By: Madi Wade &

Maggie Copeland

Saraland Middle School

was nominated for Channel

15’s “Cool Schools.” This

means that the school that

is nominated is different

from all others.

We did renovations over

the summer that cost over

three million dollars, such

as transforming our locker

rooms and redesigning our

gym.

Cheerleaders, band

members, archery,

FCCLA, and other

voluntary students were

featured on air at six

o’clock that morning.

To view the

segments, you can go to

www.local15tv.com and

search “Cool Schools.”

Then, segments will

come up on the top

right-hand side.

Tanner Mauldin, a 7th

grade archer said, “I was so

nervous about shooting on

live TV. I was scared I

would mess up shooting,

but it was a really fun

experience!”

“My favorite part of

being on television was

screaming, and the 7th

grade winning the school

spirit award! My school is

cool because we had

renovations, and we have

an endless amount of

sports,” Kirk McDonald

said.

Saraland Middle is a “Cool School”

Vote for the Yearbook Staff Video

By Gunnar Jones &

Zach Hardman

The journalism staff

wrote and acted in their

very own video for a

yearbook video contest.

Hallie Rowell said,

”That was a great start to

my acting career.”

We can’t win without

your votes though. To vote,

you have to have a

Facebook account. Then,

once you have logged in,

go to “Jostens Adviser &

Staff” page, and then click

“Commercial Contest.”

Our video is called,

“Saraland Middle

Yearbook Battalion!” Click

on “Vote” to select our

video in the contest.

Don’t forget, the last

chance to order your

yearbook is February 18th.

Don’t miss out on this last

opportunity to hold on to

this year’s memories.

Order yours now for only

$50.

Announcements

Mon. Jan. 28—PTO Open House 5:45 serving free hotdogs, chips, and drinks

6:00 meeting then visit teachers in rooms

Feb. 2— SMS Pageant Tickets $15 at the

door. 8th grade contestants are collecting

gently used uniforms. 7th grade girls are

collecting money for the Saraland Animal

Shelter. Homerooms can win a pizza party

or donut party based on donations.

Feb. 15— Valentine’s Dance starting at

6:30, $8 singles, $15 couples, refreshments

available for purchase.

SMS Cool School 1

Video Contest and Yearbook Deadline 1

Spartan Sports 2

Cheerleading 3

Scholars’ Bowl 3

Spelling Bee Winner 4

Students of the Month & Creative Corner 4

In this Edition

Sp

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Volume 1, issue 4

January 2013

By Connor Nitteberg & Andrew Booth

The Spartan basketball team has had a

hard but fun year. The boys ended the

regular season with a win against St.

Luke’s 51 to 39.

Tyler Sheppard stated, “It’s been a fun

year with all my teammates, and our team

has grown closer not just as teammates

but as friends.”

The lady Spartans also worked hard

and improved as individual players and as

a team. Coach Travis said, “It’s been a

tough season, but getting to know the

girls has been a real good pleasure.”

has all of these qualities and has the

archers to prove it.

In tournaments, shooting distances

range from ten to fifteen meters. You

are allowed two practice rounds and six

scoring rounds. Points on the target are

scored from 1 point to 10 points. Over-

all, a perfect score would be 300 points.

This amazing feat of a perfect score is

very rare because it is nearly impossible

By Jack West, Zach Hardman, &

Hunter Tangle

Archery is a lot more than just pulling

a string back and letting go. To

participate in this sport, you need skill,

strength, and determination. Being an

archer requires hours of practice. There

are various challenges to this sport that

only the great will succeed in. Our team

to shoot all tens in your round of

shooting. Only the committed archers

will one day maybe be able to accomplish

this feat.

Our Saraland Archery team recently

participated in a tournament at Shiloh

Baptist in Saraland. Our archers showed

great talent throughout their rounds at the

tournament. SMS won first place in this

tournament. Joe Joe McDonald led all

Saraland archers with a score of 273.

Jordan Mayo shot a 271. The team’s

score was a 3152.

Sixth graders at Saraland Middle

usually compete on the elementary team

while 7th and 8th graders compete on the

middle school team. (Pictured to the left

is the middle school team.)

The archery team’s next competition

is February 1st and 2nd at North Mobile.

Then they will compete in Regionals at

Alma Bryant on February 28 and March

1st.

Overall, one can observe that archery

takes time, strength, and effort, and our

team certainly has it all.

Page 2

Basketball Teams Continue Improving as Season Ends

Archery Requires Focus and Determination

Above: Asia Woodard dribbles the ball in

toward the basket.

Pictured to the left is Jamear Love as he

shoots over his defender.

S PAR TA N TI ME S

Spartan Sports

V OLU ME 1, ISS UE 4

By Laura Owen & Aleah Myers

Not just anybody can be a

cheerleader; you have to put full effort

into this year-round sport. Unlike other

sports, which only have a season,

cheerleading goes on all year, even in

the summer!

The cheerleaders participate in a

cheer camp every summer. This year

they brought home a 2nd place trophy

from South Alabama.

