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Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
2024-25 High School Confidential: Week 25
Apr. 10—Welcome to Year 9 of High School Confidential, powered by Danville Area Community College. It's an award-winning project made possible by aspiring student journalists from every corner of our circulation area. Each Thursday through April, they'll tell us what's happening in their hallways at . At least once a week, we'll also hand over our Snapchat account (News-Gazette) to our correspondents for behind-the-scenes tours. Feedback? Email N-G/VP Jim Rossow at . On to this week's report: On Saturday, the ALAH Fine Arts Boosters held their annual program and fundraiser featuring the talents of junior high and high school students alongside a colorful display of artwork. The high school band under the direction of Ethyan DeLaughter performed two songs, "The Great Locomotive Chase" and "Over the Rainbow." The junior high band from the three grade schools in the district joined them for a combined piece, "Superheroes R Us." Chorus sang four selections: "Somebody I Used To Know," "Cleopatra" and "Just the Two of Us" performed by the baritones and altos, and "Where You Are." The chorus is directed by district choral instructor Stephen McClarey. Representing Drama Club were seniors Ryan Appleby and Maddix Stirrett, who served as masters of ceremonies, the two actors making good use of the suits they wore in "Mamma Mia" in March to entertain the large audience with hilarious jokes throughout the evening. Pictured: Jessica Millet, senior solo; masters of ceremonies Appleby and Stirrett; Mackenzie Condill and her artwork; Chloe Custer, Kat Perez and Khloe Dowds; and Matthew Miller and Dylan Price's duet. Spring sports are underway. The softball team snagged its first win, beating Warrensburg-Latham 11-6 behind seniors Kharma Giles, Brynn Jones and Emmy Reynolds. Last Monday, students who earned enough participation points over the school year in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America took a daylong field trip to Naperville. The students took a tour of North Central College and ended the day with TopGolf. Pictured: freshman Leila Hood; sophomores Makenna Kindred, Cassie Block and Cooper Winkelmann; and junior Ariel Ponce. The student council hosted area senior citizens and community members at an event on March 30, supervised by Kami Russell and Jennifer Guminski. The students provided food such as pie, fruit, macaroni and cheese, baked beans and pasta salad in addition to chicken. Students served tables, plated food, supervised bingo and cleaned the tables. Last week, with the softball team having an open afternoon due to a canceled game, players made posters and supported the baseball team at their game against LeRoy. On March 20 at Gordy Park, the baseball team beat Meridian 13-3 behind the hitting of Cole Giberson and the pitching of Brody Somers. Pictured: Micheal Freese. Thespians put on quite the show last weekend. Students performed the comedy play "The Butler Did It," a production by Tim Kelly. It was one of the largest casts Chrisman has seen in the past few years. Director and social studies teacher Bridget Spillman said she was very proud of her students. The production of "Once Upon a Mattress" was a success as cast and crew put on two performances on Friday and Saturday nights. It's their second year back after musicals took a break for a few years. With a group of about 40, the show made an impact on the community and brought a smile to many faces. FFA members held their annual petting zoo last week, hosting a variety of animals and even bringing tractors to school for all to see and climb on. The exhibition included chickens, bunnies, horses, lambs and even a cow. Pictured: Nathan Zwilling on a tractor, Adriana Cullotta with the lamb, and Kesiah Musik and Naiah Loy. After a fundraiser in memory of Ava Mead — a 10-year-old from Sibley who passed away in August — some high school students were able to be on hand as the memorial was presented to the fifth-grade class. Afterward, it was announced the fifth-graders had the honor of being the first ones to use the playground equipment. Last Wednesday, three students from the senior AP Government and Civics class took a field trip to Springfield to participate in state Sen. Chapin Rose's Youth Advisory Council. The students toured the Illinois State Capitol building; visited the House and Senate chambers; and met with Rose and Supreme Court Justice David Overstreet. After participating in a picture competition, Rose selected four pictures to be placed in his various