The Black and Gold Volume 5 Issue 35 May 15th, 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

Senior/Preschool Walk Through

Look at all the fun the preschoolers had with seniors before they graduate! - p. 6

Moony’s Coffee

Long lines are always a good sign at DeKalb! Find out just how much DeKalb loves caffine! -p. 11

District Track Results

See how many kids placed at Districts this weekend! - p. 13

THE BLACK AND GOLD

Records Broken For Baseball

By: Gunner Delp

The DeKalb Tigers received news of some outstanding record breakers and All-Conference titles amongst our Baseball team, including Freshman Easton Matthews and Junior Cooper Wachtel

Junior Cooper Wachtel broke the record for all-time strikeouts in a single season, with a total of 67 Easton Matthews broke the school record for the most stolen bases in a season, coming out to 26 “I require a lot of strategy when I’m on tghe basae pads I try to pick uip sequencdes that the pitcher might have, or ikf they have a slow start I feel like that really puts me ahead when catchers try to throw me out or pitchers try to pick me off,” says Easton

Breaking records was not the only good thing to happen to these players

These amazing, hardworking players were also chosen for Team 2 of the All-Conference! Easton feels that “I based on how the season went, it was very deserving, and I’m just thankful for being given the chance to be in the top 30% of our Conference My goal for next year is to rack up more stolen bases and work on getting less walks and more strikeouts”

The team only played one game this week, at home against Pattonsburg “I didn’t play my best game, but overall,” says Easton, “but it really prepared us for Districts” While the result was a 1-12 loss, the Tigers will be back on the diamond on Monday for the start of District play at Braymer

2026MiddleSchool Dance

“My favorite part was dancing with all my friends” said seventh grader Jayse Jones.

“My favorite part was getting to dance with all my friends ” said eighth grader Keddie Rogers.

“My favorite part was getting to eat all the yummy food” said seventh grader Emmie Kirsehner.

“My favorite part of the dance was probably getting to take pictures with my boyfriend” said seventh grader Avalee Servaes.

What to Watch

By: Josie Long

Though I'm not big on shows and would rather watch movies, a mini-series that caught my attention and had me staying up all night to watch when it came out in 2024 is Baby Reindeer

Baby Reindeer follows the story of Donny Dunn (played by comedian Richard Gadd) and his journey to becoming a comedian. Before comedy, though, Donny works at a pub in London to which he mistakenly offers eventual super stalker Martha a cup of tea on the house

Martha’s stalking begins to progress to obsession through the series, with Martha sending over 41,000 emails and showing up not only at Donny's workplace and house, but also at his comedy shows Her obsessive behaviors begin to make Donny relive his dark traumas of the past

This show is based on true events that Richard Gadd went through himself, which adds to the eerie vibe this psychological thriller already gives off Netflix is the only current streaming platform that this show is on, so I recommend that if you get the chance, you should most definitely watch Baby Reindeer.

What to Listen To

By: Grayson Moore

If you are looking for something new or just something in general to listen to, I recommend listening to Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra was born in December of 1915 in New Jersey and released his first album The Voice of Frank Sinatra. He went on to release 59 solo studio albums before his death at 82 in May of 1998

Frank Sinatra’s highest selling album is Duets which was released in 1993 and sold almost 4 million copies.

He also had a decently successful career as an actor, featuring in 65 total films and winning a Golden Globe and an Academy Award The most notable movie that he has been in is From Here To Eternity, which has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.6/10 on IMDb.

If I had to rate his music, I would give it an 8 3/10 I haven’t seen any of his movies but the reviews on some of them aren’t too bad.

By: Miley Phillips

DIVA of the WEEK

Mrs. Miller

Reason- She is powering through losing 2 seniors in newspaper

Kyleigh Black

Reason- She is a strong queen

Seniors' Favorite Parts of the Preschool Walk Through

“GettingtowalkwithSamanthabecause I’vebeen workingwithherforthe past fewmonthsonherletters”-PresliPunzo

By: Miley Phillips

“Getting to walk through where we began” -

“Getting all the high fives and seeing the preschool excited to move up.”

-Ava Donaldson

SeniorWills

By:MichaelaCopeland

We, the graduating class of 2026, residing in Dekalb, Buchanan County, Missouri, being of somewhat sound mind and memory, do hereby make, publish, and declare this to be our last High School Will and Testament.

Nate Bowen

“I leave my laziness to Ivan Bowen.”

Braylee Brown

“I leave Joslynne Bailey the ability to annoy Mrs. Garvey.”

Rylie Burdette

“I leave RyTy Reviews to KK Reviews.”

Michaela Copeland

“I leave my passion towards people and music to my band kiddos, and my work ethic and energy to newspaper.”

Landon Crockett

“I leave an Alarm Clock to Thomas Gunter.”

