May 2007 - Special Senior Issue

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2 The Oakwood Times May 18, 2007 2 Purple and White Awards 2007 For eight years, The Oakwood Times has honored those groups who have represented OHS well in our community. As in the past, the selection of these groups was not easy. There is always an abundance of candidates, but we feel that these groups have demonstrated exceptional spirit and dedication and deserve recognition for their work. Outstanding Team -- This team has put forth the best image of OHS on the athletic field, in the classroom, and in the community. Outstanding Organization -- This group has done the most to put forth a good image of OHS, made a positive contribution to the community or school, or brought the best publicity to the school. Outstanding Community Group--- This outside group has done exceptional work for OHS, the district, or has made a positive contribution to the community. Outstanding Team Girls Basketball By Carly Wilson The winner of the 2007 Purple and White Award for the Outstanding Athletic Team is the OHS Girls Basketball Team. The team advanced to the finals of the Vermilion County Tournament for the first time in 15 years and ended up bringing home the second place trophy. They also finished second place in the Comet Classic, which is hosted at OHS every year. The team lost in overtime during the championship game to the Westville Tigers. The team finished with a total of 20 wins, which was a goal of head coach Rick Bough from the beginning of the season. This was the first time the team has been able to achieve this goal in over a decade. All season long, the team was looked upon as a legitimate threat to win the big games and compete for titles. “The team played with a lot of spirit, brought a big crowd to the games, and played with the intensity that we would like to see out of all of our teams,” said Athletic Director Tim Lee. The team was awarded an IHSA Team Academic Achievement Award for having a combined GPA of over 3.0 during the season. Junior guard Stephanie Denius was named to the All- Area team by The News-Gazette, and All-State Honorable Mention by the Associated Press, The News-Gazette, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Denius and freshman Amy Martin were also named to the all tournament team during the County tournament. The team is very deserving of this award because of their success, spirit, and excitement they brought to the basketball court. Close Calls: Soccer, Comettes, Baseball Outstanding Club WYSE By Jenna Hazelbaker The Oakwood Times has chosen World Wide Youth in Science and Engineering team, commonly known as WYSE, to receive the Purple and White Award for outstanding organization for 2006-2007. The first outstanding accomplishment for the team began at their first competition, which was Regionals. The team placed first in division 300 out of six other schools. The team did so well that the students accumulated 43% of the awards given at the competition. Six out of the 13 members of the team placed at the Regional. The WYSE team then advanced to Sectionals, where the team received third place, only missing second place by nine points. The team’s third place finish was good enough to qualify the team for the State competition. Although the team did not place at State, two students did do well. Travis Davis got sixth in math and Erin Pouilliard received sixth in English and sixth in biology. Team members include sophomore Stanley Zitello; juniors Kyle Carnahan, Justin Jones, Joe Lewis, Aaron O’Neill, Scott Randle, Rosa Shoemaker, and Carly Wilson; seniors Davis, Tucker Knight, Pouilliard, Logan Wilder, and fill-in Megan Knoblauch. The WYSE team’s advisor was Norma Anderson. “The WYSE team has proven to be representing this school very well and I am very proud of them all,” said Anderson. Close Calls: Student Council, Drama Club, Sophomore class Outstanding Comm. Group Booster Club By Kimber Hawkins The Oakwood Times presents the Purple and White Award outstanding community group to the OHS Booster Club. Each year, the Booster Club supports all of OHS’ athletic groups. They supply pop for the sports banquets and offer financial aid when teams ask of it. This year, the club offered a charter bus to a football game at Knoxville for both fans and the cheerleaders. The Booster Club offers a scholarship each year to a graduating senior. They are also in charge of both the fall and winter programs. This year, the club remodeled the boys and girls basketball locker room. “I like the dry erase board best because it is bigger and I don’t have to erase every other word I put on the board,” said boy’s basketball coach Jesse Johnson. The Booster Club has bought benches for the soccer team, track T-shirts, wind tarps for the softball team, a weighted bat and backstop signs for the baseball team and miscellaneous items for other various teams. They also bought shirts for the coaches. The Booster Club also bought dog tags to recognize the seniors who were members of sports teams. The Booster Clubs largest fundraiser is the 50/50 raffles. Other fundraisers they have done this year include seat cushion sales, men’s nostalgia basketball tournament, and a golf outing. On June 23, the Booster Club will hold their second annual golf outing. Anyone interested in playing needs to contact the Booster Club. Close Calls: Post Prom parents, Appalachia Service Project