offices — and Hoopeston's was picked. Students had the opportunity to argue a real bill in a mock committee hearing and learned valuable information about the court and legislative systems. Photos via Thomas Sage. In March, Le Roy Elementary partnered with Crumbaugh Library to host Read Across America. All grades participated in various dress-up days throughout a week that included Mystery Readers, book buddies and a book swap day. To kick the event off, staff members (left to right) Grace Meyer, Christina Henry, Julie Scheuer and Michael Gerber dressed up as Masked Readers. At the assembly, each undercover staff member took turns reading a book to the kids. The kids then tried to guess who the Masked Reader was. Third-grade teacher Sherri Morgan (between the zebra and dinosaur) was in charge of the event, working alongside Denise Woltkamp, who works at Crumbaugh. Leaders of the school's literary magazine, "sonder," finished their decision regarding whose pieces will be included in the 2025 magazine. Sonder is instructed by sophomore Kaitlyn Young. On April 3, business classes attended the Olivet Createur Conference at Olivet Nazarene University and took in keynote speaker Tim Tebow's inspirational speech about his accomplishments as an athlete and an advocate for people with special needs. Then, students attended Tebow's Q&A about his charitable Tim Tebow Foundation, a nonprofit fighting for the MVPs (Most Vulnerable People) around the world. Students also attended Spark Sessions with speakers who talked about various ways to succeed in life with subjects about making money, mission work, valuing time and many other educating topics. Pictured: * (left to right, back to front) Corbin White, Kaleb Kuester, Elijah Long, Braydon Kissack, Tyler Runner, Beau Wright, Peyton Cluver, Molly Coffey, Brinlynn Gredy, Anna Mann, Eliana Salinas, Sesilia Salinas, Kris Butler, Brycea Brown, Janelle Parker, Lilly Carter, Shauna Durflinger, Sydnee Longest, Gage Vogel, Preston Janssen, Caleb Clutteur, Clayton Bedeker, Kami Muehling, London Clark, Joie Girdler, Abbi Beckman, Madisyn Laffoon, Montana Carter and Payge Clevenger; * (left to right) Joie Girdler, London Clark, Kami Muehling, Braydon Kissack and Caleb Clutteur; * (left to right) Brinlynn Gredy and Sydney Longest enjoying lunch; * and (left to right) Montana Carter, Anna Mann, Madisyn Laffoon and Abbi Beckman enjoying pizza outside. Students of all ages joined in on a celebration for Amaya Duzan and her signing to play volleyball at Ohio Christian University. Duzan is a hard-working student and athlete and is loved by teachers and students. She does volunteer work in the kindergarten classroom as a student aid and plans on studying early education at OCU while also pursuing her volleyball career. For Mental Health Week, put on by the student council, each student on Monday received a goody bag in their locker. On Tuesday, the positivity wall was set up in the hallway for students to write positive notes to each other. On Wednesday, inspirational bracelets were hidden around the school for a scavenger hunt. On Thursday, each student received a mental-health awareness temporary tattoo. And on Friday, each student received a list of compliments written about them by their peers. Rantoul Jazz band participated in a competition last weekend. The spring musical "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown" took place last week with 90-minute performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The musical marked the finale of six seniors who ended their high school drama careers with a bang: Gabe Yallaly played Charlie Brown, Rebekah Taylor played Sally Brown, Abbie Vavrik played Lucy Van Pelt, Kaleb Ritter played Linus Van Pelt, Bekah Goebel played Snoopy/Freida Rich, and Noelle Taylor played Snoopy/Marcie. The students were also recognized for their continued love and participation in the arts. The high school had three student teachers from the University of Illinois this semester. Friday was Nathen Zock's last day, and three students — Ava Ridge, Callaway Cox and Brenna Boyd — bought him a cake to celebrate his time at Salt Fork. Students have enjoyed learning from the teachers and building new relationships and wish them luck in their future endeavors. History teacher and CAMA (Coalition Against Methanfetamine Abuse) organization adviser Tim Carroll on Friday guided a field trip to the Old Book Barn in Forsyth as a surprise for the seniors. The other members helped plan the event with Carroll and wanted to keep it a secret. All of the seniors are avid readers, and the trip was especially meaningful for them. Each senior