By: A. Ellis
Al Sandahl, who is both a football coach and teacher at the high school, was recently inducted into the Louisiana College Hall of Fame for the feats he accomplished during his career in football. Sandahl is a graduate of and former football player for Louisiana College. Coach Sandahl has been travelling for many years following his coaching passion. During his career, he coached for high schools and colleges in Canada, Mississippi, Louisiana, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington,and Colorado. He enjoyed success at high schools in Louisiana, Texas, and Canada, and he also got to experience coaching college-level football for several division 1 schools. At the profession level, Sandahl had the honor of coaching tight ends and offensive line for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League. Sadahl was one of three athletes inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Saturday, October 29th.
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By: F. Harris
The football team had a great season overall with a record of 12 wins and 1 hard loss. They fought hard, refusing to give up, and their strive to grind for 5 made the team come together as one. This team has a lot of heart, and it showed throughout the season. “My favorite parts of this team were the fact that they had fun at practice and they truly cared for each other,” Coach Ford stated . Though the journey this year is over, the team has some unforgettable memories and has a special place in Coach Ford’s heart. “This is the first senior class that I was able to Coach here at EF since their freshmen year,” Coach Ford said, “So I will definitely miss the seniors.” Although he will miss the graduating seniors, Coach Ford has high hopes for the juniors next year. “Every football team is different.” Coach Ford remarked. “However, the seniors left a winning legacy, and I believe we have enough leadership in our junior class to continue the winning ways.” The 2016 football team will truly be missed and definitely not forgotten. Once a jacket always a jacket! “On behalf of our program I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement throughout this season!” Coach Ford said. By: K. Marcantel
A topic tackled in last month’s paper was an important issue involving self-love. It discussed the importance of self-worth and the self-esteem of people, especially young adults. While the writer hopes it encouraged you to find love for yourself, they feel the job isn’t done and will now talk about not why self-love is important but rather what you have in you that deserves to be loved, what the writer sees in you. About 20% of teens will experience a self-confidence issue before they reach adulthood. Some girls will starve themselves to look in the mirror and be happy or make mistakes with boys that they regret later. Some guys will do steroids to look like the men on TV or take up drinking and/or smoking. These are forms of cries for help because it seems impossible to find the love they seek from others in themselves. You don’t have to do that. You just need to remind yourself of everything that makes you special-that makes you… you. For one, you should love yourself for staying strong enough to make it to where you are now. It may not seem like it, and you may want to give up. But you haven’t, and because of that, you are here, reading this. Your cuts are battle scars; your bruises are signs of fighting life and surviving. Even when you thought you were done, you got back up, and you should love yourself for that. If you’ve never taken it far enough to harm yourself, that’s also something to be proud of. Everyone struggles. Everyone gets stressed, but you? You do the same and hopefully continue to smile. You are an inspiration, a fighter. Love your inner fighter, and you will win any battle you face. You are strong no matter what you think, and you have what it takes to conquer this seemingly impossible war against life. You are beautiful. Your size and a stupid number on a scale will never define you. You are the only one who defines you. If you have stretch marks, you are beautiful. If you have acne, you are beautiful. If you don’t look like that one girl in your school, you are beautiful. Even if you feel your physical beauty isn’t what you want, beauty is so much more than that. Your personality is breathtaking. You have so many good qualities within you, and they can all be enhanced if you love yourself. Rejoice in every flaw you feel you have because they are what make you beautiful. You are unique. Even when someone has the same likes as you, same hobbies, etc, you are still so special. You have a purpose. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here right now. Take this beautiful, complex life you were given and do what makes YOU happy. No one else is like you, and no one ever will be whether they look like you, act like you, share interests, or anything. You are not just art… you are a masterpiece made for everyone to enjoy. If people don’t enjoy who you are, then you don’t need them. The only person you need to worry about liking you is you. If you love yourself, if you see what a wonderful mess you are and how much better you will be if you just say one thing you like about yourself every day, you will find yourself and without any doubt, be happy with the masterpiece you are. You deserve happiness, and you can have it if you realize your purpose and worth. If this can’t motivate you to love yourself, prepare for another piece over this topic next month. This writer will stop at nothing to help you realize your strength, beauty, and value. So, let’s review. You have the strength to make it through this life, and you should love your inner fighter. You may not see it, but you’re beautiful. Even at your lowest point, you mean something and have purpose. The masterpiece, the fighter, the beautiful, that’s you. Life is tough, darling… but so are you. By: K. Marcantel
October was bully awareness month, and the middle school students, with the help of their teachers, worked hard to spread the word about the importance of this awareness. The week after spirit week, middle school students wore orange to stand for not bullying, and many of the students worked on projects to help get to word about bullying out. “Kaitlin Strutton made a slide about what bullying is and the consequences of bullying,” 8th grade English teacher Mrs. Wilson said. Some students had other ways of standing against bullying. “6th graders did quotes from celebrities over non-bullying during the announcements,” 6th grade reading teacher Mrs. Abercrombie said. The middle school students learned the definition of bullying so they would be able to spot it and know when to get help. “Bullying is unbalanced power and continuous,” Mrs. Abercrombie said. “The definition of bullying is on the school website.” All in all, the middle school shed light on the situation of bullying, and students loved it. By: M. Fitzgerald
Christmas is a wonderful, beautiful time of the year, filled with memories and family traditions. Many people look forward to the day they can wake up opening gifts, watching Christmas movies, eating food, and spending time with family. Sometimes, people don’t see family members that live far off, so visiting with these distant family members at Christmas time can be exciting. “I’m looking forward to seeing my family from up North and down South,” junior Cheyenne Arnold said. Different traditions are what makes Christmas the most magical day of the year. “My favorite family tradition is us putting up the Christmas tree a day after Thanksgiving,” freshman Abby Penn said. Christmas has different meanings to different people. “Christmas to me is a time for seeing my family I hardly see,” junior Alex Chester said. Christman is a wonderful time of the year filled with joy and laughter. Families coming together and different foods, traditions, and memories make Christmas one of the most magical times of the year. By: A. Simmons
The High School November Students of the Month are Kaitlyn White and Cameron Caudle. Sophomore Kaitlyn White is the daughter of Jeff White. Kaitlyn is involved in softball, cheer, and cross country. Kaitlyn’s favorite class is theatre. Outside of school, Kaitlyn likes to hang out with Chesley Swilley and learn to hunt. In the future, Kaitlyn wants to become a news broadcaster. Sophomore Cameron Caudle is the son of Wes and Ashley Caudle. Cameron is involved in football, hunting, and FFA (Future Farmers of America). Cameron’s favorite class is chemistry. Outside of school, Cameron likes to praise the Lord, hunt, and fish (in that order). Cameron plans to go to college but is undecided about which college he will attend. By: A. Simmons
On Friday, November 18th the student council went to the American Airlines Center for a leadership meeting and to watch the Dallas Mavericks play the Memphis Grizzlies. Everyone was really excited for the trip, especially Junior Briana Bowlinger. “ I’m excited because we went to a MAVERICKS GAME”, she said enthusiastically. It was more than just the trip that made Junior Annabelle Ellis want to join the student council. “ I wanted to join because I wanted to help the community and serve a purpose. I also wanted to hang out with Mrs. Ware.” Annabelle said. The inspiration for the trip quickly became a tradition, according to Mrs. Ware. “ Someone sent a flier to me, we went to it, everyone loved it, so we just kept going”, Mrs. Ware said. Some of the student council’s future plans include taking snacks to police officers, and a “needed goods” drive for the homeless. By: B. Ebarb
