This Week at RHS, Nov. 18-23
By Panther Paw Staff

All Community Members Welcome!

R21C Ribbon Cutting and School Safety Public Forum

The regularly scheduled November Board Meeting of the Russellville Independent School District will be hosted at the newly renovated Russellville 21^st Century Center (R21C) on Tuesday, Nov. 20.  There will be a ribbon cutting and open house at 5pm. The public safety forum will be set for 6 p.m. to begin the board Meeting; there may be a possible showcase of students; and information shared from our STEAM Factory. The evening should be exciting! Please mark your calendars for this important date.     

Panther Chaos a Big Hit

When Assistant Principal Cameron Jackson and Guidance Counselor Rex Booth, both of whom are the head Girls and Boys Basketball coaches, sat down and began to prepare for the 2018-19 season, they sought to get some exposure for their programs and link them to the community and former players and teams of the past at RJSHS. The result was Panther Madness.

This past Thursday, over 200 spectators filled Jim Young Gym to watch waves of RJSHS basketball teams play intrasquad games. The 6th and 7th grade boys teams faced one another followed by a Middle School girls intrasquad game. RMS Cheer got in on the action as they performed their competition routine for the first time in front of a large crowd and nailed it! Following this, the high school boys and girls teams squared off against themselves in Black and White games.

The highlight of the night, though, was when the alumni game stole the show. Panthers from as far back as the early 80’s showed up to face the newest alumni of RHS in a crowd pleaser that was packed with history. All in all, a great night for RJSHS basketball and a great kickoff to the 2018-19 season.

Archery has a good showing

RJSHS Archery got off and running for their season taking 1st in the Team 10-meter shoot, as well as the following Panthers placing in their shoots this past Saturday:

Ariana Nickel 3rd place HS girl 10 meter

Ethan Paul 2nd place HS boys 10 meter

Colin Siletchnik 1st place HS boys 10 meter

1st place HS team 10 meter.

Middle School Basketball Dominance

The RMS Boys and Girls Basketball teams continued their winning ways this past week. The Panther Boys and Girls teams swept through Adairville and Lewisburg, taking all four games. Both teams travel to Olmsted to take on the Rams on Monday night.  

RHS Cheer Tackles First Competition

The RHS Cheer Team, coached by Beverly York and Ashley Vega, traveled to BG where they competed in their first floor routine cheer competition for the 2018-19 cheer season at Bowling Green High School.

Campus Life

Academic Team

By Rob Skipworth

Monday, the Russellville High School Academic Team traveled to Ohio County to compete in a meet with Breckinridge and Ohio County High Schools. Despite losing many of their starters from last year, the academic team is looking strong. The team won both matches, defeating Breckinridge 20-10 and Ohio County 31-15. This is the third match of the season, and the academic team’s record is currently 2-4. The varsity quick recall is ranked 3rd in the Pennyrile region out of 15 different teams and the junior varsity quick recall is ranked 5th out of 14.

In individual tests Kyran Williams is ranked 10th in the arts and humanities test and Ben Slack is 2nd in the social studies test. Maleah Buckner is ranked 6th in the language arts test. Chris Williams is ranked 18th in the region for math. The next match in which the Russellville High School team will compete is Dec. 3 at Daviess County High School.

RHS First Deep Dive Day

By Matthew Williams

Russellville High School held its first Deep Dive Day on Nov. 9, at the Russellville 21st Century Center (R21C). The seniors were fed breakfast when they arrived. While they were eating and socializing, Mrs. Tracy Naylor informed the 12th graders that the Center would supply a kitchen, secluded study area, technology area, and an entertainment/lounge area.  

Soon after, the seniors gathered in a large room and were greeted by the Superintendent Bart Flener. He thoroughly explained the purpose of the Deep Dive Days will be to prepare Russellville Seniors for life after graduation. Many business owners, employers, and parents believe the most important thing is for seniors to be prepared for the adult world. His presentation showed the before and after pictures of the reinvigorated tech center. 

