Sailors On the Scene - Volume 3 - Issue 4

Sailors On the ScenenewsmagazineApril 2009 | Volume 3 | Issue 4

MONA SHORES MIDDLE SCHOOL I 1700 WOODSIDE I MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN 49441

On the InsideMillage extensionto provideneeded updates

Movie Review:“The Uninvited”

hits the mark

Volleyball takes three againstHarbor Lights

www.sailorsonthescene.com

sai lors on the scene ~ staff

PAGE TWO2

On

The

Coverphoto by: brianna panici

Captain Jennings’ crew and the lady pirates dance the night away in the production of “The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree”.

editor-in-chief:nicole shady

managing editor:lindy torvinen

photo editor:briann wilson

section editors:sammy burmeisterkatie debruinzak drabczyktaylor groenhoutmallika maddurimegan schluentz

sam andradenicole bertapellenicole brownkayleigh dakinrachel greenmegan hertelrachel kellykelly mcmahonbrianna panicimolly schaub

trevor boydderek copeashley corycorrine dewittjacob dewitttyler diltsamber dionmeghan ebareleah glubrechtrachel mattsontaylor mccarthymegan moranpaige quallsmeredith smith

staff writers:adviser:mike phillips

editorial board:marie bettenken byardshelly dykstrajacey ecclestontrisha hallcheri kimballpatty mercermichelle phillipsmatt schuchardtamy stielstralori veurink

IN THE LEAD 3

“The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree” was a must see production

Our Voice

Mrs. Eccleston’s sixth grade class had a “Big Dream”. After reading the story “I Escaped A Violent Gang”, the stu-dents were inspired to achieve their big dream. With the support and fund rais-ing of Mona Shores Middle School stu-dents, Mrs. Eccleston and her classes’ “Big Dream” came true. It came true with the visit and inspirational speech

given by a young woman named Maria Reyes, who was the young girl in the story about gangs.

Feedback was very positive after the assembly. The inspirational words reached out to students. Every word seemed to come straight from the heart and never scripted.

As inspirational as her story was,

many students wished to have been able to have the opportunity to ask Ms. Reyes questions. Overall the words spoken from the heart were also taken to heart by many.

“Freedom Writer” leaves lasting impression with students

Our Voice is the opinion message selected by the editors of the Sailors On the Scene newsmagazine.

2009’s Mona Shores Middle School produc-tion, “The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree”, included pirates, high class citizens and a British Fleet; which had us on the edge of our seat.

The story was based on a romantic comedy about Captain Jen-nings and his aristocratic, high class pas-sengers. Captain Jennings was abandoned by his crew when the pirates were in sight, and was left with only a handful of prison-ers to fight off the pirates. Captain Bree and the tough, cut throat lady pirates raid his ship, the Kayla May, taking the ship and its passengers hostage. After Madam Prescott, one of Captain Jennings passengers, grows tired waiting for Captain Jennings to do

something to help them, she sends a young boy Thomas to alert the British Fleet about their captivity. A month later, Captain Jennings and his crew realize that the pirates aren’t so bad and when the royal fleet are in sight, Captain

Bree makes a deal with Madam Prescott to let her lady pirates go free while she stays behind to be hung. Captain Jennings thinks otherwise and he does not go through with that deal she has made because he has truly passionate feelings for her and believes with their love they can over come any obstacle. In the end, Captain Jennings, Captain Bree, The Kayla May, and the rest of their crews get away safely.

The dedication of the cast was remark-able, practicing every day for two hours and all working towards the same goal; to put on the greatest show that they could and give 110%. And they succeeded, with flying colors. Some of them would even give up their priceless weekends and breaks to get together with fellow cast members to practice their lines. When people are willing to set aside their personal lives and free time in order to put on a great performance, that shows true dedication.

This play was hands down outstand-ing. One could see it over and over again without a single thought of repetition or boredom. With marvelous singing and act-ing, this play was a major hit. Director Kate Bourdon did a fantastic job putting together and preparing the cast and crew. The two major leads in the play, Captain Jennings played by eighth grader Sean Rush and

Captain Bree played by eighth grader Abby Wilson, stunned the audience with their skilled performances.

The cast and crew also deserve a round of applause for making it seem as if the production was taking place in the colonial era. The stage was set up to look like a pirate ship, the Kayla May, and a play wouldn’t be a play without outstanding cos-tumes and a realistic set. An extra round of applause goes out to the crew, lighting team and special effects.

This production of “The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree” was phenomenal and deserves two thumbs up for an outstanding performance.

photos by: brianna panici

Eighth graders Michaela Simmons and Katie Huginziga argue over a pirates lifestyle.

Eighth graders Joey Bush, Sean Rush, Abbey Medema and Abby Wilson are waiting for the messenger to return.

