Volume39issue5

Volume 39, Issue 5

January 30, 2015

tbirdtimes.com

Senior Gunner DeClue works in the shop. DeClue serves on the TSA board. photo by Lexie Maloney

Homecoming Spirit Days Monday, Feb. 9: Danger Zone Tuesday, Feb. 10: Livin’ on a Prayer Wednesday, Feb. 11: Paradise City Thursday, Feb. 12: Thunderstruck Friday, Feb. 13: Skyline Day

Homecoming Schedule

8:05 a.m.-12:10 p.m. Decorate 12:10 p.m.-12:40 p.m. Lunch 12:40 p.m.-2 p.m. Skit Planning 2 p.m. OUT OF GYM 2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Assembly

What’s Inside?

Opinion...............pg 2 News...................pg 3 Feature........pg 4-5, 8 Sports............. pg 6-7

Senior boy involved in TSA

by Caden Patterson

Reporter

A senior boy is one of five regional TSA representatives across the state of Kansas.

TSA stands for Technology Student Association. It is a club that helps students step up and be a leader in their community and also as an individual.

Senior Gunner DeClue meets with other schools around the state of Kansas and helps with various leadership conferences that work with people to make them better leaders.

“While at the conferences, students compete in teams

and as an individual,” Industrial Technology teacher Sebastian Huelskamp said.

“The kids have to go to two business meets per year and then have award ceremonies on the last day.”

The kids have a wide variety of events that they compete in at the state and national conferences.

They range from building a cardboard box boat to anything else that is related to drafting.

DeClue filled out an application and then students across Kansas voted for him to serve in TSA. “I will be a regional representative until I graduate,” DeClue said.

In past years, Skyline has not had a regional representative. DeClue wanted to do it because he wanted to be a better leader and person and saw it as a good opportunity.

“Gunner has been planning for the state conference,” Huelskamp said.

“Gunner went to the state capitol and participated with all of the state officers.”

While DeClue was in Topeka at the state capitol he helped come up with ideas for the state conference that will be held on April 2.

Roughly 200,000 middle and high school students and over 2,500 advisors are involved in TSA across the United States.

January 30, 2015

Page 2

Opinion

New Year’s resolutions fail too often

by Layton Kenworthy

Reporter It is now a new year and just like every year, an American tradition called New Year’s resolutions are used for self-improvement.

Some commitments are a bad idea to make in the New Year. It is the middle of an academic term and the beginning of exams, so it is far too late to revise. If relying on the idea of a fresh start in order to get things done is necessary, nothing but willpower will keep it going.

“If you are going to say you’re going to do something, do it,” freshman Corbin Keeling said.

Keeling believes that there is no point in New Year’s resolutions if you don’t stick with it. Copying what other people are doing isn’t sincere.

Afterwards, people

Editor ................. Austin Gilpin Photographers...... Cooper Gates

Daniel Hacker

Sydney Koirth

Lexie Maloney

Tyler Toben

Andrew Withers Staff Reporters ......Mason Brack Madison Golden Justin Hampel Justin Holtz Layton Kenworthy Colin Little Caden Patterson Kamryn Stark

never get around to doing anything because all the motivation disappears once the initial rush is over.

Many set year-long goals to go to the gym or forfeit certain habits that are not the best things for personal health. Not all people who set their resolutions stick to them the whole year. Some people do not understand

Resolution? % No 48 %

7 Yes 2

On Track?

% No 48 %

7 Yes 2

75 Skyline students and teachers surveyed.

the reasoning to making resolutions in the first place.

“It’s a great concept but a lot of people do not follow through,” junior Keigan Riggs said. “They make New Year’s resolutions blown out of proportion.”

New Year’s Resolutions are seen as something people will quickly give up on. Failure is almost always

expected.

History teacher Summer Younie does not make resolutions herself, but does see some value in them.

“If you can stick to if for a little while, it’s better than nothing,” Younie said.

Making New Year’s resolutions can improve the quality of life if the person stays committed to do it.

Most popular New Year’s resolutions at school

52.17%

8.70% 21.74% 8.70% 8.70%

Students should not have to pay There are many things that can be done to improve any school, but one easy thing that would help anyone is letting students into school sponsored activities for free.

