Journalism/Yearbook by Kaitlyn Accardi https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223 Watch us track our Yearbook Progress! en-us 2022-08-11 02:34:49 UTC 2023-03-22 14:52:54 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4f0.png Newman Cross Country boys emerge champions at Princeton Invitational https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2291691178 The Newman cross country team picked up their first win on Saturday, September 10 at the Gary Coates Invitational. Led by Lucas Schaab and Lucas Simpson, the runners came out on top with a final score of 52. Lucas Schaab finished sixth with a time of 17:20, and Lucas Simpson finished seventh at 17:23, setting the tone for their teammates. Espen Hammes, coming in twentieth with a time of 19:04, says, "Going into the meet we knew we had a strong chance of winning, but obviously that wasn't guaranteed. The pack running and determination is what I believe put us over the top. We knew we could win, and that attitude was clearly shown in our races." Another key to the Comets' success in this race was the large varsity entry. The whole team was entered in the varsity race as opposed to the top seven alone. The runners were able to stay in packs for most of the race, pushing each other to the finish line. The team's dedication and confidence showed at the meet, allowing them to walk away with the first place title. ]]> 2022-09-12 04:14:08 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2291691178 Mrs. Cook's Science Club "Blasts Off" jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2294278727 On September 7, 2022, the first meeting for Mrs. Cook’s Science Club was held during study hall. Members were immediately given their first task, to make a small film canister shoot as high as it can using only the pressure from when you put Alka-Seltzer (also known as antacid tablets) into water. Members were also given the option of adding extra substances that they believed may help the canister shoot higher such as salt, baking soda, or even citric acid. This task also doubles as a competition since the group who launches their canister the highest will be ranked first. Members split up into groups of two or three and were able to use the whole period to experiment in order to determine which combination of substances created the most pressure or fizzing. Experimentation among members went smoothly, except for one group who’s combination of substances overflowed from their cup! It is currently decided that the groups will compare their height achieved in the next session of Science Club; it is also unknown what type of prize the group in first place will receive. The day concluded with a resolution of fun and great collaboration among peers. Science Club is a place that’s far from intimidating as some may think. In the words of Mrs. Cook herself, “It was made so people could just get together, do science, talk about science, compete, and have fun at the same time.”]]> 2022-09-13 13:23:59 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2294278727 Newman Cross Country boys fall to Sterling after a competitive meet. giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2298305702 On Tuesday afternoon (September 13, 2022), the twin cities meet arrived. The twin cities meet consists of a race between Sterling, Rockfalls, and Newman. The Newman boys went into the race hoping to keep the traveling plaque they received last year. Lucas Simpson and Lucas Schaab led the Newman pack, coming in 6th and 7th place. Kenny Boesen, Wyatt Widolff, Carver Grummert, and Espen Hammes also contributed to the team scores. The Newman boys ran well but fell to Sterling who had six runners place in the top ten. The Newman boys with 54 points were able to edge past Rockfalls who had 55 points. It was a very tough race. Coach Warkins, the coach for Newman stated, "I am not very happy with the times today but we will improve." Newman competes again on Saturday morning in Walnut. ]]> 2022-09-15 13:44:15 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2298305702 Military Appreciation Game leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2304897308 The Friday night game of September 16th was Military Appreciation night stocked full of camo jerseys and patriotic fans. The game was started with the Varsity volleyball team bringing out the American Flag during a speech given by Staff Sargent Williams followed by Maxwell DeForest playing the National Anthem on his trumpet. It was still a memorable game despite the loss 8-34, the student section was alive and loud. Junior Carter Rude #17 stepped up as a quarterback to fill the spot of Senior JJ Castle #12. Sophomore Briar Ivey has his Varsity debut gaining 6 yards. When asked how he kept him and his team positive Carter Rude answered "Short term memory, Only looking at the positives and not pressing any of the negatives."]]> 2022-09-20 13:03:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2304897308 Cross country girls Drive to finish at Dale Donner Invitational logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2305376389 By Logan Devine
This Saturday, the Newman girls cross country team ran at the Bureau Valley 51st Dale Donner Invitational.  they earned a team score of 344 and a placement of 15th out of 18 teams. Senior Claire Crisham led the girls placing 39th, followed by Senior Gianna Widolff in 68th and freshman Sophia McCoy in 86th. There were 161 runners in the Girls Varsity race. Team Captain, Claire Crisham commented on the teams performance, saying "We have a lot of new members on our team, with two freshmen. Once we get over some injuries, our team will do a lot better" Newman will have two more meets this week, at Byron and Peoria.

]]> 2022-09-20 17:07:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2305376389 Half a Victory carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2306856135
On Tuesday September 19, the Lady Comets tennis team traveled to Galesburg for their meet. Unfortunetely they fell a bit short taking a disappointing loss. While they took a loss, individually Joy Zigler and Laurel Chavera won their singles matches. As quoted directly from Chavera, "In my doubles match I was having a tough time really getting into my flow. I wasn't happy with how I played, so I really wanted to turn that around and end on a good note. The whole singles match I played as hard as I could and it really paid off. I was able to get to every single shot, even the tough ones. Though we didn't win the meet, it was a great feeling coming off the court playing my absolute hardest. I think that's my favorite part of the sport. Win or lose, playing your hardest is always the best feeling." In Chavera's singles match she faced the challange and overcame two tiebreakers to take the victory. Overall success wasn't what was handed to them but individually they all grew and learned for their next meet.]]> 2022-09-21 13:33:48 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2306856135 Newman Cheer Girls Present a Remarkable Half-time Performance. giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2312508041 On Friday, September 16, 2022, the Newman cheer squad performed a remarkable half-time show. Through various dances, stunts, and tumbles, the cheer squad was able to pull-off a rememberable show. Olivia Clark, Izzy Allen, and Reese Grummert were thrown high into the air several times during the performance. They pulled off the stunts beautifully with the bases on their side, giving them great support and stability to perform a difficult task. Olivia Clark mentioned, "I was nervous because when we were practicing it wasn't hitting consistently. I knew that even if something went wrong, I had to just keep going. All of us were pretty nervous about it. We always remember that no matter what happens keep pushing and never let anyone fall." The team didn't let their nerves ruin them and gave us an amazing performance. It ended gracefully in this pyramid with big smiles on all their faces, knowing they accomplished something very difficult. ]]> 2022-09-25 19:10:49 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2312508041 Newman Kicks off Homecoming Week with Color Wars giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2315602063 On Monday of Newman's homecoming week, students were decked out in their class's assigned color for their first dress-up day. Freshman were purple, sophomores were white, juniors were red, and seniors were black. Izzy Allen, Molly Olson, Ellie Rude, and Ana Jungerman posed in the picture showing off their red outfits. The study hall activity to get everything going was Powder Puff. When asked what her favorite part of homecoming week is, Gianna Widolff said, "Probably dress-up days because we're always in uniform. Everyone is happier when we get to dress up." ]]> 2022-09-27 13:43:15 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2315602063 Newman Cross Country Girls Traverse Forests at Byron jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2315628305 On September 21, 2022, the Newman girls cross country team ran at a Byron High School Invitational at the Byron Forest Preserve. There were a total of forty runners including Newman’s team of five members. Newman’s team placed fifth place out of five teams with a final score of 113, just three points over from fourth place. Claire Chrisham was the first to finish of the team placing 11th place followed by Sophia McCoy at 23rd place and Gianna Widolff at 28th place. Each of these members had times of 21:19, 22:35, and 23:26 respectively. Gianna Sagel, member of Newman’s girls cross country team gave insight into the game, stating, “I’m proud of how our team did. The hills in the course were the hardest part of the race and how you were alone most of the time, making it you against your mind.”]]> 2022-09-27 13:56:19 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2315628305 Dear Mr. Vernon leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319404488 Staff get a blast from the past dressing up as 80s teen movies on genre day. Seniors were scaring the school as horror. Juniors coming around as comedic relief. Sophomores ranch dressing, and Freshman spreading the Disney love. 
Mrs. Oetting recreating a key moment as Allison from Breakfast Club shaking out crushed candy. Joy Zigler with an amazing Joker costume. Kennedy Rowzee in a creative home made Sister Act costume. 
Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.]]> 2022-09-29 13:36:18 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319404488 Newman's Favorite Character Day jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319440926 For this Thursday of Newman’s homecoming week, students came dressed as their favorite characters. There is no restriction on what media these characters were presented from as the halls this morning were flooded with characters from movies, literature, or even video games. Students are able to continue their classes normally in the outfits of their character with the day concluding with a dodgeball activity during the usual study hall time. Logan Devine has also shared his thoughts on today’s dress down theme, saying, “It’s definitely the one that requires the most effort…and the one you can go the farthest with in what you’re wearing.”]]> 2022-09-29 13:54:23 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319440926 Seniors Secure a Win During Volleyball for Homecoming Week giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319454438 The senior boys defeated the freshman and sophomore boys to claim their second consecutive victory for boys volleyball during homecoming week. Jaesen Johns, Nolan Britt, and Blayke Holbrook all had great passes, serves, and hits. The team played really well together and secured another win after winning volleyball during homecoming week last year too. Jaesen Johns stated, "It feels great to win again, great team effort. It's even better having back to back wins and going out with a bang." ]]> 2022-09-29 14:01:13 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319454438 English 101 Share Their Stories brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319457352 On Tuesday, September 27, Mrs. Spencer’s English 101 class presents their essays inspired by “The Chase” by Annie Dillard. They wrote about a significant event from their life that has changed them and is significant to how they act and the decisions they make. Raul Reyes, Sam Neiswander, Sarah Murray, and Tate Downs all read their essays during this class. After each presentation, the class discussed any notes or questions they had about the essays. Each student received critiques that can help improve their writing. When asked about why this class is important, Mrs Spencer says, "It teaches people to think in different modes. I think it teaches them to gather important memoria and details form your life and also appreciate those in other people life." ]]> 2022-09-29 14:02:43 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319457352 Newman Boy Runners Secure Three Spots in All Conference giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319464801 On Tuesday September 27th, the boys cross country team ran their conference meet at Prophet Hills Country Club in Prophetstown. 93 runners ran in total and top 15 are qualified as all conference. Lucas Simpson qualified in 6th place with a time of 17:11, Lucas Schaab qualified in 7th place with a time of 17:14, and Kenny Boesen qualified in 15th place with a time of 17:49. The boys ran extremely well and took third place as a team out of seven. Kenny Boesen exclaimed, "It was an exciting accomplishment to achieve senior year. I feel that my hard work payed off."

]]> 2022-09-29 14:06:24 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319464801 Junior Girls Dominate Powder Puff, Taking Down Sophomores and Seniors giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319488454 On Monday, September 26, first day of homecoming week, the junior girls football team, led by their classmate coaches, were able to take down the two classes they faced. Maybe the most competitive study hall activity, the junior girls came ready to play. The junior quarterback was Ana Jungerman, and Sam Ackman caught several interceptions on defense. The final score in the game against the seniors was 16-0. Izzy Allen, who scored one of the team's three touchdowns, commented on Powder Puff's staying power, saying, "I think Powder Puff has stayed so long at Newman because it is a very fun tradition and gets a lot of people involved in homecoming events. #2xchamps" ]]> 2022-09-29 14:17:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319488454 Court is in Session leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319625619 One of the most intense homecoming week games is boys volleyball. Four intense games were played starting with Seniors vs Freshman and Juniors vs Sophomores.  With a close game Sophomores pulled through and beat the Juniors. On the other court Seniors were having a clear victory. On to round two Seniors vs Sophomores and Juniors vs Freshman. The Freshman beat the Juniors with a surprising victory. The Seniors beat the Freshman with a clear landslide victory winning their fourth and final boys volleyball game. A coach of the Junior team Jess Johns says that, ¨We lost because our serving was pitiful.¨ 
Although the Junior serving was not the best Lucas Simpson could run with his serves as well as being a strong force in the front row. Sophomore Wyatt Widolff was a star player. Freshman George Jungerman similar to Lucas was a great server and a powerful front row player. ]]> 2022-09-29 15:30:42 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319625619 The King and Queen Have Arrived giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319900643 Tuesday of homecoming week was flooded with many activities. With it being Movie Madness dress-up day, boys volleyball in the afternoon, pack the place volleyball, bonfire, guy-girl cheer dance, and the crowning, Newman had a busy day. Many were excited for queen and king crowning that occurred after the guy-girl cheer dance. The princes of homecoming consist of Hayden Witt, Raul Reyes, Blayke Holbrook, Nolan Britt, and Kenny Boesen. The princesses consist of Gianna Widolff, Ainsley Reed, Monica Healy, Katie Grennan, and Claire Crisham. Seniors Gabe Padilla and Emma Oswalt crowned the king and queen. Katie Grennan was crowned for queen and Nolan Britt was crowned for king. Katie Grennan stated, "I am very grateful for this opportunity." ]]> 2022-09-29 18:15:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2319900643 Newman's Dodgeball During Study Hall jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2320206660 All of the seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen got together in the gym today for Thursday’s homecoming week study hall activity of dodgeball. Teams were organized and matched against each other based on student classifications (seniors vs. juniors, etc). The games themselves were exciting with teams pushing to secure a victory and it only got more tense as more space was allowed for teams to get closer to their opponents as the games continued. Participant Grace Geske gave her thoughts when the dodgeball matches were finished, “They were great games, but I’m just really tired right now.”]]> 2022-09-30 00:04:07 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2320206660 Newman Girls Cross Country Team's Standings at Conference Meet jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2322764730 On September 27, 2022, the Newman girls cross country team had their first cross country game of the week, which was also a conference meet, at the Prophet Hills Country Club. Their team consisted of five runners among the fifty-four total female participants. Newman placed seventh among seven teams total with 112 points. The fastest times among the team began with Claire Crisham’s place at 12th place with a time of 21:52.06. Sophia McCoy followed at 25th place with a time of 24:19.25 and Gianna Widolff coming in next at 27th place with a time of 24:42.35. Newman team member Gianna Widolff said, “We ran the race with good spirits after we had finished preparing,” in the context of the girls team listening to music together before the race began.]]> 2022-10-02 17:23:54 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2322764730 This Year's School Rosary, With a Twist jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2322789592 In contrast to previous years, the Spanish and Theology departments are coming together for Spanish to be incorporated into this year’s school rosary. Señora Zamora has gathered a group of juniors and seniors to meet after school on some scheduled days to practice sections and mysteries of the rosary in Spanish. It has been planned that the second and fourth mysteries will be spoken entirely in Spanish along with the Hail Mary’s that are included with them. These Spanish mysteries will be spoken by seniors and all of the Hail Mary’s will be said by juniors (pictured above is the roles assigned for each student for the Spanish part of the event). Besides helping change things up for this year’s rosary, Mr. Somers commented on this change, saying, “It also helps us to extend our virtues to places we normally wouldn’t reach.” According to Señora Zamora, students will still currently practice with her throughout the following weeks until October 11, the day the rosary will be spoken in school.]]> 2022-10-02 18:00:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2322789592 Cindy Lou Who? marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323716694 On Thursday, September 29th, this Newman student, Jaylee Dugger, went all out for the theme. The theme was "favorite movie character". Jaylee Dugger said, "I dressed up as her because she's my favorite character, and people say that I look like her." There was lots of other eye-catching costumes as well. Some of the Juniors got together and dressed up as characters from despicable me. Another costume that was really good was done by Hayden Witt, and he was Napoleon Dynamite. ]]> 2022-10-03 13:09:00 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323716694 Relay race jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323772188 On Wednesday the 28th each class had to have people for the relay race. This picture is a photo of Amiya Rodriguez, she is running trying to take first place for the sophomores. As her other teammate is behind her ready to race Brady Williamson. Another teammate on Amiya's relay team was the cross country star, Wyatt Wildoff. A quote from Wyatt was "Sophomores took the dub". The sophomores did up winning the relay race. Freshman came in 2nd place. Juniors got 3rd place. Seniors got 4th place. Without Brady Williamson bouncing extremely fast on the bouncy ball, the Sophomores might have not taken 1st. ]]> 2022-10-03 13:34:13 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323772188 "Mama says that, happiness is from magic rays of sunshine that come down when you're feeling blue" - Adam Sandler jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323821916 On September 28, 2022 a student Abby Peterson came back to school after her surgery, with it being her first day back she of course went all-out on her baggy Adam Sandler outfit. A quote from her was "It feels good to be back in my second home, participating in homecoming week has always been exciting for me, I was over-the-moon happy to recover in time to participate." Mary Kay Downs also dressed up for the day, wearing her dads over-sized tee and cargo shorts. She said "I was really excited for this theme, having such a variety of outfits to wear for homecoming week made it a lot more exciting" A lot of people really liked to dress up as Adam Sandler and have an excuse to wear comfortable clothes. Sophomore Madison Loomis took part in Adam Sandler day by wearing baggy sweatpants and a fuzzy tee, she states, "confidence comes from having the right mindset, what you wear has nothing to-do with it
". ]]> 2022-10-03 13:56:29 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323821916 Second Half Effort Fails At Homecoming Game haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323822275 On Friday, September 30, The Newman Comets football team lost 36-0 despite having a great second half defensive game. Jaesen Johns said" Our defense played outstanding in the second half of the game.  And we were the first team to challenge princeton all year." Before the game Maxwell Deforest started it off with a great performance of the National Anthem and then got the sideline hyped up with music on the sidelines. Blayke Holbrook was one of the few people announced at the game for being on homecoming court. Gianna Widolff was leading the charge by being the loudest at the student section. Even though it was a tough loss, it was still a night to remember.]]> 2022-10-03 13:56:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323822275 The Newman Students Steady Their Floats jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323830070 At around 1:30 pm on September 30, the Newman parade floats stopped by near Newman before driving off for the parade. This gave people a chance to be able to see all the vehicles and floats before the actual parade started. One of the most anticipated floats were the ones that were made by the students to represent their class and show their creativity. The Class of 2024 junior float (pictured above) is based off of the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off which featured a similar float to the junior one. Sam Mauch, one of the people who helped in the development of the float, commented on the final product, saying, “We’re all glad with how it turned out, we have almost everything accurate from the movie except for the small buildings.” All of the Newman floats then proceeded to leave at the designated time of 2:00 pm for the parade. It’s great to have some insight on the development of these floats and it’s inspiring to see the work and dedication of students within them as they are presented to many people and families along the road.]]> 2022-10-03 14:00:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323830070 Power Puff Football symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323999813 As we started off homecoming week we roll into Power puff football at the end of Monday. Each team had different shirts to make it more exciting. Senior Carlin stated "The first game we versed the freshman, it was definitely a close game. Seniors came out victorious during the first game but we knew we had a hard game the next round". As seniors the past 3 years they have came in 3rd place but they finally got into the game after 3 times and got 2nd place this year! She also added "Before the second game we already knew we were going to loose but there wasn't much we could do. The juniors roster was stacked with players they didn't really have a week spot". Senior Carlin brady was a star player of the game. In the picture above she is throwing the football to her teammate to attempt to make a touchdown. ]]> 2022-10-03 15:19:59 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2323999813 Newman Footballs offence is downright scary. leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2325730060 The Newman Comets received a devastating loss of 36-0 during their homecoming game. Sophomore Daniel Kelly #35 was leading in tackles before injuring his shoulder. Senior Hunter Luyando #15 came back from a 3 week hiatus from a leg injury just to be put into a new position but he did not let that deter him. Senior Blayke Holbrook #25 is a jack-of-all-trades. When asked What he learned about his team and what his team learned Coach Mike LeMay said, "There is heart in this team. They want it! It matters to them. We have a long way to go, but they will bring the effort! That they can play together as a team. They need to be focused and locked in to complete a task. Although the scoreboard displayed a loss, the team won with effort and heart."]]> 2022-10-04 13:48:03 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2325730060 Town Rivalries between Two Schools avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327552380 This match between Sterling and Newman was a back-and-forth volleyball rivalry. Newman was able to put together runs at the end of both sets. Newman won the first (25-19), Sterling won the second set (20-25), and Newman won the final set (25-20). The top three key players were Kennedy Rowzee with 9 kills, Jess Johns with 11 kills, ad Leah Kalina with one ace/five attempts. The student section for this game was unmatched by any of the other games they have had so far. Everyone was there to support the volleyball girls and cheered as loud as they possibly can. Kennedy Rowzee said it herself "Ever since that game our student section hasn't really been the best and I'm not blaming anyone, it just doesn't allow us to be as hyped as we were in that game."  The crowd gave them a sense of confidence going into that game.]]> 2022-10-05 13:11:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327552380 Newman's True Colors Show jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327555811 Monday marked the start of Homecoming week, and with that the festivities began. The theme for the day was color wars. Each class had their own color to dress up in so that they could earn homecoming week points for their class. The freshmen were purple, sophomores were white, juniors were red, and seniors were black. Some of the people who stood out were George Jungerman of the freshman class, Addison Foster of the junior class, and Logan Hermeyer of the senior class. Overall the juniors won the competition and secured the most points after day one.]]> 2022-10-05 13:13:59 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327555811 The Brothers Battle it Out loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327570665 On a cool and cloudy September 24 morning, three pairs of Newman brothers took on the links at Deer Valley Golf club. Although it was not a traditional 18-hole invitational, it was going to present the golfers with a lot of enjoyment and challenge. The 18 holes were divided into three sections: alternate shot, best ball, and scramble. The day started out smooth for the Palmer brothers as they cruised through best ball with an under-par score from Carson's chip in on sixth hole. Challenges started for the brothers when Logan was set up with a tough tee shot on the first alternate shot hole. Resulting in a tough double-bogey. Carson pushed through the rough score and set up his brother and playing partner with a perfect tee-shot on the next hole which was a par 5. Logan took advantage on the good tee shot and stuck his shot to two feet for his brother to tap in for eagle. The Palmer brothers finished first place with a two-under par 70 and Carson points out that "The eagle on 8 really got the round going for us."]]> 2022-10-05 13:23:04 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327570665 Minion Madness at the sophomore float! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327596724 At 2:00pm on September 30th, the sophomore float took off for the homecoming parade. Joined by more floats representing each sport and each grade. The sophomore float was based on the movie Despicable Me, Kaz Grazulis dressed up as the main character, Gru. Kaz excitedly said, "I've loved the movie since it came out when I was three, making all these little kids laugh when they saw my costume made my heart smile". Helen Papoccia joined Kaz in the festivities, Helen dressed up as Agnes, she enjoyed wearing a high bun and carrying a unicorn stuffed animal around with her all day. After the parade came to an end she stated, "Seeing the children light up when they recognize who I'm portraying makes me want to be Agnes all day everyday!". Madison Loomis also participated in the parade, she dressed as a minion and enjoyed throwing candy out to the children. She made a comment about her yellow outfit when asked if she likes the color yellow, "wearing yellow has never been my thing, but after knowing how to style the color correctly makes me want to make a career out of being a minion". ]]> 2022-10-05 13:37:16 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327596724 The Seniors Are Coming Through! Watch out! carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327605167 On the Thursday of Homecoming week, dodgeball was the activity that entertained all of the students during study hall. The first game that was played was between the Freshman and the Sophomores leaving the Freshman with an upset as they took the loss. After that the Juniors played the Seniors, getting squashed and placed into a game against the loser of the first game, the Freshman. In the loser's game, the Juniors came out victorious taking third place. The Seniors then faced the Sophomores as they both fought for the victory. When asked about his thoughts during the game, Jaesen Johns answers," I thought, man we have got to get that Daniel kid out. We also need to get Chase out. Once we did both of those things it was game over for them." During the game the Seniors three key players were Jaesen Johns, Carlin Brady, and Alex Rico. Although the odds seemed to be against the Seniors halfway through the game, they came out victorious, stepping on the Freshman for the win. ]]> 2022-10-05 13:41:47 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327605167 Comets Shock Many People with a High Finish at Conference loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327610247 On Tuesday September 20, the Comet golfers were presented with a picture-perfect morning. The entered the field projected at a fifth-place team finish, which was not a setback for Newman's top four players. The Comets had two players finish in the top ten: Logan Palmer 78 and Kyle Wolfe 79. Kyle Wolfe says "we played very well as a team but our third and fourth players are what helped us the most." Garet Wolfe, a rising young player contributed to the team with an career low 83, with an outstanding birdie on the 11th hole. Carson Palmer added a birdie to his card on the par three 4th which boosted his round to a final score of 82. A major moment for the Comet's stellar day was a year-low for Logan Palmer with a must-need birdie on the ninth hole. The Newman Comet's golf team finished with a high-place 2nd finish in the conference tournament.]]> 2022-10-05 13:44:34 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327610247 Dodge Ball marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327623603 On Thursday, September 29th, a dodge ball game was played between the grades. Jaesen Johns (shown in picture) is a Senior and was getting very intense during this dodge ball game. The first game was played between the freshman and the seniors, and the seniors ended up winning. The next game was played between the sophomores and the juniors, and the sophomores took the win. That left the seniors and sophomores going up against each other for 1st and 2nd place. The seniors ended up winning but it was a close game. The sophomores in 2nd, juniors in 3rd, and freshmen in last place. Jaylee Dugger stated, "I was very proud of my team for making it that far and Maddy Taylor-Steffens did amazing for being the last one in, and getting someone out." ]]> 2022-10-05 13:50:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327623603 Military Appreciation avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327624008 This Military Appreciation Night was a very important night for Newman, honoring those fighting for our country. The volleyball girls brought out the flag while staff sergeant Williams was giving his speech. The volleyball girls were also holding it while Maxwell deforest played his trumpet for the national anthem. This game was very close in both of the two sets that were played. Katie Grennan with 26 serves and 36 sets. Kennedy Rowzee with 2 blocks and Jess Johns with 5 kills also leading in digs. Here is a direct quote from the main volleyball coach Debby Kelly "some new routes and plays and I thought they did a nice job putting it into action on the court." They tried to pull out new plays for this game in order to defeat Princeton. Princeton is known for its sports so, in order to win, Newman decided to run new routes. The final score was 25-20. It was a close game but Newman surged through the end in order to get the win.



