Issue 10, Series 87 Newton High School; 900 W 12th; Newton, KS 67114 March 18, 2010

railernews.com

Newtonianthe

Spring sports preview pgs 14-15

Look inside for an exclusive four-page prom insert

“Out on three...”Seniors Maggie Porter and Taylor Zwiesler, junior Katherine Loescher and senior Kaven Denno count down before their final match against the “PHAT” team of teachers. The team lost against PHAT in the championship game in double elimination.

photo by Brandon Hanchett

Fight Friday brings stern consequencespg 3

EMMA BRADLEYnews editor

Many teachers spend at least seven hours at school five days a week. However, teachers of AP classes at NHS go above and beyond by holding study sessions in the evening once or twice a week during the months leading up to AP exams.

Among these teachers are math instructor Barbara Umscheid and history instructor Grant Scott.

Umscheid holds study sessions twice a week. The purpose of Umscheid’s study sessions is to prepare students for the AP Calculus exam in May.

Umscheid said her study sessions provide stu-dents with examples of what their test questions will be like. At study sessions, Calculus students work through sample problems at their own pace and check their results.

Scott holds study sessions every Tuesday from 6:30-8:00 p.m.

“Study sessions are necessary to assist students in reviewing the large volume of material they will be tested over on the AP U.S. History Exam,”

Scott said. “Students must have a firm grasp of every facet of U.S. History from early colonial times up through the end of the 20th century.”

At Scott’s study sessions, students “have a chance to review material with the instructor and ask questions about a specific topic or discuss it in greater depth or breadth.”

“Just like taking the exam, attendance [at study sessions] is up to the student,” Scott said. “Some students might feel like they can prepare adequately on their own, while others feel a need to have an instructor to discuss materials with.”

Although study sessions are not mandatory, Scott has found that attending sessions typically helps test scores.

Scott said, in his class, the majority of students who receive a score of four or five on the AP exam are the students who have attended study ses-sions on a regular basis. Students who occasion-ally attend study sessions often earn a score of three on the AP exam, and students who do not attend any study sessions are most likely to score less successfully.

Visit railernews.com for dates and times of study sessions.

newsPage 2 The Newtonian March 18, 2011

Go Railers!

Sessions prepare students for AP tests

Election to determine USD 373 leaders School Board Candidates:Timothy Conner•John Esau•Rita Flickinger•Robin Gay•Carol Sue •Stayrook HobbsTim Hodge•Matt Treaster•

ERIN REGIERfineartseditor

As the April 5 election draws near, more and more school board candidate advertise-ments are popping up around town. This election season, four school board seats are up for grabs. The seven individuals running for these seats are Carol Sue Stayrook Hobbs (current vice president), John Esau (cur-rent board member), Timothy Conner, Tim Hodge, Rita Flickinger, Robin Gay and Matt Treaster.

The school board plays a role in many of the different functions of USD 373 from set-ting taxes to providing teacher support.

“We are the folks who set the tone for the district, create district goals, hire the superin-tendent and give support to all of the teachers and staff members in the district,” Stayrook Hobbs said.

Beyond all of the mandatory duties, the school district also reflects the wants and needs of the larger Newton community.

“We not only set the tone for the district, but also for what the community wants in

education,” school board president Barbara Bunting said. “This even goes beyond the students and sets the tone for the kind of leadership we want to develop in USD 373.”

According to Stayrook Hobbs, the school board is currently working towards resolving issues such as the state budget crisis and the “unrealistic expectations” of the No Child Left Behind Act.

“We, as a board, are very concerned with the current state of the finances as well as the No Child Left Behind Act,” Stayrook Hobbs said. “We try to respond to these issues as a unit, not as individuals.

Bunting also expressed the importance of the school board working as a whole.

“It is important that individual board members realize they can’t make a deci-sion by themselves,” Bunting said. “A good governance says that once a decision is made, everyone on the board will support that deci-sion.”

Esau also mentioned several other at-tributes that a school board member should have.

“First of all, a good school board member

should have an open mind,” Esau said. “They also must remember that the kids come first, be willing to make the time commitment it takes to be on the board and, of course, they should be able to work with the public.”

All three board members also stressed the importance of voting in this election.

“Everybody should come out and vote because it’s important that the school board reflects the community,” Stayrook Hobbs said. “The students who are old enough should also take part. Selecting a good school board member can be part of the legacy those students leave behind.”

All registered voters living within USD 373 (this includes most of Harvey county) are eligible to vote. March 21 is the last day people can register to vote. A candidate forum will be held March 29 at 6:45 at the Newton Public Library for anyone who is interested in learning more about the candi-dates.

“We’ve got a good group running,” Esau said. “Now all we need is for people to get out and vote.”

photo by Brandon Hanchett

Staying focusedSenior Maria Jantz listens to history teacher Grant Scott during AP U.S. History. Jantz plans to take four AP tests this spring.

newsMarch 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 3

TYLER PROCHAZKAonline editor-in-chief

For many of the students, the end of each school week has now been deemed “Fight Friday” because of recent fights during break. This has made Principal Ken Rickard increasingly “frustrated.”

Rickard, in response to the fight-ing, temporarily suspended the daily five-minute break. Seniors lost break for one day, juniors two, sophomores an entire week and freshman for a week and a day. He hoped this would allow teachers to talk with students about the importance of not fighting in school.

“I just hope kids understand we can’t have conflicts in school,” he said.

Resource Officer Chad Gay said there have been about 12 fights this year, which he said is the most fights he has seen in the 10 years he has been at the school.

The ConsequencesIn addition to suspending break, stu-

dents directly involved in the fights have had “severe consequences” both at school and with the police.

The vast majority of students in fights get arrested and taken to the jail, where they are fingerprinted and photographed, Gay said. Minors are released to juvenile intake. So far, all of the fights have been between minors. If they are 18, they could be jailed. They will likely then be charged with battery and disorderly conduct.

Those who are not immediately ar-rested will still be issued a court subpoena if they participated in the fighting. Accord-ing to Jeff Cowger, the attorney with the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority, school fighting can “usually” be erased from a mi-nor’s record, but it is left up to the judge.

In most cases, Cowger said minors are released into their parents’ custody soon

after being arrested for misdemeanors. If the crime is more serious, they will stay in a juvenile detention center until they have a hearing up to two days later.

Sentencing could include restitution, community service or even serving time in a juvenile correction facility, which is “identical” to adult prisons but houses juveniles. Cowger said most sentencing for high school fighting will result in proba-tion, which requires checking-in with a

probation officer, adhering to a curfew and meeting school requirements.

At school, students are usually given three-day suspensions and 25 disciplinary points for fighting. It takes 50 points to reach an expul-sion hearing or be placed in Opportunity for School Success, which Assistant Principal Roger Erickson said is preferred. A hear-ing has three administra-

tors not associated with NHS who evaluate the student’s

record to determine the length of suspen-sion.

Gay said students who act reasonably in self-defense are within their legal rights, but determining if an act is in self-defense or if it is reasonable is subjective.

The school makes no differentiation. If students fights back, they will have the same punishment as the initiator.

Rickard said fighting can impact a stu-dent’s education, even though it does not appear on any permanent school record.

