Blue-Blooded Cardinals

Vol. 80 | Issue 3
4
Shootout
Threat
Prompts
Lockdown
Across
America
Vague Social
Media Post
Warns
Students Not
to go to ‘RHS'
Raytown
Beats
Ray
South
Both Bluejay
Basketball
Teams
Dominate
Blue-Blooded Cardinals
Raytown Transfers Sent Back to Raytown South High
Art of the Month
02 | TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
News
Emergency lockdown and
additional security presence
9
2015-2016
Editor-in-Chief
Yermeya Bagunu
Web Producer
RF: How did you set up the photograph?
Ad Manager
Ashley DiCapo
Writers
Cesar Alvarez
Irene Biskinis
Ashley Dedrickson
Mitchell Grabill
Jonea Grigsby
Chance Prosser
Photographers
Alexandra Mederos
Sarannah Paul
Illustrator
Sergio
Parra-Espinosa
Adviser
Scott Collins
The Little Country
that Could
AS: “I took multiple photographs and combined it into
one with Photoshop. One was taken at a park and the
rest were taken at a children's playground.”
Why not to be scared of North
Korea's hydrogen bomb claims
R: What was your inspiration for the photograph?
AS: “My inspiration was things I've seen on Tumblr
and my cousin's personality.”
10
Every month, a new piece of art is chosen to be our Art of
the Month. Entries are turned in to Mr. Collins in room 305.
RAYFLECTOR
the
Photo Editor
Darian Malone
Students spending second
semester at different high school
10
Sports
RAYFLECTOR: Is photography something you do for fun
or want to pursue as a career?
Hanine Alhaydar
Shelten Brown
Raytown Transfers
Rejected
About the Art
Ashley Stevenson: “Both. I do it as a hobby and even
though I don't plan to major in art in college, I do plan
to use it as a way to earn money throughout college."
Managing Editor
Opinion
Feature
The purpose of the Rayflector, a monthly newsmagazine, is to inform, entertain, and provide a public forum for student expression. Letters to the editor
and editorials are accepted only if accompanied by a signature. The Rayflector reserves the right to edit or reject any unsolicited materials. For the school
board policy on publications, see Regulation 2910.
Please direct all questions to room 305.
Raytown High School
6019 Blue Ridge Blvd
Raytown, MO 64133
For more stories, pictures, &
information on school events, visit us at
raytownhigh.com
Sports
Raytown Defeats
Ray South
Both Raytown basketball teams
defeat South.
11
Review
Cover Photo |Junior Brynn Deatheridge
was sent to Raytown South after attending Raytown first semester. This photo
shows Deatheridge wishing to rejoin her
friends at Raytown but being denied.
cover by ALEXANDRA MEDEROS
staff photographer
Chiefs Comeback
After Losing Streak
KC football team enters playoffs
after five consecutive losses
Movie Review:
'The Revenant'
Why you should watch the
critically-acclaimed revenge flick
the
RAYFLECTOR
RHS Responds to
Shootout Threats
5
JANUARY 2015 | 03
04 | NEWS / CENTERSPREAD
JANUARY 2015 | 05
RHS Responds to Shootout Threats
Police officers and RHS administrators take precautionary action
story by JONEA GRIGSBY
staff writer
After two shootout threats circulated
on social media, the Raytown Police Department and the Raytown High School
administrators took precautionary measures to ensure the safety of students.
Sunday evening, Jan. 24, a screenshot of a text message was posted to numerous Instagram accounts, Facebook
pages and Twitter feeds. Students were
warned to stay home from school because a shootout would occur on Monday, Jan. 25.
Part of the text read, “Rhs shootout!!!
Don’t come to school tomorrow Monday
January 25th, 2016!!”
Raytown High School isn’t the only
school with the abbreviation of RHS. Ruskin
High School was also of concern, according to KMBC News.
“I would say what initially appears is
that the threat that circulated yesterday
could or could not have applied to Raytown High School,” said Dr. Chad Bruton,
RHS principal. “That’s still up in the air ...
And then other schools with different initials had similar messages. So, it appears
that it was more of a general threat that
was sent out to multiple schools. Regardless, we still want to take any of that seriously.”
Despite the precautionary actions,
many students went home out of concern
for their safety.
