Where is study hall?

By Brittany Miller

Sixteen year old Alexandria Rodgers walked into her first hour study hall at school. She expected it to be quiet and a good place for her to finally be able to finish her eighth hour’s homework. However, when she opened the door she saw something completely different.

“Study hall was a class that basically was gossip hour or a way to catch up on last night’s party that you might have missed. I was shocked when I walked into the door of study hall for the first time because I could not find anyone studying,” Rodgers, a sophomore at Pulaski High School, claims.

Study halls have been canceled out of many schools due to the fact that nobody ever studies in them. Instead, people talked the whole hour, never did any work, and many altercations came from this so called “gossip hour”.

“I hate looking down at my schedule every semester to see the words ‘study hall’ on it because what those words are really saying to me is, ‘Josh, get ready to get into a whirl of trouble and fail all your classes’. I try to get it switched immediately because I know I am not going to do any work, which will bring my grades down.” These are the words of Joshua Camry, a junior at Pulaski High School.

Many schools like Pulaski High School and Messmer have canceled study hall as a class since many students abuse the privilege. This is good for students like Camry but bad for the ones who desperately need a study hour and would use it appropriately.

“When I first came to Messmer I prayed that I had a study hall on my schedule. When I did not I went to my guidance counselor and told her that I desperately needed it and that is when I found out that there was not a study hall at Messmer. This effected me badly because I was so used to having it at my previous school to catch up on missing assignments or do a classes homework before it is time to go to that class.” Junior Charles Sutton is one of those who would have used it wisely. Unfortunately, Many students just like Sutton have suffered from their not being a study hall at schools. Although this is true, not all high schools’ study halls are this bad. “I go to Milwaukee Lutheran High and there when it says study hall that is all that is being done, studying. There is no talking, no eating or sleeping. Only work is able to be done in that class,” states fifteen year old freshman Stephanie Moore.

A study hall is what you as a student makes of it. It is up to the student’s behavior and increase or decrease in grades whether or not it stays around. At the end of the day a study hall, believe it or not, can make or break students’ grades if not taken seriously. Therefore, if you have a study hall as a class, please do not mess up the privilege for underclassmen, do your work!

Picture of the week - Irony

Mr. Mark Ketterhagen loves Ohio State Buckeye football. He actually is rather crazy about it! So you can imagine his surprise when this banner showed up in his doorway yesterday! Welcome back to school Mr. K!

Two things Messmer doesn't have: Block schedules and year round school

There are different types of scheduling within the nation’s different school systems. A majority are 10-month school years, and some schools are year-round schools. It may sound like too much school, but it actually means these type of school are given longer breaks but are in school over 12 months as opposed to 10 months. There are also scheduling called block scheduling. These types allow students to experience different classes on different days. What do students prefer in terms of the structure of their days and school year?

Going to a school that has block scheduling is better because “We spend more time learning the subject thoroughly and actually understand the lessons,” says Derrion Brown, a senior at Pius High School. He thinks that having a block scheduling is better than going to an all year-round school and includes that the block scheduling gives you the opportunity to ask questions and really get to know your peers better.

On the other hand Messmer senior Brittany Miller claims, “It is much better for me not to have a block schedule because my attention span is low and I get bored hearing about the same thing for more than an hour.” She goes on to include that having a block schedule means that you only have about three classes a day which is more stationary than being able to move around during the day instead of staying in three rooms all day.

Many people think that going to an all year round school means more school days than other schools. In reality, a year round school has more time off then a regular school. Destiny Eison, an 8th graded at Greenfield Middle School says that from her experience at a year round school she ended up liking it because they get more days off than regular school. She also adds that getting more days off she gets more to do homework.

Junior Charles Sutton has his own thoughts. Before he came here he went to a block scheduling school. “I would rather go to an block schedule because you learn more if you are in the class for more than 45 minutes.”

Overall, many schools have different routines and schedules to fit their student bodies. They pick what schedule that best fits for them.

Going Green

By Sable Harris

In this century the world has tried its best to stress the importance of recycling. “Going green” is the catch phrase, and it is hopefully not just a trend but a movement that will be around for a long time.

Television, radio, and all type of communication keeps informing the world about global warming and keeping the environment clean, but how many people actually take the time to listen to what they are saying? Freshman Jasmine Lowe does.

“My mom is really big on recycling and she hates seeing broken glass and bottles in the street, so she makes us clean it up and put them in recycling bins sometimes I hate ding it, but I look at it as I am helping my great grandchild.”

Lowe does not just recycle because her mom tells her to; Jasmine feels that it is good for the world to have a clean air, because there is too much population and harmful tings that keeps her away from the thins that she wants to do.

Many people who feel the same way that Jasmine does take sophomore Jesse Saphonphakdee for example knows that recycling and global warming is more then just saving the trees; his recycling goes deeper than that.

