the
Volume 3, Issue 3 December 14, 2020
ROCKET PRESS Your School. Your Magazine.
LET IT BE
CHRISTMAS
Fall sports enjoy special seasons PAGE 4-5
The history of the Christmas Tree PAGE 7
District goes to remote learning PAGE 4
Christmas Time in Rose Hill PAGE 8
Drama department ‘kills’ it PAGE 16
Charities lend a hand during the holiday season PAGE 13
CONTENTS
NEWS COVER
4-BOYS SOCCER ADVANCES TO STATE FINAL FOUR
8-CHRISTMASES OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
5-ROCKET FOOTBALL ENJOYS BEST 9-THE HISTORY OF THE SEASON IN A DECADE CHRISTMAS TREE 6-GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY MAKES HISTORY
10-HOMETOWN CHRISTMAS A ROSE HILL STAPLE
7-PAGE TAKES OVER GIRLS BASKETBALL
11- ROCKET PRESS HOLIDAY RECIPES
7-BOYS BASKETBALL HAS BIG HOLES TO FILL
12-THAT’S WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME, MY LOVE
20-21-NEWS BRIEFS
14-ELECTRONICS DOMINATE HOLIDAY BUYING 15-VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES
CONTENTS-2
YOUR SCHOOL. YOUR MAGAZINE.
OPINION PHOTOS 16-A TALE OF TWO TRADITIONS
22-ROCKET LIFE
17-A STORY OF A SPLIT CHRISTMAS 18-’SHE KILLS MONSTERS’ A SMASH 19-LAST CHRISTMAS: CHEESY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
rocketpd17
ASSISTANT EDITOR
RocketPd17
REPORTERS
Rocket Productions
STAFF
LYDIA KIMBLE
SYDNEY LAKOUS
SAM LARSON BROOKLYNN WHITE JESSA LEE LINDSEY ESSLINGER KIRSTEN-ANN SMITH ALLISON CHAPPELL CLAIRE MORRIS ROXANNE SANDEFUR THOMAS SMITH
COVER DESIGN AND LAYOUT
LYDIA KIMBLE AND MR. BROWNING
The Rocket Press is the official news magazine of Rose Hill High School that is published six times a year. The Rocket Press is a student publication, written and produced by students. Opinions expressed in The Rocket Press are of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USD 394 Board of Education, the administration, the faculty or the adviser.
CONTENTS-3
BOYS SOCCER GETS TO STATE FINAL FOUR
By Claire Morris, Reporter
The boys soccer team won a state quarterfinal game for the first time since 2015 when they won the 4A championship. Overall, the Rockets won 16 games this season. Head coach Jerry Treat said hard work and dedication has contributed to the soccer team’s improvement and that new classes in the future help to better the team.
Leck says he also is confident in the upcoming classes skills. “I think that the freshmen are going to do great next year. Almost all of them got to play in the semifinal game and the consolation game, and they really stepped up,” said Leck.
“The incoming classes should help the level of the ups and downs, and help stabilize the program,” said Treat. Teagan Cobb is a sophomore defender on the team and he said he definitely sees a difference from last year’s team. “Our team has become a lot closer, we stuck together, and pushed each other to be better,” said Cobb. He also said he has a lot of faith in the upcoming classes, specifically the current freshman. “They [the freshmen] are the hardest working class I’ve seen for how small all of them are. They will still have to step it up, but I know they will,” said Cobb. Andrew Leck is a senior midfielder and like Cobb, has also seen a change in the team. “This year I feel like our team's chemistry was a major factor in our success this year. Without it, I don’t think we would have made it as far as we did,” said Leck.
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ZACH HOANG FIGHTS FOR THE BALL AGAINST A LOUISBURG PLAYER IN THE 4A CONSOLATION GAME.
KALE KOCHICK LEAPS OVER A MULVANE DEFENDER IN THE ROCKETS’ 30-13 VICTORY.