“I took my child out because I didn’t
think she was safe,” said Dexter Purnell, fa(1) | An Instagram post showing two different text
messages that were spread on Jan. 24, 2016. Both
contained identical threats with only the school
names being changed.
ther of sophomore Xyanne Purnell.
The precautionary measures that
were taken weren’t enough for the father.
“To be honest,” said Purnell, “I didn’t
think they took it that serious because security wasn’t even checking anybody.”
Sophomore Chris Brocker feels similarly.
“If anything, the school underreacted,” said Brocker. “They took proper caution once they got to school, but they
knew about this threat before the students
got there. I would have never allowed the
students to enter the building.”
Once students realized how seriously
RHS had taken the threat, students spread
their concern through social media.
Some students didn’t take it seriously at all
though and tried to lighten the situation
with humor.
“Why threaten to shoot up the school?
I don’t want to go to math either, but really?” said senior Regan Ross on Twitter.
The precautionary measures that were
taken also interrupted the usual breakfast
schedule for many students, which, for senior Dan Boyd, offered another opportunity to find humor under the circumstances.
“Bruh, we can’t get breakfast! I’m
about to sneak out of the school, and the
stuff they having right now for Raytown,
they’re gonna put on Call of Duty,” said
senior Dan Boyd on Twitter.
Though some students didn’t think the
threat was serious at all, others still had
1
concerns. Those concerns continued to
grow once another threat circulated on
social media on Monday evening, Jan.
25. Part of the text message read, “Rhs
shootout Don’t come to school Tuesday
January, 26th 2016!!”
“I don’t see how people can play
about stuff like this, and y’all fail to understand that when y’all cry wolf, over time
they’re going to stop coming. So when
something really happens and they don’t
come, understand why,” said senior
Ashanti Smith.
Police considered the threat noncredible, and further noted that the message
circulated in other states as well, according to KMBC. However, they still take threats
seriously, and security was heightened as
classes resumed on Tuesday Jan. 26.
At the assembly, Bruton addressed the
threats, reaffirming that the school and
polive believed the threat wasn't credible
but still took precautions.
Police are working with Instagram in
order to obtain the IP address of the original post, according to KCTV5 News.
“[Officers have to take threats seriously] because the safety of our children
is what we’re concerned about,” said
James Brafford, spokesman for the Raytown Police Department (RPD), according
to KCTV5 News.
The RPD hopes to find who made the
threats and is still investigating the origins
of the messages.
2
R
Blue Blooded Cardinals
Raytown Transfers Sent Back
story by HANINE ALHAYDAR
managing editor
BLUEJAYS REACT:
"How would you feel if you had to go to South
right now?"
(2) | An Instagram post containing the second
threat. The first word and the last two sentences are
identical to the message that circulated on Jan.
24, 2016.
photos by JONEA GRIGSBY
staff writer
"I would be upset because it's my senior year."
- senior Gabriells Miller
"I'd be really mad, I don't
know. It's not South, it's that I
like it here."
- sophomore Fred Farrand
Many Raytown transfer students have been sent back to
the school they were originally
supposed to go to based on
border lines.
When students in the
Raytown school district apply
for a transfer, they agree to a
set of rules and expectations
they must carry, and continue
to carry, throughout the school
year.
The transfers that were sent
back were given notice a few
weeks before the end of the
semester, telling them what
they needed to fix in order to
stay at their current school, according to the district.
“In order for a transfer to be
accepted, one must maintain
a 95% attendance rate and
a 2.0 or higher grade point
average (GPA), from the sixth
grade to the student’s current
year, as well as no out-ofschool suspensions,” said
Raytown superintendent Dr.
Allan Markley.
At the start of this year,
approximately 160 students
at Raytown High School were
considered transfers from Raytown South. 34 students had
their transfers revoked. There
will also be very little transfers
accepted in the upcoming
2016-2017 school year.
Continued on next page
06 | CENTERSPREAD
JANUARY 2015 | 07
Raytown Transfers Rejected
Raytown South Transfers Speak Out
story by IRENE BISKINIS and JONEA GRIGSBY
staff writers
Blue Blooded Cardinals
Continued
“Each transfer will be considered individually, but there will be a much tighter
window to get through to have a transfer
request for next year,” said Markley.
With Raytown Senior being 165 students over the limit, there is an overcrowding issue. Due to this reason, all transfers,
except for upcoming 5 graders, 8 graders, and seniors, will need to go back to
their original school according to the border line.
