By Isabelle Palmer

Do you want to be in an exciting musical? Then come to the auditions for the Center For the Arts’ Production of The Jungle Book on Monday, November 9^th and Tuesday, November 10^th at the Center For the Arts in Murfreesboro. Mr. Michael McGee, Discovery School’s beloved drama teacher, will be directing this wonderful production.

According to Mr. McGee, this performance will be much shorter than the Disney movie, and all the animals in the play will be human actors. However the songs will be about the same as this children’s classic movie.

For anyone interested in trying out, the recommended ages to audition are 8-18 years old. Mr. McGee has a word of advice for children auditioning, ”Don’t be scared. We want people that can really sell it, with lots of energy.”

Also, coming soon at the Center for the Arts is a spring day camp and a summer camp called Centerstage Academy. Mr. McGee will also be directing an upcoming new play called Oliver.

It looks like The Jungle Book will be a blast, so if you are interested in auditioning, then come to the Center for the Arts on Monday or Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Alex Norwood in Mrs. McCarthy's Class

By : Baylee Hayes

Each month teachers select an outstanding student from their classroom to be the student of the month. Below is a list of students of the month for November. You can also check out these students on the board near the office.

Kindergarten

Ms. Smith chose Sruthi Subramanian.  Mrs. Smith said, “She goes above and beyond.’’

Ms. McCarthy chose Alex Norwood.  Mrs. McCarthy said, “He is an eager learner.’’

Ms. Copeland chose Will McKissick.  Mrs. Copeland said,  “He is a wonderful author.’’

First Grade

Ms. Graham chose Emma Jean Wayne.  Mrs. Graham said, “She is very thoughtful.’’

Ms. McKnight chose Jack Jones. Mrs. McKnight said, “He is just wonderful.’’

Ms. Verbic chose Emma Williams.  Mrs. Verbic said, “She is fabulous.’’

Second Grade

Ms. Aspinwall chose Sydney Robertson.  Mrs. Aspinwall said, “She is every teacher’s dream.’’

Mrs. LaRoche chose Kendall Sprague. Mrs. LaRoche said, “She is responsible.”

Ms. Trussell chose Anna Lee George. Mrs. Trussel said, “She is so kind.’’

Third Grade.

Ms. McPhee chose Crimrun Srivastava.  Mrs. McPhee said, “She is respectful.”

Ms. Bunyi chose Adam LaLance. Mrs. Bunyi said, ”He is a hard worker.’’

Kinsley May in Mrs. Davis Louis' Class

Fourth Grade

Ms. Davis-Louis choose Kinsley May.  She said, “Kinsley is an amazing hard worker.’’

Ms. Payne chose Morgan Elrod Erikson. She said, “Morgan has excellent study habits.’’

Ms. Fleming chose Matthew. She said, “He is a hard worker.’’

Fifth Grade

Ms. Taylor chose Alaa Mohammed. She said, “She is 

Sixth Grade

Ms. Pepelea chose Erin Stansberry. She said, “She is very responsible.’’

Ms. Burt chose Jane Seage. She said, “ Jane is very deticated.’’

Ms. Mall chose Katelyn Walls. She said, “Katelyn works hard.’’

by Benjamin Nelson

On November 16th, we will have the first Discovery School Chili Cook-Off from 4:30-6:15 P.M. At 6:30 there will be a PTA General Membership Meeting, followed by an old-fashioned square dance. The deadline to enter the Chili Cook-Off is Monday, November 9, 2009!

At the Cook-Off, teachers and parents will bring all kinds of chili they have made. There are many different categories – mild, medium, hot, and flammable, and meat, vegetarian, and alternative chili. Everyone will have an opportunity to sample the chili and vote on their favorite.

Mrs. Trussell is leading a team in the chili cook-off. When asked if she thought she would win or not, she replied, “Yes! I have superb, professional cooks. I’m certain my gourmet chili will be the most delicious.” It costs $4 per person. Proceeds will go to the Music, Art, and Drama programs in the school.

Mrs. Taylor said, “There will be a variety of tastes. Some will be spicy, and some will not. Some will have beans, and some will not. I’m looking forward to tasting all of them.”

There will also be a bake sale. You can bring in goodies for the bake sale or buy something to go along with your chili. It will be a wonderful time to buy something for your Thanksgiving Dinner while supporting the Discovery School.

Students created posters to help advertise the cook-off. These posters will be judged as part of a poster contest. A winner will be chosen from each grade, and the grand winner will receive a Barnes and Noble gift card. All posters are due by Friday, November 6, 2009.

We hope to see you at the Cook-Off!

Grace Apigian and Meredith Craig read together in Mrs. Fleming’s class.

By Molly Womack

The fourth grade is up to a lot of different things this semester.

The teachers and students are all excited about what is being offered.

“I think Mrs. Payne is very nice and very kind,” said Kyla Tangen, a student in Mrs. Shea Payne’s class.

Mrs. Payne’s class has been working on mat this semester, but it is very interesting math. They have been doing Math Mysteries and place value.

A Math Mystery is when Mrs. Payne’s class partners with each other and then Mrs. Payne gives them secret Math problems. They answer the math problem and show how they worked it on a piece of paper.

She also teaches Language Arts to the whole fourth grade. The class is also excited to be doing a pumpkin biography. A pumpkin biography starts with students writing a paper on a particular person who changed the world. Next, they decorate a pumpkin like that person. Then they turn the paper in. After they finished the pumpkin biography, the whole fourth grade had a writing assessment called the Benchmark Writing Assessment. It was held Nov. 4.

Mrs. Shavon Davis-Louis’ class. In math they have been doing properties. Mrs. Davis-Louis teaches Social Studies to all of fourth grade. Students have been taking notes to get ready for the test on Monday.

They are also starting a project in social studies called technology project expedition wrap up.

The final fourth grade class is Mrs. Sarah Flemings’ class. In math they have been learning about things like mean, mode, and median in a catalog the class receives called “dynamath.” It is an interesting catalog that tells you stories after it asks you a math problem, and you fill in the blank. Mrs. Fleming also teaches science to the whole fourth grade. In science they have been learning about erosion and weathering.

From top to bottom and left to right, fourth graders Will Stallings, Ethan Rush, Coleman Adams, Carly Bowen, Thomas, Kali Miller, Shavon Davis Louis, HannahLee Maxwell, Leanna Prince, Micah Pruitt, John All Britten, John David Blankenship, Carrington little, Madeline Seymour, Kinsley May, Meredith Maxwell, Drew Dyer, and Matthew Dellasandro.

Ashlee Brandon waits for a pass in the game against Bradley.

Danielle Brown stands ready to defend in the game against Bradley Academy.

By Will Stallings

The Discovery School Dolphins girls’ basketball team matched up against Bradley Academy Elementary Oct. 29.

While the outcome was not what Discovery hoped for, the players gave it their all, but eventually lost 30-10.

Julia Beasley, one of the members of the Discovery School team, said the game did not turn out the way she had hoped. Before the game started, during warm ups, the team seemed to be in good shape, hitting most of its shots. Julia said she felt “very good” going into the game, but things just didn’t work out.

The score was 8-2 with Bradley on top with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Discovery School never led in the game. By the middle of the second period, the score was 12-4, but the fans in the stand didn’t lose hope or stop their support.

By the middle of the third period, the score was 20-4, and things were not looking good for Discovery. The Dolphins finally found a shooting stroke in the fourth quarter, but by then, it was too late. While the Dolphins managed to nearly triple their score in the final two periods, it wasn’t enough as they fell to Bradley.

Coach Melissa Pepelea said the team had some work to do for the future.

“We need to make better passes, better decisions, and better defense,” Pepelea said.

The girls will host Cason Lane Academy Nov. 5 at 5:30 p.m., and the boys team will play at 6:30 p.m.

The schedule for all schools is available at http://www.cityschools.net/discovery/home/Basketball_Schedule.html

Maiya Swan dribbles the ball up the floor for the game against Bradley Academy.