ROCKET FOOTBALL ENJOYS BEST SEASON IN A DECADE By Roxanne Sandefur, Reporter
The 2020 season is over for the Rose Hill Rocket football team. They faced a difficult task along with all the other competing teams by dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Rockets finished with a record of 6-4 on the year, which was the first year the Rockets have advanced to the second round of the playoffs since 2011. Their season got off to a rocky start versus Andale and did not seem to be getting much better when facing Clearwater and Collegiate. However the Rockets managed to make a huge turn around come game four when they played Augusta for homecoming. They won that game 28-26 which propelled a six-game winning streak before losing in the second round of the playoffs to a tough Buhler team.
Part of their success throughout the year can be accounted for the change in schedule from previous years. “We added new coaches that are really good, in Jaylen Jenkins and Kelly Cordova,” senior Jack Allen said. “With their help and the knowledge we already received from our previous coaches, we got our thing figured out. Spencer Nolan moved to half back this year from previously being in the slot which also helped improve our team and get more wins.” With their first winning record and playoff victory in ten years, his season marked a pivotal point for the Rockets in changing the culture around Rose Hill.
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GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY MAKES HISTORY By Allison Chappell, Reporter
The Rose Hill girls cross country team took sixth place at the 4A race in Wamego, which was the highest finish in school history. “Our expectations never really changed from regionals, we knew it was going to be really tough. Sixth place is the best we have done in our program and I am so happy about that” said Coach Barger. “We haven’t been to state, as a team, since 2013. We have always had individuals go, but going as a team is more special.” Freshman Alexa Marshall was the highest finisher among the team, placing 19th. Senior Aubrie Thomison took 42nd.
State Cross Country Results Alexa Marshall: 19th Aubrie Thomison: 42nd Elliot Herod: 54th Mackynzie Pierce: 65th Kyrsten Lucent: 72nd Haley Murry: 75th Jenna McCulloch: 91st
“I wasn’t really sure how this season would go because it was my first time trying cross country,” Marshall said. “But I think it went really well, I was nervous when I found out we were going to state and I wasn’t that confident, but I think I did better than I thought I was going to.” “Our expectations never really changed from regionals, we knew it was going to be really tough. Sixth place is the best we have done in our program and I am so happy about that,” said coach Brandon Barger, “We haven’t been to state, as a team, since 2013. We have always had individuals go, but going as a team is more special.” Thomison said going to state was a great way to finish her cross country career at RHHS. “I was unbelievably happy when I heard that our team qualified for state,” Thomison said. “I started crying when I heard that we took third place. As for expectations (at state), I wanted our team to get better than eighth place, because that's the best that Coach Barger has had a team finish. We exceeded our expectations, and that was the best way to finish my cross country career.”
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Coach Brandon Barger and Jenny Page and Alexa Marshall at state cross country.
PAGE TAKES OVER LADY ROCKETS
By Sydney LaKous, Assistant Editor
After Greg Welch received a new title of Freshman and Sophomore advisor, Physical Education teacher Jenny Page will be taking over as the head coach for the Rose Hill Girls Basketball team this season. Page said she is excited about coaching again and missed being around the sport. The returning seniors for the season are Haley Thrush, Aspen Goetz, Korryn Hackney and Lexie Rose. “We have a great group of returning players. Our returning seniors offer experience and will be a great group of girls to help lead the team this season,” said Page. “They all are competitive players and want to win, so that is a joy to coach.” Page said the season will be a challenge with Covid-19, but she is looking forward to the
season anyways. “This season will have challenges with Covid-19. We started practice yesterday [November 16] with eight players in quarantine. This will obviously be something we have to work through and have to be ready for every single day,” said Page. “We could potentially have players missing on game days or we could have to postpone games because of COVID this season. While this is frustrating, we are just taking it day by day, and enjoying our time together every day.” Despite the adversity sports teams are facing, Page said she has confidence in her team. “This season will be a fun one. We have returning players that I think are improving and we can hopefully catch some teams off guard and surprise some people,” said Page.
