The Holiday Break

Everyone here at the Garrison School is anticipating that well-deserved holiday break in which we can all enjoy the holiday season with our friends, family, and neighbors. The break starts with an early dismissal at 11:15 next Thursday. The Winter recess goes from the 24th of December to the 31st. Students come back to class on January 3rd.

It is also very exciting to see that snow has already fallen and stuck to the ground. A couple of years ago the snow came very late, but it seems that this year is.....different.

On another festive note, today is a birthday of one of the bloggers for the Cougar Times who just turned a "staggering' 14 years old today. John Swartzwelder of the eighth grade reported that he feels awfully old and in just a couple of years he will be able to drive. John is one of the older students in his class because he was born on 1996. Most of the other kids were born in 1997. John also says that it is different having a birthday in winter, especially so close to Christmas.

"I guess it's nice to see my family twice during the Christmas season and who can complain with the presents!" he said.

Well, happy birthday to John and to all the students and faculty....enjoy the Winter Break! We'll be back to see you again.

Thank you.--John

Blue Ribbon School: Ohh Yes We Are

What an accomplishment it is to be called a Blue Ribbon School! The students here at Garrison are very excited about this. We can all agree that to be a Blue Ribbon School, it requires a strong student body and administration.

The students are taught the qualities of getting involved with our community. For example, the students held a "Cupcakes for a Cause" bake sale and helped provide earthquake relief in Chile. We even held coat drives for people who need them most. The teachers do a great job trying to re-enforce this. Garrison Union Free School also depends on our School Board and school District. Because of the participation from everyone, our school was awarded a Blue Ribbon.

I'm very pleased to know that the faculty, administration, and students before us who attended Garrison would be proud of us and this moment. They look at us, the students, and know that we are an extraordinary group of well-educated people.--John

MIX IT UP WEEK!

Mix It Up Week is now over. We had a week of fun. The week started out with wearing our pajamas to school. Then we mixed up our friends. On Wednesday we got a color and then we had to sit at the table that our card color was. Not everybody liked the table they were sitting at, but they got along and made new friends. Now on Friday our teachers switched up. We had a lot of fun this week. We are hoping we might have a Spirit Week. Our principal was looking into it.

Yours truly,
Olivia

Opinion: The water fountain drama!

Hello Garrison,

I'm here for another posting on the best blog in the WORLD! I have a problem: I don't like the water fountain. I believe that at least one water dispenser should be put in the middle school hallway. I don't like the water fountain because the water tastes weird. Does anybody agree with me? I wanted one because the adults have one in the lounge, and I think students should have one to. That's all for today! Bye!

-Olivia

Welcome New Staff Members!

Hi my name is Olivia. I will be interviewing John, an eighth-grade senior. Here is what John told me when I asked him some questions about journalism:

John, why did you decide to do journalism?
"I decided to join because I wanted to do something new."

What other activities are you involved with?
"I love to participate in school sports with my teammates. I also am involved with community service and other school electives."

One more question; John, do you have time?
"Yes, I have time."

What are some topics you would like to write about?
"I would like to write about important things going on in the school and in the community."

Thank you for taking the time to read my interview with John, and thank you, John, for speaking with me.

Hi, my name is John, and I'm a student at the Garrison School in the eighth grade. I'm here to interview a new student, Olivia. Here is the feedback Olivia gave me when I asked her some questions regarding the elective journalism:

Why did you want to do journalism?
"I decided to join journalism because I love to write and my favorite class is Reading with Mr. Berger. It's something I've always wanted to try."

What other activities are you involved with at the Garrison School and in the community?
"I love gymnastics and participate in my school's various arrangement of electives."

What are some topics you want to write about in journalism?
"I would like to inform Garrison about the students' birthdays and talk about important things going on in the school, outside of the community and around the world."

Thank you so much, Olivia, for your time, and I hope you enjoy the elective journalism as much as we do!

Finally, The End

By Spencer and Micah

THE END OF THE YEAR IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The students are excited. The finals have arrived, which makes everyone nervous, but finals also mark the end of the year.

This being the last post of the year, we are ending with a note about students' and staff members' summer plans. The Heitmann brothers say they are going to Cape Cod, Florida and New Hampshire. Tim in eighth grade says he plans to go to Vermont over the summer. Other places that might be visited are Montana, North Carolina, Montauk, Virginia and West Virginia.

We personally are going to go to Maine and Cape Cod (Spencer) and Japan (Micah). Micah's mom spent a year living in Japan and the whole family is now returning to experience the culture. Both of our vacations are (hopefully) going to be very exciting.

The end is finally here; school is over in about two weeks and there won't be any more posts, so this is goodbye from Micah and Spencer till next fall....

The Big Blue Night

By Micah and Spencer

This year's Spring Band and Chorus Concert was in many peoples' opinion, the best or one of the best Garrison school concerts. The Middle School Jazz Band was joined by professional musicians Raul Wessely, Al Hemberger and Tommy McDonnell, of the Blues Brothers Band. It was a great night and a great performance.

Today, June 2, is the reward for the middle school performers, the reason many people signed up in the first place for band or chorus: THE TRIP! Last year's trip was to the musical "Mama Mia." This year, all of the students in middle school who participated in band or chorus are going to see the Blue Man Group. The two of us get to go on the trip because we played trumpet in both band and jazz band.

Everyone that is going is PUMPED! We will see the show at the Astor Place Theatre in New York City. People are even more excited because we are sitting in poncho seats, where you get all different colors of paint thrown all over you. Many expect it to be a fun performance (and a fun bus ride). Also, there is no homework for the middle school because we leave at 4:00 p.m. and get back around midnight. Everyone is looking forward to it. It's going to be a great night!

A New Member!!!

By Spencer

Hello, all you Cougar Times fans! Say hello to our new member, Micah! He will be helping me with the blog from now on. So be prepared for double the action twice a week with back-to-back posts. If you recall, we featured him in two stories here at the blog: the story about In Motion because he's a singer in that band and on top of that he was the mastermind behind the homework petition. So, just like Mrs. Rowe asked me, I'm going to do a little Q&A with Micah right now:

S: So what do you hope to do with the blog?

M: I hope to carry it out and make it better!

S: So Micah, if you had to pick one favorite moment from 2010 so far what would it be?

M: In Motion's Performance at the Middle School Dance. I had a blast.

S: What is your favorite food?

M: Tasty food!

S: So good luck, Micah! I look forward to working with you.

M: Thanks, Spencer, same to you!