Common Sense Volume 21 Issue 1 October 9, 2020

C ommon Sense Millard South High School • 14905 Q St. • Omaha, Neb., 68137

October 9, 2020

Volume 21 Issue 1

Softball swings for a cure Ally Seevers Sports Editor

The Millard South varsity softball team celebrated the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month with the 8th annual “Swing for the Cure” game against Papillion La-Vista Oct. 1.

Unlike past years, where the Patriots hosted a tournament in honor of the friends and family of the softball team who have been impacted by cancer, the team held a ceremony memorializing the lives of those who are currently battling or have fallen to Millard South Varsity Softball releases balloons with Papillion La-Vista in support of cancer awareness at the annual Swing for the Cure cancer. event. The balloon colors released represent blue for cervical cancer, burgundy for multiple myeloma cancer, pink for breast cancer,

The Patriot juniors and seniors, along and purple for pancreatic cancer. Photo by Hannah Doornink with the Monarch seniors, released colored balloons to represent the different types of ceremony,” said senior, Jackie Morrisey. “My favorite part is] just that we get to honor everybody that’s fought cancer. about the game, because it’s my last home game, was cancer or is fighting cancer.”

“I really liked the balloon releasing. The juniors and probably my strike-out against another girl.”

Although the Patriots fell in a tough game to the seniors made it really special for everybody else,” said

For the game, both teams specifically honored the #1 ranked Papillion La-Vista Monarchs, the night was sophomore Catelyn Rodenbiker. long-time umpire, Rick Gilbride, whose battle against something special and will not be forgotten.

“My favorite part about the event was the ability pancreatic cancer was lost earlier this year.

“It’s a great event that we put together and conto play for someone that has cancer and the balloon

Head coach Steve Kerkman said, “[My favorite thing tinue to do,” said Rodenbiker.

Public library doors reopen for full service Natalie Fedde Co-Editor in Chief Omaha Public Libraries began reopening on September 21. Five branches, including the Millard branch, are opened on Sept. 21, three on Sept. 28, and the other four do not yet have opening dates.

After six months of closure because of the Covid-19 pandemic, The Omaha Public Library is taking many precautions to ensure the safety of staff and patrons with these reopenings. Some of these new policies include required mask use and socially distancing.

The libraries are providing the same resources as before the shutdown and are also adding new features. Books, movies, audiobooks, etc. are all still be available for checkout, and computers are still be available, though there may be less to ensure social distancing. OPL locations that introduced curbside book pick-up during the shutdown are continuing this service.

While shut down, the libraries paused

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America runs out of pepperoni.

all due dates for checked out media. Now that the libraries are reopening, all media checked out previous to the OPL closure will be due on Oct. 19. Holds placed before the shutdown will also be honored and available for pickup starting Oct. 1.

Omaha Public Library originally closed all locations in March in order to ensure the safety of library staff members during the Covid-19 pandemic. While the libraries were closed, they were not loaning out books or accepting returns.

With libraries reopening, Omaha citizens once again have access to books and other media.

“I missed physically picking out books. I’m excited to be in a book loving environment again,” said senior Bella Sanders. With the Omaha Public Library reopening branches, book lovers are able to regain a sense of normalcy in this new Covid-19 world.

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Teachers navigate new procedures during Covid-19.

Photo by Olivia Palmer

HoCo dance a no-go but Royalty is still on Alex Tippets Staff Secretary

The Homecoming 2020 dance was officially cancelled, however students were still able to get in the Homecoming Spirit. From Oct. 5-9, Homecoming Spirit Week was held and students dressed up in bizarre and fun ways.

Instead of a dance, Student Council will host a movie night Oct. 10 featuring “Hocus Pocus.” Students also had the ability to vote for Homecoming Royalty.

However, Student Council members were barred from entry this year.

While Homecoming was definitely different for everyone this year, there were a few things that remained. Millard South celebrated its annual spirit week. The days were Monochromatic Monday, Take a Break Tuesday, We Are Millard South Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, and Why is THIS in my Closet Friday.

Homecoming Royalty was also still available this year, however instead of 5

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YouTube channel Unus Annus comes to an end.

boys and 5 girls from each grade competing, the numbers were reduced to 3 boys and 3 girls. For the first time in Millard South history however, Student Council members were eliminated as potential nominees for Royalty.

“With everything so different this year, we decided we might as well try something new,” Student Council Member Joey Kaipust said. “We had a vote, and it was almost unanimous. We were all pretty much on the same page,” he said.

Instead of a dance this year, Student Council is hosting a movie night Oct. 10 on the football field where they will show the Movie “Hocus Pocus.” The movie was selected via a google form poll that was sent to the student body.

Students were allowed to reserve spots on the field in pods of four where they can watch the movie from the scoreboard. Each pod will be at least 6 feet apart so as to maintain social distancing. Concessions will be available to enjoy during the movie.

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Junior Maddy Ballard tips the ball against Gross Catholic High School. Photo by Haley Geringer

2

News 10 • 9 • 2020

Putting on a New ‘Face’ Covid sparks new form of facial expression Commentary by Joni Beauchamp Opinions Editor

could match your outfit, or maybe have a fun or quirky design. Old Navy is one retailer that has been on top of the demand

and has been continuously producing col Fashion in the year 2020 is unlike orful masks with unique designs, such as anything we’ve experienced in the past few decades. Political stances, the ever ex- floral, camo, or even leopard print. I purpanding internet, and a pandemic have all chased a 10-pack of floral masks from Old Navy earlier this year, and I definitely don’t contributed to the major shift in fashion regret it. Meanwhile since the beginon online marketning of the decade. places such as Etsy, Whether that’s it’s quite easy to find because of trends, distinctive designs, or just a safety or even masks that precaution, it’s display your interests, safe to say that it’s such as the Star Wars definitely not the masks that my nieces same as even a few had purchased from months ago. The the site. recent pandemic Making your own has brought a new masks is also a great everyday item way to express yourinto our wardrobe; self, and if you have masks. a sewing machine

Masks have beit’s easier than you come such a large would’ve thought. part of our daily Piecing together lives since March.

Sophomore Andrea Forman thick fabric and string Although they isn’t all that difficult, are necessary that plus there are dozens of tutorials online, doesn’t mean that they necessarily have to be plain and boring. Masks can be fash- even on the CDC website. Making your own mask means you could potentially ionable. As masks become a normal part of our lives, we’ve also seen them become make it look however your heart desires.

Feathers, sequins, and even tiny plastic widely manufactured from companies as babies. My friend had even made superlarge scale as Walmart, to somewhere as hero masks for her little siblings to start local as right down the street. In short, elementary school with. Of course you It’s not too difficult to find a mask at this also have to make it safe, so it’s best that point in the pandemic, even ones that

your design doesn’t interfere with the effectiveness of your homemade mask.

Although your idea may seem harmless, it’s best to make sure that it doesn’t include holes, which means no pins or anything see through.

