September 2018 Newsstreak Print Issue

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5 4 0 . 4 3 3 . 2 6 5 1 • Vo l u m e L X X X I X • I s s u e 1 • S e p t e m b e r 2 8 , 2 0 1 8

Quarterback swap helping offense SOPHIE SALLAH

SMILEY. Junior Kwentin Smiley (number 9) runs a ball sneak behind senior offensive lineman Kenth Bustillo (number 55). The Streaks lost to Lord Botetourt in the first game of the season 47-19. PHOTO BY ASHLEY ISCOA.

New high school lot proves challenging, controversial MIA CONSTANTIN Two and a half miles away from the current high school, land previously owned by James Madison University for its new convocation center is the new location for Harrisonburg’s second high school.

The building of the convocation center ended up on JMU’s campus, leaving the land available for HCPS to purchase.

School board member Nick Swayne has been instrumental in the decision to build HHS2.

Taking the process step by step, the school board made their first priority where the new building would be located.

“I don’t think people understand how much work went into evaluating all the properties in the city and just outside the city,and taking everything in consideration for location [of the new high school],” Swayne said. “There are a lot of folks who amazingly enough don’t know if their property is in the city or not, and they’re right on the edge. What we’ve found is that there are a couple places where the front of the property is in the city, but 20 feet back, it’s in the county,” Swayne said.

Because of complications where the new school property is located, there are even more complex factors that will determine exactly where the building will be erected.

“The city is not allowed, by law, to annex any property. We buy the property, [if] it’s in the county we would have to go to the county to get a special use permit to build the school in the county. If there is a problem in the school, who do you call? It’s a city school, but do you call the county sheriff, the police, is it the city fire department, the county fire department?” Swayne said.

As for deciding where they chose the land, the decision came down to which property would be easy to work with, especially with Harrisonburg’s rocky and hilly terrain.

“There were really only two pieces of land in the city [suitable for the new high school]. One was owned by JMU, and one was owned by a person who didn’t want to sell it,” Swayne said.

With the new school being built by interstate 81, those for and against the school have worried about what noises and distractions the highway will bring.

Currently, the school board and builders are finding ways to combat that problem.

See HHS2 page A2

@hhsmedianow @hhsmedianow @hhsmedianow hhsmedia.com

The first football season without four-year starting quarterback A.C. White has brought a new challenge. A number of athletes competed for starting quarterback spot, looking to be the next for the varsity football program.

Junior Austin White, A.C. White’s younger brother, was singled out, playing quarterback in the first two games against Lord Botetourt and John Handley High Schools.

White was moved to the wide receiver position after game two. Since it’s not too far into the season, White believes the team still has room for improvement after the first four games. “[We need to improve on] discipline.

That was the biggest thing, just people knowing what to do. [We need to] be more accountable and able to do our jobs,” White said. “I think we have a lot more raw talent this year, [but] we are not yet playing as a team. Once we start playing [together], we will be a more dangerous team.”

Taking the place of White was junior Kwentin Smiley. Smiley took over the quarterback position Sept. 7 as the team defeated Charlottesville High School 59-28. Running for 362 total yards, Smiley scored five touchdowns, securing a victory as well as his position on the field.

“I’ll [probably] keep playing quarterback. They picked the right spot for me,” Smiley said. “I’m doing what they ask me to do and I’m enjoying it.”

The switch between Smiley and White came down to the staff and what they thought would be best for the Streaks’ offense. Head varsity football coach Chris

See SMILEY page B7

Attendance added to accreditation standards for all Virginia schools NYAH PHENGSITTHY Going into effect for the 2018-2019 school year, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has now added absenteeism as one of their Standards of Accreditation.

The VDOE has multiple indicators, such as performance in core subjects and graduation rate, that will determine whether or not a school will be

Attendance rate broken down Different ethnic and socioeconomic groups have different attendance rates. The information used in the chart was from 2017-2018 attendance rates.

accredited.

Middle and high schools throughout the state have their own indications and evaluations, absenteeism being one they have in common. With attendance now being a factor of accreditation, math teacher Patricia Kelley stresses the importance that showing up to school every day will add up in the end.

“Your high school diploma is a very

serious thing. I respect that [students] get up in the morning, you wait at the bus stop in the rain, in the dark [and] in the cold. You get up at 5:30 a.m. or 6:00 a.m., and you come to school.

Why do you do that? You do that for a diploma,” Kelley said.

There are three different performance levels that determine the quality of the school. Level one meets or

See ATTENDANCE page A2 96%

Asian 94.51%

Male 92.46%

White 93.46% Economically disadvantaged 91.96%

Black 93.69% All students 92.86%

90%

HCPS providing free lunch in four schools SAMANTHA LITTLE Every school day for the next three years, each student enrolled at Skyline Middle School and Smithland, Stone Spring and Spotswood Elementary Schools will receive their lunch free of charge, regardless of financial status.

This is all due to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) federal program, which allows certain schools or groups of schools to serve meals at no cost to all students in the school. In order to participate in this, the school or combined group of schools must have at least 40 percent of their enrolled students qualifying for free lunch automatically without application, which can be determined by factors such as prior participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Because the HCPS nutrition program is self-supporting, Executive Director of School Nutrition Andrea Early needed to assess the numbers and determine if they would be receiving enough money to support all of their expenses.

“Forty percent allows you to participate, but it doesn’t

GOLF ROSTER FULL, FIRST TIME IN YEARS PAGE B7

FREE FOR ALL. Students from certain HCPS have the opportunity to receive free breakfast and lunch from federal program. PHOTO BY HANNAH MILLER necessarily guarantee that you’ll be able to cover the costs.

What you do is take whatever that percentage is, above [or at] 40, and multiply it by 1.6. That is the amount of meals, because we’re not charging the students anything, that we

See LUNCH page A2

NAZARIO MOVES FROM PUERTO RICO, JOINS VOLLEYBALL PAGE B8

September 28, 2018

The Newsstreak

Jumps-A2

Smiley moves from receiver to quarterback SMILEY from A1 Thurman believed the decision was for the benefit of the team.

“The switch [gave] us a better chance to win. Austin struggled [at originally being quarterback], and he will not struggle with being wide receiver. We knew that already.

With Austin at quarterback, we really didn’t have enough weapons at receiver…putting Austin in as receiver spreads out who [the opponents] have to focus on,” Thurman said.

Contributing to the decision to switch, quarterback coach Joe Carico believes White and Smiley have wound up in the spots where they will excel in this season. “[Austin has] been outstanding. He’s been a good teammate. He’s exactly where he should have been and we know he could be… [Kwentin] listens very well, and… I coached his dad,” Carico said.

Smiley believes his road to becoming quarterback was a positive experience, even with intense competition for the starting spot.

“[The competition has] been good, [very] competitive. I [was] just trying to enjoy the fun of it more than anything,” Smiley said.

“We basically just took turns running the offense. [It was] never like we were enemies.

We were always close, helping each other and everything.”

Smiley hopes to improve his game throughout the course of the season as he adjusts to his new position.

“I still have a lot of stuff to improve, like my overall game. Throwing and being relaxed on the field, [is something to work on],” Smiley said. “[I lead by] doing my job and doing what coach asks me to. I just try to play to the best of my ability.”

With the season approaching its midpoint, Thurman believes the team made the right decision in order to come out successful this year.

“Austin was already good at receiver and Kwentin is getting better every week,” Thurman said. “I think by the end, it will turn out that we made the right move.”

NATURAL NINE. Junior Kwentin Smiley celebrates after making a touchdown. After being switched to starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, Smiley hopes to improve his game and technique. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK

CEP serves meals at no cost in four Harrisonburg schools FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. Students from Spotswood Elementary School (SES) eat breakfast in their classrooms after getting off the bus or being dropped off. SES is one of the four schools that receives both free lunch and breakfast in the city.

PHOTOS BY HANNAH MILLER

LUNCH from A1 that we get reimbursed at the federal free rate,” Early said. “The whole Harrisonburg district is just at 40 percent, but that would mean that if we ran this program district-wide, we would only get paid for 64 percent of the meals that we serve. We would have to find the money somewhere else for the others and we don’t have that, so that’s why we can’t do it district-wide.”

Knowing this, Early had to decide which individual schools could be grouped together in order to increase the percentage rate and, therefore, the amount of reimbursement. Because the four that were selected this past year add up to allow 84 percent of the meals to be federally reimbursed, Early predicts that they will be able to cover all of the costs, but not without a certain level

of risk.

“When we do the math and look at how much money that brings in and how much we think our participation will go up, because we anticipate that more kids who used to pack will now come through and get a free meal [with the school lunch], we are betting that that’s going to cover our costs.

We’re not getting it 100 percent, so it’s a little bit of a gamble,” Early said.

Though Early has a goal of carrying out this program throughout the entire school district in the future, it is something that takes time and has a process of its own.

“I would love love love for all of the schools to be able to participate in CEP eventually, but we sort of have to take baby steps and take a bit of a calculated risk to make sure that it’s going to work out so that we can continue with it,” Early said. “We

HHS2 to be located by Interstate 81 HHS2 from A1 “One of the things that they’ll do [to eliminate the highway noise] is put in some sound-protection stuff. Another thing that we can do is put the gym and lunch room on the highway side and all the classrooms on

the other side,” Swayne said.

Before the decision was made to build a new high school, it was a highly contested issue. One of the alternative plans was to build an annex onto HHS instead of a new high school altogether. Although this option is cheaper, school board and city council members decided it was not a permanent fix to the overcrowding issue. “[HHS] already has over 1800 students, and we’re expecting by 2020, when we wanted to open, [HHS] is going to have 2100 [students]. If we built an annex for 800 students, it would be full by the time it opened. By 2023, we’re going to have 2500 kids,” Swayne said. “There’s a 500 kid deficit that isn’t addressed in the annex plan.”

Prieto works to keep absence rate low ATTENDANCE from A1 exceeds the standard of accreditation, level two is near standards and level three falls below standards. Schools that fall in levels one and two are accredited.

Schools that fail to meet the indications will be known as “accredited with conditions.” Currently, HHS is fully accredited.

Although the majority of the evaluation for HHS show that its accreditation won’t be an issue, attendance is something that the school still struggles with.

To keep the absence rate low enough, principal Cynthia Prieto believes that being in school is not only important for actual learning and getting an education, but for all of the extracurricular activities students participate in. She has also found individual conversations with students struggling with attendance to be more effective rather than making it a general announcement to just anyone.

“Instead of going up to that person and saying, ‘You have sucky attendance,’ I would go up to that person and say.

‘What’s going on? Because your attendance is a real concern. ‘[I would] bring in the families and have conversations to

try to address it on the individual,” Prieto said.

For senior Salem Addisu, students showing up to school is important because accreditation falls under the school, not an individual student. Addisu plans on applying to Virginia Commonwealth University, James Madison University and Blue Ridge Community College, which are places that would see if you graduated from an accredited school.

“I would be really annoyed [if absenteeism could become the reason HHS didn’t receive an accreditation]. If I applied to school, it would make me seen as unqualified… it’s important to show up so you can get your education and you learn and don’t miss important things,” Addisu said.

While a sick day or doctor’s appointment can be the reason for an absence, Prieto finds it important that the presence of just being in the school and showing up to class is what matters the most.

“You must be present to win. You need to be here. You need to be participating in your education,” Prieto said. “Being here, being part of the conversation, being part of the learning, you need be here.”

don’t want it to be a situation where we bite off more than we can chew and then we have to roll it back. My goal is to add schools that I feel confident we can continue with,look at the numbers and see how many students are eating, and then add additional schools as we’re able to.”

Until then, Early believes that, though not all of the schools are provided with this opportunity at this time, she is happy to offer it wherever she can have it in place.

“I would love, in my career, to see a time where USDA allocates enough funding to

be able to just provide a flat meal rate reimbursement for all school meals across the board so that it’s not based just on the direct certification numbers and the very complex formula,” Early said. “That we can say as a nation that providing school meals at no cost to families is an important initiative and that we’d be willing to fund that.

From my perspective in the role that I play, I would consider that a very good use of federal money. So maybe one day, but until then, we want to offer the program where we can.”

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

News-A3

Lintner appointed as interim superintendent HANNAH MILLER

F

ifty more emails a day and countless meetings with new people now fill the days of new Interim Superintendent Patrick Lintner, but transitioning from his previous position as assistant superintendent has been a generally smooth process for Lintner.

“It’s pretty much the same responsibilities. As an interim, part of my work will be to transition whatever we are doing this year, to make sure that it’s really clear what we’re doing, to a new superintendent,” Lintner said.

“It hasn’t been a very stressful transition for me; honestly I’ve enjoyed it. Fortunately we have really really really good people.

They have a lot of experience in finance, [human resources], instruction. I’d like to learn faster than I am, but I understand the realities are what they are; these things take time.”

As a superintendent of Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS), Lintner is responsible for overseeing five elementary schools, two middle schools and our high school, as well as all the programs that go along with them. Fortunately, Lintner has 27 years of experience in HCPS and feels very connected with the schools and their students.

“It’s easy for me to talk about Harrisonburg City Schools; in part because I know a lot about them, but also I’m really proud of what we do here,” Lintner said. “I have a lot of institutional knowledge. I worked in the classroom for a long time, so obviously I have high empathy for teachers…

I still was teaching in the math department at JMU, I’d done that for 25 years. I just took this semester off because I got this job, so I have an affinity for teaching.

The great reward of having kids learn that you’ve taught is just awesome.”

Lintner’s focus this year will fall on a variety of things, includ-

SPEAKING OUT Interim Superintendent Patrick Lintner introduces himself and talks to a class at HHS, as he begins overseeing the city schools .

PHOTO COURTESTY OF PATRICK LINTNER ing open communication with parents and teachers and ensuring student success.

“Family engagement is one of our division goals this year. Paying attention to how that manifests itself in schools and making sure that families and teachers and all people that are a part of community and family engagement feel supported [is important],” Lintner said.

With the diversity of our school system, Lintner knows that success can be measured in a multitude of ways, and hopes to encourage students confidence by recognizing them all.

“Academics are [another] one of my focuses. I feel like it’s really important to simplify in some ways, and make sure we double down on kids’ achievements however that learning is displayed,” Lintner said. “My orientation is definitely a learning orientation as opposed to a work one, so I

really like to see people learning. That gets demonstrated in a variety of ways: performance assessments, performances, writing articles for the newspaper… I just feel like that should be our focus: getting people to a point where they’re feeling confident without teaching to the test. I’m not a huge test fan, I don’t think that’s necessarily raised the bar for anybody.”

“

part of his job to provide them with opportunities to do so.

“Being dialed into what the student experience needs to be is probably at the top of what it is that we do, so it needs to be at the top of what the superintendent is thinking about. Making sure that quality programs are available to all students is critical in order to say you’re meeting student needs,” Lintner said. “A lot

It’s easy for me to talk about Harrisonburg City Schools; in part because I know a lot about them, but also I’m really proud of what we do here.

-Patrick Lintner

In order to help students be successful, Lintner believes it’s

goes into that; hiring great staff is huge, making sure you capture

the community’s desire for education I think is really, really critical in any superintendent role…

Success means different things in different places. I think one of the things Harrisonburg does pretty well at is that we listen to parents, we listen to our community. We try to make the success of each individual students somewhat customized. We certainly have room to grow in that area, but [it’s important].”

Methods to achieve student success are also evolving, and Lintner wants to tap into modern methods of teaching to specialize the learning experience for students of all orientations.

“Another focus I have is, ‘What does 21st century learning look like in Harrisonburg?” It’s like we’re turning the Titanic; students are oriented a certain way, teachers are oriented a certain way, schools are oriented a certain way, even classroom design is oriented a certain way that now needs to be turned slightly without abandoning the old,” Lintner said. “It’s really just important to have new skills being taught in classes at a grassroot level. It’s not just one academy that’s going to work collaboratively, it needs to happen across the board and we’re doing that by putting in some really solid staff development.”

