Teacher Talk: Sarah Laudner

by Chelsey Moore

At the start of this school year, a new program began called the Parallel Program. The Parallel Program is a preventive intervention program designed to keep kids from dropping out, prepare them for life after high school and allow them to receive a Montezuma diploma. This program offers an alternative route to graduate from MHS. 

The head of this program is Sarah Laudner.  Laudner came from Rockwell, Iowa, to teach at Montezuma High School.

She said, “The main things I enjoy about my job now is the ability to help high school kids get through the daily struggles of school and look beyond MHS into their careers of choice.” 

Before teaching here, Laudner taught at Walnut Community School District in Walnut, Iowa, and did Title 1 reading. 

Her second year was at BCLUW Community School District in  Conrad, Iowa.  She was a second grade teacher for four years. This is now her fifth year as a teacher. 

She took this position because it was the chance to do something different.

She said, “I like helping students regardless of age. My previous position was teaching second grade, so this is quite different! Rather than teaching the basics of each subject, I am now helping high school students with their post-secondary plans.”

She chose to become a teacher because of her experiences in high school.  

She really liked working with kids and participated in peer helping. During college, she had the opportunity to be in a classroom helping with students often.

Laudner notes that there are many perks to teaching in Montezuma. 

One of the highlights of working in this district is the feeling of community that surrounds the school.

Laudner said, “ I enjoy Montezuma High School because of the small school atmosphere where teachers and administrators can work together towards student growth. The staff is wonderful and the community of Montezuma is supportive of the school.” 

Students voice opinions on block scheduling

by Vincent Bushong

When the students of Montezuma were introduced to the idea of block scheduling, they were unsure of whether it would be a good idea to sit in a single class for 85 minutes. However, after nine weeks of classes on the block schedule, students are starting to see the benefits block scheduling can offer.

Block scheduling is a system where classes are twice as long as normal periods, but students only have each class every other day. Montezuma’s block schedule is a hybrid of a conventional block schedule and the school’s previous eight-period system; period one is only 45 minutes, and period five is 55 minutes.  These classes meet everyday. Periods two, three and four are 85 minutes long and alternate classes every other day. To make sure students go to the right classes, each day at school is either an “A” day or a “B” day. 

Although it is quite a change for them to get used to, most of Montezuma’s teachers think block scheduling is moving in the right direction.

Keith Siestra said, “As a teacher, I love it because it adds more instruction time, and if students have a problem the teacher is now there to help.” 

Many other teachers share Siestra’s opinion.

The junior high English teacher Roxanne Goudy said, “Block scheduling allows more time in class for kids to understand what they are doing.”

John Gallagher, the guidance counselor at Montezuma and person in charge of students’ schedules, said, “A majority of the students and teachers like [the schedule]. There’s some adjustments to be made, but overall I think it’s going well.”

However, this year is only a test of the new system, and no new system is perfect. Some students and faculty have reservations. 

The Spanish teacher Carrie Stockman said, “I love the opportunity to spend quality time in one day on listening, writing and speaking. However, I find that having classes every other day makes it difficult for students to keep track of what day it is. It also makes absences and make-up work challenging.”

Dwain McClure, the shop teacher at Montezuma, said, “Some students don’t like it because they don’t have study halls, and some feel like they get cheated time during the week since they only see teachers every other day.”

A survey was taken from a random selection of students. The survey consisted of asking the participants if they liked the new schedule, prefer the old schedule, or have no preference. Then, participants were asked to explain their choice. Of the 97 people surveyed, 54 responded that block scheduling is better while 14 preferred the previous 8-period schedule. The remaining 29 people had no preference. 

Most of those who chose the block said they did so because it allows them time in class to get their homework done and breaks the repetition of having every class everyday. The general thought of those who preferred the 8-period system was 85 minutes was too long to be in a single class.

The high school principal Brian Moretz said, “I believe students and staff have done a wonderful job being flexible with block scheduling, and we’re getting done what we need to with learning.”

In spite of its rough spots, the block schedule has opened up new opportunities and has exposed students to a brand new type of learning.

Chicago trip to bring exposure to Mexican and Spanish culture

by Natalie Kirton

On Saturday, Nov. 5, Carrie Stockman, known as Señora to her students, will be taking a group of 32 students and chaperones on a trip to explore the Mexican culture of Pilsen, a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. 

“I like to take students on this trip so they can get hands on experience of things they wouldn’t be able to in the classroom. They have better retention of the things they learn in the classroom after going on this trip. I think it’s a great way to immerse them into the Spanish culture,” says Stockman.

