Sailors On the ScenenewsmagazineJanuary 2009 | Volume 3 | Issue 3

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

On the InsideStudents learnlife lessons

Volleyball coach does double dutyDoes too much

homework equaltoo much stress?

We’re on the Web! www.sailorsonthescene.com

sai lors on the scene ~ staff

Page Two2

On

The

Coverphoto by: arielle jibson

On January 10th the seventh and eighth grade competitive cheer team completes round one. The Sailors came out on top capturing the first place trophy.

editor-in-chief:logan george

managing editor:kelsey mckinley

photo editor:sarina hobby

section editors:madison gentryarielle jibsonalexis pierce

hunter carlsonemily de mottalissa dykemakagan hopkinsbrooke ledsworthcandis moorelizzy paulkayla sandore

tyler bryantkenzie careybrandy cumbeebrenden farnquistsami foxhelen oldakerlance osbornecherish pittmanchris randallleeann ronningella turrelljoie workman

staff writers:adviser:mike phillips

editorial board:shelly dykstracarol mogdisamy stielstratammy sylvesterlori veurink

In the Lead 3

Our Voice

Quest for the Cup is a competition be-tween the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. With different challenges to earn points, each grade has an equal opportunity to win. At the end of the year the winning grade level gets a surprise. Last year, the seventh graders dominated the challenge, winning every single month. This year, the eighth graders have won October and November, and the seventh graders have won the month

of December. The next challenge is mis-match day on January 30th and the grade with the most mismatched students will win quest for the cup prize points. Dean of students Ken Byard started this school wide challenge last year. Some of the challenges that grades get to win points for are keeping the hallways clean, and during spirit week each grade had plenty of opportunities to win prize points by participating in each

day. Quest for the cup is a great chance to push the students to do good things for the school and especially to have fun.

Quest for the Cup allows students to show pride

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

by: leeann ronning I staff writer

Cheer team makes great strides

In past years, the Mona Shores Middle School competitive cheer team struggled, but recent success has made them step up and work harder.

Over the years, the cheer team has risen to the top taking five more first place tro-phies from the year of 05-06 when coach Shelly Dykstra started, although winning took a lot of hard work from all of the cheerleaders.

“I think that coaching for a while has helped the team because I have knowledge from year to year,” coach Dykstra said. “I have learned pushing the girls to work harder, ends in a successful way.”

Knowing how hard coach Dykstra works everyone and how much they want to win for each other, the number of girls trying out, dedication, and wins have risen since 2003-04.

“Our team has come far by working harder to accomplish a goal that every team is shooting for,” eighth grader Maddie Campbell said. “More girls try out knowing that this school has a successful team.”

Teaching new faces is hard for coaches because they have to divide their time to each cheerleader to find out what they need to work on.

“When I came onto the team I was ner-vous about fitting in,” seventh grader Taylor Southland said. “It was scary knowing that I had to do my best and give 110 percent all of the time.”

Mona Shores Middle School adopted a competitive cheer team in 2003 and over the years have found that they mostly needed to work on how to set their voices for the rounds, listening, and coming together as a team.

“When I first came on the squad there were some people that I didn’t get along with,” eighth grader Paige Langlois said. “But we put our differences aside because it is easier to focus on what needs to be done.”

One of the greatest qualities of com-petitive cheer is that it brings together girls from all different backgrounds and social groups and has them work together as a team.

“Being on a successful team makes me proud,” seventh grader Saddie Vela said. “I think it motivates the girls to work harder to keep up the good work.”

The girls work two hours a day, five days a week, to practice for a performance that only lasts about three and a half minutes

during a competition.“My hopes for all of the competitions

in 2009 are that we each get along, do our best, and to not to get hurt while doing it,” coach Dykstra said.

photos by: arielle jibsonThe competitive cheer team ends round one with a, “MSMS Better than Ever!” Eighth grader Lauren Johnson’s stunt

group (foreground) along with eighth grader Nicole Bertapelle’s stunt group, successfully perform box outs in round two.

Life Management I students had an unusual project this semester turning bags of flour into babies to create and simulate some of the responsibilities of having a child.

Although life management teacher Cindy Soyars realizes this is not a realistic picture of true baby care, she does hope it makes them aware that parenting can be inconve-nient and time consuming.

“I think that middle school students don’t realize the responsibility of parenting,” Mrs. Soyars said. “If I can inconvenience or frus-trate them even once from toting this baby, I will have accomplished my purpose.”

The students had to take their babies everywhere and could not leave their child unattended, although they could hire a baby sitter if they were participating in extracur-ricular activities.

“I had to take care of my baby all the time,” seventh grader Brittany Forton said. “In classes I usually just had to set it on a back counter.”

