Altus High School pre-

sented seven of their stu-

dents with letterman jackets

for participating in the All-

Star Olympics for four years

in a row.

The students who re-

ceived their letterman jack-

ets are: Dalton Glaab, Cait-

lin Barlow, Aneyra Cuellar,

Dominic Julian, Sergio-

Eduardo Martinez-Flores,

Jonathon Williams, and

Jarod Santos. Jarod received

his jacket for coaching the

team for the last several

years.

When asked about re-

ceiving his letterman jacket,

Senior Dalton Glaab states,

“It felt amazing. It is the first

jacket I received from the

school.” Jonathon Williams

also states, “I was nervous

and surprised, but now it is

my favorite jacket.”

Some of the events that

the students compete in at

the All-Star Olympics are

the 25-yard wheelchair

push, 50-yard dash, softball

throw, and running long

jump. The students begin

practicing for these events

after Spring Break.

Mrs. Hamersley states,

“It’s well-deserved; all of the

students are hard-working

and competitive.”

Any student who partici-

pates in an extra curricular

activity can receive a letter-

man at Altus High School.

Every program has dif-

By Sara Howard & Star Sims Junior Editor & Staff Writer Born To Be Bulldogs

Volume 14 Issue 5 October 25, 2019

Student Feature 2

Foreign Exchange Students 3

What students should know 3

Drama Club 4

Teacher Spotlight 4

Fall Sports 5

Swim Preview 5

Bulldog Bites 6

Senior Spotlight 6

ferent requirements for

lettering, but most offer

letterman jackets for par-

ticipating in the program

until senior year. For exam-

ple, Volleyball is new to

Altus High School this year.

To letter in volleyball you

must participate in 70% of

all Varsity games for a sea-

son.

Students can still earn a

letterman jacket for partici-

pating in an extracurricular

activity. If you want to

know more about the re-

quirements to letter, please

contact your coach or di-

rector.

We are so proud of all

of the students who partici-

pated and lettered.

What’s Inside Bulldog Nation

The Collar Staff Advisor: Mrs. Sherman

Senior Managing Editor: Isabelle Childs

Junior Editors: Sara Howard, Lexie Kelley,

Adeline Perkins Staff Writers:

Makenzy Augustine, Clay-ton Birdwell, Alyna Castillo, Lily Easter, Mariah Flores,

Grayce Gilliam, Aubri Hughes, Marka Kirby, Se-renity Ridley, Star Sims,

Gracie Taylor

Upcoming

Events:

Oct. 25-Bulldog Foot-

ball @7p.m.

Oct. 26-Cross Country

@

Oct. 28-JV Football

@6:30 p.m.

Oct. 29-FCCLA District

Nov. 1-Bulldog Foot-

ball @7p.m.

Nov. 2-Cross Country

Senior athletes in their letterman jackets. Photo by Star Sims

Kendra Harley is a junior

here at Altus High School. She

was born and raised in Altus,

Oklahoma. She has attended

Altus High School since her

freshman year.

She lives with her mom and

step dad. She has two younger

sisters, Alyssa, who attends Al-

tus Junior High and Verlissa,

who attends Altus Intermediate

School. Kendra and her sisters

are apart of the church choir

and praise team at Macedonia

Missionary Baptist Church.

The people who inspire Ken-

dra the most our her family and

coaches over the years.

After high school, Kendra

plans to attend The University

of Oklahoma to get her mas-

ter’s degree in business, then

continue her education at Bro-

ken Arrow Beauty Schools. She

plans to become a beautician

Kendra’s favorite thing about

AHS is all the sport opportuni-

ties they give to students and

the corner store that is new this

year!

Something cool that students

may not know about Kendra is

last spring she qualified for state

in track with the 4x2 relay.

Kendra states, “Making it to

state was a huge accomplish-

ment because I worked so hard

getting there, and even though

we didn't win, it was still an

amazing experience that I want

to experience again.”

Kendra’s favorite quote is

“There is no limit to what you

can accomplish, except the lim-

its you place on your own

thought.”

