RRMR blogger, Jocelyn Arends (left), along with fellow pine-cone bird-feeder maker, Lauren Parcher pose with the finished product.

RRMR blogger, Nicole Brady (center), waits her turn at musical chairs with the 4th graders.

RRMR blogger, Wes Winters (second from right), is busy on Aaron Eilerts Service Day.

 RRMR blogger, Darrin Kingery, prepares to bake the bread he made with the sixth graders.

RRMR get new students

Rudd Rockford Marble Rock community school district gets two new students.

Dalton Stevens is a senior. Dalton enjoys sports, hunting, and cars. Dalton explains that RRMR has a lot more students than his other school. He enjoys hanging out with his new friends.

Samantha Stevens is a sophomore. Samantha enjoys basketball, softball, cheerleading, dance, hanging out with her friends, fishing, and coon and squirrel hunting. Samantha explains that RRMR has a lot more students and the students are nicer and they have more sports.

Dalton and Samantha moved to Iowa from Humphreys, Missouri. They moved because their dad got a chance to get a better job.

Facebook: pros and cons

Pros:

*You connect with friends you might not see daily.

*Meet new people.

*Helps you pass time when you have nothing better to do.

*You can send private messages if you don't want others to see your conversation.

*You can update statuses and send messages quickly.

*You can make things private (if you don't know someone and you don't want them seeing everything you can change your settings so friends can only view ).

Cons:

*Once you put your picture up there's a chance it'll never be all the way deleted from the internet.

*May encounter cyber bullying.

*Inappropriate stuff might be said.

*Facebook might get boring.

*Friends you talk to may not get on Facebook a lot.

BAKE SALE TOMORROW!

Tomorrow Tuesday, February 28, 2012 the Comm. Skills class will sponsor a bake sale to help profit their class senior project.

The bake sale will be during period 3 and 4.

Bring your money!

Eat tasty treats and give back!

Spencer Kelly

Ever since he was a little kid Spencer, had a dream of winning a state wrestling title. Although he fell a little short, he was still overwhelmed with his 7th place finish. Spencer says, "this was just a way of showing off all of my hard work that has finally paid off." Spencer was ranked 8th in the state near all of the season, and to place above his rank was a goal of his to accomplish, proving he was not overrated, and he proved that he belonged on the podium. Placing at the state tournament isn't something that is an easy task, only 6 students have placed at the state tournament in school history.

Writer fired for racist slur as Lin an the Knicks go up and down.

By: Jocelyn Arends

Former ESPN writer Anthony Federico was fired last week when he called the young NBA sensation Jeremy Lin a “Chink in the Armor.” Federico was fired by ESPN and is saying that his comment was an “honest mistake” and he did not mean any harm. Although Federico may seem sincerely sorry for his actions, many people are not convinced that his statements were a mistake. Many are offended by Federico’s comment saying that it’s racist to all Asian Americans and not just rising NBA superstar Jeremy Lin. Lin meanwhile has still been on a constant tear on the basketball court scoring nearly 30 against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks and 21 points against the New Jersey Nets. Even with Lin’s best efforts scoring those 21 points was not enough to beat Kris Humphries double-double along with the amazing 38 point performance by point guard Deron Williams. The Knicks lost to New Jersey and have some people wondering whether or not Lin can play along with Carmello Anthony since the New Jersey game was the first game that Anthony and Lin have played together in. Some are wondering whether the Knicks should trade Carmello Anthony since he does not mesh with the system that new York has to offer at the moment and with Anthony’s salary being extremely expensive, it may just be a logical idea. As of right now I would say that it is way too early to tell whether or not Lin and Anthony can play with each other but the verdict is still out there and it will be interesting to see where this New York Knicks train ends up.

The Delicious History of Cupcakes!

In the 19th century was the time cupcakes made it’s way around to the United States, at first we called them “number cakes” alot of the time because of how easy it was remembering the mesurements of each ingredient it took to make each of them. Today the cupcakes have increased in the variety of ingrediants, measurements, shapes, and the creative decorations we make on the cupcakes. Cupcakes were revolutionary back in the 19th century because of the time it took and saved in the kitchen, they were very convenient because of how quick they took compared to original sized cakes. Since the making of cupcakes and with our more improved pans and utilities, cupcakes have become very popular to make. Now you can find them in local bakeries, and blogs, dessert magazines, cookbooks, and also homemade recipes from homes, and the decorations and diffrent types of cupcakes go on with no end. The cupcakes will always be popular because of how yummy and easy they are!

