Two Great Games in One Night

On Thursday, January 9, the EHS girls’ basketball teams faced the Pontiac Indians. The JV team started the night off with a very close game. In the last few seconds of regulation, Sophomore Kelsie Plattner knocked down a three pointer sending the game into overtime! During the fifth quarter, the teams were neck and neck. But in the last few seconds, Sophomore Emily Ausmus hit a key free throw making the score 58-57 and led them to a victory.

The varsity game was equally exciting. At the beginning of the game, the girls were down by 17 points but worked their way back in to make it a close game. The Hornets competed very well and definitely shook up the Indians. Going into the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, the girls came within just a few points of Pontiac. The varsity pushed but came up just 3 points short of a victory with the final score being 45-47. Coach Miller commented, “I thought the varsity played a really good team defense.” He also overheard the Indians’ coach compliment the varsity on how good of a defense they played.Congratulations to both teams on great games. Come out to support the girls at their next home game on Thursday, January 16 against Mahomet-Seymour.

By: Seniors Kylie Alwood and Darci Eastman, Journalism staff

Fall 2014 Registration ASAP

Attention all students and parents! It's that time of year again to think about fall classes. All students need to register on Skyward for their Fall 2014 classes as soon as possible. Mr. Bachman and Mrs. Brown are meeting with Freshman-Juniors today, Monday, January 13, to discuss the registration process as well as to explain options for elective courses. Please register on Skyward beginning today through this Sunday, January 19. Please e-mail bachmanj@district140.org or browns@district140.org if you have any questions.

Let it Snow!

Yeah, it's cold outside, but it will soon be heating up inside EHS! Beginning Monday, January 13, Student Council will be throwing the 2014 Snowcoming week. While it continues to snow outside, we all will be decking the halls with new dress up days and prizes. Juniors Maddie Plattner and Natalie Gladson both really want people to get excited for all winter teams this Snowcoming week. In past years, Student Council was unable to put on Snowcoming because Hope Week and FFA week were all close together. But this year Natalie expressed her excitement for Snowcoming and said, “Most definitely excited! More than you can understand!” Part of the excitement comes from the dress up days. “We tried to do stuff we have never done before,” Maddie Plattner said. Every day that you dress up you earn a ticket that you can put into a raffle throughout the week. At the girls game on Thursday, you get the chance to earn three extra tickets. Prizes range from a new Kindle Fire, Hornet wear, and exotic surprises. Dress up days for the week are as follows: Monday--Sparkle Day, Tuesday--Twin Day, Wednesday--Hawaiian Day, Thursday--Throwback Day, and Friday--Green and White Day.

By: Junior Bridgette Connolly and Senior Daniel Johnson, Journalism staff

 

Learning the Codes

Eureka High School was fortunate enough to have the Bradley University Computer Science Team (Jacob Siegors, Sarah Fields, and David Reeves) present to Mr. Glass’s Geometry class on Friday, December 6. This past week was dedicated to Murray Hoppers who was the first programmer of the Harvard Mark Computer. They do this in remembrance of her birthday that is celebrated on December 9. The Bradley students showed the class on how to code websites. They instructed students to go to a website that consisted of an angry bird and a pig. Here, the students had to figure out the code that would allow the angry bird to capture the pig. For example, you would use the code forward if you wanted the pig to move forward. As the levels got higher, the levels also became harder, and the code got longer. The students not only learned how to program but also some interesting tidbits from the Bradley students. For example, did you know that Chris Paul, an NBA all-star basketball player coded in college? Or that will.i.am is currently taking coding classes?  Sydney Swords, a sophomore Geometry student said that she learned a lot and was interested in Wordpress, a site that helps you make your own free website. She added, “I enjoyed the coding game and thought it was easy to understand.” Overall, Mr. Glass and his students thought it was a pleasure having them come share their websites, games, and ideas with the class and would enjoy having them next year.

