Porcupine Press

StaffTaylor TrangDarbi Borgen

McKenzie ClampittLena Chamberlain

Jessica Scanlan Jost SmolarskiKristina Bates

Advisor: Mrs. Fisher

December Issue #1

Paper Issue #6

Jana Tihista Wins Essay

Contest and Trip to Washington D.C.

Nashua High School senior Jana Tihista attended the JAG National Student Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. in November.

Tihista was the winner of an essay contest sponsored by AgCareers.com. Her essay on ‘What Does Agriculture Mean to You?’ received the highest marks out of more than 80 entries. For winning, Tihista received the all-expense paid trip to this year’s JAG annual student conference.

In her essay she wrote, “To me, agriculture means a source of food, a form of recreation, and a way to make a living.” Throughout the essay, Tihista pointed out very basic ways that agriculture is a part of our everyday lives and how easily this can be overlooked by the general public.

She shared that while other students were participating in after school sports and clubs, she was helping on the farm/ranch but found it to be a great form of recreation which taught her about team work and goal setting. Tihista concluded her essay with an explanation of how farming is a way to make a living and that the hard work and demanding hours are worthwhile.

This is the first year she has participated in the state-level JAG program, Jobs for Montana’s Graduates (JMG). “This is my first year in JMG, but already we have learned many things,” said Tihista. “I have learned how to fill out college applications, scholarships, and we have also been researching possible careers.”

“Agriculture is important to everything in the world,” said Tihista. “Without it, where would the world get its food, and how would our increasing population survive? Agriculture is involved in everything we do, and there is no way around it.”

Tihista, pictured at the right with Montana’s Lt. Govenor Bohlinger, commented, “The trip was really fun. We did a lot of leadership workshops, and we also had time to tour some of the sites of D.C.”

Senior Profile

Name: ShaeAge: 17

FAVSColor: PurpleSubject in School: ScienceHobby: Pulling the sledSong: Over and Over by Three Days GraceBand: Match Box 20, Cold Play, JourneyMovie: Hot RodDrink: Iced TeaFood: ChineseSchool lunch item: Absolutely nothingAnimal: LigerSeason: SummerHoliday: Fourth of JulyQuote/Motto: Don’t shart your shortsSpirit day (twin day etc.): Purple and GoldTeacher: Marc KlokerPerson: JustinTV show: Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy FactorySport to watch: BaseballSport to play: BasketballClassmate: Kustin DelmCelebrity Crush: Demitri Martin

OR’SWWE or UFC: UFCPranked or Jack@$$: Jack@$$Football or Basketball: BasketballX-box or Wii: BothMySpace or Facebook: MySpaceHunting or Fishing: HuntingCapris or shorts: ShortsFlip-Flops or Sandals: Flip-FlopsTennis shoes or High Heels: Tennis shoesSponge Bob or Patrick: Sponge BobWe Are Marshall or Remember the Titans: Remember the TitansThat 70s Show or Two and Half Men: BothRenting movies or going to movies: Renting MoviesLake or Pool: Both

Advice to Faculty? Keep it real.Advice to Students? Remember the 3 types of burns and that only two can heal with time.Glass ½ full or ½ empty? Depends what’s in itIf you were on a deserted island, who wouldn’t you want to be stuck with? Jana TihistaIf you were on a deserted island, who would you want to be stuck with? Douglas Leroy Stein Who is your Idol? Rod KimbleWhen you were little what did you want to be? Super Saiyan 2 VegetaWhat do you want to be now? SuccessfulIf you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Chinese

First Grade Finish First Reader The first grade has finished their first reader, and we are very excited. We practiced reading with the third grade and we want to thank them for their help. All of us have worked hard and will all get ice cream sundaes on Friday for our hard work. We are taking our books home to read to our family.

We are using touch math in addition and we can add to 15. We have just begun subtraction and we think it is much easier to count on in addition than to count back in subtraction.

We are looking forward to Christmas and the art work and present we will make in class. The Christmas program will be on the 15th of December and we are working hard on our songs.

Biodiesel DemonstratedOn November 20th, John Munsell from Miles Community College came to Nashua School and did

presentations throughout the day on biodiesel, demonstrating how it is made and how to use it.

For the first part of his presentations, he told about how the fuels of our earth are running out and how biodiesel will help. He also talked about rising gas prices and how and when to use biodiesel.

