The Black and Gold Issue 5: November 12, 2021

THE BLACK AND GOLD "CELEBRATING RED, WHITE, AND BLUE" NOVEMBER 12, 2021

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VOLUME I: ISSUE 5

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWS SOURCE OF BUCHANAN COUNTY R-IV

Newspaper Staff Members: Mekayla Boydston

Helaina Geoffroy

Abigail Miller

Tricia Simpson

RUSHVILLE ELEMENTARY HONORS VETERANS

BY ABIGAIL MILLER November 11th is a day to celebrate people who decided to do something most people aren't brave enough to do, join the military and defend our country. The 11th was Veterans Day, and it's important because “we get to celebrate our veterans,” says 2nd grader Harper Dewey.

Pictured: Tim Grebe and Jozlynn Dexter Photo credit: Helaina Geoffroy

To celebrate this day, the elementary school had veterans come to Rushville Elementary for an assembly. The assembly featured students singing for the veterans and reading the letters they wrote to them.

Some students have veterans in their families, like 2nd grader Harper Dewey and 6th grader Sam Helton So for these students Veterans Day has a different meaning to them. “It celebrates those who were in war and those who serve our country,” says 6th grader Sam Helton.

November 11th is a day to celebrate veterans such as Navy Seabee UT3 Petty Officer 3rd class Tim Grebe and Army PV2 Darrin McElfresh. On this day meant for them, they decided to come to the elementary. “I came to spend time with my granddaughter,” says Tim Grebe. For Darrin McElfresh, the highlight of the morning was “eating breakfast with my cousin.”

Next time you see a veteran, remember to thank him or her for their service.

Pictured: Darrin McElfresh and Isabella Rodriqez Photo credit: Tricia Simpson

SPANISH WORD OF THE WEEK

veterano Definition: veteran

Use it in a Sentence:

Los veteranos son muy valintes (couragous).

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE VETERANS DAY ASSEMBLY IN RUSHVILLE

2nd Grader Harper Dewey

6th Grader Sam Helton 6th grader Sam Helton

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CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER TUCKER ESTES MAKES IT TO STATE

BY HELAINA GEOFFROY

Junior Tucker Estes set a new PR after making it to State for cross country on November 5th and 6th. After making 29th place at districts last week, October 30th, he moved on to the state competition, where he earned 145th place out of 172 others in Columbia, Missouri.

Tucker has been in cross country since freshman year, o he has faced many days of running in the cold. Maybe not quite grown, but definitely growing Besides how cold the weather was, he still did his best. On the day of state, Estes remarked that he felt a little sick. But, that was not going to stop him from trying his best. After districts, he “felt awesome and exhausted.” To prepare for state he had been “practicing . . . with friends.”

Estes set a new PR during state. His time was 20:42s, beating his previous record by 6 seconds. By the end of the run, Estes felt “exhausted.” But, he felt awesome for going out there and doing his best. Estes claimed that he would not change anything; he would keep it the same because he felt like he did his best. Estes had some words of advice for other students: "Join cross country because we need more runners.”

Pictured: Junior Tucker Estes Photo Credits: Helaina Geoffroy

Pictured: Junior Tucker Estes leaving for State

MORGAN FULLER'S BOOK OF THE WEEK De Kalb has students who never quit reading, and one of those students is 8th grader Morgan Fuller. If you see Morgan, she will most likely be reading a book. This week she is reading Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Morgan is on page 277 of the book, and so far she would recommend the book to readers because "If you've gone throughout a lot with dealing with your parents, it would be good." Morgan gave a little insight about the book: "The character is going through a lot and his mom has addiction and his dad wasn't there and he's learning about his family." You can find this book in the school library if you want to give it a read.

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Pictured: Morgan Fuller Photo Credit: Tricia Simpson PAGE | 03

Lunch Menu Monday, Nov 15 Tacos Tuesday, Nov. 16 Frito Pie Pictured: Senior Drake Miller, Coach Kaleb Wardlow, Junior Zander Matson Photo Credit: Tricia Simpson

Tiger Team Districts By: Tricia Simpson The De Kalb football team's record throughout the regular season was 1-8. Despite the lack of wins, the Tiger team still made it on to the second round of Districts. For the past two Fridays, the Tigers have taken on the Wildcards, and the Golden Eagles.

On October 29, the Tigers took on the Wildcards at their home field. Having good players is a factor to a good team, but having a good coach can always help. Coach Wardlow knows what his team’s strengths and weaknesses were during the first round of districts. “Offensively we ran the ball successfully.

