February Issue

A3: Full musical coverage A10: A day at the salon

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B6: Wrestling team wins regular season district title, competes in tournament

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Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XIC • Issue 7• February 28, 2013

Millie packs house on opening night Mia Karr Managing editor After rehearsing for two and a half months and persevering through snow, freezing rain, and tap dancing, the cast, crew, and pit orchestra of Thoroughly Modern Millie saw their hard work culminate in five performances. The show opened on Wednesday, Feb. 13, and ran through Sunday, Feb.17.

Choir director Bethany Houff has done eleven shows with HHS. She and director Stan Swartz work on the show from summertime until set strike. This year’s musical came with its own unique challenges.

“Certainly the amount of dancing, especially the tap dancing, was challenging.

Our students accepted the challenge and I think the choreography was fantastic,”

See MUSICAL on A2 Tap dancing lessons add to choreography To make this year’s musical even more authentic, students helped design the dance numbers A3

Live orchestra, lights sound integral to play PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS

SHOWTIME. Senior actress Lydia Hatfield applies makeup in preparation for the opening night of HHS’s drama department’s production of Thoroughly Modern Millie on Feb. 13. The show opened to a sold-out audience.

Latino scholars program opens Brenna Cowardin News editor In a landscape of everincreasing college tuition costs, three sophomores will receive full scholarships to the colleges of their choice. Through the Shenandoah ValleyScholars’ Latino Initiative (SV-SLI), Dulce Elias, Raul Balthazar and Willy Velasco, college is now much more reachable.

Math teacher Sandy Mercer is the school liaison for the Shenandoah ValleyScholars’ Latino Initiative.

She became involved after helping a former student who was involved with immigration issues. That student, once facing deportation, is now in college.

“That made me realize how hard it is to be the first in your family to go to college was,” Mercer said.

The program began last year. Elias, Balthazar and Velasco are on the road to receiving a higher education. The application process had begun for this year’s applicants, with applications due April 12 and the decision made on April 26.

Elias, Balthazar and Velasco are mentored by JMU students, who will introduce them to the college experience and answer any questions they have, regarding college requirements, math homework, or anything else.

See SCHOLARS on A2

District Forensics Results

Extemporaneous Speaking 1st - Daniel Roth 2nd - Evan Dotas Original Oratory 2nd - Austin Coffey Impromptu 1st - Mia Karr 3rd - Jesse Henninger Storytelling 1st - Marrill Harmison Prose Interpretation 2nd - Luke Gibson 4th - (alternate to regionals) Anna Dick Poetry Interpretation 1st - Daelynn McCleve Humorous Interpretation 2nd - Tyler Edwards Humorous Duo Interpretation 1st - Deb Halpern and Ellen Upton

Check out Thoroughly Modern Millie behind the scenes A3

Forensics wins third straight district title Luke Gibson Style editor

The HHS Forensics Team has been the winners of the VHSL District tournament seven times out of the past nine years. The team’s victory at the most

recent competition on Jan. 30 at Fort Defiance High School extended the streak to three consecutive years in a row.

Forensics, in the simplest terms, is competitive public speaking. There are 10 various events, all con-

CHAMPIONS. HHS’s forensics team gets a team shot at the district competition after taking first place.

Spring showcase aims to show off HHS’ bright spots Mark Duda Editor-in-chief The idea of students attending school on parent-teacher conference day may sound outrageous, but this year, they might have a reason to.

The incipient “Spring Showcase” is planned to display all that HHS has to offer, from art to music. The showcase will take place during the parent-teacher conference day on March 8, and will feature hours of performances and displays from numerous school and community groups.

English teacher Verity Caron was responsible for the organization and logistics of the event, and took influence from an unconventional source.

“In Japan they have ‘festival

weeks’ where the students run everything, and, at the end of that week, the communities come and they have different activities in each classroom. You could have plays that put people put on, or cafes that are in the classrooms, or athletic competitions,” Caron said, “So when they talked about having the showcase, I raised my hand because I’ve run conventions before, I know how to organize a schedule, I know how to work on this logistically.”

The showcase is largely the result of the school-community relations correlate, a group of teachers working to improve relationships between parents, the school, and the community.

Along with Caron, English teacher David Loughran is a member of the correlate and is in charge of publicity for the event.

On the Web Updated sports scores for all seasonal sports an intramurals Feature package stories and extended coverage of print packages Advertising forms and information Breaking news from school community Video footage of sports Variety of reviews and blogs Poll of the week Picture of the day

“Our group was given the task at the beginning of the year to come up with a plan that would improve school-community relations.

Last year, we came up with a couple of simple things, one of which was to use the phone call system we use for inclement weather to invite parents to parent-teacher conferences. This year, our plan is the showcase,” Loughran said.

Art, drama, and musical performances are all planned for the day that is meant to show off what HHS has to offer the parents and the community.

“I’d like to have a performance on the stage at every moment of the five-hour day. I’d like to have something going on in the gym at every moment we’re not setting up or breaking down. Both sides of the cafeteria will be filled, one with community vendors, the other

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with our clubs,” Caron said.

The planning of the showcase has been partly in response to negative articles or reports that have appeared in local media.

“There are a lot of articles [in local media] that say ‘Harrisonburg did something wrong’, but there aren’t that many that say ‘look how awesome we are!’; how many different activities that we have in the school,” Caron said.

English department electives will be participating in the event as well. The debate team will be doing a demonstration during the event and the Newsstreak staff will have an open house in the publications room throughout the day. Visitors will be able to see how the paper is produced from start to finish and witness the students using stateof-the-art software to create the newspaper.

sisting of some form of speech.

Librarian and forensics coach Bradley Walton has been in charge of the team for 12 years, coaching alongside social studies teacher and his wife, Cara Walton. “[Forensics can range] from giving a speech off the top of your head to performing that which you have practiced a bazillion times since September,” Bradley Walton said.

During his time as the HHS coach, he has seen the team develop into performers capable of placing first in the district.

“I can remember a time when [Harrisonburg win

See FORENSICS on A2

District choir concert held Mary McMahan News editor

Selection into the AllDistrict Honor Choir an opportunity that only a few students get to experience.

Harrisonburg High School will be sending thirty-three students to the event this year.

Senior Lindsay Halling was selected to represent HHS as a soprano singer.

“We roughly make up onefifth of the district choir,” Halling said. Choir students had to audition to be part of the ensemble.

The audition consisted of a prepared piece that students had time to work

See SING on page A2

Coming Up Spring sports previews Follow-up on the Spring Showcase The rise (again) of Zombie TV and movies What classes should you take next year?

Preparing for life after high school SIPA convention overview and results New releases in technology: Google glasses and much more!

February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

NEWS- A2

Fair presents options for rising freshmen

News Briefs RED SEA GEAR AVAILABLE Red Sea T-shirts and sweatshirts are available in room 444. T-shirts are $10 and sweatshirts are $20. New this year is the embroidered Red Sea hoodie. Hoodies are $10.

CLASS WARS GOING STRONG Class Wars are in full swing. Students will receive class chips for attending different events. Drop off your chips in your class jar located in room 444.

Updated thermometers on the bulletin board outside room 444 provide students with the totals for each class.

PARENT/STUDENT PORTAL The new grade portal is now up and running. Parents should have received the registration code in the mail. Students use their lunch number for their username and their MAC username as the password to enter their grade portal.

SAT PREP ASSISTANCE There will be SAT prep held three weeks prior to every SAT date. The study sessions will take place from 2:45 to 4 p.m. in room 181.

SAT DATE The next upcoming SAT date will be May 4. For more information on how to register, visit the counseling center, or visit: collegeboard.org. The deadling for registering is April 5.

SENIOR CHECKLIST A senior college checklist is available on the guidance department’s website. The checklist provides a basic outline of what needs to be completed for college applications.It is a helpful tool for graduation and college requirements.

Kendall Bailey Sports editor On Feb. 20, the guidance department and school staff held their annual AP Night and Electives Fair in the auditorium commons. The fair was designed to introduce incoming freshmen to the multitude of paths they can take in high school, and to show current high school students new doors that they haven’t discovered.

The night started off with a powerpoint on all of the AP classes offered in the curriculum. Included were discussions about new AP courses being introduced next school year, like AP Psychology and AP Physics. This meeting expressed the advantages of taking AP courses, and how it can be beneficial in earning college credit

Singers advance SING from A1

on before their actual audition. They were also required to do an on-the-spot sight-reading. A sight-reading begins with the singer looking at the music for about thirty seconds. They are allowed to sing and speak during their audition;however, the judges don’t take that preparation time into their scoring.

The selected students rode a bus over to the school in the morning and didn’t return until later that evening. Not only did they be rehearse, but the top couple of chairs of each section in the choir (soprano, alto, bass, tenor) from all sixteen districts, auditioned for the chance to be part of the All-State Choir.

The concert was held on Feb. 9 at Turner Ashby High School. The Honor Choir performed the following pieces: Sanctus #3, Give Me Your Stars To Hold, Gentle Annie, April is in My Mistress’ Face, Jabula Jesu, Daemon Irriputus.

Scholarship program focuses on mentoring SCHOLARS from A1

“Mentors help you experience what college feels like, but if we need help with school work, we can ask,” Velasco said.

Next year, Elias, Balthazar, and Velasco will be tutoring this year’s chosen scholars.

“It’s a paying it forward kind of thing,” Mercer said.

The application process is rigorous, but all three scholars believe it to be worth it. They wrote an essay, filled out application paperworks, and eventually, were interviewed by a guidance counselor, an administrator and an advanced placement teacher.

“The essay was about why I should be picked, why I deserved it,” Balthazar said.

“The interview was the hardest part.”

Through the program, students are given the tools necessary to figure out how to apply for scholarships and follow through with pre-set deadlines. SV-SLI is also hoping to raise funds.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure these kids go to college,” Mercer said.

“There will still be a couple things we have to pay,” Balthazar said. “You have to put in work at school too.”

Balthazar and Velasco are the first ones in their families to have the opportunity to go to college.

“It’s really hard to get into college, and I want to be the first person in my family to go,” Balthazar said.

Velasco similarly wants to provide for

his family through furthering his education.

“I wanted to be the first to go to college in my family and help them out.”

Because there are only three scholars, the students have become very close.

“Since there’s only three of us, I’m really close to them now,” Elias said. “My favorite part is getting to know [the other students and colleges].”

The program is more than just hanging out and learning about college. The scholars go on field trips and take part in community service on the weekends.

“We do service projects where we go out on Saturdays and give food to homeless people,” Balthazar said. “We will have another service project in the spring again. We help around the community to give back... [My favorite part is] helping people.”

Velasco loves visiting colleges through the program, even though he doesn’t know where he wants to go.

“I have two more years [to decide]” Velasco said, although he hopes to study architecture.

On early release days, the students go on field trips and usually don’t get home until 6 p.m., but that doesn’t bother them.

“It’s a really fun program,” Elias said.

The students aren’t the only ones who love the program. Mercer is all for it.

“This is probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done,” Mercer said.

Forensics team looks strong headed to next level also reflected on her own performance in

and a higher Grade Point Average.

From 6:30-7:15, there was an information session on the broad range of electives available at the high school in the auditorium commons. Displays and presentations were set up throughout the space so students could explore their interests. By learning about all the electives, students are able to make better decisions on what classes to take that will prepare them for their career path.

AP English Literature teacher Melody Wilson utilized the AP Information Night to inform potential students about the benefits of her course.

“I got all of my students to write advice on notecards to younger students who are thinking about taking [AP Literature]. I think it’s important for new students to hear from older students rather than just

Committee gets jump starts on prom night 2013 Prom Theme: Viva Las Vegas Julexus Cappell Staff reporter Prom season is approaching and the time is coming to look for a dress, find a tuxedo and get your date.

This year’s prom theme is Viva Las Vegas, so guests can expect to see some details related to that. Some of the information about prom is released so guests can have a feel for what they will be paying for.

Decorations will be handled the same way they have been over the years, but the prom committee adds what is needed to go with the theme.

Celia Ehrenpreis, a junior class officer and prom committee member talkedabout the decorations for introductions and the actual event.

“The centerpiece for introductions [in the auditorium at HHS] will be decorated by Mr. Strawderman and one of his classes. They do it every year,” “Guests can expect to see a lot of red, black, and white. We are trying [to get] poker chips to go with our theme.” said

“It also feels great to come in first [poetry]. Last year at the Tor Johnson [tournament] I tied for second, so I’ve definitely improved.”

If a member of the team placed in the top three of their category, they qualified for the regional tournament, set to be held on Mar. 2 at Waynesboro High School.

Harrisonburg has been a frequent winner and runner up at this competition, so the coaches and captains have reasonable hopes that some of the team will advance on to states.

“At regionals I hope to get in the top three so I can go to states. There are also some members of the team I expect will make it,” McCleve said.

“States is ridiculously competitive. We fall within the same division as Salem, probably the best team in the state,” Bradley Walton said.

Ehrenpreis The junior class officers are on prom committee automatically, but other eleventh graders are welcome to come to their morning meetings.

“Sydney Knupp, Ahmed Mustafa, and I are officers, but also Garrett Thompson, Larkin O’Hara, and Matt Shifflett come,” Ehrenpreis said Prom will be held at the Spotswood Country Club, followed by after prom which will be at JMU’s Urec, the same location as last year.

The price has gone up for a prom ticket to $33. The $8 increase this year is because Spotswood Country Club raised their prices. Head of the prom committee Bonnie Anderson [Spanish l teacher] explained how that money is used. “[It’s] $33 per person this year. The price went up because the country club prices went up, but from our treasury we have to pay for the DJ and T-Shirts,” Anderson said.

The prom committee is expecting to see around 265 students at the event, but they would like to see 300 people this year.

“It will be worth it!” Anderson said.

Crowds love musical production MUSICAL from A1 that everything will go as planned.

