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Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XC • Issue 2• October 25, 2013

One Act cast forms own play Luke Gibson Online Editor-in-Chief A white sheet is hoisted, with black lights positioned behind to give a luminescent glow. In the foreground of the stage, One Act cast members hum and buzz as they circle the space. The picture is surreal. Here, in the auditorium after 3 p.m., experimentation happens.

Some of the One Act cast remember last year’s state victory. Others are new to the format of the show altogether. Either way, this year the show has taken an unconventional path which leaves students with mixed feelings of both intrigue and apprehension. Senior Deb Halpern has been in One Act all four of her high school years.

“We didn’t have a show that we tried out and were given parts for, the play was built around the people who auditioned, this way we have a lot more freedom to do PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA

See PLAY on Page A2

Social studies department plans field trip Brenna Cowardin Managing Editor On Oct. 25-28, 21 AP and Dual Enrollment U.S. history and AP macroeconomics students travelled to Williamsburg to back their understanding of the foundations of American capitalism. History teacher Mark Tueting was in charge of organizing the trip. “[The main reason I organized the trip was that] it’s cool to get out of town and have fun learning,” Tueting said. “We have incredible resources near us- D.C., Williamsburg, Jamestown- all very educational.”

Tueting started organizing the trip to give macroeconomics students an example of how the concepts they were learning in class were applicable in not only the real world, but history as well.

“In AP econ there is a certain amount of content needed to do well on the exam.

I wanted to show real-world implications of how market economies work and work well, going all the way back to Jamestown,” Tueting said.

The history classes were then invited to join in, seeing as the field trip could also have a historical focus. “[The macroeconomics students will] be learning about the history of economics, and [the U.S. history students will] be learning about the history of how economics influenced our country’s growth,” Tueting said.

See TRIP on Page A2

Families learn valuable info at college night Ella Marian Sports Editor This October, College Night Plus brought together an array of college information.

Junior Rachel Cavoto was in attendance.

“The idea of College Night is certainly a great one and I had gone last year as well and it was really helpful when I went then.

I feel like this year’s College Night might not have been the best

See COLLEGE on Page A2

STRETCH. Assistant director Elana Swartz, juniors Caroline Shank and Ariel Vogel, and freshmen Noelle Warne and Eleanor Alger (far left) warm up before One Act practice. The cast has used devised theater to create a show entitled Whirled Piece.

New jazz ensemble performs at the Homestead Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-Chief

The prestigious resort and spa, the Homestead will open their gates to the HHS jazz band on Nov. 23. The ‘Jazzalopes’ will be playing at the VMEA (Virginia Music Education Association) annual conference in Hot Springs, Virginia.

The jazz band, added last year, is a recent addition to the HHS music program.

Brett Kirby, band director at Thomas Harrison Middle School brought the program to the high school due to high demand.

“There was a successful jazz group at HHS many years ago and many felt the need to get it going again. Jazz education is a topic that I feel very strongly about as it is such an important part of American culture because it ties so many cultures together to create an opportunity for collaboration,” Kirby said.

Kirby has a long history in music, as a

See JAZZ on Page A2

Scan the QR code to hear the band play!

PHOTO BY GARRETT THOMPSON

GETTING JAZZY. THMS music teacher Brett Kirby instructs students in the newlyformed high school jazz band.

New system of teacher evaluations in its second year Mia Karr Editor-in-Chief Students aren’t the only ones who have had a change of grading scale. A new system of teacher evaluations was adopted by the Harrisonburg City School Division last school year, and modifications have been made for this school year. Executive Director of Human Resources, Andrew Ansoorian, is well-versed in the ways of the system.

“The new teacher evaluation system is at its foundation designed around seven key standards...The first six are heavily rooted with research to be linked or associated with student learning,” Ansoorian said. “So, the research says that if teachers do standards 1-6 really well, the student learning outcome is going to be higher.”

These first six standards are professional knowledge, instructional planning, instructional delivery, assessment of and for learning, learning environment, and professionalism. However, standard seven is the most significant portion of the new evaluation and the biggest difference from the old system.

Standard seven, student academic progress, is worth 40% of the evaluation.

According to Ansoorian, this can be measured by anything from projects to performance on certain skills to AP and SOL scores.

“It depends, because not all teachers teach SOL’s,” Ansoorian said. “SOL’s are one portion of standard seven. It can be a

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big portion, though, if teachers are teaching an SOL course.”

Another change in the system is the amount of real-time feedback a teacher receives. The entire system has become more web-based, so teachers can receive evaluations more quickly. These evaluations are made by principals who sit in on the teacher and see if they are meeting the standards. These observation sessions have typically been 30-40 minutes, but this year a system for 10-minute “walk-through” observations was also introduced.

New teachers are on a probationary status for five years up from three, according to a Virginia law the school system chose to adopt. During this time they are evaluated every year. “Continuing contract” teachers are evaluated every three years. A teacher is given a score of one to four, with four being exemplary and one being unacceptable.

“Just like any industry or occupation anyone who is having a challenging time with their performance, just like a student whose struggling in a class, [teachers who score poorly] are given additional resources,talked to by their supervisor, given advice, given training.... The key is open lines of communication,” Ansoorian said.

However, “If a teacher were to score a one, we would be very concerned with them being an employee of ours any longer.”

Low-scoring teachers may have their salaries frozen until improvement is shown.

The new evaluations are more databased than their predecessors. Teachers

are now required to give students similar assessments at the beginning and end of the year to measure student progress. The division will also be looking at data to see how teachers scored on certain standards across the board. However, its not all about the numbers.

“A school system’s success isn’t just tied to specific student SOL results. If that were the case, we would just be a test factory. We’re very interested in the emotional, social, and academic growth of our students...I don’t want to say our success is only determined by some SOL goals, while they are important, they certainly aren’t the only reason why we are in existence, unlike some countries. In many Asian countries...they are highly focused on student test scores and it’s no surprise that their students don’t score as high on entrepreneurialism like American students,” Ansoorian said.

This switch isn’t just specific to Harrisonburg. The state hired a researcher to formulate the system and schools could modify it as they pleased. The Harrisonburg City Public Schools chose to accept it nearly as-is.

History teacher Mark Tueting does not think the evaluation system is an effective way to judge teachers.

“The new evaluation system prioritizes process over results...I think in a lot of ways, it is not particularly reflective of how effective a classroom teacher is and is easily gameable by a poor teacher. If the

See TEACHER on Page A2

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October 25, 2013

The

News Briefs THANKSGIVING BREAK Thanksgiving break for the 2013 school year starts Wednesday Nov. 20.

RON BROWN SCHOLAR PROGRAM The Ron Brown Scholar Program seeks to identify African-American high school seniors who will make significant contributions to society.

Applicants must excel academically, exhibit exceptional leadership potential, participate in community service activities and demonstrate financial need. The deadline is Nov. 1 and Jan. 1.

SAT SCORES SAT scores from Oct. 5 will be in on Oct. 24. Those who have taken the SAT may receive their scores on www.collegeboard.org.

SAT DATES Juniors and seniors who have not taken the SAT but would like to may register late to take the SAT Nov. 2.

Deadline to register to take the next SAT is Dec. 7.

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NEWS- A2

Juniors, seniors take SAT to prepare for college Sarah Scribano News editor As students begin to prepare for their college career, SATs and PSATs become a major part of their process.

PSATs are mainly used as a preparation for the SAT so that students can become familiar with the style and format of the test.

If the participators do exceptionally well on this practice exam, there are scholarship opportunities that open up.

The students who take these exams have the opportunity to qualify for many scholarship options. These include the National Merit Scholarship, the National Hispanic Recognition Program, the National Scholarship Service, and the Telluride Association. There are also wide range of scholarships available to those who achieve a recognizable score.

Colleges tend to focus more on the combined score of math and reading, as writing is subject-based. When applying for an honors program at a college they will generally want these scores.

College Board is an extremely resource-

ful website as they offer a variety of free practice options, including a question of the day, a full practice exam, and subject based practice questions. The website also offers other practice opportunities. SATs can become very stressful as they are a major part of the college consideration. Many students have been working to prepare for the upcoming exams.

Senior Madison Ward finds the exams very stressful because they are so strenuous.

“There’s not a way to study for it because it’s not specific,” Ward said. Ward and another friend are preparing for the upcoming exam by going over practice problems and reviewing vocabulary. Madison also took a Blue Ridge Community College SAT prep class last year.

“It prepared me for the way the test was set up and gave me a hint for what the test would be like.”

Larkin O’Hara is also a senior and finding the SATs stressful. Last spring she took BRCC’s six sessions and owns a College Board book that she has been working through and reviewing.

“I have to get good scores, to get into good colleges. I would like to get over 2000 for my combined scores.”

Junior Ana Hunter-Nickels is planning to take the PSAT. This is her very first time taking the test because she was unable to take it last year since she hadn’t completed Algebra 2.

“I want to take it mostly to see what the SAT is going to be like,” Hunter-Nickels said.

Junior Kelli Showalter is also taking the PSAT this year. She has been preparing with the practice booklet from the guidance office, studying vocab, and practice questions from the College Board website.

“I would like to improve my score from last year, now that I can qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. I also want to make it on the 800 club for math,” Showalter said.

Showalter also wanted to prepare for her SAT in November. She suggests that students look over their old math notebooks and really study vocab, if they are looking for ways to study. The SAT and PSAT are major parts of the college preparation, so begin talking to the counselors now.

EARLY ACTION FOR JMU For those seniors looking to apply for early action for JMU, the deadline is Nov. 1.

EARLY ACTION FOR CNU For students who are interested in applying for early action for CNU the deadline is Dec. 1.

Evaluations receive mixed reviews TEACHER from A1 evaluation says you have to have a lesson plan and an objective written on the board, a poor teacher can write that on the board. A good teacher can write it on the board too, but I’m not sure that reflects good teaching,” Tueting said.

He also worries about the effect this will have on students who are struggling.

“In a lot of ways, what we’re doing is importing evaluation systems from the private sector, where here’s your input that tells what your output is...If I’m a chef and I’m being evaluated on how tasty my strawberry crepes are and I get a box of spoiled strawberries, I send them back and get better strawberries. In teaching, we’re not using things, we’re using human beings. You don’t want to say human beings are defective, you want to say here are kids that need help, let’s help them. But because the new evaluation system only lets us look at the measurable outcomes at the end, it creates a perverse incentive that teachers will not want to work with kids with skill deficiencies or behavioral problems, because you’re going to be judged on the outcome,” Tueting said.

He cites examples of school systems who have suspended poor students before exams, and scandals in Atlanta and Chicago where teachers cheated on standardized tests to get better results. However, Tueting thinks good teachers can still thrive under the system.

Math teacher Bill Turner also has his concerns.

“You measure success not necessarily by how well kids do on a given test- the success of a teacher depends on how well the kids learn to think,” Turner said. “I don’t think the system is looking at whether kids are becoming independent learners.

Doubts from faculty aside, Ansoorian is confident that the evaluations are moving the schools in the right direction.

“The current system is much more relevant and valid,” Ansoorian said.

Kirby leads “jazzalopes” JAZZ from A1 “I was lucky to have some amazing music educators in my life early on and this really sparked my interest in music. [My experiences] really just make me want to pass along my love for the music through education,” Kirby said.

Kirby was selected to teach a jazz improv class at the VMEA conference and will be using the jazz ensemble as an example of how to engage students through improvisation.

The band is no novice to performing. At the end of last year, the jazzalopes played downtown at Clementine cafe, for the spring showcase. This was the first time playing in a public venue for many of the musicians.

The jazzalopes play many different genres with a focus on 1920’s, and 1960’s music. The ensemble is only made up of 16 players so the setting is much more intimate than the other band at HHS. The roles of the musicians are flexible, some double up on instruments while others stick to their preferred forte. The band practices on Mondays after school and is comprised of students from all grades. Senior Jason Tran is new to the jazz band, but is enjoying it thus far. Tran plays piano for the ensemble.

“It’s a lot of fun. The atmosphere is really relaxed, and Mr. Kirby is awesome,” Tran said.

PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA

JUMP! Sophomore Victoria Giron, senior Deb Halpern, and other cast members do running warm-ups before rehearsal for the show. The play features various forms of movement, including slow motion.

PHOTO BY FERNANDO GAMBOA

LOOK OF INTENSITY. Freshman Harmony Wilson and sophomore Jaymie Inouye do stretches. Wilson is part of the ensemble and Inouye is an interpretive dancer.

Cast feels pressure after last year’s state victory PLAY from A1

what we would like to do and be imaginative and creative. We can go our own way with the show,” Halpern said.

The play this year is the product of what is known as devised theater, in which the group ongoingly collaborates to come up with original scenes, themes, and visuals.

HHS alumna Elana Swartz has always had close ties to the drama department, but it was only until this year that Stan Swartz offered her the official position of co-director. “[I was asked by my dad to co-direct] last year. I graduated five years ago, so I’ve been around doing acting coaching, but I’ve never officially been a co-director. I love working with this age and I love theater,” Swartz said. Like her father, she knows the success of the piece relies on the cast’s cooperation, which they are capable of.

“First of all, we didn’t have a script, instead we created it as we went. [The play] is created out of the students’ experiences.

It’s very organic. It’s also really fun to work with everybody and get ideas as we’re writing. It seemed that devised theater was

something that the students could handle and have fun exploring themselves and the world around them. It’s art, it’s fun to try stuff,” Swartz said.

The subject matter is intended to be relatable, especially in a competition where the play must have multiple appealing factors.

“The overarching theme is nonviolence.

It talks about different forms of violence and how it affects different people. It affects everyone in the world. One person reaching out can make a difference. We’re showing that. I think that the judges and family members will actually enjoy it because it’s something that is organic and that kids made together. It’s something that they can immediately identify with.

It also ups the competition, because it’s something that we created together,” Stan Swartz said.

The consensus among old and new cast mast members is that the pressure is immensely high because of last year’s state victory. This has had multiple effects on the play’s development.

“There’s so much pressure [because we

won states] last year, but no one wins it twice in a row. We know that, but we could showcase at VTA. I’d rather showcase this year because it’s more of a realistic goal,” Halpern said.

Along with entering the VHSL competition, the One Act will also be brought to the Virginia Theater Association conference in Reston on the weekend of Oct. 29.

“It’s a weekend of theater, good food and hanging with friends,” Halpern said.

