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Volume 1, Issue 4 February 8th, 2019
ROCKET PRESS
Work Play How do you senior release? Rose Hill High School 1
The expansion to the Butler wing, which was part of the USD 394 bond issue that passed in the fall of 2017, was recently completed. They will begin classes in the new rooms next school year. Photo by Faith Exley
Butler wing completed by faith exley, staff reporter
The Butler Community College campus, located in Rose Hill, was under construction from June 6, 2018 and was completed in early January of 2019. The company working with the Rose Hill School District was Alloy Basis Architect, Basis Engineers, and Hutton. “The company’s working with us did a wonderful job of designing and building the wing for Butler Community College,” said David Hull, who is the Capital Projects Manager. “I would absolutely recommend them to any other school looking for expansion.” Alloy Basis Architect designed the wing to blend with the rest of the building making it look like it has been there for years. Hutton made all the
pieces come together by actually constructing the wing. Lastly, Basis engineers made sure all the plumbing and electrical work was installed properly, finishing off the job. Hull and Hutton Construction did a final walk through. “I was very satisfied and the building was looking beautiful,” Hull said. A large window facing west towards Derby was installed as a way to provide an access to expand in the future. In addition to that, three classrooms were added, two being regular classrooms, and one being the science lab and prep room with a chemical storage closet. story continued on page 10
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District track gets upgraded by kylie gregory and ethan woodrome
In June 2018 USD 394 decided to remodel the puts a leg down. track surrounding the football field. The track was part of the new bond issue, which gave money for Due to the track’s appearance was not up to renovations for the district. date, Rose Hill High School did not host many track meets in the past other than the Early Bird The track’s asphalt underneath the surface was Track Meet in 2014 and 2018. starting to deteriorate due to the harsh weather conditions. The material in the new track will better for distance runners as it will push up when they put “We redid the track because it reached the point their legs down but worse for sprinters when they that we had to recondition it,” said High School run because they will not be able to push their Athletic Director, Jim Linot. “It started to show legs back up as quick. cracks, and it is uneven.” The renovations will allow RHHS to host the The new track will be softer than the last one and AVCTL league track meet this spring. will absorb bits of the hits every time a runner
With the completion of the district track right after Winter Break, Rose Hill High School can now host regional track. They are already hosting league track this year. Photo courtesy of Kylie Gregory Rose Hill High School 3
Students have the right to choose by charlee conroy, staff writer
Senior release can be argued as a good thing or a bad thing for high school students, but personally I think it can be both. It is common knowledge and sense that everyone should use their time wisely, but as human beings do we always use our time as efficiently as possible? Many people argue that students who have senior release waste their time with sleeping, playing video games, or just being plain lazy. In my opinion though if undergraduates have earned all of their credits and are eligible to have senior release they should be able to do what they want with their own time. Do not get me wrong, I think everyone should use his or her time to be as efficient as possible. But if a student has put their own hard work into having senior release they should be able to do what they want with their time. I think students should occasionally have a break from school, because learning new things every 4 The Rocket Press
day can be a little overwhelming. People argue the point of senior release is for students to obtain life skills such as learning how to be productive in the workforce or just obtaining the knowledge to live independently. Yes, this might be true but at the same time some students need a break from school and just need to relax. I can understand that students going home and doing nothing is not the goal of senior release, but I will argue they earned that time and they can do what they want with their own time. Becoming a high school student to an adult can be difficult; you are taking on new responsibilities that you have never had to deal with before. Senior release can be used in a productive way or a way to reward yourself. I think it is a good way to realize what type of person you are and what you should expect moving on in life.
All grown up (sort of)
Senior release offers real-world opportunities or a time to relax. Which is more useful? by micah streeter, editor-in-chief
Depending on who you ask, I am either the first person or the last person you would want to give their opinion on senior release.
their time because, again, they earned that time. I also agree with Charlee that the ideal use of senior release time is not to lie around and eat Doritos.
For the past two years I have spent an average of about three and a half hours at the high school, I used my time off high school to attend college with the rest of my time being spent at college, and work to make money for future college. Now work, or at my house. I do not want to boast unrealistic things about my use of time. I also spend a fair amount of time on I do not have senior release in the traditional the couch watching Netflix. sense of one or two hours where I do not have to come to high school, but I do feel I can comment Sometimes I need that bit of recess. We all do. on it and that what I have to say might be someAnd I think that senior release affords us the opwhat useful to those who are on the fence about portunity to do so. it. What I am trying to get at here is that people in Charlee accurately summed up the two argudisagreement over how senior release should be ments for and against senior release, and gave used are missing the point of senior release in great explanation for both. the first place. Naysayers of senior release cite its continual use as a vessel of laziness and apathy as evidence of its less than useful effects on our seniors, while supporters of it maintain that those who qualify for it deserve to have the free time they earned by taking all their required classes.
In my mind there is a reason why there is no such thing as junior release or sophomore release beyond just the academic reasons. By the time we are seniors, most of us have cars, jobs, and in some cases other obligations that signify our impending full-on dive into the adult world.