By: Senior Josie Hodel, Journalism staff

Something to Celebrate

By: Senior Garrett Cadieu, Journalism editor

On Friday, December 6, 2013, the results of the nation-wide “Celebrate My Drive” contest put on by State Farm Insurance were released. In an exciting check reveal before a full gymnasium, Eureka faculty, staff, students and community members had high hopes for the huge grant of $100,000. With 15 minutes before the start of the varsity basketball game between the Eureka Hornets and the Olympia Spartans, Mr Wherley and Mr. Gold, along with several State Farm Representatives, made their way to center court. After many thanks to the community of Eureka and the students of Eureka, the State Farm Representative presented Mr. Wherley with a check for $100,000 dollars! Eureka had placed 2nd in the “small-school” category with an impressive 68,000 driving commitments from the community. “It was amazing to see such a contribution and support from the community. We were even getting votes from not only here in Eureka, but also from Colorado to Afghanistan,” stated an elated Mr. Wherley. With winning the $100,000 dollar check prize, the Eureka school board plans to put the money towards buying a digital marquee for Eureka’s high school, middle school, and Davenport, as well as upgrading equipment and school supplies for the grade schools in Goodfield and Congerville. The student body showed the enthusiasm for winning the second place prize at the game with a roaring cheer and applause. As another thanks for participating in the contest, it was free popcorn on State Farm for the rest of the game. It was just another night to prove that being a Hornet is the best! The youtube link below shows the revealing of the check!

http://youtu.be/Vo6-9VTw1nw

Communities Stick Together

Since Sunday, November 17,  there has been a huge cry for help in our neighboring community of Washington. The catastrophe of an F4 tornado created miles upon miles of destruction that not only left the city of Washington without power, but also left family after family without a home. Washington’s cry did not go unanswered. Within hours, cars full of people were swarming in to help, clogging the streets all around the path of destruction. It was clear that cleanup from such a huge disaster would take months, and because of how close we are to winter, it would take even longer. Neighboring communities have done what they can to help with “catastrophe relief efforts,” and people within those communities have gone above and beyond to help with what they can. Churches have provided shelters; the DMV has set up a base nearby for replacing drivers’ licenses, and even eyeglass stores have offered free replacements to anyone who lost their lenses in the storm.

Eureka High School is counted among these efforts. With power back on for school on Tuesday, our own Mr. Tapp made a great and valiant effort, putting together a team of over 40 students, six teachers and three chaperones to willingly take an excused day out of school to go and help with what they could on Friday, November 22. The team set out and tackled a family farm house, picking up as much rubble as they could from the huge yard in no more than two hours. After getting warmed up and eating lunch, they then attempted to help nearby Bethany Community Church. The Washington authorities had a tight hold on the perimeter, though, and that made it impossible for such a large group of people to get through and help. After that, our fearless leaders regrouped and quickly sent everyone off into the closest harvested field, and with nobody stopping them, they stacked up piles and piles of debris that landed in the field six days earlier, along with a five-gallon bucket half full of photographs they had all found in the field.

The mud was heavy in their boots from the rain, and the wetness in the air and cold wind from the field made everything look desolate, without even having to look west to see the town. Everyone came prepared with multiple layers of clothes, pairs of gloves, and buckets to make sure the job got done, and they were all more than happy to do it. The EHS group did as much as they could and were out volunteering from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, and many did not want to stop there. 

Many people will continue to try and help with anything they can, though situations in Washington are changing every day. All anyone needs to do is ask around, or get a group together, and they will find numerous opportunities to help. Eureka High School is nowhere near done contributing, as Ms. McClure is taking a group of FFA members leaving from school at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 27. Paying attention to announcements and asking questions is incredibly important while helping Washington recover.

By: Junior Quincy McSweeney, Journalism editor

Photos by: Mrs. Michelle Monk

EHS arrives to clean up.

Looking out onto the empty, desolate field.

The students wait for instructions before beginning clean-up.

Students take a break for lunch.

A Glimpse into History

A birds-eye view of the American History students and teachers two floors down at the McLean County Museum. 

On Wednesday, November 6, the EHS American History students left all day for a field trip created and led by Ms. Bertschi and Mr. Breitbarth. On this trip, the students went to the Mennonite Museum, the Metamora Courthouse, and the McLean County Museum to learn about the way of life back in the 19th century that they could apply to their own family histories. Each museum displayed artifacts from the time period along with records and photographs of those who once lived. Junior Kaci Troth’s favorite part of the trip was the Metamora Courthouse stating that she enjoyed the speaker there who told stories from Abraham Lincoln’s life. Although that was her favorite, she really enjoyed the trip as a whole. “I thought it was interesting to go to a few different museums rather than just one, so we get different sources of information on different topics in history.” Junior Elesa Anthony added, “I can actually say I had fun on the trip! We were really there to learn about our history and everyone’s history in general. That was fascinating!” The girls both enjoyed how the information from this field trip could be related to students personally which helped them make a connection.

