PHOTO BY A. BAKER

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Canine ChrCanine ChrCanine Chr[[[ ]]]nicleniclenicle Mount Baker Middle School, Auburn, Washington December 2013 Volume IV, Issue 2

Corridors of Chaos:Corridors of Chaos: Crowded Hallways Cause Poor BehaviorCrowded Hallways Cause Poor Behavior

Letter from the Editors

The first quarter is now long gone and we are currently right in the middle of second quarter. The school year is

going by extraordinarily quickly and it’s hard to believe that it is almost half over.

December is a month generally filled with family and fun, not to mention various holidays to celebrate cheerfully.

Regardless of the rapidly disappearing year, certainly all students can agree that the 2013-2014 school year has been

going fabulously. The Canine Chronicle staff wishes to welcome the New Year with you, and as per protocol, report the

latest and greatest school news.

Due to the up and coming holidays (Kwanza, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.) the theme of this edition will, of course, be

centered on holiday cheer and how students around the school celebrate the season.

Regardless of the holiday you celebrate (if any), no student can dispute the two weeks of break tacked on to the end

of the year. Hopefully everyone will have a holiday season filled with family fun.

This month we have certainly dipped our toes into the waters of academia. We have experienced the Live Voices

assembly, we have been promised snow, numerous field trips have been taken by various grades, and concerts from

our music programs have been performed, not to mention the items bought at ridiculously low prices on the traditional

American holiday “Black Friday”. Sports teams have certainly hit an all time high and The Canine Chronicle staff is

happy to report it. To follow the sports high, the world will be immersed in the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will cer-

tainly be an event for the history books.

Overall, the editors on staff wish all of you an exemplary holiday season, and of course, a happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Aaron Baker Jonathan Casey Ben Geisen Alyssa Ferry Jalen Forward Hope Addison

Table of Contents] [2 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

Staff Editors Aaron Baker

Jonathan Casey

Ben Geisen

Alyssa Ferry

Jalen Forward

Hope Addison

Reporters Destany Abellera

Gigi Alcedo

Kyle Bates

Jeremiah Brown

Bella Coronado

Jasmine Dang

Maddie Feeney

Daniel Filovets

Ka’Sean Griffin

Kat Hamm

Ryan Hess

Reporters Kamalvir Jhajj

Samantha Leurquin

AJ Maas

Ysabela Manuel

Anna Maracich

Harrison Maurus

Colby Pretz

Daniel Shablevskiy

Cameron Shute

TJ Williams

Technical Support Jay Kemp

Adviser

Peter Warring

Mission: The MBMS Journalism 8 class produced this limited-voice

newspaper with intent to ethically report events accurately, without

bias. As a public forum for students, all decisions made on content

are made under the guidance of the advisor, with intent to uphold

students’ First Amendment rights.

The opinions presented in articles are provided to represent the

views and perspectives of students and individuals in our diverse

student population, not necessarily the whole of the advisor, faculty,

and administrators. Any material that would cause a disruption to

the educational process like libel, invasion of privacy, or copyright

infringement will not be published The Canine Chronicle is produced

using Microsoft Publisher. Photographs not taken by students have

been utilized through a Creative Commons and Microsoft license.

School portraits are licensed though Dorian Photography.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: School Safety 4

Should Teachers Carry Guns 5

Black Friday 6

MBMS Gives Back for Holidays 8

Common Resolutions 9

New Administrators 10

Corridors of Chaos 12

What Grinds My Gear 13

Pool Myth Revealed 15

Gifts from 1990s 16

Arts & Entertainment 18

Locker Lottery 22

MBMS Sports 24

Winter Olympics Preview 27

Life 28

COVER PHOTO: Seventh grader Angelina Pogosian

acts out her worst fear in stampeding hallways.

With MBMS’s population swelling to over 960 stu-

dents, hallways continuously are jam-packed with

students in a hurry to class or socializing.

MT. BAKER MIDDLE SCHOOL

620 37TH STREET SE

AUBURN, WASHINGTON 98002

PHOTO BY B. CORONADO

[News & Features] [December 2013 * 3]

Standards-based grading is the system of a 4,3,2,1

grading scale now being used in the Auburn School Dis-

trict; which many of the students at Mt. Baker haven’t seen

before.

The change from letter grade to standards-based wasn’t

a completely smooth one. Report cards were a compli-

cated task for teachers and parents. Some students even

received two report cards; one with Standards Based and

one with letter grades.

Students were new to the scale also; they had questions

as to what their “A” would equal in this grading fashion.

Yet what students and parents seem to fail to under-

stand is that there is no “A”. You are either passing or

you’re not.

Some chances may arise when teachers will give a “4”

opportunity. This is going above and beyond the expected

requirements for this task.

Algebra and Geometry are a high school class, which

means that they aren’t yet translated into the new grade

measurement. This could be perplexing to students taking

those classes.

Seventh grader Oscar Safsten said, “The old one is more

exact, I’m more used to it.”

While sixth grader Lily Scheschy disagreed when she

said, “I’m more used to this one; [The scale] makes more

sense.”

Many questions have arisen with the change.

Seventh grader Oscar Safsten wanted to know, “Why do

they base [grading] on 4,3,2,1? Why not 5, 4, 3, 2, 1?” This

would be an interesting idea, due to the fact that there are

five letter grades. This would make a student’s grade

translation of an “A” grade to a “4” effortless.

Teachers have had to grow accustomed to this change

too, but not everyone is struggling with the transition from

a letter grade to standards-based.

Course 3 and Algebra teacher Mr. Knighton said of the

change, “[Standards-based] has not affected the way I

teach; the scale was a fairly easy transition to set up.”

Yet just because the scale is an easy transition, does not

make it a favorite.

Seventh grader Oscar Safsten also said, “[Letter grad-

ing] is better because when you go to college they don’t

use [standards-based] they use [letter grade].”

As high school is slowly translating from letter grades to

standards-based, college admissions are taking a tumble.

The admission to a college is based on your SAT score, and

your GPA. Without a GPA, this system is no longer affec-

tive.

Knighton said, “[Letter grading] was very black-and-

white. When you give students a ‘three’, you cover all

percents from 80-96. That could be anyone who is work-

ing hard or someone who is barely pulling through.”

Many have argued that standards-based allows the

students who do not work as hard to obtain the same

exact grade as the students who work the hardest

throughout the year.

Hopefully in the future, these problems can be resolved

by practice and taking the time to translates standards-

based to percents. It’s just a difficult process of decipher-

ing this new method of grading.

Honor Roll is a celebration for the students who work

the hardest throughout the school year, but the new

grading system makes this difficult to calculate.

To participate in the original honor, you would need to

receive a 3.2, a 3.5, or a 4.0 grade point average, or GPA.

The new standards-based grading system,

however, would make this virtually impossi-

ble.

With the new scale of “4, 3, 2, 1” there

isn’t a percent to calculate a student’s GPA;

which can cause massive issues for those

attempting to compute who made honor roll

and who did not.

What needs to be considered is how a number is equiva-

lent to a letter grade. Many have wondered how a “3”

changes to a letter, but the percentages don’t seem to

match up evenly. A “3” covers everything from 80 per-

cent to 100 percent, so instead of having As and Bs to

represent different grades, you now have one

grade for both percents.

The standards-based grading system may

cause the Honor Roll we all know to disappear

completely from our school. However, without

Honor Roll, will the students at Mt. Baker still

strive to get good grades?

Standards-Based Grading

Alyssa Ferry & Ryan HessAlyssa Ferry & Ryan Hess

Honor Roll-ing Away

Students in Mr. Carter’s eighth grade Pre-Algebra class work on a daily

math assignment. All mathematics classes use standards-based grading,

except Algebra and Geometry. COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK

[News & Features] [4 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

The big question is, “Do you feel safe at school?” With

the multiple school shootings that have happened in the

past decade and a half consisting of events like Colum-

bine, Sandy Hook, and more recently at Sparks Middle

school in Nevada.

Why don’t we have a security guard like other middle

schools? The students we interviewed on the topic said

they would feel safer if there was someone who was

trained to defend and protect our school, putting their

own life on the line for Mt. Baker students and staff.

When we asked the principal, Mr. Brown, about why we

don’t have a security guard that is stationed at our

school, he said that part of it is because of budget, and

then he quickly added that we may not have a security

guard but we do have a police officer who is assigned to

our school who he feels safer with because instead of

having a security guard with a flashlight, we have a

trained officer with a firearm.

Stanley Security has started a contest to see what

school is the safest in the nation. The school which re-

ceives the most votes will receive 200,000 dollars worth

of Stanley Security products. Three runner-ups will ob-

tain 100,000 dollars in Stanley Security products.

We asked a few students their opinion on teachers

carrying weapons in school.

Isaiah Shin, a seventh grade student, replied , “The kids

could steal the teacher’s guns.”

This is a relevant problem that could lead to even more

deaths in school, instead of stopping them. Guns are

dangerous no matter who wields them, including teach-

ers.

Modern video games cause the mind to become numb to

the concept of shooting someone. Games like “Call of

Duty” and “Grand Theft Auto”, give kids the idea that

shooting other people is “fun”.

Many students say that they receive a rush from shoot-

ing the virtual people within the game.

What causes this rush?

Why is society turned on to this type of violence?

Principal Brown stated that only, “some of the video

games are too violent, like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty”.

Although many people believe that video games don’t

have anything to do with the increase in violence.

Movies have experienced a large increase in violence in

the past few years, bloody war scenes and gory battles.

People see fake guns and shootings on innocent people

and want to reenact their favorite scene with their

friends. They take guns from home that are improperly

stored and think they are safe to whip around like noth-

ing, and accidents happen.

Not everything is an accident; society has also had an

impact in problems occurring in teens.

Depression, problems at home, and bullying have all led

to school shootings.

Columbine was caused due to bullying and depression.

What you say can make or break someone’s day.

Do You Feel Safe at MBMS? Ryan Hess, Ben Geisen, AJ Maas

One Year Later:

Sandy Hook Heals Hope Addison & Bella Coronado

Dec. 14, 2012, a day we’ll never forget. Twenty-seven

innocent people, including twenty children and 6 adults,

were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in

Newtown, Connecticut.

Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed his mother, then pro-

ceeded to the elementary school where she supposedly

taught. The shooter reportedly appeared in the school

around 9:40 a.m. [30 minutes after school started], and

opened fire. Shootings took place in the main office and

two classrooms. Lanza shot himself at the end of his 11-

minute rampage.

According to radio station WABC, the initial 9-1-1 call

said that students were trapped in a classroom with the

adult shooter who had two guns.

The shootings instantly brought other shootings to

mind, like Columbine High School in 1999 that killed 15 and

the July shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado

that left 12 dead.

Ms. Thorington, eighth grade social studies teacher,

said she learned about the shooting while she was in the

office turning in grades.

“I was in shock. Everyone was.”

Ms. Thorington said she bought a magazine with biogra-

phies of all the people who died [during the shooting] and

she’ll probably read that to remember it.

“It really put a damper on the holiday season. You can

never get over a loss like that.”

Mr. Lewis, vice principal, stated “Everyone was af-

fected. It’s one of those tragedies no one wants to see or

hear about.”

“I was sad, not only for the students and families, but

upset that someone’s actions could so greatly affect so

many others.”