— Kate Bourdon ~ Director

“This cast was one of the best I’ve ever directed.”

SamAndrade

BriannaPanici

by: nicole shady I editor-in-chief

Middle school to get new additions with passing of millage extension

FEATURES4

by: kelly mcmahon I staff writer

Sailors orchestrate another year of success at festival

Mona Shores Middle School is expected to get two million dollars in upgrades due to the support of our community in the passing of the millage extension on February 24.

The cafeteria will have a new look with a food court style layout for flow of traffic and comfort. This will mean an expanded exterior wall will be added to open up to a courtyard that will have additional picnic table seating for the warmer months.

“It will give us more options for food,” sixth grader Anthony Bradfield said.

An additional room for orchestra will allow the orchestra class to move from the auditorium to their own classroom. This will open up the auditorium during the day without having to move the orchestra class, along with getting rid of the tear down and put up of stands and chairs. Storage will also be provided for the orchestra along with the expansion.

“We will have our own space,” orches-tra teacher Kelly DeRose said. “Instead of moving chairs and stands we will be able to work on our music.”

The athletic facilities will also see some face lifts. Aluminum bleachers will be added and the tennis courts will be fixed up and renewed to a usable state.

“I think the approval of the bond will im-prove athletic facilities and have a profound effect on the district as a whole,” middle school athletic director Ken Byard said. “And you will probably see an increase in kids participating in athletics because they have better facilities and they can take pride in those facilities.”

Students will also be able to travel more in style with the addition of six buses to the aging fleet.

“The old buses tend to break down more and some of the heaters don’t work on

them,” seventh grader David Bartley said.Of all these additions, the most expensive

will be the parking lot. The front parking will be extended into the woods for more additional spaces and two landscaped circle turn-arounds for an easy drop off.

“When Mr. Hogston and I started here five years ago, the first thing we noticed was that our parking lot was unsafe,” middle school principal Scott Levandoski said. “This will finally solve our problem and let us sleep better at night knowing you guys are safe when you are coming and going from this building.”

All of these improvements and addi-tions are expected to be finished by the end of 2010. Although most middle school students will have moved up to the high school by then, there will be improvements awaiting them there.

In 1991, a tradition was started for Sailor performers; Mona Shores orchestras set the standards high for festival and their hard work has paid off once again.

Mona Shores orchestra, along with band and choir, go to festival once a year where three expert judges tell them what they did well and what they have to work on.

“It was a lot different preforming in front of judges,” eighth grader Lydia Karel said. “Your friends and family don’t judge you, and even if your horrible, they tell you that you did well. But the judges aren’t afraid to tell the truth.”

Judges rate the performances on a scale of one to five, one being the best and five giving a lot of room for improvement.

“I think both orchestras did really good at festival,” seventh grader Clair Jennings said. “At first I was worried that we would get a bad rating, but we pulled it together.”

This year the seventh grade orchestra received an overall rating of a one, while the eighth grade received an overall rating of a two.

Although festival is very fun, it requires a lot of work. Students practice at school and at home months in advance.

“It was a lot harder to get ready for festi-val than it is for a regular concert,” seventh grader Lea Paparella said. “We had to prac-tice a lot more and work harder in class.”

Sailors orchestra students have to attend an after school retreat, a pre-festival concert and practice twice as hard in class to ready themselves for festival.

“It took a lot of hard work and dedica-tion,” seventh grader Regan Wilcox said. “We really had to step it up a notch, but in the end we pulled it together and it really paid off.”

Left: Tennis courts show their age and wait for upgrade. Right: New exterior wall and picnic tables will bring more room to students during their lunch.

photo by: nicole shady

FEATURES 5

by: nicole brown I staff writer

Class learns life lessons from mechanical babies

by: paige qualls / staff writer and meghan ebare / staff writer

History class takes action

Eighth grade history teacher Jacey Eccleston and her class helped a family in Honduras by donating the money to purchase a HydrAid Biosand water filter.

The HydrAid is a water filter that cost $50 and uses sand, gravel and a biologi-cal layer to consume the pathogens and clean the water, making it suitable to drink.

Her class was studying the Siege of Vicksburg where they resorted to eating horses, dogs, and rats to survive. They then had a discussion on what humans are willing to do to survive and to quench thirst and hunger.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” eighth grader Dakota Hanson said.

Mrs. Eccleston explained that humans

around the world face the same obsta-cles today as they did in the mid 1800’s.

The HydrAid lasts for about ten years and does not use a power source, which means that its easy to set up and maintain. It also helps improve peoples health and prevents diseases from oc-curring.

Students learned many life lessons from the activity, like to give away a small amount of cash can really help a

family in need.“No matter how far away someone is

in the world you can always lend money to help,” eighth grader Gabby Hall said. “It doesn’t matter if you know them or not.”

