1

THELEOPARDPRINT

DECEMBER10TH2015?VOLUME3ISSUE1

THELEOPARDPRINT
MIDDLESCHOOLDATINGEXPOSED
BY: GRACE ERICKSON

You would think that middle

school dating would be
pointless, immature, and
downright awkward because
it?s hard to have a
sophisticated date while your
parents are chaperoning it.
(However the response from
students at Lucas Middle
School was completely
opposite when asked about the
topic in a recent interview.)

friends ...if they actually do

other way to entertain our
date,? said by Reagan McGuinn. dramatic souls?
This goes to show how much
peer pressure is involved in
middle school dating. Middle
school dating involves a lot a
drama from causing
friendships to break up to
people being pressured into
uncomfortable situations.

Many people agreed that

social media caused a lot of
Although many students
problems. Some middle
had differing opinions on the
schoolers believe that if it
subject, they all agreed that
weren't for social media most
middle school dating is socially
relationships would not exist
acceptable. Some of the
as that's how our generation
positive things that were said
communicates. However, sites
included getting to know
like Snapchat, Instagram, Kik
someone more personally and
and many more have been
finding out the traits you like
known to cause break ups,
and dislike in a person, like
because pictures and words
finding your ?type?. Even
can easily be misinterpreted.
though all of the students that
Let?s face it; middle schoolers
were interviewed approved of
date. Imagine what school
middle school dating there was
would be like if no one dated?
a whole lot more negative
Would most of the drama and
feedback than positive.
peer pressure go away or
?People think they have a
would we as humans find some
better chance of making

Clay Blaker gives Aissa Dearing

flowers.

S
T
A
F
F
STUDENTLIFE
Annmarie Wetnight
Aissa Dearing
Jenna Carder

OPINION
Grace Erickson
Reagan McGuinn

PROFILE
Zo Hamilton
Haley Carpenter

SPORTS
Ben Neal
Ashlyn Riley
Hannah Blankenship

POLL
Ashlyn Riley
Aissa Dearing

PHOTOGRAPHY
Zo Hamilton
Ben Neal
Haley Carpenter

EDITING
Jenna Carder
Grace Erickson
Reagan McGuinn

DESIGN
Hannah Blankenship
Annmarie Wetnight

ADVISOR
Elizabeth Agoranos

*This newspaper is a product of

Lucas Middle School's Project
Based Learning curriculum. All
opinions expressed in the
Leopard Print are not endorsed
by LMS teachers or staff.

SHOULDSTUDENTSBE
ALLOWEDTOCHOOSE
WHATTHEYLEARN

OPINION

BY: JENNA CARDER

ANEWGRADINGSYSTEM
MAKESADRAMATIC
ENTRANCEATLUCAS
BY: REAGAN MCGUINN
Recently the NC General Assembly altered the grading system
from a 7-point scale to a10-point scale to align with other states?
systems. Now, an A is a number grade of 90-100. Is this change
better for Lucas Middle School students? Sincere Clark, a 6th
grader at LMS, is excited for this change but knows it will cut
students some slack. ?I think it?s going to be really good on our
grades,? Clark said. ?It will [cut students slack] because the other
grading system is a little hard.?Melody Harmon, an 8th grader,
approves of the 10-point scale. ?I think that the new grading
system will help students because their grades will be better,
but it can harm them, too, because they realize that they have at
least 3 more points they don?t have to worry about.?Harmon
said.?A good deal of students see it as another opportunity to
slack off,? said 8th grade science teacher Mr. Whyte. ?They?ve
got more room for error.??The new grading system makes high
school seniors more competitive when applying for college
because many other states have the same 10-point grading
scale. I would have appreciated it when I was in school, because
it affects your GPA in a positive way. If you have a 92 in a class,
which was a B on the old grading scale, it doesn?t seem fair that
you would be compared to students from other states where a
92 is an A,? Ms. Redding, a 7th grade social studies teacher at
LMS said.
Grades are very important to Lucas students. ?I?m really hard
on myself, so I have to make a certain grade,? Harmon said. ?My
mom and dad want me to have an A or a B, but I personally
always want A?s.? Clark worries most

about his grade

during fourth
quarter. ?It?s the last
moment always that
gets somebody.? he
said. How will this
grading system
change a teacher?s
job? ?I think it will be
easier for them
[teachers] to grade
A paper graded with a 90%

