Newsstreak March Issue 2017

B3: Elementary schoolers learn in new ways

A6: Remembering Coach Kevin Hargrove

The

B10: Spring senior athletes take on new season

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where every person has a story

Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XIIC • Issue 7 •March 30, 2017

Band puts on annual Tiny Tots production Samantha Little Feature Page Editor Over a span of three days in March, 2250 elementary students from all HCPS schools and a few Rockingham County schools gathered in our school to participate in the annual Tiny Tots concert held in the auditorium. They spent about an hour and a half in our school immersed in music, having the opportunity to be around high school musicians and learn about their instruments.

Fine Arts Coordinator JR Snow started the event soon after beginning to work here in 2005. His idea for Tiny Tots first started while he was working in Northern Virginia, where they held a similar program as a fundraiser. He and his colleagues then modified it and decided to make the production free of charge.

“We took away the fundraising aspect and said, ‘Hey, we’ll bring everybody in here for free’ and make it just a great experience to provide kids with some awesome music that they wouldn’t otherwise get and make it feel like they’re at Carnegie Hall or the Kennedy Center,” Snow said.

Since then, certain aspects of Tiny Tots have changed over time. One thing that changes year-to-year is the music, as they try to do new song arrangements as more Disney movies come out. To go along with the Disney theme, many of the upperclassmen that perform in the concert also dress up as characters from well-known children’s movies to greet the kids as they arrive. As more elementary students attend

See TINY TOTS page A2

this day of music education, the number of days that it is held has increased from two to three days. To accommodate for the recent growing numbers, Tiny Tots has also paired with the TV department to give each student a more complete experience.

“The TV department does a live feed of powerpoint to put some things up on the screen. They also videotape kids in the hall having a good time and put their faces up on the screen as well,” Snow said. “They videotape the whole thing because we’ll have 850 kids the first day, and that means that kids are sitting in the way back and can’t see. We’ll put it up on the big screen and they get to see it, which is awesome.”

To further enrich their experiences, the high school musicians are encouraged to interact with the kids and give them hands-on experiences with their given instrument.

“Our HHS students are really engaging and go into the audience to play for the kids and let them push buttons and ask questions. We try to get to as many kids as possible… On stage we introduce every single instrument one at a time for them so that they can see what they are. Do we always get to every kid? Probably not, but we come close and really run around at the beginning trying to make sure that every kid gets that Disney experience,” Snow said.

The instrumentalists that participated in this day and performed are those in the Symphonic band and Percussion 2 classes. One of these students was senior Ben

Blake. This was Blake’s third and final year participating, and each year he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“It’s a lot of fun getting to see all of the little kids. You don’t imagine how enthusiastic they’ll be until they’re actually there and you realize that they’re really, really excited. There’s a lot of energy,” Blake said.

“It’s great to see the kids’ reactions and it’s very impactful.”

Snow finds that exposing children to music and the arts at younger ages is very beneficial in the long run.

“There’s so much research that’s data-driven. It’s not only how I personally feel about it, but if kids are exposed to music we start to have great gains in brain development,” Snow said. “I also think that if kids can identify themselves as an artist, then we give them that opportunity to be an artist later on. It’s all about identify to go along with the data research.”

Not only is it a valuable event to Snow for these reasons, but he notes that it’s obvious to the eye that every child in attendance is in a state of pure joy. “[The kids] love it. There isn’t a kid in there that’s not enjoying themselves, having fun, laughing, clapping or singing. It’s awesome and we get great feedback. We’ll get letters from them afterwards saying it was the best day ever,” Snow said.

Snow continues to host Tiny Tots each year due to this positive feedback he receives and to carry on the sole reason that he wanted to start it in the first place.

“It’s totally about exposing children to

arts. Not every child gets to go The Forbes Center, for example, and some kids never see people in tuxes performing in a band, orchestra or choir. It’s really my responsibility as an instrumental teacher to be thinking more globally than just the students in my classroom. That’s the purpose: to give all kids an unbelievable experience that they’ll remember,” Snow said. “What’s awesome is that they do remember. Two or three years later I will walk into an elementary classroom and they’ll remember me... and that’s when you realize you’re having quite an impact and that’s the best part for me.”

PHOTO BY ABBY HISSONG

ALOHA! Junior Natalie Pittington greets Cub Run Elementary students dressed as Lilo from Lilo and Stitch as they arrive at Harrisonburg High School for the annual Tiny Tots concert. The show aims to get young students interested in music education by performing songs from various Disney movies.

Norment tackles new career as vice principal Travel ban instills fear Abby Hissong Staff Reporter English teacher Peter Norment takes on many roles throughout his day, whether it be as a father, teacher, husband or mentor. However, next August, Norment will take on a new role entirely as the vice principal at Bluestone Elementary School.

The idea to shift from a teaching career to one in administrative leadership came to Norment over the summer of 2016 while on vacation with his family.

“My wife had just finished graduate school for counseling, and I knew I always wanted to get more education. I was one of the few teachers that just has an undergraduate degree, so I had already been thinking a lot about

PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER NORMENT

WELCOME HOME. Norment stands in the space where his future office will be at Bluestone Elementary School where he will work as a vice principal next year. going back to school to get my masters degree. I was just thinking, do I want to get it in English? Do I want to get it in education? And then I thought, if one day I ever wanted to do something other than teach,

administrative leadership seemed like the degree that could open the most doors,” Norment said.

After 11 years at HHS, Norment was ready to get out of his comfort zone.

While he wasn’t originally

set on becoming an administrator, the further he continued down the path to get his masters degree, the more excited he became.

“I always wanted to see what else I could do that would still work with kids and be in the school system, and I wanted to be in a place where I could have the greatest impact.

So, in my mind I was like, yeah it’s great that I can impact my 100 and some students as a teacher, but as an administrator, I could impact 600 students at Bluestone,” Norment said.

Although Norment loves what he teaches, he fell in love with being a teacher not through the curriculum he taught, but the bonds he formed with

See NORMENT page A2

Community members march for equal rights Ryan Doerr Staff Reporter On Saturday, March 11, the women of the Harrisonburg and greater Rockingham area gathered at the Rockingham County offices just outside of the city and marched to Court Square in celebration of women’s rights and the value they have on an international level. Women from all walks of life, including students, educators, local

business owners, politicians and activists came out to make the march.

For HHS principal Cynthia Prieto, being asked to speak was an opportunity to inspire change in the community.

“A couple months ago, I was approached and asked if I would speak.

Each of the women speaking has something to speak to. The theme is ‘Be Bold for Change’, so topics range from sexual violence against women in the Congo, Sudanese community

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organizations that are forming and my topic, the power and value of educated women,” Prieto said.

For senior Hannah Daniel, who didn’t have the opportunity to march in Washington in January, this march was a more accessible opportunity to express their support for women’s rights.

“I was sad to have missed the Women’s March on Washington back

See MARCH page A2

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in HCPS students

Lucie Rutherford Print Editor-In-Chief In much of the news that has circulated the country recently, Donald Trump’s travel ban has been the topic of countless headlines.

The ban’s legality is still being debated, as it states that immigration into the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim countries will be denied entrance.

As diverse as Harrisonburg High School is, many members of the student body have been impacted by this executive order. Both principal Cynthia Prieto and English and AVID teacher Hannah Hrasky have seen a change amongst some of these individuals as a direct result of the news.

Due to the timing of the ban, Prieto says that so far, she does not know of any incidences of students not being able to return to the country.

“We were already back in school, we were already back in session, and so there is less chance for one of our students to be traveling at that time, so less chance that someone got blocked from coming back,” Prieto said.

Though students have not been physically affected, Prieto senses fear has blanketed some of the student body.

“I do know that there is an underlying stress level, and I do know that there are questions and private conversations where people are like, ‘So what do I do if…’ or ‘How do I respond when…’, and so there’s been a little bit of communication amongst undocumented refugees, employees, not ours, people who are lobbying to support undocumented people, people who are helping have refugees in the pipeline, that sort of thing,” Prieto said. “There’s been communication where [students have asked], ‘What do you do if ICE shows up at your house’ or ‘How do you respond when somebody asks you certain questions?’ There’s been legal advice… [that] you can always ask a lawyer, that is your right, regardless of whether you’re undocumented or not.”

Hrasky has seen similar responses amongst the individuals.

“I think that there is a lot of fear,” Hrasky said.

“We have a high percentage of students from those countries in our city. A large amount of them have people who they know who are directly impacted by this, and so I think there is a strong fear of separation from families, separation

See BAN page A2

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March 30, 2017

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March focuses on women, immigrant issues MARCH from A1 in January, and I wanted to be able to speak out for women’s rights. I love the Harrisonburg community and I knew I would be marching with my friends and neighbors, so that made [this march] more special. For me, this march was about standing up for the rights of women all around the world, not just the women who look like me or come from the same socioeconomic background as I do. Under the current administration, I know most of my rights are relatively safe, and I recognize what an immense privilege this is. But for many other women in America, their basic human rights are being threatened by harmful rhetoric, healthcare and immigration laws, and I can’t sit idly by and watch that happen,” Daniel said.

For freshman Sweta Kunver, the march was about her roots.

“I marched for myself and the women in not only the Nepali community, but for the women in Harrisonburg as well,” Kunver said. “It was about celebrating women of all types of backgrounds and cultures. It was about taking the next step into the future. We were celebrating how our mothers, daughters and friends put so much effort into creating a better world.”

Prieto agrees.

“Ultimately, we’re speaking to inspire and empower women and be vibrant, active members of our community,” Prieto said. “I don’t see it in any way as political or controversial; I think it’s celebratory. It’s not a women’s march in the sense of politics. It’s a celebration of International Women’s Day.” Daniel and Kunver are minorities in the community, and this makes the importance of intersectional feminism all the more important to them.

“My role as a minority plays a huge part in making a brighter future for other minorities. Making intersectional feminism visible encourages others to learn more about it and teaches us how we all can have a voice,” Kunver said.

Daniel’s role in the local and regional Jewish community also affects her role as a woman in the community.

“As a minority, it was inspiring to see other women of color and community members all marching for the same cause,” Daniel said. “Harrisonburg has really done a wonderful job including everyone in their events. As a reform Jew, social activism is very important to me and is a tenet

PHOTO BY RYAN DOERR SPEAKING OUT. Local immigrants speak about intersectional feminism in downtown Harrisonburg on March 11.

The activists started their march at the Rockingham County offices, and ended at the Harisonburg Court House. of our youth organization. The Jewish community has given me a platform with which to use my voice, and it has also given me a strong, supportive base that’s helped me grow [as a person].”

For Prieto, her role as an educator, woman, and Hispanic in Harrisonburg impacted her march experience as well. “[The march] celebrates all of my roles. Recognizing that my job makes me pretty public, I want to be a role model and a positive motivator for our students, especially our girls,” Prieto said.

The march struck a chord with the community, and left Daniel feeling hopeful.

Snow directs concert for local children TINY TOTS from A1 this day of music education, the number of days that it is held has increased from two to three days. To accommodate for the recent growing numbers, Tiny Tots has also paired with the TV department to give each student a more complete experience.

“The TV department does a live feed of powerpoint to put some things up on the screen. They also videotape kids in the hall having a good time and put their faces up on the screen as well,” Snow said. “They videotape the whole thing because we’ll have 850 kids the first day, and that means that kids are sitting in the way back and can’t see. We’ll put it up on the big screen and they get to see it, which is awesome.”

To further enrich their experiences, the high school musicians are encouraged to interact with the kids and give them hands-on experiences with their given instrument.

“Our HHS students are really engaging and go into the audience to play for the kids and let them push buttons and ask questions. We try to get to as many kids as possible… On stage we introduce every single instrument one at a time for them so that they can see what they are. Do we always get to every kid? Probably not, but we come close and really run around at the beginning trying to make sure that every kid gets that Disney experience,” Snow said.

The instrumentalists that participated in this day and performed are those in the Symphonic band and Percussion 2 classes. One of these students was senior Ben Blake. This was Blake’s third and final year participating, and each year he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“It’s a lot of fun getting to see all of the little kids. You don’t imagine how enthusiastic they’ll be until they’re actually there and you realize that they’re really, really

excited. There’s a lot of energy,” Blake said. “It’s great to see the kids’ reactions and it’s very impactful.”

Snow finds that exposing children to music and the arts at younger ages is very beneficial in the long run.

“There’s so much research that’s data-driven. It’s not only how I personally feel about it, but if kids are exposed to music we start to have great gains in brain development,” Snow said. “I also think that if kids can identify themselves as an artist, then we give them that opportunity to be an artist later on. It’s all about identify to go along with the data research.”

Not only is it a valuable event to Snow for these reasons, but he notes that it’s obvious to the eye that every child in attendance is in a state of pure joy. “[The kids] love it. There isn’t a kid in there that’s not enjoying themselves, having fun, laughing, clapping or singing.

It’s awesome and we get great feedback.

We’ll get letters from them afterwards saying it was the best day ever,” Snow said.

Snow continues to host Tiny Tots each year due to this positive feedback he receives and to carry on the sole reason that he wanted to start it in the first place.

“It’s totally about exposing children to arts. Not every child gets to go The Forbes Center, for example, and some kids never see people in tuxes performing in a band, orchestra or choir. It’s really my responsibility as an instrumental teacher to be thinking more globally than just the students in my classroom. That’s the purpose: to give all kids an unbelievable experience that they’ll remember,” Snow said. “What’s awesome is that they do remember. Two or three years later I will walk into an elementary classroom and they’ll remember me... and that’s when you realize you’re having quite an impact and that’s the best part for me.”

“After the march, I felt inspired. I had heard the stories of so many women’s struggles and successes in their own countries and in America, and it made me so thankful for my circumstances. I was moved because there was such a large representation from different communities which made me appreciate that, when Harrisonburg rallied to support international Women’s Day, there were actually women from all around the world who came to speak and march. It also made me angry that so many women do not have the rights and opportunities that women in America have, and I plan to channel this frustration into political action and change,” Daniel said.

Norment takes job at new elementary school NORMENT from A1 his students.

“Thus far my teaching career has been immensely rewarding, but the greatest thing is just the relationships I’ve built with students,” Norment said. “That is what I’m most nervous about when I shift: going from a population of students I’m very comfortable with to working with a bunch of elementary school-aged kids. I mean, they like everyone. Little kids will just come up to you and hug you, even if they hardly know you. It is a lot different than when a 16-year-old comes up to you and gives you a fist bump, because that feels a lot better since you had to work for it a little bit.”

Despite the fact that he will miss building relationships with his high school students next year, Norment looks forward to tackling a new age group altogether.

Though he may not have very much experience with younger students, Norment believes that he can make up for lost time with the enthusiasm that he will bring to the job.

“I have a lot of energy and a lot of passion... I love to work with people and collaborate, so sharing my opinions and hearing other people’s is something I’m really looking forward to,” Norment said.

Bluestone principal Anne Lintner believes that in addition to Norment’s positive attitude, his prior experience in the education field will benefit him immensely in the 2017-2018 school year.

“Mr. Norment is a passionate educator with strong experience in the field. He understands what good instruction looks like and has a philosophy of education that matches the vision we are developing for BES...He demonstrates an understanding of the complexity of school leadership, and possesses a unique combination of self-assuredness and a willingness to learn that will serve him well in his first administrative position,” Lintner said.

Norment has prepared for next year by taking multiple classes through JMU’s graduate program, which he will officially complete in June. Additionally, Norment has taken on an administrative mentorship position under HHS principal Cynthia Prieto.

“Through my internship I managed to work out a schedule for this year where I spend part of my day teaching and the other half is spent doing administrative stuff. I’ve also been able to go to Kiester one day a week to work with elementary students and I’ve visited Skyline a few times as well. So through that, this year has been super eye-opening and a fun learning experience for me,” Norment said.

As far as what he will actually do in his new position as vice principal, Norment predicts that his responsibilities will shift depending upon where he is needed.

“Eventually there is going to be a lot of discipline stuff, but right now I am primarily helping to hire new teachers, plan community outreach meetings to help our future staff members and students bond, and just preparing for the opening of the school. Throughout the course of the day, my main job will just be to help Mrs. Lintner with whatever she needs done,” Norment said.

As a seasoned principal within the HCPS district after working at Keister Elementary School for many years, Lintner looks forward to guiding Norment in his new job next year.

“I am excited to learn to know Mr. Norment better, and to share and develop ideas together. I look forward to observing his amazement as he experiences the joys and possibilities of school leadership at the elementary school level,” Lintner said. “My advice to him next year would be to enjoy each day and learn as much as you can.”

Prieto, Hrasky stress safe school environment despite concerns regarding ban BAN from A1 from the ability to travel back to the country that they know and understand, and I think that has lead to a lot of fear.”

Not only has Hrasky sensed fear, but she has seen personality changes from a few of the affected students.

“There was a little bit of panic for the first couple of days, I think. I’ve seen students who feel a little bit resigned that there is not much they can do about it, that they feel disenfranchised almost that what’s happening right now is taking away their voice. I’ve seen a lot of kids go quiet who do have family there, I think it’s too difficult for some kids to talk about,” Hrasky said.

On top of shutting down verbally from the new executive order, Prieto has connected students’ responses with situations of acting out.

“I worry about how the stress affects, and I worry when a student acts out in school, I always try to find out what the source of that is, and I worry that acting out is just because they’re tired of stress or because they’ve heard something that may affect them somehow,” Prieto said.

According to Prieto, students have taken and responded to the news in a variety of ways.

“There is a whole spectrum: there are students who are fully aware and worry daily, ‘What happens if my parents don’t come home?’, and then there are also students, I spoke to one [recently] in fact, who is not documented and just hasn’t been listening to the news, so she’s pretty clueless, and is okay being clueless. She is not stressed, because you know what? She is going to continue being the full student that she can be, she is going to continue

to come to school everyday and do the right thing and just kind of hope against hope. And that’s also a defense mechanism, I understand that,” Prieto said.

For Hrasky, her biggest concern is in regards to what is to come in the future.

“I am concerned about the practical realities of the situation of whatever ban may come down the road which might limit people from being able to see dying grandmothers and those sorts of practical realities,” Hrasky said. “My second fear is just the more that we are banning one population of people, the more people are able to generalize about that group of people. I think that in sort of an ironic way, our students are some of the people who have faced some of the most trouble from oppressive Muslim regimes, and then they bear the brunt of the racism that results from that, and that is tragic.”

This practical reality that Hrasky talks about is just that, a reality, for a student at HHS who chose to be anonymous for this story.

The student, who was born in Syria, moved to the U.S. in 2003 and is witnessing the effects of the ban firsthand.

“My grandma, we wanted her to come here, but since that’s happening, that can’t really happen right now,” Anonymous said.

On top of everything going on, Prieto stresses one word to her students: welcome.

“I’ve said it twice to you guys very openly, I want everyone to know they are very welcome here. I don’t ask what your status is, I don’t ask you for paperwork… we have an awareness of who’s got what paperwork, but that doesn’t in any way affect how I respond to you. All I ask you to do is be here everyday, be on time, do your best, be a good stu-

dent, because regardless of what laws change, because laws change all the time… you’re still a well-educated, intelligent person that can contribute to whatever community you belong to,” Prieto said. “So again, I go back to that powerful word ‘welcome’. You’re welcome here. I’ll feed you, I will turn the heat on, I will keep my doors open to you. I am very careful with who comes to check out students, I am very protective, as much as I can be.

This is the safest place you can be. So if you’re out on the street, that’s not a good idea. If you’re out off-hours, that’s not a good idea. If you’re suppose to be at school, be at school.”

Hrasky stresses that no matter what comes down the road, all students have a voice and are able to fight for what they believe in, and that they are not alone.

“I want students to know that not all people are viewing them that way

and that in fact, there are a lot of people that are fighting against this, both who are impacted by it and who are not,” Hrasky said. “I also want students to know that they are able to fight against this, that they have a voice, that their voice matters, that they should stand up for themselves and their rights because I fear that a lot of them are feeling like they are losing their rights, and if they are here, they have those and they should stand up for them.”

For the anonymous student, they hope to see Trump’s views change in the future.

“Hopefully the president changes some of the stuff he thought would be good for the country,” Anonymous said. “I know he’s doing what [what he thinks] is best for the country, but the president is not always right in what they’re doing.”

March 30, 2017

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Soenksen balances teaching, coaching teachers Sarah Earle News Editor Just like students have teachers, teachers have teachers.

Instructional coaches work one-on-one or in small groups with teachers to give guidance, or create strategies to improve their lessons. Currently at HHS, there are two instructional coaches, including Literacy Specialist Cathy Soenksen, who teaches as well as coaches.

