PHS MEDIA NEWS

Officer Doug Soltwedel is often seen walking through the halls or even attending extra curricular activities managing the crowds. Beginning next school year, Soltwedel may be accompanied by some new faces.

These shadows will be the first members of Soltwedel’s Cadet Explorer program.

“I got the idea at the boys Sectional game at Crawford when I saw a couple kids with khaki pants and matching shirts walking with some of the officers. What really struck my attention was when I saw a little girl standing near an officer with ‘cadet’ on the back of her shirt,” said Soltwedel.

The girl turned to the officer to ask him a question about Soltwedel when he replied, “why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“Next thing I know, I feel someone tug on my pants and say ‘what’s your name?’ She took initiative after he gave her some motivation, and she came up to me prideful and confident,” said Soltwedel.

His hope is that through this program students are filled with a sense of confidence and leadership, much like the young girl.

“This program is really to help kids who may just need some guidance or a positive role model in their life and just to help them make it through with confidence,” said Soltwedel.

The program will be open from fifth grade all the way through high school seniors. Students will apply to be in the program and then will be selected by a committee. Twelve students will be welcomed into the program after the application process.

“We will go off of teacher recommendations on why they think they should be in the program, grades and some other discipline factors,” said Soltwedel.

Once a student is in the program, they will be shadowing Soltwedel and the other officers involved in the program. Students will accompany the officers to after school activities such as football games and other events.

“We may have them walk around, and if there are kids running around being unsafe, we may have them go talk to them and just overall show them how to approach people and accomplish a task,” said Soltwedel.

Soltwedel is very excited about the new program and can’t wait to get it up and running for next school year.

Story by Maggie Vincent

This past weekend, the high school agriculture department was selected as the winner of the 2019 Indiana Uplands STEM Innovation Award.

“We are honored that they have chosen to recognize us for the efforts that we are making to change the way we learn and teach. We are constantly changing, building and innovating ways for students to explore new ways to create food in an environment that they can learn from failure and be excited about their successes. It is nice to be recognized for the hard work and dedication that our staff and students put into their own learning,” said Agriculture Teacher Cory Scott.

The website for the awards states, “The Indiana Uplands Regional Innovation Awards provide an opportunity to recognize deserving people, organizations and projects that have made meaningful improvements to education, economic development and/or quality of place within the 11 counties of the Uplands region. This is our chance to highlight the amazing people and groups working to make the Indiana Uplands a terrific place to work, live, learn and play!”

On Thursday, April 18, students from the agriculture department traveled to the French Lick Resort for the award luncheon.

“I’m very happy we received this award. It shows that we are getting our program’s name out there, and people are learning about what we are doing here in the Paoli Agriculture Department,” said Senior Council Member Nick Padgett.

Students who attended the ceremony were Jayln Engleking, Elizabeth Workman, Myranda Hickman, Tony Lowe, Tara Robbins, Harley Bush, Baylee Crane, Nick Padgett.

Story by Michael Hannon

On Wednesday, April 10, PHS hosted the annual Speech Contest. For this contest, students presented a piece to judges. The categories include Classic Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Humorous Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Dramatic Duo, Religious Reading, Humorous Duo, Dramatic Reading, Dramatic Monologue, Humorous Monologue or Inspirational Reading.  Any student has the opportunity to perform.

Different classrooms throughout the school were filled with contestants of the Speech Contest.   

To figure out who won in each category, all of the scores from the judges were added in together and averaged. The category winners were Mackenzie Robertson (Classic Poetry), Scott Caruso (Contemporary Poetry), Hunter Roach (Humorous Poetry), Jillian Keen (Narrative Poetry), Rachel Umpleby (Religious Reading), Alex Jones and Sean Willett (Dramatic Duo), Keaton Chastain and Joni Blackburn (Humorous Duo), Taylor Becht (Dramatic Reading), Libby Padgett (Dramatic Monologue), Isaiah Jones (Humorous Monologue), Ming Wang (Oratorical), Taylor Becht (Inspirational Reading)

The Grand Champion was Taylor Becht with an averaged score of 96.88.

“I really love doing the Speech Contests because I love to perform. You just have to have confidence. I had so much fun with it this year, and I cannot wait until next year,” said Becht.  

The Reserve Grand Champion was Libby Pageant with a score of 96.50.

“I had a great time with the speech contest this year. I enjoyed presenting my speeches and listening to everyone else’s. I thought everyone did a fantastic job, and I cannot wait until next year,” said Padgett.  

