smoke signal issue 13, april 4, 2012

Calendardays until Spring

Break

days until Prom

days until Graduation

days until the beginning of

Summer

what’s hotSpring Sports

Warmer Weather

Spring Break

College Acceptance Letters

Forensics Team

73

24

3

78

Tardy policy causes uproar on Twitter

Smoke Signalthe Stafford High School

April 2012Volume 67, Issue 13 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, Va

index News...............1-2 Opinion..............3 Sports.............5-7 Student Life...4, 8-12

Spring BreakApril 7-15

Alice in WonderlandApril 19-21

PromApril 28

countdown

You had time to go to McDonald’s, but you didn’t have time to show up to school on time? -Assistant principal Andrew Bathke

NHS inducts new members

Principal Joe Lewis said on the intercom on Wednesday, March 21, that, due to an increase in the num-ber of students arriv-ing late to school in the mornings, any student who comes in late with food would have their food con� scated.

� e Free-Lance Star and ABC News have both

Students respond to regulations, face consequences

Students prepare for Alice in Wonderland

� e cast of Alice in Wonderland has been working to perfect the play since the beginning of February in prepara-tion for the upcoming performances on April 19, 20 and 21.

One of the major chal-lenges of putting on the play is the iconic charac-ters.

“� e big di� erence be-

Dillon BadenSta� Writer

Learn and Serve hosted its

� rst annual Tribe Madness basketball

game on March 8.“Tribe madness was

a student verses faculty basketball game,” junior Amanda Freeney said. “We were also trying to collect cans of food to do-nate to S.E.R.V.E.”

S.E.R.V.E. is � ghting the uphill battle of hunger in our area, and is dedi-cated to their cause.

“S.E.R.V.E. is a non pro� t organization that

provides free food for families that are

having � nancial problems,” ju-

nior Victoria Light said.

P r e -paring for the event was

no easy task. Preparation required time and hard work.

“It was a lot of work,” Light said. “Our class was split into di� erent groups and we all accomplished di� erent tasks.”

Learn and Serve had to advertise the event to the entire student body us-ing signs and � iers around school because this is the � rst year this event was held. � ey had the di� -culty of creating an event without any knowledge from previous years.

“Making all of it hap-pen was really stressful and crazy,” Frenney said. “We had to track down people who wanted to play, � nd time in the gym to have the game, and make post-ers and � iers to actually get the word out.”

� e basketball game was set up in order to en-sure a faculty victory. � e

normal rules were

sac-rificed for humor and enter-tainment.

“� e announc-ers cheated and jumped in the game,” junior Stevie Luck said. “� e teachers would get � ve points instead of two and got extra foul shots.”

As result of the tire-less e� orts of preparing and advertising, Learn and Serve was able to reach the goals they had hoped to meet.

“In the end it all turned out better then I had expected,” Freeney said. “Everyone who came seemed to be pretty entertained and we collected over one hun-dred cans.”

See Maddness page 2

Caitlin GreenSta� Writer

Every year, more and more high school stu-dents are inducted into National Honor Society. Sta� ord High School held its annual NHS induction ceremony on March 22 to

tween this play and the others I’ve been in is how well-known Alice is,” said sophomore Erin Lottes, who will play Alice. “Most people know Alice from the book or the Disney movie, so it’s hard not to be the same Alice that ev-eryone’s seen before.”

� is story is also well known for being visually interesting. Some of the

welcome the club’s new members.

NHS is a pro-gram that helps students learn leadership and cre-ates a desire for them to help out in their commu-nity. Students in grades 10 through 12 are eligible for NHS, but that is not the

Valerie LampertSta� Writer

covered the recent events, but have not satis� ed the several questions that are unanswered to the stu-

dents involved. � e story began that

Wednesday morning, when the typical crowd

lined up in front of the at-tendance desk to receive late passes to their � rst block classes.

”You had time to go to McDonald’s, but you didn’t have time to show up to school on time?”

assistant principal An-drew Bathke said. “� e issue primarily exists with those who drive to

school. � ey are re-sponsible for their ac-tions. For the major-

ity of the students who drive to school… being late is their choice.”

Bathke walked to the front lobby and stood on top of a bench to address

Shannon CookeEditor-in-Chief

SHS Tribe Madness

Staying in character: Junior Megan Walton Sophomore Erin Lottes perform a scene together in rehearsal. Lottes plays Alice, the main character who � nds herself in a strange world. The costumes re� ected the whimsical atmosphere of the play. Photo by Emily Pearce

Caught in the act: A new policy states that any student who arrives late to school in the mornings with breakfast will have their breakfast con� scated until the very end of the school day. This new rule is causing controversy among students and faculty. Photo by Shannon Cooke

Students excel in World Language Competition

See what others are looking forward to see p. 9

Favorite Movie out? Check out TrackHow do they do that?

