INSIDE THIS EDITION The Cross Country team met for a morning run and spent time together in preparation for their upcoming season. A wide variety of other fall sports have also been gearing up to compete while incorporating new team members and coaches. See Page 3 for more
THE MENTOR VOLUME 106 - ISSUE 01 - AUG. 15, 2018
MHSMENTOR.COM
Band, choir groups attend summer camps Hailey Eilert Photo Editor
With a new year comes new lineups. The Manhattan High Big Blue Marching Band, Varsity Choir and Pops Choir groups attended camps over the summer. While long days of music practice and attentive focus may seem intimidating to some, it isn’t anything new to the hard working members of both groups. The few summer days when students attend the camps is an anticipated part of summer. “In my opinion, band camp is pretty crucial in order to be successful in marching band,” JoBeth Rose, sophomore, said. “Even if you’re not a freshmen or new student.” At band camp, students get down to the knitty-gritty, learning commands, correct footing, music and working successfully as a team. Nevertheless, band camp isn’t all march and no fun; the camp also gives students a chance to bond with their section members
and participate in camp chants. A favored part of camp is the drill down. The drill down allows for friendly competition between the campers, participants follow marching commands yelled out by band director Joel Gittle. As campers make mistakes they are tapped out of the game. The last camper left marching wins. “It’s to test your focus as well as what you’ve reviewed throughout the week,” Josh Brandt, junior, said. “So during the drill you have to always stay focused or else you are going to lose, so it’s a test of that.” Brandt was one of three winners of the drill down activity, proving his elite focus and skill by out-marching his fellow band members. The marching band isn’t the only group hard at work over the summer. Pops Choir attended a four-day vocal camp. The intensive camp forced choir members to put on their dancing shoes and get to work, learning new choreography, music and techniques.
The vocal camp taught by Manhattan High Alumni trained the new and returning Pops Choir members for their upcoming dance show. “The only major challenge I would say is just some of the choreography is really fast compared to last year,” Parker Wilson, senior, said. “So we just really have to make sure that you are paying attention all the time, because some of the transitions and like some of the times when we have to move, we only have like a single count of eight to get there.” After days of strenuous practice, the Pops group performed their dance show for immediate family and alumni. “I would say it was pretty positive, it was a lot of fun,” Wilson said. “We were all really excited, I’d say the last day we were definitely exhausted. But it was just, I would say really fun and upbeat, we’re all happy to be there and get to learn the choreography for the dance show.”
Hoyt announces retirement as principal Sophia Comas Sports Editor
As Manhattan High bids welcome to students both old and new, it says goodbye to someone who has walked its halls much longer than those students have. Greg Hoyt has announced that he plans to retire at the end of the 2018-2019 school year after 16 years of teaching and six years as principal at MHS. Though it is his last year at the school, Hoyt still intends to hard for his students and faculty while maintaining his leadership role. “I want everybody to have a fantastic school year,” Hoyt said. “I try and carry on and do the best that we can do for the students that we have coming to school this year.” Hoyt has no concrete plans as to what he will do after his time at school has ended, though he does know that whatever he does will be in Manhattan. “It’s something totally new and different,” Hoyt said. “My wife and I are going to stay in Manhattan forever, and I’ll be doing something different.” Though it is still unclear as to who will become the new principal, Hoyt predicts that the district will announce their hire some time around winter break. He also believes that the school will adjust to having a new principal,
though it may be difficult. “I don’t know how different it will be, but it will be different because that person will just have a
Photo by Hailey Eilert Posing in front of the Manhattan High School Indian painting, principal Greg Hoyt smiles for the camera. The second floor walkway is one of Hoyt’s favorite spots in the school.
different view of the school, a different relationship with students, staff, and community,” Hoyt said. “The principal is not what the building is, or who the building is… but our student body is the same excellent student body that it’s been and the staff is, outside of new hires that we’ve got, is the same staff.”
Hoyt is confident in the teachers who remain at MHS and their ability to carry on the legacy of the school while becoming better acquainted with new leadership. “I’m excited about the staff members that we have on board. They’re the ones that really have to carry out the mission of the school inspire the students to do their very best work,” Hoyt said. “I’m just hopeful and optimistic that the staff that we have is going to get that accomplished.” While it’s always hard to leave a place that has been a part of someone’s life for so long, Hoyt believes that change is for the bet-
“I try and carry on and do the best that we can do for the students that we have coming to school this year.” ter and will continue to ensure a great school year for all. “I’ve just enjoyed my time at Manhattan High… It’s a special place and it’s very important to me,” Hoyt said. “I just wish everybody nothing but the very best.”
