…and LHS said, “Let there be light!”

February 9th, 2011Two Lafayette High School Students Head to NYC

By: Allison Beatie, Beat Writer: allison.beattie@lhsirish.net If you have ever been to New York, then you have possibly heard of Carnegie Hall. It is a beautiful concert hall built in 1891, where people like George

Gershwin and Maurice Ravel, both famous composers, have created wonderful works of music. Lafayette is proud to say that they have two very talented young vocalists going to New

York during February for five days to perform. Kaitlin Bunse (LHS Junior) and Kaitlyn Christian (LHS Senior) have both been chosen to repre-

sent our nation at the famous hall. When they arrive, they will practice for several hours a day and perform at the end of the five days. While on this trip, they get to go sight seeing and watch a Broadway Musi-

cal. When asked how they had

started singing, Kait-lin Bunse said, “Well, I think my mother got me started on singing. She always took me up on stage when she sang for church and then when I was about five, I started singing with her. And after that I just loved to sing and kept working

on my voice.” When asked the same question, Kaitlyn Chris-tian said, “I started singing after I took pi-ano lessons. My piano teacher said it would be great to have voice les-sons so I started with Karen Jensen and she has gotten me so far!” Continued on Page 8

Lafayette High School Shows Its TalentBy: Kelsie White, Beat Writer: kelsie.white@lhsirish.net

Last year, prior to Winter Break, Lafayette High School

hosted the end of the year stu-dent talent show. Many students expressed that they believed this talent show was one of the best LHS has ever had. LHS liked the show not only because of the

acts and performances, but also because it was in the auditorium

instead of the gym. Mrs. Terri Johnson, Lafayette High School Counselor, was the sponsor for the talent show. She expressed her appreciation and excitement that the talent show was in the

auditorium and that created a demand for tickets. In fact, every

one of the LHS A u d i t o r i u m ’ s 400 seats was sold! The students that went to the talent show

seemed like they enjoyed themselves. The students were amazed by their peers’ artistic

abilities. The performers tried very hard to impress the crowd and judges. They succeeded. The first place winner was, Ju-nior, Sara Veneman.

Continued, Page 8

Above: Kaitlin Bunse and Kaitlyn Christian pose after performing

Above: Mr. Arnold and Jaron Warner Right: Tavean McRelly and TopFlight

Above: Kaitlyn Christian performs during SRO

Below: Kaitlin Bunse pefroming a solo at SRO

Page 02 The Light

February 9th, 2011 NEWS

LHS Class NewsBy: Breeanne Frederick breeanne.frederick@lhsirish.net

It’s very important to keep up with what is going on in the classes at LHS. To stay informed, please see the following class news:

Seniors (Class of 2011): --The Class of 2011 is winding down and settling into their last semester of high school. Graduation is only four months away, seniors. Fill out applications for the col-leges of your choice and get your FASFA completed online as soon as you can. Savor these last few months and take the time to do things you haven’t done in high school: go to a game, join a club, make some new friends. Have fun.

Juniors (Class of 2012): --The Junior Board is busy working out the details for Prom. They have been meeting weekly to pick items, food, DJ music, etc. Juniors are also working most Boys and Girls home basketball game concession stands to raise money for Prom.

Sophomores (Class of 2013): --The Class of 2013 is getting ready for the end of year exams and finishing up the SRI. They’ve made their way into second semester and are working on making their class proud. January 14, Paula Stegman, Hillyards Counsel-or, visited LHS to talk to sophomores about the programs Hill-yards offers. Also, Upward Bound representatives visited January 20th. The last week of January, sophomores took a visit to Hill-yards to see if it was a place of which they would be interested in attending. Early applications are available now in the Counseling Center.

Freshmen (Class of 2014): The Class of 2014 have completed the first semester of high school and are on their way to being sophomores. The freshman are getting prepared for the end of year exams and have been finishing up the SRI testing and getting back into the groove of school. In conclusion, all four classes are very busy this year. The Light will continue to monitor their progress. For more information, continue to read “Class News.”

