Food bank, others, benefit from class project. | By Richard Hernandez | When asked if throwing money at an economic problem would solve it, juniors in Anne Ducote’s English III GT class went on a mission to discover the answer.

Story and Photos By Juan Garcia

Black and white clothing and small red hearts covered the Madison campus signifying students in mourning for those that have lost their lives due to drunk driving. Halls were covered with tombstones. Dead Day began with a sad, but meaningful poem read over the intercom about a girl that lost her life because of a drunk driver. Jan. 19 was the annual Dead Day and students are full pledged to help raise awareness about drunk driving.

“Dead day is where we remember teens losing their lives to alcohol-related accidents,” student council vice president Nikki Herrera said. “We also bring awarness to the student body about the consequences of drinking and driving.”

Student council members dressed in either black or white and could not talk for the entire school day. Students wearing white symbolized those that have died from alcohol-related incidents. Students wearing black symbolized those in mourning due to the death of their loved ones. Student council rang a bell every 68 minutes to represent five alcohol related deaths. They also hung up tombstones to reach out to the student body.

“Tombstones are something we do,” Herrera said. “Making tombstones makes people know that [alcohol-related deaths] can happen to one of their friends.”

Raising awareness about drunk driving is a major concern for student council and they want the student body, faculty and staff, and parents to know that alcohol-related accidents can happen to anyone.

“Drunk driving happens,” sophomore Sabrina Seiler said. “We can lose our friends in an instant.”

Photos by Stephanie Escalante | Story By Juan Garcia

Crowning the king and queen, serving beef, pork, rice, beans, and cake, dancing, and honoring the ones that gave their life for the stars and stripes were all aspects of the ROTC annual Military Ball on Jan. 8.

“The Military Ball is a formal dinner, where ROTC students can mingle,” Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Dallin Young said. “After the dinner there is a dance, where we get to relax and have fun.”

Before the dance, there is a a speech that is read to honor the fallen soldiers. Besides the dance, one of the most memorable moments of the night was when MSG Sandoval recited a poem about a young girl honoring her fathers death at war. Many students were moved and brought to tears.

“I cried,” Cadet Major Morgan Barnes said. “[The Military Ball] was fun, I saw my friends dressed up and dancing.”

Before the dance, ROTC crowns the year’s royalty. Dallin Young was crowned king and awarded a cape and crown. Morgan Barnes was crowned queen and awarded a crown and a bouquet of roses. Hannah Oliva was awarded sweetheart and Zack Peterson was awarded escort.

“I was very happy with myself,” Barnes said. “I won over all ROTC.”

Each class awarded a prince and a princess. In Alpha class, Ashton Kominski and Whitney O’connell were crowned. In Bravo class, Jordan Choate and Clarissa Rivera were crowned. In Charlie class, Nathaniel Landry and Claudia Castellanos were crowned. In Delta class, Jacob Prangner and Shirley Flores were crowned. In Eco class, Brandon Jackson and Courtney Boren were crowned. After all royalty was announced the dance began and ROTC students danced the night away.

“The dance went well,” junior Samantha Moreno said. “It could have been better, but I liked it.”

Photo By Sandra Lee | Story By Samantha Sanburn |

The Forensics League held the James Madison Winter Forensics Festival this past weekend. The tournament was a huge fundraiser for the students. It was a tournament held for all other schools in the area to compete in.

“Taking into consideration that none of my students had actually run a tournament before, I’d say it was a smashing success,” sponsor Chris Mifflin said.

The tournament ran on time and there was a surplus of food in concessions and judges were abundant in number. Teachers, alumni and volunteers within the forensics circuit judged at the tournament.

“The payoff was great. We made a lot of money, the team benefited a lot and it was all for a good cause. I would definitely host one in the future.” freshman Lindsey Boyd said.

With this tournament being such a success, there are more tournaments on the horizon in the years to come.

By Kristian Bush When teachers retire, most of the time, it’s at the end of the year. However this year is different. On Jan. 14, a part of Madison will clean their desks and head out the doors. Teachers Karolynne Palamarchuck who teaches Business and English, Susie DeMarco who teaches Psychology and Government, and Jim Miller…

Photo By Joey Hechler | Story By Christina Dimyan |

This upcoming week, students face semester exams. With exams being as much as 20 percent of some students’ overall grades, having a proper testing environment and attendance are crucial. This does mean having a special schedule, which may require students to change their day-to-day schedule to follow the special exam schedule set up for next week.

