Senior Survey

Staff Reporter Deana Fishel went around and gave the senior class a yes or no survey about their life in high school so far. Not surprised by the results, she tallied them up.

Have you ever skipped while in high school?

36%  Yes                                                  64%  No

Do you study while watching TV?

56%  Yes                                                  44%  No

Do you put off doing your homework until after 10 PM?

28%  Yes                                                  72%  No

Do you typically spend more than 1 hour a night on homework?

36%  Yes                                                  64%  No

Do you think games are an effective way of learning?

88%  Yes                                                  12%  No

Do some of the other students get on your nerves?

92%  Yes                                                  8%  No

Do you ever study with friends?

36%  Yes                                                  64%  No

Have you ever fallen asleep doing your homework?

72%  Yes                                                  28%  No

Have you ever been afraid to go to school?

16%  Yes                                                  84%  No

Do you listen to music while you study?

68%  Yes                                                  32%  No

Do you have a favorite teacher?

88%  Yes                                                  12%  No

Has senioritis kicked in yet?

52%  Yes                                                  48%  No

We know that most seniors say they have not skipped school. About half of our seniors study while watching television. Over half don’t spend time doing homework after 10 PM. Most don’t even spend more than an hour with homework, but about three quarters of the senior class have fallen asleep while doing homework.  Almost every senior said that others got on their nerves, and most have a favorite teacher. Last but not least, about half say they have senioritis (a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school, characterized by a decline in motivation and performance).

Poll Results

Our poll resulted in another tie. Fetch readers think that British and Australian accents are cool. Try one out.

Being a Freshman in High School

Contributing Reporter Charlee Clemons

This is my first year of high school. I wanted to know if other freshmen felt the same way. I started to ask freshmen if high school is what they thought it would be. The majority of them, 13 students, said no. They think that high school is easier than they thought it would be. They believed there would be more homework, and it would be harder! Of the 23 ninth graders I talked to, ten said yes because they see high school as more of a challenge.

In my opinion, I would say yes and no at the same time, because it’s complicated and easy. I think high school is fascinating and more fun than people made it out to be. You get a lot more privileges than you do in the middle school or elementary school. Some people say there’s less drama, but I disagree.

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Staff Reporter Deana Fishel

               

It looks like Monrovia is getting one more new thing in town, Sandy’s Sundae Shoppe. When in Monrovia, you may notice the brightly colored house located on Chestnut Street. That will soon be an ice cream parlor.

Sandy’s Sundae Shoppe was created in honor of Sandra (Sandy) Toner, who passed away from breast cancer in 2010. Sandy and her family used to visit an ice cream shop in New York while Sandy was being treated. “Whenever visiting, it was a rule that Sandy would take the grandchildren for ice cream,” said Sandy's daughter. During the tougher times of Sandy’s battle, the trips became more uplifting. Sandy would always order a sundae (Sandy’s Sundae) while spending time with her family. Sandy always said, “It’s like creating a memory for me with every lick they take.”

“It is a blessing that we have been able to put God's purpose into action.  We are bringing the best premium ice cream made from Upstate New York's local family-owned dairy farms to the Hoosier State, Indiana,” the owners report. “It's not just about ice cream.  It's about bringing a rich goodness with family ties that run deep.  It's about making memories...  one lick at a time!”

What Do You Like Most About Yourself?

Contributing Reporter Kayden Poindexter

Teeth – 1
Kindness 2
Facial hair – 2
Eyes – 11
Everything – 6
Hair – 8
Name – 2
Personality – 11
Focus – 1
Humor – 4
Artistic – 2
Inner strength – 2
Laugh – 1
Nose – 1
Hard Working – 1
Imaginative/Creative – 2
Voice – 1
Body – 5
Smile – 1

I received some interesting results during my survey asking what people liked most about themselves. I did this survey to make people really think (which most did), and possibly temporarily help them gain confidence. I feel people need to be more confident. If you look around… I am sure you can see why.

My two most popular responses were personality and eyes, both getting 11. I’m shocked that people said they liked their personality most about themselves. I figured people would choose physical things to love. I, however, am not surprised about people choosing their eyes as what they like most. Eyes can be very beautiful (or scary). I’m sure we all know the saying, “Eyes are the windows to the soul.” I personally think that it is the eyebrows that are insightful, given how much we use to express with them, but it wouldn’t sound as attractive saying that if I look at your eyebrows I can tell what you’re thinking. If someone came up to you on the street and told you that, you would see them as a nut job rather than a romantic. Doesn’t really roll off the tongue, does it?

I’m disappointed that not many people said they liked their imagination. Only two respondents out of 64 people I surveyed is not enough creativity. Props to you, though, if you answered that. One of the two was me, though. Don’t judge. I can take the survey too.

