BMX Rally

On Friday November, 19th in the manor high school gym ASA entertainment came to talk to the mhs students about living a smoke-free life. Mr. Brackmeyer felt like it was important to inform the students on how much tobacco can affect our life.
The original plan was to hold the BMX rally in the student parking lot, so that biking and talking were separate. The reason why he would have liked it separate was to be able to get the information across to the students without them getting distracted by the bikers. The reason why the BMX rally was held in the gym was because it was a safety hazard due to the high winds. The safety hazard caused the skate club not to be able to skate and show their talents.
The BMX groups came to Mr. Brackmeyer two through three months before the event was held asking if they could inform the students on how important living a tobacco-free life is. According to www.quitsmokingsupport.com , after the first puff of a cigarette it just takes six seconds to reach the brain. A cigarette contains 43 known cancer-causing compounds. Tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and ammonia are all some ingredients that are in a cigarette. There is twice the amount of tar in the last puff then the first. Most of the chemicals inhaled in a cigarette stay in the lungs.
At the end of the BMX rally, questions were asked about the tobacco facts that were said during the BMX rally. The student who answered the question right got a t-shirt. The last question was a three part question for the prize of headphones. Christina Villalobos also known as Lobo won the headphones. After the last prize was won the students were dismissed and got on their buses.
In my opinion this tobacco-free BMX rally can only be as effective as the student wants. You, as the reader, have the choice to read this or not. When a student is offered cigarette, they have the choice to do what they want. It is your life after all and no one can make you do something that you don’t want to do. Even though it is your choice to do what you want, you should really think about the long term affects of what you do today.

Project Mentor

Are you exhausted, have stacks of homework, and can barely find excitement at school? Then join the Project Mentor Program. The mentor can choose to volunteer at any Manor Independent School District. When school starts again the mentor can either keep or receive a different mentee, and it doesn’t matter what grade the child is in. Project Mentor is for a mentee to be a good listener and to never judge a mentee. This program is to be a role model to a youth once a week for only thirty minutes. This program also counts as community service.
When a mentor is together with a mentee they both do activities like play board games, create art projects, read, go hang out outside, play basketball with others, and become more sociable. Hanging out with different people helps the mentor to expand their patience level.
It’s a good program for everyone to join, to bond and interact with a person that’s younger than you. Being in high school can be stressful, but when you’re with a mentee it helps the mentor to interact with their childlike character, it’s important because high school can be stressful, and when around children its makes a person relaxed and help someone else with their problems. Project Mentor shows everyone that a person isn’t alone in a situation, everyone needs help in some type of area. This program isn’t to talk about deep personal situations it’s to help another person out and build a relationship. Project Mentor is about meeting different personalities and the program gives a chance for the mentor to listen to the mentee. A teacher isn’t always able to talk to an individual one-on-one but a mentor is able to be there for support. A mentee may want to share something that they can’t tell their parent or parents about, but it’s the mentor’s job to keep their personal business confidential. Together the mentor and the mentee develop a friendship that lasts for years.
Also there will be a future Project Mentor Club coming soon!

The Word

We have made it to the end of the fall semester at Manor High School, a semester that seems to have flown by so fast that all of us , the students, the teachers, and even administrators will need every bit of the two weeks of Christmas vacation just to catch our wealth, yet as fast as this semester has come and gone, and despite all of the class chaos of due dates, projects, college applications, games, plays, competition, and still have time with friends, we have made significant strides and achieved so much here at Manor High School.
From our athletes to our band to the day-to-day struggle to overcome the challenges and obstacles of the classroom. The students at Manor High School are putting in much effort and work to get their jobs accomplished. Our job is to improve Manor High School from being an academically acceptable campus to a recognized campus. In order to follow through with making this campus recognized, students should stay more focused and study more so that they would be prepared for tasks. The athletics should practice harder to improve the school records so that we have more scouts looking toward our athletics. In this issue of the word, we decided to focus on some of the major events including volleyball games, basketball tournaments, Adopt A Kid, the band,, and Grace Valladares write a article on Appreciation to the lunch ladies and genital men ,who cook meals for 1200 students and administration for breakfast, and lunch.
By: Kayla Johnson