Although thrown into the role, Lintner looks forward to the rest of the school year in his new position.

“I’m liking this job a lot. I wasn’t sure to what extent I would like it, but so far it’s been great.

Obviously I’ve been on the job for a very short period of time so I have the sense that some things are coming my way that I don’t necessarily know,” Lintner said.

“To keep us focused on the important work that we do is I think one of the chief responsibilities.

We do a lot of collective visioning and collaboration, so really I see myself as part of a larger team.”

Naviance program supplements college apps Man on the Street: NOAH SIDERHURST

What’re your thoughts on the Naviance so far?

“[Naviance] makes everything easier. It brings everything together like my Common App and other things so that I don’t have to go to a teacher and for a letter of recommendation and have them print it out.”

Joel Mutambayi

“[I hope that Naviance] helps me prepare for college, know what I need to get done and deadlines for essays and applications.”

Chris Johnson

Heather Whetzel

“As seniors we’re very focused on getting college applications in...using Naviance is a way for us to really connect to the colleges we want to apply too and figure out if they’re the place for us.”

Education has become more and more digitized in recent years. Technologies such as Google Drive, PowerSchool and online classes are increasingly prevalent. The latest addition to this regiment is a college and career planning website called Naviance.

Naviance, a service used across the country, is initially being rolled out to help seniors apply to college; it includes features that allow students to request transcripts and recommendations. However, Director of Counseling Rachel Linden sees many more uses for it in the future.

“There are so many cool things about it,” Linden said. “It’s just streamlining the process.”

Linden had been hearing about Naviance from colleagues around the state for a while, but didn’t realize its full promise until the Naviance team presented to the counseling team last year.

“Once we saw the platform and realized all of its potential, it kind of blew us away,” Linden said. “There was all this stuff we were finding different ways of doing. Like, ‘Oh, we’ll use Google Classroom for this. Oh, we’ll use PowerSchool for this. We’ll use morning announcements for this.’ I’m hoping that once Naviance becomes on the tips of the tongues of all students, they’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, I should just

check Naviance for that. When’s Virginia Tech coming? It’s on Naviance.’”

Another benefit is its data processing ability.

“This is a tool that has a lot of builtin data mining,” Linden said “We’re not necessarily doing it to get that data; it’s just a positive side effect.”

Naviance will allow counselors to see what student’s career interests are and where they go to college. Using this, counselors can plan for field trips and even new classes that fit students’ interests.

Much of this may be in the future, though. Counselors’ main challenge now is getting the program running without too many growing pains.

“Any time you integrate with a new technology, there are always hiccups,” Linden said. “It’s going to be a little bit clunky at first just getting everyone to understand how it works… It’s going to take a year or two before we’re fully operational. I hate to say this year is a guinea pig year, …[but] it’s just going to be a learning curve year.”

If it doesn’t start to click within the next few years, Linden is open to other options, especially because Naviance costs the school system money.

“We’re going to try it. We haven’t signed our life away for the rest of eternity to it, but we’re going to give it a good go,” Linden said. “If we don’t get the outcomes we’re looking for, then we’ll revisit. It certainly has a lot of promise.”

Linden’s worst fear is that seniors will have problems that will disrupt their college applications. The counseling team is presenting to English 12 classes and meeting with seniors individually to make sure everything is working.

“If after the classroom visit things aren’t clicking, [seniors] really need to see their counselor and work with us one on one,” Linden said. “We’re trying to get it started out of the gates with seniors, which is really not what it’s meant to be in the end. It’s meant to be a planning tool all the way.”

This year, Naviance is also being rolled out in the middle schools as a way for students to explore future career interests. The CTE department plans to integrate it into the classroom.

In the future, students will be able to plan their schedules from it. Counselors can use it to let students know when an opportunity involving their interests comes up.

Linden thinks that all these applications outweigh the temporary annoyance the change may bring.

“My hope is that everyone schoolwide will be patient with us as we integrate and that the overall outlook is really positive,” Linden said. “I don’t ever want technology to stand in the way of people getting to what they need. It should be a tool to help people and not a barrier. If it becomes a barrier, I want to know about it so we can help work through that.”

Wilson transitions from AD to VHSL job NOAH SIDERHURST Darrell Wilson got his new job at the Virginia High School League (VHSL) in about the same way he became athletic director at HHS. “I thought about it and said, ‘This job doesn’t come open all the time, so take a shot when you get the shot.’ And that’s what happened,” Wilson said.

Wilson originally pursued a career in university athletics before switching to teaching. Shortly after becoming a teacher, the athletic director position became available and Wilson jumped on the opportunity.

Now, he’s moved on to become the Assistant Director for Academic Activities at the VHSL, overseeing all creative writing, debate, film, forensics, scholastic bowl, theatre and journalism activities for the state.

“I saw it as an opportunity to serve the whole state,” Wil-

son said. “It was the next logical progression.”

As he moves on, Wilson looks back on his time here fondly.

“I loved it here. I’m really going to miss watching you guys compete,” Wilson said. “The staff here is just tremendously supportive. I think other schools should be looking at everything that happens here as a model.”

Though his new job doesn’t directly deal with athletics, Wilson still plans to keep up with Harrisonburg sports.

He feels his biggest accomplishment as athletic director was leading the Streaks through several classification changes. During his tenure, HHS went from a 2A school in the old three class system to 4A in the new six class system.

Just last year, we moved up to 5A. That’s not to mention the changes in conferences, districts and regions that also happened during that time.

“I tried very hard to build good relationships with all those athletic directors and those schools [that we compet-

ed against] so that going forward we would be well-placed but also maintain a solid link with the valley district,” Wilson said.

Remember that all the schools in the valley district are 3A while HHS is 5A, which is a large size difference.

“Navigating that and making sure that Harrisonburg was not forgotten or pushed to the side when it came to how that group functioned [was important],” Wilson said.

Looking ahead, Wilson feels that handling the inevitable athletic transition when a new high school is built will be a key issue. But his advice for the new athletic director is simple.

“There’s a lot of history here. Pay attention to the history, learn the history. That’s something I tried to do all the time,” Wilson said. “Make sure you’re paying attention to [the history] and taking care of what’s happening now, but prepare for the future.”

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

HOT NOT OR

NFL Starts: The defending champ Eagles and Falcons kicked off the season on Sept. 6.

Kizner Resigns: Former Superintendent Scott Kizner leaves Harrisonburg City Public Schools.

Op/Ed-A4

College brings financial burdens for seniors The annual cost for me to go to my dream school, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is currently $50,634 as an out-ofstate resident. This does not include financial aid, scholarships or grants.

If I’m being honest, that is a staggering amount of money that many people are unable to afford. And it’s not even just UNC alone.

The estimated cost for attending Duke University is $75,370, and I thought UNC was expensive. Other colleges across the nation can

cost more or less.

You’re probably thinking, “You don’t have to attend that college, you know. There are other colleges for a much lower tuition,” and you’re right, I don’t have to. But I want to. What makes it worse is that it’s not just the tuition that’s expensive, but applications and other fees that add up to the financial burden.

It costs $11.25 to send your SAT scores to colleges and an average of almost $40 to apply to a school. It’s a financial burden and people still

agree to take that and deal with it. I live in a middle class working family where my parents have decent jobs. What they do is enough, and I’ve never had to ask myself if I was going to have a roof over my head the next day or be able to eat that night. But what about the people who do ask that question to themselves at night? If people from the middle to upper class can find tuitions today expensive, just imagine what the lower class is thinking when they see those numbers.

College can either be

San Francisco sends doctors to streets: San Francisco is the first city in the US to pay doctors to go to the street to aid the homeless population with opioid addiction.

seen as another route to success or another four years of schooling that people expect you to go to. If colleges want you to go to their schools, then they should start by bringing the cost a few notches down.

Money is a big factor that can scare students away. The tuition rates are rising fast and there is no slowing it down anytime soon. Multiple employers either like to see, or wouldn’t mind seeing, the college degree you received and where you received it from.

I have parents who can provide for my needs. They provide food, housing, water, etcetera. But what they

John McCain’s Death: Former US Senator John McCain passed away at the age of 81.

U.S. Open: Unranked John Millman from Australia defeated Swiss favorite Roger Federer in the 4th round of the US Open.

Hurricane In Hawaii: Hurricanes Norman and Olivia hit Hawaii.

Mexico, US Sign Trade Deal: The United States and Mexico have agreed to a new trade deal with NAFTA. British men arrested for Skripal poisoning: The British government has arrested two women they claim helped carry out the poisoning of a former Russian spy.

Animal Crackers: After pressure from animal rights groups, Nabisco has removed the cages on the animals featured on Animal Crackers boxes.

Elon Musk Digs Pedophilic Hole: Elon Musk doubles down on claims that a British diver helped save children stuck in a cave is a pedophile.

Dog Shelter: A couple in the US have saved over 11,000 dogs from euthanization by turning their home into a makeshift animal shelter.

Kosovo and Serbia: In an attempt to cool ethnic tensions in the Balkans, Kosovo and Serbia are thinking about redrawing their borders.

French Theme Park: In a bid to help clean up litter, Puy du Fou theme park in France has trained crows to pick up trash.

Top Trump Lawyer Pleads Guilty: Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, pleaded guilty to 8 charges, including violation of campaign finance laws.

Puppy and Kitten: Puppy and kitten mills have been banned in England.

Friendships, money do not mix Money causes beef. No matter how significant the amount, friendships turn into feuds over dollars. We all have that friend that is constantly in debt to at least one member of your posse. I, regretfully, have found myself in that position far too many times.

At one point, two friends and I were in debt to both of the other friends. Food runs were a disaster when the check came. My friend would remind me of that one time they gave me twenty dollars three years ago and then I would remind them of the thirty dollars they still owed me from that concert ticket and the third friend would jump in reminding us that we both still owed him forty dollars from… you get the point.

However, all of these instances have not left me unfazed. I’ve gotten progressively better due to the lessons I’ve learned about debt collection, loans, gifts and more. To avoid all potential beef, think economically and follow these rules: 1: Adjust to the group thinking about borrowing or giving money.

If your friends are stingy curmudgeons, be a bit more stingy with your money. You can’t be the outlier in the group or that’s going to cause even more problems. If Jessica refuses to ever spot you, don’t spot her. If Becky always spots you and asks for you to cover her on a meal, do it. You generally have to go an eye for an eye with money to avoid inconsistency.

2: Establish if borrowed money is going to get back to you.

Sometimes, Becky is feeling a bit more generous and is willing to cover your meal without any expectations of getting that money back. Establish that there are no expecta-

= 1 Student

Freshmen

4.2 Sophomores

5.5

Rain, rain and more rain: Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina on Sept. 13, knocking out power for thousands.

Doggy Van: South Carolina woman who couldn’t evacuate because of her seven rescue dogs has been helped by strangers on Facebook after they crowd-funded a van for her to travel to Tennessee.

Bump it: On the 17th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Donald Trump caused controversy when he gave a fist pump at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

Donation money: Jeff Bezos donates $2 trillion to his two charities the One Day Families Fund and the One Day Academics Fund.

Power

Percent of students by grade level with a job

BOOM: Houses have been randomly exploding in towns north of Boston after a suspected gas leak.

Cost for Cure: The Zimbabwe government has raised over $10,250,000 via crowd funding in order to help cure a Cholera outbreak.

tions for that money to come back to her. If she’s just lending you the money, set a time frame for when the money will get back into her YSL purse. Long standing debts suck. Avoid them.

3: Don’t expect anything in return for gifts.

The lowest blow of all transactions is using gifts as leverage to get money back. Jessica buys you a Mercedes with daddy’s money ONE time and now she expects you to pay for all of her meals?!?! The entire principle of a gift is contradicted if there is an expectation of return.

Don’t give in.

4: Don’t trade debts As impractical as it seems, pay back any and all debts you have regardless of how much money that person owes you. Canceling out debts leads to confusion and frustration for both parties. For the same reason that the U.S. and China don’t just cancel out some portions of their debts, don’t do it with your friends. There’s no net gain for either party. If anything, paying back Becky will incentivize her to do the same thing.

These rules will help keep you in good monetary standing with your friends and avoid the beef. Debt free friendships mean that Becky and Jessica can’t constantly bite at your heels to cover them on their next Heie-er Fendi run.

Juniors

7.7 Seniors

7.9 ART WORK BY GENEVIEVE KENNEDY; STATISTICS FROM BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

can’t provide is $50,634 a year for me to attend UNC. It’s just not possible without going into a big financial crisis.

Applying for college brings stressors to the table. It’s about where you want to go for the next four years of your life and what you want to do after that. Decisions such as those may be hard to decide, but with money being a big factor in it, it can make things even more difficult.

Notorious Nyah

CHECK OUT MORE STUDENT OPINIONS @hhsmedianow @hhsmedianow @hhsmedianow hhsmedia.com

Part time jobs prove beneficial Seniors have a lot on their plates; from college apps to school work to volunteer hours, the amount of requirements doesn’t leave much free time. Not to mention, many teenagers are involved in extracurriculars or have familial obligations. As much as I may complain about how little time I have, I’d like to suggest that everyone try one more thing before they graduate: working part time.

I understand that some students don’t need to think about having a job, while others know it’s a necessity to support their family, but I believe a job can be important for several reasons other than money.

1. It gets you out of the house Time during the school year can be scarce, but a summer job is the perfect solution. After two weeks of staying home alone and doing absolutely nothing, I get a little bored. A summer job is a perfect way to keep yourself just as busy- or not- as you want.

2. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people. I got a job at Domino’s this summer, and I can honestly say I enjoyed the company of each and every one of my coworkers (for the most part). Most of the employees are in their low 20s, so it was nice to get to talk to them about stuff relating to the future.

3. It can help you learn responsibility. I’m not talking about “if you want a dog you’re in charge of walking and feeding it” type responsibility, but more along the lines of having something that you have to do independently. Making sure you show up on time and do things correctly is important, and having a job forces you to be a team player.

4. It helps to open lines of communication. If you’re going to be late, you can’t work, or you have other questions, it’s important that you talk to your boss.

Regardless of what you end up doing in life, there is going to be a hierarchy in your job that requires open communication. It’s good to get the practice now so that you understand how things will work in the future.

5. It helps teach time management. If you choose to continue your summer job into the school year, you have to learn how to fit it in your schedule. Balancing school work, actual work, family time and a social life is a skill that will be used throughout your life.

On that note, it’s also important that you enjoy wherever it is you choose to work. We have our whole lives ahead of us to have a job, so enjoy the one you have in your teen Hannah’s Rambles years.

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

Feature- A5

NEW YEAR, NEW CLASSES Delozier teaches life skills through public speaking MAYA WAID For some, speaking in front of a class, audience, or even a whole school can be more nerve racking than the first day of high school. For english and Intro to Public Speaking teacher Danae Delozier, it has always been one of her favorite things to do.

“I love public speaking. I did competitions in high school and when I first wanted to be a teacher, I thought being a public speaking teacher would be the best,” Delozier said.

The class is an introduction to Public Speaking and cover a majority of communication and public speaking aspects. Since the class is new this year, Delozier has a lot of room to explore different methods of teaching the class.

“I can be very creative in what I choose to do, and I

also get to learn a lot from the kids, so everyday I’m inspired to try something new and get feedback on what’s working and what’s not,” Delozier said.

While public speaking may not be the first class that comes to mind when students are figuring out their elective classes, there are many incentives beyond personal preference that persuade students to take the class.

“Public speaking is a super important skill for everyone to have. Most colleges also require a public speaking course, so this is a great way to get more comfortable even if you don’t plan on using public speaking in college, you’re probably going to be asked to do a job interview or something of that sort,” Delozier said.

Aside from her academic reasons, junior Paula Moreira describes how the

class has helped her with personal public speaking skills as well as meeting new people.

