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On April 30th, 2007, Chad and Kristi Settje welcomed Baylee Claire Settje and her twin sister Brynn to their family. Baylee was welcomed by her older sisters Reagan (23) and Kennedy (21). She also has a younger sister, Bergan (13). Her family has a dog named Jax too. 

Baylee’s grandparents are Judy and the late Gary Blessen of Creston, Mike and Cindy Settje of Leigh, and Tom and Sue Kabes of Clarkson. Her great grandparents are Joyce and the late Lavern Wendt of Leigh and Stanley and Marilyn Settje. 

Baylee has participated in a wide variety of sports and activities in high school: FCCLA for six years; Volleyball, Basketball, Track, One Act, Journalism, and FBLA for four years; and Dance and National Honor Society for 3 years. Non-school activities Baylee is involved in include Leigh Youth Advisory Committee and the Zion Lutheran Church Youth Group. 

Baylee has earned numerous awards throughout high school. These awards include C2 State Volleyball Runner-Up, 1st Team East Husker Conference Volleyball, 2nd Team All-State Volleyball, 3-time East Husker Conference Tournament Volleyball Champions, State All-Tournament Team Volleyball, an FCCLA National Champion, and 4-time Student of the Month.

Baylee says her greatest accomplishment is either being an FCCLA National Champion or getting runner-up in State Volleyball. 

Baylee’s future plans are to attend Northeast College and play volleyball for the Hawks.  She plans to major in Occupational Therapy and later transfer to a four-year college to finish her degree. 

If Baylee won the lottery, she would build the house that she’s always wanted, travel the world, help others, and put the rest into savings. 

If Baylee could travel anywhere in the world, she would visit the Bahamas to see the beaches and enjoy the warm weather. 

Baylee’s biggest pet peeve is loud chewers. A bad habit of hers is biting her nails. 

The three words that best describe Baylee are hard-working, positive, and motivated. 

In 10-15 years, Baylee sees herself with a family and being successful in whatever occupation she decides to pursue. 

Baylee’s advice to underclassmen is to “Enjoy it and just have fun because it does go by fast. I would also tell them to get involved no matter what it is because the memories and opportunities that come out of it are priceless.”

We wish Baylee the best of luck in her future endeavors!

On Wednesday, the Leigh Speech Team went to Clarkson to compete in the East Husker Conference (West Division) speech meet. It was a very long day, beginning at 8 am and ending at 5 pm. 

The schools involved at the meet included Leigh, Humphrey, Madison, Clarkson, North Bend, Howells-Dodge, Wisner-Pilger, and Stanton.

19 Leigh team members competed at the meet.  There were two medalists at this meet, both in Extemporaneous Speaking. Junior Luke Eisenmann placed 3rd and senior Brianne Kuhr placed 5th.  

Team placings had Howells-Dodge in 1st, with Wisner-Pilger coming in 2nd. Leigh finished in 6^th as a team. 

Ethan Hathaway said "It was a tough day for the Leigh speech team at Conference, but the kids all did well and I'm proud of all of them. Congrats to our two medalists, Luke and Brianne. They earned it!"

“It was fun to watch my teammates compete and get after it,” Brett Wemhoff said. “It wasn’t the result we were hoping for, but I feel confident in our future because we have a young team.”

Kearney, Nebraska – February 24, 2025 – The 2025 FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) Peer Education Conference was held on Monday, February 24, at the Holiday Inn in Kearney, Nebraska, with the theme, “Find Your Spot in the World – Lead with Purpose.” The conference brought together 330 students and advisers from 42 FCCLA chapters across Nebraska for a day of leadership development, peer education, and community engagement.

The event featured an exciting lineup of activities, including keynote addresses, breakout sessions, and recognition ceremonies. The keynote speaker, Tyler Cronin from Lincoln, captivated attendees with his motivational talk on "Marking Your Mark on the World," inspiring students to make a positive impact in their communities and beyond.

