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Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XC • Issue 7• March 21, 2014

Soup Night preparations in full swing

Ariel Vogel Feature Editor

Walking down the main hallway, anyone can see the notable change that has come upon the library’s display case. The collections of notable books the librarians have conjured up that week have been traded out for a very different kind of decoration.

Bowls.

Big ones and small ones. Delicately decorative and vividly vibrant. Sloppily made ones and bowls that are picture perfect. The plethora of the bowls can only mean one thing: Soup Night. “[Soup Night] is a fundraiser for the art [program]. We make bowls and there’s entertainment and you buy bowls, have soup and have fun,” senior Callie Glover said. Her role in the organization of the fundraiser was publicity.

“I create the logo, make a Facebook page, get information out to the public and give ads to the Newsstreak,” Glover said.

Fine Arts instructor Jauan Brooks is the art teacher doing most of the organizational work for Soup Night. She

See SOUP on Page A2

Shaver will be HCPS Finance Director Mia Karr Editor-in-chief

When the junior class arrived at the high school two and a half years ago, there was someone else sharing a first day at HHS alongside them- new principal, Tracy Shaver. However, when they graduate next May, Shaver won’t be there in his capacity as principal. He recently announced that he will be leaving HHS after this school year to accept a job as Executive Director of Finance for the Harrisonburg City Public Schools.

“I think my background and my skill set would fit well with the position. I have a background in accounting and business management and I used to be a business teacher,” Shaver said.

He expects his experience as a principal to aid his new job.

“I know first-hand how finances determine the success of the school system,” Shaver said. “I’ve been a building-level ad

See PRINCIPAL on A2

Shenandoah Valley Scholar Latino Initiative continues to help kids

PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA

STAY FOCUSED. Junior Michael Walton scuplts a bowl in a ceramics class. He is using a coiling technique to create the bowl. Soup Night will be held on May 2 in the auditorium commons. Cost is $10 per person.

DECA members compete at state competition Julexus Cappell Opinion Editor For senior and two year DECA (Distributed Educational Clubs of America) member Blake Long, being recognized in front of a crowd of other future businessmen and women was incredibly exciting.

“The most exciting part was the rush of being on stage with Jacob when we were announced as state finalists,” Long said.

Feb. 28 through March 2 the DECA State Competition was held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach. HHS DECA had 19 students in attendance at the conference, but to adviser Mallory

Cromer that is not much in comparison to other schools across the state.

“We think that bringing 19 kids is a big deal when most schools bring 100.

D.C. usually brings 50 to 100 kids,” Cromer said.

According to Cromer, all public schools in Virginia are in attendance.

“If they have a DECA Chapter, they’re going.

Even technical schools [go] which is cool,” Cromer said.

During the conference students who are not in competitions attended workshops to occupy the time.

The weekend was not solely dedicated to competing, but also decisions

See DECA on A2

Scholars adjust to college setting at BRCC Brenna Cowardin Managing Editor

Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-chief A young program for outstanding latina or latino students continues to grow in the high school. The Shenandoah Valley Scholar Latino Initiative will have it’s first graduating class next year. English teacher Hannah Bowman has the job of high school liaison for the program. “[SVSLI] aims to give students who may not be considering college as an option, for whatever reason, financial or otherwise the opportunity to go to college. We do that through academic and sometimes financial support, as well as through creating partnerships with universities,” Bowman said. Bowman is in charge of providing academic and mentoring support at the high school level.

Students in the program apply as freshmen, and stay enrolled throughout the remaining three years of high school. SVSLI is unique in it’s structure because of it’s close relation with James Madison University.

Students are paired with a JMU Centennial Scholar to mentor them throughout high

See SVSLI on A2

PHOTO BY MALLORY CROMER

FRONT AND CENTER. Seniors Blake Long and Jacob Byrd (center) were recognized as state finalists at the DECA state competition in Virginia Beach on March 2.

PHOTO BY BRENNA COWARDIN

OFF TO COLLEGE. Junior Alexa Figueroa Baiges follows junior Rachel Cavoto onto the bus that transports them to Blue Ridge Community College as a part of the Blue Ridge Scholars Program’s curriculum.

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Blue Ridge Scholars are hard to find at the end of the school day. Impossible to find, in fact, because they spend the second half of each school day trading the HHS campus for a college one.

Junior Remington Willis enjoys the change of scenery at Blue Ridge Community College. “[My favorite part of the program is] going to Blue Ridge because I get to interact with college students.

I wouldn’t say they’re my friends, but I have some acquaintances,” Willis said.

College students are a whole new species of people and sharing a classroom with them is a new experience.

“I think [college students] are more easygoing [than me]... We had a test in Stats that they were bummed about, but it didn’t seem like they would do anything to change

that,” Willis said.

Junior Delshana Shifflett notices the same phenomenon. “[It’s interesting to see] how the other college students think,” Shifflett said.

“I really enjoy the bus rides back to the high school...

There are some weird [college students] that ride the bus. We just laugh at them.”

Math Teacher Brian Nussbaum teaches the Dual Enrollment Statistics 157 at BRCC. He originally was not looking forward to the drive out to the college four days a week to teach the same kids.

“I was very reluctant to be travelling to the Blue Ridge campus all the time,” Nussbaum said. “But I really am enjoying that environment of teaching on the Blue Ridge campus and teaching that mixture of [high school and college students]. It’s a different dynamic.”

The program allows students to test out college w

See SCHOLARS on A2

Coming Up College acceptances Spring sports coverage Club news Comparison of local foods Extended learning time update Debate and Forensics Reviews Columns and editorials Every person has a story feature

March 21, 2014

The

News Briefs SAT Prep Six SAT prep courses will be offered at Blue Ridge Community College from Mar 19- Apr 30, Mar 20-May 1, or Jul 14-18. The fee is $150.

Student View Scholarship Program Seniors planning to attend a fouryear college, community college or career school. Students can apply online at www.student-view.com.

Dennis “Chip” Taylor Memorial Scholarship Applicants interested in a career in fire and rescure should apply for the Dennis “Chip” Taylor Memorial scholarship. Applications are available in the career center and are due Apr 5.

Sherry Burcham Scholarship Applicants with a 2.5 grade point average who are graduating from HHS and plan to pursue a career in education should pick up an application for the Sherry Burcham Anderson Memorial scholarship in the guidance career center.

Armenian Education Scholarship The Armenian Education Center will award a $1,000 Scholarship to one Virginia high school student in grades 9-12. Scholarship application is due Apr 1.

Virginia ESL Scholarship Seniors who have taken an ESL course for at least one year and have at least a 3.0 GPA can apply for the Virginia ESL scholarship. Applications are available in the counseling center and are due Apri 4.

Shenandoah Valley Scholarship Applicants who demonstrate a serious interest in higher education and financial need are encouraged to apply for the Shenandoah Valley scholarship. The scholarship is awarding $500. Applications are due Apr 10.

Curtis R. Hershey Scholarship Seniors graduating from HHS who have been accepted to EMU and are in good academic standing should apply for the Curtis R. Hershey scholarhip. Applications are available in the guidance career center. Applications are due Apr 16.

Bowman advising SVSLI program SVSLI from A1

school. The program also has activities for the students and mentors to participate in, such as social gatherings and leadership retreats. SVSLI students have even shadowed working professionals, to gain a better idea of what that career path involves.

Although the program is relatively new, it has experienced major success in in other parts of the country.

“Schools who have had the program in effect down in North Carolina have had massive success, which is why it has spread up to our area. They have had students accepted to some of the most prestigious universities in the country,” Bowman said.

Although the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program has similar aims to the SVSLI program, they are not the same. SVSLI is conducted entirely after school, while AVID is a class offered at the high school during school hours.

“Every early release day, we go to JMU and do a full five hours of workshops. And every other Thursday we meet at the high school for about an hour. We also do social activities with the JMU mentors,” Bowman said.

Newsstreak

NEWS- A2

After Prom committee tackles event Luke Gibson Online Editor-in-chief

Unlike most high school proms, which seem to pack up and disappear as soon as the clock strikes midnight, HHS continues its festivities late into the night.

After prom is an event for all students to attend (even those who didn’t go to prom) after prom has wrapped up. The theory behind After Prom is that students will be

provided with a venue filled with entertainment while also staying safe.

Despite After Prom’s convenient existence, organizing it is no easy feat. This year, Chong Kil Whitfield, mother of junior class president Alexis Whitfield, has the responsibility of organization.

“It’s a loving chore that requires many, many hands to make the workload light and the event successful,” Whitfield said.

Fortunately, assistance is readily available, given by other parents of juniors as well as

teachers and volunteers.

“The cost is a working process. It will be around $6000 to $8000, with contributions from parent businesses,” Whitfield said.

Those who attended After Prom last year should be familiar with the entertainment available. The decoration will relate to Prom’s luau theme and activities will range from classic door prizes to newer additions such as karaoke. As usual, After Prom will be held at JMU’s UREC from midnight to 2 a.m.

New principal to start next school year PRINCIPAL from A1 more students doing well in school,” Shavministrator for the last 11 years. This opportunity presented itself and I thought it was a unique opportunity.”

In his new role, Shaver will manage the financial resources of the school system.

He will work with all the schools, as well as school board and city council members, on matters of finance. Although Shaver is looking forward to his new position, he will miss being principal.

“It’s really a bittersweet move...I’m definitely going to extremely miss the daily interactions with the students,” Shaver said.

He cites attending graduation, prom, and academic excellence assemblies, as well as getting to know the students who participate in the musical, plays, art classes and JROTC as aspects of the school he will miss.

Shaver hopes that he has left HHS as a better place than when he first came as principal.

“If we look at a variety of things here at HHS over the past three years, there are many, many accomplishments. We have

er said. Some examples of this, according to Shaver, are more students taking AP, Dual-Enrollment and Honors classes, an increased on-time graduation rate and decreased drop-out rate and new programs, such as the Blue Ridge Scholars program, STEM academy and Fine Arts Academy.

“I think ultimately the school is in a better position today than it was when I began three years ago,” Shaver said.

With Shaver moving on, the task of finding a new principal falls to HCPS superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner. Kizner will be part of a team of teachers and administrators that interviews various candidates for the position. After the application process, Kizner will choose a candidate to recommend to the school board.

“It’s not in terms of a vote or popularity; it’s really in terms of what I think would be best for the community,” Kizner said, of his decision.

Candidates must have certain credentials as specified by the Virginia Department of Education- a Master’s degree and a license to be a school administrator. Prin-

cipal or assistant principal experience is also key. Kizner is looking for other, harder to quantify qualities in his nominee.

“They absolutely must be child-centered. The decisions they make are always grounded in what they think is in the best interest of the student,” Kizner said. “They must have strong expectations both academically and behaviorally. And they must embrace collaborative decision making and value the input of staff, students, and parents.” Kizner also mentions respect for diverse backgrounds as a key attribute of an HHS principal.

The interviewing for the position will begin in late March or early April. Kizner hopes to have a recommendation by May. “When we hire someone new, I see it as a great opportunity to learn from that individual. I want them to build on what we value in the school system,” Kizner said.

“I’m hoping that this individual will focus on high achievement, focus on accountability, but also challenge the school system to look at different ways of reaching childrens’ highest potential.”

BRCC scholars earn college credit SCHOLARS from A1 the program.

hile still in high school, and earn an associates degree by the time they graduate.

Taking the students onto the BRCC campus adds to the early college experience. “[A couple of the benefits of the program are that] you walk out of high school with some of the pre-requisite courses already completed, and you’re earning those credits at a drastically reduced price,” Nussbaum said. “It’s a chance to test your comfort level to see if ‘this whole college thing’ is what you’re looking for because a lot of the students who are in this program aren’t sure if college is where they are headed.”

Interested students could find the application in the guidance office. Applicants are required to complete the BRCC college application and get two teacher recommendations. This year applications were due by March 14. Shifflet urges applicants to stay on top of their work because the program does have some rigorous aspects. “[My advice to students applying to the program] is make sure you get all your work done and study,” Shifflet said. English is challenging for many of the students in

“The only class the majority of us have trouble with is English, and that’s because Mrs. Barr gives us a ton of work,” Shifflet said. Barr teaches the curriculum as it is prescribed by Blue Ridge Community College.

Willis suggests for applicants to get their core classes done with early because the program’s full schedule leaves little room for electives. “[I would advise students applying to the program to] get ahead, take summer school, take all the opportunities you can to take care of your core classes early,” Willis said.

In some ways, being handed a schedule gets rid of uncertainty about what classes to take, but many requirements are double-edged swords.

“I don’t have to choose what classes I want to take [next year], but it’s pretty limiting. They pretty much hand us a schedule, and say, ‘Here, these are your classes,’” Willis said.

This year’s group of 11 juniors spends a lot of time together during the school day, and sometimes tensions run high.

“[My least favorite part is] the drama in the group. There’s only 11 of us, but there’s a lot of drama,” Shifflett said. “If I could change one thing about [the program] I would change the viewpoints of the people in the group... They should just really try to be nice and tolerate each other.”

Willis remembers the first day on BRCC campus at the beginning of the semester bringing another kind of tension. A kind that comes from being lost. “[My favorite memory is] the first time we went out to BRCC. Everyone was freaked out. We had no idea where we were going,” Willis said. However, being late to class turned out to be not a big deal like it is in high school, another perk of college independence. “[At BRCC] we’re not as rushed. We’re not as pressured to get [to class] on time.

It’s on us if we’re late,” Willis said.

In the second year of the program, the students will be able to choose two electives at BRCC, anything from calculus to a class on sexual orientation. The Blue Ridge Scholars will graduate with an associate degree, and two years worth of college classes under their belt.