BOYS BASKETBALL HAS HOLES TO FILL By Brooklynn White, Reporter
and newer players as they try to make an impact.”
The Rose Hill High School basketball 20192020 season was cut short due to the Last year, multiple key players graduated, pandemic, as the Rockets were about to play including starters Koby Campbell, Trent in the 4A semifinals. Despite losing several Barnhart, Mason Lane and Asa Vrbas. Filling seniors, head coach Josh Shirley is optimistic. these spots will take the whole team's help. “We are going to embrace every day and every moment we get out on the basketball court this year,” said Shirley, in regards to comparing this season to last. “Several of our players were a part of the State Tournament team last year who suddenly had the season stopped, and I think they understand how quickly everything can go away, so I know we will be enjoying every day and every moment we have the opportunity to play. We have many new faces this year and I am excited to see how they will gel and fit into what we do as a program. We will be relying on some of our older guys to help mold our younger
“We lost several key pieces to a very successful season. Instead of looking at one or two people to fill the void left by our graduating seniors, it is going to have to be our entire team that steps up and helps this year's team be successful,” said Shirley. “We have several key pieces returning and had a very successful JV season last year so we feel like there is a solid core returning this season.” The Rocket basketball teams play their first game of the season on Tuesday, December 8 at Garden Plain.
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CHRISTMASES OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
The evolution of the cultural Christmas
By Jessa Lee, Reporter
Christmas is a special time for many people. Part of what makes this holiday so special is the different traditions everyone has. Some of these traditions have stayed the same throughout the years, but a few of them might have been changed or forgotten overtime. One tradition that most people still take part in today is decorating a Christmas tree. This activity started in the 19th century when settlers from Europe began to make it popular in America. In 2019, the American Christmas Tree Association conducted a survey that predicted that 77 percent of families in the U.S. would have a Christmas tree up for decoration in their house. Another old tree oriented tradition is hanging a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree. This may no longer be a popular thing to do nowadays, but it still has a fun meaning behind it. Families hide a pickle ornament on their tree so that whichever kid finds it first on Christmas gets an extra gift, or gets to open the first present. This tradition originates from the 1800s. Family newsletters are also more of a thing of the past. Some families do still take part in this friendly tradition, but now most use social media to keep up with everyone. Though people may like the modern, digital version of a family newsletter, there are some that appreciate the more old-fashioned take
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on things. Writing your own handwritten card and sending it out to loved ones is a sincere way to show your appreciation and love during the holidays. In the past, families used to hang up real stockings instead of ones that are hanging all over in stores. This is more traditional, and not something you see very often now. In addition to using actual stockings, they used to be filled with fruit and chocolate coins. This idea came from an old legend about St. Nicholas when he threw three bags of gold down the chimney of a home, and the coins landed in the stockings of the girls living there. Over the years, oranges took the place of the gold and turned into a symbol of the coins.
HISTORY OF THE
CHRISTMAS TREE
By Lindsey Esslinger, Reporter
Before the advent of Christianity, trees and plants that stayed green through winter held a special meaning to the people. They would decorate their homes with evergreen over their doors and windows in hope that it would keep away ghosts, witches, evil spirits, and illness.
of stringed lights on the beautiful trees.
The Christmas tree became a decoration because the ancient Egyptians thought the Sun God became ill and that's why it was so cold.
In 1659, the general court of Massachusetts made it illegal to hang any decorations. If you were caught doing this, you could be fined or even have to serve jail time.
When the winter solstice came around, that meant the God was getting better, therefore they filled their homes with these plants to symbolize the triumph of life over death. The Germans are said to have started the Christmas tree tradition. It was believed that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, was the first to add lighted candles. He once saw the stars twinkling among the evergreens. After seeing the beauty, he wanted to recreate this for his family, and that was the start
This accustomed tradition was not widely exempted by the Americans. Most people thought that it was a Pagan tradition, and they didn’t want anything to do with them.