“It’s not quite the same as a football coach… We’re not trying to change what teachers are doing, we’re not trying to fix something that’s broken, we really are there to be an extra pair of eyes in the classroom. We watch students more than teachers to gage whether what the teacher is planning to do is what the teacher had said is a goal,” Soenksen said. “If an activity or lesson isn’t achieving the objective, sometimes it’s easier for someone who’s not in the middle of teaching and in the middle of making all of those micro decisions that teachers make every moment that they’re on in class. It’s easier for someone not in that role, who’s not trying to multitask to see what’s going well and where something could be tweaked to be more effective.”

Soenksen goes into classrooms to observe certain lessons and activities that take place and see the effectiveness. She then discusses the results with teachers and they work together to set goals.

“There are main areas where we work with teachers; one is classroom management. Typically a content area teacher and a special educator are both in the classroom at the same time, teaming; we help negotiate that. It’s instruction, but also planning. We work a lot with teachers without necessarily ever going into the classroom. There’s a lot of the planning and conversation after an observation, so two-thirds of the coaching takes place not while class is going on. We work on putting lessons together, but also in the classroom taking a look at the strategies they’re incorporating,” Soenksen said. “We use observation tools to show teachers who might be doing all the talking that they’re doing all of the talking and [say], ‘Look, only five of your students ever spoke the whole 90 minutes. Maybe we can work on that’. We do seating charts to gage which students are interacting and how. We’ve also worked with some teachers on their grading practices; how to make grading more effective and

PHOTO BY SARAH EARLE

ONE ON ONE. Literary specialist and instructional coach Cathy Soenksen meets

with English teacher Heather Hostetter to analyze a student’s paper for an upcoming lesson plan. give better feedback to students so that learning continues that way.”

While balancing both the teacher and instructional coach roles, Soenksen finds it challenging, however she manages her time to work on both.

“Most days I’m in a classroom either coaching teachers or observing students, establishing what they might need help with.

I’m available everywhere, but given that’s only about a third of my full-time role

Student-run coffee business raises money for various charities

at school, I don’t get to as many teachers as effectively as I’d like to; we could use another coach or two,” Soenksen said. “I’m not doing a very good job [at balancing instructional coaching and teaching]. My students will tell you I’m behind in my grading and sometimes my plans aren’t very fine-tuned because of having the different roles. It’s hard to balance and I appreciate teachers who come in, watch me and give me feedback too.”

Soenksen feels that in-

structional coaching has not only improved teachers’ instruction, but her own teaching as well.

“I’ve taught for a long time. Times when my own instruction has gotten better, it’s because I stole somebody else’s idea or somebody helped me to see what I couldn’t see when I was so busy in the frenzy of planning and teaching and grading,” Soenksen said. “I’ve seen the benefits. Most people understand that all athletes have

Stock Market Game challenges students’ economic mindset

Hannah Miller Copy Editor

Noah Siderhurst Staff Reporter

Tuesday mornings before school, the drama hallway is filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and homemade pastries. Lisa Long and her special education classes have started their own business, Joe to Go. “We wanted to come up with a student-run business, so we decided a coffee cart would be a great idea because everybody loves to drink coffee,” Long said.

The name, a play on words, was a collaborative effort from the students.

Each person suggested their own idea for a name, and then they all voted as a class. The collective response was Joe to Go, the newest addition of student-run businesses.

“It teaches them job skills. We work on money skills, [and] we bake the pastries homemade twice a week, so we’re working on cooking skills,” Long said. “We also made homemade coffee sleeves, so [that helped us] work on sewing skills. Just all around [we introduced and practiced] life skills for our kids that they need to work on.”

Two students at a time work the cart, greeting teachers with a smile and homemade goods. Senior Brent Berry is one of the students helping the process run smoothly.

“I just like the coffee

Each semester, as part of the personal finance and economics classes, students participate in a mock investment game aptly dubbed “The Stock Market Game.”

The purpose of this game is to teach students about investment and the way the stock market works using hands-on experience, something that personal finance teacher Mary Inge thinks can sometimes be lost in teaching and often alien to many people.

“The big reason that we use it is to make stocks more a reality; it’s such an abstract thing. They actually go into the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange and look at the prices and they look for the ticker symbol and things like that, so they’re involved with an actual stock exchange,” Inge said. “They can see it for real, true to life versus a lot of notes and theory.”

Students participating in the game receive a fictional sum of $100,000, but use real stock values from both the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) to buy and sell stocks in real time. Generally, there are two to four people on a team who must work together to figure out what will do the best.

“To make money for real with the stock market, you’re going to invest in something and you’re going to leave it for a long time. In the stock market game, it goes for ten weeks, so you want something that hopefully will go up quickly.

The object of the game is to make more money with your stocks than anybody else in the area that’s competing...We compete against Handley and Rockingham County and Augusta County...Right now it’s over 200 teams,” Inge said.

If your team is skilled or lucky enough to win, you get to attend an award ceremony at JMU, something that one team in Inge’s class last semester got to do after getting third in the region. The

PHOTO BY HANNAH MILLER CUP OF JOE. History teacher Joe Carico grabs a sandwich before school from Joe to Go, located below the history hallway, as senior Brent Berry works at the cash register. As of now, there is not a set schedule, however they are usually opened on Tuesdays and Fridays.

cart so that I [have] the opportunity to count money with teachers. I enjoy giving teachers their food and that kind of stuff, so I really enjoy the coffee cart,” Berry said.

Long feels a great sense of pride watching the students do so well at the new project. Their enthusiasm for the tasks is encouraging, and they hope to continue with the cart.

“My favorite part is just seeing the kids get excited about baking, and then they come [rushing] to the cart to work. They enjoy working,” Long said.

Another inspiration for the cart was the prospect of doing good. The cart is not only beneficial to them, but also for others in the community. For Long

and her class, the opportunity and eagerness to help a fellow classmate was genuine.

“We are going to donate a portion of our proceeds to local charities, and we’re going to pick a different charity each month,” Long said. “This month we’re going to be helping one of the families at our school that is going through some rough times right now.”

Berry has experience with charity having started the Brent Berry food drive, coming out of it’s eighth year last November.

“I feel good donating money to a family in our class,” Berry said. “I think it’s a good thing to do and I hope to continue with the coffee cart in the future.”

coaches, that they’re there to watch and tell them what they see in the moment that the athlete can’t see.

It’s very much that same [idea] with just bringing extra eyes and ears to perfect what’s already really good.”

On top of it also improving teaching, Soenksen believes instructional coaching also benefits the students.

“When I was a full time teacher, I knew what was going on in my classroom and occasionally what was going on in my colleague’s classroom in the English department, but now I get to see the amazing instruction that’s happening all around the building. I get to see teams of teachers working together and collaborating on activities and what’s best for individual students who might need something extra, something different, something more. To get the big picture of all of the wonderful things that are happening at Harrisonburg High School is the best part,” Soenksen said. “The whole idea behind coaching is to embed teachers professional development within their job day to day. Better than taking a class and then putting the book on the shelf and forgetting… [is] to have someone there in the moment to develop you professionally, set goals and find ways to reach them.”

team consisted of Louis Guevara, Ruby North-Sandel and Victor Garcia-Alvarado.

“We kind of just bought random stuff and hoped that it worked out and it did,” North-Sandel said. “There is some skill to it, but how we did it, it was more chance than skill.”

Although Guevara, North-Sandel and Garcia-Alvarado’s strategy relied mostly on luck, junior Justus Sneary thinks his team’s strategy relies mostly on skill and diligence. Sneary had the highest return on investment in the school at the beginning of the month.

“I did research, and I found the AMD stock was about to go up; they’re about to have big releases soon, by looking on forums. We went with a few others based on the new administration such as Exxon and Goldman Sachs. We brought politics into it. I did a lot of research into what affects the stock market. AMD was the biggest one for us though,” Sneary said.

Inge uses the game to teach about general questions such as: what is a company, what are the different kinds of companies, what is a stock and what are investing concepts such as stock diversification? However, Inge thinks that whether or not students will actually end up investing in the stock market themselves is questionable.

“One of the things that [I] tell people is that if you want to make money for your children to go to college, that’s where, when we did have stocks, the money went... What happened then is we sold it,” Inge said. “The biggest lesson is to have knowledge in how the stock market works because it is so alien to so many of them.”

There are some discrepancies between the way the real stock market works and the way the game works, but Inge thinks they lend themselves to further strategy.

“Students will say to me, ‘Mrs. Inge, what should I buy, what should I do?’ and I’ll tell them, ‘If I knew that, I’d be a wealthy woman. I probably wouldn’t be here with you, I’d probably be in the Bahamas somewhere’,” Inge said.

The Newsstreak

March 30, 2017 The Harrisonburg High School Newsstreak The Policy The Newsstreak is published by the students of Harrisonburg High School every month. Reproduction of any material from the newspaper is prohibited without the written permission from the editorial board. Advertising rates are available upon request.

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

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

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

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

Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed and a telephone number must be given.

Names may be withheld if the editorial board feels there is a just cause.

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

Letters may also be sent to the high school.

The Editors and Staff Editor-in-Chief: Abby Hissong Print EICs: Lucie Rutherford, Owen Stewart, Christa Cole Online EICs: Garrett Cash, Olivia Comer, Angel Hendrix Advertising Managers: Madison Varner, Audrey Knupp, Anna Rath Photographers: Christa Cole, Andrew Rath, David Gamboa-Pena, Yogesh Aradhey Page Editors: Kyle Brown, Anna Rath, Andi Fox, Christian Rodriguez, Nyah Phengsitthy, Yogesh Aradhey, Hannah Miller, Jackson Hook, Theo Yoder, Lucie Rutherford, Abigail Hissong, Christa Cole, Noah Siderhurst, Sam Heie, Owen Stewart, Owen Marshall, Vivian Neal Staff Reporters: Yusuf Aboutabl, Yogesh Aradhey, Kyle Brown, Garrett Cash, Christa Cole, Olivia Comer, Danny Dombrowski, Sarah Earle, David Gamboa, Sam Heie, Angel Hendrix, Abigail Hissong, Jackson Hook, Audrey Knupp, Samantha Little, Owen Marshall, Hannah Miller, Nyah Phengsitthy, Anna Rath, Christian Rodriguez, Lucie Rutherford, Noah Siderhurst, Owen Stewart, Madison Varner, Theo Yoder, Carrie Yoder, Max McDaniel, Hannah Daniel, Lene Andrawas, John Breeden, Ryan Doerr, Andrew Ely, Lily Gusler, Jackie Mateo-Sanchez, Forrest Matter, Jewelia Rodriguez, KiYosia Wallace, Andi Fox, Zoey Fox, Andrew Rath, Edgar Sanchez-Bautista, Vivian Neal, Carson Rising, Iris Cessna, Ty McDaniel, Anzhela Nyemchenko, Jake Urbanski, Josh Wilson, Kenyaa Wright, Samantha Little 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 and 2015 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. hhsmedia.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 DO NOT want my son/daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on the new online version of the newspaper, www. hhsmedia.com.

Op-Ed-A4

Trump’s travel ban unfairly discriminates against Muslim countries NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL America has been known for accepting those in need and helping civilians escape oppression with open arms regardless of what race, religion or color you are. This has always been the case until recently, when Trump signed an executive order banning immigration from seven different Islamic countries for ninety days.

Being a part of such a diverse school system, it is disappointing

to see these people in need being stranded by our government because of the works of a few radical terrorist organizations.

Sophomore Fahad Mohammed was once a refugee from Iraq, and has gone through the process of migrating to the United States with his family. Now that the ban has been placed on his home country, his grandmother is unable to be reunited with her family.

“Before this travel ban had occurred, [my family] had been working very hard to get her over to America. Since this travel ban was implemented, it canceled her coming over,” Mohammed said.

Although the ban has now been lifted by the Supreme Court, there have been rumors of another one happening in the near future.

Many HHS students participated in a nation wide strike known as, ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ on Feb. 16. This was to show what life would be like in the United States without immigrants.

The protest was to show discontent with our President’s crude actions and statements toward immigrants. Senior Jorge Tejada stayed home to show support for the cause.

“My mom is a strong believer that Trump is oppressing Hispanics.

She said to support who we stand

for and our country we are staying home… his views on people are disrespectful.”

Junior Zhear Haji also stayed to show his discontent for Donald Trump’s travel ban against his home.

“I just wanted to let people know how it is without immigrants. How the world would be, how the school would be, how different it would look around society,” Haji said. “ [Trump] was banning immigrants, he was saying he would just target specific groups. As a foreigner that really got to me, I had family that went back [to Kurdistan] recently, and they couldn’t come back when they wanted too because of what Trump had done.”

We must continue to protest to show that this is a major problem and that we do not stand with the discriminatory acts of Donald Trump.

WHAT IS THE STAFF EDITORIAL?

ART BY ZOEY FOX

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.

ART BY ZOEY FOX

Make amends to receive forgiveness Abby Hissong Editor-In-Chief

making up for it. How exactly you should redeem yourself for the mistakes you’ve made varies from person to person. Some people want to hash it out all at once then Sometimes in life you mess up. move on, some want you to grovel for Whether it be with your parents, friends, forgiveness for a while, and others simply teachers, siblings or someone you barely don’t want to forgive you at all. It is up to know, usually you’re not thinking about you to figure out what exactly someone anyone other than yourself when you needs, and do everything in your power to do something wrong. In the moment, make it up to them. But before you even whatever you’re doing that you shouldn’t begin to do that, first you must ask yourself be seems like your best option because it why you did it in the first place. Were you is easy, not because it is the right thing to too worried about other people’s opinions do. It isn’t until the repercussions of what of you? Were your feelings hurt? Were you you’ve done come back and hit just not thinking at all? No matter you full force that you realize what you find your reasoning to just how severely your actions be, you must first resolve that have affected others. It is at issue within yourself before you times like these when it can be can move on, or else nothing so tempting to just wallow in is stopping you from repeating your guilt or ignore the situation your mistake again. all together, but that is exactly In the past couple of weeks, when you need to push through it seems like I have handed out and do your best to make things Dear Abby 2.0 countless apologies, but when it right. comes down to it, I realize that Recently I messed up pretty the only way to ever truly make badly. I won’t go into specifics, but because things right is to take ownership for my of something I did, I caused people I deeply mistakes and attempt to make amends. Not care about to lose faith in me, which, for to be a cliche, but the phrase that “time is lack of a better term, sucked. In every the only real medicine” really rings true in relationship you have in your life, trust is the case of redeeming yourself in the eyes something you build over time. Through of the people you hurt. Over time, you hard work and proving yourself time and can start to make things right by showing time again, you get to a certain point in them that you are truly sorry for what you your relationships with people where they did through your words and actions every just trust that you will do the right thing. It day. Part of this means accepting that not is that mutual trust and respect that makes everyone is going to forgive you, and in your relationships so special. However, some cases, maybe they’re right not to. once that trust is broken, it can be almost Everyone has their own way of dealing impossible to get back. Once people don’t with someone that has hurt them, so part trust you to do the right thing anymore, of taking ownership for your actions is their perception of you is tainted in a way accepting all of your consequences. All you that changes how they see you as a whole. can do is try your best to make things right The thing is, the hard part about letting and hope that the people you hurt have it people down isn’t actually doing it, it’s in their heart to forgive you.

America: one nation under love Gabe Poirot Guest Columnist America. Oh, how I love America. Out of the bowels of the USA has flowed a stream containing an unprecedented level of equality and blessing that´s available to every person that steps inside our land. Countless times our country has come through for the world, shining as a light and example of what a republic founded on true moral ground should look like. While our history is in no means impeccable, America´s founding and perpetual thriving are nothing short of impossible. Glancing across our official motto and songs, one can find a resounding and common theme that results in our prosperity: America is a nation founded and thriving under the one true God. Every morning as students across America start their first block, they hear the same, often monotonous recital of the great Pledge Of Allegiance.

In the pledge the famous words “One nation under God” certainly stand out.

According to ushistory.org, the words “under God” were added in 1954 in response to the communist threats of the world. Many who dispute that this nation was founded under God use this fact to show that it is only a recent

movement. and state, not What they fail realizing that the to see is that original intent 5 years before that Jefferson Bellamy´s statute had in writing (which would it was so that become the provisions of A Voice of official pledge) a freedom could Reason U.S Navy officer be given to both named George the church and Balch wrote a state. Jefferson pledge in 1887: “We give stated that “Congress shall our heads and our hearts to make no law respecting an God and our country. One establishment of religion, country, one language, one or prohibiting the free flag.” This pledge was used exercise thereof...”. Our in schools and institutions great founding fathers had around the country a vision of a free country and continued until the that neither promoted a early 20th century. It is church sect nor disregarded extraordinarily remarkable the commonly believed how this “unofficial” fact that no country can pledge has and still to this survive without the help day represents the hearts of the almighty God. The of many across the nation. very influential founding The words “under God” father Benjamin Franklin did not just pop into our put it this way: ¨Whereas pledge one day in response true religion and good to communism, but were morals are the only solid rather a manifestation of foundations of public the truth that America has liberty and happiness¨. stood on for hundreds of In conclusion, it´s years. crucial to realize that the Not only have you heard motto “in God we trust” the Pledge of Allegiance does not mean that God multiple times, but should be forced on hopefully you have come everyone in the USA, but to know cash fairly well. rather it simply means that The famous “in God we our country is committed trust” has not only been to being the shining light on paper currency since of love and freedom in a 1957, but it actually first hateful world. The Bible appeared on U.S coins in says in one John four that 1864. Today our country’s God is Love, which is why official motto stands firm: I believe with all my heart “In God we trust”. Many and I am absolutely thrilled will combat these truths to say that America is one with the popular argument nation, under Love. of separation of church

Don’t give up on the American Dream Noah Siderhurst Op-Ed Editor

and an unemployment rate at only 4.7%. That is not to say that more couldn’t be done, but The American Dream it is to say that Trump’s is an idea that has its fatalistic view of the roots in the heart of the economy is fundamentally founding of this country. false.

Although the term was Second, cutting taxes not coined until the early for the rich and spending 1930s, the idea has its on the military will not start in the Declaration solve the problem. Tax of Independence and the cuts proposed by Trump Bill of Rights. In its most do not close the wealth basic terms, it is defined gap or generate money as the ability of people that can be invested in born into poor economic things like education situations to rise out of and better housing. In them and achieve a level the same way, military of economic success spending only based on merit subtracts from and effort, and money that not luck or can be spent to privilege. help lower the For many gap from rich to generations, poor. the American So what can Dream was we do to make seen as the Sagacious the American best part of Siderhurst dream a reality the US. It was again? a defining First, we need to characteristic. It was the let go of nationalistic reason people wanted to assumptions that the US immigrate here. In fact, is the best and look at studies by The Equality what has worked in other of Opportunity Project, countries. In Canada, a cohort of economists for example, the gap studying wealth inequality between rich and poor is from Harvard and UC much smaller. Granted, Berkeley among other Canada is not the US and universities, show that policies may need some about 90% of children adaptation, but overall, it born in 1940 made more would be good to follow money than their parents. the example of countries However, that did not that have done well last. Only about 50% of in overcoming income children born in 1980 inequality. made more than their Second, we should parents. This is partially listen to economists and due to the continuing use data much more increase of wealth than we currently do. inequality in the US. More Nonpartisan groups of and more, economic economists such as The growth is concentrated Equality of Opportunity into the pockets of the Project often can offer few rich people in this some of the best insight country, continuing to into what we should. widen the gap between Third, we should invest rich and poor. in education. There is no Recently, this issue has better way to get out of been taken on by many poverty than by getting a politicians, including our good education. People president. Donald Trump with college degrees earn famously said that the much more than those American Dream was without. Improving public dead during the campaign. schools in areas with Maybe he is right. lower incomes can work Maybe we should just wonders in improving low give up hope of trying to income communities. improve the economics Whatever the of our country. Maybe solution, I pray that our we should give in to new president and the the cynicism of Trump’s republican congress rhetoric. But maybe, just will not throw away the maybe, there is a way to progress that has already improve our situation. been made towards There are several making the American things wrong with Trump’s Dream a reality once view of wealth inequality more. The economy is and the American Dream. not as bad as Trump For one, since around makes it seem, yet there the 1970s, according to is still a lot of work to be another study by The done. The problem then Equality of Opportunity becomes how to do that Project, the chance for work when the people children to achieve the in charge are caught up American Dream, defined in partisan rhetoric and as earning more than your political turmoil that is parents, has stayed about trying the foundations of the same, meaning that our democracy, instead we are no longer making of debating productive the problem worse. In ways to solve the issue. It fact, the economy is doing seems the only thing both quite well with 75 straight sides can agree on is its months of job creation existence.

The Newsstreak

March 30, 2017

HOT Or NOT

BY LILY GUSLER

Kim Jong-nam assassination: Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was killed with a chemical weapon at an airport in Malaysia.

New Beauty and the Beast: Emma Watson’s Beauty and the Beast debuts on March 17.

Kansas shooting: A Kansas man was charged with shooting three people and killing one.