Deca competition attracts hundreds from around Virginia DECA from A1

for the DECA Chapter in Virginia. New DECA State Officers are appointed, and if necessary changes are made to the DECA Charter.

There are significant differences between DECA District competition and the state competition. At districts, all DECA members are eligible to compete. To qualify for the state competition a member has to place at districts.

“The competition is much fiercer. At states, you have the opportunity to go the national competition in Atlanta, Georgia.

You will literally see kids studying right up until they get called [to compete],” Cromer said.

To senior Taylor Swan, the experience was interesting because it was her first time attending a DECA competition.

“This was my first year in in DECA. I think personally I did well. We [HHS DECA chapter] must have done pretty good, too, because people from our school were announced,” Swan said.

Although no one from the HHS DECA chapter will be attending the national conference in Atlanta, seniors Jacob Byrd and Blake Long were state finalists and will be alternates.

Senior Katie Wampler felt it was worth it in the end.

“It was really cool for our school to be recognized,” Wampler said.

CHAMPS. Seniors Blake Long and Jacob Byrd were state finalists at this year’s DECA State competition in Virginia Beach.

Artists make bowls in preparation for event SOUP from A1

explained that multiple people end up helping out at Soup Night, beyond the actual members of National Art Honors Society.

“Anyone who wants to help out [does].

People from the community, parents. They serve food, there are people clearing tables, people who stamp a hole in your ticket to make sure you don’t grab two bowls, people who run sound and of course the performers,” Brooks said. The performers also come from the school and the community.

In addition to the teachers and art students making them in class, the bowls themselves also come from all over the Valley.

“We are also seeking donations from local artists and we’ll be contacting colleges’ ceramics programs,” Brooks said. “If any-

body wants to donate, we’ll take them as well and [we also contact] community center ceramics classes.”

Last time the the fundraiser took place, the bowls brought in about $200.

“A couple years ago, there was a lot of buzz about it and it really blew up on Facebook; we got nearly $2500. It got to the point where we had to turn people away because we were running out of food. We offered to have people pay $5 to come in and grab whatever they could,” Brooks said.

The money primarily goes toward a scholarship for a member of the National Art Honors Society, but has other destinations as well.

“In past years we’ve done it for other community organizations. Some of them have been for art organizations, some of them have been just local charities,”

Brooks said. “We haven’t really decided if there will be another group; we [will wait] until the night’s over to see how much we bring in and then we might decide to give it to some other organizations as well.”

Brooks explained that while she loves the overall concept of Soup Night, it gets to be stressful without an immediate reward.

“I get frustrated that I put all this work into it and on the actual night, I can’t enjoy it. My son will come in and I’ll sit down to eat with him but people will come and need my help with something and I won’t be able to relax,” Brooks said. However, there are some aspects that make it worth it for her.

“My favorite part is probably when everything is set up and the bowls are all laid out and there’s this moment of two seconds where I think, ‘This is going to work.’”

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Jazz provides entertainment for lunchtime diners Rafael Snell-Feikema Online Editor in Chief Since late February, HHS’s jazz theory class, taught by Fine Arts Coordinator J.R. Snow, has been trying an alternate form of education: performances, situated directly in the auditorium-side commons each B-day Friday during all three lunches.

“I loved [performing in the cafeteria].

I thought it was fun and it seemed like people really liked it. Everyone seemed to enjoy it,” junior Marcy Nevin, who plays guitar and vibraphone for one of the performing groups, said.

Though the students predominantly learn through instruction in their class, studying song structures, phrasings, history, and pieces by such greats as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, these newly introduced performances offer a form of real-world education for the class, as well as an opportunity to illustrate their skills.

“Exposure [is the most significant thing offered by performance]. I was doing things I didn’t know I could do because I was being integrated into [this] experiment,” Nevin said.

The pressure given by performing for an audience means that these students can be prepared for performing out in the community and using their newly procured jazz skills, but this arrangement also gives a chance for students not in the class to enjoy the genre while they eat.

“Though school is a miserable place, I am able to find refuge for 25 minutes a

day: Lunch. Recently, the jazz theory class has started performing during this time, and my lunch experience has heightened as I enjoy the smooth sounds our students create. I believe this is a wonderful idea and hope it continues. After all, it wouldn’t hurt for the students of HHS to become more cultured,” senior Tabatha LaFreniere said.

Due to this uniqueness, jazz is particularly interesting to play and to learn about in theory. It is far less structured than most other genres, and as such, the very action of playing it requires at least implicit knowledge of structure, keys, phrasing, and instrumentation.

“It’s different and it can be difficultyou make a mistake but you have to make it work, you have to maintain balance and phrasing, and you have to communicate who’s going to do what while you’re all playing. It doesn’t always work but when it does it really builds your confidence,” Nevin said.

Improvisation is the most unique feature of jazz, but it’s also something very difficult, as each of the jazz theory students noted.

“The hardest part is being consistent with what you want to ‘say’ when you’re improvising. It’s tricky to think of new things to ‘say’ while you’re playing,” sophomore saxophonist Cecily Lawton said.

Despite jazz being difficult, the students enjoy the genre as a form that allows for a lot of expression.

“Jazz is a really good way to express yourself. [It is] passion embodied in music,” Lawton.

Massanutten Regional Governor’s School accepts five Josh Byrd Op/Ed editor The Massanutten Regional Governor’s school has officially sent out acceptances to students from around the Valley, five of which are HHS students; sophomores Mary Hallet Culbreth, Michelle Eckstein, Faith Runnells, Allison Kasch, and Shad Abdullah.

The original date for acceptance was Feb. 28, but was pushed back. Officially, Culbreth, Kasch, and Abdullah have accepted. Eckstein is planning on accepting, but is working out kinks in her schedule for next year before she does. Runnells declined her offer.

“I declined because, although Governor’s School is a great opportunity and an honor to be accepted to, I just didn’t think it was the right thing for me, and I think I’ll do better at HHS,” Runnells said.

The runner up will be offered Runnells’ slot.

The governor’s school has a science fo-

cus, especially in environmental science.

This was an important factor when applying for some of the students accepted.

“I want to be a marine biologist and it is a great opportunity to build a bridge into that,” Culbreth said.

Abdullah had a similar reason to apply.

“I love science, science is really my thing… [Governor's school] is all about science,” Abdullah said.

Next year the students who will be attending governor’s school will travel to Mount Jackson for the first half of their day and then return to HHS for the second half.

They will take American Literature, Statistics, Agro-ecology, AP Environmental Science, and complete a research class while at the governor’s school.

Another component to the program is meeting other students who are also interested in science throughout the Valley.

“I am looking forward to a smaller class environment and a different style of learning,” Kasch said.

PHOTO BY AUBTIN HEYDARI

FOOD MUSIC. Seniors Abe Nouri and Chris MacAdam perform at part of a new initiative by the Jazz Theory Class; members play music for the student body during lunch on Fridays.

Poetry lovers enjoy Poets in Schools Austin Engle Staff Reporter Every once and a while, if listening to the announcements one might hear something about Poet-in-the-Schools. Poet-inthe-Schools is an after-school program that starts with an application process.

Students submit their poetry, based off one of the prompts given, and get selected for the next step of the program. Then the next step is a seven week program where the accepted applicants will meet once a week, on Monday evenings, and discuss and write poetry. English teacher Richard Morrell is in charge of getting the word out for the program at the high school.

“My favorite part is meeting new writers each year,” Morrell said. He teaches a creative writing class, and enjoys seeing new student in Poet-in-the-Schools that are not in his class. Morrell does feel that more student should submit their work

during the application process.

Poet-in-the-Schools is a long time tradition for students who join too. Jen McRae, the teacher at Skyline Middle School who is in charge of the program at both the middle schools and the high school, has been the director for 12 years and participated when she was in middle and high school.

“I still keep in touch with the poets who have gone on to college and beyond,” McRae said.

There are usually between 20 to 40 people that apply to the program, who love to write in general, especially poetry, but sometimes that isn’t enough.

“Sometimes it takes the support, deadlines and inspiration from a structured workshop to actually force [the students] to produce [work],” McRae said.

Overall, the program is still running strong. If there are people that enjoy listening to poetry there is also a public performance called Poetry and Jazz Night on Thursday April 24th 6-8 pm at Skyline

Staff members participate in wellness program Jessica Nguyen Staff Editor Mary Inge never considered being team captain for a district wide wellness competition that encourages teachers and staff to incorporate more physical activity in their daily routine.

But that’s what happened.

“When the wellness program was announced, I commented- it wasn’t about exercise in particular- about some other things that I wanted to have happen that I felt like were wellness orientated. There is a big bus that does mammography for breast cancer, and I wanted to get it here to the school. Another school I taught in, they do that and it’s really nice because a teacher could just walk out and do it and be back in the building in a matter of moments, instead of making a big appointment and having to take off work,” Inge said, “So I was promoting that, and I was promoting immunizations that I felt that- especially in our population- were important. So I was approaching it from that side, contacted the person downtown that is overseeing this, and said, ‘I think these things that I’m interested in that would be good for us to do in this wellness program. And he said, ‘Oh you would be a good person to have on this committee’, so that’s how I got on.”

Hosted by Anthem.com, teachers and staff are provided with a pedometer that tracks their steps. Daily totals are put on-

line and every week there is a trophy given to the school with the highest score.

Starting the first week of February, there have already been three winners; Skyline Middle School, Waterman Elementary, and the Central Office. The HHS faculty and staff earned the trophy during the week of March 3-7.

Vickie McAlister is a faithful participant in the program.

“I have been trying to get a little bit of exercise in before school and after school.

David Loughran found out that six laps [around the school] was about a mile,” McAlister said, “So I could probably do a mile in a good 20 minutes. If I could get here and stay late, that is an easy two miles that’s free.”

The wellness program is designed to have participants set goals and push themselves to improve health, but McAlister has found that there is much more to it.

“The funny thing is now people who see me walking make fun comments, encouraging comments, cute comments, things like that. It’s been a way to get to know the people on my floor,” McAlister said, “It is also a great excuse to wear comfortable shoes to school!”

Teachers and staff can still sign up for the Wellness Program.

“I just think that anytime that you improve our activity, be it a competition or whatever, it makes for better living” Inge said.

PIZZA WITH A SIDE OF JAZZ. The jazz theory class includes a variety of instrumentalists. From left to right, senior Larkin O’Hara, junior Neal Perrine and senior Jack Adamek.

Upcoming SAT dates: May 3- register by April 4 Jun 7- register by May 28 SAT Subject Tests: Literature U.S. History Math Level 1 Math Level 2 Biology/EM Chemistry Physics French French with Listening German with Listening Spanish Spanish with Listening Modern Hebrew Italian Latin Chinese with Listening Japanese with Listening Korean with Listening Go to www.collegeboard. com for more information

Q & A with math teacher Brian Nussbaum Q: When do the SAT preparation sessions happen?

A: It’s three to four weeks prior to every SAT test. SAT tests are offered approximately once a month. If you back up three or four weeks prior to that, on Tuesdays and Thursdays in those weeks leading up to it [SAT test].

Q: Where are the SAT preparation sessions?

A: I’m in room 436 every Tuesday and Thursday after school. I’m there specifically for people who want to look at SAT stuff.

Q: About how many people come on average to the sessions?

A: It really fluctuates at times. I have had as many as eight and as few as one.

Q: Do you do this until the end of the year?

A: Yes. Each SAT test that comes up and the weeks leading up to that, I’m available for all of those.

Q: Is it free?

A: It’s absolutely free and one of the best deals around because you can pay a lot of money for SAT prep. You can get a private tutor which I happen to do outside of school, or if you go to like Kaplan [SAT practice testing], it costs a couple hundred dollars. This is not quite as intense as those, but it is an opportunity for everyone to start where they are and continue working a little bit further.

Q: How is the information taught?

A: It is computer based, but you have me as a resource to work with you. We start off with the College Board free resources they have available, then students work through that. If they work through all of that, then I have some additional resources.

Interview by Julexus Cappell

March 21, 2014

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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: Celia Ehrenpreis, Mia Karr Online: Luke Gibson, Sydney Little, Rafael Snell-Feikema, Fernando Gamboa Managing Editors: Brenna Cowardin (print) and Isabelle Burden (online) Advertising Managers: Austin Coffey and Joshua Byrd Photographers: Ava Reynolds, Luke Gibson Videographers: Jake McDaniel and Aubtin Heydari Staff Reporters: John Earle, Julexus Cappell, Victoria Giron, Joshua Byrd, Austin Swift, Ellie Plass, Brenna Cowardin, Luke Gibson, Alexis Dickerson, Nishat Jamil, Faith Runnells, Maria Delgado, Pablo Pacheco, Sarah Scribano, Ali Baapir, Danny Dombowski, Hunter Manzano, Jacob McDaniel, Cathryn Hall, Claudio Hernandez, Bulberto TorresCruz, Austin Engle, Aubtin Heydari, Ella Marian, Ben Willis, Ariel Vogel, Garrett Thompson, Jessica Nguyen and Ava Reynolds.

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.

The The

Newsstreak Newsstreak

SPECIAL COVERAGE A5 NEWS --A5

What we want in new principal NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL Three years ago, Tracy Shaver started his position as principal of HHS. However, at the end of this school year, Shaver will become director of finance for Harrisonburg City Public Schools. This of course means that a new principal will be hired to run the school for the years coming up, and as a staff, the Newsstreak has come up with some qualities and actions we would like for the upcoming principal to take into account.

A principal of a school has to take all different perspectives into consideration when making decisions, so it would be very beneficial of the principal to think about all those below him/her in the school.

For example, to please the upcoming senior class, the oldest and most dedicated students at the school, the principal should allow for senior privileges, such as early release, late arrival and study hall.

