Michaela Copeland
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
Bella Beems
News Editor
Laci Burnett
Reporters
Katlyn Boydston
Grayson Moore
Photographers
Lauraly Lane
Josephine Long
Designers
Ashlynn Bowen
Gunner Delp
Read about Football’s last team dinner and how the boys ended their season! -p. 4
Hear how hard the Middle School girls worked in the Winston Tournament - p. 5
By: Grayson Moore
On Tuesday, November 18th, the Fall sports awards banquet for Softball and Football took place in the Commons at DeKalb High School.
The Fall sports banquet is a dinner where all the sports teams are given awards for their hard work and grit throughout the season. The sports that were recognised at the banquet were Football and Softball.
Senior Miley Phillips was awarded the Lady Tiger Award. Miley Phillips says, “Getting this award felt great because I enjoy softball and love being there for my team.”
Senior Kyle Funk states, “I won the offensive player of the year because I had the most touchdowns on the season.”
In addition to individual awards, both the Softball and Football teams had several players who lettered, with others receiving a special mention.
By: Lauraly Lane
Last week, Mrs. Holder had her high school Spanish students make ofrendas for Día de los Muertos. Mrs. Holder has been having her students make ofrendas for 3 years. Most of the ofrendas were for celebrities, and some were for family members.
The teachers were allowed to vote for who should win The first-place winner was Nate Bowen, the second-place winners were Presli Punzo and Brinkley Frakes.
Mrs. Holder states, “This unit and project is one of my favorites throughout the year because the students are able to tie in cultural elements from Day of the Dead into their creativity. I find this is a great way to honor those who have passed ”
Sophomore Brinkley Frakes says, “Making ofrendas was a great hands-on way to learn more about the Day of the Dead and honor some of those who have passed.”
Ofrendas are a Mexican and Latin tradition for the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1st through the 2nd in Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, the Philippines, and Haiti
By: Ashlynn
By: Gunner Delp
If you are looking for a new a recommend you Olivia Dean.
Olivia Dean is a British singer from London, Britain. She was born on March 14, 1999 Her middle name, Lauryn, was inspired by American musician, Lauryn Hill. She sings pop-soul music with hints of R&B and pop.
Her first album, Ok Love You Bye, which came out on June 30, 2023 Her favorite album of mine is The Art Of Loving, which came out September 26 of this year. Some of my favorite songs are So easy, Let Alone The One You Love, and Man I Need. What I like about her music is how catchy her lyrics are and the effortless way she sings.
She is starting her tour on December 14 in Boston Massachusetts and ending it on May 22, 2026 in Sesto San Giovanni, Italy!
The Middle School Basketball boys have had quite a busy week. The team has played a total of three games this week. Unfortunately, they came out of this week without any wins.
Eighth Grader Jackson Wachtel feels as though the team can improve by, “Making their shots more ” A way that the team can improve on this is by running more drills and focusing more on accuracy.
These losses give the boys a motivation to work harder towards their wins Show up at their next game on November 24th here at home against Rock Port.
By: Bella Beems
Monday, November 10th, marked the last team dinner for the 2025 Football team this season. The dinner was at Coach Wardlow’s house, specifically his garage, and they enjoyed a filling dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers.
Coaches Wildhaber and Wardlow brought the team dinner tradition to DeKalb from their high school Football years, giving athletes the opportunity to hang out with teammates outside of and without the pressure of a school or athletic setting. “You, in a sense, get to let your hair down at a team dinner and tell some stories,” Says Coach Wardlow.
Team dinners are often on Thursdays, also giving the team a guaranteed filling meal the night before a game. “I like having a get-together with my friends and the coaches and discussing life,” says Sophomore Aidon Standiford.
Team dinners are present in a lot of Fall sports here in DeKalb and hopefully will forever be. Coaches thank all the parents that were willing to open their homes and hearts to a group of sweaty, hungry kids after a long practice and feed them.
By: Ashlynn Bowen
By: Lauraly Lane
The Middle School Girls' Basketball team played in the Winston Tournament starting on Monday, November 17.
They played their first game at Winston against Stewartsville-Osborn, and they sadly lost 20-50 They played again on Wednesday, November 19, against East Harrison and won 41-2. To improve for their next game, “We need to run our plays correctly,” said Avalee Servaes.
To secure third place, they played again on November 20 and won 46-22, claiming 3rd place in the tournament. Their next game is on Monday, November 24, against Rockport. If you want to come out and support, you're welcome to attend
One book I recommend is Nightbane by Alex Aster Nightbane is the sequel to Lightlark Isla Crown is now ruling over multiple realms and is struggling with a complex love triangle with Oro and Grim, two other rulers of realms.
