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January 9th, 2026
MC ka
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jus ky per
Christmas Capers
What to Watch
Lady Tigers Get a Win
What was everyone up to over the break? -p. 4
Are you bored? Don’t know how to read? Watch a movie! - p. 8
Find out what went down during the game that ended in a win! -p. 9
MC is a bad girl
MC eats her boogers
MC’s bus is here
THE BLACK AND GOLD Volume 5 Issue 17 January 9th 2026
is st
inky
Newspaper Staff
MC is cray cray
MC
MC hates Christmas
MC is smelly
Editor-in-Chief
Michaela Copeland
Assistant Editor-in-Chief Bella Beems News Editor Laci Burnett Reporters Katlyn Boydston Grayson Moore Photographers Lauraly Lane Josephine Long Designers Ashlynn Bowen Gunner Delp
Photo Credit: Michaela Copeland Photo Caption: MS Scholar Bowl team before Thursday’s home meet.
MS Scholar Bowl Hosts First Meet of the Season By: Josie Long
The DeKalb Middle School Scholar Bowl team hosted this season’s first meet on Thursday, January 8. The team consists of 9 people (five eighth graders and four seventh graders) who have put lots of time and effort into their practices. In their round against South Holt, the score was 160/60 with South Holt winning. Against Stewartsville, the score was 160/50 with DeKalb losing. Though they had a couple of tough matches, they were able to come out with a big win against South Nodaway with a score of 140/30. “I think that we need to work on our response time to be quicker, and we also need to have a better defense to try to stop the other teams when they are up. I like having the bigger group, not only to have a wider range of knowledge,
MC bites me
continued on p. 2
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continued from p. 1 but also to hopefully send them up to high school to play for Mrs. Miller. Playing time is also important to give everyone that taste. There was a lot of rotating last night to find not only their niche, but also to know how they play with one another,” said Mrs. T. Mrs. T would love to give a big shoutout to all who helped run the meet, as there were conflicting schedules. If you want the chance to see these kids in action, their next meet will be Thursday, January 15th, in Mound City, starting at 4:30.
What to Read By: Bella Beems Welcome back from Christmas break! I hope you readers got the books you maybe had on your list. For me, I got so many books this year that I don’t even know where to start! So I have decided to dip into a little bit of all my books, reading at least the first chapter of each to help decide which one I want to continue with! But for now, I want to encourage everyone to look into an older book, Little Women by Lousia May Alcott. For my older audience, you may have already read this book, but for my younger audience who might not have, I highly encourage you to do so! Little Women is a coming of age novel about four young sisters and their transition from childhood to womanhood. Meg is about as pretty as it gets and dreams of being rich and comfortable, but is the eldest and takes responsibility as such. Jo is an aspiring author
Photo Credit: Amazon.com Pictured: Cover for Little Women by Louisa May Alcottt
who is ambitious and quite the tomboy. Beth is a kind girl with an amazing musical talent, but is too timid to admit that. Amy is the youngest and acts as such, being quite bratty at times, but nobody can deny that her artistic abilities are quite amazing. In some way while reading about the four girl’s tales of day to day life and their struggles and accomplishments, you will find yourself in at least one of them; if not all of them. I hope you read the books you got for Christmas, but don’t forget to listen to my recommendation for Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. But if you're not into reading right now and just want something to watch, Little Women has many adaptations in the film category. Junior Josie Long recommends the movie from 2019.
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HS Scholar Bowl Begins Preparing for Season By: Lauraly Lane
Photo Credit: Michaela Copeland Pictured: Grayson Moore discusses Scholar Bowl questions with Mrs. Miller.
This week, our High School Scholar Bowl team started practicing for the upcoming season. This season, there are five Seniors, two Juniors, and five Sophomores on the team. Mrs. Miller states, “I think we have a pretty strong team so far in practice, we’ve answered quite a few questions correctly. But, there’s always a lot of tough competition out there.” Each year a team captain is selected to help lead the group and speak for the team at meets. This year’s team captain is third-year Scholar Bowl member, Junior Grayson Moore. “I am glad that I get to be Team Captain because I get to help the team excel, and I I think the season looks promising.” Though there aren't any Freshmen this year, there some students new to the activity. “This is my first year, so I’m excited to learn the game, and people told me I should do it because it’s fun and you learn a lot of things you would have never thought you would know,” says Sophomore Delaney Frakes. Even though their practices have just started, many team members are excited for this season. Their first meet is on March 5th here at De Kalb.
What did dekalb Christmas Eve
“We help out at the Christmas Eve services at our church. We have a live nativity and this year I played the role of a wise man and got to ride a camel!”
“We e at
wings and pl card g ay ames. ”
-Camr y Han shaw
-Mr. Medsker
Christmas Morning
for ma’s d n a r “G r.” dinne n ydsto o B n y -Katl
“Open presents and then biscuits and gravy for breakfast.” -Mrs. Garvey
do during break? What was your favorite part of break?
“Sleeping and being with my dog.” -Delaney Frakes
“I got to
stay up la te as heck.”
