productively) without a point
awarded would probably influence
students to get to school on time.
After all, most tardies are accidental. One student had a game
and did not get home until late at
night. Once she arrived home, she
Layout Editor Cedar Van Tassel
Layout Assistant / Webmaster Deric Schettler
Copy Editor / Columnist Graci Kejr
Sports Editor Tyler Henry
Feature Editor Lexi Pennington
Graphic Artist Abbey Sorenson
Photo Editor Kaylen Lassley
Photographer Dariann McBurney
Public Relations Manager Shayla Kuhn
Reporter Jenni Lyne
Advisor Gary McClure
THE
TROJOURNAL is the official newspaper of
Southeast of Saline High School and is published monthly by
the journalism staff.
Writers’ opinions expressed through this publication do
not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire staff, the advisor
or school administrators.
Letters should be 300 words or less and must be signed.
Editors reserve the rights to edit for punctuation, spelling and
usage.
Southeast of Saline High School is located at 5056 E. K-4
Highway, Gypsum, KS 67448.
The Trojournal can be seen online and in color at
www.usd306.k12.ks.us
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 2
e
Trojournal
Around
Th
Southeast of Saline
set her alarm clock but the next
morning did not wake up to it.
Other students have received tardies because they ride to school
with an older sibling who failed
to awaken on time. In these cases,
tardies are accidental.
The tardy policy is one area in
which the point system could be
lightened. Should a tardy be in
the same category as willful disobedience or intentionally skipping school? Should an accidental
tardy be worthy of the same disciplinary point as intentional disobedience?
Again, allowing community service without awarding a discipline
point would be adequate punishment to dissuade students from being late to school, and administrators should apply as little force as
possible to get students to school
on time.
-Shayla Kuhn, Public Relations
Halls
Do you feel you should get ISS or OSS for having too many tardies? If not, what would you recommend changing?
I don’t think you should get ISS or OSS,
I think you should get a warning, but if it
keeps happening, “then yes.”
-Taylor Wells, freshman
Not necessarily. If you’re late, then
I don’t know why they are going to take
more school away from you.
-Anthony Knight, sophomore
No, because you are just missing more
class. I think you should stay however late
you were after school.
-Brooke Koch, junior
I feel it’s really stupid because it’s just a
tardy. You should get a certain amount (of
tardies) and (then) get detention after that.
-Bryan Bruckner, senior
OPINION>> 3
Theatre disturbances drive viewers insane
W
e’ve all been there.
You go to the theatre to
enjoy a new film, and
you wind up seated directly behind
Chompy McLouderson and no matter what hints you
make, he continues rustling in his
bag of contraband
candy or going to
town on his popcorn.
You find the
Kejr
prime seating, the
perfect spot for
your eyes to focus directly on the
center of the screen, when all of a
sudden, some random stranger appears out of nowhere and asks if
the seat right next to you is taken.
Thinking he means the seat two
spots away from you, you answer
“no,” and before you know it,
you’re sharing some prime real estate with Smelly O’Stankerman. To
your horror, this person appears to
be into the “natural stuff” when it
comes to cleansing and odor cover-
age. You realize that he must have
tried to make his own deodorant
and he is obviously in the BEGINNING STAGES of learning how. As
the theatre fills up, you realize that
your options include: leave and waste
twelve bucks on popcorn and a ticket,
sit in the front row, or suffer through
your new friend’s odiferous aura.If
your experiences at the theatre are
anything like mine, your bad luck
doesn’t end here. While you were
facing the dilemma with Smelly off
to your right, Franny the Nanny decided to park her tush directly to your
left. At first glance, she just seems
like a woman with big hair, obsessed
with her looks. But as soon as the
movie reaches its first funny bit, you
find that you were dead wrong. She
has a laugh that sounds like the souls
of the damned screaming out of the
pits of hell. You try to ignore it, but
you can’t. It’s as if knives are grating
through the insides of your ears, and
there is nothing you can do to stop it.
You decide to scope out the rest of
the scene, and are appalled by what
you find. Directly behind you is a family of twelve, with the most obnoxious,
loud, rude, disrespectful child in the seat
behind yours. As soon as the lights go
out, the kid is chomping and kicking and
screaming and crying and all you can
think of is how funny those dead-baby
jokes you heard a while ago are.
As you look back at the screen, you
see something light up at the bottom of
your vision. You glance down and see
the 13-year-old in front of you telling
her boyfriend of two days that she loves
him and taking selfies to post on her page
that no one will view.A wave of frustration sweeps over you in a wall of longing
to reach over the seat, rip the expensive
smartphone out of her hands, and throw it
at the giant screen in front of you.
If this is the case at every movie, why
for the name of sanity do we continue to
expose ourselves to this public torture?
Frankly, I can’t tell you. But I CAN tell
you one thing: Going to the movies isn’t
going to get any easier, but don’t let that
stop you. Go forth and watch!
-Graci Kejr, Columnist
others before themselves and Beatrice’s current faction, the Dauntless
are brave, the Erudite are scholarly,
the Amity live in harmony and believe in society free from conflict,
and the Candor are honest.
Members of the Divergent community will be allowed to choose
their factions, but before Choosing
Day, where sixteen-year-olds decide
which faction they desire to devote
their lives to, they must experience a
simulated (computer-generated) aptitude test that will tell which faction is
each character’s best fit.