The category winners presented their pieces to the school on Friday, April 12.

Story by Corinne Magner

On Saturday, April 13, Paoli Softball will host PHS Softball Alumni Day at the softball field.

Softball Alumni Day is an event that allows all former PHS softball players to return to the field for a day. This will be hosted at 3 p.m., after the varsity and junior varsity games against Springs Valley.

Coach Neil Dittmer has invited all past players to come watch the current Lady Rams softball team play in a PLAC game against the Springs Valley Blackhawks. Dittmer, along with the softball players and other coaches, will host a cookout for former players to enjoy after the game as well.

Story by Makiya Russelburg

On April 16-18, Paoli High School medical students will being going to the HOSA convention in Indianapolis, IN to participate in competitions, learn about HOSA and different health occupations and meet new people.

During the convention, students will be competing in competitions such as being a nursing assistant and other career skills. If they receive first, second or third place, they will go to nationals in Orlando, Florida in the summer.

“The reason I am going to HOSA is to learn more and meet new people. It is a great opportunity, and it looks good on college applications or a résumé for the future. I hope everyone will get involved in a class at the Lost River Co-op. I love my health science class, and I will be taking medical terminology next year at the Co-op. It has really opened my eyes to a lot of things,” said sophomore Libby Padgett.

For more information, visit the HOSA website at http://www.hosa.org or email health science teacher Mara Eisele at eiselem@paoli.k12.in.us.

Story by  Jozalyn Kempf

High school cheer tryouts for the fall of the 2019-2020 school year will take place on April 24 at 3:30 p.m. in the main gym, with winter cheer tryouts taking place sometime in September. Leading up to this event, there will be a tryout practice taking place on April 17 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. During this practice, the students trying out will learn the format of tryouts, ask questions and have time to practice.

To be accepted on to the football cheer squad, participants have to meet a minimum score when they are being judged. They will be judged on their jumps, skills, an original chant, group chants and a group cheer. They will also be judged on their appearance, spirit, knowledge and overall presentation at tryouts, as well as attendance, attitude and behavior at school.

There will be only one cheerleading squad, and the cheerleaders will not be divided into a junior varsity and varsity team. Anyone in grades 8 through 11 is welcome to come and try out.

“Last season, we had five fantastic cheerleaders who cheered on the Rams to a Sectional Championship, and this year, we hope to have more students come up and support the Rams,” said high school cheer coach Heather Nichols.

Junior high cheer tryouts will take place April 17 and 18. Coach Liana Baker is looking for 6 to 10 cheerleaders to join the squad. She will being doing one squad for both basketball and football.

“I am very excited about this season. This will be my first season, start to finish, that I am the coach. I took the job last year late in the season. I am eager to have the opportunity to spend time this summer and early fall prepping for the season,” said Baker.

For more information on junior high and high school cheerleading, contact Heather Nichols @NICHOLSHJ@paoli.k12.in.us or Liana Baker @bakerl@paoli.k12.in.us.

Story by Gracie Walls

On Monday, April 8, the Paoli Community School Corporation will be holding a School Board meeting beginning at 6 p.m. The meeting will begin with the closed executive session followed by the regular session. The regular session will include a Throop Elementary presentation and Recognition of Students of the Month.  

One item on the agenda is to discuss making April 13 “Ruth Uyesugi Day.”

“As you may know, Mrs. Uyesugi recently passed away. They are having a memorial service for her on April 13 in the auditorium. I am asking the Board to declare that day as Ruth Uyesugi day,” said Superintendent Greg Walker.

The last item on the agenda is a presentation form Officer Doug Soltwedel discussing a possible Cadet Explorer Program.

Story by Maggie Vincent

On Wednesday, April 10, students in advanced English and speech classes will be participating in the annual PHS Speech Contest. The contest will consist of two rounds. Students will be dismissed to Round One shortly after the morning announcements, and Round Two should end before B lunch.

Students will have the opportunity to present a piece of their choice in front of classmates and judges. Students will be scored in several categories. The categories include the following: Classic Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Policy Presentation, Oratorical, Humorous Poetry, Humorous Duo, Dramatic Duo, Original Speech, Inspirational Reading, Religious Reading, Dramatic Monologue, Dramatic Reading, Humorous Reading, Humorous Monologue and Narrative Poetry.

The category most students are participating in this year is Contemporary Poetry.

