What's New?

Murdock Newsletter

January 31, 2007

SPELLING BEE
The 5-8 Spelling Bee was held on January 24 at 1:30 p.m. in the elementary gym. The 5th grade qualifiers were Mitchell Rust, Abby Bobbett, Corey Williams, and Raeanna Jordan. The 6th grade qualifiers were Jake Vavak, Ty Tichota, Jessica Brockoff, and Taren Stander. The 7th grade qualifiers were Jordan Bowman, Darian Spurlin, Shannon Ronhovde, and Dillon Timm. The 8th grade qualifiers were Luke Althouse, Sammie Olson, Eli Philson, and Jacob Fischer. The winner was Jake Vavak and the runner-up was Jordan Bowman. Jake and Jordan will represent the Elmwood-Murdock Public Schools at the Cass County Spelling Bee on February 21 at the Louisville Public Schools. Congratulations to Jake, Jordan, and all of the contestants. (Jordan Bowman pictured)

Calendar
Feb. 2 - Ground Hog Day
Feb. 6 - Science Fair in the elementary gym from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Feb. 8 – No School - Parent-Teacher Conferences for grades K-12 at Elmwood from 12:00-8:00 p.m.
Feb. 10 - The 2007 Omaha Shootout will be played on Saturday, February 10, 2007, with the Elmwood-Murdock vs. Louisville game scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.
Feb. 11 - United Faith Organization Valentine’s Banquet. They will be serving a roast beef and ham lunch from 11:30 - 1:00 on Sunday, February 11th at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Elmwood.
March 15 - Booster Club Meeting at 7:00

Is it Spring yet?
The legend of Groundhog Day is based on an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year."
Every February 2, people gather at Gobbler's Knob, a wooded knoll just outside of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Residents contend that the groundhog has never been wrong. The ceremony in Punxsutawney was held in secret until 1966, and only Phil's prediction was revealed to the public. Since then, Phil's fearless forecast has been a national media event.
The groundhog comes out of his electrically heated burrow, looks for his shadow and utters his prediction to a Groundhog Club representative in "groundhogese." The representative then translates the prediction for the general public. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, it means spring is just around the corner. Approximately 90% of the time, Phil sees his shadow.
Phil started making predictions in 1887 and has become an American institution. Visit http://www.punxsutawneyphil.com/ for more information.

5TH ANNUAL ELEMENTARY SCIENCE FAIR
The Elementary Science Fair will be held on Tuesday, February 6th from 6:30-7:30 with an awards ceremony following. About one hundred students in K-6 are participating in this year’s Fair. There will be concessions at the Science Fair

The high school basketball game with Mead has been rescheduled for the same night as the Science Fair. If any of you or your children have a conflict with the game and the Science Fair, your child’s Science Fair project could be judged during the school day. Please contact the elementary office if you would like your child’s project judged during the day.

ELMWOOD/MURDOCK BASEBALL/SOFTBALL REGISTRATION
Boys baseball and girls softball registration will take place during Parent/Teachers Conference on Feb. 8th. Please look for the registration table and plan on filling out the paperwork and paying that night. Registration forms will also be available on the Knightstars webpage. Registration will end Feb. 28th so please have all forms and money turned in by that time. Waffle Man tickets can also be picked up at the registration table for parents to sell. This our big fundraiser for the baseball/softball league.

Omaha Shootout T-shirts are available to order. Cost is $11.00

Booster Club Meeting Change
Attention Booster Club members - February's Booster Club meeting has been cancelled. The March Booster Club meeting has been moved from it's original date of Wednesday, March 14th to Thursday, March 15th, at 7:00 p.m. Please call 867-2341 and ask for Tim Allemang if you have any questions or concerns.

HY-VEE RECEIPTS
Save your receipts from Hy-Vee and send them to school. The school will receive $1.00 for every $100.00 of receipts they redeem.

Tidbit
Help for New Year’s Resolution. The ITALIAN PASTA DIET -- IT REALLY WORKS !
1. You walka pasta da bakery.
2. You walka pasta da candy store.
3. You walka pasta da Ice Cream shop.
4. You walka pasta da table and fridge.
You will lose weight!

Sports

VOLLEYBALL TEAM DECALS
E-M Volleyball team has Knight window decals for sale. The cost is $6.00. If interested in purchasing one contact Mrs. Robin Kuhlman or one of the freshman volleyball players. Hurry supplies are limited.

Junior High Girls Game Summary vs. Malcolm Clippers
The Elmwood-Murdock 7th grade JH girl’s basketball team defeated the Malcolm Clippers by a score of 37-21. The girls played a very good 1st half by playing very good defense and getting some easy shots on offense to jump to a 17-2 first half lead. Malcolm came back in the 3rd quarter to close the gap to 23-15, the Lady Knights were not as aggressive as they had been in the 1st half and let Malcolm get some offensive rebounds and also score some easy baskets. The 4th quarter the Lady Knights played very aggressive again and was able to build their lead backup to 16 points. All the girls played very well and were more aggressive than they had been for the other 2 games.
Leading Scorers:
Megan S – 17
Erin D – 10
Shannon R – 8
Shannon M – 2

The Elmwood-Murdock 8th grade JH girl’s basketball team lost to a very tall and good Malcolm Clippers by a score of 16-30. Malcolm was able to use their height to their advantage to get some offensive rebounds early in the game and limit our inside game to lead 9-3 after the first quarter. In the 2nd quarter the Lady Knights were able to make some outside shots and also did a much better job of rebounding to outscore the Clipper 8-1 and take an 11-10 halftime lead. The second half, Malcolm was able to some easy baskets on steals and the shots wouldn’t fall for the Lady Knights and Malcolm stretched their lead out to the final score. The girls played their best game of the year so far, and are improving in their passing, rebounding, and aggressive play. We had good, open shots during the game that just wouldn’t drop.
Leading Scorers:
Erika S – 5
AJ I – 4
Nikki N – 3
Christy L – 2
Cherisa B – 1