Spanish 2 Class Makes Sugar Skulls

     Mrs. Noble's Spanish 2 class is celebrating the holiday "The Day of The Dead" by making sugar skulls.
     According to the website nationalgeographic.com, this celebration is a mash-up of pre-Hispanic religious rites.

     The sugar skulls are made of sugar, meringue powder. powered egg whites, and water, which all are mixed together and placed in a mold, shaped like a skull. The meaning for making these is to represent "loved ones that have passed" said Mrs. Noble. Mrs. Noble also said that they are edible depending on if you paint or put glitter on them.
    "Students enjoy this project because it's more fun, than working and learning," said Mrs. Noble. Hailey Watson a student of Mrs. Noble's said, "I love the fact that I get to be involved in a project that I'm not familiar with and have the opportunity to learn about the history that comes with it."
     The projects that Mrs. Noble does with her class gives students the opportunity to have fun as they learn. Another one of Mrs. Noble's students pretty much summed up the class, Adelia Fernau said, "It explores other cultures and diversities and helps connect with them, and it's just fun!" 

Mock Trial Competition

     On Friday, November 2nd Chadron High mock trial teams, Team 1 and Team 2 had a practice trial against Gering's mock trial teams, Team Gold and Team Blue.

     The two teams had a schedule from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Although both of Chadron's two teams did well, only team one won one of the trials out of the two, while team two did not win any of the trials.       The judges that helped out with this practice competition were attorney Amy Patras, judging the first competition with Team 1 vs. Team Gold with the jury box filled in by Rex Cogdill, Drew Pope, Kristi Crowell, and Randy Cullers. Drew Pope then filled in as a judge for Team 2 vs. Team Blue with the jury box filled by Rex Cogdill and Kristi Crowell. Then Team 2 reappeared again to go against Team Blue with Judge Russ Hartford, and the jury box filled by Matt Watson and Randy Cullers. And Team 1s only win was against Team Blue judged by Judge Russ Hartford, and the jury box was filled by Rex Cogdill and Matt Watson. The judges have given great advice to both Chadron and Gering for improving their performance.

     Chadron's mock trial teams have been practicing this case since early September. They come after school on every Tuesday and Thursday in order to fully understand the case. They are currently preparing for districts on November 6, and if they succeed in districts they will continue for state competition in December.

FFA Haunted House

Last Saturday, October 27th, the Chadron High School FFA chapter held their first annual haunted house fundraiser in the halls of the high school.

"This time of year we normally sell fruit, but the haunted house mainly replaced our labor auction," said senior member Taya Leija, which she describes as an event where alumni members have their own teams, which are sold to other alumni members or to people of the community to work various jobs for them.

The entire chapter began setting up the event after school the previous day and added their finishing touches right before putting on costumes and doing hair and makeup. Chapter president Madison Cogdill said, "We watched a ton of special effects tutorial videos on Youtube and practiced on each other. we made the scar material and fake blood, then we just winged it." There were all sorts of characters milling about their sections of the event, including insane patients with crazy hair and even zombies with infections creeping down their necks.
The beginning of the haunted house started under the scoreboard on the north end of the school, with the freshmen recreating scenes from Children of the Corn. Next were the insane asylum and spooky graveyard portions, performed by the sophomore members.
Following that were the juniors with their rendition of the electric chair. Finally, the seniors performed their grand finale with the cannibal butcher shop and their zombie war zone. The hunted house ended right in front of the common doors.
"My role was laying on the butcher table and pretending to be chopped up," Cogdill said, "but my favorite part of the entire event was how the majority of the chapter came together to make the haunted house happen. Even kids who couldn't attend came and helped set up the decorations."
The Chadron FFA chapter would like to thank all the businesses and community members who donated and helped bring the haunted house to life.

Ms. Hessler, new CHS teacher

     Ms. Hessler is the new math teacher at CHS. She replaced Mrs. Drinkwalter, who retired last year.

     This year is Hessler’s first year as a teacher. She teaches algebra one and geometry. Her favorite part about teaching is building relationships with students. Hessler's biggest struggle as a teacher is lesson planning.  She said, “It is sometimes difficult to lesson plan for students, because it’s hard to know the best way of teaching the concepts.” 

