Homecoming Dress-Up Days

By: Madisson Mailloux

The Newell school has really shown its spirit for homecoming this year. With all of our staff and students dressing up, it made homecoming week much more exciting. All of the outfits and themes for the week were chosen by our student council.  

On Monday, September 26, they had their first dress-up day of the week, opposite day. Most of the students decided to dress up as the opposite gender, for best dressed of the boys we voted on Charlie Clements and Hayden Tagaiffi. For the girls, we voted for Mary Mahaffy and Maddy Mailloux. The next day was mathlete vs athlete and we had a lot of people dress out for this. For the best dressed of the boys, we chose Isaac Stark, and for the girls Hailey McCann. For Wednesday it was space vs cowboy and we had some tough options to choose from. We ended up going with Devon Jones for the boys and Sophia Johnston for the girls. Thursday’s theme was pink day, our winners were William Juelfs and Bejae Tesch. Then last but not least Friday, the school colors. For this one, we decided on all of the girls wearing cheerleading uniforms. 

Having these dress-up days brought out a lot of our school spirit and got all our sports teams hyped up for their games that week. We are excited to see next year's ideas and were very proud of this year's outcome. 

Running in Newell for the LMC

By Sarah Erk

The Newell cross country team ran for the third time at the Newell Golf Course on Friday, September 16th. They hosted the Little Moreau Conference cross-country meet.

“Every runner ran their best time of the season or in their career. So I was very happy with how we did,” said Mr. Sanderson, who has been the head coach for 10 years. Their next meet was Friday, September 23rd. 

“I did better than I thought I would do,” said Stacy Mahaffy, who has been running cross country for 5 years. “My overall goal for the season is to bring the whole team to State.” 

In middle school for girls, Evelyn Ahart placed 3rd. In Varsity girls, Rachel Erk placed 6th, Bethany Mahaffy placed 8th, Natalie Yates placed 11th, Stacy Mahaffy placed 15, And Sarah Kirby placed 19th. In Varsity boys, Clint Winkler placed 4th and David Kirby placed 13th.

Irrigators vs  Ranchers

By: Jayden, Jacer

The competition was Newell against Harding County. Newell was ready, but Harding County scored 42-0 in the first quarter of the game, forcing Newell to pick up the pace in order to last all four quarters. The ‘gators had some trouble with fumbling the ball. “There were a lot of turnovers,” says Mrs. Burtzlaff, mother to tight end Colton Burtzlaff, and also a science teacher at Newell High School. 

Undaunted, Newell dove into the second quarter; they really needed to catch up, if they were going to have a hope of winning. Then Harding County started taking a knee to run out the clock. They also were taking a knee to not risk a fumble.

The final score was 54-0, but the Newell Irrigators, playing iron man football, gave it their all!

The Newell Irrigator defensive line, including #64 Joe Olson, set to play ball against the Harding County Bison Ranchers on Friday, September 16.

SADD Team Kicks off New Year

By: Hailey McCann

The Newell SADD team had its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 14th. The acronym SADD stands for Students Against Destructive Decisions. The SADD organization has been formed since 2011. The group coordinator since the program’s inception has been Sabrina Harmon. She has put together many different events like Leadership Day and the annual Veteran’s Day program. I asked Sabrina about her thoughts about the meeting. “I was pleasantly surprised,” she said about the turnout of the meeting. “12 signed in and one emailed me.” For 2 years, there wasn’t much of a program because of issues with Covid-19. 

This year, the team has decided to not have specific officers in charge, but to have more of a committee approach. This way, no one is strictly in charge. Also, jobs can be done according to the preferences of different people. 

At their first meeting, projects and ideas about this upcoming year were discussed. There are lots of events happening just in the next couple of months. There has been talk of some tobacco education classes being held. There is hope to even have a full day of this. October 12th is National Walk to School day. The buses will drop students off a block or two early and everyone will get out and walk the rest of the way. Fire prevention week is Oct. 9-15th. During this week, a speaker named Cody Greenwood will be talking with elementary, middle school, and high school, teachers, and parents. Then, from Oct. 23-31, it is red-ribbon week. 

Every year for the past several years, Sabrina has worked with the high school to put on a veteran’s day program. At the beginning and end of the program, flags are carried in and out and held high with respect and honor. They are usually carried out to the sound of a patriotic song playing. In years past, they have struggled to find people willing to do the flag ceremony. This year, the SADD team is planning on doing the ceremony to help contribute to the entirety of the program. The program will be held on Thursday, November 10th at 9:00 A.M in the Austin Auditorium. 

In 2021, Sabrina Harmon put on a Leadership day on the last day of school before Christmas break. Students got out at 1:30 because there were stations to explore, where students could talk to people dealing with law enforcement or drug use, or even mental toughness. There was a presentation done by the Butte County officers, as well as an appearance by the former District Attorney, Cassie Wendt. There was great feedback from this day, including some exceptional praise from the last speaker, Mike Oster. Mike gave a speech about how your mental attitude can affect you physically. It was so successful, the SADD team is hoping to help put on a Leadership day again. There might need to be some fundraising involved to get some of these speakers back. In 2022, Leadership day would be on December 22nd. 

