Neoga School Spirit Award

By Alex Harvey
4/28/2011

It’s that time of year again! It’s time for the faculty to choose the winner of Neoga High School’s Spirit Award! However, not just anyone can win this award. To start, you must be a senior this year. Next, of course, is how you show your school spirit, and go beyond the “call of duty” in your life. You should be well rounded-not just in academics -- but in sports programs and the community as well.

Furthermore, the winner should show kindness, unselfishness, and should illustrate a positive attitude. The winner should be involved in the community, and active in clubs. With all of these factors considered, our faculty members have chosen three seniors that they feel best fits this award, and would like to thank and congratulate the one that they feel stands out above the rest with his or her achievements.

The votes are in, and congratulations Molly Tartar! For upcoming seniors, just remember, this isn’t an award based solely on athletic achievement -- there are other important factors involved. So, good luck to our 2011-2012 seniors!

Career Day at Neoga Jr/Sr. High School

By Mr. Steve Poggendorf

4/28/2011

Students at NJSHS were recently able to catch a glimpse at their possible futures. The Career Day event, held every three years, fills the classrooms with trained professionals in a vast array of areas ranging from law enforcement to pet grooming. As a supervisor, I immediately noticed that the students observing these presenters were not only respectful and attentive, but genuinely interested in the material being presented. It was more than a break from normal classroom activities; it was a chance to begin brainstorming the possible road ahead. While some students may believe that they are too young to begin the process of selecting a career, Mrs. Erin Eddinger strongly disagrees. After the event, she reflected, “It’s never too early to start planning. Most people change their minds about their career several times and it is helpful to have as much information as possible.” Further, she is particularly proud of the fact that many of the presenters are former Neoga students. Mrs Eddinger worked closely with the following committee members in order to ensure that everything ran smoothly: Marty Gibson, Tracy Wright, Jennifer Bridges, Jay Ballard, Jason Hanson, Amy Brown, Mike Snyder, Sheri Schafer, and Principal Ben Johnson. The students and staff of NJSHS would like to sincerely thank the Career Day committee for all of their hard work on this successful endeavor!

English 2 Poetry Project

By Kendra Schooley
4/28/2011

Recently Mr. Poggendorf and Mr. Gibson’s English 2 classes engaged in a creative poetry project. The students were required to select a song, find five poetic elements, and interpret the meaning of the song. Then, these findings were to be illustrated on a poster and presented to the class. Mr. Poggendorf stated that, “I definitely see the value in classic poetry. In fact, a great deal of class time was dedicated to Robert Frost. Most students, however, are more interested in analyzing the lyrics of their favorite songs. You can go through a Justin Bieber or Metallica song and find the same poetic elements contained in William Shakespeare or Walt Whitman. The students did a great job with this unit, and hopefully had a good time doing it.” Mr. Poggendorf came up with the idea for this project while student teaching at Paris High School. He knew that teaching poetry to teenagers would be difficult, so he tried to incorporate something that would truly “draw them in.” Personally, as a student who completed this project, the poetry unit has been one of my favorite things we have covered this year.

National Honor Society Visits Holocaust Museum

4/7/11

by Becca Warfel

The Neoga chapter of the National Honor Society recently took their annual field trip. This year, the group went on April 6^th to the Holocaust Museum. The museum, located in Terre Haute, Indiana, was a small, three room exhibit. It contained objects from the Holocaust such as a section of barbed wire from the Auschwitz concentration camp, a piece of the Berlin wall, and photographs from the owner of the museum. The owner, Eva Mozes Kor, is a Holocaust survivor and had a recorded presentation that the group viewed that told her story of survival throughout her time at Auschwitz. In addition to the museum, the students also got an opportunity to visit the mall and eat lunch at Friday’s.

National Honor Society Holds Fundraiser at Culver’s

Becca Warfel
4/14/11

Students from Neoga’s chapter of National Honor Society recently participated in a fundraiser at Culver’s in Effingham. The group worked there on March 17th after school to raise money for their organization. While there, the group did jobs such as bussing tables, greeting guests, and waiting on customers. For their efforts, National Honor Society earned a percentage of Culver’s profits for that day to be used on their Christmas charity activity and their yearly field trip. Junior Sierra Struthers reflected on the event by saying, “We had tons of fun!”

Chicago Field Trip

by Sierra Struthers

4/14/11

A group of Neoga High School science students recently took a field trip to visit a few of Chicago’s museums. The Students left the school at 5:15 in the morning for the Windy City. The students and chaperons visited the Field Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Science and Industry. At the Field Museum of Natural History, they saw a variety of exhibits including Sue, a t-rex skeleton, an Egyptian burial tomb which included mummies, examples of worldwide wild life and plenty of others. At the Museum of Science and Industry students were able to view an exhibit on weather, their Omnimax Theater’s presentation of “Tornado Alley,” and a multitude of other exhibits. Although the trip may have been tiring, all had a great time in Chicago.

Neoga High School National Honor Society Induction

3/31/11

by Becca Warfel

National Honor Society is an organization that recognizes the achievements of high school students in four areas: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Students who are accepted into the organization have been reviewed by a council of teachers and have been shown to excel in each of the four areas of consideration. This year, the Society, sponsored by Mrs. Sally Cohorst, has accepted ten new members at their annual induction banquet, held this year on March 15th. The new members include Amanda Baker, Heather Baker, Hannah Fritcher, Erica Hotze, Ryan Ott, Sierra Struthers, Molly Tartar, Becky Walk, Mikaela Walk, and Rebecca Warfel. In addition to these ten, seven seniors were also recognized for their second year in the organization. Seniors recognized were Tyler Pikowski, Lauren Schumacher, Kristina Kastl, Ashley Deters, Olivia Deters, Dalton Mc Farland, and Natalie Walk. Congratulations to all National Honor Society members!