The KilnMorton High SchoolThe KilnMorton High SchoolThe KilnTuesday, February 23, 2009

If you walked by the east gym this past Thursday you would have seen the whole gym fi lled with students saving lives. The American Red Cross Blood Drive, sponsored by Student Council and headed by Adriana Garcia, came to our school on Thursday from 8:00 am - 1:30 pm During those fi ve and a half hours 94 students and three faculty members gave blood. They say that one person saves three lives so. So if you calculate that out, our school saved 291 lives. Talking to Tracy, a Clinical Instructor, I found out some very useful information if you are contemplating giving blood. You must be 110-350 lbs., 16 years old with parent’s consent and 17 without one, have 12.5 hemoglobin of Iron, a pulse between 50-100, blood pressure no higher than 180/100 and no lower 80/50, and you must have a temperature between 96.0-99.4°F. As of right now the Red Cross has between a 0-3 day supply of each blood and the ideal would be to have a 10 day supply of each. December was a really bad month for them because of

If you walked by the east gym this past Thursday you would have seen the whole gym fi lled with students saving lives. The American Red Cross Blood Drive, sponsored by Student Council and headed by Adriana Garcia, came to our school on Thursday from 8:00 am - 1:30 pm During those fi ve and a half hours 94 students and three faculty members gave blood. They say that one person saves three lives so. So if you calculate that out, our school saved 291 lives. Talking to Tracy, a Clinical Instructor, I found out some very useful information if you are contemplating giving blood. You must be 110-350 lbs., 16 years old with parent’s consent and 17 without one, have 12.5 hemoglobin of Iron, a pulse between 50-100, blood pressure no higher than 180/100 and no lower 80/50, and you must have a temperature between 96.0-99.4°F. As of right now the Red Cross has between a 0-3 day supply of each blood and the ideal would be to have a 10 day supply of each. December was a really bad month for them because of

MHS Students Give Their Time, Bloodall the bad weather. Not as many people came out and a lot of the drives were cancelled. If a catastrophe occurred today the Red Cross would be in need of much more blood than they have. When asked what they did, if anything, to prepare for giving blood many students had different methods. Shelby Mason said she added more iron to

her diet and ate a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel that morning. Iron is a very important element to have enough of when you are giving blood. Lauren Colby said she took multivitamins and ate a bigger breakfast than usual.

Although some prepared, there were still incidents of people getting dizzy and passing out. Gabby Segletz said, “People need to

eat more for breakfast.” Doing this one simple

thing can increase your chances of staying conscious after giving blood.

After giving blood, the student council provided the donors with many tasty foods to get your nutrients back into your body. This included: pizza, gondolas, cookies, water with crystal lite, and pretzels. Giving blood helps so many people and we don’t even realize it. Just recently there was a teacher who used to teach at Morton High School who desperately needed blood. Her son, who is 11, is a cancer patient. He went into the hospital and needed emergency blood. The hospital was very low on blood and they didn’t have enough for him. The hospital turned to the Red Cross and saved the little boy’s life. Mrs. Reynolds, faculty sponsor of Student Council said, “What you guys did today really does matter.”

We all know how boring March can get. Turnabout is over and everyone is just waiting for Spring Break to roll around. Sra. Johnson and Interact thought that a talent show would be just the thing to spice up the month of March at MHS. For all you students AND teachers out there needing a fun little break for a night, sign up for the Interact Talent Show on Friday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m.There are so many options for you to choose from. If you are a singer or a dancer this would be a great opporunity to show off your talent. If your group of friends puts on a mean jump rope routine, sign up! If the teachers out there want to show students that you’ve stepped it up since homecoming, go ahead! Anything is possible and they are looking for some fun and interesting talents. If you are interested make sure you get your audition tape in to Sra. Johnson by March second.For all of you out there that don’t want to strut your stuff on stage, come watch! There will be food, concessions, and prizes. It only costs three dollars at the door and three dollars for all participants. All proceeds will go to TCRC, one of Interact’s favorite charities . Some people may ask, What is interact? Interact is a service group sponsored by the spanish teacher,Sra. Johnson. It meets at 7:20 every other friday in the Bertha Frank auditorium, In the past this group has volunteered at soup kitchens, christmas caroled at nursing homes, thrown a can food drive for abuse prevention, sent gifts to poor children in Africa around christmas time, and done many other fun and personally rewarding deeds. This Spring they will be throwing their big Senior Citizen Brunch. On Friday May eighth students will be able to show appreciation for their grandparents and invite them to MHS to come eat, laugh, and just have fun! Last year a grandma and a grandpa were crowned King and Queen of the brunch. For all of you students out there its not too late to join Interact! If you are interested come see Sra. Johnson in room 27 or be at the Bertha Frank at 7:20 this Friday.