Most students have dreamed about choosing their own classes,

wishing to skip endless long hours of math or grammar, but we
never really ask why some of these subjects are required.
Students and staff of Lucas Middle School were asked about this
topic in a recent interview as we try to figure out whether
having these required subjects is a good thing. At the moment
Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies are required for
two semesters each school year and Physical Education is
required for one semester per school year. This only leaves
three class slots for the whole year that students get to choose.
If you take an all year course like Band, you only get to choose
two classes. Some students know what they want to be when
they grow up and some are still uncertain, but most believe at
least one required course won?t be important to their career
later in life. Sebastian Denehy, who wishes to join the military,
says he doubts he will use any of this when he is fighting for our
country. When Elizabeth Hensley, who has taught Science and
Math for twenty years, was asked about whether students
should be allowed to choose what they learn she said, ?To a
certain extent, yes. But, there are fundamental skills that
everyone needs to know.? 8th Grader Zo Hamilton says that
some of these basic skills aren?t helpful. Zo has wanted to be a
veterinarian ever since she was a child and says that she can't
see how Social Studies will help her save animal?s lives.
Mrs. Hensley says that she
feels that her subject has real
life applications, but that she
only uses about half of what
she learned in school. Most of
the time real life application
isn?t brought into school
work, and when it is it?s for
something that we believe
won?t be useful for our ideal
careers. Some students, such
as Sebastian Denehy, say we
should learn more practical
things such as how to do
taxes, something required by
State law when start making a
certain dollar amount. There
is always room for
improvement when it comes
to the School System. What
do you think the school could
improve? Should students be
allowed to choose for
themselves what they learn,
even though it might harm
them later in life if they don?t
fully explore their options?

Estefany Aguilar Aguiler and Kameron

Warren sit at a table

THETRUTHCOMES
OUTS- BOYSVERSUS
GIRLS

Girls? Boys? There is always that lingering question when it

comes
to athletics.
Which gender is more popular to watch?
BY: ASHLYN
RILEY
Who is better? ?It all depends on the level of skill the athlete
has? ? said Coach James Johnson after a recent interview
about Lucas Middle School?s sports teams. Some of the things
Johnson talked about was attitude and stereotyping for the
different genders. Attitude can play a big role in how a team
performs. To sum up what Johnson said, sometimes male
athletes come into practice thinking they have so much skill
and don?t feel like they can learn anything more. Girls come
in ready to listen to the coach and tend to be more
coachable. Both genders have a good attitude towards game
and both have a desire to win. However, Johnson also thinks
boys tend to take a loss harder. ?Guys help their teammates
sociologically be up for the game. For girls it depends on how
long they have played sports and what their level or skill is.

Sports

They all want to see each other win but the guys from an
earlier age our society tends to make guys more
competitive.? There is a lot of stereotyping when it comes to
how a male athlete plays versus how a female athlete plays.
Both genders get stereotyped when playing sports. Boys tend
to get stereotyped based on the fact that they are supposed
to know the sport before they come to practice and they are
expected to be ?the all American hero athlete,? said Johnson.
Girls tend to be stereotyped based on the general fact that
people think the don?t know anything about sports. ?From a
coach's point of view, the ladies come out, they know a lot
about the sport, and they work just as hard as the guys.? said
Johnson.
Some student athletes hear these

CLICK
HERE

stereotypes and want to crush them,

volleyball player Lauren Roberts said
?Girls can be just as good as boys or
better!? Soccer player Ben Neal said, ?I
would change the stereotype that
guys aren?t as focused as girls. Also
they care about learning just as much
as girls do.? For both genders being a
student athlete is more than just
playing a sport. ?We call them student
athletes for one reason, they are
Grace Erickson and Tucker
Miligan during sporting events academically learning and gaining
knowledge but they are athletes as
well. ?The mind and the body go
together? said Johnson. Johnson lists
a few points of the effects sports has
on the individual.
The list includes; teamwork, work ethics, learning how to deal
with difficulty and disappointment, the ability to follow
directions, strategy, the ability to set personal goals, and
friendships. ?I think a young lady that is a student athlete
learns just as much about life as a student athlete that?s a
boy. The lessons they learn will help them to be successful in
their chosen career paths or other aspects of their life,? said
Johnson.

