Sterling Cub Reporter: May 2015

MAY 2015

SHS to make league change Pg. 2

Volume 1 • Issue 8

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Seniors tested with projects Pg. 6

Sports keep students busy Pg. 12

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May 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 1

OPINION

Time spent and time to come Growing up is something that is ineviscrambling to finish assignments, senior table. We started in kindergarten dreadprojects, scholarships, the lit journal, and ing the thought that we’re going to be in applications for different things in college. school for 12 more years. Then just a few Our days of always having our parents years later, we were in sixth grade and and family in the next room are numbered. getting ready to move to the junior high, Some of us are moving just a few blocks but we still had six more years of school so away while some of us are moving a few there was really nothing to worry about. hundred miles. There is a time to come Then in eighth grade we had promotion, where we will be completely by ourselves–a which made us feel like we were the cooltime where we won’t see each other everyest people in the world until we got to the day. There will come a time that all of our bottom of the totem pole freshman year. conversations will be done completely over We struggled through sophomore year and social media, and we won’t see each other started getting senioritis when we became until homecoming, or even until our first juniors because had just one more year left reunion.

KASADY SMITH in high school. Senior year came and sudAll of the hours we spent sitting in the denly we were overwhelmed with all of the desks doing assignments and taking tests things we had to do. have come to an end. We’re done running We didn’t realize that our time spent with things like laps around the gym, football field, and track with our classhomecoming and the last home basketball game were things mates. However, some of us will still be running, just not we would never experience again. It was our last prom, our with or for the same team. We don’t have to get up at 5:30 last performance on stage, and our last chance to make it to a.m. to go to weights anymore. We won’t ever go to another state. When we turned our jerseys in, it hit us that we would music festival, or perform another play. Some of will sing never put them back on, and some other athlete would be again, just not with the same choir, and some will perform wearing it next year. The number that defined us for the again, just not with the same cast. past four years, was taken away just like that. We didn’t realThroughout the year, we kept looking back and rememize that every “first” we had senior year, would also be our bering when we were freshmen wondering what it was like last in high school. to be leaving. Next year we’ll come back remembering when We learned senioritis can have a devastating side we were seniors and what it was like to be in the spotlight. effect. That came to our attention when April came and As soon as we walk across the stage and get our diplomas, our senior projects were nowhere near complete. Our time our time a Sterling High School is over. There will come a spent saying, “Ehh, we still have two months,” suddenly time when we’re just another college student, and all we’ll turned into, “Wow, we only have two weeks.” We were left want is to go back to our time spent in high school.

About the Cover Photo: Junior Kylah Comely swings at a pitch from the Lyons pitcher. The Lady Bears lost to the Lions in the first game 3-9 and the second game 1-23 on April 6.(Photo by Kasady Smith)

The Sterling High School Cub Reporter and all subsidiary publications are designated forums of free speech. The print edition is published October through May of each school year by the journalism class at Sterling High School. It is distributed for no charge throughout Unified School District 376 buildings and the Sterling community. The first copy is free. Subsequent copies will cost $1 per copy. For information about being added to the subscription list, contact Todd Vogts at 620-278-2171. Letters to the editor are welcome. Email them to editor@sterlingstudentpublications. com. All letters must be signed. Anonymous letters will not be printed. All letters subject to editing for legal, grammatical and factual reasons.

2 • Sterling Cub Reporter • May 2015

STAFF

Sterling HigH ScHool

CUB REPORTER

Alex Veliz Caleb Hendricks Dallas Lackey Kasady Smith

Kylah Comley Lindsay Gilmore Taryn Gillespie

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ADVISER

308 E. Washington, Sterling, KS 67579 Phone: 620-278-2171 • Fax: 620-278-3237

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Todd Vogts

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NEWS

SHS makes league change, joins HOA CALEB HENDRICKS Cub Reporter Taking effect in August of the 2016-017 school year, the Sterling Black Bears will no longer be a part of the Central Kansas League. The Bears will be a part of the Heart of America league, which consists of 2A and 3A schools in the area.

