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.)

First track meet held

By CHRISTEN COOL
Room 210 Staff Writer

South did really well on Monday. South athletes worked their "butts" off out there running against other schools.
South won a few medals in seventh grade 4x2 relay Alex Karns , Blake Putnam, Tolby Clemons, and Jeffery Terry got second place, Matt McCoy took third in shot of the distance of 38.9 ft, Kelley Leach got 65.5 for discus and for shot she got 34 feet and finished in second place.
At the meet, all of us were cheering each other on. It was wonderful feeling the wind rushing by your face and the sweat dripping off your arms and face. The best feeling of all though is passing that finish line at the very end. When you're at a track meet, it goes pretty fast- one race after another so you have almost no rest point but it's all worth it in the end. We have our next track meet on Friday in Neosho at 4 p.m. Wish us luck

NEO Music Festival scheduled

South Middle School vocal students, under the direction of Ms. Julie Yonkers, will perform at the annual NEO Music Festival Tuesday, April 3, in Miami, Okla.
Practice will be held first and second hours Monday, April 2.
Those scheduled to perform are:
Sopranos- Taylor Camden, Nikki Carter, Gina Casada, Jordan Chambers, Brittany DeKruif, Hannah Doerge, Leah Forkner, Makenzie Freeman, Christina Gates, Alexis Hawk, Ashley Henson, Rachelle Hughbank, Tera Knight, Tessa Luper, Sarah Matthews, Kelsey Pace, Sarah Painter, Cindy Pham, Katie Phelps, Mackenzy Pierce, Tymber Pope, Rachel Richins, Hannah Rosario, Mollie Sanders, Alicia Shofner, Samantha Warren, Tamera Wirick.
Altos- Jacquelin Bogarin, Tozia Burris, Christen Cool, Takada Davis, Ashley Dean, Tara Fleming, Paige Harmon, Christy Hernandez, Shaynee Johnson, Selena Jordan, Katie Kemmery, Lauren Layne, Breanna Martin, Tori Mitchell, Holly O'Dell, Samantha Rice, Mariah Sanders, Cassey Schulze, Adrienne Self, Kaylee Sexton, Shelby Shumaker, Hailey Smith, Sydney Snyder, Shanna Striegel, Kaitlin Sullivan, Kendra Wilson, Jaclyn Wright
Baritones- Cecil Cornish, Tanner Crawford, Jared Fuller, Colten Hawkins, Joe Huddleston, Alex Karns, Kelley Leach, Grant Lewis, Dylan Prauser, Jesse Rowe, Adam Schilling.

Quiz bowl team has best showing ever in Academic Challenge

The South Middle School Quiz Bowl team had its best showing ever in the Academic Challenge trivia competition held Tuesday at College Heights Christian School.
The top South team, consisting of captain Savanah Sweeton, Kane McCaslin, Lainie Nicolas, and Kylie Hurrell, posted a 6-3 record, including wins over eventual tournament and overall champion Carl Junction, Carl Junction II, Monett, Monett II, Diamond II, and South's second team.
The second team, consisting of captain Dylan Prauser, Ken Zhang, Mollie Sanders, and Alex Kangethe posted a 3-6 record, with wins over Carl Junction II, Diamond II, and Monett II. It took South's top team overtime to beat the number two team 60-50.
The top team was led by Miss Sweeton with 12 correct answers, McCaslin with 11, Miss Nicolas with 10, and Miss Hurrell with six.
Leading the second team were Prauser and Kangethe with eight correct answers apiece, Zhang with seven, and Miss Sanders with six.
Not able to make the competition were Sarah Kessler, who was representing South at the Regional Science Fair at Missouri Southern State University, and Marina Dudley.
The Academic Challenge is a traveling competition held once a month with meets this year in communication arts, science, math, history, and general trivia. The meets were held at Carl Junction, Neosho, Diamond, Lamar, and College Heights.
The quiz bowl team's season is expected to continue with a second meet against Memorial and North middle schools some time this quarter, a competition with the South faculty, and possibly a dual meet with Diamond.
The team is sponsored by Mr. Randy Turner and Mrs. Kathy Weaver.

Board candidate forum held at South

The four candidates for the Joplin R-8 Board of Education discussed issues March 22 during a forum in the South Middle School Auditorium.
The forum moderator was Rob O'Bryan. Candidates for two three-year posts are incumbents Jim Coburn and Mike Landis, Ashley Micklethwaite, and LaRae Miller.

Track schedule given

By CHRISTEN COOL
Room 210 Staff Writer

South Middle School's track schedule for this year is as follows:

Mon. Mar. 26 McDonald County

Fri. Mar. 30 Neosho

Tues. Apr. 3 Carthage

Tues. Apr. 10 Carl Junction

Thurs. Apr. 19 Nevada

Tues. Apr. 24 Joplin

Mon. Apr. 30 Tri- County Conference
[rain date: May 1]

The places that are named are where the meets are going to be held. So come out and cheer us on. South is working hard like always.

Tours given of South to prepare for bond issue vote

Tours of the three Joplin R-8 middle schools were given Monday night to provide voters with information prior to next week's $57 million bond issue election.
At South, voters were shown the auditorium, which doubles as a gymnasium, small classrooms, leakage problems, handicapped accessibility problems, the small library and the computer lab which was formerly a boys' restroom.

Parent-teacher meetings today and Friday

South Middle School students will be out of school Friday for parent-teacher conferences.
The conferences will begin after school Thursday and last until 7 p.m. The conferences are scheduled from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m.

First track meet postponed

BY CHRISTEN COOL
Room 210 Staff Writer
(Note: Eighth grade track member and Room 210 staff writer Christen Cool is providing an ongoing diary of the 2007 track season at South Middle School.)

I'm sorry to report South didn't have that first track meet of the year like it had planned. It was rained out. The athletes had been working for three weeks and then they get rained out what a shame.
So instead they had yet another day or practice- you know what I'm talking about- that fun thing a few days before a big game.
The coaches had us all running hard, getting in every single minute they can get in before we have to compete with other schools. Distance runners did stairs like crazy, hopping up the stairs right foot only, then going up the stairs left only, walking all the way down then hopping with both feet all the way up and then walking all the way down then jogging up the steps then last, but not least, skipping a step going all the way up.
They had to do that for eight minutes then run for five minutes. It's safe to say we were all pretty beat by the end of the run. What made it more fun is that we had to do it all over again before we could go home!
Throwers had to do stairs like the distance people. Out of the two groups, we had a few kids get sick. The sprinters had to work outside doing different things, working on relays such has hands offs. We all worked really hard today the reason I say this is because everyone was sweaty like you wouldn't believe, soaked, I tell you. All we need to do now is make our coaches just as proud as we do in practice by winning this year. All we have to do is work for it and I know we can do it if we work as a team, not by ourselves in a race. We might run by ourselves in the race but that doesn't mean we can't get cheered on by the others.

