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The Smoke December 2024 Newton Local Schools
Vol. 6 Issue 4

Talent Show By Meg Yoder
Newton’s talent show this year was a great success. We had lots of acts, and talented people perform for us! This year’s winner was Jayla Leland, and the runner up was Alec

Schauer! I sent out a few questions regarding the talent show, and here is what they said:
What song did you perform? Jayla: “Fire to the Rain” by Adele Alec: “Yellow” by Coldplay Were you nervous?
Jayla: Yes, it is always intimidating getting in front of a crowd. Especially with your peers in it!
Alec: I was until I started playing, and then my nerves started to decrease after that.
Are you surprised you won?
Jayla: Yes! There were a lot of amazing acts and talent.
Alec: I was very surprised that I got second and I did not think that people would like it as much as they did.
Are you planning to do it again next year? Jayla: Yes.
Alec: Yes.
How long have you been singing + playing guitar?
Jayla: I have been singing since I was really little, but I did not start taking lessons until I was seven. I have been playing guitar since I was twelve, and I started taking lessons at fourteen.
Alec: I have been playing for about a year, but I did not get really into it until the last few months.
Do you want a career with music? If not, what do you want to do?
Jayla: I do! I am hoping to pursue a career in teaching music (college professor). I am currently studying opera right now, and I am hoping to minor in that.
Alec: I would enjoy a career in music in some way, but I do not know exactly what I would like to do or an exact position that I have in mind.
Fun fact about yourself?
Jayla: I can hit whistle notes like Ariana Grande!
Alec: I play guitar and sing for the youth worship band at my church every Sunday night.
Thank you to everyone that participated in the talent show this year! You ALL did an amazing job, and made it so much fun for everyone watching!

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ESPORTS! By Dylan Bauer
It is Christmas time again, and with that, schools across the nation are releasing their students for a long-awaited winter break. For some, this season means time spent with family, joy, and holiday traditions. However to others, winter break means one thing: 2 weeks of uninterrupted gaming. Believe it or not, serious gaming has become a facet of our society. Nowadays, professional gaming or esports is well known. The first ever large-scale esports tournament was held back in 1980 with the Space Invaders Championships; over 10,000 people participated. Today, the most popular esports game is League of Legends, an arena style online multiplayer. Esports are so popular that competitors are able to earn a living, and the fans treat their favorite players much like the superstars of the NFL and NBA. Entire professional teams have been assembled to win tournaments; some of the most notable are the Faze Clan and Team Liquid. With all the hype, one question still remains to be answered. Should video games count as a real sport? You decide.

athletes of the month

Grace Stanhope
Grace is a senior who has

Max Via
As a junior with 3 years of

been         participating         in                                                   bowling,     Max     has     been cheerleading                   since                                                   scoring great in the lanes.

Kindergarten. With so much experience, she says that her

The reason behind why he is so good could be because his

favorite things about the	favorite thing about the sport sport are the adrenaline rush	is, “hitting down the pins”. of being in front of the	He is most proud of his crowd,	supporting	the	bowling game in which he basketball     team,	dancing,	scored a 230! The boys and      especially      tumbling	bowling team has been off to (flips). Grace has always	a great start this year. Keep it been a good student and a	up!
positive person to have at the

school. Great job!	Q&A

1. What rule would you change about your sport?

Grace: That our squad would be able to perform stunts on the sidelines. Max: Not having a 7 pin.
2. What is your sport’s most satisfying sound?

Grace: Hearing the crowd, especially the student section, get loud and excited about the game. Max: Whenever you hit a strike perfectly.
3. You must wear either only comfy or only dress clothes in public for the rest of your life. Which would you pick?
Grace: Comfy clothes because I would feel relaxed and cozy.

