By : K. Trost & K. Haigh
A booming bass drum, a trumpet solo, and 47 students’ hearts filled with anticipation and excitement as they play through their beautiful pieces of music for three judges. The Jacket Pride Band has worked all year to perfect three pieces of music titled “Peacemaker,” “Black Forest Overture,” and “Joy” for their competition that was held on March 6 in Gladewater. The competition is scored 1-4, 1 being perfect. The band received straight 2s in sight-reading and on stage. The band director, Jeremy Hendrix, believes the band tried but could have pushed themselves harder. “I think we prepared well, but issues developed somewhere along while we were prepping, and things went south from there,” Hendrix said. “We could’ve done better. I don’t know if it was because we weren't ready or if student’s nerves got to them.” Some try to think on the positive side and hope for the best next year. “It wasn’t our greatest performance,” junior Beau Creech said. “Twos aren’t a terrible score. They’re actually excellent on paper. If we had a few more days of hard work and some students paying more attention, it would really pay off.” The band will continue to work hard and hopefully get straight ones next year.
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By : C. Barras
Students from the Elysian Fields High School Band tried out to become the drum major for the 2019-2020 school year. After all the hard work and effort put into the practices and try-outs, one student became the drum major. Sophomore Heather Auvil will be the drum major for the band her junior year. With support and several practices she achieved her goal of becoming drum major. “I feel pretty excited,” Heather Auvil said. “And I’m definitely ready!” The band director, Jeremy Hendrix, brought in three judges that were independent from Elysian Fields. They had different things that they looked for in each person. “They interview, judge, and rank each candidate,” Hendrix said. “Based on leadership fundamentals, marching fundamentals, and interview responses.” Heather expects a lot of challenges but is ready for the experience that she is going to get next year. She also plans to continue to work hard to get better and better by next school year. “I’m planning on working hard for the whole band,” Heather said. “I’m ready to be the leader of a great, hard working band.” By : B. Copeland
The Elysian Fields Theatre Department displayed scenes from “The Cover of Life” recently at the District One Act Play Competition on Saturday, March 9. “The Cover of Life” is set in Sterlington, Louisiana in 1943. The play about how three brothers, Tommy, Jerry Don, and Johnny Cliffert, enlisted to three different branches of the military on the same day, and their wives, Tood, Weetsie, and Sybil moved into the boys’ mother, Aunt Ola’s, home. While living with the mom, the main character, Tood, finally realizes who she is, steps out of her comfort zone, and explores what women aren’t supposed to do in her time when she is interviewed by Life magazine reporter, Kate Miller. Senior Chesley Swilley played Tood, senior MaKenna Lewis played Sybil, junior Abby Penn played Weetsie, junior Karli Spain played Kate Miller, junior Mary Grace Roos played Aunt Ola, junior Beau Creech played Tommy, and junior Amanda Gardner played Addie Mae McGough (another reporter). “The play was well thought out,” sophomore Kiki Haigh said. “The girls did their part well. It was an emotional rollercoaster.” At the competition, the One Act Play group watched different schools act out their chosen plays. “The other schools were amazing as well,” Kiki said. Our theatre department was one place away from alternate. The actor, actresses, crew, and directors were disappointed to see their journey end. “We were in a new district this year that unfortunately is incredibly competitive,” theatre director Krystal Woodley said. “Advancing is not our measuring stick for success. My students put forth the best performance possible, but the subjective nature of the competition is what it is.” By: C. Cooper, K. King
On Wednesday, March 27, FFA headed to SFA for a livestock judging competition. On Monday, April 1, FFA will attend the district judging competition. This is the first competition for many kids in FFA. For some, such as junior Mattie Garrett, this was the first time ever competing with FFA. “I’m nervous to see how I do at this competition,” Mattie said. “I’ve worked very hard to do good.” For some, the first competition is very thrilling. “I love this time of year,” ag teacher Ashley Harris said. “I know the team is going to do good.” For others, the first competition is bittersweet. “I’m excited to see how the team does,” senior Kayla Butenschoen said. “I’m also very sad since it’s my last year.” The teams excelled in the contest. The horse judging team achieved 4th out of 95 teams. By: K. Marcantel
The March students of the month are sophomores Preston Lovaasen and Jessica Guilhas. Jessica is the 16-year-old daughter of Ross and Jeanne Guilhas. The young athlete is a proud member of both the junior varsity volleyball team and the varsity softball team. She is also a participant in U.I.L. mathematics, which is her favorite class. Off campus, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family. Jessica has high hopes to become a pediatric neurologist in the future. Preston is the 16-year-old son of Ronald and Martha Lovaasen. Preston’s talents range from the academics to the athletics as he is involved in CX debate, extemporary speaking and also powerlifting. While he has eight classes to attend every day, he says that forensic science is his favorite. When Preston is outside of school, he likes to play video games and shoot guns. Once he graduates, Preston plans on attending Texas A&M University to obtain a degree in engineering. By: M. Clark
