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Volume 1, Issue 2 November 9th, 2018
ROCKET PRESS
GREATNESS
Gracie Van Driel leaves an unmatched legacy for Rocket volleyball (pg. 4-5) BY KYLIE GREGORY
INSIDE: STUDENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE STATE OF JOURNALISM IN AMERICA (pg. 6-7) NO-MAKEUP MONDAY CREATED FOR STUDENT WITH CANCER (pg. 8)
Two-time state champion Four-time All-State Selection Three-time League MVP Rose Hill High School 1
Rose Hill Fall Festival overcomes poor weather
by taegan belcher, reporter
One never knows what to expect of the weather in Kansas, but the people in the community of Rose Hill always hope that the weather is nice for the second full weekend in October. During that weekend, a popular event in Rose Hill called Fall Festival is occurring. The community of Rose Hill looks forward to Fall Fest every year. It is a tradition in the Rose Hill community and has been for years. “Fall Fest began in 1976 with the boy scouts cooking a pig in a pit,” said Cindy Bradford, who is on the Fall Festival committee. “Each year more events were added.” Fall Fest brings the people in the community together and many people from towns nearby come to enjoy the events that go on at Fall Fest as well.
The weather was not particularly cooperative with the communities plans. The high temperature for Saturday was 55 degrees and the low being thirty three degrees. It was not just a cold weekend, it consisted of rain showers too. Some of the events got canceled and/or delayed because of the unfortunate weather. Some of the events that were not canceled were the parade, Run for the Roses, a car show, carnival rides, craft show, food trucks, and this year there were free games to play at the football field. This year’s craft show had a big turnout. In an interview over text with Bradford, she said there was even more local people involved than in previous years. (Story continued on page 10)
Drama club gets a “Clue” with upcoming production by gracie russell, reporter
On November 16 and 17, Drama teacher Tanya Dockers and English teacher Mark Blauser will be hosting a play called “Clue”. “Clue” is based on the Parker Brothers board game and the movie made in 1985 by Jonathon Lynn. The movie was based on six guests being invited to a strange house that have to solve a murder mystery by cooperating with the staff. “It’s a thriller and comedy, “who done it” play,” Blauser said. “Mr. Hill and company are making the play’s sets and the play has been moving along pretty well. They will be rotating separate pieces to accommodate different rooms in the play.” The Drama Club auditioned about 25 to 30 students rather than the normal of about 15. The play has a cast of about 15 so they had plenty of (Story continued on page 10) 2 The Rocket Press
The RHHS Drama Club will be putting on “Clue” on November 16 and 17 in the auditorium. Ryan Hill’s Residential Carpentry class is building all of the sets. Photo courtesy of Mark Blauser
Rose Hill alumni killed in line of duty by ethan woodrome, reporter
On Sunday, September 16 Rose Hill alumni Deputy Robert Kunze was killed in an altercation with a suspect between the intersection of 295th St. W. and 53rd St near Garden Plain.
security guard, until a crime scene detective job became available. In 2006 after he had the experience, Deputy Kunze got a detective job in Sedgwick county.
Deputy Kunze graduated from Rose Hill in 1995 after which he attended Garden City Community College for two years and got a job with campus security. He then transferred to Washburn University where he met his wife Kathleen Kunze.
Deputy Kunze loved his job, as he often would often talk of new technology the department could use and ask how he could do his job better. Deputy Kunze would specialize in car accidents to see what happened and would help the victims.
He graduated from Washburn with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Deputy Kunze took a job in Lawrence where he became a courthouse
Deputy Kunze is survived by wife, Kathleen and daughter, Alyssa.
The cast of “Night” answers audience questions at the premiere on September 15. The admission was free as well as popcorn and pop donated by Tanya Dockers. Photo courtesy of Sarah Bailey.