]]> 2022-10-05 13:50:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327624008 Seniors Secure Second Place in Powder Puff jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327631678 With homecoming, comes many homeroom activities. The first of which is Powder Puff Football. The senior girls came out the gate looking to go out with a bang. They started off strong and won their first game against the freshman girls by a field goal. Then they faced the juniors and unfortunately took a tough 0-16 loss. Ainsley Reed, Carlin Brady, and Katie Grennan were all standouts on both sides of the ball. Each having multiple receptions, completions, and defensive plays. When asked how the winning field goal boosted morality for the second game, senior, Gianna Widolff said," We got really excited because we knew we would secure a first or second place win for our class." The championship game didn't end up going in the senior's favor, but they all played hard and had fun playing in their last high school Powder Puff game. ]]> 2022-10-05 13:54:05 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327631678 Newman Cross Country Girls Push Through Panther Invite jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327633941 On October 4, 2022, the Newman cross country girls ran at the Panther Invite at Lake Erie Country Club. Including Newman’s team and its four runners, the meet had a total of ten teams and forty female runners. The fastest times on Newman’s team included Claire Crisham finishing with the top five runners in fifth place with a time of 21:56.38. Gianna Widolff finished next at eighteenth place with a time of 24:12.91 followed by Monica Healy at nineteenth place with a time of 24:20.66. Despite pushing through the course with their best, Newman’s girls team fell short of the top four schools in the race. Gianna Widolff commented on the conditions of the race, saying, “The track was better than what we had the last few games but the heat outside made it difficult for us to give it our all.”]]> 2022-10-05 13:55:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327633941 The Comet's Top-Two Seek a Last Chance to Make State loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327645170 On a beautiful October 3rd morning, Kyle Wolfe and Logan Palmer teed it up at the IHSA Section at TPC Deere Run. Kyle thought he came to play right out of the gate with a picture-perfect tee-shot on hole 1, setting himself up with a perfect chance to a hot start. His short-game played a major role in an upsetting finish to his high school golf career. Alongside Wolfe, Palmer had a rough start to his first holes in the tournament. He credits his dad for pumping him up to push through on the back-nine because he still had a chance. Palmer opened the second nine with a birdie on the par five 10th. He paced himself with a clutch birdie on the 15th (one of the toughest holes). Palmer said that “It’s unfortunate my playing partner and teammate [Kyle Wolfe] didn’t make it, he is a good player. But I’m really excited to make it. It’s good to be there.” Palmer carded with a 79 and a sixth-place finish to advance to state.]]> 2022-10-05 14:00:44 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327645170 Homecoming Win for the Volleyball Girls avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327649061 This game was very important to us at Newman and the volleyball girls because it was homecoming week. 
Newman led with a win for a undefeated conference play defeating St. Bede. Newman led in both two sets with 25-16, and 25-21. They played great and had a strong mindset going into the game for homecoming. Jess Johns said "I think we were all very confident going against them not only because we had done pretty well against them the last time we played them, but also because we had a lot of crowd energy and everything clicked between every position that game." Jess Johns who had eleven kills, seven digs, and one ace. Katie Grennan added fourteen assists, three aces, and three digs. Addison Foster who had 10 digs. 

]]> 2022-10-05 14:02:39 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327649061 The Homecoming Parade haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327673261 On Friday, September 30, Newman High School celebrated their Homecoming Parade. Gianna Widolff and Hayden Witt were in the parade as one of the prince and princesses. Behind them were the King and Queen, Nolan Britt and Katie Grennan. The Sophomores won the floats competition by a landslide with the best float of the parade. The Senior class came in last because they didn't have a float. Ava Anderson stated" I was really disappointed that the seniors didn't have a float. Its our last year, it would have been nice to out with style." The parade was a big hit. Many people went to the parade and received a lot of candy. This is one to remember for a longtime.]]> 2022-10-05 14:14:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327673261 Seniors Prove Themselves as Too Much for the Underclassmen loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327680505 On Thursday September 29, all four classes put forth teams of twelve to compete in a dodge ball tournament. The sophomores pushed through a hard-fought win against the freshmen. Once all the juniors arrived, they were set to face the betting favorites: the seniors. Jaesen Johns laid out the strategy for the game "get Tunink out then work from there." The senior's plan worked, from there it was smooth sailing. The freshmen then took on the juniors, and a few underclassmen were in shock. The freshmen thought they were in control until Garet Wolfe through a missile at Tunink who nonchalantly reached up and snagged it. Moving into the seniors versus the sophomores, Kyle Wolfe and Nolan Britt took out the tenth grader's top player and cruised through to the championship. The seniors got first, sophomores second, juniors third, and freshmen fourth. ]]> 2022-10-05 14:18:59 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2327680505 Just Go With It, It’s Adam Sandler Day avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2328399388 Most students' outfits seemed to be informed about the general Sandman vibe. Some students have actually replicated his famous movie roles with their costumes. However so, constants remain: most tributes come other with a baggy pair of gym shorts, a backward hat, slides, an athletic T-shirt, and other very normal items of clothing. The top movie seen throughout the day was happy Gilmore. Noticing Blayke Holbrook with a happy Gilmore costume by him saying "theres only room for on Adam Sandler in this School". Mrs. Jungerman with a staple of the LA hat and grey scheme, and Haily Geske with a khaki and orange scheme to her outfit. There were so many amazing costumes throughout that but those were the ones noticed. ]]> 2022-10-05 23:36:46 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2328399388 America’s Most Extreme Sports the Infamous Relay Race of 2022 avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2328411321 The infamous relay races occurred Wednesday, September 28, 2022. There were various relay actives such as 100-yard sprint, bear crawling, bouncy ball, and the wheel barrel. The races went head to head with freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Three girls and three boys from each class were needed for each activity. Sophomores who took 1st place. Freshman came in 2nd place. Juniors got 3rd place. Seniors got 4th place. The top three racers would have been Brady Williamson who was on the bouncy ball and practically launched himself down the field. Wyatt Widolff was sprinting, you couldn't even see him run he was that fast. Last but not least Jaesen Johns on the bear crawling, who was incredibly fast with only being able to move on his hands and knees. Here's a direct quote from Jaesen Johns saying "I felt like a bear zooming through the woods after some prey. I was just focused on getting us a healthy lead."]]> 2022-10-05 23:51:47 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2328411321 Blue Baddies! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2329976986 On Friday, September 30th, the whole school had the privilege of wearing spirit clothes rather than school uniform; in honor of the homecoming football game that night. Students were thrilled to show off their comet pride! Even some of the grandparents wore blue and white clothing! In the picture above Pyper Terbush is happily posing due to the fact she's out of her regular uniform, she says, "wearing the same outfit everyday can get boring, being in a normal outfit really excited me". Another student Jaylee Dugger says, "since I'm part of the volleyball team it's important to show others how proud I am to represent newman". A member of the girls basketball team, Helen Papoccia wore her jersey with her team number eleven on the back. Similar to Jaylee, Helen says, "it's not important to only wear spirit clothes inside of the school walls, but also in other public places. I like to show-off my Newman pride and let people know there is nothing wrong with attending a Catholic school". It was a fun day here at Newman celebrating our amazing school! ]]> 2022-10-06 19:27:35 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2329976986 Piecing Together Chess Club's Future jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2331212979 On Tuesday October 6, Newman’s chess club got together for a meeting to not only play chess but to also hear critical news about the club. Nathaniel Burger, one of the people who had started the club, relayed information from Mr. Stevenson concerning the competitive aspect of the chess club. One of the club’s major goals is to be able to participate in one state tournament for the year. This is possible, according to Mr. Stevenson, but it calls for the formation of teams, having a proper coach, and chess team uniforms. Besides having people willing to participate in these tournaments, Newman is unable to provide these things due to a lack of funds for the chess club. Both Nathaniel Burger and Jacob Newberry are finding ways to raise funds for tournaments to happen through possible dress down days or people willing to help. Even in the face of possibly being unable to have a tournament, Nathaniel Burger says, “I just hope that we can continue to attract new people interested in the sport and give them opportunities to play to the extent they desire.”]]> 2022-10-07 15:55:38 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2331212979 Who is Your Favorite Character? loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2331664591 With many things to look forward to during Homecoming week, having the ability to dress up as anything you want certainly ranks at the top of many students' lists. The Newman students were given the choice to dress up as their favorite character from any movie, television show, book, etc. Mrs. Rhodes (as shown above) came to school with a jaw-dropping impersonation of Cruella Deville. Alongside the fellow math teacher, Jaylee Dugger nailed her costume with an astonishing resemblance of Cindy Lou Who. Some of the students thought outside of the box by dressing up as a group, such as Sam Ackman, Ana Jungerman, and Addison Foster all going as characters from Despicable Me. The students loved to impersonate their favorites characters, including Garet Wolfe who said that "dreads are drippy dog," because he was dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow.]]> 2022-10-08 02:42:42 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2331664591 Food Drive avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335215140 Last week was Newman's annual food drive. Newman collects all the can goods and nonperishable foods from the feeder schools as well as people in general donating them. We had very good participation by our community and surrounding schools. The whole school was helping with the food drive all last week separating and organizing for each homeless shelter. The main volunteers that helped throughout the food drive was Jane Jungerman, Chris Somers, and Lisa Cook. Mr. Somers said it himself "We look forward to next years drive and appreciate all the hard work and dedication supplied by our faculty and student body."]]> 2022-10-11 12:54:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335215140 Pipe Shoot leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335269051 Pipe Shoot is a B.L.I.N.D activity that is dependent on trust and communication skills. The goal of this activity is to get the ping pong ball as far as they can using only PVC pipes cut in half. A variation to make it more difficult is to have them try to get the ball as far as possible without talking to each other, stressing the importance of communication. Gianna Wildolff says when asked, Why is communication so important in this activity? ¨If the students don´t communicate they will become frustrated. If they are not patient with each other they cannot communicate effectively. ]]> 2022-10-11 13:24:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335269051 Build-a-Machine leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335287086 Build-a-Machine is a teamwork activity and a break from stressful activities. Build-a-Machine is charades where the topics are all machines like a roller-coaster or a fridge. 
Build-a-Machine is an activity where the participants must communicate with each other to best portray their machine. It is a fun exercise full of laughs and smiles. Ava Anderson says, ''Its a fun activity to have the boys against the girls." ]]> 2022-10-11 13:33:30 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335287086 Newman Boys Earn Seventh at Crowded Columbus Day Meet giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335299659 On Columbus Day, October 10, the Newman Cross Country team traveled to Amboy for one of the largest meets of the year. With over thirty teams, the boys really had to push themselves to run competitively. They finished with a final score of 212, which is higher than normal, but there were 159 runners. Lucas Simpson led with a time of 16:50, and Lucas Schaab was right behind him with a time of 17:11. Wyatt Widolff was also a standout with a time of 18:16. Logan Devine commented on the race, saying, "Amboy is a really hard course with a lot of hills, and some of our athletes struggled with it. It's one of our last regular season meets, so it was a big deal. What we've learned from this meet will help us going into our state series." ]]> 2022-10-11 13:39:33 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335299659 Crossing the Line leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335315690 Crossing the line is one of the more serious activities done at B.L.I.N.D. Crossing the line is led by Debbie Kelly and she asks a series of questions. These questions are kind of close to home talking about struggles in life. If there is a particularly heavy topic is brought up the B.L.I.N.D leaders do the ASL sign for "I love you". Debbie says, "We change the questions as those who answer them change. "]]> 2022-10-11 13:47:28 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335315690 Comets Push to the Finish at Early Morning Meet at Augustana College giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335325550 On Saturday, October 1st, Newman XC traveled to Saukie Golf Course for an early morning meet. The team left Newman at 6:30 in the morning, so the Comets had to use a lot of willpower in order to get through the meet. On a pretty flat course, the team was lead by Lucas Simpson (16:42) and Lucas Schaab (17:04). They ultimately came away with third place, scoring 73, edging out EP by one point. Pictured above, Lucas Schaab, Gianna Widolff, Claire Crisham (not pictured), Kenny Boesen, and Lucas Simpson earned t-shirts for securing a spot in the top twenty runners. The top seven's times continue to improve with Coach Warkins increasing the mileage during practice. Espen Hammes comments, "Border Wars was a meet no one was very excited for, but considering the circumstances, the team fared well." ]]> 2022-10-11 13:52:30 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335325550 Newman XC Team Falls to Peoria Notre Dame on a Tough Course giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335325876 On Friday September 23rd, Newman Cross Country Boys Team ran against Peoria Notre Dame in a race of only two teams. They ended up with a final score of 41, coming in second. Lucas Simpson came in second with a time of 17:57; Lucas Schaab was in sixth with a time of 18:18. Wyatt Widolf took the number three spot with a time of 18:59, claiming eleventh place overall. The Comets also struggled with the fact that Peoria Notre Dame had significantly more runners. Although the boys fell to Peoria Notre Dame, the two Catholic schools joined together in prayer before their race, pictured above. This shows that even though the teams were competitive with each other, their respect for their sport and beliefs trumps all. Monica Healy, a member of the girls team, commented on the course saying, "Peoria is definitely the hilliest course we'll run on this season, but for every uphill there was a downhill." She also brought up the size of the meet mentioning, "It felt like one of the 'COVID meets' my sophomore year." During the height of the pandemic, there was a cap on how many teams could be entered in any given meet, so the races stayed between two and four teams. The runners definitely have different experiences with large meets of fifty or more teams and small meets with two or three. ]]> 2022-10-11 13:52:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335325876 King & Queen symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335328943 Before we kicked off homecoming week students were sent a survey for homecoming court, king and queen. Tuesday the winners were announced. Congratulations to Katie Grennan and Nolan Britt on the winning of the King and queen. This is not just an accomplishment this is a special moment to look back to when these young kids look back to their high school years and memories! The young gentleman and lady standing next to them were able to take the chance to be the crown bearers the young lady on the left is Eleanor Lemay Mr. Lemay's daughter and the young gentlemen on the right is Everette Stevenson Mr. Stevenson son.  The star students were both Katie and Nolan. Katie Grennan stated "I appreciate every person who voted for me and am so grateful for the chance to have even been on court". She also wanted to say "Thank you to everyone who voted for me and for this experience".

]]> 2022-10-11 13:54:12 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335328943 People to People avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335568787 The start of the blind-freshman retreat was this activity it is called people to people. This activity is where you go from different people doing exercises such as: shoulder-to-shoulder, knee to toe, and hip to elbow. The purpose of this activity is to meet new people from other schools. It is a way to get out of your comfort zone and be more confident within yourself. This activity is meant to be an icebreaker for the freshman to meet others from the different schools. Hayden Witt said "It is a good way to meet the blind leaders and to give you the confidence to go up to others you don't know."

]]> 2022-10-11 16:00:51 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335568787 Person Bingo avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335584304 This game is a get-to-know-you style icebreaker that helps people learn interesting facts about each other. People walk around the room and mingle until they find people that match the facts listed on a bingo-style sheet. The objective of this game is for people to wander around the room and to obtain the signatures of people who have the facts listed on the bingo sheet. Those who are antisocial or just no comfortable with doing this it is a good way to get them out there comfort zone. Carlin Brady said it herself " You never know what someone is dealing with behind the scenes or if they are wearing a mask once they leave the comfort of their home." Carlin is truthful when she says you never know what is going on in someones life, you can truly help someone by just going up to them and asking a funny question.

]]> 2022-10-11 16:09:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335584304 Spanish 3 Goes Worldwide jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335953285 For the past week up until now, the Spanish 3 class has been at work with their first Spanish project of the school year. This project involves creating a poster and preparing a speech that will be presented to the class on a unique Latin American country. Days in class have mainly been devoted to students constructing their posters with new, colorful designs being polished everyday. Today, however, is the last day students get to work on the project in class with the next Spanish class on October 13 being the day for the presentations. Logan Devine, one of the students working on this project, has shared some of his thoughts on the project as a whole stating, “It really shows how the Spanish Department here at Newman is different from the ones at public schools. Instead of focusing on just conjugation and words, we get to learn about the broad Hispanic culture of the world too.”]]> 2022-10-11 20:34:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2335953285 Newman XC Comets Put Team Dynamic First with Weekly Team Dinners and Breakfasts giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336132624 Throughout the 2022 season of cross country, the team has grown closer, spending a lot of time at team dinners and other activities outside of practice. They have a team dinner at a restaurant, park, or someone's house, every Thursday. It really has become tradition. Often after the hardest practices, team dinner gives the team a chance to talk, relax, and just have fun together. After Saturday morning practices, the team often joins for breakfast at a local spot. When asked what makes the cross country team so close, Monica Healy said, "Definitely the amount of time we spend together. We have one of the longest seasons, starting in June. Along with all the team dinners and long bus rides." Gianna Sagel adds, "This sport can be really tough at times, but it makes the memories made when just being with each other all the more valuable. Some of my closest friends are from XC, and I think that's because of the effort put into our team dynamic." ]]> 2022-10-12 00:30:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336132624 Human Ladder avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336172561 The human ladder is a small group challenge that includes teamwork, group thinking, and trust. It tasks the group to combine their thinking skills. The team must work together, think together, and move together as a whole. This exciting initiative requires participants to pair up holding bars that serve as the “ladder” for another teammate to crawl on. As the crawler clears some of the bars, those holders move to the front to provide the next platform for the crawler to move across. Leah Kalina said, "my group absolutely loved the human ladder, we did it later in the day when they all trusted and knew each other." This activity is one of the favorites for the freshman.


]]> 2022-10-12 01:05:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336172561 The Living Rosary avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336182559 A living rosary is an act of celebration of the traditional rosary, it is where each bead is prayed aloud by a student or faculty member. With each student praying the beads are gathered in the center of the gym, replicating the shape of the Rosary. Doing this as a school truly brings out the beautiful prayers to life by involving everyone-body and soul. The top three teachers that really helped this come to life were Chris Somers, Jane Jungerman, and Missy Rhodes. They are truly the ones who organized and made sure it was a good living rosary. Mrs. Jungerman said "I love that we were able to come together and pray for world intentions today. It was beautiful to have two decades said in Spanish and so many students willing to participate. As always, it was such a gift having Sister Marcianne there, leading us all." Today was an amazing living rosary that the students did. ]]> 2022-10-12 01:13:58 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336182559 Relay race uproots seniors lead in homecoming competition logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336239504 The relay race happened after school on Wednesday on the football field. The race consisted of a 100 meter dash, followed by a bear crawl, ball bounce, 2 person wheelbarrow, and a 200 meter sprint. The sophomores won the event, followed by freshmen, juniors and seniors, respectively.
The most notable player was Wyatt Widolff, finishing for the sophomores with a commanding lead, he hung out at the finish for a few minutes before finally crossing. After the event, Wyatt said "I felt a little disappointed, I was hoping I would get a little more competition." another strong finisher would be Senior Claire Crisham, Gaining almost 50 yards on Junior Brooke Sanchez on the final sprint. the biggest event was the 2 person wheelbarrow, which shook up the standings dramatically and helped the Sophomores get their lead.  ]]> 2022-10-12 02:01:07 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336239504 Photography Students Use Creativity in Recent Symmetry Project giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336282306 In Mr. Reyes's photography class, a recent project for the students was the symmetry piece. The assignment included taking a photo, making a copy of the image that is mirrored vertically, and printing out two of each image. The students then lined the images up to create a mirror image that they like. There were a large variety of images presented, each with their own twist on the project. Many of the photos were taken right here at Newman with the six cameras that the class shares. Mr. Reyes often takes the students around school property, to the back parking lot, the front circle, and over to Sacred Heart. He also plans to take the class over to Sinnissippi Park and to various murals around Sterling. Ximena Hernandez, an advanced photography student, says, "In photography we learn the impact composition can make. The contrast and highlights and shadows all mean something. We learn that a picture can even mean more to the viewers than the photographer sometimes." ]]> 2022-10-12 02:36:49 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2336282306 Lucas Simpson Poses After Receiving a Medal at a Tough Race giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337816367 Columbus Day for the cross country team always consists of a large meet in Amboy. The meet has almost 50 teams competing and 4 different races. Lucas Simpson competed in the boys varsity 3 mile race taking 17th place for the comets with a time of 16:50. Lucas Schaab came in 27th with a time of 17:11 and Wyatt Widolff came in 53rd with a time of 18:16. The comets team placed 7th out of 19 full teams. 159 varsity boy runners competed in this race. Lucas Simpson stated, "For something to feel so good and hurt so bad is inexplicable." This was a very tough race for the comets with large competition.]]> 2022-10-13 00:15:10 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337816367 Students Celebrate a Birthday with Culver's Custard giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337834160 On Claire Crisham's birthday the cross country team had a meet in Sterling. Claire emphasized, "Everyone should come to Culver's to celebrate for my birthday!" After the meet some members of the team went to celebrate a tough meet and of course, Claire's birthday. Logan Devine, who works at Culver's in Dixon, even showed menu items we didn't know Culver's had. A big moment that spurred out of this celebration was team bonding from a few members of the team. ]]> 2022-10-13 00:30:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337834160 Cross Country Team Receives Baby at the "Lost and Found" Meet giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337844671 On Tuesday October 4th, the cross country team traveled to Erie for the Panther Invite. The meet consisted of 5 full boys teams and Newman boys took 3rd place. Lucas Simpson, Lucas Schaab, and Kenny Boesen all had strong performances to lead the comets in 3rd place. However, the best part about the meet is after the races, everyone's name is thrown into a hat and names are drawn randomly to receive random prizes. The prizes can be anywhere from food, to games, to hats, to pogo sticks, and even baby dolls. Members of the cross country team ended up receiving many fun "lost and found" gifts. ]]> 2022-10-13 00:38:35 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337844671 Newman students click on to Adam Sandler Day logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337916506 Adam Sandler. A Paragon of hope, light, humor, and of course, fashion. But what is Adam Sandler day? Junior Sam Mauch sums it up saying, "for Adam sandler day, you can dress up or just wear shorts and a t shirt. It's whatever you want it to be." Two notable costumes were Chad Haley and Sam Mauch, both portraying the waterboy, complete with vests and bottles of water.
Another event of note was the fact that this was the day with the most schoolwide participation. seniors came in first, with sophomores in second, juniors in third, and freshmen in last.]]> 2022-10-13 01:36:17 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2337916506 When in Doubt, Cheer it Out! giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338766059 The cheer girls still had lots of cheer even towards the end of a tough football game. The football boys had a tough defeat to Rockridge with a score of 33-8. Senior Claire Crisham stated, "Our team is still in a transitional period as our program is becoming more elevated but I'm so proud of how we've been able to highlight each girls strengths and create an engaging game-day experience, something that, in traditions like loyalty, really shines through." Key players in this stunt include flyers, Claire Crisham, Izzy Allen, Olivia Clark, and Brenleigh Cook. The bases of this stunt were very helpful for the flyers. The cheer team constantly works together to provide remarkable stunts. ]]> 2022-10-13 13:27:54 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338766059 The Comets are too Much for the Devils jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338769557 The Newman JV football team defeated Hall on Monday with a score of 28-0. The Comets were firing on all cylinders with solid efforts from the offense and defense. Some key players of the game were, Cody McBride, George Jungerman, and Brady Williamson. Williamson had two scores for the Comets, one coming on offense and the other late in the game on defense. When asked how his pregame mindset affected the outcome of the game, he replied,"". The JV Comets will be on the road next week where they will take on Mendota. ]]> 2022-10-13 13:29:44 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338769557 Cheerleaders fall down jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338786885 At the homecoming game on Friday, September 30th, the cheerleaders faced a lot of emotions. They have practiced and practiced this routine endlessly and hit it so many times and the end stunt falls. Katy Selmi said "There was so many thoughts running through my head, we killed that routine so many times and, I dont think we have dropped any of the stunts" The Cheerleaders had to all try to hold all there emotions they were feeling until we were all done and off the field. That was the first stunt that has dropped this year. They were all pretty upset because it was the homecoming performance. Key players were Ana Jungerman was facing a lot of emotions that night. She was really upset because the stunt feel. Reese Grumert was under a lot of pressure, it was her first time being the middle stunt and she was the flyer. The cheerleaders have grown from the mistake and will do great in their next performance. ]]> 2022-10-13 13:38:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338786885 Knitters Club Beginners marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338797029 On Wednesday, October 12, the Knitters Club had their first meeting. In the back of the picture, Allie Cook, was helping the beginners learn how to crochet. Knitters Club is actually crocheting, but it just sounds better as Knitting Club, so that's why they call it that. Allie Cook is a very experienced crocheter, and is also a very good teacher. The other girl in this picture, towards the left, is Mia Trujilo. Mia is one of the new learners of crocheting. She says, "Crocheting was hard at first, but it's actually really fun!" The yarn in the picture is the yarn that they are using to make the blankets. Eventually, after learning the basics, they will move onto making blankets, and hopefully more types of things for others. Knitters club is really helpful because they donate blankets to places that need them, and those places are very grateful for the kind gestures from Newman. ]]> 2022-10-13 13:43:54 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338797029 The Fresh/Soph Comets Secure The Win Against. haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338805381 Monday, October 10 , The Newman Comets JV team defeated the Hall Devils 28 to 0. George Jungerman had a good game Defensively and Offensively. Chad Haley had excellent blocking and even ran the ball. Chris Osmer was doing superb at passing. When asked about running the ball Chad Haley said " It felt great brethren to finally be able to run the ball". Congrats to the JV Comets on there big win.]]> 2022-10-13 13:48:27 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338805381 Win over the Devils marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338854007 On Monday, October 10th, there was a Fresh/Soph victory over the Hall Red Devils. This is a picture of the Fresh/Soph cheerleaders cheering on the boys to win. The cheerleaders love to lead the crowd to cheer loudly for the boys. The girls do stunts, baskets, cheer, and even dance! They even did a little half time performance. The boys also played a very good game. There was lots of exciting play and an exciting win over the devils. The end score was 28-0, and they fought for that win. Sadly before the game one of the back-spots, Jaylee Dugger, was injured and had to leave. So, one of the varsity cheerleaders, Sam Ackman, stepped up and became a backspot for a few stunts. One of the other cheerleaders, Makenzie Duhon said, "The game was a very exciting one and they worked very hard."]]> 2022-10-13 14:14:16 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338854007 The JV Comets dismantle the storm haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338855096 On Monday , 26,  The Newman Comets JV team destroyed the Bureau Valley Storm 42 to 0. Briar Ivey had a great game and scored a touchdown, but sadly he broke his arm George Jungerman played exceptionally well on defense. Joe Oswalt also had a great game against the storm. When asked about the game Joe Oswalt said “ That was one of the best all around games we’ve played this year.” Great job on your win Shooting Stars.

]]> 2022-10-13 14:14:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338855096 Building Lasting Impressions that Never Die jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338936739 The Freshman BLIND retreat kicked off on September 22. With over four hundred freshman from five different schools, it was sure to be a great opportunity for people to meet new people. BLIND is a club offered by Newman, Rock Falls, Morrison, Prophetstown, and Fulton that aims to bridge the gap between upper and underclassmen. This retreat however aimed more towards freshmen meeting other freshmen from other schools. Throughout the day, the freshmen engaged in many fun, team building activities designed to get some of them slightly out of their comfort zones. These activities were led by Juniors and Seniors from each of the five schools in attendance. Some of Newman's second year leaders included Blayke Holbrook, Gianna Widolff, Ava Anderson, and Hayden Witt. When asked why Blayke wanted to become a BLIND leader he stated," I like getting out of my comfort zone and making others get out of theirs. I wanted to open up and meet new people". The Freshmen will have the opportunity to become leaders themselves and continue on the tradition when they become Juniors.