To please the younger students in the building, the principal should make the school a welcoming, accepting environment. One that encourages acceptance of everyone.

And of course, for the adults of the school, from the teachers to the janitors to the lunch ladies, the principal should work to build a faculty family, help to create a united

spirit in the school, and aid to bring the entire school body together.

Standardized testing has reached an all-time high for stress and emphasis placed on students.

With the new principal coming in, this may be a time to reconsider the intense attention placed on testing, and redirect it to a more balanced and efficient learning environment to actually learn information, rather than just memorizing for a test. Although the principal is not completely in charge of this matter, they can do some things to help.

HHS is an established institution that is a staple of the city. Many citizens take pride in our school. For a new principal to come in, it would be beneficial to have someone who has been born and raised in Harrisonburg, is familiar with the area, and understands the city. Someone with experience in the school system would also be ideal.

Last but not least, the new principal should be reasonable and sensible. He or she should reconsider little rules that do not hurt anybody, from the ‘no shoulders’ allowed in the dress code, to the strict music and dance policies at homecoming and prom.

The new principal should provide a positive, welcoming, fun environment for the Blue Streak family members to teach and learn every day.

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 board voted 15-0 to support raising awareness about mental illness in our community and society in general. We are behind the efforts of Senator Creigh Deeds as he introduces legislation in the Virginia Senate to change the status quo.

Bring on equal rights for jeans everywhere My pants are failing me. In the most basic sense, they fill their function of covering my legs. But in a less basic sense, they do not live up to all that pants have come to be. What I am talking about, course, are pockets. Specifically the fact that you can hardly fit half of a toothpick into the pockets on most women’s pants.

When women’s rights advocate Amelia Bloomer wore pants instead of a skirt in the 1800’s, she must have envisioned a world where all leg-clothing was created equal.

Some may say we have reached that point. Those people would be wrong. You see, this whole pocket

thing is a female probare there for fashion lem. True, I’m no male reasons. However, pants expert, but it I would argue that seems a boy could stash this is an example of a 12-inch sub, a small form following funcstamp collection, and a tion, or rather not collapsible umbrella in following function. one of his pockets and The effects of still have room for his small pockets may The Mia iPhone. seem small, but I Perspective would argue that Small pockets are great for the retail inthey are not. For dustry. They cause women to buy one, there’s the obvious annoypurses and bags. If we could fit ance of either having to carry a even twice as many things in our bag or hold things in your hands pockets, I bet the whole handbag or shove them down your bra. Beindustry would collapse. True, it yond that, however, small pockets can be argued that smaller pockets take away some of a woman’s au-

tonomy. They can’t easily carry everything they need like males can.

They can’t be prepared for every situation. While men’s pants are designed with practicality in mind, women’s pants are designed more for looks. So, basically, for men there’s an emphasis on what pants do and for women how they look.

Hmmm, have I ever heard that before?

Women have come a long way since the days when they were shackled by skirts, but maybe not far enough. True pants equality won’t be reached until we, too, can conceal a small animal in our pockets.

Spring sucks motivation right out of school It is that time in the school year where I’ve left my motivation in November and barely have the effort to get up to come to school everything morning. Yes, it is that rough time when spring is on the way and so is the warmth of summer. The endless “I hate school,” “I hate people,” ‘I hate _____’ tweets start, and they really do not end until you drop your pen from your final exam. I know it all too well, and, for a lack of a better word, it really stinks. Your head is laying in the sun with no cares in the world, but you

came around I just body is trapped in the didn’t. I needed to uniformed desks and be there and I should dreary hallways. have been there, but It might be the I let “It’s almost sumtime in the school mer, who cares?” beyear when people come my holy manstop caring, but word tra. Because I did this, to the wise: don’t. my GPA is just not as Looking back on the Just Julexus great as it should be. past three years of high school I cannot express to you When I look at it, a pang of dishow much I wish I could go back to appointment hits my brain. Now my freshman and sophomore years there’s not much I can do about and change my habits. By “habits” that except try my hardest my juI mean once April, May and June nior year, which I have.

Freshmen and sophomores who are reading this: You might think I’m being a little extreme and even sound like those speeches teachers spew at you towards the end of the year, but listen to me. I have been there. Chilling at home and blowing off your classes is fine until you are retaking an SOL, sitting in a class with all ninth graders when you are in 11th, or dragging yourself to HHS at the end of June. Trust me, this year will be over soon enough.

Policies must reflect what is best for most people In light of the recent anti-gay legislation trying to pass in Arizona allowing people to refuse service to homosexuals based on their religious beliefs, I have become more and more aware of the importance of religion and its ability to divide our country on very crucial topics such as gay marriage.

Many people, most notably in the government, tend to use their religion to justify where they stand on controversial topics. In today’s modern age, however, is the influence of the Bible a reasonable source from which to derive our ideals?

The issue of religious-based politics is a very crucial topic of dis-

cussion when it comes order to successto policy making. Since fully govern such a the founding of this nalarge, modern countion, it has been not try, no matter what only the belief but the your belief, you law also that marriage have to make polibe between a man and cies that will bena woman. efit the whole of the This policy was country. It is for this made because it was reason President stated in the Bible. This Obama got so much Gabbin’ With praise for publicly is not necessarily a bad Garrett thing except for the endorsing gay marfact that more than a riage even though thousand years after the Bible was he is a Christian. This is contrary to written, we are trying to enforce President Bush who, despite havancient, archaic laws that no longer ing friends who were gay, publihave much meaning. cally stated he did not endorse gay Democrats understand that in marriage when in reality he did.

Even though that was only fourteen years ago, the country has changed so much and the fact that Democrats are endorsing gay marriage and republicans are still slamming it shows how the two parties choose to handle their religion and politics, democrats separating the two and republicans intermixing them.

Our generation has been given an important opportunity to change how we deal with politics.

If Virginia, the pride of the old confederacy, can vote a straight Democratic ticket to office, then surely we can produce change on a social level not seen since the civil rights movement.

Volunteering leads to new perspective of homeless Shannon Richard Guest writer For people living in Washington D.C., encountering homeless people on the street is not uncommon.

In the D.C. area alone, there were nearly 13,205 homeless people in 2012 according to DCentric on WAMU.com, American University Radio. That is why my church youth group and I bundled up in our coats, gloves, and hats and headed outside one December afternoon, our arms full of packed plastics bags.

A few weeks earlier, we spent an afternoon putting together care packages full of donations from people in our church consisting of oranges, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lip balm, socks, crackers, and other useful items. We were going to put our packages to good use.

When we arrived at Christ House, where we were to stay for

the next few days, we placed our belongings in our rooms and then sat in the laid-back living room filled with worn-out couches and mismatched pillows to talk about the plan for the rest of the day.

Our youth leader explained that we were going to pass out the care packages. We were instructed to say, “Hi, I’m [insert your name], do you know anyone who could use this?”. We had to make sure we went about the situation in an appropriate way.

Even though I knew what I was supposed to do, I realized I was too nervous to talk to homeless people. That is usually the outlook most people have about the homeless or more generally- people who are different than you. We got into groups with at least one guy per group, to be on the safe side, and were let loose to start in a small park in the city.

At first, I just wandered around.

I saw all the people huddled to-

gether under layers of blankets or laying on park benches but I was too nervous to approach them.

I had the stereotype set into my head that homeless people could be mean or that it wasn’t safe to talk to them. I had never been in a situation like that, so I just followed the one or two of the brave who started the conversation and I just provided the bags.

After a while of listening to my friends talk to people, I realized how wrong my perception of homeless people had been. All were very grateful and many were polite and kind. I would like to say I felt differently, but I was surprised.

There was one man who especially stood out for me then and probably will for a long time. Our youth group saw him on a street corner leaning against a building wearing multiple layers of wellused clothes. One of us went over and asked, “Do you know anyone who could use this?” A huge grin

appeared on his face as he accepted the bag. Then he told us thank you, that we had just made his day. It would have made me happy just for that or even just a smile but that was not all he said.

He continued with, “God bless you, God bless you in everything you do.” We were trying to help him but he wanted to send all the care and positivity back at us. He broke the sad stereotype that I previously had held that it was not safe to talk to homeless people.

The whole experience allowed me to be more open to other people and to not judge people by how they look or a stereotype I might have about them. I try to remember that experience every time I see someone walking by that I would have previously ignored or if I meet someone new. I think about how much a difference a smile or a simple “Hello” can make in someone’s day.

March 21, 2014

HOT

The

Baseball, softball, tennis, soccer, and outdoor track are back in season!

Even with all the snow days we’ve had, Harrisonburg City Public Schools will still have a spring break March 24-29.

Indoor track The indoor track team made it to states. Brooke Cobb placed 6th in 55 hurdle, Rebekah Good placed 2nd in shotput.

Divergent The best selling book by Veronica Roth will be a movie debuting March 21.

The Oscars Comedian Ellen Degeneres hosted the Oscars to much success. Her Oscar selfie received over 3.3 million retweets on Twitter, breaking the record.

Snow Days The student body has had a restful start to the second semester with an all time high number of snow days

Kid Cudi’s new album His new album Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon was released Feb. 25.

Benny’s A new pizza joint has opened up in downtown Harrisonburg underneath the apartment complex Urban Exchange.

Shamrock shakes The favorite minty milkshake is back at McDonalds for the month of March!

Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung’s newest galaxy phone will be released globally in April.

NOT Making up snow days Unfortunately our days off will have to be made up on April 21 and June 5.

Return of Polar Vortex Right when things started to get warmer, Harrisonburg got hit with yet another cold front.

Status of Ukraine Tensions between the Ukraine and Russia intensify and the death toll continues to rise.

Day Light Savings We had to reset our clocks on Sunday March 9, losing an hour of sleep.

Delay Tactics

Rafael Snell-Feikema Online Editor-in-chief The recent Ukrainian political conflict brought to mind a particularly irritating societal trend: total and utter apathy.

Most people, even those typically politically engaged, chose to take a rather surface level position on the conflict, and simply assumed that rebellion is good and chose not to think any further about it. This despite several curious facts about the “revolution”, many of which make it seem more like a coup d’etat: possible U.S. support, neo-nazi “democratic activists” leading the protests, and the fact that early elections had previously been planned and

California Earthquakes One of the largest earthquakes in the state’s recent history hit the coast on March 10. None were killed.

Anti-gay bill in Arizona A bill that would legally allow for discrimination based on sexual orientation was passed by the Arizona state legislature. However it was vetoed by the state governor.

Missing Malaysian airplane There is still no sign of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, even after days of searching.

Building collapsing in NYC A building in northern Manhatten collasped Wednesday March 12, killing at least 7 people.

Loss of ELT days Due to the recent snow days, Extended Learning Time has been put on hold.

Midterms Ah, the dreaded testing time is amoung us for semester classes. Crack open the books!

were rejected. This is not to say that support of the rebellion is incorrect, but rather it is to say that there are more elements in the conflict that are far more important and interesting than those typically observed (a simplistic U.S. versus Russia mentality).

While all of these are very, very interesting, it’s not what I want to focus on at the moment. For now, I would like to have a discussion on the evils of political apathy the incredible force which clouds the vision of far too many in this country.

I am entirely supportive of apathy in most things. One might say that I espouse apathy with my general nature and presentation. But political apathy is another thing altogether. Political apatheists, as I have just elected to call them, are possibly a more negative force even than the Republican party.

Yes, I just said that.

Although this space is typically reserved for the far right and generally violent and discriminatory groups, I think it is apt to throw in these apatheists as equally dam-

aging to our political situation.

Particularly in a two party state, these people are basically allowing for the government to do whatever it wants for the simple reason that they favor lounging around on the couch to being a productive member of society.

Even worse is when such people decide to vote. This amounts for the large majority of swing voters (aka the people who decide elections). Just think about it: our political leaders were selected by people who couldn’t quite decide whether they liked gay people or whether they wanted healthcare.

It’s frightening.

Issues like climate change, which in a logical world would have every person who isn’t the CEO of an international oil company up in arms, are still ignored by such people. Bombarded with facts about world conflicts, planetary destruction, looming health disasters and civil rights, these lazy, uninterested citizens elect to say “meh.”

I find it more than a little irritating.

Seventeen magazine has misguided intent Isabelle Burden Online managing editor Hair tips, ab enhancing workouts, how to accentuate your cheekbones... yeah. “Seventeen Magazine” feeds on younger girl’s insecurities. Although many teenage girls recognize this, they seem to be able to look past the corporate appeal and listen to all the bologna being printed.

In the February issue, “Seventeen” gives advice about love. “I thought love meant... letting the guy be in charge...solving his problems...seeming like the perfect couple.”

Then it schooled us on what “real love” is. It says things such as “ you can talk about anything...encouraging each other... give each other space...”

Shouldn’t we be the ones deciding what our love life should be like? Correct me if I’m wrong, but love is different for every couple.

And yet, “Seventeen” has the audacity to tell the readers what they are doing wrong in the relationship. This information probably makes many hopeless teenage girls second guess their whole relationship with their boyfriend of two years!

In the August 2011 issue, the magazine prints TWO PAGES worth of “hot guys.” What? Does corporate America think that teenage girls are just a bunch of horny maneaters always waiting to “get it on?” Although some may be that shallow, a larger percentage of us are respectable young adults. I understand that the magazine is written by adults, but that’s a major setback for the company. Younger

professional colleagues would be quite helpful in these situations!

“Seventeen” hosts a scholarship contest called the “Pretty Amazing Contest.” The winner gets to be on the cover and have their story told in the issue. Their story meaning they each submit their hard life story of the time they saved a life, or got carjacked, or something of the sort.

