Kill the Silence: Neoga Students Sing Out Against Drugs

by Becca Warfel

3/3/2011

Students at Neoga High School are taking a stand against drugs and violence in their upcoming album, Kill the Silence. The album is part of the Nobody’s Fool CD project, a class activity started in 1999 by teacher Martin Gibson, created to help combat the growing drug problem in American teenagers. With the help of teacher Stephen Poggendorf and the students of the Poetry Club, the Nobody’s Fool project has grown from a class activity into a school wide undertaking.

Kill the Silence, when released, will be the twelfth album produced by the rural Illinois school and will include four songs written, performed, and recorded by students at the school. Genres chosen for the CD include heavy metal, indie, techno, and goth metal, and each one of these musical genres will take a unique viewpoint of modern drug use and the impact it has on teenagers today. From experimentation to addiction, students tell the story of drug usage in a voice that is rarely found in health textbooks and documentaries: their own.

A community CD release party is to be held on March 29^th at 6:00 pm in the Neoga City Building

Contact: Marty Gibson, NHS, (217)-895-2205, mgibson@neoga.k.12.il.us

Neoga’s FCCLA Attends Section Rally

by Sierra Struthers
2/24/11

The Neoga Chapter of FCCLA recently took a field trip to a section rally at Eastern Illinois University to meet with other FCCLA groups. Students were able to make shirt aprons and turbans for cancer patients. They also played games such as human tic-tac-toe and gorilla gun. “It was really fun,” said Kristie Kastl about the event. “We all had an awesome time.”

Neoga WYSE Team Places Third

By Mrs. Sally Cohorst

2/18/2011

Neoga High School received third place out of fourteen teams in the annual Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge on February 10th. Lake Land College hosted the regional competition. Neoga competed in Division 300.
St. Anthony won the event with a perfect 500 points, followed by Cumberland with 392.5 points, Neoga with 379.6, and Dieterich with 364.5 points. In Division 700, Teutopolis won and Sullivan received second place. Charleston won Division 1500 and Mattoon got second.

Kelton Nichols received second place in Engineering Graphics. Other members who competed were Amanda Baker, Michael Baker, Kamryn Boarman, Daniel Brown, Courtney Cornell, Bailey Dow, Anna Frailey, Kristie Kastl, Seth Kline, Ethan Lawrence, Kyle Ludwig, Dalton McFarland, Kelton Nichols, Ryan Ott, Chris Peters, Tyler Pikowski, Lauren Schumacher, Sierra Struthers, Becky Walk, Natalie Walk, Becca Warfel, and Jessica Warner. The team is coached by Sally Cohorst.

Subjects tested are biology, chemistry, computer fundamentals, English, engineering graphics, math, and physics. Each student is required to take two tests. The team score is a normalized score using the top two scores from chemistry, English, and math and their best two from the remaining four subjects.

The top four teams from Division 300 will advance to sectionals which will be held at Eastern Illinois University in March. At the sectional level, only a team of fourteen members will compete. These fourteen will be selected based on their scores at the regional and the required subjects needing to be included for the team score.

NHS Yearbook Award

By Sierra Struthers

2/18/2011

Last year’s NHS Yearbook staff was recently awarded 3^rd place in photography and 3^rd place in theme development by Dr. Sally Renaud, IJEA executive director and professor at EIU. They competed in a state wide competition along with 28 other schools with populations of 500 or less. Last year’s editors, Taylor Walk and Tiffini Correll, along with Mrs. Bridges worked hard to follow the theme of “Guide to Neoga High A-Z.” They were judged in 8 total categories and the awards were presented to this year’s staff on February 10^th. Dr. Renaud’s said “I was pleased to see the Neoga High School yearbook place in the Illinois Journalism Education Association annual competition. Good design work shows that the staff carried out its vision from beginning to end, and their concept held up. When members of the class of 2010 come back for high school reunions, they will have a book that provides them with a great history. Last year’s staff should be very proud, and the acknowledgment gives the current staff a standard to uphold.” Congratulations on your award Neoga Yearbook staff!

No Boundaries

by Alex Harvey

2/18/2011

Brett Eastburn believes you are a success if you choose to be. On January 20th, 2011, Neoga High School students learned firsthand that the only handicap in your life, is you. Brett explained this by sharing his own life stories, and demonstrating that he was far more than meets the eye. Brett was in 1971 with a congenital birth defect known as quad-membral limbs deficiency. "I was born this way. There's no medical reason why," says Eastburn. "I just believe that God put me here to help other people realize their own potential."

Not only is Brett a talented comedian, he is an accomplished football player, basketball player, baseball player, and wrestler. "I used to play football until my friends used me as the football. That spiral thing was killer," jokes Eastburn. At first glance, this may be hard to believe, but Brett proved to the students that he was far more than he seemed. "I want you to understand that handicaps are not what they appear to be. Just because someone looks like they may be handicapped, doesn't mean that they necessarily are." says Brett."You can do anything that you want to do.” Brett went above and beyond all our expectations. The students thought he was a hilarious, brilliant speaker, and genuinely enjoyed his presentation. Thank you, Brett!

Students “Sound-Off” on Snow Days

2/10/2011

Due to unbelievable amounts of ice, frigid temperatures, and widespread power outages, Neoga High School students have seen a few more snow days than expected this winter. They reacted in various ways to the recent inclement weather and its effects on their education.

“It was a great time to study and relax.”
“People need to learn to drive on ice, eventually.”
“I thought it was great – like a mini-vacation!”
“I got sick of staying home every day without being able to leave.”
“I was really bored and actually wanted to come to school.”

Neoga School Spirit Award

By Alex Harvey
2/10/2011

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 Tyler Pikowski! 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!