Getting the English teachers to check your essays, having Mrs. Woodley help you fill out applications, and making Coach Parker double checking your high school transcript to make sure you will graduate are all things you will find the EFHS graduating class of 2017 doing in the months before May 26th. While some are not sure which college they will be attending, or what they plan on doing with their lives, some of the seniors have everything planned out perfectly. Football star Dylan Parker plans to attend Stephen F. Austin on a football scholarship and pursue a career in the medical field. “I am excited to have the opportunity to play the sport I love (football) for 4 more years,” Dylan said. Parker is not the only senior who plans on attending Stephen F. Austin after graduation. Senior Caleb McCracken also plans to attend Stephen F. Austin to major in PreMed. “Getting the chance to experience a town that I have not lived in my entire life [is what I am most excited about],” Caleb said. Not every senior plans to break away from home so fast. “I think my biggest challenge will be meeting new people”, senior Christy Braden said. “At the same time, I am excited to have the chance to experience a new atmosphere.” Christy plans on attending East Texas Baptist University to major in nursing and minor in religion. With this degree, she wants to become a Global Missionary Nurse. With all the chaos, disaster, tears, and mental and physical breakdowns that comes with getting ready for college, the outcome from all the hard work is well worth the effort. By A. Ellis
Focusing on his breathing, Chris Morris fought against the stitch in his side to finish the three mile race.. The state meet is what cross country runners work toward all year, and he smiled as he crossed through finish line, friends and family cheering him on from the sidelines. Junior Chris Morris competed in 8 cross-country meets this season and placed 2nd at the district meet. This was Chris’ first year to qualify for the state meet which was held in Austin on Saturday, November 12th. He completed the race in the top ⅓ percent, placing 55th out of 153. “After throwing up 4 times, it felt wonderful to run in the state meet,” Chris said. “Like a wise man once said, ‘Bones heal. Chicks dig scars. Pain is temporary. Glory is forever.”’ Chris had tons of motivation and support throughout the season. “I run for Mrs. Jaymie Hammontree,” Chris said. “I also run to make the former distance runners Dylan Manshack, Hunter Hammontree, and Hunter Morgan proud. They inspire me. My coach has also really pushed me through the season.” Chris’s cross-country coach, Coach Delafuente, better known as “Coach D,” aimed to guide Chris and the other gifted runners to victory during the season. “He’s the type to test his limits and push himself,” Coach D said. “I’m very proud of not only his success but the whole team’s.” Chris has pushed through months of tough practices and rough competition to get to the state meet. The Elysian Fields community is proud of his hard work and success this season, and everyone is looking forward to seeing what he and the cross country team do next year. By: H. Whitehead
On November 4, the newspaper staff took a trip to Northwestern for Journalism Day, also known as J-Day! Six students went on this trip with journalism teacher Mrs.Amanda Ware. Out of those six students, three students won awards for competing in competitions. Those three students in different competitions including Radio, News Writing and Current Events. Overall, the EFHS Newspaper won third in the competition for best Newspaper. “I placed third in News Writing,” Sophomore Haley Horton said. “ It was terrifying, but after i did it, it was a lot of fun. I was very surprised when I was called for 3rd place. The best part of the day was the car ride and the stories.” The newspaper staff has some pretty awesome students.Some may say the staff is like a family. Everyone in class has fun laughing and making jokes, but of course, above all, they enjoy writing. “I got second in the Radio competition,” junior Annebelle Ellis said. “ I was nervous; I hate my voice when it’s played back to me. I was very surprised and shocked when they called my name. I didn't expect to do very well because I heard the others before me, and they did very well I thought. Regardless, it was a pleasant surprise. The best part of the day was the Mcdonalds hashbrown I had for breakfast, and of course, winning 2nd place.” You never know what you're going to see or hear while writing articles. This was the theme of the day, and the speakers at J Day had plenty of interesting stories and good advice for the students. The competitions were an interesting experience as well. “I got second in Current Events,” Junior Annabeth Simmons said. “I felt shocked and then really excited. My favorite part was getting the opportunity to look into writing a lot more and meeting new people.” The staff is extremely proud of their accomplishments from J-Day, and they look forward to returning to NSU for future journalism experiences. |
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October 2022
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