“The league change will be good because it will put us with other teams that are our size,” coach Wes Laudermilk said. “I think it puts us on a more level playing field within our league.”

The other schools in the Heart of America League include Bennington, Berean Academy, Ell-Saline, Hutch Trinity, Inman, Marion, Moundridge, Remington, and Sedgwick.

“I’m excited about joining the Heart of America,” girls basketball coach Jill Rowland said. “I think it will be a good move for us and I hope that we will go out and compete.”

Instead of being the smallest team in the CKL, the Bears will now be a league where the enrollment numbers aren’t so scattered and the schools are all, for the most part, the same size.

“I think it will be good for us to play schools our size,” freshman Raegan Mantz said. “It will be nice to play new people and new competition.”

The change will also present teams with a lower level of competition by playing smaller schools.

“The negative effects of the switch will be the level of competition will have gone down in some sports where you would like a high level,” Laudermilk said. “I would say the areas that get hurt the most are arts, drama, forensics, and debate where the competition won’t be as strong.”

Although all of the sports will be involved in the switch, there is a general consensus that football will be the team that is most affected.

“I think football will probably see the biggest change,”

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freshman Blake Richter said. “I think when we make the switch we will see a difference in our results and we will be able to have more wins in the regular season which will help our record for the playoffs. It will help in other sports too because the teams are closer in size.”

While some students are optimistic about the switch, others feel as though it will help more than hurt the teams.

“Honestly, I feel like this switch is a downgrade for us in the long run,” sophomore Kyler Comley said. “The fact is we will be playing teams that aren’t as good won’t allow us to play against higher competition, and even though we may not play teams our size now, we get a sense of where we are at and how good we really are. I think that will really hurt us in the postseason.”

Freshman Kadie Smith goes up for a layup against a Berean Academy defender. Berean Academy is one of the 10 teams in the HOA. (Photo by Baylee Maskil)

May 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 3

NEWS

Music contests bring home high ratings LINDSAY GILMORE Cub Reporter In the world of high school activities, there are few at SHS that are more recognized than the arts. Over fifty percent of the student body is involved in either choir or band, and the success at recent festivals has brought much attention to those involved.

While music contest is in a different ballpark than the concerts that entertain us, preparations for a winning choir and band are often the same as any other concert or event.

“Preparations are basically the same, but music choice is different,” Choir director Clark Comley said. “You have to be careful that you pick songs that will get a good rating for contest where as for a concert you aren’t going for ratings you just want to sound good. We just drill drill drill, check pitches, all of that stuff.”

With those preparations in mind, thoughts going into State were all positive.

“I felt really good. We really practiced really hard and I

Senior Julia Ferguson, freshmen Anna Carroll and Gaby Hernandez, and junior Julie Carroll practice their coreography for the womens ensemble that received a one rating at state festival. (Photo by Baylee Maskil) 4 • Sterling Cub Reporter • May 2015

really felt that we all came together as a group very well in all of our band and choir pieces,” Sophomore Emma Horsch said. “We could go through a song and still be in tune at the end.”

Although the practice had everyone expecting good performances, there were some bumps in the road. Including a bus that couldn’t move.

“Mr. Comley had it all planned out. We were supposed to have an hour to practice before our performance in the church so that we would sound really good, but we didn’t get an hour we only got about 15 minutes. Even then the boys weren’t there,” Horsch said.

Due to all of the activities in the spring, there has seldom been a day with every single member of the groups in attendance, causing the need for extra practice before the choir’s performance.

“I thought we had a nice little schedule set up with the extra hour to practice in the church and get everything going smoothly, but when the bus didn’t start in McPherson it threw all that practice time out the window,” Comley said.

Even without the allotted time for a pre-performance run through, opinions were on the plus-side.

“I knew we were going to do well regardless. Mr. Comley is smart,” Senior Julia Ferguson said.

