What's New?

Murdock Newsletter

May 23, 2007

May 22-23-Boys State Golf at Kearney, Nebraska
May 22-Last day of school!
May 24-Booster Club Meeting
May 26-Elmwood Alumni Banquet
May 28-Memorial Day
June 2-Murdock Alumni Banquet

Paul Harvey Riddle from last week: What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die? (stay tuned next week for the answer)

Riddle Answer:

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Larry Carnicle, Wayne and Norm Kupke retire from the Murdock Volunteer Fire Department

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This request came to my email. I think when the community visits the site and adds a comment; it increases the chances of the grant being award to Elmwood-Murdock. So, take a minute and visit the site!

“Hello! I have requested 5,000 from Hamburger Helper for our ball fields. They say that the more comments on the request on line, the better are chances are in getting the Grant. Please visit the site and pass this on to others who are interested in improving our ball fields. Go to My Hometown Helper.com and look for Nebraska projects and see Elmwood for Dirt for Ball Fields. Please leave a comment (They only allow a short one) on why we should get the 5,000. This could be used for both Murdock and Elmwood fields etc. Please forward to those involved in T-Ball, Baseball, or Softball. Or send me their email addresses.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Erin Clymer”

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GOLF CAMP
The Elmwood-Murdock Golf Camp will be held at Grandpa’s Wood from June 18-20 for those entering grades 4-9. Registration forms are available at the Elementary office or at the school website: go to Activities, Golf, Documents. Please contact Curt Backemeyer at the Elementary with any questions.

 

 

 

Elmwood Christian Church, St. Paul United Methodist Church, and Ebenezer United Methodist Church invite you to bring your children to our joint Vacation Bible School (VBS) during the week of June 18-22 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Elmwood Christian Church, 311 North Fifth Street, Elmwood. VBS is open to children who have just completed preschool through children who have just completed 6th grade. Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 18. The cost for the week is $7.50 per child or $10.00 for two or more children. Scholarships are available for those in need. Dinner will be provided each evening!

Don’t forget to get your Booster Club Stadium Seats!
Attention all E-M Knight Fans: The E-M Booster Club is now selling sturdy framed stadium seats. Get them now while they're hot and be the first to show off your new E-M stadium seat! The cost will be $40.00 per seat and they will come with the Knights logo in-printed on the back of the seat. You may get your order forms at both the elementary and the secondary sites. For more information call and speak to Tim Allemang at 867-2341 or e-mail him at tallemang@esu3.org.

Need childcare during the summer months? Check out the SUMMER KNIGHTS CHILDCARE PROGRAM. Informational packets are available at the elementary school office. Summer Knights Child Care Program will run from May 29 through August 10.

The Gospelmen Quartet
Weeping Water First Christian Church June 2 - 7PM
Free Will Offering Concert
Information - 402-269-5508 or kendeannjohnson@hotmail.com
The group originates from Genesee, Michigan, which is located approximately 12 miles northeast of Flint. As the name indicates, The Gospelmen are just that - a Gospel quartet with a Southern & Traditional Gospel flavor. Be it the new sounds of quartet music or the old hymns of the church, The Gospelmen do it all!

God Bless!
Ken & DeAnn Johnson
Eagle Wings Promotions
342 7th. St.; Unadilla, NE
402-269-5508 - office
402-269-5058 - cell

S.O.S. COOKBOOK
There are plenty of cookbooks available. They will continue to be sold until they are gone. Questions? Call Miki Bruns at 994-2770.

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I had a special request sent to my email and wanted to pass it on to the community as I do not have the answer. I am almost certain there will be someone who reads the Murdock Newsletter that has information to help the Farmers with their request.

Here's the email:

If you have information, please contact Al and Gwen Farmer at: af90004@windstream.net

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Memorial Day is a patriotic holiday in the United States of America, usually celebrated on the last Monday in May.
It is a celebration of remembrance for the brave service of men and women who gave their lives for their country. Originally, Memorial Day honored those who had died in the Civil War. Now, it honors those who died in the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and Desert Storm.

Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday in 1971. We now, designate this day to remember loved ones who have passed on, as well as remembering our service men and women. Flowers and flags are placed on graves in remembrance of them. Parades and dedications of memorials usually are part of the day's activities. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, local marching bands, members of the armed service, fire departments, police departments, and fraternal orders often march in parades and attend ceremonies to commemorate the day.

