Track Team Prepares for Another Great Season!

Track Season “Jumps” to a Start By Kylie Farris

      Are you a good runner, or like to do several different field events?  Or just an athlete that likes to hang out and have fun with your friends?  Track may be for you then.
            Track has numerous different events to participate in.  There is the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, the mile, hurdles and lots of relays.  Field also has lots of events, such as the long jump, the high jump, discuss, shot-put and more. 
            The first track meet is coming up on April 5th.  Many students are well prepared and excited about this.  I interviewed a couple of people to see what there favorite track event was and what there favorite part of track was.  7th grader, Hunter Couch said, “My favorite event is the 400 and my favorite part is winning!”  7th grader, Justine Donlon stated, “I like running but just not hills.  My favorite event is the 800.”  Then I talked to Meg Szmed (8th grader) to find out her favorites.  She exclaimed, “My favorite part of track is running with my friends.” 
So you see lots of kids at LMS enjoy participating in track!  Even if you don’t like to run, run, run, it is still fun because you can do events in field.  Please make sure to try and come support the Lions track team in their home meets after school April 7th and 14th!

Basketball Bonanza! By Kara Fort

The Student Council 3 on 3 basketball tournament is a big deal to many students at LMS. It was held here in the LMS gym on Friday, March 4th, after school. Student Council representatives, teachers, and even some volunteers run the whole event from start to finish. Many students team up with their friends, but some just team up with people who they think are good basketball players. There were around twenty-six teams competing in the tournament. A front runner in the tournament was the Power Rangers. If basketball isn't your thing though the Student Council also holds a dodgeball tournament in May!

LMS Competitions Bring out the Best!

Taylor Krakar wins the school-wide Geo Bee and LMS Spelling Bee finalists get to compete at the Kaw Valley Spelling Bee!

7th grade boys basketball looks to KU for Inspiration By Ilani Mann

Basketball for the 7th grade boys this year has been intense and exciting. This is their first year playing for the school and facing more challenging competition. When asked what’s your favorite thing about playing for LMS, Kade Randall said “playing,” and Ryan Jaqua commented, “[I like] shooting!”
With Kansas being such a basketball-crazed state, it seems the team could not help but look up to some of the stars at nearby KU and K-State. Some of the team members were asked their favorite college players. Graham Forrester replied, “Josh Selby- he’s a beast.” Sam Twitchel said “Marcus Morris.” Kyle Verhaeg said “Josh Selby- he’s the bomb,” Ethan Woods said “Marcus Morris- he’s awesome.”
Good luck for the remainder of your season, basketball players!

Girls Basketball Pictures

Lady Lions Basketball finishes off a great season! By Celester Vanhoozier

Girls Basketball has done especially well this season. The 7th Grade has won a total of 14 of 18 games (not counting tournaments) since the season started. Many of the girls that played this year adapted very well to playing for the school since they have never done it before. I interviewed one girl from each team (A or B) and each grade about how they thought the season went, who they think the toughest team was, and what their favorite moment was in the entire season.



(Chelsea Stelter 7th A) “The season went totally freakin' amazing. The toughest school would probably be Piper. My fave [moment] would be when Sierra scored the winning point in overtime against Clark.”

(Cynthia Ferguson 7th B) “The season went very well because we lost only one game. The toughest team would probably be Mill Creek. And I loved playing my friends for Tongie.”

(Kija Commock 8th A) “This season went very good. Piper was the toughest team in my book. My best moment was when I was shooting free throws and everybody laughed.”

(Dani Harvey 8th B) “We worked very hard this season. Just like Kija I thought Piper was the toughest. My fave moment was when Kija knocked out somebody from Mill Creek.”



As we can see it’s been an amazing season this year for both 7th and 8th girls. Many girls can’t wait ‘til next year. Sadly this year’s 8th graders will be beginning their first year as high schoolers. Hopefully they will play throughout high school and then college. Our 7th graders will have tougher competition next year, so get ready!

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!