On Wednesday, September 19, there will be a meeting with the Herff Jones representative to discuss information for all seniors and freshmen.

The meeting for all seniors will begin at 8:15 on September 19 morning in the auditorium. All students will receive an envelope that contains the order form for their cap and gown, graduation announcements and senior memorabilia. The envelope will also include a catalog with information about ordering sweatshirts, t shirts, jewelry and other accessories.

“It is extremely important for all seniors to attend the meeting because they need to be informed on what is due, how much is due and when it will be due so they can walk at graduation,” said senior class sponsor Carol Fullington.

The Herff Jones representative will be back on Tuesday, September 25 to gather all order forms from the senior class. Along with that, they will share any important announcements.

The freshman class will be meeting in the auditorium at 9:15 on Wednesday morning. The meeting will cover all information needed to order class rings. Each class officer will model the rings to the rest of the class and encourage those who want to order a ring to attend the parent night on September 25.

Important information will be given to the students at both meetings. The staff and administration encourages all students in grades 9 and 12 to attend.

Story by Madison Street

On September 28, College Application Day will be open to all seniors. This is a national initiative put into place by the American College Application Campaign with the intent to increase the number of first generation and lower-income students going to college. During this time, application fees are free or a reduced cost. However, if seniors apply sooner, they could be open to better opportunities for scholarships.

For Indiana, this day coincides with Learn More Indiana’s annual “College GO!” campaign. There are 48 colleges participating in this initiative. Many colleges have free applications year round, but others have an application fee. However, help is available if a student qualifies for financial aid.

“It’s never too early to start thinking about what to do after high school graduation. Four year colleges, two year colleges and trade schools are all great options,” said guidance counselor Brandi Kerley.

On Learn More Indiana’s website, the following steps are listed for applying to college: choose at least six schools you would like to attend, get organized by having a folder for each school, keep a calendar with deadlines, make a checklist of tasks to complete, find out the application requirements for the schools you are looking at, talk to your guidance counselor about fee waivers and proofread for any mistakes in your application or essays.

Contact the admissions office at 1-888-528-4719 with any questions.

Story by Michael Hannon

On September 10, PCSC’s Board of Trustees hired Michael Landers (7-0) as Paoli High School’s new social studies teacher for the 2018-2019 school year. The position was previously held by Scott Gudorf. Landers is on a 156 day contract starting September 12.

Story by Sara Kesteron

On Thursday, September 13, English teacher Carol Fullington and her AP Language and Composition class will be taking a field trip to Indiana University in Bloomington. The students will visit the Wells Library, where the students will learn how to use the online catalog system and how to utilize their available resources at college libraries.

The students have been assigned an author study and can check out works by their author or critical reviews of their work from the library. The group will leave PHS at 8:20 a.m. and will arrive back to the school by 2:30 p.m.

Fullington hopes to rid the idea that a college library is scary and reiterate that students can use their resources as often as they need.

“Libraries often appear to be imposing buildings, and students are afraid to check them out,” said Fullington.   

Story by Kinley Block

On Monday, September 10, the School Board will have a meeting at 6 p.m. The Board plans to discuss potentially hiring new staff, evaluate employee job execution and look into finances. Field trips will be approved during this meeting, along with possibly moving around different funds for the school corporation. It is assumed that the Board will hire a new economics teacher for PHS at this time.

Story by Rebekah Reeves

The advanced speech class will be participating in mock interviews to prepare the students for scholarship, college admission or job interviews. To prepare for the occasion, the students have read about interviewing in their textbook, and speech teacher Carol Fullington has shared personal experiences to help them understand the importance of interviews. Director of the Orange County Community Foundation Imojean Dedrick also spoke to the class about her own experiences and shared the “dos” and “don’ts” of interviewing.

“This particular class is a college credit class full of seniors who really are preparing college and scholarship applications, and many will be invited back for interviews between now and November,” said Fullington.

Most of the interviews will take place September 12-14 in the Champions Conference Room or in the boardroom at the superintendent’s office. There will be a variety of people from the community on the judging panel to give the students verbal and written feedback for their grade. Some of the judges are Janet Perry, Jan VanEmon, Martha Nice and Brandon Crowder.

The interview rubric assesses impression and preparedness, appearance and poise, skills presentation and delivery and language. Students will be graded on book work as well as their résumé and the live interview with the panel.