“There are alot of people I’ve never really seen or talked to before, which has helped to form new bonds and connections. It doesn’t matter your background or if you know anything about speech or not, because you’re learning from the beginning as a class,” Moreira said.

Both Moreira and Delozier feel the best aspect of the class are the activities that help students feel more comfortable with each other.

“Our most recent assignment is a speech on a poem.

You chose a poem and you have to speak it to the class,” Moreira said. “ The trust we built at the beginning of the year really helped because you’re practicing and rehearsing with someone who

STAGE FRIGHT. Junior Shamond Megginoson practices his rap during class. Intro to Public gives time in class for students to perfect and work on their performance before presenting. PHOTO BY NYAH PHENGSITTHY is going to give you feedback and that feedback is going to help you improve your speech.”

The class also includes unique aspects that make it different from a conventional course.

Intro to Healthcare brings learning mixture to elective choices

HOSPITALITY NOTES. Taught by Nicholas Zimmerman, Intro to Hospitality students complete their warmup before class. The new elective teaches parts of hospitality, nutrition and career options as well.

PHOTO BY RACHEL PHENGSITTHY give him an idea about the costs of different activities that come in life.

“I’m interested in finding out about how amusement parks work and cruise lines… [I hope to learn] how to plan a vacation and how to go on a cruise,” McHone said.

Zimmerman hopes that Intro to hospitality will give an advantage to students when they enter the real world.

“I think this is going to be a really good, beneficial class for the [students] because they’re going to have to learn some of the destinations that are pricey, some of the destinations that are not as expensive and how they can best budget to plan their own vacation.”

Bible as Literature steers away from religious perspective KEENAN GLAGO English and Debate teacher Aaron Cosner embarks on a new journey this year by teaching the Bible as Literature class. The curriculum looks at the old and new testament as a historical document and examines the forces behind its formation. However, it’s purely educational and not at all religious.

“This class is not a Sunday school class, and it’s not devotional in any way, shape or form.

We have a class set of norms that respects all perspectives. We keep in mind that we are in a diverse setting,” Cosner said. “Our textbook is first amendment approved in that it treats the bible

like a historical document and not as a devotional source text.”

Freshman Emanuel Eletere is taking the class and has noticed the difference between the course and his personal religious studies.

“We read some books, and verses in the bible. After reading them, we try to look at it from a perspective not like church, but like a book,” Eletere said. “For example, at church when you read the bible, the pastor comes in and explains more about the bible and why he thinks its right, he doesn’t try to tell us what to do, he lets us have our own choices in what believe in.”

Even with these guidelines in place, Cosner still worries about

the external perception of his class.

“I am concerned that people might have the wrong idea about what the class goal is,” Cosner said. “The fact that people are surprised makes me think that they assume that there’s a religious devotional aim to the class when there’s not.”

While he primarily teaches english and debate, he has other degrees in college that were influential in his decision to start teaching bible as literature.

“My degrees are in philosophy religion and theology, so it’s just a personal interest of mine that I think is good for our students,” Cosner said.

HOMECOMING DANCE

Saturday, Oct. 27 8-11 p.m.

HHS Gym Commons $10 per person Tickets on sale in room 448

we did karaoke to work on reading things in different tones. We get to have a lot of fun and we don’t write a whole lot because we use our words instead of our pencils.”

Programming and Game Design teach coding basics OZIEL VALDEZ

RACHEL PHENGSITTHY From planning a vacation on a budget to mocking scenarios, the Intro to Hospitality class has brought new additional skill sets to the elective classes at the school. Intro to Hospitality teacher Nicholas Zimmerman also teaches nutrition and wellness, but has now shifted part of his teaching to a mixture of hospitality and nutrition.

“Ms. Fansler-Ryan originally taught foods and hospitality, but we went through a revamping of the course and so now it’s Intro to hospitality, tourism and recreation. It’s much more geared on travel where we have intro to culinary foods that’s more geared towards food,” Zimmerman said.

Not only is this class about travel, tourism and recreation, it also gives opportunities to listen to guest speakers who have different careers in the hospitality industry, which can help students think of careers for their future.

“A lot of these [guest speakers] are personally just people that I’ve developed close relationships and friendships within the course of the years. They love what they do and they’ll be able to share some insight in the course of this semester,” Zimmerman said.

The new elective also gives students a chance to explore new careers, technology and budgeting.

“I think students should sign up for this elective because they are going to use what they learn in here for the rest of their lives and anytime they go on a vacation or anytime they’re planning on where to go,” Zimmerman said.

For senior Ethan McHone, taking this class will

“What’s great about my class is that we can do a lot of fun activities through the realm of public speaking,” Delozier said. For example, we’re going to where we read off a teleprompter. Recently in class we did class

The new programming and game design class has been introduced to this school year.

Different students from different grades come together in this class to discuss and help each other code and troubleshoot programs. Sophomore Ryan Secrist has had previous classes that included programming in their curriculum, however, they never went in depth like this class. “[Programming and game design is] special because, in a lot of other classes, they always tell you they will teach you how to code, but they never do, they just give you a basic program to tell you what to do. However, in this class, you get the actual pure form of the code so you can learn to write genuine code instead of normal, premade code,” Secrist said.

Secrist never thought he would be interested in programming, however, after this class, he is considering pursuing more programming classes and recommends more students to as well.

“I definitely recommend this class to people who really want to get into coding and understand it. If you’re not willing enough to legitimately learn how to code, then the class probably isn’t for you, but I think that everyone should learn how to code because it’s a great opportunity for the future, especially with this class.

There are a lot of jobs that use programming now and those people are usually very successful,” Secrist said.

First-year teacher Jon Stapleton teaches the programming and game design class.

Despite having not taught at a public school before, Stapleton has taught at community events and workshops and has made programs for different companies. Never thinking he’d do programming, Stapleton now teaches multiple programming classes.

“I think [having a programming class] is exciting because

there’s a place for everyone in that class. If you are artistic, as in like making visual things or making music, there’s a place for you in our programming and design class. If you are very technically oriented, solving puzzles and going into the computer and writing code, there’s a place for you. I don’t think many people think of a programming class in that way… I see programming as a place where everyone can come together and share their ideas and work together to make something new,” Stapleton said.

This school year, Stapleton is focusing more on game design and video games with programming. In the first two weeks of the class, the classes already designed and made their first video games. The class this year is focusing on graphics and design elements.

Stapleton hopes in future years to expand to more topics like apps and software to draw in more different students. “[Students should take a programming class] because it’s fun. We make stuff, all day every day. You’re gonna learn a lot, you’re gonna make a lot of things and you’re gonna work hard. There are a lot of students who didn’t think that they would be interested in making a software product, and now they’re having a lot of success doing that,” Stapleton said. ”There have been people who didn’t see themselves as artistic or creative, and now are doing amazing artistic creations.

There have been people who didn’t see themselves as coders who are not coders. This class offers a lot of self-discovery and I think that’s so awesome.

Plus, you get skills that you can take to a job, which looks awesome on your resume, for either if you’re going to college or going into the workforce.”

The plan for the rest of the school year with the class is to rapid-fire games and present them at the end of the year to share with students, classes and the community at large.

HELLO WORLD. Sophomore Ryan Secrist programs his game using the coding language Python. Secrist has thought of pursuing a career in coding. PHOTO BY OZIEL VALDEZ

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018 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.

Editors-in-Chief: Nyah Phengsitthy, Sam Heie, Noah Siderhurst, Owen Stewart, Owen Marshall, Hannah Miller, Samantha Little, Sarah Earle Advertising Manager: Madison Varner Photographers: Sam Heie, Ilana Mattson, Ashley Iscoa Page Editors: Nyah Phengsitthy, Sam Heie, Sarah Earle, Sophie Sallah, Samantha Little, Audrey Knupp, Danait Medhin, Hannah Miller, Owen Stewart, Owen Marshall, Mia Constantin, Oziel Valdez, Sid Tandel, Simon Beach, Karleigh Gentry, Caleb Goss, Ashley Iscoa, Holly Bill Staff Reporters: Simon Beach, Jaimere Beauziuex, Holly Bill, Zoelle Bleazard, Parker Bolyard, David Braziel, Arabella Bunn, Juju Butler, Ryan Caricofe, Marchall Coffman, Mia Constantin, Sarah Earle, Martina Echazu, Emilee Fridenstine, Lucia Gabel, Karleigh Gentry, Keenan Glago, Caleb Goss, Nissi Gotay, Tina Hedrick, Sam Heie, Ashley Iscoa, Aayana Jones, Genevieve Kennedy, Audrey Knupp, Mallory Knupp, Samantha Little, Owen Marshall, Ilana Mattson, Maren McGehee, Hannah Miller, Grace Miller, Nyah Phengsitthy, Rachel Phengsitthy, Kevin Pizano, Betsy Quimby, Calvin RIley, Jorge Rodriguez, Gabriel Romero, Sam Rooker, Sophie Sallah, Layla Seefried, Noah Siderhurst, Owen Stewart, Dany T Medhin, Sid Tandel, Lucas Thompson, Oziel Valdez, Madison Varner, Alex Versen, Maya Waid Professional Affiliations The Newsstreak participates as a member of several journalistic evaluation services including the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA Gold Evaluation and 2005, 2009 and 2015 Silver Crown Winner), Quill&Scroll Journalism Honor Society (2012 Gallup Award), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) All-American, the Virginia High School League, Inc. Trophy Class Award, and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association All Southern Ranking and 2010 Scroggins Award winner. hhsmedia.com Opt Out Notice: If you do not want to allow your student’s full name or image to appear on the school newspaper site, please send an email to vkibler@harrisonburg. k12.va.us stating: I DO NOT want my son/daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on the new online version of the newspaper, www.hhsmedia.com.

Op/Ed-A6

Nike brings positive message endorsing Kaepernick NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL

When Nike released an advertisement highlighting former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick with the phrase, ‘Believe in something.

Even if it means sacrificing everything,’ it stirred a huge controversy throughout the nation. The internationally recognized company showcased Kaepernick for his stand against inequalities in the American justice system and his dedication to the cause, shown through his willingness to sacrifice his NFL career.

It all began just over two years ago when Kaepernick chose not to stand for the national anthem prior to a San Francisco 49ers preseason football game. Just one social media post from a 49ers blogger started a flurry of rage from people all over the country who believed Kaepernick was disrespecting the flag and the people who fight for it.

Soon, though, he wasn’t the only one. He was quickly joined by teammate Eric Reid and then more NFL players, as well as college and high school football players, NBA and WNBA players, women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe and even members of college bands and cheerleading teams.

Now, with Nike’s ad being released, the company has caught an immense amount of hate. Videos of people burning their Nike shoes, shirts and other clothes in response

appeared all over social media.

President Donald Trump, in typical form, responded with a tweet bashing Nike, Kaepernick and the NFL, referencing that Nike is getting “absolutely killed with anger and boycotts”, and that he “wonders if they had any idea it would be this way.” Unfortunately for Trump and the people electing to put their Nike gear up in flames, they’re just fueling the fire.

According to the New York Stock Exchange, Nike’s stock reached an all-time high of $83.90 per share just a week after the ad was released. In an age where social media is crucial, they gained nearly 200,000 followers. The Washington Post reported that online sales the week after the ad were up by 31 percent. In other words, more people support Kaepernick’s quest than the amount who condemn it.

The advertisement ended up being good publicity for both Kaepernick and Nike, and posting a video of a burning Nike Free Run isn’t going to change any of that. It’s a childish and immature response to an advertisement that, in all reality, is a great marketing tactic. Kaepernick had a legitimate reason to do what he did, and he was blackballed by the biggest sports organization in the world because of it. Now he’s being rewarded for exercising his right to freedom of speech, and people just can’t handle it.

JUST DO IT. Taking a stance against Nike’s endorsement of Colin Kaepernick, multiple social media posts from across the country have been about discarding Nike gear. While a lot of people have gotten rid of their athletic merchandise, Nike’s sales increased by 31 percent after Kaepernick’s ad.

CARTOON BY MIA CONSTANTIN

WHAT IS THE STAFF EDITORIAL? The unsigned staff editorial appears in each issue and reflects the majority opinion of the Newsstreak Staff Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is comprised of all editors-in-chief, page editors, advertising managers, photographers and selected freshman journalism students. In no way does our opinion reflect that of the school system or the administration.

Giants are on rise for upcoming season AAYANA JONES This football season is a new start for the 32 National Football League (NFL) teams. The thing I’m most excited for is watching the New York Giants eat this season.

Either most of America hates the New York Giants, or they’re bandwagons for a favorite Giants player. Last season, the Giants were 3-13. We were the worst in the NFC

retirement after this East division and the season. Losing Eli Manthird worst team in the ning would be a hard league. This year is gohit for the Giants. In ing to be different and 2016 his brother Peyton better.

Manning, retired from I’m going to throw pro football. a fact out here: The The 2018 NFL Draft Giants’ quarterback Always Aayana was controversial. The Eli Manning is still Giants gained Will Herthe only one to carry a team and beat the Patriots in the nandez, Alec Ogletree, Saquon Barsuperbowl twice. Many people be- kley Lorenzo Carter, Kyle Lauletlieve Manning is going to announce ta, B.J Hill and R.J Mcintosh. The

Fortnite makes famous pastime naments against each other. Even watching Daequan destroy less skilled players Fortnite is everywhere. while screaming “Ooga It’s no longer just some vibooga” is awe-inspiring. ral phenomenon but a true I’ve started watching staple of the gaming inFortnite streams when I dustry. Just the other day eat breakfast or when I just I walked into a fast food need to decompress. It’s restaurant and saw some hard to describe the exkid with a “Where we dropact joy you get from it, but ping?” t-shirt. there’s something enthrallOf course I’ve hopped on ing about seeing someone the trend as well. Unfortube as good as you are bad. nately, I’m not any good. In Half my vocabulary, as fact, I’m pretty sure I’m teranyone who knows me will rible. My K/D is 0.28 and attest, comes I’ve never gotten from Daequan a solo win. (my favorite That’s not to streamer). He’s say I don’t love unique because the game. The he combines building dynamhigh-level play ic makes that it with low-levhard not to like Sagacious el humor. If simply because of Siderhurst you tune in its novelty. to his stream, However, there you’re likely to hear some comes a point when sucking combination of “Gimme at a game is just boring and dem toes,” “Omega lol,” frustrating. That’s when I “MonkaS,” “My high turn to Fortnite streamers. ground now,” “Come here If you play Fortnite, boy,” “What do you mean” names like Ninja, Myth, and his diabolical laugh.

Daequan, Dr. Lupo, Tfue, If you tune in to Ninja’s KingRichard, and NICKstream, you’ll probably see MERCS have become him clutching squads with household names. Fortnite other streamers or just is almost always the mostslaying out in solos. watched game on Twitch.

NICKMERCS always Epic Games, Fortnite’s credrops in Tilted. ator company, announced TimTheTatman will alit will provide $100 million ways make jokes about his in prize money for tourown obesity. naments in the next year.

Every streamer has their At the opening of the Las own personality, but they’re Vegas Esports Arena, Ninall almost impossibly good. ja broke the Twitch conEach game is a new advencurrent viewer record with ture. You don’t know how 667,000 people watching the streamer will react, but his stream. they’ll definitely bring their All of this is to say that own brand of entertainFortnite has also become ment to the situation. an established esport. PeoI guess that’s why it’s ple don’t just play it, people so satisfying to watch. The make money playing it. game is just a streamer’s It’s wild to see top paradise. streamers face off in highstakes, high-intensity tour-

NOAH SIDERHURST

majority of Giants fans, including myself, thought that Saquon Barkley was the best choice. Every NFL team wanted him, with the exception of haters.

This season is going to be the season where the Giants have a comeback. We gained great people in the draft. Odell Beckham Jr, Saquon Barkley, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard are going to grind this season and carry the team to the Superbowl.

