pawPRINTVOLUME III ISSUE 1

KANSAS CITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL | PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KAN. | DEC. 16

Christmas

Around the

WorldFeliz Navidad

Fröhliche WeihnachtenKala Christouyenna

Joyeux Noël

Glædelig Jul

Flashback to WPA

“Mind Games” with Scholar’s Bowl

“Into the Ring” with Balentine

2

staffco-editors

Kayley ForsheyMaddy Hardt

staff writersGrayson BohlenderMatthew Carlson

Alyssa ElliottTurner Jones

Olivia Madderom

adviserKylie Briggs

The Paw Print is the high school newspaper of Kansas City Christian School. It is an open forum and is distributed to all students. This is a student publication and may contain controversial matter. Kansas City Christian School and its board members and employees are not responsible for the content of this student publication. Students and editors are solely responsible for the content.

table of contents3 Mind Games

4 Opinion

6 Kansas City in People

8 Christmas Around the

World

10 Modern Identity

12 The Mother Among Us

14 Into the Ring

16 #KCCGatsby

student spotlight

feature 3

Olivia Madderomstaff writer “What city in Tennessee has a fully replicated Parthenon?” a judge asked the two teams. The timer started, 30 seconds per question. It was a race against the opposing team. Sophomore Bryce Johnston buzzed in and gave the answer: Nashville. Ten points were awarded to the KCC team. If Johnston had answered incorrectly, the question would have gone to the other team. Scholar’s bowl is a round robin competition, and the team with the most points wins. A tournament usually lasts an hour and a half. Trivia questions test students in social studies, science, math, literature, and pop culture. But there’s a catch. One question per round is completely random, and is dubbed potpourri. Scholar’s Bowl is open to any and all students, although there is a limit to five students participating per round. “Scholar’s Bowl is fun. It’s fun to test your knowledge and hang out with a good group of guys,” junior Jacob Butler said. “Our first tournament we went 4-5, which was a varsity tournament.” With a new coach, history teacher Chad Pirotte, and mostly new members, the team has had a sharp learning curve. “I like Scholar’s Bowl because I get to hang out with a lot of really cool people,” sophomore Lucas Miller said. “It broadens my knowledge beyond the classroom.” Pirotte says it is tough for students to train for competitions.“Coaching is interesting. I’m just placing people there and hoping

that they can answer questions,” Pirotte said. “So it’s more a matter of deciding the right combination of people that know different subjects.” Junior Matthew Horner likes to compete under Pirotte’s watch. “Pirotte makes Scholar’s a lot of fun,” Horner said. “He’s a really neat guy and has made it for me enjoyable.” Scholar’s Bowl requires strategy as well as knowledge. Knowing how to buzz and how to follow the carefully planned out instructions can be a challenge in itself. “It’s a bunch of kids who take pride in their intellect and want to compete with other schools about their knowledge,” Pirotte said. “So, it is an academic exercise, and the people who are involved are the students who are doing well in school.” Since most of the Scholar’s Bowl team is new, they have had an unpredictable season. Butler referred to the team as “adequate,” and Pirotte said he has “no idea” where the team will go in the future. “It’s more of a gift than anything,” Pirotte said. “You can study all you want but you’re still going to do only as good as you’re gifted.” The Scholar’s Bowl team has grown in numbers quite a bit from last year, and Pirotte sees a way to keep the team big and winning. “It’s more or less developing an interest in the program around it and getting a competitive team,” Pirotte said. “But we’ll only be as competitive as the kids on our team.”

Mind Games Junior Matthew Horner, sophomore Lucas Ford, sophomore

Bryce Johnston, senior Michayla Kramer, freshman Joel Connealy and senior Sara Goodwin represent the Scholar’s

Bowl team at a competition.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA MADDEROM

Could you be on the Scholar’s Bowl team? Quiz yourself with these questions:

What is the name of China’s main river system?

Yangste river system

What is the extreme, irrational fear of crowded or tightly-enclosed places?

Agoraphobia Promoting adoption as a positive

alternative to abortion.

www.thezoefoundation.com

What old English law gave men legal authority over women while marrried?

Coverture

What kind of orchard was President Richard Nixon born on?

