By Kassidy Kruger and Kate Simko

Letters for academic excellence are being presented to WHS students this week who have maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher for

the second semester of the 2012-13 school year and the first semester of the 2013-14 year.

The Academic Letter ceremonies are being held during second period this week, sponsored by the WHS Booster Club and Renaissance Committee. Seniors were honored Tuesday, juniors today and sophomores Thursday.

Jed Stugart, head coach of the University of Sioux Falls football team, is the speaker at each ceremony this week. On Tuesday, he spoke to students and guests about excellence.

“I always emphasize to others that there are only two things you can control,” Stugart said. “The first is attitude, and the second is effort.”

A total of 303 students will be recognized throughout the week, including 104 sopho-

mores, 106 juniors and 93 seniors. Names of qualifying students honored with letters is on the back of today’s NOW.

Today:Cloudy

Not as coldHigh 25°

Tonight:Mostly cloudy

Low 18°Thursday: Partly sunny

BreezyHigh 37°

Happening Now•Incoming Eighth Grade: Visit 9:20 a.m. in auditorium

Lunch Time at WHS•Today’s lunch: Spicy chicken tenders•A la carte lines: Cheese lasagna, chili cheese wrap, chef salad, sandwiches

Group Meetings•Prom Committee: Members will meet at 3:15 p.m. today in A-124.•Renaissance: Photo committee meet-ing 7:45 a.m. Thursday in A-125.•Girls Golf: Sign-up meeting 3:15 p.m. Thursday in A-237.•SALSA: Student service club will meet at 3:15 p.m. Thursday in A-111.•Junior State of America: Will meet at 3:15 p.m. Thursday in A-124.•Words of Life: Members will meet at 7:30 a.m. Friday in A-159.•WHS Book Club: Will meet to discuss “Eon” and “Alanna” fourth period and “1984” fifth period Friday in the library.•FCA: Members will meet at the 4:20 p.m. screening of “Son of God” Sunday at the Century East Theatre.

Other Reminders•National Honor Society: Appli-cations are due in the student services office by the end of the day Friday.•Purchase: A shamrock to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the school store through March 17 and be entered to win a Warrior stadium blanket.

NOW Wednesday Staff

Co-Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kate Simko and Kassidy Kruger

Assistant Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Lexus PaulsonStaff: Aveen Aware, A.J. Breck, Lauren Brudigan, Noah Weber Editor-in-chief . . . . . . . . .Chloe GoodhopeManaging Editor . . . . . . Anna Kate NiemanAdviser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jason Lueth

The News of Washington is a publication of the Orange & Black Staff

Washington High School–Sioux Falls, S.D.Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/

MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Vol. 19 • No. 117 www.whsnow.com

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Over 300 WHS students honored for academic excellence this week

On March 12, 2012, my husband Tim and I welcomed our first child into the world. We were beyond blessed by Quinn Noel Ter Horst. She was such a good baby.

On July 21, 2012, our lives changed forever. As we were putting Quinn to bed that night, she started to sob and then her body went limp. We called 911, but when we arrived at the hospital the doctors told us to say goodbye to her. Doctors have labeled it as sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. In just a week, Quinn would’ve been two years old.

Last year, Tim and I discussed what we are going to do on March 12th to celebrate Quinn’s life as what would have been her first birthday approached. It would have been so easy to just stay in

bed for the day and feel sorry for ourselves. But I knew if I stayed in bed, Quinn wouldn’t get what

she deserved. I wanted my daughter’s life to positively affect others, and if I stayed in bed on the day she was born, her life and what she was to me would stay in bed for the day as well, and she deserves more than that.

So on March 12th, Tim and I decided to do random acts of kindness all day to spread the goodness of Quinn’s

life. We took the money we would have spent on cake and presents, and tried to bless the lives of others. Many students and staff had asked me if they could do anything, so I let them know—and the response was phenomenal.

So this year, we want to open this up to you again and invite you to participate in advance so you can start thinking about what you might do. Once again, next Wednesday, March 12, I am inviting everyone to observe “Celebrate QUINNcidence Day.” It will be a day to celebrate Quinn, a day to celebrate her life, a day to randomly bless others.

It doesn’t have to be big—you could write a nice note to someone who you appreciate, pay for someone’s coffee, or leave quarters on a vending machine or car wash. But whatever you do, please participate, and thank you, Washington.

