The Newtonian, Issue 5 (2017-18)

THENEWTONIAN NEWTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT MAGAZINE

IN-DEPTH

Giving back during the holidays SERIES 95 | ISSUE 5 | DECEMBER 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS

FEATURES

Dual credit courses expand 3 Failed courses on the rise 4 Update on bond issue 5 Fall play nominated for state 5

Crump’s speedrunning hobby 10 Wheat’s adoption story 11 Woolery retires after 34 years 12

OPINIONS

SPORTS

Sexual harassment awareness Gun violence overlooked

6 7

IN-DEPTH

Booster club contributions 13 Scholars’ Bowl season success 13

ARTS & CULTURE

Holiday volunteerism

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Cover artwork by Gracie Hammond

Students invest in stocks

STAFF INFORMATION Editor-in-Chief Lauren Mitchell Asst. Editor-in Chief Online Editor Payton Fenwick Content Editor Photo Editor Gracie Hammond

News Editor Sports Feature Editor Faye Smith Features Editor Erica Beebe Opinions Editor Macy Rice Online Sports Manager Ben Crump

Graphics Manager Arts & Culture Editor Caroline Barger Asst. Features Editor Addie Lindenmeyer Asst. Opinions Editor Ellen Garrett Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Kaete Schmidt

Letters to the Editor The Newtonian may accept letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty, administrators, community residents 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 withhold a letter, column or other submission and/or 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-inchief or adviser, delivered to room 1-113 or be e-mailed to nhsrailernews@ gmail.com. The deadline for publication in the next issue is 1/12/17 to allow sufficient time for verification of authorship prior to publication.

2 | STAFF | DECEMBER 2017

@RailerNews

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Reporter Meya Green Reporter Emma Pulaski Reporter Taylor Tasaka Adviser Robin Montano

New dual credit courses from K-State, Bethel offered during spring semester Addie Lindenmeyer Asst. Features Editor

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ach year, junior and senior students take the opportunity to advance their education by participating in dual credit courses offered by partnerships between the school and various colleges. Currently, students are able to earn dual credit through Hutchinson Community College.

Recently, Kansas State University Polytechnic as well as Bethel College contacted surrounding high schools to offer dual credit as a way of promoting their programs and increasing enrollment numbers.

“I think it’s great these schools have reached out to us. It opens more doors of opportunity for our students to earn college credit while still in high school,” career and technical director Melinda Rangel said.

Through K-State Polytechnic, Newton students will be offered two elective courses: Intro to Aviation and Intro to Unmanned Aircraft Systems classes.

“I think it’s a way to offer an elective course that we don’t have- it’s not like anything else we have. Any student that might be interested in that field, this is a

way that they can dip their toe into the field,” Crittenden said.

Additionally, Bethel College is offering a General Psychology course that, although is very similar in terms of total price compared to the Hutchinson Community College’s class, is significantly lower in price per credit hour. The class will be completed online, although less individualized in comparison to past years.

“If you want to just compare total cost straight across, how much it is going to cost to take the course, it’s going to be pretty close to the same,” Crittenden said. “It would be a good experience for students going to Bethel because you don’t have to worry about sending another transcript.”

At a Dec. 11 board meeting, the introduction of the two K-State courses as well the General Psychology course offered by Bethel were officially approved. The courses will be after as soon as this upcoming spring semester.

Rangel recommends dual credit courses to students as they are cost effective, efficient and provide experience for those looking to continue their education on a college campus.

“With the HCC classes out here

Kansas State University Classes to be offered:

• • • •

Unmanned Aircraft & Intro to Aviation Unmanned Aircraft studies the operation in unmanned aircraft vehicles, including hands on of the necessary skills needed to man aircraft systems Intro to Aviation examines history and futre of aviation. Students discuss careers, and further their knowledge in aviation. Students will also apply this to military and space aircrafts.

The campus has a special pre-college tuition rate of $122 per credit hour (or $366 per course) Enrollments ends Jan. 5

[Brooks Trade Center], the tuition is free and you’re getting free high school credit and college tuition at the same time. That’s saving you $100 every credit hour. Some of our classes, EMT for example, is 10 college credit hours for free- that’s $1000,” Rangel said. “It’s free, it’ll get you ahead in college and it’s less money you have to pay out of your pocket later. I would just tell kids, ‘explore those opportunities’.”

