Adorable, Hard Work, but Worth It

It's not everyday that someone surprises our librarian with information about which she knew nothing. One day, however, Emily and Miranda announced that their hedgies were four weeks old. What are hedgies? Why do you have them? Question upon questions arose.

It turns out that Emily and Miranda raise hedgehogs for fun and profit. If your only experience with hedgehogs is Sonic Drive-In or Sonic the Hedgehog Video Game, you don't know how cute hedgies are! Our first view of the "herd" was on the business web site managed by Lara, Emily's and Miranda's older sister. There are pictures, care information, and purchase information that will open your eyes to a new type of family companion. The most common hedgehogs raised as pets are African Pygmy Hedgehogs, which are small insectivores.

The first thing you should know is that raising hedgehogs is not easy. To have strong healthy animals, you need to have a temperature controlled environment, clean cages for them to inhabit individually, a sensible breeding plan, and proper food. At the twins' house, their mother sews a little sleeping bag of fleece (that's so sweet!) for each little hedgie born to the herd.

The business was started by Lara. She became fascinated by hedgehogs because of the Sonic drive-in and, after a couple of years of research, she decided to raise one of her own. She found one named Bitsy in Ohio and brought it home. It was love at first sight. She decided to raise them and her family joined in to help.

Her Dad created a room in the basement. They purchased cages. They purchased a second hedgehog and started breeding them. Miranda took one from the first litter named Mongo and started raising them, too. Emily got a female named Lilly from Indiana and soon they were breeding and selling hedgehogs as a business. Lara is in charge and the business is primarily hers, but they all have their little part.

As a business, it is not very profitable. In addition to food, cages, and other supplies, the veterinary expenses are huge. Hedgehogs are fragile creatures and often require special care. Emily and Miranda say the only reason to get involved with the business is that you love hedgies because you will not make much money. The worst part is major cleaning they do twice year.

If you are interested in hedgies as a pet, you could purchase one from the family but you must first be prepared to meet their special needs. One look at their sweet little faces may cause you to fall in love. A new litter will be born in March.

If you want to find out more information about raising hedgehogs, wikipedia.org has a very interesting article. There are also several books available through inter-library loan or at Amazon.com.


Reporter: Mrs. M.
Editor: Renee A.
Photographer: Mrs. M.
Hedgehog photographs: http://www.freewebs.com/laraslittlehedgehogs/

TSO Concert

On Tuesday, December 9, 2008 there will be an Orchestra Concert at THS and it starts at 7:00 p.m. On Tuesday, the day of the concert, the kids will have a double encore. During double encore the fifth grade TSO members and the seventh grade TSO members will be practicing for the concert and playing Cannon. At the end of the day the people who will be attending will have to get ready and be there at 6:00 for rehearsal before the concert starts. At 7:00, the concert will begin and everybody will be wearing their TSO shirts, black pants, and solid black dress shoes. At this concert they will be playing Christmas songs. See you there!! Remember to bring your instruments to the concert on time and get your intruments tuned ASAP!

Reporter: Taylor M.

Photograph: Internet- www.dsokid.com/art/instruments/photo1200viola.jpg

Editor: Renee A. Laura A. Carley L.

Border Battle Heats Up MS

Every year, Michigan vs. Ohio State is an awesome and competitive game. Michigan and Ohio State have been battling it out for over 110 years! Overall Michigan has won more games with 57 wins, while Ohio State has only 42. Six games ended in a tie. Sadly, Michigan has lost against Ohio State for the last five years.

Here at the middle school, everyone has their own favorite and people around the school are just as competitive as the two teams. The rivalry between Mr. Palmer and Mrs. Garner has heated up. Every year Mr. Palmer and his students take a drawn Michigan flag and hang it up in her room. This year, he also sneaked into her room and had "M"s all over the room, while some students kept her distracted and busy.

There is also a rivalry between Mrs. Gross and Mr. Keyser. They each wore jerseys from the opposing team, but they covered them with big "X"s using duct tape. Since they are engaged to be married, some of the students wondered if their marriage would survive the heated rivalry.

Most of the students support the University of Michigan. At one point, students could be heard singing "Hail to the Victors," the Michigan fight song, down the hallway. Many wore sweatshirts or other team gear from their favorite school.