Teacher Alison Ter Horst invites you to learn more about the blessingings of Quinn’s life at her blog, ohmydearone.blogspot.com.

All invited to ‘Celebrate QUINNcidence’ March 12

USF coach Jed Stugart speaks to students, guests at series of events

Alison Ter Horst

Hear me. . .

Photo by Nate WebergEXCELLENCE—Senior Brett Stanley receives his Academic Letter from football coach Jed Stugart during the senior event Tuesday.

• News of Washington Page 2 Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Jeff Sayler, O.D. Tiffany Brink, O.D.Shane Vogel, O.D. Josh Tims, O.D.“We Care About Your Family’s Eyes

As Much As You Do”•We accept VSP, Medicare, Medicaid, BCBS,

Sanford Health, Avera and more!•Sioux Falls School District insurance accepted

•Emergency eye visits available same day•Late evening and Saturday appointments

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1oo%

By Lauren Brudigan and Aveen Aware

Warrior boys bas-ketball team members lost to Lincoln in the semi-finals of district action 65-54 Tuesday night at WHS.

The Warriors were holding the Patriots off until late in the fourth quarter, but in the end Lincoln had some crucial points that gave them the win.

Senior Brett Stanley had 18 points to lead the Warriors. Junior Deng Geu and and sophomore Sam Siganos both had 12.

Siganos said he is eager to learn from last night’s game.

“We played hard last night, and now we need to regroup and win our next,” Siganos said. “Lincoln out toughed us, but our next game will come down to who wants it more.”

Coach Craig Nelson said the team will need to focus on Friday.

“Lincoln made the big plays when they needed it,” Nelson said. “The guys need to keep their heads up and focus on what comes next.”

WHS will host Brandon Valley on Friday to stay alive in the District 2 con-solation game. The winner of that game will move on to face the loser of the game between O’Gorman and Roosevelt Tuesday for a trip to the state tournament. A loss by WHS Friday or Tuesday will end the season for the Warrior boys team.

Boys fall to Lincoln, host Lynx Friday

Juniors presented with letters today, sophomores ThursdaySophomores 3.5-3.99Angel Akurienne, Sydney Arrington, Eden Bekele, Dawit Belay, Samrawit Berhanie, Margaret Bowie, Anna Buxengard, Samantha Curry, Alexsiy Davidyuk, Michael Deaver, Logan Eckhoff, Garrett Ellis, Hani Farah, Matthew Farniok, Jared Fox, Abigail Freese, Gatnoor Gatnoor, Justin Glenn, Leah Glovich, Abigail Grinager, Diane Haiar, Jack Hammond, Dana Hein, Isaac HernandezGarcia, Lucas Hoffman, Austin Hoflock, Inna Ignato, Haley Jahnke, Allison Jensen, Regan Jensen, Aaron Johnson, Samantha Johnson, Kylie Johnson, Gracelynn Jones, Kennedy Kampa, Jamie Kayl, Colewyn Knoblich, Alec Kray, Roselee Kue, MacKenzie Lee, Tiana Leonard, Julia Maas, Brandon Maiersperger, Alexandar Meh, Mearah Miedema, Lauren Miller, Makayla Montecuollo, Taylor Nase, Stephanie Neumeister, Olivia Nieman, Briton Nordmeyer, Anna Odens, Spencer Olson, Ashley Paulson, Christopher Person, Cameron Peterson, Arati Rai, Seth Randall, Madison Rietz, Mikaela Rustand, Patrick Saaleephiw, Chuda Sanyasi, Jack Schelhaas, Reilly Schneider, Jake Siewert, Jacob Skogstad, Carly Smith, Hannah Smith, Peyton Stenzel, Samantha Stevens, Megan Stoneall, Erin Thompson, Brooke Weber, Molly Weberg, Joseph Wehrkamp and

