Sept 2023
News of the Month
Madison Senior Play
By: Hayleigh Arch
Come out and support the junior and senior dinner theater! We will provide exciting entertainment with a delicious meal before. . This year's play will be The Great Gatsby. The play will take place on October 27th. Everyone has their role and the ones who are not in the play are working on props and screens. The week of the show, we will be having after school practices to get ready for the big evening.
Adult tickets will be $10 for the show. For the dinner and the show it will be $17. Children's tickets will be $5 for twelve and under for the show. However, for the dinner and show it will be $10. And finally for the dinner before the show, we will have spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and cheesecake.
If you are a friend or family member, come out and enjoy the show. To buy tickets contact any senior, junior, or Mrs. Jackson.
Here is the cast:
Jay Gatsby - Jake Jackson
Nick Carraway - Abby Dameron
Jordan Baker - Haylee Cantu
Daisy Buchanan - Maddie Wood
Tom Buchanan - Alex Harrison
Myrtle Wilson - Melana Bollman
Mr. McKee - Lizzy Dameron
Mrs. McKee - Kaylee Knight
Wolfsheim - Skyler Sexton
Mrs. Michaelis - Nautica Brucker
Wilson - Sophia Mayfield
Party guest #1 - Carlee McCoy
Party guest #2 - Heather Sutton
The butler - Brittany West
The cop - Mason Million
Giving the Gift of Life
By: Maddie Wood
Life is a gift. Unfortunately, most people do not realize that until they are in a situation where living is jeopardized. When someone gets into an accident or becomes injured, we tend to take for granted the gift of medical care, as well as the gift of life.
On Wednesday, September 20th, Madison National Honors Society put on a blood drive in the cafeteria to give back and help people in need. Blood drives not only give back to the community, but they also give scholarship opportunities to seniors. Most importantly, conducting a blood drive gives the gift of life to people in need.
We ended up collecting seventeen units of blood on Wednesday, just short of our goal of twenty-one units. Although we fell short of our goal, seventeen units of blood is still enough to make a difference for someone and save a life.
The National Honors Society would like to thank everyone who has donated, either for the first time or on a regular basis. Your donation and your kindness are greatly appreciated. We would also like to recognize some of our school’s first time donors: Alex Harrison, Skylar Sexton, Connor Jones, and Jacob Baymiller.
The next blood drive will be held in January, with more details to come closer to time. If you are thinking about giving blood or would like to help work the blood drive, please speak with Mrs. Ehrett.
Softball Highlights
By: Haylee Cantu
Here is our recap of our fall softball season! These girls have been playing really well this year. We played Macon County-Bucklin on August 29th. Unfortunately, we lost, but it was still a good game. The next day we faced Westran; we held them 5-5 at one time, but Westran came back and won. We played really well in that game.
We played New Franklin on September 1st. We almost came back, but we ended up losing but we fought really hard.
Then, we played in the New Franklin tournament that weekend as well. We played Fayette the first game; we held them but not enough to pull out a win. The second game we played was Community R-VI. We were battling hard, but they ended up coming back and beating us. Then we played Atlanta for our third game. We were up on them from the beginning. Atlanta tried to battle back, but we put an end to them scoring with a strong defense.
Then we played Glasgow on Tuesday, the 12th. We played well. Despite them coming back and beating us, these girls fought really hard and they even held them in some innings. Next, we played Sturgeon on the 14th. On that Thursday we ended up winning that game 7-9! It was a good game. We kept the energy up the whole time, and it was something special.
The next day, we played Jamestown on Friday, The 15th. We held them for the longest time, but they came back and won.
We played Mark Twain on the 18th. We were beating them in the beginning, and we put up a fight. However, they came back and ended up beating us 14-8. We played a great game.
On the following Tuesday we played Slater. We put up a good fight. These girls were ahead from the start and ended up beating them 8-5.
Our girls have ended up playing Community on Thursday, the 21st. That was a game we held them in the beginning, but unfortunately, it all went downhill. The Trojans kept hitting in holes and gaps. To add to our frustration, our junior pitcher, Kennedy Duff, suffered a season-ending injury while trying to run home. We ended up losing, but we fought hard.
The last week of September we played away at Paris and Pilot Grove. Then on Thursday, we face off against Cairo, at home, and finally we will go to Meadville on Friday!
We’ve had four players of the week: Maddie Wood, Sienna Brush, Raven Brush and Kennedy Duff! They all have shown up and dominated on and off the field! We are so proud of you gals! I hope to see you at our final home game, which will also be Senior Night, on October 3rd to cheer on our Lady Panthers! GO PANTHERS!
