CHS Press Fall 2022

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Trojets getting ready to perform Barbie

Trojets Kick Off Competition Season with a Home Competition

By: Avery Beals

                CHS Trojets hosted and competed in their first competition of the season on January 7. There were about 35-40 teams competing, with about 300-400 participants and coaches. In a competition, there are multiple different categories of dances. Teams are also broken up by middle school, JV, varsity, and school size. Competing against similar groups makes it so their routines are more comparable. The judges will watch each routine, take notes, and score the routine based off a rubric.

                The Trojets are under new coaching this year, with Katherine Gallaher taking over for long time coach, Mary Buchar. “It’s definitely a lot of pressure. Mary held the Trojets to a very high standard, everybody knew that,” Gallaher explained. “But the girls have been awesome to work with. It’s been cool to see the traditions they’ve had and add some new traditions for them.” Not only is it her first year coaching, but it was also the team’s first competition. “It’s very chaotic. There is a lot of different pieces that go into it. But I’m excited to work with all the different coaches, see all the routines, and see what everybody brings to the table,” said Gallaher.

                The Trojets have below average numbers of just 8 girls. Coach Gallaher is chalking it up to the new coaching and changes in interest. “Hopefully this year is just a transition year and next year we will continue to grow,” she added. The team competed in the Hip Hop category for the first time in a few years. Gallaher had confidence in her team saying, “They’re a little nervous about Hip Hop, but I think they’re going to be good. Their pom routine has been hitting really well too.” With a smaller team, it is easier to clean the routine for competition, but the judges can also pick out the mistakes easier. “It can be kind of a win lose situation at times. The most positive thing that’s come from having a small team is they’re closer knit and just feed off each other better.” Gallaher explained. Coach Gallaher’s confidence was backed up by a first place win for the team in the AA Hip Hop division.

                Dance competitions are full of new ideas, themes, and hard-working athletes. This home competition was a great start to the season for Coach Gallaher and her Trojets.

Finals Schedule

Freshmen’s First Experience with Finals 

By: Avery Beals 

Finals week is known as a stressful time for students all around. But what does it look like for students who have never been through it before? One of the biggest differences coming into high school is taking semester exams. The freshmen at CHS are experiencing this for the first time. “I thought as we got closer to break, we were supposed to have parties,” joked Taryn Cole. For most of these students, it’s the first time they have an exam to end the semester. Taking the test on your last day of class is all or nothing, in a way. “I’m most worried about geometry, just because there is no time to make up anything,” explained Taryn. It can be stressful for students knowing no matter how you do on the test there is no work afterwards to make up points.  

The teachers are doing their best to get their students ready and keep them feeling positive. “I am confident and nervous,” said Rohen Walters. “I’m nervous because I can be a bad test taker. But I’m confident because teachers have been good about preparing us with study guides and extra work,” he explained. Just hearing the words “final exam” can be intimidating to students. Putting too much pressure or weight on the exams can take more of a toll on the students. Teachers are doing their best to prepare students for what’s coming without making it out to be more daunting than it needs to be. “My teachers aren’t making a big deal out of finals,” said Kaitlyn Gill. “My teachers have been reassuring and positive,” added Rohen. “The tests seem like they’ll be easier than I had expected,” said Blake Moore. “My teachers don’t seem too worried about whether they’ll affect your grade too badly,” he explained. Lots of exams aren’t as hard as one would expect when they first hear about finals. “In some of my classes it’s just a short test, which is definitely easier than what people said it was,” said Rohen. 

CHS freshmen are doing their best to navigate through their first set of finals, with many more to come. While studying and hard work is necessary, they’re trying not to stress out more than they need to. Their teachers are keeping the students on track and helping them along the way. We are looking forward to lots of success closing this semester here at CHS. 

Gold Day exams will take place of Monday, December 19. Longer Scarlet Day exams will take place on Friday, December 16, while shorter Scarlet Day exams will be on Tuesday, December 20. 

Basketball

Girls’ Basketball

By: Avery Beals

CHS has a very young Girls’ Basketball team. The team consists of mostly freshmen with just a few upperclassmen and no seniors. The team has found a leader in junior point guard Ally Logsdon. Coach Shani Iberg spoke on Ally’s role on the team saying, “Ally is a very strong force for us. She’s a great all-around player and is really falling into that captain role well.” With a young team comes lots of frustration, but also plenty of room for rapid growth in the players. “A lot of times they just have a different style of play coming from a middle school team to varsity; it’s a totally different ballgame. So, there is definitely adjustments to be made there,” explained Iberg. “This is giving the freshmen a chance around her (Ally) to fill roles, and I think the last couple of games we are starting to find and fill those roles. We have a couple freshmen who are really stepping up to fill those positions,” she added.

The team has multiple freshmen expected to play against high level varsity teams. Iberg understands the weight that is being put on her freshmen saying, “They’ve had to step up in a situation that maybe they’re not comfortable in, maybe they’re not used to. But I’ve had the conversation with them that this is going to be tough, this is going to test you mentally, but it will make you better in the long run.” Coach Iberg is optimistic for years to come that having this game experience in their early years will make the team very strong in the coming seasons. With a couple games under their belt, the team has seen what they have to work on. Coach Iberg explained “Our big focus right now is doing the little things right and we’ve talked about how doing the little things add up to the big things in the end and that’s what makes the big plays and big games.” The CHS Girls’ Basketball team is working hard this season, hoping to have success and gain experience building towards coming seasons.

Music Notes

ILMEA District Festival 2022 

The ILMEA District Festival includes members of band, orchestra, and choir. It is a festival open to the entire district that a student must audition for. The ILMEA District performance took place on November 19th at the EIU Union. The district choir is split into two groups: Girl’s Treble Choir and the Senior Choir that is co-ed. Each group had their own songs that they rehearsed all day and performed later at 4:15pm. They had lunch at 12:45pm and either packed lunch or ate at the EIU food court. Each voice part had their own teacher to rehearse with them while they got ready for their big performance. 

The students auditioned online with Mrs. Sharp’s help and those videos were sent to not only District Choir judges, but All-State Choir judges too. The students from CHS who got picked for All-State Chorus are Kaylin Hawk, Isaiah Sawyer, Jackson Ulm, Meredith McGrath, and Emma Karbassioon. Students picked for All-State Honors Chorus were Abby Smith, Mikey Fleming, Aiden Caughran, Tristan Williams, Sadie Stowell, Maddie Step, Josie Wehrle, Dylan Hawk, and Emily Kupchek. Kenna McPeak was selected for All-State Band, and Trixie Brantley was selected for All-State Orchestra.  

The top 2 scores from each vocal section in ILMEA District 5 were picked to audition to sing the National Anthem at the IHSA Basketball Championships. Olivia Bennett was selected as an alternate. She also chose to audition for All-State Jazz. She was selected and is currently working on her All-State Honors Jazz Chorus audition. Olivia explained, “I’m so proud of the music department this year. We have been sending so many people to district choir the past few years even with covid hitting.” For All-State, everyone goes to Peoria, stays in a hotel. They rehearse with everyone all day and then have a performance. “It’s a really good experience to meet new people. I made so many friends last year in district choir and I am so excited to be a part of it this year,” said Olivia. 

Another student who was a part of ILMEA is Lois Baker. She was so excited to be a part of district choir for her freshman year. “I enjoyed ILMEA so much. I had a wonderful experience learning advanced music with other people all around Illinois.”  The ILMEA District Festival is a great way to get out, meet friends, and celebrate your talents with others.  

 

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Photo of ring on finger

A Blast from CHS Past  

A class ring from the 70’s was discovered by Mr. Williams in the volleyball girl’s locker room this week. It has been there since 1976, lost beneath a locker. The ring was printed for the class of ’77 and had the initials “C.M.” imprinted on the inner band. Staff member Ms. Phillips decided to help track down who it may be. She was ultimately let back to Cathy Motley. After making several calls Ms. Phillips was able to get ahold of her to come pick up the ring sometime after school. Cathy was ecstatic to finally have it again. She recalled losing it one day in PE and thought it was stolen by another student. Her friends looked everywhere, and they were never able to find it. We are very happy to have found this memento stuck in time here at CHS and return it to the rightful owner. 

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Coffee Cup

What’s New, Trojan Brew? 

By: Gracie Cowman

Here at CHS Trojan Brew has been quite successful. According to Mrs. Niebrugge it is open three days a week -Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday- 45 minutes a day, they are profitable with a larger profit when food is being sold, as well. The students you will see running Trojan Brew are Olivia Anderson, Cody Sweet, and Isaiah Dial. The culinary students here at CHS make the food that is occasionally sold in the mornings.  

Later on, Trojan Brew hopes to expand their space, renovate how much space they have now, and have more students working. They also hope later in the future, once they get more student workers, the workers now will become managers and be able to train and help new student workers. They all work together as a team to come up with new drinks and share their ideas with each other. The students came up with questions to send out to other students in the school for their feedback and suggestions. From reading their reviews and brainstorming as a team, they have new menu items like: hot chocolate, lemonade, peppermint flavored beverages, and other seasonal drinks. 

Trojan Brews main goal is to offer opportunities to work and to provide a product for students and staff members. The students working at Trojan Brew are learning customer service skills and valuable life and job lessons. Their favorite part about working at Trojan Brew is “Serving out smiles” and “We love seeing people smile.” And of course, the best part: “We get free coffee”. 

Every afternoon The Functional Community-based class comes in to set up for the next day by restocking cups preparing cold coffee for the morning, and doing laundry. We’d also like to give a special recognition to Lily Porter. If you’ve ever been to Trojan Brew, you’ve probably seen the amazing paintings on the wall, and they were done by her. If you haven’t, you should check them out for yourself! 

Come down to Trojan Brew try out some of their new drinks, chat with some friends, and have a good time! They’re looking forward to seeing you there!  

spaghetti

Spaghetti Supper for winter sports  

By Blake Moore  

 The Trojan Booster Club Spaghetti Supper is an event to raise money for the booster club. At this event between 3pm and 7pm you can get spaghetti, a salad, garlic bread and a drink in the CHS cafeteria. Before the supper, come out to Baker Gym to watch the JV and Varsity girls’ basketball teams play Lincoln starting at 1pm. After you enjoy your meal head back to Baker Gymnasium to see the JV and Varsity boys’ basketball teams play Sullivan starting at 6 pm.  

This event raises money for the booster club and that money goes towards sports equipment such as, new uniforms for cheer, new gaming chairs for E-sports, and new practice jerseys for boys, basketball. These are just some of the things that the money used to buy tickets goes towards. The tickets are $8 a person and will be sold at the door. There is also a to- go option available for a single meal pack or combine 5 tickets to get a family pack. So, buy some tickets, grab some grub, and come out to support our student athletes and cheer on our basketball team on December 10th. 

