South plans party of the decade Tuesday, March 27, 2012 By Cody Broder - PLSHS Advertising One decade: In the fall, that will be how long it has been since PL South first opened its doors to students. In honor of the 10 years of trophies, championships and academic achievements, the school and its organizations and clubs will celebrate with various events throughout next school year, starting with a football game at Werner Park against Omaha Benson on Sept. 28. According to Activities Director Jeff Johnson, the plan has been in the works since September 2011. A large part of the decade celebration began this school year with a video in which the student body did the ”Titan Shuffle.” The video invites actor Denzel Washington to make an appearance with Coach Herman Boone, the man Washington portrays in “Remember the Titans.” Boone spoke to students at the school’s opening ceremony in 2003. The “We Want Denzel” platform has received promotion from the Omaha World-Herald, KMTC, WOWT, KETV, Omaha Morning Blend and various radio stations. Assistant Principal Kati Settles said the response was more widespread and better than expected. “It’s been a really fun show of spirit, and I think it’s been really neat to see the interest the community has had, as well as from people from all over country that have tweeted it, put it on their Facebook page or just reached out to us in the comments,” Settles said. Settles said there were prominent people interacting with PL South, such as celebrities and journalistic personalities, through the school’s Twitter account (@plshstitans). The idea of playing a football game at Werner Park arose when trying to think of ways to entice alumni back for the celebration, Johnson said. Johnson said preparing the baseball stadium for football game will be quite an undertaking. “The biggest challenge on Werner’s side was to make sure that we could put a regulation-size football field in there [and] that we would still be able to have spectators have a decent view of the game,” he said. Although all plans are not finalized, Settles said some of the popular ideas amongst committees are photo celebrations, an alumni parade, alumni baseball games and special performances from the PL South arts department. The school also plans to bring back designs of “Remember the Titans” T-shirts it sold years ago. Settles said the celebration is for everyone who has helped the school become what it is today. “We are planning on it being a celebration of students -- past, present and future -- as well as all of the different adults in the community that have made this school work, because the school wouldn’t work like this without the support of the community and parents that we have here,” she said. Some PL South clubs and organizations have helped fund the event, as well as corporate sponsors. Pinnacle Bank signed on as the Exclusive Executive sponsor for the event, with Long John Silver’s, A&W and Best Buy expressing interest in sponsorship. More companies and organizations are expected to inquire as the event approaches. The Storm Chasers also are helping in offset the cost of the event. After the game, PL South will hold its first reunion for Titan alumni. The school is hoping tickets for the night’s events will be around the same cost as it is for a game at Foundation Field, with added cost for those attending the reunion event after the game. The celebration events are being planned by committees made up of teachers, current students, alumni and parents. “It’s the power of people behind ideas that has really made the school what it is,” she said. Settles said she enjoyed watching the school grow and change over the years. “It has been really neat to see our school personality and climate develop,” she said. “It’s definitely a lot different than it was when I first stepped in when we still had a lot of construction going on and we were still trying to bring students and staff onboard.” Settles said the school’s success goes beyond the people within its walls today. “You have a very supportive school district, you have excellent parents that support their kids and want their kids to be involved in things,” Johnson said. “We’ve hired some really good coaches and some really good teachers -- all those ingredients put together just leads itself to success.”

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