page 10 photo by josh gilbert grizzly gazette...

Mountain View High School Lawrenceville, Georgia

Grizzly Gazettethe

Volume 3, Issue 2 November 2014.

Rocking the life of rock stars

Student band White Prenumbra plays in front of a crowd of over 1,000 people and sets plans for an album.

page 10

PHOTO BY JOSH GILBERT


Varsity softball makes state playoffs for the first time putting their name on the map.

Staff writers target men to stand for a worthy cause.

PHOTO BY SABRINA LUONG

Richard Martin teaches social studies in a new, innovative way.

EBOLA . . . page 2

BATHROOM PASSES . . . page 4

TUTORING PROGRAM . . . page 6

FALL PHOTOS . . . page 8-9

12TH MAN CAMP . . . page 13

TYLER BARBER . . . page 15

SPORTS - PAGE 13OPINIONS - PAGE 5 ACADEMICS - PAGE 6 AND MORE

PHOTO BY JORDAN STALLWORTH

Josh Gilbert ‘15

Staff Writer

Speaker Mike Smith impacts students at SASC and MVHS

SASC provides meals for Stop Hunger NowDay two of SASC, students from all

over the southeast put together more than 100,000 meals in an effort to help the campaign Stop Hunger Now.

“Stop Hunger was just a very ful-filling community service project. I felt like I was actually making a dif-ference in someone else’s life. I think sometimes we lose sight of the big-ger picture of the world. One out of every seven people in this world are hungry. By participating in Stop Hunger Now, I felt like I took part in decreasing that number,” said sophomore Santiago Escobar.

Putting together every meal re-quired many hours to ensure that every meal was packaged properly.

“I got the privilege to be able to do everything for it, so I got to see it all. I helped set it up; I worked all three hour-long shifts of packaging. I got to see it when we just had one meal pack-aged, and then when we had 100,000 meals packaged,” said senior Amy Lee.

More than 1,100 students filled the halls with an energetic passion to de-velop their leadership skills. From Oct. 11 to Oct. 13, Mountain View hosted the 80th annual Southern Associa-

tion of Student Councils conference. “Our SASC journey was incredible.

Our first goal was to visit as many states conferences in the region to help promote SASC here at Mountain View. In all, we visited 9 of the 14 states that make up SASC,” said teacher Kristin Murphy. “This allowed us to connect with other states

and gain tons of ideas that we were then able to incorporate to our confer-ence. The feedback from those who attended have been incredible. We have only heard great feed-back, and most people have said that this year’s SASC was the best con-ference ever. They want to come back here again and are even asking that we please host Nationals.”

From putting it to-gether to setting it up, students and teachers wasted no time in mak-ing sure that every-thing went smoothly.

“Putting SASC together over the past year has defi-nitely been the greatest roller coaster ride of my life,” said sophomore San-

tiago Escobar. “I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I never thought I would get so attached to this conference. From traveling all across the southeastern United States, to the late, sleepless nights preparing for SASC, to cleaning paint off the bath-room floor (yes it did happen...TWICE!), I have enjoyed every minute of it. I would do it again without a doubt. I think the conference was awesome. Judging by the high energy, I think delegates enjoyed everything we had planned for them.”

Even with the hectic process of setting ev-erything up for the conference, the outcome was exactly what everyone wanted it to be.

“The conference was a huge success. They say you can’t please everyone, but the MV Student Council figured out how,” said senior Austin Chaney. “I have never heard so much positive feedback about an event like we did this weekend. When an advisor comes up to you and says ‘I’ve been in SASC for 45 years, and there’s never been a conference as great as this,’ you know it’s been a successful SASC.”

“My favorite moment was at the end of the last general session. The Mountain View SASC board was called on stage to be recognized. As soon as Chaney and Es-cobar ended the last general session, we all hugged each other. It was at that mo-ment that we could finally say we did it. The thing that we dedicated our life to for

a year had all come together,” said senior Amy Lee. “I’m not going to lie, I cried when we passed over the responsibilities to the new host school, but it was an amazing experience, and I loved every second of it. We were able to pull everything off that we wanted to, and that was the coolest feeling.”

Coffee Shop Smith takes a picture with the Moun-tain View Brew class after helping them serve coffee the morning before he spoke to the entire school.

Josh Gilbert ‘15

Staff Writer

Setting it up Chaney and Escobar start off general session three at day two of the Southern Association of Student Council conference.


