Retirement reception held for Dave Guilford

Dave Guilford, who has been building engiineer at South Middle School for years and has been in the Joplin R-8 School District for three decades, retired Friday. A surprise reception was held in his honor in the SMS cafeteria, which was packed for the occasion.

The room was filled with all of the trimmings that are usually featured with retirement receptions- the cake, the punch, the plaque, and of course, the rocking chair.

What made this reception stand out was the five-minute speech Dave gave. Though, of course, it will hold interest to those who know Dave and have been fortunate enough to have worked with him, he also says some important truths about education.

He opened the speech by noting that after starting out thinking it was just another job, one day he realized, "No, you're not just a custodian because you deal with children."

After that revelation, Dave devoted himself to doing what he could to help children, especially as he noted, "children who might be in need or have problems," and helping teachers and administrators to do whatever they could to help the children.

Dave has played a key role in educating the children at South Middle School. it is not going to be the same without him.

Teachers attend TLA training

Joplin R-8 teachers, including SMS teachers, including Mrs. Andrea Thomas and Mrs. Nina English (pictured) attended a Technology Leadership Academy this week at Joplin High School.

Cooking hot dogs is "current" event in seventh grade science class

By ELISABETH HEIMBERG
Room 210 Staff Writer

In Mr. Brent Thompson’s seventh grade science classes made electrical hot dogs on Monday Feb. 9.

To make electrical hot dogs, you need electrical plug-ins, hot dogs, and forks. What they are learning in Mr. Thompson’s class is how electricity goes through the hot dogs.
Also the sodium and the water go through the hot dogs, Mr. Thompson said. “The class got to eat them and they were hot.”

Mr. Thompson has done this project for 10 years.

Do not try this at home!

Next round of Acuity Tests set for Friday

The next round of ACUITY testing is scheduled for Friday morning at South Middle School.

The tests are designed to prepare students for the annual MAP tests, which are scheduled to begin March 31.

SMS students receive extended break

South Middle School students will attend a half-day Friday, with teacher meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Students will also be out of school Monday for Presidents' Day.

South alumni named JHS Key Club officers

Four of the five Joplin High School Key Club officers for the 2009 convention year are South Middle School alumni:

Caleb Wheeler, president
Jessica Cashion, vice president
Sarah Kessler, secretary
Mackenszee Roberts, editor

Miss Roberts is running for Key Club lieutenant governor at the state convention next month.

JHS Personal Finance students among tops in nation

Nineteen Joplin High School personal finance students, including a number of SMS alumni, made the top 25 percentile in the National Financial Literacy Challenge recently.

Among the SMS alumni were Mayra Castaneda, Andrea Steere, Abbi Smith, and Josh Wise.

Pictured: (Front Row) Ericka Mickus, Mayra Castaneda, Brittany Thurman, Andrea Steere, Caleb Friend, Christa Perry, Eli Welch, Lauren Johnson, and Abbi Smith. (Back Row) Michael Fussell, Shawan Moore, Joshua Wise, Brandon Kelley, Alyssa Griffith, and Ryan Howard

JHS Constitution team fares well at state

The Joplin High School Constitution team fared well in state competition recently, almost winning the championship.

Among the former South Middle School students competing were Haylee Coleman, Mariah Hibbard, Brandon McCoy, and Taybor Parker.

Second quarter honor roll field trips scheduled

Second quarter honor roll field trips will be held Feb. 17, 18, and 20.

Those who qualified for the trips are:

