BHS math students fare well

Every year in April, some Baldwin High School students travel to Pittsburg State University to compete for the top spot in Trigonomety, Geometry and many other math subjects.

Each school can enter a student in up to three events, and each team relay event must have at least four members. These events consist of a timed written test, which is graded by the school’s class sponsors.

Students in the honors classes are allowed to sign up a few weeks before the event. Those students who choose to participate are allowed to sign up for events of their choosing.

“They must love math,” sophomore Kole Young said.

Teachers are attempting to support students who wish to participate in these math competitions.

“I think there are excellent opportunities with math days. The problem is the times conflict with students playing sports,” teacher Mike Curran said

Students from BHS show up to school around 7 a.m. Then group of students travel three hours to Pittsburg University.

Many of the participants believe it’s worth the long drive.

“It’s kind of nice to go out there and see how you rank against other students around the state,” sophomore Louis Joslyn said.

Nearly a thousand students pile into seminar rooms and take their tests, but few find their names on the boards at the end of the day.  The winners from BHS were Clint Chapman, Colby Soden, Shaleia BeerBower and Myeong Hyeon Jeong.

Story by Clint Chapman, BHS Journalism

LINK Leaders announced

The LINK program, which will begin next school year at BHS, has announced its LINK Leaders after many students applied to the program.

The 2010-11 female LINK Leaders will be: Karlee Beach, Alison Berg, Ramie Burkhart, Tayler Christian, Sarah Cigard, Lakyn Clark, Kendra Hedges, Erin Jansen, Heather Karlin, Madelynn Knisley, Claire Peterson, Maddison Phillips, Elizabeth Sigvaldson, and Ann Wallsmith.

The 2010-11 male LINK Leaders will be Jesse Austin, Brandon Baltzell, Shawn Berndt, Trevor Bruce, Clint Chapman, Ethan Horne, Louis Joslyn, Jake Mindez, John Robbs, Ryan Rogers, Will Simmons, Colby Soden, Aaron Vajnar, and Brian Wright.

Sponsors of the group are BHS counselor Melody Hoffsommer, and Science teachers Nikki Burnett and Melissa Strother.

Ground Breaking Ceremony for Performing Arts Center

Baldwin City students, parents and school officials will show off their school spirit at a groundbreaking ceremony for the district’s new 625-seat Performing Arts Center. The ceremony will be held March 31 at 8:30 a.m. outside the Baldwin Junior High School, 400 Eisenhower Rd., Baldwin City, Kan.

“The existing auditorium was inadequate for student educational needs. Its stage was significantly undersized and its lighting, electrical and sound systems were outdated,” said Kevin Greischar, Principal with DLR Group. “The new performing arts center will provide a larger performance stage, more seating, and modern lighting, rigging and sound systems to enhance Baldwin City USD performances.”

The new $6.1 million facility will be shared by Baldwin City Junior High and High School. After the new Performing Arts Center opens in the spring of 2011, the existing auditorium will be used as a lecture hall and classroom.

Funding for Baldwin City’s new Performing Arts Center is two-fold: partially through the Nov. 6, 2008 bond referendum and partially through a grant by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C. The $3.4 million FEMA grant funds a 16,000 square foot safe room which can accommodate 1,800 students and faculty in Baldwin City’s Junior High and High Schools, as well as guests attending performances at the Performing Arts Center. The safe room will be designed and constructed to specifications outlined in FEMA 361 guidelines.

About DLR Group
Elevate the human experience through design. A lofty promise, but one each DLR Group employee-owner commits to at the beginning of every day. This promise inspires sustainable design for public and private clients in the Corporate, Higher Education+Sports, Justice, and K-12 Education sectors. DLR Group is an integrated design firm providing architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design from 18 locations across the country and in Shanghai.  Visit http://www.dlrgroup.com or call 1-877-DLR Group.       listen.DESIGN.deliver

BHS Journalists place at competition

Baldwin High School journalism students competed in the KSPA Regional competition in Lawrence recently, with Baldwin placing in 11 categories, including two first-place entries.

First-place winners were seniors Josh Hanson (Infographics) and Brandon Kraus (Newspaper Sports Writing).

Second-place winners were Kraus (Yearbook Sports Writing) and juniors Ann Wallsmith (Editing and Feature Writing), Chelsea Turk (Advertising), and Erin Jansen (Editorial Cartoon).

Earning Honorable Mention were Jansen (News Writing), Turk (Editorial Writing), and seniors Taylor Brown (Infographics) and Julie Hill (Editorial Cartoon).

The placing entries in each category qualify for the State competition to be held in Lawrence at the University of Kansas on Saturday, May 1.

Baldwin ranked third out of all the 3A-4A schools participating. KC-Piper had the most, followed by Silver Lake.

The BHS Journalism adviser is Kit Harris.