SpaceX: SpaceX plans to send people to the moon in 2018.

Inflation: Inflation is on the rise with the biggest price increase in four years.

Women’s protest: The women’s march mimicked the immigrants’ protest in a day without women.

Bill Paxton dies: Actor Bill Paxton dies at 61 from a stroke after surgical complications.

It’s that time of year again: HHS counselors are working on student schedules for the upcoming school year.

Drama at the Oscars: ‘La la land’ was mistakenly named best picture, ‘Moonlight’ really wins.

Twins: George Clooney and wife expecting twins.

Plane crash: Three dead after small plane crashes in Riverside, California.

Undocumented immigrants: An underground network system has emerged to protect undocumented immigrants.

Joseph Wapner dies: Judge Joseph Wapner of ‘The People’s Court’ dies at 97.

Revised travel ban blocked: Federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland suspended Trump’s second travel ban nationwide.

Natural gas fire: Four people hospitalized with severe burns after track hoe hits natural gas pipe in OK. March madness: The NCAA tournament began on Mar. 16, and the championship game will be Apr. 3.

Vandalism of Jewish cemeteries: Another Jewish cemetery was vandalized in Philadelphia, PA. Spring sports: Spring sports are beginning their seasons. Soccer, tennis, track, baseball, and softball have all started.

Bioterrorism: Recent advances have made bioterrorism a greater threat than nuclear warfare, a threat that could potentially wipe out 30 million people or more around the world.

Tom Brady’s misssing jerseys found: Tom Brady’s superbowl jerseys, which were stolen after the game, have been found.

Trump budget proposal: President Donald Trump’s budget proposal revealed cuts to agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (13.2%), the Department of Health and Human Services (16.2%), and the Environmental Protection Agency (31.4%).

Autistic muppet: The newest Sesame Street muppet, Julia, has autism.

Trump wiretap allegations: President Trump accused fromer president Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower during the campaign.

Anti-Trump billboard: An artist in Phoenix, AZ designed a billboard ridiculing Trump, including mushroom clouds and Swastika-style dollar signs.

Freak waterfall accident: A tree fell and trapped swimmers at Kintampo waterfalls in Ghana, killing at least 18. 22 victims were hospitalized from the incident.

Op-Ed-A5

Border wall will not increase security Samantha Little Feature Editor

“We will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along the southern border.”

These were President Donald Trump’s words at his first address to congress on Feb. 28.

It was one of the main issues that he ran his campaign on and even had his supporters chanting “Build that Wall!” by the end of many of his rallies. However, when it comes down to it, what will building that wall actually accomplish?

There is already a series of fencing along the border, and I’ve actually seen a segment of a double fenced wall along the border between Juárez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas myself when driving past it.

The border of Mexico spans about 1,989 miles and Trump says his wall will cover about 1,000 of those, leaving the rest to natural obstacles. He has always insisted that Mexico would pay for it through raised tariffs and other economic means, but he might not realize that if Mexico’s economy suffers from this, there is a possibility for an increased number of immigrants that will do what it takes to have the chance for a better life in the United States because of problems that he, himself, created in their home country. He is using the proposition of this wall as an attempt to present the notion that he is a powerful figure, superior to those who try to challenge him, and prove that whatever he says goes.

The truth is, no matter how long, tall or wide Trump makes this wall, if someone really wants to get past it, they will find a way. There’s no changing that. Walls have two points that allow for people to get around them, where they begin and end. The only way to avoid that is by making an entire border around our country that would

connect those points and eliminate the possibility for going around them. But even then, that just prevents the passage around the wall and doesn’t account for the countless other ways that people could find a way through, including underground tunnels that go across the U.S.-Mexico border. Building a wall, no matter how small or large it is, will never do a perfect job of keeping people out.

I believe that if there’s a will, there’s a way.

However, Trump’s wall isn’t just to prevent, in his words, “gang members, drug dealers, and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our very innocent citizens” from entering our country, it is meant to act as something much more than that. It’s used as a symbol of contempt directed at those on the other side. The image it promotes is disrespectful and offensive to the Mexican people. In my eyes, building a “great, great wall” is the same thing as shouting “You’re not welcome here” and spitting in the faces of so many people.

Not only that, but some of those are people in desperate need of the opportunities that our country offers. Many are escaping high crime, economic problems, poor working conditions, illegal drug-related problems and corruption. It hurts to see people in our country turn their backs to those in need while they live a comfortable life here and pretend as though those issues aren’t present in other countries. We should be doing what it takes to help them, rather than automatically thinking that they’re criminals for no reason and not even trying to understand why it is that they’re doing whatever it takes to live here.

Two of the people that were once on the other side of the U.S.-Mexico border are my very own maternal grandparents.

They were born in Zacatecas

Being bilingual is a form of intelligence Hannah Daniel Staff Reporter If you speak English with a thick, foreign accent, I automatically assume two things: One, you speak a language other than my native tongue, and two, you are smarter than me.

Allow me to explain how Hannah-Rama I came to this conclusion: A few weeks ago, I had a substitute who wore a mic when he talked. An honest-to-god, clip-on, wearable microphone with a black puffy pop filter on the end. He took attendance meticulous, breathing into the microphone loudly, asking every single person where their name originated. Is it German? French?

Native American? Indian? After he was done, he told us that he was working on his English, and that we should correct him when he made a mistake while teaching. He wanted to get better and become a fluent speaker, he explained with a smile.

And while I had scoffed at his overbearing nature earlier in the period, when he said this I had a revelation: this man was incredibly intelligent. Not only was he smart and capable to teach in English, I could not imagine how smart he was in Spanish, his native language. In the low level of Spanish I’m currently taking, I’m aware that I could not travel to a Spanish-speaking country and even hope to be as smart as I am in English... And that was a very humbling thing to realize.

I believe that our internal biases are flawed, then, in this regard, because we create judgments based on accents and rank intelligence on how well people can speak English. I think about this a lot, and it’s causing quite a bit of cognitive dissonance.

Language is just a means of communication, and I have been ranking someone’s intelligence based on how well they can communicate with us.

I have now learned that this assumption is completely incorrect. Scientifically, people who speak two languages are smarter than us monolingual folk. The New York Times reports that those who speak more than one language are more adept at solving mental problems, and are able to more effectively monitor different environments. Not only that, but people who are more fluent in a multitude of languages are more resistant to symptoms of Alzheimer’s, like dementia.

Doing a bit of self reflecting, I realized that, while I am able to solve higher-order derivative equations here in the states, I don’t have the ability to communicate it from one country to another. And that brings me back to my first statement: If you are bilingual, I assume you are more intelligent than me.

If you are bilingual, you are smart in two languages, not just one.

and Chihuahua and supplied labor for the U.S under work visas while living in Ciudad Juárez. They immigrated here legally in 1958, and if it weren’t for them and their sacrifices, I wouldn’t be who or where I am today. It pains me to hear Donald Trump refer to Mexican immigrants as “killers”, “rapists” and “bad hombres”, when they’re not only my family members, but some of the best and most hardworking people I know. To generalize and stereotype an entire group of people

is ignorant and wrong. I’m tired of hearing it from not only Donald Trump, but from those who follow him and make his words their own.

It’s easy for people to support the construction of this wall and degradation of Mexican immigrants when it doesn’t affect them or anyone they know physically or morally, but to many others it’s a sign of great disrespect and has a negative impact on both their lives and the lives of those they care about.

Border wall fast facts Cost:

$21.6 billion, based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internal report.

Construction time:

More than three years, based on the same DHS internal report.

Lack of support:

DHS secretary John Kelly has said that a wall alone will not stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

INFOGRAPHIC BY NOAH SIDERHURST

Closed border, closed mind

CARTOON BY ZOEY FOX

Society should value arts more Ryan Doerr Staff Reporter

being human in our time. With such an intimidating future ahead, we need these creative historians more Ask any member of the arts com- than before. munity about their future, and they Although art in its most basic will all be able to share form is an exciting and stories with you about fulfilling form of creation, how their dreams have many people who oppose been devalued at some art in higher education fail point by a friend, coworkto see the many different er, parent or distant relapaths an artist can take. tive, usually at Christmas Not every actor expects to or Thanksgiving dinner. make it big on Broadway; Ryan’s Despite significant innot every dancer expects Ramblings creases in productivity, to become a principle motivation in the classdancer in the New York room and a whopping 72% of em- Ballet; not every writer expects to ployers saying creativity is one of the become a best-selling author. These top traits they search for in appli- young people are just as aware as cants (Americans for the Arts), class- their elders are of the one-in-a-miles and eventual majors in the fine lion chance they have of becoming arts are not considered “practical” stars—passion does not always make to the general public. them blind.

There are a number of misconBut just as many artists are aware ceptions surrounding the profes- that their success may not be monesional arts community, and one of tary or fame-inducing, they are also the most prominent ones is that the full of a similar desire to create that fine arts are nonessential to society remains insatiable. Regardless of as a whole. This is fundamentally incorrect.

Now more than ever, creation is a vital part of Importance to the economy: who we are as a people.

The arts and culture sector of the After widespread trageeconomy is a $730 billion industry. dies throughout histoEach person who attends a local arts ry, people have always event spends on average $24.60 over the made the choice to cost of admission to the event, generating locreate as a way to push cal economic activity. people through the pain Importance to academics: and into rebirth. After Students engaged in the the Black Plague, the arts have higher GPAs, stangreat Protestant/Cathdardized test scores, and lower drop-out olic schisms and hunrates. dreds of years of war, Importance to individual well-being: humans are still doing 63 percent of the population believe the the most human thing— arts “lift me up beyond everyday experimaking art. ences,” and 73 percent say the arts are a In today’s uncertain “positive experience in a troubled world.” political climate, in the INFORMATION FROM AMERIINFOGRAPHIC wake of a presidential CANS FOR THE ARTS

BY RYAN DOERR election so devastating to virtually all marginalized groups, we need more what artistic disciplines they prefer, artistic voices in the world. People these artists are fueled, not by the fear what they do not understand, glamour of their art forms, but by and art gives others a vehicle with the simple act of creating. They may which to spread understanding and decide to run dance studios, work new perspective. Self expression is as art therapists, or produce music. what unites us as people, and each They may find their fulfillment in the story told through a poem, play or simpler aspects of their trade. Who painting creates a little piece of his- is anyone to deny young people the tory that may one day give others a very things that bring them self-acglimpse into the struggles and joys of tualizing joy?

Why the arts?

$

The Newsstreak

March 30, 2017

Feature - A6

Gone, but never forgotten

Lucie Rutherford Print Editor-In-Chief On Thursday, Mar. 9, JV boys basketball coach Kevin Hargrove passed away after having a sudden heart attack. For the many students, athletes, coaches and teachers he touched, it was a shock. On more than one day, many gathered in his remembrance. This past basketball season marked Hargrove’s third year coaching at HHS. Freshman Austin White has known Hargrove his entire life, and considers him family. Hargrove, who’s closest family is his father in North Carolina, lived with White and his family for some time while in Harrisonburg. White has been coached by him in both JV and AAU basketball.

“I’ve known him actually since I was born… To me, he was Uncle Kev… He had a really big impact on me.

Just the way he reacted with people and the way he carried himself. He looked out for everybody and that just goes a long way with knowing him as a person and just having a good relationship with him,” White said.

Both on and off the court, Hargrove was someone people respected.

“He always looked out for everyone,” White said.

“He never yelled. He was always straight-forward, so if you wanted to know something, you wanted to know the truth he was the man to go to, and he’s just always looking out. I really looked up to him.”

Mark Neofotis, an assistant coach for both girls varsity and boys JV, first met Hargrove during his years coaching for JMU,

where the two spent every day together working with the players.

“He made a huge impact on me in many ways,” Neofotis said. “It would be easy to point out the basketball education, but that’s not what I want people to know. The thing that impacted me the most was how he treated everyone; always making sure people were doing well and if not, how he could help. Every day I watched him put himself before others and smile while doing [it], [he was] just a selfless man.”

Since the news of Hargrove’s passing, times have not been easy for not only Neofotis, but everyone else that was once touched by Hargrove’s coaching, words or actions.

“It has been really hard.

Not just for me but for the kids that he has become close with all over the community. This area really embraced him and it has showed. My phone has been ringing non-stop with support and prayers, and that has helped ease the pain. The players that we worked with have been awesome, they have been so supportive. He just loved them dearly,” Neofotis said.

For White, the sudden news was a shock.

“I really didn’t believe it, and it’s still hard for me to process that I’m never going to see him again or be able to talk to him, and that’s hard. I had seen him a couple days before, and he was supposed to coach me that night, we were suppose to have a practice and yeah, it was just really surprising, and it hurts,” White said.

On Mar. 17, many school and community members gathered in the remem-

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORA WHITE

GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN. JV boys basketball coach Kevin Hargrove passed away from a sudden heart attack on Thursday, March 9th, 2017. Hargrove was also a substitute teacher at HHS. A memorial for him was held in the HHS gym commons on Friday, March 17th, 2017.

Community and school members attended the memorial to share personal stories of Hargrove. brance of Hargrove’s life.

Principal Cynthia Prieto attended the gathering among superintendent Scott Kizner, players, students and teachers. The night consisted of prayers and personal stories.

“I think tonight was so powerful because everybody felt the same way.

What makes us such a strong, unique community are people like Coach Hargrove, so that’s going to be very missed,” Prieto said.

For Prieto, it was the personal touch that Har-

grove had throughout the school that stuck out to her.

“He always looked you in the eye and said, ‘How are you doing?’ and he would wait. It wasn’t like fly by you in the hall and say ‘How are you doing?’ and keep going, no, he wanted to hear an answer and ‘fine’ was not okay… there was a very genuine concern,” Prieto said. “I don’t remember names, I know faces, I know you are one of mine. Maybe you graduated last year, maybe you graduated the year before, but I’ve moved

on, I know your little sister’s name now, but he [knew].

One time and he’d know the names. I would stand in the halls and listen, and this parade of people would go by and he would know [their name] and then he’d know something; ‘How’d that algebra test go?’ or ‘Did you study for that history test?’ That to me is just so important because he made you feel special. It was never about him, it was always about you.”

Varsity boys basketball coach Don Burgess has coached alongside Hargrove for the past two years.

“One thing with Coach Grove, not only did we coach together, but he and I are more like brothers… he always wanted the best out of anyone and everyone, whether he knew you or didn’t know you. And that’s the thing, the way that he treated people,” Burgess said.

A story that sticks out to White when looking back on his time with Hargrove is a small one, yet one that shows the kind of person he was.

“After practice, we’d get in the car and a song would come on and he’d just start dancing,” White said. “There are a bunch of [stories], but that’s just one of the little things that he did with us and other people that was most memorable.”

Throughout so many years coaching together, Neofotis also has many stories with Hargrove.

“I think the one that makes me laugh was the last time we actually played the game. It was a pickup game with a few of the [HHS players] and a few JMU players. Just a

fun game, just getting up and down the court. Finally, about halfway through he casually walked over to me, smiled and said ‘Yeah, I don’t think I’ve got too many games left. This is a young man’s game, but we will win ‘cause our knowledge of the game is too great to lose.’ We won, but at the end we talked about how much better we are now at passing the knowledge on [rather] than actually running up and down the court,” Neofotis said.

For White, Hargrove was a person that everyone could learn from. “[I want people to remember] the way he treated people, and just to try to take that upon themselves to try to check on people and treat people the way that he treated people, and just become a role model like he was,” White said.

When looking at the lessons Hargrove left behind, his focus was on one thing: the kids.

“The thing I want people to remember is how much he loved working with the kids,” Neofotis said. “It was always about them and their growth, he was always thinking of [them]. He used basketball to help develop strong young men and women, and not just better basketball players, but better people. One of his favorite sayings was ‘Don’t cheat the kids.’ That right there tells you what kind of guy he was.”

Throughout his days, Hargrove made a difference among people not only at HHS, but throughout the surrounding areas. “[We’ve] lost a great person,” Burgess said. “The valley and the whole world is missing a very special man.”

Hard hat award motivates JV boys basketball team Owen Marshall Sports Editor The JV boys basketball team finished their 2016 season with a 18-2 record, along with an undefeated district record. The team introduced a new award this year in hopes of improving work ethic.

Coach Kevin Hargrove didn’t use the award in his previous season as head coach, but wanted to implement it in the 2016 season.

“I thought about doing it last year, but I didn’t, so I definitely want to do it this year. The entire team reached the award. Every game they knew it was going to the person that hustled the most, dove on the floor, or took a charge. Every game I saw that the players were trying to get a Hard Hat,” Hargrove said. “If they didn’t get it they looked at there teammates and said ‘He probably got the Hard Hat tonight’. It really brought the team together.”

Hargrove brought the idea of the Hard Hat with him from his former coaching job at Paul VI High School.

“I got it from the D.C. area in a nationally ranked program. It really just projected the whole team atmosphere and how you had to play hard every night. It showed you could be successful without scoring and each player could have an impact on the success of the team,” Hargrove said. “If you bring your hard hat you are ready for battle or ready to got to work.

We said the hard hat can go to the player that was the toughest or played the hardest.”

Sophomore Marcus Robinson-Jenkins was a seven time winner of the Hard-Hat award who believed it was a way to push the players to do well.

“It was a motivation to do your best, and strive in every game,” Robinson-Jenkins said.

Hargrove believes that the award helped the team build relationships while continuing to have success on the court.

“It contributed, it was a part of it, but it was a part of team unity and team bonding. It showed guys you didn’t have to score to contribute to your team’s success. Anything that brings your team together as one and has players strive for the same goals is always a positive,” Hargrove said.

“We still had to make some plays

on the court, but that incentive made them focus more and go a little harder to help their teammates be successful.”

Robinson-Jenkins believes the award encourages the athletes by motivating them to put up more than just points. With the thought of recognition on their mind, the intensity of every game was pushed by the boys as they strived for the award.

“Everybody competed to get the hard hat. Everybody played hard; as hard as they could every time they got in the game. That’s not an excuse, but if you have a motivation, you play harder,” Robinson-Jenkins said.

Sophomore Josh Lichti, on the other hand, believes that the team would have played hard with or without the award.

“We played hard no matter what. I don’t think we forced shots as much this year though, because people weren’t focused as much on scoring,” Lichti said.

Hargrove, as well as the players, believe the award is about who doesn’t focus on scoring.

“I just wanted to make them compete at a higher level and you have to give it your all. Throughout a basketball game, everybody has an opportunity to contribute without scoring. The Hard Hat signifies that, most of the time the hard hat didn’t go to the person that scored the most,” Hargrove said. It went to the person that did the dirty work and the player that did the little things. Players started to see they could have impact. The [players] were into it, so that’s good. Anytime the guys are willing to sacrifice a bucket themselves that’s always good.”

The award was announced after the game in the locker room.

It was normally given after a win, but sometimes if somebody did really well it would be given after a loss.

“At the end of the game we would talk about how we played.

After that we would pass out awards. Everybody’s hearts would start beating, wondering who got the hard hat, because you never knew who got it. Sometimes it was kind of obvious, but other times it might have been more than one. You just never knew,” Robinson-Jenkins said.

Lichti’s first hard hat award was given to him after one of the

Sophomore Josh Lichti

Sophomore Marcus Robinson-Jenkins and Freshman D’Shawn Fields

Freshman D’Shawn Fields

Sophomore Taz Lockhart

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KEVIN HARGROVE

team’s few losses.

“The first time sucked because we lost. Normally he doesn’t give out the hard hat after a loss, but I played really well and had a lot of rebounds,” Lichti said.

Hargrove believes that the Hard Hat kept the mood of the players high while also allowing them to compete for the distinction.

“Kids were happy for the

player that got the award. The kid that got the award became more upbeat and try to get another one. It boosted morale of all the players,” Hargrove said.

Robinson-Jenkins attributes his best game in the second match up against Spotswood, where he won one of his seven hard hat awards. Sometimes, the winner of the award wasn’t even a starting player, just the one that

had the most grit and worked the hardest.

“Probably when [bench players] got in the game. A lot of the time the people that got the award are people that don’t start,” Robinson-Jenkins said.

“When they get in the game and do something good, like get a steal and assist, that is when they deserve it the most.”

March 30, 2017

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March 30, 2017

Feature-A9

The Newsstreak

Annex debate sparks considerations for new school Andi Fox Feature Editor The current HHS building is made for 1300 students, but right now, it contains 1757. The school is overflowing by about 35% of what it is supposed to be able to hold, and the population is growing fast.

In just two years, the population has increased by almost 400 students. As of right now, teachers and students have been able to adjust pretty easily to the use of outside trailers, though they are not ideal. However, in a few years, at the rate the population is climbing, there simply won’t be enough room for everyone.

There are currently two proposed solutions: build an addition to the school we have now, or build an entirely new high school.

