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PAIDPERMIT NO. 31

IMPORTANT OCTOBERDATES

Oct 9Picture Day Retakes @ 8:30 a.m.FCCLA Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

Oct 10Sports Association Meeting @ 5:00 p.m.

Oct 13FBLA Worlds of Fun Trip

Oct 15Cafeteria Appreciation WeekASVAB Testing (Juniors and Seniors) - 8:30 a.m.FBLA Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

Oct 17Missouri DayFCCLA Regional Meeting @ LibertyPSAT - 8:30 a.m.

Oct 18Music Booster MeetingFBLA Officer Installation and New MemberInduction Ceremon @ 6:30 p.m.

Oct 19End of First Quarter

Oct 22Bus Safety Week

Oct 24Herff Jones - Explain Senior Orders @ 11:00 a.m.

Oct 25Early Out - 11:30 a.m.PTO Fundraiser Pizza PartyParent/Teacher Conferences - 1:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Oct 26No School

Oct 27ACT Testing at Polo High School

Oct 30Plan Test - 10th Graders @ 8:30 a.m.

Oct 31HalloweenElementary Fall PartiesCostume Parade @ 1:45 p.m.Herff Jones - Take Senior Orders @ 2:15 p.m.

FROM THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL

by Emily PowersStaff Writer

PARENTS AS TEACHERS

PANTHER PRIDE

THE POLO R-VII SCHOOL DISTRICT

October 2007 Volume 3, Issue 11

It is amazing how the year is flying by! The school year is off to a great start.Midterm reports for the first quarter have been sent out and Homecoming 2007 isbehind us. Students and staff have practiced a tornado and a fire drill. Third gradestudents have already traveled on one field trip to the Bonanza Wildlife Area northof Polo.

In the classrooms, teachers are using the grade level expectations (GLEs) andthe Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) Crystal Reports to plan their daily les-sons. Students take home their planners (or agendas) on a daily basis and parentsshould be initially these. Tutoring sessions began on September 25 for most stu-dents and some tutoring will begin after Parent Teacher Conferences. The Gates-MacGininite Reading Assessments were given to all students in grades 1 – 6 the firstweek in October. These scores are part of the criteria to determine the readinggrade level for each student.

Students and staff recognized our custodial staff (Sharon Burnett, June Bost,Allen Burnett, Gary Pollard, and Don Vier) during the week of September 10.

Mark your calendars now for Parent-Teacher Conferences, October 25, 1:00 –8:00 pm. There will be no school on Friday, October 26. Fall classroom partieswill be on Wednesday, October 31, with the costume parade beginning at 1:45.

by Beverly DeisElem. Principal

Parents As Teachers is a free program offered to all families in the PoloSchool District. The goal of PAT is for all children to learn, grow, and develop toachieve their full potential. Parents As Teachers believe that a child’s firstteacher is their parents. Research shows that participation in PAT increases achild’s school readiness and school success.

Personal home visits by a trained parent educator are offered to all families inthe Polo School District with children prenatal to Kindergarten entry. Duringpersonal visits the educator will share child development information, help par-ents learn to observe their children, address any concerns parents have , andprovide engaging family activities that will stimulate parent-child interaction.

Brain development that takes place before age one is rapid and extensive.The window of opportunity to address the growth is short and needs to be rec-ognized or certain development skills such as, sensory skills, communicationskills, and social skills may not be ‘wired’ properly in the child brain. PAT be-lieves that prenatal involvement in a child’s learning has a direct impact on thechild’s academic skills such as reading and writing. PAT wants the best foreach child and being educated helps parents understand what to expect duringeach stage of development.

Group meetings are open to anyone who would like to attend with childrenages birth to Kindergarten entry. At group meetings parents are offered childdevelopment and parenting information. Children get the opportunity to playwith other children their age and parents can watch their interaction. Parentsalso get the opportunity to build lifelong friendships and form support networkswith other parents in the community.

Health, hearing, vision, and development screenings are available for all chil-dren in the district ages six months to Kindergarten entry. Regular screening ofa child’s developmental progress identifies strengths, as well as concerns thatmay require referral to follow-up services in the community.