“Interviews are one of the formal public speaking exercises that almost everyone participates in at some point in their life,” said Fullington.

Story by Angie Ceja

The Pride of Paoli will compete in the Salem Invitational on Saturday, September 8.

The Pride is directed this year by Ben Werne and the show is led by senior Drum Major Maggie McGowen. The band will be performing “The Garden of Good and Evil.”

The Salem Invitational is the beginning of competitions for the Pride, and they will be judged by three judges.

If anyone that would like to attend, the competition begins for all groups at 8:45 a.m. at Salem High School.

Story by Corinne Magner

The 2018 Paoli Fall Festival, hosted by Paoli Chamber of Commerce and radio stations Super Oldies, WBIW and Z102, starts September 7 at 9 a.m. and will end September 9 at 4 p.m.

On Friday, the PHS Student Art Show will begin at 9 a.m. The town-wide yard sale will be taking place, and the opening ceremonies and vendors will open at 6 p.m. A chili cook-off and a three-day long laser tag game will begin.

On Saturday, the town-wide yard sale will continue. The car show, Monster Mash, the baby contest and “Cookies and Canvas,” led by Psi Iota Xi Sorority, will also occur. ¨”Cookies and Canvas” is an event in which participants can eat cookies while painting, and it will be located at New Hope Christian Church in Paoli, Indiana. All vendors will open at 10 a.m. Cornhole and bingo will also be available.

On Sunday, the Super Oldies live remote will be going on, and the 2018 Paoli Fall Festival Parade will start at 2 p.m. The parade awards will immediately follow the parade. The festival will be closing Sunday at 4 p.m.

For more information on the 2018 Paoli Fall Festival, visit the “2018 Paoli Fall Festival” Facebook page.

Story by Gracie Walls

This year, Student Council is trying something new. Along with the new sponsors, the members were elected differently, and they will have special committees for certain events and activities.

“One of the biggest changes to Student Council is the combination of both Booster Club and Student Council. The joined clubs will have more responsibilities,” said Student Council sponsor Carol Fullington.

Any student who was interested in running for Student Council was asked to run as a homeroom representative. Out of those students, one was chosen through a vote by the rest of the homeroom. The other remaining candidates could apply for the at-large positions.

The Student Council President is senior Emma Osborn. Osborn will oversee all Student Council decisions and events the committees come up with.

“Student Council was divided into smaller committees, and in addition to spirit days, hall decorating and pep sessions, Student Council will also have a special events committee to organize whole school events. A policy committee will also be formed to give students a voice in changing our handbook,” said Fullington.

This change to Student Council and Booster Club is intended to better connect students and teachers. It gives students a chance to be heard and make decisions for PHS.

“I am very excited that students will have a bigger and better voice in our school. Students have the opportunity to make this a more positive place, and other students are more likely to buy into that positivity if it is lead by people their age,” said Fullington.

With more students involved, new ideas and perspectives will be added. Many people are excited for the change and new policies here at PHS.

Story by Kaden Lewellyn

The rivalry between the Springs Valley Blackhawks and Paoli Rams dates back almost 60 years. Both football teams bring their best, aiming to take home the Orange Bowl trophy each year.

The overall record of the Orange Bowl is 25-32, with Springs Valley taking 32 wins and Paoli receiving 25. Most would be shocked to see the Blackhawks as the most frequent Orange Bowl winners. However, Springs Valley won many games consecutively in the 1970s and 1980s, boosting their overall record. However, the Paoli Rams have an astounding 9-1 record in the Orange Bowl since 2008.

“It’s a classic county rivalry. Everyone always shows up to play. It’s always fun to watch,” said Athletic Director Darek Newkirk.

Come out and support the boys as they compete in the fifty-eighth annual Orange Bowl at Springs Valley this Friday at 7 p.m.

Story by Jace Ingle

Each year, seniors have headshots taken to replace the traditional school photo in the yearbook. This year, senior headshots will need to be taken in the media department studio by Chris Lindley’s room between September 1 and the end of first semester.

All seniors are expected to get their headshot taken. Several photo options will be emailed to each student, allowing the opportunity to choose which one will be used in the yearbook. Senior headshots can also be used for college applications, scholarship applications, or any other time when you must provide a headshot.