There are plenty of ways to, and not to wear your mask. Obviously, you Junior Austin Meyer should be wearing it in a way that will protect you and others, but there’s also fashionable ways to mix and match your match my shirts with my mask, especially masks. Matching your mask to your outfit since most of them are quite plain, but isn’t all that hard, especially if it’s a nice even so it becomes more difficult when and neutral color such as gray, brown, or you have layers, so it’s best to just pick a black, which are quite common and easy mask that’s similar in tone to your outfit. to find online and in stores. Potentially Some designs are more difficult to match you could match your mask with a design to outfits though, such as plastic babies on your t-shirt, or even your socks. It isn’t or a sewn on mustache, so those sorts a difficult task, but if you’re not as fashion- of masks are more subjective, meaning, able as others, a just wear what you plain disposable think looks good mask is fine, but with those goofy it’s most important designs. It’s not too to remember, not hard to match a covering up your mask, and even if mouth and nose is you can’t, at least most definitely not you’re wearing one. fashionable.

Personally, I have been attempting to make my masks match the general tone of my outfits, because if we’re stuck like this we may as Senior Hannah Doornink well make the best of it. It’s simple to

3

News 10 • 9 • 2020

Knowing covid safety rules is elementary for these kids Paige Winchester Staff Reporter

the swings were always my favorite part, but I’m glad we still get to go outside even if it does have its rules,” 3rd grader Zach Win Teens are all too familiar with the new chester said.

COVID-19 protocols in high school, but they

Teachers simply can’t sanitize the have little insight on what it’s like in their equipment every half hour. According to the dear old elementary school.

Rockwell website guidelines, there is a limit

There are a lot of rules that are the same of one class per section they have laid out. as in high school such as wearing a mask at Students are not allowed to participate in all times, sanitizing and cleaning desks, and contact sports like basketball and football, the rule of no sharing foods or drinks with however, they are allowed to play soccer and your peers. But there are also rules that differ kickball if they follow the social distancing from us, like lunch rules. for example.

Another thing I miss not being able to use

“I’ve been at that’s different is the Rockwell for a while staggard dismissal. Acthe equipment at the playnow and lunch is cording to the website grounds anymore, because a lot different than guidelines, the 3:30 it use to be,” 5th dismissal announcethe swings were always my grader Kaleb Winment starts with the favorite part. chester said. “I often 5th grade. Then at miss my friends in 3:35, daycare vans and other classes when –3rd grader Zach Winchester buses, kids net, and all I have to eat in the the students who walk classroom, but I’m or bike home leave the glad I have more talk time with my classbuilding. Then at 3:40 kindergarten and 1st mates in the day,” he said. grade students are picked up by their par Each grade has a different lunch time ents. And Finally at 3:45 the final announcethan the rest, and normally they would eat ment 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students leave in the cafeteria also known as the gym.The the building to be picked up by their parents.

Rockwell Elementary School website outlines “Since I get dismissed at 3:30 I have to the guidelines for lunch. It says that the kids wait for Zack to get dismissed so we can walk will be social distanced at tables and spots home together,” Kaleb Winchester said. “It’s that are indicated for them whether they are annoying sometimes, but I’ll deal with it,” he eating in the cafeteria, their classroom, or said. even in the hallways. Students are allowed

Like a lot of high schoolers, elementary to bring their own lunches, there are no selfstudents are glad to be back in the buildings. serve items, and there is a strict no sharing

“I’m so glad we’re back in the classrooms food rule. because I hated doing online learning and

After lunch, recess looks a lot different as I couldn’t get anything done and I overall well. missed my friends,” Zack Winchester said. “I

“I miss not being able to use the equipdo hope we can stay in the classrooms for as ment at the playgrounds anymore because long as we can,” he said.

Patriot Pets

“

”

Moose is a 17 year old medium haired tabby

who was was adopted 6 years ago from the Humane Society!

Belongs to Skylar Palmer

Nala is an orange stray cat who loves to sit on her owner’s face while she sleeps. Olaf is a black stray cat who doesn’t like most people and hates the vet.

Belongs to Bella Sanders

by Paige Winchester.

Want to see your pet here?

Email pwinchester180@millardps.org

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Opinion 10 • 9 • 2020

A Tale of Two Educations In Person

Fully Remote

The first week of being back at 100% was challenging, I received a parking ticket and I was also late to school. The traffic was not what I was expecting, and the tardy line was incredibly long. It went out the door and to around the flagpole.

There is a new system for tardy check-in, you scan your synergy app and then it prints your ticket. It is a safe, non-contact way to check in.

Starting the Day

The mornings have been nice because getting to a zoom class requires almost no commute, so I can wake up 15 minutes before class comfortably and still have time to brush my teeth and wash my face. It can be hard to get out of bed just to go sit on a zoom call for the next couple of hours, so motivation has been an issue for me. The days still don’t really feel like school, even less than online classes in the spring.

The amount of work that is given in class so far this year has been the exact same compared to past years, although it is my senior year so assignments have definitely been a lot easier to handle. My teachers seem to be very overwhelmed with working with kids in school but also remote learners.

Work Load

Class work has been very hit or miss depending on what teachers choose to do to accommodate remote learners. Some classes have chosen to do all assignments online regardless of whether students are in the building or not, and that tends to be the best overall. Quizzes and tests work just fine over Google Forms and Formative, and worksheets on google docs are okay. The worst classes are ones that haven’t changed curriculum much to accommodate, such as my Spanish class.

Doing partner activities in breakout rooms never feels natural or productive. It is hard to feel comfortable with your Lane Howard camera and microphone Online Editor on with a randomly assigned classmate in a private room. This has also been where almost all the technical difficulties I face happen.

In a house with other people working and learning from home, it can get noisy and things can come up, so it works well to be able to do assignments on your own time without the fear of needing to leave your camera unattended.

At 100 percent capaciy, the hallways are packed and kids are shoulder to shoulder. it is a huge contrast compared to when we had 50 percent of the students being in the halls.

I continue to be nervous because it is hard to keep a safe distance away from people, but Hailee Wakefield Features Editor thankfully everyone is wearing their masks.

We aren’t allowed to get too close to friends nor our teachers. All of my classes are packed full of students. The teachers are trying their best to keep us as socially distanced as possible but it is so difficult to accomplish with the little amount of space and number of desks.

The teachers wipe down desks and chairs before and after class, which meant that class ended up to ten minutes early.

Learning Environment

Time on the Clock

I did notice a lot more juniors are leaving for lunch, leaving it less full and more manageable. The lunch line is as long as it has ever been, but it goes by super fact.

If I were in charge I would have never even considered sending all of my students back to school, but thus far I believe that my teachers only want the best for us, as well as themselves, and I am slowly beginning to trust the process more and more. At the same time, as the cold and flu season approaches, and as kids begin coughing and sneezing more during class, I am scared for what the consequences will be.

Some extracirriculars are going full speed while some have yet to start. It has taken many activities longer to start because organizing in-person meetings is more difficult.

Sports and high-contact activities like show choir have had to switch gears in order to stay safe, and other activities like debate have switched to zoom only.

Lunch

Extracurricular

Classes tend to end fairly early for remote learners, which is nice and convenient. Teachers have to wipe desks in the actual classroom, so most teachers let zoom students leave a few minutes early. Also, some teachers assign the classwork for the period and end the zoom so students can do the assignments in private. This is nice because it best accommodates for different home environments people have.

Lunch can be a bit lonely without classmates to share it with, but I find I have enough time to make food at home which can be much better than cafeteria food or cold lunch.