“I haven’t seen a student who isn’t concerned emotionally [because of the consequences],” he said.

Danielle Andrews, the Program Direc-tor for Hope Street Youth Development, a leadership program for youth in Wichita, said she sees many of these types of fights escalating quickly. She said students should think twice about getting involved because in a worst-case scenario it could unintentionally end in manslaughter.

One fight resulted in a student receiv-ing 10 stitches in his or her lip, Gay said.

Why now?Rickard and Gay said they did not know

why all of the fights have occurred this year, but Gay said that “sometimes you get classes that don’t get along.”

They also pointed to the rise of Fa-cebook as a new outlet for bullying and name-calling. Rickard said he could attri-bute around half of the fights to some fight that started on Facebook.

“It’s really easy to say surly things about people on Facebook,” Rickard said.

Who’s to blame?The conflicts so far have been primar-

ily between freshmen and sophomores. Also, there have been just as many fights between boys and girls, Rickard said.

Both Rickard and Gay pointed to crowds circling around the students en-couraging fights to take place. Rickard said he does not think most of the fights would have occurred if the crowds that gathered around the fights did not “promote it.”

Gay singled out a fight between two girls that he felt would not have happened if not for the crowd telling them to fight.

“I think we are better individuals than to stand around and yell and cheer,” Rick-ard said.

Andrews believes students that get involved in fighting at school often do not know how to control their emotions and may have other issues at home as well.

“They might be fighting about some-thing much deeper,” she said.

If the fighting continues, Rickard said he will take away break for the rest of the year from anyone caught cheering or any-one involved in fights.

He said passing periods would be heav-ily monitored by teachers in every hallway and building.

Students reactSenior Mariah Dove, the president of

the Students Against Destructive Deci-sions (SADD) club, said the recent fights have been both immature and unneeded.

“To me, someone who walks away from a fight is very much the bigger person in these situations and should be acknowl-edged for being mature,” she said.

In a survey of 35 students, 71 percent said they had witnessed a fight this year.

Some students said the fights have been “entertaining.” Of 29 students, 55 percent either thought cheering was okay or did not care. The rest objected to the cheering.

“It’s the only action we see around here. I honestly don’t see anything wrong with it,” sophomore Luke Komarek said. “It’ll happen whether we cheer or not.”

Sophomore Cody Mussman took an op-posite standpoint.

“I think [cheerers] are just as immature as those actually fighting,” Mussman said.

Of the 35 surveyed, four students said they might start a fight in school, and 74 percent said they would hit back, even if it meant they were suspended.

‘Use your brain’After all of the fights, Gay said he

wishes students would “use their brain” and stop encouraging fighting.

Rickard said if fights are occurring, students should call for help immediately and find a teacher.

As a school, Rickard said students need to remain tolerant of each other in order to create a safe school environment.

“We need to be respectful and reason-able,” he said. “It’s common sense to just get along.”

Fast Facts•This year has set a record with 12 fights taking place.

•Students that fight will receive 25 disciplinary points.

•The majority of 35 students surveyed have seen a fight and would retaliate if hit at school.

•At least half of the fights have involved Facebook.

‘Fight Friday’ brings ‘stern’ punishmentsStudents can be arrested, given 3-day school suspension

Do you agree with the suspension of break?YES 26% NO 74%

fr. Kyle Stephens“It has kind of cooled some tempers at the school.”

sr. Alec Stahly“People will just find other times to fight.”

jr. Kayla Kolden“I don’t like that the whole student body was punished for the few students that fight.” results based on survey of 31 students

ALEX STUCKYnews assistant

Newton has experienced multiple changes over the past few months. From restaurants to a new hotel, these are not the only new arrivals to hit the scene. The most recent exclusives include a new conference center, fire station and Goody’s.

Conference CenterThe conference center, which will be called

the Meridian Center, is scheduled to open July 1. This new building is located off I-135 at the Broadway exit. Ac-cording to Community Ad-vancement Coordinator Barb Burns, the Merid-ian Center will serve as the location for a wide range of events. Some of these include meetings, education/training events and large seminars.

“The Meridian is also geared to accommodate social events, such as wedding receptions, class reunions and corporate banquets,” Burns said via e-mail interview. “The target audience includes Newton citizens, of course, but we also anticipate heavy usage from throughout South Central Kansas, par-ticularly for meetings and conferences.”

Those who use the center will find nothing less than “state of the art audio visual technology” and “customer service as its highest calling,” according to Burns.

While its companions, the Huddle House and a new Holiday Inn Express, are privately owned, the Meridian Center is owned by the City of Newton and managed by KemperSports Management Group. Burns said the Meridian Center was devel-oped in hopes of attracting visitors to Newton.

“The Meridian Center will be a cornerstone of economic development for the city,” Burns said. “Additionally, the Meridian Center complex will create a modern, classy ‘front door’ to the commu-nity for people coming to town for events.”

As well as being beneficial to the community as a whole, the center will also provide benefits for individuals.

“The Meridian Center will also benefit our citizens by providing an accessible, convenient and full-service venue for meetings and social gather-ings of all sizes,” Burns said.

Fire StationAnother new building is a fire station located at

2520 S. Kansas Ave. The station is projected to become accessible in May. This is still a tentative date because unexpected weather may hinder construction. Ac-

cording to Deputy Chief Mark Willis, the fire station is being constructed because there is a need to reduce response time.

The national standard of response time, the time it takes for help to arrive

at the scene, is four minutes, but the fire department’s response time in the southern parts of town was get-ting up to seven and eight minutes.

“Sometimes seconds make the difference,” Willis said.

This fire station will benefit those who live in the south part of town and

will enable paramedics and fire fight-ers to arrive with aid sooner.

This station will also differ from the existing ones because of the new environmentally friendly features. According to Willis, the station will have

eco-friendly appliances that use less energy. One example being a rainwater harvesting system that the fire fighters will use for their water needs.

One other feature Willis is looking forward to is a large training room, which will be for the fire fighters’ use and will also be available to the com-munity.

Goody’sGoody’s is the newest addition to Chisholm

Trail Shopping Center and is currently open to the public. The store carries items such as clothing, shoes and other accessories.

newsPage 4 The Newtonian March 18, 2011

New in Newton

BRENDA VALDIVIArandom railers editor

Infinite Campus will no lon-ger be for only checking grades, schedule, tardies and miss-ing assignments. As of March 28, parents will be able to put money on lunch accounts using Infinite Campus, and if they have more than one student, they can split the money into separate accounts.

“We already have Infinite Campus, and it [the new lunch accounting software] is a pro-gram that is incorporated with Infinite Campus. We are just upgrading so everything will be together, and we will no longer have to pay for a separate pro-gram,” Food Service Director Mandy Zinn said.

The new Infinite Campus lunch program is going to be able to keep track of all the meals that are bought, including free and reduced lunches. The

lunch staff will no longer have to manually put all the lunches that are bought into the current lunch program, since the new program will do it automati-cally. The students’ parents will also be able to see what their students gets by item and know how much they are spending.