In the fall of the 2015 school year,
Raytown had 2100 new students that were
not enrolled last year. At the same time,
we have 300 students that are new to the
district in 2015 over 2014.
As a long term solution, the school
district is looking at a demographic study.
The study shows them where the best
places to move the borders, according to
The Bluejay versus Cardinal rivalry has
always been mostly about sports. But recently, it’s become a little more personal.
Students that transferred to Raytown
High School from Raytown South High
School have recently been asked to return
to RSHS in order to decrease population.
One former RHS student, Aliyah Cornett,
describes how she feels about having to
return to RSHS.
“I miss Raytown,” said Cornett, “and I
wish they didn’t have to do that but they
did what they had to. [RSHS] isn’t as crowded as Raytown was.”
Teachers have a slightly different perspective on the issue.
“I feel like Raytown High is a bit bigger
than south. I could be wrong, looks can
be deceiving,” said Ms. Whitney Croucher, a special education teacher at RHS
who student taught at RSHS previously.
Mr. Rod Ambelang formerly taught at
RSHS as well.
“During the last few years I was at
South,” Ambelang said. “The population
(1) | Junior Eric Falls sits on a bench next to the Raytown South High School sign. Falls was one of the
students who got transferred back to Raytown South
at the beginning of the semester.
photos by SARANNAH PAUL
staff photographer
on ourselves by allowing 150 transfers,”
the places people move and live.
“It’s kind of difficult in our district. For said Markley
one, we have 2100 new students to the
district that weren’t here last year. But
we’re only up 300. So 1400 of them went
somewhere else and came back. There’s
a 30% transient rate of new students. So
it’s difficult to plan ahead, to set up guidelines,” said Markley.
A transient rate is the rate of change
in where a person lives or works over a
short period of time. The transient rate of
new students affects the border lines and
how many students attend each school.
With the transient rate changing so quickly, from month to month sometimes, it is
hard to determine the border lines.
“We’re in a position where buildings
are big enough where we can house
them as long as we don’t inflict wounds
1
was lower than here at Raytown High. I way easier to
switched schools three years ago bemove in the hallways of Raytown
south,” said Whitney Croucher.
2
Other potential differences between
RHS and RSHS could be offered classes
and rule enforcement.
Since RHS has more students, that
may not mean we have more classes/
electives to offer.
“I want to say that both schools offer
the same elective classes,” said Whitney
Croucher.
Also, population differences don’t
cause the size of the classes here at RHS necessarily mean that one school can
were larger overall than South High. I try be more laid back or more strict than the
not to think too much about class size and other.
just focus on teaching the students that
“Both schools use PBIS and we expect
show up in my classroom.”
great behavior from our students. When
“RHS has about 450 more students students do not follow the rules we discithan RSHS,” said Amy Barrett, the registrar pline students in the same manor,” said
for RHS.
Whitney Croucher.
Since Raytown High has a much largAnother factor that could possibly
er population, it is really shown within our separate RHS from RSHS may be differhallways during passing time.
ences in teaching and criteria.
“Our hallways are smaller and more
“We all work together to teach the
crowded. It is very same material,” said Whitney Croucher
hard
to
move “... so I feel teaching at both schools are
through the halls of very similar.”
RHS. South has less
Overall, Raytown High School and
students and their Raytown South High School are completehallways are bigger, ly different environments, but carry the
so I have to say it is same expectations and quality content.
(1) | A Raytown border
map for the high
schools. The borders
are drawn depending
on the density of the
students.
(1) | Brynn Deathridge
sitting on the steps in
Raytown. Brynn is a junior
that was sent to South
due to grades.
(1) | Eric Falls posing
inside of Raytown South.
Eric Falls had his transfer
rejected and now goes
to South.
photos by
SARANNAH PAUL and
ALEXANDRA MEDEROS
staff photographers
3
From the Editor's Desk
Just Party and Go
Graduation is coming up, Seniors!
Address: Let
10028 E. 63rd St Raytown, Mo 64133
Phone:
(816) 328-6399
Put your ad here, and let us promote your business
help with the perfect graduation party.
KZ’z special package going through May includes:
- Catering- appetizer bar, cake, and candy bar
- 5 hours in the even space
- Employee’s do all the set-up and clean-up
- DJ Services
Middle School Nights (6, 7, 8th graders) every Friday from 6:30-10:00.