“We have created a schedule that creates a good testing environment for students,” Kelly Taylor, assistant principal for curriculum said.

With the lunch schedule changing as well, students will need to adjust to a different lunch lengths. On Tuesday and Wednesday, lunch is an hour and a half. On Thursday and Friday, lunch is 30 minutes due to early release at 1:30.

As for seniors, the time for senior release has changed. Seniors need to be prepared to follow the exam schedule and come at different times than normally. People on Co-Op need to make sure to arrange a schedule with their work so they can be present for all exams.

The exam schedule was released before Christmas break in order to give those students with Work Release and Co-Op plenty of time to make arrangements with employers. Also, upon returning from break announcements have been made regarding the exam schedule. Students have been given advance notice as to avoid any problems with their employer.

“We get out at two, and I have to go to work at two, so I’m having to lose an hour of work and come late,” junior Haley Gavegan said.

Note:

-All students who work may NOT miss an exam due to work. Please adjust your work schedule with your employer ahead of time.

-All students enrolled in co-op, a work program or who are currently employed during the school day must adjust their work schedule in order to attend all scheduled exams or acquire a PRE-PRINTED pass from their co-op teacher before exam day.

-Early dismissal is a privilege for high school students. Please do not visit any NEISD middle schools or elementary schools, because classes are in session.

Counselors provide advice for seniors, parents. |
By Makala Finley |

With just under 20 weeks left until that long awaited graduation date in June, many different deadlines are piling up. Scholarship deadlines, college deadlines and financial aide deadlines. Taxes will soon be ready, and the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) will be ready to fill out. Colleges and universities will begin giving away money on Feb. 1, so don’t miss the boat. Even if seniors feel that they do not qualify for financial aid, they still need to fill out the FAFSA. In most cases, there is almost always something out there for incoming freshman. For more assistance, students and parents should attend Financial Aid night on Feb. 3 at 6:30 in the library. Financial aid guru Marcus Cooper from Texas A&M University will be the key speaker. If possible, seniors should attend this helpful gathering.

“They’ll [students and parents] will get a lot of help. With changes this year, they’ll get new information about the FAFSA,[learn] the difference between loans, scholarships and grants. [Financial Aid Night] will give a gfoundation for filling out the FAFSA and the financial aid process,” counselor Karla Ridings said.

Besides the financial aid deadlines, college application deadlines are beginning to pop up and seniors should be aware of the dates so they do not miss the deadline to apply to the school of their choice. Seniors should also check with their school of choice and take note of the school’s scholarship deadlines. Many colleges and universities offer a variety of scholarships for incoming freshman.

Lastly, for a limited time only, those seniors wanting to attend a local community college such as SAC can register to take the Accuplacer for no cost. Students should sign up in the GO center located in the counseling office. All they need to do is fill out a request in the counseling office and they will be called down to register. Later in the Spring, junior colleges will require the THEA(Texas Higher Education Assessment), which is more expensive than the Accuplacer.

Graduation is quickly approaching. It is important to keep grades high and know the deadlines. With free money being tossed around, no student should be left out. So here’s to 2nd semester Seniors! The journey is winding down.

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Here’s a sneak peek at what will be going on for the Class of 2011’s last semester:

Feb. 1- Colleges start giving out financial aide

Feb. 3- Financial Aid Night at 6:30 in the library

Feb. 23- Ms. Saldivar will hold FAFSA assistance in the library from 12-6

Mar. 22- Summa Reception at 6. Tentatively will be help in the new auditorium

Mid-Spring- Awards Night

Jun. 6- GRADUATION at Freeman Coliseum

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Choir dominates at region competition. Photo By Bianca Loera | Story by Christina Dimyan

Story By Makala Finley

This time of year is a time to be thankful and to help others out, and that’s just what the library is doing. The librarians have recently decided to let students “gobble” their extensive library fines away…by drawing a turkey that is. Just a few months into school, and hundreds of students already owe fines for overdue books. At 10 cents per school day for a late book, fines can rack up fast.

Unfortunately, a majority of the fines are owed by juniors who have recently been checking out books for class reading. If students do not return books and pay fines, then they are unable to check out more books.