Email Mahalia Taylor at taylorm@paoli.k12.in.us to schedule a time to get your photo taken.

Story by Michael Hannon

When you walk through the halls this week, you may notice more people in uniform than usual. Members involved in the Indiana State Police training are borrowing part of our school. They decided to come to Paoli for training because of our friendly staff and large wrestling room.

“The training is a defensive tactics training. I was approached about using the school by a trooper who said the training facility they were using was not suitable anymore. I checked with Mr. Jackson and Mr. Newkirk, and they agreed that it was a good idea to have them here at school,” said Principal Chad Johnson.

The training will take place in the wrestling room and the conference room over the next two weeks. It will include learning control tactics and how to protect themselves as well as the subjects they arrest.

Johnson will take each group of policemen through a tour of the school so they understand the layout. The training will not disrupt the school day, and classes will go on as normal.  

Story by Maggie Vincent

A meeting for seniors and their parents will take place on August 28 at 6 p.m. in the auditorium. Staff members and college representatives will be present to discuss duties seniors will have throughout the year.

A representative from InvestEd will be at the meeting to discuss the process for filing for FAFSA. They will also present any information related to financial aid and what to expect when applying for financial aid. Any important deadlines will also be brought to attention.

A representative from 21st Century Scholars will also be there to address any information relating to financial aid.

Students and parents will hear from guidance counselor Brandi Kerley, who will talk about topics such as applying to colleges, sending transcripts and scholarships available to students.

English teacher Carol Fullington will mention when the Herff Jones catalog for will be available to students, when the first down-payment needs to be made for Herff Jones products, the senior fundraiser and post-prom planning.

Lastly, media teacher Heather Nichols is going to explain how senior pictures, baby pictures and senior tributes will be put together.

If neither a student or a parent can attend the August meeting, there will be three others to attend for information. A November 19 meeting will focus on financial aid, including a FAFSA workshop. January 22 is another opportunity to finalize and ask questions about financial aid. Lastly, March 14 will be dedicated to finalizing any senior related duties before graduation.  

Story by Sara Kesterson

On August 20, the PCSC Board of Trustees hired a new superintendent. With the vote being 7-0, Greg Walker from Brownstown Central Community Schools was hired.

Walker is a 1988 graduate from Green County High School in Greensburg, Kentucky. Walker went on to Western Kentucky University to receive a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, Walker received his principal’s license from Indiana University in 2004 and his educational specialist degree in 2014 from Indiana State University.

Over the past twenty years, Walker has been both a teacher and an administrator at various schools. Walker taught agriculture at Bedford North Lawrence for eleven years. He was also Brownstown’s assistant high school principal for seven years, middle school principal for three and a half years and superintendent for three and a half years.

Although Walker will miss the relationships he has made, he thinks it will be a “smooth transition.”

“I have always admired Paoli schools and decided it was an opportunity I wanted to pursue,” said Walker.

When it comes to improving and representing Paoli schools, Walker hopes to analyze testing data and improve testing scores, help Paoli schools become more “financially sound” and help to develop a positive school climate.

Walker signed a three year contract, an Indiana standard, and his first day on the job is October 1.

Story by Sara Kesterson

National Honor Society is an academic organization that holds its members to high standards in the areas of character, scholarship, leadership and service.  NHS members must complete 20 service hours, while NJHS members must complete 3 service opportunities to fulfill the area of service. These hours can be earned through activities such as helping out the school or volunteering at community events.

Chemistry teacher Melissa Higgins is the new advisor for NHS and NJHS. The induction, which will be held in the PHS auditorium on September 16, is an formal, annual ceremony to introduce new members. Students are eligible to apply for NHS if they have a 3.3 GPA or higher. If a student does decide to apply, they will then undergo further consideration by the faculty council.

“Faculty gives input on the character, leadership, service and scholarship of each applicant. All applications are then put in front of a faculty council, who votes which students have met the requirements,” said Higgins.

Higgins is making a change to the one of the policies. Previously in NHS, members had to complete 20 service hours, all of which could be from serving the same organization. This year, Higgins plans to encourage members to work with a variety of organizations.

“NHS is very beneficial and important for high schoolers,” said Higgins. “Being in this organization looks good on college applications, gives kids the chance to give back and gives recognition for working hard academically through service.”