White Ribbon Day

White Ribbon Day

By: (Hayden Bradford)

 White Ribbon Day is celebrated on the 25th of every November. People celebrate White Ribbon Day by wearing a white ribbon to symbolize that they do not condone violence against women. The holiday was started by a men’s movement in 1991 in Canada and was eventually adopted by the United Nations as its International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. White Ribbon Day was then introduced to New Zealand by UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women). White Ribbon Day is a very important recognition day since it helps bring more light to domestic abuse against women. The Mirabal Sisters one sister in particular Minerva Mirabal was an activist against the dictator in the Dominican Republic at the time. She was killed during her campaign to stop Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. Her body was found in a jeep at the bottom of a ravine on November 25th and ever since then she has represented the struggles and power of women especially with the addition of White Ribbon Day on November 25th.

 Wearing a white ribbon stands for never taking part in, condoning or staying silent about violence against women. While White Ribbon Day is on the 25th the White Ribbon Campaign all year round with the distribution of information about stopping and ending domestic abuse. They also organize and schedule running events and have a website. Along with that they also try to distribute information to many different schools. They work very hard to try to prevent domestic violence against women and in doing so saving lives and preventing injuries to victims of domestic abuse.

 If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic abuse, reach out to these local organizations:

CTF Illinois -(217) 348-3869

Coalition Against Domestic Violence -(217) 348-5931

Debate

All About Debate Club   

By: Kaitlyn Gill

 Have you ever been called argumentative? Do you enjoy debating with friends or family? Maybe the debate club is for you! Mr. Hinote, director of the debate club, explains that debate club is “a group of students that meets to have fun arguments about interesting topics.” Sometimes the topics may be non-academic, for example, if you should cut pizza into triangles or squares. They may also involve more serious topics, for example, a recent event. Typically, students receive the prompt for their debate a week or two ahead of time. They agree on a topic, pick which side they want to argue for, and divide into teams. There are usually two teams of two and the rest of the club serves as judges. After researching their topics and preparing their arguments, the club meets again, and the teams debate. One student presents their argument, and a student on the opposing team presents their argument. The round is over, and something called a “crossfire” begins. A “crossfire” is a round in which the students can ask each other questions to try and strengthen their own argument and decipher the other’s argument. After this, they have what’s called a “Grand Crossfire.” This is a time in which everyone may ask questions.

Joining debate club holds multiple benefits. For example, it can strengthen your argumentative skills, writing, and public speaking skills.. Everyone gets to have fun – even Mr. Hinote. Mr. Hinote’s favorite part of debate club is the discussion they have at the end of every debate. During the discussion, you find out what students actually believe – they might’ve been arguing against themselves. The discussion may go in strange directions and discussing as a whole allows students to have more fun with the topic.

The debate club is not currently competitive, but Mr. Hinote hopes that it will become competitive in future years. If it’s made more available and if there are more schools nearby doing debate, they could possibly have a traveling debate team. Joining the debate club comes with lots of benefits, and you should definitely give it a try!

National Convention Group

FFA National Convention 2022

By: LeeAnn Parker

Charleston FFA took two groups of members to Indianapolis, Indiana for the 95th National Convention and Expo. These members were LeeAnn Parker, Kaylin Wilson, Parker Pounds, Landon Ames, Aidan Burnett, Coralynn Vincent, Brie Tomlinson, Kaylin Nolte, Brock Johnson, Ethan Ennis, Clara Cox, Karah Moore, and Logan McPeak. Members attended on October 26th-28th, the first group left Wednesday morning for the event center, attended a session, did fun group activities, and attended a golf tour.

            The first group attended the First session of the Expo. This was the opening ceremony where they listened to Tamika Catchings, a 4-time Olympic gold medalist, talk about goal setting.

Both groups met at Lucas Oil Stadium. The groups spent a couple hours at the career fair, speaking with agricultural businesses and colleges about career opportunities. After lunch, both groups took a tour of the Fastenal Distribution Center.  During the tour, members toured the facility, learned about the automation within the distribution center, and heard about the different jobs and opportunities within Fastenal.

Each group had a team building experience. This year, both groups attended Cinch’s World’s Toughest Rodeo where they watched the World's Toughest Bulls and Broncs. During break times, they watched trick riders perform with multiple horses.

Each year at the expo there is a career fair, where students are exposed to many different options for agricultural businesses and future occupations. All members can go to ask questions and talk to colleges. This allows members to sign up for more information on the colleges they are interested in. There are numerous vendors set up, as well as the colleges. Here the students can sit and talk with someone who has gone to school or works in the job they are interested in.

Picture:

Front Row left to right: LeeAnn Parker, Coralynn Vincent, Kaylin Wilson, Clara Cox, and Kaylin Nolte.

Back row left to right: Brock Johnson, Logan McPeak, Aidian Burnett, Ethan Ennis, Landon Ames, and Parker Pounds.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place annually on November 20th. This holiday is meant to honor, remember, and memorialize transgender people all around the world who have experienced discrimination. Here are a couple transgender people in history who weren’t afraid to be who they are.

Albert Cashier was born in Ireland on December 25th, 1843, as Jennie Irene Hodgers. He started dressing as a boy from a young age and came to America as a stowaway on a ship. He resided in Belvidere, Illinois and enlisted in the 95th Illinois Infantry with the name “Albert D.J. Cashier.” He got assigned to Company G. In total, he fought around 90 battles. After the war, he found a few small jobs, voted, and got a veteran’s pension. A few people found out his birth gender, a family he befriended and a physician who treated him after getting hit by a car, but nobody outed him. Around March 1913, Albert’s health was going downhill, and he had dementia. He was sent to the Watertown State Hospital for the Insane and attendants there found out what his birth gender was. They forced him to wear women’s clothing, and he had to undergo an investigation for fraud for claiming a military pension and endured a discrimination from the news. His military friends defended him on the fraud allegations and in the end, he was able to keep his pension. He died October 10th, 1915, and was buried in uniform with military honors.

Lucy Hicks Anderson was a transwomen born in Waddy, Kentucky in 1886. She knew from a young age that she was a girl and told her parents. They were concerned so they brought her to the family doctor, who suggested they let her live life as a female. By the age 15, she changed her name to Lucy and moved out. She was married and remarried and eventually started her own business. A disease was going around; it was said that it originated from her business, so all employees had to undergo a complete physical examination, and it was discovered that she was born a male. The Ventura County District Attorney voided the marriage and Lucy was arrested for perjury since she lied and said the marriage had no legal objections. Lucy and her husband were tried by the government; Lucy stated, “I defy any doctor in the world to prove I am not a woman. I have lived, dressed, acted, just what I am, a woman.” It also was found that Lucy was illegally getting Anderson’s allotment checks as a wife from a member of the U.S. Army. She was put in prison and after her release, she had to relocate to Los Angeles and lived there until she passed away in 1954.

The transgender community to this day is still experiencing hate. At our school, the GSA, or the Gender and Sexuality Alliance has been working to fight against that. Honor Brown, a member of the GSA explains: “We are creating a safe space for people in the community and any allies to have their voices heard!” Many people in the LGBTQIA+ community don’t always feel safe in public areas because they’ve seen so many hateful things happen to their community. The GSA is a way to take a break from that anxiety and help your community. The GSA is also planning some future special occasions, “Hopefully we will be able to organize different events and there are plans to go to Pride in Champaign over the summer!” The GSA is working hard to help the LGBTQIA+ community and a wonderful group to be a part of!

Volleyball Banquet

2022 Volleyball Banquet

By: Avery Beals

The 2022 CHS Volleyball season has officially come to an end. The awards banquet was held at The Moose on November 14th. About 75 people, including volleyball players, parents, and other family members, attended the banquet.  

The JV team was coached by Ashley Robinson. She spoke fondly of each player and the effort and skills they added to the team throughout the season. She gave out 5 different awards:

Offensive Player of the Year- Blair Ritchey and Rylee Shrader 

Defensive Player of the Year- Millie Richter 

JV Most Improved Player of the Year- Macey Vanderport 

JV Leadership Award- Brooklyn Rankin 

Trojan Team Spirit Awards- Lois Baker, Cambree Kile, Sydney Stalker 

The Varsity team finished with a disappointing record of 4-26. Regarding their final record, head coach Nicole Beals said, “Tonight, I’d rather focus on what we did do, rather than what we didn’t.” She spoke about the credit she gives to the girls, despite the losses, saying, “In a difficult season, it’s easy to find critics and people who want to bring you down and focus on all the things you’re doing wrong.” She continued on to say, “But these girls deserve credit for being in the arena. They showed up, game after game. They competed with enthusiasm. I have no doubt they gave all they had and tried their best every single game. They had moments of high achievement. They worked together as a team until the final whistle, and I am incredibly proud of these girls.” Mrs. Beals also spoke on behalf of each player and some of their highlights throughout the season. She gave out the same awards to her Varsity athletes:

Varsity Offensive Player of the Year- Makenzie Pamperin and Macy Hetzel 

Varsity Defensive Player of the Year- Tommie Carver 

Varsity Most Improved Player of the Year- Audrey Jacobs 

Varsity Leadership Award- Emma Beurskens and Addison Shrader 

Trojan Team Spirit Award- Morgan Dickey 

National Adoption Day

National Adoption Day

By: Sarah Bender

National Adoption Day is a collective effort to raise awareness of the more than 115,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States. A coalition of national partners (the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Alliance for Children’s Rights and Children’s Action Network) founded National Adoption Day.

On November 18, 2000, the coalition and the Freddie Mac Foundation encouraged nine cities to open their courts on or around the Saturday before Thanksgiving to finalize and celebrate adoptions from foster care. The first National Adoption Day was inspired by the efforts of Michael Nash, a former presiding judge of Los Angeles County’s Juvenile Court. He opened the court on Saturdays, engaged the volunteer efforts of court personnel and finalized adoptions to reduce the backlog of one of the busiest courts in the nation.  

Nearly one hundred times a day, a child is placed in foster care in every state. Too often, however, the children in foster care fall behind national standards due to the lack of care and protection we are trying to achieve for children. As a result, youth in foster care often transition into adulthood without the tools and support they need to thrive. CLC advocates for more community involvement and better services to help these children “recognize their potential, achieve the goals they set for themselves, and chart a path to a brighter future.” Adopting these children improves their chances of a better future by seventy percent. But what can adopting foster children do for you? It is a great way to build a family, the process is affordable, and it is emotionally fulfilling.

Even children here in Charleston are foster kids in need of permanent homes. To bring a child in need home and raise them as your own is a beautiful thing, and maybe this national holiday can encourage some people to help the children of our future.

