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Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XIC • Issue 4• November 20, 2012
Elephant’s Graveyard competes at VTA Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-chief
The show must go on.This seemed to be a common theme among cast member of this year’s one act, Elephant’s Graveyard, after their performance at VTA on Oct 27. “We performed well, but I really wish that we could have received a little more recognition from the judges,” freshman Jaymie Inouye, said. The cast did not, however, go without any hardware, receiving an honorable mention for their overall performance. “It was a great first experience at VTA, everyone who was there loved theatre, and I learned a lot,” Inouye said. Elephant’s Graveyard, a play set in the early 1900’s about a traveling circus. HHS performed well at districts, beating out Turner Ashby, Spotswood, Broadway, Fort
See ONE ACT on page A2 Tap workshops prepare actors for musical Students share their experiences about learning to tap dance A3
Veteran’s Day concert to honor war retirees PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
BRAVO! The one act this year, Elephant’s Graveyard perfomred at VTA on Oct. 27. Junior Tyler Edwards, freshman Jaymie Inouye, juniors Deb Halpern, Lillian Poriot, and sophomore Isabelle Burden perform a scene from the show.
The annual concert was performed by band and choir members, was held at HHS on Nov. 11 A3
Blood drive collects 41 pints of blood, saves lives Planned greenway to bring green space, recthose in need of it, includMark Duda ing accident victims and Editor-in-chief cancer patients. reational areas to city “We went down there Every day, according to the American Red Cross, over 44,000 blood donations are needed to satisfy the number of patients in need of blood. On Oct. 26, HHS students did their part to contribute to this number. In all, 41 pints of blood were collected at the drive, coming from students who fulfilled the minimum requirements to give blood. In the U.S. population as a whole, only about a third of the population is eligible to give blood, but this number is significantly higher among healthier high schoolers. Junior Jon Marks decided to give blood to help
and they had us fill out this massive survey to make sure we were able to give blood, probably to make sure we didn’t have AIDs and didn’t know it,” Marks said. The survey included questions about the frequency and type of sexual activity students participate in to screen them for potentially unwanted STDs. According to junior Chris Hyser, the actual process of the blood being drawn was an unpleasant one. “At first it hurt when they put the needle in,
See BLOOD on page
Brenna Cowardin Style editor
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
HOLD STILL. Junior Ahmed Mustafa gives blood on Oct. 26. Sponsored by Virginia Blood Services and the HHS Student Council Association, the drive raised 41 pints of blood.
Parent night workshops focus on student success Mia Karr Managing editor For one night this school year, it was parents who attended class at the high school, instead of students. As part of their education and outreach, the counselors and mental health staff of the school division have hosted and will continue to host a variety of parent workshops on topics such as college planning, and academic, emotional, and social success. The workshops have evolved since their beginning two years ago. Guid-
“We have a daughter who is a sophomore in high school and we are aware that figuring out the whole college scene is a complicated process...we wanted to get a head start,” Ramona Stahl, parent ance counselor Rachel Linden has watched this process. “A couple years ago, Dr. Kizner wanted us to focus on bullying,” Linden said. Now the focus has shifted to more general outreach.
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The high school’s theme for this year is “How to help your child succeed,” Linden said. The middle and elementary schools have different focuses for their workshops. So far, a workshop
about setting limits for elementary age children was held on Oct. 11, at Keister Elementary School, as well as the workshop at the high school on Oct. 23 and a “community resource fair” on Nov. 5. Over the years, the workshops have also shifted from being held all on one night, to being spread out through the school year. April Howard, the Coordinator of Psychological and Student Services for the division, coordinates the workshops. “It’s our attempt at offering different resources
In the late 90’s, Friend’s of Black’s Run Greenway proposed an eight to nine mile path following Black’s Run through the city as a means of ecologically friendly transportation. That idea is now finally coming to life. By 2014, the first stage of a 2.5 mile trail will be completed, running from the Little Grill, downtown, to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Park View. This plan for the Northend Greenway, an initiative of New Community Project, is much more feasible than the original idea more than 10 years ago. Suzi Carter, the Outreach and Development Coordinator for the Green-
way sees this as a stepping stone. “We want to use [the Northend Greenway] as a prototype. Someday we’d like to see greenways all over the city,” Carter said. Greenways are off-road walking and biking paths for communities to enjoy and utilize going to work, taking a run, or walking the dog. Pocket parks along the trail offer a beautiful look at nature. Carter also plans to help the community learn about the ecological environment and Black’s Run through the Northend Greenway. Greenways are not an uncommon idea. Places from California to North Carolina have Greenways running through towns and cities alike. Luray’s
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Coming Up Winter sports get underway Gift ideas on a budget Tap dance classes help actors prepare for Thoroughly Modern Millie Hitting the slopes this winter: everything you need to know National English Honor Society chapter begins at HHS Testing: Are you set for final exams, SOLs, SATs and Benchmarks?
November 20, 2012
The
News Briefs RED SEA GEAR AVAILABLE Red Sea T-shirts and sweatshirts are available in room 444. T-shirts are $10 and sweatshirts are $20. New this year is the embroidered Red Sea hoodie. Hoodies are $10. CLASS WARS GOING STRONG Class Wars are in full swing. Students will receive tokens for attending different events. Drop off your tokens in your class jar located in room 444. Updated thermometers on the bulletin board outside room 444 provide students with the totals for each class. PARENT/STUDENT PORTAL The new grade portal is now up and running. Parents should have received the registration code in the mail. Contact Guidance to report any issues or if you have any questions. ONE ACT The HHS One Act, Elephant’s Graveyard placed second in the region III Theatre Festival. They qualified for the state competition which will take place on Dec. 3 in Charlottesville. SAT DATE The deadline to sign up for the Dec. 1 SAT is Nov. 19. Students can register at sat.collegeboard.org or visit their guidance counselor for more information. Registering can take place after Nov. 19, however, the student will have to pay a late fee. ACADEMIC TEAM WINS FIRST MATCH The “A” team, captained by veteran Premal Patel and seconded by returnee Michale Walton, was joined by newcomers Dylan Bontrager and Curtis Mackail. They defeated Broadway’s A team, 205-100. The middle round, which does not count for our record, had our A team winning over the Gobbler B squad 270-25. The third meet of the night pitted the Streaks A squad vs the A team from Waynesboro. It went down to the wire, but with a surge on the last two questions the Streaks ended with a 205-180 win. This week, the academic team takes on Fort Defiance and Robert E. Lee High Schools in another regular season tri-meet.
Bike trail will be great place to engage with community members BLOOD from A1 Hawksbill Greenway and the Huckleberry Trail in Blacksburg both are frequently-used Greenways, closer to home. Roanoke and Waynesboro also have Greenways in operation. Now Harrisonburg will add it’s name to the list. Recently, the city has approved $600,000 for the project, which is a little less than half the expected cost. Other funding has been acquired through grants from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, MillionMile Greenway, private donations, and area businesses. “The cost of the first stage of the project is estimated to be $1.3 million. We anticipate raising $500,000 to $1 million through fundraising,” Carter said. The Greenway offers safer biking and walking paths for pedestrians and bikers throughout the whole city. However, is not just about getting where you need to go safely. Carter hopes the community will become closer through it’s use. “It’s about more than just getting from place to place. It’s not work or school. You get to go out and meet people in the community,” Carter said. Pocket parks along the Greenway provide a relaxing atmosphere for adults and children alike. Carter hopes that public art will be featured along the path. “There are so many benefits of the Greenway and so many different purposes,” Carter said. The path will be an average of 10 feet wide, paved and levelled. This will allow for traffic going both directions. Social studies teacher, Jay Blair is all for the Greenway. “I like the idea of having safe transport for pedestrians and cyclists, and the idea of having beautiful space in our city,” Blair said. “The ethic of constructing Harrisonburg up to this point has been every practical.” Although Blair predicts the Greenway will be used only as a way in and out of downtown in the beginning, the idea of using Black’s Run as a sanctuary to attract the community downtown is exactly what Blair is looking for. “[Greenways] are very park-like, and they will encourage people to sit. I hope it goes that way,” Blair said. “I want to see the community thrive and grow, and I’m an advocate for this kind of growth.”
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Rachel’s Challenge spreads good message Ana Hunter-Nickels Style Editor HHS wants to terminate bullying and that’s why principal Tracy Shaver and guidance counselor Lisa Warren scheduled Rachel’s Challenge to come speak to students, staff, and parents about bullying. The big picture of Rachel’s Challenge is to make students feel wanted, accepted and to know that they have value. Rachel’s Challenge wants to show that students, can make a difference in others people’s life. “160,000 students don’t come to school on a daily bases because of bullying. It’s a national problem that leads to the decline of academics,” Warren said. The Rachel’s Challenge program came on Nov. 8. All HHS students were able to attend an assembly during school hours and at 6:30 p.m. there was an open program for the public. “I was approached by several students last year at the beginning and end of the year who asked if Rachel’s Challenge could come to speak to the students here. I had never heard of it before,” Shaver said.
Rachel’s Challenge is about a girl, Rachel Scott, who was the first to be killed at Columbine High School. Her family saw that not only did she touch her community around her but also the world. Looking into Rachel’s Challenge, Shaver thought the whole concept led people to do the right thing and to make decisions that made a difference with humanity. “If we all do our part by being kind to others and dreaming big and pursuing those dreams, then it may create a chain reaction for others to do the same,” Shaver said. He thought that the concept behind Rachel’s Challenge was terrific for HHS. Rachel’s Challenge came to Warren’s previous school, and greatly impacted that student body. She then raved about the difference it had made to Shaver, and he knew it was a no brainer; they needed to come to HHS. Shaver has multiple things he wanted to accomplish by having Rachel’s Challenge here, and putting an end to bullying is one of his main objectives. “It’s okay to dream big. It’s okay to celebrate your own success and celebrating the accomplishments of others,” Shaver said.
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER-NICKELS
MAKE A DIFFERENCE. The Rachel’s Challenge program spoke to two assemblies during school and held an evening event to spread the word of the first Columbine victim Rachel Scott.
Yale rep comes to career center for first time Luke Gibson Style Editor When it comes to the process of applying for college, many seniors have trouble deciding on the schools that they truly want to apply to. Fortunately, in the last couple of weeks of October, visits from colleges in the surrounding areas and other states took place in the career center of the school guidance office. The visits themselves are typically organized by the admissions officers of the colleges, who contact the school to arrange these visits. Most notable of these visits was from Yale University, who had never previously come to HHS. “There is no reason in particular [for this being the first time Yale has visited]. We have seriously considered applicants from HHS in the past and decided to include a visit, since we hadn't made a visit and thought it would add color to our understanding of the region and school,” Yale representative Ayaska Fernando said. The fact that few HHS students have been accepted to Yale has no effect on whether an individual is more likely to be accepted, but the character of the school is
still viewed as important. “When we read applications, we dig into the school profile to get the school context and do not hesitate to give the school counselors a call for more context if we have any questions. We do not keep track of student/counselor interest in our admissions process. So, students can be sure that not meeting their regional admissions officer will not negatively affect their applications in any way,” Fernando said. During the meetings themselves, one could expect to see a selection of juniors and seniors curiously paying attention to what each college representative had to say. Each attendee had their own individual concerns about the application process, research opportunities, or the character of the school, resulting in a civilized frenzy of questions all successfully answered by the end. A common interest was how to answer the dreaded application questions and create a lasting impression of interest in one’s desired college. Fernando reassured the students that as long as the answer seemed genuine and passionate there was not too much to fret over, while the use of ‘canned answers’ was discouraged. Although the
main benefit of these visits seemed to be for the help of the students, it also aids the college in its understanding of the school. “Context plays a significant role in us understanding an applicant, as we look for students who have made the most of the opportunities presented to them. Geography and high school are part of a student's context and school visits help us get a firsthand sense of these contexts. School visits also serve as a means to talk about [the college] to interested students, tell them about new programs and initiatives, and answer questions they might have,” Fernando said. A lot of success comes from these visits, which allows the students to further expand their understanding of the colleges. “I previously thought of Yale as something unapproachable, but after the representative spoke to us, I felt more confident in myself. He gave us some sort of perspective; Yale is a place for anybody, not just the 1%,” junior Dean Koo said. “[The visit] gave me more insight into the personality of the university. Before Yale wasn’t on my list, but now I’m considering it more seriously,” senior Samantha Heitsch said.
One Act play places second in regional competition the best one act plays in the state, VTA is
“I definitely feel ready for regionals.
a taste of the real world of theatre. College and university representatives held one minute auditions for all seniors looking to pursue drama in the near future. Seniors could either choose to do a monologue, or sing an excerpt from a song. The representatives gave callbacks to all seniors who they would have liked to see again.
crew, and directors are all very dedicated. You can feel the energy on stage,” Heitsch said. Regionals were held at William Byrd High School on Saturday Nov. 10. The cast and crew of Elephant’s Graveyard won second place and will advance to the state competition on Dec. 3.
ONE ACT from A1 also a chance for interested seniors to get Rehearsals have been going well, our cast, Defiance, Lee, and Waynesboro for the first place spot. Seniors Paul Hairston, Sam St. Ours, Maggie Siciliano and Samantha Heitsch, all won awards for their outstanding performances. The win, unfortunately, did not carry over to the VTA competition, where only one cast member won an individual award, much to the dismay of the actors. Senior Sam St. Ours won an honorable mention for his instrumental accompaniment. Junior Deb Halpern was surprised by the lack of medals, but hopes it won’t impact the cast’s performance at regionals. “I definitely think Samantha and Paul should have gotten awards [for their performances]. I looked at VTA as an opportunity to receive feedback from a panel of qualified judges,” Halpern said. The feedback received from the panel of judges was quite varied this year, one judge, as well as numerous audience members, were moved to tears during the play, while another judge was unimpressed. The one act last year received third overall at VTA, so the lower score came as a shock. “It was a bit of a let down, especially after our success at districts. At the same time, though, I think winning districts kept our spirits up. You also have to remind yourself that theater is highly subjective and can’t let one competition ruin your drive or excitement for upcoming competitions,” Heitsch said. Along with being a festival for some of
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
ON TO STATES. Paul Hairston won an acting award at the Regional Theater Competition as the One Act Play cast placed second and will advance to the state competition.
Parents preparing with their kids for college in workshops in the past. Linden would like to CLASS from A1 attended see 75-100 people at the workshops. The
to our families,” Howard said. “[It’s a] partnership with our community.” Ramona Stahl is the mother of a sophomore and eighth grader at Thomas Harrison Middle School. She and her husband attended the workshop on Oct. 23. “We have a daughter who is a sophomore in high school, and we are aware that figuring out the whole college scene is a complicated process... We wanted to get a head start,” Stahl said. “We went to get started thinking about what our children need to get ready for college and felt like we started the process of finding the right questions to ask.” The workshops are open to a broad range of people. Students are allowed to accompany their parents, and childcare is provided. Spanish interpreters also attend the events. Workshops are not limited to parents; members of the community have
workshops at the high school consist of a power point presentation, resource tables, and a question and answer session. “[We’re] just trying to get out their more,” Linden said. She presented at the Oct. 23 workshop (“How to Help Your Student Survive and Thrive in High School.”). The presenters are typically the counseling and mental health staff of the division. “It was great to meet the guidance department,” Stahl said. She now plans to set up individual appointments with her daughter’s guidance counselor. “I think it shows parents and the community that we are here to help,” Linden said, “and are approachable, and want to partner with them for their child’s success.” Still, Howard is not satisfied with the workshops’ current success. “We hope that each year we’ll continue to grow,” Howard said.
