McElmurry is very excited about the 2 songs she will be playing at state. 

“The first piece that I'm playing at state is called Govt by Godsect, and 2nd piece I'm playing is called First Waltz by Gretchen and Off,” McElmurry mentions.

McElmurry was shocked by the result she heard from one of her fellow band members. 

“A kid in the band who also is going to state, Nate Bullock, told me about 20 minutes. After I heard I was going to state, I started crying because my hard work was achieved,” McElmurry said.

McElmurry is taking an instrument she has played since 6th grade to state with her this year. 

“I will be taking the flute to state,” McElmurry said.

Junior Nate Bullock is also one of the 15 kids that is going to state this year. 

“I feel a little unsure about the solo since I have not been able to practice a lot since the solo and ensembles comp,” Bullock mentions.

Bullock is excited to take the songs that he will be playing at state. 

“The solo is Geyer's Hunt for Horn in F and Piano written by Gavin Lendt,” Bullock mentions.

Bullock is also shocked about his result for going to state too. 

“When I got a one I was surprised since I thought that my solo was not the best but still a good performance missing some points but I had a good feeling about getting a 2. When I bumped up to a one I was happy to get the chance to have a better performance for state,” Bullock said.

Bullock will be taking an instrument that he is excited to be using at state. 

“For state this year I am taking a single triggered Holton French horn that can go between the key of F and Bflat with its trigger but am playing the solo in the key of F,” Bullock said.

Rathert has been a part of choir ever since she was a little girl-a total of 9 years. She was shocked and happy to hear that she got a 1 rating.

“I was sitting down with Makennah Sophy at the time when we checked the scores. Once I saw I got a 1, I gasped and looked at her and said: "I GOT A ONE!". I immediately ran down the hallway to Mrs. Bross to tell her and she was so excited for me,” Rathert said.

Rathert will be singing 2 songs at state this year. 

“ At state I will be singing an Italian song "V'Adoro Pupille" by George Frideric Handel and "When I was Seventeen" a Swedish folk song translated by Marion Bromley Newton.” Rathert said.

Junior Makennah Sophy is also very excited to be attending state for the 2nd time, this year. 

“I love state!! I was able to go last year and had a great experience, so hopefully I can have that again,” Sophy said.

Sophy has also been doing choir since she was young. 

“I have been in choir since 2nd grade and have been an alto 80% of the time,” Sophy said.

Sophy was excited that she got a 1, but she was also a little nervous for her result. 

“I was super relieved. I was extra nervous because I won state my sophomore year, and hoped I could get there again this year,” Sophy said.

Sophy will also be singing 2 songs at state this year. 

“I am singing Stenchen and When Frederic Was a Little Lad,” Sophy said.

OHS has been using the same set of band uniforms for a very long time. The uniforms themselves are much older than that, seeing as they were bought secondhand off another school. Issues arose with the uniforms’ zippers, plastic buckles, heat retention, and other things. “They’re in pretty rough shape,” says Travis Wittman. Twombly and Wittman decided to take action and replace the outdated band attire.

The process to do so began with the general idea, about 5 years ago, says Twombly. Twombly and Wittman had to come up with a general idea as to what they wanted in terms of jackets, shirts, and other parts of the attire. This includes the design. The two finalized what they wanted and then set out in search of companies.

With the approval of the school superintendent, Twombly and Wittman got in touch with three different companies. They provided their design and general idea of what they wanted, as well as the Odessa school mascot and school colors. Once this was settled, they needed to know from each company how much 100 uniforms would cost, and how soon we could have them by. From there, they then awaited the designs and timelines of each company.

Once the bids came back, Twombly and Wittman took their findings to Dr. Oetinger and the board of education for review. The board then guided Twombly and Wittman as to which company to go with and what kind of budget they would have for the uniforms. Ultimately, the company FJM, Fred J. Miller, is the company they decided on. 

The band was allotted a budget, but the Band Booster Organization helped tremendously by donating $10,000 to the new uniforms. “In total we ordered 100 uniforms for less than $47,000,” says Twombly. From here, the band awaits.

It is still undecided as to what the band will do with the old uniforms. Several ideas have been presented, but none have been decided on yet. 

Some of these ideas include selling the old uniforms as memorabilia to students, turning the old jackets into pillows, or even donating them to programs or nearby schools in need of uniforms for an affordable price. 

Several uniform pieces have already arrived. Band is currently waiting on the rest of the uniform pants to come in. 

The event will consist of selected students from various schools who will come together for the first time, practice five previously provided songs together, and perform them at the end of the day. 

The choir members come from four different groups: Sopranos, Altos, Tenors, and Basses. Each has different roles and sings differently.

Some members practice on their own time. Senior, Lauryn Furney, says she runs through practice tracks of the provided soundtrack. 

When asked how they felt about the upcoming performance, junior Scarlett Purinton says, “I like going because I get to see how other schools teach their choir. I know it will go well!”

Though the “Red Snow Day” caused a change in plans, the MRVC conference will still be held, at a later date, and will be conducted by Beth Files.

The drawings were then sent to the high school via district mail, and Studio II students promptly got to work. The high schoolers are to take the kindergarteners' drawings and use clay to sculpt the drawings in 3D. Once sculpted, the models will be painted, glazed, and set in the kiln. From there, the sculptures will be presented to the owner of the sculpture’s drawing. 

When asked how he thinks his sculpture will turn out in the end, Denton Geier, sophomore, said, “Good. Mine finna slap. I got this little squid-lookin’ dude.”

