Volume39issue7

Volume 39, Issue 7

April 2, 2015

tbirdtimes.com

Senior Daniel Hacker shoots a three in the fourth quarter at the T-Birds State game. Hacker barely missed the shot and the boy’s lost 49-39. courtesy photo

Exclusively Online

This QR code will take you to a video filmed and edited by sophomores Jarod DeWeese and Justin Hampel.

The feature video explains Easter eggs, hidden messages in computers and video games. Look for it online after 3 p.m. today.

What’s Inside?

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

T-Bird boys ball out at State

by Justin Hampel

Reporter

On March 12, the boys’ basketball team played in the State championship tournament for the first time in 20 years.

In Sub-State the Thunderbirds knocked off the LaCrosse Leopards in a hard fought game, 42-37. They then defeated the Macksville Mustangs in the final, 42-27.

“It was really exciting because it was something I wanted to qualify for ever since I was a little kid,” senior Colin Little said.

The T-Birds earned the six seed at State and received a matchup against

the three seed, Doniphan West Mustangs. Doniphan West came into the game as the second ranked team in 1A-D1.

“I was concerned about how we would react to their press because they are a long, athletic team,” sophomore Jared Shriver said.

The boys left Skyline that Thursday morning to make their way to Emporia, stopping at Canton-Galva along the way for a shootaround.

The fella’s got to William L. White Auditorium in time to see game one and get prepared for their matchup.

Many fans and students made their way to Emporia to support the team for its

game.

“It was a lot of fun to play in front of that many people and the crowd noise was really cool,” junior Kasey Gilpin said.

The T-Birds started off slow and were down 13-4 at the end of the first quarter.

The boys put a few more points on the board in the second quarter but were down 22-12 at halftime. The T-Birds came out strong in the second half to take a 25-22 lead, but then the Mustangs answered with a run of their own to take the lead back. Skyline kept it close and interesting until the end, when they came up short, 49-39.

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April 2, 2015

Funding cuts hurt Kansas schools

by Caden Patterson Reporter

Helping students reach their goals is Skyline’s motto. The school may be facing tough times in the near future to stay open.

Legislators made cuts to school budgets because they had previously cut income taxes and didn’t make the necessary cuts to spending to counteract the income tax cuts.

Students will see the effects of a $340,000 budget cut throughout the end of this year and the next. Proposed cuts include closing Sawyer Virtual Academy, having a part-time superintendent and eliminating counseling services. Transportation will be outsourced to another company. Other program cuts directly affecting students will be reduc-

tions in ESL, gifted and title programs. High school kids will not have as many electives to choose from.

“We wanted to keep our staff because we knew if we cut staff we would have to cut programs,” superintendent Mike Sanders told patrons at an informational meeting held at Skyline on March 24.

Field trips have been cut for the rest of the year and all of next year. Enrollment and lunch fees will be increased 25 percent for the upcoming year.

On March 25, Governor Brownback signed a block grant funding bill that is designed to fund schools for

the next two years, while the legislature rewrites the 20-year-old funding formula.

That grant will also reduce Skyline and other schools’ budgets by .4 percent.

Local taxpayers will be responsible for supplementing state and federal aide to education next year. In the past two years, highway and lottery funds were used to supplement education.

In order to save money, one thing that the board of education is considering changing is the high school schedule. A seven period day versus the current block schedule would save close to $60,000.

“I would not like going to a seven hour day because right now I am able to get eight classes done in one year, but if we change, it would only be seven,” sophomore Rance Tucker said.

Vote “Yes” for upcoming Local Option Budget

✔

• Vote “Yes” for the LOB 1 percent increase • Vote “Yes” to prevent our classrooms from losing $90,000 • Vote “Yes” on the mail-in ballot April 28, 2015

Staff Reporters ......Mason Brack Editor ................. Austin Gilpin Madison Golden Justin Hampel Photographers...... Cooper Gates Justin Holtz Daniel Hacker Layton Kenworthy Sydney Koirth Colin Little Tyler Tobin Caden Patterson Andrew Withers Kamryn Stark Adviser................ Judy Hampel

News

The T-Bird Times is an open forum for student expression. The mission of the T-Bird Times editorial page is to engage all students and patrons in a search for democratic solutions.

