Please

Do Not DisturbSpring Break In Progress.

The Dog Blog is a product of the Bennington High School Publications Class.Bennington, Kansas 67422.

Adviser: DonWagner Issue 9.16

March 13, 2014Available online at <USD240.org>

The

What’s Inside:

Gabby

RyanTaryn

Elise

Dog Blog

The Break in Spring Break

Things We Will Never Hear Men Say

Perks of a Small School

BHS’s Most Memorable

The Winter Olympics

Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Foundation

And Much More!!!!!Michaelyn

Abby

BJ

The BReAK by Abby Jurgensmeier

To many people’s dismay, spring break is not about traveling,

and going crazy. While it may be fun to go to Cancun or some other tropical place, to me, that’s not what spring break is about.

Spring break is about taking a break from the stresses of school

life. If this is not what you’re using it for, not to be harsh, but you’re doing it wrong. Working and making money is great and all, but if you’re stressing yourself out over your job, it’s not worth it. Having a job you enjoy is worth it, no matter how much it does or doesn’t pay.

School is stressful, there’s no way to get around that. That’s why spring break and Thanksgiving break

are needed. A break from the homework, papers, and tests are always needed. Most of us can’t wait for summer. Why? Well for one, it’s warm, and you don’t have to worry about staying up for homework, getting good grades, or passing a class. You get to be free and have time for your family and friends. Spring break is a little preview of this joy.

Traveling is great. It’s fun, and it’s nice to get away from the daily routine and the same four walls. But for the people who

don’t really travel on spring break, it really is about the break from everything. The only thing you may have to worry about is getting up for practice, and that’s only if you have a spring sport. Sleeping in is a beautiful, beautiful luxury that we don’t get during the school year.

Hopefully, the weather will be warm enough

to enjoy being outside. If we’re lucky enough, we may get to wear shorts. Wouldn’t that be nice? I’m about sick of wearing huge coats that barely keep me warm. Don’t get me wrong, yoga pants are great, but shorts are even better.

Taking a break from life is all we really need sometimes, and spring

break gives us that opportunity. From traveling to just laying on the couch, every break from the norm is enjoyable. Spend time with your friends and have some fun! That’s all you really need to have a good spring break.

in SpRing BReAK

Things we will never hear.... Men say.Can you help me lift this?

Men: For some reason, you are always showing off the amount of strength you have by carrying heavy things. We won’t think it’s any less sexy if you ask for help carrying a sofa.

Do you think he’s hotter than I am?

Men: It’s ok to be self conscious and vulnerable. Women are constantly comparing themselves to other women; we’re all only human!

I baked you some cookies.

Men: Make an effort to bake your lady a sweet treat. Even if it tastes terrible, we’ll appreciate the effort.

I don’t need to watch foot-ball tonight; let’s watch

Gossip Girl.Men: Let your woman pick what to watch on TV. Be selfless for once and check the score of the football game later.

I need directions.Men: Nobody will think less of you if you ask for directions. It’s better than watching you drive around aimlessly for hours... now that’s a turn off.

I need to use the Men’s room to freshen up.

Men: There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look your best. If you need to go to the bathroom and brush your teeth or put on more deodorant, don’t be afraid to!

I understand.Men: Skip the argument and just agree with us. Even if you really don’t... at least pretend you do and let it go.

by Gabby Cooper

Small SchoolPerks of a

by Michaelyn Laflen

Everyone knows everyoneThis may seem like a curse at some times, but it is nice to walk down the hallways and be able to put a name with each face you see. Walking in a big school would be intimidating to me because I wouldn’t know anyone,

and I’d feel like a loner.

Teacher to student ratioWe may dislike our teachers at times, but at least every teacher knows your name and cares about how you do.

Just think how much it would suck to have a teacher who didn’t know your name and didn’t care how you did in their class. You would be just another face to them. Also, I think it’s pretty fun to be able to joke

around with the teachers and have a more personal relationship with them.

Independent StudiesWe are given the chance to take classes indepen-

dently. And not only is it for core classes, but it can also be for foreign language classes and college

classes. Larger schools may allow this, but I feel as if Bennington allows more students to take classes

independently. It is a great way to get ahead and get a better feel for how college might be.

SportsThere are not many schools that allow students

to participate in more than one sport in a season. But there are kids who are doing golf AND run-ning track. It is an amazing chance to try different sports and find a sport you love. If you are wiling

to make the commitment, you could do pretty much any sport offered by the school.

ParkingYes, parking. I am being completely serious.

Have you ever thought how far away you would have to park if you were a couple of minutes late to a huge school? You’d have to walk like a mile just to get to the front doors. In Ben-

nington, it’s a whole 30-second walk max.

