The 2010 Tatanka Yearbook – From Beginning to End

This documentary was filmed, edited, narrated and produced by Joel Morehouse.

It focuses on the First Worknight and then the distribution of the Yearbook.

That’s the way we get down, in a hick town!

It’s the last day of school, and the parking lot is packed! Even the students driving in early have to fight for a parking space! Some of the students here at Buffalo High School instead of driving their cars to school decided to drive their tractors, four wheelers, dirt bikes, and one three wheeler.

“I drove my tractor with a hay wagon hooked up to it, because I thought it would be fun and different!” said Senior Brittany Gutknecht.

Early this morning students stepped out of their cars to see the tractors, four wheelers, and dirt bikes parked in the far back part of the parking lot!

“It was definitely a surprise to see that many tractors in the school parking lot this morning!” said Junior JD Laskey.

For many years here at BHS it has been a tradition to drive tractors, four wheelers, and dirt bikes to school on the last day.

“I drove a tractor because a lot of people do and i really wanted to drive a tractor to school!” said sophomore Lane Otto.

Video: Seniors Say Farewell

Video by Sam Mailhot and Sam Nyberg

Capstone Showcase

In the senior capstone there are many different talented students, these 25 students have different talents; poetry, comic art, improv theater, fashion design, painting, drawings, monologue, short story, illustrations, photography, graphic design, DJ, pottery, dance, writer, animation, and spoken word. The showcase was on June 3rd, 2010 it was held at the BHS Performing Art Center. Students in this showcase were involved in the arts magnet program. Students pulled most of their work together to make a pamphlet filled with all the information about the Capstone Showcase. Each artist put a piece or two of their work into the pamphlet along with a description of what they enjoy about art and how art effects their lives. Each and every one of these students loves what they do. “The simple fact is: If i didn’t make the art that i do, i wouldn’t be as happy as i am” said Senior Taylor Beck. Many students make the art that they do to express their inner feelings, and to make an impact on the viewers. “I like improv because when I’m doing it i feel like im making a connection with everyone in the room, i like making people laugh” said Senior Dan Comstack.

Seniors dedicate graduation events to Brandon Lanie and Jon Kramnic

Seniors haven’t forgot about the loved ones from their class who they have lost to tragic accidents. To show their care for them, the class is doing something nice for them during Graduation and the All Night Grad Party.

Graduation night

Assistant Principal Brandon Prell had said that during graduation, which is at 7:00 P.M. on June 11, there will be two chairs set out for Brandon and Jon in their spot in alphabetical order, and will probably have a cap, gown and picture of the students. On the stage there will be two plants in remembrance of them. After the ceramony, the parents of the two will be getting the plants. Senior Dani Shepard is going to be the speaker for the students of the 2010 class and will be mentioning something about what our school has done for them.

For the All Night Grad Party Senior Ashley Michalko is going to put Brandon Lanie and Jon Kramnic’s pictures in the slide show because they are still part of our class, and still should be able to be remembered for who they were. Doors will open at 10:15 and will be open until 10:30 for the students going. This school will be showing a lot of rememberence for these two boys.

Local hip-hop artist Desdamona visits high school English class

Desdamona, a hip-hop artist from Minneapolis, visited Katherine Kunz’s English class on Thursday, May 20 to teach kids about poetry.

“I think it’s important to educate kids because in high school people are trying to find their voices,” said Desdamona. “Writing allows you to learn about yourself even if that happens after writing it. Writing in itself  is a teacher so it’s almost like self-teaching.”

Desdamona began performing through dance as a little girl and was in band and choir through out high school. She found that she didn’t have the same type of outlet in college, but soon found it through poetry and rap.

“I had performed like that once in 9th grade, but not again until college,” said Desdamona. “That was when I really found that outlet. My inspiration comes from my own life experiences or friend’s life experiences.”

Desdamona, a unique name, came from a Shakespeare play. Desdamona’s real name is actually Heather.

“I wanted a name that people would remember,” said Desdamona. “No one else has this one. I chose it because I related to the character. She was killed and didn’t get to tell her story because it was too late. I wanted a chance to tell my story.”

Desdamona’s music can be found on MySpace music and iTunes. She will also be returning to the school on May 26, 27, and 28 to continue to teach about poetry. On the 28 she plans on performing for the class.

Do I know you? Issue 7 is available in print and online

Click here to go to the whole issue.