School &
Student Life

SAFESTUDENTSOREMPTYBLEACHERS?
BY: AISSA DEARING
As we enter the winter season, student athletes are
excited about the basketball, wrestling, and cheer leading
sports to come. At Lucas Middle School, students are
raving in the halls about how we are going to crush other
schools in thrilling games to come. Now since we are no
longer to stay after school to watch games, it makes it a
lot harder for many kids to watch these games. Many
students voice their disappointment, saying that it is
unfair that they are unable to support their friends.This
rule has been in place at Lucas for a while, but not
enforced until earlier this year. Students are disappointed
at this ruling, believing that it is unfair for us to be made
to leave the school, just to come back an hour later. ?We
should be able to go to the gym or have a study hall
period so the Lucas athletes can have a crowd.? says Jalen
Barbe, an 8th grader at LMS. When Lucas first opened,
Mrs. Amber Longee held a study hall period after school.
But when she became Lucas?s cheer leading coach, no one
stepped in to fill her place. After resigning as the coach,
the study hall period hasn?t started up again yet. Principal
Thomas Seckler played a major role into putting this rule
into place. He wanted Lucas students to be safe for the
1 hours spent before the games begin.?My number one
job is to keep the building safe and I can?t assure the
parents that their kids are going to be safe from
2:30-4:00,?said Principal Seckler. Since the main concern
is safety, Tacora Allen suggests that we open up the gym
and allow Lucas students to stay after and be picked up
after the game. Many kids have transportation issues
though they make a great effort to come out. Since many

parents do not get off of work at 2:30, this rule

puts kids with full-time working parents at a real
disadvantage.Though parents come out to watch
their student-athletes play, the turnout at the
games has decreased. It is disappointing for
athletes to not have roaring crowds cheer them
on to victory. ?When the crowd is not as pumped,
the volleyball team isn?t as pumped, which
sometimes affects our playing? said Ashlyn Riley.
At 8th grade recognition for the volleyball team
this year, not many people showed up to support
their friends in their final season at Lucas.
Currently, there are no plans in place to change
the rule. It seems as if the rule will have a lasting
impact on Lucas athletics if nothing is done to
make sure that we can support our friends. Unless
we can ensure the
safety of the
students staying
after school there
will be no way for
many kids to
experience the
excitement of
watching the games.

Dalton Liles sits on the LMS bleachers

Dalton Liles sits on the LMS bleachers

10

CURRENTEVENTS

Dec. 14

Chorus Concert

Dec. 15

Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs. Lowes Grove at Lucas

Dec. 16

Lucas Middl e School Hol iday Pl ay

Dec. 17 Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs. DSA at Lucas
Dec. 21

Back t o School f rom Wint er Break

Jan. 7

Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs. Lakewood at Lakewood

Jan. 14

Girl s- 4:00 Boys-5:15

6:30-7:30
Girl s- 4:30

Boys-5:45

Wint er Break Begins

Jan. 4

Jan. 12

6:30 ? 7:30

Girl s- 4:00

Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs. Rogers-Herr at Rogers-Herr

Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs. Brogden at Brogden

Girl s-4:00
Girl s-4:00

Boys-5:15
Boys- 5:15
Boys-5:15

Jan. 18 Mart in Lut her King Jr Day ? No School

Jan. 19 Teacher Work Day
Jan. 21 Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs. Neal at Lucas
Jan. 26

Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs. Brogden at Lucas

Girl s-4:00
Girl s-4:00

Boys-5:15

Jan. 27 Earl y Rel ease

Jan. 28 Basket bal l Game Girl s & Boys vs Shepard at Lucas
Feb. 6

Evening of Ent ert ainment

Feb. 13

Teacher Work Day

Feb. 24 Earl y Rel ease

Girl s-4:00
7:00-9:00

Boys-5:15