High school conference honor choir – Front: Emme Hardisty, Emily Garcia, Annabelle Reynolds, Taylin Woolheater, Maddy Lutz, Mary Fett; Back: Atlas Yates, Devon McMunn, Easton Berthow, Nick Turner and Jaysen Stagg.

Middle school conference honor choir – Front: John Holman; Back: Kaylee Michaelson, Evynn Stagg, Nella Rivas, Baylee Walker, Isabelle Davidson and Ava Thorn

HONOR CHOIRS PERFROM AT CONFERENCE HONOR CHOIR FESTIVAL

By Holliday Mertens, freshman, staff writer

On March 4, middle school and high school students went to I-35 to perform for the Conference Honor Choir festival. Mr. Helm, director for the choir students, said, “It was an awesome time for our schools to get together and make music.” The middle school students who went to the festival were Kaylee Michaelson, Nella Rivas, Evynn Stagg, Ava Thorn, Baylee Walker, Isabelle Davidson and John Holman. The high school students who attended were Easton Berhow, Mary Fett, Emily Garcia, Emme Hardisty, Maddy Lutz, Devon McMunn, Annabelle Reynolds, Jaysen Stagg, Nick Turner, Taylon Woolheater and Atlas Yates. Here’s how the festival went.

According to Emme Hardisty, “It’s good to be prepared…make sure to sing out and be confident.”

The festival consisted of many schools and many different students. It was an all-day event, with the festival itself happening at the end of the day. The middle school and high school choirs were joint for the event. Songs that were performed included “He’ll Make a Way,” a Christian song, and “Can You Hear.” A job well done, Panthers!

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: MASON CARSTENS 

By Bjoërg Skovgaard, sophomore, staff writer

Mason Carstens is a senior at Panorama High School. During his high school years, Mason has been involved in golf and baseball. His plans after high school are to attend DMACC and weld and farm. He wants to achieve these goals by working hard and not letting the little things drag him down. His favorite teacher and coach who impacted him the most is Mr. Osbahr because he has been the most helpful through high school, and Mason can relate to a lot of things. If he could go back and tell his younger self something, it would be that you don’t need to take everything so seriously, and his advice to underclassmen is if you listen, it’s a lot easier to get through high school. His most challenging task as a senior was making his poker table.

If he could describe his last four years in three words, it would be “whole lotta fun.” In later years, when Mason would look back on this year, he will remember the support from everyone and the good times walking around during lunch. Mason looks up to his parents because they raised him right, and he wants to do the same for his kids in the future. One of Mason’s accomplishments that he’s proud of is getting close to God. His favorite quote is “God is great” by Kobe Bryant.

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: TORI HECKMAN 

By Maddy Carstens, junior, staff writer

Tori Heckman is among the graduating seniors at Panorama High School. She grew up in Guthrie Center. She then moved to Panora in sixth grade. Tori is involved in Dance Team and FFA. Her favorite teacher is the FFA director, Mr. Hameister, because he is easygoing. The coach who impacted her the most was one of the Dance Team coaches, Mikeely Denger. Tori says Mikeely taught her to persevere through Dance Team even when it gets tough. Tori says the most challenging thing about being a senior is getting through certain classes. She says her high school years are described as fun, fast and memorable. Tori says her advice to underclassmen is to always turn your homework in on time and filled out. Her biggest accomplishment is getting grand champion for her meat rabbits last year and reserve grand champion and champion for her fancy rabbits at the county fair for FFA. Tori’s biggest challenge throughout her high school career was trying to juggle her activities while working two jobs. She imagines herself in 10 years working in Veterinary Technology. Tori likes to do many things, including hanging out with family and friends, along with watching her favorite TV show, “That 70’s Show.” She also says her favorite meal is lasagna and her go-to song is “Lovely” by Billie Eilish featuring Khalid. Tori looks up to her dad because he has shown her how to be strong during difficult times and push through. She says her biggest fear is failing. When she looks back on her school years, she says she will mostly remember making new friends and the irreplaceable memories. 

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: JAIDYN SELLERS

By Jadyn Lawrence, freshman, staff writer

Jaidyn Sellers has described her last four years of high school as challenging, memorable and fun. Throughout her high school years, she has been involved in basketball, volleyball, track and softball at Panorama. The biggest challenge Jaidyn has faced during high school is managing her homework with sports. When the stressful times in school come up, Jaidyn knows she can count on Ms. J because she is super funny but still pushes her to do her best in everything. Jaidyn’s current plan after high school is to attend The University of Iowa, pursue a degree in criminology and play softball.

