The Newtonian, Issue 2 (2018-19)

THENEWTONIAN NEWTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT MAGAZINE

PAGE 26-27 Wrestlers explain season diets SERIES 96 | ISSUE 2 | DECEMBER 2018

Photo Illustration by Faye Smith

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S NEW S Club offers peer support

4-5

District reconfigures bond Midterm election recap Local election recap

6-7 8-9 10

OPIN I O N S Stopping the sorry reflex

12

Coaches essential to success Embracing neurodiversity

13 14

FE A TU R E S

Heidrick transitions to drama 16-17 Swalley becomes foster dad 18-19 Edson makes recovery 20-21

Twins share experiences

Gifts throughout the years 2018 meme calendar

SP ORTS

24 25

Wrestlers compare diets

26-27

Berry explains recruitment

28-29

P HOTO E SSAY Quarter in review

30-31

22-23

Letters to the Editor The Newtonian may accept letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty, administrators and the general public. Submissions should be 300 words or less and contain the author’s name, address and signature. All submissions will be verified.

The Newtonian editorial board reserves the right to

2 | STAFF | DECEMBER 2018

ARTS & CU LTURE

withhold a letter, column or other submission/return it for revision if it contains unprotected speech or grammatical errors that could hamper its meaning.

Letters to the editor and guest columns can be given to the editor-in-chief or adviser, delivered to room 1-113 or be e-mailed to nhsrailernews@gmail.com. The deadline for publication in the next issue is 2/25/19 to allow sufficient time for verification of authorship prior to publication.

Letter from the Editor

Faye Smith Editor-in-chief @__fayesmith

S

tudents, faculty members and community members, Happy Holidays from our News Magazine family to yours. We are pleased to release our second issue of

“The Newtonian.�

After distributing our first issue in October, the positive responses we received from our readers were overwhelming. Your feedback encouraged and motivated the staff to work hard to produce a quality magazine as well as increase coverage through our website, www.railernews. org.

This issue, our news section covers the importance of the midterm elections this season. Even though this may not seem as timely, we wanted to stress the importance these elections have on our country and help all readers gain a quick simple recap.

Additionally, we focused a majority of the publication to feature stories covering our students. Newton High is full of students and staff members with important stories to tell, and we wanted to showcase and share their experiences in this issue. We encourage you to let us know about story ideas that others

STAFF INFORMATION

might want to read and hear about.

Contact any staff member or email us at nhsrailernews@gmail.com to send us your ideas.

While we, as a staff, decided to only publish our print magazine each quarter, we still want to bring you stories and news throughout the week. After our first issue of the year and getting adjusted to how the new production cycle works, we began to also add daily content to our website.

Covering everything from sports, to student features, to timely news, the student journalists in our department understand the importance of immediate news in journalism today.

Striving to publish online content more frequently continues to be a goal of ours and we hope our website, will gain the attention of readers.

I personally want to thank our advertisers and staff members. Without your help, hard work and dedication none of this would be possible.

Editor-in-Chief Faye Smith @__fayesmith

Graphic Manager Kaete Schmidt @Kaetetaylor

Reporter Natalie Kuhn @KuhnNat

Reporter Kaeden Thurber @KaedenThurber

Managing Editor Addie Lindenmeyer @addielindy06

Sports Manager Emma Pulaski @emmaepulaski

Reporter Lorelei Jacobs @jacobslorelei

Adviser Robin Montano @robinmontano7

Content Editor Ellen Miller Garrett @ellsmgarrett

Reporter Marco Aramburu @MarcoAMB

Reporter Benton Dreasher @benton0817

Follow @RailerNews on Twitter and Facebook to follow sports updates, as well as important announcements from the journalism department!

Bookmark our website www.

RailerNews.org to follow online content, as well as stories printed in this magazine!

STAFF

| DECEMBER 2018 | 3

Peer leaders help students Find their Sources of Strength Club connects students with caring adults for support

4 | NEWS | DECEMBER 2018

UALITY SPIRIT

FAMILY SUPPO RT

MEDI ACAL ACCE SS

S FRIEND E V I T I S PO

MENT ORS

S TIVITIE HYAC HEALT

n an effort to promote peer leadership and support within the building, counselor Jana Crittenden, along with other staff members, is introducing a new program focused on bringing a peer-support group to Newton High.

Sources of Strength is a program based around showcasing the strengths that students already express in their day-to-day lives and to promote a positive environment in schools and enable peer-led support.

“I think we demonstrate a lot of healthy activities and I think that we’ve got a lot of positive friend groups that are happening so I think we see a lot of that already,” Crittenden said. “I think we also see a lot of family support, because open house is very well attended, student activities are also very well attended” A large part of Sources of Strength is not only involving students that seek help, but the peer leaders who direct the needed attention. Peer leaders are selected from a multitude of student groups to compel any student to seek guidance and resources from the

TH LHEAL MENTA

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leaders. Sophomore Elijah Redington is one of the selected student leaders who is involved in many activities including STAND and Student Council (StuCo).

“When it was brought to our attention there was a whole bunch of people in STAND that also said they

GENE ROSIT Y

Natalie Kuhn Reporter @KuhnNat

wanted to join it,” Redington said.

The program is based around the belief that a healthy lifestyle is made up of eight sources of strength: access to mental care, mental health, positive friends, family support, generosity, spirituality, healthy activity and mentors. Each source is intended to be easily assisted by a peer leader or

an advisor. Drawing attention to the connections is designed to positively change and empower individuals and communities.

“Even though every single person is from a different group or clique of the school, we got to all know each other more, and all felt like we all belong together in a group,” Redington said.

According to sourcesofstrength.org about 10 percent of the student body should participate as peer leaders.

Similar to Elijah Redington, senior Chelsie Penner is one of the peer leaders participating.

“It’s a way to make sure people feel that there isn’t a time that you feel like you need to give up. Like you always have an alternative option,” Penner said.

The program is planning to start slow then increase involvement to avoid losing significance in the school.

Sources of Strength is designed to slowly and steadily reduce bullying, suicide, violence and substance abuse by youth in communities.

“It’s like, you might not even see the finished product. What it’s impacted in the school by the time we’re all graduated too, but we’re showing and making a difference. And then, if we were to come back we’d see a big difference. So it’s progressive,” Redington said.

Presenting Sources of Strength to students at lunch, sophomores Elijah Redington and Ethan Jackson ask students to write on a slip of paper that identifies their strengths. Redington and Jackson are both peer leaders. “We decided the best thing to do is put a table out in the commons. We have two or three people there every lunch period and we sit there, tell people what it’s about and talk to them,” Jackson said. Photo by Addie Lindenmeyer

Writing his name, junior Ash Gibson identifies his strengths. Students and counselors set up the table at all three lunches for the week of Nov. 3-7. “I filled out yellow which is positive friends and I felt like I was doing something for the school,“ Gibson said. Photo by Addie Lindenmeyer

Students in Sources of Strength pose for a group photo with the staff leaders and the trainer on Oct. 26 at the Educational Technology Center (ETC). The training helped students understand how to connect with others to provide a sense of belonging. Photo Courtesy

Steps to implementation pre-Training • Sources of Strength pitched to community.