received a $50 gift card to use at the bookstore. A member said: "Mr. Carroll is one of our favorite teachers, and it meant so much to be able to spend the day with him. We're incredibly grateful for his kindness and generosity." Pictured, left to right: Taylor Williams, Carroll, Taylor Hepburn, Taran Borntreger, Lydia Richardson, Maggie Milburn, Brooke Tharp, Hailey Purcell, Lela Duzan and Shaylun Christenberry. The Scholastic Bowl team competed at Sectionals, beating Dietrich and Cisne and losing to Cumberland. Pictured, left to right: (top) Leah Fleming, Kya Allen, Claire Kursell, David Eaton, Grant Martin and Avram Bate; and (bottom) Linnéa Graham, Gage Wilson, Simon Parri, Isabel Donovan and Elise Fleming. All school year, Ava Rauguth has worked tirelessly to become the Key Club Student of the Month. To earn the recognition, one must have the most service hours out of everyone else each month. Rauguth dedicated over 15 hours to making tie blankets to benefit the Linus Project. Thanks to her unwavering dedication and commitment, she was honored as the Key Club's February Student of the Month. As underclassmen were doing their mandatory state testing, seniors volunteered at different sites, from several community gardens to the ClarkLindsey retirement community to Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Pictured at the foodbank: (left to right) Cora Lewis-Patterson, Marina Bowers-Wong and Khuyen Nguyen repacking cereal into more manageable sizes, and Joseph Torellas counting packages of frozen beef. The school celebrated Student Council Week with a variety of activities and spirit days. Monday was "Anything But a Backpack Day," Tuesday was "Pajama Day," Wednesday was "Hawaiian Day," Thursday was "Student Council Shirt Day" and Friday was "Neon Day." At Thursday's annual Great Auction, more than $10,000 was raised as classes, clubs, teachers and businesses donated items to be auctioned off throughout the day. The event also featured performances from students and staff, along with exciting games like Human Slot Machine, Full Court Putt-Putt and Musical Chair Knockout. Students also played "Guess That Tune" on the piano with Vice Principal Matt Reed. Also: An American Red Cross blood drive took place Tuesday. The money raised will be donated to the American Cancer Society. Last week, students in Art 3: Ceramics & Sculpting class were throwing clay and getting their hands dirty in preparation for their final. Last week, four students were picked to attend state Sen. Chapin Rose's Youth Advisory Council in Springfield. Kirstyn Jones, Kyle Krause, Aiden Henry and Ryan Lillard were put into groups with other schools and got to participate in a mock debate, as well as tour parts of the Illinois State Capitol and attempt to win a fun photo contest. State Rep. Jason Bunting came to enrich Amy Bandur's civics classes with political knowledge. He shared primary insight on his job as a representative and how state politics work. Members of the Class of 2025 picked up their caps and gowns as they prepare for graduation. "Our Jostens rep, Jessica Hageman, met with the seniors at the beginning of the school year to begin planning for graduation and getting sizes for the gowns, etc.," Westville sponsor Chad Sollars said. "Today, Jessica delivered the seniors' items. This school year went by quickly. Time is a thief." Pictured, left to right: Cambree Asmar, Cameron Steinbaugh, Sonny Smith, Mason Montelongo, Madison Bridgewater and Hageman. Next to the Jostens' setup: Andrea Skinner, who is selling prom and after-prom tickets to excited juniors and seniors. Prom is April 26 at the Crooked Creek Whitetails Estate. Pictured buying tickets: Madi Turner, Duncan Auter and Andrea Skinner.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
2024-25 High School Confidential: Week 23
Mar. 27—Welcome to Year 9 of High School Confidential, powered by Danville Area Community College. It's an award-winning project made possible by aspiring student journalists from every corner of our circulation area. Each Thursday through April, they'll tell us what's happening in their hallways at . At least once a week, we'll also hand over our Snapchat account (News-Gazette) to our correspondents for behind-the-scenes tours. Feedback? Email N-G/VP Jim Rossow at . On to this week's report, shortened as many high school are on spring break: The Lincoln Prairie Conference Honor Band performed a concert on March 20 at Cumberland High School. ALAH had the honor to send five seniors to participate in the event: (left to right) band director Ethyan DeLaughter and seniors Dylan Price, Matthew Miller, Arik Stutzman, Gabe