By Alanna Schmeichel, Paige Fromm and Taylor Bergeson

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo Courtesy of SD Emblem and Patch Sales

In the past, West Central has provided a secondary school for the students that attend West Farm. Due to low numbers of young adults that inhabit West Farm, the facility is being shut down. The West Farm establishment has been beneficial for many students with hard lives and troubled backgrounds.

West Central has been the West Farm students’ source of education for several years now. Many people are now wondering what will happen to the kids and the teachers who have been there for the past few years. The kids that live at West Farm will be sent home and the teachers will have to find new jobs. Unfortunately, West Farm closing affects West Central in more ways than one.

West Central will lose around seven students and extra funding from the South Dakota Department Of Corrections. There is also a possibility that we will lose the service of Marlina Renken, who has been the head of the drama department for the previous two years. Renken was going to teach a drama class for the students at West Central, but unfortunately, it is debatable if she will be able to teach at our school. Janel Oltmanns also travels to West farm and teaches a math class to the West Farm students. Another teacher that we have had that has come from West Farm is Levi Tvedt. He teaches there and was the boys basketball coach for the 2011-2012 season.

Losing the extra funding from the South Dakota Department of Corrections will also make West Central’s budget a little tighter in the upcoming years. Unfortunately, that means that some things will have be cut from our school’s extra circular activities and elective classes. West Farm has played a large part in the West Central School District, and in the community. The facility will be missed by the students who benefited from the services that the generous staff members of West Farm provided.

By Alanna Schmeichel and Paige Fromm

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo by Paige Fromm

On March 2, choir director Rebecca Bialas took five ensemble groups and 12 soloists to Augustana College for a contest. Every ensemble and soloist got an excellent or superior rating. Bialas said, “Overall, I was happy with the singers’ performance at contest.” She thought some scores were higher than expected and some were lower, but some of the individuals and groups preformed exceptionally well, according to Bialas.

Most singers thought the work they put into their songs reflected the score they were awarded. A few singers put in hard work and felt their score didn’t reflect on that hard work. Bialas reminds those singers, “The score is just one judge’s opinion, on one performance, on one day. You need to be proud of yourself.”

At the end of the contest, three ensemble groups received superior ratings. Those ensembles were the women’s group, mixed group and men’s group. The other two ensembles got excellent ratings, and the mixed group and women’s group comprised individuals from the mixed choir.

“Waiting for your score is nerve racking,” said Brianna Titus. One soloist was awarded a perfect score–junior Isaac McMahon. Four other soloists received superior ratings. Those soloists were: senior Brianna Titas, junior Liz Renner and sophomores Savannah Green and Alanna Schmeichel. Seven soloists were awarded excellents.  These included seniors Alex Qualm and Mallorie Minor, juniors Courtney Anderson and Zach Wiseman and sophomores Elise West, Kristie Schmidt and Maria Wegleitner. Most soloists are planning to do another solo next year.

By the end of the day, everyone had a favorite part of the contest. For some it was just hanging out with friends. Others, like freshman Rachel Schartz, liked watching her classmates and other schools perform. Mallorie Minor said, “I liked watching people come out of their comfort zone, like I did with my solo.” Then there are a few people like McMahon that liked going to the mall to eat and hang out with friends.

When soloists and ensemble groups received their comments from the judge, the majority were pleased. Most people would like to go again next year. Bialas now has things to improve on for next year. She is planning to go again with the same size group.

All of concert choir and some mixed choir members included: Riley Danielsen, Dylan From, Cole Rockafellow, Keagan Peters, Dillon Deffenbaugh, Elsie West, Rachel Schartz, Savannah Green, Ashlynn Henning, Amber Weber, Nasya Sechser, Kylie Hanisch, Samantha Jennings and Amanda Pennock.

By Alanna Schmeichel and Paige Fromm

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo courtesy of Golfingvalley.com

With spring just weeks away, several WC girls are ready to clear the dust from their golf bags. The returning golfers this year are: junior Angie Ewert, sophomore Sadie Swier, freshmen Janell Healy and Michaela Sterret and also a few eighth graders.

The outlook for the season looks promising due to the large number of returning golfers. Swier said, “I don’t know the upcoming golfers, but almost everyone is in the same position of just learning the game of golf.” Ewert believes this season will go really well because they have more high schoolers than last year. Sadie, on the other hand, doesn’t know how this season will go, but her main focus for the team is to have fun and just learn how to play the game. She thinks that her team accomplishes having fun very well.

The girls golf team has been practicing at the Avera dome every Saturday for the past month and a half. The team also went to a golf camp on Feb. 17. Angie likes golf because it’s fun and it’s a reason to skip school. She also likes getting a tan. Sadie likes golf because it is an alternative to track. She also likes getting that one good shot or one good hole. Angie and Sadie are both extremely excited for this season. Their first meet is March 29 at O’ Gorman High School.