In Cindy Soyars Life Management II classes, students realized taking care of mechanical babies was a lot of work.

Building upon the experiences that

the students received in life manage-ment I when they took care of “flour babies”, the mechanical babies are a lot more realistic.

“It’s very educational and it encour-ages you not to have a baby at a young age,” eighth grader Erin Friday said.

Students had to put their life on hold over the weekend to care for their ba-bies, including having to wake up to a crying baby in the middle of the night.

“I woke up every four to five hours at night to a crying baby,” eighth grader Adam Reyner said.

The babies had two settings ranging from regular that cried every three to four hours or fussy ones that were much more difficult crying every half hour to an hour.

“It was a difficult experience,” eighth grader Marissa Reagan said.

This project gave students an op-portunity to care for a baby as well as educate students about the responsibili-ties to be a parent.

“It was a good learning experience,” eighth grader Britni Gielow said. “It showed us we don’t want children at a young age.”

Life management teaches students a lot of practical strategies to help them manage their life better, and none get more realistic than caring for a baby.

First hour life management two as they hold their mechanical babies.

illustration by: tyler dilts

courtesy photo

Students forced to wait in cold

OPINIONS6

A little change could lift Sailor spirits and attendance at the Sailor celebration

Mona Shores students that arrive at school early are forced to wait outside in the winter, at times in ten degree weather, be-cause the school won’t allow them in until ten minutes before school starts.

Staying outside in the cold weather can be a threat to the body. Research has shown

that the freezing point of a person’s skin is nine degrees Celsius, or

about fifteen degrees Fahrenheit. We are only allowed inside when the temperature is single digits or below. This can mean trouble for those that wait for a long period of time. Many of our students shower in the morning, and frostbite is even more common if your skin is wet. Our body heat escapes through our head and some girls have long hair so it takes longer to dry from a shower, even if they wore a hat. If you

look around you out-side, almost none of our students actually wear a hat to school.

One solu-tion to this problem would be for the school to raise the temperature to twenty degrees. This temperature would be acceptable to students and it reduces the risk of frostbite . This is because it is only about ten degrees above what would normally be considered the “go in” temperature students have now. 66% of the students we interviewed agreed with raising it to our proposed climate.

There are a variety of options students could do in the morn-ing, such as studying and finishing homework. They would have ability to spend time in the soon to be expanded cafeteria the school is adding this summer because of the

community passing the millage extension. Our cafeteria will be pushed 12 feet out and the hallway would be combined, which means more room to do home-work and eat breakfast before school. It would give students a chance to get a few more things done other than stand-ing outside.

Even though time has passed for this winter next year, if the temperature was raised for next year it could benefit students in the future.

The Sailor Celebration is not as excellent as it could be. Our school could

change the lighting, and the music could be changed as well.

The decorations at the dance, how festive are they? Not as much as they could be.

How about hanging some streamers from the ceiling or blowing up some balloons on the ground and in the air to make the dance a little more exciting.

Next let’s take a look at the lighting situation.

The addition of strobe lights in the corner of the gym would give students a very dif-ferent and amusing experience. If we had four strobe lights in each of the corners and one of the long light bars that we’ve used for previous dances in the middle, we could dance and still be able to see for safety reasons.

And the music at the Sailor Celebration has become very repetitive. Students should be given the opportunity to help choose the songs that get played. Before the dance, we could post the suggested play list on the Mona Shores web site and allow students the possibility to comment on what they

like to help keep everyone happy. If you are like me and would like to see

some changes at the dance, we can go to the student counsel and talk to them about our ideas and try to get them changed for our last dance and for all the others to come.

— Jacquelyn Burdo ~ 8th

“Girls don’t wear hats because it would mess up their hair”

— Willie Hallstead ~ 7th

“I would do homework if we could use the media center”

— Tori Hare ~ 7th

“The fast songs are the best at the dance.”

— Cameron Mccarl ~ 6th

“I like when the lights are all different colors”

TrevorBoyd

MeganSchluentz

MallikaMadduri

photo by: megan schluentz

Seventh grade students wait in anticipation to get out of the bone-chilling cold and into the school.

photo by: kayleigh dakin

Sailor students dancing at the Sailor Cel-ebration at a plain boring atmosphere.

—Dugan Dieselberg ~ 6th

“When we wait in the hallways it is too crowded and there is a lot of pushing and shoving.”

Students complaining about needing more time at lunch do not realize how much time a extended lunch period would really be taking up.

Here at Mona Shores, lunch time is more about socializing than it is eating. Our observation of the lunch times showed that a vast majority of the students were talking, not eating. Students do not really care about the eating part of lunch as much as they care about the friends part. Sure a longer lunch time would be nice, but do we really need it?

