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Volume XIC • Issue 8• April 27, 2012
Student-led Spring Arts Festival marks a new tradition
Christy Stearn
editor-in-chief
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or the first time, the drama department initiated a new tradition by hosting an event other than the regular spring play following its musical season. Theatre aide Phil Saunders and senior Emmett Copeland collaborated to contrive the Spring Arts Festival, a celebration of the arts. The pair came up with idea last fall, and conveyed their vision to seniors Dorrall Price, Ama Ansah, and Dylan Norquest, who were
eager to take part in its inception. The Spring Arts Festival, which premiered on April 13 at 7 p.m., consisted of four plays directed by the senior crew. Each play was approximately ten minutes and discussed themes including abortion (“Unplanned” by Norquest), depression (“Linda Her” by Copeland), a school shooting (“10 minutes” by Price), and mail-order Russian brides (“Rupert and the Russian Email Brides” by Ansah). In addition to the highlight skits, group and solo musical acts and dancers performed between each play. Junior Paul Hairston culminated the night’s perfor-
mances with his short film, Dreamt, a sixteen-minute long movie where “a man explores fate through the lense of lucid dreaming.” Coffee, dessert, and other refreshments were served an hour prior to the event’s start. The entire festival stemmed for an hour and a half. No admission fee was charged, but donations were graciously accepted; all proceeds went to HHS’s drama program. “We were originally just going to have our four shows as the only acts of the night, then decided to incorporate other talents for time purposes and to break up the plays so audiences wouldn’t be con-
fused by the quick transitions,” Price said. “A lot of the people that performed in music and dance acts were also in a play.” The student directors viewed the festival as a unique learning experience. “We [Saunders and Emmett] see this as a good starting point for future studentled involvement in the arts department,” Copeland said. “We don’t get to direct and produce enough in the classroom, and it’s a real-life skill that we were able to put into action.” Both students and advisers hope to continue the Spring Arts Festival annually. n
STAR banquet honors exceptional students, teachers Ama Ansah
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online blogger
n April 10, HHS held its first annual 4.0 Senior-Teacher Recognition Banquet at the Spotswood Country Club. The event commemorated seniors who will be graduating with honors—a 4.0 GPA or above for all four years—to recognize a teacher who has made a difference in their educational careers. “I think it’s great to honor the 4.0 seniors and that they are recognizing our hard work,” senior Gwen Elwood said. All 4.0 seniors were given the assignment of selecting an instructor who significantly impacted them and writing a 250-word essay about their influence. Students were allowed to choose any teacher they have had from kindergarten through twelfth grade, including teachers that are not in the Harrisonburg City School District. Though he thinks it is a positive idea, senior Evan Shank notes that to many seniors, writing an extra paper feels like an additional assignment. “I think it is great that [the teachers] get to be recognized, I just don’t know if students were
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Freeze Frame
happy with having to write the paper. To them, it feels like more h o m e w o r k ,” Shank said.. Other students, like Elwood, did not mind the assignment, arguing that the hardest part was choosing a teacher to honor. “I have had so many wonderful teachers, but I thought about it and chose Mrs. McNett,” Elwood said. Judie McNett is a reading specialist at Thomas Har- Smile! Seniors Mikala Wolter, Kari King, and rison Middle Anna Boisen pose with their mentor band School who director J.R. Snow. Photo courtesy of Amy helped young Powers. Elwood with I wouldn’t be where I am today,” literacy. “I struggled with reading Elwood said. when I was younger. She helped At the banquet, students and me so much—she worked so their parents were seated with many hours with me. I wouldn’t their teachers and served a lunch have this 4.0 average without her.
of salad, potatoes, corn, and chicken. After the lunch portion, each student read their essay in front of the banquet attendees while they enjoyed dessert. Seniors Mikala Wolter, Anna Boisen, and Kari King took a different approach to honoring their favorite teacher, band director J.R Snow. Wolter picked a piece of music written by her older brother, and the three girls, accompanied by Elwood, performed the piece. “We wanted to show what he taught us,” violinist Boisen said. “If you are in band, Snow impacts your life in so many ways. He was a big influence in my choice to go into music [at JMU].” For the teachers, being recognized by a student came as a surprise. Weeks before the event, teachers received an invitation to the banquet in the mail, but details were kept to a minimum. Principals excused their teachers from work. They did not know which students would be honoring them until they arrived at the banquet. “I was hoping it was someone who I would remember,” McNett laughed. “I was also hoping it would be serious and sincere.”
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HHS reinstates old schedule for 2013 school year William Imeson
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this issue
Inside
Tiny tots! Senior clarinetist Mikala Wolter welcomes children from local elementary schools to HHS for the band’s annual Tiny Tot concert. Photo courtesy of Mikala Wolter.
online editor-in-chief
t the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, Harrisonburg High School made some serious altercations to its schedule. In previous years, HHS had blocks that were a combination of semester and full year classes. A semester class lasted only for the first half of the year and was every single day, while full year classes were every other day on an A or B day and lasted throughout the year. Traditionally, only advanced classes, some remedial classes, or electives (such as band, choir, etc.) were full year. The rest of the students would spend their school days in 90 minutes semester classes. But at the beginning of this school year, semester classes were done away with in one fell
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SPORTS
FEATURE
NEWS Editor-in-chief Vanessa Ehrenpreis is named Virgina JEA student journalist of the year.
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swoop. No longer did HHS “Each department will have classes every single day. choose classes to be either alNow we have a strict A/B Each department ternating or semester. If you day schedule and alternating will choose classes to remember last year, we had a classes. sort of hybrid schedule,” guidbe either alternating Junior Hayden Rutherford ance director Amy Powers said. or semester. did not like the new sched“It will also feature new classes, -HHS guidance such as a Dual-Enrolled Kineule for 2011. “I don’t like it because director Amy siology class taught by Paul some classes like math or P.E Powers Rath and Amy Wheeler. Other or Weight Training should than that, we’re not completely just not be full year. I would positive about schedule revienjoy them more if they were sions.” over after 90 days.” While the old schedule contained full year Luckily for Rutherford, he just might get and semester classes, the newest schedule will his wish. After a year of experimentation, the hopefully satisfactorily blend the past years of administration at HHS is considering some experimentation. The school day will start at changes once again. The new schedule for the 7:45 in the morning and end at 2:35. This is a 2012-2013 school year will incorporate both fifteen minute push back from this year. n full year and semester classes.
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Throughout the decades, animals have served as more than just pets.
Staff members Ben DiNapoli and Jake Durden hike Skyline Drive.
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THE
experience
Members from the Newsstreak staff ventured to Seattle, Washington for a journalism convention in early April.
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