Volume 1 Issue 2

COUGAR
Volume 1 Issue 2
South Decatur Jr.– Sr. High School On-line Publication
November 2013
Audiences “Crazy” for Sweeney
Todd—Cover Story
Making SADD “Happy”— pg. 2
Hunting Gone Wild— pg. 3 & 4
¡Vámonos!— pg. 5
Thumbs Up & Thumbs Down—
pg. 6 & 7
Coach Deck— pg. 8 & 9
Publications Update— pg. 10
Mr. Flemming Rocks— pg. 11
Fall Sports Wrap-Up— pg. 12-15
Bullying?— pg. 16
South’s Musicians Shine— pg. 17
Happy Halloween— pg. 18 & 19
The high school Spell Bowl team competed at Purdue University on Saturday, November 16, for a
state title. Our special spellers ranked 6th in the
state in Division IV.
Cougar Chronicles
In his role as Sweeney Todd, senior
Caleb Newlin must have been channeling actor Johnny Depp in order
to create such a compelling character in the ‘bloody good’ rendition of
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street.” Newlin was not
alone in the “fine acting field”; seniors Paje Smiley and Shelby Sparkman were shining examples of
leading ladies as they portrayed
(respectively) the pretty little JoNewlin and Sparkman share the stage and a song after
hanna and the ludicrous yet lovable
Sweeney’s opportunity for revenge is missed.
Mrs. Lovett. Using his hips and his
lips for the part of Adolfo Perelli, senior Riley Pedigo brought his own flourish and flair
to the highest notes ever sung by a man on the Cougar stage. Meanwhile, up-andcoming freshman Zane Brown and Jamen Erwin (7th) played their parts with amazing
maturity and panache. And anyone who saw the play couldn’t stop talking about how
“crazy-good” junior Tasha Bruce was as the crazy beggar woman!
Performing to a full house each night, the cast led the audience to laughter when singing about what truly ‘special ingredient” went into Mrs. Lovett’s meat pies or when
watching Tasha Bruce screaming “Mischief!” From there the audience was lead to
tears when Sweeney Todd’s fears about his daughter are revealed. The audience even
experienced horror when Sweeney was slicing throats at random!
It seems appropriate that at the time of giving thanks that South Decatur audiences
should thank all of the talented, dedicated people involved in this production, especially first-time director, Miss Amanda Gault, who envisioned this production and had
the nerve (or was crazy enough) to take up the challenge.
1
Students Against Destructive Decisions challenge
SD students to be better drivers
N
Seniors Jack Bell (above) and
Shea Platt (below) drive “drunk.”
Junior Haleigh Haining attempts
texting and driving (below).
ational Teen Driver Safety
Week is quite the mouthful,
but the week is very compelling when helping teens realize the dangers in three of
the most common causes of teen death: texting while driving, driving under the influence, and not wearing a seat belt.
From October 21st to the 25th,
South’s SADD organization planned activities for juniors and seniors that would help
warn students about bad driving habits.
On Tuesday, students met these warnings
with technological reality. A national representative from SADD came to SDHS to
offer an assortment of fun activities that
also served a purpose. The seat belt convincer, showcasing what an accident at five
to seven mph might feel like, was the most
popular activity. According to Senior Jack
Bell, “The seat belt convincer actually hurt,
especially for only going five to seven miles
per hour.”
Aside from the seat belt convincer,
the “quick click challenge” displayed how
little time and effort it takes to buckle up.
In order to win the challenge, a team was
consisted of four individuals was required
to put on a seatbelt as quickly as possible
four times, rotating in each seat of the
truck. The team with the fastest record was
Byron Haley, Jared Wagner, Taylor Vannatta, and Elizabeth Hedger, nearly beat-
by Jared Wagner
ing the 32 second state record with their own
time of 35 seconds.
Students also had the chance to
drive a golf cart while wearing “drunk” goggles. This activity focused on the skills needed to weave through an obstacle course without hitting any of the cones (which no one at
SDHS managed to do).
The texting and driving simulator
was available Thursday and offered students
the chance to see how quickly disaster can
strike, especially when texting while trying
to drive. Senior Elizabeth Hedger said, “It
made me realize how quickly something can
happen, and once it happens it’s too late to
go back.”