The Spanish group will arrive in Pilsen around noon. There they will be able to enjoy a meal in an authentic taquería, a taco restaurant, before visiting a Mexican fine arts museum. Afterward, the group will complete their day with a scavenger hunt of Pilsen and a stop at a local Mexican bakery to compare foods found there to bakeries back home. 

The crew of 24 students and eight chaperones will then check into their hotel rooms and have free time the rest of the night. Some activities they will be able to do are visit Navy Pier, the John Hancock building, go shopping or attend a Blue Man Group performance. 

Sunday’s activities will include visiting Millennium Park, lunch at one of five eateries, free time and dinner at Café Iberico, a restaurant that serves Spanish ‘tapas’, or appetizers. Monday the large group will tour the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium before heading home. 

“It’s going to be fun,” says sophomore Kane Barker. “I will be able to actually eat the food we learn about in class. I’ll be able to spend time with my friends outside of school while still getting my splendid education.” Barker is excited to see the inner cities of Chicago and to watch a Blue Man Group performance.

All students participating in this trip must have at least an 80% for their Spanish grade. This trip is open to all Spanish 2, 3 and 4 students. Students have all had the opportunity to fundraise money to go toward their trip funds. 

This is the third consecutive year of the Chicago trip. Each student will come away from the trip with more knowledge and appreciation of Mexican and Spanish culture.

Elementary students walk above and beyond their goal

Superintendent Dave Versteeg announces as Principal Darin Jones receives a giant pie to the face by his elementy students. The select students won this honor by having their names drawn from the names of the entire elementary student body. (Kayla Werner photo)

by Colton Talbert

The third annual elementary school Walk-a-Thon on Friday, Oct. 14, was a huge success as the amount raised beat this year’s goal of $12,000 by more than $8,000 and set another new record for the event.

For the first Walk-a-Thon in 2009, the goal was $4,500 and the amount achieved was $18,000. The next year, last year, they raised $13,423 with a goal of $5,000. The students always exceed their goal with a large profit margin.

The elementary spent the week preparing for the Walk-a-Thon by having dress up days to show their spirit. Students wore a color representing their class on Monday, Tuesday was crazy feet day, Wednesday was sports day, Thursday was pajama day and Friday the students and staff wore their black Walk-A-Thon shirts. 

During the week, money was being raised before the walk. When the school day came to a close on Friday at 3:30, the elementary had walked past their goal with a final amount of $20,452, which exceeded their goal of $12,000 by almost double.

This amount was revealed at a pep rally on that Friday after the Walk-a-Thon. The pep rally included two teams of elementary teachers competing in a relay race. The teachers had to balance pie pans, each with two ping-pong balls, above their heads on the palm of their hands. As they hurried through a cone maze across the junior high gym, they had to try not to lose their balls. The relay ended in a tie because one team dropped a ball and the other team grabbed the pan instead of holding it in their palm.

Then it was time for the elementary students’ most highly anticipated event. With the goal met, all elementary students were entered in a drawing to pie Elementary Principal Darin Jones in the face as a reward. Seven students were drawn to lift the giant pie.  The students included Kinnick Johnson, Bryant Gregson, Olivia Moretz, Maguire DeJong, Michael DeJong, Waverly Roorda and Tia Shaeffer. 

Jones said, “The Walk-A-Thon has been a great addition to Montezuma. The donations are used to provide learning opportunities and support our students. I want to thank Montezuma and the extended Montezuma family. Your support is greatly appreciated!”

The money from the Walk-a-Thon supports events and activities for the elementary throughout the year.  Past activities supported by funds from the Walk-a-Thon include Doughnuts with Dad, Mornings with Mom, Literacy Week events such as author visits, and mystery readers, and visits to the Science Center of Iowa.  

To watch the live video of the pep rally and view Jones being pied in the face, visit http://www.ihigh.com/gozuma/video_900077.html.

Donating blood with Montezuma NHS offers a simple way to save lives

by Vincent Bushong

Making a difference in someone’s life is a lot simpler than many may think; in fact, saving someone’s life can take 45 minutes or less at a blood drive. The Montezuma National Honor Society (NHS) students will be hosting their annual blood drive at the Montezuma High School gym on Nov. 4 from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. 

The NHS students have set a high goal of 60 blood donors for this year’s drive. The blood collected will be sent to LifeServe Blood Center, which will distribute the blood to more than 90 hospitals across Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.  

Blood transfusions are an integral part of hospital care across the country. In fact, one in every seven people who come to a hospital will need blood; that transfers to 3,000 needed units of blood per week to keep up with transfusion needs. 

