Upcoming Events

Dec. 17, 2016 from 8 a.m. to noon: Knightline will host the annual Universal Dance Association Gateway Dance Competition. The  JV and Varsity Knightline teams host this UDA competition every year. Different dance teams from around the area attend and will compete against one another. Knightline hosts this competition as a way to show their association with the UDA and to also give back to them.   (Brief by Paige Prinster)

Dec. 27-29 All Day: The girls’ JV and varsity basketball teams will participate in Rockwood Summit’s Holiday Hoops tournament, a year after finishing their best season in the last ten years. The tournament is held annually at Rockwood around the holiday season. Teams from the area as well teams from Kansas City will participate in the tournament this year. The tournmant is split into two different tournaments, JV and varsity, and will be held over the course of three days.

“It’s going to be cool to not be the underdog and to really show ourselves,” senior Makaiah Williams said.   (Brief by Paige Prinster)

Jan. 11 All Day: The senior hat day will be held in January. It is a fundraiser to support purchasingsenior gifts, which are given out every year to the entire senior class. They are usually small gifts like mugs or lunch boxes. Like most hat days held at FHN, it will cost $1 to wear a hat for the day and the money from this all goes toward the senior gifts to reward the effort they’ve put in over their four years at FHN.

“The seniors deserve a gift for all the hard work they’ve done, so I’ll definitely be participating on hat day,” sophomore Rasha Shaker said.   (Brief by Paige Prinster)

Plunging For a Good Cause

For the past couple of years, HOSA has done the Polar Plunge in St. Louis to raise money for the Special Olympics in Missouri, and they plan on participating again on Feb. 27. It’s a time to see teachers and students from other schools dress up in costumes and enjoy the weather.

“Jumping into that icy cold water gave me a rush,” senior Michael Shine said. “It made me want to jump in there over and over.”

Each HOSA student must raise at least $75 to join and be a part of this event each year. This is how they raise money for children that compete in the Special Olympics.

“It raises money for a good cause and it makes me and the HOSA kids feel good about it,” HOSA sponsor Matthew Riffee said.

Last year, HOSA had 14 students participate  and they raised over $3,000 and were featured on Fox 2 News in the morning. Matthew Riffee thought of a Disney theme for last year’s Polar Plunge, winning the Golden Plunger for best costume.

“I didn’t think we were going to win best costume, but I’m glad we did because I’m hoping to keep that streak going for this year,” Riffee said.

The Special Olympics are for intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) kids who want to be a part of the real Olympics. Last year, every school raised over $3,000 for this cause.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Riffee said. “It’s very rewarding to have your hard work pay off. It’s a sense of accomplishment for everyone who did the Polar Plunge.” (Brief by Ashya Roberson)

Scavenging Around

FCA gets ready for their annual December scavenger hunt, which will be later this month. In the FCA scavenger hunt, students have to take pictures of 28 places before time runs out. Huddle leaders Sara White and Dawn Hahn do the scavenger differently each year. For the last few years they have switched up the hints but have kept the Christmas theme alive since it’s usually around that time of year.

“Being a part of the scavenger hunt is great because I can take my kids along with me and they can see how fun it is to be doing something safer than out partying,” White said.

Before White graduated in 1996, the scavenger hunt was already a tradition with the old huddle coaches. However, over the years White and Hahn changed the location to Main Street because it’s safer and it’s convenient to eat food when students get hungry. (Brief by Ashya Roberson)

Gliding Through TSA

The Technology Student Association (TSA) works to get ready for their glider competition on May 5. TSA meets every Tuesday after school for about an hour. The club consists of about 20 members, and they all plan and work on their projects and set up other competitions.

“We have not gotten very far on the glider,” sophomore TSA member Erika Rogers said. “But I know we’ll do fine because we have really intelligent people in the club.”

A glider is a small aircraft that flies without using an engine. There are three different divisions in the glider competition that schools can enter. In division one, they just have to make their glider move straight. In division two, the glider must carry a basket of balls, and in division three the glider must carry the basket of balls to a target and place it on the target. TSA will only participate in divisions one and two.

TSA is a club for students who have an interest in technology and engineering. They partake in many competitions and events during the course of the year, including the glider competition. The theme this year for TSA is “Star Struck.” This is a game played across the world that is compared to war using robots.

“We are a community of people who talk and like technology,” sponsor Michael Green said. “If you like robotics or talking technology, you may like the club.” (Brief by Olivia Fetsch)