Febuary 2024
Welcome to the Clark Cubs Connection!
Welcome! Here at the Cubs Connection we strive for entertaining and informative articles for each and every Clark Cub. Our reporters and photographers work very hard to bring you articles monthly. We hope you enjoy our monthly articles below!
From editors, Gage Maxwell and Lucy Anderson
History of Valentine's Day
By: Harlow Champion, Reporter
Valentine’s Day occurs every February 14. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and where did these traditions come from? Where did Valentine's Day originate from?
The Story of the Mysterious Saint
St. Valentine was a Roman Catholic priest in the 200s. He secretly helped couples in love marry, even though the emperor had outlawed marriage.
Traditions for Valentine’s Day
Many common traditions include giving red roses, giving someone a heart shaped box of chocolates, and making homemade cards. But what are some different traditions that are different from common traditions such as the ones just stated? In Brazil they celebrate in June instead. And in Finland they celebrate friends!
This Section is Dedicated to Staff Members, and Teams They Root For!
Mrs. Austin, Lions
By: Evelyn Mciver, Reporter
Mrs. Austin was born and raised as a Detroit lions fan her entire life, till this year-that is the lions have only won 1 championship game. To her and most people in Detroit the lions aren't just a football team, it's a culture. The lions mean a lot to that city. Some people bury their loved ones in lion's shirts. Which is why everyone is so happy how far they got this year.The Detroit motto is grit. They work hard,and don't take anything for granted. They even built the stadium the lions play in today. They were winning for so long she says she's just happy they had a good year. If the lions play a Texas team she's wearing her gear, if the tigers play the Astros she's wearing tigers gear. She's a die hard Detroit fan. 🏆🏈🦁🐯⚾🏆!!!!!
Coach Hinton, Cowboys
By: Abby Mathe
Coach Hinton became a Cowboys fan at a young age .His dad told him to be a Cowboys fan when he was young. All of his family are Cowboys fans(even the dog). When coach Hinton first became a cowboys fan he loved the team straight away.
Ms. Morgan- The Vikings
By: Aria Stronks
Mrs. Morgan grew up in Minnesota, which is one of the reasons she loves the Minnesota Vikings. Her favorite color being purple, the Vikings are the perfect team for her! Everyone has a favorite player, and Mrs. Morgan’s is Justin Jefferson. (# 18) She has been to a Vikings game almost every single year!
Ms. Paterson- 49ers
By: Evelyn Mciver
Mrs Paterson grew up in Sacramento, California and considers the 49’s her home team. Mrs.Patersons dad was a sports writer and her special football friend. As she grew up she went to college at our very own Texas A&M and became a teacher at Clark from the start till now. She may have a lot of extra to do now but always makes time for her team. If you happen to pass her classroom on the monorail you will see her niners flags. Now a school favorite might be the Kansas city chiefs but she says she's sticking with her team! GO NINERS🏈🏆!
Coach Perry- Eagles
By: Eli Allison
The big reason Coach Perry loves the Philadelphia Eagles is because he lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a long part of his life. He was raised in Texas for some time and his family lives in Philadelphia so he basically grew up as an Eagles fan and it has stuck with him ever since.
Mrs. Phillips-Chiefs
By: Melanie Bicknell
“ Why is Mrs. Phillips such a Chiefy Chiefs fan?”, you may ask. Anyone who steps into her room can see the Kansas city merch she has. Well her Kansas city era started in 2017, when Patrick Mcomes became a chief. Patrick Mcomes went to Texas Tech at the same time as Phillips, however, she wasn't in his grade, but she watched the college's football games and saw him play. She said she thinks she will always be a Chiefs fan. CHIEFS FOR SUPER BOWL!
People who made Western Art Show
The people who made it into the Western Art Show in Mr. Young’s class are Everleigh Longoria, Lucy Xu, Hima Arakawa, and Makar Makarov. Everleigh placed 2nd. Lucy placed 1st. Hima placed first. Makar placed 1st. 4,000 total students participated in Texas and 650 of them were from Conroe ISD.
Mrs. Alford
This is interviewing Mrs. Alford, one of our wonderful Clark staff members, so we can get to know her a little more before the school year ends!
Have you worked here at Clark ever since it opened? If not, how long have you been working here?
“I have, I opened Clark. So 6 years.”
How long have you been working at a school? (All the years from every school you’ve worked at altogether)
“This is my twenty-second year to be a teacher.”
What is your favorite part of working at Clark?
“I love the house system, and I love how nice everybody is.”
What is your position at Clark, and why did you choose it?
“I’m the math instructional coach, and I chose it because I love working with the teachers and planning lessons.
What is your favorite thing about working in that position?
“I love getting to know the kids in each class, and the teachers.”
If you got to choose your house, why did you choose it?
“I did get to choose my house, I am in the house of Amistad because friendships and relationships are important to me.”
Mrs. Carter
What is your job? Well,my technical name is instructional coach for ELA, Social studies.
What do you do? I support/coach the teachers. the district is big so the district will communicate to the coaches and the we communicate that to our campus.