If students have someone else watch their babies and it breaks or gets a hole in it, it is still their responsibility.

“There were a couple flour accidents

and reports of students being on their fifth baby,” Mrs. Soyars said.

Some students like the idea of it for a lesson on having a baby, while others didn’t really like carrying it around.

“The hardest part of the project was making sure it didn’t get damaged or hurt,” seventh grader Libo Chandler said.

Although there were a few bumps in the road, overall the experience was beneficial and is a project that Mrs. Soyars will con-tinue to do.

“We did a reflection paper at the end of the project and the students’ responses were overwhelmingly positive, “ Mrs. Soyars said.

Features4

by: arielle jibson / section editorStudents learn responsibilities of caring for a child

by: alissa dykema I staff writerTwo Sailors debut on FitKids TV

Two of Mona Shores Middle Students have been given the opportunity to take action on a “FitKids” television series to increase awareness about fitness.

Sixth grader Rhian Williams and seventh

grader Corbin Vanderstelt take time out of their Saturday afternoons to influence others about living a healthier lifestyle.

“I like representing fitness and I’m hoping that more kids will get involved,” Williams said. “I’ve been watching what I eat and drink. Whenever I go to a hotel, I always use the fitness room.”

Vanderstelt and Williams’ friends have also been watching their weight ever since they’ve had the roll on set of a fitness program.

“I look up to Corbin in so many ways now that he’s actually influencing me about fitness; I’ve been watching what I eat and do because of his choices and being around him.” Zach Bordeaux said.

In order to be a representative of the FitKids TV series, they had to be willing to lead others to take charge of their health and live a healthier lifestyle.

“I’ve noticed it (other students looking up to her example) more because the kids I hang around are watching their weight,” Williams said.

The show is not recorded live to allow the actors to be more comfortable on set and re-shoot segments.

“I like how we do it, because I think I’d be more nervous that I’d mess up on set,” Vanderstelt said. “You wouldn’t be able to fix and edit it or cut the mistakes and re-film.”

As an added benefit of this program, Vanderstelt and Williams get to meet new kids that they don’t know and have devel-oped good friendships out of it.

“I like the program because I get to talk to other people that I don’t know that well,” Vanderstelt said.

Top: Eighth grader Kayla Miller is getting ready to pick up her flour baby

that she just dressed.

Bottom: Eighth grader Carlene Chandler shows off her flour baby after strapping

it in the car seat while seventh grader Cassidy Hobby puts a hat on her baby.

photos by: sarina hobby

OMNI Fitness club members taking action to manage their weight and become more physically fit.

photo by: alissa dykema

CO2 cars gave the beginning woods classes an opportunity to have fun and show off their cars.

For the past three years students have accomplished this project that takes about three weeks to complete.

“Three weeks is long enough,” eighth grader Jake Baker said. “If I could change something, I would have made my car thin-ner.”

Students first go to the media center to research different designs on the Internet before they create their own unique concept.

“It was cool watching the fastest car and who had the coolest design,” seventh grader Nick Enders said.

The students were given two weeks to create and sand the wooden car blanks to finished dimensions.

“I think it is enough time,” eighth grader Derek Cope said. “If I could change any-thing, I would have had less weight.”

Students then got to take their cars home to put the finishing touches on them includ-ing their own unique paint schemes, with

an award given for “The Most Creative Design”.

Students finish the project by racing against each other in a seeded bracketing system.

“This is a great project for students to do because they design and build the car basi-cally all on their own,” beginning woods

teacher Chris Pesch said. “It’s a good way for students to be creative and knowledge-able about what it takes to create a fast car. All the students did a great job.”

Features 5

by: brenden farnquist I staff writer

Students take advantage of Youth Hunt opportunities

Youth hunt is an activity which provides an enjoyable, yet educational experience. It starts the process when the youth gets intro-duced to hunting, and it also brings families closer together.

What makes this experience unique is that youth hunters receive their license for free as long as they have their hunters safety certificate.

“I think it’s awesome because it’s cheap and makes it easier to get kids in the woods,” eighth grade science teacher Eric Wahlberg said.

One of the things that makes Youth Hunt popular is because they are the first in the woods before the rest of the hunters invade the forests.

“You get a first chance,” eighth grader Kyle Lawson said. “You’re the first people to hunt in the woods.”

Another bonus for hunters is that it’s usu-ally a great time of year because of the fall

weather.“There will be one disadvantage,” Mr.

Wahlberg said. “You will have bugs and mosquito’s, but you don’t get cold.”

It’s important to aim wisely because the limit is one deer per hunter.

Although the program is relatively new, it has been popular and successful at getting students outdoors and away from the TV, video games and cell phones.

