The Dearly DeparTeD Blazer Blazer
Bye-Bye studyhall, hello advisory period
Abigael Hoeting
Reporter
Study halls being removed has created a stir among students. The committee suggesting the change thinks the Advisory Period will be beneficial for the students next year.
Many students feel negative about this decision, like Emma Young ‘29, feel that they should’ve been given a chance to give their input.
“I’m not really a fan of the study halls being removed,” Young said. “People can use them to obviously do their work, and it’s kind of upsetting that the school didn’t even give us an option.”
Though most students don’t even know what the advisory period is supposed to be, with an insight from Guidance Counselor Taylor Biehl, students can have an idea of what to expect with study halls being removed.
“So it's still kind of in the works, but our thought process is to allow, [what] would be like a 30-minute time,” Biehl said. “Where some days of the week, students would have a little extra time to work on their stuff.”
said. “If that fails, then I just have them sit right next to me and say, hey, I know that you have this assignment to do or that assignment to do, I need you to do that, so I just monitor their activity on the computer very closely.”
Though study halls are being removed due to misuse and the advisory period being implemented next year, Mrs. Jobman believes that this could be a good thing, as we just need to get it implemented and worry about all the other things later.
“I am looking forward to it if it is done in an organized manner,” Jobman said. “I think the first year we just need to have the advisory period, get all the bugs worked out, and then add other things. But I think it would be best.”
Study halls aren’t always a work environment; some students don’t even work on homework or complete missing assignments. This is a prevalent issue, as teachers and students come to Mrs. Biehl to explain how students are not using their study halls efficiently and how teachers have to monitor them.
“We felt like, for the majority of students and what we were hearing from the people in charge of those study halls, that most kids don’t use them,” Biehl said. “That it's more of having to monitor what they are using their Chromebooks for and stuff like that."
Teachers such as math teacher Dawn Jobman must prevent the kids from doing other things besides their assignments.
“Blocksi, I just lock them out when they’re playing games, and I know that they have work to do,” Jobman
Even with Dawn Jobman being positive about the advisory period, students still just want study hall back. Taylor Biehl says students could go to Thomas to express their concerns with study hall being removed, even though the study halls may not come back.
“Well, I think if some of you have some real concerns about it, I would say you need probably voice those concerns to Mr. Thomas,” Biehl said. “Not saying it would happen, but you can definitely voice your opinions.“
Advisory periods seem to have more structure and guidance since all teachers will be free and with tutors. Study halls had less of a structure and could lack guidance because teachers would be teaching other classes. 67 out of 120 students who answered a survey feel negatively about study halls being removed, and 64 didn’t know what it was. Students are confused, but should give it a chance and then place their opinion on whether it was the right idea or not.
Teachers hidden talents come in many forms
Dakota Zimmerman
Reporter
Teachers having talents is nothing new. Most teachers have a talent that you know about or that they have told you about, but what about the teachers that keep their talents secret. Brock Godown, Derik Garfield, Mick Suey are teachers that students may not know of their talent or have rarely heard about.
Brock Godown is a band teacher in Fairbury but he is not well known for his athleticism. It might come as a surprise to many that Godown had won a national championship in Broomball at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[1]Band teacher Brock Godown after winning the championship for broomball in 2022.[2]PE teacher Derek Garfield speaking in the BFAC; however, many may not know he could also be performing in the BFAC on a piano. [3]History teacher Mick Suey, known for his American and World history classes was originally going to be an Art teacher. Photo by (@LittleLandis1)X, Delaney Gasper MaeLee Knothe.
reverse, what about an athletic person playing an instrument.
the school and students probably don't even realize it.
They were on a high; winning the national championship 5-1 beating the University of Miami with Godown saying
“I was stoked representing the University at a national level”, Godwon said.
Though not being as big as football or basketball, the team was still recognized for their accomplishments for putting in all the time and effort.
“(Former UNL president) Ronnie D Green tweeted about it and the School posted the banner” said Mr.Godown
And the players did not have coaches but they would have a captain.
“No, I was fortunate enough to be a great captain (Sam Yunker), (practices would consist of) Shooting, running, and passing drills then we would go to a scrimmage for the rest of practice” said Mr.Godown, it sounds similar to hockey or soccer in the sense that you shoot the ball and pass it around just with different equipment.