Houff said. “I leaned that, given time and patience, boys can learn to tap dance.”

One of those boys is senior Sam St. Ours, who portrayed businessman Trevor Graydon III. After starring in last year’s musical, Les Miserables, as Jean Valjean, the part was a big switch.

“I’ve never had such a humorous role before,” St. Our’s said. “My character is a young bachelor who has inherited this company. [He’s] a goofy guy for such a serious position. He’s a lot of fun,” St. Ours said.

Other leading actors in the show included senior Nancy Carrie Logan as Millie Dillmount, junior Abe Nouri as Jimmy Smith, senior Kaelyn Warne as Mrs. Meers, senior Kirsten Ferguson as Miss Dorothy, and sophomore Isabelle Burden as Muzzy van Hossmere.

“I really like my duet with Kirsten [Ferguson], because that’s the kind of song where you can really milk the audience.

[Also] ‘Gimme, Gimme’ because Nancy Carrie [Logan] kills that and ‘Only in New York’ because Isabelle [Burden] starts off in the audience and has a beautiful voice,” St Ours said.

As for Houff, her favorite moments of the show were the opening number, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and the dance break during “The Speed Test”.

Despite the many hours spent preparing for the show, no one can guarantee

FORENSICS from A1 the tournament.

ning districts] seemed like a completely impossible goal. Some of the other teams in the district were so much better than we were,” Walton said. He has now become accustomed to winning and feels open to more competition.

“I’ve won enough times now that it’s not the enormous deal that it used to be.

I truly wouldn’t mind losing to another school as long as I felt like they deserved to win. All the other coaches in the district are good folk and we all get along well with each other and I would be happy to share [victory] once in awhile, but they’re going to have to work for it.”

Junior Daelynn McCleve is co-captain of the forensics team and competes in the poetry category. “[Winning Districts this many times] feels good. It boosts morale and picks up the pace. We know we can do better, go through and win more,” McCleve said. She

teachers, because they can connect more on the same level,” Wilson said.

“It’s recommended that every student goes, because some don’t really know exactly what happens in a class. If they see a name on paper and don’t know what the class is all about, they’ll just randomly picture what the class is like, and most of the time that assumption is wrong. Like Creative Writing; people look at that class and have no idea what goes on in it,” Linden said.

The information night also introduced several other new courses that will be offered next school year. Students will be able take Dance (levels 1 and 2), Functional Art, Duel Enrollment Biology, Infographic systems, Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow, and Duel Enrollment Speech Communication.

“My biggest worry is always microphone failure. It is so important to me that singers be heard,” Houff said. “It is really important for me to be focused so I don’t miss any sound cues... I try to have a few quiet moments before each show to focus.

Mrs. Ferguson, our sound technician, and I also ‘bless the boards’ before each show; we say a little prayer that the sound boards and microphones won’t fail us.” Another factor that is always up in the air is the response of the audience.

“The audience was fantastic,” St. Ours said. “The responses made everything so much better. Everyone was doing new things because they were so responsive.”

For St. Ours, this is the last time that he will perform in front of the crowd as HHS. However, he recently got accepted and offered a scholarship to Ithaca College for musical theater, but hasn’t committed to a school yet. He hopes to someday be on Broadway.

“Every year we lose seniors but gain freshman and you strengthen friendships,” St. Ours said. “Those relationships will still exist [after graduation], but they will never be anywhere near the same.”

Although the show was performed only five times, months of work and preparation went into making Thoroughly Modern Millie come to life.

“I love watching the actors and singers grow from the first read-through to the final product,” Houff said.

PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS

MODERN GIRL. Nancy Carrie Logan and Abe Nouri perform during the musical.

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Performers slip on tap shoes for Millie production Austin Swift Staff reporter

PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI

FLAPPERS. Cast members of Millie perform a group dance number in one of the opening scenes of the musical.

PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI

ADDING FLAIR. Senior Nancy Carrie Logan takes the lead in a dance routine.

The musical this year, Thoroughly Modern Millie, had extensive choreographic routines which incorporated tap dancing.

The musical was performed on Feb. 13-17 and featured a total of six important dance numbers where actors pattered across the stage in their tap shoes.

Freshman Jamie Inouye participated in her first high school musical this year.

“At first, learning the steps was difficult, but once I became accustomed to the technique, it was kind of like riding a bike,” Inouye said.

“We learned the basics, then the complicated steps and finally put them together.”

Inouye said regarding the process during

PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS

PHOTO BY PAUL HAIRSTON

IN THE SPOTLIGHT. Sophomore Isabelle Burden delivers her solo proformance, Only in New York.

TAPPING AWAY. Performers don tap shoes as they practice routines onstage to prepare for the tap-heavy dance numbers in the musical.

her feel as though she is part of the action onstage. “[Playing in pit] makes you feel like you’re part of [the musical],” Sellers said.

She believes that having a live orchestra play alongside a musical lends impact to the performance.

“For non-music kids, it’s not that big of deal, but kids who are into music understand live music is so much better than recorded stuff,” Sellers said.

While this year may mark the end of a legacy for some, it is also the beginning of other musicians. Freshman alto-saxophone player Bianca Pierson is playing in the pit for the first time. “[Playing in the pit] is definitely difficult, it takes a lot practicing,” Pierson said, “but it’s worth it.” For Pierson, the payoff is playing alongside the musical, and being part of the performance.

Junior cellist Raphael Snell-Feikema is playing in the pit crew orchestra for the second year in a row. Snell-Feikema played cello in last years performance of Les Miserables.

Snell-Feikema is one of the few

stringed instrument players in the pit crew this year. There are currently three stringed musicians in the pit crew orchestra, and one of those players is a JMU student. But Snell-Feikema relishes in the isolation.

“Usually we have a distinct part from the other pieces, so you have to be more independent,” Snell-Feikema said, “We’re easy to identify, so if [we] mess up...”

In order to perform in the pit, musicians must be able to play their pieces and play them well. Most of the time spent practicing for the pit crew is done on the players’ own time.

“It’s all on your own,” Sellers said, “You have to learn the music independently.”

For many of those who play in the pit crew, the time investment is worth it.

While they may not be as high profile as the lead singers onstage, the musicians in the pit crew are an important facet to the musical as a whole. They may not be under the stage lights, they may not bow or curtsy at the end of the musical, but they are an indispensable aspect of the performance.

Backstage musicians contribute great talent to show Isaac Falk Opinion editor After the curtains have been drawn to a close, and the actors have all taken their bows, a troupe of performers makes their way out of the theatre. These are pit crew.

The pit crew is an ensemble of instrumentalists who provide the musical accompaniment to the singing, acting and dancing onstage.

For the seniors involved in the pit crew for the HHS production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, this musical is the end of their involvement in the pit crew for their high school career.

One of those seniors is clarinetist Christina Sellers. This musical marks the second, and final, time she has performed in the pit crew of an HHS musical. Sellers is happy to be done with all the work associated with playing in the pit, but she still has fond feelings for her time playing with the crew.

“It was fun while it lasted,” Sellers said.

For Sellers, playing in the pit makes

Annual display features work of gifted HHS artists Sukriti Adhikari Staff photographer Seeing the tall, black exhibit boards covered with spectacular pieces of artwork has become a customary element of any HHS musical. It isn’t until observers approach for a closer look that they see the artwork was crafted by the students themselves.

For the past 18 years, art teachers Jauan Brooks and Kelly Shradley-Horst have been hosting the school art show. Presented during the musical, this show is a celebration of the arts, as orchestra, band, chorus and drama represent their own form of art.

“In the past we have gotten great comments and teachers get to see art of students whose work doesn’t normally have the opportunity to be featured in class.

This also gives a new point of perspective about students to the teacher,” Brooks said.

Arts from all the students are presented on the wall across the auditorium commons. There are no requirements to be in the art show nor does the show have any particular theme.

“It is always a bulk of work because we have to mount the pieces, add additional details, setup the background and put velcro on all the works. It is always a rush

rehearsal. Although tap dancing was new to some, many of the other cast members, including Inouye, had previous experience with the style because they had enrolled in tap classes prior to the musical. “[Tap dancing] is challenging but once I get it, it’s awesome!” junior Garrett Thompson said as the experience was new to him.

“The steps are taught, we run through them until we’ve gotten a pretty good handle, and then we put the whole routine together,” Thompson said.

It was freshman Noah Heie’s first time tap dancing as well.

“I didn’t enjoy learning it, but once I nailed it it was fun,” Heie said of his feelings towards the dancing. Heie found the dancing hard before he grasped the fundamentals.

when we are putting the art up,” Brooks said.

Senior Lydia Hatfield has participated in the art show since her freshman year. As a senior, she is allotted a small presentation section of the show which highlights

her favorite art work.

“I will probably have two to three pieces shown. We always keep the art that comes out the best because there isn’t any theme, so what fits, goes in,” Hatfield said.

PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI

ON DISPLAY. Sophomore Campbell Rutherford observes pieces of student work at the annual art gallery held before the musical this year.

Slykhuis uses past experiences for musical

Bryndal Fulginiti Staff reporter

Freshman Hollyn Slykhuis has prepared for Thoroughly Modern Millie by participating in the middle school musicals. But musical here is a whole new story.

In the ensemble of this year’s musical, Slykhuis plays the role of a beggar. She has performed in all the musicals at Thomas Harrison Middle School and now she’s performing in the musical with the ‘big league.’

“Being in musical here at the high school is different from at the middle school because everything is bigger: the sets, the cast, the audience,” Slykhuis said.

Performers in HHS musicals are multifaceted in the sense that they can sing, dance, and act well. Because she has been acting from a young age, Slykhuis is equipped with all these talents.

“I started performing in plays with my church when I was really young and not old enough to decide if performing was what I wanted to do. But when I got older I started to really enjoy performing and I knew I wanted to keep being in musicals,” Slykhuis said.

Slykhuis has experience on stage. She’s familiar with all the preparation that goes into each show. Coming from the middle school and taking part in musicals there, she learned many skills which have come in handy for the show here.

“Knowing how to put on the stage makeup and what it’s supposed to look like, I have been able to do it right here. Also, understanding the stage directions and what everything means really helps as well,” Slykhuis said.

The actors and actresses are under pressure during the week of performance.

Slykhuis is prepared for what she has to face for doing her first show here.

“To handle my nerves right before showtime, I usually tell myself that I’m not nervous. I’m just really excited to perform in front of an audience that can clap and respond for us since we didn’t have that during rehearsal,” Slykhuis said.

Once the curtains open, it is no longer fun and games.

“When the curtains open for the first time, I’m usually going over everything I need to do in my mind, as well as looking out at the audience to see if I can find anyone I know,” Slykhuis said.

It’s only when the curtains are pulled back, the spotlight is flicked on and the first actor or actress says his or her lines that all her hard work and devotion during practices is put to the test.

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Newsstreak Newsstreak

February 2013 August 21,28, 2012

The Harrisonburg High School Newsstreak The Policy The Newsstreak is published by the students of Harrisonburg High School every month. Reproduction of any material from the newspaper is prohibited without the written permission from the editorial board. Advertising rates are available upon request.

It is the policy of the Harrisonburg City Public School Board to comply with all applicable state and federal laws regarding non-discrimination in employment and educational programs and services.

The Harrisonburg High School City Public Schools will not discriminate illegally on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, disability or age as to employment or educational programs and activities.

Editorials appearing without a byline represent the majority opinion of the staff, but not necessarily the opinion of the adviser, school administration, or the school system.

Signed editorials are accepted from people on the staff, but are subject to editing according to published guidelines and policies. Editorials may be edited for special reasons.

Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed and a telephone number must be given. Names may be withheld if the editorial staff feels there is a just cause.

The Newsstreak reserves the right to edit and may refuse to publish ads or letters deemed inappropriate, libelous, or obscene. Please drop your letter by room 444 or give them to any staff member.

Letters may also be sent to the high school.

The editors and staff Editors-in-Chief: Print - Mark Duda, Celia Ehrenpreis Online - Maggie Siciliano, Ben DiNapoli Managing Editor: Mia Karr Advertising Managers : Austin Coffey and Bryndal Fulginiti Photographers: Ana Hunter Nickels, Sukriti Adhikari Staff Reporters: Mark Duda, Maggie Siciliano, Ben DiNapoli, Mia Karr, Katrina Sokolyuk, Anthony Duong, John Earle, Max Johnson, Isabelle Burden, Julexus Cappell, Bryndal Fulginiti, Victoria Giron, Ana Hunter-Nickels, Gypsy Torgerson, Gina Muan, Kerri Hofacker, Kendall Bailey, Josh Byrd, Austin Swift, Valerio Aleman, TJ Kirkland, Jr., Ellie Plass, Felicia Tran, Brenna Cowardin, Luke Gibson, Isaac Falk, Sukriti Adhikari, Chelsea Arnott, Karim Rawls, Josh Storella, Anthony Walton, Sydney Knupp, Alexis Dickerson, Nishat Jamil, Paul Hairston, Sam Imeson, Anna Wyatt, Faith Runnells and Mary McMahan.

Professional Affiliations The Newsstreak participates as a member of several journalistic evaluation services including the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA-2010 Gold Evaluation and 2005 & 2009 Silver Crown Winner), Quill&Scroll Journalism Honor Society (2012 Gallup Award), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) All-American, the Virginia High School League, Inc. Trophy Class Award, and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association All Southern Ranking and 2010 Scroggins Award winner. newsstreak.com opt out notice: If you do NOT want to allow your student’s full name or image to appear on the school newspaper site, please send an email to vkibler@harrisonburg. k12.va.us stating: I understand that the school newspaper, newsstreak. com, now has an online version of the publication. I DO NOT want my son/daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on this online venue.

Op/Ed--A5 A5 NEWS

The The

Virginia ought to adopt the Common Core NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL Virginia has a history of not listening to the federal government. In the state’s latest rebellious stand, it has decided to refuse the adoption of the widely used Common Core State Standards Initiative, which seeks to streamline and standardize educational standards across the country.