“It’s a great experience being outdoors and seeing all of the animals in their natural habitat,” eighth grader Brandan Gue said.

by: kayla sandore I staff writer

CO2 cars hit the track

courtesy photos

Top: Eighth grader Kyle Lawson shows off his eight point buck.

Right: Eighth Grader Brandan Gue smiles after getting his button buck

during this years Youth Hunt.

photo by: sarina hobby

Students from Mr. Giuliano and Mr. Pesch’s woods classes watch as the CO2 cars race down the track.

Opinions6

Without Channel One, students would have the opportunity to work on assignments and get extra help if they are struggling in classes.

Most students don’t even pay attention to Channel One when it’s on because they can get the notes online. And for those that do watch, they have a hard time listening to the details of the story and taking notes at the same time. Having a home room would help students with all the work they have to do and give them the time to work on assignments.

Students usually get somewhere between one half to two hours of homework every night, depending on what classes they have, along with after school activities. With a homeroom, students would have time to get a jump start on assignments without having to spend all night on it.

At times, teachers get busy helping all the students and some leave without all of their questions answered about the assignment and end up confused at night. If students have a homeroom it would give them an extra fifteen minutes to ask the questions they may have before they head home for the night.

When students get into middle school they have the opportunity to take more advanced classes. If a student was struggling in a particular class, homeroom would give them the chance to get the extra help they may need. In sixth grade, when students had trouble in a certain class, they have the chance to get the extra help they needed during their fourth hour class.

With a homeroom, all students would get the opportunity to get any help they need in a subject.

Channel One can be a great network for kids to see what is happening all around them, but some students are not happy with the negatives that can come from Channel One quizzes.

Channel One is a great news feature, but students cannot pay attention when rushing to get notes down for quizzes. Not

having quizzes would give students time to listen to Channel One.

Teachers should give students the opportunity to go above and beyond and write a paragraph for Channel One about one of the main stories to turn in for extra credit. This would be better than taking notes and getting quizzed, because they would be paying more attention and doing something that helps their grade.

Another way for students to focus in on Channel One would be, instead of spending the time to take a 20 minute quiz, students could have a discussion about Channel One in their social studies classes. Students would have more fun with a class discussion than taking a stressful quiz. This would make kids listen during Channel One so they could have some input during the class discussion.

With no quizzes for Channel One and getting the chance to go above and beyond for extra credit, students might see a better grade on their report cards.

Question: Should we get rid of Channel One?

No: Keep Channel One and get rid of quizzes, but have a chance for extra credit.

Yes: Students could use this time more effectively by working on assignments or getting help in class.

Sailorides

“Yeah. Kids always have so much homework and they can ask their teach-ers for help.”

Eighth graderTaylor Sweezer

“ Absolutely, there should be a time when students can go talk to their teach-ers one on one.”

Spanish teacherSenorita Barnett

“Yes. Students need to be aware of other countries

and cultures.”

Eighth grade social studies teacher

Sue Marris

“Because we have to watch Channel One.”

Eighth graderMitchell Davignon

EmilyDe Mott

AlexisPierce

Do you think showing Channel One is still good for kids to see about what is going on around them?

Why would you watch Channel One, but not the news?

If you had homeroom would you use that time

to work on assignments?

Do you think sixth grade fourth hour is beneficial

to students?

Students at Mona Shores Middle School become stressful because of the un-necessary amounts of homework given.

Two or more hours of homework causes students to start slacking off, doing

poorly, and it creates stress which effects the student’s grades negatively. Often times teachers assign tests, quizzes or research projects at the same time, usually at the end of marking periods, causing students to have some weeks with an overwhelm-ing amount of homework and others with little to no homework at all. This causes an unbalanced work load and often places unneeded stress on students. One solution to this problem could be to have the teachers communicate better and try not to assign similar assignments at the same time.

According to LearningRX.com, most students that bring hours of homework home have family issues because of the lack of time spent together. Students bringing homework home usually results in the par-ents having homework also.

Students might actually find school a little more interesting if they did not have the worry of getting overloaded with home-

work. The last thing a student wants to do when they get home from school is a bunch more work. Students usually will go to school in the morning, go to an extra cur-ricular activity, get home and eat dinner, go to any other event, do homework and then go to bed. After doing all this, what time does it leave for a kid to be a kid?

A good idea would be to have a study hall at the end of the day. There would be small sacrifices for this to happen like five minutes less in each class. Study hall would take a lot of the stress away and allow for

shortening of homework or possibly finish-ing.

Students with too much homework get stress which affects their grades and family lives negatively. Teachers should limit the amount given and communicate or come up with another plan to help like study hall.