Lemon orchard

4 opinion

Consider this diem carped

A generation’s identity in music

an opinionby KAYLEY

FORSHEY

an opinionby TURNER

JONES

I just love those days when I come home, kick off my shoes, collapse on my bed, and think, “Man, I got a lot done today, I’m so proud of myself! Good job, me.” Those days when I know I worked my butt off and rightly deserve a high five, a pat on the back, and a million people cheering my name (OK, maybe that last one was a bit much). Those days I feel like I’ve used my time wisely and wish I could do it all again the next day. I wonder, why can’t all days feel like this? I-totally-seized-the-day-today kind of days. Sadly, I only see those days once every few months or so, and even then, I still have this very faint whisper in the back of my mind telling me I forgot something. Why is it I can’t stay motivated for more than a day at a time? And why is it that all the other times I’m telling myself, “Stop freaking out; it’s almost Friday. It’s almost Friday.”

What is it that sparks my one day of genius? Maybe it’s the kind of coffee I had that morning? Or which shoe I put on first? Or the way I fixed my hair? What I wore? There has to be something that set off my day of super-get-stuff-done abilities? I tried to pin point it when I realized that it’s all about choice. It’s up to me how I am going to react to what happens around me. Sure, I can get frustrated that I’m running a little late to school, didn’t have time for coffee, and put my shirt on inside out...again (seriously, I don’t know how many times I’ve showed up to school and had someone point out that my shirt was on inside out or even on backward). But if I let the little things harden me, my whole day will only get worse until I want to give up. So, I have to make the choice to overcome these little obstacles, and others like them. It doesn’t make much sense to cry over spilled milk; just clean it up and pour another glass. God gives us every reason to wake up with gusto and excitement. He lays out the day for us, exuding endless possibilities. Infinite reasons to smile and laugh and be inspired. He rises the sun for us to get out of bed, get stuff done, and have fun while doing it. He wants us to enjoy what we do and to do everything for Him. We just have to take that first step. To say, “God, no matter what happens today, this is the day that You have made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it.” God knows we aren’t perfect and some days just aren’t going to be lollipops and rainbows, but when we purpose ourselves to walk with Him, every day can be a I-totally-seized-the-day-today kind of day. So put a smile on, ask for patience (I usually have to ask for hourly doses), and consider this diem carped because God made it for you and He wants you to be glad in it.

Making every day great

The music industry has always had a tight grip on the young generation whether it be The Beatles in the 60s or Nirvana in the 90s. But more recently, the music industry has become more greedy in its marketing style, “forgetting” some of its morals. Unlike how it has changed in the past, with the popular genre or the sound changing over time, the industry has upped the ante with how the music is marketed. Instead of the focus being on music, now all the focus is on which artist stands out at the moment and what he/she did to get to the center of the media’s attention. Almost all of the artists today are focused on sex, drugs, and violence. While music has had this shock value to it in the past, many artists today have stopped caring about the actual music. The music is not the point any longer; it’s about the money and fame. Musicians are continually doing crazier and more outrageous things to become what everyone is talking about. Often times it’s what the musicians wear. Or don’t wear. Sometimes stars take racy photos of themselves and release them online, where, let’s be honest, we as teens, spend a lot of time. Those photos then go viral through news outlets

and social media. Celebrities everywhere realize that people look up to them, especially kids and teens. Yet, they still don’t think twice, or may not even care, about what they do, and it’s continually causing internal problems in our society. The social norm is constantly being pushed further until eventually it will fall off the “cliff.” After that, who knows what people will find acceptable. Some potentially dangerous fads have been started by popular music artists that we all listen to. Namely, the rapper Drake started the saying “YOLO”, meaning “You Only Live Once.” After this caught on, teens everywhere were saying it, thinking that when they said it, they had to do something crazy and possibly dangerous. Perhaps Drake was trying to convey a message to live life to the fullest, but instead, it took a different direction. Another example is Miley Cyrus’ song “We Can’t Stop” in which she references the popular party drug, Molly. At one point in the song she sings the line “dancing with Molly,” which she admitted was about the drug. This has urged a lot of people, especially teens in high school, to take this dangerous drug that has been related to multiple deaths of students and young adults. Anything an artist sings about doing can become popular fast. Of course you could just stop listening to these artists all together but that may be a little unrealistic. Instead, you could just look at the artist differently. Try not to take everything they say in and out of their songs seriously. Even though their music may sound really good to you, it’s not always a good idea to make them your role model. Instead, strive to be what they are, someone who has followed their dreams and achieved success. Don’t try to be the person they are. They’re not worth emulating.