Despite the complications, all but one of the groups attending the contest got a 1 rating. It wasn’t much different at regional competition for soloists and smaller ensembles.

“We probably had the best year we’ve ever had this year at regionals, we qualified 23 out of 26 entries in the solos and ensembles. That’s pretty unheard of,” Comley said. “You pretty much end up competing against yourself at state because you all came out of the same regional.”

With solo and ensemble ratings bringing in a lot of praise, Comley felt the pressure for large groups to perform.

“Whenever I get a one at a large group festival I feel very excited even though we’ve mainly had ones, in fact almost my whole career we’ve only gotten ones. They aren’t given away, and I think sometimes we take that for granted because at any moment we could have a mess-up and not get that one rating,” Comley said.

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Journalists compete at 3A/4A state ALEX VELIZ Cub Reporter

In a series of different competitions both on and off site, students involved with journalism put their skills to the test among other people who made it to 3A Journalism State.

For Sterling High School, students brought home second place in sweepstakes for state, with motivation from last year to help some.

“After winning state last year, I am excited about a new challenge on facing other schools, but I am confident that I can win at this level as well,” Senior Caleb Hendricks said.

For one of the students the deadlines for State Journalism doesn’t seem to be as stressful as Regionals.

“Well I think that, the deadlines for regionals were really busy because we had other things going on at the same time so that was really stressful, but for state I don’t think we are going to have as many things going on so I am not going to be as hard pressed to get things done,” Sophomore Lindsay Gilmore said.

Senior Kasady Smith one of the students participating in State Journalism has six events that she is in.

“It is crazy because I am so overwhelmed with everything else it is hard to keep things in order,” Smith said. “I am just taking one thing at a time and staying calm and telling myself everything will work out.”

State Journalism is also a way to help journalists compete against other people in the state and get some attention as a journalist.

“To me State Journalism is important, because there needs to be a way to gain recognition as a journalist, and it is a way for me to show everyone what I can do,” Senior Taryn Gillespie said.

For the main supervisor of journalism in the school he feels that state is an opportunity to display the students skills.

“It’s the pinnacle of scholatic journalism in the state,” Journalist advisor Todd Vogts said. “We have strong

journalism students in this school and it allows us to go and show off our abilities as we compete against other top journalist in the state.”

Freshman Aniston Ramsey reflects back on the state experience and how it will affect her later.

“I think it was a pretty good experience, because I got to learn new things and it helped be more prepared for future things;” Ramsey said.

Sophomore Dallas Lackey favored the togetherness brought about by state this year.

“I enjoyed being around an awesome group of people,” he said.

Freshman Kadie Smith, sophmores Lindsay Gilmore and Dallas Lackey, junior Veronica Norez, and seniors Kasady Smith, Caleb Hendricks and Taryn Gillespie all pose for a picture at state journalism. (courtesy photo)

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May 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 5

FEATURE

Senior Projects test grit

Students focus on interest areas for final grade TARYN GILLESPIE Cub Reporter enior projects are dreaded by some and can’t come soon enough for others. Senior projects sway away from the normal dictated classroom setting and let students show what they have learned from their time at Sterling High School.

“Senior projects are a chance for students to choose something they want to learn, plan how to learn it and then show what they learned,” Teacher Brian Richter said.

Students have the freedom to choose the project they do on their own within reason. They work on the

S

they can.

“Some projects from the past that stick out are a dinner theater, a musical for the grade school and a boat remodeling,” Richter said. “These projects were hard in general. They took a lot of people and time and the students had to learn a lot of new things.”

Some projects just don’t work. This can be a result of wanting to get too much done in a short amount of time.

“What hurts a student the most is if they overestimate what they can do in a semester. But the projects where the student is doing something for other people work well; like putting on camps,” Richter said. “ The students have the opportunity to receive an award at the graduation

“I hope the students challenge themselves to the point that they fail and then fall forward.”

