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The Kiln
Morton High School
Closed campus…
will it happen?
By: Ryan Woessner and Gavin Glynn
As many know, open campus lunch has become more and
more of a controversy. This is due to the fact that the
administration fears for the safety of students.
Many students choose to leave campus at lunch to get a
break from the everyday grind that school creates. This
helps create a more positive attitude towards school causing
them to do better in school.
The main reason behind closing campus is “safety and
security,” says Principal Johnson. The school is responsible
for knowing where all of the students are at all times
between the hours of eight and three and with open
campus this is not possible. In the event of an emergency,
the school would have no way of contacting the students
that decided to leave campus.
One of the biggest problems with closed campus,
however, is figuring a way to feed everyone in our cafeteria
with only three lunch periods. Therefore a draft of a plan
has been written up. The new plan would consist of having
four lunches, deleting primetime, and giving every student a
20 minute study hall. This provides more opportunity for
students to further their education because they could fit
in an extra class because everyone will have a study hall to
complete their work. [Editor’s note: The draft of the new
plan will go through a series of negotiations before being
enacted as the working schedule.]
So, the question is, will campus be closed?
“There will be a recommendation to the board of
education (to close campus) by this spring,” Principal
Johnson said. So far, there seems to be a lot of support for
it and according to Mr. Johnson there is more than a 50
percent chance of closing campus starting next year.
Should iPods be allowed in school?
By: Jason Howell
Look on page 10 of the Morton High School handbook
and it states, “Non-instructional or inappropriate use
of any electronic devices, including, but not limited to
calculators, palm pilots, game boys, is not permitted from
the beginning of 1st hour through the end of 7th hour.”
That makes sense, as a teacher would not want a student
to be distracted listening to music on an iPod while he/she
is teaching. But what if the rules were changed to allow
a teacher to decide whether or not to ban iPods in their
classroom? The teachers should be given the choice, and
allow their students to listen to music during periods of
time when there is no active teaching going on, when
students are on their own to finish up the classwork. That
way, students don’t have to listen to the rumble of the A/C
or the heater during the class.
According to an article on homework guidelines from
the National Education Association (Google search: NEA
homework), it states that there are kids who like to listen
to music while they work, and they do well or better with
music playing than in complete silence.
A web page on homework tips from the Dept. of
Mathematics at Union College (Google search: union
college homework advice ) says that studies have shown
that listening to classical music makes you smarter.
According to the blog, “Teachers At Risk”, a special
education teacher from Canada has given guidelines as to
for listening to music during downtime in class. Some of
them include: Listening to familiar music that you know
and love; listen to your own music, and no sharing; and
listen to music after the lesson has been taught.
Let’s face it. Portable music players such as the iPod
are becoming more prevalent in everyday society, but the
one place they are virtually banned is in schools, because
listening to music during class will detract from the learning
experience. But kids love their music, and teachers should
be given the choice as to whether to ban music players in
their class. That way, students can ask their teacher if they
can listen to their own music while working.
october 24, 2008
Laptops
By: Jake Williams
Why can’t kids in the twenty first century use electronics
in school? Now I know that certain devices such as cell
phones and MP3 players most likely will not be used
beneficially in school, but why not allow the kids who
wish too bring laptops or PDAs to school to try and better
themselves. Using laptops to take notes and do homework
would help kids stay organized. In 2002 a study was done
in Maine where 12,000 students were allowed to use
laptops. 70% of the kids said they were better organized
and involved more in school with a laptop. Also one of
the most used phrases in high school is a teacher saying
“We’re trying to get you ready for college or the world”, but
in both college and the real world you can use computers
to help benefit yourself. In a corporate world, where a
majority of business is done on computers, why not allow
kids to practice
their computer
skills in school?
Using laptops in
school would also
open up tons of
new doors for
the teachers to
use the laptops
as teaching aids,
especially with
some of the
teachers here
at Morton who
always want
to incorporate
technology into school.
Now I know what some of the faculty would say: that
some kids would just use them for fun and not benefit at
all from this. But the school could also set restrictions. If
the students want to use them have them sign a waiver
allowing the school to monitor what the students are doing
while in school. Plus the school’s Wi-Fi system would have
all the restrictions of the normal Internet here at MHS.