Max: Only comfy.	2

Twelve Days of Break

By Candace Shellenberger

1.	Snow Tubing at Valley’s Edge

2.	Decorate Cookies with your friends 3.	Have a Christmas movie Marathon 4.	Go Caroling with friends
5.	Go Ice Skating at Hobart Arena

6.	Have a gingerbread house decorating contest with friends
7.	Make Christmas cards for people

8.	Go see Christmas lights at Clifton Mill 9.	Bring Christmas cookies to local fire
stations

10.	Volunteer at a local soup kitchen or food pantry
11.	Make personalized ornaments with your family
12.	Have a picnic under your Christmas tree

Christmas Hot Take

By Meg Yoder

My Christmas hot take is that candy canes are not good. They do not taste super great, and the aftertaste and feeling they leave is even worse. They are sticky, and break so easily. I do not think I have eaten a candy cane without it breaking. Overrated, trash candy.

By Dylan Bauer

My hot take is that Santa is actually a creepy dude. He is somehow always watching you without your knowledge and for some reason he gets to decide whether or not you get presents. Not only that, he feins for milk and cookies from each house that he visits and manages to consume all if it in one night. If you are asking me, no one should be able to know when I am sleeping whenever they want, and from anywhere in the world.

By Vivien Clark

Home Alone is actually really boring and one family leaving the same kid multiple times and nobody notices is so unrealistic. Elf on the Shelf is lowkey creepy. Gingerbread is actually really good and good for year round.

By Liam Woods

My Christmas hot take is that a lot of Christmas movies are hot trash. Classic movies including Elf, Christmas with the Kranks, Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, and Polar Express are all overhyped and boring. Also, blow up decorations are tacky, and do not look good.

By Candace Shellenberger

Elf is not that great of a Christmas movie. Christmas trees should be up all year and decorated for each holiday. Sugar cookies are not very good. Hallmark Christmas movies are not good.

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Album Review

By Meg Yoder

Frank Ocean’s “blond” album contains 17 songs, and was released on August 20th, 2016. It is just over an hour long, and most songs were written by Om’mas Keith, Pharrell Williams, and Tyler, the Creator. This album is about Frank’s emotions regarding heartbreak, loss, duality, and trauma. This album was created when Frank Ocean’s contract with Def Jam was finished, and he became an independent artist. My favorite songs from this album are “Futura Free”, “Skyline To”, and “Self Control”. Since this album, Frank has not released any new albums, although, there are some suspicions that he is going as a new name on Spotify, The Most Wanted which is very fitting.

artist of the month

By Liam Woods

Your December Artist of the month is Ava Rapp! When did you get into art? Junior Year
What is your favorite art medium? Sketching and watercolor
What does your art consist of? Sketching and watercolor
What motivates you to make good art? When my art turns out how I wanted it to, it feels super rewarding. Do you plan on pursuing a career in art after graduation? No I do not plan on it.

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movie review

Santa Paws is a classic feel good Christmas movie. It has all the elements of a perfect Christmas movie: Santa, family, friends, and puppies. It follows Santa Claus and Santa Paws as they journey to New York City in hopes of restoring some Christmas magic. On their journey Paws gets lost and Santa forgets who he is. Santa meets the Huckle family as they inherited their family toy store and becomes the in store Santa. Paws befriends kids at an orphanage and eventually he is brought back to Santa.

Everyone agrees it is a solid movie for the holiday, “I really liked it and I thought it was really cute” says Meg. “It is a good movie for the whole family, the puppy is really cute”says Liam and Candace agrees, “It is a cute movie and is great for a Christmas family movie night.” Some final thoughts, “I’m glad they saved the dog” says Dylan and
“Fire movie” from Vivien.

Rating it on a scale of 1-5 Meg, Dylan, Liam give it a 3. Vivien and Miss Rhea give it a 4. Candace gives it a 5.

Science Experiment

By Liam Green

This month our class made fake snow for our science experiment. We learned we could make snow out of 3 simple ingredients: water, baking soda, and shaving cream. It is a fun way to have snow on the holidays if we do not get a white Christmas. All you do is mix the shaving cream and baking soda until it get clumpy and then slowly pour water until it looks like snow. So if you are craving snow this Christmas, or anytime throughout the year whip out some shaving cream and baking soda and have a snow day in July.

