The magazine will be accepting submissions February 1st through March 2nd. Essays, song lyrics, photographs, short stories, drawings and other artistic works are all available for submission.

You can submit online at MHSlitMag@misdmail.org or in person in room R-14. A signed submission form must accompany all submissions.

The weather was cold against the students skin as they stood outside before morning classes. However, the frigid wind did not put a damper on their spirits because they were excited about appearing on television. Fox 4 News showed up this morning to do a live report on the MHS football team and their success so far this season.

The last time that the MHS football team has ever had an undefeated streak was in 1971, when they won the first six games of the season. The team is currently undefeated with an overall score of 7-0 for the season, but tonight the football team will face their toughest opponent yet, Cedar Hill.

“I’m very excited about the game,” Senior football player, Hunter Graham said. “This week has been the best week of practice we’ve had all season. If we play the way we’ve been playing, then I have no doubt that we’ll win.”

The Fox 4 team saw this match-up as an opportunity to report on the football team.

“Fox 4 contacted the district’s communications office to ask for permission to do the story, and then they had to set the event up with Mrs. McCallum,” McCallum’s secretary, Caroline Goddard said.

A small pep rally was held for Fox 4 that included the cheerleaders, drill team, bell guard, band and the football team. Fox 4 reporter, Krystle Gutierrez interviewed several students, including a yearbook student.

“The reporter found out that I was a journalism student,” Homecoming Queen nominee, Cassie Bevens said. “She told me what schools I should go to, gave me her e-mail and offered me a tour of the Fox 4 building.”

Many teachers turned on their TV’s during first block and allowed students to watch the report.

“Mrs. Vreeland didn’t make us do a timed writing, I was so happy because we got to watch the news report instead,” Senior, Daria Dupont said.

Principal, Cynthia McCallum wanted to include various teams, such as band, volleyball, tennis, and football, in the broadcast as a way of recognizing them for their achievements.

“I am very excited that the football team is getting recognized,” Principal, Cynthia McCallum said. “Overall, our students are doing very well, but I’m really proud of all of our kids and our teams.”

Mrs. Golden offered Gutierrez the chance to attend the game, and even gave her the opportunity to crown the Homecoming King and Queen.

“[Gutierrez] responded very postively to the opportunity; she was very excited about it, and she will let us know if she can attend,” McCallum said.

“I sort of want to take it seriously because I know this will set me up for the real SAT,” junior, Caroline Anderson-Staub said.

Mandes and Staub also had advice for sophomores taking this for the first time.

“The only advice I can give is to take it seriously because your sophomore year is when you really need to start thinking about the future,” Mandes said.

All sophomores and juniors will be taking the PSAT; however, the juniors have an added incentive. If a junior scores high enough, they will be entered into the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. For juniors though, there is even better motivation.

“I want to take this seriously because I want to get into NHS (National Honor Society) and get into a good college,” junior Adrianne Mandes said.

Seniors will be taking the ASVAB. Created by the United States Secretary of Defense, it is meant to help seniors with career choices. College may not be for everyone and that is the point of this test.

“I will not take the test seriously because I do not want to take this test,” Post said. “I find it pointless.”

However, Post did have advice for juniors taking the PSAT.

“Take it seriously, it can help prepare you for the SAT,” Post said.

This district, as well as Arlington ISD, will be participating in a new program is called ‘You earn, they learn. Stop Truancy’, as of Sept. 13.  With this program,they are ready to receive tips from people in neighboring communities about truants. Anyone who gives this information of any truant student they may receive a $ 40 reward, even businesses. This news had erupted on campus, making students, once again, think about off-campus lunch procedures.

“I do not agree with this new policy,” Senior, Ashley Anyasi said. ”Many students go on and off campus several times a day. How can people be sure if the student is actually a truant or commuting from one campus to another?”

Since many students go on and off campus several times a day, the district has said that a report will have to receive verification before the reward is sent out. And because this has occurred, students are even more hesitant about going off campus.

“I have seen many people get caught by the security guard on campus for lunch, but I could not imagine being caught by business owners in the district for off-campus lunch,” Junior, Terrul Ratcliff said. “I have never gone off campus for lunch, but now that this new rule has been established, I will probably never go off campus.”