I agree with Charlee when she says that those who earned the right to have senior release should be able to do whatever they want with
Senior release’s most valuable trait is its similarity to the world of adulthood, a world we need to be prepared for. Rose Hill High School 5
Rose Hill graduate involved in former president’s funeral
by ethan woodrome, staff reporter
Recent Rose Hill graduate J.J. Carney, who is in the Navy Ceremonial Guard participated in former President George H.W. Bush’s funeral. He saluted with his rifle on The Capital steps.
The days consist of the same thing: in the morning they stand outside in ranks and march to the mess hall for breakfast. They then march to moss hall to train.
The Navy Ceremonial guard is located at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington D.C. the Ceremonial Guard’s primary mission is to represent the service in Presidential, Joint Armed Forces, Navy, and Public Ceremonies in and around the Nation’s capital.
During training Carney had to pass eight uniform inspections ,where all day he would stand straight and he could not move his eyes, cough or sneeze, because that is breaking tightness.
Carney, who is ranked E-3 out of E-12, joined the Navy after high school and did not plan on joining the ceremonial guard until basic training. Carney moved up the ranks at basic training in Great Lakes Illinois and during Ceremonial Guard training in the District of Columbia.
After Carney completed Ceremonial Guard training he was promoted to E-3. Carney is one of the six people from Kansas in the ceremonial guard the others are from the towns of Winfield, Haysville, Manhattan, Kansas City, and Coffeyville.
“I played a big roll in my division because I lead the division in our physical fitness test,” Carney said. “I basically told them what exercises to do and how many to do of that certain exercise and still had to do the exercises with them.”
“It was like being a statue,” Carney said.
“Our job is essentially to do funerals and ceremonies everyday,” Carney said. Carney performs on average four to five funerals a day and performs the same task on each of them.
“I didn’t want to be in the guard my RDC’s told me to go to their interview for the guard so I went and they picked me to be in the guard.”
Five months after Carney joined, former President George H.W. Bush passed away and Carney had a part in his funeral.
The Guard is picky in its selection process. In order to join you need white straight teeth, no acne, no scars on your face and no tattoos on the neck or hands
“Everyone in the guard played a role in President George H.W. Bush’s funeral,” Carney said. “I wasn’t picked specifically to do it; everyone participated in his funeral.”
“They are looking for perfect sailors and believe it or not there has been people that been told they can’t be in the guard because they look ugly and are not good looking enough,” said Carney.
Carney was part of the marching platoon that marched in front of The Capital. The platoon saluted with their rifles and went to present arms while the casket bears carried Bush up the stairs then they marched on.
The training Carney had to go through was similar to basic training. 6 The Rocket Press
“Serving at his funeral was pretty amazing,” Carney said. “It was a once in a lifetime experience.”
“Everyone in the guard played a role in President George H.W. Bush’s funeral. “I wasn’t picked specifically to do it; everyone participated in his funeral.” -J.J. Carney, 2018 RHHS graduate
2018 Rose Hill High School graduate J.J. Carney, who is a member of the Navy Ceremonial Guard, stood on the steps of The Capital, with rifle in hand, to salute the late President George H.W. Bush. Carney graduated from basic training in September of 2018. Photo courtesy of J.J. Carney
Rose Hill High School 7
Las Fuentas is a new Mexican restaurant opening in Rose Hill this Spring and will be the first ever Mexican restaurant in the town. It will occupy the old liquor store next to Pizza Hut. Photo by Charlee Conroy
Mexican restaurant coming to Rose Hill by gracie russell, staff reporter
There will be a new Mexican restaurant opening in Rose Hill in the near future.
citizen, Julie Woydziak shared similar excitement as Coffey.
This restaurant will be called Las Fuentas and it will be located at the old liquor store location.
“I think it is awesome,” Woydziak said. “More businesses the better and I personally love Mexican food.”
The community is excited to see a new business open up in Rose Hill because the town does not have very many places to go eat.
Rose Hill has only five places to dine at: Subway, Sonic, Pizza Hut, Louis, Coffee with Friends and Happy House.
“I am excited to see a new business coming into Rose Hill,” said Stephany Coffey, who is teaches Advanced Spanish at Rose Hill High School. “And I think that they have got a good location because it is on a major road. I am excited to see what their menu is going to include, I would like to see that is makes it past three years.”
Coffee with Friends was last restaurant to open in the town, which was in 2016.
Attendance Secretary and longtime Rose Hill 8 The Rocket Press
This is the first Mexican restaurant to come into Rose Hill. It is going to be located near the northern part of Rose Hill and it is near a variety of good places. It is on the right end of a building of three to four stores.
Rose Hill graduate passes away by sydney lakous, staff reporter
Mr. Logan Owens, 24, passed away on Thursday, December 20, 2018. He was born on Thursday, July 7th of 1994 in Wichita, KS. Mr. Owens was a student at Rose Hill High School and graduated in the year 2012. Mr. Owens is survived by his parents, Joneva and Brent Owens and his brothers, Bryce, Noah and Spencer. He loved being outdoors with friends, whether it was doing different activities or just sitting around a campfire. “I just remember that he was just a fun kid,” said RHHS counselor, Roger Foltz. “It was a long time ago when I interacted with him, but he was pretty easy going and I think he was easy to get along with.”
