Health Fair Fun!

by Emma Moats

February 22, 2016

Last week on Friday, the 5th Grade attended the Wellness Expo at the Lincoln Rec Center. It is sponsored by the Logan County Health Department. Students had the opportunity to complete a variety of different stations where they were able to be active and also learn information on health and wellness. The students completed an obstacle course that modeled the circulatory system, learned about Heart Health, and completed stretching exercises with student-athletes from Lincoln College. Also, as part of their rotations, students were able to visit booths that were set-up for various health & wellness groups from around the area. They had the chance to gain additional knowledge, play games, and win prizes at those informational booths. They also got to see a class of student CNA’s from Lincoln High School. Overall the students had a very good time and they are disappointed that they won’t get to go back next year.

Lesser Known Presidents- Warren G. Harding

by Emma Moats

Feburary 22, 2016

During school last week I took multiple surveys about Warren G Harding, our 29th President. A few of the question that I asked in my surveys were things like, “Did you know who he was?”, “Have you heard about him before?”, “Do you know the length of the term that he served or the year that he served said term?”, “If you remember learning about him, what did you think about him? Was he a good president? Did he get things accomplished?”. Many of these questions seemed to go unanswered. I got some good educated answers about the questions that involved guessing a number. I surveyed 10 people from the high school and 3 of them guessed the length of his term and the year that he served. Other students claimed that they knew about him very well, but didn’t answer the questions so their knowledge was questionable. Overall it was a fun survey that I conducted, I would recommend doing them!

Lesser Known Presidents- James Garfield

by Kaylee Beekman
February 19, 2016

James Garfield was the 20th president. He was born on November 19, 1831, and died on

September 19, 1881. His Presidential term was from March 5, 1881, to September 19, 1881. He

was assassinated. On July 2, 1881, Charles Guiteau shot Garfield as he was about to board a

train. Of all the 43 presidents, 4 have been assassinated. Most people are very familiar with the

assassination of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, but most people are unaware of the

assassination of James Garfield and William McKinley. I asked 10 high school students if they

knew of any other president besides JFK or Lincoln that have been assassinated. Only 1 out of

the 10 could name another president. I then asked the same 10 students to name where John

F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln were assassinated. 10 out of 10 people knew where Abraham

Lincoln was and 6 out of the 10 knew where John Kennedy was. No one knew where Mckinley

and Garfield were assassinated.

James Garfield is not a very popular or well-known president like George Washington,

Abraham Lincoln, or John F. Kennedy are. But, Garfield has a lot of unique things about him

even though we never exactly learn about him. He was the last President that was born in a log

cabin. Garfield’s mother was also the first mom to attend their son’s inauguration. Garfield is the

ONLY person in American history to be a US Representative, Senate elect, and a President

elect all at the same time.

I think that our history classes in high school teach us a lot about our history, but never

have enough time to cover everything. I think that sometimes we should take our extra time to

learn more on our own. I feel so much more informed about James Garfield, a President I did

not learn about in class, and I am so glad that I decided to learn about him.

Lesser Known Presidents- John Tyler

by Adre Vetter

February 17, 2016

John Tyler was the 10th president. He became the 10th president in 1841 until 1845 when President William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia after just a month in the White House. John Tyler was the first vice president to succeed as a President. He was born in Virginia in 1790. Tyler graduated from the college of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1807. Tyler married Letitia Christian which they had 8 children together. He served in the House of Representatives and he voted against most nationalist legislation and opposed the Missouri Compromise. After he left the House he soon became the Governor of Virginia. The Whig party nominated Tyler for Vice President in 1840. Then later on, after Harrison died, he became the President. His wife had a stroke which paralyzed her so she was incapable of handling the responsibilities of the First Lady. Then Letitia suffered from a second stroke and died at age 51. She became the first President's wife to pass away while her husband was in the White House. After a while Tyler then remarried which he became the first President to remarry while in office. Tyler and his new wife has 7 kids together. With a total of 15 offspring from both of his marriages. He had the most children than any other President in history. In 1842 Tyler signed a tariff bill protecting northern manufacturers. By the end of Tyler's terms he replaced the original Whig Cabinet with southern conservatives.

