Volume 3 Issue 8 - Unit School District #304

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ALEXIS, IL
61412
PERMIT NO. 9
STORM
TRACKER
THE United High School Newspaper
Volume 3, Issue 8
IN THIS ISSUE:
April school board notes
p. 2
Lots going on in April
p. 3
Vets get warm reception
p. 4
Third quarter honor roll
p. 5
High school menu/calendar p. 6
Will it play in Peoria? Yes! p. 8
STORM ALERTS
PEO Scholarship
Chapter G P.E.O. is offering a
book scholarship to a graduating
senior girl from United High
School who plans to attend
college.
Any interested girl my
applying by sending a letter to
Joan Hunt
3258 Morningside Drive
Galesburg, IL 61401
United students enjoy trip to France;
next up, Mexico with Yorkwood
By Corey R. Rundle
Just recently 18 students took
a tour of France headed by United’s own Ms. Fayla Bodenhamer,
Mrs. Jan Nelson, and Mrs. Vicki
Shultz.
They were able to see many
World War II battle sights including Point Duhawk, Omaha
Beach, and Sword Beach. The
students were given the opportunity to take in what had
happened on those days, and
emotionally feel for those who
had given their lives and sacrificed themselves for others.
The group also took visited the
memorial cemetaries of the men
who lost their lives on those days
for our own freedom.
The students were also able to
stare in awe over the Cathedral
at Notre Dame and were able to
tour the famed site during Holy
Week.
Other sites included the Eiffel
Tower, the Louvre, the Pantheon,
Arc de Triumph, and a tour on
the Seine River.
“ It really was an awesome
experience to see. I would go
back in a heartbeat,” said United
junior Teilsen Hennenfent.
The students traveled a total of
eight days including flights and
came home with the knowledge
of this main statement. “OUR
FREEDOM DOES NOT COME
FREE.”
Next up for United students is
a late spring trip to Mexico.
That trip, hosted by United
The letter should include a
listing of school, community and
church activities, personal goals,
and the student’s grade point
average.
The letter must be received by
Friday, May 4, for consideration.
Birdies for Charity
With the annual John Deere
Classic coming up in July, it’s
time once again to consider
participating in the event’s
Birdies for Charity fundraiser.
In next month’s issue of the
Storm Tracker, an entry form
will be enclosed designating
the United Elementary School’s
playground fund as the recipient
of donations, which are based
on the total number of birdies
generated in the PGA event.
2007 football schedule
After a number of meetings
and several changes, the 2007
United football schedule has
been finalized.
The Red Storm varsity will
have four home games, with five
on the road.
August 24
August 31
September 7
September 14
September 21
September 28
October 5
October 12
October 19
@ Wethersfield
@ Cambridge
vs Stark County
@ West Central
@ North Fulton
vs.Alwood/
ROWVA
@ Aledo/Westmer
vs Annawan
vs Elmwood/
Brimfield
Homecoming will be held on
Friday, October 12, with senior
night set for October 19.
A group of American veterans came to UHS last week to discuss
their wartime experiences. See story on page 4.
Easter another new experience for exchange student
Editor’s Note: Taiwan
native Albee Hua will be
spending the year as a
United High School senior. As a member of the
journalism class, her primary focus will be to write
about her experiences
here in Western Illinois.
Not coming from a Christian
nation, Easter is yet another
holiday I had only known from
books until this spring.
let people think about easter
bunny, that’s a really fun part for
this holiday.
I was excited about this holiday, because I could see a lot of
decorations around the house and
in shops and stores. One of the
most interesting parts was seeing
chocolate eggs. I though they
were really cute.
The family I stay with now, the
McCrerys, go to church every
Sunday, so Easter is important
for them, too. On Easter morning, the family went to church at
6:00 and had sunrise breakfast
at the church. In the evening,
I went to Sara Smith’s family
dinner. We painted the eggs that
night, which fun. I met Sara’s
family, and they were really nice
and friendly. I really enjoyed the
night with them and am glad Sara
invited me to her family’s Easter.
Finally, I got gift from the Easter bunny. I really loved the gift I
got. It was so delicious.
May board meeting
moves up a day
With the United baseball team
set to play at O’Brien Field on
May 10 (see page 8), the regular
monthly meeting of the United
Board of Education will be held
Wednesday, May 9, at 8:00 p.m.
Spanish teacher Rick Johnson,
will also include students from
Yorkwood High School along
with their Spanish instructor, Mr.
Brian Higbee.
That trip gets underway on
May 29 and ends June 8.
Among the stops will be
Mexico City, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, and Puerto Vallerta.
By Nicole Hennenfent
On April 28, United’s ICTM,
also known as Illinois Council
of Teachers of Mathematics,
team will be making their way to
University of Illinois for the state
mathamatics competition.
Students will be competing in
catagories such as geomerty, algebra, pre-calculus, calculus, and
oral testing. Seniors and juniors
can be put onto an eight or a two
person team for all catagories.
Freshmen and sophomores can
be placed as well. Another team
assignment can be made for a
relay team, where a member of
the team solves a problem and
passes the answer on to the next
in line who needs the answer to
finish their own.
