BLUE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL Vol. 43 Issue 10 May 2013 Stilwell, Kan. THREE DECADES Teacher plans to retire aer 29 years; class no longer available page 2 LEAVING A LEGACY Basketball coaches decide to pursue new opportunities; players become adjusted to idea of new coaches page 23 SETTING HERSELF APART Going to culinary school in Paris, senior makes plans for year abroad pages 18-19 TIGER THE PRINT Where do we go from here: Seniors make post-graduation plans, reminisce on last four years. Senior Section pages: 7-17.
Transcript
BLUE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Vol. 43 Issue 10 May 2013
Stilwell, Kan.
THREE DECADESTeacher plans to retire a!er 29 years; class no longer available page 2
LEAVING A LEGACYBasketball coaches decide to pursue new opportunities; players become adjusted to idea of new coaches page 23
SETTING HERSELF APARTGoing to culinary school in Paris, senior makes plans for year abroad pages 18-19
TIGER THE
PRINT
Where do we go from here: Seniors make post-graduation plans, reminisce on last four years.Senior Section pages: 7-17.
inthenews2 May 2013
Check out bvtigernews online for more on
graduation dates and events
May 3 — National Art Honor Society Induction, 5 p.m.
May 6 — BV Pizza Hut Fundraiser Band Concert, 6 p.m in PAC
May 10 — Senior Picnic Rep !eater Showcase, 7 p.m. Yearbook distribution
May 11 — Tigerettes Drill Team Spring Show, 7 p.m.
May 14 — Forensics Awards and Showcase, 6 p.m. in the Blackbox !eater Senior Finals 5, 6 and 7
May 15 — Senior Finals 3 and 4
May 16 — Choir Spring Show, 7 p.m. Senior Class Day Rehearsal and Senior Video Senior Finals 1 and 2
May 17 — Senior Class Day, 9-11 a.m.
May 18 — Choir Spring Show, 7:30 p.m.
May 19 — Graduation, 1 p.m. at Kemper Arena
May 27 — No School: Memorial Day
May 28 — Finals 1 & 2, 7:45 - 10:35 a.m.
May 29 — Finals 3, 4 & 5, 7:45 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.
May 30 — Finals 6 & 7, 7:45-10:35 a.m. Last day of school
Events Calendar
maddiejewettfeatures editor
Looking back on the memories she has had for the past 29 years, tears well up in the corners of her eyes.
She chooses her words carefully, wanting to leave an important last mes-sage with her past and present students.
“!ere has always been a philosophy that I have: ‘!ere’s two things we give our children — one is roots and the other wings,’” Family and Consumer Science teacher Donna DeHart said.
DeHart will be retiring this year a"er 29 years of teaching.
“I have had a lot of health problems lately,” she said. “I always promised myself I would retire when I was still e#ective. I realized my students weren’t getting what they should have been getting.”
As far as her future goes, she said she wants to continue to cross things o# of her bucket list.
“I am looking forward to spending more time with my grandchildren,” she said. “My dad is in a nursing home, so I want to spend more time with my mom and dad to do some daughterly things.
Also, on the side I have a quilting business, and I plan on doing a lot of volunteer work. As far as traveling, I’ve already done a lot of that, so I’m just ready to live the next section of my life.”
Going along with the retirement of DeHart, the Teacher Practicum class which allows students to go out to schools and observe teachers for a two hour block period has been cancelled for the 2013-14 school year.
Because BV was the only school to o#er this class, the only other alternate will be taking at class at the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS).
Assistant Principal Mark Dalton said Dehart retiring played a huge part in this decision.
“!e class was kind of like her baby,” he said. “It was the class that she really took under her wing. Also, we had low enrollment, and we are the only school still o#ering this class.”
Junior Taylor Justmann was origi-nally enrolled in the class for next year and said she was disappointed to hear the class would not be o#ered anymore.
“I had to come up with four di#er-ent classes to take because it was a two hour block all year,” she said. “It was
just a pain having to come up with new classes. I was really looking forward to the class and being at the $eld site with the kids.”
Justmann said she was called down to the o%ce in order to pick her new classes for next year.
“One of my friends had gotten called down to the o%ce by her counselor, and she told me about it,” she said. “!en a few days later my counselor called me down and asked me what classes I wanted to take instead [of Teacher Practicum].”
While Justmann said she was bummed about not being able to take the class, she said this opened up room in her schedule to take some fun classes senior year.
“I ended up joining Chorale, so it’s allowing me more opportunities to participate in di#erent things my senior year,” she said.
DeHart said she will miss her stu-dents the most when she leaves.
“In the same way that the students learn from me in the classroom, I learn so much from them,” she said. “!ey enrich my life. I’m going to have to give up a part of myself with retirement.”
After nearly three decades, teacher set to retire; Teacher Practicum class no longer offered
Practicing her teaching skills, Teacher Practicum student junior Savannah Spicer shows a student what page to turn to. !is class will not be o#ered in next year’s curriculum. “I love the connection you get with the kids, like getting to know them and growing a personal relationship with them,” Spicer said. Photo by Kelly Cordingley.
payin’thebills 3May 2013
inthenews4 May 2013
Construction of a new broadcast TV studio will begin May 31. Tiger TV adviser Denny Brand said the renovation was supposed to happen several years ago, but !nancial is-sues postponed the project.
“"e studio obviously is overdue,” he said. “Blue Valley has the oldest broadcasting program in the district, and the other schools were able to get [new] studios before us.”
"e current broadcasting classroom/TV studio was cre-ated in 2002, but prior to that, the anchor portions of Tiger TV were !lmed at the district TV station.
"e new TV studio will include a glassed-in control room that will give Tiger TV the capability of going live more e#ectively.
“We have the capability to go live now, but [with] the way the anchor desk is and the control room, if the director was directing the show, and he said ‘Zoom in on Camera 2,’ you would hear him over the air because we don’t have the control room glassed in,” Brand said. “In a TV stu-dio, you have to have your people directing the show and teleprompter people and all that in a soundproof environ-ment. Otherwise, if he said ‘OK, Camera 2 zoom in,’ then you would hear that if the anchors had their microphones on. "e key thing that is happening is they’re building us a control room to put all the equipment in.”
Tiger TV reporter junior Natalie Pace said when she heard about the new studio, she was thrilled.
“I was really excited about [the renovations] because that
means it’s going to be a lot easier to put things together,” she said. “It also means that since we’re moving on to live shows, we’re going to have to get our stu# done a lot earlier. When I found out about it, I was really excited about that because I had never done a live show before, and I know we have in the past, but we haven’t recently.”
She said anchoring will change during a live show.“Anchoring is going to be di#erent because you can’t
mess up and you can’t plan how you’re going to talk and you really don’t get any preparation time except for the one time that you go through it beforehand,” Pace said. “If you mess up, you have to come back with it, and if your partner messes up, you have to help them recover. You have to really be a team up there.”
"e new studio will be a combined room with a com-puter lab in Room 402 and the TV Studio in 510.
"e current broadcasting classroom will replace the computer lab currently in 402.
"e new studio will have a green screen wall and $oor which will be used for special e#ects.
“[With the green screen], we could go live with weather, for instance, and green screen some maps behind us,” Brand said. “We could go to virtual reality; we could put various backgrounds behind people on a live basis if we wanted to. In my room now, we really don’t have an e#ective place to do our green screen. "ere’s just no room in there.”