The T-Bird Times’ editorial voice, expressed in the form of editorials, columns and articles, is a part of that search, but only one part.

The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of other students, the adviser, faculty, administrators or the Board of Education of this district.

The T-Bird Times, a member of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and the American Society of Newspaper Editors, is published by the 21st Century Journalism class at Skyline High School, 20269 W. Hwy. 54, Pratt, Kan., 67124. The T-Bird Times is printed in-house and distributed to high school students and staff. The pages can also be found online at www.tbirdtimes.com.

The T-Bird Times will strive to live up to the highest standards of professional journalism.

The T-Bird Times endorses the First Amendment of the Constitution and will not publish material that could cause disorderly conduct or invade the rights of others.

Any material that is not original will be given full credit, and The T-Bird Times will acknowledge any mistakes by correcting any errors that are brought to the attention of the staff.

The staff welcomes letters to the editor from patrons and students.

Letters to the editor must be signed and the staff reserves the right to edit letters for libel and grammar.

April 2, 2015

News

Family, Food and Fitness events

Page 3

by Layton Kenworthy

Reporter

The second annual Family, Food and Fitness event promoting health in our community was held last friday in the little gym.

It consisted of a variety of stations that had different health tips and activities.

All kids that participated in Jump Rope for Heart were welcome to attend. Parents of the children and other members of the community were welcome to join in the fun as well.

Each station taught the children and adults that attended exercises better health choices and other fun activities like healthy food tasting.

“I hope to give the kids a new fun idea to stay healthy,” school nurse Karen Wilcox said.

People from the Health Department and the EMS taught about blood pressure, muscle, fat and arteries.

Mandi Sieren instructed

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4.

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5. photos by Tyler Tobin

1. Free food tastings were given out to let the kids try new foods. 2. Micheal Nelson works at the “Spin Smart” table. 3. Jarod and Jessica DeWeese made and worked their own event table. 4. Mandi Sieren taught a Zumba dance exercize class in the big gym.

5. Kids were given a variety of activities to have fun around the fitness events.

the Zumba dance workout for the event while Megan Pohlman taught a session titled “No Gym, No Equipment, No Excuses.”

Sophomore Jarod DeWeese helped teach the kids about the benefits of milk at

his exhibit.

“The Family, Food and Fitness fair taught the kids about a healthy lifestyle with a wide range of exhibits,” DeWeese said.

There were a total of 119 people who were at the fair,

including the exhibit helpers and presenters.

During the fair, everyone who attended was entered into a drawing. The giveaway included two $50 Dillon’s certificates, healthy recipe books and other small prizes.

Junior class gains new student

by Austin Gilpin

Editor

On Wednesday, March 25 a new student walked into Skyline for the first time.

Nick Cochran is a junior who moved to Pratt from Cherokee, Okla.

His little sister, Kenzie Cochran, has been attending Skyline since December.

Nick was quick to get connected to students and staff, and quickly joined several organizations.

“I’m involved in forensics, track and yearbook,” Nick said.

He also plans on playing football in the fall and participating in Pep Club next year.

Nick said that Skyline is fairly comparable to his old school in Cherokee, which helped his transition because it was his first time changing schools.

He said that Skyline’s similar, small size was one of the reasons he chose it

over Pratt High.

“Skyline is similar in size to Cherokee,” Nick said.

“Skyline offers a lot more activities though.”

Switching hasn’t been a problem, and Nick said he wasn’t really nervous for it.

“It’s been easy to switch,” Nick said. “The hardest part has been getting used to the block schedules.”

Nick said that his new friends and classmates were cool. “The students and staff have all been really nice.”

The students and staff have all been really nice.

- Nick Cochran, 11

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April 2, 2015

Journalism students travel to NYC

by Madison Golden & Mason Brack

Reporters

Over Spring Break the journalism class took a trip to New York for a journalism convention. A total of 18 students that were in any of Judy Hampel’s journalism classes went on the trip. The students flew out the Monday Spring Break started.