]]> 2022-10-13 14:59:33 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338936739 Day of Giving!! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338979451 Our second annule Day of Giving has arrived upon us. Last year was out first ever Day of Giving event and we had a tremendous turn out. We are only able to do this event from our community's generosity. Last Year you would be surprised on how much our community donated towards our Newman student's education. Our goal this year is $350,000. At approximately 9:45am on 10/13/22 we have reached $104,732. Wow! that is crazy! This is a special day for our school to have our community donate so much money for our school to develop education. As we started the school day, we have Jennifer Oetting the Principal and Tricia Vorhees who is the librarian, Media center, social media & RTI Coordinator in the front lobby watching and keeping track of the donations. Jennifer Oetting on the right side, she is very blessed to see all these donations coming in from our community helping out catholic schooling education. Jennifer Oetting stated" Gratitude!
Blessed to be a part of the Newman Family!". Tricia Vorhees who is present on the left side she stated, "I am honored to be a part of an event that celebrates our students, staff, and the future of our school". She also added "It is heartwarming to experience the support of the Newman community every day and especially on the Day of Giving.  I am so thankful and am truly blessed to be a part of the staff at Newman". Our director of advancement who is not pictured Paula Passini Could not be any more excited for this day she stated, " I'm very excited, I am overwhelmed by our community generosity of out Newman family".  If you would like to participate and donate it does not have to be a lot just a couple dollars would help, go onto Newman Central Catholic High School - Sterling, IL (newmancchs.org) and follow the steps. Every Gift Matters!
]]> 2022-10-13 15:24:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338979451 Land Skis jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338986571 With the Freshman BLIND retreat comes the fun team building exercises, one of which being "Land Skis". To most people the skis just look like a 4x4 wooden post with eyelets and rope coming out of it, but to all past and present leaders and people who have attended BLIND, they are easily recognized. To participate in this activity, all you are going to need is two hands and the ability to listen. People will stand with one leg on each of the two boards, grab the ropes, and walk with your team. This sounds simple but it can be extremely difficult sometimes due to some people not wanting to listen or even if nobody takes control of the group. This activity is typically one of the favorites of the freshman as well as some of the leaders due to the funny "mess ups" that can happen. Senior leader Hayden Witt said," It can be funny when the freshmen fall down or go nowhere at all when they are trying to race. They usually take a while to get going, but once they do it goes pretty well." The overall goal of this activity is to use teamwork as well as listening skills to make your team go as far as you can, as some might do in real life. ]]> 2022-10-13 15:28:39 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2338986571 Mrs. Bontjes time to shine jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339302117 For every home game the football players pick a captain to ride the bus with them and go to the coin toss and etc. The football players picked Mrs. Bontjes. She is a math teacher here at Newman High School. " I am very thankful to be here, I am excited to stand on the side lines and watch the players and cheer them on" Mrs Bontjes says. Freshman Bella Clark said "I really like Mrs, Bontjes and I am glad that she got caption. Also Mrs, Bontjes was facing a lot of emotions. It also was the homecoming game vs Princeton. She was really happy and more excited because it was the homecoming game.  ]]> 2022-10-13 18:57:44 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339302117 Lets have a Volley-Ball! oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339477710 For homecoming weak each class was able to go down to the gym and gather their greatest players to form a team. They faced off in one of the best sports, men's volley ball. The match up is the same each year seniors vs freshman and juniors vs sophomores. Being a little unfair the seniors go off against the freshman in a the first game with the seniors absolutely sweeping the freshman which is something everyone would've guessed. The next game seeming unfair like the first was nothing like the first game with the sophomores pulling it off and just being able to win their game against the juniors. After a close game it the juniors went back in to face the freshmen off it their final games to decide their places. The juniors end up choking and throwing the game for their class leaving them in 4th and the freshmen in 3rd. After all the games before it was starting to lead up to the final game of volleyball, Seniors vs Sophomores. In a not so intense game the seniors were able to land a finishing sweep on the sophomores catching the dub and putting them in first place. Star players for the seniors were Logan Hermeyer being their teams iron wall, Blayke Holbrook with his strong serves and nice passes, and Nolan with his great plays and finishes. Getting a quote from Jeremy Castle saying ," Too Easy".]]> 2022-10-13 22:27:02 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339477710 Epic Crossover!!!! oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339492773 during homecoming week on Thursday we were able to come to school not in uniform but dressed up as our favorite movie character! Everyone had a great time replicating their favorite movie character and interacting with each other. Some student came to school with their movie outfits looking exactly like the character down to the T. Although it was still a normal day of school bringing in this factor spruced things up a little and made a normal day seem a little more fun then usual. The outfits weren't just limited to movies either you could come to school as characters from video games, books, TV shows, and whatever other character you could think of. My personal favorites were Oscar Navarro AKA myself coming into school as Marty McFly bring a blast from the past with a amazing look a like outfit, Hayden Witt dressing as Napoleon Dynamite, he didnt only have a curly hair to match but the same shirt as Napoleon too, and Paul Magnafici teaching as the iconic character Daniel LaRusso or the karate kid and also wearing the Myagi-Do headband. A quote coming from Oscar Navarro said," This is the best day of homecoming week".]]> 2022-10-13 22:52:47 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339492773 Unfortunate L oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339514220 During our last day of homecoming week Friday September 30th Newman faced Princeton in a unfortunate football game. They manage to secure the win for their team and scoring 36 points, holding us back and keeping us from scoring a single point. That day the national anthem was performed by non other then our musical prodigy Maxwell Deforest. He played the song great and continued to use his music to hype up our sideline and keep us on our feet. We lost most of the game the first half but was able to hold them off for most of the second half playing better then before. The student section did a great job of cheering us on the whole game despite the score, it was a fun time and good experience for the players. Dylan ending up saying," The game was closer than the scoreboard said as Princeton was tired and frustrated after the game". It was a hard loss but sadly it was inevitable. ]]> 2022-10-13 23:28:30 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339514220 Ten-Hut oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339582083 On September 16th the Newman football team went onto the field in their camo jerseys representing our U.S. Military on Military appreciation day. We were able to incorporate our military in a fun way for our football game on Friday. We were even presented with a speech given by Staff Sargent Williams and then the national anthem played by yours truly Maxwell Deforest which was played beautifully by the way. This game was our way of showing thanks to the U.S. military, although we lost 8-34 im sure they'd be proud to see our players represent. A quote from Dylan Garland," It was a game where people stepped up in big ways".]]> 2022-10-14 00:43:52 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339582083 Spanish 2 jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339603031 The past few weeks the Spanish 2 class has been learning about "ser" and "estar". Its very hard to learn. Mrs. Zamora said "Its very hard and tricky to learn so you have to pay very close attention while learning it and if you don't pay attention you will not understand it but if you do you will." She stresses that the students will not pay attention to understand. After the students have been learning it they kind of get the hang of it. After learning it and trying it Ally McGinn says "Its kind of hard not gonna lie but you have to really pay close attention to understand it and not messy around" It takes time to learn different things and especially a different language. ]]> 2022-10-14 01:03:59 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339603031 Food Bank oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339640127 On September 10th and 17th members of keyclub worked at the Salk Valley FoodBank. We unpackaged and bagged food and evenly divided the food based on the size of the family. Member were could be there from 9:30-12:30 helping family's in need. it was a fun experience for anyone who wanted to help and a day for all of us to remember. The members looked forward to planning and help out anyone who needs it. A quote from Oscar Navarro," I remember waking up earlier then usual ready to work but i actually felt really good and was happy when i was packaging a loading food for people who needed it".]]> 2022-10-14 01:32:48 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339640127 Cheerleaders on a run!!! jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339647049 Monday September 12 there was a football game. The cheer girls were there cheering the boys on. The game has started and its already almost to halftime. There was a time out and Oliva Clark said "Katie put Waka on!" So Katie did so the cheer girls started dancing to it. Then halftime comes and They huddled up and Katie sees that Kenzie, Jaylee and Hannah aren't wearing white socks. Katie said "no white socks for you guys huh.. you guys can go run a lap for not having white socks on.... now go 1 lap" After they have finished to there lap Jaylee says "The run wasn't that bad we didn't run that fast we took our time and I will never forget white socks again" Katie started laughing at the girls when they got back she thought it was funny that she made them run a lap. Kenzie said "The run wasn't bad and I will never forget white socks" Hannah Britt also said "always remember to pack white socks and make sure they are white" ]]> 2022-10-14 01:38:38 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339647049 Newman Cross Country Girls Team Earns Sixth at Second Meet of the Year with Old Teammate Cheering Them On giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339812135 On Tuesday August 30, the girls XC team ran their second meet of the year at Sycamore. It was a bigger race with 101 entries in the varsity race. Senior Claire Crisham led the way in 45th with a time of 22:43, setting the bar for herself the rest of the year. Senior Gianna Widolff was only a couple minutes behind with a time of 24:57 in 66th place. Freshmen Sophia McCoy and Reagan Hammes ran with each other and finished with times of 25:30 and 25:33, Sophia edging out her teammate in the end. The team ultimately earned 6th out of 11 teams with a final score of 168. The team was cheered on by former teammate Karlie Hey, who ran state multiple times in her high school career. She came out to Kishwaukee to support her teammates, and her presence had an impact on the entire team. Gianna Widolff mentions, "Karlie was a huge part of our team my freshmen year and the best captain. She always pushed me so hard and gave me the best running advice. Seeing her again felt so amazing to be able to show her how we've been running and just to hear her cheer us on again!" ]]> 2022-10-14 04:19:12 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339812135 WACC Students Tour the Facility through a Scavenger Hunt giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339824408 On September 2nd, when the WACC students walked into class, they were greeted with a list of items to take pictures of all around the building. They were put in groups of 3 and searched the building for signs, facts from teachers, and random items in each classroom. This gave the students a chance to familiarize themselves with the space in a fun way, get to know their classmates and teachers, and know where they're going in case of an emergency. Students traveled to all ends of the building mixing culinary students into the computers classroom and allied health students in the early childhood classroom. Students talked with each other in attempt to quickly learn where different items on the list were, but they still had to document each room with a picture. It wasn't supposed to be a race, but the students got pretty competitive regardless. It really added another aspect of fun to the challenge. Sydney Schwartz, an Early Childhood student from Prophetstown, says "I liked how I got to see the the whole building and meet the other teachers" when asked what she liked about the scavenger hunt. Overall, it was a great activity to build bridges between the classes at WACC. ]]> 2022-10-14 04:33:24 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339824408 The Capable Comets! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339848202 On Thursday, August 25th at 5:00pm the sophomore volleyball girls began their first home game against Sterling High School. Nerves were running high that day, considering they haven’t won a game so far. Sophomore Helen Papoccia certainly was a key player in this particular game, she used her voice, encouraged her teammates, and scored her team many points with her killer spikes! She’s definitely one to watch. A big moment took place when Newman’s team was 10 points behind Sterling’s team, sophomore Pyper Terbush made an exciting comeback when she played middle and spiked a ball right to the floor on the other side of the net, set to her by Kenzie Duhon. This moment brought energy and hope back to all sitting in the gym rooting for Newman. Alongside Helen, sophomore Macie Rosengren played a huge role in the game. Macie played back row and made sure not one ball touched the ground, no matter how fast she had to run. She was reliable the whole time and Sterling's team knew she was a force to be reckoned with. When sophomore Ally McGinn was asked about her thoughts on the sophomore team not winning a single game this year she happily answered, “obviously we’re not thrilled to be continuously defeated but having a team of coaches who encourage us endlessly makes this whole journey worthwhile”. The game ended with Sterling pulling out a win, but Newman’s team did have some good moments and tried their best. The final score of the first set was 25-17 and the second set score was 25-20. 

]]> 2022-10-14 05:02:09 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339848202 Heartbroken at the Hoco Game madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339872966 On Friday, September 30th, the weather was cool and crisp when Newman’s homecoming game took place. With Princeton as our competition it was obvious we were nervous to play against such a successful team. Nonetheless, Newman was ready to bring their A-game. Junior Caleb Donna played a huge role in the game, even though he wasn’t scoring touchdowns it was noticeable that he stopped multiple of Princeton’s team members from scoring them. A key moment happened right before halftime, Junior Brady Greenan came extremely close to scoring a touchdown, although he didn’t, that moment alone brought out the most adrenaline and screams heard the whole night. Sophomore Daniel Kelly had the honor of playing in the homecoming game, it was clear he tackled on that field like no other, up until the moment he injured his shoulder. After being disappointed with the loss, head football coach Mike Lemay said, “I know Newman is strong and we will continue to put our best foot forward and strive for greatness”.  The game ended with Newman unfortunately losing to Princeton, the final score was 39-0. It was shocking and disappointing to not win at our own homecoming game, but we’re all still hopeful to improve and get back out there. 

]]> 2022-10-14 05:29:20 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339872966 Junior Varsity jogging to Success! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339901483 On Monday, October 10th Newman’s junior varsity football team played against Hall High School. Winds were strong but so were the comets ambition. A key player was junior Chad Haley, he got his hands on the ball and did a tremendously good job at blocking. A big and heartwarming moment happened when coach Andy Accardi gave the players a pep-talk before the game started, he explained what it means to be a comet and why it’s important to carry on the legacy. Another star player was sophomore Ryan Partingtion, he certainly showed how amazing his passing skills are, he definitely helped Newman pull out a landslide win. The final score was 36-18. After the victory sophomore Briar Ivey confidently said, “yep, we got it”. 

]]> 2022-10-14 06:01:37 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2339901483 Newman puts the "bond" in bonfire! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340430202 Student life was nothing but fun at the annual Newman bonfire during homecoming week! On Tuesday, September 27th, students gathered together to meet in the gym for homecoming king and queen crowning. It was a big moment when seniors Katie Greenan and Nolan Britt got announced the 2022 Queen and King. After the crowing there was a bonfire in the back of the track field to keep everyone warm during the cold. It was full of chatter and laughs. Mr. Olson and Woody played a big part in making the bonfire happen, by supervising the students and filling the fire with logs whenever needed, they kept the temperature up and the stress down. The night ended with pictures being taken and full hearts. Taylor Crownhart said at the end of the day, “this is what it’s all about, friends and classmates coming together for some fun”. 

]]> 2022-10-14 13:04:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340430202 Homecoming made our hearts burst! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340435878 On Saturday, October 1st, Newman hosted their annual homecoming dance. The entire night was full of dancing, singing, and smiling. Everyone truly had a blast. At 7:00pm the night began with the princes, princesses, king, and queen being introduced. It was a grand moment when Nolan Britt and Katie Greenan were introduced as our 2022 king and queen. After that the dancing began with junior Espen Hemes working as the DJ throughout the night, keeping the vibes high and feet moving. The dance wouldn’t have happened without Mr. Olson and student councils help, they deserve a huge shoutout. Sophomore Ryan Partington said, “It was definitely a stressful week to be president of the sophomore grade, but seeing how happy everyone was at the dance made the whole process worth it”. The night ended with popcorn all over the floor and worn out dancers, but the dance will always be a core memory. 

]]> 2022-10-14 13:08:33 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340435878 Annual Food Drive symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340496707 Every Year we do an annual food drive throughout sterling community this is our 21st annual food drive that Newman has hosted. Why do we do this food drive? Former staff Mike Papoccie came up with this brilliant event that would help this community out. Mike Papoccie stated "I was motivated by former Father White to go outside the box and think about what we could do to help with family having a hard time and struggling with money and show how we are a Catholic school". Many people are in need of food that they can't afford so Mike Papoccie brought up the idea to Father white that Newman should start a food drive to help out family's. Every year in the beginning of October students, staff and the community get together and bring in can goods, boxed food anything that would be good without being cold or frozen. Throughout the days of the food drive classes at Newman go help short goods and deliver to the food pantries. Every year it is always a successful event. Without our community we couldn't do this special event for our community. Jane Jungerman our theology department teacher stated " Anytime we have an opportunity to come together and serve the community we are being Christ hands and feet". Everyone is so thankful for the opportunities Newman provides. Senior Haily Geeske stated "The Food drive not only was used to help those in need, but it is also a way to bond and work together. When the whole school gets together, it's always fun". Senior Tyler Garman stated " it is just another way Newman shows there way of being charitable and giving to the community". With that being said Newman can not wait till next years food drive it is always a good time!

]]> 2022-10-14 13:50:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340496707 Cross County symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340606316 Cross country has a big part in our students at Newman from team dinners from team breakfast get together's they are always bonding with there team no matter what. Pictured above are the Senior Cross county students that are devastated that there Senior season is coming to an end and they would do anything to go back and run all those memorable meets. The start of the season wasn't the prettiest but they grew as the season went on Gianna Stated "The season started off rough with lots of injuries. We got faster as the season went on. We're approaching the end of the season and hoping we make it far in the postseason". She also stated "Our team has gotten so close this year with weekly team dinners and some Saturday breakfast's. I'm really sad for the season to be ending soon". They constantly push there-self to reach there goals every meet. Throughout the season weather changes it could be drenching hot or freezing cold and no matter what the weather is they will always go above and beyond to make there self's happy along with there coaches and parents. As the last few weeks come to an end they are thinking about how running with there high school teammates won't last long. Each of these individuals have dreams and goals to reach and they will depart sooner or later. Claire Crishma has accomplished many awards throughout her season and she has came very far from when she first starting running cross country. One of the star runners out of the senior group would be for girls Claire Crishma and for the boys would be Kenny Boesen. As the season come to an end they will bond as much as they can before they go off. ]]> 2022-10-14 15:07:25 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340606316 The Student Section never disappoints its comets! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340645037 Newman students were living it up at the homecoming game on Friday, September 30th, student life has never looked so good. Despite Newman losing the game terribly, students were loud and proud. Taylor Crownhart played a key role in getting other students hyped up, she screamed and chanted through the whole game. Another loud student was Helen Papoccia, she never lost faith in Newman’s team, kept positive vibes up and encouraged other students to cheer on their team. Mrs. Bontjez and Sister Marcianne were announced honorary captains and walked out on the field with the players. It was a special and big moment for everyone, because students truly believed she deserved it. Head football coach, Mike Lemay said, “it’s not how you win, but how you play. We know the football team always works hard”. The long and fun night ended with a loss, but the student sections heads were high and hearts were proud of the comets. 

]]> 2022-10-14 15:35:55 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340645037 Comets turned Frat Boys! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340898895 Students were THRIVING on Tuesday, September 13th at Newmans sophomore volleyball girls game, it was their fourth home game. They were hungry for a win, which made the student section even more hungry. The theme for the game was frat boy, basically everybody dressed up as a college boy who is preppy and drinks a lot. A notable student who came to cheer on the girls was Grace Geske, she got a whole outfit together and even went as far as drawing a mustache on her face. It was a funny and big moment when the football boys got done with practice, they came out with the funniest outfits that cracked everyone up. Another notable student was Amiya Rodriguez, she wore a backwards hat and played her frat boy role so well she even did a douchebag-like voice through the whole game! Zachary Deforest said, “I plan on being a preppy frat boy one day, so it was fun and exciting to play the role of one today”. The game ended with a loss, but the students looked better than ever in their button up shirts and bow-ties. 

]]> 2022-10-14 19:09:25 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340898895 Theology department putting their love of Christ in action madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340916536 On Thursday, October 6th the theology department took part in helping to pack up food for Newman’s annual food drive. Pictured above is Kezie Duhon, part of Mrs. Jungermans class, Kenzie is putting corn in boxes to be delivered at a local church. Working alongside her is Macie Rosengren, she is making room in the boxes so they can fit as many cans in there as possible. Another student who is assisting in packing the food is Sam Smith, part of Mr. Somers class, she is organizing the food cans. It’s clear Newman students care deeply about those in need and work hard to provide to the best of their ability. Sophomore Mia Trujilo said, “as a young person I’m not often asked to help or volunteer anywhere, having the opportunity at my own school made me feel like I was making a difference for the first time”. This day ended with loading up the school buses, they were completely filled. Mr. Olson and multiple other teachers drove with students to drop the many loads of food off at local food pantries, homeless shelters, and churches. 

]]> 2022-10-14 19:31:48 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2340916536 Student of the Month oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341011444 October 3rd will be a day to remember for Ainsley Reed. After church Ainsley Reed was presented with the student of the month award which to be honest was no surprise to the senior class considering how smart and out going she is. She's involved in many clubs such as keyclub, science club, knitters club, and Model UN. Shes also in national honors society which goes to show just how smart she is. She is a natural born leader being a BLIND leader and the president of student council. She also volunteers her time at the food bank weekly and donates her blood regularly. She has plans to attend a 4 year plan in college majoring in chemical engineering. I have a Quote from the lady her self, "I felt honored to be recognized for all the work I've put in throughout high school, and i feel especially blessed to have been selected for this recognition out of all of my highly deserving peers".]]> 2022-10-14 22:25:04 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341011444 Father Mother Dance jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341017479 In the beginning of the school year the cheerleaders did a dance with there moms, and did stunts with their dads. The coaches Katie Selim, Liz Foster and Stephanie Clark deiced to have a brunch with all the cheerleaders and there moms. During the brunch with their moms they only had an hour teaching their parents the dance. That was there only practice for it.  Abby Peterson's step mom said "Its very hard, overwhelming just only have a short amount of time and I can barley get it down its stressful" They parents got a little stressed out with only have a little amount of time. Ana Yungerman also say "I love teaching the dance to all of the moms its so funny watching them trying to learn it and especially my mom" The moms ending up getting it down after a few days of them teaching it. Then the coaches Katie Selim, Liz Foster and Stephanie Clark deiced to have a cook out with all of the cheerleaders dads. They ate and they all had fun. Then it came time to practice the stunts with the dads. Katie starts telling everyone who there stunt groups are and where they are. The cheerleaders had to show there stunt groups how to stunt. The dads were happy that they didn't have to learn a dance. It took a few times for the dads to get a hand of it but they go. The final stunt turned out good!!]]> 2022-10-14 22:41:13 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341017479 Science Department Closes 1st Quarter With Hard-working Students giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341023993 As 1st quarter ends, the science department pushes tough tests and quizzes. Classes like physics, anatomy, chemistry, and biology all have students working hard. Senior Logan Hermeyer stated, “Physics is a tough class but fun being able to work with people.” A big moment in the science department this quarter is science club starting and having fun with their experiments. Another big moment is the anatomy class working hard to identify bones with Mr. Accardi’s bone diagrams. The physics class has had lots of fun experiments as well this quarter. Science is a big department with lots of differnet classes. ]]> 2022-10-14 23:02:18 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341023993 Guy Girl dance jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341026298 Every year the Newman cheerleaders do a dance and a stunt routine with a football player they pick. Well this year the cheerleaders changed it up a little bit. Some of the football players were bases, back-spots and flyers. Last year the cheerleaders did have the boys base or back-spots only fly. The Cheerleaders taught the football players how to throw a basket. A basket is a stunt but you throw the flyer up in the air. Olivia Clark (one of the basket flyers) "I didn't think I could go that high before! When they threw me up in the air I was so shocked that they threw me that high in the air! During the cheer practice with the boys there were always so scared to throw me to high and to not caught me but when we perform and they killed it and threw me so high and I was so shocked!!" The cheerleaders and 3 of the football boys Brady Grennan, Ryan Partington and Brady Williamson did tumbling. Ryan Partington said "I didn't think I could do a cartwheel backhand spring until now I only knew how to do a backhand spring." Jaylee also said "I thought it was very cool that the football players did there tumbling" The final end stunt ended up looking amazing!!! ]]> 2022-10-14 23:10:01 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341026298 Starting off Strong oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341027366 During the start of the cross country season the boys team manage to take home 2nd place in their first meet. Their meet was held in Centennial Park in rockfalls. The run was long and tough for the whole Newman team. Luckily they were able to pull it off and were able to push themselves to great length to receive a trophy at their race of the season. The boys team did great but the ones who stood out were Kenny Boesen, Lucas Simpson, and Lucas Schaab. They trained hard and their work payed off so im sure they were happy to see their work in physical form. The girls also worked just as hard running the same course as the boys and Claire bringing home a medal for herself. a quote also from Monica Healy," This team is like my family and im so grateful for them".]]> 2022-10-14 23:13:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341027366 ABBY'S BACK!!!!! jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341031731  Abby has been out of sports due to her surgery. After 2 weeks after her not being able to cheer or her not being there she finally got to come to are game! Abby said "It feels really good to be back, not evening if I am not cheering I love to be back they are like my second family and I was so sad that I wasn't able to cheer and couldn't be in the performance with them!! But it feels to be good to be back. Everyone was upset that Abby wasn't able to cheer with us but the cheerleaders are so excited and happy that she is back. Kenzie said " I am very happy that Abby is back it makes me so happy I missed her so much and I cant wait until she starts to cheer with us!!" MaryKay said "It feels good to have Abby back its a lot of excitement and joy!" ]]> 2022-10-14 23:27:10 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341031731 The Gift That Just Keeps Giving leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341056165 October - 13 - 2022 was Newman's second annual Day of Giving. This year we raised $212,858 as of the afternoon of the 14th. 473 generous people donated. Paula Passini, Gehrig Koerner, and Trisha Vorhees were three huge helps to running the Day of Giving. The Day of Giving helps provide funds for Newman's operating expenses. It is a time foe alumni, family, and friends to help Newman. From 2022 class to $8,933 from the class of 1969. Thomas Powers said that his donation went to "This money is to go towards an ice cream machine for the students".]]> 2022-10-15 00:38:30 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341056165 We got spirit yes we do we got spirit how bout you? leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341080351 Newman's student section is always a sight to see. From the amazing themes like, construction/neon, frat or beach (shown above). To the immense dedication to keeping up the spirits of the team playing. Senior Hunter Luyando and Sophomore Briar Ivey being to of the loudest in the volleyball student section and Senior Katie Grennan and Junior Kennedy Rowzee being two of the loudest cheerleaders without being on the team at football. In response to how the student section affected the volleyball team at the Sterling vs Newman game head coach Debbie Kelly says, " It was a great environment which we all knew it was gonna be playing with Sterling. Sterling has some great players and just the comradery between the two teams. We defiantly fed off our crowd, it was really good when we made a substitution with Leah Kalina coming in to sub and serve the student body really got behind her and that really drove that last part of the third game."  ]]> 2022-10-15 01:39:55 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341080351 Eye opening experiences at BLIND retreat oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341089723 On September 22 Blind brought together a collective of freshman from 5 different school to participate in activities for the day. The activities involve team building with kids from schools that they may have never met. The BLIND organization brings together schools in order for the students to learn how to work together and become social with each other. The juniors and seniors supervised the activities performed by the freshmen to help out when needed. Some Newman seniors who helped this year in the BLIND retreat were Blayke Holbrook, Ava Anderson, Hayden Witt, and Gianna Widolff. Hopefully these activities can help incoming freshmen who were introverts and not as social so they might help in the future too. ]]> 2022-10-15 02:02:52 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341089723 Math Team Divides and Conquers to Prepare for Competition logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341119289 Math team. The man, the math, the legend. But what is math team? Math team is a series of competitions in various fields of mathematics. Newman students practice every week to prepare for the final test. The two big events in math team are the regional competition in February, and the best from that competition go to the state competition in march. An important name in the local math scene is Mr. Sotelo, the coach of math team who has led multiple teams to state in the past years. "I'm really excited for this year's competition," says Mr. Sotelo, "because its the first time in a few years we'll be able to go in person"


]]> 2022-10-15 03:18:16 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341119289 Newman's Math Department Multiplies the Knowledge of the Student Body logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341120780 Math; The foundation of science, logic, and the basis of humanity's understanding of the world. So teaching it well has to be quite important, right? well Newman's Math Department is up to the challenge! the math department has a plethora of different options for students, with Mrs. Bontjes teaching algebra 1 and 2 as well as geometry, Mrs. Rhodes teaching algebra 2 honours, pre-calculus and college algebra prep, and Mr. Sotelo teaching Calculus and Statistics. Mr Sotelo commented on why he chose to teach math, saying "You can't do anything without math, it's everywhere. thats why I want to share math with as many people as possible and help them understand it."