As well as the new studio, the Tiger TV will be getting new equipment including HD equipment, a switcher, hard drive recorders and new lights.
"e new studio is expected to be done prior to Aug. 15, the start of school. Packing up the equipment from the cur-rent room will start a%er the last show.
“I like to organize things, so I’m going to help with that,” Pace said. “I’m probably going to get rid of things that Mr. Brand doesn’t necessarily need, but he thinks he needs. Helping organize the new studio — I’m also really excited about that because I like to design things. It’ll be fun.”
"e project is funded by the recent bond issue. "e studio and room are funded by the special capital
outlay, and the equipment is funded by the bond issue for technology.
Broadcasting room to be moved, construction scheduled for end of May
Most recently, the library has had an art wall construct-ed hear the doors. It was put up the week of April 15.
“We have a bunch of new black metal frames,” school librarian Ken Stewart said. “"ey all match, all di#erent sizes. ["e art department] will be bringing work up to put up here. It could be a display area for a class, a particular theme or a student portfolio of one student’s work. "ere are a lot of di#erent things it could be used for, but it’s just a nice display area that will just be for student work.”
"is year was the !rst year of a three-year plan to reno-vate the library.
"e plan for this year was to update the laptop cart on the right side.
“We used to have 14 desktops and 16 laptops in a cart,” Stewart said. “You were having to check laptops in and out, and laptops were not being plugged back in — all kinds of stu#. So, through building capital funds, [Principal Scott] Bacon let us purchase the connectable tables. So we can have all the laptops out at one time, plugged in, charged up, fully functional, ready to go. It addresses a need that with all the computer monitors facing the same direction, with everyone facing the same way, for hands on instruction, we were able to focus one type of instruction. It works really well.”
Because the upgrade on the right side went well, the plans for year two of the plan were moved up to a%er winter break.
“"e tables that were purchased for [the le%] side promote collaboration and teamwork,” he said. “"e tables are in groups of four — two tables, four computers. Each set has a pop-up, so the power and hardwire network
connection is on top of the desk. We put all the laptops on that side because if you’re sitting there and you’re working in a group of four, with the laptop up, you can see better directly right across to them. You can use it any way you want, but it really promotes teamwork.”
Stewart said students can also use the new tables in order to charge personal devices.
“Since they’re plugged in and charged all the time, if you’ve got an iPad or an iPhone or an iPod that you’re us-ing and the battery’s starting to run low, all you have to do is unplug the laptop right there, right on top of the table, plug your unit in and let it charge while you’re working on stu#,” he said.
He said the renovations of both sides work together to help classes using the library.
“It’s a di#erent type of instruction,” he said. “A teacher will come in, and, so far, we’ve had teachers book the right hand side for the initial lesson and research, and then, a%er that, book to the le% hand side because their kids are in small groups. It’s easy the way the tables are spread out, so you can walk in and out of them for instruction. It really helps personalize the educational experience.”
Year three of the plan, building two tutoring rooms on the le% side, has been postponed to 2016 due to pushes for security in the district.
“Security is a priority of the district now,” he said. “I can see where that took priority over two tutoring rooms. We’ll get it — it’s just going to be a couple years later.”
"e last major renovation of the library took place in 2001.
“["e upgrade] gave us a big area to work with, and they
actually allowed us to have direct access to the architects,” Stewart said. “So when we !rst started planning, we were able to tell them how we work with students in the build-ing. "ey re$ected on how our individual school worked with the outlay of the new library. It was just everything we wante.”
During the 2001 project, the library and books were moved into four classrooms and a semi-truck outside.
“We moved out in May, and we moved back in Decem-ber,” he said. “"ey had us in four classrooms, and they cut holes in the walls and put in doors so we could walk in and out. We had to try to !gure out what supplies we needed that six months and what units were being taught. We had to make sure those books were in the classrooms because you couldn’t really come in there, but we could cart books out to the classes. It was an interesting !rst semester.”
Stewart said before that renovation, the library was much smaller because the le% side used to be the little theatre, which was replaced by the Black Box "eatre in the same year.
“It looked like somebody’s basement that you were building a project in — you kept building room a%er room a%er room,” he said. “You couldn’t use them. It was not functional — it was just a big mess. When you went in the front door, everybody was in a central area. Passes were scattered all through the place. We had very few comput-ers then, too. "ey weren’t out that much yet. "ere was no $ow to it; there was wasted space. "e computers we had were hooked up by daisy chaining electrical cords that we would hide when the !re marshal came in. We had to make do with what we had.”
Construction
Building renovations continue in Library Media Center,
Broadcast television classroom
C EZARStories by Sally Cochran.
outloud 5May 2013
rileymiller
Have we considered that some kids use drugs and alco-hol to make their lives a little less miserable?
I’m not saying it’s healthy for anyone to abuse drugs or alcohol so they’ll be happier. I’m not in any way condon-ing that kind of behavior, but what I am saying is that some people are under so much pressure they turn to drugs, alcohol, even self-harm or eating disorders.
It’s not in any way stupid — in fact, there are very logical reasons behind it all. Whether it be because of school, issues
at home, concern with body image, relationships between friends and peers or anything else, many people need a way to forget what stresses them out the most. !ey need something else to focus on. !ey need a distraction, and for some, that distraction is to knowingly put themselves in danger.
It’s truly not as simple enough to say something like, “smoking weed is just "at out stupid.”
Yes, there are many teenagers who experiment, and try things just for the fun of it, but there are also many teenag-ers who become addicted to unhealthy behaviors that they feel make their lives just a little bit better or “take the edge o# ” for a little while.
!ere is a huge di#erence between the two.It’s almost like an illusion — people are secretly strug-
gling, but someone wouldn’t normally think anything of their dangerous behavior because things like drinking and using drugs seem so normal among teenagers.
It’s not fair for them to be judged for “trying to $t in” or “trying to look cool” when they’re genuinely in pain, and they feel drugs and alcohol are the easiest way to help them cope with what they’re struggling with.
It is something way bigger than anything a lot of high school students could understand, but it is important to realize that the judgement of something you don’t fully understand does not help anyone a#ected by these kinds of issues.
When you look at the big picture, you’re making some people feel bad about something they do to make them-selves feel better.
It’s a huge contradiction, and in reality, you could be making them feel worse than they originally felt.
If you are a teenager struggling with issues involving drug or alcohol abuse, self-harm, eating disorders or any-thing else related, please don’t put o# seeking out help any longer.
abbybamburg
On Feb. 1, 2006, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was in the fourth grade and, of course, it was one of the saddest days of my life.
Every year, I participate in Relay For Life, an event that raises money for all di#erent types of cancer, and I do it for my mom.
Last year during Relay For Life, someone asked me why I wasn’t crying during the Luminaria Ceremony, which honors those who have survived cancer, are $ghting cancer
or have passed away from cancer. I immediately shrugged because I didn’t know what to say.
I didn’t want to sound insensitive to my mom’s situation or, for that matter, like I don’t care about her.
Now, I’m not trying to say I’m not sad that it happened. But, I am trying to say I’m happy and thankful it’s over.
Because in my mind I love my mom and she is still here with me, I express my sadness di#erently than others might.
Every year during this ceremony, a lot of people cry and relive those sorrowful memories.
!e gym is always $lled with emotion and most people think that is one of the best aspects of Relay.