Sixth Grade- Caleb Adams, Zach Anderson, Chance Baker, Cameron Ball, Dakota Ballard, Macximina Barron, Grace Bass, Ryan Beall, William Blankenship, Shania Blevins, Evan Blue, Tamerik Branham, Jennifer Brewer, Andrew C. Brown, Tyler Buchanan, Jessica Bunce, Payton Burkhart, Sameria Burris, Jarrett Buxton, Destiny Cackley, Morgan Caldwell, Reed Campbell, Duane Carpenter, Gloria Castruita, Cheyenne Christiansen, Trevor Conrad, Zachariah Consier, Taylor Corp, Ashley Corum, Ethan Crider, Isaac Cunningham, Kaylah Dailey, Killian Darden, Keylee Davis, Paige Earl, Ailan Eldred, Jonah Ellman, Happy Ernest, Savannah Fields, Toby Finn, Abigail Fisher, Kyle Fowler, Delshaun Garth, Alexis Gifford, Ashlie Green, Austin Green, Nalyn Gurley, Tristin Hall, Aleah Hardee, Tess Harmon, Chelsey Harris, Jordan Hetiback, Veronica Herron, Colton Hill, Jaylnn Hood, Courtney Hopgood, Nicole Howe, Hannah Huffman, Preston Inmon, Tony Isley, Colt Jackson, Megan Jacobs, Sharon Jennings, Veronica Johnson, Cannon Jones, Rachel Jones, Alicia Jordan, Bailey Kleeman, Austin Lewis, Nathan Lewsader, Elijah Little, Ashley Mansour, Bethany Martin, Calyn Mazur, Anna McCain, Sadie McCash, Desirae McDonald, Zachary McGuire, Tori Merriam, Keondre Morrison, Miranda Murphy, Cory Myers, Alexis Nollner, Haily Ousley, Jeffery Owens, Ashton Parker, Jennifer Peak, Keisha Pennington, Asia Pinyan, Keysha Porter, Levi Puckett, Ethan Putney, Colton Redmon, Josh Richardson, Corina Rodgers, Fabian Rodriguez, Lora Roofener, Megan Rowe, Zane Sanchez, Sarina Shofner, Jennifer Shulze, Elijah Seay, Jaetea Smith, Amanda Snearly, Kate Stauffer, Madison Stripling, Savannah Stripling, Avery Tanner, Summer Tate, Anna Tillman, Kalli VanLoon, Erica Warner, Alyvia Warstler, Alec Welch, Azia Wheatley, Adam White, Dakota Whitten, Ashton Whittington, Dalton Wickman, Denton Williams, Karin Willis, Madison Wilson, Mycah Wisner-German, Mitchell Woods, Corinne Worley, L. T. Wright.

Seventh Grade- Mason Atwood, Eric Banfield, Trinity Bennett, Kennyan Beverlin, Ilham Boda, Joceline Bogarin, John Brewer, Brittney Brinkman, Charlie Brown, Christian Brown, Quantal Brown, Alexander Bryant, Brendyn Burns, Meagan Camden, Preston Carpenter, Mayra Ceja, Kasen Chew, India Coleman, Jaired Collins, Heather Copeland, Drew Cox, Leigh Ann Craig, Fabberetta Damrill, Summer Dean, Gavin DePaul, Shelbie DeWitt, Abby Dial, Dallas Doucette, Aaron Dunaway, Katie Earll, Bain Edens, Samantha Eshom, Dallas Feezell, Christina Garcia, Johnathan Gibson, Oswaldo Gomez, Kaci Gowen, Kahled Graham, Lane Grimes, Bailey Hale, Chase Hall, Erica Handy, Tyson Hardee, Aleecia Hardin, Cayley Hardison, Chandler Hendrix, Stesha Herbert, Wesley Hooks, Breanna Hoosier, Courtney Huggins, Colton Johnson, Kelsey Johnson, Janessa Jones, Joanna Lopez, Brandon Marney, Amanda Marvin, Chanci McGovern, Dillon McVay, Bethany Meehl, Emily Merritt, Preston Miller, Felisha Mitchell, Christina Ochoa, Hayden Ottendorf, Alexander Oviedo, Austin Oxford, Taryn Parker, Amara Pendergraft, Alivia Plassman, Stormi Potts, Gannon Purdy, Cole Putney, Kahla Quinn, Kymbre Resler, Mikayela Richey, Austin Romano, Amanda Schilling, Kenya Schmidt, Tyler Severns, Mackenzie Shamblin, Marissa Shofner, Richard Smith, Stephanie Sommer, Eric Spicer, Devon Stahl, Shaffer Stevens, Alexander Tanner, Steve Tatum, Ashley Taylor, Kylee Tipton, Kristen Tyler, Zachary Vanloon, Salena Velazquez, Brooklyn Vickers, Nicole Walker, Trevor Walker, Lesley Wallace, Megan Wallis, Rebekah Walters, Justice Ward, Alexia Westfall, Caleb Willis, Dayza Winters, Adison Wright

Eighth Grade- Torri Ackerson, John Alumbaugh, Dalton Anderson, Jodi Anderson, Sierra Bartholomew, Abigail Bass, Austin Boyd, Lisa Bromley, Nathan Brummer, Austin Burns, Jordan Buxton, Hannah Cady, Joey Capehart, Chris Carrier, Alex Cole, Ronald Darby, Aaron Daum, Shaney Delzell, Felisha Derrick, Danielle Doerr, Karissa Dowell, Preston Eafrati, Wesley Estes, Eliza Fausto, Michael Fetterly, Caleb Garton, Danielle Gideon, Elizabeth Gordan, Kelsey Gould, Tera Hall, Allison Hankins, Hannah Hare, Chris Harpole, Shanice Hazley, Elisabeth Heimberg, Alex Hill, Esteban Hinojosa, Brittney Hudson, Anna Johnson, Jayda Johnson, Morgan Jones, Kevin Justus, Karissa Kibllinger, Kylie Lewsader, Elisha Mansour, Tianna McCarthy, Hunter Mills, Damon Monasco, Tyler Nonemaker, Curtis Nollner, Mac Owen, Christian Padilla, Spencer Peterson, Devin Plassman, Ronny Reddell, Rachel Reed, Stefon Rich, Thomas Richins, Benjamin Roush, Gabe Sachetta, Krystal Schulze, Darren Scott, Bryson Sexton, Ben Story, Shane Striegel, Logan Terry, Victoria Thompson, Zack Thornton, Julia Tucker, Danielle Turner, Thea Voutiritsas, Elaina Warren, Ethan Warstler, Andrew Welch, Ashley Wescoat, Allison White, Storm Whittington, Emilee Wills, Devin Winstead, Tommy Winstead, Alexis Woods, Jacob Wirick, Emily Yarbrough