The SADD program has a very optimistic look at the year ahead. There are very high hopes for the 2022-23 school year.

Homecoming Football Game 2022

By: Camden and Michael

Homecoming is approaching in our small town of Newell, South Dakota. We decided to interview the coaches to see what they expect from the game and our team. 

Mr. Vander Vorst, affectionately known as Mr. V, is the football coach for the iron man team.  He claims it will be a “Very good, close, competitive game. If we do our job we will come out on top.”

The last homecoming game we won was in 2012, and it was against Dupree. Oddly enough, that’s who Newell will be playing again this year.

“I think we're gonna win. We’re gonna play hard, and tough,”  says Mr. Johnston, the head football coach for the middle school. “We felt we were evenly matched. A lot of focus in practice. Good plan but terrible execution.”

We also asked what the best skill to teach in football was. 

Mr. V. says, “Responsibility. Each person has a responsibility. Doesn't matter your size. Everyone has a job. The team can’t play right if even one person isn't doing their job.”

Overall, our coaches were confident in our team's ability to play hard.

However, the outcome of the game didn’t come out quite as hoped for. The final score was 46-2. Even though we lost, we had some really good plays. James had good passes and Colton Burtzlaff had good plays overall. Our team also had a goal-line stand in the first quarter. 

When interviewed about what we did well and how we could have done better, the assistant coach and the middle school head coach had this to say.

“Not as well as we could have. We could have done the fundamentals a lot better,” says Mr. V. 

And Mr. Johnston answers with the basics.  “Blocking was bad, but they were trying hard. Also, the reffing was horrendous but we came out in the second half. Our team had good passing but the run game wasn't there. The defense was good.”  

He also said: “They could have blocked better and have done the defense a little differently,” which he thought would have improved the performance altogether.

We also wanted to know Mr. V’s expectations for next season.  “I have high expectations for next year. We found something this season for next year. The incoming freshman will help us out quite a bit. I think we will have a better idea of what to expect from our schedule. The new seniors will have a lot of experience since they were playing since their freshman year.” 

We have high expectations for next year. Gooo, ‘gators!

The Loss in Lemmon

By: Chase and Isaac 

On the day of 9/23/2022, The Newell irrigator football team went to Lemmon to play the cowboys. This game wasn’t one of our boys' best games but they still played their hearts out all the way through the four quarters. 

Before the game, we took interview questions from the coach, a player, and a spectator. The coach, Mr. Vander Vorst (aka Mr. V), was asked how he thought the game was going to go. “I think it will be a very tight and competitive game, our boys are more built for power, while the cowboys do a lot more passes. All we need to do is control ourselves and think positive the whole game,” he answered, Mr. V had some pretty positive words before the game and really got the boys pumped up and ready to play.

Colton Burtzlaff, who plays says, “I think we will have a much better game than the last years and the Lemmon Cowboys lost a lot of talent so hopefully it will be a close game.” These were great words from one of our senior captains and he will be missed next year. 

Our last interview came from Lonnie Johnston, the head coach for the middle school football team, who had some great words for the team he said, “I think the teams are very evenly matched and our boys are looking a lot more dominant on the field this year and are on their toes a lot more. If they have all their players and don’t make any mistakes early on, it will be a close game.” 

The people who were interviewed all had great words to say but sadly that didn’t help the irrigators come out on top. The football team ended up losing that night by 4 touchdowns and had a lot of tension with the other team all night. I would like to say thank you to the people who took the time to let us interview them and hopefully the irrigators will have a better season coming up, go gators!!

The Homecoming Parade

By: Justin Yates and Vinnie Lewis

The Senior homecoming float was fascinating this year with all the grads doing it. 

The whole school participated in the annual event, which allows students to dress up trailers with themed decorations and then parade through downtown Newell.  Middle- and high-school classes worked hard to build the floats for most of the day, then family and friends drove the floats through the town to display the work.

This year’s homecoming court of Stacy Mahaffy and Colton Burtzlaff led the parade behind a police escort.  They were followed by the elementary classes, who decided to dress up as One Hundred and One Dalmatians for the overall Disney-themed event.  The sixth graders decorated their float as Lilo & Stitch and, according to one observer, “the sixth had the best attention to detail for a beach theme float I have seen in person.”  Other themes represented included 7th graders, who used “Minions” for their focus; the 9th grade, who used “Toy Story;” the 10th graders, whose theme was “Up;” and the Juniors who featured “Cars,” including Lightning McQueen. The senior class decided on the theme of Winnie-the-Pooh.  All-in-all, the day was a total success and a lot of fun for the school and town alike.  