For more information or to enroll in Parents As Teachers contact: Jamy Aubrey,PAT Coordinator/Educator at 354-2200 ext.114

For an opportunity to meet Jamy or other parents in the program to ask ques-tions, you are invited to attend the PAT Fall Fun Fest (ages 2-5) meeting in theold Ag shop October 23rd at 6:30 p.m. At this meeting Halloween safety issueswill be addressed and there will be fun activities for the kids. If you attend themeeting you don’t have to join PAT, just come and see what Parents As Teach-ers is all about!

2 October 2007 The Panther PrideNEWS

FBLA Updateby Joan Ahart

Staff Writer

FCCLA Updateby Kim Webb

FCCLAReporter

PATS ON THE BACK

Above: The following cafeteria staff were recognized at the Sep-tember Board of Education meeting for their continued service.Samara Wormsley, Tina Bell, Sharla Stith, Lanette Zinna, andMarsha Holt.

Polo R-VII School District offers two programs to help low achiev-ing children improve their reading abilities. One program, for firstgraders only is the Reading Recovery Program. The program is inits second year in Polo School District. Developed by New Zealandeducator Dr. Marie M. Clay, Reading Recovery® is a short-termintervention for children who have the lowest achievement in literacylearning in the first grade. Children meet individually with a speciallytrained teacher for 30 minutes each day for an average of 12-20weeks. The goal is for children to develop effective reading and writ-ing strategies in order to work within an average range of classroomperformance. Recently, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) abranch of the United States Department of Education completed athree year independent assessment and has found that Reading Re-covery® is the only beginning reading program to earn full approvalin all four domains of the review – alphabetics, fluency, comprehen-sion, and general reading achievement.

The other program is Title I reading. Each student (grades 1-4)reading performance is checked in three areas. Scores on the Gates-MacGinitite Reading Achievement Test, the STAR test (a computer-ized reading test) and a teacher evaluation based on the students’achievement of the Missouri Grade Level Expectations (GLE’s).Eligibility is based on a low standard of performance on at least twoof the three evaluation tools. Students qualifying will receive dailyhelp in reading either through pulling them from the classroom forattention or by the Title I reading teacher joining them in the regularclassroom for assistance. In some cases extended learning time,through before or after school tutoring is prescribed.

The eligibility lists were being finalized and parents will be notifiedif their child qualifies for the program. If you have questions orconcerns about the Title 1/Reading Recovery program, please con-tact Beverly Deis, elementary principal or Lori Hicks, Title I/ReadingRecovery Teacher at 660-354-2200.

Reading ProgramsHelping Students

The “iCan” program, set up byMissouri FBLA, focuses on helpingstop hunger through the Reach Outand Care Program. More than 854million people in the world are hun-gry. Missouri FBLA is encouraginglocal chapters to hold canned fooddrives and other projects throughoutthe year to help many people in need.Food gathered by the local chapterswill be donated to local food pantries.The chapter who collects the mostfood will be recognized at the Dis-trict Leadership Conference and the20 districts in the state will competefor the most items collected. Thewinning district will be announced andrecognized at the State LeadershipConference in April.

The Polo FBLA chapter is excitedto be involved in the Halloween“iCan” program. Polo FBLA mem-bers will go trick-or-treating and in-stead of trick-or-TREATING theywill trick-or-CAN. The FBLA mem-bers will be asking for canned goodsinstead of candy and donated cannedgoods will be given to Christ’s Cup-board in Polo. So on October 31, 2007have canned goods in your candybaskets for the FBLA members totrick-or-CAN you.

FBLA Vice-President Kim Webband Secretary Joan Ahart attendedthe FBLA Districts Fall PlanningMeeting on September 26, 2007. Themeeting was lead by the District 19officers. Items discussed involvedthe planning of the District Leader-ship Conference. Polo is the hosting

The Family Career and Community Leaders of America heldtheir first meeting of the year and installed new officers on Septem-ber 10, 2007. The following new officers are President AmberEndsley, Vice President Andrea Kesler, Treasurer Kasey Claypole,Secretary/Reporter Kim Webb, Recreation Leader Ambrielle Hicks,and Historian Kim O’Dell.