Eighth grade boys close out slate with win over College Heights

South Middle School eighth grade boys basketball team ended its season with a 46-16 win over College Heights Tuesday night.

Nate Brummer and Cheslie Cook topped the scoring with 10 points apiece, while Stefon Rich had 10 points and 17 rebounds. Brummer and Kaleb Owens each had four steals, with Caleb Garten adding three and Gabe Sachetta and Cook chipping in with two apiece.

Sachetta had three assists, with Garten and Brummer each collecting two.

Five finalists named in SMS Sixth Grade Essay Contest

The five finalists have been announced in the second annual South Middle School Sixth Grade Essay Contest.

Those still eligible for the top $10 prize are: Ethan Crider, Bailey Kleeman, Miranda Murphy, Kate Stauffer, and Alyvia Warstler.

Others who made the Top 10 were: Jonah Ellman, Savanah Fields, Hannah Huffman, Jennifer Salt, and Anna Tillman. Each person who is in the Top 10 will receive at least $1.

The winner will be announced either Friday or Monday.

SMS students raise more than $1,200 in annual Christmas project

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of South Middle School students, led by the Student Council, underprivileged Joplin children received a merry Christmas.

Students raised money through Penny Wars and numerous other projects during December. On the final day before the Christmas break, Student Council members shopped at Wal-Mart for toys and gifts for the children.

The gifts were unveiled during an assembly during seventh hour that day.

Copeland essay wins third place in Elks Lodge contest

SMS seventh grader Heather Copeland won third place in the annual Joplin Elks Lodge Essay Contest recently. She and other SMS winners were honored during a reception Friday in the school library.

Heather's essay will be added to this post in the near future.

Eighth grader lands e-mail interview with Little Rock Nine member

Mr. Randy Turner's eighth grade communication arts classes are researching the American Civil Rights Movement during the third quarter, and one student has gone above and beyond in collecting information for her project.

Karissa Dowell recently landed an e-mail interview with Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine, the students who successfully integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957.

The text of the letter is featured below:

1. What was the first day like for you at Central?

The first day was frightening and scary for the most part. Several students left class when I walked in saying they refused to go to school with niggers. I was on guard all day because many students pushed and shoved me around, and called me names.

2. What was it like in the classroom? How did teachers act or treat you?

The classrooms were scary places since the same kind of behavior mentioned above was present there as well. In the main, the teachers were not happy to see the nine of us. My English teacher asked me why I wanted to go to their school since I had a school of my own. A few teachers were supportive, and tried to make life easier for us by telling the white students not to bother us.

3. Were you able to make any white friends at Central?

Any white kid who tried to be our friend was immediately saddled with the label “nigger lover” and became a target for violence. Since the reward for being friendly toward us was to get beaten up, there were only a few students who chose to do so.

4. What did the people from your old school think when you were going to Central?

Now, while I don’t know the thoughts of every single person, I do know that many of my former schoolmates were very concerned about our welfare and wanted to help out in any way they could.

5. What was the overall opinion of white people before and after you entered Central?

Again, it is difficult to talk about the overall opinion since opinion varies so much. Perhaps it is best to say that the majority of white people were not in favor of desegregation.


6. Did you ever have to physically fight to defend yourself at Central because of your race?

We chose to adopt a philosophy of nonviolence so we purposely did not fight (in the main). One of our group, Minnijean Brown, was kicked out of school for fighting, so yes, there were such times.

7. Do you still keep in contact with the other members of the Little Rock Nine?

Yes. In fact, we are all Board Members of the Little Rock Nine Foundation which can be located on the web at: www. LittleRock9.com.

8. What was the biggest learning experience you gained from the events at Central?

The biggest thing was that people will go to great lengths to oppose changes that are not seen as favorable to them.

9. How long was it before the students started to get used to you?

Since the Governor closed all high schools in Little Rock during the next school year, there was not much opportunity for any of us, white or black, to get used to each other.

