November 2007Issue 2Volume 2

newsmagazine

MONA SHORES MIDDLE SCHOOL I 1700 WOODSIDE I MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN 49441

Sailors On the Scene

co-editors-in-chief:katie carlsonsam kuipers

photo editor:cole myhre

section editors:meghan bosmajustin mickelsoncourtney susterich

adviser:mike phillips

editorial board:michelle browerbeth prenticeamy stielstratammy sylvestertracie zimmer

lydia birchcourtney eatonbrianna gorylpaige gravespaul juarezkristine kieftnick kurburskistephanie langloiskatie romaniellodeshawn sargent jr.jennifer stegerashley veihlsam vida

kailey bakerchantal balktrevor carlsoncody hammerlezach haughrae heslingbrianna hinesmckenzie hineskacey jacksonrobert langloislauren starkekadiey stressmantina triceconnor wernstromtony west

staff writers:

sai lors on the scene ~ staff

Page Two2

On

The

Coverphoto by: cole myhre

Eighty grader Cody Leroux blows by a Coopersville defender for a easy bucket on the way to a 28-18 win on November 14th.

In the Lead 3

by: chantal balk I staff writerSixth grade science classes hold annual States of Matter Day

States of Matter day was a three-hour period devoted to experimenting with sol-ids, liquids, and gases.

All sixth grade science classes partici-pated in the experiment as an exciting way to end the states of matter unit.

“I liked the states of matter day because it was fun, we got a free day and we got to make a mess without getting in trouble,” eighth grader Ronni Bremer said.

Students examined how ice sub-limes, or changes directly from a solid to a gas without changing to a liquid, the way ice cream freezes when the liquid ingredi-

ents give away energy to the ice, and how root beer is made using syrup and dry ice.

One of the beloved experiments was the making of oobleck, which is a mixture of cornstarch and water.

“My favorite part was the oobleck because it felt cool,” sixth grader Michelle Olsen said.

Parent volunteers are welcomed in to help students with the directions, better under-stand the demonstrations and help clean up to make it less strenuous for everyone.

“Having parents come in gave us more supervision and direct help that we wouldn’t

have been able to give without them,” sixth grade science teacher Beth Cotner said.

It ties into the year because it is some-thing that the students learn in elementary school and they re-cover it in sixth and seventh grade. “What we are trying to do is teach the topic in a variety of ways to hit as many different learning styles as possible,” Mrs. Cotner said.

As usual, states of matter day was a suc-cess because it was a three-hour period jam-packed with hands-on experiments.

Sixth grader Kayleigh Fongers gets a beaker of water to make flubber.

Sixth graders Sam Reynolds, Andrew Wieman and Kyle Peterson enjoying their ice cream.

photos by: chantal balk

by: zach haugh I staff writer

The Importance of the MEAP

Features4

On November 1st the six editors for the middle school newspaper headed to Michigan State University for a Michigan Interscholastic Press Association journalism conference.

The editors left school at 6:30 a.m. and arrived at Michigan State shortly before the conference began.

“I thought it was really fun going to the conference,” eighth grader Courtney

Susterich said. “It did not matter to me how early I had to get up because I was up any ways getting ready,”

Lydia Cadena, newspaper and yearbook advisor for Novi High School, opened the conference with a brief session talking about not settling for good writing, but be-ing great.

“I enjoyed listening to Lydia Cadena be-cause she was very energetic,” Sam Kuipers said. “She grabbed your attention, didn’t let you fall asleep, and she explained things very well.”

The editors participated in three sessions that ranged from taking perfect pictures to writing interesting articles, hot headlines, and appealing leads.

“I thought that the sessions were nicely organized,” eighth grader Meghan Bosma said. “It wasn’t just informational, but it was fun too.”

At the carry in contest for awards, Cole Myhre took home a first place award for best picture, Rae Hesling got second place for best features article, and Katie Carlson was awarded second place for best page layout.

“I felt good inside knowing that I accom-plished something big,” eighth grader Cole Myhre said.

All the hard work students are putting in the newspaper now will lead to a better and more interesting newspaper in the future.

During the month of October students took the MEAP to see what level they are at academically.