• Adult advisors are nominated and peer leaders are selected.

Training

Messaging

Transition

• Advisors and students attend a 4-6 hour training session

• Advisors and peer leaders set individualized messaging goals

• Improve understanding of philosophy.

• Leaders plan how to contact students

• Peer leaders are recognized and celebrated for their hard work and dedication • Group performance is evaluated

NEWS

| DECEMBER 2018 | 5

USD 373 U P DAT E Ellen Miller Garrett Content Editor @ellsmgarrett

T

he 2017 bond election failure left students and teachers with their needs unfilled. This led the district Board of Education (BOE) to work on a new bond proposal. However the date of the possible bond election is unclear.

There are a few factors that play into whether or not an election will occur soon. The main factor is money.

“There is not enough money left in the budget for this school year. Unless a bond election in another district fails,” superintendent Dr. Deborah Hamm said.

“For instance, in Manhattan-Ogden, there is a $122 million bond proposal that their community will vote on. If that proposal fails, then that money comes back into the pot. So instead of there being $38 million left for this school year, there would be $160 million roughly.”

It was decided by the BOE to move forward with adding an elementary school south of Highway 50 onto the ballot. This was previously a divisive issue because of possible conflicts with Walton Rural Life Center, but while added as a second option prevents issues.

“There will be two questions on the ballot. One will be about all the problems that have been brought up and one will be for a new school south of Highway 50,” Hamm said.

CVT

The initial step in the journey toward the new bond was the formation of a Community Vision Team (CVT). First, the board asked several institutions

6 | NEWS | DECEMBER 2018

Community Vision Team works to redesign bond

and groups to recommend people for the CVT. These groups included the City of Newton, Chamber of Commerce and Newton Education Association (NEA).

The Board of Education appointed four people and the district appointed two people to represent them.

“Once those people were determined then the board decided that they would go ahead and meet with the CVT so they would both know what the CVT was thinking and also be a part of the conversation in that group,” Hamm said.

Orchestra teacher Joey Menninga was one of the people recommended to be a part of the CVT by the NEA. The BOE accepted the recommendation and Menninga accepted the position.

“I was willing to be on it because I live here in Newton, my kids go to school in the district and I am excited to have an opportunity to have a voice in what happens, what ideas get presented and especially speaking to the fine arts portion. I can make sure that [the department] is seen,” Menninga said.

“It has been a really good experience to be a part of the CVT and to be able to interact with other members of the community that I may not usually talk with. It is a good balance of people and hopefully we are able to come up with a good option for the district.”

The CVT and board have created a list of priorities for the bond. Hamm said that these are mainly focused on the part of the building built in the ‘70s. The priorities are building a new science wing, tornado shelter and changing the fine arts department. The CVT and board have also listed overcrowding in the middle and elementary schools and the heating and air conditioning units as things they will propose to fix.

SCIENCE

The proposal of a new science wing and its place on the priority list is something that teachers have been encouraging in the past years.

Chemistry teacher Duane Knoll has outlined to the CVT, students and fellow teachers fundamental issues that exist in his classroom.

“Our classrooms are too small and are not designed for lab work. When the students are too close then it is hard as a teacher to get from station to station to see what is going on,” Knoll said.

“There is a lack of ability to monitor students. The science standards have changed and they are more projectbased, but we do not have a place to store or do those kinds of things. We do not even have enough room to store the supplies we have.”

The way that the department is currently spread out in the high school creates issues because teachers from different classes have no room to bring their students together to allow collaboration between classes. Knoll and biology teacher Jerry Epp both agree that a new science wing is the best way to solve issues regarding collaboration.

There are also issues with the physical infrastructure of the lab areas.

The electrical and plumbing systems are not up-to-date and cause problems during labs.

“We do not have enough amps to run all of the equipment that we need to run. The lab stations are not set up with individual plumbing,” Epp said. “In my room there are just a couple sinks on the side, it gets really crowded.”

With all of these needs in mind, the CVT and Epp agree that a new science

Next Steps

9+ tables

$69 Million

12 members

Photos by Ellen

8 rG lle Mi

meetings

ett arr

wing is the best option.

“If we want to design a science facility that has all the needs that we currently have, in terms of space, updated infrastructure, this is the best way to go,” Epp said.

FINE ARTS

Despite past advocating from fine arts teachers, the department has had minimal updates since the high school was originally built.

“We have had minor things done, like the band got new lockers last year because the old ones were falling apart,” Menninga said. “The doors were not staying on the lockers. I know they replaced the old carpet with tile

- Further discussion of what is to be included in the bond - Finalizing that plan - Choosing a company to complete work - Plans from company contracted - Community vote

seven or eight years ago. It is because the old carpet was moldy and gross and unhealthy. Other than that, the fine arts department, including the art classrooms have not been updated.”

The most pressing issue for fine arts is the auditorium. Despite a growing population both in the city and fine arts department, the auditorium has had no updates since it was built over 40 years ago.

“Our auditorium is not large enough to hold the number of audience members that we have at our concerts.

We need a larger auditorium space. Not just new seats or lighting,” Menninga said.

In the department, issues have arisen

with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This act dictates that public places, including public high schools, have to meet certain standards so that they are accessible to people with disabilities. Our current auditorium and music classrooms do not meet those standards.

“In the auditorium there is no seating for people who have a wheelchair. The slope of the ramp is too steep so they cannot sit there and there is no other designated space. Also our band room and choir room with the way the levels are, people who cannot get up and down stairs are limited to the top edge of the room,” Menninga said.

NEWS

| DECEMBER 2018 | 7

MIDTERM ELECTION Recap: Democrats Marco Aramburu Reporter @MarcoAMB

V

oters went out on Nov. 6 to perform their civic duty in the United States midterm elections. According to Vox, there was an increase of voters that participated either to support or protest President Donald Trump and his administration. After the election, Democrats gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, while Republicans retained control of the U.S. Senate.

Prior to voting, many news outlets said that the 2018 election would result in a ‘blue wave,’ a circumstance in which Democrats take both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Junior Eli Blaufuss claimed that if this ‘blue wave’ was to occur, it would separate the country even more then it is in the current political climate.

“I think that if Democrats are able to take the House it’s just going to lead to a more divided, more polarized country.

It was the same in 2010 when Republicans took control of the House because there’s always extra obstruction in Congress, always more anger from the

2

1

8 | NEWS | DECEMBER 2018

3

executive branch,” Blaufuss said. “I think it’ll just lead to a more divided country if Democrats take the house as expected than if Republicans took the house.”

The ‘blue wave’ had been widely expected due to a larger number of millennials that often sit out elections pledging to vote Democrat. According to The Atlantic, more than 3.3 million voters from that group cast their votes early, showcasing a 188 percent increase from 2014.

History teacher Nate Wollenberg was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people going out to vote especially within the age demographic of 18-30.