Mrs. Gross, sponsor of SADD, was
happy with the way everything turned out.
She said, “Everyone knows and has heard
about how dangerous doing any of these
things are; these activities just help kids visualize and realize the seriousness of the consequences”. The only thing Gross wished she
would have done was move the outdoor activities closer to the school building so students did not have to spend their entire
lunch simply walking out to the activities.
SADD is planning two more major
activities for the year, with one occurring in
February covering teen dating violence and
the other occurring in April, just in time for
prom.
Senior Taylor Vannatta (pictured left) and Junior
Caleb Gahwiller (pictured right) try out the seatbelt convincer
Cougar Chronicles
2
Hunting Gone Wild!
By: Cayla Cathey, Taylor Hammond, and Mary Smith
Indiana deer were quaking in their hooves
October 1st when bow season started, and
the 289,931 licensed hunters started their
quest for a kill. Some South Decatur students
were in on the killing and willing to share
their stories .
According to an extensive (yet nonscientific survey —hahaha) during lunch on
October 25th, of the students who answered
the survey, 186 SDHS students have gone
hunting at least once in their life!
Eighty of our current ’cougars’ have
killed a deer with a gun, while thirty-nine
have killed one with a bow. Sixty-four students (of the ones who completed the survey) would like to go hunting at least once in
their lives.
Freshman Dylan Weston (shown left
with his first deer this year) said that he shot
his first deer, a two point buck , last year that
with a muzzleloader .
Weston gives credit to his grandfather
for getting him out into the woods. Being
very consistent, Weston killed his second
deer this year.
Cougar Chronicles
3
Anna Herman (8th) said that her
dad took her hunting for the first time a
few weeks ago and before they left they
locked up their dogs in the house so they
wouldn't scare the deer. They didn't see
any deer for a few hours then when she
finally saw one, someone let their dogs
out of the house and they scared the deer
away. Needless
to say Miss Herman missed out
on her first deer.
HUNTING STORIES…
Southern Style
Junior Josh Campos says “One morning I woke
up to go hunting and I woke up 30 minutes late
but luckily it was just down the road so we hurried and threw on our clothes and we were on
our way. As we were turning down the road that
our property was on, a few doe crossed the
road. As we were driving up the hill to park, a
doe came running over the hill and a huge buck
was right behind her grunting and
wheezing away. I got out of the truck
and started walking towards my tree
stand because I couldn't shoot them in
time. I heard the deer in the creek and
made my dad follow me down. We
both looked down and when we
looked back up, there was a big twopoint buck standing there. I waited until he came in 80 yards, and I
“smoked” him with my muzzleloader
50 cal. optima. He was 23 inches wide
and had 14 inch antlers. That day I entered the
Boone and Crocket record book for killing big
bucks.”
7th grader Hannah Miller says that the first time
she ever went hunting she went with her dad.
Miller said “We had to crouch down and crawl
back to our tent with loaded guns so they
wouldn't scare the deer.
Cougar Chronicles
4
Delicious baked goods
Paje Smiley
ea
iant l
this g
!
what
d for
idea
e use
e no
bly b
I hav
possi
could
thing
f
Ms. Erk introducing
her students to new
Hispanic foods
In order to learn
more about Hispanic culture in
the United States,
Ms. Erk’s third and
fourth year Spanish students went
to Indianapolis on
October 22nd. The
students visited a
health clinic with
bilingual translators, a men’s
home, and a family home.
For lunch, the students went to a Hispanic grocery store/restaurant where they toured the
grocery store to see the different foods that
Hispanic people eat, and the students ordered
(in Spanish) their (extremely delicious) food at
the restaurant. After lunch, everyone was allowed to shop at the grocery store and the panadería (bakery) down the street.
Ms. Erk said she chose those places to
take the students because she used to
live and work in the neighborhood. Erk
said, “I already had a relationship established with the people there.” She wanted the trip to expose her students to
more Hispanic culture and believes that
the trip was definitely a success.
Lexie Armand checking out
unfamiliar items at the
grocery store
These might be the biggest pork
rinds the world has ever seen.
(more than a foot long!)