MHS: Girls and Boys Soccer
The Lady Mustangs will try to get their second district championship in a row. With last years record of 10-3-3, you can be assured that they will improve their game. With six seniors gone from last year Coach Guerra and his team will have to make it up. When asked about this year’s success Coach Guerra responded, “Though we lost many people last year I believe we have enough to make it up…and, this year, our team is working much harder.”With new players in try-outs, new talents will be shown on the field. Coach Guerra has been coach for Manor for four years and with outstanding records. The Girls Soccer team should be successful this year as they have been before.
This year should be interesting for the Manors boys’ soccer team. Many players where unable to play due to graduation of seniors, and the UIL rules of age requirements. With half of the varsity gone Coach Rawls will have to train his team harder if he wants to keep his “make it to playoffs…there’s no excuse” motto going. The soccer team has made the playoffs in the past two years and expects the same to happen this year. Coach Rawls started the soccer team in Manor and has been coaching for seven years. Coach Rawls is pleased to have “the best job in the world” and to be able to coach these young athletes at the sport they love. The team will be young this year which will make them the bright new future of the boys’ soccer team.
Both Girls and Boys soccer team will be young and talented. Practices will be more serious than ever to focus on the formation on the varsity and junior varsity teams. You can expect a fantastic soccer season this year.
Guerra: “With the players will, I know they will leave it all on the field”
Rawls: “My players have the passion, desire, and will to play soccer”

This year a lot of changes and new arrivals changed the Manor High School Cross Country program in a very positive way. The arrival of Coach Rawls as an assistant for Coach Bohman brought with him a huge amount of enrollment from the Soccer Boys. With such a huge pool of runners and undeniable amount of talent, success to the program was more than assured. A big part of this success was due to the camaraderie and commitment of the athletes and coaches from both programs.

Varsity Boys:
At the beginning of the year, there was a sentiment of confidence from both Coaches and athletes. However the loss of last year’s senior class left big shoes to be filled and an incredible amount of competition. The Varsity Boys starting team was never settled during preseason, making every practice a closed fight for the Varsity spots. Every now and then a J.V. runner would step up and move up to the Varsity team. On the Coaches side, they made this years schedule tougher by pushing the athletes on more competitive and challenging meets. This extra effort leads the Varsity Boys to Win the District championship and their pass to the Regional Meet. At the regional meet, the Boys did an exceptional job in representing manor and finished sixth overall. Junior Juan Jaimes finished 5th place earning his pass to the so desired State Meet. Unfortunately Juan suffered an injury at the Regional Meet that kept him from participating on the State Meet. However the experience is there and it is only a reason for an even more successful season for next year.

J.V. Boys:
Success for the J.V. Boys was more than announced since the beginning of the season. With such a vast amount of talent and such a determined group of athletes, nothing less than a District Championship would be accepted. They fought at every practice and sometimes outhustled the Varsity Boys making practices competitive and effective but, not everything was competition and individual achievements. The J.V Boys knew their role was to push the Varsity Boys and at the same time get better. An atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship was developed and both teams supported each other like a family. By the time the District Meet came, the J.V. team was a team of experienced runners that were prepared well enough for the Varsity level. They Won the District Championship with an incredible advantage and brought home the second championship of the season.

Varsity Girls:
The loss of crucial runners from last year left the Lady Mustangs in a very tough situation. They struggled thought the preseason having their highs and lows. However they did a very decent preseason for the type of challenges they faced against 4A schools. With one of their fastest runners injured a week before the District Meet and various members of the team with sore muscles, their season seemed to be falling apart. Surprisingly at the District Meet, the Ladies fought hard and none one of them gave up. They finished 4th overall missing regionals by one place. Although they didn’t qualified as a team, Aimee Slagle did arriving 5th place.

J.V. Girls:
The J.V. Girls had a tough season. Since most of the experienced runners were at the Varsity level, the team struggled thought the preseason but managed to stay in float and get better. Every practice was a learning experience and the enrollment increased significantly this not only helped the J.V. team but it also pushed the Varsity Girls. The day of the District Meet, The J.V. Girls stepped up and surprised everybody. The J.V. girls won District with a significant lead and earned the respect of the whole community.

MHS Cheerleaders Going To Florida

This school year the MHS Cheerleaders have been working hard on going to competition. On Sunday, November 21st the MHS Cheerleaders participated in a Universal Cheerleading Association Regional Championship Competition. The competition had competitors that were much tougher than the MHS Cheerleaders have ever gone up against. During their warm-up time one of the flyers, Angelica Muniz, sprained her ankle. With minutes to their performance the MHS Cheerleaders didn’t give up and came together as a team to make adjustments to their routine. The MHS Cheerleaders placed third in their division and qualified to receive an invitation to the National Championship Competition in Florida. This event will take place in Orlando, Florida at Disney World, on February 12th and 13th. Their performance will also be broadcast on ESPN.