E-sport/ Gaming Club

By: Gracie Cowman

Led by Mr. Shamhart and Mr. Gunther, E-Sports is a club for those who enjoy gaming and would like to compete against other schools. As of right now there are three Switch games, three computer games, and two PS4 games. Some of the competitions are Rocket League, League of Legends, Splatoon, and Mario Cart Super Smash Brothers.

This is a club that has approximately 35 students and each one gets to participate in the game that they love. A lot of students in this club are not involved in any other extracurriculars and this gives them something to do that they will enjoy. They have meetings Monday-Thursday: Mondays are practice days; Tuesdays are game days for a couple games; Wednesdays are game and practice days; and Thursdays are also game days. This club also helps influence students to keep their grades up, so it brings them a lot of motivation.

Just like any other club or sport, E-sports also has their own goals. They want to complete in all levels and hopefully win regionals and have fun while doing so. They are excited for the playoffs and to see how they finish. They play against different schools with 2 pre, 8 seasons, and 2 play offs. This lasts by semester, and you can join during one semester or stay for both!

If you are interested, talk to or e-mail Mr. Shamhart or Mr. Gunther!

World Kindness Day

World Kindness Day! 

By: (Hayden Bradford) 

 World Kindness Day was originated in 1998 by an organization called the World Kindness Movement. World Kindness Day is a day to promote being kind to one another. World Kindness Day is celebrated every year on November 13th. We celebrate World Kindness Day to spread kindness throughout the world and with hopes to make the world a nicer place. The UK kindness movement began in 2005 while Singapore joined the initiative in 2009. Other countries joined the movement Australia in 2012, France in 2015, and the USA in 2018. By 2019, the World Kindness Movement had reached 27 different countries. 

 

During World Kindness Day people are encouraged to go out and do at least one intentional good deed that benefits someone else. World Kindness Day is also used to recognize all the good deeds other people have done and how those good deeds can go a long way for other people. Even though World Kindness Day is on the 13th and every day after world kindness day it is encouraged to be kind to others and do good deeds. 

 

 If you’d like to learn More about World Kindness Day click here: World Kindness Day 2022: History, Significance, And All That You Need To Know About (abplive.com) 

 

Acts of Kindness you can do 

  • Smile when you walk by others 

  • Write positive messages on post-it notes and leave them for people to find 

  • Call a relative you haven’t spoken to in a while  

  • Tidy up around your house 

  • Pick up trash you see on the ground outside and throw it in a garbage can 

  • Hold the door open for someone 

  • Chat with a stranger and ask them about their day 

  • Pay for a stranger’s coffee or meal 

  • Compliment someone 

  • Send a positive or encouraging text to five people in your contacts 

Dodgeball Tournament

Tri-M Dodgeball Tournament

By: Ally Gonzalez

The Tri-M Dodgeball Tournament took place on Friday, November 4th. The tournament is a fundraising event for Tri-M that has taken place annually for 7 years. CHS choir and band kids participate in the dodgeball and at the end go against each other for one final game. Before the games took place, teams were formed by the team captains. Teams are allowed to be creative with their names, costumes, and walk-out songs. The team names were The Minions, Mario Party, The Jewels, Here’s Waldo, The Ballin’ Baristas, Cross Country Dodgers, and the Lazy Bunch. The Lazy Bunch won, and they received a trophy. But that wasn’t the only award given out. The Most Spirited award and the Best Costume award was given out. The voting was based on how loud the crowd cheered for them. The Ballin’ Baristas won the Most Spirited plaque, and the Mario Party won the Best Costume plaque.

Abby Smith, a member of Tri-M explained: “It was a fundraiser that directly supports Tri-M. It’s our big fundraising event because so many people want to be in it or watch it. Also, we had a pretty big group this year so it will go to help that.” She also gave some information about what Tri-M does. Tri-M is a music honor society that any choir kids can join after their freshman year. “Tri-M is a way for students to be honored. It’s like the National Honor Society, but more of a musical side. Our service benefits the music community in any way we can.” Tri-M is a great way to connect with people on a deeper level than just a class you take. It helped Abby get out of her comfort zone, and she really loves being a part of it.

The dodgeball tournament is a great way to make new friendships and just play a fun game of dodgeball. “I really loved the dodgeball tournament and the people who I got to be on a team with. I’m very excited to be in it next year, and I hope I can be a team captain again!” Julie Richardson, captain of The Jewels team said. Even if you aren’t good at dodgeball, it’s such a fun thing to be a part of. If you’re in choir or band and you weren’t in it this year, it’s definitely something to try out next year!

America Recycles

America Recycles Day

By: Kaitlyn Gill

Today, on November 15th, be sure to recognize America Recycles Day with your friends and family. America Recycles Day was created by the National Recycling Coalition in 1997. Each year the President of the United States typically issues a Presidential Proclamation to support this day, highlighting the benefits of recycling and encouraging the country to recycle more.

The country’s awareness and practice of recycling has increased over the years. In 1960, Americans recycled 7% of solid waste. Since then, the country has increased its efforts, recycling about 32% of solid waste currently. There’s still plenty of room for improvement though because about 60 percent of our trash today could be recycled.

 In 2009, America Recycles Day became an important part of the Keep America Beautiful Campaign. Today there are thousands of events across the United States to raise awareness and encourage more people to recycle. People also recognize the day on social media by using the hashtag #AmericaRecyclesDay.  

Recycling is an important practice for our planet’s wellbeing.  It holds a lot of benefits, such as saving energy, conserving resources, saving space in landfills, creating new jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries, preventing pollution, and fighting climate change. Today and in the future, make the effort to take recyclable items to recycling bins rather then simply trashing them and encourage those around you to do the same. For more information: National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling | US EPA

Maximum Forte group photo

Kettering National A Cappella Festival

By: Sarah Bender

Shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and kept at bay due to restrictions, the Kettering National A Cappella Festival will finally be making its comeback. It is one of the largest weekends of a cappella music nationwide. Though a cappella music has been around for centuries, the modern form began to gain mainstream attention fifteen years ago when Fairmont High School in Kettering started hosting the Kettering National A Cappella Festival. 

The format of the event is in three portions: Friday night showcase, Saturday daytime festival, and Saturday evening concert. This year's festival will take place on November 11th and 12th and our very own Charleston High School Maximum Forte will be performing at the Friday night showcase. “This is a big deal and a huge honor,” Mrs. Sharp, CHS’s Chorus director, said. They have performed at the festival consistently since they started attending in 2013. They took a break from 2020-present since the festival took a break. However, this is the first year Maximum Forte has been selected as one of the elite groups to be featured on the academic showcase.  For the past decade it has been a goal of theirs to perform at this national event, and this year, they have been selected to do just that.

The annual festival will feature more than sixty high school and college a cappella groups participating in workshops and performances. On Friday night, one of the headlining groups, Six Appeal, will be joined at the Kettering Fairmont High School Auditorium in Ohio by the eight groups selected, Maximum Forte included. Then, on Saturday night, the weekend of a cappella ends with another performance by the nationally known a cappella group, Six Appeal.

It is going to be a spectacular night and “such a fun performance. We are all so excited about it; we don’t have any room to be nervous,” a member from Maximum Forte explained to me in an interview. So, if you would like to watch their performance, it will be recorded and available on the Charleston Music Boosters Facebook page.

Cross Country Banquet

Cross Country Banquet 2022 

By: Luke Brewer 

The banquet for the 2022 XC season was held on Monday, November 7th. At the banquet, both teams gathered to hang out as the season ended and to review the accomplishments both as a team and individually. Uniforms were also turned in at this time, but if you still have them you can turn them into the office. 

For the fun stuff, the activities included a campfire, a hay bale ride, trying to pull as many tissues as possible out of a tissue box with only one hand, feeding a donut that is tied on a string to someone, knocking down plastic cups with hanging tennis balls, and throwing mini-marshmallows into an ice cream cone. There was also Domino’s pizza, hot chocolate, and other assorted food items to eat. 

The coaches also gave out the Highest Cumulative GPA that belonged to Ila Richter on the girls’ team and Dylan Hawk on the boys’ team and went over where this year’s runners ranked on the CHS XC Men/Women Top 50 Times list. Other awards included:  

  1. Most Valuable Runner (Ila Richter/Blake Homann) 

  1. Most Valuable Teammate (Whitley Wood/Dylan Hawk) 

  1. Newcomer of the Year (Emma Karbassioon/Luke Brewer) 

  1. Most Improved (Grace Edwards/Johnathan Brown) 

  1. Funniest Teammate (Jordyn Kieffer/Owen Wardrip) 

  1. Team Captain (Whitley Wood, Ila Richter, Jordyn Kieffer/Dylan Hawk) 

  1. 100 Point Club (Whitley Wood, Ila Richter/Blake Homann).  

Overall, everyone had a great time and a lot of fun to hang out with each other again. Even though both teams faced their fair share of struggles throughout the season, the coaches are confident and excited for everyone to be back at full strength next season. 

Veterans Day Image

  Veterans Day 

 By: Kaitlyn Gill

This November 11th make sure to honor our country’s veterans by celebrating Veterans Day! Veterans Day, also known as Armistice Day, is celebrated to recognize the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day and was initiated in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson. The holiday was established after the end of World War I in memory of the fallen soldiers and their sacrifices. The day was intended for displaying the American flag and holding parades and public ceremonies. In 1938, the day was named a legal holiday and was dedicated to world peace.  Originally, the holiday only recognized fallen soldiers of WWI. After World War II, Raymond Weeks, a WWII Veteran, proposed that Armistice Day should celebrate all American veterans of all wars. On May 26, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill to officially turn Armistice Day into Veterans Day, and as a result, the first nationwide Veterans Day was celebrated. Every year, ceremonies are held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a monument in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia where unidentified soldiers are buried, and flowers are placed on the graves of veterans all over the country. As American citizens, this is our time to truly recognize and celebrate our brave veterans and to thank them for their service. For more information: History of Veterans Day - Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (va.gov) 

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CHS tennis player in match

Last Tennis Match!

By: Ally Gonzalez 

On October 6th, the CHS tennis team had their last match of the season in Effingham. Many senior girls on the team have been in tennis all through High School and have great memories of it. The seniors are Maggie Goetten, Macy Mayhall, Tessa Ashley, Laney Wright, Kaylie Hutton, and Emily Kaurin. A few of the seniors shared their best moments in tennis. Macy and Tessa’s favorite memory was when they finished their match in Robinson, so they went out to eat and it was during COVID, but they didn’t have a car to go through the drive thru, and they weren’t open inside either. So, they got the workers to completely shut down the drive thru so they could walk through and order. Maggie Goetten also shared her favorite memory, she said, “We came to Effingham last year for a tournament and it was like 8am. And we get here and they’re like “Oh no it’s raining, it’s cancelled.” So then we found a crystal shop so we were begging Eric to bring us to the crystal shop and he did and it was really funny because he brought us to a crystal shop.” Laney Wright’s favorite memory was when she was a freshman, and the team had a tea party. The seniors recommend tennis to any student that hasn’t tried it yet. “The team is really fun. Nobody is mean, we’re all pretty supportive, and if you don’t win a match you’ll always get better in the next one.” The team is a good environment, there’s a great coach, and it’s a good sport if you worry about playing on a whole team together. Tennis is a very enjoyable sport and if you’re thinking about joining, do it! 

