EHS Quarterly Issue 2 2009

E H SEllinwood High School Ellinwood, KS

Q

Musical Page 5

Upcoming Events On the InsideDec . 18BB v. Collegiate (End of 1st Semester)

Dec . 21-Jan . 1 Winter Break

Jan . 2Big Al’s Tourney

Jan . 4Classes Resume

Jan . 5BB @ Marion

Jan . 8BB v. Haven

Jan . 9State Band AuditionsJV Girls BB @ Pratt

Jan . 11JV Girls BB @ Pratt

Jan . 12BB @ Lyons

Jan . 13Early Dismissal

Jan . 15BB @ Hesston

Page 2Student vs . Student Debate

Page 3Student Fashion

Page 5Basketball review

Page 6Christmas Crossword

UARTERLYDecember 17, 2009

Walking into main hall this October, some students may have felt as though they were walking into a war zone. The ceiling looked as though it had suffered from a bomb attack. It had a huge gaping hole with rain water pouring out. A whole section of the hallway was blocked off and the main office wasn’t any better. There were tarps and trash bags covering the counters and buckets were placed around the office to catch falling water. The one question that was running through everyone’s mind was, “What caused this mayhem?” In order to answer that frequently asked question, you would have to go back to last year. “[The roof was being] replaced due to the snow-storm damage last spring,” said Superintendent Richard Goodschmidt. The original roof over

near the old gym was being covered by a second metal roof, which was placed there in 1996. When it snowed last spring, there was a 12-foot drift on top of this roof which caused it to become damaged. Upon later inspection, it was discov-ered that the roof would need to be replaced. The school’s insur-ance covered the entire cost of $49,570. “They were supposed to have this project done before school started,” said Goodschmidt, “But by the time they got here in Octo-ber, it was too late.” The roofing company,

A-lert Roof, started to remove the metal roof right before a major rain came in. Since the metal roof was absent, the original roof was exposed to the weather. The

original roof was so weak that the rain water seeped through and came out in the hallway and office areas. The senior pictures were placed in storage to save

them from water damage. “We had [water] every-where,” said school secretary Mrs. Karen Kline-Martin. “Thank-fully records were not destroyed.” But Kline-Martin acknowledged the fact that the carpet will prob-ably need to be replaced. In order to handle all of the

water filtering through, buckets were placed around the school. While work production never ceased, the smell that came with the water was sickening.

“There were days where we had headaches,” said Kline-Martin, “The smell was atrocious.” Although the repairs on the roof were finished in a month, the ceiling on the inside has yet to be repaired. Reason being, the school is waiting to put up new ceil-ing tiles until they are sure that the repairs are legiti-mate. “We’re waiting to make sure that there are no more leaks,” said Board Clerk Mark McQuade, “We also want to make sure all the moisture on the inside is dry.” Regardless of all the has-sle that has happened with the roof this year, everyone has been able to continue with work. “You just adapt,” said Kline-Martin, “That’s what you do at home and that’s what you do here.”

EHS

For as long as Ellinwood high school students have known, the community and school library has always been combined and it has al-ways been on Schiller street facing the east side of town. However, this hasn’t always been the case, the library actually used to be separated into two, one for EHS students and the other for the community. The school library used to be located in the small room adjacent to the sewing room (which used to be study hall) on the second floor of the high school and the public library used to be situated in the basement underneath what is now Starr Antiques. At the same time both the school and the city real-ized that their libraries were inadequate; the school’s was too small and the city was continuously relocating books back and forth due to floods and other problems. “The timing was perfect and combining it served the needs for both the school and the city,” added Librar-ian Sharon Sturgis. Therefore, when EHS began construction in 1967,

it was decided to eliminate the problems of the two libraries and construct them into one. The school and community library opened after construction in 1968, the first combined one in the state of Kansas. “It was a win/win for both the school district and the city because it shares staff, books, and it’s a ben-efit to the students,” stated Superintendent Richard Goodschmidt. Although the idea of two libraries in one might seem like a complicated task due to the cooperation of the school and city, it actually works out quite well for both sides, especially when it comes to funding. “I try to purchase chil-dren and adult books out of city funding and more teen novels for the students but both teenagers and adults mix books so it works out for everyone and it al-lows for a broader range of novels,” commented Sturgis who reports to the library board and school regarding library purchases. In addition to allotting money for books, the city

helps fund utilities and pays at least half on any major projects for the library as well. One question from EHS students is why, after school hours, the internet filter-ing system blocks sites like Facebook. Like all high schools, librar-ies are required by law to maintain an internet filtering system. While all computers in the Ellinwood library are restricted by this mandatory filter, there are two comput-ers with reduced filtering. These are set aside for use by adults only, where they can check social networking sites and other websites that might be blocked to minors. Even though citizens and students of Ellinwood have been adjusted to this library for over 40 years, many schools are just now considering the two-in-one special. “Every year I get phone calls from people in Kansas and at least one out-of-state inquirer that want to know how to set up a library like ours,” said Sturgis. Sturgis went on to mention that even people

from outside of Ellinwood, especially citizens of Great Bend, frequent the library often because of its re-sources. “I completely support the single library,” exclaimed Sturgis, “It’s a real gem for a town of 2,000 people because there are so many advantages.” Both Goodschmidt and Sturgis admitted that they can’t think of any negatives aspects about the library being open to the com-munity and students. They both agreed that everyone, especially students, benefit from the hours and that the design of the library is just perfect with the entrance directed on the street side so community members don’t have to enter through the high school. And as far as both of them are concerned, the library will continue to be shared by the city and the school in years to come and is something to be proud of. “It would be ridiculous to duplicate the library when it’s already combined and working so well,” contended Goodschmidt.