“Students will also be able to take money to the office or [bookkeeper Verlene] Keazer, and they will be able to put the money straight to the account, and it will be able to be used right away,” Student Account Manager Terry Portlock said.

Usually students wait in line for their meal to be typed into the computer, but the school will be incorporating a new pro-gram that allows items to be put into the system through a touch screen computer.

“The new touch screens are going to be great. They should help everything move a lot faster,” Zinn said.

Portal to be used to monitor lunch account

Additions in Newton to provide better services, benefit community members

Ignore recent trends to avoid consequencesStudents at NHS may need to take a

trip back to elementary school to learn the polite ways to socialize and behave. They have not been treating others they want to be treated.

The recent “Fight Friday” festivities have been an eye opener for school officials, community members and students alike. Violence is definitely not the way to solve any problem. Fighting in school, or any-where, is pathetic. By fighting at the high school, students are giving not only NHS, but the community a bad reputation.

Let’s face it. The high school drama that is sparking the fights is in no way, shape or form, important enough to face marking “yes” to the “Have you been convicted of a crime?” box on scholarship and job applica-tions.

Not only are most individuals involved in the fights arrested, fingerprinted and

photographed at the police station, but there is also a chance of individuals facing criminal charges like battery and disorderly conduct. The legal consequences are not the only consequences perpetrators face. They also have the school administration to reckon with.

According to principal Ken Rickard, students involved with the fights are given an automatic three-day suspension and 25 points, half of the points it takes to reach an expulsion hearing. The student will have a mandatory court date set for him or her. In a rare case, the student would be able to have the charges “expunged,” or erased. Just because the student facing the charges is a minor, does not automatically mean their own charges will be expunged.

In a legal system, if student A hits stu-dent B for no apparent reason, and student B fights back in self defense, both students

A and B would get a three day suspension. However in a courtroom environment, student B could possibly have the charges dropped because he/she was found to be fighting back in self defense.

Students not involved in the fight should not form circles around those fighting. The most ethical and logical solution to the beating taking place right in front of students would be going to get the closest teacher. Another thing students should not do, is plan their fights on Facebook. It would be moronic because school officials could find out. Someone could print out the event that has been planned, most students have added at least one high school teacher who would be able to see the event.

Break will be taken away if the fight-ing continues. Students should have some class. No more “Fight Friday.”

staff editorialMarch 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 5

Ashley Murrell editor-in-chiefTyler Prochazka online editor-in-chiefEmma Bradley news editorAlex Stucky news assistantLarrah Bills sports editorCody Mick sports editorTyler Brotton opinions editorJoanna Epp entertainment editor Carlie Blaufuss entertainment editorChristina Poulsgaard reporterErin Regier fine arts editorMindy Ragsdale features editorBrenda Valdivia random railers editorShannon Ahlstedt photo editorBrandon Hanchett covers editorDeAnna Opland photographerWes Derstine cartoonistKatie Meyers business managerDylan Moore business managerKyle Wiens online assistantErica Rickard adviser

The Newtonian316-284-6280 ext. 2117

900 W. 12thNewton, KS 67114

newtonian staff

comic by Wes Derstine

Visit railernews.com for the full color version of the comic

Fight Friday

point/counterpointPage 6 The Newtonian March 18, 2011

tyler prochazkaonline editor-in-chief

Time is running out to solve the ongoing debt crisis. Dwindling tax revenue com-bined with skyrocketing federal expendi-tures has created a precarious situation that, if not addressed immediately, will have devastating consequences for both the economy and the ability of the government to function.

Recently, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the government running in addition to $4 billion in cuts to spend-ing. This resolution will prevent a govern-ment shutdown for about two weeks. In the meantime, there needs to be serious discus-sion about reigning in the deficit.

Many on the left, and even a few on the right, are mistakenly calling for higher taxes as a solution to the out of control debt issue. This will not address the structural problems with the debt and will be largely counterproductive.

Higher taxes, paradoxically, can lead to lower government revenue. This is due to the economic principle of the Laffer curve, which dictates that the lower productivity caused by increased taxes will in turn lower the amount of taxable wealth, only increas-ing the budget deficit. Without a thriving economy, the deficit will never be solved, and taxes are antithetical to achieving higher growth rates.

Also, higher taxes will only gloss over the avalanche of government spending for the next 10 years. According to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, Obama’s recent budget outline will add around $7 trillion to the debt over the next decade.

The Congressional Budget Office predicts the government will have to pay nearly $5 trillion just on interest on the debt. This means the majority of the debt will be caused by just having debt in the first place. The problem is quickly spiraling out of control. If the United States contin-

ues with this level of debt, interest rates will significantly rise, grinding the economy to a halt and pushing the country into a second recession.

There is also the imminent threat of inflation. In order to fund the debt, the United States has increasingly turned to the Federal Reserve, which has created money out of thin air to fund the deficit by pur-chasing Treasury Bonds. In fact, ironically, the U.S. government is its own biggest creditor, creating over $1 trillion to fund itself.

The threat of inflation will also push up interest rates as investors hedge against a declining dollar. China has already com-plained about the devaluing of the dollar by the Fed, and if this policy continues, China may drop some of its U.S. debt holdings. This too could escalate quickly, radically dropping the value of the dollar even further and causing a race out of U.S. Treasury Bonds as other investors emulate China.

Nothing should be off the table. Defense spending, entitlements. Everything. The United States can no longer afford to be the policeman of the world, with over 1,000 bases worldwide and billions of dollars in foreign aid. More-over, the entitlement system is already in-solvent. According to the Federal Reserve, the government has over $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities through entitlements. This is the amount of money the govern-ment has promised to spend that it will not be able to fund. Obviously, this needs to be addressed immediately instead of passing the buck to future generations.

While it is difficult to cut many of these programs because Americans have grown accustomed to them, the alternative is much worse. The longer we wait the fewer services the government will be able to fund because of the devastating amount of debt the United States will have to service. Action must be taken now or risk perma-nent economic stagnation.

Higher taxes result in weaker economytyler brottonopinions editor

The United States federal govern-ment is facing one of the largest budget deficits in history at $1.3 trillion and a total of $14.2 trillion in debt. If the government does not find ways to reduce the debt and deficit, then serious consequences will arise.

If the debt were to reach $14.3 tril-lion, it would hit the debt ceiling, or the

maximum amount of debt the United States can legally owe. As a result, the government would not be able to spend

anymore money, which would result

in a government shutdown. In order to avoid

a shutdown, the govern-ment must begin to cut

unnecessary programs, raise taxes

and shave funding to major pro-

grams that it funds.

Unneeded funding of useless proj-ects and programs is called pork barrel spending. This is where the government should first look to when cutting pro-grams. In 2010, there was $16.5 billion in total pork barrel spending identified.

Pork barrel spending occurs mainly when a senator or representative places an earmark in a piece of legislation that may have nothing to do with it. This earmark is usually a couple of sentences

long and allocates money to a certain project. Along with cutting wasteful spending, taxes should also be raised.

Even though raising taxes angers the general public, it is still necessary to avert a government shutdown. Spar-ing a few bucks in order to help out the government should not bother anyone. According to USA Today, federal taxes are the lowest now since 1950. So, American taxpayers are actually paying less taxes then they have for 60 years.