The final score of the game was 42-7, a bad loss for Michigan. Now after the game, it is a terrible tragedy for a lot of the Michigan fans. They are very sad for the loss. We have high hopes for next year, however, and we proudly wear the maize and blue.

Reporters: Isaac C., Kelsey B.
Photographer: Isaac C.
Editor: Mrs. M

Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan-Ohio_State_rivalry

Big Ten Football

Michigan capped off their worst season ever this year! It is the first time That Michigan has ever lost more than 8 games in one season. It is only the second time ever that they have lost to Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan State in the same season.


Ohio State pulled off a Capitol One Bowl season by annihilating Michigan 42-7. OSU's offense and defense were too much for the Wolverines to handle. James Laurinaitis hit hard and frequently against the Michigan ball carriers.


Michigan State had their best season in years going 9-3, but were no match for the dominating Nittany Lions of Penn State. Javon Ringer, MSU's star running back, played well, but it wasn't enough. Penn State's defensive line was super human, they overwhelmed the Spartan line. Daryll Clark threw for over 300 hundred yards, and accounted for 5 touchdowns. The final score was 49-18.


Penn State won the Big Ten by beating Ohio State a couple of weeks ago, and is going to the Rose Bowl. Ohio State will be going to the CapitalOne Bowl but don't count Michigan State out, they will be playing in the Outback Bowl. Sadly, Michign will not be going to bowl, so theywill be watching from their dorms.


Reporter: Andrew M.


Photographer:


Editor: Carley L.

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Carolina Turkey

On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, my mom and I are going to South Carolina. I'm so excited to see my aunt and uncle and visit the beach. Every trip is the same. I have a BLAST! But this time I will be eating a big turkey dinner. On Friday we're going to have a girls' day out, meaning a day filled with shopping. On Saturday we are back in good old Michigan. Happy Thanksgiving and I will see you back at school on Monday.

Reporter: Taylor M.

Photographer: Laura A.

Editor: Renee A., Laura A.

Dodge Ball -- Dodge Disease

I think that all TMS students should have gym! Gym is an awesome thing that can get kids motivated! Did you know that tons of kids do not have Gym? Why is this you ask, it is caused by child obesity. Based on a study from 2003-2006, 16.3% were obese. Being obese may cause Diabetes, Heart disease, or even Stroke. Chronic diseases accounted 5 out of 6 deaths in 2002. Regular physical activity can reduce the risk.

Did you also know that more and more students are not being able to get the wonders of gym? In gym every day is filled with fun. On Mondays you get to work out and play. Gym is fun especially fun when we play dodge ball, or even other fun games and activities!

Gym isn’t hard or bad. It’s an opportunity to have fun play games and blow off steam from the day! It gives you a chance to talk with friends and play around at the same time.

I think that gym is an incredible chance to get out and be active and have great fun, and workout, too! And who knows? It might save a life.

Bibliography
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/publications/aag/dnpa.htm

Reporter: Isaac C.

Photographer: Isaac C.

Editor: Mrs. M.

Blogging In The Works!

Attention! Attention! Read all about it!

News stories never just happen, someone has to make it happen. Tuesday, November 18th, 2008, bloggers, which include editors and reporters, had a meeting from 2:45 to 4:00 in the cafeteria. The head editors are Jessica, Erin, Carley, Laura, and Renee. It was exciting because they told us all about Reporter Bucks and how we can earn them. They had some really cool stuff that you can buy with them like pens and candy.

After that, we were introduced to our editors. When the editors finished showing us how to get on to the TMS blog, the editors took us to the lab so some of us could get g-mail accounts for school. Then the editors gave us addresses to email them for questions and so they can edit your stories.

When everybody had an account we worked on stories , when you were done you would save it to the bloggers folder to be edited and send it to your editor to read. Then they will send you suggestions on how to make it better. It made me excited! Now I want to write more stories for the blog.

Reporter: Taylor M.
Photographer: The Head Editors
Editor: Renee A. Erin S. Carley L.

Through a Teacher's Eyes

When you see your teacher, you think they are just a person that gives you knowledge, but I have gotten a much coveted teacher's point of view. I interviewed Mrs. Kasper in 5th grade. She thinks teaching is much more than a job.

