Issue 10

Use your voice

Dalton Davenport

Public speaking and debate are skills used since the beginning of language, although not every student plans for politics and public addresses in their future these are skills that would benefit them. PHS has a strong program for speech and debate that gives students the opportunity to compete.

Sophomore Kelsey Kruyer said, “Debate has given me the ability to quickly build arguments while also staying active with my surroundings.”

Building an argument is a needed skill (outside of convincing your parents to let you borrow the car) constructive arguments can range from politics and laws, to best actors and pop culture. Politics, being a hot button issue, is an interest for Trent Mckenzie. Having 3 years experience in Debate, and been one of the students to compete at the NSDA National Qualifying Tournament with Kruyer, junior Nicole Keller, senior Claire Peters, and junior Jack Garner to IHSFA State Debate Championships it’s a fair assumption these students are on the right track for public speaking in their futures.

Junior Trent McKenzie said, “I think speech will help me in the future due to the leadership and public speaking skills it has taught me over the course of my Speech and Debate career.”

Leading the Speech and Debate Team is Mr. Mckenzie, a former Speech and Debate competitor since sophomore year of high school. He began teaching Speech at Oak Hill High School, and since has taught for 32 years, and coached for 38, beginning in college. When asked how students would benefit from Speech or Debate later in life, Mr. Mckenzie said, “There are a lot of great activities in high school. Most activities end in high school, some continue into college, and a few continue beyond. At some point, all of them become recreational. However, spoken communication with others lasts a lifetime. At no point does communication end. We all use spoken communicate in our personal lives and/or our professional lives to make a difference for ourselves and others. That isn’t a reality that can’t be argued.” Yes, everything can be argued, from religion to politics, no one has a right or wrong answer, but to deliver it correctly is where this subject comes in. PHS has taken Speech to heart, and wishes to continue with it.

The Pride of Plymouth is Causing “Treble”

Kaylynn Curley

What do you get when you have a competitive band program that gauges growth and tests ability? The answer: This year’s Solo and Ensemble Competition. This year’s ISSMA Solo and Ensemble Contest was held at Plymouth High School. Starting at 7:00 am Saturday February 3rd, students who play a Wind, Percussion, or String Instrument competed against North Miami School Corp., all Fulton, Starke, along with Marshall County school corporations. Students performed a solo or a group ensemble. Sophomore Mitchel Dickson, has participated in Solo and Ensemble for four years now.

Dickson said, ”While performing whether you’re doing a Solo or an Ensemble, you feel anxious, excited, and scared. You just feel a wave of emotions, but the performance itself is about ten times worse.”

When they day comes and the band students have to perform, they all have a variety of emotions.

Dickson said, “On a performance day you feel nervous, anxious, excited, and worrisome all at the same time. You feel these emotions because you may not know what to expect, you don’t know how you are going to perform, or whether not you will mess up or “wow” the judges.

While freshman Sarah Collier has participated in band for six years, she has experienced many of these same emotions while participating.

Collier said, “Before a performance I am really nervous, but during I don’t really feel anything. I just focus on doing the best that I can. After performing I feel like I did the best that I could and I’m happy about it.”

Junior Olga Lozano has been participating in band for six years.

Lozano said, “ I like band because of all the great people and the pieces of music that we get to play.”

There is more to the Pride of Plymouth besides the great people and the pieces of music that they perform.

Dickson said, ”Band members are all very close. All of the friends that you make along the way eventually turn into family.”

When four years of band is up students finally realize that their classmates are more than just classmates, “but bandmates for life.” The pep band will be playing during the last home game of the basketball season on Tuesday February 20.

Ms. Church

Haley Odiorne

Haley Church, a teacher and coach, at PHS is widely known because she seems to never stop. Church teaches art and coaches a multitude of sports. She is liked by most students because of her perky and fun-loving attitude. She runs a couple of clubs including Pep Club with Mr. Connor and Art Club. Church also coaches volleyball and swim.