One persistent problem Skyline has had is lack of student involvement, and the school still charging students is not helping the situation. The easiest solution is to let students use their school issued I.D. cards to get into school sponsored events free of charge.

Students can use their student I.D’s to get a variety of things already. Students can go to PCC basketball games for free, and attend some outside events for free or at discounted rates, but the ones that matter the most, the ones happening at

Skyline, students still have to pay to get in. Even at big colleges like Wichita State students don’t have to pay to attend home basketball games, and those tickets are very expensive. Why are we still paying for high school games?

One might argue that because it’s only $4 to get into a game, it really isn’t a deterrent. But, those few dollars really do add up. If a student was to attend just

home football and basketball games, it would cost $56. That doesn’t include volleyball games, plays or other events throughout the year.

Students shouldn’t have to pay to support each other.

The administration has been good about encouraging students to be involved and support one another, but making these events free is the next important step to getting kids involved.

January 30, 2015

News

Page 3

Scholars place first at league meet

by Mason Brack Reporter

Last Thursday the varsity Scholars’ Bowl team went to their league meet in Cunningham.

The team placed first out of the 10 teams there.

They went undefeated at the meet. They will go to Regionals next week. If they place first, second or third in Regionals, they will advance to State.

“League went extremely well,” senior Blake Lee said.

“We got off to a quick start and didn’t pull back at all.”

The kids were not the only ones excited about the win and going undefeated.

“I am so proud of these students,” Scholars’ Bowl coach Brenda Piester said.

“They had to challenge a procedure, and they were correct. It ended up changing the score on that question, which made the difference in that round.”

During the round against Cunningham, the moderator was not following proper procedure when recognizing the students during a foreign language question.

The rule states that the stu-

Courtesy Photo

After winning the match against Central Christian, the varsity Scholars’ Bowl team waits for the next round. Only five out of the six members could compete at a time, so the three juniors rotated sitting rounds out. The team went 9-0 and will compete at South Barber on Thursday for Regionals.

dent may not answer until recognized by school name and position number. After the challenge, the question was replaced. Skyline answered the replacement question correctly and won the round.

Two of the students got top scorers at the league meet. Senior Landon Lee

scored 170 points and placed fourth individually. Blake scored 180 points and placed third individually.

The team has big hopes for Regionals next week at South Barber. The scholars want to place in the top three out of the 12 teams to make it to State. They aren’t worried about it though.

“Regionals should go well,” Landon said. “Many of the teams we defeated at League should be there as well. We look towards the State meet for the first time in a while.”

The state meet will be held on Feb. 14 at Lost Springs Centre High School.

He was the son of Robbie and Delicia Timm and brother of early graduate Tiffany Timm. His oldest sister, Ashley, graduated from Skyline in 2011.

Austin was autistic, had an extra chromosome eight and was mentally retarded.

He was expected to only live seven years, but exceeded that by 10 years.

“Austin is my inspiration,” Tiffany said. “He was always

happy, no matter what.”

He started school at Skyline in kindergarten. He learned many things while at school, like how to walk and ride a bike.

“He never gave up on learning and trying to be like the other kids, and learning how to walk was the first step in achieving his goal and participating in things,” Tiffany said.

Austin loved to listen to

the band and choir. Music was one of the things that calmed him down.

“He liked listening to the band,” para-educator Melissa Hittle said. “It often times would soothe him, and he would dance to it if it was catchy”.

According to Hittle, he liked to sit in on the PE classes. He especially enjoyed watching the kids play tag and basketball.

Junior boy passes away over Christmas break

by Madison Golden

Reporter

Austin Timm, 11

Junior Austin Timm, 17, passed away Dec. 24, 2014, at Wesley

Medical Center.

He was born Dec. 5, 1997.

Page 4

January 30, 2015

Feature

PREPARING 4 COLLEGE

by Austin Gilpin

Editor

When senior year comes around there are many important decisions students have to make.

“Students have many options after high school,” guidance counselor Julie Ewing said. “Many will go to a college or technical school, join the military, or go directly into a job.”

Especially for students heading to college after graduation, the process can be daunting with all the decisions that have to be made, applications to be filed, and deadlines to be met.

“You should start applying your senior year and

look at registration dates for individual colleges,” Ewing said.

Once you have applied to all the schools you are interested in, it is time to see which school best fits your wants and needs.