Highlights from the 2025 Peer Education Conference include:

• Recognition of State Peer Officer Team Finalists: Students were recognized for their achievements in FCCLA leadership, earning a place as finalists for the State Peer Officer Team. [Insert information about your chapter’s finalist here]
• Capture the Action Awards: Several chapters were recognized for their outstanding work in national programs. The Family Leader Team, Career Leader Team, and Community Leader Team each presented Capture the Action Awards to chapters excelling in the following National Programs: Stand Up, Career Connections, and FACTS. The Leigh FCCLA Chapter placed 2nd in Career Leader Capture and Action Award and 3rd in Community Leader Capture the Action Award. 
• SPOT Scholarship: The SPOT Scholarship was awarded to Ava Cramer, a senior from Cross County, in recognition of her exceptional leadership and contributions to FCCLA and her community.
• Breakout Sessions: Attendees participated in three engaging breakout sessions. Keynote speaker Tyler Cronin, the Nebraska State Patrol, and Melanie Standiford led these sessions, covering topics ranging from leadership development to career exploration and personal empowerment.
• Chapter Presentations: Four Nebraska FCCLA chapters had the opportunity to showcase their National Program projects, highlighting their community service, leadership initiatives, and positive impact on local and national levels. 4 officer members from the Leigh FCCLA Chapter - Emersyn Urban, Vylet Hollatz, Ella Higby, and Jocelyn Donnelly, presented their presentations of the national programs they give to the 6th grade classroom every month. They presented the crowd with multiple different ideas or opportunities they could take back to their own chapter.

The 2025 FCCLA Peer Education Conference successfully inspired and motivated the next generation of leaders, providing students with the tools, resources, and inspiration to “Find Their Spot in the World” and lead with purpose. 

The Clarkson-Leigh boys’ basketball team finished off their regular season with a win! The Patriots went against the David City Scouts at Leigh on Friday, February 21. The final score of the game was the Scouts 48 and the Patriots 51.

In the first quarter the Scouts were up 13-11. In the second quarter the Scouts outscored the Patriots again, 12-9. The total for the first half was the 25-20 in favor of the Scouts.  In the third quarter, the Patriots were able to score big and get 18 points while the Scouts only got 6 points. In the final quarter, the Scouts got 17 points while the Patriots only got 13 points.

Junior Kyle MucMullin said, “We came into the game with a lot of excitement to finish out the regular season. We didn't play as well as we should've in the first half, but after halftime we executed enough on both ends of the court to pull out a win. It was a fun environment with a close win, which was a really fun way to close out the regular season.”

McMullin led the team for the night with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Tucker Matthies added 12 points and 4 rebounds. 

The Patriots ended their regular season with a 4-18 record. 

Coach Jeff Bachman said, “I was very pleased with our effort. Our guys battled out of an early hole, made some big plays and pulled off a solid win. This was a good way to close out our regular season and it's always nice to pick up a win on senior night.”

Clarkson-Leigh vs. David City

          Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4    Final

C-L:   11      9      18    13       51

DC:   13     12       6     17      48

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Kyle McMullin: 24, 9, 2, 1, 3; Easton Brabec: 2, 1, 0, 0, 1; Wyatt Crosley: 3, 1, 0, 0, 1; Blake Loseke: 2, 2, 0, 0, 0; Tucker Matthies: 12, 4, 4, 3, 0; Grant Hanel: 6, 5, 3, 2, 0; Korbin Lemburg: 2, 6, 2, 1, 1; 

Monday, February 17, marked the start of girls’ sub-district basketball for the Patriots.  This also marked the first time the Patriot girls’ program has been C1 in basketball, playing in the C1-6 subdistrict against Boone Central, Madison, West-Point Beemer, North Bend Central, and Wakefeild. 

The Clarkson Leigh were ranked #3 going into the sub-district and had to play #6 Wakefield in the first round.  This game was hosted at home in North Bend with the Patriots thumping the Trojans, and the score ending 52-11. 

The Wakefield game was a well-rounded effort for the Patriots with senior Izzy Hollatz posting 11 points 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Junior Ava Kasik recorded 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. Brynn Settje and Baylee Settje both put up 8 points with Brynn adding 5 rebounds and 6 steals and Baylee adding 6 rebounds. 

The next day, the girls matched up with #2 West Point-Beemer, who had a bye in the first round. This game was a nail-biter the entire game, with the Patriot girls jumping out to an early lead to finish the first quarter 14-9.  By halftime WPB had cut the Patriots’ lead to 1, and the score was 20-19 heading into the locker room. 

  After being outscored by 5 in the third quarter, the Patriots battled hard for the upset in the fourth and outscored their opponent 11-8.  But it wasn’t enough as the Patriots ended up with the loss, with the score ending 37-38. 