Principal Cynthia Prieto believes that an annex might not solve the problem long-term. “[A pro of building an annex] is having everybody in one place, but we’re going to outgrow that very quickly. That’s going to be a problem,” Prieto said. “I think another con is that no matter what we do, ultimately we’re going to move everybody through this building.

If you add on to this building, that’s great, we have more space, but [during class changes], all of those kids are going to have to go

through the center building. We’re still moving, in the same sized hallways, all of those people. That’s a concern. And I think ultimately we are going to outgrow it.”

The process of deciding which option to pick involves a small group of student voices, including senior Alanna Whitfield. Whitfield would prefer to add an annex in order to keep the city school unified, but believes it is in the best interest of the students and staff to build another high school.

“If it was up to me, I would just want to add on to this school, because this is a good school, but for the benefit of the teachers and the room and for anyone else who feels overcrowded, I would say that we need another high school,” Whitfield said. “[Benefits of] a new high school would probably be that you could expand the sports, so more people would be able to participate in sports and clubs, [there would be] more room for classrooms like AP and Dual Enrollment students, so you would be able to participate in more classroom activities. I feel like there would be less violence, because less people would equate to less violence, so there’d be less people having altercations with one another.”

Prieto also believes building a new school would be more valuable for the community.

“In my mind, I see the size of a school very much having an impact on what sort of community gets formed. [In a smaller school] there is more of an intimacy and more of an emphasis on finding yourself a niche... Do something that somehow finds yourself your own little community. If you have a smaller school, there is a tighter community and more chances that people will know you, and pitch to your strengths and your talents, with less chances of you just being a regular kid,” Prieto said. “In a bigger school, there’s only one captain of this, one president of this, one first chair of this.

In a smaller school, or two schools, which is what I’m thinking about, you then have two opportunities to be captain, two opportunities to be class president, two opportunities to be a part of the musical, that sort of thing. We do a really good job at the number that we’re at right now, [but] the bigger you get, the more that changes. And that would be what I would want to protect.”

Ultimately, the School Board and the City Council make the final decision, but before they do so, they try to hear input from as many different view and opinions through a committee. This is the board that Whitfield, other students, parents, staff members, and regular community members

Requirements alter graduation plans Ryan Doerr Staff Reporter The 2016-2017 school year is almost at an end, and this year is unique in that it will be followed by a plethora of new changes for graduation requirements. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has decided on a number of different educational alterations that will make graduating from public Virginia high schools more efficient.

According to HHS principal Cynthia Prieto, these requirements will be a brand new look at the Virginia education system’s standards, focusing on critical thinking skills, communication, collaboration, technology and innovation.

“The [VDOE] changes are very fluid. VDOE is changing the SOL requirements and looking at the other aspects of graduation, like seat time, credit counts, standards and accountability and mastery measures,” Prieto said.

“They are calling them all the ‘Portrait of a Graduate’. This is a conversation that has been ongoing for over a year and includes discussion of what a student needs in order to be the most successful in both college and career.”

While these changes may seem daunting, HCPS superintendent Scott Kizner is not worried.

“The specific state graduation requirements have not been completed yet, like changes to SOL tests, required courses, and the like, so our work in Harrisonburg will continue but we have to make sure we are meeting the new state graduation requirements when they are finalized,”

Kizner said.

The changes themselves will impact the Virginia school systems as a whole, but so far the VDOE has not detailed any changes that are specific on a school-to-school basis. Prieto, while still unsure of how HHS will be affected, is hopeful the faculty and staff will be able to integrate these changes in requirements seamlessly.

“We have started to have these conversations as a faculty and will work to create the Portrait as well as incorporate it and the requirements into our current system,” Prieto said.

“We want to tap the existing strengths of our programs and continue to foster growth. I want our students to be products of a robust program that fosters strengths of students, delivers skills to support areas of need and graduates confident, talented, productive members of our community.”

The VDOE changes mean an uncertain future for later HHS graduates, and freshman Kate Cummings is uneasy.

“I’m glad the administration is deciding to focus more on specialized instead of general education,” Cummings said. “But it worries me because I don’t want to have to decide on a career right now as an underclassman.”

The “Portrait of a Graduate” has the potential to change not only the high school experience, but the middle school experience leading up to it, as well.

“I anticipate that the changes will impact education at all levels as we restructure our focus,” Kizner said. “We believe that our students should have experiences that enhance collaboration and teamwork skills, communi-

cation and civic responsibility, critical thinking and problem solving, global and cultural awareness, creativity and emotional intelligence along with strong content knowledge.”

To reduce the stress of these changes on the community, the Harrisonburg administrative team is working to make the transition as smooth as possible. “[We] have a team of educators working on these changes already, 18 months before they need to be implemented. During the 2017-2018 school year, we will have greater discussion with middle school students and parents. In addition, we will increase our professional development and curriculum work to reflect these changes,” Kizner said.

In general, Kizner’s feelings about the VDOE changes are positive.

“Overall, I am very supportive,” Kizner said. “STEM Academy, AVID, Fine Arts Academy and next year’s World Language Academy are examples where we are trying to challenge the status quo and make learning more interest based for the students. High school graduation requirements and expectations have generally looked the same since when I graduated back in 1976. I think it is time to get away from schedules that have students move from one subject to the next, instead having students see the connections of the different subjects they are learning and how they apply to real world experiences.”

Prieto summed the goal of the administration succinctly.

“The impetus is to have all education create the best, most skilled, most successful people,” Prieto said.

on it. The administration handpicked the students who would be representing on the committee.

“We looked at diversity that will reflect our populations. We looked at students who we knew had ideas, who had been involved in programs and could really contribute to what would benefit a student’s who is not involved or shy about being involved or fully involved,” Prieto said.

The decision itself entails a long and complex process. Last year, a group of twelve people, including Prieto, met with architects to fully understand what their options were. They were then able to narrow down their choices. Then, this year, a larger group of about 42 people played around with designs for an annex.

“We put out the current map of the building and figured out what could be done with that space, what are the shortcomings, what are the good things, and then designed some options. I think people got really excited about what they were designing and what they were doing,” Prieto said. “We were really pleased when the architect heard all of the comments that we made, and put them all into this design that they came up with.”

With all of this focus on an annex, the Council and the School Board realized that they hadn’t

really done anything with the idea of a new school. This is when the committee made up of community members was formed.

The process of investigating the implications of building a new school versus building an addition is going to take a long time according to Prieto.

“To get the community input and then put all that final stuff together is about an eight-week process. Then, in June, there’s another joint meeting [between the School Board and the City Council],” Prieto said.

At the last meeting, the board and the council heard complaints that they weren’t reaching a decision quickly enough, and that the overpopulation is a pressing issue.

However, the extensive process of meeting with the various committees and boards is for the good of everyone involved in the community and shouldn’t be rushed.

“Where we left the last meeting, they made a commitment to come to some kind of decision, so it was not like that we keep postponing it. The longer we postpone it, the longer it takes to get the drawings, get the bids and then actually break ground,” Prieto said. “My understanding is that if we were to break ground today, it would still take us about three years to occupy, so it’s a ways off.”

School budget totals: Operational Budget - Expenditures By Function

Instruction:

$54,247,591

Admin-Attend & Health:

$4,105,509

Pupil Transportation:

$3,488,923

Operations & Maintenance:

$5,216,258

Technology:

$3,412,785

Total:

$70,471,066

Operational Budget - Revenue Sources State:

$35,682,078

Federal:

$2,831,774

Local - Recoveries, Rebates, Charges:

$1,894,675

City Appropriation:

$30,062,539

Total:

$70,471,066

School Nutrition - Expenditures by Function

Food Service:

$3,611,973

Technology:

$14,000

Total:

$3,625,973

School Nutrition - Revenue Sources Federal (Breakfast and Lunch):

$2,904,000

State - School Breakfast/Lunch Program:

$91,000

School Lunch Receipts:

$630,973

Total: $3,625,973

Infographic by Sam Heie

March 30, 2017

DECA States

March 3rd 7:20 a.m.

8:30

Students leave HHS in four cars driven by Dermont Perry, Copeland, Michael Eye and Robin Crespo.

2:00 p.m.

The HHS DECA chapter arrives at the North Beach Holiday Inn in Virginia Beach.

6:00

All DECA members attending the competition meet for the opening ceremony.

8:00

Students have the rest of the night as free time to relax and prepare for the next day’s competition.

All DECA team members meet at HHS in the room of DECA Advisor Cassandra Copeland.

9:00

The DECA team breaks up and goes to their respective areas for competition.

2:00 p.m.

Rounds finish up and DECA members have the next six hours to relax while the judges finish ballots and tally up points and wins.

DECA is an international organization that works to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. The HHS chapter traveled to Virginia Beach to compete in the state tournament on Mar. 3-5.

10:30

The team stops at Short Pump Mall in Richmond for a short break. At 11:30, the team returns to the road.

PHOTO BY LUCIE RUTHERFORD

3:15

The team has a meeting about competition times and the schedule for the next day.

7:00

The states DECA members all eat dinner together in the convention center.

11:30

HHS students return to rooms for curfew.

March 4th

Experience-A10

The Newsstreak

7:30 a.m.

Students wake up, eat breakfast and prepare for their competitions.

10:00

Freshman Suzanne Fornadel enters her room to be judged. “I was pretty nervous at first, it’s hard getting everything stuck in your mind in 10 minutes from your topic.

Other than that I was really relieved that my judge was super nice,” Fornadel said.

8:00

After hours of preparation, rewards are handed out based on abilities in the role plays, writing and test scores. Rewards were handed out to Lucie Rutherford, Danny Dombrowski and Nick Gladd.

PHOTO BY LUCIE RUTHERFORD

HARD WORK AND CALI BOUND. Seniors Danny Dombrowski (left picture, far right) and Duncan Rutherford (right picture, far right) are awarded for Retail and Merchandise and International Business Marketing respectively. Rutherford will be advancing to the national competition in California.

Rutherford advances to ICDC competition Audrey Knupp Staff Reporter

Over the weekend of Mar. 1, 15 students from Harrisonburg High School (HHS) loaded into three cars, and traveled to Virginia Beach. Upon arriving they competed in the State Leadership Conference (SLC). The 15 students that traveled to SLC are members of the HHS DECA Chapter. There were a total of 3,700 students from different DECA Chapters around the state of Virginia. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools all around the globe.

Competitions for HHS required anything from one to two different role plays, or up to a 30 page presentation with visuals.

Students were required to dress professionally by wearing a navy or black blazer with DECA pin. In addition to the blazer, girls were required to wear pants or a skirt, and close toed shoes for competition.

Out of 15 different competitions the HHS DECA chapter has one student advancing to the next round. Senior and one of the Vice Presidents of the DECA chapter, Duncan Rutherford will be attending the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Anaheim, California. Last year Rutherford attended ICDC in Nashville, Tennessee.

“My favorite DECA memory was the opening ceremony of last years ICDC in Nashville, Tennessee. It was such an amazing experience, and that is why I have worked so hard

to be able to witness it one more time,” Rutherford said.

While at states and when advancing to nationals Rutherford’s event will be the International Business Plan (IBP).

“I created a 30 page business plan about importing argan oil from Morocco to the United States to be used in cosmetic and medicinal products,” Rutherford said.

In his event there were about 25 different teams from around the state of Virginia. Those 25 teams they were comprised of one to three people. Rutherford decided to enter the event by himself so if he didn’t advance to ICDC, he had no one to blame but himself.

“Once at DECA States, I had to give a 15 minute presentation about why they should be an investor into my business plan,” Rutherford said.

He gave his presentation to judge who had already read his 30 page business plan prior to his presentation so that the judge would already be familiar with his proposal.

“To prepare for the state competition, I spent countless hours researching and writing up my International Business Plan.

I had to become familiar with the costs of running a business overseas, as well as Free Trade Agreements and trade barriers between Morocco and the United States,” Rutherford said.

In addition to writing the plan, he also had to practice giving the presentation, due to him only having a total of 15 minutes to share his ideas. The timer for this event started the second he walked into the

door of the competition.

Rutherford practiced all the way up until his event at SLC, including giving his presentation to other HHS students in the hotel the night before.

“As far as points concerning my presentation, my judge scored me on the complexity of business operations, feasibility of venture creation, marketing function, total revenue and marginal revenue, output and profit,” Rutherford said.

While at SLC student competitions started early on Saturday morning, and went until late afternoon.

After competing late Sat-

urday evening, the HHS chapter loaded into their cars and traveled 15 minutes to the convention center for the first awards ceremony. Out of the 15 students from HHS, four members won an award for high role play score or test evaluation.

Rutherford will continue to improve his business plan for the ICDC in Anaheim, California. ICDC will be held April 26th through 29th at the Anaheim Convention Center.

“For ICDC I am most excited about the reduced rates on Disneyland lodging and Disneyland park passes,” Rutherford said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CASSANDRA COPELAND

DECKED OUT FOR DECA. The HHS DECA chapter members (see below for names).

DECA participants and their competitive categories Senior Danny Dombowski receives his award

12:00

Students have until midnight to relax and have free time until curfew.

Friday, Mar. 5

11:00

8:00 a.m.

The final award ceremony commences for the last subgroups of DECA. Duncan Rutherford advances to Nationals.

HHS DECA leaves for the four hour travel back to Harrisonburg.

INFOGRAPH BY LUCIE RUTHERFORD

Audrey Knupp Danny Dombrowski Duncan Rutherford Jeremy Pultz Cole Henry Lawan Rasul Lucie Rutherford Molly Bauhan Nick Gladd Owen Stewart Rawand Ali Ruben Salazar Suzanne Fornadel Sydney Pigott Zhear Haji

Apparel and Accessories Marketing Retail Merchandising International Business Plan Sports and Entertainment Business Growth Plan Independent Business Plan Food Marketing Series Hotel and Lodging Management Principles of Hospitality & Tourism Sports and Entertainment Independent Business Plan Sports and Entertainment Principles of Business Management Marketing Communication Series Independent Business Plan

The Newsstreak

March 30, 2017

Feature-A11

Every Person Has A Story

Hassan participates in foreign exchange program Jewelia Rodriguez Staff Reporter Sophomore Abdullah Hassan is an exchange student from Pakistan through a program called YES (Youth Exchange and Study).

Students from other countries, including Pakistan, come to America to study for one year. Hassan is staying with a host family here in Harrisonburg for the next several months.

“About one hundred students were chosen from my country, Pakistan, to come to America. Half of them came in the month of August and the rest came in September. Around 30 students came together at different locations.

Some would be in California, New York or Washington, D.C. I came to Washington, D.C., and from there I came to Harrisonburg.”

Hassan said Hassan has seen substantial differences between the environment of Harrisonburg and his home in Pakistan.

“Harrisonburg is totally different from Pakistan, the roads are perfect, even the ceilings [are perfect] compared to where I come from. [In Pakistan], it’s usually very busy [and] noisy, and there is traffic everywhere. In Harrisonburg there is peace and quiet. It is just a huge place and it’s full of nice people,” Hassan said “Harrisonburg High School is very different from the city school that I went to. Personally, I like it over here better because it has more options for me. Computer graphic classes aren’t at my school, so it’s pretty cool to take

one of those classes. In my school we usually have three options, to either take an engineering, medical or accounting.”

Though his experience in Virginia has been great so far, there are still aspects from his life on the other side of the world that he misses.

“Over here is a pretty diverse place, the only thing I’m missing are my friends and family. Other than that I am really enjoying it over here.” Hassan said Hassan began learning English in his school in Pakistan, but it wasn’t an easy process.

“In my country people speak Urdu, our national language, but the school teaches us in English…

The first time it was really difficult because it wasn’t my first language, and all of the letters and pronunciations were different, but then I started to watch English cartoons and TV shows, and that [helped] my English. After that, I did face my difficulties learning English. When I was starting out in the first and second grade, I never really spoke English with my friends or family very much,” Hassan said When Hassan goes back to his country he plans to share everything he has learned and all of his amazing memories that he has made with all of his friends and family.

“Living over here has been a totally different experience and I plan to take everything I learn from my experience back to my country as well as all of the memories that I make here. When I go back to my country I will teach them everything new I have

PHOTO COURTESY OF ABDULLAH HASSAN

SAY CHEESE. Sophomore Abdullah Hassan (very bottom, right) with some of his friends from Pakistan. Hassan is part of an exchange program that gives students from other countries the opportunity to study abroad in America for a year. learned but in a different point of view.” “ My parents didn’t come with me because this is a scholarship program and only I get a Visa and my parents aren’t aloud to come with me because it’s an exchanger and I have to spread my culture and live with my host family tell them about my culture and learn about them along the way,”Hassan said Hassan as well as all of his family members and friends were

Pham learns English in Australia

very surprised that he was selected out of 30 students to come to America.

“My parents were really surprised honestly they didn’t expect me to come this far and neither did I but somehow I did. My other family members were really surprised and a little shocked. Especially, since I was the first in my family as an exchange student.

Also most of my friends were really jealous but some of them were also really happy that I had

Andrews gains confidence through music Nyah Phengsitthy Social Media Manager

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHY PHAM

AROUND THE WORLD. Junior Kathy Pham in Australia during a study-abroad scholarship program that helped her learn English.

Jacqueline Mateo-Sanchez Staff Reporter Born in Ho Chi Minh City, Junior Kathy Pham left Vietnam to study English in Australia. Pham was in Melbourne for around a year and a half staying with her uncle and niece. She was able to go to Australia through a scholarship she had applied.

“A lot of the people over there are extremely friendly,” Pham said. “In the school I went to, the students helped me study English and helped me with my homework.”

Pham decided to learn English so that she could get a better future and a better job opportunity.

“My first language is Vietnamese and since it’s a small country, not many people know the language where else English is

a well known language and so it can help me with everything such as my education,” Pham said. “In Vietnam, English is a second language but we don’t speak English on a daily basis, we just learn basic grammar and writing skills.”

Later in life, Pham wants to become a medical technologist.

“I want to become a medical technologist because math and chemistry are my favorite subject and I would love to work in the medical field,” Pham said.

Living without her parents in a different country, Pham learned some things.

“I had to learn how to do everything by myself and it’s not like living with my parents where they did everything for me,” Pham said In late 2014, Pham moved to Harrisonburg with her parents and her sister.

“Harrisonburg is a lot quieter compared to Melbourne but it’s a great place to get a good education,” Pham said.

While in Melbourne, Pham attended Melbourne Language Center then she transferred to Collingwood college.

“How the school divides the subject is different from Australia,” Pham said. “It’s not like here where you have algebra 1, algebra 2, over there they combine all those materials together.”

At times Pham does get homesick.

“I miss my other sister who is over there and my friends,” Pham said.

Although Pham hasn’t been to Vietnam since 2014, she has found a new home. Pham said, “People are friendly and the teachers are really helpful to students.”

“Overall, I like her, even when she gets annoying. She tends to get away with things my parents would kill me for. We sometimes play outside, or inside with legos.

Sometimes we play computer games.”

Referring back to his quieter life, Tjaden has played piano since second grade.

“I play anything from soundtracks to classical. I’ve been playing [for] eight years now. My parents signed me up so I would have an extracurricular activity, then I just got hooked. I loved it, and I’ve loved it since. I took a couple classes here and out of school,” Tjaden said.

He has composed original pieces and ‘remixed’ some oth-

“I submitted an original song into a national competition last year. It didn’t win, but I still submitted it,” Tjaden said.

Tjaden practices hard, though he tends to mix up the music.

“Occasionally a lot of the same song gets boring, so I tend to play a lot of things. My favorite piece would probably be one remixed from the game Floaterland. It’s a very nice piece. It sounds really cool.” Tjaden said.

Tjaden enjoys the skill aspect of piano as well.

“It’s a nice skill to have. I like that I can sit down at a piano and play something. It feels good to make people say, ‘Oh hey, he can do something!’ It makes me happy,” Tjaden said.

this opportunity to come over here,” Hassan said Hassan explains what he wants to do as a career and who has really drove him in that direction.

“I want to be a civil engineer because my dad, grandfather and my sister were all civil engineers and what their doing right now.

Earning a lot of money and living a really good life so I acknowledge them and I want to do the same,” Hassan said.

Since entering high school as a timid freshman, sophomore Nina Andrews’ confidence has boosted. When she was in middle school, Andrews was bullied for her appearance, but now that’s something that Andrews is beginning to stand up to.

“I used to get bullied a lot, so I think I just need to help people be brave and stand up for themselves, and recently I’ve been trying to lose weight. I haven’t been exposing my body, but putting myself more out there so I can show people it doesn’t matter who you are [or] how big you are, and what I’ve learned is to just be yourself,” Andrews said.

High school was a chance for Andrews to be more confident in herself by standing up to what others say about her. Not only does a strong composure boost her confidence, but singing as well.

Andrews has been singing ever since she was very young.

From singing at home to singing at school, anyone can see that Andrews is in love with music.

