Category Archives: Sidney Reynolds

Sidney Reynolds

Newspaper, yearbook staffs excel at recent competitions

Leave a comment

By Sidney Reynolds

Last Friday The Bagpiper newspaper Staff and Bartizan Yearbook staff went to Southeastern Indiana’s High School Press Association convention at Indiana University Southeast where The Bagpiper was named Newspaper of the Year for the ninth consecutive year. Additionally, the Bartizan yearbook was named Yearbook of the Year.

The Bagpiper newspaper and Bartizan yearbook were honored at two different conventions in October. The Bagpiper was named a Hoosier Star newspaper at the Indiana High School Press Association convention, and Newspaper of the Year at the Southeastern Indiana Student Press Association convention. The Bartizan was named Yearbook of the Year at the SISPA convention. Photo by JT Samart.

These honors came one week after The Bagpiper was named a Hoosier Star newspaper at the annual Indiana High School Press Association convention at Franklin College, placing it among the state’s top newspapers. The newspaper and Bartizan yearbook also won several individual Harvey awards at the IHSPA convention.

“I was really happy to see it do so well. We spent a lot of time and dedication on producing a good book for our students and competitions,” said senior Lauren McNeeley, Bartizan editor-in-chief.

Sophomore Jalyn Kowalski won second place in On-site Student Life Design at the IHSPA convention.

“It was really a big accomplishment for me because it was the first time I’ve ever done something like that,” said Kowalski.

McNeeley said the numerous yearbook awards are a reflection of the staff’s high standards. “We have very high standards for the work that we do. I think that’s what pushes us for our photos and captions to make a good yearbook,” she said.

Senior Anna Boone, co-editor-in-chief of The Bagpiper, said the newspapers staff’s focus on producing quality journalism has paid off.

“It was very rewarding,” she said. “I think it solidifies all the hard work we have been doing throughout the year.”

Senior Grace Runkel, co-editor-in-chief of The Bagpiper, agreed with Boone.

“I was really honored to win this award again. It was nice to see all our hard work pay off,” said Runkel.

Boone said the writing and reporting talents of the newspaper journalists helped lead to the recent honors.

“I think every single year we’ve had great writers on our staff, especially this year,” she said.

For next year, The Bagpiper plans to work on their website design and layout, and the Bartizan is already putting together this year’s yearbook for the next competition.

“We are going to continue our excellent writing,” added Boone.

The most recent edition of The Bagpiper was published and distributed at FC today. Interested readers can look through pdf’s of pages posted on this website.

To see a complete list of individual students honored at the SISPA convention, click here.

To see a complete list of individual students honored at the IHSPA convention, click here.

A&E, Sidney Reynolds

Marching band prepares for competition Saturday

Leave a comment

By Sidney Reynolds

You can hear the roar of music coming from the marching band as they practice for tomorrow’s competition. They almost know the entire routine for the show and they plan to finish it this week.

“We’re coming along well but there’s still room for improvement,” said senior Amber Sprigler.

Besides practice they improve their show by performing at football games and doing competitions. Last Saturday they went to North Harrison for their first competition and then Paoli for their second competition of the day.

“We have a large group of freshman that are learning to perform. Saturday we performed two shows and that was a first for a lot of them,” said marching instructor Chris Jackson.

Doing two shows in one day is a very hard thing for the band and staff to do. They must be at the practice band field at 8 a.m., practice for a little over two hours and go eat breakfast the band parents made for them.

“The parents took time from their busy lives to make food straight from the bottom of their hearts and we are so thankful that they do that,” said junior Craig Bossley.

Then they drive all the way to their location, perform, and wait until the awards. After that they go back to FC eat the lunches made by band parents, they leave for their second competition, wait for awards, and then finally come back to the school.

“We did quite well at both. Although we did not win at Paoli, we still had a strong performance, especially our color guard,” said senior Jesse Renn.

At Paoli they came in second below Jasper but won best color guard. At North Harrison they placed first in all categories against Bloomington South and Jeffersonville and won best overall band.

“Marching was our best; music could use some improvement like being louder,” said Jackson.

Tomorrow they are hoping to win and the guard is hoping to keep their undefeated season going at Corydon Central.

“We are trying to keep the tradition of first placing from winter guard going,” said guard instructor Chris Delin.

The contest will begin at 10:30 a.m. but they will perform at 12:44. Also, the Invitational is Saturday 5:30 p.m.  An invitational is where FC will be holding a contest where bands will come to the football field and compete. The band will perform and be scored but will not actually be in the contest or be in the running for any awards.

“I love getting to watch smaller bands; it really shows how lucky you are to be in such a big band family,” said Bossley.

Additionally, the band will perform at tonight’s football game during halftime.

