The DiamondBack Times - Dutton/Brady Schools
Transcription
The DiamondBack Times - Dutton/Brady Schools
Dutton/Brady School Volume 4, Issue 1 The DiamondBack Times September 30, 2013 Johnny Brubaker-Student of the Quarter The fourth quarter 2012-2013 “Student of the Quarter” award went to Johnny Brubaker. The S.O.Q Committee determines a list of viable candidates for student of the quarter honors. Students are eliminated from the list based on the following c r i t e r i a : a t t e n d a n c e / t ar d ie s , grades, behavior, attitude/ respect, initiative, and community service. The students remaining on the list are then voted on by the staff. Based on this vote t a l l y, an d the c o m m i t t e e ’ s prerogative, a student is selected along with several runners-up. Johnny Brubaker will be awarded with a $25 gift certificate to the Mountain View Co-op, a $25 gift certificate from student council to any store of his choice, a wristwatch, and to be first in the lunch line for the rest of this first quarter. Johnny Brubaker Braxton Hasner and Lacey Jones: Homecoming Royalty By: Nils Behlert Seniors Lacey Jones and Braxton Hasner were crowned queen and king of Homecoming after Saturday’s volleyball game. Homecoming week, which was from September 16th through September 21st started with Spirit Week. During spirit week, the students dressed according to the chosen theme. Monday: Pajama Day, Tuesday: Twin Day, Wednesday: Disney Character Day, Thursday: Throwback Day, and Friday: Show Your Spirit Day (Wear Queen Lacey, King Braxton Titan/D-Back colors). On (Continued on page 12) Inside this issue: Senior SpotlightBraxton Hasner 2 New Faces 3 D/B Students Travel Abroad 4-5 Soph. Jake DutyScience Camp 5 Sports Taylor Reeve-Ath. Of the Week 6-9 Bus Evacuation From the Elem. 1011 Midway Colony News 16 Newspaper Staff: Ms. Toner: Editor–in-Chief Austin Storle: Editor Reporters: David Shumway Carly Chapdelaine Nils Behlert Sierra Johnson Name: Braxton Reed Hasner Nicknames: Cookie, Big B, Brax Date of Birth: 11/4/95 Place of Birth: Great Falls Family: Lorie, Jamin, Megan, and Ashland Favorite/Least Favorite: Drink: N/A Food: Grilled Cheese/Broccoli Color: Blue/Brown Season: Fall/Spring Game: NCAA 13/Candy Land Movie: Rudy/ Bridesmaids Book: N/A Candy: Snickers/Black Licorice Sports Brand: Nike/Puma Sport: Football Animal: Bear/Wolf What are some of your favorite high school memories? Beating Wibaux in Wibaux my sophomore year. What will you miss most about high school? All of the nice people What is your advice for the remaining students of Dutton/Brady high school? Study and have some fun in high school because it’s short. What are your future plans after high school? Going to college and playing football and getting my welding degree. Where do you see yourself ten years from now? Working and making money. Page 2 The DiamondBack Times New Faces The new 8th grader, Sablle Erickson, joins Dutton/Brady school this year. She was born April 18, 2000 in Conrad Montana. She has three siblings, Tyce, Tandyn, and Traxton. Her favorite hobbies are riding horse, and helping on the farm. After asking her how she likes Dutton/Brady so far she replied, “I love it. I enjoy seeing everyone being happy and helpful.” Welcome to Dutton/Brady school. Eric Matthew Wahl is a new student here at Dutton/Brady High. He was born February 15, 1999. He is from Dutton, but has been home-schooled previously. He has six siblings named Julia, Missy, Emily, Daniel, Molly, and Levi. He likes to camp, fish, hike, and other outdoor things. He really likes Dutton/Brady so far because it’s a really cool place! Have a good year, Eric. Dutton/Brady welcomes one of our new foreign exchange students, Martina Cioffi! She was born March 12, 1996 and is a senior this year. She comes to us from Italy. She has three siblings and likes to play tennis and listen to music. She says so far Dutton-Brady is cool! Have an awesome rest of the year, Martina. much.” Mrs.Rodriguez has been teaching for over thirty years and 2013 invites a new plans on sharing her knowledge with teacher, Mrs. Deena students and staff. Welcome to our Rodriguez. S h e school! teaches FCS. Her hobbies include reading and quilting. My name is Nils Behlert. I’m the She has three sons Mica, Tyler, and new foreign exchange student. I am McKenzie. She was born in Idaho, joining the Junior Class. I’m 17 years and taught