RHHS student suffers health scare before Christmas by taegan belcher, staff reporter Kierstin Barton, a sophomore at Rose Hill High School, suffered from a brain hemorrhage shortly before Christmas and had to have emergency surgery. After sharing her concern about having a severe headache with high school nurse Teri Koester, Barton left school early on Friday, December 21– the last day before winter break. “My gut instinct just felt like something wasn’t right,” Koester said. “And so I encouraged further medical treatment.” Barton then arrived home, where she went into a coma and was transported through ambulance to Wesley Hospital. It turned out that she had suffered from a brain hemorrhage and needed to have emergency surgery, which was successful. After surgery, Barton spent a week in Intensive Care and then another week in Recovery. She is now in a rehabilitation hospital in Bethany, Oklahoma. Though she has a long recovery ahead of her, she is expected to make a full recovery.
KU Med to hopefully prevent having another hemorrhage. “I talked to Kierstin several times over Snapchat and she is doing really good,” sophomore Lauren Salyers said. “Her parents let her leave the house to go to Braum’s. She’s talking a lot and being normal.” According to the website medicinenet.com, the condition that Barton has is called AVM (arteriovenous malformation). It is a congenital disorder that consists of blood vessels in the brain, brainstem, or spinal chord that is a complicated and elaborate knotted web of strange arteries or veins that are attached by one or more fistulas (an abnormal or surgically made passage between a hollow or tubular organ and the body surface, or between two hollow or tubular organs). Problems that are caused by AVMs typically happen before a person reaches the age of forty. Hemorrhaging (bleeding) and headaches are two of the most standard symptoms of AVM.
Barton will have another surgery February 5 at Rose Hill High School 9
BUTLER WING (from page 2)
Two individual restrooms were added all installed with LED lighting. Also added was 1 good sized storage room. With all these new additions it totaled 4,000 square feet. “The Butler wing will be open to students,” USD 394 Superintendent Randal Chickadonz said. “However the science lab will be used only as a classroom until certain supplies to run the lab are provided.”
high school students are enrolling and the current health academy is expanding. The high school addition was a $2.5M project, with some of that expense being shared with Butler Community College to construct the wing. “The money was indeed spent well for the expansion of Butler,” Chickadonz said. “And will provide more space to all the high school students and regular college students applying.”
The reasons why the expanding took place was the need for additional space being that more EDITORIAL (from page 5) No one is arguing about the fact that outgoing high school students need to be prepared for post-graduate life. I mean think about it – that is the whole point of TEAM Time. Senior release is just as much a preparatory endeavor as TEAM Time, as it teaches kids how to use their time, and by extension their money in the form of restaurants and other things that can be accessed more easily with the addition of more free time. On the surface it might seem like a rather superficial practical implementation, but I would go as far as to say that senior release is one of the best
sources of post-high school preparedness we are going to get. Time is a crucial part of success, and after we graduate we’re not going to have as strict a schedule. It is good for us to figure out how to best use our time. For some that means working extra hours at a job to save up for college. For others that means more time to binge watch Better Call Saul. Either way something is learned and not much is lost. To that extent, senior release is like a test drive of a car, but if you crash the car it is no big deal. It is a time to learn how to manage the free time that we seniors will soon be seeing a lot of.
Briefs
Lady Rockets take fourth at midseason tournament After starting their season off at 0-1, the Lady Rocket basketball team has won 10 of its last 14 games and has a record of 10-5. At the Haven Invitational where the Lady Rockets took fourth place, they won against Garden Plain, 56-47. They then lost to Cheney, 49-41 and Nickerson, 53-47. Their last game before press was on Tuesday, January 29, they played at Augusta and lost 56-37. --sydney lakous 10 The Rocket Press
Boys basketball struggles with consistency The Rose Hill Rocket boy’s basketball team, after an undefended start, are now 8-7. The team took fifth place in the annual Rupp Invitational.
The Rockets lost to Haven 57-45 then turned around, winning against Garden Plain 53-40, and Minneapolis 57-36. On January 29, the Rockets fell to Augusta, 61-46. -lydia kimble
Rocket wrestling move into 4A rankings
The Rocket wrestling team is coming to the end of their season with the team winning four of their five duals so far. In the most recent Kansas Wrestling Coach’s Association rankings, the Rockets checked in at No. 7. The team came in second at the Augusta Invitational on January 5, third at the Clearwater invitational on January 12, and ninth at the Andover Invitational on January 26. Junior David Leck is 32-2 record at 160lb weight class. Other wrestlers doing well are senior Kyle Sackett with a record at 28-2 at 113lb weight class, and Grant Scheer with a record of 24-4 at the 170lb weight class.
--ethan woodrome Clayton Epley wrestles against Andover Central at the Rose Hill Invitational Tournament on February 4. The Rockets took 10th place in the tournament. Right after Winter Break, the Rockets moved into Class 4A rankings for the first time this season. Photo courtesy of James Patterson.
Rose Hill High School 11
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