BLHS Student Internship Feature: Kylie Smith

What careers have you been considering?
I want to go into the field of audiology. There are many specialties within this field. I am still exploring which area is the right fit. 

Describe some of the experiences are you having/will have during your internship.
I had the opportunity to job shadow at Olathe Medical Center with an audiologist who specializes in hearing-aids. I got to see her working with patients getting their hearing checked or getting a hearing aid adjustment. The audiologist there, Dr. Webber, also helped me brainstorm a project idea.

My goal is to help people with hearing loss, but one approach is to bring more awareness to the Basehor community on what they can do to prevent hearing loss. I want people in the community to know what they can do to keep their hearing as they age, since this is completely preventable. 

With this project, I’ve had the opportunity to go to a couple of community events to talk to people and bring awareness, which has been a super cool experience of helping my community in a way I never thought I would be able to at my age.

What are a few takeaways from the year so far that you would like to share?
I love how the internship program is a hands-on experience. I've been able to see different possibilities of what I could be doing in a future career, and I've been able to talk one-on-one with audiologists and see their interaction with patients. My biggest takeaway has been that I can do things to help my community now. I may not have a degree yet, but I can still be involved with helping my community, which has been the best experience. 

What are some of your plans after BLHS?
After BLHS, I plan on going to KU to eventually get my degree in audiology. 

Congratulations to the BLHS girls basketball team on their win at home last night!

Sub-state finals are now set for:
Friday: BLHS boys will host Shawnee Heights at 7 p.m.
Saturday: BLHS girls will host Schlagle at 6 p.m.

Winning teams move on to Emporia for the KSHSAA 5A State Championships!

Photo credit: Nick Verbenec Photography

BLHS students Ayden Parkinson, Kaden Jacobson, Caine Brannlund and Industrial Tech instructor, Mr. Cilliers, installed decals of the district mission statement in the Lou Haney Board of Education room. The students created the lettering and printed the vinyl decals on their own before installing last week!

BLMS 8th graders participated in the Science Olympiad competition last Saturday at Johnson County Community College. Joli Renfro and Carson Youngblood placed 3rd in the event "Write it, Do it."

BLHS wrestlers Mandy Wilson, Olivia O'Donnell, and Cadence Christenson qualified for the first KSHSAA State Championship Girls Wrestling tournament in the history of Kansas! The competition took place on Thursday and Friday, February 27 and 28 and the BLHS Ladycats finished 11th out of 80 teams, with two state placers: Olivia O'Donnell is a junior and placed 6th at 116 lbs and Mandy Wilson is a sophomore and placed 4th at 170 lbs!

Last weekend, the BLHS women's powerlifting team won their first 5A State Championship! BLHS men finished 4th against some very tough competition!

The Bobcat wrestling team this past weekend traveled to Hartman Arena for the 5A State Wrestling Tournament. It was an emotional and electrifying weekend to say the least as the best wrestlers from around the state collided against each other in a dogfight for the top 6 spots available on the podium at each of the 14 weight classes! Every team has their story to tell now of the fist pumps of excitement, jumps into the coaches arms out of overwhelming joy, tears shed, heads shaking in disbelief, high fives in celebration, you name it. I don't know that there is anything like it in all of high school sports to see so much emotionally on the line across 14 different weight classes over 8 rounds of absolute intensity! And the intensity doesn't stop with the wrestlers and the coaches, not even close! The emotions, intensity, celebrations, and rivalries overflow into everyone watching and cheering from the crowd as you watch teams, families, and community members supporting their wrestlers cheering, stomping, clapping, chanting, and making emotional connections with their wrestlers from the stands as the wrestlers point up into the crowd to their fans, moms, and dads! Again, no words can describe the environment and what it is like to be a part of it!

Our team this past weekend brought 7 state qualifiers and out of the 7, three of them brought back state medals and earned a spot on the top 6 podium! As a team we finished in 14th out of 32 teams competing narrowly missing our day 2 team goal of a a top 10 finish. However, the exciting news is that out of our 7 state qualifiers, we return 5 of them next year and one of our returners in Bryce Ross is only a freshman and finished 6th in the state this year!

Below is the final results for our team after a very hard fought battle at the 5A state tournament in which I am so proud of our team in how they competed and brought the H.E.A.T!

Bryce Ross 113 lbs., went 2-3, winning his first two matches of the tournament to get to the state semi-finals! Day 2 Bryce struggled to get to his positions to score, but doesn't change the fact that he worked his tail off to get there, wrestled extremely tough to get to the semis and showed tremendous heart and effort every time he stepped foot onto the mat!

Connor McMillen 126 lbs., another freshman, came out on fire with a first round win by FALL advancing to the quarters but then ran into returning state champ and the eventual repeat state champ at the weight class and fell by a 2nd period fall. Day two, Connor lost again in a hard fought and respectable 6-11 decision loss. Connor clearly proved himself a fierce competitor on the mat this year as only a freshman and expect to do big things in his upcoming seasons!

