Band and choir perform at "Swing into Spring"

Above: Junior Alyssa Lyddon performs her vocal solo “De Pena, De Susto” at the Swing into Spring concert on Tuesday, May 8. Lyddon also received a I rating at State Solo and Small Ensemble contest.

by Kayla Werner

On Tuesday, May 8, the junior high and high school band and choir performed for their annual “Swing Into Spring” concert, which involved group performances as well as solos. 

The junior high band started off the concert playing “Salute to Freedom” by Andy Clark, “Storm Clouds” by James Swearingen, and “Rock Fourth” by Paul Clark. The high school band joined the junior high to play “Takeoff” by David Shaffer before starting their performance.

The high school band went on to perform “Second Suite for Military Band” by Gustav Holst, “Swing Machine” by Larry Neeck, and “Saturday in the Park by Chicago.” They finished up their performance with an encore of “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz. 

After the band was finished, the choir took the stage. The junior high girls’ chorus opened with “Over the Rainbow” by Audrey Snider. When the girls finished, the boys joined them on stage to sing “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” by Cole Porter and “Shine on Me” arranged by Rollo Dilworth.

Between the junior high and high school performances, Natalie Wheeler had a solo. She sang “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid. 

The high school women sang a mash up of “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones and “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Clara Johnson followed their performance with a solo of “Pray” by Justin Bieber as a tribute to her baby cousin who is battling brain cancer. 

The high school men were up next singing “Gonna Build a Mountain” arranged by Norman Leyden.

Alyssa Lyddon performed her solo of “De Pena, De Susto.” She also performed this song at the high school State Solo and Small Ensemble contest and got a I (superior) rating.

Morgan Sanders also had a solo before the high school mixed chorus took the stage. Her song was “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic.

The high school mixed chorus ended the night with “Make Them Hear You” from the musical “Ragtime,” “Turn The World Around” by Belafonte and Freedman, and “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from the musical “Hairspray.”

The high school band’s director Scott Stanton also handed out letters that are meant for the band’s marching jackets. He also gave out the Most Outstanding Musician Award to graduating senior Elizabeth Ostrem.

JH track season wraps up

by Bridgette Moore

On Thursday, May 3, the Montezuma junior high girls’ track team competed at the annual Gayle Creswell Relays at Montezuma where they placed third overall. 

There were four first-place finishes: Katie Maschmann in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter hurdles and long jump, and the 4x100 meter dash team. 

In addition, there were two second place finishes: Ashley Moore in the 100 meter hurdles and Hannah Beenken in the discuss throw.

The junior high boys track team also competed at the Gayle Creswell relays. The team was split into Montezuma Blue and Montezuma White,  with the Montezuma Blue team earning first place with a total of 162 points. 

Carson Losure took first in long jump. Bobby McCulley also earned first in the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.18 seconds.  One of the two Montezuma Blue teams earned first in 4x100 meter relay. The 4x200 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay and 4x800 meter relay  teams also took first.

 Second place finishes included Losure in the 100 meter dash, Tyler Geiger in the 400 meter dash, Kaleb Kriegel in the 800 meter run, 1600-distance medley relay, 100 M hurdles, and the second Montezuma Blue team in the 4x100 meter relay.

Events that earned third place were Zach Townsend in the long jump, Tyler Thompson in shot put, the Montezuma White 4X100 meter relay team, and the Montezuma Blue 800-sprint medley team.

On Saturday, May 5, the Montezuma Junior High Boys’ team competed at the Mid-Prairie Invitational at Mid-Prairie.

The boys had one first place finish that event was the 4x800 Relay the team consisted of  Kriegel, Travis Lewis, Skyler Romberg and Brody McKeag.

There were several second placing finishes. These were the shuttle hurdle relay team with Shane Helm, Dakota Strong, Lewis and  McKeag. Losure in the 100 meter dash and long jump, Geiger in the 400 meter dash. The 4x200 relay consisted of Grant Johnston, Helm, Kriegel and Logan Price.

Coach David Brondyke said, “Overall I was really proud of how hard our young men worked this week and how they gave everything they had to this final meet. This was one of our more challenging meets and they definitely rose up to the challenge.” 

Overall the eighth grade boys placed second and the seventh grade boys placed fourth.

This was the final meet of the season for the teams.  It was a great season for the boys’ team. They placed first, second, and third at all of their meets.  

Brondyke said, “We showed tremendous improvements with personal gain and goals met in nearly all our events. As a coach I have a lot to be thankful for from the athletic director, to the volunteers, to the parents and the students. Together we made it a successful season. I would like to say to all of the boys I am proud of each of you for the effort in everything they do.”

Montezuma receives U.S. Best High Schools award

by Vincent Bushong

Each year, the U.S. News & World Report recognizes schools nationwide with a Best High Schools award in three categories: Gold, Silver and Bronze. This year, Montezuma High School received a Bronze award.

Montezuma was only  one of 104 high schools in Iowa to receive an award of any category. In the South Iowa Cedar conference, Montezuma and Keota were the only two schools to receive an award.

The algorithms used to determine a school’s ranking first test the school’s academic performance as compared to the average in the state. 

Then, the school’s least-advantaged students’ performances were compared to the state average of similar students. 

Finally, the students’ readiness for college was tested, using a college readiness index. 

U.S. News reported 88% proficiency in reading for MHS and 96% proficiency in math.

Superintendent Dave Versteeg, “The students are at the core of this award. When students are responsible for their own learning, they become engaged in the educational process. When students become engaged, wonderful results happen like the U.S. News award. This award is not an ending point to the achievement possible at Montezuma HS but a beginning point.”