Newell Football Boys

      By: Bejae Tesch

The Newell football boys are having a tough start this year at 0-4. Though they’re in a rough spot, the student section is not giving up on them. The football boys are already coming in stronger this year, than last. Last year our quarterback, Chase VanDerBoom, left a hole in our team when he graduated. This year, a junior, Jameson Duncan, became the new quarterback and is doing great for the team. The players that have visually helped us the most would be Nathaniel Randolph, as wide receiver, and running back Chase Johnston. The last few players on the team that has helped us the most would be Jameson Duncan and Gavin Tesch. Though these players help the team a lot, every player on the team makes a difference. Gavin Tesch and Devin Jones are some of the leading tacklers on our team. 

As a whole, the Newell football boys are an amazing, well-built team, coached by Tyrell Bonnett and assisted by Wyatt VanDerVorst. Another thing that is huge for the Newell football boys is the lack of players, they are struggling to 

find enough players to have a full bench. There are enough players to fill the field, but definitely not the sidelines. We have a maximum of three players on the bench making it harder on our boys. As of right now, we have 2 players that can not medically play, with that, they both make good supporters, and one makes a great waterboy. 

According to Mr. Vander Vorst, “My boys are struggling with turn-overs the most, our toughest opponent that we have faced is Harriet-Selby. Lemmon and Dupree are our most evenly-matched opponents, and Timberlake is a close third. I’m looking forward to seeing how much my team improves, especially because we have gotten better in the last couple of years.” To conclude, we are very excited to watch our Newell boys grow and continue to play football!

Homecoming King and Queen

By Elyssa and Braylee

This year's Newell Irrigators homecoming king and queen were crowned  Colton Burtzlaff and Stacy Mahaffy.  It was a tough final choice, with runner-up royalty coming from Sophia Johnston, Taylor Gaer, Nate Randolph, Devon Jones, Colton, and Stacy pulling through with the votes.

In a recent interview, Stacy was asked, “What were you feeling once you got crowned?” 

“I honestly felt really surprised and slightly shocked,” Stacy answered with a smile. Although it was unexpected for her, she was happy to accept the honor of being queen. 

“What is your favorite thing about being queen?” Braylee asked.

“Getting a pretty crown,” Stacy responds, smiling. She hopes to get closer to people. Stacy is involved in many organizations: volleyball, cross country, basketball, track, Leo's club, NHS, and student council. Thus, she has done much to earn the position of homecoming queen.

Moving on to King, Colton was asked the same questions as the queen.

“I was surprised but happy,” Burtzlaff states. He too wasn’t expecting to win the crown. 

“What is your favorite thing about being king?” Braylee wondered. 

“I don't have to ride on my class float,” says Colton with a giggle. Colton is in FFA, 4H, basketball, and football. He doesn’t wish to gain anything from being king other than the experience itself. 

Stacy and Colton both enjoyed winning homecoming king and queen, thanking everyone for the votes and the congratulations. At the end of the homecoming week, they were both ecstatic to bring home the crowns.

Stacy Mahaffy and Colton Burtzlaff reign over proceedings as Homecoming King and Queen

Newell Homecoming Football Game

By: Reata and Miya 

Newell had their high school homecoming football game Friday, September 9th. Before the game, we interviewed assistant coach and high school history teacher, Mr. Vander Vorst, aka Mr. V. Mr. V spoke about his enthusiastic feelings for the game on Friday, as well as his sad feeling about his Senior players taking part in their last homecoming game. 

Freshman player Jayden Tesch spoke to us about the emotions he both witnessed and felt throughout the game. “Shoulda blocked,” he said. “Everyone was feeling a lot of anger, sadness, and happiness throughout the game” because of an injury that caused people to have to play positions they weren’t accustomed to playing. Congrats on a successful season, Jayden. 

Freshman right guard Jacer Gross had some down feelings about the game., “It could have been way better, I should have blocked better,” Jacer spoke about how the emotions flowing through his teammates led to negative actions and bad sportsmanship. 

Middle School Football Game 

By Eli and Carsen

The Newell Middle School Irrigators faced off against the Rangers in a head-to-head worth watching.  Head coach Lonnie Johnston feels they’re ready.

According to Coach Johnston, he wants to prep the team by practicing

going  over plays and making sure they know how to execute them  and “how to hit and tackle.” He prepares them mentally and physically and, most of all, it takes heart to play. One thing he really expects is consistency. 

These reporters interviewed several players from the team to get their take.  When asked how he thought the team would do, Jorey Clements, who plays the center position, replied, “

Jorey Clements

He thinks they are going to beat them 50-0 by halftime by thinking about what to do and studying the plays. going to practice every day and try his hardest.

Orin

He thinks he will stomp the opposite team by thinking ahead and preparing himself. He's going to be ready by stretching and working hard with the team.

Daniel

We will roll them by 50-0 by halftime and are going to practice and try and get a good night's rest.