We scored like 68 points or something like that. Defensively, we were in the right position, just couldn’t make tackles,” said Wardlow. Wardlow also said that for the second round of Districts, the team faced the same issues.

Practicing for a District game can always bring up the tension.

“It was just more intense, preparing to play against a good team,” says senior Drake Miller. Junior Zander Matson has two different opinions about the Tigers' first and second round of districts. “The first round was really loud and hype, but the game against Leblond was not good.” There is always room for improvement, for anyone and any team. “We need to hit the weight room more. We need more strength and just lifting weights,” says Coach Wardlow. Hayden Black thinks “We need to work harder.”

With the new season next year, everyone has high hopes. After summer weights, we will see if the boys' hard work pays off.

Wednesday, Nov. 17 Chicken Patty

Thursday, Nov. 18 Spaghetti

Friday, Nov. 19 Pepperoni Pizza

Monday, Nov. 22 Chicken and Waffles

Tuesday, Nov. 23 Chili Wednesday, Nov. 24 No School

Thursday, Nov. 25 Thanksgiving - No School

Friday, Nov. 26 No School

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Pictured: 8th Graders Grace Downing and Presli Punzo

Photo Credits: Tricia Simpson

Pictured: 8th Graders Kyle Funk and Blake Norton

Middle School Basketball Takes On The Wildcards By: Tricia Simpson On October 28, the middle school basketball teams took on the Wildcards. The boys team had an outcome score of 22-34. The girls had a score of 23-26.

This year is different for middle school basketball. The two teams have the same coach and practice at the same time. Dice, the coach says “It’s challenging trying to run through two different practices, but in the long run it’s beneficial.”

Pictured: 7th Grader Kaiden Myers

The boys and girls both have opinions about how the game went and what they could have done better. 8th grader Presli Punzo thinks “The first game was rough, but it made us work better as a team.” During the game against the Wildcards, the girls overall agreed that they could have ran their plays more, settled down, kept their heads in the game, and just played offense and defense.

With a score of 22-34 for the boy’s first game, they all have different opinions on the game. This year is 8th grader Blake Norton’s first year of playing middle school basketball, and a first game and first year can always be nerve racking. “I was nervous the first game, but the second game wasn't as bad.” The boys all agree that they could have done better running their plays, working harder in practice, and playing offense and defense.

Pictured: 7th Grader Camry Hanshaw

As a younger person on a sports team, there is always someone you look up to. For Camry Hanshaw, this person is Grace Downing. “She’s always just been nice and been a leader.” For the boys team, Kaiden Meyers looks up to Kyle Funk.

The teams have high spirits for the rest of the season. First game jitters are a thing, and as the season goes on, these jitters will go away and the teams will only continue to progress.

Pictured: Coach Matthew Dice NOVEMBER 12, 2021

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FFA GOES TO TO INDIANA

BY ABIGAIL MILLER

Due to Covid, De Kalbs FFA students haven't been able to attend a national FFA convention in the past two years. So, when the time came this year, they decided to jump on the opportunity. On October 26th, the FFA students headed off on a charter bus with six other FFA chapters.

Pictured: Natalyn Killoren

Pictured: Mr. Medsker

Doing something like this takes a lot of planning and there are always the challenging parts, like “scheduling and deciding which tours to do and not knowing how long some of the FFA stuff was going to last,” said Agricultural Sciences teacher Mr. Medsker Going on a trip like this means getting to see things you wouldn't usually see in De Kalb, such as going to the zoo and watching the dolphins perform, going to an alpaca farm, and going to the rodeo. “I wasn't expecting to enjoy the rodeo but it was pretty fun,” said senior Rebekah Gunter.

School trips have their fun parts and school trips also have their benefits for students, such as “gaining leadership skills and seeing new things they wouldn't normally see,” said Mr. Medsker.

Pictured: Rebekah Gunter

On these trips students make lots of memories and take these experiences with them for the rest of their lives. “I learned to try to be quiet on the charter bus because we had to go with six other FFA chapters,” says Natalyn Killoren.

Altogether, FFA is an important part of school and can help later in life. Students in FFA “understand that agriculture and FFA can provide a lot of different opportunities to them.,” said Mr. Medsker.

So, if anyone is ever interested in maybe taking an ag class or joining FFA, can talk to Mrs. Ferguson and Mr. Medsker.

Quote of the week brought to you by Marshall Jones:

"Though the night may be dark, a new day brings new light."

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FFA TRIP Photo credits: Aaron Medsker

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