The world needs journalists SAMANTHA LITTLE America needs journalists. Not only that, it needs the reliable news that good journalists produce. In our democratic society, where freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, journalism plays a large role in informing the public and bringing light to certain issues that would otherwise be kept in the dark.

This allows them to form their own opinions based on reliable sources and is essential to the fundamentals of democracy.

In a society where the government does restrict what is broadcasted to the public, they are kept in a state of ignorance, allowing them to be more easily manipulated. Just as The Washington Post slogan states: “Democracy dies in darkness”.

However, the credibility and reliability of this factual information is being threatened by the presence of fake news online. As people view its content, which is often embellished or even blatantly false, their perception of the reality of a situation is skewed. There is then the possibility that the opinions they form on these topics are rooted in something completely untrue. This misinformation is not only a problem in and of itself, but also a problem when it comes to how easily it can be spread.

Often times unable to discern a difference between fake and legitimate news, a portion of the general public is more

willing to believe most things that are presented to them without a sense of skepticism. As they repost fake news and more of their followers are exposed to it, its readership grows exponentially. Furthermore, as more people repost it, the interpretation of how credible it is changes. What may have once been just a questionable post from an unrecognizable source slowly be-

Small Talk comes more valid in the reader’s eyes as it is then reposted by people that they know and may see as being more credible. It only takes one person to start this chain reaction.

The study of cognitive science provides another reason for why fake news is able to be believed and spread so easily. Confirmation bias, which is the tendency for people to search for, interpret and favor information in a way that confirms their preexisting beliefs, explains why people are more willing to embrace certain information without questioning its authenticity. When they are presented with information (whether true or fabricated) that validates and strengthens aspects of their personal viewpoint, they are more likely to believe it and, in turn, less likely to fact

check it.

Because of these things, it’s that much more important to always be conscious of the fact that fake news is real. If the public can become more educated on differentiating between the real news and the fake news, then they can prevent more false information from spreading.

Though it isn’t always easy, there are a few simple ways to help with it.

Check to see if key elements accompany the story: If it lacks identification of the author, clear sourcing for the information or the date that it was published, then there is an increased possibility that the story could contain false information.

(Note: These are just possible warning signs and aren’t directly causative factors.)

Investigate further into the headline: If a headline or piece of information seems questionable, look it up to see if there are similar stories on more recognizable and credible sites.

Don’t base source reliability on verified status: Just because an account is “verified” doesn’t mean that what they’re posting is trustworthy. This status only authenticates the user’s identity and isn’t a tribute to their reliability as a source for information.

Just be more aware: Being more aware of the presence of fake news ensures that people may be more critical of it as they are exposed to it. If something seems likely to be fake, do everyone a favor and don’t repost it.

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

Feature-A7

Every Person Has A Story Gibson moves from Spotswood

GRACE MILLER The end of the 20172018 school year brought many announcements, including the retirement of drama teacher and director Stan Swartz. The next announcement revealed his replacement-to-be Ken Gibson, who has watched every HHS musical since the 2011 production of ‘Les Miserables,’ inspiring him to continue pursuing his passion.

The spark for this passion arose when Gibson directed a play at James Madison University (JMU), setting off his career.

“I taught Circus Skills in England for eight years… won an acting award in England and pursued Theatre in college at JMU,” Gibson said. “In 1988 at JMU, where I was in a Director’s Showcase performance of Brighton Beach Memoirs, I played Eugene.

After graduating from JMU I was offered a full time position as a drama teacher at Spotswood High School and worked there for nine years.”

Although Gibson feels the drama program at HHS

GOODBYE. New HHS teacher Ken Gibson watches over students performing scenes in his Theater 2, 3, and 4 class. Gibson gave his students the topic “goodbye” and had them write scenes to perform. PHOTO BY GRACE MILLER has done a great job in the past, he plans on implementing his own ideas to the program.

“I would like to build up [my current four class-

es linked to drama] while still carrying on the legacy that HHS has set. I would also like to get the word out more on what happens in my classes and inspire

new students to join. I only have four classes [linked to theatre] at the moment but would like to hold six next year,” Gibson said. “I’d like to add some new af-

ter-school events such as an open mic, as well as a short fifteen minute musical towards the end of the school year that features a shortened, more modern musical

that can allow more people throughout the school to take a part in it.”

Gibson’s strong passion for drama has played a very important role in his life. “[Drama] has been a way for me to connect with thousands of people that I would have never got the pleasure to meet without the opportunities I’ve been given and rejuvenate my soul and challenge my preconceptions,” Gibson said.

“Drama connects the two things I love most: working with kids and theater.”

At the annual drama potluck held Thursday, Sept.

13, Gibson announced this year’s musical to be Legally Blonde for reasons of his own.

“I wished to do something that felt fresh and relatable to a culture that we might know, have heard of, or seems interesting while showcasing an underrepresented group of characters on stage. Women and [the Fine Arts Team] wanted to put a show out there with parts that could be played by anybody,” Gibson said.

Mast transfers for heavier course load CALEB GOSS HHS brings in hundreds of students each year. Ranging from up-coming freshmen to transfers, many of these new students come looking for new opportunities. Senior Isaac Mast, a previous student at Eastern Mennonite High School (EMHS), looks forward to a variety of academic and theatrical options as he begins his new journey at a public school.

“I came to Harrisonburg mainly for academics and theatre because at EMHS we had about five AP’s total, so I felt very restricted in what I could take,” Mast said.

Coming from a private school of around 400 students, Mast has had to adjust to the size difference between the two schools.

“The biggest difference is the size because we have about ten times more people here than we did at my old school, but other than that, I haven’t noticed any significant difference,” Mast said.

With attending a new school comes new surroundings and new people. For Mast,

2018 AP CLASSES BY THE

making friends hasn’t been too big of a challenge.

“I knew a fair amount of people coming in, and I haven’t had too difficult a time making friends, so it’s not too hard. People here are very welcoming,” Mast said.

With six AP classes in his schedule this year, Mast hopes to participate in extracurricular activities such as the One Act and the musical in his spare time.

“I do a lot of extracurriculars. I’m trying out for One Act and hoping to do the musical. I don’t have that much free time because I spend a lot of time doing homework and other extracurriculars,” Mast said.

Mast’s love for acting came his freshman year after auditioning for a role in “High School Musical”. This role led him to act in whatever he could get his hands on for the next three years.

“Freshman year I decided on the spur of the moment to audition for our high school musical act at EMHS and ever since then I’ve done as much as I could because I love it,” Mast said.

320 79,785

Total AP students at HHS Total AP students in Va Total AP

NUMBERS 2,813,460students globally

BALL UP. Freshman Hope Persinger serves the ball while on Cornerstone Christian School volleyball team. PHOTO COURTESY OF JASSICA PERSINGER

MOURNING. Senior Isaac Mast performs as "the Baker" in EMHS'S 2017-2018 musical "Into the Woods." In the scene, Mast's character mourns as he finds out his wife has been killed by a giant. PHOTO COURTESY OF ISAAC MAST

42 5

Total AP’s at HHS Total AP’s at EMHS

58.8% 69.3% 61.3%

of scores 3 or higher at HHS of scores 3 or higher in Va of scores 3 or higher globally

Persinger adjusts to new high school LUCIA GABEL Transitioning from a school with less than 200 students to a school with more than 1,800 students, freshman Hope Persinger can say that switching schools was just the first challenge.

Persinger previously attended Cornerstone Christian School and is now part of the public school system. In addition to starting at a new school, Persinger also took a chance on trying out for the JV volleyball team and earned a spot.

Persinger started playing volleyball in seventh grade at Cornerstone Christian School. At the time, soccer was her go-to sport, but when a friend encouraged her to get on the volleyball court, she quickly developed a passion for the game. During the volleyball preseason, Persinger worked with both her coaches and team and developed many connections.

“I really like the bonds that you get

to build with people on your team because you will get to know them really well,” Persinger said.

Persinger recognized that at a public high school she would have to work harder in order to make the team. After a week of tryouts, Persinger’s hard work paid off when she was selected to be on the JV volleyball team. Persinger has found playing for the team an enjoyment and challenge after being around more advanced athletes.

“At my old school, it didn’t really matter if you were good, everyone got playing time. At HHS, you have to earn your spot and show that you want it, and I think that’s really good,” Persinger said.

Someone else who has influenced Persinger’s volleyball career is Danae Delozier. Delozier not only teaches many subjects at HHS, but is also the coach for the JV volleyball team.

“Hope Persinger is someone who is

open to try new things. She came out to tryouts without ever having met any of the girls and took on a very big role as far as working hard and becoming a part of the team very quickly,” Delozier said.

Although Delozier had never known Persinger as a student or as an athlete, she quickly recognized that Persinger would be someone who would work hard in order to become the best player she could be.

Outside of volleyball, Persinger hopes to go to Massanutten Technical Center to study the architectural program there. As for her volleyball future, Persinger is confident that her passion for the new sport will continue beyond high school.

“Hopefully one day I can get a volleyball scholarship, but for now, as long as I can keep playing, I will,” Persinger said.

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

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September 28, 2018

Feature-A10

COMING FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Martinez-Burgey helps students overcome language barrier RYAN CARICOFE

C

rystal Martinez-Burgey loves to see the smiles on the faces of her students who are excited to learn. This is an everyday reality for her English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

When Martinez-Burgey was younger, she knew she wanted to travel across the world, and thanks to a program at George Mason University, she had the chance to travel the world as an English teacher.

“People would hire Americans to come into schools and teach English. They would pay for your plane ride over, give you an apartment and pay [you] every month.

I could just travel to as many countries as I wanted,” Martinez-Burgey said.

Martinez-Burgey taught at an elementary school just outside of Kingston, Jamaica, but eventually found herself here at HHS in 2007.

“I wanted a place that was really diverse,” Martinez-Burgey said, “[HHS] is not heavily one ethnicity or one language group.

Yes, there’s majority Hispanics, but that doesn’t mean Spanish is the first language. You have your Otomi, your Mixteca, you have all these different languages and it’s beautiful.”

Her exposure to these languages has left her with the knowledge

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE. ESL teacher Crystal Martinez-Burgey presents a reading worksheet for her students to work on during class. PHOTO BY RYAN CARICOFE of a few words in a variety of languages. Martinez-Burgey has a basic understanding of both French and Spanish and can currently say ‘Hi, how are you?’ in many different languages and ‘Bless you’ in

seven.

“You don’t have to learn other languages [to be able to] see it in [the student’s] eyes that they are scared or they are nervous,” Martinez-Burgey said. “You want to

Lopez adjusts to new lifestyle in United States JUJU BUTLER Three years ago, freshman Guillermo Lopez’s family made a life-altering decision. In 2015, Lopez and his family packed their things and moved over 1,600 miles to settle down in Harrisonburg. After the move, Lopez started to realize how different Harrisonburg was from Honduras, his home STUDY HARD. Freshman Guillermo Lopez spends time during his Nutrition and Wellness country. “...[In Honduras] class working on his classwork. PHOTO BY JUJU BUTLER just going out of your to the new environment. has had a major impact [house] was dangerous Not only did Lopez start on Lopez’ life is freshman because you didn’t know at a new school, he also Dante Edwards. what could happen to started learning a new Their relationship you. There were a lot of language that wasn’t spo- started as teammates, but gangs and it was really ken in his family. has grown into a bond so dangerous,” Lopez said.

“I help my parents close they consider each The dangerous set- because they don’t speak other family. ting was one of the main English,” Lopez said. “[We] have become motives for the move, so the closest friends in a As he started adjusting Lopez and his family were to a new home life, Lopez two year span and I trust happy to be in a place was also adjusting and him with my life. We do where fear wasn’t a daily becoming more familiar almost everything togethfeeling. with his school setting. er, and I don’t know how “It’s really quiet. Har- He decided to branch out I would make it without risonburg is really quiet at school and try out for him,” Edwards said. “I and safe,” Lopez said. the basketball team. As love him like family beNot only was the feel- Lopez spent more time at cause he is my family. ing of safety and security Thomas Harrison Middle It’s not a friendship, it’s a relief for Lopez, it also School, he became more a brotherhood,” Edwards helped him build new re- involved in basketball said. lationships that he wasn’t and even started to play From hardly being able able to have before the football. to leave his house without move.

“I started to meet new fear, to experiencing free“I wasn’t really al- people through sports dom and friendships, Lolowed to hang out with and activities.” Lopez pez hopes to stay here for people [in Honduras] be- said. the years to come. cause it was dangerous. I “[Moving here] has Sports provided a plathave more freedom here,” form for Lopez to intro- just made everything betLopez said. duce himself to multiple ter,” Lopez said. “I have In the first couple new people, even allow- met new people, my fammonths of being here ing him to meet some of ily is so happy, and we’re in Harrisonburg, Lopez his closest friends. One so much better than we struggled with meeting person in particular that were in Honduras.” new people and adjusting

be able to say something in every language that comes through the door to make the students feel comfortable.”

Martinez-Burgey has seen people from all across the world

walk through her door, from Eritrea, to the Congo, to Syria, to the Ukraine, and this year she has her first Argentinian student. The language barrier within the classroom, however, can cause some misunderstandings.

“Someone from one country could say something in English, and a student from another country could take it totally wrong,” Martinez-Burgey said. “Having them understand each other is difficult, but it’s beautiful too because they realize they are all in this together, and they have to help each other out.”

While Martinez-Burgey teaches ESL classes, her lessons sometimes deviate to more important issues for the class.

“We’re here to teach English, obviously, but there is a lot of trauma that comes with coming to a new country, so bad days have so much more depth and meaning,” Martinez-Burgey said. “You sometimes have to change your lesson plan to what best helps the students that day” Her desire to travel across the world hasn’t lessened over the years of teaching here. Martinez-Burgey still wants to travel to Africa and even as far as Mongolia. The diversity of culture at our school, however, keeps her here.

“I wouldn’t want to teach any other class.” Martinez-Burgey said.

Shiflet uses new techniques for first-year English students

learn the language.”

If students are learning at a faster pace, all the ESL teachers speak to the supervisor ESL teacher Brittini Shiflet is taking on of the department and can allow newcomher fourth year at HHS teaching students ers to skip certain subjects in order to move who are learning English as their second students to a higher level. However, in the language. Shiflet’s interest in this type of beginning, students are not able to select teaching started at an unexpected turning classes from a huge range like every othpoint in college. er student in the school. Options are only “I decided in first grade that I wanted to available when it comes to the level of math be a teacher, but I didn’t know that this was class and elective a student chooses to take. the direction I wanted to go. When I was It is mandatory for newcomers to take two in college I did my undergrad in elementatypes of English. ry education but then decided very quickly “The [English] classes newcomers [must that I wanted to add ESL in,” Shiflet said. “I take] are ESL English and Survival Skills wasn’t really sure why, but I had a natural English,” Shiflet said. “Survival Skills Eninterest in other languages and cultures.” glish teaches [students] about [how to ask Because her job is to teach students who for specific resources].” aren’t fluent in English, Shiflet’s teaching Shiflet believes that the only time this style is different than other classes. Shiflet job is difficult is when she can’t communiteaches from a textbook that is made for cate with a student, and she can notice that newcomers and holds the basics of the lanby the look on their face. Because she is guage, such as greetings, manners, and days passionate about her job, she becomes conof the week. In order to ensure that the newcerned if student aren’t speaking up. She comers comprehend the curriculum that also believes that this job has helped her beis being taught, Shiflet has to do different come more culturally aware. things to help students un“I feel like I have learned derstand. a lot just by trial and error.

“I think I would assume The biggest eye opener for me that the majority or a lot All students has been that I thought I was of the teachers at the high pretty culturally aware, but I school level do a lot of lec- come with a huge wasn’t as much as I thought,” turing. That is not some- amount of experiShiflet said. “Working with thing I can do with the new- ence and diversity different cultures and stucomers because everything and culture. The dents has helped me learn so has to be hands on, visual only missing piece much from them, and it has and even acting situations is the language to really opened my eyes to new out,” Shiflet said. express everything cultures.”

