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In This Issue

Community Message Board pg 1

Electronics and Sleep pg 1

INK Club Writing Contest pg 1

Valentine’s Day History pg 1 & 4

FBLA Regionals Results pg 2

Roasted Chicken pg 2

School Uniforms pg 2

Knowledge Bowl Results pg 2

Student Highlight pg 3

Poetry Out Loud Contest pg 3

Teacher Love Letters Advice pg 3

Super Bowl 50 Recap pg 4

Benefits of Coffee pg 4

Good Luck Wrestling pg 4

2015-2016 February 11, 2016

COMMUNITY MESSAGE BOARD FMHS SPORTS 2/11/16-2/26/16 (home games indicated in bold type)

DATE SPORT OPP HOME/AWAY TIME

2/12-13/16 Wrestling (V) Regionals Away TBA

2/12/16 B Basketball (C) Elizabeth Away 4:00pm

B Basketball (JV) “ “ 5:30pm

B Basketball (V) “ “ 7:00pm

2/16/16 G/B Basketball (JV) Weld Central Home 4:00pm

G Basketball (V) “ “ 5:30pm

B Basketball (C) “ “ 5:30pm

B Basketball (V) “ “ 7pm

G Basketball (C) “ “ 7pm

2/18-20/16 Wrestling (V) State @ Pepsi Center TBA

2/18/16 B Basketball (C) Englewood Home 4:00pm

B Basketball (JV) “ “ 5:30pm

B Basketball (V) “ “ 7:00pm

G Basketball (C) Englewood Away 4:00pm

G Basketball (JV) “ “ 5:30pm

G Basketball (V) “ “ 7:00pm

TBA B Basketball (V) Playoffs @ TBA tba

TBA G Basketball (V) Playoffs @ TBA tba

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2/22 & 25/16 Parent Teacher Conferences

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2/20/16 Solo/Ensemble Music Competition Auditorium 7am-5pm

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2/23/16 Poetry Out Loud Library 3:30pm

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2/27/16 Knowledge Bowl to Weld Central

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1/31-3/16/16 INK Writing Contest See Mr. Johnston

INK Club Writing Contest

INK Club is hosting it’s annual writing contest. All students are eligible to

submit writing or artwork in four categories: short stories, poetry, artwork,

cover design. The winners will receive $25 Amazon gift cards.

Submissions should must be turned in to Mr. Johnston in room 205 no later

March 16.

Technology Linked to Sleep Deprivation in Teens By: Trystan Bohling

Okay, teens, here’s a question: How many hours of sleep are you

supposed to get every night? If you said “nine,” you get a gold star. That’s because most teens and their parents have no idea that nine hours

of sleep a night for young people is crucial. They also have no clue that

over half of middle school students and high-schoolers are chronically

sleep-deprived. And that’s a big deal. According to the Mayo Clinic,

sleep promotes normal cell growth and boosts the immune system. Our

brains also consolidate information when we sleep. Which means, skip-

ping sleep lowers test scores and makes it hard to concentrate for more

than short periods of time. In fact, psychologist Dr. Jane Ansell says that

the symptoms of sleep deprivation are so similar to ADD that a lot of

kids end up getting prescriptions for Ritalin and Adderall when what

they really need is a solid sleep schedule.

So what’s making teens so tired? Smartphones and computer games. Oxford University neuroscientist Dr. Russell Foster says that bright

screens mimic daylight, which stimulates their brain to wake up and stay

alert. So even after kids stop tweeting, texting and X-Boxing, the residu-

al energy boost from bright electronic devices can still keep them from

falling asleep for hours. The take-home message is clear: If you want to

feel better and get better grades, turn off anything with a screen two

hours before bed and turn in at least nine hours before your alarm’s set to

go off.

History of Valentine’s Day By: Jordyn Rivera

The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of

seven mob associates and a mechanic of the North Side Irish

gang who was led by Bugs Moran during the prohibition era.

On February 14th, 1929 the seven men were lined up against a

garage wall on 2122 Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neigh-

borhood of Chicago. The shooters were dressed up as cops

and in formal wear - suites, ties, overcoats and hats. This is not the Valentine's Day we are celebrating nowdays. Each

year on February 14th many people exchange cards, candy,

gifts or flowers with their special “valentine.”