RHHS student premieres film project by lydia kimble, reporter
On September 15 the premiere of the movie “Night” was shown, which was written and directed by Micah Streeter. Starring in this production are Michael Diaz, Kyle Francis, Devin McMains, Skylar Nichols, Logan Krause, Trenton Tabor, Streeter, and Anna Fiegenbaum. “My sophomore year there was this morning where Micah, said hey that script I told you about
I have it, I kind of wrote (the character) Matt for you,” said Diaz. “I really loved the script, so I signed up for it not knowing the two and a half years it would take to get finished.” “Night” was shot at Streeter’s house, and Rose Hill café, Louis, where the owner would let them go in after hours and film. A few of the shots were through the streets of Rose Hill. It was filmed over the last two and a half years. (Story continued on page 10) Rose Hill High School 3
G-O-A-T Staff members, teammates and family reflect on Gracie Van Driel’s record-breaking career as a Rocket
by kylie gregory, reporter
(contributions by: gracie russell, lydia kimble, stephanie ma and sydney lakous Gracie Van Driel won 139 games in her four-year career at Rose Hill High School, which featured two state titles, one other state tournament appearance, four all-state honors, three all-league most valuable player awards and a letter of intent to play at the University of Kansas. These accolades are what make her one of the most decorated athletes to come out of RHHS. “To have the opportunity to attend any Division I school and participate as an athlete is a great accomplishment,” Rose Hill High School Athletic Director, Jim Linot, said. “But it is also something that very few high school athletes are able to achieve no matter how big the school enrollment is. We have had a small percentage of our athletes that have been able to accomplish during my tenure as Athletic Director. As you compare the numbers of Division I athletes in the state of Kansas to the number who participate that percentage is also very small. So it is a great accomplishment and something that she should be very proud of, and that as a school we are very proud of what she has achieved.” Sydney Shelman, who is the longest tenured teacher at RHHS, said only Lacey Barnes, who played at Oklahoma, is on the same level as Van Driel. Gracie Van Driel attempts to bump a ball over the net at this year’s 2018 state tournament. The Rockets went 1-2 in pool play and finished the year 32-8. Photo courtesy of James Patterson.
“It’s been great watching her grow from her freshman year until now,” Shelman said. “She is one of the best volleyball players this school has ever seen.” (story continued on page 5)
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“At an early age she would try and jump the height of the net and block the other team. I am so proud to watch her play volleyball and can’t wait to see where her volleyball career goes.” -Susan Van Driel Van Driel (from page 4) Former head coach, Melissa Segovia, said Van Driel is a natural athlete, but worked extremely hard to become versatile in all aspects of her game. “I was blessed to have the opportunity to have coached Gracie,” Segovia said. “She’s a tremendous athlete with so much to offer both on and off the court.” In 2018, Van Driel led the Rockets to a 32-8 record, which concluded in pool play at the state tournament. Current Rockets coach, Cherith Mock, was unavailable for comment.
Gracie with her dad, Doug, and her mom, Susan, at Senior Night, where the Rockets defeated El Dorado (25-22, 25-19) and Circle (25-11, 25-20). Van Driel won 139 games in her career at RHHS. Photo courtesy of James Patterson.
