Montezuma winter concert

Joyful noises raise Christmas spirits

The high school choir entertains the crowd with "The Twelve Days After Christmas", an interesting piece about the gifts from the classic carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

by Jered Engelking

Thursday night vocal and band students in grades 7-12 orchestrated a winter concert under the direction of Mrs. Behounek and Mr. Stanton.

Junior high choir sang two Christmas songs, “Cold and Still the Night” and “Feliz Navidad.” In “Feliz Navidad”, Jake Shaver played the Bongo drums, Tyler Geiger played the Claves and Clara Johnson shook the maracas. 

The high school choir sang five songs, three of which belong to the Messiah Book; “And the Glory”, “For unto Us a Child is Born” and “Hallelujah Chorus.” During the Messiah book, approximately 25 community members joined. The other songs the high school chorus performed were “The Twelve Days After Christmas,” and “Singin’ on Christmas Morn” with soloists Coleton Tompkins, Cassie Corbin and Calli Zimmerman.

Junior high band performed three songs,  “Matrix March” by Ed Huckeby, “Ultimatum” by Robert Smith and “Power Trip” by Dean Sorenson. 

The high school band also played three songs, “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing” by Mannheim Steamroller, “Songs of the American Civil War” by a collection of authors and “Deck the Halls” by Mannheim Steamroller. 

The combined song between the junior high and high school was “Joyful and Triumphant” by Huckeby. The band had the audience join in singing the joyful songs with them. 

Chorus member Morgan Sanders said, “It was good to hear the crowd respond to our songs. ‘The Twelve Days After Christmas’ was a lot of fun because it was something new and exciting that we don’t normally do.” 

Evans receives Tae Kwon Do honors

by Niamh Lyons

After six months of taking Tae Kwon Do, Maranda Evans now has three medals, two gold and one silver. 

The fifteen-year-old MHS student attends Forrest Gibson’s classes three times a week at Jung’s Tae Kwon Do in Grinnell. 

She competed in a tournament held by Martial Arts of America in Ankeny on Nov. 13 where she received a gold medal in both board breaking and forms and stances. She also received a silver medal in free sparring. 

Upon arriving, she was scared to compete, but once her competitions were done, she felt relieved. Evans said, “It felt like everyone was my family and I had nothing to worry about.” 

Evans enjoys walking into Jung’s Tae Kwon Do and hearing her instructor say, “Whenever you walk in that door, all your problems and worries are gone.” 

He keeps Evans motivated, along with her classmates and the five tenets (convictions) of Tae Kwon Do: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. She works to incorporate these tenets into her daily life. 

Seeing martial arts on TV is what sparked Evans’ interest in the sport and made her want to get involved with it. 

Right now, she has a yellow belt but watching more experienced members inspires and encourages her to continue working to attain their level.

JV Bravettes unable to overcome sluggish start

by Bryan Stanford

The JV Bravettes had a rough start in their 46-25 loss to the Sigourney Savages. 

The Bravettes had offensive struggles in the first half, while being down at half 27-7. 

The JV squad had an explosive second half, but rallied too late. 

The Bravettes were able to come down with 18 total rebounds. Courtney Petersen was the leading rebounder with six.

Offensively, the Bravettes were aggressive and were able to reach the free throw line 19 times throughout the game. Dakota Norris led the Bravettes in free throw attempts with eight. 

The leading scorer for the JV Bravettes was Petersen with nine, while Carly Steele and Norris were close behind with six apiece.

Defensively, the JV squad was able to force eight total steals with Norris leading with three. 

Coach Stew Timm commented, ”In the first half we struggled to get the ball up the floor, but the effort and discipline in the second half was much better.”

Bravettes improve and earn first win

by Bryan Stanford

The JV Bravettes came out on top for the first time in this season with a 21-14 win against the Tri-County Trojans. 

Coach Stew Timm commented, ”I was proud of the effort they gave, while we improved offensively.” The JV squad continued to rebound well, with 20 total rebounds, as Courtney Petersen led the way with nine.

Defensively, the Bravettes were able to maintain good team defense as they held the Trojans to six points in the first half. Abbi Nelson and Dakota Norris continued to harass the opposing team’s offense with six and five steals apiece.

Offensively, the Bravettes were able to take advantage of their scoring opportunities. Carly Steele led the team in assists with four, while Norris and Petersen led the team in scoring with eight points each. 

“This group is very willing to work hard, and they are always asking questions trying to make themselves better,” coach Timm said about the JV girls. The Bravettes record improves to 1-1 on the season.