Crittenden said dual credit courses are beneficial to students due to the fact that they provide the experience of a college level course, cost less and provide the possibility of graduating from college earlier. For some students, they could earn their high school degree along with an industry certification.

“Dual credit is a great opportunity for students to get a taste of what an online course is or what a college course is like while they’re still in high school and they still have opportunities to get assistance from parents or teachers before they dive full into it off on a college campus and they’re not really sure what to expect,” Crittenden said.

“I think the opportunity to experience that in high school is a positive thing for students.”

Bethel College Classes to be offered: General Psychology

• This course is a survey of the field of psychology.

• The course is a requirement for psychology majors.

• It fulfills a social science requirement • This course involves an abundant amount of open source text. General Psychology: Introduction to Psychological Science is the required textbook for this course. Students have the option of purchasing online textbooks.

• Cost is $80 per credit hour NEWS

| DECEMBER 2017 | 3

Number of ailing courses increases Additional support, effort needed to pass Erica Bebe Features Editor

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s of Dec. 4, 256 students in the school had one or more Fs. This number is significantly larger than 148, which is the amount of students at the same time last year with Fs. Each student is responsible for having a passing grade (D or higher) at the end of each semester, or they cannot pass the class.

Students may not pass for reasons such as the difficulty of the class or the willingness to work hard in it.

Math teacher Erica Rickard has different rationales as to why so many students are in this position.

“Some of it is a lack of understanding, but a lot of it is probably a lack of effort and not following through on assignments, not persevering when it gets hard, and just quitting instead of asking for help. There’s ways to figure out how to do something and work through an assignment even when you don’t understand,” Rickard said.

Teachers in different departments throughout the school are currently working together to find a solution to this problem, having multiple meetings a

week. Principal Lisa Moore explains her plan to improve grades.

“Teachers should be working with students to get work made up or turned in, they could give them extra time for whatever they’re failing and then also make sure they’re making contact with every students parents of students that are failing. That should be our very first line of intervention; working with students and working with parents,” Moore said.

Assistant Principal and CTE director Melinda Rangel and Railer Academy teacher Debra Helberg work with students who have failed a class and are trying to regain credit.

“There are lots of options for students with Mrs. Helberg. If they have failed there are ways they can make up those credits.

She does anything from credit recovery to blended learning to help students be successful. She really looks at them individually and does what can to meet their individual needs,” Rangel said.

Helberg is in charge of credit recovery for students at the high school, she helps students on the path they chose for credit recovery.

4 | NEWS | DECEMBER 2017

“We give them every opportunity to complete courses.

I monitor them constantly, I look at where they are, I work one on one with them.

I’m always willing to help them with any class they’re struggling with. Some will be on the computer for some of the time, some will use paper pencil, some will be on the computer the whole time, some will use paper and pencil the whole time, it depends on what their needs are and what their capabilities are,” Helberg said.

According to Helberg, each student is given the resources to pass a class the first or even second time, but their ability to pass the class depends on their willingness to do so.

“I do wish that students realize their effort matters. It’s a lot more about effort than it is about intelligence.

A lot of kids think ‘oh I’m just not good at this’ or ‘I’m not smart enough, I’m not good at math,’ but that’s not normally why they’re struggling in a class.

It has more to do with their effort and their willingness to work hard. I feel like I do a lot of cheerleading sometimes, just encouraging them and telling them you can do this,” Rickard said.

Interventions • Seek help from teacher • Meet with a National Honor Society student tutor • Hire outside tutor

Solutions

• Retake course in traditional classroom • Recover credit through CBL (Computer-based learning) • Summer school through Essdack

256 stud ents are failin g more tha n one clas s *as of D ec. 4

Initial bond proposal fails to be approved Ellen Garrett Asst. Opinions Editor

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he most recent school bond issue proposal failed after a 2,766 to 2,136 decision on Nov. 7.

Community members have given some insight to the various aspects of the bond that they were opposed to, but no definitive reasons have been given to explain why exactly the issue failed.

“Concerns like the total dollar amount of the bond, it could be the need for a school south of highway 50, it could be the grade configuration at the middle level, it could be something as simple as, some people don’t want to pay for a third

gym [at the high school], ” superintendent Deborah Hamm said.

As a result, the school board is planning to conduct a survey of the community in January in order to build a better bond for the next school year. The board is hoping that the survey results will give insights to the needs and opinions of the community. The next bond will be completed by the 2018 fall semester.

