The official publication of Paoli High School
In Episode 6, the podcast returns today and our duo welcomed senior Laykin Busick to the pod to talk about softball and the big record Laykin just broke. The guys also get into the world of sports and talk about the big upset at the Kentucky Derby.
May 11, 2022 Produced by Brian Fullington and Fletcher Cole.
On Saturday May 7, the Varsity Softball team hosted the Paoli Invite and swept the competition. The girls first beat the Crawford County Lady Wolfpack 16-6.
Senior Laykin Busick was proud of her at bats during the Crawford game. Busick hit one homerun, two doubles, and a single. Busick had the final hit of the game, which to her was a huge success.
“I am very proud of my performance this weekend. I am glad that I was able to adjust on my timing in the different pitchers and was able to start hitting the ball more through the games,” said Busick.
The Lady Rams later faced off against the Evansville Harrison Lady Warriors and won 11-9. Head Coach Neil Dittmer had some things to say about the win streak.
“We are continuing to improve, and getting prepared for the sectional. We played solid softball on Saturday, our offense stayed hot all day and our defense improved throughout the day. These wins will help in the future if we continue to play solid,” said Dittmer.
The Lady Rams will face off against the West Washington Lady Senators in a make-up game at home tonight starting at 5 p.m. with JV to follow.
Story by Jeremiah Hutcheson
On Tuesday, May 10, many seventh graders will travel to the Slugger Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.
This is the second trip for junior high students in two weeks with the first coming on May 2 for eighth graders to Spring Mill.
The Spring Mill field trip was planned by social studies teacher Aaron Reckelhoff. On the trip the students visited the pioneer village, a nature program, the Grissom Memorial, and took a hike.
“I hope the field trip gave students a chance to learn some valuable content in a different and fun way,” said Reckelhoff.
The Slugger Museum field trip was planned by seventh grade math teacher Kyle Chase. Students must meet the school requirements to attend the trip. Students will see and experience many interactive experiences there and teachers will incorporate their subject area into lessons before, during, and after the field trip. They will also be walking from Indiana to Kentucky by walking across the Big Four Bridge.
“My hopes are that students see that what they are learning in school actually applies to the real world! I hope for it to be a fun-filled day in a big city,” said Chase.
Story by Lola Beavers
On Tuesday, May 10, the annual Unified Champions day will come into full swing for students competing or volunteering. Students from Paoli, Salem, West Washington, Springs Valley, East Washington, and Crawford County High School will all be involved with Unified Champions Day. Unified Champion Field Day is an inclusive physical education and gross motor education program designed to bring students with and without disabilities together to learn the skills and knowledge needed to participate successfully in inclusive sports and fitness programs in their schools and communities.
“Unified Champions field day in my opinion is the best day of the year. It brings together special education students and non special education students in an inclusive manner where all can participate in athletic events without judgment. It is a rewarding experience for all involved whether the students are competing or volunteering,” said Heather Gerlach, Unified Champions Coordinator.
Gerlach will be running the field events for the students who are in Kindergarten-2nd Grade and making sure the entire day runs smoothly ensuring everyone has a fun and rewarding time. Tyler Kumpf, Physical Education teacher at Throop Elementary, will run the track events for students 3rd Grade-12th Grade. Kumpf will also be helping with organizing the track events which are the 25 and 50 meter relay races.
“For someone like myself who has a passion for health, fitness, and sports, it’s a great way to see students with disabilities compete in an athletic event. We often forget how precious life is. Unified Champions is a great reminder that while some students have disabilities, they can still cross the finish line by themselves or with a little help from a peer,” said Kumpf.
Each special education student participating has a non disabled peer who will be participating in the events as well. The high school students will be helping to run the field events, running events, tug-o-war, and long jump. The South Central Area Special Ed co-op staff will also be in attendance helping to run field events and the concession stands. Superintendents from area school corporations, Paoli, Salem, West Washington, East Washington, Crawford County, and Springs Valley will be cooking lunch for the athletes participating in the event as well.
Story by Corinne Magner
This week was a pivotal week in the Lady Rams softball season. The team snatched their first win of the season against the Clarksville Generals on Monday, May 2, with a score of 19 to 9. The girls had a great game with five players having three hits. Those players were freshman Jae Walker and seniors Kinsey McBride, Laykin Busick, Erica Coots and Kacey McBride.
Busick stole the show, having four runners go home because of her hits.
“I feel that the team did very well and we played better together. It was a team effort,” said Busick.
This past week the Lady Rams had two games canceled due to weather. The first one was Crawford County on Tuesday and the second was Loogootee on Thursday.
Dittmer was very pleased with the victory Monday and had a few words to say.
“We have definitely been playing better softball as of late, and it was just a matter of time until we put it all together and got a win. We have talked with our team about only being focused on improving and preparing for a sectional run,” said Head Coach Neil Dittmer.
Dittmer shared a few highlights from the game.
“It is always nice to get a win, our bats stayed hot all night, which is something we have really been working on. We will need to play better defense if we are going to continue to get better, but we will celebrate this win and get ready for another one,” said Dittmer.
The Lady Rams record is 1-13. Tonight the varsity softball team will face off against the Henryville Lady Hornets at Henryville starting at 5 p.m.
The Lady Rams will compete in the Paoli Invite at home tomorrow. The first game is against the Crawford County Lady Wolfpack at 10 a.m. The second game is the Lady Wolfpack versus the Evansville Harrison Lady Warriors at 12 p.m. The final game will be against the Lady Rams and the Lady Warriors at 2 p.m.
Story by Jeremiah Hutcheson
In Episode 5, our freshmen podcasters Fletcher Cole and Brian Fullington, are joined by everyone’s favorite coach, Neil Dittmer, to talk about the softball sectional and they can’t resist talking about the NFL Draft.
May 3, 2022 Produced by Brian Fullington and Fletcher Cole.
Episode 4 is up and freshmen podcasters Fletcher Cole and Brian Fullington are joined by senior tennis player Tinsley Moffatt to talk about how the team’s season has gone so far. (Spoiler: It’s been a great season for the Lady Rams.) The podcasters update us on sports and rant about the NBA Playoffs and find their way understanding the the Little 500.
April 28, 2022 Produced by Brian Fullington and Fletcher Cole.
This week weather cancelled Monday’s match for the Lady Rams tennis team, but the team still played two matches, adding a win on Tuesday against the Crawford County Wolfpack, 5-0, but losing to the Bloomington South Panthers in a Wednesday make-up game, 1-4.
Head Coach Tyla Whitfield gave praise to two individuals who played really well.
“Tinsley (Moffatt) and Gracie (Brown) played very well. They were able to push their opponents deep in the court causing Crawford to make unforced errors,” said Whitfield.
Each girl won their match giving up no points to the Wolfpack.
Sophomore Maddi Warren defeated Mary Wetzel 6-0, 6-0.
“I think I played really well, I worked on stepping in, and hitting the ball hard, as well as the placement of the ball,” said Warren.
Senior Riley Atkins defeated Mackenzie Menke, 6-1, 6-0.
“I need to improve on playing at my level. Sometimes I play down to teams dragging out a game that could be finished a lot quicker,” said Atkins.
Senior Amanda Bowles defeated Emma Cunningham, 7-5, 6-0.
“I think that I really could have done better than I did, but there is always room for improvement. That’s what practice is for,” said Bowles.