The judges for this year’s contest are Rob Brown, Janice Pickens, Gary Swick, Paul Walerczak, Steven Tate, Karie Becht, Greg Walker, Kevin Street, Janet Perry, Scott McGowen, Karen Hudelson, Ruby Crowder, Martha Nice, Bruce Hawkins, John Hutcheson, Evie Shellenberger, Jamey Sullivan and Dave Dedrick.

An awards ceremony will be held on Friday, April 12 in the Ruth Uyesugi Auditorium. Winners from each category will have the chance to present their piece to the staff and student body. Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Champion will be awarded to the top contestants of the entire contest.

Story by Lili Seals

Paoli High School has put together the money needed to have the Youth First social worker be a part of our school system, starting the fall of 2019-2020 school year.  The $35,000 the school needs to provide as their portion came from the Casino Fund.

“We will now have a certified social worker to work with students and families to help meet their many needs and ensure success at school,” said Superintendent Greg Walker.  

The process is still in the beginning stages, and much more has to be determined and decided.

Story by Faith Wilder

Recently, sophomore Alyssa Warren has started a club named “The Breakfast Club” for any high schooler who is going through issues in life. Warren thought “The Breakfast Club” was a fitting title because, just like the movie, she wants to bring people with different backgrounds together and allow all students the chance for reassurance of themselves and to know they aren’t alone.

Warren wants to provide students a feeling of home and have the most comfortable atmosphere in the club as possible. She plans to incorporate religion into her club and intends to have a prayer and talk through problems anyone is having.

“I started this club because this year, I have noticed many defeated faces and many students that just seem hurt walking in the halls. I want to help and make a difference and hopefully be a piece of home for students who can’t seem to find that here. I have been led, through answered prayers, to be a light to these peers. I decided the best way to do this was to allow the opportunity to anyone who is seeking guidance or someone to talk to can come and meet, and we can have a casual talk that hopefully will help many people,” said Warren.

She hopes that any student in grades 9-12 who wants to have someone to talk to or needs encouragement will attend. She wants to have a laid back atmosphere, and there aren’t any dues and there are no “members.” Anyone is welcome anytime. She hopes the club will open many doors to new conversations and enjoyable interactions between peers at PHS.

“This is an opportunity just to have a boost midweek and hopefully make people feel not so alone. There is no signing up; it is just come as you please, so come and try it. The meetings are nothing serious, just a time for people to come and relax in reassurance of life itself,” said Warren.

Warren’s biggest challenge for the club is her inclusion of religion. She met with the School Board and Superintendent Greg Walker to gain approval for including Christian values, morals and references during meetings. Some students may not consider the club if they know religion is involved, so that is a challenge for Warren.

“Since I am looking to include prayer and verses from the Bible, it will be easy to step on some toes. I will have to overcome some persecution from others and work around that to be able to succeed in what I’m trying to do,” said Warren.

The first meeting of “The Breakfast Club” will be April 10 in the library during homeroom for any high schooler who is interested or needs a boost or prayer.

“I hope to have people interested and coming. It should be a good time, and I’m looking forward to stepping out and meeting new people while getting this started,” said Warren.

Story by Angie Ceja

Students planning on taking AP Exams this year could potentially earn $125 due to their performance on the exams.

If a student passes an AP exam, they receive an incentive check. The amount of money they receive depends on the score they earn on the exam.  

“AP tests are scored on a 1-5 scale. A score of three is considered passing. Any student who earns a 3 will receive a stipend of $125. Students earning a score of 4 or 5 will receive a $175 stipend,” said Assistant Principal Fred Unsicker.

The state of Indiana pays for the science, math and English exams.  The school currently pays for the remaining exams, such as Studio Art, Music Theory and United States Government and Politics. If a student passes an exam the state does not pay for, the school takes out the cost of the exam from their incentive check.

“Tests are not cheap; they’re about $85 a piece,” said Unsicker. “This stipend is a way of offsetting the cost of tests that the state isn’t paying for.”

However, not everyone approves of this system.

”Several AP students have asked us to modify how we do our incentives program,” said Unsicker. “We are looking to modify our grant and policy so all of the incentive money goes toward the student.”

Students who are taking the AP exams can expect to test May 4 through May 17. Each test is a scheduled for a certain date and time. For more information, visit https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/exam-dates-and-fees.