But is it bad I feel awkward the whole time? Because someone that hasn’t even experienced cancer in
their family is crying their eyes out, and I’m perfectly $ne?I then realized emotion can be shown in many di#erent
ways. Happiness can be shown through laughter or being
hyper.Anger can be shown through violence or yelling.And sadness can be shown through crying or silence.It’s not that I was perfectly $ne, it’s that I wasn’t express-
ing my emotions out loud.No, that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings. No, that doesn’t mean I should feel judged.Some people don’t even show their emotion at all. Others
hide their emotion by showing a di#erent one to the world. Yes, crying is the most common expression of sadness.We say that just because a man cries when something is
sad, it doesn’t mean he’s feminine.In the same way, just because a woman doesn’t cry, it
doesn’t mean she is insensitive or not sad at that time.An important thing to note is whether it’s happiness or
sadness, it’s a personal feeling. No one can make someone feel guilty for being them-
selves or expressing their emotions in a special way.
People are judged on the decisions they make, there’s a reason
expressing emotions
!e year is 1954. !e Brown v. Board of Education
case breaks out and rules the “sepa-rate but equal” segregated schools are unconstitutional. Black children can "nally attend the nicer white schools.
Fast forward.!e year is 1964.!e Civil Rights Act is passed and
segregation is banned in all public places. !ere are no more “whites only” waiting rooms, restaurants or bathrooms. Everyone is equal under the law.
Fast forward. !e year is 2013.
All racial segregation issues should be long gone, right?
Wrong.!is April, Georgia high school
students hosted their "rst racially-integrated prom.
According to CNN.com, since segregated schools are illegal, proms in Wilcox County have not been spon-sored by the schools.
However, according to the Wilcox County School District website, when the students in charge of the integrat-ed prom approached administration proposing to host integrated proms, administration was on board with the idea.
According to the site, “[!e] Lead-ership Team will place the 2014 Prom on its agenda for a meeting in the near future.”
So, no, not everyone in the town believes in segregation — many state-ments on the news and from students and adults alike prove how far this country has come. But, this shouldn’t
even be an issue in the news anymore.Sure, these kids can go to school
together, play sports together and hang out together, but yet they couldn’t go to prom together.
A#er 59 years, there are still places in America where not everyone is equal regardless of the color of their skin?
Ridiculous. We, as a nation, should be past this.
No matter where you live in America, whether it be in the deep South or a northern city, everyone must be equal. Anyone who hasn’t realized that fact belongs back in 1954.
We have an African American president for crying out loud.
If this issue can’t be fully resolved soon, we can never move forward. !is country needs to get rid of the racism completely before we can ex-pect to see any other changes.
We’ve come so far from our nation’s past, too bad there are still people out there who haven’t.
outloud6 May 2013
staffeditorial editor-in-chiefKelly Cordingley
website editorOdi Opole
photo editorBailey Outlaw
design and news editorHailey McEntee
features editorMaddie Jewett
entertainment editorAbby Bamburg
opinion editor Caroline Meinzenbach
sports editorJansen Hess
business manager, managing editorAnna Wonderlich
sta! writersRaine AndrewsSally CochranGennifer GeerColin GregoryMeghan KennedyRiley MillerMitch SundquistDanielle Williams
!e Tiger Print is published 10 times a year for students, faculty, and the surrounding community of Blue Valley High School. It is an open forum for student expression. !erefore, the opinions expressed within this paper do not necessarily re$ect the views of the administrations of Blue Valley Uni"ed School District #229. Letters to the editor and reader responses are encouraged for publication. !e Tiger Print reserves the right to edit all submissions for both language and content and encourages letters to be no more than 350 words. Letters should be submitted to room 450, emailed to [email protected] or mailed to:!e Tiger Print c/oBlue Valley High School6001 W. 159th St. Stilwell, KS 66085phone: 913-239-4800
Pacemaker winner, 2012.Pacemaker "nalist, 2009, 2010, 2012. Member, Kansas Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
Cartoon by Becky Winegarner.
TIGER THE
PRINT
staff editorial
21agree
0 disagree
Segregated prom proves country still has issues of race equality to resolve
seniorsection 7May 2013
senior section2012-2013
SevenTwelve
commended scholars
Threeearned a 36 on their ACT318
seniors
Tiger TV w
ins seven awards fr
om
Kansas Associatio
n of Bro
adcasters
BV raised $55,000
for Relay For Life
Colton D
onahue wins K
ansas Gato
rade ru
nner of t
he year
Vaughn Eric
kson selected fo
r Honor B
and of Americ
a
“The Tiger Prin
t” wins P
acemaker Award
for t
he Pacemaker A
ward
Girls basketball
and volleyball
advanced to the
State tournament
familydiverse
awesomeextraordinary tight-knit
close
fantastic
unforgettable
tradition
spirited
driven
respectful
driven
classypridedazzling
swag
42%of 160 seniors polled
somewhat important
30%of 160 seniors polled
said they received some
seniorsection8 May 2013
odiopoleweb editor
Language is a beautiful thing. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to communicate right now. !ere would be no “I love this song,” “I need an A” or “Mom, buy some cookies.” !ere would be no, “You’re my best friend” and certainly no “I love you.” !ere would be no beginning, middle or end, and there would certainly be no Communication Arts tests about those sections of books.
As a matter of fact, there would be no C.A.
No poetry, short stories, novels, epic poems; no Homer, no Shakespeare, no John Green.
!ere would be no ‘us’ — the prehistoric Homo Sapiens survived to become the hu-man race because, while the Neanderthals were literally grunting at each other, Homo Sapiens had developed a form of communi-cation outside of that.
Without words, in any language, I wouldn’t be able to do many things I love
— there would be no newspaper, no friends in yearbook, no literary magazine and no angsty seventh-grade poetry phase.
Tambien, no habria la oportunidad para hablar Español.
Ni hakuna kiswahili, hakuna luo, hakuna luya, na hakuna kikuyu.
I would not be able to tell my Daddy I love him, remind my mom why she puts up with me or occasionally remind my baby brother that he is just that — my baby brother.
But sometimes, there are no words. And this is one of those times.
!is is my last issue of the newspaper. !is is my last month of high school. !is is my last year of childhood.
!is is my last year under my parents’ roof, my last year on the unlimited JoCo Kid money plan and my last year of only thinking about homework, food and fun.
And I don’t know how I’m supposed to leave it all.
I don’t know how I’m going to not worry about Tardy Tracker or how I’m going to get by without a school that has seen me for
more hours than my own home.I don’t know how I’m going to say
goodbye, and in some ways I don’t want to.
But at the same time, I know I’m ready.
I’m ready for long college nights because Jason Peres and Mark Klop-fenstein taught me the importance of actually reading the textbook you are given.
I’m ready for long research papers because of the cumulative e"orts of Linda Eagleton, Jennifer Balke, Britt Qualls, Ryan Mahoney, Azie Taghizadeh and Larry Hare.
Yeah, we wrote things in science classes, and yeah, it’ll be very worth it.
I know I’m ready to handle myself out in the world because principal Scott Bacon and every other adult at BV has taught me how.
I’m terri#ed, yes.But I’m ready. And I’m extremely
thankful that I’ve attended a school that allows me to say so.
colingregory
You’re probably not reading this. If you are, thank you. You’re my hero.If you’ve ever read anything in “!e
Tiger Print” that has my name attributed to it, I owe you a hug, a high #ve and a #rm handshake.
