Volume 39, Issue 9
May 8, 2015
tbirdtimes.com
Left: Freshman Corbin Keeling presents his KJAS in front of judges. Keeling’s project was titled “Dirty Qwerty.” Right: Freshman Sydney Koirth presents the results part of her presentation. Koirth’s project was about texting and driving. courtesy photos
Exclusively Online
Students go above, beyond by Austin Gilpin
Editor
The video production class will televise their spring edition during lunch on Monday. Scan the QR code to view the broadcast or go to tbirdtimes.com.
What’s Inside? News................ pg 2, 6 Feature....pg 3, 4-5, 8 Sports................. pg 7
For the sixth consecutive year, Skyline was represented at the State Kansas Junior Academy of Science competition at Wichita State University. The competition has been taking place since 1931 and is sponsored by the American Academy of Science. Unlike previous years when only middle school students have competed, this year, two high school students decided to compete. Freshmen Sydney Koirth and Corbin Keeling both qualified for the state competition by doing well at the district contest held at Skyline. “I’ve done KJAS since seventh grade and I’ve gone to State all three years,” Koirth
said. Keeling has also participated for three years. To prepare for the contest, Koirth and Keeling had to complete a research topic, write a research paper and prepare an oral presentation. They started on their projects at the beginning of the second semester and worked on them in TARGET. Keeling’s project was titled “Dirty QWERTY” and he researched how infested keyboards are with germs, and the best way to disinfect them. He went to the hospital for help determining what the germs were, and found that some keyboards had strep on them. His project also determined that Lysol was better than bleach at disinfecting them. Koirth’s project dealt with texting.
“My project was about texting and driving and the effects of it on driving errors,” Koirth said. The research project earned Koirth a chance to present her project to the American Academy of Science conference in Washington, D.C. She applied for a scholarship that could help pay for the trip. TARGET teacher DeGaye Latta, who helped both Koirth and Keeling with their presentations, said she was proud of Koirth for qualifying to compete in D.C., and for Keeling for receiving a highly superior rating at State. “I’m very proud of them,” Latta said. “It was their idea to do a project this year. They put a lot of extra work into it, above and beyond their school work.”
Page 2
May 8, 2015
Banquet gets makeover by Layton Kenworthy
Reporter
The achievement banquet was different than any other banquet Skyline has hosted in the past. This year featured new food, decorations and a webbased program. One of the many people who helped put the banquet together was the T-Bird Club secretary Kim Ghumm. She played a huge part in making the banquet different, but also better. Ghumm put together a website that contained all the information that the old programs had. This was less costly and saved resources that banquets in the past had used. Anyone could go to a website to see what awards
everyone had earned. High school secretary Amy Swonger helped Ghumm keep the site updated. “I felt like having a website instead of the program book was beneficial because there was less formatting,” Ghumm said. “We could add pictures and change it more easily as we needed to.” The food served at the banquet was catered by Qdoba. Many students thought that it was better than previous years. “The food was a lot better than last year because I really like Qdoba,” sophomore Kamryn Stark said. Due to the low budget that was set aside for the banquet, decorations were not as sophisticated as in the past.
“The crayons were a good addition to the banquet,” freshman Corbin Keeling said. “I don’t think there needed to be a theme for it.” Some of the major awards presented to athletes included seniors Dustin Weber and Alyssa Swonger who received the KSHSAA Sportsmanship Award. The banquet was not all athletics. Senior Blake Lee received the Dale M. Dennis Award and seniors Austin Gilpin and Katherine Ghumm received the KSHSAA Citizenship Award. To see information about all the awards presented that night, go to skylineachievement.weebly.com. The site will continue to be updated with State results from this spring.
ters or four quarters. Students would only get a half credit per trimester, but the benefit of the trimester is students get more opportunities for additional classes. “I want the trimester schedule because I don’t want be in the same class all year long like we would have to in the other schedule,” sophomore Justin Hampel said. The yearlong schedule would have classes students would take for the whole year, instead of switching
at semester. Students would have seven class periods and wouldn’t have to shove as much information into a short amount of time. “The way the trimester schedule is, it would give the opportunity to get more classes in a year, which helps us get closer to graduating,” sophomore McKenzie Cason said. “The yearlong schedule will let us have more time for learning material but it will take longer to get through our classes to get the credit.”
Staff deciding on schedule change by Mason Brack
Reporter
After the completion of this school year, high school classes will no longer be run on a block schedule. The school had to get rid of the original block schedule because of the amount of teachers it takes to operate. The new schedule will either be a trimester schedule or a yearlong schedule. With the trimester schedule, the school year would be split into three different terms instead of two semes-
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.
Feature
May 8, 2015
Page 3
We’re making
H15TORY
courtesty photo
SENIORS (front) Alyssa Swonger, Madison Golden, Cara Konkel, Katherine Ghumm. (middle) Landon Lee, Layton Kenworthy, Gunner DeClue, Justin Holtz, Tristen Hogan. (back) Daniel Hacker, Dustin Weber, Austin Gilpin, Khaleb Cason, Blake Lee, D.J. Phye, Colin Little.
