H. Addsion
[thethethe]]]
Canine ChrCanine ChrCanine Chr[[[ ]]]nicleniclenicle Mount Baker Middle School, Auburn, Washington November 2013 Volume IV, Issue 1
MBMS Celebrates Twenty YearsMBMS Celebrates Twenty Years With Twenty Features of Bulldog History With Twenty Features of Bulldog History
Letter from the Editors
Bulldogs,
This year is certainly one to be remembered! Not only do we have a large amount of brand new students filing their
way into our school, we are also celebrating Mount Baker’s 20th anniversary. All of the staff of The Canine Chronicle
wishes to not only welcome all of the new sixth graders, but also honor the history of Mount Baker itself. In order to do
this, we have decided to dedicate a few articles each edition to news that was relevant to 1994-95 school year, as well
as shed some light on how the school has changed since that time of its opening.
The Canine Chronicle has been a tradition here at MBMS for three years now. Our ultimate goal is not to beguile you
with tales of fiction or report on the problems of the outside world, but rather we wish to give you a voice. The Canine
Chronicle is your work; your history! You are the voice, we are the messenger. We want to hear your voice, which is
more important than anything else. We cannot wait for you to see what we can do just as we cannot wait to see what
you can do.
We hope that through The Canine Chronicle you can learn more about the school and November be even have some
fun along the way. This year’s paper will be extraordinarily exciting as we hope to offer you an example of not only what
school is like this year but also what it was like 20 years ago. All of us on the Canine Chronicles staff certainly have our
work cut out for us! Last year’s paper was spectacular and it will certainly be hard to meet the standard they set for
this year’s staff.
We certainly hope that you enjoy reading the newest issue of The Canine Chronicle!
Sincerely,
Aaron Baker Jonathan Casey Ben Geisen Alyssa Ferry Jalen Forward Hope Addison
Table of Contents] [2 * Volume IV, Issue 1]
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: Teen Role Models 4
Teen Depression 5
Service Clubs Make Difference 6
Social Media Etiquette 7
Locker Issues 8
Homework Management 9
20 for 20: Stories Year One 10
‘Gravity’ Review 13
Locker Lottery 14
What Grinds My Gear 15
MBMS Fast Pitch 16
MBMS Football 17
MBSM Sports 18
Life 19
Fall Photo Essay BACK
COVER PHOTO: To commemorate the rich twenty-year
history of Mt. Baker Middle School, the TCC staff has
started a new feature for our fourth volume. Over our
seven editions for the 2013-2014 school year, we will
color our storied past with twenty unique features about
school history and pop culture history from 1994-1995.
MT. BAKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
620 37TH STREET SE
AUBURN, WASHINGTON 98002 PHOTO BY K. BATES
[News & Features] [November 2013 * 3]
Halloween just passed, and the age for trick-or-treaters
was a common subject among the student body; among
other traditions and precautions for families. “Trick-or-Treating” is a common Halloween tradition that
has been celebrated by American culture since 1951. It
used to be practiced when poor people would visit wealth-
ier houses and receive pastries in exchange for a promise
to pray for the home-owners dead relatives. The holiday
was later taken up by children in what we know as trick-or
-treating. While some view Halloween as an excuse for
scares and tricks, others only think of the bag of treats
they collect.
Our student body had many different views regarding
what age you should stop trick-or-treating.
Sixth grader Camden Hielborn said, “I think you should
stop trick-or-treating in tenth grade because ninth grade
is your last year of fun then high school gets so serious.”
Yet seventh grader Griffin Cummins thought the age of
responsibility was 21 years old.
The members of Builders Club this year still carried on
the tradition in a unique way. They trick-or-treated for
UNICEF as community service. Instead of knocking for
candy, they went door to door asking for donations that
could save a mother and her child’s life.
Many parents were concerned for their child’s safety. A
couple solutions parents used for their children to trick-or
-treat in the dark include using flashlights, reflective tape,
and glow sticks. This way your child stayed safe, and had
fun.
Both Coach Jason Brown and Camden Heilborn believed
you should trick-or-treat in your neighborhood, so you can
get to know your neighbors.
Jacob Pepe said, “[The best places to trick-or-treat are]
the big houses by Haggen because they give you pop and
full size candy bars.”
The Lakeland Hills community sponsored their annual
Halloween house decorating contest. The judging took
place during the week of October 21 and they determined
the top eight spookiest houses. The houses were decked
out with witches, ghosts, and ghouls.
Wild Waves’ annual Fright Fest added an additional 3-D
clown house, which wasn’t as frightening to most, espe-
cially compared to the Chamber of Souls haunted house.
Kannen Kilstrom said, “I don’t think either of the houses
were scary, but my favorite part was when I turned
around and I didn’t see my friend behind me!“
Whether your tradition was staying inside and hiding
when people knock on the door, like Coach Brown, or you
loaded up on candy, like Jacob Pepe, Halloween was a
frightening and fun fest for all the monsters out there.
Molen Orthodontics recently had their annual candy
trade-in on November 1. All three offices, Sumner, Enum-
claw, and Auburn, participated in the event to prevent
cavities and raise food to donate.
From 2:30-6:30 kids of all ages (with or without
braces) lined up to trade their candy, decked in their
scariest costumes and bright smiles.
For every one pound of wrapped candy they brought in,
they earned $2. This continued up to ten pounds. Also,
canned food items were collected. This earned them an
extra dollar for every two they brought in, same with
wearing your costume.
These prices made
trading a great way
to earn fast cash,
and let people help
out in a small way.
Sixth grader Raj
Cheema thought this
was a great idea; he
only wished it was
more money.
Kaytlyn Andersen, a patient at Molen, goes every year.
Kaytlyn said this is a great idea “…Because you don’t
need the candy. It’s bad for you. People in the community
that are less fortunate need it more than us.”
At this event, people were all smiles, while snacks were
served. Milk and cookies stained the fingers of witches,
villains, and superheroes all around the office.
If you are a patient at Molen, then just coming in and
turning in candy earned you ten “Molen Moolah” points.
Helpful to anyone who doesn’t enjoy those sweet treats
they’ve collected, but did enjoy the act of going out on
Halloween.
This event happens
every year, so even if
you missed it this
year, there’s always
next year to earn
cold, hard, cash
instead of sugar
highs and cavities!
Local Orthodontist Offers Cash for Candy
Even students with braces enjoy treats! PHOTO BY J. FORWARD
Do You Still Trick or Treat?Do You Still Trick or Treat?
Anna Maracich & Alyssa FerryAnna Maracich & Alyssa Ferry
PE teachers Mr. King, Mrs. Burkhalter, and Mr. Perman express themselves with their elabo-
rate, coordinated costumes every year. COURTESY OF A. BURKHALTER
[News & Features] [4 * Volume IV, Issue 1]
Teen Role ModelsTeen Role Models Behavior Sets Terrible ExampleBehavior Sets Terrible Example Bella Coronado
Do you have a role model? Students all around our
school look up to or admire a celebrity, but many students
have different opinions on the people who influence us in
today’s media.
Celebrities you may have looked up to in the past may be
totally different people by now. Some say it’s due to
“growing up” but others are disappointed in their actions.
Celebrities impacting students, as well as the media,
seem to come and go.
Sixth-grader Janalyn Lopez stated that Miley Cyrus has
been appearing around today’s media a lot most recently.
“She changed a lot,” Lopez said.
Cyrus started making appearances after her shocking
performance at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards on
Aug. 25.
“It’s inappropriate, and she’s trying to change her im-
age,” eighth-grader, Hannah Kazlauskas shared.
According to The Huffington Post, Miley Cyrus, as well as
a few other celebrities, were named the worst role mod-
els. In a survey out of 2,407 parents, 58 percent said that
they don’t think celebrities should be used as examples of
positive role models for their children. Sixty-eight percent
said that Miley is the worst example, while 65 percent
considered Justin Beiber.