Participating seniors are
Patrick Gavin, Jay Grant, Matt
Grose, Nick Hanson, Jake Murdock, and Lauren Powell. Sarah
Armstrong, Ben Battenburg, Matt
Olin, Larissa Prentice, and Taylor
Willett are the juniors who are
competing. Jessica Battenburg,
Bre Chirstian, Peter Elliot, Brandon Lee, Sarah McCrery, Patrick
Olin, Chris Olsen, and Preston
Powell are the sophomore competitors. Freshmen competitors
this year include Alek Buckert,
Jenna Fox, Duncan Nall, Zach
Steele, and Carissa Younquist.
On April 17, Taylor Willet
took second place in a statewide
comepetion for WYSE, Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering. Willett competed against
about six thousand other students
from all over the state.
ICTM finals this weekend
Three new board members
seated following election
By Tony Kozelichki, Publisher
With as few as 16% of registered voters casting ballots in
Warren County, and a similar
number making it to the polls in
Mercer County, lack of interest in an election day void of
national or statewide significance
was evident on April 17.
Nonetheless, that election
will have a long term impact on
the future of the United School
District.
With open seats available for
the first time since the Alexis/
Warren consolidation, five first
time candidates and one incumbent sought the four year posts
amid a sea of upcoming change
for the still young district.
Newly elected to the board
were Tim VanFleet of Alexis
with 360 votes, Susie Frieden
of Cameron with 321 votes, and
Lisa Gavin of rural Monmouth
with 316 votes.
The three will be seated at the
regular board meeting on May 9.
Craig Long (282 votes),
Ruth Harlow (264 votes), both
former Warren board members,
and Debbie Meeker-King (212
votes), the lone incumbent, were
also on the ballot.
The newly elected members
join carryovers Moses Anderson,
Betsy Edwards, Rick Elliott and
Terry Johnson, who each have
two years remaining before the
next election.
As part of an agreement with
the soon to be annexed Yorkword District, one of the current United board members will
relinquish the seat on July 1
and the board will select a new
member from within the current
Yorkwood district boundary.
The annexation of Yorkwood
is only one of a number of
major issues that will face the
new school board in the coming
months.
Among other issues are expenses related to the demolition
of the former Alexis High School
building, as well as mandated
life-safety improvements which
will total several million dollars
over the next 10 years.
Other major expeditures on tap
include this summer’s construction of a new ag facility at the
high school, and the possible
upgrade of athletic facilities.
The district also faces more
than a dozen teacher retirements
in the next four years, as well
as the likelihood of having to
replace administrators, two of
whom will also qualify for retirement in the near future.
STORM TRACKER
1905 100th Street
Monmouth, IL 61462
309-734-9411
The Storm Tracker is published
monthly by the journalism students of
United High School, is printed through
the facilities of The Register-Mail, and
is distributed to residents of CUSD
#304. The material published does not
necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the
administration of United School District
#304, nor the policy of The RegisterMail.
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 advertisements 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
Laura Stahl, editor-in-chief
Reporters
Nicole Hennenfent, Albee
Hua, Nathan Johnson, Corey A.
Rundle, and Nicole Yung
Mr. Tony Kozelichki, advisor
“Some material courtesy
of American Society of
Newspaper Editors/MCT
Campus High School
Newspaper Service.”
United CUSD #304
contact numbers
Superintendent’s Office
482-3344
FAX 482-3236
United High School
734-9411
FAX 734-6090
United Elementary School
482-3332
FAX 482-3341
Jane Smith LMT
Licensed Massage Therapist
Maple City Chiropractic Massage Hours
309 S Main
10 am - 7 pm MWF
Monmouth
3 pm - 7 pm Th
309-734-2447
8 am - Noon Sat
Appointment Recommended
Shively Shoe Repair
10 Public Square
Galesburg IL
309-343-9055
Board gets peak at architect’s drawing of new ag shop
while also seeking bids for demolition of Alexis High
By Laura Stahl, Editor-in-chief
This month’s regular school
board meeting took place on
Thursday, April 12, with a special session held a week later to
deal with personnel issues.
The board approved a proposal
to have Teacher’s Institute days
on August 20 and 21 to open the
2007-2008 school year. Students
will attend a half-day session of
August 22 with the first full day
scheduled for August 23. The
board also approved the waiving of Casmir Pulaski Day and
Lincoln’s birthday next year.
High school principal Mrs.
Amy Schmitz was glad to inform
the board that the school received approximately $9,000
worth of books from the Illinois
Textbook Loan Program. New
books for accounting, health,
nutrition, living environments,
and English were ordered for
next year.
A grant for United’s third heart
defibulator was sent in. The
defibulator should be in by next
year.
A three year tech plan to
improve the school’s computers
systems will begin next year,
starting with $800. The tech program will involve United’s technology coordinators, Mrs. Judy
Eyler and Mrs. Amy McKenna.
A grant for a green house to be
built along with the ag shop is in
the process of being written. The
plans for the ag shop are still in
progress, and as of late, include a
100x57 foot structure, which will
include a classroom and office.
The shop area is estimated at
67x57 feet and includes a paint
booth, possibly a hydraulic lift,
and many other exciting educational features, as well as a large
amount of storage.
The United Elementary building
was evaluated for acoustic properties of the new construction
and security issues in the elementary building. Mr. Tom Gilliland
met with Springfield Electric to
discuss upgrades for next year.
Potential upgrades include a new
PA system as well as self locking
doors. These additions would be
a part of the district’s the school’s
life safety improvements.
The district is also accepting
bids for the demolition of the former Alexis High School building.
