How To Prevent Getting Sick

     It's that time of year where sickness is going around and students are going home. Whether it be the flu, a cold or something from the unknown, here are some ways to keep yourself healthy:

1) Wash your hands regularly
Keeping your hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.

2)  Keep your hands away from your face
Bacteria and viruses transfer from fingertips to the face

3) Get enough Sleep
Lack of sleep can affect your immune system

4) Eat lots of protein
Protein helps build up the immune system

     Getting sick usually isn't a big deal, but sometimes getting sick can be fatal. This year so far 18 people have died in South Dakota from the flu. Following these steps can help prevent getting you sick by killing germs.

New Year's resolutions

     New Year's is a big deal to many people. Usually people hear others talking about their New Year's resolutions and how they promise to complete them.
     "I think New Year's resolutions are dumb because by the third month of the year, everyone quits doing what they promised doing in the beginning," said Courtney Hudson.
      Many people do believe in resolutions for the New Year. "I believe in them because it is a good, positive way to start out the New Year," said Lexi McMann.
      Resolutions help bring many people in the world to be positive in the beginning of the New Year. Studies show that by the end of the fourth to fifth month many people have given up on their resolutions, whether it was because it was too hard, or they just did not have enough time on their hands. Few people in the world actually do accomplish their goals or resolutions by the next New Year.
       New Year's is a fun time of the year, and many people in the world celebrate in many different ways.

First speech meet of the season

    The first speech meet of the season took place on Saturday, January 10 in Scottsbluff. After weeks of preparation, many Chadron High participants placed, or did very well, in their categories and came home proud. The speech meet consisted of OIDs (oral interpretive drama), duets, persuasives, poetry, serious and many other types of speeches. Many speechies did exceptionally well at the first meet of the season. Aaron Gaswick and Harile Kennell received second place in their duet, as did Amrit Chima in his poetry presentation. Shoilee Rahman received third place in her intriguing persuasive speech, and Shay Chamberlain received fourth place in her serious speech. Ashley Trent and Peyton Wallage placed sixth in their duet, making this first meet a very successful one.
     Last Saturday on the 17th at the second speech meet, the speechies were even more successful at the Gordon/Rushville meet. In poetry, Amrit Chima received fourth place while KayLee Morsett got sixth. In persuasive, Shoilee Rahman became the champion, receiving first. In the same category, Alex Westerbuhr received sixth place. In duet, Shay Chamberlin and Brittani Piontek earned fourth place and Aaron Gaswick and Harlie Kennel were duet champions, getting first. Amrit Chima, Shay Chamberlin, Aaron Gaswick, Brittani Piontek, and Harlie Kennell received fifth place in their OID, "Evil Dead the Musical." Brooklyn Stack, Emily Blaylock, Seth Sloan, and Walt Mays received third in their OID, "Accused of Comedy." Last week's meet was even more successful for the Chadron High speechies.

Wrestlers take small steps towards state

      The steps to state started early this year for the Cardinal wrestlers.
      This last weekend the wrestler bus headed to Lexington for dual matches. The wrestlers came in tough and won two of the five duals.
      Although the Cardinals, as a team, fell to Alliance last week, several of their wrestlers won their matches, and the boys consider that meet "nothing but a good experience for the meets to come" according to a wrestler, Tate Cullers. A senior, Tanner Kickland, has a few words to say about his team. "I think overall as a team we are wrestling well. We are not at our full potential, but I don't think there is a team in the state that is."
     The wrestlers have been practicing hard each morning, and they are taking certain measures to reach their potential. Aside from the Lexington Duals, the wrestlers have found that duals have been a bit of a struggle, due to the lack of participation. Several wrestlers have injuries preventing them from wrestling, and others cannot wrestle due to poor grades.
     The Cardinals have four open weights, which in a dual, is a twenty-four point deficit. "I have high expectations for every wrestler on my team," says Kickland. If the Cards pick up their intensity, they should have an excellent turnout for state qualifiers.
     This weekend, the Cardinal wrestlers will stay home and host the Cardinal Invitational at CSC's PAC. They hope to see a lot of fans there cheering them on and pushing them on their way to state wrestling in Omaha.

New Teacher Mr. McLain

      The fall of 2014 Chadron High School received a few new teachers. This year the school has on of their very own alumni joining the staff, Mr. Jonn McLain. 
      He is a former student who graduated in 2009. He loves working with students and his former teachers. He likes that everything is familiar to him, and he does not ever get lost. 
     Some of the classes he is teaching are algebra II and geometry. Not only is he a math teacher, but he is also the head coach of the girls' basketball team. He stated with being a teacher and being the head coach there are challenges just like any other job, and it is very rewarding.  
     One of the benefits of being a teacher he stated was "I get to hang around in the same building as Mr.Uhing. He is currently working on getting a high school math endorsement because currently he has only a middle school endorsement. He does not think it is weird being colleagues with his former teachers. 
      His goal for the rest of the school year for his classroom is to maintain a higher standard at Chadron High school.

Girls' basketball carries on

     The Chadron Girls' Basketball team has started off the season fairly well under the direction of the new head coach Jonn McLain. The teams record of 9-3, has impressed many people. The teams' three loses are from Mitchelll, St. Thomas More, and Sidney. Although these losses haven't been so ideal, coach McLain feels that the season has went well so far. "Players have been working hard, and we are trying to improve with each practice and game."
     The Lady Cardinals traveled to Alliance on Friday night and came out with a victory. Coach McLain was pleased with the game and said it was nice to get back on the winning track. "We had players hustling and getting on the floor for loose balls, which was great to see." He is hoping to fine tune some more things and become smoother on the offensive end.
     Three lady cardinals scored in double digits, Kiana Wright, Jadyn McCartney, and Chandler Hageman. As a whole, Chadron is averaging around 50 points per game. Their goal to hold their opponents to minimal scoring. If they keep working hard, they may accomplish many goals.
     A whole week of practice will give the lady cardinals lots of time to improve their game. In the losses they had Coach McLain felt like they turned the ball over too many times and gave up too many open shots. They will work very hard this week on both offense and defense. "We need to be more efficient on offense and be faster and cut harder when we run through sets. We also need to continue to build on the defensive man to man effort we had against Alliance."
     Seven weeks from Friday will mark the state championship in Lincoln. Coach McLain is very excited for the rest of the season. "I really believe that if this team puts it all together, we could be something special."
   

