All groups advance to state from district speech

Macy Taylor and Lex Jack perform in Reader’s Theater during dress rehersal on Jan. 5. Reader’s theater is one of eleven groups moving on to Large Group State Speech Contest on Feb. 4.

by Vincent Bushong

The Montezuma Speech and Drama department was in for a big day on Jan. 21. That Saturday marked the Speech and Drama District Large Group Contest at Grinnell High School, and all of Montezuma’s entries moved on to perform at state level.

At the district level, groups are given a rating by a single judge.  They receive oral and written comments from the judge before waiting to find out their rating. If they receive a “I” (one) rating, the group moves on to perform at the state level, where each group is critiqued by a panel of three judges. To move on to the All-State level, which is held at Iowa State University on Feb. 18, at least two of the three judges must give special recognition to the group by nominating them for All-State. 

Speech and Drama coach Derek Bates said, “I am thankful for the sharing of the performers’ talents and how well they represented their school and town.”

After many weeks of practice, the opportunity to perform for judges and  new spectators revitalized the groups and helped to bring out the best in the students.

Senior Speech and Drama member Natalie Wheeler, who is involved in musical theater and choral reading, said of her group’s musical theater performance, “It was our best performance yet.”

There were 11 groups total that performed at districts, including two choral reading groups, three ensemble acting groups, a readers’ theater group, a musical theater group, two improvisation groups, a radio broadcasting group and a short film group. 

On Saturday, Feb. 4, the state competition will take place in Cedar Rapids, at Washington High School, with performances starting at 8:00 A.M.

Bond issue voting takes place on February 7

by Natalie Kirton

Anticipation grows for the students, staff, and community of Montezuma as the third bond issue election draws near. The voting date is set for Feb. 7, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Montezuma City Library. Absentee voting has been open since Jan. 5 at the Court House. 

Residents of the district who are 18 or older can vote yes or no for the $6.7 million proposal that could tremendously improve the school’s environment. This money would go toward a heating and cooling system, as well as lighting and electrical improvements. General classroom renovations will include fixing ceiling and floor tiles and doorways.

Staff and students have voiced opinions that they believe the improvements would help improve learning and increase pride in the school  

Senior Dayton Pringle said, “Montezuma and the students deserve a nice school.  We’re great kids here, and we all work well with each other.”

Improvements made due to the bond issue will take roughly two and a half years to complete. Construction is slotted to happen in two phases.  The first phase will be to complete the elementary end, and the second will finish the high school. This remodel is projected to be complete by December 2013 if the bond issue passes. 

High school English teacher Derek Bates said, “I would like for our students to feel like we care enough about them to want to give them the best. If our school environment matched our academic learning, our school would be cutting edge and state of the art.”

We must stand together to end bullying

by Andrea Farrington

“I have been bullied at this school since kindergarten, most of the time it was because of how I dressed or what my hair looked like.”

“I feel that bullying is useless and cruel, there are other ways and nicer ways to show how you feel about someone.”

“I have gotten picked on for a long time about my weight.”

“When I post pictures or statuses on Facebook, people say really hurtful things to me and it makes me want to die.”

These quotes came from students from Montezuma Community Schools.

On average 160,000 children miss school everyday because they fear attack or intimidation by other students. One out of every ten students who drop out of school do so because of repeated bullying. Nine out of ten students reported being verbally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation.

I think the majority of people have been bullied or witnessed bullying sometime in their life. There are so many people that have been bullied or participated in the bullying. Everyone jokes about the concept of bullying, but I personally think it is a huge deal. What is the point of targeting one person and being very impolite to them? There are nicer ways to deal with situations. I know that I have targeted people in the past, and I apologize to those who I have hurt.

 I strongly believe that bullying needs to stop. Even if they are not your friend or you have never talked to the person doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stand up for them. I’m sure they would appreciate it. 

You don’t know everything that has happened in others lives, so nobody has the right to make fun of someone’s weight, hair or the way they dress. There could be a huge possibility that the person is having financial issues at home and their family doesn’t have the money to buy better looking clothes, or maybe they have a medical condition that results in excess weight.

Several people are bullied everyday but we all deal with it differently; some people stick up for themselves, some just blow it off, and some sadly commit suicide. 

We are all from Montezuma Community Schools, we are different, but we are a family. We spend at least 35 hours a week with each other. We may have our arguments, but we need to stand together and end bullying!

JV Bravettes fall to Warhawks

Abbi Nelson passes the ball during the girls JV basketball game against North Mahaska on Jan. 23.

by Bridgette Moore

On Jan. 23 the JV Bravettes were defeated by the North Mahaska Warhawks.

“We actually shot a better percentage from the field than our opponent but weren’t able to get stops when we needed. Then we put them on the free throw line, and they took advantage,” said Coach Timm.

Both teams had a good start, and it was 11 – 7 after the first quarter. The pace was similar in the second quarter, and it ended with Montezuma trailing 23 – 14. In the third quarter the Bravettes struggled to recover.

“We gave a great effort in the fourth quarter and actually outscored them,” Coach Timm said. 

Despite the comeback, the Bravettes lost with a score of 42– 30,

Coach Timm said, “Unfortunately, Mahaska had an athlete that made as many free throws as we attempted. In the end you look at that and see that could be the difference. She made 12 of her 16 attempts, and we lost by 12 points.”

Even though the Bravettes lost, they had some great moments and many scores. Courtney Petersen and Clara Johnson made 3 points each, Alex Brenner made 2 points, Mackenzie James, Katelyn Gregory and Abbi Nelson made 1 point each for the Bravettes.

“Overall, I thought the girls did a nice job on both ends, and we bounced back with a good showing after struggling the last two games,” said Coach Timm.

JH Braves three for three

by Elizabeth Ostrem

 Both 7^th and 8^th grade boys’ basketball teams won their games against Keota on Monday, Jan. 23, and the 8^th grade team also went on to pick up another win the next day.

The 7^th grade game dominated their match, winning with the impressive score of 50-15. The game took an unusual turn when a rival player fouled out, leaving Keota to finish the game with only four players on the court because they had no substitutes.

Logan Price led the Braves with 11 points, followed by Dakota Strong with 10 and Carson Losure and Dominique Ward with seven each.

The going was harder in the 8^th grade match, but by a team effort they came out on top with the final score of 38-35.

Bobby McCulley made 14 points for the Braves, followed by Price with seven and Strong with three.

The 8^th grade’s luck continued over to the following night with their victory against Tri-County. The final score for the match was 56-4, Monte’s favor.

The Braves played well offensively the entire game, and almost every player on the team scored at least once. Top scorers for the game included Brody Mckeag with 14 points, Jacob Shaver and Tyler Thompson with 10 each and McCulley and Strong with six points apiece.

“The boys came in with a good deal of confidence, and they played like a team that expected to win,” said Coach Clayton Hjelmeland.