Because there are Shiflet strongly believes 18-year-old newcomer they know. that these students shouldn’t students taking freshman -Brittni Shiflet be underestimated. Newcomclasses, the school board ers just happen to not know decides whether or not newthe language, and because of comers that are greater in that, Shiflet believes it is hard age are allowed to be a high for them to be accepted. school student. Students are allowed to stay “I think [other HHS students] should at HHS up to the age of 21 if they need time just see newcomers as new students to our to learn the language. school,” Shiflet said. “All students come “Students [are all] given a ninth grade with a huge amount of experience and dinumber, because that will give them more versity and culture. The only missing piece time to learn the language. That doesn’t is the language to express everything they mean they have to stay here for four years,” know.”

Shiflet said. “It all depends how quickly they

ASHLEY ISCOA

“

September 28, 2018

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CrossFit Harrisonburg encourages all HHS students to prioritize their health and wellness.Be active every day. Find something you enjoy doing for fitness and do that. Best of luck for an awesome 2018-2019 school year!

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September 28, 2018

Feature-A12

Marching band begins season with Light vs. Dark show SARAH EARLE Although it’s a simple marching band theme, the planning for Light versus Dark had a maneuvering process. After making a collective, final decision, band director Daniel Upton and his design team began formulating new ideas to convey contrasts of the opposite concepts in the show.

“We talk about what works; what works for our students, what will be competitive, what is practical [and] what are new ideas that haven’t been done before. It is a huge process that takes great investment from all of us,” Upton said. “Everyone has seemed positive and excited about it. The music is catchy, yet challenging. [It’s] by far some of the most difficult music we’ve put on the field.”

Junior drum major Alice McNett portrays a speck of light surrounded by the darkness the band evokes. Wearing all white, McNett performs oboe solos throughout the show.

Featuring Frank Ticheli’s “Angels in the Architecture”, Hans Zimmer’s “160bpm” from Angels and Demons and the Latin hymn “Dies Irae”, Upton and his team developed a performance to create a clash between the two contrasting energies. In order to create a more impactful effect, Upton will incorporate more elements into the show as the season progresses into October, their most competitive time of the season.

“The color guard will unveil costumes in the coming weeks that portray both sides, light and dark, at different points in the show. Sounds you hear portray the two, as well. Throughout the [show], [the] struggle between the two occurs until ultimately one will prevail. [People] will have to wait and see which wins,” Upton said. “We have some really awesome effects that are still to come. It’s important

light

vs.

DARK

STAND TALL. Senior Abbey Showalter performs her color guard flag routine during the marching band’s Friday night presentation of their show “Light vs. Dark”. The show features Frank Ticheli’s “Angels in the Architechture”, Hans Zimmer’s “160 bpm” and the Latin hymn “Dies Irae” . PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK to remember that our show is not yet complete. We have about two-thirds of the music and drill on the field, but a lot left still to add.”

Knowing that this theme has its obstacles, Upton feels as though the marching band is handling the more complex production with lots of dedication.

“Bringing all the parts together, the winds, percussion, color guard [and] drill design, [was the biggest difficulty]. It is such a huge process,“ Upton said. “[The band and color guard] are working hard. [They are] a really great group of students who want to put the ensemble before themselves while getting better every

time they perform and rehearse.”

From Sakura to the Attraction of Love, Magnets and Gravity, and The American Dream to Time Warp, Upton has tediously spent time divulging into the world of each marching band theme throughout the years, attempting to bring it to life through art.

“I like the possibilities, the simplicity yet complexity at the same time,” Upton said. “[I’m excited for] the different things we plan to unveil as the season goes on, and I’m just so invested in this high quality music. I’ve wanted to put the Ticheli piece on the field for years.”

ALL EYES ON YOU. Juniors Alice McNett (left) and Leif McCoy (right) play their solos during the show. McCoy, on Mellophone, solos only in the first part, while McNett, on Oboe, solos throughout the entire show.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK

SHOW TIME. Conducted by senior drum major Irene Liu (above), members of the marching band perform their show “Light vs. Dark” during the Sep. 7 football game against Charlottesville High School.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK TAKE A LEAP. Junior Kailey Pitsenbarger presents her flag work during the “Light vs.

Dark” marching band performance.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK

Color guard members form bonds through practice, performances GENEVIEVE KENNEDY Every fall, the marching band puts on a show to compete at various competitions. One section of the ever-growing band is the color guard, who spin flags and weaponry alongside the instruments.

This year it has a total of twenty one people, which is a new high for the section. Senior member Ines Lopez-Flores believes that her section is what adds extra attention to the field.

“We’re the sprinkles to the band’s cupcake,” Lopez-Flores said.

Weekly marching band commitments include practice, which lasts from 3 o’clock to 5:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, as well as all Friday night activities for football games. According to junior Grace Shifflett, the show has gotten harder with this year’s theme of Light versus Dark.

“Our guard instructor has been

putting new [and] more complicated choreography into this season’s work. She’s really trying to push us to take that extra step,” Shifflett said.

Despite the extra difficulty, the section has not floundered under the extra weight. Senior Casey Crigger says that the mindset is what makes it all work.

“Practice can be whatever you make it. If you give it your all, then you’re going to have a good practice, but if you mess around and don’t take practice seriously, you’re going to have a bad practice,” Crigger said.

The chance to showcase this practice comes with every Friday night home football game and Saturday Competition. At these competitions, bands are scored on a basis of 100 points, with points being taken off for every flaw. To Crigger, the feeling of putting on a good show at a competition is amazing. “[When] you’ve been putting hard work onto the field for months or weeks, and when you get that final score and it’s a good score, you know you’ve done something right,” Crigger said.

Junior Kailey Pitsenbarger be-

lieves that Friday Night games can be just as exciting and fulfilling.

“They’re so much fun. Everybody is so hype and crazy. It’s just super exciting and the mood is great,” Pitsenbarger said.

For many in color guard, the aspect of community is the thing that makes it most worthwhile, not the outcome of the competitions.

“The bonds you experience and create with people are just so much fun.

It’s really like nothing I’ve ever done before,” Pitsenbarger said.

Shifflett, who didn’t know about the color guard until it was introduced to her by her brother, was glad to find a new group of friends to start school with.

“It was nice to be able to come into high school and already have a group of people who could guide me through it. It has made my high school experience much easier,” Shifflett said.

For senior

Precious Carper, this idea rings true. As the current section leader and fourth year veteran, she has seen the guard grow from her freshman year and helped shape and teach the current members. For her, despite the hard work and stress, it was the people that influenced her the most.

“The point of color guard is to bring people together,” Carper said.

“My high school experience has changed because I knew I had a color guard family to go to when things got hard.”

GAME FACE. Senior section leader Precious Carper does the rifle work for her color guard routine in the show. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK

SUMMIT ACADEMY

September 28,2018

The Newsstreak

Feature-B1

Academy works on teamwork at JMU Challenge Course

LEARNING THE ROPES. Sophomore Nyaz Mamund, supported by a member of his group, reaches over an obstacle for a rope. Over 40 freshmen and sophomore in the Summit Academy visited the JMU ropes course to take part in a variety of team building activities.

PHOTO BY HANNAH MILLER

HANNAH MILLER They had to use trial and error to get across an unmarked maze, put together a mystery puzzle without communicating and so much more. Students and teachers of the new Summit Academy attended James Madison University’s (JMU) TEAM Challenge Course to focus on teamwork and support through a variety of group-oriented activities.

English teacher Jennifer Diggs enjoyed watching her students interact in a new

environment outside of the classroom.

“I loved seeing how certain students who have typically not emerged as leaders in the classroom were able to showcase their leadership skills outside of [school],” Diggs said. “I really loved seeing how the kids could work together and challenge themselves, and also have a good time.”

The first thing the Challenge Course employees did when students arrived was break them up into groups of students that they were less familiar with. Madison

TEAM BUILDING WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE? (Top) Sophomore Dmitriy Kukharchuck arranges lizard-shaped puzzle pieces.

He and his other 11 group members had to complete it without verbally communicating. (Middle) Aiming for two of his teammates standing inside a hula hoop, freshman Vicente Gaona yells as he swings into them and attempts to land in the circle. (Bottom) Madison White, a rising senior at JMU, yells for students to get into groups of four for an activity.

PHOTOS BY HANNAH MILLER

White, a rising senior at JMU, led the group through a variety of activities.

“I have been doing this for two years now, and it’s actually pretty amazing what this does for groups.

Some people come out here not knowing each other, and then they leave being like, ‘Wow this was great for us because now I know them and I trust them.’

They bond out here,” White said.

Sophomore Nyaz Mumand was one of many who embraced the opportunity to work together on out-

side-the-box tasks. His favorite exercise involved his team having to successfully get all 13 members and a cup full of water to fit inside of three hula hoops by swinging over on a rope.

“I enjoyed [the rope activity] the most because everyone was having one hell of a time,” Mumand said. “I enjoyed how we did the team building, getting to know new people, going around doing something fun, you feel me?”

Mumand believes the experience will have beneficial effects inside the

classroom.

“In this program we need team building, everybody working together. It’ll be easier for the teachers and students at the same time. That’s why I think it was a good idea to go there,” Mumand said.

According to Diggs, the overarching goal of the Summit Academy is to reach out to kids and connect them with the community both in and outside the classroom. She feels the Challenge Course did a great job of supporting that goal by creating a low pres-

sure environment.

“I think it’s important for students to realize that their teachers care about them not only inside the classroom, but [also] when they can get out of it. It’s important to create a community of values where everyone’s voice can be heard, but in order to do that you have to be able to respect each other in a variety of situations,” Diggs said. “The kids are receptive to us and know that we’re going to continue to push them outside their comfort zone.”

WHY DID YOU APPLY? Deseree Kennedy (9)

Manny Trammell (10)

“Because I felt like it had [a lot] to offer, you see more in the community and there are 45 minute classes.”

“It’s a better environment for people to learn in, and it [has] shorter classes.”

Cameron Clem (11)

Kylie Romero (9)

“I applied so I could get extra credits, get the classes that I needed done and just get work done because I’m not good at working on a regular basis.”

“I applied because I need to graduate and it’s gonna help me succeed in life.”

KEVIN PIZANO

Summit implements Big Picture Learning OZIEL VALDEZ The 2018-2019 school year at HHS has introduced a new academy known as the Summit Academy, a program to work with students who perform better in smaller classroom settings. This year, their curriculum changed to fit a program called Big Picture Learning.

New history teacher Jay Singleton teaches World History 1 and World History 2 in Summit Valley.

“The reason I wanted to do [Big Picture Learning] was because it’s what every teacher always says they want. They want smaller class sizes, they want the ability to give individual attention, they want the ability to not focus on assessments and tests and concentrate on actual learning, instead of teaching for a test and boring stuff that students won’t care about. I feel like we all feel the same way about Big Picture Learning,” Singleton said.

Singleton states that only 15 schools in the country follow the program, and 25 schools internationally follow it, too. Singleton is hoping that the academy stays long-term to better help students.

“Well, if [Big Picture Learning] works, it will help them in a number of ways. The biggest one being that making sure students who might have trouble graduating will be able to graduate,” Singleton said. “But you could think of other ways that it will help them as well, like having better relationships with adults who are around them, learning how to be a better citizen and being more respectful, taking life more seriously and making connections around them and more opportunities for mentorships and internships. Really the sky’s the limit.

We’re trying to do anything and everything that will benefit the students.”

In the math department of Summit Academy, math teacher Elisabeth Glover has changed her curriculum to better suit individual students in a self-paced course. Behind her desk on the wall stands a colorful chart that tracks each of the students’ self-paced progress. Her goal for the year is to have a more robust way to teach Algebra and Algebra Functions.

“I’ve always gone with the selfpaced math because in math when students stop understanding, they can get left behind very quickly because

each topic builds up from the one before. I’ve always found it a good way to work with students who traditionally struggled in math, because now they don’t feel like the rest of the class is moving on and they’re not getting it and that they never will,” Glover said.

“

We’re trying to do anything and everything that will benefit the students.”

-Jay Singleton

“I’m trying to keep everybody close together, but if somebody needs an extra day to learn a topic, they have that day... It’s mainly so that they don’t feel like the class will leave them behind and that they will never catch up.”

The Summit Academy teachers are hoping that their efforts pay off and that this new curriculum will drive new students to graduate and learn.

The Newsstreak

September 28th, 2018

Feature-B2

TURN IT UP

Travis Scott reaches another galaxy in “Astroworld” SARAH EARLE As gigantic, inflatable, gold Travis Scott heads appeared all over the country, plastered all over social media, the hype for a new side of Scott had erupted and I knew I had to hop on board. At a more content stage in his life, with a newly-born child and a prominent relationship with Kylie Jenner, Scott embellished “Astroworld” as not just an album, but a brand.

“Astroworld,” in my opinion, is the album that is probably most personal to Scott. The name originates from an old amusement park in his hometown, Houston, TX, a place very special to him.

Not only does he reference Houston throughout the album, but he reveals a happier, more comfortable side of himself that we didn’t see much of before. The minute “Astroworld” dropped, I was immediately hooked.

As a devoted fan of his older, expressive music, I was expecting nothing less on this new, astronomical trend of his. A melodic combination of psychedelic beats and erratic energy, “Astroworld” contains a variety of sounds with many notable featured artists. Guest vocals from Kid Cudi, Drake, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Swae Lee, Quavo and Juice Wrld, among others, definitely make this album even more credible. Many talented artists, like Kanye West, Tame Impala, Stevie Wonder and

John Mayer collaborated on this album to generate impeccable, powerful tracks.

Each song really takes on a different element of happiness that resides within Scott, whether it’s a pure, angelic exuberance or a wild, turbulent exhilaration.

With “STARGAZING” as the first track, a galactic vibe is established as you start to hear the vibrant sounds he incorporates. Scott experiments with fresh resonance and rigid beats throughout the album, but in a very imaginative sense. He summons you into his world through slow and hallucinatory synth melodies while transitioning over to the dense, invigorating, Frank Ocean featured track, “CAROUSEL.” That track acts as the countdown before the blast off in “SICKO MODE.” A definite favorite, “SICKO MODE” features Drake as he ricochets in and out of the track. It starts off climatic, and the hype only continues throughout the song. The four bass drops definitely hit hard. Without this song, I don’t think “Astroworld” would

take off as well. Between the bass drops and the variation of harmonies, Scott unleashes a power track that is bound to stay at the top of the charts for a while. Other favorites include “YOSEMITE,” the celestial, dreamlike air that levitates anyone listening, and “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD,” a resonant, heavenly anthem that orbits around the idea of the “God complex” where stardom can generate overconfidence and narcis-

sism.

Through his euphoric voyage in “Astroworld,” Scott goes over the moon in the tracks “R.I.P. SCREW,” “WAKE UP,” “HOUSTONFORNICATION” and “SKELETONS,” a radiant track that infuses the mind-altering, cosmic synth of Tame Impala. “NO BYSTANDERS,” “5% TINT” and “NC17” embellish more of a meteoric, intense energy, while “ASTROTHUNDER,” “WHO? WHAT?” and the old favorite “BUTTERFLY

EFFECT” encompass dense beats infused with more fluid, vivid rhythms. Scott embraces a Kanye flow in “CAN’T SAY” and ends the album with a mellow, euphonious track, “COFFEE BEAN,” as he descends from flight.

Although I don’t really consider him to be an exceptional rapper, I still admire the work Scott has generated. He’s not necessarily as lyrical as Biggie was or Kendrick is, but that doesn’t denote his ability to produce solid hip hop records. The way he vividly experiments and meshes raw beats with uplifting melodies, Scott definitely shows he has elements of artistry.

