Operation Cool Makes an Impact

By JT Schneider & Grant Ross

On Wednesday May 5^th, over 10,000 students from 18 schools in Dewitt, McLean, and Livingston counties attended the Operation Cool Grand Finale held at Normal Community West High School.  Forty of those students were from Olympia.  Operation Cool students are asked to sign contracts that state they will: wear seat belts, not drive under the influence, and not text or use cell phones while driving.

Since Tri-County Operation Cool began in 1997, there have been more than 100 confirmed traffic crashes where serious injury was avoided because of seat belt use by a teenage driver. The program year ends with the grand finale where one student wins a new Mitsubishi vehicle.  Additional prizes are also given out with items like cash, laptops, TV’s, and gift cards.

This year’s Operation Cool finale was hosted by 101.5 WBNQ’s Susan Saunders. It also had some key speakers with compelling stories that heavily impacted the student crowd.

Not only did Olympia students compete for prizes, one of the lucky students was selected to have a chance to win a car. Junior Emily Humphrey from OHS was chosen to go up on stage and received a 1 in 19 chance at winning a brand new Mitsubishi.

There were also lots of other prizes given out to students such as Grant Ross who won a $20 Casey’s gift card and JT Schneider who received $15 gift card to McDonalds.  Senior Wyatt Crump said, “I am happy to take home what I won from Operation Cool, and I now know more about safety.”  Crump won a Bluetooth speaker.

Emily Humphrey received $100 on top of her chance to get a new car. Emily Humphrey said, “Although I didn’t win the car I’m happy,  I was selected for the opportunity to go.”

Students at the assembly had many emotions though out the night, staying quiet to hear the guest speakers and also cheering loud for their schoolmates. Although not everyone walked away with a prize, everyone did get to hear what the speakers had to say.

Memorial Garden Honors Fallen USMC Pilot

 

By Austin Bruner, OHS Torch Reporter

Recently, Olympia High School has planted a memorial garden in the front of the high school for fallen USMC pilot Reid Nannen , an Olympia graduate from Hopedale, Illinois.

On March 1, 2014, Major Reid Nannen died in an F/A-18C Hornet training accident while flying over Nevada.  Nannen was a member of Olympia High School graduating class of 2000. He was a member of the elite eight baseball teams in 1999 and 2000.  Nannen was also captain of the Olympia swim team, drum line section leader, editor of the school newspaper and an Illinois State Scholar.  He graduated from the University of Illinois in 2004, then attended Naval Aviation training and received his Wings of Gold in 2007.  He served in Afghanistan twice from 2010-2012.  At the time of the accident, Major Nannen was training at TOPGUN Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nev.  He was married to Sarah Simpson Nannen and was the father of four children. His parents were Dale P. and Mary Ann Hays Nannen.

A memorial fund established in Nannen’s name funded  the garden. The garden includes many colorful blooming flowers and a memorial rock engraved with a Spartan head and the words, “Major Reid Nannen Memorial Garden.”   The garden and stone will stand as a reminder to OHS students of a brave man who actively and determinedly  pursued and achieved his dream career while leading an exemplary life.

 

 

 

OHS Algebra Classes Build Bridges

By Haley Staub, OHS Torch reporter

When one thinks of math class, they usually picture sitting in a classroom staring at a whiteboard and solving algebraic problems, but not many would think of building a bridge.

Using only thin strips of basswood and wood glue, the Algebra II classes at Olympia High School are building small bridges. The objects must hold a minimum of 10 pounds on them, which they will be testing Monday.

The assignment started with learning how to build bridges. The students researched what bridges normally look like and how to build a prototype.

Then they went to the drawing board and made blueprints of what their bridges would look like. Next, in small groups, the students built their bridges. Finally, the classes tested their bridges.

There was a challenge to this assignment though. The students had to add a right triangle in their bridges, so they had to use the Pythagorean Theorem, a math concept the class studied in depth.

It's a different take on an algebra project, and the students enjoyed it a lot. "I like this kind of thing," said Freshman Janelle Birky.

"It’s better because we're not just sitting in class.  We're being interactive," said Freshman Kristen Shuette.

OHS math teachers Mrs. Bowers and Mrs. Deal had their classes create these magnificent objects. “I think it’s good for students to learn hands-on activities,” said Deal. “The collaboration and just getting out of the classroom and down to the shop is a really good experience for them.”

There are a lot of Olympia students that are very creative and like to design, both mentally and physically. This project is a good opportunity for young students to learn more about math and how it impacts careers and everyday life.

CO2 cars come bursting through Olympia

by Logan Hawker, OHS Torch Reporter

            OHS Energy and Transportation class built small wooden CO2 cars which raced each other for the crown in a two day tournament on Friday, May 8^th and Sunday May 11^th.

            Olympia’s Energy and Trans. class, taught by Mrs. Justus, built model wooden CO2 cars to compete in a tournament. The cars were all very different and had to meet certain specifications.

            Some of the specifications included body length, axel distance, car height and distance from the bottom of the car to the bottom of the wheels. Only one car did not meet the specifications, but it was allowed to race anyway.

            The students were allowed to paint the cars however they wanted as long as they were school appropriate. The students painted their cars in a variety of different shapes and colors. “I painted my car like the Joker. It was purple and green with red letters that said HAHAHA and Why So Serious?,” said senior Rayvin Kassabaum.

            On race day, the track was set up in the gym. The start and finish lines were 35 feet apart from each other. Padding was placed at the end of the finish line to make sure none of the cars got damaged. A sting ran along the track that the two racing cars would be hooked onto to make sure they went straight.

            The tournament started out with a lot of the underclassmen pitting their cars against each other while four seniors had a bye to the second round. Some races where close while others were at a big disadvantage.