Students who know who John Tyler was	Students who didn’t know who John Tyler was
3 out of 15 knew who John Tyler was	12 out of 15 didn’t know who John Tyler was.

FFA Week

by Kaylee Beekman
February 19, 2016

Next week, the 22nd through the 26th, will be FFA week! The dress up days for the week

are as follows; Monday: Mix Up Day (dress as your favorite teacher); Tuesday: Tractor Day

(support your favorite tractor color); Wednesday: Camo Day (dress in your favorite camo);

Thursday: Farmer Day (dress like a farmer); Friday: Blue and Gold (wear your oldest FFA gear).

Along with the dress up days there are many fun activities for the students to do throughout the

week at lunch. On Monday there will be a milking the cow contest, on Tuesday there will be a

toss the rope challenge, on Wednesday there will be an Oreo eating contest, on Thursday there

will be a bags game, and lastly, on Friday there will be a milk chugging contest. The last

competition will be the annual Mr. and Ms. FFA contest. The 3 categories are Your Hero, Your

Favorite Singer, and Dess Like Your Spirit Animal. Two students from each class are asked to

participate. A Mr. and Ms. FFA will be named winners.

Toilets and Transexuals

by Nathan Nowatney

February 19, 2016

Recently, schools in the US have had to face an unexpected and controversial issue. Transgender bathroom rights. So… to follow up on South Dakota banning transexuals from using bathrooms they feel comfortable in at school, I wondered what people from our school thought. Here are answers from a few interviews I collected from both teachers and students.

You might be surprised by what you read.

---

Do you think transgender people should be allowed in your bathroom?

“In my opinion if they have lady parts, like they can or whatever… but I can see where it could be controversial to let them into women’s bathroom if they had a [Expletive Removed], because people could abuse that.”

“I mean… If they feel like it’s right, then yeah, as long as they do their normal stuff. It’s just like a guy’s and girl’s  bathroom. Those are everywhere.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t really bother me.”

“Sure.”

“Yes”

Do you think other people would have a problem with it?

“Yeah. Just solely because our world can’t accept anything, basically.”

“For sure...”

“ I think some people would have a problem with it, but they shouldn’t.”

“I’m sure there are. Narrow minded.”

“Possibly.”

“Yeah.”

Do you think transgender people should get their own bathroom?

“I think that would be like super weird, and segregation almost, they’re still just people.”

“I think it’d cause less chaos.”

“No.”

“Well, that’s the debate. They’re saying that schools should have ehh… same sex bathrooms or whatever. I think in the future, that’s what you’ll probably start seeing.”

“Uhh-uh.”

“No.”

---

High School Boys' Basketball Regionals

by: Adre Vetter

February 19, 2016

The high school basketball team will play regionals on Monday at 7:30pm at Lewistown. They will be playing Peoria Height. I asked Alec Hayes what the team is doing to prepare themselves for the game on Monday and he said, “We worked hard in practice so we are ready physically, we just have to get ourselves mentally prepared for this game and come out ready to go!” The starters will be Clay Olson, Alec Hayes, Brady Wolpert, Toni Coit, and Alex Vetter. If they win they will be playing on Wednesday against either Elmwood or Lewistown. Come out and support your Stags on Monday night!

Lesser Known Presidents- Herbert Hoover

by Lexi Strange

February 19, 2016



Hoover was the 31st president. His serving time was 1929 to 1933. Hoover

was born in an Iowa village in 1874; he grew up in Oregon. He attended Stanford

University when it opened 1891 graduating as an engineer. When marrying his

wife Lou Henry, they packed up their things and moved to China where he then

worked for a private corporation as China’s leading engineer. During this time

Germany declared war on France. He was asked to get stranded tourists home. In

6 weeks he and his committee helped 120,000 Americans return to the United

States. While his wife Lou worked in hospitals, Hoover directed the building

barricades and risked his life rescuing Chinese children. Hoover decided to take

on a far more difficult task, to feed Belgium, which was overrun by the Germans.

