Front row: Gracie Richter, Meredith Woodworth, Hadley Klein, Riley Gibson; Second row: Taylin Woolheater, Aubrey Lincoln, Emme Hardisty, Piper Godwin; Back row: Evie Hummel, Sabrina Huitt, Nick Turner, Anna Thompson and Jaysen Stagg. Not pictured: Noah Poldberg, Maddox Nunn, Avery Bahrenfuss.
PANORAMA SPEECH: ON TO STATE!
By Holliday Mertens, freshman, staff writer
Congratulations to Panorama Speech’s Reader’s Theater, Choral Reading, and Musical Theater for making it to State! Students moving to State in Reader’s Theater include Avery Bahrenfuss, Riley Gibson, Hadley Klein, Maddox Nunn, Noah Poldberg, Gracie Richter, Jaysen Stagg, Meredith Woodworth and Taylin Woolheater. Students competing in Choral Reading are Piper Godwin, Emme Hardisty, Sabrina Huitt, Evelyn Hummel, Aubrey Lincoln, Anna Thompson and Nick Turner. Finally, Musical Theater students are Emme Hardisty, Noah Poldberg, Jaysen Stagg, Anna Thompson and Taylin Woolheater. Also, a huge congratulations to coaches Mr. Helm, Ms. Wooldridge and Mrs. Gafkjen. State Speech will be on Feb. 3 at Ankeny Centennial.
The Musical Theater team sang three songs from “Avenue Q” by Jeff Whitty. Choral Reading read “Telltale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. Finally, our Reader’s Theater team read “The Norse Mythology Ragnasplosion” by Don Zolidis. Once again, congrats to everyone who made it to State Speech! Go, Panthers!
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Front row: Emma Johnson, Cora Fluharty, Reece David, Ella King, Taylor Fronapfel, Ella Carrico, Evelyn Hummel, Zach Hayden; Back row: Cody Kastner, Jaime Fronapfel, Bridget White, Alexis Olson, Danica Isom, Evan Johnson, Abby Zaruba and Sawyer Simmons.
PANORAMA FFA SUBDISTRICTS
By Maddy Carstens, junior, staff writer
This year, Panorama FFA members competed in the annual Subdistricts competition. Fifteen members went in person to compete in their group or singular competitions. Along with the 15 attending members, three other members submitted quizzes hoping to be awarded placings. The event was held on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at Anita. Subdistricts are a string of competitions consisting of four different competition levels. Subdistricts are first, following Districts, then State. Sometimes, depending on the competition, the competitor(s) might even move on to National Convention, which is the highest competition. Each different competition has different dates. The next competition, Districts, is March 2 at Clarinda. The results are in for the subdistrict competitions.
Cody Kastner competed in individual Ag Sales, receiving a gold rating, along with being an alternate for districts. Danica Isom competed in Creed Speaking, receiving a bronze rating. Ella Carico, Taylor Fronapfel, Zach Hayden, Evelyn Hummel and Abby Zaruba competed in Parliamentary Procedure, receiving a bronze rating and moving on to districts. Alexis Olson, Bridget White, Cora Fluharty, Jamie Fronapfel, Ella King, Emma Johnson and Reece David competed in Conduct of Meetings, receiving a bronze rating. Sawyer Simmons competed in Arc Welding, receiving a gold rating and advancing to districts. The three members who submitted quizzes also received placings. Abby Zaruba took the Chapter quiz, receiving a gold rating and placing fifth. Sam Hansen took the Discovery quiz, receiving a gold rating and placing first. Malia Jacobson also took the Discovery quiz, receiving a silver rating and placing ninth.
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: KAITLIN KENT
By Hailey Hellman, freshman, staff writer
Kaitlin Kent’s plans after high school are to attend the University of Iowa or Northern Iowa to major in criminology. She participates in soccer, basketball, FCA, NHS, student council and Panther Pride Service Club. Her biggest advice to underclassmen is to remember that freshman grades do matter. The most challenging part of high school for Kaitlin was trying to juggle classes and activities.
Kaitlin grew up at Lake Panorama. She loves to watch “Gilmore Girls,” play with her dog, hang out with her boyfriend, and jet skiing. Coach Boettcher has made the biggest impact on Kaitlin. After she graduates from high school, she wants to look back and be remembered as a passionate woman.
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: HANNAH HARDISTY
By Mason Halling, junior, staff writer
Hannah Hardisty plans to go to college for childhood education and then become a kindergarten or first-grade teacher. She grew up in Panora and is the founder of GSA. She has participated in IYC Theater and Art Club. Her favorite teacher is Mrs. Perez, and if she could describe her last four years in three words, she would say “could’ve been worse.” In her free time, she plays video games, draws, writes and makes jewelry. In 10 years, she sees herself living with friends, being a teacher and, hopefully, still drawing.
