REDefined Press
September 2015
Student Life
In search of a REDEfined student of the month, we contacted eighth grade teacher Mrs. Moran of the Mustang team. Mary Migliozzi started showing signs of leadership the first week of school by being helpful. Mary has helped her teachers by staying after class and making sure all the computers are plugged in. She is a kind and gentle person who will help a student in need if the student is having trouble with school work.
Mary is a great role model because her attitude is always positive. She isn't afraid to speak her mind. Mary is very respectful of others. A good leader has to always be positive and respectful. She is a great role model and always respects school property.
Mary has been a friend to students and peers. For example, Mary noticed that a fellow classmate was struggling, and without hesitation she acted fast and helped the student to the best of her abilities. “She is a good role model for sixth and seventh graders” says Mrs. Moran. Mary is very respectful and RED.
Mary Migliozzi helped teachers when nobody else would. She has shared her ideas willingly to others. Mary has shown the world her future possibilities of being a role model, leader and overall a good friend. Mrs. Moran believes that being a good role model requires you to think about others before yourself.
Sports
By:Brooke Philben and Brandon Czaplinski
Get Spiked!
Volleyball is a great opportunity for girls at Cimarron to stay active and become involved. Lipizzan science teacher Ms.Rogers, a 7th grade volleyball coach says, “My favorite part about the sport is getting to know the kids.”
Practices are from 3:00pm-4:45pm every day. Here at Cimarron we have three 7th Grade Volleyball teams. A team, B team, and C team. Students are placed on a team based on skill. To get on any team you must try out. 8th Grade volleyball tryouts have already been held and they have finished their season. 7th grade tryouts were held on Monday, September 14th and practices have started. The season lasts one month for each grade.
Practices focus on skill development and offense. To prepare for games the teams make sure that they know specific plays and the rules of the game, they also prepare skills. Their first game will be held on Tuesday, September 22nd at Castle Rock Middle School. Go Colts!
Ready Set Run
Cross Country was started so both boys and girls of all grades could be in a sport.In cross country you run a 1.5 mile marked course and compete against other middle schools. It’s an individual sport where you can do your best but you get scored as a team which makes it unique.
Mr.West, one of the Cross Country Coaches,says, “my favorite part of the sport is that you get to have both boys and girls in one sport and they are one of the largest teams at Cimarron.” Mr.West also loves the fact that students make so many new friends during Cross Country
Cross Country has meets all over DCSD, a few of the middle schools are Sierra Middle School,Sagewood Middle School,Mesa Middle School, and Castle Rock Middle School. To be in the sport you don’t have to try out and it’s offered for all grades.The season lasts the month of August and part of September and the students work hard.
To practice they do different running exercises relays, and interval training. They prepare for meets by practicing running and practicing pacing.Their season is now over and will be offered next fall.Go Colts!
Huddle Up
Run fast and come get involved with Cimarron’s 8th Grade Football. Football at Cimarron is a great opportunity for 8th Grade Boys to get active and become involved.Football is only offered to 8th Grade boys but 7th graders can do flag football. “ Football is a great sport to watch and play in because it takes all 11 players and not just 1 person.It takes team work,” says Mr.Davis 8th Grade Football Coach.
For this sport you have to try out. Tryouts were held earlier this year and the teams are in their season and the season lasts for the month of August and part of September. To prepare for games they work on their defense and offence skills. They also collaborate and work together to play at their best and beat the other team. Come support Cimarron’s football team at their next game.Go Colts!
Electives
The New and Improved Cimarron Library
By: Tobias Estrella and Bryce Townley
Our Cimarron library has made changes and improvements over the summer. The new library space allows teachers to bring their students into a more welcoming environment.
If you were not at Cimarron last year, you wouldn’t know that the library used to have five additional nonfiction shelves. These shelves were moved out of the library to make more space for tables. All of the nonfiction books were either integrated with the fiction or were given away. “Nonfiction books were just not getting used because we normally just look information up on the internet,” explained Mrs. Novak the librarian.
The library has seen an increase in classes using the new space. There are new tables organized to support collaboration, and new technology devices have been added for students to use during library visits to discover and explore units. There are 32 desktop computers and 1 laptop cart available for students at anytime. All of the new features allow students to use their imagination, “It makes your brain stretch a little bit,” said Mrs. Novak.
There is space and resources for students to work together on big projects or study for a test. “We always learn from each other when we collaborate,” commented Mrs. Novak, “It depends on how it is used, but collaboration is huge.” The library is accessible before and after school to play games and use software.
The interactive projector “acts like a Smart Board”, it enables you to touch the screen, draw, and it’s open for everyone to use. The Makerbot 3D printer was bought for students to design their own masterpiece instead of finding others online. All students can use it to print their design and there are even contests to see who can make the best model.