Instead of having just one main
quality, as is standard, the main character Beatrice possesses three, which
makes her a dangerous person for
reasons she does not understand. Beatrice is told by the test-giver she is
Divergent and to never tell anyone.
On Choosing Day, she will have to
make a choice that will change the
rest of her life. Given that difficult
choice, she no longer portrays the
timid, quiet girl she had been but instead forces herself to rise to the challenges she faces in both the initiation
into a faction and in her life.
Divergent draws readers into the
adventure and thrills of Beatrice’s
world, a world in which she has to
figure out that being brave doesn’t
mean she has to give up self.
This is a book anyone would enjoy.
Filled with action, bravery, romance,
and adventure, it will have you sitting
on the edge of your seat and eagerly
ready to read the next book.
-Abbey Sorenson, Graphic Artist
‘Divergent’ accolades prove well deserved
R
ecently, Veronica Roth’s
best-selling “Divergent”
series has
been all the rave,
and the recent the
release of the new
film has increased
fandom even more.
The accolades are
well-deserved.
For those who
Sorenson
haven’t read the
book or seen the movie, here is a
quick recap. The book “Divergent”
starts by learning about the lifestyle
of the sixteen-year-old protagonist,
Beatrice.
The story is set in a dystopian universe in the future. In this world, people are categorized into five groups
called factions. The Abnegation put
Trojournal April 24, 2014 | Page 3
4 << FEATURES
Tech committee proposes 1:1 device initiative
R
ties would certainly have to include the ability to capture and edit video,
ecently, Director of Technology Andy Hanson and the technolperform word processing (which could be done with services like Google
ogy committee have considered several scenarios for a “one to
Docs, as well), and many other productivity tasks. In general, students are
one” electronic device environment for students, and their ideas
going to be asked to create original works with their devices, as well as
were presented to the Board of Education Monday, April 14.
IT Director Mr. Andy Hanson said that he looks forward to a day that all communicate, collaborate, and critique,” Hanson said.
Hanson said that results of a recent survey indicate that the school
students have a device for personal use.
would
need to provide devices for approximately half of the high school
“Most of the benefits can be summarized by saying that a device like an
iPad in the hands of every student simply makes a lot of things possible students if a bring-your-own device plan is implemented. This is based
that are not possible without it. For example, communication is a major on the survey result that showed that more than 60 percent of students’
part of 21st Century skills standards. Without a device to connect you parents said that their students have a device and could bring it to school
with the rest of the world, communication is limited to those people within if they were allowed to use it at school. This plan would have a price tag
of nearly $91,000.
the four walls of a classroom,” he said.
The committee also created two
He said that he, relaying the technology
more plans, which they called plan
committee’s recommendation, had recomB and plan A.
mended iPads to the Board of Education.
Plan B would create a 1:1 environ“We have found that the committee likes
ment
in the entire secondary level
iPads and what iPads offer,” Hanson said.
and build capacity at the elementary
However, depending on money availlevel, meaning that eventually evable, the plan for next year may include
eryone in the elementary would have
school-provided iPads at some levels and
a device.
the opportunity for students to bring their
Plan A involves a limitless budown devices from home at other levels.
get where the school would provide
He said that the committee has discussed
each student in the school with his or
three possible plans for equipping students
her own iPad.
with devices.
In order to accommodate the poPlan C assumes that SES would have
tential
increase in devices that would
only about as much to spend as was spent
on iPads for third and eighth graders last Students Jenni Lyne, Cedar Van Tassell and Dariann McBur- be used in the school, SES has alyear.
ney work on iPads during a class with Mr. McClure. If a 1:1 ready doubled its bandwidth, movIn this scenario, the committee has rec- device initiative is adopted, the future of SES education might ing 20 megabytes per second (mbps)
to 40 mbps for the remainder of the
ommended that the school would purchase look more like this. (Photo illustration by Deric Schettler)
school year.
additional iPads for the fourth and seventh
Hanson said that this increase was negotiated in a contract with the
graders. The third graders would keep their devices to use in fourth grade,
and the iPads that the eighth graders use now would be passed to next school’s current internet provider, Home Communications Incorporated
(HCI). This stands until this summer, when SES and HCI will enter a
year’s eighth graders.
If that happened, third and fourth graders and seventh and eighth grad- contract to increase our current bandwidth up to 100 mbps.
“The plan is to continue working toward (becoming) a full one to one
ers would use school-issued iPads.
To accommodate high school students in this minimum-cost plan, the district as soon as possible. Depending on how far we get this year, we
committee also has suggested implementing a bring-your-own device may be able to complete the transition to a full one to one environment
next year,” Hanson said.
policy for the high school.
-Deric Schettler, Layout Assistant/Webmaster
“We have not yet outlined the capabilities that a device would have to
have to be brought to school for use in the classroom, but those capabili-
Art club begins plans to recreate mural
The Southeast of Saline art club plans
to paint a new school mural on a wall
space in the basement near Mr. Scott
Emme’s room.
“We have several different design
ideas...We’re probably going to get the
ideas and have a vote, and I’ll have the
final decision on it,” Art Instructor Kurt
Krehbiel said.
The designs are unknown now but the
art club has a theme that they’re considering for the painting.
