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
What is The Black And Gold Reading this
By: Ashlynn Bowen
On Saturday, September 13th, our High School Softball team played a tournament at Maysville against East Buchanan and Maysville. They won against Maysville 9-3 and East Buchanan 15-0 This was the second year in a row that the girls won this tournament These games were special because they were able to play all 15 players, which is not usually able to happen
The game against Maysville started rough, but the girls quickly adjusted and came back even better “Overcoming adversity and continuing to work on winning innings will be a continuous focus for us the rest of the season,” said softball coach Haley Horr
On Tuesday, September 16th, they played against North East Nodaway and won 84 Even though many of their players were sick, they powered through and played very well The game for Thursday, September 18th, was postponed If you want any updates on that, you can check the website
They play again next week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at Pattonsburg, West Platte, and DeKalb, if you want to come out and support!
By: Lauraly Lane
On Friday, September 12, the Football team played a tough away game against Platte Valley The final score was 16-44 with the Tigers losing.
Even though the game was a loss, the Tigers still saw progress. Coach Wardlow says, “The team did better then we did last week ”
Coach Wildhaber’s take on what the boys need to work on for this week’s game is, “getting some stops on the third and fourth down ”
The team had their own thoughts about what to work on as well. “We need to work on tackling,” says Senior Kyle Funk. And they are doing just that; the boys have been working hard this week to improve their tackling and blocking so they are ready for their Homecoming game tonight against Nodaway Valley.
Make sure to come out, cheer our boys on, watch your Tiger Pride Band show off their hard work, get a snack from the Junior class’s concession stand, and most of all, be loud and proud!
By: Isabella Beems
This week I highly recommend, in honor of almost 10 years on Broadway, Hamilton. If you went to DeKalb for middle school, you were probably a subject of Mrs King’s amazing tradition of making her music class watch this beautiful musical.
Hamilton is a musical following the life of one of this country’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, through Hip Hop-style music and Lin Manuel Miranda’s powerful lyrics My favorite song from this musical is probably Non-Stop or The Room Where It Happens.
I love this musical personally because I love history and music, but what I love most of all is the fact that we learn about the good and the bad Hamilton did. We also learn about everything his wife, Eliza Skylar, did.
In honor of nearly 10 years since Hamilton first went on Broadway, the original cast is getting back together to perform the musical live, again!
Hamilton is available on Disney+, so please go check it out!
By: Katlyn Boydston
If you're interested in listening to Tate McRae or a new album, I recommend So Close to What Tate McRae released this new album on February 21, 2025, and it has 15 different songs This is currently her third album
The album explores themes of confidence, relationships, and self-discovery, with a shift from her previous heartbreak-focused music to a more self-assured sound. Her album features a bolder pop sound with a collaboration with her boyfriend
Tate herself has said it captures the feeling of an endless cycle of striving for the next thing and the anxiety of what’s next.
Some of Tate McRae's songs on this album are Miss Possessive, Two Hands, Revolving Door, Dear God, Sports Car, It’s ok I’m ok, and others The most popular song off this album is Sports Car
My personal favorites off this album are Dear God and Sports Car because I listen to them a lot and they get stuck in my head.
By: Josie Long
For this week's episode, I talked to middle school history teacher, Mr Wildhaber, about brainrot To keep this episode short and sweet, we cover a few topics, including the current meme “6-7” and Italian Brainrot At the same time, he hit the topic of what we believe will be the next biggest trend in water bottles and water jugs, which his lovely wife uses Make sure to check out the full episode on Spotify, as well as checking out the Pawdcast’s song of the week/s
By: Michaela Copeland
The Black and Gold is welcoming another new staff member to DeKalb this week: SRO, Ryan McDowell
Deputy McDowell says this is his first time working at a school, but he doesn’t plan on leaving until, “I choose to do something else ”
In his free time, he enjoys barbecuing, specifically pulled pork, steak, and pork ribs. He also enjoys hanging out with his wife.
When asked what he’d like to tell our school district, he said, “I’m huge chiefs fan, as well as Royals and Red Sox, but I’m a Royals fan because my childhood friend plays for the Royals ”
When you see our new Staff member in the halls, make sure you say hello!
By: Laci Burnett
High school is the most challenging time for many people. With social groups, mental health, hormones, schoolwork, and family problems, high school is hard at times for some, but can seem impossible to get through for others The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky follows the story of a high school boy, who believes that high school will never end, and how he survives
This series of letters to his pen pal communicates 15-year-old Charlie’s journey through his Freshman year of high school while dealing with friends, pressure, hurt, and family. He becomes friends with a group of Seniors, who show him that high school can be enjoyable and worthwhile
Charlie, like many teenagers, struggles with his mental health, and is a prime example that even though your story had a rough start, you can still have a happy ending.