opinion 5

staff editorialTreasure finding

an opinionby GRAY

BOHLENDER We’re all treasure finders, really. We all explore. Whether we venture thousands of miles away or just across the Internet, we always want to find something, of our own. Even if we don’t normally want to stand out from the pack, we always want to have something that nobody else has. Our one-of-a-kind longings have long been fueled by many different mediums - through our art or that one place only we know about. Recently, though, culture has started recycling itself. We find our treasures at, we explore the aisles of, and we declare our unique traits through, you guessed it, the thrift store. It’s hard to find a really exhaustive history of thrift culture. Dedicated resale shops in the United States can be traced back to the early 1900s. Thrifted merchandise was an icon of the poor and under resourced at the time, certainly not a fad that labeled one as an artist or explorer. Time flew, and the thrift shop chic raced through many stereotypes, from the poor to the hippies to the punks to the hipsters, and finally, to America’s mainstream pop culture. The in-between seems to be up for historians’ grabs, but the chronology is consistent in most histories. Looking through my dresser drawers, you might find a hand-knitted pullover or a “Happy Birthday, Gregory!” T-shirt. Personally, I don’t know anyone who can knit, and heaven knows who Gregory is, but maybe that’s the intrigue of it. The fact that we are wearing someone’s story - a story that we are hopelessly unfamiliar with - on our shoulders, like we’re advertising the testimony of a stranger, is almost surreal to me. I want to find a person’s story, and when I can’t, I want to try, and when I don’t know where to start, I want to wear it. Is that weird? Is that just me? It can’t be, because we’re all treasure finders, really. We all explore.

sound off: what is the best thing you have ever thrifted?

“A piggy bank that looked like corn.”

-sophomore Eden Pierce

“An iPad T-shirt.” -freshman Wyatt Palmer

“An Oklahoma Joe’s sweatshirt.”

-junior Cody Friesen

Letters to the editor are encouraged. Letters must be signed by the author to be considered for the publication. The Paw Print encourages letters to be no longer than 500 words. Letters should be submitted to Room 311 or mailed to: The Paw Print c/o Kansas City Christian School, 4801 W. 79th St., Prairie Village, KS 66208.

All worship. Interview a teacher. Lecture. Repeat. This seems to be the typical cycle for chapel this year. It has become stale. Chapel should be a time for students to come together to worship God, learn more about Him, and become closer as a Christian family, which is happening to some degree, but it seems like students have become bored with methodical chapels. We, as a staff, are hoping for more student interaction during chapel and student input in the planning of chapel. It’s not that all worship chapels and teacher interviews are bad. They do provide the student body an opportunity to worship God with their peers and give insight into teachers’ lives. But, students seem unresponsive to the material. In other words, these chapels have gotten old over time. The Paw Print Staff hopes for something new, such as more interaction with the speakers and their fellow students. This could be achieved through things like an open forum where students could ask questions through a microphone or live Twitter feed. Or, there could even be student speakers who share stories of the Kingdom and their walk with Christ. We would love see the high school chaplains, senior Elisa Davis and junior Theo Young, given more of an opportunity to help plan chapels. While high school principal Ben Williams and Bible teacher Allan Chugg have taken the first step by having regular meetings to plan chapel, we would like there to be to a student voice in those meetings. Also, we encourage the students to give the Chaplains their ideas about how they would like chapel to be constructed. We want to see spiritual growth in the students and teachers as a result of chapel. High school principal Ben Williams said, “In general, we are very much trying to merge the feedback that we have received from the past couple years and the needs of the student body with our overall goals for the students.” This is the goal for chapel that can only be reached through cooperation within the school. Everyone, students and administration, need to work together in discovering what chapel should consist of and look like. This can be achieved through more participation from the students, including paying attention during chapel and giving feedback, and through more communication between the chaplains and the administration.