“We could start as soon as May of this year. In all likelihood, with a new board starting in January, we will be looking at November,” said Hamm.

The board is planning on partnering with and using

the same companies that were used for the past bond, DLR and GravityWorks.

Hamm said community involvement is crucial to a bond’s popularity.

“I think the way to involve people is to put something out there that they don’t want so they will get upset about that, so then they become involved in it.”

Hamm said.

Hamm said one influence on the community’s opinion on the bond is the lack of knowledge of the interior needs of the high school.

This can affect the influence of the interior issues on a community member’s vote.

“When people drive by the high school, they think the

high school looks really good, because it does, and yet when you get into the interior of the school, you see what the needs are,” Hamm said.

Hamm maintains optimism about the future of the ability to work with the community to pass a bond.

“I think people had an opportunity to vote this time, and they’ve had lots of conversations in the community about the bond, so now taking that information and putting it into a new proposal that people can support, I think we’ll get there [to an appealing bond].” Hamm said.

experience.

“I’m pretty excited about it. It’s pretty exciting that I get to go to state my senior year and it’ll be a good start to the second half of the year,” Garber said.

The Kansas Thespian Festival is a historic event with the upcoming occasion being the 46th annual festival. The cast and crew will experience a different environment when they perform again in January.

“You’re in a much bigger venue, [including] the backstage. Your pacing, your distance to the dressing room is different and they don’t get to practice that,” drama teacher Michael Parker said.

The Kansas Thespian Festival features plays from four schools across the state and a different group of students from their regular audience. Garber said The Fall of the House of Usher is also different from plays

performed in years past in its overall tone and theme.

“It’s darker than other shows we’ve done in the past. It’s not a musical which is different from what we did last year. Last year we did musicals and this is just a straight show,” Garber said.

Although the show is unique and the audience

is different, their original October performance gives the drama department reason for confidence.

“I thought it went pretty well, there’s some things on the technical side that could have been a bit better, but overall it was a pretty good performance.” Garber said.

State Thespian Festival nominates fall play Ben Crump Online Sports Manager

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or the first time in 16 years, the drama department has been selected to perform their fall musical “The Fall of the House of Usher” at the state Kansas Thespian Festival at the Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center on Jan. 4-6.

Drama teacher Michael Parker said the selection is a prestigious honor, and speaks to the hard effort put forth by the cast.

“The Kansas chapter is one of the largest in the U.S. and it brings together all theater students from across the state...It shows that you’re one of the top shows in all of the state,” Parker said.

Senior Nathan Garber, along with senior Tanner DeGrado, are two of the leads and are excited about the

Senior Bret Knepper portrays Manfredo in “Fall of the House of Usher” preformed on October 20, 21 and 22.

Photo by Gracie Hammond

NEWS

| DECEMBER 2017 | 5

Sexual harassment must be recognized Faye Smith News/Sports Editor

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uring the first week in October, Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood producer of many big name films, was exposed for decades worth of sexual harassment of many celebrities involved with his work.

As one allegation after another came to the surface, the number of sexual assault victims who found the courage to expose their perpetrator escalated.

This type of behavior is what the world needs to see, that reporting sexual harassment and other misconduct will not go unnoticed.

The National Sexual Violence Research Center reports that 63 percent of sexual assault victims do not report the crime. In addition, 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the crimes.

One in five women, and one in 16 men will be sexually harassed on a college campus. As students, we should be aware of the consequences. Going into

college campuses, in the future should not mean we should be afraid of sexual assault.

The Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault states that there are many reasons survivors do not report the crime, from not having enough evidence, to personal matters most people will never know.

Victims should always feel that they have a voice to their situations. We are told from a young age that if someone touches our “swimsuit area”, or we are uncomfortable about things that are being said to us, we were to tell an adult.

Somewhere while growing up, we lost that sense, that people may not listen or believe us.

But, in light of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, the #metoo movement has made its way through social media. This has been a break through for all sexual assault victims around the country, and even the globe. The movement empowers sexual assault victims to use the hashtag, giving them a platform to share their story, that they too have been through a situation that many

Americans have been through the same.

This has given many people the courage to expose many sexual harassers, it may not be visible to people in the community, but Hollywood actors, actresses and staff of film productions have made several allegations after many producers and other actors and actresses. As there is a mentality that what happens in Hollywood reflects in the public’s eye, this could be a chance for victims to find their outlet. To find a way to end sexual violence, by simply telling their story, and for someone to listen.