When Christmas trees were finally accepted in America in the early 20th century, they still decorated them in their own way. The Germans decorated them with apples, nuts and marzipan cookies, while America used homemade ornaments. Popcorn was then added to the tree after being dyed with bright festive colors. After all of this people started to see the beauty of them, and started putting them in town squares across the country.
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HOMETOWN CHRISTMAS A ROSE HILL STAPLE
By Sydney LaKous, Assistant Editor and Jessa Lee, Reporter
Hometown Christmas is a community fundraiser that takes place in Rose Hill, Kansas and it traditionally occurs on the second Saturday of December.
All events were on a regular schedule despite Covid-19, with some altercations. According to Andrea Deschaine, all events were outside except for Pictures with Santa and the Museum Open House. The two indoor activities had one entrance and one exit. Any treats or crafts were prepackaged as a take and/or make deal and letters with Santa were pre-packaged as well, but the mailbox were available if anyone happened to have a premade letter or decided to fill it out before they leave. Guests were encouraged to follow the recommended guidelines by wearing masks and maintaining six feet distancing. The goal was to stay safe and still be able to enjoy the holiday experience. All were welcomed to the fundraiser as it is not just for Rose Hill citizens.
The first one took place in 2009. The funds raised from the events are distributed to various community needs throughout the year. Events that usually take place include Pictures with Santa, a craft fair, Museum Open House, Used Coat Drive, HTC Marketplace & Craft Fair, Blacksmith, Boy Scouts Winter Camping Expo, performances from the Rose Hill High School Band and Choir, and the Truth in Action Mime Team. Horse & Carriage Rides will also be available. Other events that typically occur are opportunities to write letters to Santa, take family photos, and participate in storefront & house decoration contests are also available. 4-H will be hosting events like Holiday Craft and North Pole Petting Zoo. There are treats like Hot Chocolate & s’mores and breakfast treats will be available. The Girl Scouts are providing supplies to make Gingerbread Houses.
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Children being able to see Santa at Hometown Christmas. Photo courtesy Rose Hill Hometown Christmas (Facebook)
ROCKET PRESS HOLIDAY RECIPES THOMAS SMITH
MR. BROWNING
2 large Russet potatoes (about 1 pound), scrubbed and cut lengthwise into quarters
Sausage Chip Dip
1 large onion (8 ounces), peeled and cut into quarters
1 pound sausage
2 large eggs
1 block cream cheese
½ cup all-purpose flour
16 oz sour cream
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt), plus more for sprinkling
1 can rotel
1 teaspoon baking powder
Lays Scoops chips
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Safflower or other oil, for frying
SYDNEY LAKOUS 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Flaky Layers refrigerated Original biscuits 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired 1/2 cup raisins, if desired 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Place ingredients in crockpot, at low temperature for 4 hours
BROOKLYNN WHITE
1 cup butter no substitutes 1 cup brown sugar saltine crackers
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips Pour over saltine crackers. Bake for 5 minutes. Immediately after removing them from the over sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit for a few minutes. Spread with the back of a spoon. Decorate with sprinkles, chopped nuts or colored dipping chocolates. Allow candy to completely cool.
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THAT’S WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME
MY LOVE COVER--12
By Sydney LaKous, Assistant Editor
No matter what age you are, there are memories that last a lifetime. At Rose Hill High School, there are people from all generations who have different perspectives on the holidays. Kari Rettinger, an English teacher at Rose Hill High School, was newly married as of May 2020.
Counselor at Rose Hill High School, has carried her traditions from her childhood and passed them on to her children. “We have carried on family traditions with our kids and made new ones. When I was little we used to drive down to Winfield, to the Isle of Lights,” said Tarrant. “Now, we take our daughters there every year.”