The students had a good time and
learned a lot. Senior, and fourth year
Spanish student Brandi Palmer said,
“The trip was very informative about the
Hispanic culture. I enjoyed the tacos and
bread.”
5
Tasha Bruce said a
positive about the school
is that she likes most of
the new teachers.
Tanna Garrity believes
that the new phone rule is a
positive!
Tommy Collins enjoys
the schools food.
Nate Apperson said a
positive is that he only has
six more months to go.
Madison Beckett
said she likes the small
school size.
Cougar Chronicles
Bruce said a negative is
that the school has too
many bugs!
Garrity does not
like that most websites are blocked!
Collins believes the
school needs new lockers.
When asked for a negative, Apperson said,
“Everything.”
Beckett doesn’t
like that she can’t
take her shoes off.
6
Kevin Meyers said South
Decatur has good teachers.
Samantha Cathey
likes the library.
Draven Johns said the
water fountain has colder
water than it used to.
Clarissa Baltus
also thinks that the
small school size is a
plus!
Hannah Howard
said, “I guess we have
good athletic teams.”
Meyers gives
homework a
“thumbs down.”
Cathey thinks
South Decatur needs
better technology.
Johns said the soap in
the bathrooms smells
worse.**
Although Baltus
enjoys the small
school size she
doesn’t enjoy that
everyone knows everyone's business
Howard said
that school is too
long.
**On the contraire, Mary
Smith prefers the new
bathroom soap scent.
Cougar Chronicles
7
Being Thankful for One Coach’s Love
and Passion for this School and Sports
It started with a date, a date to the North vs. South football game in
1988. It was love at first sight, not only with the girl, but also with the
Jeff Deck—
Jeff Deck and his
school itself. After watching that game, Jeff Deck, a graduate of Speedway
dedicated 20
wife Lisa,
High School and Purdue University saw something during that football game
years to SD
sports!
who’ve been
that made him want to be a part of South Decatur High School. A couple
years after that game (and after marrying that girl—Lisa Grote) Jeff Deck married 25 yrs.
found his way into coaching at SDHS, and he’s been coaching Cougars ever since. This
year marks the 20th year that Coach Jeff Deck has volunteered to coach—one sport or another. Coach
Deck brings a love and experience of the game to the young men and women of SDHS, and for that type
of dedication, generations of athletes say—Thank-you!
After 20 years of helping coach various team sports, the Cougar Chatter staff has asked Coach Deck to
share some of his thoughts about his time at South…….
A “Special” Job for a “Special” Guy
Coach Deck’s Experience /
Being a Coach
Q: What made you come to South?
A: Date with my wife Lisa
Q: How many different sports have you coached at
SDHS?
A: Football, Baseball, and Softball
Q:How many years have you coached special teams?
A: 12 years
Q: What’s so “special “ about special teams?
A: In my mind, it is “Organized Chaos”
Q: What does “The Hammer” represent?
A: A special play (hit– block– kick) that helps our team in a key
situations
Q: How many years have you given out the hammer?
A: 6 years
Q: What made you want to volunteer all these years?
A: Being around young people and the coaching staff
For the Love of the Game
Q: Do you wish you could go back and play?
Q: What have you accomplished being a coach?
A: Yes, everyday, but my body tells me otherwise
A:2008 beating Milan @ Milan in double overtime in
Sectionals
Q: What about the game of football, makes you love it so much?
2010 Softball Sectionals
2013 Winning Baseball Conference
A: Mental, physical toughness is needed to play the game; plus,
there is a commitment of everyone involved.
Q: What’s your greatest memory as a coach?
Q:How many years do you think you have left?
Cougar Chronicles
8
On Deck ….
with “Special”
memories!
Coach Martin
Q: What is one of the greatest memories or stories you
have with Coach Deck?
A: “Back in the day, we had to drive vans with all the
equipment. One game, we were driving through
Greensburg, I was the driver and Coach Deck and Coach
Trailer were in the back. I was coming up to a stop light
that turned yellow, I thought I could make it so I sped up. Well, it turned
red before I got there, so I slammed on the brakes and stopped right in
the middle of the intersection. Coach Deck was in the back screaming and
yelling that we were going to die. Coach Deck, still to this day, jokes
around with me about that. The van rides back in the day were also a
great time.”
