March Madness to Hit WD!

INFORMATION GATHERED BY ERIN NORTON
No, this is not a disease you catch, and it is not a fever. This is a weeklong celebration at Western Dubuque High School. To kick off the week, the ever-popular Sadie Hawkins dance will be held March 16, which is the weekend before March Madness ensues! Then, during the week of March 19-23, many different activities will be held. Some of these activities include the Senior Survivor Contest, which will last the entirety of the week.  This activity simulates the television program; however, to compete, students must be seniors at Western Dubuque High School.  These students must be willing to struggle through various challenges and sleep at the school all week long—with no technology and only one bag of clothes to utilize.  Student participants must also sport their unique logo T-shirts all week long.  Truly, only the strongest will survive this event. Additionally, the Mr. WD High Pageant will be held in the middle of the week.  This event serves to bring out the school spirit of junior and senior male students, concluding with the title of Mr. WD High being bestowed upon a true representative of Western Dubuque High School.  The Westerner will offer a full report of these events in our next issue.   

Off to See the Wizard!

BY ALICIA ERRTHUM

This spring, Western Dubuque will bring a quest for the necessities in life to the stage:  intelligence, compassion, courage, and a sense of belonging.  The Wizard of Oz is perhaps one of the most beloved and well-known musicals of all time.  It features Dorothy, a spirited teenager who aspires for a place to belong.  During a tornado, she and her dog Toto are swept from Kansas and arrive in the land of Oz.  With their friends Scarecrow, who yearns for a brain; Tin Man, who lacks a heart; and Lion, who desires courage, they seek the aid of the Wizard of Oz.   

Production dates are April 20, 21, and 22 to be held in the Western Dubuque High School old gymnasium. 

Director:  Mr. Amosson

Sutdent Director:  Anna Kluesner

Dorothy:  Alicia Errthum

Aunt Em:  Emily Vaughan

Uncle Henry:  Chance Ingles

Lion:  Ali Brown

Tin Man:  Colleen Hoffmann

Scarecrow:  Brianna Kennedy

Ms. Gulch/Wicked Witch:  Molly Becker

Professor Marvel/Wizard of Oz:  Ryan Schmitt

Glinda:  Bri Stillmunkes

The Chorus:

Kirsten Anderson Trisha Block Brooke Bockenstedt Megan Demmer Nathalie Digman Athena Dorr-Henson Jarraka Elsner Sarah Errthum Claudia Greenwood

Ashley Knight Patrick Leitzen Sara McAuliffe Alyssa Meeker Megan Meyer Shelby Montag Lucy Mulert Abby Rollins Laila Sahir

Megan Tallman Trevor Then Katelynn Till Nicole Valentine Sabrina Vonderhaar Sarah Walsh Dani Welsh Nellie Welsh Ally Zauche

Senior Spotlight

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY UNKNOWN STAFF

Name:  Olivia Steffen

Favorite TV show:  Dance Moms    

            Favorite movie(s):  The Harry Potter series

Favorite song:  “Here (In Your Arms)” by Hellogoodbye

Favorite sport(s):  Dance and golf

Favorite color:  Pink

Favorite school subject/class:  Show choir

Favorite restaurant: House of China 

What is your favorite thing to do?  I only dance; therefore, my favorite thing to do is dance.

If you could take a trip anywhere, where would you go?  Australia

What is the last book you read? The Hunger Games series

What is something you want to do before you die?  Get a T-shirt and a picture in all 50 states!

What are your future plans?  My plans are to attend a university in the state and to become a radiologist. 

Senior Spotlight

Name:  Maloree Cummer

Favorite actor/actress:  Adam Sandler and Reese Witherspoon

Favorite TV show:  Friends

Favorite movie:  Sweet Home Alabama

Favorite color:  Blue

Favorite band/singer:  Chris Young

Favorite restaurant:  Applebee’s

What is your favorite thing to do?  Hang out with friends

If you could take a trip anywhere, where would you go? Italy

What is something you want to do before you die?  Race a racecar

What are your future plans?  Attending Mt. Mercy for nursing

Senior Spotlight

Name:  Cody Frommelt

Favorite TV show:  Criminal Minds.  I love suspense.

Favorite sport:  Soccer.  I prefer to play it versus watching it.

Favorite subject/class:  Spanish

If you could take a trip anywhere, where would you go?  I would backpack through Europe and try to see a little bit of everything. 

If you had $1,000, what would you do with it?  Take a small vacation to wherever.