The MEAP is a state standardized test that students are required to take so the Michigan Education Board can see what level students are performing at.

“It’s a measurement on students potential growth,” assistant principal Andy Hogston said.

A lot of students don’t like the MEAP and think it is a waste of time, however it is very important and should be taken very seriously.

“I think the MEAP should be taken seriously, because its an important test to see what we know,” seventh grader Sam Stewart said.

Mona Shores Public Schools is known for

doing relatively well on the MEAP. “We have progressed over the last three

years,” Mr. Hogston said. “The middle

school tries to limit the MEAP to about one hour a day, so students don’t get too overwhelmed.”

Something very interesting has happened this year in the sixth grade MEAP. A sixth grade student from Byron Center Public Schools told a reporter a question on the sixth grade English MEAP and the reporter posted it in the Jackson Citizen Patriot newspaper. Because of this, all sixth graders in the state had to retake a writing portion of the English MEAP.

“Students will be effected more buy taking the MEAP in an environment other than their classroom,” sixth grade English teacher Mrs. Eccleston said.

The MEAP should be taken very seri-ously.

by: katie carlson I co-editor-in-chief

Newspaper Editors attend journalism conference at Michigan state university

Sailors On the Scene editors Courtney Susterich, Meghan Bosma, Katie Carlson, Sam Kuipers, Justin Mickelson and Cole Myhre pose in front of the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.

Eighth grader Cole Myhre receives his first place award for best photograph from MIPA executive director Cheryl Pell.

Eighth graders Kailey Baker, Cody Hammerle, Tony West and Cole Myhre take some time out to focus on their studies before taking the MEAP.

courtesy photos

photo by: zach haugh

Features 5

Seventh grade science classes experi-mented with liquid nitrogen during the month of October to show students how it reacted with objects and what nitrogen is made of.

“Liquid Nitrogen is a very abundant gas that makes up 78 percent of the air you

breath in and is also less dense than oxy-gen,” seventh grade science teacher Nick Bronsema said.

One of the most interesting experiments was when a racquetball was frozen and then shattered after being thrown at a wall.

“ My favorite part was when Ms. Kern threw it all on the ground and I thought the ground was going to get all wet, but it just evaporated,” eighth grader Aaron Ruppel said

Also, they experimented with a flower, rubber band, and a grape with all of these they each froze due to the temperature of the nitrogen.

“ I think it was a very good learning expe-rience because it was in real life and was a hands on experience,” eighth grader Trevor Bartkowiak said.

Third, the boiling point of liquid nitrogen is 196 degrees below zero Celsius.

“This means at room temperature it boils rapidly,” seventh grade science teacher Kevin Sylvester said.

Nitrogen affects the volume of objects;

like how cold air contracts objects.It took all of the air out of a balloon and

when it was warmed back up, it returned to its regular self.

The seventh grade science department would like to thank Mittler Supply/Praxair for supplying liquid nitrogen again this year. They have supplied the materials for this lesson for many years and it would not be possible without them.

A year ago homeroom was taken out of the school day and by this action the mentor program was taken along with it.

The mentor program was started in 2005 by then Dean of Student Bob Coyne and eighth grade social studies teacher and men-tor advisor Sue Marris.

“We got the idea when we went to visit a school in Illinois,” Mrs. Marris said.

The eighth graders would help mentor the sixth graders with their schoolwork, problems in their classes and other things like troubles in their life or just being there as a friend.

“The mentor program would be great to start up again, because when I was in sixth grade the eighth graders helped me get bet-ter grades,” eighth grader Dakota Sells said. “They taught me little tricks and short cuts I could use to help me with my math.”

If the eighth graders had mentors when they were in sixth grade, so should the cur-rent sixth graders.

“The mentor program sounds cool,” sixth grader Charlie Bush said. “It would be cool to have somebody older helping you with your homework, while having fun.”

Being a mentor didn’t come easy; men-tors had many requirements and expecta-tions to be a mentor.

“190 students applied for it so I narrowed it down by taking the students that had no detentions, no problems with their grades, and no ISS’s,” Mrs. Marris said. “I looked at their grade point average, volunteering and teacher recommendation.”