in Browning before old and I’m from Hueckeswagen, coming to Dutton/Brady. After asking Germany. My host family is the her how she likes Dutton/Brady she Ellsworth family from Dutton. I play responded by saying, “I like the looks football for the Titans and I will be of the town and I like the school very playing basketball when the season starts. In Germany, I played handball and soccer. My reason to join the foreign exchange student program was because I want to meet new people, learn the language, know this country. My future plans are undecided and my take on Dutton is “I’m very happy to be here.” Mr. Luke Juras is the new music teacher at Dutton/Brady School. He recently taught at Hinsdale, MT. He is from Great Falls, MT and has a younger brother in Washington who is an electrical engineer and an older brother in North Dakota who is a Civil Engineer. His interests and hobbies are fishing, kayaking, hiking, and snowboarding. When asked why he came to Dutton/Brady he said, A new senior walks the halls this year and her name is Sarah Jette. Sarah’s birthday is October 20th 1995. She came from Wisconsin and has two siblings. Her hobbies are soccer and music. She said she thinks our school is nice. Welcome to Dutton/ Brady schools. Volume 4, Issue 1 “Besides the fact that it’s a great school, it’s closer to home, and I want to get people interested in music.” When asked how the school has been so far he said, “I feel like everybody is really nice, but it’s a lot of work to keep up with everything.” Mr. Juras also used to lead worship at a church in Glasgow, he placed 6th in a bowling league, and he placed 2nd in the Great Falls Triathlon. His goals for the music program are to start a pep band for basketball games, and make music fun and educational for everybody. Page 3 Dutton/Brady Students Travel Abroad On July 31st, 2013, I left for my Europeon trip with my dad, sister, and friend, Nick. We flew to Salt Lake City, from Great Falls and to Paris, France, from Salt Lake. We arrived early in the morning France time and decided to take on France in a day. We checked into our hotel and visited The Notre Dame, The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, The Arc de Triomphe, The Seine River, The Pont des Arts Bridge, and the Champs Elysees. After seeing ALL of that in 15 hours, we went back to our hotel and got 4 hours of sleep and then woke again to go to the airport. We then flew to Athens, Greece. In Athens, we walked around and shopped and had dinner. The next morning we woke up and met a tour bus. We got on the bus and began driving to Olympia. We stopped at a few places on our way there, including some old buildings, pottery places, and bridges. We arrived in Olympia and spent the night. The next day we explored Olympia’s ruins, museums, and some stadiums. We drove to Delphi, and spent the night there. The next day, we explored Delphi. We saw more ruins and another huge stadium, as well as some museums. The following day we were in Meteora. In Meteora, we went to various monasteries that were on top of huge cliffs and rocks. We all had to dress very modestly. The temperature in Europe was extremely hot, so Page 4 this was somewhat annoying. That was the last day of our classical tour. That night, we went back to Athens, and spent another night there. Being tired, we just went to sleep. The next day we took a ferry to a Greek island called Mykonos. When in Mykonos, we checked into a nice hotel and explored the island. We snorkeled along the beaches and at night went into town, which was very lively. The next day we went to another beach and just laid around the pool. Then we took another ferry to an island called Samos. We spent five days and nights in Samos. Our days were spent lounging on the beach until late at night. One day we drove to a beach across the island with many rocks, cliffs, and caves. Nick and I rock climbed and explored underwater caves. The last day we had to take a ferry all the way back to Athens. The ferry ride was about 12 hours. We arrived in Athens and fell asleep. The next day in Athens we visited the Acropolis. The Acropolis is a tall hill with the Parthenon, the Erechtheum, and the Propylaea on top of it. We also went to the Acropolis museum. Our last night in Greece, we spent shopping and walking around the town. My favorite thing about Greece was the friendly, welcoming people. We