PHOTO BY KRISTIN MURPHY

Out of the many activities that occurred at SASC, one of the events that stood out the most was speaker Mike Smith.

“I get thousands of emails, I get let-ters, I get boxes from schools. Entire schools write me thank yous all the time. Kids write really personal stuff, and so I work really hard to keep in touch with

kids because I know it means a lot to you guys when I tweet back, or favor-ite it, or even retweet it,“ said Smith.

Out of the many things that Smith addressed to the participants at SASC, and the students here as well, one thing that stood out while he addressed was why he started speaking publicly.

“I fully believe that this generation of kids have the opportunity to do the most incredible things, but in all reality, you

guys have terrible heroes. You guys look up to the worst kind of people and you idolize the wrong kind of things, and that’s why I started speaking. A friend of mine said you need to show kids what a real hero is, and I didn’t think I was a hero, I thought I was just a dude help-ing homeless kids in Nebraska. I’m not trying to be a hero today, I’m just trying to show kids that there is a really impor-tant way to think about life,” said Smith.

Roadway to SASC: Connect. Lead. Inspire.

NEWS2 Volume 3, Issue 2

What the Ebola crisis means to GeorgiaAs Ebola comes to America, Georgia may play a significant roleLeslie Wyatt ‘15

Staff Writer

Amber Vinson, the second nurse infected with Ebola at Dallas Pres-

byterian Hospital, transferred on Oct. 15, to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta for treatment before being released.

Her movement to the hospital while still infected, the growing need of a vac-cine from the Center for Disease Control, and the possibility that an Ebola infected person may slip through a security check bring about the question of Georgia’s future role in the Ebola crisis.

Ebola: What is it?Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a deadly

disease caused by the Ebola virus strain that infects humans and primates but rarely does so.

“Ebola is a virus and viruses are basi-cally little packages of DNA or RNA, and they will invade cells and take over them. In the cells, they’ll make millions and millions of copies of themselves and usu-ally burst the cell and kill it. They are like DNA parasites,” said Dr. Dianne Akin a science teacher.

The current outbreak is the largest in the disease’s history, infecting over 8,000 and killing half that number.

Airports: Why are they not closing?An argument has arisen after the arrival

of Thomas Duncan, the first person to come to the U.S. through commercial travel after contracting the disease in Liberia. Some claim that if the president sees Ebola as a threat, all travel to America from infected countries should be cut off.

However, shutting down the borders may actually do more harm than good.

“I don’t think is a good idea to shut down any airports because then the flow of help will be restricted,” said sophomore Natalie Kumeh.

By preventing the aid workers from traveling to the countries with the most infections, the containment of Ebola will

stop and the disease will spread further, which is the reasoning behind not shut-ting down the borders but imposing better detection protocols.

Hartsfield-Jackson was chosen as one of five airports to receive the extra screening because of it’s high percentage of West African travelers. Together, the five air-ports have about 90 percent of the West African travelers coming to the nation making it a key area for spotting potential outbreaks, and now are the only airports accepting people from West Africa to essentially stop the disease from spreading to America.

CDC and hospitals: Are they afraid?As of now, hospital workers receive in-

formation daily on diagnosing Ebola and how to deal with the situation if someone is found to have Ebola in their hospital. Hospitals in Georgia have an advantage to their ways of treatment because of the CDC being close by.

Also, the CDC is in the works of producing the same experimental vaccine for the treatment of Ebola that was used on the first two patients in U.S. at Emory - Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. This experimental drug will go to health-care workers in the infected regions of Africa where they can continue to combat the disease.

However, even though the outlook for Ebola not spreading in America looks good, there is still cause for concern.

“I wouldn’t say I am afraid of it, but I understand, it’s like playing with fire if you don’t take it seriously. I don’t expect there to be an outbreak in the United States, but I know that if we don’t take it seriously, it could happen,” said Akin.

Ebola is a virus, meaning that daily it mutates and changes just like the flu does each year, so there is the danger that Ebola may mutate into something the CDC doesn’t have a vaccine for or some-thing hospitals cannot treat.

Footnotes:

Ebola was discovered in 1976.

Hemorrhaging is a symptom of ebola that is believed to be the main cause of death.

First infected U.S. worker arrives at Emory from

Liberia

Second worker arrives to Emory

Both patients test negative and are

released

U.N. says it’ll take six to nine months to stop virus from

spreading

New York doctor Craig Spencer tests postive for Ebola; one nurse released from quarantine, declared

cured.

