Farmington, IL
Volume 3, Issue 2
December 2018
2018-2019 Harvest Team
Written by: Josie Webel This past November, Mrs. Tracy, Mrs. Rude, and Mrs. Stevens selected 22 outstanding students to be a part of Harvest Team. Harvest Team is a community service group for FJHS and FHS! The selected members are: Josie Webel, Jacob Gilles, Isabelle Lynn, Jake Martin, Ella Pepple, Paige Stevens, Jaden Fauser, Mariah Hayden, Sam Hostetler, Jason Kennelly, Abigail Strode, Averie Neal, Hadley LaHart, Izzy Nordwahl, Carissa Gavelys, Rachel Noy, Maddie Helle, Savannah Ropp, Madeline Freeman, Abby Cash, Kyleigh Carpenter, and Phoebe Ulm. These students have excelled in school, out of school, and anywhere else. The Midwest Food Bank visit and Christmas carolling at the assisted living are some of their best projects. You might be wondering: how do the teachers select these students? To answer that, Mrs. Tracy said there was over 80 applicants so it was a very hard decision to make. At first, It was narrowed down by grades and and behavior. Another teacher who had nothing to do with harvest team, looked at the teacher recommendations and the applications they filled out themselves. . They started Harvest team because Mrs. Tracy saw Mr. Lambert so wonderfully leading the high school. Mrs. Tracy liked it. She liked how they were doing something nice for students and staff in the High School. Furthermore, she wanted the Junior High to do something like that. Mrs Tracy would like to tell you that Harvest Team is a great organization and even students who are not involved in Harvest Team can become involved at any point in time. Also, If you were not selected this year, there is always next year, it’s not always the same students! 1
the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.� I like this movie because Christ is involved and it is a peanuts film. This fun cartoon is awesome to watch with the family. My opinion is a lot of people who like Christmas movies will like this entertaining film.
Movie Review A Charlie Brown Christmas By: Jason Kennelly
Our Favorite Christmas Movies By: AJ Rutledge and Madeline Freeman 6th Grade: Jake Martin- Home Alone Griffin Ulm- The Grinch Claire Hanlin- The Polar Express Calvin Rudd- Elf Kylie Nichols- Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a very popular peanuts film. This movie was realeased on December 9th,1965. In this film, the main character, Charlie Brown is struggling with the commercialization of Christmas and figuring out what Christmas is all about. Lucy then asked Charlie Brown to direct a christmas play. While directing this play he learns the true meaning of christmas when his friend Linus reminds him, �And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ
7th Grade: Keauntrey Barnes- Elf Luke Lebron- The Polar Express Madilyn Hanlin- Elf Abigail Strode- Elf Zac Taylor- The Grinch 8th Grade: Alexandra Bolton- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Connor Keller- Elf or The Grinch Rowdy Eldridge- Elf Remington Shymansky- Elf Coy Fox- Elf
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October All Stars Written by: Ashlyn Slayton Kendahl Shake, Averie Neal, and Savannah Rapp were the Junior High All Stars for October. The 6th grade All Star is Kendah Shake. Her parents are Jodi and Brandon Shake, she has a brother Korbin Shake (9 years old). She plays soccer and volleyball. She tumbles and dances. Kendahl takes part an indoor soccer club outside of school. Her hobbies include playing guitar and singing. In the future she hopes to become a physical therapist. Something she would like you to know; she likes to perform at her church by playing guitar and singing. All Star for 7th grade is Averie Neal. Her parents names are Angie and Adam Neal, she has 2 siblings, Addyson and Anderson Neal. She is a part of the Harvest Team and plays volleyball. She is also on the cross country and track teams. He hobbies include trying new things. Her goal is to go to state in cross country. Something she would like you to know is she has a lot of pets. All Star for 8th grade is Savannah Rapp.. Her parents names are Rosetta Rapp and Michael Alvey. She has 2 siblings, Patricia Rapp and Rosetta. Savannah’s interests include Bible studies and helping with the little kids at church. She has also been a Girl Scout for 7 years and takes part in an art club. Her hobbies include cooking, baking, crafts and spending time with her family. Her future goals are to chase her dreams and become a lawyer or teacher. Something she would like you to know is she is a very outgoing person. She loves cooking and playing games with her friends and family.