]]> 2022-10-15 03:22:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341120780 Newman Sails to finish at Columbus day meet logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341148946 On Columbus Day, the Newman girls cross country team ran at Amboy for their Columbus day invitational. there were forty different teams at the meet with Newman getting 20th place overall. Our three biggest finishers were Claire Crisham in 47th, Monica Healy in 111th, and Gianna Widolff in 117th out of 161 runners. Senior Claire Crisham commented "this was one of our hardest courses this year, but we had lots of competition and I think we ran pretty well."]]> 2022-10-15 04:59:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341148946 Seniors Go Out With a Bang leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341643438 The Newman Comets played the Mendota Trojans for their senior night game, beating them 30-27. With 12 seniors Hunter Luyando, Nolan Britt, and Jaesen Johns shined. Hunter (#15) and Nolan (#23) both played an amazing defensive game as well as each scoring a touchdown. Jaesen Johns (#83), on his second game back from a shoulder injury, had a receiving touchdown, multiple blocks, a sack, and some tackles. Johns when asked what it felt like going into this game after missing so much said, "I just wanted to play as hard as I could to make up for the time that I missed. I wanted to go out there and play for the team, for the rest of the seniors especially because it was the last guaranteed home game." After beating Mendota if the Comets beat the Kewanee Boilermakers during an away game next week they are guaranteed to make playoffs. ]]> 2022-10-16 04:22:48 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2341643438 High School Parade Draws a lot of Eyes! loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342246503 On a beautiful Friday afternoon, the Newman student body set out on a parade around the school. The Homecoming Parade brings a lot of children from around the area, and they enjoy themselves when they see the bags of candy they can bring home. The cheerleaders always have an attention-grabbing float with their speaker playing music, adding several dance moves to the tunes. In previous years, the golf float would have players chip candy with a club to several children, but decided on tossing bouncy balls this year. Sam Neiswander (shown above picking Carson Palmer up) was having fun by claiming his "name is John Cena." ]]> 2022-10-17 00:14:17 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342246503 The Everlasting Impact of English. loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342373981 The English department is constantly trying to prepare students for the better because "It prepares students to think critically, analytically, and gives them confidence to use their voice," said Mr. Magnafici. The Department has three teachers: Mr. Magnafici (English 3 & 4), Mrs. Spencer (English 2, AP Language, English 101 & 103), and Ms. Accardi (English 1 & 2). English helps learners to use their imagination, enhance their empathy for others and lead them to develop their own creativity.]]> 2022-10-17 02:09:49 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342373981 Scholastic Bowl Intends to Threaten State This Year loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342380354 Scholastic Bowl consists of top scholars who like to introduce themselves to a variety of fun questions and challenges. Newman has two scholastic bowl teams, a varsity and a junior varsity. The varsity, which typically consists of juniors and seniors, has high hopes for their outcome this year. Logan Devine states, "We've got some real talent on our team this year and we've got a good shot at state." The varsity team's coach is Mr. Frank and the junior varsity team's coach is Mrs. Vorhees. ]]> 2022-10-17 02:14:39 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342380354 A Model of the United Nations loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342390969 Model UN is a simulation of the United Nations General Assembly and its other multilateral bodies where students perform an ambassador role while debating topics such as climate action, global health, and BTS. The club president, Samuel Neiswander, looks for active participants to help develop a more accurate replica of the assembly. Model UN takes place in Mr. Olson's room whenever he feels like scheduling a meeting. "Model Un, you know? I think is one of the most important skills you can learn, you know? To be able to work together with people to solve problems is very useful and good in society. Also, who doesn't want to be North Korea." ]]> 2022-10-17 02:22:09 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342390969 Newman finishes regular season strong at Patriot invitational logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342466371 The Newman girls cross country team ran at Detweiller park in Peoria this weekend. The meet is run on the same course as the state meet. the girls placed 28th out of 60 teams. the three front runners for the course were Claire Crisham in 64th, Monica Healy in 153rd and Sophia McCoy in 175th out of 245 runners. Senior Claire Crisham Commented, " We all ran well today, and this is a good sign for us going into the state series"]]> 2022-10-17 03:28:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342466371 Newman fights at home in Twin City Invitational logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342507304 The Twin city Meet takes place every Year between the schools of Rock falls high school, Sterling High School, and Newman. It takes Place at Hoover Park, better-known as Woodlawn Park because of its proximity to Woodlawn Arts Academy. Our three runners that day were Claire Crisham, taking 14th, Monica Healy, taking 18th, and Gianna Sagel in 21st. Newman dis not score as a team due to lack of runners. Senior Claire Crisham commented, "We had a lot of Injuries during this meet so we weren't able to score, but I know our team will grow stronger in the coming weeks."]]> 2022-10-17 04:12:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2342507304 What are Newman Student’s favorite classes? logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343168613 With the large amount and variety of classes offered at Newman, It can seem almost impossible to choose a favorite, but that’s just what these students have been tasked with. Junior Espen Hammes says, “mine has to be art; I just like being able to express myself in a way I can't in other classes.” Senior Gianna Widolff responded, “Journalism, because Iget to work with my friends to document my senior year.” Sophomore Zion Fiorini said, “Art, because I like drawing.” Junior Logan Devine said “my favorite is statistics because I find it interesting and cause we get to drink tea.” Freshman Rico Hernandez said, “World History, because I like Mr. Olson's jokes” Sophomore Nathaniel Burger said “ strength and fitness, because it lets me learn about something i wouldn't normally learn about in school. Plus it makes me stronger.” Junior Sam Mauch said, “photography, because it lets me capture a single moment unlike any other artform. This is but a small sample of all the classes and favorites at Newman, and I ask you to pose the question to yourself, “what is your Favorite Class?”]]> 2022-10-17 13:09:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343168613 Newman is Lauded with trinkets at Panther Invite logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343171575 It is customary that after the awards ceremony at the Panther invite every year, a variety of prizes consisting of toy cars to succulents and everything in between is awarded to runners, who are drawn at random from a hat. Some prizes of note were a baby doll won by Senior Kenny Bosen, an unlabeled mystery bag won by junior Gianna Sagel, and a pogo stick unfortunately won by a runner from Erie-Prophetstown. As for the race proper, Claire Crisham got 5th, but the girls team was unable to score because of lack of runners. Senior Raul Reyes commented, "this meet is one of my favorites because of the prizes, but man am I mad i didn't win that pogo stick”

]]> 2022-10-17 13:10:54 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343171575 Junior class Spanish marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343171946 Starting on Wednesday, October 12th, the Junior class started on their class project. They are learning about the Latin american countries. They learned about the country's culture, food, and customs. They each take turns to present their countries in front of the class, and have to memorize what they have to say. The first student that has already gone was Izzy Allen, and she did Spain. The next was Molly Olson, and she did Belize. And another person that has already gone is Sophia Ely and she did Mexico. Senora Zamora said, "The presentations have been going good so far and have been going smoothly." ]]> 2022-10-17 13:11:04 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343171946 Newman Knitter's Club Meets brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343196571 By Brooklyn Zigler