Extra curricular activities have been going fine now that administration has confirmed remote learners can participate. Personally, my debate coach is also working from home so our debate meetings are fully remote with nobody actually in the classroom.

Other clubs are still just adding a zoom to in person meetings like classes do.

The sound of silence: Classrooms quieter than usual

Cadence Russell Staff Reporter

Do you remember walking into a class with non-school-related conversations happening left and right? What happened to the usual in-class bustle?

School is seen by many as a hub to catch up and interact with friends. With the fear surrounding the coronavirus, it seems like class is devoid of those interactions.

Students now are near silent except for the occasional cough, sneeze, or chair squeak.

This lack of communication gives a sense of anxiety and stiffness that makes school feel like a near-hostile environment. Communication between students seems limited to specific classes where that communication is requested by the teacher. Comfortability at school feels like it’s at an all-time low.

Although the silence of the students

could be seen as something that will benefit the students’ focus on class material, I believe the anti-sociability hinders my ability to focus. When the teacher’s voice is the only one I hear, my brain is inclined to clock out. Side conversations and noise that isn’t a teacher’s voice break up the monotony of a lecture.

More importantly, friends at school are one of my biggest motivators to come to school. Students look forward to friendly conversations with the people around them.

Usually, the silence lasts a mere couple weeks at the beginning of the year, but we’re almost a month in already and we have yet to break it.

The weight of this pandemic has everyone in a funk. New procedures limit some

of the subconscious nonverbal communication, which is 70%-93% of all communication. Masks take many facial expressions out of the picture which, consequently, takes away 50% of our communicative efficiency.

With all of this said, safety is best prioritized. Our teachers and administrators should be following guidelines and procedures to ensure the most effective teaching whilst maintaining the health of the student body. Although these safety precautions have negatively affected the social aspects of school, the efforts, so far, have been enough to avoid a school-wide outbreak.

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Opinion 10 • 9 • 2020

Staff Editorial: District should maintain flexibility

with allowing for remote learning

Students have been getting used to the hectic changes going on in our school throughout the first quarter, whether they started online learning or come into school every day with their masks. With the cold weather setting in, multiple students have been showing signs of COVID-19, even if they may not test positive.

Flu season is upon us, and people may start getting worried. Yes, the majority of schools would love to go back to how things were to try to establish some kind of normalcy we haven’t seen in months. But now may not be the best time to start trying to get people back in school. Students are already starting to get sick again, and pushing people together during the sickest time of the year may not be the most helpful decision.

As fall break looms ever closer, Superintendent Jim Sutfin sent an email to families attending Millard schools.

“As I have said all along, we can not recreate the same learning experience remotely that we can in person. As we near the end of the first quarter, it is an ideal time for remote learners to come back to their school. Our schools are safe. Students and staff have taken the responsibility of mask wearing, routine sanitizing and increased hygiene seriously.”

We believe the decisions made by the district overall have been generally flexible for families and

the response to the pandemic has been met with seriousness. In the email, Sutfin continuously thanks families for handling the changes in school so well.

Even so, encouraging students to consider coming back to school at the moment may not be ideal.

Our positivity rate for COVID has been less than .1% across the district, as Sutfin explained, but we believe the schools haven't been put through the flu season in its entirety yet. Asking families to consider bringing students back to school now could very quickly make all the changes made at the beginning of the year meaningless.

In short, we believe the students and their families should choose when to come back to school, if at all. The school can encourage families to come back, but families should not feel pressured to make a decision.

art by Keeley King and KJ Ellison

Finn: my cutest enemy, my big-little devil

Just like everyone else in the United States, my family bought a dog during quarantine.

We had the original idea to buy a small to medium dog, but instead came back with a chocolate labrador puppy.

I had this whole idea that Finn, our chocolate lab puppy, was going to be my best friend and love me forever. After living with the devil for six months, that is not the case.

Almost immediately, Finn got a soft spot for my parents and listened to everything he said. Whenever me or my brother tried to get him to do

Halle Benson Co-Editor in Chief

something, he wouldn’t listen to us. The only time Finn would listen to me was when I taught him how to climb onto the couch, which my parents were not happy about.

Like any other puppy, Finn has a biting problem. I know this isn’t going to go away anytime soon, but oh my gosh, puppy teeth are the worst. There are multiple scars and bite marks on my hands and wrist from him. My hands don’t even look half as bad as my Mom and Dad’s hands and arms.

I tried to make amends with Finn by feeding him dinner. I would get him excited, and we would race over to the food container to scoop up some food for him to eat. Finn got used to this and started bullying me. When he thought it was time to eat, he would come find me on the couch and start barking at me. I didn’t listen to him. Then, Finn would climb onto the couch and bark in my face and try to bite at my hands.

I had to stop feeding him in order to break the habit of being fed by me and only me.

Finn loves to run and jump into people’s arms when they walk through the front door or come downstairs.

Never once has Finn ever done that to me. He even did that to my sister, who came back home for college in May and moved back to school in Louisiana.

When I come back from school with my brother, I always open the gate to let

Finn run free. He doesn’t hesitate to run into my brother’s arms and ignore me.

Sure, Finn can ignore me all he wants, but the moment I start ignoring him, he gets mad at me and starts to bark, nip at my hand, and drop toys at my feet. So I try to interact with him by picking up the toy, but he goes in and grabs it first, nearly biting hard into my hand. It is so rude.

Recently, I’ve been trying to take Finn on walks and play with him in the backyard. The only problem is that Finn is stronger than me and likes to almost pull me to the ground with his leash. Yes, Finn is only over fifty pounds, but I am an incredibly weak person and cannot match the strength of my own dog.

In order to better train Finn, we’ve started taking him to puppy classes and daycare. This is great, because Finn is usually gone for an afternoon or the entire day. I call that paradise. Eventually, we do have to bring him home, and when we do, he goes sprinting to everyone in my family except for me. There are times where Finn will look at me, then turns around to go to someone else in the family.

The only time Finn is nice to me is when I bring out the ice cream. For some reason, my Dad started giving my dog a couple of licks of Vanilla Bean ice cream. Now,

Common Sense

Common Sense is the official publication of Millard South High School 14905 Q Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137. School district guidelines determine the suitability of advertising content. To place an ad or inquire about rates, call (402)-715-8363.

Common Sense is a monthly publication produced in Room 130. Common Sense uses desktop publishing hardware and software: Apple computers, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Google word processing software. Printing by White Wolf Web in Sheldon, Iowa.

Letters to the editor are encouraged. All letters must be signed with the student’s first and last name, grade, then submitted to Mrs. Kaldahl. Unsigned letters will not be published. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, length, and clarity. Letters of profane nature or other infractions of school or district policy will not be published.

Editors-in-Chief Halle Benson Natalie Fedde Features Editor Hailee Wakefield Sports Editor Aly Seevers Opinions Editor Joni Beauchamp

whenever I open the tub of ice cream, Finn will come running up to me with his wagging tail until he gets his handouts for the evening. Don’t worry, I don’t give him any.

There are times when I do appreciate Finn as a good dog, but it doesn’t happen often. I don’t regret convincing my parents to get a dog, it has definitely made my family’s time in quarantine a lot more interesting .