The answer I found most funny was facial hair… given the fact that the person who answered it had not even a single hair on his face – other than the eyebrows (that would be weird). A lot of the answers I got, I thought of as ironic. Such as the person who said they liked their laugh the most actually has a laugh that sounds like a hyena being tortured. But I am not here to judge, just to poke fun. You go for being confident in your quirks.

Bailee Keen's Life in Volleyball

Bailee Keen first picked up a volleyball at the age of four. She started playing competitively in sixth grade and has never looked back. Bailee has had an amazing volleyball journey. She made varsity as a freshman and All-Conference as a sophomore. Her junior year Bailee had no injuries, and now she is the only senior on the team. She plans to play volleyball in college. Bailee would love to get a scholarship and play somewhere close to home. Commenting on her team this year, Bailee says, "We work really well together. Everyone gets along, and we communicate well." Bailee's younger sister, Lindsey, is also on the team. Bailee loves playing with her little sister. They get along well. They are like best friends. Bailee has had fun playing on the team with Lindsey for the past two years.

Poll Results

With the seasons changing this week, our readers are looking forward to bonfires. Sweaters, changing colors and hot chocolate are nice, but nothing surpasses the warmth and energy of a bonfire. Please cast your vote on this week's new poll.

SADD Safe Halloween Seeking Sponsors

Building on the success of past years, Monrovia High School's chapter of SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, will be hosting another Safe Halloween at the high school. The SADD Club is looking for sponsors for booths. The sponsors, which can be businesses, groups or families, will provide $50. The Bulldog Fetch will be sponsoring a booth. We challenge community members to support the SADD Club and their continuing efforts to serve our community. Contact Mrs. Gillie or Mrs. Fisher at the high school for more information.

Girls Soccer Food Drive

The Lady Bulldogs soccer team is sponsoring a food drive for the Hoosier Veterans' Assistance Foundation. Food donations can be delivered to Mrs. Batka in room 115.  All food must be collected by Friday, September 26. Donations of pasta, canned fruit, soup and peanut butter would be greatly appreciated.

Poll Results

The most popular Monrovia Festival fare? Cheesy beefsticks were nosed out by the perennial favorite elephant ears. We hope you had one last weekend. Our new poll counts down to the autumnal equinox. Cast your vote!

And the Winner Is...

The winner of our first annual Monrovia Festival Photo contest is Jacob Phend with his picture titled praying before friday's game. Look for more Fetch contests to follow.

What Does a School Board Do?

left to right: Scott Everett, Jack Elliott,
Jim Shields, Nancy Dorsett, Tim Pridemore

Staff Reporter Ethan Rupert
The school board is a government that is in charge of school spending and hiring. All of the members are elected representatives voted in by local townships. They work to maintain a good and safe environment for our 1400 students.The board meets once a month to come up with solutions for current school district issues. At the moment they are working to drive academics to add a larger variety of courses offered. The Fetch posts the school board agenda each month. The next Monroe-Gregg school board meeting will be Thursday, October 9. Look for future Fetch articles covering different aspects of the school board.

Golf Champions

Lady Bulldog Golf Team named Athletes of the Week

Monrovia's Lady Bulldog Golfers have secured our first Indiana Crossroads Conference championship. The team has vanquished 11 straight opponents. The Lady Bulldogs have secured spots on the all-conference team for Meredith Knieper, Allysen Brown and Baylee Russell. The team, which also includes Daisy Bennett and Maddie Wright, all shot their personal best rounds in the conference championship. Athletic Director Brian Lewis adds, "This past week included the low team score of the year with a 188, and also the lowest 18-hole team score in two years (370)."

Mama Won't Fly

Monrovia High School's theatre class is staging a production of Mama Won't Fly, a southern comedy. The theatre students have a few more weeks of rehearsals and have been having great fun with their comedic roles. Come out and support them with your attendance to ensure they can stage future productions. Mama Won't Fly will be on the Monrovia Elementary stage October 3 and 4 at 7:00.

                                          

James and Dark Rain Thom Visit MHS

The English 11 Honors class invited Indiana authors James and Dark Rain Thom to Monrovia High School. The program was hosted by Mrs. Phillips. The Thoms met with students Monday and talked about a variety of topics before answering questions.
Mr. Thom spoke first, explaining a creation story where man "passed through a curtain of foliage" and could no longer be a simple animal once he began to think. He went on to talk about leaving the Indianapolis Star in 1967 to start writing novels. Mr. Thom lived on a boat in Florida for a time. He spoke at length of the importance of keeping a balance in life. Mr. Thom encouraged our students to be educated to live rather than to be educated to make a living.
Mrs. Thom began by explaining the early differences between "Indian life" and "American life." As a Shawnee, Dark Rain grew up in Indian culture. She presented the creation story where "He Who Creates by Thinking" made humans guardians of the land. Mrs. Thom talked about surviving in the natural world and learning to get along with only the things we need.
The Thoms closed their presentation to our students by urging them to find chances to inspire others. Mr. Thom said that the greatest gift an author can receive is a reader's confirmation that a book has changed his or her life. Find out more about the Thoms at jamesalexanderthom.com

Are Our Graduates Ready?