Virginia Blood Services collect 41 pints during blood drive BIKE from A1 though it hurt less as it went on. It took about eight minutes for them to finish pumping the blood,” Hyser said. ““Eight minutes isn’t actually that long. Some people didn’t get enough out in twenty minutes and had to stop.” After giving blood, the body’s blood sugar level is lowered significantly, which can lead to side effects. “They advised us not to do any physical activity for the rest of the day, and they told us to make sure to eat to get our blood sugar back up. I was stupid and decided to run the mile at cross country practice later in the day though, and that didn’t go very well,” Hyser said. “I felt a little lightheaded immediately afterwards, because my blood sugar was a little low, but after that I was fine,” Marks said.
November 20, 2012
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Potential cast members attend tap workshops Josh Byrd Staff reporter Five six seven eight CLACK CLACK TAP TAP CLACK CLACK TAP TAP. This is the sound of the tap workshops at HHS in preparation for the winter musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. The musical has a jazz-based style and a roaring 20’s theme. Upon arrival, one must sign in, so the instructors can keep track of who attends. The workshop really begins when everyone gets into formation. Phil Saunders leads the group through a warm up which consists of basic tap steps that play into the routine. After that, the students split into two groups. They each go in the direction facing the audience. When the first group finishes, dances are polished and then the second group goes up and their routines
are polished and it goes on like this until the hour is up. Some students are concerned with the difficulty level of the routines taught in the workshops. “Any routine is hard even for someone with prior tap experience,” Mary Hallet Culbreth said, “The workshops have been helpful to me.” “We learned how to do the warm up and some of the steps and started the routine,” freshman Hollyn Slykhuis said. “Also I think the workshops have helped me since I haven’t had any prior tap experience.” These workshops are designed to help students who are interested in the musical with the dancing style needed for the show. It is also a way for students to get their names out. The workshops only take an hour. For more information, contact Stanley Swartz, the musical director.
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKRI FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT. Seniors Sam St. Ours and Nancy Carrie Logan practice a routine onstage during one of the tap workshops in preparation for this year’s musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Robotics team begins season Habitat for Humanity project gives back to community Ana Hunter-Nickels Staff photographer
After school on Wednesdays, a handful of students meet downstairs in a tech room full of various gadgets including power tools, remote controls and a 3D printer. The robotics team is an extracurricular activity. Geoff Estes, a teacher in the math department, is the coach for the team. Currently, there are 18-20 students on the team, but the number varies yearly. There are no tryouts, in fact, aside from an interest in robotics, there are only three minor requirements. “Number one, have an interest. Number two, attend the off-season (fall) meeting as many times as possible so that build season (winter) will not take you by surprise. Number three, commit to the team during the build season, basically the first six weeks of the new calendar year,” Estes said. “We also wanted to focus on better and more deliberate design/ build procedures during the build season. All of the team members stepped up to this challenge and created our best competition robot to date,” Estes said. Currently, the team is working on subsystems of last year’s robots and engineering new approaches
to troubleshoot systems that they have had concerns with in the past. However, the team does not know what they are going to build for the competition because they don’t receive the official task until the first Saturday in January. This year the team wants to finish in the top 10 at the Virginia Regional competition. “If we can raise the money, attend two regional events to boost our chances to go to the national event in St. Louis,” Estes said. Last year they achieved their goal to finish in the top 20, and were ranked 17th out of 60 regional teams. The Virginia Regional Competition is free and open to the public, and this year it will be held at VCU in the Siegel Center, March 14-16. The robotics team will be holding a demonstration of their robot on Dec. 8 at JMU’s Memorial Hall at the state FLL competition in the gymnasium. “Members of the community will be able to see our two older bots at an event at the Mall in February,” Estes said. All competitions are free and open to the public. If you are interested in joining the robotics team see Estes for more information. The team meets every Wednesday after school in room 172.
Gov students help at polls Isaac Falk Op-Ed editor On Nov. 6, citizens from around Harrisonburg came to designated stations to vote in the local, state and federal elections. But some weren’t there to just vote, others were there to get engaged in the electoral process. Some HHS students had the opportunity to participate in the election, even though they themselves could not vote. Senior Morgan Wise helped voters at the Smithland Elementary School voting station. “I’ve been helping make sure that people cast their ballots correctly,” Wise said. Wise was acting as a page, ensuring ballots are filled in and submitted properly. AP Government teacher Kris Vass is responsible for encouraging students to participate. Vass requires a project from students every six weeks, and one way to fulfill that project is through 45 hours of community service. These projects are meant to teach students about the local systems of government through hands-on participation. “You’re going to learn a lot more by being out in the community, by actually participating than you will from a textbook,” Vass said. That project was the reason Wise was volunteering on Election Day. “I’m trying to get 45 hours for government, and I thought this would be a great way,” Wise said.
But Wise walked away with more than just extra credit. As Vass had hoped, Wise did learn from the experience. After her contribution to the election, Wise feels more informed and involved with the democratic process. “I learned a lot about the election. I kind of learned the entire process and how much goes into it,” Wise said. But not every HHS volunteer was assisting for classroom credit. Senior Michael Eckstein also volunteered on Election Day. “I wanted to be active politically,” Eckstein said. Eckstein volunteered at the Keister Elementary polling station so he could get more involved in the electorate and the democratic process. “I really wanted to help voters get out to vote, and give them information before they went into polling places.” Eckstein walked away from the experience with a better understanding about his fellow citizens. “A lot of people go into the polling place without a clear idea of who they’re going to vote for.” Vass was happy with the local high school participation in the election. “[The] number one goal is to help people get involved from here on out,” Vass said. Ultimately, Vass just wants students to be involved in politics. He hopes students will leave his class and still want to get involved with elections. “I hope one thing people take from [the class] is an interest in politics,” Vass said.
Felicia Tran Staff reporter
PHOTO BY JONAS ZIMMERMAN RAISING WALLS. HHS students work together to erect walls of a shed as part of the Habitat for Humanity project.
PHOTO BY JONAS ZIMMERMAN MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Members of Habitat for Humanity and club president, Alex Hunter-Nickels pose in front of freshly constructed and painted shed.
Habitat for Humanity is building a home for people who are recovering from drug addiction. This home will impact our community, people who have drug addictions, immigrants, and the people who worked on the project. “I believe that I have something to give society. I have the time and energy to give [to the community] It’s a really moving project for me,” senior Alex Hunter-Nickels said. Carpenters and volunteers from the community will be taking part in the project. “To get ready for this I have been volunteering and organizing with them and just getting people involved,” HunterNickels said. “I think it’s important to volunteer because first of all, it’s a responsibility to society to make the community a better place and help you grow as a person. Second of all, it shows you what’s important in life. Like giving your time and energy to volunteer rather than hanging out with your friends,” Hunter-Nickels said. “It was just talking with people and I thought it would be the best way to use our club’s energy and time,” HunterNickels said. Just show up, everyone is welcome, and people love it (it’s very informal). This project will take place downtown on Main Street just past the Little Grill.
Band performs annual Veteran’s concert Julexus Cappell Op-Ed editor Every year the choir performs a Veteran’s Day concert for the soldiers who have protected this country in the past, or currently. A tribute for the ones who keep this country safe and free, and need to be acknowledged for the work that they put in during the past or what they do as a job now. This year, HHS’ Honors choir and concert band are collaborating for the Nov. 11 concert. “The choir has been preparing for a month,” sophomore Chloe Richard said. “We had another concert before, so that was the time we had.” Some of the things they have been doing to prepare for this upcoming concert include practicing the pieces and memorizing them.
Another reason they do the concert is to show some patriotism, especially since it is Veteran’s Day. “The concert band and the honors choir come together to perform the National Anthem,” Richard said. This concert has a very special tradition that happens every year. Each branch of the military has a specific song. For instance The Song for the Marines made in 1937, or The Army Song. Each song is played for each branch and the Veterans from each branch of the service attend the concert stand up to be recognized. It is important to the concert because it is to honor those who fought for our country and for them to come and be saluted for all that they have done.
Assembly recognizes student success Sydney Knupp Staff reporter On Nov. 15, students, teachers and parents alike gathered in the auditorium to celebrate students’ achievements at the Excellence Assembly. This assembly occurs once per quarter and is designed to recognize successful students at HHS. The idea for these rewarding events came from principal Tracy Shaver. “We did something similar to this at my previous school; however, the leadership team at HHS has “tweaked” the assemblies to meet the needs of our Blue Streaks,” Shaver said. Parents are informed of their child’s recognition by a phone call prior to the assembly. The main goal of the assembly is to identify students
who have exhibited academic excellence. This entire process isn’t an easy one, much planning and organization is involved.These staff members must identify all the students who need to be recognized as well as prepare the invitations, programs and certificates. The event is held in the auditorium, and the set-up includes housekeeping, sound and AV work. Lastly, they must coordinate with food service in order to make the ice cream social after the event as successful as the assembly itself. ”Everyone likes to be recognized for their achievements; therefore, this is a way for us to say thank you for a job well done. As a result, we have seen an increase in the number of students coming to school on a consistent basis and excelling in their classes,” Shaver said.
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Dance & Company
We offer serious classical and contemporary training from youth to adult in a positive and progressive program of study. Performance opportunities are provided through annual spring concert performances, informal showings and student participation in the dance center's repertory youth performance companies. Classes are offered year-round in ballet, modern, tap, jazz, musical stage, hip-hop, and Irish step dance. • Nov.18-20- Nasrene Haj, New York City based, freelance dancer/choreographer conducts Choreography Intensive with The Shenandoah Contemporary Dance Theater. This original dance piece will premier in concert with Dance & Company’s resident,performance company’s 2012 repertoire for an in-house debut at First Night Harrisonburg,, Dec. 31, 2012. • December 3-8- Open House Visitor’s Week. All parents, friends, family and interested parties invited to observe and enjoy scheduled classes in session. • December 27-30-Open Choreography Intensive and Training Workshop w/NYC Guest Artist, Shannon Hummel, Founding Director/Choreographer, Cora dance, INC. and New York Times, recommended up and coming: one to watch in choreography, 2001. Europe is coming to Dance & Company and Downtown Harrisonburg on December 22! As a part of a larger European Themed downtown event, Dance & Company will open its doors to the public, presenting a Dance Inspired Euro-Market! Mark your calendars now to join us for a fun morning filled with dancing, tables of wares for sale, pastries, and free coffee! We are looking for volunteers, dancers (ages 12 and up), and donations (see list below). Please contact Melodie May at 540-433-7127 or maymelodie@gmail.com to volunteer or donate. We look forward to seeing you at Dance & Company’s Euro-Market, December 22 from 9am-12pm! Dancers Needed (ages 12 and up) – We’d like to create a dance that will be performed during a portion of the Euro-Market. Rehearsal will be Friday, Dec. 21 4-6pm with performances on Saturday, Dec. 22 between 10am and noon. Volunteers Needed – Event Set up: Friday, Dec. 21 4-6pm, Event: Saturday, Dec. 22 9:00-12:00 Donations Needed – You are welcome to bring items during the last week of classes before break, except for food • Large Coffee Maker with filters and coffee • Napkins (Holiday colors preferable) • Disposable Cups for coffee (no Styrofoam please) • Yard Sale Items – Clothing, Furniture, Old Costumes, Electronics, Dishes, Toys, Games, Movies, etc. Baked “European Themed” pastries on decorative trays – recipes may be provided upon request
For information and guidance in class selection please call: 810-3631 or 433-7127 or 234-8317 115 South Main St. Harrisonburg VA 22801
• Heel & Arch Pain • Warts • Injuries • Bunions & Hammertoes • Diabetic Foot Care • Custom Modeled Orthotics, Shoes, AFO & Braces ALL PATIENTS WELCOME!
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November 20, 2012 August 21, 2012 The Harrisonburg High School Newsstreak The Policy The Newsstreak is published by the students of Harrisonburg High School every month. Reproduction of any material from the newspaper is prohibited without the written permission from the editorial board. Advertising rates are available upon request. It is the policy of the Harrisonburg City Public School Board to comply with all applicable state and federal laws regarding non-discrimination in employment and educational programs and services. The Harrisonburg High School City Public Schools will not discriminate illegally on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, disability or age as to employment or educational programs and activities. Editorials appearing without a byline represent the majority opinion of the staff, but not necessarily the opinion of the adviser, school administration, or the school system. Signed editorials are accepted from people on the staff, but are subject to editing according to published guidelines and policies. Editorials may be edited for special reasons. Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed and a telephone number must be given. Names may be withheld if the editorial staff feels there is a just cause. The Newsstreak reserves the right to edit and may refuse to publish ads or letters deemed inappropriate, libelous, or obscene. Please drop your letter by room 444 or give them to any staff member. Letters may also be sent to the high school.
Bike trail brings cool idea to downtown Harrisonburg NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL As the concrete and brick sprawl of human development creeps over America, green space has become increasingly difficult to find. Progressive cities around the United States have developed a solution to this problem: the greenway, a pedestrian and bicycle-only transportation pathway that intersects with pocket parks and green spaces, providing an alternative to the pollution and drab gray roadways. It might not come as a surprise that ultra-liberal cities like Berkeley, CA, and Eugene, OR, have developed greenways, but even towns in nearby Virginia like Waynesboro and Luray have gone greenway. But not Harrisonburg. Not yet. Harrisonburg’s population has exploded over the last several years, and has mostly expanded outwards instead of growing denser, chewing up the green hills of the Shenandoah Valley. A greenway, like the Northend greenway, which is in the initial stages of development, would restore some of the natural beauty to the area. Harrisonburg isn’t known for its friendliness to pedestrians and bikers, just ask anyone who’s ever tried to get around on bike in the densely populated areas of South 11 or West 33. The Northend greenway would be a start to remedying this problem. The project will only encompass the areas around EMU and VMRC, but it’s just a prototype. If it succeeds,
Staff Reporters: Mark Duda, Maggie Siciliano, Ben DiNapoli, Mia Karr, Katrina Sokolyuk, Anthony Duong, John Earle, Max Johnson, Isabelle Burden, Julexus Cappell, Bryndal Fulginiti, Victoria Giron, Ana Hunter-Nickels, Gypsy Torgerson, Gina Muan, Kerri Hofacker, Kendall Bailey, Josh Byrd, Austin Swift, Valerio Aleman, TJ Kirkland, Jr., Ellie Plass, Felicia Tran, Brenna Cowardin, Luke Gibson, Isaac Falk, Sukriti Adhikari, Chelsea Arnott, Lindsay Plume, Karim Rawls, Josh Storella, Lybeth Vega-Lopez, Anthony Walton, Sydney Knupp, Alexis Dickerson, Nishat Jamil, Paul Hairston, Sam Imeson, Anna Wyatt, Faith Runnells and Mary McMahan. Professional Affiliations The Newsstreak participates as a member of several journalistic evaluation services including the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA-2010 Gold Evaluation and 2005 & 2009 Silver Crown Winner), Quill&Scroll Journalism Honor Society (2012 Gallup Award), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) All-American, the Virginia High School League, Inc. Trophy Class Award, and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association All Southern Ranking and 2010 Scroggins Award winner. newsstreak.com opt out notice: If you do NOT want to allow your student’s full name or image to appear on the school newspaper site, please send an email to vkibler@harrisonburg. k12.va.us stating: I understand that the school newspaper, newsstreak. com, now has an online version of the publication. I DO NOT want my son/daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on this online venue.
someday we would hope to see a network of greenways connecting the city, providing an alternative, healthy means of transportation. Of course, there comes the subject of funding for the project. The greenway is only partially funded by city money, but public funds will be part of it. However, the relatively low cost of the project, combined with the number of citizens in the city paying into it, will make the cost well worth it for the increased green space, and areas for healthy and recreational living. This is certainly a cause worth getting behind. It’s important for our community, for our families and for our future.
