Editor to Editor

By: Kate Killebrew

Mrs. Amy Hill is the editor of The Pleasant View Post, one of our local newspapers. As editor of the

newspaper, she sets deadlines, reads over others’ articles, and writes articles herself. Mrs. Amy has been

interested in writing practically her entire life. When she was a child, she wrote many short stories.

While in college, she was part of the school newspaper. She majored in Media Management. “Media

Management,” she told me, “is basically communication. I studied journalism, media law, broadcasting,

and radio. This dealt with all forms of media.” Once she got out of college, Mrs. Amy started with the

Pleasant View Post in February of 2016. She has been with them ever since. Mrs. Amy also says that she

felt there was a need in the community to focus on its great businesses and great people. This is what

sparked her interest in journalism. “We’ve got so many hidden gems of great people hidden in our com-

munity,” she said. “I wanted to put something out there that was positive, unbiased, accurate, and some-

thing that captured a glimpse of this time period. I wanted to keep our community connected.”

Mrs. Amy also has some writing tips for aspiring writers:

1. It is very important to double and triple check your work.

2. Get someone else to read your writing. You might miss mistakes that others see.

3. When you get stuck, don’t give up! Just take a break and look back at it a few days later.

January 28th, 2019 Edited By: Kate Killebrew Founded By: Mrs. Mundy Volume 1, Issue 6

Cover Art By:

Hannah Caulfield

Life With Lamb

By: Caylee Valentin and Bailey Waller

Coming into 2019, this Staff Spotlight edition is about the wonderful Jennifer Lamb. Mrs. Lamb is a 7th grade

math teacher here at SMS. She is going into her 14th year of teaching . She has only ever taught this subject and at

this grade level. When asked why she wanted to become a math teacher she responded with, “I tutored a little girl

in high school and loved helping her understand math.” Not only does she teach 7th grade math class, she also has

one accelerated math class, which is some 8th grade math and a fast-moving math class. This helps get the acceler-

ated math class kids ready for Math 1 next year. Outside of school Mrs. Lamb loves to spend time with her two

daughters along with her niece and nephew. Mrs. Lamb states, “I do a lot of autism awareness events since I have

a daughter with autism. You may see her around SMS. She’s pretty popular.” So, if you ever see one of Mrs. Jen-

nifer Lambs lovely daughters, be sure to say “hello” . As well as spending time with her family she also enjoys

shopping, bowling, and watching football.

How to Survive Middle School

By: Sarah Flores, Gracie Vasquez, and Sofia Santiago

Well, here we are! 2019, a brand-new year. Wow, we made it! Now that it’s the new year, it’s the start of a new semester. This

means some more rules and tips, yay! Considering this is your favorite newspaper section, you should be excited about that.

This year is full of many possibilities and new things to learn. Remember, this year is going to be amazing, and we’re going to

do great! Believe in yourself and stay positive!

Survival Rule #21: So, let’s say you want to join a sport, you would want to play that sport, right? Well, you can't really start tryouts without your physical! Your physical will allow you to join that sport unless you have been injured, but if you aren't injured, and you’ve been cleared you can be in that sport.

Survival Rule #22: When it comes to things like field trips or dances, there are usually small fees which you must pay. Alt-hough permission slips are also extremely important, it is also very important that you have paid the fees on time. This also includes things like your lunch fees, and overdue book fees. You’re in middle school now, you oversee your own money now.

Survival Rule #23: When taking a test, remember to be silent. People are trying to concentrate and work hard. No one needs distractions. Everyone wants to have the best chance to make a good grade. They need to focus and be ready for whatev-

er question that comes at them! You wouldn’t want people distracting you from something that’s important to you, would you? Make sure you give the same comfortable environment for learning that you would want to have.

Follow these steps to become a veterinarian: 1. Complete a Bachelor's Degree 2. Earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine 3. Become Licensed 4. Gain Experience 5. Become Certified in a Specialty .