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Girls Tennis Banquet

Tennis Banquet

By: Ally Gonzalez 

On October 26th, the CHS Tennis girls had their end of the season banquet. The banquet started at 6:00pm and was located at the Brick House. Dinner was served and the girls received gifts and awards from their coach, Eric Selstad. They all received participation awards, the team captains, Maggie Goetten and Macy Mayhall got team captain gifts, and Kaylie Hutton and Tessa Ashley got the “best doubles” award. Kailee Gough got a “Best Sportsmanship” plaque, Macy and Maggie got Team Captain plaques, and Maggie was gifted one of Coach Selstad’s first rackets. The racket means a lot to him, and Maggie was very thrilled to receive it. A few other tennis girls also received books from Coach Selstad. He told them to pass the book around, annotate it, and then sign the book when they finish reading it since the girls don’t usually read the books when they are given to them. Then came the coach’s awards. Coach Selstad got a “D*mnit Doll” which is used for when you need to relieve anger or stress, a quote book that included some of his most common sayings, including “You need to turn your shoulders” and “Come on ladies!”, and a clipboard with all the girls’ names on it since he always uses clipboards at matches. Tracy Cole is Coach Selstad’s assistant and was a huge help in the tennis season this year. She helped a lot during the matches, and she definitely deserves a coach’s gift too.  She got a cup and a gift card and both coaches received cards that all the girls wrote in. 

After the awards, the girls planned something to show Eric. When Eric walks up to the gate while the girls are practicing, about to give them advice, they tend to look very frustrated and a bit scary. Eric even noted that sometimes he’s relieved that the gate is in between them from how mad they look from making a mistake. The girls decided to illustrate their anger using Halloween masks and props to fit their personality when he walks up to tell them something. Tessa Ashley admitted that she usually yells “I needed to turn my shoulders!!!” and Ella Kenner has thrown a racket on the ground once or twice. The masks and props were very comical and after the girls put them on, they explained why they think that those things fit them the most. 

The banquet was a great time for all the girls. Julie Richardson, a freshman, said, “Tennis was the first sport I’ve ever played and actually enjoyed. I want to do it through high school and college. The team is super fun and the coach, Eric, always has something funny to say!” When the banquet was ending, the seniors got one final picture and everyone had a CHS Tennis cake for dessert. 

 5th Quarter

By Blake Moore

Fifth quarter was a football after party at the Family Worship Center on Jackson Avenue , lead by Mr. Wright and others. They had fun games and music for students while having a good time. Brandon and the others wanted to start up the 5th quarter again, “it was an old program ran in the 90s and early 2000 that we wanted to bring back.”

When asked about how successful it was Mr. Wright said, “We had nearly 100 students show up for each event.” It was a very positive environment, and the sponsors wanted to make sure the students knew how much fun it was so others could come and enjoy the fun filled night for all CHS students.

They knew right when they opened the door for the first time that they were going to be successful with 5th quarter. There was a line of people waiting to get in and have a good time, it was a lot of time and effort put in for students to have a good time and enjoy the rest of their night.

Avery Beals, a student at CHS who attended the 5th quarter events stated ‘’It was a good time for all and we had good numbers, it was put on by good people it was nice to be able to hang out with people that you didn’t see in the student section it was just a good place to go and have fun and chill.” Family Worship Center does not plan to do 5th quarter during the CHS basketball season but said there are definite plans to have them back by the 2023 CHS Football season.

wrestling room

Wrestling 2022 Information

The Wrestling 2022 season is getting ready to start! Here’s what you should know.

By: Luke Brewer

            This year’s Wrestling season is about to kick off soon! Wrestling is commonly one of those sports that every school has but doesn’t get a lot of attention. That doesn’t seem to be the case this season. Talking with Coach Stanley, he said “We are getting more and more students out each season and the youth program is also growing as well.” He went on to explain that a lot of the Sophomores are going to return this season, namely Ben Coffey, Chet Shrader, Marcellx Boling, Isaiah Lutrell, and Yeshua O’Brien. Alec Sellers (Senior) is also set to be the Captain this year.

Coach Stanley also mentioned that everyone on the boys’ team has put a lot of hard work in recently to improve their strength and condition, which he has high hopes that it will allow them to have a tremendous season. On the girls’ side, more girls continue to join and there will be some meets set aside for them to exclusively wrestle with other girls, including the State Series which Maddie Bryant was the first female CHS wrestler to compete last season. Mackensie Williams (Junior) also has a lot of potential to “make some noise this season” according to Coach Stanley. 

            With all the popularity around Wrestling growing, I asked Coach Stanley what he would like people to know about the sport. His response was, “I am biased but I believe it's true that wrestling it the toughest and greatest character building sport in existence. In our room you will build discipline and dedication through hard work and at the same time have a lot of fun. We are getting more and more students out each season and the youth program is also growing as well. It is very exciting.”

           If you’re interested in joining, students can find sign-up information in the office or with the Athletic Secretary. It’s also possible to find the same information on the CHS website. The first practice will be on 11/7/22. Practices will run Monday-Friday from 3:30pm-5:15pm in the CHS wrestling room. The wrestling room is located down the hall from the band room and next to the boys’ locker room near the West Gym. The only time practices won’t be held is due to holidays or competition days. The first competition will be on 11/21/22 vs. Robinson.

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead

By: Ally Gonzalez

Day of the Dead, also known as Día de los Muertos, is a Mexican holiday celebrated annually from October 31st to November 2nd. It takes place on All Saints Day, which is November 1st, and All Souls Day, which is November 2nd. Mexican families around the world recognize and celebrate their lost loved ones. It is to reunite the living and the dead and there are many traditions that come with this. Families create ofrendas, or offerings to honor their loved ones, they have food and drinks, they light candles, clean and decorate their loved ones’ graves, etc.

Ofrendas are created to honor lost loved ones. They usually include a photo of the deceased, their favorite food, a prized possession, candles, flowers, and sugar skulls. People will clean their graves and decorate them at cemeteries or just have tables of things in remembrance of them. Cemeteries have many candles for light to guide the way for the deceased or incense and flowers for their scent.

The flowers that are typically related to Day of the Dead are Marigolds. They represent the fragility of life, and they are used as a symbol to guide spirits to the living with their bright colors and scent. To decorate the ofrendas, children like to make marigolds out of tissue paper and pipe cleaners.

The most popular food that is eaten during Day of the Dead is Pan De Muerto, or Bread of the Dead. It has the shape of bones on the top of it and it is also used to decorate ofrendas. Moles, tamales, chocolate, candies, and drinks of atole and coffee are other foods that are prepared for the holiday.

To show people that the afterlife is a happy time, Calaca's, or skeletons are seen playing different instuments, dressed up, smiling, walking skeleton dogs, fishing for skeleton fish, etc.

In honor of Día de Los Muertos, the CHS Spanish teachers have things planned for their classrooms. In Mrs. Mann’s room, her classes are going to play a game involving questions about Day of the Dead called “If You Know, You Know” and then they will all watch a video. Mrs. Stark said, “We are learning about it and then we’re going to be making sugar skulls. Last year we made alters but we are not doing it this year because that takes a lot of time.” and Mrs. Bales had a PowerPoint and a worksheet last Friday, and an activity for Monday and Tuesday.

murder mystery

Murder Mystery at CHS!

By: Hayden Bradford

 CHS hosted their very own murder mystery play recently on October 21st and 22nd. This play was the very first production in the new auditorium at CHS. The play had a relatively small cast with only around 9 characters with a run time of about an hour. Cast member Olivia Bennett said, “one of the biggest challenges in the play was most definitely trying to drag a body off the stage”. The play was organized mostly by Mr. McGee with help from Mrs. Sharp. The play was the very first play at CHS in a very long time because of the construction that was happening to our auditorium.

 Cast member Danner Vanhise said, “Being in the play was a very interesting and new experience”. The cast and crew of the play put a lot of time and effort into the play and getting everything set up to move smoothly and without a hitch. Without the efforts that the cast and crew had put in they wouldn’t have been able to put on a great show for people to watch and enjoy. The play was also quite the success for those who went and watched the play really enjoyed it. The play was set as a dinner party with many great detectives in attendance, and one of them gets murdered, and they must find out who did it.

 Along with plays giving students something they can come and enjoy watching it also gives students a chance to pursue their interests in acting and entertainment. Without plays students wouldn’t be able to have a place for them to have a creative outlet and learn how to act and put on a show for those of the students that want to do something in entertainment when they graduate.

Expectation vs. Reality

Expectation vs. Reality of CHS

By: Avery Beals

CHS is already through the first quarter of the school year, and the students have settled in. The freshmen students have had time to get used to the reality of being in high school. What students expect out of their first year of high school, the good and the bad, often changes as they adapt to everything. 

CHS is definitely more intimidating than the middle school. More classes, more kids, more teachers, bigger building; they all lead to extra nerves coming from CMS. CHS has 8 periods in the day and so many more classes offered in comparison to the middle school. But with more classes comes more teachers and more responsibility. “I was nervous about it being harder,” said freshman Bella Combs, “I thought I was going to fail every class.” Another freshman, Logan McPeak added, “I was nervous about the teachers.” These fears about the difficulty of high school were quickly shut down as the kids adjusted to CHS. “I didn’t expect it to be so easy,” said freshman Landon Bell. “I can fly through school and pass all my classes pretty easily,” he explained. Freshman Savannah Wines added, “I feel good about high school; it’s nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be.” 

The freshmen have come to realize there are a lot of advantages to being in high school. CHS has lots of specific classes to fit students’ interests. “My favorite part of high school is getting to take fun classes,” said Savannah Wines. Another difference for all students, not just the freshman, is running a block schedule. “I didn’t expect to like the 80-minute classes, but they go by surprisingly fast,” Savannah explained. The students are given a lot more time to make choices for themselves. “We definitely have more freedom,” said Bella Combs. “My favorite part is when we get an hour lunch,” she added. 

Overall, there is definitely room for adjustment and growth when entering the high school. There is a lot more responsibility given to the students as they grow. These responsibilities allow for the students to make choices to benefit themselves. Moving to CHS is a big change for the freshmen, but the change gives them so many extra opportunities. 