“It will mainly be a Trojan, and it might
say the word ‘Trojans’ or something,”
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 4
Krehbiel said.
Krehbiel and the art club came up with
the idea because a few years ago, Emme,
the graphic arts and photography instructor, and Krehbiel were teaching a commercial art class together when one of
their assignments was to paint a mural.
They painted it on a wall by Emme’s
room in the basement, and it stayed for
about six years.
“I just decided to do something different, so I asked Frank Reece to paint over
it, and the art club will do something different. Then the art club students decided
to paint something--a mural-- and so I
said ‘Hey, I have a wall’,” Krehbiel said.
Krehbiel and the art club haven’t set
a time or date yet on when exactly they
want to start or finish, but Krehbiel wants
to start sometime this year at least although he wasn’t sure when.
“That’s a really good question because
this time of year is so busy, but I would
like to start it this year. I don’t know if
we’ll have time to get it done because
painting a mural takes a long time,” Krehbiel said.
-Kaylen Lassley, Photo Editor
NEWS/FEATURES >> 5
Pet pomeranians rule the Greene house
L
ions, Tigers, and Pomeranians? Oh my! Although
“Of the ones that I remember I had for a while were Jazzy,
they may not be quite as exotic as the big cats, Kate- Shadow, Foxy, Digger, Thunder, Tinkerbel, and Lily,”
lyn Greene loves to talk about the tiny, round, cotton Greene said.
balls of joy, Pomeranian dogs, especially her pet PomeraGreene said each dog currently in the house has some
nians.
goofy quirks.
The breed has been a big part of the Greene family for
“Lily likes to comb through people’s hair with her paws,
a long time. The Greene family has raised, breed, and sold Tinkerbel doesn’t run, but bounces, and Thunder hates it
Pomeranians for several years.
when people blow on him,” she said.
The Greenes are one big happy Pomeranian family with
Lily, the teacup Pomeranian, recently had a litter of pupfour people and three
pies.
grown dogs in the
“The most puppies we’ve
house. Tinkerbel, an
ever had in one litter was
orange-ish tan fesix,” Greene said.
male Pomeranian;
The price of a Pomeranian
Thunder, a black,
is usually determined by its
male Pomeranian,
size and color, and the repuand Lily, a white and
tation and location of the
tan spotted female
breeder.
teacup Pomeranian,
“We are selling the pupare all full-grown
pies for $600,” Greene said.
purebred PomeraSurprisingly, Pomeranians
nians.
are not the only dog breed
Greene said that
the Greene’s have ever
her mother always
owned.
Katelyn Greene takes a selfie with one of her pet Pomeranians. (Photo courtesy
had a love for Pom“At one point, we’ve
of Katelyn Greene)
eranians.
owned German Sheppards,
“My mom always wanted one,” Greene said.
Rottweilers, a Pitbull, St. Bernard, and Boxer but not all at
About eight years ago, her mom’s dream came true.
the same time,” Greene said.
“When I was seven, we got Foxy,” she said.
Greene finds some ups and downs to having Pomeranians.
Greene finds it impossible to remember and name all the
“Pomeranians are energetic and playful, but their barks can
Pomeranians that the family has owned but was able to name get really annoying,” she said.
seven.
-Abbey Sorenson, Graphic Artist
SES hosts fifteenth annual Trojan Choice awards
W
ednesday, April 23, from 7:008:00 a.m., SES teachers praised
their chosen Trojan Choice
Award winners at a breakfast and subsequent ceremony. The annual event, now in
its 15th year, began during Principal Monte
Couchman’s first year at SES in 1999. The
Trojan Choice Award recognizes students
of good character and strong academic
performance that may not have been recognized in other programs
High school educators nominate one student to receive the award. The following
students have been chosen for this year’s
ceremony.
Seniors:
Paige Knight- Mr. Todd Baird
Taylor Green- Mr. John Bergin
Marcy Gagna- Mrs. Keri Boley
Brett Nurnberg- Mr. Jeff Johnson
Pallie Koehn- Mrs. Pesha Ptacek
Keith Short- Mrs. Kristy Rodriguez
Dane Long- Mrs. Dawn Rohrer
Davin Smith- Mr. Bob Sauber
Bailey Ramsey- Mrs. Judy White
Juniors:
Toby Blue- Mr. Mitch Gebhardt
Ryan Rodriguez- Mr. Kendall Lynn
Brian Eddings- Mr. Brad Settle
Sophomores:
Anna Francis- Mrs. Keri Breeding
Ethan Hughes- Mr. Trenton Douglas
Kannen Haist- Mr. Scott Emme
Hannah Henry- Mrs. Juanelle Garretson
Holly Treloggen- Ms. Teresa Purcell
Erica Montgomery- Mrs. Mary Weis
Freshman:
Madison Roths- Mr. Terry Anderson
Mariah Benfield-Whittecar- Mrs. Jackie Chestnut
Evelyn Barnhart- Mr. Kurt Krehbiel
Cedar Van Tassel- Mr. Gary McClure
Ashlynn Warford- Mrs. Melony McClure
Jazlyn Kingsolver- Mr. Chance Ptacek
Justin Jensen- Mr. Wayne Sager
Hunter Adams- Mrs. Tammy Streit
-Abbey Sorenson, Graphic Artist
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 5
6 << Depth
Neon after-prom follows glitzy Gatsby prom
Brian Eddings and Jessilyn Davis slow dance at prom. “ This year’s prom was definitely better
than last year’s prom,” Eddings said. (Photo by Jenni Lyne)
Junior girls of the 2015 class pose for a class picture at the Junior boy of the 2015 class pose for a class photo at the after
bowling alley where after prom was held. (Photo courtesy of prom party. (Photo courtesy of SES After Prom)
SES After Prom)
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 6
Depth >> 7
Davin Smith and his date, Sam Hyman, take a silly photo in the
photo booth at after prom. (Photo courtesy of SES After Prom)
Prom brings fun, stress to the table
Victoria Donnely and Emily Corbett pose for a picture at Jerry
The rush began in the morning on April 12, 2014 for some junior
Ivey before prom. (Photo by Jenni Lyne)
and senior girls who had decided to start preparations early – putting
on makeup, styling their hair, getting their nails done, putting on their
dresses, having pictures taken, going to dinner, and arriving at prom
and after-prom on time with their tuxedo-clad dates.
