On April 7, freshmen Fletcher Cole and Brian Fullington rebooted the 812 Sports podcast for the Paoli Media Department. In the previous years the podcast was run by alumni Garrett Vincent and Dietrich Sears. In their podcast, Cole and Fulligton interview a member of a current sports team and discuss school sports as well as sports on a national level.
“I really hope to see us move into the world of podcasting. I have already talked to Brian about becoming our producer for other shows if there is interest. I want more student voices telling stories here at PHS in a unique way,” said Media Adviser Heather Nichols.
The podcast will be published every Thursday and is available to all who would like to listen. In their first episode, Cole and Fullington discussed March Madness, the Masters Golf Tournament and the Rams kicking off spring sports.
“I started this podcast for two reasons: I thought it would be cool to create something and know it as my own, and also it makes media way easier than before,” said Fullington.
The podcast is available on the PHS Media News website and Spotify.
“For the rest of the year, I think we plan to perfect our craft and come back next year with a greater podcast than anyone will ever know,” said Fullington.
On April 21, School Resource Officer Andrew Streble, with the help of the Paoli Police Department and Orange County Prosecutor’s Office, will hold a convocation for seniors on alcohol and drug awareness.
In the past, Springs Valley High School students participated in a similar program, so as a part of Prom preparations for the second year following the COVID-19 outbreak, PHS decided to introduce their own version of the program for students. It will focus on how serious of an offense it is to drive while intoxicated and how it can seriously impair someone’s future.
“The purpose of the presentation is to show what effects drugs and/or alcohol have on the body with concentration on what happens when someone is driving while impaired,” said Streble, “We felt it would be more beneficial than just hearing us lecture about drugs and alcohol.”
The presentation will be a recreation of an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) scene. It will also include an officer completing a Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST).
For more information, email Streble at streblea@paoli.k12.in.us or find him in his room located in the Main Office.
On April 3, the FFA hosted a banquet to end the year. This was the first time FFA has had a banquet since 2018, however, they plan on continuing it in the future. Banquets weren’t held from 2019-2021 due to COVID-19 and other complications.
“We thought the best thing was to get the members involved in the planning process so they would be more bought in to the process. Planning for banquets in the past involved heavy student involvement. This allows us to tap into the natural leadership ability of our members,” said FFA Adviser Kyle Woolston.
The officer team put the banquet together, with help from other FFA members. The 2021-2022 officer team consisted of junior Serenity Sweet as President, junior Kenzie Gilliatt as Vice President, sophomore Carley Higgins as Secretary, junior Aliza Allen as Treasurer, sophomore Taisha Robbins as Reporter, junior Tucker Hooten as Sentinel, sophomore Jadlyn Lee as Student Advisor and sophomore Abby Tapp as Historian. The only Senior Adviser was Johnathon Garcia.
The week before the banquet, officer applications were sent out. Members of FFA could fill out an application for a variety of positions for the 2022-2023 year. During the banquet, new officers were announced by Woolston. The new members are Higgins as President, Tapp as Vice President, freshman Keeley Scott as Secretary, Lee as Treasurer, freshman Chloe Smith as Reporter, Robbins as Sentinel, freshman Haylie Gilliatt as Student Advisor and freshman Billy Bob Apple as Historian. There is also a senior committee made up of seniors Allen, Kenzie Gilliatt, Braydon Hayes, Hooten, Taylor Lashley and Sweet.
“I am very excited about this group of young leaders and what they are capable of accomplishing,” said FFA Adviser Cory Scott.
With new officers in place, they will start planning events immediately. The first event on their schedule is the annual Paoli FFA Jackpot Swine Show. This year it will be on May 28, in the Orange County Fairgrounds. More information about the show will be released later.
School Nurse Emme Moore has been working at Paoli since 2019, right at the start of the pandemic.
Before being the school nurse, Moore held various jobs. She stacked lumber at a lumber factory, was a receptionist at a fitness center, a waitress and was even a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit.
Moore graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis(IUPUI), in 2008 and received her RN.
“I really enjoy working with people and children. I have lots of compassion for children and it’s a great feeling when I can help a child feel better. The feeling of being part of a community makes me so proud and being a nurse gives me that satisfaction,” said Moore.
The pandemic has created numerous challenges for Moore and her team at Throop and the high school.
“We used to have a lot more trust between people and now people are constantly worrying about if someones gonna get them sick or wondering if they are being told the correct information. Now our main concern is this pandemic and it’s difficult because our attention could be on other needs,” said Moore.
The process that Moore and her staff go through when a student or staff is found to be positive is a little chaotic.
