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MCHS to participate in National Depression
Screening Day
BY VANESSA KIRK
When people think of the word "teenager," a lot of
things come to mind. A major factor of a teenager's life is stress.
As a teen some stress sources may be academics, SAT scores, too
many extracurricular activities and getting into college. One
factor that may not come to mind is depression.
A teen can go through so much stress and so many different emotions
that the teen feels like they can't take all of it anymore. This
is a serious problem that is often overlooked.
This year MCHS is taking part in the National Depression Screening
Day. This will be the 10th annual screening day, but it's new
to MCHS.
The program will include a 20-minute video that will cover signs
of depression and suicide. The video promotes the ACT plan: Acknowledge
that there is a problem; let the person know that you Care; and
Tell a trusted adult.
After the video, the students will have a discussion session.
Students will then take part in an anonymous, self-scoring screening
form. Literature will be passed out with places to get help if
needed.
The sponsors and MCHS will receive a summary report of the student's
answers. This information is needed so that MCHS can better plan
programs and groups for the students.
The screening will be conducted by professionals, including high
school, middle school and elementary school counselors, the school
psychologists and social worker and individuals associated with
the program.
Parent permission forms were sent home on Friday in case some
parents do not want their child to participate in the depression
screening.
The screening day is set for November 1, 2000, during first and
second periods.
A walk in the shoes of a Freshman
BY DENISE WILLIAMS
It is always a hard transition to make from middle school to
high school. In high school you are faced with difficult decisions
every day. Upper-classmen find a thrill in teasing the freshmen
and giving them a hard time. Freshmen are looked at different
than everyone else in the school because this is their first
year of a new beginning.
Tammy Hansford is only one among the many several freshman that
began this year.
"The biggest thing I feared about my first day of high school
was getting lost, but I knew if I got lost I could count on my
sister, Valerie, and my cousin, Denise, to help me find the way,"
replied Tammy.
Tammy is hoping to graduate with a technical diploma. As of now,
Tammy is not involved in any extracurricular activities.
"I wanted to adjust to the new atmosphere before getting
too involved," said Tammy.
In her spare time, Tammy enjoys listening to music, watching
television, and most of all enjoys the outdoors. Tammy is very
energetic and loves playing sports.
"I really like high school, and the best part is that I
now realize I only have four more years until I graduate. The
next four years will be a challenge, but hopefully it will be
fun," remarked Tammy.
Tammy has a very positive attitude about school. She meets people
easily, and, as a result, she is blessed with tons of friends.
With so many positive attributes, her freshman year will surely
prove to be a breeze.
NHS induction ceremony held
BY ARRIE BROWN
The Crawford W. Long chapter of the National Honor Society recently
held an induction ceremony for new members. The ceremony was
held in the media center of the high school and began with a
presentation by the club's officers, President Megan McCay, Vice
President Donny Stamper, Secretary/Treasurer Arrie Brown, Historian
Christine Simmons and Projects Chairperson Crystal McGinnis.
The officers introduced and explained service, scholarship, leadership,
and character as the main focal points of the club, and lit a
symbolic candle for each topic.
The inductees were then introduced and pinned with the club's
blue ribbons. After pictures were taken, all members, parents
and friends went into the lobby for refreshments, which were
catered by Debbie McCant's Professional Foods II class.
The NHS sponsors, Priscilla Darley, Renea Simmons and Amy Sanford,
planned and prepared for the event along with the officers.
Matt Cleghorne - A work in progress
BY SARA DUCEATT
Balancing a job and school can be tough, but not for this senior.
Matt is involved in the DCT program at MCHS. Diversified Cooperative
Training Program is keyed for students who would like to come
to school for the first half of the day and then they can go
to work for the remainder of the day. DCT is available to students
through application and class credit requirements.
Matt Cleghorne has worked at Hardee's of Danielsville for six
months. Starting at the bottom was Matt's way of working toward
his career objective as a professional chef.
Matt said, "It has shown me that working hard will pay off
sooner or later. Just do the best you can and you will go far
in life." His supervisor described Matt as a hard worker
who is trustworthy and dedicated in his work.