flew from Athens, to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands and went to the Anne Frank House and just walked around. It was a very Rated-R place. The next morning we took a 10 hour flight to Seattle, Washington, and then had an 8 hour layover. From there we finally went back to Great Falls, and my experience of a lifetime was over. By: Carly Chapdelaine The DiamondBack Times European Travel Continued... On June 12, 2013 Reegan DeBruycker, Shannon Habel, and I started our two-week adventure to Europe. We arrived at the airport around 3:30 a.m. and boarded our first flight to Denver. We got to Denver at 8:30, and began our tour of the city. We saw the Red Rock Amphitheater, the Broncos stadium, and Buffalo Bill’s burial site. I enjoyed Denver very much! Finally, we returned to the Denver airport to board our plane to the real adventure! Off to Rome, we went! We took an 11 hour, overnight flight to Rome. The first day we saw the Vatican, the Forum, the Coliseum, and the Trevi Fountain. I believe we walked around 9 miles! The second day we went to Tuscany, Florence. In Florence, there was a huge church; it was breath taking! The third day we went to Capri, Sorrento. It was gorgeous! Capri had the clearest water I have ever seen with a beautiful rock tunnel and cave! The fourth day, we went to Pompeii. In Pompeii, we saw people that had been preserved from a volcanic eruption. It was amazing, but very sad. The next day we were off to Delphi. We saw many more ruins and walked many more stairs, but it was beautiful. The sixth day we flew to Athens, Greece. We spent a total of 5 days in G reec e, s eeing m a ny gorgeous and breath-taking things. Next, we went on a three day cruise of the Turkish Islands. It was nice to finally relax! While we were on the cruise, we stopped at one island called Kusadasi, where we saw them spin silk and make Turkish rugs. Making Turkish rugs is a lot of hard, long labor. On the last day we stayed in Athens, and had a free day. I am so glad I got this experience. Jake Duty Attends Natural Resource Camp Toward the end of July, 2013, Jake Duty, attended a camp about thirty miles east of Missoula. The camp was called Natural Resources Youth Camp hosted by the University of Montana. Some of the highlights of the camp were going white water rafting, floating on Sealy Lake, mining sapphires, and learning archery. He stayed in a cabin with one other boy his age and they became pretty By: Sierra Johnson By Sierra Johnson good friends. His favorite part was sitting around the camp fire every night while singing songs and roasting marshmallows. There were 26 students at the camp who came from California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Montana. He made many new friends and plans to attend this camp next summer. Jake recommends it to anyone interested in science. Jake Duty Volume 4, Issue 1 Page 5 Sports 2013 Titans By: David Shumway The 2013 Power/Dutton/Brady Titans kickoff a new season with a stacked roster! Seniors include ABomb Storle, Wide Receiver; Johnny Brubaker, Running Back; Daniel Wahl, Outside Linebacker, and Braxton Hasner, MIddle Linebacker. Juniors: Matthew Hitchcock, Safety; Nils Behlert, Defensive End; and David Shumway, Guard. There is a trio of Sophomores including Blake Rouns, Guard; Preston Miller, Defensive End, and Chase Rossmiller, Outside Linebacker. Beginning their first year are Freshmen Garrett Fritz, Middle Linebacker; and Eric Wahl, Running Back. The Titans are ready to catch their opponents by surprise with a new no – huddle offense and the defense lacks weakness. ”It’s going to be tough, but we have to work together as a team to be successful to go to the playoffs” said Braxton. Go Titans! P/D/B Titans Win Homecoming Game By David Shumway On September 21, a beautiful fall afternoon, the P/D/B Titans took on the Badgers of Cascade for the first Homecoming game of the day. It was closely contested until the second quarter; from then on it was all Titans. Page 6 Scoreboard The final score was 4416. The Titans are now 3-1 and will battle a tough CJI team on Friday, September 27. Let’s Go Titans!! Varsity Fort Benton: 6 Power/Dutton/Brady: 56 Sunburst: 0 Power/Dutton/Brady: 28 Belt: 30 Power/Dutton/Brady:28 JV Belt: 32 P/D/B: 28 The DiamondBack Times Sports 2013 Lady DiamondBacks The 2013 Diamondback volleyball team consists of Seniors: Hailee