June 2013 - Auburn School District

[the] 

Canine Chr[ 

]nicle 

Mount Baker Middle School, Auburn, Washington June 2013 Volume III, Issue 7 

School Year 2012-2013: 

2013: 

Reflecting on 

P.R.I.D.E. 

A. Serratos

Table of Contents] [2 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 

ASB Elections 4 

Student Recognition 6 

High School Expectations 9 

Gang Decline in Auburn 12 

Yearbook Tips 13 

What Grinds My Gears 14 

PRIDE: A Year in Reflection 16 

Arts & Entertainment 18 

Talent Show Preview 18 

Sports 22 

Locker Lottery 26 

Life 27 

MBMS Journalism History 28 

Meet the Press 28 

Bulldog Photo Collage 

BACK 

Letter from the Editors 

Dear MBMS students (and future Ravens), 

Summer is here, and the last few days of school are finally rolling around. Teachers are retiring, yearbooks are 

getting signed, and our eighth graders are moving on to higher places. This year has gone by rather quickly. 

For the sixth and seventh graders, you still have a bit more time at Baker, so cherish it while you can. It goes by fast 

and when you’re knocking on Riverside’s door in a few years you’re going to come to miss this place. 

Eight graders— Start preparing for high school now. Riverside is a big school, and like when we first got here, 

you’re going to be at the bottom of the “food chain”. Don’t slack in your classes, join extracurricular activities, be as 

friendly as possible, and most importantly— be you. 

Seventh graders— Don’t goof around next year. You’ll soon be eighth graders, and a lot will be expected of you. Act 

your age, and always be the type of person a new sixth grader will always look up to. Listen to your teachers, don’t give 

up, stay positive, and don’t ever change who you are. 

Sixth graders— You’ve made it through the first year of middle school, so be proud of yourself. You did well. Next 

year you will occupy the walls of the 500 hall, and you’ll have a great time. Moving from sixth to seventh is a great 

change. There are more opportunities for sports, ASB, and more. Impress your teachers; don’t procrastinate on your 

autobiography project, and don’t cave in to peer pressure. A word of advice...stop RUNNING everywhere. 

This has been a great year, and The Canine Chronicle staff was very happy to share it with you. Thank you all for the 

great year and all the wonderful, helpful insights and quotes you’ve given our staff. You’re all amazing. 

Have a great summer and we’ll see some of you next year. 

Sincerely, 

Ashton Serratos 

Ashleigh Carman 

COVER PHOTO: Victor E. Bulldog, our mascot, takes a 

“selfie”, serving as a symbol of our school’s success 

this school year. Our June edition critically focuses 

and reflects on the 2012-2013 school year, highlighting 

the successes and identifying areas for improvement. 

Jhordin Prescott 

Aaron Baker 

Olivia Denton 

Sara Koenig 

MT. BAKER MIDDLE SCHOOL 

620 37TH STREET SE 

AUBURN, WASHINGTON 98002 

B. Hieronymus 

Staff 

Editors 


Olivia Denton 

Aaron Baker 

Sara Koenig 

Ashleigh Carman 


Reporters 

Andrew Bell 

Jacob Baldridge 

Daniel Bronitskiy 

Anabell Cervantes 

Billie Hieronymus 

Spencer Hochwalt 

Kate Hon 

Reporters 

Alex “Steven” Jabusch 

Euminh Lim 

Jessica Perez 

Jasmin Vital 

Sumeet Waraich 

Cody Zipp 

Technical Support 

Jay Kemp 

Adviser 

Peter Warring 

Mission: The MBMS Journalism 8 class produced this limited-voice 

newspaper with intent to ethically report events accurately, without 

bias. As a public forum for students, all decisions made on content 

are made under the guidance of the advisor, with intent to uphold 

students’ First Amendment rights. 

The opinions presented in articles are provided to represent the 

views and perspectives of students and individuals in our diverse 

student population, not necessarily the whole of the advisor, faculty, 

and administrators. Any material that would cause a disruption to 

the educational process like libel, invasion of privacy, or copyright 

infringement will not be published The Canine Chronicle is produced 

using Microsoft Publisher. Photographs not taken by students have 

been utilized through a Creative Commons and Microsoft license. 

School portraits are licensed though Dorian Photography.

[May 2013 * 3] 

[News & Features] 

Break Almost Here 

Jhordin Prescott & Olivia Denton 

Tan bods and flip flops are finally here! Not only is 

summer coming up, but sixth new graders will be upon us 

soon, while the eighth graders will be leaving. 

Percy Kaion told what she though of her last year of 

Baker:“Finally I’m out of here! Overall it was good. I loved 

every single one of my teachers especially ERIN 

CARNAHAN! I liked it because we were always compared 

to the eighth graders the first two years and now we 

actually get to experience what they got to do. I like that 

we have more freedom too!” 

These top dogs won’t be top dogs for very long! Soon 

eighth graders will be freshman soon! 

Eunice Gil expected high school to have more freedom 

and a less strict dress code, while Bryce McCall expects 

it to be fun but hard. But no one is thinking of that! Now 

the question is what will I do this summer? 

“[I plan on doing] baseball, baseball, and more baseball”, 

answered Bryce McCall. 

Amber Hindman also said, “[This summer I’ll be doing] 

Gymnastics and I’m also going to Tennessee.” 

The hotspot or hangout area for a lot of teens during 

the summer is Wild Waves. This water park resides in 

Federal Way and allows friends and families to escape the 

heat by swimming in public shared water attractions and 

riding fun roller coasters. 

McCall replied, “I love Wild Waves! I’ll be going there 

too!” 

The most popular aquatic attraction that Wild Waves 

has to offer would be the wave pool. But is this pool really 

clean? With at least a hundred people crowded together 

but hourly cleaning sessions, how sanitary is this feature 

really? 

Kaion shared her opinion: “The wave pool is gross because 

there are too much people in at once and you 

never know if someone made an accident in the wave 

pool. I’m also short so I always end up drinking the nasty 

water.” 

“It’s full of screaming kids and I can always feel their 

pee. It’s pretty disgusting! But I enjoy the waves!” said Gil 

on her experience in the wave pool. 

Summer is different for everyone. Some people might 

still have to wake up early in the morning while others go 

out of their way to sleep in. 

“I think summer overall is a hot vacation that you can 

hang out with family and friends. You can finally wear 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tank tops and shorts while going buck wild, with no teachers 

or homework,” said Kaion. 

“Summer overall is the best vacation ever because I get 

to sleep in” shared McCall. 

Summer is finally upon us! The possibilities of what you 

can do are endless, whether you decide to sleep in the 

whole time or go on a journey into the wave pool. 

But with the school year ending, eighth graders disembarking 

are on their own adventure, and MBMS will welcomed 

a new crop of bright-eyed sixth graders. 

Summer Bucket List 

Go thrift shopping. 

Have a bonfire. 

Water balloon fight 

but exchange water 

with pail. 

Cricket hunting. 

Make taffy. 

Sleep on a trampoline. 

Write notes and put 

them on random cars. 

No technology for a 

day. 

Walk around with a 

“free hugs” sign. 

Go paint balling. 

Go coning. 

Do things that make 

people feel really uncomfortable. 

Try all 31 flavors at 

Baskin Robbins. 

Make a memory jar. 

Save all of your 

change and exchange 

it all at the end of 

summer. 

Movie hopping. 

Conditioner before 

shampoo. 

Eat spaghetti tacos. 

Make cake pops. 

Eye bombing. 

Read a book. 

Propose to a stranger 

with a ring pop. 

Buy all of the gum 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Illustration by A. Serratos 

balls out of the machine. 

Participate in your 

own Call of Duty game. 

Walk through a drive 

through. 

Mud wrestle. 

Eat cheese. 

Jump into a pool with 

all of your clothes on. 

Milk a cow. 

Play Twister with paint 

Buy vanilla pudding, 

put it in a mayonnaise 

jar and eat it in public. 

Wear an ugly shirt 

once a week just for 

the conversation.

[News & Features] [4 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

D. Bronitskiy 

ASB Elections 

Promote New Leaders to Step Forward 

Daniel Bronitskiy & Euminh Lim 

Each year, Mt. Baker holds assemblies. Our school 

promotes food drives and late-night activities. 

The group that is in charge of all of this is the Associated 

Student Body (ASB), which will have a new group of 

leaders elected on June 17. 

Students have the opportunity to step up and speak out 

to make our school better. However, as a year passes, 

different positions for office open up as the previous 

officers withdraw. 

Being an ASB Officer gives many opportunities and 

exciting activities, but there are also many responsibilities, 

such as being a role model and promoting school 

spirit. But, there are more jobs depending on which Officer 

position you are appointed. The Officer contains positions 

for eighth graders, such as Co-President, Co- 

Secretary, Co-Treasurer, and Senator for all three 

grades. 

The duties of a Co-President are to be charge all of 

student body meetings, assemblies, student council meetings, 

and other executive officer meetings involved with 

the ASB. 

The duties of a Co-Secretary are to handle all correspondence 

affecting the student body affairs, keep accurate 

records of all student council, and executive officer 

meetings. 

The duties of a Co-Treasurer are to be in charge of all 

finances, making a budget report to the student council. 

The duties of a Senator are to attend all student body 

meetings, assemblies, participate in student council 

meetings, and to participate in committees. 

The forms that are required to be completed in order to 

be an ASB representative are: ASB Candidate Qualifications 

and Election, Student Petition Form, ASB Code of 

Conduct and many more. Even though there are many 

papers needed to be completed for this, being an ASB 

officer is exciting. 

According to Olivia Denton, eighth grade secretary, she 

said, “It is exciting to be an ASB officer. It is fun because 

we get to think about new things for school. We take what 

the student body wants and we put it in the assemblies. It 

is exciting because we are leaders; people look up to us, 

and that is pretty cool.” 

In order to spread your word to other people in Mt. 

Baker, to have the most votes to get you where you want 

to be, students are allowed to campaign. Each candidate 

is required to make and read a maximum two-minute preapproved 

speech that states information about the candidate 

and ideas on how to improve Mt. Baker. A copy of the 

information given by the student will be posted up for 

others to see and read. 

When asked about the speech, eighth grader Jhordin 

Prescott replied, “At first, it’s nerve-racking, but you get 

into the flow.” 

Each candidate can appoint a campaign manager, or 

helper. They have the privilege of making up to three 

posters (and 50 campaign buttons/flyers. 

When asked whose last year’s posters she liked best, 

Jhordin said, “Chike's.” 

The posters need to be approved by Mrs. Steffy or Mrs. 

Fox. If anything is inappropriate, it will be removed. Before 

noon of the voting day, any campaign material must 

be removed. 

The election takes place June 17. Mt. Baker will soon 

receive a new handful of ASB members. Some candidates 

will make it, some won’t. May the best candidate win! 

ASB 2013 

Candidates 

The candidates listed below are the most current 

as of June 11, 2013. 

PRESIDENT 

Carter Seehafer 

Colby Pretz 

Tashana Williams 

Kristina Pogosian 

TREASURER 

Hailey Wharton 

SECRETARY 

Jordyn Jaeckel 

SENATOR 8 

Ashleigh Wilson 

Jonathan Casey 

SENATOR 7 

Justin Higginson 

Kaobi Onyema 

Makenna Price 

Tyler Braun 

Hannah Morrison 

Hailey Bragg 

Aaron Baker 

Kamsi Onyema 

Kristina Doucette 

Angelina Pogosian

[June 2013 * 5] 


Candidates 

Define Leadership 

Carter Seehafer—President 

“Leadership is standing above 

bad decisions and making the 

right choices and helping others 

do the same.” 

Tashana Williams —President 

“The students getting in to trouble, 

or students who don’t know 

what track to take can take our 

example and put it in their life.” 

Colby Pretz—President 

“Leadership is being able to 

step up in any situation and to 

lead people in the right direction.” 

Kristina Pogosian—President 

“Leadership is Encouraging people 

to be nice and always gives 

100% in effort.” 

Hailey Bragg—President 

“Leadership is when somebody 

isn’t afraid to stand up and 

guide others to make good decisions.” 

Hannah Morrison—President 

“Leadership is being able to 

lead or watch over a group responsibly.” 

