by Randy Turner
Eighth grader Annie Strickling puts the finishing touches on a float for the Joplin Christmas Parade.
With no auditorium or gymnasium at East, the Concert Choir, under the direction of Ms. Julie Yonkers, had to hold its concerts at another Joplin middle school.
Yearbook signings are a sign that the end of school is near. Eighth grader Jennifer Nguyen signs a friend’s book.
Seventh grade science teacher Mrs. Joyce Hale guides an activity at an outdoors celebration held in the spring semester.
Students perform a dance routine during the last day talent show.
Mr. Bud Sexson, principal, introduces the JEMS (Joplin East Middle School) Show Choir.
The change in location did not stop seventh grade reading teacher Linda Weaver from having her annual “50s Day” as students concluded reading S. E. Hinton’s classic, The Outsiders.
An important part of the first dance at the new East Middle School building was having photos taken.
The JEMS Show Choir entertains during an assembly in the school’s commons area.
East students learned about science, thanks to Pittsburg State University students who staged a Technolympics for them.
At a time when most of the world was thinking about what it could give to Joplin, East Middle School students raised money to help the Joplin Fire Department provide toys for underprivileged children, an annual activity spearheaded by the Student Council, under the direction of Mr. Rocky Biggers.
At a time when most of the world was thinking about what it could give to Joplin, East Middle School students raised money to help the Joplin Fire Department provide toys for underprivileged children, an annual activity spearheaded by the Student Council, under the direction of Mr. Rocky Biggers.
At a time when most of the world was thinking about what it could give to Joplin, East Middle School students raised money to help the Joplin Fire Department provide toys for underprivileged children, an annual activity spearheaded by the Student Council, under the direction of Mr. Rocky Biggers.
East Middle School after the tornado.
Seventh grade communication arts (English) teacher Angel Mense, complete with hard hat, prepares to enter the building and look at her damaged classroom.
Damaged textbooks are shoveled into a dumpster as East teachers and volunteers go through the building a week after the tornado.
As the 2011-2012 school year ended, eighth graders Jennifer Nguyen, Megan Hickey, and Alyssa Wescoat share a tearful moment, not because they had spent their eighth grade year in a warehouse school, but because the school year ended much too soon.
Gov. Jay Nixon presents a bookbag to eighth grader Stella Ndauwa and other EMS
students the first day of school.
Gov. Nixon talks with students in one of the crowded hallways at East.
JOPLIN TORNADO POEMS
TORNADO IN THE SKY
BY MYKAH CAMPBELL
A tornado swirling in the sky,
Things being crushed and tossed around, Oh, no! Things are gone!
Bodies of fear all around us
Everyone has tears
People walking around thinking
what are we going to do?
On that night of May 22, 2011,
a tornado destroyed the heart of Joplin, Missouri
Mykah Campbell was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
NO ONE SAW IT COMING
BY MICHAELA WEST
A normal, sunny day,
the children were at play
the grownups worked
as the animals lurked
No one saw it coming from the sky
Then the clouds rolled by,
as terror grew in the sky
Suddenly, from the clouds
Something awful came down No one saw it coming from the sky
A twister so loud
came roaring down.
It tore through the city
Filling others with pity
No one saw it coming from the clouds
After the storm, so great,
no one knew his or her fate.
As they thought of the dead, A rainbow over their heads
No one saw it coming in the storm.
Michaela West was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
HOPE IS EVERYWHERE
BY SEAN HARRISON
Its spiraling winds
ripped and tore
and sucked up everything in sight, but it couldn’t suck up hope,
because you can’t see it.
Even though you can’t see it,
Doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Hope is something that touches you. You can lose a material item,
but you can’t misplace hope
because it’s everywhere.
Sean Harrison was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
TORNADO
BY MYKAH CAMPBELL
The winds are swirling
and swirling louder and louder. Things get tossed around
and picked up around.
The winds stop,
things are crushed
and broken into pieces.
Houses gone,
Things not even existing any more. I will never forget the night
of May 22, 2011.
THIS BROKEN TOWN
BY ASHTON MCGEHEE
I walk around this now broken town, I look into the ground
dead loved one lay
there is nothing good of this day.
Buildings lie in pieces of rubble;
Men walk across with many shovels, preparing to dig many graves,
preparing for new sidewalks to be paved.