Breckynn Myers, who has played with Van Driel for three years at RHHS, is looking forward to seeing Van Driel take her talents to Kansas, where she will be starting in the spring. “We have made a lot of memories together,” Myers said. “ I can’t wait to see what she can do at KU.” Van Driel’s mom, Susan, said she saw at an early age the potential in Gracie. “At an early age she would try and jump the height of the net and block the other team,” Susan said. “I am so proud to watch her play volleyball and can’t wait to see where her volleyball career goes.” Rose Hill High School 5
How is journalism im Assistant editor, Stephanie Ma, gives her perspective on the state of journalism Is journalism still helpful in this day and age? Most people I’ve tried handing the school paper to think not. As a student-journalist, I hate to agree, but mainstream journalism seems to grow more corrupt by the day. Even a Wichita Eagle sportswriter felt the need to stir up a reaction with an article about high school volleyball. The industry that once dedicated itself to providing everyone with the truth now clings to its audience, begging for attention like a needy girlfriend. Viewers complain about click bait, yet they led its emergence. Journalists sensationalize the truth to get views because only the most outrageous sound bites can snatch attention from viewers nowadays. Now, many simply ignore the news because it’s either too boring or too biased. Journalists have done some great things for this country, but they can only help society as much as people will let them. Viewers must meet them halfway (by actually viewing their work) to keep the news industry in check and too many just don’t care anymore. This viral indifference is defacing journalism and it makes me sick. It makes me not want to be a journalist because it’s just not worth the trouble of boarding this sinking ship. Inaction from viewers and journalists has only fueled this problem because they both expect change, but neither one will make the first move. The downfall of journalism is pretty bad, but 6 The Rocket Press
where it stemmed from is even worse. Extreme political correctness has almost encouraged this country to run away from its problems. Tiptoeing around topics we desperately need to talk about is cowardice at its most destructive level. The conflict we avoid gives us the illusion of improvement while it really just pushes us further down this cowardly spiral. Denying the truth in order to be polite adds needless strain we burden onto the backbone of our country and ourselves. It has led people to willingly lie to themselves, to fear the truth so much that they’d rather live a lie. They’ve been coddled into feeling entitled to be comfortable at the expense of the truth. This unreasonable fear to offend has become counterproductive, to say the least. Lying and forcing formality into each given situation out of courtesy does much more harm than good. The obsession to be politically correct has seeped into our culture and subconsciously made many of us too willing to lie — an awful quality in a journalist. If you think about it, each immoral act contributes to society’s destruction — even the seemingly insignificant — because it’s too easy for a white lie to grow. Since society is made up of its people, societal change must start with each member. So tell the truth, even when it hurts. Do it for the good of this world and for the good of yourself. If you want the moral backbone of our culture restored, it has to start with you.
mportant in America?
Editor, Micah Streeter, expands on the disconnect between journalists and society The piece Stephanie wrote was an unpleasant article to read, if not a wholly honest and truthful one. Stephanie’s assertions and observations about the state of modern journalism were brutal, searing, and at times somewhat fatalistic. Her rendering of journalism as “a sinking ship” made me quite sad, not just because she believes it, but because truly she has reason to. Journalism in America today is undoubtedly fractured and flawed, with over-sensationalism and prejudice reporting running a muck. Stephanie went into livid detail about such tendencies in modern journalism. But there’s something else at play here, something that was touched on in Stephanie’s editorial, that I want to focus on today, perhaps as some sort of solution or at least a proposed right direction we should be going towards. On Saturday, October 6, President Trump came to Topeka, KS to support governor candidate, Kris Kobach. Among the 11,000 person crowd, I was in attendance, not because I am or have ever been a “Trump Supporter,” but because I wanted to educate myself – to watch and to learn.
for President Trump. I have never seen such a public display of shame and hatred – at the cameramen for god’s sake, not even the reporters. These incidents shook me, making me feel empathy for what these camera operators were going through, and what they had to go through every time they filmed a political event of this kind. It made me think more deeply about modern journalism, specifically in regards to how we as the American people treat our journalists. Where does this hatred of journalism come from? From what deeper point of anger and insecurity does it stem? I think the answer lies in a punctuation mark made in the last paragraph conjoining the words “journalism” and “politics.” Journalism should be the voice of the people. It should reflect its consumers’ attitudes and feelings in the ways that it conducts itself. A fascist country’s press reports that their country is superior in every way to any country and that their dictator is flawless, a largely communist country like China’s press would be similar.
At certain points throughout the evening, President Trump or Kobach would motion to a platform across from the stage that held about a dozen cameramen who were filming the rally for television and make some remark about the “Fake news media.”
But a republic such as the United States, a country founded on freedom of speech, religion and belief, should have a system of journalism that conducts itself how the citizens desire for it to be conducted. Keeping this general assumption in mind, perhaps one can start to realize how our system of journalism got so screwed up.