Now, the bad part, or the “catch” is that you MUST be PRETTY. How demeaning! This shows not only shallowness, but also that to succeed in anything you must be pretty. Ew. What happened to strong and independent women?

Aren’t we the ones who didn’t need a man? A crutch to lean on during our rare weak days?

If it were up to me, we would be teaching youngsters to love themselves regardless of their looks.

Extended Learning Time is benefitting students Phoebe Copeland Guest Writer Recently our school has begun experimenting with a new way to facilitate remediation and make up work. During the new Extended Learning Time, students with grades lower than a C or who failed a SOL are directed to the class where they need the most help.

Students with A’s, B’s, or C’s are free to choose where they would like to go to get help from a teacher, make up missed assignments, or collaborate with other students. Extended Learning Time is a 50-minute period of time between first and second block and because the school day is the same length, each class is shortened about 10 minutes.

Overall, Extended Learning Time is beneficial to both students and teachers.

Although there is some concern from teachers about the

Riots in Venezuela Protesters unhappy with the current economic standing in Venezuela have clashed with the national police and government officials.

SPECIAL COVERAGE A6

Political apathy weakens system

Spring sports are back

We still have spring break

Newsstreak

loss of instructional time for their specific classes, the students who need the most help are receiving it without having to put extra strain on either the teacher or the student by making them meet after the completion of the school day.

Many students are actively involved in numerous extracurricular activities both through the school and in the community.

Having time during the school day allows these busy students the help they might otherwise forgo in the interest of time. Extended Learning Time ensures that everyone who needs help has easy access to it.

In addition to getting help from teachers, more and more students are turning to other students for help. Through programs like the AVID mentorship program, which pairs an underclassman with an upperclassman so that they can work together to build a relationship and help with tricky homework, and the Mu Alpha Theta math tutoring program,

students are finding help closer to home. This can eliminate unnecessary questions for teachers and help to foster good student relationships and study habits.

And finally, at it’s most basic, Extended Learning Time is a way for struggling students to get help from teachers. Directed students are sent to the class they are struggling in and find a way to succeed. Those who fail SOL’s are also directed to get help in that subject so that they can be successful. This eliminates or at least decreases the need for after school help which is normally under utilized or completely skipped. It saves time for all involved- teachers and students.

Now that we’re several months into the program, it clear that this program is extremely beneficial. Extended Learning Time is a smart and efficient solution to numerous problems that school faces. It gets help to those who truly need it and saves everyone a little time in the long run.

Read, Write, and True

Minimum wage should not be increased Joshua Byrd Op/Ed Editor Due to the recent failed rollout of the Obamacare website, democrats see their poll numbers dropping and are trying to recover by attempting to change the focus to minimum wage and income inequality.

Except this strategy won’t work for many reasons, one being that minimum wage earners are only 2.8% of the American working force, and half of those are 16-24 years olds.

Furthermore, the minimum wage historically is a wage for teenagers and a starting point from which they can build. The only reason why so many adults are on minimum wage now is because of the slow-growing economy.

There are many negative things that result from raising the minimum wage, the biggest being job loss. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a prediction that raising the minimum wage would kill half a million jobs. This impacts me. I am a minimum wage earner and I could possibly lose my job or see my hours cut substantially, thus I would make less money.

Furthermore, raising the minimum wage hurts the consumer. If a fast food restaurant has to pay a heftier wage they will either cut down on the number of workers, which would increase the time it takes for someone to get his or her food, or raise the prices on the food. Both options will have a negative impact on the consumers.

I understand that many mothers and fathers are now on minimum wage because of the slow-growing economy.

It seems to make sense for states where the cost of living is very high, like California, New York, and Massachusetts, to raise the wage, but in states like Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota, a $10.10 minimum wage would kill jobs and hurt the small businesses that house many minimum wage earners.

We separate church and state for a reason Aubtin Heydari Staff Reporter Religion and religious freedom have been both a shield and a weapon in history.

People around the world and across generations have died in the quest for what is considered to be an inalienable right.

However, in the modern era, the definition of religious freedom has become blurred. The Bill of Rights identifies two facets to it; the freedom to practice religion and the freedom from an established religion.

With that said, members of the evangelical and conservative movement have been focusing on one facet while ignoring the other, using ‘religious freedom’ as a justification for oppressive policies that actual legislate religious beliefs, which is incredibly unconstitutional.

Dominant structures, such as white supremacy and heterosexism, frequently struggle to main-

tain their domifreedom.

Religious nance. When the freedom bars the govmoral attitude of ernment from forcing the public begins anyone to practice a to change and it state religion or be becomes unacsubject to religious ceptable to justify laws. discrimination with A law that bans violent claims of interracial marriage, superiority and hajust like a law that The Haitch tred, these power bans same-sex marstructures have to invent new riage, is almost entirely grounded ways of sustaining control. in religious ideals, which makes it We saw this with racism, unconstitutional. Therefore, the where the Bible became used defenses for these laws have to as a means of morally sanction- use other means. ing slavery (Leviticus 25:44-46, The new trend is to justify for starters), Jim Crow laws and homophobia with religious freeanti-miscegenation laws. Once dom. The best example is the rethese became illegal, the appeals cent Arizona legislation, which esprocess was riddled with religious sentially would have sanctioned freedom discourse. People ar- segregation on the basis of sexual gued that they had religious con- orientation. The proponents of victions against being in the same these new forms of evil have even room as black people, or other gone as far as to argue these prowhite folk marrying black folk, tect from discrimination against and therefore that no one should religion. be able to do those things.

Forcing someone to live in the It isn’t hard to see the logical same area as someone else of diferror in this usage of religious fering race or sexual orientation is

CALL FOR BLOGGERS

not violating your religious freedom; it is an inevitable part of living within a nation.

While you technically have the ability to believe whatever you want, that does not mean you can enforce that belief as a law everyone else should follow. In fact, it pretty much guarantees the opposite.

I am all for making legal exemptions for religious freedom, such as allowing animal sacrifice for Santeria and peyote rituals for indigenous tribes.

Criminalizing homosexuality, structurally discriminating against LGBT people, and creating an antagonistic, unsafe community is not religious freedom. Christianity is not the state religion; therefore there can be no laws in places that are informed by religious justifications. To do so would infringe on everyone else’s religious freedom, as well as the civil liberties of LGBT people, and also anyone’s right to not be a homophobic jerk.

We need free lance bloggers who are interested in writing regularly for our online edition, www.newsstreak.com.

Stop by room 444 for more information.

March 21, 2014

The

Newsstreak

STYLE A7

CAFETERIA BY THE NUMBERS Every year, people at HHS eat...

3,600 pounds of lettuce 15,120 Mr. J’s Bagels 254,700 juice cups

126,000 cartons of milk

56,340

whole pieces of fruit

Cafeteria staff essential to successful breakfast, lunch programs Austin Swift News Editor Along with the custodians, the cafeteria staff, also known as “lunch ladies”, tend to get overlooked, but are still key positions in the school.

Leading the state there is the governor, leading the city there is the mayor, leading the school there is the principal and leading the lovely ladies of the cafeteria is manager Tricia Newcomb.

She began as a lunch worker at the old high school in 2000 and worked her way up to manage at Spotswood Elementary before coming back to HHS. “We’re (lunch ladies) all really close, because some of us have been working together for a long time. We have a couple new ladies each year, as some people move on to do different things,” Newcomb said.

As the manager, Newcomb oversees the preparation of the food and the overall organization of the group.

“To run a cafeteria it requires you to be very organized and each year you do it, you can kind of fine tune it, and it depends on your staff and government regulations,” Newcomb said.

The manager also has the responsibility to communicate with others in order to get the food to the school and schedule its preparation.

“I like to do the menu’s and I like to work with the local farmers and come up with different things we could possibly do here within regulations,” Newcomb said.

The staff have to deal with and overcome multiple other problems in addition to serving teenagers.

“The water’s very hard here, there’s a lot of lime in the water, so we have to keep up with it because we do a lot of steaming. I think we try to really maintain it weekly.

We have extra cleaning stuff we do each week and then on early releases. We have a great maintenance staff, so if we see something we can just call and they can come check it,” Newcomb said.

To feed over 1000 people, the kitchen, which contains multiple ovens, sinks and refrigerators, obviously requires plenty of maintenance.

“Depending if I'm opening, because I don’t always open every day, I’ll just start turning everything on and unlocking everything. The first person here, whether it’s me or someone else, has to heat up the ovens for breakfast, because we come in at 6:30 and open at 7:20 a.m., so we have a lot to do in 50 minutes,” Newcomb said.

Once the after-school snack ends, the staff will close up shop, performing the opposite procedures as they did when they arrived. Upon completion Newcomb will do a walk through before she leaves.

MONTHLY GROCERY BILL:

$30,000

160,200 lunches

109,800 breakfasts

21,600 snacks 27,180

pounds of peanut butter

March 21, 2014

The

Newsstreak

ADS - A8

History, English among favorite classes

Teachers, subject matter make or break learning Victoria Giron Feature Editor

ALL PHOTOS BY GARRETT THOMPSON

HANDS ON. Students in Peter Norment’s class use Chrome Books in class to enhance their learning.

English and History are required classes to graduate and can be dull and take up room in people’s schedules. However, many English and history teachers make their classes interesting and fun to be in because they are able to teach so well.

One of the most popular history classes available at HHS is AP European History which is always full of students eager to take the class.

“I think it covered a lot of really good material and I think Mr. Healy is a wonderful teacher. He presented the material in an intriguing and memorable fashion,” junior Morgan Heckman said. “Being in the class was fun.”

Many people enjoy a class for the teacher instead of the material, like senior Alex Conis, who took United States History with Mark Tueting.

“Tueting made the class really fun and entertaining and all around enjoyable,” Conis said.

Conis also enjoyed her Dual Enrollment English 12 with Tracey Barr because Barr is reliable and good at teaching the class.

“She’s a little strict, but her work is reasonable and there’s never any point in time when you don’t know what’s happening,” Conis said.

The teachers that teach the class make the class memorable for students who take them and are often cited as the reason that the class is one of their favorites.

“I really like English with Kibler. Kibler’s just a really cool person overall,” junior Ali Price said.

The classes aren’t just favorable because of the teachers, the subject of the class also makes or breaks a class. Price also really enjoyed world history with Kirk Moyers.

“It was really interesting subject matter which made it even cooler,” Price said.

Tech Ed classes offer hands-on learning “Tech Transfer with Mr. Botteicher is my favorite class.

There is a lot of hands on work with little classroom time.”

-Will Bleckley, senior

OLD SCHOOL. History teacher, Christina Oakes, teaches her Introduction to World History Class.

Computer Information Systems with Ms. McAlister and Mrs. Inge is one of my favorite tech classes. It’s a nice class to get prepared for the outside world and it is a nice break from the rest of my classes.” -Bryan Luna, sophomore “I really enjoy Tech Transfer with Mr. Botteicher. You get to use your hands a lot.”

-A.K. Koyee, sophomore “AP Computer Science is my favorite tech ed class because programming is important. It helps you learn problem solving and Mr. Fornecker is a great teacher.”

-Karan Chalishajar, sophomore

THESPIAN. Heather Hostetter’s English 9 Honors class practices for their group performances of Romeo and Juliet.

“Tech transfer is definitely one of my favorite classes.

It’s very hands on. There are a lot of fun projects and Mr. Botteicher is great.”

-Joaquin Peralta, senior

What has been your fave class?

Math and Science

Academic Electives

STUDIOUS. Students in Geoff Estes’ Dual Enrollment Calc class focus intently while taking a quiz.

START THE PRESSES. Newsstreak staff members work diligently to finish their pages to go to print, while some staff members post stories on www.newsstreak.com.

“Science definitely. I love learning about the Earth and how things work in my brain.”

- Paul Weiss, sophomore

“My favorite class is Newsstreak because it is a different learning experience. It is very self-motivated and creates a great newspaper.”

-Mia Karr, junior

“I have Mr. Wilson for Algebra 2. I like math the best because it’s challenging, and most of the time there is an exact answer for things unlike science where there are many theories on why stuff is the way it is. We usually watch math videos, take notes, or go through cool math problems.”

-Jadah Kilby-Woodard, freshman

“I like doing debate. Mr. Norment is a great teacher. I did a workshop class and I liked it a lot. The structure was fun, very independent.”

-Atticus Bolyard, junior

“I get to make and destroy stuff, unlike math where I have to stay in my seat for hours. I just finished Earth Science and now I can’t wait for chemistry.”

-David Mitongo, freshman “Math Algebra and Data Analysis with Mrs. McGrady is my favorite class. It is a class that comes between Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. It deals with analyzing different types of functions and data sets. I plan on taking extra math classes in the future because it comes easy to me.” -Jesse Ligouri, sophomore

“Yearbook with Strickler is definitely one of my favorites. She gives you more of a challenge unlike other classes. I like being able to walk around the school, take pictures and see what our school has to offer.” -Ashlyn Shoemaker, freshman “My favorite class is Spanish with Mr. Kirkman. He goes off on funny tangents and tells good stories. It’s a pretty fun class.”

-Zach Benevento, freshman “Latin Independent Study is really fun. It’s interesting and it will help on the SAT, plus it’s interesting knowing the roots of words.

Wife is Ux Or, while blockhead is Ux Orbus so wife is derived from blockhead.”

-Noah Heie, sophomore

March 21, 2014

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March 21, 2014

The

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STYLE - A10

INTO THE WILDERNESS

Camping with kids for first time is unique experience

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETER NORMENT HAPPY CAMPER. Norment and his youngest son pose for the camera in the middle of their hike. The Norments took their young sons camping for the first time last summer.

Victoria Giron Feature editor Camping is a beloved family activity that many people partake in every year. English teacher Peter Norment and his wife decid-

ed to take their young sons camping for the first time last summer. They both were avid campers until their first son was born.