Auschwitz survivor speaks out about the horrors of her Holocaust experience

“I feel no guilt for surviving,” said Holocaust Survivor Margot Dewilde. “I knew I would survive and get out of there alone, even as I stepped off the train at Auschwitz. I had a vision and the place seemed familiar to me. I felt like I had been there before and I knew I would be okay.”

At 91 years old and wheelchair bound, Margot seemed quite harmless and reserved, which contrasted with the middle school aged audience she was addressing. But as soon as she spoke these words, her strongly accented voice captured the attention of the energetic crowd, as well as myself.

As Margot continued to speak, it was obvious that she had told this story many times to a variety of different types of people. It had become routine for her to go through the series of events that took place in her life and that over time she had been able to remove much of the emotion from her accounts.

“I began telling my story in 1969, twenty years after World War Two ended,” said Margot. “At first it was extremely difficult, but I knew it was worthwhile to tell because I my hope is to prevent something like this from happening again.”

Margot was born in 1921 in Berlin, Germany and lived with her mother,father, and brother in an apartment. Through her childhood Margot’s family struggled financially. Her grandfather lost his department store and her father could not keep a steady job. Eventually, her family moved to Holland where her uncle lived. While living in Holland they moved often as an effort to save money.

In 1933, Hitler rose to power in Germany and made life for the Jewish people impossible. All Jewish families were required to register all their belongings and leave them behind if they wanted any chance to flee from Germany. During this time, Margot was twelve years old and was staying in a Jewish hotel in Holland with her family. There, she met the man she married five years later.

While Margot spoke of her late husband, a hurt expression crossed her face and her voice faded to a softer volume. He had died when they became separated at a later date and it didn’t seem as if she wanted to share many details. She mentioned him few times throughout the time she spoke, and instead stuck to facts rather than details.

“I remember on May 10, 1940, the Germans invaded Holland,” said Margot. “They came in the sky at 4 o’clock in the morning. Some were in uniforms, others were in civilian clothes. They started bombing and Holland surrendered right away, which meant we were under German Law.”

The Germans made all people in Holland carry an I.D. that included a picture, thumbprint, and mark of the city. It also included personal information and a big J if the person was Jewish. Next, the Germans forced all Jews to wear a yellow star that became known as The Star of David. They were not allowed to attend school, use public transportation, or attend any form of entertainment. It was at this point that they began to move some families to ghettos.

“After all these laws were forced upon us, my in-laws decided we should try to leave Holland,” said Margot. “They tried to find a connection to some high level Germans who could be bribed. Eventually they found someone, but we had to wait for our immigration papers before we could go to Switzerland. During this time I got married because the Germans had said that they would keep families together.”

At this point, I realized the extent of how completely the Holocaust affected people’s lives, even before they were forced from their homes to be put unwillingly into camps. Love was no longer the only reason two people got married. Instead, they rushed marriage because they were promised that they would be kept together and would have a familiar face by their side in the months to come.

“In 1943 we were notified that we should be ready to leave for Switzerland,” said Margot. “We were each allowed one suitcase. I noticed that my husband was overdressed and asked him why. His response was that we never know. I think we suspected something at that point, but we didn’t want to see the signs.”

Margot, her husband, and her in-laws were escorted to the train station and put on a train with another group of people. After the train ride, which they believed was taking them to Switzerland so they could escape, they were arrested on the grounds of “attempting to smuggle valuables.” They were sent to Berlin and put in a collection camp in a school where they were housed on the floor with straw.

“During this time I came down with a sore throat,” said Margot. “I was put in a Jewish hospital and put in isolation. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. After 6 weeks I was sent back to the school and only my husband was there. He had been told to wait for me. We were loaded onto a train and it was a long ride with no windows. When we stopped and got off, there was a German officer outside the train. They separated men, women, elders, and children. Everyone was in a trance. I am convinced that we were hypnotized because we followed any order that was given.”

Up until this statement, Margot’s face had been blank and emotionless. But when she made the comment about being hypnotized, she seemed sad, like her mind was elsewhere. She never stated it, but the train ride she spoke of was the ride to Auschwitz and it was the last time she ever saw her husband.

“Young married women like me were taken in a truck to a building with a huge shower stall,” said Margot. “We had heard slight rumors about gassing being done there. We were all shaved head to toe and given different clothing. The soap they gave us to use, if I remember right, it said RIF which meant Rest in Freedom. We were told that it had been made from the ashes of the people who had been killed.”

