Midway High School - Eagle Yearbook (Denton, KS)

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The volleyball girls work hard during practice, but lacked team work during the games. Kellie Norris and Anne Joyce tall asleep during the 5 hour bus ride to Russel. A new Pepsi machine was installed at Midway, but the price rose from .45 to.SO. Kathy Anderson and Kelli Soyland were two of the seniors that were able to vote in the 1984 election. 5EPSI

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The crowd looks excited at the only playofi game at Midway in which Midway defeated Mankato 52-44. ‘ ‘ I t's 3:19; Come on bell, ring! I ' want to go home. Finally, the bell rings; it’s 3:20; everyone’s running for lockers. But does school really end there? Where do Midway students go on the weekends, and what do they do while they’re there? Most students said that there was no way to be away from school on the weekends. There is either a volleyball game or some other school activity or homework to do on the weekends. On the average students spend 7 to 10 hours a day at school. They think that weekends should be open to things they want to do. On the weekends most of the students at Midway go their separate ways. Sue Elder, senior, said about the senior class going out together, No, and if so, it’s as a small group. Usually 4 or 5. The senior class does not go out together. Now many of the seniors go out on dates with other people and are not with their friends as much. Some seniors like going to Kiby's because it is a place where you can get rowdy and have as much fun as you want, said Connie Fergerson, senior. “It seems as if we’ve gone to school with each other most of our lives, and yet we don’t really know each other. We spend most of our time out of school at athletic events or doing something on our own. We never spend any time together get- ting to know each other, com- mented Kathy Anderson, senior. The only class at Midway that ever goes out as a group is the junior class and that usually con- sists of the boys. Usually about 6 or 7 of the boys go to St. Joseph to the movies and out to eat or to Atchison to McDonald’s to eat. When the students go on a date on the weekends, they usually spend between $10.00 to $30.00. They usually go to St. Joseph to the movies and eat at either Red Lobster or McDonald’s. Three quarters of the students at Midway listen to rock music more than country. Most buy Lee jeans and Nike tennis shoes. Going to a small school is quite different from a large school because there are fewer kids to get to know. There is less competition in sports because of the lack of students participating. Also there is a smaller teacher-student ratio. But there are some disadvantages to going to a small school like Midway. You usually have to travel a long way to go anywhere on the weekends. You really don’t have to work to beat other students out of positions on the sports teams because it is usually the seniors and juniors on varsity and sophomores and freshmen on junior varsity. Even though there are some disadvan- tages of going to a small school, most students like going to Midway even if it is small. Our school is different compared to other schools. Midway sits in the middle of a cornfield. But even so, nothing is ever out of the ordinary. Most of the kids are from farming families. All the kids from the small towns around go to school at Mid- way. Our weekends are mainly the same as all the other schools around here. There are not very many places to go and not many things to do. 6

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SCHOOL SPIRIT STILL RECLINES As things come and go, it seems that sometimes our school spirit has gone. Even early in the year, the consensus of the students and some of the faculty was that the level of spirit has declined over the years. Since Jim Leatherman, high school math instructor, has been at Midway, he has noticed a bit of decline in school spirit or at least the kids don’t express it as outwardly, which is part of the reason for the low attendance at school functions. He said there is more individual involvement. Susan Bennett, librarian, said, “This school has some spirit but needs more. The seniors are the most spirited of the students, but most of the students will rally for a big game, school event, or a player doing well on the playing field. Carmen Albers, senior, said, “School spirit is important because it’s the way to have fun in school, if there isn’t anymore spirit in the coming years, this school will be dead. June Roberts, home economics teacher, said it was necessary to have spirit because it’s the way to motivate the students in school and in athletics. One of the new arrivals at Mid- way, Susan Purmort, junior, said, “We’re more involved than my school last year. I thought it was ex- citing when we started decorating the halls.” Lack of participation is probably the main culprit in this school's spirit. Not only is this with spec- tators, it’s also with the participa- tion of sports. At most of the games, it’s not uncommon to see people running around with friends or at the concession stand all night. The one thing that did motivate the students was the Midway- Highland game. At that game the spirit rose to a dramatic level. Mark Laverentz and Michael Brox said it was because they knew they had to win to go on to the playoffs, but another cause was because of the rivalry between the two schools. During spirit week the amount of participation was extremely small. The students who dressed up the most were the seniors. The freshmen did only because they were afraid of the consequences. Even some of them didn't. The days to dress up were Old People’s Day, Nerd Day, Toga Day, Career Day, and the ever-so-popular Grubby Day. On Friday morning of that week, the senior girls fixed breakfast for the football players. They had to start their breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, cinnamon rolls, orange juice, and milk at 6:30 in the morning. The football players ' 'fuel up'' with a good breakfast which helped them win the homecoming game that night. Carmen Albers gets first-hand experience at physical therapy before going to college and making it a possible career.