Laura Owen said, “We worked very

hard, and I think the practice and hours

spent were well worth it. I also enjoyed

spending the time with our squad!”

They go to the Flip Factory once a

week during the school year, where

they spend countless hours perfecting

their cheers and tumbling.

Cheerleaders have to attend

every game including football,

basketball, and volleyball to

cheer our teams on.

The stunts performed by

the squad take a lot of trust

and courage.

Kennedy Gill agreed, “If

you don’t trust your stunt

group, it increases the chance

of you falling or shaking. If

you can trust them, it is easier

to concentrate on your

sharpness and balance.”

On top of that, as soon as

the past year ends, try-outs for

the upcoming season are just

beginning. To make our fabulous

squad, you have to participate in a four-

day clinic where you learn a cheer, a

chant, and a dance that you are

expected to perform during try-outs.

The judges will judge you on

sharpness, personality, and confidence.

The girls that have the top scores will

be chosen for our squad. Then the proc-

ess of perfecting cheers and chants

starts all over again! Cheerleading is tough yet fun and

the cheerleaders wouldn’t have it any

other way.

questions and 15 seconds to do math

equations. Once a person buzzes in with

the right answer, their team is given two

more bonus questions. The team also

competes together on a worksheet round,

where they have 2 minutes to answer 20

questions.

Our record so far is 3-2. We have

beaten Booker T. Washington, Calloway

Smith, and North Mobile and had close

losses to Lott Middle School and Clark

Magnet. When our team faced North

Mobile, our A team won by a score of

245-60. The top scorers were Donovan

By: Kirk McDonald & Vinayak Nair

Imagine trying to answer such

questions as “What was the name of the

popular battle where Napoleon’s forces

were finally defeated?” Or “What is the

scientific term for a substance made from

only one kind of atom?”

This is what scholars’ bowl team

members do each week during practice

and in monthly competitions. Team

members practice buzzing in on random

questions about math, science, literature,

history, and popular culture. Members

have five seconds to answer regular

Hughes and Vinayak Nair. The B-team’s

score was 180-170.

The team was especially excited to

get new buzzers this year, which cost

about $500, thanks to a generous

donation by Calpine Corporation. One of

the team parents also donated money to

help purchase new study material.

The team has their final regular

season competition next month at Faith

Academy, and then they’ll find out if

they were invited to the super

tournament. Good luck, scholars’ bowl!

Page 3

Cheerleaders Provide Spartan Spirit

Scholars’ Bowl Team Members Grapple with Tough Questions

Spartan Spotlight

JANUARY STUDENTS

6T H GRAD E: MACHALEY WEST &

T YLER KNAPP

7T H GRAD E: KEYONA DI XON &

KEON DI XON

8T H GRAD E: BRI A NI CH OLSON &

CHAND LER COTT ON

STAFF PAT ON THE BAC K MISS BARTLETT

“I feel excited and nervous,” he said.

“If I win this competition, then I go to the

next competition, and then I get to go to

Washington DC, which if I do I would be

very excited!”

We are very proud of our Spelling Bee

participants! Keep up the good work!

Spelling Bee participants: Gale Couch,

Presleigh Myers, Katelyn Junkins,

Christian Kelly, Hannah Hall, Josh Engle,

Melissa Zattiero, Tristian Montoya,

Donovan Hughes, Chandler Cotton,

Joseph Bush, Nathanael

Thomas, Rachel Carwile,

Hollie Courington,

Hakeem Jackson, Katie

Beth Garrison, Madison

Booth, Lana Chasom,

Dylan Peterson, Aron

Prestridge, Hallie Rowell,

Phillik Rodgers, Tyreek

Marshall, Annamarie

D’ Angelo, Makayla Lol-

ley, and Bria

Nicholson

By Melanie Lens & Kennedy Gill

First place winner Chandler Cotton

will represent SMS at the county Spelling

Bee competition later this month.

Donovan Hughes placed second, Josh

Ingle came in third, and sixth grader

Rachel Carwile came in fourth. The top

three finishers were all from the eighth

grade.

Chandler is eager to represent our

school at the next level and has been

preparing very hard.

Spelling Bee Winner

S

o

c

k

Students of the Month and the “Pat on the Back”

Creative Corner

SMS Top 10

Top Ten Snack Foods

1. Chips

2. Debbie Cakes

3. Chicken and Candy (tied)

4. Chocolate

5. Cookies

6. Cheese-Its

7. Pizza Rolls

8. Fruit

9. Ice Cream

10.Popcorn

Pickles just missed placing in the top

10. Watch for our next SMS Top 10

list!

H

o

p

!

Sixth grader Tayla Ellison and seventh graders Genna Hinton and Kayleigh

Johns show off their creative side as they proudly display their drawings,

which Mr. Burgess has chosen to represent our school at the Mobile Museum

of Art Student Exhibition. Their art will be submitted for the visual art

contest, and winners will be announced on March 17th. Good luck, ladies!