Monthly Archives: November 2010

Is trouble brewing inside the MHS Student Council?

As STUCO (STUdent COuncil) was meeting last Tuesday, Nov.23 for their weekly meeting, and the absences were at an all time high. Among the absent STUCO members were the President, Charley Adams and Parliamentarian, Anna Eliasen, who were both at school that day.

STUCO runs under Robert’s Rules of Order (RRO), which states that all STUCO meetings must be run with a quorum.  A quorum is 50% of the council plus one.  At the meeting there were 13 absent and 13 present. They needed one more council member to have the meeting. There was talk in the back of the room of just canceling the the meeting due to the lack of motivation to be there.

So as the phones came out and the texts went out to get the other student there Mrs. Kelley’s disappointment grew.   “Elissa said she needs a note to get out” said Chandler May.

Finally Caleb Lange showed up to save the day. ” I thought it was third period” he said as he walked through the door.  Also, Alema Atoafa showed up, confirming the meeting’s status.

Mrs. Kelley will be reporting absences to the office this week, and they will be counted as truant!  Come to the STUCO meetings because the school is depending on you!

Evan Jordan is the lucky one to be awarded the title of art of the week this week! Our newspaper editor has a hidden talent! “Evan’s art work is full of original ideas in subject matter that really encourages viewers to think more deeply. When you look closely at the art work, you see so many details that he is trying to make a statement with. Evan has extraordinary artistic talent and he pairs it with very thought provoking concepts,” says Ms. Burnell.

As students move from middle school to high school, they are overwhelmed by a flood of responsibility. The freshman have trouble finding their classes, finding their friends and avoiding the senior/freshman hunt. They are also faced with collage, jobs, drugs, and booze. In these hard times, many of the kids are looking for someone they can look up to, someone to lead them in the right direction. For all you upperclassmen, you would be surprised how much you can do with one tiny comment. Walking down the hall and telling a freshman girl that her hair is cute, or a freshman boy that his shoes are cool can really make a difference. They look up to the older kids and they will follow our example. If we can show them that there is more to life than partying, and acting like a jerk, they might actually try in school and have some self esteem. It can be amazing how much of a difference you can make in another student’s life.

Last weekend, Mr. Eggabraten took a group of students in the Meeker High School to Aspen for an event known as Honor Band.

Honor Band is an event where a student musician is chosen by judges to perform with a large group of students from Northwestern Colorado.  Some are selected, and others are not.

The Colorado Music Educators District 8 Northwest Honor Band was held Friday and Saturday, November 12-13. The MHS students left the night before that for time purposes. It was in the Aspen Music Festival and School for the Performing Arts Harris Concert Hall in Aspen, Colorado. The Guest Conductor and Clinician was Dr. John Wacker from Western State College.

Six students were accepted this year from the MHS Band. They are:

Amanda Kendall – Flute

Chantel Pool – Baritone Saxophone

Kaysyn Chintala – Trumpet

Laura Glass – Flute

Taylor Bair – Clarinet

Torie Gerloff – Clarinet

These students were chosen to participate in a band of other talented music players. This was an opportunity for them to get scholarships and other awards.

The concert was on Saturday night at 6:00 pm and will end at 6:30 pm.

The heart…

The courage…

The willing…

and the beliefs in one man’s soul…

Not too long ago, one teacher came into Meeker High School looking for a change. An inspired teacher coming from Cleveland Ohio to put his heart to the test of teaching the students of Meeker Colorado. This mysterious teacher happens to be the humble newbie of Meeker High School, David Snell.

Mr. Snell is a very well rounded guy. A former college soccer player who once played in Spain and also in a small town named Wooster, Ohio, for college. When I say all around I really mean it. This guy is triple threat. He now is an assistant coach for the Meeker High School girl’s basketball and there are many good things to be said about him.

“Yeah he is pretty good at basketball.”

“I’m suprised he is that  good at basketball since he’s a  soccer player.”

“He can oop it pretty good.”

“He like, made 10 threes at practice.”

“He should have played basketball instead of soccer back in his days”

Just like him never giving up on his students, he will not give up on his team. Mr. Snell is the Spanish teacher and surprisingly an Algebra 1 teacher as well. Always excited and always energetic is David Snell. A young teacher trying to change lives. He acts like a teenager but when it’s go time..it’s go time. We will never forget the name Mr. Snell, the guy who tries hard and will not stop trying.

WE ARE HONORED TO PRESENT THIS AWARD FOR THE TEACHER OF THE MONTH  TO MR. DAVID SNELL.

The new and improved Cowboy Roundup.  The Journalism class as a whole is trying to improve our School Newspaper  and we have come up with ideas to make it better.  One of the ideas is to stay in the classroom and see what everyone is hoping to get accomplished for the day.  This will help us get the paper running more smoothly.  We are going to write more articles about the school, because right now we are writing about stuff that has nothing to do with the school.  We are trying to make improvements on that.

