Welcome to our school newspaper presented by Mrs. Conway’s 5th period class. In this newspaper the people writing and coming up with the ideas are Carter Bradley, Aerin Burritt, Simon Castillo, Isaac Hernandez, Alizabeth Little, Jami Marinelarena, Mercedes Mata, Abby Nichols, Kaleb Padilla, Ryan Paiz, Connor Sales, Chandler Shillig, Bryce Spencer, Michaela Vargas, and Brittan Webb. These students have put their time and effort into this newspaper for you, and they really take pride in what they have accomplished. We’d really appreciate if you take time out of your day to read the stories we have written. Thank you for taking the time to read our newspaper.

SMS Tribune February/March 2014 Mrs. Conway’s 5th period class

About the Class

Guest Speaker Eric Cupp By: Kaleb Padilla and Bryce Spencer

Dr. Eric Cupp came to Sundown School on Monday, February 17. He talked to us about bullying and how

to stop it from happening. He told us some stories about bullying and how bad it can be. He showed us a

clip of the movie Facing the Giants and told us that we need to encourage each other and never put each other down no matter what. The last thing he said was to never lower your standards or try to change

anyone else into something they’re not.

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New Students By: Isaac Hernandez and Simon Castillo

Welcome to Sundown Middle School, Chris Sanchez. Chris comes to us from Levelland Middle School. He came to SMS to have a fresh start. Chris is very funny. His favorite movie is Next Friday. Chris’s favorite color is blue, and he also likes tamales. His favorite type of music is rap. Football is Chris’s favorite sport in which we look forward to him playing with us next year. His role model is Chris Rock because he is funny. Chris’s most prized possession is life because he likes to be free.

New Students By: Isaac Hernandez and Simon Castillo

Yaztlana Martinez moved to

Sundown junior high in 2014, and she goes by the name Lani. Lani is in the 6th grade. Lani has her birthday on May 27th, and her hobbies are hanging out with friends. Lani’s former school was Levelland TX. Lani came to Sundown because her parents have a house here. Lani’s favorite things are: The Song (a movie), lime green, Mexican Food, and Rap or Air One. Lani’s Role model is her mom because her mom gets her out of difficult situations, and her mom cares about her and her actions. Also, her other role model is her sister Yasmine because they stick together and help each other out. Lani’s most prized possession is her computer because she likes to check her social media apps daily. Lani is a very good person she has made a lot of new friends this year, and she is making good grades in school. Welcome Yasmine Martinez to SMS. Yasmine’s birthday is on March 10,

1999. Yasmine’s hobbies are running, playing volleyball, and texting her friends. Yasmine came from Levelland Middle School. She came to Sundown because her mother’s boyfriend lives here. Yasmine’s favorite movie is That’s My Boy. Her favorite color is purple; her favorite food is spaghetti, and her favorite music is Hip Hop, and Spanish. Yasmine’s role model is her mom because she is a loving, caring person. Her most prized possession is her phone because she loves to text her friends. Something nobody knows about her is when people talk a lot she gets mad.

Lani Chris

Yasmine was not available for a picture.

Mrs. Conway’s 5th period class

February 2014

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Joe Don Elam AKA Coach Elam

By: Abby Nichols

Joe Don Elam was born on March 21, 1964. He is the husband of Pamela and father of Jordan, Mason, and Collin. He has one granddaughter, Saylor, two years old. He has been teaching and coaching for 28 years, and 3 of those were at Sundown. He graduated from Whiteface High School. He graduated from SPC and Texas Tech where he got a Bachelor’s Degree in science with a major in biology. He is very into sports. He played basketball in college. As a coach, he led a basketball team to a state championship. He is currently teaching biology and coaching tennis, basketball, and track. This year, Coach Elam coached the middle school girl’s basketball teams. The eighth grade was undefeated in district and district champions. His favorite quote is “go to work.” He reminds us of that everyday as we go to athletics. When he has time, Coach Elam loves to play golf. His favorite kind of music is contemporary. If he could go anywhere, he’d go to Civil War sites. As Brittan Webb and everyone else who has met him says, “I love Coach Elam! He’s serious and gets the job done, but he knows how to have fun.” We love you, Coach Elam!