By 8:00 p.m., preparations were complete and most were ready to
join the herd of promgoers at the zoo.
Many liked the first-time zoo venue, but a few said they thought the
room was a bit too small.
“They were trying to fit too many people into too small of a space,”
Luke Hoerter said.
Andie Jackson agreed, adding that about half of the prom population left early for after prom.
“It was too crowded and boring, so we left,” Jackson said.
After the prom, everyone filed into All-Star Lanes Bowling Alley
for after-prom. There was free food, free drinks, several games (including bowling), and pictures to be taken.
While some enjoyed the simple thrill of playing games, others
looked forward to the money they could rake in.
“I got $78 just from black jack,” Jackson said.
Everyone who attended got at least one souvenir as well. While
many pocketed gift cards and glow sticks, three SES students struck
gold.
Kreal Smith won an iPad mini, Alex Bell won a Nexus tablet, and
Jesslyn Davis won the bling bag and a $50 Pin Ups gift card. By the
end of the night, Jackson and others were ready to rest.
“I was so tired that I didn’t even want to go to IHOP,” Jackson said.
Alaura Hemphill Bowls a strike at the after-prom party. (Photo
- Lexi Pennington, Feature Editor
courtesy of SES After Prom)
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 7
8<< FUN
Hector and Paris
comics by Cedar Van Tassel
Speech and drama
The forensics team will compete in Wichita at the
State Forensics Competition May 3.
FFA
State CDE’s in agriculture will be May 4-6.
FcclA
FCCLA family night will be May 3 at 6:00.
Journalism
Journalism state qualifiers will be going to Lawrence for State KSPA Contest on May 3.
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 6
Features >> 9
Seniors of troy
MATCH THE NAMES WITH THE CLUES
Pallie
Koehn
Taylor
Green
Gunner
Forsberg
Ross Gasper
Matt Helvey
1.) Designs corn mazes
2.) Has as full ride scholarship to
K-State
3.) Has a brother that is adopted from
Guatemala
4.) Ate hot potatoes and passed out
5.) Has a niece who attends SES High
6.) Wears two pairs of socks
7.) Plays rugby
8.) Has been wrestling since he was
three
9.) Annouced Tim Trojan at an
assembly and grieved when Tim went
missing
10.) Excels in flute and plans to become
a music teacher
Nicollette
Caselman
Davin
Smith
Jason
Martinez
Brett
Nurnberg
Sydney
Johnson
1.) Brett Nurnberg 2.) Taylor Green 3.) Pallie Koehn 4.) Davin Smith 5.) Gunner
Forsberg 6.) Matt Helvey 7.) Ross Gasper 8.) Jason Marteniz 9.) Nicollette Caselman
10.) Sydney Johnson
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 7
10 << FEATURES
Garretson retires, leaves legacy
Mrs. Juanelle Garreston has announced to her students her plans
for early retirement, and recent student accomplishments would indicate that it might have been difficult to go out with any more success
that she is experiencing now.
This year, participants received the highest honor in eight events,
getting gold in every event. This is a first in SES history to receive
gold in everything.
A few of Garretson’s individual accomplishments include having
multiple students becoming district and national officers in FCCLA
and receiving many team awards and winning first in National Associates of Regional Parliamentary Procedure twice—once in 2008
and again in 2012.
“We won first place (at Nationals in Parliamentary Procedure) with
big medallions twice over all the teams. That’s been phenomenal…
It’s been super powerful,” Garretson said.
In addition to the successes, the FCCLA program and chapter has
gone through many changes over the years, and Garretson was there
for it all.
“When I came to Southeast of Saline, there wasn’t even an FCCLA
chapter; they had disbanded it. When I started here, it was one thing
that was really important to me, so we got them to put it back on,”
she said.
She said that the organization had also experienced a couple of
name changes.
“At the time (I was hired), it wasn’t even called FCCLA; it was
called Future Homemakers of America (FHA) and we started it back
up,” Garretson said.
Garretson said that she was happy about the changes and how
some of the stereotypes the program had aren’t really there anymore.
“I just think it’s part of the process of time. I was actually at all
three of the national leadership meetings when the name changed,
and I was in FHA myself when I was in high school, so I came from
a strong background of that… I think the name change is more accurate than what people perceive the department to be. I think the
name change of FHA to FCCLA is better and more accurate,” Garretson said.