“When a student comes to me with symptoms the first step I have to take is determining whether or not the symptoms meet the criteria the CDC has made for us. If it’s something like a headache or your stomach hurting it could be so many other things but if you’re having cold chills or body aches then it changes the way we have to tackle the situation,” says Moore, “After determining if the symptoms meet the criteria, I have to figure out the timeline and dates for when the student or staff member can return along with phone calls to the parents or guardians.”
In the future, Moore hopes for a return to a more normal job.
“I have so much planned for the near future. We are in the process of creating a health education and wellness clinic at the school. I want this school based health clinic to be able to examine students right here at school and be able to meet virtually with other providers,” said Moore.
Nurse Moore hopes there comes a time when there is no more mention of COVID because she feels this has taken a toll on everyone.
“I hope that we can go back to when students could come to school and be treated for normal health things and not have to worry about being quarantined,” said Moore.
For students considering pursuing a career in the medical field, Moore encourages them to stay involved.
“Get involved with as much stuff as possible and make it a point to involve yourself because you need to keep learning and making opportunities for yourself,” said Moore
Last week the Rams played two games, adding two wins to the schedule.
On Wednesday February 9, the Rams defeated the Salem Lions 65-36 in a rescheduled game.
“Salem came out shooting the ball well and hit three three-pointers in the first quarter,” said Head Coach Dusty Cole. “Fletcher (Cole) and Isaac (Cornett-McBride) continued their solid play and both had six points a piece in the first quarter to keep us close. We trailed 15-14 after the first quarter.”
The three leading scorers for the Rams were Cornett-McBride with 18 points, Cole with 15 points, and senior John Moon with 11 points.
“We really tightened things on defense and only gave up 21 points in the final three quarters. We mixed in a little bit of zone and full court pressure and did a great job of keeping Salem off balance,” said Cole. “Balanced scoring was a key in this game as 6 players scored in the second quarter and seven different players scored in the game.
Cole gives credit to his lead scorer for his outstanding performance.
“Isaac (Cornett-McBride) was terrific. This was by far the best game of his career as he ended with 18 points and 17 rebounds,” said Cole. “We haven’t been doing as well as we would like on the glass and we have really challenged the kids to get better in that department. Practices revolve around Rebounding and toughness and we are finally starting to see some improvements in those areas. Seventeen rebounds in a game is a great individual effort. When our bigs play as well as they did tonight, we are going to be really hard to beat. Starting frontcourt had 35 points and over 20 rebounds between them.
The Rams went six of eight at the three-point line.
On Friday, the Rams went on to face the Orleans Bulldogs and came out with a win, 55-48. This win puts them 2-2 in PLAC.
“Started off a little flat and Orleans jumped out 12-8 after the first quarter. We switched up our defense and made a couple of adjustments and really turned things around in the second quarter,” said Cole. “Fletcher (Cole) and Isaac (Cornett-McBride) both had eight points in the quarter and we outscored Orleans 18-6 in the quarter.”
The four leading scorers for the Rams were freshman Fletcher Cole with 18 points, junior Isaac Cornett-McBride with 16 points, and sophomores Trey Rominger and Andrew Kumpf with nine points each.
“[We] came out in the third and continued playing our solid defense. We were able to outscore them 11-9 in the quarter. Orleans made some really tough shots in the fourth quarter to close the gap, but we did a nice job hitting free throws down the stretch to keep them at bay,” said Cole. “Overall, it was a great effort by our guys. We played extremely hard and beat Orleans to loose balls and loose rebounds. We outrebounded them, and did a great job of attacking at the right times and getting points in the paint and at the free throw line.”
Senior John Moon races for a lose ball against the Bulldogs. Photo by Olivia McSpadden
Cole had a lot to say about the overall effort of the team.
“It was a solid team effort. I could go down the list and say lots of positive things about every player that played. Even the ones that didn’t play had great energy, enthusiasm, and body language,” said Cole.
Cole acknowledges his team’s effort to come out with a win.
“Fletcher was terrific and played like a veteran guard. Trey had some great moves and had a career high in assists. Isaac continued his great play with 16 points and 13 rebounds. John played terrific defense on their leading scorer. Andrew played hard and physical and gave us solid minutes inside. He ended with nine points and four rebounds. Caleb Jones provided us with great minutes off the bench and used his length to his advantage on the defensive end. Great win for us,” said Cole.
Junior Isaac Cornett-McBride plans out a play. Photo by Olivia McSpadden
PHS Media News 
You must be logged in to post a comment.