Faux Crystals
By Christopher Norris

This project is for any and all who love collecting crystals and minerals!
Materials needed:
Jagged rocks- Free.
Metallic or pearlescent Nail polish (Two different shades are recommended)- $12.99.
Golden spray paint- $3.96.
Procedure:
Wash your rocks and let them dry.
Decide which side of the rock is best to paint.
In a well ventilated area (like outside) begin with your darkest shade and dab large drippy dots all over your rock. If you don’t want to ruin your nail polish brushes, set them to the side and use narrow paint brushes instead.
While your first color is still wet, repeat the same step with your medium tone and then again with your lightest on top.
Continue adding and dabbing colors until you like the effect. Let it drip dry so you get cool designs on top of the textured rock and let dry overnight.
Once your nail polish is dry, set your rocks on their sides and carefully spray paint the bottoms gold and allow a little overspray to go up the bottom/sides.
Leave your rocks to dry overnight and your “gems” are done!

Business of the Week: Mexico Music -- Week of November 2, 2018
By Hazen Blair

Mexico Music has been a staple of the square for years. They offer a wide range of services, including music lessons at two different price points and item sales. They sell a wide array of musical products, ranging from tuners to trumpets; accessories to amps; a diverse selection of guitars; and a wall of ukuleles. For their lessons, they have five different teachers. If at any point you’d like to make further inquiries, you can contact them through their website or come to their store at 101 North Washington, Mexico. MO 65265. Individuals reviewing the business claim, “You can always find fair prices, great service, and a knowledgeable staff.” Take the opportunity to stop in today. They are open:
Mon     12:30 pm - 7:00 pm        Tue    12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Wed    12:30 pm - 7:00 pm        Thu    12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Fri         12:30 pm - 5:00 pm        Sat    10:00 am - 2:30 pm

MHS Halloween Favorites

Baylee Dukes, Junior 
Dressed up as Archie Andrews from the Netflix Original show "Riverdale". 

---

Business of the Week: Handi-Shop
By Hazen Blair

“Seconds-to-Go opened in 1999 in its former location at 516 East Liberty, offering donated merchandise for sale to the public. The business rapidly outgrew its location as community citizens donated more and more used merchandise and the concept of ‘a huge indoor garage sale’ caught on.  In 2005 a new building was constructed at 623 East Holt that now houses Seconds-to-Go.” - Handi-Shop site

A favorite of Mexico residents and businesses, it’s almost as though the Seconds To Go store (widely referred to as the Handi-Shop) has been here forever. The donation-retailer has been a staple of Mexico’s culture for years. The Seconds To Go store provides individuals with employment regardless of disability, and provides funding for those working in other facets of Handi-Shop, Inc., including the local recycling service and subcontracting work. Seconds To Go is open on weekdays, typically from 9 am-4 pm; however, they are open from 9 am-5 pm on Wednesdays for Dollar Bag Day.

App of the Week: VSCO

By Gracelyn Penn

Halloween DIYs!!!

By Sherell Williams

Mummy Piñata
A halloween twist on birthday party favorite!!


Materials needed:
toilet paper tube
googly eyes
white crepe paper streamer
double-sided tape
scrapbook paper
baker’s twine
small toys and candy

1. Apply a strip of double-sided tape to the edge of tube and use to secure a piece of the streamer in place.
   
2. Gather a few small toys and candy pieces to fit in the mini pinata. Don’t pack it too tightly or the prizes won’t fall out easily when the string is pulled.
   
3. Cover the other end of the tube just like you did before except include a small tag before securing in place. This is what the kids will pull to release their prizes.
   
4. Wrap the crepe paper around the tube until completely covered, securing with double-sided tape. Push a section at the top of the tube apart to create some space for the googly eyes. And that’s it!
   

For more crafts like this visit: https://diycandy.com/halloween-kids-craft-mummy-pinata/

Glowing Jack O Lantern Jars
Materials needed:
Clean glass jar
Glow Sticks
Exacto Knife
Glass Paint Pen

1. Draw a face on your jar
2. Activate the glow sticks (Keep in mind that you want to do this when you want them to glow! They only last for about four to twenty four hours!)
3. Take the Exacto Knife and remove the lid carefully.
4. Pour the liquid into the jar.
5. Put the lid on the jar and roll the liquid around
6. If it is starting to dim a little, roll it again

Notes: The liquid will naturally go the bottom of the jar.

​

---

Barbie Zombies 
​​
Bring the Walking Dead to your house with these!!!