Even if you hated what I wrote. Even if you hated that I never sugarcoat-
ed my opinion. Even if you hated me for calling you
ignorant. C’mon, I know there’s a few of you out there.
!is is me thanking you. Seriously. You reading my words gives me all the
justi#cation I need to keep doing it. I’ve written about everything from the
Royals, to gun control, to rising rappers, to same-sex marriage.
If there’s one thing I love, it’s having people know my opinion. But nobody likes the guy who forces his views on people uninvitedly. I don’t wanna be “that guy.”
So, I write it. I give you, my loyally avid readers, the
opportunity to choose whether or not to
take in my opinion. And, again, if you’ve taken that opportunity, you mean the world to me.
You’ve given me the only true way I’ve ever had to express myself.
I only wish I’d realized this before my senior year of high school.
So, let’s look at high school. For me, it was neither a negative nor a positive experi-ence. It was only that — an experience.
!ough there are only a small handful of people at Blue Valley that I will truly miss, I love every one of you. I mean it.
You inadvertently and collectively shaped me into the person I am today. !ank you.
I entered high school as an awkward combination of a kid who was simultane-ously desperate for popularity, while being inherently shy, all while reeling from the fresh divorce of my parents.
I leave it almost fully aware of my strengths and limitations, all while sup-porting a con#dence and self assurance that uncouth freshman would be astonished at and proud of.
I leave it #rm in my beliefs and with a smile on my face.
!at transformation was because of you. !at transformation happened because
of what happened day-in and day-out for four years.
It was not a sudden metamorphosis, but rather a slow and meticulous process that began and will end at a very speci#c time. I honestly don’t remember my #rst day of high school, but I sure hope I remember my last.
!ough I don’t want this to sound too much like I’m accepting an Oscar, I do want to thank some people.
I’d like to thank my mom for giving me my moral compass and my dad for giving me my sense of humor and worldview.
I’d like to thank AVID teacher Diane O’Bryan for making me take newspaper. It was the greatest decision I never made, in so many ways.
But mostly, I’d like to thank you, the people who I interacted with at some point during these four years. It was you who molded me into who I am now.
And I honestly like who I am now. So thank you.
When I’m 60 years old, I’ll probably look at high school a lot di"erently than I do
now. Right now, I look back and think “it was #ne.”
Not amazing. Not horrendous. It was #ne. When I’m 60 years old, I’m hoping that
the rest of my life will dwarf these last four years in quality.
!at’s not knocking my high school experience. I’m just hopeful for my future.
Especially when it comes to college. !ey say that college is the best time of your life.
I’m willing to believe them.
I don’t know how I’m going to say goodbye, and in some ways I don’t want to. But at the same time, I know I’m ready.
““
For me, high school was neither a negative nor a positive experience. It was only that — an experience.“
“
May 2013 seniorsection 9
mitchsundquist
!roughout my four years at Blue Valley, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet an abundance of people who have a"ected my life. And since it would take far too much time and energy to personally thank all of them, I’ve decided to do that here.
My parents have always been the biggest in#uence in my life. !ey’ve given me advice to live by and have prepared me for the world I’m about to enter. Without my parents, I would be completely lost. I’d like to thank them for always being there for me and always supporting my decisions, no matter what they are.
My friends have provided me with memories that will last a lifetime. !ey have supported me in all of my endeavours, and I could never begin to explain how much they mean to me. One of the things I will miss the most is looking up into the bleachers during a basketball game and seeing all of them there. I’d like to thank them for their un-wavering support and for all of the great times we have had.
!e basketball sta" at BV has had an incredible impact on my life. Coaches Chris Hansen, Tim Mulvany, Gary Lindsay, Brian Mowry and Kyle Braden have all taught me numerous life lessons.
Most importantly, they have taught me to be a man with integrity, and how to hold myself accountable for my ac-tions. I’d like to thank them for those lessons and for giving me the opportunity to play the game of basketball.
In the fall, I will be able to call myself a college basketball player. It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a child shooting baskets in my driveway, barely having the strength to get the ball to the rim.
!e only one I have to thank for this is God. He has blessed me with amazing opportunities and abilities some people only dream of. He has worked incredible miracles in my life, and I will continue to give all of my glory to Him, as I have done in the past.
I’ve been blessed to have some great experiences and great opportunities in my four years here. I’ve also learned some valuable lessons that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. I’m very grateful for the time I’ve spent here, and I will miss every second of it.
miss every second of it.“ “
kellycordingleyeditor-in-chief
We all entered high school much di"erent people than we are now.
Regardless of how we’ve changed, we should just be glad we did.
As freshmen, we sucked. We were obnoxious, egotistical, self-absorbed and not as
bright as we thought we were. We thought we were on top of the world — as lowly freshmen.
And we are soon to become freshmen once again.Bottom of the totem pole, food chain, what have you. But, on the bright side, I’m actually con$dent this go-
around as a freshman will work out much better for me.I’m leaving this school a much more con$dent, poised
person than I was four years ago.!ankfully, I got pulled into the journalism program
during my sophomore year. Every interview I ever did taught me to present myself
with con$dence even when I wasn’t feeling it.Every deadline the sta" completed was a victory against
my procrastination.And I learned. I learned about people. And people are the most important thing to learn about
in life. It isn’t math or science or geography or gym that will get
you through life, though they help, it is people. It is friends you learn to keep close because they’ll be
there no matter what — at your worst, at your best, to tell you you’re worth more than what you put up with, to tell
you to step it up because you’re capable of more — those are the people to keep around.
You just learn, and there’s no better time to do it than in high school.
!e friends I’m leaving from here turned out to be the most fantastic people I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with.
I’m not the type of person to believe the notion that I’ll stay in touch with a ton of people from BV. I won’t, and I don’t want to.
But there are a select few friends who I hope to never fall out of touch with.
Whether it be just greeting cards or co"ee a few times a year, I hope to stay in contact with the people who have been there through everything.
!ose are the people I’ll miss. !ose are the people who have helped shape me into
who I am and who’ve created memories that’ll last a life-time.
!e memories I’ve had here, between being the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, listening to principal Scott Bacon cheer on every student group because he genuinely cares and just sitting in comfortable silence with the people that mean the most to me are what I’ll miss.
When I go to college, the students I meet and befriend won’t know me the way my high school friends have — they’ll be wonderful I’m sure, but just di"erent.
!e friends I’ve been closest to here are irreplaceable. No one else has sat through countless late nights in the newspa-per room with me, no one else meets me at midnight to get a Sonic Reese’s Blast and tots and once we all go to college I won’t be spending more time at my best friend’s home than
my own.!ose memories can’t be recreated a%er we leave high
school, they happened and are soon to be over. It’s up to us to cherish everything that’s made us who we
are, because soon everything we once knew will be over and everything new and unexpected is about to begin.