Aaron Baker —President 

“Leadership is the ability to direct 

a group of people in either 

a good or bad direction based 

on the quality and integrity of 

the leader.” 

Jordyn Jaeckel—Secretary 

“Leadership is the act of leading 

a group of people or an organization.” 

Hailey Wharton—Treasurer 

“Leadership is someone who is 

willing to be nice and stay on 

task and gets things done.” 

Elections—June 16 

Elections will be held, and students 

will decide their leaders 

for the 2013-2014 school 

year.


FEBRUARY 

MARCH 

APRIL 

MAY 

Kiwanis Students of the Month: (Clockwise) Sylvia Jones, Juliet Yu, Victoria Kendall, Casandra Gonzales, Landon Evans, Keegan Dolan, Ricardo Estrada, Adolfo Benitez 

Bulldogs Recognized 

for Achievements 


This year we have had many students being recognized for their academic 

excellence. Either they have been given the Pride Award, Kiwanis Award, Honor 

Roll, Pride Couch, or get Way To-Go lunch. 

Every quarter two students from each teacher get picked for the Pride Award 

and get to go to the Pride Breakfast where they are recognized for their hard 

work and attitude. 

As well as getting a free, delicious breakfast from their teachers. There is also 

the Pride Couch during our assemblies, for the honor every teacher chooses one 

student, and one student from each grade level is picked to sit on the couch 

during the whole assembly with snacks and a Mt. Baker t-shirt. As well as giving 

a Starbuck’s card to the teacher who nominated them. 

Seventh grader Jasmine Dang, a Pride and Honor Roll student, said that these 

awards are a good way to recognize students because, “It shows that students 

are working hard.” 

Alicia Christensen, an eighth grader who has been awarded with the Pride 

Award and Honor Roll, also said, “This is a great way for showing students’ hard 

work.” 

Another way students are appreciated is the Kiwanis award, where every 

month a student is recommended by a teacher for over achieving by doing extracurricular 

activities and doing a spectacular job in class. 

But don’t forget Honor Roll, where any student with a 3.5 GPA and higher get a 

certificate of recognition. 

Eighth grader Keegan Dolan was awarded with Kiwanis and Honor Roll this year. 

When asking him if he strived to get these awards, he said, “Yes, but I also strive 

to do a good job in sports and a couple other things.” 

Students are usually encouraged to work hard and reach the goal to get these 

awards, but what are the benefits of these awards? 

Dang stated, “You will have better opportunities.” 

When asking Christensen if she felt pressure to get these awards she said no, 

that she didn’t feel like people were pressuring her to get these awards. 

While Dolan has said, “Self-esteem is a big part. Also that when kids get recognized 

they feel important.”



P.R.I.D.E. Award Winners 

Grade 8 

Abigail Amis 

Adolfo Benitez 

Alex Jabusch 

Alexis Gonzalez 

Alisabeth York 

Alyssa K. Brown 

Amber Hindman 

An Do 


Andie Ellez 

Angel Torres 

Aron Guerrero 


Avneet Mann 


Brady Lee 

Brianna Martinez 

Bryce Osburn 

Caitlyn McFarland 

Camaeron Engen 

Cameron Zipp 

Casandra Gonzalez 

Catherine Sergis 

Celena Kellow 

Celso Landin-Soto 

Charles Dalrymple 

Chaz Bracken 

Chike Egwuatu 

Christopher Ceja 

Claire Jackson 

Cody Zipp 

Cristie Jimenez 

Dalton Bair 

Danielle Garlinghouse 

Deisi Sales 

Deyani Mendoza 

Emily Cho 

Euminh Lim 

Evan Polkow 

Gianna Guerra 

Haley Parsons 

Hannah Johnson 

Ivic Vasquez 


Jaylene Landreth 

Jerena Layacan 

Jessica Perez 


Johnny Doan 

Jose Mayo 

Josephine Rogers 

Joshua Honeywell 

Joshua Tiegs 

Juliet Yu 

Juliya Deyneka 

Karsyn Kilstrom 

Kate Hon 

Kayla Clark 

Kerra Loewisch 

Kevin Avila 

Kimberly Silva 

Kristina Kovalchuk 

Kyle Olson 

Lauren Ramey 

Lauren Smith 

Lauryn Hales 

Lendy Ramirez 

Liliya Kharik 

Lillian Wood 

Lyric Rose 

Madeline Heindel 

Mason Evans 

Maxi Keodouangsa 

McKenzie Ruppert 

Michelle Lara-Santos 

Nicole Matiatos 

Noe Trujillo 

Olivia Denton 

Osvaldo Flores 

Patricia Phithamma 

Perla Vasquez 

Rebecca Wilson 

Rhonda Sheldon 

Ricardo Estrada 

Ryan Yorke 

Salvador Garcia 

Samantha Rios 

Stephanie Picazo 


Sydney Nesler 

Sylvia Jones 

Tanner George 

Taylor Carstens 

Taylor Price 

Taylor Tran 

Tayzi-Lynn Taylor 

Teahanna Smith 

Tristan Mendiola 

Tucker Roberts 

Tyler Kunz 

Victoria Kendall 

Xavier Tolibert 

Yajahira Sanchez-Tamayo 

Yeh-Sun Lee 

Zachary Earl 

Zoe Manuel 

Grade 7 

Aaron Baker 

Alex Amerson 

Alexander Sugi 

Alina Fedas 

America Picazo 

Ammon Bailey 

Amy Nguyen 

Anabel Lopez 

Angelica Rodriguez 

Anna Maracich 

Ariel Siharath 

Arthur Troncoso 

Ashleigh Wilson 

Atiana Garza 

Aulane Mpouli 

Austin Rydberg 

Benjamin Tranberg 

Blessing Jarbah 

Brandon Gaines 

Brenden McGraw 

Bryan Pecina 

Calley Heilborn 

Calvin Park 

Carlito Olavario 

Carter Seehafer 

Cherylgeane Alcedo 

Cheyenne Smith-Miller 

Chloe Reagan 

Chris Villarreal 

Christine Key 

Clarissa Santiano 

Codie Choate 

Colby Pretz 

Daelyn Haws 

Daniel Filovets 

Daniela Montano 

David Scherrey 

Dayton Kelly 

Denver Rogers 

Destany Abellera 

Devlin Keiser 

Dillon Brank 

Drake Pearisaeff 

Emily Miles 

Emily Morrow 

Emmanuel Romero 

Esther Scott 

Ethan Celver 

Evelin Laris 

Gabriella Reichel 

Gisselle Cortez 

Gurkaran Waraich 

Hailey Bragg 

Hailey Ferrell-Liepman 

Hailey Wharton 

Hannah Weidenbach 

Harrison Maurus 

Hope Addison 

I'asa Atimalala 

Isabella Coronado 

Isaiah Prescott 

Isaiah Thissel 

Jacob Pepe 

Jadynn Strickland 

Jalen Forward 

Jasmine Dang 

Jason Brown 

Jazmin McLaughlin 

Jeremiah Brown 

John Quiroz 

Jonathan Casey 

Jonathan Dickson 

Jonathan Tran 

Joohanna Valera 

Joseph Cacatian 

Julian Solano 

Kaitlin Moyer 

Ka'Sean Griffin 

Kateryna Zhovner 

Katie Ruppert 

Kaylia Merten 

Kenneth Miller 

Kenny Miller 

Kiara Kim 

Kimberly Mendoza 

Kristina Pogosian 

Kyle Bates 

Kyle Thompson 

Leah Kerbs 

Lesley Martinez-Bonafacio 

Lincoln Aiello 

Linsey McInelly 

Luis Lopez 

Luis Picazo 

Maria Gonzalez 

Marilyn Morales 

Markus Maunder 

Meera Mungra 

Megan Child 

Michelle Barba 

Miranda Fernandez 

Montana Logan 

Mya Johnson 

Natalie Means 

Nathan Pocon 

Nicholas Sanseri 

Nicole Naimo 

Olivia Roble 

Pavlo Levytskyy 

Raul Flores 

Ryan Hess 

Ryan Kolzow 

Samantha Leurquin 

Samantha Smith 

Sandra Suchkova 

Sara Pot 

Sara Sinclair 

Stephanie Neu 

Tannar Larson 

Tereza Busobozi 

Teri Reynolds-Wolvington 

Terrance Williams 

Thomas Marchant 

Tiano Malietufa 

Tiffany Truong 

Veniace Thomas 

Victoria Cegielski 

Vierasak Jalani Phol 

Viktoriya Roshchuk 

Wendy Santos 

Yahya Salah 

Ysabela Manuel 

Grade 6 

Abigail Juth 

Adrian Gamboa 

Ajay Matto 

Alexa Martinez 

Alyssa Hatch 

Amaya Kelley 

Andrew Magnaghi 

Angel Garland 

Angela Cimo 

Angelina Belyavskiy 

Antonio Harrell-Madrid 

Anya Kristensen 

Arianna Casebeer 

Arturo Martinez-Reyes 

Bailey Montgomery 

Brandon Osegueda 

Brenden Chaowanapibool 

Brianna Crawford 

Cali Manweiler 

Cameron Hou 

Cameron Kaku 

Caroline Cooper 

Catalina Lemus 

Christian Calloway 

Cody Bounma 

Connor Pennycook 

Dan Henrique Ramirez 

Duyen Nguyen 

Dylan Grenz 

Dylan Molina 

Elijah Blyden 

Elizabeth Harvey 

Erandy Flores 

Eric McGinley 

Ester Cruz 

Fatima Picazo-Torres 

Guled Jama 

Hailey Cruz 

Haylee Fune 

Hunter Dutoit 

Iliana Onishchenko 

Ilona Kovalenko 

Isaiah Shin 

Jack Daugherty 

Jalen Jackson 

Jamie Jaeckel 

Jaxayra Garcia 

Jennifer Virgen 

Jesus Guerrero-Munoz 

Joey Nelson 

Jorge Malacon 

Jose Hernandez 

Juana Rodriguez 

Kaitlyn Enrico 

Karoline Zvonenko 

Kassidy Siegel 

Katie Carstens 

Kayna Kliewer 

Kennedy Inkster 

Kira Kopcho 

Kristina Doucette 

Kristina Lewis 

Kylee Cole 

Kyleigh Westberg 

Leslie Rodriguez 

Lexi Allen 

Liliya Pashchinskaya 

Linnea Thorpe 

Logan Kansanback 

Lydia Lopez 

Magali Navarro 

Makenna Price 

Marcus Sutrick 

Margarita Zhuravel 

Mason Sain 

Matthew Smeltzer 

Maximiliano Ortiz-Torres 

Maxwell Parsons 

McKenna Webb 

Michael Kopcho 

My Do 

Natasha Naimo 

Noah Elwell 

Noelia Sanchez 

Olivia Carpenter 

Olivia Goodrich 

Oscar Figueroa 

Payton Smith 

Peyton Coleman 

Peyton Scheschy 

Rachel Summers 

Reilly Middlebrooks 

Reis MacNeill 

Ryan Kvamme 

Sabrina Eller 

Sandra Razo-Jimenez 

Savannah Utz 

Shae Fairchild 

Sharon Manivanh 

Sierra McGuire 

Skylar Erickson 

Spencer Tyson 

Stephanie San Pedro- 

Ramirez 

Symone Bolden 

Talia Samuelson 

Tanis Lee 

Thomas Nelson 

Treyvone Bolar 

Trinity Forristall 

Ty Emmons 

Tyler Richardson 

Valeria Munoz 

Velen Blanco-Duenas 

Viktoriya Yakimchuk 

Wendy Dietzman 

Wesley Lippard 

Yulianna Romo-Perez 

Yun Seong Chang


Hawk, Abraham 

Impact Students in 2013-2014 

2014 

Spencer Hochwalt, Andrew Bell, Alex Jabusch 

There will be many changes in the school staff for the 

year 2013-14. Three sixth grade teachers and one staff 

member are leaving, and six other teachers are changing 

assignments, although Mrs. Mitchell is only leaving for one 

year. (See below is the full list of changes, as provided by 

our principal, Mr. Brown.) 

Mr. Brown was kind enough to also provide information 

about the new staff coming to this school. 

“Mr. Decker will be teaching Social Studies, coming 

from another school in Auburn. Mrs. Detwiler will be the 

new LAP teacher, coming from another school in Auburn. 