Chapel needs revamped, more student input

6 feature

Kansas City, a town middling in numbers and a bit lacking in namesake, is, more than anything else, a place easy to call home. From the people to the skyline, the barbeque to the fountains, it’s not hard to see Kansas City as a city fit for a lifetime. What the city means to me, though, is the view of one, and not necessarily the view of the majority. In pursuit of what is the view of the majority, I spent my morning in and around Kansas City’s iconic Country Club Plaza, asking people what Kansas City means to them personally. I got just what I was looking for. First, I met Keith. Keith moved to Kansas City right out of high school, hurrying to get out of his small Missouri hometown, full of farming stores and the religious slurs of a typical small town circa 1980. He was unwilling, though, to go straight from a rural community to a giant metropolis like Chicago or New York. He wanted to find himself. “I consider myself both a Buddhist and a Methodist,” he said, “and people say, ‘No, Keith, you can’t do that!’ but I’ve checked in both books and haven’t read that anywhere.” Kansas City became a comfortable home for Keith and a place where he feels able to express himself. Not long after I shook Keith’s hand goodbye, I met a young man named Joshua. He also left a small town for Kansas City, but he came as a Corporate Trainer for Apple’s local retail stores. He fell in love with how big-city and urban it can feel here compared to where he came from. “It’s funny,” he said “Because once you go to other cities, you come back and realize how small Kansas City is, but it’s good because it’s home.” Sitting outside of Barnes and Nobles was a man, named Vincent, begging for money and praising anyone who gave him a dollar like they were his Good Samaritan. After putting a dollar in his cup, I asked him the same question I had asked Keith and Joshua: “What does Kansas City mean to you, sir?” It was obvious he had spent time thinking about his answer before I even asked, but he still considered his words before he said them. After a good minute or so, he uttered a single word: “Respect.”

kansas city in peopleGray Bohlenderstaff writer

I must have looked puzzled, because after two or three seconds he expounded. “Respectful pedestrians, that is,” he continued. “And I thank God every day for Kansas City. I have a bit of a history with the law. I’m unemployed. Where else can a funky-looking old bum get so much respect from people with money?” It was a sobering moment. Vincent ended by saying, “You want to hear the heart of Kansas City? Go that way, toward the Cheesecake Factory. There’s a man on crutches. He’ll tell you what you need for that story of yours.” I followed Vincent’s directions, and on the way there, I saw an African-American man sitting outside on a break from work. He was lighting up his cigarette, and I knew that if I sat down, he would stay there long enough to answer a few questions for me. “Kansas City is divided,” he told me, “and when I go east on Prospect, I realize how alive racism is in America. Segregation.” He told me about how the police always side with the whites in Kansas City, and that as far as employment goes, it doesn’t matter what color you are because they’ll cheat you with “slave labor” anyway. He expounded far beyond the reach of Kansas City, telling me his view on Obamacare and the welfare system and all-things America, but they eventually funneled back to local issues. “Look, man, I love Kansas City,” Maine told me. “But we need true equality here.” Maine made sure to reiterate, though, that Kansas City is home to him. I went back on the search to find the man Vincent told me about. After a few turns, there he was. He was tall and on crutches, like I was told, and had an untamed beard. He looked rough, and to be honest, I almost didn’t talk to him. I remembered what Maine told me, though, and I remembered promising Vincent that I’d talk to him. I approached him, and asked him if I could ask a few questions. He agreed, but not very heartily. “What’s your name, sir?” I asked.

“My real name or the name to use in the newspaper? Call me Bill,” he responded.

feature 7

“Alright, Bill. What does Kansas City mean to you?”

“It means home.”

“Would you ever want to leave?”

“My doctor’s here and my family’s here. Why would I leave?”

I was getting nowhere. I had to alter my go-to questions a bit.

“What do you love, sir? About Kansas City or otherwise.”