The former Disney star used to inspire a lot of students.
“I looked up to her when she was actually making a differ-
ence,” Kazlauskas stated.
Students also think that Cyrus’s “new look” is affecting
their past thoughts on her. Sixth-grader Maliyah Kim
shared that she thinks, “It’s inappropriate.”
Hannah Kazlauskas shared a different opinion and said, “I
think it’s unique and different, but it sends the wrong
message.”
Celebrities affect the way teens see themselves in
positive and negative ways. Almost every celebrity faces a
time in their life when they seem like they’re going down-
hill. It’s important for teens to choose role models that
set positive examples in their actions and inspire those
around them, but not all role models have to be some-
one famous. They can simply be just everyday people.
Role models have many qualities that make them
inspiring and show positive examples.
Seventh grader, Angelina Pogosian described a role
model as someone who is trustworthy and someone that
she can trust to do the right thing.
“My role models are my two best friends....because
they push me in the right direction,” stated Pogosian.
Today’s society seems like it’s trashing the way teen-
agers see themselves. Role models like Miley
Cyrus, have negative and positive attrib-
utes, but role models in our everyday
lives share unique interest and may
never fail to inspire.
The positive effect of negative influences is that they are
examples of what not to do. Even though you may not
follow in their footsteps, they still show a positive example,
just in a negative way.
Role models can affect
teen’s behavior to the
point that they start
fantasizing or doing
what their role model
is doing, whether it’s
okay or not okay.
People still make
mistakes, even role
models, but the
mistakes can teach
us and inspire us to
do better.
CreativeCommons.org
Teen Role ModelsTeen Role ModelsTeen Role Models
What do you th ink of celebri ty ’s new behav ior? Compiled by Alyssa Ferry & Anna Maracich
“[Celebrities] are doing stupid things for money.”
–Shari Nelson
Seventh Grade Science
“No one [respects] them anymore,
their attitude sucks.”
–Abbie Juth
Seventh Grader
“Sometimes [celebrities] are crazy, but
sometimes they are tal-ented.”
–Jayden Taylor
Sixth Grader
“[Celebri-ties] are being too
young, wild, and free.”
–Markus Maunder
Eighth Grader
COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES VIA CREATIVE COMMONS
[News & Features] [November 2013 * 5]
Depression Apparent in TeensDepression Apparent in Teens Harrsion MaurusHarrsion Maurus
Did you know that 20 percent of teens will face de-
pression before they reach adulthood?
Or did you know that 1.6 per 100,000 of kids will
commit suicide?
Causes of depression can be too much stress from
homework, trouble at home, peer pressure, or even
just a natural chemical imbalance.
Mr. Vatne, a Mt. Baker counselor, agreed that teen
depression can be a very serious problem.
According to Mayoclinic.com, signs of depression can be eating and sleeping too much or eating and
sleeping too little. Other signs of depression can be
feeling constantly angry, mad, or irritable.
A sure fire way to tell if someone is depressed is if
they start talking about suicide or have thoughts
about committing suicide. If you experience these signs talk to an adult. They have most likely been
through what you are experiencing.
According to WebMD.com, a way to fight depression is by exercising. When you exercise, your body pro-
duces chemicals called endorphins. These chemicals can trigger a positive feeling and can reduce pain.
Regular exercise has been proven to reduce stress, ward off anxiety, and help you sleep better. Exercise
can be a treatment for mild to moderate depression.
A common point of stress at Mt. Baker is homework.
Sometimes too much school work can cause kids to feel helpless or overwhelmed. Too much pressure
from school work or from peers can cause symptoms
of depression.
Bullying may also be a cause of depression in teens.
Depression, in general, can cause people to act in
ways that they wouldn’t normally.
For example, it has caused school shootings, mur-
ders, and even suicides.
Just recently in Florida, a twelve-year-old-girl com-
mitted suicide after being bullied by an older girl at
school and on Facebook. This just goes to show that what you say or do can seriously affect the rest of
others lives.
Depression from bullying has also caused kids to
take out their anger at school.
An example of this was in Sparks, Nevada. A twelve-
year-old boy brought a gun to his middle school and wounded two peers and killed one teacher, before he
shot and killed himself. Police are speculating that the
boy did this because he was being bullied by his peers.
Depression can also cause you to make choices like
taking part in a gang or participating in drugs. People can become interested in things like these because
they are looking for something to feel good about or
that will make them “feel good”.
Depression can be harmful, not just to you, but when
not treated carefully, to other people also. Depression
can be helped if you take the right steps.
According to Mr. Vatne, “The problem is that kids
don’t come forward and admit that they are feeling
depressed.”
If you are feeling depressed please see someone
you trust, and they will most likely be able to help you.
According to Teenhelp.com,
about five percent of teens suffer from depression at any
one time? PHOTO BY R. HESS
S i x t h G r a d e E l e c t i o n s
L e a d i n g N o w , L a t e r Jonathan Casey & Ben Geisen
Friday morning, Oct. 18, 303 talkative sixth graders in one
room, finally silent as they attentively listened to eight
speeches prepared and presented by our very own sixth grade
ASB candidates.
At the end of the day, the announcement spoke to the whole
school, introducing our new sixth grade candidates: Taylor
Unger, Noah Sergis, Tiana Troncoso and Lily Scheschy.
Well, we recognized they have been elected, but what did they
have to accomplish to obtain their position?
“Should I run for ASB?” or, “What do I have to offer the
school?” These frequently asked questions fill the halls and
students’ minds before the campaign of each candidate begins.
Taylor Unger said, “I’m running because I like to help people
with their problems.”
Although some of this year’s candidates are completely self-
motivated, several of our running officials have someone of
inspiration they look up to.
Noah Sergis said, “I wanted to get involved in the school
[because] my sister [Katy Sergis] was.”
According to StatisticbBain.com, 74 percent of the United
State’s population suffers from glossophobia or “the fear of
public speaking.”
Getting elected for ASB is more of a challenge than most
students believe.
One of the requirements that must be accomplished to run
for office is to arrange a two minute speech which is presented
to all of the 300 sixth graders.
Once elected, the new ASB officers may begin to participate in
several types of assemblies and school oriented activities. One
type of assembly is the pep assembly that takes part at the end
of each quarter.
The ASB schedules, creates and runs all the activities and
procedures that take place during pep assemblies.
Although many kids believe that ASB seems to be “all fun and
games,” the ASB also takes part in organizing the school com-
munity along with the organizing school fundraisers and making
decisions on the school’s budget.
The new sixth grade senators (from left to right):
Noah Sergis, Tiana Troncoso, Taylor Unger and Lily Scheschy. PHOTO BY J. FORWARD
[News & Features] [6 * Volume IV, Issue 1]
Many students at our school this year have decided
to step up and make a difference at not only Mount
Baker, but in our community as well by joining and
participating in the two service clubs available to our
students, the End Zone Academy and the Builders Club.
The End Zone Academy, or ‘EZA’, was started by sixth
grade teacher Ms. Winter three years ago. EZA focuses
on providing community service and assisting services
such as the Terry Home and the local food bank.
“[EZA] is fun,” said seventh grader Shae Fairchild,
who is enrolled in EZA, “It’s a good experience and it’s
good to help people out.”
EZA owes its roots to a humble leadership club in the
school. Since then, it has become much more.
“[EZA is about] learning to work together to live a life
you love,” said Winter, “EZA is a service club, but that is
a very simple answer.”
“[EZA] is about helping people”, stated sixth graders
Sophia Randall and Rayna Ojas, “It’s about helping the
community.”
EZA plans on participating in an event to raise 10,000
dollars to help build a school in Latin America.
They also are holding an event at Auburn Mountain-
view High school on Dec. 14 that will encourage commu-
nity service and celebrates the accomplishments in the
community of all participating students.
For more information on how to help or join, students
are prompted to contact Ms. Winter in room 309.