Halpern and other seniors there will also have the opportunity to audition for multiple college theater programs at once, a notable perk of attending the conference.

I decided to audition because it’s just a really good experience. Even though none of the schools I’m applying to are there, I’m planning to do [theater] in college, and I can get a feel for what to expect. It’s more for experience than personal assessment,” Halpern said.

The One Act competed at the VHSL conference here at HHS on Oct. 19. Results were not known at the time of deadline for this publication.

History to visit Jamestown, Williamsburg TRIP from A1

Tueting sees field trips as a bonding experience for his AP students, and a way to make memories simultaneously.

“When you take field trips, it’s a way to bond together against the [AP] test,” Tueting said. “People in their 30s remember trips I’ve taken with them. I had a couple hanging out on one of my trips, and now they’re married.”

Unfortunately, the way the dates fell, band students had a competition and HHS’s one-act will also be competing. However, Tueting took every measure he could to get his students to be able to go. Chaperones will drive the band students down on Saturday morning after the competition is completed.

The cost was also steep. The field trip cost $400 per student, and after the school subsidized it, it was still $320. Tueting

made sure to have some extra funds prepared for those who needed it.

“I don’t want anyone not to be able to especially because of the cost,” Tueting said. “I’m a teacher, and I know my kids wouldn’t be able to go on the trip with that cost.”

Putting the trip together was also been a stressful process, especially with the government shutting down earlier this month.

“It’s a lot of pieces to fit together, hotel reservations, lesson plans and restaurants,” Tueting said.

History teachers Jay Blair and Emily Holloway will also be chaperoning.

Junior Natalya Murray is excited for the trip.

“I’m interested in seeing Williamsburg,” Murray said. “I find it interesting to see what our old capitol was and what colonial Williamsburg was like.”

Murray isn’t a fan of long bus rides, and sharing a room with three other people will be a new experience for her. “[My least favorite part is] having to share a room with three other people because I’ve never done that before, but that’s not really a bad thing,” Murray said.

Murray is anticipating not only the educational aspect of the trip, but the social aspect as well.

“Besides the interesting educational [part of the trip] with U.S. history and macroeconomics, I’m really looking forward to hanging out with friends,” Murray said.

Senior Chris MacAdam thinks the macroeconomics trip is a good opportunity to learn.

“If teachers are trying to take you on a trip, there’s something important that you can learn from it,” MacAdam said. “Honestly it all sounds really cool.”

Guidance Counselors encourage students to attend College Night Plus

COLLEGE from A1 more prepared because when you went thing that is along the horizon, because if

executed because there weren’t as many college’s there, at least the ones I was looking at to go see but the general idea is very helpful and I’m glad that we do it,” Cavoto said. This year, 93 colleges attended College Night and a majority of them were located in Virginia.

“Schools from different states could have come because some of the ones I was looking at are in Pennsylvania and Maryland and they mainly had schools from Virginia,” junior Shannon Richard said. The biggest complaint about college night was that there were very few colleges that were out of state. There were some from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Indiana, but most were located in Virginia.

“Some of the people could have been

up to them, they wouldn’t say anything and you would end up just standing there,” junior Chloe Richard said. Guidance counselors, such as Rachel Linden and Career Coach Cheryl Logan, that were helping plan college night had planned on more colleges attending and more people attending.

“I encourage every student to go, even if they aren’t thinking of going to college,” Linden said. The schools have also invited middle schools along with Rockingham County, Augusta County, Page County, Shenandoah County, Stanton, and Harrisonburg to attend college night.

“We had decided that the sooner we decided to work with students the earlier we can try to create that college-going culture, a belief that they can do this; some-

we wait until high school, we may miss the boat with that opportunity,” Logan said.

The schools are trying to get students interested in college at an early age by thinking about what kinds of colleges they want to attend.

College night was on Oct. 3 at the JMU Convocation Center from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

A pamphlet was provided for students that contained a map and a list of all the colleges so students could directly go to the ones they were interested in.

Colleges were listed in alphabetical order for it to be easier for students to find.

The pamphlet also had some sample questions that students could ask the representatives, if they couldn’t think of any.

October 25, 2013

The

Q&A with Bethany Houff

PHOTO BY SARAH SCRIBANO

How long have you been teaching?

This is my 11th year teaching.

What college did you go to?

JMU What did you major in?

Music Education and Piano What do you love about music?

It’s universal. All societies and cultures experience music in some way. It unifies us as a global society.

Newsstreak

NEWS A3

Pracca loving experience in America Sydney Little Online Editor-in-Chief For many students at HHS the new school year is just another nine months of their life spent in the same building, but for French exchange student Basile Pracca, this school year meant a new chapter in his life.

Pracca arrived in the U.S. on Aug. 28 and is staying with senior Bailey Swayne’s family until late June. Pracca came to the U.S. from Mâcon, France through the Rotary Club because he wanted to take a year off before going to college. While here, Pracca is getting involved with the school by taking physics, computer science, pre-calculus, yearbook and French.

“I’ve already graduated from high school in France because I skipped two grades, and I wanted to take a gap year before college,” Pracca said.

After first getting here, Pracca was startled to learn that everybody drives, and that they drive automatic cars. He was also surprised by several stereotypes of the U.S. that he now sees are incorrect.

“I thought that there would be more fat people and I’m glad to see that I was wrong on this point,” Pracca said.

Although Pracca hasn’t been in the U.S. for very long, there are already several differences that he has noticed between France and the U.S. “Everything here is so much bigger, like your ‘little’ Walmart is the biggest super-

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BASILE PRACCA

SLURPEE! Pracca tries his first American slurpee. Pracca will be in school at HHS until June, before he returns to his hometown of Mâcon, France. market I’ve ever seen. Also people are all very nice, you can speak with strangers, it’s awesome,” Pracca said.

Despite these benefits of the exchange, there are two things that Pracca doesn’t enjoy as much as the rest.

“My least favorite thing is that you have to add the taxes for the things you buy yourself and the fact that all the roads are similar, so it’s hard to know where you are,” Pracca said.

When did your interest in music spark?

I cannot think of a time in my life that I was not interested in music.

Academic Academy helping students Austin Coffey Advertising Manager

Why did you choose to teach choir?

Honestly, I was forced into it. At the time, JMU only allowed piano majors to pursue the choral music track, not the orchestral track as I requested. However, I think it turned out OK. What instruments do you play?

Piano, violin, trombone, guitar, ukulele, and the tambourine.

What is your favorite part about teaching?

The students. I enjoy sharing music with other people. While it is also fulfilling to sit at the piano for my own enjoyment, it is more fulfilling to collaborate with others.

Infographic by Sarah Scribano

PHOTO BY BRENNA COWARDIN

EVERYBODY READY! Choral Director Bethany Houff conducts HHS singers as they prepare for their evening concert that capped choir day on Oct.17.

Singers unite for Choir Day Jessica Nyguen Feature Editor

PHOTO BY JESSICA NGUYEN

SING! Freshman Marta Khikhol, Destiny Pitsenbarger, Lucy Moss, and junior Mariela Calderon practice their songs for Choir Day.

While Pracca is at HHS he plans to be on the Robotics team, and try track and field in the spring.

Pracca is looking forward to being able to spend the rest of the year at HHS and in Harrisonburg. He especially loves to spend time in the downtown area.

“My favorite thing in America? Just, almost everything is perfect ! I can’t really say what’s my favorite thing,” Pracca said.

It’s almost time for the first choir concert of the year, and new singers nervously anticipate the idea of singing on the Harrisonburg High School stage for the first time. It was for this reason that choir director Bethany Houff invented Choir Day. The main purpose of Choir Day is for all the experienced singers to take the beginners, mostly freshman, under their wing and help them if needed.

Junior Mariela Calderon can’t wait for Choir Day. “I’m excited because of the fact that we all get to unite and sing with everyone else,” said Calderon.

Every choir had been learning the same songs two months prior to Choir Day. It is a tradition that the choirs sing as one for the first concert, to emphasis the idea that all the choirs make up one big Harrisonburg High School choir.

Freshman Seth Bontrager is optimistic about Choir Day. He is interested in how all the choirs will sound together.

“I’m excited because I can hear what the songs are like with all the choirs,” said Bontrager.

On the day of the concert, singers will

meet in the auditorium at 9:30 a.m. and spend all day practicing the music together until the concert that night.

“I think it will be fun, but it will be a lot of hard work,” said Bontrager.

Eighth grade choirs from Thomas Harrison Middle School and Skyline Middle School will get the opportunity to come to HHS and join the high schoolers for dinner and later, perform a song in the concert.

Junior Shannon Richard recommends eighth graders to take this opportunity to see how choir works at the high school level.

“I think it’s a really good experience for [the eighth graders] to see what choir is like in high school,” said Richard.

Singers will perform the songs “Hope”, “Buffalo Gals”, “Water is Wide”, “Ritmo”, “No Time” (girls only), and “900 Miles” (guys only). Choir Day is Oct. 17, and the concert starts at 7 p.m.

Senior Jason Tran awaits his last Choir Day ever. He likes the opportunity to sing with other choirs.

“I’m excited about Choir Day because we get to sing with the eighth graders and also it’s nice to see people from other choirs like Men’s choir, Women’s choir, and Camerata. I also like the selection of music Ms.Houff chose this year,” said Tran.

For the past several years, HHS has implemented a program known as the Academic Academy which provides academic help in the four core learning areas: Math, English, Science, and Social Studies.

Students who need extra help are able to attend every Tuesday and Thursday after school for about an hour, to work on anything students may need help with.

“Teachers in our math, English, science and social studies departments work with kids to do things like homework and any other remedial help that they may need,” math teacher and Academic Academy coordinator David Rush said.

Leading the academy for the past two years, Rush has been a big supporter of this after school program and has seen what a little bit of extra one-on-one help can do for the many attendees.

“Last year, we helped with Standards of Learning (SOL) remediation, as students who had failed the SOL before were preparing to retake the test. In this, we were able to give them a little extra help in preparing to succeed on these tests,” Rush said.

Rush’s motivation for leading the academy lies in his reasoning or purpose for keeping the program up and running.

“The purpose of this academy is to give students all of the extra help they may need, as well as giving them support to make them successful in their high school career,” Rush said.

Sophomore Kenia Lopez, frequently attends these after school sessions and believes that it is helping her excel in all of her studies.

“It is really useful, if I need help on anything, I can just stay after school, with internet access and a free ride home. It especially helps when studying for tests, because I know I can review with a teacher, and ask questions instead of being stuck at home,” Lopez said.

Rush hopes to continue the academy far into the future.

“My hope is to keep offering the support to kids. Currently the math section of the Academy is pretty full [of students] and the other subjects are lacking. So as for goals I would say to encourage students to come,” Rush said.

Debate team preparing for season Ellie Plass Staff Reporter

The HHS debate and forensics teams traveled to Fort Defiance on Oct. 3 to participate in their first tournament of the year.

It was the team’s first competition since the school underwent resdistricting, so the debaters were up against new schools, specifically John Handley. The Handley teams took first in all of the debate categories, aside from varsity Lincoln Douglas, and are shaping up to be HHS’ big competition this year.

Senior Jack Adamek took the first place spot for varsity Lincoln Douglas, while freshman Harmony Wilson tied for second in JV. Teams of seniors Michelle Waligora and Chris Macadam, and sophomores Michelle Eckstein and Mary-Hallet Culbreth tied for fifth place in varsity Public Forum, while team junior Rozda Askari and freshman Andrew Rath tied for fourth in the JV category.

Wilson debated for the first time at this tournament, and plans to continue with Lincoln Douglas, a style of debate based on

the morality of certain actions.

Adamek worked after school on his “It was good to debate someone new, cases, during the class with head coach Pethat wasn’t in the class!” Wilson said. ter Norment, and did a lot of research and Many of the debaters who are in the practice. class get used to debating the same op“It felt like all the hard work paid off,” ponents again and again. The tournament Adamek said. The feeling in my stomach provides the perfect opportunity to dem- when they called my name was electric,” onstrate what you’ve learned, with new Adamek said. people and more challenging competition than the classroom can offer.

Wilson learned important lessons from debating in the tournament.

“I learned that it’s important to attack all of your opponents arguments and to have a lot of confidence,” Wilson said. Her favorite part of the tournament was reading her first speech PHOTO BY FERNANDO PENA in her first debate DEBATE. Sophomores Peter Kim and Karan Chalishajar prepare round. for a debate tournament.

October 25, 2013

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Small Enough to Care 234 E Market St. #2 Harrisonburg, VA 22801

540-433-2423

Established in 1979

James McHone Jewelry We buy, sell, and trade fine antique and estate jewelry!

Located inside Court Square in Harrisonburg Virginia (Look for us near the Bank of America) Hours: Monday - Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Phone Number: (540) 433-1833

October21, 25,2012 2013 August

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letters may also be sent to the high school.

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

Professional Affiliations The Newsstreak participates as a member of several journalistic evaluation services including the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA2010 Gold Evaluation and 2005 & 2009 Silver Crown Winner), Quill&Scroll Journalism Honor Society (2012 Gallup Award), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) All-American, the Virginia High School League, Inc. Trophy Class Award, and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association All Southern Ranking and 2010 Scroggins Award winner. newsstreak.com opt out notice: If you do NOT want to allow your student’s full name or image to appear on the school newspaper site, please send an email to vkibler@harrisonburg. k12.va.us stating: I understand that the school newspaper, newsstreak.com, now has an online version of the publication. I DO NOT want my son/daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on this online venue.

The The

Newsstreak Newsstreak

Op/Ed--A5 A5 NEWS

Teacher assessments aren’t going to improve education NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL No one could argue that good teachers are a bad thing.

To ensure students’ success in school, it seems necessary to hold instructors to a certain standard.

However, the standards that Harrisonburg City Public School teachers are being held to in their evaluations don’t seem to be the right vehicle for achieving success. Despite being designed for a noble goal, the current evaluation system places too much emphasis on test scores and data and forces teachers into a specific mold.

Forty percent of a teacher’s evaluation is measured in “student progress.” While this could mean a number of things for nonSOL courses, in an SOL course, a big percentage of this will be SOL scores.

Poor SOL scores aren’t necessarily a reflection on a bad teacher- as students, we are often most engaged and retain more information with a teacher who brings their subject to life and doesn’t just “teach to the test.”

