The Smoke
signal
September 2023 Newton Local Schools

back to school SURVEY
By:Thomas Speer

Since the new school year has started, I sent out a poll asking questions about how students feel about the upcoming year. Here are the results of the majority votes, along with a few unique quotes some people said on the poll.
First question: “Now that back to school is in session, how do you feel about being back at Newton?” There were four choices to pick from, and the choices themselves were “happy, sad, angry, and do not care.” The majority of the voters picked “happy.”
Second question: “What grade are you going into this year?” Out of the high school, the voters were pretty even on what grade they are in, but there were more sophomores that answered the survey than any other class.
Third question: “What do you hope to gain out of this school year?” This was a free-answer question, and a lot of people stated their hopes about getting good grades, more friends, getting smarter, but one answer that sticks out from the rest is “New experiences,” said an anonymous source. It is important to try new things, because you never know that you may like something without ever trying it.
Fourth question: “What do you want to do when you graduate high school?” This was also a free-answer question, and I saw some answers like, “I don’t know” and “the military,” there were a few answers that I felt were unique, there was a lot of people saying that they wanted to be teachers after high school. Fifth question: “Which subject is your favorite?” This question was a vote, and the majority of people said that math class was their favorite subject, with electives being a close second.

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Meet the Newest Tribe Leaders

Miss Butanis - Music Teacher By: Thomas Speer
Miss Butanis is a new member of the tribe this year, and she teaches choir and music class. She graduated from Wittenberg University last year and this is her first year of
teaching. She said that she loves Newton so far, and that she looks forward to the rest of the year. I asked her what her favorite candy was, and she replied, “Basically anything sour, I really like Sour Skittles and Sour Patch Kids.” Lastly, we asked her for her favorite movie, and she stated that she really liked the Star Wars prequels.

Mr. Cantrell - Technology Teacher and Basketball Coach By: Thomas Speer
Mr. Cantrell is the new technology teacher and high school boys basketball coach. We asked him where he had taught before, and he told us that this is his eighth year teaching. Before Newton, he taught at, “Central Park Stem School in Michigan for two years, then I taught at Mechanicsburg for four years, then last year I taught game programming at Metadale Career Center in Dayton..” He has been introduced into the community, and he says that “It’s been phenomenal, everyone is amazing, it’s been a great experience, and I love the small-town feel here.”

Miss McEldowney - Math Teacher By: Thomas Speer
Joining us this year is Ms. McEldowney, or Miss Mac, the new math teacher. She is replacing Mrs. Ewing this year, and she teaches Consumer Math, Algebra 2, and seventh grade math. She taught at Covington for five years before arriving at Newton, and she’s ready to take on the year. One of her favorite movies is Top Gun: Maverick and her favorite TV show is Outer Banks. She’s been enjoying her time here at Newton so far and says that the students and staff are very welcoming, and she looks forward to what the future has to offer.

Mrs. McIntyre - Guidance Counselor. By: Erika Shellabarger
Mrs. McIntyre is looking forward to working with students in a different setting as we dive into this school year. She worked at Greenville for the past ten years, and Springfield for two years before that. Mrs. McIntyre taught English at both of her previous schools, but is now changing it up. In her free time she likes to have plenty of family time with her five kids, catch up on lots of books, and go to concerts. Mrs. McIntyre made her way over to Newton because she was looking for a fresh start to be a counselor and the job here at Newton fell into her lap.

Miss Rhea - English Teacher By: Erika Shellabarger
Miss Rhea is ready to take on this school year and is looking forward to getting to know her students and building student relationships. She is from Troy, but has family in Pleasant Hill so she believes it is great and is not too far away. Miss Rhea loves the feel of the small town here in Pleasant Hill, which makes it even better. This is Miss Rhea’s first year teaching, she graduated in the spring from the University of Dayton. When she is not here at school she likes to hang out with her family, take photos, go to concerts, and travel.
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Sports monthly round up

Boys Soccer: 1-8

Girls Soccer: 6-3

Girls Volleyball: 10-2

Boys Golf - 14-0

Upcoming

Cross Country - September 30th at the camp on Lauver Rd in Pleasant Hill

Girls Varsity Volleyball - October 3rd at Preble Shawnee 5:30pm

Boys Varsity Soccer - October 3rd at Dixie 5:30pm

Girls Varsity Soccer - October 3rd at Dixie 7:15pm

athletes of the month Heading to the Top

Male: Daniel Fisher By: Carson Tucker

Female : Reese Hess By: Carson Tucker

Senior soccer player Dan Fisher is the Male Athlete       Senior soccer player Reese Hess is the Female of the month. The Midfielder takes his game      Athlete of the month. The striker recorded a hat trick

preparation very seriously as he is out early getting his kicks in and getting ready to perform at a high level. Dan says his goal for the team is to win the rest of their remaining conference games. Dan’s goal for himself this season is to have the most scores on the team.