The V.P. said he will talk to his kids to remind them that

it happened [and possibly could again].

“I will definitely keep them in my thoughts”

The Sandy Hook shooting was the nation’s second-

deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia

Tech massacre in 2007 that took 33 lives.

A memorial representing the children and adults whose

lives were lost. COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Is it “kids will be kids”? Rules reflecting student safety are stricter than

ever, suspending and expelling kids for using finger guns. COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM VIA CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

[News & Features] [December 2013 * 5]

On February 8, 2013, House Legislators introduced a bill

called the “Safer School Act of 2013”. This bill allows dis-

tricts to decide whether or not teachers should be allowed

to carry a firearm.

Any school district who wanted to allow their teachers to

carry weapons would have to draft a lengthy policy outlin-

ing the terms and conditions for the allowance of firearms.

Teachers would also have to go through extensive training

for them to possess a weapon like this.

After the multiple school shootings that have happened

over the last decade, they introduced this law to possibly

make school environments safer.

Teachers, students, and district administrators gave

their thoughts on whether or not it really would make our

school safer.

Sixth grader Kody Cooper said, “I don’t think [that teach-

ers carrying guns] is a good idea”.

Cooper continued, “If teachers have guns, than people

might think it is ok to have them also.”

This raises the question of will guns actually increase

violence in the schools where teachers are in possession

of firearms.

Mr. Brown the school principal said, “More guns don’t

solve problems.”

Brown continued, saying, “More people who are doing

school shootings will get bigger guns and try to be bigger

and badder than the teachers.”

In an interview with Mr. Cowan, he said, “It may not

reduce the number [of shootings], but it would hopefully

reduce the deaths.”

This bill being introduced may have more effects on the

school than just arming teachers. It may also cause kids to

change their everyday behavior and actually cause them

to feel less safe.

Kody Cooper said, “It would definitely change [the stu-

dents’] behavior, the teachers may get mad and decide to

shoot us.”

Mr. Cowan gave his input and said, “I do not think it will

affect children in general, but that is not the point. This is

to hopefully affect the one or two students who may think

about harming others without fear of being stopped.”

Officer McClusky of the Auburn Police Department was

asked her thoughts on the subject. She told us “She would worry about teacher’s possess-

ing guns at school for many reasons.”

Her first and foremost concern is how qualified the

teachers are. Police officers go through many hours of

training, which is ongoing, to be able to carry weapons.

They also have to show they meet certain standards twice

a year. She would expect the teachers to have to do the

same.

She continued to say, “Just having a concealed pistol

license is not enough. The training necessary to make good

decisions in a “shoot, don’t shoot” scenario is immense

and I don’t believe that teachers would be qualified without

that training. Instead, I think having teachers prepare for

crisis situations, through training, lockdown drills, sce-

nario drills, etc. would be more effective. It is sad that we

even have to think about events such as these at school,

but always we need to be prepared.”

When asked about the districts stance on the matter

Superintendant Herren’s response was “The district does-

n’t support guns per state and federal mandates on cam-

pus except by licensed law enforcement officials"

The big question is, will guns really make our school

safer?

Safer School Act: Should Teachers Pack Guns? Colby Pretz & Harrison Maurus

“As a country, as a culture are we ready to see teachers in the classroom armed?”(Mark Howard, security supervisor for Spokane Public Schools) COURTESY OF C. DAO

[News & Features] [6 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

Black Friday Sales Drop,

Cyber Monday Sales Soar Kamalvir Jhajj

A popular internet meme says, “Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample each

other for sales, exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.”

People fighting, yelling, shouting, piles of people on each other, police officers everywhere,

this is exactly how Black Friday is, a day people turn into animals.

Since the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 1924, Black Friday has unofficially been the start of the Holiday season, the first shopping day after Thanksgiving. Even though Black Friday has been

stated back from 1924, the term “Black Friday” has only been traced back to 1970, the term

assumed to be named that because of the heavy traffic on that day.

This year, it seemed as if Black Friday wasn’t as crazy as the previous ones. There was only one death recorded, and this wasn’t the cause of a stampede or violent dispute, but instead, the tragedy occurred due to a car accident. A teenager fell asleep in North Carolina while driving in

the early morning, coming back after late night shopping with his friends.

This Black Friday was said to not be as crazy, because this year the stores started opening earlier on Thanksgiving night, instead of at twelve. But with the stores opening earlier on Thanksgiving, there were many arguments that the store owners shouldn’t be allowed to do that. With stores opening a day before, it means that the employees that are working that day wouldn’t be able to have Thanksgiving dinner with their family, or have time with them. Many

employees are still arguing about this matter.

Some people were wondering why people even want to go out on Thursday to go shopping, Mrs. Nelson said, “People go on Thursday because they have a day off and they want to go

shopping. Plus because there’s really good deals.”

Some of the five most popular stores visited were Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, and Apple. These include online shopping. Amazon was said to be the most visited site for buyers on

Black Friday.

Some students from Mt. Baker were also out shopping,.

Sixth grader Isabel Kim said that the main stores she went to go shopping were “Fred Meyers,

Block Buster, and the Outlet Collection”.

The most popular items bought on Black Friday are usually electronics such as, iPads, TVs,

Beats headphones, and laptops.

When Jackson Williams, a seventh grader was asked what he was most looking forward to

buying this Black Friday, he said, “I want a PS3, because it has free internet.”

And Isabel Kim said, “A hair curler, because I’ve been [wanting one] for three months.”

The main reasons for why students or anyone goes shopping on black Friday was said to be

because items are super cheap that day, and there are a lot of sales.

Even though lots of people say they love Black Friday, there are still things they don’t like

about it.

Eighth grader Hailey Ferrell-Liepman said, “I don’t like how people are fighting over TV’s and certain items.” Others said they don’t like how there’s so many people out and about and how

there are crowds everywhere.

Black Friday is becoming less and less popular because of the sales starting earlier, not to forget Cyber Monday, making it no longer Black Friday but instead just the day after Thanksgiv-

ing.

Another popular internet meme says, “Black Friday should actually be called the Hunger

Games, people kill each other and the winner gets a 20 dollar crock pot.”

CreativeCommons.org

Black Friday Shopping What is your craziest Black Friday experience? Compiled by Gigi Alcedo

“I don’t participate in Black Friday – there

really isn’t anything that I need that would cause

me get up at 4:00 in the morning and go out and

buy.”

-Mr. Lubash Math Teacher

“A lady tripped, and her weave fell

out.”

-Lindsey Picazo Seventh Grade

“It was early in the morning and I

was sleepy, so I laid on the floor

and an old lady ran me over with

her shopping cart.”

-Javon Forward Sixth Grade

“I was leaving the store, and

a little boy ran up to me

and started shooting me

with a water gun.”

-Christina Manchick Eight Grade

Stores on Black Friday attract customers like magnets. PHOTO BY T. MCLEAD

[News & Features] [December 2013 * 7]

The holiday season brings a variety of opportunities to

give and receive gifts. Some traditions leave you with gifts

you didn’t expect.

Secret Santa, a tradition almost everyone has done. If

you haven’t, why not start? It’s a cheap and easy way to

get awkwardly funny gifts from your BFFs.

This popular gift giving practice allows you secretly give

a gift to a friend. Frequently, they used in work places,

groups of friends, or clubs and teams.

According to seventh grader Trinity Jenkins, participating

in Secret Santa would be fun.

Jenkins said, “Doing Secret Santa would be sharing and

caring.”

Seventh grader Tyler Braun also agreed, “It would be a

good opportunity.”

Secret Santa would be an exciting game to play every

year, because if the teachers join then it would be espe-

cially fun for those teachers.

Sometimes people don’t care about the gift exchange,

and just give them trash. Don’t be that friend; take them

out to a movies, or go ice skating.

Jenkins said, “A candy wrapper is trash.”

According to Braun, a mug would be the worst secret

Santa gift because kids don’t use them.

Braun and Jenkins both agreed that it would be fun to

volunteer for something like this. They even said they

would volunteer to do Secret Santa.

Should we make Secret Santa a tradition at MBMS?

Braun and Jenkins said, “YES”.

Jenkins said agreed because, “The more traditions we

have at this school people will want to go to this school,

Baker will be popular.”

Braun also agreed because, “It would be fun for genera-

tions to come.”

But if your friends bring you awkward presents for

Secret Santa, then you need to be prepared and start

practicing that surprised face again.

If you are lucky, the person won’t be there with you when

you open the present. If they are, you have to be pre-

pared.

Every holiday season, we always receive at least one

present you don’t fancy. Always remember it’s very im-

portant to have your manners, especially around the

holiday season.

Always thank the person. You probably already do

this, but it’s a crucial thing to remember. The more you

thank them the better; but don’t overdo it and make it

sound fake. Remember, it’s the thought that counts.

Let the person know that you think the present itself

is useful. People are always stressed during the holiday

season, all they want to do is get you a present that you’ll

like or would be useful to you.

Don’t make one present superior to another. Don’t

make it obvious that their present wasn’t your favorite.

Thank everyone equally. If you show too much excitement

in one present, you might make the person feel embar-

rassed that their present wasn’t as great.

Tell them that you love the present. When you don’t

know how to answer to a question like that, “It was very

thoughtful” should suffice.

Holidays are fun, but it also creates a lot of stress on

some people. Hopefully these tips can help your season be

jollier.

Tips for Awkward Gifts

How to Handle

Awkward

Presents

Samantha Leurquin, Gigi Alcedo, Daniel Filovets

Remember those good old days when you got socks or underwear for Christmas? PHOTO BY S. LEURQUIN

[News & Features] [8* Volume IV, Issue 2]

Our school has done a lot to give back to our community

for this holiday season.

The Hats for Haiyan fundraiser allowed you to pay a

dollar to wear a hat for a day with all of the proceeds

going to the Philippines typhoon victims. We also had an

EZA coin drive for celebrating change, and people also

participated in No Shave November, which supports their

support for cancer research.

Some students and staff here at Mount Baker show

their pre-holiday cheer by growing out beards and mous-

taches to raise awareness for various men’s health is-

sues, particularly prostate and testicular cancer. The tradition of no shave November is carried out most

obviously at the school by teachers Mr. Warring and Mr.

Carter, although some students admit to participating

themselves.

“Of course I participate in no shave November!” seventh

grader Oscar Safstem said jokingly , “You can practically

see my beard!”

According to the Movember.us, the Movember database

for America, the Movember community is a “Fun, caring,

collaborative, humble, and innovative community.”

Movember.us also plans to make sure that all “Men

living with prostate or testicular cancer have the care

needed to be physically and mentally well.”

The students at our school enthusiastically endorse

Movember even if they don’t participate themselves. “[My brother] tried to participate in Movember, but my

parents didn’t seem as enthusiastic as he was,” said

seventh grader Shae Fairchild.

Overall, Movember is a great way to show support for

men with prostate or testicular cancer.

Builders club has generously created a Hats for Haiyan

drive, in which you pay a dollar, and you get to wear a hat

for an entire day. They donated all of the proceeds to the

American Red Cross Foundation.

Typhoon Haiyan was a tragic event in the Philippines

which left thousands dead and it may be the largest cy-

clone ever but scientists do not know for sure yet.

