Now, this is the time of year when things start to get a little crazy.  February Vacation is fast approaching, we are going to be getting ready for the Shriner’s Circus soon, and the Military Ball is only 67 days away! (as of 2/2/10)  Time does seem to fly when you’re having fun   Just so everyone knows February Vacation starts Fri., Feb. 12th (Teacher Workshop), and runs the week of the 15th.  Sometime during the 3rd week of March there will be a Circus meeting so we can go over who wants to sign up, the different stations you can work, and t-shirt sizes.  Don’t worry, we will announce when the meeting will be…

And now…the moment the Seniors have been waiting for…THE MILITARY BALL!!!  For those of you that haven’t attended a Ball, I will tell you they are a BLAST!!!  The food is amazing, there are tons of awards that will be presented, and a dance to finish out the night.  Now in past years we have been able to change out of our uniforms into ‘civies’ (street clothes) so that we could dance comfortably…but there is a catch; ALL CADETS HAVE TO WEAR THEIR UNIFORMS ON THEIR ASSIGNED DAYS FROM NOW UNTIL THE BALL!!! If any cadet refuses to wear the uniform no one will be able to change for the dance.  PLEASE WEAR YOUR UNIFORMS!!!  (note: if givin the ‘OK’ from Top or Colonel to not wear the uniform there will be no penalty.)

Even though there will be a class where everything about the Ball is explained, I am going to give a list of what is needed for the Ball and when the Ball is:

*The Military Ball is on Saturday, April 10th, 2010

*The uniform is Class A; instead of wearing the green button-up shirt cadets are told to wear white button-up shirts, long-sleeves and with a collar.

*Male cadets wear black bow-ties instead of regular ties (Top can rent out bow-ties).  Girls still wear neck-tabs.

*CADETS WHO DO NOT SHOW UP WILL RECEIVE THE GRADE OF ZERO, UNLESS SPECIFIED WITH TOP OR COLONEL IN ADVANCE.

Please make sure that your uniforms look impeckable!  Let’s get excited!!!

And now to recap on the year: the Drill team did an outstanding job this year bringing in a total of 6 trophies!  Raiders has already begun and so far 5 cadets have made the team: Drew “Legs” Curran, Stephanie “Gargoyle” Thomas, Laura “Jack” Craig, Tim “Runt”  Woodbury and Matt “Superman” Thompson – congrats to those cadets and keep it up; the basketball Color Guard continues to present the Colors at each varsity basketball game, and they are doing an excellent job!

Now for the bad news: MIDTERMS!!!!  Yes, they suck, but if you don’t study you will NOT do well!  All of the upperclassmen know how midterms can be and know that they need to study study study, but freshmen don’t understand completely how bad midterms can be.  A few tips:

*grab as many study guides as you can from teachers

*ask ALL teachers what percentage the midterm covers on your semester grade (it can be anywhere from 10% to 20%)

*study hard and study often; if you hate studying, grab a buddy and make it fun…somehow.  Also know that every upperclassmen is obligated to help you so start asking!

If anyone has any questions about midterms or anything related to the Corps don’t hesitate to ask!  I hope everyone had a great holiday, and I can’t wait to see everyone on Monday!

Happy New Year!

–Audrey “Superwoman” Sylvester

Also, if you want to help a kid further, join us on Wednesday, Dec. 16th at the Newport/Plymouth Elementary School for their annual Holiday Craft Fair!  You can help kids ‘shop’ and wrap gifts for their families for a whole day (woohoo, no school!).  It’s loads of fun!  If you have any questions about this community service see ACO Commander Laura Craig, ACO 1SG Brad Cookson, or BNCO Audrey Sylvester.

Coming up this month, also, is our annual ‘Holiday Formation’.  This is our second largest get-together throughout the year where parents can come see what we do during our formations, and they can watch you get promoted or earn awards.  This year our formation is on Thursday, Dec. 17th @ 2:35 in the Nokomis gym.

This is going to be a busy month, so roll up those sleves and let’s get to it!

–Audrey Sylvester

Now, moving on to other business: there are a lot of other things that are going to change.  Communication is the most important one, then comes community services, fund raisers, and pumping up the Battalion.  I’m looking for excitement, and that excitement should start with our leadership! GET EXCITED!!!   With plenty of cooperation and hard work we can make this one of the best years in JROTC ever, so let’s get started now!

–CDT LTC Audrey Sylvester

CDT LTC. Dominic M. McKim
Commanding

While at the EST, cadets were shown how to properly load, charge, aim, and fire the M-16 A-3 Rifle simulator. The cadets were also given the opportunity to compete against each other for the title of TOP GUN! The EST is a weapons simulator that dose not require live fire, it is hooked to a compressed air system that supplies the weapon with a small kick back when fired at the screen.

To view the system and cadets in action visit the photo gallery and click on National Guard – Camp Keyes.

The Maine National Guard Recruiting Office made this fantastic opportunity possible.  A special thanks goes to SGT Haskell from the EST section.

GET WELL SOON TOP!

BNCO

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look for fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

LTC. Dominic McKim
Battalion Commander

CDT. LTC Dominic McKim