Students form new anti-bullying group

Eight students went to Rachel’s Challenge, an anti-bullying program, at BGM on Saturday, April 28. Students involved in the event included, back row, from l to r: Frank Gillum, Mya Talbert, Siara Broadston, River Webb, and front row, l to r: Alyssa Carl, Tailor Snook and Tania McPherson. Not pictured is Hunter Foubert

by Bridgette Moore

On Saturday, April 28, eight students and three teachers traveled to BGM to attend the Rachel’s Challenge event, which is an anti-bullying program.

The students included Mya Talbert, Frank Gillum, Hunter Foubert, Tailor Snook, Alyssa Carl, River Webb, Siara Broadston and Tania McPherson.The teachers were Ms. Kelsie Sheets, middle school special education teacher, Mrs. Roxanne Goudy, middle school English teacher, and Mr. David Brondyke, middle and high school science teacher. While there, they were instructed on what bullying is and how we can prevent it. 

There are a few main goals for the program. Those goals include creating a safe learning environment for all students and improving academic achievement by getting students engaged in the process with their minds, hearts and hands. They also hope to train adults to empower students to make a positive change. It brought awareness to issues that they all are dealing with, and it didn’t take them long to realize that everyone is going through similar things. 

Sheets said, “The program is designed to initiate a ‘chain reaction’ from the kids. A ‘chain reaction’ is when the students do small acts of kindness around their school and community to make for a safer and more enjoyable environment.”

The event was emotional for students and staff alike. After the seminar the students received gel bracelets that read, “Start a chain reaction.” 

Frank Gillum, an 8th grader, stated, “I thought it was very good and it brought out a lot of inner issues from people. It helped people deal with the hard times that they have or are going through.”

River Webb, a 7th grader, “I thought it was very helpful for people and it could change people’s lives. I learned not to judge people when you first see them because you don’t know what’s wrong in their life.”

Sheets said, “It brought awareness to issues that they all are dealing with and it didn’t take them long to realize that everyone is going through similar things. It was great to see that ‘aha’ moment for the kids. It was like a switch that they realized their fellow classmates, kids from BGM and their own teachers are dealing with similar struggles. We all wear a mask to make it seem like our lives are perfect, but in reality we all carry baggage.”

The students have started a small group called C.A.B. (Children Against Bullying). This group consists of students who attended the Rachel’s Challenge event, as well as the junior high student council members and Mr. Moretz. Eventually, they plan to open this group up to anyone in the junior high, all developing from this motivated group of students. As a group they are looking at the costs and possible effects of bringing Rachel’s Challenge to Montezuma. They also hope to develop posters, presentations and challenges for the entire school to educate them on the effects bullying has on students as well as what to do when they see bullying happen.

JH track competes at Albia

by Elizabeth Ostrem

On Monday, April 30, the Montezuma boys’ and girls’ junior high track teams competed at Albia. Other teams in attendance were Albia, Centerville, Davis County, Eddyville-Blakesburg, Eddyville-Blakesburg (7th grade), Interstate 35 and Moravia.

The boys’ team took third out of seven teams, with a total of 83 points. For the girls, Montezuma placed sixth overall.

For relays, the girls’ team won the 4x100M relay, with a time of 58.6. The girls also took fourth place in both the 800M medley, with a time of 2:23.48, and the 400M shuttle hurdle relay, with a time of 1:26.10.

In individuals, Kate Maschmann won the 100M dash, with a time of 13.67, and the 200M hurdles, with a time of 30.34. Maschmann also took fourth in the long jump, with a jump of 13’9 ½“ to finish. For discus, Hannah Beenken took third place, with a throw of 71’11”.

For the boys’ team, the 4x200M team took first overall, winning with a time of 1:48.00 minutes. The 4x800M relay team placed second, with a time of 10:36.20, and the 1600M medley team placed third, with a time of 4:58.07 minutes.

Carson Losure and Bobby McCulley took first and third respectively in the 100M dash, with times of 12.22 and 12.74 respectively. Losure went on to place third in the long jump, with a jump of 16’8 ½“, and McCulley also took second in the 200M dash, with a time of 26.39 seconds.

Kaleb Kriegel placed third in the 800M run, with a time of 2:25.03.

Ryan Maschmann placed fourth in the 200M hurdles, with a time of 31.95.

Teacher Talk: Carrie Weber

by Natalie Kirton

Mrs. Carrie Weber has been a teacher of the Montezuma Science department for the past 11 years. She teaches Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physics. 

Weber was raised on a farm and is the third of six children. Her oldest sibling is 36 and her youngest is 12. She attended high school at Turkey Valley Community School. While there she played the trumpet for the band, was on the debate team and was even a part of a teaching group, where she taught guidance to junior high students. 

Upon graduation, Weber enrolled in Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Her favorite experiences during college were hanging out with her friends and taking a trip to the rainforest of Guyana, South America. 

Weber student-taught at Sumner-Fredericksburg schools before getting her job here in Montezuma. Her favorite parts of teaching here are all of the interactions and in-depth conversations she gets to have with the students. She loves when students walk away feeling like they really learned something from her. 

If Weber could teach any other subject besides science, it would be social studies because she likes to learn about history and watch documentaries. 

In her spare time, Weber likes to read, go for walks, root for the Packers, play videogames, go outdoors and spend time with her children. She also likes to camp with her family when it is nice out. 

She is married to Adam Weber and they have two children, Aleric and Zander, who are six and three respectively. Weber is a very proud mother and talks about her children’s achievements frequently. 

Some random facts that you may not have known about her are that her favorite books are “The Iliad” by Homer and “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follet, she loves “The Lion King” and that she has five fish tanks throughout her house. 

Weber loves learning alongside her students and is always looking forward to trying something new. 

Monte FFA brings home state champions

Above, l to r: Katelyn Gregory, Tiffany Heishmann, Courtney Petersen, Colleen Johnston and Abbi Nelson will compete at Nationals for Ag Comm after becoming State Champions at FFA State Convention on Tuesday, April 24.

