Relationships are the key to success and conflict. As the 2021-2022 school year comes to an end, there will be many new relationships continued beyond the walls of Sheyenne.
However, the relationships that have been built here are continually changing, year to year, as we see seniors leaving for new challenges and incoming freshman adapting to the unfamiliar halls of Sheyenne.
Other changes are taking place as well including with the Mustang Post. Beyond the new website and eMagazine, our broadcast crew is focusing their attention on creating monthly broadcasts many students will enjoy. This will strengthen Sheyenne’s identiy while building a community and strengthening relationships with all of us at Sheyenne.
With Jaxson Miller and Jacob Fisher as lead announcers, they hope to spread more news throughout Sheyenne.
That news has been helped by Mr. Knodel and the news desk he requisitioned from Fox News in Minneapolis. The desk has a built in TV, plexiglass counter, wood structure, built-in lighting and screen.
One way we have incorporated relationships within our community is by featuring students through our Arists Spotlight, Star Athletes, Star Performers, and Star Academics. These will also be incorporated into our Mustang Post Broadcast.
By incorporating these new changes, our goal through the Mustang Post is to build relationships within our Sheyenne community.
This year, artists at Sheyenne High School have excelled, achieving local and in Koi’s case, national recognition. Senior, Koi Hiller, has been awarded for her hard work and dedication with the American Visions Award. The award is the highest achievement for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a contest that gets thousands of submissions from students across the United States. The acceptance of this award will take place in New York City at the famous Carnegie Hall.
Artist Koi Hiller, creator of “Death is Beautiful”
Her artwork titled “Death is Beautiful” was created with red earthenware media and if you look closely, it displays important details. The story behind this project is one that has touched the hearts of many people.
In this year alone, Koi has lost many people dear to her and her family, one of these people being her dad. She shared how her passion for art has helped her cope with all the unknowns of navigating life without these special people. She expressed her desire to rewire her thinking from the hatred she felt to finding the hidden beauty, saying that “that’s what art is, you express how you feel.”
This story inspired her mask creations as each one represents not only a way to remember those she lost, but also to show the stages of grief she has gone through over this hard time. “This is going to be the series that is after them and their memories that not everyone knows today…” she shared, “there is intention in each mask. This is where I was broken, this is where I started to get put back together, and this is where I’m whole again.”
After these losses though, her definition of “whole” has changed, adding that there might always be pieces missing that belong to those who have been lost. This artwork, after all, was about the transition after death, and all the broken pieces that can still be found beautiful. The details such as the butterflies and dragonflies are used to present this to viewers.
Along the way, Koi has had some amazing support, specifically thanking her art teacher, Ryba, who pushed her to ask questions and explore more concepts in her artwork. Koi spent a lot of time in the art room and found that the environment aided her in the long hours she put towards her work. This project was started at the beginning of this school year, in 2021, and wrapped up in the early months of 2022.
To Koi, a big trip like this will be new. She said she is most excited to experience the culture of New York City for herself rather than only knowing what she sees in the movies. One of her main destinations in NYC is the museums there.
As for her future in art, Koi has received scholarships to continue her art. One of the places she is interested in is North Dakota State University (NDSU). Despite these college considerations, Koi will continue making art even if it doesn’t result in a career. To her, art is a passion, and in some ways, a lifestyle.
Cincinnati Bengals loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl ended the 2021-2022 NFL (National Football League) season. Ever since then, one of the wildest off-seasons was launched which will cause the NFL’s 2022 season to look more different than it has before.
One way the NFL was going to look different was with Tom Brady’s retirement.
Tom Brady has played 22 seasons, winning six Super Bowl’s with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Many NFL fans pondered on when his retirement would be. But on February 1st, he announced that he was stepping away from the field.
The league was going to look very different since he’s been in it for the past two decades, until he announced his return to the NFL after a one-month retirement.
Tom Brady will be coming back to Tampa Bay to play his 23rd season.
Another quarterback that was in the news was Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. Many thought that Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to be in Green Bay after last year.
Aaron Rodgers celebrates a touchdown with Devante Adams
Throughout the season he gave clues on wanting to leave Green Bay to play at another team.
The two teams that showed a lot of interest in him were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos.
However, Aaron Rodgers resigned to the packers for 50 million a year for four years. Many fans were shocked and Packer fans were ecstatic.
But with this signing of Aaron Rodgers, the packers where not able to keep, arguably the best wide receiver in the league, Devante Adams.
Devante Adams signed to the Las Vegas Raiders being reunited with his old college quarterback Derek Carr.
With the Packers resigning a top two quarterback, that left him with nothing much to support him.
Along with Devante Adams leaving Green Bay, one of the top defensive players on the packers, Za’Darius Smith, left the packers to go to the Minnesota Vikings.
