News and Features

Be the Impact that Changes a Life

By Natalie Bishop

Staff Writer

Worland- The American Heart Association runs a Teen of Impact fundraising campaign each year, and this year, Wyoming is included for the first time. Wyoming’s very first Teen Impact individual is Worland Highs School's Alice Goodrich. Goodrich learned about this opportunity from WHS Art Teacher Pam Greek, who presented it to her because she knew that she wanted to go into the medical field. Goodrich's mother suffers from heart conditions.

Goodrich wrote about her backstory on her publicity flyers:

"I am honored to be nominated for Wyoming’s Teen of Impact Campaign! I am a senior in high school with the goal of working towards a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I take concurrent college classes and have made the college’s Vice President’s honor roll in my fall semester as a senior. I have participated in speech and debate while also being a team manager for track and field. My goal after high school is to become a pediatric nurse to help take care of and comfort children who are going through a tough time. I personally know a lot about the importance of heart health conditions. It is important to me that those with and without heart conditions are educated about their heart health."

Goodrich said she strives to push for more education on life-saving CPR, heart-healthy living habits, and policies that promote a healthier community and encouraged the community to get involved.

“There’s a goal to raise $6,000, she does have her own web page, there’s a QR code, I know I’ll be sharing information on social media. Anybody can donate,” said Greek.

The kickoff began on Friday, February 6th, and will continue for the next nine weeks. Goodrich wants to encourage people to donate if they feel inclined. Goodrich will have the opportunity to win a 10,000$ scholarship for being a part of this cause.

“They’ve been doing it for almost 80 years, and they’ve raised 6.1 billion. Last year’s winner raised 220,000,” Goodrich said.

"This speaks highly of her character and of her compassion for others," said WHS Principal Bruce Miller.

“I really want to empower other teens to try to do the same thing,” said Goodrich.

To get involved, donate here- https://www2.heart.org/site/TR/?team_id=954490&pg=team&fr_id=13091

Photo T. Clark - The Chief Washakie FFA Wool Judging Team earned top honors in Denver, Colorado. From left to right are Asael Vega, Zeke Bain, Zane Lentsch, Tylee Clark, Kyston Rollema, Laramie Trauntvein, Beckett Tharp, and Advisor Grace Godfrey.

From ‘Shear’ Chaos to Champions

By Tylee Clark

Staff Writer

Denver- The FFA wool judging team went to Laramie for the State Wool Judging Competition and placed 5th and 7th. The Gold team consisted of Asael Vega, Kyston Rolema, Tylee Clark, and Zane Lenstch. The Blue team consisted of Beckett Tharp, Laramie Trauntvein, and Zeke Bain.

During the State contest in Laramie, team members spent the day carefully evaluating fleeces, practicing their skills, and working together to improve their reasons and accuracy. They gained valuable experience in understanding wool quality, breed characteristics, and marketing decisions, all while representing Chief Washakie FFA.

Later in the week, the teams traveled to Denver, Colorado, for the National Western Stock Show where they judged more wool and competed against students from many other chapters and states. This event allowed them to see a higher level of competition and experience a large, well-known livestock show. After the contest, members attended a banquet to receive their awards and hear the final results.

At the National Western, the Gold team (Tharp, Rollema, Clark, and Lentsch) earned first place, and the Blue team (Vega, Trauntvein, and Bain) earned second place. Chief Washakie's strong performance highlighted the hard work they had put into practices and contests throughout the year and reflected positively on the entire Chief Washakie FFA chapter.

“I feel like it was great. We had a good opportunity to go. We all have to learn something new. We all had a great time together.  And I feel like everyone did pretty well in Laramie, and then at the Denver Stock Show, everybody did great” Trauntvein said.

Godfrey stated, “I was really impressed with the growth mindset that we had. We were fifth and seventh at the state contest, and then really made a vast improvement going into Denver, and ended up being the National and Reserve National Champions.”

Trauntvein said, “I feel like it was great. We had a good opportunity to go. We all have to learn something new, and we all had a great time together.  I feel like everyone did pretty well in Laramie, and then at the Denver Stock Show, everybody did great.”

2025 Worland High School Report Card

By Ella Garcia

Staff Writer

Worland- Worland High School has now become a model school within the Big Horn Basin showing growth within multiple areas of the 2025 school report card, which includes, achievement, growth, equity, and post-secondary readiness.