Builder’s Club is alive and well at Mt. Baker. So far
this year the club, led by Mrs. Hubbell and Mrs.
Carnahan, has built a new playground at Brannan Park
and has been conducting a fundraiser called Trick-or-
Treat for UNICEF”, which benefits an organization that
focuses on child education, survival, and equality in all
parts of the world.
“[Builder’s Club] is a good way for people that have
fewer things to do to help the community,” said seventh
grader Tommy Nelson.
Some students take a more conservative view of the
club and worry about the financial difficulties brought
on by them.
“There shouldn’t be that many clubs; they cost money
to the school,” commented seventh grader Isaiah Shin.
However, service clubs raise their own funds, donat-
ing to the community.
The club is also meeting with Auburn Riverside’s Key
Club the last Wednesday of every month to ‘Make Mt.
Baker a greener school.’ The Key Club is a community
service club based at Riverside.
Look for Builder’s Club and End Zone Academy to be
doing their part in and outside school this year.
W hat ’ s Hap p en ing w i th
M B M S
C l u b s AJ Maas
Builders Club Trick or Treat for UNICEF in Lakeland Oct.
30
Oct. 19 playground building a playground at
Brannan Park
Attempting to make Mt Baker a “green”
school
Held Trick-or-Treat with UNICEF fundraiser
from Oct. 21-Nov. 1 raised over $1300
End Zone Academy Coin Drive to try to raise $10,000
Dec. 14 is the Celebrate Change assembly
at Mountainview High School
Art Club Each week Art Club focuses on a new topic
Hoping to have guest artist’s visit soon EZA is making several strides and upcoming events at Baker (Above) while Builder’s Club (Below) participates and organizes a clean-
ing and build of Brannan Park on Oct. 19. COURTESY OF C. HUBBELL
Service Clubs Make Lasting Difference Aaron Baker & Kyle Bates
Many students use a social media site daily at our school,
but are there any rules to acting or posting while on those
popular sites?
Etiquette is the customary code of polite behavior in
society or among members of a particular profession or
group. Teachers expect you to act a certain way when
you’re in class, your parents expect you to act a certain
way when in public, but are you expected to act a certain
way when online?
Since teens, on average, spend 31 hours on the internet
each week, it is important that the way they act is appro-
priate.
Recently a 12 year old girl in Florida killed herself from
the cause of cyber bulling. Over half of adolescents and
teens have been bullied online, and about the same num-
bers have engaged in cyber bullying and 25 percent of
adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly
through their cell phones or the Internet.
Seventh graders Makenna Price and Karoline Zvonenko thought people at school act
acts differently in school than on social media.
Zvonenko said, “I know 5-10 people.”
Price said, “I know about 30.”
On most social media sites there are options for private accounts and for hiding cer-
tain posts from certain people.
Recently, Facebook made it so users age 13 to 17 are allowed to post their statuses and
photos publicly.
On Instagram, you have the option to make your account
private so other users have to ask for your permission to
look at your pictures, but if you choose not to make your
account private anyone on the site is able to browse your
pictures freely.
If you use Twitter, you can also protect your posts (or
tweets) by simply clicking a button.
When on social media you are allowed to post anything
you feel like. For example, on Facebook many profiles post
statuses like “Just woke up!”, or “Eating my fav chips!” .
Some people even misspell words on purpose. For exam-
ple, teens seem to type “yu” instead of “you”, “ur” instead
of your, and “lk” instead of “like”.
Also, some users randomly capitalize letters in sen-
tences. They take a birthday wish to “hAPPy BiRtHdaY”.
Sixth grader Jocelle Pham said she tried to follow any
grammar or spelling rules, but she gets a little help.
She said, “I fix my spelling in school, but there’s autocorrect on my phone when I’m
posting.”
What is socially acceptable on social media?
On social media, the most frequent practices that no one does are; not judging right
away, be respectful, don’t react right away, and being nice.
Some tips you could use are to know the website you’re on, make sure it is a safe site
to be on, treat each user kindly, as you would want to be, and be careful when chatting
with other users, you never know when they could be faking.
Taking in these tips will allow you to have proper etiquette will browsing your news
feed.
Social Media Etiquette: A r e T h e r e A n y R u l e s ? Destany Abellera
CreativeCommons.org
T e c h n o l o g y E t i q u e t t eT e c h n o l o g y E t i q u e t t eT e c h n o l o g y E t i q u e t t e Do you think people act different when they can hide behind a screen? Compiled by Alyssa Ferry & Anna Maracich
“If you are depend-ent on social net-work, middle
school students tend to forget their real life from their
cyber life.”
-Ms. Utu
Counselor
“No one knows who they are, they act like
different peo-ple.”
-Angelina Pogosian
Seventh Grade
“Yes, because they seem to not be aware
of who’s around them.”
-Jaden Taylor
Sixth Grade
“Yes, be-cause they’re
scared to be who they really are.”
-Dylan Ostler
Eighth Grade
Facebook and Twitter are some of the top most used social media
sites. PHOTO BY D. ABELLERA
[News & Features] [November 2013 * 17]
[News & Features] [8 * Volume IV, Issue 1]
It is a Monday morning and you walk to your locker. You see kids crowded all around you. Finally getting to
your locker, you start getting elbowed in every direc-tion.
Jammed lockers, crowds, dropping books on others, being too short or tall, deliberately closing lockers,
packed spaces, learning combinations. The list goes on
and on. Why do lockers cause so many problems?
According to Mrs. Lindell who’s in charge of lockers, and she often has to go help students, “About six to
eight times a day. [The most common problems are]
straps, or clothes hanging out, they get caught in lockers below. Also books or backpacks pushing on the
inside of lockers prevent it from opening.” A problem sixth grader Karla Nacis had was “looking
for the numbers [on the dial because] it’s hard to see. Nacis continued, “I [solve this problem by] go on my
tippy toes or I ask my friend.”
Eighth grader Colby Tong stated,“It is very inconven-ient [when the person above you is opening their
locker]. It’s hard to reach your locker when the top person is using theirs. Sometimes you get bumped by
people in the hallways. I just wait for the person to finish with their business. I just try to make switches
between periods faster.”
How can we solve these problems? Some suggestions are not sharing lockers (yes, so
many people still do), making sure your backpack straps are inside before shutting your locker, push-
ing your backpack all the way to the back, and memo-rizing your combination.
Following these simple rules cannot only make
yours, but everyone else’s life a lot easier. It can also be quite a commute if your locker is in a
different hallway than all your classes. Why does this happen? We don’t know, but a crowded hallway does-
n’t help this situation either.
Crowded hallways, groups standing in the middle of
the hall doing nothing but talking and being in your
way, slow walkers preventing you from getting to your class on time, and pushing or shoving to get in
front of you, only to walk slowly again. Also people tripping you for their entertainment, simply causing a
train wreck. All of which lead to not using or being able to reach your locker.
Whether you have a top or bottom locker, there is no denying that we all have problems.
Therefore, think about your decisions before you
make a mistake.
Lockers: ‘Nobody Goes There Anymore, Too Crowded’ Kamalvir Jhajj & Jasmine Dang
Many students’ lockers are overcrowded with contents often
spilling out. PHOTO BY J. FORWARD
Locker TricksLocker TricksLocker Tricks Daniel Filovets & Daniel Shablevskiy
Do you ever come to your locker, and you can’t open it. Or you
open it, and something that is valuable to you is missing?
You are not the only one. Here are some helpful tips on how to
keep your locker from jamming.
Yuliya Filovets, a seventh grader, has jammed her locker
twice this year, and she said, “I go to the a teacher for help or I
keep on trying to open my locker.”
Some of her tips for her locker not jamming were to stuff all
of her things into the back her locker and make sure no laces
or zippers stick out.
Arthur Melnichuk, a sixth grader, had his locker jammed three
to five times this year and usually asked a teacher for help.
He said he stops his locker from jamming is to put all his
things to the back of his locker.