Story by Faith Wilder

With their eyes on a State Championship win, the Pride of Paoli band is working hard to achieve their goals this year. Former assistant band director Ben Werne stepped up to take on the role of head band director when Bill Laughlin retired from the position.

Along with a new band director, comes a new way to arrange their show. In the past, the music from the band’s shows came from Sunset Scores, a site that marching bands can buy their music from. Instead of buying their show music this season, Werne and a group of people customly arranged a show for the band.

“The custom arrangement by Luke Aylsworth, Stan Phillips and myself is going to impact the band in a very positive way. It allows us to showcase our strengths in the best light and hide areas of weakness. Think of it like clothing: buying a specific size for you always fits better than a ‘one size fits all.’ It’s the same thing with the marching band show,” said Werne.

The Pride’s show this year is called The Garden. There are three movements that make up the production. In the first movement, the garden is lifeless, and the fountain is broken. To begin, the gates of the garden open and the band members enter the garden. In the second movement, the garden starts to bloom into life, and the music is majestic and beautiful. In the final movement, it turns into a utopian garden, and the fountain begins to flow again. Movement three’s music captures the feeling of excitement and is very upbeat.

The Pride’s first performance will be at the high school football game on August 24. The band will be debuting movement one. They will also be playing the “Star Spangled Banner,” “Some Nights” and more pep tunes. The band’s first competition is September 8 at Salem.

Story by Angie Ceja

Assistant Principal Fred Unsicker has proposed the idea in order to help students and staff build a better character. Habitudes is a character education and leadership program designed around various images. Paoli High School is the first school in the state of Indiana to ever receive the grant to place this program in the school.

“We as teachers saw a need to help equip our students to be better leaders, even self leaders, as they head off into adulthood,” said Unsicker.

Unsicker has had experience with this curriculum before. The junior high softball team used Habitudes last spring as part of their regular practice schedule. Habitudes will be held during homeroom every Wednesday. There will be some type of introductory activity, a short video and a discussion for each Habitude lesson.

The program has been shown to benefit several aspects of schools, including a reduction in disciplinary referrals, an increase in attendance rates, an increase in academic performance and the creation of a culture of leadership in the school.

Story by Ashlyn Bonta

A new school year brings new faces to the leadership roles at PHS.  New class officers are elected every year. This year, the freshmen class officers are President Michael Hannon, Vice President Gracie Walls, Secretary Kylee Charles, Treasurer Caleb Jones and Historian Corrine Magner.

“I am excited to take on the role as president. I believe the freshmen officers will do a great job with whatever we are faced with,” said Hannon.

The sophomore class officers are the following: President Maggie Vincent, Vice President Haley Owens, Secretary Lili Seals, Treasurer Victoria Tuell and Historian Lauren Umpleby.

Junior class representatives are President Maddy McDonald, Vice President EB Kerby, Secretary Kinley Block, Treasurer Lauren Rutherford and Historian Aron Busick.

Finally, the senior class officers are President Rachel Umpleby, Vice President Ming Wang, Secretary Nick Douthitt, Treasurer Emma Osborn and Historian Tyson Lawson.

The senior class officers will leave the school with responsibilities such as planning class reunions. The juniors also have a big role; they will be planning the 2019 Prom and will begin the process very soon.

“I am very excited to be a part of prom preparation, and I am ready to hear all of the other officers’ ideas,” said Maddy McDonald.

This year’s officers are ready to take on the responsibilities and new leadership roles at PHS.

Story by Kaden Lewellyn

Along with taking the responsibilities of being senior class sponsors, English teacher Carol Fullington and history teacher Neil Dittmer have decided to partner up and be co-sponsors for Student Council and Booster Club.

“I was in charge of student council for nine years before this year, so I was experienced, and I knew I could do the job well. Mr. Dittmer had the idea to combine the two clubs and make them into one, and I was happy to do it,” said Fullington.

Fullington and Dittmer plan to make a few changes to the two clubs this year. This year, instead of anyone applying to Student Council, there will be one representative from each homeroom. In addition to this, there will be ten at large positions for those who did not get elected through their homeroom. For Booster Club, there will be a committee within Student Council to take care of these responsibilities, including homecoming and entertainment.