Mr.Godown known for being a band teacher it comes to a surprise he's so athletic but it also becomes strange when the roles
Derik Garfeild is a P.E teacher and wrestling coach, and has the capability to put someone on their bottom faster than you can think, but you would not think he would be able to play the piano.
Mr. Garfield has had many years of experience under his belt having to be woken up early in age and definitely early in the morning, His mom was the person having to wake him and play the piano.
“ I still enjoy doing it, my mom was a music teacher and dragged me into it.”
It doesn't come to surprise to Garfield that people don't know about his talent either.
“Yes, not a whole lot of people know
And Mr.Garfield still plays quite often having a piano in his house that he still plays from time to time.
“I have a piano at my house, (so yes I do but not regularly”)
But Garfield outside of athletics and theatrics there is one talent that stands out from the rest, and their art legacy goes far beyond a small talent; his works are all over
Mick Suey is a Social studies teacher within the school, he has drawn the face of Fairbury for years drawing all of the Jeff Men logos and some of the school memorials. Mr. Suey has been expressing his passion for years
Grade School, I just enjoyed being creative and enjoyed painting for years”
The memorial outside of his room is one of the icons of the school representing that part of the school well and it was made in a quick and timely manner
“I sketched it for a day, probably took 4 days Mrs. Schouboe helped out.”
Mr. Suey wanted to be an art teacher back in his youth, but after many years of history teaching he now is content with his position and is happy he stayed there.
“I'm gonna retire and I enjoy teaching history now.”
Though all of these teachers have their talents, that students might find them difficult to believe they’re true and maybe if you talk with them they could tell you stories about them.
There had been great anticipation for the production of Mamma Mia ever since it was revealed as the 2025 musical and it did not disappoint. It had its opening night on March 21 with two other performances the following Saturday and Sunday.
Though originally intended for more mature audiences it was still an enjoyable experience for all ages.
The musical was comical and fast-paced featuring many fun songs sung by the lead actors and ensemble. You could tell the entire cast was enjoying themselves on stage and they were all dedicated to their characters. With this musical being more ensemble centered they helped build the world and make the set feel more lively and full.
Considering the actors provided their own costumes they all
MAMMA MIA MANIA!
resembled the characters perfectly and everything felt cohesive. The makeup and hair also fit the characters and looked great on stage. The set was very beautiful and helped immerse you into the world. It featured a hotel set on the beach in Greece with different areas for the cast to move around throughout the show. It was very versatile transforming different parts into a bar area, a bedroom area, or an outdoor plaza.
There were a few technical difficulties such
as microphones cutting out at certain points or just being quiet but overall the show ran very smoothly and the cast, crew, and directors put on an amazing performance.
Layout By: Madison Haddan
Reporter Madison Haddan
Blazer Blazer THE THE
FEATURED ATHLETES FEATURED ATHLETES
Mikelangelo Hunt Landon McBride Hayden Bear Samantha Starr
Q. How does it feel that this is your last year playing?
A .I’m going to to miss the memories.
Q. What’s your favorite part about golf?
A. Meeting new people at golf meets.
Q. Why did you start playing?
A. I started playing because my dad would take me, and I got the hang of it fast.
Q. What advice would you give to younger players?
A. Don’t get in your head you are playing against yourselves.
Q. How long have you been playing?
A. I’ve been playing for six years, since 7th grade.
Q) How do you feel about this being your last year?
A. I want to give it my all since this is my last year.
Q) What made you want to play?
A. I’ve been playing since I was little and I really love playing.
Q) What advice would you give to younger players?
A. Don’t get down on yourself. I know that I still get down on myself but I’ve gotten better from my freshman year to now.
Q) What is your favorite part of baseball?
A. I’m going to keep it simple eating sunflower seeds and hanging out with the team.
Q. How many years have you been running track?
A. Since I was in 8th grade.
Q. What events do you participate in?
A. Pole vault.
Q. What is your favorite memory?
A. The bus rides home.
Q. Which event is your favorite?
A. I’d say honestly the 4x8 is my favorite.
Q. What’s your favorite track memory?
A. My favorite track memory is sophomore year when we ran the 4x4 and we had a lot of pressure on us, because if we were to win the 4x4, we would win the meet and we ended up winning it and it was super fun and exciting because we also honored that track meet for like Edson’s daughter that we lost, so it was a really special moment for our team.
Q. How long have you been running track?
A. I have been running track since 7th grade, but it was COVID that year. So I really started in 8th grade, but I did sprints in Jr. High. I didn’t start running mid-distance until freshman year.