More than 300 attend bond issue pep rally

More than 300 attended a bond issue pep rally Tuesday night at Joplin High School.
The rally featured information about the April 3 $57 million bond issue, which calls for construction of new South and East middle schools, and a massive refurbishing of North Middle School.
Entertainment was provided by the Joplin High School Jazz Band, Sound Dimension, the All-City Singers, and the duo of Superintendent Jim Simpson and Memorial Middle School Principal Steve Gilbreth, on fiddle and guitar, respectively.
Testimonials for the proposal were given by community leaders.

Track season about to begin

BY CHRISTEN COOL
Room 210 Staff Writer

(Note: This is the first in a series of track diary entries by SMS eighth grader and Room 210 staff member Christen Cool.)

On March 20, 2007, South will have its first track meet at Junge Stadium. There will be about 75 to 100 middle school students running for the top spot to be number one.
Any coach will tell you not to eat very much before a race unless you believe it's good the second time around. You have students running and jumping their hearts out for the number one spot.
The meet will feature everything from the 100 to the mile in running to long jump to pole vaulting in the jumping. At the track meets, there are both seventh and eighth graders of both genders there.
Kelley Leach is one of our throwers. She throw both shot put and discus. James Mitchell runs the 800 meter; that's a hard race to run. They say the hardest race is the 400; one lap easy right? It's not as easy it looks. You have to be able to sprint one lap. That's a lot of work. The easy race to run would, of course, be the 100- one straight away.
Track is a team sport but it's also a self sport, you could say. It's a team sport by giving your team a win and it's a self sport because you are seeing how hard you can push yourself for that win to make your team, your coaches, your family, but most importantly yourself happy. Track pushes you in speed, distance, how much you want and in mind. So we shall see who has what it takes and who does not.

Three SMS students advance to regional science fair

The following students, who competed in the 6th Grade Gifted Science Fair advanced to the Missouri Southern Regional Science Fair. They earned the opportunity based on their interviews with three professional scientists, who scored them on the interview, knowledge of the Scientific Method, and visual display. They were also scored based on the quality of their written report, preparation, promptness, and quality of work:

Alex Hill, first place, earth and environmental science
Calvin Alumbaugh, physics and astronomy
Olivia Hampton, plant sciences

Bond issue rally set for tonight at JHS

A rally to support the upcoming bond issue will be held 6:30 p.m. today at the Joplin High School Auditorium.

(Photo: A press conference on the bond issue was held earlier this month in the MAC Lab at South Middle School.)

SMS students, former students named to high school choral groups

The following South Middle school students and alumni were selected to Joplin High School choral groups following recent tryouts:

Concert Chorale- Hannah Doerge, Leah Forkner, Amanda Needham, Alicia Shofner, Taylor Tressler, Jaclyn Wright, Zach Bradley, Daniel Burkett, Nikki Burkett, Lauren Bynum, Lauren Hight, Breanna Jamerson, Jessica Myers, Skye Smith, Josh Thiele, Kaycie Trumbore

Touch of Class- Brittany DeKruif, Hannah Doerge, Christy Hernandez, Taylor Tressler, Katie Wood, Lauren Hight, Brenna Jamerson, Jessica Myers, Grace Randolph, Shelby Sullivan, Kacie Trumbore, Tamera Zajac

Sound Dimension- Arlisa Arwood, Nikki Burkett, Daniel Burkett, Lauren Bynum, Jordan Hudspeth, Becca Mascher, Spencer Moss, Derek Rider, Skye Smith, Josh Thiele

Five South students named high school cheerleaders

South Middle School students selected as Joplin High School cheerleaders after tryouts earlier this month were:

Kaylee Sexton, Tessa Luper, Becky Cooper, Cindy Pham, and Loryn Ligon

Tryouts provide challenge for prospective cheerleader

By TORI MARDIS
Room 210 Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007.
A bunch of us have worked hard all week and on that day after school we tried out for cheerleading. Since Monday, about 50 girls went to Joplin High School until seven o'clock every day. We stretched and jumped, worked on our toe touches and herkies. The varsity cheerleaders worked hard, teaching us our cheer and chant. They went over our routine with us a few times then we split up into groups and practiced.
Since girls from North, South, and Memorial are trying out, we normally worked with girls from our school since we knew all of them.
Mock tryouts were held Wednesday, March 7. Each girl performed in front of three varsity cheerleaders. We sprinted in, did two jumps, our chant and cheer. I was so nervous I almost got sick. A lot of other girls felt sick, too, but everyone was o.k. and tried their best.
As the time approached for the real tryout, we were all really nervous because we had to go in front of the varsity squad, coaches, and the rest of the judges. I kept going over the chant and cheer in my head.
"Hey, hey, let's fight, let's win tonight." We had to repeat it two more times.
And our cheer was "Joplin Eagles, our team is on top. JHS, we're fighting non-stop. Explosive, dynamic, you're looking at the best, we explode with spirit and eliminate the rest.
"Yell JHS, JHS, JHS."
Those who tried out from JHS were Christen Cool, Samantha Warren, Cindy Pham, Kendra Wilson, Alicia Shofner, Nikki Carter, Lacy Heiskell, Tessa Luper, Hannah Doerge, Kaylee Sexton, Loryn Ligon, and Tori Mardis.

Athletes weigh in on bond issue proposal

By KELLEY LEACH
Room 210 Sports Editor

During his time as an athlete at South Middle School, Lane Hampton never had a chance to play at his home school. "It sucked so bad," he said.
If a proposed $57 million bond issue passes next month, future South athletes will never have to go through what Lane and his teammates have. The issue calls for construction of a new South Middle School...and this one will have a gymnasium.
"It's a good idea," Lane said.
Because of the lack of a gymnasium at South, South athletes have played their home games at Memorial Middle School. Their home football games have been played at Junge Stadium. If the bond issue passes, South will have its own football field.
Principal Ron Mitchell says it is not fair that South athletes have to play all of their games on other courts and fields. South's past athletes certainly agree with that, and hope future athletes will never have that problem.

Tressler, Martin honored by Elks Lodge

South Middle School eighth graders Taylor Tressler and Breanna Martin were honored Thursday by the Joplin Elks Lodge for taking first and third place, respectively, in the lodge's annual essay contest.
A reception was held in the SMS Library, in honor of the two and four other winners in the contest's fifth and sixth grade and seventh and eighth grade divisions.
This year's topic was "Why I Am Proud to be an American."

(Photos: From top- Taylor Tressler and Breanna Martin, group photo of winners with Elks Lodge members, Taylor receives her award. Breanna receives hers)

Devil's Messenger on sale at Hastings in Joplin

Eighth grade communication arts teacher Randy Turner's second novel Devil's Messenger is on sale at Hastings in Joplin. Five copies were put on the shelves Monday afternoon and more will arrive later as the time grows closer for the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 21, signing.

The book is on sale at three locations in Joplin- Hastings, the Changing Hands Book Shop and Always Buying Books. It is also available at Pat's Books in Carthage, and at the Lamar Democrat office in Lamar. More sites will be added in the near future, and more signings will be scheduled in late spring and during the summer.