Pole Vaulting isn’t easy! see p. 6-7

See Alice page 2

See Tweets page 2

2Issue 13, April 4, 2012 www.staffordsmokesignal.comNews

Super SponsorGyst & Mrs. Jer-

emiah M. JohnsonT. Mark Johnson,

MDTracey ChestnutTeresa Sedlacek

Millie StadelmyerBetty & Rusty

Dodd� eresa Puckerin

Ann HollandKellie EbelingMark McGraw

Gold PatronKatherine Drumm

Paula ChestnutMeg & Dave Bohmke

Shirley LouisorTony G. OwensFelton FamilyLori Yelverton

Shila PatelMr. & Mrs. Dwight

RobersonJoseph &Chifang

Pelham

Silver PatronMark & Tracey WoodyardJennette Lock

Kimberly VaughnMike & Kathy

Baker� omas & Lisa

SkeerCoker Orthodon-

ticsDana Stonesifer

Cathy PearceAustin En� ngerLinda HazelgrenMarie Cunning-

hamHeidi Kamei

Ashleigh PowellDoreen Brindise

Nancy Sorrentino� e UPS Store

Mariah EricksonStephen Lisco

Steven MitchellCindy KnutsonAngela Donald

Soon KimEllie Pare

Nick Hudson

Kirstin WhitesideScott Larson

Dr. Gregory Kau� -man

Beverly ByramBarbara Lampert

Don & Linda � omasAlyssa SimsAdam & Jeri Brown

Morgan SilverElisabeta FerrukuJillian WeisbeckPatty Fenwick

Shannon CocheBarbara Humphrey

Todd NosalJohn RomarelloNancy & Skip

BrandonNancy Hames

Kay BraunTyler West

Margo & Scott Jones

Melanie Suther-land

Dan & Judy DuganMadi TeasterNicole Reeves

Civil Air PatrolMichael & Kelly

WalkerMoriah Briscoe

Mike WestBrittni WrightRobert MooreLinda MixonEmily Gri� n

Carl BakerKaylene AhlmDebbie Cooke

Mildred ReevesKristina VarelaJessica TurnerRachel PerrineSue ShermanRyan SmithJason Stine

Annette SealSonja & Blair Scott

Jim GreenDerek HayesJudy Mears

Maura & Sean McGraw

Bruce PhillipsJosephine Billing-

slea

Emily ByersAustin Pearson

Karen LenoxJackson Carmi-

chaelEarl’s True Value

Hardware, Inc.Greta Sweatman

Cheryl PottsRebekah Kim

Louisa AmenitsonMonica Santiago

Bronze PatronChuck PedigoSheila GiscardJe� McClure

Blue PatronAmanda & Joseph

HuggerBruce & Mary

BrownAmy Clower

Paty & Jason StineNorris Dickard

Katy BakerLeah Blake

Serena Portillo

SHS PatronDenise Epperson

Dick & Diane Wil-liams

Paula McClureBrian WiggintonBryan MatthewsSusan Wachter

Brennan Everett

Smoke Signal Patrons 2011-2012

the late students. “Immediately follow-

ing the time change, there were many, many tardies,” Bathke said. “� e morn-ing that I stood up was the third such in a row…the disconcerting part is that there were many re-peat o� enders [that day]”

Several students re-sponded to Bathke’s speech.

“I thought it was a bit ridiculous,” senior Tati-anna Tonnacli� said. “A better approach would have been dealing with the tra� c instead of punishing the students, which I think is the real problem.”

� e late students went about the rest of their school day.

However, that very same day, Lewis’s voice came over the intercom to make the announcement. Lewis said that all con� s-cated food would be re-turned to the students at the end of the day.

� is announcement set o� a chain reaction. Some students were con-fused and angered and

took to Twitter. Over 20 students tweeted about the new policy, many of them saying how they be-lieved that it was unfair.

“No one is doing any-thing to keep tra� ic mov-ing,” junior Derek Cun-ningham said. “An easy scapegoat would be to place the fault on the stu-dents.”

What the students didn’t know was that their tweets were public and that administrators were able to see that they were tweeting during school hours, and use disciplin-ary action.

“It’s an outrage that teachers are going out of their way to get a student in trouble,” said Cunning-ham. “My tweets were hu-morous, but got my point across to anyone who read it, be it a teacher, student, or administator.”

� e administration took action and called down � ve students who had been tweeting during that day to suspend them.

“I was called down during fourth block and the administration had several pages printed

college applications. � is is a big motivator for many students who were inducted into the club, such as sophomore Jacob Chance.

“[NHS] will provide me with a life experience of helping others and will improve my chances of being accepted into the college of my choice,” Chance said. He also said that NHS would give him an opportunity to better himself personally.

Another inductee, sophomore Rachael Dreistadt, is excited for the community service she will be doing.

“NHS will bene� t me because of the service aspect,” Dreistadt said. “I am looking forward to

to execute many of the ef-fects,” said Chad Johnson.

� e cast has to put in a lot of time and e� ort in outside of school rehears-als to prepare for the play.

“My character is the white rabbit, so to prepare for my part I watched over four hours of rabbit

Students resist new policies

out of students who had tweeted during the day,” said one of the students who was suspended for using their phone during school. “� ey had records that proved that more people had tweeted, but they got to pick and chose who they suspended and didn’t, which is really un-fair to us.”

� e students who were suspended quickly re-sponded.

“I wrote a letter and sent it to Mr. Lewis and my suspension was dropped the very next week,” said the suspended student.

Although several stu-dents threatened to meet up and purposefully ar-rive late with food in their hands, no such protest occurred.

Since the policy change, very few people have arrived late to school with breakfast in hand.

“It’s not the food that’s an issue. It’s not fast food that’s an issue,” said Bathke. “� e issue is with people not meeting their responsibilities and obli-gations.”

Continued from page 1

Drama puts modern twist on classic ‘Alice’

videos,” said senior Mi-chael Musatow. “I can ac-curately mimic their hab-its when they are scared, nervous, startled, and otherwise.”

All the time and en-ergy that the cast spent on the play eventually pays o� on and o� the stage.

“I am so pleased to

Continued from page 1

helping others and the community.”