-Erin Bro wn
New Year’s Eve Traditions
in the apes with r g 2 1 t a e “You an d ore 12am f e b s d n o 12 s e c h!” make a wis -Bella Bee
ms
“We have snacks and play board games with friends until midnight.” -Mrs.Miller
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High School Boys Basketball Pushes Through Another Tough Week By: Laci Burnett
Photo Credit: Laci Burnett Pictured: Kyle Funk reaching for the ball.
The High School Boys Basketball Team fought hard against Northeast Nodaway on December 19th, 2025. Their hard work showed in the brutal fight against the Blue Jays, and it was a close game. By the halfway point of the game, the boys were in the lead against Northeast Nodaway, until they sadly lost it after halftime. The game ended with a loss of 45 to 51, but Coach Matthews says they “competed till the very end, just coming up short.” Then, on the first day of their Christmas break, the boys played again on December 22nd against South Holt, sadly ending the night with a loss of 27 to 60. Although they lost, Coach Matthews notes that “the boys showed resolve by playing hard.” The boys then went on to play a hard game against Winston on January 8th, 2026, unfortunately ending the night in a loss of 38-51. Coach Matthews says that for the boys to come out on top of their competitors, they must work on getting past their “mistakes, whether that is mental or physical.” The boys have another game tonight against South Holt starting right after the Varsity girls game, as well as the Osborn tournament next week. Come support our Basketball boys and cheer them on.
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VA I D
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of the
K E E Olivia Jenkins Her positive attitude
Klhoe Pflugradt Her hardworking mindset
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What to Watch By: Grayson Moore
What to Listen to By: Katlyn Boydston
Photo Credit: Pinterest Pictured: Megan Moroney’s new album cover
Photo Credit: gonewiththetwins Pictured: Movie still
If you are looking for a good, fun movie to watch, I recommend watching Meet the Robinsons. Meet the Robinsons came out in 2007 and earned 170 million dollars at the boxx office worldwide. The film opens up with Lewis, who likes to invent things and also happens to be an orphan. He tries to use his inventions to persuade families to adopt him, but they always end up blowing up in his face, both literally and figuratively. Then he meets Wilbur, who tries to warn him about a tall man in a bowler hat. Wilbur is from the future and takes Lewis to the future with him to show him what to do to make sure the tall man doesn't capture him and use him for his inventions. Even though it is only rated 68% on the tomato meter, I would give it a 7.9/10.
On February 20, 2026, Megan Moroney is releasing her third new album called Cloud 9. The album will feature 15 songs with more song titles to be revealed closer to release. Megan Moroney’s upcoming album, Cloud 9, talks about personal growth, newfound confidence, and a blend of empowerment with her signature “emocowgirl” heartbreak, focusing on a more joyful, yet still emotionally honest, state of mind, balancing strong themes with a softer, more carefree vibe than previous work. Songs on this album are 6 Months Later and Beautiful Things, along with the title track, and potentially fan favorites like Wedding Dress and her Kenney Chesney collaboration, You Had To Be There.” I like Megan Moroney because she’s a good singer and some of her songs are good. I recommend her music because I like country music and some of her songs are country.
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Lady Tigers Get First Win of the Week By: Ashlynn Bowen
Photo Credit: Michaela Copeland Pictured: Camry Hanshaw preparing to shoot.
On Thursday, January 8th the high school girls basketball team started out the week playing against Winston at Home, and they won 43-21! “After two weeks off I felt like we came out with a lot of energy and intensity to kick off the new year. Winston is a tough team so I’m glad that we were ready to go,” said coach Jackson Rumpf. The girls play again tonight at North Nodaway and to prepare for this game, “we need to talk more on defense,” said Junior Kyleigh Black. After that, the girls play in a tournament hosted by Osborn starting on Monday, January 12th through the 16th, if you would like to come out and show support.
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What to Play By: Gunner Delp
Photo Credit: jackfrags via YouTube Pictured: Sons of the Forest video game still
Lately, I’ve found myself wanting a good survival game. I've also been in the mood for some thrilling horror. Well, Sons of the Forest is a perfect mixture of both. Sons of the Forest is the sequel to The Forest. The Forest and Sons of the Forest are both survival horror games. Sons of the Forest takes place on a remote island deemed “Site 2.” To assist you on the island, you have a companion named Kalvin and an optional companion, Veronica. This isn’t just any normal island. This island is filled with cannibals and mutants. There are a variety of mutants, such as the caterpillar mutant, finger mutant, twin mutant, and other mutants. Your mission is to find the missing Puffton family while also uncovering the deep, dark mystery of this place. In the search for the Puffton family, you will come across multiple items to aid you in your search. Such items include a stun baton, golf carts, a modern axe, and many more items. Sons of the Forest is currently available on PC only, leaving many fans of The Forest games hoping for a release to consoles sometime in the near future. It is priced at $29.99 on Steam. I recommend this game if you want the thrill of a good scare, while also having the difficulty of survival and defense.
Week in the Life 1/6 - 1/9