Google vs. YAHOO! Which do you think is better? By Mekayla DePaolis

People have debated over it for years, Google or YAHOO!? Some people say Google is better because most people use it as a verb, as in “Oh, I’ll just Google that.” Well our LMS students weighed in and these are the outcomes:

Google: 339

YAHOO!: 66

When asked why they liked one or the other these students/teachers answered:

Google: ~ Shelby Ogden, “It’s just way better.”

~Devan Johnson, “Google has more variety.”

~Mr.Hoffman, “It’s fast and I like the new search function”

~Claire Jacobs, “Google reminds me of google-ly eyes and I like google-ly eyes.Yahoo sounds like a yodel and yodelers scare me.



Yahoo: ~Mr.Carmichael, “I don’t know I just do it’s really awesome.”

~Raina Perez, “I don’t know, I think because it’s fun to say Yahoo.”



Wow a lot of LMS students have weird reasons to like Google or Yahoo. By far Google seems to rule LMS but some kids asked about Bing. Does Google have better competition than Yahoo to worry about?

Waffles vs. Pancakes by Hannah Dean

We took a poll from LMS students on WAFFLES VS. PANCAKES. Which one is better?
And these are the results………………..

WaFfLeS: ~~~~~~ 86

PAnCAKeS:~~~~~~~ 73

So in honor of waffles winning, I found the most amazing Waffle recipe EVER!!!! It’s called

Chocolate Brownie Waffles (from mrbreakfast.com)

* 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
* 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
* 1 and 3/4 cups pancake mix
* 2 tbsp sugar
* 3 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1 and 1/3 cups water
* Heat waffle iron to its medium setting.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the pancake mix, walnuts, chocolate chips, cocoa and sugar.
Add water and oil; mix with wire whisk just until large lumps disappear. Let batter rest for at least 5 minutes.
Pour desired amount of batter into well greased waffle iron. Bake until indicator light goes off or until the steam stops.

Wrestling Team Starts off with Success!

Students Celebrate Day of the Dead in Spanish Class

All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Spanish students celebrated Day of the Dead by creating paper skeletons. They cut them out, attached joints with brads (so they could move), and decorated them with bright materials.

Top Ten Songs on Students’ I-Pods. By: Celeste VanHoozier

We all have songs that we listen to all the time and probably know all the words… jamming out in your room or singing when you think nobody’s listening. I want to know what is the top 10 songs on your I-Pod, MP3, or any other music player! (none of the boys asked would reveal their Top 10, so it’s all ladies today.)



Amber Ketchum (7th) said, “My 10 are (1) Call me when You’re Sober – Evanescence, (2) We will Rock You – Queen, (3) Mama’s Song- Carrie Underwood, (4) My little girl – Tim McGraw, (5) I’m a Survivor – Reba McEntire, (6) Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood, (7) How You Remind Me – Nickleback, (8)Rock star – Nickleback, (9) Low – Florida, (10) Because of You- Reba McEntire.”



Anonymous (7th ) – answered,” My top 10 is (1) All I Do Is Win - DJ Khaled,(2) I Know How To Say – 3OH!3, (3) Streets of Gold – 3OH!3, (4)That Should Be Me – Justin Bieber, (5) Soundtrack 2 My Life – Kid Cudi, (6) Blind – Ke$ha (7) Secrets – OneRepublic (8) Dynamite – Taio Cruz (9) Ridin’ Solo – Jason Derulo (10) Only Girl in the World – Rihanna.”



Sarah Dean (6th) - said,” My top 10 songs are (1) Love the Way You Lie – Eminem feat. Rihanna, (2) New Divide – Linkin Park (3) Girlfriend – Avril Levigne, (4) Dynamite – Taio Cruz, (5) Magic – B.O.B., (6) Airplanes – Haley Williams feat. B.O.B., (7) That’s what you get – Paramore, (8) The DJ’s got us fallin’ in love again – Usher, (9) Club Can’t Handle Me – FloRida, (10) Fly on the Walk – Miley Cyrus.”



Alyssa Acevedo (8th) replied,” This is my top 10 (1) Back to December – Taylor Swift, (2) Last Friday Night – Katy Perry, (3) Animal – Neon Trees, (4)17 – Sky Ferreira, (5) Stranger – Usher, (6) Just the way you are – Bruno Mars, (7) Hey Princess – All Star Weekend, (8) Who owns my Heart – Miley Cyrus, (9) Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri, and (10) Stuttering – Fefe Dobson.”