She is also a part of the choir at HHS, and even performed a singing piece at the Black Student Union talent show.

“Singing lets me be free, and I think that’s what I like most about it. I’ve sung ever since I was really little, and it’s just been a big part of my life… I sing in choir, I sing everywhere.

I even sing in class, and people get annoyed,” Andrews said.

Although there are still times where she can become self conscious, Andrews would consider herself a changed and confident person.

“I think now I am [confident].

There’s still some times I’m self conscious and I don’t know about this and that, but now I’m confident… People use to call me fat, and I would go cry in the bathroom, and people call me fat now and I’m like, ‘I know’,” Andrews said.

For her enjoyment, Nina enjoys doing fashion design, 3D animation and of course, singing.

While high school’s purpose may be for students to get an education, Andrews has also found it to be a place to be a leader and not let anyone bring her down.

“Just be yourself. Don’t care about what other people think about you. That’s a problem in high school; every day, everybody cares about [what] everyone thinks,” Andrews said.

“Don’t care about what everybody thinks. Just be yourself and be free, and love yourself.”

Tjaden finds appreciation for piano

Forrest Matter Staff Reporter Jefferson Tjaden, a sophomore in STEM at HHS, likes his quieter life. He plays no sports, but instead plays piano, spends time with his 10-year-old sister and building intricate creations out of legos.

Even though they get along most of the time, Tjaden and his sister still have rough spots.

“There are pros and cons.

There are the usual sibling fights, but then there are also the times when you have nobody else to hang out with. That’s when we play together. At times I’ve wished I didn’t have a sister, but usually I don’t,” Tjaden said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NINA ANDREWS

SING OUT. Nina Andrews waits to begin her performance in the women’s camarata choir concert at HHS.

March 30, 2017

Feature-A12

The Newsstreak

ALL HANDS ON DECK Garasimowicz brings different teaching style to classroom Iris Cessna Page Editor Technology Education teacher John Garasimowicz calls himself crazy, but students just call him Mr. G. His pull to teach the subject stretches back to his childhood, where he would teach the people around him about his discoveries in books.

“From a young age, I loved engines, I loved cars, I loved things like that. And I found myself being twelve, thirteen years old, teaching my friends about these things. Because I would just sit and voraciously read books about this stuff. Even four years old, [I’d talk] about cars and this and that, and I had such a love of it that I loved to go and teach people. I think it was my dad that told me, ‘Looking at everything you do, you like to teach’, and it was kind of a revelation, like ‘Hey, that’s what I want to do’,” Garasimowicz said.

His description of his teaching style includes his tendency to say what needs to be said, as well as his trend of pushing students to get better and better, and pushing them hard.

“I was actually quoted in the Waynesboro newspaper. A former student of mine said it, ‘Mr. G has never been afraid to say what he has to say, whether you want to hear it or not’.That’s kind of who I am… I would say I push students as hard as I can to be independent. You’ve noticed today, amongst your classmates and so forth, so many kids reach out for you to do it for them. They’ll say, ‘Mister!’ or, ‘Miss! Come over here, is this okay?’ I always say to them, ‘You tell me’,” Garasimowicz said.

“The only way you’re going to get confidence is to know by yourself that what you

PHOTO BY IRIS CESSNA THE ‘G’ WAY. Tech Ed teacher John Garasimowicz’s style of teaching differs from others by pushing his students into good life and technology skills. Garasimowicz focuses more on the mindset and confidence in his classroom, more than he does with the subject. do is correct. So I push them. I’m not, in a sense, a very nurturing kind of person. I’m a kind of person who pushes people. I won’t let you drown, but I’m gonna be hard on you right until the point where just your nose is sticking out of the water.”

Despite his self-proclaimed unnurturing personality, he really cares about his students, according to science teacher Seth Shantz, his colleague in the tech ed world.

“I think rather than the specific style that he teaches in, his relationship with the students [is what is important]. Which is incredibly, whether he would admit it or not, incredibly loving. If you walk into his room,

Technology classes come with hands-on projects Yusuf Aboutabl Staff Reporter HHS offers several classes that prepare you for a future in a certain field, but none quite as involved as Mr. Garasimowicz’s technology classes. All of his classes involve hands on projects. The two most taken classes are Technology Foundations and Technology Transfers.

All of the classes help students understand the ins and outs of the subject in a way most classrooms don’t.

Junior Nathan Gehman took the first class and is currently taking the second class, noticing some differences.

“Right now I’m taking Tech Transfers and before I’ve taken Tech Foundations. Tech Transfers is just the next level of that. Mr. G is a really awesome teacher. He jokes around, but he also gets stuff done.

It isn’t a class where you do nothing all day, but the class is just a lot of fun. Right now we’re building gliders and trying to get them to go the furthest distance, and last project we built hovercraft,” Gehman said.

“In Tech Foundations we did similar things, like we built a cardboard car that had to protect an egg from another car. It’s just a lot of stuff like that, working with wood and building stuff.”

The two classes are similar in many ways, and one of them is the preparation it provides students with in the engineering and technology fields.

“With hands on work, you get ac-

tual experience. You can take all the engineering classes you want, but if you don’t actually go and do a project from scratch, then you’re never actually going to know what it’s like to be an engineer,” Gehman said. “I don’t want to do this for a career though. More of a hobby.”

Sophomore Hunter Simmons is taking Tech Transfers this semester and has also taken Tech Foundations before. His experience in the class ties in with work he does outside of school.

“I’ve made all kinds of different stuff. I’ve built decks and put roofs together and stuff like that,” Simmons said. “I thought it would be fun to try some new stuff and working with tools and [other technology].”

Simmons already has a head start in a field that is competitive, giving him an upper hand in continuing his work later on.

“If you want to do a career in engineering and do something with your hands, this class really helps you out. I always liked working with my hands instead of sitting in a class all the time,” Simmons said.

Junior Coltin Aleshire has also taken both classes and hopes to continue in the line of work posthigh school.

“Personally, I’m into technology and engineering, so I am looking forward to a career in those fields.

I’ve always liked working with my hands,” Aleshire said.

Aleshire aspires to go to college after high school to accomplish the goals he has set for himself.

he cares about you, and that I have seen since day one. That has had a big impact on me. We still have different teaching styles, but as long as you embrace embracing your students, I think it is one of the more fundamental things that we can do as teachers,” Shantz said.

Shantz is in his second year of teaching, so he considers Garasimowicz to be his mentor of the tech ed world.

“G has kind of played the role of, when it comes to tech ed world, my mentor in that field. I have been blessed with a bunch of mentors. I have mentors from the STEM world, mentors from the science world, so

I have a lot of support, but Mr. G has been a critical part of that, of my relationship to the school and the students,” Shantz said.

Garasimowicz has also been influential in the high school career of junior Enrique Quinones in the TSA chapter Garasimowicz leads.

“He has probably had one of the biggest, if not the biggest impact so far. Obviously through TSA, but just as a person [as well].

He taught me how to talk to people. That may [seem] like everybody knows how to talk to people, but to talk to people professionally… I could tell you that with G, I’m much more motivated to work because in his own way he inspires everyone else to work,” Quinones said.

Garasimowicz agrees that his classes and after school experience are helpful for life skills as well as technology, but he extends this beyond just learning how to talk to people.

“The value of my class in not so much the subject area, it’s more of a mindset. It’s the mindset to develop the confidence to go find an answer to a question or problem.

And I use technology as the focus, but these same skills can be used in anything in your life. It’s something you carry with you. It’s like, ‘Okay, what do I do?’ Instead of panicking over a situation, you’re like ‘Okay, logically I start off here. Identify the problem, I work through this. What do I really need to do? What are my options?’” Garasimowicz said. “It’s kind of an organized way of thought, of problem solving. Out there in the school, you get all kinds of information which is all awesome. They’re all pieces of a puzzle, and here I show you how to take that puzzle and put it together.”

Important classroom safety rules wear safety #1 Must glasses at all times

hair is pulled #2 Long back with hair tie

#3

No open-toed shoes or loose clothing

#4

Sleeves must be pushed up

#5

No jewelry of any kind is permitted

#6

No horseplay near the equipment

INFOGRAPHIC BY MADISON VARNER

Man on the Street:

What has been your favorite part of taking Technology Education as an elective?

Freshman Ibraheem Da’mes “My favorite thing in the class is making a boat that can hold the most amount of sand. Most people are making a barge structure, but I’m making more of a boat-like structure because mine has more of an edge on the sides.”

Freshman Safiyyah Ogundipe

Junior Evan Jost

Sophomore Isaiah Taylor

Sophomore Valeria Moreno

“My favorite thing so far would be making the egg crash car. I failed in the goal to protect the egg, but it taught me a lot about forces and how they work. I like how you can learn very independently in this class.”

“My favorite thing I did was learn how to use the tools. In order to be able to use each one, we had to take a test and prove we could operate it before using it independently for projects.”

“The crash car that we made. He gave us certain dimensions that we had to keep it within and you could put whatever you wanted into the car to try to make an egg survive a great amount of force.”

“I’m looking forward to working with wood. So far, the only projects we’ve done include cardboard, so I’ll be more excited when we use wood and really learn the tools.”

INFOGRAPHIC BY CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ

STEM

March 30, 2017

Feature-B1

The Newsstreak

Biotech Symposium

Biotechnology Symposium approaches 24th year under Blosser Sam Heie Feature Editor For the Shenandoah Valley Biotechnology Symposium, ‘hands-on’ is an understatement. Since 1994, Harrisonburg has been the home of the annual Virginia-wide and nationally renowned congregation of schools. The symposium meets in the Spring each year to collaborate and learn the sciences up close and personal.

Harrisonburg biology and biotechnology teacher Myron Blosser has been the coordinator and leader of the symposium since its conception 23 years ago.

“In 1993, I received a bunch of equipment that is typically not in high schools. It was equipment that colleges were starting to use to help them to do biotechnology research, so for some reason I decided I wanted some,” Blosser said.

Blosser was surprised when the school accepted his request for such expensive and professional materials.

“The school bought me all of this equipment… and I opened the boxes up and did not know how to use the equipment, so I decided to ask the company that I bought the equipment from, which was Carolina Biological Supply Company, if they would come up and show me how to use the equipment. We also invited other schools in the area to see if they wanted to come and learn, so in the Spring of 1994, we had the first symposium,” Blosser said.

The first symposium only hosted a handful of students and teachers from the surrounding schools. They spent the day learning how to use the equipment, listening to the keynote speaker professor Doug Dennis from JMU and performing laboratories in the Eastern Mennonite University Science Department. After the first symposium, there was still some confusion about the equipment, so Blosser decided to repeat the meeting.

“The next spring, I held the same symposium in the same place, but there were a lot more students and teachers there that year.

Again, we had a keynote speaker, that year’s from Cold Spring Harbor labs in Long Island New York. I asked James Watson, the discoverer of DNA, to come down but he didn’t.

Instead, he sent his right hand man down.

We had the speaker talk, and then we did another lab and learned some more,” Blosser said.

When teachers and students continued

PHOTO BY CHRISTA COLE

KICK OFF. Keynote Speaker Dr. Derek Jantz speaks about replacing a T-cell’s natural receptors with chimeric antigens, receptors that instead search for cancer markers, in his opening presentation. to contact him after the second symposium, he decided to make it a tradition but had to move it out of EMU. “After the second [biotechnology symposium], I decided to hold them at Harrisonburg High School. I was a teacher there at the time so it just seemed more convenient.

For many years they were simply held at HHS and we would free up all of the science classrooms for the labs and all of the science students participated. We did that until 2002,” Blosser said.

In 2003, Blosser transferred from his job at HHS to Eastern Mennonite High School.

From 2003 to 2015, the symposium was held at EMHS. HHS students were still invited and every year they sent a group of kids over for the day. Attendance grew upwards of 300 from 10 different high schools. The symposium grew so large that Blosser had to use both EMHS and EMU until 2015 when Blosser transferred back to HHS. “The 2015 symposium was held at the new HHS. It was a disaster. It did not mix well with the bell schedule, we were overcrowded and it just didn’t mesh well. We all right away said, ‘Wow, this is not working very well’, so the next year, I asked JMU if we could use their facilities,” Blosser said.

Blosser scheduled the symposium so it would fit during the James Madison University spring break. It was held in the Integrat-

ed Science and Technology building on East Campus. This year will be the second year it is held at JMU. The Shenandoah Valley Biotechnology Symposium is nationally known for drawing in and presenting internationally praised scientists. David Ayers of PPL Therapeutics was one of the scientists that cloned Dolly the Sheep and just so happened to be one of the symposium’s keynote speakers.

“I saw him at a conference in the summer and asked him if he could speak at the symposium and he said he would be on the East coast that week and he would love to be our guest speaker. A week before the symposium in that spring, his company cloned the first litter of pigs ever. It hit the news,” Blosser said. “The symposium was on Friday and on Monday, David Ayres was on Good Morning America. On Tuesday, he was on another major news show. Every day that week, David Ayres was on national television and on Friday he was at our HHS biotech symposium. That was pure luck and pure chance, but we got a lot of national attention for having them, which was exciting.”

Other famous scientists include Augusto Odone, who inspired the movie Lorenzo’s Oil, and most famously, Francis Collins.

“Francis Collins is the president of NIH and the leader of the Human Genome Proj-

Students attending Biotech Symposium find experience impressive, enjoyable Hannah Miller Print Copy Editor From the possibility of wiping out the mosquito population to using DNA fingerprints to discover if a father’s children have colon cancer, high school students that attended the 24th annual biotech symposium got to experience the practical applications and advancements of biotechnology in the modern world.

Starting the day off with keynote speaker Derek Jantz, teenagers from various school around Virginia had a day of seminars, labs and Q&As. Sophomore Genevieve Kennedy was impressed by the magnitude of biotechnology’s impact on the modern world.

“It’s been really interesting getting to hear from all the different speakers, and seeing what’s going on in modern biotechnology and [other] modern fields of science. [It’s been] especially [interesting] seeing new goals in biogenetics, [including] the goal to de-extinct some creatures, [or even] make mosquitoes extinct,” Kennedy said.

Freshman Alice McNett appreciates the opportunity to explore the possibility of sciences as a career path.

“I didn’t know that a lot of this stuff was happening [in the world], so I guess it’s just expanded my knowledge,” McNett said. “Students who are interested in going into science can explore this and see if that’s what they want to do, and students that aren’t can still learn a lot, because this stuff [is] useful.”

With hundreds of students of schools from Charlottesville to our very own Harrisonburg, three different groups were formed with different schedules for the day. Everybody got to experience a seminar about circadian rhythms and a lab. The lab was led by JMU professor Ron Raab,

Biotechnology Symposium

in which students used a method called gel electrophoresis to separate segments of DNA, cut by restriction endonucleases. Sophomore Brianna Kelley enjoyed the lab the most.

“I think [the most fun thing] would actually be the lab, because I love doing labs and I love doing gel boxes,” Kelley said.

The first biotech symposium was held in 1994, and for the past 24 years has been helping open students’ eyes to what’s happening in present-day science.

“It’s a really good way to let kids know about new fields. That whole thing about circadian rhythms, or other [natural] rhythms in science, I had no idea about that field, but it’s really interesting to me,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s a good way to get more kids into new fields in science, and to publicize different ways people can be in science, without having to be as strict as you act in classrooms.”

After Jantz discussed genomics and the use of gene editing, everyone was given a chance to ask questions. Some of the topics brought up sparked debate throughout the rest of the day, but the kids enjoyed the chance to learn about scientific developments. Sophomore Philip Hart believes it’s the whole reason why the symposiums are hosted.

“It’s been [very] interesting. I liked the keynote speaker, because he brought up some [compelling] topics,” Hart said. “[Blosser has these] so that students can learn about all the current developments in biotechnology.”

When the day was over, the biotech symposium had provided kids with an opportunity to get hands on experience in current discoveries, learn about the products made everyday with genetic editing and explore the possibility of changing the world themselves, just with the help of a little biotechnology.

PHOTO BY CHRISTA COLE

SCIENCE IN ACTION. Sophomores Malak Bani-Hani and Katilyn Cue (middle) participate in the lab at the Symposium. “The Symposium was interesting because we had the chance to see how biotechnology is being used in the modern world. We did an experiment where we had to figure out whether the offspring of an infected dad would get the same infection as the dad had. It was really cool to see the results,” Bani-Hani said.

ect. He came as one of our keynote speakers and we gained a tremendous amount of national attention over that. He was my favorite, but everyone has been fascinating and interesting,” Blosser said.

This years keynote speaker is Derek Jantz, Chief Scientific Officer of Precision BioSciences. He and his company are interested in DNA modification for food and alternative energy. Blosser believes there’s reason behind the internationally renowned scientists coming to a high school symposium.

“There’s honestly three reasons [that they come to our symposium]. Number one, I’ve noticed that when the scientists get to the level that I’ve mentioned, they have this desire to give back. Even though they are very busy and even though they are all around the country, they still have this internal desire to make a difference.

The second reason is that there is no one else in the country doing this. There is no other high school symposium that brings in big name speakers like we do. The third reason is because of our past. When I invite someone, I tell them the speakers we’ve had in the past and a lot of these scientists want to be on the same list as Francis Collins,” Blosser said.

Blosser believes that the students who attend the symposiums enjoy it as well. “[The students] like it because it is a day set aside just for modern science. Your textbook was printed six to eight years ago, so everything is out of date. It’s easy in high school to talk about things we already know, and teachers are probably drawn to things that they understand well, [so] I wanted a day where students could go and listen to people who aren’t teachers and who are currently working in cutting edge science. I want to learn just as much as the students,” Blosser said.

This year will be the 24th consecutive running of the symposium. Blosser believes that even after this long, it holds a special value.

“It’s rare that students and teachers go to something together where they are both learning something new for the first time and so for me, that’s an exciting thing in high school,” Blosser said. “I’ve had students in college who will tell me that their professor mentioned someone’s name that they’ve seen before and suddenly they realize, ‘I’m the only one in here that’s seen and heard [of] that scientist before.’ It gives them an upper hand and I’m really excited about that.”

A look at the past 23 years Since beginning in 1994, The Symposium has reached over 7,800 student participants from 26 different high schools and 4 universities.

Previous Speakers: - Thomas G. Voss, Ph.D. Director of Virology

SRI International - Tim Tully, Ph.D., Dart Neuroscience LLC - Gary L. Horton, Lab Director, Preimplnatation Genetic Diagnosis - Channapatna Prakash, Ph.D. Tuskegee University - David Micklos, DNA Learning Center, Cold Springs

Harbor Laboratory, NY - Randolphe Wicker, Clone Rights United Front - Steven Badylak, Ph.D., M.D., McGowan Institute for

Regenrative Medicine - Donn Cummings, Ph.D., Monsanto Company - Curtis Van Tassell, Ph.D., Research Geneticist, Bovine

Functional Genomics, USDA - Francis Collins, Ph.D, Director, NIH Synthetic Biology simulation using CAD, Tinkercell Protein separation through Electrophoresis Sexing Bovine Embryos

Identifying a ‘virus’ through DNA fingerprinting

Previous Lab Topics

PCR of mitochondiral DNA

Restriction analysis of Lambda

PCR of the Alu Allele

Detection of GMO foods using PCR

INFOGRAPHIC BY SAMANTHA LITTLE

March 30, 2017

Feature-B2

The Newsstreak

Middle schoolers explore electives fair

Nyah Phengsitthy Social Media Manager

From passing out free food to free t-shirts, a night for students and families to find out about clubs and elective classes was created. Held in the gym commons, the electives fair consisted of many booths from different activities and electives that are offered at HHS. Not only were students from the high school invited to attend the event to learn about more opportunities at the school, but so were eighth graders from Skyline and Thomas Harrison Middle Schools.

To get a glimpse of what some of the classes are like here, eighth-grader Ashley Iscoa from Thomas Harrison Middle School attended the electives fair with hopes to find an elective she can sign up for.

“I like learning about history, and I’m interested in writing. I also like the theater and choir department… I’m [hoping] to learn a new language and become trilingual,” Iscoa said.

The electives fair allowed Iscoa to look at classes that she plans to take, like French, Choir and Newsstreak. Iscoa is also a member on the JV girls soccer team this year, and she plans to play for the rest of high school. For now, the team is something that’ll get her closer to the high school life.

“I think this will give me a good idea of [high

school] and make me more comfortable and less stressed out about it,” Iscoa said.

Eighth grader Mariel Joven from Skyline Middle School attended the electives fair with ideas of what she wanted to take at HHS. “For the recent years I’ve been in Skyline, I’ve enjoyed doing theater. It’s really been my passion for the past years I’ve lived here in Harrisonburg. Another interest would be STEM academy. It’s really hard to choose between fine arts and STEM academy because you can’t really combine those,” Joven said.