Waterloo, N.Y. is considered the birthplace of this holiday because the people of Waterloo were the first people to proclaim a day on May 5, 1866 to honor the soldiers who died in the Civil War. They closed their businesses and placed flowers and flags on the graves of their soldiers. Flags were flown at half-mast.

Major General John A. Logan declared May 30, 1868 as a special day for honoring Union soldiers killed in battle. He was Commander in Chief of an organization of Union Civil War Veterans called the Grand Army of the Republic. They took charge of Memorial Day celebrations in the Northern States. The American Legion took over these duties after World War I.

The Southern States of Alabama and Mississippi observe the last Monday in April as Confederate Memorial Day. Georgia observes April 26th, North and South Carolina observe May 10th, Virginia observes the last day of May. Louisiana and Tennessee observe June 3 and Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day, January 19th.

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Murdock Junior High Honors Night

Welcome!

7th grade students waiting for the program to begin

One by one, teachers approached the microphone to address the students, to thank everyone for their outstanding support, and to call out the names of those students who gave their best effort this year.
That effort may have been improving their grade by 5% from one quarter to the next. It may have been receiving the highest score for the class subject, or it may have been that the student didn’t do so hot in the class, but they gave their very best effort and gave it their all. The three categories of awards included: Athletic, Academic, and Honor Roll.

Athletic

Boys Basketball
The boy’s basketball coaches, Mr. Krass and Mr. Stock, began the awards ceremony by thanking Mr. Novak and Mr. Allemang for always making sure the gym was set up for their practices and games. Coaches also thanked Mr. Dwyer for filling in to coach when needed and Aaron Poole for being the student manager.
Coach Stock said, “This has been the largest group in sixteen years, but also one of the best groups. They won with class and they lost with class. There were absolutely no discipline problems. They supported each other all the way.”
Stats were given by Coach Krass: “We won the 7th grade tournament and finished 6-3 for the season. We had 16 7th grade boys and 17 8th graders. We taught them teamwork, sportsmanship, confidence, and to do your best.”

Volleyball
Coach Bell commented about the volleyball team next. His goal for this season was to have the students improve, learn and have fun. He wanted them to strive to do the best they could and he thought they achieved that goal.

Football
Next up was coach Moline for the boy’s football. He said, “The kids did an excellent job! There were a lot of boys out and that allowed us to move them around in different positions. They did a great job with their attitudes.”

Girls Basketball
Coach Dwyer gave statistics about his 7th & 8th grade girl’s teams. He said, “This was the best combined record in six years! The 7th grade finished with an 8-0 season, while the 8th graders concluded at 5-3 despite the stiff competition.” He commended the girls for being extremely coachable. This helped them to make adjustments and obtain their goal that he stressed on consistently advancing with improvement. Coach Dwyer also thanked all involved in making this season a success.

Track
Mr. Barnes with the girl’s track team said, “I started the season with a record 61 students and finished with 55.
Our girls' team finished second at the Yutan Invite out of 12 teams. Our girls' team finished first at the Conestoga Invite out of five teams. We have a lot of talent!”
Barnes also reiterated the importance and goal of striving to continue to improve.
He began introducing the 55 competitors with, “This is track, so I’ll try to make it quick”, introduced ALL 55 athletes, and then concluded with, “Anyone check my time on that?”, which was promptly followed by laughter from the audience.
He gave some amazing statistics: “Erika Stubbendeck would have finished 2nd in the Long Jump and made state (with her score). She would have also placed in the Triple Jump. Cherisa Behrends would have finished 3rd in the 200 Meter and made state. She would have also placed in the 100 Meter. Our Girls 400 Relay (consisting of Erika Stubbendeck, A.J. Ita, Cherisa Behrends, and Nikki Novak) would have placed at high school districts. Three girls gained over 100 team points, A.J. Ita, Cherisa Behrends, Erika Stubbendeck. Erika Stubbendeck gained the most total team points with 188.” What an outstanding achievement!

Weight Lifting
Weight lifting coached by Mr. Schmale was handed out next.
He spoke of the outstanding Strength and Conditioning Program done at Elmwood-Murdock, “We have a Strength and Conditioning Program at Elmwood-Murdock High School for four basic reasons.

1. Athletes involved in a supervised strength training program reduce the risk of serious injury in practice and competition.
2. Athletes that participate in the program on a regular basis will experience an increase in strength and improve their speed and agility.
3. Strength Training builds Confidence. An athlete that is confident will perform at a higher level on the field, on the court, and on the track.
4. We must keep pace with the competition. Most schools have some form of a strength training program.”