The friends I’m leaving from here turned out to be the most “
“
seniorsection10 May 2013
26 states318 Tigers o! to
BV seniors prepare to leave for college
ARIZONAGrand Canyon UniversityXavier Adams
TEXA
S
Texas Christian UniversityChristopher HearlBrooke SnyderKrista Spindler
University of Texas at ArlingtonBenjamin McWhorter
Baylor UniversityKatelyn Bridges
Texas State UniversityGrayson Yockey
NEBRASKAConcordia UniversityKatherine Overman
Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityMitchell Sundquist
University of Nebraska - Lincoln Clare Noren
Creighton UniversityJamie Cha!n
INDIANANotre Dame UniversitySamuel Proulx
Purdue UniversityJoseph Dolan
CAL
IFORN
IA University of California- BerkleyCalvin CochranRowena Xia
University of California-Los AngelesBingjie LiCollin Mardis
COLO
RADO
OKLAHOMA University of OklahomaSamuel Patton
Oklahoma State UniversityGrady Block Alex Leatherman
NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina State UniversityAshleigh Bryson
ILLI
NO
IS Elmhurst College Alison Hibschle
University of Illinois- Urbana-ChampaignMallory Roth
Bradley University Jacob Pettes
Columbia College ChicagoDavid Cline
Principia CollegeJackson Walker
NEW YORKFashion Institure of TechnologyCourtney Steinnagel
ARKA
NSA
S University of ArkansasSavannah BequeaithAndrew BrileyMaggie CreamerRiley EtheridgeClaudia GarciaSara HannaSarah HastertHailey NemethKaelin StormHayley Wallace
University of Central ArkansasMaris Bellows
John Brown UniversityJessica AlexanderSarah Hill
MIS
SOU
RI
University of Missouri - ColumbiaAnna BurtonBlake CarmesElizabeth CassidyJuliana HimmelAlissa JonesAshley MayClayton RhodesGri"en Slead Missouri University of Science and TechnologyAngela Mendrala
University of Missouri - Kansas CityA"an Ahmad Parker GordonAllison MabeOdindo Opole
William Jewell College !omas Boylan
University of Central Missouri Alexandria BirtsJacob McLaury
Madelyn SartoryKimberly Wallace
Missouri State UniversityNathan Provost
St. Louis UniversityMegan McDonnell
Washington University Grace GallagherAsim Zaidi
Kansas City Art Institute Austin Bui
Southeast Missouri State UniversityBailey Geiman
Independence Community CollegeKennedy Sanchez
Calvary Bible InstituteDanielle Sherraden
Florida Gulf Coast UniversityAlexys Freeman
University of South FloridaRyan Redd
Florida State UniversityKatherine Shull
CONNECTICUT Yale UniversityJason Entgelmeier
ALABAMAAuburn UniversityMadison Kreamer
University of AlabamaHannah McCreadyPaige Sims Vanderbilt University
Oksana LitardoBelmont UniversityCaleb !eriot
O’More College of DesignAlyssa Hardinger
George Washington University- Washington D.C.Blake StaleyArchana Vasa
WISCONSINUniversity of WisconsinAlexander Goedken
seniorsection12 May 2013
160 seniors surveyed.
2012-13best laugh best smile
Brooke Snyder & Grant Stafford
Jake Sloan & Armin Tarakemeh
most involvedJason Entgelmeier & Bingjie Li
most likely to become famous
Bri Woods & Grayson Yockey
most changed from freshman to senior year
Dominick De Wolf & Ashleigh Bryson
Danny Kralicek & Megan Ball
seniorsuperlatives
class clown
Parmida Shahiri & Nick Timmons
cutest couple
Jordan Coons & Josh Thomas
friends forever
seniorsection 13May 2013
most artistic
best smile
Brooke Snyder & Grant Stafford
most athletic
Jarin Braithwait & Colton Donahue
most likely to brighten your day
Xavier Adams & Natalie Biel
Jake Sloan & Armin Tarakemeh
Asim Zaidi & Rajvi Shah
most likely to cure cancermost likely to become famous
Bri Woods & Grayson Yockey
best hair
Jacob Wormington & Oksana Litardo
Gage Brock & Becky Winegarner
best style
David Cline & Rachel Puccetti
friends forever
Asim Zaidi & Rajvi Shah
seniorsection14 May 2013
SNAPSHOT
baileyoutlawphoto editor
When I dreamt of the future as a little girl I saw myself as someone who knew where they were going and what they would be. I always thought “when I grow up” and now here I am, wondering…when does this magical growing up occur?
When am I grown up?
Is it when I walk across the stage and shake Principal Scott Ba-con’s hand? Is it when I get married, maybe have a few kids?
I don’t think any of these are the answer. I believe that we are all still growing up, at every point in our lives. Because growing up is learning, and if we ever stop learning, then we have truly failed our-selves. In every one of us lies that child with bright eyes towards the future, a young soul ready to make its mark on the world around it.
In every one of the graduates in our class there is a little piece of every age we have ever been and what we’ve learned from it. We were 3 years old learning no means no and eat your dinner or you won’t get that cookie. We were 5 years old learning shar-
ing is caring, and if you play with it you must also clean up a!er it. We were 7 years old learning sometimes children can be cruel. We were 9 years old learning you can’t be good at everything — no matter how hard you try to learn to dribble a bas-ketball. We were 11 years old realizing middle school is tough, and pu-berty even tougher. We were 13 years old learn-ing parents can only be pushed so far until they snap, and. when they do, you better hope it’s not because of you. We were 15 years old understand-ing love can really hurt. We were 16 learning cars and gas cost money, and jobs in the food industry are really not as glam-orous as we imagined. We were 17 years old deciding our futures with so much fear and excite-ment, and now here we are. We’re done with our yesterdays, and ready as ever for all of our tomorrows. We are 18 years old going on thirty and looking forward to our whole lives. We will be 18 in our "rst college classes. We will be 21 making a few mistakes. We will be 24 fending for ourselves. We may be 27 (or our dads may like to think 37) committing our lives to someone, and then we will be parents worrying about our own children and seeing them
experience all we have experienced. In this mo-ment now we are all both happy and sad. Happy because this is the begin-ning and sad because this is the end. Happy because we’ve made it. And sad because of all we leave behind us.
I used to think life was about growing up. I think all of us have felt that way at one point or the other. But I am pretty sure my mom still wonders when she will be grown up. Getting older doesn’t necessarily mean feeling old. Getting older means realizing how short life truly is, and how much you want to do in that time. We need to remember to live in the moment. Because if you spend your life look-ing forward to some day, you’ll blink and it will be over. So my challenge to all of my fellow gradu-ates is a simple one: seize the day. #is day. Your day. As Ralph Waldo Em-erson once said, “What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”
So remember this as you travel out into this world. May it be to the East Coast or the West Coast or even just an hour away.
You are capable. You are more than
you believe. And you are worthy.
Senior David Cline ‘directs’ his fellow actors. Cline played a director in “Noises O$,” which was a play about a play. “#e show was great because there was never a dull moment,” he said.
(Top) Practicing the butter%y stroke, swimmer senior Chris Hearl prepares for competition. Hearl is a nine-time State champion. “My family and teammates, they all support me,” Hearl said. “#ey’re really understanding of everything.”
Photo editor reminisces on two years on sta!; chooses favorite photos from senior year
seniorsection 15May 2013
SNAPSenior photographer shares her favorite pictures from time spent on newspaper staff
me-ganball
(3) Flying high, senior Katherine Brimble crowd surfs. !is was the sixth annual SWITCH dance. “My friends make me crowd surf wherever we go,” Brimble said.
(5) Practicing a!er school with the Gumeez, senior John Lesko pivots with the ball. !e Gumeez play basketball two days a week a"er school. “My favorite part of [recreational] basketball is draining 3’s in the face of my op-ponents,” senior Matt Lewis said.