Senior Tinsley Moffatt and sophomore Gracie Brown defeated Jadyn Holzbog and Ginger Gaines, 6-0, 6-0.
“I think Tinsley and I worked very well together yesterday and we both played hard,” said Brown.
Senior Chelsea Deweese and sophomore Micaela MacDonald defeated Faith Taylor and Maddie Pirtle, 6-1, 6-0.
“At times when playing, I feel like I could improve on keeping the energy up and not getting down on myself if I mess up,” said Deweese.
In the Wednesday make-up match, the Rams were defeated by the Bloomington South Panthers, 1-4.
While there was only one winning match, all games were really close despite of the score.
“We had opportunities to win additional games, but we couldn’t win the big points. I told the girls after the match that this was a good match for us to play. We will not get better by playing opponents that do not challenge us,” said Whitfield.
The winning match for the Rams was Atkins, who defeated Hailey Vandeventer, 6-4, 1-0 ret.
Losing matches were Warren, who lost to Briah O’Neal, 0-6, 0-6. Bowles, who lost to Aa Rupp, 1-6, 0-6. Moffatt and Brown, who lost to Riley Walker and Maddie Santne,r 0-6, 5-7 and Deweese and MacDonald lost to Chelsie Lindauer and Caitlin Heim, 3-6, 1-6.
On Saturday, the Lady Rams Tennis team will host Edgewood and New Washington in a Round Robin match starting at 9:30 a.m.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
The annual junior high Morp is coming up on Friday, May 6, from 7-10 p.m. Morp is a dance for the seventh and eighth graders to celebrate the end of the year. The event is held each year in the cafeteria. Morp is sponsored by the Junior High Student Council.
“I can’t wait to see how our decorations will look,” said Junior High Student Council Sponsor Tammy Noble. This is Noble’s 18th Morp event.
This year’s event theme is Hollywood. Decorations will include balloons, mock awards and lots of red, black and gold.
The Student Council is led by two presidents, eighth graders Jaxton Deaton and Kylie Flannery.
“(Noble) had us write down our ideas for themes and we voted on the top three choices,” said Flannery.
One of the students involved in planning the decorations is eighth grade Student Council Member Madi Collier.
“Well, the main design is pretty simple. Red, gold and black balloons. We have little stars and a red carpet too. Right now our main concern is the big Hollywood sign we’re putting together,” said Collier.
Decorating will be done the day of Morp but some work has already begun.
Tickets will be available for purchase two weeks before the dance. This year, the Morp tickets are $8 per student.
Story by Libby Newkirk
On Thursday, April 21, the track team faced off against the Shoals Jug Rocks and the Loogootee Lions. The girls won with 108 to the Loogootee score of 16 and the Shoals team score of 16. The first place finishers were: freshman Jericho Hopper in shotput and discus, sophomore Carley Higgins in the 400 meter, 800 meter, and long jump, junior Kyrsten Fehribach in the 100 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles, and high jump, senior Julie Radcliff in the 100 meter and 200 meter, junior Cailyn Baechle in the 1600 meter.
Hopper had a few things to say about her all around first place finishes.
“I felt relief, achievement, confidence, and success. I have been practicing throwing so much at practice trying to improve every day and place in every meet. Just because I took first in all three events, doesn’t mean it’s over. I am just getting started, there is more to practice and way more to improve on. Hopefully this is only the beginning!” said Hopper.
The first place finishers in the girls relay teams were in the 3200 meter relay team of sophomore Stella Windhorst, sophomore Eliza Ross, junior Lara Brace, and Hopper, the 400 meter relay team of senior Gracie Walls, sophomore Anna Radcliff, Julie Radcliff, Fehribach, and the 1600 meter relay team of Higgins, Baechle, Anna Radcliff, Gracie Walls.
Baechle set a new personal record for herself, which to her was a big accomplishment.
“I felt really great about my performance. I pushed myself harder to keep up with the boys pace since the girls and boys ran together and got a personal record for myself. First place is great but a PR topped it,” said Cailyn Baechle.
The boys came out with a win with a score of 110 to the Shoals team score of 39 and the Loogootee score of 2.
The first place finishers for the boys were senior Gus Radcliff in the high jump, senior Samson Johnson in the long jump, junior Marty Higgins in the Shotput and Discus, junior Connor Evans in the 100 meter and 400 meter dash, junior Austin Benales in the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles.
Benales spoke on his many first place finishes.
“I feel pretty solid about my performance, I did my usual hurdles and took both the dubs easy. On top of those two, I did the 4×1 also getting an easy victory and tried out long jump for the first time ever and jumped a 19’1 which I am told to feel confident about,” said Benales.
The first places finishers for the boys in the relay races were the 3200 meter team of sophomore McKinley Stewart, junior Braven Cook, junior Dawson Poe, and sophomore Cameron Apple, the 400 meter team of Benales, sophomore Andrew Kumpf, freshman Dashawn Robertson, and freshman William Baker, and the 1600 meter team of sophomore Willson Windhorst, Johnson, Baker, and Kumpf.
The Rams face off against the Orleans Bulldogs and West Washington Senators at Orleans tonight starting at 5 p.m.
Story by Jeremiah Hutcheson
Chris Lindley, U.S. History and Government teacher, will be holding his annual “Night at the Museum” showing on Sunday, May 1, in the PHS cafeteria and will be open for public viewing, 3:30-5 p.m.
“Each year the students in my class produce a three-dimensional exhibit as their final project in U.S. History and display it for the public to view,” said Lindley.
This year’s theme is “The 1970s: Decade of Crisis and Challenges” and will include 24 projects, spanning from disco and fashion, Watergate, technological advances and NASA’s space probes and the Iran Hostage Crisis.
The show is judged by a panel of community leaders and teachers. The Orange County Historical Society is funding the “Best of Show” award, and the DAR is sponsoring the prize for runner-up. Third place will receive an award from the PHS Incentive Fund. There is also a “People’s Choice Award” which is chosen by attendees of the show who select their top three favorite projects. The awards will be announced at the end of the show. It is free to the public.
“For those who remember the 70s, this will truly be a trip down memory lane,” said Lindley.
Story by Makiya Russelburg
On Thursday, April 21, the Rams Varsity Tennis team was defeated by the New Albany Bulldogs 1-4.
“I am very proud of Rylie and how she handled herself during the match. She demonstrated excellent sportsmanship. We had a little different line-up tonight due to a funeral, but Taylor stepped in and gave it her all. The girls played well. They were beaten by a tougher team,” said Head Coach Tyla Whitfield.
The losing matches for the Rams include: sophomore Maddi Warren, who lost to Claire Meyer 0-6, 0-6, freshman Taylor Patton, who lost to Claire Stock 0-6, 2-6, senior Tinsley Moffatt and sophomore Gracie Brown, who lost to Lilly Meyer and Natalie Saydera 0-6, 2-6, sophomore Micaela MacDonald and senior Chelsea Deweese, who lost to Corinne Miller and Macie Crone 3-6, 5-7.
The Lady Rams Tennis team will travel to Borden on Monday, April 25, to face the Braves at 5 p.m.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
Episode 3 is up and freshmen podcasters Fletcher Cole and Brian Fullington are joined by senior baseball players Dexter Brown and Bladen Patton to talk about how the season has gone so far. The podcasters update us on sports for last week and dive into the world of Wordle but somehow they get us back to sports.