Kody Rothchild is a new jun-ior here at Altus High School. He moved to Altus from Niceville, Florida, and has attended AHS for about three months. Kody has three younger sis-ters, one younger brother, and three half siblings. His mom is from Colorado, and his dad is from Mississippi. Some hobbies of Kody’s in-clude playing football and base-ball. He has played both sports since he was four years old. Watching professional sports has sparked his interest to play sports. After high school, Kody’s plan is to either play football in col-lege or move back to Florida to get his captain’s license and start his own business. Kody currently has a job working for TLC mowing , pull-ing weeds, and trimming trees and bushes. Kody states, “My favorite part

Kendra Harley

STUDENT FEATURES

Kody Rothchild

By Mariah Flores Staff Writer

By Makenzy Augustine Staff Writer

about my job is getting paid.” Kody’s favorite part about AHS is playing football and the brotherhood it provides. Kody also enjoys science and Mr. Snyder’s art class. When asked what motivates him in life, Kody states, “My family and just wanting to be as successful as possible and to have made big accomplishments in life. Something AHS students may not know about Kody is that when he lived in Florida he enjoyed to fish and surf at the beach. Kody’s favorite quote is, "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” by Michael Jordan.

Page 2 October 25, 2019

FFA: Great at State

Clubs & News

Student’s Guide to Success By Clayton Birdwelll

Staff Writer

By Lily Easter Staff Writer

Last week, the Altus High School FFA Opening and Closing Ceremony Team placed first in the region. This gave the team a chance at state level competition. In this event freshman and sophomore FFA members formally open and close a meeting in front of the panel of judges. The event is judged on memo-rization, uniformity, and the feeling of the meeting. The students involved in the Opening and Closing ceremonies are: President Baylee Pence, Vice President Wyatt Jensen, Secretary Erick Kirby, Sentinel Luke Gal-lagher, Treasurer Ashlynne Hayes, Reporter Kaisyn Neal, and Advisor Mr. Stafford. The Greenhand quiz was also administered last week. Wyatt Jensen placed first and Addison Freise won second and moved on to the state level. At state, Wyatt Jensen placed second and Addison Freise placed fourth. Addison Freise states, “At first, I was worried about answering in front of everyone, but once I was

Page 3 October 25, 2019

up there, I realized it wasn’t so bad.” The Greenhand Quiz is a knowledge-based quiz over FFA, where students are given a written test over the history and facts of the organization. The written test is graded and the top percent of students move on to the next round, which is the oral section. A test administrator asks a question and the students who answer

the question incorrectly are eliminated in that round. The questions go until only one student remains. Mr. Stafford states, “It is an honor for these students to represent Altus FFA on the state level. This competition is tough, but these kids are dedicated, hard-working, and extremely talented. They have what it takes to come out on top.”

Throughout your high school career, you will be posed with many opportunities to get ahead in your academic career. Advanced Placement classes are one way to get ahead. AP classes count as normal high school classes but offer the opportunity to partici-pate in AP testing. The test is scored 1-5, 5 being the best possi-ble score. Earning a 3 on your test means it can count as a college credit. AP classes also look very good on a college resume. Mrs. James states, “The course work is more rigorous than regular classes. They also count more in your GPA than regular classes, it opens you up to the 5 point scale. AP classes will prepare you for col-lege coursework.” Concurrent classes are college classes that are available to juniors and seniors only. They are built into your schedule like all your other classes, but they take place at Western Oklahoma State College. Concurrent classes count as college

credits only, but there are duel credit classes that count as high school and college credits. When asked what looks good on applications, Mrs. James states, “AP classes are a good start, but students should be involved in oth-er activities as well. Colleges look for students who are well-rounded.” Creating a resume early in your high school career and adding on awards, volunteer work, and activi-ties later makes it easier to keep things accurate. Make sure to try and keep an impressive GPA be-cause it is difficult to raise it later. There are many ways to go about getting college credits, creat-ing a good resume and being in-volved. It is important to consider your personal strengths and weak-nesses before you decide to take AP classes or enroll in concurrent classes. It’s always best to make an informed decision when choosing coursework that will affect your future. Mrs. Terry & Mrs. James. Photo by Clayton Birdwell

Altus FFA students placed at state. Photo Courtesy of Altus FFA.

