The Beveridge Paw Print

Beveridge welcomes a new principal for the 2024-25 school year.

Written by: Zia Humphries (7) and Harper Johnson (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) Alert to all Beveridge Bulldog students, staff, and families! We have an amazing new principal this year: Mrs. JoAnna Hale. She has many plans to improve Beveridge this year and next year.

Hale was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa. She also lived in Kentucky. Aside from where she has lived, she is a twin. Hale has two children, a son in 7th grade and a daughter in 2nd grade.

Throughout her career, Hale taught English in high school at Benson among other schools before working as the supervisor for ELA 6-12 grades at the Teacher Administration Center (TAC) building for the OPS district. She came to Beveridge to work with the best students and staff.

Hale’s goal for this year is to increase the clubs and activities at Beveridge. She says, “My goals are to increase clubs and things that students can do at school. I want to celebrate all the students doing wonderful things more.”

To accomplish a great year, all students need to be Beveridge Ready. Her idea of a Beveridge Ready Student is a student that is respectful to other students and staff, ready to learn, and understands that their #1 job is to learn.

End of alert to all Beveridge Bulldogs. Please welcome Mrs. JoAnna Hale!

Fall play auditions quickly flew by at the beginning of September, and rehearsals are well under way. The director and an actor weigh in about the fall play.

Written by: Mara Davis (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) This year the first Beveridge middle school play is called, “The Internet is a Distract- Oh Look, a Kitten!". It features a girl named Micah, who is trying to find The Great Gatsby movie online, and she stumbles upon many things while doing so. Clickbait and apps distract her while she tries to find her way through everything.

The Drama director, Fred Vogel, provides his insight to the play productions. When being asked why he chose the actors and actresses selected for the play, he replies, "All the actors brought lots of energy." Vogel likes that there are many strong actors and bring pep to the stage. As he thinks ahead for the Drama productions this school year and the cast for each production, Vogel never has the answer to who he wants for his next cast until he watches the auditions and what type of energy they bring. For this play, Vogel is looking forward to the scene "Knock Grandma Off her Chair", a screen game.

Ezekiel Hemmer, seventh grade actor for this play, always turns to the cast and crew for anything he needs. He enjoys being part of the productions due to the cast and crew. Hemmer is Netflix and Adam during this fall play. When being asked his opinion about the fall play and directing, Hemmer states, "Mr. Vogel is kind and creative."

You can watch the play in October.

Fall sports kick off the year for athletics with a bang. How do we continue to keep locking-in for the rest of the season?

Written by: Piper Meis (7), Carlaya Danell-Harrison (7), and Claire Birge (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) Lock-in is a term that means mentally preparing and focusing for a tough task. Three different student athletes explain how they lock-in for their sports.

First up is football. Our Bulldog tight-end/receiver, Ethan Beasley (7), has been playing the sport for nine years. He’s kept the same pregame routine since he could run, catch, and throw a football. It starts off with a muscle milk to get him hydrated and ready for the game. He stretches to prepare his body before the game ahead after praying. After all that, he is ready to dominate on the field.

Next is the Varsity right side hitter for the volleyball team, Clara Meeker (8). She has been playing the game for three years. Her routine is a lot simpler than Beasley's. It is all about the music for Meeker. She listens to rap before a game, preferably Ken Carson. It not only gets her hype for the game, but mentally prepares her for the challenge ahead. It must work because the Beveridge Varsity volleyball team has been dominating this season, only dropping one match!

Last but not least, our cross-country runner Zeke Mayle (8) locks in before every practice and race. Mayle states, “It’s all about the mental state.” Running long distance is a tough task, but Mayle says he needs to get his mental game strong before anything else.

The Lady Bulldogs are crushing it on the volleyball court this fall season.

Written by: Denna Brozek (7) and Addison Nielsen (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) 9-1 for Varsity and 8-2 for JV are the records for the Beveridge girl’s volleyball team. They have done an outstanding job so far in the games they’ve played.

The teams they have played are Nathan Hale, King Science, Bluestem, Monroe, Marrs, Davis and Bryan. The Varsity team has won all but one of their games and JV won all their games besides Buffet and Davis. The coaches that have made the team so amazing are Katie Thomas (Varsity coach) and Grace Koening (JV coach).

"The things we worked on in practice is what I saw in the game, so it is exciting for me as a coach to see things translate and stick with the girls during the games, and everybody has fun, too," Varsity coach Thomas says.