Ashley Johannigman
Coach Stevens
Q: What was Coach Deck like as a softball
coach?
Q: How would you describe
Coach Deck?
A: “He’s very passionate
about football and a very
hardworking man”
Baker Howard
Q:What’s your best
hammer story you
share with Coach Deck?
A: “The lineman were
doing bored drills over on the other side of the
field, then when they came back I left the hammer. I had to bear crawl all the way back and get
the hammer, I had to crawl on pavement, gravel
and the track to get to my hammer. The pain was
great.”
Q: What about when Coach Deck made you kiss
Mrs. T?
A: “Well there was no reason why. My hammer
was just sitting where it belonged, and Mrs. T
came and picked it up. Coach Deck told me I had
to kiss her to get my hammer back. So I kissed
Mrs. T on the cheek and I got my hammer back.”
A: He was one of those coaches who was
demanding—but that made us better players. He was also one of those coaches who
would do some pretty crazy stuff to get the
team fired up to play. One time for Senior night, he came
dressed in these little shortie-shorts and long pink tube
socks. Laughing at him broke the tension everyone was feeling before the game.
Shay Ogle
Q: How did Coach Deck give you a concussion?
A: “During practice we were practicing
punt defense, and I was on the line, and
Coach Deck was back there blocking for the
punter. I went across the line and he came
at me and picked me up, spun me around and dropped me.”
Keri Deck
Q: How was the experience of playing for your dad?
A: “It was amazing—sharing that experience together.
It made me respect him both as a parent and
coach ,but we kept our father—daughter relationship.
He was my biggest critic and my biggest fan at the
same time.”
Cougar Chronicles
9
s
n
o
i
t
a
c
i
l
e
b
t
Pu pda
U
Yearbooks are on sale for
$50. The first 50 people to
order will have a special
feature in the yearbook.
SD
Newspaper Fame
This year’s South Decatur Publications team has taken the opportunity to write for the Greensburg
Daily News sports section. Covering
four home football games, the journalists found the assignment to be a
new challenge. “I found it challenging to write
sports stories– especially football– because I
have literally no idea what happens in a football game. So, watching the game and interpreting what happened was the challenge… but
I did it, and it was fun,” said Jennifer Gilly, one
of South’s four Greensburg Daily contributers.
Seniors, Jennifer Gilly and Lexie Armand wrote
about the Knightstown game. Although it ended in a loss, Lexie described the occasion as “a
rewarding opportunity to gain experience in the journalism field.” “The
most difficult part
for me” added Junior Olivia Watkins,
“was summarizing
all of the notes I
had taken during
Cougar Chronicles
the game.” Covering the Homecoming game
against the Edinburgh Lancers, Senior Jack Bell
stated that the hardest part of writing for the
newspaper was paying attention to the game.
Yearbook Theme
This year’s mighty yearbook team has
finally come to the conclusion that South has
some great charecters for a heroic yearbook
theme. The 2013 – 2014 yearbook theme is
“Superhero”. This awesome yearbook will
swoop in to “save” your memories. And like
always, this year will eventually fly on by. Yearbooks will be availiable after Thanksgiving
Break, for $50. But let’s work on making the
fantastic four quarters of this super school...
well “super.”
10
By Jennifer Gilly
T
om Flemming appears
to be your average funloving, mild-mannered
substitute. However,
before substitute teaching at South
Decatur, Flemming lead more of a
“rock and roll” lifestyle.
Flemming began to attend
concerts his sophomore year in high
school. Styx was the first band he
ever saw. “I think I just kind of fell
into it,” he said about his love for
live music. This passion soon lead
him to see over 70 concerts. Flemming said that Prince was his favorite live act. “Prince does it all!”
Flemming explained that Prince is a
fantastic performer, because he
writes his own music and puts on a
captivating show singing and dancing. “It’s an event.”
Various aspects of the live
music experience keep Flemming
coming back for more. “Part of it is,
Freddie Mercury of Queen
Cougar Chronicles
I think, an adrenaline rush you don’t
get just listening to your iPod, where
you can physically feel the bass.”
Flemming also mentioned how music is more organic when heard live.