The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for

a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but has

origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia. Valentine greetings

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Knowledge Bowls Wins Big!

The Knowledge Bowl Team continued to dominate the com-

petition during the Regional competition held at Cardinal Acad-

emy in Keenesburg on February 8. Tristan Reyez, Jay Arm-

strong, Adrianna Miller, Chad Morrison,

Conner Shaver, J.J. DelCampo, under

the direction of Mr. Jay Broda, finished

first in the Region and first in their divi-

sion. They are currently first in their league. They now move on to the state

competition at CSU Colorado Springs

March 14-15. The team has been nearly

undefeated for four years and is looking

forward to the possibility of a trip to

nationals.

The top three teams in each class get scholarships to CSU.

The top three teams in each class will then advance to National

Academic Bowl. The top three teams in the state competition,

regardless of class, move on to National Knowledge Bowl.

Good luck, Knowledge Bowl Team!

milin.net image

FBLA Regionals Results

A large group of FBLA members qualified for

state @ District competition on February 4:

Digital Video - 1st Place - Edith Gonzalez/Kacie Hasting

Digital Video - 2nd Place - Brady Henderson/Bobby Tolson/

Dylan McBride

Publication Design - 3rd Place - Alix Young/Cora Rhode/

Kinsey Brashears

Website Design - 1st Place - Amy Anderson/Kayla Covelli/

Haley Lewis

Website Design - 3rd Place - Kelsey Shaver/Hallee Shaver/

Breann Parks

Personal Finance - 2nd Place - Heather Hoffman

Securities & Investments - 1st Place - Jonathan Pope

Computer Problem Solving - 1st Place - Conner Shaver

Graphic Design - 2nd Place - Heather Hoffman

Business Calculations - 1st Place - Nate Gertner

Computer Game & Simulation Programming - 2nd Place -

Colton Carpenter/Nathan Harman

Economics - 1st Place - Jonathan Pope

Sports & Entertainment Management - Kaleb Bell/George

Perea

Introduction to Parli-Pro - Kimberly Alvarez

Public Service Announcement - 2nd Place - Andrew Schoe-

maker/Nate Gertner/Drew Gerken

Healthcare Administration - 3rd Place - Frank Rosales

Public Speaking I - 2nd Place - Bria Harris

Good luck at the State competition April 14-16 in Vail.

www.fblamarketplace.com image

Pros and Cons of School Uniforms By Jena Parker

Yeah, I know, when someone says something about school

uniforms it causes a huge conflict. Although school uniforms

might be annoying and weird looking they are helpful in some

ways. According to school-uniforms.procon.org/ school uni-

forms deter crime and improve school safety. They also keep

students focused on their school work instead of their new shoes

or jacket. There are cons of school uniforms; they are expensive,

don’t really help control school behavior and don’t improve edu-

cation as much as some people think. School uniforms also may

have a detrimental effect on students self image. “Child and teen

development specialist Robyn Silverman told NBC News' Today that students, especially girls, tend to compare how

each other looks in their uniforms: "As a body image expert, I

hear from students all the time that they feel it allows for a lot of

comparison... So if you have a body that’s a plus-size body, a

curvier body, a very tall body, a very short body, those girls of-

ten feel that they don’t look their best." (school-

uniforms.procon.org/) School uniforms go all the way back to 1222 in England.

They aren’t as popular in most modern public schools. Many

parents are against school uniforms because they are expensive,

and they believe that the school should not have to pick what

students wear. Anne Pope with Competition and Markets Au-

thority (CMA) stated "Buying school uniforms can be very ex-

pensive and particularly hits low-income families and those with

a number of children." Grace Chen, "Public School Uniforms: The Pros and Cons

for Your Child," states that school uniforms may delay the tran-

sition from childhood to adulthood because adults have opportu-nities to express themselves through fashion. School uniforms do

not promote that. If you were to ask many people they would say

that they dislike school uniforms because we are a society that

supports individuality. So its your choice do you approve or dis-

approve of school uniforms?

Perfect Roasted Chicken

By: Jonathan Stone

Roasted chicken is a delicacy to enjoy, but can be a disaster if

you mess one thing up. Some people have no problem cooking the

legs, but the breast is undercooked, or vice versa. Here are some

quick tips to enjoy that for a nice evening meal.