Also, SOL scores may measure

a student’s ability to multiply fractions, but they can’t measure their ability to work in groups, think creatively, or a number of other valuable skills. It’s clear that a lot of other factors go into evaluation other than SOL scores, but this 40 percent emphasis is just too much.

The new data-obsessed system isn’t just content with SOL scores, it also increases it’s ability to number-crunch by administering more tests.

Now teachers have to give students a pretest at the beginning of the year and a similar test at the end of the year to measure learning. This is completely arbitrary because a teacher could always just tell their students to fill in random answers for five minutes at the beginning of the year in order to make it look like they learned more at the end of the year. More importantly, the pretest takes away from class time, and only stresses students out by giving them a test they are meant to fail.

The laundry list of things a teacher has to be observed doing during a ten-minute walk-through

evaluation could probably not be done by any one human in that amount of time.

Every teacher is different. Just because a teacher doesn’t check off all the boxes at once- which include “all students demonstrate learning using language” and “ uses research-based high yield instructional strategies” doesn’t mean they can’t make a positive impact on students. This system encourages teachers to stick to a specific mold which stifles their creativity and makes things less interesting for students.

It’s important to remember that this is a system developed by

the Virginia government that the school system chose to adopt. A lot of research went into its development.

In today’s competitive job market, it is important to make sure students have high-quality instruction. However, putting more regulations on teachers and forcing endless rounds of standardized testing on students may do more harm than good. It’s disheartening for students to know they are taking test after test so data can be analyzed on a computer.

A student is not a statistic.

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 editorsin-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 In a 12-1 vote, the board voted against the new teacher evaluation system. The member of the board who agrees with the evaluation system does so because he believes in demanding the best of our teachers.

Teenagers are more than sum of college choices If I had a dolproportions and my lar for every time annoyance levels are an adult asked outside of the earth’s me where I want atmosphere. to go to college, I It’s not that I mind could pay my way being asked about through the college college. Anyone who of my choice. knows me is aware Okay, maybe that I’m the type of The Mia not quite, but I person who obsesPerspective sively plans for the fuwould graduate with considerably ture. Also, I appreciate less loan debt. that these adults are taking an inThe point is, for the last few terest in my life and I understand years, nearly every adult who has that college is a safe, relevant consaid so much as two sentences to versation topic. They can’t keep me has had one of those sentenc- commenting on the fact that I got es be about the schools I’m con- my braces off, after all. (Although sidering. Now that I’m a junior, some still do. Seriously, people, this has reached skyscraper-like it’s been since eighth grade.)

However, sometimes it seems that all adults ever want to know about teenagers is where they are considering going to college. I mean, we all know the stereotype of those horrible hormonal teenagers. Most of them are probably too busy texting to actually communicate, and they’re too lazy to have any interesting past times or ideas, right?

Actually, I consider my peers and I be able to carry on a mildly intelligent conversation about something other than college.

When all adults ever do is ask about schools, it seems like a teenagers’ self-worth is reduced to their answer to that question.

Not to mention that many of

us don’t have an answer yet and are stressed enough about it as it is.

Plus, the media is constantly churning out stories about how college isn’t going to help our generation get a job and we’re all going to get useless degrees and end up living with our parents. So they’re are a lot of mixed signals going on.

It’s makes me wonder how adults will talk to me when I finally do reach college. I’m guessing I’ll have to form a canned answer about my career plans. Or maybe I should just dye my hair a different color every year. Or, there’s always the braces.

Consider taking break from social media Sometimes it seems like more people attempt to talk to me when I’m swamped with homework than when I’m doing absolutely nothing on a weekend night.

Social media has Just drastically changed our way of living, believe it or not. We no longer use a land line when we want to talk to someone, we can Facetime, or Skype.

If I wanted to tell someone a message, I wouldn’t have to send it in the mail and wait a week or so for their response. I can ‘instant message’ or shoot a

text. You get the point. But when does it come to a point where social media are taking over our lives completely, and is that a good or bad thing?

Julexus In one sense, social media have completely advanced our world in ways unimaginable until this day and age.

We use the internet for advertisements, business transactions, meetings, school assignments, finding lost family or friends etc.

There’s no limit to what you can find on the world wide web.

I love this. I didn’t grow up during the time that there wasn’t computers and internet at every school, so I (and the rest of this generation) am used to it. We know nothing but the internet, basically. Being able to find anything at the click of a mouse is power- I think sometimes we forget to remember that. In a nutshell, without social media and internet, we wouldn’t function the same in our daily lives.

Looking at social media from another angle, I think it’s almost sickening. I can remember back to where Facebook was initially gaining popularity. Now, if you don’t have a Facebook account

you might as well be from Mars.

So much time gets consumed on social media. Apps like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Kik can take a huge chunk of your average teenager’s day. I’m guilty of this too, which is why I can recognize when it’s a problem.

When was the last time you turned your phone off for an hour or two and did something productive? How many tweets or Facebook posts do you make in a day? I guess what I’m saying is yes, social media is amazing for the innovations it’s made for our world. But, maybe for a little while, put your phone down and don’t let it consume your world.

Hipster culture creates individualism paradox well, individual, has takThey live en over the hallways of among us. many institutions across They breathe the country. But with so our air and many individuals being as drink our wathey like to say, individuter, however al, it would seem they’ve they wouldn’t placed themselves into be caught their own category of dead wearing individuals ironically conour clothes, tradicting their status as Gabbin’ With being an individual...indilistening to our Garrett music or sharvidually. ing our ideals.

It’s not that I don’t This hipster epidemic, as I promote changing ideals. The like to look at it, is spreading like very drive to not conform to a set the plague across American high standard of ideas is what drives schools. A subculture of individu- politics and political change in alistic thinkers who strive to be, the democratic world, but I don’t

like the way Hipsters make being an individual pretentious.

I will admit however they do provide a good source of entertainment.

As I have already explained, the very concept of being a hipster contradicts itself which is an incomparable paradox. But if you really want to enjoy a hipster, try engaging in a bout of ideals. Say, “How do you feel about abortion?” That should get them going, and if you really want to set them aflame from their beanies to their birkenstocks, insult their taste in music.

So why is it that all of the sudden paisley shirts, cardigans and

wing-tip shoes are coming back in style? Does it stem from the BoHo chic style iconified by some of the biggest names in Hollywood? Across the U.S. young women are growing out their bangs, layering their shirts and raising their collars.

But have they truly transcended the human paradigm? Have they successfully broken the wall between the set standard of our existence and the longing of the abstract consciousness, or have they only further allowed themselves to become a more defined stereotype?

Let your voice be heard!

Send your letter to the editor to the Newsstreak.

October 25, 2013

The

Newsstreak

OP/ED A6

HOT

Redskins ought to change their name

Anchorman 2

Aubtin Heydari Staff Reporter

Anchorman 2 will premiere later this year in December.

We say bring on Will Ferrell in this classic role.

13 Days of Halloween The annual ‘13 Days of Halloween’ will air on ABC Family, showing the classic movies and the spooky films for this month.

Everything Fall is back Scarves, boots, hot cocoa, everything with cinnamon, North Faces and much more.

Hello Fall, we welcome you!

‘Toy Story Terror’ A Toy Story Halloween special, Toy Story Terror will premiere on ABC Family Oct 16th.

Patti Lupone @ JMU Tony-award-winning Broadway actress Patti Lupone performed at the JMU Forbes Center Sept. 28.

Tailgating this Fall

lebrities have begun to take sides about.

There is a priThe Washington Redmary question skins franchise has long being advanced been the subject of conhere by both troversy over its team sides; even if the name. name is offenThe Haitch While it isn’t somesive, is it offenthing that would strike the aver- sive to Native Americans themage person as a pressing issue, it selves? has been a growing concern and People defending the franthe movement to change the chise name attribute the outcry team’s name has been gaining to white liberals who get mad momentum. over issues that affect minorities People are starting to realize rather than themselves. the name is a derogatory term, Some of them defend their one that isn’t too different than beliefs with quips about how using the “N-word” or “W-word” their twice removed uncle who as a team’s mascot. But the issue is 1/16th Native American has no is deeper than it seems; how does problem with the name. a multi-million dollar brand and Aside from the eerie parallel cooperation with prolific amounts this has with people justifying of merchandise totally change its their casual racially insensitive central component? remarks with the fact that they It would be a logistical night- have black/non-white friends, it mare and enrage a plethora of begs the question of the overgenuninformed fans. eralization of indigenous people.

Not only that, it could potenIt is true some people of Natially cost millions. tive origin don’t consider it ofThus, the debate has become fensive, but to argue that it’s an very heated, not only sparking argument only being advanced clash between average people by non-indigenous people glosses but one that politicians and ce- over the fact that tribes and orga-

nizations like the Oneida Indian Nation have launched a full on radio ad campaign and the leaders of the protests are Native American themselves.

This brings in the question of its intentions. Some argue the name is meant to honor the Native Americans. This is a problematic notion of ‘honoring’, considering it seems less like respecting and observing Native traditions and more like turning them into caricatures and glorifying stereotypes of them.

In a different light, it’s like saying the way the media minstrilized black people and Jazz music in the 1920’s is ‘honoring’ black culture when it is really just making it an object of our enjoyment.

It is not the place of us to tell Native Americans the name isn’t offensive when there is clear consensus it is. The name is historically a slur, and its shift to a pejorative term with negative connotations parallels the rise of Native American imagery in mascots.

Even its lay usage has seen erasure, which points out the way context and tradition sways the fans opinions. No one casually or professionally refers to Native

Tailgating with your friends before the game includes cornhole, hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks. A big party for all.

TV Shows are back Our favorite TV shows have returned to the tube. Can’t get enough of that Duck Dynasty!

Nothing Was the Same The newest Drake album ‘Nothing Was the Same’ has become a hit. Although it was leaked for a small amount of time, the album sold close to 700,000 copies the first week.

Cloudy With a Chance..

A sequel to the popular kid’s flick Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs premiered Sept. 21.

College Night @ JMU Over 90 colleges and universities attending College Night at the convocation center October 3rd.

NOT SAT season is back SAT season is here, with the first administered test of the year on Oct. 5. Good luck to anyone in further testing!

Policitcs is never clean The campaign between Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe is more mudslinging than actual care for Virginia citizens.

College applications The process of college applications have started again.

Early decision applications are typically due in November, while regular decision in January. Good luck seniors!

HHS football Harrisonburg’s football teams, both varsity and junior varsity, have not been doing so hot this season.

Our quarterback injury Senior quarterback Matt Shifflett got injured on our homecoming game against Fort Defiance on Sept.27.

Wrecking Ball music video Miley Cyrus’s video to the song ‘Wrecking Ball’ received negative reviews by the press and students at HHS.

Government shutdown Congress could not come to an agreement on a budget for America’s finances, so on Sept. 30 our governement closed

Virginia’s bipolar weather Cold and rainy, hot and sunny, or temperatures in the low 50s Virginia weather can leave you one way- confused.

Car bombing in Syria 39 people are dead due to a car bombing in a northern city in Syria, leaving dozens injured as well.

Murder of NFL player’s son Minnesota Vikings player Adrian Peterson’s son, age two, was murdered in South Dakota by his mother’s boyfriend.

Sequestration Automatic cuts were made to all three branches of the government.

“They shouldn’t “No, Because change their that’s not the only name because team name that people won’t reccan be considognize the team,” ered offensive,” -junior, Josiah -senior, Morgan Delves Neary

“No, because that’s their name; they’ve had it for a long time,” -sophomore, Giuliana Peralta

“I don’t think so because when it originated it wasn’t an offensive term,” -freshman, Harmony Wilson

Do you think the Redskins should change their name?

Americans as ‘redskins’ or ‘injuns’ or other racially insensitive names in conversation because it is implied it is offensive. Make it a brand however, and people won’t think twice.

Nearly two thirds of all professional and amateur athletic teams that bore Native American symbols have changed them since 1971. Additionally, politicians, newspapers, and corporations have come out and refused to display the name, simply referring to the team as Washington’s football team or even censoring the word.

It’s a complicated issue with massive ramifications. If one looks at a purely economic, brandfocused side, they see complications in a name change.

If one examines it on a basis of ethics and decency, it takes a totally different look. We need to begin preparing ourselves to change this tradition, even if it will be difficult, simply because it is a remnant of centuries of intolerance. The voice of the opposition has grown too strong for us to simply dismiss it as an unfortunate result of good intentions.

Besides, I hear there is a path to somewhere made of those.

Joshua Byrd Op/Ed Editor

Republicans Two party system getting more ineffective need to change their platforms strength against the totalitarian Rafael Snell-Feikema Online Editor-in-Chief

According to a Gallup poll conducted earlier this month, six of ten Americans feel that there is a need for a third party -- the Delay Tactics highest level Gallup has ever re- corded.

Concordantly, the percentage of Americans that think the two parties adDo you follow your equately represent us is ridiculously low -- 26 percent. local politics?

It’s practically laughable, but then you remember that that means the government is a total and absolute failure and that our democracy doesn’t really function.

Then you get sad.

So what’s going on here?

It could be that our govern100 people polled in all grades by Remiel ment -- and specifically the Marrero-Vasquez portion of the government that just shut itself down which bills are even brought to (tea party Republicans) -- is not representative of the actual discussion. Boehner refused to hear any budget bill unless the popular vote in the last election.

In 2012, the Democrats actu- Democrats agreed to defund ally won 1.6 million more votes Obamacare.

It’s an entirely undemocratic for their representatives, but congressional districts are now so attempt to circumvent the conheavily gerrymandered that the stitutional paths for repealing popular vote and the elected of- legislation that has already been passed by a democratically electficials no longer correspond.

But that only won the Repub- ed Congress and furthermore licans the house -- the Senate confirmed by the Supreme Court.

What ideals, though! What and the Presidency are Democrat-controlled, so how is it that constancy! What bravery, that a minority of one party was able these noble Republicans would to shut down our entire federal shut down their very government because of how strongly they begovernment?

Via one rule of the House of lieved that people with existing Representatives, which allows conditions shouldn’t be covered for the majority party to choose by insurance companies. Such

YOUR OPINION

YES

NO

31 69

hand of ethical thought, except for the fact that they aren’t really sacrificing anything, as all members of Congress continue to be paid even when the government is shut down.

The Republicans are terrifyingly awful, but the Democrats are really not much better. The difference, I think, is mainly in how they sell themselves.