The crying of the ones hurt
are heard throughout the town, sirens and crying are the main sounds. I’ll never forget this day, this hour, days later, I strive for water, a shower.
I miss them so, the ones I loved,
the ones who now float above.
“I’ll get over it eventually,” yeah, if you say so, I’m permanently scarred from this damned tornado.
Ashton McGehee was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
GONE
BY KARLY WEBER
In one instant
our lives were shattered. Broken
Gone
122 and rising People’s families Missing
Gone
Hundreds homeless
On the street, their homes Destroyed
Gone
Nowhere to go No place to stay Everyone lost Gone
People crying
And people dead, not fair! Hopeless
Gone
People lost with nothing, no one Everything is Gone
Looking, searching frantically trying to find
What’s
Gone
People’s help appreciated No one gets it
Misunderstood
Gone
Town deserted with residents leaving Hopelessly they’ve Gone
Cleaning, volunteering, FEMA $1 billion
Hopeless, almost
Gone
One day the destruction will be cleared
Joplin’s sadness
Gone
Karly Weber was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
A MOMENT IN TIME
BY JACY WELCH
I was scared to death Frightened as can be Couldn’t believe my eyes I wish it was a dream
All I could see was wood and debris, I didn’t want to cry
But I couldn’t keep it in
Nothing more was on my mind
That night was horrendous Sirens, choppers, silence But morning came
And reality hit
I wanted to help
But family was on my mind All my priorities changed I wanted to help, go out and see
My old house was gone
We went to see
All it was, was wood rubble, and debris All the memori
es overflowed inside I wanted it all to be over I was done with it all
It was too much to handle I didn’t know how to cope
Taking it day by day
Holding tightly to Jesus
He brought comfort, healing and
Peace knowing that He was and is in control
It has been almost a year
Joplin has become bigger, better, stronger We are all a tight community and We will do this together
Jacy Welch was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
RECOVERING
BY MACKENZIE GUNDERSON
Two weeks before school is out, Something terrible is coming, But no one knows what.
Tornado sirens wail with all their might, Everyone scrambles to a basement, Or anywhere even the slightest bit safe.
It gets shockingly quiet, While everybody waits Until the coast is clear
Then the rumbling starts, It sounds like a train
Rolling down endless tracks
Windows burst,
Trees snap like twigs, Death is in the air.
Hundreds of people,
Just passed on,
Only one from our school. It stole many things from us, Our friends and family, Places we knew,
And even our school
But in all bad things, There’s always at least one Good turn out of it
We are recovering
And growing stronger. We will have new things, And a stronger community.
Mackenzie Gunderson was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
EF-5
BY BRIDGET INGHAM
It was like any other Sunday.
People were enjoying the last of their weekend Getting ready for the week,
Or maybe doing the last of their errands Whatever people were doing
Joplin was peaceful
That very night At 5:41 to be exact Disaster happened
A tornado.
Yes, that’s what it was.
The horrible disaster that came Through peaceful Joplin
It ruined everything
The town,
People’s hearts
People’s lives
It just killed you inside
And it still does now
But Joplin has been stronger than ever It’s quite amazing
How the Joplin people came together To help one another
Yes, we might have to live with a warehouse school, But we will make it
Because we are Joplin strong.
Just look on the bright side
All of the houses,
And all of the buildings
That were destroyed
Will be brand new
And Joplin will be gorgeous again
5/22
BY JOSEPH FRY
Families having dinner Relaxing in their homes The sky was dim
We went out on a limb, Hopin git was just rain
It was so much more
Than a light pour
It was a whirlwind threat
It ripped through wood, tore through trees No mercy was felt that day
Many grieved
So much that they would leave Mending this loss takes time We’ll repair. We’ll replace But we will never forget
Our spirits were lightened
When buildings came back
However, the old will always remain Out with the old, in with the new Despite in an unfortunate way New homes were filled
The occupants were thrilled Back to normal is what they wish Families having dinner
Relaxing in their homes
THE TORNADO
BY JERRY BLAND
As the clouds swirled across the sky And the twister stayed for a second of play, Across like Joplin like a big playground After that, there was no sound.
Before the night in the oh so bright, A day, a time for play, bikes going around, Kids with no frown, savoring the smile, But disguising the frown
To be paid for the night of fright.