Mona Shores lunch time gives students enough time to eat and to socialize. After watching the last couple students in line

it showed that they had enough time to eat and chat with their friends without being rushed. Our survey showed that 40% of stu-dents only take 15-20 min-utes to eat at home anyways leaving about 10 minutes left over to associate with

their peers.The state requires 1,098 hours of school,

which converts to 65,880 minutes of educa-tion that have to be fit into the school year somehow. For ex-ample, if the middle school were to add just

15 minutes to each grades lunch, that would be a total of 45 minutes added to every school day, which would either mean start-ing earlier or getting out later, or even going into our summer, and no student would want that.

A half hour lunch period gives students plenty of time to eat and to maintain their social life it just depends on how the stu-dents manage lunch time.

OPINIONS 7

S h o r e s h a s p l e n t y o f o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o rs t u d e n t s t o f i n d s o m e t h i n g t h e y e n j o y

Longer lunch times would create obstacles

Mona Shores Middle School is a excellent school because of all unique opportunities it has to offer, such as the technology, electives, and extra curricular activities that keep all students on the right path.

In the Mona Shores District, there are 211 classrooms that are equipped with smart carts that include a computer with a flat screen monitor, document camera, DVD/VCR player, and a microphone. Plus, the district purchased nearly 450 laptops students know as the COWs (Computers On Wheels). Currently, there are six sets at the middle school and high school. With all of this new and cool technology, students and staff have a lot to be grateful for.

Mona Shores has many varied, unique electives that you usually don’t see at other middle schools. They have electives in Preforming Arts, Industrial Arts, Technol-

ogy, Life Management, Foreign Languages, Visual Arts, and Physical Education. Which all offer many pathways for students to explore.

When the day is done at Shores, not all of the students leave school. Some stay and participate in after-school activities. In fact, Mona Shores has so many extra curricular activities that some even happen before school. Shores has something for everyone. For the athletic type Shores offers lots of sports, like volleyball, basketball and even Ski Club. And for the not so sporty type there is Math Counts, Student Congress, Drama, and First Priority. After-school programs keeps students away from trouble, and in a healthy environment where they can meet new people.

Mona Shores is a excellent school, where they clearly care about every student and want them all of them to succeed in the fu-ture. The administration does a excellent job in showing this by keeping a high standard in technology, electives, and after-school activities.

RachelKelly

KayleighDakin

photos by: rachel kelly

Seventh graders at third lunch enjoy social time as well as lunchtime.

photos by: leah glubrecht

Top: Mrs. Helsen’s sixth grade class learns life lessons, such as teamwork and cooperation in art class. Above: Mrs. Phillips’ fifth hour class explores cyberspace with Mona Shores updated technology.

— Nathan O’Neil ~ 6th

“I wait till the end of lunch to get my food because then the lines are shorter.”

— Mrs. Brink ~ Staff

“It would be nicer for a longer lunch, but then we would have to add time to our day so I guess we’re going to have to live with it.”

LeahGlubrecht

8

Favorite Past Vacation

Spring Break

Dream Vacation

Where is your dream vacation of all time?

Imauri Johnson - 8Kelcie Swanstrom - 7

I liked camping a lot because I got to go

fishing.

Lilly Coon - 8

Colorado, I'm going to see my grandparents that I haven't seen in three years.

Ms. Betten - staff

Winter Park, Colo-rado. I ski, my son

snow boards. This is our third year going.

Nick Edlund - 6

Florida, I got to visit my grandma and grandpa. I got to go to dinner with them, and lay by the pool.

Mrs. Majeski - staff

Colorado, my family went and we spent

a lot of time to-gether. We went

down hill skiing also.

Cory Sander - 7

I am going to St. Pete, Florida. I am excited to hang out on the beach.

Ryan Susterich - 6

Mexico, its my second time going there. I am excited

cause its fun.

Emma Jones - 8Ryan Fritz - 7

England, their language is easier to understand and it's really pretty and neat. I would take my best friend Emily.

Probably Florida because I've been

there before and it's warm and fun.

Mrs. Sylvester - staff

Hawaii, because it's warm, and I've never been there before. I would take Mr. Sylvester.

Sara Jones - 7

Probably the Bahamas because

it's really warm, and there are lots

of fun activities like snorkeling.

Vegas, everything was so alive. It had an indoor water park that I really liked.

Tino Ramirez - 6

I would like to go to Texas because my mom is there, and I would take Nicole Bertapelle with me.

Mrs. Hilliard - staff

Key West, Florida. It is a place with a great climate, it has old build-ings and a lot of history.

I would take my family.

Mikayla Day - 8

Montana, its a really good area to ride horses. I would take my best friend.

Hunter McDonald - 6 South Africa

because of the hunting spree. I want to hunt an elephant, a lion, and an

alligator.