     Ms. Hessler’s passion for math and students are what made her want to become a teacher. Hessler said, “Everyone is so kind and supportive here in Chadron." 

     Hessler was born in China and grew up in Torrington. She went to high school in Torrington and college in Eastern Wyoming but then transferred to Chadron State College. Hessler’s passion for math and how easy it came to her in school, made her pursue her teaching dream. However, before being a math teacher, she thought about being an art teacher, and owning a flower shop.

   
     

Shaved Heads for Playoffs

     

     Chadron High School varsity football boys shaved their heads for their playoff game.
     Many of these football players ended up with shaving their hair into weird designs. However, Colton Olson chose a more simple design like a mullet.
     Olson states, "I got to choose my own hair design because I am a senior. I would not change the design I chose because it makes me feel like a new man and that I could really rock this hair cut."
     The varsity boys wanted to bring back an old Chadron High School tradition where the team members shave their heads to show their dedication to the team and to the school.
     Mike Lecher one of the football coaches was not to enthusiastic about the hair cuts.
     Lecher states, "I never liked the tradition from the start."
     So the next time you are looking for a change or to show dedication to your school, sport, or activity just remember you could always shave your head!

Chadron Takes on Undefeated Team for Playoffs

     Chadron High football team defeated the Gering Bulldogs to claim the C1-8 title. The team traveled to Pierce, NE. on October 26, to play the Pierce Bluejays who were 9-0. The final score of the game was 12-45 with Jacob Lemmon and Clark Riesen scoring the touchdowns.

     Coach McLain said, "The team played hard the whole game and never gave up even when the score got lopsided." The Bluejays were a very fast, disciplined team that was able to hold back the Cardinals. Although, Chadron "was down for most of the game, the completion of passes were successful," said McLain. There were “costly turnovers” throughout the game, but most of the game the boys played like a strong team said McLain.
     Senior, PJ Ngoi, said Chadron's defense was consistent, but it was tough to run the ball. "The offensive line stepped up halfway through the season and that really gave us a boost to get to this game." There were a few players who hit a state of nervousness, but "We played over it," said PJ.
     Chadron closed their season with a 5-5 record. 

     “A few of the seniors will be hard to replace because they really stepped up this season,” McLain said. Next year's team will consist of several young players, but the season relies on how hard they are willing to work. McLain said executing every Friday game will be very important. He is hoping for the team to win districts and make a run in the state playoffs, but not to worry about it too early in the season. The energy needs to be there during every practice and game. The team has "much potential, and we will be looking for another successful season," said McLain.

CHS One Acts Prepares for Performance

The cast and crew of Chadron High School One Acts has been working tirelessly to prepare for their public performance on November 9. 

     The group is hosting their sole fundraiser --a dinner theatre-- on Friday, November 9. Tickets are $12 for the dinner, performance, and dessert; they can be pre-purchased from any member of One Acts or at the high school office. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
     If members of the public do not wish to eat the dinner, they can pay $5 to watch the performance and eat dessert afterwards.
     For the dinner portion of the event, One Acts has partnered with Cardinal Singers to provide a taco bar from 5:30-7:00 PM in the CHS commons area. Members of Cardinal Singers will help serve at the event. Profits will be split evenly between the two clubs. 

     At 7:00 PM, the performance will begin in the auditorium. A sample of desserts will be provided in the commons following the play.
     The One Act being presented this year is Rosie the Riveter. It is a 30 minute play focusing on Rosie O'Connell, a woman in World War II who converts an auto shop into a government factory in charge of producing airplane parts.
     Senior and four-year veteran to One Acts, Abby Hyer, plays the lead. She said of Rosie, "She is really just a phenomenal woman of the time who is definitely pushing the envelope in many ways."
     One Acts is a competitive event. Chadron will compete for the first time the day after the dinner theatre at Western Conference. The competition will be held in Scottsbluff, NE, as a precursor to Districts later that month.
     The group coaches are Jill Paopao and Rebecca Dubs. Mrs. Paopao said they have been preparing for performance since mid-September, having about 3 to 4 practices each week. "We are not quite ready to perform, but we are close. We have some polishing to do, but we will get that taken care of at the end of this week."
     There are 27 high school students in the cast and 11 in the crew.