“Since getting married, I have to Along with traditions that have been compromise on where we’re going,” passed down, Tarrant has also created said Rettinger, “So we’ll be with my husband’s family for Thanksgiving and new traditions with her daughters. my family for Christmas.” “We let them open a present on Taegan Belcher is a student at Rose Hill Christmas Eve - a pair of Christmas High School. Her family has traditions pajamas,” said Tarrant. “We watch a movie by the fireplace on Christmas that have been carried on throughout Eve and set cookies out for Santa.” the years. “On Christmas Eve, we always get matching pajamas and take pictures in them. On Christmas day, we read a story in the Bible that talks about Jesus’ birth before we do anything,” said Belcher. “Then, we open presents after that, and then we eat breakfast. We have biscuits and chocolate gravy, it’s actually really good.” Belcher said as family members have been added, traditions have only been altered slightly. “I don’t think we’ve changed our traditions, if anything I feel like we’ve added things in a way; when we adopted Matthew, we went to his grandparents house since we still had connections with them.” Casey Tarrant, the Upperclassmen
David Glennemeier, a Physical Education teacher at Rose Hill High School said his perspective on the holidays have not been altered since becoming a grandparent. “I was born in 1966, and over 54 years, not much has changed,” said Glennemeier. “We get together with family and cook and eat. The only thing that changes is when the next generation of cousins has kids of their own they stop coming and have their own gatherings.” Glennemeier said one of his favorite memories was from Thanksgiving in 1990. “I showed up at my uncle's house wearing the actual Kansas Jayhawk Continued on Page 20
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$$$ ELECTRONICS DOMINATE HOLIDAY BUYING
By Sam Larson, Reporter From the release of next generation consoles to a whole new style of clothing, gift giving in 2020 has something for everybody. Here are some of the most popular gifts of 2020:
The first gift is one of more popular for boys and men alike, the new Xbox Series S/X and the Playstation 5. Both consoles released in early November of this year, and have quickly been bought up by fans. During the launch of the new Xbox and Playstation, the official and retailer website had tens of millions of consumers refreshing the refresher to hopefully get their hands on the new gaming console. Due to the servers being used by millions of users, the websites crashed and only a very small number of customers were able to buy a new console, as the websites were down and scalpers had bots by several thousand
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consoles and resold them for almost double the price. Besides the poor launch of the new generation, these two consoles are one of the most popular gifting items of the year, and will most likely still be for a few more years to come. Another popular gift to give is actually not even physical. With all the time the world has spent in quarantine, they have had plenty of time to watch TV and movies. So it's no surprise this year that a Disney Plus subscription would be a very popular gifting item. Disney Plus features almost all Disney movies ever to be made, and features exclusive TV shows and movies such as Star Wars The Mandolorian and the new live action Mulan. People are also gifting the Roku Streaming Continued on Page 20
VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES By Claire Morris, Reporter When people think of Christmas, one of the first things that pops into their minds is gifts. During the holiday season people are joyful, joined with their families, having huge feasts, and getting lots of presents from relatives or friends. Unfortunately, there are people who do not get to experience these cheerful times. Some people do not even get presents or get to see family. Believe it or not, there are some people who do not even get to eat dinner on Christmas Eve. Every year there are millions of people who donate to charities that help the homeless, families in need, children with medical problems, and many more. The Marine Toys for Tots is one of the many charities people could donate to. Toys for Tots helps less-fortunate kids. The charity's mission is to collect new unwrapped toys and distribute those toys to less fortunate children at Christmas. They hope to bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to America’s less fortunate children.
helps local families in need. If you choose to donate to this charity then you will go to a participating Walmart and you will receive a list of suggested gifts you can purchase in the store, and donate on the spot to “Fill the Truck.” Then the Salvation Army will then distribute the gifts to families in your community.