Entertainment Editor Carah Jones Staff Cartoonists Keeley King KJ Ellison InDepth Editor KJ Ellison Online Editor Lane Howard Business Manager Olivia Palmer

Staff Secretary Alex Tippets Staff Reporters Cadence Russell Lauren Rayner Sam Tews Courtney Stroeble Joey Kaipust Paige Winchester Adviser Christine Kaldahl

6

Focus 10 • 9 • 2020

Teachers: We feel disconnected, oh we feel so disconnected Joey Kaipust Staff Reporter

The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have not just been affecting students. Teaching staff had to adapt more than anyone to the new circumstances imposed by COVID.

The return to school was a mad scramble for teachers. “It was difficult because we didn’t have a clear plan on anything,” speech instructor Rebecca Johnson-Geiss said. Teachers were forced to quickly adapt to the 50/50 learning model, and then two weeks later to 100 percent.

“Everything was very hectic,” Johnson-Geiss said.

Now, more than a month into the semester at 100 percent capacity, teachers have been able to adapt.

However, as the dust has settled some long term issues have emerged.

“To put it simply, we don’t have all of our students here,” social studies teacher Andrew Means said. With some students fully remote and others in quarantine, almost every class offered by Millard South has students tuning in over Zoom. “Without all of our students here, it’s hard to make some of those connections,” Means said.

Social distancing and the absence of some students have made it challenging for teachers to build relationships in their classrooms. For many teachers, something is missing. “[Not having all our students] has definitely changed the classroom dynamic.” FCS teacher Shelby Bockelmann said.

Teachers have made several major changes in how their course functions to provide an equal learning experience for remote learners. “We use google classroom a lot more,” Means said. Many classes have been switching to primarily digital assignments to have uniformity between remote and in-person learners. “I use almost no paper now,” Means said.

With the shift to a primarily digital learning format, teachers have had to work hard to provide for students who learn best with hands-on activities. “We’ve really had to change interactive and manipulative activities,” Bockelmann said. To respond to students doing classwork mainly on their computers, teachers have had to pioneer ways to engage students who learn best in this way. “We experimented last spring with digital interactive notebooks, and we’ve been using them more in class this year,” Bockelmann said. Teachers have found success with online activities like these interactive notebooks, and also the virtual labs being used in science classes.

Another large obstacle to engaging classrooms is the safety precautions needed for in-person students.

“We’re in unnatural conditions,” history instructor Mr. Martin said.

Classroom safety restrictions have changed a number of things, with a prime example being group work.

“For teachers that do a lot of collaborative work, things have really changed,” Martin said. For the purpose of ac-

curate contact tracing, staff have been pairing students exclusively with those nearby them. This is a simple but effective solution, because students working with each other would have already been within six feet anyways.

However, a negative side effect of this is damage to classroom cohesion. Students interact only with those immediately next to them, and might as well be in a different class than those on the other side of the room.

This has made it challenging for teachers to build classroom unity. “It has been difficult to make connections and have a classroom community,” Martin said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed some serious problems for staff, but not everything to come out of it has been bad. Teachers have been able to notice a silver lining. “

You can tell students are just happy to be back among other people,” Martin said. After the e-learning of last spring and a long summer, teachers have noticed a newfound appreciation in students for school. Teachers have also seen students show a higher sense of responsibility.

“Students have been doing what they need to stay safe, … Everyone has been really good about wearing their masks,” Martin said. For a lot of teachers, students’ newfound drive has made it easier for them to push forward. “As soon as we saw the students on the first day, all the frustrations were lifted and we were happy to be back,” Johnson-Geiss said.

Freshmen:

We feel fine, oh we feel just fine KJ Ellison InDepth Editor

With Covid-19, many aspects of people’s lives have changed. The school year the students envisioned for themselves is all but nonexistent. From wearing masks, to sanitizing before walking into classes, the required protective measures students now have to face while at school seems so different than what anyone is used to.

Freshmen especially are experiencing the transition to high school in a way never done before.

“It’s very different from what I thought it would be,” freshman Tatum Pelley said. “I thought the workload would be different...it’s still stressful, but in a different way. I thought it would be a lot of paperwork we have to do, but all that work is online now.”

Pelley explained that the switch from middle school to high school was pretty overwhelming, mostly because of the size of the school, the amount of homework she has, and the fact that she gets to carry her bag with her at all times.

“I feel like I’m handling it pretty well but it’s still stressful and I’m still trying to get used to it,” Pelley said.

In addition to navigating the increased academic load, Pelley is also learning the skills of Marching Band. She said she originally thought it was going to be difficult, not to mention a lot of work. But nothing could’ve prepared her for how precise she had to be while marching.

“The big difference between band in middle school and high school is that we have to march and we don’t get to

do concert band until the second half of the year,” Pelley said “COVID-wise, I never would’ve thought that we would have to cut a whole in our masks to play our instruments and stay socially distanced,” she said.

Let’s not forget the freshmen who aren’t even at school. These freshmen don’t see anyone from school besides through a screen and can’t join athletics or activities. Their “high school experience,” is extremely different from what anyone else has ever dealt with.

“I’m not really at the high school so it’s not that much different from middle school for me, but I do like the block schedule compared to the 7 period schedule,” freshman Zoie Wessling said.

“I thought it would be way more stressful but it’s not completely terrible.”

Wessling is not in any of the clubs or activities at school because of her 100% learning. She went to school the first day and decided afterwards it would be better if she stayed home because her mother wouldn’t have to worry about picking her up and dropping her off, and she had less of a chance of getting COVID.

“I get to sleep in so honestly I see it as an absolute win all the way around.”

The administration and staff have been accommodating for the freshman as well.

They understand that these students are not getting the entire freshman experience, but are doing their best to expand and grow in high school.

When asked how well the freshmen were doing with the drastic switch from middle school to COVID high school, As-

Freshman Olivia Ballard selects and prepares a slide to view under the microscope in Tim Leuschen’s biology class. Photo by Bella Lechtenberger Nunez

sistant Principal Matt Geerts said, “Our 9th graders have done really well considering the circumstances. You have to remember that they did not get that freshman only day to learn the ropes of the new school, their class schedule, and see their first pep rally. They had to start right in with regular classes.”

He went on to say that although they didn’t go through their introductory activities, the freshman still took the transition extremely well, and not a single student has complained about using a mask or hand sanitizer.

“I have been very impressed across the board with how well our students are doing with the protocols. School is feeling a little more normal every day!”

Geerts said.

The freshman class has dealt with extremely difficult mental and emotional challenges. COVID and high school combined forces students to adapt to situ-

ations they may not be ready to handle yet, and could require them to reach out to other people for assistance.

“From my perspective, it seems as though freshmen have adapted well to the safety protocols, specifically maskwearing,” Counselor Elizabeth Dickson said.

Dickson explained that social distancing is a bit difficult to maintain for students, especially during lunch, mainly because they want to socialize with each other. She also said that the counselors haven’t seen an increase in freshmen compared to past years, but that often attributes to the freshmen still learning who their counselors are and how to reach them.

“We welcome meeting our new students and encourage them to reach out to us anytime!” Dickson said.