A way to keep your locker from getting broken into is when
you close your locker pull the handle to see if your locker
opens, if your locker opens spin the combination wheel and pull
the handle and see if it opens.
Do not tell other people your combination and don’t tell people
if you have valuable items in your locker because then people
may want to steal it and they may know the combination to get
into your locker.
These are some ways to prevent locker problems.
The eight grade Lockers at Mt. Baker Middle School which
is where some locker problems occur. PHOTO BY H. ADDISON
[News & Features] [November 2013 * 9]
You’re sitting at your desk, struggling with your assignment. Yawning, you look up at the
clock, 10:30! You’ve just realized that you have spent three hours working on homework. Is
this too much?
Historically, heavy doses of homework became standard procedure in the U.S. after the
Russians launched Sputnik in 1957, prompting a panic for making kids in American schools
more competitive.
According to Dr. Jane Bluestein “high school students can have up to 4-6 hours of
homework on an average night. With other demands besides school work, this puts a lot of
stress on many students and their families.”
In the article “Homework: What Does the Research Say?” by Scott King-Owen, he
stated, “The longer it takes the student to complete the work the less benefit.”
He also stated, “Middle school students should not have more than 90 minutes of home-
work per night.”
Seventh grader Kathryn Carstens stated, “It takes me about 2 hours a night to do my
algebra homework.” She was also asked if she thought this was too much homework,
“Sometimes, but I am learning from it, so I can’t complain.”
Research has found that the amount of homework students have does not correlate
with performance on achievement test, but others argue the benefits of homework helps
develop achievement motivation. Researcher Janine bempchat asserts,”… homework
provides students with the training they need to develop achievement beliefs and behav-
iors.”
According to, eighth grade math teacher Mr. Carter, “Homework is practice. You need
homework to get better at what you’re doing. Just like in sports, you need to practice to
get better. The more repetition you do the better you get.” He also felt homework was
getting you ready for high school and beyond.
“Absolutely, knowledge comes from practice, and that is what homework is, practice.”
was Mr. Carter’s response when he was asked if homework was necessary.
Some people think homework is horrible but it’s a necessary evil. If you find yourself
doing homework for two hours or more just step back take a breath and think of how all
this hard work will pay off in the future.
Homework Management: How Much is Too Much? Colby Pretz & Cameron Shute
Do you think that heavy backpacks are a big issue?
Millions of kids a year walk, bus, or ride home with super
heavy backpacks that cause them pain. The average backpack of a sixth grader is from a range
18.4 to 30 pounds.
Adding and carrying a heavy backpack for a long time,
carrying the pack on one shoulder instead of two, and going up and down stairs with the heavy pack can increase the
problem.
Seventh grader, Hailey Harp said, “[I think my stack of books weighs about] 20 pounds.”
Harp carried three books, including her binder.
“Yes, [I think you can lighten the weight of the binders or back packs] by like a Kindle to where it has all the books on
there you need,” said Harp.
American Academy Pediatrics recommends that a kid’s
backpack should weigh no more than ten to twenty percent of the weight of the child. A heavy pack is a strong contribu-
tor to low-back-pain in children.
Girls and shorter kids are more likely to get back issues
because they have a smaller structure, so there for the weight is going to affect them more than in guys.
Dr. David Siambanes, an orthopedics doctor, stated “This
study is truly alarming. Research has shown that adults
with sever back pain problems often had pain as kids. You can suffer all your life from this kind of injury.”
Many physicians say they are beginning to see some
symptoms of back problems stemming from carrying a heave back pack.
A study in the Journal Spine, a magazine, shows that
carrying backpacks that weight on average twenty pounds is likely to cause back pain in children.
Eighth grader Teri Reynolds-Wolvington stated, “[The
heaviest books I have to carry are my] math or social
studies book.” When Wolvington was asked if she thought there was a
way to lighten the load of your back pack or binder, she
said, “Yes, yes I do. By letting [the students] download our books onto e-readers”.
Some tips to lighten the load of your backpack are to use
rolling backpacks. When choosing back pack don’t just choose a color; pick a
good quality backpack with padded straps, and try the pack
on to make sure it fits well.
Wear the pack over both shoulders not just one so the weight is even and not straining on one shoulder. Pull the
shoulder straps snug, so the weight is on the upper back,
not hanging down. Load the heaviest books towards the
back. Lift the backpack from the ground by bending at the
knees, not at the waist.
Keep your backpack clean, only carry the books or items you need.
Sixth grader Faith Nerhen said, “Yes [there are ways to
lighten your binger load, for example] in social studies, Mrs.
Winter would give us packets she had copied out of the book so they are lighter and fit in our binder.”
Keep an extra set of books that you need for classes at
you house so u don’t have to bring the books back and forth.
Heavy Books Lead
to Back Problems Kat Hamm
Millions of kids a year suffer from big heavy backpack induced
back pain. ILLUSTRATION BY KAT HAMM
ZAP during lunch is used to help students get their homework done. PHOTO BY CAMERON SHUTE
Ms. Millang Ms. Millang, who teaches
sixth and seventh grade
math, was another member
of the Original Six staff
members of Baker. In a
recent interview, we asked
Ms. Millang several ques-
tions about her first year at Mt. Baker.
When asked about what she remembered most from her
first year, she stated, “How empty the halls and class-
rooms were. We had no sixth graders that year and the
kids seemed very big because I had taught elementary
before Baker opened.”
She also talked about her favorite moments from that
year.
“Mr. Perman, who taught Honors Reading, would walk
into my room every Monday, clap his hands and say, ‘What
are we learning today?’ It was always very funny.”
We asked her one more question, which was if she had a
special story from her first year.
“When all my kids were searched for my missing set of
keys. We were trying to get to a pep assembly, but Mr.
Price, who doesn’t teach here anymore, insisted that we
find the keys first. We never found them at first but later
that day Mr. Price found them in his pocket protector and
never told me about them. The next day he dropped them
off and blamed the kids. He never apologized even though I
found out about him having them from a different
teacher.”
Mr. Perman The well-known, wacky P.E.
teacher Mr. Perman has been
working at Mt. Baker from day
one. A surprise to a lot of peo-
ple Mr. Perman wasn’t only
teaching P.E. he also taught
“Honors Reading”.
“Ms. Millang and I ran the bulletin boards,” he said in an
interview about the first year at Baker.
His favorite part about the first few years was “empty
halls”.
He continued, “There were only 400 students at Baker
and only two grades, seventh and eighth. The halls were
virtually empty compared to today.”
Unlike today, we didn’t have a lot of coaches for sports.
We had teachers willing to coach but that doesn’t mean
they were experienced.
Perman added, “I was the athletic director back then, I
hired coaches that hardly knew anything about the game.
The girls basketball team was actually braiding their hair
most of practice every day.”
He told us chuckling, “But a surprise to us all , we took
the league title in football the first year of Baker being
open.”
We asked Mr. Perman where he taught before Mt. Baker
opened.
“I taught at Olympic and at other elementary schools as
P.E. teachers.”
Mrs. Debolt When interviewing
Mrs. Debolt, our
school health techni-
cian, we found out
that she has been
working for the Au-
burn School District for 23 years.
Debolt actually started as a Math/LAP para-
educator working at Evergreen Heights and Al-
pac elementary schools.
In 1993, the district started using health tech-
nicians in their schools. That was the year Mrs.
Debolt started the pilot program here at Mt.
Baker.
When asked what was one of the most memo-
rable experiences in the health room, she re-
plied, “When a student had taken such a large
bite into an apple it ended up getting stuck in her
mouth.”
2 0 f o r 2 0 O r i g i n a l S i x Compiled by Jonathon Casey, Ben Geisen, Ryan Hess, Colby Pretz, Kyle Bates, Harrison Maurus
Mt. Baker has been teaching students for a whole twenty years now, opening at
the opening during the 1994-95 school year.
