Choir presents holiday concert

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor
The South Middle School Vocal Music Department, under the direction of Ms. Julie Yonkers, presented its annual holiday concert, "Merrily Sing Noel!" Tuesday in the auditorium. A performance was also given during an assembly Tuesday morning.

The program opened with the sixth grade choir performing six numbers, including solos by Kenya Schmidt and Amanda Schilling.
The Concert Choir performed eight songs, with solos by Sarah Painter, Tanner Crawford, Adam Schilling, Mariah Sanders, and Katie Uttley.
The Southern Belles, South's show choir, performed "A Jingle Bell Christmas."

Sixth Grade Cholr- Tiffanie Alexander, Joceline Bogarin, Keantavious Burns, Heather Copeland, Leigh Ann Craig, Laura Crews, Khristopher Dailey, Shelbie DeWitt, Abby Dial, Kenny Gonzalez, Summer Hall, Erica Handy, Cayley Hardison, Haleigh Hawkins, Sarah Heimberg, Wesley Hooks, Bradley Kennedy, Jawni Lemmons, Cassie Lloyd, Amanda Marvin, Shea Mazur, Emily Merritt, Austin Oxford, Hailee Peek, Amara Pendergraft, Salena Perez, Alivia Plassman, Kenneth Ricketson, Kortnie Roberts, Shaina Saylor, Amanda Schilling, Kenya Schmidt, Dominic Searle, Mackenzie Shamblin, Erika Smith, Shaffer Stevens, Alex Still, Stephen Tatum, Trece Tinder, Georgina Velazquez, Brook Vickers, Nicole Walker, Megan Walls, Rebekah Walters, Alexia Westfall, Marti Westfall, Olivia Wills, Rachelle Wilson.

Concert Choir- Torri Ackerson, Kayla Alexander-Norris, Jodi Anderson, Sierra Bartholomew, Kendra Bauersfield, Lindsey Beall, Haley Bowers, Madison Briggs, Charlee Brown, Clayton Brown, Lexi Brown, Ethan Bryan, Courtney Burns, Tozia Burris, Hannah Cady, Hollis Cady, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Marcus Clark, Cheslie Cook, Cecil Cornish, Tracie Cottrill, Tanner Crawford, Shaney Delzell, Felisha Derrick, Laila Douglas, Caroline Dutton, Shane Ellis, Calisha England, Tara Fleming, Jared Fuller, Christina Gates, Eleena Gonzales, Kelsey Gould, Jordan Hamilton, Allison Hankins, Taylor Harris, Erika Hinojosa, Rachelle Hughbank, Shelby Ingram, Anna Johnson, Carson Jones, Heather Jones, Kevin Justus, Katie Kemmery, Shani Knight, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Itzell Lopez, Elisha Mansour, Sarah Matthews, Dominique Michael, Tori Mitchell, Ghenessa Moore, Jade Moore, Holly O'Dell, Brianna Oxford, Sarah Painter, Bethani Patterson, Katie Phelps, Mackenzy Pierce, Kayla Pinkerton, Justice Pullam, Cady Reddell, Emma Rice, Barbara Rodriguez, Abby Sadler, Mariah Sanders, Adam Schilling, Krystal Schulze, Adrienne Self, Shelby Shumaker, Taylor Shutte, Mindy Sirichok, Candace Smith, C. D. Smith, Amanda Uselton, Brittany Utley, Katie Uttley, Hannah Ward, Storm Whittington, Nichole Yeoman.

Southern Belles- Jodi Anderson, Haley Bowers, Lexi Brown, Courtney Burns, Tozia Burris, Hannah Cady, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Shaney Delzell, Tara Fleming, Carson Jones, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Sarah Matthews, Tori Mitchell, Holly O'Dell, Sarah Painter, Mariah Sanders, Krystal Schulze.

(From top: Southern Belles, Sarah Painter performs solo, Tanner Crawford performs solo, Concert Choir, Sixth Grade Choir)

8th and 7th Grade Basketball Tryouts

Raycee Thompson Room 210 Editors

8th and 7th grade boy's basketball tryouts were wrapped up on the 5th of Dec. The basketball tryouts consisted of conditioning and teh coaches also took the students' grades into consideration. The 7th grade boy's basketball coach is Coach Wallace and the 8th grade boy's basketball coach is Coach Vieselmayer.

8th grade boy's basketball team: Nathan Cox, Beau Scroggins, Nathan Stripling, Nick McIntosh, Gareth Evans, Gill Randolph, Blake Putnam, Desean Triplett, Paden Lacey, Preston Ryser, Payton Pollock, Robert Braum, and Jeffrey Terry.

7th grade boy's basketball team: Hunter Mills, Kaleb Owens, CD Smith, Stefon Rich, Michael Oyler, Nate Brummer, Caleb Garton, Gabe Scchetta, Chelslie Cook, Jordan Buxton, Dalton Anderson, Joey Ryser, Axel Vene, and Calvin Halumbaugh.

The End Of Clubs

Raycee Thompson Room 210 Editor

The last club day was on the 29th of Nov. We would have club days every Fridays for a month. The reason we had the clubs all in one week at the end of the month was because the other schools did and Mr. Cook and thought it would be a good idea. As well as the fact that it would be easier for students and teachers to remember when it was club day.

Can you even imagine having to sort through nearly 600 names and make sure that the kids got what they wanted? Mr. Cookhad to do that. He actually went through all the names 3 or 4 times. Luckily he was willing to do that so we could have clubs.

Morning homework center starts

By SARAH KESSLER
Room 210 Editor
"We're trying to open up availability for students to come in and get extra help." This is what the counselor at South Middle School, Mrs. KarenSue Hensley, says about the new morning homework center.
This early session takes place from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. (this is when school starts) Tuesday- Friday. On Monday, homework center starts at 7:30 a.m. At the 7:30 meeting, sixth graders meet in room 108, seventh graders in room 205, and eighth graders in room 206.
Not only does this group meet in the morning, it also meets in the afternoon. Students can meet in room 109 Monday through Wednesday and Friday and in the the computer lab on Thursday. The afternoon session starts after school and ends at 4 p.m.