Hannah Eubanks (8th) responded,” My top 10, (1)The One That got Away – Katy Parry, (2) Bad Romance – Lady Gaga, (3)Baby – Justin Bieber, (4) Mine – Taylor Swift, (5) Club Can’t Handle Me – FloRida, (6) Not Afraid – Eminem, (7) Untouchable – Taylor Swift, (8) Kiss & Tell – Ke$ha,(9) Hot Like Wow – Nadia Oh, (10) DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love – Usher.”



As you can see, nobody listens to the same genre of music. There are many genres such as country, pop, rock, dance, and ballad. Each genre is different from the next. A certain song can tell how you feel about anything. This is why I encourage everyone to listen to many types of music, not just one.

DO YOU HAVE A FACEBOOK? By: Maggie Lewis

What do you do after you get home? Some people stay at LMS and go to sports practice, maybe watch some TV, play video games, do your homework…

However, when some people get home they go straight to Facebook!! You can chat with friends, look at their status, find old friends, maybe pick a date for a party.Many people use it often, like 8th grader McKenzie Hersh, who has 791 friends. 7th grader Maddy Moya said, “I go straight to Facebook when I get home. I like to look at my news feed.”

Also 7th grader Anonymous said, “I like to look and see if my old friends from my old school have [a Facebook]. I like to play Petville and take quizzes.” Katie Rathjen said, ”I have 0 friends on Facebook cause I don’t have one.” Many teachers have a Facebook account as well, but likely will not be friends with their students for privacy purposes.

Just remember, if you use this social site, be responsible and kind, don’t “friend” strangers, and have fun :)

Teacher's Funny and Embarrassing Moments By Katie Rathjen

Many of our teachers here at Lansing Middle School have had funny and embarrassing moments. Some moments are not as embarrassing as others like tripping over students binders (Mrs. Snodgrass) or accidentally wearing different colored shoes (Mrs. Lang). Here are a few teachers who were brave enough to share there stories.

After talking with a student about his homework Mr. Reeser walked backwards thinking the chair was behind him and of course it wasn’t behind and he fell flat on his rear. When talking with him he told me it was not fun…..at all.

At parent teacher conferences it was lunch time. Mrs. Jenkins was making her spaghetti when red spaghetti sauce spilt down the front of her shirt. She ended up going home and changing.

Mrs. Andrews gets very excited when teaching about Social Studies. When she gets excited she tends to spit. When she spits it gets all over the students in the front row. I really feel sorry for those unlucky students.

When a student made a gargoyle it came out of the kiln with a broken leg. Mrs. Baysinger super-glued the leg back on and let it dry on her desk. What Mrs. Baysinger didn’t know was that the glue was leaking onto her desk. The gargoyle got stuck to her desk and she spent lots of time trying to pull it off and scraping glue off of her desk.

So you’re not alone, all you accident-prone, mistake-making students… teachers are human too!

Exploratory Classes

TOUCHDOWN!!! By: Celeste VanHoozier

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play football? What position you would play and how hard it would be to play it is the question I asked some 7th football players. Also I asked how they got pumped up for their games.

Brian Orkis (7th gr. Defensive Tackle & Offensive guard #75) said,”It’s not hard to learn, all you have to do is listen to the coach. We get pumped by slapping each others pads and saying,’ Are you ready?’”

Samuel DeLeon (7th gr. Tackle #72) says, ”It’s very easy to learn to tackle because all you do is block and push back. We get pumped by doing drills.”

Dylan Rothery (7th gr. Guard #58) replied,” It was not hard at all to learn my position. I get pumped by stretching.”

Football is a fun and aggressive sport and you get to play all kinds of teams from other nearby towns. Playing on a recreational team is a little different than playing for LMS. That is why I encourage everyone to try playing sport for the school.

Challenge Day Comes to LMS Again!

I’m pretty sure that by now, many of LMS students know what Challenge Day is. The seventh graders have all participated it, along with most of the eighth graders (…previous seventh graders, obviously). Challenge Day is all about getting to know people you wouldn’t normally hang out with, and getting to know yourself. You open up to others, and share your feelings. It lasts for a whole school day (which is the best part for some people. ;D), on the dates of September 21st, September 22nd, and September 23rd. After this day, most people will be changed forever. Some might not even be changed at all…but I know I was.
The main thing is to keep what we learned at Challenge Day going… treat others with kindness and respect. Be honest and open. Make a positive difference in every aspect of your life and for those around you.

College Teams that LMS Students Cheer for...