VandenBos, Lacey Jones, and Martina Cioffi; Juniors: Kaity Miller; Sophomores: Aubree Hitchcock, Sierra Johnson, Taylor Reeve, and Jamie Cox; Freshmen: RaeLynn Jones and Alexis Good. By Carly Chapdelaine The team is being coached by Lori Ostberg and assisted by Stacy Miller. Managers are Aria Johnson and Tasha Reeve. Hailee VandenBos says, “We are one big family… I feel that we’re going to exceed our dreams and amaze people!” Lacey Jones says, “We’re going to be amazing. We’re going to kick butt. I love my team! I have complete faith in them.” Good luck this season, girls! volleyball 2013 Jr. High Lady DiamondBacks By Carly Chapdelaine The 2013 Junior High DiamondBack volleyball th team consists of 8 Graders: Cassidy DeBruycker, Sablle Erickson, Tasha Reeve, and Siera Proff; 7th Graders: Grace Feldmann, Aria Johnson, Amber Suek, and Molly Wahl; 6th Graders: Samara DeBruycker, Hylan West. They are being coached by Breanna Dahlman and their manager is Alexa Johnson. Good luck this year! 2013 Homecoming Huge Success Homecoming 2013 for the Lady DiamondBacks was a huge success. On Saturday, September 21, 2013 the high school volleyball team defeated Valier’s Lady Panthers. Out of five games, the DiamondBacks won three. The leaders in aces were Taylor Reeve with 8 and Sierra Johnson with 4. The leaders in kills were Sierra Johnson with 10 and Taylor Reeve with 8. The leaders in blocks were Lacey Jones with 7 and Hailee Volume 4, Issue 1 and The Lady DiamondBacks By Carly Chapdelaine VandenBos with 3. The leaders in digs were Taylor Reeve with 13 and Dutton/Brady Aubree Hitchcock with 12. The 19 leaders in assists were Taylor Reeve with 10 and Sierra Johnson 25 with 9. Good job Lady D-Backs, way 13 to represent our school! Valier 25 19 25 25 20 15 13 Page 7 Dutton/Brady Volleyball Team Stats Date: 8/30/13 Location: Dutton Total Team Aces: 7 Total Team Blocks: 1 Northstar defeated Dutton/Brady Leaders: Sierra Johnson (3) Leaders: Lacey Jones (1) Kaity Miller (2) Total Team Digs: 65 Total Team Kills: 20 Leaders: Sierra Johnson (18) Leaders: Taylor Reeve (6) Aubree Hitchcock (14) Northstar Dutton/Brady 25 22 25 15 Kaity Miller (4) Total Team Assists: 20 26 28 Lacey Jones (4) Leaders: Taylor Reeve (11) 25 19 Sierra Johnson (4) Kaity Miller (5) Date: 9/20/13 Location: Dutton Total Team Aces: 16 Total Team Digs: 69 Dutton/Brady defeated Sunburst Leaders: Taylor Reeve (7) Leaders: Hailee VandenBos (18) Total Team Kills: 20 Taylor Reeve (13) Duton/Brady Sunburst 25 20 Leaders: Lacey Jones (7) Total Team Assists: 18 25 20 Taylor Reeve (6) Leaders: Taylor Reeve (9) 22 25 Total Team Blocks: 8 Sierra Johnson (6) 12 25 Leaders: Lacey Jones (8) 15 13 Date: 9/21/13 Location: Dutton Dutton/Brady defeated Valier Duton/Brady Valier 19 25 25 19 13 25 25 20 15` 13 Total Team Aces: 16 Leaders: Taylor Reeve (8) Sierra Johnson (4) Total Team Kills: 23 Leaders: Sierra Johnson (10) Taylor Reeve (8) Total Team Blocks: 10 Leaders: Lacey Jones (4) Hailee VandenBos (3) Total Team Digs: 57 Leaders: Taylor Reeve (13) Aubree Hitchcock (12) Total Team Assists: 21 Leaders: Taylor Reeve (10) Sierra Johnson (9) Taylor Reeve –KSEN’S Athlete of the Week On September 26, KSEN radio awarded its Female Athlete of the Week honors to Sophomore Taylor Reeve. They stated she was especially strong in the serve box. She had 15 aces in two matches which the DiamondBacks won over Valier and Sunburst. Dutton/Brady Head Coach Lori Ostberg told KSEN that Taylor is a rare athlete who can be the team’s setter in the back line and an outside hitter on the front line. In her words, “She’s just that strong of a player to be able to do that.” Congratulations, Taylor! Page 8 The DiamondBack Times Jr. High Lady DiamondBack Volleyball Stats Jr. High A-Team Scores Jr. High A-Team Scores Jr. High A-Team Scores Date: 8/31/13 Date: 9/7/13 Date: 9/13/13 D/B Heart Butte D/B Suburst 25 15 25 12 25 8 25 10 D/B Valier 25 15 25 20 Jr. High B-Team Scores Date: 8/31/13 D/B Power 26 24 25 18 Valier 25 21 17 25 15 9 Date: 9/7/13 D/B Power 25 13 25 18 D/B Sunburst 25 5 25 6 D/B Power Date: 9/20/13 24 26 D/B Sunburst 18 25 23 25 25 14 15 5 Jr. High B-Team Scores 25 16 Volume 4, Issue 1 25 21 D/B Sun- 25 10 25 4 Date: 9/21/13 D/B Valier 25 18 20 25 7 15 Jr. High B-Team Scores Date: 9/14/13 Power 20 20 Jr. High A-Team Scores Jr. High A-Team Scores D/B 25 25 Date: 9/13/13 Jr. High A-Team Scores Date: 9/14/13 Sunburst