Bodie 

He thinks he will do good because of how it goes and also tries to keep consistency. tell every player that they can do it and win.

Jaice 

He thinks that this game is going to go well if his team really tries and is going to practice and have heart while he's on the field.

Bubba

He thinks they might win but is not too sure about it and he is going to practice with his team so they can try and win.

The team played with all their might.  Some highlights include when Orin ran into the touchdown. Mr. Johnston was especially proud of how the team has improved. “ It went pretty well, they made a few mistakes because of some bad blocking, but they're getting better.”  When asked what he would change about the performance, he said, “They should have done a bit better in blocking and not as much one arm tackling and running the plays correctly.”

On the whole, it was a spectacular game!

Newell FFA    

By: Kianna Miller

The Newell FFA chapter is coming up and is just about ready to go. Ms. Austin is the FFA chapter advisor this year. 

The president is Aliceson Stranberg, the vice president is Kimberly Johnson, the secretary is Reata Hays, the reporter is Rachel Erk, and the treasurer is Jaelyn Wendt. I interviewed the FFA advisor Ms. Austin about what were some of the goals for the FFA chapter this year. She had this to say: “I want to hopefully encourage members to do more LDE’s and get members more involved this year.” When asked how many students were in FFA this year? She responded with, “There are about 11 members this year.” According to Ms.Austin, “ The ram sale, LDE’s and many more events that will be coming up in the future.” When asked what she anticipated about the upcoming year, she responded, “I’m excited about getting to know students/members and getting to know Newell a little more.”

I also interviewed FFA member Shannon Yates, asking her what she was most excited about for FFA this year. Shannon responded with, “Getting better at animal judging.” Overall, it sounds as if the Newell FFA chapter will have a great upcoming year!

Archery

In an interview with Mr. Wince, we spoke about his archery class. He had stated that the 5th grade. The class started at the end week of October and it will end on the 21st of December. Mr. Wince had said that he needed to pass a course from the game, fish, and parks. Once he had passed that course he got his certification and was able to get the bows. We have this program so that the children can learn life skills that they will need someday. They would of course need to pass a safety test along with parts of a bow test so that they would be able to shoot their bows. 

By Taylor Delgado

Middle School Girls Basketball

The middle school girls basketball team is doing really well, they are learning more and more about basketball and continuing to get better. “Their goal for the end of the year is to get some more wins and finish strong,” said Emylee Hencey. The 8th-grade girls took 5th place in the tournament on December 18th, 2021.

By Mieka Howie 

Leadership Day 2021

This year, Newell is pleased to announce the 10th annual Leadership Day. This event is organized by Sabrina Harmon of the WIT Coalition. I asked Sabrina what drives her to organize these large events year after year. “Well, I love to get messages from graduated students who tell me how these leadership days have affected their life after graduating. It feels good to know that these past students are really thinking about the decisions they make and the consequences of them,” she replied.  This year's events include presentations and activities hosted by a number of guest speakers, some of which include the Army National Guard, a few of our state officials, Butte County Sheriff's Department,  and many other speakers. There will be a conversational lunch with question cards so students can ask questions to the different presenters. This day will be filled to the brim with information and activities that teach us, students, the importance of leadership and wise decision making.

By Trinity Henry

Honors Band

The Middle and High School Honors Band Concert was held on November 23, 2021, in Spearfish. We had quite a few students participate in this concert. For middle school participants, we had Jenna Yule, Elyssa Mailloux, and Micheal Lawson. Kendra Johnson was also supposed to participate but was sick. Our high school participants were Maddie Barden and Bailee Yule. All of the kids did wonderfully and had fun. “Honors Band was a great experience for the kids to play in a big band, be challenged musically, and get to. The kids did absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed getting to work with other directors,” says Mrs. Stomprud.

By Kaira Stomprud

Letters to Santa from the Elementary!

Drawing by Vinnie Lewis 

High School Wrestling

This year, our wrestling team has a lot of expectations for this season, starting this year out with their first tournament going very well. With Chase VanDerBoom placing 1st at 145 and Charlie Clements placing second at 106, Coach VanDerBoom was very proud of how it turned out. “What I expect of them is to come to practice and go hard and always compete.” Quoted from Dylan VanDerBoom. When asked what he wants to see being accomplished, he replied with, “I would like to see this year, is for Chase to be able to play every match as he knows how. I also hope that Charlie keeps continuing to better himself from last year, and for Abe, Gavin, and Colton, some accomplishments I hope for is for them to be able to get some big wins!” Overall, this season is going to be a challenge but our boys are ready to fight hard!

By Madisson Mailloux

Upcoming Events 

Father-Daughter Dance - January 21st, 6-8 pm. (For everyone, Homeschoolers may attend.)

