News - Boone TV

Why aren't you involved, Boone High?

12/21/2015

By: Elizabeth Pfannes @lilliz121

At any high school, an important part of social life is the extracurricular activities available not only during school hours, but also after school. I’m not just talking about sports, those are the given, the first thing everyone thinks of when thinking about extracurricular activities. There is so much more out there than just sports, and it is important to take a chance and be a part of new activities. There can also be huge benefits, from learning about time management, building great relationships with new people, to college experience and much more.
  Participating in after school activities can help students build self esteem. It encourages teamwork, and leadership. Another benefit is that being a part of something non academic can actually inadvertently help with your education. This happens because students who enjoy activities such as speech team, TSA, gamers club, and many others, can learn skills that help them during their school day and later in life.
   Extracurriculars also help students manage their time and learn about responsibility for later life. Senior Zeek Pearson, who takes part in winter cheer, speech team, and soccer says, “Being involved teaches structure and responsibility.” Being involved is also a way to meet people and take part in new things. There are many options out there for activities, whether it be theater, speech, sports, academic clubs, or music related, there are so many different ways to be involved. Senior Mae Whitney says, “It’s a fun way to meet new people,” and senior Sami Severson agrees, saying, “I’ve made a lot of strong relationships with my peers, friends, and made a lot of good memories.”
   There are also a lot of reasons students do not join school clubs, due to family obligations, work, fear of judgement, among many other circumstances. To address fear of judgement, being involved can actually help boost self esteem and be a way to get over fears or reservations. Being involved can give you a chance to make close friends. Senior Kenneth Bowen says, “I have learned to work as a team and build relationships with the people around me as well as grow as a person and athlete.” Take a chance and get involved. It looks fantastic on college applications,helps you build relationships, and have new experiences.

A Senior’s Plans After Graduating High School

12/21/2015

By: Taleah Newman @TaleahNewman

“Ever since I was a freshman, I’ve had my mind set on going into the Air Force,” says senior Dalton Degeneffe. “I just want to do it for the experience. My dad told me he enjoyed it, so I thought I would too if I gave it a shot.”

Dalton’s plan was to go into the Air Force after graduating high school this year, but his paperwork came back, which announced that he is medically disqualified because of the hardware in his shoulder. He fractured his collarbone snowboarding his freshman year, earning him a plate and six bolts in his shoulder, disqualifying him from enlistment. He found out when his medical paperwork came back from San Francisco a couple weeks ago. Degeneffe said, “I was very disappointed. I spent almost two years meeting and doing paperwork with my recruiter, and then all of a sudden, that was no longer possible. So my whole life plan came crashing down.”

Because there is no way he can go into the Air Force, Dalton is still focusing on the same career, just a different way of going about it. Another career he is interested in is aviation, which he would have pursued in the Air Force. Other interests Dalton has outside of the Air Force and BHS are personal fitness, lifting, and running. However, music is his biggest interest. He plays guitar, drums, and even sings.

After asking Dalton how it feels to be graduating this year, he said, “Good and scary, because I don’t like it. I’ve gone to school my whole life and now that I don’t have to anymore, it’s going to impact my life a lot, but it’s something I have to face. I look forward to the possibilities and what is to come from being out of high school.” Dalton said his experience here at BHS has been insane, because seeing how much he has changed is astonishing. He also says to the rest of us BHS students that if you're still young take as many classes as you can and get all the work done, because it really pays off in the end.

Now, Dalton’s plans are to either go to DMACC first and then go to ATP flight school, or straight to flight school right after high school.

Middle School Mix-up

12/21/2015

By: Elizabeth Pfannes @lilliz121

Once again, Toreador Theater is back, bringing you this year’s middle school plays which will be starting February 19 and 20th. This fall, junior Sarah Schrupp takes on directing one of the three middle school plays.

This is Schrupp’s first year as a director. She says, “I decided to direct because theatre needs more participants. It provides teenagers with many life skills that they can use in life.” Though Schrupp did not pick the play as director, she makes many other decisions. Along with assistant director Troy Downey and tech director Lizzy Ludwick, they choose the cast members, work on staging, costumes, and other aspects of a play.

Sarah has been a part of the theatre since she was in seventh grade, when she herself was in middle school plays. She also spent time as a young child in various christmas programs, one most prominently standing out in her mind is the year she fell off the stage. Schrupp was inducted to the Boone Thespian troupe in the fall of 2013, her freshman year. Since then, she has taken part in every play at the high school. She is also currently a junior class representative for the troop.