“Watching trends for years, teaching government class and watching the trends of voting being less than 50 percent, dropping down into the 30 percent range during some midterm elections was kind of disheartening and discouraging,” Wollenberg said. “The fact that we’re maybe going to be 50 percent or above, of eligible voters participating is a positive thing.”

On election night, each party presented their own fair share of surprises, but following the completion of the elections, the blue wave did not turn out as predicted.

Republicans kept control of the Senate, but lost the House to the Democrats, who had the most diverse freshmen class of congressmen and congresswomen in history. Although unable to vote junior Mariah McDonald wanted a more diverse congress.

“In this year alone, each state is going to make its own history because we’re seeing nominees for the House that we haven’t seen before,” McDonald said. “People who are openly transgender or people who are openly a part of the LGBT community [are represented].”

Of the final results Arizona and Missouri were two prominent senate races that gained more attention for changing control of political parties. In Arizona Krysten Sinema (D) won, making her the first Democratic senator in three decades, and in Missouri Josh Hawley (R), unseated incumbent Claire McCaskill (D).

Following the completion of the 2018 midterm, congress will return to work and the freshman class of congressmen and congresswomen will be sworn in as of January. From then on, the country will look toward the 2020 presidential election.

What You need to know Wash.

Mont.

Vt.

Minn.

Wis. Neb.

Ohio

Ind.

Utah

Calif.

Pa. Md.

By the numbers

Tenn.

N.M.

234 Democrats and

Miss.

Tex. Fla.

Hawaii

Mass.

Conn.

N.J.

W.Va. Va.

Mo. Ariz.

N.Y.

Mich.

Wyo. Nev.

Republican

Me.

N.D.

Republican Party

Democratic Party

Independent Party

No election held

Indicates a switch from one party to another

1. Senate Minority leader- Chuck Schumer • Responsible for managing their party’s plan in the Senate 2. Former Party leader- Barack Obama • Former leader of the country and is most prominent figure in

198 Republicans in the U.S. House of

Representatives

their party

3. Speaker of the House- Nancy Pelosi • Calls the House to order, recognizes members to speak and makes rulings about procedures

4. Senate Majority leader- Mitch McConnell • Leadership in the Senate, makes the agenda and is the

5

primary speaker

5. Party leader- Donald Trump • Leader of the country and is most prominent figure in their party

6. Vice President- Mike Pence • Breaks any ties in the Senate, and takes over if the president is unable to fulfill responsibility.

4

6

NEWS

| DECEMBER 2018 | 9

Kansas midterms local election Governor Laura Kelly (D) Laura Kelly defeated Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Governors control government budgeting and appoint many officials. They have a considerable role in legislation.

U.S. Representative 4th district Ron Estes (R) Ron Estes is serving his first full term in office after winning the 2017 special election in the 4th District. As U.S. Representative of the 4th District, Estes works in the House in Washington D.C. He is a part of two house committees: Homeland Security Committee and Education and the Workforce Committee.

Kansas Representative 72nd district Tim Hodge (D) Tim Hodge is serving his second term in office as a representative for the 72nd district of the Kansas House of Representative. The 72nd District consists of Newton, North Newton and Whitewater.

County Commissioner 1st District George a. ‘Chip’ Westfall (r) ‘Chip’ Westfall was reelected as County Commissioner for the 1st District of Kansas. Commissioners are responsible for appointing members of certain county boards like Regional Planning Commission, the Park Advisory Board and more.

Political terms to know • Bipartisan- involving the agreement or cooperation

• District- an area of a country or city, especially one

• Caucus- a conference of members of a legislative

• GOP- term for the Republican party, stands for “Grand

of two political parties that usually oppose each other’s policies. body who belong to a particular party or faction.

• Convention- a formal meeting between members of

the same or different political parties.

• Delegate- a person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.

10 | NEWS | DECEMBER 2018

regarded as a distinct unit because of a particular characteristic.

Old Party”.

• Ballot- a electronic or paper platform in which voters cast their confidential vote

• Term- a fixed or limited period for which an elected official holds office.

• Incumbent- to currently be in office.

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| DECEMBER 2018 | 11

stop the sorry reflex Overuse of apologies affect women negatively Faye Smith Editor-in-chief @__fayesmith

magine this, it is dinner at your favorite restaurant. All of your friends at the table are talking about their school day, and you instantly start talking about your favorite class. You get so excited about what you learned, and the funny things that happened, but people immediately seem uninterested.

The innate response you have, is “oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to get excited.”

Girls today do not think twice about using the word “sorry,” essentially turning into an automatic response to situations. This not only affects women negatively, but how they are perceived. According to Psych Central, women are taught to “uphold the value of politeness,” which leads to excessive apologies. From an outside perspective, learning to be polite and apologize when necessary is very important. But, as it does lead to constant measures

to make sure apologies are being said for superficial situations, this leads to negative effects to your self-image.

The overuse of “sorry” leads to powerlessness. Women need to be seen as power-driven, but by constantly apologizing to everyone around them, it is ridiculously contradicting. By repeating the word “sorry,” apologies become insincere, according to Psych Central it “dilutes the power of the phrase to a point where it may come off as disingenuous.”

This summer Barbie, yes Barbie, released a vlog on the “sorry reflex,” bringing to the attention of her 6-12 year-old viewers the importance of recognizing the overuse of the apology as well as finding alternative ways to not deplete their power.

Barbie suggests that instead of using “sorry,” say “thank you.” If someone accidentally bumps into you, change “oh, I’m sorry,” to “oh, it’s okay.” This is a simple change that can transform the way women respond to others. Instead of minimizing our feelings, we recognize

our self-worth as well as giving a much needed confidence boost.

By personally reflecting on Barbie’s message, I realized that this message is such an important step in women empowerment. Teaching girls at a young age the importance of their confidence and power, as well as teens and older women to reflect on their own personalities, can change the way we act as whole. This can positively change the way we as teenage girls speak to our teachers, coaches, friends and other classmates.

By changing one simple word in our language, our pride and self-esteem as a whole will drastically improve. Our choices to transform women today will be reflected onto the future generations, to where as mothers and grandmothers, we will not have to worry about the significance of the word “sorry.”

No matter the situation, people, especially women, need to value “sorry” in their everyday language. As a woman in society, I am calling for an end to the sorry reflex.

of girls at nHS that say sorry 11+ times a day

of boys at nHS that say sorry 1-10 times a day

of Students believe girls say sorry too often

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70.1%

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61.8%

66.2%

** polled: 216 students

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Quality coaching essential to team success Emma Pulaski Sports Manager @emmaepulaski

K

ansas State University’s head football coach, Bill Snyder, recently announced his retirement and many took to social media to share their thoughts on his years coaching. Snyder spent 27 seasons with the Wildcats, racking up a total of 215 wins and two Big 12 Championships. Despite his experience of coaching at a collegiate level, the techniques and rapport he demonstrates are skills that coaches, even at the high school level, can learn from and apply.

While many attribute a team’s success to the players’ skills, it should not always be the athletes we should focus on, but rather the coaches who instruct them. It is important that those who shapes and molds these players, model the same positive characteristics that contributes to a team’s success.