"We here at Hardee's would like to thank Matthew for always
keeping us laughing and making the work load faster," said
Pamela Skala, Matt's supervisor.
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Biology teacher always optomistic, cheerful
in her job
BY STEPHEN TIPPINS
Mrs. Cindy Hayes-Colley, a biology teacher at MCHS, believes
that after 25 years of teaching, her perspectives and attitude
toward the field of academics have changed, but, in fact, she
has remained throughout those 25 years an always optimistic and
cheerfully bright lady who has reached countless students.
What has changed, however, in those 25 years is her surroundings.
After graduating from West Georgia with a degree in biology,
Mrs. Hayes-Colley decided to become a certified teacher. She
became the eighth grade science teacher at Bowden High, a very
small Single A school not far from the West Georgia campus. Having
been from Athens originally, she decided to move closer to home.
After doing so, she took a position in Winder as a biology and
general math teacher. Then she moved on to Madison County, where
for the last 20 years she has passionately taught biology.
"I try to reach every student in some way... on a level
they can learn," she says. It is fair to say she has succeeded
in doing just that. Throughout everything she has seen come and
go, and everyone she has taught, as well as care for her family,
which includes husband Jimmy Colley of Colbert and two sons,
Brandon Hayes, 16, and A.J. Hayes, 7, she has remained a very
clever and insightful teacher.
"Sometimes I have to laugh to keep from crying," she
says in an obviously joking manner. And, indeed, that is the
type of teacher that Mrs. Cindy Hayes-Colley has been for the
last 25 years. Always humorous. Always optimistic. Always a good
teacher.
Peer mediation program offered at MCHS
BY WENDY TILLER
When the average student gets in an argument with another student
at school, what do they do? Some may be able to work it out,
but the others may result in fighting. Throughout high school,
fights cause many lost friendships.
MCHS has a program called Peer Mediation to help decrease the
number of lost friendships and fights. Fighting had gotten to
be so frequent that extreme penalties were made for those who
chose to fight. They are taken directly to the sheriff's office
and suspended.
Peer Mediation, led by Mr. Robertson, allows students to write
in problems and get help. The students involved with the argument
are taken into a room with two mediators.
The mediators help the students talk their problems out themselves.
They are not allowed to talk about any of the problems outside
of class. Everything is kept confidential.
If you would like to learn more about Peer Mediation, stop by
Mr. Robertson's room. He will answer any questions that you might
have concerning it.
Dear Ruby
Dear Ruby,
There are two parties going on this weekend, and I have been
invited to both of them. One party is for my best friend's 16th
birthday and it's going to be really small and private. The other
party is going to be huge, with lots of cool people and the guy
that I like is going to be there. Both parties are going to be
at the same time, so I don't know which one to go to. If I go
to my friend's thing, I'll miss out on being with my crush for
a whole night. But, if I go to the big party, my friend will
really get her feelings hurt. What do you think I should do?
-Double Whammy
Dear Whammy,
This is a classic problem, and one that I've tackled many times
before in my career of Advice Guru. Talk to your friend. Ask
her if she knew about the other party, then tell her how you
wanted to go to it, but her party is more important. Then, act
like you just had a great idea. "Hey!" you say, "What
if we go to that party together after yours? It'll be fun!"
If it works, congratulations. Problem solved. If she gets mad
at you, you have an excuse not to go to her dumb old party anyway,
and you can hang out with your guy all night long. Either way,
good luck!
Proud to be in Pride
BY TESSA HOLLIS
Students influencing younger children to stay drug and alcohol
free. It is what the Pride organization is all about. Pride travels
to all of the five county elementary schools, doing presentations
for the students about the consequences of substance abuse.
The students involved in Pride have several requirements that
they have to meet. First and most importantly, members must be
drug and alcohol free. A teacher recommendation is also required.
This year Pride's theme is "Rock and Roll with Pride."
They start their presentation with a dance and have several skits
throughout the program. Some of the skits are funny, but others
are very serious and really drive the "drug free" message
home to the children.
Junior Andrea Bond commented, "I love Pride. It really is
an excellent way to impact the lives of children."
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