Forty-five states have fully adopted the Common Core, Virginia being among the five who have not. While it would be disingenuous to say that Virginia has completely ignored the Common Core (in fact, many of the points of the program are being integrated into Virginia’s SOLs), it has certainly ignored the intent of the program.

Whereas the Common Core promotes fewer standards of knowledge, requiring less memorization, but better analytical skills, the Virginia SOLs require students to memorize a laundry list of facts, not really requiring the students to do anything with them. This gives rise to a commonly cited problem by both teachers and students: the old adage about how our teachers are “teaching to the test”.

For example, the SOLs are primarily multiple-choice based. A typical SOL question might ask students to find the fraction of, say, a pizza that a student ate, and the answer would be in multiple choice format. The common core, on the other hand, would ask students to show that they could find the answer by showing their work, and the answer would be open-form.

This makes it much harder for teachers to teach kids tricks to finding the answer, and forces them to teach the students how to think about the questions.

Adapting the Common Core, leaving SOLs by the wayside in the process, would be a step in the right direction for the commonwealth. Learning critical thinking and analytical skills are vastly more important than learning the inconsequential bullet points of the SOLs. The adoption of the Common Core would also allow teachers more leeway in tailoring the standards to their classrooms needs.

In addition, by not joining the Common Core, Virginia is refusing the federal “Race to the Top” grant money that comes along with the standards; funds that are critical in a financially strapped educational system.

ART BY NISHAT JAMIL

WHAT IS THE STAFF EDITORIAL? The unsigned staff editorial appears in each issue and reflects the majority opinion of the Newsstreak Staff Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is comprised of all editors-in-chief, page editors, advertising managers, photographers and selected freshman journalism students.

In no way does our opinion reflect that of the school system or the administration.

THE ACTUAL VOTE The editorial board voted 7-0 that Virginia should adopt the standards of the Common Core State Standards Initiative to fall in line with the rest of the country.

Laws might not stop everyone, but they will help

IF YOU GIVE A FALK A COLUMN...

Isaac Falk Opinion editor As gun control and gun regulation bills are being gestated in Congress, another being is growing on the fringes of the U.S. political system. But unlike the proposed legislation, this new being is a tumor. The NRA is rapidly transitioning from benign to malignant as they attempt to bulldoze any attempt to curtail gun regulation. They are standing in the way of public safety and have become so paranoid, they are beginning to view the world as a manichean dichotomy.

Let’s get a few facts straight. I

am for greater gun regulation, yet I can understand why there are those who do not share my views.

I understand the idea of the slippery slope. I understand the argument that if we allow the government to reinterpret the second amendment, then where does the reinterpretation end? I understand that current gun regulation is inadequate. If people want to obtain firearms, they will do so, legally or otherwise.

However, I disagree with both of the points above. I do not believe greater gun regulation is an overextension of the government’s power, as when the original second amendment was drafted, a firearm was a single shot musket. A single shot musket which, if wielded by a single person, was unable to cause devastation equal to the possible devastation a single modern day assault rifle could wreak. I do not believe that if gun legislation is unable to prevent firearm acquisition, then the legislation should be abandoned. We have many laws that are unable to fully achieve their purpose, but are still important

to maintaining society. Take drug legislation for example: We have ineffective legislation that illegalizes drugs like heroin, marijuana, and meth. Even though these drugs are illegal people still manage to obtain them. So should we make all drugs legal, because we are unable to fully enforce the law? This is similar to the gun debate. Just because we cannot fully regulate the illegal acquisition of firearms, does not mean legislation is not justified.

Ever since legislation was proposed to create more extensive background searches for gun owners to attempt to prevent these weapons from getting into incapable hands, since legislation was proposed to limit the capacity of the magazines of these weapons to try to curtail the damage a single man could wreak, since legislation was proposed to resume the ban on assault style weapons, the NRA has stood in the way. The NRA has proven to be led by paranoid people, and is starting to border on xenophobic. The NRA has blamed everything but guns.

They have blamed the state of

mental health institutions in the United States. They have blamed violence in the media. But they do not blame guns. La Pierre, vice-president of the NRA went so far as to say, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” This highlights the manichean view of the NRA. There are only good guys and bad guys. Their introversion is highlighted with a recent list of people and organizations within the U.S. that are “anti-gun”. This list includes the: AARP, American Jewish Committee, Environmental Action Foundation, NAACP, Southern Leadership Conference, and the United Church of Christ.

The NRA’s narrow-minded attitude towards gun regulation is disgraceful. In order to solve a problem, you must recognize the problem’s very existence. If we continue to ignore the impact of guns on our society, we can never fully address the violence within our society. We must be mindful of all factors that contribute to violence and address them properly.

Learning includes more than just traditional academics

THE MIA PERSPECTIVE

Mia Karr Feature editor

Apparently my education is failing me. I’m not learning anything useful or worthwhile. I can never hope to compete with anybody in China or in any of the other million countries that have higher-ranked schools than the U.S. The quality of my education is worse than that of my parents

or grandparents. Or at least that seems to be what everyone wants me to believe. Everytime I see a commentary on American education it seems to be about how the system is broken and our students (me) are light-years behind the rest of the world. While in my ten and a half years in the public education system I have experienced things I think should be changed, I think we, as a society, focus too much on the negative aspect of this issue.

My grandfather often comments on how he is amazed at all the opportunities I have through school today, that he didn’t have as a boy, such as getting to travel to Seattle with Newsstreak or being a part of the musical.

When schools are being evaluated, everything can’t come down to test scores. I think being “wellrounded” and having a variety of experiences is important to

having a complete education. My grandparents may have gone to school when U.S. schools were ranked number one in the world, but they didn’t have nearly as many or diverse extracurricular opportunities.

It’s possible that having so much funding and energy going into these programs is detracting from academics, but I still think they are important to prepare a high schooler for going out into the “real world.”

Maybe we shouldn’t be so focused on international rankings anyway. Schools should focus on producing the highest quality human beings they can, instead of being the best. This emphasis on competition may be part of our trouble in the first place. There is a lot of emphasis on competing to get the best grades and test scores instead of learning the most.

Personally, I don’t feel failed

by my education at all. Yes, I have had some classes that were probably a waste of my time and some teachers that taught me very little. However, I also have gotten to participate in really worthwhile programs, have been able to take a wide variety of classes, and have gained skills that I’m sure will help me in this scary real world everyone keeps talking about.

I also did this because I try to personally put forth the effort to make the most of my education.

You can have the most amazing school in the world with the most brilliant teachers, but if the individual students don’t care, they won’t be any better off than students at a school of far lesser quality.

The state of American education is about more than broad generalities and grim statisticsit’s about what you and me decide to do with it.

Don’t let life keep you down for too long

MARY’S WORLD

Mary McMahan News editor So recently, I thought of a new idea for this column. Whenever I walk into my house, my dog greets me by jumping on me and loving me as much as she can. My dog simply loving me can actually brighten my day. The smallest things can make such a big difference.

I’ve always had this notion that I want to change the world. I know that sounds so cliche; however, it’s something that I’ve been thinking about more lately. I want to make an impact on the world.

I’ve always dreamed about doing something big in my life, something out-of-the-norm. I don’t know exactly what that is yet, but

I decided to start by writing this column. I thought that maybe changing one life, or by helping someone, I could maybe take one step towards making that desired impact on the world.

I mean, I know that my “dream” is very arbitrary and not exactly “easy as pie”. However, lately I’ve seen the effects of drama and stress and what they can do to people. I’ve experienced a good deal of what comes along with these negative situations in our life, but I think that it’s almost made me a better person. I feel like now I can relate to others cause I know what they’re going through, so why not help them along the way? I do realize that maybe these ideas won’t pertain to everyone, or might not be agreed on, but I’m gonna give it a shot and see where it takes me.

Focus Quote: “ Be miserable.

Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” - Wayne Dyer What is motivation? Is it something from within you, or is it a result of outside influences?

Well, according to good-old wikipedia, motivation is: “the psychological feature that arouses

an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors.” Basically, in more simple words, motivation is what drives us to do something.

I’ve recently been reading a book for a leadership group entitled, “Drive”, by Daniel H. Pink. The book mainly focuses on what motivates us as individuals within the workplace. However, instead of relating his ideas of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to work and school, why not relate them to our personal lives?

The main idea that can be extracted from the quote above is that we, as individuals, have the ability to shape our own lives. We can live within our own fear and anxieties, but what good does that do for us? We cross some hard paths in our life whether they deal with school, relationships, or internal struggles, but we don’t have to live in their aftermath. We can “drive” ourselves to be the person that we want to be.

1. Be the person that you want to be: Don’t live under a cloud of drama and gloom. Only you have the ability to change how your

life is. Only you can make the decision to take a step back and choose your own path. Only you can change how you are and feel, but only if you take that first step.

2. Why live in misery, fear and sadness when you could be living in a life full of happiness, joy, achievement, and down right fun?

It’s your choice, so make a decision that suits you and not just the opinions and peer pressure of others. You are your own, unique person...stay that way.

3. The pressure of daily high school life can get to us. Sometimes the stress becomes so overwhelming that you just need to break down. However, there’s no need to stay down in the dumps.

Get out all the sniffles and tears and get back up onto your feet.

Create the motivation within yourself. Only you can turn that motivation into a drive. Someone else isn’t going to do it for you.

I guess the simple way to sum all of this up is to say: don’t let others change who you are. Whenever you fall down, pick yourself back up, or continue to live in that realm of misery. As in the words of Wayne Dyer, “whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.”

February 28, 2013

The

HOT

SPRING FEVER Spring’s around the corner, and soon the cold weather of winter will be a thing of the past.

OP/ED A6

What is the Best Album of 2012?

What is the Best Album of 2012?

HARLEM SHAKE This new dance craze is sweeping the nation. Following in Gangnam Style’s trend, people are videoing them dancing to the music and sending the video to youtube..

Newsstreak

“Ceremonials by Florence + The Machine, because she [Florence Welch] is really good.”

29%

Other

26%

Mumford and Sons-Babel

17%

Kelly Clarkson-Stronger

Jessica Nguyen, 10

“I honestly don’t listen to any music from this age or decade. I guess the album by Fun.”

NEW SEASON OF WALKING DEAD Another season of AMC’s hit show The Walking Dead has begun, and many of the fans are rejoicing over the return.

BEYONCE Beyonce knocked it out of the park at the Super Bowl, proving she can perform live after the inauguration scandal.

PUPPY BOWL For those of us who do not watch football, there was another clash on TV. I’m talking about the adorable puppy bowl.

MOVIE 43 We are in the presence of something truly great. Well, something truly awful to be honest.

Movie 43 has been rated as one of the worst movies of our generation. It is a true gem.

SUPER BOWL XLVIII Super Bowl fans rejoice! This year’s super bowl was a rousing success, ignoring the blackout.

HUMMINGBIRD The Local Natives’ sophomore album, Hummingbird, is an excellent follow-up to last year’s Gorilla Manor.

NOT SENIORITIS Now that the first semester has come to an end, so has most of the senior class’ ambitions. Many seniors have contracted laziness.

OUTRAGE OVER SUPER BOWL ADS Some people can’t seem to see that advertisments are meant to be shocking. The ads during the Super Bowl were to be expected.

BLACKOUT DURING SUPER BOWL The blackout after Beyonce’s performance interrupted the otherwise excellent games. The blackout was caused by a technical malfunction.

KIM KARDASHIAN”S PREGNANCY Kim Kardashian is pregnant. With a child. Take a moment for that to sink in. The star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, is pregnant. Yikes.

UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER It’s hot then it’s cold, it’s yes then it’s no. No, we’re not talking about the Katy Perry song. We’re talking about the fluctuating weather.

Chris BrownFortune Gotye-Making Mirrors

13% 7%

DrakeTake Care

8%

Noah Heie, 9

American Grammy awards bore audiences

Latin counterpart brings families together

Katrina Sokolyuk Staff reporter As expected, Grammy viewership had fallen from the enormous audience it attracted after the death of Whitney Houston.

But while the Feb. 10 show was down in numbers from 2012, it still had the second-highest viewer count since 1993, according to the New York Times.

Although the viewership numbers were high, those who watched were unimpressed and even bored of the awards show.

Sophomore Hannah Durden watches the Grammy’s every year and found this year’s show to be tedious.

“I don’t even really remember who won what,” Durden said.

“I think different people should have won, like more well-known people. A lot of the winners were people who aren’t as popular as others.”

Sophomore Aspen Hoak agreed that more-known performers should have won.

“It was random people that won the awards. [They weren’t] really people that I had heard of,” Hoak said.

Big names like Fun. and the Black Keys took home the titles for Song of the Year and Best Rock Album respectively, but what really surprised some viewers was Gotye winning Record of the Year with “Somebody that I Used to Know”.

“I don’t think [Somebody that I Used to Know] should have won, because it’s so overplayed,” Durden said. Hoak concurred, saying that a lot of the songs that won awards were the songs that had been overplayed throughout the year and thus ruined.

Senior Alberto Rios watched the Grammys. He, however, watched them broadcast in Spanish. Rios was watching the Latin Grammy’s.

“We only have a Spanish dish, at my house, so I ended up watching the Latin Grammy Awards with my mom. I really have no choice,” Rios said laughing.

“They’re pretty much like the regular Grammy Awards, just with Latin performers.”

Rios watches the show every year with his mother, and occasionally the rest of his family will join.

“My dad will come in whenever he hears a song that he likes, and he’ll come dancing in like ‘Yeah, that’s my jam!’ It’s so funny,” Rios said.

Although Rios is not completely familiar with all of the Latin singers, he enjoys spending time with his family and making bets on who will win in specific categories.

“I just like guessing who will win what,” Rios said.

Whether they be Latin or American, the ever-popular Grammy’s always manage to pull in a large and diverse viewership.

