“Bend and Snap”

“Legally Blonde: The Musical” performed at OCHS

Article by Aundrea Koger

Every fall, during Dead Week, a group of students at Osage City High School puts on a production for all to see.  This year “Legally Blonde: The Musical” was performed.  And despite it being the first musical put on by OCHS in eight years, the recently released broadway adaptation was a major success, not only in the opinion of the audience, but also in the eyes of the cast and crew.

“This was by far the best play we’ve had, while I’ve been here at least,” said senior Paige Pearson, who played Elle Woods, the star role in the hilarious but touching story of a typical California sorority girl, who suddenly finds herself in law school at Harvard.  The seasoned performer, who has participated in the play for three out of her four years in high school, thinks that some of Legally Blonde’s success is due to the fact that it was a musical, not just a play.  “I think musicals just add a lot more pizzazz to the whole thing,” noted Pearson.  However, the cast and crew couldn’t have brought on all the “pizzazz” without the endless hours of practice that they put in.

Rehearsals started in early October, and endless hours of work were put in until opening night on Friday, November 14th.  “I thought Friday night went perfect,” said Mrs. Kathy Camarena, the director of the play this year.  So it’s apparent that the cast and crew truly worked their tails off to make “Legally Blonde: The Musical” one of the best performances ever put on by OCHS.

 

Dream College and a Side of Fries

A go-to guide for college and scholarship applications

Editorial by Aundrea Koger

For many high school seniors, college is just around the corner.  Before we know it we will be off on our own, trying to make ends meet with Ramen noodles and hamburgers off the dollar menu.  But before that happens, we have to get accepted to college.  Unfortunately, the daunting task of filling out one college application after another is imperative for those wishing to receive a post-secondary degree.  However, with a little prior planning, applying for college can be a breeze.

College applications often require you to provide a slew of personal and academic information, so it’s good to know what you may need in order to fill out the application, and have those things ready when you start.  You will need a copy of your high school transcript, so that you may either fill out the classes you have taken on the application, mail or fax it to the university, or attach it to the application as a PDF file.  An official transcript will need to be sent to the college following graduation.  You will also need all of your ACT and SAT scores.  Most universities just ask for your best score, but some will ask for the scores from every ACT or SAT that you have taken, so be prepared to provide them with those.  Also have your social security number handy, as well as contact information for you and your parents, and even a rough estimate of your family’s annual income, because you will have to fill out a fairly in-depth personal information section.  Some other things to have on hand when filling out applications, not only for college but also for scholarships, is a list of your achievements and awards in high school, a list of your current and past involvements, a total number and description of your community service hours, and an idea (even if you don’t actually know yet) of what you want to major in and why.  Colleges are looking for students who will be active and successful at the university and beyond, so knowing what you want to study, being involved in school, being active in your community, and being goal-oriented in and out of the classroom is very appealing to admissions offices. Once you’ve finished your application, be sure to double, or even triple check it to make sure all of the information is correct.  If you had to write an essay, have a teacher, parent, or trusted friend read over it and give you pointers.

So you sent in your application for admission, and you were accepted.  It’s time to kick back and relax until move in day, right?  Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  I wish I could say that once us seniors are accepted we don’t have to lift a finger until graduation, but that is sadly not true, unless you want to finish college with an unfathomable amount of student debt.  The next task that we have to tackle while also trying to live our busy high school lives is applying for scholarships.  Now, some colleges already have their scholarship applications built into their admissions apps, but many don’t so be sure to find out which schools require a separate application.  And don’t stop there.  Check with the high school guidance counselor about local scholarships, and even get online and find scholarship search engines.  Some great websites to start your search on are https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search and https://colleges.niche.com/scholarships/.  There are literally thousands of scholarships out there.  They can be anything from $50 for someone who participates in underwater basket-weaving every third Tuesday, to a $10,000 award from a random company for any kid willing to apply.  Even if the scholarship sounds ridiculous, or you think that you have no chance of getting it, still go ahead and fill out the application!  There’s no harm in trying.  And who knows, maybe you’ll end up earning more scholarships than you thought you could!  You don’t need to have a 4.0 GPA, and for many scholarships you don’t even have to write an essay.  However, it is good to have a general scholarship essay typed up.  You can modify it slightly to satisfy the prompt for just about any scholarship application that requires an essay, and it saves you from having to type up a whole new one for every application that you fill out.  And just like with the college application essay, have someone you trust look over what you wrote up.

Hopefully, with a little effort and prior preparation, not only will you have been accepted into your dream college, but you will also have the beginnings of the relentless college expenses paid for with scholarships.  Then maybe you can treat yourself to an extra package of Ramen noodles, and the occasional side of fries with your hamburger off of the dollar menu once you’re living on your own.

Works Consulted: http://www.universitylanguage.com/guides/applying-to-college/

Photo courtesy of wdde.org

 

Now is the Time

The OCHS Marching Band Finishes a Successful Season

Article by Hannah Mondragon

Band has always been the pride and joy of Osage City High School.  Excellence has come to be expected out of the Marching Indians, and year after year, they deliver.  This year was no different.