(1) Listening to the music, senior Bergen Stephens dances with friends. Mix 93.3’s Steve Serrano disc jockeyed SWITCH for the #rst time this year. “I really enjoyed the DJ and just having a good time not worrying about having a date,” Stephens said.
(4) Dancing and singing to the music, seniors Bri Woods and Brooke Snyder partake in the SWITCH dance-fest. !is year, duct tape was banned as clothing for the dance. “I just pulled all the sparkly and neon things out of my closet and made my out#t,” Snyder said.
(2) Seniors Ryan McNerlin and Clay Rhodes place a model of the Salina South High School mascot in the bon#re. Burning the opposing team’s mascot before the Home-coming game has been a BV tradition for years.
1.
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3.
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meganball
seniorsection16 May 2013
Exp. 6/30/13 Exp. 6/30/13
beckywinegarnercartoonist
1. 2.
4.3.
1. Featured in the August issue2. Featured in the September issue3. Featured in the November issue4. Featured in the February issue.
Senior chooses collection of her favorite
lookingback2012-2013
seniorsection 17May 2013
The Gay-Straight Alliance sponsored school-wide talent show
Construction started on the stadium
Shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School kills 26 people
Bombing attack at the Boston Marathon followed by a shooting at MIT by the same perpetrators
Photo by Odi Opole.
Photo by Megan Ball.
Photo by Bailey Outlaw.
Photo by Alex Kontopanos.
Photo by Bailey Outlaw.
The Scholars’ Bowl team won State
Blue Valley raised more than $55,000 for Relay For Life
Four snow days
Tiger TV won State
Senior Colton Donahue awarded Gatorade runner of the year
Girls volleyball State runner-up
BV awarded a national Blue Ribbon award
Power outage ended school during third hour
The Tiger Print won a Pacemaker award,
Hurricane Sandy hit New York
Lance Armstrong caught in drug scandal
Shooting at Aurora, Colo., movie theater
President Barack Obama reelected for second term
Girls basketball went to State
Pope Benedict XVI resigned, Pope Francis became the new head of the Church
DOMA and Prop 8 argued at the Supreme Court
Gangnam Style and Harlem Shake dances popular
upclose18 May 2013
meghankennedy
Senior year of high school, students have one thing on their mind: college.
For some, this means attending an out-of-state university.
For others, staying close to home is the obvious choice.
But, rarely does one plan on moving thousands of miles away, to a di!erent con-tinent, with an ocean and several countries separating you from family and friends.
All by his or herself.Senior Rachel Puccetti will be moving to
Europe to attend the culinary arts school Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France.
Due to semester di!erences, she will be leaving in January of 2014.
In the extra months at home, she plans on continuing work, helping her parents pay for the tuition and applying for a few scholarships the school o!ers.
Rachel said she chose to go to Europe because she wants to experience life outside of what she's familiar with.
""ey have Le Cordon Bleu schools in the states, but I chose to go to Europe because it's a once-in-a-lifetime oppor-tunity," she said. "I will learn so much, not only through my
education, but just by being a part of a foreign culture."
Rachel said she chose this path because of the knowledge the experience provides.
""ese schools had always seemed like an amazing opportunity, but I never knew if I'd be willing to take the risk of not going to college," she said. "I realized that going to a university I'm not passionate about and changing my major multiple times, as many college students do, was not the route for me. "ese schools, especially since they are in Europe, will give me a world of opportu-nity in the future."
Rachel’s mother Jill Puccetti said Rachel will receive a degree from the school that quali#es her as a professional chef. Rachel
can also earn a degree in baking and pas-tries, but she is undecided.
"She decided that if she was going to attend culinary school she wanted to go somewhere like Paris or London," Jill said. ""ey are known for their amazing food and would set her apart when she returns to the States."
Rachel said her main goal is to learn everything she can while gaining knowledge from her experiences.
"I'm excited to travel o$en and to absorb all that their culture has to o!er and also to have those worldwide connections," she said. "I hope to live an exceptional life, not an ordinary one. I'm con#dent this experi-ence will set me up for that."
Jill said this is an amazing opportunity for Rachel, and she hopes she enjoys every minute of it.
"My hope for Rachel is that this experi-ence is everything that she wants it to be and that she can bring everything she has learned home and turn it into something successful," she said. "My goal for her would be to do something she loves because then
it's not work."Senior Bailey Peck has gone to school
with Rachel for part of elementary school and all of middle and high school.
"We've been friends for so long, and we've experienced a lot together," she said. "I know I can always have a good time with her and go to her for anything."
Peck said she and Rachel both share a passion for traveling, which fueled Rachel in her decision.
"She brought up [going to school in Eu-rope] one day and that she didn't want to go to [University of Kansas] anymore, where she had always planned on going," Peck said. "She said her
and her mom had been looking into culinary schools in Paris."
Rachel said her parents have been her biggest support system.
"My parents have always encouraged me to do what I love and be great at it,” she said. “"ey helped me decide to take this chance. "ere is so much to see and do out there, and the unique experiences this will provide will help me reach my goals."
Puccetti
“bon ”
Ingredients:
pastas
Directions:
Eating cupcakes with her family, senior Rachel Puccetti enjoys the few months she has le$ in the country. She has been cooking for her family and friends since she was young. “I’ll probably miss my family and friends,” she said. “But I’ll still be in touch with them with Skype.” Photo by Alex Kontopanos.
little thimblessciue sciue
upclose 19May 2013
Ingredients:Vegetable oil, for greasing1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more for garnish1/4 teaspoon
4 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest1 cup fresh lemon juice (8 lemons)
Directions:Make the crust: Position a rack in
the middle of he oven a preheat to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13 inch pan with vegetable oil and line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; grease
both sugars and salt in a food processor until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press evenly into the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan, making sure there are no cracks. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
Whisk the whole eggs and yolks,
Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Remove the crust from the over and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees.
just set, 30 to 35 minutes.Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack,
hours. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
Senior chooses alternative to college university, plans to attend culinary arts school in Paris, France
Jill said a!er high school graduation, Rachel will work on her French, in addition to taking a self-defense class.
"I wish she didn't have to be so far away because I will miss her terribly," Jill said. "It is an amazing opportunity, and I support her 100 percent and encourage her to enjoy every minute while she is there."
Rachel said her idea to pursue a career in culinary arts is a recent discovery about herself.
"I've always enjoyed cooking, but I like the idea of not taking a traditional college path," she said. "When I'm "nished, it will leave me with a wide spectrum of paths I can choose to take from there. Last semes-ter, I took the [Center for Advanced Profes-sional Studies] iMedia class and spent a lot of time in front of the camera and in photo shoots and interviews with local businesses. Ultimately, I want to have my own business or TV show, and I'd like to use my knowl-edge from CAPS and my experiences next year to do so."
Rachel will mainly communicate with friends and family back home through
iMessage and Skype."It'll de"nitely be hard the "rst few
weeks not having any family or friends with me, but it's fairly similar to going to college out of state," she said. "I'll make friends with other students and people in the area. #ey'll all be coming from other countries, too, so they're in the same situation. #e time will $y by, and I'll be back with my family and friends before I know it."
Peck, who will attend Kansas State Uni-versity in the fall, said even though they'll be going to college thousands of miles apart, their friendship will stay strong.
"It'll be hard, but we're the type of friends that pick up right where we le! o%," she said. "I'm excited to hear all her stories."