Most MemorableBHS’s Spring Break

Bennington High School is ready to let out for Spring Break 2014!

Countless of new memories are about

to be made, but before that, let’s take a look back to some of our BHS students’ most memorable spring breaks.

What is your most memorable spring

break?

“I went to the Garden of the

Gods in Colorado.”

-Riley Bailey

“We went to Colorado and

rode ATV’s in the mountains.

Our trails got re-

ally close to the

cliffs, and I about

tipped my ATV. Need-

less to say, my parents’

about had a heart at-

tack!” -Kade Carlson

“I was skiing in Colorado, and I am pretty sure I ran into Big Foot. Nice guy!”

-Kashia Westbrook

by Taryn Glissman

“I we

nt to

Alaska

with

my unc

le to

hunt

wolve

rines.

”

“Well,

what did yo

u hunt with

?”

“A fre

akin’

12 gau

ge!

What

do yo

u thi

nk?!”

-Ian

Hodg

es“Every spring break of mine has con-sisted of me being home, watching television. So every spring break of mine is the best!!!” ---Drake Juenenemann

by Abby Jurgensmeier

The Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics aren’t as big of a deal as the summer—except to the athletes. Every four years a Winter Olympics is held, this began in 1924.

As for this year, the first event was the Ladies’ Slopestyle Snowboarding qualification. The kick off date was Thursday, February sixth. If you didn’t know, the events this year were held in Sochi, Russia. Sochi was selected as the host city in July 2007, and it is the first Olympics held in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

There were a total of 12 new events this year. Events such as the half-pipe skiing, slopestyle for skiing and snowboarding, and parallel slalom were added, just to name a few.

The biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. The race is 20 kilometers long, and they shoot at targets from about fifty meters. If the athlete misses

one of the five shots, they either have a 150m-penalty lap, or one minute added to the time. Shooting occurs in either the standing position, or the prone position where the athlete lays on their stomach.

Halfpipe skiing made its debut this year. Halfpipe skiing is in the category of “freestyle skiing,” along with aerial, ski cross, and slopestyle skiing.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White won America’s first “ice dancing” gold medal this year. Many believe that the judges had predetermined the scores and who

would win. Their rival, the Canadian ice dancing couple, came in second after winning the Vancouver Olympic’s gold. I have no idea what the difference is between the jumps and stuff like that, but apparently there is, and apparently there is something to have controversy over.

This is the first time I’ve heard of the Nordic Combined

event. The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping. It has been in the Winter Olympics since 1924, and can be a team or solo event.

The United States ended up fourth in medal standings. We had nine gold, seven silver, and twelve bronze for

a total of twenty-eight medals. Russia won on their home field with thirty-three medals. Norway came in second while Canada got third. They ended the Olympics with the men’s hockey gold competition. The Olympics ended February 23, now the world will wait for the Summer Olympics of 2016.

the Dane G. HansenScholarship Foundation

For those unaware, the Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Foundation offers some of the largest and most prestigious scholarships in the state of Kansas. Available to students in twenty-six northwestern Kansas counties, the Dane Hansen Scholarships range in value from $6,000 to $26,000. But as with many worth working for in life, receiving one of these scholarships in no easy task. Far from it. Yet it is manageable, and I have proof. In the past two years,

Bennington High School has had two Hansen Leaders of Tomorrow ($26,000) scholarship recipients: Adam Schieferecke and myself, Ryan Ostenberg. So, much like Adam did for me, let me offer the non-senior students of our school some tips as to how to prepare yourself to become Bennington’s next Hansen Leader of Tomorrow.

Step One: Take the ACT and maintain a 3.5 GPA. To even be eligible to become a Hansen Scholar, one must first meet some prerequisites: Get at least a 21 composite score on the ACT, and maintain a high school GPA of at least 3.5. These are no easy feats, but rest assured, this is the easiest part of the scholarship competition.

Step Two: Take the Qualifying Scholarship Test. You did well on you ACT just so that you could--take another test! All students who have passed step one are invited by the Hansen Scholarship Foundation to take the qualifying test, which is used to decide the students who will receive an in-person interview from the Scholarship Committee. Now, I fancy myself a pretty good test taker, but let me tell you what, I was not prepared for how difficult the Qualifying Scholar-ship Test was going to be. It’s like the ACT on steroids: 120+ multiple choice questions, a two page autobiography, and a two page essay question. Oh, and it has to all be completed in under three hours. Without a calculator. Or a dictionary. Or any notes. The test is a beast, but it can be tamed. How, you ask? Like this:

For the multiple choice section:• Don’t get bogged down – if you know the answer to a question, great. But if you don’t, you shouldn’t spend fifteen minutes trying to figure it out. All you are doing is wasting valuable time that could be spent on the essay portion of the test.