Fullington and Dittmer will be splitting the responsibilities of being sponsors between the two of them. Fullington will take care of the crowning during homecoming. Dittmer will be in charge of running all of the pep sessions throughout the year and take on more activities regarding to school spirit. For any other activity, the leadership will be shared.  

“I wanted to be more involved with in school activities, and I felt as though I had a lot of offer because I was in both clubs during high school,” said Dittmer.

Both Fullington and Dittmer are excited to see what this year has in store for them and to begin taking on their new responsibilities.   

Story by Madison Street

The first day of the 2018-19 school year was started by students and teachers filing into the auditorium. Assistant Principal Fred Unsicker took some time to address students and staff of a new change that has made its way to the handbook. This change, which involves the attendance of the students, was formed in hopes of improving our school attendance rate.  

Last year, English teacher Carol Fullington’s speech class was assigned to rewrite the school’s prior attendance policy. Unsicker and Principal Chad Johnson liked their new policy idea and decided to put it into effect.

“Her speech class did a significant amount of research into other schools’ attendance policies, and they also looked at Indiana Code related to attendance. Once they had their proposal written, I spent some time talking to them and doing some of my own research on attendance policy, and Mr. Johnson and I really liked the suggested changes,” said Unsicker.

The new policy features many changes that will now affect what does and does not count as excused absences. The absences are now classified into three categories, professionally excused absence, parent or guardian excused absence and unexcused absence. The professionally excused absence is the only absence that does not count towards the student’s total absence number.

In years past, a call was automatically made to a student’s home after five to seven absences, and on the eighth absence, a meeting was set up with the principal and parent.

“This year, we changed it to placing phone calls at absence 4 and 6.  This allows more time to work with students and parents on absences. Also new this year, on absence 6, students will be placed on an Attendance Contract,” said Unsicker.

The Attendance Contract states that absences seven, eight and nine will all result in a Friday school. If a student reaches nine absences, the school will then notify Orange County Probation for being habitually truant (absent). Once a student reaches the tenth absence, they will lose credit in the course.  

“I really do believe this change will make an improvement in our attendance rate.  We were just under 95% last year, and I believe we can close in on 98%. So far this year, we are right at 96% for the entire school.  In the research I did, schools who had more strict attendance codes had better attendance percentages at the end of the year,” said Unsicker.

Unsicker would like to thank Fullington’s class for all the help in rewriting this policy and encourages students to notify the office if you know you will be missing school.

Story by Maggie Vincent

PHS has come up with a solution to make the students at Paoli feel more respected, acknowledged and meaningful. Each week, one student from each grade will get nominated by teachers for student of the week and student of the month.

The students who got nominated this past week were seventh grader Braxton Clarkson, eighth grader Aliza Allen, freshman Zoe Farris, sophomore Garrick Stidams, junior Kainan Yother and senior Madison Street.

“The students who attend our school should be acknowledged for their success,” said Unsicker.

Not only do the students get recognized, they could have a chance to win a five dollar gift card out of a random draw.

“For some students, getting the gift card would make them motivated to do better in school,” said Unsicker.

There are four categories of consideration to become student of the week or month, responsibility and work ethic, citizenship and character, academic performance and leadership.

PHS has also made other incentives for students to try harder in school.

This year, the school made another rule that if you have not missed a class more than twice and have at least an 85 percent in that class, you do not have to take a final. AP classes are the only exception.

Not only do we have gift cards, but we also have the option to bypass finals if you work hard and accomplish your goals you set for yourself.

“I think we could really make a change in our school with these new rules,” said Unsicker.

Story by Corinne Magner

With the dismissal or resignation of several teachers at PHS comes the arrival of many new ones. There are seven new faces at PHS this school year and are as follows: choir teacher BJ Crowder, math teacher Aaron Key, resource teacher Heath Snider, English teacher Rachel Miller, study hall supervisor Caitlyn Manchaca, government teacher Ryan Canada, and high school resource teacher Jessica Matheny.

Additionally, the school board made a decision August 13 to rehire seventh grade math teacher Jackie Bosley. The new contract is permanent; however, it is understood that following this school year she will officially retire.

Reasons for accepting a job at PHS can vary. For study hall supervisor Caitlyn Manchaca, PHS has always been home.