What is your most prized possession?  My coin collection.  I’ve put more time and money into it than I really care to admit. 

If you could choose any occupation, what would it be?  Journalist.  I like to know what’s going on in the world and how it affects us. 

What is the last book you read?  Catching Fire of the Hunger Games trilogy.

What was the last movie you went to see?  One for the Money with Sherri Hall.

What is something you want to do before you die?  Tour the world and help humanity.

If you were a car, what kind would you be?  A SAAB—unconventional, progressive, distinct style.

What are your future plans?  Going to NICC for general education courses.  Then, I will go on to a Regent University somewhere in the Midwest.  I am unsure of my major so far. 

Art Corner: Samantha Cupps

    

 Art Corner:  Samantha Cupps is featured here with one of her pieces—“Starlight.” 

BY COLLEEN HOFFMANN

Samantha Cupps is a senior at Western Dubuque High School and a spectacular artist. She is an important member of the art program at Western Dubuque. The picture shown above is one of her favorites. It is titled “Starlight.” Cupps says she enjoys working with lots of color and nighttime or starry scenes. Her favorite mediums to work in include graphic design and many of the traditional methods such as pencil, drawing, painting, and others. According to Cupps, her future plans are to go to college for some kind of art, most likely graphic design. Cupps first became interested in art when her sister entered a competition, and, because she wanted to follow in her sister’s footsteps, she started to play around with it. It wasn’t until later that she started to enjoy it, and then decided to make it part of her lifestyle. To view more of Samantha Cupps’s work, you can visit harmony-fox.deviantart.com.

Western Dubuque Bowling Goes to State for Second Time, Return as 2-time Champions

The 2012 State Champion Western Dubuque High School Bowling Team received their awards on Feb. 23.  Pictured L to R:  Luke Maiers, Coach Tom Specht, Luke Schroeder, Jared Mueller, Austin Meeker, Logan Bahl, Brad Schroeder, and Coach Al Heiberger. 

BY BRAD PRIER

The 2011 State Champion Bobcat boys’ bowling team went to state for the second time on Thursday, Feb. 23. The Bobcats qualified as a team and Luke Schroeder qualified individually. Megan Dolphin was the only female Bobcat bowler to qualify individually.

Coached by Al Heiberger, the Bobcat boys were 6th in the state in regular season with a match average of 3100.4 pins. They were 10th in the state for individual game average of 205.3, as well as being 2nd in the state for baker game average with 209.4. A baker game occurs when each of the five varsity players for a team bowls two frames in a single game to achieve the highest score possible. The Bobcats went 8-3 in regular season matches. The Bobcats made it to state by taking second at the district event in Manchester, becoming an at large qualifier.

Luke Schroeder bowled 22 games this season with a total pinfall of 4660. Schroeder had an average of 211.8 with a high game of 259. Schroeder’s series average was 423.6 with a high series of 461.

Megan Dolphin bowled 20 games this season with a total pinfall of 3205. Dolphin had an average of 160.3 with a high game of 235. Dolphin’s series average was 320.5 with a high series of 440.

The Bobcat boys returned home with their trophy and gold medals around their necks, receiving an escort from the Farley fire department Thursday night. Coach Al Heiberger said that “the team performed very well” at state. Logan Bahl and Austin Meeker tied for 3rd place individually. The Bobcats won by a margin of less than 75 pins. The boys’ state champion team consisted of Luke Maiers, Brad Schroeder, Luke Schroeder, Logan Bahl, Jared Mueller, and Austin Meeker. Our congratulations to the team for being state champions and for an overall great season to all the other boys and girls involved in bowling. Al Heiberger would also like to give a “thanks to the fans and families of the bowlers.”

Speech Team Members Advance to State

BY ERIN NORTON

Congratulations to the Western Dubuque Speech Team for an outstanding performance at the District Individual Contest on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Maquoketa Valley!  Seven of the team’s members will be advancing to the state competition.  Jacob Barnwell, a sophomore, will compete in Storytelling; Marcus Ingles, a sophomore, in Radio News and Improv; Alicia Errthum, a senior, will participate in the After Dinner Speaking and Solo Musical Theater categories; Jackie Wessel, also a senior, will compete in After Dinner Speaking; Colleen Hoffmann, a junior, will compete in both Poetry and Solo Musical Theater; Katelynn Till, a freshman, will participate in Storytelling and Improv; and Justin Kluesner, a junior, will compete in Original Oratory.  The state competition is to be held in Forest City on March 10.  Good luck! 