JV coach, Koenig decided to coach volleyball, because she has always enjoyed the sport. The benefits she has about being a coach were being able to meet new people who weren't in any if her classes. Another benefit would be able to gain good relationships with the girls and seeing different sides of them.

The next teams they play are Lewis & Clark, McMillan, Morton, and Varsity City Finals. GO BULLDOGS!

Beveridge Cross-Country has made huge strides this season and continue to improve their personal records through practice.

Written by: Aubrey Nielsen (7), Alexa Guerrero (7), and Cerynitee Woodruff (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) The Beveridge Cross-Country team have been working hard these past few weeks to race at meets. They do a lot of exercises such as running three miles every practice, as said by Jesse Elder (Head coach), to make sure they are prepared to run and give it all they got.

Cross-Country is learning to pace yourself and build up the strength to run long distances while improving your personal record.

At practice, they run hills, sprints, and perimeters. Every Monday, they run a mile around the track and the coaches record their times to see if they if they’ve improved over the past week. Also, when they have practice inside, they do an exercise called T’s. T’s are where you run around the school in a T-shape. Another thing they do when they are inside is smaller workouts for your core.

At meets, the first thing they do is stretch. After stretching, they often do a lap around the track and a huddle at the starting point before they run. At most meets, they run 1.8 miles, normally a combination of grass, sidewalk, and track.

The coaches are Elder (8th grade Science teacher and Head coach) and Rebecca Hartman (8th grade Social Studies teacher and Assistant coach). Elder has been a Cross-Country coach for eight years; five at Nathan Hale and two at Beveridge. Hartman has been a coach at Beveridge for two years. She ran track and Cross-Country all throughout high school and even ran track in middle school at Beveridge.

The Bulldogs compete on Wednesday, October 2nd at Hitchcock Park and have City Finals Wednesday, October 9th at Bryan Middle School.

Stanley water bottles have been the craze all summer; however, Owala is making their appearance shine bright. The big question is which one is better?

Written by: Denna Brozek (7) and Addison Nielsen (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) Owala’s and Stanley’s are very popular water bottles. They both blew up on social media and are very common in water bottles around the world. There is a big debate on which one is the better water bottle.

To solve this big question, we had a vote on which water bottle is better amongst students in the Journalism class. Out of 18 students, 10 voted for Owala’s and eight voted for Stanley. Therefore, in the Journalism class, more people liked Owalas than Stanley’s.

The pros of having a Stanley is their color choices, the quality and durability of the product, and the style. The cons of Stanley’s are their leaks and prices.

The pros of Owala’s are they don’t leak, they are less money, and are more convenient. The cons of Owala’s are there is not as much color varieties, not very customizable, the prices, and durability of the product.

Both products, overall, are spread out among the many students in the school. Which water bottle do you prefer?

Screen time impacts so many people, not only children, but adults as well.

Written by: Maddux Becker (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) Mia Isaak (8th grade ELA teacher) says, “I think phones have a negative impact and are very addicting. I feel this way because instead of seeing people face to face, you talk through the phone. I use technology to teach in school and my phone to scroll on TikTok and to play games out of school.” I agree with all of this, because the worldwide average screen time per day is six hours and 40 minutes, and the USA average is seven hours and three minutes.

Brooke McCarthy (7th and 8th grade International Studies teacher) says, “I think the amount of time on electronics is concerning, and it’s obvious some people have an addiction. There is a lot of positives for gaining more info, but they are being overused. I use technology in school everyday for assignments, and I use it for communication outside of school.” I agree once again with everything she says, because people are getting addicted to electronics, and it is getting bad.

Brian Tyrey (7th grade ELA teacher) says, “It’s ok to be on devices but only positively. Electronics are a very good tool, and they make things easier. Electronics will only be used more in the future. There is a place and a time for electronics and you need to know when and where.” I agree, especially with the quote he makes, because there is a specific time and place to use electronics.

A friendly competition about who has the better shoe game.

Written by: Madison Horne (7) and Khloe Thompson (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) Nike. Adidas. PUMA. Converse. Crocs. Reebok. Birkenstock. Vans. New Balance. Jordan. Sketchers. Dr. Martens. ASICS.

Seventh grade Social Studies teacher, Trey O’Brien, and seventh grade Math teacher, Timothy Jackson, both have a very trendy high level shoe game. However, a question arises between most students and teachers, and that question is the following: Who has the most shoes?