Seventh grade super students take skate trip

Story and Photos
By ELAINA WARREN
Room 210 Staff Writer

On Nov. 28, the seventh grade students went on an honor roll field trip. They went to the mall food court to eat and then they went to the Webb City Skateland and skated for about two and a half hours.
Those who were eligible for the honor roll field trip were:

Seventh Grade- Torri Ackerson, John Alumbaugh, Dalton Anderson, Mallory Augustosky, Victoria Baker, Sierra Bartholomew, Abigail Bass, Austin Boyd, Lisa Bromley, Casey Burkhart, Austin Burns, Hannah Cody, Joshua Cochran, Ronald Darby, Aaron Daum, Danielle Doerr, Karissa Dowell, Caroline Dutton, Preston Eafrati, Judith Fausto, Danielle Gideon, Kelsey Gould, Olivia Hampton, Hannah Hare, Christopher Harpole, Taylor Harris, Shanice Hazley, Elisabeth Heimberg, Alex Hill, Esteban Hinojosa, Brittany Hudson, Anna Johnson, Kevin Justus, Brandon Laub, Nicholas Laub, Kylie Lewsader, Shyann Lutes, Tianna McCarthy, Dominique Michael, Hunter Mills, Damon Monasco, Alexander Musgrave, Hailey Oxford, Spencer Peterson, Devin Plassman, Blake Price, Thomas Richins, Alexandra Ritter, Gabriel Sachetta, Krystal Schulze, Bryan Sexton, Victoria Thompson, Theodora Voutiritsas, Elaina Warren, Ethan Warstler, Andrew Welch, Ashley Wescoat, Allison White, Storm Whittington, Emilee Wills, Alexis Woods, Emily Yarbrough

Photos:Ms.Mense goes crazy at the skating rink.
Allie has ten dollars.
The students train skate.
Soulja Boy
Chicken Dance
Cha Cha Slide

Eighth grade science students explore "butterfly effect"

By ALEX KANGETHE
Room 210 News Writer
On the walls, in the halls, they're everywhere. have you seen them?
They're the butterflies done by the class of Mr.Mike Wallace, eighth grade science teacher. IT was an assignment made to teach about natural selection and how if an animal has a better chance of surviving if it is more accustomed to its surroundings. such as the birds of the Galapagos Islands. on one island, there were birds with strong beaks to break through nuts which was the only food there. on another island there were birds with slim beaks that resemble tweezers that are used to catch insects. but while in Uganda, there are tuskless elephants. while their population is beginning to slowly increase, the tusk elephant population is beginning to slowly decrease because of the ivory in their tusks. so it all goes down to the way animals accommodate themselves to their environment with evolution.

Thanksgiving in Russia

(Note: Miss Sheri Medlock, former eighth grade reading teacher at South, is in her first year of teaching in Russia and has agreed to provide us with weekly updates.)

You never really consider traditions until you are away from people who celebrate them. Of course Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but the truth of that never really dawned on me until Thursday last week. I got, prepared for my normal lessons, ate a hot dog, then went to work. I taught from 4 o'clock until almost 10. Then I called my family.
I spent the day Thanksgiving discussing traditions with my students. My students were curious about the food we eat on this day. They had tasted turkey and mashed potatoes, but most had never tried pumpkin pie, and few had heard of stuffing.
"So everyone has this dinner on Thanksgiving?" they asked me.
"Well, some families may change some of the dishes, but mostly, yes," I replied. "Aren't their Russian holidays with traditional food?"
They told me about a holiday that celebrates the end of winter and the beginning of spring. You can image, after five months of winter, this is a big deal. The holiday, which name I can't pronounce, dates back to pre-Christian days in Russia. Families build a doll of straw that symbolizes winter. They burn it in the streets. And what is the traditional food they eat? Pancakes. There's nothing quite as Russian as pancakes. They eat pancakes rolled up like burritos. Inside the pancakes they put everything from fruit and cream to mushrooms and meat.
I hear the Russian word for "pancake" a hundred times a day. "Bleen" sounds like a very obscene Russian curse word. They substitute this word the way Americans substitute the word "shoot" or "dang."
Oh, I need to finish planning my lessons. Bleen. I better go now.
Blessings,
Sheri Medlock

LAST WEEK

My first year at South Middle School I experienced the normal struggles of a new teacher. After teaching 3 years, I thought some of those struggles were behind me. However, I have discovered a new difficulty as a teacher. Can you imagine your entire class knowing a language you don't? It is a bit unrealistic to ask my students to speak in English the entire 2 hours of my class periods. However, when they aren't speaking English, I have no idea what is being said. I've had to learn Russian curse words fairly quickly.
I teach all ages and all levels of English proficiency. I have students that are adults who want to improve their English and children and teenagers whose parents are forcing them to take the class. On Saturdays I teach a class of 8-10 year olds. The class is meant to be "conversational English." In other words, I have to try to get them to talk for 80 minutes in English. However, this has been a little bit difficult. The first day of this class a girl walked in and I said, "How are you?" She replied, "Ten years old." Last weekend I asked the class, "What did you do last summer?" They replied, "Yes."
Sheri Medlock

SMS Quiz Bowl takes second in science meet

South Middle School Quiz Bowl Number one team took second place in a science competition at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School Tuesday night and missed by one question forcing a playoff for first place.
Team One, consisting of eighth graders Sarah Kessler and Mary Jean Miller and seventh graders Calvin Alumbaugh, Joey Capeheart, and Elaina Warren, won seven matches and lost two, the best finish ever for a South team in the traveling academic challenge.
Alumbaugh correctly answered 30 questions and Capeheart eighth to lead South.
South's Number Two team, consisting of eighth graders Alex Kangethe, Amanda Jones, Nicol McDonald, Matt Cruzan and Andrew Ideker, and seventh grader Danielle Doerr won two games, with Kangethe correctly answering 15 questions.
In the overall competition, after the science meet and a communication arts meet at Carl Junction in October, South Team 1 is in third place out of nine teams, one half-point behind second place College Heights. The team that won both the communication arts and science competitions, Carl Junction 1, is in first place.