Below: Back row, l to r: Advisor Rick Swenson and seniors Nathan Wheeler, Natalie Wheeler, Brynna Steele, Shena Bryan, Alexis Ferguson and Bridgette Moore and front row, l to r: Kendra Cranston, Breanna Johnson, Kaylin Hansen, Aly James, Carrie Graham and Kendra Doty gather after accepting their Iowa Degrees at FFA State Convention on April 24.

by Bridgette Moore

On Sunday, April 22, approximately 30 Montezuma FFA members left to go to the Iowa State FFA Convention, which was held at Iowa State University in Ames. Teams, parents and other members helped the competitors practice for countless hours for their event.  Three of four competing teams received State Champion titles.

The Conduct of Meetings team performed on Monday, April 23. In this competition, students go through the proper way to run an Official FFA Meeting. The team consists of a president, vice president, sentinel, treasurer, reporter, secretary and an advisor. They received a gold rating along with claiming the title of Iowa State Champions. 

The team consisted of Clara Johnston (president), Vincent Bushong (vice president), Steve Kopp (advisor), Brittany Bender (secretary), Alex Brenner (treasurer), Cheyenne Peters (reporter) and Mackenzie James (sentinel). The alternates were Kaylene Corbin, Mikey Lyons, Jack Little and Noah Sykes.

Business Management competed on Tuesday, April 24. Each member takes a test that has math problems that would show up in everyday business. This was the second group to take the State Champion title and gain a gold rating. 

The team was made up of AJ Long (first place individual), Tyler Swenson (second place individual), Camden Watson (third place individual) and Norman Martin (sixth place individual). They will be competing at the National FFA Convention in October, which will be held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. This year marks the 19^th straight year that the Montezuma FFA has taken the state champion title in this group.

Agriculture Communications also completed on Tuesday. In the competition, each member has a certain job: press release, radio broadcasting, proof reading and web design. They have to make a presentation that they present with information about their topic. This year the topic was “We Can Make a Difference” and was about the Montezuma Food Pantry. They received a gold rating and the title of Iowa State Champions. 

Katelyn Gregory  (first place individual, radio broadcaster), Abbi Nelson (second place individual, web designer), Courtney Peterson (fourth place individual, press release), Colleen Johnston (proof reading) and their alternate, Tiffany Heishman, were the members of this team. They will also be competing at Nationals in October.

Ag Market Plan competed on Tuesday as well. In this competition, the team comes up with a Market Plan for the business. This year’s market plan was about Hill Top Farms, which is run by Dick Swenson and Rick Swenson. The team talked about how to improve the swine semen production. Nathan Wheeler, Kendra Doty and Aly James are on the team. They will also be competing at Nationals.

Ag Sales competed on Tuesday. All teams were asked to sell a fertilizer called Preen. They are judged on how well they executed the sale and a test. The team consisted of Karah Hansen, Masiey Ranfield, Kaylee White and Julie Audas. The alternates were Danelle Kleitsch and Abby Wedgewood. They received 11^th place.

Seniors who completed their SAE (Supervised Agriculture Education) received their Iowa Degrees on Tuesday. Those seniors are Shena Bryan, Alexis Ferguson, Kendra Doty, Carrie Graham, Bridgette Moore, Breanna Jonhson, Natalie Wheeler, Kaylin Hansen, Brynna Steele, Nathan Wheeler and Aly James.

Congratulations to all the teams and recipients!

JH Braves track takes first

by Andrea Farrington

Monday, April 23, the junior high boys track team competed at Eddyville-Blakesburg. The team finished in first place with a total of 177 points. Pella Christian followed behind them with 119 points and North Mahaska placed third with 110 points.

Kaleb Kriegel, Brody McKeag, Travis Lewis and Skyler Romberg started off the meet strongly by placing first in the 4x800 relay in 10:53.31.

The shuttle hurdle relay team featuring Shane Helm, McKeag, Lewis, and Dakota Strong also placed first with a time of 1:17.03.

 Next on the list was Bobby McCulley in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.51 seconds, placing first and Carson Losure earning a close second with a time of 12.79 seconds.

In the 1600-meter medley, Ryan Maschmann, Strong, Zach Townsend and Joel Crantson took third place with a time of 4:53.97.

Tyler Geiger ran the 400-meter dash and took second place with a time of 1:02.56, while Skyler Romberg earned fifth place with a time of 1:05.28.

 Grant Johnson,  Helm, Logan Price, and Losure made up the 4x200 relay and placed  first with a time of 1:49.25.

Seth Cranston came in fourth place in the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:11.84.

Price placed first in 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.53 seconds. 

McCulley and Geiger took first and fourth place respectively in the 200-meter dash.

In the 800-meter medley, Helms, Frank Gillum, Townsend and McKeag took second with a time of 2:07.62.

Maschmann placed third in the 200-meter hurdles with a tie of 32.72 seconds.

Kriegel placed first in the 800-meter run and Geiger, McCulley, Johnson, and  Gillum placed first in the 4x100 relay with a time of 53.86 seconds.

Finally, the 4x400 relay team made up of Helms, Maschmann, Lewis and Romberg took third place with a time of 4:28.38.

In field events, Tyler Thompson took second in shot put with a throw of 32’ 1” and Cole Corbin took fourth place with a throw of 30’ 8”.  Dominique Ward earned second place in discus with a throw of 90’ 1.5”.

In the high jump, Logan Price placed third with a jump of 4’ 10”, while Jacob Shaver earned fourth with 4’10”.

The long jump included Losure earning second with a jump of 15’ 10” and Townsend gaining third with a jump of 15’ 7”. 

Coach David Brondyke said, “Our boys ran extremely well. I am proud of all of their performances and hope to continue to improve for our next meet.”