On October 12, Mrs. Verdick's Newman Knitter's Club met for the second time. New students began learning different stitches and the more advanced students helped them learn and showed them how to crochet. This year, the new students will be working on handmade blankets. The advanced students will be working on different projects, but their first project is to make a stuffed mushroom plushie. "Knitter's Club first interested me beacuse you can never have too many skills in your life," Carlin Brady (pictured on the right) says, "Crocheting helps fill up my spare time." ]]> 2022-10-17 13:23:23 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343196571 Cheerleaders Performance marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343205326 On Friday September 16th, the Newman cheerleaders had their 2nd performance on the field. It was the game where the boys wore the army green jerseys. The picture above is a picture of MaryKay Downs and Reese Grummert in the middle of the 2 rows, doing a back handspring. During the cheer performances there is always a section of tumbling on the field. Last year, there were only 2 tumblers, but this year there are 9 tumblers that tumble regularly throughout the season! The cheerleaders have improved with their tumbling, stunts, and dancing as a whole. Jaylee Dugger said, "I didn't know if I wanted to do cheer again this year, but I was happy that I went out because it has been a great year." The Comets sadly lost this game though, but it was a good game. ]]> 2022-10-17 13:27:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343205326 Seniors Reign Victorious brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343220406 On Thursday, September 29, Newman’s students competed in a competitive game of dodge ball for their homecoming week homeroom activity. During the first game, the freshman competed against the sophomores, but the sophomores claimed the victory. The next match had juniors and seniors compete against each other with the seniors coming out victorious. For third place, freshman and juniors battled it out, and the juniors beat the freshman, claiming the third place title and making the freshman last place. During the game for first place, seniors beat the sophomores after an intense game, claiming the first place title. In the end, seniors won overall, sophomores came in second, juniors in third, and freshman came in last place. Carlin Brady, a key player in the senior game, said, "The senior class dominated. There was a time during the second game where I thought we were going to lose, but we managed to pull through." Two other key players include Jeasen Johns and Kyle Wolfe. ]]> 2022-10-17 13:34:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343220406 The Comet Picasso's carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343228420 At Newman right now the showcase in the main hallway is filled with the artwork of Comet students. From freshmen to seniors the case shows off all the masterpieces that the students have made. From collages to drawings the skill that is held within this school is immense. Every single piece of art is different because all of the creators have different imaginations and inspirations. Highlighted in this showcase are Sam Mauch, Carlin Brady, and Kat Verdick. The artwork of each of these artists ranges from serious to cartoon and fun. Carlin Brady states, "I'm not really sure what inspires my artwork. I think that much of my inspiration comes from society and how twisted it can be. Another main source of my inspiration is mental health." ]]> 2022-10-17 13:38:38 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343228420 Neon Newman marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343232662 On Friday, September 2, the Comets had their first home game. The student section really went all out. They all met the standards of the neon and dressed up. In the front you can see Katie Grennan getting the crowd going. She's encouraging the crowd to get loud and getting them to cheer. Another key person is Madison Duhon. She is right next to Katie and she is also getting the crowd going. They all cheer really loud and are cheering the comets on to hopefully win. Sadly the Comets lost that game, but it was a close game. ]]> 2022-10-17 13:40:33 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343232662 its not just about the maps oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343243209 The Geography department helps kids today learn where they are and where everything else is. It shows the physical properties of our earth such as mountains, valleys, ravines, etc and the people and communities spread across the world. Right now they are focusing of native american removal which is exactly what you think it might be. The students here enjoy learning and working together to complete their work and figure out what used to happened around the world. Some of the student who are shown working are Logan Hermeyer, Jeremy Castle, And the hardest worker in class Daniel Jackley. A quote from teacher himself Mike LeMay," Expanding the scope of geography". ]]> 2022-10-17 13:45:25 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343243209 Character Takeover brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343251374 On the Thursday of Homecoming week, students could dress up as their favorite characters for "Character Day." Liam Schmall (left) dressed up as Larry the Lobster from Spongebob and Mr. Mags (Right) Dressed as a character from the Karate Kid. This day allowed students to express themselves through their costumes. Students had fun dressing up as their favorite character. There were many student who came as a character who not many people knew about, but there were also student who came dressed in the same costumes. There were quite a few Spider-Men spotted around the school on this day. Overall this day was much fun for the teachers and students. ]]> 2022-10-17 13:49:17 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343251374 Mini Crime Scenes carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343251454 In forensics class, we recently investigated mini crime scenes such as the one shown above. This crime scene was the one that I investigated. Through the investigation I found out that this was caused by a drunk driver. Leah Kalina investigated a crime scene that involved in her words, "A dead man in the pool, a person on the deck to make it seem like they pushed him in, and a car with two people and a gun. She believes that the man in the pool was really pushed in. Oscar Navarro investigated a crime scene that involved a a girl dead in her bedroom. These crime scenes helped us be real life investigators as we researched these fake crimes. ]]> 2022-10-17 13:49:20 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343251454 Sophomore Volleyball symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343264812 The lower class volleyball team has had a rough season this year. The season has been very rough, they haven't won any games but it's not because they aren't good it's because when they get down on there self's they don't know how to bring there attitudes up they just let there attitude change the game. They have gotten better as a team with that being said they definitely have improved. Helen Papoccia is one of the star players, she has been doing outstanding in the back row and getting the digs up. Macie Rosengren has accomplished many positions and she is now the star player for setting the ball. The final star play on the sophomore team would be Kenzie Duhon she is the setting for the team and does a fabulous job. Ally Mcginn stated "our team grew together more and more during the season".]]> 2022-10-17 13:54:10 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343264812 Book-Life haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343266060 The library is one of the most popular places in all of the school where the Kids can hangout and check out books. It is also a place where the students can work on their assignments in peace. Gianna Widolff stated" I like that the library is quiet so I can study with no distractions." Mrs. Vorhees is a great librarian and Newman has one of the best Newman libraries around.]]> 2022-10-17 13:54:42 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343266060 Theology Department "Shares the Spirit" jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343267684 Since its start Newman has been a faith filled and centered school. The Theology department has done nothing but magnify this for the students and staff alike. Each and every day Mr. Somers, Mrs. Jungerman, and Mrs. Rhodes teach students about their faith and how to grow it in every aspect. Mr. Somers teaches the freshman and juniors, and Mrs. Jungerman teaches the sophomores and seniors. Mrs. Rhodes doesn't teach a theology class, but she is still heavily involved as she is an adult leader for Kairos along with Mr. Somers and Mrs. Jungerman. Mrs. Rhodes teaches math, but ties Theology into her lessons each day with a daily prayer. When asked if she liked Theology and why, after taking it for three and a half years, senior, Gianna Widolff said," Yes because you can have any opinion you want. They [the Theology teachers] don't make you follow a certain belief. They let you expand your thinking, and challenge your beliefs." With faith being the cornerstone of Newman, the Theology Dept. has prided itself in teaching young Catholics they way of the church and how to understand God.]]> 2022-10-17 13:55:27 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343267684 Senior Class Spanish carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343267708 In Spanish 4 the seniors made these picture collages and wrote a description in both english and spanish. While most the collages were normal, there was one poster that stood out. Made my Carlin Brady, Gianna Widolff, Raul Reyes-Zamora, and Carson Palmer, the poster of minions and smurfs looks a bit abnormal. States by Gianna, "We made it creative and fun and wanted to make it colorful." It looks as if she accomplished this goal with the help of her group. These posters can be seen posted outside of the spanish classroom. ]]> 2022-10-17 13:55:28 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343267708 Powder Puff L marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343275140 On Monday of homecoming week, the powder puff games were played during the study hall. The sophomores played the juniors first, and it was a pretty good game. The sophomores hadn't scored any points but they were doing decently on defense but they couldn't catch the balls that were being thrown. The sophomores ended up losing and played the freshman. The sophomores also lost to the freshman, not because they freshman scored but because there was a fumble from the sophomores. So some of the sophomores were upset and thought that it was unfair because the freshmen didn't even score and they won. The Juniors ended up defeating the seniors and took the W. The Sophomores took the L and Daniel Kelly said, "The play against the Freshman was unfair and they shouldn't have won". The QB switched up a couple times on the sophomore team. There was 3 Qb's, Makenzie Duhon, Amiya Rodrigez, and Macie Rosengren. ]]> 2022-10-17 13:59:12 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343275140 Homecoming Pictures marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343284488 The homecoming dance took place on Friday, October 1st. These girls above took pictures at Selmi's Farm before homecoming. All week leads up to the most important day: Homecoming. All the girls get dressed up, do their hair and makeup, and go to the dance and have fun. The Newman people from this picture are: Macie Rosengren, Olivia Clark, Makenzie Duhon, and MaryKay Downs. Mace Rosengren said, "The dance was really fun and that the decorations looked really good, but I wish that it was outside like last year because it was better outdoors." ]]> 2022-10-17 14:04:03 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343284488 Comet Traffic Cones carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343289930 At the football game on Friday, September 2, the theme of the game was neon colors. The Comet student section could not be missed this night! The student section could be seen and heard roaring this night. In this picture Monica Healy can be scene shining in her neon yellow shirt. She stated, "This is my favorite theme. The student section looks so fun and colorful." She is definitely not wrong in saying this. Haily Geske can also be seen in this picture. Although Haily was dressed up for the theme she was busy getting pictures of everyone to hold as memories of this wonderful night. Pictured in the second row are Sophia Ely, Molly Olson, Ellie Rude, Macie Rosengren, and Sammy Franque. Even with the feisty student section to back them up, unfortunately the Comet football team took a loss this night. ]]> 2022-10-17 14:06:47 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343289930 Sophomores Volleyball marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343296445 On Monday, August 29 the volleyball teams faced the Dixon Duchesses. The Sophomores in this picture are celebrating a good play made by Jaylee Dugger getting a nice kill. Sadly the sophomores lost against them, but at least they had some good plays. The Dixon Duchesses beat all of the teams this day which was very sad. The Sophomores have not yet won a game this year, but are determined to bring it out their last week of volleyball. Their skill level is there, but they all just need to work together and keep their attitudes up so that they can pull out a win.]]> 2022-10-17 14:09:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343296445 Seniors come second carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343321396 During Hoco week each class put together a powderpuff team and we all played with each other during study hall. In the first game that the seniors played they came out victorious in a very close game against the freshman. Ainsley Reed successfully kicked a field goal to take the win in that first game. In the second game, the seniors had to play to juniors and were given no chance at victory. Athletically the juniors overpowered the seniors having a completely stacked roster. Katie Grennan helped lead the senior class to victory in the first game as a wide receiver. She states,"There wasn't much we could do in the second game. There wasn't a single weak spot in their roster." Carlin Brady was in charge of the team as the quarterback. While the seniors didn't come out on top they did the best they have ever done in years past.]]> 2022-10-17 14:22:01 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343321396 Face Mask symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343322728 As we started off the week last week in art class we were introduced to the face mask. This can done done with any part of your body part such as your hands, face, feet. This project takes about 45 min by the time we get the material on and have everything dry. The first thing we have to do is put Valvoline were you are gonna do this piece at if you don't it will not dry properly and not come off. After you have everything dry and it is ready to come off it will come off in the form of where you did it at. Therefore after you get all that done the next time we will be able to decorate and paint or what not. There are 3 star players the First one is Sophomore Amiya Rodriguez she was the one that volunteered to do this before all the other students. Mr.Reyes the art teacher is also a star player he was the one that applied it on and then Sophomore Ally McGinn was the one that got everything set up for them. Amiya Rodriguez stated "It felt really weird and it took off my mascara". For the future do not wear makeup if you are doing this project due to it will remove your makeup to the mask and you will have no more makeup on your face. Be aware it is a messy project. This is one of the most entertaining project we have done in Art!]]> 2022-10-17 14:22:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343322728 Social Sciences haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343329775 The Social Science classes are taught by Mr. Olsen, Mr. LeMay, and Mr. Somers. That Dynamic Trio of teachers have done a great job running the sociology department this year. Mr. LeMay is the newcomer this year. This is his first year teaching at Newman and he is already beloved by all of his students. He teaches Government, Geography, and Psych two . Mr Olsen teaches World History, American History, and Sociology one and two. Mr. Somers Teaches Psych one. Jaesen Johns stated " It is important that we learn about our government so we do not repeat history. Our Sociology Department is in good hands.]]> 2022-10-17 14:26:07 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343329775 Comets Prayers are Answered jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343387690 The Comets faced off against Hall on Friday, October 7th. The game unfortunately did not start out the way the Comets would have liked with Hall scoring on their first possession. Hall's lead didn't last long however. The Comets quickly answered with a touchdown and a PAT. Then in the second quarter, the Comets scored again, making it 14-6. Coming out of halftime, the Comets had a drive stall and were forced to punt. Soon after Hall scored for their second time making it 12-14. Unfortunately for the Comets, the Red Devils would score yet again midway through the 4th quarter. The comets would gain the ball back with about two and a half minutes left on the clock after Daniel Kelly would tackle the Hall punter on their roughly their own 30 yard line. From there the comets would drive about 28 yards in a minute and twenty seconds. With about three seconds left the Comets scrambled to the line and got the final snap off where JJ Castle hit Ayden Batten on a quick slant for a touchdown as time expired. When asked about the game winning touchdown, Batten stated," Individuals score points, but teams win games". The Comets would go on to win 20-18 because of this last second score.]]> 2022-10-17 14:54:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343387690 Military Appreciation/ Volleyball symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343422178 Military appreciation Week is a big part of this world. As we honor our active and retired Military people who has fought for this country. During the Volleyball game the Varsity volleyball girls held our country's flags across the gymnasium floor to honor these special people. The key students in the picture are every single one of these girls who are holding this flag to honor these men and ladies who have fought for this and who has passed and who are still here with us today. Junior Kenedy Rowse stated " This is a big part of our Newman family, we are here to make our outside Newman family feel blessed and appreciated" She also added " These kid who have a dad or mom who are in the military is very hard, who know what could happen they are risking their own family and lives to fight for our country, and it couldn't make anyone prouder this us". Thank you for everyone who has served in the military thank you for your time and hard work this day turn out great!]]> 2022-10-17 15:11:58 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343422178 The Omen of the Red Devils haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343436472 On Friday,October 7th, The Newman Comets defeated the Hall Red Devils 20 to 18. Ayden Batten had a great by catching to big passes including the game winning touchdown. JJ Castle scored 2 touchdowns. One passing and one rushing. Cody McBride came through with a big time interception to give the team momentum. Gabe Padilla said " It was a well fought game and I think we proved how dangerous we can be". The Newman Comets need 2 more wins to Clinch the playoffs. Good Luck to the Football team.]]> 2022-10-17 15:19:01 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343436472 Crazy Relay Race oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343446110 During homecoming week on September 28 our after school activity for that day was a relay race, it wasnt just any normal relay race though it was a relay race with different forms of racing for each handoff. like walking on your hands while someone hold your legs, bouncing on a ball, bear crawling, and just straight sprinting. Three boys and three girls were needed to form team and participate in the race. everyone was moving surprisingly fast Jaesen Johns bear crawl was insane he was miles ahead, Then Brady Williamson was able to take the lead with his bouncy ball moving fast but fall sometimes still able to secure the lead, and Wyatt Wildoff being the xc racer he is was able to get even father ahead for the sophomores. The sophomores ended up placing first, the freshman in second, the juniors in third, and the seniors taking a massive L. Even though only one team was able to place first im sure everybody had a lot of fun.]]> 2022-10-17 15:23:51 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343446110 Charging the Chargers haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343466502 On Friday, September 9th, The Newman Comets defeated the Orion Chargers 13-12. JJ Castle came in clutch with a pick. Caleb Donna was controlling the trenches with a couple of sacks. Daniel Kelly did great leading the defense and being a straight maniac on the field. JJ Castle said" we won, but we have some work to do. Not the win we wanted, but a win is a win." The game was closer than it should have been, but the Comets pulled through and improve to 2 and 1 on the season. ]]> 2022-10-17 15:34:13 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343466502 Football Being-Real jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343558242 Football is a grueling sport that requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Sometimes the serious norms of it are broken. This is proven when the football team asked Coach LeMay to take the BeReal of the day. As you may know BeReal is an app that sends you a notification once a day. It takes a picture from each camera on the phone and serves as a testament to what you are doing when the notification comes. The football team was waiting for film when the notification popped up. Brady Grennan asked Coach LeMay to take the picture, and the rest is history. Senior Blayke Holbrook said," The team picture was good, but the picture of Coach was priceless." ]]> 2022-10-17 16:18:12 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343558242 Senior Send Off jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343589358 The Comets took on the Mendota Trojans on Friday night. It was the last guaranteed home game of the season as well as Senior night for the Comets. The game started out strong when the Comets opened the game with a field goal, but Mendota quickly answered back with a touchdown on their next possession. Like clockwork the Comets turned around and put a drive together that capped off with a 27 yard touchdown run by Nolan Britt making the score 10-7. The Comets defense then stopped a fake punt at midfield which caused them to get great field position. Three plays later Jaesen Johns scored on a well executed screen from about 19 yards out, making it 16-7. After halftime both offenses were stalled and forced to punt. Mendota fired back and scored making it 14-16. The Comets struck again when Hunter Luyando punched it in for a one yard touchdown. The last touchdown for the comets was a 29 yard receiving touchdown by Ayden Batten. At this point the score was 30-20. Mendota scored again making it 30-27. When asked how he thought his touchdown run and defensive plays started momentum for the team, Britt responded with, "A cupcake is just a muffin who believed in miracle". Take that for what it is. The Comets recovered the kickoff and got a crucial first down in order to run out the clock and win the game 30-27. ]]> 2022-10-17 16:35:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343589358 Sophomore's Spoken Words brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343621591 On September 20, Mr. Magnifici’s Speech class presented their “Spoken Word” speeches where they chose a song to give a dramatic spoken presentation to the class. "I'm pretty proud of the effort they are putting into it... I see them as leaders, we are small in numbers, but we got the personalities of high achievers in this classroom," Mr. Magnafici says. During this particular class, Grace Geske (pictured above) presented her Spoken Word speech on Utopia by Ateez. Two other presenters this day were Joe Oswalt with "Call my Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen and Cody Mcbride with "Good Old Days" by Macklemore. These presentations brought laughter to the class   and helps the kids become more comfortable with public speaking. Although this class is small, they are able to gain confidence through their speeches and the feedback they receive from their classmates. ]]> 2022-10-17 16:52:16 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343621591 Ex Blind Leader Speaks About Experiences jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343627866 At the Freshman BLIND retreat Ex-Leader Mike LeMay talked  about what it meant to him to be a BLIND leader. He spoke about him meeting new people and creating lifelong friendships. He also spoke about how there is always someone there to listen to you if you need help. LeMay reminisced about his time in the program and how it made him feel. Hayden Witt commented on his speech saying," It was a good speech. It really showed the importance of the BLIND program and described it as a whole to a T." Other previous leaders such as Mr. Magnafici attended the speech as well. ]]> 2022-10-17 16:55:52 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2343627866 The Lady Comets tennis team falls short on last time carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344044944 In the Lady Comets, last tennis meet they fell short once again to Boylan 5-0. While there weren't too many positives in this meet Emmy Burger and Sarah Murray played very well together as a doubles team. Emmy Burger stated, "Playing with Sarah, we won more than we lost. I couldn't have asked for a better partner!" Other than sectionals this is the last meet that the tennis team has for this season. While the number of victories they had wasn't immense the memories they made together as a team were. ]]> 2022-10-17 22:20:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344044944 Tennis Senior Night brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344305187 On September 22, the tennis girls celebrated Senior Night. Sarah Murray (middle left), Joy Zigler (right), and Emma Oswalt (middle right) were celebrated as the three seniors on the team and were accompanied by their parents as they were announced. Michael Murray (left), the team manager, was also announced and celebrated. Each senior was given a gift from their team to celebrate their season and time at Newman. "Tennis is more than a sport. It's a family where we help each other grow, get closer to one another, and be the cheerleaders we all need in life," Joy Zigler says. The team is sad to see the seniors go, but are looking forward to the future. ]]> 2022-10-18 02:22:27 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344305187 JV Comets Lasso The Mustangs haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344332525 On Monday, August 29th, The JV Comets beat the JV Mustangs 54 to 0. Cooper spears led the Oline with great blocking and totally controlling the trenches. Daniel Kelly scored and had a fabulous game running the ball. Brior Ivey led the Defense to allowing no points in the blowout win. Daniel Kelly stated" It was a Great way to start the season" The JV Comets started 1 and 0 with more wins on the way.]]> 2022-10-18 02:45:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344332525 Charger defuse Comets haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344350942 On Monday, September 12th, The Newman Comets lost to Orion 14 to 6. It was a tough loss but the boys are ready to overcome any adversity they may face. Offensivly not much happened, but this was a defensive game. Cody Mcbride led the defensive backs with a great game in coverage. Jacob Newberry finished the game with a sack. And linebacker George Jungerman lead the defense in a hard fought game. When asked about the game Cooper Spears stated" Thats a game we want back. Props to Orion for playing good game but its only up from here". The Comets are 2 and 1 with a long season left to go.]]> 2022-10-18 03:00:05 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2344350942 Journalism's Journey brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2346971905 Although it is her first year here, Ms. Accardi has gotten all of the students in her Journalism class excited for the yearbook. They have been challenged with finishing more than half of last year's book and it was finished in less than a month. Sam Ramirez also came in during the quarter to tell his story and answer any questions the students may have had about Journalism and interviewing. He chose Logan Devine and Marykay Downs to talk about Newman's upcoming food drive in an interview that aired on the radio. Ms. Accardi says, "Yearbook has been working very hard to cover all the events Newman has." The class has been reporting on everything Newman: sports, departments, clubs, student life, and homecoming. This class is a fun way to get students more involved in their school and the yearbook. ]]> 2022-10-19 13:09:01 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2346971905 ⚠️BeReal⚠️ with Knitters brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2346994071 Newman Knitter's Club has been going on since 2018 when Mrs. Verdick decided to start it. This club helps students gain a new skill that is beneficial and fun. They are able to learn how to crochet in the club and can start learning more and practicing on their own time. The students learn how to make blankets, stuffed animals, and many other things. "I like knitter's club because it gives me an outlet that I can use to relax," Carlin Brady says. She is a first time student, but she has already learned how to crochet a basic stitch to make a blanket after only one club meeting. This club brings together people at every grade level and allows them a place to leave all of their school stress behind. ]]> 2022-10-19 13:20:33 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2346994071 Tough Goodbye for Girls XC giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2363394624 On Saturday, October 29, the girls cross country team ran the sectionals meet at Oregon. The team was small with only five girls running, and they were led by seniors Claire Crisham and Monica Healy with times of 22:22 and 26:13. Freshman Sophia McCoy was also a standout with a time of 25:56. With half the girls team being seniors, it was a tough to know that the team would be cut in half next year. All three senior girls have been running since their seventh grade year, so they are very close with each other. They ended up earning 20th place with a score of 475 in the large race. Senior Gianna Widolff reflects on her final year of cross country saying, "I didn't even want to cross the finish line because it would be the last time I would get to in six years. It was just really emotional hearing the parents say it's a pleasure to see me run. I love this sport." Although it was tough for the girls to say goodbye, they are very grateful to travel with the team to cheer on the state-qualifying boys team. In the words of Gianna Widolff, "We get one more week!"]]> 2022-10-31 14:23:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2363394624 Newman Sectionals Runners Become State Qualifiers giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2363394801 On Saturday, October 29th, the Newman cross country team traveled to Oregon to compete for their spot in the state meet. The boys knew they had to keep their focus for the whole meet since only six full teams would qualify out of twenty-one. The team finished with a score 204, securing the final sixth place spot. With the course being a full 5K, 3.1 miles instead of 3, it was tougher for the team to PR. Lucas Simspon and Lucas Schaab led the team to victory with times of 17:44 and 17:54. The sectional opened new challenges for the team; it was one of the biggest meets of the year, and they were racing against teams they had never seen run before. There was also an added element of stress with both the girls and boys race being delayed due to an issue with the timing company. Although the team was stressed, they pushed through the adversity, knowing they had a job to do.  As always, the finish was a big moment in the race, but Coach Warkins has been working with the runners on pacing their first mile. The team had gotten into the habit of starting out too fast, so it was important that they didn't start out too fast on that first mile. When asked what helped the team get through the tough course, Wyatt Widolff, the fourth runner, said, "Thinking about trying not to let the team or myself down, and thinking about getting to the finish helped me get through the meets." ]]> 2022-10-31 14:23:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2363394801 Stylin' Skeletons jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2366684585 On October 31, 2022, the Spanish 3 class continued one of their most recent projects of creating a standing, paper skeleton decorated with extravagant clothing. Señora Zamora assigned this project in anticipation of the Day of the Dead, a Mexican tradition, coming up on November 1st and to give students a breather from normal Spanish lessons. Students used art supplies that they were provided with and their creativity to design various colorful skeletons that are now currently on display in Señora’s room. Most of the skeletons were themed on clothing worn during the Day of the Dead but some students also went beyond the theme and created skeletons that are based on certain movie characters. Logan Devine, a student of the Spanish 3 class, gave his thoughts on the project as a whole saying, “I’m glad that we don’t just learn Spanish but also learn about Mexican culture as well.” Señora Zamora is also continuing her focus on the Day of the Dead with great anticipation by setting up a food day on November 2nd in which the students themselves can bring food of their choice.]]> 2022-11-02 13:39:58 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2366684585 Halloween!! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2366785425 October 31st rolled right upon us. Students were allowed to dress in the spirit of Halloween as long as it was school appropriate. If you chose not to dress up in the spirit of Halloween, student wear able to wear Newman spirit wear with uniform bottoms. Students who chose to not be in school uniform were required to bring a fee of $2. All proceeds that were collected were donated to UNICEF. Key club also did a fundraiser for the students. Students were able to purchase ghost suckers to send to their friends, classmates and/or teachers. Key club members were in the front of the school in front of the chapel October 24th to October 31th every morning until the morning of Halloween and they were delivered to the assigned people before school ended. Mr. Olson also put on a fun activities for our Newman students. Students had an opportunity to do a pumpkin carving contest. Students were required to carve a pumpkin of there own and submit a image of there pumpkin as well as with them in the image by Monday October 31st at Noon. The winners would received a piece of Pumpkin pie. There are many key players in this event. Monica Healy placed 1st, Abby Peterson placed 2nd and Finally Olivia Maxwell Placed 3rd. Senior Carlin Brady stated " Even though Halloween was on a Monday this school still found a way to make it interesting and enjoyable". ]]> 2022-11-02 14:32:54 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2366785425 No Shave/ No shoe November symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2366881283 As some of you guys should already know Shaving is a big Problem in out school as this is a strict rule. When we were wearing mask boys would not shave because they thought no one could see there facial hair and as the face mask we no longer enforced students chose to wear mask due to them not wanting to shave. The month has finally came NO SHAVE NOVEMBER. During the month of November, Newman student Council is sponsoring No shave November. Participants must be signed up prior to November 4th. The coast to participate is $10. Students that do not originally sign up will have the option to shave immediately or pay $20. Not everyone at NHS has the ability to shave or grow a beard. Students have the opportunity to also participate in No shoe November. This is also $10 and students will be allowed to wear slippers, moccasins, and sandals every Monday and Friday in November. Students wishing to participate in no shave November/no shoe November will receive a discounted entry fee of $15. All participants will receive a Card stating they have entered these activities. All proceeds that are collected will be donated to home of hope. There are a handful of key players but I am not gonna name there all The Newman student council is a big key player/players they have took the time to arrange this activity for our kids. Senior Carlin Brady stated " This is a great opportunity but I believe that Girls should have something everyday for November just like boys". Newman has developed  some great opportunities this year coming off from are COVID year. Stay tuned to see some off the other Newman activities we have planned for the next several months.]]> 2022-11-02 15:24:25 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2366881283 Forensic Class has a Fang-tastic First Block leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2370081858 Mrs. Verdicks's 1A forensic class celebrated Halloween a day late but still made it fun. They did a project on odontology or the study of teeth. The students had two Laffy Taffys and were to bite into them with little pressure just enough to leave an impression. They were then told to do the same with a pair of vampire fangs and compare the two. When asked if he enjoyed the activity Oscar Navaro said, ¨It was fun to open the day with free candy.¨ Mrs. Verdick is not Newman's only Science teacher. Ms. Cook teaches Chemistry I and Honors Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science and Physical Science. Mrs. Everett Dual Credit Chemistry and Coach Accardi teaches Anatomy and Athletic Training. Coming up next for the Forensic class is blood spatter and DNA. ]]> 2022-11-04 13:21:28 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2370081858 Off to State! giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2370124696 At sectionals on Saturday October 29th, the boys cross country team competed to make a spot at state. The boys went into the meet nervous because they knew they would have to run extremely hard to secure a team spot. Top 6 teams advance to state. Out of 21 full teams, Newman placed 6th securing the last spot to make it. So much relief and excitement occurred after we found out for sure that the boys secured the last spot. Lucas Simpson came first for the Newman boys in 28th place with a time of 17:44. Lucas Schaab and Kenny Boesen were next for the boys taking 31st and 45th place with times of 17:54 and 18:15. Sophomore Wyatt Widolff stated, "I'm proud of our team and so excited to compete at state!" The boys compete at state in Peoria on Satuday, November 5th. ]]> 2022-11-04 13:49:18 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2370124696 Comets Cross Country Runs Hard through the Rain at State Final giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2373270701 On Saturday, November 4th, at 10 AM, the Newman Cross Country team ran in the IHSA 1A State Meet at Detweiller Park. The team traveled up to Peoria the day before to run the course, and after all their hard work this season, they were ready to put it all out there for one more race. 30 full teams competed to place, and the Newman boys earned 22nd with 577 points. The race included 258 runners, on teams and individual. Lucas Simpson led the way for the Comets, coming in 86th with a time of 16:58. Lucas Schaab and Kenny Boesen were close behind with times of 17:22 and 17:31. The conditions were extremely tough for the team, only getting worse as the day went on. It was rainy and windy, and the course became more torn up and muddy as each race passed. It was difficult for the boys to start cold and wet, and freshman Ryan Welty finished saying he could barely see for most of the race. Regardless of the conditions, the boys ran as hard as they could, knowing they had nothing to lose in the huge race. Before he ran, senior Kenny Boesen said, "It's all or nothing today. I'm going as hard as I can." ]]> 2022-11-07 15:14:47 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2373270701 Newman Knits brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2375112060 On October 26, Newman Knitter's Club met for the third time. Student continued to work on their blankets and personal projects. Carlin Brady worked on her blanket that she started outside of the meetings. One student worked on temperature blankets, where they track the average temperature everyday through yarn and others worked on learning new stitches and how to create a blanket. "It creates a different environment as opposed to sports or academics. It's really nice to have this skill in common with people," Monica Healy, a member since her freshamn year, says when asked what her favorite thing about the club was. Knitter's Club allows all students to learn a new skill that they can carry with them after leaving Newman. ]]> 2022-11-08 14:39:16 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2375112060 Winner of Science Club Experiment Revealed! jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2383018603 On October 19, 2022, Mrs. Cook’s science club kicked off their alka-seltzer rocket experiment that was also part of a competition for the club. Members are to create a “rocket” that is really just a film canister that is propelled upward by an alka-seltzer tablet dissolving in water inside of the canister. The student whose canister shoots the highest is declared as the winner. Each group of members launched their canisters individually. In an ironic turn of events, Logan Devine’s rocket was the only one that was able to launch upwards making him the winner of the competition. “There were a lot of variables in making your rocket,” says Logan Devine, “which may give you a greater chance of messing up. I only put water and the tablet into mine and even though it wasn’t outrageously great, it got the job done.” The science club meeting ended with Logan Devine being rewarded with a first place ribbon from Mrs. Cook and perhaps everyone else being rewarded with the lesson of how complexity isn’t always the answer.]]> 2022-11-14 14:45:16 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2383018603 Photography Students Shoot Sinnissippi brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2383075135 On November 3, Mr. Reyes' photography class took a trip to Sinnissippi Park to work on their photgraphy skills and learn how to capture different types of compositions in a different environment. During this semester, the students have been learning all about photography and how to create an artistic photo. They have taken many short trips to Sacred Heart and different areas around the school to learn the basics of photography, but they got to go to Sinnissippi Park this day to really test their photography skills and put all that learned to use. Students were able to explore the whole park and look for photo opportunities everywhere. "The photography trip was really fun because it was a really beautiful day that allowed me to get a lot of good shots. I was able to play around with angles and different colors." Haily Geske says. ]]> 2022-11-14 15:12:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2383075135 Theology Sophomore field trip jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2383096466 On October 9th the sophomore class went to the National Shrine and Museum of St. Therese in Darien, IL. When students arrived, a priest was kind enough to be a tour guide and spoke about the life of St. Therese. She is Saint of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Therese was a French Catholic Discalced Carmelite nun who is widely venerated in modern times. After the priest talked about St. Therese all the sophomore went into groups. They explored the museum. Outside the Muesem there were many nice shrines. The National Shrine of St. Therese is a Roman Catholic shrine, chapel, and museum dedicated to St. Therese. Marykay Downs said, "It was a very cool environment, it was very fun and I learned stuff that I didn't known before!" After they were all done exploring the muesem they went to a strip to go get food. Madison Loomis said, "Learning about St.Therese helped all of us realize what living a life of humility looks like". ]]> 2022-11-14 15:22:29 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2383096466 Understanding Graph Data, One Potato at a Time jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2401991340 On November 8, 2022, Mrs. Rhodes and her precalculus class would go outside to Newman’s back field to do an out of the ordinary experiment. In a lesson about connecting graphs with projectile launch data, Mrs. Rhodes announced that the class would be launching potatoes for a class experiment. “I noticed that we were having problems in certain areas of understanding projectile problems,” says Mrs. Rhodes, “so I set up this experiment to provide a real world connection.” The class only had one potato launcher in which the students took turns handling, loading, and being able to fire the it. The main focus was to collect data on the behavior of the potato as it was launched in the air, but some students tried to have a little more fun by trying to catch the potato as it fell. The experiment was concluded by doing math with the collected data. Although the experiment ended quickly, it certainly left an impression on the class about how math concepts drastically change when applied to the real world.]]> 2022-11-29 14:27:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2401991340 Newman Volleyball Students Section Cheers Players On at Redbird Arena giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2402037515 On November 11, many students from Newman came out to ISU to support the girls volleyball team that made it to state for the first time ever. The fan bus left before 6:00 AM, so it was an early morning to catch the 9:00 AM match. Although the match didn't work out in the players' favor, the students section still had a lot of fun cheering the girls on, never giving up on a comeback. The theme for the students was USA, in honor of Veterans Day. The first match ended in two sets, 25-13 and 25-16. A few key people to the students section were Nolan Britt and a lot of the parents, leading chants even when they were down. Gianna Wildoff says, "Even though we had to leave really early in the morning, it was nice to skip school to go support the girls."]]> 2022-11-29 14:52:23 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2402037515 Gratitude Before Break jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2402046088 On November 18, 2022, the day before Thanksgiving break for Newman, Miss Accardi’s journalism class drifted from their usual tasks to focus on the relationship between gratitude and one’s happiness. After watching a video on the effect on people’s happiness after contacting others they are grateful for, Miss Accardi herself contacted a loved one she had and expressed her gratitude for that person on the phone which prompted many in the class to do the same with others they had in mind. Students were also able to make their own cards in class to send to people they care and are grateful for with supplied materials. Gianna Sagel, a student in this journalism class gave her thoughts on this event, saying, “I think it’s really cool that we get a break from our journalism work to be able to express our love for those we’re grateful for before Thanksgiving.” Besides being able to unite people in an unexpected turn of events, this focus on gratitude in journalism class provided excitement for Thanksgiving and gave a warm introduction to the students’ mornings.]]> 2022-11-29 14:57:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2402046088 Change isn't always bad leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2406924785 During the second duel of the season vs Amboy and Putnam County. The Newman Comets beat both Amboy 30-29 and Putnam County 42-18. Carter Rude and Daniel Kelly had and won their first matches of the season. Colin Messer went 2-1 There was a drastic change in numbers from the 2021-2022 wrestling team of 22 athletes and the 2022-2023 team of 12. Despite this change the wrestling team seems to be able to stay on their feet and keep bringing home the victory. When asked about it Carter Rude, who has been on Varsity all three years of his high school career said, "We are limited on our numbers and we know that so we know we are limited as a team so our primary focus this year is getting each of our individuals better than when they came into the room and building for the future."]]> 2022-12-02 17:13:36 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2406924785 The Sterling Success leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2408197737 The Sterling tournament was a great end to the first week of the wrestling season. Carter Rude got First in the 138 weight class, Daniel Kelly got Second in 145, Briar Ivey placed Fourth at 120, both Liam Schmall and Colin Messer got Fifth at 152 and 132. Rude, Kelly, and Schmall had outstanding matches. Rude ran through the tournament without a loss. Kelly battled through to the end. Schmall pulled through in the last few seconds to claim his Fifth place title. Kelly says this about his last match, "He was a good kid and he wrestled a better match than I did. But I've learned from it and am ready for my next match." And that next match is Tuesday December 6th at Rockridge with Orion. ]]> 2022-12-04 18:54:18 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2408197737 Photography Students Practice Landscape Photos at Sinnissippi Park giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409232308 On November 3, Mr. Reyes and his photography class took a field trip to Sinnissippi Park to expand their creativity in a new environment. Mr. Reyes wanted the class to practice their photos in a natural environment, so they took a bus over to the park, able to go anywhere within park limits. The students took all kinds of photos, from tree shots, to shots of the river, to interesting structures they found. This field trip couldn't have happened without Mr. Olson driving the yellow bus over to the park and Mr. Reyes's willingness to take the students to another location to take pictures. The next day, the students shared their three best pictures with the class, the class providing critiques on them. Jedh Valida commented on the experience saying, "I think it really helped with our photography skills by giving us an experience in the real world of photography. We got to unwind and be creative in a new environment."]]> 2022-12-05 14:43:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409232308 Students Support Volleyball Girls at Forreston Sectional Final giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409233234 On Wednesday November 2nd, Newman volleyball girls secured the win over River Ridge in Forreston. Many students came to support the girls. The student section theme was white out and almost all students participated in this theme. Key players in the student section consisted of Nolan Britt, who led most of the cheers, Izzy Allen, who also led a few cheers, and Jaesen Johns who always had a loud chant. Senior Jaesen Johns stated, "The student section had many people and was very loud, I think we helped the girls out a lot to secure the dub!" The student section was loud the entire game and I think really helped the girls secure the win in two sets. The girls need a lot of support and cheers when playing and the student section pulled through. ]]> 2022-12-05 14:43:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409233234 Bio II Class Does First Dissection with Owl Pellets giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409296593 On October 26, the Bio II class worked with owl pellets, separating the bones from the fur to practice dissection. Owl pellets are the parts from animals like bones, fur, and feathers that the owls can't digest, so they regurgitate the pellet. The class was taking notes about the skeletal system, so it helped the class to have a real example of bones right in front of them. The students dissected two owl pellets and identified the bones they pulled out. Some of the animals they found were mice, shrews, and squirrels. Mrs. Verdick supervised all of the students and provided all materials like scalpels and tweezers. A big moment that got the students excited was Mrs. Verdick yelling, "First one to find a skull wins!" ]]> 2022-12-05 15:20:31 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409296593 Newman's new cheer coach!!! jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409302168 Our newest member of Newman's faculty is Bailey Boesen. Bailey was a NFL cheerleader for the packers. She went to Newman High School. For college she went to St. Norbert. She has been a cheerleader through her high school and college career. She is very excited  to be apart of Newman again. Brenleigh Cook said, "I am actually really excited to meet our new coach and I also think its very cool since she was a NFL cheerleader." Many people were worried about the new coach and some weren't. There is a lot of people that don't do basketball cheer that did football cheer. When Bailey set up a try out for the people that wanted to do basketball cheer. There was only 8 people that did basketball cheer. Liv Clark stated "We have lost a lot of cheerleaders but I am really excited for basketball cheer I think its gonna be so fun and I really like Bailey she is very nice." ]]> 2022-12-05 15:24:02 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2409302168 Catapulting Into Action jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2411404525 On November 2, 2022, Mrs. Cook’s science club banned together for their last major activity before Christmas break. This time the members are tasked in groups of three with launching a marshmallow by using a catapult made of only popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, craft sticks, and rubber bands. This activity also has a competitive aspect as students who launch their marshmallow the furthest gets first place among the class. This club’s session mainly consisted of each group of members constructing their designs of their catapults. However, many did not finish due to time constraints and will continue their designing in after school sessions. “It really requires you to step out of your comfort zone,” says club member Ximena Hernandez, “and create something from nothing using just your creativity.” Mrs. Cook plans to have each group in the club launch their catapults on December 14th, the last science club meeting for the semester, and judge each on how far they launch marshmallows.]]> 2022-12-06 23:54:15 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2411404525 Scoopie Makes an Appearance at Boys Basketball Game During Halftime giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412283221 On Tuesday December 6th, boys basketball competed at home against Kewanee. Days before, Gehrig Koerner, the leader of Ambassador's Club, asked if anyone would be willing to be Scoopie. Espen Hammes right away said he would support the Ambassador's and put on the giant costume. Halftime arrived at the game and Scoopie ran out to the crowd. Several cheers and laughs came rolling through the crowd. Espen Hammes was obviously a big key player during this as he put on the huge costume and ran out in front of a crowd. Another huge key player was Gehrig Koerner for being able to get the Scoopie costume and make it a memorable game. A big moment consisted of the laughs and excitement coming from the little kids as they ran up to give Scoopie a high five or hug. Espen Hammes stated, "A lot of people don't comprehend the gravitas of entering the Scoopie costume. When you put the fresh cold custard over your body and limit your arms to movement at the elbow you become a different person. You and Scoopie become one in the same." ]]> 2022-12-07 14:45:07 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412283221 Fresh/Soph Basketball Secures a Close Victory! giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412309115 On Tuesday December 6th, the fresh/soph comets secured a close victory against the Kewanee boilermakers. The comets stayed ahead of the boilermakers the entire game, keeping the lead and their heads held high. Evan Bushman was a huge key player for the comets securing 15 out of the 35 points the comets made. Another key player was Joe Oswalt who made almost all of his free throws. Joe had 10 points for the Comets. A big moment in this game was the close ending. Worried that the points were getting close within the last minute, comet fans were screaming at the players to, "not foul!" The comets listened and pulled through with no final fouls and a 35-34 point victory. Freshman Joe Oswalt said, "Anytime I am playing a sport, especially when it's a close game like that, I'm always glad to be there and just play a game that I love. When it is a fun game I feel that I play much better than when I am not enjoying it; I had adrenaline and energy during it. Winning that game was also a great feeling because we worked hard to keep up with that team and were able to pull away with the win right at the end. Making free throws is all about consistency, making the same motions and warmups, and making sure you are calm before shooting."]]> 2022-12-07 15:02:09 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412309115 Lady Comets Lose against St. Bede brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412325918 On Monday December 5, Newman's girl's basketball team faced off against St. Bede. The first quarter ended with a 7-8 score, Newman down by one with three quarters left. By the end of the second quarter, Newman was down by three, with a score of 15-18. Third quarter ended with the Comets down by 7. With a score of 21-30, Newman was working hard to get more points. With a three point shot scored at the final second by Lucy Oetting, Newman ended with 36 points, but it was not enough to push them ahead of St. Bede's 40 points. "Our game vs St.Bede was our best game of the season so far, we trusted each other and took the open shots. We moved the ball well, and played fast. If we do that every game we will get a win under our belt." Madison Duhon says about the game. Despite the loss, the team is still hopeful for the rest of the season. ]]> 2022-12-07 15:12:36 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412325918 Triumph and Tragedy leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412337078 Despite losing to Rockridge 19-45 and 25-58 to Orion three juniors had amazing nights. Colin Messer (132), Carter Rude (138), and Liam Schmall (152) had an outstanding night all going undefeated. It was the wrestling teams first time wrestling  full teams and most of the team is underclassmen. Once the team gets through their learning curb the team will be promising. When asked how the energy and match were Coach Mags said "Well you know, our effort was there, can't hang our heads on that, but we did get worked in some of the bigger match-ups. I'm not too concerned with the losses, yet; but we have to work on scoring in the first period on our take downs." Up next for the Newman wrestling team is a busy week, Monday December 12th the team is at Durand with Fulton, the 15th they are at Morrison with Polo, the 16th at Kewanee with Monmouth-Roseville and a tournament the 17th at Erie.]]> 2022-12-07 15:19:49 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412337078 Newman Loves Scoopie! giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412342416 On December 6th, at the varsity basketball game, there was a big surprise at halftime. Scoopie came out on the court to say hi to all the kids and fans. Ambassador's club was behind Scoopie's appearance, working with Culver's to work out bringing the costume in. One of the Ambassador's club members volunteered to dress up as Scoopie during halftime. He came out and got the students section excited, waving at all the fans and greeting kids with high fives. Gianna Widolff commented, "Scoopie made halftime really entertaining, and I could tell the little kids loved it." Jaesen Johns said, "He looked really white and coney."]]> 2022-12-07 15:23:20 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2412342416 Athlete of the Year leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2413049312 Junior Jess Johns got the incredible title of Athlete of the Year for volleyball. Johns at State had 15 kills, 14 digs, & 28 serve receptions Johns was named, IHCA State Series All Tournament Player. She got 1st team All Conference. She finished third in the area with 335 kills, ninth with 261 digs and 12th with 41 blocks. She led the team in kills and digs, and was second in blocks and fourth in aces (25). Johns was a quiet leader never showing two much excitement as to not lose her focus on the game. Johns aswell as middle hitter Kennedy Rowzee had been playing on varsity since freshman year and playing together on a five year club team before that, Lebiro Addison Foster, DS Sam Ackman, Middles Rowzee and Sophia Ely, Setter Molly Olson, Rightsides Ellie Rude and Leah Kalina had been on a club team together. Johns said this when asked about how that happened, "We know everyone’s strengths and know how to use them, and being comfortable with the people makes your play together that much smoother." What comes next for Johns is anything but a break, she is playing for Newmans girls basketball team and when spring comes will be playing softball and track. ]]> 2022-12-07 17:46:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2413049312 Some of the Newman Students support the girls basketball game jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2413438163 Its was the girls first home game. Some of the students wanted to come support the girls. Newman was playing against St. Bede. The girls only had to play a varsity game.  There JV game got cancelled because Newman doesn't have a lot of basketball girls playing and people were sick. Amiya stated, "Its hard because we dont have many girls playing but we still go out there and push to try our best" All the JV players play on varsity. Do you like having a small team? "I like having a small team but theirs pros and cons. I like it because coaches can work with you better and team bonding but I dont like it because everyone gets tired of playing 2 games" said Abby Peterson. ]]> 2022-12-07 20:05:48 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2413438163 Comida For All jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2413463637 On November 2, 2022, Señora Zamora held a food day for her Spanish 3 class in celebration for the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration with the intention of remembering the souls of deceased loved ones, which Señora greatly anticipated in her class leading up to the event. Each student was to bring one food item for the food day, Señora herself promised to bring tacos. On the day of the party a table was set up with all of the food items on it. From sweets to nachos, it seemed as if everything was available for all. Students were able to talk among themselves for the whole class period and watched The Book Life as a class all while enjoying food. “We laughed, we cried, we ate food. It was really just a normal day,” says Spanish 3 student Chris Accardi. Following the party, students cleaned up and brought their food items home or shared leftovers with teachers outside of Spanish. Normal Spanish class resumed after the food day, but the students were glad to have that day off for rest and conviviality.]]> 2022-12-07 20:32:52 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2413463637 Only Positive Thoughts for the Lady Comets carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2414500073 On Monday, December 6th, the Lady Comets basketball team faced St. Bede in a very close game. The final score of the game was 36-40 leaving the Lady Comets with a feeling of defeat. A key player of the game Amiya Rodriguez states, "Without having two starters there that game it was hard to play to our full potential. I think as the season goes on we will keep improving we just need to keep moving our feet and taking more shots." This hopeful mindset is exactly what this up-and-coming team needs. The future for the Lady Comets basketball team is looking bright as they continue to get better and improve as a team. There is a lot of talent and a lot of potential for the rest of the season that is ahead of them.]]> 2022-12-08 15:42:42 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2414500073 Lady Comets Face Defeat brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2414975769 On December 8th, Newman's Lady Comets faced off against Hall. Jess Johns, Lucy Oetting, Abby Peterson, Amiya Rodriguez, and Maddy Duhon started off the first quarter, but Hall quickly scored the points of the game. With one minute left of the first quarter, Jess Johns scores the first basket for the Lady Comets. The first quarter ends with Hall ahead of Newman with a 2-15 score. Maddy Duhon scores the first points in the second quarter during a free throw where she scored one of the two baskets. By the end of the second quarter, the score is 6-26. Maddy Duhon scores Newman's first points of the third quarter with three minutes left. The third quarter ends with Newman at 10 and Hall at 35 points. Maddy Duhon makes two baskets in a row with one minute left. The final score is 18-37, Hall winning. "The season is a very bad one so far, but it's building up." Although this loss was devastating, the ladies are still hopeful for the rest of the season and giving it their all. ]]> 2022-12-09 00:03:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2414975769 Meet the Cast leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415675680 Friday December 9th the cast list for Newmans production of Youre a Good Man Charlie Brown came out. Starring Logan Divine as Charlie Brown. Gianna Sagel as Lucy Van Pelt and Ryan Welty as her brother Linus. Joy Zigler is Charlie's sister Sally Brown. Schroeder is Liam Schmall and Nathaniel Burger as the beloved Snoopy. 
When asked what she thinks of the cast actress of Lucy Gianna Sagel says, " I am really excited to start working on the show because there is a lot of talent. You can watch this cast in action on March 9th-12th. ]]> 2022-12-09 14:28:58 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415675680 Its a Call Back Charlie Brown leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415683631 Wednesday December 7th was callbacks for Newman's Production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. A large group of actors was called back to learn additional songs and scenes to test chemistry between the actors. Single Senior Joy Zigler, Juniors Logan Divine and Gianna Sagel were called back and have promising talent. Lead actor of BIG before it was canceled, Logan Divine auditioned for Charlie Brown says, " We saw a lot of familiar faces in the callbacks. " Cast list comes out Friday. ]]> 2022-12-09 14:35:13 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415683631 Halfway Interview leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415740965 Now that the school year is almost halfway over the freshman class was asked some questions about their year. Twenty-six freshmen were interviewed and here are the most popular responses. The thing from this year that they were most excited for coming in was Homecoming and Homecoming week. It was a close call but the best games to be at were the football games with 11 votes and volleyball in a close second of 10 responses. The freshman loved football so much because it was a fun environment to be with your friends. Key Club was the most inviting club to freshmen. There was a tie for favorite teacher between Mr. Olson and Mr. Somers. Favorite class was a close call between P.E, Theology and Computers but Computers came out on top. Another close call was that of least favorite class, between 10 votes for Biology and 9 for English. Lucy Oetting when asked why she thought so many freshmen were looking forward to homecoming said, " it was something new, we had never been to one before. " After this semester and years to come let see how many of these answers change.