That hit something, I guess, whether it be good memories or just a fantasy of what might be, because for the first time in the five or six minutes we spent talking, Bill smiled. It was an almost hidden smile, but it wasn’t an ironic or forced one. It showed that he loved something, and that he’d love for me to love it too. He told me that he loves when people love each other, and that the capability that Kansas City has to love is unmatchable. He called the city a “community,” which seemed to mean to him that everyone knows and helps each other. This seemed entirely opposite to Maine’s experience in the city, but it seemed a legitimate spot of sensitivity to him. It seemed that Bill wanted people to actually love each other, as a city, and that he saw Kansas City as a context where that is a genuine possibility. That is Kansas City in the terms of its people. It’s Keith’s canvas of self, and Joshua’s big-city adventure, and Vincent’s platform of respect, and Maine’s everyday struggle. Bill summed it up best, though, and maybe even conglomerated all the attributes of the town into one: Kansas City is a work-in-progress, and a real context for creating a loving community. It isn’t perfect, but it just may be as perfect as they come.

Below is a map of the Country Club Plaza, with my route represented by the red line and each person talked to by a dot on the way.

Keith Joshua

MaineVincent

Bill

8 feature

Christmas Around the Worlddesigned by Alyssa Elliott

Greenland

Brazil

Argentina

What they eat:Chicken, turkey, ham, rice, and fruitsTraditions:Fireworks, Christmas Eve services, and barbequesMerry Christmas in Portuguese: Feliz Nata!

What they eat:Barbeque, lobster, prawns, and other seafood.Traditions: Carol services at night in the cities.Merry Christmas in Spanish: Feliz Navidad!

South Africa

Nigeria

What they eat:Barbeque caribou, fish, and apple and berry crispTraditions:Christmas Eve church servicesMerry Christmas in Danish: Glaedelig Jul

What they eat:Turkey, beets, goat,

sheep, ram, and chicken

Traditions:Parties all night and Christmas morning

church servicesMerry Christmas in: Yoruba: E ku odun,

e kun iye’dun

Germany

What they eat:Carp, goose, and stollen (a German

pastry)Traditions: Sing

“O Tannenbaum” around the tree

and read the BibleMerry Christmas in German: Fröhliche

Weihnachten

Greece

Egypt

What Christmas traditions do you

have?

feature 9

South Africa What they eat:Turkey, duck, roast beef, mince pies, or suckling pigTraditions:Carol singing and Christmas morning church services

Merry Christmas in Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees

Greece

What they eat:Lamb, pork, spinach and cheese pie, and baklavaTraditions:Midnight mass servicesMerry Christmas in Greek: Kala Christouyenna

IndiaEgypt

South Korea

Japan

Australia

What they eat:Fast for 40 days until ChristmasTraditions:Celebrate on January 7Merry Christmas in Arabic:Milad Majid

What they eat:CurriesTraditions:Midnight mass servicesMerry Christmas in Malayalam: Bade din ki badhai ho

What they eat:Christmas cake and ice cream cake.Traditions:Christmas day church servicesMerry Christmas in Korean: Sung tan chuk ha What they eat:

Fried Chicken from KFCTraditions:Not an official holiday and is treated like Valentine’s DayMerry Christmas in Japanese:Shinnen omedeto or Meri Kurisumasu

What they eat:Barbeque, lobster, prawns, and other seafoodTraditions:Night carol services in the city

Merry Christmas in Australian English: Happy Christmas

information fromhttp://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/

“My aunt always has a theme for each Christmas

like Love or Peace and always gives comments about it in honor of our

grandparents who died.” -junior Holly Spencer

“We do Thanksmas every other year.

It’s where we have Christmas

and Thanksgiving together.” -sophomore

Kaitlyn Burns

“We throw pie at each other.”

-freshman Callie Eldred

“Our family listens to Christmas music

from midnight on Halloween all the way through

[Christmas].” -senior Alicia Sotelo

“We sing the 12 Days of Christmas and the

newest couple sings the two turtle doves part.”

- Spanish teacher Alicia Kahler

10 feature

feature 11

Kayley Forsheystaff writer Teenagers addicted to technology are everywhere, frequently hiding behind the apparatus of the modern world. Clicking away, eyes glued, using their mouths less and less every day. And if their precious electronics were to be taken away…? Well, let’s just say, things could get ugly. In today’s society, technology plays one of the largest roles in forming relationships and personal identities. It’s grip has become strong, and it’s removal could be catastrophic. People tend to identify themselves with what they are most familiar. Since technology is so prominent in American culture, and even globally, more people are finding their personal worth in social media sites such as Instagram, Vine, Facebook, and Twitter. Teenagers use Instagram to gain acceptance through “likes” from people they many times don’t even know. Relationships become more about a “status” on Facebook than a personal bond. The worth of a person is based on how many followers they have on Twitter. And if anyone should not have a social media persona, they tend to be left out of the loop. Because our world seems to be overrun with technology, it is important for us to be aware of the helps and hurts of social media.

