By Jacey Jira and Brooklyn Ketcham

Trojan Tribune Staff

Is your class schedule full for next year? If not, you should consider taking a few new classes West Central will be offering. This year, the school introduced a couple new classes to their students, and will be presenting a few more in the 2012-2013 school year. When asked how decisions about new classes were made, counselor Kieron Murphy stated, “We talked to the staff and asked them what they would like to teach. If they propose something, we put it out to the students to see if it would be something they would be interested in taking.” A downfall to offering new classes is the expense of new materials and possibly hiring a new teacher. West Central staff and students are excited and ready for the challenge of the new opportunities.

The new classes offered for the 2011-2012 school year were Film Appreciation, Photography and 3D Art and Honors Chemistry. Film Appreciation is taught by Cindy Schumacher. Movies are shown, and the students are expected to write an analysis over the movie. David Tuch teaches Photography and 3D Art; students learn the history and technique of photography, and they also create 3D objects. Lastly, Honors Chemistry was taught by Jane Hamze. This course is a more advanced version of Chemistry, which will prepare students for AP Chemistry. West Central accepted these challenges very well.

The new courses for the upcoming school year will be Tech Quest, Everyday Geometry, Intro to Business, Native American Studies and Contemporary Literature. Tech Quest will be a very independent class taught by Paula Hawks. Students will research and create technology projects. Everyday Geometry, taught by Theresa Skinner, will be offered to students who need more assistance with Geometry. Brad Kennett will be offering Intro to Business, which will teach students how to design and run their own business. The class will focus on students interested in Entrepreneurial Studies. Native American Studies will be taught by Kent Mueller. The class will emphasize aspects of Native American life, mainly tribes from South Dakota and the Northern Plains. Last, but not least, Contemporary Literature will be offered. Karin Renner will be teaching the semester-long class that intends to improve reading comprehension. Teachers and students are anxious to begin the new adventures.

New opportunities are opening at West Central, so don’t be afraid to jump in and learn something new. These new classes will give you a taste of something different. Taking a variety of classes now will open your view of different careers for the future. Don’t be afraid to grasp new experiences.

By Brooklyn Ketcham and Brennan Ensz

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo Courtesy of Tracy Ketcham

While Friday the 13th tends to be perceived as a day of bad luck, the Lady Trojans were ready to take on the challenge by playing the Harrisburg Tigers. After losing their first game to Harrisburg 69-62, the Lady Trojans were prepared to face their rivals. The Trojans knew it was a big game for them; they needed a win to stay in the hunt for a conference title. The Trojans began the game with a 10-0 run, but the Tigers fought back to a close halftime score of 24-20, with the Trojans still on top.

After halftime, both teams were ready to battle again. The Tigers were on top almost the whole second half. Madison Kuehl surprised the Tigers when she hit a big three pointer to get the Trojans rolling again with 43 seconds left of the game. This put the Trojans ahead 41-39. The Tigers responded well though, hitting a baseline jumper with just 16 seconds to play. Allie Macdonald, for the Trojans, raced the ball down the court with a pass to Brennan Ensz. Wide open, Ensz nailed the game-winning shot with just 5 seconds left. The Tigers had one more attempt, but the shot fell short, leaving the Trojans with a 43-41 victory. Macdonald finished with 10 points, and Kuehl finished with nine points.

The 6-2 Lady Trojans will host the Dell Rapids Quarriers on January 17, and they will travel to Milbank on January 21.