Industry Day

Industry Day at CHS

By: Hayden Bradford

Industry day at CHS is a day intended for students of Coles County to see what’s going on inside of local businesses. Industry Day was on the 25th of October where approximately 57 students and staff attended. The students and staff were split into two different groups going to many different businesses throughout the school day one went to Safety Storage, Elevate, LIFT, Coles County Memorial Airport, Mars Petcare, Coles Moultrie Electric. The second group went to Lester Building System, Safety Storage, Mars Petcare, Coles County Memorial Airport, LIFT, Justrite Manufacturing.

  Industry Day has been an ongoing thing for multiple years now. Industry Day is a chance for young students to see what is going on in the real world and what a job in one of the local businesses is like. CHS student Logan McKibben said that “Visiting elevate was a phenomenal experience” and that “Every sophomore and Junior should consider taking elevate as a class”. Along with the chance to get real world experience Industry Day is a good way for some students to have the chance to see what they might want to be doing in their lives. Industry Day has been getting a decent turnout every year with students leaving knowing much more about how real-world jobs work than they did before.

  Without days like Industry Day at CHS wouldn’t be able to give students these key experiences and help students transition into to workforce much smoother. Along with all the interesting businesses you can visit on Industry Day its also a great way to get out and see what having a job can be like for students that might not be working or cannot get a job for any reason. Giving the students a day to see what they may want to pursue in life and giving them a way to find job ideas without having to job hunt straight out of high school is a valuable thing that industry day can provide for the students at CHS.

marching band comp

Marching Band Set to Compete

By: Kaitlyn Gill

As it is now transitioning into fall, the time for band competitions has arrived! Samantha Fehrenbacher, a freshman in the CHS band tells us a little about what band competitions entail. Fehrenbacher plays the clarinet and joined band in 5th grade. She enjoys playing in the CHS band very much, and would like to continue for years to come.

                When performing in a band competition, the band will perform a select number of pieces that had previously been rehearsed. The band competes against three or four different schools and then is scored. Judges score the band based on how good the music sounds, how well the band marched, how well the color guard performed, and overall how well the band performed.

                So far this year, the CHS band has participated in one competition in Effingham. Unfortunately, the band didn’t place, but Fehrenbacher feels that the band did the best that they could have with the amount of time they had been given. She felt that the band had been a bit rushed in preparing their music. This year, they will have one more competition on Saturday, October 29th in Oblong. In Fehrenbacher’s opinion, the band will most likely do better in their next competition taking place this year. Everyone will have had more experience and more time to practice their music pieces.

                As for Fehrenbacher’s personal opinion on competitions, she gets nervous beforehand as most people do, but also really enjoys them. She likes performing, because “it gives you a chance to share what you’ve learned and how well you can play your music.” Fehrenbacher states that band members should be “proud of what they do.”

                Now that you know all about band competitions, make sure to go and support the band in future competitions!

Youth In Harmony Festival

Youth In Harmony Festival

By: Sarah Bender

Monday, October 24 is when the Youth in Harmony Festival takes place. Put on by Coles County Barbershop Chorus, this event gives individual singers, quartets, and ensembles the opportunity to learn about and experience a cappella singing with chorus students from several high school choruses from the Central Illinois area. This includes our very own Charleston high school choir students. This conference, which provides in-depth clinics by highly qualified professionals in the performance of a cappella music, comes to a head in an evening performance at EIU which is free and open to the public.  

This event is an all-day thing for the students. Although the public concert is later in the evening, the students begin their events at 9am beginning with the first General Session in the Grand Ball Room where announcements will be made for the day. The rest of the day will consist of sectionals, practicing for later affairs, lunch, dinner, and other events planned for the afternoon.  

The evening show will take place in the EIU Grand Ball Room at approximately 6:30pm. The Youth in Harmony festival has not taken place since before COVID hit the nation, but this year, the opportunities has presented itself to reinstate such events. It is exciting that now we can all look past those tough times and begin to enjoy these things once again. CHS students in attendance have expressed their excitement about returning the tradition. “I have been told about students going a couple years ago and it being really fun, so I have high hopes for it this year,” a Junior high school student said to me in an interview. “I am excited about the performance. It's going to be the best part.” So, please, bring your friends and family to support this year's Youth in Harmony Festival. 

writing club

Get Prompted: Writer’s Club 2022 Has Started!

By: Luke Brewer

On Wednesday, 10/19/22, I had the pleasure to sit alongside the Writer’s Club and join the club myself to see what it was about. When I first heard about the club I thought it’d be cool to check it out and see if I can improve my writing not only for fun, but also for CHS Press, my school work, and my own blog on Substack.  

As soon as I arrived, it was a very relaxed environment. Everyone was extremely friendly and communicative with each other. The election for the Vice President position of the club was being debated as well once I sat down. The two candidates are Liv Evely and Finola Dahlke. Both candidates gave a brief statement about why they should be elected into the position. The two co-presidents of the club, Olivia Bennett and Kiley Will, also introduced themselves during this time. 

The week before, the members were to write about the prompt “write a short story about song lyrics” and bring in the piece you wrote to share. Instead of having everyone share, you are asked to trade pieces with one other person, but you can trade pieces with as many people as you’d like. After reading over the piece, both people would give feedback on the piece you read. After everyone was done, the prompt for next time would be handed out for when you meet up the next week. This time, two prompts were given out to choose from. Those prompts were “they didn’t know how beautiful the outside world was” and “describe one of the days of the week as a person.” 

The club meets every Wednesday after school in the back of Jackson Avenue Coffee. I also asked both co-presidents what they would want others to know about the club and they both agreed that it’s a very open space where writers from any genre can come and hang out together. If you’re interested in joining or want to know more about it you can contact Olivia Bennett or Mr. Hinote for details. 

The CHS Media Center celebrated the American Library Association's Banned Books September 18-24, 2022. Senior Olivia Bennett and Freshman Blake Moore created this video looking at books that have been banned and challenged at other libraries.

USAG Humphreys Make A Difference Day (2008)

Make A Difference Day

By: Sarah Bender

It’s amazing what just a small effort by an individual or group of individuals can do to change the world or at least their local neighborhood.

Originally created in 1992 by USA Weekend magazine, National Make a Difference Day has seen a great deal of support from various organizations throughout the years and most recently has been transferred over to USA Today as its primary sponsor and organizer. They provide a central location for people to gather their information and report what they are doing locally to make a difference. Since its creation National Make a Difference Day has helped to encourage thousands of people across the nation to start making an actual difference in the world.

As humans, we often have a tendency to assume that we are so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things that we are not going to be able to make a significant difference. However, this could not be further from the truth. After all, if we all do one small thing, collectively, it makes a massive difference. Sometimes all it takes is something minor to make a difference to someone else’s life. It does not always have to be a grand gesture. Often it is as simple as giving up a little bit of your time to make someone else feel good, and this is something that we can all do.

Anything could use our efforts. You can donate food to your local food bank. Start using less plastic to help the planet. Or simply checking in on your elderly neighbor now and then can make a massive difference in their life. The ways to celebrate National Make a Difference Day are limited only by your imagination, and your willingness to contribute your time and effort. Overall, this day has spurred people to make a difference in themselves, and the world.

Block Schedule Calendar

Opinions On Block Schedule

By: Sarah Bender

This year at Charleston High School, things have been a little different with the class schedule. Rather than having all your classes daily, learners attend four classes every day for 80 minutes per period. Along with that, the early bird option was removed, and all students must take 7 classes, where in the past you only had to take 6 classes, plus a study hall. At CHS, the days are labeled by what classes you have; scarlet days and gold days, which were chosen based on the school colors. On scarlet days, students have classes 1,3,5,7. On gold days, students have classes 2,4,6,8. Controversy has been evident in the opinions of students and staff. Although some find it to be beneficial, others would prefer that they switch back to the old ways of doing things.

Many teachers like the block schedule. They enjoy having more consecutive time allowing them to get more done. Some have stated that they also like not seeing the same kids every day. It switches things up and gives them a kind of variety.

Students on the other hand seem to be fifty-fifty on the topic. Some protest that the classes are too long, and the teachers lecture excessively. But a repetitive complaint I have heard from students is the greater loss they face when absent. When students are out sick for a day, they may miss more in a block schedule than a traditional schedule. This is because classes are longer, so the day’s lesson may be like missing two lessons rather than one. Athletes have also expressed a concern about having the same class interrupted repeatedly. Mia Tribble is one of the students struggling with it. Every time she is pulled out of class for a sporting event, it is on a gold day causing her to miss her algebra class every time. As a result, she is falling behind. She also stated that the W.I.N. period does not offer enough time to complete all her missing work and get the extra help that she needs. Along with Mia, many other athletes have this exact problem.

Not everyone dislikes the block schedule though. Numerous amounts of students find the block schedule to be extremely helpful. It allows them to not become so overwhelmed by all the work, because there is less daily homework, more time to complete it, and extra time in class to ask questions and get assistance from the teachers. Kira Mull said, “I like that you have certain classes every other day so that if you forget to do your homework the night it was assigned, you still have another day before it’s due.” It has many pros and cons, but there is plenty of time to get used to it and adjust as needed.

World Food Day

World Food Day 

By: Gracie Cowman

Every year on October 16 people all over the world celebrate World Food Day. This day is the anniversary the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that was created in 1945. “The FAO aims to eliminate poverty, hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, and work towards a world where all natural resources are managed sustainably for future generations.” Since 1974, there has been incredible progress from trying to solve world hunger in East Asia. Even though the amount of hungry people in the entire world deceased by 15% in 2000-2004, there are still 829 million people who do not have that amount of food that the need and are malnourished. But that’s what agencies like FAO, World Food Program (WFP), and International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) are doing their best by providing emergency food supplies to families in need. 

Why is the importance of World Food Day? 

It’s to spread awareness of how important it is to be healthy and to stay nourished and how necessary it is. Here in Charleston, Illinois and other local areas we have food banks and places you can be a part of helping on this day. 

 Facts: 

*Around 45% of infant deaths are related to malnutrition. 

* 1.9 billion people -- more than a quarter of the world’s population -- are overweight. 

* One third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted. 

* The world will need to produce 60% more food by 2050 to feed a growing population. 

 What can you do? 

You can always donate food to your local food shelter, donate money to food banks and relief organizations, and volunteer at those organizations as well.  

 So many people, companies, schools, organizations, and more or working hard to get as many people fed as they can, and you can help too.   

The Trojan A&M Center 

By: LeeAnn Parker 

CHS FFA is proud to present our freshly done building. Our new building is no longer just an ag building, it is The Trojan A&M Center. In addition to the classrooms, we have more shop-space and a new greenhouse, which was not here before. Not only do we have a new workshop, but we also have new shop tools. The Trojan A&M Center includes ag classes, taught by our FFA Advisor Ben Oakley, such as Intro to Ag, Small Engines, Welding, Horticulture/Ag Science, Ag Mechanics, and Technology. The Center also holds CTE classes taught by Mark Williams, such as Drafting, construction trades, etc.,. Inside the building we have in one area our classrooms and office, on the other side we have the workshop and storage room. In the building we also have a place to sell, and people can go to buy our products.  