The next competition, math, will be held Monday, Jan. 28, at College Heights.

Students reach reading goal; principals get legs waxed

Story and Photo Essay
By SARAH KESSLER and RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editors

South Middle School students were able to read 1,439 books by Nov 20, far surpassing the goal of 1,200. Therefore, Mr. Ron Mitchell, principal, and Mr. Jarrett Cook, assistant principal, had to wax their legs. Then Mr. Cook buffed Mr. Mitchell's head with his sock. While this was going on the top readers were able to get a close up look on the event. The top readers were:

Mary Jean Miller, Sarah Kessler, Amie Howard, Molly Baker, Anh Nguyen, Ian Mitchell, Chance Ewing, Shalea Purdy, Megan Walls Alexandra Owens, Marissa Shofner, Cayley Hardison, Caleb Wills, Rebekah Walters, Mackenzie Shamblin, Cassie Lloyd, Stesha Hiebert, Aaron Dunaway, Damon Monasco, Emily Yarbbowugh, Thomas Richins, Paiton Anderson, Aaron Daum, Jacob Wyrick, Elaina Warren, Victoria Baker, Anna Johnson, Abby Boss, Ricky Hutchinson, Brandon Coub, and Storm Whittington

Students honored for academic accomplishments

South Middle School students who scored at the advanced or proficient levels on the annual MAP tests last year were honored Monday night at the annual Academic All Stars celebration held in the Joplin High School Auditorium.
The students were introduced by Mr. Ron Mitchell, principal, had their photos taken, and then later received gifts and had refreshments.
Those who were named Academic All Stars were:

Sixth Grade- Desirae Anaya, Mason Atwood, Forrest Barnard, Keenan Beverlin, Joceline Bogarin, Gram Booth, Kenneth Braun, Brendyn Burns, Preston Carpenter, Luis Cepeda, India Coleman, Heather Copeland, David Cox, Drew Cox, Leigh Ann Craig, Lavinia Cure, Khristopher Dailey, Summer Dean, Gavin DePaul, Shelbie DeWitt, Abigail Dial, Aaron Dunaway, Katelyn Earl, Bain Edens, Sammatha Eshom, Johnathon Gibson, Oswaldo Gomez, Kaci Gowen, Kyle Gradwohl, Khaled Graham, Lane Grims, Bailey Hale, Chase Hall, Erica Handy, Cayley Hardison, December Hedge, Sarah Helmberg, Chandler Hendrix, Wesley Hooks, Courtney Huggins, Brittnie Hunter, Colton Johnson, Miranda Kemmery, Spencer Layne, Lauren Leibee, Jawni Lemmons, Jessica Little, Cassandra Lloyd, Joanna Lopez, Amanda Marvin, Chanci McGowen, Nicholas McKay, Bethany Meehl, Robert Metsker, Preston Miller, Michael Munalem, Michael O’Dell, Taryn Parker, Hailee Peek, Amara Pendergraft, Salena Perez, Michael Peterson, Dakota Pilgrim, Dakota Pliler, Malachai Poling, Gannon Purdy, Kahla Quinn, Luke Randolph, David Reed, Kymbre Resler, Austin Romano, Levi Russell, William Rust, Amanda Schilling, Kenya Schmidt, Dominic Searle, Mackenzie Shamblin, Marissa Shofner, Erika Smith, Eric Spicer, Devon Stahl, Matthew Stevens, Christian Still, Alexander Taylor, Ashley Taylor, Cheyenne Thomason, Zachary VanLoon, Brooklyn Vickers, Nicole Walker, Megan Walls, Rebekah Walters, Justice Ward, Alexia Westfall, Martianna Westfall, Sterling White, Caleb Willis, Olivia Willis

Seventh Grade- Torri Ackerson, Calvin Alumbaugh, Jodi Anderson, Victoria Baker, Sierra Bartholomew, Abigail Bass, Eric Bauersfield, Austin Boyd, Lisa Bromley, Alexis Brown, Clayton Brown, Nathan Brummer, Casey Burkhart, Tyler Burkhart, Courtney Burns, Hollis Cady, Dylan Caldwell, Joseph Capeheart, Cole Darby, Aaron Daum, Felisha Derrick, Danielle Doerr, Laila Douglas, Karissa Dowell, Caroline Dutton, Shelby Eaton, Calisha England, Wesley Estes, Eliza Fausto, Trevor Garrett, Caleb Garton, Kelsey Gould, Olivia Hampton, Allison Hankins, Hannah Hare, Alex Hill, Esteban Hinojosa, Brittany Holden, Anna Johnson, Carson Jones, Paula Jones, Kevin Justus, Brandon Laub, Nicholas Laub, Kylie Lewsader, Elisha Mansour, Sherry Marlett, Dustin Martin, Tianna McCarthy, Dominique Michael, Blake Miller, Hunter Mills, Damien Mitchell, Damon Monasco, Chip Munalem, Alexander Musgrave, Curtis Nollner, Morgan Osburn, Michael Oyler, Bethani Patterson, Spencer Patterson, Blake Price, Orlon Quintana, Dakota Reasoner, Rachel Redwine, Stefon Rich, Thomas Richins, Alexandra Ritter, Gabriel Sachetta, Bryson Sexton, Benjamin Story, Logan Terry, Victoria Thompson, Kristin Tippett, Axle Vene, Theodora Voutiritas, Elaina Warren, Ethan Warstler, Andrew Welch, Ashley Wescoat, Allison White, Alex Whittington, Andrew Williams, Emilee Willis, Alexis Woods, Jacob Wyrick, Emily Yarbrough

