The Black and Gold Volume 5 Issue 27 March 20th, 2026

Newspaper Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Michaela Copeland

Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Bella Beems

News Editor

Laci Burnett

Reporters

Katlyn Boydston

Grayson Moore

Photographers

Lauraly Lane

Josephine Long

Designers

Ashlynn Bowen

Gunner Delp

Guest Writer

Miley Phillips

See how each of the FFA teams have been doing during contest!p. 5

Celebrating St. Patrick’s

Explore the history and celebrations behind St Patrick’s Day - p. 6

How to: Get in a Fourth Quarter Mindset

Having trouble getting through the rest of the year? - p. 9

THE BLACK AND GOLD

MS Students Take on Solos

By: Josie Long

On Saturday, March 14, Middle School Band students performedsolostheyhadbeenworkingonforabout10weeks at Northwest Missouri State University. Mrs. King took 6 studentstoperformbeforejudges,notonlytoscorethem,but also to provide advice and techniques to work on. The students' scores ranged from 1 to 2, with a majority of them gettinga1

Eighth grader Jackson Wachtel has “taken a solo 2 years in a rownow I’mnotsuperreadytoperformonaHighSchoollevel nextyearasitsnerve-wracking,andthey[thejudges]arealot morestrictonhowtheyscore,butI’mstillgoingtotakeasolo”

Performingsolosinmiddleschoolisagreatwaytonotonlyget advice on what to work on, but it also gives you a chance to stepoutofyourcomfortzoneandprepareyourselffor–--CONTINUEDONPAGE6

High School Scholar Bowl Nears End Of Regular Season

By: Ashlynn Bowen

The High School Scholar Bowl team had two meets this week, one at home and one in South Nodaway They went 1-2 at both meets

On Tuesday, March 17th, the played West Nodaway, Mound City, and South Holt at DeKalb. The first round was against West Nodaway, and they lost 110-190, but they came back and won the second round against Mound City 180-170 They won the second round in a heated sudden-death overtime, which means whoever answered the question first and correctly won On the fourth question, Josie Long answered the question correctly and won the round for the whole team “It was very nerve racking going into the sudden death knowing it was a complete toss up of who was going to get the question. I was so happy when I got it right because we needed a win that night” said junior Josie Long.For their last match against South Holt, they sadly lost 110-190.

They played again on Thursday, March 19th, at South Nodaway against South Nodaway, Northeast Nodaway, and Stewartsville. The first round was against South Nodaway and they lost 90-280. The second round against Northeast Nodaway they also lost 120-140, but they turned it around for the third round against Stewartsville and won 140-120, bringing their current season record to 6-6.

Their next meet, and the last one before post-season play starts, is on March 24th at DeKalb, and they are competing against Union Star Start time is 4:30 if you would like to come out and support them!

What to Read

By: Laci Burnett

For the past two weeks, I have been getting into the book Push by Sapphire This is a heartbreaking novel about the reality of a young, black girl who is struggling through abuse from her mother and father, all while struggling with being pregnant at the age of 16.

Due to the mistreatment at home and her struggle to care enough in school, Precious Jones is in the eighth grade at age sixteen, illiterate, and struggles to stay out of trouble. When she ends up pregnant for the second time, she is kicked out and set to begin at an alternative school, Each One Teach One, giving her a second chance at life

This book talks about many very sensitive topics, and you shouldn’t read it until you have looked up the trigger warnings. While it talks about hard subjects, it is a courageous story, and it is magical to see Precious prosper when given a proper chance at life.

I recommend this to those who like stories in which they can empathize with the character and those who like stories that rip your heart out. I also recommend watching the movie version, called Precious, which helps you visualize her story. While I am only halfway through the book, I am already hooked and would rate what I have read four out of five stars.

What to Watch

By: Grayson Moore

If you are looking for a good movie to watch, I recommend watching SpiderMan (2002) Spider-Man was directed by Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.

It starts off with normal high schooler Peter Parker, who gets bullied and looked down on by everybody. He goes on a class trip to science corporation Oscorp Industries and gets bitten by a radioactive spider that escaped its cage and dropped undetected onto Peter After his transformation into Spider-Man, he has to learn how to use his new powers to stop the Green Goblin from terrorizing New York City.

This movie cost $139 million dollars to make and made $821 million dollars worldwide, with a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. If I had to rate this movie I would give it a 7.5 out of ten because the CGI wasn’t great, but that makes sense considering it was made almost 25 years ago, and the acting wasn’t always the best.

Don’t Miss This March March

By: Miley Phillips

Track Meet at Weston starting

Scholar Bowl Meet hosted at DeKalb, starting at 4:30

Baseball game against Tina-Avalon

FFA District Trap shooting

FFA Contest Season Continues

By: Katlyn Boydston

This week, the FFA Contest teams attended events on the 18th and 19th. The FFA Contest is a competitive activity that tests high school members’ skills in specific agricultural, business or leadership areas.

