The Williston Sun
Winter Issue: Volume 2: Issue 2 HAPPY NEW YEAR'S 2025
Welcome back Tigers! Here are some articles we have researched and written over the past few months:
The Yellow Truck Coffee Co. is a non-profit organization that serves coffee to local communities. They tend to serve people that serve the community, such as healthcare workers, first responders, community volunteers, other non-profits, and schools. The Groups main goal is to bring together communities using coffee. The truck goes around visiting cities and neighborhoods in the area, and currently, they are stopping in Wilmington, North Carolina. They source their green coffee beans from Central and South America, Africa, and Indonesia, which they then roast, package, and sell themselves. The Yellow Truck Co. not only gives coffee for free, but you can also get their coffee online by buying it. They have a variety of coffee, which includes: Guatemalan, Sumatran, Ethiopian, and Brazilian Decaf. Their best selling coffee is the Guatemalan, and their least sold is the Sumatran. All profit from the selling of coffee goes to running the Yellow Truck and serving people in need. Recently, they came to Williston Middle School to serve the teachers and staff a well needed cup of coffee. The Yellow Truck Coffee Co. have served thousands of cups of coffee to the Wilmington community and continue to bring us together.
We interviewed Williston's very own Ms. Fitch about how she found The Yellow Truck Coffee Co.
Do you have a preference for coffee?
“My go to is Dunkin coffee, normally an iced coffee with extra cream and caramel.”
How long have you been drinking coffee?
“20 years.”
How did you find out about the Yellow Truck?
“My first year here at Williston, the administration invited The Yellow Truck Company to the school to serve the staff.”
What do you think about the Yellow Truck?
“I think it's an amazing opportunity to bring joy within businesses.”
Thank you Ms. Fitch for talking with us!
- Julia Perkins
Click on WHQR Interview to hear an interview that we did with 3 of our team members and the WHQR team! Our news team is working with WHQR Journalism Team in developing The Williston Sun into a monthly news and Multi-media program. We will launch podcast topics about our school and local community beginning in 2025.
Special Olympics WMS
On Friday, October 18th, a group of our Williston Tigers attended the Fall Games. Fall Games is a competition where students from our school compete in different athletic competitions with students at other schools in New Hanover and Brunswick Counties. The Tigers competed in track and field, volleyball, soccer, football, and lacrosse, and brought home many first place ribbons.
INTERVIEW: What's your name? : Aaron
What sports do you play? : Tennis, Soccer, and swimming.
What sport is your favorite? : Soccer is my favorite Sport to watch and play.
How long have you been playing these sports? : Soccer 4 years and Swimming 1 years
What other sports will you be playing? : Track and field in the spring.
What sports do you want to play more? : Swimming is fun.
Be sure to check out their Instagram!
By Rashad T. and Jaden L.
This issue's animal of the month is the Hyrax. Hyraxes are small, stout, herbivorous mammals. Hyraxes are well-furred animals with short tails, their bodies are similar to capybaras. Modern hyraxes are typically between 30 and 70 cm in length and weigh between 4 and 11 lb. They seem like they are related to marmots, but are much more closely related to elephants and sea cows due to their teeth and feet. Hyraxes have a life span from 9 to 14 years. Both types of "rock" hyrax live on rock outcrops, called koppies in southern Africa .Hyraxes inhabit rocky terrain across sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Their feet have rubbery pads with sweat glands, which help the hyrax maintain its grip when quickly moving up steep, rocky surfaces. Hyraxes retain or have redeveloped a number of primitive mammalian characteristics (something like armadillos or sloth’s) in particular, they have poor internal temperature regulation (like cold blooded creatures) so they need to bask in the sun to keep up internal heat. Unlike most other browsing and grazing animals, they do not use the incisors at the front of the jaw for slicing off leaves and grass; rather, they use the molar teeth at the side of the jaw. Hyraxes have complex, multi-chambered stomachs that allow symbiotic bacteria to break down tough plant materials, but their overall ability to digest fiber is low. Hyraxes are unique but usual looking mammals who still have unsolved mysteries about their evolution.
- Logan Goins
Are you aware of the history of the Williston basketball program, have you ever heard of Meadowlark Lemon or the “Clown Prince”? He is an important part of the Williston basketball team, and a great role model. The Wilmington N.C native went to Williston High and graduated in 1952.
When he was 11 years old, he saw a news clip that he claimed “changed the course of his life." The clip featured the Harlem Globetrotters warming up to their theme song “Sweet Georgia Brown,” and he adopted the love of the game from his early age of 11 years old. When Meadowlark was in 7th grade, a boys club opened in his neighborhood, and he was overjoyed with the new accessibility to the sport and took advantage and spent most of his early years in the gym despite being a “benchwarmer” at the time. Years later in his sophomore year at Williston, he averaged about 20 points a game, then his senior year it jumped up to around 30 (one of the highest averages ever at Williston), and had a “Perfect hook shot” from half court. Meadowlark was drafted into the U.S army in 1952, despite being a college student at Florida A&M University. Meadowlark finished his basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he served two years stationed in Salzburg Germany before leaving and requesting a globetrotters tryout. After giving a look at Lemon, they gave him a contract, and he played his first year in the developmental league. Eventually after playing good years of basketball he started to receive awards and be noticed for his talents. He was one of if not the best basketball player to ever play for the Harlem globetrotters. His presence in the hall of fame illustrates the recognition of his accomplishments. Meadowlark's jersey(36) was retired for the globetrotters and received the globetrotters “Legends” ring .He was highly dignified in his basketball career, as he was in his acting and writing career. In the 1900’s, after retiring from basketball he began to act as well as give the kids in his area chances in basketball he didn't have, and help them to find out what they like to do and help them strive in it. He starred in many movies and many people enjoyed his films. Meadowlark was a highly respected minister in the end of his days but that's just a little bit into his highly glorified career. He was an athlete and an actor and had a highly appreciated personality and is remembered even to this day as a great man. Check this link out: https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/meadowlark-lemon/
-Jaden Lorek
This issues teacher shout-outs go out to two of our own 7th grade teachers : Mr. Oksen and Ms. Gordon. They sat down with Williston Sun's Mackenzie Cuba to give a little insight in their experiences as teachers at Williston.