February 14th is the Valentine’s Day night for ages 4-11, from 5:30-8:30.
He wants you
Contact us!
Emails:
Scott Collinsscott.collins@raytownhighschools.org
Ashley DiCapo223324@student.raytownschools.org
Or by Phone:
(816) 268-7300 ext. 3134
Like to...
Be Creative?
Write?
Take Photos?
Then Mr. Collins is your man. Apply to any of the Journalism programs...
-Yearbook
-Electronic Journalism
-Newspaper
Applications are due by February 10th!
JANUARY 2015 | 09
This paper is distributed
every month to about 1,700
students and faculty.
What a great way to promote!
The Little Country That Could
On Jan. 6, 2016, North Korea announced it had tested its first hydrogen
bomb, a type of nuclear weapon hundreds of times more powerful than an
atomic bomb.
The Korean Central News Agency
(KCNA), the North’s only news agency,
reported that the test were to guarantee
North Korea’s immunity from an attack,
not to “‘threaten’ anyone” or “‘provoke’
someone for a certain purpose," according to various news reports. But their actions have still provoked international response.
The global community had already
previously condemned their nuclear program. The United Nations (UN) already
made four previous resolutions since North
Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, and the
United States has also taken its own measures to limit North Korean interests, according to the New York Times.
This new test will only worsen their situation as the U.N. is already working on a
resolution to impose tougher sanctions on
North Korea, according to CBS News.
But the effectiveness of further sanctions is questionable. Previous sanction
were meant to force the North to stop
its nuclear program, but the country still
seemingly creating an H-bomb.
The KCNA also stated that North Korean scientists “are in high spirit to detonate H-bombs of hundreds of kilotons and
megatons, capable of wiping out the
whole territory of the US all at once,” according to various news reports.
However, their claims may be overstated.
Investigating tremors caused by North
Korea’s latest nuclear test, the United
States Geological Survey reported seismic waves equivalent to a 5.1 magnitude
earthquake, and the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) reported
a magnitude of 4.9, according to BBC.
South Korea reports an even lower 4.8
quake, according to the New York Times.
These numbers do not line up with
claims of a hydrogen bomb.
South Korea reported a 4.9 quake
from from the North’s third test in 2013,
according to the New York Times. That test
was supposed to be an atomic bomb.
Furthermore, when the Unites States
detonated an H-bomb in 1971, it caused
a 6.3 magnitude seismic event, according to the New York Times. This absolutely
dwarfs North Korea’s latest tests.
Experts thusly believe that North Korea
tested a boosted fission weapon rather
than a fusion weapon (H-bomb), according to Yonhap, South Korea’s largest
news agency. These weapons use some
of the same technology from H-bombs
to increase the power of a fission weapon
(Atomic bomb), and they’re much easier
to make, according to Vice News.
This conclusion is rather unsurprising.
North Korea is already infamous for trying
to fool the outside world with their pictureperfect capital that tourists see instead of
the rest of their otherwise impoverished
country. It’s completely in-character for
them to try to make the world think they’re
stronger than they really are.
The sad thing is that they seem to be
succeeding. North Korea is also viewed
as our second greatest threat with 15 per-
cent of Americans list the country as our
greatest enemy, barely lower than Russia’s 18 percent and more than China’s
12 percent, according to 2015 Gallup
polls. These polls also show 64 percent of
Americans viewing North Korea’s military
power as a critical threat.
We severely overestimate the North
when they’re probably much more scared
of us. With its longtime backer China stating it “firmly opposes” its nuclear tests, according to CNN, they’re left without much
support while South Korea has the firm
support of the United States.
In fact, shortly after the H-bomb test
was announced, the KCNA quoted a
spokesman for North Korea’s foreign
ministry stating the country was open to
peace treaty that included them ceasing
their nuclear program in exchange for the
United States ceasing joint-military operations with South Korea, according to various news sources. Perhaps their supposed
nuclear capabilities are meant to scare
South Korea and by extension the United
States into leaving them alone.
10 | SPORTS / ENTERTAINMENT
Raytown Dominates Ray South
Decisive wins from both RHS basketball teams
The Raytown versus Raytown South the first to play.
basketball games were a total success for
The Lady Jays started off on a fast start
the Bluejays. Both the boys and girls teams by scoring on a 12 - 0 run until the 3:02
had amazing games. The varsity girls were mark in the first quarter. The Lady Jays
dominated the first quarter. At the end of
the first quarter, it was Lady Jays 22, Cardinals 3.