When Snyder first came to K-State to coach, the team had a reputation of low success. He created “Snyder’s 16 Goals,” which contained the building blocks that led to one of the greatest program turnarounds in college football history. A few of these goals include

unity, commitment and responsibility.

Snyder himself resembles hard-work and enthusiasm, exactly what is needed from a coach that expects the same in return.

Coaches are often the deciding factor on how a team works together and the overall success they will have.

According to competitivedge.com, there are many different techniques and coaching styles that have shown success; while some use the tactic of bonding with a player and creating a safe space, others focus on making sure the player knows the stakes at risk.

Clintonnc.com recognizes Billy Graham as one of the most influential persons in the last half of the twentieth century. His messages successfully changing countless lives. He once said, “a coach will impact more people in one year than the average person will an entire lifetime.” Such a quote ties a coach to not only being a teacher, but a positive role model.

In addition to training athletes’ physical conditioning, many find it important to help players develop a mental toughness. According to psychologytoday.com, mental toughness consists of learned attitudes and ways of viewing competitive situations in productive ways, something that a coach can help to teach.

But, this can teeter a line between challenging the athlete and tearing them down. An influential coach should make a kid know that they are always replaceable, but still build their confidence in a way that creates motivation for the player to want to work hard to keep their spot.

A coach should not make it their goal to become genuine friends with their players; however, they should not aim to undermine them by finding flaws in every move they make. Respect is gained by giving respect. Coaches should be seen as a part of the team, not a controller of it.

Players compete because they cherish the feeling of putting their all into a game and the rewards that can come with it. However, at this level, it should be remembered that studentathletes are still growing and dealing with many different obstacles already.

For many, sports can be an outlet, a way to forget about such problems.

Although lessons to be learned can be difficult, they are often necessary, and coaches can be looked to for guidance. However, there is a way of approaching said situations that can result in a better outcome for all.

The player must be willing to accept criticism but this starts with the coach being able to effectively communicate it.

OPINION

| DECEMBER 2018 | 13

N E U ROT Ellen Miller Garrett Content Editor @ellsmgarrett

I

n popular media, people with autism are painted as either anti-social tech geniuses or scholarly philosophers. However, people on the autism spectrum are much more than what we see in movies and TV shows. In order for neurotypical people to recognize people with autism outside of these stereotypes, neurodiversity needs to be embraced.

But first, what does it mean to be ‘neurotypical’? According to Joel Foreman MD, there is no real definition of neurologically ‘normal’. There is no stable definition for what is or is not neurotypical.

However, there are some guidelines that Foreman established that can be used to differentiate between neurotypical and atypical. Neurotypicals are assumed to have strong communication and social skills, find it easy to make friends and establish romantic relationships and have no sensory issues.

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder which impairs the ability to communicate and interact, however it is not life-threatening, nor does it impair major life or thinking skills.

According to Laurent Mottron, a psychiatrist who has studied autism for decades, in the mid-2000s, non-verbal people on the autism spectrum were presumed by some to be mentally retarded. However, people with autism have some advantages over neurotypicals.

In “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat”, Oliver Sacks describes meeting 26-year-old autistic twins who had been written off as mentally disabled and institutionalized during their childhood.

One day, a box of matches fell off the table,

14 | OPINIONS | DECEMBER 2018

with the contents spilling out onto the floor.

Almost immediately the twins seemed to ‘count’ them and exclaimed that there were 111 matches in the box which they then spontaneously trisected into “37, 37, 37.” The twins could not explain how they counted the matches so quickly or why they broke the number into thirds. This is one example of the seemingly extraordinary tasks that people on the autism spectrum are able to complete with ease.

Mottron suggests that the brains of those diagnosed with autism choose information that it likes to process, and weeds out information it does not like to process such as verbal and social clues. While this can create social issues, according to a 2009 study, people on the spectrum are 40 percent faster at problem solving. This is because people with autism focus more of their brain’s resources on visual processing, and less on things like planning or impulse control.

According to spectrumnews.org, studies have shown that people with autism are skilled at noticing small details but also at noticing larger patterns. They also detect lines of symmetry within large, complex patterns with efficiency. This is because enhanced perception is a core feature of the autism spectrum disorder.

Neurodiversity a natural and valuable form of human diversity. According to theartofautism.com, the idea that there is one ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ type of brain/mind is a culturally constructed fiction. It is no more valid than the idea that there is one correct religion, race or gender.

We need to move away from the idea that disorders like autism are something to be cured and instead embrace neurodiversity.

Unless the effects of autism spectrum disorder make the life of the person who has it nearly unmanageable, there is no reason that we need to try to “fix” them.

YP I C A L Boys are

4x

As likely to be diagnosed

Autism can be diagnosed as early as

2

Years of age

1 in 59

children are diagnosed with autism OPINION

**Source: autismspeaks.org

| DECEMBER 2018 | 15

behind the scenes Heidrick seizes chance to teach drama Kaeden Thurber Reporter @KaedenThurber

rama teacher Jessica Heidrick has had her fair share of experience

Din the theatre world. Taking advantage of the opportunities that her

high school offered, Heidrick worked her way from Wichita North High School to Baltimore, Maryland. where she taught for a private theatre company.

Returning to Kansas, Heidrick spent one year teaching English, and saw an opportunity arise when the position of drama teacher was vacant for the 2018-19 school year. Despite being two separate subjects, Heidrick finds that teaching the two do not differ as much as one might think.

“There is a lot of theatrical literature in both. A sense of humor is required to teach both well,” Heidrick said. “The creativity and the script analysis and literary analysis and character development, plot, themes and all that stuff is very similar in a lot of ways.”

Heidrick believes that participating in drama can be life-changing and has many positive benefits.

“It gives you confidence, a sense of camaraderie, it gives you a safe place to try to be someone else for a while, gives you a chance to get to know yourself better,” Heidrick said.

Additionally, Heidrick believes drama is for all students and there is a role suited for each student regardless of their experience and strengths.

“Drama is one of the subjects that appeals to each of the intelligence types, so if you are good at math and logistics then set building or concepts. There’s so many ways you can grow as a person doing drama,” Heidrick said.

Teaching at many different schools does not come without its challenges. Heidrick believes that even though students are alike, rules differ.

“Each school has separate procedures and everything that they do and they do drama in different ways each time. Content is awesome and theatre kids are always lovable and loud and exciting everywhere you go so that’s amazing,” Heidrick said.

Hedrick’s new role as drama teacher has allowed for new changes to the department, including the impact on her students.

“Instead of telling us how to act and telling us what to do with this character, she asks us questions and makes us develop our character ourselves. There’s a lot more of a positive vibe and enthusiasm,” sophomore Creed Ekerberg said.

In addition to Ekerberg, sophomore Madyson Groves also believes Heidrick has made an impact on the program, even though this is her first year attending Newton High. “[The musical] went really well; they were all very accepting of my lack of knowledge on what I was doing. They really gave me a family and that’s something I really needed,” Groves said.

The fall musical “Godspell” was performed on Nov. 9, 10 and 11.

Auditions for the spring play “Almost, Maine” took place Dec. 4 and 6.

