Former SMS students make Joplin High School honor roll

Dozens of former South Middle School students made the second semester honor roll at Joplin High School. Among those making the list were:

4.0 Honor Roll
Seniors- Kristin Carter, Lindsey Hamm, Mark Medlin, Paige Strella

Juniors- Haylee Coleman, Mariah Hibbard, Andrea Steere

Sophomores- Jessica Cashion, Chase Cox, Mallory Fuller, Gabby Londe, Madison Pollack, Colby Ritter, MacKenszee Roberts, Clayton Stehm

Freshmen- Leah Forkner, Dustin Hill, Corey Hounschell, Kylie Hurrell, Taylor Mulik, Cindy Pham, Ashlee Stephens, Savanah Sweeton, Ken Zhang

3.0-3.99 honor roll

Seniors- Serena Bannasch, Daniel Burkett, Paige Curry, Jordan Forste, Jordan Harmon, Christian Hernandez, Jessica Johnson, Amanda Kopriva, Jordan Lefevers, Lindsey Liontas, Sarah McDonough, Ashley Monroe, William Neely, Drew Pace, Kaitlin Prauser, Derek Rider, Rachel Ryan, Ali Stauffer, Kaycie Trumbore

Juniors- James Anderson, Elise Ashworth, Laree Blobaum, Zach Bradley, Chelsea Coombes, Samantha Cecil, Wes Clemons, Tyler Dobbins, Andrew Frost, Jennifer Holland, Austin Karns, Ashley Kissee, Noelle Kownslar, Brandon McCoy, Ethan Neely, Sam Nguyen, Taybor Parker, Bethany Reed, Kelsey Sanders, Skye Smith, Tyler Terry, Josh Thiele, Christine Vu, Megan Wawrzyniak

Sophomores- Brittany Banta, Lauren Bynum, Mayra Castaneda, Tiana Clemons, Garrett Dowell, Annie Finn, Tiffani Gilbert, Jennifer Hill, Brock Hunter, Sierra Hutchinson,Yuriy Meadows, Blake Mills, Jessica Myers, Cheyla Navarre, Chelsey Osburn, Tiffany Porter, Doug Pumphrey, Grace Randolph, Danielle Russell, Matt Smith, Felicia Spicer, Shelby Sullivan, Jeffrey Taylor, Wes Underwood, Caleb Wheeler, Christian Young, Tamara Zajac

Freshmen- Breanna Baker, Jacob Bennett, Austin Bolt, Jennifer Brock, Nikki Carter, Blanca Castaneda, Kovan Chew, Becky Cooper, Mikaila Craig, Hannah Doerge, Fischer Dowell, Marina Dudley, Rachael Foster, Brian Geier, Dakota Gilmore, Alexis Hawk, Lacy Heiskell, Christy Hernandez, Cheyenne Howard, Tessa Luper, Breanna Martin, Kane McCaslin, Matt McCoy, Nathan Morris, Faith Mowry, Amanda Needham, Lainie Nicolas, Samantha Oxford, Kelsey Pace, Allen Peterson, Dylan Prauser, Jesse Rowe, Mollie Sanders, Cassey Schulze, Tim Scroggins, Kaylee Sexton, Alicia Shofner, Hailey Smith, Victoria Smith, Catherine Stewart, Daniel Story, Blake Tune, Sequoah Wagner, Angela Wallander, Blake Ward, Ana Warner, Tamera Wirick, Katie Wood, Craig Yeoman

Communication arts teacher's band posts to YouTube

Many teachers use summer vacations as an opportunity to do some of the things they love doing.
Mr. Randy Turner, eighth grade communication arts teacher, is no different. During the past week, he has posted six videos of his band, Natural Disaster to You Tube, including the one with the song, "Secret Agent Man," which was included in this post.

Senior year ends on high note for SMS alumnus Lindsey Hamm

Lindsey Hamm, who attended South Middle School from 2001 to 2004, graduated with honors from Joplin High School and in May, and also was one of the JHS Prom Court, as seen in the photo accompanying this post.
Sorry for getting this in so late, but the photo was misplaced.