Superintendent Jeff Whitsitt says
four parties have inquired about
the project. Demolition will be
limited to the old high school
and will have no impact on the
United Fieldhouse
Casey Grant, who joined the
district in the fall as a junior high
aide, submitted his resignation
effective April 20. Grant has
accepted a position as an admissions counselor at MacMurray
College in Jacksonville, Illinois.
The board re-employed all
fall and winter sports coaches
and non-certified personnel for
the coming year. Four teacher
End of year school calendar
May 4
May 5
May 16
May 17
May 23
May 25
May 27
May 31
11:30 a.m. dismissal, school improvement day
Prom 5:30 p.m. grand march, 7:30 p.m. dinner
High school awards night 6:00 p.m.
High school Fine Arts festival, 6:30 p.m.
High school spring sports awards, 6:30 p.m.
Last day student attendance, 2:00 p.m. dismissal
Graduation, 2:00 p.m. @ United football field
Report card distribution, 8:00 a.m.
aides were dismissed, but all are
expected to be re-hired if grant
funding is received.
In other personnel news, Jim
Noonan, Yorkwood’s basketball
coach the past two seasons, has
been named United’s boys’ basketball coach (see accompanying
article).
Sonia Sage was hired as the
news high school cheerleading
coach, replacing Karen Grant,
who is stepping down after a
number of seasons as coach at
Warren and United.
Anna Hinton, a Yorkwood
High School teacher who will
work at United Junior High in
the fall, and Julie Martin, currently at United Elementary but
who is also headed to the junior
high next year, were hired as
junior high cheerleading coaches
for the fall and winter seasons,
respectively.
Yorkwood hoops coach
signs on with United
By Nathan Johnson
There will be a new boys’
basketball coach at United High
School next winter.
Jim Newnan grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and went to school
there through his junior year, before moving to Knoxville, where
he graduated.
Noonan earned his bachelor’s
degree at Western Illinois
University, and since then has
coached at Knoxville, Roseville,
and Yorkwood High Schools for
a total of eight years. He
has been a varsity basketball
coach for Yorkwood for the past
three years.
He has also assisted with the
Westwood football program.
Coach Newnan is currently
Yorkwood’s physical education
teacher.
When I asked coach Newnan
what his thought were on next
Seniors, need some help
getting your scrapbook
ready for graduation?
Call Linda 482-6600
years team he said “ I eat, sleep,
drink basketball. Starting this
summer with the talent from both
Yorkwood and United, we are
going to work hard and by next
basketball season we are going to
be on the map.
“With the talent from both
schools, we will make United
just as much of a basketball
school as it is a football school”
End of year means a full slate of student activities
Accounting
Challenge
By Nikki Hennenfent
On Friday, April 13, 26 students from the Accounting I and
II classes traveled to Western
Illinois University to compete in
the Accounting Challenge.
The students took a 40 minute
test to get a chance of winning
scholarship money. After the
test, students were then given a
tour of the WIU campus and got
an inside look of the business
program.
The top three individuals and
top three teams could win scholarships of $200, $300, or $500 to
WIU.
United had one person, Larissa
Prentice, place in the top ten.
Prentice placed eighth out of 72
students, but was unable to win
any scholarship money.
United sent seven teams, each
consisting of four members.
Accounting teacher Mr. Joel
Zink said, “I was pleased with
the positive attitudes by the students and especially pleased that
we had a student place in the top
10 this year.”
Fine Arts Fest set
By Nikki Hennenfent
On May 17, the United South
Campus will be hosting this
year’s Fine Arts Festival starting
at 5:30 p.m.
Entertainment will include
singing by the high school and
junior high choruses, musical
selections from the band, and
the showing of art made by high
school students.
High school students will be
showing off their completed art
work in the multi-purpose room.
Paintings, scultures, and handmade jewlery are just a few of
the items that can be seen.
The high school band will be
performing many different pieces
this year. Selections will include
works from The Phantom of the
Opera and the Indiana Jones
movies.
The jazz band will be performing and the Louie Armstrong
Award will be given to a musician in the jazz band.
The John Phillips Sousa Award
will be given to a senior musician who shows remarkable
talent.
The eighth grade Director’s
Award will be given to an
outanding eighth grader chosen
by Mrs. Gilliland for his or her
perfomance.
The fifth and sixth grade band
will also be performing.
The high school chours will
be performing an assortment of
music.
Seasons of Love is from the
Broadway performance RENT
and 100 Years is a popular song
by Five for Fighting.
A National Choral Award will
be given to a choir student who
has shown great passion and skill
in his or her music career.
All are welcome to enjoy a
night to celebrate the arts at
United High School.
There will be no elementary
school spring music program this
year.
Pride Night II
Student academic honors,
scholarship presentations, and
class displays will once again be
the focus of the second annual
United Pride Night, to be held
Wednesday, May 16.
Among the cash awards to
be presented will be the Steve
McBride Scholarship, the United
Education Association Scholarship, and the Women’s Club and
PEO Chapter G awards.
New members of the National
Honor Society will also be inducted.
Last year, demonstrations were
held in the ag shop and computer
lab, where student projects were
on display.
Displays will be available for
viewing beginning at 6:00 p.m.
with the awards presentations
scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
The evening will also feature
performances by the United High
School choir and jazz band.
linois and Iowa. Students submit
their works weeks ahead of time,
which are then judged by Western Illinois University faculty.
