The Word THE WORD A Product of the Bennington High School Publications Class . Staff Volume 1, Edition 1 Brenna Goddard Abby Belden 301 N Putnam Krystle Kral Brittanie Taylor Bennington High School Amanda Bailey Jordan Fief WWW.USD240.K12.KS.US Kurt Fabrizius Audrey Wagner Bennington,Kansas 67422 Advisor: Don Wagner In The Past Remember the good times, Quotes to Live By Forget the bad- Make the best of What we had. Poetry “If A is success in life, then A = Even though I X + Y + Z. Work is x; y is play; wondered and z is keeping your mouth How long it would last, shut.” Now all I have -Albert Einstein Are memories of the past. For me it was love; “Hope is a waking dream.” For you it was lust, -Aristotle But I was a fool And gave you my trust. You stole my heart And lied to me About your intentions, “An investment in Which I didnʼt see. knowledge always pays the Everything happens for a best interest.” reason, -Benjamin Franklin They say, Which would be why We arenʼt together today. “A slip of the foot you You broke through my barriers; may soon recover, but a I rebuilt my walls. slip of the tongue you Now Iʼm not so sure may never get over.” I ever loved you at all. My heart was confused, -Benjamin Franklin Along with my head, And now I feel “When you blame Emotionally dead. others, you give I now see the truth up your power to To the phrase, “Love is change.” blind.” -Douglas Noel Adams Itʼs now in the past, Love left behind. By Krystle Kral 10 Thoughts to Live By! by Abby Belden PoetryNothing Gold Can Stay Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Simply Labeled Her early leaf’s a flower; Writerʼs block is my enemy, But only so an hour. Paper is my sanctuary. Then leaf subsides to leaf. Everyday life becomes harder--stress falls So Eden sank to grief, Right onto my shoulders. So dawn goes down to day. I falter because of the weight-- Nothing gold can stay. But let no one take it away. This burden is mine to bear alone; Robert Frost Itʼs no one elseʼs. Emotions bombard me, Secrets knock at my lips, Wanting to slip through my mouth Quotes And out into the world, To become known “When one door of hain By far too many. clos, another opens; but often we Friendships are crystal, Beautiful in the eye of the beholder, look so long at the closed door that But when broken-- sharp, we do not see the one ich has Short, jagged. opened for us.” -Helen Keller Drifting is the way. Separate yourself from others, “A friendship can Hide where you canʼt be found. weather most things Write the block away. and thrive in thin soil; You could scream, burst your lungs, but it needs a little And still not be heard. mulch of letters and You could be at the top of the pyramid or phone calls and small The lowest level on the food chain, silly presents every And still, youʼre just so often- just to save A reflection of what I see. it from drying out completely.” By Abby Belden -Pam Brown 11 Around The School Not Your The Word in the Halls Average Cheerlead- by Brenna Goddard er Outfits! Seniors We’ve been in school for several Erin Tebo weeks now and everybody’s getting and Emily pretty well adjusted to a normal, back- Schmidt, along with to-school life. But what exactly is nor- sopho- mal school life? Is it the homework that more Kati students (especially seniors) sometimes Komarek, spend hours on? Is it the improvements dressed up like the new parking lot and new labtops as french for teachers? maids for Home- Normal school life encompasses all coming of these things and more. We have a few Spirit Week. more rules this year, like staying out of the Photo by halls and going into the gym after lunch. Trey Lynn. We have a couple new students and even some new teachers: Ms. Arrington in music, Ms. Walker for math, Mr. Pickrell The Secret Lives in Special Ed, and Mr. Wagner for English. Of Teachers Our school is making some changes and Did you know that: improvements. Sounds pretty normal, •Amanda Arrington is playing the piano right? for the Salina Community Theater’s perfor- However, sometimes I wonder mances of Beauty and the Beast. what it is that ever made me want to be •Misty Walker grew up in a farm family a senior. The teachers haven’t backed off of three girls working cattle, driving wheat a bit, and they expect us to know more trucks, and operating an International and work harder than we did last year. I swather. thought that the senior year was sup- •Matt Pickrell not only raises longhorn posed to be one of relaxation and fun, but cattle, but also ropes them in rodeo competi- somebody forgot to tell the teachers that! tions. I’m so tired that I don’t know if I am having •Don Wagner is performing on fiddle and fun or not! Maybe things will settle down guitar as a member of the band Classic and get back to normal, but mostly I’m Heart for the Great Plains Theater’s Al- thinking that normal is a condition that I’ll ways, Patsy Kline in September/October. never see again! Homecoming Present and Past: Memories, Spirit, and Fun! The PA is blaring, and the stadium lights are blazing. The football players are getting that nervous feeling in the pits of their stomachs. King candidates run their fingers through styled hair. Beautiful young women in slinky dresses parade in front of the grandstands. The crowd admires and applauds. Yes, this is Homecoming. When we think of this special event, we usually ask others, “What are you going to wear?” or “Who is your date?” As students, we are focused on the present. But have you given any thought about who and what was involved in Homecoming in the past? Many of the teachers in our school have lived the experience. As it turn out, the educational leader in our building was also a leader in his senior year of high school. Mr. Macy was crowned homecoming king at Minneapolis High School back in the late ʻ70ʼs It rained, but even worse than that was the embarrassing fact that the queen was taller than he was! Mrs. Neaderhiser was a homecoming queen at Wilson High School, and both Mr. Fiel and Mr. Wagner were homecoming candidates. Many of the teachers commented that their homecomings were similar to the way the event is conducted here, but Mrs. Neaderhiser added that activities are a little safer now than they were when she was involved. When she was a senior, her school played a team whose mascot was the Indians. That night at the bonfire, football players dressed up like native Americans shot flaming arrows from the roof of the school to light the bonfire! For much of the staff, Homecoming means a lot of school spirit, unforgettable memories, and a great deal of fun. Letʼs have more of the same! by Audrey Wagner and Jordan Fief How ‘Bout Them Dawgs?! The Bennington Bulldogs have been bringing competition to the contests in all sports. The football team has displayed heart and desire for the game while racking up points in the win column. “This year there is a larger amount of heart in our football team. We’re working hard and do- ing what we can for the team’s success and pride for our school,” declares senior lineman Aaron Jore. The boys are busy preparing for the big home- by Brenna Goddard coming game on the 30th. This should be an awesome occasion, so come with your seat cushion in hand! The cross country team has been leaving their tracks in the meets that they have been to so far. Junior Jenni Butler has gotten two 1st places and one 2nd place in the past three meets. Senior Lauren Cherry and sophomore Sarah Hicks have also placed in the recent meets. Lady Dawg volleyball is making adjustments and working hard to improve their skills, starting with the basics. The team’s new coach, Mrs. Wilson, has had a great impact and is teaching the girls new techniques and skills. The varsity features a young squad that has major potential. However, “It’s a lot of pressure being a young setter on a varsity team,” remarked freshman Jordan Fief. Girl’s golf is improving as the season progresses. The older girls are taking the ‘youngins’ under their wings. “We have some new team mem- bers who are struggling a little, but we’re all working hard together to help each other,” assures senior Megan Vishnefske. No matter what the outcome, Bulldog athletes strive to perform in a manner that brings honor and glory to our school. Let’s all support them as they pursue that Bulldog Pride! A Talk With The Man In Charge by Krystle Kral How well do you know our superintendent? And I mean actually know him, not just of him? I can honestly say, as a senior, that I had no clue who this Harlan guy was that I kept hearing about in the halls and classrooms. When I got the chance to interview him, I found out a lot information that I am pleased to share with you readers! Q: You are now entering your fourth year as superintendent of Twin Valley Schools.