2018 Issue 1

THE

BOBCAT NETWORK BASEHOR-LINWOOD HIGH SCHOOL | 2108 N 155TH ST. | BASEHOR, KS 66007 | ISSUE 1 | AUGUST 17, 2018

Freshmen students pledge to graduate high school on their first day. photo by Delainey Wilson

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NEWS

BLHS JOINS NEW UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE

BY JEDA FRENCH The Basehor-Linwood School District has left the Kaw Valley League, along with Lansing and Turner, to become part of the United Kansas Conference [UKC]. The new league consists of: Basehor-Linwood, DeSoto, Lansing, Leavenworth, Shawnee Heights, and Turner. Both high school and middle school will have new competition for various sports and academics.

“As a growing school, we’re going to be 5A, more than likely. If it’s not this year, it’s going to be next. So, adding Shawnee Heights, and then adding DeSoto, and adding Leavenworth, they’re all larger schools than us,” said athletic director Ross Schwisow.

Basehor-Linwood is currently the eighth largest 4A school.

So, three out of the five schools that they will be competing against are larger.

“It’s going to allow us to amp up our competition. If you ask if I think we’re going to be able to compete, I know we are, and our kids will rise to the challenge,” said Schwisow.

New competition brings new faces, which gives BasehorLinwood the opportunity to DeSoto, Leavenworth, and Shawnee Heights The Bobcat Way. “You know, take the statement of The Bobcat Way and how we do things here. Not only our teams, but our student body shows that. We’re going to have a lot of new schools coming in here who’ve never been in the school before, and that’s a great way for us to make a first impression,” said Schwisow.

“It’s going to be good for our community to go travel and play new people where you don’t know who they are. It’s going to allow us to take care of ourselves first.”

Basehor’s first game against their new competition is varsity Boys Soccer vs. Leavenworth on Sept. 13.

NEW BOND TO EXPAND SCHOOL DISTRICT

BY TRINITY KROUSE

The 2018 Basehor-Linwood School District Bond ballots were mailed out on August 17th. There are two questions to vote on, one focusing on the district as a whole, and the other referring to changes just at the high school. If both bills are passed and everything runs according to plan, the renovations and construction will cost approximately $57.1 million dollars and will be finished in time for the 2019-2020 school year.

“The Board of Education had a meeting back in June and said ‘we have got to do something. There is a lot of growth in our community,’ so they passed a resolution in June and they made two questions,” said superintendent David Howard.

Two new elementary schools, increased security at Glenwood Ridge Elementary School, an early childhood education center, and a performing arts center and more

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

classes for the middle school are things that the board of Education The first question ($51.6 million) will ask you to vote YES or thought the town still needed NO for: regardless of athletics. All of these • Construction of a new early childhood education center • Construction of two new elementary schools Addition renovations would cost $51.6 of 14-16 classrooms and a performing arts center to million.

Basehor-Linwood Middle School According to Howard, they • Securing the entrance of Glenwood Ridge Elementary separated the two because of a fear school • Renovations to existing District facilities the athletic portion of the ballot The second question ($5.5 million) will ask you to vote YES or would cause the entire bond to NO for: fail. The renovations would include • Construction of a multipurpose building at BLHS consistfootball stadium, the addition of ing of classrooms, a wrestling room and locker rooms • Improvements to athletic facilities, including renovations tennis courts and a new building to the BLHS football stadium for locker rooms, classrooms and • Addition of tennis court facilities a wrestling facility costing $5.5 2624 Total Number of Students in million.

Basehor-Linwood School District “We separated athletics out of 2544 this bond,” said Howard. “We did 2468 that for a couple of reasons. One, 2415 we know the growth is coming. We had a company come in, suWWrvey 2339 our community, and athletic facilities tend to not do very well 2200 when you ask people randomly if they’re ready to spend money.”

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2018

FEATURE

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CLASS OF 2019 PREPARES FOR FINAL YEAR

BY DELAINEY WILSON As the new school year begins, the Class of 2019 is preparing for their last year of high school, and are figuring out how to say goodbye to Basehor-Linwood, as well as all the memories they made.

Many senior athletes know that when high school is over, that one of the things they will miss is the sports they played. For some of them, sports were their most memorable moments from high school.

“My favorite class memories were probably all made through high school sports. I loved being able to make friends with people on my teams that I might not have talked to other wise. I built bonds with people that I hope will last a lifetime,” said senior Amy Eberth.

“I’m really going to miss football and track and sports in general. I made a bunch of friends while playing sports and I’m really thankful for that,” said senior Phillip Perez.

