Kirsten.Michelle

    In1973 the first cell phone ( pictured to the right)  was invented, later in 1995 texting was invented by Matti Makkonen.
The cell phone seems to have been around forever. The first cell phone was created to make calls, and nothing more.  As time passed, the cell phone became more advance.  Cell phones now have everything you need from an alarm clock and calendar to a camera and built in mp3 player, all in a small transportable device.
     As teenagers, we use our cell phones for one main thing, communication. Here at Fort Morgan High School everyone seems to have a cell phone. But in the school handbook it states that all electronic devices are against school policies, this includes everything from an IPod, MP3 players, Cell phones and cameras. This is because of the distraction that they bring to the student using the device and the students around him or her.
   But what if students started using the cell phones for something a bit more useful, other than telling there ‘BFF’ what they had for lunch or that the girl next to you smells like she hasn’t showered in about 3 years. Currently, phones have a built in note pad that can hold up to 130 words on each page and up to ten pages. Another thing that comes in handy is the voice recorder for those long speeches that you’re assigned to take notes on.

     Everyone knows how the grading system here, at Fort Morgan High school, works. Right? We’ve been taught that anything form 90 to 100% is an A.
And 80-89 is a B. Or that a 70 to 79 is a C, and 60 to 69 is a D. But has anyone noticed that anything from a 0 to a 59% is an F? That leaves an extremely large gap to fail a class.
The school year 2010 to 2011, a new grading system may to be put into effect. The high school A.P (Advance Placement) classes have been graded on a Zero  to 4 scale, leaving less room to fail. SO, a Zero being an F and a 4 being an A, students have an equal advantage to pass a class.
      Although, it seems there is only a bright side to the classes being easier to pass, it also comes with a down side. Students who are having trouble in school or are merely not trying their hardest, can pass with straight 1’s or D’s. This can become a disadvantage in many ways, for example, if you are not doing homework but participate in class you will not learn much of anything.
Some teachers are all for the change but others are not so sure if this ‘quick fix’ will be benifital in the long run. “I see there are benifits to changing the grading scale but there are also some disadvantages. So I’m still on the fence about whether or not I’m for it” says Mr. Humpfrey, an English Teacher.
       By doing this you can pass, say Algebra, with a D. By passing a class you are then able to go and continue into Al-Geo ( Algebra and Geometry transitions.) Not only will you not be able to pass Al-Geo from lack of knowledge but you won’t be able to go back and complete Algebra again because you ‘passed it’.

Here is a riddle for you, I‘m on the bathroom walls, the lockers, written and handed out in a note during passing period and on the tip of your tongue. What am I? It’s a rumor, a tale, a story, a lie or an accusation made up by an Ex-best friend. Whatever you call it, it’s still the same thing.
Here at Fort Morgan High school, rumors are one of the many highlights of our school, as they are in every school. Everyone seems to care “who’s wearing what” and “who asked who out.”
The truth about rumors is that no one seems to enjoy them, except the person that’s spreading them. Not only do rumors hurt people emotionally but they end up foiling one reputation at a time.
Now than ever, rumors are twice as easy and fast to spread across school, and everyone seems to know how. Step one, open cell phone. Step two, click new txt/message. Step three, forward messages. Step four, click, send, and ruin a life.
The thing about a rumor is that whether or not they’re true they always seem to be something bad, it’s never “The best thing about Sarah is …” or “I think Josh and Hannah make such a cute couple, don’t you?” Here is what the Hoofbeat have to say about rumors here at FMHS…

      Here at Fort Morgan High School there is much diversity, whether it is through their religion, their opinions and values or their background. The school is full of students with brightly colored views and self expression. Many if not all of these students have a tradition they celebrate over the winter break.
      Some students celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or something completely unique to us, while many observe Christmas as their custom. But even for those who celebrate Christmas, it can be done many different ways. Most of the time when we hear the word ‘Christmas,’ we think of our houses being decorated with colorful lights, a Christmas tree in our living room and Santa Claus bringing us a stack of presents but not everyone does Christmas that way. Many traditions are alike in certain ways but are done differently. Here is how some of Fort Morgan’s students celebrate it;

Nichole Atwood; ”We have family come to my house and we eat!” says Nichole. ”After we finish eating we usually go into the living room and pass out a bunch of  gifts for each other and the younger the person is the sooner they open their presents.”

Kayla Quick; ” We wake up really early and go to the stockings and each take turns opening whats inside, then eat lunch with my grandparents.” replies Kayla.