Taking a cue from ESPN, who celebrated their 30 year anniversary with 30
prominent news features, The Canine Chronicle will be writing 20 articles with
news throughout the last 20 years; such as popular trends and historic events.
We are starting with the “Original Six” a feature that tells the story of the six
staff members who have worked here since the school opened, and have stayed
with us through the years.
We interviewed Mr. Perman, Mrs. King, Ms. Holt, Mrs. Millang, Mr. Jacobs, and Ms.
Debolt, asking about their favorite memories from their first year at Mt. Baker, and
the biggest changes in the last 20 years.
This will be an ongoing feature in every edition of The Canine Chronicle this year,
featuring movie reviews from 20 years ago and styles trending in 1994.
A lot has happened in 20 years, and these teachers have been here with Mt.
Baker to witness it all.
Mr. Jacobs Mr. Jacobs was one of
the remaining original six staff members. He was
hired to teach at MBMS since day one.
He started his teaching career in California before
he came to MBMS. He originally wanted to become an architect but his
professor recommended teaching kids woodshop. His favorite moment at Mt. Baker was when the
woodshop room was under construction. He could go
out to the room but his students couldn’t. There is one student that Mr. Jacobs remembers
the most, and her name is Kasey McAbee. After fin-ishing school, she returned to MBMS to become a
student teacher. Though Mr. Jacobs is the woodshop teacher, he has
had other interests. Mr. Jacobs currently teaches Viscom and
manages the yearbook staff. He also remembers the time when there were only
700 students, instead of the 950 kids we have now at Mt. Baker.
Mrs. King
Mrs. King: Office atten-
dant, Green River com-
munity college graduate,
proud maker of the Spirit
Stick and one of six staff
members who have been
at MBMS since its first
day open.
Although being an office attendant doesn’t seem to
allow too much extra fun, Mrs. King recalls a favorite
memory from several years.
She said, “I would like to tell you about the time I
put the cardboard mannequins in the staff bath-
rooms. My neighbors worked for Cinema 17 and
[were] transferred to Charleston, South Caro-
lina. She had two mannequins from the movie Wild
Hogs. [They were] Tim Allen and John Travolta. One
night I brought them to Mt. Baker and put them be-
hind the Main Office bathroom doors. It scared so
many people. I could sit at my desk and hear the
screams from the bathroom. I never laughed so
hard.”
Mrs. Holt Mrs. Holt, library assis-
tant and para-educator, has been working at Mt.
Baker since it opened in 1993.
Mrs. Holt originally ap-plied for a job elsewhere
but the school district asked her to come and work at Mt. Baker.
She was originally supposed to do detentions for the school, but the school district forgot to hire a
librarian so she received the assistant position. She
has always had the position and has never taught anything else. Before she worked for Mt. Baker she
worked at Lea Hill Elementary School on recess duty. One of her least favorite memories of Mt. Baker is
when she had to wear a turtle neck, mittens, and coat to stay warm in the library at Mt. Baker. The reason
for this is that there was no baffle valve on the heat-ing system, and the cold air flowed directly into the
library. Congratulations to Mrs. Holt for staying with the
school.
ALL TEACHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF LIFE TOUCH
PHOTO BY J. FORWARD & H. ADDISON
20 Facts, 20 Years Ago Kamalvir Jhajjj
1. The Scandal: Michael Jackson was accused with inap-
propriate behavior with younger fans
2. Teachers from back then until now at Mt. Baker: Mr.
Jacobs, Mr. Perman, and Mrs. Debolt
3. Famous teacher at Mt. Baker from then: Mrs. Stonack
(now a substitute)
4. Famous and Fashion: Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson
5. Sports: Michael Jordan retires for the first time
6. 93’s Fashion: JanSport backpacks; Crimped hair; Jelly
Shoes; Bandanas; Bucket Hats; Scrunchies; Butterfly
clips; Shell necklaces; Tattoo chokers; Slap bracelets;
Overalls; High-waisted jeans; Carhartt jackets; SKORTS
7. Beanie Babies are introduced
8. Popular Songs: “I Will Always Love You” - Whitney
Houston and “Hero” - Mariah Carey
9. Tragedy: World Trade Center Bombed
10. Interesting Fact: Milli Vanilli (was an R&B pop and
dance project) was forced to give back their Grammy
after they were found to be fakes by using other sing-
ers/ lip syncing someone else’s song
11. Popular names; Jessica (girls), and Michael (boys)
12. Miss USA: Kenya Moore [Michigan]
13. Most Popular Christmas Gifts, Toys, and Presents:
Power Rangers Action Figures, 1850’s Southern Belle
Barbie, Barbie Batgirl Gift Set, and, Magic: The Gathering
role-playing card game
14. Best Film Oscar Winner: Schindler’s List
15. Car Brands Introduced: Infiniti, Saturn, and Lexus
16. Health: World Health organization estimates fourteen
million people worldwide infected with AIDS virus
17. Jan. 15: a 7.5 earthquake strikes northern Japan killing
2 people
18. The Game: Magic; The Gathering Collectable Cards
19. Jan. 20: Bill Clinton becomes the 42nd US President.
20. Most Popular TV Shows: 1. 60 Minutes [CBS] 2. Home
Improvement [ABC] 3. Seinfeld [NBC] 4. Roseanne [ABC]
5. Grace Under Fire [ABC]
[Arts & Entertainment] [12 * Volume IV, Issue 1]
The movie Forrest Gump, directed by Robert
Zemeckis and produced by Paramount Pictures, follows a friendly, simple-minded man who finds
himself in the middle of nearly every major event of the 1960s and 70s.
Forrest Gump was produced in 1994, so not many
kids know about this movie. There isn’t really an-other film that compares to this movie. The story-
line of this wonderful movie was very interesting to
watch. You could never tell what Forrest, played by
Tom Hanks, was going to do or where he would end
up in his exciting life. Forrest starts off as a strange kid in leg braces
who had an IQ so low he couldn’t be put into school, but with the help of his persistent mother, he is
allowed to join school. When he befriends a school-mate named Jenny, played by Robin Wright, a life-
long friendship occurs.
The performance of Forrest, throughout the movie, was very humor-
ous. He becomes a col-lege football star, a
decorated soldier in Vietnam, a Ping-Pong cham-
pion and a folkloric jogger-hero, just by following simple instructions. He meets presidents and ce-
lebrities, he travels the world over, he honors a promise made to deceased war pal, named Bubba,
to run a shrimp boat and he takes care of his for-
mer lieutenant, a man painfully embittered by his war experiences.
The story was understandable. Forrest narrates
parts of his early life, pointing out major details
and other things that the watcher may not see at
first. There were not a lot of special effects, but there
was one scene that showed Forrest’s lieutenant who lost his legs in the Vietnam War. Everything
that was under the knee cap was unable to be seen. The music was usually lively and happy, except in
some parts where something depressing happened.
This movie is extremely worth seeing. I would rate the movie 9/10 because it combines happy,
sad, and funny moments to create an excellent movie that warms your heart and makes you laugh.
Movies from ’94:
‘Forrest Gump’ Runs into Theaters Ryan Hess
COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES VIA CREATIVE COMMONS
Xbox One vs. PS4 Next Gen Consoles Debut in Nov.
Jeremiah Brown
The battle between next-gen consoles has been extra-
neous and agitating. Friends arguing with friends about
what console will be better, the Xbox One or the PS4.
The release date for the PS4 is Nov. 15 (US) and will
cost 399$The Xbox One’s release date is Nov. 22 (US)
and will cost 499$.
The Xbox One has a 500GB hard drive and the PS4 also
has a 500GB memory and both have Dual shock control-
lers too.
When the Xbox One was at E3, Microsoft had a lot of
trouble presenting it and explaining its policy’s. At E3,
PS4 and Xbox One went head to head and the outcome
was surprising. At E3 the PS4 got an “A” grade and the
Xbox one got a “C”.
