By: Lucy Roth

Austin Moeckli, a junior at New Haven High School, has recently been named the Missouri River Relief Student of the Year for 2016.

Austin describes, “In order to be named this award, I had to get involved with their activities, and show my hard work, passion, character, interest, and learning ability in these activities.”

Missouri River Relief, or MRR, is a non-for-profit organization that hosts river clean-ups for all Missouri rivers, river education events, and stewardship activities. Their administration is primarily made up of volunteers committed to protecting and preserving the state’s rivers. MRR hosted a Missouri River clean-up in New Haven in April 2016, where a total of 7.2 tons of trash were removed from the floodplain.

Austin comments about MRR with, “I first heard about Missouri River Relief a couple of years ago, but it was just this last summer that I participated in their events. I’ve participated with them in Missouri River clean-ups, the Missouri River Academy, canoe trips, and a few of their education programs. I do plan to participate in more MRR events. What I like most about the organization is that we are always outside exploring new things and trying to keep our planet and everything in it at its best.”

Moeckli is involved in basketball, track & field, cross country, NRCE at Earth’s Classroom, his church youth group, and a few more environmental groups. He enjoys hunting, fishing, exploring, and watching movies. He has one older sister, Julie, along with a few half siblings. He likes to read books by Mark Twain, and his favorite movie is Bambi. His favorite subject is science, and his least favorite is math. Austin has won perfect attendance and sports awards. He works for Gleeson’s Landscaping where he mows lawns, shovels snow, and does other handyman jobs. His biggest goals are to complete high school, be as involved as he can, go to college, earn money, beat the Discus record, and get his name out to people.

“After high school, I want to be a wildlife biologist. This job would let me explore the world, examine and help plants and animals, conserve the Earth, and learn even more about the world around me. All of these things I love and am interested in,” Austin comments. “I’m most proud of how I’ve built myself up into the person I want to be. I’m also proud that so many people tell me how unique and awesome I am. People usually describe me as hard-working, mature, and intelligent.”

“I may seem like a rock, but once you really get to know me, you will see how caring, passionate, and funny I can be. I’m like an onion. There are many layers to who I am.”
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Congratulations, Austin, on the award! New Haven High is very proud of you.

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By: Jake Wilson

Wellsville just could not stop Lauren Gerlemann as she led New Haven to a 49-27 home victory last Friday, January 20th. Gerlemann has had a good season thus far, averaging 14.8 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game.  

Gerlemann led the way in scoring with 16 points and 10 rebounds.  Fellow junior Emily Scheer followed with 15 points, and Emma Engelbrecht with 11.  

Commenting on the game, Coach Doug Peirick stated, “We were not very focused to start off.  As the game got going we finally settled in, got a little better at what we needed to do, and we were able to pull it out.”

Gerlemann also commented, “I felt we played pretty good considering that we had already played 3 games that week. We were all pretty tired, but we still had things going for us and we were able to pull it off.”

The Shamrocks’ record currently stands at 13 wins and 5 losses.  After the conclusion of the Hermann tournament this week, they will play Monday at home against Chamois.  

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By: Ethan Groner

​Last Friday, January 20th, the New Haven Shamrocks played the Wellsville Tigers at home and lost 71-54. The Rocks made a late comeback at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd quarter, but foul trouble and free throws kept the Tigers at an edge. However, New Haven outscored them in the 2nd-- 23-22.

Senior Justin Shockley and junior John Fleer led the Shamrocks in scoring with 15 points a piece. Shockley also had an assist, a steal, and 9 rebounds-- a game-high. Sophomore Ethan Groner came off the bench for 9 points and 2 assists, while hitting the Rocks’ only three-pointer of the night.

Sophomore Martin Lewis led in assists with 7, while also scoring 4 points. Junior Abe Madden also contributed with 4 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.

Junior Abe Madden quoted a famous Will Ferrell comedy by commenting, “If you ain’t first, you're last. Right now we’re not playing like we’re first.”
    
Senior Zack Vedder also stated, “We played a hard-fought game. However, they got too many open looks at the three-point line and in the end, it killed us. We’re better than this.”

Team manager Andrew Rolfing also quoted, “I’ve seen our boys pick up really good wins. We just need to get into our head that we can do so every night and we’ll be just fine.”

The Shamrocks began tournament play at the Hermann Middle School on Tuesday, January 24th. They had a rematch against the Montgomery County Wildcats and lost 82-56. In the next round, they lost a heartbreaker to the Wright City Wildcats 47-44. It was a one-point game, but the Wildcats hit a shot at the buzzer. The Rocks will now play Saturday against the St. Louis Blue Knights for 7th Place.

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By: Diana Ribera

Katie Ann Borcherding teaches many classes in the New Haven High School, such as 7-12 Art, Graphic Design, Multimedia, Intro to Art, Middle School Art, TV/ Studio, Communication Arts, Drawing/ Painting, Yearbook, and Sculpture/Pottery. She’s the adviser for Student Council and manages the Shamrock Garden.