April 21, 2022 Produced by Brian Fullington and Fletcher Cole.
The Lady Rams have started off the week with back-to-back wins. On Monday, April 18, the Rams Varsity Tennis team hosted the Eastern Pekin Musketeers. The Lady Rams win once again 4-1. The Rams also hosted the North Harrison Cougars and won 5-0.
“I thought we played well tonight considering it was extremely windy and very cold temperatures. Rylie did a great job of coming back in the second set. She was down 1-4 and came back to win. Tinsley and Gracie did a good job hitting holes. They are moving well together as a team,” said Head Coach Tyla Whitfield.
Winning matches for the Rams were sophomore Maddie Warren defeated Madeline Lewellen 6-4, 6-3. Senior Rylie Atkins defeated Evje Melkonian-Ezekian 6-4, 6-4.
“My next few matches will be against teams who are tougher, so I definitely need to be mentally prepared,” said Atkins.
Senior Amanda Bowles defeated Erin England 6-4, 6-4. Senior Tinsley Moffatt and sophomore Gracie Brown defeated Brooke Sease and Kyla Rickard 6-2, 6-2.
The Rams ended with only one loss which included the team of senior Chelsea Deweese and freshman Taylor Patton, who lost to Isabel Cox and Lucia Rey-Jimenez.
Whitfield had a few great things to say about the win against North Harrison.
“Lina had the opportunity to get some Varsity playing time this evening. She stepped out on the court and did not disappoint. Chelsea and Micaela played well tonight. They did not let their level of play drop to their opponents,” said Whitfield.
All matches were won against the Cougars. Warren defeated Kendyl Lasley 6-0, 6-1. Atkins defeated Reece Smith 6-0, 6-0. Moffatt and Brown defeated Hope Whittaker and Kenna Smith 6-3, 6-4. And Deweese and MacDonald defeated Erica Ballew and Eve Wright 6-0, 6-1.
Another win for the Rams came from sophomore Lina Zheng, who defeated Daisy Pitman 6-1, 6-3.
“I felt like overall I did pretty well during my first varsity match this season. There were definitely a few moments where I felt nerves kicking in and moments where I knew I could have done better,” said Zheng.
The Lady Rams will go on to face the Bulldogs from New Albany tonight at home starting at 5 p.m.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
The Paoli Track team faced off against Eastern Pekin on Tuesday, April 19 and both teams were defeated. Though the girls lost to the Musketeers 69 to 44, the Lady Rams earned major individual achievements.
Junior Kyrsten Fehribach broke the girls 100 meter hurdle record. The previous time was 16.3, which Fehribach beat by 0.44 seconds.
Girls Track Coach Summer Hudelson was very pleased with Fehribach’s performance.
“Congratulations to Kyrsten Fehribach for breaking the girls 100 hurdle record with a time of 15.86,” said Hudelson.
Fehribach had something to say about her amazing accomplishment.
“I felt really good about breaking the record. I didn’t think I was as fast as I was and that was the second time using blocks at a meet so I knew I wasn’t that good at it and I will do a lot better with practice,” said Fehribach.
Fehribach had other first place finishes as well, including the 300 meter hurdles and high jump.
Other first place wins for the Rams include freshman Jericho Hopper in shot put, sophomore Carley Higgins in the 800 meter dash and the 3200 meter relay team of junior Lara Brace, sophomore Eliza Ross, sophomore Stella Windhorst, and Jericho Hopper.
Second place finishes include Junior Cailyn Baechle in the 1600 meter, Carley Higgins in the 400 meter, and Senior Julie Radcliff in the 200 meter.
Paoli also had multiple third place finishes including Higgins in the long jump, junior Ryleigh Anderson in the discus, freshman Lilly Hall in the 100 meter hurdles, Baechle in the 800 meter, and sophomore Lily Stroud in the 200 meter.
The boys track team also lost to the Musketeers 86 to Paoli 37.
The Rams had a few first place finishes including: senior Samson Johnson in the long jump, junior Marty Higgins in discus, junior Austin Benales in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, junior Connor Evans in the 100 meter and 200 meter.
“I feel like our team’s season is going pretty well so far. We’ve had a lot of improvement across the board, from discovering peoples strong suits to breaking our own personal records. I feel that if we continue at the pace we’re going right now, we’re going to have a very successful team come sectionals and other important meets,” said Higgins.
The Rams race against Shoals and Loogootee at home tonight starting at 5 p.m.
Story by Jeremiah Hutcheson
The Rams had a rough end to last week losing Friday and Saturday on the road, but Tuesday they got a big win at home against the Shoals JugRocks, scoring more runs than they did in the two losses combined.
On Friday they played a PLAC game against the Mitchell Bluejackets and were defeated 2-6. On Saturday the team took a loss to Brownstown, 3-17. But last night the Rams pulled a big win against the Shoals, 12-6.
Head Coach Jeremy Payton had a few things to say about the loss against Mitchell.
“We played a great game tonight. Bladen (Patton) was very efficient on the mound throwing strikes and our defense was solid. In the sixth they broke the game open with a couple timely hits and were able to close out the game with four runs,” said Payton.
Payton praises his boys for their effort even though it was not enough to come out with a win.
“Bladen, Trey (Rominger) both had two hits each and Carson (Little) had a hit and RBI. We missed a couple opportunities to score early to go up more than two runs but to their credit they made the plays to keep us from doing it. We were aggressive on the bases early which in turn made them make plays and they did,” said Payton.
The Rams had a total of 30 at bats with 12 strikeouts, nine hits, one walk, and only two runs.
Rominger, who pitched during both games, has a couple ways he can help out his team.
“I am working on my pitching and I also try to work out when I can to build my strength and speed,” said Rominger.
Payton saw promise in pitcher William Milner against the Brownstown Braves.
“Today we faced a really good hitting Brownstown team. William Milner started for us and pitched well, throwing strikes and they hit the ball well,” said Payton. “William also led us at the plate with a hit. We were able to manufacture three runs on the day which was good. It was an opportunity to work on a couple situations that we have practiced and we were successful,” said Payton.
The Rams had a total of 20 at bats with four strikeouts, three walks, one RBI, three hits, and again only three runs.
On Tuesday, the Rams had a big win to turn around their losing streak.
“Tonight we put together a nice night at the plate. We were led by Bladen Patton going three for five and scoring two runs for us. Payton Baker had a big two RBI hit for us in the third to give us the lead for good. Trey pitched well for him to get his first win of the season. We plan to continue to build on each game,” said Payton.
“It was pretty awesome even though I was pretty worn out. This was my first hit of the season. It was awesome to help out the team.”
The Rams will be back in action tomorrow against PLAC opponent Crawford County at Crawford starting at 5 p.m.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
The thirteenth annual Photography Show will be held in the Ruth Farlow Uyesugi Auditorium from 12-5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27. Eleven photography students will show their prints, and will also be able to make money from selling their pictures. For every photo sold, one dollar goes to the Media Department and the photographer receives the rest of the money.
“The photo show is for advanced and beginning photographers to display their work. The show is open to the public and we are hoping to have a lot of people come and give feedback on our photographers,” said Media Adviser Heather Nichols.
