New Students at PHS
New Student Profile: Brenna Benes
By: Lawson Zierke
Brenna Benes is a freshman new to Pierce High. Prior to attending PHS, she attended Zion Lutheran School in Pierce.
She has four family members: her dad, Kevin, her mom, Laura, and her sister, Brylee. Benes and her family live on a farm a little outside of Pierce.
“I really like the high school so far, it's been fun, and everyone is nice, I’ve enjoyed my time here so far”, Benes said.
Benes has three dogs, all of which are border collies. Her favorite class at Pierce is intro to agriculture.
She previously went to Zion Lutheran School in Pierce. Some of her hobbies include showing cows at the fair, helping out on the farm, and just being around animals.
Pierce High Welcomes Athena Bretschneider
By Rylee Altwine
Pierce High is welcoming a new freshman Athena Bretschneider, whose previous school was St. Paul’s Lutheran in Norfolk.
Bretschneider currently lives with her grandparents, Patti and Cleton Bretschneider. She has two sisters, Abileen, who is 12, and Azalea, who is eight. Bretchneider has one dog, a rare miniature schnauzer.
When asked how her first week at Pierce High was, Bretschneider replied, “It was amazing! I really love it here and have gotten along with many people. I really feel like myself here. Everyone is super nice! Overall, this past week has been a blast!”
Her favorite subject is Spanish.
She transferred to Pierce because many of her family members have been to Pierce. She is related to the Bretshneiders and the Nordbys here in Pierce. Her family is currently building a new house on the Pierce and Madison county line by Prime Stop.
This year Bretschneider will participate in softball, basketball, and track. A few things she enjoys are art, listening to music, dancing, and going on walks.
From Zion to Pierce: Pierce High Welcomes Deacon Watts
By Brayden Suckstorf
Pierce High School welcomes freshman Deacon Watts. He has a whole new experience coming from Zion, where students stayed in one classroom with one teacher. The switch to multiple classes and teachers was a big change for Watts and many other new students.
“My first thought was, wow, I can’t believe I’m really here,” Watts said about his first day. Out of all his classes, Intro to Business has been his favorite so far. He also stated he learns the most out of Intro to Business.
Watts is also busy with activities outside the classroom. He plays basketball, football, and track, and is part of the school’s student council. Sports, especially basketball, are a big part of his life. Basketball is his favorite sport, he said. His goal this year is to earn plenty of playing time on the court, while also keeping his grades up.
Even with all the new opportunities, Watts said the thing he is most excited about is reconnecting with old friends.
“I’m most excited to see my friends that I couldn’t see at Zion,” he shared. Watts says he is ready to make the most of his first year in high school.
A New Bluejay has Landed at Pierce High
By Charlie Miller
This year, Pierce is welcoming many new students. A former student from Central Valley, Callan Vogeler, joins the Pierce High community.
Vogeler is in the initial phase of her freshman year and is not yet participating in extracurricular activities at Pierce High School.
“The transition from my new school to old school was good,” Vogeler comments.
In her free time, some of her hobbies include reading new books and drawing.
Haley Jensen is her parent. For siblings, Vogeler has four: Brooklyn, who is 16, Hendrix, who is nine, Cash, who is also nine, and Stella, who is eight, all attending Pierce.
She says, “The size of the Central Valley is quite small compared to Pierce, but I'm settling in nicely. The kids at Pierce are really friendly.”
Please give a warm welcome to Vogeler.
Pierce Welcomes New Student Burkley Collison
By Cameron Kuehler
Joining a new school can be quite nerve racking, especially when the new school is much larger and more complex. For Burkley Collison, the experience has been challenging but exciting.
Collison, who previously attended Zion Lutheran, explains that Zion was a much smaller school and way easier to navigate. Students all stayed in one classroom all day with the same teacher. A much larger student body and what seems like a maze of hallways makes the school a little more intimidating.
“When I first walked into the school all I could think was ‘Whoa’,” Collison exclaims.
Despite the changes, Collison has already found classes he enjoys. He explains that computer applications and strength and fitness are his favorite classes this semester.