16 | FEATURES | OCTOBER 2018

Photo by Faye Smith

in the spotlight “Godspell” cast members take the stage

Pointing off to the side of the stage, juniors Mikey Smith and Eli Regier perform during Godspell. Smith and Regier were a part of the 10-person ensemble cast for the fall musical. Photo by Keaton Wetschensky

Senior Hannah Teater sings “The Prologue” to the audience during the show.

Teater has been involved in the drama department throughout her four years.

Photo by Keaton Wetschensky

Junior Mikey Smith, portraying Jesus, is surrounded by cast members as his disciples. Godspell was performed on Nov. 9, 10 and 11. Most scenes featured all cast members on stage together. Photo by Keaton Wetschensky

Sophomore Creed Ekerberg takes a stance during the Pharisees scene.

Ekerberg played the role of Jeffrey, one that provided comic relief. Photo by Keaton Wetschensky

Singing one of her solo parts, sophomore Madyson Groves looks offstage.

This was Groves’ first musical performance. “I’m building friendships that I had and also being onstage is cool and so much fun,” Groves said. Photo by Keaton Wetschensky

Backstage, sophomore Caitlynn Erickson applies make-up on junior Rai Angolo for his role as Judas. Students in the Tech Theater class assisted actors in preparing for stage. Photo by Keaton Wetschensky

FEATURES

| OCTOBER 2018 | 17

Welcome Home

Swalley becomes first-time foster parent

18 | FEATURES | OCTOBER 2018

Kaete Schmidt Graphic Manager @Kaetetaylor

T

Business teacher Tyler Swalley looks off the pier in North Carolina with his wife and three foster kids during the summer. Photo Courtesy

eacher, coach, dad; these are all titles that business teacher Tyler Swalley now possesses. For the last few months, Swalley and his wife have been caring for three foster children.

Although not so well-known or openly broadcast, Swalley’s plan to be a part of the foster care system had been in the making for years.

Both Swalley and his wife work in schools where they interact with children in need of help. Due to the exposure to such children, Swalley’s wife expressed an interest in making a difference in children’s lives. Deciding to wait a little while after marriage, Swalley and his wife made the decision to begin foster care classes in October 2017.

“We wanted to help people in need.

And like, part of it too is, this isn’t necessarily permanent. If these families are able to kind of get everything in order, they can have their kids back, and we can kind of just act as a temporary home for them. Just a safe place for them,” Swalley said.

Although fully supportive of his wife’s dreams, Swalley found himself a little unsure of what to expect as any new parent would expect to be.

“The hesitancy would have just been the unknown, not knowing what to expect. The classes that we took did a lot to just help understand what you’re going to deal with, different things that

you experience. My biggest fear was kind of the unknown of the situation,” Swalley said.

Despite being nervous, Swalley was ready to dive into a new world as a foster parent. Swalley and his wife’s first experience as parents were presented with an infant. But, just after two days, the court decided that the infant could return back to her mother. Although short, this gave Swalley and his wife a glimpse into the excitement and grief that comes along with fostering.

Within the next 48 hours this grief turned into excitement as Swalley and his wife received news of a new opportunity.

“After that we got a phone call about the three kids we have now and they were actually going to be placed within police protective custody with us,” Swalley said. “They were just going to be there for the weekend. They were actually expected to go home and then after evaluation of the living situation, they decided they will stay with us longer.”

This phone call indicated the start of a new journey. Three siblings consisting of two girls and one boy, ages 6, 8 and 10, would soon be in the care of Swalley and his wife, changing their lives in every way imaginable.

“It just kind of changes how I prioritize my time and what I do with my time,” Swalley said. “There’s not as much time for like fun activities for me necessarily. Like vegging out, watching TV, watching sports. I don’t get to do those frequently. But it’s okay because

I get to help out the kids. It’s all going smoothly.”

Knowing the huge change that was going to take place in their life along with their love and capacity to help children in need, Swalley said he and his wife were ready to welcome the children with loving arms.

“The first thing that we’ve tried to do is treat them as if they were our own.

There’s pictures of them on my desk, in our house. They have chores just like our own kids would. So we try to treat them as much as we can like we would our own kids,” Swalley said.

Despite providing a home for three children, fostering comes with its difficulties for both parents and children.

“Our older boy, he struggles sometimes with things because he understands a lot more. He does things that aren’t characteristic of the kid he is, he is just frustrated with the situation,” Swalley said. “He does a really nice job and they’re really great kids like they are all well behaved. They’re really loving and sweet to each other. And they take care of each other.”

Regardless of any difficulties that should emerge, Swalley said he has seen this as a positive and fun experience.

“I get to take them to Taekwondo and gymnastics,” Swalley said. “We have so much fun with the kids. They’ve met our parents and siblings, they have so much fun. We took them to a wedding last weekend and got them dresses and stuff, they had so much fun. I mean it’s kind of just our new normal.”

FEATURES

| OCTOBER 2018 | 19

Edson Falls Ill with Wegener’s Benton Dreasher Reporter @Benton0817

ride to Children’s Mercy, to all of the days Maddie spent in the hospital. Additionally, her dad, three sisters and brother would visit when they could.

“They [her family members] all took turns coming to sit with me,” Maddie said. “When they couldn’t be there, we eculiar medical cases are often seen as abnormal. Such would Facetime when I felt like it.” anomalies were presented when junior Maddie Edson fell Although Maddie was in hospitals for nearly months at a ill in late September 2018. Although students may have heard time, she said she does not remember much of her stays. about Edson’s ailment and extended absence, they may not “I was very sick and they had me so medicated I don’t know the extent of it. remember much,” Maddie said. “I know I was scared because Edson fell ill with Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong and I was afraid I which is more commonly known as Wegener’s. Wegener’s was going to die.” is an autoimmune disease that can cause inflammation to At the time Maddie fell ill, she was halfway through her any of the blood vessels in the body, which can cause many club soccer season, but does not plan on finishing due to loss complications, and in many cases can be a chronic condition.

In the early stages of Edson’s battle with Wegener’s, there was of muscle from laying in a hospital bed for a month. Maddie is still unaware on if she will be able to play during the spring some uncertainty about what exactly she was sick with, but soccer season because she still needs to gain a significant was assumed to be pneumonia. amount of strength back.

“It started when the doctors thought I just had a normal “I am currently doing physical therapy several times a case of pneumonia so they sent me home with medicine,” week to try and get some strength back. I first have to get to Edson said. where I can jog, then run, then actually get strong enough to The prospect of it ending there started to diminish when play,” Maddie said. her condition worsened despite Maddie said the reintegration into the medication prescribed. school has proven itself challenging, in “When it was getting worse both catching up on school work, as well over the next few days I went back as learning all the information she had and they took x-rays of my lungs,” missed in her absence.

Edson said. “After seeing the “It has been hard, but my teachers are images they sent me straight to Wesley helping me a lot,” Maddie said. “I missed Children’s Hospital on Sept. 4. I was a month of school so it sometimes feels there for two weeks.”

-junior Maddie overwhelming.”

