From Red to Blue, Pierce High Welcomes You
Fresh From Downtown
By Naomi Sullivan
New student Meredith Krienert comes to Pierce High from Zion Lutheran School. Krienert has two siblings, one at Zion and one at PHS. In seventh grade is her younger brother Maverick Krienert and her youngest brother Macksen Krienert in third grade.
“My favorite thing is probably the people at Pierce,” Krienert says.
Krienert is participating in many sports this school year. This fall she is a part of the volleyball team, for this winter season she will be participating in basketball and this spring Krienert will be part of the girls track team.
“My favorite sweet treat for the summer is definitely ice cream but in the winter it's probably cookies.” Krienert's favorite subject so far is Spanish. Krienert likes to read or hang out with her friends in her free time when she is not busy with her school work or her extracurricular activities.
One item Krienert mentioned that she does not like about school is that “It’s really easy to get lost in the building” and most people can probably relate to that.
Bluejays please give a warm welcome to Meredith Krienert.
Zion Student Kaelyn Halsey Joins Pierce High
By Savannah Beutler
Former student from Zion Lutheran, Kaelyn Halsey, joins the community at Pierce High.
Right now, Halsey is in the beginning stages of her freshman year, she is doing softball and plans to do basketball as well as track.
“The transition was pretty smooth for me. I already knew a lot of my classmates from different club sports like softball, volleyball, basketball. I also did junior high track so I was able to get more familiar with them. Transitioning into a block scheduling was a little different, but I got [the] hang of it quickly, and I personally like moving classrooms and only having four classes a day,” Halsey comments.
Along with hanging out with friends, she likes going camping with her family, boating, baking, reading, and last but not least, sports.
Halsey's parents are Kyle and Ashley Halsey, she has two younger brothers named Dagen, who is a seventh grader and Paxton, who is a fourth grader. They both attend Zion Lutheran School.
She says, “My first few weeks have been good. I really like all of my teachers, and I have already made tons of new friends.”
Please give a warm welcome to Halsey!
A New Student at Pierce High School
By Brynn Schwartz
As the new school year begins, Pierce High School would like to welcome Savannah Lingenfelter, a freshman student, to the class of 2028. Lingenfelter originally went to Zion Lutheran School in Plainview and then after she finished there, she went to the Plainview Public Schools, then to Zion in Pierce, and now is at Pierce High School.
Lingenfelter’s parents are Nick and Becka Lingenfelter. Lingenfelter has three other siblings who include her two twin sisters, Alaina Lingenfelter and Gracelynn Lingenfelter who just freshly started their 8th grade year and her brother, Peyton Lingenfelter who is 8 years older than Savannah.
Lingenfelter is looking forward to all of the school year activities including the One Act play coming up and finally being able to go to all of the football games and more with all of her friends.
Please give Lingenfelter a warm welcome to PHS.
New Bluejay Maelee Hamilton
By Addison Frye
Maelee Hamilton is starting her school year as a Pierce Bluejay. Coming from Zion to Pierce High can be a big adjustment for a freshman, but Hamilton is handling things well.
At Zion, Hamilton was in softball, basketball, volleyball, and track. Being at Pierce High School will not change much with her extracurriculars, but she will be joining the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Hamilton’s classes this semester are physical science, computer apps, Spanish 1, and pre-algebra.
Hamilton loves summer softball, and the team she was on, Pierce Pacers, went to state in Hastings. Also this summer she enjoyed going to Sioux Falls for a week, enjoying activities like the water park, shopping, and the falls.
In her first couple of weeks at Pierce High, Hamilton notes, “It’s a bigger school, so you have more classes and more opportunities you can take. There are more sports that you can do. I just feel like it’s livelier up here, like there are more people. Everybody is really nice, you don’t have to worry about bullying or anything like that.”
New Student: Cole Snodgrass
By Brayden Suckstorf
Pierce High welcomes students from Zion each year, and one new student this year is Cole Snodgrass.
At Zion, he had more than eight subjects a day, and he did not have very much time to work on anything. Right now his favorite class is Spanish with Mrs. Flores.
In his free time, Snodgrass likes to mow yards, play video games, and play sports.
This year, Snodgrass is planning on only playing football.
His mom, Jennifer, is the principal at Zion and his dad, Randee, is a manager at Mahaska. His brother, Grant, is currently in college and his sister, Paige, lives in Ponca.
Snodgrass’s first couple of weeks at Pierce were “a little confusing,” but as he says, “got used to it.”
From Red to Blue, Pierce High Welcomes You: Natalie Endorf
By Josie Painter
This year, Pierce High has a new face in the freshman class, Natalie Endorf. Before coming to the high school, Enforf attended Zion Lutheran School in Pierce.
When asked what the biggest difference between the two schools is she remarks, “There’s a lot more people, and you switch classes every period.” She then comments that her biggest struggle at Pierce High has been getting lost.
During her time as a Wildcat, Endorf participated in volleyball, basketball, track, and band, and she plans to continue these activities at the high school as a Bluejay.
This semester, Endorf’s classes are strength and fitness with Mr. Painter, algebra 1 with Ms. Borg, English 9 with Mrs. Freeman, and computer applications with Mr. Freudenburg. Her favorite class is strength and fitness, and her favorite teacher is Painter. Endorf then noted her scariest coach her volleyball coach, Mr. Weber.
In her free time, Endorf enjoys reading and sleeping and says one of her strengths is her athletic ability.
Be sure to give Endorf a warm welcome, and point her in the direction of her next class.
New Student Elliot Vaness
By Skyler Stern
Elliot Vanness bumped up into Pierce High as a freshman coming from Zion Lutheran. He is the son of Sandra and Eric and has one sibling, his younger sister Autumn. Vaness’s favorite classes so far are computer applications with Mr. Freudenburg and pre-algebra with Ms. Borg.
When asked about his first week at Pierce he states, “It’s been great, I got lost once on the second day of school.”
At this time, Vanness will not be participating in any extracurricular activities. In his free time, Vaness plays computer games and takes walks outside while enjoying nature. Pierce High is happy to have Elliot Vanness.
Zion Student Transfers to Pierce
By Elizabeth Furstenau
A fresh school year means a fresh batch of students. Monday, August 12, Pierce High welcomed students from Zion, who teaches preschool-8th grade, so those students move to PHS. Camassia White is one of these new freshmen learning to adjust to the “big school.”
At Zion, each grade stays in their homeroom all day, whereas PHS students change classes each period, which White thought was weird. She is the youngest of her family. Her parents, Tami and Andy White, had three boys and four girls including Shane, Alisha, Chance, Abigail, Shelby, and Champion.
White is involved in volleyball and plans to do speech. Her favorite part about the school is only having four classes. So far, her favorite class is art 1 with Mrs. Koehler.
In her free time, she loves to sleep and relax.
White claims she was not worried about coming to PHS, but she “was just worried about getting lost.”
New Eighth Grader Welcomed
By Brody Coulter
The Pierce Bluejays welcome a new addition to the eighth grade class; Lucas Weber previously attended Zion Lutheran in Pierce and transferred to the public school for more opportunities.
“My first few weeks were pretty good, I love the environment,” Weber comments.
Weber’s favorite class has been American history and his favorite teachers so far are Mr. Legate and Mr. Anderson.
Weber has one other sibling in Pierce High School and three step sisters: Maxwell Weber a sophomore, Colbie Podany in the junior class, Brooke Podany a freshman and finally, Weber and Baylie Podany are in the junior high classes.
Welcome Weber to the class of 2029.