Horse Judging Team

Horse Judging Competition 

By: LeeAnn Parker 

The Horse Judging competition took place on October 6th. Horse Judging is evaluating and ranking horses based on breed characteristics, conformation, and performance. Our Horse judging members in the front left to right include Coralynn Vincent, Addison Daugherty, Bernadette Rosine, Kielana Melton, and Sophie Childress. Our members in the back row from left to right include Dylan Ealy, Landon Ames, and Preston Pollard. In this competition we as a team placed 11th. The individual who placed the highest score is Bernadette Rosine.  

gaudy shoes

Wear Something Gaudy Day

By: Kaitlyn Gill

It is getting close to October 17, and you know what that means – Wear Something Gaudy Day is coming up! “Gaudy” clothes are clothes that are vividly colored, eye-catching, over-the-top, or generally deemed out of style and tasteless by the mainstream. On this unofficial holiday, make sure to wear something that most people might not wear anymore, or something many would consider tacky.

Wear Something Gaudy Day was first proposed by Larry Dallas, a character from the 1970s TV comedy “Three’s Company.” Dallas, played by actor Richard Kline, called for Wear Something Gaudy Day as a way to celebrate quirky and garish fashion. Three’s Company ran between 1977 and 1984. The holiday eventually caught on in California and is now celebrated across the US. For more information: Wear Something Gaudy Day - October 17, 2022 | Spirit Of The Holidays

The purpose of Wear Something Gaudy Day is to express your individuality and to demonstrate to the public that there is no stigma associated with dressing in tacky or “gaudy” clothes. On this holiday, people also wear clothes they regret buying or that are no longer on trend. However, if you typically dress in garish clothing, this is your chance to wear more mainstream clothing! People nationwide dress up for this holiday, and you should consider dressing up too!

Werewolf By Night reveal from D23 featuring from left to right: Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone, director Michael Giacchino, Gael Garca Bernal as Jack Russell/Werewolf By Night, and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige

See You At Midnight: Werewolf By Night Review 

Marvel Studios released their first special presentation for Halloween on October 7, 2022. The presentation takes a few Marvel characters and warps it into a ‘50s horror film that is easy to understand, even if you don’t like Marvel that much. 

By: Luke Brewer 

As previously mentioned, this presentation isn’t a go-get-‘em action movie, nor is it even superhero related. Rather, it dives into the horror and monster side of Marvel. The presentation, as a spoiler-free overview, follows the death of Ulysses Bloodstone, the most successful hunter of them all. After his death, multiple hunters are gathered including his daughter, Elsa Bloodstone, and our main character Jack Russell. The hunters that are gathered compete for the ultimate tool for monster hunting, the Bloodstone. The Bloodstone is a relic from Marvel that grants the wielder enhanced speed and agility and also reveals the monsters that are in hiding. As the night continues, Jack Russell is outed as his alter ego: Werewolf By Night. If you’re curious to see what happens after that, you’ll just have to watch it yourself on Disney+. 

The best part about this presentation is how grounded it is. I don’t mean grounded as in street-level, but rather entry-level. I’m a big Marvel nerd and I’ve heard of the characters and artifacts before, but I didn’t know anything about them. The presentation does an incredible job at making it easy to understand. Now that I’ve watched this presentation and researched all of the characters on my own, I understand them much better than before, but the presentation doesn’t reveal all of their background simply because it doesn’t have to. It’s truly just a simple introduction to the characters and the only information given is what’s needed for the plot to make sense. 

The plot is also really well thought out. It isn’t hard to follow at all, and you don’t even have to watch any previous Marvel Studios projects to understand this one, which is helpful too. It’s also just a very fun plot to watch and the interactions between Jack Russell and another monster (I won’t name him as to not spoil anything) are just brilliant to watch. 

Marvel really went out on a limb for this project, making it mostly black and white and drawing from the classic examples of horror from the ‘50s films, such as the music and how you see shadows of the monster more than the monster itself. Werewolf By Night is now available to stream on Disney+ and I highly recommend it as a simple and easy to understand special presentation to add to your Halloween TV show and movie binge. As much as I recommend it, I must also warn you about it with a content warning. Some of the content in the presentation is very graphic regarding blood and gore. There is also some language used, but not a lot.

The 4 volleyball seniors

CHS Volleyball Senior Night

By: Avery Beals

                Charleston volleyball held their last home game of the season on Tuesday, October 11th against the Effingham Hearts. Though it’s not the end of their season, this was the last game in Baker Gym for the four seniors. The girls took a tough loss in two sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-18. “It didn’t hit me until after, when we didn’t win, that it was our last time on the court and it was really heartbreaking,” said Senior Macy Hetzel. Macy has played volleyball for six years and is a leader on the court, playing outside as a hitter and on defense. Senior Makenzie Pamperin has played club volleyball since she was nine and played on varsity since her freshman year. “It’s really just the long-lasting bonds I’ve made with my teammates, I’ve really enjoyed playing with them,” said Pamperin. “Really what I remember most from all of my seasons is all the good friends that I’ve made,” she added. Makenzie is a strong player on the court hitting right side, setting, and playing strong defense. Emma Beurskens is another senior setter on the team. Emma has been playing since 6th grade: “I’ve always loved the sport, and no matter what I will always love playing the game.” Through volleyball Emma’s learned the importance of a positive mindset: “Just try to have a positive attitude and make friends all around you because you never know who you’re going to be working with in the future.” The final senior is Keely Williams, a right-side hitter. She’s played for nine years but skipped her junior season because of Covid. “It’s always a good thing to come to after school, after all the stress, and just have fun,” said Keely. “Through volleyball I’ve learned that if you make a mistake, you just have to move on,” she added. “No one is beating you up for it besides yourself so you just have to try to do better but don’t focus on it and let it bring you down.”

                These seniors have all had great volleyball careers and still have several games ahead of them. Volleyball has provided them with lots of opportunities and lessons on and off the court. Although the last home game is bittersweet, there’s still more to come for these girls.

Anti-bullying poster

National Bully Prevention Month

By: Gracie Cowman

The month of October is National Bully Prevention Month to inform and remind us how bullying can negatively and majorly impact someone’s life. Bullying can damage their self-esteem and can be life-threating at some points no matter what for of bullying is used none of it is okay in any way. Another form of bullying is cyberbullying, people think its not as bad because it’s not physically hurting anyone, but they don’t realize how mentally damaging it can be or is. Cyberbullying can occur through comment sections on posts, texting someone directly, and posting on social media. Any form of bullying can lead to suicide or suicidal thoughts. Cyberbullying alone increased the suicide attempt rate by 8.7%. and increased suicidal thoughts by 14.5%.  Students that are bullied are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than the ones who are not bullied.

Ways people are trying to prevent bullying:

                Many schools have anti bullying posters throughout the hallways, articles like this on the internet and school websites, and have anti bullying assemblies. We are doing a lot to make it know this is going on and trying to stop it but it’s not enough, bullying is still happening.

What can you do?

                If you ever see bullying in the act try your best to stop it, don’t stand around and watch it happen. If someone is physically getting hurt and you don’t think it’s safe to get involved inform a teacher. If you know someone who is being bullied, try your best to comfort them and try a way to stop the bully from getting at them again. Another thing you can try is to just be nice to people, while walking through the hallway give someone a compliment, tell them their outfit looks good, tell them you like their hair. There are so many nice things to say that could change their mood. One complement could make their day, you don’t know what people are going through. The biggest way: don’t be the bully. Don’t ruin someone’s life to make yours better or because you think it’s funny.

Mr. Deadmond

Running Into CHS, it's Mr. Deadmond (9/1/22)

By: Luke Brewer

Unlike most responses teachers give: “Well, my parents were both teachers and that’s all I’ve ever really known” Mr. Deadmond’s parents weren’t teachers at all. His goal to become a teacher started in the summer before he left for college when he helped teach at a local baseball camp. He liked helping the kids and being physically active, which started him down his career path. Mr. Deadmond then proceeded to get his undergraduate degree at Greenville University before later getting his Master’s and Specialist degrees in Educational Leadership right here in Charleston at Eastern Illinois University.

His job before coming to CHS was as principal at Beecher City High School. Mr. Deadmond decided to come over to our side of things and join the CHS crew due to the implementation of the CBE grading method. When I talked with him, he seemed very fascinated by the CBE grading method compared to the standard A-F grading method. He thinks that CBE engages both the students and teachers in a new way that normally wouldn’t be achievable with the A-F grading method.

His dream to become a Cross Country coach is much more recent. Mr. Deadmond used to despise running, but as he became more physical in his free time and for his job, he started to enjoy running, reaching 7:45 minute mile times. He also thought that if he could combine his coaching skills and his newly found running skills, he could be a great addition to the team and help them succeed. He admits that Coach Hawk will most definitely beat him in a long distance race, but Coach Hawk better look out if the race is short distance.

 On a more personal note, Mr. Deadmond is married to his wife Kari and has three sons. Their family also has three dogs: a chihuahua, a golden doodle, and a German shorthaired pointer that he uses for tracking deer. In addition, they have a cat that was a gift to his kids one year for Christmas that was adopted from a humane society. His favorite hobbies are hunting and fishing. Back inside the classroom, his major pet peeve is phone usage during class and a lack of respect for things.

Now you know everything there is to know about Mr. Deadmond! You can find his class in Room 409, so pop in to say hello and make him feel welcome.

Mrs. Iberg and her family

Charleston High School’s New P.E. Teacher Mrs. Iberg (9/8/22)

By: Gracie Cowman 

Shani Iberg has just started her first year here at Charleston High School. She is a physical education teacher and coaches the girls’ basketball team, as well. She says her favorite part about working at Charleston is having a team/department of teachers. “The PE department is full of great people and I have enjoyed working with them,” Mrs. Iberg stated. Before she came to CHS, she taught at Shiloh, IL for six years. During her time there, she taught physical education, health, and drivers ed. While at Shiloh, she also led the girls’ basketball team to state.  

She decided to move to Charleston because she wants closer connections with this district and help build up basketball again. She wanted to become a P.E teacher because “I just adored my P.E teacher” She is excited for her children to come to Charleston schools. She has two kids: one is two years old (Addilyn) and the other child is one year old (Kyler). She said her children take up a lot of her time. Her husband’s name is Timothy Iberg, and they have just recently gotten married this past June. She said they have known each other since junior high and they have reconnected four years ago. She and her family love outdoor activities, she says they are their favorite. They love to be on the go, riding their side-by-side and kayaking. 