United States announces a plan to send 3,000 military

personnel to Africa

Two Dallas nurses are infected with Ebola

Nurses are isolated to Emory

Thomas Duncan flies into Dallas from Liberia to visit family.

Duncan Dies

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U.S

W.H.O. declares Ebola outbreak in West Africa as worst

W.H.O allows the use of experimental drugs to fight

against Ebola

AUGUST

OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER

Aug. 2

Sept. 5

Sept. 16

Sept. 20

Oct. 8

Oct. 15

Oct. 17

Oct. 24

Sept

. 29

Aug.5

Aug.8

Aug.12

Aug.21

Timeline of Ebola progression over last three months

TIMELINE BY KAIDEN SMITH

Ebola debunked

Facts are according to the CDC website http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/

MythEbola has only one strain harmful to humans.

FactThere are five identified Ebola virus spe-cies, four of which are known to cause disease in humans.

MythYou can have ebola and not show any signs of having it.

FactSymptoms of Ebola are fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal (stomach) pain, and unexplained hemorrhages (bleeding or bruising).

MythEbola can be spread through the air, water, and food.

FactEbola is only spread by blood or bodily fluids, objects that have been contaminated with the disease, and infected fruit bats or primates (monkeys or apes).

MythEbola is a death sentence for those who contract it.

FactA patient can recover from Ebola, and once he develops anitbodies for it, the antibodies last for 10 years.

Accolades & Announcements

SAT/ACT datesAttention upperclassmen: Have you remembered to registered for the ACT or SAT exam? The next SAT date is Dec. 6 ; registration closes Nov. 6. Registration for the Dec. 13 ACT test ends Nov. 7.

International Night - Nov. 8The Student Leadership Team’s annual International Night takes place Tues., Nov. 8 from 6-8 p.m. Tickets cost $3 per person, and the event happens right here at MVHS. “I’m excited because it’s my third year running the event, and I believe it’ll go greater than ever before. International Night is an important event because it showcases all of the cultures at Mountain View as well as unifies them,” said SLT president Neel Pathak. “The students and par-ents coming to International Night will receive a mock passport and travel around to different areas of the school, which will be split by the continents. It’ll be cool for visitors to experience so many cultures, and fill out passports with different stamps.”

College and career fairOn Nov. 17, Mountain View coun-seling will put on a college and career fair. The fair will give students im-portant tips for excelling in not only college but also the workplace. A hol-iday gift/food collection point will be available, and this is the admissions cost for all. “We are excited to offer our students with an opportunity to meet representatives from col-leges and careers. I need your help. We need more career representatives from all career pathways. Please reach out to your friends and family,” said counselor Joyce Gonzalez. The career representatives will be discuss-ing their own career responsibilities and duties, such as the use of math, science, writing, and communication skills in their daily role, path taken after high school to achieve their ca-reer, and answering student & parent questions.

Congrats to One ActOn Oct. 22, 23 MV students took their one act play “The Long View” to the annual Gwinnett County Regional One Act Play Competition. They finished in third place with an average score of 97.3 out of 100. This is the first year that Mountain View has placed at this competition.

Congrats to Summit yearbookThe Georgia Scholastic Press rated the 2014 Summit yearbook Superior, and the National Scholastic Press gave the book a First-Class rating with marks of distinction in Design and Photography for excellence in these two categories.

November 2014 NEWS 3

““ “

as weSPEAK Students respond to news in our world

CountyBody found on GGC Campus State

UGA runningback Todd Gurley sus-pended

NationalApple releases products in a new generation

WorldISIS continues to gain power in the Middle East

On Oct. 10, Georgia Gwinnett College police discovered the body of a 20-year-old man near the school soccer field. An autopsy is currently in progress but the head of the Georgia Beaurau of Investigation, Sherry Lang, said it is more than likely a suicide.

This, along with previous events, is an indication that there needs to be better security on campus.Megan

ChambersStudent Teacher

Todd Gurley was suspended from college football pending an investi-gation that he was making money off of his memorabilia. The NCAA has strict rules about amateur ath-letes making money, meaning Gur-ley was suspended from playing until the allegation was settled.

All famous people sell their signa-tures in one way or another, so there shouldn’t be any-thing wrong with him selling his.