Student makes robot in Industrial Technology

Above: Benjamin Ostrem, a freshman, demonstrates how the robot he made in Industrial Technology works.

Below: The robot was made of syringes, PVC pipes, wood, and rubber bands, which created an arm that could pick up items when the syringes were manipulated.

by Elizabeth Ostrem

This semester, the Industrial Technology class was given the tough task of building functioning “robots.” The students worked in pairs from early March until April 13, designing and constructing their mechanical instruments.

 Due to the difficult nature of the assignment, only one student, freshman Benjamin Ostrem, finished on time.

Ostrem’s robot was made largely with PVC pipes, syringes, wood, rubber bands and even a bullet shell casing for a wrist joint. The machine is capable of picking up and depositing small objects by manipulating the water pressure in the pipes. 

Syringes mounted onto a manifold serve as a control panel for the device. By pushing or pulling the syringes, one can adjust the robot’s direction, height and grip. 

Food coloring added into the water helps to identify which syringe hooks up to which pipe. Each syringe operates a different part of the robot.

Ostrem said, “I learned a lot about hydraulics and mechanical advantage from doing this project, and I had fun building it. I think my favorite part of making it was cutting out wooden gears using a band saw with my dad.”

The arm of the robot rotates on a platform situated on top of a gear. The shoulder and elbow joints allow it to move up and down. The claw can grip and pick up objects while the wrist allows the claw to rotate.

Ostrem said the most difficult part of the project was constructing the claw because he had to carve out the pieces using both electric and manual saws. Part of the difficulty was also in finding suitable materials. The gears had to be carved out of wood, and the bullet shell casing for the wrist joint had to fit precisely inside of one of the pipes.

When the robot was finally finished, Ostrem took it for a test and found the results to be “excellent” despite his misgivings.

“Surprisingly, it operated very smoothly the first time after hooking up all the hoses,” he said. “Usually you end up fixing a bunch of problems before it works correctly, but it performed perfectly from the start.”

Industrial Technology teacher Dwain McClure said of Ostrem’s project, “It’s exceptional. It employed all the principles we were working on.”

Following this project, students in the Industrial Technology class will finish the school year by building picture frames, and then will continue on to sheet metal tool boxes, both of which they will be allowed to keep.

Students rewarded with open campus

by Kayla Werner

Freshman through juniors were allowed to go off campus for lunch as a reward for raising their scores on the ITED and ITBS tests this year. 

The open-campus lunch was an incentive for students while taking the Iowa Assessment tests. If a student showed growth in math, reading and science, then the student earned the privilege of open campus lunches. 

These three tests were used because they are the tests that the school reports out to the state.

Principal Brian Moretz said, “The juniors handled this privilege quite well this week, and I can foresee this continuing in the future for our students.”

They each get a maximum of three days to use their free pass to go off campus from 12:15 to 1:05 p.m. 

A total of 36 juniors earned at least one open-campus lunch. Only  one student lost their remaining opportunities  for open campus lunch due to being late for class .

Juniors had to use their open lunches during the week of April 17 to April 20. Sophomores have theirs the week of April 23 to April 27 and freshman have their week from April 30 to May 4. Students do not have to use their open lunch times if they don’t want to, but they cannot be carried over to following weeks.

Cassie Corbin, a junior, said, “The open lunches are a great way to prepare us for college.”

JH girls' track takes first at Early Bird Relays

Eighth grader Cassidy Ely  runs in the 4x800 meter relay during the Early Bird Relays on April 12. The team received third place.

by Elizabeth Ostrem

The junior high girls’ and boys’ track teams took first and second place last Thursday, April 12, at the Early Bird Relays in Montezuma. Five other schools participated in the home meet this year: Belle Plaine, Iowa Valley, Keota, Lynnville-Sully and North Mahaska.

For the girls’ team, Kate Maschmann swept first place in three separate events: the 100M dash with a time of 13.23 seconds, in addition to both the 200M hurdles with a time of 30.59, and the long jump with a jump of 14’1”.

In relays, the 4x100M teams took first and second place, with times of 59.68 and 1:06.17 respectively. The girls’ 4x200M team, 4x800M team and 1600 distance medley team all took third place, with times of 2:18.81, 12:55.24 and 6:35.24 respectively.

In individual events, Aly Fahlenkamp finished in third place for the 200M dash with a time of 32.55, and Aliya Pargeon and Lauren Slings placed second and third in the 1500M run, with times of 6:20.57 and 6:48.74 minutes respectively. Alisha Arendt placed third in the high jump with a jump of 4’2¾“.

The final team standings for the girls were: Montezuma with 119 points, Lynnville-Sully with 117 points, Iowa Valley with 117 points. North Mahaska with 92 points. Belle Plaine with 87 points and Keota with 12 points. Lynnville-Sully and Iowa Valley tied for second place with 117 points each, leaving North Mahaska, Belle Plaine and Keota to take  fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

For the boys’ team, Bobby McCulley took first in both the 100M and 200M dash, with times of 13.25 and 26.49 seconds. Skyler Romberg placed second in the 400M dash with a time of 1:02.68, and Kaleb Kriegel won the 800M run with a time of 2:26.42 minutes.

In field events, Dominque Ward took second in discus with a throw of 102’1”, and Logan Price placed second in high jump with a jump of 5’0”. Carson Losure and Romberg took third and second in long jump, with jumps of 15’1” and 15’1½“ respectively.

For relays, the boys’ team placed first in the 4x100M with a time of 52.89. The team also took first in the 4x200M relay with a time of 1:48.51, the 4x400M relay with a time of 4:25.23, and in the 400M shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 1:15.51.

