The
T-Bird Times
Skyline High School • Volume 41 • Issue 6 • April 20, 2017
Seniors Kamryn Stark and Sheldon Miller pose for pictures after being named Prom King and Queen. This was Stark’s third year attending Skyline’s Prom and Miller’s first. courtesy photo
Page 2 • Editorial • The T-Bird Times • April 20, 2017
Students suffer from senioritis KReporter amryn Stark As the school year is coming to an end, many seniors are starting to develop senioritis. Senioritis is defined as a supposed affiliation of students in their final year of high school, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance. “Senioritis has made it harder for me to get up in the mornings, along with I’ve also lost most of my motivation to do my hair too,” senior Drew Thornburg said. With only a few weeks of school left, seniors have to start filling out scholarships and preparing for graduation. Many deadlines are coming up for seniors to get stuff turned in, but procrastination is getting the best of many. “Having senioritis has made me really lazy lately, so I have made countdowns on my phone
to help me get through these last couple of weeks,” senior Brayton Fletcher said. While the majority of the seniors do have senioritis, there are a select few that say they don’t. The idea of leaving home, not getting home cooked meals and not sleeping in their own bed doesn’t sound as amusing to some, as it does to others. “I’m not really worried about what is going to happen next year because I am just going to Pratt Community College, so I am not in a big hurry to get out of here,” senior Star Boley said. Although many may think that the last day of school is still a ways away, graduation will be here before we know it. As of now, the seniors less than a month of school left. To some this may be something that brings joy to their heart, while others this may mean that this could be the last days that the class of 2017 will all be together.
Senior Matthew Giles shows the stress of what most seniors are facing as this school year comes to an end. Stress came from the procrastination of meeting scholarship and college deadlines. photo by Kamryn Stark
Scholarship deadlines cause stress MReporter ason Brack With the end of school coming seniors are busy stressing over scholarships and planning for next year. “The worst part of senior year is dealing with next year’s finances and having people always asking what your plans are,” senior Montana Kocher said. Scholarships are one of the ways to get financial help for their upcoming years at college. Another option other than scholarships is grants, financial aid and loans. “Scholarships are great to apply for because college expenses are high and student loans are not something I want to pay off for the rest of my life,” senior Caden Patterson said. “I hope
to get as many scholarships as I can to try and keep my debt to a minimum or none.” Many different websites can help students find tons of scholarships to apply for that range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Being in clubs and different activities can be helpful, as many of those organizations have scholarships for members to apply for. “I didn’t really understand how many scholarships were actually available until this year,” senior Raul Rios said. “I think that people should start worrying about scholarships sooner and then it would be less stressful.” Scholarships are a great way to help pay for college but can be stressful if you procrastinate due to senioritis.
Filling out a scholarship online, senior Raul Rios looks to submit the application before it is due. Rios, along with many other seniors filled out several scholarships in hopes to receive funds for college next year. “I just go with the flow during the year and try not to stress too much about scholarships and the other stuff that comes along with senior year,” Rios said. photo by Mason Brack
April 20, 2017 • The T-Bird Times • News • Page 3
Easter egg hunt traditions continue CReporter harly Spitzner The Easter bunny came around again to give everybody a little present. Easter is one of the oldest traditions to celebrate. The first time humans celebrated Easter was in the fourth century. Traditions have changed from the focus of Jesus’s resurrection to hunting colorful eggs. Many families still gather together, attend church on Easter Sunday, and later hunt eggs. “I hung out with my cousin and family and we went to go look for eggs together,” sophomore Nikolas Montgomery said. The most traditional event in America is hiding colorful eggs for children.