Mr. Vaughns will be a new counselor. One more teacher 

to hire. One more administrator to hire (to replace 

Wheeler).” 

Mrs. Hammond currently teaches a majority of seventh 

grade language arts. Next year, she will teach only eighth 

grade language arts. Mrs. Hammond and Mrs. Hubbell will 

also be teaching two new language arts electives that are 

being introduced next year, speech and creative writing, 

respectively. 

Ms. Winter, who is moving to sixth grade social studies 

next year, commented, 

“… I’m super excited. It’s gonna be a hoot. And, I get to 

work with Mr. Brown… I’m ready for something new.” 

An anonymous seventh grader shared his thoughts with 

us about the new teaching assignments for next year. 

“I feel really sad that Mrs. Hawk is leaving. She is my 

favorite teacher of all time. I feel that the rest of MBMS 

will agree with me when I say she will be solely missed.” 

“As for the other teachers, I am sure that all of them 

are awesome and I am excited to have an opportunity to 

have some of them next year.” 

As is quite obvious, the leaving teachers will be dearly 

missed, but still, good will come of it, as new teachers will 

come to this school. 

Another anonymous eighth grade student shared his 

thoughts. 

“Mrs. Abraham was a great teacher. She had her own 

unique teaching style, and she always made her lessons 

fun. I feel sorry for the students that won’t get to have 

her next year.” 

Teachers are people too, they require, not unlike the 

solar system, an ever changing and revolving environment 

in order to feel content. 

Change is a part of life that can be delayed but never 

avoided. Once it has come it must be embraced. 

Retire 

Andrew Bell & Spencer Hochwalt 

Two of our sixth grade teachers are retiring 

this year, and will be dearly missed. 

Mrs. Hawk is retiring after having been teaching 

for 37 years, six of which have been at Mt. Baker. 

“[I am retiring because] I need to see my mom 

more, I want to find warmer weather, and I want 

to stay home with my new dog.” 

Mrs. Abraham taught language arts as well as 

social studies. Her favorite thing about Mt. Baker 

Middle School is the great students that she had 

the opportunity to educate for their three years 

at Mt. Baker Middle school. 

She said that her favorite part of Mt. Baker 

Middle School was, “The kids. The teachers are 

great too. Working with the sixth grade team has 

been a highlight.” 

Mrs. Abraham stated, “I’ve worked long enough 

and I want to play again.” 

If Mrs. Abraham had the chance to teach any 

other subject at this school she would have chosen 

to be a library teacher or second shop. 

Teacher Moves 

Hawk – Retiring 

Abraham – Retiring 

Mitchell – Moving out of state 

Davis – Moving to eighth grade science from sixth grade 

science. 

Winter – Moving to sixth grade social studies from sixth 

grade language arts and leadership 

Cowan – Moving back to eighth grade science from two 

classes of eighth grade algebra and seventh grade prealgebra 

Wheeler – Leaving to work in another district 

Millang – Leaving LAP (Learning Assistance Program) to 

teach math instead 

Brown – Moving to sixth grade Social Studies from 

eighth grade U.S. History as well as other sixth and seventh 

grade classes 

Root – Moving to sixth grade science from eighth grade 

science 

Pho.to.com




Preparing for High School 

Sara Koenig & Jasmin Vital 

Around this point every year, many eighth graders start preparing 

for high school. But, most don’t even know how to conduct 

themselves or even, what to expect. 

First and foremost, everyone should have priorities. Prioritizing 

will help students figure out what is most important to them in 

their high school and college career, maybe even in their adult 

lives. 

One question every student should be asking right about now is, 

“What is most important to me?” 

Read the following sentences and categorize them according to 

importance. Write them down accordingly and whenever you feel 

indecision climbing on your back, pull it out and decide if these 

are still the right priorities for you. (Listen to your gut, not your 

peers, when you decide. They may just be changing your decision.) 

Your education throughout high school and college. 

Your social life, parties, dating, friends, popularity, and 

more. 

Opportunities, how far will you go for the perfect high 

school experience? 

Your athleticism, will you dedicate yourself to one sport? 

Or will you do many? Maybe, you won’t do any at all. 

And, your spirituality, how important is it to you. Some 

people need to worship their deity every day in everything 

they do, others don’t as high dedication. 

For some people one or more of these don’t matter at all, for 

others they all do. 

Prioritizing is simply deciding which is more important. Tasks 

that fall under this should always come first. When doing your 

homework, if assigned too much, prioritize and get what you can 

done. You may be able to put off a project for a day, but you can’t 

for a week. 

If education is important to you then looking up tips for a clean 

study space, organizing your life, and keeping a planner might be 

important things to you. 

If athleticism is important maybe taking on a workout plan and 

practicing with your friends. If you’re a gymnast or a cheerleader 

have one of your friends in the sport correct mistakes, 

football and basketball is a team sport, gather your team and 

practice for the next year. 

If spirituality is important maybe doing daily meditation or 

prayer. 

For the opportunists, apply for a summer job or a scholarship, 

take advantage of travel opportunities. 

And for popularity prone people, spend time with friends, throw 

a pool party, meet with your friends at McDonalds. 

Enjoy it. It goes quickly. 

—Dalton Bair 

Eight Grade 

“I’m not excited 

or frightened 

because [high 

school] just 

seems like it will 

be a bigger middle 

school.” 

High School Expectations 

What do you anticipate the experience to be? 

Compiled by Sara Koenig & Jasmin Vital 

“[I’m excited and 

frightened about 

high school] because 

there’s a 

lot more people 

than in middle 

school.” 

CreativeCommons.org 

—Rebecca Wilson 

Eighth Grade 

—Zoe Manuel 

Eight Grade 

“[I am] both 

[excited and 

frightened 

about high 

school].” 

“Leave middle school 

behind, [move on 

when you go to high 

school].” 

—Mrs. Koenig 

Seventh Grade Teacher


J. Perez 

‘Gang Activity 

Decreasing’ 

Jessica Perez & Anabell Cervantes 

“Gang activity has been decreasing.” Officer McCluskey 

stated, Auburn Police officer and student resource officer 

to the Auburn School District, 

Some still say it’s a problem here in Auburn. 

If the problem does exist, how do you stay safe from 

gang members? 

“Students can stay safe from gang members by reporting 

anything gang related. It is always good to travel in 

pairs and not be out walking by yourself. If you know of a 

place where there may be gang activity, avoid those 

places,” stated Officer McCluskey. 

Some of the reasons kids want to join gangs or be 

friends with gang members are because they feel they 

need to be protected by them so others won’t hurt them. 

Except joining a gang to protect yourself, doesn’t work. It 

will only put you in harm’s way. Being a gang member, no 

matter what gang, is very dangerous for people and also 

can be dangerous for their families. 

Frequently, gang members that have been arrested 

have been caught with the use of illegal drugs, and that’s 

not keeping you safe, is it? 

Some have cited prevention programs for the decease in 

gang activity in Auburn. 

According to the National Gang Center, “Prevention 

programs are needed to target youths at risk of gang 

involvement, and to reduce the number of youths who join 

gangs.” 

“I don’t really think [gangs] affect anything because 

Auburn ain’t about that gang life.” said eighth grader Dejwon 

Jacobs. 

Most students don’t really see the negative effect gangs 

can bring to the community or to the schools in Auburn , 

but one thing is for sure, they have affected us. 

In 2010, the portables at our school where vandalized, or 

“tagged” by a gang that lives close to our school. The 

portables had to get the spray paint washed off. 

Also recently in 2012, many windows of all the schools in 

Auburn had been broken and had graffiti. So maybe students 

don’t pay much attention, but gangs really do affect 

our school and our city. 

According to Officer McCluskey, “Gangsters are involved 

in criminal activity, including drugs, violence, thefts and 

vandalism. Gang members make people’s neighborhoods 

unsafe.” 

Police use different methods to identify the different 

types of gangs, “street gang”, “criminal street gang”, and 

“youth gang”. They also get a tattoo to mark the gang 

they’re in. 

But how can we stop youths from getting in gangs or 

stop youth gangs? 

McCluckey offered advice to avoid gangs, “Do not look 

like a gang member, walk like a gang member, or even talk 

like a gang member, because you may attract the wrong 

kind of attention. Hang out with kids who are involved in 

school activities or clubs.” 

According to the National Gang Center, ”Intervention 

programs and strategies are needed to provide sanctions 

and services for younger youths who are actively involved 

in gangs to separate them from gangs; and law enforcement 

suppression strategies are needed to target the 

most violent gangs and older, criminally active gang members. 

A balance of prevention, intervention, and suppression 

strategies and programs is likely to be far more 

effective.” 

Officer McCluskey simply advised, “Be with kids who make 

good decisions! This will help you stay safe!”



Yearbook Signing: 

Useful Tips for Meaningful Messages 

Andrew Bell & Alex Jabusch 

With yearbooks ready to be passed out, many students 

struggle to come with ideas to sign others’ annuals. Here 

are a few tips. 

Hags??!!!! Do not write H.A.G.S! 

This can be easily mistaken for Hurt All Good Samaritans. 

Do not harm these innocent Samaritans any longer. 

Learn to sign your yearbook like a normal, Englishspeaking, 

person with these great yearbook signing tips! 

If someone you don’t like or don’t even know asks you to 

sign their yearbook, what are you going to do? 

Say, “No, I don’t like you, go get someone else to sign it,” 

or, “yeah, sure I’ll sign it.” 

Even if you don’t know the person the least you could do 

is say something along the lines of having them in a class 

and telling them it was fun. It is unacceptable to use the 

following: H.A.G.S, impossible to read cursive, have a 

super or awesome summer, and just writing your name. 

If you are going to sign yearbooks you should make it 

meaningful and worth it to the person, compliment the 

person. It’s best if you are good friends with the person 

because you could write favorite memories, or classes 

you had together. 

You can use bubble or box letters and use lots of exclamation 

points for emphasis, it would grab more attention. 

Don’t draw pictures of animals or the really awkward 

smiley faces! 

Don’t leave the smiley on its side put him right side up 

in a circle! In a student survey, four out of five people 

confessed to using the sideways smiley face. 

Honestly speaking, how many students at our school 

are you actually acquainted with? 

If you are going to write in a book that is most likely to 

be forever cherished by the students of Mt. Baker you 

should probably make sure they actually know who you 

are. 

What do you expect someone to say when they look 

back in twenty years? Oh, this person signed my yearbook. 

How quaint. I wish I knew who they were. Don’t be 

that mystery person, sign a yearbook right. 

Also, don’t be a passive signer. 

You can’t just say, “Hey, you’re cool, Bob.” You have to 

make the words that you sign in a yearbook words to 

remember. Be the person that takes up a whole page, or 

even two pages. 

Please spell “you’re” correctly. “Your” is possessive, 

and so am I when people magle the English language in my 

yearbook. 

Just make it memorable! Give that person something to 

remember you by! Be the person who writes the best 

things in yearbooks that everyone remembers! 

For crying out loud you can write the alphabet before 

and after your signature simply to make it interesting. 

So please, sign a yearbook right. 


A. Serratos 

Yearbook Debuts 

Final Week of School 

Jessica Perez 

Many people think of the yearbook as reliving all 

those laughs, and memories that are unforgettable. 

This book is amazing, it bundles all those 

great moments onto all those small pages. This 

year’s yearbook is 140 pages and the day the 

students will get their yearbooks still isn’t known. 

Many students enjoy getting their yearbook 

signed, and writing silly insiders in their best 

friend’s yearbook. But who works behind the 

scenes? Yearbook club has worked very hard in 

putting the yearbook together so “it [would] 

come to life,” said Cathy Dao. 

According to Lyliana Diaz, “It took about nine 

months to finish.” So when you’re getting H.A.G.S 

signed in your yearbook, be sure to thank one of 

those hardworking, intelligent people that helped 

put it together. 

“This year, we were going of a high school 

yearbook, so it’s going to look more like a high 

school yearbook” stated Brianna Martinez. 

Why is that? 

Martinez said, “I was motivated to make it better 

than last year’s yearbook.” 

So now we know the yearbook is going to look 

very professional. Now, do you want to know the 

theme of this year’s yearbook? Of course you do! 