The sixth graders might feel more com-fortable talking about their problems and is-sues with eighth graders because they have more than likely already been through it.

“The sixth graders are new to the school, they are probably nervous, and we have been at the middle school longer,” eighth grader Cody Sualeone said.

In the end, the mentor program will help many new sixth grade students with their work and being more comfortable with the new school.

by: tony west I staff writerLiquid nitrogen demonstration has chilling effects

by: kacey jackson I staff writermentor program had a positive impact on eighth graders

Seventh grader Brittnie Whinekey looks on as science teacher Nick Bronsema demonstrates how liquid nitrogen effects a rubber band.

This 2004 photo shows former mentees Michael Lipan, Ally Wieman, Trevor Butchart, and Patrick Curran getting direction from then eighth grade mentor Taryn VanAelst.

Shattered rose coated in liquid nitrogen after the demonstration.

photos by: cole myhre

courtesy photo

School rule controls students Public Display of Affection

Opinions6

The rule Personal Display of Affection (PDA) is one of the most avoided rules in the middle school.

The rule states “Couples will be addressed by staff regarding inappropriate display of affection. Students are to refrain from holding hands, kissing, hugging, etc. Further steps of students not cooperating

include notification of parents, student/parent/administration/ conference, and disciplinary action.” Being able to hug and hold hands would let students have the freedom that they want and to be able to show their own affection towards one another.

Hugging and holding hands should be left in the hallway and not brought into the classroom. The majority of students said that they have hugged or held hands with someone at school. A hug may mean nothing besides friendship towards two people. Holding hands in the middle school is a way of showing that two people are going out.

PDA has meant many different things throughout the years. In pre-school to kindergarten it is simply just a hug that means

nothing what so ever. Elementary school, everything changed, boys and girls had cooties and we wanted nothing to do with them. Middle school came along which is a transition from cooties to actually meaning something. Everyone hugs or holds hands with someone at one point in their middle school career.

If the rule is changed, the administrators should consider letting us hold hands and hug, but not kiss.

Even though the sporks look like a great idea with the spoon and fork in one utensil, it has been giving students a hard time eating at lunch.

If your eating a salad at lunch the fork part with the prongs of the spork isn’t the way to go. It’s short and dull so it will give you hard time trying to pick up the lettuce. When the students can’t pick up their food they just throw it away, it wastes food and the students’ money.

What’s also troubling students is the spoon part of the spork. It’s small and shallow so if the cafeteria serves soup, it just falls through the fork part. In fact, sporks are just a cheap rip-off of a spoon and a fork. Most of the students would just like to have the regular spoons back.

Having sporks in our cafeteria is also giving the students a greater chance of causing food fights. You can put a piece of food on the prongs and put some liquid in the spoon area, you could throw milk and chicken at the same time. If the school didn’t like food fights, then it would be an excellent idea to get rid of the sporks and bring back the spoons and forks.

A spork is a completely inappropriate eating

utensil, and the majority students interviewed said that they would rather have the spoons and forks back, than the ridiculous sporks.

Students having trouble at lunch with the dull and shallow sporks

Jenn Steger

CourtneySusterich

Eighth grader Jaclyn Shetterly attempts to eat with her spork, but the food just falls off the dull prongs.

Every students dream is to show PDA with their favorite star. Eighth grader Jennifer Steger dreams to show her PDA with High School Musical Star, Zac Efron.

photo by: jenn steger

Opinions 7

Chewing gum is one of the many rules students abuse in our school, but if it were allowed then there would be fewer deten-tions, better grades, and better overall moral.

If gum chewing were allowed there would be less detentions because the teach-ers wouldn’t have to give their students detentions slips. The teachers could focus

on teaching the material instead of keeping on eye out and make sure that the students aren’t chewing it.

Gum chewing should be allowed because it keeps our concentration up.

Research has shown that gum helps people concentrate, and that both kids and adults have showed that mental tasks increased 20% while chewing gum. Chew-

ing gum while doing your schoolwork would result in better grades because you would be focused on your work. Also, we would pay more attention in the classroom and be more focused on what the teachers are teaching.