Junior Ava Kasik led the team with 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Brynn Settje added 8 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals, while Baylee Settje put up 7 points and 7 rebounds. 

Senior Brynn Settje stated, “Going into subdistricts we knew that we had nothing to lose and to just play how we knew we could play. We knew that from here on out we had to win or we were done playing. First, we played Wakefield, and we knew going into this game that it was about us and how we played. We started the game off very strong and continued playing like that the entire time. 

“The next day we played West Point Beemer, and we knew that this game was going to be very challenging but we had hoped that if we played the best basketball, we could that we would have a chance. Even though we ended up just short, we were still all very proud of how we played that game overall.” 

Head Coach Rebecca Hiatt stated, “While the ending of the last game wasn't what we wanted, the girls executed the game plan and worked hard. While no one wanted to come up short, the girls came to practice every day and worked hard. They competed hard each practice and every player improved as the season progressed. I could not be prouder of the effort and attitude that the girls brought to practice and games.”

The Patriot girls finished out the year with a 13-12 record.  Congratulations to the girls this year on all their wins and accomplishments!

Clarkson-Leigh Girls vs. Wakefield

Q1   Q2   Q3    Q4   Final

C-L      20   12    12      8     52

Wakefield          1      3      4       3     11

Girls’ Individual Stats vs. Wakefield

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Cadence Indra 3, 2, 2, 1, 0; Carmen Malena 0, 2, 1, 0;  Reese Wietfeld 0, 2, 0, 2, 0; Ava Kasik 9, 5, 2, 5, 0; Izzy Holatz 11, 5, 5, 1, 0; Ella Baumert 1, 1, 2, 0, 0; Maizie Stoklasa 7, 3, 0, 1, 0; Vylet Hollatz 2, 3, 0, 1, 0; Nevaeh Zulkoski 3, 4, 0, 2, 0; Brynn Settje 8, 5, 3, 6, 0; Baylee Settje 8, 6, 2, 1, 0; Liz Hoffman 0, 2, 0, 0, 0.   

Clarkson-Leigh Girls vs. West Point-Beemer 

Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   Final

C-L      14      6      6    11     37

W-P      9     10     11    8      38 

Girls’ Individual Stats vs. West Point-Beemer

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Cadence Indra: 4, 1, 0, 0, 0; Ava Kasik 15, 2, 1, 2, 0; Izzy Holatz 3, 2, 2, 0, 0; Nevaeh Zulkoski 0, 4, 0, 1, 0; Brynn Settje 8, 4, 5, 5, 0; Baylee Settje 7, 7, 0, 0, 0; Liz Hoffman 0, 1, 0, 0, 0

After a long day of school, sometimes all I want to do is sit on the couch and scroll on social media. I’ve been away from my phone for the past eight hours and am relieved to finally send a message to my group chat with as much slang and errors as I want. Then someone writes a message in the group chat with grammatically correct and humorless sentences. I immediately freeze.  Why would they write this? Are they mad? Aggravated? Trying to make a point? 

If this situation has ever happened to you, then you understand how many young teenagers feel after they receive a message ending with one big period. 

To generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, using correct punctuation comes off as rude. If you write a sentence and end it with a period, our generation takes it as you are angry at them and it can put a distance between the two. The punctuation is polite when you are speaking to someone older than you, but offensive when you are speaking among your friends. Think of a mother saying her kids full name to show she is irritated. It is a stern way to show she is frustrated. Adding a period to a casual sentence will make it come across as you are angry. Just like typing in all CAPS, which usually shows yelling or that someone is excited about something.

Older generations find it difficult to comprehend all the new words and punctuation that younger generations are saying and using. It is slang that comes from several platforms such as Tiktok, Twitch, and Instagram. In my experience, many older people get confused on what words mean. My friends and I will be speaking a normal sentence and a slang word might slip and the teacher will make us repeat what we said because they didn’t understand the word. These are words that aren’t being used in sentences but more of being said randomly. For example, “negative aura” has replaced giving off “bad vibes,” and “rizz” means a romantic appeal or charm. While some parents or teachers might be confused, it’s no different from any other way slang has developed in previous generations.