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BEING A POSITIVE INFLUENCE
By Baylyn Herring, sophomore
Sometimes in our day-to-day lives, finding something positive can be a difficult thing to do. We all have stressful days and bad days, but sometimes we forget that other people have bad days, too. Too often, we think not about how we affect others but only how they affect us.
In order to be a kind, caring and positive person, we need to be able to put ourselves in other people’s shoes when they have hurt us and pause for a second before we say something hurtful and think. We need to think about all the things we do not know about. We do not know if they just lost a loved one or a pet. We do not know if they have had a stressful day and just failed their math test, or if money is tight at home. Whether you think you know or not, the likelihood is that you probably do not know what another person is going through.
You could be self-absorbed and choose to ignore the fact that you are most likely hurting someone who is already hurting. (People do not act harshly for no reason.) On the other hand, you could be a bigger person and react with kindness or, at the very least, ignore their harsh words.
When being a kind person, sometimes we need to look around and not be so focused inwardly that we forget that we are all human. We all have good and bad days, and we need to remember to be kind and gracious to our fellow human beings.
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HABITS OF SUCCESS
By Jessy Randol, freshman, staff writer
Do you want to be successful in life? Most people would say yes. There are many different ways a person can be successful. Not all people have the same perspective of success. Success to one person may be getting a scholarship to college but, to another person, it may be getting food on the table for their family. The definition of success can vary from children all the way to adulthood.
Success is definitely a hot thought for teenagers looking into their own future. Teens know that the future is coming soon with increased difficulties, and they still want to be successful. Teens should learn to master some important skills in order to benefit them in their successful future.
The first skill one may need to obtain to be successful in high school is active listening. In order to learn anything in life, you need to learn from the wiser people who already have the knowledge. Active listening can be used with teachers, family, friends and coaches. There are a lot of things going on in high school that require learning a new skill. For example, in order to be successful in volleyball, you need to go to practice. People cannot just expect to be flawless the first time they do something. A person would need to listen to his or her coaches and other teammates to improve the ability to play the game successfully. Success does not come easy; it takes time and hard work.
Another skill that is needed to be successful in high school is communication. Communicating is such an important skill in life. A teenager may use this skill to ask a teacher for help, tell a coach you are hurt, or even telling your parents that you love them. High school students are not able to be absent without letting their own teachers know. If they don’t communicate with their teachers, they risk getting behind in work, which will perform negatively on the student.
Lastly, an important skill is time management. Time management is a huge skill for a teenager to obtain. Many teens are overloaded with things and don’t know how to manage everything properly. That causes them to break down. For example, young freshmen try to get involved in as many extracurricular activities as they can. They end up being in Student Council, FFA, NHS, volleyball, basketball, soccer, track, dance team and also have an outside job. All of these activities are on top of a packed schedule at school, which they have already spent eight hours at, with extra homework to do as well when they get home. This could go either really well for a teen or extremely bad. If teens do not know how to manage time wisely and efficiently, they could crash. Their grades could go down, lose positions and roles in their extracurriculars due to bad grades, lose a bond with friends or family, or even lose sleep. On the other hand, if teens know how to properly manage their time, this could be extremely beneficial. When students are applying to different colleges, this will help them out tremendously.
In conclusion, despite the different definitions of success, the skills of each one are the same. If they properly know how to listen, communicate and manage time, this will assist them in being successful. Gaining these skills will not only give teenagers success in high school but will also give them three important skills to bring to their adulthood.
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TEACHER FEATURE: MR. BRUCE DAHLHAUSER
By Miranda Laabs, sophomore, staff writer
Mr. Bruce Dahlhauser has been teaching at Panorama for seven years. His favorite part about teaching is that he continues to live out his passions. Another one of his favorite parts is that he can create a positive culture and build relationships with everyone in the district. Mr. Dahlhauser has been trusted with many positions, including running the strength and conditioning program through the school. His biggest drive for building up this program has been the positive impact of building strength within not just an individual, but as well as athletic departments and the community. Getting people to start, and stay consistent, has been one challenge for Mr. Dahlhauser. Building strength takes time and only happens if you are willing to put in effort and stay consistent.
When asked what his “ideal” day was, Mr. Dahlhauser had said starting the day with a workout and breakfast before the students come in to lift. Throughout the school day, it consists of tons of smiling faces and seeing kids who are excited about what they are doing. After the school day, Mr. Dahlhauser goes home to spend time with his family. One thing that Mr. Dahlhauser wished he could do more is spend time with other relatives. As a teacher and running extra programs through the school, he doesn’t get much time to see other family members.