Mrs. Kasper thinks that the best thing about teaching kids is seeing kids reach new heights in education. Of course, there is always something that is very complicated to teach, so I asked her what that is, she said that it was finding a good way to teach the kids since we all have different styles of learning.

On the blue team, there are a lot of papers to be graded, but normally the blue team kids do the correcting instead of the teachers. We are really helpful and our teachers are thankful for us. We are officially Blue Team Brainiacs and helpers.

Reporter: Catherine C.

Editor: Renee A. Carley L.

An Awkward Combination

Do cats get along with ferrets? Some say yes, some say no. What do you think? My studies show that when you introduce a cat to a ferret, they don't get along. Yet, three days after introducing them to each other they just don't care.
There may be some clawing every now and then, but it's normally one or two spats and they're done. Luckily Addy (the cat) is getting declawed. Now Sally (the ferret), or anyone else, doesn't have to get hurt any more when she plays, fights, or tries to rip up carpets, clothes, furniture, ext.

Reporter: Anna S.

Editor: Carley L. and Jessica C. and Renee A.

Please Save Me!!!

Broken covers, ripped pages-- what will fall apart next? Can you guess? Okay I'll tell you: the library books! You need to start taking better care of these library books, or else we won't have much of a library.

Here are some things to remember:

• Keep your book in safe place, away from babies, pets, water, and weather, but not under your bed.
  
• Keep your book away from your practical-joking friends.
  
• If your book does happen to get "injured" let Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Metzler fix it. They have special tools and supplies.
  

How can you get lost in an amazing adventure if the pages of the best part are ripped out? I know how. Stop abusing these books!
You can also help by putting the books you don't want on the reject cart. It makes it easier for poor Mrs. Metzler and Mrs. Shaw.

PLEASE save these books!

Reporters: Paige W. and Courtnie L.
Editors: Paige W., Renee A., Laura A., Jessica C. Carley L.
Note from Mrs. M: I did not put them up to this.

Happiness can come from Iraq

My brother is home! Well, not for long; he has to go back on November 27th because they only give them around 20 days for break before they have to go back until their stay there is done. He got home on November 8th, and his wife and child were there waiting for him. His child-to-come is due on November 14th. During his stay here he is going to see all the family members (which is more than I care to count), eat at all of his favorite places, celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas, and spend as much time as he can with his children.

He has been in the army for around two years, and he is ranked as a Specialist. What does a Specialist do? Actually it depends on their classification. Right now he is a PAC Specialist. He makes sure everyone's paperwork is right, they fly where and when they're supposed to, they go to school, and things like that. He also is a mission tracker. When someone in his troop goes outside the boundaries or the safe area and he has to make sure that they go where they need to go for there mission.

But let's stop talking about the army for a second. My brothers name is Bryan James Shadley, but we call him B.J. because my dad's name is Brian also. He is 24 years old. He has been staying in Germany for a year or so now because he needed to get to the next step in training for the Army after boot camp. I hope that no one else know what it feels like to have your parents or other family members gone to Iraq, because it hurts really bad. Wondering if there OK, what there doing, how there doing, it just kills your heart.

Before Sunday, Nov. 9, I hadn't talked to my brother in I don't how long. Most of the time they don't have Internet, or phones, or anything. Can you imagine how hard that would be to be out in the desert? The way the heat gets in the day would be unbearable in a t-shirt and shorts, but they have to wear their uniforms all day, and sometimes body armor. Now I have to say, it gets cold in the winter and at night, but it gets into the 100's when we're only in the 60's most of the time.

Another happy thing that can come from Iraq is presents. My brother got me a scarf (shown in picture). Other things that come from Iraq are pottery, wood work, cloth, jewlery and other things you can think of.

Of course, the best thing to come from Iraq is my my brother, home at last, safe and sound.

Reporter: Erin S.

Photographer: Erin S.

Editor: Jessica C. Laura A.

The String Thing

The orchestra is made up of four instruments. The violin, which is the smallest instrument with the highest pitch; the viola, which is like the violin but bigger and lower sounding; the cello, which is very low and a lot bigger than the violin and the viola (you have to sit down to play the cello); and the bass, which is the biggest. The bass is so big you have to stand up to play it.

