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Senior Katie Osbeck pushes through the final leg of the SDHSAA State Cross Country Meet held October 26 in Huron. Submitted photo. 

Posted Nov. 5, 2019

by Kaylie Burke

The Bobcat Cross Country Teams wrapped up their year at the state meet in Huron on October 26. Competing for the girls team were Ashton Scott, 83rd, Katie Osbeck, 81st, Jaixai Reineke, 70th, Ainsley Powers, 8th, and Ellie Abraham, 6th. Competing for the boys team were Sam Conrad, 21st, Talon Everding, 62nd, Ian Smith, 74th, Nick Diersen, 81st, and Quentin Eck, 90th. The girls team overall placed 10th and the boys took 11th.
The students who competed had a great showing at the state meet, but they are not the only ones in cross country. Many more are a part of this activity. When asked head coach Chris Gruenhagen said that there are 38 high school students alone. However cross country can be harder than one might think. The practice hours and locations can and do vary. Every day 4 to 6, Wednesday 3:45 to 6, and Saturday mornings 6 to 10. Most of the time they run at the school on the track, sometimes at Fishback Soccer Fields. Practices can be five to ten miles, sometimes more or less. Despite the long hours and tracks Mr. Gruenhagen believes that everyone is motivated and trying their best each day, and the successful year shows everyone’s efforts.

Posted Nov. 5, 2019

Photos and captions by Nathan Cole-Dai

On a raw, windy evening, Germany and Austria battled each other… but both sides were totally friendly. On Thursday, October 3, the Brookings High School German Club hosted its yearly Fußballspiel—football game—at field 6 of the Brookings Fishback Soccer Complex. Here, junior Joseph Cassady avoids sophomore Aditya Tummala’s attack to score a goal against freshman goalkeeper Logan Horsley Guerue in the game’s first half.

“Fans” of the Germany team are clad in the colors of the German flag. A shortage of Spanish Club members this year forced advisor Mary “Frau” Steinmetz to abandon the German Club’s tradition of playing Spain, so she split the club into the teams of Germany and Austria. Players and fans got to choose whether to wear black, red, and gold for Germany, or red and white for Austria. From left to right: sophomores Tiana Nelson, Olivia Lam, Ayisha Abdel-Kareem, and Nathan Rutledge.

 Having won 6-5, the Austrian team stands bold and proud. Following this photo, members of the German Club went out to eat at Zestos. Back row: junior Jade Jager, freshman Raelin Nupen, and sophomores Grant Sternhagen and Joseph Cassady. Front row: freshmen Jackson Marker and Jensen Eckhart and sophomores Kelton Wiehr and Luke Miles.

Posted Oct. 31

As always, Halloween every year brings so much to look forward to like kids running around in adorable costumes, carving pumpkins to make jack o’lanterns, and eating lots and lots of candy. But while stuffing your face with candy every October, have you ever thought about the history of Halloween? Firstly, the word “Halloween” is simply another way of saying “the night before All Saints’ Day” – a Christian festival that celebrates the saints. The earliest iteration of Halloween has been linked to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival in which it was believed that the boundary between the dead and living became particularly thin at this time, allowing people to connect with the dead. Other modern Halloween traditions also had interesting histories. One such tradition is the act of bobbing for apples. Apparently, bobbing for apples used to be a weird matchmaking service where women would mark an apple, toss it into the water, and whoever pulled it out was their destined partner. So, yeah… people literally stuck their heads into the water to bite floating fruit for the purpose of finding their future wife or husband. Trick or treating also used to be very different! Instead of candy, children would go around asking for “soul cakes”, a treat resembling biscuits. In fact, it wasn’t until the early to mid-1900s when the whole “trick-or-treating for candy” thing became the norm in the U.S. The same evolution also happened for Halloween costumes. They initially were a tribute to the saints until pranksters decided to dress up in spooky attire to scare their neighbors. So, thanks pranksters for allowing us to have the costumes we do now!