By: Junior Adriane Schoonover, Journalism staff

What's the Buzz?

As first semester starts coming to a close, Ms. Lowe continues to have her Journalism students working hard on impressing the school with their original work. Journalism is a great way to get out of your comfort zone and take the time to learn about people you are not familiar with. Currently, Journalism is writing many different types of reviews and articles to entertain students and their families. You can read some great previews and reviews of extra-curricular activities on the school website written by students of the Journalism class, as well as fun, random reviews and advice columns on the Journalism blog, http://whatsthebuzzehs.blogspot.com/. “It’s like English class, but it’s applied and you can see what your stuff looks like in the real world,” said Senior Alex Evans.  But the Journalism class isn't just publishing articles on the website. If you happen to pick up the Woodford County Journal, flip over to the Nautilus section, and read the "Senior Spotlights" and other articles all written by the students. Their goal is to showcase unique stories that capture the attention of everyone. If you have any unique stories to share, talk to any of the Journalism students. And make sure to order the 2014 yearbook, Our Story, and get a first hand account of the unknown stories of Eureka High School! This year is the first year where the Journalism class is in charge of organizing and designing the whole book. They’re planning to create a fun and unique yearbook that all students enjoy flipping through. “I think it’s coming together nicely and that the students will be pleased to see more variety of people and activities,” said Junior Co-Editor, Brie Dingledine. If you happen to have any pictures of any “buzz” around the school, e-mail them to Ms. Lowe or upload them to http://www.hjeshare.com/, school code "eureka," and you may see them in the yearbook!

By: Junior Abby Shoemaker, Journalism co-editor

Blood Drive Success

Mr. Glass looks quite relaxed as Red Cross worker gets him prepped.

Senior Zach Schaidle, Juniors Hunter Honeg, Maddie Plattner, Natalie Gladson and Jaxon Rieke, Seniors Kent Hinrichsen, Alex Evans and Eric Lind assemble with some interesting poses with Student Council sponsor, Mrs. Brace.

Mr. Wherley feels good as he gives a thumbs-up while trying to get his blood pumpin'. 

Senior Jonathan Troyer

Junior Hannah Hirstein

Junior Serena Bauman

The local Red Cross made their annual stop at EHS last Wednesday, November 13, giving students and faculty members an opportunity to donate their blood. The turnout was (AB)solutely awesome with a total of 49 people donating throughout the day. Before the day had started, Red Cross and EHS’s goal was to collect 41 pints of blood. EHS gave 45 pints of blood to the Red Cross for those in need! Red Cross would have received 49 pints, but they only received the 45 pints due to four people have issues giving blood. No one passed out this time unlike recent years. Everything ran very smoothly under the direction of Mrs. Janelle Brace. Senior Zach Schaidle told us that “This year was a lot better than last year. Everything went smoothly.” A big thanks to everyone who made a difference and helped saved lives.

By: Seniors Kylie Alwood and Darci Eastman, Journalism staff

Photos by: Mrs. Brace

Got Cheer?

Some people say, “Once is luck, twice is skill,” but the Eureka High School cheer team never needs a second try. Getting it done the first time, the squad never says no to a new routine and always goes full-force at every competition. Starting way back in the summer, the squad has been practicing weekly for the upcoming season. The squad continues to cheer into the fall months to ignite the fans and root on the football team. But during the upcoming winter months, the cheerleaders will be giving it their all at every game and their numerous competitions. Junior Kailee Getz has high expectations and is looking forward to many things this season. “All I want is to have fun with my team while we compete to do our best.” And that's exactly what they’re going to do. On Saturday, December 7, the cheer squad will be making their way to Pontiac for their very first competition of the 2013-2014 season. And Pontiac is only the beginning! Confidently anticipating the future, the cheer squad will continue to bond and develop audacity as they cheer their way to the State Finals.  

By: Senior Tate Taufer, Journalism staff