You hold the violin and the viola under your chin. The cello's and bass' have end pins (the metal piece that sticks out the bottom) that go on the ground and you hold the neck of the instrument with your hand. All of these instruments have bows that are made out of wood and horse hair.

Reporter: Paige B. and Makenzie A

Photographer: Jessica Cory with internet

Editor: Laura A. and Jessica C.

Away with MEAP's

The MEAP's are finally done! What are MEAP's? MEAP stands for Michigan Educational Assessment Program.

We students had much frustration with the MEAP because no one wanted to take it. Everyone but the 7th grade and those who had to make up the test, finished Thursday, October 23rd. Seventh graders only have to do Math and English MEAP's while everyone else had to take those, plus Science or Social Studies. Also, as you may have guessed, some of us don't have to retake a section of the MEAP like we did last year. For now let us be glad that MEAP's are over with (until next year that is).

Reporter: Erin S.

Editor: Jessica C. Laura A. Renee A.

Raking = Fun = Difference

On Tuesday, November 4th, Team 6B went leaf-raking to help out elders in need. The is part of a program sponsored by Builders Club called "Rake-a-Difference." Almost everyone in the middle school gets to rake lawns for someone who could use a little help with the autumn leaves.

In the morning we all loaded into the buses to head to our first house. When we arrived we all poured out of the bus to the lawn and started raking. We developed small groups of three or four to work. Within 45 minutes the lawn was leaf-free. So we all sat on the curb to wait for our bus to shuttle us to the next house. Before the bus arrived the homeowner had baked a batch of brownies and handed them out to all the kids.

When the bus arrived we traveled to our next house. This house was much, much bigger than the previous one. So it took much longer, but we got the job done. When we were finished, there were about 50 bags full of leaves on the curb. It was pretty hard work, but it all was worth it. We felt really great when we were done, knowing that we had made a difference in the lives of others.

Reporter: Brooke M.
Photographer: Brooke M.

Editor: Jessica C.

Exciting Experiment!

Density filled our classroom! On October 12th, we did an experiment in science that had to do with the viscosity and density of a substance. Viscosity is a measure of how strongly a gas or liquid resists flowing.

My teacher handed out some mustard, ketchup, sunscreen, shampoo, food coloring, soap, and other supplies for this experiment. We arranged the mustard, ketchup, etc., from the least dense to the most dense on a scale from 1-8.

To test the viscosity, we used the food coloring and a toothpick to demonstrate surface tension. We poked a bubble of food coloring with a toothpick with soap on the end, then with nothing on the end. We had to observe what happened.

In my opinion, this was a very neat and fun way to learn about density and surface tension!

Reporter: Elissa K.

Photographer: Elissa K.

Editor: Paige W.

TSO Costume Concert

On Wednesday and Thursday, the 29th and 30th of October, there were two TSO costume concerts. TSO5, TSO7, and TSOCO played Wednesday. TSO6 and TSO8 played Thursday. They're called costume concerts because both the orchestra players and conductors wear costumes. One reason for having two concerts is that there are now so many students in orchestra that it is hard, perhaps impossible, to fit them all on stage together.

During these costume concerts, Mrs. Marr wears a different costume for each song. Here are some examples of the costumes and songs.

• For "Speedway", with TSO7, she was dressed up in a racing suit, and when she conducted, she used flags of yellow, green, and checkered black and white. This piece was written by Robert Longfield.


• For "The Pink Panther", Mrs. Marr dressed up as the pink panther detective. When she conducted she used a magnifying glass. "The Pink Panther" was written by Henry Mancini and arranged by John Caponegro.


• On "Stairway to Heaven," also with TSO7, Mrs. Marr was dressed up as an angel. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. The music was arranged by James Uhl.

• Another song with TSO7 was "Star Dancer". It was written by Mark Williams. Mrs. Marr was a star, made up of other small stars. When she conducted, she used a sparkly star.

• For "Phantom of the Opera" with TSO8, Mrs. Marr was, of course, dressed as the Phantom. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Weber.


