Exeter-Milligan Sends Weeping Water Downstream

Exeter-Milligan was home Friday night under the lights in Milligan and wasted no time letting the Weeping Water Indians they were in charge of the scoreboard.
Trevor Luzum was in the end zone for his first six points with 9:32 left in the first quarter.  Luzum was back in the end zone with 5:52 left.  Spencer Pribyl kept the ball to give the T-wolves two more with the score at 14-0.
The Indians were not making progress and punted on fourth down right into the hands of Luzum who dodged the crowd and found the end zone making the score 20-0 with 4:14 left in the first quarter.
The second quarter opened with a bang as well.  Pribyl hit Colton Bossaller who headed straight into the end zone.  T-wolves couldn't convert for another two points but punted to the Indians.  With 6:04 left in the half Luzum picked off an Indian pass and ran it to the Exeter-Milligan 23 yard line.  Mitchell Manning punched the ball in at 4:16 with Trever Zelenka adding the two points with a score of 34-0 which is where the score stood at halftime.
In the third quarter Manning found the end zone again with 8:29 left and Zelenka caught another Pribyl pass for the two point conversion bringing the score to 42-0.  The Twolves found their way back to their end zone with Pribyl carrying in for another six with 1:08 left in the quarter.  Max Zeleny carried in for the two points bringing the score to 50-0.
The only points scored in the fourth quarter were by Weeping Water with the younger Timberwolves players fielding the ball.  With 9:45 left in the quarter (with a running clock) #22 Jake Patton got loose and put six points up on the board for the Indians.
Final score 50-6.  The Timberwolves travel to Lincoln next week to meet Parkview Christian at 4 p.m.

Exeter-Milligan Foreign Exchange Student Enjoys Opportunities

Jos Cremers came to American for two reasons, “to experience the American lifestyle and play American football.” 

So far he is having a great time doing both.  Cremers played on a club football team where he lives in Germany  and the 285 pounder is starting on the line for the Timberwolves.

Cremers is actually British.  He was born in England where he spent his first few years before his family moved to Korea for a year.  After that, they moved to Germany near Hanover in the town of Meinersen which has a population of about 6,000.

This is the main town in the area which is surrounded by a great deal of agriculture.  His father is a project manager for one of the car companies in Germany and his mother was an engineer before she decided to stay home with Cremer and his younger brother.

This school year Cremers is living with Duane and Cheryl Luzum in Exeter.  The Luzum’s have two grandchildren, Trevor and Hailey who are seniors at Exeter-Milligan.

Cremers is really enjoying the experience of playing football, except for the heat.  In Germany, his club team would only practice twice a week, so after school practice is another adjustment for him.

Food is another one of the aspects of America that Cremers is enjoying, “There is more food and bigger portions.  I really like Mexican food like burritos.”

Along with enjoying the food Cremers is looking to “improve my English, I want to learn the culture.  I want to say I’ve been to America, I’ve learned about the culture and I know how they are.”

Although the year spent at Exeter-Milligan will not count for school in Germany, Cremers believes the year will be an invaluable experience for him, “Coming to American looks good on resumes and applications and shows you are open to experiencing new things.”

His career goal is to be a teacher, a physical therapist or a chiropractor.  Ideally he would combine sports and teaching English.

Beside the food and football, Cremers is enjoying the time with his host family and their extended family, “they have welcomed me in their family and that’s important.”

So far, he has only struggled to adjust to a few things.  Recycling is a much bigger focus in Germany, “We have lots of bins for paper, metal, glass.  I have to remind myself we only have one bin now.”

Transportation and distance is the other adjustment Cremers has had to make.  “In Germany, I can get on a bus to travel anywhere I have to go.  Here you have to get in a car as everything is a distance.”

He added, “Exeter is the perfect place to start little before getting to the big stuff.”

Outdoor Education Day

Cohen Harre (left) and Cheyenne Krupicka (right) watch Brooklyn Oldehoeft imitate a robin finding worms using chopsticks. 

Instead of spending a beautiful day cooped up in the classroom, the Exeter-Milligan second grade class went outside to learn on Friday, September 23^rd.

They weren’t alone in their question for knowledge as the Exeter-Milligan 11^th and 12^th graders from Lori Sliefert’s Biology II class joined them at Gilbert’s Park in Exeter.

The Outdoor Education Day is an annual event at Exeter-Milligan which pairs Marla Weber's second graders with the high school students. The high school students choose from a list of centers to teach and then they spend time preparing the units and then guide the elementary students through each subject.

Sleifert explained that she gives her Biology II students a rubric and grades them on both the preparation and the execution of their subject.

Weber initially created the units, but invited the high school students to add their own personal "twist" to each center and also develop some new centers.