At 138 lbs., Aidan Baker went 0-2 in his first appearance at the state tournament, however us coaches were extremely happy with Aidan's vast improvement this year, him accomplishing his goal of qualifying for state, and know that next year Aidan will return strong and with a new determination and focus heading into his future state appearances!

At 160 lbs. Tanner Parish in his first ever state wrestling appearance, unfortunately drew a 34-4 senior his first round match and a 36-11 senior in his second match to go 0-2 at state. However, on a more positive note, Tanner obtained his season goal of becoming a state qualifier and only being a sophomore has two more years to figure out what it will take to get on the podium.

At 195 lbs. Josh Willcutt went 3-3 to place 6th in the state. Josh has always been one of the hardest workers on the team especially when it comes to the work he puts in during the off-season. In this tournament Josh accomplished one of his goals in becoming a state placer and set an extremely high program mark to beat with a 45-12 season record and out of the 45 wins, 44 of them were by FALL!!! Josh, a senior, will be greatly missed from the team not only in his ability to put people away quick with pins, but in his quiet leadership, his work ethic, reliability, consistency, and commitment to the team.

Last but not least, Zane Kincaid 285 lbs., finished his 2019-20 season going 1-2 at the state tournament. Zane wrestled very competitively this past weekend, got caught in his first match losing by fall, but then brought his "A-game" in his second match to pick up a fall of his own qualifying for day 2. Zane then had a tough draw first match day two facing a conference opponent he had already suffered a loss to at the UKC tournament by fall in the first period. However, Zane didn't let that effect him and still went out and showed 3 strong rounds of fight to lose a tough 0-5 decision. Zane proved a lot to himself and his teammates this season showing the state of KS that he is a contender at the heavyweight division and so we look forward to the work he will put in this off-season and the run he will make next year as a senior looking to make a strong run at state in 2021!

Kaden Jacobson 152 lbs., went 4-2 and wrestled the best we have seen him all year. At no time was there ever any question in his effort as he gave every competitor all he had in the tank! Kaden came out firing on all cylinders pinning his first opponent, lost a 1-7 decision in the quarters, then dropped to the backside to face another tough match that could have gone either way losing a heartbreaking 1-2 decision. Kaden's final match of his wrestling career would come against a kid that he had two losses to previously in the season, but a win over him the last time they faced each other at Regionals. Kaden faced the challenge in his final bout of his career for 5th/6th going out with a 4-3 decision win to place 5th in state for the second time in his career! So happy for Kaden to close out his senior year with such tremendous wrestling. With that said, Kaden is this weeks "Standout Wrestler of the Tournament!" Kaden lead several stat categories including takedowns with 6, escapes with 5, pins with 3, # of wins with 3, team points with 15, and match points with 23. Kaden demonstrated tremendous heart this past weekend as he gutted out some close wins. He is an exciting wrestler to watch on the mat with his "in your face style" of wrestling, and us coaches will truly miss watching Kaden compete in a Bobcat singlet!!

Overall, the Bobcat Wrestling team wrestled well at state and us coaches appreciate the way each of our guys battled! Expect big things from our young group in the years to come as we return 5 of our 7 state qualifiers next season!

Congratulations to the Basehor-Linwood Bobcats boys and girls basketball teams on bringing home the UKC championship trophies last Friday night! They are currently competing in Sub-state games (see Sub-state final game times above).

Third grade at Basehor Intermediate had a special "Forces" STEAM day last Wednesday! Students participated in various activities of their choosing throughout the day that all relate to forces. Each teacher had different activities for the students to work with for each rotation - paper airplanes, pulleys, making obstacle courses, Newton's cradle, and creating roller coasters!

 

 

Mrs. Deb Ricker was awarded the BLEF STAR Award this morning! She was nominated by her peers for the following: Mrs. Ricker is an asset to the district, but is especially great for our building. She has been a great mentor to new teachers. She is always positive and uplifting, and leaves me kind notes that makes me feel appreciated and respected.

Congratulations, Mrs. Ricker!

Vicky Wheeler and Sue Bishop from New Century Club awarded music and art grants on Wednesday and Thursday morning to several BL teachers:

Renee Lee received $241.90 to purchase non-consumable print making supplies.

Cindy Reynolds received $473.02 to purchase ukeleles!

And Ms. Lindsay Bennett was awarded $110.75 for 4 sets of Boomwackers!

New Century Club is an organization that focuses on the arts in schools. They awarded six grants to local teachers (three in Basehor-Linwood) totaling more than $1,700!

Preorder your Bobcats Softball gear now! This preorder ends TONIGHT - Thursday 3/5/20! All proceeds benefit Bobcats Softball Fund!

Thursday, March 5 - End of 3rd Quarter
Friday, March 6 - No School; Collaboration/Teacher Workday
Monday - Friday, March 9 - 13 - No School; Spring Break
Friday, March 20 - Report Cards Distributed
Friday, April 10 - No School; Holiday, District Office Closed
Friday, April 17 - Mid-Terms Available
Monday, April 20 - No School; In-Service and Collaboration
Thursday, May 14 - BLHS Commencement, 7 p.m. 
Friday, May 22 - Last 1/2 Day of School; 1/2 Teacher Workday