“We were big backpackers and outdoorsy types until we had children and we always knew we wanted to take them,” Norment said.

Shradley hikes Applachian Trail Celia Ehrenpreis Editor in Chief From March to September of 2007 Joel Shradley, husband of art teacher, Kelly Shradley-Horst hiked over 2,000 miles. He and his brother Ryan, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail spanning 14 states.

Shradley had spent the previous year preparing by saving money and reading up on the Trail. When he was ready he started the trail in northern Georgia and slowly worked his way up to Maine.

“I really enjoyed how simple life was [on the Trail]. Eat, walk, sleep, repeat. It was great to sit around a campfire every evening and listen to stories told by other hikers or eat incredible amounts of food at Pizza Hut or CiCis. But the views and sense of accomplishment that came from summiting a 5 or 6 thousand foot mountain are my favorite memories,” Shradley said.

As if hiking the trail weren’t enough, Shradley also carried a 40-pound pack that contained all of his necessary gear; cooking supplies, a tarp with a parachute cord (which acted as Shradley’s shelter), a water purifying pump, clothing, a sleeping bag, boots, and food.

“The piece of gear that I valued the most were my Crocks. After 20 miles of hiking up and down the Appalachian mountains, there was nothing better than getting my sore feet out of my boots and into those Crocks,” Shradley said.

Over the course of six months Shradley encountered all kinds of weather.

“Sometimes it rained for 48 hours and

everything I had was soaked. Some days it was 100 degrees and getting water meant hiking half a mile off of the ridge to a spring,” Shradley said.

Even though the couple wasn’t married then, Shradley-Hurst kept track of Shradley’s progress.

“I made a little Joel figure and moved him along a map I had of the Appalachian Trail. It was more of a long distance relationship for the six months he was gone,” Shradley-Horst said. “I’m definitely not as big a hiker as he is, but I learned a lot about the Appalachian Trail from his trip.”

After finishing all 2100 miles of the Trail, Shradley returned to Harrisonburg.

“I remember when he got back, he was sometimes overwhelmed in large social situations because he had been alone for so long. He also enjoyed sleeping on the floor because the bed was just too soft, he was so used to a hard surface,” Shradley-Horst said.

Shradley experienced some bigger changes as well after completing the Trail.

“I like to think that I have a more laidback look on life because of my time on the AT. Life is simple [on the Trail], you just focused on the important things. Now, when I start to feel stressed, I can retreat to the memories of walking over snow covered peaks in the Smoky Mountains, or watching a sunset with my feet in a lake somewhere in Maine, or sleeping under the stars in North Carolina,” Shradley said.

Shradley would like to hike the Appalachian Trail again in the future.

“If it were possible, I would leave today,” Shradley said.

Know the lingo on the Appalachian trail Avid hikers of the Appalachian Trail have their own language for life on the trail. Be in the know before you hike.

Northbounder: A hiker starting at the south end of the trail and moving northwards toward Maine.

Southbounder: A hiker starting at the north end of the trail and moving south towards Georgia White Blazer: a term used to described a purist hiker on the Appalachian Trail who does not take any shortcuts Blue Blazer: a term used to described a hiker on the Appalachian Trail, who takes shortcuts Slack packing: When hikers get their backpacks dropped off ahead of them so that they can hike faster Bushwack: to hike where there is no trail Camel up: drinking water at a source before hiking on Trail Angel: A person who leaves food on the trail for other hikers Hicker: a less experienced person who is trying to figure out the trail and gear while hiking source: http://www.whiteblaze.net

Norment found some major differences between camping with just him and his wife and camping with young children.

“It’s completely different. Instead of having a backpack full of stuff for yourself, you have a van full of stuff that you have to bring with you. The tent is four times the size of our backpacking tent,” Norment said.

Norment’s kid, ages two and six, were delighted to go camping for the first time.

“They were really excited to go. They played in the backyard with the tent for hours before we actually went camping,” Norment said.

Norment took his family to Lake Sherando in Virginia.

“We wanted to go somewhere where they had facilities and things like that because it just makes it easier with children,” Norment said.

Norment’s kids adjusted to sleeping in the outdoors really well.

“They stayed up really late, but as soon as they got in the tent they passed out,” Norment said.

Norment and his family enjoyed traditional camping activities.

“We had a campfire and roasted marshmallows. We also went fishing, swimming, and canoeing,” Norment said.

Norment wanted to make the first-time camping experience enjoyable for his children.

“With kids, you want to make sure that they like it. You don’t want them to have a bad time, because then they’ll never want to go again. We had air mattresses and ev-

eryone was really comfortable. They had blankets instead of sleeping bags. They loved the lantern,” Norment said.

Although Norment and his family had a good time camping, there were a few bumps along the way.

“We set up this huge tent and then had to move it five minutes later and had to break it down to drag it across to a new camping spot. My wife decided that she liked the new camping spot better than where we originally were,” Norment said.

Norment would like to go camping again this coming summer.

“We definitely want to do it again once it gets warm again. Now we don’t have to bring a crib for my youngest son anymore, because originally he was still in a crib.

Now he can sleep on the floor like everybody else,” Norment said.

COOL OFF. Norment’s sons use a water spigot to wash their hair.

Easy campfire food When camping, there is always the looming question of what food to bring along and how to keep it simple. People also often struggle with how to keep the food they bring cold, and how to prepare it, given their camping means. Hopefully, a campground has a firepit, and maybe a grate for a stove. If not, then a small camping stove is a smart thing to bring along.

HOT DOGS

One easy meal to prepare is hot dogs.

They are best to make when car camping because an iced cooler is needed to keep the hot dogs cold.

Supplies and ingredients:

Fire pit and roasting sticks, buns, condiments, and hot dogs. One way to make the condiments less of a hassle to travel with is to take the small squeezable packets. The buns are also pretty easy to take camping because they are so light.

Instructions: Wait until the fire has turned to red coals, because this is when the hot dogs cook the best. Put the hot dogs on the roasting sticks and slowly rotate them above the coals until they are browned. To make sure they cooked through, cut open a hotdog.

Place the dog in the bun, add condiments and enjoy!

OATMEAL AND TOAST A nutritional breakfast is needed in order to have energy while on the trip.

One easy camping breakfast meal is oatmeal and toast.

Supplies and ingredients: A large pot and a grate, water, instant oatmeal, milk, any toppings to the oatmeal such as brown sugar, raisins or bananas, and obviously bowls and spoons. For the toast, roasting sticks, butter and jam if desired, sliced bread and knives are needed.

Instructions: For the oatmeal, put the requested amount water from the oatmeal package in the pot, and place it on the grate over the fire and wait for the water to boil. Then put in the oatmeal. It will take about two minutes for the oats to firm up. Drain the water. Add the toppings to, as well as the milk and dig in. For the toast, wait until the fire is down to warm red coals.

Place the pieces of sliced bread down on the grate, and watch it carefully until it is toasted. Flip the bread over and do it on the other side. Once the bread is done, spread on the butter and jam.

S’MORES

After a long day of hiking, swimming and canoeing, a small treat is definitely deserved, and no camping trip is complete without the age old s’more.

Supplies and Ingredients:

Chocolate, graham crackers, marshmallows, roasting sticks. Feel free to get fancy and creative with your ingredients.

Instructions: Wait until the fire is down to red coals. Place the marshmallow on the end of the roasting stick and gently rotate it over the coals. Do this until it is golden brown and fully roasted. On a half of a graham cracker, place two to three pieces of the chocolate.

Then put the fully roasted marshmallow onto the chocolate, and finish out the s’more by placing the other half of graham cracker onto the marshmallow, and press it all together. The warm marshmallow will melt the chocolate, creating a special gooey treat!

INFOGRAPHIC BY AVA REYNOLDS

March 21, 2014

The

Fun In Science

Newsstreak

FEATURE- A8

ALL PHOTOS BY FERNANDO GAMBOA

Hissong’s earth science class uses rock wall to learn material Jessica Nguyen Feature Editor In the back of the school, there is a massive rock wall that no teacher or student ever has a reason to go near.

Except Nathan Hissong.

“My main goal is to make earth science a little more interactive,” Hissong said.

Through MAESTRO (Math and Earth Science Resources Teacher Organization), a

JMU program that involves ways to combine math and earth science together, Hissong uses the rock wall as a living lab.

“We had a summer workshop and when we came over here for a day, they said ‘Look at all the topics you could go over’.

So as a group, we brainstormed a bunch of topics we could cover based on [the rock wall],” Hissong said, “I knew that was out there, but I never really looked at it and said, ‘Hey guys, look at these examples of limestone and shale back here’.”

Last year, Hissong took one of his earth science classes out for a day to show examples of weathering, erosion, and deposition.

“Those are typically the words that are really mixed up, and what I saw on my assessments was that they did really well after seeing visual examples of that,” Hissong said, “That has always been a hard part for my students to grasp. It’s kind of an abstract idea, so seeing it outside made it a little more realistic for a lot of them.”

Hissong hopes to take his current class out to the rock wall in late May after SOLs. “We will be taking measurements of things like soil ph, temperature, and the differences between different rock types that are out there, then analyze the data.

We are going to start recording daily temperatures and try to make predictions if the ph is affected by rainfall and also if different areas have different ph,” Hissong said.

“It’s just meant to be a little more interactive than the typical classroom setting.”

Magenta: Lithium

Orange: Calcium

Green: Barium

Chemistry Fire Lab

1. Soak splints in salt solutions.

2. Plug in bunsen burner 3. Turn on gas and light 4. Hold splint in flame (using tongs) 5. Observe color of flame!

Infographic by Ariel Vogel

Cell Biology Lab Materials/Ingredients Compound light microscope Lens Paper Prepared Slides - protists

- paramecium

- volvox

- amoeba - Bacteria/Monerans

- Oscillatoria - Animal

- Normal Human Blood Smear

- Sickle Cell Blood Smear

- Human Bone

- Hydra - Plants

- Allium (Onion) Root Tip Infographic By Aubtin Heydari

PHOTO BY AUBTIN HEYDARI

Junior Caroline Shank works on a cell lab during AP Biology. The scientific method requires both observation and experimentation, and a science class that only learns without application loses much of its academic relevance. With the exception of chemistry, there is no science class that seems more lab-focused than biology. Dissection, skeletons, microscopic cells, the list of stereotypical biology labs go on.

STEM freshmen prepare rockets for blast off

Austin Engle Staff Reporter

Some may think that building a rocket that will carry two eggs safely up and back down from approximately 850 feet in the air in about 50 seconds would be difficult, but for the HHS STEM freshmen, the goal is just that. The competition is called Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC).

Freshman Nathaniel Walton is participating in the TARC competition where the top few teams will win very large scholarships.

“It was fun when we were dropping the test containers for the eggs, and hearing some crack,” Walton said.

For him, knowing that none of the groups were perfect made it more enjoyable. Protecting two eggs is no small feat when they are being shot up in the air 850 feet, but their containers do the job well considering that the fact that they are filled with just yoga mat foam and cotton balls.

Working on this project since late November, the STEM classes have spent a lot of time on these projects at school. STEM freshmen don’t work on the rockets just in

engineering class, they integrate the projects into other classes too.

Freshman Ryan Showalter enjoys the integration.

“In English, we read the book Rocket Boys, which is about rockets,” Showalter said. After reading the book they watched the movie October Sky, which is based off the book, and tells the story of a coal miner making and launching rockets from scratch.

The class had a launch on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The launch went well overall, but one group had a large malfunction; the rocket blew up at an altitude of about 700

feet.

“Our rocket went the highest, and would have been the best if it hadn’t malfunctioned,” Showalter said. He also felt that it was good to know what he needed to change.

“We need to change the placement of our egg and to use the shock cord (what attaches all of the rocket together),” Showalter said.

The students will compete in the national competition on May 10 at the Great Meadow in The Plains, VA.

March 21, 2014

The

Newsstreak

FEATURE - B2

PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA PENA

STUDY HARD. Peter Norment’s first block class on A days is sophomore AVID. As opposed to typical note-taking, AVID students use Cornell Notes, which are statistically proven to help students comprehend information on a higher level of understanding (Keil Jacobs, Wichita State University).

AVID program starting at middle school next year Mia Karr Managing Editor When school starts again next fall, a new group of students will be diving head first into the world of Cornell notes, college prep, and study skills. The AVID program will be expanded to seventh and eighth graders at both Thomas Harrison and Skyline middle schools.

AVID District Director Kirk Moyers has wanted to bring the program to the middle schools for a few years.

“A lot of the strategies and things that we’re trying to do in AVID with building skills to be successful in high school are much easier to implement when the students are in seventh and eighth grade before they’re thrown into the high school mix of Honors classes and AP classes and Dual-Enrollment and all the things that

are associated with coming into high school brand new,” Moyers said.

Moyers discussed the possibility of bringing AVID to the middle school with the two middle school principals and was greeted with enthusiasm. They decided the program will take the form of a daily 45-minute elective class that will focus on the AVID skills of notetaking, organization, inquiry, study skills, and being able to identify points of confusion. The next step is to find students and teachers who match with the program.

Due to scheduling, science and social studies teachers will most likely be teaching the AVID electives.

To be an AVID teacher, they must attend a training two summers in a row.

“Everyone that’s gone has said that it’s the best professional development

training that they’ve ever had,” Moyers said.

Although AVID at the middle school will be similar to AVID at the high school, the programs will not be identical.

“More of the emphasis on the middle school is going to be on study skills- the learning strategies on how to take notes and learning how to figure out what it is that you don’t know,” Moyers said. “There’s going to be more on what classes should you take right now to prep for what you want to do.”