How do you think

students find their identity

in social media or

technology?

“They try to make them seem cooler and more appealing to other people.”

“By how many likes, comments, followers they have, rather than finding it in Christ.”

“We judge each other on how many followers someone has.”

“I think they hide behind a false identity or they don’t show who they really are.”

“They lose their identity and are exposed to many inappropriate and unreliable sources.”

“They think that likes and followers determine their value as a person.”

*anonymous survey results

MODERN IDENTITY

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feature 13

Turner Jonesstaff writer

Receptionist Cindy Lopez helps a student at the front office. Lopez began working as school receptionist four years ago.

“Everyone needs someone to listen to them, someone to uplift them.” -Cindy

Lopez

PHOTO CREDIT

heMotherAmongUsAn inside look at the job of Cindy Lopez, front office receptionist

It’s 8 am. Receptionist Cindy Lopez walks in the door ready to take on the day. Sitting down in her office, she already has messages and tasks waiting for her. But somehow she still makes time to listen and talk to students who need her. Lopez has been a part of the school community since she started as a receptionist four years ago. Really she’s more than the receptionist. She’s the nurse, and the security guard. She makes sure the people that enter the building should be here and aren’t dangerous. Not to mention, she’s in charge of organizing the carpool pick up. Lopez works behind the scenes making sure everything runs smoothly. Lopez takes on a lot in one day, and all of it requires organization and skill. During one 45 minute period, Lopez took care of nine students who weren’t feeling well, treating them like her own children. She took their temperatures, comforting them whether they were actually sick or just not feeling well. She gave out Band-Aids along with reassuring words. She greeted everyone that came to the front desk for any

reason with a kind smile. Not only does she give out Advil and cough drops, Lopez knows which students need medication. When students go on a field trip, she makes sure they have any medication they need with them. And when a parent comes in and asks to pick up their child but they aren’t in class, she will do anything in her power to find them. During the 2010 girls tennis season, three senior boys wanted to go to a girls tennis match at

Harmon Park. Two of them got permission since their siblings were on the team. The third didn’t, but decided to

go anyway. A little later when he was reported missing from class Lopez went into overdrive trying to find him. Eventually she found him by using another student’s cell phone. When he answered he confessed and apologized. Lopez was just relieved he was safe. “I just use my mother’s instincts, having four children will give you those,” Lopez said. “I can tell what a student needs by looking at them.” Being extremely busy comes with the job, but Lopez is happy to be here. “I love working at this school.” Lopez said. “I do it because I

want to make sure God’s words are sewn into a generation that is being stripped away, I don’t want kids to get lost.” High school administrative assistant Nancy Payne, Betty Chugg, and Lopez had a prayer group last year. Once a week they would meet up in the morning and pray for all of the students. Lopez’s favorite part of the job

is the kids, the interaction with the students. She talks to them, listening and encouraging, and keeps them in her prayers. Even though being a receptionist is what she’s paid for, it’s not why she’s here. “Everyone needs someone to listen to them, someone to uplift them,” Lopez said.

T

14 feature

Alyssa Elliottstaff writer Junior Morgan Balentine arrives at the stadium before the show and quickly does her makeup as her mother assists her with her bun, a tradition that dates back to the beginnings of English Saddle Riding. After putting on her jacket, gloves, and hat, Balentine and her mother circle up with her horse, Twister, and pray before she enters the ring. Balentine has been showing horses since she was in fifth grade. Recently, she placed third at the American Royal in Nov. Also, she has been featured on the cover of “National Horseman Magazine” and has previously qualified for the World’s Championship Horse Show at the Kentucky State Fair where she placed eighth. She first became interested in horses when she went to a lesson with one of her friends. Balentine loved it so much that she asked her parents if she could take lessons also. Her parents agreed, paying for 10 lessons. After those lessons, Balentine’s parents ended up paying for more lessons, and soon, she got her first horse. Types of horses are a key factor in the discipline of horse riding. Balentine rides saddlebred horses which are large, graceful, and more elegant than their short and stocky counterparts, the quarter horse. Balentine’s first horse showing competition was when she was only in fifth grade. “I was in Academy,” Balentine said, “and Academy is for the little kids