Alaska13%

France

Australia

Italy

Hawaii25%

8%

7%

46%

CENTER SECTION

layout by: nicole bertapelle, katie debruin, lindy torvinen and molly schaub

CENTER SECTION 9

The SwitcherooImagine that you

woke up and got ready for school. You finished your basic morning

activities and when you got dropped off and walked into school, you found a name plate and a

classroom with your name on it!! Not only that, but your normal everyday teacher’s names were not on any of their name plates. The names were all of students like yourself.

You walk a little further and find that all the teachers are sitting in desks with school materials. “What is going on?” You ask one

of your teachers. “I don’t know, it’s your class.” They reply.It turns out, there has been a switch in reality. All of the teachers are students, with no memory of them being teachers. To them,

you are their teachers, and you are educating them for their futures.

Now the question is, “What subject are you teaching the teachers, and why?”

If teachers were students what would they want to learn?

Mrs. Soyars, Life Management Teacher

I would want to learn how to make everybody to feel good about themselves, because i think that peace

starts with just one person.

Who is your favorite school administrator?

Mr. Levandoski 19%

Mr. Hogston 33%Mr. Byard 48%

Cassondra Hansen 6th

Math, Because I love my math teacher Mrs. Cooper and I would try to make math fun like

she does.

Jessica Gauthier 7th

Science, Because it has interesting stuff in it and I would like to teach teachers about

the human body

Jordan Yokubonus 8th

English, I think teach-ers need to be punished by having to write long

essays.

Greg Chandonnett 8th

Health, Teaching about healthy foods and more exercise with weight lift-

ing could help.

Alex Pearson 8th

Music, Few teachers have little sense of world music and I could help them ap-preciate other cultures to

a higher extent.

Mrs. Brink, Science Teacher

I would want to learn something new that would help me later in life.

William Wu 7th

Gym, Some of the teachers would sweat to death from working

out so hard.

Brock Boucher 8th

I would teach them social studies be-

cause I like the wars that go on.

Blake Cramer 6th

Math, Because it would be my favorite

subject to teach.

Corbin Sima 7th

Band, Because I love music and I’d give

them more interest in music.

Mr. Levandoski, Principal Mrs. Betten’s abstract algebra les-son....NOT!

Mr. Byard, Dean of Students I would want to learn technology, because it will be around forever. It’s always changing and it will be a part of the rest of our lifetime.

Kaaine Dowdell 6th

Science, Because its my favorite subject to teach and there are

more interesting things.

Who did you chose as your favorite?

Teachers in their middle school

years.

Picture 1: Mr. KurantPicture 2: Mr. PhillipsPicture 3: Mrs. MarrisPicture 4: Mrs. PhillipsPicture 5: Ms. McKeePicture 6: Mrs. Johnson

What would the officials want to learn?

Mrs. Cotner, Science Teacher

I would want to learn more about animals because I always thought it was an interesting topic.

Mr. Kurant, Social Studies Grade Teacher

I would want to go to Mr. Wahlberg’s room and sit with Ricky Bobby.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Mr. KurantMr. Phillips Mrs. Marris

Ms. McKeeMrs. Phillips

Mrs. Johnson

layout by: tyler dilts, rachel mattson, taylor mccarthy and megan moran

TeacherThis Secret Sailor was Born in North Carolina and has lived in Germany, Missouri, and Muskegon. Her favorite class is Mrs. Soyars’ life management, because they bring her good food. When she orders pizza she gets ham, pineapple, and bacon. If she could travel to anywhere in the world, she would be headed to Italy. Who is this Secret Sailor?

6th GradeThis Secret Sailor was born in Orchard View and lives in Roosevelt Park. When he’s not at school you will find him playing hockey or his guitar. This secret sailor’s ideal meal would be, coke and snickers. His family has welcomed three pets, Rockey, Casey, and Blossom. Thomas is this Sailors middle name. Who is this Secret Sailor?

7th GradeThis Secret Sailors favorite color is green. If he could go anywhere on vacation he would go to Florida. This secret sailor is a musician he plays, the piano, cello, and guitar. If at an ice cream shop he would choose vanilla. His favorite class is woods. He has two dogs; A.J. and Nel. Who is this Secret Sailor?

8th gradeThis Secret Sailor loves to play softball. She has a phobia called arachibutyrophobia, which is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. She has one dog named CoCo. If given a choice of where to eat, she would head to the Station. Her favorite movie is, Dodge ball. This sailor plays the piano and percussion. She’s a very active person, participating in volleyball, cross country and softball. Who is this Secret Sailor?

SAILOR DAYS10

S e c r e t - S a i l o r s Secret Sailor Answers: Teacher: Ms. Mercer / 6th Grader: Jacob Main / 7th Grader: Connor Dalquist / 8th Grader: Jill Klein

What’s Your Favorite Placeto Hang Out With Friends?

voices

GABBY WOODARD6th GRADE

“The beach because it’s nice and you can go swimming.”