— Brian Richter, teacher projects up to the time of graduation; getting help from teachers and mentors that they seek out.

“I hope the students challenge themselves to the point that they fail and then fall forward,” Richter said.

“Really there isn’t ‘anything’ that I wouldn’t allow. Obviously some make better projects then others.”

All students have a different outlook on the projects. Some students are planning to do what they can to pass and it ends up being ‘not worth it’ to go above and beyond, while others plan to put their heart and soul into these projects and make them the best 6 • Sterling Cub Reporter • May 2015

ceremony for those who complete there projects going above and beyond as well as incorporating community service into their project.

“This award it given to the students who complete an outstanding project that had community service involvement,” Richter said.

These award winners are chosen by the high school principal, Dr. Bill Anderson as well as Brian Richter.

“The process starts with he teachers and judges and they recommend the projects they feel meet the expectations,” Anderson said. “Mr. Richter and

I look through them and essentially make the final decision.”

For Chelsey Riffel senior projects were a way for her to impact others and change lives.

“I wanted to do a project that would make an impact on other girls. If it changed just one person’s thoughts about themselves, I succeeded,” Riffel said. “My project is an inter-beauty campaign and I want to promote selfbeauty.”

For Riffel the project was personal and sprouted from something she has struggled with herself.

“I am like super insecure about myself and I have always been, so for my project I am interviewing females of all ages about beauty and confidence,” Riffel said. “I want the girls to know that beauty is truly from the inside, and I want them to be confident in themselves and respect themselves.”

Jessica Roberts took a different outlook on the project than Riffel.

“My senior project is redoing the ‘old’ gym. I painted the bleachers, added some accent strips, and also added some safety strips to the stairs so people won’t slip going up or down,” Roberts said. “I chose this project because I wanted to finish my school year with a project that required a lot of hard work. I didn’t want to be one of those lazy seniors that slacked off all year. I also wanted to give back to the school because Sterling has been such a great school, and I wanted to do something to repay them, because they deserve it.”

Roberts put in a lot of man hours doing this project and it really shows.

“I have learned so much about numbers and measurements. The main thing that I can take away from this project, is that we have a great staff, especially the janitors and they are always willing to help you out whenever its needed,” Roberts said. “I can’t thank www.sterlingcubreporter.com

Chelsey Riffel interviews Holly Davis for her video about her inner-beauty campaign.

(Photo By Taryn Gillespie)

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May 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 7

Mike, Chad, or Robert enough.”

Unlike working on a normal classroom project senior projects allow students to decide and choose their project on their interest area, for Roberts this made it more fun to learn.

“Senior projects are helpful because it teaches you time management, and organization skills. In a normal classroom setting, teachers just tell you what to do and what to think, but in this class we make our own decisions like we will when we get out into the real world. What we are learning from doing these projects will be more apt to help us with skills we will use later in life,” Roberts said.

Another person who has spent countless hours working to perfect their project is Kody Stewart. Senior projects interest him because he can learn what he wants to learn.

“I enjoy senior projects because it allows you to learn what you want to learn and it makes me more interested in what I am learning,” Stewart said. “For my project I chose to make a multiple-choice game, which is a game where you have choices that affect the outcome and the story.”

Stewart’s project has been in progress for many years while he has perfected his skills and learned more about making these types of games.

“I have been making multiple-choice games since 2012. I first started making them on documents and then found that power points were easier,” Stewart said. “I have learned that this project is time consuming and I have also learned the type of coding you need to make a multiple-choice game.”

The type of project Stewart is doing gives a chance for making money.

“When you finish a game you can sell it for 25% of the profits or you can take the whole thing for around $10,000,” Stewart said. “You would have to make a lot of games for it to become like a real job.”

All in all these projects have caused a lot of stress, joy, and brought people out of their shells.

“This senior class has had more to do than any other senior class including the Everfi and the research components,” Richter said. “This class has handled the requirements for the project really well.”

