The Newport High School Homecoming was a huge success. The evening started with an amazing parade filled with smiling candidates representing their clubs, the band, cheerleaders and much more. Many of students attended the game which ended with a Wildcat victory over the Ludlow Panthers. The King and Queen candidates, along with their families, made their way across the field at halftime. All the candidates were filled with anticipation and excitement as they looked forward to the crowning of the king and queen.

The theme to this year’s homecoming dance, held in the cafeteria, was “A Neon Glow.” The students came dressed their best to enjoy an evening filled with music, dancing and good times with friends. The refreshments, along with great music provided by a DJ, all combined to make the evening fun for all.

The highlight of the evening was the crowning of the King and Queen. Mr. Bertsch called everyone to attention at 10:30 pm as the candidates all lined up for the big announcement. The students voted in class the morning of homecoming for their favorite candidate. The votes were counted to determine the winner.

The Homecoming Court consisted of Tyler Baldwin and Kayla Herald representing STLP, Landon Billings and Maddie

Williams representing SOS Club, Zack Hennemann and Melissa Jackson representing Photography Club, TJ Guilkey and Debbie Kroth representing Pep Club, Monica Watkins and Randy Seibert representing Friends of Rachel, Skye Raleigh and Daylin Garland representing The Fierce Wildcats, and Katy Farmer representing cheerleading. The room fell silent with anticipation as the names were called off. Third place was awarded to Zack Hennemann and Melissa Jackson. Second place went to Tyler Baldwin and Skye Raliegh. The Homecom-ing King and Queen for 2012 was King Daylin Garland and Queen Katy Farmer. “ I think homecoming this year was a great success! I felt like more students showed up this year than in previous years. The theme was good and it made the cafeteria shine. It felt amazing to be crowned queen! I didn’t really think I was going to win. I was so surprised,” said queen Katy Farmer. King Daylin Garland said, “I was excited and I was also very surprised.” The evening was a fun and memorable time for all . Thanks to everyone that worked hard to make it a success.

October-November 2012

October-November 2012 Issue 2Newport High School

A Message from the NHS Principal

Mr. AntonioWatts

The NewporterNewport High School Students

Celebrate Homecoming ‘12Katy Farmer

Staff Writer

Katy Farmer and Daylin Garland The 2012-13 NHS Homecoming

King and Queen

We are excited about the prog-ress we are making at NHS. We have made some positive strides and our data shows it.

Our test scores are headed in the right direction, at-tendance is up, and discipline referrals are down. Our teachers are working hard to establish procedures and routines, and the students are responding to the chal-lenge. We have high expectations for our students. Failure is not an option. We had our first round of MAP test in September. There were some reasons to celebrate and there are some areas of concern. It’s expected for students’ test scores to go down a little over the summer. The seniors were the only grade that lost some points over the summer. They lost 0.6 points in math. The 10th grade spring reading score was 215.3 and their fall score was 216. They went up 0.7 points. The 11th grade spring reading score was 219.8 and their fall score was 222.5. They went up 2.7 points. The 12th grade spring reading score was 222.8 and their fall score was 223.5. They went up 0.7 points. We saw the same trend in math. The 10th grade spring math score was 228 and their fall score was 228.6. They went up 0.6 points. The 11th grade spring math score was 232.9 and their fall score was 236.7. They went up 3.8 points. The 12th grade spring math score was 235.2 and the fall score was 234.6. They went down 0.6 points. The reading and math trends were very similar. Our number of 9th and 10th graders meeting benchmark is an area of concern. 32% of our 9th graders met the reading benchmark compared to 27% in math. 30% of our 10th graders met the reading benchmark compared to 45% in math. We have some work to do with our 9th and 10th graders. On the other hand, our 11th and 12th graders had bet-ter numbers. 51% of our 11th graders met the reading benchmark compared to 56% in math, and 51% of our 12th graders met the reading benchmark compared to 55% in math. We are pleased with these numbers, but we aren’t satisfied. We want to see some improvement. Our goal is for at least 80% of all students to meet the MAP benchmark in reading and math. We have some work to do. We saw an increase in our PLAN scores this year. Our goal was 16, and they came very close with a 15.9. This is the highest PLAN score we have ever gotten. I’m proud of our 10th graders. They scored a 15.4 in English, which is 0.6 points higher than last year. They scored a 15.8 in Math, which is the same as last year. They scored a 15.4 in Reading, which is 0.9 points high-er than last year. They scored a 16.5 in science, which is 0.3 points lower than last year. They scored a 15.9 com-posite, which is 0.3 points higher than last year. The English, Math, Reading, and Composite are the highest scores NHS has ever had on the PLAN. Congratula-tions to our 10th grade class. Our attendance has been up each week compared to last year. We will continue to make attendance a focus. We can’t get our students college and /or career ready if they don’t come to school. We have implemented some dif-ferent programs to help increase student attendance. We have a monthly attendance contest, senior lunch reward, senior graduation policy, and an attendance mentor pro-gram. We will continue to look for ways to motivate our students and reward them for doing the right thing. We are excited about the things that are going on at NHS. We will keep working hard to make NHS the best school possible. I’m happy with the progress we have made, but I’m not satisfied. We still have a lot of work to do to reach our goals. We won’t stop until all students are successful. We must continue to show improvement every day. I’m proud to be a Wildcat!!!!!!!

Marching Wildcats Take the Field The Newport High School Band has been through a lot of changes this year. The most obvious is the new band director, Mr. Bryan Kelly. The band at-tended two competitions this year under the direction of Mr. Kelly. The first competition was at Grant County High School. The day went well with the small band preforming their new show and placing first in their division. This event gave the students a feeling of pride and confidence as they prepared for the upcoming competition at Simon Kenton on October 6. The competition at Kenton County would be the band's last competition of the year. The schedule for the band seemed to be in their favor. The students arrived at NHS at nine in the morning for a two hour practice, and after lunch, traveled to Simon Kenton. Newport was fortunate enough to be scheduled last after all other bands had preformed. The Newport High School march-ing band was the smallest of all groups. "I just wanted the students to have fun," said Band Director Mr. Bryan Kelly. The crowd was quiet at first, when out of nowhere, Milford High School began cheering loudly for the Wildcats, and continued cheering until the end of Newport's performance. Milford's enthusiasm for the Wildcats gave our students new invigorated energy in their performance. "As the show finished I turned around and nearly the entire audience was on their feet cheering; something that hasn't happened for the Wildcats in a long time," Mr. Kelly said. Kelsi Heckler, the keyboarder for the band, says, "We finished the show and it seemed like a minute of silence the I was in shock because we've never had a reaction like that before." The Wildcats brought home a 4th place trophy and a renewed spirit of what being part of a band is all about. It was truly a day they will never forget. Great job Wildcats!

Cody Vires Staff Writer

October-Novembert 2012 The Newporter2

Matt Merkle

Student Writer

WILDCAT PONY by CHRISTIAN BOWERMAN

S.A.P. Student Accountability Program Comes to NHS

What’s Happening

Dates to Remember:

December 1- John Turner Classic- 6:00 Newport High School- Stan Arnzan Gymnasium

December 1- Ladycats vs. NCC- Away 6/7:30

December 1- Rumble on the Hilltop- Wildcat WrestlingHarrison High School

December 6- Bowling- Wildcats vs. Highlands- Laru Lanes 3:30 pm

Check the website for a complete sports calendar

Samantha Pope Staff Writer

The S.A.P program was developed for the purpose of get-ting students involved in school. It is made up of five families con-sisting of seven teachers and eighty-five students. The teams have met twice this year with the focus of getting to know one another and team building. The teams will work together to earn points for their families. Points are earned by attendance, academics and attitude. Students can also earn individual points for peer tutoring. Pep ral-lies will be held in the gym for the main events, including games, quizzes, and noise contest. Families have voted on a family name which will be used to represent them. They will create a family shield, team colors, logos, mascots, signs and more. The fami-lies will be encouraged to decorate their hall areas to build team spirit. Students of the winning family will participate in “Reward Week.” Rewards will include, Kings Island, Town And Country Day, Family Picnic Day at Sawyer Point and more.

T h e 2 0 1 2 -2 0 1 3 s c h o o l year is a very im-p o r t a n t one for the se-niors at

Newport High School. Many of them have plans to go on to further education, some mili-tary, and others straight into a career. Many students are looking for scholarship opportu-nities and figuring out how to pay for college, while others are still undecided on what they even want to do. The Newporter interviewed several seniors to find out what plans they have for after high school. Kayla Herald plans on going to either Northern Kentucky University or Morehead. She said she would like to go to Northern due to it being local, but she also really likes Morehead’s campus. “ I feel prepared for col-lege due to all of the college and AP classes I have taken while attending Newport High School,” said Kayla. She plans on majoring in pharmacy and might double major in Spanish as well. She plans on paying for college with the scholarships she has earned, along with grants. Senior Debbie Kroth plans on going to either the University of Louisville, Murray State University, or Morehead. She says she likes these universities because they are not too big, but also they are not too small. They are also good for civil engineering, the field she plans on majoring in. She may also dou-ble major in Spanish. “I feel ready for college because the teachers here at Newport High School really push for great success,” said Debbie She plans on paying for college with scholarships and possibly student loans.