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November All Stars By: Izzy Lynn The All Star for 6th grade is Aiden Cagle. Aiden is 12 years old. His parents are Trisha Fisher and Jason Dragoo. He has two siblings Paulina R. (17) and Ashton D. (14). Aiden is a person who likes a lot of things. His hobbies are drawing, baseball, and board games. Aiden’s future goal is to become a MLB Cardinal’s player. Something that Aiden would like everyone to know is he can be very helpful. The all-star for 7th grade is Jason Kennelly. Jason is 12 years old. His parents’ names are Lisa Kennelly (Mrs. Kennelly) and Lon Kennelly. He has a sibling her name is Bailey Kennelly (15). Jason is very involved. He is in Student Council, Harvest Team and Newspaper. Jason is involved in Youth Life outside of school. He enjoys playing baseball. Jason wants to be a MLB Cardinals player. Something that Jason wants you to know is that he tries to be a helpful student. The all-star for 8th grade is Connor Keller. Connor is 13 years old. His parents’ names are Cindy and Damon Keller. His brother is Cole ( 11 ). His extracurriculars are basketball and cross country. He enjoys playing sports in his free time. His future goal is to be a cop. Something that Connor would like you to know about him is that he loves having fun.
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Softball By: Claire Hanlin
Well what can I say, this year’s softball season was a roller coaster ride. We had some ups and some downs. Our season started slow, but by the end we were improving each game and making great gains as a team! Most of our loses came in the beginning of the season, and we ended our season with a 6 game winning streak. In fact, we even beat Brimfield for both the “A” & “B” games to round out the end of our regular season. Brimfield had actually beaten us at the beginning of the season. Our team had great hits. Jenny Noggle had two home runs, Anna Webel got a bounced ball over the fence ,and Lydea Colvin, Alysha Pyatt, and Emily Mahr hit one to the fence. So, over all, we had a great hitting season. For the 1st game of regionals we played Canton. They had beat us in the regular season. The regional game started great. By the 4th inning the score was 7 to 2, and it just did not get any better. We ended up losing, and we were out of the tournament. Although we lost our last game, it was a great season! 5
Veterans Day Program By: Violet Easley
Farmington Central Schools had a Veteran’s Day Assembly in honor of those who served and are serving in the Armed Forces. One thing they did to honor Veterans was a slideshow with pictures, names, and relations to people. Another thing they had was a white table ceremony. The white table ceremony included a small round table with an empty tilted chair, a white tablecloth and a folded black napkin, a turned over wine glass, a lit white candle, a lemon slice and grains of salt on a bread plate, a ‘one place setting’ (fork, spoon, knife, and salt shaker), a red rose in a vase tied with a yellow ribbon, and a bible. The table is round to show our everlasting devotion and concern for our fallen and missing comrades. The cloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to duty. The single red rose, displayed in a vase, remind us of the life, and the blood that was shed, and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith and await answers. The vase is tied with a yellow ribbon, a symbol to support our troops and to give us hope. A slice of lemon on the plate is to remind us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land. The salt is to remind us of the tears endured by those missing and their families who still seek answers. The black napkin is a reminder of the isolation, deprivation, and cruel fate our missing. The Bible represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded as one nation under God. The glass is inverted- to symbolize their inability to share this evening with us. The chair is empty and tilted -they are not here- and will remain so until they return or are accounted for. Honoring veterans is important.
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Speech
Senior Center Decorating
By: Hailey McCoy
By: Kyleigh Carpenter
This year's Speech Conference and State Competition were spectacular. The conference was hosted by FCJS and the State Competition was hosted by Brimfield Middle School. Many students got first place in both competitions and only a few got third. All of the students in Speech worked really hard and practiced a lot this year, they also went into other classrooms around the Junior High and performed. Two 7th graders Isabelle Nordwal and Hailey McCoy even earned the Judges Choice during the State Competition while performing Party On! by Ken Bradbury. Mrs. Springer presented them each with a certificate and a special Speech pin, their judge called the performance “STELLAR!” Hailey and Izzy were also invited to the school board meeting and received certificates signed by our Superintendent Dr. Zac Chatterton and the Board President Kelly Threw. The Speech participants practiced really hard after school almost every Thursday or Tuesday after school. Mrs. Springer and Mrs. Belletto were super helpful and worked hard with every student at the practices. They were both really proud of the hard work that FCJHS kids put into their performances and are glad that so many kids joined this season.
Students decorated the senior center for holidays including Halloween and Christmas, as well as being decorated for homecoming. They had fun working together to plan and decorate with their classmates and teachers. Some classes that put it together was Mrs. Evans morning enrichment, Mrs. Jordan’s morning enrichment, and the Harvest Team. The windows were decorated not only for the cars passing by, but for community and the Santa Stroll.