Having laptops in school would benefit the teachers and the
students greatly.
“We’re
trying
to get you
ready for
college or
the world”
Witches, ghouls, and goblins, Oh My!
By: Casey Rickey and Carl Owen
You step slowly into the dark abyss and can hear screams
of torture from those around you. Even though you try
to contain your fear you can feel it building inside of you.
Finally you see the light at the end of the hallway, you run
down the hallway and burst out into the light and find that
it was all in your mind. You have just experienced a haunted
house on Halloween night.
To some people this can really take a toll on their mental
strength, but to others it is one of the biggest rushes that
you can get. Even though it is an extreme way to get a
“thrill”, it is a fun and frightening experience. There are
many different types of haunted houses and they are in
many different locations.
Halloween is the time for mischief and fun. How can
anyone stir up a combination of these when they do not
have frightening costumes? There are many stores around
that sell costumes, but there are only a few that have the
good ones. Halloween Boutique and Halloween USA are
the two best shops in this area. They offer a wide variety
of costumes and accessories which are necessary for a true
great costume.
So, when you are out on All Hallows Eve, be alert and be
safe. After all you never know when someone or something
is waiting around the next turn.
Survey: What are your plans
for Halloween?
Kacey Jones (Sr): I might go to a Halloween party
Anna Schafer (Sr): Hahaha, party!!!
Jenna Schick ( Jr): Hang out with friends
Nick Schwarzentraub (Sr): I think I’m going to Spook
Hollow and the Bartonville Insane Asylum
Mark Murphy (Fr): Camping out with Nathaniel
Brittany Mohns (Sr): Hanging out with my best friends
forever
Lauren Simpson ( Jr): Passing out candy to little kids
Holly Bennett (Soph): Going to a friend’s house and
having a party
Tyler Frank (Sr): I’m dressing up as Iron Man, Jacob
Risinger is dressing up as the Hulk, Kenny Castleman
is dressing up as Wonder Woman, and Caleb Zobrist is
dressing up as the the Green Goblin.
Austin Collins (Jr): I’m going to dress up as a skater
Taylor Huette (Sr): Hanging out at Brody’s house
The Kiln
Seniors
Noah
Hochstetler
By: Travis Huber
Noah Hochstetler is a one of a kind person everyone
who knows him will never be able to forget him. He has had
a great time at high school but his favorite class is definitely
not American Studies. He is not sure if he is looking forward
to graduating or not. He participates in sports for perfection
and his favorite part of sports this year was when he broke a
kid’s collar bone in a football game. The first thing that comes
to his mind when he thinks back about high school is Doug
Rossi’s slip of the tongue in speech class his sophomore year.
He loves to watch “South Park” in his spare time. He has
recently been injured in football and is out for the season or
as Noah says, “Took one for the team.”
Noah said, “I am hoping to be recovered from my
injury in three months.” He hates crutches and although he
is supposed to use them, one can see him frequently not
using them every once in a while as he walks around the
school. Noah dislikes being on crutches because he has to
get help and wait for Ryan Miller. “Miller forgets me and
never comes half the time,” Noah said. He would like to get
a better person to help him and is looking for help. Noah
dislikes crinkled paper and hates when people do not flush.
He is working hard and is trying to go to West Point next
year. Noah has a great personality and if you are around him
long enough he is bound to make you laugh.
Andy Sheller
By: Devin Freitag
The world was first graced by Andy Sheller’s presence
on November 5, 1990. Since that date, Andy has given the
world a lot to laugh and smile about. Andy was born in
Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska, and grew up there for two years
before somehow finding his way to the Pumpkin Capital of
the World, or also known as Morton. The youngest of three
brothers has helped Andy develop a hard-nose mentality
which is clearly exhibited on the pitch. Andy’s favorite high
school memory so far has been playing Tetris on his cell
phone in the back of Mrs. Roth’s American Lit. Class. If
he could offer any advice to the freshman, it would be to
“stick with girls of your age group.” Finally, Sheller’s many
infamous quotes; (better understood by the soccer team)
“Lets make them feel sorry for themselves,” “HEADSHOT,”
“Coach, I think I’m going delirious,” “I hate Dunlap,” “Put
them out of their misery,” “Just look at your face,” and “PFactor.” Sheller plans on going to either Monmouth or Loras
College to play soccer and major in pre-med. After getting
his doctorate, Andy plans to move back to his hometown,
Anaktuvak Pass, Alaska and open a medical clinic to give his
fellow Anaktuvakians proper medical care. Now you know
more about your fellow classmate, Andrew Gregory Sheller.