This typhoon has left 800,000 people homeless and

20,000 homes have been demolished and food has be-

come a problem to the point where people have to scav-

enge their destroyed homes to search for things to eat.

Many countries have either helped give food to the Philip-

pines or have vowed to. Hurricane Katrina which hit the

southeast coast of the United States in 2005 was pro-

jected to be the largest storm ever… well Haiyan is big-

ger.

Seventh grader Matthew Soderquist stated, “I thought

that it was really tragic,” when we asked him how he felt

about Haiyan. End Zone Academy once again proved holiday spirit by

giving the gift of education to underprivileged children by

raising money to build a school in an underprivileged

third world country.

EZA went about raising the money through a coin drive in

which students were encouraged to donate pocket

change in order to raise enough money to reach their

goal of 1,000 USD.

The EZA then plans to donate the money to the ‘Free the

World’ foundation which, in turn, will use the money to

build the school as previously stated.

“It’s really cool that EZA is doing something like this,” said

seventh grader Kyra Kopcho, “The [underprivileged]

would really appreciate the effort.”

The overall success of the coin drive is, at this time,

unknown. Mrs. Winter reported that she thought “At least

a few hundred dollars [have been collected], but [that]

might be generous.”

The drive ended Dec. 13.

AJ Maas & Aaron Baker

Holiday Dance

Glows in Dark Jalen Forward & Destany Abellera

The Glow in the Dark Dance, hosted by Yearbook, was a

big success with many students attending. That was a

surprising outcome since Choir is hosting the Valentine’s

dance in February.

The theme of the dance was thought up of by the Year-

book staff; they thought MBMS needed another dance

other than the Valentine’s one.

Seventh graders, Kristina Douccet and Talia

Samuelson said that the theme was weird for the holi-

days, and they were confused on what to wear.

The dance was pretty similar to the Valentine’s dance.

There was food available, and you were able to take

pictures, but there were some minor differences.

A pretty big change was the new DJ the Yearbook staff

booked.

Mr. Jacobs asked Mr. Carter prior to choosing Chad,

but Mr. Carter was already booked.

“The dance’s DJ was Chad Dowling, he was referred by

Rainer. He usually plays at their dances. The kids loved

him,” said Mr. Jacobs.

The yearbook had already picked out songs that they

are giving the DJ to play, so Chad knew what the kids

wanted.

Along with the other dances, yearbook was only allow-

ing seventh and eighth graders to attend.

Sixth grader, Esperanza Gonzales said, “It would be

awkward with seventh and eighth graders at the dance.

[Sixth graders] should get our own dance.”

Not only do sixth graders not agree with the rule of

only seventh and eighth graders allowed, but some sev-

enth graders, Kristina Douccet and Talia Samuelson

agreed that we are too young to really be in relation-

ships and the dance will be mostly like a party.

With all the money made by the dance, yearbook paid

for the DJ, the decorations needed for the dance, and

for the new scoreboard.

Did the dance live up to the expectations that it was

hoping for? Do you think the Valentine’s Day dance will

be able to top this? LEFT: This picture shows Typhoon Haiyan from the view of space. PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

RIGHT: Mr. Carter’s glorious ‘stache is described as an iconic image by many students here at Baker. PHOTO CREDIT OF A.MAAS AND A.BAKER

COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK

As the New Year approaches, that momentary excitement creeps up in your mind on

your New Year’s resolution, and then you start watching T.V. and all that excitement

leaves your brain as you tune into The Bing Bang Theory or The Voice.

Many people in the U.S. and Auburn alone have New Year’s resolutions, but the question

is how many of them are the same, and do any of these people even keep their resolu-

tions?

In a recent poll of two Mt. Baker classes, including Mrs. Toy’s fourth period Home Ec.

Class and Mrs. Marcotte’s fourth period math class, they were each given three of the

most common resolutions in the United States including the options to have another

resolution that was not mentioned or the option to have no resolution. The three resolu-

tion options were “getting better grades,” “eating healthier,” and “getting in shape”.

The results from each class were not very surprising according to stereotypes.

In Mrs. Marcotte’s class, “better grades” achieved a total of fourteen votes, the highest

total. The lowest scorers were “eating healthier” and “no resolution” with one vote each,

while “getting in shape” and “other” received four votes each.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Toy’s class reflected almost the exact same results. “Better grades”

received fifteen votes, the highest total again while “no resolution” actually obtained zero

votes. Some lower totals included Eating Healthier with four votes and Getting in Shape

with only one submission. Other also claimed seven votes. l

Analyzing these results, there is a clear distinction on some of the bigger favorites.

Getting Better Grades is obviously a given total due to the environment, and nutrition

related subjects are less of an issue with middle school students, but how did Baker’s

results do against the national average?

According to Katherine Costello of Policymic.com, in a national poll of over 25,000

adults, the top ten results included resolutions such as “eating healthy and exercises,”

“volunteering,” “saving money,” and “learning something new”. “Eating healthy and exer-

cising” was the top result, while “learning something new,” and “volunteering” achieved

third and sixth.

When looking at national results, you notice that there are some more adult habits that

people want revised, such as quitting smoking and quitting drinking, but also some simi-

larities to Baker.

“Learning something new” is a definite relation to “getting better grades,” as many

adults and Baker students want to improve their brain and learn what they need for the

future and for their job.

On average, Baker’s results were as common as any other schools, reflecting the same

results almost identically through each class.

Although many people make resolutions every year how many people really stick to

them? According to Forbes.com, “Just eight percent of people achieve their new year’s

resolution every year.”

Based on those statistics out of the 950 students at Mt. Baker, only 76 students will

stick to their resolutions throughout the whole year.

Resolutions You’ll Hear from

Everyone This Year Kyle Bates & Ben Geisen

CreativeCommons.org

Common Resolutions What is your New Year’s resolution? Compiled by Anna Maracich

“My goal is

to do one good deed

every week.”

-Mrs. Burkhalter PE Teacher

“My resolu-

tion is to read more.”

-Viktoriya Yakimchuk Seventh Grade

“[I want] to

pass all my

classes.”

-Emma Bailey Sixth Grade

“Either to control

my sassy attitude

towards teachers,

or to learn to get

along better with

my step family.”

-Bella Batinic Eight Grade

[News & Features] [December 2013 * 9]

Times Square, the historic site of the “Ball Drop” on New Year’s Eve, beginning the season of

non-kept resolutions for 92 percent of Americans. COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM VIA CREATIVE

COMMONS LICENSE

CreativeCommons.org

New Staff Join SchoolNew Staff Join SchoolNew Staff Join School What is one thing you dislike and one thing you do like about MBMS? Compiled by Gigi Alcedo

“I do like the respectfulness of the students and their

kindness. I don’t like that we’re so full, and we don’t

have enough rooms for all of the classes.”

-Mrs. Detwiler LAP Math/Reading Teacher

“I don’t like inconsistent room temperatures. The

two things I do like about Mount Baker are

my colleagues and all my students.”

-Ms. Ryan Language Arts Teacher

“ I don’t really like waking up so early in

the morning, [since I used to teach ele-

mentary], but I like the staff and stu-

dents.”

-Mr. Decker Social Studies Teacher

“I don’t like how early I have to

wake up to go to work, but I like

how polite the students are.”

-Mrs. Harris Attendance Administrative Assistant

Table of Contents] [10 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

This year at Mt. Baker, two new administrators were

hired, Mr. Lewis, assistant principal, and Ms. Leverenz,

Dean of Students.

Many students have noticed lunches seem more relaxed

than they did last year. Mr. Lewis and Ms. Leverenz make

sure that students are doing what they are supposed to be

doing at lunches, as well as intramurals.

Ms. Leverenz taught at Auburn Riverside High School for

19 years as the PE teacher before coming to Mt. Baker.

She said there are more detentions [lunch and after-

school] and consequences at Mt. Baker than there were

over at Riverside.

Ms. Leveranz also said she dealt with discipline at higher

levels. Another difference of teaching at Baker was she

worked with a smaller group of people.

Ms. Leverenz stated that students need to start taking

more responsibility for their actions as well as communi-

cating better with their teachers.

Her philosophy on dealing with discipline [and emotional

teens] was to teach kids to work on changing their behav-

iors and learning the consequences, and also for students

and teachers to work together, instead of working inde-

pendently.

Ms. Leverenz also believed our school should have a

cohesive environment and we should learn to trust each

other.

“My favorite part about working here is working with my

team, [Mr. Brown, Mr. Lewis, office staff],” said Ms. Lever-

enz.

Mr. Lewis taught elementary school before coming to Mt.

Baker.

He stated, working here was much different from teach-

ing because there was a lot more to do. Also, instead of

being responsible for only 25 students, he was responsible

for over 950 students.

“My favorite part about being at Mt. Baker is working

with the students and the staff on creating an environment

that is productive and fun,” Mr. Lewis said.

Mr. Lewis is looking forward to creating the culture

around the school where students and teachers feel sup-

ported by the administrators, and also creating an envi-

ronment where everyone feels safe.

Mr. Lewis also stated that there is more of a variety of

things to do at our school than there was when he taught

elementary school, and he felt like he gets to know more

students.

Mr. Brown, principal, agreed with Ms. Leverenz and Mr.

Lewis on the idea of building relationships as teachers and

students.

Mr. Brown stated, “We will support [students] as long as

they support us.”

Administrators Mr. Lewis and Ms. Leverenz play around with their walky-

talkies at the end of challenging day. Our new administrators joined

MBMS from other Auburn schools, Mr. Lewis from Lakeland Hills Elemen-

tary and Ms. Leverenz from Auburn-Riverside High School. PHOTO BY P.

WARRING

Bella Coronado & Hope Addison

Lunch Hygiene:

MBMS Cleans-up Gigi Alcedo, Samantha Leurquin

[News & Features] [December 2013 * 11]

Imagine smashed grapes on the floor and rags flying

everywhere. Pizza left on the tables and trays in the

garbage. This isn’t the way you act in a restaurant, even

with your friends. Our cafeteria shouldn’t be any differ-

ent.

According to Samuel Erickson, sixth grade lunch

cleans up really well. He liked that he got to eat in a

cafeteria rather than a classroom like in elementary

school. He thought we should have more time to eat so

that grade levels can have more time to clean.

However, Mr. Billy disagreed, “Kids would just make

more messes the longer they are in [the cafeteria].”

Mr. Brown felt that eighth grade usually makes the

most mess but also has days when they clean up well.

The most effective way that seems to encourage

students is when they get rewarded for cleaning.

You may have not noticed but the lunch room is always

cleaner when there’s a reason for students to clean,

especially after Mr. Brown announces “the next student

to pick up five pieces of garbage off the floor gets a

piece of candy.”

There’s a rush to the front of the lunch room and most

people even pick up their peers trash or wipe their

tables for them.

If everyone would just pick up their own mess then

there wouldn’t be any problem, but if there continues to

messes left around the lunch room it will become a very

easy place to catch a food borne illness such as salmo-

nella poisoning.

Food born illness is a collection diseases that are easy

to catch if you eat infected food. If we don’t clean up our

lunch room better, it’ll be the first and easiest place to

catch these illnesses.