“We are coloring eggs and sometimes we go outside and hide them,” sophomore Stephanie Holmes said. “Easter is a very special event for my little siblings.” The Easter bunny makes the magical spirit in Easter. According to some sources the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s. But why exactly do we have an Easter bunny? According to The Sun, a News UK Company, “Bunnies are nowhere to be found in the Biblical scriptures, but this hasn’t stopped the cute creatures from becoming associated with Christian tradition. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the rabbit symbol, but many scholars believe it stems from
pagan ritual. The pagan festival Eostre is dedicated to the goddess of fertility, who is often depicted as a bunny.” Most people know that the weather in Kansas does whatever it wants to do. Last year, it was snowing over Easter break, so the kids looked for eggs in the snow. “It was kind of special because you got to look for eggs in the snow, but it was still fun,” freshman Hayley Roberts said. This year, the Kansas weather was a little bit surprising with a storm over the Easter weekend. Despite the weather, Easter is always a cute celebration especially for the younger kids. Hopefully the Easter Bunny comes next year too.
During the Easter egg hunt for the elementary school on April 13, first grader Tori Wray finds a couple Easter eggs. She was happy to find candy inside of them. Easter is one of the many holidays that the elementary students celebrate at school. photo by Charly Spitzner
Bell commits to Air Force after college MReporter ichal Cimerman
Senior Garrett Bell plans on joining the Air Force this summer. He is going to Kansas State University for ROTC training. “I chose K-State mainly because they teach aviation,” Bell said. “Everything is up to date and the technology is modern.” photo by Lisa Coss
There are so many young people who struggle with their future. They do not know what they want to do just because there are so many options, but some of them do know. One of them is senior Garrett Bell. “I wanna fly,” Bell said. He is pretty interested in military life and will join this summer. One of the things that Bell has to have to fly in the Air Force is to have an Air Technology Degree. It takes four years to get that degree so he is going to K-State. There are special things that he must do at the school, such as physical training, which every soldier needs. “I want to serve the country,” Bell said. “I want to be part of something greater than myself.” He has been interested in flying since seventh grade. Bell is determined to reach his goal and do whatever it takes to become a pilot.
Bell said that he wants to become a military pilot. He really does not care what kind of plane he will fly. He is flexible and he will do whatever they want. Bell is already getting a license for 3 million pound planes, so he will be able to fly huge cargo planes that carry people or supplies. Every coin has two sides. Bell is excited about being a military pilot, but there are also some things that he is afraid of. “I will not be able to have my own family,” Bell said. This is his biggest fear. Bell will be gone nine out of 12 months a year. His parents approve of him being a military pilot. Bell’s dad is a civil pilot, so he wants him to become a pilot. “I plan to serve for 20 years,” Bell said. He is excited that he will be traveling throughout the world, to places such as Africa and the Middle East.
Page 4 • Feature • The T-Bird Times • April 20, 2017
Senior Kamryn Stark and junior Hallee Burgardt pose for a picture on the patio at the Barker’s Ranch. Students got to eat and take pictures around the outside of the house.
Standing around before the dinner, several of the kids talk amongst themselves outside the house. Several of the fellas wore gray suits, as they were a popular theme.
Students cut loose at prom Junior class holds ‘Footloose’ themed Prom at Ramblin’ Rose Ranch
Hard at work decorating, juniors Courtney Gamble and Sydney Koirth paint signs. Signs were painted on old wood pallets with purple paint. They were placed along the road on the way out to the venue and for kids to know where to park once they arrived. Posed for a picture are the sophomore servers. They had the honor of being selected by the junior class to help serve the food at the Prom meal. There were 8 servers total.
Junior foreign exchange student Ana Lopez-Gil lends a helping hand on the ladder. Lopez-Gil was one of the juniors who helped decorate the tent where the dance was held.
Lending a strong hand, junior Mason Jones helps unload chairs from a truck. Tables and chairs were hauled out from the school for the students to use on Prom.
Sharing a laugh after a long morning of decorating is junior sponsor Shari Gates and Logan Clifton. The class started their decorating the day before Prom.
April 20, 2017 • The T-Bird Times • Feature • Page 5
Seniors Michal Cimerman and Montana Kocher share a slow dance on Prom night. “This was one of my favorite events to go to this year,” Cimerman said.