Eighth Grade- Merisha Alderman, Monica Anderson, Omar Arreola, Stephen Austin, Molly Baker, Nathan Baker, Jonathan Ballard, Kirsti Banning, Abby Bartow, Cody Borgstede, Emylee Brown, Sara Buck, Sara Burns, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Marcus Clark, Cecil Cornish, Tanner Crawford, Matthew Cruzan, Britteny DeMasters, Breanne Diles, Derek Dillon, Zachary Dorris, Mallory East, Shane Ellis, Gareth Evans, Taylor Fetterman, Brittany Frisbie, Shawn Fronce, Christina Gates, Devyn Hale, Gage Haskew, Levina Hayzlett, Chelsea Hernandez, Zachary Hibbard, Brandon Holman, Amie Howard, Cody Jenkins, Jacob Johnson, Amanda Jones, Heather Jones, Alex Kangethe, Alexander Karns, Katherine Kemmery, Amanda Kennedy, Sarah Kessler, Tera Knight, Allie Lacey, Luke Lenhart, Amanda Liontas, Sydney Long, Itzel Lopez, Hunter Lynn, Richie Lyons, Wade Mathis, Sarah Matthews, Ian McPherson, Mary Jean Miller, Brittany Mitchell, Ian Mitchell, Tori Mitchell, Travis Morris, Kelli Newberry, Anh Nguyen, Billy Nguyen, Holly O’Dell, Olivyah Parker, Logan Perry, Christopher Perry, Sarah Phillips, Caitlyn Pilgrim, Chloe Potts, Shalea Purdy, Blake Putnam, Gilbert Randolph, Sabra Reddell, Andrew Roberts, Bryan Ross, Mariah Sanders, Adam Schilling, Robert Scott, Beau Scroggins, Adrienne Self, Dylan Shaner, Braden Showers, Dalton Smith, Sydney Snider, Shawn Spicer, Sarah Stephens, Bayley Strella, Nathan Stripling, Jeffrey Terry, Raycee Thompson, Brittany Utley, Katherine Uttley, Greggory VanLoon, Kyle Vene, Jamie Walters, Hannah Ward, Dillon Warlaumont, Casee Wheeler, Nichole Yeoman

Wrestling season begins

By SARAH PHILLIPS
Room 210 Staff Writer

Wrestling season began Nov. 8 for South Middle School.
"It makes me feel like a million bucks when I wrestler," eighth grader Yainer Oviedo said. His teammates are: Adam Schilling, Beau Scroggins, Blake Putnam, Logan Terry, Jeffery Terry, and Ian McPherson. The team is coached by David Myers.
The team's next meet will be Nov. 29 against Carl Junction at Memorial, followed by the Seneca Tournament Dec. 1, a match at Lebanon Dec. 6, and the season-ending city championship meet at Memorial.

Kessler, Thompson named Room 210 News Editors

Eighth graders Raycee Thompson and Sarah Kessler have been named Room 210 News editors and will head the 2007-2008 South Middle School Journalism Club, according to sponsor Mr. Randy Turner

"Raycee and Sarah have worked hard this year and have helped this to make this one of our most productive years ever," Mr. Turner said. "They have earned the editing positions and I look forward to seeing what they will accomplish the rest of this year."

SMS observes Veterans Day

By SARAH KESSLER
Room 210 News Editor
South Middle School students learned the true meaning of Veterans Day last week during a brief assembly.
The Joplin High School ROTC Honor Guard posted the colors, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, and a video prepared by Mr. Rocky Biggers, eighth grade social studies teacher honoring veterans from the beginning of the United States to the present.

(Photo by Sarah Kessler)

Mr. Mitchell celebrates birthday

Faculty and staff at South helped Mr. Ron Mitchell, principal, celebrate his birthday last week,, providing him with a cake, card, and gift.

Students collect cans for needy families

South Middle School TAs have been collecting cans to help needy families during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. The collections ended last week. The cans will be used for families of SMS students, according to school officials.

(Joey Capeheart, Elaina Warren, and Alex Kangethe, help sort cans. Room 210 News photo by Tanner Crawford)

Assistant principal completes first round of teacher evaluations

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 News Editor

"I love to watch and make sure the teachers are teaching and the students are
learning, said South Middle School Assistant Principal Mr. Jarrett Cook, who just completed his first round of teacher evaluations.

Mr. Cook and Mr. Ron Mitchell, principal, evaluate teachers randomly, formatively (formally, during the fall semester) and summatively (a whole year's summary after a spring observation).
Teachers are evaluated to make sure that students are learning and teachers are teaching.
Mr. Cook doesn't put the teachers down. He is there to help the teachers teach
the students better and encourage them to keep up the good work. The principals
are required to evaulate the teachers. .

On the other hand, teachers don't do anything out of the norm to prepare for
teacher evauations. Teachers are just required to fill out some paperwork for
the principal, which states what the lesson plan is and what objectives they
will be covering. They can also leave special notices in the paperwork as well
for things they want the principal to notice.

Sixty-three SMS students record perfect 4.0 grade point averages

Sixty-three South Middle School students recorded perfect 4.0 grade point averages during the first quarter.
Those who received no grades lower than an A were:

Sixth Grade- Jalen Carter, Heather Copeland, Drew Cox, Leigh Ann Craig, Shelbie DeWitt, Katelyn Earl, Bailey Hale, Cayley Hardison, Chandlar Hendrix, Wesley Hooks, Chanci McGowen, Preston Miller, Michael Munalem, Taryn Parker, Hailee Peek, Stormi Potts, Gannon Purdy, Kymbre Resler, Amanda Schilling, Kenya Schmidt, Mackenzie Shamblin, Marissa Shofner, Scott Simmons, Eric Spicer, Kristen Tyler, Megan Walls.

Seventh Grade- Calvin Alumbaugh, Victoria Baker, Abigail Bass, Lisa Bromley, Ronald Darby, Aaron Daum, Danielle Doerr, Victoria Thompson, Ethan Warstler

Eighth Grade- Molly Baker, Taylor Camden, Brittany Frisbie, Devyn Hale, Amie Howard, Alex Karns, Sarah Kessler, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Thomas Loucks, Wade Mathis, Mary Jean Miller, Holly O'Dell, Olivyah Parker, Logan Perry, Shalea Purdy, Sabra Reddell, Mariah Sanders, Adam Schilling, Adrienne Self, Candace Smith, Bayley Strella, Nathan Stripling, Jeffrey Terry, Raycee Thompson, Brittany Utley, Greg VanLoon, Casee Wheeler

First quarter honor rolls trips to be held week after Thanksgiving

First quarter honor roll trips for South Middle School students will be held the week after Thanksgiving, beginning with the sixth grade trip Tuesday, Nov. 27, followed by the seventh grade and eighth grade trips the following two days.