Even though getting caught for truancy is a big offense, it is still unclear to whether or not students will obey these rules.

“At the end of the day it is the students choice whether or not they will go off campus; for some people it is not a big deal, but for others it is. Only time will tell what happens next,” Senior, Katie Thompson said.

“We felt that [the site] was too old and crusty,” Newspaper Editor, Carson Taylor said. “We wanted to create an updated look to bring in a new generation of readers.”

After three days of searching and contemplating, the editors found a design that they loved.

“Carson was looking through this one site and I saw a design that I wanted him to pull up because the thumbnail looked like Thor; I instantly fell in love with the look,” Newspaper Editor, Lauren Samas said.

Journalism teacher, Stacey Dudzinski wanted the site to look as professional as sites such as CNN and Forbes.

“What I love most about the new design is the fact that it doesn’t look like a typical high school newspaper website,” Dudzinski said.

Although the site has a new look, the editors ran into much difficulty trying to get it it right.

“We were stressed out for at least two days,” Taylor said. “For awhile we thought that we weren’t going to be able to fix it.”

The first attempt at uploading the layout failed miserably.

“I was so upset; I thought that we would have to choose a lame alternative,” Samas said. “Thankfully, we were able to get it done and everything is going to end up the way we want it. I’m very excited.”

The editors were not the only ones stressing, the newspaper teacher stressed as well.

“We were playing with the layout and even though it was frustrating and difficult, the site turned out beautiful.” Dudzinski said.

Ten years ago today, the 9-11 attacks occured; since then, America has changed. Before, airports were simple to navigate through. Now, they are a place of high security with several check points, and long wait-time before getting on a flight.

Members of the graduating class of 2012 were in second grade, the juniors in first, and the incoming freshmen hadn’t even started school on this tragic day. The majority of them didn’t realize the vastness of what they just lived through. Teachers were told to keep the classes as normal as possible. Schools did not want to upset the children. Teachers watched the attacks in the lounge or away from the students.

“I didn’t really know what was going on,”  junior, Shelby Rives said. “All my teachers were crying when they told us what happened.”

While some of the students have no memory of what went on that day, junior, Lauren Haseley saw the panicking up close.

“I was in my first grade class in Buffalo, New York,” Haseley said. “My teacher came in crying her eyes out. Then the announcements came on saying something happened in New York City. They didn’t tell us exactly what because they didn’t want to scare the kids, but they did dismiss us for the rest of the day. I wasn’t really scarred because I didn’t know what was going on.”

Although junior, Matti Konchalski was on the opposite side of the country in San Francisco, California; she does have a vivid memory of what went on that day.

“I was in the car driving to the zoo with my mom,” Konchalski said. “My mom turned the radio on, she started crying and I couldn’t figure out why. She turned the car around and started heading home. I asked her why we were not going to the zoo, and she told me that we needed to be with our family.”

Today, ten years later, there were memorial events held at the sites of the terrible events. Church servises and prayer services were held in honor of those who died. To 16 and 17 year olds, the events happened, but because of their age, some of these memories are not real.

Four planes crashed into the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon and into a field in Pennsylvania killing almost 3,000 people. Students have a hard time absorbing the fact that it happened in their life-time. Even though Mansfield students were alive at the time, it is difficult to remember these events because they were so young. Yet, these students agree that the events of this day are meant to remember.

“The STAAR Test won’t begin until the end of the Spring semester and it will include questions that go with what students learned all year, which the TAKS test does not always do,” Assistant Principal, Regenia Crane said.

Under the TAKS System, students only have to pass four exit level tests at the end of their junior year, but with the new STAAR tests students must pass each test every year or they run the risk of failing the class entirely.

“The score counts for 15% of a student’s final grade, so if they fail the test they do have the possibility of failing the class as well,” Crane said.

Freshman are not pleased with the possibility of failing their classes, but since the STAAR test will encompass all they have been taught, students are not as worried.

“I think it’s stupid that I could fail my class [because of the test], but I’m not as nervous as I was before because my teachers are really helpful,” freshman, Tyler Hausler said.

Despite students’ doubts about the STAAR test, teachers and administrators feel like the STAAR test will help students learn better when it comes to what they have been taught all year.