• When TSO8 played "The Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner, Mrs. Marr wore a Viking costume. She conducted with a long spear.
  


• The "Theme from The Simpsons" was conducted by Mr. Bough from the High School as Homer while Mrs. Marr helped out on keyboards dressed as Bart.


• Another song with TSO7 was "Hot Potato." Mrs. Marr was dressed up as a potato and conducted the orchestra using a sparkling silver purse.


• TSO6 enjoyed being conducted in an Indiana-Jones-like costume for "The Theme from Indiana Jones," and a baseball player as they played "Play Ball!"

• "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was played by all the grades, so all the players who participated each night were on stage together.

There were over 150 students involved on Wednesday--about 140 string players and 15 to 20 high school band members. On Thursday, there were over 120, including some percussion help from the high school.

We have been practicing these songs for a long time and the TSO finally got to show off their skills. We also were dressed in a wide variety of costumes such as superheroes, soldiers, scouts, the Joker, angels, boys as girls, girls as boys, and almost anything a middle schooler could imagine.

Reporter: Paige B., Makenzie A.

Photographer: Ryan L., Mrs. M.

Editor: Laura A.

November 3-8, Reminders

This is a reminder of some of events coming the week of 11/3 through 11/8:

• Equations Team Practice: Monday, 5th and 6th; Tuesday, 7th and 8th.
• Book Fair: Monday through Friday, including during conferences.
• Conferences: Wednesday and Thursday
  
• Rake-a-Difference: Monday and Tuesday
• Hat Day for Service Club: Wednesday
• Half Day: Thursday (afternoon conferences)

The Changed World

Our teacher told us that we were getting new social studies books. She also said that we had to take care of them because our previous books had been over 15 years old! I think we might need to make these books last a long time.

We are learning about climate and landforms.

Social studies is the last thing that we do in the day so every one is tired and ready to go home. Some people in my class had trouble fitting the new book in their desk with all of our other books, because that book is like a triple cheeseburger! It’s like 4 inches thick. Everyone fit it in, but it was tricky!

Reporter: Kelsey B.
Photographer: Kelsey B.
Editors: Renee A. and Jessica C.

The Rush!

After school rush! Done with the day, you want to go home and play. Some people prefer to chill out after school and do homework. Others? Not really! Their motto probably is “play now, homework later.” After we are done with social studies we write in our planners and then listen to announcements. After that it is like summer vacation! People itching to get outside, to breathe in the fresh air. Then it's straight home or straight to the playground. It is the after school rush. You gotta love it!

Reporter: Kelsey B.
Editor: Renee A. and Jessica C.

Reading = Brain Power

AR time is here, so make your brain smarter by reading. AR points are due soon for most students, so put down the video game and pick up a book. And no, books on tape don't count for people in middle school, maybe for your sister who is three years old, but not for us. Reading is good for your brain and your soul. Get into a good book and you won't want it put in down. Imagine yourself in the book. Be the characters and be in the book. You will want to spend every second reading!

What is AR? AR stands for Accelerated Reader. AR is a program in which you read a book and take a test on it.
Your teacher will most likely give you an AR range and a goal for a certain number of points. The range means that you can read books that fall within that level. For example, if your reading range is 4.7 - 6.8, this tells you the "readability" level you should choose if you want a book that's not too hard and not too easy. On almost every book in the school, there will be a sticker with the reading level like 5.9 and how many points that book is worth. Every time you pass an AR test on a book you get points for it. You keep taking tests until you get enough points that your teacher says you have made it to your AR goal for that marking period.

So pick out a good book and READ, READ, READ!!

Reporter: Kelsey B.
Photographer: Kelsey B.
Editor: Renee A.

Builders Club: Make-it-Take-it

Make-it-Take-it is a program where students can make Christmas gifts for their family, friends, and even their pets. It's a great way to buy gifts without spending a lot of money. Many kids are involved because a gift that you made yourself for somebody else, really comes from the heart. Students have a number of choices to pick from. Kids of all ages can come on Saturday, December 13th from 9 A.M to 11 A.M. and make something special. You need to sign up and pay in advance. Forms can be found in the office and are due by Monday, November 24th.

