Sticks and stones do cause harm
MHS exPRESS Sticks and stones do cause harm By Kendra Cooper and Tyler Hall MHS exPRESS writers
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” This common saying has been the motto of many children throughout the years although people believe this to be untrue when dealing with bullies. Bullying has become more common for children and teenagers in school in the past several years according to www.ojjdp.gov. In a study of 207 junior high and high school students from small midwestern towns, 88 percent reported having observed bullying, and 77 percent indicated that they had been victims of bullying during their school careers, according to the website. High school counselor Brenda Parker said she has also seen an increase. “I’ve seen bullying become more prominent in
schools in recent years,” Parker said. “At both the middle and high school levels, I have had some kids come in with some pretty serious bullying cases. I think some cases are a misconception, however. Bullying is a repeated action. In middle school, most kids feel that if they’re called a name once,
Student of the Week
it’s bullying,” Parker added. Bullying seems to begin in elementary school, peak in middle school and dies off in high school. It does not, however, disappear altogether. In a survey of 100 Marlow High School students, 58 reported having been bullied at some point in their lives.
Forty-one of the surveyed students also claimed to have been a bully to their peers. “I believe that everyone, at some point in their life, has been bullied and has been a bully,” sophomore Betsy Waller said. “I think that it’s all in the way that you handle it. While you can’t stop bullying completely, you can
keep yourself from bullying, and you can ignore the bullying that you receive.” Students harassing students is by no means taken lightly by teachers and administrators. It occurs in many ways, the more popular methods being name calling, fighting and property damage. All of these acts are punishable by school administration and sometimes by law. According to the student handbook, bullying is a group 2 violation with penalties including: withdrawal of privileges, corporal punishment, alternative school placement, probation, suspension and even involvement of law enforcement. “We have specific steps that we take to handle a case of a student being bullied,” Brooke Holding, assistant principal in charge of discipline, said. “If anyone reports bullying to an administrator, it is immediately investigated. We have the student file
a report stating who, what, when, where and why. If witnesses are available, we visit with them and discuss the problem. After viewing all the evidence and examining the situation, we decide on a punishment,” Holding said. Student surveys revealed that they have been bullied at some time, but the definition of bullying differs from person to person. Many complaints from students are a onetime issue as opposed to repetitive harassment, although many of the victims still consider this onetime occurrence an act of bullying. “Bullying is bullying, whether it happens once or several times,” Senior Dakota Lindsey said. “I feel like if someone calls me a name just once, then I’m still being bullied.” With bullying on the rise in schools, teachers and administrators are becoming more adept at handling and putting a stop to this problem.
MOST continues tune-up
Newberry has future on court By Erica Robinson MHS exPRESS writer
Voted “Most Athletic” by her fellow seniors, Skyler Newberry will continue to use her skills on the basketball court as a member of the Oklahoma Christian University women’s basketball team. The most recent Lions Club Student of the Week, Newberry recently signed a letter-of-intent to play for OC and, in return, will received tuition and room and board for the next four years. “I’m really excited about having the opportunity to play college ball, and having my education paid for makes it even better,” Newberry said. “I know it is going to be a lot more intense, however.” Newberry began playing basketball in the fourth grade and said she inherited the love of the game from her mother. “My mom was my first coach. We played in the Simmons Center, and it was a lot of fun,” Newberry said. Eventually, Newberry joined the Oklahoma Lightning, a traveling team that competed in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournaments. She said her most memorable experience was traveling to Orlando, Florida, where the team competed in the AAU national tournament at Disney World. “The level of competition was really high, and we didn’t do that well, but it was still a lot of fun and a great learning experience,” Newberry said. Also a member of the AAU team, 2010 MHS graduate, Taylor Leippe said she and Skyler got to know each
Editors-in-Chief Johannah Sherrill Emma Dean Assistant Editor Erica Robinson Layout Editor Johannah Sherrill Feature Editor Emma Dean
TOURNEY CHAMPS. Finishing first last Saturday at the Kingfisher invitational were (l-r) Ty Custer, Ryan Childress, Caitlin Seely and Emalee Williams. Not pictured is Kasey McConnell. (photo by Erica Robinson)
By Rayne Grandy
MHS exPRESS writer SKYLER NEWBERRY
other well because they grew up playing together. “Playing together all those years gave us a special chemistry on the court. We always seemed to know what the other one was going to do next, and that helps when it comes to teamwork,” Leippe said. Averaging 14.9 points per game this season, Newberry has been a starter for the Lady Outlaws for the past four years at the wing, and has scored over 1200 points total through her MHS career. Head coach Kirk Harris remarked on Newberry’s ability. “I think her strongest characteristic is her incredible athleticism,” Harris said. “She can play well in several positions.” Newberry will begin her transition from Outlaw to Eagle this summer when she begins working out with the team and learning their system. The daughter of Toby Newberry and Stephanie Stewart, Skyler has one brother, seven-year-old Trevyn, and a four-year-old sister, Reece.