Seth Ingold
By: Cole Reuter
You may know Seth for his sticky hands on the football
field or his screaming fastball on the mound. When he is not
tearing it up in the games that he plays in, Seth is hanging
with friends. He enjoys rooting for the underdog in sports
events which is the main cause of why he is a die hard Cubs
and Bears fan. Other than high school sports he also enjoys
playing cards and disc golfing.
Seth was born and raised in Morton on July 25, 1991 to
Greg and Dawn Ingold. He has a twin bother and sister in
his family younger than him, Blake and Madison.
After high school he plans on attending Parkland College
in Champaign unless he receives offers to play sports
somewhere. When asked what his favorite memory of
high school he answered, “That would have to be playing in
football games with the team that I have grown up with and
played with since second grade.” Seth has always been laid
back when it comes to school and worrying. When asked
what has got him this far in life he said, “I’m not into getting
all hyped up and worrying and I think having the mindset
that when life comes at you, you just have to cruise baby and
letting the good times roll has helped me get this far.”
page two
Nick Craven
By: Kyle Pavlik
Nick Craven is one of Morton High School’s great
athletes who is very dedicated to being a great baseball
player. Nick played a lot of baseball as a child including
his favorite thing to do, play wiffle ball. Nick was not the
strongest kid to play wiffleball, but boy, could he hit that
ball a long way. Stealing bases was another thing he did
frequently when playing wiffleball, his opponents called him,
“Nick the quick.” Nowadays his favorite things to do are
play baseball, hang out with friends, watch movies, listen to
music, and play outside. The Braves is Nick’s favorite sports
team Nick said “My favorite player is obviously Derek Jeter
because he is the best.” After high school Nick hopes to play
baseball; other than that he has no idea. Nick mows a mean
yard, which is probably why he chose to mow yards to make
some money on the side. Nick’s dream he said “is becoming
a millionaire by winning the lottery.” Nick said he would not
change anything about his life and that he is going to keep
living the same way he is living now.
Megan Pitcher
By Haley Parnham
Megan Ann Pitcher was born on May
28, 1991 in Peoria. She has lived in Morton
her whole life. Megan has a younger half
sister, Paige. She has one cat, Ali, who
lives at her mom’s house, and another one
named Alice, who lives at her dad’s.
Megan plays volleyball for MHS, and
has been playing since junior high. She
also played softball her freshman and
sophomore year. Megan currently doesn’t
have a job, but she plans to get one when
volleyball season ends. During the summer
she works for her dad’s company, Pitcher
Perfect.
When Megan isn’t busy with volleyball,
she loves having a good time with friends.
One of her favorite things to do is “riding
around in Maci’s Bug with the windows
down, listening to ‘Aeroplane’ and ‘Road
House Blues.’”
Some of Megan’s favorite memories
of high school include Prom 2008,
fun volleyball times, the “innocent
freshman days,” and watching Dazed
and Confused over and over. Her
favorite classes in high school have
been sociology and Spanish.
Megan is much undecided about
where she wants to go to school
next year, but she is quite sure that
she is going to major in business
administration.
One of Megan’s favorite quotes is:
“Knowing is better than wondering,
waking is better than sleeping, and
even the biggest failure, even the
worst, beats the heck out of never
trying”—Grey’s Anatomy
Laura Compton
By: Katina Kareotes
February 1, 1991 became LeRoy and
Maureen’s lucky day. Their beautiful baby
girl, Laura Compton, came into this world.
Now, as a senior in high school, Laura has
had many good times with her family and
friends. She said, “I would have to say that
my favorite high school memory would
probably have to be during my freshman
year the farm party with Natalie, Crowe,
and Kelsey.” But that was just one of the
many that this school has provided her.