We are going to have a whole new list of article ideas we are hoping to cover this year in journalism.  The ideas are: academics, sports, clubs, Teacher of the Month, special students articles, Chillin’ with Collins, Art of the Week, This Week n History, weekly poll, Get to Know Your Seniors, student articles, birthdays, and even a school lunch review.

If you have any ideas for articles, we are always open for suggestions.  We are also putting up flyers trying to promote the Cowboy Roundup as best we can. If we can do all of these things, we can improve the Cowboy Roundup and reach the full potential.  We are really encouraging you guys to log in,  go to the Cowboy Roundup, and leave comments on articles so we know what we need to improve on.

We have 34 seniors graduating from Meeker High School in 2011. Of those 34, 21 have already been accepted to college. “Most Colleges make a schedule so the students know when they are going to get their acceptance letters.” said Mrs. Collins.

• Charley Adams was accepted to West Minster  and Montana State University.
• Christina Bain was accepted to Adams State University, Colorado Mountain College, and Colorado Community College.
• Kelsie Gross was accepted to Colorado Community College, Laramie County College, and Adams State College.
• Caden Asselin was accepted to Intellitec College.
• Krysten B. Atchley was accepted to Colorado Mountain College.
• William H. Begaye was accepted to Colorado Mountain College.
• Chanler May was accepted to Northwestern College.
• Denee Chintala was gladly accepted to University of Wyoming.
• Caleb Dodds was accepted to Mesa State College.
• Jose Villalpando was accepted to Mesa State College.
• Victor Villalpando was accepted to Western Colorado Community College.
• Saywer Bivens was Accepted to Fort Lewis College.
• Tia Mckee was accepted to Weber State University.
• Christopher Wix was accepted to Colorado School of Mines.
• Angelica Carmela Trujilo was accepted to Hastings College, and Adams State College.
• Marissa Pallach was accepted to Colorado Northwestern Community College.

Dear Students:

I have been asked to address the subject of step parents (or blended families) and what strategies or steps you can take to make sure that your relationships go smoothly. As many of you may know, there are a great number of blended families in our country and each year this number is increasing.

Over the years, there have been some great ideas that students and step parents have shared that seem to work well to bring families closer together. If you are in a blended family, one of the things you can do is to make sure that you establish a schedule where you can spend quality time with your biological parent each week. You can take a walk, or have a nice talk or engage in an activity that would be fun for the two of you. By doing this, students have said that they do not feel as left out when their biological parent spends time with their new step parent. And, it is even better if this special time together could be done at approximately the same time and/or day each week so that you have an opportunity to look forward to it.

Another problem that students are upset about is when they are told by the step parent that they have to do chores or are disciplined by the step parent. Students have shared that they resent this and it makes them angry. So, what they have done is to have a ‘family meeting’ with step parent and biological parent ahead of time to discuss who will do the disciplining and what chores the adolescent should do so that when the step parent goes in this direction, the young person will understand his/her role. In ‘family meetings,’ a young person has the opportunity to express his/her thoughts and feelings so that everyone is able to be ‘on the same page.’ This is also a good time to express your concerns and/or frustrations.

A couple of things to remember in your journey here with your new family: remember that your step parent is not a replacement for your biological parent with whom you may not be living with anymore (or living with full time). This is another adult that will care about you and offer you new guidance, perhaps.

Give yourself space and time to adjust. It is normal to feel anger and resentment sometimes. Studies show that it takes approximately four years for some teenagers to fully adjust to their step parent. But the goal is to learn how to communicate your feelings to your family so that you can help create an atmosphere of respect for you and all members.

–
Elaine Collins
Guidance Counselor
Meeker High School
970-878-9070, ext. 305

As many of you may know, Sawyer Bivens is a Senior at Meeker High School.  He is wild, outgoing, and fun to hang out with. Sawyer is known around the school for his craziness and great sense of humor.

Although, what you might not know about this interesting boy is that he had a traumatic dirt bike accident in his eighth grade year, he shattered both of his ankles. Due to this tragedy he was  unable to go to Washington D.C. with his fellow classmates.

Sawyer had to have surgery for his ankles so he could walk again, but this surgery was very expensive. Thanks to the Shriners Hospital’s generosity and special exception, he was able to get the surgery. Shriners Hospital is a health care system which consists of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. They also pay for food and transportation. Sawyer’s case was extra special because they don’t take trauma patients. “Shriners Hospital saved my life”  Sawyer said.

Last year he won the chance to go to Washington D.C. by writing an essay and submitting it to the White River Electric Co-op Association Essay Contest. He left for Washington D.C. in June, “I got to see monuments…. and met 1,500 other kids from across the country.”

When asked “What did it mean to you,” Sawyer replied by saying, ” I was glad I got to go and it meant a lot because I couldn’t go before…”

The first year agriculture students were all very nervous getting on stage to give the five paragraph FFA Creed. Many students did a very good job, but the one that came out on top was Stephany Joos. She didn’t miss a single word. Torrie Gerloff got second place, followed by Kaylynn Dunham. Then Taylor Morris in forth, and Deena Norell in fifth. The rest of the students did an amazing job. Thank you everyone for supporting Meeker FFA Chapter.