Byrd’s House
Ads tried voters’ patience
Art by Nishat Jamil
‘This message is not endorsed by any candidate or candidate’s committee’ was a very common phrase used at the end of commercials this fall. From people calling to solicit votes, to the ubiquitous campaign ads, this election has been annoying. Phones were ringing all the time with people asking you how you were voting. Campaign ads did not have any limits. For the past four weeks, Virginia has been blitzed with campaign ad after campaign ad. Now, Crossroads GPS hit Virginia and Ohio with even more ads to try and ensure the defeat of President Obama and Tim Kaine. Crossroads GPS is one of the biggest super PACs. Are super PACs fair in an election? They tend to have more freedom to attack candidates than the candidates have to attack their opponent. If a candidate attacks their opponent, it can bring down their likeability ratings. That is why super PACs are so important to both sides. In respect to whether super PACs are fair to both sides, I believe they are. If someone with money isn’t happy with a candidate, then they can give as much as they want because they have the freedom to do that. Simply put, the election really got on many people’s nerves because of the negativity, the phone calls and the ads on TV. It is an election that has affected our lives and our TV programming.
There are those who threaten to move to another western nation should their candidate fail to be elected. Those people are fools. This is a democracy, if your candidate does not win a democratic contest, instead of acting like a three-year old and stomping away, accept that the democratic consensus is the other candidate is a better fit for the office of president as deemed by the majority. Sure you may think the elected candidate will run the U.S. to the ground, and you may even be right, but that is irrelevant. Our democracy can only thrive through our willingness to participate in the political system. And part of that system is accepting either victory or defeat with grace, in order to ensure our de-
mocracy’s continuity. In a purely philosophical perspective, politics is utterly selfless. Essentially, both sides want to lead the United States in a direction that causes the greatest good for the greatest number of people. How they achieve that goal is ultimately what divides the political parties. So when one side demonizes the other side’s candidate, they are failing to acknowledge the very truth of politics. Personally, I support an Obama presidency. But should Romney have won, I would have rallied behind the Romney presidency until the next election cycle. I would rather live in a democracy with a leader I disagree with, than a Stalinist dictatorship or an anarchist extravaganza.
WHAT IS THE STAFF EDITORIAL? The unsigned staff editorial appears in each issue and reflects the majority opinion of the Newsstreak Staff Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is comprised of all editors-in-chief, page editors, advertising managers, photographers and selected freshman journalism students. In no way does our opinion reflect that of the school system or the administration.
THE ACTUAL VOTE After an abbreviated board meeting because of Hurricane Sandy, the editorial board votedf 6-1 to endorse the construction of the Northend Greenway. It’s our opinion that it’s high time we have a truly bike-friendly area in our city.
It’s over. We all just need to move on
The editors and staff Editors-in-Chief: Print - Mark Duda, Celia Ehrenpreis Online - Maggie Siciliano, Ben DiNapoli Managing Editor: Mia Karr Advertising Managers : Austin Coffey and Bryndal Fulginiti Photographers: Ana Hunter Nickels, Sukriti Adhikari
Op/Ed--A5 A5 NEWS
The The
IF YOU GIVE A FALK A COLUMN...
Isaac Falk Opinion editor So, your candidate for president did not win. Well, that’s unfortunate for you. However, contrary to popular belief, the world will not end if your candidate is not elected. For Republi-
cans, that means Obama will not turn the U.S. into a socialist nation straight out of Karl Marx’s dreams. For Democrats, Romney will not turn the U.S. into a near libertarian confederacy. The president has relatively little authority to create and ratify policy. We have a constitution that creates a system of checks and balances to prevent the president from custom fitting the United States to his or her own policy. So you can rest at ease, knowing the morning after inauguration, your life may not be radically different. You will not wake to either a Marxist dystopia or a libertarian love fest, but rather you will awaken to another day in the U.S. where democracy is still the name of the game.
Role models, poster makers need realistic perspective
THE MIA PERSPECTIVE
Mia Karr Feature editor I recently saw these two motivational posters that really, really annoyed me. So, like most people who are faced with something annoying, I am going to write a column about it. I came into contact with these atrocities in a classroom outside the walls of HHS; I am happy to report the teachers
here seem to have higher standards. While motivational posters can be aggravatingly peppy, I generally agree that we should keep trying and have integrity and whatever. However, these two posters, aside from being inaccurate, demonstrate something that’s wrong with our society. Poster #1: “I don’t believe in can’t.” I do not know about you, but I believe in can’t. I believe that I can’t represent the U.S in women’s weightlifting in the 2016 Olympics, nor can I teleport back to the sixteenth century with my pet unicorn. Obviously, that’s not what this poster was going for, but I have found a lot of influence in life to ignore my limitations. Kids these days are always being told they can do anything, and that is not all bad. I appreciate that my parents have such utter faith in me, they
would probably nominate me for president, but, at the same time, that is a lot of pressure. If you expect to be good at everything, how do you expect to find what you are actually good at? Everybody has different talents- it’s probably best to accept that we will not be able to do everything we try in our lifetime, and life would be a whole lot easier if people stopped telling us we could. Poster #2: “Expect to be accepted for who you are.” I think, in an ideal world, it would be great if everyone could be accepted for who they were. However, it’s just not going to happen. I am not saying you should not be yourself, but do not expect everyone to love you unconditionally. That will just be setting yourself up for disappointment. Similarly, I always hate when people say “looks don’t matter.” Certainly
they don’t matter as much as our society makes them out to, but try going into a job interview with that philosophy. There’s a common theme here. Sometimes it is fun to pretend that we live in an idealistic universe where everyone can do anything their heart desires, because everyone is a genius in all areas, and everyone loves each other, and life is just like an enthusiastic group number in a Disney musical. That is not the universe I woke up in this morning. So please, sign writers, teachers, authority figures of the world- stop acting like it is. Maybe we should live in a world where people are not judged by their choice in cheesy motivational posters, but that is, quite regrettably, not the case.
kin pie, Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls...the list goes on and on. Thanksgiving isn’t just for the people; it can also be for the pets. ABBY STORY: I’ve learned to be careful when it comes to walking to the dining room table with my “Thanksgiving feast”. Most dogs are taught to not beg at the table and to never jump up into their master’s face. My dog must be the exception to these rules in the sense that she never listens to what she is taught. Instead of focusing on eating my food and talking with my extended family members, I’m given the job of making sure Abby doesn’t jump up into my grand-
mother’s lap. While everyone is sitting around the dining room table, Abby is situated underneath, waiting for any signs of food to drop on the floor. Her constant whining almost becomes unbearable. I’m not talking about a small sigh; it’s more like the sound that a whale would make. I have absolutely no idea how she is able to conjure such a noise, but all I can say is that it’s the most annoying sound ever. Abby makes her way from person to person, hoping that each will be kind enough to give her a few scraps. She is the biggest pig in the entire world. Even the sight of seeing someone drink water makes her “food
sensors” turn on. I’m almost embarrassed to call her my dog. LESSON: However, don’t we all act the same way during Thanksgiving? All we do is stuff our faces until all of the food is gone, yet we’re still begging for more. As humans, we never seem fully satisfied with what we’re given. Even though we say that we’ve received enough, we all secretly want more. So the challenge for this Thanksgiving is to be truly grateful for what we’re given and not beg for extra. Besides, there’s no need for that one extra crumb on the floor.
We need to be more thankful for little things
Mary’s World
Mary McMahan News editor For the most part, all that comes to mind when we think of Thanksgiving is food. Pump-
November 20, 2012
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OP/ED A6
Post-election reactions vary
Please put American people first With election over, let’s move forward Gina Muan News editor Nov. 6 presented the country with two distinct paths, a crossroads of sorts. Instead of grabbing hold of the lifeline offered, Americans (or 50.1 percent of them) eagerly plunged head first over the fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, as with most presidential elections, this majority dragged the rest of the country along with it. Facing the prospect of another four years under President Obama is absolutely crushing, but not entirely unexpected. A government that ‘takes from Peter to give to Paul,’ can always count on the support of Paul. It frustrates me how America promotes itself as a country of vast opportunity, but once an individual has reached the top he’s suddenly targeted with animosity. Obama’s entire game plan is essentially built upon higher taxes for the wealthy, even though it’s literally impossible to tax our way out of the current debt. All the money (not just taxes) from the top one percent would run the government for a measly three months, if that. This election was supposed to be all about the economy, and the job market, so given our present state, I didn’t expect the margin of defeat to be so large. I figured Obama would win the election, but Virginia and a couple other battleground states would go for Romney. Although the popular vote was relatively close, splitting the country practically
in half, I couldn’t comprehend how many people decided to re-elect Obama knowing his record: four annual trillion-dollar deficits, unemployment consistently eight percent or greater, an anemic economy which grew steadily less each year of his presidency. I supposed it must be said that Obama did accomplish a bit more aside from profligate spending. As Joe Biden so eloquently put it, ‘GM is alive and bin Laden is dead.’ The undeniably liberal media managed to cast Romney as sexist, racist, old-fashioned and hopelessly out of touch with the current century. Social issues clearly played in the President’s favor. But when people suddenly find themselves lacking an actual job, I can’t help but wonder whether these matters will garner so much undeserved attention. Currently, one in every two college graduates is either jobless or underemployed. As a student, this ratio disturbs me. If I graduate, laden with debt, into a struggling job market and end up unemployed, does that mean the fourth of my life I’ve spent in the education system will have been for naught? I hope I’m wrong. I hope Obama decides to put the American people first, for once. I hope he coughs up his pride and compromises with Congress to actually get something done over the next four years. But ‘hope,’ sweeping proclamations of ‘change’ and empty promises are not going to initiate an economic recovery. Right now we need action, and I think it’s safe to say that blaming Bush isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Kendall Bailey Sports editor Just as the majority of the school predicted, President Barack Obama defeated his competitor Mitt Romney in the election. This was the obvious and correct choice, because a leader with common sense who cares for America is much better than someone who needs to have facts checked regularly. When the candidate for the Republican party was announced back in August, the public thought that the president had virtually no competition. Last term’s candidate, Senator John McCain, at least had war experience and was an icon for the Republican party; representing their core values by wanting a small government with little regulation. Just like the 2008 election, the Republican nominee for Vice President negatively impacted the chances of the party winning. Mimicking Sarah Palin, Paul Ryan lacked the experience to be able to lead the country. In the Vice Presidential debate, Joe Biden overpowered Ryan’s remarks, and couldn’t stop laughing throughout the exchange. Romney was unable to carry his home state of Michigan, the state of Massachusetts where he served as governor, or Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin. It’s sad that Romney couldn’t win the support of these
states. It is probably also safe to say that Mitt Romney isn’t as genuine of a person as we were lead to believe since the people that know him the best ended up being the ones who supported him the least. Romney promised to lower taxes on the middle class, while raising them for the rich, which has traditionally been a strategy of the Democrats. Romney labeled Obama’s policies as failing, like when he said Jeep was outsourcing its jobs to China, when the company was only expanding its market to create more jobs for Americans. He also tried to diminish the success of ‘Obamacare’, which could actually aid millions of retired citizens and uninsured individuals. He wasn’t a fan of the dream act which could allow underprivileged kids to attend college. I fail to see the logic in the idea that raising taxes for the middle class and lowering them for the upper class will help solve the economic stress Americans are feeling. Luckily, America chose the right path, and will continue to repair itself from the eight years of damage the Republican party put it through with George W. Bush. We will continue to lower the unemployment rate, strengthen the middle class, and become more powerful as a nation under Barack Obama, one of the most memorable presidents in the history of the United States.
Degner, Shearer, Baugh win city council seats in Harrisonburg Faith Runnells Staff reporter This past election day was a very important one for the future of America and our little city of Harrisonburg. As for local elections, three out of the five seats on our City Council were open, and eight exceptional citizens ran for these spots. Two returning democrats were
voted back into the council, Mayor Richard Baugh, and Councilman Kai Degner. They both have similar ideas, and stress that JMU students should be seen as citizens of the Harrisonburg community. They are both looking for more ways to continue the growth and prosperity of Harrisonburg. 24-year-old Abe Shearer was also elected to the city council, providing a younger point of view
Do You Know Who Your Parents Voted For?
YES
68 NO
15 83 TOTAL STUDENTS WERE POLLED BY NISHAT JAMIL
Did You Vote on November 6? (Teachers vs. Seniors) - Teachers - Students
Yes 62 Yes 5
No No 1 2 POLL CONDUCTED BY JOHN EARLE
Good News in the World
to the group. He is an independent with a strong focus on the educational opportunities of the youth around our community. Shearer is currently a math teacher at Skyline Middle School. He wants to build better roads and increase tourism. Degner topped all other runners in votes, winning 16.5% of the vote. Shearer was right behind him, with 16.18% of votes. Baugh had 13.16% of votes, giv-
ing him the third and final seat on the council. In fourth place was Republican Christine Johnson, with a close 12.16% of votes. Other runners included Republican Rodney Eagle, Democrat Deb Fitzgerald, Republican Anthony Bailey, and Independent Roger Baker. The three winners will be sworn into their positions in January, beginning their four year term.