“Sometimes the TAKS test asks questions outside of the set curriculum, so the STAAR test will correspond more with what students have been learning all year,” Crane said. “I think it will be a clearer assessment of students’ growing knowledge.”

Since it is only in the early stages of being developed and tested, the STAAR examinations will be tweaked and changed over the years as results from schools come in. There is a four hour set-limit for the test, and if students struggle this will be adjusted depending on subject or content. Districts will also be required to provide accelerated instruction to any student who fails the STAAR test.

This year, there have been major changes from last year’s school policies to this year’s policies. From the strict rules on school ID’s, to the constant reminders about dress code; there seems to be no room for relaxation. With these common woes, there are several  students who are willing to break the rules and leave the campus. Yet, this is quickly revoked due to the new found strictness of  policies towards off-campus lunch.

“I’m an Office-aide third block and I hear the police and AP’s on the radio, they catch several people during lunch; my advice to anyone is to not go off campus,” senior Madison Saffle said.

As students seem to get caught for off-campus lunch more and more each day, some seem to disagree with the strictness of the rule.

“I really don’t see what the big deal is! I don’t like school lunch, so i just want to go somewhere else to eat,” senior Joella Ibe said.

After the first week of school, many people were caught going off campus for lunch, they then had to deal with severe consquences for their actions.

“I was caught twice last week during lunch and I was very close to getting my parking sticker taken away for nine weeks, these punishments are outrageous,” senior Jordan Gleeson said.

Adding to the benefactor of not liking school food in general, many students are finding it especially difficult to remain on campus with the newly opened Whataburger across the street.

“Towards the end of last year, when I saw signs saying that they were opening a Whataburger across the street, I was excited, but after I heard about so many people being caught, I’m thinking twice about whether or not to go,” senior Jordan Johnson said.

Whether going off campus for lunch this year is something students plan to do or not, be sure to know the AP’s are watching and ready to catch any violaters.

“Eating off campus is fun, but honestly the benefit does not outweigh the risk,” Johnson said.

Seniors who cannot make the session on Friday can take their photos on Tuesday, October 25 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school.

With the help of the grant he received, Strange was able to get the equipment necessary for students to make their Physics Day a more enjoyable and valuable learning experience.

“The technology we have is not new,” Strange said. “Each iPod is equipped with an accelerometer app that knows when an object tilts, turns, or goes upside down. All I did was find a company that could write an app that could graph an object’s motion using the accelerometer.”

The old equipment is drastically different from the new equipment, which shows you the x, y, and z-axis and tells you which way you are accelerating.

“The old equipment was a weight and a spring which would jump up and down depending on the force you were under,” Rhys Kadekawa, physics teacher, said. “We also used to have a tool that looked like a protractor which would tell you what degree the G-forces were at. With the old stuff, you had to try and read the equipment while you were bouncing around on a ride, and if you were trying to get a specific measurement it was virtually impossible to do.”

Last years physics students enjoyed the trip to Six Flags, they shared some of their experiences from that day with current juniors.

“I heard from the seniors that it was a lot of fun,” Daria Dupont, junior, said. “I also heard that some people broke their iPods and that the students had a hard time understanding the technology. I was just excited because I didn’t have to go to school. I much rather preferred the Texas Giant to English.”

Last week and the week before students in Physics classes practiced with the iPods. They ran, jumped, and rode on skateboards to take graphical data on the physics behind these motions. This practice was intended to get them used to the iPods and ready for Physics Day.

“I was very excited for Physics Day,” Madison Mobley, junior, said.”I really wanted to ride the Texas Giant because I’ve never had the courage to ride it and I’ve never been much for amusement parks. I mean it is part of the Texas experience, you drink Dr. Pepper, you eat delicious barbecue, you get a cowboy hat and you ride the Texas Giant.”

Many students have visited Six Flags before Physics Day.

“I went on the Titan and rode in the front seat 5 different times,” Dupont said, “I threw up all five times, needless to say, I did not ride any rides on Physics Day. I’m not much of a roller coaster person anymore.”

The students are supposed to present the information they collected from roller coasters this week by using power points and a program called Logger Pro, which will allow students to sync their data from a roller coaster with video footage of the coaster.

” This is a valuable experience for students because it applies to the real world,” Strange said. “By making presentations, students will know how to appropriately use tools that are necessary in businesses and multiple different jobs.”