NHS Variety Show

by Becca Warfel

5/12/11

Each year, the Neoga High School band hosts a talent show put on by its students. This variety show is an event that students eagerly anticipate throughout the year and which always contains an interesting array of acts. This year’s show, held on May 6^th, included videos, singing acts, skits, and several audience participation activities. Also, the school band played the opening and closing songs, in addition to a musical number after the intermission. This year’s variety show was also the last one for retiring band teacher, Mr. Doug McClure. The last video of the show was composed by senior Kristie Kastl and included goodbye messages from his students wishing him a happy retirement. Thank you Mr. McClure for all you have done for students interested in the Fine Arts. Enjoy your retirement – you deserve it!

Farm Safety Day

by Kendra Schooley

4/29/11

On April 21^st , the Neoga FFA hosted a Farm Safety Day. The use of Farm Safety Day is to teach middle school students about safety on the farm. Matt Clark of Shelby Electric spoke about the danger of electricity. Katie Turkal from Cumberland County Extension talked about bike safety. Cindy Moses, also from Cumberland County Extension, discussed AgrAbility. Stan Joergans from FS spoke about chemical safety, and also showed how several chemicals look like different products that could be edible. Brenda Roedl from Effingham County Extension spoke about grain safety. When asked about Farm Safety Day, Mr. Light responded, “Overall I think it was a success, and I hope that when the students wear their shirts they remember what they were taught.”

Neoga’s Students Experience "the Sweetness" at Prom

by Becca Warfel

4/28/11

Juniors and seniors from Neoga High School experienced “the Sweetness” this month with a candy and sweets themed prom. The dance was held on April 16^th at the Keller Convention Center. Included in the celebration were dancing, dining, and a chocolate fountain for the teens to enjoy. After the dance was over, students attended post prom and watched a performance from a professional hypnotist. Also, students received gift bags and giveaways after the performance. All students who attended had a sweet time at their dance!

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.