Clarke seventh and eighth grade students are going green.
On Tuesday, May 24, the entire seventh and eighth grade classes went out on a quest to make their city better and to give back to their community. They did it by starting at the entrance to the soccer field and picking up trash along the side walk and in the grass.
They did just that all the way to the softball fields. The students did as best as they could not to leave any stone unturned.
This exercise was not only a constructive thing for the community, but it helped build character for the students and a positive attitude towards nature and their home.
The community clean-up not only built character, but also allowed students to interact with each other in a constructive manner, a manner in which they cannot during the passing time between classes.
The students only made a small dent in the community, but the dent is still there, and the school will keep working to teach the students to be leaders and to make the community better in all the ways they can.
Also, in light of the ending school year, the students of both the seventh and eighth grades participated in two different double elimination tournaments.
Double elimination tournaments are when a team can lose two games but when the limit has been met they are eliminated. The two different competitions were dodge ball and kickball.
Each home room or advisory was split up into different color groups, which consisted of yellow, orange, purple, green, red and blue.
The winner of the seventh grade dodge ball tournament was the orange team, coached by Mrs. Terrell, the language arts teacher and advisor.
For the eighth grade, the winner of the dodge ball tournament was once again the orange team, but this time it was coached by Ms. Lee the math teacher and also advisor. The dodge ball tournaments were held in the middle school gymnasium.
After the dodge ball contests, the students went to the soccer fields where the kickball games were held. Each kickball tournament was eight minutes long, and along with the dodge ball tournament, each advisory faced each other in a battle of strategy and skill.
The winner for seventh grade was once again Mrs. Terrell’s orange team. Though the winner for the seventh grade did not change between tournaments, the eighth grade had a bit more variety.
The winner for the eighth grade kickball matches was the green team coached by Mr. Zoske, the American history teacher along with advisor.
Each of the competitions was put together by Tenysa Handrock. Handrock has played a vital role in helping construct many different activities within the school year.
Because of her and the cooperation of many others, these games gave the students a reward for working hard in school all year and taught the values of teamwork and good sportsmanship. It was also a great way to make this year a memorable one.