You’ll just have to wait and see with your own 

eyes—available on June 17. 

So don’t forget to get a yearbook this year!

[Event Bulletin Board] [12 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

MBMS Student Billboard 

This Bulletin Board keeps you up to date with some of the recent activities 

that have been happening at Mt. Baker. 

From yearbooks, to art, to music, to more, this informs you of some of 

the school work that your fellow classmates might be involved in. 

Autobiography Project Challenges 

Aaron Baker 

It’s the only thing in seventh grade that actually matters. Therefore, 

it has become the most stressful project of all of middle school. 

All of the seventh graders here at MBMS are relieved to get through 

it, leaving the sixth graders to take their place. 

A sarcastic tip from seventh grader Jonathan Casey to the sixth 

graders was as follows: “Keep persisting, keep working, and know 

that if you stop; you’re dead.” 

Many seventh graders disliked this project because of the amount of 

deadlines and components, while some expressed their appreciation 

of the experience. 

Seventh grader Jalen Forward stated his favorite part of 

the year was the project and creating the friends page. 

Despite completing the project last year. 

eighth grader Evan Polkow reflected that he 

enjoyed seeing the final product completed. 

A. Baker 

Kate Hon 

Music Programs Tour 

Elementary Schools 

A. Baker 

The choir, orchestra, and band students 

all went on a trip to some of the 

elementary schools in the Auburn 

school district on May 21 and 30. 

The fourth and third graders got a 

“sneak peek” of the band and orchestra 

instruments they are able to play 

in fifth grade. Solos were played to 

demonstrate the sound of an instrument. 

As well as the elementary tour, on 

June 7, the choir got to perform in 

Seattle and the orchestra and band 

got to perform in Leavenworth. The 

students had free time to wander 

around in groups with a chaperone 

after they had finished playing. 

Courtesy of B. Carman


[Event Bulletin Board] 

Year End Celebration 


Another year has come and gone, 

but if you work hard you can play hard, 

so as grades go in and yearbooks 

come out ;it is time to celebrate. 

Some of the celebrations according 

to Mr. Brown will be a Eighth Grade 

Celebration is an afternoon to have some fun at school and 

celebrate the end of their middle school days on June 13. 

There will also be a Yearbook 

signing on June 19. 

Last the Eighth Grade Farewell 

Assembly, this is our eighth grade 

promotion. We look forward to 

celebrating our students as they 

move on June 21. 

Mt. Baker P.R.I.D.E. is more than 

a few words it is a way of life and 

we should live by P.R.I.D.E. for the 

rest of our lives. 

Algebra EOC 

Andrew Bell 

As the school year comes to a close the intense amounts of 

testing that students are forced to endure over the course of the 

school year begin to come to an end. 

The eighth grade EOC was administered on the June 4-6. There 

was one section of this test administered each day during these 

three days. 

Unlike MSP the EOC only takes place in the length of one class 

period each day as opposed to 

A. Serratos 

sitting for three hours and disrupting 

the whole schools schedule. 

This test was important and 

will be included on high school 

transcripts so students should 

hope to have done their best. 

Art Students Shine 


Art class with Mrs. Wells is a time to learn new 

art skill. The Art Club got the chance to be able to be 

in a competition. 

Eighth-grader Makayla Cook and sixth-grader Kaitlyn 

Enrico had their art work qualified to be published 

in a book. Mrs. Wells said, “This honor is only 

extended to those that rated in the top 25% nationally.” 

Katerina Zhuravel, a former Mt. Baker student 

also placed in the top 25% with her painting of An 

Eagle In Flight. 

This competition was open to students throughout 

the nation. Celebrating Art was the group who 

hosted the competition. 

Courtesy of N. Wells 

(Top left to right) Makayla Cook and Kaitlyn Enrico, art work that was qualified to be published in a book. (Bottom left to 

right) Katerina Zhuravel, An Eagle In Flight painting and Kevin Avila, work that was submitted for the competition.

All graphics in feature courtesy of MS Clipart 

[Mount Baker Barks] [14 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

What 

GRINDS 

My 

GEARS 

Ashton Serratos, Spencer Hochwalt, Billie Hieronymus, Andrew Bell 

Disagree? The segment ‘What Grinds My Gears’ is 

presented as opinion and does not express the views 

of all MBMS students or The Canine Chronicle. If you 

would like to express your opinion, write us a letter 

and you may be published in our next edition. 

Do you know what Spoils my morning? 

REALLY LONG MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS. It’s like 

a really bad rash that never goes away no matter 

what. They suck... 

We don't need to spend 50 billion hours (of our 

“precious” class time) to listen about how well each 

and every one of the 72 thousand baseball players 

did at yesterday's game… Tell me who won or lost 

and that's enough for me. 

We also don't need to hear you giggle hysterically 

into the microphone each time you pass it on to the 

next person. 

Last time I checked, we don't let hyenas enroll at 

our school. 

I personally believe that we should throw out all 

the original, bland morning announcement material 

and stick to the stuff that really matters... The facts 

about potatoes. I mean come on... Those facts are 

nuggets of gold. Who wouldn't want to know that in 

1974, an Englishman named Eric Jenkins grew 370 

pounds of potatoes from one 

plant? I know I was really itching 

to know that. 

Seriously though… HOW DARE 

YOU waste 10 minutes of MY LIFE 

listening to your face muscles 

flap on and on about sports? 

And that there is what grinds 

my gears. 

—AS 

S. Waraich


[Mount Baker Barks] 

You know what 

really grinds my 

gears? Internet 

Explorer. No matter 

how many times 

people tell me to use 

it, I will still refuse. It 

will always be horrible 

and slow. 

There are many other browsers that one could 

use instead of Internet Explorer, and most of these 

are ten times faster. 

No, it is not a matter of the internet speed; Internet 

Explorer will still take an eon to process that you 

pushed ‘enter,’ or hit the refresh button. 

It is not only the speed that is irritating. It always 

pops up with some stupid dialogue box that asks, 

“Do you want Auto-Complete on?” “By sending 

information…” BLAH BLAH BLAH! IF I WANTED IT ON, I 

WOULD HAVE TURNED IT ON IN THE SETTINGS! 

Another of the thousands of problems it has is 

when you type something into the URL box, not the 

live search box which is incredibly small and tucked 

away in the corner, it will try to send you to a website 

instead of a search engine. “The website 

‘chicken noodle soup’ could not be found.” 

EVERY SINGLE TIME! 

Yet we all know that Internet Explorer is actually 

good at one thing; downloading another browser. 

—SH 

You know what really Grinds My Gears? People 

who choose not spell correctly over text messaging 

or social media. 

If you’re the kind of person that either alternates 

between capital and lowercase letters on Facebook, 

replaces letters in everyday words with numbers, or 

even shortens the word “you” in text messages, I’m 

deleting you, blocking you, and I’m uninviting you 

from my birthday party because I have chosen not 

to associate with people whose IQ is lower than your 

average squirrel. 

Even the leaders of companies like Apple and 

Android got so tired of seeing and hearing about 

people with horrible grammar they invented free 

tools such as spell check and autocorrect. Emphasis 

on the word free so there is no excuse for you not 

to use it. 

Some people use excuses like “I was in a hurry” or 

“I’m a lazy texter”; well, I’m sorry that I have to be 

the one to break it to you, but electronics and internet 

just were not made for you. 

So next time you think about laying your hand an 

electronic device with a keyboard and spelling every 

word incorrectly, don’t, 

because you obviously 

aren’t worthy of having 

the advantage to connect 

with people over the 

internet. 

—BH 

You know what really 

grinds my gears? YO-YOs!!! 

These children's toys are 

supposed to be easy to 

master. 

Yet, one can spend 7 

hours and 48 minutes to 

attempt to pull this infuriating piece of plastic back 

up to your hand. In defiance to the intricate and very 

complex laws of gravity, these stupid toys come up 

the string and back into the hand of only the trained 

professional. 

These professionals can also make something 

called walking the dog. 

This trick is obviously a poorly obscured way to 

make fun of the people who actually exercise and 

walk dogs. Why do these people have to get so good 

at something so pointless! ? 

I wish that something so simple would just not be 

so addictive. This simple stone age device continually 

looks incredible and interesting at a first glance, 

but after realizing that you can’t do it you can easily 

lose interest in this toy. If you are really determined, 

you might save your money in order to buy a motorized 

YO-YO. 

This would also be a waste of time because YO- 

YOs are annoying and will easily consume your life in 

a conspiracy theory to take over Venus. YO-YO 

hating for life. Until I buy a new YO-YO, at least. 

—AB 

S. Waraich


A Year in Reflection 

Kate Hon & Aaron Baker 

Through this school year we’ve been through quite 

a tidily bit. No one can forget the iconic state standardized 

tests, such as the MSP, MAPS, and, most 

recently, the EOC. 

Despite this, we still have harnessed (yet abused) 

the ability to have fun in school. For example, we 

have had several pep assemblies; we have been able 

to use our iPods for music and chew gum briefly 

before Winter Break, all in all, school has been easy 

and fun. 

Let’s focus on some of the very first memories. We 

all started out the school year as rosy cheeked little 

kids. Some of us still are. Our overall evolution since 

then has been so radical that many of us cannot even 

believe some of the habits or work ethic we exercised 

when we first came in to the school. 

Many of the sixth graders entered the school excited 

to get going, many of the sixth graders are now 

senators in the ASB and might be senators again next 

year, if their peers thought them fit for that duty. 

No one can forget several milestone events, such 

as the Valentines Dance, the School Play; Annie, Way 

to Go Lunches sponsored by the PTA, and the PRIDE 

breakfast. Several students were able to participate 

in these if they had good grades and permission from 

their teachers. 

There were many sports that our athletes performed 

in. They were fast pitch, basketball, track, 

baseball, volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling, football, 

and soccer. 

Mt. Baker athletic teams accounted for four league 

titles, including Boys and Girls Basketball, Gymnastics, 

Baseball. The track teams continued their storied 

success, finishing second in their league . The 

league rivalries were competitive as MBMS competed 

with sportsmanship. 

—Makenna Price 

Sixth Grade 

“Doing the play 

[was my favorite 

moment of the 

year].” 

Bulldog P.R.I.D.E. 

What was your favorite part of the school year? 

Compiled by Sara Koenig & Jasmin Vital 

“Pep assemblies 

[were my favorite 

moments of 

the year].” 

CreativeCommons.org 

—Tiano Malietufa 

Seventh Grade 

“Celebrating 

with my 

family and 

having the 

best time of 

my life.” 

—Terrence Barto 

Eighth Grade 

too.” 

—Mr. Kemp 

Computers Teacher 

“My favorite moment 

was coaching my 

[seventh grade] football 

team—not just 

because their were 

athletically gifted, but 

they were great kids

[May 2013 * 17] 


There were a lot of good things that happened at 

this school, but not everything is sunshine, rainbows, 

and puppy dogs. 

All of us have seen some of our classmates at the 

end of the year become lazy toward their school 

work and start to slide because summer is nearly 

there. 

Zachary Monroe, a seventh grader, stated, “Some 

students slack off, but I try to be respectful of others; 

but if they are distracting me, I politely ask them 

to focus on their school work.” 

It’s hard to call this end of year “summer” yet. So 

many projects for both the seventh and eighth graders 

are approaching. The sixth graders might get a 

slight; momentary break, but they, too will face the 

wrath of school next year. 

Sixth grader Emily Bautista, however, disagreed. “I 

would believe someone [if they told me that the end 

of the year is approaching].” 

All in all, the grades are sliding way too fast, faster 

than they ever have in this whole year. It’s impossible 

to blame anything, really, but some benefactors 

might include the algebra and geometry EOCs or the 

seventh grade Autobiography Project; perhaps even 

the sixth grade biography. 

Maybe all these projects at the very end of the year 

are the cause for the tension rising lately. More 

fights have been breaking out and even some of the 

students with the most integrity are starting to lie or 

forget homework. 

As well as fights, more students have been ignoring 

the PDA rule. It can be hard to focus while you know 

that just outside your classroom a “couple” is violating 

PDA. 

MBMS Yearbook & Journalism Staff

[Arts & Entertainment] [18 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

Acts Prepare for 

Talent Show 

Ashleigh Carman & Ashton Serratos 

Twenty-one acts will take the stage at the Mt. 