Upcoming plans for FCCLA members include the Caldwell CountyFoundation cancer walk-a-thon on Saturday, September 29. Polomembers raised a total of over $120. October events include theRegion 2 Lock-in in which over 30 other schools will spend theevening at the Chillicothe YMCA on Friday October 5th from 11:00p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The cost will be $5 per person and parents are stillneeded to help car pool.

The next chapter meeting is October 9th at 6:30 p.m. and the $20dues are due at that time.

On October 17th the entire chapter will attend the Region 2 meet-ing in Liberty. Last but not least, they will be again selling RedWheel food items later this fall and planning pumpkin painting withthe preschool.

chapter and will hold DLC here onMonday, February 18, 2008. It wasalso approved to take part in the onlinetesting the state has developed. Allobjective tests will be completed atthe home school prior to the DLC.Performance events such as the JobInterview will still take place the dayof the conference. To take place ofthe objective tests that have beentaken the day of the conference inthe past, FBLA members will be ableto listen to presenters and participatein workshops.

The Polo FBLA chapter is alsopumped for their Worlds of Fun Dayon October 13. FBLA chapters fromthe western side of the state will joinin on a fun filled day at the KansasCity amusement park. There is morethan half of the Polo chapter attend-ing the Worlds of Fun Day.

The next FBLA meeting will beheld on Monday, October 15, 2007.We are having a ‘B.Y.O.B’ party,where everyone will, ‘Bring YourOwn Banana’ for a banana split! Wewill be discussing old and new busi-ness. The officer installation and newmember induction ceremony will beheld on Thursday, October 18 at 6:30p.m. Family and community mem-bers are invited to attend. Refresh-ments will follow the ceremony.

If you’re interesting in joining thePolo FBLA chapter, adult or student,you can. Adults can become a ‘Pro-fessional member’ and can get ben-efits such as discounts in certain ar-eas. Visit the FBLA websites atwww.fbla.org and click on the Pro-fessional Division tab for more infor-mation.

Polo Third Graders attended the 4th Annual Environment Appre-ciation Day on September 20th at Bonanza Wildlife Refuge. Werotated through eight different educational stations such as: TheGreat Outdoors, Farm Animals, Soil Conservation, and About Fish-ing in which the students were taught how to bait a hook with wormsand cast. They learned the catch and release method also that day.Other stations included: Bees, Bees, Everywhere, and probably theirfavorite station was the Stream Table. The students met meteorolo-gist Pete Grisby from Channel 9 News which was very exciting.Lunch was also provided for each student, a goody bag, and a bird-house was given to everyone who attended at the end of the day.We would like to thank the Caldwell County Soil & Water Conserva-tion District for this educational opportunity.

3rd Graders at Bonanzaby Patty Dixon

3rd GradeTeacher

NEWSPANTHER PRIDE

3http://polo.k12.mo.us October 2007

Homecoming Outcomesby Joan Ahart

Staff Writer

Homecoming Traditionsby Kelsi Pile

Staff Writer

2006-2007 YearbooksStill Available

Limited Supply for only $40.00Contact High School Office

The Following Past Yearbooksare Available for $10.001995-1996 1997-19981998-1999 1999-2000

2005-2006Contact the High School Office

for your copy

As you know, the week of September 17th wasHomecoming week. During the week there weremany traditional activities such as the pep rally,bon fire, parade, homecoming football game, andthe dance.

At the pep rally the cheerleaders had gamesand activities planned for the evening. Some ofthe games included a few of the high schoolcoaches and faculty, including Mr. Snodgrass whoalmost fell down after excitedly jumping into ababy pool filled with a wet floury mixture. Theobject of the coaches’ game was to get plasticgolf balls out of the pool using only their feet. Alsothere was the annual cheerleader vs. footballplayer relay. This year the cheerleaders got blownaway, with the football players winning by oneperson.

Following the pep rally was the bon fire, wheresome of the Polo football coaches, players, andalumni gave speeches. Some speech givers in-cluded Coach Chris Gagnon, Coach ChrisJohnson, Mr. Jason Snodgrass, and senior foot-ball players Ryan Barnes, Charlie Boruch, LathanDixon, and Josh Duncan. To close the bon fire JigJag Johnson’s Fireworks donated to have an im-pressive fireworks display.