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teacher of the month

By Candace Shellenberger

This month’s teacher of the month is Mr. Armentrout. This is his twenty-seventh year teaching, all of which have been at Newton. I asked him if he always wanted to teach and this was his response “No. My Mom and Aunt were teachers. My wife was training to be a teacher. I had no desire to be grading assignments late at night and getting lessons prepared like I watched my Mom do. Because she was a single Mom, there were things that I didn't get to participate in due to the demands of her teaching job. My first love professionally was business and accounting.” I asked him what he was looking forward to the most this year and he said that he enjoys every day, but is looking forward to spring break this year as he has a trip to Florida planned. His biggest accomplishment is getting married to his wife Karen and having a hand in raising 9 children. The last question I asked him was what is your favorite Christmas tradition? He responded with “I always enjoyed staying up all night putting Christmas toys together for my children. Now they are older and we are in the process of creating new traditions for our family.”

student of the month

By Candace Shellenberger

This month’s student of the month is Ellie Bauer, and she was chosen by Ms. Meyer. When I asked her why she chose Ellie she said “She has done great in government with participating, going above the required note taking and answers. She has improved from quarter 1 to quarter 2. She has managed her time well with balancing school, cross country, and marching band. She is a pleasant person to have in the classroom and our school.”
When I told Ellie her response was “Oh I am? That’s cool!”

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What the holiday season means to us

By Candace Shellenberger

To me the Holiday season means a time of rest. Not physical rest, but mental rest. A time to take a break from the busyness of school. It is also a time to be with my family, and remember that the true meaning of Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’s birth.

By Meg Yoder

The holiday season means a lot to me. I celebrate a major event in my religion, and I see it as a great way to see family, and obviously gifts. All of my siblings are older than me, and have moved out. Two of them even live out of state, so seeing them all makes me so happy. I love all aspects of gifts. I love receiving gifts, and I love giving gifts. I think it is so cute to give a gift that you spent a long time thinking about and it represents the love you have for that person. Receiving and showing that love is a great feeling. I do not think there is such a thing as a bad gift. No matter what you get people are still at least thinking of you, and still want to get you something.

By Liam Woods

To me, the Holiday season is very important because I do not have to go to school for two weeks and I finally get to sleep in. It is also important to me because I get to see my family that I hardly get to see. This Holiday season is extra special this year because “Marvel Rivals” just came out, and me and Hayden get to grind it all break.

By Dylan Bauer

I really enjoy the holiday season. It is the time of year where everyone is just a little bit nicer. Strangers talk to each other (I know, shocking), and families reunite after months of being apart. To me, Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Jesus. I also love being able to celebrate with my family on both sides. If I had to describe the season in one word it would be “warm” (not literally).

By Vivien Clark

I feel the holidays are all about friends and family. Alot of people take the time they spend with the most important people in their lives for granted. Whether that be your mom, dad, sibling, or bestfriend it always seems that we love being with these people, but don’t realize how much we will really miss the little moments when you aren't together. My family and friends are the most important things in my life and spending quality time with them is what I love about holidays. So to me the holiday season is about being with the people I love and cherish. It’s about more than just gifts or traditions, it’s about the gift of quality time and memories to look back on when I need a reason to smile, because they always give me a reason.

Spirit of giving

We still have three days of Spirit of Giving, please donate! 7th Grade: boxes of Hamburger Helper
8th Grade: canned tuna or canned chicken

9th Grade:cans of chicken noodle or tomato soup 10th Grade: canned corn
11th and 12th Grade: laundry detergent

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clunker of the month
By Vivien Clark

The Clunker this month is your very own editor by class vote. I own a 2004 Acura RSX and I have owned it for just about a year. I’ve decided to make my worst financial decision ever and fix it up because I love the car itself. It’s quite old and in rough shape. It has mismatched parts, no low beam lights (at the moment), the driver side door handle is nonexistent, it shifts quite hard causing the transmission to slip, and the parking brake doesn’t work too well on hills. I plan on trying to fix any motor problems I come across and make the exterior fixed as well but first, I want to get to the point where people stop thinking it's a stick shift and I don’t know how to drive. Though all this does classify it as a clunker and I do love this car.

new year resolutions

By Candace Shellenberger

Spend less time on social media, and focus more on my relationship with Jesus.