Librarian Julie Blakeslee helps avid reader junior Alex Pike check out a book. “It’s a good thing that the community and school library are combined,” added Pike, “It makes it easier to find books.”

EHS takes pride in it’s unique library

A section of the hallway was baracarded from students. Due to a snowstorm last spring, the roof was damaged, resulting in leaks in the ceiling. During the time the roof was removed for repair, heavy rain caused even more damage.

By Amber KasselmanEditor

By Addie BillingerReporter

TwoOnein

FallingDownis

The ceiling tiles are yet to be replaced. The reason behind this is that the school adminstra-tion is waiting to make sure that the repairs will work.

time for

DebateTwo outlooks on the “part-time seniors”

Student vs. Student

A. “Ok now, seniors, don’t hate me but…I think that maybe you guys shouldn’t be only part-time. You’re near the end of your high school career and you should live to the fullest. You’re never going to get your senior year back (unless of course you just fail). Besides, in order to be a part-time senior you have to have a job or be enrolled in a college class. So it’s like you’re get-ting out of school just to do work or go to school. You have your whole life to work! Honestly, enjoy the freedom you have now.”-Junior Addie Billinger

Q. Should seniors be allowed to attend school part-time during the second semester?

A. “Definitely. By the time senior year rolls around, nearly everyone gets sick of high school. It’s the same old classes with the same old homework. So by getting (or continuing) a job or taking a few college classes at Barton or online can better help prepare for the education after high school. Plus, there’s more free time than actually staying enrolled as a full-time senior and who doesn’t more free time? With more freedom and time, you can better enjoy your senior year.”-Senior Amber Kasselman

Want a say in the newspaper?

Submit a letter to the editor!

Drop letters off in Mrs. Sieker’s room.

Ellinwood High School Ellinwood, KS Page 2

...Ask AddieDrop off your anonymous questions

in the box outside Mrs. Sieker’s room!

Dear Addie,I moved out of my parents’ house and moved into my friend’s. Should I just work things out with my parents or just stay with my friend?

Dear Homeless,I’m going to tell you what my parents always say whenever my siblings and I get into fights. “Families are for forever.” Meaning your friends are some-times only temporary but you’re stuck with your family for life. You and your folks seem to be on a rough road right now. But I think you should work it out with them. Even though you don’t see eye-to-eye right now, they still love you. And besides, you can’t live off the charity of your friend’s parents forever.

-Addie

Dear Addie,I’m late on my period and I’m scared that I’m pregnant. What do I tell my parents and my friends?

Ok, first of all, you need to get a pregnancy

test. Don’t just assume you’re pregnant, find out. Sometimes miss-ing your period doesn’t mean you’re pregnant. It could just mean that you are really stressed out or even sick. But if you do turn out to be pregnant, tell your parents. ASAP. Sure, they might be disappointed in you and maybe even a little mad, but it would be better to have them help you than have no help at all. Best of luck,Addie

Dear Addie,Next year I will be going away to college. My dad is pressuring me to apply for very large colleges that are also very far away. I know that I don’t want to be far away from my home and family, and I’m not necessarily interested in going to a huge col-lege. He is really in-tense about me making this decision, and he can be really rude when I tell him that I don’t agree with his views about where I should go to college. How should I deal with his incessant pressuring? And how

can I make him real-ize that choosing your college is not JUST about how big it is, and how well known it is; but that you also have to like it there and feel comfortable there?-Stressed Out Senior

Dear S.O.S.Parents usually want the best for their children. And sometimes when they’re in pursuit of your happiness, they forget about what you really want. And then some parents just assume that you don’t really know what you want and for some reason they do. But if you really don’t want to go to a big col-lege then stick to your guns. Tell your dad. It’s your life after all. If you want to go to the smallest college in the world, then that’s your decision not your dad’s. This is your education and you have to go where you’re com-fortable. It’s you who has to live there and be there all the time. Don’t get too stressed out about your dad. Give it time and he’ll probably come around.

Need some advice?



A thanksBy Addie Billinger

Reporter When my friends look at my schedule and they see that I have newspaper, they always get a look on their face. Their grimacing faces seem to say, “That really sucks for you.” I never understand why I need their sympathy. I love newspa-per. Yes, I know that last sentence just declared me as a dork, but I’m ok with that. I love the class. I love my classmates. Heck, I even love the stress. I first started newspa-per in my freshman year. No, wait, let me correct that. I was forced to join newspaper in my freshman year. I didn’t want to be in newspaper. I didn’t want the stress and I was just plain lazy. I wanted to take choir, mainly because (and no offense, Mrs. Underwood) I thought it would be an easy class. That first year I was miserable. The only thing that got me through was my classmates, Mallory Sauer, Kit Felke, Ashtyn Wilson, and Brett Whelan. They were my comrades. There were times when I would get so frustrated and upset, and they were there to joke with me and take my mind off of my horrible stories. That first year of newspaper taught me how to roll with the punches and also how to handle my stress.