 “I am pretty pumped about tonight’s game. We are constantly adding on to our show, and it is nice to show people something new every week,” said sophomore Allyson Lockhart.

Dazzlers, Sidney Reynolds, Sports

Dazzlers already preparing for nationals in the spring

Leave a comment

By Sidney Reynolds

Yells of encouragement ring throughout the gym as the Dazzlers start practicing their routine.

“We go over our routine a lot and I ask my teammates to watch.If they see something is wrong, they tell me how I can correct it,” said sophomore Kayleigh Brewer.

At practice it is common for the Dazzlers to support each other not only to make adancer better  but also to make the entire team stronger. To have a strong team everyone on it must be supportive of each other. It helps make the performance better and more enjoyable for the entire team.

For the Dazzlers, dancing helps them in more ways than just getting fit and having a hobby. “Dazzling is more than just dance. It teaches you life lessons. Also, you make friends you can hangout with outside of practice,” said senior Brooke Lentz.

The Dazzlers have been working hard to make sure their routine is perfect this year for nationals in  February. They have a year round season with practices four times a week for two and half hours long.

 “Practices are long and hard but are completely 100 percent worth it at the end of the day,” said sophomore Coral Portman.

Nationals are their biggest competition and is held in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The Dazzlers will be there foran entire week.That is much longer than their normal competitions, which generally last around six hours.

“This early in the seasonwe are looking good, but we have to work todo before nationalsin February,” said Lentz.

 The Dazzlers have won in Orlando from 2003 to 2012. Last year they doubled titled in varsity pom and hip- hop at nationals.

“I don’t go into the season expecting to win nationals because I don’t want the girls to just think they will win every year. I want them to go into the season giving a 100 percent plus an extra 20 percent to be better then last year,” said coach Todd Sharp.

 This year the team is training to have an 11th consecutive win. “We had done what present Dazzlers, past Dazzlers, and Todd had pushed us for, our 10th consecutivewin in varsity pom,” said senior Regan Wimsatt.

They still have a while until nationals, but they will train for it at practices and performing at football games.  They also have many competitions between now and then they use to prepare for nationals. Their next performance is during halftime at the home game tonight. 

 “I can’t image dancing for anyone else because when we go to a competition I see the ways the other teams look at us and I am so proud to be a Floyd Central Dazzler,” said Portman.

Boys Cross Country, Features, Sidney Reynolds

Doebbler excels in the classroom and on the track

Leave a comment

By Sidney Reynolds

Before a big race junior Zach Doebbler always puts his headphones on and cranks his favorite metal music on high so he can focus for the big race ahead of him. He began running at a young age and decided to embrace it, and like so many of his teammates he got a start through his parents.

“I actually got into cross country when I was six. My dad had coached for 23 years at a school in Arizona, and he had taken me under his wing to run with him. New to the whole running aspect, I quickly picked it up and carried it with me up to this point,” said Doebbler.

Now he is in his third year on the varsity cross country team. “Zach is an extremely strong competitor. He wants to win every time he goes out and runs,” said junior teammate Grant Reynolds.His father,William Doebbler, who originally inspired him said, “I am extremely proud of him. He has worked very hard to get where he is at.”

Doing practices that are usually an hour and 30 minutes long everyday including weekends, he has definitely earned it.

“At least twice a week we [the varsity team] will have intense runs to train our speed and one long run typically ranging from 12-17 miles,” said Doebbler.

Doebbler plans to attend a Division One school and to run both track and cross country, which is why he is taking honors Algebra II, AP Composition, AP Psychology, and advanced classes in web design. “He treats school like running; he works hard, and does good in school as well,” said Reynolds.

To make his college dream come true he has to plan his schedule very carefully to make sure he has enough time for practice and to get his homework done.

“I try to have a good balance between my heavy course load and demanding schedule by completing my homework in school and getting as much help as possible from my teachers. For me, life is about picking and choosing,” said Doebbler, “and sometimes I have to cut down on other extracurricular activities and time with friends in order to meet my team’s demands.”

He also has his friends to help whenever he needs it. “Zach is a hard worker and it helps push the rest of the team to try and stay up with him,” said junior teammate Reese Tarr.

“He is always encouraging the junior varsity guys at races,” said sophomore Brett Yeaton.

“He’s a great friend. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes me laugh.” said Reynolds.  Fitting in school, family, and sports can be very challenging but he manages.

“Most of my time is spent with my team overall, and most of my team has become a part of my social life,” said Doebbler. “All of my teammates encourage healthy behavior, even to the extent of getting good sleep and eating right. Our team is very much so like a family; we are very tight-knit.”

With all his friends and family out there to motivate him, he is a student-athlete that has a future in track as well as in academics.

“The only thing I have to say is watch out everyone, I’m going for all-state,” said Doebbler.