“When deciding on a school, you should think about what you want from your college experience and do your research to learn all you can about prospective schools,” Ewing said.

“You should look at the type and size of the school, the location, the academic programs, activities and financial aid.”

The best way to figure out what school is the best fit for you is to go on a visit.

Many schools have days designed specifically for juniors, seniors and admitted students. Ewing said that a campus visit is the best way to learn the most about a potential school.

“It’s important to get a true feel for the campus vibe to see if the college is a good fit for you,” Ewing said.

After you decide where you are going to school, there are several important deadlines you will need to remember. Ewing pointed specifically to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which needs to be submitted by March, and scholarships which all have their own deadlines.

Things to Consider When Choosing a College

1) Location 2) Campus size 3) Class size 4) Majors 5) Sports 6) Cost 7) Activities 8) Internships 9) Housing 10) Safety

Where do you plan on going?

Choosing a college is a big decision for high school seniors. Some of them have decided I am going to Arkansas to John Brown University and majoring in English. Eventually I would like to be an English teacher.

Jenessa Corbet

I am planning on studying architecture after my first two years at PCC. I haven’t decided where to go after PCC. I chose PCC for the benefit of cost, the luxury of having family here, and I recently got a new job.

Khaleb Cason

what they will be doing and where they will be doing it.

I am planning on going to FHSU to study Petroleum Geology, because I think it would be interesting to do and it is something that I am around every day of my life.

Daniel Hacker

I’m going to play football at Hutch and get my basics done and then go to a four year college somewhere. I’m not sure where yet, but I want to get certified to be a personal trainer.

Levi Johnston

January 30, 2015

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Page 5

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The Road to College

Page 6

January 30, 2014

Boys take seventh in tournament 2k15 seeding

by Kamryn Stark Reporter

The boys’ basketball team placed seventh at the 11th Annual 54 Classic basketball tournament that was held last week in Cunningham.

The T-Birds started the tournament against the sixth seed, Kinsley. Earlier in the season, Skyline beat Kinsley 63-46. At their second meeting, Skyline fell short 75-68, which sent them into the losing side of the bracket.

“It was definitely more of a challenge when we played Kinsley the second time because they knew how to stop our offense and beat our defense better,” junior guard Kasey Gilpin said.

The second game of the

tournament Skyline took on the second seed, South Barber. Skyline again fell short to the Chieftains 62-44.

Losing that game sent the T-Birds to the seventh and eighth place game, which was played against the eighth seed, Cunningham.

The boys kept a small lead throughout the entire game, but fought hard until the end to come out with a win.

The final score was 61-55.

“It felt good to get a win in the tournament because we had been working hard in practice and it had finally paid off,” senior post Daniel Hacker said.

The boys went into the 54 Classic with six wins and four losses. They are now 7-6. Skyline boys will take on Stafford on Feb. 3 at Stafford.

Sports

1. Attica 2. South Barber 3. Skyline 4. Stafford 5. Norwich 6. Kinsley 7. Medicine Lodge 8. Cunningham

T-Bird ladies have rough start to 54 Classic

by Colin Little Reporter

The Lady T-Birds have had a rough start to the first part of the season.

The T-Birds have won one game and that came with a win against the Stafford Trojans 51-19. Three of their losses came to the hands of teams that were ranked in the top 10 in Class 1A-Division II. Cunningham was ranked first, Attica was ranked third and Bucklin was ranked seventh.

“It hasn’t gone that well in our favor, but with a little more practice and patience I think we will turn it around and get more wins when the second part of the season comes around, ” sophomore Madalyn Owens said.

Skyline lost four seniors from last year’s group. They

have no seniors playing, six juniors, five sophomores and four freshmen. Most of the girls went from playing JV to going right into varsity.

“Varsity is more of a fast paced tempo game and usually play against teams that have players with more experience than we do,” Owens said.

On Tuesday the T-Birds took on the number one seeded team in the 54 Classic tournament, the Cunningham Wildcats. The girls stayed in the game and were only down by 11 at the end of the first half. The second half turned into a blowout, with the Wildcats taking full control of the game. The T-Birds were held without a single point in the entire third quarter. The fourth quarter was with a running

photo by Cooper Gates

During the second half of the game, junior Bailey DeClue shoots a three point shot against Cunningham in the first round of the 54 Classic. The girls lost 54-20.

clock and the T-Birds lost 54-20.