ACT Strikes AgainBy: Jacob Beattie

Beat Writer: jacob.beattie@lhsirish.net

December 11th was another long and strenuous day of test-ing for Lafayette High School. The test, of course, was the dreaded American College Test (ACT). All students fear the day when they have to face this beast of an exam. Registering for the test started around 7:30am and the test itself was finished by 12:15pm. Over 100 students took the test December 11th, and while the in-dividual scores are not released publicly, Lafayette High School as a whole scored right at the na-tional average; with an increase in English and Reading. When asked how Lafayette High School did compared to last year, Ms. Debbie Fite, La-fayette High School Counselor, stated: “Kids this year were more

prepared; they knew what to ex-pect; they took it seriously and stayed focused the entire time.” When asked if anything needed improvement, Ms. Fite recom-mended that, “ The students need to practice for the test next time, to plan ahead, and read some non fiction regularly. As long as they they bring their own #2 pencils next time, we shouldn’t have to worry.” The next ACT test for Lafayette is February 16th. For more in-formation for test preparation, see Mr. Chris Early or Mr. Chris Neff. For more information re-garding test registration and testing procedures, please see either Ms. Debbie Fite or Mrs. Diane Guthery in the Counseling or Career Center.

LHS Boys’ Basketball Keeps Rolling By: Ryan Holcomb

Beat Writer: ryan.holcomb@lhsirish.net

It is not a secret that the Lafayette High School Boys Basketball Team is doing ex-cellent this year. When asked about his thoughts on the season, Coach Chris Neff sat there quietly for a moment, followed by, “I think that this has been a very successful season.” Tim Nelson, Senior Varsity Player, has been the stand-out player of the season and according to Coach Neff, has been, “playing really well.” With every good team comes a bad flaw. With every bad flaw comes much improvement. Every game needs improvement. When asked what improvements needed to be made, Coach Chris Neff postured up, be-came more serious, sought

the right words, and finally came up with, “we need to improve our level of consis-tency in our offense.” Lafayette Boys’ Basketball Team played in the Kearney Tournament two weekends ago. They played three to-tal games and lost only one. Scores from Kearney Tourna-ment: Game 1: NKC 44-LHS 46, Game 2: Kearney 39 LHS 35, Game 3: Warrensburg 52-LHS 57. These wins and losses brought the teams total re-cord to 10-6. Tim Nelson and Jeff Leeson made the All-Tournament Team and Lafayette’s “Tower of Power”, Senior Ian Toalson received an award for outstanding hustle.

LHS Booster Club Supports LHS By: Troy Rash

Beat Writer: troy.rash@lhsirish.net

Booster club is an organiza-tion that helps other organiza-tions or sports with Lafayette High School students. Booster Club raises funds and then donates money to help with equipment for sports and also gives money for items purchased by oth-er, non-sport, LHS orga-nizations. The 2010-2011 Lafayette High School Booster Club President is Mrs. Melinda Wolf, wife of LHS Teacher, Mr. Craig Wolf. LHS Booster Club meets the first Wednesday of every month in the Lafayette High School Library at 6:30 pm. They also have an LHS Ci-Ci’s Night on the first Friday of

every month from 4-8pm. In additoin, LHS Booster Club holds an LHS Dairy Queen

Night the first Thursday of ev-ery month from 5-8pm. Please come support the La-fayette High School Booster Club because they support you!