Winning entries earn cash
awards, are published by WIU,
and are read to attendees during
the afternoon awards presentation.
United High Schools offers
an elective English course in
creative writing to juniors and
seniors. The class is taught by
Miss Jean Kern.
Senior wins
Prom grand
writing award
march to be
held at UHS
United senior Alex Nall took
home first place in fiction writing
and earned honorable mention
status in poetry at the recent
Western Illinois University Creative Writing Festival.
Nall was awarded a certificate and $50 for his short story
“Aquamarine GEO,” a story
about a teenager who is given a
junky car by his father.
The annual festival features
dozens of high schools from Il-
This year’s prom will be held
Saturday, May 5, at the Homestead in Woodhull.
Couples’ photos will be taken
from 5:00-6:00 at the high school
with the grand march and coronation set to begin at 6:00 at the
United High School AP room.
Parents are encouraged to attend
the grand march for photographs,
as the prom itself will be limited
to students and faculty.
The actual prom will begin at
7:30 at the Homestead where
dinner will be served, and then
dancing will be available until
11:00.
The after prom party will take
place at the Galesburg YMCA.
Doors will close at 12:00 a.m.
and all students will need to be in
the building by midnight in order
to attend.
ACT/SAT scores
still matter
By Eric Adler
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT) High school seniors,
your waiting time is almost over.
Now and for the next few
weeks, college admissions deans
are “in committee”--sequestered,
huddled and locked in their ivory
tower offices. There they pore
over the grades, essays, letters
and what some may see as the
magic make-or-break SAT and
ACT scores of more than 1 million future college freshmen.
Only the SATruth is that, as
more colleges than ever seek
variety and diversity, getting top
scores no longer is the sure-fire
combination for success.
“The SAT, for better or worse,
has been held out as the Holy
Grail of acceptance. It’s not,”
said Dennis Trotter, dean of
admissions at Pennsylvania’s
Franklin & Marshall College.
Today nearly 25 percent of
U.S. News and World Report’s
top 100 colleges have begun to
de-emphasize standardized tests,
a trend that began with Maine’s
Bowdoin College n 1969.
The National Center for Fair &
Open Testing’s Web site, fairtest.
org, lists more than 730 four-year
public and private colleges out of
about 2,400 that have made the
college boards less important or
optional. The list includes Sarah
Lawrence College in New York,
Middlebury and Bennington colleges in Vermont, Mount Holyoke and Holy Cross colleges in
PLEASE SEE SAT, PAGE 7
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1-800-553-7475
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Want to make a positive
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Call 482-3344 for info
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Air Guard Recruiting Assistant.
309-370-2016
[email protected]
Tanning Beds Open!
Mon & Fri 4-8 pm
Tue/Wed/Thr 10 am-8 pm
Saturday 8 am-2 pm
482-3549 or 371-6277
SPORTSCARDS
Buy-Sell-Trade
Baseball-Football-Basketball-Hockey
482-6600
Veterans discuss their war experiences with United students
While their years are far apart,
their message was the same, and
it came through loud and clear
as dozens of United High School
students spent part of their Friday
afternoon listening to the exploits
of seven American servicemen
and women who served in World
War II, and the Korean, Vietnam
and Iraq Wars.
World War II vets James Verheyen and Guy E. Legate, along
with Vietnam vets Grace Herald and Mike Wilson are from
Galesburg.
Ed Rodriguez from Cameron
served in the Korean War, while
Jeremiah Busetto, a recruiter
from Alpha, and Clint Murphy
from Monmouth have both seen
active duty in Iraq.
The program, titled “From the
Great War to the Gulf: America
at War in the 20th Century,”
came as the result of a $3,000
grant written by United High
School librarian Mary Murray.
In addition to sponsoring the pro-
It was standing room only at the United library as UHS students
listen intently to a presentation by a group of war veterans
gram, the library was able to buy
materials to support the theme.
Verheyen spent 27 years of
his life serving in the Army and
saw combat duty in the Pacific
Theatre of Operations where he
earned the Bronze Star, while
Legate saw action the Caribbean,
Africa and the Pacific while serving in the Navy.
Legate spoke of his service
JA seeks future business leaders
Junior Achievement Leadership
Challenge is a week-long conference for high school students
who want to learn about the
world of business.
The conference allows students the chance to experience
life as a college student, develop
leadership skills, network with
area business leaders, develop
a professional resume, and discover personal strengths through
team-building activities.
This year’s leadership conference will be held at St. Ambrose
University in Davenport, Iowa,
during the week of July 22-27.
Students will live on campus and
a graduation ceremony will be
held on the final day.
Cost for the program is a $150
non-refundable fee. Sponsorships from the business community will cover the additional
costs of meals, housing at St.
Ambrose, programs materials,
and activities.
In addition, St. Ambrose University has offered to provide all
students who participate in the
Business Leadership Challenge
and choose to attend St. Ambrose
after high school a $750 scholarship per year (total of $3,000)
to apply toward their college
tuition.
The program is open to all
current sophomores, juniors, and
seniors.
For more information, area students may contact Bob Pritchett,
Director of the Delabar Vocational Education System, by calling
734-7545. His office is located
in the Regional Superintendent
of School’s office at 200 West
Broadway in Monmouth.
under Admiral Halsey during the
battle of Okinawa.
