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Getting Ready for Fall
By Lillian Byrd
Another way to get into the fall spirit is to do some fall crafts. My mom recently made a mod podge pumpkin and it turned out pretty good! Check out the picture! Plus, the crafts you do can double as decorations!
Some other fall crafts you could do might be making a fall wreath or making a type of yarn pumpkin. You could make a 3D yarn pumpkin with a balloon or a 2D yarn pumpkin. I think I like the 2D yarn pumpkins better because they would look really good on a garland.
A great fall activity could be going to a pumpkin patch. In my opinion, I like Stuckmeyers the best, but some other good ones are:
- Eckerts
- Sycamore farm
- Thies Farm and Market
- Herman's Farm
- Pumpkins Galore
A lot of pumpkin patches have other fun activities there like corn mazes, haunted hayrides, and launching pumpkins! Pumpkin patches are also great places to take pictures, because of the scenery; all of the pumpkins and hay are great for a beautiful, aesthetic, fall picture.
Some other activities that happen in the fall are sports! There are a lot of youth football games, baseball games, and other sports going on right now, so if you have a family member that is playing a sport right now, it might be fun to go cheer them on and watch them play (if there aren’t restrictions about how many spectators there can be per player at a game)!
Finally, an activity that SCREAMS Halloween is pumpkin carving, and sometimes, it’s really fun to do something a little more unique. Here is a website that has many different ways to carve your pumpkins for all different ages. If you design a pumpkin, snap a picture and send it to barrettmelanie@rsdmo.org for a chance to be featured in SouthChat!
Top 6 Ways to Survive/Thrive in Online School
By Mia Fauss
Online school can be difficult, unless you follow these six tips! Then, your days of virtual learning will be much easier and more enjoyable than before!
- Get up and get ready in the morning, and do it at least 30 minutes before class starts. Trust me, if you get dressed (not in pajamas!), eat breakfast, and don’t do school from your bed, you’ll be way more motivated to do your schoolwork!
- If you have a cat, dog, or any other pet that can sit with you, bring them to a few of your zoom meetings! Your cute little pet will make sitting at home all day much more enjoyable! The happier you are during the school day, the more motivated you’ll be in your classes. Also, I bet your class would love to see your pet!
- Use your 15 minute break wisely! Instead of sitting around on your phone, take a short walk, get a snack, or stretch. Then, you won’t have to worry about needing a break in the middle of your zoom meetings. When you're sitting around all day doing school, that 15 minute break will be amazing if you use it the right way!
- Set reminders! If you remind yourself to do things like join Zoom meetings, then you won’t be late for class and miss out on any important information that your teacher has to share. Also, remind yourself to do homework and turn in assignments, so you won’t get in trouble!
- Don’t forget to stay hydrated! Drinking plenty of water throughout the day is a very important thing to do, and it’s easy to forget about. Drinking tons of water will help you to feel better during your classes, and it’s an overall great thing to do! So next time you have a class to go to, have a water bottle with you and try drinking a healthy amount of water during the school day.
- Lastly, get blue light glasses, even if you don’t actually need normal glasses. You can find a pair on Amazon without real lenses, and it will be very helpful! When you’re in front of a screen all day, it can hurt your eyes, and cause you to get more headaches. With blue light glasses, you can prevent this, and you’ll feel much better by the end of the day!
Now that you know the six ways to survive online school, you should use them! You won’t regret it after you’ve applied these things to your online school experience. Now, go make sure you turn in your assignments on time and finish your homework! (No seriously, go do it!)
Missouri's Urban Legends
Spooky Spots Right Here in Missouri
These urban legends might keep you up at night. But whatever you do remember that if you search for them you might find what you are looking for and you might not be so happy then. These are spooky stories from right here in Missouri.
The Lemp Mansion
The Lemp Mansion is now a restaurant and inn. You can have a murder mystery dinner there and people come to try and see if they can find something creepy. This Mansion from the 1800s is one of the 10th most haunted places in Missouri. There have been a lot of tragedies and deaths that have happened in the Lemp family in this house. The building is supposedly haunted by some of their spirits. People have said before that they have seen ghosts. The attic is said to be haunted by a boy with special needs who was hidden away and now haunts the attic.