However, the most pressing concern the government needs to address is the massive amounts of spending for entitlements and defense. Around a month ago, President Obama released his plans for curbing the deficit, but it did not include any cuts to the pro-grams where cuts are needed the most.

The three major entitlement pro-grams are Medicare, Medicaid and So-cial Security. In 2010, the government spent 43 percent of its budget for these three programs.

Defense spending is also a large amount of the budget because of the two conflicts the United States is fight-ing in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2010, the government spent 20 percent of its budget for defense spending alone.

When the government cuts pro-grams in order to save money, it needs to be from Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense spending. Under President Obama’s outlined proposal, entitlement and defense spending will become a larger part of the budget and everything else will be allocated less funding.

Three actions need to occur to help reduce the deficit and debt. The govern-ment needs to cut wasteful spending, raise taxes and cut some entitlement and defense spending. If the govern-ment does not do these things, then the United States could be headed for a government shutdown.

Cut defense, entitlements; raise taxes

How should the United States reform the budget and help fight the debt?

illustration by Wes Derstine

christina poulsgaardreporter

Eating in America is definitely differ-ent from eating in Denmark. We do not have nearly as many fast food restaurants in Denmark, nor such a large vari-ety. Before I came

here, I had never in my life heard of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Sonic, Arby’s or Subway.

Depending on which route I go, I pass a total of six fast food restaurants every morning on my way to school. That gives me a minimum of 12 chances a day to stop by one of those or go through the drive-through, just counting my way to school and back. The only detour I have to make is the approximately 50 foot-trip to get around in a drive-through or to find a parking spot.

It is as easy as it can get, and a lot of the fast food does taste delicious. I do not question why so many people eat fast food, because I like it too. Preferable for me, however, is homemade meals that

contain real meat, potatoes or rice, healthy wheat or rye bread and veggies. I am con-vinced obesity would not be a bigger problem in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, if it was not for the fast food’s accessibility.

America has a lot of fast food restaurants and greasy (but yummy!) food. It is a fact many people from other countries know about the food in this country. My Danish friends even predict-ed I would gain at least 30 pounds just from living here for 10 months.

Therefore, in order to prove them wrong and maintain my health, I have had to adjust my diet a bit during my time here. As mentioned in previous issues, I went to a sports boarding school last year, which meant focus was on sports. Since the other students and I lived in dorms at the boarding school, the school had to provide food for every meal. The food was being prepared from scratch by cooks at the school.

Each day, a total of six meals were prepared for the students includ-

ing breakfast, 10a.m. snack, lunch, afternoon-snack, supper and evening-snack. Most people in Denmark eat five to six times a day,

and schools and work-places give

breaks for that purpose. These are smaller and lighter

meals, however, that generally contain many fresh vegetables.

On a typical day, I would eat plain oatmeal with milk for breakfast, a piece of dark, dense rye bread with cheese for a noon-snack and whatever warm meal was provided for lunch. Lunch varied each day, but there were always three salad bars with a large variety. For afternoon-snack new-baked wheat rolls were set out, while supper was rye bread with different toppings or cold cuts like pieces of meat, cheese, fish or spreads. Again the salad bar was provided. The evening-snack mostly always consisted of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Obviously all boarding schools in

Denmark provide food for the students, because they live there, but not all public schools provide a meal for students like they do here. The ones that do however, most often provide healthy food. That means no burgers, french fries, pizzas, crispitos and desserts are available. Way more students in Denmark bring their own sack lunches than students do here, mostly consisting of rye bread with top-pings.

Dining out is just not really a part of the culture in Denmark as it is in America. For people to dine out, there is usually a special occasion or celebra-tion. Not counting fast food places, it is a pricey affair to dine out in Denmark. The meals are expensive due to Denmark’s high taxes and the high wages restaurant employees are paid. Therefore, we do not normally tip waiters.

No matter where we are, food is always an enjoyable source. It can especially be interesting when eating in other coun-tries, which I have experienced. Without any luck, I have also tried to share some of my favorite Danish food, but appar-ently no one here agrees cheese and jelly on french bread sounds good. It is typical Danish, trust me. Try it.

opinionsMarch 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 7

cody micksports editor

Walk-ing down the halls of New-ton High School, a certain absence is often no-

ticed by students. Upon hearing the bell, which marks the end of a period, hundreds of tired youth pour into the hallway, often dreading their next class. It is my goal that teachers and adminis-trators will eventually introduce a little music over the intercom during passing period and break to keep the students entertained.

Hear me out. Imagine a

Monday morning. It is the end of first block, and the bell chimes, releasing students from their classes. What better way to brighten the faces of Newton’s teenagers than by blasting a little Led Zeppelin over the intercom.

With an average song time of about four or five minutes, students would more likely be on-time to their next class, since the end of the song would stand as an “almost tardy” bell. Not to mention, students would feel more awake, alert and pumped up.

Second block has ended. An astounding number of high school students flood the fresh-man locker section. Some cocky student lashes out at another, and a minor disagreement turns into a fight. Although a heavy

metal song that would induce the need for a mosh pit would be entertaining, it is not what I had in mind. Instead, a song to alert the teachers is needed.

If teachers standing at the bottom of the commons happen to not be aware of the violent dispute that is taking place above them, the simple blaring of the Rocky Balboa theme music will practically pull teachers up the stairs and, after a few celebration jumps and victory fist pumps, force them to break up the fight before you could say “Adrian!”

Apart from the hallways, mu-sic could be played in the com-mons during the three lunches. Most every useless, inappropri-ate conversation would fall due to the awesome wrath of catchy lunch tunes. Most students could

care less about the person that is sitting across from them. With music being played at lunch time, it would parallel the experience of dining with a favorite artist or band.

No matter how it is looked at, music between class periods is something that is beneficial to ev-eryone. Simple eleva-tor music or any tune by Celine Dion has the power to soothe even the soul of a flaming 500-pound triple-horned rhinoceros from hell that has been injected with adrena-line and who is being whipped by a demon.

If peppermints give us the power

to concentrate during tests for some reason, is there not a study out there that suggests music is helpful to a student’s ability to enjoy life? Music could indeed strengthen our love for school and learning.

america has more restaurants, variety of food

Music should be played during passing periods, lunch

graphic by Wes Derstine

featuresPage 8 The Newtonian March 18, 2011

Joanna Eppentertainment editor

A recent Taco Bell radio advertisement urges listeners to keep the fast food restaurant in mind during this Lent

season, promising to prepare any entree sans meat upon request. Lent is prominent during this time of the year, and food choice altera-tions are a well-known aspect of Lent. How-ever, food is not the only item people give up for Lent. Junior Erin Doerksen is giving up tanning, along with meat and pop, for Lent.

“Tanning is bad for me, but it’s addicting, so I’m trying to stop,” Doerksen said.

Doerksen’s family is Mennonite, and “some Mennonites give stuff up for Lent,” according to Doerksen. Her family attends Faith Mennonite Church in Newton.

Doerksen has various motives behind her choices to give up meat, tanning and pop.

