Homecoming Dress Up Days 2010

By:Desiree Harr

Sparta Spartans show more spirit in homecoming 2010 dress up days in the school district than in the past four years. The people go all out in dressing up or don't dress up at all. The seniors and juniors did the best with the dress up the the juniors just barely won the whole competition.

Monday the Sparta Spartans started with professional sports day then led to western day, nerd day, decades day, then finally spirit day. Professional Sports day started off the homecoming week great and had everyone getting pumped for the big homecoming game. Tuesday was the Western Day, people would just keep going into the school with all their flannels on.

Wednesday Sparta pulled their pants up, fixed their glasses, and stumbled in for nerd day. Kristina Stuntebeck, a senior at Sparta High School said, "I like nerd day the best because you get to look like a fool for fun and no one can really judge you on it.".

Sparta traveled back in time to show off the styles from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. From greasers to preps the styles were groovy on that Thursday. A junior, Paul VanTassel, said,"Decades is probably the best day because the juniors have the 80's and so it's easier to dress up and it's always fun. It's also fun to see how everyone in that decade dresses to see if they dress alike or even people from other decades to see if they have any clue of what went on in that decade. Everyone also always loves Spartan Spirit day though because it gets everyone pumped up for the big game.".All the Spartan spirit came out on the Friday of the Homecoming Game!

For the overall dress up competition the juniors won just by a few points. Seniors were in seconds place with a close score to the juniors. The sophomores did better than they ever have but still didn't quite make it there and freshman were in last place. The years coming up will hopefully keep the tradition going and keep going all out.

Seasons Sneezes

Ah, autumn. It's a season of colorful leaves, chilly weather, pumpkins, school and, of course, the flu. Depending on the strain, flu season can last anywhere from a couple of months to all year. The H1-N1 virus is a good example of how a flu season can be year-round. While the initial scare has for the most part gone away, the "swine flu" has become an, for the most part, accepted piece of life.

This fall has seen plenty of students out with various illnesses or going home early due to them. Schools, being a routinely used public area, stand a chance of having far more germs floating around than one's home.

"The library probably has more germs than any other place in the school," says Mrs. Reid, one of the librarians in the Sparta High library. "We have around 200 students coming through the library a day, and that's just study halls."

"Another good place for catching illnesses is in the choir and band rooms," says Kelsey Thurston.

No one really knows why the cases of illness seem to spike during the colder months. Perhaps it stems from the fact that, due to the colder, and harsher, weather, people tend to stay in more confined areas. Confined areas tend to become "breeding grounds" for all sorts of oh-so-fun colds and the like, which makes people far more likely to contract a cold in the winter than in the summer.

According to Mrs. Dawn Schmidt, one of the secretaries in the office, it isn't uncommon to have two pages of students calling in sick. (One page is equal to eleven students.)

"Three of the more common strains we see are walking pneumonia, sore throats, and the flu," says Mrs. Swafford. "They're pretty normal, though."

Students are constantly reminded to wash their hands in order to curb the spread of germs. Regular hand washing along with the (sometimes quite liberal) use of hand sanitizers such as Germ-X and Purell have become automatic parts of day-to-day life. The result is a much healthier student body.

Along with proper sanitation, students can slow the spread of germs by coughing into either a tissue or the crook of their elbow. Using Kleenex when you sneeze, or applying hand sanitizer if no tissue could be found in time, is also a good way to slow down the spread of colds and other viruses.

As students begin to integrate more proper sanitation into their daily routines, the number of illnesses contracted during the school year decreases.

"This is the first Monday were we haven't had two complete pages of students who called in sick," Mrs. Dawn Schmidt said on October 11.

With proper sanitation, autumn can be a season of football games instead of head colds. Though illness may always creep up here and there, the risks of being sick as often are drastically reduced. After all, being sick is no fun--especially when there's make up work to be done!

Grad Groups

By: Cody Degner
Principal Sam Russ is now starting the crack down on skipping grad group during to 2010 school year on at Sparta High School. According to Russ, "There is a school wide crack down on skipping any class, prefect attendance is the goal."