Sports Editor Haleigh Hines News Editor Rayne Grandy Layout Assistant Tyler Hall Cartoonist Leah Waggoner Business Manager Rylie Turner
With less than half of the team members competing, the Marlow Outlaw Speech Team got five first place finishes and second place overall after they competed last Saturday in the Kingfisher speech tournament. Of the 10 drama students that competed, nine qualified for regionals, and all of them made it to finals. Speech coach Paula McConnell said she was very proud of the few that com-
peted. “We only took ten entries, which is very small compared to the average thirty we usually take with our full team,” McConnell said. “Even though we didn’t go for sweepstakes this time, we made more points than I ever imagined we would.” Even with the snow storms that cancelled school in the previous weeks, McConnell said that the shorter amount of time they had to prepare did not slow them down. “We anticipated the ma-
jor weather change, and our advanced kids started practicing earlier to prepare,” McConnell said. Champion in Poetry, Ryan Childress, said that although he started practicing earlier, he felt a little unprepared. “I thought the other poetries had beaten me,” Childress said. “It was a unique experience getting first and feeling that way.” Other first place finishers from Marlow include Kasey McConnell in Monologue, Ty Custer in Prose, Caitlin
Seely in Dramatic Interpretation and Emalee Williams in Standard Oratory. Other top placers were Katie Sheehan, 2nd in Monologue; Chisholm Holland, 2nd in Poetry; Brandon Tipton, 2nd in Standard Oratory and Johannah Sherrill, 3rd in Poetry. Although they have a last chance tournament scheduled to be at Bethany, Marlow has begun preparing for the regional competition set to take place on March 25th and 26th, also in Bethany.
‘Inception’ is Oscar worthy
A review by Johannah Sherrill Last winter, a movie came to the big screen and challenged the boundaries of modern movies. It has been nominated for 8 Oscars and has won the hearts of many with its unique storyline. This movie is Inception. With a brilliant cast of all-stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio (of Titanic fame), Ellen Page (Juno) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Inception is set in a time where technology that can access one’s dreams is available.
Head Photographer Erica Robinson Staff Photographers Kendra Cooper Rayne Grandy Ryan Taylor Adviser Sharon Bullard
Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a well-know thief. However, Cobb does not steal items – he steals ideas from the subconscious through dreams. This occupation has labeled him as an international fugitive. Cobb is offered the gift of redemption when a man hires Cobb to implant an idea into a subconscious mind, called inception, rather than steal secrets. Cobb and his team (Page and GordonLevitt) take on this
dangerous task and start a whirlwind of discoveries. In a world where dreams seem real, how do you know what’s reality? This movie had me hooked from the start. In movies nowadays, the storyline seems to go action, romance, action, romance, happy ending! With Inception, this was not the case. Nothing about the movie was expected – every new turn was a surprise. The acting is superb from every
actor. DiCaprio, Page, and Gordon-Levitt all make their science-fiction characters believable and relatable. Director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) does an unbelievable job with this movie. It’s not at all surprising that it is a nominee for Best Picture at the Oscars. With it’s shocking ending, I promise that you’ll want to watch it more than once. I give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars. The Oscars are set to air this Sunday on ABC at 7:00 P.M.