NBA Player: Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Shu-How Lin was born on August 23rd, 1988. He is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks. He received no athletic scholarship offers out of high school and being un-drafted out of college, the Harvard University graduate reached a partially guaranteed contract deal with his hometown Golden State Warriors. Lin is the first American player in the league to be chinese. Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks take on the Lakers at home on Friday February 10th, 2012. The Knicks come out with a chip on their shoulder stating that they are going to get the win. Jeremy Lin proved to his coach that he wanted to play, he ended the game with 38 points and 7 assists. Kobe Bryant had 35 points. Kobe was interviewed after the game and was asked what he thought about the rookie Jeremy Lin. Kobe explained that he believes that there a lot of other players that are in the league that don`t get the chance to show the spectators or coaches what they have or what they can do. Jeremy Lin came out with one goal, his goal was to win, and he wanted to achieve that goal on Friday night. Jeremy was point leader of the night and he didn`t stop, he kept improving every night they had a game. With the first three season starts he has had over 80 points. The Knicks next game is in Sacramento, where they will take on the Kings on the 15th of February at 7:30.

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

By: Jocelyn Arends

On Sunday, February, 12 2012 the 54th Annual Grammy awards were held in Los Angeles. Among the acts of the night featuring Taylor Swift, to Katy Perry, to an scratch your head performance by Niki Minaj, the Grammy’s had all the sure fire entertainment for the evening. Among the big winners of the night was Adele, who swept all six of her Grammy nominations, including winning album of the year. She also had a unforgettable performance of her 2011 hit “Rolling in the Deep.” Adele had a comeback for the ages after being diagnosed with a rare throat disease in the fall and sitting out and resting her voice to better her health. One of the more strange events of the evening was the fact that Chris Brown had a few big appearances on the Grammy stage, claiming the title of the best R &B album and having two performances. Many are wondering why Brown is even being reconsidered in the music industry today after assaulting former girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. Brown’s arrogance was very evident not only on the Grammy stage but also on other appearances such as his 2011 Good Morning America appearance where Brown got so angry at host Robin Roberts for asking him questions about the 2009 assault that he began to say gay slurs and threw a chair at Good Morning America window. So many today are wondering whether or not Brown should even be respected in the music business.

The most somber moment of the evening was Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “I will always love” by Dolly Parton which was made famous by the late Whitney Houston. Houston died Saturday night after being found submerged under bath water and unresponsive. The music world was shocked and shaken by the sudden and tragic event of Houston’s death that the Grammy’s had a tribute that was simple, yet unforgettable by one of the greatest voices today, Jennifer Hudson. Host L.L. Cool J also gave his respect to Houston by starting off the show with a prayer. Questions are still surrounding Houston’s death but more details will be coming out in later weeks.

Other winners of the night were Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “Otis”, Bon Iver, Lady Antebellum, and many others. This year’s Grammy’s had many acts, unforgettable moments, and a great audience. Here’s hoping that next year’s Grammy’s can do the same.

China's future leader visits Iowa

27 years ago a Chinese man visited the state of Iowa to learn more, of how we grow and raise our livestock and crops, while here he was taken care of by Sarah, Dick Lande. Now over 2 decades later Xi Jinping the Vice President of China wants to come back and make a follow up visit of his old friends. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is very excited to have such a high ranking official from another country visiting his state, on his personal decision. Many Iowan officials believe this will be good for state economy, because China is a major buyer of crops and livestock we grow. Sarah and Dick plan on building a bridge on friendship with Xi, and hope to stay in touch with the world leader.

Valentine Statistics

1. 180,000,000 Valentine cards have been given to others yearly.

2. If men were not to buy there girlfriends something on Valentines day 53% of women would break up with them.

3. 50% of Valentine cards are bought 6 days before the actual day.

4. 15% of women that get flowers for Valentines day send them to themselves.

5. Over 9,000,000 pet owners will buy Valentine gifts for there pets on Valentines day.

6. Men spend twice as much as women do on Valentines day.

7. 1/3 of men prefer not getting gifts from others, while only 20% of women feel the same.

8. Men buy flowers for valentines day 73% of time, while women only buy them 23% of the time.

9. Over 36,000,000 heart shaped chocolates are bought on valentines day.

10. Valentines day and mothers day is the most popular times to buy flowers.

Sources:
http://www.squidoo.com/valentines-day-statistics

http://itthing.com/10-interesting-and-weird-facts-about-valentines-day

http://www.wisebread.com/weird-things-you-didnt-know-about-valentines-day

http://festivals.iloveindia.com/valentines-day/valentine-day-fact.html

http://candy.about.com/od/thecandyindustry/a/vday_trivia.htm

http://hicards.com/valentine/vfacts.html

BIg Deals

Coming soon this month, a new bar will be opening in the place of the old "Zax Bar and grill".

"Big Deals" will be the name, and Dennis and Lori Paulus will be the owners. Lori's menu will

consist of many regular bar food items, such as hamburgers, salads, breakfast, etc. and daily

specials. Stop in and have a bite to eat!