The second quarter didn't have that
much happen. There was very little scoring with the end of the half being Lady
Jays 35, Cardinals 9.
After halftime, the Lady Jays began
to coast for the rest of the game. By the
end of the third quarter, it was Jays 44,
Cardinals 18.
The final score was Lady Jays 52, CarSophomore Mason Fair guards the ball from the op- dinals 24. This was a big win and a terrific
posing team's players. Fair played during the boys
way to start off the day for the Lady Jays.
Raytown Raytown South basketball game, which
Next up were the boys. Playing our
RHS won. “It was like the highlight of our season, but
there’s also more to come,” said Fair.
cross, town rivals is always a hard task.
“When facing a rival school like Ray
photos by SARANNAH PAUL
South, I never have to say anything to mo-
story by MITCHELL GRABILL
staff writer
tivate the players. They all know what they
want to do. But if it was any other game, I
might have to say something to get them
some motivation,” said coach Cody Buford.
The Bluejays came out slow in the first
quarter but still took the lead 10-3. In the
second quarter the Bluejays picked up the
tempo. The score at the half Bluejays 29,
Cardinals 15.
In the third quarter, the Bluejays
came out strong, gaining a larger lead
with a score of Bluejays 48, Cardinals 24.
In the fourth quarter the Bluejays started to
coast. By doing that, they let the Cardinals
get back into the game. At the end of the
game, the final score was Bluejays 62,
Cardinals 47.
M
O
V
I
E
‘The Revenant'
JANUARY 2015 | 11
review by
YERMEYA BAGUNU
editor-in-chief
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes:
82% (Fresh)
IMDB Score:
8.3 / 10
Rayflector Grade:
A (Watch)
staff photographer
Chiefs Turn Around Season
The Chiefs' journey to the playoffs after four losses in a row
story by MITCHELL GRABILL
staff writer
The Kansas City Chiefs started the
season off amazing. Starting off by playing the Houston Texans, Kansas City barely
pulled out a victory by winning by 7.
Week two is where everything fell
apart. The game was on Thursday Night
Football against the Denver Broncos. The
Chiefs had the game won. All they had
to do was run out the clock. But one thing
that all Chiefs fans remembered for the
whole season was when running back Jamaal Charles fumbled and the Broncos
recovered for a touchdown. The final result to that game was Denver 31, Chiefs
24.
After the Denver game everything
went downhill for the Chiefs. By having four
more losses in a row to: the Packers, Bengals, Bears, and Vikings. One major thing
happened during the five game losing
streak: in the Bears game, running back
Jamaal Charles tore his ACL.
Week seven was when the Chiefs
got back into the win column. The first
win came against the Steelers. Following
the Steelers game, the Chiefs won nine
straight games.
“It was really surprising I thought it was
cool and new. We were going to make
the playoffs because of the winning
streak,” said senior Drew Phillips.
The Chiefs were going into the playoffs as a fifth seed. They were starting the
playoffs against the team they started the
season against the Houston Texans.
The playoffs started off with a bang. In
the first time in history the opening kickoff
of the playoffs was returned for a touchdown.
“The Knile Davis kick return that set it
off, at that moment I knew Houston was
in trouble,” said sophomore Lamont Johnson.
The Chiefs had an amazing game,
blowing out the Texans 30 - 0.
The next week the Chiefs had to face
the Patriots, one of the hardest teams
in the NFL. The last time the two teams
played was last year. The Chiefs destroyed
the Patriots by a score of 41 - 14.
This game was a different story. The
Chiefs had a different defense and were
running a different offense this year. The
game didn't go in the Chiefs favor with the
team losing 27 - 20.
This ended their 11 game winning
streak and also their 2015-2016 season.
R
E
V
I
E
W
Visually stunning and narratively satisfying, the film adaption
of the 2002 novel “The Revenant:
A Novel of Revenge” dramatically
recount the true story of American
frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio).
After being mauled by a
bear, Glass is left in critical condition, and two of his crew, John
Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Jim
Bridger (Will Poulter), stay with
Glass and his half-Native American son. Eventually, Fitzgerald kills
Glass’s son then tricks Bridger into
leaving Glass behind, and Glass
must crawl his way back to civilization to seek revenge.
