By Neco Gonzales
Madison C-3 held its 2026 Homecoming on January 16, earlier than in past years. Despite the early date, students fully embraced the celebration. The Student Council organized the event and selected a Rio-themed homecoming, bringing bright colors and high energy to the week. To build excitement, students participated in several fun and spirited dress-up days. Posters and decorations created by students were displayed throughout the school, helping set the tone for the festivities.
Homecoming activities began Friday evening with boys’ and girls’ basketball games against Glasgow. Both teams competed with determination and gave strong efforts, but unfortunately ended the night with losses. To keep spirits high, the cheerleaders performed a dance inspired by the movie Rio to the song “I Wanna Party.” The performance energized the crowd and helped maintain excitement throughout the evening. Despite the game outcomes, the strong student turnout and school spirit set the stage for the rest of the night’s events. Following the games, the Homecoming Court was announced in front of the crowd. The court included many deserving students from across the high school. Senior Michael Winn and freshman Emma Craig were named second runners-up, while juniors Ethan Million and Sophia Mayfield earned first runners-up. Seniors Jake Jackson and Avery Carr were crowned the 2026 Homecoming King and Queen.
The celebration did not end there. Students moved to the commons for the homecoming dance, where they spent the rest of the night dancing, socializing, and spending time with friends. Overall, the 2026 Homecoming proved to be a successful and memorable event that showcased school spirit and brought the Madison C-3 community together.
By Lizzy Dameron
The Madison FFA chapter recently attended the Greenhand Motivational Conference, an event designed to inspire first-year members, as well as Sophomores and Juniors due to cancellations, and introduce them to the opportunities available through FFA. Throughout the day, students participated in engaging sessions that focused on leadership, teamwork, and personal growth. State officers shared their own FFA experiences, encouraging Greenhands to step outside their comfort zones and take advantage of contests, community service projects, and leadership roles within the chapter.
By the end of the conference, members returned feeling energized and more connected to one another and to the organization’s mission. The activities helped build confidence and showed students how FFA can positively shape their future, both inside and outside the classroom. To conclude their trip they stopped at the Columbia Mall to get themselves a bite to eat before returning to school.
By Ethan Million
The junior class of 2027 has been running the basketball game concession stand. Throughout the junior high season and the high school season still in full swing the whole class has been working hard to keep the fans happy.
The best customer Remington Hendren bought fifteen candy bars one night. The new “Motchos” and “Totchos” are a hit. Make sure to come see the juniors at the next home game!
By Wyatt Tooley
The Madison tournament is a yearly competition that is hosted for schools from different classes and districts to compete for a plaque, teams such as Heartland Bethel Eagles, Wellsville-Middletown, Keytesville, Bevier, and Columbia Independent. And some schools are still in the district.
The first game of the tournament was Columbia Independent against Madison, a hard fought game against Columbia Independent with some starting players fouling out early in the second half, with the score being 23-55.
The second game for the Varsity boys was against Wellsville-Middletown, a well played game against a team about the same skill level over all. The Madison boys placed for the 3rd place plaque, some of the players that didn't play as much as others got to play and were in when the game was over, the varsity boys won by 8 points against Wellsville-Middletown the score was 38-30 the madison boys got some hardware in their own tournament.
By Sophia Mayfield
The pep rally for Madison homecoming January 16th was extremely successful. The cheerleaders had a wonderful performance for the whole school and the crowd went wild for them. All of the lady panthers were introduced first and then the panthers were introduced. The boys team decided that they wanted to be different and do a cheerleader kick every time they introduced themselves. The turnout for the girls and boys basketball games ended up being excellent. There was a huge crowd in the stands to support our panthers on homecoming night. The cheerleaders also had another fantastic performance at halftime of the boys game.
By John McNamara
The Madison C-3 Digital Media team has been hard at work over the past several weeks designing and creating a new and engaging media display board for the school community. From the beginning stages of planning to the final assembly, students dedicated time and effort to ensure the project reflected creativity, teamwork, and attention to detail. Team members carefully planned layouts, selected images, and fine-tuned designs while checking color accuracy from screen to print to achieve a professional final result. Once completed, the images were assembled and securely attached to the board, creating a polished and visually appealing display.
To give the board a unique and recognizable style, the team selected a 1970s–1980s retro theme. This theme added a fun, nostalgic look that stood out and captured students’ attention. Bright colors, bold designs, and themed visuals helped bring the board to life and made it an inviting spot for photos. The project also provided students with hands-on experience in design, printing, and presentation—skills commonly used in the digital media field.
In order to safely display the board, the Digital Media team collaborated with the Madison shop class to build sturdy wooden stands. This cross-class partnership allowed students from both programs to contribute their skills and work together toward a shared goal. The stands ensure the board can be displayed at school games, assemblies, and other events throughout the year.
Looking ahead, the Digital Media team plans to expand the project by adding themed props that students can use while taking photos. These additions will encourage creativity and provide fun opportunities for students to capture memories and share school spirit on social media. The total cost of the project was approximately $50, making it a budget-friendly success. Due to its popularity and positive feedback, the team plans to create additional media boards in the future. Student Council members have reported that the board has already been widely used during school games, proving it to be a successful and enjoyable addition to school activities.