Outside of theater, Sarah is also secretary of the spanish club, and during the summer she plays softball. She enjoys time spent both inside of the theater and outside. She is very excited about middle school play, and anticipates a good challenge ahead of her as she attempts something she has not done before.

New Beginnings for TSA

12/15/2015

By: Elizabeth Pfannes @lilliz121

At the beginning of the school year, there was question of whether TSA would be a part of Boone High School this year. It has now been determined that there will be TSA, and the new advisor of the club is Shelly Vanyo. The first meeting was held on November 3. The topic of discussion at the meeting was electing new chapter officers, as well as discussing what TSA would be about and encouraging members to recruit.
   In the past, TSA has been more about independent work and learning on your own. This year will be different. Mrs. Vanyo says, “I’m in charge, and I would like every student to have an opportunity to participate in local competitions as well as the state competition. I would like everyone to have a chance to attend state.” There is a large amount of things TSA covers. From car racing, to problem solving, all the way to fashion design. Students from the high school and middle school alike are part of TSA.
   Mrs. Vanyo says she would like everyone to know: “Everyone is welcome. TSA is NOT just for students interested in technology. We have events such as children's stories, fashion merchandising, debate, knowledge bowls, racing, and flight. There is something for everyone. You will be allowed to work on your project at varied times as Vanyo pretty much lives at school.” TSA this year looks to have a lot of promise for new participants, as well as the old. The changes this year include the chance for students to be more productive and show the best of themselves.
   The first competition is not until January, so time to prepare is vital. TSA members would like to see some new faces, and if anyone is interested, see Mrs. Vanyo at anytime. If there you would like to know more about TSA, talk to Mrs. Vanyo or any member of TSA.

The Change to Semester Tests

12/11/2015

By: Jason Mui @JasonMui17

For the first time in recent years Boone High School will be holding semester tests after winter break instead of prior. The scheduled days for semester test will be on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of January. This change has been a controversial topic to many students and teachers because of the big transformation for all.

After reaching out to various Boone Community School Board of Education members, it was revealed why this change had to be enforced. According to the members of the Board of Education, due to recent legislative changes, schools were not allowed to start earlier than the 23rd of August. Meaning that since the school year started considerably later than normal it was impossible to hold a 90 day semester before the winter break; leading to the semester tests scheduling in January.

This change was a hard decision to make since most of the board members shared the same concern as many teachers and students. According to Jean Sorsen, a member of the School Improvement Committee, she is concerned that some students will not do as well on the semester tests now that they are being given after a long break. “I was told that the school board had made every attempt to have the semester end prior to Christmas break but due to the legislative mandate for school start times there was really no other option.”

Although this change has come as a big shock for most teachers and students this year, many teachers have modified their classes to fit the new change. According to Jan Westrum, who’s a member of the Board of Education, a new trend is starting in classrooms where semester projects are being assigned instead of semester tests. “Many teachers have gone to projects that cover the standards required for the class so the students can work on the projects before, during, and after break and it gives a better representation of what the students have learned during the semester.”
Despite the fact that this change has affected everybody in Boone High School, many teachers and students are adapting to it.

The Life of a Teacher’s Daughter

12/11/2015

By: Michaela Rhode

Abbigail Lumley is a freshman at Boone High. She was born in Cleveland, Tennessee before moving to Ames. She attended middle school in Ames and started high school here in Boone at the beginning of this school year. Lumley is the daughter of Mrs. Shannon Lumley, who teaches science classes at Boone High.

Lumley takes great pride in her grades and being successful in school. She is trying very hard to keep up with her grades. When asked if her involvement in other activities has ever had an effect on her grades, she replied, “Sometimes, but I still think it’s fun to do all the things that I do because it gets me involved in more things and I get to meet new people.” Lumley is a very social person and makes friends wherever she goes. Between meeting new people and participating in anything she can, Lumley still makes time for her studies.

Lumley says that it is easy for her mom to get ahold of her teachers since she is already a teacher in the district that Lumley attends. Lumley has three brothers that still attend school in Ames. It makes it easier since she sees the Boone teacher on a daily basis.

When asked how her mom being a teacher affected her social life, Lumley said, “If anything, she helps me to get to know more upperclassmen and helps me make more friends.” When Lumley moved to Boone she said that she “already had friends” because of her mother, and it helped her to interact more with other people.

Boone Attends Iowa Thespian Festival

12/8/2015

By: Elizabeth Pfannes @lilliz121

Thespian Festival is an annual event in every state with any sort of theater program. Iowa held theirs, where a fair amount of the Boone Thespians Group attended. The troop left at 7 am on Friday, November 13, and did not arrive back in Boone until 11:30 Saturday night.