This narrative isn't particuliarly
complex, but the way it's both
grounded in reality yet dramticized make it easy to get emotionally invested in Glass's struggles.
Besides the main plot, the
film also has two subplots: Fitzgerald’s own journey back to the rest
of the company and a Native
American chief’s (Duane Howard) quest to save his kidnapped
daughter (Melaw Nakehk’o).
The subplot with the chief
is my only major gripe with the
movie because it doesn’t really
tie back into the main story. It
feels like unnecessary filler, which
is unneeded when the movie is
more than two hours long.
Fitzgerald’s subplot was better
because his conversations with
Bridger fleshed out his character.
Hardy’s accent and mannerisms
really brought his character to life.
However, by comparison,
DiCaprio’s performance was not
very outstanding. Throughout
most of the movie, his character
is alone or too injured to talk, and
because half his lines are in Native American languages, more
attention is put on subtitles than
his acting.
It's impressive that he learned
two languages and carried most
of the movie nonverbally, but this
isn’t the type of role that’d win him
his first Oscar. Hugh Glass is simply
a hero archetype, not a multi-layered, interesting character.
The best part of this movie is
how gorgeous it looks, which is
a direct consequence of its production.
Director Alejandro Iñárritu was
insistent on using natural lighting
and avoiding any CGI enhancements, and the filming spanned
twelve countries to make sure the
weather was right, according to
the Hollywood Reporter. The budget more than doubled because
of Iñárritu's commitment to high
quality cinematography, according to The Wrap.
This movie is worth watching
just for the artistic merit. I wanted
to watch the movie just to see if it
was worth the extra budget and
effort, and thankfully, the cast's
hardship paid off. I'd reccomend
this movie to anyone.
"The Revenant" won the Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director and Best Actor - Drama and was
nominated for Best Original Score. It also recieved 12 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor,
Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Production Design.
12| THE RAYFLECTOR
not just a name
story by JONEA GRIGSBY
staff writer
Zahria Whiting has cheered her way
to being an all-American cheerleader.
Whiting began cheerleading when
she was six years old, and she says it
comes naturally now.
“I saw ‘Bring It On’ with Gabrielle Union,”
said Whiting, “and it’s one of my favorite
movies. Ever since then, it’s been something I really want to do. I’ve tried several
other sports, but I always ended up going
back to cheer.”
Not only is she captain of the Raytown
High School cheerleading team, she’s
musically talented as well. Whiting is a part
of the RHS Symphonic Orchestra, playing
the violin.
“I started playing violin in the 4 grade.
I’ve always wanted to get involved in music. I mean I can’t sing, so I said maybe
I can get involved with an instrument. It’s
my second year in symphonic orchestra. I
just enjoy music,” Whiting said.
Although she’s musically talented,
cheerleading is her primary passion.
“My main passion is cheer, of course.
No matter what,” Whiting said. “I always go
(1) | Zahria Whiting posing next to a Bluejay playing a violin. Whiting has been playing the violin
since her fourth grade year.
(2) | Whiting posing in front of the gym wall mat.
Whiting has cheer practice in the gym every
Thursday and Friday.
(3) | Leading the cheer team, Zahria performs
one of their cheers. Zahria is the captain of the
cheerleading team, she choreographs dances
for the football and basketball season.
photos by DARIAN MALONE
staff photographer
hard. [After high school] I’m going to go to
college and hopefully cheer, too. But I’ve
also been applying for cheer jobs. I hope
I’m selected for cheer camp with NCA or
UCA. I got my videos together, and hopefully I’m picked. I’ll get to travel to different
colleges, so if I make it, it’ll be really fun.”
Her aspirations have proven to have
done her well so far. Whiting is a threetime all-American cheerleader, and just
last year she won an award at state. She’s
also a J Crew assembly coordinator, and
she writes the scripts for the school assemblies. She’s a part of Student Council and
National Honors Society, and she cheers
outside of school for Nash Gem Elite AllStars, a competitive cheerleading team.
This team has taken her to many places, including Dallas and Branson. They
mostly travel around the Midwest. Along
with those accomplishments, Whiting is a
college ambassador for RHS as well. She
mostly helps seniors figure out where they
want to go to college, and where they are
in the application process.
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