Above: Mr. Craig Wolf, LHS Booster Club

Page 03 The Light

February 9th, 2011

Date Level Opponent Location Varsity Start Time LHS Them Record

BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL:

12/16/2010 Varsity LeBlond High School Home 8:00 pm 59 40 4-112/17/2010 Varsity Central High School Home 8:00 pm 40 51 4-212/21/2010 F/JV/V Benton High School Away 7:30 PM 50 43 5-212/23/2010 Varsity Maplewood Rich. Hts. Away 8:30 PM 59 53 6-212/28/2010 Varsity Great 8 Basketball Tour. Away Bixby, OK 33 46 6-3 game 2 6-4 game 3 6-51/4/2011 F/JV/V Savannah High School Home 7:30 PM 43 38 7-51/7/2011 F/JV/V Liberty North Home 7:30 PM 44 36 8-51/10/2011 Varsity Kearney Tournament NKC TBA 46 44 9-5 Kearney 35 39 9-6 Warrensburg 57 52 10-61/24/2011 F/JV/V Hogan Prep Home 7:30 PM 66 57 11-61/25/2011 F/JV/V Maryville High School Home 7:30 PM 44 36 12-6

GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL:

12/27/2010 Varsity PVCC Holiday Tourn. Hogan Prep TBA 50 42 2-7 2-81/4/2011 F/JV/V Savannah High School Away 7:30 PM 48 38 3-81/7/2011 F/JV/V Maryville High School Away 7:30 PM 27 42 3-9 1/10/2011 Varsity Kearney Tournament Away Benton 24 36 3-10 Liberty North 47 36 4-10 Chillicothe 44 36 5-10

Lafayette High School Phat StatsBy: Matthew Hillhouse

Beat Writer: matthew.hillhouse@lhsirish.net

“We started the season 1-8. Since that time, we’ve played pretty well,” Ryan Madi-son, Lafayette High School Var-sity Girls’ Basketball Coach stated. With five wins and twelve loses, the girls’ basketball team has come a long way from last year’s accomplish-ments. With wins over teams such as Liberty North, Savannah, and Chillicothe, the team is certainly

improving the name of Lafayette High School Lady Irish Basketball. Coach Madison says, “All the girls have stepped up in certain games.” However, if he had to chose his two most out-standing players, he said it would have to be Myia Weston and O’Ceonna Weston. Hopefully the girls keep playing well. Maybe, by the end of the year, they could have many more wins than losses. Please come out and support the girls in their future games and future victories. Many be-lieve the games to be excit-ing and worth attending.

Hoop! There It Is!By: Torrie Gibson Beat Writer: torrie.gibson@lhsirish.net

Above Left, Myia Weston follows her shot and Above Right, O’Ceonna Weston tips off during Lafayette High Schools narrow loss to the Cardnials.

ACT Strikes AgainBy: Jacob Beattie

Beat Writer: jacob.beattie@lhsirish.net

Page 04 The Light

February 9th, 2011SPORTS

Lafayette High Schools’ Varsity Wrestling team has been doing great this year. The wrestlers are all excited and energized for their next wrestling match. Eric Piles, Senior Wrestler, says, “I would encourage anyone to join the wrestling team. It helps you build strength and confidence.” Skylar Adams, Junior Wrestler, stated: “The wrestling team is young and we are all stepping up.’ The Lafayette High School Varsity Wrestling Team includes: (note: Weight Classes can change from match to match)W.C. Wresteler Year at in School103- Jordan Miller- 9112- OPEN 119- OPEN125- Stephen Wilds- 9130- Cordell Wallace- 10135- Lake Sisk- 9140- Devin Adkins- 10145- Kylan Kuritz- 9152- Kyle Kendall- 11 160- Skylar Adams- 11171- Preston Gregory- 10189- Jacob Allen- 12215- Eric Pyles- 12285- Spencer Riddle- 10

CoachesKevin JonesTrevor CogdillGregg Haynes

Preston Gregory, Soph-omore Wrestler, sug-gests his teammates remember, “You ain’t tired!” While Fresh-man Wrestler, Lake Sisk added, “It has been a great and very fun experience.”All those involved in the Lafayette High School Wrestling Program and their sup-porters urge everyone to get out and support the wrestling team. For more information, please contact Mr. Keven Jones at Robidoux Middle School.

