Scholastic Bowl By: Makenzie Rendleman and Matt Sondag Unfortunately, Scholastic bowl season has come to an end in Midwest Central Middle School. The season officially ended when members of the team went to Tremont for Scholastic Bowl regionals. They played two teams Georgetown and Morton in which Midwest Central lost both matches. Morton and Georgetown were great opponents, and Midwest Central Middle School (MCMS) respects them for their incredible wins. The Scholastic bowl team of MCMS really came close this year though and had an excellent season. MCMS Scholastic bowl team would like to thank their wonderful coach Mr. Brooks. While the season may be over they hope for the best next year in which Eryn Jacobs will pass the baton on to a new captain. To sum this up the team had great year and gave the other teams a run for their money. This year’s Scholastic bowl team met a lot of excellent other teams and it was a privilege to play against their new found friends. Thank you to all the people that showed up to support their team for their matches. Hope to see you all next year.
Band and Chorus Spring Concert By: Michaela Lane & Kait Wilbur
On May 12, the two middle school bands and the chorus performed at the middle school. The concert was held at 7:00 p.m. The sixth grade band performed March Rock, Worried Man Blues, and The Shuffle. The seventh/eighth grade band performed three songs Pachelbel Canon, Brighton Beach, and Battle Hymn of the Republic. The seventh/eighth grade chorus sang Talk to the Animals, Music in My Life, and Peter Piper. Although each band and the chorus had their own songs, there was also a combined piece. The chorus sang America the Beautiful while the bands accompanied them in playing. The students hope that the audience enjoyed the performance.
Beta Club Fundraisers By Nora Richardson
During the week of May the 2nd, Beta Club sold various ice cream treats during lunch. However, the treats were not just to get the students prepared for the upcoming summer, but also for the Susan G. Komen fund. The ice cream was very popular and was bought up quite quickly by the students everyday. The following week (Monday, May 9th) Beta Club had again sold food during the week, but for a different cause; the Juvenile Diabetes fund. During this week students had the opportunity to buy cookies and other miscellaneous goodies. Every food item was sold for the price fifty cents. Beta Club thanks the students for their generosity and support of the varying funds. 8th grade promotion By Joe Hohenshell The eighth grade students at MCMS will be promoted to high school on May 26, 2011. The ceremony will be held at seven o’clock P.M. in the middle school gym. The first event of the ceremony that will happen is there will be a slide show of childhood pictures brought in by the students. The students will then walk into the gym in alphabetical order. The students will wear their gowns during the promotion. Gowns were purchased for a price of twenty-four dollars. The students names will be called out by the school principal Mr. Cunningham. Once the students are on the stage they are given a certificate of promotion. The certificate is given to the graduates by the president of Midwest Central’s school board. Some students will get special recognition for their academic achievement. Congratulations to the eighth grade students being promoted to high school.
Word of the WeekDalton Richardson and Elric Gaddy
aestival: of or occurring in summer
The 4 of July is an aestival event.
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sabbatical: rest from work lasting two to twelve months It never hurts to take a long sabbatical from work.
wabbit: exhausted, tired, worn out That cat looks a little wabbit today.
Next Year’s TaskBy: Brijana Spraggs and Mikaela Hartsfield Next year, the school is changing its task schedule. Task is a school period students may do their homework, study for upcoming tests or quizzes, or ask teachers questions about their homework. Band and chorus usually take place during this time. Instead of it being only one part, it is going to be divided into two parts, and both will be twenty-seven minutes long. They will be called 6.1 for the first twenty-seven minutes and then 6.2 for the second twenty-seven minutes. There are usually seven hours in a school day, but reading and English will be combined so that there will be more class time for each period or class. 6.1 will be for homework and studying. The second part, 6.2, is for enrichment purposes and will be the time that students go to different classes to learn different lessons that are not covered in the curriculum. For example, one subject may be Spanish or yoga. The skills that are to be taught are chosen by the teachers. The students are then to chose their four favorite topics, and then the principal and vice-principal will assign the students into groups that will rotate every nine weeks. Also, these tasks will not be graded. Fortunately, this will not eliminate band and chorus. These activities will still be at the same time and day. Hopefully, this change will benefit everyone in various ways.