Unlike writing for a school paper, sending a normal message digitally has no rules. Most of our casual communication is digital. In text, everything is abbreviated and there is zero punctuation. Slang is becoming more popular these days because almost every teen has access to the internet. Younger generations spend more time online, which is why our language is influenced by digital devices. As teenagers, we use slang to create our own language and to make ourselves different from other groups – it’s something we understand, and we can relate to the words and phrases. The meaning of slang words can differentiate depending on the people or the situation. Most teen slang words are used in a conversation between friends and not necessarily used in a professional setting like school.

So yes, if you are ever texting me and it comes across grammatically correct and you end it with a period, I will probably jump to conclusions and figure you are mad. It’s just a teen thing. 

Clarkson junior Levi Gall’s journey to becoming a state wrestling champion started at districts on February 14th and 15th. The Clarkson-Leigh Wrestling team traveled to Greeley to compete in the Class D district at Central Valley School.  There were 24 teams that competed there. With a small team, Clarkson-Leigh finished 15th out of 24, with Central Valley winning first place.  

Gall punched his ticket to state in the 285-lb weight class.  After a bye for match 1, he went on to win four matches over the course of the weekend to win the heavyweight district title.  He defeated Kyan Sones of Meridian as his final match. 

The rest of the Patriots had a decent showing at districts as well even though Gall was the only state qualifier.  Junior Brett Wemhoff, also in the heavyweight class, lost his first match and was out of the bracket.  Wrestling at 106, Coal Fernau won his first match, but lost his second.  Hunter Gall also won his first in 165, but lost his second. 

 “It was a good district weekend,” Head Coach Ryan Molacek said. “It's tough for all of the boys whose season has finished, but us coaches are incredibly proud of what they accomplished. Levi had a great weekend at districts as he was district champion and recorded his 100th career victory.”

But Gall wasn’t done with his winning crusade.  He traveled to CHI Center in Omaha for the second year in a row for the Class D State Wrestling February 20-22.  

Gall made quick work of his first two matchups at state, earning pins first against Kenan Hasenauer of Pleasanton and next against Connor Sullivan of Archbishop Bergan on Thursday. 

For his third match on Friday in the semifinals, he went against Caden Zutavern of Sandhills/Thedford, earning the win.  

For his final matchup, he overcame great adversity to defeat senior Colin Vrbka of Shelby-Rising City for the State Championship! Levi was 0-2 against Vrbka in the regular season, but none of that mattered at state.  After suffering a big gash to his forehead at the end of the third period, he went on to defeat Vrbka in overtime 4-1, earning the gold medal. 

Levi ended the season with an impressive 49-3 record.  This marks the second-ever state medal winner for the Patriot wrestling program, and the first-ever state champion! 

“We were all hoping Levi could do some damage at the state tournament,” said Coach Molacek,” and we are all so proud of him for what he accomplished.” 

When asked how he felt about winning a state championship,” Levi responded very simply: “Hard work pays off.” 

Congratulations Levi on your history-making season! 

Across the country, FFA week is held in February celebrating the importance and success of FFA. This year, FFA week was from February 17th to the 21st. Due to weather conditions for the original FFA week, the FFA chapter postponed the festivities until the following week.

FFA week commenced on February 24th and concluded on the 28th. Over the week, various activities took place involving elementary students and high school students. 

To start off the week, Monday was Pajama Day along with the annual cornhole tournament. The champions for this year's competition were Principal Mr. Faltys and the math student teacher Mr. Tomcak. Runner up was the seventh grade team of Blair Wietfeld and Korbin Hake. 

On Tuesday, members drove their tractors to school and got to dress like a cowboy or farmer.

On Wednesday, elementary kids dressed like a farm animal. 

Thursday was Hat Day and Friday concluded with a teacher breakfast, donuts for students, and wear your FFA shirt day. 

As a new tradition, “Pie an Officer Day” was also on Friday. Throughout the week, mini ducks were hidden around the school for students to find for a prize. Students could then also use their ducks to cast a vote for which FFA officer they wanted to see pied in the face. In the end, all the officers as well as Mrs. Went received pies in the face on Friday from elementary students.  Mr. Fischer and Mr. Faltys might not be FFA officers, but they also received impromptu pies! 

Sophomore James Moore said, "I personally thought that FFA week was really great and that it gave us an opportunity to have fun and communicate with others. FFA week means quite a bit because it's just an amazing way to be engaged with the school and program."