Whack! The ball went into play and was caught. Outs took place, but ultimately, the girls took a loss of 2-4. On March 12, the varsity softball girls played against Ore City. They worked together, played as a team, and got a couple of runs. “We worked hard and as a team, but had a few mess ups,” junior Morgan Durrett said. “They shouldn’t have beaten us.” Even though there were some mess ups, there is also practice. Getting more practice time leads to improvements. “I feel as a whole we should have adjusted at the plate earlier in the game,” Kayla Evans stated. Mistakes are allowed. What matters the most is whether or not the players are enjoying themselves and having a great time working as a team. “I enjoy the bond I share with my teammates and that we refuse to give up,” senior Shayla Mathews said. It’s not only about the girls enjoying themselves though, because the coaches are what the girls depend on. There would be no team without the coaches. “I enjoy getting to be a part of the girls’ lives and teach them hopefully not just about softball, but life lessons,” Coach Lexi Commander stated. By: J. Collins
Tennis had two tournaments this month, and all the players did well at both. On March 8, there was a tennis tournament in Hughes Springs. On March 15, there was a duel with Harleton at home. The players played well, won some games and ended up bringing some medals home. “We played some really good teams at the Hughes Springs tournament,” sophomore Kyndal King said. “It was good competition and practice.” At the Hughes Springs tournament, junior Daniel Shelton won first place in boys singles, and junior Hailey Alaniz won first place in consolation bracket for girls’ singles. “I played four matches and beat everyone 8-0,” Daniel said. “I got first place and played good. It felt good to win my first tournament of the year.” At the dual meet on March 15, everyone that played did well and had a bunch of fun. It wasn’t a true tournament, but it was good practice. “It was fun,” Kyndal said. “It also helped us practice for district.” All the tennis players did well, played their very best and learned at both the meets. By: K. Holt
It’s the season to put on the running shoes and get on the field and on the track. Track season began last month, and there are many running events such as sprinting, middle distance, long distance, hurdles and relays. There are also jumping events such as long jump, high jump and triple jump. Throwing events include discus, shot put, javelin and hammer throw. Our high school currently has students in each of these events. The team has several goals for the new season. “[Our goal is] to get personal records,” track coach Kenderson Cooks said. The coaches also set goal for their athletes as the season progresses. “[Our goal is] to be able to do something they weren’t able to do last week,” Cooks said. Cooks is excited about how far they’ve come but knows there is still room for improvement. “[They are performing] pretty good, but [they] still have work to do.” Cooks said. The district track meet is set for April 11 and 12. By: M. Durrett
The season is heating up as the baseball boys head to bi-district. They know the little things they need to fix in order to achieve their goal. The boys have many obstacles that they face as individuals and as a team. “We have a young team so our major obstacle was facing maturity,” senior Damion Mcglothlin said. They set goals as any team would do. “A goal for me this season is for our team to grow as a family,” junior Justice Gooch said. The team as a whole needs certain things to work on in order to become stronger. “We need to work on staying engaged in the game,” senior Cole Ellis said. With the season almost over they have the chance to become better and stronger. “Our season so far has been fun, and I have a great feeling that we will just get better from where we are right now,” Justice said. With the love and support of the Elysian Fields community the boys will only become stronger and more set to success. By: T. Ford
This year on the powerlifting team, there is only one senior. Senior Chandler Bush has many thoughts when reflecting on journey of doing what he loves. Chandler has been in powerlifting since his sophomore year, though he has been around powerlifting since 2011. He has been getting better and better each year. His last competition ever was on Saturday, February 8. “I always have new goals and new records that I try to break, but my next personal goal that I want to push myself to achieve is to make it to the Military Nationals in the United States of America Powerlifting League next year,” Chandler said. Pushing through the pain is hard, but Chandler always finds a way to get things done. “One of the only ways to really push through the pain is to remember that life is full of pain and you’re going to deal with it your whole life, so you might as well get used to it,” Chandler said. Every power lifter has different ways of getting warmed up. “I always prepare by listening to music while stretching or doing some warm-up weights,” Chandler said. Powerlifting is very important to many people, and they always have their different reasons. “It always feels great to hit a new personal record,” Chandler said. “That’s really why we lift: to make ourselves better.” Most seniors would be sad they are leaving, but Chandler is feeling just a little different as he looks forward to starting his military career. “It feels great!” Chandler said. “Only 63 days until I leave. I’m counting down every minute.” |
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