Starting this new 2024-2025 school year, West Union has added new improvements to their campus.

     This past summer, they added a new parking lot for extra parking and late arrivals, umbrellas at the break area for extra shade, and new gates for more safety.

     Freshman, Ray Quong stated how the new additions benefited them more. “They are very helpful, the new umbrellas at the break area help with the sun and rain. In general, they are very vital to add to this school.” Quong said.

     These advances around West Union will keep students and staff safer and will make things easier. 

     As well as improving outside, West Union is also planning to improve their student body. Getting the whole school involved as one will make everyone feel more as a family. 

    Ashley Henderson, assistant principal, shared their plans to benefit West Union as a whole. “We plan to get highschool more involved with elementary, so that elementary will have a mentor.” Henderson said.

     West Union has showed great improvement so far and students, faculty, and parents are excited to see what this year brings.

Just like every school year, new students and new high schoolers join the building. While a lot of students have a routine of going back to school and knowing their teachers and classes, new 9th graders are just now adjusting to new teachers ,different class schedules, and different lunch times.  

Emma Cate Smith said she’s adjusting very well even though  it can still be difficult. “I feel like my classes go by a lot faster and I have more time to finish work. It’s a little more stressful with work and being on my own but I feel a lot more independent definitely” said Smith.

While it’s hard for new high schoolers, it’s even harder for new students joining our school like Hunter Rea. He’s joined us from East Union and came here to be with all of his siblings.  

Rea talked about how he’s enjoying West Union so far and it’s pretty easy for him. “I like this school more than any of the other union county schools. I like 9th grade so far it’s pretty easy I like all the teachers.  I liked moving to a new school it’s weird at first but then you get one good friend and you can talk to anything about and laugh about everything.”

Some teachers, like Mrs Jessica Garrett, talked about how she thinks the students have been adjusting and that she thinks they have been better than expected. “I feel like my freshmen students are easily adjusting to high school life. I think going from 8 periods to 4 blocks makes the transition smoother for them.” 

All the 9th graders are adjusting differently but everyone seems to be doing good this new school year and can’t wait to learn more!

West Union is back at it for another year. Many students are excited and eager for this year. What better way to start that by joining the student council! Brian Porter, the head of the student council, believes this year will bring new opportunities for the group, and is “excited to see what new things we can do and change”, said Porter. 

The student council gives everyone in grades 7-12 an opportunity to expand the school, and to be more active in student affairs. The student council also gives everyone a chance to do better in college. It looks good on any college application.

A new runner for student council, Olivia Cross, is excited to make a change in the school, “I feel quite confident in this year's student council. We helped to get the tech building bathroom installed over the summer so hopefully we can continue to improve the school”, said Cross. 

A student council is where a group of students are chosen by their peers to address issues of concern, and organize student events and activities, while also raising funds for the school through fundraisers. The student council is very important for the school.

If interested, student council sign up sheets are available in the office. To be eligible to run for president you must be a senior. An election date has not been set yet, we will keep you updated if any updates are made.

Dear all students, staff members and family members, we lost one of the greatest Eagle members of all time in Mr. Rodney Clark.

Clark recently passed away on Thursday, August 1st, 2024. We took this time to honor his service here at West Union. He was a bowling coach, janitor, helped cook during our home games, and a bus driver. 

This man was a hardworking man. He was made out of pure determination and he gave guidance to children, he even supported countless children.

God has made this man one of the greatest Eagles of all time. Mrs. Raquel said this, “A friend, A true friend and someone to count on.” 

This shows how he was a great person at West Union. 

He always wanted to cheer people up when they were down, and always tried to be funny to the students. Ray Quong said this, “What a man strides to be, a good person” 

He was always one of the best people to come to when you’re not doing good, always feeling down, upset, or anything that you didn’t feel like you’re not doing enough, go to him for advice. He always gave wise words and tried his best to be funny!

By Hunter Roaton

This past Friday, the Junior class hosted the 2024 “Winter Wonderland” Prom. The prom was held at the Reflections venue in Myrtle. Many of our high school students had a great time dressing up and dancing the night away 🕺🏻.

Before the big day, many were excited to make plans to go hang out with friends before and after the event.

Many students shared their excitement over attending the annual event whether for the first time or the last.