The photography students will create a setup to display their photos. Student displays will be judged and voted on by guests, with a ‘Best in Show’ award being given to one photographer. Photographers also must create a list of 40 people they would like to invite to the show. The student with the most individual guests to attend will also receive a prize.
All proceeds will go to the photographers and the Media Department.
“The photo show is a fantastic way for the photography students at PHS to display their works for the public and to display the very best of their design ability in their displays. I am very excited to once again take part in this tradition!” said junior photographer Wyatt Blankenship.
For more information on the 2022 Photography Show contact, Nichols @nicholshjpaoli.k12.in.us
Story by Aurora Hays
On April 7, freshmen Fletcher Cole and Brian Fullington rebooted the 812 Sports podcast for the Paoli Media Department. In the previous years the podcast was run by alumni Garrett Vincent and Dietrich Sears. In their podcast, Cole and Fulligton interview a member of a current sports team and discuss school sports as well as sports on a national level.
“I really hope to see us move into the world of podcasting. I have already talked to Brian about becoming our producer for other shows if there is interest. I want more student voices telling stories here at PHS in a unique way,” said Media Adviser Heather Nichols.
The podcast will be published every Thursday and is available to all who would like to listen. In their first episode, Cole and Fullington discussed March Madness, the Masters Golf Tournament and the Rams kicking off spring sports.
“I started this podcast for two reasons: I thought it would be cool to create something and know it as my own, and also it makes media way easier than before,” said Fullington.
The podcast is available on the PHS Media News website and Spotify.
“For the rest of the year, I think we plan to perfect our craft and come back next year with a greater podcast than anyone will ever know,” said Fullington.
Story by Aurora Hays
On April 21, School Resource Officer Andrew Streble, with the help of the Paoli Police Department and Orange County Prosecutor’s Office, will hold a convocation for seniors on alcohol and drug awareness.
In the past, Springs Valley High School students participated in a similar program, so as a part of Prom preparations for the second year following the COVID-19 outbreak, PHS decided to introduce their own version of the program for students. It will focus on how serious of an offense it is to drive while intoxicated and how it can seriously impair someone’s future.
“The purpose of the presentation is to show what effects drugs and/or alcohol have on the body with concentration on what happens when someone is driving while impaired,” said Streble, “We felt it would be more beneficial than just hearing us lecture about drugs and alcohol.”
The presentation will be a recreation of an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) scene. It will also include an officer completing a Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST).
For more information, email Streble at streblea@paoli.k12.in.us or find him in his room located in the Main Office.
Story by Joz Kempf
On Saturday April 16, the Rams Varsity Tennis team hosted the Paoli Invitational, which included Paoli 18, Barr-Reeve 10, Madison 7, and Tell City 0. The Rams once again come out with a win.
In round one of the tournament, each girl or team won against their opponent.
“I was really proud of how all the girls played across the board. We had good ball movement in all positions and played smart points,” said Head Coach Tyla Whitfield.
The top single player was sophomore Madison Warren, who defeated Barr-Reeve’s Alexis Buse, 6-1, 6-1.
“The biggest challenge I faced in my match was my nerves. It was my first tournament as number one singles, so I knew I was going to be playing girls that were really good,” said Warren.
Number two singles player senior Rylie Atkins defeated Madison’s Taylor Harsin, 6-2, 6-1 and number three singles player senior Amanda Bowles defeated Tell City’s Amara Combs, 6-0, 6-0.
“Our team faced a lot of tough opponents this weekend but our determination never faltered. We learned something from our wins and losses, only preparing us more for the sectionals,” said Bowles.
The number one doubles team of senior Tinsley Moffatt and sophomore Gracie Brown defeated Tell City’s Anna Armstrong and Niccole Bailey, 6-0, 6-0.
“The biggest challenge I faced was probably my mental toughness. Most of the game I doubted myself and how well I could play. I didn’t necessarily step out on the court thinking I was actually going to win, I was more nervous than anything,” said Moffatt.
The last win of round one belonged to senior Chelsea Deweese and sophomore Micaela MacDonald, who defeated Barr-Reeve’s Kaitlyn Wood and Alli Robinson, 6-4, 6-4.
In round two, the Lady Rams pulled in four more wins.
Warren defeated Madison’s Anna Bluemm, 6-0, 6-0.
“Warren won both of her matches at one singles so she won a medal for her flight, the position of no. 1 singles,” said Whitfield.
Atkins defeated Barr-Reeve’s Beth Graber, 6-1, 6-1 and Bowles defeated Barr-Reeve’s Claire Harrison, 6-0, 6-2.
“I was able to really track the ball and read the rackets of both of the opponents I faced. My Tell City opponent really allowed me to slow my strokes and work consistency over speed, whereas with my Barr-Reeve opponent I had to use speed, strategy and consistency,” said Bowles.
Moffatt and Brown lost to Sydney Swartzentruber and Dyan Cecoursey, 2-6, 4-6.
“I think we need to work more on passing shots so we aren’t hitting the ball to the person at the net. I also think we could work more on swinging up so the ball doesn’t go into the net. Me, individually, I need to work on my serves,” said Moffatt.
Deweese and MacDonald defeated Hailey Jenkins and Addison Mundt, 6-1, 6-0.
The Lady Rams will go on to face the Eastern Pekin Musketeers Monday at home starting at 5 p.m.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
On Friday, April 22, culinary teacher Debbie Andry is taking her Nutrition and Wellness class on a field trip to the St. Matthews Mall. At the St. Matthews Mall in Louisville, students will first go to the William Sonoma store. This store includes various amounts and kinds of cookware, bakeware, small appliances, kitchen utensils and seasonings.
“I plan to introduce them to as many different types of equipment and their uses as possible. I want to expand their knowledge of the culinary world, and share with them one of my personal favorite places to shop. I love kitchen gadgets and there is no better place to find them than William Sonoma,” said Andry.
The students will also eat at the Cheesecake Factory to have an opportunity for a fine dining experience. Andry believes that students should be able to experience a 4 star restaurant and practice their etiquette skills that they are currently learning in their Nutrition Class.
“The Cheesecake Factory is an excellent restaurant in food, decor and service all rolled into one. Many of our students have never had this type of experience,” said Andry.
Not only does Andry want the students to learn etiquette skills and look at the different types of cookware, but she also wants to broaden her students’ horizons from their experiences they have from the trip.
“I am all about expanding student horizons and creating a ‘What If’ idea in their minds. ‘What If’ I became a chef? ‘What If’ I became a server at a fine restaurant? ‘What If’ I became a food photographer or entered another occupation in the culinary field? These are questions only my students can answer, but they may never have the questions if I don’t provide the experience,” said Andry.
Story by Corrine Magner
On April 3, the FFA hosted a banquet to end the year. This was the first time FFA has had a banquet since 2018, however, they plan on continuing it in the future. Banquets weren’t held from 2019-2021 due to COVID-19 and other complications.
“We thought the best thing was to get the members involved in the planning process so they would be more bought in to the process. Planning for banquets in the past involved heavy student involvement. This allows us to tap into the natural leadership ability of our members,” said FFA Adviser Kyle Woolston.
