For over 28 years, the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners have been playing in the Big 12 conference. Composed of 16 teams, this conference scours across the nation and includes teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, West Virginia, Utah, Ohio and Florida (SEC Network). As both Texas and Oklahoma were founding teams within the Big 12, nobody suspected their abrupt departure. When they announced their movement to the SEC, the main question surfacing the nation was: Why? Why would two of the top Big 12 teams move conferences with little to no explanation. After heavily researching, I found that the answer was quite simple. Publicity and money. 

From coach to teacher, photographer to entrepreneur, Hanna Giddens does it all. Whether you find yourself at a Jenks Basketball game, in need of epic photos or looking for a great history teacher, she’s your go to girl. “Coach Giddens” as most Jenks students refer to her as, is a powerhouse within the Jenks High School community. 

Football time in Oklahoma is a sacred season. Students and families gather at Allan Trimble under the bright stadium lights, ready to crush the opposing team of the evening. There really isn’t much else you could ask for. Except…a rivalry game. When the mood and the stakes are intensified beyond measure. When every second counts on the field. When one mess up could cost you the game. Everything matters during rivalry games. Imagine playing all three “rivals” within a one-month period. Owasso, Union and Bixby all in September. That’s exactly what the Jenks High School Football team is about to endure. 

By human nature, we adapt. We adapt and move on with new chapters of our lives. High school, college, adulthood, etc. The one sector of our lives that we tend to forget the most about is our childhood. We are fresh to the world and are experiencing many things for the first time, so of course we aren’t going to remember every little detail. But sometimes it’s those small details that truly create the biggest life lessons. Riding a bike for the first time, spending all afternoon playing in the grass, and creating masterpieces with little blocks of chalk. Each moment leads into bigger pictures in the grand scheme of things. I live next door to a family of four with two little girls, Vivian (5) and Chloe (7). They are always outside doing what they do best, being a kid. After a while, I started to notice objects scattered around the neighborhood. Possessions of theirs that they must have forgotten. It made me start to reminisce about my childhood and the memories I made with objects that I had forgotten. With parental consent, I captured images of what will eventually become Vivian and Chloe’s fondest memories.

When you stop and take a look around you, what is the main thing you notice? Technology. Whether this be computers, phones, televisions, etc. It’s surrounding our world. Changes like this can be scary, I’ll admit it. But the one timeless piece of machinery that always preserves the natural beauty we live in is the camera.

As the regular season of college football slowly comes to an end, one of the most important and highly anticipated events of the year ramps up. Transfer Portal Season. A time where players can enter their name in hopes of transferring to a new college football team. Whether a favorite player of yours enters the portal or not, there is always something happening that leaves the football community shocked. From a player switching to a rival team or entering the portal as a walk-on, there’s never a dull moment. As I take you along on brief descriptions and portal information on each player, I hope you create your own opinions and gain new knowledge/perspectives on what all comes out of the transfer portal process.

Resting and healing is an essential part of the recovery process upon getting injured or hurt during a game. Jenks football players don’t always get the luxury of doing so. Most times, a week is all that is provided for their bodies to reset to 100%. Difficult or not, they continue this routine every week for five months straight.

With the exciting buzz of fall sports ramping up, we slowly creep into basketball season. The boy’s basketball team is a highly favored sport at Jenks. As the Jenks community packs the Frank Herald Gym, the constant exciting energy is brought to each basketball game. The only thing different about this season? A new head coach. Daniel McChesney, head coach for the Jenks Varsity Boys Basketball team, is the latest addition to the upcoming season.

It’s a Friday night in Jenks, Oklahoma as the entire community comes together to watch the Trojans play football. The sidelines are filled with supporters and athletes tediously watching the game. A new edition can be found clustered on the sidelines this year. Spotted with a large camera and a microphone, the students of the Trojan TV program can be found covering the exciting action.

On a Friday night football game, looking into the stands, you see bleachers filled with students. Screaming and cheering as the boys play on the field. Excitement is filled in the air and the mood is bright. When you go to a girl's sports game, the energy is quite different. Not as many supporters in the crowd, and less publicity to share their hard work. Times are changing at Jenks, whether we like it or not, and women in sports should start being embraced and not criticized.

Marvel movies have been a staple in the cinematic industry for multiple decades. From Iron Man to Endgame, fans are constantly craving more from the multi-billion dollar franchise. One of the most popular movies made by Marvel, making over $1.3 billion in box office revenue, is Black Panther. After the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, Marvel created a sequel to the film. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released on November 11th, and it’s picking up popularity rapidly.

Wake up, go to school, practice - an endless cycle for most athletes at Jenks. Our bodies have become so used to these routines to perfect our crafts. Imagine working hard every day, all year round, just to receive feedback that what you are doing is not considered a “sport.” Jenks Cheer members experience this kind of criticism on a day-to-day basis but have to keep pushing forward. Savvy Travis, Sophomore, on the Jenks Varsity Cheer Team, talks about how the public view on cheer has an impact on her team.

When you take a look at the Oklahoma Aquarium, you never typically think about what goes on behind the scenes. It’s a place you grew up going to on field trips and as a cold shelter on hot, summer days. For two employees, Hallie Moss and Andrea Gann, their whole world revolves behind the scenes of the well-known attraction.