Musicians sing and play their instruments right there in front of their
audience, sometimes making mis-
“To listen to it is
one thing, but to
see them…”
-Tom Flemming
takes or switching it up. Flemming
recalled a Matchbox 20 concert he
attended where the band slowed
down some of their faster songs, giving them a more emotional vibe. “To
listen to it is one thing, but to see
them…”
Flemming’s music taste is
Gwen Stefani of
No Doubt
vastly eclectic, ranging from 50s
classics to today’s hits. “There’s a
lot of stuff that I really love,” he explained. This variety was clearly
demonstrated when he was asked
what bands – past or present – he
would book on his dream tour.
Flemming said he would have
Queen headline, with No Doubt,
Robin Thicke, Lady Gaga, Led Zeppelin (with the original lineup), Journey (again with the original lineup),
and Coldplay as support. “My favorite band of all time is probably
Queen,” he explained, due to the
incredible performance they put on.
Flemming shows no signs of
slowing down any time soon. A
wide variety of bands and musicians
are still on his list to see in concert.
His passion for music is clearly evident as he talks about his memories,
and any student who asks him about
his passion is sure to hear a great
story.
Prince
11
by Tyler Wamsley and Tasha Cathey
Varsity Volleyball
T
he varsity volleyball team
came away from its season with a twentytwo win to ten loss record. Coach Lisa Bennett described the season as “very good,”
and complimented the girls by adding, “The
girls played very well.” The girls tied for 3rd
place in their conference and made it to the
sectional championship, a goal for the whole team.
Senior Julia Miller commented on the season saying, “The season was really good. It was a
little disappointing to not win sectionals, but it was a really good year.” These girls accomplished
much this season, hopefully, setting a trend for the future. The awards banquet is scheduled for November 14th
T
Junior High
he junior high volleyball teams persevered through a very competitive season. The seventh grade team was unable to come up with a win,
but the team made up for its loss with outstanding
attitude and optimism.
The eighth grade team was more successful,
though they too suffer loss during their season.
Eighth grader Claire Wullenweber commented,
“The season was pretty good even though we lost
most of the games. The games that we lost were
very close, and sometimes we went to a third
game.”
Overall, these girls exhibited a high level of
sportsmanship and positivity throughout the year
that lead to it being a worthwhile experience.
Cougar Chronicles
12
by Tyler Wamsley and Tasha Cathey
Football
H
ead Coach Rodney
Martin said, “It was a very interesting
season. The team was much more
competitive than last year.” The team
experienced many setbacks, including
injuries, but “they played hard despite the adversity,” said Martin about his 3-7 varsity football
squad.
Senior Myles Lewellyn commented, “I was a little disappointed in our season. We had the
potential to do well, but the events never played in our favor.” He added, “I really enjoyed working
with the guys on my team.”
One of the best moments during the season for the team was winning the Bucket from North.
This was a big accomplishment, because the North Decatur Chargers had bested the Cougars for the
past couple of years. Coach Martin said he was proud of his team and their performance throughout
the season. The awards banquet is scheduled for November 20 th.
T
Junior High
he junior high football team experienced a
good season overall. They finished with
four wins and only three losses. Eighth grader Logan
Schafer commented, “We had a good season. The losses
we had pushed us to be better next year.”
Coaches Troy Meadows, Ron Meadows, and Robert Martin lead their team to a phenomenal
victory during the young boys’ season against the Edinburgh Lancers, 54-16. This was one of the
brighter highlights the boys experienced throughout their triumphant season.
Cougar Chronicles
13
by Tyler Wamsley and Tasha Cathey
Cross Country
C
oach Bethany Fromer commented at
the annual cross country banquet, “I’m sad that the
season is ending, but we had a great year.” Senior
Emily Mapes also had a few words to say about the
2013 season. “Even though we had a small team, we
were pretty successful,” she said. The team’s successes included the improvement of each runner’s
course time.
Regional Qualifiers, Ashley Hamilton and Justyn Clarke received the Most Valuable Player
Awards for the season. Tyler Wamsley and Paje Smiley were honored with the Most Improved
Award. Stacy Fox and Nick Grissom were awarded the Mental Attitude Awards for the best attitude throughout the season.