With her departure, Garretson says that she will still connect to
FCCLA and she hopes that she can help as an alumni and associate
member.
“I will always be connected to FCCLA because as I’m an alumni
and an associates’ member—I’m a national member. I don’t know
how much I’ll help at the local level advising. It all depends on how
much the new person would like assistance,” Garretson said.
When asked how she feels leaving all her accomplishments and
students behind, she said that it’s been a really tough decision for her
and that there’s no right time to do this.
“It’s been really difficult—it’s a really difficult decision to leave.
It’s really hard because there is no right time, and the job has been all
joy; there has never really been a time where there was dread instead
of joy. Even though it’s tons of work and tons of time, I don’t go into
it with dread.”
She added that FCCLA has always been a passion for her but that
advising involves year-round work.
“It’s just a lot—it’s a year-round commitment to do it like we’ve
done it. I just feel like I need to have some more time to do things
with other family members, like my dad, and just to pursue some
different things,” Garretson said.
Still, Garretson said it’s difficult to leave behind the students who
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 10
give her energy and that she doesn’t feel old enough to “take retirement money.”
“All the conferences I’ve always attended have been with students—all my life—that’s where I’ve put my energy instead of going to adult conferences. So, even though I’m old enough to ‘take
retirement money,’ I don’t feel old enough to retire ever because the
students have helped me feel like I’m young,” Garretson said.
-Kaylen Lassley, Photo Editor
Maggie Chitty, Hannah Henry, and Valentina Ortega dress up as
Flinstones characters for a presentation for FCCLA. (Photo courtesy of Mrs. Juanelle Garretson)
NATIONALS-BOUND STAR EVENTS
Top GOLD:
•
Kaytee Anderes, Brooks Garreston, Jazlyn Kingsolver- “Invest in the Best”
•
Brooke Koch, Rylee Miller and Lauren Walker- “You Got a Friend”
•
Maggie Chitty, Hannah Henry, Valentina
Ortega- “Flintstones…the Modern FCCLA
Family”
•
Brooklyn McElderry, Brittany Ostmeyer“Sweet Spud Snackers”
Sr. Parliamentary Procedures Team:
Aaron Butler (freshman), Sydney Clements
(freshman), Andrew Peuchen (Senior), Jonathan
Peuchen (Senior), Alaura Hemphill (Junior),
Hannah Puetz (Junior), Orion Perry (freshman), Alan
Pohl (freshman)
LEADERSHIP RESULTS
Kansas FCCLA President-2014-15: Alaura Hemphill
Kansas FCCLA VP of PR-2014-15: Valentina Ortega
District G President 2014-15: Hannah Henry
District G Vice President-2014-15: Alan Pohl
National VP of Development-2013-14: Andrew
Peuchen
NEWS/FEATURES >> 11
State musicians to perform here Saturday
A
fter a day of waiting, anticipation, and nervousness, the
results are in. At the regional music contest on Saturday,
April 6, Southeast musicians competed and received the
ratings that would determine whether they would go to state with
their solos and ensembles this Saturday, April 26.
Southeast’s large group choir also competed on April 16 and
received straight I’s at the large group state contest.
Southeast was very successful at the regional solo/ensemble
competition, with a total of 19 “I” rankings out of 46 entries.
Several said the competition was nerve-racking.
“Of course I was nervous at first,” said Anna Reece, freshman. “Who wouldn’t be?”
“I guess I was a little nervous. I wanted to perform well, and
I didn’t want to disappoint my teammates,” said Brooks Garretson.
Others were not as tense.
“No. I was not nervous. I was confident,” Matthew Pantle
said. “Until my saxophone malfunctioned. Then I got nervous.”
Musical performances are graded with numerals from I to V.
I io the highest possible rating and V is the worst.
“Each student and each group showed a lot of growth through
out the weekend,” said Teresa Purcell, band teacher. “And the
best thing was that students that have never done solos before
did solos and grew a lot.”
People with I rankings at regionals are eligible to participate
at state.
Southeast has hosted the state music festival for a total of 21 years
now.
“It’s a big deal because it gives
Southeast a home field advantage”
Purcell said.
To see who made it to State and
when they will perform Saturday, use
the QR code supplied.
This QR code links to
-Cedar Van Tassel, Layout Editor the contest schedule.
Scholars’ Bowl achieves best win/loss record in SES history
A
lthough buzzers have been packed
back into their box, 2013-14’s
scholars’ bowl team lives on. In
addition to making it to state, this team has
had the best win/loss record of any scholars’ bowl team Southeast has ever seen.
The team boasts an 80.7 percent win
record with 92 wins and 22 losses. In
the 26 years Scholars’ Bowl has been
going at Southeast, no other team has
achieved a win/loss record better than
this. To put this in perspective, UConn’s
men’s basketball championship team
had only an 80 percent win record.
“We were successful because I was on
the team,” Daniel Sparacino, the second
highest scorer on the team, joked.
Actually, it was Brett Nurnberg, this
year’s top scorer, who went down in the
books as Southeast’s 10th highest scorer.
“Brett had the most points, so he was
probably the most valuable player,”
Sparacino said.
Although Nurnberg was high scorer,
two other players scored a significant
number of points.