By Liam Woods

Eat less sugar, and drink less soda.

By Meg Yoder

Stop being so anxious, and get a job.

By Vivien Clark

Stop spending so much money on unnecessary things/impulse buying

By Dylan Bauer

To be less introverted and try to get out more.

2 Month update on peony

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Questions of the month

By Liam Woods

This Holiday Season many holly questions were asked, and many jolly answers were received. First off, I asked opinions on the snow. 74% people love the snow, 20% think it is just alright, and 5% of people are grinches and HATE the snow. A lot of people wish for a white Christmas, but what else is on people’s Christmas wishlist? The most common answers were clothes, airpods, new phones, and money. The most unique answer was “For one of my answers to be featured on the Smoke Signal” so I hope this makes all your Christmas wishes come true Regan Miller. Over the break people have some big plans including: sleeping, ski trips, making cookies, and making snow slushies. Some other holiday foods that people are excited for out ham, mac and cheese, Christmas cookies, bread pudding, and candy canes. The most important thing about Christmas is of course the movies. In last place with 1.7% of votes is Christmas Chronicles, next was A Charlie Brown Christmas with 13.8% of votes, in third there was a tie between The Santa Clause and Die Hard, in second with 19% of votes was The Muppet Christmas Carol but it should be in dead last because 10 of the 11 votes were from the same person, and our big winner also came with a big twist because Miss Rhea went from a 4 time streak in last place to having the big winner with The Grinch. Be on the lookout in the New Year for new questions.

snow day season By Vivien Clark
Snow days are the days no one can really predict and be for sure about but the day every student hopes for, but did you know that there are some superstitions that might help. The three biggest ones you can do to really help the weatherman be correct is wear your pajamas inside out, flush an ice cube down the toilet, and put a spoon under your pillow. Then that day that we all wait for as soon as we see a glimpse of snow, we get to have a free day for whatever we want to do. So what to do on the day that we waited for. Well, there is a lot you can do if you think about it. Depending on the type of snow you could have a snowball fight, or build a snowman. A good activity for any type of snow is sledding, find yourself a good sized hill and go flying down. Doing these things with friends is always more fun than alone so I suggest calling a few people to have your winter fun with. Now I am well aware not everyone is a fan of snow and cold weather. So if that is you, you could watch a movie snuggled up with a warm blanket and some hot coco. Video games are a lot of fun too if you are into that type of game. If not, there is always a good board game with some snacks and music. There is so much to do on a snow day but remember it is always more fun with friends so call some people up and have yourself a great snow day no matter which path you prefer.

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10

Christmas

Hanukkah

Cozy

hotcocoa

Flurry

Kwanzaa

Happy 🎉 Birthday!

Dylan Skinner Clara Shellenberger Gauge Gallow Jordyn Whitarce Meg Yoder
Ava Meyer Robert Peele Kyle Knepper Hope Morse Khloe Carver
Shya Woodward-Roeth Mckenna Taylor
Gage Kesling Chase Andrews Canyon Sink Nolan Knupp Dexter Barhorst Kyndell Renner Felicity Harbour Elijah Leingang Aubrey Tackett Garrison Hughes

Mistletoe

Snow

Smoke

Ornament	Reindeer

Signals December

Student Submissions

Playlist

“All I Want” by Liam Payne

“I Am the Grinch” by Tyler, the Creator

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Pentatonixs “Last Christmas” by Wham!
“The First Noel” Carrie Underwood

“You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Jim Carrey

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