It would increase student moral because the majority of students would be happier in the school if we were allowed to chew gum. The students wouldn’t have to hide it. They wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught chewing it. So they would be happier that they could chew it.

If students were given the opportunity to chew gum we would respect it, and wouldn’t stick it under desks. And we would be more focused in the teachers.

Most students don’t like taking Channel One notes because they would rather spend their time finishing homework, studying for tests, and doing more.

Instead of taking the notes we should have a study hall, and we can just watch but

not take notes. Most students are involved in sports and do not have much time to eat or do their homework. Doing homework at 9:30-10:30, our attention span is less and the quality of our homework is not what the teachers want or like. A couple ways stu-dents will not be prepared for school is that they could possibly fall asleep, doze off, or not pay attention to what their teacher is saying. These are few of many reasons students should not take Channel One notes.

The majority of students don’t even take notes, and if they do, most likely other students will ask to copy them for their test. If you let people copy from you or if you copy from someone else, then you may get accused of cheating by one of your teach-ers. Some consequences of cheating are detention, getting points taken off assign-ments, getting a zero on an assignment, or get suspended. When you cheat it isn’t good

for your self-esteem because you may feel guilty.

Since most students don’t watch the news, we should watch Channel One, but not have to take notes. Sure for some kids a study hall would be great, but for those who have nothing to do it gives them some-thing to do. A lot of people would like this because it’s not the watching part that we don’t like. If we just have to watch it and not take notes more people will be happier.

Not many students enjoy Channel One because we could spend our time doing more worthwhile things.

Students continue to disagree with “gum chewing” rule

LaurenStarke

Channel One

PaigeGraves

graphic by: lauren starke

illustration by: miranda george

by: meghan bosma and stephanie langloisLiving the life of a twin

Center Section8

When you look in the mirror, you see a reflection of yourself, while others look at their sibling and see another one of them. Here at MSMS there are many sets of twins, some fraternal and some identical.

Most fraternal twins do not look alike; they may have different hair color or eye color. For instance seventh grade twins, Hailey and Reed Hyrenwich are fraternal twins and do not resemble each other.

Another set of twins, Morgan and Meredith Smith, are also fra-ternal. Some people may mistake one for the other, but if you look close, you will defiantly notice a difference between them.

On the other hand there are also sets of identical, which look close or exactly like their twin. They usually have the same eye and hair color and are difficult to tell apart at first glance.

“(The hardest thing about being an identical twin) is people, and teachers mistaking us,” seventh grader Tyler Otto stated.

Having a twin in your house can have many advantages

such as having someone to refer to on things or having someone just to simply talk to.

“Having a twin you have someone to refer to with home-work and someone to talk to and hang out with,” Hailey Hyrenwich said.

There are also many disadvantages with having a twin such as not getting along with each other, or having to share a room with them, which may be fun as a child, but as they grow older gets to be a hassle.

“Having a twin, we sometimes fight and get sick of each other,” seventh grader Kodi Welmerink said.

Many twins have different opinions on having a twin sibling. Some like having a twin just to refer or talk to and others say they get sick of each other. You may think having a twin is just another sibling, but having a twin is something they can cherish forever.

The Welmerink’s

The Hyrenwich’s

The Smith’s

The Otto’s

Other Twins:Green, Spielberger, Scraver, Mancusco, Goldborough, Fisher, Stone, Sherburn, Mrs.Prentice and Mrs. Hanichen

Center Section 9

The Thanksgiving feast is a large known part of the Thanks-giving holiday and it is important to keep your waistline in mind as

you fill your plate.Most people gain seven to ten

pounds between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

“I don’t pay attention to what I eat on Thanksgiving,” eighth grader Catina Trice said. “I eat everything my mom makes: like chicken, dressing, maca-roni, and greens. I don’t really care about the fat or calories

in them, I just eat.” At a traditional Thanksgiv-ing dinner the average person consumes an estimated 2,000 to 4,500 calories,

depending on what you eat. Most people should eat 2,500

calories on a normal day.“I don’t pay attention to calories,” eighth

grader Terry Houston said. “Because I just look at a good piece of food and I just want it so I get it and I really don’t realize what I’m eating.”