At the end of the day, the state of Kansas is not safe from the horrors of sexual assault. According to a statistical analysis done by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, 24 percent of victims of sexual assault in 2016, were from the ages of 15-19, the second highest total of all age groups. As, high school students, we need to be aware of what is happening around us. We are not sheltered from these crimes. Becoming aware, and speaking out, is the first step to ending sexual assault.

Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.

Every 8 minutes, that victim is a child.

6 out of every 1,000 offenders will end up in prison.

*According to the Rape, Abuse &

Incest National Network (RAINN)

6 | OPINIONS | DECEMBER 2017

Ignoring gun violence not a solution Macy Rice Opinions Editor

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his year alone, there have been 406 mass shootings in America and the number is increasing.

The deadliest of these being the Las Vegas shooting on Oct. 1 where 59 people died and 441 were injured, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker (MST). For many of those around us, gun violence hits close to home, as number 71 on the MST list is the recent shooting in Newton, where four were killed.

There are many ways to deal with the horrific reality of gun violence, but ignorance should not be one. Many people do not want to discuss topics of gun violence because they claim “it makes them upset or uncomfortable,” as it should. If the idea of innocent lives being taken does not make you feel uncomfortable, there is an issue.

Instead of simply offering condolences to families that have been affected, real actions need to be taken. The issue starts with the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in 17 adult Americans and one in ten children live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder.

Those with mental illnesses are not always more likely to commit a

violent act on a day-to-day basis. However, certain high-risk periods such as episodes of psychosis and the period surrounding inpatient hospitalization can significantly increase the risk, according to the American Mental Health Counselors Association.

Dramatic cuts to the funding of the mental health system have occurred over the past ten years. Kansas’ mental health system is currently suffering the ninth biggest cutback, as 12.4 percent of funding has been cut, according to CBS News.

It is now easier to obtain a gun than it is to receive mental health treatment.

According to CNN, it is also easier to get a gun than to get cold medicine, as there is a limit on how much you can buy per month. There is currently no limit on how many guns one person can legally own at a time, as Steven Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter, legally owned 43 guns at one time. There should not be a limit placed on how many guns one person can own at a time, as some simply collect firearms for display purposes, but purchasing a weapon should not be easier than purchasing an everyday product such as medicine.

Additionally, only five states have imposed waiting periods for the purchase of all firearms, according to Giffords Law Center. Waiting periods were created in order to allow gun purchasers to reconsider their intentions, as well as provide time for a thorough background check to be

completed. According to a study conducted by Science magazine, in the states which currently have waiting periods implemented, it is estimated that 750 gun homicides are avoided each year.

Furthermore, the only requirements to purchase a gun in Kansas are that you must pass a simple background check to determine whether or not you have any felonies, and that you must be 18.

According to the National Rifle Association (NRA), Kansas gun laws do not require owners to be licensed, have permits to carry or purchase, or register firearms.

In order to prevent gun violence, a culture of gun safety must be established. Purchasing a firearm should involve mandatory training and licensing which should not be a one-time occurrence.

Owners should be required to regularly renew permits, similar to the requirements of renewing a driver’s license. The reason these renewals are necessary is because mental health can change and illnesses can develop over time.

Mental health evaluations should be required at each renewal.

Instead of choosing to be ignorant when it comes to gun violence, we should educate ourselves. Major changes need to be made to the finances allocated towards mental health, as well as changes to the requirements of purchasing and owning firearms.

Gun violence by the numbers

93

On an average day, Americans are killed with guns.

America’s gun homicide rate

25

is more than times higher than the average of other developed countries.

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America has times as many firearm homicides as

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Canada, and nearly times as many as Germany.

4.4

America accounts for percent of the world’s population, but nearly half of the civilian-owned guns around the world.

There have been

1,500 mass shootings since Sandy Hook.

States with tighter gun control laws have fewer gun-related deaths.

In 2016, American homicides accounted for

64 percent of the total

number of homicides worldwide. *According to Everytown.org

OPINIONS

| DECEMBER 2017 | 7

Taylor Tasaka Reporter

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s the holiday season approaches many people find themselves setting up the appropriate decor, ordering seasonal drinks, or sending out holiday cards to wish loved ones well. Recently, an increasing amount of students find themselves taking time out of their day to spread holiday cheer by volunteering.