According to the Centers for Disease Control Preven-

tion, colds alone are responsible for twenty two million

school days lost each year. According to the Med-

Terms.com website, about 48 million people each year

get a food born illness. Not going to school may seem

nice until the symptoms of being sick kicks in. When you

have a cold you have a sore throat or a runny nose, but

when you have a food borne illness you can be nause-

ated, vomiting, cramps and even diarrhea. The more

days you stay home sick, the more you miss out on

school, then you start getting behind and it will be even

harder when you go to high school.

Being sick is like a domino effect and it all starts just

by not picking up your own trash.

It’s up to us to keep the lunch room clean.

Bottom left of this picture is the rag that students are supposed to use to wipe off their tables but instead end up being thrown around. Are they really that clean? PHOTO BY J. FORWARD & H. ADDISON

Cold Rooms Disrupt Classes

Cameron Shute

Can you believe how cold it is in your first period? As

the temperature drops outside it has also been dropping

inside.

“The heating system in our school is very unhealthy and

not conducive to student learning, we need to install air

purifiers.” said Mrs. Swanson, seventh grade social stud-

ies teacher.

The heating at our school is controlled by the district.

“The District should trust us to control the heat our-

selves and know we won’t abuse it,” Principal Brown said.

The temperatures in the morning drop so low that kids

can’t work, as low as 50 degrees in some cases. Some

kids bring blankets to class just to stay warm.

Tenth grader Josean Perez, Junior Julio Montano, and

Senior Jose Perez from West View High School, con-

structed an experiment to see if students learning proc-

ess was affected by the cold or the heat.

First they tested students in a colder room. The results

were that the students score was lower in a colder room

and in a hot room.

“On the Dec. 26-27 the district is going to replace some

parts of the heater so that the rooms will be warmer in

the morning.” Mr. Brown said.

Our heating system is old. It has not been replaced

since the school was built. Our school is 20 years old this

year. This may explain why our system is horrible.

Every time kids walk into class, all you hear is, “Oh my

gosh. It’s so cold!” In our school the temperature drops

to 50 degrees in some classes.

“My room gets to at least 52 in the morning. The heat-

ing is so crummy; the district needs to let us control the

system,” sixth grade math teacher Mrs. Toy said.

Bundling up for the cold is the best way to stay warm.

COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM VIA CREATIVE COMMONS.

[Opinion & Editorial] [12* Volume IV, Issue 2]

Corridors of Chaos: Crowded Hallways Cause Poor Behavior Colby Pretz & Jonathan Casey

Walking through the hallways seems to be a problem for the majority of students. Al-

though many students find it a time to catch up with friends before heading off to classes

many are bothered by the excessive amount of students in the halls.

Pro: Although pushing, shoving and tripping fill the Mt. Baker hallways, it is only because of

innocent students walking slightly more leisurely to talk with their friends before the

following demanding class begins.

Anyone you hear that is annoyed with the claustrophobic hallways is almost certainly,

at one point in the day, contributing to the problem.

If your next class is on the opposite end of the school building, then you will probably

rush to your classroom, whereas if your classroom is closer you slow down to slip a few

extra comments to your friends.

The only way to stop the problem is to slow, or speed, everybody, to the same pace.

Even if you are in the “goldilocks conditions” of hallway walking, you still aren’t helping

the problem if the majority of students aren’t at your same pace.

At the most basic we are all part of the problem, so don’t complain. You have to hustle

so you’re not late to class, or you try to spend some extra time with friends in the limited

day.

You can’t blame anyone for these innocent events.

Con: From the time you walk through the doors in the morning to when you walk out of them

at the end of the day you feel you have walked through a war zone. You’ve been bumped,

shoved, tripped, stepped on and elbowed just to name a few of the things you go through

in our hallways just to get to your next class.

Yes, the school has more students then what it was built for but that doesn’t mean we

need to have a free for all in the hallways.

If students would be a little more considerate of each other and not create traffic jams

by stopping to chat with friends in the middle of the hall things would flow much nicer. It

doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that people are moving both directions and

you can’t walk three abreast without creating a bottle neck.

We could all get to class a lot quicker if we traveled in the halls like cars on the road,

staying to the right and left hand sides.

Then there are the “cool people” who like to create a semi-circle around their lockers

that extends out into the hallway so far you have to squeeze yourself through to get by

them.

All it would take is a little more common courtesy on the part of everyone in the hall-

ways during passing to make our halls more livable for everyone.

Mt. Baker is a great school why don’t we try to live up to our reputation.

Let’s face it, an epidemic is spreading. You see it every day in the halls, but you put it out of

your mind. They have no repentance, no manner, and no remorse. They are the running sixth graders.

Throughout the year, I have been bumped, shoved, and trampled by sixth graders who seem to

have some sort of difficulty with walking through the hallways. Just the other day, I was all but

knocked off my feet by a speedster who seemed to be running from a fire breathing rhino as if

they would perish upon stopping. Of course, I quickly apologized for the encounter until I realized that it was his fault for running into me. I turned around to chastise the mini-ninja but alas, he

had vanished.

I am honestly astonished that this has to occur. I understand that people become indisputably

aggravated when a fellow classmate walks as if we have a realistic amount of time in our passing

period, but is that worse than a tiny-terror tearing through the already chaotic halls?

Most sixth graders feel my pain and lament alongside my mourning classmates for the latest victim of the infuriating attacks, although the true pain can only be felt by an esoteric group of

fortunate survivors.

Stop RUNNING, Sixth Graders! Aaron Baker

Does it have to come to this? Eighth grader Ben Geisen takes matters into his own hands,

directing traffic after sixth grade lunch. PHOTO COURTESY OF H. ADDISON Even the equally speedy (and petite) seventh graders are occasionally toppled. Unfortunately, there

is no use to trying to save them. PHOTO BY H. ADDSION

[Opinion & Editorial] [December 2013 * 13]

WhatWhatWhat

GRINDSGRINDSGRINDS MyMyMy

GEARSGEARSGEARS

Anna Maracich, Jonathan Casey, Maddie Feeney, AJ Maas

Disagree? The segment ‘What Grinds My Gears’ is

presented as opinion and does not express the views

of all MBMS students or The Canine Chronicle. If you

would like to express your opinion, write us a letter,

and you may be published in our next edition.

Do you know what really grinds my gears? When

teachers keep you past the bell. I have four minutes to get from class to class, and if you keep me a

minute past the bell, I can guarantee that I won’t

make it to my next class on time.

If you tell your students, “The bell doesn’t dismiss

you, I do.” Consider the idea that if the bell doesn’t dismiss

us, then it shouldn’t decide when we are tardy to

class.

In the time it takes you tell us to sit down, and give

us a warm goodbye, I could be halfway to my class. While late to my next class, I will make sure to tell

my next teacher, while smiling, that you genuinely

wanted me to have a good day.

Leaving class late can cause serious injuries. I’m

already in a panic to get to my locker and reach my

next class. While closing my eyes and plugging my nose, so I don’t get a toxic disease from my fellow

classmates, I trip and fall on a strategically placed

math book in the middle of the hall.

After being rushed to the hospital, we get the

tragic news that my mom has to pay

thousands of dollars

because bell doesn’t

dismiss me, and I was

bound to have a good day.

-AM

Do you really want to know what grinds my gears?

Pencils. All of them. Expensive mechanical pencils. The yellow Number Two pencils. Simply ALL of the

darn inanimate horrors.

Let’s start with the mechanical pencil. ARE YOU

JOKING!? KINDERGARTENERS COULD MAKE THESE

PIECES OF JUNK! Actually, that might insult kinder-garteners… The real point is that it runs out of lead

at the exact moment you need it.

You could be hurrying to finish an important essay

for language arts and Bang! Your pencil lead breaks

and you have nothing. Nothing but a dreary, evil pencil mocking you for your misfortune.

See the problem?

You readers might be thinking, “Oh! No worries! I’ll

just whip out my trusty No. 2 pencil.”

Really?

If that yellow, No. 2 pencil doesn’t break on you or isn’t sharp enough, I’m guessing you live in a dimen-

sion where hippopotamuses rule the world from

Guam and we trust duck’s as our main intelligence.

Oh! I’ll just use a sharpener to save my day!

And how many times has that worked out for you. If the government and our schools really care

about our educa-

tion, you would think

we would be solving

math problems, not pencil problems.

—JC

You know what

really grinds my gears? Loud people

at the movies.

I understand

laughing at a funny

part, but when you laugh for the rest of the movie just because that one

funny part, it’s ridiculous.

I used to be the really loud, annoying kid who was

just stupid and dumb about everything, but then I

realized how annoying I was! I mean seriously…your baby has been crying for

an hour! Why do you think it’s gonna stop, now!?!?

Take it outside!

I didn’t pay $15 of my own money to go to a movie

where I can’t even hear the movie. When teenagers

are discussing the latest trends and fashions, no-body cares right now if Miley Cyrus twerked. It’s old

news, anyway. I don’t care if you text people. That

doesn’t bother me, but if you answer the phone in

the movies, I get really mad.

This lady once answered her phone, almost as loud as a pep assembly, just to talk about how her little

Pomeranian was doing by itself…REALLY!? You

psycho! Just go home if you’re that worried about a

fluffy little dog.

If you’re those loud, annoying people at the mov-ies, then just wait a month and rent it on red box.

—MF

You want to know what really grinds my gears?

KIK. Seriously, you are gone for five minutes and you come back to the pleasant conversation that you

had just left and guess what? Your phone is sitting

there…*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEEP-

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*.

Why can’t people just understand that you don’t want your phone going off like a fire alarm when you

are placing Christmas ornaments on your tree. I

mean, people don’t like it when you do it to them so

why do they have to do it to you. Just STOP THE

CONVERSATION WHILE I’M GONE. Yet you know what it’s even worse? When you are

gone for three hours from your phone, so you turn it

off naturally to conserve energy, but when you get

back, you are in for a surprise see the conversation

was still going while you were gone so you come

back thinking … ”Hey I wonder what happened while I was gone.”

Well here is what happened NO ONE was quiet, so

you are stuck there waiting until all if the beeping

stops.

A couple weeks ago I had my

phone off all day

so when I turned

it on I Had to wait

45mins until I could respond.

—AM

All g

raph

ics

in f

eatu

re c

ourt

esy

of M

S C

lipar

t

Have you heard the myth that there is a pool under the gym?

Since it is the twentieth year of Mt. Baker being open, it’s important to dig deep into the history and

mystery of the school.

This myth was also published in the first Canine Chronicle edition ever and it’s about time we had a

follow up and put to rest the question of whether or not there is in fact a pool under the gym.

Mentioned in our first edition of the Canine Chronicle

this year was CTE teacher Mr. Jacobs. He has been with the school for all twenty years, and saw the

school being built. This makes him a prime source for

information and knowledge about our school. Mr. Jacobs said, “No, there is no pool under our

school”. He then proceeded to describe how the gym was

built. He said that they first lay a concrete footing

under the entire building. Then in the gyms case, they build the walls up around it, and then they put the wood

flooring you see when you first walk into the gym, which lies on top of rubber-ball like feet with flat un-

dersides to give some spring to the gym floor. Thus

making it impossible to have a gym under the floor. He said that to go find the pool in the gym might actually

mean get lost. Mr. Brown, the principal, on the other hand said,

“Yes, I have been told there is a pool under the gym,

but I have never seen it.” Mr. Brown said he learned that there’s a pool under

the gym from the previous principal, Mr. Adams. Brown also stated that he had never actually seen

the pool but it is said to be full of old desks and chairs

for storage. Mr. Cowan also stated his opinion on the myth.