Jacobs and Alek Stutzman. The Cerro Gordo/Bement Broncos baseball team won two games in the first week of the season: 13-3 against Meridian and 9-6 against St. Teresa. Pictured: seniors Brody Somers and Brayden Strack. On March 14 — also known as Pi Day (3/14) — students between Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Precalculus celebrated. Teacher James Vogel brought in different types of miniature pies to enjoy while they worked, including apple, lemon and chocolate. Other students brought in their favorite circle desserts including oatmeal cream pies, apple pies and a chocolate nutella pie. Vogel printed \different color pages and activities they could work on. Students each got five slips of different colored paper, each color representing a different number. Those slips of paper all became a chain that circled his room. Four years ago students started to work on it starting from one corner of the room to the other. It has finally touched each side of the room completing the first 1,675 digits of Pi. To cap off the last day before spring break: the annual Farmers vs Cropdusters basketball game for boys who don't play on the school's team. It makes for quite an entertaining game, but you would be surprised by the athleticness of some of the players. The teams stayed neck in neck the whole time making for a tense game, but Briar Clark finished it with a game-winning three in the last 10 seconds. The ACES team competed in sectionals at Eastern Illinois the week before spring break, ranking 11th out of 26 schools in its division. Individually, Silas Shirley ranked fifth and Jackson Forest sixth in computer science; Weston Baird was fourth and Owen Clark fifth in engineering graphics; and Spencer Ray was sixth and Ruby Fraser-Soule first in physics. Fraser-Soule will be moving on to th state Competition at EIU in April. Band went on a trip to New Orleans over spring break to perform and enjoy different tours, including the chance to hold alligators. To wrap up the basketball season, local radio station WGCY hosted an all-star game for area boys and girls. Also honored: Mike Allen for his commitment to being a two-time state champion coach and being a founding father of the Heart of Illinois Conference. Over spring break, the softball team opened the season with a 12-2 win against St. Anne and a loss to Clifton Central. Players along with head coach Chelsea Ziegler and assistant coaches Erin Henk and Andy Atchie look forward to upcoming games and what the season will bring. Pictured courtesy Ginger Gonzalez, left to right: (back row) Henk, Mollie Anderson, Madison Barnes, Macy Warner, Melina Vogel, Kennedy Wallace, Kinzley Bailey, Ziegler and team manager Shay Layden; (front row) Peyton Irons, Dakota Resendez and Addyson Kelnhofer. Two students received incredible leadership opportunities last week. Sophomore Peyton Ford will be representing LeRoy and Corn Belt Energy in Washington, D.C., this summer. Ford went through a competitive interview process at Youth Day in Springfield to receive the honor. Ford will join other students from across the nation on the weeklong trip where she will explore historical landmarks, meet legislators and learn about the role of electric cooperatives. Sophomore Annie Conn was selected to represent Section 15 on the IHSA Student Advisory Committee (SAC). SAC gives high school students across Illinois the opportunity to represent their communities. They use their voice to communicate between students and administrators. The SAC provides various leadership opportunities. Conn is an excellent leader at LeRoy. She participates in multiple sports as well as music, which gives her the ability to represent the vast majority of students at LeRoy. Conn went through multiple interviews to achieve this honor. Last Thursday, National Honor Society inducted new members for the 2025-26 group. NHS does a number of good things for the school, such as blood drives, a senior citizens banquet, Character Counts Week and more. NHS President Jossalin Lavicka explained how hard it is to get into NHS, as candidates need to display character, education and be a good person. Pictured: Jossalin Lavicka lighting the candle to start the induction ceremony; Kara Harwood lighting her candle to show that she will follow the four pillard: Service, Leadership, Scholarship and Character. Picture 3; NHS members (left to right, back to front) Harwood, Molly Coffey, Brycea Brown, Sesilia Salinas-Sandness, Braydon Kissack, Kaleb Kuester, Aiden Frerichs, Caleb Clutteur, David Bell, Erica Felton, Kamryn Muehling, Madisyn Laffoon, Ollie Beaty, Jason Moore, Sophie Newman, Lillie Harris, London