Where did you go to school?I went to the University of Houston
Why do you like Clark?Clark has amazing students teachers and administrators and I love that we do things differently for example the house system,and When we first started Mrs. Ardion was an amazing principal and had big ideas and now we have another amazing principal Mr Shields and he does a great job of taking those those ideas and perfecting them and making our campus run very smoothly and we're very blessed to have always had good principles because that has a big part of the school and then we have great teachers who go above and beyond every single day to work hard for their students and then we have great students who make this a wonderful place. And its a wonderful place and our students are normally well behaved.
What is your favorite baseball/basketball/football team? The Houston Astros are my favorite team I'm proud of the Texans for how well they played this season and so it's more fun to watch the games. I've always been a Texans fan but it's more fun to watch the games now that we have CJ Stroud!
What do you like to do in your free time? My favorite hobbies are reading and Hiking I try to spend as much time Outdoors as possible because I love sunshine I love to take long walks it allows me to kind of it's just a good way to release stress at the end of a very long day
Kids? If so, how many,what are their ages? Yes! 2,1 20,1,22.
Anything else you want to add? Black house rules?!
Pets of Clark
By Molly Hamilton, Reporter and Ivy Winn, Reporter
Ruby and Rosco
Ruby and Rosco are 4 and 1 year old Boxers and they do some interesting things. These pups are very talented. They can open doors, turn off and on the lights, and they can ride a skateboard. Isn’t that crazy!?! When Ruby and Rosco aren't busy showing off you can find them chasing squirrels. These dogs sure are cool.
Clyde and Charlie
Clyde and Charlie are eight year old cats and they can be a bit dramatic. Clyde and Charlie really like sweets especially cookies. They love their cookies, and if they don’t get their cookies on time they will through a temper tantrum. Talk about dramatic. These cats will also wrestle with each other and run back and forth on the stairs. They really get their work-out in.
Black History Month
Credits: Delyse Hunter (reporter), Echo Korab (photographer)
In exploring the rich history of Black History Month, this article will not only illuminate the people, but the accomplishments, resilience, and enduring contributions of the Black Community. For overcoming adversity to overcoming cultural landscapes. Black History Month recognizes everything we have prevailed over, 400 years till slavery ended, 99 years till segregation ended, and racism is still here. Black History Month is the togetherness of black people remembering all the people who took a pragmatic approach to end discrimination and this article will be all about those people and how they did it.
Sports
There are so many sports! Football, Baseball, Volleyball, unfortunately black people used to not be able to play any of those, but they still persisted and as the years went on they got their freedom and also sports. Jackie Robinson, he was born in 1919 and since then he has played 1,416 games. He also was the first African American to play in the MLB. He made a big impact on baseball especially for colored people and even before baseball he stood up for equal rights and no discrimination. He passed away in 1972 living a long successful life. Track, a hard working sport requiring you to be fast and able to pace yourself. Well that is exactly what Jesse Owens and Alice Coachman had to do. Alice Coachman was the first African American Woman from any country to ever win an Olympic gold medal. She won it from an Olympic high jump and because of it she made history. You can’t forget Jesse Owens. He was a track and field athlete who specialized in sprints and high jumps and was recognized in his lifetime as perhaps the greatest athlete in track and field history.
Music
Everyone loves music of any genre. If it’s Country, Rock, Pop, Jazz, and so much more. And you might not have known, but African American people came up with a lot of these music genres. Gospel music is the African American spiritual, which had already been around for well over a century before it began to its rise in the 1930s. Gospel music is centered around rhythmic church music and was the source of Gospel music. Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African American communities in New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots of blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression, in traditional and popular music.
Movements
Many movements, marches, and boycotts have been held to end segregation and all of those led up to freedom. The march on Washington is the most famous march ever where Martin Luther King JR had his “I Have a Dream” speech. This march occurred in August of 1963 and about 250,000 gathered together in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It was organized in less than 3 months. Many people did not but MLK had a close friend who helped plan the march. His name was Bayard Rustin and he was a key element in the success of the march. I’m sure you have heard of Rosa Parks who sat in the front of the bus and did not budge. Which then led to Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and was a defining moment in Rosa Parks’ career as an activist.
Should we get a three day weekend?
Written by: Molly Hamilton
Don’t you like waking up on a Monday morning and not having school? Imagine having that weekly! A 3 day weekend is truly remarkable. I think we should have a 3 day weekend because you get more time with family, it helps you recuperate and kids are more focused while they are at school.
One reason why we should have a 3 day weekend is because you get more time with family. For example some families go on vacations over 3 day weekends. Other families stay at home but visit fun places. It's also a great way to learn more about your family. Quality family time is very important.
Another reason why we should have a 3 day weekend is because it helps people recuperate. After a long week everyone is exhausted. So if you can relax you would be ready to learn. Did you know that 87% of workers believe that 3 day weekends are better for stress relief. I know I feel great after time to relax.
Although we should have a 3 day weekend because we get more time with family and we can recuperate, I especially think we should have them because kids are more focused while they are at school. After time to relax, their brains are fresh and ready to learn. In addition to that it can help kids improve their grades. It's true that on average grades go up by 7 points. You could go from 80% to 87% just with 1 extra day of the weekend. Isn't that awesome?