Eighth grader Jacob Staley asks, “Have you ever felt like there was so much junk going on in your life that is was all hanging out for everyone to see?”  Well this is exactly what the 8^th graders at Lincolnview were asked to do.  Clayton Longstreth compared the experience to being a garbage man except he had to actually carry his garbage all day with his books. 

    Mrs. Schnipke assigned her students to bring in at least 5 items of trash that represented problems or issues in their life.  In their first period class, they were then told that they needed to carry the trash bags around with them for an entire day.  After being made fun of by upperclassmen, getting points docked off for forgetting their trash, and actually having to carry it to the restroom, many of the students were fully ready to unload their trash at the end of the day. 

    When the entire experience was over, the students reflected on the things that happened throughout the day and the emotions and difficulties that they experienced as a result of the project.  They then related it to the novel Tears of a Tiger that they had recently completed in English class.  When reflecting on the experience, Fallan Maunz states, “After I found out what the garbage bag activity was, it all made sense.  The garbage bag was my problems weighing me down.  Just like the main character (Andy) in Tears of a Tiger, he had too many problems weighing him down.  More than anyone should have.”  The students talked about the importance of sharing their problems with someone before they get too big to handle.  It was also an eye opener for them to see that every single person has problems and issues in their life.  “Carrying the trash kept me from enjoying myself, I can’t imagine always having that stuff around day after day.  I think it would keep me from getting involved in activities and doing my best,” said Brandon Lippi.

    The students completed the project by creating a ‘Lifeline’ project where they listed the people they could turn to for help, received letters from those they could turn to, and wrote about songs that they could listen to when feeling like life is getting too stressful.  In her final project, Miranda Myers writes, “My life was taken over for one day by a garbage bag.  Andy’s emotions took over his whole life.  Now I can kind of relate to how Andy was feeling, knowing what it’s like to carry around something that never goes away.”

    After numerous weeks of preparation, the Jr. High Scholastic Bowl team traveled to Celina to show their stuff at the Wright State University Quiz Bowl competition this past Friday.  After their close loss to Van Wert, the Lancers battled back to win their next three matches, putting them in the top six. They fell short of securing a place in the final four by losing to St. Mary's McBroom by 1 point.  Eighth grade team members include: Rebecca Adam, Levi Brake, Wes Collins, Brandon Jacomet, Madelyn Jones, Samantha Karalunas, Curt Stewart, and Peter Stuzcka. Seventh grade team members include: Caleb Blankemeyer, Landin Doner, Nathan Johnston, Brooks Ludwig, and Evan Williams.