Rodriguez served in the Marine Corps and saw combat duty
in Korea from 1952-1953, and
was one of four brothers from
his family who served during the
Korean War.
Herald, the only woman on
the panel, spent seven of her
50 years as a nurse in Vietnam,
tending to wounded soldiers.
Martin is a Purple Heart survivor of the Tet Offensive of 1968,
having been hit by three bullets
and a grenade while on a Navy
boat. He is also a Silver Star
recipient.
Sgt. Murphy remains active in
the National Guard in Galesburg
and has spent 11 years in the
military, including two years as
part of Operation Iraqi Freedom,
where he lived inside Baghdad’s
heavily fortified green zone.
Marine Sgt. Basetto has seen
duty in Iceland, Norway, France,
Germany, Israel and Mexico in
addition to service in Kuwait and
Iraq.
Following the presentation,
United history teacher Mr. Donn
Damos spoke with the group
to arrange further appearances
before his History III class later
this semester
The Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Secretary of State’s office through the
Illinois State Library is funded
by federal money through a grant
from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. The
grant, called “Bridging the Gap
Between Community and Collection,” is designed to provide
underserved patrons with access
to specific library materials and
programs.
Korean War vet Ed Rodriguez
Project Lead the Way looks to
forge new generation of engineers
Project Lead the Way is a
national non-profit organization
established to help schools give
students the knowledge they
need to excel in high-tech fields.
Due to the high drop-out rate
of college engineering students,
PLTW’s engineering curricula
for middle and high school is designed to give students rigorous,
relevant, reality-based knowledge to better prepare them for
college.
This program offers students
the chance to find out if engineering is the career for them
before they spend thousands of
dollars on college courses.
PLTW’s classroom instruction, generally one-third theory
and two-thirds application, gives
students meaningful, hands-on
esxperience in problem-solving,
teamwork, and project-based
learning. They also have the
opportunity to earn college credit
for their work.
At the March 15 meeting of the
United Board of Education, Bob
Pritchett, Director of the Delabar
Vocational Education System,
gave a presentation regarding
PLTW, with board members then
accepting a motion to look into
the possibility of United taking
part in the program as early as
next school year. The program
would provide United with grant
funding for the purchase of software needed for the engineering
component.
Abingdon and ROWVA High
Schools already offer the program.
Those interested in finding out
more about PLTW can contact
Pritchett at his Monmouth office
by calling 734-7545 or by logging onto the program’s website
at www.pltw.org
United CUSD #304 NOW
PROVIDES TRANSPOR
TATION TO LICENCED
DAYCARE PROVIDERS
CALL 482-3344 FOR INFO
PORTER INSURANCE AGENCY
DEBBIE MEEKER-KING, Agent
200 East Broadway Monmouth, IL 61462
309-734-7234 [email protected]
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Equal Housing Lender
Alpha 629-4361 ~ Aledo 582-3150 ~ Alexis 482-5511
New Windsor 667-2735 ~ Viola 596-2189 ~ Woodhull 334-2802
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May Elementary Menu
Monday
Tuesday
1
Stormburger
French Fries
Carrots Fruit Cocktail
7
Pizza
Corn
Applesauce or Tropical Fruit
14
Tacos
Carrots & Dip
Cherry Freeze Oreo
21
Chicken Nuggets
Baked Beans
Tropical Fruit
7 Cinnamon Tastry
14 Donut
21 Cinnamon Roll
1
8
15
22
8
Crispito
Broccoli & Cheese
Apple & Caramel Dip
15
Bar-B-Q Rib Sandwich
French Fries
Peas Applesauce
22
Hot Dog w/Coney Sauce
Tator Triangle
Pear Half
Cereal
Cereal
Cereal
Cereal
2
9
16
23
Wednesday
2
Deli Turkey Sandwich
Nachos & Cheese
Mixed Veggies Applesauce
Thursday
3
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce
Garlic Sticks
Green Beans Pear Half
Friday
4
School Improvement Day
NO LUNCH
9
Cheeseburger
French Fries
Cheesecake Cherries
16
Stuffed Crust Pizza
Carrots
Mixed Fruit
23
Italian Chicken Sandwich
Broccoli & Cheese
Apples
Donuts
Long John
Bagel w/Cream Cheese
Long John
10
Italian Chicken Sandwich
Chips & Salsa
Choc. Cake Strawberries
17
Crispito
Corn
Grapes or Strawberries
24
Pepperoni Pizza
Corn
Banana Ice Cream
Cereal
Cereal
Cereal
Cereal
11
Hot Dog
Tator Tots Green Beans
Peach Half
18
Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Chips Apples
Fruit Roll Up Cookie
25
Hamburger
Cook’s Choice
3
10
17
24
4 NO BREAKFAST
11 Breakfast Pizza
18 Cinnamon Tastry
25 Cook’s Choice
United Junior/Senior High names third quarter honor roll
United Junior/Senior High
School announces the following
students have attained honor roll
status for the third quarter, which
ended on March 23.
HIGH HONORS (3.67 & up with
no D’s or F’s):
Seniors: Cassie Bainter, Smantha
Candor, Rachel Damos, Patrick
Gavin, Jay Grant, Matt Grose,
Nick Hanson, Josh Mettler,
Laney Morgan, Jacob Murdock,
Lauren Powell, Corey Rundle,
Betsy Simpson, Liz Van Fleet,
Kayla Winkler.