Statistics from get. noblehour.com show that 30 percent of all donations for non-profit organizations will come during the month December alone. On top of that, www.childtrends.org

states that during 20102014, at any given month, more than a third of high school students volunteer.

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a non-profit organization hosted by Samaritan’s Purse where shoeboxes are packed with goods that will aid those in need. Within the national collection week, First United Methodist Church collected and packed 112 shoe boxes.

The boxes are packed with goods and booklets that teach gospel lessons. Each booklet adapts to each child as the care packages are sent throughout the world. Janet Fulmer, a member of the youth group team at First United Methodist helps aid

in leading a group service project each year.

“Each year we do a service project because I think it is important for the children to have a focus on something that is bigger than themselves, bigger than all of us,” Fulmer said.

Another non-profit organization that works in full swing as the holidays approach is Angel Tree, run by local Salvation Armys.

Newton’s local Salvation Army gives businesses the opportunity to choose a number of children they would like to sponsor.

Businesses are then given cards to put on Christmas trees where the community takes matters into their

own hands and finds way to donate to the children.

A BLS.gov news release stated that 33.1 percent of all volunteering during the holiday season comes from religious groups. First Mennonite Church takes part in this by hosting neighborhood food drives where proceeds are given locally. Youth pastor Joel Schroeder has seen the impact of volunteering and makes an effort each year to show his youth group the same impact.

“I think it’s important to be a part of something bigger than ourselves which is why we volunteer and try to help,” Schroeder said.

Trinity Heights United Methodist

Zion Lutheran Church

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rinity Heights Church is participating in the giving holiday season through the Angel Tree donation project and Operation Christmas Child.

“We’re doing this thing called Angel Tree where we have different ornaments that stand for a gift that kids from Sunset are wanting.

The kids get those gifts for Christmas,” sophomore Jaden Anton said.

However, Trinity is not just focusing on children in the community, they are also giving gifts to children around the world.

“We are also doing the Operation Christmas Child, where we send little boxes with things in them to kids in other countries so that the kids can have presents for Christmas,” Anton said.

8 | IN-DEPTH | DECEMBER 2017

very year for 14 years, Zion Lutheran Church has worked with the Harvey County Safe House. As a volunteer activity, church members adopt families and give gift cards to the Safe House.

This year, Zion Lutheran has volunteered by collecting food for the local food bank. They have also participated in neighborhood food drives and have donated all proceeds to the Newton Salvation Army.

“It [Volunteering] gives us the opportunity to connect to the community. I think it’s important to be apart of something bigger than ourselves which is why we volunteer and try to help,” youth pastor Donna Williams said.

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Top: Newton Youth as Resources students, Claire Preheim, Tessa Preheim, Alondra Torres, Wyatt Hendrickson, Abby Chappell Deckert and Linda Moyo take a group photo after their project.

Bottom: Freshman Abby Chappell Deckert and senior Linda Moyo work with a Kidron Bethel resident to decorate a Christmas tree.

Photos courtesy

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4-H l e a d e r s

uring the holiday season, many people give back to others that have been less fortunate.

This year, 4-H junior leaders donated toys to Newton Salvation Army.

“We went to Walmart and we bought items for middle school and high school-aged boys and girls.

We had 75 dollars to spend and we donated the items

he Harvey County Youth as Resources board, comprised of high school students from Newton, Hesston, Halstead, Sedgwick, Burrton and Peabody, met with residents at Kidron Bethel Village as a part of their ‘Joy Givers’ community service project for the holiday season.

Members partnered with residents to sing Christmas carols, do holiday crafts, and decorate miniature Christmas trees.

“It was great seeing our youth in their element, using their talents to impact others. The activities were well received and enjoyed by

we bought to the Salvation Army,” freshman Shelby Spreier said.

These students appreciate the chance to volunteer and give back to the community.

“I like [donating] because it makes me feel like I have a purpose to give back to people that don’t have the things I have,” Spreier said.

Newton students, freshman Eli Redington, freshman Shelby Sprier and junior Faye Smith, and their 4H junior leaders group complete their Salvation Army gift donation project. Photo courtesy

the young and old,” Youth as Resources coordinator Rachael Miner said.

Freshman Abby Chappell Deckert said for her, volunteering brings a new perspective to the holiday season.