Vanessa Ambrocio

Sophomore

October was a good month for Apple fans, following the Septem-ber system update, iOS 8. On Oct. 16, Apple held a press conference to release the new generation of iPads: the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3. The new iPads are skinnier and more efficient than the older generation.

iOS 8 sucks. It has so many issues, and it is just a terrible software. But I am excited about all of the new stuff, even with iOS 8.

Gabe MatosJunior

The radical Islamic group ISIS has been active in the Middle East for years, but was kept at bay. With the Syrian civil war, the group has gained more power. ISIS is not similar to al Queda; however, the two are bit-ter rivals. The group is more similar to the terrorist group Boko Haram.

“I don’t think America should really be as involved in the Middle East as we are. It should be Brit-ain because they’re the ones who kind of created the nation-state of Israel.

Josh VaughnSenior

PHOTOS BY JOSH GILBERT

SIDEBAR BY BAILEY DROUANT

Josh Gilbert ‘15

Staff WriterDuring the region tournament, the

Lady Bears volleyball team was able to beat North Gwinnett for the first time, but eventually lost twice to later on cap-ture the three seed for the region. For the first round, the Lady Bears traveled up to North Cobb to take on the Lady War-riors, but ultimately fell in three close sets.

“Even though, we only made it to the first round of state, we put our name on the map and did things the volleyball program has never done before, and for that I am very happy with how the season ended,” said junior Aysha Avery. “We weren’t able to accomplish the goals we set this season, but I am more than proud of my team, and next year, we will just fight harder.”

“Unfortunately, after lots of hard work we put our team in a tough position as far

as playoff match ups go. We were unable to breeze through the first round, but did put up a good fight. So no, we didn’t reach our ultimate goal of going farther than the past season, but I am very proud of our accom-plishments,” said junior Kayla Whitner.

Although it was a tough loss, the re-turning players and coaches will be able to take what they learned this sea-son and incorporate it into next year.

“Our mentality was always look at some-thing we could have done better as an indi-vidual or as team, no matter how well we played or didn’t play. I think that helped us stay focused longer in the tough matches,” said head coach Stan Carpenter. “It is not always where you finish, but it is about how much you grew as a player and person.”

“I learned that where ever I’m need-ed on the court, I need to play that po-sition to the best of my ability. This year, I also learned that a few people

can’t win the games, we all have to get along and work as a team,” said Avery.

Volleyball beats region rival North Gwinnett for the first time in school history

Team Effort Whitner gets ready to serve the ball against the North Cobb Lady Warriors in the first round of the GHSA state volleyball tournament.

Team Performance During the first set of the state volleyball tournament against North Cobb on Oct. 16, junior Soulette Page blocks the ball to win the fifth point.

Varsity volleyball finishes third in the region Accolades & Announcements

continued

Battle of the bandsMarching Band will perform in the Annual Christmas Parade on Sat., Dec. 6, and as part of the event, it is sponsoring a Battle of the Bands. “We have currently raised just over $3,000 on our way to our goal of $5,000. If you are able, we would appreciate your support, and your

donation will go to help benefit the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

You can donate by bringing money - no checks please - whether loose change or bills, to me in the Band room in 1.252,” said band director

William Owens.

Gold medalist MattoxCongratulations to junior Kameron Mattox’s team for winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics last

month in Bocce ball.

Model UNOct. 13-14, high school students from around the world attended Georgia Tech Model United Na-

tions, a two-day conference designed to bring international affairs to

students and test their abilities to find probable solutions. Students

like sophomore Zachary Miles, who attended the conference, found the

experience exciting and eye opening. “The thing I learned the most was how hard it was for the real United Nations to make compromises and resolutions about world wide issues. I also learned how to counter argue

valid points made by opposing view-points,” he said.

OPINIONS4 Volume 3, Issue 2

StaffGrizzlyGazettethe

Staff WritersGeri Charles ‘17

Uzochi Enworom ‘16Josh Gilbert ‘15

Brittany Johnson ‘17Cheryl Kwapong ‘17Sabrina Luong ‘17Thomas Monn ‘17

Ashley Montgomery ‘16Kaiden Smith ‘16

AdviserJennifer Ortman

Editorial BoardBailey Drouant ‘15Alexis Poggi ‘15

Jordan Stallworth ‘16Leslie Wyatt ‘15

Professional associationsGeorgia Scholastic PressNational Scholastic Press

Journalism Education Association

We want to hear from you. Send letters to the editor to mvhsgrizzlygazette@

gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter

@ MVHSnews

Everyone can remember elementary school, where bathroom passes were the only way to leave the classroom and use the restroom, provided that another student was not out at the same time.