During those two weeks, Edson Edson Despite this road bump in Maddie’s life, went through rigorous diagnosis she’s focused on getting back into a groove processes, which consisted of doctors and reorienting her focus back to school. at Wesley matching the symptoms she was showing to “Other than taking medicine and going to physical therapy, possible infectious diseases. During this time, the Edson my life is getting back to normal,” Maddie says “But one thing family tried to remain optimistic.

I do have to be careful about is I have to be careful to not “My entire family was a little bit nervous, because, of touch a lot of things other people have and stuff like that. I go course, there was the possibility that it was something much through a lot Germ-X.” worse than just pneumonia, which they (Wesley doctors) Despite her relatively quick recovery, all of the medical thought it was.” Maddie’s brother, junior Josh Edson said. “We treatment and therapy that Maddie has been going through just tried to stay positive.” comes at a steep price.

Despite ruling out many other infectious diseases, doctors A GoFundMe page was started in order to assist in were reluctant to diagnose Wegener’s because not many funding Maddie’s treatment and recovery. As of November, people Maddie’s age have fallen ill with it; Wegener’s most crowdfunding has reached $8,316 in support of Maddie. frequently appears in people between the age range of 40 Additionally, DECA made and sold “Team Maddie” t-shirts to to 60 years old. To confirm that it was Wegener’s, Maddie provide further funding. underwent a kidney biopsy.

“I know a lot of people have helped out in so many different “In Kansas City I stayed in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive ways and I could not thank everyone enough,” Maddie said.

Care Unit) for one week and then the nephrology unit for “My family and I never would have thought this many people the rest of my time while they worked on getting my kidneys would reach out, but we are so grateful.” better,” Maddie said. “I barely remember the first few days In addition to Maddie, her family is thankful for the help and after that I do not remember anything until the last week that they are getting, including her brother Josh.

I was there.”

“I really think it’s a community coming together and Maddie’s mother never left her side, from the helicopter helping someone in need,” Josh said. “Our entire family is very grateful.”

P

“

There was a possibility it was something much worse.

20 | FEATURES | DECEMBER 2018

“

Wegener’s Disease - Also known as Granulomatosis with polyangiitis is an autoimmune disease that causes the inflammation of blood vessels.

Roasting marshmallows, the Edson siblings spends an evening together surrounding the fire pit.

While in the hospital, Maddie was unable to take part in such happenings. Photo Courtesy

- Wegener’s is a rare condition, with fewer than 200,000 U.S. cases per year.

-Wegener’s can affect the ears, nose, throat, lungs and kidneys.

Blood flow to organs and tissues may be reduced, causing damage.

- The most common age demographic to get Wegener’s is 40 and above.

The Edson siblings pose together at Mr. Evans for a photo. The family took a trip together before Maddie’s diagnosis. Photo Courtesy

-With proper diagnosis and treatment, Wegener’s can be slowed or stopped.

**Source: Mayo Clinic

FEATURES

| DECEMBER 2018 | 21

Seeing Double Seeing Double

Twins share their life, high school experience Addie Lindenmeyer Managing Editor @addielindy06

O

ne womb, two people and six pairs for a total of 12 people roaming the halls of Newton High School. People may be enlightened when they hear that they can cancel that eye appointment they had scheduled- they might actually be seeing double.

Unlike any other pair of twins attending the high school, sophomores Claire Preheim and Tessa Preheim have different birthdays. The two were born an hour apart and on completely different days, Nov. 4 and Nov. 5. Despite having separate birthdays, Tessa said that they are fairly similar in terms of personality and attitude.

“Our personalities are pretty much the same. We both try to be nice, kind and happy,” Tessa said. “I like to say that we try to take risks and that we try to be unique and different from everyone else.”

On the contrary, freshman Bryttan Adams said that she and sister Olivia

Adams are complete opposites in terms of character and appearance.

The pair possess completely different personalities; while Bryttan is quiet, she describes her sister as outgoing and social. Despite looking different, Olivia said a lot of people recognize the duo as twins.

“A lot of people call us ‘the twins’ or they addresses us as that,” Olivia said. “...I think it’s fine. I don’t really mind it as long as they are not taking it to an extreme that’s disrespectful or mean, then it doesn’t really bother me.”

While Claire and Tessa, and Bryttan and Olivia feel as if their identities are often combined, freshmen Fernando Campos Cisneros and Misael Campos Cisneros find separate appearances through their eyesight. Misael first required glasses in grade school and said that he since then finds them to be a defining factor.

“A lot of people did [recognize them as twins]. They [peers and teachers] all got confused until I got glasses- they started understanding and they could tell us apart,” Misael said.

Three pairs of twins at the high school consist of both a female and male sibling, including juniors Josh Edson and Maddie Edson, sophomores Elijah Edwards and MayLee Edwards and sophomores Krista Eagan and Ryan Eagan. Each duo finds that they are separated/distinguished from each other with the assistance of their genders. Often times, Josh said that he and Maddie are not even recognized as siblings.

“Our genders separate everything.

We play different sports and we have different friends,” Josh said. “Even our personalities are different.”

Although being a twin includes continuous companionship, Claire finds the constant comparison to her sister to be a continuous struggle.

“It depends on the day. It is very hard sometimes to be compared to her- not because she’s bad- but because you never get to be your own person and have your own identity,” Claire said.

“You’re always compared to her or you are just put into a group, but it’s also nice to have someone there.”

World wide

The rate for

There are

identical twins

125 million

is random and occurs

living multiples

1 in every 285 births **Source: www.twinsuk.co.uk

22 | FEATURES| DECEMBER 2018

“

If someone is into something, they just assume the other one is too, and

Sophomore Claire Preheim

“ “

“

that’s not always the case.

- Claire Preheim

Sophomore Tessa Preheim

He likes to be nice to people and likes to hang out with people.

“

Freshman Fernando Campos Cisneros

- Misael Campos Cisneros Freshman Misael Campos Cisneros

If she is sad, I’m not happy that she is, so I’m sad that she’s upset. I don’t feel it- it’s not because we’re twins.

- Bryttan Adams

When we lie to our mom, we both have to cover for each other and we just go along with the story.

“

“

- Josh Edson

Since we are basically on some of the same teams, he’ll show up to stuff, and watch and support me.

- MayLee Edwards

“

People look at us as different people since we are different genders.

“

Sophomore MayLee Edwards

“

Junior Maddie Edson

“

“

Freshman Olivia Adams

Freshman Bryttan Adams

Junior Josh Edson

Sophomore Elijah Edwards

- Ryan Eagan Sophomore Krista Eagan

FEATURES

Sophomore Ryan Eagan

| DECEMBER 2018 | 23

Dear Santa, This year for Christmas I want...

Remember when you were five and wanted the Legos you saw at Walmart? Or maybe when you were 10 and asked your parents for that iPod Touch? Well whether you received your ideal gift on not, you can reminisce by looking at the most popular wish list items from 2005-2012.