“I’ve always given up meat, since middle school,” Doerksen said. “I wanted to be a

vegetarian, but my parents wouldn’t let me, so it’s a way to get around it. I gave up pop because I’m in swim season and I should give it up anyways.”

Quite a few students are giving up pop along with Doerksen this year. One of them is sophomore Gabriel Torres. Torres is also plan-ning to not eat on Fridays after his wrestling season ends.

“Not eating on Fridays will be tough,” Torres said. “I’m kind of used to it from wrestling, though, so hope-fully it won’t be too bad.”

Torres gives up something for Lent every year, he said. Previously he remembers giving up video games. This year, his whole family is planning to give up pop together.

“[Lent] is a big deal,” Torres said. “It’s been a big thing for pretty much my whole

family, especially my mom’s family.” Lent is an important part of the Catholic

faith, according to Father Mike Scully of St. Fidelis Catholic Church, or “The Cathedral of

the Plains” in Victoria, Kan.“It’s an act of penance,” Scully

said. “We always look at it as something to purify our hearts and minds so God can be more of a presence in our life.”

As a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Newton, Torres says recognition of Lent is a church-wide practice. Giving up eating on Fridays during Lent is his way of recognizing Jesus’ 40 day fast in

biblical times.“[I gave it up] because of the sacrifices that

Jesus made,” Torres said. “If he can not eat for that long of a time, then we can do it for one day.”

Students sacrifice in observance of Lent Lent fast•Lent is a 40-day season of penetence and celebration that prepares Christians’ hearts and lives leading up to the resurrection of Jesus.

•Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter morning. Lent lasts 40 days, excluding the Sundays in between.

•Some Roman Catholics, to show respect for the 40 days Jesus was in the desert, make the choice to fast for a short period of time.

•On Fridays, most Roman Catholics do not eat meat and usually substitute it with fish.

•Some people give something up during Lent, like chocolate, soda or a bad habit.

•People give up these privileges in respect for the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert and fasted.

•Some Roman Catholics do extra or daily Rosary prayers.

“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return” LEFT: Freshman Raymond Gallegos dips his hand in holy water before leaving the church after Ash Wednesday mass March 9.ABOVE: Junior Morgan Welch, sophomore Brianna Gouvion, senior Katie van der Weg, junior Bryce Seifert, freshmen Raymond Gallegos, Jade Gonzalez and Jack Polley and senior Kylie Sturgeon pose for a picture after receiving ashes on their foreheads at St. Mary Catholic Church’s Ash Wednesday mass.

facts

“

”

If [Jesus] can not eat for that long of a time, then we can do it for one day.sophomoreGabriel Torres

photos by Shannon Ahlstedt

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prom exclusiveMarch 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 3

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prom exclusivePage 4 The Newtonian March 18, 2011

Prom eats...2641 N. Maize Rd, Wichita323 N. Rock Road, WichitaMaize Rd: (316) 722-0991 Rock Rd: (316) 684-6757Menu: Start off with a free salad and bread sticks followed by an endless menu of Italian delicacies. Price range: $10-$25Reservations: Call-ahead seating

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Location: Anywhere from a cozy couch in front of the TV to a private table for two.Phone: Not necessaryMenu: Homemade Mac and Cheese, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. The option are endless. There is something about homemade food and eating at home that guarantees a relaxing and well-known atmosphere. Price range: Completely up to you!Reservations: Not necessary Dine at home

fine artsMarch 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 9

Mr. Olais’ top picks

Featured artMr. Olais’ top picks

EMMA BRADLEYnews editor

A little girl walks in to an audition for the Newton Community Children’s Choir, terrified to sing her solo. This little girl was senior Abby Schrag, eight years ago. What started as an activity that Schrag’s mother made her participate in, is now a hobby that Schrag loves and will most likely continue through the rest of her life.

Schrag got started singing in fourth grade when she joined the children’s choir.

“My mom made me audition for the children’s choir,” Schrag said. “I was ter-rified. We had to sing a solo for the choir director. Basically, my mom made me do it, but I liked it a lot.”

Although she was scared in the begin-ning, Schrag said she enjoyed singing in the choir and continued singing in the children’s choir through eighth grade. Her eighth grade year, she started taking private voice lessons from Diane Fast - the same teacher who was the children’s choir director.

Schrag said she loves singing for a vari-ety of reasons.

“I love to sing. I love my lessons and the songs I’m working on,” Schrag said. “I like that I can sing songs from movies that

I’ve seen. Right now, I’m singing ‘Think of Me’ from Phantom of the Opera.”

Not only does Schrag love to sing, but choir director Donna Woolery said Schrag is a very talented singer.

“She made the KMEA all-state choir and was the only one from our school who made it,” Woolery said.

Singing is not the only music Schrag is involved in. She has also been playing violin since she was in sixth grade.

“I told myself I was never going to play violin because it was so screechy,” Schrag said. “I played a violin at one of those in-strument trying nights in fifth grade, and I thought it sounded pretty.”

Schrag said she practices violin about an hour and a half each week and practices singing about three hours a week.

“I sing all the time in the car,” Schrag said. “I practice my solo pieces in the car, and people probably think I look really weird.”

Schrag said she would like to continue with her music no matter what she decides to pursue in the future.

“I might be a music teacher, but I haven’t actually decided,” Schrag said. “I’ve also thought about being a choir director. It would be awesome. It could be that it’s not my actual job, but I would just

teach some private lessons.”

Schrag is current-ly looking to con-tinue her education at Bethel College, Friends University or Goshen College. She said she will definitely partici-pate in the choir at whatever college she goes to and might also participate in the school orchestra as a way to make a little money.

Before college, she is taking a year off to do service in Philippi, West Virginia.

“I’ll be working in a hospital and doing lots of random nurse stuff,” Schrag said. “I’ll probably do blood pressure, checking people in and some really basic lab tests.”

Schrag said she is excited about work-ing in a hospital because she is thinking about going into a job in the medical field.

While in West Virginia, Schrag will be living with a couple of other people

between the ages of 18 and 21 and a host family. The family will include two young children.

“I’m really excited about the little kids. I’ve seen pictures of them, and they look adorable,” Schrag said. “They’re five and two, I think, and there is a boy and a girl. I’ve always wanted to have really little siblings or nieces and nephews. They can be my surrogate nieces and nephews while I’m there.”

Double Duty

Freedomlandsr. Andrew Thompson

acrylic“It’s about how we came over and pushed the Indian culture away and destroyed it. That’s the meaning I wanted people to get out of it.”

Untitledjr. Danielle Brockman

acrylic“The old ladies don’t have a meaning, but the other picture with the children seems to be sad but sweet at the same time.”

Senior Abby Schrag is involved in both choir and violin. As graduation nears, she looks forward to a life of music.

entertainmentPage 10 The Newtonian March 18, 2011

Go to www.bethelks.edu/125 to complete an application.

In recognition of being “Newton’s college,” Bethel is offering a limited-time 125th Anniversary Scholarship exclusively to residents of Newton or North Newton or students currently attending high school in Newton. Students who enroll at Bethel between now and 2012 are guaranteed no less than $40,000 in institutional scholarships over four years.