Dental Mobile - January 3rd-6th 

Elementary Boys Basketball - Belle  Fourche Rec Center

Girls Basketball - Jan. 4th @ 5:30 VS. Wall (Home) JV & V

Boys Basketball Jan. 6th @ 6 VS. Sundance (Home) JV & V 

Winter Group Pictures - Jan. 12th 

NCRC Test - Jan. 25th 

By Kaylee Gatzke

AAU Wrestling 

AAU Wrestling this year is being coached by Andrew Fergen and Karl Hoyal. Practice will be held in the Austin Auditorium Monday through Friday, 6-7:30 twice a week. The season will go through March and practices will start December 6, 2021. Meets and tournament dates can be sent home on flyers at practice or found on the AAU Facebook webpage. $35 per wrestler and $50 deposit for singles. On February 21, 2022, Newell will be holding an AAU Wrestling tournament. Hope to see you all there!

By Payton Johnston

Snowball 

The sophomore student council is putting together a snowball dance on Tuesday, December 21st. The dance is being held in the multipurpose room from 7:00-11:00 pm. The theme is Winter Wonderland. Outside guests are welcome with a permission slip. We're all super excited to see what dazzling suits and dresses are to come. We hope to see everyone there, and have a Merry Christmas!!

By Alanna Neely

Girls Basketball 

The girl’s basketball season just started as well as the boy’s. The girls and boys start the season off hosting the Harding County Ranchers on Dec. 10th. The next night they host the Bison Cardinals. I asked the head coach of the girl’s team (Mr. Wince), what he is looking forward to offensively and defensively in the first two games. “Offensively we are looking forward to making good decisions and that we have an up-tempo and proper execution. Defensively we are looking to control chaos, maximum effort, teamwork, backside help, and good rotations and  communication.” I then interviewed Sydnee Kjellsen, the only senior on the team. I asked her what she is looking forward to for basketball, and what her favorite part of playing basketball is. She replied, “I am most looking forward to seeing our team grow. We have a pretty inexperienced varsity so it’s exciting to see how much we can improve by the end of the season. My favorite part of playing. Something else I’m looking forward to is being a part of our team. We are really close and more like a family than anything. The environment we create makes for a great connection between all of us girls.” I asked Taylor Gaer what she needs to work on more, she replied with, “Ball handling and shooting.” Then I asked Stacy Mahaffy what the biggest challenge is going to be this season. She said, “Probably just learning how to play with a younger team and getting rid of the feeling of not having our 3 main starters from last year. It's going to be different to adjust to it but we can do it.” The girls played their first two games tough but came up lost in the varsity game 17-43 against Harding County. Although the girls fought hard, they just couldn't hold their grip. The next night, they came out with anger, beating Bison 62-31. Thanks, girls, and good luck for the rest of the season.

By Jamin Davidson

High School Football

Sadly the Irrigator football season ended with a loss against the Faith Longhorns. The Gators went into the game pumped up and ready for a win. The Irrigator fans stayed faithful to pump up their hometown boys. The Irrigators played one of their best games that night but still came up short losing 34-62. They also lost to Harding County, 66-14. This was Chase VanDerBoom’s last football game as an Irrigator. 

I first interviewed Jamieson Duncan asking what his favorite part about the season was and he said: “Not quitting because life is a garden you dig it up and make it work.” I also got to interview Nate Randolph asking him how important football is to him he said: “It's a lifestyle. It’s the only sport that matters to me. I've been playing since 6th grade.” Next, I was able to interview Chase Johnston asking him what are his expectations going into next year's season and he said, “Well for starters, I need to work on myself by getting faster as well as getting stronger. I hope next season we will hopefully have more guys out. That was one of our biggest problems this year but we stuck it out and still played the Irrigator way.” Coach Bonnet commented, “I believe that as coaches, we need to hold our athletes accountable for both being at practice and preparing for the season both in the form of off-season workouts and possibly camps whether team or individual.

Finally, I interviewed Chase VanDerboom, asking him about his four years of high school football and what year was his favorite. I also asked Chase how it was playing with some of the boys this year as well as how he enjoyed teaching some of the freshman new things. He said, “The last four years never went as expected for the win-loss ratio. In the past four years, I went through 9 positions on offense as well 

as defense. All of my years of high school football were fun but this year, my last, was my favorite of all. I have seen players quit during the games and everyone just gave up, but this year was completely different. We all played on the same page and with each other. I always tried my best to step up and take the leadership role for the lower classmen. Some of them might tell you I have yelled at them but that is just an opinion. I will always be able to come back and see what I have done for the school and the kids that are playing sports that year.”

Thank you, Chase, for everything that you have done for us and the team this year and we will always miss you! Good luck in the future!

By Jamin Davidson

Hunt-Safe Program

A program was brought to Newell Middle School to assist students in their education of gun safety while hunting or in general. These classes run for 10 consecutive school days and will have a field trip to a shooting range if they choose to attend where they will learn more about gun safety in the field. The Sheriff’s office and other officials will supervise the trip. After the completion of the class, the students will each receive a hunter orange hat and safety glasses along with a hunting license. This class takes place in Mr. Wince’s health class. The instructors are part of the Game, Fish, and Parks of South Dakota. 