This year, Mrs. Borcherding has worked with her students and the community to create Santa at the Caboose and a new mural for the Visitor’s Center. She also chairs in Prom and the Balloon Race parade.

Mrs. Borcherding is one out of four children. She has two sisters-- Amy, who is five years older than her, and Emily, who is one year younger than her-- and her brother John is three years younger.  

Mrs. Borcherding explained her college and studies by saying, “I graduated from Stephens College in Columbia, MO, in May 2004 with a BFA in Fashion Design and Product Development.  I studied abroad two semesters during college.  Once in London at London College of Fashion (I studied Millinery, Corsetry, and frames, meaning bustles).  I studied abroad the second time in Paris and studied Millinery and Art History.  I earned my Masters in Administration from Lindenwood in 2010. I do not have a traditional education degree.  Instead, I went through ABCTE to receive my education certification.  I am also certified to teach high school history.”

Mrs. Borcherding has two children, Josephine, who is 3 years and two months old, and Frederick, who is 16 months. She loves spending every minute with them by cooking or playing. She mostly listens to Caspar Babypants with her children.

She was asked what inspired her to become a teacher, and she replied with, “I started out working in Fashion Design in St. Louis for a company that created clothing for large department stores. I found it to be unfulfilling. I wanted to do something that was truly creative and to make a difference in people’s lives.”  

When asked why she wanted to work in New Haven, she stated, “I grew up in Stony Hill and attended New Haven from grades 4-12.  I have traveled a lot and decided that the New Haven area was where I wanted to be. I like that it’s small.  I like to know people everywhere I go whether that be the bank, the grocery, school, store, or the park.”

In 2008, Mrs. Borcherding was selected to travel to China for three weeks with a group of twenty teachers from the St. Louis area. The trip was funded by the Horace Mann foundation.  

Thank you, Mrs. Borcherding, for being a creative teacher and being part of our Tradition of Excellence.

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By: Abbey Grater

On January 6th, Friday afternoon, Mrs. Beers of New Haven Elementary school started a program in which she took her students to the gym to walk/jog a mile a day. Mrs. Beers is doing this because she wants to get her students more active, healthier, and happier.

Mrs. Beers got this idea from a woman named Elaine Wyllie who started this free program called the “Daily Mile” in Scotland.  She was also a teacher just like Mrs. Beers.

Some of Mrs. Beers’ thoughts on this “Daily Mile” are, “I believe the students are trying so far. We've only done it twice. We go to the gym when it isn't being used by another class and when we have a few spare minutes in our class schedule. We don't always walk the whole mile at one time.  I hope it will help the students work on being healthy by exercising and eating healthy.  I also hope students will be able to focus better in class."

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By: LeeAnna Linton

​Here at New Haven High, we have a lot of involved students. Many are involved in multiple clubs and sports.The teachers here at NHHS were also very involved when they were in high school, even though some teachers came from different schools.

Many of the teachers went to New Haven High School, but other teachers, like Mr. Hagedorn, came from Union High School. Some other schools include Orchard Farms, Washington, Sullivan, St. Charles West, St. Clair, and Kirkwood High School. We even have a teacher and principal that went to school in different states! Ms. McCroskey went to Brentwood High School in Tennessee and Mr. Stutzman went to Parkview Baptist School in Louisiana.

We have many clubs offered here at NHHS, such as FBLA and FCA, but other schools offer another variety of clubs. Many of the teachers were involved in Student Council, National Honor Society, FBLA, FCCLA, and FCA. Some other clubs included Pep Club, French Club, Latin Club, German Club, and Scholar Bowl. They were also involved in band, choir, and journalism. For example, Mrs. Oelrichs, Mrs. Hoener, Mrs. Anderson, Mr. A. Peirick, Ms. McCroskey, Ms. River, Mr. Pruessner, Mrs. Miller, and Mrs. Koch were all involved in National Honor Society.

The teachers were also involved in many of the same sports the students at NHHS participate in, such as cross country, softball, volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, baseball, track and field, and sport teams managers. Mr. Hagedorn, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Witthaus, Mr. Stutzman, and Mr. Steinhoff all played football in high school.

When asked what the teachers would say to students who want to get involved, they all had very similar answers. Many of the teachers said, “Just do it!”

Mrs. Anderson said, “It's worth taking the time to get involved.  Sharing common interests and experiences helps build relationships in high school and for the future.  Most of my best opportunities and memories from high school happened because of organizations and sports I was involved with.”

Ms. McCroskey stated, “I would say that there is never going to be a time when you're ‘ready’ to get involved or do something you are afraid of doing.  If you're waiting until ‘later’ when you're less busy or more mentally prepared to take that leap, you'll never do it.  If you don't push yourself to do something scary now, you'll never push yourself later.”

Also, when asked if teachers thought getting involved in high school betters you for your future, they all agree that extracurriculars definitely prepare you for life.

