December 2022

The Rocket Press is the official news magazine of Rose Hill High School that is published four to six times a year. The Rocket Press is a student publication, written and produced by students.

Look to My Right and There’s the Hollywood Sign

Streeter making a name for himself in The Golden State

by mackayla carr, reporter

Rocket Productions is a group of classes providing students with outlets for creativity. While some take it as just an extracurricular, others take it to continue their passions. Micah Streeter is just one of those students who decided to pursue his career using what he had learned from Rocket Productions.

Streeter was involved in multiple Rocket Productions classes taught by Mr. Browning.

“I was the content director of “Channel 7 News,” the content editor of your very own Rocket Press, and the creator and content director of “Fake News,” Streeter said.

Streeter expressed that Rocket Productions created a safe place for him during high school. He emphasized how important it was that Browning allowed his students to take control and build such a positive environment for learning.

“Mr. Browning was able to create a classroom experience where a student got back exactly the amount that they put into their work,” Streeter said. “This, I believe, is the highest standard of creative education. I was happy to be a part of that.”

Streeter was even given leadership positions throughout his time in Rocket Productions. This allowed him to improve his leadership skills in and out

of the classroom. Today, he finds these skills useful when working on his own projects.

“These days, and indeed working on this last film we did that got into the festival, I have to exercise those same skills on increasingly large scales,” Streeter said.

Using these skills from Rocket Productions, Skeeter has successfully continued his career professionally. In 2018. Streeter’s film, “Night” was at a festival in Leavenworth, Kansas.

At this festival, he had the opportunity of meeting another filmmaker, who happened to be in the industry.

Once Streeter moved to Los Angeles, this new friend offered him a job on a set. This led to many more opportunities for Streeter such as many big-name

Every Man a Wildcat

by lindsey esslinger, special contributor

Lathe Cobb graduated from Rose Hill High School in 2019. After high school, he went to Kansas State University with a major in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Cobb has been busy since graduating high school. He worked for Butler Community College athletic department doing photography, social media, and broadcasting.

He then went on to work at Kansas State

as a sports photographer. Just this past summer he has worked for the Wichita Wind Surge, a minor league baseball team as their Social Media and Graphic Design intern.

Taking Rose Hill’s production classes helped him have the upper hand amongst his peers.

“I have come to find that no other school really prepares their students like Rose Hill did with Rocket Productions,” Cobb said. “Though it didn’t teach me much of the skills I use currently, what it did do was set me up to be successful and have the upper hand to take me further in this career path. Rocket Productions also helped me find what I wanted to do at an earlier stage than most people.

Although many of the skills he was taught in Rocket Productions are not used in his day-to-day life, it did set him up to be successful in this career path.

“Rocket Productions gave me an intro to writing, photo, video, editing and personable skills,” Cobb said. “Those have grown to be much more but to reiterate, those skills gained with Rocket Productions were more than most had out of high school.”

While he was in Rocket Productions he contributed to Channel 7 News and was one of the Co-Creators on the show “Are You Serious.” He also contributed to The Rocket Press by writing for the high school news magazine.

After college, Cobb hopes to work at a power 5 college, which is high-end Division I. While he would prefer to be a sports photographer, he also wouldn’t mind doing sports social media.

From Rose Hill to the For You Page

by jessa lee, reporter

Throughout the years there have been several Rose Hill High School graduates who were involved in Rocket Productions, and who are now currently pursuing big careers. One of these graduates is Koby Campbell.

Campbell graduated from RHHS in 2020. He was involved in Rocket Productions for about two of his high school years.

During that time, he created and hosted his own sports show called “Are You Serious” and occasionally helped out with another show called Fake News. Now, Koby is currently attending Kansas Wesleyan University and has had several production opportunities since being there.

“I have had my own radio show, I currently have my own podcast which I’m able to record in a professional podcast studio,” Campbell said. “I take photos for some of the KWU athletics, I have helped with news shows both on camera and working with the telecaster. All things that I had some previous experience with through Rocket Productions.”

Campbell learned many skills in Rocket Productions that have helped him with the area of communications in college.

