THE BLACK AND GOLD Volume 6 Issue 9 Oct. 30, 2026
MS Basketball Begins with Home Opener W e
m is s
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By: Laci Burnett
MC hates Christmas
Newspaper Staff Photo Credit: Kiera Kuse Pictured: Left- Ruby Farrell tipping ball, Middle- Ruby Farrell shooting ball, Right- Grayson Matthews dribbling ball
On Thursday, October 29, the Middle School Girls and Boys Basketball Teams played their first games at home against Osborn-Stewartsville. The Middle School girls, while this was their first game, were facing off against Osborn-Stewartsville in their fifth game of the season. While they came up short with a score of 16-43, Coach Downing says she “saw a lot of good things; we just have a few things we need to tweak.” The girls are looking forward to showing what they have in their following games. The Middle School boys' team faced off against Osborn Stewartsville in what unfortunately ended up being a loss. Coach Matthews says, “I was proud of the boys and the way they played hard.” The boys may not have won the game, but they have plenty of room to grow as the season progresses. The Middle School Basketball teams have a lot of potential this year, and it will be exciting to see them grow in the coming months. Their next game is on Wednesday at North Andrew, so be sure to show up and cheer on our Tigers as they battle it out on the court!
Editors-in-Chief Laci Burnett Bella Beems Assistant Editor Katlyn Boydston
Reporters Ivan Bowen Layla Griffin Lauraly Lane
Photographers Kiera Kuse Alyssa Rogers
Designer Gunner Delp
Guest Staff Analeesa Busby
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Elementary Music Program
Read about the Second- and Third-Graders’ music program over Seussical The Musical! -pg. 2
Red Ribbon Week
This week was Red Ribbon Week! Thanks to Officer Jo, children were educated on the dangers of drugs! -pg. 4
A Spooky Read
If you are looking for a fun, spooky Halloween read, take a peek at our recommendation! -pg. 6
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Oct. 30, 2026
Seussical the Musical Concert is a Great Success! By: Laci Burnett
Photo Credit: Yvonne Black Pictured: Left- the second and third graders ready to perform their concert, Right- students performing with Mrs. Willson leading them on
On October 28, the Second- and Third-grade students at Rushville Elementary performed in their long-awaited music program: Seussical the Musical. These students have been working tirelessly on their music since the second week of school to get ready for this music program. Mrs. Willson said, “The second graders all looked at me and gave me this funny look, and I thought, ‘Oh no, is it too hard?’ But then I gave it to them on Tuesday, and then Thursday they all thought it was better.” With the help of elementary teacher Mrs. Matthews and music teacher Mrs. Willson, the children were able to put on a fantastic performance. In preparation for their music program, the children were able to present their concert in front of the entirety of Rushville Elementary during the school day on Wednesday, October 28. During the concert, they performed songs from Seussical, including “A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small,” “Oh The Things You Can Think,” and “Green Eggs and Ham.” Mrs. Willson, was very excited for this performance as she said she “loves this musical” because her middle school-aged grandsons, who go to another school, were able to perform the full musical of Seussical the Musical. This concert meant even more to her than usual, and the fact that the children did so well filled her with pride. After the concert, Mrs. Willson claimed it “Went well, despite our little goofs.” While there were some parts where the children got a bit separated, she had great things to say about the performance, and it was so fun to be able to see the children perform. When third-grader Cali Burnett was asked how she thought the concert went, she said, “It went really well, and I was really excited.” Out of all the songs they sang, she claimed she loved the first song they sang the most, “A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small.” Overall, she, along with the other kids in the concert, had a great time performing and found it to be so much fun. Make sure to pay special attention to our events page to see when the next Rushville Elementary Music Program rolls around, and go support our young Tigers!
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Oct. 30, 2026
What to Watch By: Layla Griffin
What to Listen to By: Bella Beems
We usually recommend songs or artists for the What to Listen to column, but for this week I am going to switch it up a little bit and recommend a podcast. In honor of the spooky season, I recommend the podcast Stories With Sapphire.
Photo Credit: Pinterest Pictured: I Am Not Okay With This show cover
If you're looking for a coming-of-age dark comedy, I recommend watching I Am Not Okay With This; it's based on Charles Forsman's 2017 book. The show is available and first aired on Netflix on Feb. 26, 2020. There are only seven episodes in one season. This show is about a girl named Sydney who is struggling through high school anxiety and grieving her father's suicide. She discovers her uncontrollable telekinesis power that triggers any time she feels an intense emotion. Sydney ends up befriending her neighbor, Stanley, and he tries to help her control her powers. She also discovers her feelings for her best friend Dina. I really enjoy this show because I think it does a decent job of showing how stress can affect someone's mind and emotions. It also shows that panicking can cause issues to escalate because you're not in the right state of mind.
Photo Credit: Pinterest.com Pictured: The cover of Stories With Sapphire
Stories With Sapphire is hosted by FilipinoAmerican occultist Sapphire Sandalo. Each week she reads real scary stories sent in by the listeners themselves that follow a certain topic like stories that take place at a summer camp or at hotels.