Adam Schilling captivates crowd for second straight year

Adam Schilling made his final day at South Middle School a memorable one, not only singing in the May 29 talent show, but also involving the crowd in his performance for the second straight year.
Those who attended the 2007 Talent Show will remember Schilling's show-stopping performance of "Sweet Home Alabama" and he matched that performance this year.
(Photography by Mary Jean Miller)

Christina Gates performance a Talent Show highlight

One of the many musical highlights of the last activity of the 2007-2008 school year, the annual Talent Show and Awards Assembly, was a song from eighth grader Christina Gates. (Photography by Mary Jean Miller)

SMS teachers attend Technology Leadership Academy

Some of South Middle School's faculty attended a Technology Leadership Academy this week at Joplin High School.
During the academy, the teachers were shown ways of incorporating technology into lesson plans, and doing so in such a way that students are encouraged to use higher level thinking.

The teachers had the opportunity to work with smart boards, ITunes, IPhoto, Microsoft Word, Inspiration, and other forms of technology. The week concluded with an I-Movie session today in which teams of teachers made short movies on the use of technology in the classroom. The teachers were given six items that had to be used in the movie and then were given three hours to finish the completed product.

Among the teachers attending the morning session this week were Mrs. Linda Kay Hailey, Ms. Julie Yonkers, Mrs. Debbie Moore, Miss Nina Ruschmeier, Miss Andrea Taylor, and Mr. Randy Turner. One of the TLA instructors was Mr. Jason Weaver, former SMS seventh grade social studies teacher.

(Video: Miss Andrea Taylor plays a student who is upset with the traditional boring way of teaching. Mr. Randy Turner provides the voice of the teacher, while Miss Nina Ruschmeier stars as The Hand.)

(Photos- Miss Andrea Taylor and Miss Nina Ruschmeier enjoy TLA. Mr. Jason Weaver helps Mrs. Linda Kay Hailey with a problem during a TLA session.)

Teacher dance brings applause at Talent Show

A dance routine performed by a group of talented South Middle School female faculty members brought resounding applause from students and faculty alike at the end-of-school Talent Show and Awards Assembly May 29. (Photography by Mary Jean Miller)

Merisha Alderman offers "Teardrops on My Guitar"

Eighth grader Merisha Alderman's solo on "Teardrops on My Guitar" was one of the highlights of the Talent Show and Awards Assembly on the last day of school at South Middle School. (Photography by Mary Jean Miller)

"Jailhouse Rock" dance highlight of talent show

One of the highlights of the annual South Middle School Talent Show and Awards Assembly May 29 was the rocking performance of Taylor Camden and Christian Underwood as they teamed to do The Twist to Elvis Presley's classic hit "Jailhouse Rock." (Photography by Mary Jean Miller)

Ride the "City of New Orleans" with Mr. Biggers

One of the highlights of the Talent Show and Awards Assembly on May 29 was the singing of eighth grade social studies teacher Mr. Rocky Biggers. (Photography by Mary Jean Miller)

Annual Room 210 Talent Show held

While the 2007-2008 school year at South Middle School ended May 29 with a talent show and awards assembly, it was not the only talent show held at the school during the final month.

In what has become a tradition over the past few years, Mr. Randy Turner's eighth grade communication arts class held the Room 210 Talent Show. During one class, instead of a writing prompt, students drew a photo of someone else in the class performing his or her talent (including many times talents the students never knew they had). The drawings were then placed on the chalkboard in the back of the room for the remainder of the year.

Orchestra performs for South Middle School

Photos by SARAH KESSLER
Room 210 Editor
The South Middle School and All-City orchestras, under the direction of Linda Kay Hailey, performed during an assembly at SMS recently.
The groups performed in concert that evening in the SMS auditorium.

Ashlie Shimmin takes fifth at state track meet

Joplin High School sophomore Ashlie Shimmin recently finished fifth in the shot put at the Missouri Class 4 State Track Meet. Miss Shimmin, a former SMS student, took eighth place the previous year.