“I learned how to speak and act in front of a camera,” Campbell said. “How to read off a teleprompter, conduct

an interview for a press story, and commentate a sports game from both a color and play-by-play standpoint. I learned how to write a script for a show which has helped me in planning out my podcasts that I do.

As far as production classes Campbell has taken in college, his list is not very short. So far he has taken Media Productions 1 and 2, Digital Productions 1 and 2, Human Communication, Publications: Digital Media, Media Law and Management, The Film, Visual Communication, and Foundation of Graphic Applications.

“I’ve tried to take advantage of taking all the production classes I can,” said Campbell.

Beyond college, Campbell already has a good idea of what he wants to do for a career.

“I’ve been blessed enough to have a platform on social media and to now be employed by companies like SLAM Magazine and RapTV,” Campbell said. “So I would like to continue down that road on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and whatever else opportunity I’m able to take advantage of. I use the skills I’ve learned, however I still like learning how to talk in front of the camera, how to edit videos, communicate with other people and so many more from all the classes I’ve taken.”

Touchdown Ken-dall Gammon!

by hayden swope, editor-in-chief

The former Rocket Kendall Gammon, was recently inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on Oct 2. Gammon graduated from Rose Hill High School in 1987, and went on to play football at a higher level.

“From Rose Hill I went to play at Pittsburg State University,” Gammon said. “I was there for five years and redshirted. I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the eleventh round. I managed to make the team and stay around for 15 years in the NFL. Four

with the Steelers, I played a Super Bowl there. Then four years with the New Orleans Saints, my character building years, and then my last seven with the Kansas City Chiefs.”

After his years playing professional football, Gammon then went on to be behind the mic with the Chiefs.

“I retired in 2006 and took 2007 off,” Gammon said. “And then came back on the Chiefs Radio Network for 12 years. My last game that I called was the Super Bowl 54 win with the Chiefs down in Miami.”

Gammon now works for Pittsburg State, and has even traveled around to share his career story.

“I’m also the assistant to the President at Pittsburg State University and help raise funds for facilities and scholarships for them which is awesome,” Gammon said. “Since it’s my alma mater it doesn’t feel like work. I speak all around the country and have even written a couple books.”

Just recently being inducted, Gammon knew these honors meant so much more to him than just the title.

“I was humbled, I didn’t expect it, and it came out of the blue,” Gammon said. “I was very proud. The groups or the people that are in here already. I don’t really feel like I belong with but I accepted it with great honor and appreciation. The honors are great and I talked about it last night at the induction ceremony that my greatest achievement was my two boys and being around them. I always said that football was what I do, not who I am. It helped me a lot and even got me into the Hall of Fame here in Kansas, which again I never would’ve dreamed of.”

Let’s Take a Look at the Forecast

by josie belden, reporter

Cat Taylor had been interested in meteorology since she was three years old when the 1991 Andover tornado destroyed the town.

Throughout her time at Rose Hill High School, Taylor was always interested in meteorology. Once she graduated in 2007, she decided to pursue it as a career.

Taylor’s first meteorology job was in Sioux City, Iowa from 2015 to 2017. Then she worked for KAKE News as a weekend meteorologist. She then left for an opportunity to advance her career as the Chief Meteorologist for CBS and FOX at Siouxland News in Sioux City, Iowa.

“I was scared of bad weather until my mother pushed me to learn about it through books and documentaries,” Taylor said. “I was obsessed with weather after that.”

“I’m the first female Chief Meteorologist here in this television market. Believe it or not, only eight percent of Chief Meteorologists are female, nationally.”

Classes that were important for Taylor to take in high school to get her to where she is now were lots of math classes.

“Meteorology is very math-heavy,” said Taylor, “We are basically engineers in fluid dynamics that predict the future”

She did not take any journalism or speech classes because she was not sure about going into TV early in school.

“That’s something I wish I did have before starting this career path,” Taylor said.

She gathered a lot of internships before she started in her career and that is how she got most of her experience.

“I interned at KSN in Wichita with Dave Freeman while I was in high school and with Bryan Busby at KMBC in college,” Taylor said.