What Movie Should Win the Oscar for Best Film of 2012?

32%

Les Miserables

KANYE”S ENGAGEMENT Kanye, the artist behind Golddigger, is marrying Kim Kardashian.

There’s some poetic justice in that marriage.

ONE DIRECTION MOVIE The boy band One Direction has decided to dabble in cinematography, with an expose film announced. Better yet, the movie is in 3D. The only 1D movie we want to see is their foreign drama Shadow Pico.

TAYLOR SWIFT Taylor Swift has been in and out of relationships for far too long.

We’ve grown tired of the heartbreak schtick she tries to keep pulling.

Lincoln

19%

Zero Dark Thirty

18%

Django Unchained Silver Linings Playbook

13%

7%

Amour

5%

Argo

5%

CHRIS BROWN AND RIHANNA Chris Brown and Rihanna are back together, setting a terrible example for all young women.

The message Rihanna is sending is domestic abuse is forgivable, which it’s not, and it never will be.

“The Les Misérables movie sound track, of course.”

POLL CONDUCTED BY FELICIA TRAN

*100 STUDENTS POLLED

2% 0%

Life of Pi Beasts of the Southern Wild

*100 STUDENTS POLLED

Good News in the World

POLL CONDUCTED BY FELICIA TRAN

Garrett Thompson, 11

“I honestly don’t know. I kind of wanna say One Direction.”

Heather Graham, 12

Beasts of the Southern Wild should win Oscar for best film this year Isaac Falk Op/Ed Editor

The movie Beasts of the Southern Wild is a drama set in the outskirts of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. The movie details the life of 7-year-old, Hushpuppy, as she lives with her alcoholic father in a poor village on the Gulf. Once the storms hits, she and her father must scrape together their lives, as her father combats an unknown illness.

Beasts of the Southern Wild wins my vote for film of the year.

The movie masterfully plays on the tragedy, without dwelling in the sorrow. The main actress, Quvenzhané Wallis, plays the role of a youth caught in the throes of tragedy. Her father, played

by Dwight Henry, performs the role of abusive, yet loving, father beautifully. I felt both sympathy and hatred for the father, which is a difficult combination to reconcile.

A recurring motif is the auroch, a mystically prehistoric beast that resembles a mammoth mixed with a boar. The movie uses this to juxtapose Wallis’ youthful mind to the visceral destruction that surrounds her. This leads to one of the most heartfelt scenes in any movie I have seen in recent years.

Beasts of the Southern Wild expertly recalls the events of Hurricane Katrina through a child’s eyes. The film actually manages to make you feel like you’re a child witnessing the destruction of everything you know. You experience confusion about the world around you. Sadness over the loss of your past. Happiness over the small victories.

Be warned, Beasts of the Southern Wild will make you cry. The cinematography and writing mix together to create one of the most touching films you will see for a while. Tears will definitely be shed.

Bad News in the World

United States to pull troops from Afghanistan: President Obama announced plans to pull roughly 34,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2014. The U.S. has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001.

North Korean nuclear test: After successfully launching a rocket into space, an act the United Nations condemned, North Korea is tested a nuclear device underground, prompting tension in Eastern Asia.

Mars rover drills into rock: For the first time in mankind’s history, a manmade device has taken a sample of a rock from a planet that was not our own.

The sample will be analyzed at a later date.

Egyptian turmoil: As the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution passed, there was still anger in the state. Riots erupted in Egypt over football, and the violence caused the deaths of more than 50 people.

Syrian opposition gaining ground: Syrian rebels have captured a military airbase and a hydroelectric dam, and the army is approaching the Syrian capital.

Iran launches monkey into space: Iran declared they have succesfully launched a monkey into space, and safely retrieved it. But there is doubt surrounding the launch.

Read, Write, and True

Be wary of drone warfare Joshua Byrd Staff reporter There are birds in the sky armed with missiles, ready to fire and takeout their prey. These birds are military drones.

Fast, effective, and precise, these drones result in fewer U.S. casualties. This is the future of U.S. warfare. Drones allow U.S. soldiers to stay out of combat zones, thus reducing casualties. U.S. drones have already killed leaders of Al-qaeda like Al-Awlaki.

Drones can also be used for recon missions to collect intelligence.

The President has been increasing drone usage in Afghanistan, which is worrying some people. Drones have been used to assassinate US citizens like Anwar Al-Alaki without a fair trial.

The question is, “Should the President have the right to kill a suspected terrorist who is a U.S. citizen?” AlAwlaki was a U.S. citizen. Yes, he was a known terrorist and an inspiration to home grown terrorist organizations, but still technically he was a U.S. citizen.

Isn’t the writ of habeus corpus something the President supports? Even the underwear bomber got a trial.

Why isn’t this power being checked? Why can’t the suspect be tried by a private committee of judges?

The only way to take the right of life from an American citizen is by due process.

A person cannot be sentenced to death simply by the President’s whim. The person must be proven guilty.

I realize you can’t hold a trial for a terrorist, but let a panel of the people decide if we can send a drone attack on suspected terrorists who have U.S. citizenship. That is what the constitution is for.

In addition, Obama’s usage of drones is hypocritical. In the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly attacked President Bush on Bush’s use of drone warfare, but under the Obama administration drone attacks have increased dramatically. I believe a distinct hypocrisy exists here.

February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

STYLE A7

Guys, girls look for different components in relationships Kerri Hofacker Sports editor Guys and girls might be from the same species, but when it comes to their outlook on romance, they are sometimes polar opposites.

Girls generally think that guys are only interested in the physical features, and guys generally think that girls are only interested in how much muscle a guy has.

“Muscles are nice to look

at on a guy, but he needs to have more than just a six pack,” sophomore Hannah Durden said.

Freshman Ashley Sheets looks for someone who is caring and has a personality that is compatible with hers. She said that height is another factor in deciding whether or not she is interested in a guy.

“I look for a guy that is kind and good looking, and he has to be my height or taller,” Sheets said.

It is not just girls who

look for good qualities in a guy; guys are just as concerned about a girl’s personality as they are with her looks. “[A girl] can’t just be pretty, she has to have the personality to go with it,” senior Camden Hill said.

A common trait that both boys and girls look for in the other gender is that the person needs to be comfortable in a relationship, but not be over the top with their emotions.

People typically want to

have a friendship with the person before they get into a relationship with them.

Senior Ahmad Salehi said that he needs to be friends with the girl before he gets emotionally involved with her.

“I need to be friends with the girl before we get into a relationship because I need to see how she acts before we date,” Salehi said.

Regardless of stereotypes, each person looks for different qualities when searching for love.

Looking for the Perfect First Date?

First dates can be exciting, stressful and undoubtedly awkward. The fact that we live in a small rural city where tractors regularly roam through the streets makes it that much harder to find a locale for that perfect first date. Here are some suggestions that might just guarantee the ideal first date that you have been dreaming of.

Dinner for two: -A full course meal (appetizer, soup/salad, entree, and dessert) at Harrisonburg Union Station comes to around $60 for two.

-Hit up Applebee’s for dinner; around $35 for two -And always remember the Golden Rule of dates; when in doubt, go with Cookout.

Relationships come in stages, according to students Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-chief There are a number of pivotal milestones in a relationship, from the first kiss to the first ‘I love you’ uttered. The great equalizer is the first date. It is not too serious, but also gives a glimpse at a possible future.

Junior Heidi Warner has been dating Zachary King for almost two and a half years. The couple were in the ‘talking’ phase for six months before King asked her on the first date.

“Our first date was on

Valentine’s Day, and he had planned everything.

We went to Pennybackers for dinner. Even though the restaurant was really not fancy, we both dressed up. He bought me flowers and paid for everything,” Warner said. Warner was excited but relaxed during the whole date, opposing the typical first date jitters.

She was also flattered by the flowers.

“A good first date should be classy, but not uptight.

You need to feel comfortable with the person. You should not ask someone

out if you don’t really know them, it could be awkward,” Warner said.

Warner is not a firm believer in the ‘Boys Should Pay’ rule.

“I think the girl should be able to pay if [she wants to], but Zachary is old fashioned. He believes that the boy should pay,” Warner said. This rule does not seem to apply to junior Samantha Blake, who paid for her and boyfriend sophomore Amerik Wheeler’s first date.

“It’s pretty cliche, but we went to the movies. He was

broke at the time, but I really wanted to see him, so I paid. He repaid me later,” Blake said. “I think couples should just split [the cost of] dates in half.” Even though the couple could not talk during the film Blake still enjoyed herself.

“It was the first time my parents let me go anywhere alone with a boy, so I was nervous beforehand. After I got there I had a good time with Amrik,” Blake said.

Blake believes that a couple should be in the talking phase for a least a month before the first date.

Movie: -Evening tickets, popcorn and candy; $35 -Matinee: $17, sneak your own snacks in (let’s be real here, a packet of Skittles is not worth $5, even if they do taste like heaven on earth).

Picnic: -Pick up some sandwiches and signature sweet tea at McAllister’s Deli and take an outing along the Skyline Drive; $20, plus gas (which is getting a little pricier these days!

-Grab some sandwiches and Cokes from Subway and enjoy them at the JMU Arboretum; $15

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February 28, 2013

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February 28, 2013

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A day at the salon

STYLE - A10

Gibson’s first experience with pedicures goes well Luke Gibson Feature editor

I hadn’t fully prepared myself for the wave of discomfort that hit me as I cautiously poked my head into the door of the Lovely Nails salon. The door jingled, and 15 faces swung in my direction.

A quick glance around the room showed me a clear trend in the business’s regulars. Since I was neither a middle-aged woman nor a pre-teen on an outing with my mum, I looked out of place as I clambered into the combination massage chair/foot bath (obviously intended for some sort of pre-pedicure relaxation).

PHOTO BY CELIA EHRENPREIS I tried to relax like everyone CLEAN TOES. Gibson experienced a pedicure for else, but only managed to become the first time, and after the initial awkwardness increasingly apprehensive of what wore off, it was relaxing. was about to happen. I simply my feet. This was a really rare occurrence, didn’t understand the process.

Tina, the attendant, was quite amused even for me.

I even caught myself becoming unaware by my complete lack of experience. She of my unusual surroundings, but that went told me to put my feet in a basin filled with away when a fellow male entered the eswarm water supplied from a pink and blue glowing faucet. I hoped this would be the tablishment. Unfortunately he was rather elderly (to say the least), and appeared to only part of the pedicure. I was wrong.

Before I even became accustomed to the be way less concerned about his gender water temperature and the massage chair isolation than I was. We exchanged an unthat only seemed to amplify my tremors spoken greeting, which I am not entirely with its movements, another salon atten- sure he was aware of.

The pedicure concluded with steaming dant dropped a blue pill into the swirling hot towels being placed around my legs. water. This is some sort of peculiar sanitization process I learned of later, but I I openly accepted this treatment, feeling was unsure whether to feel insulted or im- partially embarrassed by how uncomfortable I was initially. pressed by this additional step.

I figured if I made it that far, I could also While all this happened, a testosterone supplement commercial played on the be open enough to accept a manicure. This television in the corner. I was the only one treatment was a lot shorter and half the amused that this surely was not the com- price. Although I endured the trimming and general work being done to my nails, mercial’s intended audience.

My nerves surface again when Tina polish was out of the question. I suspected began rubbing a variety of lotions on my that if I were to leave with my nails a deep damp feet. I felt a tad more relaxed, even shade of crimson, I might have attracted though I thought it strange that I was an undesirable amount of attention. I felt straining to NOT enjoy what my female secure in my decision to skip this step.

For those who did choose the polish, classmates had termed ‘a universal pleathere was a shelf in which people place sure’. their nails or toenails under an ultraviolet I found myself in a place of relaxation and beauty, a place where those leaving light for drying. The whole system looked had a satisfied expression much more no- remarkably futuristic for such a recreational activity. ticeable than those entering.

I did learn from this experience that the Meanwhile, my feet were being sanded down with a rough stone. I felt that my occasional social stigma of a male receivfeet deserved a lot less recognition than ing a beauty treatment is absolutely irrelevant. I was naturally intimidated by the they were being given.

I noticed the odd fact that I was allow- typical customers of a nail salon, but soon ing someone to pay so much attention to warmed to the treatment. It even worried me that I was half tempted to return.

PHOTO BY CELIA EHRENPREIS

HAVING FUN. The manicurist doing Gibson’s nails, smiles slightly as she works. Gibson was almost tempted to go back to Lovely Nails in the future.

Phothiboupha works family nail salon Isaac Falk Opinion editor For those who enjoy a good pedicure or manicure, Michael Phothiboupha has the answer. Phothiboupha, currently a junior, moved here from Alaska this year and is currently working as a manicurist at the Nail Spa salon.

Phothiboupha has been working in nail salons since he lived in Alaska. Phothiboupha’s family has a long history of owning and working in nail salons. “It’s a family business,” Phothiboupha said. “It’s good money,” Phothiboupha said, “I enjoy talking to people.”

Some teens find it difficult to segregate school and work, but Phothiboupha has it under control. For Phothiboupha, work does not interfere with school work or extracurricular activities. Phothiboupha ran with the cross country team for the 2012 season, and managed to balance both running, work, and school.

Even though Phothiboupha manages to keep his work life and school life in balance, the two sometimes coincide when classmates or friends come to the Nail Spa to get a manicure or pedicure. Phothiboupha has seen many classmates come to his

PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS

A CLOSER LOOK. It takes a lot of practice to get the professional look of a good manicure. salon to get their nails done. Phothiboupha does find it a bit odd when friends and classmates come to his salon and he is their manicurist. “It’s kinda weird,” Phothiboupha said, “I’m touching their feet.”

When asked if being a male manicurist bothered him he responded, “Not really.”

Many of Phothiboupha’s friends find his line of work cool, or interesting.