Mrs. Iberg went to Greenville College for four years, and she has received a degree in physical education, health, driver’s education, and science. Along with that she is halfway through her Master’s. She chose this career path because she enjoys being around children and she wants athleticism a part of her life and would love to share that with others.  

A fun fact about her is that she is very crafty, and she loves to make clothes herself for her own children. Also, if she could encourage or motivate anyone she said “effort goes a long way” 

Mr. Koebele

Welcome New Drivers Ed Teacher, Mr. Alexander Koebele! (9/27/22)

By: Hayden Bradford

Mr. Koebele originally wanted to be an early youth teacher, but he ended up teaching drivers ed. Mr. Koebele attended college at Eastern Illinois University. When asked where Mr. Koebele would teach and what he would teach if he could do anything, he said “I’m already doing it, I love teaching here at CHS.” Mr. Koebele teaches drivers ed along with Mr. Oakley in the 100 wing of the high school. Mr. Koebele drives along with students and teaches in the classroom with the students. Mr. Koebele says he enjoys teaching here at CHS and that he’s happy to be at Charleston High School.

 When asked what Mr. Koebele would like to do if he wasn’t a teacher, he said “I’d like to coach sports at the college level.” Mr. Koebele isn’t from Charleston at all in fact he doesn’t live in Charleston and is currently living in Salem IL. Mr. Koebele teaches a WIN period during students’ lunch hour. Mr. Koebele usually eats lunch in the lunchroom with the students before he goes into his classroom to do work. While Mr. Koebele is new to CHS he isn’t a completely new teacher. Having also taught in Salem.

 Mr. Koebele is happy to be teaching at CHS. He enjoys teaching in the classroom and driving with the students. Mr. Koebele is a very well-liked teacher among the student body, He is always very friendly with all the students which has led to everyone having a very positive attitude towards him. Mr. Koebele has been praised by most students as a very nice and friendly teacher and most of the students enjoy talking to him. He usually spends most of his lunch in the lunchroom with the students making conversation with everyone.

Team Picture at tournament

Charleston Varsity Volleyball Picks Up Their First Win

By: Avery Beals

CHS hosted a varsity volleyball tournament on Saturday, September 17th. Including Charleston, 9 teams attended. CHS went 2 and 2 at the tournament. They lost both pool play games to tough Mattoon and Highland teams. The girls recovered quickly and fought on to win both bracket games against Decatur MacArthur and Centennial JV, winning the bronze bracket. 

Charleston’s game against Decatur MacArthur was a nail biter. The girls lost the first set 25-20. They shook that off and recovered quickly, coming back to win the second set 25-19. The third set was shortened to a 15-point game with no cap. The game went back and forth, with a close score throughout the whole game. Charleston had the motivation, really wanting that first win on their record, and the girls fought through for a 15-13 victory. Charleston offense was led by junior middle hitter Addison Shrader and sophomore outside hitter Blair Ritchey. The girls picked up 5 kills each during the 3 sets. The strong offense also included senior setter Makenzie Pamperin with 9 assists. Sophomore Rylee Shrader also helped with 6 assists. Defense was a group effort, with strong roles played by lots of girls. Pamperin had the most digs with 13. She was followed closely behind by defensive specialist Millie Richter, who had 8. Outside hitters Macy Hetzel and Blair Ritchey played great games as well with 5 digs a piece. Games aren’t won by big stats alone; little things also add up to help a team to victory. Junior, Alli Beurskins had the team’s only ace. Addison Shrader, Makenzie Pamperin, Audrey Jacobs, and Blair Ritchey each had a blocking assist. The girls played clean games, keeping their errors low and doing lots of things right. 

Hopefully this win will provide a spark for the team. The girls have lots of talent and the opportunity to do great things. When everything is working at the same time, this team could be dominant. The team is about halfway through their regular season and hoping to pick up a few more wins before their time is over. The Trojans will take on Mattoon again tonight, September 27th, in Charleston for Volley For a Cure. Come out to support your Trojans tonight as they fight for their first conference victory. 

Navratri

Navratri: The Hindu Celebration of Women  (9/27/22)

By: Kaitlyn Gill

While you may enjoy fall for the cooler weather, fall sports, or pumpkin patches, did you know it’s also the time to celebrate Navratri? Navratri, also called Navaratri, is now upon us, running from September 25th through October 5th this year. It is a Hindu celebration of the divine feminine, honoring the Goddess Durga and her triumphs over evil. Navratri is considered one of the most important festivals in the Hindu faith.  It celebrates the empowerment of women and honors women’s abilities. 

This festival occurs during the month of Ashvin, or Ashvina (which is usually September – October) and lasts 9 days with a 10th day dedicated to the celebration of the holiday Dussehra. In some houses, Dussehra is regarded as the festival’s centerpiece and is observed throughout the entire celebration. Because it depends on the lunar calendar, Navratri is sometimes observed for eight rather than nine days, with Dussehra falling on the ninth day. 

Different regions of India celebrate Navratri in different ways. While some people use this time for dancing and feasting, many use it for religious thought and fasting. People who are fasting usually adhere to a strict vegetarian diet, refrain from using alcohol, and avoid particular spices. People decorate their homes and multiple types of dances are performed including garba, which is an Indian folk dance. 

The nine nights of the festival are devoted to various facets of the divine feminine principle. Typically, the goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati, are the focus of the festival. In their honor offerings are made and rituals are performed (For more information: Navratri | Description, Importance, Goddess, & Facts | Britannica). 

As you’re watching football or picking pumpkins this week, it’s also a good time to remember those of the Hindu faith during their time of prayer and celebration. Happy Navratri! 

Gold Star Mother's Day

Gold Star Mother's Day (9/25/22)

By: Hayden Bradford

Gold Star Mother’s Day is a day meant to recognize the grief and pain that the families of fallen soldiers had to endure for the fight for freedom. Established in 1936 During World War One. Most families would fly a service flag in the window showing a star for every family member serving the country. This star was usually blue but when a member of the family that was in the military passes away the family receives a service flag with a gold star on it. This is where the name Gold Star Mother’s Day comes from. 

Gold Star Mother’s Day is all about the mothers that have had to go through the struggle and loss of losing a son or daughter in the military. Gold Star Mother’s Day isn’t a national public holiday, so the usual day-to-day life isn’t really affected. Each year on Gold Star Mother’s Day the citizens of the United States are asked to raise the flag and show their compassion for gold star mothers and their families; all government buildings are also required to display the flag on Golden Star Mother’s Day. Most people aren’t familiar with Gold Star Mother’s Day with the significant meaning to the holiday more awareness needs to be spread about this holiday. 

 

Rosh Hashanah sigh with fall leaves,  9 candles, and honey

Holidays You Should Learn About: Rosh Hashanah  (9/26/22)

by Sofia Cornbeise

Although CHS has a small Jewish demographic it is very important to learn about all cultures within our school! This coming Sunday, September 25th, the sacred Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah begins, and will end after two days on Tuesday, September 27th. Rosh Hashanah marks the first day of Tishrei: the beginning month of the civil year and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year according to the Hebrew calendar. Some also refer to the holiday as “Jewish New Year” or “Feast of Trumpets.” The traditions begin each morning by blowing the shofar (horn) which normally takes place in a synagogue. On the first day, or second if it falls on Shabbat, those celebrating perform a Tashlich (a short prayer done near a body of water). During the evenings Jewish families partake in a sacred candle lighting and have wonderful feasts. These feasts include dishes and foods that are believed to bring good luck such as fish heads (head of the year) and foods dipped in honey (for a “sweet new year”). In addition, they recite Kiddush over wine every feast. The holidays don’t end there, however, because Rosh Hashanah begins the 10 days of repentance for the Jewish religion; with Yom Kippur occurring shortly after to end the festivities. Sending well wishes and happy holidays to all our Hebrew students, staff, and community members! 

Comic Book

National Comic Book Day 

Comic books have left a major staple in the world, whether you realize it or not. 

(9/21/22)

By: Luke Brewer 

Comic books. We’ve all heard of them. Something that isn’t known to most people about comic books is that there are so many different styles of them. For example, you can have your standard type of comic book with images and words mixed together that you read left to right, which can either be in paperback or hardback. There’s also ones out there such as manga which is read from right to left. 

Comic books also contain a lot of history to them. The ones found today are much more advanced than their predecessors. The earliest record of a comic book appeared in 113 AD on Trajan’s Column, which is found in Rome. The first actual comic book is believed to have been published in 1837 in Europe. The book was called “The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck” and it was written by the Swiss writer, Rudolph Töpffer. 

What really kicked off the comic book genre was the introduction to superheroes in the 1930s and 1940s. Some of the more popular superheroes from this era were Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America. As time went on, WWII began and some of the comic book industry took a hit. After WWII ended, the comic book industry was revived. DC Comics introduced a more modern version of The Flash in 1956 and Marvel Comics introduced new and totally wacky characters such as the Fantastic Four, Marvel’s first family, in 1961. Across this time period, the popularity of comic books may have gone up a bit, but they weren’t fully successful. In the case of Marvel Comics, they were about to close a comic book series titled Amazing Fantasy due to the lack of sales it made. In a last ditch attempt for a random throwaway issue, Spider-Man was created and first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15. This character was so popular that he went on to get multiple standalone comic runs and multiple appearances in crossover events and other comic runs. 

Comic books have become very valuable too, another thing that not a lot of people are aware of. The most expensive comic book from DC Comics is Action Comics #1. This comic book featured the first appearance of Superman and sold in 2011 for about $4,530,000. The most expensive comic book from Marvel Comics is Amazing Fantasy #15. This comic book featured the first appearance of Spider-Man and sold in 2016 for about $454,100. What makes these comic books so expensive is that they’re the original version and in mint condition, meaning they haven’t been damaged in any way. 

If you’re interested in picking up a physical comic book for yourself, Charleston has its own comic book shop at Midgard Comics which can be found at 102 W Lincoln Ave Ste 2. If you want a digital version of some comic books, Marvel Unlimited is the comic app Marvel Comics uses and DC Infinite Universe is the comic app that DC Comics uses. I personally use the Marvel Comics app and have the yearly subscription for only $70. Both apps get updated constantly with new comics, but the newer comics get added on the app six months after they hit shelves and the older comics and digital exclusives can be added whenever. 

Most will dismiss comic books as being for kids, but once you stop to look at it closer, it’s obvious that comic books cover a wide variety of topics and come in multiple types that are meant for all age groups to enjoy. 

First Reveal of the New Ag Building (9/13/22)

By: Avery Beals

A completely remodeled CHS Ag Building has been in the works for over a year and has finally come to a close. The building has been under construction for about 9 months, but the planning goes far beyond that. The whole project started from the idea to simply repaint, which then turned to a full remodel. “It was needed,” says Ben Oakley, the CHS Agriculture teacher. “It was pretty outdated and worn out in there.” The planning began at the start of the 2021-22 school year and has been under construction since January 2022.  