Although many new-comers of NHS were in-ducted at the ceremony, they were not the only ones. Junior Rebekah Kim was inducted as the new president of the or-ganization.

As president, Kim will have many respon-sibilities. She will be in charge of all of the NHS membership meetings and will lead the o� cers of the club. Kim will also make sure that the voices and opinions of members and advisers are well bal-anced.

“It means quite a lot [to be president]. I have been wishing to learn how to lead a large amount of members in a club, and

I think NHS clearly can teach me that,” Kim said. “Being a new president of a traditional and hon-ored club like NHS means working hard, so I’m re-ally looking forward to it.

She also said that the program has changed the way she looks at things around school. Next year, Kim hopes to make NHS even more active and at-tractive to its members. She wants to show stu-dents that NHS is more than just a club that looks good on college applica-tions.

NHS now has many new members that are willing to help out their community. � ese in-ductees will surely have great experiences with the community.

even be a part of the play I could have gotten any role and been happy in it,” junior Megan Wal-ton, who was cast as the Duchess, said. “My favor-ite part is all the friend-ships and experiences you gain, and that feeling of accomplishment a¦ er your � nal performance.”

NHS continues traditioncontinued from page 1

3

3Issue 13, April 4, 2012 www.staffordsmokesignal.comOpinion

smoke signal staff2011-2012

Editors-in-ChiefShannon Cooke

Emily Griffin

Photography EditorEmily Pearce

Online Editors Editors Rebekah Kim Leland Brooks Dani Raymond Molly Podlesny Toni Sorrentino

Design Editor Page Editors Bridget Phillips Katie Brandon

Megan Corsano Ana Nosal

Kirstin Whiteside

Copy Editors Business Managers Emily Byers Karri Chestnut Kathryn Lenox Ashleigh Powell

Staff WritersClaire Adams, Allie Ahlm, Catherine Alfaro, Louisa Amenitsch, Dillon Baden, Jacob Bar-ber, Cody Beacorn, Emily Billingslea, Natalie

Bohmke, Luci Braun, Doreen Brindise, Moriah Briscoe, Kiana Burgos, Kirsten Burton, Alexis

Bush, Travis Byram, Jackson Carmichael, Shawnail Cavender, Shannon Cocho, Megan

Corsano, Erin Cunningham, Ridge Dodd, Amber Donald, Elizabeth Drash, Katherine

Drumm, Megan Ebeling, Bradley Elmore, Aus-tin Enfinger, Mariah Erickson, Shannon Fen-wick, Ergys Ferruku, Starla Foosness, Tamara George, Michael Gordon, Caitlin Green, Tyler

Haley, Kimberley Hall, Katelynn Halstead, Ryan Hazelgren, Hannah Haugen, Alexandria Hinkle, Patrick Holland, Billy Howell, Maggie

Howell, Megan Humphrey, Taylor Jones, Bon-nie Kamei, Eric Kauffman, Russ Kaus, B.H. Kim, India Kithcart, Valerie Lampert, Jessica Larson,

Taylor Lisco, Courtney Mears, Erin McGraw, Kyle McGuire, Chris McMillen, Melissa Mercer, Caelynn Miller-Keyes, Kirsten Mitchell, Maddi Mixon, Brittany Nealy, Patrick Oliver, Ellie Pare,

Chadni Patel, David Pearson, Kelly Pedigo, Palmers Pelham, Abbie Pennington, Audrey

Perrine, Marta Perrine, Taia Pollock, Charlotte Potts, Elizabeth Puckerin, Brynne Reeves, Isabella Rivas, Julianne Rogers, Rachel Ro-

lando, Anthony Romanello, Hannah Rowlette, Tori Santiago-Troutman, Sydney Scott, Kayla

Seal, Sheldon Sheinall, Brendan Sherman, Alyssa Sims, Cara Skeer, Morgan Silver, Bridget Stadelmyer, Blayne Stine, Marissa Stone, Tyler Sullivan, Madison Teaster, Justin Thomas, Aus-tin Thompson, Ryan Thompson, Chiann Todd, Jessica Turner, Chris Vaughn, Kristina Varela,

Elizabeth Walker, Jillian Weisbeck, Taylor West, Tyler West, Taro White,Taylor White, Brittni

Wright, Matt Yelverton

PhotographersKerstin Felton, Amber Griffith, Muhamad Kha-

lid, Austing Pearson, Kaitlin Shacklette, Eric Stapleton, Keana Young

VideographersAlisa Posey Jordan Reed Taylor Sutherland

Advisor Sue Gill, CJE

The Smoke Signal is an open forum for student expression of the student body of Stafford High School. Unsigened editorials reflect the collective opinion of the Smoke Signal staff. Signed editori-als represent the opinion of the auther and do not necessarily represent the opinons of Stafford High-School, its administration, or staff. Signed letters to the editor not exceeding 250 words may be sub-mitted to room W206. Anonymous letters will not be printed. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and content and to refuse advertisements.

Making the Grade

A++

CB- April Fools

Spring Break

Moody Weather

It’s hilarious when you pull off a great prank, it’s annoying when it happens to you.

Let’s face it, we’ve been waiting for Spring Break ever since the temperature reached the sixties. For those who are traveling abroad this year, we truly envy you.

Don’t you wish mother nature would just make up her mind?

A+ ForensicsThe fine arts have done an exceptional job this year. After the drama department won numerous awards for A Fable, they coninued to make us proud in the forensics competition.