But Phothiboupha does not want to spend the rest of his life in a salon. “Not sure about [my future career] yet,” Phothiboupha said. But Phothiboupha knows he is interested in going to college and studying criminal justice.

PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS

RELAXING END TO THE DAY. Sophomore Annaka Reich enjoys a manicure at the Nail Spa Salon. Male manicurist Phothiboupha enjoys the social work with good pay.

A cost comparison for nail salons in the ‘Burg PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS

REJUVENATING. The first step to a manicure is making sure the nails are clean.

The Beauty Spa Manicure: $20.00 Pedicure: $30.00 French mani: $22.00 French pedi: $42.00

Valley Nails Manicure: $10.00 Pedicure: minimum of $20.00

The Studio Manicure: $26.00 Pedicure: $40.00

Tangles Day Spa Holly Nails Manicure: $20.00 Manicure: $10.00 Pedicure: $20.00 Pedicure: $20.00

Kim’s Nails manicure: $11.00 pedicure: $20.00 INFOGRAPHIC BY VALERIO ALEMAN

Students, teachers share nail tips Joshua Storella Staff reporter As we come closer and closer to the spring-time, flip flops replace snow boots and fingernail polish replaces gloves. Girls all over travel to different salons to try and get the best design, massage, and or treatment.

There are variety of salons in Harrisonburg, including Valley Nails, California Nails, Model Nail Spa, and Holly Nails.

Also, depending on where you go the cost of the treatment varies. Prices range from $25 to $135.

English teacher Lisa Thurman knows her nail salon down to the minutes it takes to finish a pedicure.

“Valley Nails is where I go, it takes around 30 to 45 minutes to finish depending on what they do,” Thurman said.

Sophomore Alexis Whitfield loves to go to California Nails to get her hand massage.

“I go to California Nails, they do a really good job and they are really friendly.

I especially love when they massage my hands,” Whitfield said.

Junior Simara Allen has a creative and very smart way to look good all year long.

“I go to Model Nail Spa, it’s a nice and calm environment. I get a pedicure in the spring and summer and a manicure in the fall and winter,” Allen said.

Junior Brougan Brown likes the awesome attributes of going to a nail salon.

“I go to Holly Nails. I get a massage and wax fingers, they massage my legs and give me a cool design for my toes,” Brown said.

Salons all over town offer many options for manicures and pedicures, but really it all comes down to your personal preferences.

February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

FEATURE- B1

Crazy ‘bout my ride

Self-Expression in the HHS Parking Lot

PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI

HARD-EARNED REWARD. To finance his car, “Trudy”, junior Abe Nouri got a summer job at Dairy Queen.

Nouri appreciates car he purchased Gina Muan New editor

J

uggling academics, sports, extracurriculars, and any semblance of social life is difficult enough for any high schooler.

Some even work part time jobs to save up for college and cope with gas prices.

The latter, which are steadily climbing, present an issue to anyone who wants a set of wheels for transportation.

While many students drive a family vehicle, and a few are fortunate enough to have their parents actually purchase them a car, junior Abe Nouri went the extra mile on his own.

“It’s a 1981 Mercedes 300 with a diesel engine,” Nouri said. “It still has the ornament piece on the front, but it’s kind of a junker. I got it pretty cheap from a mechanic my dad sort of knew,”

Nouri said. The car, which was originally $600 dollars, had not been inspected at the time.

To earn the money for his vehicle, Nouri got a job at Dairy Queen the summer after his sophomore year. His sedan, which some friends have so affectionately nicknamed ‘Trudy,’ is light blue.

“That was a little sketchy, and risky,” Nouri said, “because there was virtually no knowing whether it had any issues under the hood which could end up costing me a lot of money down the road.” However, after searching for a month on Craigslist, an online site with classified advertisements, Nouri ended up returning to the same vehicle.

“I decided to have [the mechanic] deal with the repairs himself, so after all that, I spent around $950,” Nouri said.

“For the first couple weeks after I bought it, the engine wouldn’t shut

down when I took out the key. I wasn’t really sure what was wrong, and anytime I wanted to turn off the vehicle, I’d have to do it manually. There’s actually a button on the engine that says ‘stop,’” Nouri said. “It was pretty awkward because I’d pull up and park, then have to pop the hood with anyone around just staring at me funny.”

Because the diesel in the engine congeals, the vehicle still has minor malfunctions with starting in the morning.

“Sometimes I’ll think it’s ready, and then it’ll just turn off when I’m in the middle of my neighborhood,” Nouri said.

But despite its age and occasional difficulties, Nouri said the car is a keeper.

“It was totally worth it. It’s unique and cool and I pretty much want to drive it all through college or until it breaks,” Nouri said.

“I was coaching the Broadway Sharks swimming team and the plate was a way to promote the team and my daughter was a swimmer so that’s where the two came from.” -English teacher and swim coach Richard Morrell

“I got it after I got my masters in history and I figured I was a geek.” -History teacher Cara Walton

“The reason I got it is because my dad is a Vietnam veteran and I always said he fought for my freedom.” -Subsitute Tracey Calderon

Ford Mustang has double personality Salar Haji Staff reporter

J

unior Halwest Saeid owns a 2003 40th Anniversary red convertible Ford Mustang. His car has a 3.8 litre straight 6 cylinder engine.

Saeid is a big car fanatic and loves his car. He has not really enhanced his car, but has upgraded his exhaust system, replacing it with a straight piped system.

Straight pipes refer to the fact that his car has no muffler, catalytic converter, or resonator. It has nothing but a through pipe, with no restrictions. It gives the car better gas mileage and added horsepower.

His father bought this car for him from the dealership. It is worth $5,000 and the car has roughly 74,000 miles on it.

“This car is in great shape, which is the biggest reason why I'm planning on keeping it,” Saeid said. Halwest spends moderate time on his car cleaning it and attending it to its basic needs.

“I wash my car about once every two weeks. Or right after it

rains,” Saeid said.

It also is not the best car on gas. It does about 17-18 miles per gallon in the city and 20-22 miles per gallon on the highway. However, Saeid still loves his car.

“I like a lot of cars out there, but for now, this Mustang is the best car for me because it looks great, and is really reliable,” Saied said.

The only plan Saeid has for his car is to add a cold air intake in the summer. A cold air intake is a device used to pull cooler air into the engine, increasing power. It adds about 10-15 horsepower.

Saeid’s car has about 200 horsepower and 220 ft. lbs. of torque which refers to how strong the car’s engine is and how much power it produces. With it being a muscle car, it’s not bad powerwise. It also has a four speed fully automatic transmission, “[That’s] a big reason why I love the car so much. It has quick smooth gear changes,” Saeid said.

“The car truly does have a double personality. It can be a quiet and comfortable cruiser with the top down, but when pushed, it is a loud, mean car,” Saeid said.

“I love Justin Bieber! I have to have him with me everywhere I go!” -Senior Sydney Wells

“It means ‘I fly towards’ in Latin. Because this is my first car that’s mine, I wanted to get a personalized license plate, but I didn’t know what to get....I thought it would be cute and cheesy to be like I’m flying toward better things when I’m driving.”

-Senior Kaelyn Warne PHOTO BY SALAR HAJI

SWEEET RIDE. “I like a lot of cars out there, but for now, this Mustang is the best car for me because it looks great and is really reliable,” Junior Halwest Saeid said. Saeid’s car has about 74,000 miles on it.

Dove explores modifying cars as career Max Johnson Staff reporter

M

aking changes to cars can be more than just a way to make your car stronger, faster, and better looking.

Before sophomore Jordan Dove even had a car, he was looking at pieces for when he did get it, and thinking of ways that he could modify it.

“It’s something that I love to do, I’ve always had a thing for cars. But modi-

fying them and making them faster, or stronger, or even just looking cooler, is just something I could possibly want to do for the rest of my life,” Dove said.

Dove drives a simple, black Acura Integra. Dove has added much more to the simple car by lowering it, putting new rims, and a system inside of the car and is planning on doing much more.

Another reason Dove enjoys doing this so much is because it keeps him busy and out of trouble.

“I really enjoy messing with cars and

stuff like that, but when I'm out of football or baseball, it helps a lot because it keeps me around good people, and a good place, where I can actually do something other than sit around all day with nothing to do. I guess you can say messing with cars all the time may cost a lot, but it keeps me out of trouble.”

Dove said.

“I just want to do something that is fun, it’s not about the pay, its about what I'll be doing,” Dove said.

Music lovers invest in decent sound systems Nishat Jamil Editorial cartoonist

A

s students gain their license, many want to add something to a car to make it theirs. One way to do that is by adding

sound.

Junior Travis May has done that by installing a sound system in his own car. “[I wanted] to enhance the quality of my ride from destination to destination to make it more luxurious,” May said. The Dynamat sound system he

purchased only cost about $300, a good price considering others have a price around $500 to $700. “I bought it because it had a nice bass,” May said.

Rather than dealing with audio receivers, speakers, and MP3 player adapters, May decided not to install the sound system in the car himself. He had it professionally installed for another $300 and had to wait six hours until it was done, but it was well worth it.

“It adds to the vehicle,” May said. He also claims that many people like riding in his car and listening to music in it.

“If [my friends] had to choose be-

tween two cars, they would rather ride with me in my car,” May said.

Another student that upgraded their sound system is Senior Ebonee Strother. Using her dad’s old sound system, Strother fixed up the wolfers and the amps, and for a bonus, added an iPod hook up for only $30.

“Some people helped [me install it],” Strother said. With that help, the installation only took an hour.

“I love music,” Strother said. “I love the way it sounds in the car. I like the way the bass sounds. [Now I] don’t have to turn it up [the volume] to be loud.”

“I got a hoodie from VA beach and that’s what gave me the idea.” -Senior Kaitlin Harouff

“It’s the first three letters of my brother’s name and the first three letters of my name.” -Senior Krutarth Patel

“I lived in Ohio, and the college is Ohio State...

Go Bucks!” -Biology teacher Jerry Hertzler INFOGRAPHIC BY ALEXIS DICKERSON

February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

FEATURE - B2

Is your education out of your hands?

Kids aren’t convinced of value of SOLs Gina Muan News editor

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI

Benchmark testing preparing for real tests Anthony Duong Sports editor From Scholastic Assessment (SAT), Standards of Learning (SOL), and Advanced Placement (AP) tests, students and teachers share the pleasure and pains of going through benchmark testing to prepare for the tests that count at the end of their courses.

Benchmark testing was designed to help schools around Virginia understand where their students stand in a subject throughout the course of the year.

The Virginia Depart-

ment of Education uses the test statistics to compare with the previous benchmarks and makes an accurate report of how Virginia does testing in all subjects, especially math and reading.

Benchmark testing has raised debates and questions about whether Virginia’s push for better statistics and grades is necessary for the students. Although benchmark testing is required in our system, teachers and students have mixed emotions about the subject.

“Benchmark isn’t needed, but I understand why Virginia’s Department of

Education requires people to do it. Teachers can understand the student’s test scores and make it better,” senior Jawad Ahmed said.

While some students and teachers don’t understand why benchmark testing is needed, the argument that it is useful for teachers is still used. Benchmark testing can be used to identify weaknesses and point out where a student needs additional help.

“The push for students to go to college and the statistics behind benchmark testing only help students in the future,” English teacher Joey Beppler said.

Magnet schools similar to our academies Sukriti Adhikari Style editor Introduced in the late 1960s, Magnet Schools aim to provide an incentive for children to attend school, rather than an obligation. Run in the same facilities as a standard school, they are a branch provided to specific students that help them specialize in certain subjects.

HHS currently offers Science, Technology and Engineering (STEM), and next fall will offer Fine and Performing Arts academy as part of its magnet school curriculum. With the belief that students will find their talent with the help of the curriculum, the program takes pride in the fact that it prepares students for the real world.

Freshman Austin Engle joined STEM because it offered all of the classes he wanted to enroll in.

“It seemed like the right thing to do. It is fun. There is a lot of different and exciting things because [math and science] is integrated,” Engle said.

Although Advance Placement classes do not comprise their own magnet school, they help stu-

dents get college credits if passed with good scores.

AP classes are considered college level classes and are provided in almost all schools throughout the U.S. where magnet schools aren’t as prevalent.

Junior Paige Baedke started taking her first AP classes the beginning of this school year: English Language, US History, and Biology .

“I am taking AP Biology because I want to know what it feels like to take a college level course. I want to minor in Biology, so the class is really beneficial for me,” Baedke said. She feels that the workload is only a short term sacrifice.

“I used to take all honors classes and I had almost an hour worth of homework.

But now, I easily have five to six hours of homework a night. The reason I am taking all these classes is because I don’t want to take them later. When I go to college, I would rather do college activities than classes I could have already completed,” Baedke said.

Magnet schools are rewarding for students who plan to obtain a career in a specific field and want to get a head start.

Schools focused on the Fine Arts offer the majority of their courses on graphic design, painting, fashion, and art history.

Others designed for Performing Arts consist of acting, singing, and dance.

For those who are computer savvy and excel in mathematics fields, Science and Technology magnet schools are a perfect fit.

Engineering teacher, Seth Stratford has been teaching the STEM kids since the beginning of this year.

“This program will prepare [students] to do anything. They could be a business manager, engineer or anything they want because this teaches them problem solving skills,” Stratford said.

Although, STEM and other magnet programs help prepare students for their colleges and careers, it also catalyzes the rate of maturity in students.

“The biggest challenge that we have with the freshmen is that they are freshman. They are not all ready for this amount of rigor. Some also have to mature a little faster than other freshmen,” Stratford said.

What’s your take on our education system?

YES

Does the U.S. education system put too much emphasis on standardized testing?

Do you think our school system puts too much emphasis on teaching the test?

Do you think our current grading scale is fair?

Should all high schools in the U.S. have the same grading scale?

Could you envision a school without grades where you functioned on a pass/fail basis?

Is your GPA important to you?

Is your class rank important to you?