Jessica Roberts marks the stairs in the gym before laying down nonslip grips. Roberts had to go through the school board and get her project of redoing the gym approved and then make a list off all expenses and times she could work on the gym before she could start the project.

(Photo by Taryn Gillespie) 8 • Sterling Cub Reporter • May 2015

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Kody Stewart works on his senior project while having a free period in class. Sterwart has been making multipule-choice games since 2012.

(Photo by Taryn Gillespie)

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May 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 11

SPORTS

Junior Sarah Stallings catches a pitch during a home game against Lyons.

(Photo by Kasady Smith)

Sophomore Kyler Comley hits a forehand shot at a home meet.

(Photo by Kasady Smith) 12 • Sterling Cub Reporter • May 2015

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Spring sports present challenges DALLAS LACKEY Cub Reporter

The home stretch of the school year, a time that drives teachers crazy with absent students, the spring. After Spring sports start, 58 percent of school days have a sporting event planned. The ability to stay eligible while competing on average, twice a week, seems nearly impossible.

“I try to get as much homework done during school so I don’t have to worry about it after practice and meets,” sophomore Max Fulbright said. “It just makes it easier to stay on top of everything.”

With athletic events twice a week, practices, youth group, and any other extra curricular activities you do that SHS has to offer, there is a tight window of when you can fit in your homework, “I just work on my homework whenever I can,” sophomore Will Dutton said. “That way any spare time I have afterward is stress free.”

Even though homework is a pain, and most students don’t want to do it, you have to. Even if it means losing sleep.

“Occasionally I lose sleep because I do homework after softball,” freshman Raegan Mantz said. Athletics are a part of most students at SHS, eventually a routine of when to do school work is established, and everyone is different, “I usually have enough time during seminar to finish all my schoolwork,” freshman Lucas Briar said. “ If not I can make time to do it at home if I have to.”

Spring sports are different than the other seasons because of the large amounts of school that is missed.

“It’s crazy missing so much school,” Sophomore Kyler Comley said. “It makes is difficult to communicate with your teachers.”

Rarely do the teams leave before lunch time, which means the only classes significantly affected are in the afternoon.

“I feel like once track meets start, my time with my afternoon teachers gets cut in half,” Dutton said.

Some students try to use their school time as much as possible, “I don’t have time for it after school,” junior Steven Hinshaw said. “ I try to get it all done during school, and I usually do because of seminar.”

Fall sports cause 41% of the school days to have an event scheduled, winter sports drop down to 32%, but neither one is close to spring sports, “I think the spring feels busier because its the end of the school year, and you’re stressed trying get everything over with,” Sophomore Bethany Anderson said. “It’s definitely busy, but it seems busier because it is the end of the year.”

Even with students spending the majority of their time www.sterlingcubreporter.com

Junior Nick Schissler tees off at a home tournament. “The tee box is where I take the most risks,” Schissler said. (Photo by Baylee Maskil) on athletics, eligibility is always the top priority, and it seems that the student-athletes of SHS have that on lockdown.

“No matter what is going on, my school work always comes first,” Dutton said. “ I don’t think our school needs to be worried about eligibility with any of our athletes.”

May 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 13

INFOGRAPHIC

SCHOOL OF SLANG The 2014-2015 year has brought some pretty sweg memories so far, and some pretty G.O.A.T slang words to go along with our many talents. We turn up and get buckets at SHS. Lets face it you dingus’s, we are in no way basic, like literally Kim you don’t want to go to war with the Black Bears. Our arts are on f leek our sports are salty and our teachers will 5ever be our friends. And even on the days we fiind ourselves looking ratch or riding the struggle bus, we will always have bae by our side. Soon the seniors will be saying bye felisha and hopefully Derekf will f ind a girlfriend before they turn 21. Let’s face it the year is coming to an end just like @ckltruth, but let’s continue to be trend setters here at SHS, sorry not sorry, but no one does it better, I mean am I right, or nah?