The novel is a combination horror story/murder mystery about a teenage girl who communicates with her murdered father through Instant Messenger.

Principal explains bond issue to Journalism Club

SMS Principal Ron Mitchell explained the upcoming bond issue to Journalism Club members during a news conference Thursday morning in Room 210.
More information about the $57 million bond issue, which calls for construction of a new South Middle School, an East Middle School, and a total refurbishing of North Middle School, will be featured later on Room 210 News.

(Room 210 News photos by Allen Peterson)

Eighth graders tour Joplin High School

South Middle School eighth graders toured Joplin High School Thursday in preparation for next year when that campus will be home for most of them.
The visit began with lunch, then freshman students, all originally from South took students through the building. The visit lasted approximately an hour and a half.

(Photos: South students are introduced to the JHS cafeteria; Freshman Principal Joe Boyd greets the eighth graders. Photos by Kelley Leach)

Tressler, Martin to be honored at reception

South Middle School eighth graders Taylor Tressler and Breanna Martin will be honored during a reception 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the SMS Library.
The two finished first and third, respectively, in the annual Elks Lodge Essay Contest. Representatives of the Elk Lodge will present them with savings bonds for their efforts.

Project Citizen students selected for state

Mr. Rocky Biggers' second and fifth hour classes will attend Project Citizen in Jefferson City next month.
The two classes were selected following a public presentation last week in the South Middle School Auditorium.
Second hour chose recycling as its project, while fifth hour's presentation was on teen court.
More information, including the names of the students in each class, will be featured later on this site.
(Photos by Allen Peterson)

Honor roll field trips scheduled

The top academic students at South Middle School will receive a well-deserved treat this week, when they leave the SMS campus for a couple of hours to eat at the mall and play laser tag.
Sixth graders will leave Wednesday at the end of third hour and return for seventh hour, while seventh graders are scheduled to go Thursday, and eighth graders on Friday.
Students who are eligible to attend the outings are:

Eighth Grade- Dalton Anderson, Breanna Baker, Tyler Beall, Jacob Bennett, Austin Bolt, Andrew Burkhart, Lloyd Burrow, Blanca Castaneda, Kovan Chew, Christen Cool, Rebecca Cooper, Michael Copeland, Mikaila Craig, Andrew Crouch, Michael Daugherty, Chelsea Dawson, Ashley Dean, Steven Denmark, Christopher Diles, Hannah Doerge, Fischer Dowell, Marina Dudley, David Evans, Leah Forkner, Rachael Foster, Devin Freeman, Brian Grier, Dakota Gilmore, Zach Grimes, Lane Hampton, Paige Harmon, Alexis Hawk, Lacy Heiskell, Christy Hernandez, Dustin Hill, Aaron Hodges, Corey Hounschell, Cheyenne Howard, Spencer Hunt, Kylie Hurrell, Shaynee Johnson, Dylan King, Jessica Knight, Kelley Leach, Grant Lewis, Tessa Luper, Breanna Martin, Andrew Mays, Kane McCaslin, Matthew McCoy, Nathan Morris, Faith Mowry, Taylor Mulik, Lanie Nicolas, Victoria Nolan, Kelsey Pace, Cindy Pham, Dylan Prauser, Jesse Rowe, Jesse Ruvalcaba, Mollie Sanders, Cassey Schulze, Tim Scroggins, Kaylee Sexton, Alicia Shofner, Angela Sliger, Hailey Smith, Victoria Smith, Ashlee Stephens, Catherine Stewart, Grant Stewart, Daniel Story, Shanna Striegel, Savanah Sweeton, William Thrasher, Emily Tripoli, Tyler Walker, Blake Ward, Ana Warner, Samantha Warren, Amanda Webster, Craig Yeoman, Ken Zhang.

Seventh Grade- Molly Baker, Nathan Baker, Kirsti Banning, Lindsey Beall, Joseph Bennett, Emylee Brown, Sara Buck, Tozia Burris, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Tolby Clemons, Matthew Cruzan, Brittney DeMasters, Breanne Diles, Derek Dillon, Christine Dunn, Dermott Evans, Taylor Fetterman, Tara Fleming, Brittany Frisbie, Devyn Hale, Summer Harbeson, Gage Haskew, Jessica Highley, Icesus Holland, Brandon Holman, Amie Howard, Ashley Howe, Rachelle Highbank, Jacob Johnson, Selena Jordan, Alex Kangethe, Alexander Karns, Sarah Kessler, Breanna Knapp, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Luke Lenhart, Sydney Long, Hunter Lynn, Jacob Lyons, Austin Mallory, Wade Mathis, Ian McPherson, Mary Jean Miller, Brittany Mitchell, Ian Mitchell, Victoria Mitchell, Anh Nguyen, Billy Nguyen, Holly O'Dell, Andrew Perry, Payton Pollock, Chloe Potts, Shalea Purdy, Blake Putnam, Gilbert Randolph, Samantha Rice, Andrew Roberts, Mariah Sanders, Adam Schilling, Daniel Scott, Adam Snearly, Shawn Spicer, Kayla Stewart, Isaiah Stout, Bayley Strella, Nathan Stripling, Jeffrey Terry, Kaycee Thompson, LaTosha Treat, Christian Underwood, Brittany Utley, Greggory VanLoon, Kyle Vene, Jamie Walters, Hannah Ward, Dillon Warlaumont, Casee Wheeler, Johnna Yeoman

Sixth Grade- Torri Ackerson, John Alumbaugh, Jodi Anderson, Victoria Baker, Sierra Bartholomew, Abigail Bass, Haley Powers, Austin Boyd, Lisa Bromley, Alexis Brown, Nathan Brummer, Casey Burkhart, Hannah Cody, Hollis Cady, Tracie Cottrill, Ronald Darby, Aaron Daum, Shaney Delzell, Danielle Doerr, Laila Douglas, Karissa Dowell, Caroline Dutton, Preston Eafrati, Calisha England, Taylor Erwin, Judith Fausto, Austin Fenn, Sandra Gallegos, Riley Gass, Valerie Glass, Kelsey Gould, Olivia Hampton, Allison Hankins, Hannah Hare, Christopher Harpole, Joshua Harris, Shanice Hazley, Elisabeth Heimberg, Isaiah Hicks, Alex Hill, Esteban Hinojosa, Brittany Hudson, Ricky Hutchison, Jordan Ivey, Anna Johnson, Erin Johnson, Carson Jones, Morgan Jones, Morgan Lamar, Brandon Laub, Nicholas Laub, Kylie Lewsader, Elisha Mansour, Dominique Michael, Hunter Mills, Damon Monasco, Lane Morrill, Robert Munalem, Alexander Musgrave, Tyler Nonemaker, Morgan Osburn, Taylor Parker, Spencer Peterson, Blake Price, Orion Quintana, Stefon Rich, Thomas Richins, Alexandra Ritter, Gabriel Sachetta, Krystal Schulze, Bryson Sexton, Taylor Shutte, Dakota Smith, Benjamin Story, Shane Striegel, Logan Terry, Victoria Thompson, Theodora Voutiritsas, Shani Wage-Knight, Elaina Warren, Ethan Warstler, Andrew Welch, Allison White, Storm Whittington, Shannon Williams, Tiffany Williams, Emilee Wills, Alexis Woods, Emily Yarbrough