Favorite memory from school
Advice for underclassmen
Blake Lee~ Seeing all the support we have had from people
Justin Holtz~ Don’t mess around with your classes, do your
D.J. Phye~ Seeing everyone come together and work as a team.
Austin Clifton~ Start focusing on the things that really matter.
Colin Little~ Making it to State in basketball and football.
Dustin Weber~ Don’t procrastinate.
Tristen Hogan~ The sportmanship of the school this year.
Layton Kenworthy~ Get plenty of sleep, because classes like
throughout this year.
Gunner DeClue~ Cheering. Even though I was the only guy, it
best and don’t take any class too lightly.
Chemistry will tire you out.
was a lot of fun.
Ross Westhoff~ Stay on track.
Alyssa Swonger~ Going to State in volleyball three out of the four years of high school.
Katherine Ghumm~ Don’t get upset if you’re not the best in activities that you do, just enjoy the experience and the friends you gain from them.
Cara Konkel~ Going to music festival. Levi Johnston~ Making it to football playoffs. Khaleb Cason~ The cross country trip to State. Jenessa Corbet~ Taking a journalism trip to Boston my junior year.
Landon Lee~ Do more activities. Get a job. Colleges love see-
ing how involved people are and that they go above and beyond.
Austin Gilpin~ Don’t mess around your freshman and
sophomore year because it can really hurt your GPA and you will regret it senior year.
Page 4
May 8, 2015
Feature
Khaleb Logan Cason
Austin Craig Clifton
Jenessa Riley Corbet
Joaquin Corona
Daniel Ray Hacker
Tristen Andrew Hogan
Justin Anthony Holtz
Levi Russell Johnston
Colin John Little
Dale Joseph Phye
Alyssa Leigh Swonger
Tiffany Nu単ez Timm
Page 5
May 8, 2015
Gunner Allan DeClue
Katherine Lorine Ghumm
Austin Charles Gilpin
Madison Dawn Golden
Layton Riley Kenworthy
Cara Kay Konkel
Blake Robert Lee
Landon William Lee
Class Flower: Sweetheart Tulip
Dustin Paul Weber
Ross Allen Westhoff
Class Quote: “Do not follow where the path leads, rather go where there is no path, and leave a trail� Class Color: Turquoise and Chrome
News
May 8, 2015
Page 6
Seniors make future plans by Kamryn Stark
Reporter
As the school year comes to an end it means that graduation for the seniors is just around the corner. Students have made a lot of recent decisions on what their future plans are for next year. Some students are excited to graduate, while others are not ready to leave the school that they have been attending ever since kindergarten. Over the years, students have grown attached to the school and
to the entire Skyline community. The attachment makes it harder for them to leave and move on in their lives. “I’m not ready to graduate yet because I am not ready to spread my wings and fly,” senior Colin Little said. Even though some students are intimidated by leaving Skyline, many others are looking forward to next year and carrying out their plans they spent so much time deciding on. Seniors spend hours filling
out college and scholarship applications as well as picking a school. “I made my decision by choosing a field that I love and know I could have a career in,” senior Blake Lee said. “I would just advise someone to chose something they love. If you don’t love it, you aren’t going to be able to do it every day of your life.” Baccalaureate is going to be held on Sunday, Mother’s Day, at 2 p.m. in the big gym. Graduation will follow right after at four.
Khaleb Cason- Pratt Community College Austin Clifton- Pratt Community College Jenessa Corbet- Hutchinson Community College Joaquin Corona- Work Gunner DeClue- Pratt Community College Katherine Ghumm- Pratt Community College Austin Gilpin- Wichita State University Madison Golden- Pratt Community College Daniel Hacker-National Guard Tristen Hogan- Butler Community College Justin Holtz- Pratt Community College Levi Johnston- Pratt Community College Layton Kenworthy- National Guard Cara Konkel- Pratt Community College Blake Lee- Newman University Landon Lee- Pratt Community College Colin Little- Pratt Community College D.J. Phye- Technical School Alyssa Swonger- Barclay College Dustin Weber- Pratt Community College
Skyline boys start year two of Legion baseball by Justin Hampel
Reporter
Multiple kids at Skyline wanted to have a baseball team. When that fell through, they found an alternative, Legion baseball. At the beginning of the 201314 school year some parents and students went to the board to try and get Skyline a baseball team. They voted five to one to keep Skyline from starting a baseball program, which was against many people’s wishes. Many students and parents still wanted a way to play baseball so they began getting sponsored by the Pratt Legion team. Legion baseball is an organization with teams in all 50 states played by teenagers. To get to the Legion World Series, a team has to win the State Regional, State and Regional tournaments. “I was happy we got a team because it gave Skyline kids a chance to play without begging the Pratt team to let us on their team,” junior Kasey Gilpin said. Mark Etsell and Michael Adams are coaching the boys in their second season. They finished their first year with a record of 2-12 but not very many of the players had played for a long time. They are expecting better results in their second year. “My expectations for the season are to win half of our games because we have shown major improvement from last year,” sophomore Trent Adams said. The Post 86 Skyline 86ers started practicing on April 19 and their first game will come in June.
