Practicing life skills in Teen Living, seventh graders used teacher Teresa Hinsley’s classroom kitchen to create bean quesedilla’s on Dec. 18. Two students in particular, Stephanie Wilhite and Cortlyn Fullington enjoyed the activity. Pictured below, the two apply refried beans to tortillas. “Stephanie was slapping the beans on the tortilla!” said Fullington, explaining their laughter.
Wilhite and Fullington
Practicing a dance number for the annual District Nine meeting, FCCLA members took to the front lawn of the high school campus Oct. 7 to spread out and perfect their moves. Every year’s meeting has a theme, and this year’s was a western one. Members at the meeting had to perform the dance and spend the day dressed in western attire.
“That dance was impossible to learn,” recalled senior Kaleb Nolen. “It was awkward for the guys,” he added, “or at least for me.”
Pop it and lock it: Holding a pose, senior Kaleb Nolen practices for the FCCLA dance routine.
Trading high school for preschool, FCCLA members spent fifth period helping youngsters learn. Organization members worked alongside preschool teachers to help the beginning students learn songs about body parts, explore artistic expression and practice building with blocks. Making a pretend birthday cake out of beans turned out to be sophomore Jordyn Loge’s favorite activity, she said.
Other club members preferred the body parts activity, called the Tootieta dance.
“Me and Jordyn and [sophomore] Tyler [Henry] are good at that dance,” laughed sophomore Emily Neal, recalling the activity.
Joy of learning: Preschoolers are helped while demolishing a construction project by sophomore Emily Neal, who aims the debris at sophomore Tyler Henry.
Career options: In Pam Probert's science room, junior Amanda Tucker and sophomores Betty and Rita DeBrodie blow bubbles during Career Day, April 24. "The presenter talked about child care, so we were blowing bubbles because little kids like bubbles," explained Rita DeBrodie. Organizer Debbie Whetstine, English teacher, said that about 24 speakers participated in the event.
Wilder Elementary Practical Parenting Partnership and elementary teachers collaborated for an afternoon of MAP test science prep on Thursday, March 26. Although this was the first time that the school had held the event, Jodi Sell, fifth grade teacher, called it a success. Amy Rhodes, fourth grade teacher, agreed, adding, “I think we will do one from now on.”
In the spirit: Jodi Sell and Amy Rhodes, elementary teachers, model their mad scientist fashions during the MAP prep event.
By: Jenna Campie
The pounding heartbeats, the roar of the crowd, the sound of the band, and a chance of a getting a win - this is the last quarter of a basketball game.
Some of this year’s ball games went differently than some of the players expected, even if they ended well. Freshman Brady Hanger said that the game against Fordland went worse then it sould have, with the team only winning the game by one point.
Another disappointing game was the varsity game against Ozark in the Blue and gold Tournament. Still, it went a lot better than it could have, said junior Sheirif Willams.
The players havedifferent favorite parts about playing on the team. “I like cheering the team on,” said freshmen Shawn Barret.
Others enjoy the runout in front of the home crowd. Whatever it may be, the team sticks together on the court.
By: Katie Hanson
Stan Coday, FFA adviser, is coping with the biggest group of FFA students he has ever had.
Coday has 82 students enrolled in his ag classes. Of those 82 students, 74 of them have paid their dues to be in FFA. The cause of this big group is the size of the freshman and junior classes. Many of those students see opportunities in FFA.
“I am in ag because it gives me more opportunities,” said freshman Austin Stewart.
Many students have continued in ag since they were freshmen.
“I’m in Ag because it looks good for college,” said senior Paige Lambert, “and because it’s fun.”
FFA does a lot of activities throughout the year. Some activities that they have already done include: Food for America, National Convention, fund-raisers, Farm Fest, Wilder Days, attending the state fair, field day and greenhand conferences.
“My favorite part of FFA is the field trips,” said sophomore Jakob Adamson. “My least favorite part is the class work.”
FFA also has some upcoming events that include speaking contests, working toward state degrees, proficiency awards, more trips, participating in community activities, and the FFA award banquet.
“Contest should go well,” said Tron Sherman, FFA president, “it should go well because we have a lot of good freshman this year that should do good.”
Even though this group is Coday’s largest yet, next year will be even bigger due to a large freshman class, there will also be a large group of eighth graders next year.
“I want to be in FFA because I like animals,” said seventh grader Darren Hume, “and because I want to help people learn more about animals at events like Food for America.”
Coday teaches a class of eighth graders every year for the first semester. Some of the students he expects to see again include Ryche Hale, Scott Davis, Corey Cantrell, Sam Appleby and Taylor Wehmeyer.
Wehmeyer said that he is going to continue in ag and learn as much as he can so that he will be able to find a good career in agriculture.
FFA participates in a lot of activities and provides members with a lot of opportunities. Whether it be learning to talk in front of a group of people for speech contest or working with animals and teaching children the difference between a cow and a bull at Food for America, students learn something new every day from FFA.
Looking off: In the hallway of MHS, senior Tron Sherman, top, looks away from the camera while he talks about being FFA president. “I think this year is going very well,” said Sherman, “and I think contest should go well also.” Sherman’s older sister, Kati, was the president last year and his younger sister, Lexi, is a freshman member this year.