Track season approaching

By CHRISTEN COOL and BECKY COOPER
Room 210 Staff Writers

Track is coming up pretty fast at South Middle School.
The fun begins at the end of February for seventh and eighth graders. Track can be hard, but it's so much fun. Track athletes compete in numerous events, including 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash, 800 meter run, 1600 meter run, 4 x 100 relay, 4 x 200 relay and 4 x 400 relay. Also available for athletes are other events, including hurdles, pole vaulting, high jump, long jump, shot put, and discus. Athletes may compete in up to four events.
South has three coaches, Coach Rocky Biggers, who teaches at South, Coach Adrien Hedley, who teaches at an elementary school, and Coach Jason Veisselmeyer. Coach Biggers coaches field events, Coach Hedley coaches the distance runners, and Coach Veisselmeyer coaches the sprinters.

CP Hearts fundraiser begins

By KEN ZHANG
Room 210 Staff writer

The race is on!
The CP hearts fundraiser has started again at South Middle School. Beginning Jan. 22, SMS students have started to sell CP Hearts and because of the four snow days, the deadline has been moved to Feb. 19.
South students participate in the fundraiser to raise money for the CP Center, which helps children with cerebral palsy learn and be able to attend regular school.
South is competing against other schools, including Aurora, Diamond, Cecil Floyd, and Carthage, to raise the most money. At South, the TA that sells the most hearts will receive breakfast at McDonald's and will visit the CP Center.

South teams win doubleheader over North

South Middle School basketball teams swept North Monday night, with the A team using a strong fourth quarter to run past North 21-15, while the B team rode a buzzer beating, nothing-but-net three-pointer by Blake Ward to down North 16-15.
The A team trailed 13-12 after three quarters, but outscored North 9-2 in the final six minutes, including five points from J. T. Taylor, who led all scorers with 11 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Tyler Walker and Cody Sadler contributed fourth quarter baskets. Austin Bolt had a three-pointer in the second quarter.

(Photo: Austin Bolt runs into a North roadblock during the second half of South Middle School's 21-15 win over North Monday night. Also shown for South, from left, are Tyler Walker, Cody Sadler, and Layne Hampton.

SMS teams do well in Joplin quiz bowl match

The first Joplin quiz bowl match in two years was held Monday at Memorial Middle School.
Memorial's number two team won, though not before being taken to overtime by South's number one team, consisting of Kane McCaslin, Kylie Hurrell, Lainie Nicolas, and Savanah Sweeton.
South's number two team, led by Dylan Prauser, who answered 23 questions during the tournament, defeated the number one team. Other members of the number two team were Sarah Kessler and Alex Kangethe.
The SMS Quiz Bowl team will compete in a social studies tournament at Lamar in February.

(Photo: Kane McCaslin, Kylie Hurrell, Lainie Nicolas, and Savanah Sweeton are shown prior to their overtime win over North Middle School's number one team.)

Second quarter honor roll released

The second quarter honor roll has been released at South Middle School. Those making the list were:

Eighth Grade- Dalton Anderson, Breanna Baker, Tyler Beall, Jacob Bennett, Austin Bolt, Andrew Burkhart, Lloyd Burrow, Blanca Castaneda, Kovan Chew, Christen Cool, Rebecca Cooper, Michael Copeland, Mikaila Craig, Andrew Crouch, Michael Daugherty, Chelsea Dawson, Ashley Dean, Steven Denmark, Christopher Diles, Hannah Doerge, Fischer Dowell, Marina Dudley, David Evans, Leah Forkner, Rachael Foster, Devin Freeman, Brian Grier, Dakota Gilmore, Zach Grimes, Lane Hampton, Paige Harmon, Alexis Hawk, Lacy Heiskell, Christy Hernandez, Dustin Hill, Aaron Hodges, Corey Hounschell, Cheyenne Howard, Spencer Hunt, Kylie Hurrell, Shaynee Johnson, Dylan King, Jessica Knight, Kelley Leach, Grant Lewis, Tessa Luper, Breanna Martin, Andrew Mays, Kane McCaslin, Matthew McCoy, Nathan Morris, Faith Mowry, Taylor Mulik, Lanie Nicolas, Victoria Nolan, Kelsey Pace, Cindy Pham, Dylan Prauser, Jesse Rowe, Jesse Ruvalcaba, Mollie Sanders, Cassey Schulze, Tim Scroggins, Kaylee Sexton, Alicia Shofner, Angela Sliger, Hailey Smith, Victoria Smith, Ashlee Stephens, Catherine Stewart, Grant Stewart, Daniel Story, Shanna Striegel, Savanah Sweeton, William Thrasher, Emily Tripoli, Tyler Walker, Blake Ward, Ana Warner, Samantha Warren, Amanda Webster, Craig Yeoman, Ken Zhang.

Seventh Grade- Molly Baker, Nathan Baker, Kirsti Banning, Lindsey Beall, Joseph Bennett, Emylee Brown, Sara Buck, Tozia Burris, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Tolby Clemons, Matthew Cruzan, Brittney DeMasters, Breanne Diles, Derek Dillon, Christine Dunn, Dermott Evans, Taylor Fetterman, Tara Fleming, Brittany Frisbie, Devyn Hale, Summer Harbeson, Gage Haskew, Jessica Highley, Icesus Holland, Brandon Holman, Amie Howard, Ashley Howe, Rachelle Highbank, Jacob Johnson, Selena Jordan, Alex Kangethe, Alexander Karns, Sarah Kessler, Breanna Knapp, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Luke Lenhart, Sydney Long, Hunter Lynn, Jacob Lyons, Austin Mallory, Wade Mathis, Ian McPherson, Mary Jean Miller, Brittany Mitchell, Ian Mitchell, Victoria Mitchell, Anh Nguyen, Billy Nguyen, Holly O'Dell, Andrew Perry, Payton Pollock, Chloe Potts, Shalea Purdy, Blake Putnam, Gilbert Randolph, Samantha Rice, Andrew Roberts, Mariah Sanders, Adam Schilling, Daniel Scott, Adam Snearly, Shawn Spicer, Kayla Stewart, Isaiah Stout, Bayley Strella, Nathan Stripling, Jeffrey Terry, Kaycee Thompson, LaTosha Treat, Christian Underwood, Brittany Utley, Greggory VanLoon, Kyle Vene, Jamie Walters, Hannah Ward, Dillon Warlaumont, Casee Wheeler, Johnna Yeoman