Energy drinks have recently been banned from the Mona Shores Middle School cafete-ria, because of all the sugar and caffeine.

Let’s first take a look at what drinks we can buy in the cafeteria. Straight out of the

vending machine is a twelve ounce can of Minute Maid Lemonade which contains 27 grams of sugar while a regular sized can of Monster Energy has 54 grams. There is nothing that could prevent a student from having two cans of Minute Maid rather than one Monster and by doing that they would be consuming the same amount of sugar.

The school also serves a morning

breakfast where students could get several snacks like a cinnamon Pop-Tart and a triple cherry/wild berry blue Trix yogurt. If a student had both for breakfast they would be digesting about 31 grams of sugar, while a can of AMP contains 29.

Students who pack a lunch could bring in a can or two of pop, such as Mountain Dew. A can of Mountain Dew contains 36 milligrams of caffeine, while a can of AMP energy drink contains 71. If a student brought in two cans of Mountain Dew they would be digesting more caffeine than if they had just one can of AMP.

While energy drinks are not the most healthy of all drinks, they have started to turn the corner like by adding vitamins to their products and making a low carb ver-sion that contain little to no sugar.

Too Much Homework Equals Too Much Stress

Opinions 7

Energy drinks banned in the lunchroom

Sixth grader Dylan Gonzalez struggles to complete his load of homework.

photo by: chris randall

Brandy Cumbee

Chris Randall

Mona Shores eighth grade students wait in the snack line.

photo by: brandy cumbee

Center Section8

During 2008, many hit songs were released. There were tons of chart toppers that we loved and many

songs that grabbed our attention. Many new artists were discovered and

new styles of music were

created. Artists from years

pasts have come back with new

songs. This is the music that everyone loves.

2008 Music Review

Timyia Riley • 6th Grade“Pink because she’s good.”

Nathan O’Neil • 6th Grade“Katy Perry because she’s tight.”

Jordan Veldhouse • 7th Grade“Jason Mraz because I like to listen to his songs”

Trevor Parret • 7th Grade“Vango because he’s awesome.”

Andrew Grevel • 8th Grade“2Pac because he is really good.”

Mallory VanderVelde • 8th Grade“Stereo Skyline because they sound pretty awesome.”

Mr. Guiliano • Metals Teacher“Kid Rock because he has a very nice variety of music.”

Kyle Mouw • 6th Grade “Without You by Hinder because I like the beat.”

De’Jsia Wesley • 6th Grade“My Duggy by Soldier Boy because I like his music.”

Cade Messinger • 7th Grade“Pendala Nightmare, because it has an awesome beat”

Kayleigh Fongers • 7th Grade “One World by Toby Mac, it has a good message and I like the way it sounds”

Jill Klein • 8th Grade“Lil Wayne, My Life because it sounds good.”

Reed Schlender • 8th Grade“Take your shoes off by Young Joc because it’s hot.”

Mrs. Phillips • Tech Lit Teacher“My Wish by Rascal Flatts because it is my wish for my daughters when they get older.”

What is your favorite artist of

2008?

What is your favorite song of

2008?

Five Top Songs of 2008Lollipop by Lil Wayne 38%

Stronger by Kayne West 15%Hot ‘N’ Cold by Katy Perry 28%

Whatever You Like by T.I. 9%Umbrella by Rihanna 10%

by: kelsey mckinley, candis moore, hunter carlson, and kagan hopkins

Center Section 9

by: tyler bryant, lance osborne, helen oldaker, and joie workman

Haylee Dykstra8th Grade“Bolt, because it was very exciting.”

Molly Schaub8th Grade“Madagascar 2, the first was good but the second was hilarious.”

You love your job at the Academy of Motion Picture

Arts and Sciences, or better known to some as, the Oscars. For some reason, there will be only one award given in the movie

category, instead of the usual five, and it is up to you to choose what movie gets this tremendous honor! It will be seen in 100 different countries, so choose carefully, everyone will be watching and waiting.

2008 YearIn

Movies

The

Way

We

See

It

Top Five Favorite Movies of ‘08 1) Twilight 34%

2) Dark Knight 33%

3) Horton Hears A Who 10%

4) Iron Man 2%

5) Hancock 1%

What was your favorite movie

of 2008?

What was the funniest movie

of 2008?

Peyton Walsh6th Grade“Hancock, I don’t know why.”

Savannah Dozhier6th Grade“4 Christmases. It was hilarious, it’s just really good.”

Christian Fritz8th Grade“Ski Movie because I like to ski.”

Joey Bush8th Grade“Step Brothers, Will Ferrel.”

Ryan Diederichsen7th Grade“Step Brothers, it has Will Ferrel and he is funny.”