After proving he was capable of serving as the Secretary of Commerce

under Presidents Harding and Coolidge, he became the Republican Presidential

nominee is 1928. Within months the stock market crashed, and the nation

spiraled down into depression. After the crash, Hoover reacted. He would keep

the Federal budget balanced, he would cut taxes and expand public works

spending. At this time he reiterated his view that while people must not suffer

from hunger and cold, caring for them must be primarily a local and voluntary

responsibility. His opponents in Congress felt he was sabotaging his program for

their own political gain, painting him as a cruel President. In 1932 when the

Presidential election came around, Hoover became very unpopular. He was

defeated by Democratic candidate Franklin Roosevelt.

After leaving office, he wrote articles and books outlining his conservative

political views and warnings about the dangers of too much power in the

Federal government. Hoover returned to public service in the 1950’s serving on

commissions. Hoover died at age 90 on October 20, 1964, in New York City. Even

though Hoover left the White House, the Great Depression continued for 8 years

despite Roosevelt’s active enrollment. Many people argued for a more

sympathetic appraisal of Hoover’s Presidency.

When writing this article I took a poll with a few students to see if people knew

who he was, or even knew he was a President. Below are the results from the

Students knowing

Herbert Hoover’s name: 4

Students knowing he was president: 9

Students having no clue what I am talking about: 3

Lesser Known Presidents- President Franklin Pierce

by Hunter Langley

February 19, 2016

Franklin Pierce was our 14th United States President. He was a democrat and his running mate was William R. King. Before he became President, he was a member in the House of New Hampshire from 1833-1837, and he was the Senator of New Hampshire from 1837-1842. Pierce privately practiced law in his home and was appointed U.S. Attorney for his state in 1845. He took office for president March 4th, 1853 and held that position until March 4th, 1857. He married Jane Appleton in 1834, and they had three sons, all of which died very young. Franklin Jr, who died in infancy, Frank Robert who died at the age of four from epidemic typhus, and Benjamin who died at the age of 11 in a train accident. Because of losing all of her children, Jane was very depressed and constantly ill from tuberculosis and psychological ailments.

Pierce saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. His action in championing and signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act failed to stem intersectional conflict, setting the stage for Southern secession. Franklin was a part of the Mexican-American war as a brigadier general in the army. He signed the Gadsden Purchase of Land from Mexico and led a failed attempt to acquire Cuba from Spain. He also signed trade treaties with Britain and Japan. But, his popularity in the Northern states declined quickly when supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which also nullified the Missouri Compromise.

In the mid-1869, Pierce started heavily drinking, and was suffering from severe cirrhosis of the liver, he moved to Concord that September knowing he wouldn’t recover. He died at 4:35am on October 8th. President Grant, who later defended Pierce’s service in the Mexican War, declared a day of national mourning. Newspapers across the country  carried front page examining Pierce’s controversial career. In his last will, which he signed January 22nd, he left a large number of specific bequests such as; paintings, swords, horses, and other items to his family, friends, and neighbors. He also left $72,000 to his brother Henry’s family.

Hartem Students Challenged by the ‘New Deal’

by Nathan Nowatney

February 19, 2016

Celebrations were had for President’s Day, but not many know why we celebrate it, or who some of these debatably great men even were…

So, I took it upon myself to find out what our students knew about FDR and the ‘New Deal’.

For those of you who don’t know, FDR is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and his ‘New Deal’ was an act to attempt to reconstruct the economy during the great depression. The New Deal ended up giving us several services still in operation today, the most notable: social security.