Another realization dawned as Margot explained about the soap. Not only did these people have to come to terms with the fact that friends and family were being killed, but they basically had it thrown right in front of them with actions like these. It seemed like a warning about what could happen and what the Germans were capable of.

“After showering, we were given tatoos,” said Margot. “They used glass with a metal pen to print a number above a triangle on all of us. We were no longer people, but numbers. I tried to rub mine out with dirt, but they they went over it again. Through this time I just didn’t know what was happening. At one point I was unconscious for 12 days.”

Through her time at Auschwitz, Margot lived through other people’s deaths and horrors.

“Even now when my neighbor burns garbage, I smell burning bodies,” said Margot. “I always douse his fire with a hose. He just doesn’t understand.”

In January of 1945, she was woken up and told to stand outside with many others. Everyone got a coat and was marked with a red X. They were put into lines of 5 and walked for 2 days and 3 nights, then were loaded into box cars and taken to a labor camp.

“In the morning when we woke, there was a commotion,” said Margot. “There were no Germans around and I saw an American with a flag. I was told I was free and to go West because the Russians were coming from the East with a lot of Germans. We walked and walked and ended up sleeping in a chicken coop and eating raw eggs, which made us sick. We then continued to walk until we reached a city and were put in a house. The Red Cross came by. We were taken care of and bunked by the British, who gave us tea.”

In the following weeks, Margot tried to reach her family. She found her parents and brother, who were all alive. She took a train to Amsterdam where her father lived close to their old house. She stayed there, where she met another man that she hoped to marry but couldn’t because she didn’t have a death certificate from her previous husband. After 13 years, she moved to Minneapolis where her brother lived. She married and lived in Richfield for 40 years, until her husband died.
Listening to Margot’s story, there was a rush of emotions and reactions. Before Margot began to speak the students had been talkative and fidgety but as she neared the end of her story, the atmosphere had changed. The students were quiet and seemed to have a new respect for Margot after hearing her story. Her strength, composure, and confidence were incredible for a person who had witnessed the events that she had.

“I like to say I had a guardian angel through those years,” said Margot.

New Orleans

On Wednesday April 21st, 2010 the band, orchestra, and choir of Buffalo High School started its journey to New Orleans, Louisiana.

The bus ride down there will take them a full day. They will then spend the following three days down there performing and exploring all of the luxeries that New Orleans has to offer. They will visit the French Quarter, eat at many different music inspired restaurants, ride a steam boat, and also go on a ghost and a swamp tour. They get to attend a music festival and also perform at a music festival. They will be doing an awards night down there too.

“I am really excited for this trip! I think it will help give us experience with different kinds of music, especially jazz.” Says junior Katie Mueller.

They will be returning from their trip this Sunday and will arrive back in Buffalo on Monday.

Talking Suitcase presentation highlights minority students’ stories

On Thursday April 22 in the PAC the ELL students will be telling their stories through their artwork. The presentation will include talking suitcases that will contain objects to tell their stories of struggles and accomplishments as a minority student.

The students began the Talking Suitcase project towards the end of third quarter. They also began writing papers about their expectations, challenges, opportunities, and achievements. Students’ artwork in the suitcases helped illustrate their experiences.

“I enjoyed doing it.” said Junior Nellya Scheurmann, “It was fun to put my memories on a piece of paper.”

Shana Bregenzer has been a language development teacher for eight years. The first time she had her students do the talking suitcase project was four years ago, and she feels that the challenges facing minority students have changed.

“The experience was very different for minority students eight years ago,” said Bregenzer. “I had a student who had literally walked, by himself, from El Salvador to Buffalo because his parents were already here and had to leave him. But when we would walk the halls here, he was afraid to walk alone. Before I had kids, I was skinnier, and I would walk with him. People thought I was a student, and I could hear the students yell at him, ‘Go back to your own country!’ and ‘Dirty Mexican!’ It was just heartbreaking.”

Since the project started, minority students have begun to feel more comfortable and the level of racism has decreased. Bregenzer sees the project as an opportunity for minority students to become more comfortable with who they are.

“There are a lot of students who hide who they are when they should be proud,” said Bregenzer. “It will be tough for some students. I hope it goes well. I have full faith in our student body. We have had students in the audience crying and saying, ‘I’m so sorry I never talked to you before.’ I don’t expect disrespect to happen.”

“I think it’s a good way to show everybody that we are all more alike than different,” said Junior Ashley Johnson.

All teachers have been informed of the presentations, which will begin at the start of every block. After Thursday, the Talking Suitcases might go on display.

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