7

Focus 10 • 9 • 2020

Seniors: We feel cheated, oh we feel so cheated Carah Jones Entertainment Editor

The start of this school year has been setting many new precedents with the introduction of hand sanitizers at every door, masks worn throughout the day, no Pride Time, and an 18-minute-longer lunch block with only two people per table. It’s an indisputable fact that these changes have been hard on everyone, including new students, current students, staff, admin, etc. However, many seniors say the year that was meant to be The Big Year has been nothing but a disappointment.

“My original plan for senior year was to just go through it like a normal year, start applying for colleges at the beginning of the year, and then spread my wings and take off,” senior Bre Grandstaff said.

If you haven’t yet noticed, that’s not how this year

is going. Instead, seniors have been scrambling to catch up with seniors of previous years. At a time where previous students would have been applying for colleges, students are now trying to figure out ACT scores, the best way to get into schools, and what they want to even do in their futures.

In addition to this, the Class of 2021 has missed out on their junior prom and senior homecoming. Not only have these two large events been cancelled for students, but with the abrupt end to their spring activities season and now a seriously minimized fall activities season, seniors are feeling extremely disheartened.

“I was looking forward to football games, homecoming, and prom,” senior Savannah Johnson said.

“Maskne”

Art by Kiwi King

“Senior year just isn’t the same and I wish things could just be back to normal,” she said.

Not everything has been a disappointment, though. Senior Sydney McDermott said she was planning on going on many college visits during this year, but unfortunately they were cancelled due to COVID. “Instead I will go to meetings with college reps via Zoom,” McDermott said. “It’s definitely not the same, but it is something I can do.”

Senior Lexie Corrales-Thompson said she was really looking forward to getting to go to football games this year, and now that they are seniors only, she says, “That will be exciting! Any little thing helps.”

More than just college visits and football games are looking different for seniors, though. Recently, on Sept. 22, senior students were required to take the ACT. They were supposed to be taking it this past April during their junior year, but schools were closed before they had the chance.

Even with South standing behind the seniors, helping them through this tough time, it doesn’t necessarily make it any easier.

“Colleges are changing the application process, our ACT was rescheduled, money is tighter,” Grandstaff said.

Even though a lot of 2021’s senior year has fallen flat, seniors have been working hard to stay optimistic and roll with the blows being thrown at them.

The superintendent and school board had to make choices about how school will go this year, and they did it with our best interests at heart, McDermott said.

“We have a choice on how to go forward… We can choose how we act,” she said.

Johnson says that despite the impacts COVID has had on how school looks this year, “We need to try and make the best of it… We need to work together and help each other get through this.”

“I really just want to ask for patience,” senior Corrales-Thompson said. “We really are going through a lot and we are trying our hardest to be so positive.”

How do you feel? smells like . . .

smells like . . .

art and graphic by K.J Ellison

graphic by Natalie Fedde source: Common Sense poll. 60 surveyed

After the first week of school, the Common Sense staff sent out a poll to students asking what the hand sanitizer and table cleaner smell like. We gave them a few initial options, but we left an “other” option so people could tell us what they specifically source: Common Sense poll. 60 surveyed

thought the hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies smelled like.

The most popular vote for the smell of the hand sanitizer was alcohol/tequila with a 25%, and Dog Food being the runner-up at 21.7%. Some staff favorites from the “other” category were “decay-

ing parmesan cheese,” ”rotten fruit,” and “bad.” Most students responded that the cleaning supplies smelled like “Grandma’s Retirement Home.” A few staff favorites from this category were “stinky” and “idk I haven’t smelled it.”

8

Entertainment 10 • 9 • 2020

Flashy but Forgettable: Tenet misfires, disappoints audiences Lauren Rayner Staff Reporter

Walking into the theater to see Tenet, I was fully expecting to walk out feeling perplexed and contemplative the rest of the night, as Christopher Nolan’s films are literal puzzles, constantly playing with the idea of time, in addition to astonishing visuals and special effects. After seeing incredible films like Inception (2010), and Interstellar (2014), along with the critical acclaim Nolan has received over the years, I had nothing but high hopes for Tenet, but as the movie went on, I felt less and less impressed, and more and more disappointed.

Explaining a Christopher Nolan movie is nearly impossible, but the general plot of Tenet follows an agent, known as “The Protagonist,” played by John David Washington, and his bizarre mission to stop World War III from happening. The Protagonist is joined by his trusty sidekick Neil, played by Robert Pattinson. Both characters then grasp contact with the villainous Russian arms dealer called Andrei, and his wife Kat, who is unfortunately in an abusive relationship and is forced to stay in the marriage for the sake of keeping their son.

Tenet manages to confuse the viewer in the worst way possible. Knowing Nolan, I wasn’t expecting a straightforward screenplay that doesn’t make

the viewer become the detective, but if a film requires the viewer to partake in extensive research just to barely understand the message of the movie, it can’t simply be written off as “complex”, It is simply incoherent. Tenet’s plot is incredibly messy, and jumps around through time and plots to the point of madness, to where it becomes frustrating to watch. Tenet lacks an emotional core. It is seriously hard to become attached to any of the characters on the screen without tone or a basic storytelling structure. It was almost as if Nolan tried to fit as much of a plot in two and a half hours that it is literally inconceivable.

Besides my problems with the story of Tenet, I also came across a multitude of technical problems with the movie.

Although a Nolan trademark is a loud,

Netflix closets LGBTQ+ characters Halle Benson Co-Editor in Chief

As one of the most well known streaming services, subscribers rely on Netflix to have a variety of shows and movies to watch. They have tons of movies for kids, shows for teenagers, even anime and Korean drama shows, but they lack shows that have LGBTQ+ representation.

Before people start arguing with me, I know about Netflix’s token shows with LGBTQ+ representation.

Usually, those are shows that have the main plot points with main characters that are in relationships with each other, then they have side characters that aren’t straight.

“The Umbrella Academy” is an example of one of those shows. There are basically seven main characters of the show, but only two out of the seven happen to be queer. Klaus Haragreeves identifies as masculine non-binary and pansexual. They are seen throughout the series as the comedic relief that has a story line, but it is never the main focus. The other sibling is Vanya Haragreeves, who is bisexual and has had relationships with a man and a woman in the show.

While Vanya is the main reason for these events in the show, she is often

thrown aside and forgotten about, so her siblings can come in and save the day.

Netflix’s other token LGBTQ+ show is called She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The show is full of girl characters being in relationships with each other, but they are also fighting the bad guys and trying to take down the Hoarde. This is a children’s show as well, and from what I know, a lot of parents don’t approve of their children watching this show.

As for shows that have LGBTQ+ representation, most of them have been canceled by Netflix. Recently, “I Am Not Okay With This” and “The Society” have been canceled due to COVID complications, but they are still filming other shows this October and November. Other shows that have been canceled in the past are “Everything Sucks,” “Trinkets,” and “Mind Hunter.”

Moving forward, Netflix should be more open minded when it comes to creating original shows and work on not canceling them. This type of representation is amazing for the future of film, because if you think about it, not everyone in the world is straight, so why have shows without any queer representation in them.

anxiety-ridden score blaring in the background of the movie, the dialogue in Tenet was impossible to follow. The sound mixing drowns out any discourse between characters, and even if you are lucky enough to hear what the characters are saying, it will most likely add to the confusion of the story, or whatever story you are trying to grasp onto. The editing is embarrassingly bad for a blockbuster, as Tenet often feels like an assault of random clips and sound that you will have to fumble around with to make any sense of what is happening on the screen.