“I’m looking forward to taking pictures with my friends and getting Sonic afterwards,” said Morgan Greer, (11th Grader).

“Getting free food, so I don’t spend any money that night,” said Edwin Edwards, (12th Grader).

“I’m excited about making amazing memories with all of my friends, and enjoying my last prom with everyone,” said Lainee Robins, (12th Grader).

Overall, the most important fact was the enjoyment of the juniors and seniors and all returning to school safely on Monday.

At the beginning of the month, Ms. Raquel’s class had their annual mock trial. This trial is used to show the in and outs of how our government conducts a trial.

Daesean, Alexandra, and Seth served as the prosecution, while Carson, Crissa, and Brodie were the defense. 

The purpose of the trial was to find out if Nathan Goodman was guilty for the murder of Vivian Villanueva. Both the prosecution and defense team did a great job at providing information to support their side, but in the end the defense was more persuasive and won the case. 

Head juror Brian Carpenter explained how the defense team was just better at putting out their information than the prosecutioners. 

It was a great experience for the seniors before they leave out of high school.

Kevin Meeks has an aspirational year ahead of him.

The extraordinary high school teacher shared a few of his goals for this year, along with answering a couple of personal questions.

When asked who his favorite superhero is, he responded with, “Superman. He’s all that and a bag of chips. He has so many powers and so few vulnerabilities.”

The poster of Superman in his classroom further demonstrates his respect for the impact that Superman has made on the world.

Meeks also expressed his passion for his favorite class, Psychology, “I’ve always found the human mind and how people act interesting.”

Along with Psychology, Meeks also teaches ATP and zoology.

After asking Meeks what his favorite movie was, he told us it was Back to the Future. He explained this to us by describing how he can easily quote the movie.

Our final question for Meeks was about his goals for this year, in which he responded, “To try and make a positive difference in the lives of students.”

By the end of this interview, Meeks had revealed his character to us. He’s an amazing teacher and an even better person.

This year will be one full of goal for him but we’re confident he will achieve these goals, perhaps he will exceed his own expectations.

West Union LINK class is doing exciting things this year.

LINK stands for Lively Innovative Network of Kids, and this year they are learning about different countries for parent night coming up in April of 2024. They are also learning how to be good citizens in good communities and are also setting up a school garden at the walking track space.

West Union's LINK teacher Brandi Cooper shared a few words about how this year's class is going.

“It is going good, all the students are working hard.”

LINK student Kylie Whitehead also shared her thoughts about this year’s LINK class.

“Awesome, the best, and better than last year.”

Mrs. Brandi and her students are doing really awesome projects this year, students are excited to do this work. We look forward to what else they will do this year.

That time of year has come again: student council elections!

The students running for student council have worked very hard to get their campaigns ready for campaign day. Wednesday, Aug. 30 in the gym from 9:30 to 10:15, the candidates will have booths set up with games and snacks, while voters go from booth to booth. 

Candidates for each position include: President with Harley Sullivan and Brodie Moore. Vice President candidates are Raquel Mejia and Lainee Robbins. Public Relations, Carson Guerra and Alex Robertson. Secretary candidates are John Bennett and Olivia Cross. 

Along with these positions, there will be two representatives for each class.

Sophomore Olivia Cross who is running for secretary hopes to help everyone be heard.

“As the Secretary, I hope to make everyone’s opinions be heard and known, no matter how big or small.”

Jacob Turner hopes to stick up for his classmates and leave a good legacy if elected for 7th grade class representative.

“ I want to stick up for my class and make the class have a good legacy and let them be themselves in a good manner.”

• Meg Boatwright & Stormy Mccullough

Here at West Union Attendance Center in Myrtle the annual student officer election concluded on Tuesday. It is tradition for senior students to vote for student officers. Those elected plan activities, student reunions, and keep in contact with student advisors. On Tuesday, Aug. 22, the school released the results of the student officer election. 

Crissa Goodwin was selected as President while Vice President went to Alex Robertson. Jon Bennett became Secretary. Harley Sullivan won treasurer and Cooper Guerra as reporter.

Veteran senior sponsor Ms. Raquel expresses the importance of senior officers and possible effects of scholarship.

“It can have some scholarship impact and your student officers are the ones who reach out and keep the class together for class reunions.”

Vice President Alex Robertson explains her reasoning for running for VP because of the core values she believes in. 