Turkey has a chemical called tryptophan in it that makes you physically tired. Going to sleep right after you eat a lot of food is not good for your health and it makes you feel sort of sluggish.

“If it’s a nice day outside, I mean, they should probably have a big Thanksgiving picnic with all sorts of outdoor running games and stuff like that,” sixth grader Alec Wilkins said

Eating in moderation is good for your di-gestive system and helps balance your diet. So, instead of heaping food on your plate all at once, eat a little, get some exercise, and then eat a little more instead of heaping food on your plate all at once.

“I don’t eat in moderation because I like to eat it all at once and then wait until my stomach settles it and then eat another plate. After I eat, I sometimes feel over-stuffed and tired,” eighth grader Emily Brown said.

Thanksgiving was the day that the Indians celebrated thanks to each other and had a big feast.

The first American thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, after the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower on September 6th 1620. The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days.

They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims. The 44 Pilgrims called themselves the “Saints”, and 66 others, whom the Pilgrims called the “Strangers”.

Abraham Lincoln, during the

civil war, was looking for a way to unite the nation. Abraham gave his proclamation in 1863. His proclamation saying that the last Thursday in November is going to be called Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims started the Thanksgiving tradition.

Days of Thanksgiving were cel-ebrated through the colonies after the fall of harvest. Every year on Thanksgiving most Americans eat everything from turkey to stuffing and have a big loving feast.

The United States largest holiday is Thanksgiving, however the United States is not the first to celebrate a large harvest festival. There are many cultures that celebrated “Thanksgiving” over 2,000 years ago.

The ancient Egyptians cel-ebrated their harvest festival in the spring. The festival was in honor of Min, their god of vegeta-tion. The festival featured music, dance, and sports. It was also the only national day that slaves got off. The ancient Roman’s Harvest Celebration was known as Cerel-ia. The celebration was dedicated in honor of Ceres, their goddess of corn. The celebration included music, parades, games, sports and a Thanksgiving feast.

Each fall, the ancient Greeks celebrated the festival of Themo-sporia, which was held in honor of Demeter, their goddess of grain. On the first day of Themosphoria, married women would build leafy shelters and furnish them with couches made from plants. On the second day they would fast (not eat all day). On the last day of Themosporia, they would feast.

In Canada, their Thanksgiv-ing is celebrated on the second Monday of October. Often, grandparents or relatives would come to visit, because it is a long weekend. They usually eat turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

Seven out of ten Americans celebrate Thanksgiving without realizing the ancient roots of the holiday.

Over eating on Thanksgiving leaves people sluggish

Mr. Kurant before the holidays.

Different cultures . . .

Different ways to give thanks

Mr. Kurant after the holidays.

History of Thanksgivingwww.art.com

Sailor Days10

What is your favorite thing about the fall?

voices

JOCQUEZ CLAY6th GRADE

“Jumping in the leaves.”

“Halloween, because you get candy.”

MARCI NORTHUIS 7th GRADE

“Thanksgiving is nice and thecolors of the leaves.”

“The colors or changing of the leaves.”

hallsfrom the

TYLER MORTON8th GRADE

MS. KERN6th GRADE SCIENCE TEACHER

JACKIE MERILLAT6th GRADE

“Jumping in the leaves.”

“My favorite thing to do in the fallis to go camping.”

SKYLAR HARTWICK7th GRADE

“Jumping in leaf piles.”

“Michigan beating Ohio State.”

KELLY BETZ8th GRADE

MR. BYARDDEAN OF STUDENTS

Students

of the month

Student-Athletesof the month

Kendall MeyersCompetitive Cheer

How long have you been cheering?2 years

Most memorable part of the season?Getting the awards

Dimitris DemetriouBoys Basketball

How long have you been playing?5 years

Most memorable part of the season?Last minute victory against Holland

Brigid Kiley8th Grade

Favorite Class:Science

Favorite TeacherMs. Betten

Andrew Grevel7th Grade

Favorite Class:Science

Favorite TeacherMr. Bronsema

Sailor Days 11

illustration by: liz steinhauer

What Did They Look Like In Middle School?Here are some of MSMS’s finest teachers and what they looked like

in their middle school days.