Baker Middle School talent show on June 18, 

and they all are in very high hopes of impressing 

their rather large audience of 900 students 

and teachers this upcoming Tuesday. 

Some of the acts being featured in this year’s 

show include diabolo (Chinese yo-yo), tap dancing, 

folk dancing, singing, men’s choir, ukulele 

playing, trumpet playing, saxophone playing, 

piano playing, and Mt. Baker’s very own jazz 

band. 

The talent show is being run and coordinated 

by Mt. Baker’s choir and drama teacher Mr. 

Char, band teacher Mr. Paustian, and math 

teacher Mr. Carter. 

Many of the acts have been hammering out 

the kinks in their performances by practicing 

every day after school. This will help to not only 

perfect their acts, but also help diminish their 

fears of performing in front of a live audience. 

Stage fright is very common and it’s better to 

face it head on before the show takes place 

rather than freezing up while performing on the 

stage. 

To help get over stage fright, performers 

could picture the audience in their underwear 

or visualize everyone is a clone of their favorite 

person. 

Practicing as much as they can before the 

show will help. Being positive and not talk bad 

about the performance allows performers to 

succeed too—always picturing success in the 

act. 

Performers should learn to improvise if something 

goes wrong, move around the stage 

rather than staying still, and avoid fidgeting as 

much as possible (it adds pizzazz to your act 

which is a lot more entertaining). 

Most importantly, performers should make 

sure they exude confidence as they perform. 

Being confident in a performance will always 

contribute to a good show. Audience, be sure to 

treat the performers with respect even if you 

dislike the act. It helps the show move more 

swiftly. 

On behalf of the Canine Chronicle staff, we 

wish all the performers a good show. 

Talented 

Students 

Represent Baker 


Some of the most popular reality TV shows have to do 

with the common people’s talent; but what does it take to 

be on a live TV competition? If you want a first-hand 

account of what it’s like, you can always ask eighth 

grader Lauren Smith or seventh grader Jalen Forward. 

Seventh grader Jalen Forward tried out for the Disney 

dance competition show Make Your Mark just last year. 

He made it into the finals on the show with his crew Bx5 

Crew. 

The big prize on the show Make Your Mark was the 

opportunity to be featured in an upcoming episode of 

Disney’s hit TV show Shake It Up along with being featured 

on the TV recording of the competition itself. 

Jalen Forward had the following to say about his experience 

on Make Your Mark, “[The show] was really fun; I got 

to meet a lot of new people and some famous people too. 

My favorite part was on the last day when we were recording 

to be on TV.” 

“Getting to dance and perform in front of a lot of people 

is [my favorite part of dance],” Jalen added. 

Jalen also recently received a scholarship to a dance 

function in California. He attended the event a few weeks 

back and had the following remarks about his time there, 

“[When] I went down there I took many classes from a lot 

of new people; it was a lot of fun.” 

“I’ve been dancing since I was eight years old, and hip 

hop is my favorite style of dance. My favorite choreographer 

is Zsa Bysa,” said Forward. “My friend Isaiah Prescott 

got me into it. He was going to the same studio.” 

A. Serratos 

Another one of Mt. Baker’s talented few is eighth grader 

Lauren Smith. She recently tried out for the singing talent 

show the X-Factor in Denver. 

X-Factor USA began in 2011 after Simon Cowell resigned 

from his former judging position on American Idol. The X- 

Factor had a show already in place in the United Kingdom. 

Both wings of the show have helped bring new artists into 

the music world (such as Leona Lewis, One Direction, 

Cher Lloyd, Olly Murs, Little Mix, and more). 

“I sang ‘Talking to the Moon’ by Bruno Mars at my audition, 

but only got to sing 25 seconds before I got 

stopped…” said Smith. 

The talented eighth grader also gave insight to what 

your audition should be like, “The audition process is very 

strict. I was there in line from 5:30am to 4:00pm. It was 

really hot. It sucked.” Lauren said. “You’re told to ‘dress 

to impress’, have 3 songs picked out and ready to sing 

(when they say three they really mean 5), and be bubbly,” 

she added. 

Lauren had very high hopes for the X-Factor, “I was 

hoping I’d get [to Denver], meet the actual judges, and get 

through to the show,” she commented. 

“I met so many cool people in Denver, they were all 

really nice. I got to take part in a lot of activities there 

also. Plus, the weather was very pleasant.” Said Smith. 

Lauren had not lost hope quite yet, “Maybe [I’ll try out 

again] in a couple years… but I’ll probably go to the Voice 

next time. They don’t ‘torture’ people as much on their 

show, plus they have Adam Levine.” 

Hopeful students try out for the upcoming talent show, judges critique their performances.



[Arts & Entertainment] 

Ventures into Darkness 

Star Trek: Into Darkness is definitely more fast-paced and action packed than its ancestors. NOTE: This movie is definitely a PG-13 

movie. There are many fist and gun fight scenes, which could be considered excessive and unnecessary—most of which end violently 

(blasted off limbs, smashed skulls, etc.)—many space battles, acts of terrorism, and frequent swearing. 

8/10 


2.2/10 

Aaron Baker 

This movie takes place almost immediately after its 2009 prequel, Star Trek. It 

is highly recommended to see the prequel first, as most parts would not 

make sense without the back-story, and would render the viewer completely 

befuddled. Thus, one of the minor flaws of the film. Others might argue, “Of 

course you would have to see the prequel first!” 

For comparison, in The Lord of the Rings, if one started with The Two Towers, 

they could still get a basic idea of what is going on. In Star Trek: Into Darkness, 

the viewer would be confused as to why there are two Spocks. 

The argument that this movie is too like Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan is completely 

invalid. This movie takes place in an alternate time which was caused by 

the Romulans when they entered a space storm and attacked U.S.S. Kelvin, killing 

Kirk’s father (explained more in depth in the first of the new movies). 

This caused many things to go awry and made it so that the storyline would be 

different but recognizable from the original. 

For instance, Khan is still a superhuman, but in the original, he didn’t crush 

people’s heads with his hands. 

Also, Khan never goes into hiding on Q’ronos. 

It features plenty action scenes, some comedy, and drama. It is a perfect movie 

for old Trekkies and people who want to see a good sci-fi. And also, it ends in 

such a way that it perfectly sets up for the beginning of the original television 

series, which may hint at an additional movie. 

Many trekkies loathed the premier of Star Trek: Into Darkness on May 29. 

The movie was an absolute joke. While pleasing in special effects, the story line 

was completely predictable and bland. 

It seems as though J.J. Abrams ran out of ideas for Star Trek, because he used 

the Khan character again. What are you doing, Abrams? We have seen Khan 

THREE TIMES. We are tired of him. 

To follow this, absolutely nothing was surprising. This was probably a combination 

of ridiculous foreshadowing and a cliché hero movie and the fact that the 

whole movie was revealed in the trailers. Everyone on the advertising team 

needs to be fired because there was very little reason for me to see this movie. 

Into Darkness takes the term “action movie” to a whole new level. I felt like the 

special effects directors were just showing off their skills. In several cases, in 

fact, I observed up to 10 second scenes with no script. The whole scene was just 

a special effect. It wasn’t even very good. I mean, Star Wars: A New Hope had an 

excuse; the Death Star was the most groundbreaking special effect ever, but this 

scene (a warp speed chase) didn’t even look very good. 

This movie was completely boring. I would rather sit through four days of Deep 

Space Nine while listening to Benjamin Britten sing a duo about politics that he 

created with Margaret Thatcher, than watch this movie again; and that’s saying 

something. I do not recommend that ANYONE see this movie. One can only hope 

that Abrams is sent out to the Delta Quadrant for creating such a blemish on the 

Star Trek franchise.

[Arts & Entertainment] [20 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

Trends Fade Quickly, 

Some Still Remain in Media 

Olivia Denton & Billie Hieronymus 

A fad is any form of behavior that develops among a 

large population. More commonly known as a trend that 

quickly sweeps the nation or even worldwide. 

They instantly become popular and then over a couple of 

weeks, maybe even months to die out. Some support the 

trends for amusement, while others do it to be part of 

what everyone else is doing. You either absolutely love 

them or hate them entirely. Either way, you see them 

everywhere. 

They can vary from funny and energetic to gruesome 

and painful. 

Fads such as the cinnamon challenge, the salt and ice 

Courtesy of CreativeCoommons.org 

challenge, and the knife song are among some of the more 

damaging fads that can leave scars or even have a negative 

effect on your lungs. 

Mt. Baker students such as Adam Russaw, Sandra Grados, 

Sahanie Shell, and Aulane Mpouli have admitted to 

being some of the many who participated in recent trends 

over the years. 

These teens contributed to the fads from using the 

words “greezin”, “beefin”, and YOLO to playing Temple Run 

and listening to “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen. 

“When one [new] thing showed up, something else came 

up right after,” stated Shell. 

Popular trends like bands and popular songs, internet memes and trends, and games and apps become popular through the school 

year and fall through when new ones are produced. 

One trend that diffused quickly was Gangman Style, a 

dance move that Korean singer PSY introduced into the 

United States through YouTube. 

“People (around school,) were just randomly Gangnam 

Styling,” answered Mpouli when asked if she noticed the 

trends happening around our school. 

“They’re stupid,” commented Russaw about fads altogether. 

Another group of fads were centered on slang words and 

abbreviations. “YOLO,” a popular abbreviation meaning, 

“you only live once”. This was started and spread by famous 

singer Drake. It became what many kids call an 

overused and annoying fad pretty quickly. 

Another commonly used fad word in 2013 is beefin’. A 

word that means, “A verbal confrontation between family 

members or a social group.” T 

his particular word is currently used when two people 

argue and the third person wants to draw the attention to 

them. Students can use the word beefin in the phrase “why 

are you guys beefin’.” 

Over the years, students have also used the word 

“greezin.” This word can be used in the form of “greezin,” 

“greezy,” or “greez.” Greezin is a word that informs someone 

that they’re being rude or that something they have 

done was acceptable to them. For example, “That’s greezy 

yo.” 

The “Harlem Shake” phenomenon became popular and 

some students are still into it. It consists of humans randomly 

dancing the “Harlem Shake” song. One person 

starts off dancing or walking around. When the beat drops, 

everyone gets wild with their crazy costumes and hats. 

Although it isn’t the real Harlem Shake dance, it spread 

worldwide and a numerous amount of people were doing it, 

including the Miami Heat NBA basketball team. 

“These trends were just entertainment for school and 

social media,” stated Sahanie Shell. 

Sandra Grados said, “They were just meaningless.” 

These trends spread quickly around the world through 

social media. Adults may have gotten interested just as 

much as kids. 

We see a lot of these trends around school as well as 

outside of school.


[Arts & Entertainment] 

The Canine Chronicle Staff Debates Trends in Pop Culture 

Unclean Pools 

The wave pool at Wild Waves is used by many people in a 

day, and you never know where they have been beforehand. 

Do you feel the pool’s cleanliness is questionable? 

Summer Plans 

Lots of people already have plans for summer. Some are 

going out of state to go on vacations with their families, 

while others are staying at home and sleeping all day. Do 

you have any plans besides catching up on sleep? 

HAGS 

Every year, there is a number of people who write 

HAGS (Have a great summer) in your yearbook because 

they usually have nothing better to say or just don’t 

know you all that well enough to write something more. 

Is this saying still ‘in’? 

I-5 Bridge Safety 

The bridge over Skagit River was stated as “no longer 

functional for its task” in the 2012 National Bridge Inventory. 

On May 24, this 58-year-old I-5 Bridge collapsed, 

taking two cars with it. Do you feel safe going over old 

bridges such as this one? 

Desensitized Media Violence 

In Moore, Oklahoma, a tornado killed at least 24 people, 

including nine children. Do you think these tragedies 

are being desensitized by violent movies and video 

games? 

Summer Movies Sequels 

Several movies including Grown Ups 2, Despicable Me 2, 

Monsters University, and The Smurfs 2 are all coming out 

in July. Do you like any of these sequels? 

Courtesy of CreativeCoommons.org 

Congratulations! 