Breanna Ramsey; ” Every Christmas Eve we head down to my grandmothers and she cooks goose!”

Aubrey Threlkel; ”Wow, for Christmas it seems like we do something different each year. This year we are going to my Grandpa’s house to eat dinner as a family! we haven’t done that in years, but if I had to pick a tradition that my family has it would be coming together.” Says Aubrey.

Aron Rascon; ” Honestly for Christmas we don’t do anything, it’s more of a family reunion.”

Michelle Chubuck; ”We just get my family together and open gifts.”

Below is a video of Christmas traditions in different regions, check it out!
French Traditions;

Main points that were told about include;
- Children put out there shoes instead of stockings.
- Lots of families put out nativity scene.
-Christmas tree’s never caught on.

German Traditions;

Main points that were told about include;
- December 6th is the date Christmas is held on.
- Lots of cookies, gynger bread houses and other sweets are baked.
- The savior child (Christ) sends out an angel to give children presents and the kids make shiny things to give the angel.

Argentina Traditions;

Main points that were told about include;
- Decorating a tree is important.
- Lots of food is eaten and dances are held very late in tell midnight (when you get to open your gifts.)
- Christmas is very Commercialized.

      Here at Fort Morgan High School there are many sports to choose from, but for those who are in wrestling it’s not just another sport. On December 3^rd The Morgan Mustangs wrestlers went up against the Fredrick wrestlers and played it out to the best of their abilities.
      The Mustang wrestlers are mostly made up of freshman and sophomores. On our Varsity team we have Ian Wingstorm, a ninth grader weighing in at 103, Jacob Gerken another freshman weighing 119, Nathan Scheneman, grade10 weighing 125, Shea Hopkins grade 11 weighing 130, Caleb Silz grade 10 weighing 140, Derek Gray grade 10 wieghing in at 145, Brandon Hoffman grade 10 weighing 152, Ben Hochanadel grade 10 weighing 160, Ryan Hoffman, a senior, weighing in at 171, Zach Carpender grade 11 weighing in at 189, Rey Corona grade 10.
      On our Junior Varsity Team we have Aaron Gross grade 12, Sebastian Diego grade 10 and Justin Wood grade 9, all weighing in at 125. Then we have Nick Northrup grade 10 weighing in at 130, Ezekiel Rivera grade 10, weighing in at 152 and Angel Del Campo grade 10.

By the time you reach high school most students have heard about kissing someone when you meet under Mistletoe, but how many people know ‘why’ your supposed to kiss? After reading this you’ll know the legend about a goddess named Frigga and how kissing under the Mistletoe came to be.     
   Mistletoe is an old English word. ‘Mistle meaning dung and ‘tan’ meaning twig. MistleTan is the old English form of Mistletoe, it was thought that Mistletoe was dropped and once grew from birds, rather than the seeds just going through birds, the mistletoe plant was an inherent result of birds landing in the branches of trees.
      So how did Mistletoe become associated with kissing and Christmas time? First off the story of kissing under the Mistletoe is based on a Greek legend. Mystical power of mistletoe and the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe owe itself to the legend of Goddess Frigga and her son Balder.
      Frigga was the Goddess of Love. Frigga had a son named Balder. He was the God of the Summer Sun. 
       One night Balder had a dream of his death. He was worried and told his mother about the  dream. Frigga was worried not only for the life of her son but also for the life on Earth because she knew that without Balder, all life on Earth would come to an end. 
      Frigga did her best to avoid her son from dying. Frigga went everywhere and went to every living thing in air, in the water, fire and on the earth to extract a promise that they would never harm her son. She was promised safety of her son by every animal and plant under and above the Earth. 
     However, Loki, the God of Evil, who was the enemy of Balder, always had evil designs in his mind. He was aware that there was one plant that Frigga had overlooked. It grew on apple and oak trees and was known as Mistletoe.
     Loki made an arrow and placed Mistletoe at its tip. He then deceived the blind brother of Balder whose name was Hoder. He was the God of Winter. Loki made Hoder shoot this arrow at Balder.
   This poisoned and killed Balder. Everybody was worried as the Earth turned cold and life became dreary. Every creature tried to bring Balder back to life for three days but it was finally Frigga who managed to revive her son with the help of Mistletoe. Her tears on the plant became pearly white berries and she blessed the plant. So, anyone who stands under the mistletoe plant would never be harmed and would be entitled to a kiss as a token of love.
  To learn more about Mistletoe or greek mythology click HERE.
Bleow is a picture of the godess Frigga (middle) and Balder, the god of the summer sun (right)./’
To the left is a picture of Loki, the god of evil.