Track and Fieldby Jill Berg and Julia Jacob The season of track and field is coming to a close with the final sectional meet. The meet will be held at Morton on May 14 at 9:00. There will be fourteen teams attending the meet. The top two racers in each event will continue on and go to state. Athletes can also go to state if they beat the qualifying time in thier event. Shirts and sweatshirts will be sold at the meet for a fee. All the runners and throwers are very excited for sectionals. Coach Rhonda Fisher says, “Many people have beaten their personal records or met thier goals, and I am very excited for them.” Good luck to all track and field participants!
Track has had an exciting year with four records being beaten by the same girl, Cassie Mundekis. Cassie ran the 400 meter run in a record time of 1 minute, 1.7 seconds in the Havana meet. Cassie also beat the 800 meter run record, with a time of 2 minutes and 27 seconds. Most recently at the county meet in Morton, Cassie jumped 5’ 1” in high jump to beat the former record and set the new county record! Also at the county meet, Cassie beat her own record in the mile with a time of 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Cassie is eligible to go to state by beating the qualifying time for the mile by twenty seconds. The Midwest Central community is proud of Cassie and congratulate her on her excellent athletic abilities.
Reading Skits for Mrs. Harrison By:Kendall Graff The reading classes for Mrs. Harrison are performing skits about Greek mythology. This was the first year she tried the skits. She said that students would be more interested by watching the skits instead of reading them. The skits are The Flight of Icarus,Labors of Hercules,Orpheus the Great Musician, Origin of the Seasons, and Echo and Narcissus. All of her reading classes performed them for a grade. The students wrote paragraphs on each describing the myths. Mrs. Harrison said that she wanted to show her students a new genre and teach her students how to perform a drama. She said that next year she will also do the skits but change the way the students do them. She said that the same myths might be used for next year. Most of the students enjoyed the skits. Poetry Contest Poetry month was held in the month of April. For poetry month the students at Midwest Central Middle School ( MCMS ) were invited to enter a poetry contest sponsored by the library. Anyone in grades sixth through eighth could enter the contest. To qualify for the contest students had to create an original poem. “That invoked the emotions of the reader”, according to library clerk Denise O’Shea-Hall. Around thirty poems total were turned into the contest. Once they were turned in, they were judged on the content of the poem. The winners of the contest were, in first place Byran Lennox (6th grade); who received a twenty dollar gift card going toward books for Amazon.com. Second place was awarded to Eyrn Jacobs (8th grade). She received a ten dollar gift card for books at Amazon.com. In third place was Zack Price (7th grade), who received five dollars. An honorable mention was given to Donovan Mundekis (8th grade); who is able to choose a free book. To go along with the student’s poetry contest there was also a most popular poem contest. The most popular work of poetry goes to Daddy Fell into a Pond by Alfred Noyes. For this contest Mrs. Hall asked teachers to submit their favorite poem. Daddy Fell into a Pond, was entered by Mrs. Pillman. After all the poems were in, the students could read the entries. From there they choose their favorite poem. This was Daddy Fell into a Pond. The students’ names that voted for this poem were then put into a box and drawn by a teacher. Clay Hipsher (7th grade) was the name chosen. He is able to choose a free book. Congratulations to all of you who won and thank you Mrs. Hall. By: Shelby Garman and John Wilcox
CIV IPA Student Recognition Award By: Michelle Szczepaniak
On Monday, May 2, Cassie and Donovan Mundekis received the Students Recognition Award. Cassie and Donovan both attended a breakfast sponsored by the Illinois Principals’ Association at Eureka College. Each student received a certificate for their achievement and a ten dollar gift car to Barnes & Noble. Eventually both students names will be added to plaque near Mr. Cunningham’s office where every winner’s name is. Donovan had said that he was kind of excited to win but not very surprised. Cassie had commented that she wasn’t very surprised about winning this award either. They both had said that the breakfast they attended was good, but very formal, and had a very nice speaker. Congratulations Donovan Mundekis and Cassie Mundekis!