Ava Donaldson

“I leave my love of tanning to Kyleigh and Kylee.”

Grace Downing

“I will Alivia Hall the ability to get in trouble for talking in class.”

Kyle Funk

“I‘m giving my height to J.P.”

Daniel Griffin

“I will my love of video games to Samuel Geoffroy.”

Ryder Hawk

“I am leaving my pliers to Sam Geoffroy.”

Grayson Moore

“Leave it all to the cats.”

Blake Norton

“I will my track speed to Aiden Bramble.”

Kenzie Pflugradt

“I will Kaiden Myers to Cooper Wachtel.”

Klhoe Pflugradt

“I will my ability to never being here [at school] to Kylee Dexter.”

Miley Phillips

“I will my wife Josephine to Cole Kovac, and being class mom to Ashlynn Bowen.”

Presli Punzo

“I will my fun, non-alchoholic drink addiction to Kelsey Chatman.”

Ceci Sherlock

“I’m leaving my snacks to whoever ‘Remembers that one time.’”

Faith Willliams

“I will my love of Taylor Swift to Lauraly Lane.”

The National Honor Society Enthusiastically Welcomes New Members

By: Laci Burnett

On Tuesday, May 12th, the National Honor Society inducted seven sophomores and one junior These students, chosen by staff and NHS leaders, thoroughly exhibit the four most important pillars of this program: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character.

The National Honor Society, founded by Dr. Edward Rynearson, has been around since 1921 and has been an ongoing program to highlight high school students’ outstanding work and dedication To be accepted into the National Honor Society, students must first have a 3 0 GPA or higher, have a letter of recommendation from two of their teachers, and write an essay on which of the four pillars of NHS they most thoroughly exemplify. Once the student meets these recommendations, leaders of the National Honor Society gather and decide who will be granted membership.

Sophomores Alivia Hall, Brinkley Frakes, Laci Burnett, Kale Cassity, Shaylee Phillips, Lillian Wagner, and Syra Servaes were inducted into NHS on Tuesday night, alongside Junior Kyleigh Black After pledging to uphold the National Honor Society’s expectations, they received a membership confirmation paper They signed their names in the record book of all past NHS members, which they found dated back to 1990.

Overall, the leader of the National Honor Society, Mrs. Horr, believes that “it went great. …everybody looked nice, we were able to honor all of the inductees, we had some yummy cupcakes, and everybody had a part in [the ceremony] ” It was a very successful induction overall, and couldn’t have gone better

Between the new and old members, the National Honor Society will thrive this coming year and do amazing things!

What to Play

By: Lauraly Lane

If you’re looking for a game to play with your friends or family, then I recommend Sorry! This game is for ages 6 and up. This game has four pawns per player,

In this game, there can be from two to four players who are racing to get all of their figures to their home. This game is a very competitive game with players being able to bump others players back to their start. The pawns can slide and jump on the board

This game was a highlight of my childhood, playing with my family and having a lot of fun. This game has been around since 1934 and is still a hit with children around the world! In Sorry! You have cards that you can take other player’s pawns

I rate this game four out of five stars because it can be infuriating, but it’s also a great memory I have of winning. This game is available at your local department store

What to Read

By: Gunner Delp

I have always been a huge fan of books that are funny, joyful, and adventurous A series among these categories is the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series follows the actionpacked life of the main character, Greg Heffley, along with his wild family and his best friend, Rowley

This book really captures my attention because it always has something happening. Whether that be Greg in a ball pit with a diaper, or him and his brother, Rodrick, going to a gas station for some hot dogs and to prank people

There are many books in this series, with there being a total of 20 books, all ranging with a different variety of events in each one. I have not been caught up on them as of recently. However, my favorite one that I have read so far has been Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

I highly recommend taking a gander at many of the great books that Jeff Kinney has graciously blessed us with.

Moony’s Coffee Truck Visits DeKalb

By: Mrs. Miller

On Thursday, May 14 , Moony’s Coffee Truck showed up before school to give students a special treat in the form of caffeine. Moony’s, co-owned by Maggie Johnson and De Kalb alum Liz Genereaux, offered their signature drinks for purchase, including Dirty Alanis, Eclipse and Startdust Lattes, and much more.

I personally ordered a sugar free Moonlight Mocha, and it was delicous Junior Ashlynn Bowen opted for a Sprite with coconut and vanilla “It was really good I liked it because I don’t like coffee I would definitely go to their shop in St Joseph ”

Junior Bella Beems and Sophomore Laci Burnett ordered the Eclipse Latte, with salted maple syrup and vanilla coldfoam, and they loved it as well. “It was very yummy and provided a great start to my day,” says Laci

The event went so well that the truck ran out of supplies and had to make a return trip on Friday morning

y: Bella Beems Qualify for Sectionals

On Saturday, May 9, DeKalb Track and Field had their District meet at Worth County. This meet determined who goes on to Track Sectionals, then possibly State. “Our District is very tough. I felt like all of our athletes competed at their highest potential,” says Coach Rumpf

Their were six athletes who qualified to move on to Sectionals. Sophomore Brinkley Frakes will be going on for Pole Vault after getting 1st place at Districts. “It feels really good to pave the way for possible future Pole Vaulters,” says Brinkley, our first Pole Vaulter ever.