     The book  ’BURN’  is a just one of many of the new books the libary has ordered (Go to Michelle’s Blog to learn more). The split novel is written by Suzanne Phillips. The story is written about the averageteenager dealing with high school. The only problem is his high school days are a lot worse than the ‘average teen.’ On a daily basis Cameron is beat up, tripped, humiliated and called names. A rumor starts through out the school that Cameron is a homosexual, causing him to lose all but one friend. The friend that he has left is named SciFi. (He’s really into science and seince fiction stories.) One day SciFi is beat up to the point of almost murdered for being friends with Cameron. Cameron feels that he is to blame for SciFi being placed into the hospital and promises himself he’ll fix it.
       This is where Camerons life goes from bad to worse to terrible, really quickly. Cameron makes quick decisions without thinking about the reaction that they will cause. Read Suzanne Phillips novel to discover the pain that words can have on your fellow high schooler’s.

        Nichole Danielle Atwood was born on October 13^th, 1993. Preppy, as many call her, is currently a sophomore here at Fort Morgan High school. She’s a Tall, Curly haired blond who is into the sport tennis.  
             She has many friends, some of her close friends being Jamie, Rachel and Kayla. Her favorite food is anything and everything that includes the ingredient chicken. She adores the color Pink! (To be honest who doesn’t.) Nichole also expresses quite happily, that she loves music! She likes everything from the calming band Blue October all the way to 3oh!3’s crazy music. Preppy plays the viola in the school orchestra and enjoys drawing.

       There is a lot of students here at Fort Morgan High School who are joining the thousands of people in America who are already VegHeads, but many people do not realize the pain that animals are put through for our needs. The rights of animals is so minimal that it seems wrong to be thriving as a human while our fellow creatures are being tortured and put through a living hell. We’re starting an animal holocaust.
       To learn more put on your head sets and watch the video provided . The video does contain disturbing images and footage and those with a queasy stomach  shouldn’t watch the video. To learn more about going vegetarian or supporting animal rights go HERE. 

Did you know that By switching to a vegetarian diet, you will save more than 100 animals a year.
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     Lets face the facts, the school is split. Just like every other high school in the United states we have our groups.
We have our jocks, the preppies, the Emos, and the stoners. Every group has their own ‘thing’ something that makes them different.
But what are some things that can bring us together or maybe just something that we have in common. 
    The student body has been polled and asked what their favorites are, and here are their responses.

1. The most preferred drink by Fort Morgans high school is….
A Monster and its many flavors
( number of people who agreed out of those who voted      7/ 10)
      
2. The favorite place to hang out after school is….
Hanging out at a friends house
( number of people who agreed out of those who voted      9/ 10)

3. Most often, we eat out at …
McDonalds (thank God for the Dollar menu.)

( number of people who agreed out of those who voted     5/ 10)

4.. The favorite food served at our school cafeteria is …
It was a tie between pizza Max sticks and Sloppy Joe’s
 (Who could have guessed.)
( number of people who agreed out of those who voted   4/ 10)

5. Students think there __ period seems to last the longest…
Once again it was a tie for the hour before lunch and last class of the day. ( number of people who agreed out of those who voted      3/ 10)

6.When asked what they would do with $10,000, they replied ____ most,

The students all seemed to have a very different decision or idea on what they would use the money for, some students thought that they would use the money for a shopping spree, while other students input varied from collage fund all the way to a ‘new’ car.

( number of people who agreed out of those who voted   N/A )

7. We the Mustang believe the worst part of high school is ….
Five minuet passing period, assigned seats in class and Mustang pride
recieved the most votes.

( number of people who agreed out of those who voted      3 each/ 10)

8.  When we think about it, we seem to agree scariest part about being a freshman is…

Finding my way around the school! (the other four students said the intimidating upperclassmen)
( number of people who agreed out of those who voted      6/ 10)

9. Favorite type of music is …
This was a question that seemed to change with the ‘group’ that was asked, but the highest voted question was Country.

( number of people who agreed out of those who voted     2/ 10)

10. Overall our high school seems to agree that ________ is the best ‘Color’.
Okay, so for this question I got every color imaginable.. I guess our school’s favorite color  is as diverse as  the students themselves.

( number of people who agreed out of those who voted      N/A)