Rachel said since her dad is in the Marine Corps, she has spent a lot of time moving around.
"I know what it's like to start new, to meet new people and adjust to new areas," she said. "I love traveling and seeing new things as this world has so much to o%er — you just have to get out there and experi-ence it."
Rachel said she will either get her own apartment or live in student housing on campus.
#e school helps students "nd a job for those who want one, so Rachel said she will try to work, if she has time within her course load.
Rachel has to get a passport, visa, "nd housing, set up a bank account and move everything she needs to live in France.
She said she thinks some aspects of the transition from America to Europe will be di&cult to adjust to.
"I think some things will de"nitely be di&cult, like the language barrier, obvi-ously, and just how di%erent their transpor-tation system is," Rachel said. "#e money conversion and how di%erent their daily lifestyle is will be di&cult, too."
Peck said Rachel is really independent and will be "ne being alone.
"It's a huge change," she said. "It'll take time to get used to. I think she'll do "ne making friends and keeping in touch, but starting o% will be hard. If she's over there for a semester and doesn't like it enough to
stay, I think she'd be "ne coming home and going to college here."
Rachel said she plans on staying there for a year and then deciding if she wants to stay longer.
Rachel only gets a few days o% every couple of months and no long breaks.
Jill said she or her husband will take Ra-chel to Europe to get settled. #e family will travel to Paris for Rachel's graduation.
"Rachel has an amazing work ethic and is very much a perfectionist, so when she makes her mind up on something, she is great about making a plan and getting it done," Jill said. "Moving around has also helped Rachel to live outside the box and know that there is a whole big world out there with so much to o%er."
Jill said her biggest fear for Rachel is her safety.
"It will be very hard to have her so far away, but this is what we, as parents, have prepared our kids for," she said. "She is a strong, young woman that is capable of go-ing a!er her dreams and not being scared to at least try."
courtesy of Rachel Puccetti
Boiling pasta, senior Rachel Puccetti prepares dinner for her family. Puccetti is planning on at-tending culinary school in either Paris next year. “I’m excited to experience a whole new culture and learn how to cook really well,” she said. “I’m most nervous for getting used to the way they have a di%erent lifestyle.” Photo by Alex Kontopanos.
classiclemon bars
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May 2013 upclose 21
carolinemeinzenbachopinion editor
It’s the school they are used to rivaling.It’s the school they have rallied to beat in numerous
events.It’s the school they have hated.Senior Harita Abraham transferred from Blue Valley
West at the beginning of this year. “I went to Blue River [Elementary School] and [Blue
Valley] Middle [School],” she said. “I was supposed to go to Blue Valley, but my parents wanted me to go to West. !ey just really liked that school.”
Abraham said she doesn’t have anything against West, she just wanted to be with old friends.
“I just missed everyone,” she said. “So I decided to come back at least for my senior year to spend time with everyone before we went our separate ways.”
Joining the BV family mid-semester, senior Blake Carnes transferred Nov. 13.
“I just never liked West,” she said. “It wasn’t a good "t for me.”
Carnes said the switch from West to BV wasn’t as bad as she thought it would have been.
“I knew a lot of the kids here,” she said. “I hang out with more BV kids than West kids, so it was an easy transition.”
A#er winter break, senior Jake Sloan transferred from BV Southwest.
“I loved Southwest up until last semester,” Sloan said. “It seemed like everyone had transferred at that point, and since I’m friends with so many people at Blue Valley, I saw how much more fun they were having.”
Abraham said she likes attending BV better than West because there are more opportunities for student involve-ment.
“It feels like a family, just because I’ve known these kids since elementary school,” she said. “I love BV — technically, it’s always been my home school.”
Sloan said he likes the senior privileges here unlike Southwest.
“It just seems like every year Blue Valley really makes being a senior fun and worth it,” he said.
Carnes said she was nervous about coming to a new school but adjusted quickly.
“I love it,” she said. “I was really nervous, but everyone was welcoming and nice. !ey don’t judge you. It’s easy to get along with everyone.”
She said there is a big di$erence between the environ-ments at BV and West.
“I feel like this school is so much happier,” Carnes said.Abraham said the being a senior didn’t a$ect her trans-
fer.“I knew a lot of people beforehand,” she said. “I still felt
welcomed and included as if I had always been here.”She said even though she transferred, her brother, a
junior, stayed at West.“I le# behind my brother,” she said. “I’m trying to con-
vince him to come here.”Sloan said his transition has been worth it.“I’ve had a lot more fun this semester than I did last
semester,” he said. “It was kind of a pain getting everything together to transfer though. I wish I would have transferred at the beginning of this year, but I wouldn’t have le# any sooner.”
Abraham said BV has the most welcoming group of students she has seen within a school.
“It’s something to be proud of,” she said. “All the kids here have great character and truly have "rst class behavior.”
transferringto thetigers Students switch schools for various
welcoming environment at BV
Abraham Carnes Sloan
transfers by the numbers
out o
f
transfers,
areSENIORS
BVNWBVN
BVWBVSW
where did the transfers come from?
Discussing assignments with a fellow sta$ member, senior Harita Abraham prepares to interview students for the Re%ections Yearbook. Abraham trans-ferred to Blue Valley at the beginning of the year from BV West, but this was her "rst year on a publications sta$. “I thought [joining Yearbook] was fun, because I like meeting new people,” she said. “One thing I noticed was that there’s a lot more that BV does tradition-wise that we don’t do at West, and I thought that was cool.”Photo by Odi Opole.
Louisburg
tigerturf22 May 2013
Softball team coaches younger girls,helps community, grows closer
gennifergeer
Growing up, we all had our role models, whether they be parents, celebrities or superheroes.
!ese people led and inspired, and on April 19, Blue Valley’s varsity so"ball team got a chance to be those role models.
A recently resurrected tradition, Future Tiger Night wel-comed 4th and 5th grade recreational teams to work with the varsity players on skills and game play.
So"ball player senior Ali Jones said she helped the younger girls learn “tricks of the game.”
“!ey were all really sweet,” she said. “It’s like a #ashback to how we were when we were their age and all excited. It’s a good little memory.”
So"ball coach Stephanie Chomicki said the event’s purpose was to promote so"ball and encourage the younger girls to keep playing.
“Our goal is to try and get more and more girls to try out every year,” Chomicki said.
!is marks Chomicki’s third year of coaching, but her
$rst time hosting Future Tiger Night. However, senior Ash-ley May participated in the event her freshman year.
“It was really good that we’re bringing back that tradi-tion,” May said. “I de$nitely think we’ll do it again because it was such a positive experience for the girls.”
May said she had a unique experience with taking part in the event for her bookend years.
“I got to experience it as an underclassman looking up to the upperclassmen and as a captain doing it my senior year,” she said. “It was fun to see it from two viewpoints.”
Jones said they tried to keep Future Tiger Night close to a regular practice by combining the varsity practice routine with the younger girls’ activities.
“We stretched as a team, threw as a team and every-thing,” she said.
!e team also did its best to support the less experienced players. !e JV team attended the game as “fans,” and the team gave out awards. To add to the fun, each younger girl received a personalized introduction.
“We got a fun fact about all the little kids so as they were walking up to bat, we announced what their favorite color was or whatever they wanted to say about it,” May said.