The library is now much better with more space, features, and no limits. It gives us access to think outside the box and thoroughly comprehend subjects. “I'm even more excited that the areas are getting a lot of use by classes and individual students,” stated Mrs. Novak.Thesbian Troupe Club
On a Monday Afternoon at 2:45 to 4:30 if you go to stage right of the school in the drama room you will see Thespian Troupe. The Thespian troupe is a club where students learn how to perform on stage and prepare a 3-5 minute monologue or song to compete at Thescon.
Thescon is a convention where anyone in Colorado can go have a good time and learn theater skills like- stage combat, how to audition, singing tips, and monologue tips.
Anyone is welcome to join, but Ms.Warner (drama teacher) is looking for someone who would like to learn about theatre and someone willing to devote their time to work on a piece while we meet and outside of the club.
We asked Nelly Davis from 7th grade team Appaloosa what her favorite thing about Thespian Troupe is “I don’t know, the vibe, and there are so many people. It's like another drama class.”
Did you know that it is called Thespian Troupe because the greek god for theater is Thespis.
Actors and actresses are called Thespians.
Academics
By: Nicholas Lundquist and Clara Brown
Do you remember completing a survey at the beginning of the year? 60% of 7th grade students surveyed said they struggle with organization. Ms.Fenn, a 7th grade counselor, set out to help solve this problem.
Organization is so important because when you can’t find a piece of paper in your backpack you start to fall behind. This is stressful, when you can’t find something important and the class is moving on, you start to fall behind. Also, if the group is counting on you to keep the group project safe and you can’t, the whole group will take the fall from your mistake.
Why do we struggle with organization? According to Mrs.Fenn,when you first come into middle school you have more responsibility and more classes. So when you have to keep track of all your classes you start to throw papers into backpack and forget about organization. Also, coming from elementary school your teachers do most of the organization and we keep the papers in our desk not transporting them from school and home. Sometimes having to keep track of all of these papers can be overwhelming and you just stuff them into your backpack.
Tip: Try to keep all of your papers in a folder or your notebook.
After a week of school and your backpack is dirty then you should consider cleaning it out. When you clean out your backpack look and see if there is anything that you can leave at home. Also, after the quarter ends dump out your folders and if you have papers that you will need later on put them in a folder and leave it at home.
Tip: Clean out or re-organize your backpack every week.
Phones are a big part of our lives so how could we incorporate them into school organization? With teacher approval you can use your calendar to set specific dates of tests and work due dates. If you don’t own a Personal device or don’t want to use it for school, you can also use your planner as a way to stay organized. There is also an app called Infinite Campus where you can check your grades and check if you have any missing work. Other tools that can help us stay organized are binders and/or folders. We surveyed some students and how they stay organized. Some of the ways were color coding all of their folders and notebooks, and putting things away at the end of class.
Tip: Mrs. Fenn had was that you can take a binder and fill it with notebook paper and use Sticky Notes to mark your different subjects.
People
Hayden Sherman
Written by: Megan Lavell and Ashlyn Wenner
What if you woke up one morning and you had a stomach ache and then you couldn’t walk? How would you feel? A student in our school had that happen to him just earlier this year. Hayden Sherman, a true inspiration. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Or maybe you’ve heard about his life changing incident. One thing is true he has extraordinary resilience.
Hayden Sherman is a now 7th grader here at Cimarron. Earlier this year, his legs were paralyzed. He had to use a wheelchair to get around. After a while in the hospital, he went to intense physical therapy to help him be able to be independent. First, it was to build upper body strength to move in and out of a wheelchair. Then, he moved on to trying to walk. It took strong determination and he never lost hope that he would walk again. That hope helped him get through any thoughts of giving up or frustration.
Hayden is thankful for all the support that the school gave him. This April, Cimarron’s sixth graders had a fun run to raise money for Hayden and his family. The fundraiser raised over $6,000 dollars. Thank you to everyone that participated in the fun run, Hayden is able to walk again. Hayden said that, “This experience has changed me for the better.” Hayden is able to inspire people with dedication, resilience, and overall fascinating story .
Events
By Jordan Laessig & Elan Fleetwood
The FRV coupon app is a new way for CIMS students to raise money this school year.
Cimarron students are buying this app to raise money for our school. Not only does it benefit our school, but it rewards you as the student!
Why would you want to buy this app? This helps the PTO raise money for more field trips, teacher grants, and scholarships. Also if you use the app frequently than the school will reward you and your team with special prizes. Some of the prizes include;a team pizza and ice cream party , a $25 gift card to Itunes , a $50 gift card to Target. The top team and top seller will get an Ipad Mini! So far the winning team is 7th grade Blazer.
The app has many features such as “Around Me” which shows places nearby where you can use the coupons. Also when you use your coupons it unlocks more coupons to use. The coupons will expire one year after activation.
The prizes will be awarded at the end of the fundraiser which is Friday. This fundraiser is only going on for a few more weeks so hurry and buy and sell
the app now!