Watkins WarriorS

By: Himani Basnet Introduction People may know Mr. Schenko is the dean of students, the head girls soccer coach, or the American Civil War teacher at WMHS. But do they know that the show, “The Curse of Oak Island” is a guilty pleasure of his? Status at WMHS Mr. Schenko has been at SWL for sixteen years; fifteen as a teacher, sixteen as a coach. He became the dean of students when he started to get frustrated with the freshmen. He looked for a way to grow with his job but also

It was a tough week for Watkins Memorial High School sports. A Warrior near the end of the season. Three teams made the playoffs. Three teams lost: the volleyball team, the soccer team, and the football team. They all worked hard enough for months to extend their regular seasons and have the privilege of facing some of the best competition in the state of Ohio. Each team gave their best effort. It wasn’t until the end of the football game that it dawned on us what really happ

By: Isabella Ross Watkins Memorial girls’ soccer made it to the playoffs! Watkins girls’ soccer has the tournament on Thursday, October 29th, 2026 at 7:00 pm. It will be at Big Walnut, Sunbury, Ohio. Our key players are Keira McKittrick, Annabelle Yost, Kamryn Caldwell, and Lori Crock. Keira, number 7, has 14 goals. Annabelle, number 19, has 11 assists. Kamryn, number 11, has 8 shots. According to Maxpreps. Lori Crock is the team’s goalie, number 99, and she’s a sophomor

By: Isla Rice Deputy Maddux is our school police officer but he’s not just that; he is also a first responder for the police and for SWAT. Before working for the school, he did regular patrol. When he gets an emergency, he works with only serious injuries or trauma accidents. When Deputy Maddux was younger, he wanted to be one of 3 things: a police officer, race car driver, or a construction worker. When he was young, he found passion with the police force from watching

By: Gia Killilea On November 3rd, voters will decide whether the proposed school levy will pass. This decision could affect how much students and families pay to participate in school sports and other extracurricular activities. If this levy doesn’t pass, the district may increase pay-to-participate fees to help cover the costs of athletic programs. The state of Ohio passed House Bill 96 on June 25, 2025. This bill dropped state funding for public schools from the previo

By: Maddy Lantz The annual Battle for Broad Street is so much more than just a football game. Not only is it the busiest Friday night game of the year, but it’s also the most heavily monitored and has the highest fund raising of any other event. The Battle for Broad Street game has more security than any other games. The deputies were assigned and given instructions to maintain a certain area that our school resource officer, Deputy Maddux, assigned to them. They were instr

By Himani Basnet Ten years into teaching art in our district, Mr Garrabrant still believes the whole thing comes down to two words: “just try.” From Illustration to the Classroom Mr. Garrabrant has been teaching at our district since 2016, and he still lights up when he talks about it. He teaches Art Fundamentals, Drawing, Painting, and Advanced Art Studio, the same subjects he focused on in college. It was not some grand plan that brought him here. Those classes were the

By: Isla Rice CHECK OUT WMHS SPORTS EVENTS FOR THIS WEEK HERE! (Photo by Jacson Comer) Athletic Schedule:Thursday, November 5th: HS Girls Basketball scrimmages HOME vs. Canal & Maysville – 5:15 Student Council Powderpuff game – 7pm Saturday, November 7th: OHSAA State Cross Country Meet @ Fortress Obetz (Kate Michael) – 10am ALL the winter sports are currently in training for the season! More updates soon!

By: Gia Killilea Watkins Memorial and Licking Heights High Schools met for their highly anticipated annual football rivalry game, the Battle for Broad Street. Both teams demonstrated intense energy and enormous school pride. (Photo by Anthony Gould) Licking Heights and Watkins Memorial first met in 1957, 69 years ago. The teams have faced off 45 times over the course of the rivalry. The rivalry paused in 1991 due to the disbandment of the LCL. The rivalry remained inactive u

By: Gia Killilea Jack Purtell, previously Newark High School's girls' varsity basketball coach, is bringing his 12 district finals, 3 semifinals, and 1 state championship to Watkins Memorial's girls’ basketball program, hoping to turn around last season's 5-18 record. Coach Purtell cutting down the net at OHSAA Girls' Basketball State Championship Purtell grew up in Ashland, Ohio, located 1 hour and 30 minutes northeast of Pataskala. He grew up a basketball and baseball mult

By: Madison Lantz For Ben Boyce, band isn’t just band. It’s unifying. It’s inspiring. It betters him as a person! WMHS has some pretty interesting people, you just have to look beyond where you usually do. Sophomore Ben Boyce is a great example of one of these people. Ben holding his main instrument, the euphonium On the outside, you might think that Ben is just your average Watkins student. He grew up in Pataskala, like most, and has been going to school here since kinderg

By: Gia Killilea Mrs. Carah Casler is a jubilant, compassionate teacher who truly cares about her students. As Watkins Memorial High School's German teacher, Mrs. Casler is the smiling face you see in the hallway; you will often hear her saying, “Good morning!” or “How is your day?” Mrs Casler on the WMHS German trip, summer of 2026 Mrs. Casler is an enthusiastic, joyful teacher who makes her job not just about teaching German, but also about teaching life lessons. This year

You may know Mrs. Wendling as the art teacher, but did you know she moved across the country to attend art school in San Francisco? Jeyseel Hernandez, Kalyn Donnell, Michael McCollum are in Mrs. Wendling making personal paint palette. Finding Art Across the Country Mrs. Wendling just started her first year here at WMHS, bringing her passion for creativity as an art teacher. In her first semester, she teaches the basics of art in Art Fundamentals and Ceramics, where she tea

By: Karuna Ghaley Key Club is returning to Watkins Memorial High School for another year of service; giving students opportunities to volunteer and make a difference in their community. What is Key Club? Key Club is a student-led organization focused on community service. Ms. Butcher, a Social Studies teacher and Key Club ambassador at Watkins Memorial, said the organization is one of the oldest and largest student-led organizations in the world. Key Club is part of an inter

By: Kaydence Scott Can freshmen make varsity sports teams? Elizabeth Parker is a 14-year-old freshman athlete from Houston, Texas, who has been doing XC for only two years. But she's on varsity! This is Elizabeth's favorite picture of herself from 8th grade XC Elizabeth is very determined, quiet, and strong both physically and mentally. She was introduced to XC in seventh grade but did not join the team until eighth grade. She has never won first place overall at a meet, but

By: Staff Writer

By: Staff Writer Watkins had a Journalism class for years, but for a long time now without the resources to produce a physical newspaper, something that is becoming a lost art anyway. So, we figured now was the right time to begin an online paper! The Vision Like many ideas, it started as a rough sketch on a piece of paper. Once the Journalism class began, we brainstormed the name, the layout, and began to figure out what students were able to produce what content. This is re

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