UNITED CHECKS
Juniors: Sarah Armstrong, Ben
Battenburg, Colt Foster, Matt
Olin, Larissa Prentice, Taylor
Willett.
Sophomores: Katie Allaman,
Blake Anderson, Jessica Battenburg, Bre Christian, Peter
Elliott, Terri Jones, Jake Kenney,
Brandon Lee, Sarah McCrery,
Patrick Olin, Christopher Olson,
Preston Powell, Macy Sprout,
Megan Vanskike.
Freshmen: Jake Armstrong,
Jenna Fox, Sammy Mackey,
Mollie Murdock, Duncan Nall,
Zach Steele.
FOR YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT
8th Grade: Emily Douglas, Gina
Long, Erin Prichard, Jenny
Youngquist
.
7th Grade: Logan Douglas, Jesse
Kenney, Caitlin, Kozelichki,
Meghan Olin, Amy Olson, Tyler
Osborn, Evan Powell, Cecilia
Prentice, Taylor Rutledge, Ashlynn Winkler.
HONORS (3.34-3.66 with no
D’s or F’s):
Seniors: Mark Connell, Tyson
Cox, Alex Nall, Jenny Nicol,
Matt Wood.
penny’s
Juniors: Erin Bickerton, Kayla
Bishop, Brandon Boyd, Cassie
Hawks, Nate Johnson, Bryan
Lincoln, Laura Stahl, Bri Trembly, Nicole Yung.
Sophomores: Chase Chavero,
Matt Dutton, Marissa Flynn,
Kyle Ischer, Kevin Lybarger,
Eric Olson, Jami Prichard, C.J.
Ravel, Jillian Rundle, Trisha
Swanson.
Freshmen: Jaclyn Barnhouse,
Cory Davey, Adam Olin, Grace
Simpson, Kaitlyn Winkler,
8th Grade: Jenny Battenburg,
Lindsey Brentise, Augusta Chan-
dler, Rachel Kenney, Katrina
Parks, Joe Wood
7th Grade: Jonah Armstrong,
Zane Carlson, Shelby Chandler,
Ashlie Douglas, Geoffrey Hahn,
Hannah Hartzell, Emilee Holmberg, Rebecca Hook, Kelsie
Lorincz, Beau Morrison, Megan
Patterson.
The fourth quarter and second
semester honors rolls will be
published next month.
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R.R. 1 Box 27 Gladstone, IL 61437
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104 South Main
Alexis
482-3423
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June 1st - June 15th 2007
Monday
May Jr/Sr Lunch Menu
Tuesday
1
Cheeseburger
French Fries
Baked Beans Peaches
Wednesday
2
Chicken Nuggets
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Corn Fruit Crisp Ice Cream
Thursday
3
Macaroni & Cheese
Little Smokies
Green Beans Pink Applesauce
Friday
4
NO LUNCH
7
Cheese Quesadillas
Corn Chips & Nacho Cheese
Spanish Rice Peas Pineapple
8
Chili Dog
French Fries
Baked Beans Pears Brownie
9
Salisbury Steak
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans Applesauce
10
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce
Cheesy Bread Sticks
Tossed Salad Peaches
11
Ham & Cheese Sandwich
AuGratin Potatoes
Mixed Veggies Mixed Fruit
14
Fiestada Spanish Rice
Corn Chips & Cheese
Tossed Salad Pineapple
15
Chicken Patty on Bun
Chips Bean Salad
Fruit Crisp Ice Cream Cup
16
Chicken Fried Steak
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Creamed Peas Peaches
17
Cavatini
Garlic Bread Green Beans
Mixed Fruit
18
Southwest Real Sliced Pizza
Chips
Carrots
Mandarin Oranges Cake
21
Crispitos Spanish Rice
Corn Chips & Nacho Cheese
Corn Mandarin Oranges
22
Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Chips Lima Beans
Fruit Crisp Ice Cream Cup
23
Chicken Nuggets
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans Peaches
24
Cook’s Choice
25
Cook’s Choice
7 Long Johns
14 Cinnamon Rolls
21 Long Johns
1
8
15
22
2
9
16
23
3
10
17
24
4
11
18
25
Pop Tarts
Cereal
Pancake on a Stick
Cook’s Choice
Cereal
Breakfast Biscuit
Long Johns
Cook’s Choice
Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls
Cereal
Cook’s Choice
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
No Breakfast
French Toast
Pop Tarts
Cook’s Choice
May 2007 Calendar
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
2
BB @ ROWVA
SB vs North Fulton
G/T @B/PC/Avon Invite BB vs Alwood/Cambr
JH/T LTC @ Kewanee
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
3
4
5
SB vs Knoxville
BB @ Galva
Var BB @ Orion 10 am
School Bd Mtg 7:00 pm BG/T LTC @ Kewanee FS BB vs Rockridge
JH/T @ IESA Sectional
6
7
All home softball games SB @ Aledo
are played at Cameron BB @Canton 7 pm
Field beginning at 4:30
p.m. unless noted
13
14
All home baseball
SB Regionals TBA
games are played at
BB Regionals TBA
the North Campus
beginning at 4:30 p.m.
