Dragon`s Flame News - Oldham County Schools

D r a g o n ’s F l a m e N e w s
South Oldham Middle School
SOMS’s Got Talent!
January 2015
The Talent Show– by Laykin Stoess, Riley
Trimble, and Katie Muskin
The SOMS talent show took place on November 25th, the day
before Thanksgiving break, and it featured some top performers from
6th, 7th and 8th grades. Ironically all the performers were girls who
showcased their talent in singing, playing the cello, playing the piano, and
dancing. We had first, second, and third place winners, but they were all
amazing.
The participants were: Rachel Gressick playing on the cello,
“Zweits Quartett” by Mozart, Maddie Stader singing “Somewhere Out There” from
American Tale, Brianna Donnelly singing “Darkside” by Kelly Clarkson, Grayson
Brown singing “Soulmate” by Natasha Benningfield, Arabella Wilson dancing to
“Dance with Me Tonight”, Uria Park playing on the piano, “Trap” by Henry,
Madison Blair singing “Heartbreak Girl” by 5 Seconds of Summer, Alyssa Fisher
singing “Popular” from Broadway Musical “Wicked”, Maria Martinez & Regan Harp
singing “Middle of Starting Over” by Sabrina Carpenter, and Lily Medley singing
“Turning Tables” by Adele. The kids who ran it, (The Emcee’s) were CJ Henry and
Elijah Goldsmith.
In first place was Alyssa Fisher singing “Popular” from the Broadway Musical
“Wicked”. In second place was Lilly Medley singing “Turning Tables” by Adele . In
third place was Arabella Wilson dancing to “Dance with Me Tonight””. Thankfor
the awesome show!
In this issue:
KUNA
Musically Inclined
2
Field Hockey
3
Featured Artisits
4-5
Nicholas Thompson
Anna Gressick
Cartoons
6-9
Basketball Experience By: Arissa Hall and Chansea Myers
How do you play basketball?
Playing basketball is fun but not easy. It starts out with a simple skill:
dribbling. First you have to dribble the ball with one hand; if you don’t dribble
the ball, it’s called traveling. If you dribble the ball with two hands it is also
called traveling. A cross over is when you dribble the ball in one hand and pass
the ball to the other hand. There are some ways to practice these skills
A practice-drill game in basketball that you can play is called “Eleven Man.”
There is 11 people on the court, and 2 people at the bottom of the court. If
you want to be at the top or bottom of the court, you call “Top” or
“Bottom.” One person brings the ball down the court. There also are outlets which are people that are on
your team that can help you. Basketball is a really fun sport to learn and play. Even these drills can teach
you awesome things like hand-eye coordination and help you sharpen your basketball skills. Here are some
more details about the game.
Continued on page 2
Musically Inclined?
By: Lily Francis
Are you interested in band? If you are, join band. Band is open to anyone and everyone. The band has a brass and woodwind section. No tutor is
required to join band. There are lots of events coming up in band. The band
does cost money; however, you have to have an instrument and a band outfit for concerts.
Band has 2 classes. A brass class and a woodwind class. In the brass class, we have percussion, French
Horn Trumpet, Baritone, Trombone, and Tuba. The woodwinds class has Flutes, Saxophone, Piccolo, Bassoon,
and Clarinets. You can buy or rent your instrument.
“Do I have to know how to play the instrument?” No. Mr. Parker teaches you. That’s what band is for.
“Is a tutor required? “No, tutors are helpful, but they are NOT REQUIRED.
There are lots of events this year for band. For example: on November 17th we had a 6th grade progress
concert at 7:00p.m in the SOMS gym. On December 6th there was an all district band audition. Continued pg. 3
KUNA x-block Engaging Kids in Social Studies
By: Annie Koller
KUNA is an after school and a x-block activity sponsored by an eighth grade
social studies teacher, Mr. Adkisson. In the KUNA x-block, 6th , 7th and 8th
grade kids are learning how to debate, write bills, and even more.
The last assignment Mr. Adkisson did was that the students were paired into groups to the
minimum of two or three people, they are then to create a bill that they think is eligible to be
passed with a certain due date that includes an introduction, at least three sections for the body of
the bill, and opening and a closing paragraph that each has to be a minute and thirty seconds long.
After the students have completed their bill, the entire x block is to present them. The students are
able to go up and ask some technical questions, then the students are also aloud to express their
pros and cons before the final vote to see if the bill should be passed. Continued on page 3
Basket Ball Experience continued from page 1
Foul Shots—Foul shots are when someone has grabbed your arm or run into you which
fouls you out. You get to shoot behind the free throw line once or twice. No one can guard
you until you shoot your last shot.
Rebound—Rebounds are when any person gets the ball after it has touched the rim of the
basket. When you get the rebound and you are not already at your side of the court, you
can dribble the ball down the court and make a hoop.
Away games—Away games are when your team is at a different team’s court. We ride a
bus to the location. The team mom brings food for the team to give us energy for the game.
At half time during the away games, we have to go in the locker room to talk about how the game went .