My second year was, to say the least, less daunting. The only other returners were Wilson and Felke. And the newcomers were Amber Kasselman and foreign exchange student Mayu Sakaibara. With only 4 native English speak-ers, one foreign exchange student and a new advisor, it was pretty intimidating. I’m not sure if you readers understand the amount of work it takes to produce this paper. Everyone had a lot of stories, a lot of layouts to design, and a lot of pictures to find. If one person didn’t follow through, well, we were screwed. I spent hours after school working. I would skip sport practices just to work. You have to understand, newspaper isn’t just a class, it’s a job. So when this year started, I was pretty confident. I’ll admit it, I was cocky. I just knew that this year was going to be magnificent. Everyone from last year, excluding Mayu, was back including two newbies, Jes-sica Muller and Erin Baker. We were going to be the amazing newspaper crew. Then, somewhere along the way, the stress got to be too much for my “com-rades.” Two top reporters were lashing out at each other with me sitting in between. Me, ever the peacemaker, tried to stop

a blowout between my friends. Looking at both of them, I thought to myself, “What happened to us?” The answer was the stress. Newspaper is a thankless job. No one ever comes into this room and say thank you. Not once in my three years. We work our buns off trying to give the student body something to be proud of. We have a better paper than most surrounding schools. Call me bias, but I’d even say our paper is even better than the some community colleges. When I come to this class, I’m with friends. It sounds cheesy and stupid but it’s true. There are so many fond memories from newspaper. Don’t believe me? Go to Mrs. Sieker’s room and just look at our quote wall. I love these guys. Everyone has some-thing to add to this class. Amber [Kasselman] can keep everyone on track and she’s probably the only one I trust to proof-read my stories and actually gives me useful feed-back. Ashtyn [Wilson] will always be ten times smarter on the computer than me. It’s a fact. Kit [Felke] can whip out a story and you can always depend on her to get the facts. Jessica [Muller], who is always good for a laugh, learns so fast and can be so productive it

scares me. Erin [Baker] is a regular diamond in the rough. She has taken on something like newspaper with no knowledge and has already mastered the basics, like meeting deadlines. Last issue I thought that she was going to turn in a little tiny story, but in the end, she really impressed me. And what do I contribute to these people? Well, I guess I’m just the class clown who always has an opinion on everything. But what I’m trying to say is that every one of these girls are important. There isn’t a single person that we could afford to lose. And this school should really give them a slap on the back. The newspaper is the one thing that everyone likes to read. Come on, who doesn’t like to read about themselves? But like I said before, it’s thankless. But now, I decided I’m going to be the first to say thank you. Thank you, newspaper buddies, for putting up with me. Thank you for always giving 110%. And even though it gets stressful and sometimes you just want to quit, thank you for sticking around. And to the EHS Quarterly readers, when you see a reporter walking down the hall, don’t forget to say thank you.

Dear Editor, Having the restriction of not bringing outside drinks or containers into the school is something that the student body is against. Many of the students bring their own drinks that they pay for because they don’t like the drinks that are in the vending machines. With having only diet pop in the vending ma-chine makes the students want to bring their own outside drinks. By having more options in the vend-ing machines, such as regular pop, would lessen the problem of outside drinks being brought into the school. Many of the students still just sneak the drinks into the school if they know that the teacher in the class will allow the drinks. If regu-lar pop was allowed in the vending machines that students wouldn’t have to bring the outside drinks into the school because the drinks are already in the vending machine. Much of the student body bring their own drinks into the school to

keep themselves hy-drated and with the no outside drink policy, it limits the chance to stay hydrated. As the school handbook states that we can’t have any sort of outside container at all. But I believe that if the containers have screw top lids the containers should be allowed in the school. It’s just ridiculous to now allow any other form of container into the school. Especially such things as a water bottle. Many of the students in the school would rather have something else to drink that what’s in the vending machines. Also much of the student body does not care for the water from the fountains, which is another reason for outside drinks to be allowed in the school. For these reasons, I feel the no outside drink policy should be omitted from the handbook and not have the restriction of only drinking from the water fountains or the vending machines.

Insideandout

“My grandma got me slim fit skinny jeans from the Salvation Army when she worked there a couple years ago.”

“My grandma bought me Lizzie McGuire underwear, when I was 13 years-old! HOW EMBARRASSING!”

“I got a shirt from my mom and the tag on it said from The American Thrift Store.”

Amy Neeley

Victoria Siefers

Austen Herzog

Colton Garrett Kayla Springer“My grandma bought me this really ugly color sweater that was a mixture of colors that were not blendable and was WAY too big!”

“It was a big, holey crocheted potholder that was bright pink with a plastic Indian head in the middle of it with two little crocheted potholder things attached to the bottom of it. I didn’t really know if I was suppose to use it or hang it on the wall.”


According to Kansas Department of Transportation, there are approximately 9,500 deer accidents with about 600 injuries. One way groups of drivers say there’s an easy way to reduce the number of accidents caused by menacing deer, kill them! Avid hunters like Mr. Greg Maxwell, Art Instructor, say that hunting deer inevitably makes the road safer. “Deer definitely has an effect on the population,” stated Maxwell, “also it helps lower the number.” Junior Kyle Corbett adds that the roads are safer because of hunters. “There would be more deer [on the roads] if we didn’t shoot them.” stated Corbett. While law enforcement discourages illegal hunting, the fact is, it’s not just legal hunting that keeps the deer population down. There are a lot of people that have their licenses to hunt, but also there are people who choose to “road hunt”. According to convicted road hunter, sophomore Marcus Brown, “Road hunting is shooting different animals off the road, while in a vehicle,” “It was a competition about who [between Brown and his friends] could gather the most animals,”

