State Medalist Awards Night

1/26/12

By Becca Warfel

If you walk through the main hallway at Neoga Jr. Sr. High School, you may notice the two new plaques on the North wall. Depicted on them are Julie Walk and Jaimee Roy, two former athletes who were honored at the State Medalist Awards Night on January 6^th. The awards night was part of a new program at Neoga that recognizes state medalists in track and cross country. Past medalists gathered in the high school library during the boys’ basketball game to take photographs and reminisce about their athletic careers. They also enjoyed an assortment of drinks and cookies provided by the Neoga Booster Club.

The athletes were recognized in the gym between the junior varsity and varsity basketball games. Athletic director Mr. Jeff Wooters gave a short speech about the program before Mr. Tim Mueller, the current track and cross country coach, took the stage to introduce the medalists. 13 out of the 14 medalists, or representatives for them, were able to attend the ceremony and receive their awards. Among them were Fred Swengel, Scott Swengel, Neil Luallen, Clint Hymes, Andrea (Baker) Yurs, Tim Dow, Chris (Roy) Snyder, Shane Bradford, Julie Walk, Damian Poe, Curtis Flake, Eric Deters, and Jaimee Roy. Also recognized was the late Charles Comstock. Because they achieved state championship status, Julie Walk and Jaimee Roy both received commemorative plaques that are on display in the main lobby.

This program will continue to honor athletes who “go the distance” and achieve excellence. “These former athletes have left a high standard of performance and competition that our future athletes have to aspire to,” said Mr. Jeff Wooters. “Their commitment to the Neoga High School track and cross country program as students is now an inspiration to our present members.” Current track member Ryan Evans said “It brings me pride to run in the footsteps of these former medalists.” The enthusiasm of the younger generation of athletes will ensure that the track and cross country programs will continue to run strong in Neoga.

pic caption(back L-R): Curtis Flake, Damien Roe, Gary Bradford, Clint Hymes, Fred Swengel, Scott Swengel, Neil Luallen

(front L-R): Eric Deters, Jaimee Roy, Julie Walk, Carol Bradford, Jordan Bradford, Christine(Roy) Snyder, Tim Dow, Andrea (Baker) Yurs

Linear Regression Project

by Alex Harvey

1/24/2012

The Neoga High School Advanced Math class is always busy with new projects. One of their most recent was the ‘Linear Regression Project’. Linear Regression is a way of analyzing the relationship between any two ‘x’ and ‘y’ variables, and determining the best line for data. This method is used most often for obtaining statistics.

For this project, the students found the length of various body lengths (arm span, height, wrist width, and neck widths) in order to see if there was a correlation between any two lengths. For the measurements concerning height and arm span, there was- while it varies, on average your arm span is close to or equal to your height. Arm span is the most reliable body parameter for predicting the height of an individual, as well as being a simple measure that's important in the profiling of athletes in many sports in which reach is important, such as basketball.

In general, student results tended toward a correlation in proportions for arm span and height; however, the opposite was true for wrist width and neck width. Students enjoyed the project, and hope to do similar projects soon. “This project was a great experience because we got to use the graphing calculators, which helps us in the future on other projects and in our everyday life.” says Advanced Math student Jessica Warner, “Everyday in math is fun” says classmate Bailey Dow, “…when we don’t have homework!”

Neoga School Spirit Award

By Alex Harvey

12/20/2011

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 involvement, 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 to Heather Baker and Mikaela Walk! For upcoming seniors, just remember, this is not an award based solely on a single achievement -- there are numerous factors involved. So, good luck to our upcoming seniors who will be eligible for this award during the spring semester.

Pic caption (L-R): Ben Johnson, Alan Baker, Linda Baker, Heather Baker, Mikaela Walk, Lori Walk, Phil Walk, Renee Roy-Duey

NHS “Kid Day”

by Jessie Taylor

December 15, 2011

On Thursday, December 1, 2011 Mrs. Sheri Shafer's child development class hosted "Kid Day." Mrs. Shafer and her class has hosted this event for thirteen years. The purpose of "Kid Day" is to encourage her students to take what they are taught, and use these lessons in real “hands-on” activities. "They see our theories in action." she said. "They also plan activities for the children." Kid Day went well, but it was more of a challenge having so many younger kids this year. Most of the children were twenty-four months and younger."They were a very active group of kids with a short attention span." The highlight of the event occurred when NHS Senior Nick Wernsing donned a Winnie the Pooh costume and conducted "Story Time." When all of the activities were finished, the guests were required to fill out a survey about their feelings on Kid Day. About 90% of the guests found it valuable and had the opportunity to experience the children’s interactions one-on-one with each other. A student expressed that “the kids were running around like hyenas!” "Kid Day" was a fun experience, but most students agreed on one thing- kids are a handful.

Book Club Students Present at Conference

by Becca Warfel

12/1/2011

The Hunger Games are coming! Are you ready? Students and teachers from Neoga High School brought the Hunger Games to the ISLMA conference in Springfield this year. The Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA) held their annual conference on October 27^th through the 29^th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The conference showcased exhibits from book vendors as well as many presentations from librarians and teachers. Neoga teachers Mrs. Ludwig and Mrs. Wright traveled with students Stella Moderau, Alex Harvey, and Becca Warfel to give a presentation on last year’s Hunger Games competitions with the junior high students. Together the group gave their talk on what was done at the event and how the other teachers and librarians could replicate it at their own schools. “I thought it went really well,” said Mrs. Ludwig about the presentation. “Our session was well attended and several people at the conference complimented us on having students at the presentation.”

In addition to attending the conference, the group also made a trip to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. There they viewed the Ghosts of the Library and Lincoln’s Eyes presentations as well as artifacts from Lincoln’s life and presidency.