“I think it’s important for teenagers to volunteer during the holidays because sometimes we’re all in our own little bubbles and volunteering can help look at what others experience at this time of year,” Chappell Deckert said. “I really enjoyed listening to the residents’ Christmas stories.”

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he Railiners used the holiday season to volunteer with foster children from Saint Francis Community Services.

“We did crafts with the kids, played with them, helped out the parents, and the kids had the chance to take pictures with Santa as well,” freshman Jamie Haskew said.

Railiner Chandlor Buffalo said it was a good way to be apart of the community and volunteering year-round is important.

“I think that people should volunteer throughout the whole year, not just the holidays.

I think volunteering is a good way to bring the community together at any time of the year,” Buffalo said.

Top: Sophomore Chandlor Buffalo holds a baby at the Christmas party.

Bottom: Junior Rebekah Nelson and Sophomore Emily Brandt complete a holiday craft.

Photo by Taylor Tasaka

IN-DEPTH

| DECEMBER 2017 | 9

Crump achieves top twenty ranking Kaete Schmidt Asst. Arts & Culture Editor

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unior Nick Crump’s unique hobby allows him to be part of a diverse, tight-knit online community, as he dedicates countless hours to improving his speedrunning skills.

Speedrunning is when a gamer records themselves going through a video game as fast as possible using anything they can, including glitches and exploits. Gamers then upload that video to one of the speedrunning communities or leaderboards, where their video will compete with others. Many communities will even host a speedrunning tournament.

In the time Crump has been speedrunning, he has competed for a high ranking on many of these leaderboards.

“The specific game that I put the most time into is ‘Spongebob:

Battle for Bikini Bottom,’ which sounds like a joke but it’s actually a very in-depth and complex run.

There was a point where there were about 120 people for the standard completion called ‘Any Percent’ and I was ranked 12th,” Crump said.

Through Crump’s experience in online competitions, he has gained a large amount of completed runs through multiple games. In ‘Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom’ Crump has completed 39 runs. Overall, he has completed a total of 100 runs.

Crump has committed many hours to speedrunning in order to reach the positions he has on the leaderboards.

“To get to top 20 I probably spent more time on that one game than I have ever spent on any game I have ever played. It takes a lot of practice and skill,” Crump said.

Although speedrunning can

10 | FEATURES | DECEMBER 2017

be very time-consuming, Crump enjoys many things about it, including the abundance of support in the community aspect.

“I would say the biggest part that I enjoy is basically being part of an online community of tons of different people who all just work together purely to see if there is anything new we can discover for this game to make it faster,” Crump said. “Working with other people to make something even better than it already is.”

Not only has Crump found a love for speedrunning, but he also believes that he has learned a valuable life lesson from it.

“I would say the biggest thing I have learned from this is to never be afraid to try something out of the ordinary. What I’m trying to say is do not settle with stagnation always try to push something further and improve it,” Crump said. “Never settle with repetition.”

An eight year journey ends in adoption Freshman adopted by former foster family Gracie Hammond Content Editor

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ccording to the latest fact sheets by the Child Welfare Information Gateway, there are an estimated 427,910 children in the foster care system.

For the past several years of her life, freshman Alahna Wheat had been part of that statistic, until she became a part of another in May 2017: the 22 percent who were adopted.

From the age of 7 Wheat had been in the foster care system. Though she started out with her siblings, they were eventually split into different homes.

The outcome of their situations vary from being adopted into new homes or living with a relative.

“My mom was an addict, she couldn’t take care of me, my sister and my brother.” Wheat said. “One of them lives in Oklahoma now, one of them lives in Kansas. A couple times I thought I was going to get adopted but it turned out it didn’t work.”

Being in the foster care system has

foster care system.

“At first I was kind of like an introvert because I wasn’t sure what I was doing or how long I’d be staying some place, so I didn’t want to make friends if I was gonna move right away,” Wheat said.

According to a 2006 ABC News article, the average number of placements in the system for a child is 3 and the average time spent in the system is 2 years.

However, Wheat believes her experiences have changed her for the better and have caused her to grow as an individual.

“I think it’s been good, it’s been difficult but if I hadn’t been put into foster care, I probably wouldn’t have thought of how things should be,” Wheat said. “I learned a lot of things because my mom was not able to take care of us.”

Though she faced challenges in the past, Wheat is now adopted and officially part of her former foster family.