Friday was the parade, which was later fol-lowed by the home football game where the PoloPanthers towered over the King City Wildkats win-ning 20-0. The homecoming dance was held thefollowing Saturday night from 8-11 p.m., wherethere was a good turnout. Superstars of the dancewere Chad Bell and Mitch Huntley making anattempt to dance every song and dance with ev-eryone.

So homecoming this year was a big successand everyone had a swell time!!

The 2007 Homecoming Football game wasplayed on Friday, September 21, 2007 against theKing City Wildkats. When all was settled, thescore was 20-zip, leaving the panthers with yetanother victory.

The Varsity Panther Football captains RyanBarnes, Josh Duncan, Lathan Dixon, and CharlieBourch all commented that it was the best defen-sive game the 2007 football team has played yet.

Captain Josh Duncan says, “This was the mostpainful win on my part.”

Captain Ryan Barnes had 12 tackles. CaptainCharlie Bourch had nine tackles with two for aloss, one touchdown, and one interception. Cap-tain Josh Duncan had 27 carries for 131 yards,one touchdown and one touchdown on a 75 yardpunt return. Captain Lathan Dixon had six tack-les with three for a loss and one sack.

Football Coach, Chris Johnson says, “It was ahard earned victory.”

The half time show was delayed for an hourbecause of a thunderstorm that had moved intothe area. However, after the delay a shortenedversion of the Homecoming Coronation tookplace. The Polo Panther Pride Marching Banddid not get the opportunity to play during half timein spite of all the hard work they had put into pre-paring for the nights big event. The HomecomingQueen Candidates, Joan Ahart, MeganSnodgrass, and Alyssa LaMarr, still smiled brightlyin the face of the rain that had damped the evening.After each court member and candidate wereannounced, the Homecoming King 2007 wasawarded to Charlie Bourch and HomecomingQueen 2007 to Joan Ahart.

This is going to be in the category of ‘MostUnforgettable Homecomings in Polo Panther His-tory.’

As you all know floats are always a bigpart of homecoming. Every year the se-nior class decides the theme for each classto follow. This year’s chosen theme was“Game Shows”. The freshman choice wasDeal or No Deal, sophomores HollywoodSquares, juniors Wheel of Fortune, andseniors The Price is Right. Being as I ama junior and have been on the winning floatbuilding team for two years now, [lastyear’s Panthers of the Caribbean float andthis year’s Wheel over the Wildkats float]I’ll give you all a sample of just what doesgo on to get these good looking floats onthe road.

As most of you know this year we hada pretty impressive wheel on our float. Toget that 11 foot, 400 lb wheel I had to travelclear to Kansas City, Kansas to pick it upand bring it home. It was originally a spoolthat held irrigation pipe for construction.Yet retrieving the massive wheel was onlythe beginning, when I brought it home onSaturday the 15th. Alan Vassmer and I hadto paint and build heavy duty braces to sup-port the weight of the 400lb wheel, beforetaking it up to the school for the prettierhalf of decorations. Monday started offwith many juniors stuffing in the napkins,which usually takes a long time to finish,only took about an hour. Day two startedoff well. We built signs for the front, back,and sides of the float but only placed thesigns on the sides of the trailer. On Wednes-day we placed the pennants on the wheeland painted them, and then we placed thebig signs on the front and back of the floatand called it a day. Following on Thursdaywe had little to do but paint the napkins inour theme’s colors and do some last minutetouch ups.

Friday, the big day, we placed theWildkat football player getting ran over bythe wheel on are float and pulled the 11foot first place float out on the road. In theend, I was really pleased with the amountof effort my class put in to make a suc-cessful float. Hopefully next year will beeven better. I’m envisioning that we canadd moving parts with smoke and flamesand what not. I won’t get too ahead of my-self, or else you all will be expecting thosethings, and if we don’t deliver them wemight not get another first place. We’ll justhave to wait and see what happens nextyear.

“And that’s the way I see it”

Float Buildingby Mitch Huntley

Staff Writer

September 22nd the Polo Panther Pride march-ing band left early in the morning to attendCarrolton Band Days. The band has put in count-less early morning band sessions to help them-selves prepare for this competition. As the bandapproached the starting point of the parade a fewmembers of the band got butterflies in their stom-achs. The parents, family, judges, and spectatorsall loved the band uniforms worn at the paradewhich consisted of black band pants, theIncredibles tee-shirts, and black superhero masks.This being the reason because the bands themsong is from the Disney movie The Incredibles.