So, to find out what our students knew, I randomly selected classrooms and looked for participants. I asked them two simple questions.

1. What does FDR mean to you?

And,

     2. What is the ‘New Deal’?

Here is what I got.

---

What does FDR mean to you?

“I don’t know.”

“What is FDR? ”

“Franklin D. Roosevelt”

“Federal Driving Reserve”

“What’s FDR?”

“A president.”

“Friends? I don’t know.”

“What’s that?”

“Fun Delicious Roses.”

---

What was the ‘New Deal’?

“What does that mean?”

“The new deal is… John Cena.”

“The new deal is… It’s a deal where… Dogs can have a home and not be abused… ever.”

“Something to do with legislation, to make the country better. ”

“Never heard of it. ”

“It’s got something to do with school. “

“I’m guessing it might be another word for ‘the square deal’.”

“Shoes.”

“Something new.”

“The new deal for what?”

“Uhhhmm… I don’t know.”

---

In conclusion, not many know about presidential history in our school, though I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of them did know FDR (although I didn’t repeat duplicate answers). But the question is… does it matter if we know or we don’t know? That’s up to you. Until next time.

Lesser Known Presidents- Martin Van Buren

by Kyle Johner
February 19, 2016

Martin Van Buren was an American politician who served as our 8th president in the United States. He was a member of the Democratic party. He served in a number of senior roles including eighth Vice President and tenth of Secretary of State, both under Andrew Jackson. I asked a few people if they knew who Martin Van Buren was and they had no clue what I was talking about.

Lesser Known Presidents- Chester Arhur

by Brooklyn Swinford
February 18, 2016

Chester Arthur was the 21st President, he was president from  September 19th, 1881- March 4th, 1885. He was  a Vermont Native, he was active in the Republican Politics in the 1850s as a lawyer. Chester Arthur  took office right after James Garfield died (1831-1881). President Arthur was in poor health  so decided to retire at the end of his term. He died  November 18th, 1886. I asked a few people If they knew who he was and how long he was a president. The majority of them had no idea who he was.  

High School Scholastic Bowl- Week 6

by Brooklyn Swinford

February 19, 2016

The HS Scholastic Bowl had a match last night at Illini Bluffs. The first game was against Illini Bluffs the score was 240-140. The second game was against Delavan the score was  70-130-- we won that one. The last game was against Illini Central the score was 120-180-- we also won  that one. The next match is next Thursday at Delavan. It will be the final match of the Tomahawk season.

Joe Garcia had 14 toss ups

Austin Hayes had 8 toss ups

Homecoming Aftermath

by Nathan Nowatney

February 19, 2016

Homecoming week is done and over-with, but that’s not to say it won’t be remembered. When the smoke cleared, and the contests ended, the Seniors came out victorious, cinching the competition.

Even though most were in consensus that the assembly was a blast, and spirits were high, our boys didn’t end up winning their match.

But our players never let their heads down, they lost with dignity, and will always keep on playing.

Essay Winners

by Kaylee Beekman
February 18, 2016

Every year the Emden American Legion has an “Americanism” essay contest. The topic this year was, "Should U.S. Senators and Representatives have term limits?" This year many freshmen and sophomores from Hartem High submitted essays to the Emden American Legion. We then had 4 sophomores take places in the contest. Zach Phillips won 1st place for his essay, Joe Garcia followed in 2nd, and Emme Olson and Xavier Detmers tied for 3rd place. Congratulations to the 2016 Emden American Legion “Americanism” essay winners!

Volleyball Sleepover

by Kaylee Beekman
February 18, 2016

On Friday, the 12th, the Jr. High Volleyball team had at slumber camp fundraiser. The camp was

put on by Coach Hayes, the 8th grade volleyball girls, and some of Coach’s extra helpers. 1st through 4th

grade girls attended the camp. There were a total of 29 campers this year! The focus of the camp was to

teach the fundamentals of serving, passing, setting, and spiking to the grade schoolers who are

interested in playing volleyball in the future or just for fun. Pizza and snacks were served to the girls.