E
Junior High
ighth grader Cole Bower remarked, “The season was great,
and we all had a lot of fun. Everyone worked hard and kept on running.”
Coach Daniel Capper said that he was very pleased with how the season
progressed and ended. Due to Capper’s relentless determination for his
team’s success, every runner improved his or her time for the duration of
the season.
Coach Capper recognized and appreciated all of the effort invested
by his young runners to make his team a very good one. MHC Champion Cole Bower received the
Boys Most Valuable Player Award and All-Conference runner Shelby Vannatta earned girls’ MVP.
Cougar Chronicles
14
G
by Tyler Wamsley and Tasha Cathey
Girl’s Golf
oing into the season with low
expectations due to the players’ lack of experience, the team surprised Coach Josh Grossman
by achieving far beyond his expectations. Senior
Shelby Sparkman added, “The season went well.
I had a bit of a learning curve since it
was my first year playing golf, but
I still had a great time.”
The Most Valuable Player Award was given to
Lydia Wolterman, who placed 2nd in the golf
playoffs. The Most Improved Award went to
Senior Tayler Noble, and the Sportsmanship
Award was given to Senior Taylor Vannatta.
“Absolutely
fantastic
season!”
- Grossman
Junior B
vans goin
reanna E
g for gold
O
ne of the moments in the season that
stood out in Grossman’s
memory is when Shelby
Sparkman chipped the ball and
hit the pin at Hole 8 on Greensburg’s course. He was very proud
of what the girls accomplished and
was very thankful for a wonderfully
fun season.
.
Freshman Lydia Wolterman lines up a putt.
Cougar Chronicles
15
by: Lexie Armand
The views and opinions of this editorial do not necessarily reflect the views of South Decatur High School.
Recently, bullying has taken
the spotlight as the biggest social issue,
especially in high schools. As a child I
was taught that bullying was beating
someone up for his lunch money, but as
time went on, I learned that bullying
could also be what I had always considered to be simply rude. So why is it
that a law is suddenly needed to prevent people from being rude jerks?
would live like this, emotional bullying
would not be nearly the problem that it
is today. All of the name-calling and
rumors found in high schools today
have made children and teenagers too
emotionally fragile. Now people tend
to consider what was intended as constructive criticism to be bullying if it is
not what they wanted to hear. Sometimes, people need to move on and
accept others’ opinions instead of
Maybe part of the problem is
dwelling on the past in anger.
at home. Even among people that are
generally considered “perfect,” there is
Almost anything can be considan abundance of rudeness and a signifi- ered bullying today. If the team loses a
cant lack of manners. This lack of man- football game, that’s bullying! For
ners is even evident in their homes; those of you who haven’t heard, a parthey talk back to their parents and treat ent of a football player in Texas claimed
each other poorly (If I talked back to my that the other team’s 91-0 win was bulparents, I would be kicked out of my lying and decided to take legal action.
house).
However, the referees were told to run
the clock during time-outs and thirdIf parents would teach their
string players were on the field to keep
children to live by the basic values and
the score lower. Since Texas has no
morals that Thumper teaches in one
mercy rule, the game continued until
sentence in Bambi (“If you can’t say
time ran out.
something nice, don’t say nothing at
all”), maybe a law would have never be
Since athletes are told to play
needed to prevent bullying. If people their best and have fun, is it really bullying if the team is playing their best with
their least talented players? The idea
that anyone could call that football
game bullying is preposterous. First of
all, that was one time, not a repeated
offense; second, the winning team was
simply doing their best like they were
told. Winning isn’t bullying, even if it is
Cougar Chronicles
a “massacre.” Losing is part of life, it
shouldn’t hurt anyone.
For those people who are truly
being bullied to the point that they are
living in constant fear, I do have sympathy. For example, if you are dating a
guy and his ex-girlfriend wants you
dead because she still loves him (I have
read stories like that in magazines), that
is bullying that needs to be reported,
but if your bullying is the occasional
rude comment or angry action, you can
probably move on with your life. It was
probably not even truly meant to
offend you; sometimes people get angry and say words they later regret.
The last point I would like to
make is that in adult life, people are
going to “bully” you. People will say
that your ideas are idiotic and point out
every one of your faults. That’s not
bullying. That’s work. That’s life. Learn
to deal with it when people are rude or
mean. That isn’t going to stop after
high school.