Students who qualified for the trip are:

Eighth Grade- Spencer Abts, Stephen Austin, Molly Baker, Nathan Baker, Kirsti Banning, Abby Bartow, Emylee Brown, Sara Buck, Sara Burns, Tozia Burris, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Marcus Clark, Cecil Cornish, Matthew Cruzan, Brittney DeMasters, Breanne Diles, Zachary Dorris, Shane Ellis, Dermott Evans, Taylor Fetterman, Tara Fleming, Brittany Frisbie, Shawn Fronce, Taylir Gudgen, Devyn Hale, Dustin Hall, Gage Haskew, Jeffrey Haynes, Aron Hembree, Zach Hibbard, Jessica Highley, Icesus Holland, Brandon Holman, Amie Howard, Ashley Howe, Rachelle Hughbank, Joselyn Irrizary, Jacob Johnson, Amanda Jones, Alex Kangethe, Alex Karns, Amanda Kennedy, Sarah Kessler, Tera Knight, Allie Lacey, Blake Lamb, Lauren Layne, Luke Lenhart, Sydney Long, Thomas Loucks, Hunter Lynn, Jacob Lyons, Austin Mallory, Wade Mathis, Candace McGillvray, Mary Jean Miller, Brittany Mitchell, Ian Mitchell, Tori Mitchell, Travis Morris, Anh Nguyen, Billy Nguyen, Holly O'Dell, Olivyah Parker, Logan Perry, Sarah Phillips, MacKenzy Pierce, William Potter, Chloe Potts, Shalea Purdy, Blake Putnam, Tyra Raby, Gilbert Randolph, Sabra Reddell, Chelci Reed, Andrew Roberts, Bryan Ross, Joshua Ruiz, Mariah Sanders, Adam Schilling, Adrienne Self, Unyajit Sirichok, Candace Smith, Adam Snearly, Shawn Spicer, Brett Stearnes, Bayley Strella, Nathan Stripling, Rebecca Tanner, Raven Taylor, Jeffrey Terry, Raycee Thompson, Latosha Treat, Christian Underwood, Amanda Uselton, Brittany Utley, Katherine Uttley, Greg VanLoon, Kyle Vene, Jamie Walters, Hannah Ward, Michael Webb, Casee Wheeler, Nichole Yeoman

Seventh Grade- Torri Ackerson, John Alumbaugh, Dalton Anderson, Mallory Augustosky, Victoria Baker, Sierra Bartholomew, Abigail Bass, Austin Boyd, Lisa Bromley, Casey Burkhart, Austin Burns, Hannah Cody, Joshua Cochran, Ronald Darby, Aaron Daum, Danielle Doerr, Karissa Dowell, Caroline Dutton, Preston Eafrati, Judith Fausto, Danielle Gideon, Kelsey Gould, Olivia Hampton, Hannah Hare, Christopher Harpole, Taylor Harris, Shanice Hazley, Elisabeth Heimberg, Alex Hill, Esteban Hinojosa, Brittany Hudson, Anna Johnson, Kevin Justus, Brandon Laub, Nicholas Laub, Kylie Lewsader, Shyann Lutes, Tianna McCarthy, Dominique Michael, Hunter Mills, Damon Monasco, Alexander Musgrave, Hailey Oxford, Spencer Peterson, Devin Plassman, Blake Price, Thomas Richins, Alexandra Ritter, Gabriel Sachetta, Krystal Schulze, Bryan Sexton, Victoria Thompson, Theodora Voutiritsas, Elaina Warren, Ethan Warstler, Andrew Welch, Ashley Wescoat, Allison White, Storm Whittington, Emilee Wills, Alexis Woods, Emily Yarbrough

Sixth graders' names will be added when the list is available.

Cheerleaders to perform at wrestling matches

By JORDAN CHAMBERS
Room 210 Staff Writer
This year in South Middle School eighth graders have combined the fall and winter squads, for cheerleading. The squad has eight new cheerleaders. Our eighth grade cheerleaders this year are: Emylee Brown, Sara Buck, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Lauren Layne, Candace McGillvray, Bayley Strella, and Nichole Yeoman.

Nichole Yeoman says, “ I’m a cheerleader to support my school.”
Emylee Brown says, “ I just love cheerleading.”
Lauren Layne says, “South cheerleaders are looking forward to supporting South wrestlers.”
Their first wresting match will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Memorial Middle School.

Seventh graders attended motivational session at high school

By ELAINA WARREN
Room 210 Staff Writer
On November 2nd, the 7th grade students at South Middle School went to Joplin High School and saw a motivational movie that took six months to create. There were many sponsors that helped create this movie,including McDonald’s, MoDot, MSSU, Roper Honda, KOAM, and Fox 14. There were many movie clips involved such as Over the Hedge, How to Eat Fried Worms, Dreamer, Barnyard, Ice Age, Click, Akila and the Bee, Stick It, Monster House, Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, and 3, Curious George, Spider Man 1, 2, and 3, and Open Season.
There were also many music artists and musicians involved in this movie, including Destiny’s Child, Rascal Flatts, Kelly Clarkson, Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban, High School Musical Soundtrack, Jack Johnson, Ice Age Soundtrack, Cheetah Girls Soundtrack, and Bethany Dillion.

Sub fills in during Mr. Barnes' absence

By BRITTANY FRISBIE
Room 210 Staff Writer

Mr. Reed Barnes, the South Middle School band teacher, took a three-week leave Monday, Oct. 29. His sub is Mr. Bob Estes, who taught here at South for eight years. Now that he is subbing, the 7th and 8th grade band have a new marching routine.
The band had to relearn the Top Gun Theme. Mr. Estes rewrote the music as a shorter version. The new version will be performed for the first time at the Veterans Day Parade, 10th and Main, Joplin, 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. Mr. Estes told the band, "You guys are looking really sharp!"