Based on the information we have gathered, Jackson has an average of 312 pairs of shoes while O’Brien has an average of 80-100 pairs of shoes. Although Jackson has a higher number of shoes, during interviews we’ve had, multiple sources state O’Brien has better shoes.

Some interesting shoe facts about Jackson are his favorite pair of shoes are the Gamma 11’s and his favorite shoe brand are Jordan’s, because they help him relate with his students.

O’Brien says his favorite pair of shoes are Jordan 4’s, because he likes the design of them, and his favorite shoe brand is Nike.

To follow up on the question about who has the better shoe game, a majority of people think O’Brien has the better shoe game, although it does come as a close tie with Jackson.

Each month, there will be a new teacher spotlight. This month, we have chosen Mia Isaak (8th grade ELA teacher).

Written by: Piper Meis (7), Carlaya Danell-Harrison (7), and Claire Birge (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) For the month of September, Mia Isaak has been selected to be the first classroom spotlight of the month. She has been teaching for three years and loves the humor of her students.

We ask her what the biggest struggle about teaching is and she says, "How large the class sizes are." She mentions, "There aren't a lot of bad students, it's just when there's 30 12-year-olds all in the same place. It's going to get rowdy."

Many students love her room because of how safe they feel. So, what does she do to make students feel comfortable in the classroom? "I prioritize relationship building over my curriculum. I feel like students don't want to learn from someone they don't know well. So, I try to get to know my students before I dive deep into my content."

Every teacher would appreciate getting nominated; therefore, we ask Isaak how she feels to be the first teacher nominated for classroom spotlight. She smiles and says, "Very demure, I feel very cutesy, and very loved."

There are numerous activities to do during the fall season. Take a look at some of the fall festivities you can do this season.

Written by: Eliza Lewis (7) and Olivia Horne (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) There are lots of fun things you can do during this fall season, like going to the pumpkin patch, going to a spectacular haunted house, decorating for autumn or cooking cozy fall meals.

You may be looking for a place to celebrate this wonderful season. If so, Bellevue Berry & Pumpkin Ranch is full of wonderful fall sights and activities. We sat down with the owner, Ed Schaefer, to get the scoop.

The first thing he explained was that the best time to come to Bellevue Berry & Pumpkin Ranch is any time! He also stated that the tickets and activities are cheaper during the week. They have lots of activities you can do as well such as a hayride through the woods and a haunted house. He even said that sometimes on the weekends they have a juggler and some magic shows in the afternoon.

Bellevue Berry & Pumpkin Ranch serves lunch options as well for people to enjoy. They have various options such as hotdogs, hamburgers, tacos, pulled pork BBQ, and sloppy Joes. If you go out there, you will see various different autumn plants growing. The owner explained that the plants that are currently growing are pumpkins, squash, and mums. He also said that they still have raspberries and blackberries due to the rain. Ed explained that his favorite plants in the ranch are blackberry and strawberry flowers. He said the reason he likes them is because the plants flowers make fruit to eat.

The next thing he talked about was decorating. Ed said decorating is really fun. The ranch tries to change their decorations each year. He said that they have more animatronics this year as well. You can find tickets at bellvueberryfarm.com or get tickets there.

Aside from Bellevue Berry Farm, we found an apple cider recipe that is absolutely perfect for the fall season. The things you will use to make this recipe are listed below:

1. 6 cups of store-bought apple cider

2. 2 tbsp. of light brown sugar (optional)

3. ¼ tsp. ground allspice

4. ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

5. 2 whole cinnamon sticks

6. ½ tsp. whole cloves

7. 1 orange peel, cut into strips, with as much pith removed as possible.

The first step is to dissolve sugar in the cider: In a medium saucepan or pot, put your apple cider in and dissolve the brown sugar, allspice, and nutmeg. Stir until sugar is dissolved. The next step is to simmer the mixture. Add your cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and orange peels in the pot. Set the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Last step is to serve. Strain the orange peels and cloves from the cider. Get a ladle, and pour cider into cups. Enjoy!

Halloween is around the corner, so it's that time of year to order your costumes. Check out costume trends before you order!

Written by: Ezekiel Hemmer (7), Audrey Connolley (7), and Avery Feeney (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) Have you been wondering what the latest trending costumes for this upcoming Halloween are? This article will tell you what those costumes are, where to buy them, and if you should save money making them or purchasing them from your local stores near you.