During the second part of John’s presentations, he took the students into the shop and showed how to make and clean the biodiesel. The biodiesel is made from safflower seeds and then heated and pressed. The oil that comes from the seeds goes into a container, and that is the biodiesel.

The remainder of the safflower comes out of a tube and creates “meal.” This meal can be used for animal feed; therefore, nothing is really wasted in the process.

Kristina Bates, NHS sophomore said of the “meal”, “I think it was a cool way to get rid of the waste, but it tasted disgusting!”

After the biodiesel is made, it is put into a big container with a hose attached, and the fuel is “showered” or cleaned. Once the biodiesel is cleaned, it is ready to use and is environmentally friendly.

Third grader Jack Strong, whose dad makes biodiesel at home, stated, “It [the presentation] was awesome.”

NHS GEAR UP Students Visit Colleges On Tuesday, November 17th and Wednesday, November 18th, NHS sophomores and juniors went on a GEAR UP trip to four different colleges in Helena and Great Falls. GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness, is a federally funded program at Nashua School.

According to Marc Kloker, one of Nashua GEAR UP liaisons, “The main purpose of the college visits is to get kids on a college campus in hope that it will motivate them to want to go to college.

In Great Falls, they toured Great Falls Tech, and Jessica Scanlan, NHS sophomore, “liked the tour and the activities”. The other stop in Great Falls was at Montana State University-Great Falls. Sophomore Lacey Fortin thought MSU-Great Falls had so much variety in course offerings.

Carroll College and the Helena College of Technology were the two schools toured in Helena. “Carroll was a lot more laid back than I expected, and their campus was awesome,” commented Taylor Trang, Nashua junior.

Ryan Dahl, NHS junior, said, “They [Helena College of Technology] had a lot of resources and very good hands on experience.”

When asked about what she thought of the GEAR UP trip, Karlee Guttenberg, Nashua junior, said, “The trip was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed it a lot.”

Pictured above: John Munsell showing off his ready-made biodiesel fuel.

2009-2010 Basketball Season Begins

Junior High BasketballBoth the Junior High Boys and Girls’ Basketball Teams took 3rd at the Basketball Tournament held in Saco/Hinsdale

The 2009-2010 edition of the Nashua Porcupine high school basketball season kicks off this weekend with home games on Saturday against the Dodson Coyotes and the Opheim Vikings. The girls’ junior varsity will host the Wolf Point “C” squad prior to the varsity games.

When asked about the upcoming season, junior Willy Lauckner said, “If we play as a team, we should meet our goals and have a shot at getting to state this year.”

“I am excited to have a bench full of talented teammates to contribute to a positive season this year,” senior Kassidi Sibley answered

when asked about the upcoming season.

Both the girls’ and boys’ programs have good numbers this year with Coach Fisher having 17 boys out and Coach McMurry with 14 girls playing.

The varsity girls will be playing the Opheim Vikings, and the varsity boys are playing the

Dodson Coyotes. Opheim is not fielding a boys’ team this year due to low numbers. Game times for Saturday are as follows: JV Girls at 4:30, Varsity Girls at 6:00 and Varsity Boys at 7:30. Nashua will host the Frazer Bearcubs on Tuesday, December 8th.

Sixth Grade Sew Christmas StockingsBy Lane Nickels and Mikel Glasoe

Kids in 6th grade had two different patterns to choose from: Snowmen or Santa Claus. We took material and cut the stocking pieces out. We learned a lot of stitches like the blanket stitch, the back stitch, the French knot, the running stitch, and the Lazy Daisy stitch. We practiced all these stitches on a sample piece of felt. We learned how to use an embroidery needle, a beading needle, and also learned how to put on the beads, buttons, and sequins. We poked ourselves in the fingers a lot. Five students sewed the Santa Claus stocking, and six students sewed the Snowmen stocking. Most of the kids are about done. We will display them in the 6th grade room if you want to come and see them. Happy Holidays!