Lately, all Stafford stu-dents can talk, and tweet about, is the media atten-tion surrounding the new tardy policies.

First the Free-Lance Star covered the issue in an article on the front page. You know it’s a dull week when the front page news headline is “Student tweets lead to trouble.”

As if that weren’t enough, the very next day, news cameras showed up outside the SHS park-ing lot to cover the story. Needless to say, students tuned in that night, cell phones in hand, tweeting along with the news.

The fact of the matter is, if a student comes to school five minutes late with Chik-fil-A in hand, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out why they were late.

The problem seems to have shifted from food, to privacy. Students are an-gry with the administra-tion for using Twitter to suspend them for using their cell phones.

Students on Twitter have complained that the

Shannon CookeEditor-in-Chief

administration is “stalk-ing” them and “invading their privacy.”

What none of these students understand is that Twitter is not pri-vate. That is, unless the account is protected, which the majority are not. When you publish a tweet, you might as well be holding up a huge sign with your opinion writ-ten on it in the middle of Times Square.

You can’t really get upset at anyone for using the evidence and tools available to them to en-force rules. Cell phones have always been against the rules; the adminis-tration is just using rela-tively new technology to enforce these rules.

Bottom-line, if you don’t want to get your food confiscated, don’t arrive late to school. If you don’t want to get sus-pended for using your cell phone during school hours, don’t whip out your phone every second to tweet about how bor-ing your classes are.

The fact is, no one re-ally cares and it’s really not worth the risk.

Is Twitter worth all the drama?

I remember the day I realized the world doesn’t suck that bad. It was a year and three months ago, on December 30, 2010. The only reason I remember the exact day is because it was my sixteenth birth-day.

My family and I were eating in a super posh res-taurant in downtown DC called Fogo de Chão. We were eating lunch because it’s the type of restaurant that charges $50 a plate for dinner. I felt spoiled.

So we sat down to eat at one of those small, an-noying tables right in the middle of the restaurant, the ones that make you feel like you’re constantly in someone’s way.

Immediately, I noticed something odd. Right be-hind me was a huge table seating approximately 15 people. They were all military servicemen, still in their combat fatigues. Amongst all the uppity diners decked out in for-mal attire, these guys might as well have been naked. Heads were turn-ing everywhere.

I immediately as-

sumed that they were be-ing honored for heroism or something like that. It’s not every day you see a small platoon of sol-diers eating in a five-star restaurant.

But then I looked back again and I notice some-one I didn’t see at first. Sitting in the center of all of them was an old man with a patch-covered black jacket on, hunched over in his chair.

I kept watching. While the soldiers were mostly talking to each other, ev-ery once in awhile, one of them would turn to the old man, smile, and start a small conversation with him, as if out of ob-ligation. I was confused. Who is that guy? What’s he doing there?

For the next 45 min-utes or so, I kept checking over to their table to try and figure out what was going on, with no luck. Finally, I watched the sol-diers push their chairs in, figuring I’d never know they were there.

Then, something strange happened. The servicemen, instead of leaving for the door as a group, lined up and began to shake the old man’s hand, one by one. So that’s it, I thought. He is some kind of honorary figure.

Even after every sol-dier had left the restau-rant, though, the old man

stuck around. Now I’m really puzzled. What’s he doing? Then it happened.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and started slap-ping bills on the table, paying for every single one of the soldiers at his table, in cash. I was stunned. The total must have been around three or four hundred dollars. I got my parents attention and motioned toward the table. Their jaws dropped as mine had.

I won’t get any sappier than I need to; the story speaks for itself. Let’s just say my faith in humanity had increased by a couple of factors. How could it not? It was like a movie happening right there in front of me. Who knew things like that actually happen?

Fast forward to April 2012. We’ve just had three solid weeks of contro-versy or negativity. First, there was the whole Chal-lenge Day thing. Then there was the controversy surrounding Kony 2012. Now there’s the tardiness firestorm. When does it stop?

Look, I’m not trying to argue for or against any of these topics. Well, actually I am. One is ig-norant (why is it that all the Challenge Day haters calling for “real educa-tion” are the same people that complain about do-

ing homework?), one is hysterical (Invisible Chil-dren cofounder + public masturbation = comedy), and one is a classic case of a couple scrubs ruining things for everyone else (use process of elimina-tion).

But beyond each indi-vidual argument, there’s a real, underlying problem. More and more it seems, we are all ranting about how much everything sucks. Challenge Day is a joke. If you really want to help kids in Africa, stop calling attention to your-self. Administration can’t take my food!

Look, we don’t all have to be cynical media watchdogs. There used to be this thing called youthful optimism and enthusiasm. Now we all seem preoccupied with trying to be that kid that sees through the master plan.

Here’s an idea: let’s take advantage of our ease of communication for posi-tive, (think inspirational military veteran stories!) rather than grumbling and groaning all the time. Because one of these days, you’re bound to have a story of your own, one that will reiterate the fact that life is actually pretty awesome. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go delete all my angsty tweets before you guys can see them.

Trying to see the big picture

Ryan Hazelgren Columnist

A College Acceptance

Those who applied regular decision finally heard back from colleges, and the results were fantastic.

