Six drama groups advance to state

Readers Theatre member Olivia Tribby stresses the idea of possibility while Arly LeBahn, Sage Comstock and Madison Dawley engage in the conversation. This group received a I rating and is preparing for State competition.

by Natalie Kirton

The halls of Montezuma Community School were packed with people on Jan. 22 for the Speech & Drama district contest. Twenty-two schools were represented, bringing along 9 freshman groups. Out of the 12 Montezuma teams, 6 received a I rating, allowing them to move on to the state competition. 

Those teams were TV News with Maddi Dawley, Jered Engelking, Destiny Romberg, Carly Steele, Halley Ogan, Mariah Hirsch, Brynna Steele and Macy Taylor. 

Musical Theatre students are Cassie Corbin, Natalie Wheeler, Calli Zimmerman, Kendra Cranston, Bridgette Moore and Alyssa Lyddon.

 The Choral Reading group is 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. 

Also moving on is Readers Theatre group with Maddi Dawley, Kendra Cranston, Jered Engelking, Cassie Corbin, Arly LeBahn, Destiny Romberg, Olivia Tribby, Katy McKee, Teona Sutfin, Alexa Wheaton and Sage Comstock.

Ensemble Acting 1 consists of Bryan Stanford, Courtney Latcham and Spencer Roorda.

 The Freshman Radio group is Logan VeVerka, Tyler Foubert, Tiffany Heishman, Colleen Johnston and Lex Jack. 

Senior Calli Zimmerman said, “My favorite memory of Speech & Drama was getting my first I rating this year!” 

The groups receiving a II rating were Ensemble Acting 2 with Hope Kriegel, Katy McKee, Tyler Swenson, Kaylin Hansen, Macy Taylor and Alexa Wheaton.

Ensemble Acting 3 was Natalie Kirton, Rachel Ranfeld and Alex Peck.

Improv 1 was Calli Zimmerman, Zach Gibson and Alex Peck.

Improv 2 was Matt Armstrong, Niall Lyons and Olivia Tribby.

Freshman Choral Reading were Elijah Bryan, Becky Kopp, Katelyn Gregory, Abbi Nelson, Shannon Robison, Cody Rhodes, Lex Jack, Courtney Peterson, Connor Sirovy, Kaylee White and Karah Hansen.

 Freshman Ensemble Acting group was Kane Barker, Julie Audas, Michael Duggan and Kaylee White.

“I liked the tryouts best because they were fun, and I could see what all I could participate in for Speech & Drama,” said Michael Duggan.

Students are excited for State Speech & Drama contest on Feb. 5. Contest will be held at Kennedy High School, 4545 Wenig Rd NE, Cedar Rapids, Ia.

New class gives theatrical slant

Derek Bates explains the benefits of combining theatrical analysis with performing art. (Jered Engelking photo)

by Jered Engelking

Derek Bates, second year English teacher, decided to develop a Theatrical Writing class to help students understand how writing is used for performances and how to look at literature theatrically.

Bates is teaching fundamentals of theater, analyzing scripts and writing pieces for performances. Fourteen students enrolled this semester. 

He wants to help students see the academic side of Speech & Drama; he believes that if he had seen the academic side, then the benefits of performing and analysis would all have tied together.

“I’m hoping that some of the pieces written in this class can be used next year for Speech & Drama scripts. I also hope that the class will influence students to go out for Speech & Drama next year,” said Bates.

Bates has high hopes for coaches and participants to be able to use the new and original scripts that might come from this class, especially since it is a first time, trial and error process.

Montezuma welcomes two new students

    Dallas Peavey

Sierra Peavey

by Andrea Farrington

At the beginning of the second semester, two new students, Dallas and Sierra Peavey, enrolled at Montezuma. They transferred from Lynnville-Sully because their parents thought it would be better for them. They live in Searsboro so they did not have to switch houses, just schools.

Dallas is a sophomore and says he likes Montezuma because the teachers are better. He is interested in playing basketball and football. “My goal at Montezuma is to get good grades,” Dallas said.

Sierra is a seventh grader and is interested in playing basketball and volleyball.

 Sierra said, “I like Montezuma because the people are nice.” Her goal is to get good grades and make more friends.

Can drive set for prom

by Jered Engelking

Do you have a garage full of cans or bottles and do not know what to do with them? Well, juniors are planning to collect cans and bottles Feb. 11 to raise money for their prom fund at the basketball game.

The junior class is encouraging students, parents, and community members to bring cans and bottles to the basketball game. 

They plan to place an enclosed trailer outside the north doors to receive full bags of cans and bottles. The juniors will deposit the cans that weekend at the Oskaloosa redemption center.

Their goal is to fill the entire trailer with bags of cans and bottles. So, remember to bring your cans and bottles to the high school at the basketball game Feb. 11.

Braves learn to finish

by Bryan Stanford 

The Montezuma JV basketball team had an excellent second half to propel them to a 45-36 victory against the Keota Eagles Saturday, Jan. 15 at Keota. 

Coach Dale DeJong said, ”This was a great win for us. Our guys battled hard all game and were able to come back from a 9-point deficit in the third quarter to win the game.”

Defensively, the JV squad had a slow start, but held the Eagles to 6 points the entire second half.

Offensively, Zach Gibson led the Braves in scoring with 13 points, while Siraj Thomasen was close behind with 9. The JV team attacked the Keota defense, getting to the free throw line 15 times throughout the game.

The Braves traveled to Brooklyn to play the BGM Bears Tuesday, Jan. 18 and left with a 42-37 overtime victory. The JV squad jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first quarter, but could not keep it up in the second quarter, trailing 17-16 at halftime. 

Offensively, the Braves were close to having four players in double-digit scoring. Gibson led the Braves in scoring with 10 points, while Dillon Wilhelm and Kane Barker were close behind with 9 points. Coleton Tompkins also contributed 8 points for the JV squad.

Once the overtime period started, the Braves made plays on both offense and defense to seal the deal. “Our guys really battled hard and were able to make plays for us down the stretch. I give our guys a lot of credit for sticking with it and never giving up,” Coach DeJong said.

Student spirit fills MHS

by Jamie Van Dee 

It’s almost the end of the winter sports season, so cheerleaders are busily planning Spirit Week for Jan. 31- Feb. 4.

The dress up days are Monday: Pajama Day, Tuesday: Cowboy Day, Wednesday: Neon Day, Thursday: Mismatch/Crazy Hair Day, Friday: Blue and White Day.

This year chosen mystery people will judge the outfits each day. Each winner of the day will win a Casey’s Pizza.

All students 9-12 will be given a paper ballot to vote for the winter King and Queen. Crowning the King and Queen will be held on Feb. 4 after the game.

Candidates are: Lizzie Jones, Shannon Sutfin, Hope Kriegel, Courtney Latcham, Katy McKee, Aly Breese, Bryan Stanford, Kirk Salnave, Corbin Tompkins, Spencer Roorda and James McCain.

Tough loss for JV Braves

by Alexa Wheaton

The JV Braves suffered a tough 42-32 loss against Lynnville-Sully on Jan. 20. 

Coach Dale DeJong said, “I thought our guys played hard, but our shots just didn’t fall like we were used to.”

Offensively, Tyler Swenson and Zach Gibson led the Braves with 11 and 9 points. The Braves shot 9 free throws and were 56% accurate from the line. 

Coach DeJong said, “We need to work on blocking out on free throws and making sure our guys stayed out of the lane.”