Now, in the biggest throwback of all time, Mountain View is revisiting these hall passes. Who should the blame be pointed to for this new installment? The administration? No. The blame should be pointed to-wards students who abuse the bathroom passes to skip class.

Naturally, the administra-tion has been turned into the villain of this tale, not only be-cause of the bathroom passes, but also because of the series of reforms that have taken place so far this school year. The new passes are just adding more fuel to the students’ fire.

“They’re trying to prepare us for col-lege and this is degrading us because we didn’t even have these in middle school, so how are we supposed to have more freedom if we have to carry around a hall pass?” said senior Sara Rouner.

Although a majority of the students do have the right to their feelings, they are missing a big piece of the puzzle: the reason for the passes. A small portion of students have been abusing the ex-cuse of ‘going to the bathroom’ to roam

the halls, or grab a snack from the vend-ing machine. These students’ offenses are causing not only students, but also faculty to suffer for their irresponsibility.

“It’s stupid to punish the whole bunch for something only a few bad apples did,” said senior Andrew Smith.

The creator of these rules is as-sistant principal Todd Salo. But to him, these rules are nothing new

“There aren’t new rules,” he said. “We have always required students to have some sort of hall pass whether it is an agenda book or other form of a pass.

The issue with the agenda books is that students don’t always carry around their agenda books with them. We now have a consistent method to allow students to travel during the school day, and that we can accurately identify who is where. The teachers have said they like the bright colors because the new lanyards are easily seen because of their colors.”

One major issue that has come up with the new bathroom pass-es is how easily it can spread germs.

“I think it’s disgusting because you know there are people that don’t wash their hands,” said junior Maekenzi Johnson.

Teachers have even begun to try and combat the gross transfer.

“I know a lot of my teachers spray it with Lysol,” said sophomore Kaylee Spurlock.

Of course, the germs are just an-other addition on a list of natural germs that occur in a public setting.

“Students are reminded that in a ca-sual school setting, germs and bacteria are everywhere. If I’m not mistaken, our science classes have done experiments showing these items that live on our wa-ter fountains, door handles, vending machines, and other commonly used

items in our building,” said Salo.The future of the lanyards re-

mains uncertain, but Salo does not see them going away anytime soon.

“We are always looking for ways to improve what we are currently doing,” he said. “Student safety and security are the primary reasons why we use a hall pass system. Mountain

View is responsible for all students in our building. We have to be able to account for all students, and considering we have over 2,000 students, this is no easy task.”

The bathroom passes may be child-ish, but at this point it is unclear what else the administration can do. If stu-dents really want the bathroom passes taken away and for the administration to trust them again with just using per-sonal agenda books, they need to stop using the bathroom passes to skip class.

It is completely all right if someone has to go to the bathroom, but it is not all right when it is used as an excuse to cut class.

“Student safety and security are the primary reasons why we use a

hall pass system.”

Todd Salo, Administrator

In initiative to keep students safe, admin issues passes

Bailey Drouant ‘15 Uzochi Enworom ‘16

Majority opinion of editorial board

Charlie King, 9 Kelsey Frederick, 12Pierre Tugman, 10

“[What if] I have an emergency and then someone else needs

[the pass] too?”

“[The administration] just doesn’t give us enough freedom,

honestly.”

“I feel like they’re pointless because we already have agen-

das. They’re going to get really gross really

fast.”

Students voice their opinions about the new passes and freedom.

ViewsViewfrom the

Corrections from last issuePage 5 - By lines for article on racism should be Alexis Poggi, ‘15, Uzochi Enworom, ‘16, and Cheryl Kwapong, ‘17.Page 5 - Dress code article reported two girls received warnings for breaking dress code. In fact, they were going to receive consequences, but received warn-ings instead because of their participation in the article’s experiment.Page 9 - By line for Begnaud article should read Cheryl Kwapong, ‘17.

November 2014 OPINIONS 5

Anything boys can do, girls can do better. This mantra has often influenced the female mindset, but why can’t boys and girls work together to do better and be better?

When people think of feminism, they associate it with man-hating, bra-burning, and anti-shaving. People need to open their minds to understand the true definition of feminism; a call for equality between men and woman and a demand for the natural born right to be oneself regardless of gender.

“Feminism is the economical, political,

and social equality of women to men,” said senior Melissa Rosenhauer.