In her free time Laura enjoys to cheer at
Cheertime, hang out with her friends,
eat, draw stick figures, go to game days
for physical education, and hang out
with her “weird” boyfriend Cole.
“I also like to hang out with my
mom. She is my hero and I love her
very much,” Laura added. As her senior
year is dwindling down, she has been
thinking about what she wants to do
with her life after high school. “I want
to go to Purdue to cheer and major in
elementary education. After college I
plan on becoming a teacher, and opening
my own all star gym.” Laura lives by the
verse Isaiah 40:10 and by believing in
that she can accomplish all of her goals.
Josh Sellers
By: Cody Anderson
Joshua Glenn Ross Sellers was born April 12, 1991 in
Peoria, Illinois. A very unique character, Tina and Jerry
Sellers decided to give Joshua two middle names. The Sellers
family lived in Bartonville until Josh was in second grade.
He has two brothers, Jordan and Jesse, who are twins. Josh’s
favori te color is Dodger Blue and he is very proud that his
team did well in the playoffs. His favorite animal is a puma
because, “That’s how I move, slick and chic.” In Josh’s spare
time, he jams on the guitar, bops to tunes, plays baseball, and
hangs out with “J-Dawg”. As he was interrogated further
about this “J-Dawg” character, he got very mysterious and
defensive.
“It’s not a matter of who J-Dawg is, but rather a matter of
why J-Dawg?”
Josh plans on going to college anywhere that he can play
baseball but plans on majoring in Pre-dental and becoming
an orthodontist. Where does he want to live when he gets
older? “Wherever the girls take me.” His most embarrassing
moment was when everybody found out that he loves when
J-Dawg “fondoodles” his beard.
The Kiln
Activities
Boys Varsity Soccer: First since 1997
page three
By: Michael Madanat and Dustin Sailors
In August many of the players on the Morton High School boys varsity soccer team
had high hopes for this season. Coaches Mr. Deters and Mr. DeLong, and captains
Matthew Schmidt and Logan Simpson pushed the players as hard as they knew they could
go.
When asked how he thought the team would do before the season started Matthe
“The Antelope” Schmidt replied, “I seriously thought we would make a good run at
conference.” Conference has been on the minds of these kids ever since they were little
freshmen running on the pitch. It seems like Morton always has a tough squad but never
can get that extra push to win conference.
Dunlap came into this year undefeated in conference for the last six years. Adam
“Buzzy” Bazzetta stated, “I was confident that this was our year to finally beat them.”
And that was true for the Morton Potters. When the Potters squared up against the
Eagles in their first meeting, the game came to a draw 0 – 0. A week or two later the team
found out that Dunlap was forced to forfeit that game due to an unregistered player who
had played. Taylor “Rustang” Huette added, “On paper it said we won but in our hearts we
knew the only way to feel good about winning the Mid-Illini conference was a true defeat
at their place.” That defeat took place on September 25 with a Potters 1 – 0 win on Devin
“Cristiano” Freitag’s goal in the second half.
After this game the Potters still had the other half of the conference schedule to
play. The team went undefeated in its final conference games and secured their spot for
conference champs after beating Washington. This is the first time in eleven years that the
Morton Varsity soccer team has won conference. Now that the conference is taken care of,
the Potters hope to make a run in the post season and are not looking back.
Recognizing seniors in fall sports and activities
By: Lindsey Main, Kristina Malahy, Katherine Vedas, and Natalie Pitzer
As the fall sports season come to a close, many of our
teams recognize their seniors by having a “senior night.”
Senior night is a night when all seniors on the team are
acknowledged for their contributions, and it is a night to
honor them, and wish them all of luck for the future. The
fall sports wrapping up their seasons include: boy’s soccer,
football, cross country, dance team, cheerleading, girl’s and
boy’s golf, girl’s tennis, volleyball, and band.
For girl’s golf Courtney Kaiser represents the senior class.
Senior night was September 29 verses Metamora and UHigh. “I’ve had a lot of fun, and I wish I would’ve played
all 4 years,” Courtney said.
Girl’s Tennis includes seniors Carolyn von Hake, Shannon
Weick, Vanessa Burritt, and Shelby Mason. Their senior
night was October 14 verses Richwoods. As the season
closes, Carolyn says, “I’m sad, because I love playing on the
team, but I will probably play intramural tennis in college.”
