Photo of the Week - 3

Quarantine: Think again

By Sable Harris

Once again that time of the year has come for the spooky, scary movies. Maybe you should second-guess your decision on what or what not to see in the theaters!

The 2008 thriller Quarantine may sound chilling, but it is just another New Zealand remake. The film takes place in a cordoned off apartment building. As reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) shadows two fire men Jack (Jay Hernandez) and George (Jonathon Sehaech) as they are called into duty to this barricaded apartment building. Angela soon sees that being a firefighter isn’t just a walk up the ladder.

As the tenants, Vidal, and the fire department are all confined to the apartment by the government, the quarantined victims begin to go crazy and attack the healthy victims. They are attacked one by one by the quarantined apartment tenants.
This film is overwhelmed with action, and it begins to get a little bit boring. The constant attacks and containment in the apartment begins to get repetitive I give the movies two and a half squares.

"Secret Life of Bees"

By Germika Sanders

There are many different ways you can go about understanding the life of a lost soul. "The Secret Life of Bees" illustrates this by following a motherless child named Lilly (Dakota Fanning) and a housekeeper named Rosalynn (Jennifer Hudson) who escape from their small town in hopes of finding out who Lilly’s mom really was.
   

In the process of their journey they came across a magenta two-story house that belonged to three virtuous, kind-hearted and hardworking women.  Their names were August (Queen Latifah), June (Alicia Keys), and May (Sophie Okonedo). These women owned a honey business, which for some reason made Lilly believe she was in the right place for all her questions to be answered. The young and now blessed Lilly starts to realize who her mother was and what she was about. In addition, she experiences the dream life provided by her three guardian angles.
    

This movie by far deserves four squares. It have mystery, drama, emotional suspense and a little humor.


I personally recommend all people especially woman to go see this inspiring movie produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.



Senior night for volleyball

By Jon Sykes

The Messmer Lady Bishops' Volleyball Team took a tough loss on senior night Tuesday evening against Brookfield Academy. This was their last game of the regular season.

In the beginning of the game they kept the first match close and went down to the wire before losing 25-20. In the next two matches Brookfield Academy took control of the game winning the second match 25-13 and the third 19-25. The Lady Bishops showed great effort on their last stand in the game but ended up losing the fourth one 15-10.

Before the game, Senior Thomasha Ivy-Patterson spoke about how the team and how the season went so far.

“I am extremely pleased with our volleyball season. It has been a great experience to be involved in this sport for the past four years.”

Six seniors were presented before the game to be honored for their hard work and the last regular season they will play at home for volleyball.

Going into the playoffs the volleyball team knows what it takes to make it far into the playoffs.
The Lady Bishops next game is Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at home against St. Francis during first-round regionals.

Spirit week full of color and pride

Pep Rally Magic: Bretsch and Hauser

Messmer student in Thailand

10-17-2008

Monthly Update by Michael Werkmeister

Hello Messmer! I’m writing from Cantabria, Thailand. It is on the southeast coast of the country. It is so straight here; I’m like 10 minutes from the beach, and it is hot all day everyday.

Thailand is nothing like the States. Before I came I had no idea what to expect, and any thoughts I may have had are nothing like what it really is. I was told I’m going to a small city, but it is a city of about 400,000!

My school has about 4,000 students, and it is made up of several buildings. It is so cool at school though; instead of “Whiteboy” they call me “Farang” which means “foreigner” or “Westerner” in Thai. School is pretty crazy; I feel like a celebrity because everyone always wants to talk to me and practice their English. The thing is most need A LOT more practice, which makes it very hard to communicate.

I’m taking Thai lessons everyday at school, so I’m starting to be able to speak the language and to also read and write which is pretty cool. My school is so big and has so much to do -- I love it. I asked about the basketball team, and they said to show up Wednesday. On Wednesday I was there, and it turns out it was a game. They let me play and we won 76-24. Ha-ha! Our team is one of the best in the province. There was a big tourney this week, but I couldn’t play because I have not been here for 6 months, much like that bogus WIAA transfer rule. Anyway, I have still been playing half-court at the park. Some Thai people can hoop, but only a few. They sure don’t BALL like we do! So, I’m like one of the best; they just CAN’T STOP ME … I’ve also been playing full courts at the stadium, which is much more competitive, but … THEY STILL CAN'T HOLD ME ... ha-ha!

As for my host family, they are very nice. It is great because my host dad is a dentist, and in Thailand dentists are pretty well off, so my house is decent. Also, my mom speaks very good English, which is quite lucky considering some exchange students have families that speak only Thai.

