Conversations with Cooper

Recently students at Moooreville High School competed in the Science Olympiad. Students competed in many competitions and were able to place very well in all the competitions. I sat down with Mooreville’s Amy Hagood and Jennifer Gray, supporters and sponsors, to talk about the competition and overall experience of being able to compete against so many other schools. In total ten students competed in the first competition, and all were able to advance forward to the second. There is a national competition which our group was able to advance to but won’t be able to compete due to the competition conflicting with this year’s graduation ceremony. When speaking to Mrs. Hagood and Mrs. Gray, we spoke about the challenges the group faced. Student Tommy Towery brought the idea of competing in the competition to Mrs. Gray, and together they decided it would be a great opportunity for the students. Since it was so late in the year when the idea was brought forth they didn’t really have any time to properly prepare. Once it was decided that they would most definitely be competing in the upcoming competitions, students were very hands on in the process of getting everything ready for the competitions. They put together countless projects and were able to get the necessities together in time to compete. While competing, they didn’t face many difficulties other than projects failing at the last minute or trying to stay calm while not knowing what to expect from the competition. 

Other than the few difficulties the whole competition was truly a fun experience. When speaking to Mrs. Hagood and Mrs. Gray I asked what their favorite part of the experience was. “It was great to be able to be there with other adults and watch the students get to experience something like this.” They also told me about the laughs they shared while watching the students compete. We also spoke about how they felt the students felt about the experience. “Students loved being able to be involved and hands-on in the entire experience. The whole time they were there was spent running around getting to watch or compete in so many different things. They also got to spend time with their peers who were there and just got to enjoy the experience all together.” In all they both believe that the overall best thing for them and the students was being able to compete against students in bigger more advanced schools then they were. Being able to prove to themselves and other students around them that they belonged there and that they were capable of winning. Even though our students were not as prepared as the other schools they were able to place in many of the events such as: Wifi Lab -1st place, Trajectory – 1st place, Scrambler – 2nd place, Write it do it – 2nd place, Solar power – 3rd place. 

They faced other difficulties other than just the competition though. They faced the difficulty of not really having the funds needed for the competition. They plan, if they continue to compete, to hopefully have better funding by means of fundraising. While we were speaking the topic of future competitions did arise. Currently they are not sure if the school will continue competing in years to come. There are many factors weighing on the decision to continue to compete. They have to see if there will be dedicated students willing to compete in the competitions. Students have to be willing to be completely dedicated to preparing for the competition months in advance. There would also have to be a lot of fundraising done in order to be able to make it to the competitions but also students may have to realize that additional funding may fall on them to cover.  If they do decide to compete they would have to make sure competitors knew in advance what they were competing in so that they could be preparing for it in time.

Staff Writer, Ava Vanlandingham

The Special Olympics at Mooreville is for students that have different abilities or disabilities that others do not have. These kids are not like everyone else, so they are often not able to play in traditional high school sports. The Special Olympics gives them opportunities to shine in ways that traditional sports might not allow.  Some of the sports/games that they get to participate in at the Special Olympics are running, tennis ball throw, softball throw, running long jump, standing long jump, bocce, cornhole, as well as practicing skills related to soccer, softball, basketball, and many more other games/sports. On March 24th, Mooreville students participated in the Area 11 Special Olympics at Tupelo High School. The kids got to do many games/sports at the Special Olympics and several members of the Untified Club were able to come and help the kids compete in games and sports. At Mooreville we had two 4 x 100 unified relay teams and         we had some of the Untified Club members running and helping the kids out. They had a great time and the kids had so much fun! As a result of their performance at the local games, the following students have qualified to continue their competition at the state level in Biloxi in May: Todd Simmons, Libby Cheney, Jay Wells, Aaron Martin, and Aniya McGaughy.  One of our relay teams also qualified, which includes Unified Club members, Lilly Williams and Ali May. Good luck to all of these athletes and partners as they compete over Mother’s Day weekend. 

One of my favorite things during the Christmas holiday is getting together and playing games and eating. It is always good to get with the family, eat,  and catch up with one another. We always play games that everyone can participate in. One game that we play so everyone can play is heads up, another one, the speak out game. I like the Speak Out game the most because it is so funny seeing everyone getting rowdy up and trying to guess what they are saying with the mouthpiece in. This is why this is my favorite tradition because we are all together at one time and able to catch up with one another and have fun at the same time. 

–Staff Writer, Rock Cummings

New family Christmas traditions are one of the biggest things when it comes to starting a family. I have thought long and hard about what I would like to do with my family and the answer is clear. I would take my family camping in a national park. We would spend a week or two, just us and nature–a  small vacation disconnected from the outside world. Just us, some food, and a couple of tents, just hoping we don’t freeze to death, growing together as a family since we’d be the only ones we could talk to. Now, of course, we would spend the holidays after camping with my parents and family. For the first part of the holidays I would want to camp though and teach my kids the joys of nature and how we should be appreciative of what the earth has given us. Being isolated would help my family grow closer and be more thankful for each other, just another way to help the kids become humbled for who and what they have instead of obsessing over what clothes or toys the other kids have at school. After all this I would go broke spoiling them with various gifts I had bought them.