The final team standings for the boys were: Lynnville-Sully, taking first with 148 points; Montezuma, taking second with 140 points; Belle Plaine, taking third with 89.75 points; North Mahaska, taking fourth with 81.75 points; Iowa Valley, taking fifth with 53.75 points; and Keota, taking sixth with 42.75 points.

Coach David Brondyke said of the boys’ team, “We had a great showing from our 7th and 8th grade team. I am very proud of all of our athletes and their hard work.”

High school band plans trip to Florida

by Elizabeth Ostrem and Kayla Werner

Every four years, the high school band takes a trip beyond the boundaries of Montezuma to share their talents.  They will go to Florida this year.  

In the past they have gone to Florida, Canada and other places around and outside of the country. On the last trip they went to Orlando, Florida, with the school’s color guard team.

Although they have not always performed on past trips, they will play at Disney World this year. They will be performing “Swing Machine,” “Birdland,” “Friday Night Football,” “Deja Blues,” “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Abaco” and “Viva La Vida.”

Senior flutist Natalie Wheeler said, “I am so excited for the Orlando trip. Our band has been working hard for the past year getting ready for the show. We have really come a long way.”

The trip will be from June 1 through the 6. There is going to be 28 people total on the trip: 22 students, five chaperones and director Scott Stanton. The band will travel by charter bus to and from Orlando.

Kaylene Corbin, a freshman saxophonist, said, “I’m excited for the trip to Florida. I can’t wait to be with my fellow band mates at Disney World riding rides and riding in a charter bus.”

There will be a going-away concert open to the public on May 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the high school. The band will be performing their concert material for Disney as a send-off to friends, family and other members of the community.

Class of 2011 reflects on life after high school

by Andrea Farrington and Morgan Sanders

Part one of a series

Last year Montezuma sent 29 students out into the “real world.” Some had plans of going to college, others military and some straight into the workforce. Now four students weigh in on what it was really like to leave the halls of Montezuma. 

Alexa Wheaton

Alexa Wheaton planned to attend Central College to get a four-year degree double majoring in elementary education and special education with an endorsement in math and reading. 

She currently is going through with her original plans and is also working at Madison Elementary School assisting a kindergarten teacher and loves it. 

Her advice to the class of 2012 is, “Go out and experience everything; it really doesn’t matter what your degree says on your diploma. It matters more about what you get out of that course, what you are involved in and who you meet along the way.”

Hope Kriegel

Hope Kriegel planned to go to a small school and play volleyball. 

She is now at University of Northern Iowa because she quickly realized how much it was going to cost and UNI offered the most financial aid. She also has changed her major from social work to elementary education. 

Kriegel found that the biggest change from high school to college was being on her own and not having a set schedule all the time. 

Kriegel says, “My advice is to go out and live, make your mark and don’t take no for an answer. There is so much out there and there is so many opportunities waiting for you.”

Calli Zimmerman 

Calli Zimmerman planned on going to Iowa State University and majoring in agriculture business or economics.

She has followed through in attending Iowa State University and has also added a secondary agribusiness major.

After going to college, she realized how much you really need to study. Zimmerman advises that you should get ready because it is tons of fun but you need to focus on your grades. 

Elizabeth Jones

Elizabeth Jones planned on going to Des Moines Area Community College and getting her psychology degree.

She is now attending DMACC for nursing and taking care of her daughter when not at school. 

Jones’s advice is, “Don’t slack off in college because if you do you are just wasting your time and money.” 

Watch for more responses from the class of 2011  in our next edition as the series continues.

School forced to start later for years to come?

by Andrea Farrington

In the state of Iowa, the tourism industry is trying to make it so that schools in Iowa are not able to start school earlier than the last Monday in Aug. because schools have been starting earlier in Aug. and it has been a problem for families going to the state fair.  

The bill has recently passed the state House and has moved on to the Senate for voting. 

Currently the law requires schools to start on Sept. 1, but schools have the opportunity to get a state waiver if they would like to start early and most often receive permission.  

The new law would still allow schools to pay a $100 waiver fee, but the earliest they could start is the last Monday in Aug.  Last year. some schools were starting as early as Aug. 15.

I personally think it is a great idea for the state of Iowa to make it so no school can interrupt the state fair. I understand that a student’s education is very important, but at the same time the Iowa State Fair is just as important to lots of families who participate in events. FFA members in the fair are likely to win scholarships that will be going to further their education. 

Starting later this fall does raise the possibility that we will be going further into the summer. Other schools have gone until the end of June, and they were fine. I know I have always been upset about having to leave the fair to go school, therefore I completely agree with this bill.

Kindergarten roundup meetings to be held April 11

by Natalie Kirton

Children  gain the basics of understanding colors, letters and numbers through preschool and kindergarten. The things they learn at this early age become the building blocks of their future education. 

There will be a parents’ meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wed. April 11 regarding kindergarten roundup held in the elementary library. Parents must bring updated immunization records and birth certificates to the meeting. Also, children must be at least five years old by Sept. 15, 2012 to be enrolled in kindergarten next year.

The actual kindergarten roundup event will be held on Monday, April 16. Current preschool students should report to the preschool room as usual, but afterwards will be sent to the library. There will be two roundup sessions: one for the morning preschool class and another for the afternoon class. 

A parents’ meeting for preschool registration will be on Wed. May 2 at 5:30 p.m. in the elementary library. Parents must bring their child’s birth certificate, social security number and immunization records. 

Children must be four years old by Sept. 15 to be enrolled in preschool. Parents of children who are nearing preschool age can contact the elementary office at 623-5129 for more information.

A review of 'The Hunger Games'

by Heaven Lorenz

“The Hunger Games” opened in theaters March 23. It made over $153 million just from its opening weekend, and that number is still growing. We, freshman of Montezuma, read the book as a class just weeks before the date above.