Story by Chandler Hinton

On April 11, the Barnyard Carnival will be taking place at the 4-H Fairgrounds. The Barnyard Carnival is used to educate fourth graders from surrounding areas about agriculture and agriculture-related jobs. It also introduces the students to FFA and what the group is doing in the school.

Some of the Paoli FFA students will be going to help and will be in three groups. Senior Nick Padgett, junior Jalyn Engleking and freshman Baylee Crane will be running a booth about pigs. Another group, junior Murphy Laws, senior Chloe Elliott and junior Myranda Hickman, will be discussing hydroponics. Freshman Jonathon Garcia, eighth grader Emilie Bobbitt, eighth grader Tucker Hooten and eighth grader Aliza Allen will be helping with drinks, lunches and other miscellaneous tasks.

“I hope they learn new things and hope they get interested in something one of the booths are doing. I personally hope to get them interested in being leaders and maybe becoming part of FFA,” said sophomore FFA member Tara Robbins.

Story by Haley Owens

PHS class of 1999 alumnus Dusty Cole was involved in many activities as a student at Paoli. Cole was a member of the basketball team, football team and baseball team.

Cole was captain of the basketball, football and baseball teams. He also received many awards, such as Gold Glove in baseball, MVP in basketball, Highest Field Goal Percentage, Highest Free Throw Percentage, Most Assists, Offensive MVP in football, Academic All-State, Small School All-State and All-Conference in each sport.

Cole also set many school records, including most home runs in a game, most receptions in a season, most receptions in a career, most touchdown receptions in a season, most touchdown receptions in a career, most touchdown receptions in a game and most interceptions in a game.

“I have tons of stories, memories and experiences. To be honest, I remember the people and the relationships just as much as I do the events and the experiences,” said Cole.

Cole will always remember the athletic competitions, especially play-offs and tournament games. Cole’s basketball team went to state the 1998-1999 school year, which was his senior year. His football team had an upset against highly-ranked Southridge, who had defeated them earlier in the season.

Cole’s mentors throughout his high school years have also shaped him into who he is today.

“Mr. Magner, Mr. Stuckwisch, Mr, Kirby, Mr. Sutherlin, Coach Brown, Coach Hahn, Coach Bless, Mr. Stroud, Mr. Babcock and Dr. Combs were all were great mentors for me,” said Cole.

The people who Cole is most fond of persuaded his decision making when choosing to become a teacher and coach.

“I can look back at so many people and so many experiences that molded me into the person I am today. At times, I learned some hard lessons. I was successful, and I failed. I made good choices, and I made bad choices. Most importantly, I feel like I learned from all of those things. There was always someone there for me trying to keep me on the right path and trying to explain to me how to learn and get better from each experience. I was so blessed to have so many people who cared about me,” said Cole.

Cole is now married to Shae Cole and has three kids, Fletcher, 12, Finnley, 7, and Fitz, 5. Cole resides in Paoli along with the rest of his family, and is now approaching his tenth year as a teacher and coach at Paoli.

“I believe Paoli is a great community. That is why I am still here raising my family here,” said Cole.

Cole doesn’t live with many regrets in life, but he does believe he wished his high school experiences away too fast. His advice to the students now would be to enjoy the process, take it all in and don’t rush too much.

“At some point, you have to realize who the people are that are trying to help you and who really doesn’t care what you do or how you turn out. Always try to find the positive in people, no matter what happens, and don’t be one of the ones that complain about everything. Just find what makes you happy and try to be content with certain things in life. If you’re always looking for something better, you will never find true happiness,” said Cole.

Cole is pictured above.

Story by Makiya Russelburg

Due to a survey sent out to students by Principal Chad Johnson, new changes will be made to PHS’s lunch menu. The survey asked students to vote on new a la carte options, which are food items that can be purchased separately from the meal served.

Students will now have the option between three different a la carte options every day. For example, on Monday, April 1, the a la carte options are pork barbecue on bun, a hamburger or pizza. On April 2, the a la carte options are a beef patty, a hamburger or a chicken patty.

These are just a la carte options, so students can still get the additional food which is served as a meal.

“I’m just trying to give the students more opportunity of different choices that they like to eat,” said Head Cook Donna Wilder.  

Story by Sara Kesterson

In April and May, Supermileage will have the opportunity to compete in many different races with at least 50 teams throughout the state. The team will be participating in Division II in the ETEI SuperMileage Challenge, which consists of Indiana high schools labeled 1A and 2A.