The OCHS band participated in four marching competitions during its 2014 season and received 2 ratings across the board.  Despite not receiving any 1 ratings, band members worked hard this year, and they were competing against much larger 4A, 5A, and 6A bands at a majority of their competitions.  The members were pleased with how they performed their show, Now is the Time, which consisted of the songs “Old Time Rock and Roll,” by Bob Seger, “Good Time,” by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen, and the “Time Warp,” from Rocky Horror Picture Show.  And this year, simply gaining experience has been an important goal for the band.

The OCHS band has a large percentage of freshmen and sophomores compared to past years, so this year the band has been concentrating on gaining experience.  And they did exactly that, with Mrs. Melissa Askren, the band instructor, noting that there was much improvement from the first performance to the last.  Even though there will be quite a few seniors graduating, given a few years, the underclassmen will become a force to be reckoned with.  Junior Tate Brooks, a leader on the drum line, said, “I’ve gained more experience every time.”

The experience they’ve gained so far helped the Marching Indians finish their season strongly, and it will come to help them significantly this December when they perform at the the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

On the Grind

OCHS Debate Squad Members Work Like Athletes

Article by Sarah Thompson

Debate isn’t seen as a sport by most individuals, but it is more similar to its extracurricular counterparts than most people might expect.  Debaters must work hard on perfecting their case in and outside of the classroom in order to be successful, much like what athletes must do to get that starting spot on varsity.  And just like in athletic activities, teamwork is important to the success of the OCHS Debate Squad.

At tournaments and at practice, debaters work with partners to learn, provide facts, and debate their chosen topics.  Junior Brooklyn Milam partners with sophomore Sharmin Hicks, while Junior Lexie Hardin teams with sophomore Hannah Mondragon.  Sophomore Caleb Anstaett joins the most experienced debater, senior Sarah Peterson.  And the freshmen pairings are Justin Davis with Faith Long and Jordan Hon with Timberly Dunham.

When asked about how the year is going, Milam simply stated that it is “pretty good.”  Anstaett was also questioned about he feels the rest of the year is going to go for him. “I will continue to keep on being the top athlete every day, every play, every way,” was his jocose response.  And even though Anstaett was joking, the Indian debate squad does work hard just like athletes.

The OCHS Debate sponsor, Mrs. Donna Crane, jokingly called Coach Crane by the team members on occasion, mentioned that, “They’re debating at tournaments that are new, but there are Junior varsity options that’ll be good for more of my less experienced kids. But I don’t really know how the rest of the year will go because it’s hard to predict, as we have four tournaments left.”

Just like any member of an athletic team, the OCHS debaters have ambitious goals in mind. Both Milam and Anstaett have goals of going to state and coming home with a trophy, hopefully a first place one.

Rim Rock Gets Rocked by OCXC… Again

Lady Indians tear it up at the 3A State Cross Country meet

Article by Jake Butterfield

The last two weekends of their season, the Osage City cross country teams participated in their most competitive meets of the year.  First, they attended the regional meet in Burlington at John Redmond Reservoir.  Both the boys and girls ran well at regionals.  Despite giving it their all, the boys team placed fifth and failed to qualify for the state meet.  However, the entire Lady Indian team qualified for the third time in the last four years.

On Friday, October 31, hundreds of high school athletes and their families and friends gathered at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas for the class 3A, 5A, and 6A State Cross Country meets. The Lady Indian runners were honored to be part of such an important meet. When asked about the privilege to run at state, senior Maren Peterson answered, “The girls and I were honored and blessed to run at state and I’m so proud of us for making it as a team!”

The team consisted of a variety of different runners.  The Lady Indians were led by seniors and four-time state qualifiers Aundrea Koger and Sarah Peterson.  They were joined by senior Maren Peterson, along with first-year runners senior Tori Tomlinson, junior Lexi Allen, freshman Jessica Davis, and freshman Faith Long.   These runners were going up against some of the toughest competition they could face.  “State is the most nerve-racking meet of the season, but that I am able to run with such good athletes is really an honor,” Peterson commented about the state meet.   The Indians were one of twelve fortunate teams to be a part of the 3A State Cross Country meet.   First-year cross country coach James Bellinger noted, “There were fifty-two other teams in the state that would have loved to be exactly where we were at the end of the season.”

The Lady Indian runners ran respectively well at Rim Rock despite facing bone-chilling cold winds.  Koger finished sixth, trailed by Sarah Peterson, who finished thirty-eighth, and Davis, who finished eighty-fifth.  Maren Peterson and Tomlinson finished ninety-first and ninety-second respectively.  The remainder of the Lady Indian cross country team was brought in by Long and Allen.  Despite finishing twelfth, Sarah Peterson still believes they were the best team at the meet.  “We all supported one another.  Not one of us ran for ourselves, we all ran for each other.  We may not have been the best team there, but we were the closest team, which in my mind makes us the best!”