Reporters: Anastasia S. and Lauren L.
Editor: Carley L. and Jessica C.

Where Poetry Hides

On team 6B, in English Language Arts we have started poetry. We have been working on a project called "Where Poetry Hides."

Before we wrote the poems we wrote down a list of where poetry hides in us. Our poems were free verse poems, which means it can just be anything you want it doesn't have to rhyme or anything like that. It didn't matter what the poem was about. It just had to make sense.

We all then typed the poems that we had written in the computer lab in the media center. We used the outstanding new computers that were recently added. Then we all posted our poems on colored paper and decorated them.

Wow! In My opinion, they all looked like excellent quality work. Some of them were even 3 dimensional! They blew Mrs. Naugle and Mrs. Kirsch right out of their socks! That tells you that team 6B is definitely amazing.

Reporter: Brooke M.
Photographer: Paige W.
Editor: Paige W.

New Improved Media Center Lab!

When the Middle school was remodeled the media center computer lab still had old computers. Many other rooms got new computers over the years, but the media center did not. The Media center finally got new computers early in October. By that time at least 22 of the computers were over 14 years old. That’s old considering the excepted life of a computer is only 4 years!

We really needed new computers because none of the CD drives or USB ports worked. Many of them would fail and no one could get parts. The hard drives didn’t have enough space for Windows 98 and MSWord together. Students sometimes would lose there work because the computers crashed during class!

Now, finally, we have brand new Dell desktop computers with flat screen monitors. These computers are much better. Their hard drives are almost 300 times larger. The CPU speed is many times faster, and they have a lot more RAM. Plus, they have optical mice so it is impossible to steal any parts.

Students who have used the lab are very excited when they see the new equipment. They can bring in their flash drives or CD’s with files from home and upload the files themselves. Everyone feels more secure because the computers work well and do not crash.

Reporter: Lexi W.

Photographer: Corbin K.

Editor: Paige W.

Band-O-Rama was a Blast

The Band-O-Rama Concert was great!! The high school Jazz Band played, then all of the middle school bands played. 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade all did a superb job. The 8th grade band had some teachers come down and make music by popping balloons and paper bags! Then the high school marching band played. They first played in the dark with a TON of glow sticks, then played in the light. The concert was very fun. If you weren't there, you should have been!

Reporter: Carley L.

Photographer: Kelsey T.

Editors: Laura A., Jessica C.

Week in Review 6B

In team 6B we finished MEAP last week, HALLELUJAH!!

• Our team will soon be having Pumpkin Day and we will also be raking on Rake-a-Difference day!

• In ELA we have started poetry and we have all typed our poems in the computer lab. Last week we all posted our poems on colored paper and decorated them. They all look excellent! They blew Mrs. Naugle and Mrs. Kirsch away.


• In science we are Studying the four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. We also watched a "Bill Nye" video.


• In math we are learning about the Mean, Median, Mode, and Range.


• In Social studies we are working on comparing the two presidential candidates: Obama and McCain. We traveled to the computer lab to participate in Channel 1's "One Vote." Who will YOU vote for?
  

Reporter: Brooke M.
Photographer: Carley L.
Editors: Jessica C. and Carley L.

Animals Escape

A visiting Life Skills Class was surprised when a snake escaped this week. There was a lot of excitement as it happened. This was one of two animal incidents that occurred this week.

Mrs. Kudlac's class room does not have a working projector, nor was there a TV available for a movie she wanted to show. Mr. Bundas was nice enough to trade classrooms so the Life Skills classes could watch the movie in the science room. During the movie, the snake climbed up the lamp and managed to get half way out of the cage. When the snake was discovered trying to escape, Mrs. Kudlac ran to the office to get Mr. Bundas back to his room to help. Luckily, an 8th grader passing by in the hallway went into the room, picked up the snake, and returned it back to its cage. No one was harmed in this incident.

The second animal incident this week involved one of Mr. Bundas' fish. During communications class on Friday, students were surprised to see the small-mouth bass leap out of its tank and land on the counter on which the tank resided.

Reporter: Andrea J.

Photographer: Carley L.

Editor: Laura A. CarleyL.