]]> 2022-12-09 15:22:12 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415740965 Freshman Superlatives leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415742757 The freshman class were asked a handful of Senior Superlatives as a way to meet the class and see how much they will change from now to their senior year. Most likely to be President Regan Hammes and Ryan Welty by a large gap. Most Likely to Win the Lottery and lose the ticket? was answered Brenleigh Cook and Freddy Magdaleno-Ahuatl. The two students most likely to be on a reality TV show were Brenleigh Cook and Zhyler Hansen. Athletes most likely to go to the Olympics were George Jungerman and Samantha Smith. The academic leaders that are most likely to win the Nobel Peace Prize are Elise Vander Bleek and Leo Reynolds. The best freshman Bromance is that of Mycah O'Brien and Harrison Webb. The two most popular people to be stuck on an island with were Samantha Smith and Matthew Clemen. The Class clowns are Freddy Magdaleno-Ahuatl, Reese Grummert and Sophia McCoy. Brenleigh Cook says, "I agree with all of those." Come 2026 we will see how much these answers change. ]]> 2022-12-09 15:23:15 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415742757 Debbie Kelly Coach of the Year leahkalina https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415868490 Wednesday December 7th was the banquet for the first State finalist team. While at the banquet it was revealed to the teams that Coach Kelly was chosen for coach of the year. This was Debbie Kellys 24th year of coaching and the first time she has ever made it to state. Kellys overall record is 441-285-16.  The 2022 volleyball team led by only senior Katie Grennan and juniors Jess Johns and Kennedy Rowzee went 29-9-1 during the season, undefeated 12-0 during the conference and won their seventh Three Rivers East championship in a row. When asked how it feels to have this coveted title Coach Kelly says,  "It is a nice honor for the whole program - It takes everyone involved to make it happen!" Coach Kelly is excited to keep this strong team for the next season.

]]> 2022-12-09 17:23:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2415868490 Discover Newman! giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2417158287 On Saturday December 10th, another discover Newman day occurred. Lots of families were signed up to take tours and ask questions. Many ambassador's agreed to come to school early Saturday morning to give the tours. A key player in discover Newman is staff member Gehrig Koerner who sets up the discover Newman days and reaches out to the ambassador's. A key ambassador is freshman Elise Vanderbleek who is a perfect example of someone who is new and loves Newman. She is always super friendly and gives great tours. Another key player is Dylan Garland who gave a couple tours and was able to answer many questions and give great advice because he is a senior. Dylan stated, "Giving tours was almost like a flashback from when I walked the halls of Newman for the first time, it is crazy how fast the time went but it felt good to know I helped the future of this school."]]> 2022-12-12 01:30:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2417158287 Training Scholarly Knowledge jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2418469282 On November 29, 2022, the Varsity team for Scholastic Bowl regrouped after school for their regular practice on Tuesday following some of their members appearing on the Stateline Quiz Bowl TV program. Practice consists of each member in the Newman Scholastic Bowl team being split into two different teams and answering as many questions as they can to earn points, which is similar to official Scholastic Bowl games. Practice went on among students within the Varsity Scholastic Bowl with some memorable questions leaving their mark among all of those in practice such as one which had an answer that involved a graffiti of a skeleton. Although scores were not kept, the team of Michael Murray, Logan Devine, and Chad Haley answered more questions in this practice than the team of Maria Ardis, Jedh Valida, and Sam Neisewander. “We’re all practicing and aiming to get better. We especially focused on foreign authors this time since more official questions are tending to diversify to other countries,” says Logan Devine. Practice for Varsity Scholastic Bowl will continue to be held until December thirteenth due to Christmas break, but will resume after break has finished along with new matches against other schools being available that the Varsity team can attend.]]> 2022-12-12 23:21:05 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2418469282 Library Club's Movie Day jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2418489606 After school on December 2, 2022, all of the members of Mrs. Vorhees’s library club gathered in the film room to watch the movie Elf. This event has been one of the various gatherings and activities that Mrs. Vorhees has planned for library club for the month of December. All members of the library club met at Newman’s film room to prepare for the movie with some students even making microwave popcorn for all viewers. The meeting mainly consisted of all of the students in the club watching the movie, enjoying snacks, and being able to unwind while talking with their friends. After the movie had finished, Mrs. Vorhees had planned to start assigning people for a Secret Santa gift exchange but that plan had been canceled and moved to next year’s February due to schedule limitations. “I had a lot of fun during the movie,” said club member Chad Haley, “these are the types of events that I and others really do anticipate in our library club.”]]> 2022-12-12 23:59:08 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2418489606 Lady Comets Beats Mendota brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2418495069 On Monday, December 12, the Lady Comets faced off against Mendota in a very close game. Newman starts off with Jess Johns, Madison Duhon, Lily TerBush, Helen Papoccia, and Lucy Oetting. Mendota scores the first points of the game, but Newman's Helen Papoccia soon ties the scores. At the end of the first quarter, Newman was in the lead with 11-5. Newman stays in the lead throughout the second quarter with a score of 18-12. Newman started out the second half strong as Lucy Oetting scored the first basket less than one minute into the third quarter. Newman and Mendota continued going back and forth with the ball throughout the third quarter, and Newman stayed in the lead with 24-18 by the end. Mendota scored the first points of the fourth quarter with a three pointer. During the fourth quarter, Mendota closed the gap between them and Newman, leaving the score 26-27, Mendota ahead, with four minutes left on the clock. Jess Johns soon gets Newman's lead back with a basket, but Mendota makes a free throw, tying the score. Lucy Oetting and Reagan Hammes make back-to-back baskets, putting Newman four points ahead. Newman and Mendota continue going back and fourth, trying to prevent the other from winning, but Newman maintaints their two point lead, winning the game with an end score of 33-31. "Well I thought we played great. I did get a little mad when I fouled out but our team really stepped up when that happened and took charge and I was really proud of them. We do need some work, but so does every team. I'm so glad that we got a win in the books but now we have to work hard for tonight's game. Again so proud that the team pulled out a win last night," Lucy Oetting says about the game. Although tensions were high as the game was coming to a close, the players didn't let the stress overtake them and were able to get a win.

]]> 2022-12-13 00:08:36 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2418495069 Volleyball at State marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419239099 On Saturday November 12th the girls volleyball team played their last game in the finals for 3rd or 4th place. In the end they got 4th place. They fought very hard but the other teams were also really good. All of their hard work paid off this season by making it to state for the first time in Newman history. Leah Kalina stated, " the energy was crazy and it felt unreal being down there."]]> 2022-12-13 14:11:58 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419239099 Sophomore Retreat marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419253442 On Wednesday November 9th the sophomores had a theology retreat. Although it was short, it was very interesting and educational. The place that they went to was the St. Therese Museum and Shrine. There was a nice man in the picture above that told them lots about St. Therese. There also was a station of the cross outside and they could walk around to see it. Makenzie Duhon said, "It was a really cool experience and I learned a lot about St. Therese." ]]> 2022-12-13 14:21:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419253442 Pre Calc Class marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419272063 The Pre Calc class decided to have a little fun in class and went potato launching. They put hairspray into the tube, loaded the potato and launched it. Once the potato landed they measured it to try and find the velocity at impact. They also found the apex of the potato. Logan Palmer said, "We launched the potato and Brendan Tunick caught it with his baseball glove."]]> 2022-12-13 14:33:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419272063 Student Section at Volleyball marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419288125 On October 31st the Volleyball girls went to the Sectional Semi-Finals at New Ark High School. Ana Jungerman (pictured above) was one of the many students that attended that game. She was one of the loudest in the crowd, cheering on all of the girls. The student section theme was Halloween costumes because the game took place on Halloween. Ana decided to dress up as Vector from Despicable Me. Another person dressed up was Jaylee Dugger, and she was a Gold Digger. Ana Jungerman stated, "This game was so fun to attend and it was so exciting when they won."]]> 2022-12-13 14:43:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419288125 A Blood Filled Blast! carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419436146 On Monday, December 13, Mrs. Verdick's Forensics class did a lab on blood splatter. Her students were told to make blood droplets that were dropped from different heights onto a piece of paper. As the height changed the students were able to see the different ways that height can affect the way a droplet of blood will splatter when it comes in contact with the ground. The students also practiced what happens when blood falls onto a surface that is angled. They did this by dropping blood from the same height onto an angled clipboard. Emily Beattie, a student that is in this class states, "This lab was pretty fun and very informative. It was very cool to see all of the ways that the blood splatter can be affected by external sources." Leah Kalina also states, "I agree with Emily. This lab was a very good way to see in real life how blood can be affected in different scenarios." The students will continue this lab next class and continue to learn more about how blood can change depending on different circumstances. ]]> 2022-12-13 16:19:33 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419436146 Theology Class Explores New Topics carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419467191 On Monday, December 13, Mrs. Jungerman's Theology 4 class watched a video on same sex attractions and homosexual relationships. This is a topic that was a new discussion in this class. This video that was presented to the students was by Fr. Mike Schmitz. Senior student Haily Geske states, " Fr. Mike Schmitz had a lot to say about the topic. It provided insight that I didn't previously have knowledge of." While this is a very controversial topic between the Catholic faith and society, the senior students handled it with maturity and integrity. Another senior student, Chloe Everly states, "I was a bit worried about this video. I'm glad that I have a class that is respectful of everyone's opinions and beliefs." Theology 4 will continue to explore many controversial topics over the rest of the year. ]]> 2022-12-13 16:41:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419467191 Sophomore Retreat symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419502124 Every Year each class has a yearly retreat they attend. This year the sophomore class took a trip to The Shrine of St. Therese of Lisieux in Darien, IL. They left early in the morning and got back around the time school ends at about 2:30. It was a very successful retreat and had many big  moment during the day. They had an Amazing talk by Father Bernie about the life of St. Terese they also got to explore  the beautiful museum, grounds and prayer garden. The class had amazing Fellowship with classmates, enjoying a beautiful day together. Mrs. Jane Jungerman state a quote from St.Therese what was a famous quote "Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing."  "The world is thy ship, not thy home." The retreat ended beautifully with a huge outdoor prayer circle with the entire sophomore class. 

]]> 2022-12-13 17:05:25 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419502124 A Deeper Meaning carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419515379 In the Studio Art program that Newman provides, senior student Carlin Brady has been working on this interesting collage. At first glance this collage may look like it is about smoking and the consequences but it is much deeper than that. When asked about the intended meaning of her piece she states, "My collage represents lies and being trapped in a smoke screen, not being told the truth. These lies will hide the truth and can cause negative consequences that you may not even know about. Mr. Reyes, the art teacher at Newman, has made the comment that this piece of art is very moving and is very deep once you open your eyes to its real meaning. Carlin has made a few projects this semester so far but this project is one of the most intricate ones so far. Her artwork has come a long way since she first started at Newman and she will continue to improve as the year continues. ]]> 2022-12-13 17:14:27 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419515379 A Once in a Lifetime Victory carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419876654 On Monday, December 12, the Lady Comet's basketball team faced Mendota and successfully came out on top. With going through many continuous struggling seasons filled with many losses these Lady Comets were overjoyed to finally have the opportunity to celebrate a victory. This victory also came with some difficulty because their newly acquired coach recently backed down from his obligation and his position was taken over by Athletic Director Justin Stevenson. Sophomore starter Amiya Rodriguez states, "I am very proud of the girls for taking the win tonight. There were girls that had to step up and play and I am especially proud of them. I was very upset that I couldn't make it to the game but it was so great to get to see my teammates joy after taking the win." The Lady Comets will face Orion on Tuesday, December 13 and hope to achieve another victory.]]> 2022-12-13 23:48:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2419876654 Teammates Once, Teammates Forever giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420062220 On Monday, December 12, Newman's girls basketball had a home game against Mendota, and a small but mighty student section came out to support them. The team was hoping for their first win, and the student section cheered them to victory through the close fourth quarter, the final score being 33-31. Gianna Sagel, Gianna Widolff, and Monica Healy came to support, especially for their cross country teammate, freshman Reagan Hammes. When the three girls walked in with a sign for her, she broke into a smile on the court. The trio was very happy to see their teammate play in her element. Gianna Sagel comments, "It was so fun to cheer on our teammate, who became a big part of the cross country family this year. Reagan really puts it all out there, and we're so proud of her." Monica Healy also commented on the game, saying "It was really entertaining cheering Reagan on with the rest of the student section. It was so nice to see a big turnout for the girls game."]]> 2022-12-14 03:32:14 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420062220 SPOTLIGHT on Gianna Widolff giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420093362 Gianna Widolff is a senior this year at Newman, a graduate of St. Mary Sterling, and a very well-rounded student at Newman. She runs cross country in the fall and track in the spring, a veteran of both sports since middle school. Gianna is an active member in multiple clubs and organizations at Newman: National Honors Society, Ambassador's Club, Kairos, and BLIND. She also earned the title of Sauk Valley Bank November Student of the month. She works hard to learn all she can in her classes while staying well-rounded as a student-athlete. Gianna is a friendly face in the halls of Newman, brightening the day of those around her. She is a good support for new freshman, being a BLIND leader who reaches out to her assigned freshmen often throughout the year. Gianna is a great ambassador, giving tours to incoming students on 'Discover Newman Days,' highlighting all her favorite parts of the school. Her future plans include majoring in physical therapy with a minor in nutrition at the University of Missouri. Miss Accardi praises her student, saying "Gianna works very hard in all her classes, and it shows in her assignments."]]> 2022-12-14 04:24:23 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420093362 Comets Volleyball amazes our family! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420630104 Volleyball coach Debbie Kelly earns SVM girls volleyball coach of the year after placing 4th and the IHSA Girls volleyball state tournament. Our Comet volleyball girls have worked tremendously hard throughout the season to show what they got in them! They definitly showed what they had in them after showing an appearance at the State volleyball Tournament for the first time during Kelly's career at Newman. The girls had a 29-9-1 season record. They put on a good season in program history! Throughout Debbie'
s career she had a 441-285-16 record. After reaching the state finals tournament there was a relief. Deb Kelly stated "It's kind of a relief since I've  been at it for so long it's and extra special thing". There were many big moments during this time such as Sophie Ely going on a serving run it the game for 3rd and 4th. There were also many key players. The team was led by Katie Grennan the only senior that attend to play volleyball this year and Sophia Ely was also a key player because She wasn't as nervous as many of the players. She had a good head on her shoulders walking into State! Let's hope for the best next year with those that are returning to play volleyball after having a memorable 2022-2023 Year!]]> 2022-12-14 14:35:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420630104 Students Support their Favorite Freshman at Girls Basketball Game giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420639433 On Monday December 12th, girls basketball competed at home. Monica Healy, Gianna Sagel, and Gianna Widolff became close with freshman Reagan Hammes through cross country. Even after cross country ends, the girls still want to go out and support their previous teammates. It was a perfect game to attend, as the girls pulled through and won against Mendota 33-31. A huge key player was freshman Reagan Hammes who we came to support in the first place and she got a couple points and was a very good help to the team. Another key player was Gianna Sagel who put together the sign that turned out looking amazing. A huge key moment consisted of the beginning of the game when we walked in with the sign and got Reagan's attention. A huge smile appeared across her face as she got excited to start the game. Reagan Hammes stated, "Thank you guys so much, it means a lot to me." Reagan was very thankful and excited students came to support their exciting game. ]]> 2022-12-14 14:42:02 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420639433 Charlie Brown Auditions! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420680848 As we start the New year off students Audition before Christmas break to decided who gets what role in the musical! December 9th was the day. Logan Divine as Charlie Brown.  Gianna Sagel as Lucy van Pelt and Ryan Welty as Her brother Linus. Joy Zigler will be Charlies sister Sally Brown. Schroeder is Liami Schmall and Nathaniel Burger as Snoopy. Senior Joy Zigler stated “ Umm I was nervous but I think everyone else was too, I think it went really well and I ended up getting the part I wanted so I’m happy about that”.  There were many big moments during these times such as the students excitement and smiles while they bond and perform at the same time. All of the Newman students that audition were very excited and impressed when the results came out. During class they would raise their hand and all be like “Can I go see the cast paper”! Everyone is excited about this musical and many schools perform it different with costumes and props and such. We can’t wait to see the out come of your guy's talent and performances! ]]> 2022-12-14 15:11:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420680848 Newman Girls giving Rockfalls a Run for Its Money avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420685319 Newman faced Rock Falls high school at the Geneseo Thanksgiving Tournament Game. Rock Falls scored fourteen points only moments into the game and by halftime they were leading by 24-8. Opening into the third quarter with a 13-1 run to take a 37-9 lead with only a 1:25 left in that period. Rock Falls took 22 more shots than Newton did in this game. Jess Johns had broken the ice with a three for a 16-3 Rockfalls edge in the games first 7:04. Things were slowing down in the second quarter but leading in 4:29 without a field goal Madison Duhon made a Bickett-up-under move to get Newman to 18-6 just in the span of 36 seconds. Lucy Oetting finished with three points, three rebounds, and two steals. Newman had one field goal, three free throws in the quarters, and eight committed turnovers. Lily Turbush saying “seeing how tall and good they were, she was nervous”. Finally the score ended up being 54-19, with Rock Falls beating us in the end. ]]> 2022-12-14 15:14:33 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420685319 Daniel Kelly Wins! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420707759 Sophomore Daniel Kelly gets ready for his match and ends in an exciting moment! There were many breath taking moments during his match and it was very intense such as Daniel setting up his shots very well and making sure he has a good spot to nicely preform a take down which results in 2 points every take down another intense moment during this match was throwing him which also  resulted into a take down.  Daniel stated while trying to get a pin on this kid "This is going to work in my favor hopefully" As you can see the match ending in a victory pin for Daniel Kelly as he has a record of 7-3. Let's keep the hard work up! ]]> 2022-12-14 15:30:52 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2420707759 Science Department ends First Semester with Fun Projects giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421044332 Many science classes are ending the semester with fun projects. Classes like anatomy and physics are having the students make fun videos for part of the final. A key player in this is Mr. Accardi who knows students stressed all year with his hard tests. He knows how stressful finals week can be and wanted students to have a more fun experience while putting together concepts of the semester. Another big key player is Ms. Cook who has had many projects to make finals week more exciting for students. A big moment was the anatomy class finishing their video and feeling so much accomplishment while having fun. Senior Michael Murray stated, "As a student, I much preferred a project as a final because it tests our knowledge of anatomical muscle movement without making us stress out over one test." ]]> 2022-12-14 19:57:59 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421044332 Building The DaVinci jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421045722 A group of Newman kids built the DaVinci Bridge. The DaVinci Bridge is for logs with notches cut into them. Also the bridges purpose was to be used as an emergency bridge for troops in war. The bridge works at a flattened arch that would be tall enough to allow a sailboat to pass underneath with its mast in place.  They built it to test the weight of it and how much it can hold. Students walked crossed it to see if it can hold them. It held everyone. Taylor Crownhart said "It was a very fun equipment and it was fun walking on it and see if it can hold people" The goal of the project was to see what bridge hold the most weight. Payton Hanna said "The project was very well done and demonstrates how DaVinci developed a huge discovery in the Architecture of a bridge."]]> 2022-12-14 19:59:23 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421045722 Another win for the comet wrestling! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421111846 Carter rude was a state qualifier in the 2021-2022 IHSA wrestling along with his older brother Will Rude that graduated in the class of 2020-2021 school year. He comes back this year to make the same appearance. It takes a lot of dedication, time, and practice for this sport. Carter takes on the panthers with a minute match. As he wrestled during this 1 minute match he stated “I was trying to rack up the points” Carter Rude has worked hard and has made a lot of time for this sport. As he ended this match with a pin with a score of 8-3. Another victory for the comets! ]]> 2022-12-14 21:20:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421111846 Comets Have Success in JV Wrestling Tournament jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421178400 Newman Hosted its annual JV wrestling tournament on Saturday, November 26th. It was the first meet of the season for the JV Comets, but it sure didn't seem like it. They had five wrestlers place. Zhyler Hansen placed first in 120, Colin Messer took third in 132, Liam Schmall took fourth in 152, Leo Francis took third in 160, and Harrison Webb took fourth in 170. When asked how he thought the team did overall, the 120lb champ, Zhyler Hansen said,"I think we all did pretty good. We had a couple mistakes that we could work on but overall we did great." He also commended fellow teammates Liam Schmall and Leo Francis by saying," Liam surprised me by showing a lot of heart on the mat that I didn't know he had, and Leo also showed a lot of skill and strength that I don't think any of us knew he had." The Comets look to keep it in the win column and ride the momentum into their first dual meet of the season at Byron on November 29th. ]]> 2022-12-14 23:23:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421178400 "The Bridge of Safety" oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421197864 Math students at Newman we brought the idea to build the divinci bridge. Its a bridge that's designed to hold up its own weight without anything holding it or keeping it together. The Newman students were taught how the structure would be supported by the weight because the wooden members are forced to interlock After being placed under any pressure. The math students were able safely hold them selves up with a bridge made of just a few pieces of wood.]]> 2022-12-15 00:01:08 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421197864 potato bullets oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421204972 On a monday the math students were brought out to test a potato launcher they made. They were able to successfully shoot edible bullets due to hair spray. Yes believe it or not hair spray was able to allow them to launch a potato from a pvc pipe. Since hair spray is flammable it acted as a fuel for the potato gun exploding the potato into the air. Both the speed and the height of the potato were recorded by the math students.]]> 2022-12-15 00:13:46 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421204972 Key club creates a warm winter oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421255678 On december 5th - 9th key club was collecting coats to give to the less fortunate. We were given a generous amount of coats especially on the last day of the week. Kids were also offered the chance dress down for finals week if they donated a coat to the club. We were lucky the school allowed us to be comfortable during stressful times for just donating coats to keep others warm and comfortable. The MVP of the key club coat donations is Emma Oswalt collecting a lot of coats on the final day to donate. ]]> 2022-12-15 01:17:38 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421255678 Liam Schmall Comes Back. symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421261110 Liam schmall had a very close match. During his match there were a lot of great moments and not so great moments but turned out good in the end the crowd started to worry because of Liam making one mistake and almost putting himself on his back. Another big moment in this match was after this happens Liam got a reverse in the end of the match and pin the other opponent! Another win for the comets! Liam schmall quoted “I would say hulk smash because power over technique I pinned him with a ruettiger doesn’t matter cause anyways with a fall” Liam was very impressed with this win because of the one mistake that almost happened but you never give up even if you make a mistake everyone makes mistakes if you want that win you will fight for it . There is a lot more time to improve and he works hard for this. Go comets!