Wrestling Takes the Mat By: Kaytlin Moberly, Beat Writer, kaytlin.moberly@lhsirish.net

Above: Coach Jones, Haynes, and Cogdill

Next: Senior, Eric Py-les goes for the pin

Next: Preston Greg-ory, sophomore, gets

ready to begin Next: Skyler Adam,

junior, gets ready for the match

Right: Freshman, Lake Sisk fights for

positionLeft: The Varsity

Squad

Page 05 The Light

February 9th, 2011Opinion

The Light Staff…and Lafayette High School said,

“Let there be light!”

Editor: Jessica Johnston Writers: Allison Beattie Clubs Jacob Beattie Opinion Bree Frederick Beats Kelsey Gardner Performance Torrie Gibson Holidays Damara Hall Activities Matt Hillhouse Daily News Ryan Holcomb Beats Kaytlin Moberly Liaison Troy Rash Beats Nick Sutton Advertising Kelsie White ArtsSupervisor: Dr. M. Shane Heard

Teacher Spotlight: Selina Chappell

By: Nick SuttonBeat Writer: nicholas.sutton@lhsirish.net

Ms. Selina Chappell has taught Family and Con-sumer Science (FACS)

for 13 years. She has taught at Lafayette High School for three years.

When asked what is something most people does not know about her

she answered, “I love to go canoeing.”

STUCO NEWSBy: Breeanne Fredericks

Beat Writer: breeanne.fredericks@lhsirish.net

There are numerous things going on this month, and the be-ginning of next month, with STU-CO. Home-coming will be held Fri-day Febru-ary 18, 2011 in the Prac-tice Gym. Also com-ing up is the Blood Drive in early F e b r u a r y . STUCO is helping raise money for the Special Olympics so make your donations to help a child. Last, but not least, on February 12, the Polar Bear Plunge will be held at Lake Contrary, where people

launch themselves into the

freezing water. “Shiver” the Polar Bear made an appear-ance at the basketball game on January 28. Many great photos were taken.

climateprogress.org

On Friday, January 21st (prior to the AFC and NFC Championship games) many students were asked the fol-lowing question:

“Who do you think will ulimately win the 2011 Super

Bowl XLV?”:Results:New York Jets 33% Pittsburg Steelers 07%Green Bay Packers 27%Chicago Bears 33%

The Pittsburg Steelers and Green Bay Pack-ers meet in Su-per Bowl XVL, in Dallas, Texas on February 6th, 2011. Ultimately, the Green Bay Pakers beat the Pittsburg Steel-ers 31-25.

Super Bowl XLV Poll TakenBy: Ryan Holcomb

Beat Writer: ryan.holcomb@lhsirish.net

Page 06 The Light

February 9th, 2011 EXTRASIrish Spirit Teams for a Cure

By: Kelsey Gardner Beat Writer: kelsey.gardner@lhsirish.net

In October, the Lafayette High School Poms Team were busy “Dancing for a Cause”. The girls wore pink t-shirts with the Breast Can-cer Ribbon to stand out at the gate. During the first half of the Savannah/Lafayette High School Varsity Football game, they collected donations. The LHS Poms and Cheerleaders were able to collect $205.00. Now, the Lafayette Irish-Spirit teams are, once again, fighting for a cure. The LHS Cheerleaders and Poms worked to raise awareness of Breast Cancer and col-

lected dona-tions for the cause. To start off the excitement, the Cheer-leaders sold “Save Our Shamrocks”, t-shirts in an effort to bring atten-tion to the cause. The shirts were sold for ten dollars each and 50 percent of the profits

were sent to Breast Can-cer Benefit Fund. On Tues-day, Janu-ary 25, the Spirit teams stood at the front doors during the Maryville/ Lafayette High School Varsity Bask-tball game and collected

donations. The LHS Cheer-

leaders were able to collect $600 and are looking for-ward to their next chance to support the cause. The Lafay-ette Poms and Cheerleaders were able to allow individu-als to donate in memory of someone who has been af-fected by Breast Cancer. The names of those being honored will be turned in with the donations. What bet-ter way to honor the memo-ries of those men and women than that? For more informa-tion, please contact Jennifer Koch at: 816.671.4220.