Now that you know a little more spooky knowledge about Halloween, enjoy the holiday!

Posted Oct. 17

Picture from Food Network

Cook Up Some Halloween Fun!

Fall fun does not have to end when the weather does not cooperate.  Head to your kitchen to whip up some tasty and festive treats filled with the flavors of the season.  

S’more Pops, ingredients – 4 whole graham crackers, completely crushed, 24 lollipop sticks, 24 large marshmallows, and 4 ounces milk chocolate candy coating, melted.

Directions

1.   Place crushed crackers in a shallow bowl. Insert one lollipop stick into each marshmallow. Dip two-thirds of each marshmallow in melted candy coating; allow excess to drip off. Dip in cracker crumbs, covering about half of the chocolate.
2.   Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Ice Cream, ingredients – 1 cup canned pumpkin, ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 quart vanilla ice cream softened, and gingersnaps, though optional.

Directions

1.   In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin and pie spice until well blended.
2.   Stir in ice cream.
3.   Freeze until serving. Mixed with gingersnaps if desired

Coffin Ice Cream Sandwiches, ingredients – ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons vanilla frosting divided, orange and black paste food coloring, 6 ice cream sandwiches, and yellow, brown, and orange jimmies and/or Halloween sprinkles

Directions

1.   Tint ½ cup frosting orange and 1 tablespoon frosting black
2.   Cut corners off each ice cream sandwich to from coffin shapes
3.   Dip sides of sandwiches in jimmies
4.   Frost tops with orange frosting.
5.   Decorate as desired with black frosting, remaining white frosting and jimmies and/or sprinkles
6.   Freeze until serving.

Posted Oct. 2, 2019

Terrence Talley and Yam Haus came to BHS on Tuesday, Oct. 2.  Talley spread his message through stories, music, and some memorable teacher dancing.  The assembly began by the student body jamming out to popular music. Terrence then called out several teachers down to the floor to show of their moves.  After some fun, Talley got more serious, sharing several stories about how he learned that the most powerful message that we need to hear every day is "Don't Give Up!"  For many, the most powerful moment came when Talley asked the staff to come down to the floor to share "Dad Hugs" with the student body.  Many students and staff have called Talley and Yam Haus the best assembly that they have experienced in their time in the Brookings School District.  

By Kaylie Burke

Posted Oct. 2, 2019

This year the Marching Band has chosen to do El Barrio as their show for the season. It’s about the Spanish Harlem of New York City, the birthplace of many musical artists. This year the band has experienced a few more interesting challenges other than more members. New staff have been added as some had to leave. Penny Robinson, who has been a part of the band for many years as assistant director and head instructor for the colorguard, has retired. However, the band continues to thrive and are confident in their show. But what does it take to make a successful marching band show. Mr. Stary, high school band director for 29 years, has kindly given his statement of how our band works, the process of choosing the show, and how the band cooperates in general. 

How many choices did you have for show ideas? Four other shows.

What made you choose El Barrio? The Students reactions and how they enjoyed it.

Do you think the show is too simple or shorter than previous shows? About the same.

Is the leadership team this year good at working together? Yes, this year’s leaders are good at what their doing.

How do you think people will respond to the show? They’ll have fun and be excited.

Is the focus and discipline coming together? It’s getting there, but it is noticeable if it’s not.

Are the freshman getting comfortable, from what you have seen? Yes, of course it takes time for anyone to get settled in with changes, but yes from what I’ve yes.

What are some reasons why students should join band, in your opinion? They learn more about teamwork and how to take criticism from others and not get offended. 

September 21st at the Pursuit of Excellence in Marshall, MN the Brookings Bobcat Band took first place in their class. It is safe to say that all the hard work that the band has put it has paid off. Though this is the band’s first competition and they have many more to go. They will continue to work hard and do our school proud. The next competition will be this weekend Tri-State in Luverne SD and Big Sioux Review in Brandon.