Students form lines and dance to the “Wobble.” This was one of the more popular dances that students got involved with that night. The music was provided by Complete Music, and students danced in the tent on the dance floor.
Senior Kendall Davidson and sophomore Dalton Kenworthy dance the night away. This was Kenworthy’s first year at Prom and Davidson’s last.
Senior Matthew Giles tries to conquer the “Big Balls.” This was one of the three inflatables at After Prom.
Junior Carson Lee plays the “Minute to Win it” game “Noodling Around.” Students and their dates got to compete in these games and receive gift cards if they passed the different levels.
Senior Sheldon Miller plays one of the carnival games at After Prom. Students were eligible to win tokens at each game and cash them in for a chance at a prize.
Page 6 • Sports • The T-Bird Times • April 20, 2017
Track season off to a fast start JEditor ustin Hampel The Thunderbird track team recently began their season with meets at Pretty Prairie and Wichita State University. The opening meet was supposed to be held at Kinsley, but that meet was canceled due to rain, forcing the track athletes to wait another week to begin their season. The extra time gave everybody more time to work on their events and it paid off at the first meet in Pretty Prairie. The boys’ team ran away with first place, scoring 145 points, beating the second place team by 45 points. The girls’ team finished in a tie for fourth place,
but were only two points away from first place. Seventeen athletes placed in the top three and four relay teams placed in the top three as well. Both teams had a total of 33 top three placings, with 11 of those being first place finishes from the likes of seniors Matthew Giles and Jared Shriver, junior Madison Tyler, sophomore Erik Ghumm, freshmen Kailey Hamm and Kaitlyn McGraw. The boys’ 4x800 team consisting of Shriver, Ghumm, and freshmen Mark Schmidt and Ryan Adams also placed first. “I was very impressed with how both of our teams performed,” head coach Steve Little said. “The seniors really stepped
up and lead the underclassmen, and I was also very pleased with how our newcomers performed.” In their second meet of the year, they attended the Pre-State Challenge at Wichita State after an eight year absence from attending the meet. It was a massive meet with 35-40 teams participating in the 1A-3A division. Because of the large number of other athletes at the meet, they were competing against 1A-3A schools in their events instead of just smaller 1A and 2A schools like they normally face at the other meets they go to. With the extra amount of competition, the T-Birds didn’t
SPORTS Q&A’s
have quite the success they achieved at the Pretty Prairie meet, with 14 top 10 finishes and only three finishes in the top five. Junior Charly Spitzner placed fifth in High Jump, Tyler finished fifth in the 800 and Hamm finished with a team best third in triple jump. “It was really nerve-racking, but it was also exciting,” Hamm said. “It was a really good experience for State and it was nice having all the extra competition there that we normally don’t get to face.” The T-Birds look to continue their hot start to the season at their next meet in Norwich tomorrow. Field events start at 3 p.m.
Track
Track
Madison Tyler
Kendall Davidson
What are your events? This year I’ve done 4x1, 4x4, 800 and high jump.
What are your events? I am in long jump, 110 meter hurdles, and the 300 meter hurdles.
What is your favorite event? So far this year my favorite is probably the 4x4. We’ve got a great group together, and I feel like we can definitively build and do very well this season.
What is your favorite event and what is one that you want to try? I love the 110 hurdles and I would like to try javelin.
Why did you decide to do track? I did track this year because I enjoy competing and getting back into shape. I also like getting some sun (when I use sunscreen). What are your goals this year? My individual goal this year would be to be consistent in all my events. My team goal is to continue to grow as a team.
Why did you decide to do track? I chose to do track so I could stay in shape for college cross country. What are your goals this year? Individually and as a team. I am hoping to make State in at least one event and as a team. As a team, I hope everyone can improve significantly.
Would you define track as an individual or team sport? Right now half of my events would be considered team events. But there are some athletes who compete in events on their own.
Would you define track more as an individual sport or team sport? I think that track is more individual but it has aspects of team sports because everybody relies on each other as a team.