Unfortunately, Scholastic bowl season has come to an end in Midwest Central Middle School. The season officially ended when members of the team went to Tremont for Scholastic Bowl regionals. They played two teams Georgetown and Morton in which Midwest Central lost both matches. Morton and Georgetown were great opponents, and Midwest Central Middle School (MCMS) respects them for their incredible wins. The Scholastic bowl team of MCMS really came close this year though and had an excellent season. MCMS Scholastic bowl team would like to thank their wonderful coach Mr. Brooks. While the season may be over they hope for the best next year in which Eryn Jacobs will pass the baton on to a new captain. To sum this up the team had great year and gave the other teams a run for their money. This year’s Scholastic bowl team met a lot of excellent other teams and it was a privilege to play against their new found friends. Thank you to all the people that showed up to support their team for their matches. Hope to see you all next year.
Band and Chorus Spring Concert By: Michaela Lane & Kait Wilbur
On May 12, the two middle school bands and the chorus performed at the middle school. The concert was held at 7:00 p.m. The sixth grade band performed March Rock, Worried Man Blues, and The Shuffle. The seventh/eighth grade band performed three songs Pachelbel Canon, Brighton Beach, and Battle Hymn of the Republic. The seventh/eighth grade chorus sang Talk to the Animals, Music in My Life, and Peter Piper. Although each band and the chorus had their own songs, there was also a combined piece. The chorus sang America the Beautiful while the bands accompanied them in playing. The students hope that the audience enjoyed the performance.
Beta Club Fundraisers By Nora Richardson
During the week of May the 2nd, Beta Club sold various ice cream treats during lunch. However, the treats were not just to get the students prepared for the upcoming summer, but also for the Susan G. Komen fund. The ice cream was very popular and was bought up quite quickly by the students everyday. The following week (Monday, May 9th) Beta Club had again sold food during the week, but for a different cause; the Juvenile Diabetes fund. During this week students had the opportunity to buy cookies and other miscellaneous goodies. Every food item was sold for the price fifty cents. Beta Club thanks the students for their generosity and support of the varying funds.
8th grade promotion By Joe Hohenshell
The eighth grade students at MCMS will be promoted to high school on May 26, 2011. The ceremony will be held at seven o’clock P.M. in the middle school gym. The first event of the ceremony that will happen is there will be a slide show of childhood pictures brought in by the students. The students will then walk into the gym in alphabetical order. The students will wear their gowns during the promotion. Gowns were purchased for a price of twenty-four dollars. The students names will be called out by the school principal Mr. Cunningham. Once the students are on the stage they are given a certificate of promotion. The certificate is given to the graduates by the president of Midwest Central’s school board. Some students will get special recognition for their academic achievement. Congratulations to the eighth grade students being promoted to high school.
Word of the Week Dalton Richardson and Elric Gaddy
aestival: of or occurring in summer
The 4 of July is an aestival event.=
=
sabbatical: rest from work lasting two to twelve months
It never hurts to take a long sabbatical from work.
wabbit: exhausted, tired, worn out
That cat looks a little wabbit today.
Next Year’s Task By: Brijana Spraggs and Mikaela Hartsfield Next year, the school is changing its task schedule. Task is a school period students may do their homework, study for upcoming tests or quizzes, or ask teachers questions about their homework. Band and chorus usually take place during this time. Instead of it being only one part, it is going to be divided into two parts, and both will be twenty-seven minutes long. They will be called 6.1 for the first twenty-seven minutes and then 6.2 for the second twenty-seven minutes. There are usually seven hours in a school day, but reading and English will be combined so that there will be more class time for each period or class. 6.1 will be for homework and studying. The second part, 6.2, is for enrichment purposes and will be the time that students go to different classes to learn different lessons that are not covered in the curriculum. For example, one subject may be Spanish or yoga. The skills that are to be taught are chosen by the teachers. The students are then to chose their four favorite topics, and then the principal and vice-principal will assign the students into groups that will rotate every nine weeks. Also, these tasks will not be graded. Fortunately, this will not eliminate band and chorus. These activities will still be at the same time and day. Hopefully, this change will benefit everyone in various ways.