Currently, Morgan Tegeder is trying to get a petition out for Forensic Science to return to MHS. She wants to be a forensic scientist in the future. “It’s so I can get my dreams and it is the most important thing in my high school career,” She says without hesitation.

But there are a few obstacles holding her back. She is only a freshman in high school and has to take Physical Science and Biology before she can do Forensics. She would probably need Physics and other important classes finished before she applied as well.

Then there is another major problem. Ms. DeVore-Wedding refuses to teach the class again. The last time that she tried, the students skipped labs, ditched when they where supposed to study crime scenes Ms. Devore set up, and never took it seriously. She said that she never wanted to do it again.

In order for her to change her mind, she needs students that exceed her expectations. She wants at least five students that really care and are sincere about the class.

If the class ever starts again, it will be in two years minimum.

(more…)

The Cowboy Roundup will be starting an all new column called Chillin’ With Collins. The column will be for Mrs. Collins to answer questions and give advice for important obstacles in any student’s life.

Please note that if you send in a question, there is a chance that it will be published with an answer from Mrs. Collins. If you have something personal and do not want others to read it, it would be better to ask her in person than to ask online.

This week, Mrs. Collins will be writing an article about dealing with step-parents. It will be on how to live with them and how you can cope with them.

This is an opportunity to get help fast and easy.

Laura Fonseca, a foreign exchange student from South Brazil, “loves being here and has lots of new friends”. Although Laura does miss Brazil, she likes it here. She told reporter Calvin Shepherd, that she “misses her old friends, teachers, and family”. When asked what her favorite thing about the United States was,  she replied “the people and the snow”. She is used to the American school system, because it is very similar to the one from Brazil. She loves art class,  and will be playing basketball and maybe track. Unfortunately, Laura will have to leave in June or July, and we will all miss her very much.

1907 November 16th, Oklahoma becomes 46th State

1959 November 16th the “Sound of Music” opens for the first time on Broadway

Lindzey Patterson has awarded the spot of Art of the Week! “Lindzey included meaningful symbolism in the self-portrait. It is a great example of using color and facial expression to convey ones innermost feelings. Lindzey has great craftsmanship, and this contributed to the excellent self portrait,” said new art teacher, Ms. Burnell. Kudos to your achievement, Lindzey!

 Loading ...

Feel Free To Comment If You Like!

A dog in Topeka, Kansas was found in the middle of the road, Porsche a  one-year-old Mastiff, was believed to be hit by a car in Topeka, Kansas. When brought to Denver by Georgia Cameron, Vice President of an animal rescue group in Denver, x-rays showed what really happened to Porsche. She had been beaten by a baseball bat, she had a shattered nose cavity, and had to have surgery. She is fearful of human males, which could help in the investigation going on in Topeka. Cameron contacted the Topeka law enforment, and now Porsche is living with a foster family until a permanent home is found.

In Ellicot, Colorado a school bus crashed into a ditch on November 9th. The bus contained 30 people, 13 of which were children. The county sheriffs say that the accident happened about a quarter mile east of Ellicott. Eleven people were sent to the hospital with cuts and bruises. One man has been sent by helicopter to a hospital in Colorado Springs. First responders will not release the ages of the kids involved in the accident. They also won’t reveal how serious the injuries are, however they do advise people to take it slow because the roads are covered with black ice and are very slick.

Luke Spencer, 9, died on October 29, 2009. He passed by playing a dangerous game called the Choking Game. He was found in their bathroom with the a belt around his neck. The Choking Game is a game where kids choke themselves in order to get a natural high. They will hold their breath and fall on the floor.  Doctors say if the kids survive they will have many noticeable signs of the game, which Spencer’s parents say they should have seen. The signs are bad headaches and bloodshot eyes, of which he had both.  Close to eighty-two children and teens have died across the United States since 1995,  90% of the deaths are found in males that are around 13 years old.

There have been a few rumors floating around that Green Day’s most recent record-breaking album, 21st Century Breakdown, will be turned into a Broadway show, just like American Idiot did. Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer, guitarist, and main music writer for Green Day, has said that when he wrote 21CB, he always planned for it to go somewhere, just like American Idiot did. The adaption of a punk-rock album into a stage production takes quite a while though! Workshops for American Idiot began in 2005 and the musical wasn’t opened until 2010. So if 21CB is going to be hitting the stage, we have around 5 years to wait for it. Billie Joe also said that he wants to put the shows on stage to really help illustrate the story of Gloria and Christian, [the two main characters] because the music explains it, but only true fans can take the past of him [Billie Joe] and realize that this album is about his life and the chapter that happend after American Idiot. It has not been said if auditions or workshops are in progress, but based on Billie’s comments, we can expect for 21st Century Breakdown to be sweeping the nation, just like award-winnng American Idiot.