Leaman, Rose cast votes in election for first time Austin Coffey Staff reporter On Nov. 6, voters from across the country lined up for the 2012 elections, participating in what could be considered the closest election since the mid-1930s. Several 18-year-olds went to the polls for the first time. Jordan Leaman and Sarah Rose, HHS seniors, both turned 18 only days before the actual voting took place. They were excited about the new voting experience this term. “I realized two or three years ago that my birthday would be falling around the election date, but I didn’t know if it was going to fall before or after. So I pulled out a calendar and discovered that it was going to be the day after my birthday. I guess you could say that I lucked out,” Leaman said. “I had just enough time to get everything in for registration, as my birthday was the Saturday before,” Rose said. Meeting the age requirements was the least of their concerns as people waited over the course of the entire day to vote in places such as Florida and Ohio. Most election lines were, to say the very least, long. But when going up to vote in this year’s election in Harrisonburg, both
first-time voters were surprised to see what lines were like. “I was expecting the lines to be busier than they were, but when I went to vote at Thomas Harrison Middle School (THMS), there were no lines at all,” Leaman said. From the excessive amount of television advertising to the huge amount of telephone calls, the people of America were ready for the process of elections to be over. This caused not only doubt, but frustration in the hearts of many Americans. But for these younger voters, the election process was completely different. “I actually enjoy the election process, and for me and my personal vote, I pretty much decided the week before,” Leaman said. “I knew who I was going to vote for before the election process. There is so much propaganda, but I got an idea of what each candidate was like after the debates,” Rose said. Overall Rose and Leaman enjoyed their experience when voting for the first time and were happy to contribute where the could. “I honestly didn’t feel like I made much of a difference with my vote, but I know in the grand scheme of things I contributed as a citizen,” Rose said.
“I realized two or three years ago that my birthday would be falling around the election date....I guess you could say that I lucked out,” Jordan Leaman, senior first-time voter
Bad News in the World
U.S. jobs report: For the second month in a row, the US economy showed signs of growth. While the unemployment rate did rise to 7. 9%, roughly 180,000 jobs were created in the economy.
Hurricane Sandy Hits East Coast: Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, causing billions of dollars of damage and leaving an incalcuble amount of human suffering.
U.S. decides new President: Regardless of who you wanted to win the election, the US democratic system worked once again. The people chose a president, and there was no civil war.
Guatemalan Quake: A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Guatemala causing massive destruction to the small communities in the wake of the quake.
Malala Yousafzai: Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen activist shot by the Taliban, is in stable condition and expected to recover.
Fiscal Cliff Approaches: Before Dec. 31, politicians need to create a comprehensive plan to reduce the deficit or automatic spending cuts and tax increases will come into effect, potentially causing another recession.
HOT National Elections It’s over, it’s finally over. Now we can live our lives without being bombarded by advertising or hounded by politicians.
Halloween Once per year, we all get to treat ourselves by eating candy and tricking others by dressing up in costumes.
Winter Sports Winter sports practice has already begun for some sports like basketball, wrestling, winter cheerleading, and swimming.
Skyfall Bond’s latest thriller is regarded as one of his best, earning $87.7 million in its opening weekend in the United States alone.
Hot Drinks As November dawns, the temperature drops. And as the temperature drops, we all reach for a mug of our favorite hot drink.
Fall Only during this time of year do the trees come ablaze in a wash of warm colors. The Valley is beautiful in the fall.
Gaming Season Approacheth As the holidays loom, video game releases fill the calendar. And after the summer dearth, these games are a blessing.
NOT Art Theft
Thieves stole seven valuable paintings from a Dutch museum. In the collection stolen were Picasso, Matisse, and others.
Standardized Tests Nobody wants to spend their Saturday mornings stuck behind a desk trying to figure out if a sentence is grammatically correct or incorrect.
Post Election Anger For some people, the politics don’t end on Nov. 6. They still need to vent to all their friends on Facebook.
Freezing Temperatures As winter approaches, the temperature drops to unbearable temperatures. At least for those in shorts or kilts.
Beginning of Holiday Season November marks the beginning of the holiday season. You cannot turn on the radio without hearing another Christmas song.
SCHMEDIUM Disney Purchases Lucasfilms Disney purchased Lucasfilms, the media corporation responsible for Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Whether that is good or bad, we don’t know.
November 20, 2012
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STYLE A7
Cruel Summer lives Top Ten on iTunes 1) Gangnam Style-PSY up to expectations 2) Locked Out of Heaven-Bruno Mars Austin Swift Staff reporter
3) Diamonds-Rhianna
As usual there are new music albums coming out left and right, and one of these albums was the much anticipated Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel SummerCruel Summer for short- was released on Sept. 18. The album was produced by Kanye West’s label G.O.O.D. Music, the G.O.O.D. standing for ‘Getting Out Our Dreams’. The label consists of artists such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Q-tip, Common, John Legend and more. On this album, there are also many featured artists like Jay-z, R Kelly, Raekwon, DJ Khaled and Ma$e to name a few. The album has been subject to both good and bad reviews; as Kanye West was involved in such a large part of it, it had high expectations. One of the many people who have bought this album is freshman, Aaron Gusler. Gusler joked how he had been waiting for the arrival of the album for a while, as he was checking iTunes every Tuesday for it. “I like it mainly because it has different artists on different songs so it’s not all one person doing the same thing over and over again. I would recommend this to someone who likes modern rap or rappers that mess around with or change the music or rap in general.” Gusler said. Gusler shares his insights on the new album. “Big Sean’s raps are good in the album and it has good beats, plus I like the album cover. What I don’t like is the hooks in some songs, they’re kind of lame. ‘Clique’ and ‘New God Flow’ are good; ‘Mercy’ is my favorite, but I don’t like the song ‘Don’t Like’ because the only part of the song I can remember is the hook [a repeating set of lyrics after most verses], which I’m not a big fan of.” Gusler became interested in this album because of his previous knowledge of the artists’ work. “I have music by Kanye West and Big Sean and that did influence me to buy the album because I’m a big fan of both.” Gusler said. Despite a few minor drawbacks, Gusler likes Cruel Summer. “I think the album lived up to the name Good Music!” Gusler said. Like Aaron, there are many other students who have bought this album. Freshman, Douglas Ritcher, has also heard the
4) Die Young-Ke$ha 5) One More Night-Maroon 5 6) Ho Hey-The Lumineers 7) I Cry-Flo Rider 8) Some Nights-Fun MEETS EXPECTATIONS. Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer was greatly anticipated by many. The new album, released Sept. 18, did not fall short of the high standards that preceded it. album. “It was pretty good. Good mix of artists, some songs dragged on unnecessarily long though,” Ritcher said. He too had certain likes and dislikes of Cruel Summer. “I think the best part was the producing, great beats. I think it needs more Kid Cudi and some songs or artists just didn’t fit.” Ritcher said. Ritcher became interested in the album from past experience with the artists. “I like Kanye West alright, not with his G.O.O.D. friends, but this was alright. John Legend has an amazing voice and Kid Cudi is awesome. They’re all good! When I heard Kid Cudi was a part of it I bought it.” Ritcher said. His favorite songs are “To the World” and “The One”, but he feels that “Bliss” and “Creepers” don’t fit in with the style of the rest of the album. This album could share the likes of many people as it not only has rap but a more soulful or pop type of song in “Bliss”. Another nice feature of the album is that it contains well known artists such as Jay-z, Kanye West, R Kelly and John Legend, but also lesser known up-and-coming artists like Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor and Kid Cudi. Four singles were released before the release of the whole album and are arguably the best on the album which may have been a reason why it may have seemed less appealing as they had already been released and listened to. Mercy, the first single released, is probably the most popular song as it is still one of the top songs on iTunes and Billboard charts.
9) Home-Phillip Phillips 10) Cruise-Florida Georgia Line
INFOGRAPHIC BY BRENNA COWARDIN
Red: new style, same old relatable lyrics Anna Wyatt Staff reporter The release of Taylor Swift’s fourth ever studio album, Red, on Oct. 22 from Big Machine Records had been greatly anticipated by many. Junior, Kaitlyn Keck could barely wait for the album to come out. “I was so excited, I went right after school [to buy the album],” Keck said. Junior, Katie Wampler stepped it up a notch by getting the album as soon as it was available at midnight. Part of all the anticipation and excitement was partly due to the release of the popular single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” from the album on August 13th. Four promotional singles were also released during the month leading up to the release of the album including “Begin Again”, “Red”, “I Knew You Were Trouble”, and “State Of Grace”. Overall, the album strayed from Swift’s usual predominantly country style. “It didn’t sound like her. She’s getting more modern but I enjoyed it because it was really relatable,” senior, Gracie Burzumato said. The songs in the album have proved to be very catchy by their escalating popular-
ity. They pertain to emotions that are real and prevalent, grabbing the attention of most young women because they can relate. Junior, Brougan Brown liked the album. “[Red] was very touching and relatable.” Brown said.
A NEW SIDE OF TAYLOR SWIFT. Red strays from Swift’s predominantly country style, but girls around HHS love listening to her songs and bought the album as soon as it came out. They can relate to Swift ‘s lyrics about love and heartbreak, and that part of Swift’s singing hasn’t changed. The album came out Oct. 22.
‘No Shave November’ poses Prince Royce’s bachata is touching Lybeth Vega interesting tradition to follow Staff reporter Sydney Little Feature editor At the beginning of every November, members of the cross country teams, as well as other followers participate in ‘No Shave November’. ‘No Shave November’ is a challenge for its candidates, in that they see if they can make it the whole month of November without shaving any hair off of their body. “I’m not sure who started it, but I first heard about it from someone on the cross country team. Some other girls from the cross-country team do it, but not a lot of other students participate,” senior Erin Goodstein said. ‘No Shave November’ came from the organization known as “Movember”, or Moustache November, whose only participants were guys. It was created in 1999, in response to Breast Cancer Awareness in October, as a month dedicated to Men’s Health Awareness where men would grow out their mustaches for charity. Since then, “Movember” has spread out and evolved into many different groups, including ‘No Shave November’. Contrary to Movember’s guys-only competitors, girls have also joined in on the challenge by not shaving their legs, while the guy’s don’t shave any facial hair.
PHOTO BY SYDNEY LITTLE
A MONTH FOR THE LAZY. Senior, Erin Goodstein is participating in No Shave November for the fourth year this fall. “I do it because it’s a tradition. I’ve been participating in it with the cross country team since freshman year,” Goodstein said. The ultimate event for laziness, students agree that ‘No Shave November’ has its advantages and disadvantages. “One advantage is that I don’t have to spend any time shaving for a whole month!” Goodstein said. “But It’s annoying to deal with people who think that girls who do ‘No Shave November’ are disgusting, ‘No Shave November’ is not just for guys! Also having prickly legs can be uncomfortable sometimes.”
Prince Royce’s album Phase II, released on April 10 has 13 songs and lasts 46:30. “Las cosas pequeñas”, featured on this album, is one of the most listened-to songs by the latino community. Freshman, Kiara Moyet listened to Phase II and loved it. “I like Prince Royce because he sings well,”Moyet said. Prince Royce’s soft voice, causes admiration in many young girls. His voice sounds similar to Aventura, a bachata music group from New York. Prince Royce’s real name is Geoffrey Royce Rojas and he was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. Royce’s Dominican roots instill a strong sense of cultural identity,and pride in him. Bachata is a genre of music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the 20th century, and spread to parts of Latin America. This type of music is often romantic and sings of heartbreak and sadness.The music consists of five musical instruments: lead guitar, rhythm guitar, electric bass guitar, bongos and güira. These are the instruments used in his songs. It was not a coincidence that Royce was influenced by bachata because his parents are both from the Dominican Republic, where bachata style is everywhere. When he was 13, Royce began to write poetry. This eventually led him to songwriting. He sings in both English and Spanish.
Royce’s first self-titled album debuted two years ago. His song “Corazón sin cara” was featured on this first album. A wellknown verse is, “Y ya me contaron que te acomplejas de tu imagen, y mira al espejo que bien te ves sin maquillaje, y si eres gorda o flaca todo eso no me importa. A mi tampoco soy perfecto. Solo se que yo te quiero asi.” Which translates to,“And I heard that you don’t like your image, but look in the mirror see how good you look without makeup, and if you are fat or skinny I don’t care. I’m not perfect either. All I know is that I like you the way you are.”
YOUNG AND TALENTED. Prince Royce began experimenting with poetry and eventually music in his teenage years. Today, Royce has two award-winning albums under his belt. His soft voice melts the hearts of those who listen to his music.
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October 26, 2012
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HHS ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB CHRISTMAS SALE! With Christmas just around the corner, it is now time to start thinking about those Blue Streaks on your list! What better gift to give than a Blue Streak apparel item that you know they will love? On TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. the entire stock of Booster clothing will be displayed in the auditorium commons. There will be sweatshirts, hats, t-shirts, sweatpants, decals and so much more. Free giftwrapping!
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November 20, 2012
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Coffee is a staple in daily life around the world, especially if one wants to survive late-night study sessions. These local coffee shops are sure to satisfy any tastes and fuel all caffeine cravings.
Artful Dodger, fresh, more than meets the eye Gina Muan News editor Easily spotted by interesting, Picasso-esque artwork decorating the exterior walls, the Artful Dodger is located on the corner of Court Square in Harrisonburg. Its roof extends outside the cafe, covering a patio with small tables for dining. Open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., the Artful Dodger is a cafe by day and a bar by night. Smoking is only allowed in the outdoor area, but unfortunately the smell of cigarette smoke still lingers strongly inside. The atmosphere is eclectic, with a slight beatnik vibe. Local artwork covers the walls and the cafe is
thoroughly decked out for Halloween with disarmingly realistic ghouls, skeletons, mummies and twoheaded-monster-babies. Bats and spider webs hang from the ceiling. Small colored globes overhead provide a comfortable glow, and there is a miniature stage up front for live music. Senior Ellie PruettFiederlein enjoys heading downtown, and has been to the Dodger several times. “It’s really quirky, and there’s always a different theme,” Pruett-Fiederlein said. A stereo near my table continues to emit pounding, raspy vocals. I don’t really find the soundtrack to my liking, in fact, it is a bit digestively unsettling.
On the other hand, service is fast and personable. A waitress arrives at my table almost immediately after I enter the cafe, and delivers the order a few minutes later. Although part of a thoroughly caffeinated nation, I’ve always been averse to coffee, so my first sip of the Dodger’s Ethiopian Java comes as a pleasant surprise. Producing fragrant steam, the hot beverage is a medium-bodied roast which tastes smooth and mellow, with tolerably bitter undertones. Senior Andrea Wood is an avid coffee fan. “The cost is really reasonable for the quality and quantity,” Wood said. “It’s definitely better than Starbucks, but
I don’t know if I would go back just for the coffee.” Most of the beverages are priced around $2.50, with nothing over $3.50. “I had French toast the last time I went there, and it was really good. So was the hot chocolate,” PruettFiederlein said of several other options from the extensive menu. Despite miserable weather and the fact that it is only 4 p.m., a steady stream of customers continues to flow in and out, lending a sort of infectious energy to the restaurant. The entire time I’m there it remains active, with more than half the tables occupied.
Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte perfect for chilly fall afternoon
Greenberry’s great place to enjoy cup of joe, tasty treat
Ellie Plass Staff reporter
Bryndal Fulginiti Staff reporter
When I walked into Starbucks on a windy Sunday afternoon, I had no idea that it would be as crowded as it was. The relatively small shop was packed with mostly college students, either waiting in line or sitting in the cushy-looking chairs scattered around the shop. Most of them seemed to be drinking coffee versus eating, so I followed their lead. The woman who took my order, was friendly-- but not too friendly-- and the wait was pretty short considering the line. In honor of the impending fall weather, I decided to get their seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte. The drink was buttery, perfectly bitter in that coffee way, and just the right temperature. There was even whipped cream and caramel sauce (totally the best part). It was definitely the perfect
remedy for the biting wind, and I completely recommend it for a post studying pick-me-up. It was even moderately priced, only about $3.00, which is pretty reasonable compared to other places. Despite the quick delivery of the drink, the coffee house itself was mildly disappointing. It just didn’t have that certain warmth and coziness that a coffee shop should have. It’s probably since it’s such a popular chain, but Starbucks just doesn’t have that “the people sitting next to me could be writing a novel” coffee house feel. I would probably give the place a three out of five stars, because even though their coffee itself was delicious, the desired atmosphere was lacking.
Earth and Tea Cafe great alternative for non-coffee-drinkers Sydney Little Feature editor Although there are many new restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg, members of the community can never go wrong with the Earth and Tea Cafe, which was opened five years ago by Aaram Millones. The cafe now serves breakfast foods, as well as typical lunch foods such as soups and sandwiches, but specializes in its large diversity of international teas. With different teas from China, Taiwan, Nepal, India, and North and South Africa, the tea selection can appeal to just about any customer. Of their tea selection, Earth and Tea Cafe offers over forty different choices. Of the choices there are nine types of tea to choose from; White, Green, Green and Black Blend, Black, Oolong, Herbal, Rooibos, Fruit, and Iced Tea. Price of tea is not
Greenberry’s is one of the top coffee places that’s a must-go in Harrisonburg. Ranked the #2 coffee place in Harrisonburg behind Starbuck’s, it is a small and quiet place to go and enjoy a nice cup of coffee, or a sweet little treat while you study or enjoy time with a friend. It’s also very good on the wallet; most people spend $3-$9.00 per visit at this local gem. Their coffee ranges from the standard coffee americana to iced coffee, as well as everything in between such as different spices mixed in your coffee like pumpkin spice for the holidays. Greenberry’s also offers hot chocolate, frappucinos and lattes for the non coffee-lovers, as well as juices, water and smoothies. There is something for everyone’s liking whether they are a coffee aficionados or not. Not only does Greenberry’s have coffee, but they also have buttery little croissants and scones to eat and enjoy with your cof-
fee shop beverage, as well as cookies, pieces of cake and brownies. Anything that can hit your sweet tooth is behind the glass stand at Greenberry’s. Greenberry’s is a good place to go to get some quiet time in. Besides Starbucks, one can always see Greenberry’s filled with students studying or enjoying a good cup of coffee with a friend. Students are not the only ones to hit the cozy shop; suit-clad business people can be seen there working on their laptops or having a quaint civil meeting with a co-worker. If you’re dying for a cup of good coffee or anything to sooth that craving you have after the chilly autumn air, I recommend that you go to Greenberry’s. It’s a place where one can escape the world for a while and just have some peace and quiet while enjoying a cup of coffee and a nice little treat.
an issue at the cafe, with three different options from three dollars to five dollars, they offer a large pot, small pot, and tea to go. Although service can be a little slow on occasion, the intimate and comforting atmosphere makes for an ideal conversation spot. The rich colors and various international decor provides a warm, comforting feeling that helps customers feel more relaxed, while they eat or drink. Open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, the cafe is pretty much guaranteed to always be open.
Studies find that caffeine found in coffee can be beneficial, but only in moderation Sukriti Adhikari Staff photographer As students progress in their high school careers, coffee and energy drinks certainly become their best friend. Lack of sleep, procrastination and huge amount of stress are everyday benefactors that help deepen the committed relationship between caffeine
and students. “I drink coffee everyday per week because it is part of my day now and it helps me stay awake,” junior Alvina Klopot said. Like Klopot, many others students at HHS have increased their daily intake of coffee since they have started high school. Lack of sleep is one of the major key factor on
why students start drinking more coffee. “I started drinking coffee around 8th grade because I had rough mornings and staying awake was a challenge. I drank it sometimes as a pick-meup, but now it has become a habit,” senior Michael Eckstein said. “Now, I am addicted to coffee because I get headaches without it.”
With more than 12 coffee shops alone in Harrisonburg City and thousand types of coffee to choose from, students with different tastes and tolerances to coffee are able to make their own specific coffee blends. According to steadyhealth.com, drinking coffee can help one stay awake and prevent heart and
other diseases but if taken in gigantic proportions, drinkers may have great chance of getting diabetes, Osteoporosis and loss of sleep. “My dad has 2 shots of energy energy drinks and drinks 4 cups of coffee and by the end of the day he is freaking out,” freshman Jacob Bales said. With different sched-
ules for everyone, people needs something to help them go through the tough times and long days. All in all, as long as students do not drink large amount of coffee or caffeine everyday they will be fine. “[I think that] drinking large amounts of coffee per day is harmful, but if someone drinks a cup a day, it is fine,” Klopot said.
November 20, 2012
The
Newsstreak
FEATURE- B1
So you want to be a scientist...
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAMANTHA HEITCH
SAVVY SCIENTIST. Senior Samantha Heitsch participates in a biology mentorship program at JMU, spending seven to ten hours in the lab per week.
GOTCHA! This insect is part of Heitch’s experiment to find out how much data can be stored in a small holding space.
Senior pursues interest in biology through project Luke Gibson Feature editor
W
hen presented with the word ‘laser’, one typically pictures a Dr. Evil-esque contraption designed for acts of wrongdoing, worlddomination, or blowing up other planets. Senior Samantha Heitsch however, does none of these, operating a laser purely in the name of science, aiming it at the feet of crickets and tracing their movement. It’s just something I feel comes naturally,” Heitsch
said, referring to adept skill in the field of science. Last year in AP Biology, Heitsch started a rather impressive project after gaining connections with biology professors at JMU. She worked with Dr. Corey Cleland, a neurobiology professor, investigating motor responses in baby tarantulas to a tactile stimulus in the form of puffs of air. This year Heitsch is continuing her investigations in biology as part of a mentorship program at JMU. She is currently exploring how much data can be stored in a small holding
space, such as an insect. More specifically, the motor responses of crickets to a motor stimulus in the form of a laser. Mentorship is seen as a practical way of gaining experience in her desired field even before college; however, it requires a lot of commitment. Last year, she spent around three to six hours in the lab, and, with all her other extra curricular activities, it ended up being mostly on weekends. This year, it has increased to seven to ten hours, which includes a weekly lab meet-
ing between the professor and his students (of which Heitsch is the only high schooler). The class requires Heitsch to read research papers on her own time and present them to the rest of the group. Heitsch has already accumulated all but two of the high school credits necessary to graduate, so she now has the freedom to spend the first and second blocks of her B day in the lab at JMU’s ISAT campus. This was an agreement made between Heitsch and the administration, who
Governor’s school includes research projects There are a few juniors and seniors who make the daily trip to Mount Jackson, VA to go to Massanutten Regional Governor’s School, a school focused on extending students’ education in technology and environmental science. After being at school for a couple months, each student is required to pick a research project to work on by themselves or with a partner. PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACIE BURZUMATO
Research project studies origin of bed bugs Every year, the Governor’s school students must complete a year-long research project that demonstrates their knowledge in a specific field of scientific study. Each pair is encouraged to find a mentor in the community to assist them with their research. For their final year doing this project, seniors Gracie Burzumato and Madeline Culbreth decided to think outside of the box. The two girls work with
labs, it helps prepare [students] for college applications,” Heitsch said. Colleges she plans on applying to include Swarthmore, Princeton and UVA. Though the research occupies a large amount of her time and effort, Heitsch is glad to have such an opportunity. “It’s a commitment that I want to have, I’m passionate about biology. It’s something I plan on doing for a considerable amount of time, so I’m extremely pleased that I’ve found an inroad so early,” Heitsch said.
Online physics calls for creativity Ellie Plass Staff reporter
IN THE LAB. Senior Madeline Culbreth is delving into the psychological and social effects of living with bed bugs for her project with her partner, senior Gracie Burzumato.
Kendall Bailey Sports editor
was willing to endorse a college-related opportunity such as this. The time taken up by all the additional lab work may seem excessive on top of other responsibilities such as homework from AP classes and extra activities such as Debate and One Act, but Heitsch believes that the opportunity is incredibly valuable. “I thoroughly recommend that any high school student interested in this subject does research projects in order to gain experience. Writing proposals, working with professors in
JMU professor Ron Raab and the Stanford Research Institute in researching the origin of bed bugs. The girl’s help Dr. Raab determine the migration path of the insects, and whether the bugs manifest within the city or are carried in from places out of town. To test these theories and apply them to real life, the girls are preparing to visit a bug infested apartment later in November. For this expedition, the two students must dress in full body Haz Mat suits and arm themselves with twee-
Interview with Guidance Counselor Tim Meyers Q.What classes can a student take if they want to specialize in science? Any programs? A.You need 3 science courses as bare minimum. After that there is Massanutten Regional Governor’s School, which is specific to math and science. Q.What all can someone do to really begin getting deeper into science courses here at HHS? A.Take AP classes, such as AP Environmental Science, Anatomy. Go big! Q.Who would someone want to talk to start taking higher level science courses? A.Talk with your guidance counselor. They can help you plan your schedule if that is something you are thinking about, so you will be prepared. INFOGRAPHIC BY JULEXUS CAPPELL
zers and vials for collecting the specimens. “It feels pretty legit, I feel like I’m going into a nuclear waste plant or something,” Burzumato said. Researching bed bugs seems like an odd subject to spend grant money on, but the psychological and social effects of living with bed bugs can take a huge toll on the human mind. “If you know your apartment is infested [with bed bugs], but you never see them, your skin will itch nonstop because your mind will think that they
are crawling all over you. If you tell your friends about your bed bug problem, you won’t be allowed into their houses anymore,” Culbreth said. When the girls go to the lab every Friday, they receive live bugs from all over the area, and are able to crush up the insects and collect their DNA, thus being able to test for mutations in their genes. Burzumato and Culbreth wanted to pick an unusual, but interesting, topic that will benefit people around the city.
Most classes discuss math, or maybe famous authors, and sometimes music. In the AP Physics class, they discuss the universe, how to understand it, and how it interacts with itself. The topics discussed are fairly unique to the class, making it a favorite for some of HHS’s talented students. Junior Rafael Snell-Feikema finds the class fascinating. He has always been interested in science, and thinks that a career having something to do with physics is likely for his future. He made the decision to skip past Honors Physics in hope of increasing his GPA. Like Snell-Feikema, Neil Mehta, a junior, is very interested in Physics. In terms of college, he wants to attend an Ivy League school. He sees himself in a career involving either engineering, math, or physics. The most interesting part of physics for him is how mind blowing it is, and how you can take a couple equations and find so much more. Both Mehta and Snell-Feikema don’t find the class particularly challenging. For Mehta, it’s more just work intensive. “It's not especially difficult; it's an online class. However, it is a lot of labs, and you definitely have to teach yourself the material,” Snell-Feikema said. One of the main parts of the class is coming up with your own labs, in the sense that you have to find a way to find something out. Some of the ones SnellFeikema has made include a friction lab in which he used a spring scale to drag boxes around, and a projectile motion lab that involved a virtual launching of projectiles and a monitoring of their horizontal and vertical acceleration. “The labs are fairly free-form, usually our instructor assigns a series of values or relationships we should determine. We have to make the procedure,” Snell-Feikema said. He goes about the process by drawing free-body diagrams and isolating the variables. The one-of-a-kind class proves to be challenging for some and enjoyable for others. The universe is a wide topic, but an apparently interesting one.
JMU professor assists in Snell-Feikema’s research Kerri Hofacker Sports editor Junior Rafael SnellFeikema elected to work on his Governor’s School project with James Madison University professor Thomas Devore to figure out the thermal decomposition of metal oxides, or the temperature at which certain rocks, when mixed with salt, start to breakdown. “A lot of people might not understand the chemis-
try terms that are involved in the project, but we’re basically finding materials to make better solar panels,” Snell-Feikema said. Every Friday morning, instead of going to Governor’s School, Snell-Feikema goes to JMU to work on his project and run tests on the different samples. The university provides all of the equipment that he needs to work on his project, and the equipment’s worth is $130,000. “I think it’s really cool
that they’re letting us work with all of that equipment,” Snell-Feikema said. To conduct an experiment, Snell-Feikema and his partner take a sample of salt and put it in a test tube. Then they add an infrared light and wrap heater coils around the test tube; the heater coils’ temperature increases at six degrees per minute. Then they put a thermometer in the test tube, read the temperature, and compare the results to the infrared
temperature. The results of the research will show SnellFeikema how well each metal oxide catalyzes and which metal oxides will work best for the solar panels. After his project is complete, Snell-Feikema will present his findings to the class at Governor’s School. Contact gifted coordinator Gail Collins if you are interested in attending the Massanutten Regional Governor’s School.
November 20, 2012
The
Newsstreak
FEATURE - B2
Happy families: children of teachers
Teachers with toddlers balance life between work, home Kerri Hofacker Sports editor Any new parent will tell you that it’s hard to have a newborn baby in the house, but it seems that it is even harder for teachers because they have to find a much needed balance between work and home. Marketing teacher Mallory Cromer welcomed her daughter, Hattie, into the world at the end of the last school year. She missed the last nine weeks of school and had the entire summer off to be with her daughter. When asked if she was ready to come back to work, she immediately, with no hesitation, said yes. “It wasn’t hard back for me to come back, because I’d been at home for months with a little baby that couldn’t talk, and I was running out of things to clean,” Cromer said.
Government teacher Kris Vass has experienced bringing two children into the world and said that staying home was the hardest thing he has ever done. “I took 15 days off when my son, Gram, was born and that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Everyone should go home and hug the person that took care of them as a baby, because they deserve it,” Vass said. Physical Education teacher Kevin Tysinger, had a difficult time coming back to work after his daughter Grace was born. “I just wanted to stay home and hold her the whole time,” Tysinger said. Each teacher did have to come back to work after their time off, so they had to find different forms of daycare for their children. Most of them use a form of pre-school, while others leave their child with a
family member. History teacher Jay Hook leaves his son Wyatt at an inhome daycare. “We take Wyatt to Mrs. Burner’s house for daycare,” Hook said. All teachers agree that their lives have changed since their babies were born, but for different reasons. “[My wife and I] still do the same things, we just pack more stuff when we go. Of course things change, but you can’t let it change who you are,” Vass said. Another important part about having a baby at home is finding the balance between work and home. Some teachers even have to balance coaching into the mix, like Hook, who coaches football. “It’s really hard to find a balance because it’s either Wyatt or work. Then football takes a lot of time too, so I’ve had to rely on my wife for a lot and she’s been great,” Hook said.