Tenet wasn’t completely unbearable, however. Washington and Pattinson’s performances were decent, and the visual effects were gorgeous and exciting as usual. A pro of having an obnoxiously loud score is that the gunshots and punches sounded great in the theater.

I thoroughly enjoyed feeling my seat

shake as I watched the intense fight scenes play on the screen. Even with the incomprehensible plot, the action scenes were very entertaining. Seeing some good old-fashioned punches thrown caught my attention for moments, during the time not spent trying to understand everything that happened in the first hour.

Leaving Tenet, I ended up feeling completely dissatisfied and irked. The entire movie felt pretentious and disjointed, almost as if it were a last-ditch effort to throw a movie out as soon as theaters began to open up in the United States.

It would be surprising if anyone finished this film without a headache from the nauseating score and from the complicated plot Tenet desperately tried to tell.

Nolan’s fan base will try to say “You don’t need to understand it for it to be good” and claim that the complexities of Tenet are genius, when the fact of the matter is that just because a movie is convoluted, doesn’t mean it’s brilliant. With characters lacking emotional depth, glittering special effects, and inaudible conversation, you are left with a poorly executed mess of a movie that you will probably forget about on the way home.

‘everything means nothing’ is everything fans asked for Olivia Palmer Business Manager

A lot of teens are going through tough times right now. Whether it’s the stress of applying to college, a rocky relationship, or the mess of Covid-19, everyone has a struggle right now. I personally use music to cope with my anxieties and struggles. Recently, I’ve had blackbear’s newest album “everything means nothing” on repeat, which I’ve also used as my coping music. As a result, I decided to do a review over this amazing album.

As a new fan, blackbear releasing his new album “everything means nothing” this summer was a great introduction to his music. While I usually don’t listen to R&B or hip hop, blackbear is one of my few exceptions. Some of my best friends are huge fans of him, so I figured that it was my time to finally give him a listen.

While his music is usually about his struggles with depression, addiction, and heartbreak, the music has a very upbeat sound with a strong beat. With my favorite song on the album being “sobbing in cabo,” it has very depressive and heartbreaking themes, but it’s covered by a buoyant, ‘poppy’ sound. With lyrics like “I’m still stuck in the past with these pictures of you knowing nothing will last forever” and “There’s nowhere in the world to make me feel right. Where we left things off, can we bring to the light?”, they really emphasized that heartbreak he endured. Another favorite of mine is “half alive.” While “sobbing in cabo” has more of an “I miss you and I can’t get over you” vibe, “half alive” is him singing how he covers up his pain of heartbreak with his vices of drinking and drugs.

A lot of his songs follow that theme of heartbreak and how he deals with his pain, which can be a very relatable topic to Gen Z-ers.

I truly love a lot of the songs on this album, but there are some that are just

Follow us on Twitter @mshscommonsense on Instagram @commonsensenp and check out our website at wearemillardsouth.com

not for me. An example would be “clown.”

I feel like this song is just too basic with the lyrics and was trying to grab at Gen Z slang. The song definitely feels like a filler, with the beat being very basic and not as “ear-catching” as other songs on the album. Another song that is not my favorite is “hot girl bummer”. This song came out last year and was nonstop played for months. I became sick of this song really quick. When the full album came out, I was so ready to hear some of his new work, but when the album started out with “hot girl bummer”, I was not very happy about it. I really don’t think this should’ve been on the album, but it doesn’t take away from my overall high opinion of the full album.

While he commonly stays with the more upbeat, fun sound, one of the songs on the album, “smile again” is one of the few slower, heartfelt songs. With the song being very acoustic and calming, it shows his more “human” self, with him fully bearing his feelings in such a raw and real way. He really shows this in the lyric “and sometimes love will leave you even when it’s right, but I was happy for a while, and I don’t know if I’ll smile again.” With this song being the final one of the set, it wraps the album with a nice, emotional bow.

I just love this album. It gives you everything: slow and chill, upbeat and hype, or just a mix of everything in one.

The thing I love most about his music is it’s like a metaphor; even the happiest people can be hiding behind a mask. You can never know how people are truly feeling right now. So check in on your friends, show them you care, share some music with them. Because what matters most right now is everyone being able to “smile again” someday and not just feel “half alive.”

Entertainment/Features 10 • 9 • 2020

9

The life and death of the temporary channel Unus Annus K.J. Ellison InDepth Editor

Marvel’s New Mutants falls short of expectations Natalie Fedde Co-Editor in Chief

You only have one year to do it all.

After that year everything you did will be gone and the only thing to remember what you did was your memories.

This is the basis of the YouTube channel Unus Annus. The literal translation of these Latin words is “one year.” In this series of YouTube videos, Mark Fischbach and Ethan Nestor, well-known Youtubers Markiplier and Crankgameplays respectively, make one video a day for one year, and when the ever ticking clock is finally at 00:00:00, they will erase the channel in its entirety.

When watching the trailer for this channel, the pretense was mysterious and almost serious. The air seemed heavy with the topic of death. The two “main characters” of the channel considerately asked the viewer to join them on their adventure through the year. Whether the viewer decided to or not would not be a big deal, but the viewer only had so much time to join before it was too late.

The next day, the fans of the channel quietly and anxiously awaited for what the new video of the day would be. I don’t think anyone expected the video to be so...hysterical. Unfortunately, I can’t write the title of the first official video of Unus Annus, since it’s anything but schoolappropriate, but the video was extremely lighthearted.

All the videos that have followed since the timer started ticking have been on a huge scale of weird, comical, oddly interesting, fairly serious, and insanity.

Each of these videos usually go from 10 minutes to about 25 minutes or so.

Watching these videos has certainly been one heck of a ride. Last November, when Unus Annus started, both Nestor and Fischbach were able to be together to make the videos. Then the quarantine lock down happened sometime around March, and the two of them made multiple videos while in lock down. I could tell they were losing their minds a bit while stuck inside everyday, even if they were used to making videos inside anyway. It was oddly

comforting to see the two of them stuck inside just like everyone else was. When lock down rules started to be lifted, the two of them got tested for COVID. The two tests came back negative, and they agreed to meet face to face again to continue their “deadly” shenanigans.

All in all, I’m definitely going to be very sad when this channel and it’s videos will be lost to time. Obviously I understand that some people are going to keep videos and download them, or self-proclaimed archive channels will reupload the videos, but it’s clear that these people don’t understand the point of Unus Annus.

An infamous saying known as Momento Mori means, “remember you must die.” It was said way before Unus Annus started using it. The message means you should enjoy the time you have before it’s gone. It’s basically a more mysterious version of Carpe Diem. It’s a saying that I will never forget, all because of this wonderful mayhem that was Unus Annus.

A big reason why I wanted to write this is because I only had so much time left to do so. I wanted to tell people about it so they could experience something that I myself enjoy. It feels like I should “do my part” and help people experience the things that are bound to leave soon.