Were you ready to choose a career track in the 8th grade?

Are high school students prepared for AP courses in the 10th grade?

Are high school students prepared enough to get an associate’s degree in high school

167 135 112 145 90 178 125 64 116 114

200 students polled in grades 9-12 and some faculty members on February 18-20, 2013

NO

33 65 88 55 110 22 75 136 84 86

INFOGRAPHIC BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI & NISHAT JAMIL

Whether a student is a third grader or a senior who’s reaching for the light at the end of tunnel, chances are he or she has had to take an SOL. The SOL, a result of the No Child Left Behind Act, is a type of standardized test established to effectively compare education standards across public schools in Virginia.

“I don’t like them all,” senior Lindsay Halling said. “[The SOL] doesn’t necessarily result in a good representation of student knowledge because some people just aren’t good test takers.”

In fact, students and teachers alike seem to share this same opinion. History teacher, Mark Tueting, sometimes finds himself teaching to the SOL in a way

that stifles his opportunity to touch on other aspects of a subject.

“SOLs aren’t the best requirement, but kids need them to pass. So I spend too much time preparing [students] with material that isn’t an accurate reflection of what they need to be good citizens,” Tueting said. “[I disagree with] the fact that you have to memorize a bunch of material you’re never going to use,” junior Kelly Ndayzigiye said. “I’d rather have two big exams in the middle and end of the year because that’s going to prepare us for what college is like.”

Freshman Kayla Leaman, doesn’t agree with the SOL concept of requiring the bare minimum.

“It should be about the learning, not just passing a test, especially one based on

covering only the minimum requirements. Who’s to decide what is important and unimportant? In an ideal world, I’d definitely prefer no testing,” Leaman said.

As far as the longevity of the SOLs, she thinks they’ll eventually morph into something else.

Seth Berkley, who is teaching Honors Physics for the first year, offers a different perspective.

“I went through school with [SOLs] counting for the first time. As a student I sort of viewed them as a day off,” Berkley said. “I realize there needs to be a way to measure aptitude, and there’s no easy solution. But the SOLs aren’t perfect; there are inconsistencies in testing standards.

You can’t give the same test to an advanced class and a regular class and expect similar results.”

INFOGRAPHIC BY LUKE GIBSON

MAKING THE GRADE. Schools around the world tend to judge their students by a variety of different grading scales, which doesn’t make it very equal when they are applying for college admission. In this chart, we compare the grading scale of HCPS to surrounding Rockingham County, Fairfax County in northern Virginia, the Los Angeles school district and school systems in Ontario, Canada and England. It might be beneficial to educational reform, at least in this country, if we all got on the same page.

Grading scales differ across country Faith Runnells Staff reporter The current grading scale for Harrisonburg is a seven point scale, while Rockingham county is now on a 10 point scale, meaning that each grade letter had 10 points, so you can get a 90 and still have an A. Opinions on the grading scale are mixed. While most students would prefer a 10 point scale, because there is more room to get better grades, other teachers and administrators argue seven points is plenty for a grade letter, and 10 points is giving students too much room.

With a 10-point grad-

ing scale, pluses and minuses with the letter grade would also be incorporated and showed on the report card. Although whether you have an A+ or an Adoesn’t affect your GPA given with the grade, it still gives you more information about the percent of your grade instead of only having a letter.

Freshman Parker Strickland personally likes the ten point grading scale.

“Our current grading scale is confusing and it doesn’t give you enough room for error. If you bomb one test, you’re basically screwed,” Strickland said.

Senior Kirsten Ferguson also would like a 10-point grading scale to

be put into place at the city schools.

“When you’re in college, it’s going to be a 10 point grading scale, so I don’t see how using a seven point grading scale is preparing you for college. It’s harder to get an A and there is no point to it,” Ferguson said.

Junior Lillian Poirot, on the other hand, prefers our current seven point grading scale.

“I have friends who go to the county school and they have the 10 point grading scale, and they said the teachers grade harder based on that, so I think I would still like to keep the seven point grading scale. I guess I’m kind of on the fence about it,” Poirot said.

Virginia one of five states to reject national Common Core standards Sydney Little Features editor The Common Core State Standards strive to provide a consistency in expectations of learning across the country. The Common Core is Funded by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices(NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers(CCSSO). They have been somewhat successful in that only Virginia, Texas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Alaska have rejected them.

“I think Virginia believes their Standards are very strong and it is the role of the States and not the Federal Government to decide what should be taught at the local level,” HCPS Superintendent Scott Kizner said in an email interview.

The Common Core State Standards focus on setting a guideline for what children are expected to know at each grade level. The association looks at the current standards by state and then forms new standards after analysis. National standards for all participating states are issued, applying to all students and the same regardless of location. These standards were finally released in June 2010 for English language arts, literacy in history/social studies, science and technical subjects.

“I think having strong standards that incorporate critical thinking and real life application are a good idea, but it’s uncertain that the Common Core meets these.

Assessments should be based on applying the standards to real world problems or issues. Tests that just assess memory of facts are not helpful,” Kizner said.

The councils for the Common Core also look into the standards of the more accom-

plished countries in the world and fix our standards so that students can succeed in society. This enables schools to take more time to teach their students core concepts and procedures, instead of individuals determining the content and organization of information for different schools.

“I am not very supportive because of the over emphasis on testing and the ‘nationalization’ of public schools. I still believe standards and assessments should be a state and local initiative, not the role of the Federal Government. Schools with great diversity need to be creative and should have more support to ensure that every student is learning to high levels.

School divisions that appreciate the arts, STEM, and foreign language aren’t factored in the accountability system, and that is unfortunate,” Kizner said.

Info about HHS ranking was published on USNews.com based on the 2009-10 school year Info about world rankings was published in Guardian. co.uk and was based on 2010 data

INFOGRAPHIC BY LUKE GIBSON

February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

FEATURE- B3

Musical takes group effort to succeed

Snow conducts orchestra for Thoroughly Modern Millie

Bryndal Fulginiti Staff reporter

“

It’s not something that I just learned in my four years of college, or my 14 years of teaching, it’s not even something I learned in my 11 years of grade school. Directing musical groups is a passion,” J.R. Snow said.

Snow has been directing the orchestra for the musicals for seven years now. Each year, it’s always something new. To Snow directing the orchestra is something that is ‘super fun’.

“Directing the orchestra is always a lot of fun, but can also be very challenging,” Snow said.

With Snow being a band teacher a curriculum supervisor, directing the orchestra is a whole different ball game.

“Directing the orchestra for the musical is a lot different than what I usually do regularly. When directing the orchestra, I get enjoyment from what comes out of the final project,” Snow said.

When directing the orchestra there is a lot of time to be put into it, just like the actors of the musical have a lot of time and work to put into making the final performance of the show. Being able to direct a show isn’t something that just happens over night. It takes days of work and many

mistakes to make the final piece perfect. It’s a lot of time put in for not only the performers but also for Snow himself.

“With the last two weeks of the musical I call one of them dress rehearsal week and the other the final week. Within those two weeks, there’s an additional 50-60 hours put in previous to the 40 hours that are put in on regular rehearsal weeks. Although I don’t put nearly as much time in as Mr. Swartz or Ms. Houff do for the actors and actresses,” Snow said.

Come the day of the show, people would think that just like the actors and actresses Snow would get a little stage fright when he has to not only stand up in front of his orchestra but also in front of the actors and actresses who rely on PEP-TALK! Before the first couple nights of the musical, orchestra director J.R. Snow gives a prehis cues as well as the en- show speech to the cast members, which had many in tears. tire audience, but his opinaren’t ready come the day of the show then “Each night the show is performed it’s ion on that is different. something is wrong,” Snow said. never the same. People may not notice it, “I don’t get stage fright when standThe actors and actresses never know but we know that each night is different,” ing up and performing. After all the work what to expect on opening night.

Snow said. we’ve done to prepare for the show if we

Drama moms fashion costumes for cast

Mia Karr Managing editor

I

n order for Thoroughly Modern Millie to come to life, a team of dedicated moms had to transform fifty twenty-first century teenagers into New York City residents of the roaring ‘20’s. The musical costume crew, made up entirely of volunteers, logged hundreds of hours collecting, altering, and sewing costumes for the show.

Julie Hatfield, mom to senior cast member Lydia Hatfield, has headed the costume efforts for the last three years.

“For this show we have had to alter a lot of things,” Hatfield said. “We didn’t have a lot [of costumes] for the 1920’s.” Besides altering costumes already found in the drama closets, costumes were found at thrift stores, made from scratch, borrowed from the EMU drama department, and, in special cases, ordered online. Staying true to the ‘20’s style presented a unique challenge for this show. “[In the 1920’s] women rebelled against wearing corsets. Everyone wanted to look boyish,” Hatfield said. This led to shapeless dresses and dropped waists being all the rage for ladies, as well as short haircuts and close-fitting hats. Women also wore “short” skirts that came to above the knee.

In addition to preparing costumes for

everyone in the show, including multiple costumes for some characters (the lead, Millie Dillmount, had six), the costume moms were also backstage during performances, helping with emergencies and putting on finishing touches. One such costume mom was Lisa Klosinski.

Klosinski has become well acquainted with the hustle and bustle of the costume room. Although neither of her children (who graduated from HHS in 2005 and 2010) were involved in the musical, Klosinski was recruited by a friend to help with costumes five years ago and has stayed to help ever since.

“I like getting to know the students,” Klosinski said. “Every year is a new time period and a new batch of parents. It’s fun to see the students progress.”

Hatfield also enjoyed her time spent costuming.

“I love working with the kids and the other volunteers [to] create something out of nothing,” Hatfield said. However, costuming requires a great amount of time.

“The hardest part is that it takes so much time away from my family. We don’t have too many sit-down meals.”

Hatfield would still like to be involved with costuming in some capacity after her daughter graduates. She plans to help whoever takes her place next year, although

ALL PHOTOS BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS

COSTUMES! Freshman cast member Andy King’s mother, Sharon King, works on putting together costumes for members of the musical. that person has not yet been chosen. Both Hatfield and Klosinski dedicated countless unpaid hours toward helping Thoroughly Modern Millie be a success, but it wasn’t

Ritcher plays French horn for pit

Anna Wyatt Staff reporter

A

couple hours at a time, multiple times a week, the whole band hallway was filled with the melodic sound of dedicated students preparing to be the instrumental foundation for this year’s musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Often their practices would last until 10 p.m.

Freshman Douglas Ritcher was one of the orchestra’s members and one of the very few french horn players in the pit.

French horn, along with a few other instruments that appeared to be scarce this year in the orchestra, did not require auditions.

Since Ritcher is a freshman, and the middle school plays don’t have live music, this was the first year Ritcher has been involved in anything like this. It’s different from band, which Ritcher participated in

during the first semester of this school year, because you’re providing music for actors.

“There’s a lot more music to learn in a much smaller amount of time,” Ritcher said.

Ritcher admits that as it became closer to performance time the more nervous he felt.

“Since it was my first year, I was pretty nervous throughout all the performances, but by Sunday I actually got used to it,” Ritcher said.

Traditionally, in a professional setting, and many times, at high school shows, the orchestra pit is located in front of the stage. In previous years, this has been the case for HHS as well. However, this year the orchestra pit was located backstage, which means that there wasn’t any necessary attire required for performance nights.

“I wanted to be involved in musical but I’m not good at singing or dancing so I joined the orchestra instead,” Ritcher said.

SING! Freshman Andy King sings in Mandarin while playing the part of Bun Foo in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Light, sound integral part of musical crew Ana Hunter-Nickels Staff reporter

J

SPOTLIGHT! During the musical, Nancy Carrie Logan used what muscial director Stan Swartz has taught her to make the production great.

King carries on family tradition Josh Byrd Staff reporter

F

without a reward.

“It’s kind of like putting a big puzzle together,” Klosinski said. “When you see it go on stage, it’s so incredibly thrilling.”

reshman Andy King is already living up to his family’s legacy this year by playing the supporting role of Bun Foo in this year’s musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. King’s character, is the Asian henchman to the antagonist in the musical, Mrs. Meers, played by senior Kaelyn Warne.

“I spoke all my lines in Cantonese and I sang in Mandarin which was really hard,” King said. King only had one line in English, but his character was the comedian in the musical.

Choral director Bethany Houff gave senior Alex Hunter-Nickels and King a CD with pronunciation techniques. King worked over 50 hours on his pronunciation for the musical.

“My character was kind of all over the place and really bubbly,” King said.

When King originally auditioned, he never thought he would get anything big out of it.

“I put supporting role on my audition sheet,” King said. “I wasn’t expecting anything of it, so it was a total surprise when I got a callback.”

KIng’s brother, Eric King played the lead character Oliver his freshman year at HHS in the musical of the same name. “[Eric] did musical all four years of high school and he enjoyed every one of them,” King said. King’s sister, Kari King took part in the musical last year, Les Miserables, as a beggar.

“I plan to continue musical throughout high school, just like my siblings did,” King said.

As a family, when King was five years old, they did the Music Man at Eastern Mennonite University, and King’s mom was involved in musical when she attended EMU. Now, King is debating on whether or not he should try out for the fine arts academy that is starting up next fall.

unior Michael Knapp has been helping out with the tech sound and light system since grade eight.

“It is really fun. I did a little bit of tech in middle school, but I got really interested once Andrew [Kniss] and Ben [Marks] pulled me into it,” Knapp said.

Knapp isn’t the only person working in the sound and light booth, junior Fernando Gamboa is helping out by working the light system for Thoroughly Modern Millie.

“It’s really straightforward you just move the lever up and down. Other than that it’s just programing the lights to go where they need to go,” Gamboa said.

Knapp only works on the sound system for the musical because he does marching band in the summer and fall.

“I do the sound board, mics, and orchestra, and I do a little bit of lights but not much else,” Knapp said.