Drama Club

BULLDOG NEWS

Teacher Spotlight: Mark Dabelstein By Grayce Gillam Staff Writer

By Adeline Perkins Junior Editor

son, states “In drama club we all work on monologues and duets for competitions and we just practice together.” President of the club is sophomore Brayden Derra, who has been in drama since his freshman year and also partici-pates in the school plays. Vice president is sophomore Daniel Johnson who has

Altus High School’s drama club recently traveled to Oklaho-ma City to attend a play. The play, The Tempest by Shake-speare, taught the students theat-rical acting tips and served as inspiration to many of the drama club students. Brayden Derra states, “The show was entertaining and fast. The drama class discussed the characters and got to see other people’s take on the characters.” Another event they attended was a speech and demo day, there they learned to present better speeches and other vari-ous topics. This year’s drama club is un-der the direction of Mrs. New-man. She offers an in-school course for drama and an after school club. The after school club is open to the student body and meets every Thursday in Mrs. Newman’s room at 3p.m. Vice President, Daniel John-

Nebraska football. He states, “Even though we've been terri-ble for a long time now, I still love Nebraska football.” Some things students may not know about Mr. Dabelstein is he can juggle a little bit, and he can do a pretty decent Chris Farley impression. He has been to 16 different countries. He has always wanted to do standup comedy and voice-over work in movies or commercials. He states, “The problem is I think I'm hilarious, but not many other people do.” He loves making people laugh, even if it’s not on pur-pose! Mr. Dabelstein states, “I’ve never been, and never will on a roller coaster. I have acro-phobia!!” His favorite quote is, “There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do,” by Derek Jeter.

Mark Dabelstein is a teacher and a coach at Altus High School. He teaches Personal Financial Literacy and computer classes, and he coaches tennis and football. Mr. Dabelstein grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where he attended the University of Ne-braska. He has been teaching for 8 years. He taught for 5 years at the Intermediate School and 2 years at the Junior High. This is his first year teaching at Altus High School. Mr. Dabelstein is married to his wife of 11 years, Natalie. She is an assistant nurse manager for the women’s center at JCMH. They have a dachshund named Brenda. He has a step son, No-ah. Noah graduated from SWOSU this year and works at Paycom in Oklahoma City. Some of Mr. Dabelsteins’ hobbies are golf and hanging out with friends. He loves watching

Page 4 October 25, 2019

also been participating in drama since his freshman year. Hailey Chapa is the secretary, and Rebecca Sherlock and Logan King handle publicity. Be sure to purchase the Drama Club’s glow in the dark bracelets that say “Go Bull-dogs” for three dollars from Mrs. Newman or any drama club member.

2019-2020 Drama Club. Photo by Alice Newman

Fall sports are wrapping up at Altus High School. This includes softball, volleyball, cross country and football. Two weeks ago, the softball team went to regionals in Woodward. They made it to day two by beating Del City 6-5 in the eighth inning. They ended up getting knocked out by Law-ton Mac. Their final record was 9-22. Volleyball also had their regionals at Mount St. Mary’s High School. Although they got beat out, this is Altus’ first year of volleyball and they hope to keep working hard and be stronger next year. Cross country is almost fi-nalized with their season and will compete November 2nd in their Regional meet. They have high hopes to be state bound. Senior cross country runner Bethany Garrison states, “We have worked hard this year, and

I am proud of us as a team.” The Altus football team is also mid-season. They are currently 3-4 and still hope to reach the playoffs. After losing to Mac, they only have three more dis-trict games. They need to win all three to reach the playoffs. They have had

BULLDOG SPORTS

One quote that Coach Wig uses to motivate her team is, “Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedi-cated.” The swim team is currently selling raffle tickets; ask a swimmer for details! Good luck to the AHS swim teams this season! Go Bulldogs!