James Vires plans on going to Berea College. He says he would like to go there due to the small student population and they spe-cialize in his major, physics. He is possibly double majoring in Music as well. James says that he feels prepared because his physics class was relatively easy, and he enjoyed it. “I am not worried about paying for college due to the fact that Berea is free, as long as you qualify and work there,” said James. Melissa Jackson is undecided on where she plans to go to college, but she plans to go to major in pharmacy and minor in business and accounting. “I feel prepared because of all the AP courses I have taken and I feel I have an excellent work ethic,” said Melissa. She says she is not too worried about finances because of her high ACT score and her excellent GPA. She should be in line for a good amount of scholarship money. Randall Seibert plans on attending the United States Military Academy, also known West Point. “I would like to attend West Point because I would like the experience of being a military officer and serving our country with interest in mind,” said Randy. He plans on ma-joring in history while he is there, and minoring in political science. He says he feels prepared, due to all he has learned while attending New-port High School. He feels he is college and career ready. He says he plans on payi sng for this with college loans and financial aid and also possi-bly his own money from a job. Good luck in the future to the senior mem-bers of the N e w p o r t High School class of 2013.

Newport High School Seniors Looking at Future Plans

Christian Bowerman

Student Writer

Senior RewardsSeniors Go Off Campus for Lunch

Newport High School has many seniors who follow the rules, get good grades, and have good atten-dance. Those well deserving students recently started taking part in a new reward system. The students that qualify will go off campus for lunch

once a month on an early release Friday. The first day out happened on October 26. The students were able to leave campus to eat at a nearby restaurant. Students were allowed to stay out for 45 minutes, visiting any restaurant close to the high school. This will continue to be held for students who are achieving their everyday goals as long as there are no problems. Restaurants such as Subway, Burger King, and McDonalds are all popular places to eat. “It was a nice break from the school day,” said senior James Poynter. “It gave me time to wind down and relax,” said senior Felisha Haney.

Mike Mills Staff Writer

Features

Kyli’s

By Kyli EvansBy Cody Muldoon

Cody’s

You may have seen the advertisements for the newest Adam San-dler film, “That’s My Boy”. The film, while not fairing well with critics and bombing in the box office, wasn’t a bad watch for a quick and cheap laugh. Sandler, known for his “raunchy” film style, makes the movie an over the top comedy with a hilarious cast (Andy Samberg, Vanilla Ice, etc.), but not necessarily one you would take your grand-mother to go see. The film is centered around Donny (San-dler), an 80’s has-been celebrity, and his son whom he had while still in school, played by Samberg. It’s a father-and-son reunion story, featuring a run in with Uncle Vanny (Vanilla Ice). While it is funny, it earned its R-movie rating rather well. Some of the content takes away from the total rating, but it’s great if you’re into explicit humor. Overall, I give it 3 out of 5 Wildcat Paws. You can see it now (If you’re 17+), out on Blu-Ray and DVD.

It’s An ART THING!

Artist of the MonthNHS art teacher Mrs. McHugh nominated senior Sarah Wil-loughby for artist of the month this month. “I nominated Sarah because of all the wonderful artwork that she is doing,” said Mrs. McHugh. “Sarah recently won an art contest for a design she created for organ donation. We are all very proud of her accomplishments.” When asked how she got started in art Sarah said, “My sixth grade art teacher, Mr. Weber, inspired me.” Sarah enjoys painting flowers and nature and prefers painting over anything. “I like painting because, if you mess up, you can always paint over what you want to cover up,” she explained. Congratulations, Sarah, on being chosen the artist of the month.

October-November 2012 The Newporter3

Samantha Pope Staff Writer

If you like a variety in music and an uplifting sound, then The Shins are foryou. The Shins are an Indie rock/alternative rock band from Al-buquerque, New Mexico. They have re-leased four albums, including their latest album Port of Morrow (released in March of 2012). Port of Morrow was inspired by love and the dual-nature of life (things both beautiful and grotesque).The album has a more polished sound than The Shins’s previous albums, and has a greater emphasis on electronic instrumen-tation. However, The Shins still have their traditional, melodic indie rock sound that their fans know and love. Port of Morrow is available on iTunes for downloading and listening.($10.99)

Newport High Students Looking At the Elections

Kyli Evans Staff Writer

The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election was held on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012. Democratic President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden ran for a second term. Their main contenders were Republican and former Massachusetts Gover-nor Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan. There were also four other candidates that were on the ballot; Libertarian Gary Johnson, Green Party Jill Stein, Constitution Party Virgil Goode, and Jus-tice Party Rocky Anderson. Although Obama and Romney were both the

front runners in the 2012 Election, they are nothing alike. In fact, their views are almost the polar opposites of each other. For exam-ple, Obama leans toward ending the war in Afghanistan, while Romney believes that we should continue the war until the generals in Afghanistan have decided otherwise. Also, Obama approves of same-sex marriage,

but Romney believes that marriage should be left between one man and one woman. Obama and Romney’s views also differ when it comes to abortion, energy sources, andaffirmative action - Obama supports them all, while Romney disapproves. One hundred Newport High School stu-dents were asked how they would have voted in the election. The results were as follows: Obama- 50%, Romney-25%, other- 25%. The official results were Obama- 50% and Romney-48%. Presi-dent Obama received 332 electoral votes and Romney 206.

OBAMARomney

Others

NHS Student Results

Newport High School Stu-dents were polled asking their opin-ion on two new smart phones- The new Samsung Galaxy SIII and the

new Apple iPhone 5. Based on 200 stu-dents polled, 111 stu-dents voted for the new Galaxy SIII and 89 students voted on the new iPhone 5. Both phones are now avail-able through local cell phone providers.

New Smart Phones Hit the MarketWhich Would You Buy?

iPhone 5

Galaxy SIII

NHS October Students of the Month

The following students were honored in October as “Students of the Month.” The students are nominated by teachers for a variety of reasons including good grades, attitude, goal achievements, and more. Congratu-lations, Wildcats! Good job on representing the “N!”

Brittney Clark ChrisReed

Corey Akemon

Dawna Martin

KarissaWilson

VernalBack

JustinAdams

Matt Merkle Staff Writer

October- November2012 The Newporter4 What’s Happening

Newport High School MAP Data Fall 2012

Yearly Attendance Comparison 2011-2012 to 2012-2013

What is MAP Testing?MAP assessments are adaptive achieve-ment tests in Mathematics, Reading, and Language Usage that are taken on a computer. The difficulty of a test is adjusted to the student’s performance so each student sees different test ques-tions. The difficulty of each question is based on how well the student has an-swered the questions up to that point. As the student answers correctly, the questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the ques-tions become easier. The computer ad-justs the difficulty of the questions so that each student takes a unique test. Newport Independent School District tests the students three times a year. Students typically take tests at the beginning of the school year, in the middle and in the spring . Three types of scores are reported on NWEA MAP assessments- percentile scores, achievement scores and growth scores. The scale NWEA uses to measure a student’s progress is called the RIT scale, short for Rasch Unit. The RIT scale is an equal-interval scale much like centimeters on a meterstick. It is used to chart a student’s academic growth from year to year. Understanding each student’s academic level gives teachers the power to help them excel. MAP computerized adaptive assessments are the tools that make it possible – providing educators with the detailed information they need to build curriculum and meet their students’ needs, one child at a time.For more information on MAP, please visit www.nwea.org.

Students who attend school EVERY DAY:Get Better Grades• Behave Better at School and at Home• Are Successful in High School• Are More Likely to Go To College• Hold Higher Paying Jobs As Adults•

Students who are often absent from school:Do Not Perform Up To Their Ability• Have Difficulty Getting Along With Others• Are More Likely to Drop Out of High School• Are More Likely to Use Drugs and Alcohol as Teens•

What PARENTS can do:Let Your Child Know How Important Education Is• Make Doctor Appointments on Days School is • Closed or After SchoolSend Your Child to School EVERY DAY• Make Sure Your Child Gets a Good Night’s Rest•

Good Attendance in High SchoolIs it Important?

