Cub's Column
The Voice of Jackson Memorial Middle School
March 2018
Principal's Message
It is incredible to think that we are already well into March! All of the activities at JMMS continue to move along, and it is a joy to watch all of our students participating and being successful. I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the motto for this year: Work hard, stay humble, and be kind. In today's world, it seems folks are continuing to struggle with being kind to one another. One thought to share with everyone is that each and every person is going through some type of struggle. They might not talk about it,it may not look like they are struggling, but I assure you that each and every person is dealing with some kind of problem.
Similarly, each and every person has the ability to make an impact on those around them. You have an incredible ability to lift those around you up, or you can choose to tear down those around you. The choice is yours. I encourage each and every member of the JMMS community to choose to be great. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be kind to others. Look out for one another. Let's all work together to build each other up.
Go Polar Bears!
JMMS Principal
Students travel the world with Virtual Reality goggles
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually see the places that you learn about at school? Thanks to the new Virtual Reality goggles, you can. This year, the school purchased the VR goggles to loan to teachers so that students can experience what they are learning about.
According to 6th grade language arts teacher Mrs. Mastroine, who used the VR goggles to show her students what it was like on the Titanic, the goggles allowed her and her students to "see people and places from a totally different perspective."
"It brought our reading pages to life," Mrs. Mastroine said.
According to a survey about the VR goggles, it seems that they are a huge benefit to our school. They allow students to visit and interact with what they are learning about, making the topic both more understandable and intriguing for students.
Seventh grade social studies teacher Mrs. Johnson said VR goggles help her students "explore dimensions of a place and find out information regarding different aspects of that culture."
Mrs. Johnson said that VR goggles help give students a perspective to a topic that could not be seen with just an image in a textbook.
Information and media specialist Mr. Robitaille purchased the VR goggles this fall with funds from a Jackson Local Schools Foundation grant. The set of eight goggles each come with an iPod Touch, which is loaded with VR apps like Google Expeditions.
Overall, the VR goggles greatly enhance students' perspectives on what they are learning about in class. Many teachers said that they plan to use them again.
Students trot the globe in Geography Bee
Students participate in district spelling bee
Snehal Choudhury, an eighth-grader, went on to win the 72nd Canton Repository Regional Final Spelling Bee after 26 rounds. She correctly spelled the word sociable. To read a Canton Repository article, click the link here:
Students enrich their talents in Art club
by Briana Brogan
After school on the second Wednesday once a month JMMS offers Art Club, which is welcome to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.
Interested students sign up at the beginning of the year and attend each meeting. Art Club lasts the whole year and ends in May. It is recommended students sign up at the beginning of the year to receive the full benefit.
The meetings are held from three to four o'clock in the art rooms. Each grade level receives a different art project to do.
Mr. Poetter says "These projects are to help the students successfully gain experience in Visual Arts," said Mr. Poetter, art teacher and adviser.
Each student is expected to attend five meetings in order to receive a certificate at the end of the year.
"Art Club is fun, and I love to hang out with my friends," said Savannah, a 7th grade art club student.
Art club is a great time to practice art skills, hang out, and make new friends.
Teacher feature: Mrs. Mastroine
by Ella Fox
Sixth grade is a year full of new and exciting things, such as your first year at the middle school. However, sixth grade is only as great as its teachers. Mrs. Mastroine teaches Language Arts in Community B. She has been teaching Language Arts since 1997, in addition to teaching math for five years.
Mrs. Mastroine grew up in Orrville, Ohio. Then moved away for a few years and ended up back in Orrville, where she has stayed ever since. Mrs. Mastroine graduated from Kent State and got her master's degree from Ashland University. Then she went back to college for an additional three years at the University of Maryland.
"I think the best part about teaching for me is the students," Mrs. Mastroine said. "I love watching them as they progress and grow in learning throughout the school year."
"I'd say the hardest thing about being a teacher is actually giving the students the motivation to learn," Mrs. Mastroine said.
Mrs. Mastroine has always adored children and loves being around them. She also said she had a passion for learning.
Mrs. Mastroine said she loves teaching and being around kids. She hopes she will inspire many more kids in the future.