Bethel College 125th Anniversary Scholarship

300 East 27th Street | North Newton, KS 67117-8061 | www.bethelks.edu | 1-800-522-1887

Overheard in the

hallways“

”

You know it means business when they show up in a cookie monster jacket.

“”

Don’t sniff me. I don’t like it when you sniff me.

“

”

-You can’t waste your gift.

-Oh, you make me sound like “Good Will Hunting.” Get out of here, Robin Williams!

“”

I swear her hair was a different color before lunch.

“”

I wish I could have kids just for entertainment.

hesheWorse than expected, movie does not meet expectations

‘Battle: Los Angeles’ boring, no underlying meaning or purposeTYLER PROCHAZKAonline editor

Was it a commentary on humanity’s increasing separa-tion from the perils of war through drone technology? Maybe it was making a point about the United States’ his-tory of imperialism. Or was it just a bunch of aliens that blow up some stuff? Yeah, probably the last one.

“Battle: Los Angeles” is in the tradition of other alien flicks like “District 9” or “Avatar,” where there’s a clash

of civilizations between extraterrestrials and humans. However, unlike “District 9” and “Avatar,” there is

no underlying meaning to the film, or really any purpose at all.

The film never recognizes the irony of glori-fying the U.S. military repelling a foreign inva-

sion or the fact the aliens use drones for wide scale extermination of humans. If this film were to force some sort of self reflection, it may have value, but instead it is simply “humans good, aliens bad.”

It also does not differentiate itself from any other films in the alien genre. Its potential to have at least one redeeming value is in the fighting scenes between humans and the aliens, but even those were mostly boring.

While the film is annoying for its lack of intelli-gence, if it were shorter, it may have gotten more

of a pass. Instead, it keeps going. And going. For nearly two hours it went on, when it should have

ended before it even started.

The exposi-tion goes on for

far too long, not because it is not necessary to meet the characters, but because

the characters are cliche archetypes of every past military movie ever made. This makes it difficult to really care if they get eaten by an alien. The forced “emotional” scenes seemed to be thrown in haphazardly as filler between blowing up space ships or scooping out alien goop and other dull typi-cal alien-movie stuff.

In reality, this movie is more likely to melt your brains than aliens are.

CARLiE BLAufussentertainment editor

Going into it, “Battle: Los Angeles” appears to be just another “War of The Worlds” knockoff, but much to the dismay of its viewers, it was worse - much worse. Although the creators of the film deserve kudos for creating another end-of-the-world flick from a unique perspective (that of the U.S. Marines), it failed to result in success.

The movie follows Marine Staff Ser-geant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), sec-ond lieutenant William Martinez (Ramón Rodríguez) and their platoon of Marines as they attempt to ward off an alien invasion. Toss in a few tragic deaths, an alien dissec-tion and a couple heroic moments along the way and that sums it up. In short, combining extraterrestrials and the military resulted in one of the worst plot lines that ac-tion films of he 21st century have ever seen.

The first 15 minutes of the film are spent viewing the equivalent of one of those cliche football movies, where the players all get drunk in a field together and participate in other inappropriate activities. One can assume that this was the writers’ attempt to enable the view-ers to “relate” to the main characters, but it only resulted in further confu-sion. The rest of the movie, viewers will inevitably spend asking: is this a war film or a film about aliens? The two simply do not mesh.

After his impressive portrayal of Harvey Dent in “The Dark Knight,” this role was a definite downgrade for Eckhart. Whether it was his acting chops or the fact that he decided to play what was quite possibly the cheesiest character in the film was unclear, but it was horrible nonetheless.

The movie had its good moments, but overall it did not meet the expectations. For a few good laughs, “Battle: Los Angeles” is definitely worth the money, but if viewers are looking for the action film it has promised, they shouldn’t waste resources. Two hours are spent in the theater confused, annoyed and clawing for the end.

musicMarch 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 11

What beat are you walking to?

“It tells you to keep going even when

it’s bad and just roll with it.”

“Roll With It”Easton Corbin

sophomore Kate Sorensen

“I like the lyrics, and it’s really good to listen to no matter if your mood is good or bad.”

“Here In Your Arms”Hellogoodbye

sophomore Kate Vorhees

“I’ve been playing it on my mandolin, so it’s stuck in my head right now, but I’ll probably get tired of it pretty soon.”

“You Never Call Me By My Name”David Allan Coe

science teacher Jerry Epp

“I grew up with it, and it was

inspirational. Also, I can’t wait to be

king.”

“I Just Can’t Wait To Be

King”“The Lion King”

senior Aaron Stark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JOANNA EPPentertainment editor

Each December, NPR Music re-leases a collection of “top 10” lists for that year under the umbrella of a special series called “The Best Music of [insert year].” As an avid NPR follower, I make it a point to browse these lists, noting music that sounds particularly appealing. It was on the “50 Favorite Albums of 2010” that I discovered Janelle Monae’s debut studio album “The ArchAndroid.” This intriguing album dazzles while encompassing a huge variety of musical genres.

Besides claiming Kansas as her native state, Monae has several other credits to her name. Despite her relative newness as an artist, Monae has been nominated for two Grammys and won sev-eral awards, including the Best of Booth Best R&B/Pop Album of

2010 Award. “The ArchAndroid” has received general acclaim all around from music critics.

Listening straight through, I found the number of different genres represented on the album fairly amazing. Orchestral mu-sic floats through the two suite overtures, rap blares on “Dance or Die,” glinting electronica dances through “Wondaland,” and the folk-tune reminiscent “Oh, Maker” has a surprising twist of soul at the end.

For the full effect of the album, it is necessary to listen through it all at once. The tracks subtly set up each other, often with unde-tectable transitions from song to song. The album is actually parts two and three of a four-part story, thus the songs titled Suite Ii and Iii Overtures. Its predecessor is Monae’s “Metropolis.” However, “The ArchAndroid” easily stands

alone.All the rave reviews I read on

Monae made it impossible for me not to give “The ArchAndroid” a listen. At first review, it was discomfortingly different from my usual of alternative indie with a side dish of folk. However, Monae’s powerful vocals im-pressed me, and the captivating melodies lingered in my mind, leading me to re-listen to the album.

Though I do not plan on a Monae-only diet, she adds an excellent variety and quality to my music library. My favorites on the album include the dynamic “Cold War” and creepy-but-catchy “Mushrooms & Roses.” Based on what “ArchAndroid” has to offer, I look forward to what part four of Monae’s skillful music story will have to offer.

‘ArchAndroid’ dazzles“Great Indoors”

John Mayer

Carlie Blaufuss’ iPod

John Mayer has proven he is the

master of soft, chill tunes, and “Great Indoors” affirms

that. The soft vocals and Mayer’s trademark guitar playing in the background make it the perfect song to listen to on a

calm spring day.

Designs By John FlowersFree upgrade on a microfiber shirt ($10 value!) Open Sunday 1-4:30 Open late on weekdays

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random railersPage 12 The Newtonian March. 18, 2011

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Students speak outWhat are your plans

for spring break?

so. Haley Eng

“My birthday is the Saturday of spring break, so I’m probably just gonna hang out with family and go out to dinner.”

sr. Cody Palmer

“I’m going to Cancun on spring break with my family and neighbors. It’s going to be a big party.”

sr. Jamie Hansen

“Me and [senior] Avery [Vogts] are going to Hawaii with our parents for the whole week of spring break.”