The students are excited about the donations. 

“It’s rewarding to know you can save three lives by donating a pint of blood,” Kaylin Hansen said. 

If you are interested in making a donation, stop by the school on Nov. 4 or contact Allison Pargeon at 641-623-5121 to schedule your donation. 

Cheerleaders aim high for ICCA championship

by Elizabeth Ostrem and Natalie Kirton

On Nov. 5^th, the Montezuma cheerleaders will be competing for the first time at the Iowa Cheerleading Championships.

This competition is sponsored by the Iowa Cheerleading Coaches’ Association (ICCA), and will have competitors from five different divisions. These divisions include Class 1A and 2A, Class 3A and 4A, Large 4A division, Co-ed and an open division for squads with less than 8 girls. Montezuma cheerleaders that will be performing are seniors Madison Dawley, Destiny Romberg and Kaylin Hansen, junior Macy Taylor, sophomore Tiffany Heishman and freshman Vanessa Minner. Not attending is junior Halley Ogan, due to previous engagements.       “I feel it will be a great opportunity for the girls to step out of their comfort zones and try something completely new,” said Kelsie Sheets, assistant coach. “It allows them to show what they have learned and also to experience the abilities of others.”

Performances will be one minute in length. Judges will critique squads on precision in execution and the content of the performance. The evaluation will not be influenced by jumps, stunts, or the crowd’s reaction.

“It has been very difficult coming up with a one-minute cheer. The cheer has to be original, and then all of the girls have to learn the difficult movements,” said Sheets.

Although it is a “championship,” the main reason squads go is to get critiqued. Plaques will be awarded to the top scoring teams in the three divisions, but otherwise there are no specified winners .The event will be held at Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. The Montezuma squad will be performing at 9:20 a.m.

The cheerleaders were very inspired to take on this kind of challenge after hearing their summer cheer camp instructors talk about their own experiences at state competitions.

“Practicing and preparing for a competition such as this is very time consuming,” said Sheets. “Every motion has to be perfect and on the correct count. There is a lot of practice involved and a lot of patience from every end.”

JV Braves' football season concludes with a loss against the Warhawks

by Chelsey Moore

On Oct. 17, the JV football team played their final game against North Mahaska. The Braves ultimately lost with a score of 8 to 16.

Coach Keith Sietstra said, “Obviously, this game and season didn’t end on the positive note that we wanted it to, but we did see a lot of very good things tonight.”

Colton Maschmann set up the single touchdown with a 52 yard run with 6:42 left in the first quarter. Luke Goodman then scored the four-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion.  Jake Hasley also had a fumble recovery in the first quarter. 

Unfortunately, the JV Braves had four fumbles and one interception throughout the game.

Sietstra said, “I was pleased with the effort and intensity we ran with, just not in the execution of holding on to the football.” 

The defensive unit held up Mahaska on four different possessions inside the 15-yard line. 

The JV season ended with a record of 4-4.  The coaches are proud of the gains that the team made as the season went along. This season will be a very positive stepping stone for them and the football program in the future. 

Season finale for JH Bravettes

by Kayla Werner

The 7^th grade volleyball team had a strong season, winning six out of nine games. They had their  final two matches against BGM on Oct. 10^th, and HLV on Oct. 11^th. Both games were losses.

Willow Ely, a team member, said, “We had a great season! Many wins, few losses, and good teamwork.” 

Those two games had some outstanding moments. One of those moments would be Ashley Vinton serving 14 consecutive times against BGM. Another would be Tailor Snook scoring 2 aces in that same game. Hannah Beenken not only served 7 times against HLV, but also single handedly pulled off 5 successful attacks and 3 kills.

The highest stats of the season were Ashley Vinton with 94 serves, Hannah Beenken pulling off 11 attacks and 5 kills, and Kennedy Phillips serving 92 times and scoring 17 aces.

The 8^th grade had an amazing season also, winning seven out of nine of their games. Their last games were also against BGM and HLV. They won their game against HLV, but BGM managed to beat the Bravettes with scores of 25-21, 26-28 and 14-25. 

“The season went really well. The team  played and worked hard and we had our ups and  downs but in the end, everything worked out,” said Ashley Moore. 

The season had some great moments, one of which was  Katie Maschmann serving 109 times and pulling off 12 aces, 26 attacks and 7 kills. Aliya Pargeon also had 12 aces during the season. Sierra Peavey and Megan Baker each had 13 attacks.

Sierra Peavey said, “I think that we played really well, and we worked as a team with improving our skills. And even when we lost, we still had our hopes up.”