For many of the students, this was their first time being on a plane.

“I am glad that I figured out that it was our pilot’s first flight after we landed in Chicago,” sophomore Caden Patterson said.

On Tuesday, the group started off by watching the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and going to the Apple Store.

After the parade, they went

to the Museum of Natural History. In the evening, they went downtown and traveled to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.

Wednesday was the first day of the convention. The conference was held at Columbia University, which was just a short subway ride away from the hotel. After the conference they went back to the hotel to drop their things off and then went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. They learned about the history of the tragic event and saw some exhibits.

“It was cool to learn about all the inside stuff about 9/11 and I wished we

could have stayed longer to look at more of it,” junior Alex Lutz said.

Thursday was the second day of the conference. They went to the conference during the morning and then had some free time for a couple of hours. During the free time a small group went on a ferry to Staten Island and went around the Statue of Liberty. Later that evening a group of boys and sponsors Tom Hampel and Troy Swonger went to a New York Knicks game.

The rest of the kids went to Rockefeller Center and ice skated with Amy Swonger and Judy.

Friday morning was the last day of the conference.

After the conference some of the students went to Chi-

natown and others went to Times Square. After a little bit of shopping they walked 30 minutes in the snow to get to the Harbor Lights Cruise. When they finished the cruise they went back to the hotel to pack and get ready to go home.

They had a two hour delay at the airport in New York but finally made it home.

“It was a really fun trip but I was tired and ready to be home,” sophomore Justin Hampel said.

While in New York, the students posted a daily blog.

Each night they tried to post a story and a photo slideshow. When time allowed they also created short video clips of the trip. Go to tbirdtimes.com to see more.

Favorite N.Y. Site STUDENTS LOOK BACK ON NEW YORK TRIP

“I liked the Empire State Building, because you could see how big the city was up there,” Tobin said.

Tyler Tobin, 9

“I enjoyed ice skating at Rockefeller Center because it was outside and it was something I had never done before,” Patterson said.

Caden Patterson, 10

Feature

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1. Junior Lucas Cason stops at a food vendor to get a Euro before they went to the Museum of Natural History.

2. Journalism kids stop to take a group picture before the first day of the conferences.

3. After giving money to the performer, sophomore Rance Tucker poses for a picture while waiting in the subway.

4. Father and son, Tom and Justin Hampel, stop to take a picture before entering the NBA Store.

5. The group stops to take a picture before leaving the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

6. Senior Alyssa Swonger and her mom, Amy, hide from the snow. The group walked through the snow to get to the Harbor Lights Cruise. courtesy photos

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April 2, 2015

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Sports

April 2, 2015

Page 6

New track season starts for T-Birds

by Kamryn Stark

Reporter

High school students that didn’t participate in basketball started their first day of track practice on March 9.

Practice for those athletes consisted of running and conditioning, which included going to the weight room to lift. Students that participated in basketball started practice on March 23, which was the first day that all the athletes got to practice together.

“High school track is different from middle school track because I learn a lot more and get advice from upperclassmen,” freshman

Corbin Keeling said.

Last year the team had five athletes qualify for State and two of them have returned. Coach Summer Younie is looking forward to nice weather for meets and to more people qualifying for State.

One of Younie’s goals is having both girls and boys place first or second place at the league meet in Norwich on May 14. Considering there are 34 kids on the team, they have a good chance at placing at the league meet. That meet will take place a few days after the end of the second semester.

Senior Katherine Ghumm

What events are you in?

I am in shot put and discus.

photo by Cooper Gates

Junior Nick Cochran works on starts in practice to prepare for todays 4x1, 100 and 200. Last week, Cochran moved to Pratt just in time to start track.

“It is always difficult to get the kids on the team to come to the last two weeks of practice when school is out,” Younie said.

Today the track team

travels to Kinsley to compete in its first track meet of the season. Younie is hoping to have many on the team place and work hard on their events.

Sophomore Ty Montgomery

What events are you in?