stated Brown, “And we were just bored.” There are some things that hunters need to show when they hunt legally and the different rights that they have. According to Maxwell, road hunting is disrespectful for a variety of reasons. “It is just out of respect [that I hunt legally],” added Maxwell, “Respect for the sport, the laws and for other hunters, and people’s land.” For Maxwell the benefits of hunting legally make finding time, in addition busy teaching, coaching, and family life worth it. He is quick to give credit to his wife, Becca, when it comes to fitting it all in. “My wife is very understanding about me hunting,” said Maxwell, “It’s a priority, and comes before a lot of things that I do.” Like most hobbies, hunting can cost a lot of money. There are different things that are required in order to hunt legally, like having a licenses and stamps. For hunting enthusiasts it may not seem like a lot, but for beginning hunters, it might seem steep. For junior Jake Christiansen that steep cost doesn’t compare to the value of time with family. “I am willing to spend thousands

of dollars on equipment for hunting, because I get to bond with family, nature, and have a lot of fun,” said Christiansen Senior James Lyman was willing to drop a chunk of change on a lifetime license because of how often he hunts. “I have the lifetime license that was around $900 that is for all hunting and fishing,” added Lyman, “I bought it because I wouldn’t have to buy a new license each year.” While Lyman plans on being a lifetime hunter, other students avoid the sport due to the cost. “I would rather spend my money on other things [than hunting],” said senior Alex Thomas, “Because I don’t really enjoy sitting there, I get very impatient and I would rather be out driving around shooting stuff.” Despite the cost, Maxwell thinks students should get into legal hunting because it teaches a lot of lessons, if that person is taught properly or grew up around it. He grew up around it and it has run in his family for generations. “I think it teaches a lot of life lessons if you are taught right,” stated Maxwell, “And it is also just a positive thing to do instead of all the negative influences.

By Jessica MullerReporter

?&Q AWhat was the worst Christmas gift you have ever received


what ’s

Eyeing the perfect shot, junior Jake Christiansen prepares to shoot the geese that were flying over his house. Christiansen enjoys hunting for geese, because it’s his favorite thing to hunt and it’s one of the most accessable species around to hunt.

OPENSEASON

Brand: BKE Store: BuckleCost: $30

Brand: Big Star Store: BuckleCost: $125

Brand: DaytripStore: BuckleCost: $70

Brand: NikeStore: Hibbet SportsCost: $70

Brand: HurleyStore: BuckleCost: $70

Brand: AfflictionStore: BuckleCost: $30

Brand: BKEStore: BuckleCost: $80

Store: BurberryCost: $100

Brand: UggStore: uggaustra-lia.comCost: $130

Store: Abercom-bie & FitchCost: $80

Brand: BKEStore: BuckleCost: $70

A look at what’s “in” at EHS... and what it’s costing.

HOT in the “Wood”


Misconceived Ideas... When most people think of National Honor Society their thoughts usually lead to just a club of “really smart kids.” However, this isn’t the case at all, NHS is ac-tually an organization of students accepted based on their qualities of service, character, leadership, and scholarship. Mrs. Lorie Betts, the organiza-tion’s advisor describes NHS as “an organization where members are selected by a committee, it’s not a club where dues are paid.” Every year a letter is sent out to sophomore through senior high school students with a 3.5 or higher GPA encouraging them to apply for a membership into NHS. Interested students fill out the information packet which includes essay questions that are reviewed by a committee that then decides which students are selected. After this selection, these chosen mem-bers are recognized and initiated into an induction ceremony. On the other hand, that isn’t the only the process required to become and maintain a part of this highly elite group. Once in, members must attend monthly meetings, participate in commu-nity service projects, and continue

following certain guidelines to maintain their eligibility. Junior and first year member CJ Bookout contends to the differen-tiation between NHS and clubs of Ellinwood High School by stating it’s an organization based on student’s achievements rather than their interests. Even though it may seem that this group takes quite a bit of effort to be accepted into and sustain association, the members believe it all pays off in the end. “Being in NHS and partaking in the projects we do looks really good for transcripts and scholar-ships,” stated senior Alex Pike. Plus, this organization provides opportunities that students may not be offered otherwise such as in leadership and community service projects. “It’s a great opportunity for anybody with good grades to show their abilities,” said Bookout. But despite the same annual procedure of becoming admitted into NHS, the students and advisor always try to improve over the years and incorporate new ideas. “We continue to think of new community service projects to ben-efit all students at EHS,” affirmed Betts. Some of these examples include

a nonperish-able food drive for the local food bank in Ellinwood where semi-nars compete to donate the most food and receive a prize for their effort. Also, the stu-dents donated money raised from their Homecom-ing root beer floats to books for Ellinwood Grade School. This year, NHS read to the grade school kids as well which ended as a hit for both the children and the high school students. “I hope younger members con-tinue to read to the Grade School because it is really fun,” added Pike. Although NHS may appear as a significant amount of work, its pur-pose is to “create enthusiasm for

scholarship, to simulate a desire to render service, to promote leader-ship, and to develop character in the students of Ellinwood High School.” Therefore, every year when the eligibility letters go out, Betts informs prospective students of the great opportunity before them.

“Students who received the information packet are encouraged to submit the necessary documents because not everyone has the op-portunity to be selected and it’s an honor to be included in the selec-tion process,” concluded Betts.

By Amber KasselmanEditor

National Honor Society confused as a club

EHSQUARTERLY

Staff:Erin Baker

Addie BillingerKit Felke

Jessica MullerAshtyn Wilson

Amber Kasselman.................Editor

Rachel Sieker.....................Advisor

Published four times a year, the student newspaper of Ellinwood High School is a public forum, with its student staff making all decisions concerning its contents. Editorials express the views of the majority of the staff. Letters to the editor are wel-comed and will be published as space allows. Letters must be signed, although staff may withhold the name on request if the staff feels it is war-ranted. The paper reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to laws governing obscenity, libel, and privacy, as are all contents of the paper. Opinions in letters are not neces-sarily those of the staff, nor should any opinion expressed in a public forum be construed as the opinion or policy of the administration, un-less attributed.