Mackenzie Brown, former 

Canine Chronicle 

editor and WGMG columnist 

, was named Editor-in 

-Chief of Auburn- 

Riverside’s In Flight 

newspaper. 

Brown was an integral, founding member of The Canine Chronicle 

during the 2010-2011 school year. 

She served as a full-year journalism student and received one 

of three journalism awards at MBMS. 

Several other former Canine Chronicle reporters have served 

on the In Flight staff; including Dylan Johnston, Alex Vasquez, and 

Karlee Johnson. Countless others have served as staffers, despite 

not being in journalism at MBMS. 

Again, congratulations Mackenzie and In Flight staff!

[Sports] [22 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

Gets Help to Finish First 


Our varsity baseball team has been doing a great job this 

season; they have won six games and lost only two, finishing 

in a first place tie with powerhouse Raiier. 

They have beat North Tapps twice, first they won 8 to 3 

and the second time they won 9 to 1, and our team has also 

beat Olympic twice. First, they won 11 to 3 and the second 

time they won 14 to 1. The baseball team has beat both 

Cascade and Rainier once. Our varsity baseball has lost to 

Cascade 7 to 1 and to Rainier 5 to 1. 

Mr. Vatne has said that his team has been doing well this 

season, stating, “We lost a lot of players in the starting 

due to injuries, but the players picked up the slack. Also, 

we have several players on the team who are new to baseball 

,and they are showing a lot of improvement.” 

Garrett Miller the pitcher and third base man, said, 

Seventh Grade Baseball 

Swings for Fences 

Cody Zipp 

This year we have two full teams of seventh 

grade baseball. Both teams have been fighting 

through the season to beat other teams. 

One of the teams was coached by Mr. Lubash 

and the other team was coached by Mrs. Koenig. 

Also this year on Mrs. Koenig’s team we saw a 

seventh grade girl Savannah Webber play for her 

team. 

When asking if it was any different Mrs. Koenig 

said, “She is the only one with a ponytail.” 

Outfielder Webber has stated, ,”It’s a little different; 

it’s all boys instead of girls. They give me a 

lot of confidence and motivation.” 

Mrs. Koenig said that this is a great team because 

of the players’ attitudes during the games. 

Webber said her team has done very good this 

season and that they are talented and supportive. 

When asking Mr. Lubash he stated, “Our team is 

great and fun to coach. We were 6 –1 on the 

season.” 

Third base player Brendan McGraw says, “[We] 

did pretty good.” 

For the player that cheered the team on the 

most Mr. Lubash said it would be Kenny Miller and 

their manager, Maxwell Parsons. 

Webber said for her team it would be Cameron 

Shute. 

“We’re amazing, not perfect, but really coming together to 

work together.” 

Left fielder and Jared Bernardo, stated, “Fairly good, I 

think we can improve a little.” 

As the season came to an end, we asked Mr. Vatne how 

he thought the team would end the season. 

Mr. Vatne responded, “I expect the players will improve, 

do their best, and have fun.” 

Second base player Colin Mattson believed, “It will end 

good.” 

Since this year the varsity baseball team had so many 

players that were new to baseball and were playing for the 

first time, Mr. Vatne chose three players he believed have 

improved the most. Those three players are Kevin Avila, 

Bryce Osburn, and Alfredo Reyes. 

When asking Bernardo who he thought the most improved 

was, he stated, “I would have to say Avila.” 

Mattson also agreed that the most improved player on 

their team was Kevin Avila. 

Every team has one person who is always cheering on 

the team and is the loudest. 

MBMS Yearbook 

Miller and Mattson said that person is Josh Tiegs, but 

Mattson also stated, “There is not only one person that 

cheers the team on the most.” 

While, Bernardo said that Colin Mattson was the one who 

cheered the team on the most. 

There is always a reason why a team is good and wins 

many games, so we asked what that reason was for the 

baseball team. 

Mr. Vatne said it is because, “We have a lot of good players 

and they support each other. Their strengths are that 

we have a balanced team with no real superstars and we 

support each other whenever someone makes a mistake 

and get excited when a player does something good.” 

Bernardo said, “We all get along and we all love baseball.” 

Mattson said, “It is that we all communicate and back 

each other up.” 

While Miller stated that it was because they have 

“special bonds” and that they are friendly to each other, 

which helps them play so well. 

Our varsity baseball team puts all their effort in during games but still having a little fun. Both JV teams, (pictures on the bottom 

right), are putting all their effort in to win the games.


[Sports] 

Run Fast, Turn Left 

Track Continues Tradition with Tough Finish 

Olivia Denton 

This year’s varsity track team has showed outstanding 

hard work in practice and when it comes to competition 

time! These athletes compete hard with the other schools 

and show good sportsmanship while doing it. 

Seventh grader Amy Nguyen said, “All of these athletes 

have something special about them. We have a great 

team.” 

Jason Brown Jr. stated, “We are very talented in many 

ways.” 

Baker’s second meet on May 16 was against Olympic 

middle school. With Olympic only having seven girls eligible 

to run, Baker dominated, beating them 95.6 to just 8.3 

points. 

Seventh grader, Riley Tew came in first place in the mile 

getting 6:44. Jhordin Prescott took first place in the 110 

hurdles getting 18.7 seconds. 

On the boys side, Baker beat Olympic 74 to 31. Jason 

Brown and Aariq White had great high jumps, jumping 5’2”. 

Josh Jarbah finished first in the 200 with a time of 27.3. 

Andy Starkel took first in the 75 hurdles with a 12.8 second 

finish. Payton Trujillo threw 35’9’’ in the shot put! 

Aariq White placed first in the 400 meter dash getting 

59.7 seconds. 

A. Cowan 

These athletes work hard during practice and compete well during meets. 

“I just try to get personal bests in all of my events,” 

stated Jason Brown Jr. 

Nguyen stated, “I prepare myself by stretching and 

thinking of my techniques.” 

“My team motivates me a lot,” said Jarbah. 

The track coaches help their athletes out so much. 

They’re very encouraging to these students. The coaches 

get the players motivated and focused before an important 

race. 

“I really like our coaches. They’re great and they teach 

us so much,” said eighth grader, Patricia Phitamma. 

Jarbah said, “We have great coaches, I like how they 

push us to do our best in every event we have!” 

In a meet to break the tie against Rainier on June 6, both 

the boys and girls varsity teams took a tough loss. The 

girls lost by just five points ,while the boys lost by 23. 

For the boys, Starkel took first in the 75 meter hurdles 

with a time of 11.9 seconds. Aariq White took first in the 

800 meter and the mile, getting 2:20 on the 800, and 

improving his mile time by one second getting 4:57. 

On the girls side, Amy Nguyen placed first in the 400 

meter getting 1:09. Kovalchuk used her muscles and threw 

33’6”. 

The team has a multiple amount of leaders that lead 

stretches, get motivating teammates. These leaders are 

usually eighth graders that the seventh graders look up to. 

The last meet took place on June 10, both girls and 

boys ran Tapps and Cascade of the track. 

Mckenzi Williams broke two individual records of the 110 

hurdles and the 75 hurdles. The 4x100 relay team broke a 

district record getting 53.3 seconds. 

Vasiliy Mazurok jumped 16’4” in long jump, and Aariq 

White beat his personal record and jumped 5’4 in high 

jump. Lastly, The 4x200 swept their competition for the 

last time, that team included Aariq White, Adrian Sanchez, 

Josh Jarbah, and Jose Mayo. 

The track team did great this season with both teams 

only losing one meet. The eighth graders on the team were 

very proud of their accomplishments through out the 

season. 

Sixth Grade Track 

Cody Zipp 

The boy’s sixth grade track team took home an 

impressive win on May 23 beating Cascade 92 to 8; 

the sixth graders took first in every event, second 

in every event; save three, and third in every 

event; getting almost every point available. 

Mr. Brown, coach of the sixth grade track team, 

stated that they’re “very encouraging and supportive, 

and I can tell they are truly excited to be a 

part of their middle school track team”. 

Coach Brown said that he enjoys coaching sixth 

grade track by stating “I enjoy that there aren’t 

that many sports for sixth graders so they are 

excited to be a part of the track team”. 

The girl’s sixth grade track team also took home 

an impressive win against Cascade beating them 

92 to 3. 

Baker took first in every event, took second in 

every event but one, and took third in every event. 

Mrs. Lindgren, coach of the girl’s team, stated 

that “[The girls] are great! Their positive and they 

lift each other up.” 

Coach Lindgren also said that she enjoys coaching 

sixth grade track, “They’re bubbly and new at 

the sport, and they listen to their coach well” 

Both coaches feel that they win and take home 

the title for the school.

[Sports] [24 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

A. 

MBMS 

Cowan 

Yearbook 

The annual staff student’s basketball game is an opportunity for male and female athletes to compete alongside each other. 

Volleyball Teams Work Hard 

Jhordin Prescott & Billie Hieronymus 

The end of the fourth quarter is coming closer than 

ever and with it, volleyball. 

Both the varsity and seventh grade teams have had a 

strong season with Coach Lev’s Varsity going 3-5, Mr. 

Jacob’s seventh grade team going 4-4, Ms. Hammonds 

seventh grade team going 6-2, and Mrs. Utu’s seventh 

grade team going undefeated. These dedicated athletes 

have grown so much this year! 

Eighth grader Taylor Carstens stated, “We’ve grown as 

a whole by how we start conversations with each other, 

when we used to not even talk at all.” 

Eighth grader Kayla Clark also agreed with Carstens 

saying, “We’re communicating a lot better and we’re 

learning each other’s abilities.” 

Communicating is not only a key concept in varsity 

sport, but in seventh grade volleyball as well, as Viktoriya 

Roshchuk said: 

“At first we were just our own individuals, but now we 

really work as a team.” 

A lot of people have their favorite parts of a sport, 

whether it’s the practices or even just the thrill of the 

game, eighth grader, Kayla Clark, shared what hers is: 

“I like that we get to have the varsity high school volleyball 

coach and the learning experience.” 

Varsity eighth grader, Olivia Bethea, confessed, “[I like] 

getting to know more people.” 

Volleyball is not only a fun game to watch, but it also 

requires great determination to become your best. 

Some things that every team has are values which help 

you be better at the game and be a better overall player. 

Campbell explained her values: 

“Play as a team and keep each other up. And let the 

coach be the coach.” 

This year our Mt. Baker varsity coach Mr. Warring 

stepped down as the eighth grade coach and let Riversides 

own volleyball coach, “Coach Lev” step in. 

“I'm really sad because I was really excited to have [Mr. 

Warring] as a coach because he is a really good one and 

has good values, but I think that Coach Lev has been a 

really good coach,” commented Campbell on the topic of 

Mr. Warring stepping down from coaching varsity volleyball. 

“I can understand it because he has a lot of stuff going 

on right now and I like that we get to have the varsity high 

school volleyball coach and the learning experience” 

added Kayla Clark on the subject. 

When asked what her favorite part of Baker’s volleyball 

team was, seventh grader Viktoriya Roshchuk responded, 

“The coaches.” 

Coaches are a huge part of all six of these volleyball 

teams at Mt. Baker. The players look up to them because 

they work hard to attend practices and do what they can 

to help all the girls reach their full potential, even if that 

means having to be a little stricter to get the job done. 

Whether you participated in this year’s volleyball program 

or were a student/parent in the stands, you can 

easily tell that this year’s seventh and eighth grade volleyball 

girls worked their hardest and had a great season. 

Sixth Grade Volleyball 


Not only did varsity have a fantastic season, 

but so did the sixth grade teams, 

coached by Mrs. Swanson and Mrs. Walker. 

When asked what they love most about 

their team Mrs. Swanson said: 

“I like that its sixth grade and we are working 

on learning the game and sportsmanship 

instead of having the pressure of winning.” 

Mrs. Walker agreed saying, “[I love that] 

they work together, they have fun, and are 

supportive of each other”. 

As sixth graders, they have this opportunity 

to learn the game and make themselves 

better. 

When asked who on the team she thinks 

improved the most she replied, “Rachel Lee.” 

The coaches this season saw a lot of improvement 

in their teams. 

Mrs. Swanson believed that one thing her 

whole team mostly improved on was their 

use of two or three hits to get the ball over 

the net when they came in with little to no 

experience, while Mrs. Walkers team developed 

better basic skills such as calling out 

the ball and yelling each other’s names. 