The test and tunes with mini races are located in Columbus, Indiana and will take place on April 6. Supermileage will also be competing in races at Purdue University on April 20, and at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Indianapolis on May 4. The team will be participating in the EKS World Finals, held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on May 15. The ETEI Supermileage Challenge at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis is on April 28 and 29. Supermileage will be competing against 50 teams from all over the state.

“We are setting up our kart and will be practicing in the parking lot as much as possible. We will be looking at and collecting data on energy use, gear ratios, weight transfers, tire temperatures and pressures, caster and camber settings and motor controller settings,” said Supermileage Sponsor Jason Goodman.

The team has been preparing in order to do well in their upcoming races.

“We have a quite sophisticated spreadsheet design we created that allows us to punch in some settings and it will provide us with data, charts and graphs to compare trials in order to help us to choose the best setup,” said Supermileage Sponsor Jason Goodman.

The team’s goal is to complete a race without any problems and finish in the top three.

“We are excited about this program fulfilling the Learn and Demonstrate Employability Skills Graduation Requirement this year and for the future. Next year, we will be offering a new class, Computers in Design and Production, that will allow us to partner with Purdue University.  Students in that class will be driving, testing and learning about go-karts,” said Goodman.

Story by Lili Seals

As the winter sports season has came to a close, athletes reflect on their memorable seasons, and for some, their careers. For PHS winter athletes this season, many awards were given to the most deserving players. The boys basketball team had three athletes receive the title of All-Conference for their impressive play throughout PLAC games. These players include senior Ty Lawson, senior Ashton Minton and sophomore Brett Bosley. The girls basketball team possesses two players who received All-Conference for their stellar play in PLAC matchups as well. These athletes are seniors Keaton Chastain and Jacqlyn Rice. For wrestling, senior Timmy Burton was named IHSWCA Academic All-State Honorable Mention.

Though football season is long over, top-notch honors are still being awarded. Lawson was named to the IFCA All-Region 10 Team. He will represent Paoli and play in the IFCA North vs. South game this summer. Former football head coach Jeremy Lowery and assistance coach Neil Dittmer will get to coach Lawson and the South All-Stars. The North vs. South game will be played at North Central High School on Friday, July 12 at 7 p.m.

Congratulations to all of our winter athletes on their impressive seasons as they claim these well deserved awards.

Story by Jace Ingle

Being up to date on today’s news is now a little easier for students. Newsela is a program which creates digital articles for students to read, and these articles cover all of today’s trending news and more. What teachers find most exciting about this program is that these articles can be written for different reading levels.

“We need to get students reading. These are short, interesting, current, relevant articles that will complement what students are learning in class and hopefully encourage them to read on their own,” said English teacher Maria Wishart.

Newsela contains articles on any topic imaginable. Information about math, science, health, culture, government, sports, music, economy, food and more can be found on Newsela. There are even articles talking about books which might be assigned to read in school as well as authentic historical documents set at lower reading levels. A quiz about the content within the article comes after it has been read. If a student is reading recreationally, they have the choice to skip the quiz and move on to something else.

Superintendent Greg Walker helped make Newsela accessible. Newsela is currently a pilot program to see how students and teachers like it. Teachers can use it to assign stories for their students to read that relate to what they are learning in class at that time. When it comes to the reading level, the teacher or the students can choose the difficulty.

“Teachers can access data about student progress that helps them gauge how a class is doing, how individual students are doing and can help individualize learning,” said Wishart.

PHS has a subscription to Newsela, which means any student can create an account and read whatever and whenever they want. To explore Newsela, go to https://newsela.com/join to start reading.

Story by Sara Kesterson

On Thursday, March 14, five students from the agriculture department traveled to the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. Sophomore Elizabeth Workman, sophomore Tara Robbins, freshman Baylee Crane, freshman Jon Garcia and eighth grader Kenzie Gilliatt went to visit with  state legislators to discuss Indiana agriculture and rural communities.

“The purpose of this event was to help younger FFA members gain experience with leadership and confidence, and to talk to Congress about what we would like to be done. During our visit, we met with Congresswoman Erin Houchin to discuss our ideas,” said Crane.

Part of the conversation included getting better internet connection in rural areas. This was to help the state legislators have a better understanding of internet issues some students have when doing homework or completing e-Learning days.