Photo by Hailey Eilert
Sophomore Sean Anderson marches during the drill down, while junior Owen Braxmeyer marches by his side. This is one of many activities students participate in at band camp, where students practice marching techniques and other skills.
Red Cross Club hosts summer blood drive Sophia Comas Sports Editor
Blood. Everyone needs it. No one can live without it. Yet, as seen during the summer months, there isn’t enough of it. After the American Red Cross issued a nationwide state of emergency, members of the Manhattan High Red Cross Club, founded in April of the previous school year, decided to combat this blood shortage by hosting a blood drive in the West campus commons on the afternoon of Aug. 6. Though it was not as large as annual blood drives conducted by the Student Council, the event still brought in donors willing to give their blood to those in need. “I think that giving blood is just a great way to help the community,” Ashley Savage, senior, said. “There are just so many people out there who need it.” While most parents were able to donate, health conditions deemed the majority of students ineligible. Savage and fellow Red Cross Club member Bakthi Nilaweera, junior, were the first students to donate. With his mother in the donor chair right next to him, Nilaweera decided that he would join her and prepared for
the nurse to insert the needle. “I hadn’t even told my mom about it,” Nilaweera said. “I was scared of needles. I just didn’t want to mess with that kind of stuff but I just said screw it.” That fear often prevents people from donating; however, Nilaweera had the support of his mom, friends and fellow club members to overcome that fear. “I hope this doesn’t hurt,” he said. Describing the feeling like a straw sucking on his arm, Nilaweera has already decided that he will donate again and encourages others to do the same despite the small discomfort. Red Cross Club president Elizabeth Kim and other club members contained the same sentiment, as they continuously worked towards getting donors to come through social media announcements. Their concern for the lack of blood and their commitment to the school made the whole event possible through the help of the Red Cross and their medical expertise. “Number one, it helps the people who could end up being a victim of the blood shortage and number two, it holds up the reputation of the school,” Kim said. “It helps build it up to the prestigeness that it deserves.”
Teachers prepare with USD 383 Back to School Convocation Sophia Comas Sports Editor
As the 2018-2019 school year begins, all USD 383 teachers gathered together on Aug. 9 in Rezac Auditorium for the districtwide Back to School Convocation. With a joke-filled opening by Michele Jones, Director of Communications and School Safety, teachers were able to plan for the new school year and establish goals for themselves and their students. “We’re going to need input from [teachers] as we get into strategies, objectives, measures to make this meaningful,” Dr. Marvin Wade, superintendent, said in his address. “Then there’s the extra planning and then there’s the execution, which we’re going to be looking at. It’s keeping track of
our progress, making sure we’re doing the things we need to do in order for us to succeed.” The conference was specifically designed to target issues experienced during the previous school year where it was revealed that around 554 elementary students had to transfer to different schools due to overcrowding, a huge issue that the district is trying to combat. It also showed that if this issue were to continue there wouldn’t be enough teachers for students to be properly educated. According to Lyle Butler, CEO and president of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, 60 percent of the jobs needed for the current kindergarten class to graduate don’t even exist yet. Despite this problem, they still plan to work hard for their
students through the core beliefs of acceptance, accountability,
Photo by Hailey Eilert Superintendant Dr. Marvin Wade gives a speech. Wade spoke at the convocation, where he addressed the state of the school district to an audience of faculty and district employees.
courage, joy and trust to ensure student success. By establishing pillars of talent, culture and en-
vironment, partnership and the well-being of students, USD 383 hopes to create fun and safe surroundings for effective learning. “I think it’s critical for me and our entire system to convince everybody in this room, everybody in the community that we really can make our vision reality,” Wade said. “… We’re going to have better communication, increased focus, higher expectations and then greater accountability for getting the things done that need to be done.” After the issues facing USD 383 were addressed, individual awards were announced as well as the accomplishments the district achieved, such as fundraising for renovations in Rezac Auditorium, a key feature to the West Campus. According to Jim Morrison, president of the Manhattan-Og-
den Public Schools Foundation, a non-profit that receives donations to later gift to the district, about $120,000 of the $150,000 goal was made. “We still have some projects to continue and complete,” Morrison said. “We hope they will add to the needs of the school and for students and the programs that we have.” While the Back to School Convocation proved the district still needs to work on a few areas, it was a mostly successful event that prepared teachers for the days to come and ensuring a great school year. “We’re really just beginning the process,” Wade said. “It’s a lot of work but it’s meaningful work and it gives us the direction, the accountability, the leadership, the vision that… [teachers] want.”