I started off saying G.O.A.T just about my favorite athelets,” Dallas Lackey said. “Now people say it about everything and everyone.”

G.O.A.T Greatest of All Time “I ffiirst saw on fflleek on a facebook quiz over slang words,” Robin Webb said. “I did guess correctly. It was a week later that I heard people saying it in my class.”

On Fleek The quality of being perfect or on point.

14 • Sterling Cub Reporter • May 2015

“I say deal because it’s just something Nick and I have said since we were in grade school,” Caleb Hendricks said.

“Now it’s just part of our friendship.”

DEAL!

A way of saying yes with great enthusiasum.

I dont really know where it started,” Nick Schissler said. “I said it and a lot of people laughed, and basically I’m Tired came from there.”

I’m Tired

A sarcastic way of saying i’m annoyed or you’re dumb. www.sterlingcubreporter.com

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May 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 15

ENTERTAINMENT NOTE: Killer Serial Fiction is a part of Sterling Student Publications. It is the home of creative writing by Sterling High School creative writing students.

Stories appearing here are works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. These stories are presented for entertainment purposes only and are not intended to be read as being part of Sterling Student Publications news coverage. For more stories, visit www.sterlingstudentpublications.com/fiction.

Let’s go to West Lake

BY SHELBI FENWICK Kids at school actually believe that Katie Stromberg was murdered and is still at the bottom of West Lake, haunting it. Adults say it’s just a sad story of a girl running away, then drowning in the town’s lake. Since Katie’s body was never found, you just have to go off of the rumors.

Katie Stromberg was a senior attending West High.

She was the common teenage girl, a cheerleader, sister to two younger siblings, track star, straight A student, and an overall nice girl.

Adam and Katie were high school sweethearts. They had been together for two years, going on three. Yeah, they had their arguments, but they always got over it.

They had their first date at West Lake, where she was assumed to have drowned. The two of them hung out there quite often.

Half way through the year Adam was caught with another girl. The other girl, Sarah, was Katie’s best friend. Katie broke up with him. After the break up, Katie quit the cheer squad, her friends left her, she stayed at home, and became quiet and distant. A few weeks later, she went missing. Katie’s parents got together a search team and searched through the woods, down town, up town, neighbors, old friends’ houses, everywhere they thought she could be, but she wasn’t found.

Katie’s mother, Fey, cried for two days straight. She blamed Adam and his parents for driving Katie away and into depression. They even tried to sue the school and get Adam and her old friends kicked out for “bullying” her daughter. The students didn’t get in trouble, though. The principal just called the kids into the office and gave them a speech about how bullying is wrong 16 • Sterling Cub Reporter • May 2015

and blah blah blah. He told them that if it was true about them bullying Katie, then they would have to deal with themselves, driving a young adult into running away or even suicide.

A junior came to the school a week after Katie had been missing and claimed he saw her down at West Lake. Professionals came and searched through the lake for two days straight but never found a body.

Months passed by. No clues were discovered. Her body was never found, and Adam and Sarah were still together. The lake had gone bad. Kind of like sour milk, but not as gross. The water was labeled unsafe for swimming or wading in and all the fish had gone belly up. The water turned a deep, dark-blue color and was covered by a fog.

That’s when the rumors started.

Kids started saying Katie drowned in that lake and now she haunts it. A few other teens claimed they saw her out floating face down in the water. Rumors just kept coming as two years passed by since Katie had gone missing. Adam and Sarah were still together and attended the same college with a few of their old high school friends.

Their freshman summer, all five of the friends came back to visit their home town. After visiting for a week, the five friends decided to head back to school. Adam suggested they stop by the lake, to drop flowers into the water for Katie. Sarah didn’t like the idea and was scared at the thought of the rumors going around.

In the end, they swung by the flower shop and picked out five different types of flower. Sarah got a lilly. Jack got a daisy. Rene got a tulip. Carol got a forget-me-not. Then Adam got one red rose. www.sterlingcubreporter.com