Unsats to be mailed Friday, Nov. 16

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 News Editor

The dreaded unsats (unsatisfactory notices) will be sent out again next week.
Mid-quarter is Nov. 12 and the unsatisfactory notices will be sent out Nov.
16 to people with D's and F's.
The unsats are designed to warn parents of their children's grade.

Basketball teams split with College Heights

South Middle School girls basketball teams split with College Heights Tuesday night with the seventh grade team winning 29-15 and the eighth grade falling 19-17.
Casee Wheeler led the eighth grade with five points, while Holly O'Dell, Mariah Sanders, and Molly Baker added four apiece.

(Photo: Mariah Sanders yanks down an offensive rebound. Also shown for South are Casee Wheeler and Brittany Mitchell.)

Update from Miss Medlock

(Note: Former SMS eighth grade reading teacher Miss Sheri Medlock is providing weekly updates from Russia where she has taken a teaching job.)

Greetings Friends!
Big events this past week:

* After I wrote last week about my new class, it didn't happen. No one showed up. Apparently there was a Halloween party the children all went to, and the director forgot to tell me. However, in 30 minutes my class should start. Maybe.
* Last Saturday home group was again John, Masha, and me.
* Sunday after church I went with the Wolfes to a party for EF. It was quite an experience. The restaurant had Georgian food. Not like the Georgian food I was born with, though.

Struggles this past week:

* I have had a sinus infection all week. Because of this I haven't really done much. I am starting to feel a little better.

Victories this week:

* Despite feeling horrible from the sinus infection, I was able to teach all week. God always gives me the strength to do what I need to do.
* I received my first care package from my friends in Joplin. This was an amazing encouragement all week.

Family:

* Please continue to pray for my grandfather's health.

Daily Walk:

* Though still memorizing 1 Peter, I have also been reading Mark. I'm falling more in love with Jesus.

Ahead this week:

* Home group meets after my English lesson today. Today I expect John and Egor. Masha is out of town. Egor came to our first meeting but hasn't made it since then. I'm encouraged that he is coming today.

Prayer Requests:

* Please pray for my health. I'm not over the sinus infection.
* Pray that I will develop more relationships with those I work with.
* Pray for the home group that God will lead and direct us.

It's been a quiet week. I've slept late then gone to work, not feeling really prepared. But in this time I have felt how completely I am in God's hand. I heard a song this week that said of God "Warm is Your hand." I like that. We often think of God's hand as strong and mighty. But warm has the idea of a hand that strokes your cheek with compassion and love. His hand has been warm.
Sheri

Ervin TA sponsoring Read-A-Thon to help annual promotion

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor
South Middle School students have two weeks left to reach their reading promotion goal of 1,200 books and they are still quite a few books short. Mrs. Ervin's T.A. has decided to help students reach the goal by sponsoring a read-a-thon, as well as challenging all the other T.A.'s to see which one can have the most people come.
It will be held in the library after school Tuesday, Nov. 13.
Students can bring a blanket and pillow if they wish since they will be there until 8 p.. unless their parents come to get them earlier. During school hours, the blanket and pillow must be kept in the locker.
Mrs. Ervin's T.A. will also provide pizza for anyone who attends.

Update on Reading Promotion provided

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor
South Middle School students have only read 397 books after the first two weeks of the annual Reading Promotion. Over the intercom, Principal Mr. Ron Mitchell said we should have read 800 books by now.
Reading Department Chairman Mrs. Linda Weaver said she would like to see more yellow slips (each one signifies that a book has been read) and wants to remind everyone to ask for the slips.
So, if you want to see Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Cook get their legs waxed then read some more books. The goal is 1,200.
The final results will be announced Monday, Nov. 19, during an assembly.

Half-day scheduled for Wednesday

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor
School just seems to go on forever right? Well, this Wednesday, Oct. 31, we have a half day. We'll get out at 11:30 am. Students will only go to T.A. - 4th hour.
But, why bother going at all? For three reasons: 1. So the elementary kids can have a party in the morning and then be able to go home. and 2. So we can count this as a full day. We need to have 174 days in a school year and this makes it so we don't have to go past May 26. 3. Lastly so the teachers can have a meeting to go over the M.A.P. scores during the afternoon.
Each school in the Joplin R-8 School District has a meeting for different reasons, but South's staff will go over the M.A.P. scores.
Have a good Halloween, but remember that we have school the following day so don't party too hard.

Second round of clubs completed

The second round of clubs was completed Thursday morning at South Middle School. Ms. Lara Stamper's club explored Harry Potter. More information will be featured in an upcoming article on Room 210 News.

(Room 210 photos by Mary Jean Miller)

First quarter honor roll field trips planned

By SARAH PHILLIPS
Room 210 Staff Writer
Skating during school. Sounds like fun!
All you have to do is have A's, B's and no D's Or F's and an A for every C.
Students who meet those qualifications will leave around fourth hour, most likely one day during the week of Nov. 12-16 and go to Northpark Mall for lunch, but they won't leave the food court so they shouldn't count on getting in any shopping.
After that, the students leave to skate. They will return just before seventh hour.
More information about the trip, including which students qualified for it, will be featured later on this website.

TAs participate in pumpkin-decorating contest

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor

Teachers, celebrities, and monsters, oh my! That's exactly how our little pumpkin patch could be described.
The winners for this year's TA Pumpkin Decorating Contest are: Mrs. Ervin's T.A. for most like a south teacher, Mrs. Stamper's T.A. for most like a celebrity, and Ms. Cathy Weaver's T.A. for the scariest pumpkin.

