By Anderson Prater
This year the Hinckley-Finlayson robotics team placed 31st in the First Robotics Northern Lights challenge and for the first time in program history advanced into the playoff round. Hinckley-Finlayson (group 5720) started 4 years ago and have gone to the First Robotics northern lights regional each year, This year the challenge was to built a robot that could pick up and move milk crate sized boxes to different areas. 5720 initially wanted to create a robot with an arm that would pick up and maneuver the boxes. This initial design failed and they ended up redesigning the robot with only two weeks left in the competition. This year the robotics team created a robot with a simple intake system that allowed them to specialize on moving the “power cubes” into the “vault” meaning that they would pick up the boxes and move the blocks to a small door. The ability to be so focused on one task allowed the Jag-o-botics team to be very successful and Mr. Ranger talked about how this allowed them to get into the playoff round saying, “it made other teams very interested in us because we did something they needed very well.” This got 5720 into an alliance and into the quarterfinals of the contest where they were eliminated. The team was not discouraged by the elimination, but instead they were excited to have made the playoffs and hope to be even more successful next year.
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3/27/2018 0 Comments Put Your Knowledge to the TestBy Kenidy Cessna and Killeen Prater
SARTELL, MN- On March, 19 the HFHS Knowledge Bowl team went to Central Minnesota Regionals in Sartell, MN. Out of 290 schools in Minnesota, just about 800 teams partake in the competition throughout the state. The driven team went into one written round and five oral rounds. Sadly enough the HFHS team placed last with a final score of 76, six points behind the closest team. The team pushed hard but it just wasn’t enough to meet the standards of the close competition. Sauk Rapids- Rice ranked first in the day’s competition, racking points up to 130.5. HFHS jags were tied with Albany 1, and Mayer Lutheran in the first round. However, the three teams including Hinckley-Finlayson were not in last place. The HF team slowly drifted behind the others; in the third round the team tied with Albany 1, and in the fourth the team moved up one place above the one of two Albany teams. In the fifth round the team scuffled and fell behind by the six points. Knowledge Bowl is the name for several interdisciplinary academic quiz bowl-like competitions across the United States and the world. The questions for many Knowledge Bowl competitions are supplied by the Academic Hallmarks company of Durango, Colorado. This fact is not existent in some people's’ minds. Knowledge Bowlers have to have a certain amount of intellect and brainpower. By Kenidy Cessna
The newest mini Gordon Ramseys have come to HFHS. On March 21, the HFHS 8th grade students of third quarter FACS (Family and Consumer Science) class had a cook off in Mrs.Kreger/Pollock’s classroom kitchen. The ambitious 8th graders showed no mercy to their competition; each team of four impeccably executing their snack dish. The class was split into five teams of four, Kitchen One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. The driven students sanguinely hoped that their recipes turned out to plan. Kitchen One won “ healthiest snack” put together a superb dish with banana,wrapped inside tortillas, with sum butter in between. Kitchen Two who had won “most complicated” made Homemade Blueberries Muffins, Yogurt Smoothie, and Fruit Kabobs. Kitchen Three claimed “most sweet treat” they created a beautifully glazed Caramel Corn. Kitchen Four overthrew Kitchen Five in winning “best displayed” with mini pizzas made with mini tortilla shells and topping of their choice. Kitchen Five won “” they made strawberry shortcake kabobs with a chocolate drizzle. Although, the 8th graders are very compassionate we did not have an overall winner. The students have been cooking in the kitchen for about a week now. Omelets were their first recipe to follow, then chicken noodle casserole, and now the cookoff. Next week they will make chocolate chip cookies. The contest is very fun, hopefully the 8th graders to come can enjoy it in upcoming years. Last quarter’s FACS student Killeen Praters had said “The cookie was my favorite recipe and thing to bake. It was fun to bake with friends and enjoy eating it.” By Avery Degerstrom
