On April 28, Stuco hosted the annual kickball tournament that students freshman through seniors compete against each other for a chance to win their entry money back. This year, Stuco made some changes to the requirements for teams. All teams are required to be co-ed with a maximum of 10 players and a minimum of 8.

The tournament was held at the baseball diamonds this year and started at 11:30 a.m. It was a single elimination bracket. The first round was ‘Our Pitches are Crazy’ vs. ‘The Royals’.

“I always think it is fun to get together with family and friends and play each other,” sophomore Karlee Osner said.
With this being close to the end of the year, this was the last event the seniors will be competing in before their last day.

“I am sad that this year was my last year competing in the kickball tournament, but happy that I went out on a win,” Lacey Pauly said.

Most seniors have participated in the tournament throughout their high school careers.

“My favorite memory was probably tailgating with my team before the tournament this year,” Pauly said.

After the regionals competition, student qualifiers competed in State Kansas Scholastic Press Association (KSPA). The event was held Saturday, May 5 at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Six students from Conway Springs High School competed in the State KSPA 3A/4A division: seniors Carissa Brozovich, Amanda Smith and Clarissa Snow; junior Alivia Lange; and sophomores Stephanie Brozovich and Adyson Koster.

“I advise people to participate,” Snow said. “It’s actually really fun, and I’ve learned a lot.”

Students can participate in an on-site category, in which they travel to the location, or a carry-in, in which they submit their work ahead of time.

Three students from Conway Springs qualified for an on-site and three for a carry-in. At the state level, the competition grew more difficult. To meet the judges’ standards, students are given a prompt to give knowledge of the expectations. To supplement this, students are also given feedback from their regional submission. Smith was competing for the second time at the state competition.

“Work hard and remember the feedback from regionals and Mrs. Salisbury’s advice,” she said.

The results of the students’ submissions were Tweeted out the day of the event. Smith received an honorable mention in sports writing. However, students were not necessarily disappointed in the results.

“Don’t take a loss to heart,” Cassie said. “Just because you didn’t get first doesn’t mean you didn’t do well.”

    The student elections started with the executive board for Student Council, held on March 27. The board for the upcoming year are all current juniors. President is Travis Willison with vice president Leslie Mies, secretary is Nathan Ohl and treasurer is Cooper Boyles.

“I was kind of surprised over the results, but I’m very excited and grateful to help and make next year a good year for the student body,” Willson said.

Next were the class officer elections, starting with next year’s seniors. Ben Doffing won president with Mariah Morris as vice president, Kayla Koester as secretary, Daniel Becker as treasurer and Molly Schmanke as representative.

Next were next year’s juniors. President is Cody Jones with Karley Mooneyham as his vice president, secretary Kara Koester, treasurer Michayla Buck, and representative Karlee Osner.

“It was a tough race, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent my class and try and make next year fun for everyone,” Osner said.

Voted for next year’s sophomores was president Colby Osner, vice president Lucy Boyles, treasurer Molly Bender and representative Sadie Schmanke.

For incoming freshmen, president will be Emma Zoglmann and vice president Loren May.

Finally, elections were held for the activity representatives. For academics is Neal Zoglmann, boys athletics is Daniel Becker, girls athletics is Sammie Osner, honor society representative is Kayla Koester, journalism is Lexi Fisher, technology is Caden Runnalls, music is JoEllen Reep, and spirit is Leah Reep.

“I ran for it because I play all the girls sports offered and wanted to be able to represent them well and am happy I get the chance to,” Sammie said.

On April 7, Choir and Cardinalaires traveled to Butler Community College for their regional contests. Students had the opportunity to perform solos, in small ensembles, or in larger ensembles in front of judges to receive an overall score out of V,  with I being the best.

“I feel like regionals was more upscale than league,” freshman Rylie Thompson said. “It was busier, and I am proud that we were all able to make it places on time.”

Students competed in league on March 6 where they received a II. Participants hoped to do better at regionals because league music judges were tough but encouraged them to do better.

“We worked to improve and I feel like we did even though we got a II. We did our best, and that’s what matters,” sophomore Neal Zoglmann said.

The overall scores of the solos, small ensembles and large ensemble performances were II’s, and to qualify for state, it is required to get a I, so the groups will not travel to state this year.

“I think we did better at regionals than league, I felt discouraged we got a II, but we did our best and that’s what matters,” sophomore Kelly Doffing said.

        With more school shootings occurring throughout the nation, the District Crisis Committee reviewed the lockdown procedure and decided to make a few changes. The new procedure is similar to the previous one, with the same three options given in the event of an intruder: run, hide and fight. Rather than just hiding and waiting, the new procedure puts a little more emphasis on interfering a little with an attacker’s plan.

        “Gone are the days of hunkering down and hiding. When you are passive, you become an easier target, but when you disrupt, you break the attacker’s train of thought,”  principal Brent Harrell said.