What is your favorite college team? Do you like them because your parents like them or because of their color? Or is it a different reason?

58 students were interviewed and these are the top teams:



Kansas Jayhawks 11

K-state Wildcats11

Texas Longhorns6

Missouri Tigers 10

Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish 4

Iowa Hawkeyes 5

Georgia Bulldogs 4

Florida Gators 7



Compiled by Faith Bennett

Before School Hang out Time

What the 6th graders think of LMS so far…and…What 6th grade teachers think of years the new 6th graders!!! By: Maggie Lewis

If you’re on the Lion Pride team you probably know Mrs. Szmed, the Language Arts, Literature, & Math Enrichment teacher. In my opinion Mrs. Szmed is the best teacher to walk the planet. Some people ask why I love her so much. The reason why is that last year I spent so much time around her she just seems so fun and happy all the time I don’t know, I just didn’t want to leave her class. Mrs. Szmed was asked some questions. For one, do you feel this year’s 6th graders measure up to last years and why? She said, “Yes, because they’re just as friendly, nice, and hardworking.” Also I asked her about her hopes for this year. “[I hope] that this year we will have fewer missing assignments and that everyone continues to be respectful and friendly to each other,” She replied. The last question I asked her was if she has high expectations and why? She answered, “Yes, because I want for my students to do their best and only their very best.”

I asked Mr. Hoffman the same questions. For the first one he said, “Of course last year’s 6th graders were a good group of kids and I think this year’s will be just as good.” He added, “I hope that this year we will get to do all the fun things we did last year with fewer snow days.” If you’re in his class you should know that he said, “I set very high expectations because I expect ALL my students to succeed!”

And now from the student point of view… Kylie Trowbridge, a 6th grader was asked her about her exploratories and she said, “I have Band.” She was also asked her if she liked it she answered, “Ya, I get to play my favorite instrument - the flute it’s very fun to learn how to play it.” The 6th graders are fun and the teachers think they will do great this year!

Sports Cuts By Kara Fort

School sports are an activity that many LMS students enjoy participating in, but this year there is a change in the rules.  This new rule is that the coaches of volleyball and basketball must have cuts.  One reason for the cuts is because last year there were just simply too many people on a team.  For example, last year on the seventh grade volleyball team there were forty-seven girls, and because there was no cutting rule last year they had one A team and three B teams.  Another reason for the cuts would be that all the other schools in our league have cuts, and with three B teams there would be too many people to play.   Even though there are cuts you can sign up for rec. league sports, but volleyball is not a rec. league sport. 
            Many LMS students are concerned about the cuts because almost a quarter or more of the people that tryout will not make the team.  Seventh grader Meghan Tauke said, “No, I am not worried because not that many people are getting cut.”  Although many people do not like the cuts, they do think it is appropriate. For example, seventh grader Lara Kidder said, “I think it is appropriate to have cuts because it just gives you more experience for future tryouts.”
            I myself do not like the cuts, but I do think it is appropriate to cut down on costs (busing, uniforms, insurance, ect.)  So if you tried out for volleyball or are trying out basketball good luck and I hope you make the cut.  If you would like to sign up for rec. league sports you can call 913-727-2960.

6th Grader Works Hard to Bring Smiles and "Cuddles" to Children

6th Grader Works Hard to Bring Smiles and "Cuddles" to Children

When you think of the average 6th grader and how they spend their time outside of school, you may think homework, sports, video games, sleepovers... but Olivia Jarvis is no average 6th grader. Olivia spends her free time making "Liv's Luv Buddies" which are little fabric dolls that are donated to The Alliance Against Family Violence, a local abuse shelter, and given to children who come there.
Olivia started this project when her grandmother, Kate Swonson told her about the "Million Pillowcase Project" that she was involved in with other quilters, making pillowcases for abused women and children. Olivia came up with the doll idea all on her own and now makes about four per night, after her homework is done, of course.
Olivia has already gotten great recognition for this humanitarian effort, being featured in the blog of Quilter's Quarters http://www.jerrysrubyreds.blogspot.com/ and since hearing from people as far as the United Kingdom. Others are impressed and excited about Olivia's work and have donated fabric and gift cards for supplies.
Way to go, Olivia, we're proud to have you as a Lansing Lion!

Fine Arts Fair Preview

Fine Arts Fair Coming Up! By Nathaniel Dusini

Oooooh ahhhhh! That’s what you will be saying if you go to the Fine Arts Fair on May 11th which will be held at the commons area in Lansing Middle School. There will be tons of art there and some of our art projects which will include things from 3D pictures to aluminum masks (masks made out of soda cans). The Fine Arts Fair will also have a band and choir concert as well as have a BBQ with either a hamburger or hotdog with a side, a drink and desert- what a deal! So come down to LMS on May 11th to enjoy the art, music, and have a great time!

