Trout season is coming early to Sharon Steger’s biology classes.  Steger’s students are participating in a program called Trout in the Classroom, in which students get to raise trout from egg to fingerling.

Many Middletown High School students, including sophomores Emily Jefferson and Taylor Bullen, agree that taking care of the trout and seeing them grow will be a really “cool” experience.

“Our class is really excited to have the trout in our classroom because it’s going to be really fun to watch them grow,” said Jefferson.

The students are responsible for feeding the fish and maintaining their tank. Once the fish have grown between two to three inches in length, they will be released into a stream at Doubs Park in Myersville that is designated by the Department of Natural Resources.

Steger hopes that the program will teach her students about “conservation and stewardship.”

Steger first heard about TIC when she attended a workshop at a Maryland Association of Environmental Outdoor Education conference. She decided that it would be a great experience for her biology students at MHS to participate in this type of program so she wrote a grant through the Maryland Association of Science Teachers in order to fund it.

Steger is planning on taking her students on field trip to release the trout and take a tour of the Albert Powell Fish Hatchery in Washington County in late May.

Five teenage children were left behind when Anis Mawi, a woman from Frederick, was killed in a car crash on Nov. 26.

 The Mawis are political refugees from Myanmar, where in 2001 their father died.

 The five Mawi teenagers are now orphans.

 The Middletown High School Senior Executive Board has decided to help raise money for the Mawi family. There are collection jars in the cafeteria during all lunch shifts for students to donate extra change.

Sayre Posey, a member of the Senior Executive Board and who came up with the idea, said that the board is raising the money to help the family pay some bills in this time of need.

 The Senior Executive Board is hoping to make this family’s Christmas a little bit brighter by raising enough money so that the family might be able to buy some presents and settle their financial woes.

 “We thought it would be a good idea to help them have an easier time this holiday season and relieve them of some of the bills they have to pay or buy Christmas presents,” Posey said.

After waking up before dawn on a chilly English morning in 1945, second lieutenant bombardier David Jelinek of the United States Air Force made his way to the briefing of his last mission. His crew was silent, as usual, focusing on the plan-of-action for their mission over Germany. The men then made the walk from their briefing to their B24 bomber, the “Flying Fortress”. As the plane gradually ascended, German planes began eating away at the bomber, taking out one of its two engines.

With only a crude form of manual landing gear, no reliable form of radar and gliding on one engine, the plane retreated precariously back to England.

 As the crew prepared for an emergency landing on the southeast English coast, the frightened Jelinek began to feel nauseous, a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Jelinek never got airsick.

 The winners and losers of wars are, generally, determined by the amount of casualties each side has sustained; Jelinek, however, has declared himself a winner in his own respect. “A good war is one you come out of alive,” he said.

 Peering through his diary since he is not “totally dependent on his fading memory,” World War II veteran and Wisconsin native Jelinek spoke to Bill Mulldoon’s WWII history class on Dec. 9.

 Branching off a military family consisting of a brother, a brother-in-law, and cousin in the marines, Jelinek enlisted in the air force as a bombardier since piloting, in his opinion, was “too lonely” and the bombardier training was the shortest: 12 weeks. Jelinek’s brother, a marine in the Pacific, spent three Christmases in a row overseas.

 Jelinek flew his first mission on D-Day and his last in Jan. of 1945. When asked what his favorite mission was, Jelinek quickly replied, “The last one”.

 Students listened intently as the soft-spoken veteran spoke of fallen comrades and the horrors of the ground troops who, compared to air troops, lived a far more intense and grueling war-life.

 “The discomfort was small compared to ground troops,” said Jelinek.

 Specializing in the releasing of the bombs themselves, Jelinek himself had “mixed feelings” about bombing cities. Aside from the short training and camaraderie that being a bombardier offered, the position also appealed to his personality.

“I never considered myself a competitor,” Jelinek said.

 After taking a couple weeks to readjust following the ending of the war, Jelinek described the feelings amongst his fellow veterans as grateful and relieved.

 “We gathered in bars and mostly sat, smiling,” said Jelinek.

 Jelinek also discussed the current U.S. deployment of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Our country is making a mistake,” said Jelinek. “I have serious doubts about a volunteer army. It’s professional.”

 When Jelinek was in the military, the draft was still a vital piece of the puzzle that made up the armed forces. Jelinek feels that the draft is something that needs to be initiated once more.

 “[The volunteer system] makes it a lot harder to get out of war,” said Jelinek.

 Regardless of the situation that our country is in right now, the war that Jelinek endured has given him a unique, new perspective on life. If anything, the war has made him confident, at the least.

 “I can survive anything,” Jelinek said as he gathered up his pictures and artifacts from his flying days, smiling.

