Will There Be A State Project This Year

By Evan Wiedemann

Throughout the school there has been a rumor spreading around that there might not be a state project in the year 2009 for World Geography class. If in fact if this rumor is true then things will be different for the freshmen class of 2013.

When Mark Bullen, World Geography teacher of Sparta High School, was asked will there any state projects this year he replied, "I don't know".

With an answer like that it is hard dismiss that there might be no state project this year. The state project can benefit students more than what people think.

Bullen thinks the project is a benefit for students stating ,"The state project can benefit students by enhancing research skills, understanding different states and their culture, their awareness, and terminology".

When Kyle Burkhalter, freshman class of 2013, was asked do you want to do a state project he reacted by saying,"Yes, because this project sounds interesting and I would like to learn more about other states".

When Bullen was asked what do you expect from students when they work on the state project, he answered,"I expect the best from the students with good quality work".

When Nate Todd-Cullen, a Sparta high school senior, was asked how would you feel if there won't be a state project this year he said,"I want there to be a state project this year because I had to do it and it wouldn't be fair if they didn't have to do the state project".

The decision to have a state project or not will more than likely be decided within the next couple of weeks. If there won't be a state project this year it could affect the class of 2013. The questions are rising of what will happen if there isn't a state project this year, or will there be a different project instead of the state. Questions such as these are sitting around and waiting to be answered.

Dress Code

By Crystal Achterkirch
In Sparta High in Wisconsin a dress code rule has been getting students mad. The rule in the student tracker states that you can't show your bare shoulders.

At Sparta Highschool 2 years ago the the school board made a rule saying you can't show your bare shoulders in the school.

Summer Matthison a 12th grader at Sparta high said, "It's not fair that girls can't show their shoulders but they can wear very short skirts." In our assignment notebook it says , "Immodest Clothing: this includes midriffs, halter tops, tube tops, skirts and shorts that are consider too short".

Misty Brandau, another senior at Sparta High School had this to say, "Why do we have the shoulder rule ? It is so dumb" In the assignment notebook however, it states that the shoulders should be covered".

The students still don't like the dress code. And there's really nothing that we can do about the rule.But if we don't follow rules we end up in trouble. So we should just go with the rule and graduate.

Going for the Win

By: Kimberly Becker

SPARTA, WI-- The SHS boys varsity soccer team are going for another win. The 2007 MVC champions wait for the conference and the tournament to arrive.

Every one seems to want to bring home a win. Assistant coach, Ed Hoskin says, " We are hoping for a conference title in the tournament this year."

Many students think they have a great chance at winning. Haylie Veith , junior at SHS said, " The team will probably win a lot of the games in the tournament." She also says, " They are doing very well and are very talented."

The team has many people that believe they have what it takes to do whatever they need to do to win. Bill Tourdot, activities director says ,"The team is very talented and if they pull the team together they can go far."

The turn outs for the team have been high. Many boys have came back for another year on the field and many have joined for the first time. Tourdot says ,"There are a lot of boys this year, it is a big team."

Cheer on your team at their next game on Tuesday October 6 or Thursday October 8

New Addition To The English Department

By Kristin Piotrowski

With the new school year, we wander the halls looking for familiar faces, instead we find strangers. In the English hallway there have been more changes then anywhere else at Sparta High, old teachers and the new ones. Katherine Keeney is one of the replacements and she is taking the place of Anna Peterson.

Keeney came from Aquinas High school after a year of teaching there. The classes that she teaches English 10 Literature, English 10 Composition, Freshman Literature, and Great Novels. "I think that my favorite class to teach would the the literature classes," stated Keeney. When asked what her hobbies and other things were, she did not seem to be in the least bit unwilling to tell. She said that she lives in La Crosse with her husband and two children, one is a 22 month old girl and her step daughter, 11. She loves photography, watching movies, reading, and being outside. Her favorite book is The Color Purple by Alice Walker and her favorite movie is The Usual Suspects. A little bit more about Keeney is that she has two dogs and is expecting another child in January. When she was asked which school she liked better, Aquinas or Sparta, she was hesitant to answer then said "I think I like Sparta better, I don't want to bash Aquinas, but they are different."

Emilia Johnson, a student in Keeney 's 8th hour Great Novels class, stated, "She is really nice, she tries to work with the students and be as nice as possible." Afterwards she told me that "She interacts well with the students."

But, what happened to Anna Peterson? Peterson is still within the school district but is now doing what she always wanted to do, Dale Stafslien stated. He later said, "We all move on, but I'm happy for her." Stafslien was also the one who explained what Peterson was now doing, along with Sam Russ. They both said that she was the reading specialist and worked with every school in the district so they will still see her. The reading specialist involves helping teachers teach students. She goes and finds the best books and recommends them to the teachers. Everyone I asked said that she was a good teacher and will miss her.

Drivers Ed Class Cut-What Do Students Do Now?

As of the 2009-2010 school year, Sparta High School doesn't have a drivers education class. In the years before, the class was taught by Larry Severson. The class gave students the opportunity to get their drivers permit through the school, along with half a credit.

What happened to this class? According to principal Sam Russ, "The class was cut due to budget considerations."

So what do students do now? In order to get their permits, students will have to seek classes elsewhere. A popular choice is Zimmerman's driving school in Onalaska. Other options include FC Stair School of Driving in La Crosse, and Brian's School of driving in Tomah.

So how do students feel about the change? when asked for his opinion on the subject, sophomore John Lauritzen said, "I'll either go to a driving school or go to Tomah."

Fellow sophomore David Roberts had a similar answer. "I enrolled in Zimmermans," he said.

Roberts, when asked on how he felt about the class being cut, replied, "I wish we still had it. I wouldn't have to pay $300."

According to Russ, to his knowledge, "a very small amount of people have made it clear that they are upset that the class is gone." He also added that "a lot of students already sought other programs outside of the school."

As for whether the class will come back, Russ said, "That's a board decision, and I can't speak for the board."

Assemblies during Homecoming

By CJ Anderson

Homecoming week came and went at Sparta High September 13-19 and along with that came the daily assemblies. The topics of the assemblies varied day to day, with events such as homecoming court and Rueball, to class competitions and the Variety Show winners. When asked how the assemblies went, senior Haley Austin said, "They were very energetic. More than the other schools i've been at"

The Variety Show had something for everybody with guitar pieces, comedy skits, and of course, singing.

The homecoming court assembly is the assembly in which the King and Queen, once all of the votes are counted up, are crowned in front of the whole student body. This year, the King and Queen were John Fendt and Abbey Davis. Other members of the homecoming court included Cade Arentz, Jimmy Goodman, Matt Boris, Macauley Smith, Bryant Meyer, Tori Progger, Shannon Lamb, Whitney Wohlhaffer, Jessica Johnson, and Katrina Gilbertson.

A new assembly this year was the clubs and organizations assembly. For this assembly, the teachers in charge of the clubs gave a speech on what there club is and what they do. The clubs range from FBLA and DECA to International club and Earth club.

This year, all of the classes performed a skit. The freshmen had a "Cheer off skit", the sophomores had a "Twilight" themed skit, the seniors had a talk-show like skit, and the juniors didn't have a skit this year. When asked about the skits, Austin said, "The senior skit was the best." Senior Bryan Ulmen also said, "Senior skit, easily"

Also, there were games each day. From ships and sailors to the all sports relay. When asked if she participated in any of the games, Austin said "I participated in pass the spirit bracelet," and one of her favorites was ship and sailor.