The officer team put the banquet together, with help from other FFA members. The 2021-2022 officer team consisted of junior Serenity Sweet as President, junior Kenzie Gilliatt as Vice President, sophomore Carley Higgins as Secretary, junior Aliza Allen as Treasurer, sophomore Taisha Robbins as Reporter, junior Tucker Hooten as Sentinel, sophomore Jadlyn Lee as Student Advisor and sophomore Abby Tapp as Historian. The only Senior Adviser was Johnathon Garcia.
The week before the banquet, officer applications were sent out. Members of FFA could fill out an application for a variety of positions for the 2022-2023 year. During the banquet, new officers were announced by Woolston. The new members are Higgins as President, Tapp as Vice President, freshman Keeley Scott as Secretary, Lee as Treasurer, freshman Chloe Smith as Reporter, Robbins as Sentinel, freshman Haylie Gilliatt as Student Advisor and freshman Billy Bob Apple as Historian. There is also a senior committee made up of seniors Allen, Kenzie Gilliatt, Braydon Hayes, Hooten, Taylor Lashley and Sweet.
“I am very excited about this group of young leaders and what they are capable of accomplishing,” said FFA Adviser Cory Scott.
With new officers in place, they will start planning events immediately. The first event on their schedule is the annual Paoli FFA Jackpot Swine Show. This year it will be on May 28, in the Orange County Fairgrounds. More information about the show will be released later.
Story by Carley Higgins
Episode 2 is up and freshmen podcasters Fletcher Cole and Brian Fullington are joined by PHS track star junior Kyrsten Fehribach to talk about her plans for this track season. The podcasters update us on sports for last week and share their thoughts about everything from MLB to UFC.
April 14, 2022 Produced by Brian Fullington and Fletcher Cole.
On Tuesday April 12, the Rams Varsity Tennis team won against the Lanesville Eagles 3-2.
“I was very proud of the girls this evening. They were able to shake off nerves and play a good match against a very solid Lanesville team,” said Head Coach Tyla Whitfield.
The top single player was sophomore Madison Warren, who defeated Grace Campbell 6-3, 6-0.
“I feel very proud of myself, I was down 2-3 and I came back and won 6-3, 6-0. I think I played pretty good, it was a slow start but I got in the groove of the game and played how my coaches have taught me,” said Warren.
Number two singles player senior Rylie Atkins lost to Emma Campbell 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(1) and number three singles player senior Amanda Bowles lost to Lauren Schneider 5-7, 3-6.
Another win to add to the overall team score was senior Tinsley Moffatt and sophomore Gracie Brown, who defeated Rachel Leffler and Kailin Scarberry 6-4, 6-0.
“With this being our first match, we are off to a great start. The rain held us back a few matches allowing other teams to get some matches in. Gracie and I played really well tonight, we won our match 6-4, 6-0. We all, as a team, stayed in the game and fought back and ended up winning altogether 3-2. I’m really proud of this team and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish this season,” said Moffatt.
Brown has two things in mind to help her improve throughout this season.
“I think I need to improve on keeping my head up and moving on to the next point,” said Brown.
To add to the team score, seniors Chelsea Deweese and sophomore Micaela MacDonald stepped up and defeated Nina Irvin and Jane Davis 6-3, 6-0. This was the last match for the varsity tennis team and would have ultimately decided the winner.
“I’m very excited and proud of my teammates for starting off our season with a win! Although we may have had some first-match nerves, that didn’t last long,” said Deweese.
This match was the first match Macdonald played in a doubles match alongside Deweese, but the two came out with a win.
For the JV team freshman Taylor Patton defeated Emma Shaffer 8-6.
“I feel like the game I played was probably one of my best games, mentally,” said Patton.
Also for the JV, sophomore Lina Zheng lost to Jaymee Jansa 5-8.
The Lady Rams Tennis team will travel to Salem tonight to face the Lions at 5 p.m.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
On April 4 through April 8, junior high I-AM students will take the I-AM test. April 11 through April 14, the rest of junior high will take the iReady diagnostic.
iReady is a diagnostic test that the school uses to determine academic growth in Math and English. Students take this test three times a year, once at the beginning, middle and the end of the school year. Teachers use this data to guide instruction in the classroom and also helps them know what level students are working at.
ILEARN is a state standardized test given in Math and English. All junior high students are required to take it. ILEARN is used to help with class placement for honors/AP classes and RTI (response to intervention). It also helps teachers and administrators to know if extra support is needed. I-AM is an alternative assessment for a small number of students in place of ILEARN.
“Remember, testing provides us with info that can help students. We want you to do your very best but, we do not want it to be another stresser,” said Junior High Guidance Counselor Katrina Brace.
iReady and ILEARN are both very important tests for student’s futures in high school and it is encouraged that students take their time and try their best.
Story by Lola Beavers
On Thursday April 7, the Rams Varsity Baseball team won their first PLAC game against the West Washington Senators 2-0. This win makes them 1-0 in conference.
Head Coach Jeremy Payton had a few things to say about this game.
“We played a good WW team tonight. Bladen (Patton) pitched very well for us and our defense played well. We had a couple nice plays by Carson Little with a diving catch at catcher and doubling them up,” said Payton.
Payton gives credit to his offense for pulling in a few runs.
“At the plate we did a nice job manufacturing runs doing the little things we have been practicing. Trey led us off with a base hit in the 6th and Carson Little sac bunt to move him up. Then Brandon Cook drove him in with a base hit to give us a 2-0 lead and close out the game,” said Payton.
Payton acknowledged junior William Milner on his end of the game catch.
“William Milner ended the game with a great read on the ball to close it out,” said Payton.
Payton yet again praises senior Bladen Patton on his wonderful performance on the mound.
“Bladen Patton went 7 innings with 5 hits 5 K’s and 4 – BB. If we can get his pitching like this all season we will be in a lot of games with a chance to win. Great start to the conference. 1-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference,” said Payton.
The Rams will go on to face the Northeast Dubois Jeeps at Dubois tomorrow starting at 11 a.m.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
Freshmen podcasters Fletcher Cole and Brian Fullington have rebooted the PHS sports podcast with guest senior Caleb Jones in their first episode. The podcasters discuss March Madness, the Masters and the Rams kicking off spring sports.
April 7, 2022 Produced by Brian Fullington and Fletcher Cole.
The junior high wrestling team hosted junior high wrestling on February 8 against West Washington and Mitchell. This was the first junior high wrestling meet of the season.
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Photos by Taylor Morgan
In first period chemistry class, chemistry students have been working hard to learn the different reactions that different chemical components have when they mix them together.
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Photos by Oihana Palacios
The seventh grade AVID students challenged themselves in making a balloon tower that can reach the ceiling. The students have to tape the balloons together and not tape the tower to the ceiling.
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Photos by Jadlyn Lee
In February, Spanish Teacher Crystal Shellenberger and her first period Spanish 3 class learned the then trending “Nuestra Cancion” dance from the popular social media app Tiktok.
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On Friday, March 11, Debbie Andry’s third period cooking class cut and ate cakes they had been working on for awhile. Below are some photos of their cakes and the students who made these yummy cakes.
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Photos by Jill Coleman
The Rams had a busy last week as they traveled to Tell City to compete in the Sectional tournament. The week ended with the team bringing home a Sectional title for the second year in a row.
The team started with the first game of Sectional on Tuesday, March 1, against the Crawford County Wolfpack and came out with a win 42-36. In the second game the team faced Tell City on their homecourt on Friday, March 4, to see who advanced to the Championship game. The Rams then pulled off a win against the Marksmen, 60-51. Finally the Rams finished off the Eastern Pekin Musketeers on Saturday with a well-earned win in overtime, 68-61.