How long have you been teaching?
Gordon: This is my 29th year.
Oksen: This is my 6th year teaching, but this is my 3rd at Williston.
Where did you go to school?
Gordon: I went to school at Michael's Teacher's College in Jamaica
Oksen: I got my Master's at UNCW, and my Undergrad at Charleston.
If there was any rule you could change what would it be?
Gordon: I do not like the fact that they are allowing students to wear pajamas, because I strongly believe that for children, school is their job. School is their place of work, and even though we are here to educate them formally, we are also educate them informally, so we have to set the example for them. You don't wear pajamas to a regular job, so why would you wear pajamas to school?
Oksen: I would change the hood rule.
If you could have any other job what would it be?
Gordon: Well, I actually went to school to be an accountant
Oksen: I would do finish carpentry.
What is your favorite part of being a teacher?
Gordon: My favorite part of being a teacher is when you see past students and they tell you that what you taught them, they now understand it or relate it. Sometimes in the middle of teaching them, it clicks for them, and that moment when they understand the concept of what you are trying to put across, it gives me goosebumps all over.
Oksen: My favorite part of being a teacher is getting messages from former students talking about high school accomplishments and how much I have helped them.
How long have you been at Williston?
Gordon: I have been at Williston for 13 years.
Oksen: I have been here for 3 years.
What is your day like as a teacher at Williston?
Gordon: The kids come in and we have STAR, and I always have something prepared for them to do during that time. Then the kids go to electives and we have planning. Then when they come back, I teach four core classes. That is pretty much my whole day.
Oksen: My day is pretty busy. I come in about 7:45 and clean and organize. I have a pretty chill homeroom and when they leave for electives I have either a prep meeting or I'm getting ready for lessons. The I teach my four core classes, and after school I either have tutoring or I help coach the boys soccer team.
What's your favorite hobby and how long have you been doing it for?
Gordon: My favorite thing to do these days is to go home and sit before the television and just watch any movies and TV shows that are on.Oksen: I have been making surfboards for 4 and half years.
Thank you to Mr. Oksen and Ms. Gordon for talking with us and for giving us a little glimpse into what it's like to be Williston teacher!
Williston Winter Sports consists of Women's Soccer and Men's Basketball. As of Christmas Break Women's Soccer is 2 - 8. Men's Basketball is 6 -5. We had two members of our Williston Sun News Team (Mackenzie Cuba and Aileen Sosa Robles) interview our soccer coach :
Mr. Petre.
What is your soccer experience?
Petre: I started playing soccer where I grew up in Connecticut at about five years old. I played rec and played that all the way through probably high school. I played on my middle school team and played on my high school team until I tore my meniscus and stopped playing around 16 or so.
How long have you been coaching soccer for?
Petre: This is my ninth season as the girl's coach. I did maybe two or three seasons as Coach Croom's assistant coach for boy's, and when Coach Croom took over girl's basketball, I took over boy's soccer for maybe three or four years before I handed over to Coach Calderon.
How long have you been at Williston?
Petre: I have been at Williston for 10 years now.
What do you like about the team this season?
Petre: I think the thing that I like most about the team this season is just being able to see the progress that the girl's soccer program has made from when I first started. We have a lot more people that have experience playing outside of school, it's a lot easier to get players to return year after year, and we are bale to just kind of build on the progress that we made over time. So, I think seeing every year how far this team has come.
What are your hopes for the team this season?
Petre: My hopes for this season are to grow in our joy for the game and our enthusiasm for the game, as well as obviously being able to play a style of play that suits our skill set. You know, being able to be strong defensively, to counter attack, and to posses the ball a little bit more as we progress through the season. We definitely definitely have some good passers and good shot takers and we just need to be able to gain some more chemistry together to make something happen.
Thank you Mr. Petre for your time and Go Tigers!
Williston Has Talent and the Student Clubs are Launching in 2025:
We wanted to give a quick shout out to Musical Team here at Williston. We have two amazing events with the Talent Show and Winter Holiday Musical. Thank you to Ms. Hamlet, Mr. Hinson, and Mr. Robinson. We appreciate your dedication and involvement with the musical arts programs here at Williston.
2025 New Student Driven Clubs Launch:
School clubs play a vital role in enhancing the educational experience by fostering a sense of community and belonging among students. They provide opportunities for students to explore their interests, develop new skills, and engage in teamwork outside the traditional classroom setting. Clubs promote diversity and inclusion by bringing together students from different backgrounds, encouraging collaboration and understanding. Additionally, they can boost school spirit and create a more vibrant school culture, ultimately contributing to a positive learning environment. We will offer Sports, Cooking, Arts, and Crafts. Our next issue will feature a more in-depth look at our new Clubs in 2025. Click the red link below to look at our NEW CLUBS.