People all over the nation are ecstatic for the new wave
of consoles. It has been four years since a new Xbox
(Microsoft) or PS (Sony) has been made entirely new.
Eighth grader Dylan Ostler rated both, “[The] Xbox One
[a] seven and the PS4 [a] one.”
Seventh grader Jalen Jackson rated both too, “[The]
Xbox One [is] a ten and the PS4 [is] a seven.”
Some of the most popular games are GTA 5, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Titanfall. These games are the highest
ranked release titles.
Ostler said enthusiastically, “I will definitely get GTA 5 because of the racing [driving] and the action.”
Mr. Cowan stated, “Not sure what game I am most
excited about. I will probably leave that up to my kids.”
At the multiplier release for COD: Ghost, over 100 mil-
lion people watched.
Eighth grader AJ Maas exclaimed, “I will be getting
Battlefield 4, because I enjoy it and it is fun.”
Undoubtedly, many people said they are getting them
for Christmas because the release dates are close.
Xbox One has a special edition “first day’ design for
people who are getting it on release day.
[Arts & Entertainment] [November 2013 * 13]
‘Gravity’ Falls Short Aaron Baker
Halo is the #1 franchise of Microsoft, so expect big, big things from the new Xbox on the Halo series. PHOTO BY J.BROWN.
It’s pretty sad if you are able to sum up the plot of a movie in one sentence. Unfortunately, this was the
case with Gravity…”My bad day in space.” Gravity features two astronauts, Ryan Stone
(Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney)
who were disconnected from their spaceship due to a
freak accident involving space junk, rockets, and
Russians. We learn that Ryan Stone is completely ignorant to
everything concerning space and isn’t very good at being an astronaut. This leads to Matt Kowalski basi-
cally allowing her to piggy-back on him until his tragic (and completely predictable) demise.
Ryan Stone spent the rest of the movie floating
about with a sad face until she ran into a Chinese Space Station that was conveniently abandoned. She
loaded herself into an escape pod, had a hallucina-tion involving Matt Kowalski, and landed on
Earth. Gravity is, to be fair, visually stunning. I have
yet to see a movie that grabbed my eye more so
than Avatar. The overall cinematography was absolutely spectacular and left me wonder-
ing how did they even pull that off? I really have to tip my hat to the cinema-
tographers for creating such a hos-tile and yet beautiful environment.
Honestly, the whole movie was
basically Sandra Bullock float-ing in space. That’s the whole
“plot” of the movie; Sandra Bullock floating in space. Eventually she
was floating in a different part
of space. Now she’s floating over there! Now she’s floating in a Chinese Space Station! Now she’s having
a hallucination about George Clooney who is also, coincidentally, floating in space.
Now to be fair, there are a few interesting meta-
phors interwoven throughout the story. We learn that
space is an inhospitable environment where one
mistake can lead to major consequences. This is later made apparent when Stone speaks of her daughter,
who was killed in a freak accident over the tiniest mistake.
SPOILER ALERT: When it comes down to it, even the name of a movie was a metaphor. Stone metaphori-
cally dies in an escape pod and comes back up
through the water after landing on Earth. The very thing that she has been lack-
ing throughout the movie (self-assurance, hence “Gravity”) is
then returned to her. In my opinion,
the movie de-
serves a 7/10. The two things I
would have to mark down are the fact that
the whole movie was based on Sandra Bullock
floating and the fact that
the movie was not what was advertised.
COU
RTE
SY
OF
MIC
ROS
OFT
LIC
ENSE
November
Locker
Lottery
Ysabela Manuel, Maddie Feeney, Samantha Leurquin
Locker Lottery was created as a way to fea-
ture students’ opinions at MBMS. They are se-
lected completely at random, like the lottery.
Several students hit the jackpot, providing
their perspectives on multiple issues. Sixth
grades Alinah Horne and Joshua Abbott, sev-
enth graders Alondra Lomeli-Salazar and Reis
MacNeill, and eight graders Jadynn Strickland
and Trent Miller were selected.
What sport should we add to this school?
JS: Rugby, it’s similar to football and is a fun
sport to play.
TM: Synchronize swimming for men.
ALS: Swimming, because it’s a good exercise.
RM: Soccer.
AH: Tennis.
JA: Hhockey.
What are you going to be for Halloween?
TM: A hotdog or a girl.
ALS: A cat girl.
RM: A zombie guy.
AH: A witch.
JA: Harry Potter.
When is it too old to trick or treat?
JS: 16
AH: 12, 13, or 14.
JA: Yes, 14 and 15.
Do you think heavy books are big issues?
JS: Yes, sometimes your shoulder will be like
messed up and you carry your books every-
day.
JA: Yes, the heavy books are really hard to
carry around.
What do you think about the new movies
this year?
JS: They can’t improve to the story line of
the movies.
AH: Horror movies.
If you could get money for Halloween
candy would you why or why not?
JS: No, I would take the money back.
RM: Yes.
AH: Candy.
What sport do you play?
TM: Soccer because it’s fun.
RM: Soccer.
AH: I don’ play a sport.
JA: Soccer.
What do you like about your grade?
ALS: I have new friends.
RM: Nothing, it’s not the last year.
AH: It’s fun.
Are you excited for going to high school
or do you want to stay in middle school?
ALS: High school.
RM: Going to high school.
AH: Go to high school.
JA: Stay a kid mainly.
What is your favorite thing about school?
ALS: I learn everyday.
RM: P.E. and sports.
AH: Lunch.
JA: Math.
If you could change anything about Baker,
what it would be?
ALS: The rules.
RM: Cell phones between periods.
AH: The paint.
[Mount Baker Barks] [14* Volume IV, Issue 1]
[Mount Baker Barks] [November 2013 * 15]
WhatWhatWhat
GRINDSGRINDSGRINDS MyMyMy
GEARSGEARSGEARS
Bella Corronado, Ben Geisen, Gigi Alcedo, 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 November be published in our next edition.
What really, really,
grinds my gears is when I’m scrolling
through my Instagram
feed, and all I see are
50 different post, in a
row, by one person. Seriously, I don’t want
to see a spam of your selfies on my screen.
There should be a law or rule on Instagram that
you can only post up to about two pictures a day.
Overusing the app just gets annoying, and I hon-estly don’t need a picture of every detail in your day.
It also makes me not want to use Instagram.
I check my Instagram a lot during the day, and I
would really enjoy and appreciate if I could see a
variety of pictures posted, instead of a spam of
photos from one person. Some people just don’t understand what Insta-
gram was originally made for.
If you want to get a bunch of likes on your photos,
then don’t post twenty pictures in a row!
I’m just getting tired of all the Instagram posting. I’m fine if you spread your pictures out throughout
the day or maybe linger them through the week, but
please, just save the constant posting of photos for
Twitter.
—BC
You know what really grinds my gears? When you
are texting someone and out of the blue they decide they should just not tell you where they are going
and proceed to disappear for a few hours.
understand that people have things to do and
aren’t glued to their phone 24/7, but you could at
least tell me that not leave me wondering of all the terrible things that could have happened.
Were you kidnapped? Were you hit by a car? I
immediately think of the worst when someone
mysteriously stops texting me. When they come
back they always make a lame excuse like “Sorry my phone died”.
THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT BEFORE IT DIED?
OR SIMPLY PLUG IT IN?!
I get that sometimes you might not want to talk to
someone, but at least tell them that you have to go
do something, don’t just leave them waiting for a response for hours and hours.
If people could be more considerate when texting
their friends then the
world would be a
happier place. Just be honest with
them. If you don’t want
to talk to them, then
don’t text them in the
first place or tell them to stop texting you.
—BG
Do you want to know what re-
aaaally grinds my gears... Those bathroom hand sensors!!!
Our whole lives we’re told to
always wash our hands but these fountains barely
do the job.
They spray all over our cloths so most kids stop washing their hands right then and there. Honestly...
HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO WASH OUR HANDS WHEN
WE’RE GETTING SOAKED?!
It’s bad enough our hands are not clean, but now
our pants are now wet in a very unfortunate loca-tion.
Some fountains have way too much water pres-
sure and then in others it’s almost like nothing
comes out at all. Also, it seems that no matter what
angle I stand in I always seem to get drenched. The
water also seems to be either super cold or super hot. It doesn’t happen too often but when it does,
what am I suppose to do?
I mean, I think it’s pretty cool how Mt. Baker has
hand sensor hand washers, but it’s not so cool how
they get us all wet. Is there some way they could change the angle the
water come out of, or make it so it’s not spraying
too much water?
Maybe we just need to hang a rain jacket next to
each fountain that every kid can put on before washing their hands.
—GA
You want to know what really grinds my gears?
When you forget your passwords. It’s just so annoy-ing when you get so bored you go onto a website you
haven’t been on in forever and you forgot your
password and the computer says, “WOULD YOU LIKE
TO REMEMBER YOUR PASSWORD!?!?!??!?!?!?”
…You just sit there and say “….Yes… please… uhhhh, why am I talking to my computer?” Then you
click on that little patch of words that ruins your
day.
Then all of a sudden it asks you the most insipid
question known to man… THE SECURITY QUESTION. This question is created to make you scream.
FLASHBACK 5 YEARS when the Wii was cool. You
were sitting at the computer and created your e-
mail account that you didn’t actually need.
Then the computer asks you make your security
question which is a question that sounds like some-thing along the lines of what’s your favorite pasta
sauce.
Then 5 years in the future you try to log on to your
e-mail, and the security question just stares back at
you like I bet you can’t figure me out I BET YOU
DON’T KNOW WHAT PASTA
SAUCE YOU LOVED IN 2008.
And that’s what really
grinds my gears.
—AM
All g
raph
ics
in f
eatu
re c
ourt
esy
of M
S C
lipar
t
[Sports] [16 * Volume IV, Issue 1]
Bonds on the Diamond
Anna Maracich
Fast pitch players finished their season with a smile on their face. COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a
catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw
something back,” said famous writer Maya Angelou
That’s exactly how Mt. Baker varsity fast pitch team
played.
Coach Koenig agreed that they were a strong, competi-
tive, hard-working bunch of girls.
Although they weren’t champions, their bond as a team
made them the real winners.
Ashleigh Wilson said, “We had an awesome team. We
weren’t the best; we weren’t winners, but had the most fun
and stayed positive.”
The Bulldogs finished with a five-hundred record, both
winning and losing four games. The team made a great
bond encouraging each other through their hardest
games.
Mrs. Koenig said, “My favorite part of the team was their
camaraderie.”
The Bulldogs had some tough losses against Rainier and
Cascade, but still managed to stay in the game exampling
their hardworking and unstoppable spirit. They also had
magnificent wins against Olympic and North Tapps, using
their talented skills and undeniable teamwork.
Members of the team agreed that one of the greatest
plays was the battle for the pop fly between Samantha
Leurquin, the pitcher, and Gigi Alcedo, the catcher. The ball
soared above the foul line past first base; both girls could
taste the ball. As the ball neared the ground, the girls
collided: Samantha got the catch while Gigi got a bunch of
dirt in her mouth. The bulldogs got the out and no players
were seriously injured!
Fifteen girls showed up at tryouts, all making the team,
but only thirteen continued playing. Ashleigh Wilson said, “I
was a little nervous for tryouts because there were a lot
of girls.” Luckily no one got cut and they had a great team.
Catcher Gigi Alcedo and pitcher Jordyn Judge worked
there hardest to keep the team strong throughout the
season.
These players couldn’t have done it by themselves,
Outfielders Autumn Conners and Nicole Naimo made
some star catches, shocking the crowd.
First basemen Calley Hielborn made outstanding plays to
lead the Bulldogs on to victories but most of all encour-
aged them to stay positive.
If the Bulldogs made a mistake on defense, they were
sure to make it up on offense. That’s what made them the
great team that they were. They showed lots of pride
throughout their whole season setting a great example for
future teams.
Seventh Fast Pitch Focuses on Improvement Samantha Leurquin & Gigi Alcedo
Richard David Bach, best selling American author once
wrote, “That's what learning is, after all; not whether we
lose the game, but how we lose and how we've changed
because of it and what we take away from it that we
never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a
curious way, is winning.”
The seventh grade fast pitch team struggled this year
with ten out of thirteen brand new to fast pitch and only
winning one out of eight games, with Rainer’s forfeit.
Talia Samuelsson said, “It wasn’t fun losing most of the
time but we still enjoyed the game and improved a lot in
our friendships and our skills.”
According to the team, Talia Samuelsson, Lexi Allan,
Payton Coleman, Trinity Jenkins and Rebecca Spear had
multiple hot hits this year.
When asked about some highlights from this season,
Coach Duca replied, “Talia Samuelson catching 2 fly balls
in one inning and putting out a runner at first to make the
third out, Alexandra Kimbriel throwing her first strike as
a pitcher, Rebecca Spear stealing home and pitching a
1,2,3 inning, and Talia Samuelson, Trinity Jenkins and Lexi
Allen putting on the catchers gear to catch a few games
when our catcher was unavailable.”
Many players improved in different situations, like
Amaya Kelley with her pitching skills, as she struck out
several batters in a game, and Elizabeth Harvey, Katelyn
Andersen, Natasha Naimo, Peyton Coleman getting their
first hit by believing they could hit the ball also, Julissa
Cisneros remembering to cover third base when she
needed to.
“All in all, more girls should come out and play fast
pitch,” said Coach Duca.
In an interview with the team, most of the seventh
grade girls agreed that they can’t wait to play again next
year for Coach Koenig.
[Sports] [November 2013 * 17]
Led by coaches Bethea, King, Vatne, and Brown, this year’s Varsity Football team has played four well-fought
games so far with victories against Cascade (7-6), Olym-
pic (20-0), and Olympic again (35-28). The team was not able to play Rainier this year due to a scheduling conflict
with the referees and then no opportunities for a make-up
game. They also suffered a tough 22-18 loss against North
Tapps in the annual Bulldog vs. Bulldog game, finishing
with a 3-1 record. This year’s team achieved the title of Co-Champions (along with Tapps).
Coach Vatne, commented about this year’s success and
players. He said, “We've improved; we've learned to come to-
gether. Despite losing a game, we have stepped it up.”
He cited several factors in their victory, saying, “Both the offensive and defensive line is very good. Our defen-
sive line is really the strength of the team.”
The team started practices and conditioning late in the summer before school had even started up yet. The first
turnout started on Aug. 27, and practices went through the start of school and officially ended Oct. 25.
To make the team, players as always must be passing at
least 5 classes, as we were reminded by Coach Vatne in our interview.
The coaches made clear at practices and on the Mt.
Baker website that they wanted their players to be re-sponsible with grades and behavior at school. To ensure
that the athletes were the best they could on and off the
field, coaches cut out practice time if a student was struggling in a class to help with their work and study.
This year, the team was given two great opportunities,
to play under-the-lights at two Auburn High Schools. The first of such games included the annual “Battle of the
Bulldogs” game, where Mt. Baker plays North Tapps Middle
School at Auburn-Riverside. The bleachers were packed and both schools fans were
anxious, but a North Tapps opening kickoff Touchdown
return gave Tapps some momentum.
Baker fought back to score 18 points in a losing effort. The game ended 22-18 in favor of North Tapps, resulting in
the only loss of the year for Baker.
The second under-the-lights game against Olympic in Auburn Memorial Stadium had a much different outcome,
with the game resulting in a 35-28 win for Baker. The
game was much closer than expected, but the team pulled through to get a tough win.