unless noted
20
21
8
BB @ Knoxville
10
11
BB vs Williamsfild @
BB @ LaHarpe
OBrien Field-Peo.5:30pm G/T Sectional TBA
27
Graduation 2pm
United Football Field
29
Sunday
30
Monday
28
Memorial Day
9
SB @ Kewanee
Var BB @ Rockridge
F/S BB vs Rockridge
12
SB @ Williamsfield
15
16
17
18
B/T @ B/PC/Avon Invite United Pride Night
Spring Fine Arts Festival B/T Sectional TBA
Academic Awards 6pm Ice Cream Social 6pm
19
22
T @ PJStar Invite
Last Day for Seniors
23
24
Spring Athletic Awards Booster Club Meeting
26
29
Teacher’s Institute
30
Teacher’s Institute
31
Report Card Distribution
25
Last Day Attendance
2:00 dismissal
8th Gr Promotion 7pm
SAT, ACT scores matter, even among colleges that de-emphasize them
Massachusetts, and Dickinson
College in Pennsylvania.
“Grinnell College is a place
that does require them, and they
are important,” said William
Sumner, dean of admission and
financial aid at Grinnell in Iowa,
one of the country’s leading
liberal arts colleges. “But they
are precisely half as important as
what’s most important, which is
the school record.
“People typically think two
things get them in or keep them
out of a college,” Sumner continued. “Ninety-five percent of
what gets them in or keeps them
out is their school record.”
Now, as you wait over the next
month for that thick letter (accepted!) or the thin one (sorry!),
we offer a few facts and fables
about the college boards that
may or may not make you feel
better.
• The better your SAT or ACT
scores, the smarter you are.
“Your score on the ACT has no
bearing on how smart you are,”
said Ken Gullette, spokesman
for Iowa City-based ACT Inc.,
which distributes and grades the
standardized test.
Caren Scoropanos, spokesperson for the College Board in
New York, which administers
the SAT, is just as emphatic. “It
is not an intelligence test,” she
said.
College admission officers are
aware that the SAT and ACT are
reasoning and assessment tests.
They show only to what degree
a student has mastered a certain
limited body of material offered
in high school. It doesn’t measure creative thinking, complex
ideas, leadership or drive or
other qualities that make fine ap-
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plicants. They also are aware that
opportunity, education and race
can affect SAT or ACT scores.
• The richer and more educated
your parents, the better your
scores are likely to be.
True. College admission counselors know this, too. It is one of
the prime reasons many colleges
have begun putting less emphasis
on SAT and ACT scores.
Recent and historic numbers
collected the last 40 years by
the U.S. Department of Education bear out the trend. The most
recent statistics for 2005, for
example, show that students who
come from families that make
more than $100,000 a year score,
on average, 130 points higher
on the SAT than students from
families making $10,000 a year
or less.
Racially white students (532
verbal, 536 math) and Asian
students (511 verbal, 580 math)
scored better on average than
Hispanic students (463 verbal,
469 math), Mexican students
(453 verbal, 463 math) or black
students (433 verbal, 431 math).
The explanation is simple:
Parents with more money who
are better-educated are able to afford better school or test preparation classes than parents of other
students.
More than SAT and ACT
scores, admission officers look
closely at grades, family background, family income, special
talents and academic interests.
At elite colleges, they also look
at the proportion of advanced
courses a student might have
taken compared to how many
such courses were offered. Did
they take them all? Did they take
one?
• Your SAT or ACT scores
predict how successful you’ll be
throughout college.
No. Those who administer theSAT and ACT fully acknowledge
that the tests predict only how
well a student is likely to do in
his or her freshman year at any
particular college.
“Everybody wants their children to be prepared for college,”
said Gullette, the ACT spokesman. “But to be a success in
school and life requires more
than getting a 36 on the ACT.
Students need to get over that,
and their peers need to get over
that. They need to stop pressuring their children to think that
perfection is required.”
• It’s smart to submit good SAT
or ACT scores even to schools
that say the tests are optional.
True. Showing off good scores
can only help, even at schools
that do not treat them with the
weight or importance they once
had. Maine’s Bowdoin College
has been SAT-optional for nearly
40 years, but its admission office
still looks at scores, said William
Shain, Bowdoin’s dean of admissions. “If you ask me to choose
between a kid with terrific grades
and fairly good scores and a kid
with terrific scores and fairly
good grades, the first kid has a
better chance always.”
But if both kids are equally
great?
“The kid with the lower testing
doesn’t have the advantage.”
With only one home meet,
track teams hit the road
By Nathan Johnson
On April 16 the boys traveled
to Galva for the Galva Relays
where Shawn Roller took fourth
in the long jump, Scott Duncan
took second in the high jump and
Aaron Corben took fifth in the
shot put.
United’s boys went to Cambridge on April 17 for that invitational, and Duncan, a freshman,
took first place in the high jump
and broke the school reocrd with
a jump of 5’10”. He also placed
fourth in the high hurdles.
Roller, a junior, took second in
the 200 and fourth in the 100.
while senior Jake Murdock took
fourth place in the 300 hurdles.
The Red Storm Relays were
held April 23, which was also senior night for Murdock and twins
Drew and Devin Clevenger.
At the relays Roller took first
in the 100, Murdock took third
in the 400, and the 4x200 relay
team of Murdock, Duncan, Bryan
Lincoln, and James Payne took
third.
United’s girls’ track has fared
well this year with a second place
finish at Bushnell, and third place
finishes at both the Sherrard and
Galva Relays.