Head Coach Dusty Cole stressed that getting the series started off strong was key to the week’s success.
“We knew it was important to get off to a good start. Any time you are trying to beat a team for the second time, it is important to get off to a good start and not let them dictate the tempo and gain confidence. We did a nice job early of attacking their zone and sprinkling in some timely three-point shots,” said Cole. “Fletcher [Cole] did a great job of finding some space versus their 3-2 zone and hit three three-point shots in the first half. We also attacked the rim well early and didn’t settle for poor shots.”
Cole praised his defense for their wonderful performance.
“Crawford County decided they were going to pack it in on defense in the third quarter and it threw us off for a few minutes. We didn’t shoot the ball well and we also turned the ball over a few times. This allowed them to make a little run,” said Cole, “In the end, we were able to hit a few free throws to close the game out and hold on for a big win on the opening night. Our team defense was outstanding and we held Crawford County to 36 total points. We used two to three different guys on Keith Brooks, their 6’5” standout center player. We held him personally to four field goals and only eight total points. It was a tremendous defensive effort by our guys.”
The three leading scorers for the Rams against Crawford were Fletcher Cole with 14 points, sophomore Trey Rominger with 12 points and senior John Moon with nine points.
Cole and his players went into the game against Tell City with a plan as they geared up for what was to come against the Marksmen.
“Tell City was determined to not let Fletcher beat them and they started the game out in a ‘box-and-one’ and ‘diamond-and-one’ defense to slow him down and limit his touches. They also played some ‘triangle-and-two’ defense in the first half as well to slow down Trey. Luckily, we had prepared for this a little bit beforehand and our guys not only knew how to attack it, but we also had some guys really step up and knock down shots,” said Cole.
Coach Cole complimented many of his players for their outstanding efforts against Tell City.
“Andrew Kumpf was huge for us in the first half scoring eight points including a big three-point shot. We also got great play from a lot of other guys, most notably John Moon. John is the most experienced player on our roster and he has been playing really well the last few weeks. He ended the contest with a game high 17 points to go along with a bunch of rebounds as well. Bladen [Patton] and Isaac [Cornett-McBride] also had a couple of field goals in the first half to build our lead to 30-18 at intermission,” said Cole.
Cole was happily surprised that some players were ready to come off of the bench and make a difference.
“We got great play from a lot of our guys. With the extra attention they showed our guards, it was really important for our bigs to step up and play like they are capable. We were comfortable letting those guys go one-on one and make plays for us. John, Andrew, and Isaac all did a great job on the offensive end,” said Cole, “Caleb Jones came into the ballgame in the first half and gave us 4-5 really big minutes. When Caleb came in, we utilized a 1-3-1 half-court trap and that was the point in the game we really went on a good run and extended our lead. Caleb is long and active and he can really disrupt the other team’s offensive flow at times. It was a turning point in the game as we were able to outscore Tell City 18-7 in the second quarter.”
“This was one of the best games I have ever been part of. The atmosphere was great, our crowd was great, our kids were great.”
Coach Dusty Cole
The three leading scorers for the Rams against the Marksmen were Moon with 17 points, Rominger with 14 points, and Fletcher Cole with ten points.
The Rams finished the run with a Sectional Championship win against Eastern Pekin, an exciting experience for the players, coaches and their fans.
“This was one of the best games I have ever been part of. The atmosphere was great, our crowd was great, our kids were great,” said Cole.
Cole acknowledged the boys’ energy as they played their third game of the week.
“At one point, we were down 15-16 points in the second half and our guys refused to give up and refused to lose. This was our third trip to Tell City for the week and the third game that required maximum effort and energy. Somehow, our guys found another gear late in that game and were able to outplay, out scrap, and out-execute a really good Eastern Pekin basketball team,” said Cole.
It was only six weeks ago that the Rams lost to Pekin in the regular season by 17 points and that game was fresh in the team’s memory.
“Pekin is led by Cade Jones, a big-time scorer that is one of the better players in our area. They also have 6’9” center Jacob Cherry, along with a nice supporting cast around those guys,” said Cole, “Our leading scorers on the year are Fletcher and Trey. Both of those guys struggled against them in January and they had six points combined between them. Early on, things were looking rough again and we were struggling to score.”
Despite the tough start to the Championship game, Cole makes note of the changes he made during the fourth quarter.
“We made a few adjustments and got things turned around in the second half. We were able to speed Pekin up and gain momentum. We started to post Trey up inside for a couple of scores and then Fletcher literally took the game over in the fourth quarter and overtime. It was definitely one of the best quarters and a half of basketball we have ever seen. He didn’t miss a shot and scored 21 of his 27 points,” said Cole.
The Rams had their fans on their feet as they made one final big play with only a few seconds left.
“We came out of a timeout with 15 seconds to go. Fletcher was able to find John inside for a 6-foot jumper as time expired to force overtime. We miss that shot, our season is over. But John was able to make the shot and it was all Paoli in the overtime period,” said Cole.
Cole takes pride in many of his athletes as their efforts during this game did not go unnoticed.
“To start off, Carson Little came up huge off the bench when Isaac fouled out. He hit some big free throws late and also made a couple of huge defensive plays as well. Isaac was able to hit three three-point shots and pull their big guy away from the basket. Trey made some huge plays late including a big offensive rebound on a missed free-throw and then was able to get fouled and knock down his free throws. [He] posted up a lot inside and did a great job of getting 13 big points,” said Cole.
Cole recognized that one of the keys to the Rams win was the defensive plays by senior Bladen Patton.
“Bladen took care of the ball while playing great defense on Cade Jones and held Cade to 14 points, well below his average.”
“Andrew was very physical with 6’9” [Jake] Cherry and limited his touches and lastly, Fletcher was simply amazing in the fourth quarter and overtime. He played like a veteran. He was the best player in the Sectional and refused to lose and played with confidence,” said Cole.
The Rams will face the Forest Park Rangers in the first round of Regional on Saturday, March 12, at 10 a.m. at Huntingburg Memorial Stadium.
Story by Ashleigh Garcia
On Saturday, March 12, three PHS students, seniors Taylor Becht and Kennon Scott and eighth grader Hannah Chestnut, will be traveling to the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis for the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state archery competition. These students have participated in eight competitions this season, and their scores have been high enough to qualify them for state. Becht shoots at 7:00 a.m., Chestnut shoots at 9:35 a.m. and Scott shoots at 1:25 p.m.
“I am thrilled to be advancing to state this weekend. I have gone to worlds a few times in the past but we have not been able to shoot in two years so going to state feels just as exciting! I’m happy that I get to have this in my senior year,” said Becht.
Story by Michael Hannon
The eighth grade art students have been learning about pointillism in Chris Jones’s art classes. Here is a look at their progress.
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Photos by Kylie Flannery
On March 13, the Paoli Agriculture department will be hosting their annual pig sale. This will be the fifth year for the sale.
There will be five to six different litters available to purchase, including crossbreeds, Yorkshires and Berkshires.