When asked if he had seen it, he said, “Of course.” Cowan also said that he knows how to get to the pool.

Other than this he gave no other specific information

concerning the mystery of the pool. In an exclusive interview with former Baker student

Drew Wallen, he stated, “When people first heard of the

pool myth, they started to spread rumors, including

the teachers.” When also asked if he thought there was a pool

under the gym, he said, “I never have, because it’s almost impossible with the floor already there.”

When we further investigated the myth, we talked to

math teacher Mr. Carter. Carter stated that there actually was a pool but that

he had never seen it. Carter said, however, that there was a lawsuit filed

against the Auburn School District that involved a pool

located at Auburn High, and a student from the swim team dived in without supervision into the pool and

severed his spinal cord.

The student involved was named Bryce Hendrickson and he had dived into the pool in the year right after

the school was built. The dates and names found online fit exactly what Mr. Carter stated in the interview. The

Auburn School District decided to drain all pools to

avoid further injury. We never actually got to see the pool because no one

would let us go and see it. All sources stated that it was confidential informa-

tion and some of them had never seen it themselves.

We cannot definitely state yes or no on whether or not there is a pool.

A n I n v e s t i g a t i v e R e p o r t o n M y t h

Harrison Maurus, Kyle Bates, Jonathan Casey

A picture surfaced recently of the construction of the gym floor, sparking debate of the accuracy of the

“pool myth”. The Picture that sparked the myth with the original construction of the pool area.

COURTESY OF 1994 MBMS YEARBOOK

PHOTO BY J. FORWARD & H. ADDISON

Overalls, slap bracelets, scrunchies, fanny packs, and crazy hair. Some

fashion trends from the ‘90s have been making a comeback to this gen-eration. As an addition to celebrating twenty years of Mt. Baker, teachers

have shared some of their favorite trends from the past, as well as

styles that they absolutely do not want to return.

Popular television shows Friends and Saved by the Bell, were fashion

inspirations in the ‘90s.

Mrs. Burkhalter, PE teacher, was teaching at the time. Some of the fashion trends she remembers are overalls, converse high-tops, and

high-waist jeans.

One of her favorite outfits to wear was patterned leggings with long

oversized sweaters.

Mrs. Burkhalter stated, “I think I’ve had the same haircut for twenty

years.”

The ‘90s consisted of a mix of many diverse fashions, trending pop culture and also music. One trend, in particular, is reemerging in the

fashion world. Grunge was a popular trend in the ‘90s era. Flannel shirts,

Doc Martins, and ripped, light wash jeans, completed the styles that were

inspired by hard rock music. Grunge is also sometimes referred to as

the “Seattle Sound”. Despite it’s sudden comeback, grunge will always be

associated with the ‘90s and remembered by the effects it made at the

time. In 1994, Mrs. Carnahan, eighth grade history teacher, was in her jun-

ior/senior years of high school. She said leggings (known as “stretch

pants” at the time), floral-printed shirts, and flannel shirts were the

most popular trends from high school. One thing she wouldn’t want to

make a comeback is “holey” or ripped jeans. Mrs. Carnahan has also

seen leggings, long sweaters, and combat boots around Mt. Baker, which

remind her of popular styles in the ‘90s.

1994 fashion was referred to as “new glamor”, which brought a style called deconstruction. Unfinished seams, un-ironed cloth, and strange

stitching were featured. Short, swingy dresses and bright prints re-placed less constructed looks from past years. Another popular trend from the early ‘90s were MC Hammer pants. The

baggy, parachute style pants were worn by the famous rappers in vari-ous music videos. The pants have recently made a comeback, but are

now known to be called “harem pants”. Although today’s version of ham-mer pants are similar to those worn decades ago, today they are made of different fabrics and are also worn differently.

‘90s fashion trends and today’s trends have a lot in common. Many styles from the past years may seem like they are gone, but, in time, they

will make a comeback. Ripped jeans, combat boots, and flannel shirts are seen around Mt. Baker and

are similar to the “grunge” look of the ‘90s.

PHOTO BY J. FORWARD

Fashion Trends Resurface

Bella Coronado & Hope Addison

Although seeing a Beanie Baby and a Furby both

wearing satin jackets as they play Tamagotchi may

seem odd now, this would be a heavenly holiday scene for a child in the ‘90s.

Millions of gifts were given around the holiday sea-son in the 90’s, mostly consisting of satin jackets,

Tamagotchi, Beanie Babies, and Furbies.

Beanie Babies were the most popular gift through-out the ‘90s. They cost around 6 dollars then. They

are priced now at anywhere from 10 dollars (Common) to $350,000 dollars (Extremely Rare).

They were originally invented in 1993, and were a major successes in ’94. There were only nine origi-

nally, but now there are over 1,000 individual designs.

The original 9 types were, Legs the frog, Squealer the pig, Brownie the bear, Flash the dolphin, Splash the

whale, Patti the platypus, Chocolate the moose, Spot the dog, and Pinchers the lobster. They toys were

produced by TY Inc.

Satin jackets were among the most popular of gifts

in ’94. Seen on hit TV shows like Fresh Prince of Bell-Air and Saved by the Bell they quickly became popu-lar. The brand Starter was the biggest company sup-

plying this trend. The holidays are a time for giving and this is the equivalent of Nike equipment asked for

by teenagers everywhere. These popular jackets

were used by varsity sports players at schools na-tionwide, making a stylish way to show school spirit.

Satin jackets are on a comeback trail with new sports insignias and other styles.

While a majority of children asked for the “popular” gifts, there were always some children who strayed

away from the trends.

Science teacher Mr. Johnson, who when asked what his most memorable gift from his childhood, he

said ,“My archery set, for which I spent years devel-oping my skills.”

We all have that one gift we ask for every year but

never seem to get, gifts like puppies and flat screen

TVs,

Mr. Johnson said it was waking up Christmas day and receiving a “UFO.”

Mr. Johnson never asked for gifts like satin jackets and beanie babies, “I was ‘un cool’ and never had any

of the new trends, even today.”

Furbies. This electronic and stuffed animal hybrid was a very popular gift during the holiday season.

They were first introduced in 1998 as a “must have” gift for the holiday season.

Hasbro originally sold the toys for $35 retail price. Hasbro sold approximately 40 million Furby in the

first three years of its introduction.

Furbies have been upgraded more and more. Just recently these little fur balls were updated so that

you could get apps on your smart phone to feed them and keep them “alive”.

The Furby industry has been plummeting in value as they become less and less popular while the company

Hasbro as had a steady increase in value since the

release of the Furby in 1998, because the original Furbys become rarer.

Tomogatchi. If you have ever wanted a pet, but your parents won’t let you get one, a ‘90s toy created and

sold by the Japanese Bandai company could solve your problems.

The digital phenomenon has progressed so far that

an app called Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. has been created and is used by thousands of children who have grown up

with the toy. (Life is an acronym for “Love Is Fun Everywhere.”) This new app was created by the mak-

ers of Tomagachi and is based on the legacy of the toy.

Tamagotchilife.com states, “Fans who grew up with Tamagotchi are, today, positive, assured, intrepid,

cooperative and empowering, much like the attrib-

utes of the brand’s namesake. And when you factor in its modern-day update with a trendsetting focus,

you’ll understand what Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. is all about.”

Furbies were among the most popular gifts in the late 90’s newer models have been released since then

such as this one. PHOTO BY H. ADDISON

Top Holiday Gifts

Ben Geisen, Jonathan Casey, Harrison Maurus

PHOTO BY J. FORWARD & H. ADDISON

The holidays are coming around and it’s the gift giving season. It’s time to get gifts for your parents that will make you their favorite. We have the perfect idea,

the ‘90s! There are many gifts that you get give your parents that they would drop dead

laugh at, but many students buy their parents the ordinary things.

Sixth grader Karlie White said, “I usually buy stuff [my parents] wanted.”

The usual go to gift is something hand-made that was made with paper, stickers, love, and a lack of time that results in macaroni necklaces or homemade candles.

Sixth grader Siarah Brown said, “My go to gift would to get my parents an ‘I’ something [ipod, iphone],”

Parents expect the usual, but don’t you want to give them a gift that they will

treasure? Some retro gifts you could buy today include a set of inline skates, a set of a ‘90s

TV DVD box sets, maybe a couple Beanie Babies, some brightly colored Furbies, a pair of MC Hammer pants and leg warmers, or some old CD’s by famous ‘90s art-

ists.

Sixth grader Camden Heilborn said, “I could get my parents some really old books or some gift cards to really old places. They are really, really old...like 50.”

DVD box sets are perfect to remind them of their child hood. For example,

Friends, Saved by the Bell, Full House, Family Matters, Step by Step, and Boy Meets World are great gifts that will get your parents laughing all night. You could plan a

whole day dedicated to watching the whole set with your family. DVDs were not the only thing that made the ‘90s memorable; MC Hammer Pants

and leg warmers were the style back in the day.

Sixth graders Siarah Brown and Maliyah Kim agreed that they would get their parents leg warmers or hammer pants.

Both MC Hammer Pants and leg warmers were originally worn by dancers. MC Hammer Pants were primarily worn by men and they were for hip hop dancers and

break dancers. On the other hand, leg warmers were mostly worn by ballerinas.

If you don’t know what size your parents wear or you don’t want to give them clothes then your next choice could be to get your parents one of those cute, little

Furbies. Furbies were popular because they were able to talk. Furbies were originally sold

for around 30 dollars. There are rare types Furbies that people will collect and sell

for lots of money. At auctions they could have been sold to $300 and more, but don’t let that stop you from going out and buying one. These little creatures are still

available to be bought. One time during a 12 month period, there was a total of 27 million Furbies sold.

Don’t worry if none of the previous ideas worked for you, the go-to gift of the ‘90s

were a set of inline skates. Even though they are not as popular as they were back then they are still a great

gift. Now most people you see are on the sidewalks are on bikes or skateboards, but they don’t get the appreciation of by-standers looking at someone in skates.

Maybe the next person you see on the sidewalk could be your parents riding in

skates. There are many ways to remind your parents of the ‘90s, these are just a few

ideas to get you creative juices flowing. Get a gift that will make your parent tell you

stories from the ‘90s.

Several fashion trends mimic trends that parents enjoyed in their youth.—

today’s version of MC hammers pants. PHOTO BY J. FORWARD

To Help Parents Reminisce ‘90s

Destany Abellera & Jalen Forward

CreativeCommons.org

Holiday Movies What is your favorite holiday movie? Compiled by Anna Maracich

“Christmas Vaca-

tion is one of my

favorites.”

-Mr. Carter Math Teacher

“I like to watch

Elf and Jingle All

The Way.”

-Lexi Allen Seventh Grade

“My favorite

is probably

The Grinch.”

-Kristina Soderquist Sixth Grade

“My favorite

holiday movie

is Frosty the

Snowman.”