Men’s Sports By: Connor Sales and Ryan Paiz

Let’s start with the most disappointing topic of this paper, the Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks demolished the Denver Broncos (43-8).

The Sundown Roughnecks eight grade basketball team won their last game with a score of 41-29 against Tahoka. All other Sundown basketball teams won their games as well.

Track season has officially begun. The new season began on the fifth of February, and our first track meet is on the 18th in Plains. Unfortunately, there will be no field events for the first meet. There will be only running events such as relays, sprints, hurdles, and long distance running. The members running the 4x1 are Rock Thoms, Etan Posadas, Justin Torrez, and Isaac Hernandez. Running the 4x2 is Josh Garcia, Ryan Paiz, Connor Sales, and Isaias Samarron. The last of the relays is the 4x4, which consists of everyone in the 4x1. Other sports are coming up include golf and tennis.

February 2014 Mrs. Conway’s 5th period class

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A  Picture  Perfect  Win  By:    Brittan  Webb  and  Mercedes  Mata   Sundown’s own eighth grade girls won the district

championship with an undefeated district title on Monday, February 3, 2014. Coach Joe Don Elam, says, “The season went great! Everyone improved, but I would like to get better at dribbling, shooting, and passing.”

The seventh grade girls also had a successful season. With a loss of three out of 12 games including tournaments, Coach Ricky King says that they had a very successful season, and they represented Sundown well. King also says that there is always room for improvement, and you must strive to improve, but both teams had a great season.

Mrs. Conway’s 5th period class

February 2014

Track Since basketball is over, we are now going into track season. Coach Ricky King says that we are ready for