4Issue 13, April 4, 2012 www.staffordsmokesignal.com

Forensics places third at the VHSL State Championship

FIRST PLACE: Ragon Dickard (storytellingFIRST PLACE: Analisa Wall (Serious dramatic interpretation)

FOURTH PLACE: Grace Mick and Aiden Isaac-Harrington (Serious Dup)

SIXTH PLACE: Makenna Shaver (Poetry)SEVENTH PLACE: Michael Musatow (Prose)

Chad Johnson, adviser

World Languages scores big win at UMW contest

First Place Poster

Rebecca PipetteJail Pereira

First Place Video

James Beavers Hannah LoweryMolly PodlesnyLexington BowlerJoseph KitchensAlex KniffinEric RhonesPatrick SiegmundShadee WahdanKendall WilkersonAlaina Nichols

First Place, Second Place Spelling

Clair KimJames BeaversTia HardingHarper LovegroveHannah LoweryMolly Podlesny

Stafford HS wins poster, spelling, video and poetry

First and second place in Poetry

Elsy CastilloDoreen BrindisePatrick SiegmundEric RhodesRachel Streib AdviserMyriam Lorenzo Spanish Teacher

DECA COMPETITION10 of marketing students competed

in the State DECA Competition in Norfolk, VA with 3000 other students from the state. All of the students did a great job in their

respective events. Three of our students placed (the most out of Stafford County schools!) and earned a berth to the National DECA Competition in

Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ryan Leake- 1st Runner-Up in Business Ser-vices Marketing

Will Jobrack-1st Runner-Up Team Decision Making

in Sports MarketingMitchell Clark-1st Runner-Up Team Decision

Making in Sports Marketing

Other competitors:Mikey Rynders, AJ West, Keith Artis, Justin White,

Christian Belman, Nathan Berlin, Richard Gong

Stafford students compete in the Virginia Health Occupations

Students of America Leadership Conference

Zach Schaefer - Stafford and Elijah Harig - Mountain View

SECOND PLACE in the state CPR/FIRST AID competition

Ben Raines - Stafford and Lauren Pinkston - Mountain View

FIRST PLACE in the state EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN compe-

tition These are the first students to win state HOSA competitions for both Stafford and Mountain View High Schools . Ben and Lauren were the first Stafford County students to compete in the EMT com-petition and also competed against students that have completed the course and are certified. Julian Garcia and Megan McCain competed in the Poster

conference

The second and first place winners are eligible to compete at the National Conference in June in Orlando Florida -

Stafford students compete at Model UN Competition

at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill

Rebekah Kim, Tiffany Kornegay, Daniel Reitwiesner, and Allie Ahlm were

awarded with two Outstanding Delegation Awards.

Nick Jacobs, Jack Harding, and Helga PurnellModel UN Club Sponsors

Student Life

5


Spring Sports!

Pitching form: Justin Thomas, junior

Teamwork is key for jv boys soccer. sophomores Colby D’Lugos (left) and Colton Englman (right) worked together to uphold that. Holding off their opponent, D’Lugos passed the ball the Englman. Their record is 1-3 with 3 tied games. photo by Shannon Cocho.

Doing her best to keep the ball in bounds is junior Erin Reiley. Tennis may be an individual sport, but the girls tennis team is working as one this year. Their record is 4-2. photo by Austin Pearson

Practicing for his next tennis match, sophomore Chris McMullen lines up his racket with the ball. The boys tennis team practices every day to improve their skills. Their current record is 4-2. photo by Moriah Briscoe

Keeping North Stafford on the defense, varisty lacrosse goes for the ball. Lacrosse has the goal of winning, but their number one goal has been to get senior Alex Sypolt back on the field with them. Their record is 0-6. photo by Amber Griffith

Wind Up: “My wind up isn’t like most others. My leg lift is higher. I’ve almost kneed myself in the jaw mutiple times.”photo by Emily Pearce

Stride: “My arm usually goes out further than others. Instead of turning the ball towards the short stop, I turn the ball in-ward. It’s just more natural for me. ” photo by Emily Pearce

Follow Through: “This is a main focus for me because when I miss, I miss high in the strike zone and the follow through is key to keeping in that zone.” photo by Emily Pearce

Sports


What exactly is pole vaulting?It’s a track event. In a nutshell, it’s using a � berglass pole to clear heights that

steadily increase until you can no longer clear them.

How has pole vaulting been in your family?My dad vaulted in high school and was second in the state of Idaho. My older

brother Vinny started in eighth grade and continued all through high school. I start-ed in eighth grade, and so did my younger brother Liam, who is vaulting here at Sta� ord. It’s kind of a tradition. I’m glad that I stuck with it, because I like the feeling of � ying, and winning doesn’t feel too bad, either.

Can you tell me about your injury?I injured my lower vertebrae, it’s two fractures. It is a permanent injury. I’ve had

to have an MRI, CAT scan, bone scan, physical therapy twice, multiple trips to the masseuse and chiropractor, and I wore a back brace for six weeks. I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but I may have injured it when I � rst started and never no-ticed and just kept working. It might have been a regular vault that hardly impacted me, and over time worsened with out me knowing. It could’ve possibly been a stress fracture, but like I said, I’m not sure.

How do you help coach our vaulters?I don’t really have an o� cial title, I’m just a student with a great deal of knowl-

edge about pole vaulting. I’d say that I’m respected by the students and the coaches. Our vaulters practice � ve to seven hours a week. � ey run sprints to keep their stam-ina and stay in shape, and just practicing in itself keeps vaulters in shape. � ey’ll run a mile to warm up, stretch, core, then they’ll come over and do a specialized warm up. We don’t have a lot of time in the season, so we don’t have work out days. � ey aren’t guaranteed a practice every day because I’m a student, I can’t be there all the time. So on days when I’m not there, it’s not safe for them to practice without someone constantly watching them. Weather also a� ects their chance of having a practice. If it’s rainy or windy, then they can’t do it.