Careers By: Jada Pugh and Sofia Santiago

New Years Word Scramble

By: Brendan Saylor

1. YANUJRA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2. NSOREILUTO _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3. WEISFSKRO _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4. THDIHMNG _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Answers are on page 7 of the newspaper. 5. NDCONUWOT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6. DRLEANCA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7. SLEAKRPR _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Do you love animals? Then being a veterinarian may be job a for you! A veterinary physician, usually called a vet,

which is shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon, is a professional who practices veterinary medicine by

treating diseases, disorders, and injuries in animals. One college you could go to is the University of Califor-

nia for four years of public school in Davis, CA. A different college you could go to is Cornell University for four

years of private school in Ithaca, NY. Veterinary physician salary yearly: $88,490 USD. To be a veterinarian, you

will need to earn a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree. This typically takes four years. Although it is sometimes

possible to gain acceptance to a college of veterinary medicine without first earning a bachelor's degree, most students

have completed their undergraduate degrees before enrolling.

Sports

Travel Soccer– By: Cadence Aaron and Anna Kate Saylor

For our section of the newspaper, we will be interviewing 7th grade soccer player Josh Novotny.

Not only does he play for us here at Sycamore, but he also plays for a travel soccer team. For our

first question, we asked Josh how long he had been playing soccer. He answered, "Since I was,

like, three.” Then he told us, “I play defense and stopper.” This is where you try to stop the other

team’s offensive strikers from scoring. Once you have done this, you pass it up the field, to your

team’s strikers. They then try to score. We then questioned him about why he decided to start

playing soccer. He answered with, “I used to play baseball, but it got too difficult because I just

kept getting hit by the ball, so I decided to switch over to soccer.” We also asked him if he wants

to continue playing soccer. He responded with a simple, “Yeah.” For our fifth and final question,

we asked Josh what travel team he plays for. He replied, “I currently play for Rampage.” How-

ever, he also added, “I plan to play for a team in Nashville, which I will try out for in high

school.”

8th Grade Night– By: Gaibriella Allen

The Sycamore Knights have been busy after our Christmas break.. The Lady Knights came in to

take the win against both the Harpeth Indians on January 8, 2019; the score was 47 SMS to 23

Harpeth. They also achieved victory over the Goodpasture Cougars on January 10, 2019, with a

score of 43 SMS and 20 Goodpasture. Our boys' basketball team fought hard against the Harpeth

Indians on January 8, 2019, only losing by six with a score of 35 SMS to 41 Harpeth. They did

not take the win against the Goodpasture Cougars on January 10, 2019; ending with a score of

25 SMS and 46 Goodpasture. Last week, we faced off against Clarksville Academy on Tuesday,

January 15, 2019. Our eighth graders competed at their final home game as a SMS Knight. The

boys put up a tough match but lost; the girls put up a good match and won. We couldn’t be

prouder of all our eighth graders.

SMS Knights Lady Knights SMS Cheer SMS Dance

-Hunter Gill -Riley Stack -Kaylie Simpkins -Avery Hardin

-Jarrett Spurlock -Destiny Lynch -Sydney Marcum -Julia Baker

-Austin Morris -Bailey Waller -Kailey Ivey -Madi Beal

-Rhett Hunt -Kyra Shearon -Ruthie Young

-Kayson Hampton -Rylee Beecher -Payton Parks

-Marshall Bega -Raegan Hunter

Poll-DID YOU MAKE A NEW YEAR RESOLUTION?

By: Dorothy Roach and Maegan Armstrong

This week's poll was whether you did or did not make a New Year’s resolution and, if so, if you were going

to keep it. We had 37% of students say no, and 63% of students say yes. We were surprised that most stu-

dents said yes, even though they know they probably won’t commit to it. A good quote is from Danielle, a

fifth grader, who said, “I want to work hard and never give up.” Another good quote is from Belle, another

fifth grader, who said, “I'm going to focus on studying for tests and try to get better grades.” Thank you to all

the students we interviewed, and we hope you had a happy New Year.

Editorial– New Years Resolution

By: Avery Wenning

Around this time of year many people make New Year’s resolutions. Some common ones

are losing weight, exercise more, read more, etc. Many of the people who make resolutions don’t really

commit to their promise for the New Year. Most of the people who make resolutions only commit to

them for the first month or two. I for one, don’t have a New Year’s resolution. I think they are just false

promises, that make you feel like you’re doing something good for a short time.

Random Acts of Kindness

By: Emma Young

Rules: Complete at least one challenge a day. If you are the recipient of anything from

these challenges, then write a letter and leave it in Mrs. Mundy’s box (Room 25) . In

your letter, write how you felt receiving anything and why you think it is important to be

kind to people. For the people doing the kind deed, write how you felt doing the kind

deed and why you think it is important to be kind to people.