“‘The big three’ would be a good nickname,” said Brain Eddings, third highest
scorer.
“The Big Three” was composed of
Brain Eddings, Daniel Sparacino, and
Brett Nurnberg. These three people
scored most of the points, averaging
from 14-19 points a round.
“If someone was off, another person
would fill the spot,” says Sparacino
Each person on the team tended to answer a different kind of question.
“Brett got math questions, Daniel got
history, I got science and literature, and
Cody Ptacek got Mythology,” Eddings
said.
For those who aren’t familiar with
Scholars’ Bowl, each round is made up
of 16 questions. These 16 questions include the subjects of Foreign Language,
History, Literature, Math, Science, Music, and Current Events.
Sometimes, though, there were very
obscure questions about strange things.
One question was about an erotic dance
move called “the Dance of the Seven
Veils.” Cody Ptacek was able to answer
the question from knowledge he had
learned from watching Donald Duck.
The Scholars’ Bowl team will always
be motivated by their rallying cry they
said before each meet.
“We just remember to keep it smart,
keep it sexy, and keep our pimp hands
strong,” both Eddings and Sparacino repeated.
-Cedar Van Tassel, Layout Editor
The Wizard of Oz meets Anne Frank in tomorrow’s spring play
T
onight and Saturday, the Wizard of Oz will meet
Anne Frank on the SES stage.
Although Nichole, the main character in “Anne
Frank and Me,” will not be sucked up a by a tornado, she
will be hit by a car after a high school dance and will enter a
dream state, much like Dorothy did in “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Anne Frank and Me” is a story about a girl, Nichole (Jace
Stephenson), who is assigned to read “The Diary of Anne
Frank” but wants to dance instead. She discovers that there
are many people, such as her parents, who doubt the Holocaust ever happened.
She then gets hit by a car and wakes up in Nazi-held
France, as a Jew.
Tickets are $5 in advance or $6 at the door. The play begins
at 7:30 each evening.
-Deric Schettler, Layout Assistant/Webmaster
Trojournal April 24, 2014 | Page 11
12<< SPORTS
“Lights out” pitching dims opponents’ title chances
T
he Trojan baseball team has
kicked off their season in
style, winning all eight of
their first games. From a solid defense that has only allowed 23 runs
in 56 innings, to an offense that has
scratched across 82 runs in the same
span, the team has put together a
winning recipe.
Pitching has been a lock from day
one.
The SES pitching staff has been solid, allowing only 23 runs all season.
They are currently in fifth in the 3A
standings and are third in total runs.
The starting pitchers haven’t been
the only ingredient in the Trojans’
recipe for pitching success. Behind
the starting rotation is an equally solid staff of relief pitchers, and stars in
the bullpen have backed up the starters well.
Pitchers like Bailey Ramsey, Bryce
Banks and Jacob Pengra have held
opponents to very few runs in the
later innings.
The defense that coach Garretson
has put on the field has been putting
on quite the show with everything
from diving catches to double plays.
The Trojans will look to remain perfect tomorrow in Beloit.
-Tyler Henry, Sports Editor
Freshman pitcher Bryce Banks winds up
for a pitch in a varsity game against Sacred
Heart. (Photo courtesy of Janet Sauber)
Player shortage doesn’t faze Lady Trojan softball team
Destinee Nickelson prepares to field a ball
in the hot corner in an early varsity game.
W
ith just 17 girls out for softball
and both varsity and junior varsity
rosters to fill, Coach Brad Edwards
works hard to shuffle players between teams.
He acknowledged that having a shortage of
players and a limit of 20 games per player presented a mighty challenge, but he established
a list of girls that would play on each team or
both.
A roster of players to play on both teams include Hailey Harp, Marisa Kuhn, Kaylen Lassley, Dariann McBurney, Erica Montgomery,
Destinee Nickelson, and Kendall Schelesener.
Each of these players works hard to keep up
with playing on both teams.
“I don’t want to lose my varsity position;
therefore, I have to work harder every day,”
Kuhn said.
As they continue to play for both teams,
each individual has an opportunity to get more
Trojournal |April 24, 2014 | Page 12
experience. Upperclassmen are given the opportunity to step up and become better leaders and teammates. Freshmen, such as Lassley,
Schlesener, and Nickelson, each get to practice
more with players with more experience.
“(Playing on the varsity team) gives me a
chance to ‘get used’ to more high school balls
and how different teams play,” Lassley said.
Many of the girls don’t have a problem with
playing two teams. They are able to spend time
with the other girls and help JV out.
“I’m glad I can help let JV have games,”
Kuhn said.
A downside is each player is given a limit
of 20 games per season. Altogether, there are
8-10 games combined between JV and Varsity.
The amount of games will vary for JV due
to weather conditions that cause cancellations.
Although Edwards has shuffled players so
they don’t exceed their maximum number of
games and even though some games have been
cancelled, there are still more than 20 games
available for some players who are playing
both varsity and JV.
If no other games are cancelled, by the end
of the season, all of JV plus some varsity players would have exceeded the total games allowed. Edwards said he plans to work on who
will play what games to make sure no one exceeds this limit.
“(Although) games (keep) getting called
off, our (total number of JV games are down
compared to previous years), and so I think we
are going to be in pretty good shape,” Edwards
said.