Sometimes she even has special guests talk on the mic about their creepy or paranormal experiences. After each story she tells, Sapphire gives her best explanation about what might be haunting the author and her best advice on how to help. I love this podcast and have been listening to Sapphire since she was the host of a different scary story podcast called Something Scary. Each week is something new, and it is perfect for long car drives, to put on while cleaning on foggy days, or even just something to play when you want a little scare during this spooky week. Stories With Sapphire is available on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Oct. 30, 2026
DeKalb Says “Chicken Nugs, Not Drugs!” By: Kiera Kuse
Photo Credit: Kiera Kuse Pictured: Deputy Barnes with his K9 Draco
This week is Red Ribbon Week. It included dress-up days, bracelets that were handed out during lunch, and paper light bulbs where you put what you want to be when you grow up, and there were games planned out as well. There was also a secret activity today, which was a visit from Buchanan County’s Sheriff’s Department K9, Draco. “I thought we were all in trouble when they called all of the high schoolers to the Commons,” jokes Freshman Khloe Cowger. Red Ribbon Week is important because you learn about how bad drugs are for you. Deputy Jo Mayor says, “there are a lot of dangers that people don't usually think about when it comes to drugs.” Junior Kale Cassity agrees that Red Ribbon Week “is very important” and “it matters just so everyone gets awareness to try and avoid that kind of stuff, to avoid major complications later in life.” Red Ribbon Week is an important time to educate young children and teens on the dangers of drugs, and we are glad that Officer Jo (and Draco) were able to help make this week a fun educational experience.
Parent-Teacher Conferences Go Very Well By: Alyssa Rogers
Photo Credit: Laci Burnett Pictured: Kale Cassity presenting his slides for conferences
On Monday, Oct. 26, DeKalb once again held its student-led parent-teacher conferences. Principal Austin Chisam said, “This year's attendance was the highest it's ever been, with JuniorHigh being 84% and High School being 73%.” Overall attendance was a solid 76.4%. The conferences went really well. “We had quite a few parents in the building, and they got to meet with their kids' teachers and also see where and what their kids do every day” Junior Kale Kassity said he prepared for his conference by using the slides Mr. Chisam provided. “I thought the conferences were good; I just went in and got the slides done and made sure I knew what to talk about and tried to stay focused.” Cassity said the most important part was that “ teachers can talk to the parents and discuss if anything is wrong” Principal Chisam said, “The idea of student-led conferences is to show ownership in the work and be a part of the conversation.” He explained that “the students are the ones doing the work, and they should be able to discuss their academics and how they feel they are doing.” The next round of conferences will be held in March after the end of 3rd Quarter.
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Oct. 30, 2026
Football’s Last Regular Season Game By: Ivan Bowen + Alyssa Rogers
Photo Credit: Kiera Kuse Pictured: DeKalb Cheerleaders getting the crowd on their feet
Photo Credit: Kiera Kuse Pictured: DeKalb Tigers hudled up during game
The High School Football team played last Friday, Oct. 23, against East Atchison, with the score ending up as 30-46. While they didn’t come out with a win, they did play hard and had some good passes. Coach Wardlow said, “Our pass game was really effective. Cooper threw for almost 300 yards; Easton had almost 200 receiving.” Quarterback Cooper Wachtel stated “The highlight of the game was probably throwing the ball around good and completing passes.” Cooper said his best moment was him throwing good corners to Sophomore Easton Matthews, number 12. Junior Kale Cassity’s, number 44, personal highlight was when Junior Garrett Marriot, number 20, had a passing touchdown. Kale stated that “He had a pretty good stiff arm at the endzone.” , Districts are coming up and our Tigers have been preparing for them. Freshman Griffin Davis, number 30 says “We have been preparing for Districts by practicing teamwork, formations, and watching plays.” Davis also stated that his highlight of the entire season was “deflecting a pass and recovering an onside kick”. Coach Wildhaber says “Overall, I have seen a ton of improvement from our team this season. Both offensively and defensively, the players were able to correct early mistakes and improve their overall skills and knowledge of the game.” Coach Wildhaber went on to say that this last game was an excellent example of the team’s improvement. They were able to score in a variety of ways and had some impressive stops on defense in the form of 4th down stops and turnovers. The Tigers play in the first round of District competition tonight at St. Joesph Christian High School, The game starts 7 p.m.
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Oct. 30, 2026
What to Play
By: Gunner Delp
What to Read
By: Lauraly Lane
Photo Credit: PlayStation Pictured: RuneScape: Dragonwilds
I am the type of person who enjoys story-driven games and multiplayer games as well. However, I tend to dabble in survival games from time to time. A survival game that I have found myself infatuated with as of late is called RuneScape: Dragonwilds. The game is set in a land by the name of Ahenfall. Your main objective is to survive and upgrade your skills and arsenal to overcome the queen dragon by the name of Queen Culdra. There is a wide range of areas to explore, from main regions such as Brynmoor, Ghornfell, Fellhollow, and a few others, as well as many subregions such as Bramblemead Valley, Stormtouched Highlands, and Bleakfields Valley. RuneScape: Dragonwilds is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The game starts out at $29.99 for the standard edition; however, for $39.99, you can purchase the digital deluxe edition, which includes many exciting extra items. I highly recommend this game if you are the type of gamer who enjoys survival games with a bit of that fantasy aspect.
Photo Credit: Pinterest.com Pictured: Cover of Dracula book
If you’re looking for a classic Gothic horror book, then I recommend Dracula by Bram Stoker. This book is one of the oldest still widely referenced in modern media. Dracula was published in 1897 in Ireland. The book starts with a young man traveling to Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania. But, the man realizes that he is Dracula’s prisoner and that the Count is a vampire. They then relocate to England. Dracula then preys on the Englishman’s fiancée and her friend, and both turn into a vampire after being bitten. Then they force Dracula back to his castle in Transylvania, and the group of fighters catches up to the Count. In the end, the Englishman and one of the other fighters kill Dracula.
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Oct. 30, 2026
Don’t Miss This! 31
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Cross Country Districts MS Basketball @ North Andrew MS Basketball vs. Union Star @ Home th
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Hillyard Tech Meeting w/ 8 Grade Trapshoot @ Falls City
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