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
CROWNING MOMENT. Government teacher Kris Vass helps his son, Gram Vass prepare for the halftime ceremonies during the HHS homecoming game. Gram presented the bouquet to the 2012 homecoming queen, Taylor Grogg.
Teachers of newborns plan ahead Inside Teacher Workdays
Mia Karr Managing editor
Guidance counselor Lauren Kershner is used to dealing with high schoolers, but her attention will be focused on a much smaller child this winter. Kershner gave birth to her first child, a boy named Harrison, at 12:45 on November 12, and is now on maternity leave. “I’m really excited. I think that before I knew I wanted to be a school counselor, I knew I wanted to be a mom,” Kershner said. Recently her pregnancy has made her job more difficult, forcing her to move slower, and become more forgettable. However, she hopes that school counseling will help her as a parent. “I have been fortunate to experience a lot or different parenting styles through the students are their parents,” Kershner said. “I think students and the position and profession in general require me to be flexible...[and that’s] important to parenting.” Another staff member testing the limits of his flexibility is biol-
ogy teacher Mac Bair, but unlike Kershner, he has done it all before. Grady, Bair’s third son, was born June 6 2012, joining big brothers Cooper (5) and Rowan (3). Bair tooks three weeks of paternity leave a few weeks into the school year. “I think it is important to do that when the child is small,” Bair said. This leave took a lot of preparation- he had to make 15 lesson plans for two different classes and keep up with grading. “[It was] harder on the students,” Bair said. Kershner has received inquiries from seniors worried about the college application process. Kershner is getting pieces of the process ready, but her fellow counselors will work with her students during her twelve week maternity leave. “I am very lucky to have such supportive co-workers,” Kershner said. “I think more than anything the reassurance that I can do it [has been helpful.]” As long as Kershner remains in the city, she anticipates sending her son to HHS. Being a counselor has given her an understanding of what to expect
with the school system. Bair’s sons will attend high school in the county, but he still has some advice for them gathered over his years teaching. “Get involved. Play a sport, be in band, be in a club. Be involved in the entire process [and] try your hardest,” Bair said. Childcare is an issue that comes up for both working parents. Both Kershner and Bair are married to teachers in other school systems and require outside help with to watch their children. While Kershner is unsure of the specifics of childcare for her son, Bair has found trusted babysitters to watch his kids, the oldest of which is now attending Kindergarten. “You learn to divide and conquer,” Bair said. This is just one lesson Bair can apply to his teaching. “I think...being a parent has definitely affected my teaching. It’s made me understand ...what parents of my students are dealing with [and has given me] a little more compassion and understanding for what students are going through.”
Every month there is a half day where students leave early and teachers have a workday. What happens on these occasions?
Brian Nussbaum
Are these days helpful for grading before report cards? “Very much so! At the end of the term I typically get slammed with lots of papers to grade. Some of it is tests or projects at the end of the term, but much of it is the last minute scramble of late work that students try to turn in at the very last second. This day to sift through all of this is essential.” Do you think students should miss school for them? “Missed school days are a detraction, but I’m not sure of another way for teachers to have the time to do the work.” Did the hurricane have an impact on your workday? “I chose to work at home over the four days. I did much more than eight hours of work.”
Amy Wheeler
Do you use your teacher workdays wisely? Oh my gosh, yes! I make an extensive to-do list a couple days in advance then get here early to make sure I have enough time to check all the items off. When do you go home on teacher workdays? “It depends on the work day schedule. If it’s an 8-3 thing, I generally adhere to the schedule by coming in a little bit early and leaving a little bit late. If we don’t have to get here until later like 11-7, then I will arrive a few hours early and leave at the scheduled time.” What do you do on teacher workdays? “Everything! I typically try to get caught up in areas that I have fallenbehind in, then if there is time left, I’ll start future lesson plans or organizing my desk/teaching space.”
Yutzy family wins trip to Disney World Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-chief
PHOTO COURTESY OF PHIL YUTZY
CARS! Spanish teacher Phil Yutzy and his two sons visit the Cars themed section of Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This was one of many locations they were able to visit during their day out provided by Ace & TJ Grin Kids.
Swartz reflects on parenting Felicia Tran Staff Reporter Drama teacher Stanley Swartz is a veteran when it comes to dealing with his kids Adam, Anika, and Elana. “[My children and I] have a close relationship; we would we go out together or do other activities. We would eat meals together and touch base during the days. It was slightly easier for me because I was teaching at the high school. We could see each other during the day if needed. Even though we saw each other less when they were studying for exams, my wife and I supported them by doing little things such as giving them a cup of tea and patting them on the back. We said it would be worth it in the long run,” Swartz said. All families have traditions whether they are unique, funny or more traditional. The Swartz family has many traditions of their own. “Most of the things in our family are combinations of traditions from my family and my wife’s family. Most of them were just little things about how we do things. Because my wife is British, we would drink tea and eat meals together. I would take the kids camping in the summer - each kid on their own for three or four days, and we often travelled together to soccer tournaments,” Swartz said. If Swartz ever felt stressed or overwhelmed, he tried to look at everything in a positive manner.
“When they are doing well and they are happy, that helps make me happy. If they are facing problems of some kind, then I try to support them through it. Just like kids of any age, they can be both a stress and a joy,” Stanley Swartz, drama teacher “I would take a deep breath and get some long term perspective. We realized that it was one stage of their lives and one stage of ours and we could get through it,” Swartz said. “There were a few incidents where they might end up in the hospital. I would often help take care of them and then would have to get my work done at 11 p.m. because they were my first priority. I got a lot of nights with little sleep,” Swartz said. “When they are doing well and they are happy, that helps make me happy. If they are facing problems of some kind, then I try to support them through it. Just like kids of any age, they can be both a stress and a joy,” Swartz said.
It’s every little kid’s dream to go to Disney World, including Elijah Yutzy’s, son of Spanish teacher Phil Yutzy. Six year old Elijah, as his friends and family knows him, has Down Syndrome, among a number of other medical conditions. Early in October, the Yutzy family was pleasantly surprised with a prepaid trip to Disney World for the family of six courtesy of a North Carolina radio talk show, Ace and TJ. The two men founded a non-profit charity called Ace & TJ Grin Kids. The organization sponsors trips to Disney World once a year in October. Sixteen lucky families, who have permanently disabled or terminally ill children, were selected to go on the vacation. Funds were supplied by Ace & TJ Grin Kids, not only for airfare, but also food, and souvenirs for the kids. The trip is paid for by donations from the radio show’s listeners. The charity’s first trip to Disney World was in 2000, and it has brought joy to over 260 children ever since. The Yutzy family entered the sweep-
stakes in hopes of being chosen from the multitude of other families who applied. Junior Danielle Yutzy, sister of Elijah, was surprised by their good fortune. “We were shocked when we were picked,” Danielle Yutzy said. The Yutzy clan drove down to Charlotte North Carolina, where a private plane was waiting to fly all the families to Orlando, Florida for the five day vacation. At the airport everything from sports team’s mascots (such as the Panthers) to Santa Claus were waiting to welcome the kids with goody bags. “Once we made it to Disney World, we had special permission to fly overtop of the resort. We got to see all the attractions from above, which is not typically allowed” Phil Yutzy said. A bus was waiting to take the families to the Disney All-Star resort, where a formal dinner was waiting for the vacationers, with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, as well as Goofy. “Eli loved seeing Goofy, he jumped up and down and ran to hug him,” Danielle Yutzy said. All of the 16 families received express passes, that enabled them to skip the annoyingly long lines typically associated with amusement parks.
Shenandoah Valley Scholars’ Latino Initiative A mentoring and scholarship program for youth in the Shenandoah Valley Founded by Peter Kaugman in 2003, the scholarships began in Spring of 2012 with the selection of three scholars. Support scholars today by donating either by phone or online at: http://svsli.wordpress.com/ how-to-help/
eeriehl@virginia-organizing.org (540) 438-5985
November 20, 2012
The
Newsstreak
FEATURE- B3
JROTC BUILDING LEADERS
Arcs There are 240 different types cadets can earn
Girls filling multiple roles in JROTC
Blue Streak Distinguished Unit Insignia
Brenna Cowardin Style editor
T
his year, five out of six JROTC competition teams are led by girls. Although there are more girls in the program this year, Colonel Roy McCutcheon doesn’t think the number of girls in leadership roles translates directly with the number of girls in the program. McCutcheon sees a different type of focus in girls and boys. Girls are more attentive to authority. “[Girls] march better, they follow instructions better, and they care about their jobs more,” McCutcheon said. “We challenge them, and they step up to the challenge.” Girls in leadership roles are not unusual in JROTC. Last year the Battalion Commander, the student in charge of all cadets, was alumni Jessica Cross. “We’ve always had female leadership, but for whatever reason, it just stood out this year,” McCutcheon said. Junior Cecilia Valdez has been a member of JROTC all three years of her high school career. Throughout the years, she has risen to the rank of Battalion Executive Officer, a title just below the Battalion Commander, the highest ranking studentofficial in the program. “I’m in charge of the staff, making sure they get their job done,” Valdez
Guts and Glory Cadet Awarded to one of the top leaders during Leadership Camp
JROTC Rankings Battalion Commander Maxi Medeiros
The Battalion Commander makes sure the staff carries out their duties and fulfills their job properly. PHOTO COURTESY OF COLONEL McCUTCHEON
FORWARD MARCH! Batallion Executive Officer Cecilia Valdez leads members of JROTC out of the auditorium after an assembly.
said. Valdez heard of JROTC through her brother. “My brother was in [JROTC] and he told me a lot about it so I decided to give it a try. I liked it so I stayed,” Valdez said. A team leader has to be responsible for hours of extra time. Junior Alexis Day has been in JROTC for two years, and as Honor Guard Commander, Day has to be present at every JROTC event or competition. “I’m here after school every day until 4:30, and at JROTC events most weekends,” Day said. However, despite the extra time leaders have to
commit to, Day loves it. “It’s a really fun class. We’re incredibly close to our peers and our teachers,” Day said. “I love helping other students learn their jobs, and being there for the team.” Through JROTC, McCutcheon watches teenagers mature. Often times, he finds the girls intent on their mission, even before the boys have stopped goofing off. “[Girls] step up. They get the message earlier [than boys],” McCutcheon said. “By the time the guys have figured it out, the girls have already surpassed them.” For freshman Abby
Westfall, being in the military has been a family tradition for years. Westfall is continuing that tradition through JROTC this fall. “I knew my dad really wanted me to join [JROTC], but in the end it was a decision I made on my own,” Westfall said. Westfall enjoys the opportunities JROTC allows for. Now that the cross country season is over, she plans to be more involved. “I really like the leadership opportunities JROTC offers. I’ve always been a big leader and here I can show that I am one. I don’t have to be shy and quiet,” Westfall said.
Valdez, Medeiros reach top rank Austin Coffey Ad Manager
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he Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) has recognized Junior Cecilia Valdez and Senior Maxi Medeiros as being the most decorated
cadets in all of HHS. “JROTC is a cadet-lead program, educating students about military and life skills,” Valdez said. Throughout their entire high school career, these students have been climbing the ladder of success, waiting for this moment of recognition, and becoming
PHOTO COURTESY OF COLONEL McCUTCHEON
AT EASE! Battalion Commander Maxi Medeiros walks between two rows of JROTC members at a home football game.
the most decorated cadet. Essentially, this award means that you have performed the best that a student possibly can. “We do everything, go to every team competition, every event and every activity. This award represents someone who is well mannered, and who can lead a group of individuals well,” Medeiros said. Receiving awards for grades, behavior, and their performance at competitions all play a significant role in earning this position. “I have gotten awards for a little bit of everything, but the biggest award you can ever receive is becoming a Superior Cadet, which means that you are the best in your class,” Medeiros said. But when it comes down to it, there is one streaming theme that this class has truly shown these two students, and that is lead-
ership. The essence of leading a group and seeing that group work together to accomplish great things in not only competitions but life in general has been the most rewarding aspect of this class for both Valdez and Medeiros. “We become a bit of a family, we watch out for each other and stick up for one another,” Medeiros said . In addition to this, this award has become just a little bit more than just another word of recognition. For both students it has been a motivator, helping to push them to an even higher level. “It basically means that I have done everything I can do and this award is what gives me the motive to keep this position,” Valdez said. “We have clicked together and push each other to strive for perfection,” Medeiros said.
Wilder emphasizes family, team Isabelle Burden Staff Reporter
“
It’s a ROTC thing, you wouldn’t understand,” said Command Sergeant Major Wilder, one of the two commanders for HHS’s renowned JROTC program, “In JROTC, we set these kids up for success, probably better than any other program out there. We genuinely want these kids to go to college and gain respect from their peers.” Command Sergeant Major Wilder could not emphasize enough that family is the biggest part of this program. “We ask the kids to write one essay every year. Why do you want to be in JROTC? Why did you decide to do it? Without fail, the answer is always: Because JROTC is a family...
Leadership Participating in the leadership camp each semester Summer Camp Going to Blacksburg for JCLC Academic Getting straight A’s Rappelling Coming down a 40 ft. building with the help of a rope Unarmed Serving on Step Team
It’ll make you teary-eyed, it will,” Wilder said. The students who participate in JROTC are some of the most esteemed students at HHS. Leaders include Fernanda Gonzolez, Cecilia Valdez, Alexis Day, Maggie Zhen, and Max Medieros. “When they have a meet or a competition, you can tell they’re nervous. They’re practically peeing their pants! Even Gonzolez, [Gonzo for short] in practice the other day, slipped up when shouting commands because she was nervous. She opened her mouth to yell out the commands, but no words came out! That’s when the practicing kicks in. Once you can do the drills in your sleep, your body will just take it away, and finally that’s what happened to poor Gonzo,” Wilder said. On Oct. 20, the JV Drill
team competed in the drill meet held at HHS. Led by sophomore, Annaka Reich, the team took home first place. “They had three days to practice, with all of our other competitions going on. One hour a day for three days straight, that’s it! If they can win with that amount of practice, think of what I can do with them after a whole week of one-on-one,” Wilder said. Wilder and the students agree that throughout the year, the members of JROTC become closer, until they are like family. “The best feeling in the world is when you see one of your kids do the ‘hard right’ rather than the ‘easy wrong’... When we say we love ‘em, we aren’t lying. I treat them like my own, just as I’d do with my daughter and son. I’m a truly blessed man. I get
to work with such amazing kids each and every day. When you know they feel the same way about you, that’s when your job starts paying off,” Wilder said.
Cadet Command Sergeant Major Fernanda Gonzalez
The Cadet Command Sergeant Major keeps the battalion commander apprised of the status of the company at all times. As well as ensuring the company is prepared to accomplish its assigned mission.
Executive Officer and LET3 Cecilia Valdez
Honor Guard Commander Alexis Day
Battalion Operations and Training Officer Maggie Zheng
Prepares the weekly training schedules and selects and designates cadet instructors in coordination with the instructor staff.
Battalion Adjutant Andy Taveras
Assist in aligning the battalion at all battalion formations as well as receiving the report at the battalion formations from the company commander.