Moyers is still working to develop the selection process for prospective AVID students, but a critical consideration is that being a part of AVID must be voluntary. Every student signs a contract affirming that they want to be a part of the program. Teachers, similarly, must volunteer.

“If you get everybody involved and they all want to be involved and they’re all reaching for the same goal, it makes a much happier and more effective situation,” Moyers said.

Moyers is expecting classes of 15-20 students to start out with. There will be two sections at each school- one for seventh grade and one for eighth.

Logistics will still be worked out in this trial year, but Moyers hopes that expanding the program to the middle school will make AVID more effective.

“One of the things we’re finding with the AVID 9 class is there’s just a culture shock going from eighth grade to the high school,” Moyers said. “For a lot of kids it becomes to much and they start fighting it and become overwhelmed.

This way it would be a nice transition.”

PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA PENA

KEEPING NOTES. Kenia Lopez (back left), Zahraa Saleh (front) and Cesia Varela-Hernandez (back right) pay attention in Peter Norment’s tenth-grade AVID class. An average AVID class period brings an SAT question of the day, tutorials in which students help each other with problems they have been having in core classes and half a class period of AVID content.

AVID Q&A

with Michelle Alcantara

What’s your favorite part of AVID? Tutorials, because they’re really good when I need help in one of my classes.

Who’s your favorite teacher in AVID? Mr. Norment How did you get involved?

I was recommended.

Most important thing you’ve learned?

To keep organized.

PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA PENA

IT’S IN THE BINDER. One of the most important AVID tips is how to keep an organized binder with papers from all the classes the student is taking. Every Friday, the teacher uses the “tip test” to make sure there are no loose papers, along with a series of organizational tests to make sure the student is keeping their things in order, including a supply pouch with a sufficient number of pens, pencils and highlighters.

AVID program starting at middle schools next year Mia Karr Managing Editor The seniors in the AVID program have been accepted at over eight colleges so far this year, and more acceptances are coming every day. Senior Zani Azim will be the first person in her family to go to college.

She has been accepted at both Shenandoah University and Eastern Mennonite University, but has yet to decide which one to attend.

“I’m still deciding [on what college to go to]. They both have a good pharmacy program, and they’re both close,” Azim said.

“I’m the first person to go to college in my family, and it’s definitely because of AVID. Without AVID, I wouldn’t know what steps to take to get to college.”

This past year, AVID has allowed Azim to prepare her applications, and that hard work is beginning to pay off.

“We did a lot of college applications [in AVID], and [Ms. Bowman] told us about how we need a teacher recommendation, and how to organize our folders. We worked on time management as well. All

of that helped...and now we’re getting letters saying that we’ve been accepted. It’s a good feeling,” Azim said.

English teacher Hannah Bowman believes that AVID puts college opportunities into the minds of students early in their high school career.

“The students have commented on the fact that because they’re in the AVID program they always have college on the brain, and there are people around them who have that same goal,” Bowman said.

The ninth and tenth grade classes work on study skills, while the upper level classes work on getting AVID students into college.

“The first thing [working towards college] is helping with success in high school.

Our ninth and tenth grade classes especially really support the organizational skills, higher thinking questions and tutorials that students need to get good grades,” Bowman said. “Our eleventh and twelfth grades classes work as a class to do a lot of college research.”

This spring Senior Danielle Funkhouser, a four year AVID student, has a variety of colleges to choose from. She’s been accepted at Old Dominion University, West

Virginia University, Averett College, Lynchburg College and Bridgewater College.

“I like Averett and Lynchburg for their good nursing programs. I like ODU because it’s close to the beach, and Bridgewater is close, so my dad made me apply,” Funkhouser said.

Teachers in the program stress that focus on college and push students throughout their high school career. Funkhouser was influenced by English teachers Cathy Soenksen, Peter Norment and Bowman.

“I’ve had Mrs. Soenksen twice and she always listens to your problems, school related or not. Mr. Norment pushes you and pushes you even if you think you can’t do it, but then you find you can. Ms. Bowman is a mix of the two of them,” Funkhouser said.

Bowman has enjoyed watching the students grow throughout high school.

“The students will all tell you they came into high school a little rough around the edges. They weren’t planning on taking honors classes,” Bowman said. “Now every single one of our seniors has taken an AP or DE class.”

Most helpful AVID Tips Setting Goals

18

Organized Binders

16

Tutorials

13

47 AVID students polled by Ali Baapir and Ariel Vogel

March 21, 2014

The

Newsstreak

FEATURE- B3

March Food Madness

Celebrate Pi Day!

Corgans’ serving authentic Irish food

Southern Kitchen serving great pie with old-fashioned dining experience Garrett Thompson Style Editor Tucked away in the quiet town of New Market just 20 minutes north of Harrisonburg, the Southern Kitchen is reminiscent of an old diner and the menu features down home favorites like fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, mashed potatoes and a staple of the south, Virginia ham. Though as delectable as their main menu may sound, the real prize is in the pie, literally.

Nine of the Newsstreak staff members travelled to the kitchen to try some of the pies the diner has become so famous for.

A smorgasbord of pies were brought to the table. Blackberry, cherry, apple and the patron favorite, the homemade chocolate meringue pie. As forks clattered against plates, each of the nine staff members present battled it out to get just one bite of the delectable sweets that tempted our taste buds.

It was almost like the pie

was a little more than just a treat to satisfy your craving, it was a conversation starter. As soon as it was brought to the table, it created a feel good moment.

“The chocolate meringue makes my heart pound,” online editor Isabelle Burden said. “It excites my taste buds.”

Most of the pies came a la mode which added the little extra that took the pie from great to excellent. The perfect balance of hot and cold, the pie seemed to melt in your mouth. With every bite, you could feel yourself sinking into indulgence.

“The ice cream is the perfect sidekick,” feature editor Victoria Giron said.

Most of the pie was gone only minutes after it was placed on the table with only crumbs left as evidence of its existence.

The flaky crust, the sweet center and the creamy cold

John Earle Staff Writer

PHOTO BY GARRETT THOMPSON

PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA

dollop of vanilla ice cream on top combined for the perfect dessert.

With so many flavors combining all at once, our taste buds were sent in to euphoria.

Eating at the Southern Kitchen

PHOTO BY GARRETT THOMPSON

was like walking into a time capsule, into a much simpler time. With good ole’, down home cookin’ and pies that made us want to lick the plates, it was a dining experience for the books.

What’s in your Easter basket? $1.07 $1.00

$2.88

$1.98

$3.77

$1.00 $9.48

$2.88 $1.00

$3.48

$3.00

Easter baskets can be made on tight budgets Ava Reynolds Staff Photographer In the weeks leading up to the actual day of Easter, the question of what to put in an Easter basket often arises. Whether the tradition is getting an Easter basket the night before the actual holiday, having to search for it in the evening, or just awaking to see a basket on the kitchen table left by the Easter bunny, what goes inside the basket (and how to keep it around a reasonable price!) is very important.

Easter is not the biggest gift giving time of year, so Easter baskets are usually more

modest than an extravagant amount of Easter gifts. This being said, Easter baskets usually will contain small gifts, such as hair accessories or jewelry for girls, rubix cubes or maybe a video game for boys, and perhaps a stuffed animal or a simple toy for younger children.

Easter baskets also almost always contain everyone’s favorite part of Easter; the candy and chocolate! Whether it’s a chocolate bunny, jelly beans, chocolate eggs, or peeps, the standard Easter basket must contain something sweet, if not many things.

$3.00

$2.88

Irish Restaurants in Harrisonburg Corgans’ Publick House Entree prices range from $13-$17 Located on Port Republic Road Open from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Tues.-Sat., 4-11 p.m. on Mon. and 11-11 p.m. on Sun. Hosts events nightly (many bands and speacials on food)

$.68 $.68

When you think of going out to eat, Irish food isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind. Harrisonburg has limited Irish restaurants to choose from. Corgans’ Publick House, one of two Irish restaurants, is located inside of the 865 building on Port Republic Road.

Corgan’s serves authentic Irish food which also offers some Americanized Irish options.

I chose the bangers and mash which is Irish sausages served over creamy homemade mashed potatoes with a homemade gravy. The sausages were cooked in Ireland’s favorite Guinness stout beer. It tasted very good and it was a good portion that filled me up .

The menu offers other Irish favorites such as fish and chips, cottage pie, corned beef and cabbage as entrees. Sandwiches such as the reuben and Guinness stew are some other Irish options.

The restaurant has a very comfortable feel with tables and private booths with saloon style swinging doors. It also includes a separate bar area that has TVs and a fireplace with a homey feel. I would recommend this restaurant not just because it is a local business, but because it is a great place to eat and hang out.

$1.00

Finnigan’s Cove Entree prices range from $16-$19 Located Downtown Harrisonburg Open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sun.- Fri. and 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sat. Hosts Walking Dead every Sun. at 9 p.m.

March 21, 2014

The

Newsstreak

ADS - B4

AROUND THE DRUMS Private Drum Lessons with Thomas McDuffee

Over 30 years of professional experience!

Call for available times and rates (540) 282-9390 aroundthedrums@gmail.com

HHS - Newsstreak: Expires April 30, 2014

March 21, 2014

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Dance & Company

ADS - B5

We offer serious classical and contemporary training from youth to adult in a positive and progressive program of study. Performance opportunities are provided through annual spring concert performances, informal showings and student participation in the dance center's repertory youth performance companies. Classes are offered year-round in ballet, modern, tap, jazz, musical stage, hip-hop, and Irish step dance.

For information and guidance in class selection please call: 810-3631 or 433-7127 or 234-8317 115 South Main St. Harrisonburg VA 22801

Strite’s Donuts “They’re awesome!”

- Peter Norment Harrisonburg High School English Teacher

HHS - Newsstreak: Expires April 30, 2014

March 21, 2014

The

Newsstreak

Good finishes as state runner-up Yogesh Aradhey Staff Reporter With states fast approaching, indoor track shot putter Rebekah Good was almost at the most important point of the

season. All of her work this season, and the past six years lead up to the state meet of her senior year.

Training is a huge part of Good’s success, and track practice is every day for one and a half to two hours. Although she does not

PHOTO COURTESY OF REBEKAH GOOD

SHOT READY. Good winds up for one of her throws in the shot put during the indoor track Conference Tournament.

practice with the rest of the team, Good weight lifts and throws her shot every day.

“I have done a lot of weight training,” Good said. Her goal for the state meet was a throw of 41 feet, which would break the outdoor school record.

Despite her goals of winning, her philosophy is quite different.

“Winning is just the icing of the cake, but practice is necessary,” Good said. “Everything you do to prepare shows up when you compete.”

She has won every in season meet that she has competed in throughout her senior year, except for one where she placed second.

“I would not change anything that I have done in my training,” Good said.

Her shot put career started during track in sixth grade.

“My dad and brother were big shot putters,” Good said. Not wanting to be like them, she tried every other event but was not good at them. Finally, her coach asked her to try shot put.

“My first throw broke the school record,” Good said. Shot has been her event ever since.

After indoor, Rebekah wants to compete in outdoor as her last season of sports at HHS. She also plans on continuing shot put in college “[I hope to go to] Coastal Carolina University,” Good said.

This past weekend, Good placed second in the shot put the state meet with a throw of 37 feet, just short of her goal. Good will continue her throwing season in outdoor track, which began on March 5.

Boys soccer players preparing for Jefferson Cup Danny Dombrowski Sports Editor The Jefferson Cup is one of, if not the most premiere soccer tournament on the East Coast and in the country. Teams from all over the country will travel to Richmond on March 7-9.

This invitation-only tournament is hosted by the Richmond Strikers, one of the largest clubs in Virginia. Five HHS students will have the opportunity to play for either the first or second time. Juan Cardoso, Cameron Neary, Roberto Gonzalez, Parker Strickland and Danny Dombrowski will compete with the U-15 team com-

posed of the best soccer players from around the district.

The Shenandoah Valley United U-15 Premier team has been together for over six years, and throughout the time they have had different coaches and players come and go.

This U-15 team has been one of the best teams the club has to offer, and has been that way for many years. They have competed in tournaments ranging from New Jersey to North Carolina.

This year the team was not planning on playing in Jefferson Cup because the tournament is by invitation only and the last tournament the team competed in, they didn’t manage

to win. However, many second time players in the prestigious tournament don’t plan on having the same outcome in the Jefferson Cup this year as a few years back, when they attended the tournament and lost all three games.

The team has not had much preparation at all since they have only had three practices, many of which multiple players were absent for. Practices have been held at JMU and EMU turf fields outside in the sub freezing temperatures. Although there have been poor weather conditions, the team doesn’t complain.

Part of the team will head down to Williamsburg to the

hotel Friday night and the rest will go down Saturday morning.

The team will play two games each 80 minutes long on Saturday, and depending on how they place in their group A, made up of three teams, will determine who they play from group B. To have a chance at winning the championship, they must get second or better in their group to qualify for the semifinals. The semifinals are held early Sunday morning and the championship midday Sunday.

Playing conditions for the tournament favor the SVU team since they will be playing at an all-turf facility, which is exactly the same as the team has been practicing on.

Riley, Marian training for triathlon Sydney Little Online Editor Unlike most student athletes, senior Ashley Riley isn’t training to compete in a high school sport. As part of a team effort, RIley will be competing in a triathlon alongside junior Ella Marian, and Turner Ashby High School senior Hanson Cook.

The competition will take place on June 21 at Lake Moomaw in Bath County. Cook will start off the race in the swimming portion, followed

by Marian on the bike course, and Riley will finish it off with the run. This specific race is a Sprint Triathlon, which means that it is shorter than most.

The swim will be for 750 meters in the lake, the bike will be 20 kilometers and the run is five kilometers.