7th grade book tasting a sweet treat
by Kenny Gutierrez-King
Seventh grade students from Ms. Tan, Mrs. Sauerbier, and Mrs. Kerr's classes participated in a book tasting on January 11. During this is an event, 7th graders wrote children's books and then read them to Sauder Elementary 5th graders. Parents also attended the event. Snacks were provided.
The process of writing took three months.
"There was a ton of brainstorming and planning and revising that went into writing the children's books," said Ms. Tan, a language arts teacher.
The students had to think of a personal experience and turn it into a fiction story. They also had to use crafting choices to determine the fate of their character.
"What will an intense storm cause to happen to the plot?" asked Ms. Tan, while providing an example. "How is it going to affect the reader? How will it make them feel?"
The book tasting helped the 7th graders learn to read like authors.
Every 5th grade class took part in the book tasting. This provided an opportunity for them to learn how to determine a theme written by the 7th grade authors. The 5th graders got to talk with the authors about their books and how they can improve. The book tasting was a great way to help both the 5th graders and the 7th graders.
On the day of the book tasting, students could read, listen to stories, and enjoy some food.
Fifth grader Paulo Fatigati said, "I think that the book tasting is going great."
Aiden Bryant, a 7th grader, said, "I like how people can bring their family to see what their children can actually do."
This event was a fun way to help students to read like writers, determine a theme, and develop a story of their own.
To view a photo album from the book tasting, click the link below:
Gaming club offers fun challenges after school
by Kowen Gayhart
Gaming club is an amazing way for students to make new friends, play board games, and stay off devices.
Every Monday from 3:00 - 4:00 kids play games like King of Tokyo and Stratego in Mr. Jones' room after school.
Mr. Jones, the adviser of the club has always loved playing games and will gladly play the game with a student if they ask.
"Right now I am loving Flick 'Em Up," Mr. Jones said. "It is a game of dexterity and strategy. It is a game that mashes the old west and pool."
Gaming club is open to everyone of all grades. They are still looking for new people to join.
"I always am down to play a game of Risk, Settlers of Catan, or Netrunner," Mr. Jones said.
A couple of years ago the club was used strictly for chess. Eventually the club opened up to all board games.
Cub's Column delivers news to JMMS
by Shane McKenzie
Cub's Column is a student-based newspaper at JMMS. They meet every Tuesday in the Learning Commons from 3:00 to 3:30. Students in grades 6-8 can become story writers.
In Cub's Column, students interview teachers, students and other school faculty. The students learn to write about current events happening in the school.
The goal of Cub's Column is to document news and feature events throughout JMMS. The article is published online and sent to all teachers and students. Mr. Robitaille is the club adviser.
Power of the Pen writes their way to the top
The 7th and 8th grade Power of the Pen writers competed with surrounding school districts in the PenOhio Regional Tournament on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at Malone University. The writers filled their writing pages with creativite stories that grabbed the judges’ attention and earned high rankings in all three rounds of writing.
The 7th grade team, coached by Miss Rachel Stien, took home the 3rd place team award, with Olivia Richardson placing 2nd out of all 7th grade writers. Also honored for winning the “Best of Round” were Anna Harst with her story “One Spring Break” and Audrey Baker for her two stories, “Heart and Soul” and “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees”. Congratulations to all of the 7th grade writers!
The 8th grade writers, coached by Katie White, poured their hearts into their stories and many achieved personal goals for the day! Christina McDaniel placed 3rd out of all 8th grade writers. Many of our 8th grade writers earned high achieving quality points for their magnificent stories and will be attending the State Tournament at Wooster College.
The State Tournament will take place on Friday, May 25, 2018 at The College of Wooster.
Operation Bear Hug delivers teddy bears to needy children
This fall, the JMMS student council, Be The Good, collected over 500 teddy bears to deliver to children in hospitals.
View a slide show about Operation Bear Hug, please click the link below. Then click on the arrows to advance the slides.
Breakout EDU challenges students to solve puzzles and beat the clock
by Joel Morris
Breakout EDU is the educational breakout game used at schools to challenge students to open a lock box before they are beaten by the clock.
The Learning Commons purchased three Breakout EDU boxes this school year. Many teachers have used the Breakout boxes to challenge their students to work in groups to solve puzzles based on curriculum standards.
