The Viewpoint February 2016 Extra

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A R T Viewpoint X E

Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Road Stafford, VA 22556 @mvtheviewpoint

STUDENT NEWS Magazine MVHS VOLUME 10 ISSUE 3 Febuary 2016

kAYLA jACKSON IS PerFORMING A JUMP BALL AGAINST nORTH STAFFORD AT THE START OF A GAME

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The Viewpoint DECEMBER 2015 | JANUARY 2015 VOLUME X EXTRA ISSUE

LIVE IN THE MOMENT In life you shouldn’t take anything for granted. Every day we go about our lives not realizing how lucky we are to be here. In a split second everything can be flipped around.

I was recently in my first car accident and it has completely changed my outlook on how I live my life. In an instant everything came to a screeching halt. After this it made me realize how much we take for granted, and how fast the people closest to us can be affected by our absence. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t sweat the little things in life because in a matter of moments it can all come to an abrupt end.

Don’t let yourself live in the past; if you keep rehashing the past then you will miss all of life’s little moments. Am I saying that you should forget the past? No. If anything the past is all we have to shape our future experiences.

Every day there are thousands of things that can go wrong and don’t, so after a while we truly do start to take how precious our life is for granted. If this person had hit me from another angle I might not be here to talk about it.

If you were in the same situation, would you be happy with the legacy you have left behind? Can you say you’re proud of your accomplishments, and that you have contributed

enough to this world to happily say you have made a difference? One thing I know for sure, I haven’t. I am nowhere near satisfied enough with what I have done in my life to be able to sit back and relax.

I am not one of those people who are fine with fading away and out of the memories of my loved ones. It may not seem like it now, but the things we do today shape our lives in a major way. If I hadn’t tried a new route to get to bowling, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten hit.

Heck if I never wanted to go bowling none of this would be a problem, but I didn’t. I did want to go bowling and I did take a different route.

That’s the thing in life, we can think about the past and all the “what ifs” it holds. We can spend countless hours wondering how our lives would be different if we had made another choice, but that’s just it. It’s in the past.

We can’t change it now; we just have to move on from it and keep looking to the future for better times. If all you get out of my ramble here is that you shouldn’t live in the past then my work here is done. If you remember anything else form this, even better. In life only you can make the crucial decisions that will shape your life, whether they will be for better or worse.

Alex Harrington

Editorial Board

Hailey Bullis Cory Haley Sarah Yakulis Social Media Editor

Krissy Poff

Copy Editors

Leah Garza Reagan King Adviser

Trisha Strahl

The Viewpoint is a cross-section of the news and opinions of the student body of Mountain View High School. It is a forum of expression published by aPrintis. Letters to the editorial board are welcome and should be submitted to rooms 303 or 311.

Staff Writers

Jenny Bullers, Lily Cowper, Paige Doerfler, Michael Goffus, Zane Gobie, Alex Harrington, Morgan Ocetnick, Reagan King, Austin Venable Front Cover Photo: Cory Haley

2014, 2015 Virginia High School League State Championship First Place Award Winner 2013, 2014, 2015 Free Lance-Star Best Over All Newspaper 2011 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist 2011, 2010 and 2009 Virginia High School League First Place Award Winner

Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Rd. Stafford, VA 22556

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TIME LESS From the beginning of time, love has been a constant; however, the way it is commonly expressed has been altered. by Jenny Bullers and Alex Harrington

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owadays if it doesn’t draw in a crowd of people, then it isn’t considered to be worthy.

Valentine’s Day has gone from a profession of love to a holiday about who can get the biggest and most expensive gift.

What about today’s culture says that flowers and a thoughtful gift are not enough anymore?

Homecoming and prom were once a meaningful traditions and displays of chivalry. Now they have transformed into competitions to see what couple can outdo the other. This leaves the person asking to worry about coming up with an original and memorable way to ask their significant other to the dance.

The days of well-thought and personal prom-posals are over. Today the value is measured in how many people see it and how elaborate and expensive it is.

What happened to the days when asking someone to a dance was considered an honor and a privilege?

Instead of going to the door and actually picking up your date, nowadays people just wait in the driveway and text the other person that they are there to pick them up.

Chivalry is not dead,but it is less common. In today’s day and age some people believe that chivalry is dead and a thing of the past. They could not be more wrong. Chivalry is still alive and kicking but it has taken a backseat to the laziness of some.

It is not hard to show care and respect, but it does take a little effort. Whether it be offering your coat in the cold or simply asking how their day was, there are plenty of ways to be chivalrous.

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Sugar

Shack

REVIEW

Downtown Fredericksburg’s Sugar Shack is one bakery that I have always wanted to visit, and I am so glad that I did. by: Emilee Holmquist Tasty, modern, delectable- Sugar Shack Donuts is Downtown Fredericksburg’s place to be.

Sugar Shack started in Lombardy, Richmond, and has since spread all across Virginia and a few other states, winning its customers over with its’ warm vibes and unique flavors.

Located in the heart of Fredericksburg, it is hard to miss this bright and decorative bakery.