How do you feel about getting into the different meets from last year? The meets changing doesn’t really bother me. I think it’ll be good for us to see some more faces. It might push us more.
How do you feel about getting into the different meets from last year? It means we get to compete against different schools and then beat these different schools.
April April20, 20,2017 2017••The TheT-Bird T-BirdTimes Times••Sports News ••Page Page77
Co-Ed softball hits some dingers AReporter ndrew Withers High school students can be involved in many different extracurricular activities, and one of them is slinging some dingers in the Pratt spring CoEd softball league. Now that softball/baseball season is among us, a group of students has decided to build a Rec League superteam stacked full of a variety of differently skilled players. Their Co-Ed team is called the Blue Ballers. Senior team captain Mason Brack originally came up with the idea, and the proposal quickly caught fire, as many other students decided to join up and showcase their abilities. With a crack of the bat, the season got started with a batting
practice held at the kickball field. The team polished their extraordinary abilities to get ready to bring the wood in the highly anticipated season. To open play, there was a double-header held at the Green Sports Complex. The team got off to a rough start, losing both games. The score of the first game was 17-8, and the score of the second was 15-2. “The main goal for the season is to build team camaraderie,” coach Judy Hampel said. This isn’t Hampel’s first rodeo when it comes to softball, as she has gained a wide variety of knowledge through her many years of playing women’s league, Co-Ed with her family, and coaching her niece’s T-Ball team, around a quarter of a cen-
tury ago. Many of her journalism students are on the team. The team is strongly built around a core of players with previous experience in either baseball or softball. The team has a total of 12 players, most of them being upperclassmen. The Blue Ballers will be balling their way to the top in seven games. “I expect us all to have a lot of fun playing together, since there isn’t as much pressure as there was in high school sports, and we can kind of just let loose,” Brack said. Although winning is kind of a big deal, the ultimate goal is to have fun, and being with friends playing sports is a good way to do that. They play on Wednesdays at Green Sports Complex.
Blue Ballers Lineup 1. Jared Shriver 2. Kayley Cook 3. Justin Hampel 4. Mason Brack 5. Cooper Gates 6. Kamryn Stark 7. Carson Lee 8. Madison Tyler 9. Matthew Giles 10. Sydney Graber 11. Corbin Keeling 12. Kayla Flora
Forensics team battles on the road to state festival MReporter ichelle Ramirez The Forensics team has done pretty well at their meets and only has a couple left to go. They had a tournament on March 11 at Hoisington. They were up against Pratt, TMP, Abilene, Beloit, Ell Saline and Ellis. The team placed seventh of 12 teams. Senior Trent Adams placed second and qualified for State Champs in impromptu. He also placed fourth place in extemp. Junior Carson Lee placed fifth in impromptu and third in extemp. In prose, junior Jade Downs placed fifth and also qualified for the State Festival. “My favorite thing about forensics is the meets because they are really fun,” Lee said.
They had a great tournament at Otis Bison on March 13. The schools they competed against were Hays, Hodgeman County, Hoisington, Ellinwood and Ellis. The team ended up placing fifth out of 11 schools. Adams placed fifth in extemp and impromptu. He also placed sixth in informative. Freshman Katelynn McGraw and senior Kendall Davidson placed sixth place in impromptu duet acting. Lee placed third in extemp and second in impromptu. He also qualified for State Champs. “It’s great to have qualified for State,” Lee said. At the HOPL tournament on April 4 the team placed third. Nine out of the 11 members made finals. In extemp Lee placed second and Adams
placed sixth. In original oration Jarod DeWeese placed sixth and Erik Ghumm placed seventh. Adams placed sixth in informative. In impromptu Adams placed third, Lee fourth, and Nelson placed fifth. Sophomore Madison Adams and McGraw placed sixth in duet acting. Sophomore Adison Hampton placed sixth in prose. In impromptu duet acting DeWeese and senior Brynn McKennon placed fourth, junior Josh Nelson and Davidson placed fifth. “We have been doing good at meets. I feel like we could do better but we’ve been doing good so far,” Lee said. The team will compete at Regionals on Saturday at Ellinwood. State festival and State Champs will be in Wichita on May 6.