I do javelin, shot put, and discus.

What is your favorite event?

Shot put because it is an event that seems to go quickly.

What is your favorite event?

I like javelin because it’s the most fun to compete in.

What do you hope to accomplish this year?

I hope to letter.

What do you hope to accomplish this year?

I hope to place in my events at a meet.

How long have you been in track?

I’ve been in track since sophomore year when I came to Skyline.

How long have you been in track?

I participated in middle school, freshman year and this year.

Why do you participate in track?

I think it is fun to leave school during the spring and to spend time with my friends.

Why do you participate in track?

I do track to get ready for football.

Sports

April 2, 2015

March is madness for basketball

by Colin Little

Reporter

It is the season of madness for college basketball.

There are four teams left in the NCAA tournament.

Of the remaining four teams, three are the number one seeds - the Kentucky Wildcats, Duke Blue Devils and Wisconsin Badgers. The Michigan State Spartans complete the Final Four, and they are the seven seed.

“I think that it will be Kentucky and Duke in the championship game and that Kentucky will win,” sophomore Jared Shriver said. “Kentucky is just the better team. They have more depth, they can play any position they want to and they are coached really well.”

The tournament has had its upsets and one of the biggest was the three seeds getting knocked out in the first round by the 14 seeds.

Iowa State University lost by one point to the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Baylor also lost by one point to Georgia State.

“I think the Iowa State game was the bigger upset,” freshman Cooper Gates said.

“I thought they were going to get hot and they looked really good winning the Big 12 Tournament.”

Another game that stirred up the tournament was when the seventh seeded Wichita State Shockers beat the second seeded Kansas Jayhawks in their second game, 78-65. The Jayhawks are 12-3 against the Shockers, dating back to the

Page 7

courtesy of Tribune News Service

Coach John Calipari looks over at Notre Dame while his players stretch before the Elite Eight game last Saturday.

early 1900s.

Michigan State plays Duke on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. and Kentucky plays Wisconsin for a rematch of

last year’s Final Four game.

The winner of these games will play in the championship game at 9 p.m. on Monday.

The Road to the Final Four

April 2, 2015

Page 8

Feature

Who knows Madalyn best: Brother or boyfriend

by Mason Brack

Nathan Owens, 10

Celebrity Crush Favorite Sport Favorite Drink Favorite Color Favorite Food Favorite Artist Dream Vacation Favorite Movie

 Shemar Moore  Basketball  Gatorade

Orange

 Ramen 

Madalyn Owens, 10 Shemar Moore

John Cena

Basketball

Basketball

Chocolate Milk

Tea

Orange

Orange

Ramen

Ramen Noodles

Drake

Drake

Adele

 Grease  Rome

Favorite App

Snapchat

Favorite TV Show

Criminal Minds

Rome

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Levi Johnston, 12

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 Italy 

Grease

Breakfast Club

Spotify

Twitter

Criminal Minds

American Horror Story

by Austin Gilpin

Editor

Easter Break, or Spring Holiday, is here, and for many students that means a four day weekend, church on Sunday morning and Easter egg hunts.

Easter traditions started almost 2,000 years ago when Christians say Christ rose from the dead.

“One of my favorites parts of Easter is the church service,” junior Alex Lutz said.

Students also look forward to visiting family and friends that they may not get to see often.

“I’m going to visit family,” sophomore Nathan Owens said. “We have a big Easter dinner.”

Besides the traditional parts of Easter, many people celebrate a more commercialized version of the holiday that might include visits from the Easter bunny, egg coloring and egg hunts.

“My favorite Easter memories are Easter egg hunting and coloring eggs with my family,” junior Bailey DeClue said.

Even though high school students have fond memories of coloring and hunting eggs, they have mostly grown out of those activities.

However, older students still find a way to participate.

“I like having Easter dinner and the older kids hide eggs for the little kids to find,” junior Alyssa Allphin said.

The tradition of dyeing eggs has roots that can be traced back thousands of years to pre-Christian sun worship festivals. Here’s how the custom evolved.

Students make Easter, four day weekend plans