It’s interesting to think about how people will react when it’s finally gone someday. I often think about how people may ask me in the future about what exactly Unus Annus was. All I think about is a quote from Mark Fischbach in one of my favorite Unus Annus videos:

“It’s important for those people that were here for any length of duration, whether you’re here from the beginning, the end or join in a month before the end or a few days . . . like, it’s special because you were there. It’s . . . It’s an experience. If you watch the videos afterwards it doesn’t have the same meaning. It’s important because it’s temporary.”

Memento Mori. Unus Annus.

Marvel finally released its new superhero horror movie The New Mutants on Aug. 28 after many delays since its original release date in 2018, and after a two year build-up, the film didn’t hold up to expectations.

The New Mutants is an extension of the X-Men universe and follows five children navigating their abilities and learning control in a special facility for recently discovered mutants.

Throughout the movie, the characters build relationships, gain more insight about their individual powers, and discover secrets about the facility they are in.

One of the shining points of the movie is the romantic relationship that develops between Dani and Rahne. This representation of gay women is one of the only I’ve seen that doesn’t stereotype the gay characters. Dani and Rahne’s romance was treated like any teen romance. It was refreshing to see writers not emphasize the fact that the characters were women loving women and just let their relationship develop like any other relationship.

The New Mutants also had good indigenous representation. The main character Dani grows up on a Cherokee reservation and is played by Blu Hunt, an indigenous actress.

While the actors and representation in The New Mutants are great, the screen writing and plot definitely fell short. Much of the dialogue was cheesy and cringey and took away from the realness of the on-screen relationships. The audience also didn’t get to see much emotional intimacy from the characters causing relationships to feel rushed and fake.

The plot of The New Mutants was also a bit of a letdown. While I think the premise was creative, the story line of the movie was overall forgettable, and the climax felt flat.

There was this huge build-up to the final fight scene in the movie, but it ended so calmly and without any intensity that an audience craves from an actionhorror film.

Even though The New Mutants wasn’t quite Oscar award winning, it is worth the watch.

Lesbians and indigenous women have the chance to see themselves on the screen in a destigmatized way, and the movie is good for a few laughs even if it isn’t supposed to be funny.

As long as you don’t go in expecting the action-horror film advertised, The New Mutants is definitely worth a watch.

Microsoft soars to new heights with flight simulator game Sam Tews Staff Reporter

2020 has been a bad year for a lot of different things, one of those being entertainment in general. With places like movie theaters and other forms of popular entertainment being closed, more people were stuck at home playing video games.

The thing is that not very many good games have come out this year, but Microsoft announced that the latest

version of Flight Simulator was releasing this year and people finally had a game to look forward to. Boasting some very impressive features like real-time simulated weather, an ultra realistic flight system, and a map that is a simulation of the entire globe, this new take on the flight simulator is set to be one of the most groundbreaking and interesting games of the year so far.

Microsoft’s flight sim series has been around for a while now, with the first game in the series coming out in 1982.

This first game consisted of a plane’s instrument panel that took up half of the screen, variable time of day that you had to control, and a simple weather system. There were other “games” after the first, but they were basically just small updates to the original game. But then Microsoft Flight 5.0 came out and was the first game in the series to have 3d models and textures.

Multiple years later, Microsoft Flight Simulator X released. That game ended up becoming one of the most popular flight sims in the world, and at the time of release, was the most realistic flight simulator. Of course by today’s standards those games are outdated, some more than others, but they laid the foundation for a series of very realistic simulators that are sometimes even used by real pilots to sharpen their skills.

Skipping ahead to the present day we now have Flight Simulator 2020, the most ambitious and ground breaking

addition to the series yet. Released on August 18, 2020 by Xbox Game Studios and developed by Asobo Studio, this new flight simulator had many impressive features such as a simulated version of the entire world created using satellite data from Bing Maps. So yeah, you actually can go anywhere in the entire world, even your own house if you wanted to.

The game also has stunning graphics and amazing visual detail from up above using Azure Cloud to further stimulate higher-fidelity graphics, even some well-known locations such as New York City or London will have an even higher quality of detail through use of photographic information to create higher quality textures.

The game also features real weather simulated in real time. The flight sim team worked closely with weather data company Meteoblue to develop this impressive system. To put it simply, they divided the globe into a few hundred boxes and each box measures wind speed, temperature, humidity, pressure and a long list of other factors.

With all of this data, the game is able to simulate exactly what the weather’s like anywhere in the world, but that’s where the realism of the game’s weather ends. For instance, If it’s raining and you’re inside the cockpit, you’ll notice the rain droplets go across the windows; but that isn’t just an effect, there is a whole physics system that measures about the same things as the weather

factors. The system is then used to simulate exactly how each individual droplet would go across the window in real life.

As you could assume by now, Microsoft Flight Simulator is intensely realistic.

So realistic in fact you could technically learn how to fly a real plane using this game. For example, in the games settings you can find controls for all the different buttons that might be in a real plane. You also of course have the basic flight controls like the yoke and pedals.

The yoke controls pitch (up and down) and roll. The pedals control yaw (left and right). Asobo has created an all new realistic flight model that can actively adapt based on various factors such as the kind of plane you’re flying or what the weather is like.

While learning to fly only using this game is possible, real pilots most likely wouldn’t recommend that, as they would only use something like this only for practice. Most people will probably just play it just for entertainment anyway because it’s also just a fun game.

So that’s Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, a great game and simulator that anyone can enjoy. Showcasing next-gen video game graphics and features, this game is truly groundbreaking. I would definitely recommend that you at least try this game out if you have a good computer or an Xbox, all you need to do is get the Xbox Game Pass, which is only $1 for your first month.

10

Sports 10 • 9 • 2020

Athletes face toughest Ally Seevers Sports Editor

POV: You’re walking out onto the field, diamond, or court. Normally, you hear the roar of the crowd with their deafening applause, calling out your name, and cheering you on. But now, the only thing damaging your ears is the thunderous sounds of the pep band. There may be a few hand claps here and there, but nothing like what it used to be.

“Not having a crowd, it’s just, a completely different environment,” said junior and varsity football player, Antrell Taylor.

“Going from a lot of people in the crowd, yelling, and screaming your name. And now there is nobody, except for parents.”

Due to COVID-19, the student section has been withdrawn from the stands. And for the sports that typically have a massive crowd of students, the athletes involved have to adapt to not having a student section to cheer them on.

“If they [the students] were there, we would have different vibes coming from the crowd. Now we just have to create our own energy and not rely on the crowd watching to create it for us,” said junior and varsity softball player, Avery Laing. “One of our biggest goals right now is just to maintain energy throughout the entire game. It’s Senior Jonathan Warner, #1 Millard South singles player, returns the ball in a match against Bellevue West. Photo by David Church pretty difficult with COVID and the masks, and cheering teammates on.”