Joeley Jazdzyk6th Grade“Kung Fu Panda, family movie that made everyone laugh.”

Mandy Versalle7th Grade“Step Brothers, a lot of funny scenes.”

Devon Kammers6th Grade“Road Trip, lots of food fights.”

Chandler Mancuso7th Grade“Tropic Thunder, funny and it had all my favorite actors in it.”

Megan Jones7th Grade“Twilight, action and romance at the same time.”

Sailor Days10

What’s your one wishfor the New Year?

voices

ALYSSA PYMAN6th GRADE

“Spend more time with my family.”

“I want Obama to have a good effect on the United States.”

CHASE JEWELL7th GRADE

“To do better in school.”

“To find an alternative fuel source as good as gasoline,

but more earth friendly.”

hallsfrom the

KYLIE DENNIS8th GRADE

MR. SYLVESTER7th GRADE SCIENCE TEACHER

FAITH FERREURA 6th GRADE

“That we don’t have a lot of car accidents.”

“Meet new people and make new friends.”

ANDREW WIEMAN7th GRADE

“To get strait A’s in school.”

“Good health.”

KELLY MCMAHON8th GRADE

MR. BRAINARDP.E. TEACHER

CHAD FLASKA6th GRADE

“Have the time to hangout with my friends and family.”

“Not to be at school.”

ELENA HINTO7th GRADE

“I want to hopefully move.”

“That the economy makes a quick recovery.”

JESSIE ANDERSON8th GRADE

MRS. KIMBALLFRONT OFFICE SECRETARY

StaffThis Secret Sailor has lived in Muskegon his whole life and attended Mona Shores as a kid. His inspiration is Mr. Tanis, who taught his favorite subject in middle school, woodshop. He has one son and his favorite pass time is watching sunsets on the beach. Who is this Secret Sailor?

6th GradeThis Secret Sailor’s favorite color is pink. She has five pets. Her favorite subject is Science. This Sailors middle name is Bree. You will find her eating American cheese. Her favorite ice cream is mint chocolate. Who is this Secret Sailor?

7th GradeThis Secret Sailor loves watching funny movies, especially ones with Adam Sandler. Skittles are his favorite candy and Christmas happens to be his favorite holiday. His middle name is Timothy. He went to Florida this summer and that is now his favorite vacation spot. Who is this Secret Sailor?

8th gradeSkeeter, as some of her cheer teammates call her, loves the color yellow. Every summer she attends Robo camp with her friend Lizzy Paul, and she really enjoys doing this. Mrs. Marris is her idol because she is a very good teacher, and pushes her to her limits. Who is this Secret Sailor?

S e c r e t - S a i l o r s

Sailor Days 11

Studentsof the month

Student-Athletesof the month

Competitive CheerBoys Basketball

7th Grade8th Grade

Regan Wilcox Josh Recknagel

Jackie PallasAaron Boynton

Secret Sailor Answers:Staff: Mr. Bolenbach6th Grader: Raeyln Balcom7th Grader: Joey Paul8th Grader: Mallory VanderVelde

cartoon by: mariel bondy

cartoon by: jasmine mancuso

cartoon by: mckenna birch

by: lizzy paul / staff writer

Four schools, one team

Sports12

Four middle schools from three different districts come together to create the Mus-kegon Swim team including Reeths-Puffer, Mona Shores, and Muskegon (Steele and Bunker).

Everyday after school, these four middle schools meet at Muskegon’s Bunker Middle School to practice and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they use the Muskegon High School pool for home meets.

“I don’t like having a team with three other schools,” eighth grader Kyle Willson said. “I think our school should have our own team.”

Eighteen seventh and eighth graders make up the Mona Shores swimmers that are on the team.

“The Mona Shores swimmers are a valu-able part of the Muskegon Middle School Swim team,” head coach Joe Panici said. “Every year I get a great bunch of strong swimmers from Mona Shores. I always look forward to having a nice group of kids from Mona Shores come over here to swim on

the team.”Many of these swimmers have been

swimming for most of their lives, although there are many new to the team.

“Swimming comes easy to me because I’ve been doing it for half of my life,” eighth grader and seven year swimming veteran Rachel Hughes said.

The four individual events that the team competes in are the breast stroke, freestyle, backstroke, and the butterfly. These events can be mixed into a 100 Individual Medley or 200 Medley Relay.

Eighth grader Eleanor Turrell is the only swimmer on the team that also competes in the one meter springboard dive event.

“Swimming is harder because you have to push yourself,” Turrell said. “In diving you just do what you can.”