When you cook whole chicken there’s always a trade off, you

either overcook the legs or the breasts. Or if you’re a novice at cook-

ing you overcook both! A solution to this is to brine it. I prefer to wet brine the chicken. To do this, you can submerge the bird in salt

water for several hours. You can do this in one of two places: either

your fridge or your sink.

Furthermore, you could also dry brine the chicken. To do this

you need to mix salt, sugar, and your preference of herbs and spices

then rub it over the chicken and put it in the fridge to sit for a couple

hours. The salt will draw moisture out of the chicken. Then the salt

is dissolved by the moisture and reabsorbed into the meat. The legs

and breasts will no longer be undercooked!

One final tip: ratio the salt to the weight of the chicken. Always

two tablespoons per pound. Say you’re cooking a three pound chick-en, use six tablespoons of salt.

With that, hopefully you’re prepared to make that wonderful

chicken!

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Student Highlight 6: Fardowsa Ali

Poetry Out Loud

Annual poetry reading contest. Students memorize and recite

poetry from the Poetry Out Loud website. Top three at each

school receive prizes. First place goes to state competition.

Rules: All poems must be selected from the Poetry

Out Loud print or online anthology. Check

poetryoutloud.org.

Only versions of poems from the official an-

thology may be used in the contest.

Poem Criteria: At the state and national finals, students must have 3 poems prepared. One must be 25

lines or fewer, and one must be written before

the 20th century. The same poem may be used

to meet both criteria, and may be the student’s

third poem.

Date: February 23 @ 3:30 in library

See Ms. Gondrez or your English teacher with questions or for

more information.

Love Letters: Advice From Teachers By: Cheyenne Icenhower

It’s that time of year again. Everybody is

either rushing to get their loved ones a cheap yet meaningful gift or

dreading the Valentine’s holiday altogether. Up until recently, Val-

entine’s day was a holiday which didn’t mean much of anything to

this generation. We are just now starting to have relationships that

go beyond family and friends, which can be very difficult for us as students to deal with. So, in the spirit of Valentine’s day, here is

some advice from people who have already gone through the

dreadful high-school relationship drama. These are people we see

everyday, people we probably don’t even think about having gone

through these same troubles, yet they did, and they shared their

advice with me. Here are some of the best pieces of advice FMHS

teachers have given me about high school relationships and love:

Gondrez

“Here is some advice I would give to high school students about

high school relationships and love: Be friends first, then they’ll

really get to know you. Find someone to accept you for everything you are in every moment as you change and grow. Communicate

with your partner. Be honest with each other, no matter how em-

barrassing it is to do so. People come and go, and sometimes rela-

tionships are temporary. However, they teach you a lot about your-

self and what you want in companionship. All relationships work

well when both people are willing to put in the effort, and fight

through the hard times. There will always be hurt and pain because

people are flawed, but be willing to explain what hurts and you

will begin to create a road to fixing it. Love is always a 50/50 gam-

ble so don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work. Don’t settle for less

than you deserve, and realize that you deserve happiness as much as anybody else. You are enough. Do not let someone make you

feel less than enough. You are perfect for the heart that’s meant to

love you.

Love, Ms. Gondrez”

CARRUTH

“Listen to your heart. Follow your head.”

RICH

“Never settle for less. Treat each other well. If you aren’t ready for

the relationship, then don’t rush it.”

BRITO “Never forget that no matter the failures that might occurred in a

relationship you will become stronger as long as you continue to

evolve and grow through the pain as you shed a new you. If you

ever find yourself in pain, say to yourself, this too shall, pass and

hang on to the people around you that love you. If you are lucky

enough to be in a healthy relationship do not ever take each other

or the moment for granted.”

By: Cheyenne Icenhower

Fort Morgan is one of the most uniquely diverse towns in Colora-

do. We have all these beautiful people of different races living in

the same town with a population of about 11,000. Among these people is high school junior, Fardowsa Ali. Fardowsa is a 17 year

old girl with an unlimited amount of kindness and perseverance in

her heart. Originally from Kenya, she moved to Somalia at a

young age, then to America just three years ago.

Why did you and your family move to Fort Morgan?

Ali: My family came to For t Morgan for a nice place and so we

could have peace.

What are some of your favorite and least favorite things about

the high school?