Each year the school is graded on percent proficiencies in ELA, math, and science for 9th and 10th grade WY-TOPP scores.

In 2025 9th ELA improved from 63.8% in 2022 to 73.6% students proficient in 2025, exceeding the Wyoming State Average of 56.3%. 10th grade dropped in 2025 to 51.2%, which usually happens because there is no writing score for that grade like there is in 9th grade. The writing scores help increase the overall ELA score. Even though there was a drop in the 10th grade ELA score, it is still meeting the state average score. The administration’s goal is to have 75% of 9th graders and 70% of 10th graders proficient in 2026.

Math in 9th grade has improved from 35.2% in 2022 to 45.8% of students proficient in 2025, meeting the goal for that year. The 10th grade math score dropped in 2025 to 51.2%, but is still above the state average of 44.3%.

Science has been consistently meeting expectations at 52.2% in 2025 for 10th grade. Freshmen are not tested in science.

Worland High School Principal Bruce Miller comments about this year's report cards: “I am proud of a lot of things. Our efforts on Friday to help students relearn and gain knowledge [in order] to help kids get what they need has been successful. It reflects our growth as a school.” Worland High School's block schedule on Friday has helped a lot of the students be able to get reteaching to meet standards, complete missing work, and add enrichment in the green blocks.

Miller added that having departments focus on the PLC process and analyze data to better inform needed instruction has been a big part of the report card success story.

WHS has shown lots of growth and potential this year, particularly through the pathways program. This gives students the advantage to be able to have an extra class and have block schedules, allowing for more time in specific pathway classes.

Classes such as Kaci Miller’s CNA class (certified nursing assistant) give an advantage to students who want to start working in the medical field. Students can also earn a CDL (classified driver’s license), and skills toward certifications in mechanics, welding, building & trades, food & nutritional resources, aviation, and more.

Sarah Garcia is a Worland High School parent of two juniors and an incoming freshman next year. Garcia says, “It’s so cool that my daughter could take the CNA class as a sophomore and work as a CNA in the summer and during school. She’s already able to work in the field she wants to work in for the rest of her life. As a parent, seeing them thriving and enjoying what they're doing is encouraging.”

Being able to take classes early and learning so much more than the average subjects can help students to go out of their comfort zone and teaches them about different options in the work force. Classes such as these save students money in college as well, allowing them to take as many college classes as they can in high school.

Miller comments about this year's extracurricular classes and teachers: “Our teachers have been doing an amazing job with our students being able to have classes such as Journalism and Law Enforcement. [They encourage] our students to branch out more and join different classes.”

WHS earned an impressive score of 96.5% for making sure seniors are college, career, or military ready upon graduation, far exceeding the state average of 66.4%. In addition, 100% of WHS students met success curriculum, which has improved from 73.3% in 2022. Miller said the school’s goal is to continue that 100% success into 2026.

Worland High School encourages students to reach for their fullest potential and to continue working hard even though sometimes things can get tough. Raising the bar for not only themselves but for the teachers as well. Getting enough of an education to be able to be ready to graduate and be on their own for the first time.

Hydroponic Plant Systems: What a Wonder

By Lily Baldwin

Staff Writer

Worland- Recently, a brand new hydroponic plant system was installed in Worland High School for the agricultural classes.

Grace Godfrey, who teaches horticulture along with other FFA classes, wrote a grant worth about twenty-five thousand dollars for this system to be installed.

Hydroponics is a special system that utilizes mineral-rich water to nurture plants, as well as LED lights to help with photosynthesis. There are several shelves placed varied throughout the school, growing things such as succulents, herbs, and even lettuce. The main benefits to these shelves is that it makes it easier to grow a large amount of plants at the same time, allowing for more yield and room for experimentation.

Additionally, plants can be grown year-round, due to the advantage of being indoors. Hopefully, this hydroponic system will continue to be cultivated by the FFA team to grow plenty of new and interesting plants over the years.

Students and staff alike have commented on the innovation and ease of this new technology, including that it does not require much water or special care to grow healthy plants. Chief Washakie FFA students encourage anyone to stop by and take a look at this project, as it’s definitely a unique addition to WHS.

Water You Growing?

Photos L. Baldwin- Chief Washakie FFA Advisor Grace Godfrey explains how plants grow in the new display as she examines the new hydroponic plant system. The system uses little water and LED lights to grow a variety of plants, including edible and decorative selections.

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