Mrs. Limyao director of the band was veryimpressed with the band’s parade performance.After the parade the band walked back to the

band trailer to get dressed back into streetclothes and eat the donut breakfast. Later theauxiliary team was to perform in the gym of theschool. The flags had an astonishing perfor-mance which wowed the crowd. After that theband packed up to go home since the awardsceremony wasn’t going to be held until later thatevening. Results were found out the followingschool day. The band did not place in the topfive but were in the middle of the twenty-two.

“I am very happy with how the band marchedeven if we didn’t place in the top five, and new-comers to the band did extremely well for theirfirst parade” says Limyao.

The Chillicothe Christmas parade is next onthe marching bands list so be sure to attend.

Polo Band Competes at Carrollton Band Dayby Saren Thomas

Staff Writer

4 October 2007 The Panther PrideNEWS

SEE YOU AT THE POLEby Ashley Strickbine

Staff Writer

On September 26th, at eight a.m. Polo students andmembers of the community gathered around the flagpolein front of the high school doors. Pastor David Millerfrom the Knoxville Community Church opened with theverse John 17:20-23 and a prayer. Students from thePolo Christian Youth volunteered to speak at See You atthe Pole. The first student was sophomore Alyssia Scobeewho recited a poem she wrote titled, ‘It’s Possible’, Sopho-more Haley Hurd recited a piece from the book ‘GuardYour Heart’ by inspirational speaker Ron Luce. Also,junior Emma Hindman and Whitnee Allen shared versesthat touch their heart. See You at the Pole has takenplace at Polo for several years. This year there wasapproximately fifty attendants. For more information aboutSee You at the Pole and for next years date go to http://www.syatp.com/.

FFA Fruit Sales are right around the corner. At the lastFFA meeting in August, the option of looking for a newfruit vendor was put into motion. During our last fruit sale,we received some negative feedback that some of theoranges weren’t as juicy and flavorful as they had re-membered FFA fruit being in recent years. This is notsomething that we wanted to hear and we definitely wantto bring you the best quality of fruit you can buy. Thechapter agreed to let the officer team take a closer look atsome other vendors and see what our options are.

The officers have been analyzing the brochures from afew different fruit suppliers. Many things have been con-sidered to make sure that no one is unsatisfied this year.The officers have spent hours and hours debating on whichvendor will be the most successful in meeting your wantsand needs from the FFA fruit sale. Everything from thecost to the size of the fruit has been considered with a finetooth comb. The FFA officers have made a decision onwhich vendor they will go with and promise you will not bedisappointed.

When you buy FFA fruit, not only do you get some re-ally amazing products but you also help the Future Farm-ers of America fund their trips. Throughout the course ofthe year FFA takes many trips that are life changing butrather pricey. FFA goes to National Convention in India-napolis Indiana, Grasslands contest in St. Joe, and in thespring FFA students travel to many places to compete incontests. FFA’s motto is learning to do, doing to learn,earning to live, and living to serve. So when you see theblue jackets coming to your door remember that we areworking for you!!!

FFA Fruit SalesRIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

by Emily PowersStaff Writer

Jacob Shivers a junior here at Polo HighSchool has been selected as the 2007-2008Vice President of Skills USA for ExcelsiorSprings Area Career Center. He is also ableto apply for districts and state Skills USA.

To obtain this position Jacob had to submitan officer application, resume, and letter ofrecommendation to Skills USA. Skills USAis a national organization that prepares teach-ers, high school and college students who arestudying for careers in skilled, technical, andservice occupations. It is an applied methodof instruction for high performance workersin public career and technical programs. Alsothis organization is not only helping studentsbecome superior workers but it “builds andreinforces good work attitude, communicationskills, self-confidence, character development,and pride and dignity of work”. Each year ap-proximately 285,000 student and teachers jointhe organization and it has served more than 9.3million members over the years.

Jacob said “I am excited about being vicepresident because this is helping me turn my lifearound”.

Polo Student Holds Officeby Saren Thomas

Staff Writer

ABOVE: Polo High School Jun-ior, Jacob Shivers is elected at theSkillsUSA Vice President atESACC.