This past weekend the boy’s varsity basketball team made a trip to the Minnesota State Tournament. The boys placed 5th overall and were the consolation champions. The jags lost their first game to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton with a score of 70-87. The next game was a dominating 22 point win against Mahnomen/Waubun, with an end score of 88-66. The final game played by our boys was for the consolation championship. They were able to scrape out the win 56-49. The first game was played on March 22nd at the University of Minnesota Williams Arena. The jags were able to stay neck and neck with the RTR knights until late into the second half when RTR gained a 13 point lead at 6 minutes to go. At the half it was RTR up 46-34. In the start of the 2nd half the knight’s lead only grew getting to 18 points before a 10-0 run from the jags. This got the jags within 7 but again RTR’s lead grew. Hinckley got within 7 points three times in the 2nd half but fell short and couldn’t get any closer before RTR pulled away again. The jags were lead by Travis Visser’s double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Lavone Krochel although only playing 19 minutes contributed 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Kolten Furey hit four from behind the arc to add to the outstanding three-point percentage by the jags this game, they shot 47.6%. Once placed in the consolation bracket the Hinckley-Finlayson Jaguars took on the Mahnomen/Waubun Thunderbirds at Concordia University. The Thunderbirds took the first lead of the game and held onto that until 12 minutes to go in the first half. The Jags tied them 3 times in the 6 minutes of Thunderbird fame. It was downhill for Mahnomen/Waubun with the Jaguars gaining their first lead of the game which grew rapidly and into double digits with just under 7 to play. This lead was sustained with the Jags going 8-16 from the three-point line in the 1st half. The lead for the Jaguars only continued to grow throughout the second half. The Jags outrebounded the Thunderbirds by 10 and had 4 of their 5 starters scoring in double digits. Anderson Prater had a game high of 16 and Trevor Johnson trailed him closely with 15. Kolten Furey put up 13 and Travis Visser and Reuben Gibbs both had 12. It was a complete team victory. At the Gangelhoff Center of Concordia University on Saturday March 24th the Jaguars competed for 5th place and the consolation championship. They faced Rushford-Peterson home of the Trojans. The Trojans took the first lead of the game which expanded into a 10-4 lead only 5 minutes into the game. The Jags were able to inch their way back up with help from the 47.4% that the Jags shot from the field in the 1st half. They were even able to enter halftime up 2. That was only the start for the Jags as their momentum carried over into the 2nd half where they shot 61.1%. This benefitted the Jags immensely due to the fact that as they got hot the Trojans cooled off only shooting 16.7% from behind the arc in the second half. It was nobody’s game the entire 2nd half though, leads were exchanged the whole way until the Jags went up 45-41 with four minutes left of the game and were able to keep their lead. Travis Visser earned his 2000 points in his 20 that he put up this game. All the hard work put in by each and everyone of the boys on the basketball team left the Jags to take home 5th place, consolation champions, and they got to end their wonderful season on a win. 3/27/2018 0 Comments Tune Into The Band Concert RecapBy Abby Painovich
HINCKLEY, MN- Thursday, March 15, 2018 was the day of the Hinckley Finlayson band concert. With three bands performing, HF Jaguar Band (7th and 8th grades), the HF Concert Band (9th- 12th grades) and Jazz Band, they left the the audience in awe after an outstanding performance. The Jazz Band started things off with the upbeat tune of "Been There, Done That.” Their next piece was more mellow than that of the first but just enough so to keep the audience attentive at their smooth jazz. The Jazz Band wrapped up their performance with the captivating tune of "Night Train." This song was a great ending to their performance and an even better introduction to the rest of the night in the FAC. Next up to take the stage were the members of the Jaguar Band. They lured in their audience with an ubeat piece called “"Dark Fortress Overture.” This piece was very dramatic and very well performed by the band. Then followed the "Plight of the Bumbling Bee." Not to be confused with the well-known “Flight of the Bumblebee,” as it was a play on the Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov piece. This arrangement was aimed towards “follow[ing] the adventure of an unlucky bee who is dodging a fly swatter,” according to Ms. Emily Bengston, director of all HFHS bands. Following this piece was "Iroquois Sunrise." "Iroquois Sunrise” is “inspired by a sunrise that the composer witnessed on a misty morning in the Adirondack Mountains,” as stated by Ms. Bengston. The band did an excellent job of painting the audience a picture of the scene through their instruments. Next up was "Kilauea.” The meaning behind this arrangement was to demonstrate the “power and beauty of one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii.”It was challenging to the band as they were to play random notes in the middle of the song to illustrate the eruption of the volcano, but it was nevertheless one of their best and a crowd favorite. The last song that the Jaguar Band performed was "Arocknophobia.” This was one of the Band’s favorite to play thus a strong tune to end their performance. However, the night was not over yet. The final group to take the stage was the Concert Choir. They started their show with a piece called, “"Heroic Fanfare,” in order to capture the audience’s attention. Their next arrangement took its “listeners around the planet. The [original] composer wrote five contrasting sections that are meant to depict the atmospheres, a rainforest, oceana, a metropolis, and mountain vistas,” as described by Ms. Bengston. This piece was called “Habitat (Visions of a Fragile Planet).” Next up on their playlist was "Thematic Variations on Dona Nobis Pacem." This familiar tune was played astoundingly by the band as the audience roared will amazement when it had ended. They then finished the whole night to an energetic Spanish Tune called, “"Aztec Fire.” One week before this concert, the Concert Band had played "Thematic Variations on Dona Nobis Pacem" and "Aztec Fire" at a competition in Rush City where they were judged on their performance. They then used this input over the next week to perfect these songs for their crowd in the Fine Arts Center. This concert was applauded by many parents as well as staff and community member. Congratulations to the all band members on an outstanding performance! 3/16/2018 0 Comments Got Gravity? They Don’t!Killeen Prater, Student Reporter
HINCKLEY, MN - The RPHF gymnastics cartwheeled, vaulted, twisted, and flipped their way through a gravity-defying season. In response, Head Coach Katie Meier praised the leadership of her co-captains, Ava Talarico, Christeva Perotti, Liva Isaacson-Rod, and Erin Tomczyk . Each of them, representing a different grade, developed unity among all the gymnasts; unity was a key factor in this year’s success. “We definitely have big shoes to fill for next year. It’s really been a great coincidence that we have a really good freshman that helps out the team and the leadership from the senior, combined with the strengths of our sophomores, juniors and even some 8th graders. Really, we have been blessed to have all of them at the same time,” said Meier. The Flamingo gymnasts treated every practice as if it were a competition, which prepared them for RPHF's meets. The varsity team set a goal of scoring 120.00, team points, or higher at each meet. Not only did they score above 120 each meet, they well surpassed the mark, reaching a season-high team of 134.30. From start to finish, the girls made great progress this season, hitting full stride toward the end of the season with a second-place finish at the Granite River Conference Meet. The varsity Flamingos came away with a dual meet record of five first-place finishes and four second place finishes. JV also had a very successful season winning six out of their nine dual meets, their high score for the season was 116. Sadly, none of the individual girls moved on to the state meet as they did not earn scores high enough to advance. While the team was disheartened, Meier was proud of how her team performed. Katie Meier is excited to see what her girls will produce in the upcoming gymnastics season.“We definitely have a strong group as we look to next year. Replacing our senior will be tough, but we will make the best of it,” said Meier. By Mrs. Anderson, Editor-in-Chief
Kreft hopes his team can relax on the court and concentrate on the things they’ve been doing well all year. “I really believe that we are the better team, but the better team doesn’t always win,” Kreft cautioned. “We need to take care of business on our end and do the things we’ve been working on all year, and I think we’ll be fine if we do that.”