“The mall, lets go shopping!”

TAYLOR SOUTHLAND7th GRADE

“Parties, because everyone’s in a good mood.”

“Anywhere that has chicken wings and sports.”

hallsfrom the

GREG CHANDONNET8th GRADE

MR. BYARDDEAN OF STUDENTS

KYLE HEETHOUSE6th GRADE

“The movies, they’re cool.”

“Walmart, because there’s a lot of stuff to do and play with.”

JAKE ROHLMAN7th GRADE

“Amusement parks or Michigan Adventure.”

“Hunting camps, because we can catch up on old times.”

JESSICA DUBUC 8th GRADE

MR. WAHLBERG8th GRADE SCIENCE

SAMMY PYMAN6th GRADE

“Jumping Jupiter, you can sit down, roller blade and listen to music at the same time.”

“The ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese, because there’s so many colors.”

RACHEL RESTERHOUSE7th GRADE

“Anywhere there’s a party.”

“Lake Michigan, I like to fish.”

MATT FAIRFEILD8th GRADE

MR. MORAN7th GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES

SAILOR DAYS 11

Studentsof the month

Student-Athletesof the month

VolleyballWrestling

8th Grade

8th Grade

Nicole ShadyTerre Bennett

Amy GillingsOssie Gordon

1A.Kiah Beck 1B. Julia Walsh 1C. Nicole Brown 1D. Chloe Ortiz 2A. Royce Johnson 1B. Chris Sherburn 2C.Collin Decka 2D. Dereck Baker 3A. Angela Kim 3B. Tori Hare 3C. Megan Senos 3D. Taylor Southland 4A. William Wu 4B. Erics Burns Jr. 4C. Lebo Chandler 4D. Corbin Sima 5A. Julia Mocere 5B.Devan Alexander 5C. Miranda Allers 5D. Emma Tjapkes 6A. Kaaine Dowdell 6B. Ryan Wasilewski 6C. Dylan Gonzalez 6D. Cole Rollenhagen

A

D

C

B

Eighth Graders Seventh Graders Sixth Graders

A

D

C

B

A

D

C

B

A

D

C

B

A

D

C

B

A

D

C

B

1

2 4

3 5

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by: sammy burmeister / sports editor and rachel green / staff writer

The blue volleyball team takes on Harbor Lights

SPORTS12

On February 26, Harbor Lights came to Mona Shores to face off against the seventh grade blue volleyball team.

In the first game, with a score of 7 to 4, Joelle Fisher stepped up to serve and got two points for her team, making the score 9 to 4 giv-ing the Sailors an early lead.

“I felt I did really good,” Fisher said. “I was very nervous though.”

The Sailors held the lead during many in-tense rallies and eventually won the game 25 to 20.

“During time outs, coach Shaffer told us we needed to talk more on the court,” Ash-ton Dilts said. “I think that helped us.”

During the second game, both teams had a rough start and could not get their serves over, and soon Harbor Lights took the lead with a score of 9 to 7.

“During the second game I got really nervous because I thought we were going to lose,” Dia-mond Tarrio said.

The Sailors rallied in the

second game behind the service of Saddie Vela to tie the score at 14 points a piece.

“Before I serve, I make sure my feet are pointed to where I want the ball to go,” Vela said. “Then I add power to get the ball over the net and drop so its hard

for the other team to get.” With a score of 23 to 22 and the Sailors only need-

ing two more points to win, Kaylyn Chandonnet stepped up to serve getting two points, winning the

game 25 to 22.“I felt good after I served even though I was

really nervous and scared before,” Chandon-net said.

The Sailors carried their momentum from the second game into the third game, and had

an easy time winning 15 to 8.“It felt good to win all three games because you feel really proud of your team,” Emily Klemp said. “You feel like all your practicing has paid off.”

As of February 26, the seventh grade blue volleyball team was 4 and 1 with 5 games re-

maining along with a weekend Friendship tourna-ment. “The team has done great so far,” coach Stephanie Shaffer said. “We have fun, we work hard, and every girl has improved.”

photos by: mike phillips

Left: Courtney McKenzie (#3) dives in order to save the ball after the serve. Right: Lauren Thielman (#6) receives a tough serve as Ashton Dilts (#1) prepares to set the ball up.

photos by: mike phillips

SPORTS 13

Three high school seniors are attending college on sports scholarships because of their hard work and dedication that started in middle school.

If athletes start working hard in middle school it will pay off. Proof of this is three Mona Shores High School football play-ers, Johnny Childers, Wes Watson, and Sam Parker who will be extending their football careers into the college level.