Instagram:@asop419

in the 11-0 win against Northeastern. Reese prepares for her games by listening to the same music every time to get her locked in and ready to go. Reese’s goal for the team is to win the conference, and she wants to lead the team in scores as well as assists.

Instagram:@asop419

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A Rivalry Ignites

By: Carson Tucker

The Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns are one of football's finest rivalries. Dating back to 1970, when these two teams first squared off, they have put on countless performances on the gridiron for the fans. Every year these two teams meet twice a year to see who can claim the battle of Ohio. Both teams have had their fair share of success, but currently, the Cincinnati Bengals lead this series all-time 52-47. On Sunday, September 10, 2023, The Bengals will be taking on the Browns in Cleveland, Ohio at FirstEnergy Stadium, for their 100th all-time meeting. The Bengals, coming off a great season of 12-4 look to pick up right where they left off, while the Browns are coming off a disappointing season with a record of 7-10. The Cincinnati Bengals are a 2.5-point favorite as they take on Cleveland. Bengals Quarterback, Joe Burrow believes this is the year that they will hoist the famous Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Cleveland Browns are set up with success after signing quarterback Deshaun Watson who was acquired from Houston. The Cincinnati Bengals are projected to have a record of 14-3, this year which puts them in heavy contention in the AFC conference. The Browns, on the other hand, are projected to have another letdown season and go 9-8. This matchup has been heavily talked about around the hallways of Newton. As you see by the graph below, students are favoriting the Bengals to win Sunday's matchup. The Bengals vs Browns contest concluded Sunday afternoon, with the Cleveland Browns winning by a score of 24-3.

Browns Quarterback Deshaun Watson

Source: Google Images

Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow

Source: Google Images

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Get Involved and Make a Difference
By: Erika Shellabarger

Here at Newton sports are often focused on the most, but we do have a lot of clubs as well. Maybe you are interested in joining one or even a few of them. Any of the clubs would be happy to have new members. National Honor Society- National Honor Society is an organization that recognizes outstanding highschool students from their actions to their grades. The new advisor this year is Mrs. Hoosier.
FFA- FFA is not just for farmers. FFA is for anyone that has interests in learning about the agricultural industry. Even if you don’t have a lot of interest in the Ag industry, FFA is sure to be fun! For more information see the FFA officers or Mr. McCullough. You do have to be enrolled in an Ag class to be in FFA, but there is always next year!
Student Council- Student Council is the organization that advises the high school classes on making big decisions and being leaders. The officer teams are made up of four students from each grade. The new student council advisor this year is Miss Rhea.
Spanish Club- Spanish Club is made up of any students interested in the language. The club does fun activities throughout the year. Get with Señor Tacuri for more information.
Leo Club- Leo Club is an organization made up of a group of leaders that want to help their community. The Leo Club is a branch off the Lions Clubs for students. The Leo Club is always looking for new members, talk to Mr. Davis if you are interested.
Art Club- Do you like to paint, draw, or be creative? Art Club may just be the club for you. The art club has an art show in the Spring and they also make the decorations for the school play. Talk to Mrs. Cosby if you would like to join.
Chess Club- The Chess Club gets together for meetings and plays some games of chess. Talk to Miss Short for more information!
Drama Club- The drama club puts on our school play every year. This year the Drama Club will be producing Frozen. Be on the lookout for meeting dates to try out! Mrs. Wall and Miss Short are the Drama Club advisors.