“My best memory from high school was making history by being the first girls cross country team to qualify for state,” said senior Mallory Gallet.

These seniors talked about how they want other people to remember their class, and what they want their legacy to be.

“I want my class to be remembered as the people who were always respectful, welcoming, easy to get along with, and hardworking. I think we do a good job at showing all four of those qualities,” said senior Emma Armstrong.

“I want our class to be remembered for always doing the right things. I want them to be able to rely on us and know we are always going to do our best,” said Perez.

The seniors still have a a full year to look forwards to, with a lot of new priveliges and experiences available to them because this is their last year.

“I’m really excited to give this year everything I’ve got and end high school on a strong note. I really want to make sure I am taking advantage of all the opportunities I have and appreciating every moment,” said Eberth.

“I can’t wait for my last year of sports like Cheer, Cross Country, and Track. I’m also really excited for things like painting Paw Prints and the senior trip. The thing that I’m most excited for is to graduate with all of my friends,” said Gallet.

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FEATURE

SPORTS

2018 FALL SPORTS PREPARATION

RE-DESIGN PROJECT LOOKS AT NON-TRADTIONAL LEARNING

BY LANE BARRETTE In August of 2019, the high school looks to change the educational structure under a re-design project.

The re-design will promote Project Based Learning(PBL), as opposed to the traditional approach, as well as continuing the focus of Individual Plans of Study(IPS).

“Each student has a different passion and a different learning style. Project Based Learning gives our students even more exposure to real world problems,” said principal Jarred Fuhrman.”

The re-design would create a connected set of blocks at the end of the school day that is devoted solely to a single project that encapsulates some or all of the core subjects (mathematics, English, social studies, and science) and students would receive credits of the respective subjects.

HOW ARE OTHER COUNTRIES TEACHING STUDENTS? According to Italy Magazine, there are three types of high school: regular high schoolswhich last for five yearsfocus on the arts and humanities and less attention is spent on technical education, technical education-which lasts for five years-focuses on both theoretical and specialized fields of study such as mathematics and history, as well as professional education with focuses on a particular trade-which lasts between three to five years.

According to the Tokyo International Communication Committee, junior high students can choose between three years of high school that focuses on specific areas of study or going straight to technical college for two, four, or five years.

Some public high schools offer evening classes for students who work during the day.

Unlike in the United States, every student will take the same classes that contain little to no work outside of the classroom, as well as only having one mandatory test at age 16.

INCREASE IN STUDENTS MEANS AN INCREASE IN BUDGET

BY LANE BARRETTE Population of public school students nationwide

33.7 million students in 1998

59.8 million students in 2018

Basehor-Linwood High School is one of the 98,000+ public schools across the nation that the federal $26 billion budget is divided amongst. Statistically speaking, as of 2018, the cost to fund public education has increased, therefore school budgets must be expanded.

The increase in price for public education can be found in a few calculations. One of the main causes of this increase is a combination of inflation and growth in the student population.

Using the Customer Price index(CPI) calculator, the price of public education per pupil was $7,013 in 1998, which has grown to $10,935 in June of 2018. Inflation alone represents roughly 90% of the increase of cost per pupil.

As of 1998, not only is the cost of public education on the increase, but also according to the Department

$12,000

$13,6647 $6,708

Kansas 1998 v 2018

of Education, the number of students enrolled in public education has increased from 33.7 million to 59.8 million students in 2018.

The last approximate 10% of cost increase is because of the unionization of education workers. According to an article by Economic Inquiry, the primary reason for the increase in cost of public education is because of teacher unions; teacher unions took strikes against unfair treatment, such as low paycheck, causing an increase of 7% to 15% of education costs.

The rising cost of education makes resources more expensive and possibly unavailable to schools in lowerincome areas.

$7,013

USA 1998 v 2018

$22,413 $10,514

New York 1998 v 2018

*1998 statistics were the National Center for Education Statistics(NCES); 2018 statistics: national average statistic from Governing; Kansas statistic came from the Kansas Policy Institute; New York Statistic came from the Council of the city of New York

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BY DELAINEY WILSON Football:

The football program went to several camps, including a 3-day camp at Northwest Missouri State University, Blue Springs High School, and a final camp at Washburn Rural High School. The team also hosted a University of St. Mary’s camp at the high school.

Volleyball:

Athletes competed in a summer volleyball league, and also held a camp at the high school. The Varsity and JV teams travelled to the University of Nebraska to attend a camp, while the Freshmen attended a camp at the University of Kansas.