While Knapp marched in the fall, Gamboa did the lights system during the one act play, The Elephants Graveyard. Mr. Swartz programs the lights and Gamboa is trying to learn how to do that.

“Mr. Swartz makes those decisions because he wants to control where the lights are going to be,” Gamboa said.

Not only is Gamboa still learning but Knapp is too.

“It’s really hands on, but there is still a lot I don’t know,” Knapp said.

Knapp has been learning how to use the sound and lights system for four years.

Knapp talks with Bonnie Ferguson, senior cast member Kirsten Ferguson’s mom, and Bethany Houff, the choral and piano teacher, about what sounds should be controlled. Overall, Mr. Swartz oversees the whole musical.

“I join generally the last three weeks when the musical gets hit really hard,” Knapp said.

The last couple weeks before the opening night, the actors and dancers start at 5 p.m. and end close to 10:30 p.m.

February 28, 2013

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February 28, 2013

Newsstreak

SPORTS B6

HITTING THE MATS The

Wrestling team wins regular season championship; district tournament runner-up

Alexis Dickerson Staff reporter The HHS wrestling team traveled to Turner Ashby High School for districts on Saturday Feb. 2. HHS has not won districts for wrestling since the 1991-1992 season.

The last time HHS wrestled TA, HHS dominated in team points against them. This would be the first time wrestling TA since.

Five of the wrestlers, three seniors and two juniors, made it to finals including Ahmad Salehi, Trevor Jackson, Tony Do, Anies Denar and Artem Makayed.

Ahmad Salehi made it to finals undefeated that day in the 195 pound weight class. TA was in the lead by this point, and his victory would determine HHS’ chances of winning. With Salehi being our last wrestler in finals, he had all the pressure on him. Salehi went into overtime for his match. At the end of overtime, Salehi came out on top putting HHS in the lead with team points.

In weight class 285, TA had one more wrestler. If they were to win, then they would be district champions. Unfortunately, the TA 285-pounder did end up winning the match, putting HHS in second place overall.

Although they may not have won the Valley District Championship, their coach, Mike Dickerson, received the “coach of the year” award for the third time.

They also managed to advance 12 of their wrestlers to regionals.

HHS Results: 195-pound: Ahmad Salehi - 1st place 170-pound :Trevor Jackson - 2nd place 160-pound: ArtemMakayed - 2nd place 138-pound: Anies Denar - 2nd place 126-pound: Tony Do - 2nd place

MAN-HANDLED. Junior Artem Makayed takes back position against his opponent from Broadway.

ALL PHOTOS BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI

First year goes well for newcomer Jimenez-Rivera

Faith Runnells Sports reporter Sophomore Noel Jimenez-Rivera was a part of the HHS wrestling team for the first time this year. It was a good year to join. The team won districts, which had a strong impact on Jimenez-Rivera and the rest of the team.

“This season turned out great for me and the rest of the team. Winning districts is something that hasn’t happened in a long time and it means a lot to the team and it really encourages us even more for next year,” Jimenez-Rivera said.

Jimenez-Rivera wrestled in middle school, but enjoys high school wrestling even more. He plans to continue wrestling

for the two more years of his high school career.

“This year was different because all the seniors actually stepped up and tried to be good role models, and after meets we would watch videos of our matches and see what we did wrong and what we did right in each match. That was really helpful and we’ve never done that before so I think that was a good thing to start,” JimenezRivera said.

Jimenez-Rivera plans to continue working on his wrestling over the off season to fulfill his potential for next year.

“During the summer, I’m going to go to the open season wrestling tournaments and I am going to do the normal off season trainings that I do to get even more prepared for next season,” Jimenez-Rivera

said.

Jimenez-Rivera is in the 220 pound weight class and had a record of 9-5 in the regular season, but did not go to districts.

Next year, he plans to hopefully do well in districts and advance to regionals.

“Since our division is moving up next year, as a team we’re hoping to win districts, but it’s going to be hard because the teams we’ve heard about are going to be really hard. I’m going to try to go to regionals and maybe even states but we’ll see,” Jimenez-Rivera said.

“As a team we had a lot of good moments together, not too many bad because we like to keep ourselves positive. We all have great times and a lot of fun together,” Jimenez-Rivera said.

Best 2012-2013 HHS Wrestling Records: Tony Do: 27-4 “Coming back to Harrisonburg for one more year to wrestle with all of my friends has been cool, now we’re looking forward to states,” senior Tony Do said.

Artem Makayed: 30-6 “Wrestling is my main sport, and this year we are all winning, so that makes it better,” junior Artem Makayed said.

Jordan Dove: 14-3 “Even though I haven’t been able to wrestle as much as I would like, this season has been really fun. I’m gonna miss all of the seniors though,” sophomore Jordan Dove said.

Anies Denar: 28-6 “With this season being our last, we all came into the season more focused and ready. That really paid off because we’re all wrestling really well,” senior Anies said.

ROLLING. Senior Anies Denar attempts to pin an opponent from Broadway during a match.

Anies Denar’s senior season pays off with hard work Valerio Aleman Staff reporter

Through years of physically demanding and rigorous training during wrestling, Anies Denar’s is honored to be the captain of the HHS wrestling team. Denar started out in middle school and has consistently shown coaches what he can do on the mat.

“In sixth grade, my friends told me I should join the wrestling team and I wanted to make an impact,” Denar said

When Denar entered high school, he immediately showed coaches what he was capable of.

His senior year has been the best out of his other years in high school. He finished second in the Cougar Classic Tournament, 3-2 in Strasburg, second in Park View, and second in the 40th Annual Wrestling Tournament.

But in Denar’s mind, working as a team and winning districts was the most important accomplishment of the year.

“I think winning districts is important

this year because we haven’t won in a long time and we had a better chance this year.

We have a full team this year unlike other years where we had few members of the team,” Denar said.

With the memory of Denar’s successful senior season in hand he hopes to continue his career in college.

“We have worked really hard this season and it has turned out really well. It’s hard to think of a most memorable part because the season has turned out so well,” Denar said.

Ahmed Salehi: 24-6 “This year we wanted to go out on top, and we kind of did. Even though we didn’t win the tournament, we were regular season champions, and that is pretty cool,” senior Ahmed Salehi said.

Trent Sosa: 28-6 “Wrestling this year was fun because I got to be with all my friends, it was like when we used to wrestle at Skyline. It was also great because everyone is wrestling so well this year,” senior Trent Sosa said.

Infographic by Sam Imeson

Coach Adam Goble proud to be a part of another successful season Victoria Giron Staff reporter

TAKE A SEAT. Players and coaches of the wrestling team watch other teams wrestle as they get a rest.

Adam Goble is one of the three coaches that led the wrestling team to a successful season. Goble mostly works with the heavyweights, does logistics and paperwork and makes sure grades are kept up.

“I think we had a good season.

It was a lot better than last year.

We did really well at districts. We almost got the district title. Right now we have some really strong individual successes with Ahmed Salehi and Jordan Dove advancing to states and Ahmed has a good shot at advancing to placing in the state tournament,” Goble said .

This past wrestling season is different from the past seasons.

“We have a full team this year and we have strong senior leadership and all those guys really stepped up this year,” Goble said.

The team also had a larger team,

“Having a full lineup is one of the biggest parts because it allows us to not give up any points. Last year we were giving up between 24-36 points off the top to every team which put us in the hole to start with,” Goble said.

Goble said that he thinks the team can improve.

“All of the guys can do a little more drilling and a little more conditioning. Ahmed has mentioned to me that his conditioning helped him win the last couple matches and it’s really paid off,” Goble said.

Another aspect of improving is focusing more.

“Focus is definately an important part of it and having a desire to win,” Goble said.

Goble is already looking forward to the next season.

“I’m working on a more hands on approach for next season and doing more active lessons for the guys,” Goble said.

February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

SPORTS - B7

Freshmen comprise part of winning 4x400 relay team Schedule of events: Kendall Bailey Sports Editor

Freshmen Faith Runnells and Lexi Eberly are important components of the indoor track 4x400 relay team. Both girls have been running outdoor track since sixth grade and eagerly joined the indoor track team earlier in the fall. Runnells is training for soccer season, and Eberly is preparing for outdoor track.

“I joined indoor because I wanted to stay in shape for outdoor track. It’s so fun. I love indoor, it’s like cross country, but more chill,” Eberly said.

Even though they are new to high school, Runnells and Eberly partnered with sophomore Tori Armentrout and freshman Olivia Yutzy to create the 4x4 relay team which took first place throughout the season and third in districts.

“I have been doing sprinting since sixth grade, and I really liked it and was good at it in middle school, so I thought I would just continue it [in high school],” Runnells said.

Besides their main event together, Eberly and Runnells run in several other events separately.

“I run the 500, the 4x400, and sometimes the long jump or triple jump. The competition is great, it makes me perform

PHOTO BY JEFF HADEN

ON YOUR MARK. Freshman Faith Runnells gets into the starting blocks for her 55m hurdle race at the district meet. She placed third. better,” Eberly said. Eberly also specializes in mid-distance running from building up endurance on the cross country team.

In addition to the relay, Runnells placed second in districts with the high jump, and third in the 55m hurdles with a time of 9.9 seconds.

The girls go through conditioning every day to help them perform their best in meets.

“We run outside in the freezing cold weather. Also, we get ready for meets by doing a mix of long runs, pickups, and

sprint workouts,” Eberly said.

“We have sprinter workouts every day.

Some days we focus more on technique, and other days, it’s just conditioning. I also run in my free time to keep in shape,” Runnells said.

Runnells and Eberly ran the 4x200 together in regionals, which won first place at districts.

“I love the feeling I get after running, I feel so good about myself. My favorite part of running is definitely winning,” Runnells said.

Good breaks own record, advances to state indoor track meet Felicia Tran Staff Reporter Junior Rebekah Good started participating in indoor track her freshman year, but has been throwing shot put for a total of seven years.

“I like track, it’s a lot of fun, but I like indoor better than outdoor. Indoor is something I’ve been apart of all my years of high school. So, why stop now?” Good said.

Good specializes in one event, the shot put. She practices in the multi-purpose room from right after school until 5 p.m.

Good hasn’t always done shot put.

“When I started, I wanted to run and jump because I didn’t want to be like my brother (RJ Good) because he threw. But my coach took me over to the shot put pit to let me try it and I broke the middle school record on my first try,” Good said.

Practice is the key to doing well in meets. Also, they have to look out for their toughest competition.

“I weight train and stretch constantly and my toughest competition is a throw of 44 feet [from a rival school],” Good said.

Spending every day with teammates and supporting each other can make teams a lot closer.

“I definitely can say that the track team

is close. We always watch each other’s events. My most memorable moment was when I qualified for states at the Virginia Tech meet which was exciting because it was my first time going to states,” Good said.

Now that track season is over, Good has received nothing but praise for her indoor track season this year.

“I think our season turned out really well. In fact, I just recently won first place in districts. Not only that, but we have two people, Akia Morris and I going to states this year,” Good said.

Good went on to win first place in regional track meet.

Mar 4 Mar 7 Mar 15 Mar 16 Mar 20 Mar 22

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BASEBALL Central Scrimmage Luray Scrimmage Page County Liberty Page County Fort Defiance

Mar 4 Mar 7 Mar 15 Mar 20 Mar 22

A H A H A

SOFTBALL Central Scrimmage Luray Scrimmage Page County Page County Fort Defiance

BOYS SOCCER Mar 4 A Western Albemarle Scrimmage Mar 11 H Stonewall Jackson Mar 14 H John Handley Mar 20 H Broadway Mar 8 Mar 12 Mar 14 Mar 19 Mar 22

A H A H H

GIRLS SOCCER Alleghany Scrimmage Western Albemarle John Handley Charlottesville Fort Defiance

Mar 5 Mar 12 Mar 15 Mar 19

H A H H

BOYS TENNIS Amherst Scrimmage Rockbridge R.E. Lee Waynesboro

A H A A A

GIRLS TENNIS Amherst Scrimmage Western Albemarle R.E. Lee Waynesboro Western Albemarle

Mar 5 Mar 12 Mar 15 Mar 19 Mar 21

Mar 30 H

OUTDOOR TRACK CO-ED Relays

McDaniel hitting his stride in distance competitions Brenna Cowardin Style Editor

PHOTO BY HEIDI RAAB

GOING THE DISTANCE. Junior Jake McDaniel participates in the 4x800 during the regional track meet.

Junior Jake McDaniel started running competitively in seventh grade and hasn’t stopped for the past five years.

“It was something I’d never done before, and I’d done everything when it came to sports,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel uses indoor track as a way to stay in shape between the two other running seasons of the year. “[I run indoor because] I don’t want to lose any speed [between cross country and track],” McDaniel said. “It’s a continuation of training because it’s not as competitive as the other seasons.”

Just last year, he began running the 1000 during the indoor track season. The 1000 is a race unique to the winter track because the track is only 200 meters long, unlike the 400 meter outdoor track, and the 1000 can be run in an even five laps. “[I started running the 1000] last year after I was coming off of injuries. I honestly hated it every time I ran,” McDaniel said.

“It was like nothing I’d run before, and I’d be bad at it because I hated it.”

This year, he’s hoping to go to state competition while running the race he used to hate. The top six runners in individual races move on to the next level in post-season races.

“I would have to qualify [for states] by placement,” McDaniel said.

When he warms up to run, McDaniel piles on up to four layers of clothing and runs for 15 minutes. He does drills, leg movements that work on form, and static stretching to stay loose before a race.

“I usually don’t talk to anyone. I’m pretty anti-social when [I warm up], just getting in the mood of the race,” McDaniel said.

With a personal record of two minutes and 50 seconds in the 1000, McDaniel is about three seconds away from qualifying for regionals by time.

The last time McDaniel ran the 1000, was Jan. 29 at a Fort Defiance Polar Bear meet, which means instead of running indoors, he ran on the outdoor track. “[The 1000] feels a lot more comfortable, distance-wise, [on an outdoor track],” McDaniel said.