National Honor Society members gathered for the monthly meeting in the library on October1, 2007. Events discussed were hanging flags, the book fair, service projects and the field trip.This fall, NHS will be organizing a book fair to raise money to pay for their local serviceprojects.

This year’s NHS members plan on having two service projects. On October 27th, NHSmembers are assisting the People Who Care Organization at their annual Halloween Carnivalthat is held at the Community Center in Stagecoach Park. Activities at the Halloween Carnivalinclude games, prizes, and refreshments. Hayrides will also be given at the event.

This winter, NHS members plan on hanging up Christmas decorations and buying gifts forthe senior citizens at a nursing home.

After the two service projects this fall, the NHS members will use any money left over to goon a field trip. The field trip idea discussed is the Steamboat Arabia in Kansas City.

by Ashley StrickbineStaff Writer

National Honor Society Happenings

Counselor’s CornerACT test will be Dec.8th final applications are due

Nov. 2nd.Seniors-Some college applications are due on November1,2007-FAFSA information will be handed out in Nov/Dec-Sign up for College Day visits

Juniors-Polo will reimburse you for the $30 ACT test fee-Take ACT and PSAT tests

Sophomores-Start looking at colleges and universities-Take Plan test

Freshman-Remember this semester’s grades are the first youwill earn that will be seen by colleges and universi-ties

Parent Teacher ConferencesThursday, October 25th

1:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

EUROPE TRIP 2008by Abbie Russell

Staff Writer

The summer of 08’ will be kicked off with an exciting trip to Europe for some students. Thedate of departure is Monday, June 2, 2008; the date of return is Wednesday, June 18, 2008. Ifyou are interested please contact Mr. Sterner by October 10th, 2007. The final payment deadlineis Sunday, February 24, 2008. There must be at least 14 people signed up for the trip to occur.The requirements for the trip are the completion of eighth grade (all subjects passed) and Mr.Sterner’s approval. The cost, minus spending money and lunches, is $2915.00.

The first day will be an overnight flight to Germany. The following sixteen days will be split upbetween Frankfurt, Munich, Venice, Rome, Florence, Lucerne region, Colmar/Alsace, Paris,London, and the trip home. Fifteen nights will be spent in a hotel with private bathrooms; therewill be complete European breakfast and dinner daily; 7 sightseeing tours with director; 10 visitsto special attractions including the Heidelberg Castle wine barrel, Dachau Doges’ Palace, glass-blowing demonstration at the Sistine Chapel, and the Notre Dame Cathedral; and a ride on aEurostar high-speed train. This is a once in a lifetime trip for many-don’t miss out!

FEATURESPANTHER PRIDE

5October 2007http://polo.k12.mo.us

EVOLUTION OF HALLOWEEN

TRADITIONSby Mitch Huntley

Staff Writer

Over time, as you go from a kindergartener clear upto a senior the idea of Halloween changes. At first youdress up as Spiderman roaming from house to house toget treats and years later you watch scary movies thatkeep you up all night. Through a resent survey, taken byPolo students K-12, I have found out just where trickbegins and treat ends.

Starting with kindergartener Trysten Wolf stated, “Thisyear I plan to dress up as Spiderman and trick or treataround Polo. Scaling from building to building just like inthe movie.”

I thought they usually say “kids don’t try this athome,” oh well have fun Trysten.

Next skipping a few grades I talked to Joely Hickswho had an interesting idea of Halloween.

“Every year me and my grandma sew my costumeand carve pumpkins. Then we go trick or treating aroundPolo. Also I like to watch scary movies, and scare mylittle brothers Jaxon and Jagger,” explained Hicks.

Through this survey I noticed that seventh grade isusually where kids start to gain a different perspectiveon Halloween.

As Daniel Boruch stated, “Instead of trick or treat-ing I like to go out on the town with my friends andscare people on the streets. Usually I still eat candy butI also like to watch scary movies. This year I hope to gosee the new Resident Evil movie.”

In the tenth grade I asked Dalton Rardon just whathe does for Halloween his answer was very surprising.

Dalton said, “As most normal kids I like to watchscary movies and eat candy for Halloween, but I alsolike to dress up as a girl, which believe it or not scarespeople more than a Halloween costume. Every year Ilike to scare my grandma in my women outfit, boy Isure to give her a fright.”