In “Astroworld,” he really starts to redefine himself and claim an immense amount of confidence in his abilities. I really see him open up more in this album and show us a variety of styles that transition incredibly well from one track to another. There’s a little bit of everything that flies right at you in this album, just like an amusement park or outer space.

“Astroworld” creates an exhilarating dynamic throughout the album that makes it difficult not to appreciate. The alluring level of creativity and ingenuity in each individual song shows dedication and passion. Scott didn’t disappoint in his past albums and he continues to do the same. “Astroworld” proves that Scott has already taken off and, at this point, reached another galaxy.

Which album do “Testing” defies norms with personality students prefer?

NOAH SIDERHURST

INFOGRAPHIC BY SOPHIE SALLAH

The name says it all. A$AP Rocky’s “Testing” is an experiment.

Rocky jumps from sleepy soul in “Purity” to his typical unstoppable swagger in “OG Beeper” to a sample of Moby’s “Porcelain” in “A$AP Forever.”

While it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, it doesn’t sound at all like a mainstream rap album. Almost every song includes some aspect that defies norms.

Even in songs like “OG Beeper,” which features BlocBoy JB doing ad libs, trippy synths remind us that it’s still Rocky, not some new-to-fame hype man.

The same goes for “Praise The Lord (Da Shine).” It’s Rocky’s most popular song off the album, but still seems to transcend trends.

For one, Skepta (who produces and features on the song) brings a heavy English grime influence that can be heard in the flute melody and the chorus. At the same time, you hear the quick snare and rumbling bass that make the beat reminiscent of southern hip-hop.

As Dean Van Nguyen of the Guardian put it, “Rocky is an ostentatious impresario who took hollowed-out

cloud rap and Odd Future’s lo-fi aesthetic and made it all sound like highend fashion.”

Something else we have to talk about is the album’s undeniable psychedelic feel.

This is something that’s been obvious in Rocky’s other work; songs like

“Pain,” “L$D” and “LVL” reek of it. But it’s especially prevalent in “Testing.”

Rocky opens with “Distorted Records,” full of tripped-out bass and keys. Songs like “Kids Turned Out Fine” with it’s Tame Impala-esque guitar line and heavy slips into distortion further contribute to this theme. “Fukk Sleep” finds Rocky reflecting on his rise to

fame under airy vocals and auto-tune.

“Praise the Lord (Da Shine)” was made while Rocky and Skepta were both on acid. Warped synths and vocals are present in almost every song.

As far as lyrics, Rocky delivers his usual smooth, confident flow over “Tony Tone,” “Gunz N Butter,” “Hun43rd” and “Black Tux, White Collar.” Rocky has always lacked when it comes to deeper lyrics, but he approaches a larger message with songs like “Fukk Sleep,” and “Hun43rd.” It’s always fun to hear how he throws together words to form some of the most versatile bars out there.

Overall, the superb production and experimental attitude of the project make it one of the best releases this year. Although it didn’t receive the critical success of Rocky’s previous albums, it’s still full of personality. In a genre full of viral stars and over-saturated with hype songs, Rocky cuts through, always doing it his way.

As he puts it: “All year long bruh, stuck up in my zone all by my lonesome. Pay the role my dues, I brought my own funds. When it’s time to war I brought my own guns. Difference is I’m ghetto but I’m wholesome.”

“Life’s a Trip” takes listeners on emotional roller coaster SAM HEIE Day-dreamy, depressed and diverse - Trippie Redd’s hallucinogenic infused freshman album packs it all into a 14 track roller coaster of emotions.

The album starts off with a downcast Trippie singing to a lover on, “Together.” The song is reminiscent of the alternative rock bands that brought Trippie’s style to the front lines with a slow solo guitar melody and Trippie’s depressed narration of a hiccup in his relationship. The song assimilates the listener to his sadness so that the rest of the album takes the listener by force.

Following the depressed featureless intro to the album is a series of upbeat songs entirely stylistically different from the first song. Trippie turns to a more bubbly tone in “Taking A Walk” and “Wish - Trippie Mix.” The drums and the hip-hop production hint that the roller coaster that is Trip-

pie’s album has reached its first peak. “Taking a Walk” brings the coaster car up and on the first drop of “Wish,” the car plummets into Trippie’s psychedelic oblivion.

Trippie insists on proving his versatility in the rap game as he enters his fourth track. He jumps into a more traditional no hook rap in “Missing My Idols,” vacant of his usual unique ascending, borderline rock star singing.

He spits about his disregard for expectations of others in the rap game on a beat strikingly similar to those of J. Cole.

The mood shifts from Trippie’s early 2000’s bar spitting to a sleepy melodic 2010’s style collaboration with Young Thug in “Forever Ever.” This head bumper features a keyboard background with a melody seemingly developed from the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” The melody sways the album towards a pleasant state of melancholy.

Melancholy only lasts so long as Trippie presents the climax of

the album in the next six tracks of the song: the twists of the roller coaster. Trippie intertwines thriller movie melodies featuring Travis Scott in “Dark Knight Dummo” with punk insults of the rap game.

The sharp turns bounce the listener through a multitude of emotions leaving no choice but to sit back and admire.

Trippie concludes his album with high school triumph and a return to the album’s initial melancholy state. “Gore” finds Trippie delighting in his own mortality in an almost scarily accepting manner. The song induces a nostalgic

feeling of better times with not a care outside of enjoyment.

The album comes full circle with his final track, “Underwater FlyZone.” Trippie explores the peaceful dark shades of blue in his life with the relaxing strum of an

electric guitar. The song details his loneliness as the car pulls back to the beginning of the ride. A roller coaster of emotions is generated

by Trippie’s roller coaster of an album.

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

Feature-B3

LENDING A

HELPING HAND

STEM Academy plans future community service opportunities SID TANDEL Senior Christa Cole, president of the STEM committee, plans to implement new volunteering programs to the STEM community. The STEM academy has long participated in service programs and research, taking part in the annual 6th grade river trip and STEM day at Valley Mall, but Cole wants to take these projects and programs a step further and implement new volunteer opportunities for STEM students.

“I want to have more opportunities available to the students because [the volunteer programs] will always pop up here and there, but we’re not great about communicating with them because it’s hard to communicate to the entire STEM academy,” Cole said.

Although no event is final, Cole plans the events every year with the rest of the STEM committee.

“We have the [Women in STEM] event every year where we bring in women in STEM at HHS and a mentor, [a woman in the community who has a STEM job],” Cole said. “We have the 6th grade river trip coming up and an event we started last year where we built timeout shel-

TEAMWORK Sophomores Hayden Kirwan and Henry Hermes help move crab traps onto the boat during last year’s STEM field trip to the Chesapeake Bay. PHOTO BY SETH SHANTZ ters for the students to take time out of the chaos of the classroom. We didn’t finish the shelters from last year so we should be starting those up again sometime soon.”

Biology Teacher Myron Blosser, along with the rest of the STEM committee, hopes to make the students

of the governor’s STEM academy more involved with the middle and elementary schools in Harrisonburg. “[The governor’s STEM academy] encourage students to be involved, especially with our schools,” Blosser said. “Elementary school students need a

Yoder regularly volunteers at Massanutten Regional Library

SHELVING, RESHELVING AND SHELVING AGAIN Junior Mira Yoder organizes books, one of her jobs as a volunteer at Massanutten Regional Library. PHOTO BY NYAH PHENGSITTHY

strong role model to make their way through school.

With the large student population of the governor’s STEM academy growing, there will be more volunteers than ever.”

Engineering teacher Andrew Jackson believes that students will pick whatever

NYAH PHENGSITTHY From shelving returned books to making crafts of famous book characters, junior Mira Yoder has made herself a frequent volunteer at Massanutten Regional Library. Yoder originally had a routine for being a morning volunteer at Thomas Harrison Middle School’s library, but decided to take on more and contribute to the community. Yoder has been giving her free time to the local library for almost three years now.

Volunteering primarily in the children’s section, Yoder spends most of her Mondays at the library, but reserves the rest of the week for school and other family commitments. Yoder’s volunteer tasks usually consist of shelving, which can

volunteer program specifically pertains to them. “[Having the drive to volunteer] is all about what you’re passionate about,” Jackson said. “[The governor’s STEM academy] will keep expanding new volunteer opportunities as long as students have the passion

she describes as being both repetitive and entertaining.

“After shelving for two and a half hours, it suddenly becomes hard to read number and letters over and over again. That gets pretty tedious, but it’s fun,” Yoder said.

From time to time, Yoder volunteers at other places in the community with her church youth group, but the library is where she finds most of her comfort.

“I really know the people who work there, they’re really nice. I love being around them,” Yoder said. “I know what they’re doing every week at the library. I like having the routine down too.”

Out of all the shelving and crafting moments, the thing that Yoder would consider her least favorite

Goble doubles as EMT, saves lives HOLLY BILL In his free time, science teacher Adam Goble saves lives. Goble has been volunteering as an emergency medical technician (EMT) for five years with the Bridgewater Rescue Squad. He takes time out of his weekend to respond to everything from minor injuries to life-threatening emergencies around the area.

“Most of our calls involve folks who are having some sort of medical problems [such as] difficulty breathing, their chest hurts, [or] they don’t feel well. We take their vitals, we assess them [and] we usually take them to the hospital,” Goble said.

“Every once in awhile, we get a trauma, which is some kind of major injury from a fall or from a traffic crash.”

EMT’s are specially trained first responders who provide basic emergency care to sick and/or injured people at the scene of a medical emergency. They also provide trans-

portation for the victim to a healthcare facility. According to Goble, the common perception of what an EMT regularly sees is not what a normal operation entails.

“Rarely do we get calls where we need to go and get people out of vehicles and such like you would see on TV. Most of our stuff is pretty calm,” Goble said.

Even though EMT’s may not see life or death traumas as often, becoming an EMT comes with a lot of stress.

Being a first responder to a medical emergency requires strong focus during urgent situations.

“I’ve learned to deal with extremely stressful situations in a much more calm manner.

You get a lot of adrenaline the first few times you run calls, but once you get used to them, you’re able to keep cool in situations,” Goble said.

“That’s even helped around the school, as well,” Running with the rescue squad may be nerve-racking, but it also comes with re-

wards. For Goble the best part about being an EMT is the feelings afterward and the lessons learned on the job.

“I do enjoy helping people.

When you help somebody, you get these warm, fuzzy feelings,” Goble said. “Also, I’m a big lifetime learner, so I’m always learning new things, new treatment techniques and new medical conditions, so that keeps me interested as well.”

Goble recommends getting EMT training to anyone who’s looking into a medical career because the experience and lessons learned on the job are very useful.

“It’s good to get yourself in there and working with the patients and seeing the stuff before you go through eight years of [medical] school. If you go through eight years of school and never see a patient who’s bleeding or potentially dying, it can really stress you out if you’re not used to it,” Goble said.

While more uncommon, part of being an EMT is dealing with these kinds of emer-

gency situations, and it can be scary.

“When dispatch tells you some pretty serious stuff is going on, such as cardiac arrest, a serious traffic crash or someone’s been ejected, you can get kind of worked up, especially if you’re the one who’s going to be in charge of the patient,” Goble said. “But normally, we have a few minutes before we get there to get focused. There’s some stuff that we’ve heard on the radio going in that sounds scarier than it really is.”

Despite being scary, joining the rescue squad as an EMT is rewarding. But according to Goble, the hardest part is going out and getting certified. “[If you’re interested, you’ve] got to get out there and do it. The hardest part is getting yourself started. Once you get started, it’s easy to go from there,” Goble said. “[But] even if you don’t become an EMT, get your first aid and CPR [training], because it can still save lives.”

to volunteer. To me volunteering is all about what you are passionate about and what you have a strong desire to help. Once students find that volunteer program or event they have a strong motive to volunteer for, we will have volunteering rates sky rocket.”

thing to do while volunteering has more to do with reading “When it comes down to times where no one’s at the library, and nothing is being returned, I have to shelve read. [It] isn’t too bad for a long time, but you’re basically just reading books to make sure it’s in order on the shelf… it’s a lot of sitting and standing, it’s not the most fun thing,” Yoder said.

While stacking up on the volunteer hours adds up in the end for things such as resume information or a volunteer cord, Yoder sees volunteering as more than just the title.

“I think I like spending my time in a way I know helps some way in the community,” Yoder said. “I really like organizing stuff, so the library is perfect.”

What does an EMT do?

EMT’s are trained to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) treatments, which means they can: • Perform CPR • Use an AED • Bandage wounds • Resuscitate drowning • victims • Perform emergency childbirth procedures • Administer certain • medications • Stabilize broken bones • Assess health • emergencies INFORMATION COURTESY OF EMS1.COM

September 28, 2018

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September 28, 2018

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September 28, 2018

Sports-B7

Golf doubles varsity roster size from last year SAM ROOKER It’s 2018, and the HHS golf team has the first full roster it’s had in years.

Though five to six players made up the team’s roster for the past few years, five more players have stepped up to the tee box and joined the team this year.

Second-year golf coach, Christopher Sorber, had this to say: “Last year when they asked me to be coach I had two golfers. I was a little worried because it was July Fourth and we needed four golfers to post a team score, but we only had two. People emailed me and said, ‘Hey, I want to play golf for you and I’ve got this friend, and he wants to play golf’, so the word just [kind of] got out there,” Sorber said.

Sorber has coached golf before as an assistant coach for King George County Schools. Sorber’s recruiting skills showed when he was able to obtain three additional players for the team last year after the 2016-

GET IN THE HOLE. Freshman Reed Van Poots chips from beside the green as teammate and fellow freshman Schuyler Harmison watches. PHOTO BY SAM ROOKER 2017 season consisted of only four players. Sorber has worked with several of the local schools and First Tee, a national youth golf program operating at Heritage Oaks Golf Course to help scout candidates for the team.

9

n

Iro

“I met with the First Tee organization, and I wanted to build a foundation of learning with them because we have not always had that relationship here at the high school,” Sorber said.

Harrisonburg First Tee director Jeff Simmons be-

lieves that the organization is able to spread the sport of golf throughout the city schools. In fact, four freshmen on the 2018-2019 team were previous members of the First Tee middle school programs.

“We hope by going into

3 Wo od

on 7 Ir 100 Yards

the different schools in the area that we can introduce the game of golf to kids that have never played it before and aside from when we go into their school, they may not ever get to play it again or they may not ever have the opportunity to,” Sim-

150 Yards

mons said Freshman Adam Osinkosky has been playing golf for two years. The First Tee is what got him into golf.

“Playing golf on your own is extremely boring, and not as fun. Talking to your friends while playing makes it better,” Osinkosky said.

Though five of the team’s current varsity players graduate after this season, Sorber still believes the team has a bright future ahead.

“The way the program is growing and the dedication from the athletes that come out here every day, I think for this particular team the interest is growing. When I go to matches at other schools the interest in golf is going down,” Sorber said.

“I have six guys in the Varsity team and some of my JV guys this year, I’m putting them right into varsity next year. . . if they continue the way they’re playing now then I think this program could be very successful.”

Driver

200 Yards

250 Yards

Burley assumes athletic director role in place of Wilson OWEN MARSHALL After eight years working as Harrisonburg’s athletic director, HHS has welcomed a new athletic director to fill the role of Darrell Wilson who has taken a new job through VHSL. Brandon Burley originally came back to the area to be closer to his wife’s family, but when the opportunity arose he took the job.

“My wife is from Luray and we had been gone for 20 years and she was ready to come back home. She teaches Spanish so she got a job in Warren County, she’s in Luray County now, that’s what brought us back to the valley,” Burley said. “I came from a larger school, Powhatan, and going from Powhatan to Rappahannock was a big difference because Rappahannock is so small.

While Rappahannock was a great place, I really missed

a bigger school. When this position became available I had other [athletic directors] in the area message me it was open. I went through the application process and here I am.”