“I think the first half went really good,” junior Payje Orler said. “The second half I don’t think we played like

we could have played.”

Skyline will play Pretty Prairie at 3:30 p.m. today.

This will be the third time that they have played each other this season.

Sports

Page 7

January 30, 2015

Teams prepare for Super Bowl XLIX

by Justin Hampel

Reporter

After 17 weeks and three playoff weekends, the Super Bowl matchup has finally been set.

The Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will meet after winning their conference championships two Sundays ago.

The Seahawks won the NFC by defeating the Green Bay Packers 28-22. Seattle needed 15 points in the final 2:09 to send the game to overtime, when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse to win the game. The Seahawks are the defend-

ing Super Bowl champions, as last year they blew out the Denver Broncos 43-8. They are attempting to become the eighth team to repeat as champions.

“I think the Seahawks will win because I don’t think the Patriots can stop Marshawn Lynch and they will shut down Brady,” sophomore Brayton Fletcher said.

The Patriots won the AFC by crushing the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. There has been a controversy about the game since 11 of the 12 footballs that the Patriots used in the first half were slightly under-inflated. They outscored the Colts 17-7 in the first half with the under-inflated balls, but they outscored

Junior Hanna Baird Forward

How long have you been playing basketball?

Since seventh grade.

12-4

12-4 graphics courtesy of Tribune News Service

them 28-0 in the second half when they had legal footballs.

This will be New England’s sixth Super Bowl appearance in 14 years, but they have not won one in 10 years. They lost in their past two Super Bowls to the New York Giants.

“I want the Patriots to win because they have lost

the past couple they have been in and they deserve to win one,” senior Joaquin Corona said.

The game will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 1. Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. and will be broadcasted on NBC. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will broadcast the game.

Sophomore Nathan Owens Guard

How long have you been playing basketball?

Since second grade.

What do you do the night before a gameday to get ready?

Make sure I have everything for the game and get a good nights sleep.

What is your favorite thing about playing basketball?

Games, because it is very fun playing in a competitive environment.

How is this season changed from last season?

We work more as a team and we try really hard.

Do you like offense or defense better?

Defense, because I am not a scorer.

Do you like offense or defense better?

Offense, because we can score.

How do you expect the team to do this season?

I expect to win the rest of our games.

Who do you look up to on the team?

The coaches and Betsy because she tries so hard.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

6.5 assist/game.

What is your favorite thing about playing basketball?

Being able to play with my friends.

Who are you most excited to play?

South Barber.

Do you have any hobbies outside of basketball?

Drawing and being with friends and family.

What has been the highlight of the year so far?

Beating Pretty Prarie on the last second tip in.

January 30, 2015

Page 8

Feature

Sister battles girlfriend for who knows more

by Mason Brack

Brynn McKennon, 10

Bryce McKennon, 11

Celebrity Crush

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Lawrence

Carrie Underwood

Favorite Sport

Basketball

Basketball

Basketball

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Favorite Drink

Gatorade

Favorite Team

K-State

Favorite Color

Blue

Favorite Food

Cheeseburgers

Favorite Band

Zac Brown Band

Dream Vacation

Hawaii

Favorite Movie

Hours

Madison Tyler, 9

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Upcoming movies for 2015

American Sniper

“American Sniper” is up for Best Picture in the 87th Academy Awards. Based on a true story, the movie depicts a Navy SEAL sniper played by Bradley Cooper who went on several tours of duty. When he finally comes home, he soon realizes he cannot leave the war behind. The movie is directed

by Clint Eastwood and released Jan. 16.

Jurassic World

Twenty-two years after the disaster of Jurassic Park, the park has been reopened with state of the art technology. After declining numbers of guests grows, the park scientists create a new attraction that hopes to bring in customers. The film stars Chris Pratt and Judy Greer and is set to be released June 12.

Avengers: Age of Ultron After a failed peacekeeping experiment by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner comes back to haunt them, it is up to the Avengers to put a stop to the rise of Ultron. Main actors are Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth. The movie is set to be released May 1.

Tribune News Service Chicago Tribune Los Angeles Times Philadelphia Inquirer

Into the Woods American Sniper Big Eyes Inherent Vice Selma Imitation Game graphics courtesy of Tribune News Service Tribune News Service