For the autobiography:• Write your autobiographical essay beforehand and memorize it. When it comes time for the Dane Hansen test, all you have to do is rewrite what you have already written, without the stress of trying to come up with ideas for your essay.

For the essay question:• This is the wildcard of the test. You never know what the Dane Hansen test is going to ask as an essay question. Most likely it will be about some sort of current event, so keep up on the news.

Step Three: Preparing for the interview. You did well enough on the Qualifying Scholarship Test to be called into the Dane Hansen Office for a private interview. Congratulations, now the hard work begins! The Scholarship Committee will ask for three things when you show up for your interview: three letters of recommendation, an updat-ed ACT score, and a resumé. The letters of recommendation are no problem, as the Hansen Committee actually sends you a questionnaire to hand out to the people you have chosen to recommend you. Just remember, chose you recom-menders carefully; you wouldn’t want the Committee getting a bad impression of you before you even showed up! If you have an opportunity to take the ACT before you interview and you think you can raise your composite score, I would recommend taking it again—it can’t hurt. The final item you have to bring to your interview, the resumé, is extremely important. This is your opportunity to show the Committee who you are and what you have accomplished. Create what you think is a good resumé, then have someone tear it apart. Rewrite you resumé, then have a different person tear it apart. Continue this pattern until you have a resumé that could get you hired at Berkshire-Hathaway, then tear it apart one last time and rewrite it. Only now do you have an acceptable resumé to hand to the Scholarship Committee.

Step Four: The Interview. Before you walk into the Dane Hansen Office in Logan, KS, to be interviewed, there is one question you need to have answered: “Who am I and what am I going to do with my future?” Do you want to be a doctor? A lawyer? Or possibly a teacher? Well, whatever it is you

want to be, you will need to be very knowledgeable about your career path. If you are going to be a doc-tor, you shouldn’t just know how to apply a tourniquet; you should also be informed about the healthcare system in America. If you want to be a lawyer, you shouldn’t just be able to explain you favorite episode

of Law and Order; you should also be able to answer ethical questions about things like so-called “am-bulance chasers.” And if you want to be a teacher, you shouldn’t just be able to reel off your ABCs; you should also know what Common Core is and how it is going to im-pact the teaching profession.

by Ryan Ostenberg

Growing up in a small town definitely has its disadvantages. Being a junior in high school, I haven’t been many other places except for Kansas and mostly Califor-nia. But, who’s to say I don’t wanna get out of this country?

I want to SEE THE WORLD.

Okay. So I’ve been doing my searching and I’ve come across this program called the GLA: Global Leadership Adven-tures. It’s always been one of my dreams

to go to Africa, and right now it’s liter-ally all I can think of. I’ve always wanted to help the little African kids and volunteer and such. This pro-gram is a program for high school students where you can go to you choice of country (limited, though) and

volunteer in a certain city in that country.

You can go on a trip to learn about animals and plants, or you can go volunteer and help kids, which is what I want to do. The Afri-can city that is avail-able is Ghana. While you’re there, you ex-

plore and learn about the fishing village by traveling to a local island by canoe, you volunteer and read to children at a lo-cal school, meet tribe members, and learn about the history of Ghana.

Does this sound like

an AWESOME oppor-tunity to anyone, or is it just me? You can choose to go for either two weeks or a little over a month. I sug-gest everyone to look into something like this; it’s really impor-tant to get out of our home-town and see

the world! Whether we make this dream come true or not, I’m sure the experience of looking into a trip like this--not to men-tion actually taking it--will be a great time and will create many memories.

by Gabby Cooper

Do you want to explore the world?

I do.

Every day it is brought up at least one time, how my

one mistake affected a nice and generous girl’s sophomore year prom invitation. As you may have heard, many people say there is a first time for everything. My first time trying “something” led me down the wrong path and left me and that girl with a memory neither of us will soon forget. No matter how many times I apologize and tell her the real story about what happened, she will never forgive me, and our friendship will never be the same again. I’m not saying that we aren’t friends anymore, but our friendly bond isn’t on the level that it used to be. So here’s what really happened.

Last year, around the time of prom, I asked

one of my best “girly” friends to go with me, because I was told it would be good choice to ask her. When the time was right I asked her and I got a yes. As the time went by we

decided what color we were going to wear, what shoes we were going to sport, and most of all we talked about how our swag was going to be better compared to everyone else!

In reference to the situation last year,

I hope she knows I still “till’ this day” just want her to forgive me and get our friendship back to where it was before the prom incident.

So, as prom was approaching, I made a bad

decision and did something that I regret doing (There’s A First Time For Everything). Making that choice led me to have to sit out of sports for two weeks; sitting out those two weeks didn’t involve me missing prom. After my two weeks of suspension was over, my name was drawn to take a drug test. While walking down the hallway, going to take my drug test the only thing that kept running through my head was, I know I’m going to fail this. As we were headed to the room for the test, I was talking to my principal asking him, “Do I really have to take

this, because I have already set out my two weeks? He said, “Yea, you have to take it regardless. Now I have taken my drug test and all I’m waiting for is the test results. I waited patiently and the results are in; my best man calls me to the office, and what is it that he has to talk to me about? The unexciting news that I can’t go to prom.

Ending the meeting with my best man, there

were millions of things flashing through my head including telling my best friend that I can’t go to prom with her in a way so that she doesn’t get angry at me. Even though in my head I know she is going to be mad, I was thinking of a way for me to just get it out and still tell her the truth. Sitting in class I finally got the nerves to tell her that I wouldn’t be able to go to prom anymore. She messaged me back and hit me with the letter that pretty much every member of the opposite gender hates to see: “K”. And I knew then, that was the end.

For me in ending this article, I am apologizing for the millionth time. I am sorry for making a decision that pretty much ruined our friendship. I really hope that our friendship can get back on the path it was before I messed everything up, and I hope even more that this article helps rebuild our friendship.

What Really Happened!

by Bj Glanton

The Full Story

The “true” story about Prom with a friendBright yellow -- that would

have been the color I would have worn if my best friend wouldn’t have messed up BIG TIME right before the night of the year, the night of a girl’s dreams, the night that was so tragically ripped away from me just simply by the contents of a little cup: Prom.

Rejected, alone and humiliat-ed are just understatements to what I was feeling when I found out that prom- the night I had been waiting for all year may no longer be a possi-bility for me, I mean really! I had the dress picked out the hair in curled perfection, and it was all for nothing.

As long as we’re being honest, I was super mad--not just a little--A LOT. I mean, who does that to their friends? Royally screws up with little time to fix everything. What is the point of going out and being a nim-rod on the weekend so that you ruin one of your friend’’s nights? There is NO point in doing this.

Now don’t feel bad for me, I was able to still go with a guy who would never ditch out on me for a “good weekend.”

So for all you people out there who think it’s okay to go and do what-ever you want after you made a commitment to a lovely girl, you’re WRONG! It is not okay to “ditch” somebody the week before the event.

By Elise Vishnefske

Oh, some may say I am still a little bitter and mad about this happen-ing, and they would be right! How on earth would you feel if someone just left you all alone on your big night? I don’t care if I had two more proms or not.

Bj and I had been on the outs; he tried to text me and tell me that he was sorry. I still didn’t care that he was sorry. I was still mad that he ruined my night and he didn’t seem to care. I texted him and hit him with the, “k” and he knew then that he should leave me alone and that it was the end of our friendship.

I may only be 17 years old, but I know something in our government is messed up. I may get some mad smack talked on me for saying this, but we need a person to lead this country back to a good place. I want a place where there aren’t people using the government to get food and other necessities when they are fully capable of making a living on their own. When I become an adult who lives on my own, I want to be able to raise my children in a good environment and a great country. By the way things are going right now, I don’t know if that will be possible.

Kids scream and yell until they get what they want. Some teenagers act like 4 year olds and throw fits when they don’t get everything they want. How wrong is that? Parents need to put their foot down and make their children EARN what they receive. And what ever happened to chores? I’ve had to do chores since I was like 5. And if I ever back talk my parents, I am punished and most definitely lose privileges. How can some kids even live with themselves after they disrespect their parents to such extent? It’s just seems so messed up to me.

I am scared for the future if kids don’t learn to respect their parents and earn what privileges and material things they have. I am scared that these children will soon be the adults making decisions for our community and country. Not all children are bad. In fact, I have met some very well mannered children, which was a breath of fresh air for me. But finding those well-mannered kids is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

are considered rebel children, but if we don’t make mistakes, we are seen as kids who don’t like to have fun. There is no winning in our situation. I am just tired of being pushed into adulthood with all of these responsibilities and expectations before I have had my time to be a carefree high school student.

Sorry for the rant, but these are issues that I feel need to be mentioned. Don’t get me wrong, I love my small town and the people living here, but I am so scared for how society is paving the road for the future.

