Controllers are the new basketballs

By Madeline Stratman

Within Northwest High School, there are many varieties of clubs and organizations to join, one being eSports or electronic sports.

“Anybody can join,” said coach Matt Hinkel. “There’s new kids that come in, and have never played the games before. There’s kids that come back every year to play during the season and enjoy it, and competitive kids that put hours into games. It’s definitely a range of skill levels and people.”

Practice is every Tuesday and Thursday in Hinkel’s room and business teacher Ann Purdy’s room. On some of those days, students are competing virtually.

“We have five different games within the year.” Hinkel said. “The first semester is Rocket League, Overwatch and Starcraft. In second semester, we play Super Smash Ultimate and League of Legends.”

“I’ve always been interested in gaming, and I thought joining was a good way to meet new friends,” said Sarah Clark, a sophomore that enjoys playing Rocket League.

“Competitions have been good.” Hinkel said. “We have students that are getting better every day. I would say that we have the top one or two Rocket League teams in the state right now.” After winning a championship last year for Rocket League, they’re hoping for another.

There are many ways to be involved in eSports. “One thing we’ve done is stream on Twitch, which is a gaming streaming service,” said Hinkel. “We’ve been trying to promote our competitions on social media, so there’s kids making graphics.” If students don’t want to compete, they still have options to be involved with eSports, and there may be future benefits for joining.

“The last couple years, kids got scholarships to different colleges,” said Hinkel. “Many colleges in the state are offering scholarships.”

Clark’s best moments in eSports are the practices they have and
being able to mess around and have fun with everyone in the activity.

Hinkel’s decision to coach eSports was simple. Even though he might not know the games as well as the eSport members, he’s has always enjoyed playing video games.

“I definitely recommend eSports for anybody, whether you’re good at gaming or not,” said Clark. “It’s always a lot of fun and the people there are friendly.”

Overall, eSports is always open for new players, and is always trying to have fun while competing and playing games.

Getting to know: Katie Hornung

By Madeline Stratman

What is your position at Northwest?
“I am the agricultural education teacher here at Northwest, as well as the FFA adviser.”

Have you taught before?
“Yes, I have a couple of years of experience at a school called Diller-Odell, which is south of Beatrice.”

What brought you to Northwest?
“I graduated from Northwest in 2012 and got married in September. So my husband was living in Hastings, and going back here was the only option that I wanted to do.”

Is there anything you want your students to know about you?
“I grew up living on a farm in Chapman and showing cattle and horses. I was part of the musical and FFA in high school.”

Are you involved in anything outside of school?
“FFA Alumni Association, which is on state level. My husband is in it, so I’m active in it as well, along with showing in the summer.”

What is an interesting fact about you?
“I’m double-jointed in my elbow, which allows me to bend it backwards and pop it out.”

*Photo Courtesy of Tally Creative

Northwest installs new security system

By Areya Starke and Madeline Stratman

Something new came to Northwest this year to help the students and staff feel safer at school.The fingerprint scanner is the newest part of the high school security system. With the new changes, students have formulated opinions, and staff members have answered some questions students may have.

Senior Alaura Favazza said that student IDs in the past have been used for those entering and exiting the building, especially seniors during lunch. Because of this, some students think scanning IDs to enter the building would be a better alternative to fingerprinting.

“It would probably be easier and more sanitary,” Favazza said.

There are concerns about the dangers of sharing germs and spreading the coronavirus since everyone would be touching the same fingerprint sensor. The administration would like to remind students that it’s a good idea to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer after being fingerprinted to enter the building.

While there are a number of pros to implementing the new fingerprinting system, it has had a few glitches. For example, warm weather can cause the scanner to malfunction. It is unknown how the winter weather will impact it.

Principal Tim Krupicka gives background information on the decision to implement the new fingerprinting scanners.

“The fingerprinting scan was the decision made last year in the spring before the pandemic started,” Krupicka said. “We’ve been talking about this for several years, and Dr. Edwards, our superintendent, decided to move this forward.”
In addition to providing some back story, Krupicka also mentioned the benefits and drawbacks.

“The pros are that it is not used for legal purposes or anything like that,” Krupicka said. “It’s just a scan of different points of your finger. It is not to be used against anybody for any purpose other than getting into the building. Another pro is the fact that we can put students in the different groups, like seniors who go off campus for college classes.”

Even though there are a few kinks yet to work out, this newest addition to Northwest’s security system will keep students, staff and visitors safe.

Getting to know: Michael Lambert

By Madeline Stratman

What is your position at Northwest?
“I teach ninth-grade World History and eleventh-grade American History. I am an assistant wrestling coach and assistant middle school football coach.”

Have you taught before?
“This is my first teaching job, but I did my student teaching at Lincoln Southeast High School last fall. I taught Psychology and American History.”

What brought you to Northwest?
“I graduated from UNK, and I love the Tri-City area, so Grand Island was a great fit. I knew that I wanted to be at a smaller school district that felt more like a family. Northwest is everything that I was looking for in a school.”

Is there anything you want your students to know about you?
“Always feel free to talk to me about anything. Odds are, I’ve been in your position before and can help you out!”

Are you involved in anything outside of school?
“I am not involved in anything besides what I coach. However, I like to play disc golf, cornhole and hacky sack.”

What is an interesting fact about you?
“I can make 1-minute oatmeal in 55 seconds. Also, I have a four-year-old cat named Crystal.”

*Photo Courtesy by Michael Lambert