Senior night for the football team took place on
October 25, against Jerseyville. The senior players were
acknowledged before the game took place. The seniors
include captains Alex Woodhams, Douglas Rossi, Kyle
McMurtry, and Jacob Risinger. The rest of the seniors are
Seth Ingold, Cole Reuter, Joseph Vance, Carl Owen, Kenny
Golf Season
By: Caleb Zobrist
It was another rebuilding year for the boy’s golf team.
The team showed a lot of potential this season, with
only two seniors leaving the team after this season. While
only having a 3-5 record in dual matches, the overall
performance and scores from this year compared to last
were better. Some notable rounds and accomplishments
this year were: Ryan Lynch’s 36 against East Peoria, Caleb
Zobrist’s 39 at Pekin, Matt Weigand’s 10th place finish at
the Conference Tournament, Caleb Zobrist’s 2nd Team
All-Conference, Kyle Pavlik’s 4th place finish at Regionals,
and the team defeating Brimfield which ended their thirteen
match win steak.
The two seniors on the team were captain Kyle Pavlik and
Caleb Zobrist, who both were able to advance to Sectionals.
On a day that was like playing in the British Open with
howling winds, heavy rains, and frigid temperatures, Kyle
was able to shoot a 79 which garnered him a 4th place finish
at Regional’s. Caleb’s 85 was just good enough to get him by
and to advance him into Sectionals.
Castleman, Travis Huber, Ryan Miller, Ryan McAtee, Ryan
Leander, Noah Hochstetler, Steve Neubaur, Tyler Frank,
Drake Hilliard, and Dalton Barker.
Morton High School’s dance team had their senior night
on October 25, as well, against Jerseyville. The senior
members were acknowledged before the game. The
captains include Natalie Pitzer, Danielle Crowe, Deanna
Shafer, Kelsey Newlin, Anna Downing, and Courtney
Reubin. The other seniors on the team include Cassie
VanDyke, and Morgan Markum.
The football cheerleaders wrapped up their senior
night at the Jerseyville game, October 25. The girls were
acknowledged before the game took place. The seniors
include Laura Compton, Kacey Jones, and captains Emily
Schaefer, and Tess Overcash.
Seniors for the soccer team include captains Logan
Simpson, aka “Logi Bear”, and Matt Schmidt. “It’s been a
really great 4 years, I’m sad that this is my last year, but I’m
excited about moving on to bigger things,” said Logan. The
rest of the seniors are Devin Frietag, Josh Mohr, Brody
Rapp, Cole Diekhoff, Andy Sheller, Josh Bailey, Taylor
Huette, Nathan Imig, Zack Dahmm, and Dan Ruder.
The soccer team’s senior night was October 14 against
Metamora.
The Varsity volleyball team’s seniors include, captains
Brooke Bisping and Kristin Dierker. The rest of the
seniors are Megan Pitcher, Lauren Hess, Erin Calmer, and
Liz Rassi. The girl’s senior night was October 23 against
Metamora.
Morton’s Cross Country’s seniors include Jared Marks,
Chase Smith, Justin Goodyear, and Jannika Paulamaki.
Jannika Paulamaki, the foreign exchange student from
Finland said, “It’s been really fun, I love to run, so
obvioulsly I’m having a really good time here.”
The Morton Band has an abundant of seniors this year
including James Basnett, Gage Carson, Megan Haynes,
Jennifer, Grace Munson, Mitch Vandiver, Kyle Hill, Nick
Rogers, Krissi Gashaw, Ashley Dick, Danielle Goodspeed,
Josephine Graves, Nicole Huette, Alexis Moore, Kimmi
Nagel, Veronica Stalter, Aleta Anderson, Lauren Colby,
Heather Placko, Stevie Schultz, Erica Spencer, Matt Foster,
Zach Kodatt, Issac Teel, and Patti Zdanowski. Mitch
Vandiver and Aleta Anderson both commented on their
last year, “We’re both really excited to finish the year strong,
this has been our favorite year of all.” The band’s senior
night was October 25 at the Jerseyville football game.