Costumes that you get depend on whether you are doing a group costume or a costume by yourself. If you are doing a group costume, Rebecca Speer (ACP teacher) and Timothy Jackson (7th grade Math teacher) suggest things such as M&Ms, Crayons, The Addams family, Power Rangers, sports teams, or superheroes. Meanwhile, if you're doing a solo costume, things such as BeetleJuice characters, your favorite teacher, or any movie/cartoon character, in general, are creative ideas as Jason Pohl (Art teacher) and Speer say.

Speer explains that you can buy your costumes or materials from Halloweencostumes.com, Amazon, especially with Prime Day coming up, and anywhere online that has them. Goodwill is a good place to find cheap costumes around Halloween if you want to buy them in person. Material stores are JoAnn Fabric’s, Walmart, or any online fabric stores. You can always fix up old costumes and personalize them to your own liking. All ideas from this are just suggestions for you if you are struggling to find costume stores.

Speer, Jackson, and Pohl say that homemade costumes are better than buying them pre-made. Speer said that even though making them is tougher because there are few places to buy materials from, they are more memorable, creative, and you can customize them to fit your personality.

Ultimately, Speer, Jackson, and Pohl provide us with clever ideas and information that you can all use if you need help with Halloween costumes. Have a fun time this year as you go trick or treating or host an annual Halloween party with your friends. Have a spoookily day!

A fad for a number of students is brainrot; however, many people truly understand what it is and how to use it. Let us entertain you on what it is and how or when to use it.

Written by: Alivia McGrath (7) and Audrey Tunzer (7)

(BEVERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL) If you go to a middle school, or any school these days, we bet you’ve heard of brainrot. But do you truly understand the meaning and the very refined culture behind brainrot? So, what do you think about brainrot? Some teachers have used brainrot before (we know; it’s shocking) and others despise it. Well, you’ll be hearing the opinions of sigma teachers and alpha students. Let's dive in.

Have you ever wondered what your own teachers think of brainrot? We interviewed special guest Mia Isaak (8th grade ELA teacher) on her opinion on brainrot. Here is a sigma snippet from our skibidi interview with Isaak. “I think it's funny. When I was your age, we had a lot of similar lingo. As long as it's not being used offensively, then I think it's harmless. We judge kids for bing kids a bit too quickly.”

In our interview, we also discussed how quickly brainrot changes and how we don't even hear certain words anymore. “I feel like these types of words are very fleeting like I feel like I don’t even hear the word rizz anymore.”

We also had a very interesting interview with your very own skibidi Cassy Medeiros (6th grade Math teacher). She had a very fun and interesting view on brainrot. Medeiros thinks that brainrot is fun and harmless with groups of friends but not in a professional setting. She says that she would never use brainrot to her students, and she wouldn't let them use brainrot at her. Medeiros told us, “I'm going to give you some words that we used to use in my day, because like you all said, slang is constantly changing. We had groovy, grody to the max, rad, sweet, gag me with a spoon, etc. So brainrot is constantly changing and i think it's fun.”

In summary, from the teachers we interviewed, no teacher truly hates brainrot. They just think it’s a silly little thing and is constantly changing, so it's not worth being bothered about.

Up next, we interviewed some students about their opinion on brainrot and we got some interesting answers. Christian Kes (6) said his favorite brainrot word is skibidi. “My favorite brainrot word is probably skibidi uh or skibidi, because that’s what started all brainrot to be honest.” Christian was VERY energetic during this interview doing things like NPC walking, waving, and jumping.

We also asked Christian what he would think of teachers using brainrot, and he gave an answer that I think we can all agree with. “I think I would be scared, nervous, or fascinated.”

Kameron Klanderud (6) said his favorite brainrot word is sigma. “Because it's a word you can use in any sentence.” He thinks that brainrot is something that only kids use and that teachers using it in lessons would be “pretty weird” which we think we can all agree with. We also asked him if brainrot should be a part of the dictionary and he said, “No, because it’s only really something that kids say.”

For everyone who doesn’t know the sigma definition of brainrot, we made a dictionary just for you!

Skibidi (n) (adj) Ske-ba-by: Skibidi is typically used for something bad or evil referencing to the YouTube series that it originated from

Sigma (adj) Sig-mah: Sigma is a word that describes someone who is popular, successful, but highly independent and self-reliant person

Rizz (n) Ri-z: Rizz to have charisma

Demure (adj) Da-mi-or: To be sophisticated or simple

Mewing (adv) Me-you-ing: To push your tongue to the roof of your mouth, sharpening your jawline.

Stay sigma!