“I ran for VP because I wanted to have a big presence in this class. I like knowing a lot of people so having a presence in the senior class especially since I’m not here all day is really important to me.I love when you can do things as a family. Value knowing everyone’s opinion and giving positive reinforcement to build up everyone in the group.” 

Treasurer Harley Sullivan conveys why she ran and how much her class means to her. 

“So, I ran for class president, but Crissa was running for president, so I ran for treasury. Crissa is super sweet, and I know that she will handle the class reunions, but I ran because I care about this class a lot. I also want to see everybody grow as a class and get ready to go to college.”

This year’s senior officers are passionate and devoted to keep this class together.

• Nora Quong & Brileigh Bronwlie 

West Union students are showcasing their remarkable achievements.

In an astonishing outcome, four West Union Attendance Center students made a perfect score on their final test of the 2022-2023 school year. The staff and students at the school had positive attitudes towards the MAAP test, which paid off.

The collaborative efforts of hard work caused an exciting ranking in the state of Mississippi. The staff have worked hard to implement an encouraging school environment, using a social contract to serve as an example for good behavior.

The following students scored perfectly in the MAAP testing: Emma Cook, Jacob Gann, Myles Kennamore, and Lynk Killough. 

Myles Kennamore’s 5th grade math teacher Claire Baker expressed her prideful reaction to the results. 

“Oh, I was super proud of him,” she exclaimed. “I even texted his mom that night and told her how proud I was of him.”

Each of the students who received perfect scores were excited to have earned such a prestigious title, answering with a resounding yes when asked if they were proud of themselves.

Although there is still work to be done, these scores reflect the commitment from the staff and students to successfully take home the victory.

• Allie Taylor and Ryleigh Killough

The West Union staff spotlight of the week goes to Mr. Brian Carpenter. 

Mr. Brian is our School Resource Officer and has been working for West Union since last year making this his 2nd year as our SRO. 

He says his goal for this year is “To have a good safe year and keep ya’ll safe and for everyone to have a good time.” 

He also states that he likes being here at West Union, he likes the students, and loves the fact you can have a chance to change someone’s life.

Among everything going on this year, Mr. Brian is excited for the basketball season to start up! 

I’m pretty pumped for basketball. The girls and boys basketball teams both will probably be pretty good this year.”

• Vance Corder, Shawn Brewer, Brayden Scott

West Union ranking #1 in the state three different classes. Those classes were 7th grade ELA, 10th grade English 2, and 9th grade Algebra 1. 

West Union has done an excellent job at teaching their students, preparing them for the state test. Students from West Union study hard and try their best inside and outside of school. 

Teachers and Staff work hard to make their students feel appreciated for working hard and for being great students. Many other schools have asked West Union staff what they have done to score highest in Mississippi. 

Staff have done nothing but teach students and help them understand the lessons they have learned throughout the year. 

West Union is beyond grateful to have the highest scores in the state. They will continue to do great and try their best to continue making great progress.

• Juliana Urzua, Isaias Urzua, Jackson Wilson

     Mrs Staten's class was chosen for the class spotlight this week and it has been a productive year so far.

      This year they have reviewed number sense which is: adding and subtracting fractions, multiplying and dividing fractions, and working with ratios and proportions. They recently had a test on unit rate which is constant proportionality and ratios and proportions. 

    With a teacher like Mrs. Staten you constantly hear good remarks about her and her class from students.

      7th grade student Jovi Hall had good things to say about Mrs. Staten’s class. “I enjoy learning about math with Mrs. Staten and hanging out with my friends in this class.” Students like Jovi enjoy her class because they get to have fun while they learn. 

     West Union is very thankful for a wonderful teacher like Mrs. Staten to teach junior high and high school math. 

Bowling enjoyed a successful season as they captured the Central Region title and finished among the top eight teams in Class I.

Led by bowlers like Carson Guerra, Brayden Scott, and Olivia Cross, the Eagles won many matches this season.

While the final result was not what the team hoped for, they are excited to improve and find their way back to Jackson again next season.

West Union Archery picked up their first victory of the season on Tuesday in their first of two home matches this season.

The Eagles took down Hickory Flat by over 400 points and were led by Madison Elder and Seth Koogler as the top female and male shooters.

The archery squad will look to improve to .500 on the season when they host another home matchup on Thursday against