Irish Spirit Clinic Helps Young GirlsBy: Kelsey Gardner Beat Writer: kelsey.gardner@lhsirish.net

On Saturday, January 22, the Lafayette High School Poms Team and Cheerleading Squad put on a spirit clinic. The spirit

clinic was for girls and boys school ages: Kindergarten through the sixth grade. Chil-dren were invited from all the Lafayette High School feeder schools: Lindbergh, Hum-boldt, and Pershing Elemen-tary to learn chants from the cheer leaders and a dance from the poms. “Last year’s fall spirit clinic had a pretty good outcome,” said junior cheerleader, Eliza-beth O’Roke. The coaches of both teams, Jennifer Koch (Cheer) Nicole Shiflett (Cheer), and Tina Shaginaw (Poms),

expected a great turn out for this year’s Winter Spirit Clinic. Over 40 young girls attended the clinic. “The best turn out

we have had in a long time,” said Cheer Coach, Jennifer Koch. Each participant in Lafayette High School’s spirit clinic paid 20 dollars to get one of the “Save Our Shamrock” t-shirts. The fee also enabled the girls to perform the chants and dance at half time at the Lafay-ette Varsity Basketball game against Maryville High School. “It was so exciting to teach the little girls chants and they were so cute!” exclaimed junior cheerleader, Kylee Pet-tijohn. The crowd seemed to

absolutely love them. What made this spirit clinic even more special was that half of the proceeds went to Breast Cancer Awareness to add onto the “Save Our Sham-rock” t-shirt sales and dona-

tions. The Lafayette Poms Team and Cheerleading Squad have been ecstatic to promote the “Spirit Squads for a Cure” cause in any way they could.

Above and Right 2011 LHS Spirt Team work with area youth

Page 07 The Light

February 9th, 2011 EXTRASLHS Secretaries Run the Show

By: Damara HallBeat Writer: damara.hall@lhsirish.net

In every great organization, there are many people working behind the scenes. Lafayette High School is not any different! LHS is held together by four beautiful secretaries: Mrs. Sharon Miller, Mrs. Shelly McDaniel, Mrs. Kim Davis, and Mrs. Becky Zuptich.

Sharon Miller- Sharon Miller is the Finance Secretary for Lafayette High School. She has been working at LHS for three years. When asked why she loves working for Lafayette, she stated, “Because it feels like a family.” Mrs. Miller’s favor-ite thing about Lafayette High School is the staff and students. When asked if she would change anything about LHS, she quickly replied, “NO!” Sharon has three children and five grandchildren. Her desk is located in the West Office, or in the window marked “Bookkeeper”.

Shelly McDaniel- Shelly McDaniel is the Princi-pal/ Activities Director Secretary for Lafayette High School. She has been working at LHS for 19 years. When asked why she loves working for Lafayette, she said, “Staff and students are the best in St. Joe.” Mrs. McDaniel’s fa-vorite thing about Lafayette is that there is something different everyday.When asked if there was anything she would change about Lafayette, she said, “NO WAY!” Shelly is 46 years old and she has one child, as Freshman, who attends LHS.

Kim Davis- Kim Davis is the Attendance Secretary for Lafayette High School. She has been working at LHS for six years. When asked why she loves working for Lafayette, she stated, “We are family. I love the people I work with and I love the kids.” Mrs. Davis’s favorite thing about Lafayette High School is “our Irish Pride and the way we stick together!” When asked if there was anything she would change about LHS, she answered, “No, I love who we are!” Kim is eternally 17 at heart. She has two sons;: “Luke and Josh both graduated from LHS. Luke teaches science at LHS and Josh hopes to teach math at LHS some-day!” Kim has one granddaughter named Mackenzie who is three months old and will grow up Irish! When asked if she had anything extra to add, she reported, “East Office Rocks!!” Her desk is located in the East Office, or in the win-dow marked “Attendance”.