It is going to be interesting to see how the Packers are going to be. They could be either one of the best teams or be stuck on the bottom.
With neither the Broncos nor Pittsburgh Steelers being able to land Aaron Rodgers, they both got a new quarterback to lead the team.
Denver Broncos landed on one of the best quarterback options with the signing of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russel Wilson.
Russel Wilson brought the Seahawks to two Super Bowls winning one and losing one.
With the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger who was the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback for the last 18 seasons, they landed on Buffalo Bills back up quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
Trubisky was the Chicago Bears starting quarterback before being demoted to a backup behind Josh Allen.
Buffalo Bills however also picked up two-time Super Bowl winning linebacker Von Miller.
Von Miller won his first ring with the Denver Broncos and won his second ring with the Los Angeles Rams the previous year.
The Bills already had a dangerous offense and defense but picking up one of the best linebackers in history will only make them more frightening.
Another linebacker to switch teams was Khali Mack, linebacker for the Chicago Bears. During this years off season Khali Mack went to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers have a dangerous offense being led by Justin Herbert. And now the chargers might have one of the better defenses in the league.
The Chargers also acquired cornerback J.C Jackson to their roster from the New England Patriots, making their defense a top-notch defense.
Bobby Wagener is another linebacker to leave their team. Bobby Wagener left the Seattle Seahawks to go to the previous Super Bowl winners the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams now have the number one defensive linemen, linebacker, and corner in the league.
Another Bears player to leave was wide receiver Allen Robinson going to the Los Angeles Rams.
Another major trade to take place was Tyreek Hill leaving Kanas City to go to Miami.
Tyreek Hill celebrating during the AFC Championship
Tyreek Hill is the fastest wide receiver in the NFL and was a major weapon on the field for number one quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
With this trade, the Miami Dolphins now have the fastest wide receiver core with having Jaylen Waddle and now Tyreek Hill.
Miami Dolphins traded Devante Parker to the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs picked up Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The Cleveland Browns signed Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson dealt with legal trouble during last season, and we couldn’t see one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL play.
Deshaun Watson looking for open receiver while playing for old team Houston Texans
However, Watson beat his case and got off not guilty and will continue his career with the Cleveland Browns.
With this pick up, Baker Mayfield who was the starting quarterback for the Browns, was kicked to the curb and is now on the search for a new team.
Going with Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns is Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver Amari Cooper.
The Jacksonville Jaguars should look way better then they did last year. They had the first overall pick where they picked star college quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
To help Lawrence they picked up Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk after giving wide receiver DJ Chark to the Detroit Lions.
Not only will this move help the jaguars, but another first overall pick in this year’s draft will help the Jags.
Some other major moves this year includes Carson Wentz going to the Washington Commanders and longtime Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan leaving to take place of Wentz in Indianapolis as the new starting quarterback for the Colts.
College star quarterback Marcus Mariota will cover for Ryan’s absence in Atlanta.
With all these new changes to the NFL, next years league may be one of the most exciting seasons to watch. And who knows what changes could be made in the rest of the NFL’s offseason.
Near the end of women’s history month, the graphic design and history classes here at Sheyenne have collaborated to create a wall of “Women Who Rock!” to highlight the amazing accomplishments women have done throughout history. In a time where things are still not equal for both men and women in America, as well as in other parts of the world, it is important to take the time to acknowledge women who have taken a stand to make the world a more equitable and fair place.
The classes and teachers involved in this group project are Photography and Graphic Design teacher Mrs. Baxter and AP Euro and US History teacher Ms. Ott.
Ms. Ott, as a teacher involved in this project, said that “Women Who Rock!” was important to her because she “wanted to include more diverse representation in [her] classroom.” Before Ms. Ott reached out to Ms. Baxter “the wall started out as black and white basic pictures of these women in American and European history” the content to which she teaches. To include a bit more “jazz” to the wall Mrs. Ott thought it would be a great idea to reach out to Ms. Baxter and her Graphic design class for assistance.
Ms. Ott notes in her interview that “Ms. Baxter and her students were the ones who did all the great work” as she continued to go on about the creative liberty they took with this project.
Ms. Baxter, Sheyenne’s graphic design teacher, states, “The focus on the project is to design historical posters about women who have made significant impacts on society” and this project was largely focused on being “informative [and] capture the viewer’s attention for a short amount of time.” In addition, beyond the research involved in the project students also relied on ”using Adobe InDesign, [and] their past knowledge and skills of Illustrator and Photoshop.” Therefore, this project, while collaborative between departments, was also a reflection of the students’ acquired skills throughout their time in Ms. Baxter’s class where they developed their page layout and technological skills while achieving substantiated research.
