THE HUSKY HOWLER
A STUDENT NEWSLETTER
MEET THE NEW VICE PRINCIPAL
By Nyamal Ding
Who is Mr. Freilinger, also
known as Mr. Frei, or even Mr.
French Frei? Some people still see
him as a stranger walking the
halls. Since Mr. Coleman
accepted the job as our
principal, we got a new vice
principal, which happens to be
Mr. Freilinger. To get to know him
better I asked him a few
questions. Hes a married man
with no children, and has two bull
dogs named Ditka and Tank.
Before he took the position as the
vice principal he worked at East
WHAT DO 6TH
GRADERS THINK
OF MEREDITH?
By Libby Stone
I recently gave the 6th
graders a survey asking
different questions about what
they think of middle school at
Meredith. The responses below
are the most popular answers
for each question. The most
liked teachers were Miss
Dykstra, Miss Anderson, and
Mr. Buchan. We asked what
they thought of the seventh
and eighth graders, and pretty
GET TO KNOW
MR. COLEMON
High School for 3 years, and BY NYABHAN TENY
taught at Hiatt Middle school.
How much do you really
Since hes new here we wanted
know about our principal
to know what he thinks about
Mr. Coleman? Well
Meredith. His answer was pretty
heres your chance to
simple, he loves the great
learn more in this article
students and staff. He likes his job
Meet the Principal.
because he gets to interact with
Mr. Coleman is a father
different students every day, and
of 3 kids and likes to play
likes to watch teachers teach.
basketball. Every
Things he dislikes about his job
Thursday he goes to the
are, he rarely gets to eat lunch,
school basketball courts
and has to interact with students
and plays with a couple
at their worst sometimes.
of friends. He thinks the
best part of his job is
much all of them said they are
working with the staff
annoying and loud. They said
and students and being
that the change to middle
able to impact their
school was actually pretty
easy once they got used to it.
growth. He thinks the
worst part of his job
There was wide variety of
would be knowing there
answers for what people most
are students that you
enjoyed about school, but
want to reach out t but
most people said they liked
not being able to. He
clubs and friends. Almost all of
respects all his students
the students interviewed said
differences and loves
they liked middle school better
and respects them for it
than elementary school. One
but doesnt have a
thing a lot of people dont like
favorite student. And if
about school though is HLC.
he wasnt a principal
Everyone said they enjoyed
hed probably still be
coming to school every day
working with kids.
and they look forward to it.
October [Edition 1, Volume 1]
 A STUDENT NEWSLETTER

WRITING IN P.E.?
By Logan Kleese
P.E. stands for physical
education which, in my
opinion means that there
should be no writing
involved. Although,
because were an IB
school we strive to be a
role model school in the
district, we have to do
things different. I
interviewed Mrs. Stems
and asked her why do
we have to write in P.E.?
and she said because
you need to track your
progress and show your
knowledge. Another
question I asked her was
Can there be an
alternative to writing? she
said Yes technology, if
we had enough
technology you wouldnt
have to physically write,
and if we had IPods or
something like that then
we could download
health apps. I think that
health apps are a good
idea, but we dont have
the money for it. The next
person that I interviewed
was our beloved Principal,
Mr. Coleman. I asked him
if he thought that writing in
P.E. will benefit us in a
writing class. He said I do,
I think that if you give the
kids opportunity to write
and if they practice,
theyll get good at it. Mr.
Coleman also told me a
little bit about his P.E. class,
and it was fun but not very
educational. So, with this
in mind I took to the kids. A
seventh grader named
Allie said that she doesnt
like writing in P.E. because
It takes time out of our
class to actually exercise.
Another girl named
Hamida said a similar
thing, and that she feels
writing takes away from
the P.E. lesson. So, this
evidence shows that kids
dont want to write in P.E.
and that we need to find
an alternative to writing,
and it may increase the
MVPA and grades for
physical education.

How Would 8th Graders Improve our School?

By Kayla Le
How do you think we should improve our school? I gave surveys to a variety of 8th graders for their feedback. I asked
everyone if they thought they were a good leader, it was half and half between yes and no, some people said
sometimes. Another question that I asked was, how should we improve our school? Getting better lunch, make civics class
more challenging and giving teachers a raise are some of many common answers. Those things should be done! Other
common things were to make classes more fun and having more real life situations. Some said to get more classes to learn
about adulthood, such as taxes, real life jobs (for experience) and more. There were some little things like bigger locker
rooms, longer passing time, new school colors etc. The students also said to stop bullying, and treat other students equally.
But we as students can change that. We can stop bullying if we see it, and treat our peers fairly. Logan Kleese suggested
bigger lockers and better lunch. Libby Stone also answered my survey. She said to make our classes more fun. Teran Bates
said to give us scheduled recess. There are of course many more answers! Those are some ways we should improve our
school!
 A student newsletter

club however, if issues were to arise, he would

What is the Meredith GSA?
By Lilly Johns
The GSA (Gay straight alliance) of Meredith is
held after school in the seventh grade individuals
and society classroom. Mr. Brennan runs the club.
It started last year and is continuing to meet this
year. He says he started this club to bring
awareness to the LGBTQ+ community in the
attempt of creating understanding, acceptance
and to create an alliance with the straight
community, starting in the school, and spreading
to the local community and eventually the
national and global arenas. Brennan says that
people have been open and accepting of the
want his students and himself to respond by
educating them about the GSA and the good it
has for the community. He thinks clubs like this can
provide a historically isolated group with a
community causing them to realize that no matter
what they are not going through they are not
alone. When asked about clubs like this when he
was growing up his words were I went to a
private school that had a history of discriminating
against the LGBTQ+, they had no support for that
community. But if we had them lives would have
been changed and impacted in many positive
ways. Mr. Brennan hopes to keep the club going
for much longer as do many students.