-Conner Pitlick Eight Grade

[Arts & Entertainment] [18 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

The holiday season is approaching quickly and festive films are beginning to fill television screens. ‘Tis the

season to cozy up by a fireplace while appreciating holi-

day movies. Holiday movies, there are so many to choose. Whether

you like comedies, dramas, romances, or action, there’s a

motion picture out there for you. Sixty percent of Mount Baker student’s favorite holiday

movie is Elf. Elf’ is an American Christmas comedy that was released in 2003; it’s about Buddy, who is raised as

an elf in the North Pole. He eventually sets out to New

York to find where he is from. Throughout that process he finds himself and his place in the world.

Seventh graders Megan Bailey and Peyton Coleman

said they enjoyed the movie, “Elf’, because Will Ferrell is in it and he’s so funny. There is also a resemblance

to my family and other families in movies.”

Coming in at second place by 36 percent is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This movie is about how the

Grinch, who hates Christmas, steals all of Whoville’s

gifts to ruin their favorite holiday. He later realizes the true meaning of Christmas and that it’s not all

about glitter and toys. Eighth grader Montana Logan said, “I prefer classic

holiday movies verses more recent holiday movies. My

favorite holiday movie is How the Grinch Stole Christ-mas.”

The Polar Express took third place being 32

percent of student’s favorite holiday film. This movie is

based on a book that tells that the curiosity of life cer-tainly does not diminish for those who believe. A doubting

boy sets on a journey to the North Pole after boarding a

magical train on Christmas Eve and discovers something, only for those who believe in Santa.

In fourth place is Home Alone a comedy that is about a

boy named Kevin who is accidently left behind after his family takes off to France. He fends for himself with

schemes and traps when his house is being burglarized.

At fifth place is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It’s a classic Christmas television special movie that was

released in 1964 telling the story of Rudolph finding a place where he will be accepted.

Sixth grader Nicholas Benabid said his favorite

holiday movie is, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer because its stop motion, the story has a good

moral, and it gets me the most into the holiday

spirit.” Whether you watch movies to get you in the

holiday spirit or not, they are sure entertaining

to watch. Therefore, if you’re ever bored over winter break, pick up one of these movies that

will captivate your imagination this winter.

MBMS’s Favorite Holiday Movies

Jasmine Dang

Home Alone released in 1990 is a successful

movie and an adored family comedy. “There are few movies that can be described as never having

a dull moment and Home Alone fits in this small

group. It's the perfect family holiday film.” (Kevin

Carr, 7M Pictures) COURTESY OF KISS925.COM

[Arts & Entertainment] [December 2013 * 19]

It’s that time year again, Christmas. So you know what that means, Christmas songs. Most people like them, they

think they are fun to listen to. But other people don’t be-cause they think the songs are annoying. These are the top

three disliked holiday songs.

#1 “Jingle Bells” by Singing Dogs

The 1955 version of the holiday song is actually barked, not sung, is

still the most disliked Christmas holiday song.

1955 was a time of experimenta-tion with cutting, splicing and editing.

Carl Weismann was one of the first ornithologists to cap-ture bird’s song on tape. One day while doing, so he kept

getting interrupted by barking dogs. The annoyance gave him a bright idea, to record the dogs barking.

In his studio, Weismann spliced together the variety of barks speeding them up and down to match pitch.

The dogs featured in the song were two shepherds, a

poodle, a terrier, and a pinscher The song is literally “bark bark bark, bark bark bark, bark

bark bark bark bark” Jingle bells hit No.22 on the billboard charts in 1955. When

the song was rereleased in 1971, it was even more popular. Seventh grader Karen Ordaz said “[The Christmas song

that annoys me the most is] jingle bells”

#2 “The Man with All the Toys” by Beach Boys

This two minute trip in monotony is probably one of the most annoying Christmas songs of all time.

You say your favorite holiday song is ‘Man with All the

Toys’ by Beach Boys? Better get out that old vinyl 45 a spin.

As far as the radio cares, they are saying, “Bah, Humbug.”

When you think of the Beach Boys you probably think is sum-

mer hence’ Beach’. So for them to do a Christmas song is confusing.

Released in 1964, rated 65 percent on the charts. But in 2009, the holiday tune rated zero.

What makes this song so annoying is that the words “the man with all the toys “is repeated so much, it’s ridiculous.

#3 “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” by

Spike Jones This song was released in 1948;

it was famous for the humor of the topic.

Not only is the phrase “all I want for Christmas” cliché, but

putting “my two front teeth” behind it wasn’t the best idea.

The inspiration for the song came from a class of 22 stu-dents; 16 of them had both their front teeth missing.

Like most songs, this one just repeats the same annoying verse, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” or

”my two front teeth”. Seriously, almost every line it says

that. Also some verses, it says, “thweeth”, instead of “teeth”,

showing that without the front teeth the person can’t pro-nounce “teeth” correctly.

All-Time Most Annoying

Kat Hamm

PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

ILLUSTRATIONS BY K. HAMM

[Arts & Entertainment] [20 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

“At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard

part is finding the courage to do it,” bestselling au-thor of The Hunger games series Suzanne Collins

said. Collins turned her series into a hit, becoming a

worldwide sensation.

According to many people, this movie was said to be a definite watch, and worth it.

The movie starts with Katniss recently coming back from the Hunger Games as a victor. The capitol is

very angry with her, because she beat the Games by bringing back another person with her as a victor,

when protocol only allows one victor.

Then there’s a twist, another Hunger Games; but this time, the competitors are chosen from all the

previous victors from the past 75 years. President Snow was able to change the game rules,

because the capitol is allowed to change them up every twenty five years, called the Quarter Quell. The film’s story was very understandable, but only

if you had watched the first film in the series. You could understand the film story better If you watched

that before, because the movie starts off from the place the previous one [Hunger Games] left off from.

Also, the movie went along almost as exactly as the books were, unlike other films made from books. The

story line was very intense and action packed, there

was a lot of emotions mixed together, making the story a phenomenon.

The special effects were very strong, because almost all the parts looked very real, as they were in

the arena. One part in the movie could’ve related to the movie

Avatar, when the arena map is laid out in front of them.

In the movie Avatar, the people in it have the 3-D Avatar world in front of them to see all activity, just

like they had in Catching Fire. When eighth grader, Victoria Cegielski was asked

what her favorite part in the movie was, she

said, “The beach scene, because it was just so romantic. And it proves that

Peeta’s and Katniss’s relation-ship was true, genuine, and

pure.” Catching Fire had a

different director than

Hunger Games, and Catching Fire was said

to be the better one, because it was more

detailed. Catching Fire was very close to how

the book was, unlike

how Hunger Games didn’t include as many

details and left out some parts.

When a sixth grader, Sophia Bailly was asked

how she liked Catching Fire compared to Hunger Games, she said, “I liked Hunger Games better, be-

cause Catching Fire was way more violent and I didn’t like that.”

And when a seventh grader was asked how she liked the movie from rating from 1-10 (ten best, one

being the worst), she said, “It would be a ten, be-cause it kept me in suspense, and it was interesting

to watch.” While we all await the two part finale of Mockingjay,

concluding and ending the Hunger Games series, we are left with the cliff hanger

fresh in our minds

from Catching Fire.

The Catching Fire books have sold over ten million copies

in total. COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM VIA CREATIVE COM-

MONS LICENSE

Kamalvir Jhajj

[Arts & Entertainment] [December 2013 * 21]

COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

Ender’s Game is the first movie adaptation of a book

written by Orson Scott Card. The story follows our hero,

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, who is a super-genius six-year-

old, who is sent off to a school orbiting Earth in an at-

tempt to save the world from an alien invasion.

Most of the teenage population is focused on movies

that offer romance and violence. Ender’s Game only has

violence and a well thought out story line. However, if you

were to consider a complete genocide of a species ro-

mantic, then this movie is for you.

Altogether, the movie was iffy. It ran for 114 minutes.

Most of which were a nonstop bombardment of flashing

lights and loud noises.

After being traumatized about killing one of his rivals in

the shower, Ender returns to earth, builds a boat, and

then discusses his life choices with his loving sister, who

sends him right back into space. He then commands an

army and lays waste to a peaceful alien species of tele-

pathic bug people.

Usually, when you look at an adaptation of a book you

can say that the movie itself is “Good only as a stand-

alone plot” or “It only works if you read the book before-

hand”. Unfortunately, Ender’s Game didn’t really fit either

criterion.

The most obvious failure was Valentine Wiggin (Ender’s

sister who ultimately adores Ender).

Throughout the novel, Valentine was easily one of the

most interesting, three-dimensional characters. She was

able to not only provide assistance and bring the morale

of Ender up when she needed to, but she also helped take

over the world (Earth, specifically).

Unfortunately for Valentine, her cameo in the movie was

just that, a cameo. She literally had no depth or meaning

and might as well had been replaced by a talking robot

that showed up and said the right things at the right

times, as that is all she was able to accomplish.

To further the butchery, many characters mysteriously

swapped, race, cultural heritage, age, names, and even

gender! I have to wonder if the crew even read the book.

To be utterly frank, the movie was sub-par. Not only did

it swerve off course from the book, but it also changed

pace from slow and comfortable to “everything will occur

in one scene, because speed means good”.

Overall, the movie wasn’t completely awful, but it was

far from a perfect adaptation.

Disappoints Fans of Book Series Aaron Baker & Ryan Hess

December

Locker

Lottery

Ysabela Manuel, Maddie Feeney, Gigi Alcedo

Locker Lottery was created as a way to feature stu-

dents’ opinions at MBMS. They are selected com-pletely at random, like the lottery. Several students

hit the jackpot, providing their perspectives on mul-tiple issues. We interviewed and chose two lucky students in sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The sixth graders are Aaron McCurdy and Shamara Perry. The seventh graders are Jesus Zavala and Karoline Zvonenko. The eighth graders are Ethan Celver and Jett Dolan-Harrison.

What’s the worst present you’ve ever received?

EC: Clothes.

JZ: Clothes.

KZ: Socks.

SRP: A little girl stuffed animal.

AM: Clothes.

Do you ever peek in your stocking?

JDH: If I can see it.

AM: No, I like surprises.

If you could change the Mt. Baker mascot to anything,

what’d you choose?

EC: Chihuahua.

JDH: Duck.

KZ: Jaguar or a tiger.

SRP: No, I like the mascot.

AM: I wouldn’t change it.

Is middle school everything you thought it’d be?

JZ: Yes.

KZ: Yes.

SRP: No, we don’t have recess, but I still like it.

AM: Yeah.

If Mt. Baker was given a donation of $1,000,

what’d you suggest buying?

EC: Good food.

JDH: Better chairs.

JZ: Basketball hoop.

SRP: Vending machines.

AM: A drink machine.

What elective should be added to Mt. Baker?

EC: Sleeping.

JDH: Fashion or recess.

JZ: Free time.

SRP: Dancing class.

Do you like summer or winter better?

EC: Fall.

KZ: Summer.

SRP: Summer; because it’s hot, and I can play around.

AM: Winter.

How do you get your money to pay for the holiday

season?

EC: My birthday.

JDH: I babysit, and get chore money.

SRP: I do chores.

AM: I do chores.

What do you look forward most to this year?

EC: Sports.

JDH: Nothing, because I’m so darn scared.

JZ: [I’m looking forward most to this year is] more fun.

SRP: Getting a top locker.

AM: Wrestling.

If you could go back in time or go to the future where

and why?