]]> 2022-12-15 01:23:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421261110 Model UN works to save the world from too many friggin satellites oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421266475 on December 12th model UN came together once again to deliberate the problems of the "World". After Logan Devine destroyed and left an entire city on fire time has passed by until the next problem for the Model UN to save arose. Too many satellite have been launched into space and risk crashing into each other posing a risk of falling debris all over the world. Due to orbital decay the chances of them falling are much greater. The government try's to manipulate other country's for spy's to gather information for political reasons. Us members need to come together in order to find a solution to the worlds problems.]]> 2022-12-15 01:29:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421266475 Newman Varsity Takes a Tough Loss in the First Dual Meet of the Season jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421273426 Newman's varsity team came outin their first dual meet of the season. Two winners of the meet were Liam Schmall and Colin Messer. The Comets struggled winning only two our of six matches. Comet notables that didn't get a chance to wrestle due to forfeits consisted of Daniel Kelly, Carter Rude, and Brady Grennan, who currently has a collarbone injury. The Comet wrestlers lost this meet with a final score of 18-30 in favor of Byron. Sophomore Daniel Kelly said,"We just need to get healthy and fill out a full roster so we can stop the forfeits. Then we will be alright." When I asked what they key to winning was. The wrestling team is looking forward to bouncing back at the Sterling invite tournament on December 3rd. ]]> 2022-12-15 01:37:38 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421273426 Success in Sterling jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421294677 The Newman varsity wrestling team headed across town to Sterling Highschool on Saturday December 3rd to compete in the Sterling Invite Tournament. The Comets as a whole were very successful having five wrestlers place in their respective weight classes. Carter rude paced the Comets with a first place finish, followed by Daniel Kelly who got second, Briar Ivey who got fourth, and Liam Schmall and Colin Messer who each got fifth. Carter said," Man, I think our success came down to us being the only catholic school team there. I think God took us under his wing! Jesus is our key!" when asked about the teams success. The Comets look to continue winning at their upcoming dual meet at Rockridge on Tuesday, December 6th]]> 2022-12-15 02:03:03 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421294677 Hayden and Lil Hayden jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421309753 Some senior boys in College Algebra Prep, or CAP for short decided to draw portraits of one another. Hayden Witt was one of the lucky few to pose with the drawing of himself. He stated that he," felt honored to be drawn on the big whiteboard instead of the small handheld ones. The portraits are a fun way to make the class go by faster." As someone who partakes in the drawing, I can say I couldn't agree more with what Hayden said. CAP has barely any dull moments!]]> 2022-12-15 02:21:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421309753 Praying the Rosary with St. Mary's Sterling Students jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421408217 A couple of Newman students helped pray the rosary with St. Mary's students. It was the first time of the year that the Newman students did the rosary with the St. Mary's students. Praying the rosary is very important. Newman students love helping with it. "I love seeing all of the smiles and I think its very cool how we pray the rosary with them" Izzy Allen stated. The Newman students pass out balloons to the students that are praying for the rosary. Everyone balloon represents a prayer. Newman loves the opportunity to help the St. Mary's students with the rosary. ]]> 2022-12-15 04:38:51 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421408217 Knitters club!! jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421424779 On December 14, Mia Trujillo was working on her knit. She has been working on it outside of knitters club. She is very excited to see how it comes out. "I didn't think I was gonna be able to knit but here I am and I am already this far no stopping now! also I cant wait until its finish to give it to someone at the nursing home!" The knitters club is making blankets. There goal is to finish their blankets and donate them to nursing homes. The students love the knitters club. You learn a new skill, learn many different ways on how to do it and make fun out of it. Marykay Downs said "I enjoy knitters club then I would of thought I had and its a good club and its actually pretty cool." ]]> 2022-12-15 05:05:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421424779 In Sickness and In Health The Game Must Go On avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421877154 Newman, playing with only half of its rosters, gave St. Bede a run for its money to say the least. The Comets scored a season high and fought with only two points in the final three minutes before falling 40-36. Madison Duhon led us to 17 points and two rebounds. Newman had their chances on the stretch of the game but column; to capitalize. Missing free throws and not being able to turn a couple of steals into points in the final minutes dashed any hopes of completing the comeback. Lucy Oetting nails a 3-pointer from the left wing for Newman at the buzzer for its final score. While Amiya Rodriguez added four points and five rebounds. Amiya Rodriguez saying “I think it just helped prove to the coach that the other girls could step up and help.” The final fourth quarter came with an 11-6 run. ]]> 2022-12-15 14:08:39 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421877154 The First Big Win avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421885587 Coming off aggressive at each end of the court Newman had different players set up at key times. The Comets opened up the game with a 16-8 run over for the first 11:13, and led 11-5 after the first quarter and 18-12 at halftime. Pushing the lead over Mendota, Madison Duhon hit a pair of free throws with 1:46 left in the third quarter. Freshman Lucy Oetting hit a jumper and floater earlier in the period to spark the mini-run. Jess Johns split a pair of free throws with 1:42 left to make it a five point game. Newman had turned over the ball with 28 seconds left and Mendota only had a few chances to tie the game up. It wasn't enough Newman had there victory over Mendota 33-31. Jess Johns saying “we had a lot of girls be more aggressive and take shots they normally wouldn’t take, it boosted our confidence”. 

]]> 2022-12-15 14:15:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421885587 Another Close Victory! giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421892992 On Tuesday December 13th, the fresh/soph comets competed against the Pecatonica Indians. The comets started the game off strong and kept a little lead throughout the entire game. A key player is freshman Evan Bushman who scored many points for the comets and kept a good control the entire game. Another key player is sophomore Wyatt Widolff who made almost all of his free throws. The free throw points definitely helped the comets secure the win. The final score of the game was 45-37 as the comets took the victory. Coach Terveer said to the team after the game, "Good job team, even though we won, we still have to continue practicing and playing hard." Coach Terveer is a huge key player for the team as he gives the players many amazing tips and always tells them to keep their heads held high. ]]> 2022-12-15 14:20:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421892992 Mental Health is Most Important avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421898214 On Tuesday November 29th, Blind Leaders had a meeting with Katie Goden from ROE (regional office of education). She had come to talk about helping others with their mental health and how to be able to be there for others. Mrs. Golden had the Blind leaders do an activity of different scenarios and how we would feel in those situations. Some of those scenarios were how we would feel if someone was harming us mentally or how we would feel if we armed another. It was a therapeutic activity being able to see how similar the feelings could arise in each situation. Being able to have these talks with Mrs. Golden every month or so helps us blind leaders be able to help those freshmen or just anyone in general on their mental health. Also a big welcome to  Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Kelly for inviting Mrs. Golden to be able to be part of this program. Leah Kalina being one our various blind leaders explaining “how it was beneficial for Mrs. Golden to be able to talk and teach us about how to help others in a time of need.” 


]]> 2022-12-15 14:23:54 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421898214 Successful Christmas Walk for National Honor Society avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421901565 The Sights and Sounds Christmas walk was a successful night for the National Honors Society. Mrs. Cook was a big help to our station/activity booth. She had brought all the necessities that were needed such as; bean bag toss, ring toss, make your own ornament, and the prizes. Having brought all those necessities, the students were a big help having the activity booth running smoothly. Haily Geske brought a professional camera to get pictures of the students and of the booth itself in action. Also a shout out to Blayke Holbrook for helping in the beginning to help set up for this event. Carlin Brady was also part of this crew to help out saying “It was really great to see all of the activities the kids brought. You could tell that they all had a really great time, and I am very glad I was able to be a part of it”. 

]]> 2022-12-15 14:26:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421901565 Mental Health Matters jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421904924 The BLIND leaders attended two meetings over the past month presented by Katie Goden with the set up help of Debby Kelly and Kris Noble. The focus of these meetings were mental health awareness. The purpose of the meetings were to help train and inform the BLIND leaders a little bit better on the topic of mental health. Senior leader Gianna Widolff said," Katie did a good job teaching the BLIND leaders that everybody is going through something even if you don't realizes it and you've got to do what makes you happy." There are two more meetings that the leaders are certainly looking forward to!]]> 2022-12-15 14:28:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421904924 Fun with Senora Zamora! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421921536 We took the time yesterday to interview the most respectful, fun and outgoing teacher yesterday Mrs.Zamora! Mrs. Zamora has a lot of different cultures because she is from mexico and she was not use to Illinois when she moved here. There were a lot of fun and big moments during this podcast such as when she stated " I took 2 collage classes to learn English and I didn't learn anything" Another big moment was just bonding with her it may not of been a lot of time but we love Mrs. Zamora and will enjoy all the time we can get with her especially  me since I will be graduating this year:( Mrs. Zamora Stated " I had a lot of fun and I really like to do things like that with my students even though some of things I was asked I couldn't properly answer
It ended with laughter and just having a good time. ]]> 2022-12-15 14:40:58 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421921536 Students Attend Local Christmas Walks to get in the Holiday Spirit! giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421927577 To celebrate some holiday cheer, students visit local Christmas walks. On Friday December 2nd, Sterling and Dixon both had their Christmas walks in action. A big key player is the very nice guy who offered to take our picture. Christmas cheer brings lots of smiles and kindness running through people's veins. A big key moment is when students see the giant Christmas tree in Dixon. The Christmas tree brings lots of "ooohs" and "aahhs" as the bright tree lights up the town. A huge key team is KSB who lights up the Christmas tree. The Christmas walks give students something to look forward to in our small towns. Students are constantly saying, "There is nothing to do around here!" The Christmas walks bring new and exciting cheer around. Senior Jaesen Johns said, "We really have nothing in our small towns and the Christmas walk brings many bright lights and with bright lights comes bright people." ]]> 2022-12-15 14:45:19 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421927577 Interview with Senor Zamora!! jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421930296 On December 14 Symantha, Jaylee, Logan and Jed interviewed the Spanish teacher Senor Zamora at Newman High School. She teaches all 4 years of Spanish. She is a very outgoing teacher and is very sweet. All the students love her. There were a lot of big moments in the interview. Senor Zamora stated in the interview "OH MY GOD MY FOREHEAD! can someone edit it to make it smaller." Another big moment was bonding and laughing together. We all had fun in it. There was many laughs and memories made during the interview. Senora Zamora stated " One thing I will always remember about the podcast is i will always remember that my forehead looked big and it was so bright and that i was thinking about what to answer and then said completely different things".]]> 2022-12-15 14:47:28 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421930296 BLIND Student Spotlight jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421942307 With 2022, a new school year comes and so do new students, specifically freshman. BLIND leaders are assigned freshman to take under their wing and get to know. As a BLIND leader, I was assigned Zhyler as my student. Zhyler is a student athlete who plays football and wrestles. I reached out to him to make him feel comfortable coming to Newman, and so far I would consider him one of my friends. Fellow senior BLIND leader Hayden Witt said," Hes a good, kind kid who has a bright future ahead of him." He is a hard working student athlete who looks to improve all that he does. I cant wait to keep in touch and hear how his high school journey progresses!]]> 2022-12-15 14:55:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421942307 Girls Volleyball State marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421961614 Friday, November 11th, the girls volleyball team made it to state. The final four game was a hit and there were many people there supporting Newman. As you can see above the theme of the game was red, white, and blue. All of the students came dressed and ready for the game. The Newman volleyball team played very hard but sadly ended up losing. The team was very sad that they lost but they were happy that they made it to state. They made Newman History. Jaylee Dugger said, "It was a very exciting and a sad game at the same time."]]> 2022-12-15 15:09:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421961614 Coat Drive marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421974405 Throughout the week before finals, the key club collected coats, hats, gloves, and any other winter items. Each student got the option to bring an item so they wear sweatpants for finals. The key club will donate all of these items for children that need or can't afford these items. ]]> 2022-12-15 15:19:28 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421974405 National Honors Society loves Christmas haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421978168 On Friday, December 2nd National Honors Society worked at the Sterling festival, Sights and Sounds. Mrs. Cook was in charge of the students and was the one who brought the supplies for the activities. A group of students had to work the activities for the kids to do.  Blayke Holbrook was on of the hardest worker. When asked if he enjoyed the festival Jaesen Johns said " I had lots of fun working the festival and I hope to get more opportunities to do things like this again." Overall it was a great festival and all of the students had a great time.]]> 2022-12-15 15:22:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2421978168 The 2nd Week Of Advent avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422108073 This week in theology 4 was the second lighting of the candle on the Advent Wreath. This second week was the week of Peace and this verse is explaining to us that Jesus came to be the Prince of Peace. Mrs. Jungernman had read Theology 4 a prayer and a story to better understand what this week meant. Mrs. Rhodes also talked to the seniors in her CAP class about Advent as well and how it is important to be prepared for Christs’ birth. Kyle Wolfe saying “it was nice seeing Mrs. Jungerman go in depth about Advent and to show what it is truly for”. ]]> 2022-12-15 17:02:38 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422108073 Theology 4 Learning about Love and Different Types of Love avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422110477 In Theology 4 the seniors had watched a video about love by Father Mike Schmitz. This video was to show us seniors the different types of love and how it can affect us. Mrs. Jungernman wanted to show how there are different types of people and how they choose to love one another. In the video Father Mike Schmitz how people yearn for authentic love that is shared by all and how everyone is still made in the image and likeness of God no matter who they love. This video was made to get the point across to young people and how to connect with them and we can struggle with our faith. Hayden Witt saying “this video was educational and to see the different views others have with this sensitive topic was insightful”. 

]]> 2022-12-15 17:04:24 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422110477 The Annual Tradition of The Football Player Boys avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422113487 In the annual tradition of Newman for playoff week the footballs shave their heads. This year was probably the weirdest and funniest of the haircuts. Most of the football boys decided this year to either create designs in their hair, have mullets, or simply just shave it. This tradition has been going on for many years. It is a way to get hyped up about playoffs. The star of the shows to this tradition was Jaesen Johns who had shaved his hair right in the middle of it and on the sides as well. Also Hayden Witt shaving off his curls and almost getting his eyebrows shaved as well. Team manager Logan Hermeyer was devoted to shaving his head as well. Hayden Witt saying “he was ready to part of this tradition as a senior and to see our whole team come together as a whole”. ]]> 2022-12-15 17:06:46 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422113487 Student of the Month for Seniors avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422117031 Each month Newman has a student of the month. Student of the month is to recognize a student's achievement and to show accomplishments in academics, athletics, exemplary character traits, and other categories. Mrs. Otteing, Mrs. Kelly, and others choosing this certain student to fill out these categories in such a manner. They are picking the one who they think expresses each of these categories each and every day. This month of December for student of the month was Micheal Murray. Micheal Murray said “it felt nice to win Student of the Month, it felt that all my efforts as a student were rewarded and I was thankful for the money I was given towards my savings”.

]]> 2022-12-15 17:09:23 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422117031 Time For English haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422120097 The English department is ran by Paul Magnafici, Donna Spencer, and Kaitlyn Accardi. Mr Magnafici teaches English 3,4, and speech class. Mrs Spencer teaches the honors and AP classes for English. Mrs Accardi Teaches English 1,2 and Journalism. The English department is very important to Newman High School. We have three of the best teachers that are highly educated in modern and past literature. The students love these teachers Newman runs on the English departmant. It is very valuable for the future of the students and Newman.]]> 2022-12-15 17:11:49 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422120097 Outstanding Art Work! symanthaporter https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422134356 Senior Carlin Brady performs her artistic talent in many different ways! As you can see here she made this colorful collage. Carlin Brady always has a meaning behind her art work and sometime you won't know what the meaning is until you talk to Ms. Carlin Brady and she will be gladly to speak with you about it! She states, "This collage has a very deep meaning that isn't super easy to pick up on right away. I made this to represent how a person can effect themselves and how external forces can as well. This man has his own hands around his through while the hands above his head are putting the pressure on him to do so." Carlin had many big moments while in the process of creating this project such as when she realized what the meaning of this project actually was. Also, while in the process of getting this project ready to be created she was very satisfied with these colors she picked. In the end of the project after she had finished it she was very proud and couldn't believe how this collage came out in the end.]]> 2022-12-15 17:23:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422134356 The Insiders Podcast avaanderson15 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422138360 On The Insiders Podcast Gianna Sagle, Oscar Navarro, and Ava Anderson interviewing the one and only Mrs. Rhodes. This interview took an inside look on Mrs. Rhodes legacy and her opinions on Newman itself. To give a look into our Podcast Mrs. Rhodes talked about a traumatic and fun experience playing facility dodgeball and getting pied in the face. Then going to talk about how she enjoys teaching here in order to be close to her family and seeing the smiles on student faces. She was an easy person to talk with and get her opinion on Newman and how she has felt teaching here and sending her children here. Mrs. Rhodes saying “she was happy to be part of this experience and talk to us not just as a teacher but as mom as well”. ]]> 2022-12-15 17:26:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422138360 The Cereal-Scholastic Match ups jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422437916 On November 5, 2022, Mrs. Vorhees’s Newman JV Scholastic Bowl team attended the Morrison High School Cereal Bowl during the preseason for Scholastic Bowl. Cereal Bowl events feature the same competition of obtaining points in correctly answering quiz questions among two teams from different schools but teams also get to enjoy a period where they get to eat cereal of their choice. The JV Newman team played against seven different schools, winning four of the matches. Newman also achieved the fourth highest score among all the teams, earning 4th place at the event and being rewarded with a 4th place trophy. The JV Newman team members were also able to have their period of being able to enjoy their favorite cereals provided at Morrison. JV team member Nathaniel Burger gave some of his thoughts on the event overall, stating, “Not only did I have fun but it was also very informative as well. I’m looking forward to more games such as this one in the future.” After this event, the JV team plans to continue meeting for Scholastic Bowl practices as more opportunities for playing against other schools become available in the next semester.]]> 2022-12-15 23:57:46 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422437916 Emmy Burger: A BLIND student spotlight carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422507439 Every year a group of juniors and seniors is chosen to lead the freshman in their transition from middle school to high school. There are many challenges that can occur during this transition, but as BLIND leaders our job is to help them in any way that we can. In the 2022 school year I was paired up with freshman, Emmy Burger. As she started at Newman she decided to participate in tennis in the fall. She will also participate in softball in the spring. I asked Emmy a list of questions and her responses were very informative. "My favorite class so far is art, but my favorite teacher is Mr. Somers. In my next three years, I am looking forward to prom the most. My biggest challenge that I faced in my transition from middle school to high school was cramming in studying and adapting to the environment." Emmy seems to be thriving in this new environment that she is in and I can't wait to see all of the memories and accomplishments that she makes over her next 3 years. ]]> 2022-12-16 01:37:15 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422507439 Newman Cheerleaders jayleedugger1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422610048 Basketball Cheer has started up! There were some changes with cheer. Some of you may know but there was a short amount of time for the Newman cheerleaders to find a new coach. They ended up finding one right after basketball started. There were many challenges for some of the cheerleaders. Olivia Clark stated "It was very stressful on getting a new coach and finding out who it was and a lot of girls dont do cheer no more so we dont really have that many girls" ]]> 2022-12-16 03:52:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2422610048 The Happy Hookers! carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423108975 Newman Knitter's Club hasn't had too much action recently. Individually the members have been busting away at their blankets. Last year this club donated 18 blankets to Liberty Court. Emily Beattie, a member of this radical club, is a super crocheter. Mrs. Verdick once stated her most favorite quote for this club," If someone crocjeted you an afghan, it took them a month or more to make. They love you." Mrs. Verdick the proud creater of this club supports her students to create beautiful creations. Emily Beattie, a member of this club, said, "It is a fun and inviting group for beginners and seasoned vets." Everyone one is looking forward to what the future holds for these crazy kids. ]]> 2022-12-16 15:09:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423108975 Have a Holly Jolly Christmas! carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423115058 On Friday, December 16 students were allowed to dress up in their best Christmas spirit wear. Senior Haily Geske went all out for this occasion. They state, "It is my senior year and I figured that I would go all out. This is the last time I will be able to do something like this." While Haily was not the only student that dressed up, they by far had the best outfit. As seniors everything is coming to a sad end so it is really great to see my fellow classmates making the most of these final months.]]> 2022-12-16 15:15:02 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423115058 Photography Students Make Their First Portfolio giannasagel https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423123386 In Photography Class, the students have been working on putting together a series of photos for their final project. They had a list of required photos, such as a collage, a high-contrast photo, and a self-portrait. They were required to have a total of seventeen photos, with a few specific required pictures. The students have been taking photos throughout the semester in multiple locations to include in their portfolio, a final project. They really have the opportunity to showcase their creativity with a variety of photos. The only limitation to their photos was that it had to be their own work. Mr. Reyes encouraged them to take artistically composed photos, something they had learned about throughout the semester. Ximena Hernandez commented on her portfolio, saying "The portfolio is really a reflection of who we are. We show ourselves through our photos and give people the opportunity to criticize."]]> 2022-12-16 15:23:09 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423123386 History Keeps it Fun loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423206127 Mr. Olson plays a big role in the history department. He teaches AP U.S. History, and freshman World History. The students are approaching final exams, so he included a different approach to lighten the mood. Espen Hammes, a studious student, is actively involved in making memes (that are history related) to keep it fun. Mr. Olson says that memes "allow you to relate difficult content to students in a way that is easy to comprehend and beneficial to learning." In addition to creating memes, Mr. Olson created an assignment that each student has to do a presentation to cover a topic or event in the Civil War time period.]]> 2022-12-16 16:43:46 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423206127 The Face Behind The Camera giannawidolff https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423351217 Leah Kalina is a junior here at Newman. Leah has been apart of Newman from a very young age. She is a graduate of St. Mary's Sterling and continued her academics and athletics here at Newman. She is involved in key club and also BLIND. She plays volleyball in the fall and softball in the spring. She has become a very big part of Newman photography. She started becoming very interested in photography when she took a picture her sophomore year of Marcus Williams playing football. She was very proud of the picture and pursued a very successful hobby in photography. Her favorite sport to take pictures of is wrestling or baseball because she understands what is going on in them and they are fun to shoot. Her least favorite sport to photograph is football because there is a lot going on in football. Her favorite class she has ever taken at Newman is sociology 1 and her favorite teacher is Mr. Mags. Senior Jaesen Johns said, "It's nice having someone to capture all of the moments in your games. It's great having pictures to look back at so you can sort of relive the moment."]]> 2022-12-16 19:46:28 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423351217 Science Club is Launching loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423356012 On Wednesday, December 14, Newman's Science Club took part in engineering homemade catapults. Ms. Cook, the head of the club, was challenging her students by seeing who could launch a marshmallow the furthest. Emily Beattie and Ximena Hernandez prevailed in the competition. Logan Devine enjoyed the challenge and was quite confident, saying, "I am going to launch this higher than Snoop Dogg."]]> 2022-12-16 19:55:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423356012 Key Club marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423359472 For the key club, some volunteers drew on the windows at the YWCA. They did this for the National Hispanic Heritage month. On the windows they wrote various things related to the National Hispanic Heritage month. They really enjoyed helping out the community and the YWCA really appreciated them. ]]> 2022-12-16 20:01:29 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423359472 Mr. Somers marykaydowns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423364307 For my groups podcast we interviewed Mr. Somers. Mr. Somers has been at Newman for many years and is a big part of it. He started off as a student teacher and soon came to be a teacher for theology. His main subject he teaches is Theology but he has also taught other classes such as social science classes. Mr. Somers also is one of the Kairos leaders and had been doing that for a couple of years now.]]> 2022-12-16 20:08:59 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423364307 Student Spotlight: Tate Downs loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423364523 Newman student, Tate Downs, is the CEO of MTD (Matthew Tate Downs) NFTs. MTD NFTs is a company that creates exclusive membership clubs for influencers using blockchain technology. They create a platform from nothing that is built to the influencer's brand and vision. To gain access to the platform, you must purchase an NFT from the influencer's NFT collection. This allows for a mutually beneficial relationship between the influencer and the member as the influencer receives a new income stream, and the member gains exclusive benefits and an asset. Once the member is no longer interested in the club, they do not just cancel a membership like most membership clubs. Instead, they can sell their NFT to another fan and make their money back. MTD NFTs works to make the process as simple for the influencer as possible while setting the club up for long-term success. Tate says, "When I first founded MTD NFTS was during the peak of NFT hype, so I want to bring back that level of hype."]]> 2022-12-16 20:09:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423364523 Spanish TikTok haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423424345 The past couple of weeks the Senior Spanish class has been reading a book in class. This past week they have filmed Tik Toks representing the chapters of the book. Dylan Garland, Gabe Padilla, and Ava Anderson all made great videos on the chapters of the book. When asked what she thought about the activity, Ava Anderson stated" I wish we would do more fun things like this in class. It was very fun and it gives more opportunity to be creative. The students enjoyed and can't wait for more opportunities like it.]]> 2022-12-16 22:40:35 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423424345 Fun Filming during Finals oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423455281 On December 15th it was the start of taking finals on finals week. Instead of final tests Mrs. Zamora had something different for her class to do. During the past month the seniors have started reading a book for Spanish. Instead of studying the book and eventually taking a final for it we were allowed to summarize a chapter in a 1-3 minute tiktok. All the stress was taken away during Spanish class for the seniors. In the photo we have Kenneth Boesen sitting excited to film his final for Spanish. Kenny said, "Should i play the Minecraft music for the party scene".]]> 2022-12-17 00:45:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423455281 Ethical Empire oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423457410 On December 15th Freshman American History worked on making successful civilizations. They formed groups of 3-5 and worked in good and cut out bad ideas for a brand new empire in either Ancient Middle East and Egypt, Ancient Greece, And Ancient Rome and the rise of Christianity. They were supposed create an ideal civilization in that place in time incorporated feature from the original land they worked in. A quote from Reese Grummert about the project was," It's not about the art its about the Content".]]> 2022-12-17 00:54:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423457410 The Class That Saves Money haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423457839 Consumers Ed is one of the most important classes at Newman. It is a class that teaches you about finance and how to pay taxes and save money. It is taught by Mr.Stevenson and he does a great job with the class. Consumers Ed is the most important class. It helps set up the Newman student for success by teaching the rights and wrongs of how to spend your money. Kenny Boesen said" It is one of my favorite classes because it teaches me how to be successful for my adult life. Students need classes like Consumers and we the students are lucky to have such a class.]]> 2022-12-17 00:56:49 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423457839 Comets Take Tough Loss haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423461850 On Tuesday, December 13th, The Comets came up short against Pecatonica 80 to 63. It was a very hard fought game and we couldn’t be more proud of the players for giving it their all. Lucas Simpson was the star of the game with 24 points. He was the leading scorer for the Comets. Ayden Batten and Nolan Britt were also key contributors as well with a couple baskets of their own. When asked about the game senior point guard Nolan Britt stated” Defense was the key of that game and ours wasn’t that good , But this team is resilient and I know we will Bounce back next game. Despite the loss we are proud of our Comets.