She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University majoring in Art Education and minoring in Spanish. She also was a team captain, IWU Student Teacher of the Year Award Recipient. Her activities during college consisted of IWU Women's Softball Team and La Amistad, a Spanish Club were she was one of the officers.

Before PHS, she taught all kindergarten-4th grade students art at Menominee and Washington Elementary Schools. Outside of school, Ms Church said “I like to hang out with family and friends. I grew up with my family having a lake cottage in Angola where I'm from, so I love being on the water! I also love traveling and I try to go somewhere every year. I have family in Texas and Florida now so I've been making trips there. I also lived in Spain a couple years ago so I hope to go back and visit the family that I had while I stayed there. I like to make art of my own, I do freelance graphic design, and I am a big ND and Cubs fan! :)”

A couple of Ms Church’s students and athletes had a few words to say about Ms Church.

Senior, Mckenzie Sheetz said, “Miss Church is someone very special to me. She is my art teacher and my coach, but she also means much more to me than that. She is someone that is helpful and caring in times of need, cheerful when you need to get a smile on your face, and always caring. She not only helps you be a better artist, but a better person as well. Church is like a big sister to me and is basically a member of my family. I am very lucky to be close with her and always love our time together.”

Senior Leah Smith said, “I've gotten to know Ms. Church very well over the past four years; she's my swim coach, volleyball coach, the advisor for student government, and art teacher. She has influenced me a lot... as a student, athlete, and person, and I can confidently say that I would not be the same person without her. Ms. Church has taught me to live my life passionately and never be afraid to try new things. I will always be grateful for the impact she has had in my life.”

Senior Summer Smith said “​One thing I enjoy about Miss. Church is her laugh! She is always smiling and has the kind of laugh that makes other wants to join in. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Miss Church over the past four years in swimming and in softball. She's been such a huge role model to me because she is always working hard for herself and others and is very motivating! I can always look forward to a good practice when she's there.”

Ms. Church is appreciated by many of the people of PHS. When she was asked if she enjoys what she does she replied with “I love being involved with different groups at PHS. In the Art classroom I see a lot of diversity with students. I have different age groups and abilities with each class and the different mediums in the classroom. The sports I coach are fun because they give me a chance to encourage students with their individual skills and also help them work together on a team toward a common goal. Being a part of the Student Government has been fun to help them with the Veteran's Day program and planning homecoming pep rallies. I think the best part is that I get to help other people accomplish their goals and help others.”

She is respectful, engaged and positive all around. She spreads her smile into the many corners of the school. She often has recurring students in her class because they are eager to gain new skills and who better to learn from than Ms. Church?

2017-18 Robotics Best Year

Autumn Allmon

Last weekend the Robotics team had a competition at Wawasee and won 22 to 48 with their robot doing fairly well. There were 46 teams competing and Plymouth was represented by five teams with eight students. The Robotics Team has worked very diligently on their team’s robots, which have been doing good this school year. In each competition they are paired up with an alliance and play against other alliances in, roughly, seven to eight matches. This year PHS B-team was the first this year to win the Sportsmanship Award.

Senior Emma Daniels said, “Of course the competitions that we do better at are, in a way, my favorite, but I enjoy the competitions where there is no stress. Everyone is relaxed and enjoying the competition itself, but this rarely happens.”

Even in some of the competitions the Robotics Team they still have a lot of pressure on their shoulders. They have to come up with a design of what they what their robot to look like and they have to try and make it without any problems. Daniels, told me that the competition is more about that robot than the people who are controlling it. Their robots have to be the best and work the way they want it to, if they expect to win against their opponents. The 586E robot has never made it this far, but it has helped a robotics team make it to state.

Junior Lily Wallace said, “Our team, Jack Hedger, Elijah Lyon, Ashton Lewis, and myself are very excited to have made it this far in the competition. We have a lot of work to do, but we are thrilled to get the chance to compete at state”

The Robotics Team is very thankful for their sponsors Rich Schieber, Miss Moore, and Jason Doody. Each of them have helped very much in making sure all the robotic teams had the right equipment and for helping them make it to state.