A New Arrival
By Lori Vermeer

Finally, the big day had arrived! It was Friday, November 1. Mr. Van Uffelen had not arrived at school, and there was only one thing on our minds. Mr. and Mrs. Van Uffelen had had their baby! This, of course, was just a hypothesis, but most of the student body was sure it was true.

Bombarding Mr. Medema with questions, we only got a vague, “Maybe, maybe not. You will hear the announcement with the rest of the school during devotions.” For some this confirmed their conjecture, but for others it just provided further agitation and frustration.

At last, devotions. The “Great Hall” was crackling with static excitement. Normally, we take announcements after devotions, but Mr. Medema kindly realized that most would not be able to concentrate until they had heard the reason for Mr. Van Uffelen’s absence. Gasps of excitement and lots of “Awww’s” were the reaction to the news.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Uffelen were blessed with their first child, a baby boy. Jakob Dewey was born at 6:25 a.m. that very morning, weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and spanning 20 inches from head to foot. Jakob and Mrs. Van Uffelen returned from the hospital this past Sunday and are both doing well.

On Wednesday, Mr. and Mrs. Van Uffelen were to have another surprise. The secretaries, faculty, and students planned a surprise baby shower. Mr. and Mrs. Van Uffelen opened many presents, while Jakob slept beside them and the rest of the student body crowded around in a circle. The secretaries provided snacks for everyone. It was an enjoyable time for all of us.

Mr. Vermeer has assigned each geometry student to make a “miniature” miniature golf hole. Each hole must be made with a piece of plywood the size of a standard piece of paper (8 ½ x 11). Covering this wood will be a soft material for our “golf ball”, a copper b-b, to roll on. It will roll into a hole the size of a standard McDonald’s straw. The golf club must be a cut down Popsicle stick, but the walls can be made of anything.

The purpose of this project is to make us use reflections. We must make our golf hole so that it takes at least two reflections to score. We may put whatever obstacles we want in the way of the ball so that it doesn’t go straight into the hole. A layout plan is required to show our intended path for the “hole-in-one.” This project also makes for a fun game of golf, which we will play on November 27, the day before Thanksgiving Break.

Imbroglio, defined as “a state of confusion or chaos”, is a fitting name for one of Mr. Medema’s invented games for P.E. class.

Imbroglio (a.k.a. the Red Ball Game) requires the players to start out with two teams on a basketball court. The two teams start out on opposite baselines of the court with a few soccer balls per team. The centerline is the halfway point along which the targets are placed; neither team may cross the line.

Once the game is started each team must try to kick the soccer balls so that they hit the targets (red or yellow rubber kick balls) in such a way that they roll across the other team’s baseline. Once a player kicks the ball, he can retrieve one and kick it back to his team so that they can keep on going. He cannot stop any other balls from hitting the target. The winning team is the team with the most points at the end of the given time period.

The goals of this game are teamwork, strategy, ball control, and accurate aim. This is an educational and fun game filled with imbroglio.