By Trinity Henry

Cross Country 

For regions Garrett Winkler got  2nd,  David Kirby got 22nd, Clint Winkler got 24th,

Rachel Erk got 3rd, Bethany Mahaffy got 11th, Stacy Mahaffy got 20th, Natalie Yates got 23rd, and Sarah Kirby got 27th. 

What was the biggest challenge in regions? “The biggest challenge at regions was trying to get our girls’ team qualified for state,” stated Sanderson. “Entering regions, we were sitting around 5th place in the rankings. Our girls were able to jump ahead 2 spots and were able to get 3rd place but only by a couple of points.” 

What were your expectations for state cross country? Mr. Sanderson said, “ My expectations going into the state meet were that everyone puts forth their best effort and tries to run our fastest times of the season.” The state meet was held in Sioux Falls.

What did everyone place in state? Garrett Winkler got 6th, breaking the school record. Rachel Erk 28th - a new personal record. Bethany Mahaffy 51st - a new personal record. Stacy Mahaffy 106th - returning from an injury. Natalie Yates 109th - a new personal record. Sarah Kirby 114th - a new personal record.

Great work Irrigators!

By Kaylee Gatzke

Basketball 

Now that football is over and volleyball and cross country are wrapping up, basketball is right around the corner. Middle school girls season officially starts on Monday the 26th with Ms. Hencey as the coach. I asked her what her favorite part about coaching girls basketball was and she said, “Spreading the passion of the sport and the camaraderie.” I also asked the head coach of the high school girls team, Mr. Wince, what he thinks the team will need to focus on this season. He replied, “Fundamentals as in dribbling, passing, catching, shooting, and defense.” I asked the new head coach of the high school boys basketball team, Mr. McLaughlin, what he is looking forward to going into the season. He replied, “Working hard, setting achievable goals, as well as meeting those goals.”

By Jamin Davidson

Upcoming Events

High School Regional Volleyball - Nov. 1st 

Veterans Day - Nov. 11

Sports parents meeting - Nov. 16th 

State Volleyball - Rapid City, Nov.18th-20th

First Girl’s Basketball Practice - Nov.22nd 

Grandparents Day - Nov. 23th, 8-12 am

First Boy’s Basketball Practice - Nov. 29th 

Advice Column

Dear readers, welcome to the advice column for our school newspaper- an advice column! We have four boxes distributed throughout the school, where you can submit your questions for us to review and possibly answer.

Locations are; High School- Ms. Hencey’s classroom and hallway of the Ag./Science building. Middle School- Mrs. Shaykett’s classroom. Elementary- the library.

Each month, we will pick two letters that have been submitted to respond to. Teachers can ask questions too.

PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS SCHOOL APPROPRIATE

Middle School Volleyball

This year's middle school volleyball team had a winning season with 12 wins and 6 losses. When asked by head coach Muckridge how she felt about the season she replied, “This season has gone super good for the girls. They learned how to grow as a whole and play together well. I love to watch them grow and I love sharing my passion and love for the sport with the girls. Overall, they’re ready for the next step.”

The team had a lot of ups this year with only 6 losses, the girls felt like they could do anything. “One of the biggest accomplishments was definitely being the winners of the LMC,” stated Elyssa Mailloux. They played several games with a winning streak. “The biggest opponent we had was Lemmon, we won and lost against them and we had to earn it.” The girls fought tough and hard and never gave up. “We’re all excited for playing with this year's team,” says Braylee Freytag. The girls ended their season with a loss but have high hopes for next year. 

By Madisson Mailloux

The Two Amigos 

The picture below is of Gavin Tesch and James Duncan. I interviewed them and found out that they got their outfits off of amazon for $60. The tandem bike, from Dylan Vanderboom, was used as their way of transportation during the Homecoming Parade. James and Gavin told me the reason they chose to wear these outfits was, “To look awesome.” 

By Vinnie Lewis 

Middle School Football

          This year's middle school football team was coached by Lonnie Johnston and Tristan Clements. Mr. Johnston believed that this year was a learning season. “The hardest obstacle was gaining confidence and our lack of experience,” says Johnston. “During our last game, I saw my players finally

sparked with confidence and were playing like they were having fun with the game.” The season ended with the team being 0-8, having high hopes for next season, and focusing on how they can improve for next year. Johnston closes with, “Respect is the foundation of this team.” 

By: Payton Johnston

SCRUBS Camp

On Tuesday, October 26th, some of our High School Students attended the Western Dakota Tech’s SCRUBS Camp. This event lasted all day and the students returned with a newly lit fire for their desired medical careers. 