“I wanted to complete in a triathlon because I think it would be fun, it’s good exercise, and it’s a way for me to bond with my friends,” Riley said

Riley, who started training a month ago has a specific routine to get her in shape for the race.

“I’m starting with 20 minute runs and am going to build up to an hour. I also do pilates and insanity to help strengthen my muscles and build flexibility,” Riley said.

Riley does this four to six days a week, and is hoping to be running a 25-26 minute 5k by the beginning of summer.

As of now, the three participators train alone, but by spring time Riley expects that they will be getting together more often to train. Although the two girls have never competed in a triathlon before, Cook has experience in multiple so he knows how they work and how to train.

“Ella is one of my best friends and so that’s how we got started on it, but we didn’t even think about Hanson until we just happened to be on the phone with him and it just kind of clicked,” Riley said.

Although some teams may take the triathlon seriously, Ri-

ley’s team is taking a different approach.

“Honestly I have no idea on

Q. Why do you play?

A. I enjoy being around the people and making new friends as well as the exercise.

Spring Sports INDOOR TRACK

The girls indoor track states team was composed of the 4x800m relay, the 4x200m relay, two hurdlers, two sprinters, one shot putter, four triple jumpers, and one long jumper. The girls 4x800m relay, including Brenna Cowardin, Celia Ehrenpreis, Laurie Serrell and Nicole Downey, placed 8th in the state. Brooke Cobb also placed 6th overall in the 55m hurdles. As for the boys team, the 4x400m relay, one high jumper, one 2-mile runner, and one hurdler all competed at states.

GIRLS SOCCER

The girls soccer team made final cuts for the squad on Friday, March 7. The team competed in their first scrimmage, which was postponed to Tuesday, March 11 at Western Ablemarle. The girls unfortunately lost 2-0 to the team. On March 13, the team played in their first home scrimmage against Allegany. The team will start having games on Tuesday, March 18 in their first away game at Charlottesville.

BOYS SOCCER

The boys soccer team has also made final cuts for both the varsity and junior varsity squads. The team competed in their first scrimmage on Friday, March 7 against Western Ablemarle and ended with a tough loss of 6-1, with forward Henry Gotay scoring for the Streaks. The team will start their game season on Tuesday, March 25 at Fort Defiance against the Indians. Their first home game will be on that Friday, March 28 against Broadway High School.

GIRLS TENNIS

The girls tennis team has picked out their six seeded players for the season, including Lucy Rose as the top seed, Michelle Waligora, Lettie Rose, Ann Bauhan, Mary-Hallet Culbreth, and Jessica Denton making up the rest of the top six respectively. The girls will compete in their first scrimmage against Monticello on Thursday, March 13.

BOYS TENNIS

The boys team has also decided their seeds for the season, with Antoine Timbers, Jason Muan, Peter Kim, Rajen Tandel, Karan Chalishajar, and Stuart Baker comprising the top six respectively. They will compete in their first scrimmage on Thursday, March 13th at Monticello and their first match on Tuesday, March 18th at Eastern Mennonite High School.

OUTDOOR TRACK

PHOTO BY ELLA MARIAN

FEEL THE BURN. Riley trains for triathlon by running around her neighborhood for 20 minutes everyday.

Q&A with tennis player Jason Muan Q. What are your goals?

A. I really want to improve my forehand and backhand shots, I feel as if I could improve on that.

how we’re gonna place. It’s our first one so we’re just focused on having fun,” RIley said.

SPORTS B6

Q. What’s your favorite and least favorite part of tennis?

A. Losing sucks and winning is always cool. I always go home with a pretty awesome feeling when I win and losing just doesn’t ever feel good.

Q. How long have you been playing?

A. I have been playing for about four or five years now, I think I started at the age of nine.

Q. Who on the team challenges you?

A. II’m not sure who challenges me because I don’t know all the people on the team yet but aside from them I did hear that Spotswood is pretty good.

INFOGRAPHIC BY ALI BAAPIR

The outdoor track team has been practicing since Monday, March 3.

Both the boys and girls team will compete in their first meet on Friday, March 21 at an invitational held at Spotswood High School. The team will have their second invitational on Saturday, April 5 at Woodberry Forest High School.

Clinic gives cheerleaders more practice Ella Marian Sports Editor The JMU cheer clinic gives HHS cheerleaders a chance to perfect their skills and techniques. The cheerleaders get to work their tumbling with the JMU cheerleaders and the coaches. Junior Brooke Cobb has been going to the clinic for two years.

“They are really good at watching and seeing what people do wrong technique wise because they have been doing it for a while,” Cobb said. Cobb finds the practices at the clinic very different than HHS practices.

“It’s a lot more structured and they don’t let you goof off and we get a lot more done because we have more supervision.

Instead of just having one coach telling us all what to do, we have the whole JMU cheer team and the four head coaches telling us what to do,” Cobb said.

Cobb hopes to continue cheering in college and really enjoys getting advice from the JMU cheerleaders. She finds it reassuring when she is being told that she is doing things right.

Junior Meagan Roberts has just started going to the clinic since gymnastics season ended. Roberts goes once a week every

Saturday and works on tumbling.

“At the clinic, it’s just tumbling. We don’t do stunts at all. It’s one hour of nonstop tumbling, and then we have conditioning,” Roberts said. Roberts enjoys working her fulls (doing a 360 turn while flipping in the air) at the clinic and finds that it benefits her technique and working on new skills.

Junior Christa Stader went to the cheer clinic her freshmen year and is going this year, too. Stader gives insight to a regular practice session at the clinic.

“We go and do warm ups and stretches and then we just start and throw some warm up passes and then they’ll start spotting us on stuff we need help with and then we condition for the last 15 minutes; it’s killer condition,” Stader said. Stader’s favorite thing about the clinic is getting to know the cheerleaders. Now she feels like she’s a part of the JMU team.

“It feels like you’re on their squad, too, but you’re not really, you just feel really accepted and they can help you in anyway possible. They are just really helpful in everything,” Stader said.

The clinic is located in Godwin Hall on the JMU campus and costs $35. It lasts for a week. The clinic also offers classes open to everyone which happen once a month for $65.

March 21, 2014

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SPORTS - B7

What’s In a Shoe?

TOP SELLING SHOES Dombrowski makes money selling shoes Hunter Manzano Staff Reporter

The KD 6 “Illusion” was part of the 2014 ASG pack, or All Star Game Pack. The shoes retail for $150 + tax, and have a resale value between $230-$250 shipped.

The Kobe 8 Prelude is 1 part of the 8 part collection of Prelude Kobe’s.

Each shoe of the series retails for $200 + tax, and depending on which shoe resells for $400-800.

A complete collection can go for $5000 plus.

For centuries, men have chosen their line of work, but not many can relate to Court Styles. Freshman Danny Dombrowski has taken his chances making his money on the web, and is one of the lucky ones.

In about a month, his limited edition shoe business has gone from 50 followers on his instagram page to over 2,400. His website views have grown exponentially, while his sales are doing quite the same.

He got started buying and reselling shoes not too long ago, but during this past summer is when he got serious about it and started selling on Ebay. He then moved on to Kixify for a short time before just creating his own website.

“I made the website because some shoes don’t have the biggest profit margains, but when that is combined with Paypal and Ebay fees, it is impossible to make enough money to be worth doing. With the website, I cut out Ebay’s 10% fee, but still have Paypal’s, which I can live with since it’s only 3%,” Dombrowski said.

For coming out of nowhere with his success, Danny seems to know what he’s doing.

“A sale usually consists of getting the shoe from a retailer, putting it up on my website, I show it on my instagram page, and when someone decides to buy one, I print a label and ship it to them. I’ve made sales to our local buyers, all the way out to our soldiers overseas.”

Dombrowski didn’t think he would make a website so soon for his business.

“The advantages of selling on the internet are that I can sell to anyone in the country that knows about me. It really expands my target group as well,” Dombrowski said.

The job consists of much more than just selling shoes.

“The key part to the whole thing is release days, without limited shoes there is no business,” Dombrowski said.

Many release days are Saturday at 8 a.m., but there are exceptions, which is

when Dombrowski struggles to get multiple pairs since he is in school.

“It’s hard staying up late Friday and having to get up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning to buy shoes, but I like doing it. When I have pre-orders, I can’t risk sleeping in and missing releases,” Dombrowski said.

Dombrowski has many goals for his business come summer time.

“I would like to start customizing shoes and really start increasing my inventory,” Dombrowski said.

He enjoys many things about his small business, but one thing more than others.

“I enjoy getting piles and piles of boxes from USPS, UPS, FEDEX and opening them and seeing the newest shoes I have bought,” Dombrowski said.

It’s not easy for him to keep up with business and school sometimes when he has multiple orders he has to ship out.

“Shipping is the most time consuming part of the whole thing. It’s easy, but it takes time printing labels when peoples’ Paypal addresses are not correct and you have to change them. Plus packaging many orders can take time on a school night,” Dombrowski said.

Dombrowski knows what he has to do to increase his sales.

“The shoe business when it comes to the limited releases like what I do is all about connections. I have many people who want the saturday releases, but it is impossible for me to purchase more than a handful of a single style. I am working on getting connections and spreading my name so I can have a greater market to sell to,” Dombrowski said.

Dombrowski has plans for his business before summer comes.

“Me and former HHS student Seth Kardos have started talking about upcoming sneaker conventions, one on the 22nd in Charlottesville and the second one is the largest shoe event called Sneakercon which is in D.C. on the 5th of April,” Dombrowski said.

Dombrowski’s website is courtstyles. bigcartel.com and his Instagram is @courtstyles23.

STUDENT SHOES

Mizuno running shoes Laurie Serrell is part of the cross country team at HHS and picked these shoes for the comfort they provide.

Nike running shoes Ella Shulgan was part of the HHS cross country, and was recommended these by the local running store.

Favorite brand of tennis shoe Nike Free Run “They are really comfortable and I wear them all the time,” senior Skyler Johnson said.

Nike 41% Other 20%

The Lebron 11 “BHM”, or Black history Month edition was part of the 2014 collection. The shoe retails for $220 + tax, and can be resold for around $275

Vans 15% Jordan’s 8% Nike Air Force 1 “I like them because they look good,” freshman Rakweon Smith said.

Sperry’s 8%

Adidas 4%

Asics 4%

Results shown were from a poll sample of 100 HHS students taken on March 12.

Infographic by Hunter Manzano

The KD 6 “Liger” costs $130 + tax, but can be resold for around $180200.

The KD 6 “Christmas” was part of the 2013 Christmas edition shoes.

The retail price is $130 + tax. The shoe has a resale value of $160180.

Runners depend on right shoe to perform well Faith Runnells Sports Editor A lot of different things need to happen to have a successful running season.

Proper running shoes are of the utmost importance.

Any runner will tell you shoes are some of the most important things to them during their season, including sophomore Allison Kasch, who has been running for the past two years.

“If you have the wrong shoes it can really hurt your feet and mess up your running,” Kasch said.

Junior Laurie Serrell has experienced this first-hand, in the beginning of her freshman year.

“I have been running since sixth grade, but my freshman year of high school for indoor track I bought the wrong shoes because I didn’t know what kind I did or didn’t need, and I was injured my entire indoor season. I didn’t get to go to districts that year and I didn’t get to run most of that season,” Serrell said.

A local shoe store downtown, Runner’s Corner, is one spot to determine the right fit of a shoe for a runner. Freshman Ella Shulgan, Kasch and Serrell all visited Run-

ner’s Corner to find their perfect shoe.

“When I went to Runner’s Corner, the guy there helped me, and he’s a runner and he knows more about running than I think anybody else in this entire city. He told me Mizuno’s fit my feet more,” Serrell said.

Both Kasch and Shulgan, who just started running this year, prefer the Nike shoes to run their season in.

“I use Nike’s because at Runner’s Corner they suggested them for me, and I really like them,” Shulgan said.

A typical pair of shoes is expected to only last one season for runners, because of the extensive use of the shoe every day.

Once a shoe starts to get a little beat up, it loses some of its support and cushion, therefore becoming more injury prone and less comfortable.

Runners in indoor and outdoor track also use spikes for races, instead of just their typical tennis shoes. These shoes are much lighter and have spikes in the bottom of the sole to provide more grip and traction.

“Spikes are more just shoes you can wear that are light, so that you can move your feet faster, rather than something you need support for for a long run,” Serrell said.

Customized Nike’s from NikeID “I have been wearing Nike shoes my whole life,” sophomore Abner Johnson said.

Combat boots “They are really warm and comfortable,” freshman Abby Hissong said.

March 21, 2014

The

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SPORTS - B8

Sports Briefs LITTLE PLACES 8TH IN STATES

Senior Sydney Little placed 8th in the 100 meter breast stroke at the state swim meet.

WRESTLERS PLACED IN THE TOP TEN

Senior Trevor Jackson placed 8th and junior Yad Artem placed 4th at the state wrestling meet.

BOYS VARSITY BASEBALL

Games are on Mar. 21 against Page County (home), Mar. 25 against Fort Defiance (away), Mar. 26 against East Rockingham (home), Mar. 28 against Broadway (home), and on Mar. 31 against Amherst (away).

BOYS JUNIOR VARSITY BASEBALL

Games are on Mar. 21 against Page County (away), Mar. 25 against Fort Defiance (home), Mar. 26 against East Rockingham (home), Mar. 28 against Broadway (away), and on Mar. 31 against Amherst (home).

GIRLS VARSITY SOFTBALL

Games are on Mar. 21 against Page County (away) , Mar. 25 against Fort Defiance (home), Mar. 26 against East Rockingham (home) , and on Mar. 28 against Broadway (home).