EC: [I would go to] the future, year 40 billion.

JDH: [I would go to] the future, year 2030.

JZ: [I would go to] the future.

KZ: [I would go] back in time.

SRP: Back in time to December 25. That’s when my par-

ents got divorced.

AM: [I would] go back in time, World War II.

What is your favorite grade and why?

KZ: It’s going to be eighth grade.

SRP: Fourth grade because all my friends were in that

class.

AM: Sixth grade, because easy math.

If you were at home right now, what would you be

doing?

EC: Sleeping.

JDH: Homework.

JZ: [I would be] chilling with my homies.

KZ: [I would be] on my phone.

SRP: On my iPod.

AM: Playing video games or playing football.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving

dish?

EC: Turkey.

JDH: Green bean casserole.

KZ: Turkey.

SRP: Mashed potatoes.

AM: Pumpkin pie.

[Mount Baker Barks] [22* Volume IV, Issue 2]

[Mount Baker Barks] [December 2013 * 23]

Trends to Warm You as Temperatures Fall Anna Maracich & Destany Abellera

It’s time to break out the wool socks, oversized sweaters, and trendy

scarves. Reoccurring trends that fascinate our student population with

intent to stay warm and be cute during the arctic months.

Your fashion sense doesn’t need to go cold when the weather does.

Cold weather is the perfect opportunity to strut your Christmas sweat-

ers with the perfect pair of matching socks.

Eighth grader Tannar Larson said, “I noticed these trends starting

when the leaves start falling.”

Fall fashion doesn’t only include girls; boys have a chance to impress

the ladies with their sweater swag.

Of course, boys aren’t going to wear legging and combat boots, so they

can style their sweater with dark jeans and matching sneakers.

Eighth grader Vasiliy Mazurok said, “I wore scarves and combat boots

because it was cold outside They’re stylish, and I like to bundle up during

the winter months.”

Seventh grader Ilona Kovalenko said, “I have noticed that combat boots

and scarves have become a new trend.”

The stereotypical winter outfit consisting of Uggs and North Faces are

getting old.

This year, replace your ancient boots with the new and fabulous com-

bat boots. Also, who would want to wear the repeated North Face when

you could have the ideal Christmas sweater.

Seventh grader Olivia Goodrich said, “I bundle up during the winter

months with boots, sweaters, jeans, and a necklace.”

As you can see, not only is Goodrich warm, but her fashion sense can’t

be missed.

It appears that boys are a little confused on what winter means. Win-

ter is a cold month. It has been as cold as 17 degrees, and there have

been boys in shorts.

What’s happening, are shorts the new pants? Of course you have to

factor in the comfort of shorts, but many agree that temperature out

rules comfort.

Eighth grader Ryan Hess said, “I wear shorts because I never feel cold,

pants are too restricting, and shorts are extremely comfortable.”

Girls, you are a problem too. You choose to wear skirts and dresses in

the winter but when summer comes everyone is wearing jeans. Your

goose bumps are the size of Mt. Everest! Yes, skirts are cute and all but

a warm scarf and sweater will keep you warm and still fashionable, the

best of both worlds.

Eighth grader Ariel Siharath said, “I wear skirts in the cold weather

because beauty is pain, and pain is beauty.”

Bare legs lead to the common result of the sniffling sinus. Not only do

you miss school, you feel like a dead rat the whole day or maybe even

week. Then, when you’re back at school the pounds of paper pile up.

Therefore, skirts and shorts can lead to stress, sickness, and sniffling.

To stay away from the fashion fever, remember to up your style with

this year’s ideal outfits, dress for the weather, and layer on your ador-

able accessories.

While spending time with your family, make sure to keep these holiday

tips in mind.

Vasiliy was showing a prime

example of some winter

trends when he wore this

outfit on the sixth. PHOTO

BY J. FORWARD

MBMS Dances Mt. Baker has at least one dance a year, the seventh and

eighth grade Valentine’s Dance. The Valentine’s Dance is

hosted by choir and is usually a big success, but this year

our Yearbook staff decided to put on a Glow in the Dark

Dance for the seventh and eighth graders. Should MBMS put

on at least two dances during the school year?

Giving Back It’s gift giving season, and it’s in full swing. With all the holi-

days it’s the perfect time to surprise a loved one or a friend

with a great gift. With Thanksgiving past and thanks given,

Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa, are right around the cor-

ner. That allows you a time to find a great gift. Some say

giving is better than receiving. Do you agree?

A Year in Reflection

Another year is coming to an end and a New Year is begin-

ning. 2013 has been a year filled with new memories. Emo-

tions from sad to furious have been felt. It’s time to reflect

on what we’ve done this last year and plan where we want to

go in the New Year. Did you like the year of 2013?

Starbucks Craze Seattle-based Starbucks coffee company that has more than

5,500 coffeehouses in over 50 countries, becoming a huge

trend to millions of customers daily. The Caramel Brulée

Latte, Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread Latte, and Eggnog

Latte are some of the current featured Holiday drinks. Are

you on the Starbucks bandwagon?

Flannels Since winter is on its way, it’s time to pull out your old, grungy

flannels. Flannels keep you in style, while keeping you warm.

Flannels were a staple piece in fashion from the 90’s for both

girls and boys. While girls usually wear flannels with leggings

and combat boots, boys wear flannels just as ordinary shirts.

Do you have a flannel in your closet?

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking website which allows

users to send “tweets” that are 140 characters or less.

Twitter has recently overtaken Facebook and became more

important to teens. Do you have a Twitter account?

The Canine Chronicle Staff Debates Trends in Pop Culture

Jasmine Dang & Destany Abellera

[Sports] [24 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

Tanner Johnson and Colby Tong compete for a losse ball at practice PHOTO COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK.

The eighth grade boy’s soccer team was the first of

years to come to Mount Baker.

With Kobe Middlebrooks scoring the first goal and first

penalty kick in Mount Baker history.

“I felt amazing when I scored the first goal and penalty

kick,” Middlebrooks stated.

Tannar Larson said the goal Middlebrooks scored was an

awesome goal. He thought that, out of the 12 years he has

been playing soccer, he had never seen a better goal.

Larson thought he developed in the game for a very nice

assist to Middlebrooks for him to score the first goal.

Larson stated, “If I didn’t play the forward position, I

would probably not have gotten an assist off that play.”

Tannar Larson scored the most goals on the team with a

total of 13 this far in the season. He also led the team in

assists with a whole 11. He also had a record breaking game,

when he had four assists and four goals in one game.

Players thought that the best players on the team were

Tannar Larson, Preston Green, Kobe Middlebrooks, and

Trent Mille.

“These guys are talented at soccer,” Tannar Larson

Stated.

Preston Green believed the there were several leaders

on the team, “Tanner Larson, Preston Green, Kobe Middle-

brooks, and also Trent Miller. They are very good captains

for the team.”

He also feels like the team is playing wonderful because

they play as a team and with commitment. “They always

play hard even when, we are up by a lot,” stated Green.

Jorge Salas played left wing and right wing.

“My favorite part of the season was enjoying what I like to

play and learning new techniques so I can make all of us,

much better,” Jorge Salas stated.

Salas also stated, “’This is would be one of the hardest

positions I have played during my career in soccer and this

position involves a lot of running.”

He also thought that the team played with passion, every

time they stepped onto the field.

In a game against Olympic, Jorge Salas scored the game

tying goal, with one minute left in the game. “I was so ex-

cited when I scored,”Jorge Salas stated.

Middlebrooks loves playing the position he has on this Mt.

Baker Middle school soccer team, he played center attack

on the field. Middlebrooks enjoyed playing on this soccer

team, because it was a great opportunity for him to get

better as a soccer player.

Most interviewees said that they thought Olympic was the

hardest team to play against this season because it was a

very intensive game.

Seventh Grade Soccer Daniel Shablevskiy

Mount Baker Middle School’s seventh grade soccer

team has gone undefeated as of December eleventh.

Francisco Gonzalez has always adored playing soccer,

since his dad played when he was little and now Fran-

cisco plays like his dad did once. Gonzalez’s position is

left forward, but he wishes to play center forward.

Gonzalez thus far hasn’t scored yet but he had an as-

sist. He had been a very good distributer for the team.

Jorge Malacon is another player on the team; he enjoys

playing on the team with the rest of the players. Jorge

plays center forward and has scored five times this year.

When Malacon was asked about scoring a goal, he said,

“It feels awesome to score.” Jorge was the first player to

score on the seventh grade Baker team.

Gonzalez thought the leader on the team was Malacon.

He always was a good role model for others and he

worked hard every time they have a game or practice.

For example, if someone was struggling then Gonzalez

would go help them out until they got it correct.

Another person that plays on the sevnth grade team

was Tyler Broen.

Broen plays on two teams, one in school and one out, so

he has more practice than others.

Left forward Broen enjoyed playing on the school team,

he said, “It’s a great opportunity”.

Broen has scored once so far.

Reminiscing on the time he scored, he said, “it feels

awesome, [making a goal] feels complete”.

Tyler agreed that Jorge is the leader on their team

“[Jorge] is always helping the team and talking [to en-

courage others] on the field.”

The school that was hardest to play against was Rainer.

Kicks Off First Season

Ka’Sean Griffin & Daniel Shablevskiy

[Sports] [December 2013 * 25]

“Gymnastics uses every tiny muscle that you never

even knew about,” said US Olympic gymnast Shannon

Miller.

This being said, the gymnastics team was a determined

team, everyone worked hard and put everything they had

into those eight weeks.

This was the first year that sixth graders were allowed

to join and compete to be on team. Sixth grader Hope

Gilbreath said that she was going to continue to compete

and practice with the MBMS team.

Seventh grader Mercedes Johnson-Gutierrez said,

“Yes, I’m going to continue to compete with the MBMS

team because [gymnastics] is fun and I like it!”

By the middle of the season, many had already im-

proved.

Coach Swanson said “[The team] had less club gym-

nasts, which really made [the team] work harder than

some in the past.”

Hope Gilbreath mentioned, “Even though there was

some drama, my favorite part was when one of the sev-

enth or eighth graders would come and give me tips; even

though, they were working on their own stuff.”

The team had spent most of their time in the gym, and

tensions would get high the closer they got to meet day,

but it was noted that the girls worked very well as a

whole.

Coach Swanson said, “I was impressed with how the

girls were working together.”

The season started late October, and it will end mid-

December, the team will have had five meets.

With all of the improvements, there were many high-

lights to point out.

Coach Swanson said, “I was excited when Megan Bailey

vaulted for her first time and got a score of 8.3, also,

Cheyenne Smith has been working hard on her beam

routine.”

As of December 11, their win-loss record was three wins

and zero losses, poised for another league championship.

The team was humble during the best of times and the

worst of times. Mrs. Swanson’s captains and managers

were a large piece to the team’s success, with helping

and encouraging all members as much as possible.

Coach Swanson said, “Kyla Poquiz, the captain, was

great with giving the girls feedback on how to improve

and what they were doing right. Ashley Saunders, one

manager, consistently helped the girls on the bars.”

Gymnastics is a no-cut sport, which means all who sign

up are guaranteed a place in the gym, but not all who sign

up are put on the mat to compete against other schools.

With approximately 80 girls in one gym every practice,

cooperation and patience were important attributes for

the girls to have.