The Republicans tend to campaign on “We will destroy the world, kick poor people in the face, and be racist, and we will do it all with gusto” whereas the Democrats tend to campaign on “We’re totally fixing things this time guys” after which they proceed to do nothing at all and allow the Republicans to have free reign.

Either that or they will do the actual opposite of their claims, such as has happened with Obama, who in four years went from “Transparency for all!” to “hunt Snowden down to the end of the Earth.”

There’s definitely a crisis here.

No one represents the actual people, and to those of us who care, it’s very depressing. The only thing more depressing to me is that many people do not care, and will continue on in their daily lives, and will see this block of angry political text and quickly flip the page. A message to those sort of people: HEY. OVER HERE. READ ME AND THINK.

The Constitution should recognize everyone Dylan Bontrager Guest Reporter The single largest injustice in the U.S. today is one that was first addressed in 1967, when the Supreme Court ruled in the ironically-yet-aptly-named Loving v. Virginia, in which the court struck down bans on interracial marriage, that two loving, consenting adults’ right to marry is protected by the Constitution. Yet somehow, 46 years later, we still can’t get it right.

Every day, loving, happy couples who want nothing more than to spend their lives together are told that they are abominable second-class citizens who cannot be themselves.

To deny the ancient right of marriage to any member of society is to revoke that person’s membership in society, to tell them that they are not fully human. The U.S. Federal and State governments have allocated

begin to slide down special privileges for the slippery slope. married people, and, Slippery slope arguby denying the right ments, which asof any citizen to marsume that a series riage, we tell them of events is unstopthat they are unworthy pable once the first of such favor. occurs, are a logical There is no valid arLeft of Main fallacy. Just because gument that gay marmarriage is allowed riage should be illegal in the United States. The idea between two men or two women that anything should be illegal does not mean it will soon be albecause it is against some sort of lowed between humans and anireligious code of conduct offends mals.

The best way to express our me as an agnostic, and violates my Constitutional right to free- gratitude for the principles of free religious practice that guide the dom from religion.

The first of the only two non- United States (and to safeguard religious arguments that I have them for future generations) is ever heard is predicated on the to stop supporting laws based on unsubstantiated and irrelevant religion, and that includes anticlaim that gay marriages will low- equality marriage policies. er the birth rate. This is the same Every day that passes, the soargument that was used to keep called “land of the free” oppresswomen out of the workplace in es real human beings, who are, the early 20th century. in reality, worth no less than any The second argument assumes other. It is high time for another that we are all so mindless that step forward. we can’t catch ourselves once we

I predict that the Republicans will lose the Governor’s race in Virginia next month.

The Republican party has lost its focus and become mired down in social issues.

Romney lost, not because of his platform on abortion, but because of the Republican National Committee. The extreme social agenda has broken down the Republican party into factions: the Fiscal Conservatives and the more conservative Tea Partiers.

Republicans need to stop meddling in people’s personal lives. A party that believes in less government interference contradicts itself when it comes to the social issues.

Republicans need to focus on the economy and job creation. That is where they will win.

President Reagan’s economic policies were extremely popular.

Reaganomics worked and will continue to work. If you disagree, look at the Presidential election of 1984, Reagan’s reelection. He won 49 out of the 50 states. Only one other person has ever done that before, and was also a Republican.

This landslide victory suggests that Reagan’s economic and international policies worked and that a majority of Americans agreed with the policies.

I am fiscally conservative and believe in less government intervention.

I am more moderate on social issues and believe your personal life is your personal life.

Right now, like many moderate Republicans, I don’t feel like I have a party that without a doubt I can say I belong to.

I cannot classify myself as Libertarian because of the group’s views on international affairs.

If Republicans can’t refocus on policies and stances of the time of Reagan republicans and not tea party republicans, they will continue to lose election after election.

It is time for the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Virginia to wake up and smell the roses because their stances on social issues are detrimental to all of their candidates.

If the party doesn’t reform and recant its stances on social issues, the party will continue to lose.

October 25, 2013

The

Newsstreak

STYLE A7

GET YOUR GAME ON

League of Legends craze reaches students Aubtin Heydari Staff Reporter The competitive gaming world is by far the most rapidly expanding industry in the world. Its exponential growth is something not many lay people are aware of or consider to be real, but the data behind the rise of the gaming industry proves otherwise.

League of Legends, the forefront of the eSports phenomenon, is redefining the parameters of video games.

According to the game’s publisher, Riot Games, the League of Legends October World Championship Final at Los Angeles’ Staples Center sold out within an hour.

The popularity of League of Legends has not only manifested in a gargantuan playbase but also in spectating numbers that rival those of Major League Baseball and Professional Hockey. Even major companies from non-gaming industries like Nissan, Qualcomm, American Express,

and Coke Zero are beginning to capitalize on eSports through sponsorships and live stream ad space.

Students at HHS have taken a particular interest in the activity and have begun forming teams.

While most play for leisure and personal enjoyment, some players are beginning to take their hobby to the next level.

Massanutten Technical Center is hosting an upcoming local tournament and two teams from HHS are preparing to compete there.

The first team features Aarash Heydari, Eddie Mestre, Dean Koo, Peter Kim, and Henry Villeda. The second consists of Daniel Roth, Jon Marks, Rozda Askari, Jack Adamek, and Zamua Nasrawt.

Last years prize was $10 per winner, although this year’s pool may be bigger since more people will be attending the competition.

“League of Legends is a fast-paced online strategy game between two teams of five players that tests reflexes, creativity,

coordination, and skill.” junior Aarash Heydari said.

“The two teams each protect bases on opposing corners of a square battlefield that are separated by three trails between them, called lanes, which are littered with destructible turrets to impede enemy advances.”

Each player controls a Champion, an in-game avatar with unique abilities, and fight down lanes to open up a path to the opponent’s base, and eventually destroy it.

Askari and Nasrawt have started to train for the Nov. 8 tournament. As lane partners, or two people who occupy and defend the same lane, they have worked on mastering their particular role on the team. Nasrawt is a support player in the early game. Mid game, he is a gank lookout, which means he is on watch to make sure the opponents try to gang up on a

INFOGRAPHIC BY LUKE GIBSON

Grand Theft Auto releases fifth version Hunter Manzano Staff Reporter Grand Theft Auto is an action packed British video game series that follows criminals who participate in the city’s organized crime.

Starting out with Grand Theft Auto(GTA) being an unbelievable success, publishers Rockstar Games and Capcom decided to invest in a sequel.

When the numbers for that blew through the roof,

they made sure that there would be many more. On Sept. 17 Rockstar Games came out with GTA 5. Just like the previous ones, it’s played from a third person perspective.

Sophomore Saruhan Demirtas, an owner of the game loves it. ”[It’s] the best game of the year. The best part of the game is when you rob banks,” Demirtas said.

When given three words to describe the game he

chose, “incredible, violent, and legendary.”

Paywand Slemani, a former student at HHS, recently played the game.

“It’s really realistic,” Slemani said.

The graphics are clearer, sharper, and more defined in color.

George Thurman, another former student of HHS, also enjoyed the game.

“It’s amazing and the graphics are incredible,” Thurman said.

Madden 25 has better graphics, playbook

Austin Swift Staff Reporter

There seems to be reason on top of reason to stay inside and stare at some electronic screen with the almost constant release of albums, video games or the start of a television series.

Between the months of August and October there have been multiple releases of

big name video games including Madden, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K. Contrary to popular belief, the “25” in Madden 25 doesn’t represent the year 2025, but the 25th anniversary of the gaming series. The release of Madden in late August brought with it great expectations for the better graphics, more interactive gameplay and, possibly the most anticipated new feature, the franchise mode, which is a game feature that allows the user to create a career through the eyes of a head coach, player or owner.

For those who don’t know, the Madden series is the main and most popular game for the NFL, the equivalent of FIFA to soccer.

Created by Electronic Arts (EA), Madden 25 allows the user to play as any of the 32 teams from the NFL, using real players, coaches and stadiums.

Senior Gary Via, a longtime player of the Madden games, believes that in comparison to previous Madden games, this edition has much better graphics, new playbooks, a new game engine and of course the franchise mode.

With Madden currently available on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, iOS and Android it will also become available for Playstation 4 and Xbox One in late November.

“I play on Xbox and I’ll go over to a friends house to play it, but I don’t play online because I’d get crushed!” Via said.

Hall of Fame running back and former Detroit Lions player, Barry Sanders, is featured on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 covers but Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings will be featured on the cover for Xbox One and Playstation 4.

“It’s probably number one on my top ten list of the video games I have right now,” Via said.

particular person, as well as a primary attacker. Late game, he is a tank, which is a defensive role that tries to absorb as much damage as possible.

Askari is an AD Carry, which is an offensive role that involves dishing out as much damage as possible. This is Askari’s first tournament.

“I only really play for fun,” Askari said, “I am not too competitive.”

NCAA football game lacks college feel

Danny Dombrowski Staff Reporter NCAA is a college football video game created by EA Sports. The game has been produced each year since 1998. This will be the last year the game will be produced because of current lawsuits against the company about the similarities of real life players and players in the game without getting compensated for it.

The new version of NCAA is a solid game but is in need of a spark. On the good side, the gameplay is as real as it has ever been in the game’s history.

The new running features like the advanced stiff arm really highlights the reality of running in the game.

The menu is very easy to navigate through for new users. Although, the different modes offered like dynasty may be confusing to new players.

Another feature I really enjoyed is on defense how you can switch camera views with the push of a button so you can look straight at your opponent. This game also is very challenging and not just an easy-win game. Playing against the computer takes brains and skills. Finally, the graphics of the players and stadiums/fields are quite impressive.

On the bad side, the game still has the same old dull commentary and it just gets annoying after awhile. Most of the new issue lacks the full college experience. When people go to collegiate games, they enjoy the pregame and halftime shows but both of these are obsolete. Plus, where are all the drunk college students in the stands cheering on their school and having a good time? These things are little but really enhance the feel of the game as if it were actually happening.

When all is said and done, I think they could have, after all these years, made the game a lot better. It is a fun game worth a rent but I don’t think it is worth the full $60. If you want to buy it, it‘s available at Gamestop.

Cookie Clicker could be next big online game Fernando Pena Staff Reporter “News: All hope lost as writhing mass of flesh and dough engulfs whole city!” Grandmapocalypse! Pay 6,666,666,666,665 cookies and appease the Elder Covenant.

Cookie Clicker is a new game that came out Aug. 10. Developer Orteil dubbed his creation as an “incrementer” game, where the goal of the user is to increase their cookie count.

Like the title suggests, clicking gives the player cookies. Cookies can then be used to buy cursors. Cursors increase the player’s clicks per second or CPS. Even more cookies allows the player to purchase grandmothers, who are the work force behind the game. Grandmothers work hard to bake delicious cookies, even more cookies can be used to by cookie farms, factories, mines, alchemy labs, portals, time machines and finally antimatter condensers.

Although the premise of the game may seem pointless, once the CPS count goes up, players find it harder and harder to step

away from their mice. The game doesn’t stop at buying antimatter condensers in order to make 100 trillion CPS. “Elder nap Appease the grandmatriarchs at last once.

‘We are eternal’” and “Just wrong - sell a grandma ‘I thought you loved me.’” are only two of the over 100 achievements players can unlock. “...it [Cookie Clicker] is paced in such a way it makes you feel like you are always working towards something,” senior Daniel Roth said.

The game however isn’t all random, it employs a strict set of constraint for rewarding players. One way is through Golden Cookies, which appear on the screen and are clicked to activate a bonus, anywhere from x7 cookie production for 77 seconds to combos that amass over 7 trillion cookies. Golden cookies appear based on how many cookies the player has in stock; it incentivizes the cor-

rect allocation of cookies with the hopes of gaining even more cookies. The other way the game does this is through heavenly chips, these are determined by the number of cookies produced in total, before a soft-reset has taken place. After the reset takes place the heavenly chips increase CPS the player has once they buy an item exponentially.

Upgrades are the quickest and easiest way to quickly increase CPS; they offer percentage increase in cookie production, multipliers for factories, time machines, farms, grandmas and more.

These are available for every building used to make more cookies and boosts production significantly. As the game progresses and CPS increases the cost of up-

grades and the cost of acquiring buildings increases. Grandmas are no longer 100 cookies; in order to get more, the player needs to dish out thousands, billions, if not quadrillion of cookies to get more.

This part of the game has led to players running the game in the background and even overnight as they await for their cookie count to reach enough for the next upgrade.

“I even leave it [Cookie Clicker] running at home while I’m at school. It’s an easy way to gain a huge income,” Roth said.

Cookie clicker is a fast-growing and highly addictive game. The game’s subreddit has close to 8,000 subscriber and groves of students at HHS play the game on their computers and on their phones.

The best part is that the game is free and available at orteil.dashnet.org/cookieclicker and in the Google Play Store.

At barely two months old this game may become the next big thing, and the announced of a port to IOS on Aug. 26 may mean developer Orteil has stuck a Golden Cookie with this one.

October 25, 2013

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STYLE - A8

Halloween hits the ‘Burg Glen’s Fair Price can be one-stop-shop for Halloween Mia Karr Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO BY MIA KARR

HAT FANCY. Shimmering fedoras like these can

be found in a variety of colors at Glen’s Fair Price.

Melinda Bare knows her way around a feather boa. After all, she carries four different weight classes of them, not to mention a full line of wigs, accessories for every occasion, supplies to completely fulfill one’s clowning needs and “about everything in a hat you can think of.”

Bare and her brother, Gary Stiteler, manage the popular downtown curiosity shop, Glen’s Fair Price.

The shop was opened in 1941 by Bare’s mother and father. It used to be a old time variety store that carried overthe-counter medication, fish hooks, and candy among other things.

“We’ve been here all our lives. We grew up in the store,” Bare said.

Over the years, the store’s inventory has changed with local trends. Thirty years ago, Bare purchased 250 costumes to rent. Now the store has over 3000 costumes available to rent, in ad-

dition to the wide variety of costumes and costume items to be purchased. (Including wacky sunglasses, a full line of Ben Nye cosmetics and decorations for theme parties.)

“We can do any kind of costuming,” Bare said. “We have just about any accessory for any type of party. If it’s not on the floor, ask us, because we have more in the back.”