Jr. High B-Team Scores Jr. High B-Team Scores D/B D/B Jr. High B-Team Scores Date: 9/20/13 D/B Sunburst 25 12 25 7 Date: 9/21/13 D/B Valier 25 10 25 9 Page 9 Bus Evacuation Drills By: Nils Behlert On August 23, it was time again for the annual bus evacuation drill at Dutton/Brady School. The students of all grades trained in front of the school to evacuate a bus safe and right. The bus evacuation drill was launched live because a bus accident could happen anytime. The students learned that they have to help one another and that they should keep calm and not panic. After the direction of Mr. Brooks and the bus drivers, the students trained to leave the bus safely. The students who were closest to an emergency exit, in this case the back exit, started first. They went to their knees, laid a hand on the floor, and jumped out. Everyone applied this jump technique so that no one got injured while leaving the bus. Furthermore, the elementary school students trained to cross the street safely, which is very important at this age. Page 10 The DiamondBack Times From the Elementary By: Carly Chapdelaine and David Shumway Kindergarten: Who is the president of the United States? Kaye- A teacher Gauge- Washington Jaydan- Mom and dad First grade: What month comes after August, and how do you spell it? Aidan- September, S T L P Jayenna- September, S U C T E B R Elizabeth- December Seattle- September, S T U A Sydney- September, SEPTEY Second Grade: What is homecoming? Ashley- When everyone in my family comes to my house Ainsley- When people dance for fun Braxon- There’s dancing and music on April 14th. Because it’s fun Leslie- Lots of high schoolers go and dance on August 15th. Mia- Coming home to do something with my parents Chloe- It’s like prom and students dance at the end of the school year Preston- When my family comes home and I play with cousins JoshuaZoey- When cousins come home and I do homework and go to bed early Third Grade: What do you do on Labor Day? Julia: People stay home and don’t have to go to work Montanalee- Camping, swimming, getting candy Shane- Go on vacation, like Memorial Day Karlie- Celebrate the American flag and go to church all day Fourth Grade: How old is Mr. Brooks? Amilia: 62 Nash- 65, ‘cause he looks old Kellan- 79 Tyler- 72 Jake- 58 Alexa- 60 Samantha- 75 because he has gray hair Harley- 50 Gavin- That’s a toughie, I don’t know David Shumway: 100 Volume 4, Issue 1 Page 11 Homecoming Continued… (Continued from page 1) Thursday, there was a pep assembly in the gym. The Titan/D-Back junior high and high school teams spoke to the other students. Between these speeches were different games the students played. At the end was the big cheer contest, which was won by the Sophomores. On Friday, the classes built their Homecoming floats during school time. After school, our junior high and high school girls had a volleyball game against Sunburst; both teams won their games. After this, there By: Nils Behlert was a bonfire where a lot of funny games were played. Saturday was the Homecoming parade where the floats were judged. The Sophomore’s float won 1st place, again! Junior High received 2nd place, Juniors got 3rd, Seniors 4th, and Freshmen 5th. After this, the big Homecoming game started which was won by our Titans against the Cascade Badgers. During the halftime break, Homecoming king and queen nominees were introduced. They were: Braxton Hasner, Johnny Brubaker, Daniel Wahl, Austin Storle, FFA Livestock Competition On September 16, 2013, the Dutton/Brady FFA members traveled to Sunburst, MT to compete in the annual Livestock Judging competition. They had to judge sheep, cows, pigs, and goats and then take a general test on livestock education. By: Austin Storle As a team, Dutton took 2nd out of nine teams. The top three were Johnny Brubaker-3rd, Jake Duty9th, and Austin Storle-12th out of 103 total competitors. Good job Dutton FFA members! Broncos Trump Cowboys 20 to 17 On Monday September 9, a ballot box was set up in the high school hallway. The students and staff were surveyed on who they thought was the better team, the Cowboys or the Broncos. Once all the ballots were placed in the box, they were then counted. The Page 12 Hailee VandenBos, Lacey Jones, Sarah Jette, Danyelle Townsend, Martina Cioffi, and Lyndsey Yakelewicz. In the evening, there were the Homecoming volleyball games. Our girls won the games against