Nicole Ester has placed in the
top two in all of the meets in
the triple jump, while Courtney
young has been in the top three in
shot put at all the meets. Carissa
Youngquist has been competing
well in the 400.
“It took the freshmen awhile to
realize they need to work hard to
become better” Coach Bo. “Now
that they have realized that, they
are doing better and will continue
to improve,” said Coach Barb
Bohan. “The girls work hard and
get along well.”
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Baseball team to play at Cubs’ minor league park
Regardless of their record at
the end of the season, members
of the United High School baseball team will be able to walk
away from the season with at
least one highlight to remember.
On Thursday, May 10, the
Storm will play Williamsfield at
Peoria’s O’Brien Field, home to
the Chicago Cubs’ Class-A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs.
The Chiefs annually allow a
number of Central Illinois teams
to use the facility during weeks
in which the minor league team
is on the road. This year, Williamsfield was invited to play at
the downtown Peoria facility and
they, in turn, offered to give up
their home game with the Red
Storm for the chance to play on
one of minor league baseball’s
newest fields.
The Peoria Chiefs have garnered headlines in recent months
as Chicago Cubs hall of famer
Ryne Sandberg is the team’s new
currently with the Los Angeles
Dodgers, and Cubs pitchers
Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.
Tickets for the 5:30 game will
be available at O’Brien Field and
cost $3.00 each.
According to the Chiefs, their
parking lots will not be available
that evening; however, on-street
The Red Storm baseball team will play its Thursday, May 10,
game at Peoria’s O’Brien Field, which is home to the Chicago
Cubs’ Class-A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs.
manager, succeeding onetime
Cubs all-star Jody Davis.
Unfortunately for Storm players and fans, Sandberg will not
be in attendance as his Chiefs
will be in Dayton, Ohio, that
evening.
Still, it’s a once in a lifetime
opportunity for United High
Schoolers to play in a $23 million dollar facility.
In recent years, a number of
Major League all stars have
played at O’Brien Field as part
of their injury rehab program,
including Nomar Garciaparra,
Girls looking to rebound after early .500 record
By Nicole Yung
This softball season has been a
series of ups and downs for the
Red Storm.
Starting off with two losses,
United answered back with
three straight wins. Then, due to
inclement weather, the following
two games were cancelled. Now,
the Storm seems to be stuck,
having fallen short four games
in a row.
On April 2, United pulled out
on top against the Alwood-Cambridge co-op to give a positive
Solid at first, Kayla Bishop has
also been consistent at bat
start to their conference record.
On April 10, the team traveled
to Ipava to face South Fulton.
The storm came out on top of
the close game, giving United a
record of 3-2.
The third week of April proved
to be tough on the Storm, playing
four games, and falling short
each time. On April 16, United
was at Princeville. Senior Jenna
Damewood took the 11-3 loss.
The following Tuesday, the
Storm was in Kewanee to face
the Wethersfield Geese. Nicci
Leary took the mound in the beginning, took relief from Damewood, and came back to finish
the last inning. United lost 13-3.
Wednesday, April 18, saw the
team fall to Stark County, 6-2.
Damewood had four strikeouts
and five walks over seven innings. Sophomore Bre Christian
went 2-3 with a double, and
Nicole Yung was also 2-3 with
two singles.
On April 20, United and West
Central both refused to give up
at the end of seven innings, tied
at 1-1. After two extra innings,
United was unable to answer
back to the Heat’s runs in the
ninth, falling 3-1. Damewood
pitched all nine innings, and had
a total of 15 strikeouts, while
walking only two and allowing
one hit batter.
“I think we have improved a
lot. Once we can keep it together
and stay together for the whole
game, the wins will come more
often,” said Christian.
United stands at 3-6. The Red
Storm will play four conference
games in the last week of April,
against ROWVA (twice), Galva,
and Aledo.
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parking (meters need to be fed
until 6:00 p.m.) and a covered
city lot two blocks north of the
ballpark (and across from the
Peoria Civic Center) should accomodate all in attendance.
Also, food will be available
throughout the game at the park’s
concessions stands.
Stormy weather has
United seeing red
By Corey Rundle
United baseball started the
season off with back to back
wins over Abingdon and Alwood/Cambridge.
Games were then played
against Galesburg where the
team lost both games of the
doubleheader.
The next matchup was against
rival Bushnell Prarie City/Avon
where the team defeated them by
one run improving its record to
3-2 on the year.
The good start, however, came
to a screeching halt as the team
has lost its last five decisions
with inclement weather leaving
the team short-handed on the
mound.
Multiple rainouts during the
first two weeks of April have
forced the team to play virtually
every night during the final three
weeks of the regular season.
In fact, as of press time, the
Storm has only one off day the
remainder of the regular season.
“We need to cut down on errors, make fewer mental mistakes, and improve our batting
average not just as individuals, but as a team.” said senior
centerfielder Luke Watson. “ If
we minimize all of these areas,
I’m sure we can get out of our
slump.”
The team will be playing Williamsfield at O’Brian Field on
May 10 (see above).
“It will be a fun experience for
all of us to remember. The boys
have been looking forward to
playing there since the beginning
of the season,” said junior Colt
Foster.
Having burst on the scene late
his freshman year, Matthew
Olin, now a junior, sports a
sub-3.00 ERA after his first
four starts