After being separated into groups, the students participated in many different events and simulations. The first station the 

students went to was for Practical Nursing. Here, students learned about wound care, mobility - crutches, wheelchairs, and canes, and CPR. Students then went to two other stations before lunch. These stations include phlebotomy, where they learned about the collection of blood and finding blood related diseases, and paramedic and EMT services. After lunch, our students then learned about pharmaceuticals and HIM (health information management - the coding aspect of the medical field). Next was a surgical tech station where students were able to experiment with surgical tools and watch a video of a knee replacement. Lastly, students visited the dental assisting center where they watched college students as they practiced dental cleanings and learned about the different fields of dentistry.

All around, our students had a great time!! Everyone who was able to participate became more interested in their field of interest. Thank you to Western Dakota Tech for this amazing opportunity!!

By Kaira Stomprud

National Guard Field Trip

On October 19, the U.S. History class took a field trip to the Army National Guard Base in Rapid City. Students were able to watch several different speakers that explained the ranks, the process of getting into the military, and what their jobs were. 

By Nate Randolph

Newell FFA activities

On the 16th of October, we hosted our annual FFA steak feed; a non-profit occasion with a free-will donation. All of what we receive from it goes into paying for some of the steak feed. Over one hundred people were served by our FFA officers:

President- Kimberly Johnson

Vice-President-Sydnee Kjellsen

Secretary-Aliceson Stranberg

Treasurer-Jaelyn Wendt

Reporter-Shannon Yates

Sentinel-Rachel Erk

Student Advisor- Josie Raisanen

The next FFA meeting will be held on November 8th.

By Josie Raisanen

Vinnie wants to know; what’s your favorite Halloween movie?

1. Child's play

2. Halloween

3. It (chapter 2)

4. Friday the 13th

5. Jason X

6. Scream

The journalism class had a majority vote for the movie, Scream.  What is your favorite Halloween movie? Be sure and let Vinnie know when you see him!

Volleyball

On Tuesday, September 14, the Newell Irrigators had a loss this season to Bison. This loss led to a win on September 16, against Lemmon. Later that weekend at the JV home tournament, the Lady Gators took 2nd in the tournament against Faith and Harding County. The Gators, having a tough season, took another two losses to New Underwood and Hill City. On that same weekend, the LMC took place in Timberlake. Starting the tournament off with a win against McIntosh put the gators in a good spot. With a setter down, we went into the Bison game with a new rotation. This put us at a disadvantage, leading to another loss against Bison. The Gators then played Lemmon, coming out strong in the first match and taking the victory. The Gator's last game was against Faith. They played very strong, especially with an injured setter. However, they lost in two with scores of 21-25, 23-25.

By Madisson Mailloux

Cross Country

Our Newell Irrigators Cross Country Team did very well at the LMC, here in Newell on Friday the 17th. Both the girls and boys teams placed second overall and did very well individually. Coach Sanderson is proud of how the team performed, especially since the competition was fierce. Well done and congratulations to all the cross country athletes! By Kaira Stomprud Football After losing to Dupree, 30-18, in a close game, and losing to Timberlake, 58-6, the Irrigator football team is now 0-5. I was able to interview head “cheerleader” Sydnee Kjellsen and the Irrigators full-back, Gavin Tesch. I asked Sydnee Kjellsen what her favorite thing about cheering at the football games was. “My favorite part is being involved with all the girls. All the boys do so much to support us at volleyball games it’s great to be able to do it for them during football. Plus it’s great making memories with the girls!”, says Kjellsen. I then asked Gavin what his favorite thing about football is. He replied with, “Hitting people!” The Gators have two more games, Faith, and Harding County. With Homecoming right around the corner, the boys are ready to have fun and win the first game of our season. By Jamin Davidson Girls Basketball Fundraiser The girls’ basketball team will be selling pizzas from October 14th thru October 28th. The pizzas are not supposed to arrive until the week of November 15th. The basketball team has a goal of 500 pizzas. The money they raise is going to equipment, tournaments, and expenses. Mr. Wince said, “ They are great pizzas for a great price, and they also make great gifts.” The girls’ basketball team would love your support in making their goal.

By Kaylee Gatzke

Football

After losing to Dupree, 30-18, in a close game, and losing to Timberlake, 58-6, the Irrigator football team is now 0-5. I was able to interview head “cheerleader” Sydnee Kjellsen and the Irrigators full-back, Gavin Tesch. I asked Sydnee Kjellsen what her favorite thing about cheering at the football games was. “My favorite part is being involved with all the girls. All the boys do so much to support us at volleyball games it’s great to be able to do it for them during football. Plus it’s great making memories with the girls!”, says Kjellsen. I then asked Gavin what his favorite thing about football is. He replied with, “Hitting people!” The Gators have two more games, Faith, and Harding County. With Homecoming right around the corner, the boys are ready to have fun and win the first game of our season. By Jamin Davidson

Girls Basketball Fundraiser

The girls’ basketball team will be selling pizzas from October 14th thru October 28th. The pizzas are not supposed to arrive until the week of November 15th. The basketball team has a goal of 500 pizzas. The money they raise is going to equipment, tournaments, and expenses. Mr. Wince said, “ They are great pizzas for a great price, and they also make great gifts.” The girls’ basketball team would love your support in making their goal.