Battalion Security and Intelligence Officer Erick Colon
Makes periodic inspections of the security of weapons and inspections of the security of the supply and equipment storage areas.
Battalion Supply and Logistics Officer Helen Melenciano
Creates a JROTC clothing and equipment record for the cadets and maintains all acountability of all equipment and supplies used by the unit.
Battalion Public Information Officer Michael Tower
Battalion Automations Officer Justin Jay
Battalion Special Projects Officer Isis Gutierrez
Plans and coordinates special projects that are outlined by the cadet battalion commander and maintains records on all activities as they pertain to each project.
Battalion Ordnance Officer Anthony Ciefuegos
Maintains the cadet information board in the correct showings as well as makes recommendations to improve morale and welfare of the cadet battalion.
Battalion Property Book Officer Zach Davis
Battalion S3 Plans Officer Karla Gonzalez
Battalion S3 Training Officer Jose Elledge
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The
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FEATURE - B4
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November 20, 2012
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November 20, 2012
The
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SPORTS B6
New coach leads varsity basketball team Anthony Duong Sports editor
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
JUMP! A group of HHS basketball players reach for a rebound in during practice. The team will be playing their first game on Dec. 7 at Fort Defiance.
Last year the HHS basketball team had a 4-18 record. Although leading HHS to regional tournaments three out of four basketball seasons, former head coach Kevin Tysinger resigned. Scott Joyner was announced as the new varsity basketball head coach. Joyner coached at Burton High School for 15 years and won a Group AA basketball state championship in 2000. He is known for his solid performances, defense, and discipline with players. Senior Brian Rodriguez notices different changes compared to last year’s season. “Practice seems to be a lot more serious, his system works and I think we’ll
do well this season,” Rodriguez said. Joyner has made an impact on many basketball players already. New systems and schemes seem to be working with the players and chemistry seems big this year. Last year, junior Jalen Williams displayed speed and quickness on the JV team. Williams will hope to do the same this year and expresses enthusiasm for this season. “I’m excited for what’s to come this season, we’re working together great and everything is going smoothly,” Williams said. Joyner’s success at Bruton excites many HHS basketball fans as the season approaches. This year’s senior class not only wants an excellent season, but a state championship to go with it.
Wrestlers training hard for season Alexis Dickerson Staff reporter Practices for wrestling began Nov. 5 with head coach, Mike Dickerson and assistant coaches Simmons and Goble. The wrestling captains this year are seniors Trent Sosa and Ahmed Salehi, both who have wrestled since middle school. Coach Dickerson was a wrestler at HHS up to 1994. He placed second in states his senior year of high school. He has been coaching wrestling ever since then. Coach Goble used to wrestle heavy weight in his high school years, while college student Coach Simmons who is new to coaching at HHS, wrestled all through high school, and is currently wrestling in college wrestling. Wrestling practices are after school every day in the multi-purpose room Monday through Friday. “The turnout is fantastic this year and we have a great chance to fill all the weight classes unlike previous years,” Dickerson said. One of the advantages of being able to fill a full line up is that it gives the team
more points, which helps the team for districts in the long run. In order to wrestle, athletes must first take and pass a hydration and fat test given by the trainer. Once an athlete fails the hydration test, he is unable to wrestle and can’t move on to the next task, which is the fat test. The hydration test for wrestlers was on Nov. 7 during their practice. The purpose for these tests is to figure out what you will weigh in as for wrestling tournaments. The first wrestling invitational is on Dec. 1 at Orange County High School. This tournament does not count towards districts, but it is a great practice match for the wrestlers. “We always have a championship goal and that hasn’t changed this year. We want to bring home the trophy while sending as many possible wrestlers to state as possible,” Dickerson said. “One of the hardest things to do in wrestling is when you’re tired, hurting, sore, and almost defeated... finding the heart to fight even harder, not give up, and finish strong,” Dickerson said.
PHOTO BY SUKRITI ADHIKARI
BACK IN ACTION! Head wrestling coach Mike Dickerson teaches wrestlers how to perform a takedown during practice.
VHSL introduces new playoff system for 2013-2014 Anthony Duong Sports editor Before the school year started, the Virginia High School League (VHSL) announced major changes that will be implemented in the 2013-2014 season. This includes brand new conferences and a six classification playoff system. New changes will be made to each sport because of this system and the impact will be greater in other sports. Although the Valley District will still be in place, we won’t be seeing teams in the district as often because of the new conference for HHS. The new conference is labeled as “4A North - Conference 23”, the teams in the
conference include, Amherst, Louisa, Fluvanna, Handley, and Charlottesville. Harrisonburg will be separated from local opponents conference wise, most of the other Valley District teams are in “3A West - Conference 29”. This conference will include Western Albemarle, Monticello, Spotswood, Stuarts Draft, Turner Ashby, Waynesboro, Fort Defiance, and Broadway, while Robert E. Lee rests in “Conference 36” along with East Rockingham, Riverheads, Wilson Memorial, Buffalo Gap, and Nelson County. When looking at the opponents in the new HHS conference, athletes wonder how far away these teams are. Each team in the new conference is about an hour and forty minutes away from HHS. Conference away
games will be longer and may extend when entering the playoffs. There are critical changes with the playoff system for football. In this playoff system, no team will get a bye week (rest week). There is a total of four conferences that belong to 4A North (Conference 21, 22, 23 (HHS), 24). According to VHSL’s six playoff configuration document, “16 teams will qualify from each region of a classification using the FB rating scale.” Don’t forget about the 4A South region which 4A North qualifiers will ultimately face in the 4A State Semifinals. The most recognized teams out of the 4A South region is “Conference 18”. This conference includes Phoebus, Lakeland,
Kings Fork, Nansemond River, Heritage (Newport News), and Denbigh. When entering Round 3 in 4A North, four of the best 4A North teams will be competing for a spot against a 4A South opponent in the 4A state semifinals. Now two 4A South teams will be playing two 4A North teams. Whoever wins those games gets to play in the 4A state championship game. Harrisonburg will meet new and potentially tougher opponents in the new conference. Head football coach Chris Thurman is ready for whatever comes at the team. “The goal is to get into the playoffs. I’ve coached against some of these teams and It’s nothing we haven’t seen or overcome before,” Thurman said.
PHOTO BY JORDAN LEAMAN
RUN, JONAS, RUN!!! Senior Jonas Zimmerman competed in the state cross country meet at Great Meadows on Nov. 10. Zimmerman was the only qualifier from HHS. He completed the race with a time of 17:14.
CHEERLEADING PHOTOS BY CHRIS DICKERSON
JUMP. After winning the Regional Championship, the competition cheer squad advanced to the state competition held at VCU on Nov.10. The team placed seventh in the VHSL AA category.
November 20, 2012
The
Newsstreak
SPORTS - B7
Dance outside of school motivates freshman Chelsea Arnott Staff reporter
Freshman Darby Boontarue has not only danced for fun, but competitively as well since she was only six years old. Boontarue has taken pointe, tap, jazz, musical stage, lyrical, hip-hop, gymnastics and regular ballet. Pointe and tap are the main two that she participates in. “I take pointe twice a week and tap once a week,” Boontarue said. The classes are about $200 - $250, although competition dance is more expensive than casual dance. She has also participated in dance competitions, competing in six over the last four years. “They were workshops at the beginning, then in the evening we had the competition. My group competed in Tap and Musical Stage. After everyone got done, they handed out awards. We always got awards. We got first, second and third a lot. Also, the hotels we stayed in were really nice,” Boontarue said. As more people begin to participate in dance classes, the sport is gaining popularity, especially in the Jazz and Hip Hop category. “I think it’s a good thing that [dance] is becoming more popular. It is considered more of a sport now,” Boontarue said.
BOYS BASKETBALL Nov 20 H Central Nov 27 A Charlottesville Nov 30 TBA Western Albermarle Dec 1 TBA Western Albermarle Dec 5 A Wilson Memorial Dec 7 A Fort Defiance Dec 11 H Spotswood Dec 14 A Eastern Mennonite Dec 19 H Charlottesville Nov 27 Dec 5 Dec 6 Dec 11 Dec 13 Dec 17 Dec 19
PHOTO BY JIM COCHRANE
LEAP! Sophomore Taisha Reyes and freshman Darby Boontarue perfom during one of their multiple recitals.
Shank, Graham, dance with Blue Dance Crew Anna Wyatt Staff reporter At the beginning of each dance class, sophomore Caroline Shank and senior Heather Graham can be found participating in a warm-ups. Instructors James and Cynthia Marafino, watch closely for mistakes. Shank and Graham are both enrolled in dance classes at the Harrisonburg Parks And Recreation Dance Studio. Shank said that she is involved with dance at Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation because she felt she would have “a better opportunity
Schedule of events:
for meeting new people and a better learning experience.” Graham, however, takes dance because it is a habit. “I’ve been there [Harrisonburg Parks And Recreation] since I started back in Kindergarten,” Graham said. Both Graham and Shank are members of Harrisonburg Parks And Recreation’s Blue Crew Dance Company which is an invitational group that performs at various venues throughout the community. “Blue Crew is kinda like a mix of all different types of dance,” Graham said. Blue Crew members are required to also to take a minimum of one other advanced or intermediate level ballet, jazz, or hip-
INTERNING AS AN ATHLETIC TRAINER Kristin Donald
Kellie Adams
1. What are the pros and cons of your job? Pros: gaining a lot of clinical experience with teenage athletes Cons: can be long hours (even though that is not always a bad thing) and juggling clinic with school and classwork. 2. What advice would you give to students who want to go into the medical field or training field? Try to spend a lot of time in the field you think you may want to pursue. Observing the daily routines and responsibilities of the position. 3. How did you choose the school you are attending? I heard about JMU from older students at my high school & about JMU’s ATEP (Athletic Training Education Program) from my high school athletic trainer. 4. Why did you choose Athletic Training as your major? As a high school athlete, I spent my fair share of days in the athletictraining room and developed a close relationship with my athletictrainer. How she impacted my life in high school as well as my growing interest in the profession caused me to look into Athletic Training as my major and soon to be my profession. 5. Why did you choose your college? I love JMU’s campus and the atmosphere and heard nothing but great things about the school from other people who were attending or had graudated from JMU. 6. What’s been the coolest thing you’ve had to do as an intern? The coolest thing I’ve done is assisted with on field emergency care in combination with injury evaluation. 7. Describe your typical day as an intern? I have class from approximately 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Grab lunch and head to clinic. I’m usually in clinic for about 4 hours on practice days and depending on the sport coverage, 5-9 hours on game days. After clinic I usually still have homework and studying to do for my undergraduate courses. Time management is critical and sleep is often what gets compromised. 8. Where would you like to work after you graduate from college? After I graduate from JMU, I am going to pursue my master’s degree then after I accomplish that, I would like to be an athletic trainer in a high school setting. 9. Describe the classes you take in college to become an athletic trainer. What was your favorite and why? Athletic training classes cover injury evalauation, modalities, rehabilitation, general medical conditions, and emergency/ actue care. My favorite class was general medicine in athletic training, which is taught by JMU’s team physician. In the class we learn about and gain experience with, general medical conditions (i.e. diabetes, asthma, flu, HIV, chicken pox, etc.) that I had not previously understood or realized how important of a role the athletic trainer plays in recognizing and managing a variety of conditions. 10. What’s the most nerve-wracking experience you’ve had in the training field? Having an athlete pass out in front of me.
1. What are the pros and cons of your job? Pro: seeing athletes recover from injuries through the use of rehabilitation and then see them get to return to play. Con: unpredictable practices 2. What advice would you give to students who want to go into the medical field or training field? Get involved with the subject you are interested in. Shadowing someone who works in that area of healthcare will help you have a better understanding of the job. 3. How did you choose the school you are attending? I chose Bridgewater College because I wanted to stay in the State of Virginia. So I narrowed down to school swith the Athletic Training Major and then when to visit them. The atmosphere of the college is a crucial part to choosing your college. You want to feel comfortablethere because ideally you will be there for 4 years. 4. Why did you choose athletic training as your major? I worked as a football manager in high school so I was able to observe injuries up close and personal. So I began to work with the volunteer Athletic Trainers to learn more. I love the medical field and sports so why not combine the two! 5. Why did you choose your college? After I visited Bridgewater College, I just felt like it was home for me. The people were friendly and the Certified Athletic Trainers seemed really knowledgeable and personable. It just felt like somewhere I could learn and practice my skills. 6. What’s been the coolest thing you’ve had to do as an intern? The coolest thing I’ve been able to do is not only watch a surgery on athlete, but I was able to be there from when the athlete registered at the hospital all the way through to when they were waking up after the surgery. 7. Describe your typical day as an intern. I arrive for practices/games, do the pre-practice/game set up (i.e. preparing water and injury ice). Then I help the athletes get ready for practice by stretching, taping, and instructing rehabiliation exercises. I then head out to practice/game and observe while doing any evaluations or treatments on injuries that occur. Afterward, I clean up the water and supplies and provide ice for injuries. Then I head home. It’s a lot of work but I have so much fun doing it! 8. Where would you like to work after you graduate from college? Ideally, I would like to be hired as the Athletic Trainer at a high school but I’m open to new opportunities. 9. Describe the classes you take in college to become an athletic trainer. What was your favorite and why? We take a variety of classes from anatomy to therapeutic exercise. My favorite class was therapeutic modalities because I was able to use ultrasound and electrical stimulation (aka e-stim) therapy. 10. What’s the most nerve-wracking experience you’ve had in the training field?The most nerve wracking experience is anything dealing with emergency situations, especially if they are life threatening.
hop class in addition to weekly Blue Crew rehearsals. To fulfill this requirement, Graham is enrolled in advanced jazz. “I wanted to take jazz because I already did tap and ballet when I was little so I wanted to try something new,” Graham said. Shank, however, takes advanced ballet in addition to Blue Crew. “I’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s something that I enjoy because I’m not very athletic otherwise,” Shank said. Besides Shank and Graham there are nine other Blue Crew members. “It [working with the other Blue Crew members] lets me work with age groups and maturity levels,” Graham said. Graham explained that most people realize that it is a class they take by choice so they know to listen and do what they are told. Over the course of the six years that Blue Crew has been in existence, members have had the opportunity to perform at places like Spotswood Elementary, Harrisonburg Children’s Museum, and Bridgewater College.
GIRLS BASKETBALL H Western Albermarle H Wilson Memorial H Fort Defiance H Spotswood H Charlottesville A Wilson Memorial A Western Albermarle
SWIMMING Nov 27 A Charlottesville Nov 29 A Turner Ashby, East Rockingham Dec 6 H Spotswood Dec 8 A South West Dec 13 H Broadway, Clarke County Dec 20 A Turner Ashby, Stonewall Jackson WRESTLING Dec 1 TBA Orange County Dec 7 TBA TBA Dec 8 TBA TBA Dec 12 H Broadway, Spotswood, Waynesboro (District Mini) Dec 15 A Park View Dec 21 A Braodway GYMNASTICS TBA INDOOR TRACK TBA INDOOR TRACK SEASON BEGINS MONDAY, NOV 26TH. EACH ATHLETE MUST HAVE A PHYSICAL, SIGN-UP FORM, AND TRAINING PACKET IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE. ALL FORMS CAN BE FOUND ON DAVID LOUGHRAN’S STAFF WEBPAGE.