**Update on 11/3: The 8th grader who returned the snake to its home was Kayla. Thanks, Kayla

Behind the Mask in Art

This week, in Mrs.Peters 6th grade art classes, students have been making masks of their own designs. Everyone in the classes has many different great ideas. There are unique designs such as Medusa, clowns, scarecrows and political figures.

The masks are made by soaking paper in a glue solution which is applied to a plastic mask to create a basic face shape. After building the mask with several layers, they taped on added objects to create different designs and shapes which were also covered paper machê. Finally, they painted them anyway they wished. They ended up with masks that were as different as the students who made them.

In the beginning of the year students learned how to shade and draw many different designs. They did this during their Monday sketch book drawings.

This is Mrs. Peters first year back to teaching art. She was previously a fifth grade teacher at the middle school. Before that, she taught art in the elementary school. Students seem to really be enjoying her class along with Mrs. Peters herself. Make sure you check out the artwork displayed in the showcase outside the art room.


Reporter: Derek S.
Photographer: Derek S.

Editor: Jessica C.

Speed Winners

The Tecumseh Cross Country team took 1st in the Cross Country finals in Blissfield. Andrew Waite, Gabe Lopez, and Alex Swindle were the top 3 runners for Tecumseh's boys Cross Country team. The top girl was Rachel Waite, finishing 1st. The Middle School girls took a big win with 1st place. The Middle School guys had a very close run with the other teams, winning the finals by 1 point.


Reporter: Jared W.

Editors: Jessica C., Laura A.

Encore News - Band Fever in Grade 5

Have you ever dreamed of playing the Clarinet, Saxophone, Oboe, and maybe even the Flute? Well, if you have, welcome to the woodwind section! All of these instruments are part of that section, and very important to our school band at TMS.

Band is an one of several encore classes you can take at TMS every year, 5th to 8th grade. It is fun, entertaining, and you get your own instrument. In my opinion, the thing most people like best is performing at concerts.

Our next concert is Band-O-Rama coming up Wednesday the 22nd. If you want to check us out come to the High School gym that night.

Also, as 5th grade reporters, we are also looking for people to tell us about their encore. If you think you have a totally cool encore, contact Avery W. or Cierra S. on the Yellow Team and tell us about it. Keep in touch with the encore news. You never know what will be next!

Reporters: Avery W. and Cierra S.

Photographer: Cierra S.

Editor: Mrs. M.

Leaping Lizard Buzz -- What's Up!

The Lizards are really keeping busy!

• Currently in team 6B we are learning how to make line graphs, bar graphs and double bar graphs in math.


• We have started the MEAP and will be doing that for the next week.


• In science we are learning about particles of a solid, a liquid and a gas.


• Last, but not least, in ELA we are learning how to write poetry.

Last week we had some exiting events. On Wednesday, a girl brought in her gerbils for the class to see and they were a big hit. The whole team went to the media center to check out new AR books. We also went to the Study Island lab to learn more about math.

It was a very busy week.

Reporter: Brooke M.
Editor: Mrs. M.

That's a Human

The fifth grade wing of TMS is working on science projects. All of them are about the human body. Each student is doing a report on several systems including the integumentary system, the skeletal system, and the muscular system.

We have been working extremely hard. It started with research on the computer. We wrote a report and did a bibliography using Citation Maker. Finally we created a cover. I have seen many awesome covers.

Come on down and check out our awesome projects!!!

Reporter: Catherine C., Greg P.

Photographer: Catherine C.

Editor: Mrs. M.

Bacteria Experiment in Mr.Bundas' Room

The students in 7B are currently doing a bacteria experiment. This will be going on for a few weeks. My opinion on experimenting with bacteria is, "Eww, how gross!"

In the experiment you can tell the species by color. Basically, we collected bacteria, we rubbed the bacteria on a food called agar, and now we wait for the bacteria to grow.

If you don't think it is gross, read the stuff we used for sources of bacteria. My group did Mrs.Wallich’s nose. Some others collected samples from Mr. McGovern’s ear, a locker comb, the bottom of Mr.Jastrow’s foot, the mouth piece on the drinking fountain, a staircase railing, Mrs. Richardson’s foot, a toilet handle, and Mr.Bundas’ plastic skeleton ribs. If you would like to see the bacteria samples growing, they are located in Mr.Bundas’ room.