I’ve been traveling around as much as I can on the weekend so that I can see a bunch of sweet places in Thailand. It is nice because my city is about two hours away from Bangkok. BANGKOK is a crazy place: there are so many people everywhere, but there’s a lot going on for sure, so it is really fun. I was there last weekend, and I bought a new guitar, which is so nice. Now I can’t stop playing it. Also, the price exchange here is AMAZING. One U.S. dollar is the same as 35 baht, and when I go out to eat most places its like 20-30 baht for a full meal. Everything here is just so cheap; I find myself spending so much money, but then I really look at it and see that it is only a couple of dollars.

THE FOOD!! AROI MAK!! (Very Delicious) it is so good. Almost everyone in Thailand has a maid including my family. Our maid is very nice and anytime she sees me sitting down even if I just ate she will bring me a full plate of food or something. Even when I’m so full I cannot help but eat it all because it is so good!

I don’t know what else to say, but everything’s GREAT over here. I hope all is well back at MESSMER.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME!
Peace –
Michael Werkmeister

Photo of the Week - 2

Soccer fans attend the game on October 16th against St. John's Military Academy. The team won their last home game 4-1. Congratulations!

Photo of the Week

By Jowanda Wilder

Guitar club

By Devon Buscon

Head, neck, body, and bridge. These are not only the parts of the human body, but they are the parts of a guitar.

Band and choir director Mr. Greg Flattery has started a guitar club this year and is welcoming g all interested students to join in. He started the guitar club because of the interest a few students showed last year. He is willing to take all levels of players including those with no experience.

Having a guitar of your own is not a requirement to be a participant, but it is a good idea and helpful if you have one. Flattery said that he will try to get more guitars if there is a greater demand for them, so if you want to be a part of this musical group, sign up.

The school currently has three guitars that can be played and has three members. The guitar club normally meets Thursdays in the auditorium between 3:15 until about 4:30 after school.

Electric and acoustic are a few of the styles that you can try out should you choose to join. So this club is for you if you want to learn how to play heavier songs or just dabble in the lighter side of things.

Pilgrimage to Assisi coming up

By Sable Harris

When the word pilgrimage is mentioned, Malcolm X may come to mind, but there is probably a lot of confusion as to what the term really means. There maybe a basic understanding, but what exactly is a pilgrimage? Basically, it is a journey, and most likely a long one made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion. In December 25 Messmer students will have the opportunity to come up with their own interpretation of “pilgrimage”.

Senior Joseph Ferch, one of the students in the Franciscan Values class, which will culminate in the pilgrimage to Assisi in Italy is ecstatic about this opportunity to do more meaningful travel.

“I have already been to Africa, Japan, and Portugal, [so] Italy will be another to add to my travels,” states Ferch. The class will be following the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clara of Assisi. Both of them have impacted the Catholic Church and the Messmer family.

The class has impacted Junior Kayla Wilder as well. “I get so much positive feed back from my classmates, and we feel a great bond between each other because we have all connected spiritually.”

The students will be making their pilgrimage over the Christmas and they will be reporting back about their experience.

Hispanic Heritage Month expands at Messmer

By Brianne Jarrett

The color of life, the sound of joy and happiness, and the aroma of the fresh, spicy food swirls around. However, there is much more to Hispanic Heritage Month which runs from September 15th-October 15th. It’s not just about the fresh salsa, stir-fried beef, the music, or dancing.

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the independence and cultural tradition of five different countries including Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. Because the celebration is so meaningful, Messmer incorporates aspects of the traditions into the typical school day. The students enjoy when it’s here.

Junior, Yasmin Sanchez talks about the Hispanic Month stating, “I’m glad that we have Hispanic Heritage Month at Messmer. It shows other students here more about the heritage.”

Mrs. Cristina Edgar, Mrs. Suzy Welsh, and Ms. Jennifer Wolske, foreign language teachers, plan exciting ideas for students to expand their knowledge of another morality culture of certain Messmer students.

“Hispanic Heritage is the contribution to our country and world”, says Wolske.

It was in 2005 when Messmer first brought Hispanic Heritage Month to the school. The celebration was not as developed as it is today, but it did show appreciation to the 15 or so Hispanic students because it proved that Messmer was striving to be a diverse school.

The first year there was only an assembly, but each of following years it has expanded. The whole point of starting this celebration was to change the stereotypes from others about a culture that is not a strictly American culture.

This year celebration will have much more exciting things to offer including an assembly, which will include Hispanic dancing and other factual information. There will also be Spanish masses, Hispanic food, and time in resource rooms to learn more by watching a movie.

The foreign language teachers have been planning field trips to make this celebration more interesting. On Friday, September 26th there was a virtual field trip in the Distance learning Lab about Con Suelo Samarripal, an award-winning storyteller.

