Happy summer everyone!  From everyone in the Hawk Talk staff we wish you a fun filled and exciting summer. (to see more photos, click on story and vote on our summer poll too!)
To the seniors: Congrats on making it through all four years and we wish you the best in everything you do in life.
To everyone else:  We will see you all on August 1st and 2nd
for locker check out.  And we will see you back at school on August 15 (August 14 for freshmen and anyone helping out with …

Boys Track
By Erin Lenz
Boys state track finished overall in sixth place at state.  Josh Banderas was the only one to earn a first place medal; he earned it in the 110 hurdles event.  Banderas also won a second place medal in the 300 hurdles.  Other medalists were Brandon Reilly, Quentin Lazaro, Ramone Irving and Logan Mullin with a third place in the 400 relay.  Irving also received fifth place in the 100.
Girls Track
By: Rachael Holsteen
State track ended on May 19. The girls track team ended up getting 5th place and …

This is the full version of first Principal Jerry Wilks’ e-mail featured in the May 22 issue of the Hawk Talk.
Good afternoon Erin,
Thanks so much for your email and asking me questions about my all-time favorite topic and place, Lincoln Southwest High School. I have so many fond memories, I don’t know where to begin. Planning and opening LSW was the most gratifying professional experience any school leader could ever imagine and one I will remember always. A once in a life time opportunity to build a school from scratch, …

BY TYLER COMFORT
            The first day of yearbook distribution has changed from Thursday, May 17 to Friday, May 18.  Yearbook distribution will take place during block 4 (for those out for the day) and after school in the hallway near the weight room.
Yearbooks will also be distributed Monday, May 21  before and after school.  After that yearbooks must be picked up from the bookkeeper’s office.  Students need to bring their student ID and be on the list to pick up their books.
Any extra books will be sold for $65 during …

BY MADDIE BALFANY
Southwest staff, past and present,  were invited to a gala celebration of the 10 years the school has now been open. The May 4 dinner event was held at Wilderness Ridge Lodge and over 100 people came.
Speakers included associate superintendent of instruction  Dr. Marilyn Moore who is retiring at the end of this year, and Sara Landgren Skretta who was an associate principal when Southwest first opened. Drama teacher Bob Henrichs acted as emcee and students from theatre of years past presented a couple of songs from past …

The speakers were announced today for graduation. The speakers are Noemi Berkowitz, Emma Gruhl, Sarah Kocher, and Andrew Murphy. The overall MC for the night is Addison Fairchild. The date set for graduation is May 27, two days after school gets out. The list of the 2012 graduations are on the Attendance Office window.

BY LANDON SADLER
What’s tomorrow? Prom. What’s today? Seniors’ unofficial Skip Day. Despite Principal Rob Slauson’s telephoning each household and reminding parents that May 4 is a regular school day, many seniors were absent today, having their parents tell the school that their child is sick. As many classrooms with seniors had empty seats, strategies such as having tests and projects be due on May 4 proved ineffective in motivating some to come to class.
Instead, some teachers saw some seniors skipping (or being excused) as inevitable, and decided to have a …

BY LANDON SADLER
With the assistance of the Nebraska Community Blood Bank (NCBB), Southwest hosted another blood drive. The school’s website reported that, so far this year, over 200 students had given blood, helping many people and saving many lives. Students who did not wish to give blood were also given the opportunity to help out by making an I Bleed Green donation.