He also educated those in attendance by informing them about three myths that are sometimes believed:

1. If you lift weights you will become muscle bound, tighten up, and
lose flexibility.
2. If you lift weights you will lose speed and slow down.
3. These myths are completely false. Under a supervised strength training program one can increase speed and improve flexibility.

He went on to tell more about the program, “The E-M program emphasizes three components. They include lifting, running and stretching. All 3 are equally important.
There have been various studies done on when is the best time to start athletes in a strength training program. The results indicate that the best time to begin a program is when the athlete is mature enough to accept instruction. This can be anywhere from 10-15 years of age.
Based on our facilities and other factors taken into consideration we choose to start our athletes in January of their 8th grade year.
We spent most of the winter working on proper technique and safety. The amount of weight that an athlete can lift is unimportant at this level.
To give the athlete an idea of their progress level we test them in 3 lifting and 3 running events in the spring. We also factor in body weight in the evaluation process.”
There were 15 8th graders participate in the strength training program throughout the winter and spring. 10 athletes went through the testing program for the 1st time.
Josh Bogatz, Sam Burtch, Tyler Eggert, Jacob Fischer, Taylor Fleischman, Tyler Fleischman, Adam Neels, Matt Rorie, Dillion Synovec, Zach Zobel.
Athletes were tested for the first time at the end of April. The top three winners in the 8th grade class based on test results were

Zach Zobel, Tyler Fleischman, and Sam Burtch

These three boys received an Elmwood-Murdock Power Performance Team T-Shirt.

8th Grade Winners

3rd – Zach Zobel (6.13)

2nd – Sam Burtch (6.22)

1st – Tyler Fleischman (6.39)

Academic Awards

7th grade students stand as they are honored for their high achievement

Algebra

For Mrs. Schmidt's Algebra I class the following students were honored for Effort:
Matt Rorie, Tyler Eggert, Cherisa Behrends, Zach Zobel, Sarah Smith, Christy Laughlin
In Algebra I the following student was honored for Highest Grade:
Christy Laughlin

Math

For Mr. Bell’s Math class, he encouraged them to “do their best and keep trying”. Awards were given to 8th grader Tyler Fleshman and

7th grader Liz Pegler for the highest grade. Her 7th grade peers also honor her as they applaud her on her achievement.

English and Student Council

Mrs. Moore was next up to the podium to commend her English class and Student Council.

Christie Laughlin was honored for the Excellence Award for English. Christie also received several other awards including highest grade in both Social Studies and Algebra.

Social Studies

Mrs. Schmidt. The following received Highest
Grade honors in Social Studies:
7th-Jordan Bowman
8th-Cherisa Behrends and Christy Laughlin

The following students were honored for Effort in Social Studies:
Clint Bornemeier, Erin Dwyer, Cheyenne Smith, Jacob Tiedemann, Cameron Sims, Amanda Tieso-Hewett, Josh Bogatz, Tyler Fleischman, Branden Ahlers, Tyler Barnes, Ericka Stubbendeck, Sammie Olson, Jill McLaughlin

The following students were honored for Excellence in Social Studies:
Andrea Kitrell, Shannon Ronhovde, Jordan Bowman, Brandy Kitrell, Cherisa Behrends, Christy Laughlin, Nikki Novak

The following students were honored for Improvement in Social Studies:
Austin Moreau, Megan Scheel, Ty Stoll-Fletcher, Ashli Brown, David Hromanik, Mitchell Lamb, Ben Spracklin

Keyboarding

Ms. Schram and Excellence awards went out to the following students:
Alan Barnes, Jordan Bowman, Clint Bornemeier, Cody Brown, Erin Dwyer, Tanner Justesen, Andrea Kitrell, Brandy Kitrell, Jacob Kuhlman, Matt Mazankowski, Shannon Melo, Elizabeth Pegler, Shannon Ronhovde, Megan Schmale, Cameron Sims, Jacob Sims, Derek Vogt, Cherisa Behrends, Tyler Fleischman, Christine Laughlin, Nikki Novak, Sarah Smith, Erika Stubbendeck, Zach Zobel

In the area of Effort the following students were honored:
Alyssa Brown, Matt Rorie, Katie Schmitt

In the area of Improvement the following students were honored:
Ty Stoll-Fletcher, Branden Ahlers, AJ Ita, Elijah Philson, Katie Schmitt, Dillon Synovec

Quiz Bowl

The following students were honored by Mrs. Schmidt for Quiz Bowl participation:
7th grade: Jordan Bowman, Erin Dwyer Shannon Ronhovde Jake Kuhlman
Austin Zimmerman, Cody Brown, Cody Wagoner. The seventh grade group
also placed 2nd in the Louisville Quiz Bowl.