Burley believes the personnel aspect is very similar, but the size is the biggest difference between the schools.

“We had 350 kids in our high school. Our football team had like 25 kids.

Sometimes we had to fight to keep teams going which was tough at times,” Burley said. “People are people wherever you are. Kids are going to be kids and adults are going to be adults if you just build relationships with them and treat them right, everything else takes care of itself.”

After Burley adjusts to the new school, he hopes to have student athletes more involved around Harrison-

burg.

“Right now I am trying to get settled in, but I really want to work on the community involvement piece. I think it is good for the community to support our teams, and our teams to support the community as well,” Burley said.

To pursue this goal of community involvement, Burley hopes to gain more knowledge about the area and see where teams could help out.

“I really want to learn about the community a little more to see what’s out there.

I know the teams have gone and split wood for people before, they’ve raked leaves and different things like that,” Burley said.

Burley believes that since he loves working, he doesn’t have any tasks he views as hardships. However, he does believes there are obstacles that he needs to

overcome.

“I don’t think there is anything hard, because I enjoy what I do. I think there can be challenges at times. The biggest challenge right now is getting more students involved. We need to have more kids in the stands,” Burley said. “We had volleyball at home and I think we had the JV football team and some of the varsity kids there and that was really it. I really want to increase the student participation.”

Currently, Burley is working to solve the challenges he has noticed early on. By lowering the prices and using student leaders, he hopes to draw larger crowds to all sporting events.

“We have to be creative.

The SCA is going to sell tickets [for the football games] at lunch for half price. We have to get everybody to buy

in. We need SCA and leaders in the school to help recruit those kids to coming to the games,” Burley said.

Burley’s favorite part of the job is building relationships with the athletes.

“My favorite part is the interaction with the students and the coaches. It’s never the same. Some jobs are very monotonous... but this is a job where there is always something new,” Burley said.

Being new to the area, Burley has yet to make many of the relationships that come with the job.

“It’s been a learning experience. Putting my name and a face together, because a lot of people have heard my name, but don’t know who I am and I still haven’t met so many people. Overall, the transition has been fairly smooth,” Burley said.

During the hiring process John Woodrum was

an interim athletic director.

When Burley was first hired, Woodrum helped Burley learn the ropes. “[Woodrum] has been around for a long time. He was around through the end of August and he is a great source of wisdom. He knows the community and knows a lot of the coaches, the players the parents just because he’s been rooted in the community. I think that’s probably why the transition has been much easier,” Burley said.

Burley has already bought into being a Blue Streak and enjoys the school spirit aspect of his job.

“I’ve only been here for three weeks. Putting on that Harrisonburg t-shirt, you have a sense of pride. The sense of pride that ‘hey I’m a Blue Streak now’. I’m excited we are going to have fun and see where we go,” Burley said.

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September 28, 2018

Sports-B8

Gonzalez joins cross-country in first year NYAH PHENGSITTHY

READY TO GO. Laura Gonzalez runs before practice. The girls team usually warms up in front of the school before they start their workouts. PHOTO BY HANNAH MILLER

ILANA MATSON

Hurricane Maria Fast Facts Death Toll

64 direct deaths came from Maria.

Cost

50

50 billion dollars in damages were reported in the 24 U.S. states that were affected.

4

Maria reached category four at its peak.

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last year, had mentioned the fall sport to Gonzalez, which happened to spark her interest in joining.

“I did cross country in middle school and I liked it… Ana [Rodriguez] from last year, she told me that she really loved cross country and said that it’s a good way to meet people,” Gonzalez said.

From starting her running career four years ago to running every day with her team mates, Gonzalez hopes to improve simple aspects of her running performance to get better for future years.

“I’m not the best runner… I want to do better every time,” Gonzalez said.

“I’m not that competitive.

I just need to make sure I don’t rush at the beginning and make sure I have a steady pace.”

Nazario finds second family in volleyball team

4 64

From North Carolina to Virginia, freshman Laura Gonzalez can say that moving from place to place isn’t her first rodeo. Gonzalez officially made Harrisonburg her home when she moved to The Friendly City this summer, but before moving from state to state, Gonzalez moved from country to country.

Originally from Spain, it was at the age of nine that she packed up all her belongings to move to the United States four years ago.

Though Gonzalez hasn’t lived in the states for long, Harrisonburg has already presented many differences from Spain.

“We lived in a really small neighborhood, it’s

like a pueblo, so it’s not the same thing. We were just out in the streets. It was a really small place,” Gonzalez said.

One of the reasons for leaving Spain and moving to the United States was for Gonzalez to learn English as a second language. The other reason was for the careers that were offered to her parents. After moving to Harrisonburg, her mother started teaching at Bluestone Elementary and her father at Skyline Middle School.

Back in North Carolina, Gonzalez joined the cross country team out of curiosity. She previously had no experience with sports, but is now part of the cross country team at HHS. Ana Rodriguez, a Spanish exchange student who attended HHS

Category

Relocated

407,465 people relocated from Puerto Rico after Maria.

After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September of 2017, many people had to pack their bags and find somewhere new to live. This was the case for senior Melany Nazario and her family. While they have found Harrisonburg to be their new home, Nazario can also say she has found comfort on the varsity volleyball team.

“When I moved here I lost everything, and volleyball is the only thing that helped me,” Nazario said.

Nazario came to Harrisonburg knowing no English. She has faced many barriers due to her lack of knowledge of the language, but found comfort with the girls on the volleyball team.

“This team for me is like a family. When I feel sad or depressed, volleyball helps me and makes me feel better,” Nazario said.

Overcoming the language barrier hasn’t come easily to Nazario, but she has tried her best and managed to get a solid grasp on understanding others.

“The English, for me, is hard because I can understand [people], but it’s hard for me to talk to [them],” Nazario said.

The team has been Nazario’s hub for socializing, as she has spent hours upon hours with all of the girls.

“I think that making friends [has been hard for me]. I don’t have a lot of friends [outside of] the team,” Nazario said.

Even with all the new challenges and experiences that Nazario has faced, she feels most at home while she’s out with her teammates or just practicing. In Nazario’s opinion,

HIT THAT SUCKER. Senior Melany Nazario practices her serve in warm-ups prior to HHS’s game against Broadway High School. PHOTO BY DANY T MEDHIN the team here has a really close bond that she didn’t experience in Puerto Rico.

“Volleyball in Puerto Rico is good, but here the team, for me, is more like a family,” Nazario said.

Carter joins JV team, becomes third girl to play football at HHS LAYLA SEEFRIED According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 1.08 million students played high school football in 2014, of which 99.9 percent were boys. Eighth grader Jadyn Carter doesn’t want to live by that stereotype and has joined the Harrisonburg High School JV football team.

“Everybody classifies football as a guy sport, but

it’s honestly not. It’s just a physical contact sport,” Carter said.

Growing up in a community where football was prevalent, Carter came to love playing the sport whenever possible.

“When I was little, football was the only thing popular in our neighborhood, as we played it everyday. I fell in love with it even more every time,” Carter said.

Being the only girl on

1,565

the JV football team has not changed the way she feels about the sport in the least.

“They treat me the same as they would with any other dude,” Carter said.

Teammate Dominic Fields doesn’t feel that Jadyn is at all different from other teammates.

“She is just an athlete, just a player like me. She is really good. She’s athletic.

She’s physical. She plays just like a dude would. The

only difference is her sex,” Fields, said.

Jadyn’s teammates believe that football is for anyone willing to play.

“If you think you’re athletic enough, and you want to play football, you should. You shouldn’t be worried about your gender. I think it’s really cool when girls express themselves and show that they can do it because there is no difference between a guy and a girl,” Fields said.

Teammate Xavier Cain feels the same way.

“She’s the same as everybody else. She does what she is supposed to do. If girls want to play, let them play because, like I said, she is just like us,” Cain said.

In JV football coach Brian Austin’s 18 years of coaching, he has coached three girls and has always treated them the same way he’d treat anyone.

“This is not my first

How many girls play football? girl players nationwide

37

girl players in Virginia

1

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time coaching a girl.

Coaching a girl does not change the team environment. My biggest concern is making sure Jadyn has the right accommodations, in terms of where to dress and have bathroom access during away games,” Austin said. “Players have not looked at Jadyn differently or treated her differently.

They recognize that she is a tough player who runs hard and is willing to hit,” Austin said.

girl players at HHS

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

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Cross country runs with middle schools in preseason OWEN STEWART During summer practices, both the girls and boys cross country teams decided to not only practice to improve their own running skills, but also to work with future Blue Streak runners by practicing with local middle school runners. While these joint practices aren’t currently taking place, they were common early in the season.

Senior Evan Wood, a four-year member of the team, saw some benefits in working with the middle schoolers, although he wasn’t too keen on the idea at first.

“At first, I was kind of disappointed because I thought I would be hanging out with the guys a little bit more, but I kind of liked it too because it gave us a chance to meet some of the people that would be coming in after us,” Wood said.

The practices, which worked with runners from both Thomas Harrison and Skyline Middle Schools, caused Wood to have a bit of a flashback to his days as a middle school runner. He hopes that working with the younger kids will help them grow as people in the future.

“It definitely brought me back to when I was a middle schooler a little bit. They were definitely a little less mature than I remember; they have a long way to go. I feel like this is one of a few steps they can take on the way to being more mature adults,” Wood said.

Wood added that when he was in middle school, he would have encouraged this type of joint practice to happen, and that if he ever coached a team, he’d enact a similar type of practice.

“I [would have] loved it. I would have loved hanging out with the high schoolers and running with them. I always looked up to them like they were some sort of gods,” Wood said. “I think [I would continue the practices] if I were a coach. It’s definitely good to get the lowerclassmen of high school knowing the younger kids they’re going to be running with for the next couple of years. Starting that early definitely helps a lot.”

High school practices are mainly used to prepare the varsity runners to run the 3.1 miles they have to grind out during a typical meet, but when working with the middle schoolers, practicing wasn’t purely a running event.

Instead, they did bonding activities such as games during practice and ran a little less.

Wood hopes that the bonding experiences with the middle schoolers allows them to get ready to be teammates with the older runners, but also understands that as a senior, he won’t get to know the runners in the same way.

“We did play a couple of games to get to know each other, but I never really got to learn many of their names. I don’t really care because I’m a senior, no offense or anything, I want to know them, but I’m not going to ever see them again after I graduate,” Wood said.

Though he won’t be on the team to run with the middle schoolers when they move up to high school next year, Wood hopes they continue to run and make friends with his current cross country teammates. “[I’d just tell them] to treat everyone with respect and be a part of the team,” Wood said. “The teamwork is the best part of cross country. You can be the fastest runner on the team and still feel like [crap] because you don’t like your team.”

How do the cross country teams spend their weeks?

BOYS: MONDAY: Hard tempo run TUESDAY: Easy pre-meet WEDNESDAY: Race THURSDAY: Easy run, ultimate frisbee FRIDAY: Hard workout

GIRLS: MONDAY: Long run TUESDAY: Easy pre-meet WEDNESDAY: Race THURSDAY: Easy run FRIDAY: Hard Workout

Virginia Tech football primed to repeat success of previous decade

SIMON BEACH I’m probably going to regret writing this column because none of it is going to actually come true when this college football season rolls around, but here it goes anyway.

Don’t sleep on the Virginia Tech Hokies this year.

Losing eight out of eleven starters on defense may sound dismal to your regular college football fan, but to a person who follows Tech very closely, it could be a very exciting year. It will be quarterback Josh Jackson’s second year under center, but this time instead of one star receiver, Cam Phillips, there will be a dynamic, explosive, young group of receivers, and one is bound to step up their game.

I’m most excited about Damon Hazleton, a transfer from

Ball State who is a young stud. In the Hokies’ media day session on Aug. 22, head coach Justin Fuente said that sophomore Hezekiah Grimsley would get the bulk of the reps in the slot, which would send fellow second year man Sean Savoy out wide. Mook Reynolds and Adonis Alexander would have been the two returning starters in the cornerback position, but they were both dismissed from the team for being silly; Reynolds getting caught with pot and Alexander not showing up to class.

The defensive line will have three players with college experience, and the safety position will have two gentlemen who played last year. That means six starters will not have played a snap after high school. Doesn’t sound good, right? Wrong.

What these players lack in experience, they make up in raw tal-

ent. Dylan Rivers and Rayshard Ashby will most likely be holding down the linebacking corps, and the secondary also has lots of talent with names such as returning rovers Reggie Floyd and Divine Diablo, who will be eager to play again after going down with a foot injury in Week 4 after his first career pick. Bud Foster, the defensive coordinator and easily one of the best in the country, will take what he has from this young group and turn it into another ferocious Lunch Pail Defense.

It might not happen right away, because the cornerback and D-line spot is lacking in depth, meaning one injury could derail the whole season. Which, if you have been following Tech football for a while, seems eerily similar to 2004. That team wasn’t ranked in the preseason coaches poll, and this year’s Tech team is barely inside the top

25. That team had massive losses on defense and no star receiver on offense (Deangelo Hall namely on defense, Ernest Wilford the receiver who caught 55 receptions out of QB Randall’s 181 completions), this team has massive losses of defense and no star receiver (the Edmunds’ brothers namely on defense and Cam Phillips was the star receiver, who set a Virginia Tech record for both receptions and receiving yards).

The ‘03 Tech team’s QB the year before was Bryan Randall, who started off the season 6-0 and then dropped four of the team’s last six.

He came back and played well for the Insight Bowl, but still lost it.

Josh Jackson started off 4-0 and then got Clemson’d in Week 5, and won some games after that, but the offense never really clicked until the Camping World Bowl where he passed for 248 yards with a TD

and a pick, but lost the game. They finished with a record of 9-3, but a lot of points came from the defense, who was the second highest scoring defense in the country behind Alabama.

Finally, that team had a QB who came back needing to prove something without his top target with a bunch of inexperience at receiver, and so does this team. Everything worked in 2004 for that team with an amazing year from Randall and breakout star Eddie Royal and the defense always making plays. They won the Sugar Bowl in a thriller against Auburn. I’m not saying this team will match the success of the 2004 squad, but definitely don’t count them out. They open up with a huge game on the road against ACC Atlantic division foe, 19th ranked Florida State on Labor Day.

September 28, 2018

The Newsstreak

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Seville joins athletic training staff for first time SIMON BEACH Siaura Seville is the newest addition to this year’s athletic training staff, joining Timmy Nguyen and Jen Glazer. Moving from a Division I school, she was a little nervous about the transition.

“I have absolutely loved being able to be an athletic trainer here. Coming from the University of Richmond, I was skeptical about how the transition would be from D-I to high school level, but it has been such a rewarding change,” Seville said. The athletes have been absolutely phenomenal to work with and have been great in getting to know and earning their trust in me.”

Seville's favorite part of her new job has been getting acquainted with the student-athletes she recently began working with.

“My favorite part has been getting to know all the athletes and seeing all their different personalities really come out with me. It’s great that only being a month in, I can already tell who is having those bad days and who is just not being themselves,” Seville said. They have opened up with me [so I can] be an essential part of their life.”

While she has seen many positives to being an athletic trainer, there is one and only one thing Seville doesn’t enjoy doing.

“So far, there hasn’t been a least favorite part about it, except of course when those

athletes get season-ending injuries and having to let them know what the diagnosis is.

But that just allows me to get to know them even more when they are doing rehab in the training room with me. It’s an amazing experience to see them bounce back and return to play,” Seville said.

Being the “new kid”, Seville initially had some trouble getting the athletes to see that she was legit.

“The most challenging part would be to show people that I am new, but I do know my stuff and to get them to trust in me and confide in me with what’s going on. Luckily that hasn’t taken too long,” Seville said.