This year Collison plans to participate in football, wrestling, track, band, and choir.
“I am really good at fishing,” Collison explains is one interesting fact about himself.
While being involved in many activities he hopes to balance academics and extra curricular activities. He strives for a high GPA in school and to make varsity in the sports. Whether in the classroom, on the field, or by the lake Collison shows dedication and individuality.
Brynley Koch Enters her Freshman Year
By Abbie Cone
The freshman class is welcoming Brynley Koch into its ranks as one of its newest members. Koch was born in McCook and lived there until 2017, and has lived in Pierce ever since.Her mom has homeschooled her throughout her entire life until high school, and now she is taking intro to agriculture with Matt Neal this semester. Next semester, she will be taking Spanish 1 with Margarita Flores.
She has two older siblings who have both graduated from Pierce: Taydym and Ashton Koch.
In her free time, she enjoys riding horses and competing in rodeos in the summer.
“I do barrels and poles and breakaway in rodeo,” Koch remarks.
Outside of school and activities, she loves hanging out with her friends. Koch is a member of the Cross Country team this year, a special time for her because her mom assists coach Shada. She attends Northern Heights Baptist Church and is an active member of their youth group.
“The people are really nice, and the teachers are super helpful. And I haven’t gotten lost yet, surprisingly,” she comments about her experience so far at Pierce High.
Give Koch a warm welcome to Pierce High!
Pierce High Welcomes Kennedy Johnson
By Brynn schwartz
Kennedy Johnson joins the Pierce Bluejay family after previously attending Christ Lutheran in Norfolk. She is excited to begin her high school journey here and is already becoming involved in athletics and making new friendships at Pierce.
Johnson's family consists of her sister, Maya Johnson, who is currently a junior at Pierce High and has already helped introduce her to the school community. Johnson also enjoys spending time with her younger brothers, Xavier, six, and Cairo, four, who help keep life exciting at home. Her parents are Julie and Jeff Johnson and the family has four cats.
Outside of the classroom, Kennedy has many interests and talents.
“In my free time I like to read, paint, and hang out with friends,” Johnson says.
Johnson is also participating in sports. This year, she is doing volleyball, basketball, and will soon begin her first season of track.
“I am most looking forward to track this year,” she says.
She has been welcomed warmly by teachers, classmates, and teammates, and is looking forward to making the most of her time here. Johnson is sure to be a wonderful addition to the class of 2029.
New Pierce High Student Charlotte Enk
By Brianna Rundell
Pierce High welcomes a new exchange student, Charlotte Enk. She comes from Göttingen, Germany, a city famous for its research university, the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.
In Germany, Enk has two siblings, an older brother, Carl, and a younger brother, Tilman. Her parents are Anne and Carsten Enk. Here is Pierce, her host is the Vogt family. She has only one pet, a cat that she misses very much.
Enk loves to go outside on hiking tours or rock climbing with her family. On her own, she will spend a lot of time with her cat or ride her horse.
The first week of school was very stressful for her, but she mentions that many people were friendly to her and that has helped a lot.
Enk has no specific reason for transferring to Pierce, except to come to America; she wants to experience another culture. She sees this as an exciting educational opportunity.
Her favorite class so far is physiology, ”I have to learn everything in English and German, because when I'm back, I have to know these things in German, otherwise I have to repeat the class,” Enk said.
Good luck on the new, exciting journey at Pierce High School!
Essynce Owens-Webb, a New Girl who Loves Sport Activities
By Charlotte Enk
Essynce Owens-Webb was with her three siblings, Pashynce, Konstynce and Jairikk, and her parents in Wayne. Owens-Webb previously attended Wayne High School, but now we can welcome her at Pierce High School as a junior.
Owens-Webb is living with her father here, and her family, including the two cute dogs will follow in a year.
Owens-Webb really likes it here because it is a great environment, and she already knew some of our students. But it is still a change because Pierce High School is smaller and has fewer subjects.
Her favorite class is child development.