The MHS express is the student newspaper of Marlow High School. It is published every Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, except during holidays. The MHS exPRESS encourages comments from the student body, faculty, and administration in the form of letters to the editor. All letters must include a name for consideration; however, the name may be withheld upon request. Letters should be sent to Room 105 at MHS. The opinions expressed within the signed editorials are the opinions of the writers; the opinions expressed in unsigned, boxed editorials are the opinions of the staff. Neither is necessarily the opinion of the high school administration, staff, or faculty.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” This common saying has been the motto of many children throughout the years although people believe this to be untrue when dealing with bullies. Bullying has become more common for children and teenagers in school in the past several years according to www.ojjdp.gov. In a study of 207 junior high and high school students from small midwestern towns, 88 percent reported having observed bullying, and 77 percent indicated that they had been victims of bullying during their school careers, according to the website. High school counselor Brenda Parker said she has also seen an increase. “I’ve seen bullying become more prominent in
schools in recent years,” Parker said. “At both the middle and high school levels, I have had some kids come in with some pretty serious bullying cases. I think some cases are a misconception, however. Bullying is a repeated action. In middle school, most kids feel that if they’re called a name once,
Student of the Week
it’s bullying,” Parker added. Bullying seems to begin in elementary school, peak in middle school and dies off in high school. It does not, however, disappear altogether. In a survey of 100 Marlow High School students, 58 reported having been bullied at some point in their lives.
Forty-one of the surveyed students also claimed to have been a bully to their peers. “I believe that everyone, at some point in their life, has been bullied and has been a bully,” sophomore Betsy Waller said. “I think that it’s all in the way that you handle it. While you can’t stop bullying completely, you can
keep yourself from bullying, and you can ignore the bullying that you receive.” Students harassing students is by no means taken lightly by teachers and administrators. It occurs in many ways, the more popular methods being name calling, fighting and property damage. All of these acts are punishable by school administration and sometimes by law. According to the student handbook, bullying is a group 2 violation with penalties including: withdrawal of privileges, corporal punishment, alternative school placement, probation, suspension and even involvement of law enforcement. “We have specific steps that we take to handle a case of a student being bullied,” Brooke Holding, assistant principal in charge of discipline, said. “If anyone reports bullying to an administrator, it is immediately investigated. We have the student file
a report stating who, what, when, where and why. If witnesses are available, we visit with them and discuss the problem. After viewing all the evidence and examining the situation, we decide on a punishment,” Holding said. Student surveys revealed that they have been bullied at some time, but the definition of bullying differs from person to person. Many complaints from students are a onetime issue as opposed to repetitive harassment, although many of the victims still consider this onetime occurrence an act of bullying. “Bullying is bullying, whether it happens once or several times,” Senior Dakota Lindsey said. “I feel like if someone calls me a name just once, then I’m still being bullied.” With bullying on the rise in schools, teachers and administrators are becoming more adept at handling and putting a stop to this problem.
MOST continues tune-up
Newberry has future on court By Erica Robinson MHS exPRESS writer
Voted “Most Athletic” by her fellow seniors, Skyler Newberry will continue to use her skills on the basketball court as a member of the Oklahoma Christian University women’s basketball team. The most recent Lions Club Student of the Week, Newberry recently signed a letter-of-intent to play for OC and, in return, will received tuition and room and board for the next four years. “I’m really excited about having the opportunity to play college ball, and having my education paid for makes it even better,” Newberry said. “I know it is going to be a lot more intense, however.” Newberry began playing basketball in the fourth grade and said she inherited the love of the game from her mother. “My mom was my first coach. We played in the Simmons Center, and it was a lot of fun,” Newberry said. Eventually, Newberry joined the Oklahoma Lightning, a traveling team that competed in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournaments. She said her most memorable experience was traveling to Orlando, Florida, where the team competed in the AAU national tournament at Disney World. “The level of competition was really high, and we didn’t do that well, but it was still a lot of fun and a great learning experience,” Newberry said. Also a member of the AAU team, 2010 MHS graduate, Taylor Leippe said she and Skyler got to know each
Editors-in-Chief Johannah Sherrill Emma Dean Assistant Editor Erica Robinson Layout Editor Johannah Sherrill Feature Editor Emma Dean
TOURNEY CHAMPS. Finishing first last Saturday at the Kingfisher invitational were (l-r) Ty Custer, Ryan Childress, Caitlin Seely and Emalee Williams. Not pictured is Kasey McConnell. (photo by Erica Robinson)
By Rayne Grandy
MHS exPRESS writer SKYLER NEWBERRY
other well because they grew up playing together. “Playing together all those years gave us a special chemistry on the court. We always seemed to know what the other one was going to do next, and that helps when it comes to teamwork,” Leippe said. Averaging 14.9 points per game this season, Newberry has been a starter for the Lady Outlaws for the past four years at the wing, and has scored over 1200 points total through her MHS career. Head coach Kirk Harris remarked on Newberry’s ability. “I think her strongest characteristic is her incredible athleticism,” Harris said. “She can play well in several positions.” Newberry will begin her transition from Outlaw to Eagle this summer when she begins working out with the team and learning their system. The daughter of Toby Newberry and Stephanie Stewart, Skyler has one brother, seven-year-old Trevyn, and a four-year-old sister, Reece.
