the
EXPRESS Basehor-Linwood High School
Motto goes here Motto goes here Motto goes here Motto goes here Motto goes here Motto
The Express Basehor-Linwood HS Fall 2011 | Issue 2 December 14, 2011
Taylor Leach: by Shelli Brannan
Dairy Queen Taylor Leach, a junior at Basehor-Linwood High School lives a far from normal teen life. “A normal day for me probably isn’t considered normal for most people.” Her day is full between studying and helping cook dinner and feeding the animals. Living as a dairy farmer, Taylor leaves up to a week at a time to go show her cattle. Taylor’s day after school is overflowing with things she must do. “I go home and do my homework like most students here at school but after I’m done, I have to go up to our farm and milk, feed the heifers - a young female cow that has not borne a calf, and the newborn babes, then I usually end up either cooking or helping cook dinner.” Going up to the farm to feed the animals is no easy task considering that they have about “30 milk cows, 20 that aren’t milking, 40 heifers and about 10 little babies. But the number is always changing,” Taylor observed, “we are always selling some, and little ones are always being born.”
Usually lasting up to a week and a half Taylor says that she and her family go to about 7 shows a year, 3 of them being national events. Traveling to many cities including Madison, Wisc; Louisville, Ky; and Stillwater, Ok. Plus on top off all that her family goes to the local state and county show. When teacher and coach McBride of Basehor-Linwood was approached about Taylor missing school he revealed that, “there is always a fear that students will fall behind on work, but most kids that are involved in extracurricular activities are pretty well motivated and are able to make it work.” “My mom and dad grew up on dairy farms, so I am a 3rd generation dairy farmer. I also have cousins who are also involved with dairy farming. Though my mom and dad gave me the choice of either liking what they did or not being a part of it,” Taylor confessed, “I chose to be a part of it, and now I am committed to it after all the hard work and dedication I have put in.” Her favorite part about
being a dairy farmer is “working with my family each day. We have our up and downs like all families, but working together brings us closer.” She and her sister also attend the National Holstein Convention, which is held in a different state each year. Her whole family is involved. “My family is always with me, and our fitting crew is always changing, but they go to most as well. Plus I have certain friends that I always see at certain shows.” When asked about Taylor’s involvement in dairy life Courtney Lieve, a junior and close friend to Taylor said, “It is cool that she gets to show her cows and win prizes. It’s hard when she is gone for a long
time, though, because she isn’t here to help me with my Government homework!” For the 5 years they have known each other Courtney hasn’t made it to a show, but would love to one day. Winning? Taylor sure is. “This year I have been honored to accept the Judy Collinsworth Memorial Outstanding Jr. Exhibiter award that is given to only 4 kids in the nation. I have also won many showmanship awards over the years that I am very proud of and have placed in the top ten in the World several time which is an honor.” Lets not forget about the 1st place price that she and her sister took for best owned and bred Jersey cow along with the two 3rd place
winnings Taylor grabbed for her Holstein cow and showmanship. Other then taking care of her animals, Taylor enjoys photography, which has also won prizes like Grand Champion and being in the American Royal. She got into photography because of her mom. She is also in 4H, so she has to do a lot of sewing on the side. Taylor says that she matches up with a life of a dairy farmer, “ I’m not saying living in the city is bad, but I know I wouldn’t like it. I like being able to not see a car drive by every time I step outside.” “I have made so many memories living on a farm, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Tara Bowser a.k.a. Basehor’s Fresh Face Depending on whether or not you frequent the English hallway this year, you may have seen a new face amongst the teachers. This is Tara Bowser. The Gardner-Edgerton and, more recently, K-State graduate teaches everything from freshman English to Individualized reading. Bowser didn’t always want to be an English teacher. In fact, she never wanted to be a teacher at all. “My friends wanted to become teachers, and I wanted to be different.”
Bowser realized there were two things she loved to do, though: talking about literature and helping students with their homework. When applying to colleges, she was guided by her junior English teacher. “He influenced his students’ lives,” she remembered. Bowser wanted to make an impact on students’ lives, too. Bowser went to K-State majoring in secondary education when an emphasis in English. For the past two years, she has been at Junction City High School–the place where she did her student teaching, as well. When her husband’s job moved to Kansas City, she started looking around for a school in the metro area. Her choice fell on BLHS
Be Different This year there’s some change happening at BLHS. Change in the form of a Diversity Club. Originally meant to be a GayStraight Alliance, the Diversity Club branched out to include other issues present in the high school. Senior Morgan Meyers is one of the founding members of the Diversity Club. “All I want is
to get people to open their minds and accept others for how they are,”
she said of the club’s purpose. The club, sponsored by Mr. Heatwole and Mrs. Simpson, was an immediate success. The first meeting filled Simpson’s room had people sitting on the floor and the most recent one in Heatwole’s room had at least 60 people. Meetings usually revolve around one topic. The most recent meeting focused on bullying. Club members were shown Jonah Mowry’s video. Jonah released a video on YouTube where
because she liked the atmosphere. “I liked Basehor because I could tell the teachers really cared about the students.” So far, Bowser has made a good transition to Basehor. “I think she has adapted remarkably well,” English teacher Aaron Schwartz said. According to Schwartz, Bowser fits well into the English department because “she has brown hair” (Basehor has an abundance of brown-haired English teachers) and “because she’s literate”. Math teacher Stephanie Harris says, “[She fits in because] she is really kind and eager to get involved with activities at BLHS.” Bowser is the new sponsor of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). Staff members aren’t the by Maddy Mikinski
only ones welcoming Bowser. Students are happy to have around, too. “I feel like I can come to her with my problems,” Emma England, junior, said. “She teaches me about life.” England is part of Bowser’s Gold 4 Individualized Reading–nicknamed “The Rough Readers”. She’s funny and relatable and a really good person,” England continued, “Finally, she supports my obsession with Katy Perry.” Recently, Bowser took the Rough Readers on a field trip to KU to participate in the annual literary festival there. The list of authors included Newberry Award winner and Kansan Clare Vanderpool. Bowser found a way to incorporate the author’s book–
by Maddy Mikinski
Moon Over Manifest–into her curriculum. Bowser constantly comes up with new projects for her Rough Readers. They’ve included ‘Fiction to Film’ and ‘Scary Stories’. For the Scary Stories assignment, students made a comic strip depicting their two favorite scenes from the book and wrote a short story. Mrs. Bowser has settled into her role as the latest Bobcat teacher nicely. She enjoys the students and especially loves recommending books (the Harry Potter series is her favorite). So if you’re in the English hallway and need a good read, just stop by and meet Tara Bowser for yourself.
UPCOMING BLHS EVENTS (Complete finals schedule found on Page 3)
he opened up about his experience being bullied. The video has had a massive response, with more than one million views. The video received an emotional response from the group–something the leaders no doubt anticipated and desired. Meetings are usually held during advisory, so listen for the announcement and go be part of Basehor-Linwood’s revolutionary new club.
Wed. Dec 14
Green Schedule 7:00 Winter Choir Concert
Thur. Dec. 15
Gold Schedule 7:00 High School Band Concert
Fri. Dec. 16
Green Schedule
Sat. Dec. 17
9:00 Varsity Wrestling at Emporia 1:30 Varsity Boys Basketball at the Hy-Vee Shootout at Avila University
Thank you for reading the BLHS Express. If you have questions or comments, email us at expressblhs@gmail.com or find us on Twitter at btownexpress. Express Staff Editor-In-Chief Maddy Mikinski Adviser Kristen Knoth
Reporters Drew Potter Shelli Brannan Trey Kincheloe Sydney Weible
M
D