Numerous teachers are responding positively to the Breakout boxes, with some teachers saying they are "a lot of fun."
Some teachers only used the box once, but they said great things about their students like, "My students loved it and look forward to doing another."
"It really held the student interest," said another teacher.
All the teachers will use the box again, and they all will recommend it to other teachers. "I am currently working on an idea for another session on economics," said Mrs. Snow, a sixth grade social studies teacher.
MILO creates friendships in a fun environment
by Alyssa Snyder
MILO is a club at JMMS that creates friendships for students with autism. MILO stands for My Impact Lifts Others. All JMMS students are invited to join MILO and participate in fun activities.
MILO meets one day a month for a hour. When they meet students complete an activity like conducting a scavenger hunt, building a rocket, or having a Christmas party.
Mrs. Fentner is the club's adviser. "MILO is so fun," she said. "We get to meet new friends and have fun conversations while doing something interactive."
MILO is creative because it blends people together that may not normally have the opportunity to meet and create friends. MILO is an interactive club with different people to meet and have fun.
The pros and cons of Chromebooks
Cub's Column editorial
Our way of learning at Jackson, at least in grades 5, 6, 8 and 9, has been completely revolutionized. Paper is now a rarity, and our erasers have been replaced with a delete button. Thanks to our new Chromebooks, almost everything, including tests, essays, and notes, have become digital.
Cub's Column held a survey this fall to capture students' impressions of the Chromebooks and Polaris, our learning management system. One hundred seventy-three students responded to the online survey.
Of the students surveyed, 111 indicated that they like the Chromebooks and feel that the new technology enhances their learning. Conversely, 35.8% (62 people) of those who completed the survey admitted that they do not think that the Chromebooks have enhanced their learning.
Most students agree that there are many benefits to the Chromebooks and Polaris. Based on the survey, many people's favorite thing about the Chromebooks has to do with how it provides us great efficiency. Students said that they like how they don’t have to “worry about losing papers”, “there are no more textbooks”, “[I like] being able to see your grades right away”, and “I can do my work more easily”.
Also, many students appreciate how they are able to listen to music as they work and how Polaris can help them keep their assignments organized. It can help students work more efficiently and easily when they don’t have to search through a binder or folder that is completely stuffed with papers. Having many things online can cut back on time wasted rummaging through stuffed folders or binders for a paper that could easily get lost and can allow students to use online textbooks, rather than carrying several textbooks. Seeing their grade instantly after taking a test also helps students by making them less anxious to see how they performed.
Despite these major benefits, the Chromebooks and Polaris aren't perfect. The biggest complaint among students is how the Chromebooks are constantly malfunctioning and losing internet connection. On the survey, a wide range of answers were received, but 49% of students said that on average, for every ten days their Chromebook either malfunctions or loses internet connection at least five of those days, with 15% saying that they lose internet connection every day.
Along with this, students have said that they dislike “charging it”, “distractions”, how “everything is blocked”, “having to re-plan my schedule around which classes I can and can't bring it to."
One student wrote, "Polaris is often hard to use and glitches out a lot." Other students wish the Chromebooks could print.
Not all of these problems will be instantly solvable, but there are many solutions available. Possibly in the future, teachers could be granted the ability to personally unblock sites and videos. The school blocked printing to encourage teachers to have their students turn things in online, but they just send us to the library or another computer lab anyway to print.
There are many reasons to like or dislike our revolutionized way of learning. Overall, the most common answer in the survey for the rating of the Chromebooks was 8 out of 10, with 9 out of 10 the second most common answer and 6 out of 10 the third most common. Hopefully, sometime in the future at least some of the downfalls to having the Chromebooks and Polaris can be improved and everyone can like them better.
Letter to the editor:
Backpacks Should be Allowed at JMMS
by Stavros Spanakis
A lot of kids have backpacks that they carry around all the time. Well… not at JMMS. According to the JMMS school handbook, "Backpacks are not to be carried from class to class, but to remain in a student's locker for the course of the school day." Students are permitted to carry around a drawstring bag or other sort of bag, but just not an actual backpack.