On Tuesday March 18th, the FFA Knowledge Team went to Cameron andqualified for State. Freshman Kaylee Chatman, who earned 4th place individually out of 121 contestants, said, “It went well, and we qualified for State ”

On Thursday March 19th, the Entomology, Forestry, Floriculture, Meats, Farm Management, and Soils went to Trenton. The Entomology team ranked 7 . Freshman Gage Hartman ranked 13 out of 216 contestants. He has achieved back-to-back high rankings by “studying a lot. I read and review everything Medsker has given us, like past tests and review sheets,” Gate adds th th

Senior Miley Phillips ranked 10 in Soils out of 110 contestants. In this contest category, competitors analyze soil for physical characteristics and suitability for various uses. “I love this Contest category becuase I get to spend time outside, and it’s literally a hands-on contest,” says Miley. “No matter how much dirt you get on you, it’s still a fun contest.” th

The next FFA Contest date is March 23, at Lathrop The Entomology, Floriculture, Nursery Landscape, Meats, Farm Management and FFA Knowledge teams will be attending.

Reflecting on St. Patrick’s Day

By: Lauraly Lane

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in honor of the Roman-British saint who brought Christianity to Ireland Saint Patricius was brought to Ireland originally from slavery at 16; he came back later as a missionary, and that’s why we celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. This originally started as a feast in Ireland and traveled over to America with Irish immigrants With Saint Patrick’s Day comes leprechauns; people normally call people with red hair leprechauns.

Senior Nate Bowen states, “I like all the attention. I don’t care If people call me a leprechaun. Please don’t ask me about my pot of gold ”

Saint Patrick’s Day in modern America is celebrated by wearing green, parades, and Irishthemed foods and drinks. Most parades near Kansas City happened on Snake Saturday, the weekend before Saint Patrick’s Day Snake Saturday has been going on since 1983

Middle School Band Solos: Continued From Page 1

harder critiquing judges on high school/college levels.

“I feel like it went well overall Everyone did well, including me,” says seventh grader Meredith Sawyer. “I had to wait about 2 hours, so as it got closer to my performance time, I was fearing I wasn’t going to do well, so when I got into the room, and it was packed, I got more nervous Even though I had my fears, I ended up with a 1 I will be taking a solo next year as I feel that taking a solo will help me with performing in front of bigger crowds and be more confident in what I do.”

Mrs King “felt they were all very prepared. I knew they were going to be nervous because most of them had not performed like that for a judge, but they all practiced well going into the festival. Keddie had only moved in 2 weeks prior to the festival, so she had less than 2 weeks to prepare, unlike the others I’m really proud of them for putting themselves out there, for being willing to play for a stranger, and in some cases, a room full of people they didn't know.”

High School Students will compete with District solos this evening at Central High School in Saint Joseph.

DIVA WEEK of the

Jaybree Alsbury

Reason: Her amazing art skills

Thomas Gunter Reason: His history knowledge

What to Listen to

By: Bella Beems

This week I want to recommend a 2010s favorite, Sleeping With Sirens. This posthardcore band has a perfect blend of pop-punk, alternative rock, and emo. The lead singer, Kellin Quinn’s, high-pitch tenor vocals sets this band apart from others and make it unique.

This band’s most popular song is If You Can’t Hang from their hit album Let’s Cheers to This (2011). My personal favorite song, A Trophy Father’s Trophy Son (2011), comes from this album as well. Another few personal recommendations/favorites are Better Off Dead from their album Madness (2015) and The Bomb Dot Com V2.0 from their With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear album (2010).

Sleeping With Sirens is still making music, with their newest single An Ending In Itself that came out this Thursday, March 19, 2026.

If you’re looking for something new and fun, maybe even different, at the same time, I beg of you to please check out Sleeping With Sirens!

What to Play

By: Gunner Delp

Hand-to-hand combat and stealth usually tend to do poorly together. However, in Assassin's Creed Syndicate, you have the option to do either.

In Assassin's Creed Syndicate, you play as two main antagonists by the names of Evie and Jacob Frye They are notoriously known as the Frye twins. Evie Frye prefers a stealthy approach, and Jacob Frye prefers an aggressive, combative style. Either way works depending on your gameplay preference.

The goal of the game is to take down a Templar order in the city of London during 1868 at the height of the Victorian era. The main protagonist of the story goes by the name of Crawford Starrick.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate was released on October 23rd, 2015, and retails at $29.99. However, it is usually on sale. Furthermore, it is available on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S, and PC.

How to: Get in a Fourth Quarter

Mindse

t

Staying on top of homework and assignments can be tiring and stressful, especially towards the end of the school year, because so many students are experiencing spring fever and/or burnout. Although coming up on the last quarter of the year can seem daunting, there are several ways to ensure you succeed, as long as you keep each of these steps in mind.

Get good sleep: It’s important to get between 8 and 10 hours of sleep, especially since we’re coming up to the end of the school year, where everything seems repetitive and tiring.

Get Organized: If you haven’t already, it might help to get folders or notebooks for each class and to clean your locker to feel more organized.

Set up a Study Space: Sometimes it’s easier to study when you have a designated place to study or do homework For most, it’s a clean, quiet, and secluded place where they can focus.

Shift to a Positive Mindset: It might be easier to get work done for the rest of the year if you maintain a positive mindset.

Get Help if Needed: If you have been struggling so far this year, try to be proactive this quarter about seeking additional help when needed If it helps, there are several ways to do this without paying for a tutor from an outside organization

Ask peers for help

Ask any available peers to join a study or accountability group

Ask teachers, staff, or any trusted adults for help

SENIORSPOTLIGHT

byMrs.Powell