Forensics Team 1. Trent Adams 2. Kendall Davidson 3. Jarod DeWeese 4. Brynn McKennon 5. Carson Lee 6. Jade Downs 7. Joshua Nelson 8. Madison Adams 9. Erik Ghumm 10. Adison Hampton 11. Jon Wiltshire 12. Katelynn McGraw
Page 8 • News • The T-Bird Times • April 20, 2017
Pratt gains Japanese culture CReporter orbin Keeling In March, a new chain restaurant opened in the old Long John Silvers building in Pratt, called Ninja Steakhouse and Sushi. In a small town like Pratt most people thought it would never make it more than a month, but so far it is still up and running very well. “The Ninja Steakhouse had a really authentic feel to it, and the sushi exceeded my expectations,” social studies teacher Kenny Eddy said. As I walked in, I felt like I
was still in a Long John Silvers but the decorations were very well done the second time I attended the restaurant. I then felt more like I was in a Japanese restaurant. The service was decent there. I got greeted and given a place to sit fairly quick, but after I got drinks and food, I never saw them again until they came to take my dishes. One thing I don’t like is that you have to pay $1.50 to replace your white rice with fried rice. I do like that with every meal you get a fortune cookie with your ticket once you have payed.
“For being a sushi place in Pratt, America, it is not too bad, but I would say they could maintain their bathrooms a little bit better,” junior Madison Tyler said. “If I wanted good sushi and fried rice I would go to Kobe Steakhouse.” I personally have been there three times and have tried the chicken and shrimp hibachi and the steak and chicken hibachi. In my opinion the chicken was well cooked and perfectly sauced. Although the steak was a bit rough, it was still good to eat. The only sushi rolls I have
tried are the jalapeno rolls, which is a jalapeno popper but with crab meat. I’ve gone during both dinner and lunch times and the service have always been good and friendly. Sure Kobe Steakhouse is preferred, but that’s in Wichita and they can support a larger number of restaurants. But for being in Pratt, it is a very good service and a great new addition to our city. Until this year we have had limited culture in our city, with only American, Mexican and Chinese food, but now we also have Japan represented.
NHS inducts new members at banquet JEditor ustin Hampel This past Tuesday, the Skyline chapter of National Honors Society hosted their annual banquet and inducted its new members. The banquet was held at the Elks Lodge for the second year in a row. It consisted of a dinner, a guest speaker and the induction ceremony ran by the current five members. Five new members were inducted to go along with the current five members, seniors Jarod DeWeese, Justin Hampel, and Kamryn Stark, and juniors Sydney Koirth and Carson Lee. Students with at least a 3.75 GPA are evaluated by the staff. The staff evaluations then help decide if the students are to be accepted into NHS. “Being in NHS is an honor and reward for working hard and keeping my grades up and I’m proud to be in it,” Koirth said. Part of the induction ceremony involved current members lighting the candles of
The newest members of NHS receive their plaques, shirts and candles after being inducted at the banquet Tuesday evening. The new members were junior Madison Tyler, and sophomores Gracie Bricker, Gabriel Flanders, Kayla Flora and Adison Hampton.
scholarship, service, character and leadership. The members being inducted had to light the personal candle they were given with one of those four candles, choosing the one they wanted to improve on the most. The five new members were junior Madison Tyler, and sophomores Gracie Bricker, Gabriel Flanders, Kayla Flora and Adison
Hampton. “I think it’s a really good accomplishment for someone to make,” Flora said. “It makes you appreciate your hard work in school more.” NHS students have a few extra responsibilities throughout the school year. Some of the things members did this past year were using a grant through
Thrivent Financial to purchase coats for children in need, pass out awards to K-6 students at their awards assemblies and work concessions to help raise money for the banquet. National Honors Society is considered a privilege for any student inducted, as it shows that hard work and dedication for academics pays off.