Sixth Grade- Torri Ackerson, John Alumbaugh, Jodi Anderson, Victoria Baker, Sierra Bartholomew, Abigail Bass, Haley Powers, Austin Boyd, Lisa Bromley, Alexis Brown, Nathan Brummer, Casey Burkhart, Hannah Cody, Hollis Cady, Tracie Cottrill, Ronald Darby, Aaron Daum, Shaney Delzell, Danielle Doerr, Laila Douglas, Karissa Dowell, Caroline Dutton, Preston Eafrati, Calisha England, Taylor Erwin, Judith Fausto, Austin Fenn, Sandra Gallegos, Riley Gass, Valerie Glass, Kelsey Gould, Olivia Hampton, Allison Hankins, Hannah Hare, Christopher Harpole, Joshua Harris, Shanice Hazley, Elisabeth Heimberg, Isaiah Hicks, Alex Hill, Esteban Hinojosa, Brittany Hudson, Ricky Hutchison, Jordan Ivey, Anna Johnson, Erin Johnson, Carson Jones, Morgan Jones, Morgan Lamar, Brandon Laub, Nicholas Laub, Kylie Lewsader, Elisha Mansour, Dominique Michael, Hunter Mills, Damon Monasco, Lane Morrill, Robert Munalem, Alexander Musgrave, Tyler Nonemaker, Morgan Osburn, Taylor Parker, Spencer Peterson, Blake Price, Orion Quintana, Stefon Rich, Thomas Richins, Alexandra Ritter, Gabriel Sachetta, Krystal Schulze, Bryson Sexton, Taylor Shutte, Dakota Smith, Benjamin Story, Shane Striegel, Logan Terry, Victoria Thompson, Theodora Voutiritsas, Shani Wage-Knight, Elaina Warren, Ethan Warstler, Andrew Welch, Allison White, Storm Whittington, Shannon Williams, Tiffany Williams, Emilee Wills, Alexis Woods, Emily Yarbrough

Meeting set to plan bond issue campaign

The following item was taken from the Joplin R-8 School District website:

In preparation for Joplin’s upcoming April school bond issue, community members dedicated to improving educational facilities for the children of Joplin are invited to attend the first Grassroots School Bond Committee meeting.
The purpose of the meeting is to organize a large, active committee composed of stakeholders who desire to see the Joplin School District build three new middle schools to replace the very old existing structures. This will be a grassroots effort of patrons who will plan and implement the upcoming bond issue campaign.

The meeting will be held at Joplin High School in the Eagle Talon Conference Room. Anyone needing additional information about the grassroots meeting may contact the Superintendent’s office at 625-5200 ext. 123.

More information about the bond issue will be featured in upcoming posts on Room 210 News.

South captures two awards in annual Elks Essay Contest

The information is sketchy, but two South Middle School students placed in the annual Joplin Elks Lodge Essay Contest.
School officials know that South students took first and third place in the annual competition, but information on which individual students captured the awards is not yet available.
This year's topic was "Why I Am Proud to be an American."
This is the third time in the last four years that South has taken first place in the competition. It is also the third time SMS has has at least two of the top three entrants.
More information will be furnished on this page at a later date.

Eighth grader meets brother for first time

By TORI MARDIS
Room 210 Staff Writer
If you have ever ridden a roller coaster you know the feeling.
You are excited and nervous at the same time. You don't know if you should laugh or cry. Well that's the way I felt when I interviewed Tiffany Douglas, a South Middle School eighth grader.
Tiffany had never met her older brother until earlier this month. She was nervous before they met. "I hope we get along and get to see each other more," she said.
Tiffany and her brother had never met because he lived with his mom and it was too far for him to come, Tiffany said, adding that her brother would have felt like a stranger because he did not know his dad, but her brother Todd decided that it did not matter and he wanted to meet his little sister.
The meeting went even better than Tiffany expected. Todd had planned on staying here for a few months, but he liked it here so much he decided to stay for good and Tiffany can see her brother whenever she wants.

South students provide Christmas for needy children

The South Middle School Student Council's annual Penny Wars competition resulted in a merrier Christmas for some needy Joplin-area children.
STUCO members took the proceeds from the competition to Wal-Mart the final day before Christmas break, bought presents, then gave them to the Joplin Fire Department, which oversees the event, during a seventh-hour assembly.

SMS Project Citizen featured in Eagle Eye

Project Citizen, an annual project in Mr. Rocky Biggers' eighth grade social studies classes was featured in the most recent issue of the Joplin R-8 School District's newsletter, The Eagle Eye.
The following article was printed:


A project created by a group of South Middle School eighth graders has received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Center for Civic Education. The group's winning portfolio entitled "Pre-Driver's Ed," had previously been judged at a state-level competition and earned the honor of representing Missouri at a final round – the 10th Annual Project Citizen National Showcase in Nashville, Tennessee. Members of state legislatures, legislative staff, educators, attorneys, and other citizens from around the country served as judges in
this prestigious showcase.
Project Citizen is an award-winning middle school civic education program that engages classes of students to identify public policy issues in their communities, learn about the issues, and propose action plans to address the issues. Classes produce portfolios about changing public policy in their communities. Last school year, two SMS American History classes taught by Rocky Biggers participated in
Project Citizen and won at the state-level competition.
The winning "Pre-Driver's Ed” project approached the problem of how best to prepare new drivers to pass their driver's permit test. The students proposed a new "mini class" within the Teacher Advisory classes for eighth graders, which would teach the Missouri Driver's Manual.
The students, now freshmen at Joplin High School, include: Cheyenna Beck, Maddison Billings, Zach Brower,Shelbi Cooper, Paco Gonzales, Kristin Grasser, Dakota Hackworth, Angelica Himojosa, Michelle Holden, Sierra Hutchinson, Tilly Ingram,
Candra Kaderly, Danielle Kleeman,Veronica Leonard, Shelby McMillen, Blake Mills, Alex Needham, John Ness, Tabitha Robbins, Ryan Simpson, Adam Sonnier, Jeff Taylor,
Tevin Triplett, Miranda Veith, and Ashton White.

Joplin schools accredited with distinction

(THe following article was printed in the Joplin R-8 School District newsletter, The Eagle Eye.)

The Joplin School District has officially received the coveted “Accredited with
Distinction” designation from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE) for the third consecutive year. Once again, Joplin is among an elite
group of Missouri school districts to earn the state's "Distinction in Performance"
award.
"Receiving this honor for the third year in a row is a reflection on the focused efforts by all of Joplin's staff on being the best," says the Superintendent, Dr. Jim Simpson.
"We are all committed to building on each year's achievement to ensure that our students are prepared for a successful future."
To receive the annual "Distinction in Performance” award, Missouri school districts must meet at least 13 of 14 student performance standards on their Annual Performance Report (APR), which is compiled each year by DESE. An APR is based on the same criteria used in the accreditation process and displays whether or not a school district has met standards related to student academic performance.
These include MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) test scores, ACT college entrance
exam scores, attendance rate, graduation rate, the number of graduates continuing to
college, and other academic performance measures.