(Photo by Raycee Thompson)

Top fundraiser salesmen announced at assembly

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor
The South Middle School fundraiser went very well this year. During an assembly Wednesday morning, Assistant Principal Mr. Jarrett Cook announced that as a school we raised over $7,000! Forty-four students sold at least 15 items and are able to go on a limo ride and receive a free lunch. The winners are:

Sammatha Eshom, Dalton Smith, Tara Fleming, Chelsey Patch, Breanne Diles, Josh Ruiz, Sterling White, Kaci Gowen, Victoria Baker, Chance Ewing, Lynnlee Shepherd, Kortnie Roberts, Elaina Warren, Calisha England, Curtis Nollner, Chris Harpole, Kyle Gradwhol, India Coleman, Hailee Peck, Kevin Justus, Joshua Cochram, Leigh Ann Graig, Levina Hayzlett, Shawn Fronce, Lisa Bromley, Shane Ellis, Emily Merritt, Ashley Taylor, Kyle Thompson, Alexander Tanner, Cailin Brown, Nicole Walker, Khaled Graham, Spencer Layne, Keaton Jones, Sarah Stephens, Kenya Schmidt, Katie Uttley, Mac Owen, Chandler Hendrix, Casey Sharp, and Balton Stayesha.
(Assembly photo by Raycee Thompson; limo photos by Sarah Kessler)

Quiz bowl team has strong season opener

The South Middle School Quiz Bowl teams opened strongly during a communication arts competition at Carl Junction Middle School Oct. 15.
The teams won seven matches, led by Joey Capeheart, who answered 14 questions correctly, Alex Kangethe, who had 12, and Calvin Alumbaugh, who chipped in with 10.

Team One, consisting of Capeheart, Alumbaugh, Mary Jean Miller, and Sarah Kessler, captain, won five games and lost four, defeating teams from Lamar, Diamond, and Monett.

Team two, consisting of Kangethe, Amanda Jones, Nicol McDonald, Zac Short, and Matt Cruzan, won two matches.

The next contest, a science meet, is scheduled for late November at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School.

Update from Miss Medlock

(Note: Ms. Sheri Medlock, who taught eighth grade reading at SMS from 2004-2007, is updating us weekly on her experiences teaching in Russia.)

Greetings Friends!

Big events this last week:
We had our second home group meeting. Four came. We discussed the ways God has been faithful in our lives. It was encouraging to hear others' stories.
Sunday, I attended an international English speaking church called ICA. I was deeply blessed by this service and hope to return. They have an early service, so I can go without missing my home church. However, the trip is about an hour away, so I may only go once a month.
I have decided to visit my sister in North Africa in January. This week I bought a ticket!
Victories this week:
I have become more accustomed to my job. Some days I feel unprepared, and yet the lesson still goes smoothly.
This weekend I spent a lot of time with Masha. We were able to discuss serious issues regarding our identity in Christ (one of my favorite topics).
Struggles this week:
The two Russian men who came to the meeting the first Saturday were unable to make it this week.
Personal Walk:
I continue in 1 Peter. I'm now in Chapter 4.
I've also been reading the Psalms.
Prayer Requests:
I have agreed to teach two more classes. One is on Saturday at 11:30. This won't prevent me from attending home group, which starts at 3:00, but it is still a nuisance. In fact, I'm not entirely sure why I agreed to teach the class except for the fact that I was asked to. Please pray that my job won't interfere with my ministry. In fact, pray my job can be a facet of my ministry.
Please continue to pray for my health. Some days I feel fine. Others not at all. I'm learning though that the more I rely on God's strength to do things, acknowledging my own powerlessness, the more I can accomplish.
Pray for the home group which meets tomorrow.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouragements. I feel deeply loved and covered in prayer.
Grace and peace!
Sheri

South students participate in Special Olympics

By MARY JEAN MILLER
Room 210 Staff Writer

You’ve all seen the special needs kids in your classes and the hallways. But on September 28, 2007, you may not have seen them. That’s because they were at Special Olympics Bowling.
Special Olympics are designed for people who want to be in the Olympics, but can’t be due to mental or physical disadvantages.
Recently, the Special Olympics athletes,Christian Underwood, Brittany Utley, Cole Darby, Jacob "JJ" Johnson, Robert Scott, Emily Goucher, Samantha Eshom, Esteban Henojosa, Austin Romano, Austin Oxford, Hailey Oxford, Alexia Westfall, Jeff Haynes, Elisabeth Heimburg, and Taylor Fetterman, and the peer tutors, Chloe Potts, Candace McGillvray, Shawn Spicer, Sydney Long, Thea Voutiritsas, Mary Jean Miller, Allie Lacey, Sidney Snider, Damon Monasco, Alex Karns, Shalea Purdy, and Caleb Garton, got on two buses and went to Carl Richard Bowl for mild competition and a whole lot of fun.
Not only did they bowl with friends from South, but also with friends from neighboring schools such as Memorial and North middle schools. This is the second year to go on the bowling trip, and both years the kids had unmistakable amounts of fun. They enjoyed the bowling, but they also get to see old friends and meet new ones.
At the end of the day, they even received medals and ribbons based on their scores.

(Room 210 photos by Mary Jean Miller)

Communication arts teacher holds book signing

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor

The first Joplin signing for eighth grade communication arts teacher Mr. Randy Turner's book, The Turner Report, was held Saturday at Always Buying Books.
The signing was mainly for The Turner Report, but Mr. Turner's earlier books, Small Town News and Devil's Messenger, were also on sale.
Mr. Turner was 14 when he wrote his first book, but it was never published. He said it wasn't his best work. While he was a reporter he never really had time to write a book, he said. Once he started teaching in Diamond, Missouri his students inspired him to take a shot at writing a book again.

Fall pep rally held

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Editor

The fall pep rally was held Tuesday, Oct. 16 during seventh hour. Volleyball and football players and seventh and eighth grade cheerleaders were introduced and students were encouraged to attend the final two football games for the season.
This year, the eighth graders were able to win the spirit stick by being the loudest. How did they win? Majority of the 8th graders just gave it there all.
"I wasn't here yesterday, but I'm ecstatic that my class could do it without me," Zach Dorris said.
Merisha Laderman said, " Yes, I'm happy that we won and I'm confident we'll win next time as well."

Reading Promotion kickoff assembly held

By MARY JEAN MILLER
Room 210 Staff Writer

South Middle School held a kickoff assembly for the 2007-2008 Reading Promotion Oct. 8. This year, the big theme is if students read enough books, Mr. Jarrett Cook, assistant principal, will buff Principal Mr. Ron Mitchell’s head and both principals will wax their legs. Mr. Mitchell might say "shave", but it’s wax. The Reading Promotion has been a tradition that Ms. Linda Weaver, the chairwoman and director of the Reading Promotion, has been trying to keep going at South Middle School.

