This week we highlighted the athlete of the week, Tavian Cruse. Tavian has played one of his best seasons here at Bonner Springs High School. We decided to ask him a couple of questions about the more personal aspect of the game of basketball. Tavian prepares for a game by listening to music, it puts him in the mindset to go beat everyone on the court and be the best player he can be. Tavians favorite part of the basketball season is practice. He says that practice is their place to work hard and push everyone to be the best players they can be on and off the court to prepare for the next level. Support is a huge aspect in sports, so we decided to ask Tavian “Who or what has been your biggest supporter?” Although Tavian’s list could be pages, he narrowed it down by saying his family and friends especially. They have been there for him through every step of his basketball career. He even included the Orang Crush, the student section here at BSHS. Tavian says that the Orange Crush is a huge part by cheering and coming out to support the games. Also, Tavians favorite schools to play are Eudora, Ottawa, Piper, and Louisburg because they have been the teams he has wanted to beat. Motivation wise, Tavian quotes “Haters, people who doubt me as a player, saying other people are better. I use that as motivation to prove that I’m better than them.”

This week we highlighted the fan of the week, Jayden Flores. Jayden is a senior here at BSHS and is involved with football, track, and orange crush. We first asked Jayden what his favorite part of participating in orange crush. He responded with “ I love coming out to the games and seing the teams compet and having a goot tine with my friends, Orange crush can change a game with the right energy. We have a large variety of themes for our sporting event, but Jayden’s favorite theme is the college scout theme, which is the theme we had last week against Paola with a home victory. If Jayden could add anything to orange crush it would be to add more chants. Jayden’s favorite team to play is Piper because it is always a good game when it comes to any sport. Lastly, Jayden believes that every game is memorable because you are always having a good time and when we win it’s even better.

This week we highlighted the teacher of the week, Mrs. Stricherz. We asked her what is the most rewarding aspect of her job. She replied with “There are two parts that I find the most rewarding. While students are at BSHS I love watching them excel in areas that they had never imagined they would enjoy and be successful. The second thing is when I get to catch up with past students years after they have left the district. I love to see what they are doing, how they are doing, and getting to know them as adults.” Mrs. Stricherz decided to be a teacher because both of her parents were teachers so after she graduated from college with an English degree, she found herself working in retail and TGIFridays. She knew she needed to get into a career and teaching was at the top of her list. Outside of teaching, Mrs. Stricherz loves to travel, try new restaurants, and new foods. If Mrs. Stricherz could give any piece of advice to students, it would be to find a job that you enjoy even if you have to have multiple jobs at first. Don’t settle for something that doesn’t fill you. If Mrs. Stricherz taught anything in school besides English, she would love to teach Government or Women’s Studies.