Recap of the UNI Panthers and (12)Creighton

The Uni Panthers host (12) Creighton February 4th at McLeod Center in Cedar Falls at 5:00 P.M. The Panthers have been working hard and have been working together as a team. The top performers of the Game were Doug McDermott from Creighton with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Seth Tuttle from UNI with 13 points, nine rebounds, one steal, and one block. Northern Iowa opened up a 51-45 lead with 5:21 left. The Panthers reeled off an 11-2 run capped by a Deon Mitchell layup and a 3 from Chip Rank, and McDermott picked up his fourth foul on a charge near the basket. Young stopped the UNI surge with a three-point play, pulling the Bluejays within a possession with 3:55 left, but Jake Koch's 3 with 1:11 left gave the Panthers a 58-54 lead. James buried a huge 3 from the corner with 23 seconds left to put Northern Iowa ahead 61-56. Creighton's Jahenns Manigat made it 61-59 on a 3 with 15 seconds left. Anthony James gets fouled and misses the first but makes the second. It is now a 62-59 ball game with the UNI panthers out in front. Creighton takes a full timeout, after the timeout it is Creightons ball, Antoine Young shoots a three ball and makes it, the game is all tied up at 62-62. The UNI panthers inbound the ball to Anthony James with 2 seconds left on the clock, James works the defense down the court and puts up a three and made the game winning shot for the UNI panthers. The Panthers record is now (16-9). The Panthers travel to Wichita State Wednesday February 8th.

Do you know what you want for Graduation?

Graduation is almost here! And for much of the class of 2012, it’s time to start thinking about what gifts that they might need to become successful in the future.
There are many gifts out there. From futons and bed sheets to lap tops and towels but what are the most wanted Graduation gifts? And what are the most needed Graduation gifts? That is a question all of us Senior class members need to start asking ourselves.
So what are the top ten most wanted Graduation gifts? Number 10: A simple high quality ink pen. You never know when you’ll need one to write notes with. Number 9: A college spirit gift. Wherever you’re going to college, you will want to support that college in any way possible so getting a gift that will commemorate your school is just what you want. Number 8: A digital camera. You will have some of your best memories while at college. And there is nothing better to have memories saved on your digital camera. Number 7: A hope chest. I know what you’re are thinking “That is only for girls!” but no it can be a great use to put anything in, you can put supplies and even clothes in your hope chest and it’s a great use of space. Number 6: Commemorative coins. Commemorative coins are a great way to remember your high school career and graduation. Just like class rings, it is something that you can hold on to forever. Number 5: A lap top computer. This is probably the one gift I would want personally on my Graduation. It is extremely vital to your college life, especially this day in age where technology rules in the class room. Number 4: An I-Pad. Just like a lap top, an I-Pad is something that can get things done in the classroom. Although lap tops are extremely portable, I-Pads are even more portable and are easy to carry around on campus from class to class. Number 3: An I-Pod. Although college life is fun and full of memories, it can also be stressful. Music brings a calmness to your life and can also get you through walking long distances to class. Number 2: “Oh the Places You’ll Go” the book by Dr. Suess. This gift may seem strange to come in at number 2 on the most wanted Graduation gifts but “Oh the Places You’ll Go” is sweet and a perfect book to commemorate your achievements and your future. Number 1: Money! The obvious number one is money, it’s simple, not much thought goes into it, and it is extremely versatile to use. You can use money for anything! Books, car payments, school tuition, whatever you want! That is something worth considering when you are thinking about what you want as a Graduation gift this May. So Graduation is near and though we want a lot of gifts, we need to think about what we need and not want to become successful. That is what you should be thinking about when you’re purchasing a Graduation gift.

Sources: www.About.com

Wrestlers

Wyatt Portis

Wyatt is a Sophomore wrestler, who has wrestled since he was in elementary. His favorite memory is beating Coleman Waters. The best thing about being a wrestler in Wyatt's opinion is "the feeling when practice is over, and winning. Wyatt's goals are to qualify for the state tournament in Des Monies.

Dan Guthart

Dan is a Senior wrestler, who has wrestled for only 5 years. Despite only 5 years of experience Dan was a state qualifier in 2011, which also is his biggest accomplishment. Dan's favorite thing about wrestling is the feeling when you win.

Spencer Kelly

Spencer is a Senior, who has wrestled ever since he was 4. Wrestling for that long pays off in a big way, and Spencer is a prime example of hard work paying off, after qualifying for districts twice and 100+ career wins, plus being currently ranked 8th in the state. Although his career goal is to win state, Spencer has yet to make it through districts, and on to state.

Rugby Sliger

Rugby a Sophomore, has had long wrestling career, starting when he was in Kindergarden. Rugby started wrestling because of his family tradition in wrestling. For being a young wrestler, Rugby has shown his stripes as a varsity wrestler, placing 3rd in the corn bowl conference.