Wow a little weird but as long as you’re having fun,Dalton.

Finally I talked to Jake Roberts a senior this year atPolo High.

Jake stated, “Every year I like to have a bunch offriends over to carve jack-o lanterns and eat pumpkinseeds. Also I like to listen to the song, “Pumpkin HeadHarvey” and tell ghost stories.

In conclusion, I would just like to say Halloween asthese kids see it does change over time. As a kid youjust can’t wait to go out and get a pillow case full ofcandy to take home and have mom yell at you for eat-ing it all in one night, to having your mom yell at you forstaying out so late with your friends. Yet in the end theidea really stays the same we all love scary movies,eating candy or doing something fun with friends nomatter what age you may be.

Think you are magic? October 1st is supposed to bethe time witchcraft and such is most potent, so if you’resaving your powers that would be the day to use them.Halloween used to be known as Hollow’s Eve, meaningthe day before All Hollow’s Day. All Hollow’s Day is aday is a day saints were to be honored with a feast andfestivities. Halloween was a day the saints were to restin preparation for the coming day, and spirits were mostactive. Commoners would often wear masks and otherfrightening items in hopes of keeping spirits away, whichmany now practice as a tradition. Trick-or-treating,costume parties, watching horror films, carving pump-kins, and going “haunted housing” are also common tra-ditions celebrated.

HOLIDAY HISTORYHALLOWEENby Abbie Russell

Staff Writer

On Wednesday, September 26 the Polo Christian Youth group organized an event calledAccelerate in the high school gymnasium from seven to nine p.m. Accelerate is a worshipevent that happens monthly at the Rock of KC church in Kansas City, Missouri. This month,Polo was lucky to have them bring the event to us!

A week before the event students began having daily meetings during lunchtime. Thesemeetings were a good time for students to prepare signs, flyers and to plan the event. ThePolo Christian Youth members also supplied the food for the band and themselves before theevent.

Adults and students from the Polo area began arriving around six-thirty p.m. and werecheerfully welcomed to the event by seniors Andrea Kesler and Ashley Strickbine at thedoor. Inside, the gymnasium was packed with around one hundred and fifty people! Whilethe guests were inside, sophomores Whitnee Allen and Alyssia Scobee stuck post-it noteswith positive messages on the guests’ vehicles. After everyone had arrived, the band intro-duced themselves and began worship. The band played songs by Hillsong United, the DavidCrowder Band, and some of their own.

“I was shocked at the turnout! When we were pulling into Polo we saw Accelerate signsall over the place. When we got to the school and got set up there were already all kinds ofpeople showing up. We were so honored to get to come and rock out Polo High School. Mr.G is the man! Everyone needs to get to know him and get involved in the “POLO YOUTHGROUP” We had a blast and can’t wait to come back…Polo HS Panthers Rule!!!!!” saidLuke Weese, the worship leader at Accelerate. Mr. Guerierro described Accelerate as“awesome to the power of N!”

For more information about Accelerate and the Rock of KC go to http://www.varsitykc.com.

by Ashley StrickbineStaff Writer

HALLOWEEN COSTUMESWhat students/faculty had to say when asked

what their were going to be for Halloween.

Senior Tara Ross is goingto be a pirate and herfavorite candy is candycorn.

Freshman Nikki Juncowill be found prowlingas a cat trick-or-treating for suckers.

Staff member KimTempleton will be buzzingaround the Elementaryoffice as a bumble beeand her favorite candyare Smartees.

-Children should go out during daylight hours only unless accompanied by aresponsible adult.

-Plan a safe route so parents know where their older kids will be at all times. Seta time for their return home. Make sure that your child is old enough and responsibleenough to go out by themselves.

-Let your children know not to cut through back alleys and fields. Make sure theyknow to stay in populated places and don’t go off the beaten track. Stay in well lightedareas.

-Stop only at familiar houses in your own neighborhood unless they are accompa-nied by an adult.

-Small children should never be allowed to go out alone on Halloween. Makesure an older sibling or adult is with them.

-Instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to beexamined by you.

-Instruct your child to never go into the home of a stranger or get into their car.-Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their

costume to make them more visible to cars.Let them know that they should stay together as a group if going out to Trick or Treatwithout an adult.