Ms. River pronounced, “It helps to develop and instill many important characteristics that can carry forward into other areas of your life.  Some of those traits and lessons either cannot be learned in normal classroom settings or are better developed through the activity experiences.  Responsibility, work ethic, persistence, working with others, self discipline, adherence to fair play, being coachable, being a good teammate, handling pressure, etc.  I could go on and on.  The lessons and experiences I encountered in athletics at a young age still help me every day.”

Mrs. Koch said, “Involvement in activities and clubs will teach you what most classrooms cannot consistently cover.  It is essential to be involved if you want to be a well-rounded individual.  There are reasons why schools offer such activities and clubs and why colleges look at applications not only for grade point averages and test scores but also for involvement.  Skills taught and learned from activities and clubs are essential life skills that one would need to be successful in the future.”

As the teachers said, getting involved has so many benefits! Not only do you get to be involved with your school and community, but you also make new friends while preparing for the real world too!

So, how are you going to get involved?

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On 1-20-17 at approximately 7:50 am. The Sheriff’s Office received a call from a local resident near Reikers Ford River Access reporting a body in the Bourbeuse River. Deputies and Detectives arrived on scene and confirmed an unidentified adult person laying in the river. This is being investigated as a suspicious death by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Further details to follow when additional information is obtained.

By: Celesse Smedley

​Some of us were glad to see 2016 go because of its most troubled moments, but despite them, the Internet has made some good memes.

At New Haven High School, students were polled anonymously to see what their most missed meme would be, and the winner is Petty Joe Biden (https://goo.gl/Bl5Dt9). This meme recieved 30% of the votes, with Harambe (https://goo.gl/dZa4TZ) as a close second.

When polled, students were asked, “How do you explain memes to your parents, grandparents, or people who don't know what memes are?”  One participant responded with, “Stupid internet pictures that occasionally make me giggle.”

Memes are just that-- “internet pictures”-- but they rapidly travel and become popular. One respondent even told a touching story: “Without a healthy dose of memes every day, I will die.”

It has even been expressed that memes have a daily impact on you: “They influence our lives more than you think! They are like the newspaper funnies or comic strips of our generation. I learn more about political and world news this way than any other source.”

78% of students reported that they will miss the 2016 memes, but they are excited for the new 2017 ones to be released. However, we do have a few memes that are already becoming popular for the 2017 year, such as Google Ad (https://goo.gl/9yMw0A).

Thank you to all who participated in the survey. The 2016 memes will be greatly missed.

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By: Ethan Groner

Last Friday, the New Haven Shamrocks lost their home conference game to the St. James Tigers 56-42, although the Rocks outscored them in the fourth-- 12-10. This was largely in spite of the Tiger’s defensive pressure, as they ran a “run and gun” trapping defense the whole game. “Run and gun” refers to trapping (guarding one man with two people) to try to get a steal and go score quick points.

Senior Justin Shockley led New Haven with 11 points, and was perfect from the foul line; 3 for 3. He also had 2 assists and 2 rebounds. Following was junior John Fleer with 9 points, while snagging 6 rebounds. Fellow seniors Zack Vedder and Will Soete had 6 points and 2 rebounds, and 1 point and a game-high of 4 assists, respectively. Abe Madden had 7 points and 4 rebounds.

When asking Will Soete about the game, he stated, “We couldn’t handle the ball. We also couldn’t finish opportunities at the rim; finishing has been our problem all year.”

Fellow senior Zack Vedder also quoted, “In a way, we beat ourselves. If we play our game, then that won’t happen. We’re very capable of picking up wins from teams like this.”

After the game, Coach Aaron Peirick quoted, “We turned the ball over too much. We also didn’t do a good enough job defensively, especially stopping the dribble drive. St. James played harder than us on defense and executed better than us on offense.” As stated above, a “dribble drive” is dribbling the ball hard into the lane and to the basket.

The Shamrocks began tournament play at South Callaway on Tuesday, the 10th, as they played South Callaway in the first round. The Shamrocks were ranked 5th while South Callaway was ranked 4th in the tournament seeding. They ending up making it to the consolation final, where they lost by 3 points in a heartbreaker.

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 On 01-15-17 around 10:27 a.m. deputies responded to an address in the 6400 block HWY O in Pacific, Mo. regarding  a burglary.   Upon arrival deputies made contact with the victim who informed deputies that he had a surveillance system at his residence and recorded images of the suspects and the car they were driving. The victim posted the suspects pictures as well as the car on Face Book to alert general public.  An off duty Washington Police officer spotted the suspect vehicle at Petro Mart in Villa Ridge.   Deputies responded quickly and were able to take the suspects in custody and recover most of the stolen property. Warrants were obtained for Burglary on Gregory Carmack a 47 year old white male from Marthasville, Mo. and Earl Rancher a 30 year old male from Villa Ridge, Mo. both are being held on a $25,000 bond. The Sheriff’s Office wants to thank the community and the off-duty Washington Police Officer for the assistance in locating the suspects.