Regarding the collaboration with Ms. Ott, Ms. Baxter states, “The process of working with Ms. Ott went smoothly and well. Ms. Baxter hopes to “collaborate with another class or teacher [to] give my all my students as much real-life experience as possible.” Those real-life experiences for the Graphics 1 students focus on “ working with a client” which is “especially important in the graphic design and photography field since the norm is being in frequent communication with a customer.”
Concerning her individual involvement in the project, Ms. Baxter states, “[she] was the middle woman” and “chose [her] Graphics 1 class as the students to create these posters.” During this process the students were allowed a lot of creative freedom “The facts about these women could be designed however the student wished”. Even with this freedom Ms. Baxter maintained that their goal “was to communicate information, but also [create] something that would grab the viewer’s attention to make them pause and really observe it.” This is why Ms. Baxter required that the students “needed to include a photo of the person, their birth and death lifespan, as well as 3-5 facts about them that changed or impacted society.
Overall, the collaborative effort between these two departments at Sheyenne certainly worked well. Not only did this project provide a great learning opportunity for the Graphic Design students who were involved. but now every student and staff member can acknowledge the significant work of these accomplished women. Sheyenne should be proud to have teachers such as Ms. Baxter and Ms. Ott, who are determined to shine a light on the underrepresented sex in this country.
When I think about hard games the first franchise that comes to mind is Darksouls with its unforgiving bosses and unique story telling it has become one of most popular franchises of all time but does its newest sequel hold up the standard the other games have set up? Yes.
Elden Ring is one of the most anticipated games of all time with it selling over 10 million copies on pc alone, but sales won’t make a game good, most of the time it needs to have at least one reason for people to play it: story, difficulty, gameplay, all reasons to play a game and Elden Ring has all three in droves.
A story crafted by George RR Martin author of critically acclaimed series A Song of Fire and Ice, a difficulty standard that holds up the Darksouls legacy, and gameplay refined by all past Souls games.
Elden ring also opts for a new style of gameplay, instead of past games where you would go from one boss to another in a very linear order, Elden Ring lets you avoid certain bosses until you are confident enough to beat them.
Miriel, Pastor of Vows, an unkillable and loveable turtle
This new style is best shown off with the second boss you encounter, the Tree Sentinel, he’s first seen when taking your first steps into Elden Ring’s world.
Most players will try and fight this boss thinking it to be the first boss you are meant to fight but most players are wrong. The Tree Sentinel is there to teach you that it’s ok to avoid the fight.
Not everything about Elden Ring is amazing though, because of the nonlinear nature of the game it’s very easy to miss very important parts of the game including the tutorial, which is just a hole in the ground.
One of my biggest criticisms of Elden Ring is the fact that I had to look up so much of the game like, what to do with the dragon heart, where the tutorial is, how the magic system works.
Telling a player everything about a game can ruin the quality of the experience by giving way too much information to a player at once but that problem is instantly fixed if you don’t tell the player anything, just expecting the player to figure such integral things is lazy and can ruin the game just as much as telling the player everything.
Screenshot from Elden Ring trailer
Exploration is one of the hardest things to do right in a game, Elden Ring does it well enough to warrant an open world style.
The main reason that I explored Elden Ring was to try and find bosses, because so many bosses are just missed completely if you don’t explore the world.
Those bosses that you find through exploring are the most fun, you don’t just go through a yellow fog and fight a boss but instead you enter an area like a lake, or a bridge and a boss fight just starts.
I do think there is a severe lack of unique items to find while exploring, I have not changed any equipment since the start of the game because I haven’t found any that fit me.
I have found many sets of armor too, but none fit my build of dexterity and strength instead most being heavily magic based.
That brings me to what I love the most about Elden Ring, the bosses, all that I’ve fought have been a fun triumph to beat but never too difficult, but some have been too easy.
Rennala, queen of the full moon, a demi-god and story boss
I beat Rennala queen of the full moon on the second try, it was harder to beat the two bosses needed to get to her. This problem is not shared with many bosses, but I still feel as though it’s worth it to mention because of how great Elden Ring’s bosses are.
No boss in Elden Ring has felt unfair, every time I died, I knew it was happening 2 seconds in advance because they put so much effort into showing the player when and where a boss would attack.
Because of the time they put into telegraphing attacks it not only feels fair when you die but it also feels amazing when you manage to dodge it for the first time. The same thing happens when you beat a boss for the first time.
As of writing this article I am 25 hours into Elden Ring, I have beaten 10 bosses and two “dungeons” and I don’t know if I could give this game a fair rating, but I can say with 100% certainty that this game is worth buying and playing.
Whether or not you look up guides, farm levels, or spend 15 hours on one boss, enjoy this game the way you want to, because this game is meant to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
“We got this ladies, this is our moment,” said senior Paige Harry before going out on the competition mat. She looks around at her team, anxiously waiting for their time to perform.