Where mothers clutch their children in a bear hug, Everybody inside praying for the night to end They thought they were sleeping,
But outside, everything was broken and stone cold
For the night of fright was over!
SORRY
BY ABIGAIL RUSSELL
The clouds rolled in,
Turning the sky into a dark gray,
The wind blew strong,
The trees shivered in coldness,
The sky cried,
Lightning bolts strike,
BOOM, CRACKLE, SNAP the thunder went,
Sirens roared in warning,
A monstrous cloud rolled in,
Spinning until it hit the ground,
Some went into their basement or safe room,
Some went into an empty closet or a hallway,
Mothers and father holding onto their children and each other, Trying to stay together,
The wind was too strong,
For some it was too much they couldn’t hold on long enough, The wind blowing homes off their foundation and shredded the homes, People praying for their loved ones lives,
When the tornado faded away,
Families dug through rubble,
Looking for their loved ones,
Some were found alive,
But some were found died,
This was a terrible disaster we will soon never forget.
Abigail Russell was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
THIS IS JOPLIN’S LIFE
BY BETH DULINSKY
In Two Thousand and nine, Just two years in time,
Disaster befell the trees In mid-Missouri
But none were killed or hurt Though thousands fell that day By winds that swept our hills, Our fields, our fruited plains
Was then I said, “Alarm! God seeks to do us harm, Lest we repent and stay From sins we sin this day!”
But we repented not,
And God we just forgot, And blindly rushed ahead, Alive, but surely dead.
So barely two years on
The winds struck yet again From Kansas south, then east To Alabama, not the least Tornadoes struck and killed Three hundred souls and more, We haven’t yet the count
We cannot keep the score
A city now destroyed, One city of our land Yea, Joplin lies destroyed By God’s afflicting hand
But will we hear him now? We heard him not before When only trees lay still Before destruction’s door.
Yea, will we hear him now?
REMEMBER - I BELIEVE IN YOU!
When you feel afraid
Remember I believe in you!
When things seem hard
Remember I believe in you!
When it seems like no one cares
Remember I believe in you!
When you feel like you just can’t do it
Remember I believe in you!
When someone tries to get you to do something you know you shouldn’t do
Remember I believe in you!
When there is a voice telling you that you are stupid Remember I believe in you!
You Are Smart and You Can Learn!
You are capable of doing much greater things than
you can imagine, if you are willing to work hard!
It has been my honor to have you as a student!
I’m a better person because I got to know you!
So Never Give Up On Yourself!
You know I never did and I never will!
Keep trying and always remember that
You Are Loved!
and
I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!!!
Ms. Kathy Weaver EMS May 2012
This has been such a tough year for staff and students. We came out of the disaster last year and everyone had an emotionally and often physically challenging summer. We faced a lot of changes coming back. My goal coming into our new temporary school this year was to provide a safe environment for my students to grow and excel in.
Many of my students were misplaced due to the tornado. Their lives had been turned upside down. Their resilience in the face of the overwhelming changes was inspirational and often times heartbreaking. I wanted so badly to protect them from the hardships they had to face.
Instead I turned to supporting and encouraging them as they dealt with the changes and the challenges. I am an emotional person and my students often tease me about it! They take delight in saying “Ms. Kathy you are going to cry when I leave this year aren’t ya!” This year the tears came much earlier and much more often throughout the year! Somehow the students became a much deeper part of me!
A lot of the students who were misplaced will be moving on and not returning to our district as they locate homes in other communities. This is a tougher year for letting go for both them and myself. It seems even more important to them that I won’t forget them.
This poem is dedicated to my students whom have become my heart! I want them to know that I believe in them and I will not forget them. Wherever they go in this world, I want them to know that there is someone out there who loves them and believes in them!!!!
Kathy Weaver is a special education teacher at East Middle School.
PARTING THOUGHTS
MY PUPPY
BY CARA MARSHALL
The best gift I have ever received was my puppy. I have been asking for years to get a puppy and finally, I got one this summer. She is an Australian Shepherd. I named her Mia. I am so excited and happy that I finally have a dog of my own. She is black and white and full of energy. I love her to pieces.
She is the best gift I have ever had because she makes me happy and now I have someone to have fun with after school.
