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.

New study hall helps students build character

7th and 8th graders created cartoons during study hall to display problems they see going on inside the school, such as wanting new bleachers (above) or seeing 

cockroaches (below).

by Bridgette Moore and Andrea Farrington

First year teacher Kelsie Sheets is surrounded in the old study hall room by several junior high students working on community and character building skills.

Due to the new block scheduling, students rarely have homework. Teachers saw study hall as a time that can be used to encourage kids to get involved in the school and community and take small steps to make a difference.

“Instead of wasting time, we can use the time to help build the students’ character,” said Debbie Iverson, who assists Sheets in study hall.

Sheets also hopes to challenge students and prepare them for high school and the adult world.

In the class period students come together and study. The 7^th and 8^th graders present a small project that encourages students to identify school and community problems and begin the process of trying to solve them. Students who need to finish assignments have an open supervised classroom that they can go to for a quieter space. 

“It is more fun and we get more done. We are actually learning something while having fun,” said Frank Gillum, an 8^th grader.

All students in study hall were asked to draw cartoons that deal with a problem that they felt we have at Montezuma Community Schools. Examples include cold water in the showers, school building issues, bullying, hygiene and foul language. 

They were asked to consider the causes of these problems and the effect that they have on a variety of people.

Students were then asked to brainstorm possible solutions to the problem; the majority of the students thought fundraising was the best possible solution for building problems and talking to the elementary about the bullying, hygiene and foul language issues.

JH faces off with Lynnville-Sully

Aly Fahlenkamp guards a Lynnville-Sully player during the 7th grade basketball game on Jan. 16.

by Natalie Kirton

The junior high basketball teams faced Lynnville-Sully on Jan. 16 with mixed results. 

At Lynnville-Sully, the 7^th grade Braves quickly pulled ahead during their game to carry out a win of 52-13.

 Logan Price made the most points, bringing in 14 points, while Dakota Strong followed close behind with 11 points. Kaleb Kriegel helped by scoring eight points, while Matthew Baker made six rebounds and four blocks. In total, there were 17 steals and 34 rebounds.

The 8^th graders fought hard defensively during their game, but something was missing. The final score was 22-49 in the Hawks’ favor. 

While the boys played away, the girls played at home.  The 7^th grade girls played an intense, close game against Lynnville-Sully, losing 34-32. 

“It came down to a last second shot and it didn’t go our way. They showed great resilience and effort on the court. They continue to improve each game,” said Coach David Brondyke.

The 8^th grade girls played hard, scoring 36 points to the Hawks’ 31. High scores came from Katie Maschman and Cassidy Ely, who brought 12 and 10 points respectively. 

“The 8^th grade team has really turned this season around. I am so proud of all of them,” said Coach Brondyke.

JV Braves come out on top against Hawks

by Elizabeth Ostrem

On Monday, Jan. 16, the JV boys’ basketball team headed to Lynnville-Sully to battle it out with the Hawks in a tight, well-played match. The final score for the match was 39-33, with Montezuma  the victor.

“I thought our guys battled through some adversity and showed poise down the stretch,” said Coach John Bushong.

Siraj Thomasen led the Braves with 11 points, along with Bryant Sutfin with nine and Dillon Wilhelm and Bryan Gregson with eight points each.

The first period ended with 14 points for the Braves and 17 for Lynnville-Sully. Neither team scored during the second period. 

The Braves caught up in the third period with 26 points, tying with the rival team, and pulled in for the win in the final period with 13 additional points to Sully’s seven points.

Coach Bushong said, “We need to continue to work on our rebounding and blocking out a guy in our area. It has been fun being part of a group who is very unselfish. Our guys have found a lot of ways to win, and I think their unselfish attitude has been the reason for that. I look forward to seeing our guys continue to get better.”

The boys will go up against the Hawks again at home on Thursday, Jan. 26.

A string of disappointing losses for JV

by Kayla Werner 

The JV Bravettes played the Keota Eagles on Jan. 14. Sadly, the Bravettes lost with a score of 24-10. 

It was very slow scoring in the first half as the Eagles led 8-6 at break. 

“Our mental focus was not there in the press break early and throughout the game,” said Coach Stew Timm. 

The Eagles took off in the second half while the Bravettes still couldn’t get going.

Coach Timm said, “This was a frustrating day for the girls and myself. We just couldn’t get into an offensive flow, which was apparent by the score.”

Although the Bravettes weren’t playing their best, they still had some great shots. Clara Johnson scored six points, and Paige Snook and Mackenzie James each scored two.

“It is a game that I hope the girls learn from, and we will bounce back for a strong finish in our remaining games,” said Coach Timm.

On Jan. 16,  the JV Bravettes competed against Lynnville-Sully. It  was a disappointing score of 46-11, in Lynnville-Sully’s favor.

At halftime, the score was 24-6. Defense was the difference at both ends. Montezuma struggled with backdoor cuts and the Hawks’ defense prevented the Bravettes from getting good looks.

Coach Timm said, “I felt like we played better in the second half but still struggled to score.”

Even though the score was disappointing, there were many great moments. Alex Brenner scored six, Katelyn Gregory and Snook added two points each and Abbi Nelson scored one.

“This was a very good team we played and with no chance to practice or prepare a little for them, it was a tough night for the Bravettes,” said Coach Timm.