In a meet, swimmers are assigned to com-pete in one to three events. First places are worth 6 points and the dive team also helps earn points to win. In diving, a perfect score is a total of ten. At the end of a swim meet,

the points from each event and diving are added together for a total score.

by: madison gentry / section editorVolleyball coach does double duty

Kyle Kurant has been coaching the Mona Shores volleyball teams for 21 years with this year being his 16th as the head coach. He has also decided to add one of the eighth grade volleyball teams to his resume.

Coach Kurant has led the varsity vol-leyball team to 14 consecutive academic all state teams, 12 consecutive winning seasons and a total of 423 wins. Not often does a middle school team get a coach that has his wealth of knowledge of what it takes to win at the high school level.

“This will be a great opportunity for our middle school athletes,” Mona Shores athletic director Walt Gawkowski said. “The skill development that will take place will prove to be invaluable to our entire volley-ball program.”

Because of the change of sport seasons last year at the high school level, Coach Kurant will now be able to take on the responsibilities of one of the eighth grade volleyball teams.

“I will only be coaching the 8th grade team for one year due to the middle school

volleyball season switching to fall next year,” coach Kurant said. “I’m excited to work with the great middle school staff we have.”

The middle school coaching staff has always run practices that simulate many of the same skills and drills that the varsity team does.

“I think it will be good for the girls to get his expertise and to travel with him,” other eighth grade volleyball coach Leah Kern said.

While the change of the seasons at the high school has its downsides, this now gives coach Kurant the opportunity to pass his knowledge of the game to middle school athletes.

“I love coaching volleyball because it is fun and exciting and there is always a new challenge,” coach Kurant said. “I enjoy the way it allows you to teach so many life skills and lessons.”

courtesy photos

Top: The varsity volleyball team huddles before a game to boost enthusiasm.Above: Coach Kyle Kurant brings the team together to get them ready for the game.

photo by: brooke ledsworth

Eighth grade swimmer and diver Eleanor Turrell performs a back dive at the teams last home meet on January 13.

Sports 13Cr

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The eighth grade girls blue basketball team did a good job with a record of 7-4. Mariah Hampton was the most improved player on the team with their most memorable

moment being their team bonding day. They linked arms at a football game, then enjoyed pizza and a movie together. The toughest game was the last one, because they were losing to a pretty easy team, but pulled off a win. “We had a great season. If I had a chance to, I would not have changed a thing,” coach Kern said.

The eighth grade girls white basketball team went undefeated with 12 wins. Keeping the lead against Hamilton was the tough-

est part of their season. “I can’t single out an individual player as the most improved,” coach Phillips said. “Overall, we had a great season. Many players stepped into contributing roles.”

The seventh grade white basketball team had a tough season this year with Zee-land Cityside being their most difficult game. “Several players improved this year, but I would have to say Logan Haugh, Rayfield Bell, and Travis Grimm improved the most,” coach Volkmann said. Their overall record was 5 wins and 7 losses.

The seventh grade boys blue basketball team had the record of 5 and 7. The most memorable moment was the last game against Grand Haven. “We hit three 3 pointers in a row to take the lead,” coach Adams said. The most difficult game was losing to Steele. Logan Smith was the most improved player. If there was anything that coach Adams would have liked to change it would have been to have a longer season. “Our 13 boys worked hard in practice and

improved more than any group I’ve coached in such a short time. I believe there is great potential in this group for the future,” coach

7th

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ball

The seventh grade football team went 3-3 this season. “The most difficult moment was losing Alex Houseman to a season ending leg injury,” coach Lent said. Their toughest competitor was Zeeland Cityside, but their biggest rival was West Ottawa Macatawa Bay. “It is very hard to pick just one player who was most improved, but the list to pick from would include Blake Graham, Andrew Gaskin, Jon Bristol, Andrew Denny, Taylor McPhail, and Josh Patrick to name a few,” coach Terpstra said.

The eighth grade team was a dedicated football team and did an amazing job. Their most memorable moment was beating Bunker in the rain, 26-0. “Our most difficult game was against Steele. Both teams were very physical and the outcome of the game was decided only by a few plays. As a team we had only allowed 14 points to be scored on us all year. It just so happens that those 14 points came during the Steele game,”

coach Moran said. In the end, Steele was their only loss, in addition to the five wins. The most improved player was Jarred Felt, even though there were many others. “Our toughest competitor was ourselves,” coach Volkmann said.

8th

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The eighth grade boys blue basketball ended their season with an overall record of 0 and 11. “Our most memorable moment of the season was our 14-0 run against Grand Haven Lakeshore,” coach Phillips

said. Their most difficult game was losing to Bunker. The most improved player was Jeremy Szost. “If I could change anything about our season it would have to been to pull out the win at home against Reeths Puffer,” coach Phillips said. Their toughest competitor was Reeths Puffer.