How is our team doing this season?Ashley Hinton was district champion, regional champion, and second in the

state, so that’s de� nitely good. Palmers Pelham is good, Liam Davis has the ability to be good, and with practice, I’m sure will be. Justin Garrett, Alisha Co� ey, will all be good with practice.

What happens at track meets?Track is heavily segregated. Sprinters, long distance, long distance cross country,

throwers and vaulters are all their own groups. � ere could be 10 minutes between vaults, so you have to rest up in between, which is a reason why you need to be in shape.

Making the leap:A step by step look at pole vaulting

2. Run

3. Plant

4. Invert

5. Row

6. Fall1. Start

1. Start with dominant hand on top with other hand one or two feet below. 2. Run anywhere from 30 to 50 meters to build speed. Drive with your knee.3. Plant the pole into the box and jump o� left foot. Drive your right knee into the air. 4. Invert your body by swinging your left leg above the pole. 5. Row through with your arms. Throw yourself o� the pole6. Fall down, making sure you arms and legs are pulled in so they don’t hit the crossbar.

Q&A: Senior Patrick DavisPole vaulting coach

A broken back did not keep senior Patrick Davis away from the matt.

A� er months of backpain, the doctors discovered that his lower vertebrae was fractured in two places. � e injury was due to repeated vaults, stressing his back.

A� er wearing a backbrace for six weeks and at-tending physical therapy twice a week, Davis is � nally able to run again, but vaulting is o� limits.

Although he can no longer vault, he returns this year to coach his former teammates and vaulters. He attends practice almost every day, and follows the team to the meets.

BY MARTA PERRINESta� Writer

Senior Patrick Davis helps a vaulter prepare at a meet at North Sta� ord High School on March 27. Photo by Kerstin Felton

Number of Stafford Vaulters: 7{� e team consists of 4 boys and 3 girls}

Boys District Record: 15’3{Set by Sta� ord’s Matt Hazelgren in 2010}

Stafford Girls Record: 11’{Broken by Ashley Hinton this last winter season}

Average Pole length: 13’{Skilled vaulters are able to use longer poles}

Event Lenth: 6hrs{From warm-ups to the � nal jumps, pole vaulting events usually span throughout the entire meet}

Average Price of a Pole: $500{Prices depend on the brand, the weight, and the heights. Poles are constructed from � berglass and only weigh a couple pounds}

Practice Hours a Week: 10{� e team focuses on dissecting the vault, and looking at each step individually}

Number Vault:A look at the data

Boys Starting Height: 9-10’{Boys typically start three feet higher than the girls}

Sports

7


Who’s Shoe? Match each shoe with its owner

Julianna Rogers, 10

?? ?Katherine Frano, 10Zaynah Hildabrand, 10

What elements go into cra� ing shoes for athletes?

Factors that go into the manufacture of run-ning shoes include � t, feel, support, cushion, breathability, weight, and all around comfort.

Why are these factors important?

Each of these factors are important to di� erent runners for di� erent rea-sons.

At VA Runner, once we can take a look at the shape and structure of your feet and analyze your bio-mechanics through a test run, we can recom-mend shoes that would work for you.

� en, based on the importance of the factors to each client, we can in-crease the cushion, � rm up the cushion, snug or loosen the � t, � nd a light-er shoe, or anything that the foot is really wanting to feel.

� e feedback of our customers is very impor-tant for us to help � nd the exact � t that will work for each person who comes to see us.

How do these factors contribute to shoe prices?

Shoes that are made and sold in the run spe-cialty market are on the cutting edge of what brands are researching and developing.

Being such special-ized shoes, composed of specialized and technical materials, can bring the price higher than some-thing found at a depart-ment store.

� e quality of materi-als is important to mak-ing sure the shoe will have a long life for runners as they put these shoes through continuous in-tense training. And be-ing that these brands are using these shoes to learn about quality of materi-als and new technologies, there aren’t as many made and normal supply and demand e� ects happen from time to time.

What is the shoe manufacturing pro-cess?

� at’s more of a ques-tion for the manufacturer. Di� erent brands use dif-ferent cra� ing processes to make their shoes.

Some use air to cush-ion while others may use a special foam composite or a type of gel. Our cra� is

to review, test, and decide on the best running shoes currently o� ered by the best running brands and then apply our knowledge to each person’s gait and speci� c needs once we perform our assessment.

Why is it important that athletes � nd the right shoe?

What di� erence does it make? Well, again, these shoes aren’t exactly cus-tom made for each person who walks in here, but our � tting process helps narrow down over 200 possible shoes to about 3 or 4 that would actually work for you.

� en based on the feedback given we can � nd the right one for you. As far as the di� erence made by these shoes, once the � t is dialed in and the proper amount of support is given, any one can run with little to no pain.

To be able to perform well in any sport without having to think about what you are wearing on your feet is vital.

For me in particular, there are plenty of shoes that I can’t run in because of my bio-mechanics, but once you � nd the right one, running can be pain free and endlessly re-warding.

Finding the right shoe

Clay Murray, Co-ManagerVA Runner, Inc.1993 Carl D. Silver ParkwayFredericksburg, VA 22401540.548.1566

Q&A: Clay MurrayVA Runner Co-Manager

Track Snapshot:What Shoes do you wear?