Bare starts buying for Halloween in January. Over the years, she has seen trends come and go- she doesn’t rent nearly as many Elvis costumes as she used to. Nurses, flappers, and gypsies have been popular in recent years, and the biggest section of the store is devoted to pirates. This past year, mustaches (including mustache jewelry) and Duck Dynasty beards have been in high demand.

“I buy what I think will sell and what I really like,” Bare said. She also pays attention to pop culture.

“The movies that are coming out, the big companies do push that,” Bare said.

“You’re always looking at that and you really have to decide whether you think that’s going to be a hit...I kind of stay with the standards knowing that you’re going to definitely rent Batman, you’re going to definitely rent Superman...You just have to go with your gut instinct.”

Junior Evan Dotas has purchased multiple costume items at the store.

“I went in there expecting to take five minutes, but I got lost in there because there was so much stuff,” Dotas said.

“It’s like a museum in there.”

Although Bare doesn’t dress up too often when she’s on the job, because it’s difficult to work in costume, she enjoys helping others find the perfect Halloween outfit.

“I love looking at the books, I love trying to choose what I’m going to buy, I just love it all,” Bare said. “I like to be able to put to together, I like to do the accessorizing... I like putting it together very much, and I suppose that’s my favorite part- when people come in, being able to do that.”

Party necessities required for Halloween festivities Garrett Thompson Style Editor Halloween has always been about trick-or-treating. Dressing up as kids as our favorite characters and parading around the neighborhood like a miniature masquerade ball has always been the norm, a tradition that has been a part of American culture for decades.

Even though once you enter into the teen years it may not be so cool to don a store bought polyester Spiderman costume and carry around candy in a plastic pumpkin, this does not mean that your Halloween festivities have to be less than ghoulish.

The easiest way to entertain a group of your friends is to host a movie night. With so many horror films terrifying audiences across the country, it may be hard to choose which movie would be the most entertaining. Why not switch it up a bit and try one of the classics? Albert Hitchcock’s Dial M For Murder is sure to take viewers on a journey through mindboggling plot lines and bouts of impeccable wits and Gene Wilder stars in the black and white comedy Young Frankenstein which puts a funny twist on a Halloween classic. Whatever movie it is, make sure it will take you and your friends on a thrilling, spine tingling journey.

For any party to be a success food is a necessity.

This is a way to get creative with various themed hors d’oeuvres. Using sherbert and Orange Crush is the perfect way to make a sweet, tangy punch that goes well with the black and orange Halloween color palate. One way you can make sweetly tantalizing critters is to use dark chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers and black licorice as legs to create s’more-tastic spiders.

The possibilities are endless. Food coloring is a great way to change the color of foods to give it that rotting look.

Halloween does not always have to be about terror and fright. October does not always mean midnight walks through graveyards and shadows that move in the night. Taking a group of friends to a corn maze is fun for everyone and a group hayride screams fall.

For those who know their way around a knife, pumpkin carving competitions are great for some friendly competition amongst friends.

Whether you’re seeking a toilsome fright or trying to enjoy a crisp October evening, the keys to successfully observing All Hallows’ Eve is enjoying it with friends, a good movie and plenty of food.

PHOTO BY MIA KARR

COSTUME WONDERLAND. Step into a never ending sea of Halloween costumes, accessories, wigs make-up and more.

Glen’s Fair Price has everything and anything that you may need to create the scariest Halloween costumes.

Corn Maze adds to fall experience Faith Runnells Sports Editor The autumn season offers outdoor activities that many HHS students have taken advantage of including an October favorite, the corn maze.

Senior Blake Long had an especially fun time during his corn maze experience this year.

“I love going to corn mazes. At the one I went to last year, it was just a fun time for everyone. I would go and cut through the maze and then pop out and scare people, as it started to get dark.

Everyone there loved me,” Long said.

Although the maze may seem like all fun and games, sometimes getting lost or enclosed can prove to be a frightening experience for some.

Athletic office assistant, Kim Hill feels this way about the corn mazes she has attended.

“I hate the feeling of being closed in and trapped. I just want to break

through the corn and get out. I don’t think I would go back just because I hate that feeling,” Hill said.

Sophomore Ak Koyee shares these feeling about corn mazes. “[Corn mazes] kind of freak me out just because I feel like I could get trapped in there. When you get lost there just seems like there’s no way to get out and I just don’t really enjoy it,” Koyee said. “One time, when I was really young, I went to a corn maze for my first time. It was way too big, and I kept getting lost like every turn I made. Talk about a traumatic experience.”

Junior Laura Donegan, on the other hand, went to the corn maze this year with other HHS students from her church youth group and was quite pleased with her experience.

“I had a really great time overall. I went with my youth group which made it really fun. We were all silly and it was just a good time,” Donegan said.

“Corn mazes are an easy go-to fun

Building a Candy Bar

thing to do during fall. Anyone can go and you pretty much always can have a good time,” Long said.

Corn mazes are one of the many activities advertised during this time of year, but they can also go along with plenty other fun things to do in spirit of the fall season.

“I do like going to corn mazes because for some of them, you also have hay rides, carousels, pumpkin carving, and other fun things to go along with the corn maze,” Hill said. “That would be my favorite part.”

Local Corn Mazes 1. Hess Corn Maze 2915 Willow Run Road, H’burg, VA

3. Valley Star Farm 1104 Springfield Road, Luray, VA

2. Maize Quest Corn Maze 600 Wissler Road, Quicksburg, VA

4. Liberty Mills Farm 9166 Liberty Mills Road, Somerset, VA

What’s Your Favorite Halloween Candy?

1. Reese’s - 19 2. Kit Kat - 14 3. Twix - 10 4. Snickers - 8 5. Hershey’s - 6 6. M&M’s - 5 7. Jolly Ranchers - 5 8. Skittles - 5 9. Ferrero Rocher - 3 10. Starburst - 3 11. Gummy Bears - 3 12. War Heads - 3 13. Babe Ruth - 2 14. Crunch - 2 15. Almond Joy - 2 16. 3 Muskateers - 2 17. Milky Way - 2 18. Dots - 2

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Purchase a wide variety of candies. Pay particular attention to getting unique shapes, colors and tastes or textures.

2. Gather some interesting looking glasses or containers in different shapes, colors and heights.

3. Set up a display to serve your candy to your guests. Feel free to accessorize with curly ribbon, string beads, or any other Halloween decor.

96 students polled

POLL BY ALI BAAPIR

October 25, 2013

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October 25, 2013

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OCTOBER’S FINALE

STYLE - A10

Pumpkin carving new experience for staffer Victoria Giron Feature Editor

Carving pumpkins is a beloved Halloween tradition, practiced mostly by children and their families. Mostly everyone, at some point has gotten to carve a character into a pumpkin. It is almost like a rite of Halloween passage.

Junior Shannon Richard goes “Pumpkin Caroling” with her church.

“We get together and carve and paint pumpkins and we take them to people who live close to the church and then we ring the doorbell and hide and wait for them to come out,” Richard said.

I have never carved a pumpkin, so when it came time to get one, I went to Walmart.I looked through the various pumpkins in the produce section and finally came across one that wasn’t too misshapen and was plump and orange. It had a small dent in the back, but I decided that it only added character.

I have never truly carved a pumpkin, even as a child. My parents never took me to a pumpkin patch and if we ever got a pumpkin from the store, it was too small to carve. I also just had no general in terest in

Will you go trick or treating?

100 people polled by Remiel Marrero

carving a pumpkin, I’d rather eat pumpkin pie.

When the time came to carve the pumpkin, I took the misshapen pumpkin outside and got some knives and box cutters, seeing as I didn’t have any official pumpkin carving tools. I sketched some faces beforehand so I could have a general idea of what I wanted to do. I cut open the top of the pumpkin and started taking out the pumpkin’s guts. Taking out the pumpkin’s entrails was arguably the most frustrating part of the process. After what seemed like hours, I had finally removed most of the pumpkin guts.

Sophomore Hollyn Slykhuis prepares herself before she starts carving.

“I usually draw the design in pencil on the pumpkin first, so I know what I’m doing,” Slykhuis said.

I decide to do something similar and cut out stencils to make sure my pumpkin could have the nicest face on the block. I made mine have a cute face, but others, like Slykhuis, create a humorous face.

I didn’t anticipate the pumpkin being so hard to cut, it actually broke one of my box cutters, so making the face took some skill that I didn’t have. I had to shimmy the knife so it would carve around the round parts.

The face ended up looking cute and not scary and the nose was a bit crooked,but I thought the end result was pretty good for my first time.

YES NO

45 55

PHOTOS BY VICTORIA GIRON

JACK O’ LANTERN. Feature editor Victoria Giron carved a pumpkin for the first time this October. The photos below are an illustration of the entire pumpkin carving process from start to finish. Although it was her first time, Giron took care to make sure her pumpkin would look presentable. She practiced the face she wanted on paper before carving and also made a stencil for the actual cutting of the pumpkin. Giron was surprised how long it took to take out the “guts” of the pumpkin, but she was pleased with the result.

Students’ Halloween Memories Junior Mariah King:

“I didn’t like [my costume] because it was a square and if I sat down, I tipped back so I had to stand the whole time.”

Junior Caroline Shank:

“When I was little , I was all girly so it was not a strange thing for me to grab anything and everything girly and put it on!”

Teachers’ Halloween Memories Principal Tracy Shaver: “My favorite memory of Halloween was probably trick or treating with my family. I still remember going out and getting candy, and I remember my parents having to allocate candy to us so we wouldn’t eat it all at one time,” Shaver said.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAROLINE SHANK

PRE-SCHOOL PRINCESSES. HHS students (from left to right) freshman Genevieve Cowardin, juniors Caroline Shank, Brenna Cowardin, Morgan Heckman and Mariah King pose for a Halloween picture at Parks and Recreation preschool.

Junior Chloe Richard:

“My mom did my make up and I was so excited!”

Junior Shannon Richard:

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TRACY SHAVER

“I loved animals when I was little, so [I was a cat]. I probably hated the hat because my mom most likely made it because it looks pretty dumb.”

HIPPIES. “This one was taken last year, we were at a Halloween party my wife and I and we were hippies,” Shaver said.

PIRATES. “This one is probably in 1995 or 96 we had just arrived at a Halloween party,” Shaver said.

Science teacher Gehrie Bair: “When I was younger I would get sick all the time around Halloween. I really liked Spider Man so one year there was a knock at the door and my mom answered, and it was Spider Man. He had on a mask, and he had an electric cord for his web, and he had my dad shoes on so I was really confused about that, but I was very excited that Spider Man came to visit me on Halloween.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHLOE RICHARD

History teacher Emily Holloway: PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARK HEALY

CLOWNING AROUND. “It was sometime in Elementary school in Germany is all I could tell you,” Healy said.

History teacher Mark Healy: “I guess one of my fond memories was trick or treating on base and just going to all the different complexes cause you know we would have to go from community to community, I mean we had one, trick or treating on a military base everyone participates and it was a lot of fun. And we always tried to emulate our parents most of us tried to dress up as army guys or soldiers,” Healy said.

“Well, I grew up in New Jersey, and New Jersey is famous for having subdivisions so there were tons of houses all together, and there were lots of kids that lived there.

We used to go out for hours and just walk around, and I would take a pillowcase. I remember it being so full of candy. It was just always really fun because we’d get groups together, and it was the one time we were allowed to be out at night by ourselves.

We always knew the houses that gave away the full size candy bars instead of the snack size, and those were always the best houses to go to.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EVAN DOTAS

Junior Evan Dotas:

“I just remember hating not being able to sit down at all throughout the night for fear I’d get swallowed inside it or something. I loved the fact that I was inside a big ball of air. I took up so much more space than usual. It was like being Violet Beauregard from Willie Wonka.”

Senior Neil Mehta:

“I was only six so I can’t remember this...I remember seeing the picture though.”

Sophomore Ami Mehta:

“I was so little I don’t remember! All I know is that it was in New Jersey.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMI MEHTA

October 25, 2013

The

Newsstreak

FEATURE- B1

National Art Honor Society starts year with big ideas Sarah Scribano News Editor Junior Sanarea Ali is the newly elected president of National Art Honor Society at HHS and is excited for the new opportunity to lead.

“I didn’t think I would make it [as the president of NAHS], but it’s really cool that I did. I have a lot of ideas to introduce, so I hope it works,” Ali said.

Ali started her art career when she was nine and hasn’t stopped since. “[I began art] by accident. I did a piece for an art show and it won. It demonstrated the political situation in Iraq, my home country and went to Japan to be shown.”

Ali is continuing her passion for art in the community. She is planning projects to raise money for children with cancer.

The National Art Honor Society became available to students in 1997 and now has 27 members. One of the major projects is the 4T Mural that began last year for the high school nursery. The mural will picture a tree house with children’s faces.

There are also plans to make a mosaic mural in the community. An art teacher from EMHS is heading up the project and would like to incorporate other high school students. The mural will be located at the Spitzer Art Center on the retaining wall.

The society is going to bring in local artists for workshops to aid students in improving their art skills. Many members would also like to bring back “Soup Night,” an event where students create bowls for attendees to choose from, after purchasing a $10 ticket. Bread, homemade soup,

PHOTO BY SARAH SCRIBANO

LIFE IN TECHNICOLOR. After completing a mosaic in 2011, NAHS plan to collaborate with other schoolsto make a new mural. and desserts are available along with live entertainment. The money raised will go towards the National Art Scholarship and charities around Harrisonburg.

Senior Callie Glover is vice president of the NAHS. She began art her sophomore year and has come to really love it.

“I enjoy art because it’s fun, creative, and expressive,” Glover said. This is her first year in NAHS, so she is eager to begin

helping out with the mural in the school.

Junior Austin Bell is a member of the NAHS and is excited for the new opportunities coming up.

“I think it will be cool to work with other people to make one big artwork,” Bell said.

New members attended the required induction ceremony on Oct.14. It was a candle lighting ceremony where the offi-

Mu Alpha Theta expands tutoring program Austin Engle Staff Reporter Mu Alpha Theta is a math honor society that Geoff Estes and Bill Turner, both math teachers here at HHS, started three years ago.

According to the national board, of Mu Alpha Theta, there is no service required to be a part of it, but an executive decision of previous presidents chose to do service, by tutoring, as well as math competitions, like the American Math Challenge (AMC) and Virginia Math League (VML). They also will be helping out with the Virginia Council of Teachers of Math in March.