By Kaylee Gatzke

Homecoming

This year's homecoming dress-up days have been brought to you by the student council. The student council members are Sydnee Kjellsen, Taylor Gear, Stacy Mahaffy, Trinity Henry, and JT Schoch. After lots of hard work and brainstorming, they have come up with Homecoming dress-up day themes. As we all know homecoming is a time for Newell staff and students to get creative. We love seeing the cool things and ideas the students and staff have come up with. This year, the student body has decided this year's dress-up day themes. Starting Monday, September 27, 2021, the first theme day is ‘Merica Monday. For Tuesday we have tie-dye Tuesday, then Superhero Wednesday, and on Thursday dress to impress. We're all very excited about what homecoming week has in store for us!

By Alanna Neely

Advice Column

Dear readers,

Welcome to our new column for our school newspaper- an advice column! We have four boxes distributed throughout the school, where you can submit your questions for us to review and possibly answer. Locations are; High School- Ms. Hencey’s classroom and hallway of the Ag./Science building. Middle School- Mrs. Shaykett’s classroom. Elementary library. Each month, we will pick two letters that have been submitted to respond to.

PLEASE KEEP QUESTIONS SCHOOL APPROPRIATE

This month’s submission was “How to ignore or avoid rumors and/or stop them”. -Anonymous

Response from writer one:

Dear anonymous. There are a few ways you could handle this situation, but I feel the best way would be to ignore it. Most people barely know themselves, so what does it matter what they think of you?

Response from writer two:

One way would be to find why people are saying it and see if you can fix it, and if it has any credibility then people will more than likely think it's true. Make sure not to respond to it though or let people know it's important to you, it's just a rumor.

By: Anonymous writers

A Message From Miss Hencey

If your classroom has something going on or if there is an extracurricular activity that involves our students, please email me the details! You can also take photos of your classroom activities and send them to me for the Yearbook. Keep up the great work, Go Gators!

This Labor Day weekend, attendance was higher than last year however the participation in some events was lower. There were many events this year; the Labor Day parade, rodeo events, mud volleyball, and even events for the kids. Miss Rodeo of America attended Newell Labor Day this year and made it exciting.

By Payton Johnston

I had the opportunity to talk to the Newell cross country coach Mr. Sanderson. I asked him some questions. What do you expect......for the rest of the season? He replied, “I expect to see all of the athletes on the team grow as runners and to be ready to run their best races when we get to our big meets at the end of the season.” When asked what his expectations were at the beginning of the season, he replied, “Early in the season I want to see my runners get stronger and more confident as they race. I would also like to see them practice different racing strategies early in the season so they can use the strategies that work for them at the end of the season.” Mr. Sanderson commented on how he thought the season was going. He said, “So far, we have had two meets. Our first was in Douglas and the second was in Faith. In Douglas, we had a lot of runners who ran longer races than they have in the past. They all stepped up in a big way and ran some incredible races. It was great seeing our middle school girls and the freshman boys run so well at a tough first meet. Our second meet was in Faith last week and it was another day of great racing. The day started with Brilee winning the middle school girls race and followed by Bethany and Natalie each finishing in the top 6 of the Junior Varsity race. For the boys, Garrett Winkler won the Varsity race by 21 seconds and Clint Winkler in the second five-thousand-meter race of his career ran his best by 11 seconds.”

Their next meet is in Belle Fouche, Mr. Sanderson commented on his expectations. Stating, “It is a very hilly course that will feature some of the best runners in South Dakota, so we expect to be challenged in every race. I would love to see some aggressive racing from all our runners and take advantage of the challenges the meet will bring to us.” The Belle Fourche meet is on September 9th at 2:30 in the afternoon

By Kaylee Gatzke

Another year, another Newell football season. The boys are off to a rough start losing to Herried Selby, 76-16, Gettysburg, 58-8, and Lemmon-Mcintosh, 54-0. However, the Irritators are looking to get redemption on Dupree this Friday, September 7. This season the irrigators are coached by Mr. Bonnett and assistant coached by Mr.VanderVorst. I was able to ask Coach VanderVorst what his expectations were at the beginning of the season. He said, “We want to increase the team record this year after going 0-8 last season. We want more guys than last year after having only 12.” I also asked the starting quarterback, Chase Vanderboom, what the best part of being the starting quarterback is. He said, “It's frustrating at times because I know how well we can do. I also have to know what's going on on the field at all times to make sure we can get down the field and score; but, for the most part, it's really fun just to try and control the team. To be a great team.”

The season is nearing an end with only four games left; Dupree, Timberlake, Faith, and Harding County-Bison. GO GATORS!!

By Jamin Davidson

Photo taken by Ms. Moes