Fall Fair Spirit Week

October 2-6

Monday- Wear Your Flannel Day

Tuesday- Dress As Your Future Career Day

Wednesday- Country vs. Country Club

Thursday- Throwback Thursday

Friday- Class Challenge Shirts

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PHOTO

Senior Sunrise

JOURNAL

Senior Homecoming Court Photos
Marching Band at Troy Competition

Miami County Fair Livestock Judging

Farm Science Review

County Soil Judging

2023 FFA Officer Retreat	First Leo Club Meeting of the School Year.

Musical Chairs at the FFA meeting	6

Dancing the night away By: Erika Shellabarger

As we are approaching another great homecoming, let us dive into the history of homecoming here at Newton. The Homecoming tradition at Newton began in 1947. The tradition started off in the winter typically with a basketball game, but is now held in the fall with a soccer game. There is also a parade and floats when we changed it to the fall. The floats are all made by each of the high school classes. This year's theme for the floats is “Television Series.” I interviewed Superintendent Danielle Davis to ask a few questions about homecoming and the changes she has seen since she has been at Newton. The biggest change so far was moving it from winter to fall for the first time in the 2014-2015 school year. Due to the change of season we got to add a parade with floats and the band as stated previously. This also gives the band a better chance to perform than being in the gym. But the biggest reason for change was because of the Winter weather. The weather in the winter quickly changes, so it is better for our students and other schools to have it in the fall. Mrs. Davis stated, “The final decision maker was when we had another school cancel on us two hours before the Homecoming game because of the weather.” Mrs. Davis also included some advice, “Enjoy it, have fun, and use common sense!” A lot of other things for homecomings have changed too, and not just here at Newton. For example, the dresses, shoes, and the hair. In the 1980’s homecoming dresses were more like prom dresses, shoes were often heels but more neutral colors, and the bigger the hair the better. For the guys they wore suits like most guys do now for prom. Now, girls wear shorter dresses, fun colored heels, and many different hairdos. The guys now typically wear a nice dress shirt, dress pants, and a tie. Enjoy having a night of fun with your friends, but be sure to be careful!

Homecoming 1994
The first ever Newton Homecoming 1947	Homecoming 2014

homecoming court and Attendants	Freshmen Attendants: Meg Yoder and
Andrew Long

Sophomore Attendants: Emilia Hild and Will Bowser
Junior Attendants: Elaine Schieltz and Seth Coker

Senior Court: Brady Downing, Dan Fisher, Carson Tucker, Princeton Bess, and Ty Schauer.
Sarah Willoughby, Reese Hess, Chloe Shellenberger, Bella Hall, and Olivia Rapp

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interactive page

questions of the month

Happy	 Birthday!

What is the best restaurant for Homecoming dinner?
1st place- Texas Roadhouse 2nd place- Agave & Rye 3rd place- Applebee’s
4th place- Smiths’ Boathouse

Is it better to go as a couple or with a group? 1st place- Group
2nd- Couple

What is the best song played at Homecoming? 1st place- “Cha-Cha Slide”
2nd place- "Love Story" ~ Taylor Swift 3rd place- "Dance the Night" ~ Dua Lipa

~August~ Jaden Deaton Walker Sullivan Caitlyn Pleiman ~September~ Dustin Butts Tylea Jackson Olivia Rapp Sophia Davis
Stephan Bowerman Zachary Baker Logan Brumbaugh Estie Rapp
Gracie Jones Arianna Church Adison Bishop Colton Shellenberger Will Bowser
Chloe Adams

Elaine Schieltz Brynnasen Fiely Hailey Mealy Ty Schauer Isaiah Nance Andrew Long
Zayne Mcfadden Bentley Hess Cody Craig Kellany Merritt Griffin Reimer
Jack Van Den Bosch Jadaan Miller Kyleigh Holbrook Emmaline Rapp Erika Shellabarger Izabel Ballard

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What to Expect from the Smoke signal

By: Carson Tucker, Erika Shellabarger, and Thomas Speer Here in our monthly Smoke Signal you will discover levels of creativity, effort, and pride from our news writers. You will see lots of graphic designs and headlines following the theme of what is happening at Newton. Some of the things our monthly Smoke Signal will include; administrative updates and current events at the time the Smoke Signal will be produced. As we have mentioned, the Smoke Signal will be published at the end of every month. The Smoke Signal will also update you on sports and clubs. We are super excited to produce high quality newspapers for all of the students this year.

Meet the staff

Erika Shellabarger- Hi everyone! I am Erika Shellabarger, I am a Junior this year and one of the three writers for the Smoke Signal. When I am not in school I like to be out on the lake or out in the barn working lambs and many other things. Here at school I am in Leo Club and FFAwhere I participate in different activities throughout the year. I wish you all the best this school year, make it a good one!

Thomas Speer - Hello, fellow Indians! My name is Thomas Speer, and I am one of the three authors and editors for the Smoke Signal. I am a senior this year, and my goal for this newspaper is for everyone, from teachers to students, to read and enjoy it. Outside of school, I like to write stories, play Monopoly, and hang out with my friends. I’m in the marching band and I like to play the trumpet, as I have been doing so for seven years now. Let’s have a great year, and GO INDIANS!

Carson Tucker - Hello Everyone! I am Carson Tucker and I am a Senior here at Newton, and will be one of your three writers of your monthly Smoke Signal! When I am not in school, I love to hang out with my friends and play some golf and basketball. Here at Newton, I play Basketball, and I also love to help out with gym classes on Mondays with the kindergartners. I’m ready for another amazing year, and I hope you guys are too!

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