After a long night of volleyball, the 8th grade volleyball players put on a “Haunted Hallway” for the

campers. After that, movies were played in the gymnasium. It was a great fundraiser and fun was had by

all! If you missed out this year, don’t worry, there will always be one next year!

The Lesser-Known Presidents- William Henry Harrison

By Alyssa Bridge

February 18, 2016

William Henry Harrison was the ninth president of the United States of America. Prior to his presidential campaign, Harrison was an American military officer and a politician. At the time of his election, at age 68, he was the oldest president to be elected. During his inaugural address, Harrison decided that he did not want to wear a hat or a coat. This later showed to be a problem when Harrison died on his 32nd day in office from pneumonia. His successor, John Tyler, was nicknamed “His Accidency” due to how he came to be the president. However, how many students have heard of President William Henry Harrison? Surprisingly, 2/3rds of the people I interviewed had heard of him. However, none of the students knew how long he was President for.

High School Scholastic Bowl- Week 5

by Emma Moats

Feb. 17, 2016

Last week our High School Scholastic Bowl team had a couple matches between Athens, Illini Bluffs, and Greenview. The scores of those games were Athens-180 and Hartem-100, Illini Bluffs-150 and Hartem-40, and last but not least Greenview-110 and Hartem-100 losing by just one toss up in overtime. The high scorers for the night were; Joe Garcia with 7 and Austin Hayes with 4. The team has two more regular season matches until the postseason when they have regionals. They believe that as long as everyone is there the night of regionals, they should get a win or two.

Hartem takes down Pulaski once again

By: Adre Vetter

February 2, 2016

The junior high volleyball team took on Mt. Pulaski Tuesday night at Mt. Pulaski gym. The 7th grade team won in 2 sets 25-19, 25-13. The 7th grade team is coached by Jessie Eeten. The 8th grade team also won, but in 3 sets. The score of the 8th grade team was 25-23, 22-25, 25-15. Grace Beekman is a outside hitter for 7th grade, but she is a setter for 8th grade. I asked her how it felt to beat Mt. Pulski. She said, “I was very excited and happy that we won.” I also asked Jayden Rybolt, who is a passer and is a setter for 7th grade, how she felt after they won she said that she felt good and they played a good game.

Need tips?

By: Lexi Strange

February 17, 2016

No, this isn't an article about money. It's an article about writing tips. Here's some suggestions on how I come up with ideas when writing. The biggest one is actually writing your thoughts down. When typing words, you come up with more ideas and think in a clearer way. Also, be as specific as possible. The more straightforward,  you are, the better the topic ideas. Force yourself to do these things. Dedicate a specific time to only paying attention on your topic and writing for about 30 minutes with no distractions. It's focused time that will motivate you as the clock ticks, making you motivated. Find what motivates you and take it into action.

Follow

One

Course

Until

Successful

Kicking cancer one step at a time!

By: Lexi Strange

February 16, 2016

This year our annual Coaches vs. Cancer raffles raised $1,000. This is run by Diane Swart. We hosted a homemade chicken noodle supper made by Janel Aper. The dinner raised about $600. Businesses also offered donations. Diane said, "It [money raised] was lower than the previous years due to not as many home games, but was still a good turn out for us."

Presidents' Day

by Brooklyn Swinford
February 11, 2016

February 15th is Presidents' Day! Also there is no school on Monday because of it. Presidents' Day was established in 1885. It also recognized George Washington, the Federal Government  still officially calls it Washington’s Birthday,even though it's celebrated on the 22nd. Presidents' Day now is a day where people celebrate all the Presidents. It is a very important holiday.