While Seville is new to the school, she is not the only one. As for this year, there are other trainers from different areas who have brought their experience to the HHS athletics team. “[The training staff] has another fulltime [athletic trainer] and two athletic training students working in the training room with me and it has been such a great experience. We are always bouncing ideas off of each other and collaborating on different things,” Seville said. “We all come from different schools and backgrounds, so it’s great to see how everyone else is thinking, as well as how differently or how similarly things have been taught in schools.”

WHAT’S IT TAKE TO BECOME AN ATHLETIC TRAINER?

1 2 3 4 5

OBTAIN A BACHELOR’S degree in athletic training RECEIVE BASic life support certification pass a certification test and complete a state accredited program GO FOR your master’s degree and fine-tune your skills GET WORK EXPERIENCE WITH A VETERAN TRAINER

INFOGRAPHIC BY OWEN STEWART

Yoder, Osinkosky welcomed as new golfers DAVID BRAZIEL Two years ago, there was only a pair of returning varsity golfers. Last season, the team grew to five players, and now, the team is composed of ten golfers, who have all gotten to know each other through the past season of practice and matches. Senior Tobias Yoder, in his first year on the team, believes that coming to practice has allowed him to grow closer to the people he plays with.

“I spend every day with [teammates] playing and talking on the golf course.

We’ve grown closer as teammates and friends,” Yoder said.

Throughout the season, Yoder, who picked up the sport just a couple months before the season began, has had to work on his swing constantly to compensate for being inexperienced on the course.

“Every time I practice, [my teammates] correct me on the rules [or] if I mess up something with my swing,” Yoder said. “My swing has gotten a lot better than before [when I’d] always come in last”.

Freshman Adam Osinkosky, who began golfing a year ago, has taken a liking to the sport and this year has decided to continue playing against tougher competition.

TEE IT UP. Freshman Adam Osinkosky prepares to tee off on the first tee box. Osinkosky joined the team in the 2017-2018 season as an eighth grader and only took part in JV matches. As a freshman Osinkosky is still predominantly on the JV team, but has made an apperance on the varsity team in the first match of the season at Lakeview Golf Club.

Osinkosky, along with fellow freshmen Schuyler Harmison, Dylan Thompson and Reed Van Poots, and senior Tobias Yoder, have allowed the golf roster to grow from five to ten players.

PHOTO BY SAM ROOKER “I tried it in the eighth grade and I thought it was pretty fun, so I decided to try to get onto the JV team,” Osinkosky said.

Osinkosky originally picked up the sport from his family members and likes it enough that he hopes to continue it through

high school.

“My dad and uncle golfed as kids and my golf clubs came from [my dad]. I might want to try after high school to [continue] to do some golf stuff.”

While both Osinkosky and Yoder have enjoyed the sport and would recommend it, they also understand that golf is viewed as a sport that can be limited in participation.

“I believe society views golf as a rich man’s sport,” Osinkosky said. “Golf clubs are really expensive…and it’s a classy sport like [with] the polos and the correct attire.”

Yoder agrees saying that he thinks people outside of golf have a bit of a misconception about the sport.

“Society views golf as a higher society; it’s a wealthy sport because of the clubs and it costs a lot of [money] to play it so not everyone can play it,” Yoder said.

Despite this, the golf team doesn’t have to pay because the Heritage Oaks Golf Course allows the team to golf for free. Yoder is pleased with his decision to join the team as he believes it will provide later opportunities in life. ”It’s a good skill to have; a lot of business decisions are made over a game of golf because it’s a sport where you can talk one on one and have fun,” Yoder said.

Long, tough interviewing process yields new hire How to find a new AD

MAKE SURE YOU AND YOUR TEAM KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR.

INFOGRAPHIC BY DANAIT T MEDHIN

COME UP WITH QUESTIONS THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO NARROW DOWN CANDIDATES

DANAIT T MEDHIN With the former Athletic director, Darrell Wilson, getting a job with VHSL in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg High school had a position to fill. The hiring of a new athletic director happened through a process conducted by principal Cynthia Prieto, stakeholders which included parents and community members and also students that attend HHS. “First we posted it, [we] put it on the web so that people who were interested in applying can do so.

Considering the importance, not that every job is not important, all jobs are important,” Prieto said. “[With] the publicness of this position, we wanted to hear from all of the stakeholders. [The athletic director] works with [the] community, does business partnerships, works with parents for sure, works with referee officials,coaches, supervisors and sponsors. This job is very public and it’s very outreach [orientated]. [The] person [we are looking for] has to be a match for the Harrisonburg community.”

Parents and community members were a big part in the process of finding a new Athletic director. Through many meetings the stakeholders and Prieto were

able to come up with a list of skills that it was agreed the new AD would have.

“So what we did was that we had several sessions of stakeholder meetings where people would give us input on what they thought were priorities… From there we compiled the things that we thought were mentioned by everybody, or a priority somehow. A lot of it was really logical. A lot of it was very heartening, they recognized the need for this person to have good communications skills,they have to be able to wipe out an email, do a Twitter, or a Facebook, do a newsletter, that sort of thing,” Prieto said. “They have to be able to set up training sessions with the coaches [once a year]. They have to be able to work Excel spreadsheets and finance [is a huge part of the job]. You have got to be able to budget, you have to be able to fundraise you have to be able to do all that stuff. The accuracy of it is huge. So we had a lot of different things that were very clear priorities for people.

We included parents and I spoke to some kids.”

Part of the application process was to write a sample. A Over 50 resumes were submitted, to Prieto and the three others who would read each writing sample to determine the best choice for the new athletic director.

“[The amount of resumes we received] is really cool, people really want to work at Harrisonburg. We looked at the resumes, and the first logical break… So statistically you look to see where the break is, and it was very possible to do anybody with any experience so their were a lot of inexperienced and then there were some way out in the left field, so those were not even considered. We easily broke out people with experience, and we ran interviews with a committee, the committee had a rubric.

They all read the writing samples, they all listened to all the questions, they all scored all the questions and then we had a conversation afterwards as a group and it was pretty cool because our votes were all the same,” said Prieto. “These were your tops, these are your don’t considers that sort of thing and you just keep doing rounds of that till you find the right match. And then when we had a group of the ones we thought were our top, I would bring them in and interview them on a more intimate level.

Me and one other person.

Or tour them around the building and introduce them to a lot of different people in the building and see how they interact and what type of questions they ask and that sort of thing.”

The Newsstreak

September 28, 2018

Sports-B11

BRINGING TEAMS CLOSER

Football bonds ahead of new season, sees difference on field PARKER BOLYARD Whether it’s going swimming at Blue Hole, going out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings or challenging each other at practice, the Streaks football teams find ways to get to know each other. Bonding begins when summer practices start.

Senior Chris Johnson is an offensive and defensive lineman for the varsity team. He has been playing football since he was in eighth grade. For Johnson, shared experiences are what makes the team closer when it comes to bonding time.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes in during the summer. We’re getting yelled at, we’re running, puking, just working hard all summer during practices,” Johnson said. “It builds that camaraderie, everybody goes through the same thing that you went through so you know that they’re there for you.”

Varsity football coach Chris Thurman believes that after and during workouts is the best time to bond.

“I work the snot out of them [because]

GAME TIME The varsity football team runs out as they prepare to take on Lord Botetourt for their first home game of the season. PHOTO BY ASHLEY ISCOA when somebody's tired and grumpy, that's honestly when they're the most raw and the most honest, you can really find out who people are and their character. When

Girls cross country focuses on team relationship SWETA KUNVER Running is not the only thing that the girls cross country team focuses on; they also enjoy the relationships that stem from the sport itself. Bonding is one of the next big focuses on the team and to create those bonds, the team of ten girls, including junior Sarah Deloney and senior Abby Campillo, plan team hangouts. This includes dineins, potlucks and sleepovers which happens to include games, food and team rituals.

“Bonding is really important for our team because we have a small team.

We get closer through bonding activities and even though we might all be coming from different schools or different places, we know each other a little bit better,” Deloney said.

Many of the girls come from different backgrounds and different schools, but that doesn’t stop them from becoming close. In fact, the one thing they share the most in common is the hard work and sweat put into meets and training.

“It’s really important [to bond] because it’s a really, really close sport,” Campillo said.

Over her four years, Campillo has found the value of sportsmanship in cross country, something that requires minimal distance between the runners. “[You] see people in pain, so you have to have a really strong bond with everyone,” Campillo said.

Age doesn’t matter to the team either. In fact, it enforces a deeper connection between the younger and older runners. The experienced runners do all they can to make the younger runners feel comfortable and more at ease about the athletic and social parts of the sport as well.

“The older people who’ve been on the team longer can tell the younger people what they’ll be going through.

Cross country isn’t an easy sport, so it’s up to the captains to encourage them,” Deloney said.

Scheduling has been a conflict due to the cross country meets being on weekdays rather than the weekends.

“This year we pretty much have all of our meets on weekdays, except four [which we have on weekends],” Campillo said.

Campillo and Deloney believe juggling academics, training for the meets

and afterwards trying to fit time to see each other has not been the easiest. In the preseason, the girls had a chance to see each other and get to know one another without the burden of school work overhead.

“Camp varsity is a really, really fun camp. We sort of say that it’s a summer camp, but with running in it. Like you run, but it’s not the main focus of it,” Campillo said.

Camp Varsity is a week long camp located in Madison, Virginia. It is specifically for a community of high school runners that spend time not only training, but doing camp activities such as swimming at the lake there or having campfires.

“There are a ton of hills and it’s really tough, we stay up the entire week, but it’s really fun,” Deloney said.

Aside from the camp, the girls team learn to bond through other ways. Whether it be grabbing a quick snack from a gas station or sleepovers and making t-shirts, their bond is always strong.

“You’re really close with everyone and you’re all runners. You love running so it’s a lot of fun to have that connection between people.” Campillo said.

they're worn out and angry, that to me is really when you get to know who people are.”

Senior fullback and defensive lineman Tarius Allen has been playing football for

two years. Allen spends lots of time working on his relationships with his teammates.

“It takes a lot of hard work. It doesn’t come naturally, you have to be comfortable with your team, you have to get out of your comfort zone to bond. You can’t give up on them,” Allen said.

Tyrell Foster is a freshman running back and linebacker. He thinks that creating friendships helps to create a better atmosphere for the team. “[Since] we’re such good friends, when we make a mistake on the field, we don’t harp on it that much. We just say ‘Hey you got this, just get it next time,’” Foster said.

Not only does the football players’ bonding create friendships, it also creates a trusting atmosphere. For freshman Thomas Thomas, if there was no bonding there would be no team.

“If we didn’t bond together we wouldn’t be a team. We’d just be a whole bunch of players who want to work on themselves,” Thomas said.

Man on the street: What’s your favorite thing about team bonding in cross country?

Isabel Campillo “During practice, we just hang out, and sometimes we’ll do stuff after practice, we [also] have team sleep overs.”

Kate Kirwan “It’s really nice, because we run together everyday so we become really close through running, and we do some stuff outside of school to so it’s cool to have that community.”

Kira Blagg “My favorite thing about team bonding is when we get to go to the meets and we play games before and after we run.

It’s just fun to get to know the people.”

Osinkosky steps into leadership role on varsity volleyball OWEN STEWART In 2017, the varsity volleyball team finished with double digit wins and was able to reach the second round of the regional tournament. Heading into 2018, the team was approaching a period of transition. The team graduated Lucie Rutherford and Olivia Comer, both key contributors from last season’s squad. Rising junior Lily Harmison also transferred to Eastern Mennonite, and seniors Anne Penrod and Shadther Rosso-Feliz elected not to return to the team.

Despite all of this, the team had a winning record of 5-4 as of Sept.. 11. One of the constants from last season’s team, senior Andrea ., who started as the libero as a junior, sees an improvement in the team’s chemistry despite a new-look squad.

“I feel like we’re a lot closer together as friends this year. We’ve really focused on being together as a team and focusing on not only being together on the court, but also off of the court through bonding and stuff like that,” Osinkosky said.

Even when the team isn’t in a match or at practice, Osinkosky tries to get some work in with her teammates.

“Me and [Sarah Earle] like to hang out at the beach volleyball courts at JMU; we looked up some drills that we can do there.

I love just hanging out with a friend and passing a volleyball with them just for fun,” Osinkosky said.

To compensate for the loss of Rutherford

and Comer, who were both captains for last year’s team, Osinkosky and her teammates have worked to step into bigger roles this season to make up for the empty spots.

“We’ve definitely had to step up our game a little bit because they contributed so much to the team. They were such good players and good people. We’re each finding how we can step up together and fulfill their roles,” Osinkosky said.

Even with the solid start to the season, Osinkosky believes the team hasn’t yet reached it’s ceiling and could enter the postseason hot.

“I just think we’re gonna get better from here. I love how we’re really coming together and that you can tell. In practices we’re working together, we’re communicating better more and more throughout every game. As long as we continue to have fun, we’re going to continue to play our game,” Osinkosky said.

With the team looking drastically different from last year, some aspects of practice have changed as well, and they’ve focused on allowing the team to support each other.

“We [recently] did a drill where one person was in what we call the pit and everybody else cheering them on. We’d have to get ten touches on the ball, doing whatever we can to keep the ball up. It’s been really intense and I love that,” Osinkosky said.

As a team captain and the libero on the court, Osinkosky has had to take on a leadership role with the team this season, both

HUDDLE UP The varsity volleyball team prepares to enter the court again after halftime. The streaks end with a lost against Fort Defiance.

PHOTO BY ANGELA OSINKOSKY during matches and during practices.

“I’ve really just tried to help [my teammates] stay positive because I know from experience that it’s easy to get down on yourself by making one mistake,” Osinkosky said. “As long as they stay positive, then they have that positivity to associate with having fun. Then it becomes altogether a better experience.”

As a senior, Osinkosky knows that this is her last year with the team and that next

year, new players will have to take over her role as captain. For those players, she preaches work ethic and the love of the game.

“I would say to just keep touching a volleyball in the offseason whenever you think of it, keep working hard whenever you have the chance and keep having fun,” Osinkosky said. “That’s what’s going to get you far is enjoying your passion.”

September 28, 2018

The Newsstreak

HOHHS-B12

HUMANS OF In keeping with our motto “Every person has a story,” the Newsstreak interviews students every month in the style of Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton. The idea is to tell the story of as many of our students as possible.

Senior Nina Andrews

HHS

PHOTO BY ILANA MATTSON

What are you looking forward to this year?

“I am looking forward to living my last school year of high school. I have a lot to do this school year. I am not [going to] be boring, I am not leaving the school being boring, so I gotta get litty.”

PHOTO BY ASHLEY ISCOA

Sophomore Soleen Haji

What is something you already like about HHS and why?

“The diversity, because not a lot of schools are diverse.”

Junior Grace Mwami

PHOTO BY ILANA MATTSON

Junior Jackson Weakley

As BSU vice president, what are you hoping to get out of this year?

“I want to do more this year. We created the step team, so I am just hoping to be able to do more performances this year.”

PHOTO BY ASHLEY ISCOA

What are you known for?

“I guess being funny, and being a jokester.”

What are you looking forward to this school year?

“Basketball and soccer season.”

Freshman Kofi Darko

PHOTO BY ASHLEY ISCOA

What are your reasons for being excited about this year’s One Act? “I am really excited because it is like one step forward from middle school One Act. That means new people, new w, new director. It’s gonna be a fun ride.”

PHOTO BY ASHLEY ISCOA

Sophomore Sincere McCauley What song best describes you?

Freshman Gus Floros

PHOTO BY ILANA MATTSON

What is something you like about freshman year so far?

“It has been great, I like the alternative of having two days with different classes because I can manage my homework better in one night.”

Junior Kiara Nicholas

PHOTO BY ASHLEY ISCOA

If you could ditch school to go on a trip right now, where would you go and why?

“I would probably go to the beach with my friends and chill and have fun.”

“‘Not a Regular Person’ by A Boogie because he talks about stuff he used to go through as a kid and some of the stuff I can relate to. It helps me get through because if he can make it I can make it.”