The whole purpose of the Reading Promotion is to keep kids reading. Kids today are too busy goofing off with their friends, playing video games, or being a couch potato and watching T.V. all the time. We have forgotten what enjoyment reading can bring to us. The promotion has been going on for 10 years, and it’s not about to stop.
"We're just trying to give kids a reason to want to read." says Ms. Weaver, the director of the promotion. All the students of South are allowed to participate in the Reading Promotion, and everybody really enjoys seeing the principals have to do something really ridiculous and funny.

"It’s a school-wide deal," says Ms. Weaver. The end of the 2007-2008 Reading Promotion will be on Monday, Nov. 19. So remember to read as many books as you can!

Parent-teacher conferences planned

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Staff Writer

Parent-teacher conferences will be held 3:15 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, and 7:30 a.m. to 11:10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at South Middle School.

That means no classes for students on Friday. A majority of the students are going to sleep in and then hang out with friends, unless they are going with their parents to the conferences.

Conferences can be arranged throguh an e-mail or a phone call. Some students are not worried about the conferences. Eighth grader Chelcy Reed said, "I don't care if my parents go or not because I'm making good grades."

First year eighth grade reading teacher Miss Andrea Taylor is looking forward to conferences. She is hoping to be able to encourage her students to work harder. "It'll be nice, fresh start to the second quarter."

Cartoonist Club members selected for 2007-2008

Cartoonist Club members for the 2007-2008 school year have been selected.
Those chosen were: Elisha Derrick, Kevin Justus, Jared Fuller, Casey Sharp, Derek Dillon, Taylor Johnson, Aaron Kraft, Christina Gates, Jamie Walters, and Junior Ochoa.
The club sponsor is Mr. Seth Wolfshorndl.

Quiz Bowl demonstration held at R-8 Board of Education meeting

The South Middle School Quiz Bowl team showed off its knowledge in a demonstration before the Joplin R-8 Board of Education Tuesday night.
After an introduction from Principal Mr. Ron Mitchell and an overview of the program from sponsor Mr. Randy Turner, eight Quiz Bowl members played a brief game, answering eight of 10 questions correctly.
Quiz Bowl members participating were: Alex Kangethe, Mary Jean Miller, Sarah Kessler, Matt Cruzan, Zac Short, Joey Capeheart, Calvin Alumbaugh, and Danielle Doerr.
The Quiz Bowl team co-sponsor is Mrs. Kathy Weaver.

(Photo by Mrs. Kathy Weaver)

Twelve hundred book goal set for annual reading promotion

By RAYCEE THOMPSON
Room 210 Staff Writer
South Middle School students will have to read 1,200 books if they want to see Principal Mr. Ron Mitchell or Assistant Principal Mr. Jarrett Cook having their legs waxed.
The annual Reading Promotion began today with a kickoff assembly in the auditorium. Promotion Coordinator Mrs. Linda Weaver announced the goal, with cheerleaders encouraging reading with a routine, and the band under the direction of Mr. Reed Barnes pepping up the crowd.
The results of the promotion will be announced during an assembly Tuesday, Nov. 20.

(Photos: Top, SMS cheerleaders and band pumped up the crowd during the Reading Promotion Kickoff. Bottom, Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Cook prepare to meet their fate. Photos by Raycee Thompson)

Show Choir, Concert Choir featured in first Room 210 News videos

The South Middle School Concert Choir and Southern Belles, under the direction of Ms. Julie Yonkers presented their fall concert Monday night in the SMS Auditorium.

The Concert Choir performed six numbers, followed by the Southern Belles, South's show choir, entertaining the audience with a medley of '50s and '60s tunes. Concert Choir members performing solos were: Hannah Cady, Tanner Crawford, Sarah Matthews, and Tozia Burris.

Members of the Concert Choir are:

Torri Ackerson, Jodi Anderson, Gina Andujar, Sierra Bartholomew, Kendra Bauersfield, Lindsey Beall, Haley Bowers, Madison Briggs, Charlee Brown, Clayton Brown, Lexi Brown, Ethan Bryan, Courtney Burns, Tozia Burris, Hannah Cady, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Marcus Clark, Cheslie Cook, Cecil Cornish, Tracie Cottrill, Tanner Crawford, Shaney Delzell, Felisha Derrick, Laila Douglas, Ariana Dudley, Caroline Dutton, Shane Ellis, Calisha England, Justin Fleming, Tara Fleming, Jared Fuller, Christina Gates, Eleena Gonzales, Kelsey Gould, Jordan Hamilton, Allison Hankins, Taylor Harris, Erika Hinojosa, Ashley Dudley, Rachelle Hughbank, Shelby Ingram, Anna Johnson, Carson Jones, Heather Jones, Kevin Justus, Katie Kemmery, Shani Knight, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Elisha Mansour, Sarah Matthews, Dominique Michael, Tori Mitchell, Ghennesa Moore, Jade Moore, Kamaira Morgan, Travis Morris, Holly O'Dell, Brianna Oxford, Sarah Painter, Bethani Patterson, Katie Phelps, Mackenzy Pierce, Kayla Pinkerton, Melody Plank, Justice Pullam, Cady Reddell, Emma Rice, Barbara Rodriguez, Jade Roeder, Abby Sadler, Mariah Sanders, Adam Schilling, Krystal Schulze, Adrienne Self, Shelby Shumaker, Taylor Shutte, Mindy Sirichok, Candace Smith, C. D. Smith, Brittany Utley, Katie Uttley, Hannah Ward, Storm Whittington, Tiffany Williams, Nichole Yeoman.

Southern Belles members are:

Jodi Anderson, Haley Bowers, Lexi Brown, Courtney Burns, Tozia Burris, Hannah Cady, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Shaney Delzell, Tara Fleming, Carson Jones, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Sarah Matthews, Tori Mitchell, Holly O'Dell, Sarah Painter, Krystal Schulze, Nichole Yeoman

(Photos from top: Concert Choir, Hannah Cady performs a solo, Southern Belles)

(Videos from top: Southern Belles, Concert Choir)