“Every day, I would run at least two miles and weight lift over the summer,” senior Sam Parker said. “It wasn’t just lifting, but creating a mental toughness. Anything outside (of what you do during the season) will make you a better athlete.”

One of the things that helps athletes progress into the higher level of sports is doing all the extra things like lifting weights, taking a jog, or throwing the ball instead of playing video games.

“We expect all athletes to be coachable and willing to do what the coaches want them to do in the off-season and on

the game field to improve and make the team better,” head varsity football coach Ken

Rose said.Another thing that athletes benefit from is starting to get

into a sport at an early age which will help instill a good work ethic and positive attitude.

“It taught me life lessons,” eighth grade football player Joel Mosley said. “I now

know that I have to work hard to get what I want.”One of the final steps that

will help you to excel in your sport of choice is to do all of the

little things right like working togeth-er or even just getting to practice on time.

“The biggest thing that you have to have is Sailor Pride,” middle school football coach Scott Volkmann said. “Teams that do extra will have a better chance for success.”

High school seniors get scholarships because of hard work that started in middle schoolby: jake dewitt / staff writer

Left: High school senior Johnny Childers prepares to bowl through a Lowell defender. Right: Varsity left tackle Sam Parker makes a magnificent block on a Forest Hills Central defensive lineman. Below: Eighth grade team photo with Sam Parker (#51) and Johnny Childers (#31).

courtesy photos

ENTERTAINMENT14

Edward Cullen is every girl’s dream guy, because of his irresistible beauty, considerate feelings, and respect towards Bella. In the beginning of the Twilight series Edward has Bella’s heart from all these attractions.

Edward being a vampire is well aware he needs to be careful with his actions. One mistake, and Edward could accidentally hurt Bella, or worse yet, kill her.

Fortunately he is very cautious, and respectful about the continuous urges he gets while being with Bella, because of his feelings for her.

In addition, Edward shows how he is considerate with Bella’s feelings when cold hearted Jacob Black comes along. Also, many unlucky events occur when Jacob enters the picture, including Ed-ward leaving Bella. Furthermore, the only reason Edward leaves Bella is because he believes it will be the best for her and feels she deserves the best possible.

I believe Edward always has a reason for his actions (leaving Bella) he would never purposely upset Bella because the way he feels for her.

Jacob Black is Bella Swan’s best friend when she moves to Forks, Washington, but when he finds out her boyfriend is his worst enemy, they will be connected by the heart of a human.

Jacob is told to be the one who brings out the best in Bella, but she doesn’t seem to be bringing out the best in Jacob. He ends up turning from sweet and kind to rough and dangerous, by putting her in more dangerous tasks such as, jumping off a cliff, riding motorcycles, and being with his short tempered mind.

Though with this attitude, his actions change along with it. He finds himself hurting Bella more then just mentally because he thinks he is the best and strongest werewolf of all time.

Jacob’s manner towards others ends up hurting everyone around him including his family of wolves. Nobody would seem to want to be around him when this change is occurring.

This newly found attitude would seem to make this worst for his chance at Bella’s heart, but it seems to make her feel as if she is making him like this.

The Two sides of TwilightThe Twilight sagas are books about a vampire and a human that fall in love but what you

don’t see in the movies is the werewolf, Jacob Black, who has to fight for Bella’s heart.

Moving Sailor Cel-ebration could benefit the student body. Some are opposed to a new location, but I am con-vinced that a transition could only make Sailor Celebration more fun.

Sailor Celebration is a fun party that nearly

all of the students regularly attend, and for years it has just been a glorified dance. If we were to move locations it would give students more activities. A good number of students don’t like to dance. With bringing new activities we would be adding a genu-ine celebra-tion, over the norm of a dance.

Moving locations this year

could prove to be a challenge, while next year poses a more realis-tic opportu-nity, giving a fresh start to Sailor Celebra-tion. If we move locations we could enjoy the benefits of possibly a skating rink or bowling alley, which is not done in any other local school district.

Most students these days are worried about how far they can stretch their dol-lar. Currently Sailor Celebration tickets are $3.00 during school and $4.00 at the door. A recent poll showed that 64% of students would be willing to pay $5.00 for admis-sion if Sailor Celebration were to move to a skating rink, bowling alley or possibly any other venue. For the extra dollar we could enjoy Sailor Celebration more as a student

body. If Sailor Celebration were to move location, students could enjoy the benefits of a unique celebration over a sweetened dance.

Moving location of Sailor Celebration could add excitement

illustration by: zakary drabczyk

Dancing students illustrates what could be in a new Sailor Celebration location.

Soft and sensitive Edward Cullen Cold hearted Jacob Black

MeredithSmith

CorrineDeWitt

ZakaryDrabczyk

— Mr. Byard ~ Dean of Students

“I think the excitement of another location would encourage kids to come.”