Here are the possibilities: Mrs. Marris, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Stielstra, Mrs. Phillips, Mr. Phillips, Ms. McKee,

Mrs. Hoffer, Mrs. Hagen, Mr. Kurant, Mr. Brainard, Mrs. Eccleston, Mr. Pesch, Ms. Caruso, Mr. Volkmann, Mrs. Westjohn, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Mogdis, Ms. McRoberts,

Mrs. Murphy, Ms. Vevrink and Mr. Giuliano.

Practices are not as easy as you may think. Although it was tough getting the teams used to running long distances, by the end of the season they were running two to four miles on average every day.

“Getting the athletes in shape was the toughest part of the season,” cross country coach Maria Helsen said.

The girls’ team finished strong bringing home one first place finish at the Fruitport Invitational and two-second place finishes at the Oakridge and Holland Christian Invitationals.

“I was surprised at how good we did, since I’ve never done cross country before,” eighth grader Jenna Meloche said.

The girls also won three of their duel meets against Holland Christian twice and Byron Center.

“The hardest team out of all of our duel meets was Holland Christian,” eighth grader Meghan Bosma said.

The boys also had a great season, they brought home a second place trophy at the Fruitport Invitational and won three duel

meets against Holland Christian, Grand-ville, and Byron Center.

“The team was really excited and happy that we got second place, I didn’t expect to do as good as second place,” eighth grader Jake Drelles said.

Everyone contributed throughout the year, but each team had a few runners that stood out.

The runners that stood out were eighth graders Jake Drelles, Erin Shaner, and seventh graders, Ben Cyr, Emma Milek, and Kayla Schulte.

These runners stood out by “performing well at every meet and they were moti-vational for the rest of the team,” coach Helsen said.

With a strong showing by the seventh graders, the expectations are high for next year.

Young cross country team finishes the season strong

Sports12

The seventh grade football team had an unbelievable season this year, and even though they were undefeated they continued to work as hard as they could.

Even though they were winning all of their games, they still worked hard to keep winning the games.

“They looked at everything as a challenge so being undefeated didn’t really matter,” coach Troy Moran said.

Even though Mallory Vandervelde was the only girl on the team she still worked hard to be the best she could be.

“There were no disadvantages with a girl on the team, but many advantages because she had one of the best attitudes,” coach Moran said.

Vandervelde couldn’t change with the guys so she had to change with some of the other teams.

“ I had to change with the basketball players, the cross country team, and the

cheerleaders,” Vandervelde said.Many players scored, but there was one

player who stood out offensively.“I feel very surprised that Mr. Moran

picked me as their best scorer because Mr. Moran is a defensive coach,” Darnell Long-mire said.

Many improved this season, but Jared Karnitz and Ossie Gordon stood out over the rest.

“I improved a lot, but I think I could have improved more on my running and throw-ing,” Karnitz said.

Their season is done and they did unbe-lievably well, the hope is that they build on what they accomplished this year.

Above: David Bloom takes

down the Zeeland ball

carrier.

Right: Carter Simpkins on his way to another

one of his many touchdowns.

by: katie romaniello I staff writer

Seventh grade football team finishes the season undefeated

Above: Seventh grader Harrison Cannon finds his second wind at a

home meet.

Right: Seventh grader Jake Fisher

pushes through the pain.

photos by: cole myhre

by: kailey baker I staff writer

photos by: cole myhre

by: sam kuipers I co-editor-in-chief

Sports 13

With all the hard work and effort the seventh grade basketball teams put in this year, it all paid off with a pair of undefeated seasons.

As a program the teams finished 24-0, with each team going 12-0.

“Having an undefeated season made us more pumped for next year,” Kendall Sells said.

Fruitport Middle School gave the blue team their closest games, both times the Sailors won by a point with the last game going into double overtime.

“I was really nervous both times, we were all yelling and screaming,” Ella Turrell said.

The white team had two shut out victories, 50-0 against Holland Christian and 42-0 against Holland, with their closet game coming against Hamilton 33-20.