“Even though I may not be able to partake in the sale this year, I’m glad I have a chance to be involved in the program. It is something that when the school year starts that I always look forward to. It’s a great experience for people of any age, and seeing kids learn how to breed and farrow a pig honestly warms your heart. It may be a dirty job but people who participate are willing to get their hands dirty in order to learn, which is nice,” said freshman Haylie Gilliatt.
Gilliatt has been raising pigs since she was little, and has sold a litter in the sale for two years. Gilliatt does not have a pig in the sale this year, but still plans on helping with it.
There will be three litters that are being sold that have lived their whole lives inside Paoli’s barn; Buffy, Reba, and Rosie. Buffy is owned by freshman Keely Scott, Reba by senior Carson Little and Rosie by seventh grader Graydan Padgett.
“I am looking forward to getting to see how all of the pigs we sold do at the fair. I love getting to work with the pigs, and I enjoy learning new things every day,” said Scott. Scott has been raising pigs since she was around three years old. This will be her seventh year selling them in Paoli’s sale.
As stated above, the sale is March 13, starting at 2 p.m. For more information about the sale, you can contact FFA Sponsor Cory Scott at Scottc@paoli.k12.in.us, or 812-723-3905.
Story by Carley Higgins
After not one but two postponements of the Lady Rams games in Sectional 47, the girls team played on Monday, February 7 against the North Knox Lady Warriors. The Rams were defeated 38-39, finishing their season with a 15-9 record.
Junior Jackie Crews led the game with nine points, seniors Kacey McBride and Kinsey McBride and sophomore Carley Higgins each had six, junior Amelia Hess had five, junior Ryleigh Anderson had four and senior Gracie Walls had two.
“We played our hearts out and that’s all I could have asked for. I am grateful for these friends that turned into family and all of the memories and moments I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life,” said Senior Kacey McBride.
Story by Gracie Walls
Moore’s Time at PHS Defined by Pandemic
School Nurse Emme Moore has been working at Paoli since 2019, right at the start of the pandemic.
Before being the school nurse, Moore held various jobs. She stacked lumber at a lumber factory, was a receptionist at a fitness center, a waitress and was even a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit.
Moore graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis(IUPUI), in 2008 and received her RN.
“I really enjoy working with people and children. I have lots of compassion for children and it’s a great feeling when I can help a child feel better. The feeling of being part of a community makes me so proud and being a nurse gives me that satisfaction,” said Moore.
The pandemic has created numerous challenges for Moore and her team at Throop and the high school.
“We used to have a lot more trust between people and now people are constantly worrying about if someones gonna get them sick or wondering if they are being told the correct information. Now our main concern is this pandemic and it’s difficult because our attention could be on other needs,” said Moore.
The process that Moore and her staff go through when a student or staff is found to be positive is a little chaotic.
“When a student comes to me with symptoms the first step I have to take is determining whether or not the symptoms meet the criteria the CDC has made for us. If it’s something like a headache or your stomach hurting it could be so many other things but if you’re having cold chills or body aches then it changes the way we have to tackle the situation,” says Moore, “After determining if the symptoms meet the criteria, I have to figure out the timeline and dates for when the student or staff member can return along with phone calls to the parents or guardians.”
In the future, Moore hopes for a return to a more normal job.
“I have so much planned for the near future. We are in the process of creating a health education and wellness clinic at the school. I want this school based health clinic to be able to examine students right here at school and be able to meet virtually with other providers,” said Moore.
Nurse Moore hopes there comes a time when there is no more mention of COVID because she feels this has taken a toll on everyone.
“I hope that we can go back to when students could come to school and be treated for normal health things and not have to worry about being quarantined,” said Moore.
For students considering pursuing a career in the medical field, Moore encourages them to stay involved.
“Get involved with as much stuff as possible and make it a point to involve yourself because you need to keep learning and making opportunities for yourself,” said Moore
Story by Kenzie Gilliatt
Nurse Emme Moore started working at Paoli Community Schools in 2019, right before the pandemic began. Moore was excited to be able to treat children and work with the staff here at Paoli.
Unfortunately, the pandemic changed everything and she has only been dealing with Covid-19 cases since.
“Covid-19 has been our primary focus and other health needs have taken a backseat,” said Moore.
However, Moore has been planning to start a school based Health Clinic which will be right here on campus. Moore and her staff will be able to examine students at school and have virtual meetings with other health care providers. This program is a collaboration with Southern Indiana Community Health Care (SICHC). The providers who will do the telehealth visits will be from the SICHC offices in Paoli and English.
“Parent consent will be required. We plan to have a built in consent in Harmony that parents can sign when enrolling their student each school year. However, each time that a student with a signed consent meets criteria for a telehealth visit, a parent will be contacted to ensure that they want their child to have a telehealth visit for this particular illness, injury, occurrence and to see if the parent would like to be included in the telehealth appointment via video or phone conferencing,” said Moore.
This program, scheduled to start March 7, will be no cost to the school because of the grant SICHC received for this program.
The equipment and diagnostic testing supplies will be provided. Students and families will not be billed for these visits and all are eligible regardless of insurance coverage.
Moore also plans on restarting a school health advisory committee. She plans for this committee to have meetings with students and staff discussing health policies. Moore has lots planned to improve our school and she’s focused on making sure students are the main priority.
“I have lots of compassion when it comes to children and I love knowing that I was able to help at least one person feel better,” said Moore.
Story by Kenzie Gilliat
In the past few years, classrooms have rapidly evolved to become more tech-friendly, especially with the threat of virtual learning constantly looming over our heads. Strides have been made to help students become more connected, but having to read from a screen can be a difficult way of learning material, especially new material. To combat this, the school corporation is taking steps to get grades K-8 STEM certified.
According to the Indiana Department of Education website, STEM certified schools “exemplify a highly non-traditional approach to education by employing a great deal of inquiry, project-based learning, community engagement, entrepreneurship, studentcentered classrooms, and out-of school STEM activities.”
With STEM certification, the school would be able to provide students with more hands-on learning opportunities, and will greatly increase the likelihood of retention in the classroom. It will also make material more engaging for students as it will provide alternative resources for students to interact with. This certification will provide options across all academics, not just for science and math classes.
“[The certification] will provide different types of lesson plans teachers can use so that there can be hands-on lessons even in an English classroom. If you can do handson activities in those classes, it will grab the student’s attention a lot more,” said superintendent Greg Walker. In order to get certified, the school is partnering with Equitable Educations Solutions, a company that specializes in STEM certification and Strategic Planning. This company has helped other schools achieve their STEM certifications, and they have a 100 percent success rate.
“I am hoping our students can get more skills they normally wouldn’t get without those hands-on resources. It is also good for the school to promote so we can get more students attending and utilizing those resources,” said Walker
Story by Michael Hannon
An addition was recently made at Paoli Community Schools. There have been three digital signs placed on Elm Street to help share information and promote the Elementary and High School. They are similar to the signs at other area schools and will serve as a communication tool for the community. The signs are located in front of both schools and at the intersection of Main Street and Elm Street.
“I hope the signs are up and running soon, and they will allow us to promote school activities,” said Superintendent Greg Walker.
The signs cost the school a total of $59,823.53. Heather Nichols will be in charge of the corporation sign and each building principal will be in charge of the sign for their school.
Story by Jeremiah Hutcheson
The basketball girls had a good season this year. During Sectional every girl worked as hard as they could to keep the season going. The Girls Sectional was hosted at North Knox. The Lady Rams played against North Knox and lost 38-39.