Many kids at the school do in fact, secretly carry their backpack around, but with great risk. It has been said that if a student is caught carrying a backpack around from class to class, they are to be written up and eventually have to face disciplinary consequences.
Backpacks are indeed a very controversial topic at JMMS. Upon further investigation, I have concluded that the reason why backpacks are not to be carried during the course of the school day is due to possible "congestion" in the classroom and in the hallways. Drawstring bags are indeed smaller but still in fact cause "congestion" within the classroom. I personally have tripped over one or more drawstring bags during a single day. One of the positives to being able to carry around backpacks is that it makes it a lot easier to go to your bus at the end of the day without having to stop as long at your locker.
Another positive to being able to carry around a backpack from class to class is that it would eliminate a lot of people rushing to their lockers to try to get their things out of their drawstring bag and into their backpack. Because of people rushing to try to get to their locker quickly, it creates more of a safety hazard than just simply having your backpack during class.
If school administration is worried about congestion in classrooms, they should see how dangerous it is for kids to run to their lockers just to get there quickly so they don't miss their bus. Drawstring bags, aside from being smaller and more compact, are not very spacious. Trying to fit a whole day's worth of papers and books and binders into one small bag is indeed very tricky, which is another reason why backpacks should be permitted to be carried all day.
Some people might say that backpacks would just add to the hassle of trying to get through crowded hallways and stairwells. Well… that is not necessarily true. If backpacks were permitted, there would most likely be not as much congestion because people would not be in a rush to get from their last class to their locker to switch out their class materials. The hallways would be a lot more relaxed with a lot less congestion.
In conclusion, the number of reasons why we should be allowed to carry backpacks from class to class trumps those saying the opposite. We indeed should be permitted to carry backpacks all day every day around JMMS.
Book review:
black widow: forever red
by Lily Wahl
Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, is a fan-favorite hero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though she does not have very much back story shown to us in the MCU, one of the only original avengers without a standalone movie. So when I picked up Black Widow: Forever Red from the Jackson Branch Library, I had high expectations for the 401-paged hardback novel.
And oh boy, did this book meet them. The book starts with Natasha going back to the Red Room in Odessa, Russia to kill the man who trained her to be a spy. There, she meets a six-year-old little girl named Ava Orlova.
Jump a few years into the future, and we see that Ava has become another orphan of the Red Room and lives in a dirty, neglected YMCA basement. When Ava and Natasha meet again when Natasha is stalking Ava at a fencing competition, their lives will never be the same again.
This book is very suspenseful and well crafted. It really characterizes the famous Black Widow well, and makes you feel like you know the characters with the close third-person. I highly recommend this fantastic YA novel about the Avenger's master spy.
Entertainment review
View a slide show that compares the book Wonder to its movie offshoot. Which is better, the book or the movie? View the slide show to see our results.
To view the slide show, please click the link below. Then click the arrows to navigate.
Entertainment review: The Greatest Showman
by Mierae Taylor and Kloee Tomkinson
The Greatest Showman was released on December 20, 2017, and it was magnificent. This brilliant movie is based on the story of P. T. Barnum, an American showman, politician, and businessman known for founding the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
The film is complete with beautiful songs, incredible dancing, and an unforgettable storyline. It is sure to catch the eye of many.
Because many people here at JMMS have seen the movie, interviewers Kloee Tomkinson and Mierae Taylor asked a handful of students some questions.
"[I liked] P.T. Barnum the most because no matter how many challenges faced him he kept going," said JMMS seventh grader Kowen Gayhart.
Joel Morris, also a seventh grader, remarked, "I liked Hugh Jackman because his part as the showman was played and performed wonderfully."
The movie The Greatest Showman got on average a four and a half star rating. Kowen Gayhart gave the movie a four and a quarter of a star review, which is not very far away from the average.
On the contrary, two of the students interviewed said they gave the movie a five-star rating.
There are many songs, but the most popular and loved song is called "Rewrite the Stars" by Zendaya and Zac Efron, very well known names today.
"My favorite song was in the beginning when they were singing about the circus being the greatest show," Kowen said.
Joel agreed. This song was at the beginning of the movie, kicking it off with their best number, thought many students.