Another good charity to donate to is the Christmas Spirit Foundation. This charity supports your counties servicemen and women and their families by giving them a Christmas tree for the holidays. They provide hundreds of Christmas trees each year to troops stationed overseas who will not be home for Christmas. The organization also delivers trees to military bases stateside so troops and their families on base can get free
Another charity to donate to is Operation Christmas Child, which is a Christian charity that takes a collection of shoe boxes filled with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, apparel, candy, and a personal note. They deliver them to children in need around the world to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way. For many of the children, the giftfilled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received. The Salvation Army’s Fill the Truck is another charitable organization. This charity partners with the Walmart team. This charity
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A TALE OF TWO TRADITIONS
By Thomas Smith, Reporter
During the holidays many families spend time together doing the traditions they love and having a good time over all. With many other families, it can be different and difficult at times. I have a split family, I live with my mom and I and my siblings, and we go see my dad on many occasions in Colorado. It may seem difficult or sad, but they respect each other and care for me and my siblings more than their own grudges. With two families it means we do things differently and that includes the holidays we celebrate. On my mom’s side of the family, we started going to a Messianic congregation and if you don’t know what a Messianic is, it is in a way a mix between Judaism and Christianity; in other words, we do the traditions like Passover like in the Old Testament and we believe that Jesus is the Messiah meaning Son of God. With that we also celebrate Hanukkah. For those who don’t know much about Hanukkah, it is sort of like Independence Day except there are gifts involved. There are eight days of Hanukkah and we light a candle for every day using something called a Hanukkiah. Why we celebrate it is because of Israel’s battle with Seleucids in the past. It was a battle between Seleucids, a divided Greek empire and Israel more specifically the Maccabees, a small group of Jewish people who rebelled against the Seleucids and their laws. The Seleucids sacrificed unclean animals to
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their gods in the Jewish temples making the temples themselves unholy. The Seleucids army during this battle had hundreds of thousands of soldiers compared to the very few hundred Maccabee soldiers. Based on that the Maccabees should have lost and yet they didn’t win this war and gained back their land of Israel because God helped them in their fight, and it was only God who let them win. After they won they had to make the temples holy again by lighting a candle for eight days but they only had enough for one night, but again God made it possible the oil they used lasted the full eight days. Since then we celebrated Hanukkah by lighting candles for eight days. My family celebrates this every year and we remember the wonderful things that God has done for us. Going through this holiday on the first night we do something called string night where our parents would wrap a gift with some string, they then hide it and unwind the ball of string all over the house and we have to follow this string to find our gifts. This was one of our longest traditions we do as a family and I look forward to it every year. On my dad’s side of the family who live out in Colorado they celebrate Christmas. My family over there are overall Baptists, so they are pretty strict over curtain things. We generally celebrate Christmas like anyone else would it is after Christmas that we do some crazy things. Whenever the holidays are around my entire family on my dad’s side have a get together at Continued on Page 20
A STORY OF A SPLIT CHRISTMAS
By Brooklynn White, Reporter
Having divorced parents during the holiday season is not always peachy. It can be very difficult and exhausting emotionally and physically. Who I am with alternates every year. On Christmas at my dad’s house we wake up really early and go to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house or my Aunt’s house (depending on whose turn it is to host the holiday) and we have an early breakfast before church then we do stockings and presents. When we are done with presents and family time with my dad’s side we go home and play outside or go to the park until dinner time. Christmas morning at my mom’s house looks a little different. We never wake up before nine and have breakfast after stockings and presents. Usually we have pancakes or french toast and grits then afterwards, we spend the day watching Christmas movies. When it finally gets dark, everyone loads into the car and we go to see the Christmas lights. We don’t really have a traditional dinner. It is not always happy though and the holiday season is sad and or angering sometimes for me. It feels like getting pulled by either arm in separate directions most of the time and can make the holiday season very stressful and hard to enjoy at times.