FFA Area IV Leadership Conference
by: Johnnie Thomas
Our school, along with several other schools, participated in a get to know you bingo game on September 13th. Fourteen FFA members attended the Area IV Leadership Conference In Mexico MO; they attended workshops, business meetings, and got to listen to Missouri State FFA Vice President Owen Neely. I think it was a great way to get out and meet new people, be taught new things, and gather new information.
Students that attended were Carson Chick, Jacob Fish, Tanner Wood, Michael Winn, Prayton Piercy, Andrew Stultz, Johnnie Thomas, Sierra Bryson, Melena Bollman, Raylee Griffitth, Sophia Mayfield, Lizzy Dameron, Nautica Brucker and Kaylee Knight.
Trap Shooting
By: Jacob Baymiller
Trap shooting is an FFA based sport, where we practice once a week and shoot on Saturdays 99% of the time in the months of August through October. We do have a few practices on a Tuesday or Monday and one trap shoot on a Monday.
Trap shooting is a great sport for FFA members; it brings us all together as a team to cheer on each other so we can succeed. The Madison FFA trap team has been to four shoots so far: our own trap shoot at Prairie Grove that we hosted, the Mexico trap shoot at Prairie Grove, the Paris trap shoot at Monroe County Gun Club, and the Centralia trap shoot at Prairie Grove.
We did, however, fall short at areas to go to districts; we were one place out from going. We might not have made it, but the Madison trap team has fought and battled the hardest we ever have. We are all so proud of our junior high and high school team.
Trap shooting has a lot of ups and downs this year. A few months ago, we lost one of our coaches, Larry Wandrey. He was a great coach, mentor, and an amazing person. These last two seasons have been really hard without Larry, but our other two coaches, Mrs. Haverkamp and Travis Woody, have been doing their hardest to coach the team. However, we've had some amazing accomplishments. The trap team has had one 25/25 this year by Briant Bone, which was his first straight 25. Awesome job Briant! Another high point this year was Tanner Wood, who shot a straight 50! This is an absolutely wonderful accomplishment for any kid.
Trap shooting is a firearm based sport. Kids mainly shoot 12 or 20 gauge shotguns, you might see a few 16 gauge ones but mot many. On the trap shooting line there are 5 kids standing 16 yards from the back of the trap house. Each kid will shoot a single round in rotation format. Each person will shoot 5 total, then rotate to the next station until each kid has shot 25 rounds. You are required to wear hearing and eye protection when shooting.
We have had a wonderful trap season all around. We have a strong support system, from sponsors to parents and young kids even coming to watch that can't shoot yet but will one day.
Madison Fall Baseball
By: Briant Bone
This is September! Fall baseball season! On September, 1st the team played New Franklin at Madison C-3 school ball field at 7pm. The baseball team lost 0 to 17. Pitching for the Panthers was Carson Chick. Carson Chick threw a total of 94 pitches. Jacob Jackson subbed in throwing 39 pitches, and Brady Bollman finished out the game with 68 pitches.
On September 7th, we played Higbee at home, and lost 0 to 10. The pitchers for the Panthers were Michael Winn. Michael Winn maxed out with 88 pitches, and we subbed in Carson Chick to finish the game.
On September 8th, we played at Calvary Lutheran at 5pm, and we lost 1 to 16. The pitchers for the Panthers were Tanner Wood, maxing out with 61 pitches, and we subbed in Jacob Jackson to finish out the game.
On September 12, we played in Glasgow at 7pm. We lost 0 to 10 but held them to 0-0 for the first two innings. Pitchers for the Panthers were Tanner Wood and Jacob Jackson.
On September 14, we played at Sturgeon at 7pm. We lost 1 to 16. The pitchers for the Panthers were Carson Chick. Carson Chick maxed out with 94 pitches, and we subbed in Michael Winn to finish out.
On September 15, we were supposed to play Jamestown at home starting at 7pm, but due to illness we weren't able to play that night.
On September 21, we played Community at 7pm at Madison C-3 school ball field. We lost 2 to 12. Tanner Wood had his best game this season by pitching under 20 throws for each of the first four innings. After the 4th inning, we subbed in Carson Chick to finish out the game with 61 pitches. Brady Bollman came off the injured list, after a two week period, and we subbed in Jacob Fish for John M for left field. The baseball team had some good plays during this game. Austin caught two balls to right in the first inning.