“I graduated from Paoli, and I knew there wasn’t another school that would ever be able to compare to Paoli,” said Manchaca.

With a couple weeks already completed, English teacher Rachel Miller has already learned many things about PHS. She does not owe this understanding to herself, but to her students.

“I have learned how to use a myriad of Google apps and sites. My prior Google experience was limited to Gmail, but I am learning quickly. Stacie Durbin, Heather Nichols and my students have all been excellent teachers,” said Miller.

The new teachers at PHS are very anxious to see how this school year turns out. Every new teacher is accepted at Paoli, and all students should work to make them feel sincerely welcomed.

Story by Jace Ingle

This school year, PHS has introduced a new program called APEX. APEX is an online learning platform that provides curriculum and guided instruction for students. This program can be used as a stand-alone curriculum or as an aide to a class.

“We put this into place because we needed a credit recovery platform for students who have failed a class. We also have APEX available for AP courses in the event that either we do not have a teacher for that course or we do not have enough room in the master schedule to support a section of specific AP course. A majority of our use of APEX will be as a supplement for teachers to use in the their classroom,” said Assistant Principal Fred Unsicker.

Unsicker believes that APEX will provide PHS students with some flexibility within their schedule and teachers with their curriculum. It is another tool available to learn.

“We will never replace a teacher in a classroom guiding students towards learning experience, but APEX does provide us a tool to help our students. That’s the biggest benefit,” said Unsicker.

Students who have questions about APEX can refer to Unsicker in his office or his email at unsickerf@paoli.k12.in.us.

Story by Rebekah Reeves

High school Spanish teacher Rachel Carter, formerly known as Rachel Wyatt, married Mark Carter at 8:30 a.m. on June 26, 2018. The wedding took place in the Disney Wedding Pavilion at Disney World with only ten immediate family members in attendance. Carter’s wedding planning was easy and enjoyable; all she had to do was choose her details online. She also had a wedding coordinator to provide assistance.

“We are living and looking forward to our happily ever after,” said Carter.

Her most memorable moment from the special day was watching the fireworks and eating desserts in Magic Kingdom at the Tomorrowland Terrace.

“It was a dream come true,” said Carter.

Story by Kinley Block

Studying for finals may seem like a premature thought at the beginning of school, but a new year is the perfect opportunity to change your study habits.

In order to do well on important tests, you must put forth your best effort every day in class to understand the material. Finding your own personal incentives will enable you to do that.

Tests are a good way to gauge how well students can prepare for important events. Better prepared students typically receive higher scores.

Paying attention in the classroom, reviewing for a few minutes each day and setting realistic, yet challenging, goals is more beneficial than cramming the night before an exam.

“Students have to find the internal motivation to make sure they do their best on tests and all activities,” said Assistant Principal Fred Unsicker.

Making good habits is important, and the earlier you start, the easier they will be to continue. Planning ahead and encouraging yourself to strive for success is vital in forming the path you will walk in the future.  

Story by Masden Embry

Looking and feeling your best can make a big difference in your performance at work, school or other activities. However, some students don’t have the privilege to wake up in the morning to everything they need.

Media teacher Heather Nichols, health teacher Summer Hudelson, PACT teacher Jodi Henry and resource aide Angela Frank, along with community members Anna Hudelson and Dessica Albertson, founded an organization to help PHS students obtain necessary items, called The Essentials Project.

The Essentials Project was started in March of 2018, and the group has spent the last four months securing grants, finding partners and collecting items.

“I want to emphasize that if you are requesting items, we absolutely protect your identity. The only people who will know what an individual is requesting is myself and the person requesting the items. If you need an item, we will help you, and you do not have to worry about being embarrassed,” said Nichols.

You can contribute to The Essentials Project by visiting the organization’s website, located on the PHS website under “For Students” or by contacting a staff member of the organization.

“I want to thank everyone who is making this program a reality. We feel like this is step one for us. More help is on the horizon,” said Nichols.

Story by Gracie Walls

Free physicals for the 2018-2019 school year at Comprehensive Health Care will be Wednesday, May 16, beginning at 3:15 p.m. Students entering grades 7-12 for the 2018-2019 school year are eligible to receive the free physicals.

The LRCC Construction Trades program will be having an open house for this year’s build on Thursday, May 10 at 4:30 p.m. The house is located less than 1 mile from school at 324 W. Thorton St. Hope to see you there!