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special or ourselves. We had lots of people take note after doing this. The stop cyber bullying poster in the cafeteria was donated by a member of the community. Mr. Uptmor states cyber bullying is still a problem. But what he said next stayed in my mind. He explained that when you say something to someone on social media or through a text you're not just sending it to a screen, you are sending it to another face that will read it and hurt that someone’s feelings. So if you wouldn’t say it in person to their face then don’t bother to send it. Have you seen the new sign that is at the end of the 6th grade hallway? The one with all the colorful words. The last line is, be the nice kid. This sign resembles we are special but it is only a good special as long as we are the nice kid. We all are perfectly imperfect. Participating in this walk helped us restart with each other. Always try to forgive each other and make new friends. It would mean the world to so many people that support our school's decisions. That could also affect our life decisions.
The Unity Walk By: Isabella Garner October 24th, 2018, our district walked around the school. We did this as a school against bullying. We walked with each other, to support each other. This was to show we can come as one to celebrate each other's uniqueness. Some people had some questions. So I got the answers from Mr.Uptmor. The way he worded it made it sound so perfect no editing or revising needed. I asked him to explain the tie to the walk, basically why we did it. Mr. Uptmor is in the Positive Community Group. They had been talking about coming up with different things and this stuck. Another question was why was the walk so important? He replied with quite a heart pulling answer. He said we need to come together not just as a school but as a community. He said we need to stop bullying. Also be aware when it happens that if it happens to you or you see it happening to another student that you go to an aid, teacher, counselor, or Mr.Uptmor and talk about it. If you can’t do that speak up. You don’t need to be mean back. It’s not going to get you anywhere. You’re just being a bully back. All you need to do is defend yourself. I know it is not technically bullying without it being physical or every day. But it is teasing and it is still a sign for bullying. It can still hurt your feelings. No one deserves that we, as Mr.Uptmor put it, deserve to be special. Adding to that; we are not weird or should not be weird for being 8
Who’s New!! Welcome Mr. Harris! Written by: Kaiya Hintz Mr. Harris is the kind of guy that always wants to make the world a better place. Mr. Harris grew up in Canton and graduated from Canton High School in 1983. He then went to Illinois State University where he obtained a teaching degree in the 80’s, but he never used it. In 1989 Mr. Harris won the Peoria Toughman Contest. This contest is an amature boxing competition. Mr. Harris was also a Nationally Ranked Competitive Powerlifter. In Law enforcement Mr. Harris trained deputies, and for a time he was an auto theft detective. He retired from law enforcement and needed a second career. Mr. Harris has always wanted to teach so he used his teaching degree. Not only does Mr. Harris have a very interesting and eventful life, but he also has a daughter. Mr. Harris has many goals but one of the most important goals is to be an amazing example for his daughter. He wants to raise her to become a successful, productive, and caring citizen. Mr. Harris wants to teach her to become a better person everyday and to help change the world for the better. He also wants to progress in the teaching fields. Mr. Harris would also enjoy to be able to coach football, and help change lives for the better. If you haven’t met Mr, Harris than you need too. He has a kind heart and is always up for a challenge. Although he has already accomplished so much in his life he still wants to give a helping hand. One thing that you’ll always know is that Mr. Harris will never stop becoming a better person, inside and out.
Welcome Mr. Benson! Written by: AJ Rutledge and Madie Freeman
Mr. Benson is one of our newest members of the P.E. staff. This is his very first year of teaching following his graduation at Northern Illinois University (NIU). In his free time he enjoys watching Twitch and spending time with his fiance. He also coaches the 7th grade boys basketball team and is interested in coaching baseball. As a sports fan he is passionate about The Bulls and Lakers (basketball), The White Sox (baseball), The Bears (football), and The Blackhawks (hockey). Mr. Benson has one pet, a pitbull named Hoss. One person he looks up to as a role model is his high school baseball coach. At last, his favorite part about teaching in Farmington is being back to his hometown.
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The Enjoyment of Winter Break By: By:Marcas Snyder and Caden Mowen
We chose 20 people out of the 6th grade including teachers. The question we asked was, “What do you enjoy on Winter Break?� This is what we collected: 1.Reading 2.Eating 3.Getting stuff 4.Reading 5.Playing outside 6.Eating 7.chilling 8.Sleeping 9.Hanging out 10.Family
11.Sleeping 12.Playing outside 13.Family 14.Family 15.Video games 16.Sleeping 17.Family 18.Chilling 19.Video games 20.Chilling
10% is reading 10% is eating 5% is getting stuff 10% is playing outside 15% is chilling 15% is sleeping 5% is hanging out 20% is family 10% is video games So what do you like about Winter Break? By:Marcas Snyder and Caden Mowen
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