At these points, after the utterance of these words and the motioning to the cameramen, all 11,000 people in the audience would turn to the platform of cameramen, stick their thumbs downward and boo almost louder than they cheered
This nation was founded by people who loved the human being’s capacity for individual thoughts, feelings and ideas. Now, our country must be saved using the same building blocks that were used to create it. Rose Hill High School 7
Rocket football optimistic for future despite results by charlee conroy, reporter
The Rose Hill Rocket football season came to a close with a one-win season against Independence, but this did not waver the spirits of the up and coming football players or the coaches. Even though the season is over the football program, they seem confident in that they will continue to improve with more experience. “As I like to say sometimes you win and sometimes you learn, and we learned a lot this year,” coach Lee Weber stated. Looking towards the offseason, the coaches and players made comments on how they will push harder than ever to see the results that they desire. The program wants to improve as much as they possibly can such as being more competitive, training in the weight room, and having players join multiple sports through the school year. “Everything we have put together for this year will be built upon in the off season. We are going to encourage kids in other sports, and to be active throughout the offseason,” defensive coordinator David Penner said. All the coaches mentioned how they would like to see more kids go out for the football team next year and also for students to go out for other sports as well. They all think that this will be beneficial to the program and also will bring out a more competitive nature. “I think we are going to get bigger, faster, and 8 The Rocket Press
stronger with the guys we got. We also want to get the word out on trying to get more athletes in the school to join the team so we have a larger team and have more competition in practices,” Weber said. The younger players have the same view as the coaches in working harder in the off-season and that they want to see better results than this year. Also they mentioned the coach changes this year and how they feel like it was beneficial to the program. “We became a lot more coachable and we worked a lot more than we ever did last year but I think next year will be a lot better than this year if we continue to work hard,” Trent Barnhart said, “I like are coaches and our program and I feel like we have never been pushed this hard before.” “We didn’t get the results that we wanted but we all kept on working hard and we want to keep improving just to see the results that we want,” Bryson Evans commented. The Junior Varsity team had a good season and they finished with four wins, which has not happened since 2013. Also they helped the varsity prepare for their games this year and the coaches think that this helped the varsity and the JV improve together. “Their hard work has paid off with their JV wins and the future is going to be bright as long as we continue to work and grow,” coach Ryan Hill said.
Students and staff get together for a photo of No-Makeup Monday to send to Caitlyn Stuart, who has a rare form of cancer and has been in and out of school this year. Photo courtesy of Sydney LaKous.
School participates in No-Makeup Monday by sydney lakous
Caitlyn Stuart, a student at Rose Hill High School, has a very rare form of ovarian and rhadsomyosaroma cancer. Stuart has been through 10 rounds of chemotherapy in her lifetime. Multiple clubs at the high school have participated in bake sales for Stuart. These clubs include FCA, Student Council, KAYS and FBLA. The sales were based on donations and the total amount raised was $752.59. But English teacher, Stephanie Arbogast, had an innovative idea completely opposite of donations or fundraisers. She came up with “No Makeup Monday” on October 15, to support Caitlyn Stuart and her journey with cancer. “I actually taught at Wellington and we had a No Makeup Monday every Monday, but it wasn’t driving anything,” Arbogast said. :There wasn’t anything important behind it. One of the things I started thinking about was Caitlyn and, you know, Caitlyn has lost her hair, I’m sure she doesn’t feel good and sometimes in those moments, we don’t
feel very pretty.” Guys were asked to participate as well by wearing teal or purple shirts to show their support for Caitlyn. “I think it went really well,” Nurse Terri Koester said. “I think there were a lot of students that participated, boys and girls.” Stuart came back to school on October 16, then again, briefly, on October 17. But it is difficult for her to stay over long periods because of fatigue. “She’s hanging in there,” Koester said. “She’s trying to do her best and just trying to get back into school mode, so hopefully she’ll regain strength and she’ll be able to come back for more hours during the school day. It might be something that we explore as far as helping girls find their inner beauty and helping them with depression and mental difficulties. I think it could help raise their self esteem.” Rose Hill High School 9
Fall Fest (from page 2) “There was a total of 85 booths,” said Bradford. “This included crafters, vintage market and so on.” Normally there is not any activities going on at the district stadium during Fall Fest, but this year that changed. There were free activities for all people to participate in. The free games were
sponsored by Gerald Amato at American Family. This year, the prices for tickets went up fifty cents, these allowed people to ride the rides and play the games. Last year, the tickets were two dollars and fifty cents, but this year they were three dollars. With the prices raised on tickets, having free activities was a perk.