People have also said that their favorite part in the movie was when they were at their lowest point, where they lost everything, and then they come back up victorious. It is in trials like these that characters have to make difficult decisions. More often, these decisions bring a viewer, or reader, to decide if they like a character or not.
"My least favorite character was Phillip Carlyle," said Kowen. Phillip Carlyle was P. T. Barnum’s business partner.
P.T. Barnum grew up a poor boy. He was friends with the daughter of the man who his father worked for, and they were separated by their parents. The girl's father decided he'd had enough of his daughter's rebellious behavior, and he sent her off to a boarding school. P.T.'s father died, and he was left alone on the streets.
In the movie, it passes a couple of years, and P.T. is walking up to the girl's house to ask for her hand in marriage. They start a life together, and P.T. Barnum has a job working for traders. They go out of business, which is one of the few jobs that he has lost. When playing with his girls on the roof, he gets an idea. A circus, full of amazing and unique people.
Will it end well? How will people react when they see people unlike themselves standing up? Watch The Greatest Showman to find out.
Musical review: Seussical, Jr.
by Alexandra Sondike
On the 3 of February, I went to go see Seussical, Jr! It was fantastic! I loved the costumes, the dances, and the music!
I interviewed 6th grader, Leena Jones, and Mrs. Vaughn, the director of the musical and a choir teacher at JMMS.
Leena, who played the part of a Who and a Fish, said, "I thought that the cast was really great! We felt like a true family!"
Mrs. Vaughn said, "The cast did a wonderful job. They worked really hard for four months, and it paid off. They had three fantastic shows!"
"This musical was more difficult than most to teach to middle schoolers," Mrs. Vaughn said. "Seussical is almost all singing, with very little dialogue. There are about 30 songs in the show, which is only about an hour and fifteen minutes long. That is a lot of music to teach in only two rehearsals a week!"
"I was fortunate to have my student teacher Mrs. Swift with me during the first semester," Mrs. Vaughn said. "She was a tremendous help because we were able to divide the cast and work with two different groups at a time."
"The rehearsals were really fun," Leena said. "Sometimes we would goof around, but sometimes we would learn valuable life lessons. The rehearsals were stressing especially the tech rehearsals, but it was still a lot of fun."
Leena thought the costumes were hilarious. They were an important part of the show that "made it so awesome."
"I think my favorite character is Gertrude," Mrs. Vaughn said. "I love that she evolves from an insecure girl who just wants to be noticed into a confident person who believes in herself. Her confidence and trust in her own worth is what actually makes Horton notice her!"
I totally agree with Mrs. Vaughn, though my favorite character is the cat.
Mrs. Vaughn said one of her favorite songs was "Monkey Around." I enjoy that one because it's silly, and the monkeys further the action of the story by stealing Horton's clover, which is protecting the planet of Who.
I also really like "Alone in the Universe." In that song two completely different characters from different worlds (Horton, the largest of all, and Jojo, the smallest of small) are experiencing similar feelings of being alone, but they find each other and become friends.
"Sadly, I didn't have any lines," Leena said. "But I did have a lot of songs to memorize. It took me about two months to memorize the song and the dance together."
"This was a great opportunity for me," Leena said. "t was my first show, and I made some awesome new friends."
"Mrs. Bantum and I chose Seussical because it has a lot of flexibility in casting," Mrs. Vaughn said. "A lot of characters could be either boys or girls, so we liked that we had options. Also, the show has a great message and is challenging."
"We wanted something that would be enjoyable for the students and would expose them to something different," Mrs. Vaughn said. "The two shows prior to Seussical were really well-known (The Lion King and Grease), so introducing them to something new is always fun."
I do agree! I thought this show was amazing and I can’t wait for next year's musical! Thank you to Mrs. Vaughn and Leena Jones for the interview!
Vox pops: How do 7th graders feel about going to Washington, D.C.?
To view this slide show, please click the link below. Then click the arrows to navigate.
JMMS Talent showcase: Rubik's Extraordinaire!
Flash Fiction: The Apparitions of the Earth
by Abby Williams
Once, my world was united- so it says in the history books.