MIndy rAgSdAlEfeatures editor

Senior exchange stu-dent Tammy Guerra said being part of an American high school sports team is ‘a great once in a life-time opportunity.’

Senior Tim Eisner, a foreign exchange student from Germany, played football earlier this year, Now he is participating in track. In Germany, Eisner also played football, but he said there are many differences in the ways the games are played and perceived.

“In America, there are much more rules and practice. You guys take it so seriously here. It’s much more aggressive. Also, coaches here in America only say not to drink soda pop and junk food before the games. In Germany, our coaches tell us not to get drunk the night before a game,” Eisner said.

Eisner said he enjoys the way sports are played in America, but he enjoys that “they are easier in

Germany.”“It’s hard to say which I

like more because they are both great. I like the team family bonds you make here, though,” Eisner said.

Guerra, who is a foreign exchange student from Brazil, is now playing on the varsity soccer team. Earlier in the year, she played junior varsity tennis and basketball.

“In Brazil, I played soccer, but it was only for fun. I was never on any team. It was the same way for basketball and tennis. Although I did play tennis there, but that was ages ago, when I was little, I guess,” Guerra said. “It feels really good to be on a real team, though. Your teammates are so support-ive of you. Plus, you get to see them like six days a

week, so you guys become like a family really fast.”

Senior Lukas Windfuhr from Germany said he en-joys tennis and finds it “to be very fun and active.”

“I played tennis in Germany, too. That was the main sport I played. [The rules] are basically the same here and there. The courts are different, though. In Germany the

courts are clay, and here they are hard court,” Windfuhr said.

Along with all the graduat-ing seniors at NHS, May 18 will be Guerra, Eisner and Windfuhr’s last day at the high

school. Within two weeks after the last day of school, the foreign exchange stu-dents will return to their countries.

“I’ll play tennis when I get back because I’ll miss it a lot. Out of all the sports, though, soccer was my favorite,” Guerra said.

Exchange students participate in numerous sports

photo by Brandon Hanchett

Back handSenior exchange student Lukas Windfuhr returns the ball to senior Tyler Brotton in a one-on-one match during practice on Tuesday.

“

”

In America, there are much more rules and practice.senior exchange studentTim Eisner

sportsMarch 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 13

Girls basketball finishes season 19-3

The girls basketball team beat Hays 44-32 on March 2 in the first game of sub-state. In the sub-state finals, the Railers played McPherson at Salina South March 4. They lost 52-40, bring-ing the season to an end. They finished the regular season 18-2,

losing to Salina South and McPherson. The Newton girls were AVCTL Division I champions with an 11-1 league record.

4 wrestlers place at state tournament

At the 5A regional tournament in Hays Feb. 19, nine Newton wrestlers placed and earned a trip to state. The team placed third overall at regionals with 122.5 points. At the regional tournament, sophomore Quinton Harrison was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. Junior Miles Johns and Harrison placed second at state. Sophomore Garret McEachern placed fifth, and junior Hugh McConnell placed sixth.

Bowling team qualifies 3 for state

The boys bowling team fin-ished third at regionals, and the girls were fourth. The top two teams qualified for state leaving Newton boys and girls just short of qualifying as teams. The top six individuals who were not on a qualifying team also qualified for state. At regionals, senior Austin Jones was second with a three game total of 740, and sophomore Bryan Esau also qualified. For the Newton girls, senior Cassidy Ashcraft placed second with a 619 three-game total. At state, the top 20 bowlers received medals. Newton did not have any medal-ists, but all three qualifiers were close. Ashcraft took 22nd, Jones was 26th and Esau placed 31st. At league, the girls took second and boys took eighth. The girls finished their season 11-4, and the boys were 7-11.

Boys basketball ends season at sub-state

The boys basketball team faced McPherson March 3 in the first game of sub-state and lost 73-35, ending the team’s season. They

finished the season with a 2-19 record. Four seniors leave the team, but nine players return with varsity experience.

Boys swimming 20th at state

The boys swim team had 11 state qualifying times throughout the season. Individuals who placed at state include senior AJ Jost, who placed 23rd in the 500 free, junior Matt Scheuermann, who placed 13th in the back-stroke, junior Cameron Spreier, who placed ninth in the 200 IM and in the backstroke, sopho-more Aaron Clark, who placed 23rd in the fly, and sophomore

Alex Trumble, who placed 18th in the 200 free and 11th in the 500 free. The team placed sixth at league.

Winter sports wrap-up

www.cottonwoodpeds.com

Cottonwood Pediatrics

700 Medical Center Dr, Ste 150, Newton KS 67114

316-283-7100

For insertion in the Newtonian.

Questions, Sue Ann Jantz, 283-3627

W 8.9995 x H 3

At Cottonwood Pediatrics, we cover you all the way through high school

with the best

• Preventative medicine

• Sports readiness and physical fitness advice and

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We know it’s important to lay a good foundation for the rest of your life.

Remember: There is only ONE of YOU. Take good care of yourself.

Real, confidential teen health care for real teens

information compiled by Ashley Murrell

sportsPage 14 The Newtonian March 18, 2011

Softball team has high expectations for season

CODY MICKsports editor

Boys soccer coach Scott Jantzi, who has also been the girls assistant coach, recently made the de-cision to become the head coach for the girls soccer team. After the applicants were looked over, Jantzi, who has been coaching Newton soccer for 10 years, was the obvious choice.

“I’m excited for this season,” Jantzi said. “We have a lot of young players, and everyone has tal-ent.”

Jantzi said he is hoping he will be able to see the team have a good season.

“I definitely want us to have a winning record. We are in a tougher division this year, so it will be tough, but we should be able to compete well at games and at tournaments.”

With a large number of girls out for the team, Jantzi said he relies on the team to be leaders for one another.

“There was a large number of girls that have been conditioning after school to prepare for the season,” Jantzi said. “We have great team captains that led the conditioning.”

Senior Lina Adame is a team captain this season.“Of the four years that I have been playing [soc-

cer], I think that this year we show the most poten-tial,” Adame said. “We are in a harder division, so that makes it tough.”

With the loss of last year’s seniors comes the ad-dition of incoming freshmen players.

“We are a really young team, and a lot of the players have little varsity experience,” Adame said. “[However] all the girls know the game, and I think we will be able to win games and tournaments.”

Baseball team anticipates underclassmen stepping upASHLEY MURRELLeditor-in-chief

Going out on the field with only one returning varsity player, overcoming inexperi-ence and making it to state are the goals of the baseball team this season, according to coach Mark George and senior Bryce Staley. The team conditioned in the off season to prepare and practiced two days a week for the first week.

“We are extremely young as a program, so we’ve really been working on fundamentals,” George said.

Looking at the NHS base-ball program as a whole, three-fourths of the players are either freshmen or sopho-mores. George anticipates the younger athletes progressing at a rapid rate and looks forward to watching them develop throughout the year.