“It is a club for people who do well in math,” Estes said. However, joining is harder than just walking up and asking to join. There is an application process that

includes going through a committee of math teachers and current Mu Alpha Theta members. Members who have joined have to have a high math GPA and pay a fee to get in.

“So far we haven’t had to turn anyone down,” Estes said.

At this point, Mu Alpha Theta has a tutoring program, but Estes thinks this will change soon with the help of president Michelle Waligora.

“This year I hope to instigate a studentrun tutoring program for all math levels,” Waligora said. “Because our goal is to expand our mathematical horizons, we plan on having JMU graduates, such as former HHS student Ryan Stees, come in and talk about their research in the field of math.”

Other elected officers include Neil Mehta, Miles Donahue, and Rafael SnellFeikema.

Streaks Serve the Burg (SSB) is a club that strives to make a difference in the community. Though starting out as a parent-led organization, SSB has gradually drifted into the hands of school nurse Angela Knupp, who has worked as the leader of the group for the last two years.

“I guess you could say that my position was inherited by default,” Knupp said.

Being involved with the club for the past seven years, Knupp originally began be-

cause her daughter Emily Knupp started working with the club. Since then, Knupp as well as Kim Durden and Amy Engle all have been working together to keep this club running.

“This club is a community service organization that is typically aimed toward athletes, however other people are able to attend,” Knupp said.

The goal is to establish and assist student athlete organizations that develop character and leadership skills through community service.

“Essentially we wanted athletes to re-

PHOTO BY JESSICA NGUYEN

alize that there is a whole community of people around them they can serve, not just the world of sports,” Knupp said.

This year, the club has few things set in stone; however they are all working to get a set schedule of events for the rest of the school year.

“I know that we will be doing the Salvation Army Bell Ringing, as well as the Salvation Army Toy Distribution in the winter,” Knupp said.

SSB also is planning to do a project called Community Clean Up over spring break, as well as the Formal Dress Pick Up which provides students who are planning to attend prom a selection of dresses to choose from.

Teen Outreach Club works for bullying prevention Julexus Cappell Opinion Editor The month of October is one of importance to the Teen Outreach Club. It is National Bullying Prevention month, and the organization has planned activities to spread awareness.

“On Wednesday, Oct. 9 we asked every student and faculty member to wear orange. It was ‘Unity Day’, so we wanted to show we’re all uniting against bullying,” director of guidance Lisa Warren said.

Other events this month include an ‘anti-bullying’ video to be shown throughout the month, to once again spread awareness and ask the student body a question about what they can do.

“We’re going to ask them ‘What can I do to prevent bullying at Harrisonburg High School?’,” Warren said.

The Teen Outreach Club bases their activities on the pacer.org, a website that focuses on bullying, and other aspects of humanity (health and wellness, parenting, childhood development).

The club puts emphasis on helping the community with various opportunities to find out more information about the organization.

“We are always doing an activity every month,” Warren said.

The organization plans on continuing events for National Bullying Prevention month next year and the years afterward.

The Teen Outreach Club’s purpose is just that- reaching out to the student body.

“We are reaching out to the kids that don’t have the support they might need,” Warren said.

Like students, teachers are participating in the program, too, and filled out orange anit-bullying links for the chain at the last faculty meeting.

GSA supports LGBT teens

Aubtin Heydari Staff Reporter

Streaks Serve ‘Burg plans community service events Austin Coffey Advertising Manager

cers discuss the different aims of the society. All members are required to attend and to recite a pledge. The new members are given a certificate and the National Art Honors Society’s flower; a red carnation. “[It] takes students who have a genuine love for art and applies it outside the classroom. They share their love with the community,” art teacher and club sponsor Jauan Brooks said.

PHOTO BY LISA WARREN

SAY NO TO BULLYING. Seniors Kathy Flores and Samuel Velez put together a chain link of statements from HHS students on how they plan to stop bullying when they

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender activism is rising on high school and college campuses around the country.

Most schools have begun to sponsor various clubs that offer safe places for LGBT students and allies to come and discuss issues regarding homosexuality and homophobia. These groups are also broadening to include those of underrepresented minorities, like transsexuals.

HHS’s own Gay-Straight Alliance is one of these groups. The club is available for all students and focuses on issues facing LGBT people today. The group’s motives range from political goals like the legalization of samesex marriage to community oriented goals like fighting homophobia in the school, empowering LGBT youth, and educating people about tolerance and how to be an ally. Discussion oriented, the club hopes to provide a forum for people to come and talk about these issues without feeling discriminated against or afraid.

Senior Tabatha La Freniere joined the club this year and is an enthusiastic activist. She is one of the members who is fighting for equality and against discrimination.

“The club provides a comfortable place for students to open up,” La Freniere said. “Some LGBT teens feel very alone so it helps that there are people that accept and support them.”

There has only been one meeting of the club so far, during which goals were established and rudimentary plans were laid out. Focus has primarily been on maintaining the discussion oriented forum format, but also on activities which help educate. Potential movie nights have been discussed featuring Gay and Lesbian films.

Addressing homophobic language and attitudes around the school has been an established goal for the group. Members are putting time into devising poster and commercial campaigns to widen the message and challenge slurs that have become commonplace.

“I feel like our generation has a difficult time thinking before speaking, and therefore hurtful things are said.

‘That’s so gay,’ is said all the time,” La Freniere said. “Most of them don’t understand that saying things like that make LGBT students feel attacked for being who they are.”

With awareness, they hope they can convince other students to think twice before using someone’s identity as an unrelated insult.

“You don’t need to know much about LGBT issues to join. If you want to help spread acceptance then this is the club for you. We’re trying to build a community where everyone is loved for who they are,” La Freniere said.

Inclusiveness is a central concern and members stress that it is just as much of a safe place for allies as it is for anyone else.

“We’ve only had one meeting this year so far, but we all agree that we want to create a more welcoming environment in the school. A place where all students feel safe is very important. Not only for learning, but also for the teen’s emotional well being,” La Freniere said.

October 25, 2013

The

Newsstreak

FEATURE - B2

PHOTO BY BRENNA COWARDIN

BAGELS AND MORE. Junior Camille Cummings takes a customer’s order at the Mr. J’s located on South High Street near Harrisonburg High School. During the school year, Cummings works on the odd Tuesday and most Fridays from right after school until close. She has been working at Mr. J’s since this summer.

Adamek, Cummings enjoy working at Mr. J’s Brenna Cowardin Managing editor Mr. J’s is one of the most popular breakfast restaurants in Harrisonburg. Over the summer, a few HHS students became part of the Mr. J’s family.

Senior Jack Adamek has been working at Mr. J’s since midsummer. Adamek originally took the job to get money for gas, but as a bonus, he’s found his coworkers are fun to work with.

“My favorite part [of working at Mr. J’s] is the people I work with,” Adamek said. “It’s just really relaxed. When we’re really busy, everyone’s super helpful, especially when you’re

working the register. When we’re not busy, we can talk and hang out.”

Adamek remembers a particularly funny conversation with his coworkers and boss about pressure points.

“We were talking about self defense and pressure points, and our manager, a five-foot lady, pinched this spot on one of my coworkers hands and he’s a six foot tall dude, and she just dropped him. It was hilarious,” Adamek said.

Junior Camille Cummings also began working at Mr. J’s as soon as school let out at the end of last year. “[I got a job because] I was getting my license and I needed to pay for gas,”

Cummings said. “My mom also quit teaching, so I had to start paying for stuff.”

Getting a job was relatively easy for Adamek. His father is a regular at Mr. J’s.

However, he regrets waiting until his final year of high school to get a job.

He advises prospective employees to start looking early.

“Don’t wait until you’re a senior, because then all the jobs are taken,” Adamek said.

Cummings advises students to find a job they love.

“No matter what it is, it’ll get old fast, so you might as well enjoy it at first,” Cummings said. She started out liking her job, but admits

that it can get a little old at times.

Like Cummings, Adamek has found that having a job is not always fun. His least favorite part is doing the dishes, a process that takes him about an hour and a half in total. After the dishes are washed, Adamek has to rinse again and sanitize them before putting them back on the rack.

Angry customers are always a problem as well.

“There was this one guy that was really mean, and I had accidentally punched something into the register wrong so I was trying to figure out change, and I didn’t have enough dollar bills to give him, so I had to give him four quarters,

and he started yelling at me for giving him four quarters instead of a dollar bill,” Adamek said.

Over the summer, Adamek worked three to four shifts a week, but now because of his participation in marching band, he can only work Sundays.

“I only work four hours a week on the weekend, so I just go to work and come home and do homework,” Adamek said.

Cummings worked almost every day in the summertime, but now that school has started up again, she’s begun to work less.

Cummings doesn’t have much of a problem balancing work and school, but occasionally uses slow time

at work to get some homework done.

“I work some Tuesdays and most Fridays, and I work right after school until close. I also do weekends, from nine or ten until close,” Cummings said.

“Sometimes if we’re not busy, I’ll do some homework, but I usually just do it after I get off at night.”

Like Adamek, Cummings enjoys how relaxed Mr. J’s is. She likes that employees can wear whatever they want. However, the best part is her coworkers.

“They’re not just [at Mr. J’s] to work, they actually care about people,” Cummings said. “Not only are they my coworkers, they’re my friends.”

Glover uses job to Job at American Eagle good fit for Rebhun pay for teenage life Garrett Thompson Style Editor

Garrett Thompson Style Editor Students at HHS find a variety of jobs to help fund their teenage lives. Senior Callie Glover, for example, is currently employed at the Dairy Queen Grill and Chill on Carlton Street across from the Cloverleaf Shopping Center.

“I decided to get a job because I needed to pay for things without having to ask my parents,” Glover said. “It’s really beneficial. If I want to buy something I can just go buy it and don’t have to rely on my parents.”

School is sometimes a factor that hinders Glover’s ability to work and keep up with her education.

The more flexible that the work hours can be, the easier it will be to balance work and school.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to manage my schoolwork with the hours they give me. I try to work as much as I can without failing any classes. The manager is pretty chill about scheduling conflicts and asking off if I need to miss for anything,” Glover said.

The work environment is another factor about working that Glover enjoys.

“I like most of the people I work with. Sometimes it gets a little stressful when we are short-staffed because I have to fill in for people, but everyone is really upbeat and pretty friendly.”

Glover advises first-time applicants to make themselves look good in the applications and apply to multiple businesses.

“If you are too picky when choosing where you want to work then you may not get hired. If you have options then you are more likely to get a job,” Glover said.

Get involved in the Red Sea like it’s your job!

Join us every Friday night at the football game.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GRAHAM REBHUN

CLEANING SHOP. Junior Graham Rebhun hangs clothes at American Eagle.

If someone were to walk into junior Graham Rebhun’s closet, they might notice his clothes would be folded neatly, especially for a teenage boy. This can be credited to Rebhun’s recently acquired job at the clothing store American Eagle, located in the Valley Mall. Lucky for Rebhun, finding a job wasn’t too challenging.

“I was buying a pair of pants [at American Eagle] and this woman walked up to me and asked if I would like a job application, so I took one, and I got the job,” Rebhun said. He has been working at the store since the middle of the summer.

A typical day of work for Rebhun includes many tasks.

“I do everything. I work the cashier and fitting rooms, there is always a lot of putting away and fold-

ing. This job has helped with my folding abilities a lot,” Rebhun said.

For some, work is something only done for the money; there is no enjoyment other than the paycheck. However, Rebhun is not like this. He sees the many perks of working at American Eagle, besides having cash in his pocket.

“I really like the fun managers; they are always pulling pranks on each other, and of course the 40-60 percent discount. I also like the social aspect. I actually get to interact with people,” Rebhun said.

There are some downsides of working at American Eagle as well.

“It can be stressful, also I have to ask off two weeks before I want to miss, but sometimes things come up and I never know if I’ll be able to get off,” Rebhun said.

Like any job, there are perks and downsides. For Rebhun, working at a fashionable clothing store and getting decent discounts, he feels like he struck gold with this job.

Baedke prepares for dream career at Cat’s Cradle Ellie Plass Style Editor Senior Paige Baedke has a unique job for a high schooler. She spends her hours working at Cat’s Cradle, a cat shelter in downtown Harrisonburg.

Baedke thinks of it as an investment for the futureshe hopes to one day go to college to become a veterinarian. Cat’s Cradle gives her great job experience beforehand.

“My favorite part of working there would have to be the times when I get to assist the vet...it’s just really good experience and practice,” Baedke said.

She started out as a volunteer in eighth grade, and became a hired employee the summer before her junior year. She didn’t have to interview for the position, since she had put in so much time already.

Baedke works 20-25 hours a week during the summer and vacations, and 15 hours during the school week. Homework can sometimes feel overpower-

ing, but Baedke has learned to deal with it.

“It’s hard to balance the job with school sometimes, but I just look at it as two things that need to get done. I have school, and that’s a must, and then I have work, which is giving me the experience that I need for college. When you look at it like that, the late nights of staying up to do homework aren’t as bad,” Baedke said.

Cat’s Cradle is a no-kill shelter, which means that they don’t euthanize any of the animals brought to them. This, however, doesn’t mean that cat has a happy ending. “[The hardest part is] when we have animals come in and we can’t do anything for them,” Baedke said.

Even though there are good and bad things about the job, Baedke wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

“I really love my job and the fact that I get to say that I help animals,” Baedke said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAIGE BAEDKE

THE PURRFECT JOB. Senior Paige Baedke loves her work at Cat’s Cradle where she helps to save cats.

October 25, 2013

The

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FEATURE- B3

the (w)hole story on

Doughnuts Bakers Dozen selling doughnuts around town Jessica Nguyen Feature Editor

A bright green food truck covered with painted fruit and doughnuts stands in the parking lot next to the Daily News Record.

The side of the truck reads, The Baker’s Dozen. Owned and operated by Julie Westfall, every day the truck can be spotted someplace new. Some days it’s out on Port Republic, some days it’s at the Farmer’s Market.

“I like to move around because I think you hit a lot of different markets that way, catch people who travel different routes. Sometimes you won’t catch them if you only stay in one place all the time,” Westfall said.

Working an average of 11 hours each day, Westfall wakes up at four every morning to have her doughnuts ready by seven. Everything is made from scratch and she uses local ingredients, from the chickens she raises to getting eggs and milk from Mount Crawford Creamer, a local creamery.

“We like to support other small businesses,” Westfall said.