Jaidyn grew up in Panora. Mrs. Kylee Boettcher has been the most impactful coach for Jaidyn because she has been a huge role model for her high school career. She taught her how to be strong and stand up for what she believes. If Jaidyn could go back and tell her younger self something, it would be to not be afraid to meet new people. She wants to tell all the younger classmen to take DMACC classes while it’s free, because it will help you in the long term. When Jaidyn Sellers walks out of Panorama High School’s doors for the last time, her athletic, respectful and humble self will be greatly missed.

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SPRING BREAK ATHLETICS

By Maddy Carstens, junior, staff writer

Panorama Community Schools had its annual spring/Easter break. Earlier in the year than usual, Easter fell on March 31, which provided Panorama students and teachers an earlier break to have time for themselves and their families and friends. With Thursday through Monday being off, the school has a five-day break. However, that was not the case with sports and other activities.

Sports such as track and field, soccer and golf still commenced during Easter break. On Thursday, the first day off, boys and girls track and field traveled to Ogden for a meet. On Friday, boys and girls soccer traveled to Stuart for games. On Monday, girls and boys golf traveled to I-35 for a meet. Way to work, Panthers! Hopefully, everyone had a good break and a happy Easter.

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NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

By Miranda Laabs, sophomore, staff writer

National Honor Society is a program offered to students who are enrolled at Panorama High School. Requirements to be eligible to apply for NHS are: 3.5 cumulative grade point average at the end of third term for sophomores and juniors, an application essay, candidate form, two letters of recommendation, and at least 10 community service hours in the 2023-2024 school year. This program allows students to add another activity into their schedule and can impact their academics in their future, as the National Honor Society can add an appealing addition to college applications. Through this program, many scholarships are offered to those planning on attending college. This is a good way to increase the amount of time you are participating in community service projects. Students who participate in this program can improve their leadership and social skills as well, as many conferences are held throughout the year. This program can help shape people into who they want to be and can improve their chances for succeeding in the future.

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JAIL TOUR

By Miyah Small, eighth grader, staff writer

Students from Panorama recently toured of the new jail facility in Guthrie Center. There were about 20 students who went on the tour, which was led by Sheriff Marty Arganbright. The tour lasted about an hour and a half. Students were shown the new jail, the courthouse and the old jail area. A demonstration of a taser was done for the class. Students also got to listen to an inmate speak about his past and what he will change in his future. At the end of the visit, the students received sheriff badge stickers.

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ALL-STATE SPEECH PARTICIPANT FROM PANORAMA

By Bjoërg Skovgaard, sophomore, staff writer 

On March 25, Individual Speech All-State was held at UNI. Panorama High School was lucky enough to get a contestant, Avery Bahrenfuss, a senior who received all ones from the judges at state. Her speech category was storytelling and she has been practicing since early February for her big moment. Avery said the best part of going to all-state was being able to go and receive recognition and perform one last time. She has been doing speech all four years of high school in both large groups and individually. For Avery, it was fascinating and honorable to be able to go again, and she felt grateful for everything. At the meeting, Avery said that the atmosphere was “very joyful, fun and exciting.”

In storytelling, participants sit on a stool, act out a five-minute story, and act out gestures and shifts in posture and vocal changes. Avery’s story was Amelia Bedelia, and her favorite part about the story was when Amelia Bedelia put the lightbulbs outside in the yard. She chose the story because it reminds her of her childhood and growing up. The judge enjoyed her story, and it reminded him of his childhood. He thought each character was different and enjoyed the performance overall. Avery also enjoyed the overall experience and thought she did well on her character voices throughout the story, though she wished she had practiced more in the past to get more opportunities like this.

The reason Avery does speech is that she gets to become a better communicator and public speaker by performing and, of course, watching musical theater. She enjoyed making the judge smile and challenging herself to do something difficult. As a senior who has competed in speech all four years, her advice for underclassmen doing speech is, “It is an activity that strengthens your speaking and communication skills. It is something you will use throughout your life and career. It’s very fun and very enjoyable. You make many friends along the way and will cherish every memory you make.”