16
High school band
Junior high band
South’s Musicians Shine
By Falyn Moncrief
The South Decatur music department had its first concert of the year on October 23. Each band and choir performed
several songs and did a very great job. South Decatur showcased
the individual talents of many musicians through several solos.
The Junior High choir had two soloists, Kenny Stier and Jamin
Erwin. Concert Choir had two soloists, Arietta Ellard and Sarah
Shepherd while Riley Pedigo, Justin Bates, and Zane Brown all
had solos for Cougar Company’s portion of the concert.
choir classes at the high school differ from those at the elementary, these seventh grade boys had very positive things to say
about their teachers. “Mr. Diehl is cool and lets you mess
around,” Brown said. Storm said that Mr. Diehl pressures his
students more.
Though they may not seem similar, arts programs are in
many ways like sports. Band and choir are, in a way, teams. As
choir director Mr. Diehl describes it, “Band and choir are the
ultimate team sports.” Band and choir are much more than
This concert was the last fall concert for South Decawhat they seem. As Riley Pedigo stated, “Being a part of band
tur’s seniors. While some seniors, like Riley Pedigo, felt that this and choir has opened my eyes to new opportunities.”
being their last fall concert was depressing, others like Emily
For those considering joining band or choir, Pedigo’s
Mapes were happy. Mapes stated that, while she does enjoy
advice is, “If you have the chance to be a band geek, you should,
performing with band, she is looking forward to graduating.
it’s cool.”
This was also the first high school concert experience
for South Decatur’s seventh grade class. Many things change
transitioning from the elementary school, including concerts.
Seventh grades Trent Nobbe, Aidan Brown, and Nolan Storm all
agree that high school concerts are very different. Nobbe stated,
“You have to be more mature. There’s more pressure and the
crowds are bigger.” Brown stressed his difficulties included staying quiet for a longer period of time. When asked how band and
Concert choir
Cougar company
Cougar Chronicles
Junior high choir
17
By: Tayler Noble
Phil and Si from Duck Dynasty, Michael Jackson and a myriad of minions visited South Decatur on
Thursday, October 31st to show their Halloween spirit. Every year a group judges the costumes of individuals, and decide who wins each category. Mrs. Tichenor says, “It is always difficult to select winners, because
so many kids do such a great job at coming up with their costumes. My favorites are the ones who don’t
buy it, but who make it.”
The teachers and students who dress up gather in the cafeteria for a group picture which is followed
by a parade around the school. After that, the judges meet in Mrs. Tichenor’s room to decide the winners.
This year, there were four groups. The “Prettiest” was won by Brayden Neal and Jake Ogle who
dressed as gorgeous young ladies. The best “Group” selected was Oakley Billingsley and Colten Davis who
dressed up as members from Duck Dynasty. The “Most Original” was Brandi Palmer and Dakota Jackson.
Palmer dressed as Michael Jackson and Jackson dressed as a sand blaster. The “Funniest” costumes this
year were worn by 20 teachers who dressed as minions, who were escorted by SD’s Gru (Mr. Diehl) and
Vector (Mr. Layden.) The “Scariest” was Tasha Bruce and Cody Courtney. Bruce was a zombie, and Courtney was a clown.
When students were asked why they dressed the way they did, there were numerous answers. (Continued on next page)
Cougar Chronicles
18
Jackson said, “I
was a sand blaster, because you don't see it
everyday. I wanted to
be something different
that you cant buy in a
store.”
Neal and Ogle
said, “We went to Elizabeth and Landra Rigby’s
house and they dressed
us up as girls. We also
watched White Chicks
and wanted to dress like
they did in that movie
and strut our stuff.”
Palmer said, “My costume was last minute. I found
suspenders, a bow tie, and a fedora and said hey, I’ll be Michael
Jackson.”
Billingsley said,
“We wanted to have
some school spirit, that’s
all.”
Bruce said, “I
dressed as a zombie, because, zombies are hot.”
Cougar Chronicles
Seniors Shea
Sheyenne ,and
Shelby are
living proof
that seniros
are ‘busy as
little bees’
their final
year!
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