An indoor track is only 200 meters which makes the turns sharper, and the laps more numerous. McDaniel was able to “kick it” in the end and pass a fellow competitor. “[My best experience running the 1000] was passing Max Hamilton, [from Spotswood], in the final 100 meters, and hearing him drop the F-bomb after I ran by,” McDaniel said.

The first time he ran the 1000 was not nearly as satisfying. At a Waynesboro Polar

Bear meet his freshman year, nearly everything that could possibly go wrong before his race, did.

In the three heats, McDaniel and teammate, senior Mark Duda were supposed to run in the second heat. It wasn’t until they were at the starting line that the race officials realized they weren’t actually seeded in heat two.

“So [the race officials] stopped the whole race, and moved us back to the third heat,” McDaniel said. “When we did start, they had to fire the gun again because someone had fallen, and we went back and lined up. We were about to start again and, click! The gun didn’t have any ammunition. Finally, on the fourth try, the gun went off.”

After that, it was just another race, but the events leading up to it were more than memorable.

If he’d had a choice, though, McDaniel would never have chosen to run the 1000.

“If I had never run [the 1000] before, I would never want to,” McDaniel said.

For districts, McDaniel and senior Amin Kraimeche are both seeded at 2:50:00. McDaniel is confident they will both move onto regionals, but he’s not sure about states.

McDaniel likes the unpredictableness of racing.

“In general, you never know who you’re going to beat,” McDaniel said.

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February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

Junior boosts young team

SPORTS - B8

Hard work pays off as Shenk-Moreno named to Valley District second team Salar Haji Staff reporter

Junior Sara Shenk-Moreno is the definition of an all-around athlete. Not only is she an extraordinary basketball player, but she also plays for the varsity soccer team.

Shenk-Moreno started playing basketball in seventh grade. The sport was recommended to her by one of her good friends, junior Sydney Knupp.

Back in third grade, Knupp and ShenkMoreno played recreational league soccer together. Knupp was also involved with basketball, so she encouraged ShenkMoreno to join her. Since then, ShenkMoreno has really gotten into the sport.

“She has grown as a player and is starting to become as aggressive as she is in soccer,” Knupp said.

Sports Briefs STREAKS TOPPLE LITTLE GIANTS The boys’ varsity basketball team took on the Waynesboro Little Giants at home on Feb 8. The boys won 49-37. Seniors Seth Kardos and Brian Rodriguez led the Streaks.

KARDOS HITS 1000 MILESTONE On Feb 5 senior Seth Kardos scored his 1000 career point in the second quarter of the boys’ basketball game against R.E. Lee. The Streaks lost 5963.

YOUNG GYMNAST ADVANCES TO FINALS Sophomore Brooke Cobb will be the only Blue Streak in the state tournament. Cobb placed fifth place overall in regionals.

BOTH TEAMS ADVANCE TO REGIONALS Both varsity basketball teams advanced to regionals. This is the fifth year in a row that the girls have advanced and the third year for the boys. The girls defeated Turner Ashby on Feb 11 to gain a bid to the regional tournament.

GOBBLERS TOPPLE LADY STREAKS The girls’ varsity basketball team faced the Broadway Gobblers on Feb 12. The girls lost, but still advanced to the regional tournament.

BOYS FALL TO KNIGHTS On Feb 13 the boys’ varsity basketball team traveled to Spotswood High School to take on the Knights of Turner Ashby to see who would advance to the district final. The Streaks lost 43-56.

LADIES KNOCKED OUT OF REGIONALS The Lady Streaks took on the Broadway Gobblers at Broadway High School on Feb 18. The ladies lost which knocked them out of the regional tournament.

BOYS LOSE TO TERRIERS On Feb 19 the boys’ basketball team traveled to William Byrd High School to take on the Terriers. The Streaks lost 60-83. The boys were led by senior Brian Rodriguez and sophomore Damien Sampson who each had 14 points.

Shenk-Moreno plays power forward regularly, because of her speed and agility, but can also play center depending on the players on the floor. Shenk-Moreno is an integral component to the girls’ starting line up.

“The team plays well when we all play aggressively. Everyone needs to be dedicated and play hard, that is when we kill it,” Shenk-Moreno said. “[Our team] also has great chemistry, we are all friends and don’t really argue much.”

Although Shenk-Moreno is focused on basketball during the season, she doesn’t get as much time to practice in the offseason as she might like. “[During the offseason] I don’t play as much basketball as I used too. Soccer is my main priority, so I focus a lot on that in my spare time,” Shenk-Moreno said.

Sophomores lead gymnastics squad Cobb headed to state meet for second year Sam Imeson Staff reporter

There is nothing better for a coach than having a team that is young and really good, because the opportunity for years of dominance is right there.

This year, five girls on the gymnastics team have qualified for regionals. After losing a handfull of seniors from last season, the Streaks’ gymnastics squad has rebounded nicely behind the strong performances of sophomores Brooke Cobb and Aspen Hoak.

“I changed up my floor routine from last year, and that has made a difference in my overall scoring during meets,” Cobb said.

“We have a really great team this year, I can’t wait for regionals and then hopefully states,” sophomore Meagan Roberts said.

A few of the returning gymnasts admit that they might not have been as focused as they could have been, but they came back this season with a new attitude and

Senior scores 1000th point in loss to Lee Max Johnson Staff reporter Senior forward Seth Kardos had a slow start to his senior season mainly because in a regional soccer game last season, he tore a rare ligament in his ankle. This meant that he would be off that ankle for five months.

Kardos missed tryouts, the first two weeks of practice, and could only play four minutes of each quarter in the first five games.

More impressively, Kardos hardly even picked up a basketball in that whole five months. Despite all of these events happening, Kardos recently scored his 1000th point against Robert E. Lee High School at home, one of only three players to ever achieve this goal at HHS. Kardos is averaging 23.4 points per game in district play, leads the team in rebounds (7.8 per game) and is probably in the running for the Valley District Player of the Year. These achievements would be hard for anybody at 100%. Kardos says he

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more determination than last season.

Cobb admits that the experience she got from last season was also beneficial.

“I made it to states last year, but I didn’t place. I definitely came into this season a lot more focused and dedicated to the team and sport,” Cobb said. “Last year I didn’t really know what was going on, but the experience I got was great.”

With the gymnasts being very young, four of the five going to regionals are sophomores. Long time coach Michael King would not be surprised if a few of the Streaks go on to states for the next few years.

“Brooke is definitely our strongest individual. She performs well every time,” Coach King said.

States will be held at Woodgrove High School in Northern Virginia.

“I think all five of the girls going to regionals have a shot at making it to states,” King said. “And I expect Brooke will go because she went last year.”

Kardos strong after injury

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Shenk-Moreno has discovered that those who play multiple sports receive benefits in their everyday life.

“I stuck to basketball because I really enjoyed it and I made a lot of new friends.

I also developed more social and leadership skills which helped me out in many ways,” Shenk-Moreno said.

Shenk-Moreno’s hard work was noticed by the other coaches in the Valley District when she and Knupp were both selected to be part of the All-District second team, Knupp for the guard position and ShenkMoreno as forward.

Shenk-Moreno and the Streaks hope to make a run in playoffs this year.

“We have a really talented team and we could go far into playoffs as long as we’re focused and work hard in practice everyday,” Shenk-Moreno said.

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is at about 70%.

“It’s really hard. My ankle constantly nags me. I feel like it limits me. But I can’t let that be an excuse. I just have to go out and do my best I can rest after the season,” Kardos said.

In a weekly podcast, created by Daily News Record writer Paul Montana, he said that after interviewing every coach in the Valley District, that five out of the seven said Kardos was their pick for Player of The Year. It is also true that Spotswood’s head coach Chad Edwards can not vote for Tucker McCoy or Hyrum Weiler, both from Spotswood, who are also both in the hunt.

Last season, Kardos had 39 points and 10 rebounds against Heritage in the opening round of the Division 4 Regional Tournament. Heritage made it to the final four of the state tournament and they were packed with seniors.

“It’s not even close, [Seth] looked a lot better last year because he had two legs to play on, he hardly has one this season.

Man, imagine what he would be doing if he was 100%,” head coach Scott Joyner said.

SENIOR SCRIBBLINGS Give every team your best effort As I enter my last season of high school softball, and my last season of high school sports in general, I think of having to say goodbye to all of it in a few short months. With that idea looming before me, I have to make a decision to either keep playing at the next level or say it was fun while it lasted and let it go after I walk across the stage at the Convocation Center in June.

After putting in so much time and effort over the years, it is more complicated than just simply walking away and not being upset if I choose to not keep going. But on the flipside, if I do continue playing, then it is going to be a huge time commitment to play a collegiate sport. Another thing that would be tough to say goodbye to is the girls. I have been playing with most of them since we were eight years old. They are more than just my teammates, they are my sisters and you can’t just tell your family bye without it hurting a little bit.

The whole feeling is bittersweet because I am excited about graduating from high school, but at the same time, this is the last time I will ever play a high school sport. Every time I do something, I realize that it is the last time I will being doing it. Like playing a certain team at their place, or getting ready for tryouts. It is exciting, but at the same time it can be kind of upsetting.

With the entire season before me, I have to go into it with the mentality that this is my last chance to do something huge for the team. This is our last opportunity as seniors to go out with a bang, and make people remember us. The team is going to need our leadership now more than ever because we are relatively young.

The team is talented enough that we could make some noise this year, but it is going to require everyone to be focused and ready to work.

It is going to be sad to have to tell my ladies and my sport goodbye at the end of the season, but there is still a few months left that I can enjoy being with them and playing the game I love so it is not time to sit here and dwell on the fact that I am running out of time. It is time to get focused and pour everything I have into making this the best season it can possibly be and make sure I do anything and everything to put my team in the best position to win. This is my last chance to do something amazing and I am going to do everything I can to make sure it happens.

February 28, 2013

2012-2013

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Patrons are members of the Harrisonburg community and others who support the pursuit of excellence in the journalistic publications of Harrisonburg High School. Money generated from the patron program is used to offset costs of attending journalism conferences, to print our paper, and to purchase up-to-date technological equipment for our journalism lab. To become a patron, see any member of the Newsstreak Staff or stop by room 444. You can also visit www.newsstreak.com to download a patron ad contract. Patron level is determined by the following scale: HHS Patrons, $5; Blue Patrons, $10; Bronze Patrons, $15; Silver Patrons, $25; Gold Patrons, $50; and Newsstreak Super Sponsor, $100+.

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February 28, 2013

The

Newsstreak

THE EXPERIENCE- B10

‘A Bowl of Good’ supports community

Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in Chief Winter calls for warm soups, and steaming plates of hot food. At A Bowl of Good, there are 12 completely homemade soups to help warm up customers from the winter chill. General manager Benjamin Bergey is in charge of both the Mount Clinton Pike and the new Port Republic locations. “[The operation] started off as just a

stand at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday. We just had a couple of soup options for customers,” Bergey said. Next the branch expanded to Kate’s Natural Foods, selling soup and bread in the small food court. When a location opened up beside Gift & Thrift, the owner and founder, Katrina Didot, took the opportunity to make a permanent restaurant.

The restaurant uses as much local, and organic ingredients as possible; for example the beef used is all natural and organically fed.

All of the ingredients are hand chopped, and peeled by workers, no canned foods are used. The best-selling menu item is the “Red, White and Moo chili” which is the one I bought one chilly afternoon a few weeks ago. The mix of beans, tomatoes, and spices all contribute to it’s delicious flavor. There is just enough kick to remind you that it’s a chili, but the ingredients are fresh enough to leave you satisfied.

The restaurant’s decor reflects the ethnicity of the food. There are wooden booths and bright colors that attracted my eye, like flies to a light. An entrance, in the restaurant, leads into the adjacent boutique, Artisan’s Hope. The shop sells jewelry, gifts, and home decor from all over the world. The connecting businesses help provide shoppers with a welcoming vibe.

“Customers can eat and then shop, or shop while they wait for their food. It helps promote both [of us],” Bergey said.

Didot, traveled internationally for many years. She loved trying new foods, and experiencing new cultures. Didot developed all of the recipes on the menu, wanting to make international food tasty, accessible, but also inexpensive. I would say Didot was successful, my chili was reasonably priced at about $7 including a

drink.

A Bowl of Good puts a huge emphasis on a community feel. They strive to improve the public through selling local products. When I looked around the Mount Clinton Pike location, there were handmade doughnuts, breads, and muffins all on display.

“It has been a community effort from the beginning. [The restaurant] started off borrowing cooking space from Red Front Supermarket, and now we have just opened up our second branch across town,” Bergey said. The new location was partially founded to cater to the JMU community, but an added bonus was the creation of jobs for city residents.

“In this economic climate, the more jobs we can create the better. The menu is exactly the same, it’s just a larger space. We really wanted to continue our local mission, just across town,” Bergey said.

Both branches of A Bowl of Good are open Monday through Saturday.

ALL PHOTOS BY CELIA EHRENPREIS

FOOD ON DISPLAY. Mouthwatering wraps, salads, and fruits, are all showed off at A Bowl of Good. The restaurant has 12 seasonal soups to offer customers each day.

LOVE THAT LOCAL. A Bowl of Good proudly displays their local ingrediants from farms all over Virginia.

YUMMM. The Marco Polo Bowl-O-Spaghetti has marinara sauce which is completely homemade, and local beef meatballs can be added for an extra cost.

EAT UP. Customers enjoy the community environment during a hectic lunch hour at A Bowl of Good.

SWEET TALK. Local honey, syrup and granola are placed on display at the restaurant for customers to buy.

GREAT GRAINS. A slice of the 9 grain bread is served with almost every entree.

Loafs are also for sale at the restaurant.

HEALTHY DRINKS. Instead of the typical soda machine, A Bowl of Good provides customers with limeade, tea, or coffee.