Nike

Asics

Adidas

Brooks

Saucony

Reebok

0 5 10 15 20*of 50 track runners

Sports

8Issue 13, April 4, 2012 www.staffordsmokesignal.comStudent Life

Just as many colors there are in the rainbow, there are also in nail polish-es. With unusual names like Senorita Rose-alita instead of the predictable name of ‘red’, or Pros and Bronze in-stead of ‘copper’ is what makes nail polish unique. It is customizable, whether going monochromatic on one hand and adorn nails with crazy colors

the next. It’s an open

Swatches of the

Rainbow

tumblr.

Text Photo Quote Link Text Audio Video

tumblrguest47956

Dashboard Popular Directory

Rage Guy Comic Memes

• 40 like the FUUUU Rage meme.

• 35 like Challenge Ac-cepted meme.

• 24 the ‘Y U NO..’ meme.• ..............1% like Forever Alone.

Jazmyn Dove likes the ‘Y U NO...’ guy.

Harper Lovegrove likes the Forever Alone meme because it’s the story of her life.

Dani Morio likes the ‘Y U NO...’ guy.

In only a few years, Tumblr has blown up the blogosphere with its posting ease and the charm to make people feel accepted. � e pros of Tumblr are that it serves as an open book for thoughts and is a place where one won’t be judged. Tumblr is a place for teens to come together. With so many di� erent people from every walk of life joining together, this site invites di� erent views, insight into cultures, and hilarious memes to become a part of every Tumblr user’s life.

34% of girls like Crackle nail polish.

58% of girls like the O.P.I nail polish the best brand out of Rev-lon, China Glaze, and Ulta.

Between red, gold, green, and white 46% of girls like blue nail polish.

Out of green, pink, and white, 16% of girls like red nail polish the least.

What electronics do you own?

44users of

the iPad, Android, or Kindle

tablets

309users of

Macbooks, HP, or

Windows Laptops

117Android phone users

What electronics do you own?

124Windows Desktop

users

231XBOX or

PlayStation users

Thoughts about

Stafford?

I CAN’T WAIT FOR COLLEGE!!! Seriously.

-B.H. Kim, 12

Don’t wanna go to math.. Everyone is so

odd!-Meredith Burcher, 11

What the heck! Why are the hallways so

crowded?!-Keana Young, 10

I’m so pissed I have to take my cap & gown pictures with two black eyes. This sucks.-Dan Jobrack, 12

2:15. 2:15. 2:15. I have to make it to 2:15.-Bailey Mixon, 12

School stresses me out so much. I have too

much work!-Allison Frank, 12

Okay, I love my 4Y class. Everyone is so funny

and the teacher lets us do whatever we want!

-Qarima Anbiya, 12

Three more months until graduation. I can

do this.-Shey Sheinall, 12

132users of the

iPhone

9


9What Movie

Are You Excited To See?

Silent House- 30The Avengers- 39

Titanic 3D- 53The Dark Knight Rises- 46

The Amazing Spiderman- 30American Reunion- 26Men in Black 3D- 32G.I. Joe 2- 38The Hobbit- 39

= 5 10 =

Have you ever cheated?

Have you ever been caught?

Cheating at SHS

Burger KingChick-Fil-A

KFC McDonald’s Taco Bell Wendy’s

40%

10%

20%

30%

0

What’s your favorite fast food restaurant? Check out this poll of studdents gainster your comput9ions of food.

Student Life


From Wanderer to Worker:How to get a job!

Find places that are hiring. Look oneline, in a job listing secion in the local newspaper, or ask at local businesses if they currently have any open posi-tions. Be sure to consider dis-tance from home and school, hours you can work, and pay.

1

4

3

2

REMEMBER:

Even if all of these steps are followed, you are not guar-anteed a position on staff. Apply at more than one busi-ness, keeping an open mind, and do not become discour-aged if one or more businesses do not hire you. There are employment opportunites all over the place!

Go to the business and politely ask for an applica-tion. (They will either tell you about their online application or hand you a paper copy.) Go home and fill out your applica-tion. Depending on the com-pany or area, the application will call for either professional or personal references. Profes-sional references are people you have worked with before such as babysitting employers or co-workers. Personal references are family friends, teachers, or coaches. Once you have filled it out, ask to speak to a manager and turn it in to them.

Call within two or three weeks and ask to talk to a man-ager. Ask them if they have looked over your application and if they are still interested in hiring. Be sure to be polite and do not push them towards any-ting. If they are interested, they will tell you.

When interviewing, make sure to dress nicely (do not wear anything revealing), be polite, and be confident. Before you answer each question, be sure to think it through thor-oughly. Be aware that they may be paying attention to expres-sions and body language to de-termine the kind of person they are considering hiring.

“Lacrosse isn’t really a clique. I tend to hang out with guys

on the team though.”

“I’m not a fan of cliques, but I would say yeah drama is a

clique.”

“I would say were a flexible clique we let anybody in and

we have the coolest name, Drama Kids.”

“I guess the basketball team is a clique.”

Are you in a clique?Do You Consider Your Group A Clique?

“I don’t really think drama is a clique but more like a really funny

family.”

Do You Hang Out With Your Group Out-side of School?

“I’ve only hung out with them right before Lacrosse season begin’s.”

“We go out and usually hang out in subcliques at the mall or Hyperion in Fredericksburg.”

“I don’t really hang out with the drama group.”

“I don’t hang out with them all the time.”

“They took me out a couple times and it’s really fun.”