Junior and first year member Michelle Klepper reads a book she chose to Mrs. Feist’s second grade stu-dents. Reading to the grade school is one community service project NHS will continue in years to come along with their annual donation for the purchase of books.

Accomplishing


goals

Senior Katie Broce and juniors Kristi DeWerff and Jamie Christiansen attended the FFA Dairy Cattle Judging at Hillsboro on November 23rd. While there they judged a variety of different cattle. When judging they based their decisions on the size and appearance of the cattle, whether they were too skinny or had too much body fat. They went on a cold day at the start of winter, but despite the weather they were able to make the most out of the experience. “I had a great time even though it was on a cold day, and I liked the fact that it was just us three girls there spending time together,” stated Broce.

Having a varsity team attend state is usually defined as a big deal. But to the debate team this is simply the norm. For the past four years in a row, the entire varsity debate team has qualified for state debate. “That’s the best you can hope for,” said debate coach Mrs. Julie Ann Jacobs. State will be held at the Goddard high school on Janu-ary 22nd and 23rd. The team has been awarded 24 medals and one trophy. Ac-cording to Jacobs, “every single person got a medal.” One student who contributed to four of those 24 medals and who is also attending state is senior Kelsey Menges. Menges joined the team her freshman year. “Mrs. Jacobs asked Mrs. Near to enroll me in the class and I did,” recalled Menges. Menges has been going to state ever since her sophomore year. She qualified after her fourth meet at Sterling. Her reaction to going to state was a mixture of excitement and ner-vousness. “It’s a very long psycho-

logically draining day,” said Menges. But she’s optimistic that she will do better than the years before.

“We’re going to do better than 3rd,” she said, “We’re going to get 2nd this year!” But Menges isn’t a one person team; she has had her partner se-nior Brett Lyman with her every step of the way. “[Lyman] does the things he needs to do and is dependable,” stated Menges. Lyman has also helped her keep a good positive attitude because “he pulls his weight and makes it easier for me.” Also, his sense of humor is helpful too. “He’s a funny guy,” said Menges, “And he’s fun to be around.” Both Menges and Jacobs predict that state will go well for the team. “I feel optimistic about it,” said Jacobs. While some would be worried about defending a 3rd place title, Menges hopes to rank a little higher. “We’ve worked hard and we believe in our ability to get 2nd instead of 3rd,” concluded Menges.

EHS Goes

While EHS may not be unblocking Facebook anytime soon, the Ellinwood High School student newspaper, EHS Quarterly, has take to the popular social networking site, Face-book to expand their reader outreach. At a KSPA conference, key-note speaker Logan Aimone encouraged school newspapers to get their news on the web to increase their number of readers. Though the six mem-ber staff had consid-ered it before, Aimone gave advisor, Rachel Sieker, the push to go with creating the page. “I think it gives

people who don’t have ac-cess to

a hard copy of our paper a chance to see what our students have put together,” said Sieker, “We have EHS alumni from all over the country and even the world check-ing out the paper online. Sieker said she thinks it’s all about getting as many people as we can to read the paper. The trend in media is to go digital and the face is that most students are more likely to look at something online. Although the newspaper staff is unable to access their site at school, they still work to use the site for story ideas, to

see what is going on outside of school and to get people’s input. “We mainly just look to see if people are doing anything exciting that we could possibly turn into a story.” Junior reporter Ashtyn Wilson said, “we also use the dis-cussion topic feature to get people’s input and ideas.” Sophomore Sarah Fox said she found out about the page through several invita-tions and continues to check the page almost ever day because she likes its accessibility. “I like how it’s easily accessible and convenient it is.” Fox said, “it’s a pretty good page and I would definitely encourage everyone to check it out.”

By Kit FelkeReporter

Digital

By Erin BakerReporter

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellinwood-KS/EHS-Quarterly/140727187375?ref=nf

Find EHS Quarterly on Facebook:

Or search: “EHS Quarterly”

Visit EHS Quarterly on the USD 355 website:

http://sites.google.com/a/usd355.org/high-school-teachers/Home/english/rachel-sieker/ehs-quar-

terly-1

As a first year teacher at Ellinwood High School, business teacher Zack Vogel’s plan is to “learn as much as he can about the dos and don’ts of teaching”. Vogel graduated from college at Fort Hays State University. While attending college he student taught and coached at Hays High School. “Student teaching was an eye opening experience,” said Vogel, “It was a lot of fun to apply everything I learned in the classroom and apply it to my teaching.” Vogel made the decision to teach after he took an Accounting class in

high school for four years and received the honor of being able to help his classmates.. “When my ac-counting teacher left for maternity leave, I got to help teach my class-mates,” said Vogel, “I was in Ac-counting II at the same time as an Accounting I class. The substitute at the time wasn’t sure what to do as far as teaching so I got to help show the Accounting I students how

to work on accounting problems. Taking his experience of helping to teach in his high school class, and student teach while in college, Vogel now applies his knowledge to his Accounting I class, keyboarding, and word processing at EHS.

“I came to Ellinwood because it’s the same size as the town I grew up in,” stated Vogel, “It’s not too

big, or too small.”