While she’s still deciding on what to sign up for as a freshman, Joven would most likely base her answer off of what her career path would be.

“I don’t know which one I want to do yet, but I really love doing theater and fine arts. It really depends on the career I want to take when I get to college,” Joven said.

Other than fine arts or STEM, Joven is also interested in taking Yearbook because of her love for photography and some type of world language.

With the fair being an informational night, Joven would consider it to be an eye-opener to HHS. “The electives fair really helps a lot because it kind of shows the different programs at Harrisonburg, and I wouldn’t have known about all of these if the elective fair wasn’t here. I wouldn’t know what Key Club was or what Avid was, or even American sign language, which is really cool,” Joven said.

Food sold from different cultures fundraises for clubs, classes

PHOTO BY HANNAH MILLER

BON APPETIT. Sophomore Zhenya Untilova makes crepes for students attending the electives fair representing the French classes.

The booth had a variety of topping for the fair-goers to choose from for their crepe to recreate traditional French cuisine. French teacher Sally Young considers the booth a success, as she believes that the crepes helped attract people who may not have come over otherwise.

Christa Cole Print Managing Editor

PHOTO BY NYAH PHENGSITTY

ELECTIVES HUNT. Eighth grader Ashley Iscoa looks at the jerseys of the sports she found interest in at the sports booth at the electives fair. She plans on playing sports throughout her high school career.

PHOTO BY NYAH PHENGSITTY

JOIN THE CLUB. BSU member Brigitte Kuangu talks to students regarding what the club does while serving them complimentary food and refreshments. Students who were interested got to explore and talk to members who are already in the club.

Though the electives fair was held to showcase the opportunities at the school, some may say there were also added incentives to come to a few certain booths. Many handed out candy, while some clubs and electives had other treats, and athletic director Darrell Wilson even sold Blue Streak attire. One of those clubs who gave out cookies was Habitat for Humanity, the booth manned by members including senior Ninoska Bertran. Cookies were a popular item to pass out that night, but these cookies (sugar and chocolate chip) helped passersby to learn about the club as well as enjoy their sweet treat.

“We know that people love food so we made cookies, and then we have a little information sheet about Habitat for Humanity, so whenever you’re eating it and looking at it, you get to find out what Habitat [for Humanity] is,” Bertran said.

Cookies were also passed out by both the Food and Nutrition class and the Gear Up table, which was run by counselor Gwen Baugh. The table featured many goodies, including popcorn, nutri-grain bars, bananas, various types of cookies and bottles of water.

“I’m giving out food because the ninth graders are part of something called Gear Up,” Baugh said. “It’s a federal grant

that our school has and they give us money to promote anything related to undergraduate programs, early access for college, so this food is just so people will come over and have a friendly reminder that we have this grant here and if they have any questions they can ask me about it.”

The French class, taught by Sally Young, though, put a twist on the food offered at the fair.

Crepes were cooked at their booth with the option of Nutella or a variety of jams to be spread on them.

“They’re fun to cook and everyone loves to eat them because they’re really good, and they’re very popular in French-speaking countries, especially France,” Young said.

On the other hand, the Interpreter’s club, lead by Yolanda Blake, had many different things for sale to fundraise for their club, including ethnic foods as well.

“We need to fundraise for the club so we can pay for materials for the scholarship for 12- graders, because the club intends to pay for the official training to become an official interpreter for two students every year for different languages,” Blake said.

In order to raise the funds, the club offered colorful marshmallow pops, lemonade, cupcakes, homemade salsa and homemade chicken tamales.

All in all, elective fair visitors could leave not only informed, but with full bellies as well.

Yoder, Burgess plan high energy event to strengthen bond between home and school at fair Hannah Miller Copy Editor

2017-18 ELECTIVES

School related events are a big deal for members of the Positive Home-school Correlate, a group of faculty striving to form positive bonds between the home and school. For the electives fair, held on Feb. 22, the group had bouncy houses, corn hole and other games for students and teachers alike to enjoy. The aim of the fun activities was to promote positive experiences between the staff and students. World History teacher Lawson Yoder was the backbone behind the operation, along with the help of CTE teacher Don Burgess. “[The idea for games] came up when we were talking about how we were going to have the electives fair. [All the members] were like, ‘Why don’t we have some games and stuff here for the electives fair?’,” Yoder said. “It was kind of a natural decision-making process, so we talked to our other correlate members and sure enough we had at least a dozen… faculty that were willing to stay [that] evening to help out.”

It’s important to Yoder and the other members to create a relationship with students outside the classroom. Burgess’ goal is to help the students see faculty in a new environment.

“With positive community relations, it’s more

Health/ P.E Fine Arts Visual Arts Art club Piano Color Guard Dance Choir AP English 12 DE English 12 FCCLA Broadcasting French French Club World Language Spanish Club AVID

important [for] the kids of all ages, but also the parents of the kids, to see us teachers, or faculty or staff, in a different light. [The parents think], ‘Wow, their kids are running around here, they are human, too’, [and] that can help us bridge the gap with them,” Burgess said. “It comes down to communication, whether it’s positive or negative, in the future with their son or daughter [to] help strengthen the relationships by having these events.”

Burgess’ favorite part are the relationships. Being able to see his students and families outside the classroom helps him with his interactions in school.

“I think that’s the best part of it, strengthening the relationships between myself and the kids, [and] everyone that’s on the court,” Burgess said.

“It’s a fun environment… if we say there’s going to be a bounce house and games, they come out and you get a chance to interact with them in a different environment.”

At the electives fair, students and their siblings got the chance to enjoy the games in the gym and take a break from the generally authoritative figure of the staff.

“I just saw a kid and I got to talk to him outside of class,” Yoder said. “We got to play a little bit, it’s a different relationship. In the classroom is one thing, but when we’re out here, it helps that building. It’s the key to our success.”

AVID Seminar (10,11,12) News Journalism HHS Athletics AP Calculus BC DECA BRCC Coach Debate Leadership Creative Writing Library Science Debate AP Psychology DE Engineering Academic Lab Weight Training Sports and Games

PHOTO BY HANNAH MILLER

FUN AND GAMES. Positive Home-school Correlate leaders Lawson Yoder and Don Burgess encourage students attending the electives fair to play corn hole. In an attempt to promote more positive interactions between students and teachers, they set up games around the gym for everyone at the event to enjoy.

Creative Writing DE Speech Communication Blue Ridge Scholars Computer Info. System Future Business Leaders of America Technology Education Technology Student Association Family & Consumer Sciences American Sign Language Governor’s STEM Academy

Minority Student Achievement AP Human Geography English Language Learning Black Student Union Counseling Services Community Support Massanutten Technical Center Creative Writing Magazine Design Yearbook Journalism Habitat for Humanity Leadership Education Introduction to Robotics

AP Computer Science Principles AP Computer Science AP Economics/Personal Finance DE Speech Communication Math Department Computer Science DE Personal Wellness Intro to Weight Training Advanced PE/Certified Personal Training Interpreters Club Biblical Literature

March 30, 2017

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Yoder uses music to teach Stone Spring students Abby Hissong Staff Reporter

Stand outside of fourth grade Virginia Studies teacher Michael Yoder’s door and you’ll hear all the typical cacophony of a busy classroom, but what you may be surprised overhear is the strumming a guitar and the voices of children singing, both being common occurrences in room 104 at Stone Spring Elementary School.

Yoder makes history a little more interesting for his students by coming up original songs that go along with the Virginia Studies curriculum and teaching them to his students, then giving them the chance to perform the songs in front of their peers.

“The idea came about when I had music playing softly while students were finishing up some independent classwork. A popular song came on and most students could sing along word for word.

The idea was born there. I have some pretty tricky material that I need to cover regarding famous Virginians, battles, etcetera. I realized that if I could incorporate the essential knowledge into songs, students could have yet another way of retaining the information,” Yoder said.

Having been in the church choir and school band growing up, Yoder was excited to have the chance to work with music again. By incorporating these songs into his lesson, Yoder attempts to kill two birds with one stone by helping his students learn while simultaneously making his class engaging.

“I realized that if I could implement the [standards of learning]

PHOTO BY ABBY HISSONG SING ALONG. Fourth grade teacher Michael Yoder and his students practice singing along to one of the curriculum-related songs. The songs, written by Yoder himself, are a fun way of teaching students more difficult material.

SOL into song, students would learn them quickly and hang onto that information for a very long time. Perhaps even studying [while singing] when they’re not even in my room. In a sense, I thought if I could write and teach the material and song, then the kids would do the rest. It’s certainly not the only strategy I use, but it’s turned out to be very useful, effective and

fun,” Yoder said.

While Yoder has written the majority of his songs, he has also borrowed the tunes of popular melodies such as Taylor Swift’s Mean, Frozen’s Let It Go and the JMU fight song. Since the implementation of music into the classroom, the amount of information his students have retained has significantly increased.

THMS program encourages young girls Christa Cole Print Managing Editor Women come in many shapes, sizes, colors and ages, and regardless of all of these factors, we all have our insecurities.

Thomas Harrison Middle School’s Young Women’s Leadership program (YWLP) works to empower their seventh grade students, giving them an opportunity to explore leadership and confidence through discussion, technology, relationships, mentorships and more. YWLP is currently in its second year, THMS’s own counselor Vanessa Redmond being the director. Redmond is passionate about not only what the program stands for, but also the students themselves.

“I hope that it gives them a sense of, first off, confidence, and that higher self esteem, but also how to work with others and take initiative and be that leader, so if you want to see something done you have to see it done yourself or with other people. If you see a potential dream, go after it; don’t wait for someone else to do it for you, or someone else to claim it for you. I want them to gain motivation to want to reach out and grab it,” Redmond said.

YWLP covers many topics pertaining to the girls, as do the many activities that go along with them, one for each time they meet.

“We talk about all things from self-esteem to body image to healthy habits, leadership, women empowerment, careers...In the fall we had a career panel where we had about seven different women in different professions come and basically talk about the career they have and

how they got their to be an inspiration to them,” Redmond said.

“And then we do a lot of group work in our after school activities because it’s important to be able to collaborate with others and work together as a team to achieve certain goals; we do about one a week…. One of my favorites had to go through old magazines and collect images of women that were either too thin too large just right or ideal and then they had to cut them out and present to the classes what’s going on.”

One of the most hard-hitting topics of the group is one pertaining to self-image.

“I think that anytime we talk about body image it really comes to heart with them. I mean, every woman struggles with that no matter how old [they] are, so I think it’s something we could really delve into and discuss,” Redmond said. “As diverse as our girls are they also are in body shape and size, and it’s so wonderful to see the 85 pound girl talk to the larger girl and say, ‘But I think you’re beautiful, I don’t know why you think [negatively of yourself]’. ‘Uh, well, it’s so easy to be skinny’. ‘No it’s not because I can’t find clothes that fit’. So it goes both ways, the fashion industry doesn’t help us at all in feeling confident about ourselves, and I think that’s really the most prominent and important piece that we talk about.”

Seventh grader Katelyn Lindsey’s favorite topic, though, has been cyberbullying.

“I’ve never been cyberbullied, I’ve never been really bad[ly] bullied, but I’ve been bullied before, and it can get really bad and it’s good to try and help,” Lindsey said. “When I’m bullied, I feel

bad and I feel like I’m alone and I have no one to talk to….It’s not nice [to bully others] and it will make them feel really bad, and sometimes it can get really bad to where they want to hurt themselves, and that doesn’t make anything better because I’ve said that I’ve wanted to hurt myself before. It’s not good because you don’t really think about all of the people who love you, and so the thing that [we] learn about, is that it’s good to think of yourself and all of the friends that you have, all the family and don’t listen to bullies.”

Overall, Lindsey has found the program to be useful and has learned much, applying the concepts in her everyday life.

“I’ve grown [in] not judging people and I treat people better than other people do…

I’ve learned not to base people on how they look… I’m kind of nice to everyone. I don’t want to [brag] or anything, but I have great friends and I don’t really judge people a lot, but if you ask my friends I’m a really happy person most of the time and I’m very energetic. I’m not trying to [brag] and say I’m better than everyone else, but I’m just nice,” Lindsey said. “Bullies they’re like, ‘I don’t want to talk to girls’, or anything but I’ll say hi to them once in awhile. People can change over the years… It’s good to be nice to people because then you could have a really nice long [friendship]. My mom will say, sometimes I tell her I feel like I don’t have any friends and she will say, ‘Think outside of the box and then you have a lot of friends’, so it’s kind of nice to have people to talk to and so if you’re nice to them they’ll want to talk to you when you need help.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MOLLY JACKSON ARTS & MASKS. Girls in the Young Women’s Leadership program were given a blank slate to make their own.

“One of our first activities was they just got a white plastic mask and they had to decorate it to [represent] who they are and what their hope was for the future, so that was pretty cool. They could use paint and glitter and sequins and all of those kinds of things,” director Vanessa Redmond said.

“[I knew the songs were helping] a few years back before a benchmark test. I needed to teach the fourth graders about George C. Marshall, Harry F. Byrd, and A. Linwood Holton. They’re kind of obscure historical figures for fourth-graders, so I decided to tell their story through one of my songs. On the benchmark test the following week, the fourth grade

students had 100% correct answers on those questions,” Yoder said. “The other thing I’ve seen happen time and again are students humming or doing the motions for the songs as they’re working through assessments. That proved that the song approach was working well and challenged me to write more and more.”

In addition to an overall academic improvement, since he began giving his students a chance to perform the songs in front of the class that go with each unit, Yoder has seen a change in the overall dynamic of his classes as well. “[The songs have] certainly helped me develop a creative and caring climate in my classroom.

Students are often hesitant at the beginning to perform in front of others. I never force them to.

However, so often they understand and see that it’s actually fun and realize that they don’t want to miss out. And, no matter how it comes out, the other students are always encouraging and supportive of their effort,” Yoder said.

All in all, Yoder hopes to instill the values in his students that he learned from his teachers growing up. Through music and an inclusive learning environment, he believes he is well on his way to doing so.

“I had a some incredible teachers growing up. They challenged me, pushed me, and helped mold me...even at times when I resisted them and no doubt made their job very difficult,” Yoder said. “[As a teacher], I have the opportunity each day to form relationships with children, help them get excited about learning, and hopefully enable them to become better citizens for the long haul.”

JMU pen pals serve as role models for kids

PHOTO BY LUCIE RUTHERFORD BUILD HIM UP. Fourth-graders at Spotswood Elementary School play with legos with one of the JMU pen pals. Teacher Koren Dellinger loves the opportunity. “Two weeks ago, they came here and... we spent two hours in the afternoon just doing really fun activities and games, so they each got to spend [that time] with their JMU Pen Pal... They actually become pretty close,” Dellinger said.

Lucie Rutherford Print Editor-in-Chief Tuesdays are a big deal for Koren Dellinger and her fourth grade students at Spotswood Elementary School. On that day, the students can hardly contain themselves as they see the box of letters come into their classroom.

Each student is on the lookout for one specific letter, the one from their JMU pen pal. The pen pals are each part of the JMU Student Government Association (SGA), and write back and forth with the elementary schoolers every other week. This is Dellinger’s second year overseeing the program, and this year, due to the increase in JMU participation, she even had to ask another classroom to join in.

“They have a folder which goes back and forth from student to student. On one side is the JMU student’s name where their letters go, the other side has my student’s name with their letters. We don’t ever take the letters out, so they can see them throughout the whole year,” Dellinger said.

The exchange began during the second month of school, when the SGA picked names randomly from a list. Though due to the language boundary of some SES students, a few of the picks weren’t so random.

“Even our students who don’t speak English [participate],” Dellinger said. “I have a student who’s very new here and he speaks Arabic, and one of [JMU’s] students is an Arabic major, and so she writes to him in Arabic, and he can write back. We have some that write in Spanish for our Spanish speakers, and then the same for our Swahili speakers.”

When it comes to what the pairs write about, the options are endless. “[What they write about is] very random, it always depends,” Dellinger said. “Usually around holiday time they write about the holidays and traditions.

Sometimes I give them prompts

and have them write specifically about something we’re learning about in class, or maybe some sort of activity that we’ve done here, but there’s always parts in their letters that they can just write randomly about whatever they want.”

According to Dellinger, her students get more excited about their pen pals than most anything else in the classroom.

“Oh my gosh, they love it. They drop the letters off on Tuesdays, and on Tuesdays they absolutely cannot wait all day to get their pen pal letters and to read them.

When they see the people in the office walk in with the basket, they start hollering because they’re so excited about it,” Dellinger said.

Throughout the year, the 41 pairs exchange pictures and other things, though in early February, the SES and JMU students got to meet their pen pals for the first time.

“They came here and met all of our students, and so we spent two hours in the afternoon just doing really fun activities and games, so they each got to spend [that time together]. Over time, they actually really become pretty close, it’s really nice,” Dellinger said.

By leading the pen pal program, Dellinger hopes to give her students the opportunity to step out of their elementary school bubble, and gain a role model in the process.

“I kind of look at it as being similar to a Big Brother, Big Sister type of program in that I just love for our kids to be able to communicate with anybody else that’s not here directly related to them, and so I just feel like it gives them some opportunities. And, they look up to the kids at JMU; some of them are like heroes to them,” Dellinger said. “The idea of them writing to [the JMU students] weekly and getting to know them on a personal level is just super thrilling for them, and so for me, it’s nothing more than just another good experience of life skills that they don’t often get.”

March 30, 2017

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March 30, 2017

Spring Tryouts Boys soccer tryouts become more intense Jackson Hook Sports Editor Head varsity boys soccer coach Paul Rath was unsure of who his team would consist of going into the 2017 season. Out of the 162 students who signed up, 132 tried out. 108 students were cut from during tryouts to leave the team with their current 24 man roster. Due to the constant flow of students in and out of Harrisonburg, Rath was not sure who would make up his team.

“One of the things you run into with Harrisonburg and our soccer program is we’re very [transitional] in nature. We have a lot of people who move out.

We’ve got a lot of people that may not be eligible in the next season or decide not to play. In the past three years here we haven’t had that luxury of knowing who’s going to come back and what position,” Rath said.

Tryouts consist of various different exercises to measure how well the player knows soccer as well as their skill and physical abilities. One of the drills is the Cooper’s test in which athletes run as many laps as they can in a 12 minute period.

“We look at their tactical understanding of soccer, we look at their skill level and we look at their fitness level. We do fitness testing.

We ran the Cooper’s Test this year. We also look at their tactical ability in small sided games and then we

look at their technical ability with foot skills and one [versus] ones,” Rath said.

The players trying out for varsity are split into two groups and players trying out for JV are split into four so it is easier to evaluate individual athletes.

“We group our guys. We don’t have one big tryout because we have so many.

We have group one and group two and whoever makes it there goes to final cuts. On JV it’s four groups so it all depends. It’s a logistical nightmare. It’s crazy to keep up with,” Rath said.

Graduated seniors, ineligible students and players who have decided not to play totaled to 15 players who would not be returning to the team after playing in the 2016 season.

“We really start from scratch at the beginning of the season. For instance, last year six people got removed from the team because of breach of contract. We had seven people graduate. That’s 13 that we lost and then two this year.

One was not eligible and the other decided not to play in his senior season so that’s 15 people you have to replace for next season. That’s a whole squad.

Basically, we start all over again and trying to find the chemistry and formations.

Other teams in the valley and especially schools near Charlottesville, Northern Virginia, they’re already pre established. We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and tournament time,” Rath said.

Rath believes that hav-

PHOTO BY ANDREW RATH

READY, SET, GO! One group of varsity soccer tryouts runs suicides on Feb. 20. Tryouts consisted of various different drills to test players through conditioning and determine their endurance. Senior striker Federico Illiano is in his first year on the team after previously playing high school and travel soccer in Culpeper, Virginia and Italy. Illiano felt the pressure of having to tryout in large groups with 132 other players. “You feel a little nervous trying out with so many people, I’m not gonna lie,” Illiano said. “Even if you know you’re good, you still feel nervous. There were so many people. A lot of them weren’t that great, but some of them were pretty good and I don’t know why they didn’t make it.”

Illiano is one of 24 players who were not cut from the 132 who tried out. ing to fill more spots is a disadvantage. As other teams hold tryouts to fill the few spots that were left by seniors from the previous season, Rath has to fill enough for an entire team.

“Truthfully, I think it’s a little bit of a disadvantage for us because it takes a very long time. Tryouts for varsity lasted six days and although we knew we had

the people that we wanted on day five we still were looking through day six. JV was a full six days and we didn’t have the makeup of the team until that coming Monday,” Rath said. “It’s long. Others teams, they might tryout, but they are only really looking to fill one or two or three slots, we’re looking for full squads.”

Rath recognizes that

there is potential in some players who were cut that could play if there was another high school in the city, but having more players is detrimental to making the team better.