By: Katie Hanson
Classrooms were strangely empty on Jan. 8, due to an absence of most of the freshman class.
Greenhands, first year Ag students, were gone to a conference at the Missouri State University campus. At the conference, students watched a play based on the game Clue, preformed by the state officers; it was to help students prepare for and understand different activities in FFA.
“The play was corny but funny,” said freshman Kendra Woolman. “There were a lot of people that went so we all ended up having fun anyway.”
Before the play, the students were given different pieces of paper with different colors on them. After the play, the students were divided into different groups based on what color paper they had received at their arrival. Each group was assigned an area officer and was led to a room to talk about activities they can do in FFA.
“We talked about different SAE projects,” said freshman Emily Neal. “We also talked about our futures and our high school careers in agriculture.”
The groups had until 11:00 a.m. to discuss the activities. On each of the papers were pictures that indicated activities that they can do in FFA. One picture was of a microphone which would be used for speech contests.
“The exercise helped me to learn more about leadership,” said freshman Tucker Kirkland.
Students in other groups learned about other important things they can learn from FFA.
“We learned about teamwork,” said freshman Tyler Henry. “We also learned about working together with different people and about meeting new people.”
After the groups were done, the students attended closing ceremonies and then were dismissed back to their advisers, The students then ate lunch at a nearby Cici’s Pizza
“The food was good,” said freshman Jenna Campie, ”but there was a crazy guy singing and dancing while he was supposed to be cleaning the tables.”
On the bus ride home, the greenhands laughed about the day, and discussed the new things that they learned, while enjoying a half day off of school, because they returned fifth hour.
“The bus ride home was something else,” said Campie. “It was loud, but we all had fun hanging out together, or at least until we got back to school.”
As the greenhands returned back to their classrooms, they became noisy again. The students had been exposed to a lot of new information. Whether it was about meeting new people, learning to be more independent or learning about leadership, they spent a day having new experiences.
Listening closely: At the greenhand conference, Stan Coday, FFA adviser, and senior Tron Sherman, top, listen to a state officer speak about opportunities in FFA. “I think I have a good group of freshman,” said Coday. The greenhand conference was held at Missouri State university at 9:00 a.m. on Jan. 8.
Thirteen Mansfield High School students 24 Mansfield Middle School students earned places in the top four of their categories in the 2009 Language Arts Departments of Southwest Missouri’s language arts fair. Senior winners included Jackie Emerick, Rachel Sowers and Kristine Whorton.
“I was extremely happy,” said Sowers, “because I had never won before.”
The complete list of MHS winners:
Grades 9/10
Book Report
3rd – Rheanna Allen
Diamante
1st – Ethan Davis
2nd – Sharice Dennis
Tanka
2nd – William Johnsen
Editorial
2nd – Katie Hanson
Feature Story
1st – Chance Allen
2nd – Lexi Sherman
News Story
1st – Jakob Adamson
2nd – Jenna Campie
Sports Story
Honorable Mention – Mikiah Moore
Grades 11/12
Book Report
1st – Jackie Emerick
Tanka
Honorable Mention – Rachel Sowers
Long Rhymed Poetry
Honorable Mention – Kristine Whorton
High School: Mikiah Moore, Rachel Sowers. Not Pictured: Jackie Emerick, Kristine Whorton, Rheanna Allen, Ethan Davis, Sharice Dennis, William Johnsen, Katie Hanson, Chance Allen, Lexi Sherman, Jakob Adamson, Jenna Campie.
Grade 6: Row 1: Ashley Brazeal, Sherry McDowell, Makenzie McCrite, Meagan Hubbard, Dustin Reed. Row 2: Kristen Wallace, Katlin Vough, Garrett Mendes, Bailey Adams, Lacey Moore. Row 3: Hannah Cochran, Courtney Kirkland, Beau Massey, Braden Bruce, Clay Smith.
Grades 7, 8: Row 1: Kaylee Pierson, Brianna Cubellis, Melissa Edwards, Kolby Miller. Row 2: Shafi Williams, Amanda Davis, Sam Appleby, Nathan Swisher, Shay Jackson.
A new vampire craze bites MHS
By: Chance Allen
Bella Swan, an average seventeen year old girl falls in love with a guy at her school. But he is not just any guy. He is a vampire. But he does not drink human blood. He drinks animal blood, and to avoid biting Bella, he has to go hunting before he sees her.
Many MHS students have been bitten by the Twilight craze and have been looking forward to the movie. “I think the movie was fairly close to the book,” said freshman Hannah Sandlin.
But not all students were impressed. “I think everything about Twilight is stupid,” said freshman James Jackson. Still, most students fell in love with the Twilight series, including the books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.
Once students begin reading the series, they sometimes have a hard time stopping. “Once you pick up any of the books in the Twilight series,” said sophomore, Mikiah Moore, “you can’t put it down.”
Freshman Billy Estrada agreed. “I bet you almost every girl in the school has a copy of Twilight in their purse of their backpack,” he said.
Hallway habit: Caught in the act of reading on the stairs, freshman Hannah Sandlin devours the second book in the Twilight series on the stairs that lead to the pop machines by the band room. “I like all of the books in the Twilight series,” said Sandlin.