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Photos by Faith Gammon
On February 5, the band traveled to Jasper Middle School to attend their annual Solo and Ensemble Festival. This is where members of the band have the opportunity to showcase their musical talents individually and perform pieces of music for judges to earn a rating. Over 30 events were entered from Paoli and from those 16 were Group I (highest level).
Students who qualified for State include seniors Haley Cox, Elijah MacDonald, Kylee Charles, Michael Hannon, Angie Ceja; juniors Brody Wilcox and AJ Lopez; and sophomores Daniel Adams and Jacob Young. On Thursday, February 24 a recital will be held in the auditorium at 7 p.m. to feature these qualifying musicians.
On Saturday, February 28, these students will be traveling to North Central High School to attend State Solo and Ensemble Festival.
Story by Angie Ceja
An annual hit, the Mr. PHS competition, is
coming up. Monday, March 15 at 6 p.m., candidates
will show off their fitness, attire and talents with the
help of their coordinators. Admission is $3.
Story by Masden Embry
How ESSER funds have impacted PCSC
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER monies, are funds established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to provide financial assistance to schools in order to purchase items and services that would help students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were three ESSER grants allocated to public and charter schools over the course of a year. The areas of spending for Paoli School Corporation were determined by Superintendent Greg Walker, members of the School Board and other administrators.
“It was a collaborative effort between administration and the board,” said Walker.
ESSER I was passed on March 27, 2020 with $354,698.84 being received by the corporation in May 2020. This money was spent on a wide variety of things, including to aid with learning. Educational materials were purchased along with Chromebooks for all students in Kindergarten through second grade.
“This enabled us to be completely 1:1 K-12 and ensured that every student had a take-home device to use when we went virtual,” said Walker.
Positions were made as well, a daytime custodian and nursing assistant being added to PHS and Throop staff. Disinfectant supplies were bought to help prevent COVID-19 spreading.
The school was awarded $1,531,651.21 in ESSER II monies in July 2021 after the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) was passed on December 27, 2020. Funds were used to provide stipends for school employees, professional development, curriculum and programming and more cleaning supplies. Additionally, technology, Hoosier Hills Pact programs, Youth First social workers and salaries were areas of ESSER II spending.
The corporation received $3,439,871.05 of ESSER III funds in the fall of 2021. Again, professional development, salaries, technology, Youth First social workers and Hoosier Hills PACT saw money be put to use.
The funds were spent in new places too, however, such as the EES analytics program and learning manipulative resources for each teacher. Throop got new carpeting and furnishing as well as a restroom remodel.
“The new classroom furniture at Throop is more up to date,” said Walker.
Each of the ESSER funds have some areas of expense in common, perhaps the most noticeable inschool being technology. One of the most prominent technological purchases is the Viewsonic boards found in most every classroom. They have made learning a more interactive and modern experience for students.
“The new viewsonic boards have been a hit,” said Walker.
The ways in which pandemic aid has been spent so far have been well received and there are more plans for the remaining funds. The majority of money will go towards salaries for nurses, custodians, AVID employees at PHS, and WIN and STEM employees at Throop. Technology, professional development along with any other staffing needs have been budgeted as well. Plans could change though, the ESSER grants being able to be amended if anything comes up.
Story by Masden Embry
Many new changes have been made within the halls of PHS just recently. One of those changes being the removal of the I-STEP (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus) as a requirement for graduation.
In place of the I-STEP, all students, starting with the Class of 2023, will now be required to take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). The new SAT requirement was set by the Indiana Department of Education. Every student will take the SAT during their junior year of high school.
This is also an opportunity for students to take the test during the school day at no cost. The SAT will measure math, writing, and reading abilities in students in grade 11.
It is administered in the spring of each school year, beginning Spring 2022 with the new implementation.
The primary testing window for this year’s SAT testing will be March 2-4, 2022, with the make-up testing available from April 13-20, 2022. All juniors will take the SAT test this year on March 3.
Students must receive a score of at least 480 for Reading/Writing, and a score of at least 530 for Math to fulfill their Bucket 3 for graduation requirements.
For more information, visit https://www.in.gov/ doe/students/ assessment/ high schoolassessment/, or contact School Counselor Rachel Robinson at robinsonr@paoli. k12.in.us.
Story by Makiya Russelburg
At the January 10 School Board meeting, Lila Tucker of the Town of Paoli district was re-elected as the school board president. Tucker and her fellow board members are responsible for securing the well-being of th students and ensuring the improvement of Indiana schools.
“As members of the board, they employ a superintendent and pass and enforce policies,” said superintendent Greg Walker. Tucker has been a member of the School Board since 2015. Her current term ends on December 31, 2020.
Each district votes on and elects an official from their own district, but after the 2020 census revealed how quickly the Township of Paoli has been growing in recent years, they decided on a different approach.
“Each division must be within 15 percent of being equal to each other,” said Walker.
After going through three different options, they settled on keeping an officer for each district, but opening up the voting to all residents. Next fall, three of the current school board members’ terms will be ending, so school board elections will be held with this new form of election.
Story by Joz Kempf
The Student Council will be hosting a semi-formal winter dance on Saturday, February 26. It will be from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.
PHS students in grades 9-12 are invited to attend. Students from other schools are not permitted entry.
Admission is $10 a person. Tickets are available to be purchased every morning before first period until February 25 in front of Mrs. Speer and Mrs. Scott’s classrooms.
The Student Council will be decorating the cafeteria with winter decorations and are also looking for adult volunteers to chaperone.
EM&M will be the DJ.
“We look forward to making this a tradition for our students at PHS!“ said Student Council Sponsor Alexis Speer.
Story by River Fleming
The high school media department had two competitions this school year, Indiana University Southeast Fall Press Day and Indiana High School Press Association 2022 State Convention. The former is a competition that recognizes students in Southern Indiana while the latter is for all Hoosier students across the state.
Results were recently announced with PHS’s own media staff earning several awards.
Recognition for designing and writing for the yearbook and newspaper, as well as for social media work.
Awards for IUS Fall Press Day are as follows.
Broadcast Division
Newspaper/Online Division
Yearbook Division
Awards for Indiana High School Press Association 2022 State Convention are as follows.
Story by Masden Embry
On Friday May 6, the track team traveled to Perry Central for the PLAC meet. The girls team got third of the seven teams with 95 points for the team. The first place team got 147 points.
Junior Kyrsten Fehribach was named PLAC All-Conference in High Jump, 100 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles, and the 200 meter dash and won all of those events. Fehribach was also named most valuable runner overall.
Sophomore Carley Higgins also won PLAC All-Conference in the 400 meter dash and she won that event. Higgins told us what went into winning her All-Conference.
“It took a lot of effort in practice, and a lot of pep talks from my coach. Her and my teammate’s confidence in me helped a lot,” said Higgins.
The boys had a score of 56 points and placed fourth. First place got 175 points. Junior Austin Benales won the 110 meter hurdles and won All-Conference.
“I feel good about winning All-Conference because while expecting to win, I set a personal record as well,” said Benales.
Tonight the Track Team will compete in the Orange County Meet. The Rams will face off against the Orleans Bulldogs and the Springs Valley Blackhawks.
Story by Jeremiah Hutcheson
PHS Media News 
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