FFA attends cattle judging contest

By Jessica Muller, Kit Felke, Asthyn Wilson

Learni ngAs HeGoes.. .

Business and accounting teacher Zack Vogel enjoys the holiday smorgasbord of food in the teacher’s lounge. Besides the great food, Vogel enjoys the small town atmosphere and proximity to home of Ellinwood High School.

Looking at the Ellinwood high school varsity boys’ basketball roster, opposing teams might see eight seniors and think that EHS is boasting a line up of experienced players, however of those eight seniors, only four have played consecutively for four years. After a year hiatus from basketball, senior James Lyman reclaimed a starting position to start this season. Among other reasons, Lyman decided to go out this year to add a positive influence to his life. “[I decided to play basketball this year] because I wanted to straighten my life out,” said Lyman, “and also show people that I am not just a stoner.” Besides having something to prove this year, Lyman cites money and stubbornness as reasons he took a year off from a sport he enjoys.

“[I didn’t play last year] because I was making dumb decisions and I didn’t like dealing with authority,” said Lyman. “Also, I didn’t want to quit my job for the season and not have any money.” During his year off Lyman kept in shape since he had a couple of physical education classes to keep him in shape all year round. “I really don’t have any difficulties with keeping up with other players since I had weights and P.E,” said Lyman. “I still shot around with friends during my free time. When I started the season I had a little bit of a problem dribbling but I am getting better.” Another returner to the basketball team, senior Taz Link rejoined because it was his last year of high school and he hasn’t played a sport since football his junior year. “[I decided to play basketball] because it was my senior year. I didn’t play foot-ball this year, and I like the coaches… for basketball,” added Link. “I also just wanted to stay active.”

On the other hand there was a differ-ent reason that Link did not want to play last year. He just wanted to focus more on school. “[The reason I didn’t play last year] was because I was failing during basketball season, so I wouldn’t have been able to play anyways,” said Link. “So I just focused more on school work.” The old saying, “you gain some and you loose some” proved to be true for Link. While Link gained academically by taking a break, he lost some of his basketball skills. “I would probably be starting and be playing more than I am now,” Link ex-plained. “I lost some of my dribbling skills.” Regardless of the time they’ve lost, both want to make up for lost time by contribut-ing as much as they can this year. “I’m trying to make the right decisions and practicing hard,” said Lyman. “I want to do my best because I don’t like losing and I want to have a successful season.”



Above: Sophomore Alec Manley bursts into song while he performs his part as Min-strel. This was Manley’s first musical. “I felt excited because i got to be a major part of the musical,” Manley remarked.Right: Junior Ruthann DeWerff curls senior Kelsey Menges hair before the dress rehersal. Menges played the part of Jester while DeWerff was Lady _____

Happilyafterever

Overcoming the gradu-ation of five seniors, the EHS Lady Eagle Basketball team has had to change their playing style this year. The ladies have had to work on the depth of their game. “We are not as quick as we were a year ago,” said head coach Bill Maddy . As the team works to become quicker, Maddy

said he hopes to force teams to have a poor shooting percentage. “I’m looking forward to the girls working hard, being fun to coach and improve as the year goes on,” said Maddy. With a small team of seventeen players, the team’s only returners three seniors, Dani Beckwith, Maria

Tucker and Kaycee Brown are trying to keep the team on track this season. “They are a good group of girls,” said Maddy, “They all do great in school and leading our basketball team. We are very happy with their leadership.”

Hustling down the court, senior Ma-ria Tucker rushes to the goal. The Lady Eagles conquered the Wilson Dragons at the Friday game during the pre-season tournament.



Senior Ethan Linden goes up to make a shot. The Eagles overwhelmed the Chase Kats with the score of 64-25 at the pre-season tournament. The boys ended the tournament with two wins and one loss.

Once upon a time, in an auditorium not so far away, there was a music director who dreamed of the perfect musical. Her name was Mrs. Lori Underwood. Her musical of choice was “Once Upon A Mattress.” She had the cast, the crew, and the set. There was only one dilemma, to make it look dif-ferent then the other performances of the Hans Christian Anderson story done by EHS over the past 35 years. Unfortunately, this fairy tale ending was not meant to be. “I didn’t want it to look like the previous years,” said Underwood, “What I wanted was a fresh whimsical look.” Regrettably, her idea was a hard one to achieve. New costumes and new set designs were needed to accomplish the fresh look. Something that isn’t attainable due to budget restraints. Underwood decided on OUAM because she wanted something more traditional and “it looked like fun.” On September 14th, 15th, and 17th, the battle for the parts began. In order to audi-

tion, students were requested to sing and read from the script. On the 18th, various students were asked to try-out again at call backs. Some students would realize that au-ditions were held later in the year than usual. The reason for this was due to medical and scheduling issues. The judging wasn’t only based on how well a student read or sang. “We also looked at how their schedules were outside of school and how quickly they learn parts,” Underwood said. She went on to say that certain kinds of characters needed certain kind of people. “Sometimes kids are cast in roles they didn’t audition for,” Underwood said. “We can see they would be better in a different role they saw themselves in.” But one of the students who got the part they wanted was senior Marieca Zimmer. Zimmer played one of the lead roles, Prin-cess Winifred. “It was a lot of fun,” she said, “and I’m really sad I won’t be able to perform in another musical. Zimmer has participated in three musicals throughout her high school career.