Taylor was involved in beauty pageants where she had to speak in front of large numbers of people. That experience was beneficial towards being in front of a camera as a meteorologist.

“I had lots of practice giving speeches through the Miss Kansas program when I was Miss Rose Hill in 2011 and was awarded first runner-up at Miss Kansas in Pratt,” Taylor said.

The Bright Lights of Broadway

by mackayla carr, reporter

Rose Hill High School offers programs and groups for a variety of interests; one of which is the theater and drama club.

Jen Gardner is a former Rose Hill High School graduate who participated in drama. Being involved in theater throughout her high school years allowed her to continue her passion for the arts.

High school theater was the first time Gardner partook in any type of theatrical activity. She was taught by Tanya Dockers and Ted Whiteside, who she described as wonderful and caring.

“They were an open book of knowledge about acting and being on the stage,” Gardner said.

Dockers and Whiteside were able to provide an outlet for acting that paved the way for Gardner’s love for theater. Leading her to where she is today.

“They gave me a foundation so I could keep building,” Gardner said.

And keep building she did. Gardner has since been featured in an off-Broadway show, musicals, and is now a mentor herself. She was in the off-Broadway show “Disenchanted”, a musical humoring the way Disney represented women.

“Disenchanted” was a great musical about all the Disney princesses coming together to kind of give Disney the finger for portraying them as weak damsels in distress,” Gardner said.

After “Disenchanted” Gardner played the role of Deb the secretary from Elf in,

“Elf the Musical.” Not only did Gardner play the role, but she also got to tour as Deb a total of three times. While touring Gardner even got to perform at Madison Square Garden while in New York City.

“It was truly a dream come true to stand on the stage of Madison Square Garden where so many amazing people stood before me,” Gardner said.

As of now, Gardner is continuing her love for “Elf the Musical” by directing it herself at the Forum Theatre in Wichita, which can be viewed on multiple dates from Dec 1 to Dec 18 in 2022.

With the Rose Hill High School theater program, Gardener was not only able to discover a new love and passion but was able to flourish in it as well.

“Without that program I’m not sure I would have found my path or passion, and got to explore the world doing what I love the most. Performing,” Gardner said.

“You Can’t Take it With You”

by angelica binion, reporter

The drama department at Rose Hill High School performed the play “You Can’t Take it With You” by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. The play took place in the auditorium at Rose Hill High School on November 11 and 12 at seven thirty. This year’s play was set in New England in 1936 and the story is told through three acts. It is about two families who diverge with one another.

According to Rotten Tomatoes; Alice Sycamore, played by Shayli Andrews falls in love with Tony Kirby, played by Connor Kressely, who is the son of her boss.

However, Alice fears that her family is too eccentric for Kirby’s straight-laced elitist family, and the engagement will not be accepted.

This tension between the families, raised the question as to whether or not the families can get along. Or if the wedding that the couple wishes to have will even take place.

The play was directed by Mark Blauser, who also oversaw all of the crew. Props for the show were contributed by Tanya Dockers and Julie Woydziak. For the play to come together, the stage crew, art crew, tech crew and marketing crew assisted in the production of this play.

Why Students Should be Involved

An editorial by special contributor Lindsey Esslinger

It all started my Sophomore year of high school when I decided to join Stuco. I noticed that my friends were more involved in the school than I was and I wanted to spend time with them. I was already helping out with Stuco, so that was an easy place to start.

Then my Junior year, I joined so many extracurricular activities, and was having so much fun with them. I started helping start the dance team, since I’ve been dancing since I was little. From there I went to FBLA. I was already taking Mr. Browning's classes and he convinced me to join. Then at semester, I joined the band again after taking a break from the last instructors Freshman year.

Everything in my life kind of flipped a switch. I went from not being involved, to being in five different activities. Then Junior year, Mr. Hilgers entered one of my drawings into the Scholastic’s competition for art and I actually won awards with it.

That was when I started to take art more seriously. I ended up getting a gold key award, a scholarship, and prize money from the Wichita Art Association.

It is important to get involved in school activities, whether that’s sports or clubs. The school has many different clubs to choose from if you are not

interested in sports. Once I found a club that interests me, I ended up finding more.