Is 8 hours of sleep enough?

     Is eight hours of sleep needed for everyone? Statistics say an average of eight hours of sleep for students and adults is recommended every night to function properly the next day. Eight hours of sleep is not always achieved for most people, said Ahlaura Pourier sophomore at Chadron High School. Being a high school student getting a complete eight hours of sleep can be difficult. Most students are active in sports, have jobs, or are involved in clubs. On top of all of that there is homework for classes and things that need to be done at home. This causes sleeping hours to decrease dramatically.
     Destiny Rhoden, sophomore said, "I usually get most of my sleep, but some nights getting enough sleep can be difficult. I play softball in the fall, and we are gone a lot causing me to miss class and have more homework. Also our games sometimes run late at night causing me to stay up later than I normally would to get things done."
     Jadyn McCartney, sophomore said, "I need sleep to function on a normal level. If I don't get the amount of sleep I need, I will end up not thinking clearly and not performing my best in school."
     Mikki Hastings, junior said, "I never get a full eight hours of sleep every night, which means I don't need the full eight hours of sleep to function well the next day."
     Scientists have found through research that lack of sleep can cause you to be grumpy and foggy. It also affects your looks, memory, health and even your ability to lose weight. Staying up late at night and not receiving the sleep needed hurts not only your ability to focus the next day, but also your health for years to come.

Spring Play Auditions: Bakers Street Irregulars

     Looking for something fun to do this spring? Come audition for the school play, Baker's Street Irregulars by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus. The play takes place during an investigation of a unusual murder at the Wainwright Circus. Sherlock Homes, who is extremely ill and unable to do his job, hires irregulars to resolve he mysterious case.

     Auditions will be held Tuesday January 20th in the high school auditorium at 7 p.m. There will also be an additional audition on Wednesday January 21st from 3:30-5 p.m. Students must memorize two, 1 minute monologues (1 drama; 1 comedy) and sign a contract to confirm that they are committed to joining this activity. Call backs will be announced Thursday January 22nd at 7 p.m.
     The director of the play is Mrs. Lanphear. The assistant director is Tamara Toomey, who runs the Chadron Middle School after-school program. Ms. Mohr is in charge of the set designs.

Being Healthy

       As the new year rang in, so did a wave of resolutions. Although these goals range variously, most were to be healthy and stay fit judging by the amount of students and faculty running the halls and breaking a sweat in the weight room at Chadron High School.
      Students Veronica Parish (a senior), Mikki Hastings (a junior), and Allie Johnson (a junior) all offered me insight on how their goals of being strong and healthy are being accomplished. You may ask why someone would make a resolution to be fit in the first place. To answer this Mikki said, "Being fit was part of my resolution because improvement is important to me, and if there is room to improve it should be done." Vern is very set with the goal of "having abs."
     All three girls said they do indeed workout as part of the equation to get in their best shape. Allie said,  "I do workout, and it's a daily routine for me."
      For Vern, her workout schedule includes "lots of running, some lifting, and pilates." Allie Johnson said, "On Monday, Wednesday, Friday I do cardio and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do lifting."  Mikki said, "When I workout, its usually from 45 minutes to an hour...a combination of cardio and strength training."
     We all know that part of the equation to staying fit is eating healthy. All three girls support this statement by eating healthy. Vern said, " I usually eat lots of oatmeal, and lots of fruit." Mikki seconds this by stating she eats "proper servings of fruit and vegetables." On a side note she added that she makes sure never to skip breakfast.
     Allie Johnson is currently taking a different approach to eating healthy. "Right now I am on a cleanse- which means no starches such as potatoes, bread, rice. I also usually eat lots and lots of fruits and vegetables."
    Overall, part of change is acceptance and the will to work hard. Many students' goal is to be fit, and as you can see they work hard and have made changes in daily routines and diet to achieve this. Being healthy can set you up for success in the long run- you live longer and live happier.
   

Chadron's Got Talent

     Monday, January 19, 2014, the Wanderlust Cardinals will host a talent show- Chadron's Got Talent- for middle school and high school aged students. The competition is set to begin at 7 pm with doors opening at 6:30pm. Price for entry is $3 for students and $5 for adults.
     The show consists of two separate divisions- middle school and high school- and three rounds of competition with contestants performing a two minute piece of talent each round. After the end of each round, contestants will be eliminated until one contestant remains.
     A peoples' choice will also be going from the beginning of the show, until intermission. Cans will be located in the isle. Stop by and drop a few dollars into the can designated to your favorite competitor. All of the money raised from the peoples' choice will be counted and split in half. Half of the money will go to the competitor who had the most money in their jar, and half of the money will go to the Wanderlust Cardinals.
     First, second, and third place winners in both the high school and middle school divisions will receive a prize package including cash and gift card donations for businesses in the community. Some businesses include, but are not limited to: Cleo's, The Daily Grind, Goodyear Tire, Subway, Hency's Plumbing, The New Leaf, and The Eagle Theater.
     All proceeds from the talent show will be going to the students in the Wanderlust Cardinals to help pay for an educational trip to Italy, Greece, and Turkey in the first week and a half in June.