Sports Editor Haleigh Hines News Editor Rayne Grandy Layout Assistant Tyler Hall Cartoonist Leah Waggoner Business Manager Rylie Turner
With less than half of the team members competing, the Marlow Outlaw Speech Team got five first place finishes and second place overall after they competed last Saturday in the Kingfisher speech tournament. Of the 10 drama students that competed, nine qualified for regionals, and all of them made it to finals. Speech coach Paula McConnell said she was very proud of the few that com-
peted. “We only took ten entries, which is very small compared to the average thirty we usually take with our full team,” McConnell said. “Even though we didn’t go for sweepstakes this time, we made more points than I ever imagined we would.” Even with the snow storms that cancelled school in the previous weeks, McConnell said that the shorter amount of time they had to prepare did not slow them down. “We anticipated the ma-
jor weather change, and our advanced kids started practicing earlier to prepare,” McConnell said. Champion in Poetry, Ryan Childress, said that although he started practicing earlier, he felt a little unprepared. “I thought the other poetries had beaten me,” Childress said. “It was a unique experience getting first and feeling that way.” Other first place finishers from Marlow include Kasey McConnell in Monologue, Ty Custer in Prose, Caitlin
Seely in Dramatic Interpretation and Emalee Williams in Standard Oratory. Other top placers were Katie Sheehan, 2nd in Monologue; Chisholm Holland, 2nd in Poetry; Brandon Tipton, 2nd in Standard Oratory and Johannah Sherrill, 3rd in Poetry. Although they have a last chance tournament scheduled to be at Bethany, Marlow has begun preparing for the regional competition set to take place on March 25th and 26th, also in Bethany.
‘Inception’ is Oscar worthy
A review by Johannah Sherrill Last winter, a movie came to the big screen and challenged the boundaries of modern movies. It has been nominated for 8 Oscars and has won the hearts of many with its unique storyline. This movie is Inception. With a brilliant cast of all-stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio (of Titanic fame), Ellen Page (Juno) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Inception is set in a time where technology that can access one’s dreams is available.
Head Photographer Erica Robinson Staff Photographers Kendra Cooper Rayne Grandy Ryan Taylor Adviser Sharon Bullard
Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a well-know thief. However, Cobb does not steal items – he steals ideas from the subconscious through dreams. This occupation has labeled him as an international fugitive. Cobb is offered the gift of redemption when a man hires Cobb to implant an idea into a subconscious mind, called inception, rather than steal secrets. Cobb and his team (Page and GordonLevitt) take on this
dangerous task and start a whirlwind of discoveries. In a world where dreams seem real, how do you know what’s reality? This movie had me hooked from the start. In movies nowadays, the storyline seems to go action, romance, action, romance, happy ending! With Inception, this was not the case. Nothing about the movie was expected – every new turn was a surprise. The acting is superb from every
actor. DiCaprio, Page, and Gordon-Levitt all make their science-fiction characters believable and relatable. Director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) does an unbelievable job with this movie. It’s not at all surprising that it is a nominee for Best Picture at the Oscars. With it’s shocking ending, I promise that you’ll want to watch it more than once. I give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars. The Oscars are set to air this Sunday on ABC at 7:00 P.M.
The MHS express is the student newspaper of Marlow High School. It is published every Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, except during holidays. The MHS exPRESS encourages comments from the student body, faculty, and administration in the form of letters to the editor. All letters must include a name for consideration; however, the name may be withheld upon request. Letters should be sent to Room 105 at MHS. The opinions expressed within the signed editorials are the opinions of the writers; the opinions expressed in unsigned, boxed editorials are the opinions of the staff. Neither is necessarily the opinion of the high school administration, staff, or faculty.