“The trip to the Statehouse really helped me with my confidence in talking in front of people. I have a better perspective on how our government is being worked, and it helped me get closer with my fellow FFA members. Being in FFA has really changed my life in a very positive way. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it,” said Crane.

Story by Kaden Lewellyn 

This Friday, March 15, English teacher Maria Wishart will be taking her eleventh grade English class on a field trip. Because they have been learning a lot about Shakespeare, they will be going to Indiana University Southeast to see their theatre department’s production of Shakespeare’s comedy, As You Like It.

“People often think that in a Shakespearean play, everyone ends up dead. He didn’t just write tragedies. He wrote history plays and very, very funny comedies. It is nice to experience live theater, and even better when it is Shakespeare,” said Wishart.

Wishart has always enjoyed Shakespeare and believes the students should see his plays any chance they can get. There will be about thirty students going on the trip.

Wishart’s overall goal of the trip is to allow her students to have the chance to see Shakespeare and have the students see the book they have read come to life.

“His plays are wonderful reading, but they are meant to be watched. They are much more accessible that way too. Everyone can understand it enough to enjoy it,” said Wishart.

This field trip is highly anticipated by all who will be attending.

“The students are thrilled, and I am too,” said Wishart.

Story by Corinne Magner 

Tonight the Paoli Community School Board will meet in executive session at 6 p.m. with the regular session will start after the first session, at approximately 6:45 p.m. in the boardroom.

The meeting will begin with a presentation by ITE teacher Jason Goodman to present on coding classes and the supermileage team.

In addition, sophomore Alyssa Warren will be presenting the possibility of starting a Christian fellowship organization at Paoli.

“I look to have the meetings during homeroom on Wednesday mornings and encourage this as a midweek boost and encouraging time for students at PHS. I would like to propose a place or group for my peers that gives them a feeling of home. Walking around the halls as a student, I see many faces that look defeated and hurt, so if I could bring a smile or feeling of being loved to at least one student, then the purpose of my proposed organization has been fulfilled,” said Warren.

Also presenting at the meeting with be Technology Coordinator Alan Rutherford who will be presenting current technology concerns in the corporation.

Follow the presentations, the School Board will be signing a letter for former band director Bill Laughlin for his induction into the Gamma Chapter, Phi Beta Mu “Hall of Fame.”

“I wanted to share these kind words about Mr. Laughlin. He has been chosen as the 2018 inductee to the Gamma Chapter, Phi Beta Mu ‘Hall of Fame.’ The award was presented at Purdue University on March 10, 2019 at the Indiana Bandmasters All-State Band Concert. Great job and congratulations to Mr. Laughlin,” said Principal Chad Johnson.

The Board will consider continuing the current partnership with PACT and a discussion will be held on how to continue funding the program.

The School Board plans to vote to set the date for the 2019 graduation ceremony for May 18.

After that, the Board will discuss topics regarding summer school. This year for summer school, courses offered will be the same as last year and must have an average of 15 students enrolled. The Board also hopes to provide lunch for summer students this year.

The meeting will end with Superintendent Greg Walker giving his report, followed by a discussion.

Story by Faith Wilder

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12 in the Ruth Uyesugi Auditorium, sixteen senior boys will be competing for the 2019 Mr. PHS title. Each person who wishes to attend the show must pay three dollars for admission. Buckets with pictures of the contestants will be set out for People’s Choice Award. The contestant who has the bucket with the most money will win. Donations can be made during the intermission of the show.

The night begins with the welcoming speech by PHS Principal Chad Johnson and the introduction of the judges. There are four events for each of the boys to participate in to impress both the judges and the audience. The competition begins with a formal introduction of the boys, asking them questions to get to know each of the candidates. This will be followed by a fitness challenge that leads to the intermission of the contest. After the break, the contestants will show off a talent they have and afterwards dress to impress. Awards will be given out to the winner of Mr. PHS, first runner up and the People’s Choice.

“I am looking forward to having a good time with my friends and a great night,” said senior Paoli Media candidate Nick Douthitt.

Story by Kinley Block

On Friday, March 8, members of the All-State Band will perform at Purdue University.

The band includes senior Breanna Ward, junior Koby Durbin, junior Aaron Royer, junior Noah McSpadden, junior Rheanna Jones, junior Hunter Roach and freshman Michael Hannon.

They will leave during fifth period. Then, they will check in at the university and practice for several hours. Around 10 p.m., the group will leave the campus and spend the night at Hilton Garden Inn.