— Conner Deur ~ 8th

“It would improve because it would be more fun with more things to do.”

ENTERTAINMENT 15

Clash Of The Coffee

Coffee We tried the “House Special” and

thought it was too strong. The coffee looked and smelled appealing, but

Megan spat it up in disgust. Then we had a Chai Latte, that was unanimously

a hit; the drink was warm and sweet, although, Megan found something that

looked like a contact lens.

Food The peanut butter bar was amazing, not only did it taste great, but it

was a great deal. The dessert cost $2.87, and was a little larger than the size of a CD case. Taste wise, this dessert was hard to beat. It was a

Rice Krispie covered in peanut butter, then drenched in chocolate.

Atmosphere With tons of seating, fire

places, Wi-Fi, a drive through, wall art, and much more, The Coffee House was

superb. It was extremely inviting and comfortable. As soon as we entered,

we got a very relaxed coffee esque vibe.

Service The personal service at The Coffee House was outstanding, but the

pace of the service was sluggish. The best part was that if they were go-ing to take a while, the staff would bring your order out to you. We chose to look past the waits, and consider how nice it is to have people actually

working directly with you.

The Coffee House and Biggby’s are two completely different coffee vendors, offering a little something for everyone. The two of us went to the shops and rated them on their service,

atmosphere, coffee and food.

The Coffee House Biggby CoffeeCoffeeAt Biggby’s we first tried the special. Taylor thought it was scrumptious and tasted like hot chocolate. On the other hand, Megan took a bite of a candy bar to get the taste out of her mouth. Then we ordered a Chai Latte, which was out-standing, it was the perfect temperature and aroma. FoodBiggby’s food was bland and overpriced. We ordered an Oreo brownie that was not only unoriginal, but it was small. This dessert was the size of a deck of cards. Neither one of us liked the dessert and would not recommend ordering it.

AtmosphereThe restaurant was small, but nice. Biggby’s had games, Wi-Fi, and a drive through. The place was warm and com-fortable, but average. The colorful walls and art were inviting, but not enough to be a top notch café.

ServiceFast is the only word to describe

Biggby’s service. People there were helpful, except for one of the work-ers, who was not very patient and seemed annoyed by our presence. All in all, the service was mediocre.

After testing both Biggby and The Coffee House, we came to the conclusion that The Coffee House was more to our liking. If you are look-ing for a place to study with nice atmosphere and inexpensive food, The Coffee House should be your first choice. Nevertheless, if you are

looking for somewhere quick with spunkier coffee and faster service you should head on over to Biggby.

The Uninvited hits the mark with its thrills and suspenseThe Uninvited is

a movie with much suspense and as a result, has attracted many middle school students.

Anna (Emily Brown-ing) is a confused teenager who learns more than she needs to

know about her past and her father’s fiance. She starts hav-ing flash-backs when

her mother died, and reveals all of the ques-tions she had about what went

on the night of the explosion. With the help of her sister, Alex (Arielle Kebbel), they attempt to discover the killer of their mother and ending with a twist leaving everyone in awe.

As two people who love suspense and waiting for something to happen, we very much enjoyed The Uninvited. In the end, the twist left us thinking of what had hap-pened until a flashback revealed every-

thing. Anna’s flashback revealed everything as it did for Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) in the Sixth Sense.

One of the best in the movie was the music was perfect with the scary parts. It kept us on the edge of our seats wondering what was going to hap-pen next. The movie was so exciting, that we did not want it to end.

If you enjoy scary, on the edge of your seat thrillers, with non-stop action, then you will definitely enjoy The Uninvited.

TaylorGroenhout

MeganHertel

AmberDion

AshleyCory

Ratings

The Coffee House

Coffee

Food

Atmosphere

Service

Biggby Coffee

Coffee

Food

Atmosphere

Service

We rated them on a scale of 1-4. With 1 being the worst

and 4 being the best.

— Myles Hagye ~ 7th

“I thought it was kind of creepy.”

— Devon Sargent ~ 8th

“10 thumbs up, because I like scary movies.”

16 PHOTO STORY

Take it to the mat

The Mona Shores seventh and eighth grade wrestling team had

an outstanding season.

Clockwise from bottom left:

Seventh grader Adam Pawlowski struggles for the head lock against Grandville.

Struggling for pin against a Bunker opponent ,seventh grader Lebo Chandler fights for position.

Cradling an opponent from Zea-land, seventh grader Eli Bowers fights for the win.

Performing a half nelson eighth grader Nic Howell fights for his posi-tion.

Eighth grader Jake Carlson struggles to take a single leg take down.

The Mona Shores wrestling team sits down to go over the rules.

Seventh grader Andrew Denny performs a front head lock.

Eighth grader Jake Baker tries for the pin.

Seventh Grader Thomas Daniels tries for a half nelson.