The school is now cracking down on skipping any class including grad group. "Grad group is also to help students do better in their classes," explained Russ. The more students skip the more severe the consequences will be. Russ said, "Call me Mr. Nice Guy," for not cracking down on this issue until now.

"The purpose of grad group is to build a community," according to Russ.

Students that think that grad group is a waste of time usually go out to eat. "The reason students skip grad group is to go get breakfast," according to senior Steven Becker.

There are some grad groups that go above and beyond what is desired for students in grad group. Some classes go do stuff for the community while others just use it as a study hall. "Grad groups are a waste of time and should be optional," reported Becker.

2010 Halloween Costumes!

By: Kayla Kelsey

With Halloween right around the corner, Sparta High School Students try to think of a fun and creative costume to wear on the night of October 31, 2010.

Kids of all ages can dress up for Halloween, but this doesn't mean that everyone does. Some people grow out of the occasion or don't find it fun and there are others who don't celebrate Halloween to begin with.

Jacinda Pfaff, a sophomore at Sparta High School, said, "Yes, I am dressing up because my friends are making me." She continues, "We dress up every year and compete with each other for the best costume and this year I'm going to be a whoopee cushion!" Jacinda thinks that she will never be too old for Halloween. Unlike Jacinda, Bill Ott, a Social Studies teacher at Sparta High, is not dressing up this year. "My wife and I have no Halloween parties to go to this year, but we are taking our kids trick-or-treating." He continued, "My two boys are dressing up as Batman and Superman this year."

Robin Reed, Sparta High School's Librarian, is one of the many who do not dress up for Halloween like Ott. Her reason for not celebrating Halloween is a little different than Ott's though. "I don't celebrate Halloween because it's a religious holiday and I'm a Jehovah Witness," states Reed.

Some people don't dress up for Halloween because they don't have a party to go to, it's against their religion, and some just grow out of the season. "No, I'm not dressing up for Halloween because I don't want to," said Zach Denton, a Freshman at Sparta High. He stopped dressing up in middle school. "The last year I dressed up was in 7th grade," states Denton.

For the people who dress up, they get put into two categories of good and bad costumes. Everyone has their own opinions on what makes a good or bad costume. Not only are there many costumes to choose from, but there are also lots of accessories to add.

"The best costume to me is one that shows character," said Pfaff. She continues to tell what a bad costume consists of. "I don't like costumes that don't have any effort put into making it." Ott echoes this statement by saying, "A good Halloween costume has to have originality."

"I don't really care about the originality of the costume. A good costume is one that has blood, guts, and a lot of black," states Denton.

With the wide variety of costumes to choose from, Halloween has started to get the reputation of being inappropriate. "It is but it isn't," said Pfaff. She continues, "Lately, some of the Halloween costumes are a little revealing." Ott and Denton disagree with the statement, "No, Halloween is not inappropriate from what I have seen."

Along with the stress of having to have a unique costume, the prices of the costumes you make or buy definitely come into consideration. Pfaff goes on to talk about what she feels is an appropriate amount to spend on a costume. "I would spend anywhere from $20 to $60 on a costume, but no more than that because it's only for one night." Pfaff is excited about this year's Halloween and can't wait to see the different costumes.

Figure Skaters go to Green Bay

By: Maddie Munger

On October 2nd 2010, three figure skaters in the 7 Rivers Figure Skating Club from the Sparta/Tomah area went to the Upper Great Lakes Regional's Figure Skating Competition.

These girls didn't know what to expect when they set foot into the ice arena. Girls and boys from Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin all went to Green Bay to be one step closer to their dream of competing in the Olympics.

The competition levels range from pre-juvenile to senior skill levels. Each skater performs a routine that includes jumps with one-and-a-half revolutions to quads (4 revolutions). Andrea Pieper, a juvenile skater from Sparta said, "I was really nervous at first but I went out there and did my best to show the judges what I can do." She continued, "I liked watching my other competitors and seeing what they did to spice up their routines."