Varsity Football Varsity Football Varsity Football Finishes Seasons Strong Kyle Bates & Jalen Forward
Several photos of this year’s Varsity team, featuring a group meeting during practice and several action shots in a 20-0 victory over
Olympic. COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK
Seventh Football
Hits Field TJ Williams
Bam! Bam! Go the pads as Mt. Baker seventh grade
football attacks their opponents. Put down your cell
phone because the bulldogs are here.
Seventh grade football didn’t have a great season, but
they put their entire might into it.
Griffin Cummings said, “There was too much arm tack-
ling.”
Noah Elwell felt comfortable with the way his team is
playing because they got better.
With a winless season, the Bulldogs still kept their head
held high and never gave up until the final whistle blew.
This team was lead by Spencer Tyson and Maxwell
Parsons, according to multiple players.
Noah Elwell said Tyson and Parson were, “the only
reason [they] got any points”.
Griffin Cummins described the team’s leaders by saying
they “led by example”.
According to our sources, Noah Elwell and Spencer
were two of the better players.
The Bulldogs didn’t have enough players on the team to
scrimmage at practice but there were 24 talented young
men on the team.
Coach Brown and Coach Kemp tried there hardest to
give every single one playing time in the games.
According to Noah Elwell, “Spencer Tyson was the
hardest hitter” on their team.
Peyton Curry-Watson said, “Cody Rose wasn’t very
good at the beginning of the season, but he improved and
know he is a starter”. Peyton Curry-Watson’s favorite
part of the season was getting “playing time”.
Griffin and Cummins said Connor Pennycook was the
fastest on the team.
Like many players on the team, Curry-Watson played
football because he liked playing the sport.
[Sports] [18 * Volume IV, Issue 1]
Seventh and eighth grade boys and girls are welcomed to play soccer for Mt. Baker’s first ever soccer team. The coach for seventh grade is Mr. Decker, and
Mr. King is coaching eighth grade varsity soccer. Varsity boy’s tryouts started on Monday, Oct. 28.
Seventh grader, Francisco Gonzalez, stated that he is excited for soccer to
come because he wants to, “get no-ticed.” Many other students are excited
to have a new sport added to our school.
Mr. King said he was excited to coach varsity.
“Everything’s new, like the equipment
and uniforms, and we get to represent Mt. Baker,” stated Mr. King.
About 25 seventh grade boys are playing soccer this season, and about
28 boys are trying out for the varsity team.
Since soccer at our school is only available for seventh and eighth grad-
ers, many students in the sixth grade are disappointed that they won’t get to
play this year. Five out of thirteen sixth-graders interviewed said they are disappointed about
not being able to play soccer. Gonzalez said that he has been playing soccer for three years, and that it’s
about time our district adds the sport. Mr. King added, “A lot of kids here
have wanted soccer for many years.” Trying out for the varsity team does
consist of some cuts. Just because a student gets cut, doesn’t mean that
they are a bad athlete. Making the team requires skill, and good sportsmanship.
Seventh graders playing soccer this
year, will get pointers for what to ex-pect when they are in eighth grade, and
want to try out for varsity. “Cutting athletes is always a difficult
decision and choice. The boys are work-ing hard to make the team,” said Mr.
King. The seventh and eighth grade girl’s
soccer will start in the third season, as well as girl’s basketball.
Soccer Debuts at MBMS Hope Addison & Bella Coronado
They shoot and they scored. Did you just see that 360 layup? That was so amazing!
That’s what it was like in the crowd when you see the sixth graders play.
They have big shoes to fill, since past years have been great.
The boys had a fantastic season. They played with pride and passion.
On the first day they had 37 talented people try out, making three successful teams.
On team one, Giovani Parascondola played point guard and enjoyed it.
Giovani said, “I think Sam Erickson was the best
ball handler on the team and he can cross over any-body.”
Meanwhile on team two, Trey Callero played point guard on Mrs. Brown’s team.
Trey Callero said, “I really enjoyed the way my team
played.” Trey Callero thought that Tyler Pisha and Parker
Cacatian were the best leaders on the team. He also
thought that Mrs. Brown was an awesome coach. On team three, Javon Forward said, “Out of the six
years I have been playing basketball, this year was the best.
He also said ‘’Keegan Yorke is a lights out shooter; he can make it from anywhere”.
Also the girls had a very good season. The girls played aggressive and with integrity.
On Mrs. Burkhalter’s team, Siera Brown said, “Jackie was an awesome player to play with, she is
one of the best players on the team”. She liked that they scored a lot of points, and that it’s just not one
person scoring all the time.
On Mrs. Swanson team, Emily Converse thought Alexis O’Neal really improved the most on the team.
All coaches agreed, we will have some very good seventh grade basketball teams boys and girls next.
Sixth Grade Ballers Play as Team
Ke’Sean Griffin
Mr. Brown and Mr. Lewis photo bomb sixth grade basketball
players. PHOTO BY J. FORWARD
Soccer brings more athletes out to the field and hopefully will raise the grades of our students PHOTO BY
B. CORONADO
[Life] [November 2013 * 19]
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) - You will find your special talent while doing the tango.
Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20) - A cowboy will buy you an ice cream sundae at Baskin Robins.
Aries (Mar. 21-April 19) – Your tongue will get stuck to a pole this winter when your
friends dare you to lick it.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) - You will be chased down the street by a husky while eating
a corndog.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) - You are going to go to McDonalds and the bathroom is un-
der construction, and you really have to go to the bathroom, so you…[use your imagina-
tion].
Cancer (June 21-July 22) - While hanging out with One Direction backstage, they will all
trip and break a leg.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) - You will get bitten by a zombie on Halloween night.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)- You will find one million dollars at the mall, offered a full
scholarship by your dream college, and get a 2013 white truck for free.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) - A monkey at the zoo will throw a banana peel at you that he
found in the trash.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) - You will get noticed by the person you like when you trip
and fall on your face.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) - All your Halloween candy will get stolen by a witch.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) – You will find a $50 bill on the ground, but when you go to
pick it up, it will be pulled away by a fishing line.
N o v e m b e r H o r o s c o p e s & P u z z l e s Maddie Feeney, Daniel Filovets, Daniel Shablevskiy
Effects of Government Shutdown On Oct. 1, Republicans and Democrats of Congress couldn’t
agree on a funding plan for fiscal cliff year 2014. Millions
were affected. After sixteen days of debating, Congress
finally passed a temporary solution on October 16. Were you
affected by the government shutdown?
What does the fox say? This viral video was actually a mistake. Norwegian brothers
Vegard and Bard Ylvisake, who perform as Ylvis have a talk
show about back home. They assisted a well-know music
production corporation and asked for a favor in return, so
they could tell their spectators they were unsuccessful after
having a colossal opportunity. But their prank backfired. Do
you like the viral video?
‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ Catching Fire is the second movie in the Hunger Games Tril-ogy. This science-fiction adventure film is to be released on
Nov. 22. Do you plan on watching the new movie Catching Fire from the Hunger Games Trilogy?
Outlet Collection of Seattle Formerly known as The Super Mall, the new mall has been
opening up new stores since they started redesigning it.
Since the innovations, it started the new stores, Michael Kors,
J. Crew Factory Store, Nike Factory, Brooks Brother Factory,
LOFT Outlet, H&M and Sketchers. Do you like this new mall
better than the old one?
Second Season Sports The first sports season has been a great season, now it’s
time for second season sports. For seventh and eighth
grade, the sports coming up are boys’ basketball, gymnas-
tics, and, our new sport, boys’ soccer . Sixth graders can
also participate in gymnastics. Are you going to play a sport
this second season?
YouTube Obsession Millions of people use YouTube to view the new viral video,
tutorials, or just to watch vlogs. With roughly 30 million us-
ers, 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute, or one
hour of video is uploaded to YouTube every second. Do you go
on YouTube often?
The Canine Chronicle Staff Debates Trends in Pop Culture
Jasmine Dang & Destany Abellera
COURTESY OF MBMS YEARBOOK, J. FORWARD, H. ADDSION