Girls’ Basketball Season Ends in Heartbreak

By Alyssa Bridge

February 11, 2016

The three seniors on the Mt. Pulaski girls’ basketball team took the court for their last time on Tuesday. In this regional matchup, the Lady Toppers (14-13) took on top seeded and state ranked Liberty (25-4). Those girls played the game of their lives. They left it all out on the court. At halftime, the Lady Toppers were only down by 7 points. By the end of the third quarter, Liberty’s lead was cut to 1 point. The Lady Toppers were still in the game. However, with 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Liberty stepped it up. They rarely missed a free throw and their defense wasn’t letting anything through. They came alive at just the right moment and put the Lady Toppers away. Mt. Pulaski’s Head Coach Eric Leever said, “We came out and gave Liberty the game they weren’t expecting. They didn’t anticipate this to be a game at all.” He was exactly right. Liberty wasn’t expecting a game and the Lady Toppers gave them one. The Liberty Lady Eagles were led by Katie Cook with 20 points. The Lady Toppers were led by Skylar Hayes with 16 points and Alyssa Bridge with 15 points. The Lady Toppers had a great season, but all good things have to come to an end eventually.

HS Scholastic Bowl- Week 4

by Brooklyn Swinford

February 5, 2016

On February 4th there was a Scholastic Bowl meet at Greenview, the meet was at 5:00. The first game was against Mt. Pulaski; the score was 190-80. The second was against Delavan; the score was 90-170. Hartem won that one. The last one was against Greenview;  the score was 110-90. Hartem lost in overtime.

Joe Garcia had 12 toss ups.

Austin Hayes had 5 toss ups.

Junior Class Dinner for Senior Night

by Hunter Langley

Feb. 17, 2016

Friday, February 19th, the high school basketball team will play their senior night game at home against Heyworth, the game will begin at 6. Before the game, the class of 2017 will be hosting a dinner in the cafeteria of the high school. They will be serving ribeye sandwiches, baked beans, chips, lemonade, and a dessert. The meal will begin at 4:30 and will continue until 6:30 with carry-out available. The cost is donation, so you choose. Come help support the junior class of Hartem High.

Hartem vs. Tremont

by Kyle Johner
Feb. 16, 2016


The Hartem basketball team faced Tremont at Tremont High School Tuesday and Hartem lost 45-69. In an e-mail interview, Jason says,  “We were not pleased with our execution that night.” He says, “The guys gave 100% effort, but they lacked on executing an effective offensive attack. The team committed way too many turnovers (24) which gave Tremont too many easy opportunities to score.” He adds, “They need to work on a few things, but are capable of beating good teams.”

Cheerleader Fundraiser

by Hunter Langley

February 2, 2016

Friday, February 2nd, the High School cheerleading squad will be holding a taco dinner in the high school cafeteria before the homecoming basketball game. They will be deep fried tacos made by Gina Horn. The dinner will start and 5:00 and go until game time, 6:00.The tacos are $4.00 each and you can get them to go or you can stay and enjoy. Thank you for the continued support.

Hartem vs. Decatur Christian

by Kyle Johner
February 4, 2016

The Hartem High School basketball team faced Decatur Christian Tuesday night in Decatur. Both JV and Varsity for Hartem won. The final scores were JV  51-12 and Varsity 59-37. Coach Garber says he was happy with both wins and that both teams showed up with focus and effort and that both teams played extremely well.

Homecoming Assembly

by Nathan Nowatney

February 5, 2016

For those who aren’t acclimated to the time-honored Hartem tradition that is Basketball Homecoming, I’ll fill you in on the festivities!

For an entire week, the school competes to see which class dresses up most on special themed days! With funny, and entertaining outfits all over, it’s hard not to have a good day.

Besides that, there’s a canned food drive, 3-point contest, and at the end of the week, to top it all of, there’s a load of competitions between classes.

From minute to win it, to dance competitions, the half-day event is sure to please!

Stay tuned for the winner of the events, and contests next week as well as an overview!