The decorations and curb appeal of this place are off the charts, and the cozy atmosphere is half the reason why customers of all are raving about it.

Customers are always experiencing different things each time they visit Sugar Shack, as they are constantly changing up the flavors and decor.

When you walk into the bakery, you will be greeted by a friendly cashier, ready to explain each unique flavor.

With over 20 flavors to choose from, Sugar Shack provides a variety that makes it hard to pick any single doughnut.

There are not only several options for the flavors, but the prices change along with the type of doughnut you choose.

There are three main types of doughnuts: the house doughnuts, which are priced at $1.20, the specialty doughnuts, which are priced at $1.90, and the monster doughnuts, which are priced at $2.50.

Another thing that sets Sugar Shack apart from any ordinary bakery is their daily promotion.

Everyday, there is something new that you can do to get a free house doughnut, which they keep you updated on with their Facebook account.

A tad overwhelmed by the many eye-appealing doughnuts, I ultimately decided on three: the sea salted caramel, a house doughnut; the vanilla butterfinger, a specialty doughnut; and the old-fashioned blueberry, also a specialty doughnut.

I took the doughnuts to go in a paper bag, and the entire ride home my mouth constantly watered from the desserts’ delicious aromas.

The first doughnut I tried was the sea salted caramel. When I unwrapped it from the parchment paper, all the caramel and salt on top of the doughnut just peeled away, forcing me to scrape it back on with a knife. This was very disappointing, as the doughnut looked like a complete mess.

After I finally got as much of the caramel back onto the doughnut as I could, I took a bite.

Right away, I noticed the doughnut was very light and fluffy, just as it should be, and the caramel provided a sweet topping. But once I started to chew the huge chunks of salt on top were overwhelming, and ultimately, I couldn’t finish the doughnut.

Sugar Shack’s sea salted caramel doughnut is one that I would never try again. Not only does it taste bad, but it also couldn’t even withstand a short drive. I give it an overall rating of a 3.5 out of 10.

Hopeful for a better outcome, I turned to the vanilla butterfingers doughnut. It unwrapped very nicely, still intact as ever.

The fluffy doughnut was coated with a smooth vanilla frosting that was topped off with crushed butterfingers. Minus a few larger chunks, the candy bar bits were evenly distributed, and provided a nice (but not too strong) salty taste, in contrast to the sweet glaze.

The texture was equally appealing, as the butterfingers added a good crunch.

Personally, I have never been

a big fan of candy bars, but this doughnut made me reconsider. The butterfingers doughnut at Sugar Shack is a force to be reckoned with, and I would absolutely recommend it to any candy-lover. I give it a rating of 8 out of 10.

If you’re a fan of old-fashioned doughnuts, you have got to try Sugar Shack’s blueberry old-fashioned doughnut.

The cakey-doughnut was covered with a crisp layer of just the right amount of glaze sauce. The blueberries made it almost taste like a blueberry muffin in doughnut form, and I found that made it all the better.

Although not meant for people who are into the more light and airy sort of doughnuts, I really enjoyed this twist on the old-fashioned. I give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Sugar Shack is known for their doughnuts, and for a good reason.

The ever inviting staff and decor makes this place one that I find myself craving...almost all the time.

If you ever find yourself with a sweet tooth and near one of their locations, you have got to stop by this scrumptious bakery.

SOL

Fever The Standards of Learning tests in Virginia causes the students to not be able to learn as well as they should. by: Emilee Holmquist Teachers struggling to fit lessons in their schedules, students stressing to learn everything they need to know, parents scrambling to deal with the stress: these are issues every school in Virginia faces with the SOLs. At the end of each year, students in Virginia from grades 3-12 are forced to take a standards of learning test for every class they are in.

Although the entire point of the test is to assess how well the teachers get the standardized information across to their students, the test causes more stress than it’s worth.

The SOL tests hold more weight than assessing the teachers, however.

Many advanced classes require an SOL score of passed advanced, which is a 500 out of 600 or higher. This puts pressure on students who are 4 q the viewpoint EXTRA q Febuary 2016

looking to apply for the more extended classes, because now they not only have to get all As or Bs in the class, they also have to excel in this test covering everything, most of the time going in unprepared.

Not only does the preparation for the test cause problems for students, but taking the actual test is much harder to some than others.

I have a best friend who always gets really nervous to take tests, and the SOLs are no different.

In the seventh grade, she got less than a 450 on her Algebra 1 SOL. She had gotten mostly Bs throughout the year in the class, but she decided to retake the entire class because she felt she hadn’t retained any of the information taught to us in the course.

In addition to the SOL tests putting pressure on the students, the teachers struggle with fitting all

the curriculum into the allotted time of the school year.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are, on average, 180 school days in the year. Those days do not account for unexpected days off, such as snow days.

To any student, 180 days may seem like a lot, but when it comes down to it, that is not nearly enough time to properly teach everything the SOLs require for each subject.

The education system in Virginia has gone downhill since the SOLs have been introduced.

A new solution would be to eliminate the SOLs completely, or to take off the weight of the tests so that they cannot be used against you in any way.

Photos by Cory Haley

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