Their coaches Jennifer and Trent Larriou give them words of encouragement before going on the mat in hopes of bringing home the State Title to Sheyenne High School.
Throughout the years, especially the last three months, the Sheyenne Cheer Team prepared for the moment they would compete to bring home the “North Dakota Cheer State Title.”
They’ve been on a strict practice schedule that consisted of three-hour practices four days a week. During practice, the cheerleaders worked on kicks, jumps, stunts, tumbling, and cheers.
During the competition, held in Minot, the Sheyenne Cheer Team participated in events called “Game Day” and “Cheer Dance.” The ”Cheer Dance” routine is a two-minute and thirty-second performance. Throughout the routine, the cheerleaders must memorize five formations, two dances, three stunt sequences, and a pyramid at the end. Every part of the routine must be perfectly timed.
While competing, the team is scored on Cheerleading Fundamentals and Choreography. The Fundamentals category is judged on Motion Technique, Stunts/Pyramid, Dance, Jumps, Tumbling, and Vocal Expressions. However, choreography is based on Spacing, Formations, Transition, Flow, Crowd Appeal, and Overall Performance. The cheer team can earn up to 100 total points.
The team also competed in the “Game Day” event, which consists of an offensive or defensive cheer, as well as performing their school song or a dance. The performance has a time limit of two minutes.
“Game Day” is judged on a sideline chant and a sideline dance/school song. Some things the judges look for in the routine are Crowd Effectiveness, Motion Technique, Execution of Skills, Overall Impression, and Sycronization.
Senior Paige Harry participated in her own “All around Cheerleader Challenge,” which involved a tumbling pass of the cheerleader’s choice and an independent cheer for crowd involvement. They are judged on Tumbling, Motion Technique, Jumps, Voice/Facial Expressions, and Overall Impression. A cheerleader can earn up to 40 points in total.
Claire Upton and Paige Harry were involved in “Jump Off.” Each team was allowed two cheerleaders to participate in this event. Cheerleaders from all around North Dakota go against two other cheerleaders to show off their best jumping skills. In the first round, the cheerleaders have to perform a toe touch jump. If they continue on, the cheerleader must do a toe touch and jump of choice. A jump of choice could include a pike jump, right hurdler, left hurdler, right herkey, or left herkey. Although the girls didn’t win, they both made it into the final round.
The competiton team has fourteen members. However, only eleven of them actually competed. The cheerleaders range from 8th-12th graders. The student managers are senior Haley Delagarza and junior Claire Upton. The captains on the team are senior Paige Harry and junior Brooke Markworth. Every member on the team makes a huge impact including Ceres Lee, Larissa Reynolds, Alyssa Hongerholt, Loghan Messmer, Mickey Richter, Abbie Chesser, Angella Clark, Mia Wenzel, Ali Spray, and Akeelah Wetty.
Overall, the team placed sixth in both events for the North Dakota State Cheer Competition. The team is looking forward to another eventful competition season!
There are many things to celebrate about our senior 2022 class at Sheyenne High School. They have worked hard to become the people who they are today and will go into their future with lasting memories from their time at Sheyenne. Sricharan Kotala, Sherry Yan, and Michael Nhial are some of the outstanding seniors who have made a great impact at Sheyenne.
Sricharan Kotala is on the Sheyenne Speech Team, Sheyenne Student Council, National Honor Society, Sheyenne Debate, Student Congress, Swimming, Track, Cross Country, and the president of HOSA. After high school, Sricharan plans to attend the University of Minnesota Twin Cities to study Sports Medicine or Orthopedics. His favorite quote to live by is “Just Do It.”
Sherry Yan is a member of the Sheyenne Speech Team, Student Congress, Student Council, Sheyenne Chamber Orchestra, and The National Honor Society Volunteering. Sherry also participates in Dance, Piano, Violin, Guitar, and takes Chinese lessons. After High School, she plans to attend a college in California to pursue a career in Computer Science (HCI) with a minor in liberal arts. Sherry’s favorite quote is “Be you. Do you. For you.”
Senior Michael Nhial is a leader and inspiration to many of his peers. He is on the National Honor Society and dominates on the court while playing basketball for Sheyenne. Mike was named “Senior Athlete of the Year” in the Eastern Dakota Conference (EDC). Once he graduates, Mike would like to attend college to play basketball. He would also like to be accepted into a pre-med program. Mike’s favorite quote to live by is “Be the best at everything you do.”
This year, artists at Sheyenne High School have exceled, achieving local and national recognition. This series of posts features those artists and their artwork.
Senior, Zurisadday Medina, created this red earthenware “Honeycomb”. Her artwork earned Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Silver Key. Congrats on your amazing accomplishment!
The Mustang Post 