Issac Schwantes

As a Sophomore Issac decided to go out for wrestling to make himself a better football player. (Better tackler) He only has three years of experience in the wrestling world. With such little time from Sophomore years to his Senior year, Issac has improved immensely in those three years beating the 6th ranked wrestler in the state at his weight class. Issac’s favorite part of being a wrestler is the feeling of winning, and goals are to make it through Sectionals and to Districts.

Matt Fullerton

Matt has been wrestling since he was in grade school, and as he grew up he liked it more, and more and decided to dedicate himself to it. As a Senior Matt has 100+ wins, and has beaten the school pins in a season record. The feeling of personal achievement is matts favorite part of being a wrestler.

Rockford Boys Basketball Team

The Rockford Varsity Boys basketball team have been having troubles showing their talent in the recent games. They traveled to Manly, Iowa last week, to take on the Central Springs Panthers and had a very good game but could not come out on top; they lost 34-49. They had another tough match up against Saint Ansgar on Friday, January 27th, 2012. The boys were already defeated by the Saints on December 16th, 2012 by the score of 26-57. After team discussion, they badly wanted to take back the first time they met, and defeat the Saints on their own court. And as they went through the tough practices, getting ready to go out and show the crowd and their coaches the talent they actually have, they pulled out with a victory by three points, 44-41.

They knew that they got the job done but they had plenty more games ahead of them to conquer. They hosted the Nashua-Plainfield Huskies on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012. They played hard and showed their talent but it just wasn`t enough to get the win. They got defeated 53-62. The Rockford Warriors travel to Greene, Iowa on Friday, Feb. 3, to take on the North Butler Bearcats. The Bearcats defeated the Warriors in the past and the Warriors are really wanting the game back so they can get the win. The Rockford Boys appreciate the support from their spectators and their coaches for cheering and helping them when they need it. The Warriors will have one more conference game after the Bearcats. They will be hosting the West Fork Warhawks at the Rockford Community School on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012.

The Rockford Boys Basketball team will be traveling to Riceville to play their first district game on Monday, February 13th, 2012.

Buying Under The Influence.

By: Jocelyn Arends

As I was driving my car home from school, I was listening to the radio and heard a very interesting statistic about people buying under the influence or otherwise known as “BUI.” I have heard of sleep shopping but I have never heard of shopping while intoxicated. When people are buying under the influence they tend to buy products that they would not buy while they were sober. The statistics of such a thing as buying while intoxicated is alarmingly and on the rise. Most women are affected by this, since women are susceptible to buying products on-line than men. Most people who buy under the influence end up buying products that are ridiculous and humiliating. Usually the most purchased items are tattoos but some items can get as ridiculous as a hot dog toaster. I mean who really needs a hot dog toaster? This has affected many people and though most people buy stuff on-line while they had a few drinks, many also stumble in to shops, buy something ridiculous and hand the cashier their credit card with out thinking properly. This has cost many people tons of money and that is one thing many experts are saying is a bad habit to produce. What experts believe is that the consumer should not drink during the day when most stores are open, avoid late-night infomercials, restrict on-line usage after you drink, and the biggest component is to have a support system, or someone who can tell you what’s wrong and what’s right to buy. Another thing you can do to prevent buying under the influence is to unplug the computer keyboard before you uncork a bottle. This can at times be serious and eventually lead to something more than money problems, it can be a habit, a habit of serious consequences. So the next time you decide to consume alcohol (which you should not be anyway if you’re underaged) think of the consequences when you are shopping for ridiculous products.

Sources:

www.Fashionista.com

www.Shine.yahoo.com

www.latimesblog.latimes.com

Horror History

Scary movies have been around from 1910 to present day, they were just starting to make the films. Back then the movies were older; they were in black in white, a lot shorter than movies today. The movies today have improved immensely they tend to be longer and the graphics, visuals, sounds are 10x better since the early 1900's. You all could tell the differences of older movies compared to movies now just from watching an older horror film to a current horror film.

Frankenstein (1910): As you can see in this trailer the picture isn't very clear and the sound wasn't as good. The movie itself isn't as scary and chilling as a horror film is today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kjCAJRrsVA&feature=related

The Devil Inside (2012): As you can see this The Devil Inside trailer is more creepy compared to the Frankenstein trailer because they make the movie seem more real because of the images they use, better technology, the contrast between quietness compared to the sudden increase in the noise and actions of the scene. Watching older films now to most of us is humorous thinking about how back then we might have found it quite scary because it's the only thing we had back then compared to now. Scary movies now have the thrills of the moment, the volume, quality, sound, the make up, and how it all seems to look a lot more real since the early 1900s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUDFKhe2iuQ