Ali: I r eally hate the food here, but I love the teacher s for their

kindness towards me.

What has been your biggest struggle since moving here?

Ali: It was adapting to such a small town.

What are some things you miss about your country?

Ali: I miss my family and fr iends from home.

If you could give some advice to your past self, what would you

say?

Ali: I would tell myself to turn in every assignment whenever

it is due.

What is your favorite class at FMHS?

Ali: I love science, but my real favor ite class is math.

Who is your favorite teacher? Ali: Ms. Taylor . I swear she is so nice to me.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned about life in the past

few years since living in Fort Morgan?

Ali: We all have struggles. Since moving here, I have learned

that you can never give up.

You can find us online at http://www.edline.net/pages/For t_Morgan_High_School

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ATTENTION SENIORS CHECK THE COUNSELING OFFICE FOR UPCOMING

DEADLINES

Superbowl 50 By: Cheyenne Icenhower

Football and commercials and

Coldplay Oh My! America’s most

watched annual football game

occurred again last Sunday, Feb-

ruary 7th. The Denver Broncos

played The Carolina Panthers in this Super Bowl. Despite the pop-

ular belief among media that this game would be a sure win for the

Panthers, Denver crushed Carolina with a score of 24-10. Both

teams have a very strong offense. After a nearly flawless season,

young quarterback Cam Newton’s nerves definitely got the best of

him. However, what Carolina doesn’t have is a sense of who they

are as a team. Communication among the players was lacking

throughout the game. Unfortunately for Panthers fans, Broncos’

players such as Vaughn Miller and CJ Anderson gave their all at the

Super Bowl. This led to Miller winning the MVP that night and the

Broncos winning the 50th Super Bowl.

While the game itself was quite entertaining, the commercials were something else altogether. From parodies of great hits featur-

ing the singer himself to freaky and confusing commercials such as

puppy-monkey-baby, the Super Bowl commercials did not fail to

deliver.

The final big thing to be covered is Peyton Manning. This was

Peyton’s 200th win, the second win he had at a Super Bowl. He

may retire after this game, and it will be a memorable game to have

as his last. The big question now is this: Will Manning retire as a

Bronco or a Colt?

So there you have it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. This was

the 2016 recap of Super Bowl 50.

Five Benefits of Drinking Coffee By Jonathan Stone

Coffee is surprisingly beneficial, here are 5

ways that extra cup can help you other than

get you through the morning! From authori-

tynutrition.com:

#5 Coffee makes you smarter

Coffee doesn’t just keep you awake, it may very well make you

smarter as well. The main ingredient in coffee is caffeine which

blocks the primary effects of adenosine, a neurotransmitter.

Blocking the inhibitory effects of Adenosine, caffeine actually

increases neuronal firing in the brain and the release of other

neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine

#4 Coffee is loaded with nutrients

Many of the nutrients in the coffee beans do make it into the

final drink, which actually contains a decent amount of vitamins

and minerals.

#3 It will decrease chance for a premature death

In two very large prospective epidemiological studies, drinking

coffee was associated with a lower risk of death. This is due to

the fact that it can also help with your liver, which brings us to

the next reason.

#2 It may be good for your liver Multiple studies have shown that coffee can lower the risk of

cirrhosis by as much as 80%, the strongest effect for those who

drank 4 or more cups per day.

#1 Coffee will burn fat and help fitness

Caffeine, partly due to its stimulant effect on the central nerv-

ous system, both raises metabolism and increases the oxidation

of fatty acids

Valentine’s Day, continued from page 1

were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valen-

tine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known

valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by

Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in

the Tower of London.

In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In

Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated

around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common

for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens

of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began

to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technolo-

gy. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their

emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was

discouraged. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made

valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland be-

gan selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. How-

land, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate crea-tions with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.”

Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1

billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valen-

tine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.

Whether you are with a significant other, good friends or even

making it single-awareness day, have a fun and safe Valentine’s

Day!

Good Luck at Regionals Wrestling! By: Hoofbeat Staff

Our Fort Morgan High School Wrestling Team will be trav-elling to Regionals this weekend. This competition deter-

mines who will move on to compete at the State Champion-

ship February 18-20 at Pepsi Center. Good luck wrestlers!

commons.wikimedia.org

Heldwin Brito photo

losangeles.cbslocal.com image