Vida Joven youth group introduced at HHS Salar Haji Staff reporter The well known popular Christian club, Young Life, is expanding. The Young Life leaders have came up with a similar club for Hispanic students, called Vida Joven. It has the same motives as Young Life, a Christian organization that educates students about what it means to be a Christian and educates people about Jesus. “It’s about forming individual relationships with students and connecting with them in ways other than preaching” and “This club was created due to the large hispanic population here in Harrisonburg.” said Leader Ross Gulliver. Vida Joven usually starts off with pick up indoor soccer games on Mondays and moves on into the night for two more hours. “It’s a chance to make new friends and have fun playing soccer” junior Santiago Moreira said. Then, what almost everyone
looks forward to, the food. The club eats together and afterwards has a quick ten minute speech about Jesus’ life, what he accomplished, and the prodigy he left behind. By the end of the year, the leaders Ross Gulliver, Erin Anderson, and Jamie Mitchell, hope to have all their lessons sum up to their main points about the faith. Not only is there Young Life for high schoolers, but there’s also a form of Young Life for middle schoolers, called Wyld Life. This allows younger kids to get an early start to the club and make new friends, at the same time get educated on the faith. It’s a great club to attend to weather or not if you’re a middle schooler or high schooler. Not only do you have fun playing soccer with friends and enjoy a nice meal, but you get educated and strengthen your relationships with different people as well. Current members want other students to join the club. They have meetings at the high school on club days, along with periodic individual meetings.
November 20, 2012
The
Newsstreak
Nixon plays on travel lacrosse team
Sydney Knupp Staff reporter Soccer, softball, baseball and track are all spring sports that student athletes here at HHS think about, but with their season around the corner, what about lacrosse? Although lacrosse isn’t offered here, junior Ryan Nixon has found a way to play. He was inspired to play by Syracuse, his favorite college. Syracuse has one of the most successful lacrosse teams. Nixon plays lacrosse with the travel team “Madlax”, also known as Massanutten District Lacrosse. The team consists of numerous players from schools in our area, such as Spotswood and East Rockingham. Nixon and fellow junior, Levi Morrison, were the only two players from HHS on the team last season. Nixon will fly solo
this year because Morrison moved out of the area. Nixon is not concerned about feeling lonely on the team. “They are a bunch of great guys that are really easy to get along with,” Nixon said. The Madlax team practices at Elkton Middle School whenever the coach is available. Nixon looks forward to the upcoming season, after having to sit out the end of his football season when he broke his fibula. He had to sit out for three weeks while he wore a boot to recover. The lacrosse season starts March 1, but that isn’t soon enough for the extremely eager Nixon. “It’s going to be an exciting season and we can use as much help as we can get. We would like about 20 guys on the team, so anyone who is interested can join,” Nixon said. Throughout the winter, Nixon prepares
himself to be in tip-top shape for his next season as a lacrosse player in the spring. “I play wall ball to get used to my stick and really work on using both hands,” Nixon said. Ball control and the use of both hands is a necessity for Nixon in the midfield where he plays for the team. The Madlax team has a minimal practice schedule, practicing once per week. Elkton Middle School is the site of their home games. Nixon and his Madlax team plan to work hard all season. There is no play-off system for this particular league of travel lacrosse. The team hopes to better their record this year after enduring a losing season of 0-6 and beat their team rival, Shenandoah.
Antonnicola enjoys cycling Austin Swift Staff reporter
BIG MAX AND FRIES Our football record doesn’t reflect our true ability The boys football team finished the season with one of the worst records in the schools history, shocking Harrisonburg city, and making everybody else in Rockingham County as happy as can be. This is because our football team has, in the last 10 years, won nine district championships and in my high school/middle school career, prior to my senior year, the Streaks had only lost five regular season games. The Streaks have lost five games in the last six seasons, and as I was writing this column, the Streaks had lost five games this season. But what everyone outside our county doesn’t know is our loses were not do to a lack of athleticism or anything that we could control. How many people knew that we played our fifth string quarterback, who was in his first year of varsity football and hadn’t taken a legit snap since the seventh grade? How many people knew our second and third string quarterbacks were both sidelined because of injuries and surgery? How many people knew that our defense’s second leading tackler was sidelined with a hand injury that required surgery? Most importantly, our fourth and fifth string quarterbacks were previously starting wide receivers. One of those receivers was arguably the best receiver in the district, so our big plays were limited. So yes, we had a bad season. Because teams are actually better than us? No, probably not. We started off our season 3-1 and lost to a team, by one point, in overtime. Our quarterback started the first half of the season leading the district in passing yards and had the second highest QB rating in the county. We took our first legitimate loss to Lee who had the best secondary in the district, while our running back was injured and our quarterback played three fourths of the game on a broken leg. Our record doesn’t show what kind of team we were. We would have been the best team in the district if we could have stayed healthy. We beat TA twice this season. TA, the team who took down the number one ranked Fighting Leeman. I have a feeling that when we come back healthy next year, our district won’t be so happy and we will regain the district title.
“I’ll go really fast, over rocky terrain and big jumps,” said Giancarlo Antonnicola, a 17-year-old senior. He’s been biking for five years now, ever since he got a bike for Christmas.Antonnicola tries to bike every day, riding for about an hour, maybe two. “I like downhill, which is going fast down mountains and over big rocks. I like to bike with other people because it’s kind of like a competition between each other. I’d do a trick if it was one I could pull off, but for the most part, I just ride,” Antonnicola said. Because of the area being so rocky and mountainous, there are many places to go to bike. Antonnicola has been to a fair share of them but the course at Snowshoe, West Virginia, is his favorite. Antonnicola chooses not to bike in com-
petitions because they cost a lot of money due to race expenses . Biking is his main source of transportation, since he doesn’t have a car to drive places. Antonnicola has three riders that he mainly follows: Darren Berrecloth, Aaron Gwin and Martin Söderström. Antonnicola said he would love to go to Whistler, British Columbia, or the Aptos Post Office Jumps in California. “I would love biking as a career, because it’s getting paid for what I love to do,” Antonnicola said. Antonnicola talked about the difficulty of learning how to bike, and said that it’s not that hard, you just have to dedicate yourself to doing it. “Anyone can do it if they get into it and learn, and I think someone should bike because it’s really fun and it keeps you fit too,” Antonnicola said.
SPORTS - B8
Sports Briefs FOOTBALL DOWNS LITTLE GIANTS The varsity football team beat the Waynesboro Little Giants 42-14. Jordan Dove led the Streaks with three touchdowns. WINTER WORKOUTS START All winter sports started the first week of November. Teams eagerly await their first games with boys and girls basketball tipping off on Nov. 27 against Charlottesville. COMPETITION CHEER PUSHES FORWARD The competition cheer team took first place at Regionals on Nov. 3. This allowed the ladies to advance to states in Richmond, VA. LADIES FALL TO FORT The varsity volleyball team lost to Fort Defiance High School in the first round of volleyball playoffs 3-0. The ladies were led by senior outside hitter Sarah Rose, who had 5 kills in the match. CHEERLEADERS TRAVEL TO STATES The competition cheer team traveled to Richmond, VA for the state tournament on Nov. 10. The ladies placed seventh in the overall competition. BASKETBALL TIPS OFF SEASON The boys varsity basketball team starts their season at Western Albemarle on Nov 27, and the girls basketball team tips off their season at home on Nov 27 versus Western Albemarle.
Q&A with Students enjoy martial arts Josh Storella Christopher Staff reporter Whitelow
There are a lot of different martial arts schools in Harrisonburg, but one that a lot people go to is Lake Taekwondo Academy. This martial arts school aims to teach its students focus, discipline, self-defense, confidence, and self-respect. Like every school has a principal, every martial arts school has a master. This school’s master is named Carlos Lake. Lake started doing martial art when he was seven years old and he has been participating, working hard ever since, and he believes his students had been working hard with him. Eduardo Hernandez a student of Lakes Taekwondo Academy says, “Martial arts is
really fun, but you need a lot of discipline to practice. Even though its a lot of work at the end of today its very rewarding.” “Its an awesome experience, I love the energy rush that sparring gives you.” Karla RentaVanquez said. “Its a great way to stay in shape, and you get to learn something new each day you come to class.” Alex Posada said. Lakes Taekwondo Academy is not the only one out there though, Alec Locky goes to Brian-Meyes Karate, and he says, “Brian-Meyes teaches an American freestyle version which is like a combination of different forms where as Lakes Taekwondo teaches the many lessons of Taekwondo, and it’s a lot of fun.” Other Harrisonburg martial arts academies include Halterman Karate and Kickboxing, and Hebi Ashi Dojo in Harrisonburg to learn from.
O’Keeffe runs outside of school Lindsay Plume Staff reporter Freshman Josh O’Keeffe is a students who enjoys running outside of the required workouts of gym class. When asked why he runs so much, he replied with a simple answer. “It’s something that my family does because my dad and brother, Lucas both run,” O’Keeffe said. He said it relieves any stress he has on his mind. He also runs to make his dad proud, knowing that O’Keeffe would rath-
er run than do what other teenagers do. O’Keeffe used to run with his brother, Lucas. But Lucas is now a student at Virginia Tech University. O’Keefe likes to run with his dad on occasion, depending on what kind of run his father has planned. Time is also a factor in O’Keeffe’s runs. He tries to keep his runs to around 30 minutes, but some days he does a little less. “Sometimes I run less than 30 minutes, but that’s the most time I will run. My runs depend on my stress level. I’ll run for about 30 minutes when I need to get some things off my mind. But on a regular day, I would run for about 20 minutes,” O’Keeffe said.
Basketball productive outlet for stress Lybeth Vega-Lopez Staff reporter Several high school students enjoy playing pickup basketball outside of school. Junior Jeury Gardinet, sophomore Carlos Garcia, and freshman Paul Gilbert play on the court at Harris Gardens. “I play basketball because it helps me release stress when I’m angry and I just love [basketball],” Gardinet said. These boys play basketball whenever they get a chance to. Not even bad weather can keep them from hitting the court. “I play every chance I get, and when I play, it’s usually for a couple hours. I play in the rain but not on a snowy day,” Gar-
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dinet said. Their games usually consist of six to ten players so that the games are 3-on-3, or 5-on-5, and whoever gets to 21 points first wins. They play to better themselves and others, and they never gamble when they play. When they play basketball, they wear certain clothes. Gardinet wears Nike shirts, basketball shorts, Nike socks, Nike shoes, Hyperfuse knee sleeve, and sometimes a headband whenever he plays. Gilbert wears basketball shorts, Nike shoes and a T-shirt. Garcia wears basketball shorts,and a under armour,and some Nike shoes. They wear what is necessary to be comfortable while playing.
Grade? Freshman When do you play basketball? Whenever I can. Saturday sometimes at the Rec. Open gym at HHS on Tuesday and Thursday. What does it do for you? It makes me more competitive, gets me in better shape and it makes me faster. Why do you play basketball? It’s a passion and I love it; it’s my life. Where do you play basketball? Rec Center, Boys and Girls Club; anywhere there’s a basketball court. Why don’t you play competitively? I’m trying to, but I want to get better before I try out for anything. How’d you get into basketball? I watched high school, middle school, and college games. And I decided I should play and I thought it was really fun. And my mom played, so she helped me out a lot. Do you prefer to play alone or with friends? I play with my mom, friends, and by myself. I try to vary myself and better myself each time I play. Do you call yourself a good basketball player? I guess, I think I’m pretty good. But, I don’t like to call myself good, I try to stay humble. Do you watch basketball on TV? Yes, college basketball season is the most competitive, aside from the NBA playoffs, but I watch the NBA games whenever they’re on. Who’s your favorite basketball team/ player? Lakers, and Kobe Bryant. He’s my idol, and he’s influenced me to be a better player.
Q&A by Karim Rawls
Sylvia’s Pets Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. 226 University Blvd Harrisonburg, VA 22801
November 20, 2012
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November 20, 2012
The
Newsstreak
THE EXPERIENCE- B10
PHOTO BY MARK DUDA
Veteran’s day festivities feature band, choir, JROTC Mark Duda Editor-in-Chief The buildings of downtown Harrisonburg reflected the uncharacteristic Autumn warmth as spectators gathered on the streets below on Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day. The motors of a police motorcycle escort rumbled along at the front of the parade, leading the way to the legion of music and marching behind. The HHS JROTC and marching band programs both participated in the parade. The JROTC program marched towards the front of the parade; the youth of the high schoolers before the older veterans who followed. The marching band followed, bouncing their patriotic music off the brick walls of the downtown buildings. Although technically called the “marching” band, the band doesn’t perform in parade-style marches very frequently, and thus spent several weeks preparing for the event. Junior Jason Tran not only marched in the parade with the band, but also joined the choir for their Veteran’s Day concert later in the day. “We’ve been practicing for two weeks since competition marching band ended,” Tran said. “For about three or four rehearsals, we have been just practicing the Veteran’s Day music and memorized it, then we practiced the formation block by setting up a marching block and just marched around the high school parking lot.” The music featured in the parade differed notably from that of the normal marching band performance. In fact, for the freshman in the band, it was their first parade experience in high school. “It was more like upbeat, peppy, paradeesque music. The music in the parade consisted of those classic American songs like, Yankee Doodle,” Tran said. “When I looked out of the side of my eye every now and then people were smiling, so I’m guessing we did well.” Behind the marching band came different groups relating to the local military and veteran communities. Antique cars and motorcycles were particularly popular parade transportation, with a swarm of chopper-riding veterans at the back of the parade. Tran’s day was particularly busy, in that he had to get to the high school for the annual choir concert shortly after the band finished playing. “I had to bring my tuxedo along, and after the parade I had to get ready quickly, and go get ready for warm-ups [for the choir concert]. I felt really busy, but it was a lot of fun,” Tran said.
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER
RIDING IN THE PARADE. A float rides by in the Veteran’s Day parade, held downtown on South Main St.
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER
LEADING THE WAY. Flagbearers pave the way for the rest of the parade.
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER
SINGING OUR THANKS. The HHS honors choir sings at their Veteran’s Day concert. PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER
PROTECTING OUR COUNTRY. A veteran rides in his car in the parade, with a sign displaying his position. THE FUTURE VETERANS. The JROTC program marches in the parade. The program prepares students for service in the military.
PHOTO BY ANA HUNTER
PHOTO BY MAK DUDA
KEEP IN STEP. Marching band members march in the parade. The symphonic and concert bands also had a concert at the high school later in the day, resulting in quite the busy day for the musicians.
PHOTO BY MARK DUDA
AWAY WE GO. The participants in the parade drive by the library on South Main St. The parade ran through Court Square, and many of the downtown roads had to be shut down for the public.