“FFA week was celebrated in many different ways from dressing up, providing breakfast for the school, to promoting agriculture to our elementary classes,’ said advisor Mrs. Went, ‘We had a fabulous week and look forward to ending the semester strong as we prepare for state convention!”

The Leigh Speech team was on the road early on Saturday, February 22 to head to Wisner to compete in the annual “Gator Gab-fest” speech meet. 

This is an extremely large meet with 23 schools competing, including Leigh, Humphrey, Omaha Brownell-Talbot, West Point-Beemer, DC Aquinas Catholic, Lincoln Lutheran, Oakland-Craig, Wisner-Pilger, Homer, Elkhorn Mt. Michael, Chambers, GACC, Ponca, North Bend, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Scribner-Snyder, Cedar Bluffs, Lyons-Decatur, Tri County Northeast, South Sioux City, Logan View, Bancroft-Rosalie, and UMÓⁿHOⁿ Nation. 

Head Coach, Mr. Ethan Hathaway, said, "It was a great day for the Leigh Speech Team! This was a big meet with over 20 schools competing. All our medalists should be proud of themselves for doing so well against so much competition. Congratulations to all of them!"

Because the meet was so large, there were three levels of finals with 6 in each for a total of 18 qualifying for finals in each category.  All the events were varsity as there was no novice categories at this meet.  Leigh had a very successful meet with 7 placings in finals. Brianne Kuhr placed 2nd in Extemp Finals B, Brayden Loseke placed 5th place in both Informative Finals A and Persuasive Finals B, in Serious Finals C Sydney Messerlie placed 1st, Luke Eisenmann finished 2nd in Extemp Finals C, Kaylee Brabec earned 6th in Persuasive Finals B, and also 6th in Poetry Finals C.  

Senior, Brianne Kuhr, said, “The Wisner-Pilger Speech Meet was a large meet, and it gave us the chance to compete against new competition. We had several people make finals, and I was really happy to see our team’s success. The underclassmen are doing very well for our team, and everyone is improving.” 

As a team Leigh Varsity finished 16th out of 23 schools. 

 “I’m sad that our season is slowly coming to an end, but I’m so proud of how far our team has come and I can’t wait for districts!” said Sydney Messerlie. 

Everybody has a hobby. Whether that’s playing or watching sports, playing instruments, singing, dancing, fishing, wood-crafting, writing, playing video games, making model cars, the list goes on forever it seems. Everyone has something that they truly enjoy doing to kill time. We can get so caught up in these things that sometimes we lose track of time. Then, it’s as if our hobbies are a waste of time. However, most hobbies actually prove to be extremely beneficial to you. I think that we all need to spend more time doing what we enjoy. 

A lot of people simply have hobbies because they enjoy doing them. Personally, I like doing all sorts of activities, whether that's anything from fishing to playing sports. Some people prefer doing a lot of different things, and some prefer to be a master of one trade. But no matter what you do, hobbies have a greater impact on your overall health than you think. Research has shown that the hobbies that you enjoy will lower your heart rate and stress levels. They will also make you in a better mood, which then makes you more sociable to the world around you. So the hobbies that you do anyway are really helping you out in the long run. 

People with hobbies have also been shown to learn lots of new skills. When doing your hobbies, you are usually pretty good at what you do. People who like fishing all the time usually catch a lot of fish. People who like to play sports in their free time usually find a way to improve their game. People who craft wood usually make masterpieces for simple pieces of lumber. But people are more or less honing in on their hobbies. This can be very beneficial to us because then we not only reap the health benefits, but also gain the skills that we can get from doing our hobbies. Then we can use these skills in other aspects of our lives.

Now, why would I be advocating for you to spend more time doing your hobbies? Well, I think that a hobby is defined by what makes you happy. I want the people that I know to be happy as much as possible. Granted, life can be hard sometimes, but when you take some time to step back and do things that you love, it gets better. So when you go out and do the things that you love, or your hobbies, you make yourself and the people around you happier. So after you get done doing what you have to do, make sure you take some time to do what you love to do. We are meant to enjoy life, so even if it’s only for a small amount of time, make sure you try to enjoy life every opportunity you get.

I guess if you could get one thing out of this article, I want you to know that your hobbies are important; they mean something. So if you don’t already, make sure you go spend some time enjoying your hobbies because they will help you enjoy your life.