–Staff Writer, Max Ray

My Christmas Traditions

Every family has their own traditions, like going to a cousin’s house and celebrating Christmas together, staying home and watching Christmas movies all day, or going out and volunteering. Whatever the case may be, each family has their own traditions for Christmas. My family, we have a few traditions that we do during the holiday season. The traditions we do during Christmas Eve are my favorite. 

 After I come home from my dad’s house on Christmas Eve, my aunt, my brother, and I will bake cookies. Then my family will gather together to eat and my aunt Kathy will hide the Christmas pickle, and whoever finds the pickle first gets to open a family gift that’s usually filled with pajamas for everyone and snacks. We then (if weather permits) start a fire and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. After the movie my brother and I go have a sleepover in our aunt Kathy’s bedroom. Usually either my brother or I get up at like three or four in the morning and sneak a look at the gifts Santa brought then head back to sleep. Until we get up again at like five or six to open presents with our family. It is so much fun and I cannot wait until Christmas Eve! 

-Staff writer, Leigh Strickland

Christmas Tradition 

When people ask what my favorite Christmas tradition is, it is hard to choose! This time of year is my favorite because we gather with all of my family and it is just a joyful time. My favorite tradition would have to be the big breakfast we make on Christmas morning before we open presents. As my sister and I got older I was worried that Christmas just would not be the same anymore, but that is in fact not true. My parents wake up early in the morning to cook a big breakfast with all of our favorites. As soon as we are done eating we head to the living room to start opening up all the presents. After a while, my grandparents come over to eat and look at all of our stuff. I know that no matter how old we get, Christmas morning will always be my favorite morning of the year. Everyone is joyful and our family gets together even in the midst of all of our busy schedules. I hope to carry on the tradition of a big Christmas morning breakfast with my family one day. 

Staff Writer: Carley Sullivan 

Christmas Eve at Grandma’s

  Every year on Christmas Eve my entire family would go to my Grandmother’s house and eat dinner there. It was a time for our family to gather and spend time together. All of the troubles that had been going on throughout the year seemed to melt away as the family gathered around and spent the night laughing and talking with one another. Most of the older kids which consisted of me, my brother and my two cousins were the real trouble makers, we were always running around and getting into something. We would spend most of our time, even if it was freezing, outside in the tree line, even though we were most definitely not supposed to be, laughing, joking and just being kids. THis time with family is something I cherish and still look forward to today. 

After everyone had eaten and spent most of the day and night with the family we would all gather around my Grandmother’s giant Christmas tree and we would open the two gifts she had gotten us. We would always receive some type of toy or happy as she would call it, then a suit of either night clothes to wear at home or nice dress clothes. As kids we would immediately jump to open our toys and being my Grandmother she had always had a stash of batteries for whatever our toys needed. We would then spend the rest of the night laughing with our family and just hanging around until it was time to leave. After changing into pajamas we would head home. As kids we would always search the sky in hopes of catching a glimpse of “Santa Clause” but it would always end with my dad carrying each of us into the house tucking us in saying, “You better get some sleep or Santa won’t come.”

–Staff Writer, Ava Vanlandingham

One thing that I hold special to me is the time I would spend with my grandmother cooking. One thing that we would do around the holidays is that she would come to the house and spend every second in the kitchen making her homemade Chicken and Dumplings. We would spend hours sitting in the kitchen laughing while we cooked and told each other anything and everything that was our lives. From an early age my grandmother had had me in the kitchen with her. Ever since she passed, making this with my other grandmother whenever possible has become a big thing for us. My grandmother’s recipes have become a big staple especially around Thanksgiving because it’s our way of keeping her memory alive. My grandmother was my best friend and someone I enjoyed spending time with. We would cook this recipe together around this time and sit around with family laughing and joking together. 

Spoon Drop Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients needed 

• Chicken (2-4 boned breasts) 
• Salted or unsalted butter
• All purpose flour
• MIlk or water
• Chicken broth (If needed) 
• Seasoning of your choice (salt and pepper recommended) 

Steps 

Start by adding your chicken to a large pot of water, butter, and the seasoning you have chosen and bring to a boil until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is fully cooked, bring from the pot but do not drain the broth in the pot and save for later. Once chicken is cooled pull from the bone and add back into the broth but set aside for the moment. In a mixing bowl add equal parts of all purpose flour and water/milk (whichever you wanna use) stir until you have a dough like consistency adding milk or flour as needed. Bring your chicken to a boil in the broth from when you cooked the chicken, you may need to add broth if necessary, slowly by spoon add in your dumplings careful not to let your pot over run. Add the dumpling dough until you have the desired amount and let come to a boil until fully cooked through. Once finished, remove from the stove and serve. Add extra seasonings as desired. 

Mrs. Comer has been at Mooreville for 2 years now and has been teaching in the classroom for 21 years. The first person that inspired her to become a teacher was her grandmother, who loved education even though she dropped out of high school to take care of her family.  She still loved education and went back for her GED at 77 years old! The English teachers from her alma mater Hatley High School inspired her, also.

