On April 1, at 1:30 P.M., the senior class gathered at the school’s gym to participate in a Constitution Bee. They lined up in alphabetical order and one by one took turns answering a question about the Constitution. They each had thirty seconds to respond to the question, and if they got it wrong, they would be eliminated. If they answered correctly, they would move on to the next level. Whoever was the last one in the level would receive a scholarship of $1,100 for the college of their choice. Great job to Alexander Trentmann for winning the scholarship money!
Mr. Stutzman, NHHS principal, was asked how the idea of the Constitution Bee came to him, and he responded with, “Debbie Plummer came to me with an idea to have a Constitution Bee on Constitution Day. She thought it would be a good way for our school to highlight the Constitution on what is actually known as Constitution Day. Due to a series of unfortunate events (illness, weather, etc.) the event was delayed several times.”
Mr. Stutzman doesn’t know for sure if they will have the competition again next year. It will be up to Mrs. Plummer and the new principal, Mrs. Wnuk.
Mr. Stutzman would like to thank the judges that came in to help ask the questions-- Prosecuting Attorney Matt Becker, Attorney and NH Municipal Judge Scott Fulford, and New Haven City Alderman Tim Otten. Also, he wanted to thank the following businesses that donated to the scholarship: Backes and Toelke Agriculture, Bockting Trucking, Pratt's Pharmacy, American Family-Curtis Boyer, Citizen's Bank, People's Savings Bank, and Bank of Franklin County. Also, a thank you to Debbie Plummer and Paula Davis for helping organize the event.
The seniors were asked how they felt about the Constitution Bee, and Alex Trentmann said, “I liked it because it was a good opportunity to give soon-to-be college students some money.”
Seth Tolar stated, “I thought it was really fun and insightful.”
Students were then asked how they felt when they had to answer a question, and Mikayla Maloney stated, “I was nervous, but I am glad we all got the chance to win a good scholarship.”
Alex Trentmann said, “I was just focused on answering the question correctly and nothing else in those moments.”
Callie Weatherly exclaimed, “I was extremely nervous. Mrs. Schlafer explained the questions the way that she would have asked them in class and I knew the answer, but the way the judges asked some of the questions was very confusing.”
Many students had a favorite moment. Callie Weatherly stated hers: “I loved how even when someone got the answer wrong, Kamryn Poe still cheered them on. She was hyping everyone up with her easygoing positivity.”
Lexi Oetterer said, “I'm not going to lie-- my favorite moment was when Andrew got his first question right and the whole class went into hysterics.”
Although some students said they wish they would have focused more on the question instead of the people watching them, making them nervous, some wish they would have studied a little more, and some wish they didn’t overthink the questions.
Great job to all the students that tried! You all did well.