Whether that is true or not is unknown, but none of that matters. Right now, the only concern is running from the apparitions- aliens to our Earth that were never fond of us. Recently, they started mass explosions across this planet, wiping out nearly all humanity. Nearly.
Those of us left will probably spend the rest of our lives running. But now, I’m starting to question this. Everything we once loved is gone- the only reason we’re running for the rest of our lives is to hopefully spare them for yet another day of running.
Suddenly, a metallic, eerie saucer appears in the gloomy sky above me. It can only be one thing: more apparitions. As I was saying, I spend my life running, which is exactly what I do right now. I sprint towards my hide out, a small cave whose entrance is hidden by the leaves of a Willow tree. It’s not much, but it’s all that I’ve got.
I’m certain that they’re after me now. This is no coincidence; indeed, a rather small package drops from the sky. It appears to be harmless, but there is no mistaking the deathly sound that comes from it. It sounds like metal grinding against metal, and it’s relatively quiet, but it echoes in my heading, making it seem to grow louder than the heat of a thousand suns. Straight off, the brown package shreds up into microscopic pieces, and something that spins so fast that it’s only blur takes the package’s place. Despite my inability to make out its shape, there is unfortunately still no mistaking it's deathly sound.
I’m done-for now; my case is utterly hopeless. The blur starts gradually moving towards me. I know that I’ll never be able escape, but I instinctively grab my pickaxe and start pounding away at the wall anyway. Shockingly, the blur moves pretty slow, I could probably outrun it, but I realize that they have me trapped. I can’t escape anyway, so they have no reason to put their good technology at risk. Suddenly, a miracle happens: the best miracle of all miracles.
The cave collapses, with me safely (ish) sprinting through a tunnel that I never knew existed. I keep running and running, the one thing that I despise, refusing to look back.
Refusing to look back on how I hate running, how the running leads to nothing, how running destroyed yet allowed my future, how- [silence].
[Even greater lengths of silence].
I’m being warped through a swirling hole. It looks like a twisted supernova, but that’s impossible. I’m not even supposed to be alive. All of the loud noises from before have been subdued for the loudest noise of all: silence. All of the noises I once heard have become dead to my ears. What could possibly be happening to me? All of a sudden, all of the noises come back to me. But, wait a minute. Something isn’t right. This was hard to pinpoint, but the noise seems almost peaceful, possibly even serene. Then, a strange, reddish-brown, slimy, oozing creature approaches me. At first I can’t understand him, but then he appears to realize so and slides a sleek device around my finger. Then, it speaks in a grave voice that I can finally understand.
“Resist. Resist the power placed over you,” he says. Then, the reddish-brown and oozing skin disintegrates into the air. “We, my friend, are humans. We will fight as allies, resisting the apparitions. Me, along with three others, were captured by them, took over this ship, stole some of their technologies, and are on a mission to save the human lives that are left. Will you join us?” I silently nod my head yes, still cynical of the possibility of this being another alien trick.
He motions for me to follow him. I’m led to a large control room, where at least 50 others are. I can’t believe that there are so many humans left; the last one I ever saw alive was a small girl 13 years ago- just weeks after the explosions. Their existence; this is all just so unbelievable. Just the sight of these humans is enough to give me hope where I thought hope had no more business being. This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.
I don’t care anymore- if these humans are just apparitions in disguise then they are more devilish monsters than I thought, but this is the first time I’ve ever thought that my dream of running towards revolution rather than a future death is possible. The first time since I’ve become totally alone for what I thought would be forever.
Epilogue:
I have discovered that I wasn’t just lucky that they rescued me through the teleporter- I’m actually someone special. Us humans needed a leader so that we can finally attack the ones that have attacked so many of our own. They had been keeping a close watch on me, waiting for the right moment to teleport me to send a message to the aliens. I’m the one who is now behind the plans for our attack on them. This attack, I’ve decided, will start with just a mere 8 words: Companionship is hope and hope is our strength.
JMMS Talent Showcase: Stick Dude Catches a Pokemon
JMMS Talent Showcase
Jmms talent showcase
jmms talent showcase
jmms talent showcase
Girls basketball teams work hard for successful season
by Chloe Zackary and Abby Moore
Basketball can be a fun and entertaining sport to watch or play! Many people enjoy this sport. Let's take a look at the girl's basketball teams at the Jackson Middle School.