7th Graders Experience the Civil War in Numerous Ways

On March 22, 7th graders got a visit from Civil War speakers. They also got to try on some of the traditional uniforms similar to those wore during the war.

Shelby Ogden, Graham Forrester, and Hannah Fowles: Lansing Spelling Bee Champions

Lansing Middle Students Excel at Spelling

At LMS, many students participated in the school-wide Spelling Bee and three very talented and intelligent students stood out and won. They also represented Lansing at the Leavenworth County Spelling Bee on February 12, 2010. Left to right Shelby Ogden, Graham Forrester, and Hannah Fowles. Hannah placed third and Graham is the Leavenworth County Spelling Bee champion and advances to state competition.

Break Time By:Meghan Stewart

Everyone knows Spring Break is coming up, but do you have any ideas on what to DO during Spring Break? Here are some ideas on what to do during this week off:

• Host a fun party (themes are especially great... an indoor luau, 80's party, Wii Tournament, Murder Mystery party, and many more)
• Go swimming at an indoor pool with friends
• Shop at some of the many great places around such as The Legends, Zona Rosa, or Oak Park Mall
• Go hiking
• Go to a basketball game. KU Men's and Women's team are both playing in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City!
• Go on a road trip, even short ones are fun!
• Or just hang out with your friends

Whatever you do over Spring Break, hope you have fun!

Sixth Grade Skiing Field Trip by Derek Owen

Recently, the sixth graders went on a field trip to go skiing. They went on Monday, January 25th to Snow Creek. This field trip is to reward students with good behavior and good grades. A couple of sixth graders were asked questions about the field trip. Molly Parks said that the field trip was "amazing and really fun." Seth Atanasio remarked that he liked it because he could play in the snow but didn't enjoy that he kept falling down. Zach Lavere stated that his favorite part was learning how to get off a ski lift and skiing downhill. Tadd Savidge said that he wanted to go skiing again and that he had a lot of fun. A lot of sixth graders wanted to go back because it was so much fun.

8th Grade A-Team Undefeated!

8th Grade Boys Basketball Season By Hailey Budke

Overall, the 8th grade basketball season went pretty well. Philp Hawley said,"I think the season went mediocre, because the B teams didn't do all that well." But it wasn't all bad for the B teams. There were definitely moments to be rejoiced in. Matt Moriarty was proud as he said he scored 3 points in a row one game. Also Greg Garvey said,"Getting 72 lay ups is also something to be proud of." A team players, on the other hand, loved their season. The A team when undefeated and came home from their tournament with medals and a trophy. Sean Ellis had some comments on this. Sean says,"I think I played well this season, because we won all of our games." Coach Elliot and the whole 8th grade A team were pretty excited too. The team managers had some fun as well. Lindsay Davis looks back and remembers," The funniest part of the season was spilling water on Collin Anderson during one of the games." At the end of the season both teams got to have a pizza party. Philp Hawley remarked,"Stuffing my face with a bunch of pizza at the end of the season was the best part!" Great job, 8th grade guys and good luck next year in high school!

News from the kitchen!

The kitchen offered a contest to all Channel One classes. We had two winners: Mrs. Haag's and Mrs. Brennan's classes made wonderful sports team posters. We appreciate their hard work and each class wins a donut party!

Also, for Kansas School Lunch Week we played some games and gave away prizes. -Susan Hill

Computer Class By: Sydney Chiles

The reason kids take computer class is to get more used to working with Microsoft computer programs such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint. These programs are used in peoples lives everyday. They can be used for formulas, putting together a presentation or even typing a story. Mr. Douglas is a man who knows almost everything about computers. He knows how to fix a computer glitch or fix problem that might take a few days to finish. When the 6th graders of Lansing Middle School take the computers class they mainly learn about typing without looking at the keyboard and without looking at hands. 7th graders learn about typing faster then normal with numbers and symbols. They also work with programs on the computer. 8th graders work on videos and making videos with effects and editing. One of their projects is making a video about themselves and also a commercial. Every class gets to learn something different and new every year.

Images from the Library Book Fair February 2-5

Welcome!

This is a new website for news, information, and pictures for Lansing Middle School students, parents, teachers/staff, and community members. It is written and run by 7th grade students.