Many students at Messmer celebrate at home as well. Junior Karla Romero celebrates it with her family. She celebrated this holiday in Mexico and when she moved to Milwaukee.

“My family celebrates it by going to a parade on the Southside, and in the schools of Mexico we used to make up a couple of dances,” states Romero.
Mrs. Welsh who happens to be half Mexican and Puritan recognizes the independence by getting together with her family and eating Peruvian food as well as going to the parade.

Even if you are not Hispanic, just being a part of this celebration helps us become more globally aware of things outside of our American culture. Plus, the Hispanics of our school would be appreciative on the acceptances of their culture. So just come and be a part of the celebration! “ Every year we learn something, and every year we get better!” concludes Welsh.

Cross country and football

Homecoming and Spirit Week

By Brittany Miller

Anticipation and anxiety fills the room every time the topics arise of homecoming and spirit week. Many wishful ideas float around Mr. Chad Griesel’s leadership class about what role each individual student would have if homecoming was approved.

“It doesn’t surprise me how excited my leadership class is with the thought of homecoming because there hasn’t been a successful one at Messmer since 2004!” states Mr. Griesel. Although this is true about homecoming, spirit week has been a lot more successful in coming into play at Messmer.

“We’ve had a spirit week at Messmer ever since I can remember”, stated senior Jasmine Douglas. People in the leadership class are just as equally excited about spirit week especially since it is more likely to happen. They have come up with numerous ideas for spirit week, but only a few made it through Mr. Griesel’s evaluation process. Included in this process are the pep rally, class color day, a tailgate party, and a school spirit day. Since none of these days have been officially approved by principal Mr. Jeff Monday, Griesel is accepting more ideas from outside people as well as his leadership class.

“While we are working to get spirit week and homecoming approved by Mr. Monday keep in mind what they both are truly about, promoting spirit among classes,” says Mr. Griesel.

As the date of possible approval approaches, the student body eagerly awaits the answer of Principal Monday.

(Go back on this blog's previous posts to find photos from last year's spirit week!)

Students connect with Eastern culture

By Melvin Coulter

Messmer High School hosts a variety of extra-curricular activities for its students varying from athletics to academics and everything in between.

An new and intriguing club for the 2008-2009 school year is the Japanese club created by Mr. Mark Ketterhagen. This is a club in which students are given the opportunity to learn about the different values and characteristics of the Japanese culture. “The clubs members become aware of a society foreign to ours,” said Ketterhagen.

Ketterhagen developed the idea for the club after spending over a year in Japan and becoming influenced by the society’s values. According to Ketterhagen, “Eastern culture is a near opposite to ours. Their society thinks together, collectively. They don't focus on individuality like we do.”

The Japanese club meets every other Tuesday after school to discus different objectives for the club and it’s members. Again this is the clubs first year being introduced to Messmer but probably not the last. Ketterhagen is optimistic about recruiting members. Flyers with different Japanese symbols and phrases are hanging throughout the building for recruitment tactics. Senior Melanie Estrada who was at the first meeting states, “the club is different, and that what makes me more interested in it.”

The next meeting is will be held on October 7th after school. Come enjoy some new language as well as some Japanese food, edamame!

Good things come in three!

By Germika Sanders

Not all good things come in pairs, they also come in trios!

The three musketeers, the three stooges, and now the three Dobraucs. Messmer's own Rachel Dobrauc is in fact a triplet with two other identical sisters named Mary and Joy. Although they all look alike physically, personality wise each one is quite different.


Rachel and her sisters are from Pittsburg, a small town in Kansas. Now the whole Dobrauc family lives in Omaha, Nebraska except for our Messmer teacher.

Growing up with two identical sisters didn't really thrill her as a child.
"I felt like I didn't have an identity," claims Rachel. She felt as if she and her sisters were always referred to as a group instead of individuals.

Each sister has very different character traits. Mary Dobrauc, who's now married and is Mary Cunard, is the reserved one out the bunch. Joy, on the other hand, is the spontaneous triplet. Rachel is the more outgoing outspoken one.

Although as children the sisters couldn't stand each other, as they grew older and went their seperate ways, their bond grew stronger. After graduating from high school Rachel attended Marquette University while the other two sisters attened Creighton University pursuing different dreams. Needless to say, "Ms Dobrauc" is an English/Mass Media teacher at Messmer High School. Joy works for a health care company in Omaha while Mary works at the University of Nebraska- Omaha.

As a child, sharing a birthday with two other sisters for Ms. Dobrauc meant limited presents!! Now grown, successful, and independent women, each sister misses celebrating October 26, with one another.