To make themselves truly unique, The Baker’s Dozen doughnuts are

Mr. J’s serving up delicious doughnuts Julexus Cappell Op-Ed Editor

I am a big fan of Mr. J’s doughnuts, and even just their food in general. They offer the classics, the food we can cherish and appreciate when we’re out of town craving for something that can only be found in Harrisonburg. The doughnuts are no exception.

I love the simplicity to Mr. J’s doughnuts, but I wanted to see if any other taste buds agreed with mine. So, I bought my little brother a doughnut from Mr. J’s to test it out.

“Mmm, it’s so good,” freshman Juleian Cappell said.

That was his first reaction. So far, so good, I thought. One of the other bonuses to J’s doughnuts is that thick, yummy chocolate frosting they put on the doughnut. The downside, it can be a little bit too much, especially if you are looking for a

breakfast snack that will get your day started off right.

“It [the doughnut] is a little too dense,” Cappell said.

Another minor issue- the wax paper.

Since the frosting is so thick, putting the paper directly on top of the doughnut can be problematic.

“I don’t like how they put the wax paper on the doughnut. It smears and peels the chocolate,” Cappell said.

Overall, I can’t complain. The doughnut is a good size, and you can’t beat the low price of .79.

Another unique quality setting Mr. J’s doughnuts apart is they don’t have glaze on them. Depending on what you like, you might see this as a positive or a negative.

To me, it is a definite plus. The chocolate frosting is enough for me, which is what Cappell also thought was the best part.

“It’s [the doughnut] fluffy and has chocolate,” Cappell said.

Doughnuts and More sells out weekly at market John Earle Staff reporter On Saturday’s at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market you can enjoy a doughnut for just one dollar. Other doughnut shops in our area have some competition.

The doughnuts are made fresh by vendor Rosa Bylera and her family for her business named Doughnuts and More. They

have sold baked goods and bread for the Farmers Market since April of 2009.

Each Saturday they begin baking at 4 a.m. and finish after three hours of toil.

Then they make their journey from Hinton, Virginia to sell approximately 300 doughnuts, dozens of cookies fresh pies and cinnamon rolls. The “must have” for all is their doughnuts which they’ve sold out of each week for about three years.

made not from the classic doughnut mix, but from potato dough.

“Have you ever had potato bread? It’s the same basic concept, just fried into a doughnut. Potatoes tend to hold moisture and it add a different texture and flavor to it, making it more flavorful, more moist,” Westfall said as she handed me the doughnut of the week.

I looked at the Pumpkin Latte doughnut in my hand. The icing was a light tan color, with little red specks of spice. I split the doughnut in half and took a bite. It had a thick consistency, like potato bread, and was chewy. I tasted the sweet pumpkin first, then a little note of bitter coffee near the end.

Food trucks have been popping up all over Harrisonburg and it was only a matter of time before a doughnut food truck came along.

“I primarily got into it this way because I wanted to make sure that this is really what I wanted to do. This way I can set up close to areas that I’m interested in possibly opening a shop and make sure that they are actually good spots, so that way I don’t have to commit to something,” Westfall

Krispy Kreme offers classic flavors we love Pablo Pacheco Staff reporter Krispy Kreme sells doughnuts at Walmart, Martins, and Target among many other places. Krispy Kreme has 789 locations to choose from nationwide, which is nice if you have a hankering for a classic freshly fried doughnut.

In bigger cities, Krispy Kreme have actual, full size stores with freshly made doughnuts to choose from. They have many unique flavors and serve limited seasonal flavors like Pumpkin Doughnut and Spider

Web doughnuts.

They also serve classic glazed, cinnamon, chocolate, creamed filled, and mini doughnuts.

One of my personal favorites is their chocolate glazed donut, I liked them because they had chocolate cream. I enjoyed that Krispy Kreme doughnuts had a fair amount of creme in their pastries and didn’t overdo it like other doughnut companies.

I like the doughnuts at Krispy Kreme because their doughnuts are freshly made out of the oven, compared to grocery store doughnuts.

Outdoor setting makes impact Maria Delgado Staff reporter Strite’s Donuts is located on route 33 near downtown. Strite’s makes and sells their doughnuts in a truck and they travel to different events to sell their doughnuts.

They have a total of six different kinds of doughnuts which include their seasonal flavors of cinnamon, apple-filled, and pumpkin that change on a weekly basis.

Other flavors that Strite’s Donuts offer are blueberry, powdered sugar and glazed doughnuts.

When I first bought one of their doughnuts, I thought that because it was homemade, it was going to be so good that I

would want to buy another. I tasted a blueberry doughnut and I usually really enjoy blueberry doughnuts, but this one was not that good. They were very dry and hard on the outside.

Maybe it was just the kind of doughnut that wasn’t appealing to me. I think the fact that the doughnuts might have been sitting outside for a long time could have had a effect on my reaction. Some may like the outdoor setup, but I didn’t like it, because the doughnuts attracted bees.

There are people who adore Strite;s Doughnuts, though.

“I’ve had Strite’s Doughnuts like twice, and both times it was like a religious experience for me,” English teacher Peter Norment said.

October 25, 2013

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October 25, 2013

The

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SPORTS B6

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEWS

Basketball team prepares for season Danny Dombrowski Staff Reporter Last year, the HHS boys varsity team started a little shaky, at 1-5, but turned it around and finished with a record of 9-12. They only had to win one game in districts to qualify for regionals, which they did, by beating Waynesboro 49-37.

After making it to regionals, they were knocked out by William Byrd, losing 60-83.

This year, the team’s first game is an exhibition against Central (Woodstock) on Nov. 19. There regular season opener is Dec. 4 against Wilson Memorial.

Returning junior power forward Christopher Whitelow has high goals for the upcoming season.

“I want to be top three in rebounding like last year and I want to make it farther than regionals,” Whitelow said.

Returning senior point guard Jalen Williams has similar goals for the team.

“I want to win the district, regionals, and states,” Williams said.

His game has improved over the years and he has been preparing for the season at the rec center and open gyms.

“My game is set, I just need a better game face,” Williams added.

On the sideline for the Blue Streaks, returning for his second season is coach Scott Joyner. The high school team he previously coached won a state championship. Joyner has set a few goals for the team this year to accomplish. “[My goal for this year is] to continue to build the culture and work ethic necessary for a successful program,” Joyner said.

Last year the team had a star player, Seth Kardos, who scored 1000 points in his four years at HHS. This year the team will have to find ways to make up for his presence on the court.

“That will be a difficult challenge. We are going to have to be a much more balanced team offensively. I think we will be a much better defensive team though,” Joyner said.

This year the Streaks need some strong leaders and playmakers.

“I think our seniors will step up as our leaders. They understand what is expected of players on this team. As far as scorer and playmaker, I am not sure yet,” Joyner said.

“Several players have shown they are capable, but nobody has shown they can do it on a daily basis.”

Winter Sports WRESTLING

The varsity wrestling team starts their competitive season on Dec. 7 with a meet at home. The team will have seven meets overall in the regular season, the first three being at home and the following five being away at various locations.

GYMNASTICS

The varsity girls gymnastics team opens up their season in mid-November. There are no tryouts to be on the team, so anybody can come out. The competitive meets also begin for the girls on Dec. 7, and there are eight meets up until the last one on Feb. 2.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

PHOTO BY FAITH RUNNELLS

The varsity girls basketball team begins their season with a week of tryouts in November directly after fall sports finish, and their first game will be Dec. 2 against Charlottesville, after two home scrimmages against East Rockingham and Orange County. The team will have 22 games throughout the regular season, and will finish their season with a district, and possibly regional and state tournament.

SWISH. Junior Christopher Whitelow shoots a basket during pre-season practice. Tryouts begin Nov. 4.

Conference change impacts swim, dive teams Ella Marian Page Editor Because of the conference change, the HHS swim team will be having more competition. In addition to competing against the Valley District teams, teams such as Charlottesville and John Handley have been added to the conference.

The conference will also be having more invitationals and we will be hosting one or more meets. The conference doesn’t really change much because of the addition of teams, except the postseason because,

like wrestling, swim and dive are more to do with individual advancers.

The swimmers don’t think much of the conference change. They think it will be more fun to compete against more teams.

Their goals may be affected, but they are just going to try their best to meet them.

Senior Ashley Riley, a two-year member of the team, will be beginning her third year of competing. “[My goals are] to go to states and if not states, then to go to regionals again in a solo event. The new conference may affect my goals, but I’m going to try my best,” Riley said.

Sophomore Aaron Gusler is participating on the team for his second year. “[I plan on] bringing down my time in the 200-free by five or more seconds,” Gusler said.

Junior Austin Bell has been a member his freshman and sophomore year.

“I want to make it to states in my breast stroke event, drop time, and improve,” Bell said.

Swim coach Richard Morrell is very excited for the upcoming season with the team.

“I’m very competitive so just being able to get out in the water means a lot to me,”

Morrell said. HHS’s swim team is a competitive and determined lot. With Sydney Little, Bell, Jacob Byrd, and Gusler being the biggest competitors for the team.

“They have more of a drive than others on the team to win [and place better],” Morrell said.

Since Morrell loves swimming, he is looking forward to seeing the freshmen who are joining and getting back into the water. Freshmen have come up to him saying that they are thinking of swimming and diving for the team and he is excited to see them this season.

Templeton places eighth in state golf tournament Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-chief

PHOTOS BY JACOB BYRD

After shooting a 73 at the regional golf match on Oct. 8, senior Kyle Templeton wasn’t satisfied.

“It got the job done, but there were a couple of opportunities that got left on the field,” Templeton said.

His performance placed him fifth out of about 70 players in the regional competition, and qualified him for the state competition held at Heritage Oaks Golf Course held on Oct. 14-15.

Templeton was the only member of the golf team to make it to the state level, although his brother, freshman Cade Templeton, qualified for regionals with him.

“It’s cool playing with Cade, he’s a lot younger than I am, so this is unusual,” Templeton said.

The brothers’ interest in golf started at an early age.

“Our dad used to play with us when we were

younger, and we got hooked,” Templeton said.

Templeton keeps a Bible verse in his golf bag as a lucky charm for every competition.

This tradition seemed to work in his favor on Oct. 14, when Templeton competed at the state competition.

The first day was a success.

He finished with a score of 73, which put him in second place, tied with four other golfers.

Templeton is no novice to the state golf competition. He competed last year with similar success.

Templeton’s second day at the state competition, was a strong preformance. He finished eighth overall, as one of the best high school golfers in the state.

Although Templeton had contemplated playing golf in college, after this season, he has changed his mind.

“I think I’m kind of burnt out,” Templeton said.

SWING THROUGH THAT BALL. Senior Kyle Templeton advanced to the state tournament with his exceptional performance at the district and regional meets. He finished eighth in the state competition.

Indoor track team ready for winter Austin Engle Staff Reporter “Indoor” is a popular term that runners use to refer to indoor track. A majority of runners who take running seriously, and run all year round, join the team for extra running during the winter. According to Coach Dave Loughran, the girls and boys distance coach for the team, the team is going to be good this year, like they have been in the past.

“For the most part, it depends on attendance the runners show, but we have good distance runners. We also have good girl sprinters even though we lost our all-state sprinter last year,” Loughran said.

He believes that they will have a good team in the upcoming season. The only problem that could really affect the team would be the issue of attendance at practice.

“Usually the outdoor team is bigger by 10-15 people, but we usually have about 45-60 people come out for indoor [track],” Loughran said.

He has several strong returning athletes.

Even with all the hard work, Loughran still enjoys it. And he is not the only one.

Senior sprinter Shane Burke also loves putting in the time to indoor track.

“People should come out because its a lot of fun, and it is a good sport for anyone,” Burke said.

Junior Tori Armentrout, sprinter and mid-distance runner, also is very excited for the year.

“I am looking forward to this season. Indoor track is always fun, and this year we have a lot more people planning to come out than we did last year. I think this will help our team and we will still have a good team, even though we graduated a lot of main runners for us last year,” Armentrout said.

Sophomore Parker Strickland is one of the many runners planning to join the indoor team forthe first time this year. He plans to run the sprints, jumps and maybe even try out the hurdles for the first time. “[I want to come out] because last year it seemed like a lot of fun. I like track and I’m not doing any sport in the winter as of now, so this will help to keep me busy,” Strickland said.

Indoor track season will start after Thanksgiving break. The meets begin in December, and the season will continue until mid-February. There is no try out required to be a part of the team, everyone is welcome.

Q&A with sprinter Lexi Eberly 1. What do you run during indoor track?

-the 4x2 relay, 500m, and the long jump and triple jump 2. What’s your favorite event?

-4x2 3. How do you prepare for indoor?

-I run cross country in the fall.

4.What’s your favorite part about the team?

-It’s laid back and we have fun during practice.

5. Do you prefer indoor or outdoor?

-Outdoor 6. What are the awards you have won?

My 4x2 relay team got seventh in the state for indoor last year. In outdoor, our 4x1 got 2nd in the state.

7. What’s your least favorite event?

-The 500m because it’s the longest.

8. What’s your least favorite part about indoor?

-When we run through the hallways for practice.

9. What are your goals for the season?

-I want to get to states.

10. What’s your favorite memory from last year?

-When we got to go to Virginia Tech for an invitational and stayed at a hotal for a two day meet.

INFOGRAPHIC BY PABLO PACHECO AND MARIA DELGADO

October 25, 2013

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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.

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October 25, 2013

Sports Briefs VARSITY FOOTBALL

As of deadline, the football team has lost all of their games since the game wih EC Glass. On Oct. 25 the team plays against the TA Knights. They have a home game against Broadway on Nov. 11, and play Robert E. Lee at Gypsy Hill Park on Nov. 8.

FRESHMAN FOOTBALL

The freshman football team plays on Oct. 30 against Broadway at Broadway and on Nov. 7 at home against Robert E. Lee.

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team won their match against Robert E. Lee with a score of 3-2. They lost their matches against Fort Defiance, Turner Ashby, Waynesboro, and John Handley all with a score of 0-3.

JV VOLLEYBALL

The JV girls lost their matches against John Handley, Turner Ashby, Waynesboro, Robert E. Lee, and Fort Defiance all with a score of 0-2.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

They placed fifth out of eight at their meet on Oct. 2 against Spotswood. The conference meet will be on Oct. 30 against Amberst County, Charlottesvile, John Handley, Louisa County and Fluvanna at Burtner Farm.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

They girls team placed fourth out of six teams at their meet on Oct. 2 against Spotswood. Their conference tournament on Oct. 30 against Amberst County, Charlottesvile, John Handley, Louisa County and Fluvanna at Burtner Farm.