I think seeing all this bacteria growing from samples collected here at school may cause me to stay home from school forever.

Reporter: Andrea J.
Photographer: Andrea J.
Editor: Mrs. M.

Magnetic Mayhem

Throughout the past week, we have been studying magnetism. To look at some of the properties of magnets, 6D All Stars did a science experiment.

First we looked at a regular unmagnetized metal nail. It wouldn't attract any steel paper clips, no matter how small.

Second we put a cow magnet on the head of the nail. Then it could can attract up to 20 large clips!!

Reporter: Eryn B.
Photographer: Eryn B.
Editor: Dakota C.

So that's American Democracy

Last week in our social studies class in Mrs. Naugle's room, we did skits. The skits were about the Core Democratic Values we have as Americans.

We formed small groups, and Mrs. Naugle passed out a paper that had a definition of one of the Core Democratic Values. Then each group made up a skit about the value, which we performed in front of the class. The class had to guess which of our values applied. Some of the values represented in the skits included equality, justice, and the common good.

In my opinion all of the skits were very good. I think the kids in my class were excellent actors and actresses. I think they demonstrated the Core Democratic Values they were trying to portray.

Reporter: Elissa Kedziorek
Editor: Mrs. M.

Time to get FUNKY!

Mrs. Marr, the orchestra teacher, often plays the keyboard as we get ready for class. She has played many songs, such as Fancy Fiddles, The Halo Theme song, The Family Guy Theme song, and The Simpson’s Theme song. This is part of orchestra fun.

Sometimes I imagine us all becoming famous because Mrs. Marr got her camera and took a video of us dancing and decided to post it on her myspace page. (Of course, she would never do that!) I imagine Mrs. Marr being so proud that she boasts to everyone about the wonderful dancing of her 6th grade students. That gave me the idea to make my own video.

In this video, Mrs. Marr is playing and Paul, (the kid dancing in the background), is rockin’ it out on October 9, 2008. When this video was taken, it was at the beginning of class and The Family Guy Theme song was the last song Mrs. Marr played before class began. After that song, Mrs. Marr said, “OK, I’ll play this game at the end of class if there’s time.” We replied, “Ok,” and class time officially began.

After that, the class went on as usual; we played The Lion King Song. Normally we then go into either Brandenburg, Play Ball, or, on some occasions, Fancy Fiddles. We must get to the real work of orchestra, which is still kind of fun. Still, somewhere in my mind I think of all the fun we had and the next time we get funky!

Mrs. Marr's great playing inspires us to dance, including Paul M. shown above.

Reporter: Ryan L.
Photographer: Ryan L.
Editor: Mrs. M.

BAND-O-RAMA CONCERT!

On October 22^nd, TMS is having their first Band-O-Rama Concert of the year! There will be fifth and sixth graders there. Many instruments will be played at the concert such as French horn, tuba, trumpet, oboe, clarinet, flutes, and don’t forget the percussion. You have no band without percussion.

Now this concert is our opener concert, the first one of the year if I’m not mistaken. We have worked very hard on these songs. Believe me, we have worked hard!

Mr. McInchak is very excited. In fact I have a direct quote from him, “I think our first concert of the year will be very exciting.” I think it will be too. The concert will be at the high school at 7:00 p.m. I hope, if you go, you enjoy it very much!

Reporter: Courtnie L.
Photographer: Courtnie L.
Editor: Mrs. M.

Magnetic, or Not?

On October 4, 2008, we did an activity with Mr. Keyser. The activity was with magnets. Each table was given four magnets, seven pieces of paper, iron filings, and another piece of paper for drawing. We placed a sheet of paper over a magnet, poured iron filings on the paper, and observed what happened.

This is what had happened: the iron filings moved to the shape of the invisible magnetic field. After that, we drew out the magnetic field on the piece of paper for drawing. Then it was show time. We took a magnet, held it up to certain items, to find out if they were magnetic or not.

Fortunately, all the items we held up to a magnet were magnetic. Tune in later for another story about magnetism.

Reporter: Ryan L.
Photographer: Ryan L.
Editor: Mrs. M.