If you ever feel alone in your worries and want to read about a boy who understands being lonely and awkward in high school, or enjoy a book that will instantly catch your attention and keep it, this is a book for you
By: Grayson Moore
The DeKalb Middle School Softball team is having a good season with 3 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tied game.
They played in the King City Tournament on Saturday, September 13, where they went 1-2 but pulled out a 14-7 win in the last game against Worth County. Coach Erica Phillips says, “We had some good defensive plays and got some great hits during a couple games.”
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8 grader Ashtyn Nowak says that “We're doing pretty good. We've lost a few games but also won a few. Our best game was probably the last game of the tournament at 14-7. Right now, the most important thing is to work on fielding and hitting,”
The Middle School Lady Tigers play next at West Platte on September 23rd.
By: Bella Beems
On Monday September 15, our Middle school football team traveled to Mound City to play the Mound City Wild Cats!!
The boys played hard through the heat and showed their strength, coming out with a winning score of 48-22.
“It was pretty hot but the boys did a good job of fighting through adversity, I am really proud of them,” says Coach Roberts.
“We had a few flags and injuries, but we won,” says #11, Jackson Wachtel.
The team is trying to focus on wrapping and resting injuries and focusing on the smaller details at practice to get ready for their next game.
Middle School Football plays next on Monday September 22, at DeKalb against the Stewartsville/Osborn WildCards!
By: Gunner Delp
By: Laci Burnett
Have you been looking for a new, interesting co-op game to play? I personally love couch co-op games, so I am stoked to announce the latest addition to couch co-op video games, LEGO Voyagers!
LEGO Voyagers was released on September 15th and is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S LEGO Voyagers retails at only $24 99, making it well affordable in order to have a good time.
LEGO Voyagers is a couch co-op/online multiplayer video game in which you are in search of your abandoned spaceship. Our two main characters of the game are a red and a blue 1x1 LEGO piece. These pieces must embark on a journey full of obstacles and challenges.
During your journey, you will come across stuff you will need to build, environmental obstacles, and you will need to cross gaps and platforms Both pieces will need to work together to move big LEGO pieces to accomplish such challenges
I recommend this game if you are looking forward to having a good time with friends or family This game is also good for any big LEGO fans If you are looking for the nostalgic LEGO video game feeling as well as the thrill of a couch co-op game, I recommend purchasing LEGO Voyagers.
The Cross Country team, led by Coach Taylor, ran on Tuesday, September 16, at Tarkio. The Cross Country team consists of Senior Blake Norton, Junior Kaiden Meyers, and Freshman Zylar Helton, as well as middle schoolers Amiyah Weyer and Carter Kendall, who all ran
Tuesday’s meet went wonderfully, with the team medaling for the first time this season Senior Blake Norton placed 4th with a time of 19:10, and the others were close behind Coach Taylor is beyond proud of them and said, “They’re really working hard out there in the heat to represent our school on the course.”
The Cross Country team has been working hard for months now. While Coach Taylor believes that “Younger runners need to work on endurance,” and “the older runners are working on speed and form,” she is happy with how hard they work each day and how many participated this year
Come and catch the Cross Country team at their next meet on September 23rd at Benton The start time is 4:30 P M , so come cheer on our runners
Sponsored By: Rushville Christian Church
Junior High Youth Group: Grades 7-8
Senior High Youth Group: Grades 9-12
Junior High Youth Group starts at 5:00 p.m. and lasts until 6:30 p.m. at the Rushville Christian Church.
Senior High Youth Group starts at 7:00 p.m. and lasts until 8:30.
During each youth group there will be music, games, and a sermon towards the end.
See you at the Pole:
See you at the pole is a global movement of Christian students who gather around the flagpole for a time of prayer and worship.
“See you at the pole” is primarily student led, and takes place before school on September 24th, in front of the school around the flagpole.
By: Josie Long
This year, DeKalb STUCO decided to kick off this year's Homecoming week with a bang For their first project, they have decided to bring back the bonfire (with the help of the booster club and DeKalb & Rushville FD), as many people have stated how they have missed it The last bonfire with an actual fire was before 2019.
At the bonfire, coaches introduced the teams, a jersey auction took place, a ticket raffle was held, and, of course, food was served As the jersey auction this year was a live auction, the highest bid for Kale Cassity’s jersey was up to $110
Between the jersey auction, raffle, and food, the DeKalb STUCO raised $904 to help set up better events for the school, such as the homecoming/courtwarming events and prizes.
“The bonfire went really well and was well attended People were having fun, it seemed like people really enjoyed the jersey auction too,” said Ms Cagle STUCO President Cole Kovac also added that the jersey auction went better than the usual silent auction in previous years Laci Burnett said she really enjoyed the jersey auction “because it was funny seeing people bid against each other in person.”
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