Staff Reporter Rowan Gast-Bray
The question above was posed by local business leaders at the Morgan County Economic Development Committee. These business leaders have issues with graduates of Morgan County schools as employees. Local graduates allegedly have poor punctuality and interpersonal skills. Morgan County school districts (Eminence, Martinsville, Monrovia and Mooresville) collaborated to deliver a presentation on what they are doing to prepare their graduates. What did Monrovia High School have to say? For starters, we have expanded our opportunities with the Ben Davis Area 31 program. Students can study a broad range of courses that Monrovia does not have the facilities to operate.We also have included a bio-medical course to prepare students for the medical field. In the future there may be a push for more classes like this to be offered. As far as punctuality, Monrovia High School assistant principal Mr. Smith is on the case. He wants to make sure that we learn to be timely in order to be better prepared for the workforce. To do this he is keeping better track of first period tardies. In short, our school has been pushing us to succeed.

Lady Bulldogs Soccer

Staff Reporter Ethan Rupert

Monrovia’s girls soccer team played against Edgewood on our home turf. After an offensive start, Monrovia’s Leighann York was injured and pulled out for the rest of the game limiting substitute options. After both teams pushed back and forth, halftime came around with Edgewood on top 0-1. During the second half Kyrsa Galyan assisted Victoria Allen in scoring the final goal for the game (1-1). The team coordinated very well together and played a good game.

Monroe-Gregg School Board Meeting Agenda

The Bulldog Fetch will post a copy of the Monroe-Gregg School Board's meeting agenda each month. The Board meets on the second Monday of each month. Look for stories to follow that explain the role of our school board, the role of our superintendent and how their decisions shape our school corporation.

                                            

                                                         AGENDA

MONROE-GREGG

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

ADMINISTRATION CENTER

September 8, 2014

      Executive Session at 5:45 p.m.

Public Budget Hearing and Regular Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m.

             

                Executive Session:  IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(3)

                                (3) For discussion of the assessment, design, and implementation of school safety and security                                                    measures, plans and systems.

Pledge

1.             Call to Order

               

                2.             Budget Public Hearing

a.       Budget Public Hearing for Proposed 2015 Budget,  2015-2026 Bus Replacement Plan, and

2015-2017 Capital Projects Plan

b.       Additional Appropriation Hearing for Rainy Day Fund

c.       Public Comments on 2015 Budget

3.             Consideration of Minutes

                                Regular Meeting                 August 11, 20113                                

4.             Consideration of Claims

5.             Consideration of Personnel Recommendations         

6.             Public Comments on Agenda Items

7.             School Safety Presentation

8.             Consideration 2014-2015 Master Teacher Agreement

9.             Consideration of Donation from Co-Alliance

10.          Adjournment        

               

This meeting is a meeting of the School Board in public for the purpose of conducting the School Corporation’s business and is not to be considered a public community meeting.   There will be time for public participation as indicated by agenda item.

Next Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, October 9, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. in the Monroe-Gregg Administration Center. 

Fetch Readers Love Batman

Batman wins our Fetch superhero poll. Our Bulldog reporters will be at the festival this weekend. We plan to sample as much of the culinary fare as we can. Vote this week for your favorite Monrovia Festival food.

Healthier Cafeteria Choices

Staff Reporter Deana Fishel

One thing students look forward to when coming back to school is the school lunch. On the first day, everyone noticed something odd in the cafeteria. “They changed things!” Everyone blamed the changes on the school, the government and Taher, our food service provider. The real reason for the changes is the enactment of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. Every year since the act was passed, there has been a slow phasing-in of new rules and regulations. Over the last four years, there have been many small changes turning into bigger ones.  One thing the students have noticed the most is the salt regulations set forth by the federal government. The cafeteria understands that having less salt is going to be difficult. The cafeteria has a “flavor station.” Students may choose to season their food with a 17-herb blend, tomato basil, southwest chipotle, lemon pepper, or a California garlic pepper. Look for the “flavor station” by the bulldog table beside the cashier stands. The cafeteria staff appreciate the purpose of the changes. “We truly understand what the Federal Government is trying to do. Teaching good nutrition by example is what a school should do. The industry and suppliers bring more whole grain and lower salt items to order from. We can introduce more products.” The cafeteria staff believe that it is good to have whole grain foods. It provides good examples of healthy meals.