8th grade: Jake Fischer Kaylee Brewer, Rebecca Fortney, Tyler Eggert, Dillon Synovec

Vocal

Mrs. Colbert said, “Please stand if you were a member of the Junior High Choir this year: These students performed at the Christmas and Spring concert, and had the opportunity to participate in UNO and ECNC honor choirs. You may be seated. We participated in the Springfield-Plattview invitational this year. The students are critiqued in the following areas: Tone Quality, Rhythm, Intonation, Musicianship (dynamics, interpretation), Appearance, Diction, Blend & Balance, and Overall performance. This choir received a Superior rating from all three judges and received this plaque.”

The following students were members of:
Junior High ECNC Honor Choir
Clinton Bornemeier, Erin Dwyer, Jacob Kuhlman, Austin Moreau, Lizzy Pegler, Shannon Ronhovde, Cameron Sims, Ashli Brown, Rebecca Fortney, A.J. Ita,, Emily Meyer, Katie Schmitt, Sarah Smith, Dillon Synovec

In January six students out of ten audition tapes sent in by Elmwood-Murdock district were selected by tape audition to attend the UNO Junior high honor choir. This is especially amazing because the students were up against competitors from all classes of schools including Class A.
Those students were:
UNO Honor Choir
Katie Schmitt, Sarah Smith, Emily Meyer this is Emily’s second year, Ashli Brown, Justin Baumeister, Shannon Ronhovde

There were 22 solo and small ensemble entries this year. 13 of those received a superior rating and 9 received an excellent rating.
The following students received superiors for their entries:
Solos: Katie Schmitt, Shannon Ronhovde, Lizzy Pegler, Rebecca Fortney, Sarah Smith, Sophie Tays, Ashli Brown.
Ensembles: Mixed Triple Trio (Like A Mighty Stream), 8th girls vocal quartet (One Voice), Christy & Becca - duet, Ashli & Shannon – duet, 8th grade girls ensemble (Give Us Hope), Guys Ensemble (Barbara Ann),

Mrs. Colbert concluded with, “The final award goes to the outstanding Junior High choir member. As you can see, by all the accomplishments by this fine group of musicians, choosing an individual to receive this award was very difficult. There are easily six students that have contributed significantly and would be worthy of the honor. This year the award goes to Ashli Brown. Ashli is a soprano who switched to alto, partly to help the balance of the group and partly to become better at harmonizing. Ashli has never received a rating other than superior at Malcolm contest. Everything she enters is of superior quality. Ashli has been a member of ECNC honor choir for two years. This year she was a member of UNO honor choir. Congratulations Ashli!”

Instrumental Music

Mr. Hansen was very proud of the accomplishments made for the 2006-2007 school year in the band department.
He said, “They’re so fun to work with and they do work hard. At Elmwood-Murdock, the bar is set pretty high.”

Sara Smith receive the Outstanding Junior High Band member

Rebecca Fortney, Jordan Bowman, and Shannon Ronhovde qualified for the Wayne State competition this year

The following students made

High Honor Roll for 3 quarters

Alan Barnes, Clint Bornemeier, Jordan Bowman, Alyssa Brown, Erin Dwyer, Andrea Kitrell, Jacob Kuhlman, Shannon Melo, Elizabeth Pegler, Shannon Ronhovde, Megan Schmale, Greg Stille, Austin Zimmerman, Kaylee Brewer, Tyler Drueke, Tyler Eggert, Luke Ervin, Jacob Fischer, Christine Laughlin, Nikki Novak, Sarah Smith, Zach Zobel

8th Grade Graduation

The night concluded with an address to the 8th grade students by Mr. Allemang. He spoke to them about the road not taken by Jack Frost:
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

There were 43 eighth graders recognized for 8th grade promotion.

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News to the Editor
- Please send all your Murdock area news to me. Birthdays, anniversaries, announcements, events or news are welcome and will be added to the upcoming newsletter. Thanks in advance for all your help!

Teri Bowman
Editor@murdocknebraska.com