“It gets better and you’ll find some place, and it may be difficult but you’ll get through it,” Wheat said.

Foster Care Facts

4 percent

26 percent

34 percentt

34 percentt

Children are in foster care in Kansas

49% 51%

1223

1 percent

Average time children spend in foster care before being under 1 1-5 2-10 11-15 16-20 adopted Children in foster care by age group months Information from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data#KS/2/0/char/0

FEATURES

Children in foster care by gender

7,223

not always been an easy experience for Wheat. She has in total been in four different homes, each stay varying in time from a year or sometimes even longer.

“It was stressful. It was just like, I wanted to be in one place, but it just didn’t happen that way.” Wheat said.

Despite the uncertainty of the past, Wheat now has a family to call her own.

Five years ago Wheat met the family for the first time.

“I met them the day that I moved in.

It was so different from my last home,” Wheat said.

Her new family varies from past families she had in a positive way, unlike other past foster parents who she claimed “weren’t ready to be parents”.

Though she has only just been adopted as of May, the plans were not new to her.

“It took like two years to actually get it to happen from when they actually wanted it to because the system is really crazy,” Wheat said.

Moving homes and a complicated adoption process is not atypical in the

783

Children in Welfare system adopted in 2015

| DECEMBER 2017 | 11

Woolery to Retire Leaving Behind Legacy “You could say I have students that know me better than my grandchildren, and it’s true.”

Taylor Tasaka Reporter

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efore teaching Jazz and Concert Band for 34 years, Keith Woolery found his own niche on the road.

Touring for years at a time, Woolery believes he has enough stories about life on the road to write a novel.

After college, Woolery and his wife Donna began a new adventurous chapter--‘The Keith Woolery Show Band.’

Multiple other members filtered in and out of the band, and most had the ability to play a multitude of instruments. Donna herself could be known to play the trumpet and the keyboard simultaneously.

For years on end, The Keith Woolery Band would travel 49 to 52 weeks per year, playing a various set of show tunes five or six times a week.

“We spent a lot of nights

just driving all night, covering 800 miles or so.

That was not unusual. We lived in hotels or Donna and I would stay in our trailer with our dogs. With the type of places that we were performing we could spend a month somewhere or just a day,” Keith said.

Within their travels, ‘The Keith Woolery Show Band’ covered 39 states and also performed in Canada. The group played a variation of genres, but while in the South Padre Island, chose a diverse range of music that appealed to their audience.

Eventually, the couple wanted children and they decided life on the road was no longer the best fit for them. While in search of a place to settle down, Woolery was offered a teaching position at Newton High School.

“If you didn’t have children [life on the road]

12 | FEATURES | DECEMBER 2017

Woolery speaks at the beginning of a Jazz concert in March 2017. Photo courtesy Gracie Hammond

would be great. That was the reason we got off the road. We had watched other people attempt to do that and nobody was really successful,” Woolery said.

“An opportunity came up to come to Newton High School so I did and Donna followed a year and a half later.”

After this year, Woolery will be leaving behind his students and the life he had while teaching. Woolery feels that he’s made a lasting impact on many students he has taught, and feels that his retirement does not quite fit the classic example.

“I’ve been thinking that out of all my stories from on the road I should write a book. From playing in clubs that were overrun by the mafia and being kicked out of Canada. We just had a lot of interesting experiences,“ Woolery said.

Even after so many years Woolery has said that he doesn’t regret anything regarding his teaching career.

“I haven’t ever had to work for a living so that’s pretty cool. I’ve been getting paid to do something I enjoy doing.”

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Booster club supports local athletics, buys equipment Emma Pulaski Reporter

T

he Athletic Booster Club has contributed to the high school and middle school sports programs by raising money and purchasing needed athletic equipment. An average of $20,000 to $30,000 is donated annually, depending on what is requested from teams.

The Booster Club fundraises by selling apparel at sporting events and ads to local businesses. The money they receive goes back to sports teams whose needs are not covered by the district’s budget.

“Ultimately, every single dollar we raise goes towards Newton athletics,” club copresident Lance Claassen said. “Anytime we can help out with anything, we try not to turn it away.”

Boosters meet to report on athletics that are currently in season and express any concerns. Athletic director Brian Becker informs members of what coaches are requesting in terms of equipment or clothing.

Co-president Carrie Claassen alongside Lance organize behind-the-scenes aspects of Newton athletics, with items like schedule posters and fan apparel.