and it wasn’t real competitive. I think I did pretty well. I think I got like second or third, and it was a really good ride too, and that’s all that matters.” Before Balentine could drive, her mother would take her to the barn where her horse lives every other night or, sometimes in the summer, every night. “I would be scared if I figured out the amount of hours I’ve spent driving out there,” Melody Balentine, Morgan’s mother, said. “Probably, oh, two or three hours a week.” Balentine competes in English Saddle Riding, which has a season from March until November. Riders compete in different classes and within that class, riders must meet certain standards. The competition begins by the rider and their horse entering the ring. The judge then watches how the rider handles the horse and how the horse behaves. After all the horses have been shown, they line up in the arena and the judge will call out each rider’s number and place. “I feel nervous right before I go in,” Balentine said, “but never really after. I’m too tired to think about it I guess.” During the show season, Balentine and her mother often travel to different cities for competitions and many times they must be there early in the morning, even if the drive is several hours. Fortunately for

PHOTO COURTESY OF MORGAN BALENTINE

Into the Ring

JUNIOR MORGAN BALENTINE

COMPETES INENGLISHSADDLERIDING

feature 15

Balentine and her mother, they do not have to worry about taking a trailer with the horse. “We pay for a trainer to work with her,” Balentine’s mother said. “Our trainer takes the horses for us and part of what we pay is that she is responsible for the horses all the time. She takes them as far as Kentucky sometimes.” Even though the show season ends in November, there is still work that needs to be done with the horse. Balentine works every other day at the barn and spends time there with Twister. “I’ll spend a long time just brushing him and talking to him,” Balentine said. “That’s just what I love, just hanging out with him because he’s like my best friend. I mean, it’s just such a blessing to have a horse.” Balentine has owned five horses. Usually she will get a new horse when she gets better at riding and needs more of a challenge, but that was not the case for one of her previous horses. “Three or four years ago I had a show here in downtown Kansas City,” Balentine said. “I had this horse named Mac, and he was not a bad horse,

but he was pretty bad mannered and he would rear and run off with me. We were cantering in, and I was trying to turn him into a small circle, and we went into the middle of the circle. There is this guy, the ring master, and he wears these tights and a coat and makes sure that the judges don’t get run over. When we ran into the middle of the ring, we almost ran him over and my stirrup brushed him.” Mac’s behavior did not improve later that day, and the horse nearly injured Balentine. “The horse reared her off and Morgan landed like a gymnast with her hands in the air,” Melody Balentine said. “It was impressive, but it was very

dangerous. We sold the horse the next day.” Riding a horse can be difficult, and showing a horse when the judges are watching you to see how you handle it can be an even more daunting task. Balentine, though, has always had a natural talent for horseback riding. “I never felt like I could quit,” Balentine said. “‘Because if I did, I would just miss it too much, you know? My best friend is my horse. It’s just a good place for me to relieve stress.”

“The horse reared her off and Morgan landed like a gymnast with her hands in the air.”

- Melody Balentine

PHOTO COURTESY OF MORGAN BALENTINE

PHOTO COURTESY OF MORGAN BALENTINE

Junior Morgan Balentine poses with her saddlebred horse, Twister.

Junior Morgan Balentine rides Twister into a competition.

Dressed in her riding uniform, junior Morgan Balentine shows Twister.

#KCCGatsby

WPA 2013

The girls cross country team gets together for a photo in the photo booth.

English teacher Rachel Schulte joins her AP Literature class for a picture.

The students of the drama department take advantage of the photo booth.

Seniors Taylor Breckenridge and Lizzie Wrablica join the freshmen for fun in the photo booth.

Freshmen Anna Schuchardt, Sam Coleman, Damara Beck and Wyatt Palmer put on serious faces for Gatsby’s party.

Juniors Savannah Ko and Anna Isaacson show off their vintage floral dresses.