 Mrs. Comer started her teaching education at ICC for two years, completed her degree at Blue Mountain College, and graduated in 2001. Mrs Comer says that the kids are the best thing about teaching even though they can drive her crazy sometimes! I asked Mrs. Comer what her favorite grade to teach and she stated, “Probably 8th grade. I still get the opportunity to see them grow up and then graduate and keep up with them through the school system.  I love teaching seniors, but I only get to know them a short time before they are gone, and that makes me sad, not to be able to watch them grow up through these halls.”  

–Staff Writer Rock Cummings 

Every year we start off the month of November with our Turkey Teacher Fundraiser. The funds raised are used to buy Christmas gifts for some of our fellow Troopers and also to add to the benevolent fund, money used for gifts during times of tragedy like a death in the family, house fire, etc.

Besides the goodies that teachers will be selling in their rooms between 8:00-10:30 during the week, we also have some big ticket food items that will be sold from Mrs. Tucker’s room on Mondays and Fridays. Check out the schedule below and start bringing some cash.

Menu

Monday, October 31st- BBQ Nachos

Friday, November 4th- Walking Tacos

Monday, November 7th- Chicken and Chips

Friday, November 11th(or 10th)- Pizza

Monday, November 14th- BBQ Nachos

Wednesday, November 16th- Walking Tacos

The seniors in MHS are finally graduating! I interviewed Mrs.Bond to know more details about what will happen. They will graduate on May 20, 2022. The ceremony will be held in the MHS football field. Mrs.Bond recommends that family members arrive an hour early for a good seat.  I asked Mrs.Bond if she knew approximately how many of them would go to college, to which she answered, “I actually will take a survey in May to see where the Seniors want their transcript to be sent, and I’ll get a final number then. That’s normally done at Graduation practice.” The ceremony will last close to an hour, as 106 students are graduating. I also asked her if anything else is happening afterwards, Mrs.Bond said, “Once the ceremony is done, seniors will have to go pick up their diplomas from their homeroom teachers. The staff will break down the ceremony stage, clean up, and then we can all go home! The seniors normally do their own thing after the ceremony, but it’s not school-related. I hope we can all rest for the remainder of the weekend while the seniors live their best celebrating a huge milestone in their lives!” Congratulations to all the seniors!!

Staff writer, Lexis Millan

Do you think phones should be banned from school campuses? There are many mixed emotions as to whether phones should be banned. Well I have interviewed all the teachers at MHS about their thoughts about phones on school campuses. Many had mixed emotions and were really clueless and had to think about it before answering. Most of the teachers here do want them banned for educational reasons.  In my opinion I do not think phones should be banned, but I do see why some teachers are wanting them banned from school.

Most of the teachers at MHS want phones banned and I do see why. The reason is phones are causing a distraction to learning and causing distraction to others that are trying to learn, people cheat on classwork, students also cheat on test with phones, students are bullying each other over social media, students are videoing fights, and, finally, parents are texting and calling their kids during the school day and expecting them to answer. The teachers are not wrong. Students are using their phones way too much on campus and using them inappropriately. But the teachers say that they are  a good educational resource if the students are using them the properway. If the computers are down then phones would be a very useful resource because  they are able to use their phones to research for projects, do classwork, look up words that are unfamiliar to them, etc. Some teachers have said that 9th graders phones should be banned from school because they are immature for a phone. 

The results of the survey showed thatabout 40 percent of the teachers do not think phones should be banned from school. Principal Adam Lindsey states, “ I get where teachers are wanting them banned because of cheating, bullying, etc, but we are grown adults and teenagers that should use our phones responsibly.” Teachers are not wanting them banned because of emergencies. Students need a way to communicate with parents, family, and friends during the school day. But, they should be put out of sight when the teacher is up teaching. Teachers are saying that they should not be banned because cell phones are now part of life, but there should be rules to minimize distraction with the phones. Such as, students should turn their phone off and put it in a basket in the front of the room. 

To conclude, most teachers think that phones should be banned from school. The teachers are also saying if they are banned each student should have their own personal computer provided by the school. All in all 17 teachers say, yes we need to ban them and 15 say no we do not need to ban them.

Staff writer: Rock Cummings

I have asked our school assistant principal what kinds of things are done to the school while we are not present. For example, what projects are done, will the rest of the parking lot be paved, will the K building bathrooms possibly be renovated; Just simple things that may change or improve as we are not present. Mr. Long, our assistant principal, says last summer they just tidied up the school a bit. He says, “Summer is actually our busiest time here at the high school.” Mr. Long adds that last summer they painted teacher rooms, moved some teachers rooms around and got them situated. They also installed new ceiling tiles in the K building last summer. He says if there’s not a big project, it’s just the “same ole same ole” during summer. So from his perspective summer time is just getting everything ready and prepared for our staff and students to be back and comfortable when starting the new year. 

Staff Member, Lexie Miller