Rooker is December 'My Teacher Rocks" winner

Math teacher Mrs. Barbara Rooker was the My Teacher Rocks winner for December. She was nominated by eighth grader Leah Forkner.
In her nomination letter, Miss Forkner wrote:

My teacher Mrs.Rooker Rocks!!!!! You can always talk to her when things aren't going so good and she loves to hear stories of when times are good for you. When Mrs. Rooker is teaching a lesson, she waits until you understand how to do it before she moves on. She will wait for hours after school if you don't understand what she is talking about. I feel so lucky to have Mrs. Rooker for the third year this year!

SMS Bands hold holiday concert

The South Middle School bands, under the direction of Mr. Reed Barnes, performed their annual holiday concert Dec. 11 in the school auditorium.
The concert featured two numbers by the Jazz Band, four by the Beginning Band, and five by the Concert Band.
Jazz Band members are: Cheyenne Howard, Geoff Aiken, Gareth Evans, Aaron Hodges, Leif Larson, Nathan Morris, Grant Evans, Gil Randolph
Beginning Band members are: Abby Bates, Emily Jenkins, Emma Rice, LynnLee Shepherd, Kelsey Tressler, Kylie Lewsader, Austin Mallory, Michael Oyler, Lauren Temple, Jed Larson, Cory Miller, Tyler Nonemaker, Alex Whittington, Calvin Alumbaugh, Madison Briggs, Isaiah Hicks, Brandon Laub, Spencer Peterson, Orion Quintana, Dakota Smith, Drew Welch, Matt Cruzan, Tera Hall, Cody Miller, Stephen Miller, Dakota Reasoner, Dillon Warlaumont, Tommy Winstead, Brandon Ross, Dylan Caldwell, Dylan Goad, Jordan Ivey, Hunter Mills, Damien Mitchell, Axle Vene, Ethan Wastler, Emilee Wills.
Concert Band members are: Breanna Baker, Molly Baker, Becky Cooper, Steven Denmark, Jessie Kennedy, Lynn Nichols, Tiffany Douglas, Brittany Frisbie, Cody Gilmore, Aron Hembree, Taylor Johnson, Lainie Nicolas, Catherine Stewart, Savanah Sweeton, Dakota Williams, Kisha Adams, Austin Bolt, Zack Cloven, Cheyenne Howard, Andrew Mays, Brittany Mitchell, Bryan Ross, Amanda Webster, Jordan Adame, Joran Bailey, Nathan Baker, Tyler Beall, Nathan Cox, Zac Dunnic, Gareth Evans, Corey Hounschell, Sarah Kessler, Leif Larson, Luke Lenhart, Nathan Morris, Amanda Needham, Casey Sharp, Brett Stearnes, Jeffrey Terry, Kyle Vene, Brian Geier, Will Kessler, Christian Miller, Sam Quinones, Geoff Aiken, Tate Duley, Aaron Hodges, Kelli Newberry, Desean Triplett, Timmy Davis, Daniel Story, Daniel Vanderlip, Jarvious Britt, Levi Crews, Fischer Dowell, Grant Evans, Tyler Graves, Zach Hibbard, Billy Nguyen, Allen Peterson, Blake Putnam, Gil Randolph, Dalton Smith

SMS teacher has second novel published

By DYLAN PRAUSER
Room 210 Staff Writer

Mr. Randy Turner, eighth grade communication arts teacher's second novel, Devil's Messenger, has been published. Books may be purchased from Mr. Turner for $15 apiece and are also available over the internet. More information is available at the book's website.
The book is about a teenaged girl named Cassandra Harper who communicates with her murdered father through instant messenger. The story is a combination murder mystery and horror story.
Mr. Turner's first book, Small Town News, was published in 2005.

LAB members volunteer at Ronald McDonald House

Fourteen members of the SMS Library Advisory Board (LAB) recently volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Joplin.
Students participating were: Leah Forkner, Kane McCaslin, Becky Cooper, Cassey Schulze, Shawn Spicer, Jordan Hamilton, Lauren Layne, Bayley Strella, Brittany Frisbie, Gareth Evans, Cindy Pham, Brandon Holman, Kaleb Szulakiewicz, and Amanda Needham.

Five South students selected for color guard

By KELLEY LEACH
Room 210 Staff Writer
Five South Middle School students have been named to the Joplin Middle School Color Guard. Those selected were Becky Cooper, Amanda Needham, Kelley Leach, Savanah Sweeton, and Cassey Schulze.
The girls were surprised when tryouts were held, thinking they would have more time to prepare since they had missed three snow days, but the tryout was held as planned.
"At first, I thought this was something I could never do," Becky Cooper said," but as the week went on Ms. Palmer (the sponsor) made it more fun and easier. Then the last day of tryouts, we were all super nervous because we didn't know that tryouts were that day. But I had more fun trying out than I did at practice week."
The students will perform at halftime of basketball games.

Winter choir concert held

Photos by Marina Dudley
"With a Joyful Song," the South Middle School Choir Concert was held Thursday in the school auditorium. Students had an opportunity to see the program earlier in the day during TA.
The sixth grade choir opened with six numbers, "With a Joyful Song," "O Come O Come, Emmanuel," "Mary Sat-a-Rockin," "Candlelight Silent Night," "A Winter's Day," and "Gonna Catch That Santa."
Haley Bowers performed a solo.
Sixth grade choir members are:
Torri Ackerman, Jodi Anderson, Haley Bowers, Clayton Brown, Lexi Brown, Ethan Bryan, Courtney Burns, Hannah Cady, Tracie Cottrill, Shaney Delzell, Felisha Derrick, Calisha England, Eliza Fausto, Riley Gass, Allison Hankins, Shelby Ingram, Mason Johnson, Carson Jones, Morgan Jones, Shani Knight, Morgan Lamar, Ghenessa Moore, Jade Moore, Kassidee Myers, Gus Ortega, Hailey Oxford, Stefon Rich, Krystal Schulze, Jordan Shumaker, Taylor Shutte, C. D. Smith, Clay Sweeton, Kaylee Tressler, Storm Whittington, Shannon Williams, Tiffany Williams.