Some strengths of the team will be speed and strong de-fense, according to both George and Staley. As for weaknesses, George said it is “hard to tell right now” and it all depends how the guys react to varsity play.

The team’s first game is April 1 at home against Andover with

games starting at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. There are currently eight seniors on the roster. According to George, all eight are going to be key players.

“I’m looking forward to see-ing the senior class be success-ful,” George said. “They’ve been very patient, and now it’s their time to be successful.”

Girls soccer team looks to ‘compete well’ despite new, tougher division

KYLE WIENSonline assistant

Assistant softball coach Elizabeth Gunn said the girls softball team has high hopes this season as it looks to make it to state.

“My expectations are really high. We’re in a new division, so we really don’t know how good we are compared to the other teams. All we can go off of is from what we hear and see, but I think we can make state,” Gunn said.

Senior Brittney Dymnioski said she be-

lieves the team will be successful in the new league as well.

“I think the beginning will be difficult, but by the end I think things will be better,” Dym-nioski said.

The team will have six seniors this year. “In general, I’m anxious to see [how the

team does]. We have lots of depth and skill, and we have a lot of numbers this year. We definitely show a lot of promise,” Gunn said.

Another one of the team’s strengths comes from the freshmen and sophomores on the

team, Dymnioski said. “Some [underclassmen] are doing really

well and others are improving everyday,” Dymnioski said.

Gunn also said the girls will be able to take past years’ experiences to be competitive this year.

“Girls have been playing in the off season, and we’ve been competitive in the past, so they know what it takes to win,” Gunn said.

Next competitionDate: April 1Time: 7 p.m.Location: HomeOpponent: Andover

photo by Brandon Hanchett

fr. Madison Akers

fr. Hannah Carlgren so. Kelsi Langley

photo by Shannon Ahlstedt

so. Dakota Longphotos by Brandon Hanchett

sports March 18, 2011 The Newtonian Page 15

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Boys tennis team returns 4 varsity lettermen to lead team

Railer track team young, strong

chRistina poulsgaaRdreporter

Hitting up the tennis courts, two seniors and four returning varsity lettermen are leading the boys tennis team.

Senior Tyler Brotton is together with juniors Keenan Zielke, Jenson Kingsley and Brooks Taylor the returning varsity letter-men. Lukas Windfuhr and Brotton are this year the only seniors .

Tennis coach Nick Sisson said he is hopeful for the season and hopes to send players to state.

“I expect at least two, maybe

as many as four,” he said.According to Sisson, the team

has an advantage because of the number of boys with tournament experience.

“Our upper end is competitive. We have a bunch good freshmen too. Our lower end will have to learn quickly,” Sisson said.

Besides the team goals, the players are also working toward their individual goals.

“[My goal is] to play varsity and prove

my play. I have to work on my serves and my consistency,” Windfuhr said.

The team’s first tournament is at McPherson on March 28.

emma bRadleynews editor

With the girls swim team’s 13 returning swimmers and seven newcomers, coach Vicki Scheuer-mann said she expects the season to go very well.

“We have a smaller team than last year, but we have a lot of depth,” junior Christina Entz said.

Scheuermann said the team is gaining some talented freshmen.

“Some club swimmers we got

will help the team out quite a bit,” Scheuermann said.

Entz agreed that club swim-mers are one of the team’s most significant assets.

“We have a well-rounded team,” Entz said. “We have some experienced club swimmers and some other less experienced swimmers so it all balances out.”

The swim team had its first meet Thursday at Derby, but results were not available at press time. The team’s next meet is April 1 at Wichita Heights.

alex stuckynews assistant

Head track coach Tad Rems-berg and long distance coach Richard Mick said they are looking forward to the upcom-ing track season. Remsberg said the well rounded ability of the athletes and their competitive spirit are good attributes of the team. Even though the team will be fairly young, there are “pretty good numbers” and returning competitors. Remsberg also said both the girls and boys teams have high quality.

As for long distance, Mick is equally positive about the season.

“I felt like we had a successful cross country season, so I hope that carries over,” he said. “The kids are positive and working hard. We’re off to a good start.”

Senior sprinter Katelin Gaed-dert is optimistic about the girls team.

“We’re really strong and have a lot of depth,” Gaeddert said.

According to Gaeddert, in preparation, the team is cur-rently working on getting back into shape for the season. Her

long term goals are to qualify and place at state both individu-ally and as a team.

Remsberg said the team has really good returning throwers, young jumpers, good sprint-ers and good returning javelin throwers.

Although they are a young team overall, Remsberg is pleased with the ability and effort the athletes put forth in practice.

Remsberg said all he expects is that “every kid competes hard at practice and meets, and to be good people off the track.”

Swim team smaller than last year but has ‘a lot of depth’

so. Hana Robinson

The first boys tennis meet is March 28 at

McPherson.

golfers show improvementtyleR bRottonopinions editor

The clubs are in full swing and the Newton High School boys golf team has high hopes for the season.

With five players returning who have some varsity expe-rience, boys golf coach Paul Buller said he is “optimistic about the season.”

“I think this year’s team can do better than last year’s team because of our experience,” Buller said. “Many players improve their scores by four to six strokes per round in tournaments from one year to another.”

As a result of this experi-

ence, the team has many goals for the season.

“Our first goal is to enjoy golf and to learn to play by the rules,” Buller said. “Second, we want to find our strengths and weaknesses and show improve-ment each week.”

However, the ultimate goal of the team is “to qualify to state this year” sophomore var-sity golfer Lane Pauls said.

This year state will be hosted at Sand Creek Golf Course in Newton, which will give New-ton an advantage over others.

“Having state in Newton will give us an advantage because we play there all year and we have knowledge about the course,” Pauls said.

The golf team kicks off the season April 4 at the Bishop Carroll invitational.

so. Lane Pauls

photo by Brandon Hanchett

photo by DeAnna Opland

HHydrogen

photo essayPage 16 The Newtonian March 18, 2010

onors Chemistry students teach a class of their own

Senior AJ Jost reads an introduction to his presentation over polymers and their many uses in everyday life with his partner, senior Maria Jantz.

Seniors Emily Lane and Lindsey Regier test the stretching abilities of a polymer produced by mixing a glue solution and borax- based cleaner.

Using plastic tweezers, senior Connor Galloway spins a super cooled ceramic piece as it levitates above a magnet. This demonstration was part of seniors Dylan Jantz and Tim Stucky’s magnetism presentation.

To find the lines of magnetism, seniors Dylan Jantz and AJ Jost sprinkle iron filings on a magnet covered by an overhead transparency and projecte it on the wall behind them.

The potential of hydrogenSenior Carlie Blaufuss mixes acidic and basic compounds in a mason jar to demonstrate the properties of a chemical to show a substance’s pH level, while senior Lindsey Regier reads off the reaction.

In JeopardySeniors AJ Jost and Connor Galloway play a game of pH Jeopardy created online by senior presentors Lindsey Regier and Carlie Blaufuss. The first player to hit the desk and answer the question over information presented earlier, won.

Students in Jon Preston’s Honors Chem II class choose a chemistry subject to research and gave a 20-25 minute

presentation for their peers on March 9 and 11.