Students from Roberts introduction to business class take pictures of their donuts for advertising

By Julia Karcewski
Round Table advertising manager
 

It’s been an annual tradition for Middletown High School introduction to business teacher Katie Roberts to make cupcakes for her class to decorate them. The cupcakes are part of a project that simulates creating a business from start to finish through planning, advertising and marketing, then selling the product (cupcakes). Students from five other MHS classes then get the opportunity, based on the marketing, to pick which group’s cupcakes will melt into their mouths.

This year there will be no cupcakes.

Because of a recommendation from the 

 Frederick County Health Department Food Control Office (FCHD), which explains regulations for baked goods brought from home, Roberts cannot make the cupcakes at home anymore.

An email was sent near the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year to all FCPS principals which gave guidance relating to baked goods being distributed at schools. The email included recommendations from FCHD office, which answered the questions that organizations and Frederick County Public Schools have been asking in previous years.

The FCHD states, “One of the most important things to keep in mind with temporary food events is the food must come from an approved source.”

After speaking with Mike Watson, MHS assistant principal, Roberts made a decision that it would be in her best interest and protection of school’s safety to find an “approved source” to donate baked goods to her class. This way, the students would still be able to market and advertise their products; they just wouldn’t be able to decorate their products in their own unique ways.

Dan Strietz, a senior at Middletown High School, said the baked goods recommendation being followed at MHS is “ridiculous.”

“If anyone was going to bring contaminated food to school from home, that person should only be punished,” said Strietz. “Middletown has never been in trouble before, so we shouldn’t have to worry as much.”

 The FCHD Food Control Office recommends that “only non-potentially hazardous baked items be brought in for the students as the food-borne risk is lower with these types of items.”

“We’re just enforcing the recommendation,” said Watson.

An incident at Frederick High School last year also raised the profile of the FCPS recommendation. According to an April 15, 2011, article in The Frederick News-Post, an FHS student brought a cupcake to school that had been contaminated. It was later determined that the cupcake had marijuana in it.  A student who had eaten the cupcake was hospitalized because of the contamination. 

The principal of FHS, Denise Fargo-Devine, sent home a letter that told parents there was a ban on any food being brought into the school that was baked at home.

MHS junior Ally Soule felt she and her classmates were being punished for an isolated incident at another school.

“For English we were having a party and I brought in cookies. Because of the recommendation being followed, I spent almost $20 on cookies that weren’t even good,” said Soule. “I could have baked the cookies for $5 and they would have tasted a lot better.”

In the email sent out to principals, the FCHD answered the question of whether bringing in food to a class falls under the category of an event. The email said that for class parties, allergies are a concern; however, individual class parties are defined as: “a private party.” The FCHD says a private party does not require a permit.

 Watson said the email sent raised the question of why classes are having parties anyways. 

“The classroom should be instructional, and parties are interrupting the instruction,” said Watson.

The FCHD says a permit would be required at a movie night (if popcorn is provided), empty bowls banquets, fun nights, field days, etc.

After speaking with Watson, Roberts began to visit bakeries and shops around Frederick County that she thought would donate to her class. Her first attempt was The Fractured Prune, a donut shop located on East Patrick Street in Frederick. She emailed the manager and got a response within an hour.

The manager thought it would be a great idea, and agreed to donate roughly 300 donuts.

“It’s almost like a trade,” said Roberts. “They donate to help us out, and we get their name known to get them more business.”

Roberts said it’s always important to follow a recommendation because “recommendations almost always turn into rules.”

Roberts has stayed optimistic about her class project despite the initial setback. “It really forced me to look outside of the box,” she said.

Round Table reporter Ben Lewis give us a recap No-Shave November

At the first meeting of MHS’s Key Club, Stephanie Feinberg, District Nine's Lieutenant Governor, came to give some advice on how the club should be run. Photo by Alexis Ramsey

By Alexis Ramsey
Round Table reporter

 The Key Club is returning to Middletown High School next semester.

 Sponsored by the Kiwanis, a global organization with more than 5,000 clubs worldwide, the Key Club does service projects for the community. Projects include making cards for nursing homes, Trick or Treat for UNICEF, walks for diabetes and cleaning up the neighborhood by planting flowers or picking up trash.

 Middletown High School previously had a Key Club, which was last active in the 2002-2003 school year. Lisa Boyll, an MHS spanish teacher, started the club in the 2000-2001 school year and ran it for two years until Casey Rogers, a math teacher at MHS, took over for one year in 2003.

 Both Boyll and Rogers enjoyed the club, but neither Boyll nor Rogers “had enough time to organize it,” Rogers said, so the club was taken off of the sign-up sheets. 

 Middletown Middle School has a Builder’s Club, the middle school equivalent to a Key Club. It was first started in 2002 and is run by Linda Caron, an MMS social studies teacher. Caron said that she enjoys working with the Builder’s Club and helping out the community.