The Concert Choir performed eight numbers- "A Holiday Madrigal," "The Snow Begins to Fall," "Born, Born in Bethlehem," "Breath of Heaven," "O Come, Little Children," "Twas the Night," "Blue Christmas," and "Frosty the Snowman."
Featured soloists were: Sarah Matthews, Molly Sanders, Taylor Camden, and Alex Karns.
Concert Choir members are:
Andrea Alexander, Cierra Asher, Jacqueline Bogarin, Tozia Burris, Cameron Bryan, Taylor Camden, Nikki Carter, Gina Casada, Beau Carroll, Jordan Chambers, Tolby Clemons, Christen Cool, Cecil Cornish, Tanner Crawford, Takada Davis, Ashley Dean, Hannah Doerge, Ariana Dudley, Shane Ellis, Rachel Etheridge, Tara Fleming, Rachael Foster, Leah Forkner, Makenzie Freeman, Jared Fuller, Christina Gates, Tessa Gordon, Justene Gowing, Jordan Hamilton, Kole Hammond, Paige Harmon, Alexis Hawk, Colten Hawkins, Jamie Hartje, Lacy Heiskell, Ashley Henson, Christy Hernandez, Joe Huddleston, Rachelle Hughbank, Andrew Ideker, Alex Johnson, Shaynee Johnson, Selena Jordan, Alex Karns, Katie Kemmery, Dylan King, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Kelley Leach, Grant Lewis, Loryn Ligon, Tessa Luper, Breanna Martin, Sarah Matthews, Adriana Maturino, Shelby McDonald, Tori Mitchell, Amber Morris, Holly O'Dell, Nayelli Ortiz, Kelsey Pace, Sarah Painter, Cindy Pham, Katie Phelps, MacKenzy Pierce, Tymber Pope, Dylan Prauser, Tyra Raby, Samantha Rice, Rachel Richins, Hannah Rosario, Jesse Rowe, Abby Sadler, Mariah Sanders, Mollie Sanders, Adam Schilling, Cassey Schulze, Kaylee Sexton, Shelby Shumaker, Alicia Shofner, Angela Sliger, Amber Smith, Hailey Smith, Sydney Snider, Shanna Striegel, Kaitlin Sullivan, Taylor Tressler, Emily Tripoli, Hannah Ward, Samantha Warren, Kris Watts, Sarah Wells, Ashley Whittington, Kendra Wilson, Tamera Wirick, Katie Wood, Shandera Workman, Jaclyn Wright, Nichole Yeoman.

The program concluded with two numbers, "Jinglin' Bells," and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," by The Southern Belles, South's show choir.
Members of the Southern Belles are:
Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Hannah Doerge, Tara Fleming, Leah Forkner, Christy Hernandez, Tera Knight, Lauren Layne, Tessa Luper, Sarah Matthews, Tori Mitchell, Cindy Pham, Tymber Pope, Hannah Rosario, Mariah Sanders, Mollie Sanders, Shelby Shumaker, Taylor Tressler, Kendra Wilson, Katie Wood, Jaclyn Wright, and Nichole Yeoman.

The program was under the direction of Ms. Julie Yonkers.

See You at the Pole gathering held

South Middle School students and teachers participated in the annual See You at the Pole prayer gathering Wednesday.
The observance, which is a voluntary, and not a school-sponsored activity, is held each year on the final Wednesday of September.

SMS volleyball teams fall to Neosho

By KELLEY LEACH
Room 210 Sports Editor
The South Middle School seventh and eighth grade volleyball teams lost to Neosho Thursday.
The seventh grade A team lost 25-19, 25-12, while the B team fell 25-13, 25-11.
In the eighth grade matches, the A team lost 25-5, 25-19, while the B team came up on the short end of a 25-18 score.

SMS volleyballers fall to CJ

By KELLEY LEACH
Room 210 Staff WriterSouth Middle School's seventh and eighth grade volleyball teams lost to Carl Junction Monday night.
The eighth grade fell 25-12, 25-10, despite the serving of Breanna Baker, while the seventh grade lost 25-14, 19-25, 25-9, despite nine serve points by Bayley Strella. The seventh grade B team lost 25-19, 25-10.

Former SMS student teacher enjoying Carthage job

By BECKY COOPER and
LAINIE NICOLAS
Room 210 Staff Writers
Mr. Jacob Osborne, former student teacher at South Middle School, is now teaching at Carthage Junior High School.
Last year, he was a student teacher in Mr. Jason Weaver's world history class, so he could teach geography. Being a real teacher is different for Mr. Osborne.
"I have been treated differently by my students," he said. "I think that is because whenever I was a student teacher, the students were used to Mr. Weaver and the way he ran his classroom. Student teaching gave me an opportunity to figure out how I wanted to run my classroom.
Another big difference is that at Carthage there are two different teachers for every subject in every grade. That means he is not the only geography teacher. "This has been a huge help to me because the other teacher and I are working on every lesson so we can try to put both of our ideas together to make a good lesson," he said.
Mr. Osborne says Mr. Weaver taught him a lot. "He taught me to teach lessons without using the textbook; there are also certain organizational things that Mr. Weaver taught me. I also have my gradebook set up the same way that he does."
Mr. Weaver said he enjoyed working with Mr. Osborne "because I had the chance to teach someone what I was never taught." Mr. Weaver was also affected by his experience with a student teacher. "It helped me become a better teacher because he would ask me questions and even though I knew how to answer them it made me realize how to do better at it myself."
Since Carthage is Mr. Osborne's hometown, he feels a certain loyalty to the district. "I hope to stay here in Carthage," he says. "I liked Joplin a lot and I wouldn't trade my time student teaching there for anything."

Seventh grade spikers defeat College Heights

By KELLEY LEACH
Room 210 Staff Writer
The South Middle School seventh grade volleyball team defeated College Heights for the second time in less than a week Monday night, 25-18, 25-27, 25-9.
The host College Heights team beat the SMS eighth graders 25-10, 25-8. The eighth grade B team lost 25-18. The seventh grade B team also lost.
Members of this year's SMS volleyball teams are:
Eighth grade- Christen Cool, Rachael Foster, Shaynee Johnson, Kelley Leach, Leah Forkner, Victoria Smith, Breanna Baker, Cassey Schulze, Makenzie Freeman, Mikaila Craig, and Seychelle Jackson.
Seventh grade- Molly Baker, Kirsti Banning, Emylee Brown, Taylor Camden, Jordan Chambers, Allie Lacey, Sydney Long, Nicole McDonald, Tori Mitchell, Ann Nguyen, Holly O'Dell, Mackenzy Pierce, Chloe Potts, Bailey Strella, Jamie Walters, Cassee Wheeler, Nichole Yeoman.

Quiz Bowl prepares for 2006-2007 season

By KANE MCCASLIN
Room 210 Staff Writer
The 2006-2007 South Middle School Quiz Bowl team got off to a rocking start Wednesday, Aug. 30, with mind boggling questions like, "The capitol of Wyoming is.." and "Who is the former senator from Indiana who later became vice president of the United States?" The buzzers were ringing off the hook.
Mrs. Kathy Weaver is already working to hard to fill the shoes of Mr. Jason Weaver. Mr. Weaver was unable to continue with Quiz Bowl due to added responsibilities this year.
Mr. Randy Turner, co-sponsor for the last two years, is serving in that role again. "We hope to do better this year since we have students who have already had a year in quiz bowl."
Returning from last year's team are: Leif Larson, Arthur Brown, Steven Williams, Kane McCaslin, and Dylan Prauser. Other team members who attended the first meeting included: Christen Cool, Kelley Leach, Victoria Smith, Ken Zhang, Shelby Nicole McDonald, Mackenzy Pierce, Holly O'Dell, Alex Kangethe, Cheyenne Howard, Sharah Howard, Sarah Kessler, Ashley Whittington, Steven Denmark, and Beau Carroll.
The team's first competition is expected to take place in October.