“I feel like we selected the best 24 players that were out there, that were academically eligible and could play at the varsity level. Due to our numbers,

if we had a second high school it would give another 50 plus guys... [a chance] to play JV and varsity,” Rath said. “That would be awesome because I don’t like cutting people. I see a lot of potential in kids we got rid of and some are really on the line that we would love to keep, but we can’t keep those numbers.”

Girls varsity and JV soccer tryouts focus on conditioning Anzhela Nyemchenko Staff Reporter Every year, girls soccer tryouts are held right before the start of spring, and this year they were run by

JV coach Simon Timbrell and varsity coach Brent Loope.

Tryouts for the girl’s soccer team began Monday, Feb. 20 and went through Friday, Feb 24. During try-

outs, the girls practiced many skills that are required in order to play on a team such as technique, passing, dribbling and shooting.

Eighth grade girls from

both Thomas Harrison Middle School and Skyline Middle School tryout for the teams as well as high schoolers. Every year during JV tryouts, the coach has to cut the number of

PHOTO BY DAVID GAMBOA PEÑA

HUDDLE UP. The varsity girls soccer team huddles after a game in the 2016 season versus Millbrook High School.

Both varsity and JV coaches focused on endurance during tryouts in the 2017 season to keep the teams conditioned.

players to about 20 people by the end of tryouts, a decision which takes about a week.

“It can get difficult. We need people on the team that have knowledge and ball skills,” Timbrell said.

Coaches have to look for good quality traits in a player as well when choosing players. “[I look for] players that have good work ethic, love for the game [and] determination,” Timbrell said.

Timbrell believes the varsity team is more intense and requires more knowledge for the game. But in JV, there is room for errors and mistakes. The slower pace of the game allows players to learn from those mistakes. For JV players, it’s mostly about improving as a player and team. “[On JV], players that also grow as a person, learn the lesson in soccer and learn as a person and [about] life,” Timbrell said.

Freshman Wendy Santiago-Henriquez, who played JV last year as an eighth grader, says that conditioning is the most intense part of tryouts.

“I’ve been going to open gyms, and I see what the coaches expect from us, so it has gotten a little easier,” Henriquez said.

Henriquez believes that

communication is going to be a factor in how the team performs after having problems with it in previous seasons.

“I think this year’s soccer team is going to be different because of the way we communicated during practice. Last year we struggled communicating with each other,” Henriquez said.

This is Brent Loope’s first year coaching the varsity team. This year 43 girls tried out, but only about 20 can make up the team. Loope measures soccer abilities of the player through fitness tests, and evaluates their ability against competition.

Overall, the ultimate roster is a decision that takes around a week or so to make.

“Qualities [I look for in a player are] athletic ability, tactical [ability] and positive work,” Loope said.

According to Loope, the speed of the game is the biggest difference that stands out from the JV team.

Freshman Maddy Scott is in her first year on the varsity team after playing JV last year.

“I’m excited to grow with the team, learn from them since they are older and have more experience and advice,” Scott said.

Baseball tryouts outside for first time in six seasons Theodore Yoder Sports Editor For the first time in six years, the baseball fields were dry for tryouts. In contrast to previous seasons, during which the team was forced to tryout inside due to cold, snowy weather, the sun was shining this year. Recently, due to unseasonably warm weather, the varsity and JV baseball teams had the tryouts take place outdoors. Varsity

head coach, Kevin Tysinger, is grateful for this change.

“If you are outside, you can actually get a sense of what [the players] can do on the field. Inside, you can simulate some things but it is never going to be perfect,” Tysinger said.

With tryouts outside, the team’s coaches were able to better see the skills of the players. Tysinger believes this was beneficial on both the JV and varsity levels.

“It was very beneficial to

be outside. For varsity, we did not get many players trying out that are new, we had a lot of returners. This helped us get a jump start on the season by being outside,” Tysinger said. “Now with the younger guys, [being outside] really helped a lot because we had many guys to choose from. Being outside made it easier to evaluate them.”

Tysinger and his players have set the bar high this season with their goal of making it to states. Among

those players, junior Sam Healy thinks the outdoor tryouts made a real difference in the start of the season.

“When you are outside, you get a real feel of the game. Personally, I am an outfielder and when you are inside you can’t do anything as an outfielder. However, when you are outside, you can work on outfielding drills, find the ball in the air.

When you take hitting drills outside you are actually getting a real feel for how

hard you are hitting the ball and how much more you need to work on it. Tryouts are definitely better outside,” Healy said.

During the early weeks of the season last year, the baseball teams had not even seen the outdoors.

This season, they have been practicing outside for a number of weeks now.

Baseball scrimmages and games begin fairly early in the season, and with last year’s bad weather, the varsity team’s first scrimmage

was the first time they played outside.

“This year, being outside, we are actually going to have a real feel for the game before our first scrimmage. We can now let the game of baseball really come back to us before we start officially playing,” Healy said.

The baseball teams begin their season with their first game being on Mar. 13 vs. Albemarle High School with varsity at home and JV away.

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March 30, 2017

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Underclassmen Rocha hopes for state championship ring Owen Marshall Sports Editor

Families influence their children in a lot of ways, and for sophomore Jose Rocha, that is how he found his love for baseball.

“My grandpa always liked baseball. I remember watching my uncles and family playing one day, and said, ‘I want to try this, it looks like fun’. When I was like three or four I joined T-ball, and they thought I was good, so from then on I played,” Rocha said.

Coach Kevin Tysinger believes that Rocha’s skill is what landed him a spot on the varsity roster.

“Honestly, he has a lot of talent and he plays as hard as a varsity player should,” Tysinger said.

Rocha believes that playing in older age groups most of his career has helped get him ready to play for the Streaks.

“High school, to be honest, hasn't been that hard right now. When I was little my team would be 12U, but we would play 14U. We have always played older, so I have already seen top 80’s and some 90 [miles per hour pitching]. I think I am prepared. The overall experience has been good,” Rocha said. “It helped me see pitchers that I would see in my future. It made me be prepared and stay short to the ball and work on my timing.”

Tysinger believes Rocha’s work ethic has led him to a higher level of play.

“As a person he is a pretty good kid. He seems to want to learn more which goes into being a player as well. He is always willing to do a little more to help himself out,” Tysinger said.

Rocha thinks that every coach that he

PHOTO BY OWEN STEWART

HERE’S THE PITCH. Sophomore Jose Rocha warms up in he bullpen in the home match-up against Amherst. The Streaks fell to the Lancers 14-10 in a ten inning game. has had has helped him get to where he is today.

“All my coaches [pushed me]. I can't just say one coach because all my coaches have helped me with this and that. If they see something wrong, they would say, ‘Hey, try this. You’re doing it wrong,’ but in a good way. They helped me get better like that,” Rocha said.

Over the summer, Rocha played travel with the Upper Deck Sports Academy in Bridgewater. He believes that they helped him get ready for the next level of baseball.

“We had great [travel] coaches. Blake Sipe played D-I at Radford University and

Underclassmen on each sports team Baseball JV: 6 Freshmen 4 sophomores Varsity: 3 sophomores

Softball JV: 6 Freshmen 4 sophomores Varsity: 3 freshmen 2 sophomores

Boys Soccer JV: 7 Freshmen 5 sophomores Varsity: 13 Freshmen 6 sophomores

Girls Soccer JV: 6 Freshmen 4 sophomores Varsity: 3 freshmen 4 sophomores

Boys Tennis Varsity: 1 freshman 5 Sophomores

Girls Tennis Varsity: 4 freshmen 6 sophomores

Kevin Chandler played at Bridgewater College. They taught us how to play baseball at another level, [things like] if there is a person at second you would bunt to [third], just little things like that to win ball games,” Rocha said.

Rocha was one of three freshmen to play varsity baseball in the 2016 season, and started in the middle infield.

“It was a good opportunity to play varsity and start at second base. I think it shows [I] can play ball at a high level,” Rocha said.

Tysinger believes that once Rocha was able to make changes, he began to figure out the jump in competition from JV to var-

sity.

“Good things were the ability to listen, learn and get better,” Tysinger said. “Bad things were at the beginning were just typical freshman trying to go too fast. He started to learn the pace of the game. Varsity baseball is a little different, guys throw a little harder and they have a little better off-speed. You just have to learn to adjust.”

Rocha would like to see the team win the state championship this year.

“What I am looking forward to this season is getting a ring on my finger; winning states. I have been in the cage and getting ground balls, trying to get better for the season. The grind never stops. I would like to hit .400 or above and go first team all-conference,” Rocha said.

Rocha’s long-term goal for himself is to make it to the next level of baseball.

“Getting drafted, that is a big thing, getting drafted out of high school. I would like to go play college ball somewhere, I don't care if it is D-I, D-II, or D-III, just somewhere,” Rocha said.

Most of the Streaks baseball team has played with each other since they started in little league. Rocha believes that as a player, you aren't just playing for yourself, but for your teammates too.

“It is just family playing together. I have known everyone since I was little, so it’s like you can't let them down,” Rocha said.

Rocha believes that the Streaks need to work hard in order to meet his goal of winning the state championship.

“We need to work hard, we have a lot of seniors this year, so next year we are going to be missing a lot of players,” Rocha said.

“I can see that they want it too. I know they want that ring like me, so we are going to work hard for it.”

Grogg takes on varsity role John Breeden Staff Reporter The softball season is here, and the varsity team has a new addition to their lineup, freshman Lydia Grogg. Now with just one year of experience, she’s already taking the next step up in competition. Last season was a great year of learning for Grogg, as she was a starter the entire season. She hopes to continue her success and continue to work hard.

“I feel like I have to try my best and push as hard as other girls. I feel like it will help me in the long run,” Grogg said.

Trying to be as good as the other varsity players, who usually consist mostly of juniors and seniors, can be tough.

However, there are always high expectations while playing on varsity level.

This can also factor in a lot of pressure from teammates, coaches, opposing teams and the school as a whole.

Grogg, however, doesn’t feel this way.

“I feel like [the pressure is] the same.

You [have] to do your best either way,” Grogg said.

Most athletes who are on varsity teams have been playing their respective sport for almost their entire lives, and Grogg is no exception. Grogg started at a very young age, and has continued to put work in year after year.

“I started [playing] when I was around four or five. I played T-Ball,” Grogg said.

Not only will Grogg have to prove herself, as far as skill and hard work goes, but the social aspect of the game could also be a factor. Being new to a team means new people to work and

PHOTO BY OWEN MARSHALL

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Freshman Lydia receives the ball during an indoor practice. compete with, which can be challenging for some. Grogg, however, feels that she is getting along great with her team already.

“I fit in with [my teammates], and I like being around them,” Grogg said.

Being good at a sport takes a lot of hard work and help along the way. According to Grogg, the most help she’s had in softball has been from her family.

Grogg believes she’s ready to take on her new challenge in the game of softball, and has no thoughts that she should have been on JV this year.

“I feel like I’m ready [for varsity] if I push myself just like all the other girls,” Grogg said.

Collier prepared for increased ranking on team in second year Owen Stewart Print Managing Editor Sophomore John Collier moved to Harrisonburg from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, prior to his freshman year. During his first year at HHS, Collier decided to join the tennis team. While he did have some experience with the sport, it was his first time playing with an actual team. “[I started playing] around fifth grade, and I’ve been playing ever since. I didn’t start playing competitively until last year when I joined the team. I decided to play because my friends were playing, and I thought it was a fun sport,” Collier said.

With his lack of competitive experience, Collier wasn’t in the team’s top six seeds during his freshman year, but did participate in doubles matches. This season, however, the team will be without some of last season’s top seeds, allowing Collier an opportunity to move into the top six and play in singles matches. Collier notes that his increased role on the team this year will likely cause a little more intensity from him in matches and practices.

“I think I’ll be a little more competitive and a little more serious about it than I

was last year. I’ll be playing more matches which will make me care about it more,” Collier said.

To prepare for a greater amount of competition, Collier worked on his weaknesses over the summer, particularly a couple parts of his game to add to a strong forehand shot.

“I think I’ve gotten much better over the summer, so this year I’ll be a lot better than I was last year. I [mostly] worked to improve my serve and my backhand,” Collier said.

To work on fixing the weaker parts of his game, Collier stresses hard work and trying to practice skills on a regular basis. “[You get better] just by repetition and putting the work in, doing the same thing over and over. You have to be on that grind,” Collier said.

Throughout a season, Collier and the team run into many challenges, the biggest coming from a fellow conference school, according to Collier. “[The toughest match] I had last year was probably against Handley. They’re way better than us, and they win states like, every year,” Collier said.

While Collier sees Handley as the

squad’s toughest opponent, he lists another Conference 21 West rival as the team he most wants to take down this year. “[I want to beat] Millbrook. They beat us in conference last year, I believe. We’re really looking to beat them this year,” Collier said.

As tennis is Collier’s only sport that he plays at the high school level, he believes there is a little added importance in his performances during the season. “[The season] means a little more to me.

I don’t have any other distractions during tennis season, and other than school, I’m usually able to just focus on tennis, getting better and winning my matches,” Collier said.

As for the different aspects of the sport, Collier doesn’t see the greatest difficulty he faces coming from anything physical, but more of just bringing out your best every time.

“The toughest part is probably just being consistent in all of your matches and trying to win a lot of them,” Collier said.

The team opened their season on March 14 against Millbrook, and is scheduled to play 16 matches throughout the season.

PHOTO BY KYLE BROWN

GAME TIME. Sophomore John Collier returns the serve in his doubles match-up against Robert E. Lee. Collier and teammate Tobias Yoder lost their match.

March 30, 2017

The Newsstreak

Sports-B8

Junior Athletes

Paz begins varsity season as catcher

Theo Yoder Sports Editor

Baseball has been a part of junior Ignacio Paz’s life since his tee-ball days at the age of seven. Paz was influenced by his older brother to start playing. Now, Ignacio is the starting catcher for the varsity baseball team.

“I love the team. I feel like they are my brothers and they are like another family to me. Playing the sport is also really fun because of the intensity,” Paz said.

After tee-ball at a young age, Paz joined little league baseball in Harrisonburg. The coaches placed him at the catcher position and he has stayed with that position ever since, eventually leading him to play for the Streaks.

“You’re basically the man when you are the catcher. You know what is going on, you get to make certain calls and the team relies on you,” Paz said.

Last season, Paz started at catcher for JV baseball. Due to a shortage in catchers at the varsity level, Paz was moved up to varsity mid-season. He finished the season on varsity with some starting games under his belt. “[The transition] was a bit different because the pitching speed was different and the pace of the game was quicker. It took me a little bit to get used to it. It has prepared me for this season because I’ll be the catcher taking over, and I know what to expect from varsity,” Paz said.

Although Paz feels confident about the upcoming season, there are certain aspects of his game that he believes he can improve as well.

“I need to be more of a leader. I also need to focus on the little things such as blocking, certain drills and taking care of my arms which is something I did not do last season. Our team is going to have to practice hard everyday and work as a team.

PHOTO BY OWEN STEWART

HE’S OUT OF HERE. Junior Ignacio Paz tags his opponent running for home plate during their game vs. Amherst. The Streaks fell to Amherst after fighting through extra innings. Paz is starting his first season on varsity baseball as catcher.

The skill is definitely there, we just need to unite more and play as a team,” Paz said.

Paz has high hopes for the season ahead. This will be the first season for him

starting as catcher for varsity baseball.

“I am excited. Our goal is to go to states, it’s a big goal but I think we can do it. I feel like it is going to be a good year,” Paz said.

The team has been practicing regularly during the offseason and faces their first opponent Mar. 7 at Monticello High School.

Goss named team captain for upcoming season Jackson Hook Sports Editor

Junior Meredith Goss is in her third year on the varsity girls soccer team and is more excited about the 2017 season than any season before. The three year starter at center midfield has been playing soccer since she was four years old. Goss has played recreational, travel and school soccer in four different states: Missouri, South Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia. Being one of the more experienced players on the team, Goss is looking forward to her team’s chemistry and fast pace as well as the new head coach, Brent Loope. He has begun his first season with the varsity girls.

“I’m very excited about [Loope], I like him a lot. He’s disciplined and, from what I can tell, loves the game, which is exactly what we need,” Goss said.

Goss is entering this season as a captain and a role model for the younger sophomores on the team, and has recognized that she will be improving her leadership skills as well as her soccer skills. “[My goal is] just to improve as a player, but also more this year where I’m one of the older ones to set an example, lead and help them improve as well. We have a couple girls that are beginners so they need as much as they can get out of it… It’s actually a great feeling. I like leading and teaching, so knowing more helps out with a lot of that. It also tests my patience a little

Harper blasts past competition Anna Rath Feature Editor

Junior Sydney Harper is the fastest female sprinter (7.86 in the 55) on the HHS indoor track team this year and on the outdoor track team as of last year. Harper started running in sixth grade and has continued ever since.

“I just wanted to hang out with my friends more after school and it just continued throughout high school,” Harper said Co-head indoor and outdoor track coach Tricia Comfort enjoys having Harper on both the indoor and outdoor track teams.

“She’s always in a good mood, she’s silly and lighthearted and that’s always a nice person to have around, especially after a long day of dealing with all kinds of crazy stuff. She’s a good person to have fun with,” Comfort said, “She’s also a very good role model for the younger kids. I can always count on her if someone needs help with starts or hand-offs; I can always count on her to help show them and be a good leader to her teammates.”

Harper has run for both the indoor and outdoor track teams since she was a freshman, running some of the same events for both track teams.

“In indoor I run the 55 [meter], 4x200 [meter relay], 300 [meter] and 4x400 [meter relay]. In outdoor I’ll run the 100 [meter], 200 [meter], 4x100 [meter relay] and probably the 4x400 [meter relay]. I went to states my freshman year [in] both indoor and outdoor for the 4x200 [meter relay] and 4x100 [meter relay],” Harper said.

Although Harper made it to states her freshman year, Comfort has still seen improvement from Harper since then.

“She’s a lot smarter, just in general about her warm ups and practices. She’s always been a really good runner since she was a freshman, but I think she’s just smarter about her races and practices overall and that obviously helps improve her times,” Comfort said.

Both of Harper’s parents were runners and involved in track. They come to watch

bit, but it’s not that bad. Overall it’s a good experience,” Goss said.

Because Goss is one of the most experienced players on the team, she has recognized that there is a lot to be taught to the seven underclassmen that made the team.

“We have a very...small team in size as far as being pushed around. I’m worried about size. I just hope that we make it very far,” Goss said. “For the weakness I want to say age, but the only other thing I can think of is size like height. You look at Gabby [Wilson] who is so tiny, but she’s so good. And then you look at a Broadway [High School] girl and she’s built, so I’m literally terrified for that.”

Goss hopes to have the team’s best effort throughout the regular season which

Kings win Cousins’ trade Owen Stewart Print Managing Editor

PHOTO BY YUSUF ABOUTABL

FINISH STRONG. Junior Sydney Harper runs the 55 meter dash at the regional indoor track competition located at Liberty University. Harper is the fastest female sprinter on the HHS team. and even help out during the track meets.

“Her dad is our starter,he starts a lot of our meets for track. She comes from a track family and they’re all really knowledgeable, so I know she has the skill and the talent and the knowledge needed to be an awesome runner, and she is an awesome runner, but I’d like to see her continue to improve,” Comfort said.

Comfort believes that Harper is very beneficial to the track teams in more ways than just being fast, but because she is a leader and will help out the new members of the team.

“I think everyone always feels comfortable going to Sydney because she’s so fun and easy to talk to so the younger kids feel comfortable going to her and asking for advice or questions. She’s always super friendly and helpful,” Comfort said, “Track is unique in the fact that it’s an individual sport but it’s also a team sport, so a lot of the stuff the runners do on their own. It’s like a routine everyday, they know when get here they do the warm up then they do these drills, so she’s always a good person to teach the younger kids those warm ups and drills that we do everyday. I can always count on her for that.”

has been lacking in seasons before. “[One of my hopes for] the regular season is win. Not even that. Play every game like it’s your last because the past seasons haven’t been that way. Just go out on the field and give it everything you have because if you don’t, it’s going to be rough.

Just that we all work together as a team, but at the same time, not only are we putting in work, but we’re enjoying it,” Goss said.