The sixth grade teams ended with a great 

season—Mrs. Swanson’s team finishing 4-1 

and Mrs. Walkers going 3-2.


[Sports] 

R e c o r d B r e a k e r s M a k e H i s t o r y 

Olivia Denton 

A. Cowan 

Eighth graders, Keegan Dolan and Aariq White(pictured) break 

the Pacer record this year by just one lap. 

This year, two students made history by breaking the 

eighth grade Pacer record that was originally set by 

former eighth grader, Aaron Nguyen, who got 111 laps. 

This year, eighth graders Aariq White and Keegan Dolan 

beat that record by just one lap getting 112. 

Both eighth graders now hold the record for sixth, seventh, 

and eighth grade Pacer tests. The sixth grade record 

is 96 laps, and the seventh grade record is 102 laps. 

“I feel really good after I break a record,” stated White. 

Dolan stated, “I feel accomplished.” 

Both students really enjoy running but only when it’s 

raining. Dolan doesn’t like running in the sun! 

Aariq White now has five records that he has beat in his 

middle school years. That includes all three Pacer records, 

the mile record, and the Bulldog run record which 

is now 5:19. 

White ran a 5:15 mile in PE class, but trimmed 17 seconds 

off of his time and ran a 4:58 mile in a track meet 

against Olympic. During a track meet against Rainier, 

White beat his record by just a second getting 4:57. 

Dolan and White are both very great athletes. Keegan 

plays soccer and basketball and is also a runner! White 

plays basketball and he runs track! Both runners are long 

distance runners, running for a long time without being 

tired. 

White has already been talked to by cross country 

coaches at Auburn-Riverside High School, wanting to see 

him on the team in high school. These accomplishments 

are great for these student-athletes. They now will hold 

the record until someone else beats the sixth, seventh or 

eighth grade boys record for the Pacer test. 

Pointless Sports Make Little Sense 


For thousands of years, people, around the world, have played sports. Starting at 

Greece, with their Olympics, sports spread out around the world fast. Each one was 

difficult: a workout. Each sport required power. Now, the theme is flipping. 

Some new sports “invented’’ are so messed up it’s embarrassing to mention anything 

about them. Still, it won’t hurt to mention what sports never to get hooked to. 

To begin with, one sport that fits this topic is cricket. First of all, the name “cricket” is 

already puzzling. Nothing connects the sport with the insect. What also doesn’t make 

sense is the rules for runs. If the batter hits, only one player runs each time. It’s up to 

the umpire to decide. The way our school teaches cricket allows two people to run at 

once. Not only does it make sense, it also provides more of a challenge for both teams. 

This is the reason why sports are 

exciting to play. 

In an interview with eighth grader, 

Chris Ceja, he said, “[In Mt. Baker 

P.E.], I liked cricket.” 

Still, the sport apparently very 

cautious. Games are only played in 

dry and light weather. 

Though cricket is practically the 

same sport as baseball, why can’t 

cricket games be played rain or 

shine, just like baseball? 

In addition, a sport with, literally, 

no sense at all, is hermit crab racing. 

(Only, people are not involved at 

all.) 

They just cheer on their hermit 

crab and hope that it’s the first one 

out of the ring. Yes, that’s the whole 

point of the game. 

Many hermit crabs are placed at 

the center of a big circle, and the 

crabs just crawl around. The first 

Two eighth graders, Isaac Crawford and Allan Saelor, ompete in their nacho-eating contest. 

one out of the circle wins. 

People are not allowed to touch their crab. Sometimes the hermit crabs fall asleep. 

Sucks for the fans. Their crab needed a break. By taking the crabs for a race, people not 

only waste their time but also the crabs. 

Furthermore, the world has competitive eating. This “sport”, for some reason, was 

made; most likely because some person loved food so much he made others eat lots of it 

too. That is, basically, the whole point of the sport. 

Whichever competitor consumes the most, he or she wins. So, the whole event kind of 

seems to be an excuse for overeating. These competitions take various time lengths (and 

food sizes). Ranging from 184 chicken wings (long form) to 20 hard-boiled eggs, people 

have been consuming lots. 

Of course, records were set too. For 

example, a 9 lb. cheeseburger was 

eaten in 27 minutes, and 20 lbs of rice 

balls were eaten in half an hour. This is 

very risky because people get too 

stressed out and actually can get heart 

attacks. 

One of the nastiest parts of this 

sport is the throw ups. Especially for 

those that recently started competing. 

It’s not much of a wonder too. Try 

eating 284 chicken wings in 30 min. 

(record), and you will find out. 

Still, hundreds of people compete in 

these events. Lots of records continue 

to appear and more people too. 

About 600 million people play all 

different kinds of sports in the world. 

But, do they really play sports? 

D. Bronitskiy 

If sport means an athletic activity 

requiring skill or prowess, these sports 

definitely don’t fit in this category.

[Mount Baker Barks] [26 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

June 

Locker 

Lottery 

Is it always is hard to choose lockers for locker lottery, 

six students were chosen. Eight grader Evan 

Polkow and Jennifer Gonzales, seventh graders Jalen 

Forward and Jordyn Jaeckel, and sixth graders 

Fatima Picazo, Jesus Guerrero-Munoz are our students 

this month’s article Locker Lottery. 

Ashleigh Carman, Anabell Cervantes, Jessica Perez 

What do you plan on doing this summer? 

JF-Hanging out with my brother and go on a vacation. 

JJ- Having a “swag-tastic” time at Wild Waves, 

hang out with friends and eat. 

JGM- Play soccer. 

FP- Be with my family or hang out. 

JG- Go to Oregon, Mexico, and California. 

What is your opinion on ASB elections? 

JF- It’s fun to vote even when we are old enough. 

JJ- They are good because it gives students the 

chance to be themselves. 

What is one thing you DON’T want 

people to sign in your yearbook? 

JF-DON’T PUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER! 

JJ- “Text me over the summer” and don’t put your 

number. 

JGM- Bad words. 

FP-That they don’t like me or something. 

JG-“I’ll miss you”… like no…. you won’t even remember 

me. 

EP- I don’t want them to write SUPER big. 

What was your favorite part about 

The Autobiography Project? 

JF- The friends page. 

JJ- My One Direction choice assignment. 

EP- The final product. 

What is something on you bucket 

list? 

JF- Buy a husky. 

JJ- Jump out of an airplane. 

EP- Win the lottery for $6.2 billion. 

What grinds your gears? 

JF- People that don’t try hard. 

JGM- My brothers. 

FP-When people make noises with their mouths. 

What has been your favorite part of 

this school year? 

JF-Making the autobiography. 

JJ- Track. 

JGM- Lunch. 

FP-Meeting friends. 

EP- Band. 

What are you going to miss the 

most about Mt. Baker? 

JG-The pep assemblies. 

EP- My teachers. 

JGM- Seeing my friends. 

FP- Seeing my friends. 

Pho.to.com

[June 2013 * 23] 27] 

Few Summer Holidays: New, Improved August 


August is the worst time of year. It’s at the 

end of summer; it’s hot out. You’ve done 

everything fun and you can’t find anything to 

do. 

So what are you going to do, it’s easy, find 

a holiday and celebrate 

it. The only problem 

is there 

are no 

“Steven” day you would play x-box and jump 

off roofs. On a free money day, just go steal 

free money. 

Eighth grader Tanner George would create 

a holiday to celebrate the sport of baseball 

that would be celebrated by baseball players, 

with baseball related events. 

With August being the hottest 

part of the summer 

people are in 

need 

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons and simple.m.wikipedia.org 

You could also go over to the Muckleshoot 

Reservation and set off some fireworks on a 

nice night. 

In the small holiday of family fun month, 

living in the northwest is an advantage because 

you and your family could go to places 

like Lake Chelan or the Olympic Mountains. 

Many people also think that this is also a 

good time for National Ice Cream Sandwich 

Day. Also you can just give up trying to find 

something to do because of lazy day on the 

tenth. 

Have a good August. 

[Mount Baker Journalism Staff] [Life] 

June 

Horoscopes 


Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18) 

You will soon discover that toast is 

far superior to anything breakfast 

cereal has to offer. 

Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20) 

The awkward wiggling of fingers does 

not make you magical. 

Aries (March 21 – April 19) 

Instead of taking a selfie, try to use 

the timer option on your camera. It 

looks more sophisticated. And if you 

are a fan of duck-faces, beware of 

Elmer Fudd. 

The Ice Cream Sandwich is an American classic and is a great way to cool off. 

big 

important holidays 

in August. Sure 

there are some small goofy ones 

like, National Mustard Day, but it is hard to 

find ways to celebrate them. Some people 

want some smaller holidays to become big, 

recognized like VJ Day, or Victory in Japan 

Day, celebrated on Aug. 14-15. 

So, just create one, find something you like 

and add it to your calendar. For example on a 

June Puzzles 

Alex Jabusch & Cody Zipp 

N U B Z S R E M R Q U Z J N K 

H I I E E B A Q Z L O O P R O 

U J P M A L L K X S L B I O E 

U W M E L C S T E Y X B P C C 

F U S S E G H S F V C N K P S 

S I T E D L S M X M U S V O W 

S U R A W A S X O X C A A P I 

D W F E L P O P S I C L E S M 

T Z F G W W C E A A F K D E M 

A R N P O O W Q T D A A U Z I 

Z U I A Q M R I Q D O C R R N 

S O U R F K O K M P B S I S G 

D X P T V N O X S D N E I R F 

Z M M Y T A D J O J W Z Q O H 

E B M O V I E S R A V P S H G 

BEACH 

FIREWORKS 

FRIENDS 

MALLS 

MOVIES 

PARTY 

POOL 

POPCORN 

POPSICLES 

SLEEPIN 

of a 

way to cool 

down some, and if you 

are bored because it is so hot 

out you could always just grab some 

water balloons and go abuse you neighbor. 

SODA 

SUMMER 

SUNGLASSES 

SWIMMING 

VACATION 

Taurus (April 20 – May 20) 

Stay away from tartar sauce at all 

costs, as it is your greatest weakness. 

Gemini (May 21 – June 20) 

If you’re going to take a picture of 

something, don’t pose in front of it. 

Cancer (June 21 – July 22) 

Lift with your legs, instead of your 

back. 

Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22) 

Try answering the telephone with, 

“Ahoy.” It will get people’s attention. 

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22) 

Cracking your knuckles does not give 

you arthritis. 

Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22) 

The fact that you have just seen the 

new Star Trek movie does not make 

you a Trekkie. 

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21) 

Modeling is not a good career choice 

for you. Try something more casual, 

like baking doughnuts. 

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21) 

Stop jumping to feel like you’re flying 

when the elevator slows down. It freaks 

out the other passengers. 

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) 

You will first realize that you are the 

most powerful being on the planet, and 

then that your first realization was 

false.

[Meet the Press] [28 * Volume III, Issue 7] 

Journalism Alive, Well 

Spencer Hochwalt & Euminh Lim 

The Canine Chronicle is in its third year of providing Mt. Baker with news by 

the students for the students. These last three years have taught us many 

things, and improved our content. 

In three years of existence, The Canine Chronicle has been recognized for 

excellence in state and national competitions, receiving Special Recognition 

(2011) and Best in Show (2013) by WJEA and second place nationally in Best in 

Show by NSPA. 

The Canine Chronicle is a very big part of our school community now; it has 

impacted many people here, as it is basically the only source of local news 

that includes the opinions of the students and other people that are directly 

affected by what is happening. 

Journalism is not only about writing an article, it is about the process of 

learning and gathering information. It is harder than it looks to ask a 

stranger a question about important topics. Journalism is all about not about 

getting the news out quickly, it is about getting the correct news. The main 

goal of Journalism is to help students become better writers and to help 

them express their own ideas and the ideas of others. 

Since The Canine Chronicle strives to remain objective, we often minimize 

the exposure of our journalists in our actual publication. We break this mold 

in our June edition, so you can see the faces behind those tiny bylines. 

Mr. Warring, the instructor of Journalism (the boss) who started it three 

years ago, said that, “Journalism is an opportunity to record the history of 

the school and paint a picture of how diverse and dynamic our student population 

is. Ultimately, it’s a responsibility to the truth.” 