2005 2006

M�r�� C��i�mta� M�r�� C��i�mta� Zhu Zhu Pets M�r�� C��i�mta� M�r�� C��i�mta� The lovable robotic pets were a major M�r�� C��i�mta� trend during the 2009 Christmas M�r�� C��i�mta� season. Demand for these plush toys M�r�� C��i�mta� increased the price from $9 to $60.

M�r�� C��i�mta� M�r�� C��i�mta� M�r�� C��i�mta�

Barbies, Transformers and Legos

2009

Also leading the top toys list of all time, Barbies, Transformers and Legos covered Christmas lists everywhere.

High School Musical Merchandise

With the product of this popular Disney movie, merchandise such as shirts and games proved to be a necessity for children all over.

iPod Touch

2010

Nintendo DS and Webkins

2007 : om Fr nta Sa

Selling 154 million, the Nintendo DS quickly became the newest addition to hand held Nintendo gaming systems since the GameBoy. Webkins captured the minds of children with their varying animals and online games.

The iPod touch was popular with preteens as its commodities allowed for the playing of music and games, picture taking and communication with peers.

Justice clothing and Beats

2011

Nintendo Wii

2008

The home video game console came out in 2006 but appeared at the top of many Christmas lists in 2008. The Wii is popular for its interactive features and games.

24 | ARTS & CULTURE | DECEMBER 2018

The brightly colored, sparkly clothing was fawned upon by teenage girls, just as Beats headphones were by many for their comfort, sound quality and battery life.

Kindle Fire

2012

In competition with the Apple iPad, the Kindle Fire was a hand held gaming device that allowed for reading, games, and streaming movies/TV.

2018 MEME CALENDAR January

February

March

Teens swallowing tide pods.

Boyfriend is distracted by another girl.

Using Spongebob restaurants to compare related things.

April

May

June

GORLS

Mason Ramsey, yodel boy.

July

Gru’s unique way of saying “girls.”

August

Marketing turned into a meme.

September

CELEBRITY FULL NAMES Cardigan Backyardigan PostPone MaStudentLoan

Man trying to sell something to someone else.

October

Imagining celebrity’s full names.

November Thank U, Next

Got any lamps?

Staff Favorite

“One taught me love,”

“One taught me patience,”

“One taught me pain” Not a phone in sight, just people living in the moment.

**Source: thrillist.com

Thank u, next.

ARTS & CULTURE

The hidden Danny DeVito shrine.

| DECEMBER 2018 | 25

Weighing In

Wrestlers explain, compare season diets Kaete Schmidt Graphics Manager @Kaetetaylor

C

ontorting their limbs in unnatural positions, using every muscle in their bodies and making moves on their opponent with non-stop adrenaline shows how physically demanding wrestling is during a match. While this sport requires energy and power on the mat, it also takes self-control and willpower, specifically when it comes to making weight.

During a time when teenage athletes’ bodies are growing and exerting more energy, it is often assumed that they require even more fuel to help compete at a higher level. However, wrestlers believe that they can

monday

achieve the same results without eating a tremendous amount.

“I think whenever people think of wrestlers, everyone thinks of starvation, that you’re not doing stuff and not eating for weeks on end but, in reality, we won’t eat just like the day of weighins or maybe the night before,” senior Wyatt Hendrickson said.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, when losing weight, athletes should shoot to lose no more than 1.5 percent of their body weight each week. Refraining to such losses will result in the sole loss of fat. Once they pass that limit, they will begin losing muscle mass resulting in decreased performance levels.

“I believe by eating healthier foods, you can eat more which allows you to lose more weight versus some of the kids that just don’t eat then lose weight, which in turn stops metabolism, slows it down, and then gives them less energy

• Chicken breast • Steamed carrots • Green beans • 2 glasses of water

Junior Boone Roberson’s Daily food intake

26 | SPORTS | DECEMBER 2018

Tuesday

• Turkey burger • Fruit salad • Carrots & peas • Apple • 2 glasses of water

to actually work out,” head varsity wrestling coach Tommy Edgmon said.

Wrestlers practice many healthy ways to lose weight, including diet change, along with different forms of exercise such as biking, running and occasionally swimming.

After wrestling for nine years and coaching for nine years, Edgmon has gained knowledge in how to guide athletes in relation to weight loss.

“I let the wrestlers choose [the way they diet]. If we have a spot that’s open and they feel they can make the weight, they have that choice to go down a weight class. They sometimes ask for advice on diet, what to eat, how many times to exercise to get to that weight,” Edgmon said. “At the start of the season, I always tell them if they have any questions about nutrition or what to eat, to ask me and we can go over some sort of plan. If you eat more of the healthier foods that will boost

wednesday thursday

• Chicken • Rice

• • • • •

Eggs Cereal Beef & Rice 1/2 Chicken Milk & water

*after weigh in

friday

• Chicken • Rice • 1/2 glass of water *meet day

Photos by Kaete Schmidt and Addie Lindenmeyer

metabolism you can burn more fat.”

Throughout six years of wrestling and dieting, Hendrickson has discovered what food produces the best personal outcome. Hendrickson sticks to the Ketogenic (Keto) diet, consisting of eight ounces of steak on Monday through Wednesday and on Thursday and Friday, five ounces of steak or five to six ounces of tuna. In addition to his protein intake, Hendrickson eats an apple and cooked vegetables everyday.

Despite common beliefs, Hendrickson said he feels like his body has greatly benefited from this diet.

“My body loves it. I have more energy, I feel better, I don’t get as hungry,” Hendrickson said. “Staying on it after two weeks, it gets easier and easier and you feel better. I

sunday

• Choc. Waffles • 12” Subway • Sweet & Sour Chicken • Crab Rangoon

*cheat day

Junior grant treaster’s Daily food intake

have plenty of energy, nothing changes.”

While this diet may be similar to other heavyweight wrestlers, the diet changes greatly for lightweight participants. Junior Grant Treaster eats a Cliff bar for breakfast to keep his metabolism up, and on weekdays, allows himself a sandwich for lunch as well as pasta or salad for dinner.

However, on weigh-in days, he eats a granola bar and an apple. This proves to be difficult for Treaster.

“It’s tough. You’ll see a lot of mental toughness, even just sitting through class making sure you’re staying awake.

Your sleeping changes a little bit. You wake up in the middle of the night and your stomach’s telling you you’re hungry, but you can’t eat. You just gotta go back to sleep,” Treaster said.

Due to the lack of sleep and food, Treaster said that he himself as well as others struggle throughout the season, although each wrestler handles the way

monday

• Granola bar • Chicken sandwich • Tater tot casserole

tuesday

• Salad • Tater tot casserole

they diet in various ways.

“It’s kind of hard, but once your body gets used to it, throughout the year it becomes easier for you. You don’t want water as much or like you don’t need food as much,” junior Boone Roberson said.

Not only can a diet affect sleep and energy, according to Treaster it can also affect mentality.

“It gets really stressful on your body.

I think mentally, it can kind of break you down. Some people break down from losing weight and if you don’t know how to lose the weight right, it can ruin your body,” Treaster said.

Despite the stress put on his body, Treaster finds his motivation to wrestle in the energy he gets from winning as well as his future goals to wrestle at the United States Naval Academy.