Saturday is also dedicated to rehearsal. On Sunday, members will rehearse one more time, take a group photo and perform at 2:30 p.m in the Elliot Hall of Music.

“I am confident my students will perform well because they have prepared the music ahead of time, and they are all talented musicians who know how to perform under pressure,” said band director Ben Werne.

For more information, visit indianabandmasters.org or email Werne at werneb@paoli.k12.in.us.

Story by Jozalyn Kempf

FACS teacher Danelle Manship has incorporated RealCare babies into her child development class. They have borrowed four babies from Springs Valley High School, and they purchased one from the IU Health Paoli Hospital. The babies come from a company called Reality Works.

The babies help her students realize how much responsibility it takes to take care of a baby, especially as a teen. All of her students have taken a baby home for a weekend as a project. For the project, they must take care of all the baby’s needs and even take them out in public to record people’s reactions.

“Having the RealCare babies in the class really helped with the perspective of having children and how much work it takes to raise a kid. Taking care of a baby just for 3 days was extremely stressful, but I learned my family was completely helpful. A lot of people in the community tended to stare when I walked in somewhere with the baby, and it felt embarrassing. I quickly got over it and got the hang of the baby cues, and it became less stressful,” said junior Harley Bush.

Manship plans to continue to use the babies in her class so her students can experience what it’s like to take care of a baby.

“It was a great experience for my students to be able to see what it is like to care for a baby. I am hoping by next year to have 4 babies total to use in the class,” said Manship.

Story by Angie Ceja

Last year, the Supermileage team entered the Electric Karting Series. Just recently, they received the results of the competition and found out they won first place. The EKS is one of the World Karting Association Series. It is an electric kart racing series comprised of a Regional, State and World kart racing event. This series is also part of the Purdue evGrandPrix, which now fulfills the new Learn and Demonstrate Employability Skills graduation requirement. As a result, it is not only a fun experience, but will also help the students who are involved graduate high school.

At each event, a grand prix-style race is held in which high school teams compete against each other to see who can finish the race the fastest in an electric powered go-kart. The Supermileage team competed against schools all over Indiana and Ohio. In the near future, the competition will be set up similarly to the college series. The country will be broken up into seven regions, where there will be local, state, regional, and world competitions, making it an international event.

“We generally attend six events per year, three races and three test and tune practices, which also have a mini race at the end of the day. We get to talk with professional racers and get advice from them as we attend these events,” said Supermileage sponsor Jason Goodman.

Teams who compete earn points from the place they get in the race. The placement is a point total calculated from where a team places in the race. It is similar to the point system NASCAR would use. The closer a team places to first in the race, the more points they gain. The club went to Marion County on May 15 to compete in Regional.  

“I find it being a great achievement for the team to go to a new event and return victorious. Overall, I was happy to see the way the team worked together and were ready to fix problems as they came along on our journey. There was no one person that made the win happen. Without every one of us working together, we most likely wouldn’t have been as successful,” said Supermileage President Jacob McDonald.

The winning team can use “#1” on their kart as their designated number, which is important to them because it’s an achievement that can be displayed. With this experience, the team learned electricity and electronics, how to program a device, how to collect data and interpret it, interviewing and presentation skills, how a real race tram operates and how to set up, work on and drive a race car. They plan on continuing to participate in EKS. Next year, Goodman will be having a class called Computers In Design and Production. He plans to integrate the racing kart into the class.

“It takes an entire team to be successful. You don’t have to be a race car driver, and you don’t have to be a mechanic to be successful on this team. Just like in any sport, each team member has spot and a job that has to be completed for the entire team to be successful,” said Goodman.

Story by Angie Ceja

This Saturday, March 9, the Rams will face off against the Linton-Stockton Miners in Regional 12. Tip-off is at 10 a.m., and the doors open at 9 a.m.

The Rams (23-3) have already played the Miners (24-3) during the Thanksgiving Shootout on November 24. The Miners defeated the Rams in this first match-up with a score of 62-67.

Currently, in the Class 2A AP Poll, the Miners are ranked eighth and the Rams are ninth.

Game 2 will begin at 12 p.m. with the Southwestern Rebels (25-1) facing the Tell City Marksmen (20-5). Southwestern currently holds number 1 spot on the AP Poll with Tell City at number 11.

The winners of each game will play in the championship, which will begin at 8 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now for $10 at the high school office.