Objective: It is important to be kind to people, as you could be the reason someone is

smiling and happy. You never know how someone’s life is at home, so just be kind.

1. Make a new group of friends.

2. Help out your school community.

3. Give your teachers a nice compliment.

Dorothy and Dude

Baby Knights

By: Jayme Lawrence and Marissa Spurlock

Directions: Match up the baby pictures of the teachers and students to their

names. *TRICKY*

Names:

Landen Guye

Mrs. Buck

Mrs. Lamb

Anah Hawkins

Let the Games Begin

By: Eva Bailey

This week, I interviewed cheerleader Reecey Brassell. Reecey is

involved in competitive cheer which is an out of school sport. I

asked her a series of four questions. For the first question, I

asked her how long she had been doing cheer. She answered,

“For about 2 years now.” The next question I asked her was

what her favorite part about cheer was, and why. Reecey replied with, “My fa-

vorite part is probably stunting, because it’s fun.” After that, I asked her if she

had ever gotten an injury from cheer. Reecey said, “No, I haven’t.” For the final

question, I asked her if she plans to continue doing cheer. She ended it with,

“Yeah, in high school.”

My BFF gets mad at me for no rea-son, what do I do?

Dear friendly,

When you and your friend are mad at each other, you’ve got to talk. If you don’t, then it will never get better. You two need to have a sit-down conversation about your is-sues. If you're not open and honest then you can’t recover. Don’t sugar coat anything. After you two open up, things should start to get better.

Sincerely, Dude

Dear Dorothy and Dude,

What should I get my mom for her Birthday?

Dear Curious,

Moms love things that are very memorable or handmade. You could get her something that means a lot to her or something that you know she really likes. Make her a Birthday card or draw her a picture. Moms love things they can keep and remember for a long time. If you don’t want to make her something you could get her favorite perfume or her favorite kind of pots and pans. Those are just

a few suggestions.

Sincerely, Dorothy

Martin Luther King Jr.

I Have a ‘Dream’sicles

(Orange Creamsicles)

New Years Fun Facts

By: Brendan Saylor

Black eyed peas, ham, and cabbage are considered good luck if you eat them on New Year’s Eve or Day because it is believed they will bring you money.

Lobster and chicken are considered bad luck because lobsters can move backward and chickens can scratch in re-verse, so it is thought these foods could bring a reversal of fortune.

2,000 pounds (907kg) of confetti are dropped on the crowd in Times Square at midnight.

To ensure a year of good luck, firecrackers and noisemakers became tradition in order to scare away any remaining evil spirits and to ensure a brand new start.

https://westwatershotel.com.au/fun-facts-new-years-eve/

Forty-five percent of Americans make New Year's resolutions. While nearly half of all Americans make resolutions, 25 percent of them give up on their resolutions by the second week of January.

Book Recommendation By Brendan Saylor

The Maze Runner Author: James Dashner. This book is book 1 in a series. Close to 375 pages of fun. Genre: fiction. Who would like it? People who like a futuristic world with new problems. Summary: Thomas. That is the only thing he remembers. He wakes up and other boys- whose memories are also erased- pull him out of the lift. He is in the Glade with the Gladers and they are trapped in the middle of a maze. The next day a girl ap-pears in the lift who can speak in Thomas's mind. Nobody else is supposed to come for a month. Especially not a girl and defi-nitely not a girl who says, “This is the beginning of the end.”

Trapped in the Snow

By: Kloe Tryon and Ariel Osborne

Mary stared at Cat. “Why are you here? Where’s Joe?” she asked quietly, knowing that she wouldn’t garner a response.

Cat was a dog, after all, and dogs couldn’t talk, which meant that at the moment she had no idea of Joe’s whereabouts.

Mary stepped outside and glanced around, shivering as a cold breeze blew across the land. Her husband was still nowhere

to be found; she found herself hoping that he was playing a joke on her. She had warned him not to go outside...

With a sigh, Mary tugged out her cell phone from her pocket and turned it on, rapidly tapping at the screen. The device

rang for a moment, paused, rang for a moment— the pattern continued until it finally went to Joe’s voicemail. As fear be-

gan to run through her veins, she decided that if Joe wasn’t going to show up or respond, it would be best to contact the

police.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Word Scramble Answers-

1. January 4.Midnight 7. Sparkler

2. Resolution 5. Countdown 3. Fireworks 6. Calendar