Isla now has powers and is trying to figure out how to control her powers, and is dealing with visions and magical meltdowns. In this, Isla needs to figure out which of the two kings she will choose.
I would recommend this to people who like fantasy novels or young adult readers I rate this book four out of five stars because it is very detailed and is 500 pages.
By: Gunner Delp
The High School Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams have both been conducting conditioning in preparation for this year's Basketball season Conditioning is a way for the players to prepare their minds and their bodies for the upcoming season.
According to Coach Rumpf, “Conditioning is making sure that they are in shape so that they are able to perform their best.” Conditioning consists of sprinting exercises such as Tiger drills, down-backs, and laps Doing these exercises allows the players to work their bodies to be able to run for a long period of time
Conditioning is something that some players may enjoy while others do not. High school basketball player Cooper Wachtel claims, “I don’t like it because it’s running.” I must say that, although I myself am not a basketball player but a former cross-country runner, I have to agree with this statement.
Although many players may not like or agree with conditioning, they can also admit that it has its positives. High school basketball player Alivia Hall states, “I think it’s good for us.” Though the players may not like conditioning, it is overall a good way to toughen up the players.
All of this conditioning will undoubtedly pay off in tonight's Jamboree game. The girls’ game will start at 4:30 with the boys’ game following shortly after
By: Katlyn Boydston
On Saturday, November 8th, the Trapshoot members went to their meet in Falls City, Nebraska. The Trapshoot members did exceptionally well even while faced with heavy winds. Miley Phillips scored 43-50 and Kale Cassity scored 47-50 They moved from fourth place to third place in the overall team standings for the year and continue to keep growing.
“It went pretty good for me, it was a little windy but overall not super cold and I shot pretty good,” says Senior Miley Phillips
Kale Cassity said, “It went pretty well, I shot decently for how the weather was being cold and windy.”
Trapshoot will continue to shoot away and get better as the year continues, and it is exciting to see their abilities. Come and support our Trapshoot team at their next meet on Saturday, December 6th at Falls City, Nebraska.
By: Millah
One of my family’s favorite card games is Dutch Blitz I first heard about it on from a YouTuber who used to live near a Mennonite community, which is where she first heard of the game.
This game is a fast-paced free-for-all that’s sort of a cross between Uno and Skip-Bo, but everyone goes at once If you’re not fast and sharp-eyed, you will definitely lose You can also expect to get your hand smacked now and then.
The game is for 2 to 4 players, but you can get an expansion pack for up to 8 players. The goal is to play all of the cards from your pile by adding them to stacks in the center before others can Since everyone is playing at once, you can imagine how insane it can get.
If you want to pick up a Dutch Blitz deck, you can find it new at Amazon or Wal-Mart for about $10 00
By: Josie Long
As the cold is arriving and we are stuck wishing for the warmth we once had, a movie I would recommend that gives us the European summer we all yearn for is Call Me By Your Name.
This movie is set somewhere in northern Italy in 1983, where we follow the life of 17-year-old Elio (played by Timothée Chalamet) Elio’s dad, an archaeology professor, has an intern to help him each summer This summer's intern is Oliver, whom Elio at first hated.
The more Elio connected to Oliver on their interests, the more Elio came to realize how much he loved Oliver. He came to beg the question, “Is it better to speak, or to die?”
Over time, Elio and Oliver's friendship blossomed into something a bit more. While they both know their relationship and time together will soon come to an end, they can’t help but feel for these bittersweet moments.
This coming-of-age movie explores themes of love, the nature of intimacy and heartbreak, as well as acceptance. The movie's soundtrack also features songs specially made for the film by Sufjan Stevens and some classical piano works.
If you are looking for a movie full of yearning or heartbreak, I recommend this movie to you as it explores many good and bad aspects of not only relationships, but life in general.
By: Michaela Copeland
On Wednesday, November 19th, the FFA students travelled down to the elementary school to teach the third graders about nutrition.
Junior Kelsey Chatman taught the lesson this week. Kelsey has been a part of the FFA for three years. One reason she likes teaching the third graders is that “I think it's important for them to know where all their food comes from and what farmers do.”
This week's activity involved creating five groups of food plates using construction paper.
Next week’s lesson at the elementary school will be about careers.
My family and my health.
-Aaron Medsker
By: Laci Burnett
What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
Hang out with my dad's side of the family - Aidon Standiford
My amazing children and my family.
-Shelly Dittemore
I plan to go eat and go into a food coma. -Josephine Long
I’m thankful for the unconditional love and support from my friends and my family. -Haley Horr
Eat all the carbs! -Haley Horr
Go to my aunt and uncles and grub. -Camry Hanshaw