The hallways of Hinckley-Finlayson High School are filled with black and red, Jaguar gear to show their school spirit and pride in this basketball team. With a fan bus from the school heading to tonight’s match-up and much of the staff planning to attend, the stands should be packed and ready to support the Jags as they attempt to earn a state tournament appearance. The Hinckley-Finlayson School District put out a statement on the district’s Facebook page reminding Jaguar fans of all ages to demonstrate good sportsmanship. The statement challenges fans to refrain from yelling at the referees of tonight’s game, regardless of the calls, and work to maintain a positive atmosphere. They also thank the students for their past conduct in cheering on the Jaguars. There is a pep fest scheduled at the high school in the morning, and the basketball team will be dismissed early to make a trip to the Hinckley Elementary School before they hop on the bus for Crosby-Ironton. The entire school and community of Hinckley-Finlayson are behind these boys and wish them the very best of luck. By Abby Painovich
One month ago Wednesday 14th, 2018, the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School experienced a tragedy; one they would never forget. In honor of those students and many other students that have been victim to a similar event, there was a nationally organized walkout. The purpose of this peaceful protest was to rebut the thought that students should go to school everyday and worry about protecting their lives. We walked so that students would never have run from guns again. This was one of the largest student protests in all of U.S. history with over 150,000 students pledging to walk. Our school, Hinckley Finlayson High School, was one of the many schools that participated in this event. Allowing for the students to leave class and protest on school grounds for seventeen minutes; one minute for each life that was lost in the Florida school shooting. When we asked students why they were walking for these seventeen minutes they responded with, “for the seventeen kids who died in the [Florida] shooting,” or “to support the gun control movement to prevent events like the Parkland school shooting from happening again.” It is clear that the issue at hand is one that has been heard around the nation and is long overdue. As a result of this movement and others, Florida has recently signed a bill that raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 and has extended the waiting period to three days. Although the protests have not received attention on a national level, at least stories of students striving to make a difference have plagued the internet for a little while. Our thoughts and prayers go out those who have been affected by gun violence. By Abby Painovich
The Dragons’ boys hockey team packed up their gear, loaded the bus and rode in anticipation to the Chisago Lakes Ice Arena where they would face the North Branch Vikings in the semi-final round of playoffs. The Vikings came out strong, scoring a goal less than two minutes into the game to which the Dragons responded with a goal not long after. The score was 1-1 going into the second period but with the Vikings dominating play, the Dragons were forced to give up two goals. They fought hard all game, causing many scoring opportunities in their favor but to no avail. With seventeen minutes left to play, the Dragons and Viking took the ice in a flurry of green and red. The Dragons, pushing hard in the third, down by two goals, were able to find the back of the net, cutting the lead to none. It was now 3-3 with both teams battling to gain the lead. It wasn’t until there was 36 seconds left in the game when the Vikings finally scored to win the game. The Vikings proved to be too much for the Dragons, forcing them into three penalty kills, which resulted in three powerplay goals for the Vikings. Although well fought and fought right to the end, the Vikings ended the Dragon’s season with a score 3-4 and a record of 21-6. The Dragons had a great playoff run and a season that would go down in the record books. Their final record, 21-6, ties the all-time Dragon Hockey record. They also finished first in the Two Rivers Conference for the third year in a row and went undefeated in their conference. Within the Pine City records, they tied the record for most wins in a season with 21, and to gain momentum heading into the playoffs, they went on a 14 game winning streak, breaking the record for the longest win streak. They were also able to beat teams that they have not been able to beat over the past ten years. Within their conference, they boasted 5 All-Conference players, 2 All-Conference Honorable Mentions, and 6 Academic All-Conference players. Losing 9 varsity players, Coach Grant Nicoll will look to his returning players “that learned from this senior group” to lead the team next season. Even though the Dragons will lose almost two lines, next year they expect to come back stronger than the season before. Coach Nicoll is looking forward to the upcoming season and expects another winning season. Regardless of the loss of numbers, they will have “15 letter winners [returning] including 5 of our 6 starting defensemen as well as our two varsity goalies. We also return 2 of our top 4 scorers,” according to Coach Nicoll. Next season the Dragons will strive to win the conference and make it to the state tournament. Congratulations to the Dragons on winning season and a special congratulations to Howard Hodena and Landon Dematti! |
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