Sophomore Student Austin Walker said, “I’m sad Mrs. Stafford is leaving, but I don’t know if I’ll like the new teacher or not.”

Release Time is a Bible study class that takes place during school at Sandy Springs Baptist Church. Stafford will leave soon, and the new teacher will take her place for the rest of the school year. According to Walker, the new teacher has not been determined yet, but will be soon.

Release Time Teacher Megan Stafford said, “It’s bittersweet, I’m that I’m going to be a mother, but I love my students, and I’m sad to leave them.”

According to Principal Mike Sinclair, wrapping the bus was much more cost effective than painting it. He is excited about the change and says that it has increased the athlete’s morale already.

Sinclair said, “I was very excited about the bus. There’s only one other bus in the upstate that has a wrap. And that school has had its name all over the place. For us to be in that upper tier is something to be excited about. It’s something that charter schools don’t typically do. It’s a chance for our programs to be more like a traditional school than we typically are.”

Students at Brashier were also pleased with the new design.

Sophomore Bradley Garrett said, “I think it will give teams more enthusiasm and school pride when they travel. It will be a great morale booster.”

Sophomore Kelly Roth agrees. “I like the new bus a lot. It looks way better than before.”

One thing about the bus that most students do not like, however, is the fact that the top of the bus has been left yellow-without a wrap or paint.

Roth said, “I think it looks kind of odd.”

When asked why the top was not covered, Sophomore Jordan Mixson said, “I think they didn’t paint the roof because they ran out of money.”

While many students have had the same thoughts as Mixson, a lack of money was not the reason for not wrapping the top of the bus.

In fact, money was not a problem at all. According to Sinclair, the school had money saved up to put Brashier’s name on the bus.  The school also has money set aside in a maintenance fund for the bus and a marketing fund for the school.  In order to pay for the bus, some money was taken from each of those areas.

The real reason for leaving the top yellow was that if the top had been wrapped, the sun would have baked it and caused it to deteriorate much faster than the other parts of the bus. Most likely, the wrap placed on top would have shrunk. Because of this, wrapping the top just was not cost effective.

Sinclair said, “The yellow top really isn’t that noticeable. Our location and the hills on campus make it a lot easier to see the top of the bus right now. When we travel to other schools, it will be much harder to see the top.”

Overall, students are very excited about the new bus and feel that the school made a good decision by wrapping it.

Sophomore Audrey Salaita says, “I think the new bus personalizes our school and makes it unique.”

Garrett agrees. “Yes, I think it was a good thing they wrapped it. We need our own bus.”

Mixson feels differently about the school’s decision.  “No, I don’t think they should have wrapped it. The money could have been better used for a spirit week budget or something useful. Wrapping the bus was unnecessary.”

Whether students feel that changing the bus was a good decision or not, they all agree that it looks much better than before.

Mixson said, “It’s not dull anymore.”

The decision to wrap the bus was made with students in mind, and Sinclair is pleased with the reactions it has gotten from the student body.

Sinclair said, “We wanted students to be proud of their bus. We wanted it to make a statement.”

On Tuesday, November 22nd, the lunch plan for Tuesdays changed. Instead of burgers from Sonic, the new plan is four different options from Veggies To Go.  All four of these plans have one type of meat, and two vegetables. These plans are $3 each, and one plan will be available each Tuesday.

Director of Operations Sandy Brigmon said, “We chose Veggies To Go because they were in our price range, and they offer home-cooked hot food.”

Sophomore student Logan Byrd said, “They probably thought Sonic was unhealthy, and they probably thought Veggies To Go sounded like a healthy place, because it had veggies in it.”

The first plan is two large chicken tenders, macaroni, and green beans. The second plan is beef macaroni with baked apples and a role. The third plan is two corndogs with applesauce and beans. The fourth plan, which will take place sometime after Christmas break is spaghetti, a roll, and baked apples.

Brigmon said, “We’re trying to keep the price in reach of the students, we don’t gain any money.”

 However, the second plan (beef macaroni with baked apples and a roll) will be taken out of rotation. The first and last plan will rotate instead. This will start on January 10. Wednesdays will also have a hot meatball sub along with the other two choices.

Byrd said, “I think they should keep Sonic, and change Arby’s instead.”

According to veggiestogo.net, they offer meat and two vegetables for $6.50 with a drink and a roll at their restaurant.  The school is offering meat and two vegetables for $3, and with a drink it would be $4, which would be $1.50 cheaper than going to the restaurant.

Brigmon said, “The lunch program is a service we offer that we don’t have to offer… and if anyone has any suggestions I’m open for discussion.”

This year, spirit week will take place during the week of college exams, December 2^nd through the 9^th.

“College Students will still be able to participate with the activities because none of the activities are interfering with their exams,” said Senior Tiffany Adorno.

Adorno is on the Spirit Week Planning Committee along with several other students.   The committee is supervised by Kristin Hill, who has been absent on maternity leave for the past two months. Mary Alice Clark came to fill in her place while she was out.

“This year’s spirit week is going to be a blast,” says Junior Allie Connor.