Some also have to change positions when
they switch teams. For instance, Kuhn plays
third on Varsity and catcher on JV. Harp also
changes from second baseman on Varsity to
first baseman on JV.
Schlesener and Nickelson each play the
same positions on both teams. Schlesener
pitches while Nickelson plays third.
Lassley said she is still unsure about where
they will place her.
“I’m hoping to pitch for both, but I don’t
know what they plan for me (yet).”
Another downside to playing both teams is
that the girls become tired more quickly. Playing four out of five days a week gives them
one day to rest. However, they still practice on
that day.
Harp, however, has looked over this downside and made it a positive outcome.
“You will learn to push through even when
you’re tired,” she said.
On the bright side, girls playing on both
teams feel as if they will become better players. They will get much more game time than
others, allowing them to work out their weaknesses and get to know everyone in softball.
“(It’s going to be fun) to play with everyone,
not just one team,” Schlesener said.
Nickelson said she appreciated the opportunity to play on both teams and will continue to
work hard to earn a permanent spot on Varsity.
“I love to play softball; it is important to me.
If we didn’t have softball I wouldn’t be doing a
sport that I like,” Nickelson said.
-Jenni Lyne, Reporter
SPORTS >> 13
Track and field flies out of the gate
T
rack season is finally underway of the teams’ total points.
and the Trojans have shown
Throwers like Aiden Murray and
great success in the early part
Hannah Puetz have been exceeding
of the season. After a nearly flawthe expectations given to them since
less performance at the Marion relays
the first meet, piling on points for the
(in which the Trojans took second in
Trojans with top five and ten finishes
women’s and fourth in men’s) SES
in each meet in shot put. Murray, alcontinued racking
though outtrhown
up victories placat Smoky Valing in the top five
ley by teammate
in every meet since
Toby Mantz, has
that date.
placed first or
One of the highsecond in all three
lights of the team
meets to date and
has been the men’s
the rest of the
relay teams, parteam has found
ticularly the 4x1 resimilar success
lay. Team members
in the discus and
Matt Helvey, Kyler
javelin throws.
Sager, Brett NurnMatt
Helvey,
Freshman
Ben
Murray
leaps
into
the
sand
berg and Ben MurLindsey
and
ray have taken no pit in long jump. (Photo by Kaylen Lassley) Kylee Poague and
lower than third in
Emily Wiles have
every race since the
led the jumping
season opener at Marion.
assault, scoring in their events.
The individual sprinters and distance
The Trojans will have their next meet
runners have also scored their fair share in Hoisington on April 29.
of points, combining for a large portion
-Tyler Henry, Sports Editor
Ostmeyer tees off into new season
S
outheast of Saline Trojan golf team has
something new and fresh. For new, it’s the
coach and for fresh, it’s the freshman that
have come in to help the team out. According to
Jacob Ostemeyer they have been working extra
hard to be prepared and ready for many golf
meets to come.
“I began golf because my whole family has
golfed and my dad and brothers have encouraged
me to keep doing it,” Jacob said.
Golfing for Jacob has been a huge thing for
him. It brings his family together and it’s a big
part of his life.
“ I have been playing my whole life and I started at a very young age. I took lessons at the municipal golf course with a very inspiring person to
me who was Mike,” Ostemeyer said.
Inspiration can start anywhere from a simple
little quote to a person who gives you motivation
and for Jacob it was one person. Ostemeyer said
he realized that many don’t view golf as a popular sport but said that for him, it’s “a passion.”
“I love golf. It is a passion of mine because it
is something my whole family can do together,”
Ostemeyer said.
Ostemeyer also said that golf has drawn his
family closer together and that because the family and friends have spent a lot of time playing,
he has become a better golfer.
“I have had a lot of assistance from my dad
and also from an old teacher, Mike Hargrave. He
really inspired me to get better (and he continues
to help me improve) even to this day.”
Ostemeyer said that he has “improved a ton”
since his first year playing for the school.
“The first meet that I ever went to I shot a 104
and felt pretty bad about it, but now I’m shooting
mid 80s,” Ostemeyer said.
The team’s new coach, Mr. David Frost,
is building on the foundation that family and
friends have built and according to Ostemeyer its
going pretty well.
“I really like the new golf coach. He does
things differently; (for example), we have really been working a lot more on our short game,
which has really helped a lot of people’s scores.
He has actually really helped me with my swing
and he’s really supportive of getting us to be better,” Ostemeyer said.
The team’s next meet is Saturday at Bennington.