Where did your teachers go to college??

by: Adre Vetter

February 3, 2016

There are 12 teachers in the high school. From math teachers to music teachers, they all had to get their bachelor's degree. I asked some teachers where they went to college. Mr. Robinson went to ISU to get his teaching degree. Mr. Muntz also went to ISU. Mrs. Folkman went to Millikin and Ms. Helton went to Oberlin college in Ohio and she also went to ISU. Mr. Pluhm, the band teacher, went to Illinois Wesleyan. Those are just some of our high school teachers and where they went to college.

Toppers Fall to Illini Central

By Alyssa Bridge

January 5, 2016

On Thursday night, the Illini Central Cougars had their senior night. The Lady Toppers showed up and were shot down in the first half. The Cougars shot nearly 75% from the 3 point line. They just couldn’t miss. Seniors Erin Ritter and Bre Whittaker were making nearly everything. The Toppers just couldn’t run their own game if there was nothing to rebound. The final score was Cougars 55, Toppers 40. The Cougars were led by Erin Ritter with 23 points and Bre Whittaker with 16 points. The Lady Toppers were led by Skylar Hayes with 16 points and Alyssa Bridge with 12 points. There will be a rematch of this game on Monday when the two teams face off in regionals at Lewiston.

Are we doing a good job?

By: Lexi Strange

February 5, 2016

 

Today, I interviewed junior Hunter Langley and asked her if she thought the journalism class was doing a good job of informing people with the school newspaper and keeping their interest. Langley said, "I think we do a really good job of keeping the articles current and fun for people to read. I think our stories need to go a little more in depth, but that will come with all the practice we get. I enjoy reading the newspaper and think it's a wonderful idea to get people in the community more involved." I, Lexi Strange, couldn't agree more with Hunter.

Students get WYSE at Regionals

By Alyssa Bridge

January 29, 2016

On February 2nd, 2016, the high school WYSE team is going to be heading to LincolnLand Community College to compete at the WYSE regionals. The students go here and they each take 2 college-level tests and they are scored on those tests. The subjects are biology, chemistry, physics, math, engineering graphics, computer science, and English. If a student places first or second in their individual subjects, they will advance to sectionals. This year the team has 13 members. The team members are as follows:

• Freshmen: Ivy Merz, Sierra Smith, Madison Farris, Dylan Duvall, and Austin Hayes
• Sophomores: Joe Garcia and Emme Olson
• Juniors: Maddie Shawgo, Alec Hayes, Brady Wolpert, and Alexus Buckles
• Seniors: Alyssa Bridge and Doug Phillips

I wish them the best of luck and hope they return with some medals on Tuesday.

Student Interview- Freshman

By: Lexi Strange

January 29, 2016

Today I interviewed Dawson Watt and ask him how it felt the first day of his freshman year. Watt stated, "It wasn't too bad. I knew everybody going in, but what I was most nervous about was my classes being harder. I didn't know what to expect. As the school year went on I got the hang of it. It wasn't so bad after all." I then asked him how did he over come being nervous? He said, "Being around his friends helped because they were going through the same situation."

Auburn Tournament

by Kyle Johner
February 1, 2016

The Hartem High School Basketball team went to the Auburn Tournament a few days ago and lost all three games. The final scores were: Hartem 54 and Lutheran 61; Hartem 50 and South County 59; Hartem 51 and Calvary 61. Coach Garber says that they are not playing their best basketball right now. He says they need to have better team effort from everybody if they want to improve as a team. He says that they need to battle for the next couple of weeks so that they will be ready for regionals.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

by Kaylee Beekman
January 29, 2016

On Thursday, January 28th, the Hartem junior high volleyball team had a home game against Bloomington
Jr. High. Bloomington Jr. High is a very big school compared to Hartsburg-Emden, so it is always a big
game for the Lady Stags. The 7th grade team won a great game after going 3 sets. The scores were 25-10,
23-25, and finally, 25-20. Grace Beekman had some thoughts about the game, “They were really good
competition, but we stuck it out and played good.” When asked about what she thought her team did so
well she answered confidently, “Our serve receive was really good and our serves helped us a lot.”