State Solo & Ensemble Contest

BY BROOKE BOCKENSTEDT

The State Solo and Ensemble Contest is for students in band and/or choir. It requires a tremendous amount of effort and ability. First, the musician selects a composition that he or she will prepare for judges. Students can perform solos, duets, or pieces with large groups. Over the course of several weeks, and in some cases months, the student both learns his or her pieces and practices with his or her accompanists. It takes regular dedication and insight on how they are to execute the music and make it one’s own. The music teachers help significantly in building the student into the best performer he or she can be. 

Finally, the day will arrive, carrying with it some nerves and the desire to excel. When being judged, the knowledgeable critic rates the player on a scale of one to five; five, being the worst, is described as a performer hardly playing correct notes with lack of commitment. One is the best, with the performer having accurate notes. However, to get that one, the performer will also need that extra something: contrasting dynamics and personalization. 

Being a musical student myself, I am currently feeling the anticipation in preparing the pieces I will execute. The mental strains are also high with this being my first year as a high school student in the State Solo and Ensemble Contest. 

This year the Western Dubuque band has 46 entries for the State Solo and Ensemble Contest. The amount of soloists is at an all-time high, along with some new additions. Several students are participating in the new soprano saxophone solos and the new woodwind choir. Wish us luck! 

Creative Writing Corner

BY BRITTNI WENDLING

The freshman English classes have been chipping away, working on poetry units.  The students have been digging inside of themselves to bring out their inner Shakespeare while adding their own unique and creative twists to their writing. Some of the types of poetry studied in this diverse unit include haikus, sonnets, concrete poems, acrostic poems, and free verse poems.

 A haiku is a short poem with lines of five syllables seven syllables, and
then another five syllables. Here is a spirited haiku written by Brandon
Hogan:

We never give up.
We play to the last second.
We are the Bobcats.

A sonnet is a more complex poem that contains 14 lines with 10 syllables
in each line. It has a definite rhythm and rhyme. The two types of sonnets
include Petrarchan sonnets and Shakespearean sonnets.

Free verse poetry has no patterns of rhyme and rhythm or rules, and it is
basically the most creative form of poetry. Two types of free verse poetry
include concrete poems and acrostics.  Concrete poetry is where the poetry
forms into an image that represents the poetry. An acrostic poem is a poem
where certain letters (usually the first) are used to combine sentences to
represent a word or a saying.

Here is a free verse poem written by Kyle Valentine:

                        War
                My name is short,
                but I last forever.
                Since the dawn of time,
                I have been lurking.
                I am a disease with no cure.
                People say they have
                won me, but really
                I am the victor.
                Men say they control
                the world but I
                control man.
                Man is weak, I am strong.
                I can’t be caged.
                No matter how many
                locks you put on me.
                I always escape.
                Day after day, night
                after night. I continue
                on. Months, years,
                decades I keep burning
                strong like a fire.
                Piles of bodies begin
                to appear because of
                me. Death thanks me
                for the dead and I smile.
                My name is War and
                if man does not end
                me I will end man.

Here is an acrostic poem written by Laila Sahir:

        Lost amongst the written words
        In a jungle of rustling pages,
        Tied to each character by an invisible bond,
        Edging ever nearer to imaginary places,
        Rapt by the indescribable images,
        Amazed at how each
        Tale unfolds.
        Universes are connected through this most spectacular of arts.
        Readers everywhere take delight in these printed worlds.
        Extraordinary fantasies become realities through the human imagination.

Giddy up, Bobcat Band: Western Dubuque Marching Band Heads to Ticket City Bowl

INTERVIEW BY EMILY VAUGHAN

The Western Dubuque Bobcat Marching band is heading to the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas for their band trip. Before the Bobcat Band saddles up and heads to ‘The Lone Star State,’ the band director, Michael Omarzu, sat down with me for an interview about the upcoming band trip.

EV: What other bowls have you been to?

MO: When I was in college, I went to the Holiday Bowl a couple times, and I went to a bowl in Tokyo, Japan.

EV: What kind of activities will the band participate in while down in Texas?

MO: Marching in parades, marching at the bowl, and will be doing some concert band and jazz band gigs

EV: Can you tell me about the article that was written about the WD Band in a magazine?’

MO: The article was posted in the National Teaching Music Magazine and was about how cool it was that we went to the Sugar Bowl last year.