Ashton Serratos—Managing Editor 

Ashton has been with us since square one; the first day of school. Since then, our 

newspaper has only improved. Ashton is one of those people who you never see coming. 

You can’t understand her full potential until you are working with her on an article. 

Despite the hard work that comes with being a managing editor (a curiously prodigious 

responsibility), Ashton has the eerie ability to take it all in stride and still sustain 

her surprisingly diverse pastimes, such as practicing karate, drawing, taking pictures, 

and checking Instagram. She also enjoys flying planes in Civil Air Patrol. 

Ashton’s biggest affection is held by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. She loves the song 

“Same Love” and adores Macklemore’s hair, although she believes that it looks terrible 

on him. 

She loves Macklemore so much, she sarcastically said, “I would sell my family for 

tickets to one of his shows.” She digressed, citing her family as major inspiration also. 

Through creating and editing layouts, completing grammar checks that other reporters 

where too lazy to complete themselves, Ashton is the glue that holds us together. 

She will be missed, but not forgotten here at MBMS. 

Olivia Denton—Sports Editor 

The Canine Chronicle sports editor Olivia “Nighthawk” Denton will be missed on the 

staff next year. Not only does she love writing about sports but she is an amazing 

athlete especially when it comes to basketball. She averages about 15 points per game! 

Her hobbies don’t stop there though, she loves to paint her nails, draw, and hang out 

with her peers. Some weird facts about Nighthawk are that she has to sleep with a 

sweatshirt and is deathly scared of squirrels! When asked what she will remember 

most about middle school she responded with: 

“I will remember my friends and all of the fun things we did as eighth graders and 

the sports,” said Denton. 

Every day Nighthawk motivates herself to be herself, have fun, and not care what 

people say. Olivia also learned a lot about herself. 

“I learned that I can still be myself having fun and stuff even when it’s a bad day” 

responded Denton. 

She learned from her mistakes and went above and beyond to makes herself better. 

Denton was an inspiration to the staff and will definitely be missed next year. Have 

fun in high school!


[Mount Baker Journalism Staff] 

[If you want a voice, you must stand up and speak up to be heard.] 

MBMS Yearbook 

Aaron Baker—Copy Editor 

Aaron Baker is the only seventh grader that has ever been on journalism staff. For his age, 

his wisdom is beyond measure. He enjoys playing piano and has aspirations to become a concert 

pianist. His favorite pieces are “Claire de Lune” and “Toccata and Fugue in D minor”. This 

sprightly seventh grader is also an avid orchestra member who plays the violin. 

Aaron’s philosophy is the opposite of what you would expect; despite being a cancer survivor, 

he HATES when people make a big deal of it. To explain, he very much dislikes people who give 

him premature gifts or presents or treat him any different from anyone else. “A practical 

aneurysm goes off in my brain when anyone calls me a ‘warrior’ or a ‘fighter’ for the sole reason 

of recognizing my cancer.” 

As a copy editor, Aaron has an eye for grammar. You’ll often find him looking over the shoulder 

of someone in class telling them to switch that semicolon to a comma. He’s always a big 

help. Aaron is a wonderful addition to the newspaper staff, and we are very glad to have had him 

this semester. 

As our eighth graders move on to higher places, we all know Aaron will help the newspaper 

continue to grow next year. 

Jhordin Prescott—Photo Editor 

Sports photo editor, Jhordin Prescott is an athletic, well- rounded student. Prescott plays 

basketball, soccer, fast pitch, she is a gymnast, and she runs track. Jhordin will really miss 

middle school, but she is excited to go to high school “I look forward to the sports because I’ll 

finally have some competition and I’ll have a challenge,” stated Prescott. 

She enjoyed journalism a lot, “I got to work with my friends instead of just sitting down doing 

work regularly. My favorite part was donuts,” said Jhordin. Zombies were her favorite topic to 

write about this year in journalism. 

“I try to be the best I can be every day,” stated Jodo. Prescott stated that Mr. Brown has 

impacted her the most this year. “He’s been there for me when I really needed it and he gives 

me someone to talk to.” 

Jhordin is a book worm. She can’t go a day without reading. She doesn’t leave the house 

without putting olive oil in her hair and she HATES the color yellow with a burning passion. 

Jhordin will miss middle school a lot. “It challenged me each year, something was always 

different. Whether I made or lost friends, something was just different each day,” said Jodo.

[Meet the Press] [30 * Volume III, Issue 7] 


Jacob wakes up to a the anger to beat up his alarm clock 

everyday. He plans on wrestling and playing baseball in high 

school. When Jacob grows up he wants to be an avionics engineer. 

Jacobs’s favorite moment in middle school, most embarrassing 

moment, and favorite memory was wearing a KFC bucket 

Jacobs’s biggest accomplishment was setting an archery 

record at his old school. 

Andrew Bell 

Andrew Bell (A.K.A. André) is a riddle full of more riddles. Most of 

his answers and statements are trivial and confusing, but extremely 

humorous. For instance, when asked who his BFF is, he answered, 

“The purple Wiggle, Jeff Fatt. He got me through a lot of hard times. 

His happy music lifted my soul up on the wings of an angel before 

depositing me in the abyss of happiness.” 

Andrew is an important part of our team this semester, and last 

semester as well. 


Daniel Bronitskiy’s heritage is Russian and Ukraine. He has 

two brothers and one sister. Daniel is a guy who jokes around 

a lot. His favorite memory is when he went to Europe. He loves 

to play soccer and eat ice cream. He plays the trombone. In his 

free time, he sleeps and eats. He liked his experience at Mount 

Baker and is excited to go to high school. His goal is to graduate 

from a great university. He is a good friend. 


This kind hearted, consistent journalist on staff does a lot more 

than just report and write articles for our schools newspaper. 

She also adores playing with her dogs, drawing, and listening 

music. Maroon 5 and The Script are among her favorites. 

In the years to come, Cervantes plans to join several clubs and 

meet new people. Cervantes is a great cook and loves her sleep. 

She plans to spend her summer preparing for her Quinceañera. 


Billie is in journalism because she’s interested in writing. Mr. 

Warring recruited her for his staff. The things that she will 

remember most about middle school is switching schools and 

meeting new people. 

Billie’s favorite singer and person is Justin Bieber. She loves 

going to concerts like when she attended a Justin Bieber concert 

last year. Billie likes going on social media, like twitter. 

She’s always with her friends and likes to travel. 


Ashleigh Carman—Photo Editor 

There’s a lot about middle school that establishes people. There’s a lot about childhood 

in general. It decides who we are to become, middle school is just one important 

step. 

In the words of Ashleigh Carman, “It’s taught me to be a better person and realize 

the mistakes people make and realize that she doesn’t want to make the same ones.” 

She has a strong motivation to succeed in whatever she chooses. 

Ashleigh said to me that her motivation was her family. They help her and support 

her decisions. But, what wakes her up in the morning? Her alarm clock, fortunately. 

Ashleigh is looking forward to high school because she wants to make new friends 

and get good grades, she wants to be successful and afterwards become a mother 

and professional ballroom dancer. 

She explained ballroom dancing in her own words, “Someone who competes and 

stuff and earns scholarships for doing so.” 

Ashley is very active in her church (LDS), and participates in ballroom dance. 

Kate Hon 

Our very important music and recent events in the outside 

world reporter is our journalist Kate Hon. She really loves 

playing the clarinet and has been playing it for four years 

now and says this is what she will remember the most of 

middle school. 

Hon has said, “I will probably be a clarinetist or a marine 

biologist.” 

Hon’s favorite sport is fast pitch though she doesn’t play, 

and her favorite things to do are go on Pinterest or reading 

novels. 

Spencer “The Spencersaurus” enjoys hunting triceratops in 

his free time. He has been on staff both semesters of this 

wondrous 2012-13 school year. He will remember lunch in the 

commons at Baker and will cherish those cumulative half 

hours for the rest of his life in the bottom of his heart. He 

wishes to become an Ichthyologist when he gets a career. 

Spencer is truly amazing as a person and a reporter. What a 

guy!


[Mount Baker Journalism Staff] 

Alex Jabusch 

Alex likes to dream of a bacon sword and shield then 

only to wake up to a plate of bacon and waffles. When he 

started his life at this school, he made his goal to make 

people feel awkward. He was just a boy with a name of 

Alex Jabusch till he joined his friends he found his true 

name…. Steven! With no regrets he went on to do the 

puzzles and facts that he loved like his name. 

Euminh Lim 

Euminh’s favorite pastime dates back to first grade in 

Korea. After gravity pulled him off the monkey bars, Euminh 

“punched the ground.” Only after that, he was gifted with a 

broken wrist. Euminh’s favorite food is pizza; however, the 

one thing he enjoys most is sleeping. This is the only thing 

Euminh plans to do in the summer. He is completely terrified 

of needles because, “They hurt.” As a current resident 

of Mt. Baker Euminh says, “It’s all right.” 

Jessica Perez 

This adorable, sweet singer who can as well laugh like Flapjack. 

Jessi’s biggest accomplishment was that she got her grades up and got 

onto Honor Roll. 

Her favorite part of her day is listening to music and talking with her 

best friend Dominic Duhamel. 

But her favorite part is getting to write. 

She explained what she will remember most about middle school, “I am 

finally getting the guts to stand up the people who made fun of me.” 

Jasmin Vital 

Intelligent, caring, nice, sweet, great singer and fabulous 

writer. Jas is a greatly valued member of The Canine Chronicle, 

who kept a steady beat on her writing. 

She said, “I mostly wrote news features, but I wrote one 

tabloid.” 

Jasmin brought a lot to our newspaper this year with her 

creativity and great writing ability. She stated her experience 

on the newspaper, “It was very fun, I always [thought] our 

discussions [were] very funny!” 


For sports to recent news events, Sumeet Waraich writes it 

all! She plays varsity fast pitch and is in honors. 

She likes writing news articles, but journalism also taught her 

to interview people to get them to speak out and how to work 

under pressure of deadlines. 

She is planning to be in marketing and business, but Waraich 

says, “I might join the newspaper staff.” She plans to become a 

diabetes doctor or possibly a reporter. 

Cody Zipp 

The size of a seven-year-old, Cody Zipp is a party waiting to 

happen! His greatest accomplishments, performing a bicycle 

kick for the winning goal. His MOTIVATION!? The dreaded alarm 

clock! The only regret this little munchkin has, speaking with his 

twin brother…awkward. With no strange skills or talents, the 

one thing he will remember about middle school is every minute 

spent with his friends. 

Mr. Warring—Adviser 

Everyone on the Canine Chronicle staff looks up to one guy whether he knows it 

or not. He isn’t featured very much in the paper and we can only partly fathom 

why he chooses not to be. He’s a big comic book buff, He wears goofy Hawaiian 

shirts every week, and he always has a cup of coffee in his hand each morning. 

His name is Mr. Warring, and he is the reason why Mt. Baker has a voice. 

Mr. Warring pours his heart and soul into The Canine Chronicle, and our staff 

members can finally see why he expects the same from us. 

He is a loving husband and father of two, an avid collector of potato heads and 

action figures, a lover of sci-fi movies and shows, and has been a teacher for a total of eight years. His fun 

yet serious personality brings a whole new environment into the journalism staff, adding a delicate balance of 

entertainment and hard work into the classroom. 

As Master Yoda always says and Mr. Warring often quotes, “Do or do not. There is no try.” 

Sara Koenig—Photo Editor 

Builders club member, friend too many, horseback rider, and dancer. In high school, 

Sara Koenig hopes to take honors classes, be valedictorian, and be elected for class 

president. 

Sara is a photo editor in this year’s journalism staff. Sara has no regrets. She learns 

from her mistakes then gets over them. Mrs. Hammond is her favorite teacher. She 

made her want to be an author again. 

Her motivation is the fact that she knows if she gets the education now, it will lead to 

great things. 

Sara was a member of the art club of some time and book club. 

Sara said her biggest accomplishment was: “I’ve done a lot of stuff it’s kind of comparative 

and debatable.” 

Sara’s biggest fear before entering middle school was the eighth graders. Funny to 

think, she is now almost a ninth graders and moving on to high school soon.

A. Serrtos

June 2013 - Auburn School District

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