Sophomore Alivia Hall is moving on with the mile after getting 3rd place with a time of 6:06.16 Senior Blake Norton is moving forward in the 800 meter for his 3rd place time of 2:06.87.

The 4x400 relay team, including Blake Norton, Sophomore Easton Matthews, Senior Landon Crockett, and Junior Kaiden Myers after placing fourth with a time of 3:47.52.

But not only is Easton Matthews moving on to Sectionals for relays, he is also going on for the 200 meter and 400 meter. He placed second with a time of 23:55 in the 200 meter and placed fourth in the 400 with a time of 53:15. “It’s been very different since I’m a freshman and its a whole new experience, but I’m glad I get to go down and compete against great competition.” says Easton Matthews.

“It’s going to be an exciting weekend,” Coach Rumpf says, with high hopes for Sectionals Saturday, May 16, at Mound City.

Seniors Enjoy La

By: Katlyn Bo

On Tuesday, May 12th, the Seniors went on Senior Trip to Top Golf and Urban Air in Kansas Missouri

Miley Phillips said, “I thought it was a blast ” She that her class got to be together and got to hang make some memories, and have good laughs b they all graduate.

Her favorite part was that it was a lot of fun; she th she really enjoyed Urban Air, but she also really playing Angry Birds at Top Golf.

“I thought it was fun,” says Landon Crockett.

This year's senior class will be missed, but ha lasting memories to think of once they all part w like a senior trip, is always a good way to end thei year of High School.

Band has Their Final Grand Concert of the Year

By: Laci Burnett

Photo Credit: Britany King

On Thursday, May 14th, the DeKalb Middle/High School Band had its final concert of the 2025-2026 school year They ended this year with a grand performance of 6 songs, and performed wonderfully overall

For their final performance, they performed multiple songs: Into the Storm by Robert Smith, Air for Band by Frank Erickson, and Pirates of the Caribbean arranged by Michael Brown. They also played two of their songs they performed for their contest on March 6th, which are March Phantasma by Randall Standridge and Celtic Air and Dance arranged by Michael Sweeney To end the concert, the band played Byzantine Dances by Carol Chambers alongside the young sixth graders While this was a challenge, Mrs King says that they usually “perform four pieces for [the] spring concert, [and] the band really liked both of our concert pieces and [she] wanted the sixth graders to come in and play one of the pieces.” This predicament led the band to take on all six songs, yet Mrs. King believes “the concert went very well.”

In between each song, to give players a chance to catch their breath, Mrs King announced awards that the band members received, as well as those who took solos She gave special recognition to Cole Kovac, who played in the Four State Honor Band, as well as Miley Phillips, who went to State to play her solo and received a silver medal. Alongside these accomplished students, members of the band voted on middle and high school students who, in the last year, have been the most improved and have had outstanding musicianship, alongside a couple of other awards. For the most improved, middle schoolers Laura Buchanan and Freeman Davis, as well as high schoolers Josie Long and Aidon Standiford, won after their intense dedication throughout the year For their outstanding musicianship, middle schooler Hunter Hughes and high schooler Cole Kovac were recognized

This was an amazing end to the students' year, and they still have so much room to grow!

SENIORSPOTLIGHT

byMrs.Powell

DearDekalb,

I joined newspaper my Junior year because my friends were all joining, and it seemed like a fun and easy class to take just to earn my credits. Of course it was a fun time, I always left newspaper in a better mood than I walked in.

I took an immediate liking to making the paper the best I could make it, and I took on more work than I probably should have, but I’m so glad I did, because that made me want to apply to be Editor- In -Chief whenever Helaina graduated.

This year has definitely had a change in staff, but I am so proud of the team and little community we’ve created this year. I love my newspaper crew just as much as I love my band kiddos (this isn’t about you guys so don’t get your hopes up). I hope that the next crew will love our school newspaper just as much as I do, and I hope you put in the hard work to make it thrive and grow.

I wish the best of luck to the next Editors, and I hope they know I will always be willing to help if needed. Most of all I will miss the chaos of our 7 hour, everything from crying and being stressed, to Mrs. Miller giving us the look because we’re laughing too loud.

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And of course, thank you Mrs. Miller for keeping us on track and giving us new perspectives and fresh ideas to keep the paper fun and appealing to the eye. I am so glad I have been able to participate in this class, and I hope your next newspaper group has the same perspective.

MichaelaCopeland