Interact Hosts Talent Show in Bertha Frank

The spring musical is always an exciting event at Morton High School and this year is no exception. This year’s production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” is bound to be one of the most enjoyable, theatrical performances this year. Senior Veronica Stalter was very excited about “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” She said that the show “is full of good music and very fun dancing numbers.” Stalter said she can’t wait to receive the script so she can begin to read through it. When one of the directors, Mrs. Rebmann, was asked why the directors chose “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” she gave several reasons. She said, “Millie has just seen a revival on Broadway, it has a lot of tap and jazz dancing, and it has a lot of characters so that the school can showcase its many talented people.” Millie can be described as a fun, light-hearted comedy with both romance and mystery according to Mrs. Rebmann. All the excitement building around this show was leading to an exciting couple days of auditions. Mrs. Rebmann said this about choosing a cast, “Since we have such a strong talent pool, the biggest factor in choosing the leads is preparation.” Preparation is also one of the key things on all of the student’s minds leading up to auditions. Veronica Stalter said, “In order to get prepared I will study, study, study everything from lines to music.” Auditions were held on February 11 and 12 and several students were called back on February 13th for another round of auditions. This intense auditioning process allowed the directors to pick out a strong cast for this year’s musical. Come see “Thoroughly Modern Millie” April 30-May 3.

Thoroughly Modern, Thoroughly Exciting Here is the leading cast for this year’s production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie:”Millie Dillmount - Kelsey Christian

Jimmy - Mitch Connolly

Muzzy - Lauren Deppe

Trevor Graydon - Dan Ziemniak

Miss Dorothy - Ronni Stalter

Miss Flannery - Megan Simpson

Mrs. Meers - Alexis Moore

Bun Foo - Kelsey Phillis

Ching Ho - Erik Zimmerman

MaryAnn - Alyssa McClenthen

Grandpa Graydon - Mitch Vandiver

Policeman/Photographer - Austin

Simpson

George Gershwin - Matt Boswell

Ira Gershwin - Michael Doolittle

Dorothy Parker - Becca Butterfi eld

Guest #1 - Megan Eastman

Guest #2 - Michael Doolittle

Guest #3 - Ashlie Antrim

Rodney - Josh Graham

Kenneth - Jake Geiger

Mathilde - Ann Riddle

Pearl Lady - Brooke Swift

Dancing Stenogs:Nicole Flynn, Rachel Miller, Savannah Mitchell, Becca Butterfi eld, MeganEastman, Liz Siron, Brooke Swift, Liz

Kaeb, Brittany Burk, Katelyn Ifft,Caitlin Closner, Heather Placko, Amanda Shaffer

Party Guests:Ariel Davis, Corinna Minor, Megan Mertens, Cagney Ryan, Gwen Jackson,Jessica King, Jessica Williams, Kim Kratz, Maggie McCarthy

Muzzy’s Boys / Modern Men:Jake Geiger, Josh Graham, Michael Doolittle, Mitch Vandiver, Austin Simpson,Brian Comella, Matt Boswell

Modern Women:Ashlie Antrim, Katelyn Ifft, Rachel Miller, Savannah Mitchell,Nicole Flynn

Priscilla Girls:

Ruth - Emma Roth

Gloria - Alyssa “Fred” Lauer

Rita - Sara Pilcher

Lucille - Jessie Linder

Alice - Justina Risinger

Cora - Leah Roth

Ethel Peas - Caitlin Closner

Jane - Emily Salyers

Sophie - Jannika Paulamaki

Jill - Ashley Coon

Dishwasher - Austin Simpson

Dexter - Brian Comella

Daphne - Cagney Ryan

Mama - Brian Comella

By Erik Zimmerman and Ashley Dick

By Britt Mohns

By Megan Pitcher

Studentspage two

The Kiln

What is French club? Many of you have probably heard on the announcements about French club meetings and not really known what it’s all about. French club is a social gathering where students can get together in a casual, relaxed environment and speak and learn about French. Mademoiselle Gibson says, “It is just fun,” and that the club is always full of good food, fun, and fun people. She also mentioned that her favorite part about the club is how random it is and that aspect makes it a good time. She also mentioned that she loved when everyone comes and is having fun while learning about the French language and culture. French club can be joined by anyone who is interested, not just those who are in French. It is an open community that anyone can join. Mlle. Gibson started this club her fi rst year she taught here at Morton High School. She wanted to offer different things that time doesn’t allow in class and also open French up to many different people. Some of the upcoming events of the French club are a French scrabble tournament that is being held next Friday, they are having a coffee hour next month at Eli’s, and they are also hoping to have dinner at French Toast like they did last year. If any of these things interest you maybe French club is something to check out in Mlle. Gibson’s room every month.

Tired of eating the same thing everyday for lunch? Robyn Ekstam, manager of Sodexo, thought of a solution. Come on down to the “Path” Café. There are a lot of different varieties of food to choose from. There are turkey, ham, and roast beef sandwiches. They come on a fresh baked Kaiser roll, along with a bag of fresh apple slices, carrot sticks, chips, and can either have milk, a bottle of water, or soda. Mustard and mayonnaise are also offered for the sandwiches. Salads are available too. There are chef salads, chicken Caesar salads, and crispy chicken salads. Salad dressings are also available for the salads.

“The salads are delicious and the prices are reasonable” said senior, Alexis Moore. These

salads also come with a drink. The prices are a great deal too. The prices range from $2.75-$3.50. After getting the food, there are places to sit in

the lobby of the Bertha Frank. Mrs. Ekstam provides tall, café like tables with four chairs surrounding them. “It provides a quiet atmosphere and there is music that plays to make it a café theme,” said Mrs. Ekstam. There has been a great turn out so far. Some days all the tables are full and some days a whole table would be empty, it just depends. Mrs. Ekstam wants to keep this café going as long as she can. She is having a “trial” for four to six weeks. “It will stay open as long as students keep coming,” said Mrs. Ekstam. It is a way for students to get away from all the noise in the cafeteria. They can have a chance to relax between their classes. “I love it! I love being able to read and I like the quiet environment,” said senior Alexis Moore. So, come on down to the “Path” Café, eat wonderful food, and enjoy the music fi lling environment.

“It was a thrill!” said Morton High School freshman Mark Murphy after stepping off The Convincer, thoroughly convinced. The Convincer is an Illinois State Police program that attempts to show students the importance of always wearing a seatbelt. At Morton, students allowed to ride The Convincer are the students in drivers ed. The Convincer can be likened to small roller coaster. After fi lling out the permission slip, students walk up several steps into a seat where they buckle up. Then, the police offi cer pulls a lever and the student goes sliding down a ramp crashing into a bumper at fi ve to ten mph. After stepping off The Convincer, all of the students interviewed seemed to be convinced. Freshmen Kaleb Cottingham said that although riding it wasn’t very fun, he will be sure to wear his seatbelt from now on. Freshman Lindsey Mathers thought it was fun, was defi nitely convinced, but thought it should have gone faster. The Convincer was a program that started in spring of 2006. Morton was one of the fi rst schools that the State Police brought the Convincer to. Morton was chosen because of the numerous teen deaths from car accidents in Tazewell County. Currently, the state law is that all passengers in the front seat are required to wear a seat belt, and only passengers younger than 16 are required to wear a seat belt in the back seat. State Police Offi cer Halley urges that everyone wears seatbelts at all times. So remember, buckle up for safety!