In the event of a lockdown, teachers are still to lock the doors and turn off the lights while students hide and stay quiet. Classes are then to adjust further plans depending on the classroom they are in. In addition to hiding, the class should try to block the door with a desk if possible, or use something as simple as a chair for defense if the intruder makes it into the room.

        “Being aware is an important part and being more realistic,” social studies teacher Craig Frederick said. “At first I thought, ‘it’s just Conway, it won’t happen here,’ but then looking on past events, we need to be prepared and aware.”

        Each classroom procedure will be different, depending on where you are at and your possibilities. For example, students in the art room might leave the school if needed through the exit in the room. Another scenario would be students in the shop using hammers and other tools for defense. A practice drill was held on Tuesday, April 10, explaining to the students the new changes. Teachers were asked to spend a few minutes at the beginning of each hour that day to specify plans for that particular classroom.

        “I feel it’s an emotional thing,” junior Mariah Morris said. “It helps us feel better, but you can’t prepare for something you don’t know whether or not it’ll happen.”

As part of their weekly assignments and posts, members of The Cardinal Times news website staff and The Talon yearbook staff competed in the annual regional contest, sponsored by the Kansas Scholastic Press Association (KSPA). KSPA is an event where 3A and 4A journalists from around the area can compete in a variety of topics revolving around writing, design and photography.

The event was scheduled for Feb. 22 at Emporia State University. However, due to poor weather conditions, participating students from Conway Springs did not travel to Emporia and instead made up their submission the following Sunday and Monday at CSHS.

“I wish we went to Emporia to get out of school, but it was still okay at the high school,” sophomore Karley Mooneyham said.

Despite the conditions and changes, the staff worked on their assignments and their submissions. The staff’s work resulted in seven qualifiers for state KSPA. The qualifiers are seniors Carissa Brozovich, Amanda Smith and Clarissa Snow; junior Alivia Lange; and sophomores Stephanie Brozovich, Adyson Koster and Rachel Ward.

“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, but it was still difficult,” Koster said.

The competition grows as the members approach and prepare for state, which will be held at the University of Kansas on May 5, where they will have another opportunity to compete in what they enjoy doing.

“I like the class and writing and getting to compete as journalists,” Smith said.

On April 18, the Scholars Bowl team will go on a field trip to the “Monet To Matisse” art exhibit at the Wichita Art Museum. Scholars Bowl has never taken a field trip before. The group will be leaving CSHS at 9 a.m. and is expected to return at approximately 1:30 p.m.

“Mrs. Kitch and I are very excited to take our team to the exhibit at the art museum,” sponsor Connie Pauly said. “It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them to get to see work by the artists we've been studying.”

“Monet to Matisse” showcases more than 59 pieces of work organized by the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, N.Y.. Some of the featured artists studied by Scholars Bowl include Paul Cezanne, Marc Chagall, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, and many more.

“I'm excited for the trip because we study all these paintings, and now we actually get to see them,” sophomore Neal Zoglmann said.

Senior Courtnee Wisdom also said she is excited to see the paintings in person after studying them for the last four years, as well as spending time with other members of Scholars Bowl.

“I'm excited to hang out with the team one last time,” she said.

Student dancers at CSHS are preparing for the annual dance team tryouts. There are 12 spots up for grabs on the team.

The participants started practice on March 13 at 5:45 a.m. They will practice the dance until March 16, when they have the official tryout at 4 p.m.

“The best part about dance tryouts are coming and learning new things, although it’s very stressful,” sophomore Madison Pauly said.

Current dance members and new members, including incoming freshmen, will try out for a spot on the team.

“My advice to the incoming freshmen is to get and stay flexible, always have a good attitude, and be ready to try new things,” freshman Karlie Biehler said.

The judges for the tryouts are women from college dance teams, with no affiliation with the school or any of its students.

“I like that they’re not from here because they don’t know anyone from here or who was on last year's team. Everyone gets the same chance, and it’s a fair game,” sophomore Kelly Doffing said.

Cardinalaires, choir and band travelled to Douglass High School for league competitions on March 6. In addition to large group performances, students had the opportunity to perform solos and ensembles in front of judges, who gave them  a score out of V, with I being the best score.

“Our choir group got a II,” sophomore Neal Zoglmann said. “I think we could’ve done better because our rhythm, pitch and tempo were off, and they went crazy.“

The band also scored a II on their performance. This is the school’s first year scoring below a I on overall group performances in 6 years, according to band director Dennis Kerr. Scores across all large group performances were low: only two I scores from individual judges were given to bands — and no one band received an overall I — in the entire day this year.

Junior and Cardinalaire member Leah Reep agreed that the judges were tough, but she also said they gave good feedback.

“Even though the judges were tough, I feel that they had very good constructive criticism and feedback,” she said. “I feel we did very well on our songs, but I hope to do better at regionals.”

The students performing ensembles and solos go to regionals on April 7 to compete at Butler. The band and choir groups travel to large group state competition on April 19 in Pratt.

“As a group, I hope for us to get better at working as a unit and to blend the band better,” sophomore Cierra Hiser said.