between both sides of the family and can feel like a constant battle to please both parents and sides of our family. I know first hand how hard it can be to be opening presents with one pair of siblings and wondering to myself how the siblings at my other house are reacting to their presents. Luckily, only one of my siblings has to deal with splitting their holidays. Overcoming the hardships of splitting Christmas have been hard but my brother and I have come up with ways to spend time with both of our families even though we may not be in their presence such as, sending letters or putting them in our family members stockings and face-timing while we cook or watch movies. The balance can be hard to maintain and sometimes family members get jealous or angry but we do our best to make things fair. Having divorced parents have caused my brother and I to have to grow up a lot faster than we should have, especially around the holiday season. It is frustrating to see my friends with nuclear families talking about their holiday and not having to think about their parents arguing over the hour long drive one of them has to make or talk about how sad their siblings were that they didn’t get to see each other. It’s difficult but I would not trade my family for anything.
When Christmas rolls around, we know that it’s gonna be a roller coaster of moods
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‘SHE KILLS MONSTERS’ WAS A SMASH By Brooklynn White, Reporter
The Rose Hill High School drama department put on the play ‘She kills monsters’ on November 13 and 14. The overall plot of the play was about Agnes Evans (Maya Isabel) journeying through the grief of losing her parents and her younger sister, Tilly Evans (Beka Craddock), through an elongated game of Dungeons and Dragons. Through this game she learns things about her sister that she never knew before. It was easy for members of the audience, including myself, to get roped in and fall in love with the characters during the show. The bond between Tilly and Agnes is very apparent and reminded me much of my bond with my family. Lilith (Olivia Schneweis) and Kaliope (Chloe Tong) added a certain, very needed element to the show while Vera (Kendall Lewallen) added a motherly presence to the play. All of the characters seemed thoroughly enthused with their rolls which helped to. Kaliope’s monotonousness helped to level out the comical side of the play beautifully. Lilith’s loyalty to her ‘party’ shows vividly. Characters in the play, such as Orcus and the wizard, also helped to add a sense of spontaneity and inclusion of the audience. The props used in the play were crafted
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incredibly well. The backgrounds and platforms were built by students for the production. The final battle with Agnes fighting the five headed dragon, Tiamat, was suspenseful. The music and lighting added to the feel. The scene was heart-stopping and over all just anxiety ridden but in a good way. The overall theme of the play was a comingof-age comical adventure that had me hanging on to every last word. Each scene was clearly executed with precision and grace by all members of the cast and crew.
4.5 out of 5 stars Olivia Schneweis and Maya Isbel perform a scene in “She Kills Monsters”.
Favorite Christmas Movies from The Rocket Press “A Christmas Carol” --Lindsay Esslinger
“Elf” --Claire Morris
“Home Alone” --Jessa Lee
“Die Hard” --Sam Larson
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” --Lydia Kimble
Last Christmas: Cheesy Enjoyment
By Kirsten-Ann Smith, Reporter
Last Christmas is a story about this girl from London named Kate, who is an elf in an all year round Christmas shop. While working one day she sees Tom. While on her way somewhere, she runs into Tom again and she asks him if he’s following her. And he asks her if elves are always so cynical, and she answers with, “Yes relentlessly these are dark times.” While walking with Tom, he leads her to the homeless shelter and she laughs and tells him he doesn't look homeless. He explains that he volunteers there. After that, it shows her walking back to see broken ornaments and from what I can tell, it seems that the Christmas shop was broken into. When the police ask her if she locked up she remembers she didn’t latch the gate, but she says she locked the store up. Her and Tom sneak into an ice skating rink which is super cute. But sadly they almost get caught so they have to run. After they are sitting on a bench, Tom reminds her maybe she should do something nice for Santa, so she decides to help around more. Tom decides to be “Santa’s little matchmaker.” We get to see the family’s argument at the dinner table where Marta and Kate are fighting, Kate outs Marta from the closet where Marta runs out of the house. We get to see Tom and Kate talking about how Kate had a heart transplant and it’s a very sad but heartwarming scene. We then go on to see Kate placing a sign that says “Singing for the homeless shelter.” After Continued on Page 20
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TRADITIONS (FROM PAGE 16) one of our families houses or at the family cabin. We then do these random activities as well as a family gift exchange that determines who wins this year and gets this bizarre tiki trophy. It is strange but it is our family tradition and it’s fun. On Christmas day my two sisters organize all the presents for each individual being nine in total. We then take turns in order to open one present at a time and at the end we would spend time with each other and the wonderful gifts we received.