track and are willing to put in the work necessary to be successful. He also says that we have the potential to win every meet as long as we work hard and don’t make mistakes. Coach Joe Don Elam says, “Yes” and “no” about us being ready for track-- “yes” because we are very competitive and “no” because we are very out of shape. He also says that we should not lose a track meet with the talent we have. First off, we have long distance. The longest of the long. Sundown has seven JH girls in the long distance category: Abby Nichols, 8th, Brittan Webb, 8th, Michaela Vargas, 8th, Erika Cabrera, 7th, Lauren Nichols, 7th, Kaity Snyder, 7th, and Selena Covarrubio, 7th. In the 800m race, Brittan Webb, Michaela Vargas, Rebecca Peralta, Erika Cabrera, Selena Covarrubio, and Kaity Snyder will be running to add points to Sundown’s total. The 1600m, getting a little longer: Abby Nichols, Brittan Webb, Rebecca Peralta, Erika Cabrera, Selena Covarrubio, and Lauren Nichols. Now, the longest race of JH track is the 2400m run. Running in that race is Abby Nichols, Lauren Nichols, and Kaity Snyder. Next, we have the sprint races. With too many girls to name, let’s jump right in! On your mark, get set, GO! On the 100m sprint, one of the most exciting races in track, we have Emily Sanchez, Donna Lopez, Kalene Moody, Rebecca Kinley, Abi Acevedo, and Elizabeth Greenhaw. Another sprint is the 200m dash. Competing in that race is Donna Lopez, Casee Cogdell, April Gomez, Abi Acevedo, Sydney Phelan, and Jasmine Flores. Making things a little longer, the 400m race. Julia Evans, Casee Cogdell, April Gomez, Abby Terry, Elizabeth Greenhaw, and Madison Garcia are the ladies competing in that event. On to the hurdles, or as Kierstyn Ellington calls them, “Hursles.” At the starting line for the 100m hurdles is Kierstyn Ellington, Reese Randolph, Mercedes Mata, Michelle Fitzgerald, Rebecca Lee, and Yzena Castenada. For the 300m hurdles is Reese Randolph, Mercedes Mata, Makenzie Elliott, Rebecca Lee, Michelle Fitzgerald, and Yzena Castenada. The most exciting part of track is the relays. In the 4x100m relay is Kierstyn Ellington, Donna Lopez, Emily Sanchez, and Aerin Burritt. Also in the 4x100m relay for 7th is Sydney Phelan, Keelan Smith, Lexi Vigil, and Rebecca Kenley. For the 4x200m relay is Kierstyn Ellington, Emily Sanchez, Donna Lopez, and Aerin Burritt. In seventh grade is the same relay team, Sydney Phelan, Keelan Smith, Lexi Vigil, and Rebecca Kenley. Now, the most exciting race of the season is the 4x400m relay. For our eighth grade team: Julia Evans, Reese Randolph, Emily Sanchez, and Aerin Burritt. Our seventh grade team at the starting line is Elizabeth Greenhaw, Abby Terry, Keelan Smith, and Lexi Vigil. And finally, the events with no gunfire-the field events are the start of the track meet. In long jump Aerin Burritt, Kierstyn Ellington, Donna Lopez, Abi Acevedo, Rebecca Kenley, and Sydney Phelan are the competitors for that event. Now for the triple jump event: Aerin Burritt, Kierstyn Ellington, Mercedes Mata, Rebecca Lee, Sydney Phelan, and Lexi Vigil. In high jump the following girls will be competing: Reese Randolph, Mercedes Mata, Julia Evans, Rebecca Lee, Lexi Vigil, and Elizabeth Greenhaw. On to the muscular events, shot put and discus: Bel Padilla, Audree Green, Samantha Lopez, Sierra Samarron, Lyndi Richardson, and Keelan Smith will be throwing in these events. Next is the scariest track event of all time, pole vault. Brittan Webb, Reese Randolph, Michelle Fitzgerald, and Erika Cabrera will be flinging themselves in the air for this event. We’re wishing these ladies luck as they compete for the Sundown Roughettes this track season. We will also wish the coaches the best as they lead the Sundown Junior High into an undefeated season.  

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Samantha Lopez By: Abby Nichols and Aerin Burritt

Samantha Sierra Lopez is an eighth grader at SMS. She was born on October 28, 1999. Among her favorite activities are reading, drawing, and basketball. Her favorite food is pizza, and her favorite color is purple. Her role model is her mom because she puts everyone else first. Samantha does a pretty good job of this herself. Samantha moved from Snyder, Texas to get a better education at Sundown. She loves any pop song, so of course she loves the movie Pitch Perfect. Samantha is a great kid in and out of the classroom. She is as sweet as they come. When asked about her most prized possession she answered with her iPod because it keeps her entertained when she is bored. She also enjoys sitting and drinking Cream Soda!

Abby and Aerin were asked about why they chose Samantha Lopez as their spotlight student. They said they chose Samantha because she is just a great student, friend, and athlete.

Cara Marek AKA Mrs. Marek Mrs. Marek was born June 16. She is now married to Michael Marek and has two daughters, Lauren and Emily. She graduated from Coronado High School and then from Texas Tech with a bachelor of science in multidisciplinary studies. She has been teaching for 15 years and 5 ½ years have been at SMS! She loves working with her sixth grade math students, but with that many kids, she is swarmed with papers that need to be graded.

Mrs. Marek’s favorites include: blue or

green, steak and potatoes, and a variety of

music! She has always wanted to go to Hawaii,

but has only gone as far as Colorado.

Mrs. Marek’s role model growing up was her

sister. She also has a favorite quote by

Theodore Roosevelt: “Believe you can and

you’re halfway there.”

Her prized possessions are little things

from passed family members. She wants the

students who go through her class to remember

hard work pays off and to never give up!

Mrs. Conway’s 5th period class

February 2014