Fall Sports Wrap Up Aubri Hughes & Serenity Ridley Staff Writers

Making a Splash! Lexie Kelley & Gracie Taylor Junior Editor & Staff Writer

Page 5

Regionals is extremely important be-cause the twenty-four fastest times advance to state. One cool thing that the team has done is that the boy’s team has 3 State Champion titles and four State Runner- up titles. The girl’s have one State Runner-up title.

October 25, 2019

Linda Wiginton coaches the Altus High School boy’s and girl’s competitive swim teams. Michael Shive has been the assistant coach for 10 years. The team is currently getting into shape to compete in the upcoming season. They start their competition season November 2, at the Har-rah Invitational. There are elev-en events in a meet: three relays, and eight individual events. Each event earns the team points. Key swimmers include: Can-yon Hart, De’Marco Delapaz, Kaleb Shive, Canyon Bain, Trey Clendennen, Keegan Kyser, Kylie Allemeier, Cayden Beckner, Na-talie Flynt, McKenzie Nettleton, Sarah Scott, and Ariel Browne. There are several individuals who may also contribute to the team as the season progresses. The team swims once or twice every week until South-west Area Championships. They then have Regionals and State.

Girl swimmers at Blue and White Bash. Photo courtesy: Jenny Allemeier

tough losses this year but plan to shake them off and keep working. Quarterback Derek Beach states, “This season has been a test for us, but we keep putting in long hours of practice and weight lifting.”

Good luck to all of the fall sports!

Friday Night Lights. Photo courtesy: yearbook staff

and learn more about the world around us.” After high school Breckyn plans to attend SWOSU to major in English Education and Communications. When talking about who moti-vates her Breckyn states, “My mom is my biggest motivation. Raising me as a single parent while putting herself through nursing school couldn’t have been easy. She pushes me to do the best thing possible, even if it’s some-thing small. I am who I am today be-cause of her.” Something AHS students may not know about Breckyn is that she re-ceived the Washington Leadership Scholarship Award this summer and had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and represent the Altus FFA Chapter. She also loves to participate in pageants. Rece Gribble is an 18 year old senior at Altus High School. He has attended AHS since his freshman year. Rece lives with his mother and father, Kellie and Stephen Gribble. His mother works at the high school and his father is the manager of the body shop at Wilmes superstore. He has one brother, Garrett, and one sister, Macie Jo. After high school Rece plans to attend Western Oklahoma State Col-lege. After his two years at Western he plans to attend The University of Northern Texas and major in crimi-nal justice. He later hopes to become

an Oklahoma Highway Patrolman. Some of Rece’s interests are football, baseball, fishing, and work-ing on his boat. He also enjoys cleaning the baseball fields before the season begins. When asked what motivates him in life Rece states, “God gave me another day, now I got to live it to the fullest.” Rece’s favorite things about AHS are all the activities, the energy foot-ball receives, and the kind teachers and staff. Rece’s favorite quote is by Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Bulldog Bites By Marka Kirby Staff Writer

What did you do

over fall break?

Freshman Natalie

Flynt states, “I went

on a fall retreat with

my church.”

Junior Lexie Preston

states, “I went to

Grand Lake to visit my

aunt.”

Sophomore Edward

Box states, “I went

to Six Flags and San

Antonio.”

Senior Spotlight: Breckyn & Rece Isabelle Childs & Alyna Castillo Senior Managing Editor & Staff Writer

Breckyn Brewer is a senior here at Altus and has attended Altus High School since her freshman year. Breckyn’s mother Brandi Ward and stepfather Wesley Ward both work at Jackson County Memorial Hospital. She has two siblings, Par-ker and Grant. Parker is 6, and Grant is 5. Breckyn is involved in multiple organizations at AHS. She partici-pates in volleyball, athletic training, and tennis. She loves public speaking through FFA, driving around with her friends, and listening to music. When mentioning FFA public speaking Breckyn states, “It’s an amazing way to meet new people

October 25, 2019 Page 6

Senior Tyler Bush states, “We went on a senior boys trip.”