I bet most teenagers can agree with me on the fact that society puts too much pressure on us to be perfect. Good grades, hot body, perfect hair, straight teeth, and amazing athleticism are all expected of adolescents and it is unnecessary. There is no way a teenager can be all of these things and still have their high school experiences. High school is a time to be crazy and make memories alone with mistakes. One mistake and we

Society Today There is so much I could say about society today. I could mention the good along with the bad, but unfortunately the bad outweighs the good. Society, in general, needs serious work in my eyes. Our government seems to be run by 2-year olds, our children are spoiled beyond belief, and there is so much pressure to be perfect.

by Michaelyn Laflen

“ I am tired of being pushed into adulthood will all of these respon-sibilities and expectations before I have had my time to be a carefree high school student. “

Guess Who?!?

You see these faces almost everyday in the hallways and classrooms. It is quite easy to identify who is who when you see the whole picture. Can you still identify your fel-

low classmates when you only see part of their faces rather than the whole picture? Let’s give it a try and see how obser-vant you really are!

by Taryn Glissman

He may not have the eyes of a tiger, but this fellow classmates is currently in

the freshman class of BHS! Can you guess who he is, or do you need a hint?

Answer:

Hint: His name starts with the letter B!

This senior student is a bit quacky and is easily heard. He also has some of the

best snap chats! Even though it’s only a par-tial picture of him, this should be an easy one to figure out!

Answer:

Hint: His football number was 60!

Answer:

Our only girl participant of our guess who questionaire is also on her

way to become BHS’s most talented in making videos! She is also a senior who plans on going to KU next year.

Hint: Do you seriously need a hint for this one? Yeah, didn’t think so!

Answer:

Turn page for answers.

The final mystery student is also a senior. He participated in football and now, currently

track. He shares his name with a candy bar!

Hint: Two Words: Captain America

You’ve Guessed It!Bryce Griffin

Donavon Zamecnik

Erica Jones

Heath Thornhill

Your Turn...

Fill in the Face!

So as we all know, it’s spring break time. That means that everybody is excited to go on vacation, hangout with friends, and road trip. Most kids don’t even go on vacation during spring break; they just sit around the house and eat, watch Netflix, and tweet. A lot of kids are excited about getting to hang-out with their friends and maybe take a road trip. I’m just so super excited to help my family; it’s just going to be so much fun. I can’t even control my ex-citement right now!!! (Sarcasm!!)

But I’m not like the other kids. I’m excited about spring break because I get to work around the house!! I get to clean, work in the yard, and do anything that needs to be done. I’m not looking forward to lying around; I’m ready to work! Now that I think about working more and more, I just keep getting more excited. It’s going to be so much fun, and I’m going to have a blast over spring break. (More Sarcasm!)

Okay, readers; does it honestly sound like I’m excited to help my family? Does it really sound like I can’t wait to be on break for a whole week and just work and clean? Obviously not! Who wants to spend their break working around the house? Ladies and gentlemen, don’t believe everything that you read!

Spring Break 2014!

Spring Break Plans!!

Now that I’ve told you what I’m super excited about doing this break, let’s see what other kids of Ben-nington High School are doing.

Danielle Nay,sr. Going to Branson for a fam-ily reunion and I’m super excited to hangout with all my lovely family members!

Jenna Gantenbein, jr. Hanging around the house, and going to Wichita with Darian and Brittney for prom dress shopping. Brittney is very excited to go to prom her freshmen year with Dustin Stanley.

Keely Fellers, jr Hanging out with Shanna W. if she comes back from California.

Mrs. Wolf, Staff Looking forward to doing my taxes, hanging out with Madi which will be back from college, and hanging out with the fam.

Shannon Husted, soph Hanging out with friends and lying in bed and sleep-ing all day.

Fun Facts

about

Leprechauns!- Leprechauns are shoemakers. Some researches claim that the word leprechaun came from the Irish ‘leath bhrogan,’ meaning shoemaker, said to be the sprites’ main vocation.

- If you happen to come across a leprechaun, be sure to hold on to him. According to Irish legends, people lucky enough to capture a lepre-chaun can barter his freedom for three wishes.

- Leprechauns weren’t always dressed in green. Early tales of the creatures reported red clothing.

- Leprechauns are a morality tale figure. The leg-end warns against greed and the folly of trying to get rich quick.

- According to the book “The Element Encyclo-pedia of Magical Creatures,” by John and Caitlin Matthews, the leprechaun legend can be traced back to eighth-century tales of water spirits called “luchorpán,” meaning small body. The legend eventually evolved into a mischievous household fairy said to haunt cellars and drink heavily.http://www.irishcentral.com/