May 18, 2007 Faculty members leaving for other opportunities Mr. Joel Gehrig is leaving OHS to continue his education. He is just one of the three teachers who will not be returning to OHS next year. (Photo courtesy of FFA) Graduation set for May 20 By Meghan Hohn As students and teachers wind down for the summer, seniors are busy preparing for their upcoming graduation. Graduation will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, 2007 in the Oakwood Grade School gymnasium. The DAR and SAR will be giving the opening and closing speeches. This year’s DAR is Jessica Burress and the SAR is Kyle Collom. Speeches will also be given by Travis Davis and Erin Pouilliard who are ranked number one and two in the class. It has not yet been determined which will be valedictorian or salutatorian. The OHS chorus will also be performing during the ceremony. Each class that graduates from OHS is unique and leaves a lasting impression on the faculty and school. The class of 2007 is no exception. OHS English teacher Judy Steffen has taught all of the graduating seniors and has grown close to all of the members of the class. “I’ll remember the class of 2007 in many ways,” said Steffen. “One of the things I’ll remember about English II is that I always wanted them to work harder than they did and I had hoped more were involved in extra-curricular activities. I enjoyed their distinct personalities for sure.” School officers chosen By Laura Lucas The executive board for next year’s student council has been chosen. The voting for the student council executive board took place on Friday, April 27. All of the executive board members ran unopposed this year. Joe Lewis will be the 2007- 2008 student council president, Amie Burke for vice president, Kayla Johnson for treasurer, Chelsea Tarquini for Secretary, Katie Lee for Historian, and Carly Wilson for corresponding secretary. The corresponding secretary is chosen by the OHS student Council sponsor David Calkins and President Joe Lewis. “I am excited for the upcoming year, I think that we will make a lot of positive changes in the community,” said Lewis. According to freshman class sponsor, Michelle Kimbro, the new 2007-2008 freshmen class officers will be president Logan Cronk, vice president Joseph Garrett, secretary Michaela Eickhoff, and treasurer Zack Carnahan. All class presidents will automatically be named student council members for the next school year. 3 By Erin Pouilliard Three OHS faculty members, Mr. Joel Gehrig, Ms. Janelle Dodge and Ms. Sarah Leary will not be returning next year to teach at OHS. Leary, current OHS algebra II, pre-calculus, and calculus teacher, intends on finding another teaching post in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is currently interviewing for positions as a high school or middle school math teacher. The 2006-07 school year was her first year at OHS and her first year teaching. “Everyone in my classes cared about their grades, so it was easy to motivate,” said Leary. “When I student-taught in a larger school, a lot of the kids didn’t care.” She is getting married this summer, and plans to move to Indiana with her future husband before next school year. Leary was also the assistant volleyball coach at OHS. Gehrig, current OHS Ag teacher, is leaving teaching By I have no idea This year, Prom was held on May 12 at the Beef House in Covington from 6:30 p.m. to 11:00p.m. The theme was From This Moment which was also the name of the song by Shania Twain that was played during coronation. This year’s colors were peach, mint green, and ivory. Approximately 160 students attended prom this year and junior class advisor Lynn Anderson was happy with the turnout. “My only hopes for Prom this year were that everyone would have fun while being safe,” said Anderson. The 2007 junior Prom prince was Joe Lewis and the princess was Amanda Cruse. This year’s Prom king candidates were Nathan Davis, Travis Davis, Jacob Duncheon, Tucker Knight, and Bryce Leeman. The queen candidates were Brooke The Oakwood Times altogether. “I think I will feel lost in the fall. It’ll feel very weird,” said Gehrig. He will be enrolling as a full time student at the Urbana Theological Seminary, where he has been taking a class a semester for a while. Mrs. Gretchen Gehrig, a first grade teacher at OGS, will not be leaving her teaching position, but is also taking classes. The Gehrigs hope to be overseas missionaries in the near future. “We knew this was a possibility before we ever got married,” said Gehrig. In addition to teaching Ag, Gehrig is also the FFA and FCA advisor. Dodge teaches science and has been the soccer coach and Scholastic Bowl assistant coach. She is leaving to take a job in Galesburg. Prom and Post Prom over Eickhoff, Jena Foley, Kimber Hawkins, Morgan Ives, and Laura Lucas. Results were not known at the time of publication. Post Prom was held at the high school following Prom from midnight to 5 a.m. Approximately 100 people attended this year. “Everything came together wonderfully. There were tons to do and everyone had a great time. I could not have hoped for anything better,” said committee member Keri Wright. The parents said watching the kids enjoying themselves at Post Prom made all the hard work worth it. “Putting on this event was a lot of work and very time consuming but after seeing the end product I don’t regret it,” said Wright. Many prizes were also given out to the OHS juniors and seniors. Next year’s Student Council executive board is pictured above. From left, treasurer Kayla Johnson, historian Katie Lee, president Joe Lewis, secretary Chelsea Tarquini and vice president Amie Burke. (Photo by Jenna Hazelbaker)
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