The junior high band will be putting on a spring concert on May 4 at 7 p.m. This concert will take place in the Uyesugi Auditorium. Anyone is welcome to come, and the concert will last for about an hour.

The band will be performing music from their Gold Medal Performance at Floyd Central as well as some new music they have been working on. This music includes “Abracadabra,” “Warriors of Beijing” and “Guadalcanal March.”

The other part of the concert will be a movie theme. Some of these pieces include “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie, “Who Let the Dogs Out”  from Men in Black 2 and “I’m a Believer” from Shrek. Music from The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Harry Potter will also be featured.

Awards will also be given out for Outstanding Performance Student, Most Improved, Distinguished Honor, etc.

“We hope to have a large and friendly audience for this fantastic event!  Everyone is welcome to attend,” said band director Bill Laughlin.

Story by Haley Owens

This past year, the Paoli Chapter of FFA has had many accomplishments. From raising pigs to gathering funds for the barn, they have done it all. On Sunday, April 29, these accomplishments will be recognized. FFA members and their families, donors to the building and legislators will all gather for this special recognition.

The banquet will begin at 1 p.m for a lunch in the high school cafeteria. Those who attend will then relocate to the auditorium at 2 p.m., where the awards ceremony will be held. Finally, at 3 p.m., everyone will move outside for a groundbreaking ceremony in honor of the barn that will be coming soon.

“We have had an amazing year and want to celebrate it with everyone that has made it possible,” said FFA sponsor Cory Scott.

Story by Maggie Vincent

Each year, Spanish teacher Rachel Wyatt takes her Spanish 3 students to the IU Bloomington Campus for a field trip.

This year, the students went on Thursday, April 12. While at IU, the students got the opportunity to meet the supervisor of 100 and 200 level Spanish classes. They also got the chance to hear about other foreign languages offered at IU, which includes the study-abroad program. Along with hearing about classes, PHS students got to meet the IU Assistant Director of Admissions and tour the campus.

“As always, I am very proud of my students for their excellent behavior and attitude,” said Wyatt.  

Story by Avery Owens

The winter sports season has concluded, and athletes are being honored with awards based on their performance. Athletes can receive the PLAC All Conference award if they performed well enough in conference games.

Winter athletes who received the PLAC All Conference award for boys basketball are freshman Brett Bosley and juniors Ashton Minton and Ty Lawson.

Athletes who received the PLAC All Conference award for girls basketball are juniors Bela Brewster, Keaton Chastain and Jacqlyn Rice.

Athletes who received the PLAC All Conference award for wrestling are freshman Brycen Long, sophomore Tanner Coe, juniors Zayne Bartholomew, Timothy Burton and Chad Warren, and senior Matt Webb.

Statewide awards are based on an athlete’s performance all season long. Senior Dietrich Sears was named to the IBCA Academic All-State Team for boys basketball. Senior Garrett Vincent was named to the IBCA Academic All-State Honorable Mention Team. Sears and senior Jacob Babcock were both named to the HBCA All-District Team for District 4.

Lastly, for boys basketball, Babcock was named HBCA East All-Star Team. For girls basketball, Rice was named to the IBCA Junior Small School All-State Team. Chastain was named to the IBCA Junior Small School All-State Honorable Mention Team. Rice was named IBCA/Subway Player of the Week District 3 for February 5-10.

Every award given to each athlete is well deserved and is obtained by a long season of hard work. We are proud of our Ram athletes and their impressive accomplishments from their winter season.

Story by Jace Ingle

After prom, juniors and seniors all have the opportunity to go to post prom, even if they do not go to prom. Post prom will be held at the Paoli Peaks this year and will feature DJ Sam Carmickle, games and cash prizes.

Post prom will start at 11:30 p.m. and end at 2 a.m. Students who attend will be taken to the Peaks on buses. Permission slips to go can be found in history teachers Scott Gudorf and Chris Lindley’s rooms.

Post prom itself is free, and post prom t-shirts for any PHS junior or senior are also free. Any guest who is not a PHS junior or senior had to pay five dollars for their shirt and are also invited.

Story by Rebekah Reeves

Any student in need of prom or morp attire can contact Jodi Henry with PACT. For inquiries or more information, email her at henryj@paoli.k12.in.us.