Momo the Monster
Momo is short for Missouri Monster and it is a story that is close to the story of bigfoot. They say that Momo is about 7 feet tall, with a head shaped like a pumpkin and glowing orange eyes. It is furry and it has black hair all over its face. Apparently it smells pretty bad and it is said that you would know if it was Momo if you smelled it. It has been seen up and down the Mississippi River. People say that it kills animals and scares people on purpose.
Zombie Road
There are many stories about Zombie Road that are from outside of St. Louis. The original name of the road was Lawler Ford Road but after a while it was referred to as Zombie Road. It started being referred to as Zombie Road in the 50´s. It might have been called this because of all the stories about some ¨Zombie killer¨, the Zombie Killer was a creepy guy who had a shack out in the middle of the woods. He would attack young lovers who wanted to be alone.
The years passed and the stories continued. There were now even ghosts, and strange noises in the stories. For example, there is a story about the ghost of a man who got hit by a train and it is said that he now haunts the area. But the thing that is the most creepy is that there is a real story about the wife of a local judge and her name is Della Hamilton McCullough. She got hit by a train and she died in 1876. There are no other records of anyone being hit by a train in this area. This is why it is believed that she may actually be the famed ghost.
So if you are looking for something spooky this Halloween you can find it right here in Missouri.
We Can't Vote, So Why Should We Care About the Election?
By Hadley Keirsey
You might know this already but there is an election coming up. I know some of you don´t care. If everyone cared out there I wouldn't be writing this. I think that you should care even if you can't vote. Here is why.
One of the reasons you should care about the election is because what people vote for can and will affect you. Your parents, grandparents, neighbors, coaches, and teachers can all vote. If you talk to them about the issues that are important to you, that might affect the way they vote. By talking to people who can vote, you may be changing their minds and actually having an impact on the vote.
Some of the things that people are voting for are health care, taxes for schools, and other things that affect kids too. Even though we can not vote we can still make a difference. We can talk to parents about it, tell them our opinions and they can vote not only thinking of themselves but also keeping the thought of our future in mind.
Another reason that you should care is if you practice caring about voting and you also practice talking to your parents about voting you will be ready for when you can vote yourself. You might be thinking about not wanting to vote when you are older but you not voting can dramatically change the vote especially if a lot of people have this mindset going into the election. That is why you should care even if you can not vote yourself.
Meet Our New Vice Principals
Two New Faces At RSMS
By Abigail Pleimann
Before Dr.Bergthold joined our RSMS family she was a Spanish teacher at Crestview middle school. She taught Spanish for 10 years! In the first five years, she would travel between Rookwood South and Crestview Middle. For the last 5 years, she just worked at Crestview.
Mrs. Suggs has always loved talking with people. She even interviewed Oprah Winfrey on her television show! From 2003 to 2015 she hosted her own TV show called Best of STL, then she taught Language Arts for 10 years in the Washington school district. She won the STL Jewel Award Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 for her television show, education through a pandemic.
A day in the life of a vice principal is very busy! They go through their emails early in the morning and see how they can help students, teachers, parents, and staff. Once the school day starts you might see them popping into your Zoom classroom to say hi and meet you! Mrs. Suggs might even read you a chapter from her book, Becoming Myself. Dr. Bergthold and Mrs. Suggs might also drop into your gym class and do the morning warm-up with you!
Both vice principals agree that the school year is going great! They both said that they think that students are adapting well. They also had some advice for students, “You have to give yourself grace and make sure you get your work turned in. Also, It is very important that you HAVE FUN! It is also very important that if you have questions or need help PLEASE don’t be afraid to ask or to go to office hours!” They also ask that students make sure to keep their video on!
And just to stay in the holiday spirit I asked them what their favorite Halloween candy was. Mrs. Suggs said that hers was candy corn or taffy apple. Dr. Bergtholdt´s favorite candy is Sour Patch Kids. I also asked them their most memorable Halloween costume Mrs. Suggs said it was when she was french fries from Mc. Donalds and Dr. Bergtholdt said it was when she was a blue shell from Mario Kart.