Some of the teachers at JMMS are also basketball coaches. The coaches of the basketball teams at the middle school are Mrs. Cheyney and Miss Casserlie. There are also two at the high school, Mr. Holecko and Mr. Crossman.
Miss Casserlie is our seventh-grade purple team coach. She said her practices are about an hour and a half long and are usually about 7 or 8 out of 10 based on how difficult they are. When tournaments come around she likes to make practices a bit harder but not too hard so they do not put too much stress on the girls' minds or bodies.
The team's favorite drills include rebounding drills and under-the-basket work. They love playing Scarecrow Tiggy and Home Run Free throws. Their game days usually vary depending on the circumstances. Their game record is 6-7.
Miss Casserlie said the girls are hard-workers, fun and positive role models and she loved getting to know such awesome girls.
Mr.Crossman is our eighth-grade girl's purple team coach. He said their practices are about an hour and a half long. The intensity of each practice is about 9 or 10 out of 10 and varies depending on the day. Some of his favorite drills are Foot in the Paint, Marshall Shooting and rebounding. To practice they do scrimmages with the other eighth grade team coached by Mr. Holecko. Their current score is 12-1 and will be in the Federal League Tournament. He had also played basketball throughout high school.
Mrs. Cheyney is our seventh-grade girl's gold team coach. She said their practices are typically a hour and a half long. They can have games any day from Monday through Thursday and sometimes even Saturday.
"These girls work very hard at practice day in and day out," Mrs. Cheyney said. "At the beginning of the year I am sure some girls would say the difficulty of our practice was closer to a 10, but as the season is coming to an end they now know what to expect each day. They show up ready to work hard, and their hard work is paying off."
Mrs. Cheyney said she likes to make all her drills a competition of some sort. She also said she likes to work on the fundamentals including dribbling, passing, shooting and defensive footwork. She said they play against the seventh-grade girl's gold team to practice.
Lydia Umlauf is a member of the eighth-grade gold basketball team. She is a shooting guard on the team. She said her team works very well together and love playing basketball with each other. She loves everything about basketball and her team as well. Her inspiration to play was her brother who was also a basketball player. She always wanted to play so she could be just like her brother. She has been playing basketball for about seven years. She hopes to continue to play basketball as she goes into high school.
Kendall Santelle is a member of the seventh grade purple basketball team. She said her team works great together, and she gets along with all the girls on her team. Kendall is a forward on the team. Her favorite thing about basketball is making shots. Her inspiration to play is just seeing how fun the game is. She has played the sport for four years.
Athletic Notes
by Mr. Michel
Below are the records of our winter sports teams. Congratulations on an amazing season!
Wrestling
- 18-4 record.
- 3rd Place in Federal League
Cheerleading
- Received 1st place in Game Day Performance at Ashland Camp and Green High School Cheer Competition
7th Grade Girls Purple Basketball
- Coach: Shannon Casserlie
- Record 6-7
- Lost in Federal League Semi-final
7th Grade Girls Gold Basketball
- Coach: Laura Cheyney
- Record 9-6 (7-6 in the Federal League 9-6 overall)
- Lost in Federal League Quarter-Final
7th Grade Boys Purple Basketball
- Record 9-9
- Lost in Federal League Quarter-Final
7th Grade Boys Gold Basketball
- Coach: Evan Elliott
- Record: 15-3
- Lost in Federal League Semi-final
8th Grade Girls Purple Basketball
- Coach: Rich Crossman
- Record 13-2
- Lost in Federal League Semi-final
8th Grade Girls Gold Basketball
- Coach: Matt Holecko
- Record 9-5
- Lost in Federal League Quarter-Final
8th Grade Boys Purple Basketball:
- (Did not report results to Cub's Column.)
8th Grade Boys Gold Basketball
- Coach: Michael Coon
- Record 15-3
- Lost in Federal League Semi-Final
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Cub's Column
Email: atr2jc@jackson.sparcc.org
Website: tiny.cc/cubscolumn
Location: Jackson Memorial Middle School, Mudbrook Street Northwest, Massillon, OH, United States
Phone: (330) 830-8034