-Dariann McBurney, Photographer
Sports Box
Baseball
Apr. 8 vs. Sylan-Lucas
W 16-4, W 10-4
Apr. 11 at Abilene W 12-2, W 6-5
Apr. 15 at Sacred Heart
W 8-5, W 9-4
Apr. 17 vs Chapman
W 9-1, W 12-2
Apr. 25 at Beloit
Apr. 29 at Minneapolis
May 2 vs Concordia
May 6 vs Ellsworth
May 9 vs Russell
May 13 vs Canton-Galva
May 19-22 KSHSAA Regional
May 30-31 KSHSAA State
Softball
Apr. 8 vs Republic County
W 10-1, W 15-0
Apr. 11 at Abilene W 4-2, W 10-7
Apr. 15 at Sacred Heart
W 20-5, W 21-5
Apr. 17 vs Chapman
L 4-7, L 1-8
Apr. 25 at Beloit
Apr. 29 at Minneapolis
May. 2 vs Concordia
May. 6 vs Ellsworth
May. 9 vs Russell
May. 19-22 KSHAA Regional
May. 30-31 KSHAA State
Track and Field
Apr. 11 at Marion
M: 4th W: 5th
Apr. 15 at Ellsworth M: 3rd W: 1st
Apr. 17 at Smoky Valley M:2nd W: 3rd
Apr. 29 at Hoisington
May. 6 at Minneapolis
May. 9 at Ellenwood
May. 16 NCAA League
May. 23 KSHAA Regional
May. 30-31 KSHAA State
Golf
Apr. 8 at Herrington
1st
Apr. 22 at Republic Co. DNP
Apr. 26 at Bennington
May. 1 at Hesston
May. 5 SES
May. 8 at Marion
May. 13 NCAA League
May. 16 KSHAA Regional
May. 27 KSHAA State
Trojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 13
NEWS >> 14
‘Yes’ vote in June would likely shorten school year
A
ing fifteen minutes to the end of the day will total about forty hours
s the community, teachers, and students await the June
altogether, which is equivalent to a week of school. The Board will
vote on whether or not to remodel and add to the SES
have to look further into this, Proffitt said, to see if fifteen minutes
building, Superintendent Rich Proffitt and the school
will be enough added time to meet the required number of hours
Board continue to move forward with their plans to respond to
in school.
the community’s input, and they continue to consider how they
“We do not want to extend (the school day) a lot with activities
will adjust the school calendar if the bond passes.
As the Trojournal reported in December, if the bond passes, a and kids needing to get home,” Proffitt said. He said that adding
number of changes and additions will begin. The plan calls for new too much time to each day would cause the students less time for
science classrooms, moving some offices, expanding the commons their athletics and activities as well as family time.
“The real issue that it causes is not so much with the school year
area, adding an elementary art room, touching up on floors and
lighting, and working on the outside parking lot and football field/ itself, (but) with the athletics,” Proffitt said.
Football, volleyball, and cross country teams would be starting
track. In addition, much of the high school area would be refurpractices sometime in August. If the school year does not start
bished by squaring off classrooms to increase available space.
One thing that was initially proposed, however, is no longer be- until September, all the players and runners would be practicing
weeks in advanced before the school year. In addition, ending at
ing considered, Proffitt said.
“The turf (for the football field) is out of the plan right now,” the beginning of May would cause those in track, softball, and
baseball to continue practices
Proffitt said.
while school is out of session to
At the beginning of the
prepare for regional and state
2013-14 year, the Board was
competitions.
unsure of whether they would
Proffitt said that the effect on
recommend turf or sod and an
athletics might be inevitable
irrigation system for the footbut that he prefers to miniball field. After listening to the
mize the effect on academics.
community’s comments, they
Modifying the school calendar
later decided that the overall
would allow for less academic
cost of the turf would raise the
disruption, he said.
price of the whole renovation,
“The part that really will afmaking the school Board reach
fect our school year is going
outside of their desired spendto be the interior (mostly high
ing limits.
school) part,” Proffitt said.
“(Before) the turf was taken
Walls around the commons
of the package, the whole cost
was going to be about $15.6 Remodeling much of the current high school classroom area is part of area will have to be knocked
out, making students incapable
million,” Proffitt said.
the building proposal that the community will vote on in June.
of walking through. Therefore,
With the turf not being a part Illustration by Cedar Van Tassel
this part is planned for the sumof it, the new cost will total
about $14.9 million. This saves the school district about $700,000. mer. Walls will then have to be put up. While the remodeling would
Proffitt said that if the bond passes, construction could begin im- be completed over the lengthened summer, added rooms and the
mediately on some parts of the project. For example, the football lighting, sidewalks, and other details could be built constructed
field and track could be completed before the next school year be- during the academic year.
“(The renovation) will more than likely not happen this fall,”
gins.
Other adjustments would occur over time and would require ad- Proffitt said. He said that construction would, instead, take place
justments to the school year. One of those adjustments would be during the 2015-16 summer and school year if the bond passes.
The reason behind such a long time period between the passing
that the school day would likely be lengthened so school could be
dismissed earlier in May to allow more construction time for the of the bond and the start of the construction is due to testing and
architect visits, he said. Architects will have to come and see what
high school area renovations.
“To redo (the) high school area, it would take a summer (for can be done when and what all will have to be done. Between the
workers) to come in, gut that area, and rebuild it. To rebuild that, bond passing and start of construction, it will be about an eighteenwhen they say summer, they are calling it four months,” Proffitt month time.
Proffitt said that the Board and administrators continue to plan
explained.
The effect of this four-month summer would mean the school but that they also recognize the need to continue to provide opporcalendar would shrink. School would end sometime in the be- tunities for the public to consider their vote.
“Almost all the information is out there. (Patrons) can find some
ginning to middle of May and would start back up in September
information on our website about the plan. (Also), there will be an
around Labor Day.
Because of this short school year and required number of total educational campaign,” he said.
-Jenni Lyne, Reporter
hours in school, there would have to be a longer school day. AddTrojournal | April 24, 2014 | Page 14