Clue (from page 2) students to pick to fill certain roles. Some of the problems The Drama Club has run into in the making of the play are they didn’t have the facilities like some of the things that were in the original script, so they have to do some alternate things with their scenes. The key characters in the play are Colonel Mustard, played by Rylan Barger, Miss Scarlett,
played by Lucy Lunsford, Mrs. White, played by Rachel Craddock, Professor Plum, played by Dakota Morgan, Mr. Green, played by Julian Isbel and Wadsworth, played by Michael Diaz. “We have a strong, central core of cast,” Blauser said. “The people who auditioned the roles are coming along nicely.”
Night (from page 3) Streeter started writing the script in January 2016 until March of this year. The first day of shooting was in June 2016, and they did not stop filming until May 2017, and then Streeter and Blaise Webster edited until August. “It’s a movie that the way it’s made and the way it is told nonlinearly, it can easily just be lost on people and it just goes over some peoples head,” said Diaz. “I think Micah did a really good job of being able to connect with the movie. The idea of “Night,” came from three places, the initial one being this feeling of not being able to communicate with someone and how people do not say what is on their mind or heart. The second idea was about technology, social media and how we communicate. Social media can make it easier to not say what is on your mind, or if you have something really important too say you text them instead. 10 The Rocket Press
“Then the song, ‘The Sound of Silence,’(by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel) it had a lot of images and a lot of lyrics that of related to those things,” said Streeter. “About like how humans communicating or not communicating in a natural way. And how this sort of outside force was adding, the outside force in this case being technology. Kind of making communication not as human, sort of dehumanizing it, that’s what, came together.” Streeter hoped the film would challenge the audience in deeply thinking about the film’s meaning. “But you come out of it talking about what do you think that meant and you really analyze the story, and you really are involved in the story, and involved in trying to figure what going on in the film,” said Streeter. “So I’m really proud of the fact that it is a real movie, but it definitely
Briefs
School called off due to water safety USD 394 canceled school at 8:10 a.m. on Monday, October 22 due to a water outage in the city, which occurred a little after 6 a.m. Kids Club and Butler County classes at the high school were also canceled. Water slowly returned to parts of the town in the morning, but the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had safety concerns over the water, which then prompted the cancellation of school. “To have students (at school) when there is no water for the day is not a workable situation (for the district),” Assistant Principal, Brad Keirns said in a message sent to district staff, students and parents. “We feel this was in the best interest of the students.” A schedule for dismissal of the students was created by the district office staff shortly before 8 a.m., which led to the high school students being dismissed first at 8:15. The bus routes also returned students back to their homes. School was back in session on Tuesday, October 23.
--the rocket press staff
District placed on brief lockdown
At 12:35pm on Monday, October 15 the USD 394 school district went into lockdown mode after reports that local law enforcement were pursuing a person one mile west of the high school, according to an official announcement by the district’s Twitter account and a recorded phone call made by assistant superintendent, Brad Keirns. The lockdown was lifted five minutes after its instigation when police apprehended the person in question. “Students and staff are all safe,” read the district’s tweet. “The lockdown has been lifted. Schools are operating normally.” Assistant Superintendent Kierns’ recorded phone call was sent to all parents, students and staff in the district. It described the events of the lockdown and made clear that all students and staff were and remain very safe. According to high school principal, Shannon Haydock, this was the first time in five or six years the Rose Hill School District was forced to be into lockdown. Later in the day, another message was sent on behalf of Superintendent Randal Chickadonz to the district staff, parents and students in regards to the state’s new crisis drills and USD 394’s commitment to safety of its students and staff. --micah streeter Rose Hill High School 11
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