Junior Class Cabinet prepares for Grand March

From the beginning of the school year until the day of prom, Junior Class Cabinet (JCC) met and discussed the theme and details of prom for the 2010 school year. Members included Olivia Haggerty, Caleigh Fischmann, Calli Durst, Anna Mason, Sarah Frost, Josh High, and Sam Kemp.

“The hardest part of planning prom was deciding on a theme,” said Haggerty. “We wanted to be different and unique from any other year. It’s hard to compromise 7 people’s likes and dislikes to agree on one thing.”

The JCC decided on the theme of Mystery Masquerade with the theme colors being red, gold, and black. They spent the school day on Friday in the gym decorating and preparing for Grand March.

“Overall it’s been going really well,” said Haggerty. “Everyone just sort of took the initiative and each took a job. Everything has been getting done really fast.”

The JCC advisors were Nancy Eiynck and Tracy Hulley, who have been advising together for 16 years.

“Hulley is magnificent,” said Eiynck. “She is so patient with the juniors and has awesome ideas for whatever we’re working on.”

Prom takes place tomorrow, May 1, and Grand March will begin at 4 pm in the Buffalo High School gym.

Prom 2010

On May 1st Buffalo High School is having prom hosted at the St.Cloud Civic Center. Tickets are on sale until 2:30 p.m. after school. Get your tickets as soon as you can so you are apart of the experience. Students who are Seniors or Juniors are allowed to go, if you are asked by someone in those grades you are welcome to come as well.

Prom is a time where students dress up and go to Grand March to show off there dresses and Tuxedo’s. Junior Hunter Vollbrecht says, “I cant wait for prom, I never get to dress up in fancy clothes and dancing in style should be worth it.”

Students all over Buffalo High School are talking about prom, Junior Cody Elletson says,” I can’t wait for the dance, that is what I am looking forward to most about prom.”

There is a lot of concerns about Prom every year and one of them is accidents. In the past week there has been a lot of student accidents, there has been 15 students killed since last Monday. Yesterday in the P.A.C students were invited to join a presentation on Drinking and driving.

This is precaution for the students who are going to prom, all we ask is to Be safe, Be smart, and Have fun. Enjoy Your 2010 Prom!

Impact Retreat brings 8th graders to BHS

This Friday, April 30, while the seniors get their free day off, the 8th graders will get a chance to tour the school without the stress of the upperclassmen in the building. The  impact leaders will be freshman, sophomores and juniors. All female impact leaders will be paired with a small group of  female 8th graders and all male impact leaders will be paired with a small group of male 8th graders. They do this so the 8th graders can feel more comfortable to ask questions to the upperclassmen.

“I chose to be an impact leader because I remember what it was like when I did this retreat. We had a lot bigger groups and it was kind of awkward to ask questions. It’s nice that we only have a couple people with us so we can really get to know each other, not just act like a babysitter to them. But try and help them out. High school is a stressful thing,” said Junior Bailee Mackedanz.

Showing them around might help them even get a chance to feel how the school environment is going to be. They are going to learn more about how much larger the school is and how easy it is to adjust to all of the changes.  The 8th graders will learn where their lockers will be located and where their classes might be. They might even meet some of the teachers they will be having throughout their experience at BHS.  This tour will be a completely new and different experience for each and every one of them.

Buffalo Seniors’ Day Off

April 30, 2010 is Buffalo High School’s Senior Appreciation Day.  Seniors get the day off from school.

“This is a way to give support for all of the hard work they’ve done four years of hard work,” said Principal Mike Mishke.

Seniors often spend Senior Appreciation Day to prepare for prom which is the following day.  “I’m sleeping in and getting my nails done for prom,” said Senior Chelsea Hinnenkamp.

“I’m going to have the house to myself,” said Senior Sam Mattson.  “I’m going to sleep in, blare music, and get my nails done at noon.  Then, I’ll be going to the baseball game at the dome.”

Others spend the day as a time to relax and hang out with their friends  “I’m seeing A Nightmare on Elm Street with some friends and then I’ll probably hang out with my boyfriend,” said Senior Chelsey Erickson.

No matter how the day is spent, seniors are left feeling rewarded and refreshed.  “We’re entrusting seniors with a day to do what they want,” said Mishke. “They’ve earned it.”

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.

Buffalo High School Celebrates Earth Day

On Thursday, April 22nd Buffalo High school Celebrates Earth day. It was a grand success for the lucky students of Buffalo High School. “As I first pulled into the parking lot, I noticed other students standing in front of the parking area with “Happy Earth Day” signs,” said Nick Jones.  Earth Day has been a Celebrating day for 40 years all around the U.S.A.

According to Buffalo’s Green Team, 20% of non-recyclable objects are thrown into the wrong waste bin. The remaining 80% are recycled correctly. Did you know that 2000 lbs of recycled paper saves seventeen trees? Two Barrels of oil used for printer ink, can run a car for 1,538 miles. That’s a lot of Tree’s and oil to be used just for things to read and write on.

Students like Emily Anderson were being apart of Earth day doing things to make  Earth Day count. ” I shut off all the lights in my house, carpooled to school, and I also helped the Green Team with promoting carpooling,” said Senior Emily Anderson. Things like that can help the Earth in so many ways.

As Earth Day came to an end, kids all over Buffalo did things to make the Earth more Green. Treat every day like an Earth Day and it will help Earth to be more Green.

“Earth Day to me is EVERY DAY. We owe it to our world to protect it,” said Emily Anderson

Ceramic Bowl Silent Auction

On June 3, 2010 outside of the Performing Arts Center at BHS from 6:15-7:00, you can participate in the eleventh annual ceramic bowl silent auction.

All of the proceeds will go to the Vision, Strength, and Access (VSA) arts on Minnesota.  This is a non-profit group, founded in 1986, that supports the arts for individuals with disabilities.  In past years, about $7,000 were donated from the ceramic bowl silent auction.

Having proceeds going to a positive organization leaves students feeling good about how they participated.  “I really like it,” said sophomore Derrick Klersy.  “It’s a good idea because people with disabilities need extra support.  I just think it’s the right thing to do.

By Sam Nyberg, Sam Maihot, and Delia Langland

Knowledge Bowl places 8th at State Tournament

The Buffalo Knowledge Bowl team took eighth place at the State Tournament, held at Cragun’s Conference Center in Brainerd, Minnesota. This was the program’s ninth year going to state. The team one members included: Gina Filo, Jensen Maiden, Neil Gleason, Jonathon Hank and Michael Bonde. Four of the Five members were on the State Tournament team from last season.

Beginning on Thursday night, the two day competition consisted of one written round and five oral rounds. Of the 48 teams present, half participated in the large school competition and half in small school. Team one competed in the large school division and held first place after the written round and two oral rounds. During the third and fourth rounds of competition they dropped out of first and eventually fell into fifteenth place. Finding a way to battle back, team one jumped seven spots in the final round to claim an eighth place finish.

This state appearance involved not only the members of team one, but also the seniors from teams two and three. All eight seniors who participated in knowledge bowl attended. As tradition, the group stopped on their way to the tournament for a game of bowling. Between rounds members golfed at the resort, swam in Gull Lake, and played Ultimate Frisbee with other knowledge bowl teams.

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.

Issue 6: The Ideal School – Available online and in print

Next Page »