Becky Zuptich- Becky Zuptich is the Assistant Principals’ Secretary for Lafayette High School. She has been work-ing at LHS for eight years. When asked why she loves working for Lafayette, she said, “the staff and students that I work with.” Mrs. Zuptich’s favorite thing about Lafayette is that, “we are like family and have great Irish Pride.” When asked if there was anything she would change about Lafayette, she said, “No, I think we are great the way we are.” Becky is over 29 years old, and has two sons, Josh and Jonathan. When asked if she had anything extra to add, she reported, much like her fellow East Office colleague, “The East Office Rocks!” Her desk is located on the right as soon as you walk into the East Office door.

Lafayette High School is lucky to have such wonderful individuals watching over the school.

The Lafayette High Special Olympics Basketball Team are planning to make an impact this year. They feel they can come off with a bigger and better year this year by making their mark in practices. The players plan to give it their all because they know they can be the best. This January 29th, from 7-3, the SOMO Tournament was held at Missouri Western State University. The coaches for this year’s team were Dr. Tyran Sumy, Lafayette High School Principal, and Coach Katie McCullough, Lafayette High School Special Education Teacher. The Lafayette High School Special Olympics Basketball Team consists of ten Olym-pians. The team went far last year but ultimately lost to an older team. Supporters feel like the team can add another spot to the Lafayette glowing cre-dentials. Go out there and support them in future games!

Special Education Making a Special

ImpactBy: Matt Hillhous

Beat Writer: matthew.hill-house@lhsirish.net

Do you like the look of the new Light?

If so, we need your help.

It is important that our staff find enough ad-

vertisments to support future edition of the school newspaper.

If you, or someone you know, would like to ad-

vertise in The Light, please see Dr. Heard,

Jessica Johnston or any Light Stafff Member.

Remember:

LHS said, “Let there be light!”

Page 08 The Light

January 31st, 2011Back Page

“Students Head to NYC” Coninued

By: Allison Beatie, Beat Writer: allison.beattie@lhsirish.net

According to Ms. Kim Evans, LHS Choral Director, “Kaitlin Bunse and Kaitlyn Christian will be participating in the Mis-souri All State Choir at the MMEA Convention next Wed-Sat. Both young ladies were chosen to represent our district as so-

loists at the convention. We were the only school to have more than one soloist audition and the only school chosen to repre-sent the Northwest District. The two girls auditioned against many other students for the solo. These two girls have also been chosen to represent LHS in New York City Feb 16-20. The girls will be missing quite a bit of school for these prestigious honors. They will have to work

hard to keep up their grades as well as work to prepare for the trip to NYC. Lafayette High Shool students and staff wish these girls the best of luck on their trip. Break a leg!

Above: Kaitlin and Kaitlyn during Duet Competition at MWSU

Above: Ms. Bunse and Ms. Christian take a rare moment to relax

LHS Shows Its TalentContinued

By: Kelsie WhiteBeat Writer: kelsie.white@lhsirish.net

There was a tie for the second place spot. The second place winners were Lisa Matschke, foreign exchange student from Germany, and Mr. N a t h a n A r n o l d /J a r o n W a r n e r , S c i e n c e T e a c h e r and LHS Senior. Mrs. Ter-ri Johnson stated, “It was a re-ally great event that the stu-d e n t s s e e m e d to enjoy. It was a good way to cel-ebrate and end the semester.” All who at tended the show seemed to e n j o y t h e m -selves.

Above: Gerald Clouse raps for the crowd,Below: Sara Venneman plays and sings an original songFar Below: Eric Pyles, Katie Judd, and Danielle Gibson perform a number together.