Justin Reichard,11

Michael Musatow,12

Will Garnett,9

Lindsay Earnhart,10

Tim Lucas,10

11


11FOREVER 24/7

New Arrivals: TALENTS

TEMPLE HAMMENFor: Riverside Dinner Theatre

Price: gets paid $20 per show

“I started because music is my life, and being able to have this wonder-ful opportunity in town is amazing. I would be happy to do it for free.”

LEXINGTON BOWLERFor: the band Serenade the City Scape

Price: $0; play for shows and charity shows around Fredericksburg area

“I love being able to play with my friends, and I hope to support myself off of music one day.”

SKYLA BAILEYFor: Being coached for pageants

Price: $100-$200 per hour

“I enjoy being a role mod-el for younger and some-times older girls and I love meeting new people from around the world. I hope to be Miss Teen USA or Miss America.I usually win about $350-$50,000 in prizes and scholarships.”

DEVIN GERAGHTYFor: Youth Symphony Or-chestra of Prince William

Price: $400 for registration (year-round)

“It is something i want to do for the rest of my life, and it allows me to meet with people of similar interests.”

HOW TO LOOK PRODUCTIVE IN SCHOOL

Step 1: Have papers; doesn’t matter if they are loose leaf pa-pers, class notes, computer papers. Any paper in orderly fashion is good.

Step 2: An agenda must be opened to a monthly calendar page. It is crucial that you have a pencil, too.

Step 3: It is necessary that a book or two is also placed on the desk. It does not only make you look like a diligent student but also a smart one.

Step 4: Have your back-pack nearby so that when a teacher comes by, you will look like you were looking for some-thing, not daydreaming.


2.4.

6.5.7.

3.

1.

2. This section is consisted of books of the refer-ence genre. There are an assortment of diction-aries, encyclopedias and other books used to � nd information on various topics.

4.6.5.

7.

3.1.

This section is � lled with fascinating � ctional books. These books bring the reader to many di� erent worlds. If you are looking for adventure, or some-thing di� erent, the � ctional section is for you.

The non-� ction section of the library is availale to anyone looking for books on histrical events, biographies, or any other non-� ctional material.

In the back of the library there is the “Rock and Read” section. This part of the library has many wooden rocking chairs set out in front of a TV which shows movies every monday at 2:30. after school.

The COW carts, which stands for “Computers On Wheels” can be reserved by teachters that need their students to do work on laptops. The COW carts can me rolled into classrooms or can stay in the library.

The balcony of the library is home to mezzanine left and right. The balcony holds desktop computers that can be reerved by teachers for their students to work on.

The check out desk of the library are where books are checked out and lent to faculty and students. Students can volunteer to work at the library chek-cout desk. The people that work there check for library passes and keep things in check.

1. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

“I spend about 15 minutes.”

2. How long does it take to you pick out an out� t?

“It takes no more than 30 seconds.”

3. What do you do after school?“I go to lacrosse practice.”

4. How often do you get your hair done and how much does

it cost?“Every two months for about 10 dol-

lars.”

5. Who is your favorite artist?“Kanye West, he pumps me up.”

6. If someone asked you out and you weren’t interested, what would you

do?“Well I’d say I’d have to decline her

wonderful o� er.”

7. Who do you go to when you’re upset?

“I go to my bros because they’re always there for me.”

8. Where’s your favorite place to shop for clothes?

“De� nitely Pacsun because they have many di� erent varieties of clothes and they look the best.”

9. How much time do you spend on video games a day?

“About an hour.”

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?“I want to be a business man or something like that.”

11. What do you look for in a friend?“I look for a funny friend who’s fun to be around, has

common sense, and is respectful.”

12. What do you like to do with your friends?“I like to play lacrosse with them and make country

strongs, which is a wa� e sandwich with cookie cake, syrup, and bacon. Super good.”

1. How long does it take you to get ready in the morn-ing?“I spend at least 2 hours and 15 minutes to get ready in

the morning, I have to do my hair and put on my face.”

2. How long does it take to you pick out an out� t?“15 to 20 minutes.”

3. What do you do after school?“Ballet.”

4. How often do you get your hair done and how much does it cost?“Usually every 2 to 3 months for 20 or 25 dollars.”

5. Who is your favorite artist?“My favorite is de� nitely Fun, I don’t like Taylor Swift.”

6. If someone asked you out and you weren’t interested, what would you do?“Say no politely.”


“I go to my best friend John be-cause I trust him and I’ve known him for so long.”


“Charlotte Russe because their clothes are fancy.”

9. How much time do you spend on video games a day?“None.”

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?“A neurosurgeon: a doctor who operates on the brain.”

11. What do you look for in a friend?“I look for someone who is trustworthy and funny and kind.”

12. What do you like to do with your friends?“We shop or stay up really late until we don’t know what we’re doing anymore.”


“I go to my best friend John be-cause I trust him and I’ve known him for so long.”

6. If someone asked you out and you weren’t interested, what would you do?you weren’t interested, what

cause I trust him and I’ve known him for so long.”

8. Where’s your favorite place to

“Say no politely.”

you weren’t interested, what would you do?“Say no politely.”


“I go to my best friend John be-cause I trust him and I’ve known him for so long.”for so long.”


“Charlotte Russe because their clothes are

“Say no politely.”

for so long.”

“My favorite is de� nitely Fun, I don’t like Taylor Swift.”

6. If someone asked you out and you weren’t interested, what would you do?“Say no politely.”

7. Who do you go to when

you weren’t interested, what would you do?“Say no politely.”

He said .....She said

SHS Library--What’s in it?

Student Life

smoke signal issue 13, april 4, 2012

Documents