As of right now, membership is low, but the large amount of advertisers help the club raise money and continue supporting athletics. This year, the Booster Club has purchased practice jerseys for boys basketball, new blocks for swim and has donated money towards new gymnastics mats and more.

“The kids like to have nice stuff and I like for them to have nice stuff. We were really appreciative of the Booster Club to be willing to help us out.” basketball coach Andy Hill.

The Booster Club plans to provide for spring sports as those requests emerge, and are committed to always helping out where needed.

“Now, knowing what all they do and what they contribute, I don’t think we wouldn’t be apart of the Booster Club.” Carrie said.

Scholars’ bowl expands roster, boosts success Caroline Barger Arts and Culture Editor

S

cholars’ Bowl has seen a notable increase in the number of team members and with that, has risen to success. This group, largely comprised of seniors, is making a name for themselves, beginning with a first place finish at the Salina Central varsity meet on Sept. 2.

According to head coach Brian Skinner, transitioning from only 12 to over 30 students having an interest in Scholars’ Bowl has benefited the team greatly. However, accommodating for all of the competitors has been a challenge.

“The hardest part about having so many people is getting people to the meets that they want,” Skinner said. “Everyone wants to go to seven meets, which is the maximum number that you can go to, However, you can only take six people to a meet.”

Skinner has applied his passion for academic competition into coaching and has found a great connection with the students on his team.

“I loved Scholars’ Bowl when I was in school. I was not going to be great in athletic teams and Scholars’ Bowl is just for a different group of students. It’s the only group of students where I can read super nerdy questions and have them not give me that look of ‘are you kidding me,’” Skinner said.

Skinner said having a team with so much experience has been a

factor when considering success in meets.

“I think this year’s team is significantly more experienced than last year’s team. Last year, I mentioned that we had several juniors that had just started to join and they had never done Scholars’ Bowl before,” Skinner said. “There is a huge difference in one full year of experience and zero years of experience. We are returning everyone from our varsity regional team last year and having that experience going forward is really big.”

Skinner believes that with incoming participants, the team will be able to continue their success through next year.

“My understanding is that middle school is really building their program, so that will feed into us. I think it just really piggybacks to those who are moving up. They are stronger each year they come through and that is gonna keep the strength going,” Skinner said.

As the number of members increase so does the level of competition within the team.

“I think the increase in knowledge helps. Just because it creates more competition or variety of knowledge throughout the team,” senior Erik Brown said.

Both Skinner and the team members have a common goal when looking at postseason.

“Our main goal is making it to state and hopefully once we get that far, doing well at state,” Brown said.

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B

uying and selling stock is not something that most high schoolers have much experience in. For seniors Warren Dietz and Creighton LaRose, tracking the investments they have made and the stock market is a part of an everyday routine.

The stock market follows companies’ ups and downs in profits. If a company does well and raises its profits, the stock for that company will rise as well. If it is not doing well and the profits are down, the stock goes down.

“Stock is just a piece of the business, it’s an ownership,”

former financial management teacher Kathy Shockley said.

At the high school, information about investing and stock is covered shortly in Financial Management 1 and is expanded on in Financial Management 2.

LaRose said investing is very versatile in nature, and can be done through apps, traders, advisors and more.

Dietz was first introduced to investing by his father, but soon began to use other methods such as apps to buy Litecoin and Bitcoin, forms of cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that uses coding techniques to secure transactions and to control

the creation of additional units. Dietz learned about investing from the internet, and has been investing for less than a year.

“It’s a good way to invest your money,” said Dietz “I’ve invested in Under Armour and a little in Litecoin and Bitcoin.”

LaRose began seriously investing in October, but has been interested in investing for over a year. Like Dietz, he also purchases and trades cryptocurrency.

Shockley said investing takes significant attention in order to do it right. Adults and even teenagers who choose to invest need to concentrate and understand

ARTS & CULTURE

what exactly they’re doing. “[Investors] need to be aggressive about investing, and they need to be very involved in the stock market.

They need to learn about the rule of 72,” Shockley said.

The rule of 72 is a formula that shows how long it will take to double invested money. The formula takes the number 72 divided by compounded interest, to produce the time, in years.

In the end, Shockley believes the most important lesson in investing can also be applied to life.

“You can lose everything you invest, that’s why you have to invest wisely,” Shockley said.

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