Basketball is a good sport to play. It helps you get exercise, and keep your body in shape. Basketball keeps you in shape.
You should try to play Basketball!
Field Hockey at the YMCA
I play field hockey at the YMCA. Field hockey is a
super fun sport and anyone can play. It is located in the athletics building at the Buckner YMCA. All the coaches are
really nice, and they always make sure you are having fun.
We just started our winter season of indoor field hockey. If
you are interested in joining we have practices from 7:30
pm - 8:00 pm and games from 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm on Friday
nights for the 9-11 group. It costs 65$ if you are a YMCA
member and 80$ for non-members. Deadline is January 2nd
and 15$ extra if you are over the due date.
I personally enjoy playing field hockey because it lets
me unplug from school work and electronics. The coaches
and players love to win, but don’t make the sport TOO
competitive. The good things about field hockey, are that
they don’t have snacks that are super expensive, good
sportsmanship, and everyone has lots of fun. The only bad
thing is the times you play. It may seem late but trust me,
it’s worth it. The coaches really make sure that you learn all
the skills like dribbling, scoring legally, and playing goalie, as
well as the other positions. I have only played for about 6
weeks, once a week, and I am already really good. One of
the coaches says, “We make sure you learn skills and always
have fun. It is not super competitive, and it is not too bad if
you don’t win. “
Continued from page 2… Musically
Inclined
The audition was at Shelby East Middle School.
*On February 21st, band students have a solo and
ensemble festival at North
Oldham High School. *Practice can make for a
perfect performance
How much time do you have to practice
your instrument? You should always take your
instrument home and practice daily , but if you
can’t practice everyday you should practice at
least 3 days a week.
It is a great opportunity and all players love it too. “I
feel like I can mess up or have our team lose, and no one
will blame me for not being good.” Another player states
KUNA X-Block Continued from page 2…
“Our team is not good, but they feel like family to me any
way.” Everyone loves it, and if you join, you will too.
A student that participates in the x-block says, “I love
Even if you have never played, it is still fun, unlike a
lot of other sports. It is super fun so come on! Hurry down
to the YMCA and get your place on a team today, or keep
it in mind for next year!!
By: Katie Mushkin
this x-block! It has helped me learn so much about our
government and writing bills. I feel like I have learned a
lot through this program and I am doing it next year
too.” Another student said, “I love social studies now
and I’m always looking forward to going to x-block.”
Even if you don’t like social studies very much you will
change your mind immediately when you go to this exblock. ! So remember go to Mr. Adkisson and you can
sign up around thanksgiving! Or keep it in mind for
next year!
SOMS Artist
Nicholas Thomason is a
6th grade student at SOMS. He
began drawing for fun about a
year ago and has since crafted
his talent. He was inspired by
his brother’s good drawing
skills. He draws images that inspire him such as basketball
players.
(Left-Kevin Durant, who plays
for Oklahoma city Thunders
Below-Dragon and Lion )
SOMS Artist
By: Anna Gressick
When I draw, I start in light pencil and use a reference from the internet. I usually draw the basic shape of
the figure, by using lines and circles to guide me. After making the basic shape I erase the spare lines that I do
not need and I begin to add detail to my figure. Since my gallery mainly includes animals I add textures such as
furs and feathers, claws and talons are also included in detail. After I apply the detail, use colored pencils or
leave the drawing as it is and add finishing touches. But if I use colored pencil, I trace the figure with the color
I choose it to be, then I full in the figure with the appropriate colors and add the texture were it is necessary.
I also make the eyes stand out and give it a color to match the tone that it would be in, if it is happy, it would
be bright blue, and red would be angry or evil. When I finish, I compare it to the original piece that I used as
my reference.
Cartoons by: Brooklyn Woodrum
By: Luke Alkire
Sam Williams:
What’s Going On Around SOMS?
Be Yourself! (left)
Mrs. Adkisson prepares for a Social Studies Lesson about
Colonial Life with her husband, Mr. Adkisson, 8th grade Social
Studies teacher. (above)
Dr. Seuss day is coming up on March 2nd! (above)
Remember to ALWAYS be KIND to one another!
SOMS has some AWESOME artists! (left) Oh! Post your selfies to
Ms. Storm to get them in the yearbook! (below)
The News…
Contributing Members
Photographers– Brooke Simon, Jenna Buck, Abby Marvin, Arissa
Hall, Laykin Stoess
Contributing Writer’s– Arissa Hall, Abby Marvin, Eliose Brown,
Katie Mushkin, Rachel Gressick, and Chansea Myers, Annie
Koller, Caroline Adams, Lily Francis, Laykin Stoess
Contributing Artists– Anna Gressick, Sam Williams, Luke Alkire,
Edwin Fiallos, Evan Seidt, Austin Ankeny, Irving Garriado, Typer
Stepp, Brooklyn Woodrum, Nicholas Thomposn,
Contributing Editors—Evan Sedit, Riley Trimble, Katie Mushkin,
Lauren LaRocco, Sam Williams,