Students start break with horrible style

Business teacher Keith Sietstra flaunts his ugly sweater to the students and staff while Cathe Wilson and Derek Bates applaud. Sietstra won the competition among faculty members. (Bryan Stanford photo)

by Calli Zimmerman 

On the Wednesday before Christmas, an outsider walking the halls would have thought the kids of Montezuma had no fashion sense.

Many of the students joined in wearing ugly Christmas sweaters to get into the mood for Christmas and to spice up the last day before break blues. 

This all started when a couple of senior girls got together and decided it would be fun. Soon the message had run through the students and come Wednesday, a majority of them were all dressed up and ready for break.  

The teachers had also decided to wear ugly sweaters, except they wanted to hold an ugly sweater contest too. Mr. Thomsen thought of having the fun day because “I thought that it would be fun, random and goofy.” 

At the beginning of 8^th period the students went to the junior high gym for a concert. The band performed their songs from the winter concert and the crowd loved it. 

Then it was time for the judging of the teachers' contest and Mr. Sietstra was the lucky winner based on the amount of applause. 

He gave a short speech and then he and Mrs. Pargeon led the student body in a sing-a-long to “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.” 

Principal Brian Moretz wished everyone a happy break as students exited to softly falling snow. 

Dress rehearsal helps prepare for districts

by Jered Engelking

On Jan. 6, speech and drama students performed for family and community members at their dress rehearsal two weeks before their district contest here in Montezuma on Jan. 22. 

“Practice has been intense the past week, and we have been trying to smooth out our performance just for dress rehearsal,” freshman Lex Jack said. “I felt we did good, but we still need to work out a few kinks to prepare for districts.” 

Nine groups performed in two areas. The first of the two areas was the JH Gym. Before intermission, Freshmen Choral Reading presented “When I Grow Up.” This group included Elijah Bryan, Becky Kopp, Katelyn Gregory, Abbi Nelson, Shannon Robison, Cody Rhodes, Lex Jack, Courtney Petersen, Connor Sirovy, Kaylee White and Karah Hansen. 

Readers Theatre group of Olivia Tribby, Katy McKee, Teona Sutfin, Alexa Wheaton, Maddi Dawley, Kendra Cranston, Destiny Romberg, Jered Engelking, Cassie Corbin, Arly LeBahn and Sage Comstock performed “But We Don’t” by Alan Haehnel. 

After intermission, Improv group Calli Zimmerman, Alex Peck and Zach Gibson found themselves ice fishing while the second group, Matt Armstrong, Niall Lyons and Olivia Tribby, were in a fitness club.

Freshman Radio Broadcasting group Logan VeVerka, Tyler Foubert, Tiffany Heishman, Lex Jack and Colleen Johnson broadcast from “RMix 107.8.”

Choral Reading acted out “Dreams.” Cast members were Aly James, Emily Long, Brittany Bryan, Shena Bryan, Brynna Steele, Alexis Ferguson, Natalie Wheeler, Carly Steele, Coleton Tompkins, Stephen Vavroch, Nathan Wheeler, Matt Armstrong, Zach Gibson and Niall Lyons.

The lunchroom was the second area of performance. Before intermission, Ensemble Acting 2  - Hope Kriegel, Katy McKee, Tyler Swenson, Kaylin Hansen, Alexa Wheaton and Macy Taylor - performed “Mick Harte Was Here,” by Barbara Parks. 

After the break, Ensemble Acting 3 acted “Ugly on the Inside” by Steven and Whitney Boe. This is a cast of Natalie Kirton, Rachel Ranfeld and Alex Peck.

After intermission, Freshman Ensemble Acting team of Kane Barker, Julie Audas, Mike Duggan and Kaylee White performed “881 Seventh Avenue” by Lauren Tunnel.

Seasoned veterans Bryan Stanford, Courtney Latcham and Spencer Roorda presented “Star Spangled Girl” by Neil Simon as the closing act of the night.

Season of giving gave laughs

by Niamh Lyons

Whether it is being accidentally sat on by a relative, seeing little kids get hyper from all of the candy and pop or seeing the crazy looks some kids give when opening their presents, we all have Christmas memories that make us laugh. 