The MHS Cheerleaders have already started fundraising to go to this event. They will be selling discount cards for businesses in Manor and in Austin and are also participating in a Chili’s Give Back Fundraiser on December 9th, 16th, 22nd, and 30th, and an IHOP Fundraiser on January 4th and 10th.

This event has shown the commitment the MHS Cheerleaders have to each other and to their team. The MHS Cheerleaders have shown leadership they have to make important decisions. We congratulate the MHS Cheerleaders on this great accomplishment

College and Career Center!

Written By: Haley Malone
College and Career Center
Our Manor High School College and Career Center is opening doors for the students of Manor High School to have the option to go to college or trade-school. The College and Career Center is to encourage freshmen to start thinking about college and for juniors and seniors to get ready to start applying to colleges. Mrs. Caldwell and Mr. DeLeon are the masterminds behind the College and Career Center.
I interviewed Mrs. Caldwell about her thoughts and hopes for the program. The first question I asked her was what made her exactly want to start this program at Manor High School. Her response was that she wanted to expand the students of Manor High School beyond this town and the closed-mindedness and thoughts that you have to stay in-state or pick an agricultural career. She wanted to open up doors for our students and give them more opportunities.
I asked her next how her previous job had prepared her for working as the College Advisor for our district. She told me that she’s been in education for 25 years working in teaching, coaching, and administration. The correlation of the work ethics and motivation from coaching has been great for her job as College Advisor at Manor High School. She said that being in administration helped her with leadership but that she would rather be around students. She likes to be a motivational leader for the students as well as an advocate for them. She really loves her students.
Then, I asked her what were her hopes for this program at Manor High were. She told me that her hope was to have our program nationally recognized. She wants this program to be all about the students. She stated that the Texas A&M Admissions person told her they have received more applications from Manor High School than from any other high school in the Central Texas region.
I then asked her if she likes how the program is and if she was happy with the progress. She said that the program is off to a great start and she’s happy the awareness of being able to go to college is being made more available to the students. She knows very well herself that going to college can change a person’s life. Last year about 91% of students applied to college throughout the United States.
Next, I asked her how she advertises the College and Career center to the school and she said that there are always posters and bulletin boards around. The upcoming website will also get more students to be informed. There are also announcements about the College and Career Center.
The final question I asked was if she really loved what she was doing. She said, “Of course, I love doing this for the students, to help them to open doors.” It’s what Mrs. Caldwell and Mr. DeLeon are here for.

Cross Country District Meet

Finally, after three and a half months of sweat, pain and injuries .The big day for our Cross Country Athletes came at the District Meet that took place at the Travis County East Metro Park in Pflugerville. Lots of high expectations were set. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t take at least four district championships home today”, said Coach Bohman, head Coach of the Cross Country team.

The day started early in the morning for our athletes. The atmosphere was tense due to the big responsibility and, as the sun rose, so did the excitement and nervousness towards the big race. The District Meet was divided in different categories: Varsity Girls, Varsity Boys, J.V Girls, J.V boys, and freshman Boys. The first team to race was the Varsity Girls. The Lady Mustangs finished fourth place after a very closed race. However, Senior Aimee Slagle made it to regionals finishing 5th in the district meet.

Next up on the line were the Varsity Boys. The team was composed of Juan Jaimes (11th); Alfredo Hernandez (10th); Issai Martinez (10th); Brian O’ Hara (10th); Eduardo Bustillos (10); Eduardo Escobar (10th); and Delfino Gonzalez (12th).The boys won district with a significant advantage, brought home the first championship of the day and their pass to regionals.

The J.V. girls were up next. They knew they had a tough race to run and that their possibilities of winning district were small but not impossible. However the ladies stepped it up and shocked everybody by winning district with and getting the second championship of the day.

Next, the J.V. boys were also in a very tough race. The J.V. runners had been working hard and their level of running was almost as good as the varsity level. The J.V. boys also finished first place with a shocking advantage over all the other schools having at least 6 out of the 7 needed runners on the top 10.

Last but not least, the Freshmen Boys were up in the starting line. The freshmen team had a tough race starting with a team of inexperienced runners and a numerical disadvantage. However the young runners fought hard and shocked everybody managing to win the fourth district championship of the day.

This Cross Country year has been very successful. The Mustang Cross Country teams are where no other team has ever been and have set the bar higher for future generations. New Team, New Tradition, New Legacy.