Fifth Graders Present State Reports Shaylin reported on the state of Alaska. Her favor-ite part was looking up the information on the inter-net. Taylor did his report on Washington. He liked read-ing about the state animal, which is the killer whale. Nicole’s report was on South Dakota. She enjoyed drawing the state map. Montana was Hayley’s state and her favorite part was sharing Montana wheat buns with huckleberry jam. Ryleigh gave her report on Louisiana. She brought hush puppies and breaded catfish. Dalton presented a report on Wisconsin and shared cheese. He liked making his salt dough map. Hawaii was the state Brooke chose. She shared

dried mangoes. Chase gave a report on Oregon. He shared a grape flavored drink and also liked making his salt dough map of his state. Aaron gave a report on California. His favorite part was creating the salt dough map of his state. Morgan gave her report on Wyoming, but she has been sick, so we don’t know what her favorite part and we don’t have her picture. Z oe gave a state report on New York and drew a map of her state. Florida was Nolan’s state and his favorite part was drawing the state map. The students each had a day in November to pres-ent their project and we all learned new things.

JMG Sponsoring

FOOD DRIVE!Collecting food starting on

December 1st, 2009 through December 18th, 2009

Grades K-12 will have a contest to see which class can bring the most pounds.

The winning class will receive a Pizza Party sponsored by JMG.

Boxes will be set out at both the Elementary and High School

Christmas Concerts for donations.

Post-Season Volleyball Honors Handed OutKassidi Sibley, Rachel McMurry, and Darbi Borgen have been selected to the 3-C All-Conference First

Team for volleyball. All-conference honorees were chosen by the coaches. Each coach nominated players from his/her team for the all-conference selections. The players were then ranked one to ten.

Sibley, a senior middle hitter/middle blocker, was honored for the second year in a row as a first team selection. Rachel McMurry, a senior setter for the team, was also selected. McMurry was 2nd team selection last year. A first-year honoree is junior Darbi Borgen, an outside hitter and defensive specialist.

Team awards, as voted on by the team, were handed out during the 1st Quarter Awards Assembly. Kassidi Sibley was voted as Best Hitter and Best Blocker. Darbi Borgen garnered Best Digs, Best Defense, Best Server, and the Hustle Award.

Most Improved was Cami Rosencrans. Jessica Scanlan and Rachel McMurry shared the Best Attitude award. Rachel McMurry was named as Best Setter, Favorite Teammate, and MVP.

Huntley Ends Scotties’ Season Again The Glasgow Scotties along with junior, Brandon Hansard and freshman, Austin Strong from Nashua saw their season end with a loss to the Huntley Project Red Devils in the state semi-finals. The Scotties finished the 8-3 season with the 54-0 loss. Quarter scores are posted below:

Glasgow 0 0 0 0 Huntley Project 6 26 40 54

Brandon Hansard commented, “Huntley Project is a good team, we both played hard but the Red Devils just came out to win it. I had fun this season and I’m looking forward to stepping up next season with the loss of the seniors.”

From the Counselor’s Desk:FINANCIAL AID PRESENTATION:

December 10 at 6:30

A goal of Montana GEAR UP is to provide financial aid awareness, planning and scholarships to GEAR UP students. The objective of this goal is to increase student and family knowledge of postsecondary education financing.

The chief financial aid supervisor for Montana GEAR UP, Cory Chenoweth, will present on financial aid matters and be available to answer any questions you may have on December 10th at 6:30.

Parents of all students 7-12 students are encouraged to attend, and everyone is welcome.

Lego Team Holds Robot ContestThe Nashua First Lego League had a pizza party and robot contest on Sunday, November 15. This meeting was the last one for the three 4th graders— Aidan Peters, Reece Hunsley, and Sophia Koessl. All three students were given praise for their hard work and increasing skills as they went through their first training year.

The robot contest consisted of going forward, picking up a loop, and turning to park in a target. Each team had two tries. The team that won with the most points was Aidan Peters and Natasha Chamberlain. The second place was a tie between two teams, but in the “sudden death” playoff, Nolan Viste, Shae Fisher, and Nicole Williams finally won second place. Third place belonged to Ryleigh Delich, Reece Hunsley, and Jordan Ramsbacher .

The team of Chase Williams and Morgan Guttenberg showed a lot of promise in the trials before the contest, but the robot ended up having a mind of its own during the contest. Although they ended up last, there are no winners or losers in the First Lego League. This was a “just for fun” contest to test out the problem solving and teamwork skills of the students.

With the high spirited cheers and groans that were heard on Sunday, there was ample evidence that fun was had by everyone. Many parents came to watch the contest as well. The mentors Ryan Scanlan and Madison Sibley helped a lot with Ryan acting as official judge of the contest.