LAST CHRISTMAS (FROM PAGE 19) this, it starts to go good and she continues to sing for money. They are holding auditions at the homeless shelter for the benefit show; they get a lot of people that audition. We finally find out that Tom in fact is not alive and she actually has his heart and she’s been seeing things this whole time. It’s a very sad scene because she finds out there is no boy and she loves him but he is dead. I cried a lot during this scene. My opinion on this movie was it is a very sad but heartwarming movie. One thing I did not like was that Tom and Kate were not able to end up together because Tom is sadly dead. I give this movie 9.7/10 stars, Only because Tom isn’t able to be with Kate.
ELECTRONICS DOMINATE HOLIDAY BUYING (FROM PAGE 14) stick, another streaming service to watch online TV. Streaming services are a great gift to have when you are at home all the time. The last most popular gift is Airpods Pro, which is once again, people at home developed new hobbies to entertain themselves. Rather it be working out or drawing, music is always great to have when doing an activity. Apple Airpods are one of the most popular gifts this year, as a lot of people are at home and wanting the ability to listen to their own music without having to bother fellow household members. They are also very pricey, so if a family is struggling financially during these times they can easily get a cheaper option, sometimes even being better quality than Apple as they are known to overprice things.
THAT’S WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME, MY LOVE (FROM PAGE 12) mascot suit, (a friend who was the mascot at the time let me borrow it),” said Glennemeier. “My uncles were obnoxious Missouri Tiger fans. That was the best Turkey Day ever!”
News--20
ROCKET BRIEFS
Starting Monday, November 16, all Rose Hill students were home to learn remotely through the end of the first semester due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the area. Since October 29, Butler County has seen nearly 1,000 new cases and that number is dramatically increasing. USD 394 wanted to take the correct precautions to ensure they keep the administrators, teachers, and students safe along with all of their families. Lunches were still provided for all district students, as well as breakfast, too. Even though the district might be remote learning for the foreseeable future, meals will always be available. The Butler County classes, as well as academies did not go remote, as well as the district’ Kids Klub. The Primary school and Intermediate school returned to in-person learning on November 30. The high school and middle school remained remote. -Allison Chappell
Members of the Rose Hill High School band were selected for the SCKMEA district honors. Sarah Baden (second chair), Lilly Shropshire (seventh chair), and Maya Isbel (eighth chair) are all flute players, while Maggie Estagin plays the bassoon and Isabel Miller plays the trumpet. These student will automatically qualify for the opportunity for All-States honors in December. -Lydia Kimble
New choir teacher Christopher Kurt was hired as the new boys swim coach in early November. Due to virus concerns, the Rockets first two meets were canceled. -Lydia Kimble
Caden Dinkel, Ethan Anderson and Drew Leck were voted as first team all-league soccer players, with Dinkel winning player of the year. Timmy Hoopes, Charlie Black, Teagan Cobb and Temo Luna-Berumen were voted to the second team. Noah Bolticoff, Bryce Bischler and Spencer Nolan were voted to the all-league second team in football. -Lydia Kimble
News--21
ROCKET
Taegan Belcher prepares to read script on Channel 7 News. (Photo courtesy of Madison Haynes) PHOTOS--22
Stephanie Boyle works on her painting in Mr. Hilgers’ art room. (Photo courtesy of Lydia Kimble)
LIFE
Trevor Wayman deals with programming for Robotics. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Hill)
Dalton Dockers and Keegan Beavers get hyped before their game against Mulvane. (Photo courtesy of Rocket Athletics) PHOTOS--23
Merry Christmas! From The Rocket Press