The R21C building is geared towards giving seniors the college experience which is a huge improvement for RHS. Mrs. Cassie Reding then discussed the plans for the day and told them about their requirement for the first Deep Dive Day, which was to formulate their own volunteer projects. Karen Logan, from the Chamber of Commerce, and Marie Gamble, from the Optimist Club, spoke about local non-profit organizations to familiarize the students on the multitude of volunteer organizations. Mrs. Gamble talked to the students about the importance of self-love before meeting the needs of someone else. You can get so wrapped up in helping others that you forget to help yourself…an important message for everyone. The seniors took everything they learned and processed it over lunch. 

Slappyz Family Diner catered the event with chicken strips, mashed potatoes, greens, and dessert! After a hearty lunch, the students were put into groups and paired with a volunteer leader. From then on, the students spent the rest of the day creating their volunteer projects and calling places to gain information to enhance their projects. Some of their ideas involve helping people in school and others involve helping those in the community. 

Towards the end of the day, the groups presented both in front of their peers and then before the sixth graders. It’s heartening to see what all the groups will have done on the second Deep Dive Day which is planned for Jan. 4. A special thanks to Slappyz Family Dinner and all the volunteers, teachers, and administrators involved!

Splashing Around the Class

By Tristin Erby

If visitors to RHS know where to look they will find a thriving ecosystem and students working to keep it functioning all year. Under a row of windows in Mrs. Tonya Mullen's classroom, sits a large black tank full of fish. Raising fish and learning how to keep them healthy and creating a business around those fish is all part of Aquaculture, which is one aspect of Mrs. Mullen's Aquaponics class. In this class, students learn about the fish and how to take care of them.

Many people don't recognize or know about how complicated it is to keep fish happy and healthy. One of the most important aspects in aquaponics is water quality, so students work hard to make sure the water remains in a strict range for fish to be comfortable and healthy. In the class, the tank is hooked up to a filter and to a plant bay that circulates back and forth with almost no human input. This is only part of the many elements students are responsible for in this class.  If you like to get your hands dirty, you may want to consider aquaponics because students are also working hard in the greenhouse. 

Also, this class is part of a program with Kentucky State University and other schools to see how much feed affects the growth rate; In addition, students in the class work on their own tank and project as groups. Each group tests a different variable that affects the growth of the plants and the fish. One group is using red light instead of white light to grow their plants. A different group is using worms instead of fish feed. They must record the data that they collect from their tank for one of the professors at KSU(Kentucky State University) for his demonstration.

Arts and Entertainment

Artist Interview: Bryant Garcia

Interview by Tristin Erby

Q: How did you first get interested in art? or What drew you to art?

Mr. Rod was the person who got me interested in art with his amazing artistic talent that I saw through his doodles and drawings of loved Disney characters and his own.

Q: What type of art do you enjoy the most?

The art form I enjoy most would have to graphite pencils on paper.

Q: What do you like about that art form?

The reason I enjoy this art form is because of how shading can be used, it can easily portray a range of emotions or it can show really subtle details in a piece of art.  

Q: What is the art that you are most proud of or what piece do you like the most? Why?

My wolf head with flowers around it would have to be my proudest work of art because it was the first time I had really put in a lot of time and effort into shading in order to make it look as well as I wanted it to since I doubted I could do it in the first place.

Q: Do you plan on pursuing art as a career? What path do you want to pursue or attempt?

Becoming an illustrator would be a career I would like to attempt because I get to use either my ideas or someone else's ideas to depict a character whose story has been written out.

Q: What is the most challenging part of being an artist?

Leaving one’s comfort zone and trying something new is the most challenging in my opinion because it requires a lot of work and a lot of effort for someone to try either a new art form or just changing the way they do something because they already are used to one particular thing and it just doesn’t feel natural until they get the hang of it.

Q: What is the most positive thing you have gotten out of art?

The most positive thing I’ve gotten out of art would be the feeling of succeeding. After putting in a lot of time into a piece and finally getting what I had envisioned.

Q: Three words to describe your art style

Detailed, majestic, and diverse.

Q: Any advice for others who are nervous or scared about trying something artistic?

Anyone scared or nervous should know is to be confident because it helps one feel accomplished after working on something and makes them want to come back and try to improve.

Q: And what is one goal that you have for yourself?

A goal I have set for myself is to try every artform I can.

What’s for Breakfast and Lunch this week?

Breakfast:

BREAKFAST ITEMS SERVED DAILY: Pop Tart choices, Cereal choices, Strawberry Bagel w/Cream Cheese, Muffins, and Fruit.

Lunch: