Davenport Community School Distr ic t

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in the year 1621, and the original Thanksgiving was in celebra-tion of the harvest by the Plymouth Colony after a really bad winter. Each year on the fourth Thursday in November, Americans con-tinue to celebrate the holiday by eating a meal with family. It’s a day for Americans to come together around the table and celebrate, but the meal traditions of today are quite different than those of 1621.

Before settlers came to the East Coast of the United States, the area was populat-ed by Native American tribes. The area around the site of the first Thanksgiving, now known as Southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island, had been the home of the Wampanoag people for over 12,000 years, and had been visited by other European settlers before the arrival of the Mayflower. The

native people had lived and survived in this area for thou-sands of generations.

The Pilgrims left England on their voyage on September 6, 1620. Although filled with indecisions and insecurity, their decision to venture offered both civil and religious liberty. For over two months, the 102 passengers aboard the May-flower braved the harsh ele-ments of sea, as well as illness and hunger. Arriving in Massa-chusetts in late November, the Pilgrims looked for a safe place to land. On December 11, just before arrival at Plymouth Rock, they signed the “Mayflower Compact”—America’s first document of government . However, unpre-pared for the famine and sick-ness of a harsh New England winter, nearly half died before spring. The Pilgrims declared a three-day feast, starting on De-cember 13, 1621, to thank God and to celebrate survival and

harvest with the Native Americans inhabitants.

Thanksgiving Day is normal-ly a day for families and friends to get together for a great meal. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and veg-etables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have and what they are thankful for.

Thanksgiving parades are held in some cities and towns on or around Thanks-giving Day. Some parades or festivals also mark the open-ing of the Christmas shop-ping season, or “Black Fri-day,” a term used to describe the day after Thanksgiving in the retail world. Some people have a four-day weekend, so it is a popular time for vaca-tions and to visit family and friends.

FROM FALL FEAST TO NATIONAL HOLIDAY BY: MELISSA EMBREY

November 2014

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

IYC in DM/

Anticipating

College

2

Horoscopes 3

Festival of Trees 4

Editorials 5

The Art Corner/ Featured Artist

5

Black Friday

Why Ain’t You Whippin’ Yet?

6

Recipes/

Out and About

7

November

Birthdays

8

THE MAVERICK

Some of our Mid City Seniors will be moving on to bigger

things this December! Some graduates pictured are:

Andrew Buesing, Lameisha Moore, Nick Jones (left)

Mid City I. Y. C traveled to Des Moines

in October to fight for “Just Cause,” and

“Foreign Language” Bills. Read more

about their adventure on page 2!

IOWA YOUTH CONGRESS REPRESENTS MID CITY IN DES MOINES BY: ALEX BRIBRIESCO

Page 2 Volume 1 : Issue 3

PLANNING FOR YOUR FUTURE: ANTICIPATING COLLEGE

BY: ANDREW BUESING

Do you have any plans for your life after you graduate high school? Do you have any idea what you want to do with your future? College is never a bad place to look, and it’s never too early to start looking for a career field. Almost all work environments will require a high school education, and this is only the beginning. A lot of modern jobs require nothing short of some sort of college in order to make a living in society. At first, college might seem intimidating and if you don’t have the right mindset it can be frustrating. So, you might be wondering, how do I get into college? Well, if you’re enthused, great, but how about starting off with some-thing a tad smaller. Something along the lines of “how do I begin looking for a college that will suite me?” First, you have to have a general idea of what you want to go into, and if not don’t worry. About 80 percent of students in the United States end up changing their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. On average, college students change their major at least three times over the course of their college career. So even if this is you, don’t panic because there are many people who are undecided in what they want to do. One of the most important things when going to college is make sure you’re ready, you don’t want to rush into something when you’re not ready for it. College is all about mindset and if you enjoy yourself while you’re there you’ll have a pleasurable experience. Don’t lose hope and stick with your dream!

This year in Iowa Youth Congress, Mid City students Jazmine Holbrook, Izzy Parker, Gabe Simms, Scott Boyer, Christian Hann, Austin Winters, Anna Stadler, and Alex Bribriesco tried to get “just cause” and “foreign language in elementary” bills passed. We traveled all the way to the capitol in Des Moines, Iowa in an effort to get others to look at our bills. The bill for “foreign language in elementary schools” was, unfortunately shut down, but the “just cause” didn’t because people liked it. Jazmine Holbrook floor-managed the bill, using her prior knowledge to support her stance by sharing a story that happened to her family to back up why she believed just cause would be a good bill to have. While the “foreign language” bill didn't have all of the information that we needed for it to be passed.

When both of the bills were shut down, we started looking at the “hands free” pro-posed bill. “Hands free” is where you can't have your phone in your hand when you're driving, not even at a stop sign or at a stop light. You have to have blue tooth or your phone connected to your car. The first time you get caught, you get a warning the second time you get a fine. We now know that mobile communications are the main reason for distracted driving, resulting in injury and loss of lives. The National Highway Traffic Safe-ty Administration reported that in 2010 driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes – with 3,092 people killed – and crashes resulting in an injury – with 416,000 people wounded. Forty percent of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, according to a Pew survey.

Mid City students prepare for their future

by working hard today!

IYC Participants pictured above in the Capitol Building in Des Moines:

Jazmine Holbrook, Izzy Parker, Gabe Simms, Scott Boyer, Christian Hann, Austin Winters, Anna Stadler, and Alex Bribriesco

Aries (March 21-April 19): In this world full of hard truth, You find comfort in your colorful day dreams. Its important for you to keep dreaming, because in the end, your dreams are what will pull you through all this tough reality. Taurus (April 20-May 20) You find comfort in surrounding yourself with people who are similar to you. But, Its time for you to take a chance on someone different from you self, it will possibly revive your social life and you may just find yourself with a new best friend. Gemini (May 21-June 21) Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where you are resenting someone or something, but unknown to yourself you are one hurting you and not the other person. It’s time for you to be happy.. let it go. Cancer (June 22-July 22) Growing up is tough, but it is a necessity.. Just because you're growing up does not mean you have to stop being a kid. Embrace your imagination and your playful side reconnect with your inner child. Leo (June 22-July 22) Change happens faster than some can handle. Remember, change is not necessarily bad. So continue changing and embracing it— that way things in life are always fresh and new. Virgo (August 23- September 22) The Future is a mystery and the past is history, but right now is a gift that is why its called the present. Live in Present right now and leave tomorrow to fate. If you do this you'll feel a tremendous weight lifted off your shoulders. Libra (September 23-October 23) Patience is a virtue, right now it is extremely important for you to be patient with someone or something in your life. give things time and it will in the end turn out for the best. Scorpio (October 24- November 21) Making mistakes is an extremely important thing to do. Love your mistakes, but more importantly learn for them. That way, history does not repeat itself. Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Most people in this day and age are very involved with the thought of extravagance, although material things can be great, they are not necessity things. The most important things in life are the things like family, friendship, and happiness. Capricorn (December 22- January 19) You Have a strong vibrant personality and sometimes it scares people. When this is the case, don't try to change or tune down yourself. Continue being unique and surely, they will come to be more at ease around you. Aquarius (January 20- February 18) When times get tough it changes people, some grow soft under the pressure and others become hard under the heat of the circum-stance. Don't be either change the circumstance to fit you don't change to fit it. Pisces (February 19- March 20) Perfection can only take a person so far. instead of dragging yourself down because of your flaws. Become humble with them, We all have them. All we need to do is accept them the same way we do our talents.

Page 3

Volume 1 : Issue 3

NOVEMBER HOROSCOPES WRITTEN BY: ALAINA OTTE

Gary Britcher poses by the word “THINK,” one of the many new graphics adorning our halls.

Attention Mavericks: If you are interested in forming a Chess Club, see Mrs. B in the Library Learning Commons for details! All skill levels welcome!

The Festival of Trees is the annual fundraiser put on by the Quad City Arts founda-tion. It is a non-profit or-ganization. It takes more than 3,500 volunteers, 650 designers, 3,500 Center-Stage entertainers, and 150 sponsors to make the Festi-val of Trees a magical time of the year. The Festival of Trees has raised more than $4,000,000 in support of local arts since 1986. More than 100,000 people attend the Festival of Trees each year in the Quad Cities. The Festival of Trees has many different attractions this year. This year’s theme is “It’s the Most Wonderful time of the Year…” The art exhibit at the festival show-cases many works from the

Quad Cities high school stu-dents. The “art tree” is a twenty foot tall tree filled with books that are distribut-ed to needy children in the Quad Cities. “CenterStage” is a favor-ite Festival attraction that showcases a variety of local talent. More than 3,200 indi-viduals of all ages entertain the Festival audiences each year. “Designer Displays” are the heart of the Festival . It showcases some of the trees from professional and non-professional designers. You can look at the trees, and you can even purchase them! One of the Festival of Trees’ main events it the holi-day parade. The parade will be on November 22, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. in downtown Dav-

enport. The dates for the Festi-val of Trees are November 22-November 30. Admis-sion prices are as follows: Adults-$8, Seniors(60+)-$6, kids(2-10)-$3.

submitting drawings and digital artwork. She’s look-ing for artwork that’s full of color— preferably bright colors and artwork that specifically represents our school and the culture here at Mid City. She will be selecting artwork from students who have shown improvement and com-mitment. Mid City’s iJAG stu-dents have teamed up with Service Learning classes to create a tree for the area’s “Budding Designers” sec-tion to represent our Mav-

The above information described the background of the QC’s “Festival of Trees,” but this year will be an extra exciting one, as Davenport’s newest high school will be showcasing some of our very own stu-dent’s work for the public to see and enjoy. Mrs. Smallwood’s art classes will be submitting their work for patrons to see. This is Mrs. Small-wood’s first year of sub-mitting artwork for the festival of trees. Mrs.Smallwood will be

erick Pride. The tree’s theme was student-selected to be “Stop the Press!” and it will be a representation/ broad-cast of our pride in our beau-tiful and newsworthy stu-dents and school. Look forward to “Scrabble” inspired hand-made garland, purple lights, lots of newsworthy hand-made ornaments, and a stu-

dent-made “Maverick Top-per.”

Page 4

T H E F E S T I VA L O F T R E E S 2 0 1 4 B Y : N I C K J O N E S

M A V E R I C K S F E A T U R E D A T T H E F E S T I V A L B Y : A L E X I S L E E S O N A N D C O U R T N E Y J O N E S

Volume 1 : Issue 3

2014-2015 BROWN BAG LUNCH FOR TEEN MOM’S

AND DAD’S MEET US IN THE LI-BRARY EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY DURING A AND B LUNCH !

Dates:

November 5

November 19

December 3

December 17

January 14

January 28

February 11

February 25

March 11

March 25

April 8

April 22

May 6

The Maver ick

“I am thankful for my health, my children, my jobs, family and friends— just about everything real-ly... I’ m just thankful.” —Miss Karen

“My family, good health, my job, this wonderful planet we live on and real-ly thankful for my hus-band, because he pointed me in the right direction.” —Miss Cheryl I am thankful for my kids, my grandkids, and my wife. —Lynn Daniels

“I am thankful for this job, Courtney Jones, and I am thankful for the fact that I can get up every morning and go to work when some people do not have that privilege.” —Mrs. Williams

“I am thankful for food, my school, and my mom.” —Trey Canaday

“I am thankful for life.” —Gage Flockhart “Everything.” —Jason Ringold

“My Family.” —Ms. Pacha

“ I am thankful for being able to come to Mid City, and my friends.” —Gage Cowgill “ I am thankful for my health, my family, and my job.” —Fred Parks

“I am thankful for being alive every day.” —Justin Harper

Page 5

T H E A R T C O R N E R B Y : V I C T O R I A S H E R R O D

“I AM TH AN K FU L FOR … ” B Y : C O U R T N E Y J O N E S A N D A L E X I S L E E S O N

of the fabulous Mrs. Smallwood! Anyone is welcome to come... This is a great chance to expand yourself as an artist, and to meet new people. Some activities will include: painting chairs for an Alternative Program,

and painting a bench for Mr. Thede. If you have any ques-tions you can ask Mrs. Smallwood in Learning Lab 211. See you there!

New to Mid City High School-- Its first and only Art club! Art club meets in room 211 every Monday after school. Art club will last for around an hour, and participating allows you unleash your “inner artist” under the direction

SPEAKING OF ART An Interview with Brian Sanders By: Victoria Sherrod When did you first start doing art? I started when I was six years old. What is your favorite thing to do in art? My favorite thing is drawing, because it’s less of a mess than painting. Do you prefer drawing realistically or cartoon-like? I prefer Fantasy/Anime drawing. What is your best memory in art class? The best part of art class is working with my friends.

“I am thankful that I live in the United States, because other countries are not as fortunate as us, and we have our free-dom.”

-Nate Dunahoo

Volume 1 : Issue 3 Page 6

As practically everyone knows, “Black Friday” takes place the day after Thanksgiving, and its also the biggest shopping day of the year! But ironically, “Black Friday” has a darker side as well. Violence and Black Friday go hand in hand. Between the rushing and the waiting, tempers grow thin and violence can erupt. In some cases, such as one in California, the violence happened between two customers when one women wait-ing in line for a discounted X Box began pepper-spraying other waiting for the deal. She claimed she did this “to get an advantage.” Other times, it’s a case of customers against employees. Like in New York where a mob of customers swiftly barged into a Wal-Mart and trampled one of the Wal-Mart employees to death! So remember this year, while Black Friday shop-ping ,be extra safe and while saving money save lives too!

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL THE HAZARDS OF BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING BY: ALAINA OTTE

WHY AIN’T YOU WHIPPIN’ YET?

BY: ALEX MARQUEZ

Many students are ap-proaching or are the age of 16 and are able to ob-tain a drivers license. Only 44% of teens get their license within the first year of turning 16 and just over half of teens receive their license at the age of 18. Here is some information if you're getting or looking into getting your license.

To obtain a drivers license you must:

-Be at least 16 years old. -Have held your out-of-state learner’s permit or interme-diate driver’s license for the last 12 months. -Have completed an ap-proved driver’s education course. -Not have any accidents or moving violations on your out-of-state driving record within the last 6 months. -Have practiced driving for at least 20 hours, including 2

Senior Nick Jones poses by his car, showing off his

wheels

Volume 1 : Issue 3 Page 7

Ingredients: 2 (9 ounce) packages frozen green beans, thawed 10 slices of bacon 10 small fresh mushrooms, chopped ½ tsp. garlic powder ½ tsp. onion powder 1 cup half-and-half ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place green beans into a 1 quart or similar sized casserole dish.

Fry bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat until browned and crispy. Remove to drain on paper towels. Drain off some of the grease, leaving enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add mush-rooms to the grease in the pan and season with garlic powder and onion powder. Cook and stir until tender, about 4 minutes.

Pour the half-and-half into the pan with the mush-rooms and stir to scrape the bacon flavor from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Pour this mixture over the green beans. Crumble bacon over the top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is toasted.

Ingredients: 2/3 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, defrosted

1/3 cup heavy cream

12 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped

1 cinnamon stick

12 ounces chocolate candy coating

4 graham crackers Yield: 40-48 small truffles Pour the apple juice concentrate into a small sauce-pan and add the cinnamon stick to the pan. Place it over medium heat to simmer until the concentrate is reduced by half. This process will take 10-15 minutes, but keep checking it until you have 1/3 cup of highly concentrated apple juice. Add the cream to the 1/3 cup concentrated apple juice in the saucepan, and bring this liquid to a boil. Meanwhile, place the chopped milk chocolate in a large bowl.

Once the cream-apple juice mixture is boiling, pour it through a strainer (to catch the cinnamon stick) over the chopped chocolate. Use a whisk to gently stir the chocolate until it melts and you have a smooth, shiny mixture. This is your ga-nache. Press a layer of cling wrap on top of the ganache and refrigerate it until it is firm enough to scoop and roll, about 2 hours.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE REMIX

BY:

APPLE SPICE TRUFFLES

BY:

Mid City High School has been a work in progress, coming together piece by piece. Lately, we have had a hallway makeover, and we have new TVs on the walls that show slideshows of this year and last year’s memories. They put up motivational quotes, graphics and words along the walls like “Lead” & “Think” & “Innovate.” In the front of the school as you walk in, screens that have “MCHS” along with a “Mid City High School” sign have been installed. In the halls we have invest-ed in couches and work tables. Our new desks have a rotating top to do our work . The furniture helps a lot with students who need individual work time outside of the classroom, and the beautiful graphics and common learning areas inspire MCHS students to work their hardest every day!

EVERYTHING NEW TO BE SEEN : OUT AND ABOUT AT MCHS

BY: KATELYNN ENGLAND

Recipes Shared to be enjoyed by:

Melissa Embrey

Mid City High School

3801 N. Marquette Street

Davenport, Iowa

52806

Davenpor t Community School Dis t r ic t

If you have suggestions, comments, questions or editorials, we meet every day in Learning Lab

321 (Mrs. Goddard’s room) on the third floor. Please include your name with all inquiries.

Look for the following features in the December edition of “The Maverick”:

Christmas/ Holiday Features and Recipes

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony/ Celebrations

Festival of Trees Features

December Birthdays

The Art Corner

December Graduates/ Spotlights

http://www.davenportschools.org/midcity/

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS

BY: KIRK GRAY

BOOKWORMS BEWARE!!!

NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE TODAY! HEAD TO THE IMC TO CHECK OUT THESE NEW TITLES:

Behind Barbed Wire We Beat the Streets This Star won’t go Out No Choirboy The Pregnancy Project Teen angst? Naaah…. I am a Seal Team Survivor Looking for Alaska An Abundance of Katherines The Fault in our Stars Paper Town Ghosts of War Hidden like Anne Franke Hole in my Life Series: Wolverine and X Men The Journey Positive: a Memoir

Also, reminder to teen moms and dads—children’s books/ backpacks are

Tore Crane, 11/08 Anyae Dothard 11/17 Ashley Fry 11/22 Kirk Gray 11/16 Beth Houghton 11/04 Morgan Kurtz 11/04 Alexis Leeson 11/28 Alexis Marquez 11/22 Lameishia Moore 11/04 Rikki Pandori 11/23 Tristan Ricklefs 11/24 Miranda Salkil 11/23 Bailey Troyer 11/20 Chance Turkle 11/5 Austin Winters 11/05 Mercedes Yonkovic 11/16