“I love being part in musicals in general. It’s like both of my favorite two things put together. I love to sing and I love to act,” Zimmer added. She found out that she obtained the lead role the day after call backs. Zimmer considers the story of how she found out a comical one. “Cassie [Williams], Ruthann [DeWerff], and I were in Mrs. Underwood’s room orga-nizing scripts and Mrs. Underwood posted the cast list,” Zimmer said, “I went out and I was so nervous that I couldn’t find my name. When I finally saw my name, I cried. Mrs. Underwood came out and told me to breathe and not to pee my pants.” Zimmer was very excited to get such a big role but she admits that she misjudged the amount of work that went with it. “I underestimated the stress that came with a lead role,” she said. One of the most difficult factors of being Princess Winifred for Zimmer was the song “Shy.” “It had a really difficult note that was re-ally hard to hit,” Zimmer recalls. “But I got through it all three nights.”

Despite the fact that Princess Winifred is a fictional character, Zimmer found that they shares some of the same qualities. “Personality-wise, we’re kind of the same. I’m really outgoing and so is she.” Another cast member who enjoyed his role was junior C.J. Bookout, who played the part of Prince Dauntless. “I loved my role,” Bookout said. “I said at the beginning of the year I had to be Prince Dauntless.” The reason Bookout wished to have the role was because “none of the other parts looked interesting to me.” Bookout took pleasure in his part for several reasons. “The fact I could whine and complain as much as I want,” he said. “Plus I got to say a bunch of funny lines.” Bookout prepared for his role by re-searching on Youtube and forcing himself to “think like a seven year old.” Reflecting back, Bookout concluded that the music went satisfactory. “I feel everyone stepped up to the plate,” he said, “when it came to crunch time,”

Look who’s back

Changing It Up

Junior Lauren Thill goes up for a rebound in the home game against the Wilson Dragons. “Basketball is fun this year. We are a lot closer as a team and we are working together,” said Thill.

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ACROSS 1 A punch made of sweet-ened milk or cream mixed with eggs and usually alco-holic liquor 4 The jolly old man who comes down your chimney (2 words) 6 What was Frosty’s nose made of? 9 Another name for Santa Claus (2 words) 10 Have a holly, _ _ _ _ _ Christmas 11 What kind of rings do you get on the fifth day of Christmas? 12 According to Christmas custom, any two people that

meet under this hanging plant are obliged to kiss. What is the name of this plant? 14 _ _ _ _ _ Pole 16 St. Nick is the patron saint of the countries Greece and _ _ _ _ _ _ 18 What Santa leaves for naughty children 20 How many Wise Men are there? 21 Blitzer, Comet, Donnor, Cupid, Dancer, Prancer, and _ _ _ _ _ 23 How many times does Santa check his list? DOWN 2 Where does the idea of Santa originate from?

3 In the song “Winter Wonderland” who do they pretend the snowman is? (2 words) 5 Ebenezer _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 Who tries to stop Christ-mas for the Whos? 8 What do you hang from the chimney? 11 Traditional Christmas colors are red and _ _ _ _ _ 13 A famous snowman 15 Silent Night, _ _ _ _ Night. 17 I’m dreaming of a _ _ _ _ _ Christmas 19 All I want for Christmas is my two front _ _ _ _ _ 22 What do you place un-der the Christmas tree?

Spotlight

With over 300 million Facebook members, it can’t be all that bad... right? Ac-cording to the distrcit’s cur-rent internet policy, it is. Sites such as Facebook and many others are being blocked at EHS and students are doing their best to try getting to them with Proxy sites. But is it really the administration doing all this filtering? When surfing the web it can get frustrating seeing the CIPA filter show up. But why are so many sites being “black listed?” “The school web filters (CIPA) follow a federal law,” said Scott Mitchum Ellinwood District Techni-cian, “schools and libraries have to have what we call ‘content filtering’ on the in-ternet in order to get funds.” Often, when students get frustrated with the filtering they try a proxy site to beat the system. Eventually, they share the site with their friends and a spike in use throws a red flag, caus-ing that site to be blocked. “[The Filtering] is done automatically,” said Mitchum “The computer looks at sites and then the ones that have been visited the most gets downloaded to each system and is blocked, I would guess several hundred to thousands get blocked a day.” If students get upset with the web filter some decide to talk to Mr. Mitchum about possibly releasing the site. “They get mad and come talk to me and we work something out, such as un-blocking the site after school hours in the library,” stated Mitchum. “But if a student does something that they weren’t supposed to then we

have a no tolerance for it, but that doesn’t happen often.” Mitchum says the major-ity of violations came at the beginning of the year, then taper off, though some stu-dents never learn. “Usually the at the start of school is when it happens the most, I would guess that less than 10 times a day but you do have some that just keep trying,” commented Mitchum. “We get a list from every computer of sites visited though.” Some argue the school

is too strict

when it comes to the internet but as Mitchum points out, it’s not just about inappropri-ate. “Our school is very le-nient, we have tried to keep it general…, but it’s not a per-fect system” stated Mitchum. “We have invested a lot of money in the laptops and we don’t want hackers to get in and hurt them, protecting the Windows computers is a full time job” added Mitchum. Students whom access the internet from computers that they bring from home are not able to just get on whatever they want. “If you attach to our

wireless network, whatever you get on is filtered, most schools won’t even allow anyone to bring their own computers,” said Mitchum. Although Mr. Mitchum thinks that the school is very lenient when it comes to the internet on the comput-ers at school some students strongly disagree. “I think our school is too strict when it comes to the in-ternet, I think that social sites should be unblocked [so that we can access it during free time]” commented Sopho-more Bryce Anderson. Getting homework done

can become an issue when sites needed are blocked and they are due soon.