The story is about what was left of America after it haa fallen. When the districts tried to rise against the Capitol, who controls them, they lost. As punishment and to show their control, the Capitol forces the twelve districts to give up two children from the ages of twelve to eighteen to fight in an arena to the death. 

After talking to some of the students who went to see the movie, I’ve come up with a simple understanding of how well we all liked it. 

Some read the book and compared the two together constantly.  These people could see major differences in the movie, and many were disappointed. Suzanne Collins herself wrote the movie’s screenplay, so I don’t have much room to complain, but it seems that some of those alterations still linger in the mind. 

Then there are the ones who looked at the movie and the book as two completely different items who enjoyed seeing it.

There were some bright moments in the film. Even I will admit that Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as Katniss was completely breathtaking. She was able to take the script that was written so differently from the book and still pull the same emotions from it that was given as you read.

 Since the book was written from Katniss’s point of view, we didn’t get to see anything she didn’t. We will never fully know what really happens in the book outside of Katniss’ view point, but in the movie it shows them setting up the arena over an impressive computer that is controlled by many people. 

The climax of the book is when the mutations are set loose. In the movie, this is the one part that does not disappoint. The wolves aren’t anything like what they are in the book, but they still are really impressive. They were created to strike fear and they were successful. 

The movie somewhat follows the book, but given the fact that they let Peeta have both his legs, the fact that Haymitch was missing from the Reaping, the mayor’s family being cut out completely and that Cato never was at the feast trying to bring Clove back from the dead still clings to my brain and bugs me. A lot. 

Even though there are alterations, I know I’m going to watch the sequel when it premieres. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not for the movie but for the books.

Golf season in full swing

by Kayla Werner 

Spring has begun, and with it comes the golf season full of newly- formed blisters and fun on the green.

There are 12 golfers out this season: eight on the boys team and four on the girls team.

The boys team includes seniors Dayton Pringle and Robby Sutfin;  juniors Austin Hopwood and Norman Martin; and  freshmen Steve Kopp, Jay Lebahn, Trevor Moyer and Sid Roorda.

The girls team is composed of senior Shena Bryan, junior Mariah Hirsch and freshmen Clara Johnson  and Shayla Towsend.

The season began with practice on March 12 and will continue through May 25 and 26 for the boys and May 29 and 30 for the girls. Their first golf meet was on April 2.

The season started off strongly as three members placed at the first meet at Lynnville-Sully.  Bryan tied for fourth place and Roorda and Martin both tied for third place.

Couch Dale Dejong said, “I am looking forward to improving on our golf game and enjoying time with our golfers as we strive to get better.”

The benefits of reading

by Andrea Farrington

Statistics say that the top reason people read is for recreation, but how exactly is reading fun?  If you really think about it, you improve your vocabulary, and it gives you a small insight into other cultures and places around the world. 

In order to accomplish these things, we have to have good comprehension and be able to focus on what we’re reading. 

What is  reading comprehension? It is the ability to understand what we are reading. 

If we can’t comprehend what we are reading, why read? I ask myself this question everyday.

Growing up I remember being assigned a small passage. The next day at school we would discuss it and I would just sit there confused. I read the passages; I just had trouble remembering what it is that I read.

My teachers would occasionally ask me to explain what happened and I always was embarrassed because I couldn’t remember. 

If you have this problem, you aren’t alone. Reading comprehension is found in 85% of children and teens alone.

Dealing with reading comprehension issues for the majority of my life I have discovered some solutions; read out loud, summarize after small passages to make sure you understand it or take notes.

Reading comprehension is not something you can just ignore, it can rule your life if you let it. Take a stand and find a way that helps you!

DIY: boutonniere and corsage

by Bridgette Moore

Prom is sneaking up on us, and most of us have yet to order a corsage and/or boutonniere. Why not cut some cost and make one yourself with these simple steps?

The materials you will need are one large flower, two small flowers, leather leaf, baby’s breath, floral tape, 26-gauge floral wire, pencil, scissors, ribbon and corsage pin/wristlet.

First, cut the stem of the large flower so that it has about two inches left. Then take the floral wire and poke through the body of the flower. Then bring the wire down. Use the floral tape to tape the stem (you must pull on the tape to make it sticky). Position the leather leaf and baby’s breath where you like it and use the floral tape to tape it.

Do the prior steps to the two smaller flowers. Then position the two smaller flowers to the big flower. Use the floral tape to tape it. 

Take the ribbon and tie a bow onto the floral wire, wrap the wire around the stem of the flower to secure the bow and then take the floral tape to secure the wire. You may have to adjust the flowers so they won’t look too crowded together.

You are almost done!

To make the boutonniere, take a pencil and twist the end of the stem around the pencil to make a spiral curl. Then take the corsage pin and pin it to the back of the flower stem. 

To make the corsage, take the wristlet place it on the back of the flower stem. Push the prongs around it to hold it. Then take the floral tape to secure it onto the stem.

And that is all you have to do. How easy was that?

This article was inspired by Aly James’s presentation from an Ag. class. Portions of her information were used with her permission.

Montezuma history teacher runs for president

Leah Farrington, high school history teacher, announced her candidacy for president on the Whig party ticket on April 1.

by Andrea Farrington

For several weeks, it has been rumored that Montezuma history teacher Leah Farrington   will be running for president in the 2012 campaign on the Whig ticket.  On Sunday, April 1, Farrington confirmed her candidacy.

 Her main goal for her presidential campaign is to increase American influence in every country in the world. 

She has a Ponzi Scheme with her running mate, Bernie Madoff, which is how she plans to afford her campaign. 

Now the question the majority of Montezuma wants to know is, why is she running for president? 

In an up-close interview with her, she said, “I want money and power!” 

Throughout the interview she spoke about three specific subjects several times. 

“I plan to spend more money than any president in the past because I don’t think we have enough debt in the world today,” Farrington said. 