Plan Test Results

English Math Reading Science Composite 2009 14.2 15.7 14.6 16.2 15.3 2010 14.7 15.7 15.1 16.5 15.7 2011 14.8 15.8 14.5 16.8 15.6 2012 15.4 15.8 15.4 16.5 15.9

12.5

13

13.5

14

14.5

15

15.5

16

16.5

17

Axis

Titl

e

PLAN Results

October- November 2012 The Newporter5

Wildcat Football Wrap-Up2012 Had Its Ups and Downs

Newport High School Students Show Your Spirit!

Sports

DELIA BOLIN Staff Writer

Katy Farmer Staff Writer

This year’s football season has been a good one, with many ups and downs. The team has had some really big wins against some tough teams. Led by the strong leadership of Coach Rice and the coaching staff, the team remained strong and determined. The team had good work ethic and they all liked to play as a team. The football team was really like a big group of brothers. They considered themselves as family and were aways there for each other. They spent a lot of time together going from practice

everyday to games on Friday. Senior football player Daylin Garland said “ I think this year has been a success. I have grown really close to the other players and I think of them as family.” A positive element of this season has been the consistent support from the Newport Wildcat fans. The team saw a strong group of supporters that even followed them to all away games. Great way to represent the N!This year the team is losing several seniors who will be graduating and moving on to college or a career. Good luck in the future and the Newporter would like to say, “ Thanks, team, for a great year!”

Newport Wrestlers Get Ready for A New Season

The Newport High School wrestling team has been working very hard on preparing for this year’s upcoming season. The team has been preparing for the season since April. Although there are some wrestlers who are unable to practice due to football, they still have many students training hard. Most hopeful wrestlers have been weight lifting, running and going to open practices. The head captain, Jacob Brett, competed in three Spring/Summer tournaments. Brett also attended the Air Force Academy Wrestling Camp in Den-ver, Colorado. This year the team is very for-tunate to have so many wrestlers and alumni coaches. Head Coach, Mr. Tim Mosley said, “We have a lot of new faces this year who are learning so much, but we have a lot of returning wrestlers to help them out!” The team has former NHS wrestler Justin ‘Monster’ Roberts as an Alumni Coach. His job as the Alumni Coach is to help and work with the wrestlers on their form while wrestling. He also helps them with their dieting and demonstrates how to lift weight properly during workouts. When wrestling, you are placed in a certain weight class. These classes are set up so the wrestlers are competing against someone their own size. They’ll wrestle someone within 5-10 lbs. of their competition. The classes are set up as 106, 113, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, and 285. The wrestler’s get to choose what class they are in. The class that they choose determines if they need to lose or ‘cut’ the weight. At the beginning of the season Coach Mosley, certifies the wrestler to determine which class they can ‘cut’ to safely. Coach Mosley, Coaches Nolan and Orth, Head captain Jacob Brett, and Coach Roberthis are all focused on getting the team to state this year. Head Captain Jacob Brett says he plans on helping the goal of going to state by, “ Working hard and helping the guys with their wrestling moves. I can show them ways to win their matches.” Coach Mosley says, “My expectations from the team this year are for our guys to be focused and have one goal in mind. I want the guys to compete and give everything they have in order to be successful.” We wish our wrestling team a lot of luck this year and to listen to this advice from Coach Mosley- “The best never rest until they’re better- and their better is their best!”

Coach Tim Mosley works with team on skills

Newport High School held the first pep rally of the year on September 26 to get students pumped for the homecoming festivities. It was a spirit filled week with students dressing in crazy themes each day. On the day of the pep rally, Friday, students were allowed to dress out of dress code wearing the school colors, red and black, to show support for the team. The pep rally was held in the Newport High School gym. There was a student verses teacher basketball game, a volleyball competition and a dance off. All the events were a lot of fun with a goal of getting the students excited about the parade, game and dance. “I felt that it was an amazing experience and a fun way to boost school spirit,” said senior Steven Richmond. “I enjoyed my time with everyone and hope for more,” said senior Jenna Thompson. Go Wildcats!!

Mike Mills

Staff Writer

Students Enjoy a Pep Rally Before Homecoming Festivities

Athlete of the Month

The Athlete of the Month is David Franco. David is the place kicker, punter, fullback, and top tackler on defense for the Newport Wildcats. Coach Rice, who chose David for this honor, said, "All his hard work is not what makes him a good player.What makes him great is that he does it every-day, he never takes plays off, never complains and is always open to coaching." David has 118 tackles. Keep up the good work!

Emily Atkins, Sidney Edwards, Maddie Williams, Kayla Herald and Debbie KrothWe are Wildcat Fans!