Great passions for her are cross country and wrestling. Because of wrestling, Owens-Webb was in different countries so far, and she says, “All I do is wrestling,” when asked about her hobbies.
Let’s welcome our new student and treat her kindly so that she feels welcome here.
Pierce High Welcome Brooklynn Schaecher
By Naomi Sullivan
Brooklynn Schaecher is one of the many new faces at Pierce High. Transferring from Norfolk High School and joining the upperclassmen, Schaecher is a junior, making the junior class the third largest class in the school.
Schaechers' first impression of Pierce was that it is a lot smaller than Norfolk seeing how Norfolk has roughly 1,300 students while Pierce has around 330 students. The difference is insane. The biggest change between Norfolk and Pierce would be that Pierce does block scheduling and Norfolk does not.
Schaecher has nine siblings, so the chaos of moving schools did shake her much. The siblings include Callan Vogeler in ninth grade at Pierce, Hendrix Vogeler and Cash Schaecher in fourth grade at Pierce, Stella Schaecher in third grade at Pierce, Gabriella Dunlop in seventh grade at Norfolk, Cohaen Dunlop in sixth grade at Norfolk, Briggs Hastings in second grade at Norfolk, Bronson Hastings in preschool at little panthers in Norfolk, and Maisie Dunlop in daycare at the Wesley Center in Norfolk.
Schaecher's favorite thing to do is to hang out with her friends when she is not attending her favorite class, Spanish 1, with Margarita Flores.
Schnaechers' plans after high school are to seek into becoming a travel nurse.
“Advice I would give to new students is not to overthink it,” Schaechers said.
New Student - Miranda Richmond
By Zane McKeown
Pierce High School has a new face in the halls this year, eighth grader, Miranda Richmond. Richmond previously attended Zion Lutheran in Pierce, and she says the transition to the high school has been a big change.
“The high school is way bigger than Zion, and there are a bunch more people,” she said.
So far, Richmond has enjoyed her new school experience.
“I’ve been liking the high school so far and all of the people here,” she said. “I have many good friends that I’ve known for a long time already. Overall, I think the school is so fun, and I’m very excited to be here.”
In the classroom, Richmond’s favorite subjects are math and American history. She explained, “They are both my favorite subjects to do, and they’re very easy.”
Outside of school, Richmond stays busy with activities and sports. She plays softball, volleyball, and wrestles, with softball being her top sport. She also participates in band and choir, which she enjoys. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends.
Looking ahead, Richmond has big goals for herself. “For sports, mainly I want to be a D1 softball player, as I am a very good player myself. Academically, I want to succeed in all my classes and do very well,” she said.
One fun fact about Miranda is that she really likes pickles—so much so that she says she would eat them all the time if she could.
Returning Student: Dylan Braun
By Brody Knox
Dylan Braun is a former student at Pierce High School who left to join a group home in Fremont, where he attended their high school for his freshman and sophomore years, and has returned as a junior to finish his high school career with the Bluejays.
“It feels good to be back. I feel like I’m at home. It feels like I can make better connections with people now,” Braun said.
He enjoyed his experience with the new school; however, Braun missed the community the most while he was away in Fremont.
“Met some good kids, and was able to refocus and lock in,” Braun states. “I think that will better help me prepare for being here.”
Since he was gone, Braun feels that, for being a smaller school than Fremont, Pierce is way more strict. One thing he had at Fremont that he wishes Pierce had was that they were allowed to take their backpacks to classes, for they did not have lockers, making it easier to have all their books in their backpack. No stops at a locker were needed.
When asked what Braun was most excited about now that he is back, Braun states, “Building relationships with all the people that I kind of had, but I want to make our relationship better.” He has reconnected with his old friends since his leaving and has noticed that the Bluejays have gotten a new gym since he transitioned to Fremont.
While he was away, he missed having classes with Zach Weber, Tyler Legate, and Melissa Legate. His return to Pierce has been smooth so far and is planning to get involved in some school activities. His advice to students who might be thinking of switching schools is to be prepared for a big difference. If he could sum up his experience of leaving and returning in one word, it would be insightful.