We got on the subject of unemployment and she says to fix this problem she is going to prepare children for the workforce by training all fourth through twelveth grade students on the oil fields. 

She also mentioned social security during her 45-minute interview and stated that she thinks we should get rid of social security completely because she believes someone will steal her identity. 

“There is nobody as smart as me, I don’t want them to ruin my reputation,” Farrington said.

She believes that she outshines the other candidates with her beautiful looks and stunning personality. She also won American Idol and her dad is the governor of Iowa, which gives her a head start. 

Support our local citizen and vote for her on November 6!

April Fools!

This is the April Fools edition of the Montezuma Blue and White! None of the stories in this edition  are to be taken seriously. Sit back and 

enjoy!

Corny theme park will be "udderly" terrific!

Cornucopia, Montezuma’s newest agriculture-themed amusement park, is being completed during the warm spring weather and will open July 27. The Cob Castle, above, is finished.

by Elizabeth Ostrem and Kayla Werner

Have you ever wanted to go to Disneyland and at the same time learn more about agriculture (and eat it too!)? If yes, the soon-to-be-unveiled Cornucopia just outside of Montezuma should pique your Iowan interests.

The park will feature all things corn, including (but not limited to): corn on the cob, candy corn, corn syrup, corn dogs, and corn cider for adults. There will also be a Dairy Park, where kids can swim in the Milky Way pool, milk a real cow, craft butter sculptures alongside professional butter artisans, and bob for marshmallows in freshly made cottage cheese.

Rides, games and other attractions will include a corn maze, baby formula racing, macaroni and cheese rapids, the “Silo of Terror” and kettle corn bingo. 

A central gift shop will satisfy any corn or dairy enthusiast’s taste in quality knick-knacks. (Cornucopia accepts MasterCard, Visa and Discover cards.)

Park guests can also watch the Dairy Queen and Kernel King make nightly appearances outside of Cornucopia’s most extravagant building, Cob Castle, underneath a spectacular fireworks display using real popcorn. 

Due to the unseasonably warm weather, work has gone more quickly than anticipated and will be open for enjoyment this summer.

Delectable corn milkshakes will be offered on the house all evening long during the nighttime celebrations on the park’s opening on July 27, 2012. Park officials hope that Cornucopia will grow on Montezuma residents and will sow the seeds for more corn- and dairy-related amusement parks in the future.

April Fools!

This is the April Fools edition of the Montezuma Blue and White! None of the stories in this edition  are to be taken seriously. Sit back and 

enjoy!

Rock star made in Montezuma

by Natalie Kirton

Montezuma’s own Scott Stanton was proud to announce on Thursday, March 22 that a big opportunity had come his way. It was no surprise to hear that Stanton was offered the job of a lifetime, to travel the world doing what he loves most. Stanton, the elementary through high school band teacher of Montezuma Community Schools, has spent years teaching, writing and performing music. He can play various instruments and has a lot of knowledge on all things music. 

Stanton was approached earlier in the week by a team from a large corporate music industry. This company takes talented music teachers from across the country to give them a chance to become rockstars. They had learned of Stanton through various musical merchandise stores and decided to come and speak directly to him. That day, Stanton was given the offer to join a rock band within the company. With this opportunity, Stanton will be able to tour the world and perform his own music with other talented artists. 

Stanton told the group that he would think about the offer. He was ecstatic about receiving the opportunity, but also had some doubts.

“I love my position here at the school. Teaching students brings me a lot of satisfaction to my life. But I’m not sure I want to do leave because I’ll miss my students. They’ve progressed so much over the years and I love to be a part of that,” said Stanton. 

If he does decide to take the offer, Stanton will fly out to Minnesota to be acquainted with his band mates. There they will get to know each others’ music styles and begin to create their own music. Afterwards, Stanton and his new band will be thrown into the limelight, opening for bands such as Green Day, U2 and Coldplay. This new band will have their own merchandise line consisting of t-shirts, CD’s, signed instruments, posters and accessories. 

Some projected tour locations include New York, Florida, California, Nevada, Canada, England and Germany. 

Stanton has been given two months to make his final decision.

April Fools!

This is the April Fools edition of the Montezuma Blue and White! None of the stories in this edition  are to be taken seriously. Sit back and 

enjoy!

Local Loch Ness found

by Natalie Kirton

In the early morning of Monday, March 26, a Montezuma resident was jogging on a trail near Lake Ponderosa when she spotted what looked to be a rather large snake gliding through the water. 

“It had to be at least three feet thick, I have no clue how long it was,” said the resident who remains anonymous. 

The local says she watched the snake-like creature for a couple minutes before calling the authorities.

Once they arrived, both authorities and a group of locals that had gathered around the scene were shocked to see the beast raise its head above water. 

“We can safely say that the creature was definitely not a snake,” said an off-duty policeman. “It’s neck was at least seven feet long.”

County officials later sent out a specialized team, fully equipped with scanning sonars, underwater cameras, fish baits and nets to try and catch and tag the animal. Oddly, after a thorough search of the entire lake, nothing was found of the mysterious creature. 

A small child that was a part of the group commented that he thought the beast looked like the Loch Ness Monster, a mythological creature found in Ireland.

“I saw flippers! He looked just like the pictures on TV!” said the boy. 

Officials plan to search again for the supposed Loch Ness Monster of Ponderosa Lake within a few days. For now, authorities are puzzled as to how such a big creature could appear and disappear from the lake in such a brief period of time.

April Fools!

This is the April Fools edition of the Montezuma Blue and White! None of the stories in this edition  are to be taken seriously. Sit back and 

enjoy!

Longer spring break due to computer virus

by Morgan Sanders

As students will be sad to find out, school will be extended one week this year in order to fix the computer system. The computers crashed Friday, March 30 due to excessive playing of computer games. 

An undisclosed individual was playing a game and accidentally downloaded a virus onto the computer. The virus spread via the server the students use to login to computers and infected first the main server, then each user, leaving every computer in an unstable state. 

The virus rendered Time Machine useless, the program used to restore the computers to a previous state to clear virus, giving the infection open reign in every part of the computer system. 

This virus also crashed JMC, the program where teachers store their grades and take attendance. Teachers will have to keep grades and attendance on paper until the server is rebooted, then update JMC after the system is restored.

In order to repair the system, the entire server and every computer must be shut down and the main server must be cleared of all infections. Then, each user must be individually cleaned and their files restored.

Finally, each computer’s hard drive must be analyzed and cleaned, one by one, by a computer expert coming down from Des Moines, Dr. Dennis Waldork, Ph.D. 

“It’s just a huge mess,” Waldork said. “This kind of virus rarely hits, but when it does, the repercussions are massive.”

The computers will be fixed April 10-13, giving the students a long spring break. Instead of the shorter scheduled break from April 5-9, students will be let out early April 4 at 2:30 and will not return until 8:30 on April 16. 

To make up for the lost days, an extra week of school will be added to the end of the year.  Instead of ending classes on May 17, the school year will now end on May 24.

School authorities will be establishing two major new measures to prevent a similar event from happening again in the future. 

First, a new, advanced anti-virus will be purchased using the money originally designated to install new heating and air conditioning to protect the server.

Next, students will no longer be able to play online video games on the computers without the express permission of the tech department. Those caught infringing upon this rule will lose computer privileges for the remainder of their high school career.

April Fools!

This is the April Fools edition of the Montezuma Blue and White! None of the stories in this edition  are to be taken seriously. Sit back and 

enjoy!

Students perform and present for Academic Fair

Natalie Wheeler performs a musical piece as part the Academic Fair, which took place on Tuesday, March 20.

by Natalie Kirton and Bridgette Moore

On Tuesday, March 20, Montezuma junior high and high school students gathered in the high school gym, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., showing the public the projects that they have been working on for the past month.

Students researched topics dealing with two different academic subjects that they were interested in and brought them together to create a presentation. A few of the projects that students researched included physics of bridges, Kony 2012, how to sell a product, strokes, history of country music, history of children’s illustration, benefits of organics, the math behind the “Numbers” (a television show) and history of musical pieces. Some students performed various musical selections in the old study hall room in connection with their projects.

The students received ribbons for their projects based on presentations for judging the week before.  

Community members judged the projects based on a rubric created by the Academic Fair Committee.  Sophomores, juniors, and seniors were judged on Tuesday, March 13.  Seventh, eighth and ninth graders were judged on Wednesday, March 14. 

The ribbons awarded were blue, red or white. The blue ribbon represented a I rating, red was a II rating and white was presented when a student earned a III rating.

The ribbons were given based on a point value; white was given when the students were rated between 10 to 17 points, red was given for 18 to 24 points and blue was 25 to 30 points.

“I think the Academic Fair was exceptional learning experience for the students and fun for the teachers to watch and experience,” said junior high English teacher Roxanne Goudy.

Turn of the Page: 'The Hobbit (There and Back Again)'

by Elizabeth Ostrem and Kayla Werner

A prequel to the famed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy written by J. R. R. Tolkien, “The Hobbit” tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit (which are described as “little people, smaller than dwarfs, who love peace and quiet and good tilled earth”) who is well-respected in The Shire for staying out of trouble and keeping well away from any adventures.  However, Bilbo’s plans to remain unremarkable change the day a gang of dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf show up on his doorstep, looking to hire him as a burglar in their company.

The dwarves wish to reclaim their home, Lonely Mountain, and vast wealth from the fearsome dragon Smaug, who captured the mountain. Following Gandalf’s advice, they recruit Bilbo into their service, although they are thoroughly unimpressed with the hobbit at the beginning of their meeting. Gandalf assures them that there’s more to Bilbo than meets the eye.

The group encounters many hardships along their journey, including brushes with goblins, trolls and enormous spiders as they head to overthrow Smaug. Often it’s up to Bilbo to deliver them from trouble, which progressively earns him respect from the entire company.

Tolkien’s novel is being adapted into a two-part movie and will be directed by Peter Jackson, who also directed the successful “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. The movies will hit theaters Dec.  2012 and Dec. 2013.

Liz:

I really enjoyed “The Hobbit” when I read it for the first time some years ago. I was already familiar with “The Lord of the Rings” from the most recent movies and ready to start on the books, but I thought it would be prudent to start with the precursor.

I’m glad I did for a number of reasons. One reason is “The Hobbit” was originally geared towards children, although there are adults that enjoy the book equally. It’s faster paced than “The Lord of the Rings,” which is better suited for younger readers, and the story has a lighter, more humorous air as opposed to the gloomier mood of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Another reason would be starting in chronological order. While there are some series that are arguably better to be read out of chronological order (e.g. The Chronicles of Narnia), I don’t think this is one of those series. You could save “The Hobbit” for last, but personally I prefer having it as the starting point in Tolkien’s saga.

One of the only things I didn’t particularly care for in the book were the songs. The amount of them in the book seemed just a touch on the excessive side. I found some of them to be clever and amusing to read, however, especially “Fifteen Birds in Five Fir Trees.”

If “The Lord of the Rings” books or movies interest you, I wholly suggest picking this book up. It deserves its place as a fantasy classic for good reason.

Kayla:

It was hard for me to get into this book. Although it was a good read, it was slower paced than I personally would have liked. The feeling of this book is generally happy with some gloomy parts and the author makes jokes at his characters’ expense. I got a laugh or two out of it. 

I do suggest reading this book if you are into  fantasy. It might not jump right into it, but it definitely picks up in the middle.