“I recycle because it saves me a little money. Many people don’t understand that recycling can go a little deeper than putting bottles in recycling bin. I recycle the paper I have. If I have paper that is wrinkled or has something wrote on it I will use it and get another assignment out of it, I mean, why waste money on paper when I can get something more valuable?”

Unfortunately, there are people who don’t recycle or that try to do their best but it’s not a top priority. Freshman Dazzire Hale thinks that recycling is good, but sometimes she just forgets.

“I don’t recycle, because it is not my top priority right now, and it kind of slips my mind. I want to but it’s not something that I can just do,” says Hale.

Global warming and recycling is really important and to get more involved contact Mr. Gottschalk in Admissions or any of the teachers and students involved in Messmer’s Green Team.

Talk It Up With The Foursquare!

Welcome to The Foursquare Advice column where you are free to explain or discuss your issues, and it only kept between us!
We are here to help you with any possible issue you have in lifetime to make things go smooth for you. For security issues it is best to include an false identification rather than your real identification, but please tell your actual grade level. To get advice from about your issue send a email to tlkitup@yahoo.com

Messmer Journalism Staff Makes Things Happen

Lefties

By Germika Sanders, Junior

It appears that our presidential elect Barak Obama and his former competitor, John McCain
disagree on a lot of issues, but they can not deny that they have one thing in common: they are both left-handed.

For thousands of years evil and even the devil have been associated with the left hand. Now in the twenty-first
century, we know that lefthanders have adapted to the right-hand world whether it is fair for them to “change” or not. Many centuries ago, being left-handed meant you were cursed which is very superstitious. Those with certain religious affiliations often thought the devil baptized his followers by making them left-handed. In Eastern countries,
citizens believed that left-handed people were inferior.

In some cultures, they were looked upon with awe and viewed as goddesses. Today we know that these “southpaws” are ordinary just like the rest of us. Unfortunately, we live in a world that caters to the right-handed. There are some disadvantages for not being able to write with your right hand.

“I really can’t stand writing in spiral notebooks because they hurt my hand,” exclaims an anonymous left-handed junior. This person also explained that it’s difficult writing next to a right-handed person because their elbows tend to collide. This could cause distractions and irritations for the students during classes not to mention left-handed individuals tend to have trouble with ink pens because their hand smudges the ink.


According to Mr. Chad Griesel, left-handers have a shorter life span than those who write with their right hand. A school-wide survey revealed 80% of students are right-handed. Those who are did not have a problem with being this way. “I’ve trained myself to learn how to write in right-hand notebooks,” stated junior Brianne Jarrett. There are solutions for those lefties who do not like taking notes in right-hand notebooks, but there is a catch. Many new products out there exist for those who write with their left hands.

There are products such as left-handed spiral notebooks, keyboards, scissors and even left-handed mugs. The unfortunate thing about these left-handed items is that they are expensive and hard to find. The average cost of a left-handed notebook
is $4.25 with a typical notebook from Wal-Mart ranging from $0.10 to $3.00. Why should lefties be charged for writing with a less “popular” hand?

Mary Cauler, a woman who owns a left-handed store in Pennsylvania, claims her left-handed items are high because not many lefties purchase left-hand items and they are not manufactured as much as right-handed items. We all know that left-handed individuals should be treated like everyone else. Unfortunately they have more disadvantages not because of the fact they are left-handed but through how society views them. However, when it’s all said and done, everyone will still think that we are living in a right-handed world.


Fun Fact: Where did “south paw” come from?

It was originally a boxing term, and since the majority of boxers were right-handed, when you fought a lefty they would stand the same way but their punch would come out of nowhere or "the south."

In baseball, left-handed pitchers face south when facing thebatter.

Honor Roll

GREAT NEWS!
There are 215 students on the honor roll for the first quarter, 62 of whom are on the ‘A’ honor roll! This represents 33% of our student body being on the honor roll. Our attendance rate for the first quarter was 95.9%. These statistics are testimony to the outstanding work of the faculty and staff. GREAT JOB EVERYONE!

Drop and Give Me 50

By Danielle Eastern

Arriving at the door of the gymnasium, Ms. Bretch and Mr. Armitage were planted, holding two clipboards in hand. Their positions helped paint a scene of two bouncers on the outside of a nightclub monitoring the VIP list before granting, those in line, entrance inside.

Conditioning began promptly at 3:15 p.m., but there were well over 40 athletes inside the gym before that time. The gym was nearly silent; only the sound of Ms. Bretch and the untangling of jump ropes could be heard. Both female and male athletes broke off into groups, obviously separated by age, because the distinction in behavior was apparent. Deon Wright, Varsity shooting guard, came into the gymnasium and immediately secluded himself. As he sat- elbows to his knees-on the outskirts of the center basketball court, he prepared himself for today’s battle of endurance.

The bell rings…

Every athlete in the gym began to line up beside the bleachers. “Line Up means HUSSLE and give me those laps,” yells Freshman Coach Stinman.

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.