At the Thespian Festival, students had a chance to see what was considered to be the top four plays performed this Fall in Iowa High Schools. These were called mainstage performances, with two performances each day: one in the morning, and one at night. Each performance gave Thespians a chance to see acting uncensored, as well partly unscripted. One of these performances was a musical called 25th Annual Putnam Spelling bee performed by Bettendorf High School. Sophomore Sarah Schrupp says, “The first mainstage performance, the spelling Bee, was definitely my favorite.”

Boone High was also among those who performed at Thes Fest, doing a one act rendition of our spring play “The Hobbit.” Junior Alyssa Kernahan says, “With as little time as we had to prepare, we still did the best we could and even though we had very few props, it went well.”

In addition to the troop performing as a group, individuals from the Boone Thespian group also performed. These individuals include Brayden Biersner doing musical theater, and Cassie Foltz performing for a chance to win theater scholarships. In addition, Sarah Schrupp was running for a state board position in an attempt to make Boone more aware of our arts program and to gain support for the theater at Boone High.

Other individuals, including Lizzy Ludwick, Jake Ludwick, Brittany Bouke, Natasha Tellinghuisen, Jade Myers, Demitri Wojick, and Catherine Sikes, competed in the Thes Fest Tech challenge, which was a challenge that had the purpose of going behind the scenes of the theater to remember that without techies the actors would not have set, props, sound, costume, lights, makeup, and much more. The challenge pushed the group to work together as well as individually in their excelled areas. This group of Techies did challenges ranging from operation of stage lights, to building set, giving stage directions, and more.

Not only did the thespians compete and watch performances at Thes Fest, but they also had a chance to learn. Between main stage performances and competitions, there were workshops held. Each individual was allowed to pick from a list of which workshop they wished to attend based off their own interest. Sophomore Jake Ludwick says, “We had a fun time learning to write scripts and our teacher was awesome. He was a really laid back, cool guy.”

Beyond learning, watching, and performing, the thespians got to have some fun with an on going 20 photo scavenger hunt that lasted all weekend. Throughout the weekend, Thespians took pictures with people that were on the list for required, and anyone who got all 20 photos was recognized at closing ceremonies.

Jazz Band Fills Boone High with Holiday Music

12/8/2015

By: Gabie Osborn @18osborg

On Monday, November 30, Jazz Band had their Christmas concert. They have been working really hard leading up to this performance, practicing three times a week for almost a month from 7 to 7:45am.

Abigail Lumley said, “Having practices in the morning was not an issue for me because I am normally up that early anyway. However, having all of those practices, and putting all that work into our songs really paid off because the concert was lots of fun. I loved the songs that Mr. Truckenmiller picked out for us. Being a part of jazz band is so much fun because off all the different things we do, and I can’t wait until our next performance.”

The four songs they performed at the concert were “Have a Cool Yule” by Arr. Mike Lewis, “Skylark” by Carmichael/McDougall, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Loesser/ Murtha, and “Too Hot Lady” by Kool and the Gang. During the band’s performance of “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, two vocalists, Katelyn Mehlhaus and Brayden Biersner, sang along side the band, and Junior Kyle Peter had a Tenor Saxophone solo.

Band instructor, Chris Truckenmiller, was very happy with their performance and said, “The kids worked really hard in preparation of the concert, they made everything lots of fun, and really got into the songs we played. My favorite song from our performance was “Too Hot Lady” because it was very groovy and the kids responded very really well to it.”

New Parking Spaces to the Triangle Lot

12/1/2015

By: Taleah Newman @TaleahNewman

Many students have been complaining about the issue of not having enough parking spaces for students, and too many parking spaces for teachers who don’t fill up all of their spots. 20 new parking spaces were added to the triangle lot a few weeks ago, but the new additions still don’t seem to help the situation at all.

The triangle lot’s construction started in the first week of November and had to set for a week. The final finish appeared on November 13th. Asking Principal Byam if he feels there was originally a problem with parking for students, he says, “No, the North lot has never been full.”

Here’s what Byam has to say about the parking issue: “The parking lots were designated prior to construction of the new building. After construction was complete we saw a large number of empty spots in the teacher lot and thought we could balance it out. I really don't think we will ever make everyone happy but it seems like we have plenty of parking, especially taking into consideration that we have the North lot too.”

Sophomore Emily Braun says, “The new addition to the triangle lot doesn’t really make a difference for students because it’s still a hassle trying to find a close parking spot to the school.”

Hopefully sometime in the near future more parking spaces will be added closer to the school for students so that the situation is resolved.