“It made me feel more confident about my team, having the shut outs,” Meghan Birr said.

Brooke Ledsworth led the blue team in scoring followed by Kendall Sells.

“It made them happier and gave them courage to score,” Brooke Ledsworth said.

The girl’s white team scored 479 points while holding their opponents to only 144 points over the 12 game season.

Above: Seventh grader Morgan Smith gets a quick steal and lay up against Holland Christian.

Below: Seventh graders Kylie Dennis and Morgan Schwing trap the ball in the corner late in the game.

The MHSAA an-nounced that there would be a season change for the 2007-2008 school year, which has already affected athletes all over the state.

MHSAA stands for “Michigan High School Athletic Association”, which is a private non-profit corporation by over 1,600 public and private high schools and middle schools and exists to expand common rules for athletic eligibility. The Season altera-tion is happening all over Michigan and the decision was just made recently. People may not like or agree with the change now, but will perhaps in the future.

At Mona Shores High School the sports that were affected by it were boys and girls golf, volleyball, and girls and boys basketball. Girls golf is now in the fall instead of the spring, and boys golf is now in the spring instead of the fall. Volleyball is in the fall rather than in the winter now and boys and girls basketball is at the same time in the winter now. Most likely, the change will be more beneficial in the long run.

Over 120,000 students participating in 8 dif-ferent sports are experiencing the new change in Michigan. Apparently, Michigan was the only state that had the different seasons com-pared to the rest of the U.S. There might even be an opportunity that middle schools might also be having new season changes too eventu-ally. The change will definitely take some time to get used to.

The reasoning for the change overall is because of one reason. A group of parents/ac-tivists in the Grand Rapids area complained that their daughters didn’t have the same equal opportunity to be looked at by colleges as the boys did. So, the MHSAA was forced to make it equal for them and made the seasons the same as the rest of the country. Girls will now be able to have more of a variety of sports to choose from in the spring, which is a good thing to be recognized by more colleges.

Now that the season change has gone into effect, hopefully it’s equal for everyone, boys and girls.

Sport seasons change is infull swing

BriannaHines

Left: Seventh grader Ella Turrell brings the ball up the court against mild Coopersville pressure. Right: Seventh grader Katherine De Bruin leads the fast break to an easy Sailor bucket.

Girls seventh grade basketball teams end their seasons with back-to-back victories

photos by: cole myhre

courtesy photos

American Eagle proves to be superior to Hollister in many ways

Entertainment14

American Eagle Out-fitters and Hollister are both excellent clothing stores, but if a student has a budget to follow, wants a variety of cloth-ing, or needs a certain size American Eagle is the place to shop.

At Hollister the lowest cost of a hooded fleece sweater is $34.50, but at AE the lowest cost hooded

fleece sweater is $29.50. By going to AE students can automatically save around five dollars. A winter jacket at Hollister can be as low as $89.50, and at AE a winter jacket the lowest price is $59.95. Once again AE offers the lower priced merchandise.

American Eagle has better variety than Hollister. For instance Hollister only has flip-flops, while AE has boots, flats, clogs, and flip-flops. Another advantage that AE has over Hollister is that AE has socks and jewelry for both genders and Hollister does not.

At Hollister the sizes for tops are x-small

to large. Bottoms only contain the sizes 0 to 11. Although for American Eagle, shirt sizes are xx-small to xx-large, and the bottoms are 00 to 18. Which explains that AE has more of a selection for the people that need a certain size.

American Eagle is the better choice if a student wants to save money, have a better selection of sizes, and enjoy a variety.

“The Comebacks”, a new sports comedy, has a coach that gathered college students to win back the relationship with his family and friends.

This latest movie is about a group of college troublemakers coming

together and creating a football team. The troublemakers have to sign a contract to try their hardest to win the championship.

The new movie is filled with the past five years of sport movies pulled-together to cre-

ate one. Friday Night Lights, Remember the Titans, Radio and Stick It were all included in the film. “The Comebacks” also has other movies with the same theme, including Epic Movie, Date Movie and Scary Movies one, two and three.