Stacia Sartain, sophomore, responded with, “I think mine is turning out pretty well. The process isn’t all that fun, but in the end it should turn out to be what the drawing looks like and what the child imagined.” 

Sartain was assigned, what she calls, a “Flying Potato” drawing. The monster has wings, spiky hair, legs, and silly eyes.

The sculptures are to be delivered to the kindergarteners in late February, says Smith.

The overall performance will exhibit themes of heartbreak and will be featuring flags and rifles in the routine. Cheyanne Strader, sophomore, says “This performance is all about momentum, a change in speed. There are moments in the show where it’s slow, and probably not the most exciting, and then there will be other moments where your heart will stop beating due to the amount of impact our flag work and other choreography will have on you.” The team is excited to get to competition and show off their hard work.

“I’m very much excited! This team has picked up many skills within a short amount of time. All of them are excited to put what they worked for on the dance floor in front of these judges,” said Lynkyn McElmurry, sophomore.

Paige Bockes, Winter Guard coach, says she is beyond proud of how quickly team members have picked up on the routine, and how much they have grown together. Bockes is, “... very confident in them [the Winter Guard team] for their first performance.”

Regardless of the competition’s outcome, the Winter Guard team cherishes the valuable lessons learned throughout their journey. Team members take pride in the progress they’ve made and the skills they’ve honed throughout their preparation. With every performance, they gain insights into their strengths and areas for improvement and inspire each other to continually grow.

Sophy, a junior, is in her third year being a part of the OHS theater program, performing in The Wizard of Oz, Grease and now The Seussical.

According to Sophy she’s been a part of 15 productions since she started doing theater at age nine.

With this experience, Sophy tries to be a role model to the 21 lowerclassmen in the cast.

“I don't think we have a lot of older kids who have done a lot of shows, so I think it's difficult to be essentially a role model because people think that you're taking it too seriously, but I do think it's fun to teach people things even if its a bit of a challenge,” said Sophy.

Elaina Koli, a freshman, isn't a stranger to theater either. Starting around nine as well and being a part of multiple OUE productions as both main lead and ensemble. 

Koli branched out to local theater programs like Sophy and has been a part of about 13 productions.

Koli is taking her new role with stride and is excited to be a new member.

“I love being new I feel like there's a lot of people and I don't exactly have relations yet so I can pick and choose and I think it's fun to surprise people with what I can do,” Koli said.

According to Sophy and Kolie, they are thankful to be able to express their shared love of theater with OHS during the December 14-17th run of the Suessical.

The concert consisted of several sounds, from several choir groups. Alone, Mixed Choir sang Sleigh Ride, and Swing into Christmas, to name a few. 

Concert Choir performed Fum, Fum, Fum, and the opening music to the movie Frozen. 

Chamber Choir performed Pat-A-Pan Fantasia, and an arrangement of What Child is This?, which is a traditional Christmas song but the choir’s version will have a rhythmic Swahili section under the melody, says Bross.

The concert will end with a full-choir performance of That’s Christmas To Me, arranged by the Pentatonix who are known for their a capella singing and  Christmas albums. This will be sung by all OHS and OMS choirs, hence, “full-choir.” It will also feature soloists Elaina Kolie, Bella King, and Dallin Dawson. 

OHS choir has been preparing for this concert, non exclusively, since September between other performances.

Choir members are excited for the concert, and feel the performance will go well. “I think we may make a few, unnoticeable mistakes, but I think it’ll go retty good overall,” says Dallin Dawson, junior Chamber Choir member.

Many of these members will also be performing in the Seussical the Musical, this week, December 14, 15, and 16. After this, the OHS choir will begin learning the music and preparing for Missouri’s State Music Festival.

Choir has had a successful year so far, and many members are ready and excited to begin preparing for next semester’s performances. 

This year, choir has performed for the Homecoming Pep Rally, the Veteran’s Breakfast event, and have opened football games with the national anthem before wrapping up the year with their Christmas Concert performance. 

Odessa High School’s National Art Honor Society hosted their second “Paint and Snack Night” on Thursday, October 26 at OHS. 

“Paint and Snack Night” is a fundraiser for NAHS that helps raise money for the NAHS kids to go to competitions and and go on field trips.  During this activity Amanda Smith, art teacher and NAHS advisor and Ali Vochatzer, Senior NAHS president, lead a “step-by-step painting class” of nearly thirty community members. 

“It’s a new fun way to get people together as a community and learn something new,” Vochatzer said. 

Vochatzer and Smith  have decided to put their own spin on Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” The two try to choose “paintings that are fun to paint with a beautiful outcome, that everyone will love.” 

“We love teaching our community, and getting together with painting and snacks! We enjoy our Paint & Snack fundraiser so much we may even be having two this year instead of one, so keep an eye out for that, because we’d love to see you there!” Vochatzer said.

By Emma Jones

Photos Courtesy of NAHS Instagram 

11/2/23

Many of these students have been in choir for years and hope to remain performing throughout high school, and even on to college. 

Many also feel that choir has made a great impact on their social lives. “I’ve met some of my best friends through choir,” Rylie Shonfelt said.

Some upcoming performances include a presentation of patriotic music for Veteran’s Day and a Winter Concert in December. Bross hopes to “get choir involved more within school events.”  Competitions for solos will be held later in the school year starting in spring. 

“I have already made all-district and plan to do like I did last year and make it to state with my solo this spring” said Makennah Sophy, junior.

Choir participants encourage more students to join; “Join choir!! It is so worth it, the people are great, you’ll make amazing memories and you will receive a really cool pin if you letter!!” said Cheyanne Strader, sophomore.