“I think it always helps boost your confidence whenever you get a win,” Treaster said.

wednesday thursday

• Granola bar • 3” sandwich • Sips of water

*cheat day

• Pancake on a stick • Nachos • Gallon of water *meet day

SPORTS

| DECEMBER 2018 | 27

Under Pressure Junior Ty Berry shares Basketball experience, Division I Recruitment Lorelei Jacobs Reporter @jacobslorelei

U

nder the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requirements, the first year a college can make a verbal offer is a player’s freshman year. After receiving his first offer freshman year from Kansas State University (K-State)i, junior point guard Ty Berry has received 11 additional offers from Division I colleges.

Berry started playing basketball at a young age of only four years old. Berry attributes his 13-year basketball career to self determination and God. “Hard work and dedication has led to my success, along with the athletic abilities that God has given me,” Berry said.

To date, Berry has received offers from multiple Division I colleges.

Of these 12, Berry has made eight college visits.

“I went to K-State, Nebraska, Creighton, Colorado, Iowa State, Mizzou, Minnesota and KU,” Berry said. “I had spare time and me and my family decided that it would be a good time to go up there and to visit campus and see how it would be.”

Not only does Berry survey the campus, but also participates in a multitude of events to grasp the college’s experience.

“A lot of times we just go to football games, we’ll watch practice, we’ll go out to eat and then hang with the players a little bit,” Berry said.

Berry said that he finds

28 | SPORTS | DECEMBER 2018

meeting the players to be the most exciting part, especially the older athletes.

“It’s kinda inspirational to see those older college guys and hang out with them just because they are already there and I can see how they like it and what their experiences are,” Berry said.

Berry travels with his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) club team, KC Run GMC, leading to most of his recognition.

“Most colleges nowadays, they do most of their recruiting through my club team. So when you play AAU ball like with your club team and you travel, that is where most of the colleges go see and watch you play,” Berry said. “Most of the coaches will get my phone number from my AAU coach and then those coaches will call me and ask me like how things are going and then we just talk.”

Additionally, social media plays a role in student-athlete recognition. Websites such as Hudl and MaxPreps provide additional information a college coach may need.

“College coaches can see where you are at and how you are doing and they can watch videos of what’s going on,” Berry said.

Berry is not ready to decide just yet, but will make his decision regarding which school he will attend by the beginning of his senior year.

“It [waiting] just gives me time to think about how far I wanna go, where I wanna go,” Berry said. “I’ve always told myself I am just going to wait it out and see how many other offers I could get or like the best schools that I could get. I’m just going to wait it out and see what happens.”

Despite being highly sought after, the pressure of this does not affect him negatively. “[The attention] is kinda fun and it keeps me hungry,” Berry said.

Making eye contact with a teammate, Ty Berry dribbles the ball during last year’s game against Haysville-Campus. Berry received his first Division I offer his freshman year from Kansas State University. Photo Courtesy

Scholarship offers Wichita State University Head coach: Gregg Marshall 17-18 Season Record: 25-8

Iowa State University Head coach: Steve Prohm 17-18 Season Record: 13-18

Oklahoma State University Head coach: Mike Boynton 17-18 Season Record: 21-15

Weber State University Head coach: Randy Rahe 17-18 Season Record: 20-11

Kansas State University Head coach: Bruce Weber 17-18 Season Record: 25-12

Creighton University Head coach: Greg McDermott 17-18 Season Record: 21-12

University of Missouri Head coach: Cuonzo Martin 17-18 Season Record: 20-13

University of Minnesota Head coach: Richard Pitino 17-18 Season Record: 15-17

University of Nebraska Head coach: Tim Miles 17-18 Season Record: 22-11 University of Iowa Head coach: Fran McCaffery 17-18 Season Record: 14-19

University of Colorado Head coach: Tad Boyle 17-18 Season Record: 17-15 Drake University Head coach: Darian DeVries 17-18 Season Record: 17-17

SPORTS

| DECEMBER 2018 | 29

1.

2.

3.

6.

4.

30 | PHOTO ESSAY | DECEMBER 2018

5.

7.

Quarter in Review

8.

9.

1. Juniors Annika Senn and Lindsey Voth prepare to plant seeds for the upcoming plant sale in April. Students in Horticulture helped fill the pots with soil during class. Photo by Addie Lindenmeyer

6. Making an exchange, history teacher Mark George pays junior Camden Fenwick for pizza at Market Day on Nov. 8. Fenwick brought pizza from his father’s restaurant, Ziggy’s Pizza and sold two slices for $5. Photo by Rebekah Nelson

3. After submitting a class petition to English teacher Cathlina Bergman, juniors John Jantzen and Eli Regier stand outside and catch snowflakes on their tongues. Students were granted a five-minute recess to enjoy the snow outside on Nov. 8. Photo by Schyler Entz

8. On her way to the basket, sophomore Kenzi Gillispie prepares to shoot a layup at the Winter Sports Kick-Off on Nov. 27. Student-athletes were recognized and basketball teams scrimmaged for five-minute quarters. Photo

by Legacy Victorio-Coto

2. Looking for a pass, freshman Gracie Rains prepares to connect with her teammate during the powderpuff game on Oct. 30. The freshman team took third after beating the junior class. Photo by Schyler Entz

4. Handing out the 2017 spring yearbook insert, junior Tony Lemus marks senior Zach Kennell’s name off of the list. The yearbook staff distributed the previous year’s insert to buyers during parent-teacher conferences. Photo by Rebekah Nelson 5. Senior Christian Downey reads his piece of writing aloud to his AP English class in the library. The AP English classes created creative writing portfolios to showcase to their classes. Photo by Rebekah Nelson

7. Senior Jerik Ochoa serves the volleyball at the StuCo Peach Fuzz volleyball tournament on Nov. 15. The seniors took second after falling to the junior class. Photo by Braiden Botterweck

9.Following the official’s whistle, junior Henry Claassen dives into the water.

Claassen took second in his heat for the 100-meter freestyle event at the opening meet at home on Nov. 29. Photo by Faye Smith

PHOTO ESSAY

| DECEMBER 2018 | 31

Still haven’t ordered your yearbook?

Get it. You’re in it!

Only $45!

Order today at JostensYearbook.com

Hours of Operation: Mondays - Appt. Only Walk-ins Welcome Tuesday-Friday 10:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Saturdays 9:00 - 5:00 p.m.

202 W. 5th Street Newton, KS 67114 316-227-9781

MEMBER FDIC

Get your school mascot on your debit card!

For each card issued, we’ll donate $3.00 directly to USD 373.

It’s just another way we support our community.

4000 0000 0000 0000 4000

GOOD THRU

12/18

Proud supporters of the Newton Railers!

316-283-0059

DEBIT

Like us on 127 N. Main, Newton www.mybankcnb.com

Store Hours:

601 N. Main, Newton, Kansas 67114 316-283-6623 info@prairieharvestks.com

32 | ADS | DECEMBER 2018

9am-7pm Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 9am-8pm Thu 9am-5pm Sat Closed Sun