There are many well-known actors and actresses in the movie, including David Koechner, Carl Weathers, Matt Lawrence, Brooke Nevin and George Black.

Tom Brady, director of “The Come-backs”, has helped in many other recognized productions. Brady helped screen write and direct Hot Chic and The Animal.

The movie is amusing and has a lot of good clips from earlier movies, that were pulled together well and it made the movie grand. It is defiantly worth watching because of all the humorous dialogues and scenes.

KenzieHines

LydiaBirch

The Comebacks is the new scream of comedy

Coach Lambeau Feilds leading his football team to victory.www.moviefone.com

www.ae.com www.hollisterco.com

Entertainment 15

On October 16, Direc-tor Michael Bay’s master-piece “Trans-formers” was released on DVD.

When Transformers came out it had 3 and a half stars. On the website movies.

go.com Transformers received a B+ rating. The critics also agreed with the website and gave the movie a B+. Fans, on the other hand, were a little more lenient and gave the movie a more positive review with an A-. This made people urging to see the film. The rating for Transformers was actu-ally high and would definitely make more people want to watch the movie.

The movie is really about a teenager boy

named Sam, whose grandfather discovered a cube called the all-spark. The all-spark divided the peace between the Transform-ers; eventually making them split up into two teams; Protect and Destroy. When the Destroy side finds out Sam has his grandfa-thers glasses; the map to the all-spark, they chase after Sam. Soon after that Sam real-izes his car is one of the good robots, and he helps them find the cube. Eventually he gets the all-spark and the bad side fights for it.

Transformers made enormous amounts of money in theaters. On the first day the movie came out it made $60 million dollars, and then it made $22.2 million on the other

days the movie was in theaters. In total the movie made $82.2 mil-lion dollars. This was a great achievement for Bay and made more people want to see it. When the movie was released it was on sale for $16.99-$26.95, but

now it’s $22.95-$32.95.Transformers was a fantabulous movie,

and it made huge amounts of money, making the ratings high, with enormous amounts of action.

There is a new scary film called 30 days of Night out on October 19th based on the frightening vampire novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith.

It takes place in an Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness

for 30 days where bloodthirsty vampires attack a small group of humans and they have to fight to survive. This movie is very suspenseful and scary because the vampires look so real and they have a lot of pop out moments. The special effects are done very well and the blood and gore look realistic.

This movie was directed by David Slade and produced by Sam Raimi. Some of the main actors include Josh Hartnet as the town Sherriff, Mellissa George as one of the survivors, and Danny Huston as a vampire.

It also came in at first at the boxoffice with 16 million dollars made in its very first week. It’s continuing to earn a lot of money.

This film was one of the scariest movies that has been out in a really long time. It is good to see a good scary film like this once in a while to get the blood pumping.

This is a lot better than all of the other movies coming out this season. If you want to see a very scary horror film that will make you jump out of your seat, then 30 days of night is just the right movie for you.

JustinMickelson

SamVida

Transformers makes a smash on DVD

30 Days of Night keeps audiences

on the edge of their seats

Top: David Slade plays as a blood-

thirsty vampire and is about to attack

some humans.Bottom: Melissa Goerge is tryinjg

to survive from the blood-thirsty

vampires www.movieblog.ugo.com

Optimus Prime and a bad robot fight in the highway so Sam can get the all-spark away and save the world.

www.fastback.com

right: seventh graders Lexi Lear and Kelly Wheeler take Toto to the Land of OZ.

below: seventh graders Brianna Panici and Haylee Dykstra act like they are civilised woman while seventh

grader Arielle Jibson sucks on a pacifier.

far left: eighth graders Taylor Smith and Jessica Taylor show off their lady bug spirt.

left: seventh graders Nicole Bertapelle and Madison Gentry act like they are birds in the rain forest.

right: sixth grader Maddie Myhre and eighth grader Cole

Myhre show that siblings really do get along.

far right: sixth grader Blake Robinson and

Spanish teacher Kimberly Hagen pose with their sombreros.

16 Photo Story

Spooky Halloween SpiritStudents at Mona Shores

still have someHalloween spirt in them.