Different clubs plan things that happen around the school, such as Homecoming and Snoball. This year, I decided to be a committee head for Rocket Pride in Stuco, and planned the Fall Homecoming with my co-committee head. The posters you see around the school are made by the clubs to make sure students are aware of what is going on during school.

Extracurriculars are important in schools because they help keep the school running. Many clubs around the school need more students to join, and many don’t have a limit of members.

Being in clubs or sports is fun when you like what you are doing. So it is important to find a hobby you enjoy, and find a club that coincides with that hobby.

(Streeter: from Page 4)

commercials, a feature film, and an untitled documentary for HBO.

“I’ve been on set with the AFLAC duck and had the Mountain Dew Puppy-MonkeyBaby in the passenger seat of my car,” Streeter said.

Streeter did not stop there though, because on September 30, 2022, Streeter’s film “Jokes” was presented at the Orpheum Theater at The Tallgrass Film Festival.

After several films not being accepted, Streeter finally met the high standards that Tallgrass has set.

“With ‘Jokes’ I was really trying to finally pass that threshold - finally achieve that standard of excellence,” Streeter said. “And apparently we did.”

Rocket Fall Sports Recap

Andruw Weeks was voted first team all-league for the boys soccer team, while Scotty Carr, Daylin Jantzen, and Brian Lin were voted second team.

“I was very unhappy with the all-league,” head coach Jerry Treat said. “We took 2nd place and only had 1 first teamer. We actually had two players get first team at the state level.”

Mandi Heinz and Dayleigh Barger were voted second team all-league for the Rocket volleyball team.

“Mandi ended her career with 1319 career digs and the all-time Rose Hill dig leader,” Cherith Mock said. “Dayleigh led the team with 246 kills.”

Luke McLaughlin and Teagan Cobb were voted first team all-league for the Rocket football team, while Chase Williamson, Tyler Kiser and Kulton Richwine were named second team.

“We are extremely proud of our all league players,” Weber said. “For the first time in my five year tenure we had a first team all league player and in fact had two honored both ways.”

Kyrsten Lucent, Kimber Lovell, Alexa Marshall, and Elliot Herrod were chosen as first team all-league in cross country, while Lindy Nottingham was chosen second team.

“To get four First Team All League runners and one Second Team All League is a great honor,” said Barger. “What is even more of an honor is all-state. We have two of them. In order to be an All State runner you have to place in the top 20. We had two with Kyrsten and Kimber.”

Rocket Winter Sports Update

As of December 12, the Rocket boys basketball team is off to a 2-1 start, with victories over Nickerson and Garden Plain and a loss to Hesston.

It has been a tough opening to the season for the Lady Rocket girls basketball team, as they are 0-3 with losses to Hesston, Nickerson and Garden Plain.

The Rocket Wrestling team took second at the season-opening Valley Center tournament, then followed that up with a championship trophy at Wellington. The Rockets are the No. 2 team in Class 4A.

The boys swimming team took 10th at the Maize Invitational and seventh at the Wichita Southeast Invitational.

2022 Snoball Court

The following students were voted onto the 2022 Snoball Court: juniors Ryleigh Page, Sarah Diaz and Mackenzie Thrush, Jace Evans, Jace Beery and Ethan Brooks. The seniors were Mandi Heinz, Dayleigh Barger, Alissa Fair, Noah Fuchs, Boeden Whitted and Ben Peck, with Fair being voted queen and Peck being voted king.

“It was really cool to win and share it with Ben, we had a lot of fun,” said Fair.

“It was a really cool experience to share with my girlfriend, Alissa. I had an amazing time, and I am honored to be ‘King of the Hill’ for Snoball,” said Ben Peck.

ROCKET

The Rocket Dance Team preforms a hip-hop routine at the basketball game on December 6.

Garrett Funke attempts a shot against Hesston on December 6.

Payton Sholander pins her opponent at the Valley Center Invitational on December 3.

The

It

On

RHHS blood drive took place on November 7.

December 3, the Robotics team took first place at regionals in Denver in the Engineering Notebook category.

was Camo Night in the student section for the season-opening basketball game against Hesston.