Chomicki said she had high hopes for this year and
thinks it’s bene$cial for the younger players.“It’s all about having fun,” Chomicki said. “I want them
to meet the girls and get to know our $eld.”In order to prepare, Chomicki contacted the elementary
school teams and assigned the varsity players to jobs. She said the number of people wanting to be involved made her proud.
May said the involvement in the community, in addi-tion to her past participation interested her and made her appreciate the event. !e leadership required of the players helped them to bond as a team.
“Honestly, it was probably one of the best things for our team because it drew us closer together,” she said. “I’m glad our so"ball program has helped out the little kids and helped make it a fun experience.”
Jones said she thinks the younger girls gained leadership skills alongside the varsity players.
“I hope they’re still competitive in all they do and be leaders on the $eld like we are,” she said.
!e event brought the varsity girls closer as well.“It was fun for the whole team to bond together and
made it a great experience,” May said. “It shows the good the so"ball program does for the community.”
(Top) Enjoying the sunny weather, the varsity so"ball team plays with the younger girls in the Blue Valley West complex. !is was the $rst time in 3 years that Future Tiger Night took place. Photo by Alex Kontopanos.
(Le") Cheering on her teammates, so"ball player senior Ashley May applauds the younger girls’ playing technique. May was a third base coach and coached the fourth grade team. “It’s a good way to get them excited about our program,” she said. Photo by Alex Kontopanos.
(Right) Guarding !rst base, so"ball player senior Ali Jones encourages a younger player to race to second base. Jones said she bonded well with the whole team. “As a team, we’ve grown together,” she said. “We’ve prepared for [Future Tiger Night] in the way that we were prepared to lead these kids.” Photo by Alex Kontopanos.
tigerturf 23May 2013
sports in brief TRACK AND FIELDPrevious action: 4/26 STA @ BVNW Upcoming action: 5/3 SMN Relays @ SMN
GIRLS SOCCERPrevious action: 5/1 vs KC Christian 5/2 @ BVNUpcoming action: 5/4 @ SMNW Record: 9-0-0
GIRLS SWIMMINGPrevious action:
5/2 @ Nicholls Upcoming action:
5/3-5/4 @ BVSW GIRLS SOFTBALLPrevious Action: 5/2 vs MiegeUpcoming Action: 5/7 vs BVNW @ DACRecord: 7-3
BOYS BASEBALL Previous action: 4/30 @ MiegeUpcoming action: 5/3 vs Maize 5/4 vs STARecord: 8-3
BOYS TENNISPrevious action: 5/1 vs SMNWUpcoming action:
5/3 Regionals
BOYS GOLF Previous action: 4/30 Deer CreekUpcoming action:
5/8 EKL
B V S P O R T S
TIGER TURF
Results current as of April 28.
basketball brand-new Resignations prompt new coaches for girls, boys basketball programs
daniellewilliams
!e Blue Valley girls and boys basketball teams have both had high-scoring seasons, ending in multiple wins. Much of that success is due in part to their coaches, Andy Unrien and Chris Hansen. However, both coaches recently announced they will step down from their roles as head basketball coaches, leaving many wondering what will become of the basketball program next year.
Unrein said the Lady Tigers had a great season, making it to the State tournament and ending with a great record.
“Last season went really well,” Unrein said. “I think going into the season, all of us had really big ques-tion marks of whether we were going to be successful from a wins and losses standpoint. I think we ended up where we hoped to end up.”
Unrein said the four seniors were a huge part of the teams’ great season, and will be a great loss to next years’ team.
“I think the seniors will be a huge loss,” Unrein said. [!ey are] four kids who were kind of the catalyst for our e"ort and attitude and the togetherness of the group. It will be an adjustment.”
Unrein said all the seniors became close friends and helped encourage
the team throughout the season.“!ey’re all really close so they
set a good example from that point and they’re all really hard workers,” Unrein said. “!ey’re just good bas-ketball players.”
Although Unrein said he loved coaching this years’ team and enjoys teaching at BV, this will be his last year due to the fact that he accepted a new job.
“I actually was o"ered an ad-ministrative position at a di"erent district to be assistant principal, and I accepted,” he said.
Recently, a new girls basketball coached was announced.
Former building substitute Ryan Mahoney will take Unrein’s position next year. Currently, Mahoney is em-ployed at Lakewood Middle School, but next year he will be a communi-cation arts teacher here.
Hansen has spent nine years at BV and has been an assistant coach for two.
“It’s been great,” Hansen said. “I’ve met a lot of great people and formed a lot of good relationships with the coaches, managers and players that have been a part of our program.”
Hansen said even though this year was full of close games, he is proud of his team and proud of the seniors who will be graduating this year.
“Sometimes it was really frustrat-ing because there were a lot of really close games that could have gone
either way,” Hansen said. “But looking at the bigger picture, we had some really good kids who played for us, and that’s really the part I take away from it.”
Hansen said resigning as the head basketball coach was a hard decision, but ultimately he feels like it was the right one.
“!ere were lots of reasons that were evaluated, and I told myself I wouldn’t make a decision until the season was over,” he said. “It was a hard decision, but I would say it was a good one.”
Hansen said many factors a"ected his decision and ultimately led to his resignation.
“[I have] a six year old and a three year old, so ultimately [I will spend] more time with my family,” he said. “I will take a step back and evaluate what I’m doing professionally and maybe look at some other areas to expand what I do.”
Dwight Williams will be replacing Hansen as the head basketball coach.
Williams will also teach at BV next year in the business department.
On April 18, Hansen broke the news to the players, and the next day they met Williams.
“It [was hard] knowing that there were players who had played for [me] for one, two or three years that I wouldn’t get to coach next year,” he said. “I hope they have success and a great experience.”
Directing his players, basketball coach Andy Unrein yells down the court. Unrein accepted an administrative position in another district and will not be returning to Blue Valley next year. “I think I’ll miss the intensity at times — the competitive intensity,” he said. “If you look at [Principal Scott] Bacon [at games], he’ll get excited but he won’t get emotional, because that’s not his job. Sometimes I wonder how di#cult it will be for me to keep [calm] when things get intense for the kids I come to love.” Photo by Odi Opole.
incolor24 May 2013
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1. Setting the volleyball for his team, Senior Luke Elam works to help his team win. !e Senior Faculty Challenge oc-curs every year in the last few weeks of school. “I have a really great appreciation for the Senior Faculty Challenge and for our seniors,” Principal Scott Bacon said.2. With the tug-of-war rope wrapped around his waist, senior Charlie Marquardt braces himself to attempt to prevent the faculty from winning. “It was an experience,” senior Grayson Yockey said. “I’m sad that we lost but proud of the rest of the student body and my fellow seniors.”3. With fellow seniors cheering them on, seniors Parker Little, Chandler Butler and Tori DeWeese exert all their strength to try and beat the faculty. !e faculty beat the seniors by over twenty points. “I feel as if it brought us closer as a class,” Butler said.4. Joining in with the teachers, Principal Scott Bacon competes in the tug-of-war competition. !e competition is a tradition at Blue Valley. “I think it’s a great event and a great tradition,” Bacon said. “I was pretty "red up we won the tug-of-war.”5. Serving the volleyball, senior Makenzie Hansen launches the ball over the net. Hansen was a member of one of the teams that competed in the Senior Faculty Challenge April 25. “Even though we lose every year to the faculty, I feel like it is always the event everyone looks forward to,” Hansen said. Photos by Raine Andrews