The eighth grade boys white basketball team went 6 and 6. Their most memorable moment was going into overtime against Grand Haven White Pines. The most difficult moment of their season was losing games. Ben Cyr was the most improved player on the

team. “There was nothing that I wanted to change about our season,” coach Whalen said. Their biggest rival was Grand Haven.

Middle school sports teams should focus on building individual skills, helping players become familiar in game situations, and teaching good attitude instead of going for the win.

A typical middle school team con-sists of players of all ability levels. Some players are just starting and some have been playing for years. In order to give the beginners a chance to catch up, every team member should get equal playing time, rather than just playing those with more experience. At the middle school level, players can improve quickly given the chance to play and by the end of the season some beginners may become stars.

Height and build are significant factors in many sports, especially those in middle school. In sports such as volleyball and basketball, many of the players that excel early are those with height. Most females don’t begin there growth spurt until they are 12-14 years old while a male’s will begin somewhere between the ages of 14 and 15. A player that did not get the opportu-nity in middle school could go on to become a great player and could have benefited from playing more in their younger years.

Playing on a team teaches respon-sibility, dedication, and sportsman-ship which are important life lessons. Middle school athletes should earn playing time not based solely on skill level, but on attitude and effort.

At the middle school level, athletes are still experiencing many changes; both physically and emo-tionally, so it is too early to exclude players.

Equal practice, should mean equal play

Ella Turrell

The seventh grade girls white basketball team went 6-6.

The most memorable moment was going in over time and winning against West Ottawa. The most difficult game was losing to Bunker after beating them. The most improved players were Jasmine Walker and Sadie Vela. The one thing that coach Adams would have changed would be having better practices. “This years squad maintained eight total players for the whole year. I

truly believe we learned all sorts of things this year, and will look to improve and become more consistent in the future,” coach Adams said.

The cross country team had a winning record this season. Their most memorable moment was winning 1st place trophies at Oakridge and Fruitport. “Our first meet was tough because it was

so early in the season. Once the athletes got into shape the meets were much easier,” coach Helsen said. “There were huge improvements by many of the runners, but Sam Burmeister and Zach Goldsborough dropped the most time off throughout the season.” The one thing that coach Helsen and coach Williams would of liked to have more home meets. “Mr. Cyr cleared out our trial and it is beautiful,” coach Helsen said. Their toughest competitor was Rockford. They knew they had to be at the top of their game when they were running.

compiled by: cherish pittman andella turrell / staff writers

Companies going green for the environment

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With green products being the new thing people like to buy, from iPods and computers to clothes and cleaning products, companies are coming out with new “green” products to help improve sales.

Stores’ shelves are becoming filled with more environmentally friendly products and people are changing from what they nor-mally buy, to products made out of recycled and organic materials. Companies around the world are developing many types of green products that people can buy to help the planet including shampoos and condi-tioners, technology, lighting, clothing and even furniture.

Apple is one of the leading technology companies that has begun to develop more green

products for the environment. They have recently introduced a new Macbook laptop that is made without harmful toxins like Mercury and is extremely energy efficient, consuming about one quarter of energy as a standard light bulb. The new Macbook also comes in a 41% smaller package, which is in turn, better for the environment. Apple has also created a new version of the iPod nano, which like the Macbook, is also made with Arsenic-free glass, a highly recyclable aluminum enclosure, and uses power ef-ficient components.

People are always trying to find ways to live a more environmentally friendly life and all of the new green products coming out help them to do so. If every home in

America were to install just one energy efficient light bulb, it would provide enough energy to light 3,000,000 homes for up to a year. Also, each light bulb would allow parents to save $30 or even more in electricity bills per year. And more money in parents pockets means more money for the allowance.

Instead of green just being a color, it is becoming more and more a part of people’s lives.

LoganGeorge

Twilight hits the big screen with a bang!The first book of

the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer made it to the big screen in November to much of the anticipation of teens.

She got the idea for the book from a dream that she just didn’t want

to forget. She spent months writing it, car-rying a note pad scratching new ideas as she thought of them. After realizing that she had 500 pages to her story and wasn’t even half way done, she decided to make it a series of four.

Twilight captivated audiences with its intense action selling 17 million copies world wide. Including 1.3 million books in a single day. The other three books that were also hot sellers include, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. All four books hit the shelves soon after the first, all being

very intresting books full of romance scenes and plenty of action and drama.

The movie is a story aimed towards teenagers about forbidden love between a vampire, Edward Cullen, and a human, Bella Swan. Edward comes from a family of vampires that have turned to vegetarians, and Bella from a broken family from Ari-zona that moved to Washington. The end is a real test of love when Bella’s on her death bed and Edward has to save her without going too far. This movie is intense with action and the right amount of romance.