After her three seasons of varsity soccer, she hopes that the team can make a playoff run before she moves on to college. “[My goals for the postseason are] to make it as far as we can get because that would be great to do before I graduate, and for everyone,” Goss said.

one of the best in recent memory, packed with talented freshmen and upperclassmen who have waited their A big splash was made in the NBA turn to join the NBA. The dealing of on Feb. 19 when the Sacramento Kings Cousins leaves a spot open in the midtraded their star center, DeMarcus dle, one that could be filled with eiCousins, to the New Orleans Pelicans. ther Arizona center Lauri Markkanen, Many Kings fans saw this trade as a a 7-footer with tremendous athlet“give up” trade, just a way to dump icism who is shooting almost 46% salary and essentially start over. I see from behind the 3-point arc, or Robthe transaction in a different light. ert Williams, a 6’9”, 240 pound powWhile Cousins’ salary ($18 million this er forward. Williams has only played year and next) did have something to 24 minutes per game this year, but has an incredibly high potendo with the deal, the Kings tial, shooting over 55% from picked up rookie shooting the field as of February 22. guard Buddy Hield, who Currently, Sacramento’s pick has incredible jump-shootwould be slotted at number ing potential, as well as nine, but some may argue Langston Galloway, a solid that New Orleans’ addition of bench guard, and two draft Cousins will help them battle Lil Stew’s Sports picks, including a 2017 first for a playoff spot. I disagree. round pick, which should Over time, it’s become a trend be a pretty early selection considering the Pelicans current re- that teams with multiple stars struggle early on because of chemistry issues. cord (23-37 as of February 26).

In addition to the large haul that The Heat lost in the Finals to Dallas in Sacramento picked up in the deal, their first year with James, Wade and they got rid of a player who to say Bosh. The Cavaliers fired their coach the least, was a distraction. Cousins during their first year having LeBron, seemingly makes news out of himself Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. I forecast weekly, having lost over $300,000 to the same struggles happening in the fines and forfeited money in this sea- Big Easy. Cousins and fellow star Anson alone (over $1.3 million through- thony Davis will likely struggle to gel out his career). Back in December, together early on in their career as Cousins lost $50,000 for going off teammates. Both are shoot first big on a local news reporter, essentially men, and will take each other’s shots, for no purpose whatsoever. He has maybe even leading to some in-house also been fined $25,000 on two oth- disagreements.

Sure, DeMarcus Cousins is a heck er occasions, once for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands and once of a basketball player, possibly even for making an obscene gesture at the a future Hall of Famer. However, I see crowd. On a team packed with young Sacramento winning this one in the players, this isn’t the type of influence long run. They got rid of a distraction, the management wants on the rest and picked up a future three-point of their team. Once one guy makes it sharpshooter, as well as the possibiliseem like it’s okay to do, the rest of ty of getting a Cousins replacement as soon as this offseason. The seeds of the team begins to believe it too.

Secondly, the draft picks are a huge this trade will blossom soon, and I see acquisition. This year’s draft class is Sacramento becoming a contender again sooner rather than later.

March 30, 2017

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Senior Athletes Harris ends senior year in second place

Kyle Brown Sports Editor

When thinking of indoor track, the majority of people will think of the running events, but not the field events, shot put in particular. Senior Ethan Harris just finished his first shot put season at HHS, but has been shot putting since sixth grade. Harris has been a top qualifier in shot put at states for the past three years, competing twice for Turner Ashby, and for HHS his senior season.

Harris placed second in the 4A state meet with a throw of 50 feet 6 1/2 inches.

“When I got there, I knew I could do it.

It’s just a lot of pressure on you from everyone. All it takes is one throw to beat everyone. You have to worry about the other people, but at the same time you have to be calm while you're throwing,” Harris said.

Making and competing in states at that level of competition can be a difficult feat, and Harris explains the process he went through in order to make it to that level.

“Weight lifting is a big part, but I mean just going out there throw, and just doing that over and over again until it’s just muscle memory. And when you go to a meet, it’s just you performing, and you gotta learn they won’t do it for you and it’s just yourself,” Harris said.

Indoor track is considered a team sport, but Harris explains why shot put itself reflects the individual person and their competition.

“Shot put and discus are individual. It’s just me, my coach, and whoever gets you

there. It’s you personally that gets you where you want to go individually, and it’s on no one but you,” Harris said. “Like if you don’t make it that’s all on you and you can’t blame your team. It’s all just hard work on yourself.”

In terms of the work and pain put into the sport, Harris explains how sometimes the practices and meets can be fairly strenuous on the body.

“It can be pretty bad. It all depends on how much you throw a day, and how cold or hot it is, and your muscles just get tight, and some days you just go out whooped.

Some Days they feel good it just depends.

Like for a track meet, you can get tired really fast, by only throwing ten times,” Harris said.

Harris says that he didn’t just come across the sport, but that his family were the ones that have helped him out in shot put.

“It’s a family sport. My dad threw in high school, my mom threw in high school, and both my siblings did it. It’s just family genes,” Harris said.

Although shot put may be an individual sport, almost all sports will tell you that team bonding is a major part of the team.

Harris explains what the team chemistry is like between all the throwers.

“I mean we all get along and joke around together. We’re together for a long time, and it’s not like your going out there to beat a friend. You go out there to help them get better, and at the same time help you get better. It’s a team effort to try and help and coach the team up,” Harris said.

Throughout the beginning of the sea-

PHOTO BY YUSUF ABOUTABL

THROWING FOR THE WIN. Senior Ethan Harris throws at the 4A West Regional Meet at Liberty University. Harris threw a personal record 52 feet at the meet, and qualified for the 4A State Meet, where he finished second. son, the indoor shot put team lacked a coach to help them improve towards the start of the meets, and Harris explains the hardships he went through towards the beginning, and what helped him later on in the season.

“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t have a coach, so I was helping to coach the other throwers, so I wasn’t really getting

the time to work on my own technique, or be taught what I needed to work on for my technique, and I was mainly just going off muscle memory,” Harris said. “When it got towards the end of the season, my sister and my dad started to help me out, and that's one of the main things that helped me in the postseason, was someone to help me work on my technique.”

Whitelow closing out fourth and final varsity baseball season

Owen Stewart Print Managing Editor The 2017 varsity baseball team consists of 15 players, six of whom are seniors.

One of those seniors is outfielder Christian Whitelow, who has been on the varsity team since he was a freshman. Whitelow believes having an extra year of varsity competition has benefited him in the long run.

“Well I noticed that, being a freshman, I had to work for my position. So I had to work hard, and [even after] I did that, you can’t just stop because you know you’re going to make it. Anyone can take your spot at any time,” Whitelow said.

Over his four years at the high school level, Whitelow has seen his game improve consistently, particularly on the offensive side of things.

“I think [my game] has developed really well. Freshman and sophomore years, I kind of struggled with hitting. Junior year,

since I worked on my hitting, I hit almost .400, so I felt like [my improvement] has been pretty good,” Whitelow said.

Assisting Whitelow in his journey through high school baseball is older brother Christopher, a 2015 HHS graduate who was the team’s starting catcher before moving up in competition by attending Eastern Mennonite University. Whitelow sees his brother as a motivating factor throughout his baseball career. “[Christopher] would always grind my gears. It would piss me off, but at the same time, he’d always make me better. That’s how he helped me, and he also always pushed me to do my best,” Whitelow said.

Despite Whitelow’s success in high school baseball, he doesn’t have much interest in continuing in the game past the high school level. He notes that his brother’s influence has played a part in his thoughts.

“I don’t have the interest in [college baseball]. I have interest in it now because it’s fun, but at the college level it’s just too

much work,” Whitelow said. “[My brother] was saying that he would wake up, go to class, get something to eat for lunch and then go straight to baseball. They didn’t have lights, so once it got dark, around like 8:30, he would have to do all his work at, like, midnight, so he said it’s just a lot to do.”

While Whitelow currently doesn’t see college baseball in his future, he does believe an offer from a well-known school may change his mind.

“D-I, I would go. If it’s like a good D-I school, I would go. D-III, I probably wouldn’t,” Whitelow said.

For his final high school season, Whitelow hopes to repeat his individual success from his junior season, but also to make a deeper playoff run and take down the school’s two top arch rivals. “[I’d like to] at least go to regionals and win regionals, and hopefully advance to states. [Our biggest targets] are TA and Spotswood, no doubt. [For myself], I’d like first team All-Conference and first team

Campbell leading, helping in senior season Anna Rath Feature Editor Senior Toby Campbell is the starting goalkeeper for the men’s varsity soccer team here at HHS. Campbell has only played soccer for three years, his first on the JV team and then last year and this year on varsity.

“A lot of my friends told me I was a pretty good goalkeeper and that I should try out for the team. I did and I made the team, started practicing and got better,” Campbell said. To keep up his skills outside of the high school season, Campbell participates in a few out of season soccer leagues.

“I started [playing out of season soccer] last year,” Campbell said, “Some was for Spanish League and some was just for an EMU soccer camp.”

Campbell’s soccer coach, Paul Rath, offers out of season training for his players and even holds special practices specifically for goalkeepers.

“Each year we’ve had separate goal training nights, or practices just for the goalkeepers. They come out and all we do is goalie specific drills.

We’ve done that at least once or twice a week over the course of the preseason for the last three years to get the goalies up to snuff,” Rath said.

Although Campbell participates in preseason training, there are still ways he wishes to improve.

“I do a lot of conditioning and a lot of weight lifting. I just want to get better. Everytime I play I feel like I do bad, so I just want to play better,”

Campbell said. “[I hope to get better] by learning to read the field.”

Over the years Campbell has been playing, Rath has seen major improvements.

“I would give Toby the most improved player award for this group of seniors. He’s become knowledgeable in the game, meaning his soccer IQ is improved, he has become physically faster and stronger and he knows how to command the backfield,” Rath said.

On the soccer team, Campbell is seen as a leader and enjoys helping his teammates.

“He’s looked at as a leader and that’s what we need our seniors to be, leaders,” Rath said. “Unfortunately we don’t have a goalkeeping coach this year so I’ll pass along drills and things to tell Toby to do and he’ll lead the freshman in them.”

Even through all of the training, effort and hard work put into making himself a better player, Campbell still has a love for the game.

“It’s pretty hard, because you have a lot of pressure on you. If you get scored on everyone just blames you for it,” Campbell said, “I love playing soccer and being goalkeeper, that’s where I like to be because I like to control the field from [the goal].”

After three years of working with Campbell, Rath says Campbell will be missed next year.

“Toby adds a lot to this team, his six foot five frame in the goal, and he’s a nice person, always willing to help,” Rath said. “He’s just looked at as a leader, a great overall person and friend to lots of the players on the team, he’s gonna be missed.”

PHOTO BY ANDREW RATH

BLOCK THE NET. Senior Toby Campbell stops a shot during a 2016 soccer practice. Campbell, the starting goalkeeper, has only played since sophomore year.

All-District. [That would] be two years in a row,” Whitelow said.

During his senior year, Whitelow also hopes to continue working on controlling his emotions throughout the season. “[I need] to try to let things go [and] not let the little things get to me. When people say something to me, I try to just listen to it and not snap,” Whitelow said.

Even though there are still some improvements to make to his game, Whitelow believes that being able to play multiple positions has helped him to solidify his skills.

“My biggest strength is probably my versatility. I only played outfield for the first time last year. I usually play middle infield, but I liked it out in the outfield,” Whitelow said.

Whitelow and the baseball team opened their season by hosting Albemarle on March 13, and will conclude the regular season by taking on Spotswood on May 12.

Salinas finishing up life of softball Vivian Neal Op-Ed Editor Senior Thalia Salinas has been playing softball since sixth grade, but baseball has been in her life since she was 5 years old. For her, it all started when she used to spend her time playing on the streets of New York with other kids. Her family’s love for baseball due to it’s popularity in Puerto Rico has also brought her closer to the sport. From New York to Harrisonburg, Salinas has noticed differences in the team and play styles.

“The team here at HHS is more fun and less strict. My old team had so many rules, we couldn’t even practice with anything on your wrist like an extra hair tie,” Salinas said. “I don’t think softball changed [for me]. There just [are] new ways to play the games. [You're] always learning something new and how to be better. If you really want to play, don’t think it’s easy, you have to want to learn and play. Don’t be lazy.”

Despite experiencing injury during her career, Salinas found her own way to overcome it.

“I dislocated and tore my shoulder and I broke my nose, Salinas said. “It was hard to get comfortable again and play through the pain, [but] I had a good coach to set my head straight and push me no matter how I felt.”

Varsity softball coach Susan Bocock has been coaching Salinas for two years, allowing her to see improvement through-

out her seasons on varsity.

“By the end of the season last year, Thalia improved in her catching position by blocking the ball, not letting the ball pass her on a bad pitch. She made her pitchers better by framing pitches that might have been off the corner a little, so she turns her glove just a little to show umpire for a strike,” Bocock said.

Bocock enjoys seeing her girls work as a team and continue to grow as they move on past high school. Bocock believes that Thalia has the skill and knowledge to play at the next level, though she also remains a good team player. “[Thalia] encourages her teammates to reach their full potential.

Thalia has not only played softball, but also plays volleyball and basketball. However, softball has always come first in her life after she was able to discover her love for it.

“When I moved here my hand was broken so [I] didn’t get to try out, so I just focused on softball. Softball [to me] is just more fun and I like to play outside better. I [have] had to give up a lot of extra stuff when I’ve had tournaments or practices, but softball comes first so I wasn’t really upset,” Salinas said.

Salinas and the varsity softball team began their season on March 21 with a game on the road against conference rival Woodgrove, and conclude regular season play with a game at Spotswood on May 12.

March 30, 2017

Sports-B11

The Newsstreak

ALL-WINTER SPORTS TEAM 2. Ethan Harris -Sophomore Senior Madison Huffman-

PHOTO BY DAVID GAMBOA

1. Jake Urbanski - Senior SPORT: WRESTLING Q: What was the best and worst part about your season?

A: “The best part was winning the Harrisonburg Invitational. The worst was watching my season end after states.”

Q: How have you improved from previous years?

A: “I’ve used my athleticism to compensate for worse technique in the past, but this year I focused on doing my moves correctly.”

Q: How do you feel looking back at your athletic career?

A: “I feel good I put a lot of effort into the sport and it taught me a lot, and introduced me to a lot of great people.”

SPORT: SHOT PUT Q: What is the best part about shot put?

A: “Winning is the main one, but making connections with other schools and the other guys, because you throw against them every week and you see them at the big meets, so you... make friends.”

Q: Will you miss anything about throwing?

A: “In a way I’m kind of happy, just because it’s a lot of work put into it through all the years, and every time your throw it just wears you down. I mean I’ll miss it at the end of it, but it’ll be nice not to do it.”

Q: How did you believe you’d do at states?

A: “I had expectations for myself. I had no idea I’d be throwing 52’s yet, but I definitely thought I’d be in the top five.”

INFO BY KYLE BROWN

INFO BY CARRIE YODER

PHOTO BY DAVID GAMBOA

3. Guillermo Torres- Junior SPORT: WRESTLING Q: What was your favorite moment from wrestling this year?

A: “When I won conference, because it was one of the tournaments where I had to prove myself.”

Q: What advice could you give to younger wrestlers?

A: “Just stay positive. You’ve got to believe in yourself. It’s a lot of mentality that goes into it. If you have in your mind that, ‘I’m not losing’. You just need to go out there knowing you put more work than the other guy did, and that should give you enough confidence to push through whatever obstacles come in.”

INFO BY JOHN BREEDEN

PHOTO BY YUSUF ABOUTABL

4. Jack FlemingMadison HuffmanSophSophomore

5. Kajuan Madden- Senior

SPORT: DIVING Q: Did you ever feel nervous or scared during the season? Why? A: “When I went states we had changed my hurdle position and everything the night before so I approached and all my technique was switched. [I] was a bit nervous because I was hoping it would work.”

Q:Did you have goals for this season and did you meet them?

A: “I had a couple goals. I met most of them... I wanted to do platform diving this year, but I can’t at Westover. I’m going to train at UVA and Tech now though, so hopefully I’ll be able to start doing platform diving.”

SPORT: BASKETBALL Q: How did you prepare before the season?

A: “I worked out at the rec[reation] center almost everyday.”

Q: What did you enjoy most about the season?

A: “I enjoyed the brotherhood the team had and our drive to win.”

Q: What was your least favorite part about the season?

A: “I hated losing to Spotswood twice.”

Q: Did you receive any honors this year?

A: “Yes. I was awarded first team all district as well as first team all conference in Virginia.”

INFO BY ANGEL HENDRIX

PHOTO BY KYLE BROWN

6. Mo BerheJunior Madison HuffmanSopho-

w

INFO BY DANNY DOMBROWSKI

PHOTO BY NOAH SIDERHURST

7. Hannah Miller- Sophomore Madison HuffmanSophomore SPORT: INDOOR TRACK Q: When you are competing, what goes through your mind?

A: “Honestly it depends on the competition. I always get very nervous before a race. If I try to think about anything during a race it just flies out of my head as soon as I start running.

Q: What is one of the most unforgettable moments of the season and why?

A: “Regionals, when I ran the fast mile. Over the course of the season, every time I crossed the finish line... I could see that I hadn’t hit my time. But at regionals, they had this big board and I could see that it said 5:24 and so when I crossed the line I was smiling because I had made it.”

SPORT: INDOOR TRACK Q: What did you enjoy most about the season?

A: “I like having fun after school and getting better.”

Q: Did you receive any honors this year?

A: “I went to states for the one mile race and the 4x800 relay.”

Q: Do you plan to continue your sport at the collegiate level?

A: “Yes, I have already received some offers from universities. I haven’t decided where to go next year, I’m still weighing my options.”

INFO BY DANNY DOMBROWSKI

INFO BY ANGEL HENDRIX

PHOTO BY YUSUF ABOUTABL

PHOTO BY JERRY HERTZLER

8. Malachi SimmonsSenior Madison HuffmanSophomore SPORT: BASKETBALL Q: Will you continue to play basketball after high school?

A: “No, I’ll probably go to college and play Baseball instead.”

Q: How has basketball affected your life?

A: “Basketball has had a huge impact in my life. I have made very strong bonds with the coaches and have made many friends. I’ve known a lot of the guys on the team for a long time, so we’re close on and off the court. “

INFO BY APURVA SHARMA

PHOTO MICHELLE DOMBROWSKI

Madison Sophomore 10.

DannyHuffmanDombrowski-Senior

9. Andi Fox-Sophomore SPORT: SWIMMING Q:What is the best part about swimming?

A: “When you put in... work during practice. You go to practice everyday to work your butt off and then... [to] be able to drop a lot of time [at a meet] just feels really good.”

Q: What did it mean to you to make it to states?

A: “I started dropping time... as I got closer it became more realistic... that helped to motivate me more.”

INFO BY KYLE BROWN

PHOTO BY NOAH SIDERHURST

SPORT: BASKETBALL Q: What was the best part about the season?

A: “Beating R.E. Lee at home was my favorite part.”

Q: What do you wish you could’ve changed in your athletic career looking back?

A: “I wish we could have went further in the playoffs and that I had done more in the off season before my senior season.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZSUZSA FOX

INFO BY CARRIE YODER

March 30, 2017

Humans of HHS-B12

The Newsstreak

HUMANS OF In keeping with our motto “Every person has a story,” the Newsstreak interviews students every month in the style of Humans of New York creator, Brandon Stanton. The idea is to tell the story of as many of our students as possible. Check out a similar project at www.hhsmedia.com.

HHS

Sophomore Jasem Masoud

What was the worst part of middle school?

“When I slammed a locker and it bounced back and I had to get stitches in my eyebrow.”

Freshman Sarah Hartman

If you could drop everything and get on a plane, where would you go?

“Rome; just kind of like the culture and the art there just fascinates me...”

Freshman Charles McCarthy Freshman Olivia Arndt

What is your best childhood memory?

“Probably when we visited Europe. We went to Paris and [I] spent time by the Eiffel Tower with my mom, my dad and my sister, and it was just really nice because it was really pretty and I was surrounded by people I really love.”

What’s the saddest thing that you’ve ever experienced?

“When I was two years old, my father died of cancer. It’s really sad because I don’t remember too much about him. I have to go off of my siblings and what they say about him. Apparently when I was young, we would go camping and I remember little snippets of that, but that’s it.”

Freshman Lucio Bianchi

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?

“When I went to Disney World when I was seven and saw the fireworks.”

Freshman Jean Moyet

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?

“A green lamborghini.”

What did you like about it?

“The rims on it and how low it was.”

Sophomore Micah Yutzy

Why did you like going to the beach?

“Because I got to see my grandad, and I never really see him... [We’re] close, we fish a lot. We go fishing, deep sea fishing.”

Freshman Grace Miller Junior Ester Martinez

What would the world be like without color?

“I think that it would be such a dull place and we would not have a lot of things we have now because imagination would be limited.”

Freshman Kie Lockhart

Sophomore Abdulla Alsadoon

How do you best learn?

“When we watch movies because instead of writing things down, I feel like visualizing things is better.”

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?

“My dad’s green [Crown Victoria].”

Freshman Aaron Niphol

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?

“The National Space Museum in Washington D.C.“

What do you think our country needs most right now?

“More peace and the acception of other people in our country.”

Freshman Shareaf Fleming

What is an assumption people make about you?

“They think I’m white. It makes me mad because I’m just not white.”

Photos by Sam Heie, Andrew Rath & Christa Cole