]]> 2022-12-17 01:13:18 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423461850 Insiders podcast but better oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423462452 On The Insiders Podcast Gianna Sagle, Oscar Navarro, and Ava Anderson interviewing the one and only Mrs. Rhodes. This interview took an inside look on Mrs. Rhodes legacy and her opinions on Newman itself. To give a look into our Podcast Mrs. Rhodes talked about a traumatic and fun experience playing facility dodgeball and getting pied in the face. Then going to talk about how she enjoys teaching here in order to be close to her family and seeing the smiles on student faces. She was an easy person to talk with and get her opinion on Newman and how she has felt teaching here and sending her children here. Mrs. Rhodes saying “she was happy to be part of this experience and talk to us not just as a teacher but as mom as well”. ]]> 2022-12-17 01:15:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423462452 EZ CLAPS oscarnavarro7 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423465820 On December 13th the Newman comets pulled off the victory against the Pecatonica Indians. They were beat the Indians in basketball with their star player George Jungerman. They were able to take the rebounds and get across the court to put it up. Although getting punished by there mistakes by the other team they were able to push through in order to win the game. ]]> 2022-12-17 01:28:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423465820 Comets Boil the Boilermakers. haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423467463 On Tuesday, December 6th, The Newman Comets Basketball team Annihilated the Kewanee Boilermakers 66 to 59. It was a great win by our boys in blue and we expect more to come in the future of the season. Ayden Batten led the charge with 15 points against Boilermakers. With the help of Isaiah Williams and Lucas Simpson, who both had an excellent defensive game. Gabe Padilla said “ it was a great win and I expect us to keep up the pace.” Great job boys on a great team win.

]]> 2022-12-17 01:35:00 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423467463 Every Storm Runs Of Rain haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423472608 On Wednesday, November 30th, The Basketball Team absolutely demolished the Bureau Valley Storm 70 to 53. What an absolute beating by the Comets. This was the biggest win of the year for the Comets from the points perspective. Nolan Britt had a great game by scoring 21 on the defeated Storm. He had the help of Lucas Simpson and Ayden Batten who provided scores of their own. Ayden Batten said” It's nice to be able to blow out a team like that. I think we are showing how good of a team we are.” After he demolished his former team.Great job Comets keep it up.

]]> 2022-12-17 01:53:51 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423472608 Student council brings breakfast club to Newman! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423474514 For the days leading up to homecoming, September 26th-30th, the Student Council Club came up with theme dress up ideas. Each day was something different, for example Monday was Adam Sandler day and Friday was spirit day. A big moment happened in the picture above, when the teachers participated in their favorite movie character day, by dressing up as the Breakfast Club. Mrs. Oetting said when dressed in an emo character outfit, “This costume is so not me, but this is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever put on.” Another big moment was when Mrs. Rhodes dressed up Cruella Devill, she took the theme to a whole new level. Along with Mrs. Rhodes' costume being top tier, a senior student, Hayden Witt also went above and beyond with his hilarious Napoleon Dynamite costume. If there were a competition, he would’ve won. It was a wholesome day, ending with nerves high, with preparing for homecoming in a few days. This fun day wouldn’t have been possible without the student council club. 

]]> 2022-12-17 02:01:14 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423474514 St. Therese touches the hearts of Newman sophomores madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423476319 On Wednesday, November 9th, the stellar sophomores went on their theology retreat to the St. Therese museum, in Darien Illinois. When they first arrived, a sweet and big moment happened when an elderly priest gave the students a talk on following God’s plan for your life, even the teachers took something away from it! Another sweet moment happened when students saw the most beautiful picture of St. Therese, it just touched everyone’s heart. The most monumental moment of the day happened when the students made a pittstop at Panda afterwards, taking up the whole restaurant! The workers loved all of the business though! Mr. Somers said while attending the trip with us, “I missed my sophomores! It was lovely to see how much they’ve matured from last year.” The day ended with happy hearts, because everyone had a great day with their friends. 


]]> 2022-12-17 02:09:02 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423476319 Halloween enthusiasts dress spectacularly at Newman! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423477745 On October 31st, student life was popping off, Newman students were lucky enough to pick their favorite character or person to dress up as for a school Halloween celebration. A big moment was when Jaylee Dugger showed up in a gold digger costume, it was funny and creative! Another big moment was when Ally Mcginn, Abby Peterson, and Pyper Terbush all came to school dressed up as the famous Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. A person who played a key role, was every Newman faculty member who allowed their students the pleasure of dressing up for fun! It was a blast for everyone! Mr. Lemay said, “Our school has a goal to make students feel like they can be themselves, we love giving them a chance to have fun!” The day ended on a fun note with everyone ready to trick-or-treat! The students were grateful to have a relaxed day with funny outfits, and are looking forward to dressing up next year!


]]> 2022-12-17 02:14:41 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423477745 Road trip, but make it Newman version! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423478704 On November 11th, at 6:00am the Newman bus took off towards the Redbird Arena to cheer on the volleyball girls at state. The bus driver, Ken Shaffer played a key role in making this happen, without his safe and reliable transportation there wouldn’t have been an amazing student section. Another person who helped a lot on that day was Newman’s athletic director, Justin Stevenson, he shaproned on the bus and made sure the students followed directions and stayed safe. One of the biggest moments on that bus ride was on the way back when all the students started chanting for a pit stop at McDonalds, the supervisors didn’t budge though. Ken Shaffer said, “I’ve been driving Newman’s bus for many years, but this was the first time I’ve seen students so excited to cheer on their team.” Though it was a long bus ride, this was one of the best student life moments of the year so far. 


]]> 2022-12-17 02:18:46 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423478704 The LITBE podcast has a successful launch logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423478769 The LITBE podcast filmed their first episode this week with guest star Senora Zamora. they talked about Mrs. Zamora's experiences moving to the united states, learning English and teaching at Newman. the show's host Logan Devine called the first episode "a successful launch, and a look at Newman's future in social media". The episode will soon be released on Newman's social media pages, along with other podcasts.]]> 2022-12-17 02:19:04 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423478769 Young Newman students making an impact at the capitol! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423479949 On November 29th, the history department took the opportunity to take Mr. Lemay's American Government class to Springfield. Five students, along with five faculty members, had a strong goal of lobbying for Private Education Scholarships at the Capitol. Newman believes in allowing individuals to donate money to Private Schools and receive 75% back in State Tax Credit. Newman had a huge moment when getting to chat with Rep. Tony McCombie about how this program would benefit us. Another huge moment was when Newman Alumni, Rep. Bradley Fritts showed up and got to reunite with his former teachers, they were very proud of him. Brad said, “I’m a proud Newman graduate, that school helped me greatly, so I will of course do my best to ensure they have financial support.” Michael Lemay played a big role in making this event happen, he carefully planned it and encouraged students to go. Mr. Lemay even booked us a charter bus. The day ended on a great note, we felt accomplished after finally getting our voices heard by lawmakers and hope what we said impacted them. 

]]> 2022-12-17 02:23:31 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423479949 The Field of Memories haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423481032 The Newman football field is an important landmark to the students. Especially the students athletes. For the athletes this field has been base of athletic careers especially for the football and track teams. Jaesen Johns said " I've been playing on this field since I was 9 and I wish could have a few more years to practice on this field because I have some key memories here." Even the small about Newman can mean the most.]]> 2022-12-17 02:27:29 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423481032 Boys basketball popping off like never before! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423481390 On Tuesday, December 6th, the basketball boys continued their successful season with a home game win against Kewanee. A player that played a key role in taking home this win was senior Lucas Simpson, who scored the Newman team 21 points! Another key player was senior Nolan Britt, scoring 17 points for the boys! A big and happy moment took place when sophomore Cody Mcbride, stopped the Kewanee team from catching up to Newman. Cody definitely knows how to block! Cody said at the end of the game, “I was pretty intimidated to play with varsity this year, but I’ve turned out to be more successful than I imagined.” The game ended with the Comets winning 66-59, only improving Newman’s basketball reputation! 



]]> 2022-12-17 02:28:34 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423481390 Ask Juniors: What's your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor? logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423483778 Everybody loves ice cream! At least everyone in their right mind does. but which ice cream do people like the best? According to Sam Mooch, "It's gotta be Rocky Road for me". Espen Hammes says his favorite is " just a plain Vanilla" and Carver Grummert. Food aficionado and ardent journalist Logan Devine says "after a big meal, you just can't beat mint chocolate chip". Logan Palmer goes against the grain saying "uh, I can't eat Ice cream". Whether you like the smoothest of the Vanillas to the chunkiest of the rocky roads and everything in-between, you have to admit, ice cream is pretty darn good.]]> 2022-12-17 02:36:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423483778 Newman Volleyball players to State Shiners! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423486845 On November 12th and 13th, Newman volleyball team made it to state after a long season of hard work and dedication. A person who played a key part in shaping this team into what it is, is Debbie Kelly. She has been so patient with those girls and trained them very well. Ms. Kelly said, "I love and care for those girls so much, it's why I push them so hard to be the best they can possibly be." Another key person who makes this team what it is, is Athletic Director, Justin Stevenson. He is almost at all of the volleyball games, cheering the girls on every step of the way. Also giving updates on how games went to the fans. An important and sweet moment during state, was when senior Katie Greenan's younger brother handed off the ball at the beginning of the game. The final scores for set one were 25-13, set two was 15-9, set three 25-17, and set four was 25-18. Although Newman got 4th place, everybody is incredibly proud of them! ]]> 2022-12-17 02:48:02 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423486845 Model UN rids the world of parasitic disease logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423496804 On December fifth, the Model UN convened to try and stabilize the British Isles after widespread rioting following the queen's death. the delegate from Mexico, Mena Hernandez suggested reestablishing a monarchy with Boris Johnson at the head, delegate from North Korea, Reily Wiggington proposed a return to a pre WW1 style government, but the winning resolution was put forth by the representative from China, Logan Devine, who proposed to rid earth from the plague of British culture by burning the entire country to the ground. president of the club, Sam Nicewander showed shock at this resolution saying "Why would people vote for that?! it's a terrible idea!" Model UN will convene next week to discuss the results of the resolution.]]> 2022-12-17 03:22:23 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423496804 Jess Johns- Student Spotlight jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423497441 Jess Johns is a Junior student at Newman. She is a BLIND leader, volleyball, softball, and basketball team captain, state qualifier in volleyball and track, a cheerleader, as well as my sister. She will always put a smile on your face with her sarcastic nature or blunt humor. Outside of Newman you'll catch her taking Culinary Arts at Whiteside Area Career Center. When asked about what she credits her success to she said,“ I credit my success to staying in control of my mental state and not becoming a spaz.“ Overall she is a well rounded person who is going to do great things in life.]]> 2022-12-17 03:24:35 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423497441 Six to Seventeen jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423500874 Three members of Newman's football team have been playing football together from age six to now. JJ Castle, Blayke Holbroook, and Jaesen Johns all started out playing NIYTF in Dixon roughly 11 years ago and have been on the same team ever since. With the many years of football comes many unforgettable memories and friendships. Through all of the ups and downs these three have been through they'll be teammates for life. Blayke Holbrook said,“ Its sort of bittersweet. Knowing that that was our last home game and the last time we were able to play together in front of the home crowd. I am definitely going to miss it.“  ]]> 2022-12-17 03:38:02 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423500874 Theology Takes Studying to a New Level jaesenjohns https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423502983 The Theology IV students got to get active today with a review game that had kickball tied into it. Mrs. Jungerman would ask the kicker a question off of the final review sheet and if answered correctly they would get to kick the ball. You could tell that the students enjoyed the change of pace that was playing kickball. Hayden Witt said,“ I liked it a lot more than reading off of a paper and answering questions. It made studying a little more enjoyable.“  The students are going to be put to the test on Tuesday as they take their first semester final.]]> 2022-12-17 03:45:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423502983 Up and Close with Señora Zamora jedhvalida https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423505566 For this semester’s Journalism final, groups of students will create a podcast video featuring staff or a person affiliated with Newman and interview them in a way that integrates this year’s yearbook theme of “cornerstone”. The group of Jaylee Dugger, Logan Devine, Symantha Porter, and Jedh Valida formed the “LITBE Podcast” group to interview Señora Zamora with the main focus of how Newman has been a cornerstone or foundation for her life and how Señora is a cornerstone for Newman. LITBE took an approach of asking about how Señora had ended up at Newman from her home country and her experiences in Newman. Thought-provoking and revealing topics about the nature of Newman from the perspective of Señora were revealed in her interview. “Being able to see my students and co-workers as one family who help each other when one is struggling has really changed my life,” remarked Señora when asked about significant events she has noticed at Newman. Following this interview with Señora, other students will soon share their interviews with other staff of Newman as Miss Accardi will determine how they will be shared with others outside of class, so make sure to stay tuned for more interviews!]]> 2022-12-17 03:55:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423505566 Victories Against BV loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423515833 On November 30, The Comet's basketball team soundly defeated Bureau Valley in the home opener. The boys won the game 70-53. Lucas Simpson played well offensively and had several defensive stops. After the game he said, "Talent wins games, but teamwork is more important." It was a great team effort, including strong efforts and plays fro the bench. Ayden Batten,, a BV transfer, scored several points and assists.]]> 2022-12-17 04:44:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423515833 Victorious at Last! loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423517388 On December 12, a struggling Lady Comet's basket team put the strings together and was victorious against the Mendota Trojans. Newman won the nail-biting game 33-31. The girls showed up and played solid defense to close the game. They were down for a majority of the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th. Lauryn Francque was pleased with the victory saying, "Good team win. We all showed up to play and hopefully we can keep playing like this." Reagan Hammes also assisted the Lady Comets shooting 50% from the field.]]> 2022-12-17 04:52:44 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423517388 Comets Fall to Hall loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423519164 On December 9, the Lady Comets basketball team was defeated by Hall 37-18. Although it seemed like not much went right for the girls, they were pleased with certain aspects of the game. The Lady Comets are young and lack height. They faced off against an opponent who didn't lack height. The girls played tough defense against her all night and Jess Johns had several steals from her. Reagan Hammes commented after the game saying, "Tough loss tonight. A few people were sick. We played strong defense but we need to get the offense going."]]> 2022-12-17 05:01:48 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423519164 Ping Pong Club on the Rise! loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423523879 Throughout October up until the end of the semester, Newman students are developing a ping pong club. Logan Palmer as president, JP Ryan as vice president, and Garet Wolfe as secretary. None of their ideas would have worked thus far without Mr. Somers providing a room and table for the club. Mr. Gehrig Koerner is also on board with the great plan. Mr. Somers was asked what his thoughts of the club were considering he is the head sponsor. He said, "It is fun and it allows the kids an avenue to relax." The club plans to create and 8 or 16 man bracket after Christmas break to compete in a tournament for bragging rights.]]> 2022-12-17 05:27:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423523879 Jellyfish-like E Coli? loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423525325 On December 13, AP Bio students were presented with an experiment from Mrs. Verdick. Students were supposed to somehow get a bio-luminescent gene in a chunk of e coli debris. Logan Palmer was the only successful one to accomplish the experiment of the six students. He successfully cooled the bio-luminescent solution, and then heated eat and put it into an incubator. Sam Neisewander was confident in his approach, saying, "I am going to sabotage everyone's experiment. Grrrr!" ]]> 2022-12-17 05:34:25 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423525325 Student Ambassadors loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423526707 Newman provides students with the opportunity to represent the school from a student's perspective. Mr. Gehrig Koerner is the head of the program. He sets up volunteering opportunities for the members to help out and apply as community service. A big event on the Ambassadors' schedule is Discover Newman, in which members give a tour of the school to middle school students from the area. Mr. Gehrig Koerner says, "it is a great volunteering opportunity, and we would love to have you there."]]> 2022-12-17 05:42:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423526707 Bio Teacher Messes with the Students' Minds loganpalmer6 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423528373 AP Bio students faced a tough challenge during an experiment, which involved drinking apple cider vinegar and eating lemons. Mrs. Verdick gave the students a taste-altering drug: Miracle Berries. The students were supposed to apply the concept of how cell signaling pathways work. After eating dissolving the drug on his tongue, Sam Neisewander said, "Sweet Tarts here we go. If this is sour...I'm going to be really sad." Mrs. Verdick theoretically thought that apple cider vinegar would taste like apple cider after taking the drug, but students had an answer for her: it definitely did not.]]> 2022-12-17 05:51:49 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423528373 Girls Basketball starting off the season right! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423692533 On Wednesday, December 14th, Newman's girls basketball team played against Orion High. This team manages to stick together no matter what comes their way, they lose coaches and team members, but still show up for one another. During this game, a big moment happened when sophomore Helen Papoccia blocked someone from the opposite team from stealing the ball from Sydni Tessendorf. Another big moment occurred when sophomore Pyper Terbush made a basket when the team was starting to get behind. Pyper said after the game, "This season has been great so far, even with our teams struggles we've still had a blast". At the very end of the game, a huge moment happened when the Orion team almost made a shot, but sophomore Amiya Rodriguez grabbed the ball and took it to Newman's side to get the final point. This game ended with a final score of 52-24, Newman once again winning. This team is looking forward to a great rest of the season! ]]> 2022-12-17 16:09:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423692533 Newman's hard work and passion for teaching pays off! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423865873 Ainsley Reed got the spotlight on Friday, October 28th when she was awarded student of the month for October of her senior year. Ainsley is the exact type of student any high school would love to have. She keeps her grades up, follows the rules, and involves herself in as many activities as she can! She is in many leadership positions like BLIND leader, student council president, and Newman Ambassador. Also in clubs: National Honor Society, math team, book club, literacy magazine board member, Envirothon, scholastic bowl, knitters club, model UN, science club, and key club. She also donates her time to the Sauk valley food bank, blood donation, and being a lector at sacred heart. In the very little free time she has she works as a youth fitness instructor at Westwood and a seasonal landscaper at Distinctive Gardens. Mrs. Oetting says, "It's so lovely to see just how much our students benefit from our education opportunities." To continue her excellent education, Ainsley is attending a four year anniversary to major in chemical engineering. 



]]> 2022-12-18 04:28:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423865873 A glimpse into the FUN side of Key Club! madisonloomis1 https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423873981 On Wednesday, November 30th, Key Club held their 4th meeting of the year in Mrs. Zamora's classroom. During the meeting a big moment happened when Mrs. Zamora announced how much money they've raised this year, the most they have in a long time. Another big moment happened when senior Sarah Murray mentioned how many people have already volunteered this year, along with how proud she is that more people joined the club this year. A transfer sophomore this year, Destini Chambers said, "I never saw volunteer work to this extent at my old school, it's pretty refreshing to join a school who practices their values." It was a pretty special, big moment when Mrs. Zamora introduced Destini to the club, all of the previous members were very welcoming. Key Club hopes to continue their successful year and to gain even more members next year! ]]> 2022-12-18 05:15:43 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423873981 Senior's First Musical brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423881919 This year, Newman's music department is putting on You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown for the annnual musical. Because of Covid and lack of interest last year, Newman has not put on a show since 2019's Footloose. This year, only two seniors are involved in the musical. The first senior is Joy Zigler, who got the role of Sally Brown, Charlie's sister. Joy was a part of Newman's production of BIG from last year, but sadly we were unable to perform that musical because we did not have enough interest. "I'm excited to be doing it. A little nervous I'm going to mess up my lines but I'm super excited to be getting to do a main role for my last year of high school," she says. The second senior is Kathleen Withrow. Kathleen has been a part of The Music Man, Footloose, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She will be a part of the ensemble. She says she is "very excited to do it but also nervous." Students are very excited about the musical and are anticipating opening night. ]]> 2022-12-18 05:58:34 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2423881919 Jaesen Johns: WACC student spot light haydenwitt https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424305554 In the month of October Jaesen Johns received student of the month honors for his buiding trades class. Despite the classes rough reputation, Jaesen Johns still works hard and is the top of his class at WACC. Jaesen received due to his great work ethic and his demand to get work done. When asked about his achievement he said " I do not care about the award I only care about getting the work done" Congratulation Jaesen Johns on a job well done.]]> 2022-12-19 01:24:10 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424305554 NO SHAVE NOVEMBER!!!!!! logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424760333 At the request of Mrs. Oetting, the student council sponsored a No Shave November event, with all proceeds going to charity. three students with notable examples of face fungus were Logan Devine, Liam Shmall, and Nolan Britt. Unprompted, member of the No Shave November Commitee Tate Downs told our reporters that "No Shave November is the best thing the student council has ever done" despite his inability to grow facial hair. November will also be here next year, hopefully with another No Shave November.]]> 2022-12-19 12:53:24 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424760333 Student Council Sponsors Halloween Hijinks logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424761926 on Halloween, the student council sponsored a dress down day for costumes and a pumpkin carving contest. the winners of the contest were Olivia Maxwell in third, Abby Peterson in second, and Monica Healy in first. When asked about her pumpkin, Monica said, "I carved our new cross-country logo because Cross-country is so important to me and I helped design it." There will be Halloween next year as well, on October 31st.]]> 2022-12-19 12:55:35 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424761926 Science Team Launches Towards Success logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424766090 On December 14th, the science club met to test their catapults that had been made at the previous meeting. upon testing, Maria Ardis and Emmy Burger's catapult got third, Logan Devine's design got second, and Mina Hernandez and Emily Beattie's catapult got first. When asked about her strategy to win, Emily responded, "I could't tell you how I made it if i tried, it was mostly luck" Science club will resume after winter break.]]> 2022-12-19 12:59:18 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424766090 Model UN fights cosmic Debris logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424767536 The model UN meeting on December eleventh started with a summary of last meeting. The extermination of all British people successfully resolved the succession crisis. of note about this outcome is that the delegate from the UK, Michel Murry, has been permanently banned from further meetings as his country was destroyed. The next problem was presented, an abundance of spy satellites are threatening to crash into each other in orbit and rain fire upon earth. the delegate from mexico, Raul Reyes, expressed interest in the next resolution from the delegate from china saying "I love Logan, Man that guy is funny". the Model UN will reconvene after winter break.]]> 2022-12-19 13:00:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424767536 them Mathers be Mathin logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424768202 the Math Department has had a busy second semester. Mrs. Rhodes's Precalc class used a potato launcher, Mr. Sotelo's Stats class had a secret santa Gift exchange, and Mr Sotelo's Calc class made chairs to help calculate angles. When asked about his unconventional approach to teaching Mr Sotelo said, "you have to keep things interesting. that's the only way kids pay attention" the math classes will continue to learn and do fun experiments throughout the second semester.]]> 2022-12-19 13:01:48 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424768202 Good Grief, It's time for auditions logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424770870 Newman Is doing You're a Good Man Charlie Brown as their musical this year, and auditions and callbacks were from December 5th-7th. on the ninth the cast list was posted, and the results were that Incumbent lead, Logan Devine got Charlie Brown, Ryan Welty as Linus, Liam Shmall as Schroeder, Nathaniel Burger as Snoopy, Gianna Sagel as Lucy, and Joy Zigler as Sally. when asked about his casting, Nathaneil Burger said, "Wowza! I can't believe I got Snoopy! he's my favorite character!" the musical will Be performed from March 9th-12th at the Sauk Valley Community College Auditorium.]]> 2022-12-19 13:04:43 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424770870 Root Beer Float Day brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424831006 On Friday, December 16, Mr. Reyes' Photography class celebrated the end of the first semester with root beer floats. As students were finishing editing photos and putting together their portfolio, they were able to make root beer floats. "I believe that it really provided us time to relax before our finals next week," Jedh Valida says. Some students brought root beer floats to other teachers and faculty around the building. ]]> 2022-12-19 14:08:58 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424831006 Ask Seniors: whats your Subway Sandwich Order? logandevine https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424845618 A subway sandwich. the pinnacle of customization with over 38 million possible sandwiches. what you pick says a lot about you. So lets see what it says about the senior class. Sam Nicewander prefers a "Steak and cheese on whole wheat toasted with shredded mozzarella and bacon, guacamole, and spinach". Carson Palmer gets a "foot-long meatball marinara sandwich on toasted artisan Italian bread with both American and Parmesan cheese".
Monica Healy like a "6 inch flat bread rotisserie style chicken with american cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo"
Michel Murray orders a "flatbread, ham, american cheese, tomato, lettuce, and mayo. with a cookie on the side". Raul Reyes keeps it simple with a "Italian bread footlong with one slice of cucumber." Tate Downs comments, "personally i just like turkey and cheese". Ainsley reed gets a "BLT on whole wheat Italian bread". Sarah Murray shares her disdain for the chain by saying "subway lettuce gave me food poisoning one time". whatever your stance on Subway and their Sandwiches,you have to admit, the sheer breadth of their menu is quite impressive.]]> 2022-12-19 14:22:16 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424845618 Senior Survey brooklynzigler https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424849882 Newman's senior students were sent out a questionnaire asking "What is your favorite class you are taking at Newman," "Are you attending WACC currently, or have you in the past? If yes, what class did you take/are you taking," and they were also asked to describe their senior year in three words. Out of the fifteen people who submitted the form, eight people chose English as their favorite class. Nine of the seniors were involved in WACC and the other six weren't. Some of the classes the seniors are enrolled in at WACC include Digital Media Arts, Culinary Arts, Automotive, and Allied Health. Lots of students described their senior year as going by too fast, "Quickly FLYING by" Carson Palmer says to describe his senior year. "Chill, fun, and easy," is how Emma Oswalt described it. With only one semester left of their high school career, Students are anticipating graduation and looking forward to life after highschool. ]]> 2022-12-19 14:25:55 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424849882 Welcome to the Team! carlinbrady https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424877878 The Comet cheer team had a good action-packed season during football. They will be graduating two students, Sarah Murray and Claire Crisham. As basketball cheer was about to begin the team came across an issue. The coach that they previously had decided not to come back to coach them. They welcomed their new coach, Bailey Boesen, with open arms. She stepped up to the job with excitement and enthusiasm. Olivia Clark states, "I am very glad that we are able to have her as our coach. She makes cheer fun and exciting." The future holds a lot for this new young coach and the Comets can't wait to see what she will accomplish!]]> 2022-12-19 14:52:22 UTC https://padlet.com/Ms_Accardi/Journalism_2223/wish/2424877878