By: Nick Schwartzentraub & Ashley Ulhman

Convincer Lives Up To The Name!

Kaleb Co� ngham buckles up,preparing to ride The Convincer.

A New “Path” For Lunch

By: Danielle Goodspeed

“O u i , ” We are French Club!

By: Anna Downing

page three

The Kiln FacesThe Kiln FacesThe Kiln

You may have heard of the new exciting cheering section at this years Morton basketball games. Block M is all the rage and more. Block M started when Coach Schupp talked to Mrs. Johnson at the red white game about starting an organized student cheering section. The only requirement is to show up at the basketball games and to cheer loudly! The goal is to mimic the intensity and school spirit of Block I at the U of I basketball games. This year Block M is just getting started, but hopefully by next year it will have more student support and enthusiasm at home and away games.

Courtney Reubin was born at OSF Saint Francis hospital on September 29, 1990, to Kim Klein and Brian Reubin. She is currently 18 years old and now a senior at MHS. Courtney describes herself as “Really laid back, random, and fun!” When asked who she looks up to and why, Courtney replied by saying, “My dad, because he is the greatest dad ever, and is always there for me no matter what.” Courtney is on the high school dance team and loves every minute of it. Courtney is full of life and loves to have a good time. When asked what her favorite memories about high school Courtney replied, “Decorating cookies in communications junior year with Bailey and Sam, lunch with my jackeroo,

On July 18, 1991, Emily Schaefer was born at OSF Saint Francis Hospital in Peoria to her parents, Timothy and Jodi Schaefer. Emily has been involved in many activities during her years here at MHS including Varsity cheerleading and track. She also cheers and dances competitively for Cheer Time USA and the Edge Dance Team. When asked what she would miss most about high school she responded, “Cheering at football games.” Emily’s favorite memory from high school was “TP-ing the football players houses.” Her current plans after high school are to attend the University of Iowa. She will most likely major in engineering. In ten years Emily sees herself with

If you are looking for something to do this week, go to Washington High School and support the girl’s basketball team during their Regional games! Last Thursday was senior night. We played Metamora and won, 58-54. Kelsey Christian, Brooke Bisbing, Caitlyn Closner, Sarah Hendricks, and Liz Rassi will all be graduating this year, and hopefully continuing their basketball career in college. During an interview with Kelsey Christian, number 23, I learned that she has been playing basketball since the fi fth grade. She played for four years for Blessed Sacrament and for four years as a forward for Morton High School. Her inspiration for playing came from her early career at Blessed, where she fell in love with the game. Kelsey has also played Volleyball and has been active in the school’s music program. Her favorite part of being on the team is staying in shape. She also likes the aspect of being a part of a team. Kelsey plans to attend either Columbia or Milliken, but does not wish to continue playing basketball in college. Kelsey stated: “I want to put my time and energy that I would put into sports into music, my major.” Whichever path Kelsey chooses, I’m sure she will be very successful.

The MHS Math Team is gearing up and practicing for their Regionals at ICC this week. “Our practices mostly consist of taking old tests from last year’s competition,” said junior Anton Volkov, a member of the team since his freshman year. “The math team only has two competitions, Regionals and State,” Anton says. Each competition consists of an Individual test, which covers material from a math class one level below yours, an example being that a student in Pre-Calculus would take an Algebra II test. After the individual test, the team has their group events, where they work collectively to take a single

Have you ever enjoyed the games of soccer and football, but can’t decide which to play? If you answered yes to that question then you should join the MHS Rugby Team! Rugby is a mixture of soccer and football. It is different from football because in rugby you pass the ball over your should while running, and in football you pass the ball forward. It is different from soccer because you can use your hands in rugby.