Dance:

The Dazzlers had practices throughout the summer, and went to a camp at California Trails Middle School in June, they also got the chance to compete at the

camp.

Cheer:

The cheer team had practices through June and July at the high school. They went to a 3-day camp at Baker University, and competed on the final day.

Cross Country:

Runners had practices throughout the entire summer to prepare for their season.

Boys Soccer:

The soccer team prepared for their season by having practices at the high school, as well as hosting a camp on campus. The team also attended a camp at Bishop Miege High School.

Girls Golf:

While the team didn’t have any mandatory practices, a few girls got ready for the season by playing golf and by taking lessons.

BLHS LOOKS TO EXPAND ON MEET THE BOBCATS TRADITION

BY TRINITY KROUSE For over 20 years, Meet the Bobcats has been a way of introducing the fall athletes, followed by a performance from the band and a football scrimmage. However, this year, on August 23, there will scrimages by football, volleyball and soccer. Color guard, cheer and the Dazzlers will also each perform this year.

“Meet the Bobcats has been a great tradition for our school and a great way to kick off the school year and to recognize all our fall activities,” said athletic director Ross Schwisow.

According to Schwisow, a lot of schools will have a “fall football scrimmage night”, but here, it is more than just the one team; it is the whole community.

“Our goal is to begin the process of making this a event that is more than just the fall activities,” said Schwisow. “We can see this growing more each year as we add to [Meet the Bobcats] and make [it] a great event for the community as well.”

Admittance to the event is also changing this year.

Students will be required to bring a sealed Gatorade bottle, which will be donated to the fall sports to use throughout their season.

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FEATURE

2018-2019 CLUB DIRECTORY

BY TRINITY KROUSE

122

123

110

Katzenmeier

Scholars Bowl / SADD

NHS

Debate/ Forensics

112

116

109

124

Knowls

Ambassadors

107

Vanhecke

147

119

148

JAG

125

Science Olympiad

144

105

Astronomy

Schaffer

Virtual School

141

Bovos

Wellness Center FCA

REbel

106

Diehl

140

108

Guerra

Library

142

Disberger

The DEN

101

Bowser

GSA

International Club 103

104

136 135

Bass Fishing Team

TSA

Wieser

216

222

223

Club abbreviations: DIG, Diversity Interest Group GSA, Gay-Straight Alliance FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America JAG, Jobs After Graduation FCCLA, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes TSA, Technology Student Association SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions

Office

Cilliers

215 Cilliers Bovos

312

BotCats 309

FCCLA

Marquardt

218

214

224

221

225

237

DIG

Fuhrman

241

213

259

Theater Knowles

Amrein

408

Student Council

212

404

421

Ziegler

418

FBLA

422

421

323 & 324

Main Level

209 205A 205

Upper Level

261 208

Auditorium

Small Gym 207

Boy’s Locker

Girl’s Locker Cafeteria

Big Gym

Girl’s Locker

UPCOMING EVENTS

Boy’s Locker

BY JEDA FRENCH

Aug. 23: Meet the Bobcats at 6:00 Aug. 28: V Volleyball vs. DeSoto and Lansing at 5:00 Aug. 30: Picture Day Aug. 31: V Football vs. Tonganoxie at 7:00 Sept. 3: No school Sept. 4: No school Sept. 4: V Boys Soccer vs. Baldwin at 6:30 Sept. 4: V Volleyball vs. Lansing at 5:00 Sept. 27: Homecoming Parade at 6:00 Sept. 28: V Football vs. Turner (Homecoming) at 7:00 Oct. 2: V Boys Soccer vs. Turner at 6:30 Oct. 3: Choir Concert at 7:00 Oct. 4: V Girls Golf - Basehor-Linwood Invitational at 1:00 Oct. 8: V Volleyball vs. Ottawa/Lawrence at 5:00 Oct. 11: V Boys Soccer vs. DeSoto at 6:30 Oct. 11: End of First Quarter Oct. 12: No school

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BOBCAT NETWORK BASEHOR-LINWOOD HIGH SCHOOL | 2108 N 155TH ST. | BASEHOR, KS 66007

Co-Editor-in-chief: Lane Barrette and Trinity Krouse Page Designer: Delainey Wilson Reporters: Jeda French, Katelyn Cofer, Kristen Cahler, Jaedyn Roberts, Me’Laiha Enriquez, Britan Dietsc, Brooklyn Fondaw, Miyala Harris, Alyssa Tyler Advisor: Erin Amrein