Meredith Footballs Assistant Coach, Mr. Gade

By Jude Smith and Teran Bates
I interviewed Mr. Gade, the assistant coach, and asked him about the 2017 season. The first question I asked
was Was the season successful and how did the season go with a 4and1 record? He said that the team
was very successful 4 and 1 is a good record for our team. The second question I asked was What were the
good parts of the season and the bad parts of the season? Mr. Gade answered Everybody played a role
on the team, and everyone also had a hand in success. He also answered Nothing was bad. He said as
a coach, I was pretty well, and I got the team fired up and ready to play and make good plays. He also
mentioned that the players progressed through the season. He said he does not know the upcoming players,
but all he wants to do is get to work with the best Meredith Middle School coach ever, Mr. Weida.

Lets Hear From the 7th Grade Students!

By Caliyah Saxton
In a survey, I asked Mr. Freese's 7th grade class
a couple of questions. My questions were: Do you
like school? What do you like or dislike about it?
What do you think you get from school? What do
you hope to get from school? And, if you could
what would you change about our school?
I found that most kids wrote that they like
school, and the teachers and classes. I also found
that they don't like how early school starts. The
most common answer to what they think they get
from school were an education, life skills, and
social skills. When asked what they hope to get
from school most said, "To receive an education,
to get into a good college and get a good job."
And lastly, some thing's that they would change
were "later start to school, shorter classes {to add
another classes without adding extra school time},
to have more relaxed classes after Iowa
Assessments, at most 2 tests a week {per teacher},
and more field trips. That is what our 7th grade
students like, dislike, think, hope, and would
change about our school.
 A student newsletter

School Lunch; Is It Time For A Change?

By Meadow Lecocq
Students have been wondering why the lunch food has not changed in a long time. They dont seem to
enjoy the lunch food, at least thats what I found out based on my research. Every student I have interviewed
has said they do not enjoy the lunch food, in fact some even said they only reason they go to lunch is
because they get to see their friends. An anonymous student said I have nothing to eat as a vegetarian,
here. I mean sometimes there is a salad or something, but there is a more wide selection for meat-eaters then
for me, so I feel like it is not fair for us vegetarians. If a vegetarian feels that way I cant imagine how a vegan
would feel here, there seems to not be a wide variety of food for vegans or vegetarians, and that needs to
change. Lunch is our fuel and some people dont get anything because they seriously cant eat it, as you
have seen. Since lunch is our fuel, we need a large portion and for it to be healthy. I asked some students if
they thought the food was healthy one student said No, it tastes like plastic. Another student claimed that
they had once had a burger that was still frozen in the middle. The lunches need to be appealing so
everyone can eat. In conclusion I think this school needs to make a change with the lunches, we need a
more wide variety and selection of food for everyone including vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters.

Get To Know Sra. Torres development of their future lives. Encouraging

students and knowing their strengths is a part of
By Maissa Suarez Garcia
Sra. Torress goal, and maybe even to be part
Never judge a books by its cover.
of a students decision of what they want to
Have you ever tried to get to know a new
study.
teacher before judging them? Sra. Torres is the
Sra. Torres studied at Ecuadors Central
new Spanish teacher, and she is adapting to a
University to earn her Bachelors Degree, and
new environment at Meredith. She decided to
also became a social worker. When she moved
come and teach at Meredith because it is an
to the U.S. she studied in William Penn University
Urban School where she enjoys the diversity of
and Buena Vista to get training to be a teacher,
students. Sra. Torres is interested in learning
study English, and to be able to teach Spanish.
about students from different places and
At Morningside University, she earned her
backgrounds. She explained that she does
Masters Degree in journal education. Before
believe in the mutual growth of students. Sra.
teaching at Meredith she taught at Evans
Torres loves the staff here at Meredith and also
Middle School and Cardinal High School.
the ones who support the teachers like the
Sra. Torres also has many different
office or the ones that keep watch of students
hobbies. She enjoys walking and running,
in the halls. She says that she feels the good
playing tennis, traveling, reading, and most of
atmosphere of positivity in the school.
all she loves to play with her grandkids. Even
Spanish is what Sra. Torres mastered
though Sra. Torres disagrees with some student
best, meaning that it was the language she
behaviors, she still loves the kids in Meredith.
grew up with her entire life. Not only does she
enjoy teaching the Spanish language, but also
its unique culture. Being a teacher has been a
Have an idea for an article for the Husky Howler, or
privilege to Sra. Torres because she has been
want to WRITE an article? Contact Ms. Cochran in
part of the students growth and the
room 5555.
A student newsletter