“When I am writing a paper and a site I need is

blocked I have to wait till I get home

to finish it,” added Anderson

Anderson also believes that students

should be able to use whatever sites they want in

classroom “free time.” “I don’t think any [sites] should be blocked, because if we have spare time in class and get our work done then we should be able to get on them,” said Anderson. Despite the consequences, Anderson tries his hardest to get around the filtering system and visit sites such as Facebook. “When I am in class with a computer I try about five times, but if it doesn’t work I try till I get past them,” said Anderson. As far as Facebook goes Mitchum stated that nobody has been able to demonstrate an educational use for it yet. “I think it should be a part of a discussion,” commented Mitchum.

While in high school most students like to spend their time Friday nights hanging out with friends. Time not consumed with athletics, extra curriculars, academ-ics, jobs, and family is most often devoted to friends. While this is the norm, some Ellinwood high school students spend some of that extra time helping others. Sophomore Kayla Schartz works at the St. John Child Development Center as a teacher’s aide, and although she gets paid for it, the

rewards of working with children is more important to her.“I work with little kids and they make it fun,” stated Schartz “It makes you feel like you are making an im-pact on their lives.” Her daily job isn’t the only place Kayla tries to make an impact on the youth of Ellinwood, she also volunteers free time in the summer to the library and rec programs. “I volunteer in the library over the summer to help with summer reading, two days a week for five weeks,” commented Schartz. “I also

ump t-ball games two days a week for six weeks.” Some may think that stu-dents who do lend a helping hand just do it because they have nothing better to do, but they would beg to differ. “Some students do but a lot feel like it’s a waste of time because they don’t get anything out of it,” added Schartz “but if they did then they would.” Helping out does not have to be something that is done all the time. It does not have to take the time of a job, it can be done in spare time as a way to relax. “I try to as much as pos-

sible, but more in the sum-mer because I am less busy,” said Schartz. There are multiple rea-sons for someone to volun-teer whether it is for the joy of helping out or the fact that they just have to. “I want to feel like I am making a difference in the community,” stated Schartz “I am doing something big-ger than myself.” Students that don’t help out could be a result that they just don’t know were they could volunteer at. This is a problem that most students that want to lend a helping hand face today, but the truth

is everyone can use some sort of help. Even if an elderly family member needs help wash-ing dishes or picking up the house it is still a form of helping out someone else. “I help out at my house, church, Star of Hope, and sometimes at school” said Sophomore Brandon Coomes. People may think well how can we help out at home? Just because they are doing work at home does not mean that it is a chore. If they look at it like that then that is how they will feel about doing it, look at it as helping out a family member.

“I do dishes, clean my room, and feed the chickens” added Coomes. Not only do they feel good about themselves when they have helped out but it will also make others feel confident in them when ap-plying for a job. “I thought that it would be a good thing to do to give back to the community” stated Coomes. Lending a helping hand can be as complicated or simple as one makes it. It is also very important to volunteer their services in something that they will

enjoy doing.




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How often do students try to get around the internet filters

at school?By Ashtyn Wilson

Reporter

Three of Ellinwood High School’s own took a trip down south to attend a National Livestock Skill-a-thon Contest in Louisville, Kentucky. Seniors Luke La-Tourell and Saul Miller and sophomore Colin Miller this competition through 4-H. To qualify for the sponsored trip, the boys competed at the state level in Manhattan, Kansas, where they took first place. At that competition the boys demonstrated knowledge in a variety of livestock areas. Prior to their trip, La-Tourell, and the Millers were expected to study animal breeds, meat cuts, retail meat cuts, identify tools, judge sheep’s wool and be able to identify animal feed by meeting two days a week for two hours each day. “We studied Monday and Wednesday nights, focus-ing on the different areas of the competition,” said LaTourell. “We went to CSV and the vet [Bill Niederee] showed us different tools and equipment we would need know.”

Miller and LaTourell were not originally inter-ested in being a part of the competition and actually only joined the team to help out a friend. “One of the girls on our team really wanted to go to nationals, and made us meet every week to study,” said Miller. “Then when it came time for nationals she got bronchitis and couldn’t go. So we pretty much lived her dream.” After all the studying preparing for the competi-tion and an 11 hour car ride, the boys got a quick break before their competition began. Upon their arrival in Kentucky for Nationals, they went to Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, before attending the big conference. “We went to the Churchill Downs and got to watch the horse races and see the track,” said Miller. “[It was interesting to see] how much money people put into horses and how huge their facilities are.” After the quick trip to Churchill Downs, it was back to the skill-a-thon. To kick off the competition,

Miller said they started the competition. “We started with feed stuff, then quality assurance stuff, like giving sheep shots and weighing them,” said Miller. In other parts of the contest, the team of three demonstrated knowledge on how to properly sheer a sheep, identify types and cuts of meat, examine sheep to determine which ones to keep or cole in breeding scenarios. For Miller the most dif-ficult part came from being ill-prepared for an aspect of the contest.“The most difficult part for me was judging the quality of the fiber of sheep wool, said Miller, “I didn’t do well in that part because I judged the fiber quality the wrong way.” Despite their errors in judging the quality of wool, the three placed 11th overall and enjoyed the experience.“The preparation was repetitive since we met so much and studied the same thing over and over,” said LaTourell, “but we learned a lot that we’ll learn later.”

A Christmas Crossword

Lending a helping handEHS students volunteer free time to help others

Overcomingcyberspace

Student

Documents

EHS Quarterly Issue 2 2009