After their devastating preseason loss to Rainier, the

win against them was a taste of sweet success for these

girls.

Seventh grader Mercedes Johnson-Gutierrez said,

“After the practice-meet loss to Rainer, the whole team

wanted to work harder.”

MBMS has benefitted from their large numbers.

Cascade coach Mrs. Steffy said, “[The reason] the

Baker gymnastics team are good competitors is because

they have more depth. [The judges] take the top five

scores and if you have more girls competing in that event

then the team gets more opportunities to place.”

Hopefully all of these successful gymnasts will continue

to work hard and improve their skills to the high school

level, and grow as a team.

Competes for Another Title Alyssa Ferry

MBMS team shown lining up on the mat in a meet against Rainier. COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK

[Sports] [26 * Volume IV, Issue 2]

Ballers in the Building! The varsity boys basketball team

had an outstanding season.

The hard work and dedication has had a big impact on

these young men.

With Kamil Quadri handling the ball, Patreon Lee shoot-

ing, and Jason Brown controlling the court, this team is

unstoppable.

All the players enjoyed playing on the Mt. Baker basket-

ball team.

Isaiah Prescott, Patreon Lee, Colin Rhodes, Thomas Knox,

And Jason Brown start off most of the games.

“Our team is good, we have great chemistry, and we are

all friends” Pa’treon Lee stated.

“I think my team is awesome, [it has] great hustle and

great chemistry,” Jonathan Ocampo said.

Most of the players on the team have been playing bas-

ketball for a couple of years, so they know what hard work

and hustle is supposed to look like.

Head coach Lubash has worked these boys each and

every practice. He made sure these young men are condi-

tioned enough to run up and down the court every game.

“I love my coach, he is the best coach I have ever had”

stated Jonathan Ocampo.

Pa’treon Lee said, “He’s a good coach, he knows what to

do, he handles problems, and he is good at what he does.

“I like playing on the basketball team because it is a

privilege,” stated Isaiah Prescott.

To keep this team going you have to have some leaders

to help you guys get ready for the game.

Acoording to players, hese teams’ leaders are Jason

Brown, Pa’treon Lee, Isaiah Prescott, and Ka’sean Griffin.

Pa’treon Lee said, “I think everybody is a leader because

it take a lot of people to make a team not just a couple.”

The most improved player on the team is Kyle Bates, as

according to his teammates.

Pa’treon Lee played basketball because, “It’s my passion

and I want to make it to the NBA. [That] has always been

my dream”.

This team is as much disciplined as they can be.

“It depends on your mood, when we are very energized

we are not much disciplined but when we are focused then

we are disciplined,” Isaiah Prescott stated.

“We average about 80 points per game and we beat

every team by at least 25 points or more,” Isaiah Prescott

continued.

Most of these players have been playing basketball for a

while.

“I have been playing basketball since I was three years

old” says Isaiah Prescott.

The high schools are going to receive a very good group

of basketball players.

TJ Williams

Isaiah Prescott, Vasiliy Mazurok, and Colin Rhodes go in for the two points. COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK

Seventh Grade Basketball Ka’Sean Griffin

The seventh grade basketball team has a season to

remember with great scores by all their players. Now that’s how you start and end a good season for the bull-

dogs. The team battled until the final whistle blew every

time they were on the court. Turning the team on edge, Mr.Vatne’s team player Justin

Higginson thought Dylan Molina was a good role model for

them. He led them by example all the time. He never goofed around, which makes a respectable leader. He also

said that Andrey Grischenko improved the most on the

team. At first he could barely make a layup, but now he can

make a layup almost every time. He also thought the team was playing very well.

Higginson said, “[The team] played with dedication and

with pride at all times, which is why we were a successful team.”

Also on Mr.Vatne’s team, Grishchenko loved the way the

team was playing. He thought they moved the ball around and it’s not just one person having the ball.

Grischenko said, “Dan Ramirez and Dylan Molina were

the two best players on the team.”

Grischenko played his first year in basketball and he though he has improved a lot over the season.

Dishing and swishing. that’s how Jackson Williams on

Mrs. Brown’s team acted when they played. Williams’s favorite part of the season was when they

played North Tapps Middle School. He thought it was a very

intense game because every time they scored, North

Tapps scored, and everybody was playing their best. Wil-liams said every time they scored, they cheered on their

teammates.

Also on Mrs. Brown’s team, Phillip Odarchuck thought Theo Washington is one of their best shooters.

He loved the way the team was playing because he

thought Mrs. Brown and the other players were awesome to play with.

[Sports] [December 2013 * 27]

It has been four years since the 2010 Vancouver Olym-pics. Where has time gone? The 2014 Winter Olympics will

be held in Sochi, Russia from Feb. 7-23.

With less than 60 days to the Winter Olympics athletes

begin to finish up their preparations for the games. Com-

petitors will compete in 98 events across 15 sports. The

15 sports are Ice Hockey, Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating, Figure Skating, Curling, Ski Jumping, Nor-

dic Combined, Biathlon, Skiing, Alpine Skiing, Freestyle

Skiing, Snowboarding, Bobsleigh, Skeleton, and Luge. Seventh grader Kylee Cole said, “Snowboarding and

skiing are my favorite sports because I like to snowboard

and ski. [These sports] interest me.” The Olympics happens once every four years and is a

traditional sporting event. The 2014 games is the twenty-

second Winter Olympics. It is estimated that the Sochi Olympics is the most costly, with a price tag at over $50

billion. This will be the first time Russia will be holding the

Winter Olympics.

Sixty-four percent of Mount Baker students are planning

to watch the Olympics. Of those students, 82 percent are

planning on rooting for the United States. Eighth grader Atiana Garza said, “I want the United

States to win so they can prove that they are the best in

all winter sports such as snowboarding, skiing, and ice skating.”

Although Norway has won more Winter Olympic medals than any other country, the United States is the only

country to have won at least one gold medal at every

Winter Olympics. Major controversy has also stirred up in the midst of

this Olympics being held in Russia because of gay rights

issues, the anniversary of the Circassian genocide, safety issues, and environmental issues.

All issues aside the Winter Olympics is to enjoy the

sports of all cultures and to promote all the delight found

in determination or hard work for the sport. It also helps

builds a better world through sports accomplished in

peace, companionship, and respect. Sixth grade teacher Mr. Brown said he liked Winter

Olympics, “Because it’s an opportunity to see athletes

play sports you normally don’t see. It gets people to see other sports than the tradition sports like volleyball,

basketball, and gymnastics.”

After 16 days of intense competition, the 2014 Winter

Games will come to an end and the torch will be passed on

to Pyeong Chang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympic

Games. But until then get ready to anticipate some nail biting and heated rivalry between countries.

The Sochi 2014 Olympics are hurriedly approaching for

many sports fans, and many Baker students plan to

watch, but many are uninformed about what they are

even watching. So when viewing these amazing athletes,

make sure you know about their surroundings and the

history of the Olympics.

The Olympics this year are held in the resort city of

Sochi, Russia. A city considered to be one of the lengthi-

est and skinniest in the world. The city is only two miles in

length but also 92 miles long. The population is about

400,000 people as of 2012.

This is the first Winter Olympics ever held in Russia, the

twenty-second in world history. There was technically a

Winter Olympics held in the old U.S.S.R, but it is not

counted as being in Russia, according to the official

Olympics website.

The timeline for the Olympics is expected to be Feb. 7-

23, and the Paralympics are scheduled to be held March 7

-16.

Sochi is also the host city for a 2018 FIFA World Cup

Qualifier, and these games are expected to be the most

environmentally aware Olympic Games ever.

In some miscellaneous information, three men were

arrested in a terrorist plot to attack the 2014 Games.

The plot was to bomb the opening ceremony, but sev-

eral leads were followed by the FBI to stop the attack.

Now onto the controversy of the Sochi games; in the

early stages of the Olympics when Russia was developing

the arena, the question on if Russia would allow gay

athletes to compete in the games arose.

When the final verdict came that Russia would not allow

gay athletes, many countries called for boycotts that

never came.

Whether you don’t care at all or will be watching every

moment, enjoy the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Fast Facts for the 2014 Olympics Kyle Bates

The Official Olympic rings represent

pride and competition, but in these

games for many athletes they stand

for controversy and hostility. COUR-

TESY OF GOOGLE.COM VIA CREATIVE

COMMONS LICENSE

Winter Olympics ApproachWinter Olympics Approach Samantha Leurquin & Jasmine Dang

[Life] [December 2013 * 28]

DECEMBER

HOROSCOPES Ben Geisen

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The next

time you talk to your crush, you’ll have

something stuck in your teeth.

Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20): While eating

fish, you will see a unicorn, flying over a

rainbow.

Aries (Mar. 21-April 19): The next time

you visit the dentist you will find five

dollars on the ground.

Taurus (April 20-May 20): While walking

outside, you will find a bag of gold cov-

ered diamonds in a blue bush.

Gemini (May 21-June 20): During this

holiday season you will receive an awk-

ward present from a family member.

Cancer (June 21-July 22): While at the

zoo, one of the penguins you meet will

become your pet, and follow you home.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): All of your holiday

gifts will consist of a leotards, spandex,

and sweatpants.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): On Christmas

morning you will find two lumps of coal

in your stocking. Have a barbeque; don’t

let them go to waste.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): While at the

library, an old man dressed as Santa

Claus will ask you what you want for

Christmas.

Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): Your second

cousin will gift you with a scorpion this

holiday season.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Bananas

will bring you good luck, and are an

excellent source of potassium.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): While play-

ing in the snow, a snowman will come

alive and wish you, “Happy Birthday”.

December Puzzles Gigi Alcedo

COLD ELF HOT COCO NEW YEAR PRESENTS

RAIN SANTA SEAHAWKS SHORTER DAYS SLEEP

SWEATER TUMBLR TURKEY WINTER

What do you plan on doing this winter break? Sleep in, watch movies, have snowball fights, play video games.

If you don’t know what you are going to do this winter break,

then here are some things that about.com suggests and what some students are planning on doing during this winter break.

According to about.com winter break can be the best time of

the year to go to a museum, go bowling, take a tour, and visit and get to know some of the regional landmarks and destinations.

Winter break is also the best time to go and do some outdoor activities such as ice skating or sledding. Winter break can also

be a great time to redecorate your room because a lot of people

love to show their personalities and maybe so do you. It is also a great time of the year to have a sleep over because of how long

the break is.

According to Morgan Putnam, a sixth grader, he stated he

though that he is going to Las Vegas for a vacation this year, but he doesn’t usually this every year.

Putnam’s friends usually don’t do what he does on winter

break, but he stated that his siblings do. Seventh grader Andrey Grishchenko stated, “I am going to

hang out with friends, hang out with family, and have a snowball

fight this year if it snows enough.” Usually he doesn’t this every winter break, but he usually every

year goes to the mountains with his family. Also he stated that his brothers and sisters also do this as well

on winter break.

And so if you needed any ideas for what you can do on winter break, hopefully now you have some ideas on what you can do on

this winter break.

A couple of kids hanging out in the snow which is a great thing to do

over winter break. COURTASY OF GOOGLE IMAGES VIA CREATIVE COM-

MONS LICENSE

Plans for Winter

Break

Daniel Filovets