8th grade also played a tough game but ended up losing the match 20-25 and 25-27. Captain Sami Perschall thought that it was a great learning experience for the Stags. “I think we learned a lot. I learned that I need to be more aggressive with my hitting and stop being so careful.” She also said there was good and
bad in the game and that her team has stuff to work on. “Our defense was really good. We need to work
on blocking middle and covering.” The Stags will play their next game at Mount Pulaski this weekend at
the 8th grade tournament.

3 point contest

by Emma Moats

January 29, 2016

During our school homecoming week, there will be a 3 point contest for the students. Contestants who wish to participate in the 3 point contest have until Friday, January 29, to sign up.  The cost is $1.00 per contestant.  Junior high students will face junior high students and high school students will face high school students.  The bracket of who will play who will be posted on Monday, February 1, the same day the contest begins.  Winners will face off on Friday during the school assembly to see who wins. The proceeds will be split between the winners.

FFA Bottle Cap Collections

by Brooklyn Swinford
January 29, 2016

The FFA is continuing to save up bottle caps until the end of February. They will count how many there are after they are done collecting them. The money for the cancer treatments is from recycling the bottle caps. They also go through a private organization. Just a reminder that it can be any kind of plastic bottle cap. You can bring them in at anytime, there are a few places around the school where you can put them in.

High School Scholastic Bowl

by Brooklyn Swinford

January 29, 2016

The HS Scholastic Bowl had a meet last night at Midwest Central. The first game was against Illini Bluffs; the score was 240-50. The second game was against Mt Pulaski; the score was 140-30. The last one was against Midwest Central the score was 200-50. The next game is January 4th at Greenview. Hartem lost all three matches.

toss ups

Austin Hayes had 3 toss ups

Clay Olson had 2 toss ups

Yearbook Update

by Nathan Nowatney

January 29, 2016

As the hands of the clock circle endlessly, the yearbook prices keep going up, oh no! Right now, the yearbook costs $30, but… after spring break, it will cost $35! So, get it while they’re on the cheap! Don’t get broke to get your 2015-16 yearbook!

Besides you forgetting to buy your yearbook, if you’re a senior, make sure to send in your baby pictures and senior photos! Mrs. Folkman needs baby pictures immediately (they were due before winter break) and senior pictures before spring break, so get them ASAP!

Summer Plans

by Adre Vetter

January 27, 2016

I interviewed some of the students and teachers at the high school, asking them about what they plan to do during summer this year. One of the high school students that I interviewed was Lexi Strange who is a senior. She said her plans for this summer are to attend college volleyball open gyms, hang out with friends, attend as many concerts as she can, and also participate in one event that is out of her comfort zone. I also interviewed another senior, Emma Moats. Emma said, “I plan to take some college classes and also work during the summer.” Mrs. Folkman is a teacher that I interviewed. Mrs.Folkman said she plans to read a lot during the summer and she also said that Ben (her son) is going to take a sign language class during the summer.

Basketball High School Homecoming Week

by Hunter Langley

January 28, 2016

Next week, February 1st through the 5th, is High School Basketball Homecoming Week. There will be dress up days throughout the week including Monday: America day, Tuesday: Character/Celebrity day, Wednesday: Western day, Thursday: Squad day, and Friday: Orange and Black day. The week will be running on organizational schedule and the classes will be working on events that will take place Friday during the pep assembly at 1:00. There will a lot of games for them to participate in and they will be tallied for points. Then the class with the most points at the end, wins. Friday night the basketball team will play Illini Bluffs for the Homecoming match. The high school cheerleaders will be hosting a taco dinner as well before the games. Half time of the varsity game, the high school cheerleaders will be doing a dance with girls in the elementary school grades kindergarten through fourth grade. I hope the students enjoy their homecoming week and we have a lot fans to come support the team Friday night at 6:00. Thank you for your continued support.