Materials needed:
Barbies
Gray and white spray paint
Brown dye (powdered or liquid)
Craft paint: brown, black, white, red, reddish brown
Paint Pens: yellow and gray
Dowels (for standing them up)


​



​

1. You’ll need a large tub with enough water to cover all the clothes from the dolls. I used some leftover Rit dye in orange and blue. That gave me an army green, so I squirted in some red dye leftover from a tie dye project. That turned it brown and I thought it would be enough so I dumped in the clothes and stirred with a paint stick.
2. The color was okay, but I wanted them darker and dirtier looking. So I squirted in what was left of my “walnut” gel stain, but brown paint would have been fine too. After stirring that around I added some black and some white paint. Now I was getting somewhere! The color was good and muddy!
3. After stirring the clothes around some more, I dipped each of the dolls’ heads into the dye mixture and placed them on a towel to drain.
4. Next I removed all the clothes to a separate towel and drained the dye tub.
5. Because these are teeny tiny Barbie clothes they don’t take long to dry. Mine weren’t completely dry when I started painting. I used a mixture of black and brown, and red and brown, and whatever looked good. I dabbed my brush into the paint and dabbed off the excess onto a paper towel. Then I dabbed and rubbed the clothes to make them look dirty and blood stained. I did a little blood splatter too using a paint brush dipped in watered down red paint and flicked it with my finger against the bristles.
6. Now I was ready to work on the dolls, so I gave their hair a little squeeze with the towel to get any excess water out then I took them all outside. I sprayed each one with gray primer (gray spray paint will work too, doesn’t matter), including their hair. After the gray I sprayed with white and dabbed with a piece of paper towel. I just kept doing that here and there to make the skin look nasty. :)
7. Just like I did with the clothes, I decorated the dolls using red and black, and I used a yellow and gray paint pen to do the eyes. I finished the eyes using a small paintbrush with black, removing the excess on a paper towel first. I also used a toothpick to add red paint to the mouths.
8. All that was left to do was get them all dressed!   

For more crafts like the glowing jacks and barbies visit: https://craftsbyamanda.com/ 

---

If You're Gonna Be a Rock Star, Be One From the 80's!

   Dress Like A Rock Star day is coming up this Thursday and while you might be tempted to go all Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons and just wear a white sweaty t-shirt and some ill-fitting white jeans, we encourage you to get a bit more creative... like 80's creative. 
   The 80's was the dawn of the female rock star. Women like Joan Jett with her jet black spiky mullet and Lita Ford with her head of curls and her too-high-to-walk boots set the bar pretty high for female rock stars to come. 
   So how do you channel THOSE rock stars? First of all, forget Taylor Swift - not enough edge. Do a Google search for names like Joan Jett, Patty Smyth, Lita Ford, Heart, Stevie Nicks and Blondie. 
   Male rock stars, as any female fan knows, need only have a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with a bandana sticking out of the back of their jeans pocket (Bruce Springsteen - early 80's) Or a black leather jacket and some jeans for a scorching John Cougar Mellancamp imitation. Unless your mom has some serious wigs, stay away from the hair bands of the 80's - they are WALKING dress code violations anyway.
   Basically, cool is subjective, but perhaps Nickleback said it best: "We all just wanna be big rock stars and live in hill top houses driving 15 cars..." So on Thursday, hey, hey, be a rock star! 

---

Importance Of Teachers
By: Sidney Kennemore

      The secret is out! Most wonder why teachers are what they are. Mr. Garry Hagedorn decided to sit down and discuss why he pursued a career in teaching. The loaded question was, “What made you want to become a teacher?” With that Hagedorn had to take a step back and really think about his response. After a little bit of time this was his response, “I was at a crossroad in my career and I could afford to go any direction I wanted. I decided to invest in things that made me happy. Two of the happiest things I've ever done included, being a boy scout leader and coaching T-ball in the city league. Both were volunteer work and no penny was received yet they were two of the most fulfilling things I've ever done.” From this I was able to conclude that Hagedorn does it for the students rather than the money. He also mentioned, “This is the coolest job I've ever done and it's filled with amazing students.” What really stuck out to me was his last piece of input, “Took me thirty years to find what makes me truly happy.” This just shows how much of an impact we, the students, have on the teachers. 

How to spice up Homecoming!   ​
By Chris Norris

School spirit has been on a serious decline lately, so here are some ways to re-establish it in time for the upcoming HomeComing!
        

1. Here's a  way to increase school spirit, invite that one friend you've lost touch with to the game.                                      
2. Bring in decorations to cover you class room, and improve the overall spirit.
3. Find ways to incorporate Homecoming in the classroom, which is yet another way to turn up the spirit, don't be shy to show some bulldog pride!
4. Ask the dance committee if there's a way you can help get HomeComing ready for your friends.
5. Finally, if you are not on a float, make sure to get a good spot in the parade route so you can cheer on your friends who are!                                                                                                                                   
     Be good and have fun!​                                                                                                                                                                              ​These are some ways to get excited for and enjoy HomeComing!