The pop is gone

By SAVANAH SWEETON
Room 210 Staff Writer
Students have noticed that the pop in the machines at South Middle School has been switched to water.
SMS Principal Mr. Ron Mitchell said the change was made by the Coke and Pepsi companies and was done worldwide.
"It's a good thing," he said, adding that he hoped students would make healthier choices and would ask their parents for less money for lunch.
Joplin High School has small diet soft drinks, but the elementary schools have only less sweet juices and water.
Mr. Mitchell may think the change is a good one, but not all students agree.
Eighth grader Alicia Shofner said, "I want those pop machines back."

(Photo: Students can still buy pop when they attend after-school activities such as Tuesday night's season-opening volleyball match at Memorial. Members of the SMS Library Advisory Board are shown manning the concession stand.)

Math teacher works to fight multiple sclerosis

By SAVANAH SWEETON and
TAYLOR TRESSLER
Room 210 Staff Writers

Eighth grade math teacher Mrs. Valerie Doerr will bike to help people with multiple sclerosis.
THe M150 Bike Race will take place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 16 and 17. All participants can bike a total of 100 miles each day from Republic to Carthage and back.
Mrs. Doerr says 100 miles is the furthest she has biked, but she has reached 39.0 miles per hour. She has been biking all of her life.
Her inspiration for biking comes from one source. "It would have to be my dad," she said. "He was always riding and I've loved it since I was a kid."

Clubs start at South Middle School

By VICTORIA NOLAN
Room 210 Staff Writer
Clubs started Tuesday, Sept. 5, at South Middle School, and will continue for the following three Tuesdays.
"The purpose of clubs is to let kids have fun at school and explore their personal interests," said Mr. Gregg Klinginsmith, assistant principal. "All of the teachers came up with the ideas for their clubs."
Clubs being offered include:
Checkers, Yahtzee, Spanish, team activities, board games, creative art, card games, arts and crafts, Hollywood history, block it, t-shirt painting, creative writing, mind trap, games, drawing/coloring, knitting, flag football, German, chess club, boggle and scrabble, card games, conservation, internet scavenger hunt, scrapbooking, yugio, basketball, trivia club, crochet, and uno.
Mr. Klinginsmith said, "If I was a middle schooler, I would join flag football."

Seventh grade volleyball teams sweep College Heights

South Middle School's seventh grade volleyball teams opened their season Tuesday night with wins over College Heights. The eighth grade team lost. The teams return to action next week.

First Quiz Bowl meeting set for Wednesday

The first meeting of the South Middle School Quiz Bowl team will be held after school Wednesday, Aug. 30, in the library, according to Mr. Randy Turner, one of the team's sponsors.
An explanation of what quiz bowl does will be provided to the students and they will have an opportunity to get on the buzzers and try to answer trivia questions. Refreshments will be served.
Quiz Bowl is open to students in grades seven and eight.

Kunce mentioned as one of keys for JHS football

Former SMS student Travis Kunce, a Joplin High School junior, is named as one of the keys to a successful season for the JHS football team in this Joplin Daily article.

Former South students excel in JHS volleyball opener

Former South Middle School students Ali Stauffer and Lindsey Hamm excelled in the opening matches for Joplin High School varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams.
The varsity, jayvee, and freshman teams defeated Carl Junction.

Practices start for SMS sports teams

Practices have begun for the South Middle School football, volleyball, and cheerleading squads. South and North middle schools will have a combined football team this season.
The volleyball team will open its season Tuesday, Sept. 5, when it plays host to College Heights in the Memorial Middle School gymnasium.
The seventh grade football team will play Memorial at Memorial 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12. The eighth grade team will play Memorial there 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14.

Journalism Club to meet Thursday after school

The South Middle School Journalism Club will hold its first meeting of the 2006-2007 school year Thursday, Aug, 24, after school, according to Mr. Randy Turner, advisor.
The club is responsible for the publication of the South Spotlight newspaper, maintaining the Room 210 News website, and is expected to be involved in production of a news program for Jet 14, the Joplin R-8 School District television station, this year.

Clayton Stehm has role in production of "Anne of Avonlea"

Former SMS student Clayton Stehm is one of the cast for the production of "Anne of Avonlea," scheduled to begin Thursday, Aug. 24, at Stained Glass Theatre in Joplin.
Stehm will play the role of Paul Irving.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Sunday, Sept. 10.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $3.50 for children aged 4 to 13. Children under four are admitted free.

SMS assistant principal profiled in Carthage Press

New South Middle School assistant principal Mr. Gregg Klinginsmith was featured in a Carthage Press article this week.

"I wanted to make a bigger impact in the school district, students,” Klinginsmith said. “As a teacher, you effect students in a classroom. As an administrator, you can affect a whole building of students."

Former SMS cheerleaders place at regionals

Joplin High School junior varsity cheerleaders, including former South cheerleaders Jordyn McCutcheon, Brittany Meehl, and Skye Smith took fourth place out of 14 squads at the Missouri State Cheerleading Regional competition held recently at Ozark High School.

Open house held at South

Students received schedules and parents had a chance to meet with teachers during the annual open house held Monday night at South.
The session began with parents meeting in the auditorium to hear Mr. Ron Mitchell, principal, welcome them and quickly go over rules and regulations. Following his remarks, parents and students went through an abbreviated schedule, starting with TA and going through each of the seven class periods.
School will begin Wednesday, Aug. 16.

Librarian featured in Joplin Daily article

South Middle School librarian Mrs. Bonnie Turner was featured in an article that was posted today on the Joplin Daily website.
Mrs. Turner is teaching science at the Fifth Grade Academy, the article said.

JHS Football Camp runs smoothly

By GARRETT DOWELL
for Room 210 News
The JHS Eagles Football camp went very well. Everyone seemed to adapt to the new defense and were ready to do some work after Coach Buckmaster told us how "sluggish" we looked doing the drills, and not showing up on time.
The entire Eagles football team did awesome for a first camp to kick-off the season. Of course, the freshman have to learn a lot because it's completely different from middle school sports.
We are now in our summer weights sessions, until late July... then there is another camp.

Student's mother writes about European trip

Former Room 210 student Zac Goad's mother, Stephanie Goad, writes about her European trip in a column in today's Joplin Globe.

Globe article explores 50th Street property

The property on 50th street that Joplin R-8 officials have suggested as the location of a new middle school is studied in an article in today's Joplin Globe.

Some MAP tests being scored in Webb City

Seventh grade communication arts MAP tests are being scored this week and next at Webb City High School, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Outdated photos added to Room 210 News

The photos that accompany this post are seven months old, but I wanted to share them with you. I just received a CD with photos on it from the Joplin signing of my novel, Small Town News," which took place in November at Hastings.
Several of you were kind enough to show up and it was very much appreciated. I had a great time (and not just because I sold a few books), so thanks again!
(Photos: From top left, Mr. Randy Turner with Skye Smith, Derek Rider, and Ashley Kissee; with Fox Navarre; with Andrea Steere, with Lindsey Hamm, and with Mr. Jason Weaver; photos by Michelle Nickolaisen)