Clark, Lavicka, Cabery Brown, Zachary Moore and Gage Vogel. Social science club students participated in a movie night, using funds raised by the members of the club during junior high concessions. The students watched "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" and ate Dominos pizza Thursday. The social science club hosts movie nights like this every few months, giving students the chance to mingle and relax while watching historically significant movies. Pictured (left to right) via Kevin Fleckenstein: Caden Logan, Amaya Duzan, Hailie Hall, Carleigh Clifton and Alexis Burch. Student council participated in the district convention at the i Hotel and Illinois Conference Center, where they heard motivating leadership speeches. At the event, Katie Ericksen and Nate Farney were acknowledged for their exceptional efforts and earned roles as liaison and secretary. Thirteen students attended two energizing and educational live shows put on by Hispanic Flamenco Ballet in Decatur Civic Center on March 14, the last day before spring break. Featuring dances, music and traditional costumes from various countries in Spain and Latin America, students were entertained and even invited on stage for interactive dance lessons. A delicious Mexican lunch at Fernando's in Champaign was enjoyed by all as two Spanish 1 students celebrated their birthdays. With spring approaching, students in kindergarten classes taught by Lauren Moses and Erica Kohlmeyer have been learning about rainbows and clouds. The formation of rainbows was taught by allowing the children to use Fruit Loops and build their own with the colors in order. Weather is discussed every morning in the classroom, which helps students understand how to dress for the day and what each type of weather will look like. To celebrate the first day of spring, the class took its annual field trip to the Tuscola Dairy Queen for free cone day. Classroom aides Brooke Morris and Kylie Mixson also attended the fun trip (Morris, Kohlmeyer, Moses and, right, Mixson). The tradition serves a memorable day for all students and a great way to kick off the season. PIctured: Ryleigh Spencer, Connor Smith, Kobe Bruce, Gemma-Lou Atchinson (left) and Wesley Hayes, and Fallon Gooden. The spring musical "Mamma Mia" was a hit with multiple sold-out shows, the audience full of laughter and even shedding tears. Seniors Ava Rauguth, Rylie Vanausdoll, Andrew Spillman, Karson Jeffers, Mya Picazo, Jocelyn Ford, Andrew Bennett, Keller Beachy, Kade Wilcox, Sawyer Woodard, Zack Rennels and Aiden Devlin all took their final bows last week. Their hard work and dedication will not go unnoticed as it is an important highlight of the school's drama program. For senior Brock Schlittler, playing the national anthem on bass guitar in front of a crowd once seemed like an impossible challenge. In his food class, students were given a goal-setting assignment, and his goal was to perform at a sporting event. He submitted the paper and forgot about it. But weeks later, the choir teacher extended an opportunity to play at a football game. Initially hesitant, he decided to embrace the challenge and performed on Senior Night against Monticello. Brock's mother, Heather, suggested he submit a video audition to the Illinois High School Association for a chance to perform at a larger event. He recorded his audition in his backyard and sent it in. To gain more experience, he played the anthem at two home wrestling meets and two boys' basketball games, preparing for a potential state-level performance. IHSA officials were impressed with his submission, and soon, Schlittler received an invitation to perform at the state wrestling tournament at State Farm Center. The performance went well, and the IHSA invited him back to play the anthem at the IHSA boys' basketball state tournament. Before his big performance, he arrived early to rehearse, took a moment to pray with his family, and then delivered a flawless performance in front of a packed stadium. Beyond his solo performances, he plays bass guitar in the country music band Owen Knap and the Rusty Strings, which frequently performs in the Champaign-Urbana area. Last Tuesday, Villa Grove's Special Olympics athletes and coaches began practice. Athletes from elementary school through high school showed excitement for the big day. Practice is a great way for the athletes to bond with their coaches — an amazing experience overall. Ahoy there mateys! Watseka's swashbuckling spring play was performed last weekend. Erik Parmenter and his scurvy crew of actors performed "An Act of Piracy" to the delight of classmates, family and friends alike.
