Schedule announced for middle school construction

The construction scheduled for the new South and East middle schools was announced at a Joplin R-8 Board of Education meeting Monday night:

The plan calls for bids to go out in September on the East Middle School construction, in December on the South Middle School construction, and in March 2008 on the North Middle School expansion. East and South should be completed by the fall 2009 semester, North in the following semester.

Show Choir selected for 2007-2008

SMS Show Choir members were selected this week following tryouts. Those chosen were:

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

MAP Testing to begin April 17

At long last, the MAP tests are almost here.
Testing will begin April 17 and be held the 18th, 19th, 24th, and 25th.
MAP kickoff assemblies are scheduled for Monday, April 16, with eighth grade meeting during TA, seventh grade during first hour, and sixth grade during second hour.
Eighth graders will take math tests the first week, and communication arts during the second. Seventh graders will take communication arts the first week and math the second, with sixth graders taking the same schedule.

The real reason to clean our lockers

By SAVANAH SWEETON
Room 210 Staff Writer
Many of you may wonder why we have a designated day in T.A. for cleaning out our lockers.
Well trust me, the teachers didn't just come up with some silly idea... some people really do need to clean out their lockers. I mean really do.
One day during a Journalism Club meeting, some of the students decided to get a pop from the teachers lounge, but Lainie (Nicolas) needed to go get her money. Okay, no big deal right?... no.
It took all of journalism club to clean out her locker only to find one single nickel and lose another, as you can see by the accompanying photos, so she could eventually not get a pop.
So there really is a need to clean out our lockers in school... it comes in handy when you need to find something really important, like a nickel for a can of pop.

(Lainie Nicolas is shown searching for that ever-elusive nickel. Photos by Allen Peterson)

SMS Choir receives a I at NEO

By KELLEY LEACH
Room 210 Staff Writer
The South Middle School Choir received a I rating at the annual NEO Festival April 3. Three ensembles also received I ratings, as did the following individuals:

Haley Bowers, Lexi Brown, Hannah Cody, Storm Whittington, Jordan Chambers, Mariah Sanders, Taylor Camden, Sarah Matthews, Tori Mitchell, Adam Schilling, and Nikki Carter.
Receiving II ratings were: Krystal Schulze and Felisha Derrick. Three ensembles received II ratings.
For a full list of those attending the festival, check this link.

Landis, Micklethwaite elected to R-8 Board of Education

Joplin R-8 voters elected incumbent Mike Landis and Ashley Micklethwaite to the Board of Education Tuesday.
Landis topped the voting with 4,928 votes, followed by Ms. Micklethwaite with 4,331, Jim Coburn with 3,783 and LaRae Miller with 3,006.

Joplin R-8 bond issue passes

A new South Middle School was approved by Joplin R-8 voters Tuesday night.
Voters, by a margin of 5,251 to 3,596, approved the plan, which calls for the construction of new South and East middle schools, and the complete refurbishing of North Middle School.

Pham in a box

Student Council member Cindy Pham has done much for the organization this year, but that doesn't necessarily include fitting into a box which is being used for the organization's recycling project.
The project, which started as part of eighth grade social studies teacher Mr. Rocky Biggers' annual Project Citizen assignments during the third quarter, has been taken on by the council, and has been a success.

Navarre to perform in Stone's Throw play

Cheyla "Fox" Navarre, a Joplin High School freshman, will perform in Stone's Throw Theater's upcoming production of the William Inge classic "Bus Stop," set to begin Thursday in Carthage.
Miss Navarre, a former South student and Journalism Club member, has appeared in two previous Stone's Throw productions, one at Joplin Little Theater, and in Joplin High School's fall production of "The Diary of Anne Frank."

(The accompanying Joplin Globe photo shows Fox in a scene from the play.)