I sat down with Caitlyn Closner during Prime Time to fi nd out some of the very interesting facts that we all want to know about her. Caitlyn has been attending Morton District Schools for a grand total of thirteen years. Caitlyn is eighteen years old and will be turning nineteen in March. She was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in the year 1990 to the proud parents, Randy and Kristen Closner. Caitlyn has played for the Lady Potters B-ball team since freshman year. She has been on the varsity team since junior year and is one of our most versatile players on the court. Caitlyn has also participated in activities outside of school throughout her four year high school career, such as: dancing (jazz and ballet). Caitlyn has maintained two steady jobs through her years in high school, one at the Health Center in Gold’s Gym, and the other at our local Papa Murphy’s. Caitlyn plans on attending the Western Illinois University for four years. There, she plans on continuing her basketball career in some format whether it’s through inner murals or on their actual girls Leathernecks. Caitlyn is going to obtain a major in Public Relations, which she will use to improve her surrounding community. Caitlyn’s top three goals after graduating are to, be fi nancially set, to have her own residence, and to be driving a “brand-spanking new Aston Martin, which just happens to be a $500,000 car.” Caitlyn will miss her memorable high school years because of being able to be a kid or “just downright immature”, as she puts it. Caitlyn says her favorite inside joke would have to be the simple phrase “I thought that meant decapitated!” or “THUNDERCATS!” Caitlyn will miss the fun that has come with hanging out with her friends and just being able to freely to be herself. Caitlyn’s highlight of her senior year was “dancing with Brooke Bisping in front of the entire school at the Holiday Tournament in the middle of the court.” If she could give one piece of advice to underclassmen it would be “as you are getting into the last years, make sure that you have fun, because it will go fast!”

a solid job and living in a big city. Emily would best describe herself as “quietly persistent”. She is hard working and a very intelligent student. A person who Emily looks up to would be her sister, Amanda, for her academic drive that she has. Advice that Emily would like to leave for underclassmen would be, “Don’t PDA in the hallways, no one wants to see that no matter how “in love” you are.”

a.k.a. “Ashley Wraight”, ling ling panda aprons in Foods class, and you can’t forget about good ole’ math class sophomore year with stimp-dogg.” Courtney plans to go to college, and to transfer to a medical school to become an anesthesiologist. Even though she is not sure what college she is going to yet, Courtney will succeed in whatever life throws at her, and become a great doctor. In ten years Courtney said she sees herself, “Hopefully fi nished with school, working, married if it’s in the cards for me, and loving life obviously!” For the underclassmen, Courtney left some advice, “High school goes by fast, so just live it up, laugh a lot, and HAVE FUN!”

Josh Bailey and Ryan Miller, both seniors, have helped take leadership roles in participating in the Block M. As long as students start to show up to the games, the Block M will be successful. Block M should help create more school spirit throughout our school. The most important part about Block M is student involvement. It is up to the students to make Block M a success. So everyone needs to come out and support our Morton Potters basketball team. Senior Night is February 27, come out and cheer the Potters on to victory.

Anyone, boys or girls, can join the rugby team. As of now practices are on Thursday at First Baptist Church over by Lincoln Grade School. During the spring, practices will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. on the soccer fi elds. To join the team you need to go to a practice and tell the coach Charlie Parode that you’d like to play. You then pay a fee of around $40, which goes towards registering you and paying for your uniform.

Chaz Ortleb says you should join the rugby team because it is fun and a great experience. His favorite part of being on the team is tackling people, because there are no pads to cushion you. The team has not had any games yet, but games start in the spring and will be at Jubilee Park most of the time. So the next time you can’t decide if you want to play soccer or football, go check out the MHS Rugby Team!

Girls Basketballtest, without calculators. There are several group events consisting of either two man or eight man teams. There is also a calculator team and an oral team. The Morton team generally performs well and makes it to state fairly frequently. “We do pretty well,” says senior Parth Pratap. The biggest competitions for our school at State, according to Anton, are the private schools from Chicago. If you are thinking about trying the math team next year, you can talk to Mr. Allen. If you see a member of the math team in the halls, wish them good luck at the upcoming competition even though we all know they don’t need luck, they have skill.

Math Team Prepares for Regionals

Courtney Reubin

By Molly King By Tyler Hatton and Eric Welsh

By Ashley Wraight

Emily Schaefer By Danielle Mellen

Block m needs more support!By Brody Rapp & Sarah Hendricks

Caitlyn ClosnerBy Kim Kratz

All About the Brutal Sport of RugbyBy Annie Goerss

Seniors. . .