Halloween Safety Tips

SPORTSPANTHER PRIDE

October 2007 http://polo.k12.mo.us

6

Volleyball Spikesby Kelsi Pile

Staff Writer

Right now the Lady Panthers are in themidst of the season and working hard. Sofar they are 8-8-1, winning and losing 8,and splitting a 2 match game. After earn-ing 2nd in the CRC tournament the LadyPanthers have had 10 games and 1 tourna-ment. They have had ups and downsthroughout it all. This season the girls havedefeated Hardin, Norborne, EnglewoodChristian, Wellington and South Holt dur-ing regular season and some others duringtournaments.

The Lady Panthers are led in kills andblocks by returning Junior Emma Hindman.Leading in assists, are Sophomore settersHaley Hurd and Alyssa Scobee, and JuniorCourtney Cawthon is leading in aces withher “power serve”.

“Losing a number of valuable seniors,our girls knew from the beginning they weregoing to have to step it up in order to havea successful season. Many of our playerssaw little, if any playing time on the varsityteam last year. Though there is alwaysroom for improvement, I am very pleasedwith all ten of our players,” commentedCoach Lindsey Frerking.

On October 17th the Lady Panthers aretraveling to the University of Missouri, inColumbia, to watch the Missouri women’svolleyball team take on last year’s nationalchampions Nebraska.

“Our season really slows down the twoweeks prior to districts. We play two gamesin two weeks compared to the three gamesa week we had for three weeks. The Uni-versity of Missouri in Columbia offers agreat program for high school teams tocome and watch the Lady Tigers. Our teamis really excited to watch not only a tal-ented MU team but also the NationalChamps, Nebraska. I think that our girlswill learn a lot from watching these twopowerhouses battle it out on the court,” saysFrerking.

Good luck with the rest of your volley-ball season Lady Panthers and best wishesat the district tournament!

Citizens of Polo if you’re sitting at home bored of watching re-runs and viewing your favorite movieover and over again then come on out and support your Panthers.

The Polo Volleyball team would be more then glad if the gym was packed full of people cheeringloudly after each ace and spike. The Softball and Football ball players would be pumped up if theirstands were overflowing with crazy fans screaming out in excitement.

The Polo athletes want you to be apart of their success on the field and on the court. So drop theremote, grab your Panther gear, and come cheer them to a victory.

Dates and times for upcoming activities are posted on the Polo High school website (http://polo.k12.mo.us/). Schedules can also be picked up in the High School office.

Don’t be late, but late is better then never…...

Crowd Support...It Helpsby Josh Duncan

Staff Writer

October Athletic EventsOctober 8

JV Football @ Hamilton - 6:00 p.m.Varsity Volleyball @ Plattsburg - 5:30 p.m.

October 9Junior High Football @ Braymer - 6:00 p.m.

October 12Varsity Football @ Bethany - 7:00 p.m.

October 15JV Football vs. Bethany - 6:00 p.m.

October 16Varsity Volleyball @ Wentworth (Lexington) - 5:30 p.m.

October 19Varsity Football @ Hamilton - 7:00 p.m.

October 22District Volleyball Tournament @ Polo - TBA

October 23District Volleyball Tournament @ Polo - TBA

October 26Varsity Football vs. Lathrop - 7:00 p.m.

October 29MS Basketball vs. Osborn - 6:00 p.m.

October 2007The Panther Pride SPORTS

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Left: The Senior Homecoming candidates smile for thecrowd after the rainy coronation.

2007Homecoming Review

Right: The Polo Marching Band drums to the beat of avictory during the annual Homecoming parade.

Above: The cheerleaders succeed in getting the Seniorsrawled up during the Pep Assembly.

Above: The 2007 royalty poses for one last picture takenby Penny Copeland at twin springs PHOTOGRAPHY.

Below: The Panther shows how tough he’s going tobe for the Wildkats.

Below: Polo Sophomores show their school spiritduring PJ Day.

Left: Students take a minute from shaking their groovethang to snap a quick photo.

INFORMATION

PANTHER PRIDE8 October 2007 http://polo.k12.mo.us

OCTOBER ACTIVITIES CALENDAR

AND MENU