 MHS sophomore Samantha Weaver was in the Builder’s Club and became the president in her eighth-grade year. Weaver’s sister, MHS freshman Jacky, was in the club during Weaver’s reign and when her sister moved on to high school, Jacky took over as the club president.

 Caron said that both girls were organized and enthusiastic and she figures the traits “run in the family.”

 Now in high school, the Weavers have decided to start the Key Club back up again as president and vice president with MHS social studies teacher John Miller as their advisor. They’ve recruited MHS sophomores Rosa Vaz as treasurer, Jessica Ramsey, as secretary and Alexis Ramsey as historian.

 Weaver is looking forward to the club getting on its feet and said she’d like to have at least 20 people sign up (as 15 is the needed amount of people to start a club.) 

 Middletown isn’t the only school in the area that has a Key club; Tuscarora, Walkersville, Urbana and  Linganore all have clubs.

 Walkersville High School junior Allie Fogle, the Walkersville Key Club secretary, gave some insight on their club, saying that the club has been around longer than anyone can remember and that it has been a “tradition for the mission.”

 Frederick County Kiwanis clubs are part of District Nine, along with all of North West Maryland, to a total of 16 clubs.

 Each District has a Lieutenant Governor; District Nine’s Lieutenant Governor is Stephanie Feinberg, a South Carroll senior who started participating in Key Club her freshman year. 

 At the first meeting of MHS’s Key Club, Feinberg came and explained how to set up the club and gave a few ideas on how it should be run.

 She said that the advisor shoudn’t have to do too much of anything. “It’s a kid-run club and teachers leadership skills to officers and members alike,” she said.

 MHS Key Club will be starting next semester and sign-ups start in the spring.

Penn State University and the University of Syracuse have both been rocked by the scandals that have sprouted from their sports programs. While it may be obvious that the scandals have shaken the foundations of these schools, the scandals have also caused those in the Middletown community to reflect.

Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator, faces 40 counts of sexual abuse of several young boys over a 13-year period. Bernie Fine, the assistant head coach of the Syracuse men’s basketball team, is under investigation for child molestation.

Since the scandals, people have been questioning the morality of people in positions of higher power, as well as themselves.

Rena Egan, a guidance counselor at MHS and former social worker, said that it is not uncommon for certain individuals to “gravitate towards positions of authority” in order to gain easy access to children.

Egan also noted that the abusers tend to be more males than females and that children are “not valued” by society as much as adults or people of power or popularity. Egan said the reason that abusers aspire to become people of authority, such as priests, is that they have easy access to children and that they earn the trust of children and parent.

Egan believes that “men’s codes” contributed to the communication breakdown amongst the Penn State elite.

“As a woman I would’ve been so enraged. I would’ve immediately helped,” said Egan.

Men are slow to aid in these situations due to their specific values, Egan said.  For example, perhaps to Paterno the lives of the abused may not have been as important as the depth of his coaching staff and the success of the football program.

Championship-winning, head varsity football coach Kevin Lynott believes instances such as thePenn State and Syracuse atrocities are caused by “mentally disturbed individuals.”   These “sick” people obtain a position of power that “unfortunately, taints their profession,” he said.

“I hope that (the scandals) are isolated incidents,” said Lynott.

Lynott, like Egan, noted that these situations occur in every walk of life and that the athletes are not the cause of such atrocities.

“It has nothing to do with the athletes,” said Lynott.

Gathered in a circle, the students of one of MHS basketball coach Tim Leber’s athletic coaching classes spoke their minds and offered their own personal opinions.

Sophomore Ben Spector believes positions of power undoubtedly correlate with abuse.

“They’re in control; they can do anything they want. They have the power. It should be up to the people to stand up,” said Spector.

Tisa Mullins,  junior, suggested that thorough background checks should be conducted during the interview process when hiring coaches or other positions in which adults are given the responsibility of children.

According to an article from www.npr.org, after Sandusky retired in 1999 following an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare, he was still given access to Penn State facilities, including the showers in the boys locker rooms.

 Mitch Sgrignoli, sophomore, points to this false sense of security that people placed in Sandusky.

“Everyone around him trusted him,” said Sgrignoli. “It’s your word against their word.”

Sophomore Tristan Wenger believes that the safety of children should be handled as a “worst-case scenario” and that proper preventative steps always be taken when dealing with children.

“Working with kids is a huge responsibility,” said Leber.

 On Nov. 28, the burgess and commissioners of Middletown held a meeting to vote on a curfew. The vote was unanimous and there will now be a new curfew in Middletown that will not permit minors to be on the streets from 12:01 am to 5 am.

 The idea of a curfew in Middletown was brought up six months ago when some small crimes committed by minors were brought to the attention of the burgess and commissioners.

 “There was one case where there were a few juveniles and an adult going around and flipping the handles of car doors and then if they were open they were taking things. They were even being so bold as going inside of houses through garage doors or screen doors that were left open,” said John Miller, Burgess of Middletown. “And so as a result of those things, people began to express some concern about kids walking around at night, most of them in the middle of the night.”

 Some students think that a curfew should be a parent’s preference, not the town governments.

 “If we are doing something bad we will get in trouble for it, so there’s no reason to penalize everyone,” said Allie Montgomery, a Middletown High School senior.

 If a minor is caught out during the curfew the town deputy will then take them into custody and call their parents.

“If there is a call to a deputy, now that people know there is a curfew, that there were some people wondering the streets between 12 and 5, now the deputy has this other tool, so to speak, and then he can actually take them into custody and return them home,” said Miller.

 There is a fine of $25 to the parents if they were unaware of their child’s activity. But if it is apparent that the parent was aware of their child’s goings-on then there is a greater fine.

 There are many conflicting opinions about the curfew between students and adults in the Middletown area.

 Some students at MHS, like Montgomery, think the new curfew is “kind of silly and unnecessary.”

 “If kids want to go commit crimes, they will. Curfews also take law-abiding citizens off the streets. With fewer people out, crime rates have actually increased in some places with curfews because there are fewer witnesses,” said Matt Gabb, a MHS senior.

 Even though the curfew is still being debated, it is going to begin being enforced 20 days after the ordinance was passed, on Dec. 18, so the Middletown kids will have to learn to respect the new curfew and get home before midnight.

Indoor Pep Rally from Casey Zanowicz on Vimeo.

Parents and students fill the seats of Frederick County Public Schools Board of Education building's conference room on Nov. 30. Photo by Jake Dziubla

By Jake Dziubla
Round Table online-editor-in-chief

As the seats quickly filled with parents and students from across Frederick County, the Frederick County Public Schools Board of Education building’s conference room left standing room only for late arrivals on the evening of Nov. 30 as board of education members listened to the countywide opinions on how high school classes should be scheduled.

Parents and guardians, as well as students, were invited to attend the meeting that was hosted by Superintendent Theresa Alban, Senior Executive Secretary Nuala McCarthy, and Associate Superintendent Ann Bonitatibus. The trio planned the meeting in order to gain insight from the opinions of attendees. “We’re here to listen,” said Alban.

All 10 high schools in the county were represented with a fair share of parents, and a few students, from each. Bonitatibus initiated the meeting by describing the purpose of the four block schedule and by emphasizing the fact that no decisions have been made on any changes to that schedule. “TJ and Catoctin cannot move forward without approval from central office,” said Bonitatibus.

Bonitatibus described the four-block schedule as a “blueprint” in which slight variations can be made from the original. Variations to the schedule at Walkersville, Catoctin, and Thomas Johnson were the subject of much debate as the opinions revolved mostly around how the scheduling benefits or creates problems for students.

Michele De La Rosa, a teacher of music at five different elementary schools, called block scheduling a “detriment” and that students can easily lose engagement in class since the classes are 90 minutes.

Other parents voiced similar opinions, saying that students can only pay attention for so long and that a lack of continuity with classes can be problematic for some students.

A father whose son graduated from Walkersville High School and has ADHD described some of the hardships that has son endured because of the lengthy classes. “Every class was a struggle for him,” said the father.

Linda Foreman, another parent with a child who has ADHD, placed emphasis on the fact that the scheduling works well for some, but not for others. Her son also loses focus during the 90-minute periods.

One mother, who has a freshman son at Frederick High School, vehemently disapproved of the 90-minute, four-block schedule. “It’s asking way too much of any human,” said the mother.

The opinions, however, were almost evenly split and many advocates of the four-block schedule also gave their input. Many, however, favored a “hybrid” four-block schedule.

A mother of a Middletown High School student favored bringing back the “split block” that was used to divide fourth period in order for some students to take classes year round, especially classes involved with the arts and music.

Another MHS parent, whose students previously were in the Montgomery County school system, says that her children “excel” under the four blocks.

A father who is a physicist, and who has children attending WHS, believes that the four-block schedule is “critical” for lab experiments and complicated lessons that require more time.

A survey will be taken by parents and examined by the board members in order to determine if changes should be made to the scheduling. According to Alban, if there is “overwhelming” disapproval and “disgruntlement” of the block schedule, a task force will be subsequently formed to study different options for schedule.

The board members hailed the opinions from all sides of the issue and were pleased with the turnout in numbers.

“It’s been an incredibly valuable two hours for us,” Alban said at the conclusion of the meeting.