May 8, 2015
Sports
Page 7
Track team prepares for Regionals by Colin Little
Reporter
The track team has done pretty good this year, participating in six track meets so far. Now, the Bucklin and League meet are left for the regular season. The team will be going to Garden City to compete in their 1A Regional track meet on May 22. There will be 24 teams participating in that track meet. Most of them will be HOPL schools. Most of the Skyline athletes have seen the other schools in other track meets. “I am very excited about our chances at Regionals,” junior Bryce McKennon
said. “I feel like a lot of people have a good chance to make it to State in anything we participate in.” Athletes have to make certain marks or times in order to participate in the regional track meet. The top four competitors will advance to compete at the largest track meet in the country at State in Wichita. On Tuesday, the team traveled to Jetmore. The last few years when the team traveled to Jetmore it was hot and miserable. This year it was the complete opposite. “I thought the meet was going good. It wasn’t to hot or cold. It was just right until it started to downpour halfway threw the track
Freshman Sydney Koirth
How long have you been participating in track? I have been in track for three years.
photo by Andrew Withers
Running in the 4X800 relay, sophomore Garret Bell runs second leg in the relay. Sophomores Rance Tucker and Jared Shriver and junior Bryce McKennon were on the team.
meet,” sophomore Madalyn Owens said. Junior Jessica DeWeese and senior Daniel Hacker
are the only two returning State qualifiers. DeWeese made it in the 100 and 200 and Hacker threw javelin.
Senior Layton Kenworthy
How long have you been participating in track? I have been in track since I was in seventh grade.
What is your favorite thing about track? Being able to get out of school and talking to other people from other schools.
What is your favorite thing about playing track? Being able to throw the discus, because I got better at it.
Why did you go out for it? So that I can stay in shape for other sports that I do and to get out of school.
Why did you go out for it? So that I stay in shape for other sports and I enjoy socializing with other people.
How do you think the season has gone so far? It has gone alright I think. I am having a lot of fun this year.
How do you think the season has gone so far? I think it has gone good.
Who do you look up to the most? Jessica because she is really good and has gone to State the last two years.
Who do you look up to the most? I don’t really look up to anyone really. If anything, I listen to Coach Little give me his opinion on things.
What events do you do? I am in the 100, shot put, 4x100 and sometimes the 200.
What event do you do? I throw the discus, shot put and if there is a weight mans relay I do that.
May 8, 2015
Page 8
Feature
Brother battles best friend for most knowledge
by Justin Holtz
Gunner DeClue, 12
Favorite Drink
Mountain Dew
Favorite Hobby
Building things
Favorite Food Favorite Truck Brand
Austin Clifton, 12
Mexican Ford
Logan Clifton, 9
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Welding
Working on his truck
Deer meat
Ice cream
Ford
Ford
Pet Peeve
Being nagged about Fords
School
People touching his truck
Favorite TV Show
Comedy
Arrow
My Little Pony
Dream Vacation
Ohio
Alaska
NHRDA
Favorite Movie
Herby Fully Loaded
Herby Fully Loaded
SpongeBob
Favorite Musician
Colt Ford
Celebrity Crush
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert Brantley Gilbert
Brantley Gilbert
Miranda Lambert
I enjoyed by Justin Holtz getting out of Reporter school to compete The band and choir had against other bands competed at KSHAA State solo and ensemble festito see how good we 1A val at Friends University on were compared to April 25. The band received all 1 them. -Matthew Giles, 10
ratings from the judges and seven out of the eight instrumental entries received all ones as well.
photo by Cooper Gates
Band goes flawless at state event
Performing as a group, the band received a superior rating from the judges at the state festival. The band competed against other schools from around the state. “We had a great day at both large group and solo ensemble,” band director Bob Lee said. “Everyone performed very well at the festival.”
Solos: Betsy Giles- Flute, Katherine Ghumm- Violin, Brynn McKennon- Trumpet. Flute Quartet: Betsy Giles, Miranda Ghumm, Payje Orler and Briana Neifert. Brass Sextet: Kasey Gilpin, Drew Thornburg, Blake Lee, Tristen Hogan, Matthew Giles and Gunner DeClue. Trombone Sextet: Tristen Hogan, Matthew Giles, Layton Kenworthy, Jared Shriver, Corbin Keeling and Bailey DeClue. Percussion Ensemble: Carson Lee, Brynn McKennon, Payje Orler, Jared Shriver, Katherine Ghumm and Blake Lee.