“We were pretty fortunate that we got the opportunity to buy a lot of new, much needed equipment and replace some of the outdated stuff,” says Oakley. Other than Agriculture, the other Career Technical Education areas got a lot with the remodel as well. “We’re all kind of working together to run this kind of industry within the school,” he added. “The best way to learn business skills is to run a business.” This will hopefully be profitable and be able to pour back into the program. The plan is for students to be able to engage in the community which should help them to take pride in their work. “Students seeing their work in the community should excite them to come to school and keep them excited to come to class,” Mr. Oakley said. 

There will also be a new greenhouse that Mr. Oakley is very excited about. There’s nothing truly like it in our community. Students don’t think much of it but then get out there and realize they can do it. It really applies their learning and connects their classes. “The things they’re learning in biology can then be applied and they can actually see and do some of those things they’re learning,” Oakley explained.  

This remodel will give the ag and shop programs so many new opportunities. “With our new tools, we’re going to be able to do literally anything,” Oakley explained. The new tools are easier to maintain and require less work to upkeep. This allows the teachers to devote more time and attention to other places rather than constantly focusing on keeping the tools functioning. Other than tools, the new shop is designed around how it is intended to be used. This will allow the building to be utilized to its full potential with more convenience and give students new opportunities through real life experience.  

 

All students attending the expo on 9/14

Construction Trades Expo: A Show of New Opportunities (9/19/22)

By: Avery Beals

On September 14th and 15th, nearly 90 CHS students from the CTE classes had the opportunity to attend the Construction Trades Expo at the Coles County Airport.. While at the expo, students were given information and some hands-on experience with professionals in different construction trades. Some examples of careers the students heard about were the iron workers, bricklayers, and aviation. While with the iron workers, students tried their hand at reading a building plan and assembling a simple structure with their group. They made sure everything was in the right place, level, and held together by the right bolt, with assistance from experienced iron workers. With the brick layers, the kids assembled a small-scale brick wall, putting mortar on the bricks, sticking them together, and keeping it all level. Some groups even brought virtual reality for students to simulate doing jobs such as fireproofing. The groups also gave students access to resources to find out more information about any of the trades they were interested in. 

It was a great way to show students some opportunities they may not have learned about in a classroom setting. Going into a trade is a great way to learn a skill, get paid to do it, and for some is a better route than going to a four-year college after graduation. Students were told about ways they could get into the trades, the benefits and pay those trades had to offer, and their options for going to school while working and paying for it. "It was a great opportunity," said Brock Johnson, a 9th grader at CHS who attended the expo. "It was really good for kids to be out and able to see the other opportunities they have rather than having college shoved in their face as the only option," he added. Overall, it's important for students to get exposure to all their future possibilities. Some of which can be done in the classroom, while other parts require events like this. The Construction Trades Expo was a great way to show students all they could do and hopefully get some kids interested in a future they didn't know they could have. 

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl  Day (9/16/22)

By: Emily Davis 

September 13th is National Roald Dahl Day. Roald Dahl was a British novelist today in 1916 in Wales. His parents were from Norway meaning he is from Norwegian descent, but he spent most his life in England. During the Second World War Roald was a wartime fighter pilot and served for the Royal Air Force. After the war he married actress Patricia Neal on July 2, 1953 in New York. Their marriage lasted thirty years and they had five children. In the 1940’s he gained prominence as a writer. He won awards for his writing such as the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1983 and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. Roald might be recognized for his works Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and the BFG. His first published children’s book was The Gremlins, in 1943. Dahl also wrote over sixty short stories for adult readers. He earned three Edgar Awards for his short stories: in 1954, the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, the story "The Landlady"; and in 1980, the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on “Skin” Dahl won many awards, wrote many books and changed many people’s lives through his talent in writing. It is only right that we celebrate his birthday this September 13th on Roald Dahl Day. 

“Saturday Night Fever” Infects the CHS 2022 Homecoming Dance (9/6/22)

The best type of fever is the ones you can get on Saturday nights. Here’s what CHS thought about the 2022 Homecoming dance. 

By: Luke Brewer 

On 9/3/22, CHS hosted their annual Homecoming dance. This year, the event was themed around the movie “Saturday Night Fever” and the decorations around the dance floor mimicked this same theme. We can all learn to appreciate decorations, but what did the CHS student body actually think of the dance? 

Upon asking Megan Heise what she thought of the dance, she said she had a lot of fun during it and that the energy all the students gave off would stick with her as her favorite part of the night. She also commented that her favorite song to dance to was “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. Another student I interviewed was Annabel Wehrle. She too said that she had a lot of fun during the dance and that her favorite part of the dance was the photo booth, but she also made sure to mention that she missed the cookies from the Homecoming dance her Freshman year. Annabel’s favorite song to dance to at this year’s dance was “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex. Generally observing the dance floor, “Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, “Wobble” by V.I.C., and “Yeah!” by Usher also appeared to be some songs that the students enjoyed dancing to a lot as well.  

The student body of the dance had a lot of fun, but what about the adults in the room? Mrs. Doughty said that it was one of the best attended school dances and it was just a truly fun and comfortable environment. The DJ himself claimed that he always has a lot of fun playing at school dances because the music he grew up with is some of the songs the students liked best, which helps make his job a bit easier when choosing which songs to play. He also said that he would’ve loved to return to CHS to be DJ again, but sadly due to moving states he wouldn’t be able to. 

Something that was mentioned by all the people I interviewed, save for the DJ, was that it felt so normal again. Due to the wrath that COVID-19 brought across the country and the entire world, it tore communities apart because everything began to go into quarantine. Local businesses were closed for a long time and mask mandates were issued into the majority of places, even schools. In order to limit the contact between people and to help limit the spread of the virus, multiple events were canceled. The CHS Homecoming dance was one of those canceled events in 2020. The fact that CHS is now able to return to a Homecoming dance felt a bit more normal for both the students and staff. 

If the reviews and attendance ratings from both the students and staff from this year’s Homecoming dance continue onwards into the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance and Prom later this school year, 2022 could easily go down as one of the best years for school dances at CHS. 

Mrs. Gowin, new PE teacher

Welcome New PE Teacher, Mrs. Gowin! (9/6/22)

By: Emily Davis 

Mrs. Ali Gowin is a new teacher here at Charleston High School. She teaches junior/senior PE and coaches the girls’ soccer team at the high school as well. Before teaching here at the high school Mrs. Gowin taught first grade at Carl Sandburg for a few years, and before that she taught sixth grade at Jefferson Elementary. Among the three schools she mentioned her passion for teaching younger grades at Carl Sandburg but loves working here a Charleston High School because she gets to coach the soccer team and work with athletes. She wants to inspire kids to be active. Mrs. Gowin chose to teach physical education because she loves coaching girls’ soccer and is very passionate about what she does. She loves working out and inspiring others to do the same. She is a Charleston High School graduate, and mentioned it was fun to be back teaching at the same school she went to. She enjoyed her time here as a student and hopes the kids she teaches feel the same way. She even works with a few of her old classmates. As a college student Mrs. Gowin went to Eastern Illinois University. She studied Elementary Education and played soccer there as well. She said that she really enjoyed her time at Eastern Illinois University. As for advice for college Mrs. Gowin suggested to get involved right away when you arrive at the college of your choice and make the most of it. She also recommended going to any event at the college you could so you could make new friends.  

Mrs. Candace Keeton

Welcome New Study Hall Supervisor, Mrs. Candace Keeton! (9/8/22)

By: Sarah Bender

Mrs. Candace Keeton is one of the many new staff members this year at Charleston High School. She attended and graduated from this high school as a teenager, class of 2002. Some of the teachers that work at CHS today, like Mr. Schubert, Mr. Halsey, and Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Keeton also had as a student. She said that Mrs. Hughes was one of her favorite teachers because of her “tough love, even though she has softened up in her time.”   

After high school, she went on to marry her high school sweetheart and work with the developmentally disabled for about thirteen years. She worked with various individuals with a wide range of diagnoses and challenges. After having that job for most of her adult life, she left it in order to be a stay-at-home mother to her two small boys.  

At the present time working as a paraprofessional, she supervises study hall and supervises the hallway before school and during W.I.N. time. It is not something she would see today while supervising, but when Mrs. Keeten was a student roaming the same halls we do today, the teenagers would pass notes back and forth between class periods. In the event that it was a best friend, they might just pass a notebook as their way of communicating with friends who were in other classes. Obviously, at that time, they did not have the type of communication technology we have today. 

Since she was a student herself, a sizable percentage of things have changed. She says the most interesting thing that is different about the school is all the programs in place to help students succeed more. “It is not just about passing or failing. It is ‘what can we do to help you get to the big goal of graduating,’” Mrs. Keeton said, and it has changed for the better in her opinion.  

Ms. Scamihorn

Welcome New Social Studies Teacher, Ms. Paige Scamihorn (9/8/22)

By: Avery Beals

Ms. Scamihorn is a new current world issues and psychology teacher at CHS. Prior to CHS, she taught at Chrisman middle school. Chrisman is a much smaller district. She stated that transitioning from a small school to a larger school, the main difference she noticed was teachers and students knowing each other. She said that students were more comfortable in class and talked more because everyone knew everyone. She added that part of that may have been teaching middle school age kids versus high schoolers. “High schoolers are more chill, for lack of better word,” she added. Another main difference between Chrisman and Charleston is the blocked schedule. When asked about her opinions on it, she said she wishes she could see all her students daily but sees the positives in the scheduling as well. 

Mrs. Scamihorn attended high school at Marshall, which is about 30 minutes from Charleston. While in high school, she was a member of her school’s softball and cross-country team and was the president of National Honor Society. Her favorite class in high school was math because it challenged her. After high school, Mrs. Scamihorn attended Indiana State where she majored in social studies education with a minor in political science. She teaches current world issues at CHS as well as psychology, which is a social science she learned about while in college. In middle school, she had a teacher who really made her love the subject and taught her skills that she went on to use in college. As previously mentioned, Mrs. Scamihorn’s favorite class was math. However, she went to school and became a teacher for social studies because it’s her over all favorite subject. “I love stories,” she explained, “that’s why I love history, because it’s literally the stories of people.” 

Outside of school Mrs. Scamihorn is very close with her family. She enjoys spending time with them outside doing things like riding side by sides. Her parents also just got a new dog who she considers to be hers as well. Other than spending time with her family she likes watching television shows and movies and is a big St. Louis Cardinals fan. 

When talking to her, one would probably find that Mrs. Scamihorn shares lots of interests with her students and is likely to find some common ground with everyone. She is a great resource for students with a bright and hopefully long future here at CHS.