Teenage girls are fans of the book series and the movie, however, critics are not. They use the words, “disappointing”, “aw-ful”, and “terrible” to describe the movie. On the other hand students use the words, “intense”, “suspenseful”, and “vampire-ish”.

The movie and book were both big hits, you should check them out for yourself.

www.apple.com

www.imdb.com

The movie Twilight was a big hit in movie theatres.

Apple has re-designed the Macbook to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

— Marci Northuis ~ 8th

“We recycle and walk when we can. I pick up litter when I see it in school and save trees by using less paper and by using the back and front.”

— Sam Reynolds ~ 7th

“I think that it is good they are helping the environment.”

KenzieCarey

Miley Cyrus has been known as one of the most popular young stars over the past few years and is said to be worth about one billion dollars, at the age of only sixteen! But the latest news, ratings, and celebrity gossip show

us that not everything is going so well for little Miss Hannah Montana.

The changes with the Disney Channel sit-com, Hannah Montana, are very surprising. From the beginning of the series compared to more recent episodes, the show’s ratings have declined, even while new episodes keep getting made. This Hannah-tragedy may be because the young star is said to be ‘going to the dark side’.

Her style in music, clothes, and even per-sonality has changed. Looking at Hannah Montana, people see a cheerful, innocent, girly-girl, pop sensation, but when they look at her other side, Miley Cyrus, they tend to

see a ‘good girl gone bad’ that is just look-ing for ways to spice up her publicity life.

Many parents are not letting their children watch the show or listen to the music in fear that they will want to become like her. Last August, when she was still only fifteen, Cyrus took part in a photo shoot with Van-ity Fair Magazine that included several ‘inappropriate’ pictures and started plenty of drama in her and her family’s lives. Now she is sixteen and is dating a twenty year old, a four year difference!

As one can see, it’s not just the new look that is pushing her fans away, it’s the things that she has been doing that is giving her this bad girl image. Miley Cyrus is still a very popular star and many kids still look up to her. But people worry if she is going to be different from all of the other stars that started out young, or will she just follow the same path to failure.

Hopefully Miley keeps her head on straight and doesn’t get too involved in the life of fame and fortune.

Mona Shores Middle School students are always doing something over the weekend or they are looking for something to do and Jumpin Jupiter Skate Center is where many of the students have started to go.

Jumpin Jupiter Skate Center is the best place to go skating in the whole state of

Michigan. Not only is it fun but when you skate you burn tons of calories and build a lot of big muscles. It is also the only place where you will find a nine foot video screen that plays the previous week of skating.

It has many things to offer besides skating like an arcade circle where you can win hundreds of prizes; a Milky Way Cafe’ to get tons of different treats to your delight, a giant floor to tear up with all of your energy, and the best skating experience you will ever have. The arcade circle has ten different games to try to defeat, and for every point you win, you get tickets. When you get the tickets you can save them for next time or turn them into the prize counter and get candy, or even funky hats and glow sticks.

One of the reasons students go is because they play tons of different kinds of music to get you moving and exercising. It is just like a Sailor Celebration, but you have four and a half hours on Friday instead of just two. If you have a birthday party coming up you can have friends come with you, or you can have a party there on a regular skating

schedule. You could also have your own pri-vate party and get the entire skating rink to yourself and some friends.

Skating has been a world wide sport for decades and will continue to roll on for many more to come. At Jumpin’ Jupiter Skate Center you will have the most fun you have had in a long time with friends.

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The double sides of Miley Cyrus

Students find fun on skates

photos by: samantha fox

Some of the Mona Shores students take a break from skating to strike a pose for the camera.

Mona Shores students stop to play some of the games in the arcade circle at Jumpin’ Jupiter Skate Center.

SamanthaFox

Innocent Hannah Montana and bad to the bone Miley Cyrus.

BrookeLedsworth

16 Photo Story

On TrialEighth graders in Mrs.

Eccleston’s fifth hour reinact President Andrew Johnson’s

impeachment trial.

Clockwise from top:

Eighth grader Christian Fritz as Chief Justice Salmon Chase ordering the court.

Eighth grader Gabby Hall is announced as one of the jurors.

Eighth graders Zac Crouch as the president of defense and Emily Sanocki as witness George Karnser, are having a discussion about the trial.

Eighth grader Dakota Hanson is being sworn in.

Eighth grader Alex Pearson, playing Benjamin Curtis, is reciting his speech.

Jeremiah Sullivan, played by eighth grader Haylee Dykstra, addresses the jury.