Senior Teona Sutfin remembers driving in Des Moines with her family and having to hit the brakes so they didn’t hit a Santa who decided to cross the street in front of them. 

Junior Konner Johnson remembers a family Christmas when his cousin got female underwear as a gift and disappeared for a while, only to return screaming and wearing nothing but the underwear. 

Christmas is a busy time, so it is easy to see how some things may be forgotten. A lot of them are little details that can go unnoticed. There are some, however, that cannot go unnoticed, like forgetting a gift. Sophomore Niall Lyons and his family draw names from a hat every year and buy a gift for that person while keeping their identity a secret. A memory of his to look back on and laugh is two years ago when his sister’s boyfriend drew his name but forgot to buy his gift. Senior Shannon Sutfin remembers when her uncle Sean forgot DJ’s present at home so he got a banana, wrapped it up and gave it to him as his gift.

Sometimes, we remember something funny accidentally happening when we were playing outside. Sophomore Eric Osborn remembers being pulled on a sled by his friend who was driving a four-wheeler until crashing into a snowman in his yard. 

Senior Spencer Roorda remembers, “when Kirk went to kick a ball that William was playing with at recess and William moved the ball and Kirk slipped on the ice and fell flat on his back.” 

Sometimes the laughs are intended, like when Senior Corbin Tompkins tricked his grandpa with a pen that shocks you when you click it and made him jump out of his chair. 

Now that the holidays are over, we can look back and laugh at new memories that have been made and look forward to making more next year. 

Semester tests

by Andrea Farrington

This year semester tests were taken Jan. 11 and 12 at teacher discretion.

Mr. Thomsen, Mrs. Stockman, Mrs. Pargeon, Mr. Swenson, Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Weber gave two-part tests. Mr. Bates gave a one day test and Ms. Orr finished one of her classes with a project. 

Braves whip Warriors

by Bryan Stanford

The Montezuma eighth grade Braves had an exciting 47-29 basketball win against HLV Warriors. 

The Braves were able to rebound well, as they had 35 rebounds as a team. Quintin Bryan was the leading rebounder with eight rebounds.

Offensively, the Braves aggressively attacked the Warrior defense, by getting to the free throw line 22 times. Joe Peck led the Braves in scoring with 11, while Mitch Stevens had 10.

Defensively, the eighth grade team continued to create turnovers and came away with 19 steals. Peck was the leading stealer with five.

Peck leads JH Braves with double-double

by Bryan Stanford

The junior high Braves basketball team traveled to Sully to face the Lynnville-Sully Hawks Dec. 13. 

The seventh grade team had some shooting trouble in their 42-10 defeat to the Hawks, while the eighth grade Braves rebounded well and came out with a 36-26 victory.

7^th Grade

Offensively, the Braves' leading scorers were Tyler Thompson with eight points, and Tyler Geiger with two points. Bobby McCulley was able to crash the boards along with Thompson, as they were the leading rebounders for the seventh grade Braves with seven and five rebounds.

Defensively, the seventh grade team forced the Hawks to commit six turnovers on the night. 

8^th Grade

Offensively, the leading scorers for the eighth grade team were Joe Peck with 13 and Mitch Stevens with 8 points. Peck also gathered 12 rebounds to complete a double-double for the Braves. The eighth grade squad out-rebounded the Hawks by 18 rebounds on the night.

Defensively, the Braves were able to force the Hawks to 15 turnovers. Jake Hasley led the eighth graders in steals with 3. The Braves improved their record to 1-1 on the season.

Bender adds 18 for 8th grade win over HLV

by Teona Sutfin

The JH Bravettes battled the HLV Warriors in basketball on Dec. 20. The 7^th grade team stayed within a 1 point difference until the 4^th quarter. The game ended in a Montezuma loss of 23 to 15. 

High scorers were Katie Maschmann with 11, Aliya Pargeon and Ashley Moore, each with 4. Maschmann also led the team with 8 steals and 11 rebounds.

The 8^th grade team crushed the Warriors with a 33 to 21 victory. Brittany Bender had a team high of 18 points and 7 rebounds. 

Mackenzie James and Shayla Townsend each had 6 rebounds.