The athletes often utilize the crowd, “I was looking forward to the Swing for the along with the cheerleaders, for support Cure tournament, but we couldn’t do it this and motivation, but with the removal of the year cause of COVID. So we just get to play student section, it’s hard to stay energized. one game instead of a tournament. We

Senior and varsity volleyball player, were just looking forward to it cause it’s like Mikenna Kerkman said, “Especially in big a big thing we do here at Millard South. So games… if we are down by like a lot, they now that it’s canceled, it’s kind of unfortu[the student secnate,” said Laing. tion] are like ‘Yay! The CreighGo you!’ And we’re ton Prep Cross like, ‘Yay! Go us!’ ” Country Invite at

“Not having Boys Town was students definitely another major changed it a lot, event that was surprisingly. Like, cancelled to stop I feel like it makes the spread of you more focused COVID-19. on the game, but I “I was looking feel like the excite– Junior Mallory Childers forward to… ment is gone. You the Boys Town need that student meet because section to be there and cheer them on with we won it 2 years in a row, and now, we us,” said junior and varsity cheerleader Maldon’t even get the chance to win it a third,” lory Childers. said junior and varsity cross country runner

Besides the removal of the student Julia Mclain. “And we [the girls varsity cross section, COVID-19 has changed or even country team] are kind of bummed about it canceled some of the major events of the cause a lot of us had a good chance at placseason, including the Swing for the Cure Defensive back junior Gage Stenger rolls over the Bellevue West ball carrier. Photo by ing at it too.” tournament.

David Church

COVID-19 has also led to restrictions on

feel like the excite“Iment is gone. You need that student section to be there and cheer them on with us

”

The Patriot girls varsity cross country team get a fast start to their race at Walnut Creek. Photo courtesy of PrepRunningNerd

Defensive specialist sophomore Audrey Behrens passes the ball to junior setter Makayla Fleming. Photo by Lydia Bruckner

Sports 10 • 9 • 2020

11

opponent yet

NSAA announces bowling as a new sanctioned sport

athletes’ displays of sportsmanship towards their teammates during a game.

“And there are a lot of rules now with all the changes,” said Laing. “You can’t really touch anyone, which is weird. You can’t give high-fives, you can’t give hugs, you can’t cheer for someone at the plate when they get a home run, so everything’s different.”

“There are some rules that have changed. It’s the simple things like shaking hands after matches, telling people, ‘Good match!’,” said sophomore and varsity tennis player, David Carey.

Although this season is not what everyone wanted, we are fortunate to be able to have it.

“A lot of us, we just wanted to have a winning season. We are a completely new team this year, and so… it’s going to be a lot harder to get into it.

Joey Kaipust Staff Reporter

The NSAA decided to make bowling an official sanctioned sport in a board meeting earlier this year.

Bowling has been operating as a club sport for several years now, but with this change, schools are now able to have official bowling teams and there will be a state competition. An extensive list of schools have decided to participate in the first season of NSAA bowling, including all three of the Millard high schools. “Our goal is to have two teams this year. One for boys and one for girls,” Athletic Director Steve Throne said.

Introducing a whole new sport comes with some important tasks that must be done. One priority is finding a coach to lead the team. “We are in the process of hiring coaches right now,” Throne said. “We – Junior Jackson Martin have a handful of teachers interested in coaching this year’s teams.”

Another priority for building a team is gathering a talented team of bowlers. Many of the members of Millard South’s club team from previous years plan to compete for the school team this year. “Our bowling club has been very successful in the past couple of years so now these same students get the opportunity to represent us on a statewide level,” Throne said.

“Exciting times!”

Junior Jackson Martin is one of these club members that plans to go out for the school team. He is excited for the change but also has some concerns. “It’s a little weird for the change to happen this year of all times, and it will be hard to adjust,” Martin said. Despite the unusual situation, members of the club team are looking forward to their sport becoming official. “It’s really cool to get recognition and a sense of legitimacy,” Martin said.

really cool “ It’s to get recognition and a

Senior Jackie Morrissey pitches against Papio LaVista in the Swing for the Cure game. Photo by Lydia Bruckner

sense of legitimacy.

The members on the Millard South Cheer team cheer on the Patriot Pride band. Photo by Ally Seevers

”

Golfers chip in for a great season Ally Seevers Sports Editor

South girls golf team has not let that stop them from having an amazing season.

“This is by far my best season I’ve had,” said junior

Golf is one of the most mentally and physically Ella Haakinson. “This season is going really well, which challenging games, and with the addition of the global is encouraging.” pandemic, it is something like no other. Yet the Millard

The team graduated 4 out of their 5 varsity golfers from last season, leaving some pretty big shoes to fill.

“Ella [Haakinson, the only returning varsity member,] has finished higher than any of our other girls,” said head coach Greg Geary. “As far as who stepped up, I think that honestly, they all have because they all came into a role where most of them had never played in a varsity tournament, so being thrust into that this year is a challenge.’

The other 4 members of the varsity team this year are sophomores Miranda Kelly, Elizabeth Hutchinson, Audrey Spahr, and Brooklyn Krasa. Mackenzie Byers is another sophomore on the team.

“And then we’ve got some good, young players. We’ve got 3 freshman: Jaryn Olson, Morgan Wessel, and Ella Palmer,” said Geary. “They have done a great job, played in some JV tournaments and some JV duals. So we’re excited for the future.”

Despite the strange year we have had, the Millard South girls golf team has not let that affect their effort and commitment to the team.

Sophomore Brooklyn Krasa swings her club in preparation to hit the ball.

“I think the thing I’ve enjoyed the Photo courtesy of Coach Geary most about this year is that these 9 girls have shown up every single day

to practice; nobody misses practice,” said Coach Geary.

“They show up everyday, they work on their game, and I’m just proud of their level of commitment.”

Due to the size of the team being relatively small to most sports, the girls have become a tight-knit group, relying on each other for support and motivation.

“My favorite thing about the team is that they are all so fun to be around, and everyone is so nice,” said freshman Ella Palmer. “You don’t feel like you have to worry and be nervous if you mess up or anything because it doesn’t really matter in the long run cause they’re so nice about it.”

“My favorite thing about golf is meeting new people at tournaments and the fun van rides there with the team,” said sophomore Miranda Kelly.

This year’s season has already gotten off to a great start, but the girls are planning to continue to improve their scores, shots, and just overall game.

“It’s been an awesome year from a simple standpoint. These girls have put a lot of work in, and they are so dedicated and loyal, and they don’t miss. They’re there every single day. It says a lot about their character and their drive to want to be as good as they can,” said Coach Geary. “We are excited heading into districts.”

Districts for the girls is Oct. 5th at Lake Mahoney Golf Club in North Platte. Good luck ladies!

girls have “These put a lot of work

in, and they are so dedicated and loyal, and they don’t miss. They’re there every single day.

”

– Coach Greg Geary

12

Sports 10• 9 •2020

Game Time Dance Team member and senior Georgia Osborn supports the varsity football team from the stands. Only students who were part of the game day were allowed to attend the first football game on Aug. 28. Photo by Hannah Doornink

Millard South seniors are welcomed to the stands at the football game. Photo by David Church

The Millard South marching band marches down the track before the start of the football game. Photo by Haley Geringer

#2 TJ Urban high fives #25 Christian Nash after scoring a rushing touchdown against Millard North. Patriots shut out the Mustangs 33-0. Photo by Dylan Schiessler

Dance team member senior Haley Gosch observes junior Carissa Mandolfo’s staddle jump during warm ups on the sidelines before their halftime performance.

Photo by Hannah Doornink