Track and Field by Jill Berg and Julia Jacob
The season of track and field is coming to a close with the final sectional meet. The meet will be held at Morton on May 14 at 9:00. There will be fourteen teams attending the meet. The top two racers in each event will continue on and go to state. Athletes can also go to state if they beat the qualifying time in thier event. Shirts and sweatshirts will be sold at the meet for a fee. All the runners and throwers are very excited for sectionals. Coach Rhonda Fisher says, “Many people have beaten their personal records or met thier goals, and I am very excited for them.” Good luck to all track and field participants!
Track has had an exciting year with four records being beaten by the same girl, Cassie Mundekis. Cassie ran the 400 meter run in a record time of 1 minute, 1.7 seconds in the Havana meet. Cassie also beat the 800 meter run record, with a time of 2 minutes and 27 seconds. Most recently at the county meet in Morton, Cassie jumped 5’ 1” in high jump to beat the former record and set the new county record! Also at the county meet, Cassie beat her own record in the mile with a time of 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Cassie is eligible to go to state by beating the qualifying time for the mile by twenty seconds. The Midwest Central community is proud of Cassie and congratulate her on her excellent athletic abilities.
Reading Skits for Mrs. Harrison
By:Kendall Graff
The reading classes for Mrs. Harrison are performing skits about Greek mythology. This was the first year she tried the skits. She said that students would be more interested by watching the skits instead of reading them. The skits are The Flight of Icarus, Labors of Hercules, Orpheus the Great Musician, Origin of the Seasons, and Echo and Narcissus. All of her reading classes performed them for a grade. The students wrote paragraphs on each describing the myths. Mrs. Harrison said that she wanted to show her students a new genre and teach her students how to perform a drama. She said that next year she will also do the skits but change the way the students do them. She said that the same myths might be used for next year. Most of the students enjoyed the skits.
Poetry Contest
Poetry month was held in the month of April. For poetry month the students at Midwest Central Middle School ( MCMS ) were invited to enter a poetry contest sponsored by the library. Anyone in grades sixth through eighth could enter the contest. To qualify for the contest students had to create an original poem. “That invoked the emotions of the reader”, according to library clerk Denise O’Shea-Hall. Around thirty poems total were turned into the contest. Once they were turned in, they were judged on the content of the poem. The winners of the contest were, in first place Byran Lennox (6th grade); who received a twenty dollar gift card going toward books for Amazon.com. Second place was awarded to Eyrn Jacobs (8th grade). She received a ten dollar gift card for books at Amazon.com. In third place was Zack Price (7th grade), who received five dollars. An honorable mention was given to Donovan Mundekis (8th grade); who is able to choose a free book.
To go along with the student’s poetry contest there was also a most popular poem contest. The most popular work of poetry goes to Daddy Fell into a Pond by Alfred Noyes. For this contest Mrs. Hall asked teachers to submit their favorite poem. Daddy Fell into a Pond, was entered by Mrs. Pillman. After all the poems were in, the students could read the entries. From there they choose their favorite poem. This was Daddy Fell into a Pond. The students’ names that voted for this poem were then put into a box and drawn by a teacher. Clay Hipsher (7th grade) was the name chosen. He is able to choose a free book. Congratulations to all of you who won and thank you Mrs. Hall.
By: Shelby Garman and John Wilcox
CIV IPA Student Recognition Award By: Michelle Szczepaniak
On Monday, May 2, Cassie and Donovan Mundekis received the Students Recognition Award. Cassie and Donovan both attended a breakfast sponsored by the Illinois Principals’ Association at Eureka College. Each student received a certificate for their achievement and a ten dollar gift car to Barnes & Noble. Eventually both students names will be added to plaque near Mr. Cunningham’s office where every winner’s name is. Donovan had said that he was kind of excited to win but not very surprised. Cassie had commented that she wasn’t very surprised about winning this award either. They both had said that the breakfast they attended was good, but very formal, and had a very nice speaker. Congratulations Donovan Mundekis and Cassie Mundekis!