Lloyd Zhu.Sophomores 4.0Kate Anderson, Jesse Belrose, Ashleigh Chov, Ryan Christie, Alex Derr, Solomon FastHorse, Carly Hannestad, Caryn Hazard, Mackenzie Hellwig, Carter Huber, Bridger Irons, Hannah Johnson, Selame Kassaye, Marshall Langley, Annalee Leggett, Colton Levitt, Kelsie Massmann, Morgan Moe, Shay Nackerud-Knutson, Alex Nelson, Hunter O’Connor, Savannah Poe, Cassidy Rodman, Nicholas Rovang, Isaac Smith, Katherine Stocker, Madison Wiley and Brendan Wilson.Juniors 3.5-3.99Madison Aasen, Ian Ailts, Kimberly Arevalo, Aveen Aware, Caitlin Beacom, Keilah Beck, Jordan Blades, Cassie Buchholz, Cayla Buckman, Jordan DeBoer, Devon DeCroock, Carly DeSmet, Kim Duong, Hayley Durland, Jacob Fenner, Nicholas Gerdes, Jennifer Graves, Maddison Hamblin, April Hanisch, Jordan Hanisch, Kevin Hanson, Alyssa Hewitt, MacKenzie Jensen, Destrie Johnson, Coryn Johnson, Nyakouth Joseph, Kaitlyn Junso, Rachel Konrad, John Kuehn, Autumn Lerew, Austin Lindeman, Mariah Madsen, Ei Mar, Nicole Mashek, Hope Maunders, Kylie Minske, Anna Nichols, Madisen Owan, Lexus Paulson, Jade Peterson, Karina

Ramirez, Kasey Randall, Jacob Rost, Samantha Schreck, Ryan Senden, Collin Sorensen, Heaven Stinger, Casandra Stoick, Logan Swenson, Olivia Torbert, Eric Tran, Cole Uithoven, Rebecca VandeBraak, Shannon VanErmen, Rachel VanSchaick, Tanner Waddell, Savannah Walter, Jenna Warwick, Chelsea Wiese and Nicole Zirpel.Juniors 4.0Madison Barthelman, Cole Benson, Taryn Burke, Danielle Conklin, Megan Feerick, Andrew Heck, Elise Klarenbeek, John Larsen, Emily Lehan, Marissa Monen, Zachary Needham, Blaine Nelson, Sarah Nolan, Jacob Noordermeer, Michael Norland, Mataya Otten, Rochelle Ramharter, Halle Randall, Alyssa Schmidt, Connor Schneider, Alex Schumacher, Haley Severson, Katherine Simko, Cassidy Skorczewski, Fedor Voznyuk and Taylor Wiley.Seniors 3.5-3.99Alyssa Ahlschlager, Nicholas Barthelman, Alan Breck, Lauren Brudigan, Marisa Christie, Kiah Damme, Jessica Daniels, Julia Darland, Berkley Darr, Chase Ditmanson, Zachary Fenhaus, Thea Feterl, Madelyn Frentz, Kaitlyn Friesner, Joshua Gacke, Robert Goetz, Chloe Goodhope, Jacob Green, Lexie Guenther, Katelyn Gundvaldson, Tyler Hagen,

Sarah Hammond, Cason Heier, Taylor Hixson, Kourtney Isaacson, Marissa Johnson, Mason Jones, Kassidy Kruger, Jennifer Lang, Daniel Marlette, Olivia Mayasich, Breana McHugh, Gabriel McKinney, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Travis Metzger, Robert Miller, Rodney Mullen, Tiahna Nath, Nicole Niedringhaus, Anna Nieman, Iman Omar, Tiffany Oren, Taylor Otten, McKenzie Perry, April Peterson, Lexa Rahn, Jordan Roark, Alison Rollag, Matthew Schievelbein, Emma Schultz, Alana Simanton, Ethan Smith, Madison Snelling, Virgil Somsawat, Brianna Stafford, Brett Stanley, Ellie Trebilcock, Shelbie Walker, Noah Weber, Tyler Wilson, Emily Winckler and Taylor Woodall.Seniors 4.0Abigail Auch, Ellie Benson, Jayson Chapman, Yuharelly Comparan, Wyatt Dickson, Kaela Dougherty, Lauren Farritor, Adam Gacke, Rachel Goetz, Austin Heins, Makenzie Huber, Lyanna Johnson, Jamie Josephson, Kelsey Knecht, Sarah Lehmann, Caitlyn Lint, Angela Liu, Anderson Lopez, Michaela Mayer, Kyle McKee, Kathleen Meredith, Hannah Nieman, Alexandra Olson, Britta Olson, Zachary Person, Elizabeth Pirrung, Matthew Rehurek, Tyler Ronken, Ha Tran, Peyton VandeBrake and Jamie Withorne.