            After many races the semi-finals consisted of Seniors Tyler Bruner, Nick Wilson and Bryson Gottschalk, and Junior Andrew Renfrow. Bruner and Renfrow had a pretty close race with Bruner taking the win. Nick’s car did well but was no match for Bryson’s.

            The finals were a very close race and in the end Byson’s car took the victory and was crowned champion. “I’m very proud of my car and I knew it was going to win because it was the lightest. “

Breakfast of Champions Honors Students for Positive Actions

 

By Austin Beachy, OHS Torch Reporter

 
On Monday, May 4th, Olympia High School held its annual Breakfast of Champions to honor those students who have stuck out from the pack this year. The Breakfast of Champions is a time when “Students are honored for doing something positive for Olympia High School,” said OHS Dean Mr. Hurley.

 The awards can be for a variety of things--for excelling in athletics, for showing improvement in the classroom, for helping out others or for just being polite in the hallways. Most awards are not for classroom excellence, but they can be. Mr. Hurley emphasized that behavior and politeness are key to receiving these awards.

 The cafeteria staff kindly put on a breakfast at 7:00 and the awards started at 7:30. Each teacher shared their nominated champion and why that person was nominated.

 
This is Mr. Hurley’s 9th year at Olympia High School and he has participated in the event every year. He plans on keeping it alive in the future as well.  OHS secretary Mrs. Schmidgall said, “The Breakfast of Champions is a great way to recognize students in all areas. The student I nominated had tears in her eyes when she received the award.  It was very touching.”

Teachers presenting awards were: Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Meisner, Mr. Hurley, Principal Jodlowski, Mrs. Schroeder, Mr. Brigham, Mrs. Stephan, Mr. Haak, Mrs. Steve, Ms. Lies, Mr. Hieronymus, Mr. Cleary, Mrs. Schmidgall, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Gaither, Mr. Hewitt, Mr. Stine, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Castleman, Mrs. Braskich, and Mrs. Justuce.

 Students receiving awards were: Xian Graden, Dylan Huffington, Logan Schuerman, Kevin DeBord, Brad King, Delia Kerr-Dennhardt, Chris Hancock, Cheyanne Park, Lexi Danner, Hunter Rigg, Destiny Ballenger, Grace Curtis, Ellie Schmidgall, Bryce Rinkenberger, Emma Wendland, Will McGhee, Lucas Salvator, Zaily Graber, Rayvin Kassabaum, Josh Behm, Reid Brown, Zach Toft, Blake Enos, Laura Rankin, William Pratt, and Brittany Ice.

 OHS business teacher Mrs. Schroeder said, “The Breakfast of Champions in beneficial and it’s good to give others recognition.”  Congratulations to all the award recipients!

Strike Out Cancer Awareness Plans for Future Games

 By OHS Torch Reporters, Hannah Smith & Blade Mathews

On Wednesday, May 13^th, the OHS softball team had their final home game against Normal Community, featuring their highlighter pink colored shirts to support breast cancer awareness.

In previous years, the Lady Spartans had this game with Dee-Mack high school. Last year, both teams played on Dee-Mack’s home field and supported one of their fans who had been affected by breast cancer, a woman named Tammy.

Originally, the “Strike out Cancer” game was created by Laughing Dog Graphics owner, Kenny Williams. With Dee-Mack taking over recently, we had different names for the t-shirts. Such as, “Swinging for a Cure”, and “We love Tammy” the past 2 years.

This year, the Dee-Mack tradition stopped due to t-shirt conflicts. Instead, the softball team played them for their senior day/Oly Fire recognition day. The OHS softball team worked with Laughing Dog this year to squeeze in the tradition of having a pink-out game.

OHS Varsity Softball coach, Al Canopy, said he plans to organize better next year. He wishes to get more involvement for Laughing Dog, due to the successful new uniforms the company created for the Lady Spartans this year along with warm ups for the team and sweatshirts/t-shirts available for purchase for the fans/parents of the girls.

Coach Canopy said he wishes to involve a couple teams for a round robin tournament next year, featuring “Strike out Cancer” t-shirts. Another goal would be to get the baseball team involved, by having them wear the shirts and support the cause as well.

The baseball team hasn’t ever had a breast cancer awareness game. It would be a great addition, considering more money would be raised through the purchase of the t-shirts (which, money is donated toward the cause).

A goal for the future would be to get all of Olympia sporting events to have a “pink” represented game on the same day. Spring sports include baseball, softball, track, and girls’ soccer. If each could work to organize a home game on the same day/work out the t-shirts with fans and players, OHS could be painted pink for the cure.

 

Olympia High School Student Council Attended the Cenois District Workshop

By Tyler DeVault, OHS Torch Reporter

Members of the Olympia High School student council attended the Cenois District Workshop last Friday, April 10^th, with three other local high schools where they participated in team building activities.

“The purpose of the trip was for students to gain leadership skills, and network with other student council and to elect the new Cenois District of Student Council board,” said OHS Science Teacher and Student Council Co-Advisor Brandi Cooper.

At the conference, students participated in team building activities. The purpose of these activities is for students to get to know each other and think about leadership on the Student Council.

“I thought that they brought the four schools together to work together as a team” said senior Julia Griffith.

While on the trip, the students heard a guest speaker Congressman Andy Manar, from the 48^th district. Congressman Manar talked about the legislative process and answered questions the students had about the state legislator.

Besides hearing Manar speak, they also participated in a business meeting to make decisions about the Cenois District. Also, they elected the new Cenois District of Student Councils board.

“Students said they had fun and they liked networking with other student councils,” said Cooper. Other members would agree with this statement.

This trip was a positive experience for everyone and they look forward to next year.