All  day long the high school students guide groups of the second graders through the different units.  They leave around five minutes at the end of each session for the students to journal about what they learned in the unit.  There is even space in their journal to draw pictures of what they learned in the unit.

Weber noted the importance of her students having role models like the high school students.

The students started the day by measuring their shadow, they measured again at 11 a.m. and then right before their day ended.  They learned about why their measurement was shorter at the end of the day.  

After measuring shadows the students also made plaster tracks that they can save as Christmas ornaments.

During each session the students rotated between three stations so they were able to get very intensive hands on instruction in each subject.  

Some of the stations are physically challenging, as the students learned about how birds eat and mimicked a pelican by trying to scoop up grapes out of water and using chopsticks to pull gummy worms out of oatmeal.

On session of the day the students focused on trees.  They learned about the growth rings on a tree and then made the comparison to their own life, making a drawing of the different stages of growth in their own lives.

  

In the water cycle session they had a unit on oceans and made rain sticks.  They also made birdfeeders and explored their senses.

After some of the sessions there was time for a little activity and the students enjoyed a game of bat and moth. The bat is “it” in this modified game of Marco Polo and the bat is looking for the moth.  They also play a version of the game where some of the moths have ingested DDT and if the bat gets those moths then it dies.  This helps the students understand how dangerous chemicals can be if not treated properly.

All of the students returned to school just as the day was ending after a great experience on a beautiful day.

Exeter Boy Scouts Attend Campout at Homestead National Monument

Exeter Troop 218 dons waders and gets ready to do some work in the creek at Homestead National Monument.  From left to right are Braden Capek, Ben Bartu, Joey Bartu, Tyler Sysel and Clint Oldehoeft.

Laura Sysel, Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 218 helps her son Tyler with the basket project at the Scoutout event at Homestead National Monument.

 Left to right Ben Bartu, Clint Oldehoeft and Ranger Susan Cook work at getting some of the chaff off the wheat they are grinding at Homestead National Monument.

Troop 218 Scoutmaster Dean Bartu helps hold the grinder down as troop member Clint Oldehoeft grinds some wheat during a scout event at Homestead National Monument.

The Cornhusker Council joined forces with the Homestead National Monument September 9 – 11 to host the councilwide Scoutout event.  The Boy Scouts fall campout was packed full of events that combined scouting ideals with the skills needed while homesteading.

Troop 218 out of Exeter camped out Friday night behind the educational center at the monument, setting up camp after a heavy rain went through the area. 

Saturday morning the Scouts had the opportunity to explore water quality and movement as they suited up in hip waders to begin their activity.  While down in the creek the boys learned how to measure the flow of the water and monitor erosion.

After shedding their waders the scouts got to play in the mud.  The object of the next session was to see how many living organisms are making their home near the creek.  

Digging into the buckets of creek bank mud the scouts looked for living organisms and then used a chart to identify them.  They were able to find mayfly larvae along with dragonfly larvae in the mud from the creek bank.

Birding on the prairie was the next activity for the group.  Dr. Jim Hoke shared his love of birding and the outdoors with the scouts.  They learned different ways of identifying birds and also some tips on using a bird book.

The scouts cleaned up and headed inside the educational center to start work on their genealogy merit badge with Beatrice Library Director Laureen Riedesel.

The scouts explored several methods for researching their own genealogy and were given several forms to help get them started on their journey to learn about their past.

During the lunch break the troop members took some time to visit the Homestead Heritage Center at the monument.  The scouts used the Heritage Center computers to research their family name in the Bureau of Land Management records to see if they could find homesteading records.

The afternoon session started with the scouts working on the basketry merit badge.  The boys learned to use reeds to make baskets before heading outside to learn about wheat production.  During this period the scouts sifted the wheat berries and used a grinder to make flour.  They also got to see how a flail works and tested it out without any actual grain.  

Next, the unit headed inside to explore the early agricultural equipment.  They learned how the advancements in equipment drastically affected the amount of land the farmers could manage.

Archaeology was the last merit badge of the day the scouts started.  Archeologists from the Midwest Archaeological Center (part of the National Park Service) came from Lincoln to give the scouts a glimpse into their work.  

On a section of mowed prairie the archaeologists had flagged out strips of land and dropped colored noodles onto the area.  The scouts paired up and one at a time had to see how many and what kind of noodles they could find and record their findings.  After both scouts went through the section they compared their results. 

After supper the evening program began with Ranger Susan Cook introducing Ryan Paul who spoke about Native American Indian folklore and told several stories about the names of the constellations.  The scouts then had the opportunity to experience the star lab which is an inflated dome that they entered which had the constellations projected on the ceiling.  

To end the evening the scouts had the opportunity to witness a iridium flare out on the prairie.  This was the opportunity to see several satellites moving across the skyline.

The scouts headed home with lots of new merit badges started along with an amazing camping experience at a National Monument.