This year, the English department continues the tradition of putting on the Speech Contest. This year, the speech contest is Wednesday, April 11 from 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This year, approximately 180 students will be participating. Judges come in and score all students on their speeches. These judges are chosen by one of the speech classes and are asked to give their time to help.

When it comes to placing participants, each student will be given a ribbon depending on their average score. Averages of 90 or better will receive a first place ribbon, 80-89 point average receives second, 70-79 points will get a third place and 60-69 will receive a fourth place ribbon. Anyone lower than any of these will receive a participation ribbon. The winner from each category receives a public speaking pennant and has the opportunity to perform at the awards ceremony. The Grand Champion will be given a trophy.

“Students often fuss about having to participate, but it is one of those activities we love to talk about. Public speaking is an essential skill in life which many students underestimate,” said speech teacher Carol Fullington.

Make sure to encourage PHS students participating in the speech contest this week.

Story by Avery Owens

This year, the Pride of Paoli decided it was again time for new uniforms. They are purchased roughly every ten to fifteen years, and the last purchase took place in 2005. These uniforms will be used for parades, marching competitions, concerts and community service programs. One hundred new uniforms were purchased, just enough for everyone in any given year.

This year’s uniform budget was $48,000, and the school board generously made a $10,000 contribution. The Band Booster program, which is a group of band parents and supporters, is paying the remaining $38,000. Patrick Butler, the Indiana Representative of Stanbury Uniforms, is the sales person for the Pride of Paoli.

“Something as important as a uniform that will represent the students, the school and the community for years to come cannot be left for students who will only be around for four years to decide. The band director usually chooses a uniform company to work with, then selects some people to be a part of the visual staff, which includes some of the ‘visually inclined’ parents and Band Booster members,” said band director Bill Laughlin.

The “visually inclined” parents come up with ideas of what the uniforms should look like. Afterwards, the uniform company has a professional designer who makes a computerized image. Corrections can be made at this point. Then, a sample uniform is made, and students can try it on and see how it fits. Final corrections are made, and the final product is presented to the parents at the Band Booster meeting.

The new uniform has a black and white striped optional undershirt with a purple sleeve covered with a black jacket. The jacket has wide shoulders and silver buttons down the front. Black gauntlets with silver buttons match the jacket and black pants. Overall, it is a very neat uniform that will be put to use for students in many years to come.

Story by Kaden Lewellyn

It is that time of year again when the drama department puts on their annual spring play, but the show will be a little bit different this year. Instead of a single play, two different short plays will be performed in the same night. This decision was made because the drama department wanted flexible casting.

“They also give multiple people moments to shine as you have different actors playing leads in different plays,” said Director Maria Wishart.

According to Wishart, having two separate short shows should make the production as a whole easier to put on because the scripts are simpler and easy to memorize. However, with every show, putting on two shorts will come with their challenges.

“One challenge with doing two different plays is everyone keeping straight who is doing what in which one, scene changes, etc.,” said Wishart.

The first short the drama department will be putting on is “Actor Games.” This production is a inspired by “The Hunger Games” and has characters representing different acting styles.

“We picked it because we all thought it was funny and that it will give the actors some room to really have fun with the characters,” said Wishart.

Because two shorts will be performed instead of one entire play, there are no legitimate starring or lead roles.

The second short is called “Door to Door,” and it is a series of short scenes about life decisions and moving on. Many scenes provoke self reflection in a light-hearted way.

The cast list for both “Actor Games” and “Door to Door” include seventh graders Gavin King, Caitlyn Taylor, Ellie Sims and A.J Lopez. Eighth graders include Michael Hannon, Adin Monroe, Angie Ceja, Kylee Charles, Nathaniel Gavid, Sam Chaplin and Haley Cox. Freshman are Libby Padgett, Christian Ruth and Aubri Cook. Sophomores include Elyssa Stroud, Jacelyn Kelly, Makayla Chism and Summer Ford. Juniors are Jillian Keen, Jacob Graves and Tyler Thornton.

Show dates are April 5, 6 and 7, all starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are priced at $3 for students and $4 for adults. Come out and support the drama department with their productions of “Door to Door“ and “Actor Games.”

Story by Sara Kesterson