Valier. The D-Back high school girls were supported by the Titan football team who cheered them to victory. All in all, it was a very successful Homecoming Week. By: Brooklyn Timmerman ending result was the Broncos winning over the Cowboys 20 to 17. This survey was done to prove a point in an ongoing argument between Mr. Dolphay and Ms. Timmerman. Mr. Dolphay argues that the Cowboys are the better team while Ms. Timmerman cheers the Broncos. The jury of staff and students ultimately decided on the obviously better team. Although it was close, the Broncos still come out on top. The DiamondBack Times MBI Winners– August and September Week of August 23, 2013 Daniel Wahl Austin Storle Eric Wahl Lawrence Bryant Chase Rossmiller David Shumway Grace Feldmann Week of August 30, 2013 Hailee Vandenbos Preston Miller Hunter Proff Onnie Tienhaara Samantha Roos Julia Brentlinger Alexa Johnson Drake Saali Gauge Gemar Denton Mehrer Week of September 6, 2013 Eric Wahl Hailee Vandenbos David Shumway Lawrence Bryant Matthew Hitchcock Ainsley DeBruycker Elisabeth Ernst Jaydan Greyn Kellan Doheny Karlie Wilson Week of September 13, 2013 Amber Suek Lawrence Bryant Nils Behlert Austin Storle Kaye Dunning Karlie Wilson Alexa Johnson Jacob Feldmann Samantha Roos Week of September 20, 2013 Royden Mehrer Jake Duty Davey Thom Braxton Hasner Austin Storle Jaidan Hovde Tyce Erickson Nash Coffman Seattle Kjensmo Jake Feldmann Week of September 26, 2013 Jake Duty Matt Hitchcock Blake Rouns Brendan Mehrer Amber Suek Rylan Doheny Chance Ostberg Alexa Johnsons Mia Reiding Seattle Kjensmo Garret Fritz 2013 Class Officers Class officers: Class of 2014 (Carol Sims and Luke Juras) President – Daniel Wahl Vice President – Johnny Brubaker Sec/Treas. – Danyelle Townsend Student Council Rep. Austin Storle Class of 2015: (Brent Hitchcock and Angie Toner) President – Reegan DeBruycker Vice President – David Shumway Secretary- Matthew Hitchcock Volume 4, Issue 1 Treasurer – Nils Behlert Student Council Rep. – Lawrence Bryant Class of 2016: (Janet Goodell and Tom Tranmer) President – Sierra Johnson Vice President – Davey Thom Secretary – Taylor Reeve Treasurer – Aubree Hitchcock Student Council Rep. – Chase Rossmiller Class of 2017: (Todd Bishop and Becky Rosholt) President – Garrett Fritz Vice President – Eric Wahl Secretary – Andru Fick Treasurer – RaeLynn Jones Student Council Rep. – Royden Mehrer Class of 2018/2019: (Deanna Rodriguez) President – Cassidy DeBruycker Vice President – Grace Feldmann Secretary – Tasha Reeve Treasurer – Bradley Habel Page 13 Page 14 The DiamondBack Times Volume 4, Issue 1 Page 15 DID YOU KNOW... The first jail constructed in Montana was built by notorious outlaw Henry Plummer in Bannack. No state has as many different species of mammals as Montana. The moose, now numbering over 8,000 in Montana, was thought to be extinct in the Rockies south of Canada in the 1900s. Flathead Lake in northwest Montana contains over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. It is considered the largest natural freshwater lake in the west. At Midway Colony School, we started the school year by doing some fun activities. One of the activities was to check on our Blue Bird Trail. We discovered that in two of the Blue Bird houses, birds started to build partial nests. To beat the heat, we played water tag and had a root beer and orange float social. We needed the pop bottles to make bottle rockets. IF YOU ARE A HUNTER, YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW…. The average square mile of land in Montana contains 1.4 elk, 1.4 pronghorn antelope, and 3.3 deer. The Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area west of Fairfield contains as many as 300,000 snow geese and 10,000 tundra swans during migration. At Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, east of Malta, it is possible to see up to 1,700 nesting pelicans. The Montana Yogo Sapphire is the only North American gem to be included in the Crown Jewels of England. Montana has the largest migratory elk herd in the nation. Montana boasts the largest breeding population of trumpeter swans in the lower United States. At the Rocky Mountain Front Eagle Migration Area west of Great Falls more golden eagles have been seen in a single day than anywhere else in the country. North of Missoula is the largest population of nesting common loons in the western United States.