TEMPLETON GOES TO STATES

Kyle Templeton recently went to the VHSL State Golf Competition on Oct. 15-16. He finished with a score of 73 after the first day and placed eighth overall.

This marked Templeton’s second straight appearance at the state tournament.

The

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SPORTS - B8

Ballerinas learning at Dance & Company Faith Runnells Sports Editor

Although HHS offers a variety of sports and extracurricular activities, many students also take part in outside of school sports, such as dance. HHS freshmen Noelle Warne and Hannah Daniel have been dancing with the Dance and Company organization for 10 years.

Warne has a variety of different dance types she does, including pointe ballet, musical stage and modern.

“My favorite would be musical stage, just because I also like singing and acting, and musical stage kind of incorporates more of that,” Warne said.

Junior Taisha Reyes has also been dancing with Dance and Company for 13 years now and plans to continue her dance career.

“I do modern, jazz, tap, ballet and hip hop, but I find modern better than all the other dances because that’s the type of dance where you can actually improvise and tell a story. Unlike in ballet, where you always have to doing a specific thing,” Reyes said.

Hannah Daniel also performs in ballet and modern, and shares Reyes opinion about modern.

“I like it because it’s really free. Ballet is really structured so I just like the freedom and individuality of it. It’s a big stress reliever. Ballet is pretty important because it is the structure for all the other types of

PHOTO COURTESY OF NOELLE WARNE

PLIE AND RELEVE. HHS freshman Hannah Daniel, Spotswood sophomore Sophie Witmer and HHS freshman Noelle Warne (right) and Hannah Daniel (left) warming up their pointe shoes at the bar.

dance. Although it’s not my favorite kind of dance, I do enjoy it because it always helps,” Daniel said.

The incorporation of singing and acting in modern also has a positive effect on the dancers.

“It depends on the teacher on how much time we spend singing and acting along with our dancing, but with the constant practice and the drive to get better

it really helps our dancing, and a lot of us like that part of it,” Warne said.

Dance and Company starts their season in the fall about when school starts, and continues to train weekly until their recital date. The company always has their recitals on Memorial Day weekend, with concerts Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Caricofe spends extra time riding at ranch Austin Swift Staff Reporter Sophomore Lily Caricofe, a rider of 10 years, leases a horse to ride at Kempner Knoll Farm, just outside of Harrisonburg, but also owns two untrained horses at her grandmother’s farm.

“My grandma and my mom rode horses so I guess I fall in the family line,” Caricofe says of her influence for riding.

“I don’t even have to care about how I look, I can have fun when I ride and I love horses!” Caricofe says of her love for horseback riding.

“My friends and I have lessons every wednesday where we practice, but on weekends we might ride bareback or switch horses,” Caricofe said about trading horses between her friends before they ride.

Caricofe lists the necessary equipment needed to ride as follows. “I need a saddle, a stir-up to put my feet into, a girth to attach the saddle to the horse, head piece, reins and a bit in the horses mouth to control it,” Caricofe said.

Horseback riding is not all fun and games though, Caricofe has had multiple concussions from being bucked off.

She’s been bruised and had the breath knocked out of her on more than one occasion.

For the horse as well, its not always an easy ride as they are prone to injuries such as stone bruises, when they step a sharp rock, injuring the inside of the hoof.

“During competitions in the summer which I have to wear a coat, pants, long boots and a helmet so in the ninety degree heat it can get really hot,” Caricofe said of the negatives in the sport.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LILY CARICOFE “I’m competing in a big JUMPING CLASS. Sophomore Lily Caricofe waiting for horse show in November at her her jumping class at Kempner Knoll Farm to start. the Southwest Virginia Hunter/ Jumper Association (SWVHJA) for three stuff I do except they’re professional,” Caridays in Lexington, Virginia and then I’m go- cofe said.

“I’d love to ride as a career, like go to the ing to Washington DC to see the Washingolympics or something, but if not I’d like to ton International where riders do the same keep it as a hobby for the rest of my life!”

ness center and do some laps, but usually if I’m in the pool, it’s for swim team,” she said.

Junior Austin Bell, on the other hand, is involved in numerous swimming activities outside of the summer team.

“I do VAST, Valley Area Swim Team, which is kind of like a travel swim team.

Then I do the high school team and lifeguarding and sometimes I swim on my own,” Bell said.

Bell has been swimming on the summer team for 10 years and just started lifeguarding at Westover this past summer. In one situation, a fellow lifeguard and HHS alum Ford Hatfield had to pull a girl with an injured foot out of the pool.

“She came out of the water slide and broke her foot on the bottom of the pool.

There were two bones coming out of the top of her foot,” Bell said.

Warner had a less scarring experience lifeguarding her first year.

“My first save was a little boy who jumped into the water with all of his clothes on. He had on his shoes, his belt, his polo shirt and cargo shorts. It was pretty funny to see him in the pool with all his clothes on trying to swim,” Warner said.

Sophomore Noah Heie is considering

lifeguarding as a job. As for swimming, he has been on the swim team on and off since he was nine.

“I do backstroke and freestyle. I’m fourth best in my age group in the region; 50 yards in 33 seconds,” he said. Heie enjoys the team more than the races, however.

“My favorite part is messing around with Aaron [Gusler, a fellow swimmer,] at practices,” he said.

Gusler, also a sophomore, has been on the team for 10 years and also participates on the school swim team.

“The school team has more endurancebased races,” Gusler said.

Bell, who also is on both the school and summer teams, also compares the two experiences.

“There are a lot more people and ages; there are kids from 5-18 on the summer team. [The summer team] also has more events that are shorter,” Bell said.

The Westover summer swim team is viewed as a fun way to exercise by many Harrisonburg High School swimmers.

“It keeps you off your butt and helps you stay in shape during the summer. It works your entire body and you feel good by the end of the night,” Inouye said.

Swimmers spend their summer in pool Soccer players Ariel Vogel Feature Editor

The summer is popularly known by high school students as a time to relax. For students on the swim team, however, summer is a good time to stay in shape.

Senior Heidi Warner has been swimming on the summer swim team since she was five, and started lifeguarding for Westover two summers ago.

“I love being in the water and I really enjoy the team,” Warner said. Her favorite part of being on the team is the final meet, “Champs”, as the team calls it, because all the swimmers and teams compete together.

Sophomore Jaymie Inouye particularly enjoys the competition. “[My favorite part] is partially the team aspect of everyone working together to do well in their races, and partially the drive,” Inouye said. She explains that her drive helps her compete well and perform better in races.

Outside of the team, Inouye doesn’t spend a lot of time swimming.

“In the summer, sometimes I’ll go the to the pool and occasionally I’ll go to the well-

Serage continues karate lessons Ava Reynolds Staff Reporter

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE SERAGE

BLACK BELTS AND SELF DEFIANCE. Junior Joe Serage preparing for a sparring match.

People who take lessons of some kind outside of school usually do them twice a week, whether it’s a dance class, recreation soccer, private instrumental lessons, etc. Not Joe Serage. Given his passion for karate, he has his time committed to lessons four times a week and it has been that way for eight years.

Serage’s father did karate for a number of years and when Serage was a boy, his dad pushed him and pushed him to take karate lessons. He wouldn’t have it, until he was eight years old and has now been taking lessons for eight years.

“I changed my mind so abruptly because my little brother had begun karate, and I wanted to one-up him. I eventually stuck with it because I actually enjoyed it,” Serage said.

Over the eight years of lessons with four lessons a week, Serage has attained a black belt in American Kempo style and a green belt in Goju-ryu style. This wasn’t as easy as it sounds, however.

Serage has had too many injuries to count over the years. His most recent injury

occurred a month ago, when his instructor was teaching him how to do a hip throw and he landed on his left knee very hard. It is still bruised internally.

Serage’s karate career hasn’t always been local.

“My favorite memory from karate is when I traveled out to a town in Wyoming in the middle of nowhere to do my black belt test. I performed the test, as well as my own personal form, which I created in front of the head of the whole Kempo division,” Serage said.

Some people decide to try karate so they can have self defense skills, but for Serage, it means more than that.

“I do karate because I use it as an enjoyable way to work out frustration and still get exercise. It is also very mentally stimulating; you have to memorize every single form and move, and there is always something new to memorize,” Serage said.

In the future, Serage sees himself teaching karate to others. He also will always keep practicing, because with this particular sport, you never stop practicing.

For Serage, karate is his passion. He has put a lot of time in, and come very far, and will continue to as years go on.

enjoying fall travel league Alexis Dickerson News Editor Tryouts for the travel soccer team, SVU, were back in May. SVU stands for Shenandoah Valley United. The team plays in places such as Virginia Beach, North Carolina, and Richmond.

Junior Maddy Dod is a part of the travel soccer team.

“I’ve played travel for seven years,” Dod said.

“We’re all pretty close. There are teams from SHS, EMHS, WBHS, [who all play on SVU] and we all play in high school as well,” Dod said.

“Every time Sara and I go onto the field and before halftime, we always say we have to ‘tear it up,’” Dod said.

Senior Sara Shenk-Moreno started out doing recreational soccer when she was six, moved on to All Stars and later on to travel soccer.

“I can’t imagine myself not playing soccer,” Shenk-Moreno said.

The team practices three days a week and plays on Saturday, Sunday, or sometimes both.

“We did a tournament in Greensboro and got second out of 10 teams,”Dod said.

SVU is in a league with about five or six other teams. In a tournament they play four games, two on Saturday, and two on Sunday. Depending how well they play on Sunday determines whether or not they advance to championship.

“I like travel better [than high school] because it’s just better competition and I feel like I learn and improve more,” Shenk-Moreno said.

Sophomore, Olivia Yutzy, has been playing soccer for nine years, four of those nine she’s been involved in travel soccer.

“I like it because the teacher is the game, and you don’t stop learning,” Yutzy said.

Her favorite year was when she was on U11, which is soccer for 11 year olds.

“We were really good that year and I really liked my coach,” Yutzy said.

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The

For the apples...

STEP 1

Newsstreak

THE EXPERIENCE- B10

STEP 2

PEEL. Remove all the skins from the apples. I bought my apples locally from the downtown Farmer’s Market.

FEELING EXPOSED. The recipe calls for five pounds of apples!

ALL PHOTOS BY CELIA EHRENPREIS

EAT UP! The crisp is a relatively easy dish to make.

Only taking an hour of actually cooking and 20 minutes of prep time.

STEP 3

MIX IT UP. After cutting the apples up, combine the zests, juices, sugar, and spices.

STEP 5

CRUMBLE! Add the topping to the apples . Make sure not to pat it down, lightly crumble it on top.

STEP 4

BOTTOM LAYER. Mix the ingredients together and add to oval baking dish

YUMMM. The apple crisp is a delicious fall dessert. The secret ingredient to its success was the lemon and orange zest.

STEP 6

INTO THE OVEN! The crumble gets placed into the oven to cook for an hour.

Apple Crisp Extravaganza Celia Ehrenpreis Editor-in-chief

Let me preface this article by saying, I am not a chef. I am about as useful in the kitchen as a broken blender. My mother always has me setting the table, or washing dishes instead of doing any real cooking.

So when I decided to bake an apple crisp for this story, I was pretty nervous.

There was a very high percent chance that I would mess up the crisp in any number of ways. So to eliminate some of the disastrous possibilities of “Celia in the Kitchen”, I got my recipe from an expert.

After a quick Google search, a recipe for apple crisp by the one and only Ina Garten, host of the Food network show Barefoot Contessa showed up. The dessert had received a beginner’s mark for difficulty but also had good reviews. I decided to give it a whirl.

The recipe called for three pounds of apples, so I race off to the Farmer’s Market to find the best cooking apples

available. Once all the ingredients were together the real fun started. I pulled out the electric mixer and started to make the topping for the apple crisp.

My mother was unaccustomed to seeing me in the kitchen. She kept poking her head in to ask if I needed help or if I had questions. I shooed her away, telling her I had everything under control. Which was not completely true, as I was in the middle of a battle between the skin on my three pounds of apples and my peeler. I managed to get all the components for

For the Topping...

the topping into the mixer without any spills. But once I turned the mixer on, bits of sugar and flour flew everywhere.

I quickly turned down the speed before my mother could rush in and deem me an unworthy chef. I grabbed a broom and swept the dirty ingredients into the trash.

I wondered if the recipe would really live up to it’s easy level or if I was getting in over my head.

As the topping mixed, I worked on preparing the apples. I cut them into bitesized pieces, and then placed them in a baking dish.

I added the zest from a lemon and an orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Once the topping was ready, I crumbled the final layer on top. My mother couldn’t help but come in and watch me add the topping, making suggestions here and there.

Once the crisp was ready, it went into the oven to bake for an hour. I couldn’t help but peek at it once or twice, while I waited impatiently for the finished product.

I danced around the kitchen so proud

that I had actually made dessert for my family. The cinnamon and apple smell that wafted around my house was tantalizing.

After an hour, the apple crisp was ready. The top had a light brown sheen, and the smell was almost unbearable. It was time to try my masterpiece. I made myself a bowl and ate my first bite.

“Oh my gosh,” I said, my mouth full.

The hot apples and topping burning my taste buds. “This is good!” And it was, the apple crisp was a success! Ina Garten had not failed me! Her recipe had worked!

My apple crisp received a delicious rating from every family member in the house, including my mother, the actual cook.

Fall marks the time of the year for people who don’t usually bake to get out their rolling pins. If impulse overcomes you, I urge you to try Ina Garten’s recipe for apple crisp. It was easy enough for me to make, which mean it is way within the realms of your cooking expertise! It is also a delicious fall dessert that will satisfy even the most picky eaters.

STEP 3

PUT IT ALL ON TOP. Add the topping to the apples. The finished product should look something like this!

STEP 1 ADD IT ALL TOGETHER! Add all the topping ingredients to a mixing bowl.

STEP 2 MIX IT UP! Mix the topping on a low speed until it reaches a crumbly consistency.

The Recipe...

Ingredients: 5 pounds McIntosh or Macoun apples Grated zest of 1 orange Grated zest of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg For the topping: 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup oatmeal 1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.

To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.

Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.