Local gyms of the ‘Burg

Helyer benefits from Elevations Faith Runnells Sports Editor Year-round work can benefit an athlete in his or her sport.

Junior Staci Helyer is an example of this, as she participates and competes with local Elevations Cheer team, along with being a Blue Streak cheerleader as well.

Elevations Cheer is a program where any cheerleader can come to try out, and many all-star cheer and dance teams are created from those trying out.

Helyer has been cheering for 10 years now, and has been a part of the Elevations team for two years now. Cheering with the Elevations team has many varying aspects, compared to just a high school team. One of these differences includes the travelling the team does to at-

Highly intense yoga happens in 104 degree room Garrett Thompson Style Editor

Hours: Monday - Thursday 5:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Friday 5:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Rates: Ranges for each individual, so rates are not publicized.

Hours: Monday - Thursday: 5:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Friday: 5:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Saturday - Sunday: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00p.m.

Rates: Ranges for each individual, so rates are not publicized.

tend their competitions. ever, she manages to balance it Helyer overall enjoys competing in Elevations and the op“We travel a lot, so there are well. some competitions in Mary“Elevations is year round, portunities it provides. “In Allland or really far away. There’s and high school is only in the Star Cheerleading, you actually even a competition down in Or- fall. And while normally we get a big stage and lights shinlando, Florida that we might be have three practices a week for ing down on you and music and going to,” Helyer said.

Elevations, we only have one everything so it’s a lot more fun Elevations offers many op- to two practices a week while than just regular high school portunities a cheerleader could high school cheer is going on,” cheer,” Helyer said. not get with only participating Helyer said. in high school cheer. Along with the traveling and new competitions, the experienced coaches also benefit the girls and their cheerleading techniques.

“Our coaches are professional cheerleaders and they perform at world competitions and stuff, so they know more what they’re doing than regular coaches,” Helyer said.

Helyer is the only cheerleader who is a part of both PHOTO COURTESY OF STACI HELYER the high school team and a SPIRiT FINGERS. The Elevations cheer team performs their piece member of Elevations. How- during a competition.

When most people think of yoga, they imagine relaxing music and a peaceful environment where they can feel one with themselves. Hot yoga is anything but tranquil or relaxing. Hot yoga can only be described as yoga on Red Bull. One and a half hours straight of high intensity yoga is just the beginning. The room it takes place in is 104 degrees with 40 percent humidity.

Senior Alex Conis used to do hot yoga on a daily basis.

“The first time I did it, it was really weird. The guy I was next to was sweating literal buckets,” Conis said.

Bikram Yoga Studios in downtown Harrisonburg offers hot yoga classes Monday through Saturday. The studio opened to accommodate the growing popularity of this new high octane yoga.

“I used to do it every day, but it got pretty expensive,” Conis said.

Participants may try it the first day for free. After that, it’s $20 a week. To participate in the class, students are required to have with them a water bottle, a towel and a yoga mat. If you forget anything, they have rentals at

the studio.

Conis went on to say how beneficial yoga was to being a healthier human being.

“Within the first two days of doing it, I felt so energized and relaxed,” Conis said.

Conis’ sister, Gwen, an HHS alumni was the one who got her hooked on hot yoga.

“My sister started doing it and said it was really fun and she’s actually just become an instructor in Seattle,” Conis said.

“The great thing about hot yoga is that practically anyone can do it.”

Now I have done yoga before plenty of times, but I’d never done hot yoga. I decided to venture down to Bikram to try out this new fitness fad.

I must say I was surprised to see how intense it actually was and I am planning on going back. I didn’t enjoy sweating from every pore of my body, but that almost didn’t seem to matter. I never before have felt all parts of my body working together for a special purpose.

That purpose may have been trying to survive the 90 minutes of yoga, but nonetheless it was a moving experience to say the least.

If you are considering trying out hot yoga there are some things you need to know.

PHOTO BY GARRETT THOMPSON

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE. Bikram Yoga Studios offers hot yoga at 90 North Main St in downtown Harrisonburg.

PHOTO BY GARRETT THOMPSON

YOGA ON RED BULL. The people of the ‘burg gather for the Monday hot yoga class session at Bikram Yoga Studios.

“Drink plenty of fluids the day Bas minimal clothing as possible before because you will sweat and definitely bring a change of off the amount you drink. Wear- clothes,” Conis said.

Gyms offer peaceful place to stay fit Isabelle Burden Online Editor

Hours: Open 24 Hours Monday through Friday!

Open Monday at 5:00 a.m until Friday at 9:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 7:00 a.m.

- 7:00 p.m.

Rates: Deals change periodically. $199 for 12 months (expires March 31).

Hours: Monday - Thursday: 5:15 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Friday: 5:15 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Saturday: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Rates: Ranges for each individual, so rates are not publicized.

Hours: Monday - Friday: 5:45 a.m. - 6:15 p.m.

Saturday: 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Rates: $95 for a general 12-month membership Infographic by Austin Coffey

Some people who don’t consider themselves especially coordinated or driven to play a certain sport, retreat to the confines of a physical fitness center, or the gym. The gym is a place for everyone to workout in peace, without having to speak to, interact, or worry about what anybody else is doing. It’s a wonderful place to self-improve, and if you use it correctly, you feel much better after visiting. There are many gyms in Harrisonburg where you can purchase a membership.

RMH Wellness Center offers fitness classes, a basketball court, daycare and two pools as well as the regular workout machines.

Other gyms, such as Gold’s Gym and Planet Fitness offer wellequipped machines for any workout schedule. These gyms are all here to cater to you, the customer.

To accommodate busy schedules, these facilities usually stay open 24/7 or somewhere close to it.

The process of actually motivating yourself to join a gym and repeatedly go to it can be tough.

Senior Deb Halpern explains how she keeps up the drive to stick with working out.

“I just feel better when I go! It helps my energy stay up and just makes me feel better about my day,” Halpern said.

Most students who have worked the gym into their daily schedule love the way they feel after they workout. Gym memberships costs can range from $10.00 to $150.00.

You’re getting what you pay for, and some gyms are less focused on the fancy additions rather than the basic essentials for getting fit.

Self-improving is a major part of students’ high school experience and gyms are a great way to feel healthier and all-around better about yourself.

PHOTO BY ISABELLE BURDEN

FEEL THE BURN. Senior Deb Halpern does her daily workout routine on the treadmill to stay in shape.

E.L.T. sports unit is among favorite choice activities Ella Marian & John Earle Sports Editor & Staff Reporter Extended learning time now offers some intramural sports and there has been a good turn out (on average 24 students).

The intramural programs that are offered during ELT are basketball, badminton, soccer, and volleyball.

Gym teacher and ELT sports unit supervisor TJ Butler has found that basketball and soccer have been their more popular sports over badminton and volleyball.

Another thing that gym teacher and ELT sports unit supervisor Paul Rath and Butler have found is the type of students who typically come to the unit aren’t what they expected.

“We thought that we would get a lot of soccer players and basketball players and such, but we actually get a lot of nonschool athletes who just enjoy playing these sports. We also get a lot more freshmen than sophomores and upperclassmen. We’ve attracted more of a younger crowd,” Butler said.

During ELT, any choice student can come down to the gym, with a friend who

is also a choice student if they like, and play a sport that isn’t at a varsity level.

Freshman Claudio Hernandez has been a part of the ELT sports program at HHS. “Others should do it because it is fun and there is nothing better to do,” Hernandez said.

The ELT sports unit gives students a great way to spend their time when they don’t have any other school work to do.

Instead of sitting down and thinking of what they could do, students are able to head to the gym and play a sport with their friends for about an hour.

March 21, 2014

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Craig Shoemaker Deanna Pickford Dwayne Hottinger Emily Johnson Geoffray Estes Jay and Beth Hook Jeffrey Kirkman John Gira Kelly ShradleyHorst Mark Healy Mary Strickler Phil Yutzy Rachel Linden Sally Young Tammy Atkins Theresa Eckstein Tim Meyers Yolanda Blake HHS SPONSORS Amy Eanes Angela Yurachek Anita Missal Antoine Sinclair Bridget Smith Cara Walton Cathy Grogg Charity O’Connor Cheryl Helmuth Logan Colleen Morris Don Cash Emily Barnes Emily Holloway Heather Hostetter Joe Beppler Kasey Hovermale Kim Hill Kim Hook Kris Vass Marcia Lamphier Melody Wilson Nancy Pinzon Rachel Brianna Marin Rachel Hershberger Roy McCutcheon Suzie Smith The Waltons

March 21, 2014

The

Newsstreak

THE EXPERIENCE- B10

Journalism Journey

Newspaper staffers travel to South Carolina for conference Mia Karr Editor-in-chief Typically at 4 a.m. in the morning, the school cafeteria is vacant. However, on the morning of Feb. 28, a group of students huddled there, surrounded by luggage, pillow pets and freshly-printed newspapers.

Fifteen journalism students were about to embark on a 3-day trip to the annual Southern Interscholastic Press Association convention.

After a long ride on a charter bus, the members of the newspaper staff arrived at SIPA, as the convention is known. From there, they attended a pre-session on a topic such as Staff Connections, Advanced In-Designed, or Online. That evening, a keynote speaker and ice cream social kicked off the conference.

Saturday brought a full day of 50-minute workshops with journalism advisers and teachers from around the country. Topics such as photography, design, writing, and careers in journalism were covered. Feature editor, junior Ariel Vogel, especially enjoyed an editing workshop taught by former Newsstreak editor-in-chief Camila Domonoske, who now works for NPR. “I learned how to work the editing process. I often have trouble editing people’s papers and now I have a better understanding,” Vogel said.

She was also impressed by a columnwriting workshop taught by David Knight.

“I really liked a session that we had with a man who was discussing how to write a good column. He talked a lot about telling stories that actually happen to you and making columns very personal and we read a lot of columns that were really beautiful stories,” Vogel said.

The conference was also a social event.

On Saturday night, after a formal banquet, participants had the opportunity to attend a dance. Time spent with other staff members was a critical component of the experience as well.

“My favorite part was hanging out with my roommates and the girls and going to lunch and stuff like that,” feature editor, junior Victoria Giron said.

Giron was one of four students to win an individual award at the awards ceremony the following morning; a Best in Show for Op/Ed Newspaper Page. The other award recipients were senior Garrett Thompson, with an Honorable Mention for Newspaper Entertainment Page and a Best in Show for Newspaper Feature Page, junior Julexus Cappell with an Award of Merit for Newspaper Op/Ed Page and Vogel with a second place award for Sports Story.

The Newsstreak also took home the highest ranking, All-Southern, for both the print and online division, and was awarded a “Best in Virginia” award for the newspaper division.

Online editor-in-chief, senior Luke Gibson, was there to accept the online AllSouthern.

“It’s good to know that the work we put in goes appreciated. Honestly, we’ve worked hard to deserve it,” Gibson said.

The website also received a critique. “The critiques told us what we could improve on, so we know we’re not perfect just yet.”

HHS’s literary magazine, the Imprint, also took home awards at SIPA. The magazine received the second highest ranking, Superior, and three individual awards; junior Brenna Cowardin placed second in Poetry, junior Mia Karr placed second in Prose Fiction and Narrative, and alumnus Mark Duda placed first in Prose Nonfiction.

The trip left South Carolina on noonSunday, and returned to Harrisonburg that evening after another long bus ride, reinvigorated and full of new ideas.

“I guess I would go back again because I feel like it’s a good kind of field trip to take with the staff and we kind of bond a lot,” Giron said. “I do get inspired every time I come back to have more ideas and I feel like I should do more for the paper.”

PHOTO BY VALERIE KIBLER

PHOTO OP. The Newsstreak staff gathers for a picture while waiting in line before the annual SIPA banquet. Back row: Mia Karr, Ariel Vogel, Josh Byrd, Luke Gibson, Austin Swift, Evan Dotas, Aarash Heydari. Bottom row: Ellie Plass, Jessica Nguyen, Julexus Cappell, Ella Marian, Isabelle Burden, Victoria Giron, May Denar, and Ava Reynolds.

PHOTO BY AVA REYNOLDS

SURROGATE SMILERS. Mia Karr and Isabelle Burden hold pictures of Teresa Johnson, principal of Chantilly High School, who received the Administrator of the Year Award from SIPA. Since she could not be there in person, Newsstreak staffers were asked to hold pictures of her during the awards banquet as Chantilly yearbook sponsor Mary Kay Downes accepted the award on Johnson’s behalf. Johnson also uploaded an acceptance speech on YouTube.

PHOTO BY AVA REYNOLDS

ADMINISTRATORS ROCK. Dr. Kay Phillips presents the administrator of the year award annually at the Saturday evening SIPA banquet.

PHOTO BY MIA KARR

WAITING TO LEARN. Staffers wait for the second keynote speaker of the convention, John O’Connor. The previous night, Matt Crossman gave a speech.

PHOTO BY AVA REYNOLDS

WALK OF FAME. Online Editor-in-Chief Luke Gibson goes to accept the All-Southern award for www.newsstreak.com. The website, as well as the Newsstreak’s print edition, received the highest ranking at SIPA.

PHOTO BY MIA KARR

CANDID. Online Managing Editor Isabelle Burden laughs after her pre-session, a workshop on staff connections.

PHOTO BY MIA KARR

A FANCY AFFAIR. Staffers Victoria Giron, Isabelle Burden, Aarash Heydari, and Luke Gibson sit across from Ellie Plass, Josh Byrd and Jessica Nguyen at the convention’s Saturday night banquet. At the banquet, several scholarships and awards were presented. Afterwards, students attended a dance.

PHOTO BY MIA KARR

CAREER ADVICE. Keynote speaker John O’Connor assures students that the journalism profession is thriving, despite assertions to the contrary.