Figure skaters only have one chance to make sure their routine is perfect. They get one try to land their jumps, complete the spins and make sure they don't fall. Shawna Fortuna, an intermediate skater from Sparta stated, "My favorite part of the competition was watching the high level skaters like the novice, the juniors and the seniors." She continued, "Watching them do doubles and triples is amazing."

Shawna Fortuna, Maddie Munger, and Andrea Pieper trained threw out the summer and three times a week at the Sparta ice arena after school.Their coaches pushed them to succeed and they certainly did. All the girls can't wait to go back next year.

Raccoon Hunting

By: Kala Lindley

The 2010 Wisconsin Raccoon Hunting season will be getting under way shortly, starting October 16th. Raccoon hunting is an old sport that began to evolve during the turn of the 20th Century. Hunting with hounds involves training dogs to hunt for and tree raccoon. Raccoon hunting usually involves coonhounds, which are among the most numerous and popular registered breed in the US today. There are six breeds of coonhounds which include: Redbone, English, Black and Tan, Treeing Walker, Bluetick, and Plott. When asked what breed he enjoys hunting with the most, Spike Lindley, an avid coon hunter, stated, "I enjoy hunting all breeds of coonhounds, but prefer Black and Tans for their top tracking ability and also Walkers for their speed on track as well as their looks."

The night begins by determining where you want to hunt. Once you have established this, release the hounds! The dog(s) will then search for a raccoon, by using its nose to find a scent trail. Once this occurs, the hound(s) will open (bark). He/she will then follow the trail until it comes to an end, which will usually be in a tree. Next, the dog(s) will locate, which is a distinctive change over bark that informs the hunter(s) that a raccoon is possibly treed. The dog(s) will then start barking in another distinctive tone usually a chop or short bark that tells the hunter(s) the raccoon is treed. "Every dog has his or her own distinctive bark, so it can be very challenging to describe to you what a locate and tree bark sounds like," suggests Lindley. Since you only hunt raccoon at night, there are many different things that people enjoy about this nocturnal sport. “My favorite part of the night is anytime the hounds get a good track going, and the anticipation of finding a raccoon up in the tree!” adds Lindley.

During season, hunters are allowed to harvest their quarry. The raccoon are then skinned, and their hides are kept to be sold at a later date. Although hide prices have drastically decreased in comparison to previous years, a lot of people hunt because they enjoy the sport, and want to keep their coonhounds in top condition. Some people also enjoy eating raccoon meat. “Hunters realize that if the raccoon population is not kept in check, the population will get out of control and disease will spread adversely, affecting the population,” offered Lindley.

There are many animal rights activist groups who feel raccoon hunters are not valuable members of society. Animal rights activist members feel hunters only kill to kill, without putting in consideration that raccoons are pests. Many people don’t realize raccoon populations are at their greatest now, especially since fur prices have dramatically decreased. Since raccoon have no natural enemies, they have been able to reproduce at a steady pace. “The main reasons that the raccoon population has increased so quickly is because of low fur prices, high gas prices (hunters don’t go as far to hunt or as often) and availability of food,” explains Lindley.

In summary, raccoon hunting is a very exciting and enjoyable hobby. Many people have spent thousands of dollars for a single coonhound. “One of the best I ever hunted with was a ten dollar cross breed that I trained myself!” stated Lindley. It allows hunter(s) and their hound(s) to work together. Raccoon hunting is a time honored tradition that has been practiced by some families for generations! Raccoon hunting is a unique and challenging sport that tests a hunter(s) endurance and fortitude. Oh and by the way, you better not be afraid of the dark!

Military Options for SHS Students

For many kids at Sparta High School military options after school are a big concern. There will now be many military recruiters coming in to talk to students about their options that they have in the military.

It doesn't matter what branch of the military students decide they want to hop into, there will be many benefits either way. Cody Degner recently made a big decision in his life, and decided to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. "The civilian turn around for my job is what I'm looking forward to the most," said Degner. Being in the military can also help you to succeed in college after high school, "I'll get college credits for going through basic training, and for going through Marine Corp Infantry School" said Degner.

Even if you are not an upperclassman, start talking to recruiters and your guidance counselors now to see what your options are. "Start young, and become physically and mentally tough," was Degners' advice to younger kids.