Dragon Tales

Drake Middle School Student Press


Halloween Scream

By Gavin Callahan and Ethan Charleson 12/3/18

Halloween, the one day you can walk around the neighborhood and take free candy from strangers. Celebrating this holiday has been a tradition for most of us, but at our age, things begin to change. “My friends were telling me that this is the last year we were trick or treating because they want to start going to parties instead,” commented Wyatt Hendricks, seventh grade. It seems that there begins to be a wider variety of Halloween activities to choose from for the regular jr. high student.

The most popular costume this year (according to google) was, for girls, Wonder Woman, and for boys, Black Panther or one of those dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. However, not all people dressed up. “I stayed home and watched scary movies with my friends,” says seventh grader Kamaya Merhout. “We had a blast.”

Others actually took advantage of the cold, chilly night to gather their sweet treats. “It was fun. I really enjoyed candy and going [trick or treating] with my family members,” says Wyatt Hendricks, a seventh grader enjoying his last trick or treating session. Lots of people went trick or treating, some spent all night out there, gathering their delicious sweets from strangers. Broady Stauch says “Trick or treating was super fun! Me and my friends were basketball players.” He said that he spent around two hours trick or treating and enjoyed it all.

People find halloween to be ecstatic experience every year. You will never be to young or too old to have a little halloween fun, whether it's scaring people or getting those delicious treats, you can always find a way to have some fun on this special holiday.



Votes Are In

By Izzy Sprenger 11/30/18

Following the march of educators on the state capital last spring, the election ballot was filled with a number of initiatives that weighed in on the future of education in Colorado. Amendment 73 was a statewide initiative that would amend the Colorado constitution and required a 55% approval vote. How would 73 have will it affect schools in Colorado? Amendment 73 would have raised 1.6 billion dollars through a graduated income tax, moving Colorado very very close to the national average of the amount of dollars spent per student. The proposal, which would have brought in $1.6 billion dollars annually, is a response to the concern that our schools are underfunded here in Colorado. According to the Colorado Education Association, “Colorado’s schools are underfunded by $822 million and are $2,700 below the national average in per-pupil funding.”What does that mean for teachers and students here at Drake?

Teachers spend money out of pocket for one. For example, Mrs. Lockwood, a teacher at Drake, says,¨I spend $2,000 a year on my classroom.¨ What does she spend that money on?,¨ I buy books, glue, pencils, pens, and other supplies. ; I want kids to be able to choose the books they enjoy. She is not alone, ¨I am afraid to add up my recipes because I've

spent all lot of money, I painted my room, I clean my carpets, I buy paper and some materials.¨ This amendment was hotly debated and would have pros and cons across Colorado. Although 73 did not pass, 5A and 5B , a mill levy override and bond put forward by the Jeffco school district, passed which is great news for students and staff. The mill levy override was a clear win and will bring in $33 million that will be used to add more counselors, raise the teacher pay which will help us keep quality teachers in Jeffco, and add more resources for curricular materials. The bond, which squeaked by in the final vote count, will raise $567 million and will pay for upgrading school safety and security features, furnish classrooms, and building additions to overcrowded schools, making repairs to older buildings and building new facilities as needed.

The fight for Colorado education is not over. From the results it is clear that people want to support Colorado's education we just don't always see eye to eye on how to do it.