10. What is the state of affairs in relation to race relations today?

Unfortunately this country has chosen not to confront the issues of racism and for that reason we are still plagued by this virus, if you will. In order to combat racism, we must first admit that there is a problem; that part has yet to be accomplished. Indeed, there are many voices saying that racism has run its course and is no longer alive. The truth is, I fear, much different.

11. Who were your role models during that time?

My role models included anyone who made healthy life choices; I watched closely to see who in my world made such choices.

12. How did you find the courage to continue?


Part of the answer lies in the fact that I knew what we were doing was the right thing to do; you will be surprised to find how much you can accomplish when you know without doubt that your mission is righteous. Also, I knew as well that hundreds of people had died in the fight for justice before I even arrived on the scene. I could not disrespect their efforts by saying no to my opportunity to be involved in the same struggle.

13. Where did you go to escape the tension during that year?


Often I would retreat to the school library where the librarian maintained a rather strict environment; no nonsense was allowed. Also, since the nine of us had to sign an affidavit declaring that we would not engage in any extracurricular activities at Central, we could leave school after classes and escape the tension that way as well.

Schulze paper captures second in Elks Lodge Essay Contest

By KRYSTAL SCHULZE
(The following essay, written by South Middle School eighth grader Krystal Schulze, finished in second place in the annual Joplin Elks Lodge Essay Contest.)

Have you ever wondered what freedom meant to you? Well, I have! Freedom is when somebody is able to act or live the way they choose, a countries right to rule itself, and the right to speak or act without getting into trouble.
Freedom is having the right to act or live the way anybody chooses. That means that if you have freedom, you can live in a house, a farm, or maybe a trailer if you wanted to. Also, you would be able to act the way you wanted to. For example, you could be boring, happy, or even sad all the time. You could act or live as if you were a crazy person. That is one way of what Freedom means to me.
Second, freedom means to me that a country with freedom, has the right to rule itself. If a country has freedom and a right to rule itself, then the head court of the country would be in charge of everything. The country would have all power over itself. Then the people in the country would have their own rights then have to take orders from everyone else. That is another way I think of freedom.
Third, freedom is that people have the right to speak what they believe without getting into to trouble. Like Christians can speak what they believe about God. Also, you might speak what you believe about laws, religious beliefs, or even about the way they think about people. If people say what they believe, it might change the way other people think of them. That is what freedom means to me.

Adame paper wins first place in Elks Lodge Essay Contest

By JOEL ADAME

(The following essay, written by South Middle School eighth grader Joel Adame, took first place in the annual Joplin Elks Lodge Essay Contest.)


Freedom is very important.

It symbolizes the fact that we have freedom of religion, press, and expression. The freedom of religion is very important to a lot of people because certain people believe in different things.

Not everyone feels the same when it comes to religion. So if we didn’t have freedom of religion then some people would have to go to a church and be told to believe something that they don’t want to.

The freedom of speech is one of the most important rights we have; if you were not allowed to say what you want it would cause a lot of problems because speech helps people express themselves. When they are mad, they say different things than they would say if they were happy.

So without the freedom of speech lots of people would be upset. The freedom of expression: I really don’t know much about this one, but I am sure that it is equally important to the other rights. Just the fact that we have freedom period is something great because not many countries in the world do. So we should consider ourselves lucky because it is something great that a lot of people take advantage of.

Lots of people in the U.S.A wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have freedom. I know that lots of people are here illegally, but there are a lot who are here legally and that’s what is important.

And that’s what freedom means to me.

South students sweep Elks Lodge Essay Contest

South Middle School students won first, second, and third place in the seventh and eighth grade divison of the annual Elks Lodge Essay Contest.

This year's topic was "What Freedom Means to Me."

Eighth grader Joel Adame took first place, with classmate Krystal Schulze finishing second. Third place went to seventh grader Heather Copeland. The three received savings bonds during a reception Friday, Jan. 30, in the SMS Library.

Also honored was Alyvia Warstler, who took first place in the fifth and sixth grade division.

The full text of the first and second place essays will be posted on Room 210 News later today.

Eighth grade cheerleaders perform halftime routine

The SMS eighth grade cheerleaders performed a dance at halftime of Monday night's game with Memorial Middle School.

South 8th loses to Memorial

South Middle School's eighth grade basketball team grabbed an 11-4 first quarter lead Tuesday night, but Memorial bounced back to win 23-16.
Memorial also won the B game.

South will play host to College Heights Christian School at Memorial today, with the seventh grade game beginning at 5 p.m., followed by the eighth grade contest.

ROTC members speak to South eighth graders

PHOTOS By SHANEY DELZELL
and MADISON BRIGGS
South Middle School eighth graders will soon enroll in high school and will have many choices to make.

One of those choices, ROTC, was presented to the eighth graders in an assembly today during first hour.