Good Longhorn News

HHS staff and students returned from winter break this week to resume their classes for the spring semester. People had good breaks but for very different reasons.

Many traveled over the break, some locally but others to distant and exotic locations.

Sarah-Beth Davis, senior, spent the break in Arthur, Illinois. “I went to the light show. It was pretty fun.”

Spanish teacher Mr. Thompson also traveled, though a bit farther. “I spent the break at Disney World again,” he said, this being a yearly tradition for his family. His favorite attraction there was Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. “We love Mama Juju.” While the trip was fun, he isn’t sure if they’ll go next year or not, because they’re expecting their first son.

Fred Crockett, freshman, traveled to Wolf Creek Ski Resort in Colorado. “I went skiing.” he said about the trip. Brother Max Crockett, senior, also went skiing, but instead of skiing down the mountain, he decided to barrel roll.

Santa also made an appearance for many of the students and staff members.

For Christmas, Sarah-Beth, received “room decor and an Alma College pendant” that she loves.

Santa visited the home of Bridgette Plunkett, secretary and cheer coach. “He filled my stocking. It was a great surprise!”

Others used the break to plan their fresh start to the new year, making resolutions and deciding on strageties to reach their goals.

Ms. Bynum, FACS teacher, is planning to expand her spiritual side this year. “I’m going to take a bit of time every morning to sit in reflective silence before I do anything….5-10 minutes just focusing on what God is saying to me.”

Ms. Kleeman, ELA teahcer, doesn’t believe in New Year’s resolutions as they “set up for failure and guilt.” So instead she picks a word for the year. “My word for the year is balance. I want to work on bringing balance to all aspects of my life, socially, emotionally, and professionally.”

Tell us about YOUR break in the comments!

The Holcomb high school football team is preparing for their playoff game happening today, Nov. 7th, against Cheney. This will be the second time our Holcomb Longhorns face off against the Cheney Cardinals. The previous match up against the Cheney Cardinals resulted in a 15-13 victory for Holcomb. Players such as Holcomb’s Cooper Cranston (sophmore), Mathew Rosen (senior), Javid Corral (senior), and Cheney’s Nolan Durr (senior), Reece Toler (Senior), and Ayden Koenn (senior) promise for an interesting, intense game.

Expecting a tough game, the football team has been preparing in various ways. Trey Teeter, Head Coach, said, “We have been watching a lot of film and studying some of their tendencies. We have tried really hard to keep the same routine. We think we are doing some good things in the weight room to prepare our bodies for the demands of the game. Our kids have been working really hard all season and we have been super proud of them. Their efforts all winter and summer have been paying off.”

Preparation is important on a personal level too. Senior Luke Thyne, #6, has a simple routine to prepare himself. “I get a lot of sleep, drink a lot of water, eat some good food, and watch a lot of film.”

Similarly, junior Heagen Hartman, #11, said he likes to “listen to music, and pray to God.” Sometimes simplicity is key.

Now that we are in the intense rounds of the playoff season, there is always the risk of any game being the last. That would mean for the 8 seniors this season, they would say goodbye to something many of them have been putting time, effort, and love into for many years. Senior Brendan Deloach, #55, said, “I would be pretty sad knowing that’s the last time I get to play with the seniors and the rest of the team.”

The game means a lot to every member of the Holcomb Longhorn Football team. Small traditions for the team, such as November sunsets, Thursday night dinners a BWW, and pregame meals (often prepared by the parents) are all little traditions that unify the team. The game also means something to more people than just the football team. It’s an opportunity for the community to gather together.

However if the team wins today, this means we will play the winners of Rock Creek & Hesston. To clarify, if Rock Creek wins, we will travel to them for the game, but if Heston wins, we will get to host the game, giving the community a final chance to show their love and support for the Holcomb Longhorn Football team.

Have you ever opened the school lunch form and decided you aren’t going to eat lunch that day? I don’t know about you, but if there’s something on the google form that just doesn’t sound appetizing, I’ll wait to eat until I get home, hours later. Not eating causes students brain activity to wane which is why I propose open lunches.

Open lunches will promote student independence and responsibility. Having that option to have open lunch will mean that students will use gas money and use money for food at restaurants, this means they have to be responsible for how much money they use in a day. If they use it irresponsibility then they will have consequences, not only from financial struggles but also from their parents getting angry over their irresponsibility. It’s not the school’s job to hold the students hand every step they go, especially as they get closer to being out into the real world. 

Leaving school and going to get whatever food you want should be a reward. Seeing as freshmen are still not quite developed from their middle school years, and even some of the sophomores, I say that we should give juniors and seniors the opportunity to have open lunches. Here’s the catch: it’ll work the same way interventions do. If you are on the interventions list, then you don’t get to leave. This rule is a better reward for getting their grades up than just early release.

Open lunches would provide people the option to go get food if they don’t like the school food and ensure that they actually eat instead of starving themselves. According to Piedmont.org, when skipping a meal your blood sugar will decrease, which then can lead to disorientation and not allow the student to focus properly on school work. It also said that low blood sugar can cause people to feel grumpy, confused, and fatigued, which can lead to higher levels of stress. When skipping meals our body goes into survival mode and this can cause your body to crave food and nine times out of ten those foods are unhealthy and all attempts of eating healthy go out the window, which could cause obesity. As Haley Robinson, a Piedmont clinical dietitian, said, “When you are that hungry, anything goes.” 

While we don’t have time on traditional days, I argue that we have time for open lunches on hybrid days. During hybrid days students will be sitting in their homeroom for over an hour, most doing nothing but sitting there sleeping or just being bored. Now if students want even more time to go out and eat, then I think that during longhorn period if you check your grades with your seminar teacher and they give you a pass on having good enough grades, then you can leave during that fifth period for more time. 

Overall, I believe that having open lunches will help students want to get their grades up and it will ensure that they don’t starve themselves due to not liking the school food. On top of that it’ll teach them an important life skill of being responsible. If we trust students with the responsibility of their education, why can’t we trust them with the responsibility of their lunch?