Story by Dawson Long

Gaining new additions to the school library selection is a rare occurrence. It has been three years since the last order of books, so it is safe to say Librarian Brenda Eubank and the students were long overdue for some new content.

The PHS library had Overdrive, a digital reading format, but it was not being used the way Eubank had hoped it would be. Because of this, when there was enough money available to her to allow her to do so, Eubank decided to make a rather large physical copy purchase of seventy books.

“I hadn’t ordered any new physical books for three years because we were using Overdrive, which is the digital format, and that just wasn’t being used. It was in the budget for us this year to order some books,” said Eubank.

These books range from fiction to nonfiction, most of them falling under the former genre. The students were able to send in their requests to Eubank, which she tried to cover evenly, not getting every single book asked for, but attempting to get similar novels so there was a little bit of everything for everyone.

“What I try to do is balance by genre and by reading level, and I look at lexile range a little bit, interest level. You just try to balance all of that, balance it with the collection you already have,” said Eubank.

Eubank put in the order to Perma-Bound on February 5, so she hopes to receive the books around mid-March. When they come in, Eubank is expecting to see new faces around the library as well as her frequent readers.

“I think I’ll get some more readers, but the readers I have were just dying for some new books,” said Eubank.

Eubank is hoping to attract new students and keep those she considers regulars interested. A way she is doing this is by ordering series, which seem to be what the students are wanting, even though she dislikes buying them because if one book is lost, it is ruined for everyone.

By catering to students’ wants, Eubank hopes to give them the motivation to start reading or continue to do so with books they actually enjoy immersing themselves in.

Story by Masden Embry

On Wednesday, March 6, El Compadre will be hosting a fundraiser for the PHS post prom. It will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 9 p.m.

Senior parents Heather Leone, Lindsay McDonald, Jennifer Coleman, Kim Deaton, Susan Umpleby, Erica Harrell and Heather Tharp will be helping serve chips, salsa and drinks as well as cleaning tables. El Compadre will be donating a percent of their sales earned within the five hour time frame.

More senior parents are welcome to come out and help to raise money for PHS post prom.

Story by Kaden Lewellyn

On March 14 at 6 p.m., guidance counselor Brandi Kerley is going to be meeting with the junior class and their parents. At the meeting, Kerley will be presenting information to the students and parents to help prepare for their senior year. This will take place in the high school cafeteria, and refreshments will be provided.

The presentation will show students tools to help with finding the right major or career, selecting the right college, maximizing scholarships and grants, understanding college costs with net price calculators and realizing the impact of social media on college admission and scholarship decisions.

The Orange County Community Foundation will present information on financial aid, scholarships, college entrance exams and early college decision. There will also be a presentation for 21st Century Scholars.

This meeting will cover a lot of useful information for students as they get closer to entering their senior year. Kerley looks forward to seeing the juniors and their parents in attendance.

Story by Madison Street

On March 4, English teacher Brooke Goerres is taking her senior English class to see the play Macbeth at the Ogle Center located on the campus of IUS in New Albany. English teacher Maria Wishart is also taking seven of her students in her theater class.

The play is performed by Kentucky Shakespeare, which is a group that performs Shakespeare plays for free in Central Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

The play will be about an hour long with a 30 minute Q&A session to follow.

Goerres hopes her students take away a better understanding of the plot, since they read the book in class.

“It’s always nice to have the opportunity to see a play live. Sometimes it is hard to picture the play in your mind when reading it in class,” said Goerres.

Wishart hopes her students leave the trip with an appreciation for Shakespeare.

“They are wonderful to read but even better to see performed. Shakespeare’s plays are done in every conceivable setting. I hope my students gain an appreciation for different styles of set and costume design and for all the elements that go into a full stage production,” said Mrs. Wishart.

Story by Makiya Russelburg

Guidance counselor Brandi Kerley will be having the Orange County Community Foundation Senior Scholarship meeting March 5. The meeting will be at 9 a.m. in the Uyesugi auditorium, and it will last an hour. All seniors will need to bring their chromebooks, as they will be registering for their scholarship account, and representatives from the Community Foundation will help walk them through.

“The Senior Scholarship meeting is being held so that ImoJean Dedrick and Destany Pingle from the Orange County Community Foundation can help seniors apply for local foundation scholarships,” said Kerley.

Kerley would like to see all the seniors attend the meeting.

“I want all seniors to have an opportunity to apply to the many scholarships that are available to them,” said Kerley.

Story by Faith Wilder