The Madison baseball team record is at 0 to 8. The Madison baseball team Players of the Week, nominated by Coach Love & honored by the Booster Club, have been Carson Chick, Jacob Jackson, and Tanner Wood. Go sophomores!
Bradford Days
By: Brittany West
- Day: September 19
- Time: we left - first thing in the morning so roughly around 7:45
- Total attendees - 25 kids
- How many 9th grade - 6
- How many from 10th grade - 9
- How many from 11th grade - 6
- How many 12th grade - 4
Bradford Days was on Tuesday, September 19th. We had 25 kids load the bus to leave first thing in the morning at roughly 7:45. There were approximately six freshmen, nine sophomores, six juniors, and four seniors. This trip was located at Columbia on the MU campus and/or farm. It was roughly an hour or so drive so we arrived there around 8:45.When we reached our destination we started at the corn booth. There are actually a lot of interesting things that I didn't know beforehand. Did you know by just losing 15 kernels if not less, farmers can potentially lose millions of millions of dollars? They talked about corn mutation and how it can occur. At the very end of their discussion, they showed us different varieties of corn. It was awesome; some were red and some felt very strange. After we were done, we had to wait on Hannibal since we were traveling through the booths with them. Next was the police department. They talked about what they do on the campus,since they are basically campus patrol. They even had the patrol car there. We asked questions that consisted of: What's your favorite part of the job? What do you hate most about the job? and Do you have the ability to arrest people? Someone even asked if they ever had to deliver a baby. The answer was a fast no. After all the questions were asked and answered we moved on. The next station was an old man talking about insects. He had about three poster boards full of questions that he was going to get to which he did. He had a picture frame of a bunch of endangered insects, plus insects that aren't around anymore. I would have to say this was one of the shortest discussions though. After the insects, we had to go to the booth which had an activity. This activity consisted of wooden planks and rope on each side. These were called wooden skis. There was a group of six that had to walk on them with a twist: the person in front is backwards. There would be two people that were supposed to guide the others on the skis. In other groups there are strategies such as counting, and screaming; some tried to work without a strategy which, in fact, did not go in their favor. After all the groups had gone, we went on to the next station. In this particular station there was an old man from Hannibal talking about trees. His booth was in the back of a pick up truck, and he had two branches. He explained how they differed from each other. Plus, he also discussed the varieties of any kind of branches, how they adapt to their surroundings, etc. After this, the next two discussions were very short and to the point, so there is no need to discuss them. After these booths, we went to one of our favorites, the cow. Yes, this booth is one of the more disgusting ones, but it's where the best memories come from. We get to stick our hand inside a big ole hole that's cut into its side. We wore gloves that almost covered the whole arm. This is by far one of the best learning experiences, and we definitely get the best Facebook pictures from it also. To wrap this event up, since we had to leave around noon, we went over to take pictures of the pretty sunflowers. We, of course, had one big group picture, but since some people wanted to have a small group they were allowed to. After we were done, we headed to the Columbia Mall to eat. At the mall, we had to at least have one or two buddies at all times wherever we went. That was the biggest rule, and if we wandered off, we would have to all be in the food court at 1:15. We got lucky since we were one of the first schools to get to the mall. We got food in a timely manner. After this, we were eligible to go to the bus and head to the school. We arrived back around 2:00 P.M., and the Flex kids were all good to sign out and leave. The Vo-tech people had to stay until the class period was over. This day was pretty fun. The weather was not bad at all. I am kind of sad this was my last year. But all in all, I'm glad I went for all the memories I have made from it. From the stories at the mall, to the giggles on the bus ride there and back, all of it was an amazing experience
Build My Future
Macon, MO
By: Logan Hubert
On September 20th, thirty-six of our Madison high school students went to the Macon Fairgrounds to the Build My Future event. At the event, students got the opportunity to mingle with other students from different schools, explore different career fields, and even got some hands-on experience with technology and machinery.
Some of the booths at the fairground included: State Tech, the Marines, the National Guard, and Army. As well as a John Deere equipment dealer, Emory Sap & Sons (a Columbia construction company), and MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation).
The reason for these events is to give students an opportunity to explore their career options, as well as to learn more about some of the workforce industries. “The Ozark Region Workforce Development Board created Build My Future Career Expo to show high school students the potential career opportunities in the industry and shed light on meaningful and good paying jobs available” (buildmyfuture.net).
Overall, the Build My Future event was a great opportunity for our students to explore their options and hopefully find some career paths they could pursue. We all had a blast exploring different careers, meeting new people, and finally making it on KTVO news channel. (Pictured right)