Spirit week has been planned out carefully for several weeks now to ensure the students at Brashier Middle College have an enjoyable week, and most importantly, raise as much money as possible for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  

Susan G. Komen started the foundation in 1982 to help find a cure for males and females who suffer from breast cancer.  Her website, http://ww5.komen.org/  was created to help the patients find out more about their illness and also be able to read stories about survivors.

Senior Jonny Cummings says, “I think the fact that she (Susan G. Komen) has devoted herself to finding a way to save thousands of people’s lives is very honorable.”

Brashier Middle College recognizes the cause and has decided to devote its spirit week to raising as much money as possible for the foundation.

There will be several events held after school throughout the week that students can participate in while also raising money. The events include: a scavenger hunt, movie night, the 2^nd annual womanless beauty pageant, and a flag football game. Events held during the school week include: class relay races, guys volleyball, an eating contest, just dance, and to end off the spirit filled week, a pep rally to get everybody pumped up for the rivalry basketball game Friday night.

Visit http://sites.google.com/a/faculty.brashiermiddlecollege.org/bmc-spirit-week/  to see all the fun spirit week activities.

“The preseason went really well. We had a few new players that will definitely contribute in the upcoming season. I think we’ll have a solid season. I am looking for us to be competitive in the region,” said Brown.

Even though the girls have been conditioned hard, they were also practicing and getting ready for the upcoming tryouts on January 31st.

“I’m excited. I think we’re going to do a lot better this year because we have more experience and the attitudes are much better,” said Junior Amanda Boehme.

Even though the Brashier softball team only won 2 games last year, the coaches and the players are looking forward to a competitive and winning season.

“The biggest difference this year, compared to last year, will be our attitude,” Brown said. “We need to generate a winning attitude, and I believe we are going to kick that off in our very first game! We have a very strong freshman class this year to go along with our returning players, which made huge strides last year, to make for a very exciting time to be part of Brashier Softball!”

The players agree, saying that they think the team is going to win more games this year.

Sophomore Caroline Cripps said, “I think it’s gonna be pretty intense.”

“No Shave November” is an excuse for guys to put their razors away for a month. According to Eric Wilkins of Too Shy To Stop, the tradition of not shaving for the entire month of November was originally started to raise awareness for men’s health. Specifically, non-shavers want to spread the word about testicular and prostate cancer.

The practice started in Australia and New Zealand. There, participants combined the words “mustache” and “November” to invent the term “Movember.” American men adopted the annual tradition, but decided to grow full beards instead of just mustaches.

“No Shave November” is observed for many reasons, other than its original intent. Some men enjoy the excuse of the worldwide tradition to save time in the mornings. Others view it was a celebration of general manliness.

“I did it with another student to raise money for a charity,” says BMC teacher Mark Roberts, who participated in the winter event a few years ago.

“[You] don’t have to have a serious bill… Every year there’s a bill to legalize weed. [YIG] isn’t all work. Try it and have fun!” says Quin.

The play was based on the novel written by Sue Monk Kidd. The one woman show was introduced as Lily, a white girl who killed her mother and has an abusive father. She  then becomes character of T-Ray (Lily’s father), August Boatright (Lily’s Mentor),a store clerk, Rosaleen (Lily’s Sergeant mother), Avery Gaston (police officer), and Franklin Posey (a stereotypical rasist).

“I thought it was really cool because it was only one person playing all the character. She did a really good job telling the story,” says Sophomore Briana Garris.

Going to watch the Secret Life of Bees was part of the Southern Literature class’ study on segregation.

 The goal for the blood drive was to obtain at least 54 units of blood, and Brashier surpassed that goal with 61 units. Depending on the outcome of the Brashier’s second blood drive held in the spring, there is a possibility that the school will win one thousand dollars for the second year in a row. However, the winner will not be announced until the end of the school year. Global Studies and Leadership teacher at Brashier Chantee Cruell felt that the event ran smoothly and went according to plan. She was excited about the outcome and the willingness of students to donate.

“The blood drive was just another part of community service that Brashier does. It helped to educate the students involved about the importance of giving blood and helping those in need. Overall, the drive was excellent, and I was very excited to pass our goal.”

Steve Jobs was born February 24, 1955. Twenty one years later, he would help found one of the biggest companies in the world, Apple. Jobs passed away October 5, 2011 from pancreatic cancer, and many students at Brashier have felt the effect of his death.

 “When I found out he died, I thought that it was so sad,” said Sophomore Christina Dos Santos. Junior Ryan Wright said, “I figured he was going to die, just not this soon.”

Job’s had great ideas, and did not hesitated to act on them. “He was such a smart person. He did so much for technology. Who knows who’s going to take the next lead.” Said Dos Santos.

Dos Santos was a fan of Job’s products, owning three iPods, and she would really like a Macbook. Wright has an iPhone 5, and an iPod.

As for the future of Apple, Dos Santos is not worried. “He left his plans behind, so they’re set for now.”

Job’s inventions have heavily affected today’s generation. Wright said “He changed the world. He should have run for president.”