The simple definition of feminism still needs to have more of an impact in this society because of the discrimination

between men and women that is still prevalent.

“Feminism is an important concept in society. This country has seen too much injustice. How do we expect to rely on our own government without the legal reassurance that we will all be treated equally?” said Katie Soderberg.

In order for all genders to reach equal-ity, all genders must join the feminist movement. This may come as a surprise, but it is completely possible for men to be feminist. It doesn’t mean that something is wrong with them, and it does not make them any less of a man. It merely means that they are bold enough to stand for what is right.

“In a sense, I am [a feminist] because I’m always down for women’s rights. We

have to respect them and do whatever is necessary to make sure they get what they need and feel just as important as [society thinks] men are,” said junior Luke Akande.

British actor Emma Watson has had a great impact in the surge of men be-coming feminists. With the hashtag she coined, #heforshe the feminist message has been spreading even wider.

“I love young women [such as Emma Watson] stepping up in support of such a serious issue. I love that her campaign is imparting young, and older, men to embrace feminist concerns,” said language arts teacher Tracey Fisher.

Don’t back down in the face of inequal-ity, join the feminist movement, and fight for a much needed change.

Uzochi Enworom ‘16Sabrina Luong ‘17

Staff Writers

We Can Do It Tracey Fisher, senior Kameron Zimmer, junior Grace Wu, and junior Ji-Won Kim all emulate World War II and feminism icon Rosie the Riveter known for her famous and empowering slogan “We can do it.” Zimmer, supporter of feminism, expresses his opinions on feminism, “Everyone is created equal, and every sex needs to have equal opportuni-ties. Based off your sex, you shouldn’t be limited because that limits the accom-plishments for what you can achieve,” said Zimmer.

Why feminsm is still relavent in modern society and important for both men and womenIt is time to talk about the F-word...Feminism

“Feminism is an impor-tant concept in society.

This country has seen too much injustice. How do we expect to rely on our own government without the legal reassurance that we

will all be treated equally?” - Katie Soderberg, 10

I woke up like this, I woke up like this, we are tiredStudents’ lack of sleep affects their performance in every aspect of their high school careers and extracurricular activities.

ILLUSTRATION BY MADISON WOOD

The hallways of high school are al-ways filled with bleary-eyed students, who are exhausted and unprepared for school. A lack of sleep is an ever-present reality among the student populations in the county, and it is not only affecct-ing students’ academic success, but also their emotional and physical capabilites.

Some adults say that teenagers do not need as much sleep because it is prepar-ing them for the real world and when they have careers in the future. The problem with this is that teenagers need sleep to grow and function properly because they are not as developed as adults yet. Stu-dents need sleep in order to develop into well functioning adults. Many students struggle to stay awake in class due to school starting at early hours, and students would be able to take in more informa-tion if school started later. “I don’t know if this is true, but recently studies show that REM sleep is when you are deepest asleep, and that’s when we have to wake up for school,” said senior Jack Hasenkopf.

According to Better Health Chan-nel, adolescents need between nine and ten hours of sleep every night. Regularly not getting this amount of sleep can af-fect a teenager’s academic and sporting performance. Even 30 minutes of ex-tra sleep each night makes a difference.

“[If school started at a later time], I’d probably be much more attentive in class, and I would not need to try and stay awake,” said sophomore Diana Michael.

The overall performance of students would increase in regards to academics because of an increased amount of sleep that would allow them to focus in class on the subject of hand, instead of trying not to doze off in their important classes. Students would have better grades in their classes if they could get more sleep and think properly with well-rested brains.

“What I noticed with school is my first period grade throughout all four years of high school and my last period grade are the lowest every time. I think it’s just be-

cause I’m tired,” said senior Chelsea Carey. Not only does sleep affect our aca-

demic life, but it can also put the safety of students in jeopardy. Having a car and a license is a privilege, but also has the potential to be very dangerous. School starting later would keep more students from getting into car accidents and hurt-ing not only themselves, but others, as well, when they get behind the wheel.

“My route is basically a pattern now. I just do it out of habit. And I would be more aware of what is go-

ing on around me [if school started at a later time],” said junior Abby Viar.

Other counties in the state have lat-er start times than those in Gwinnett.

Sleep is a vital necessity that students cannot be successful members in our school without. Students in the county would greatly benefit from having extra sleep in the morning. If school started 45 minutes later than it does now, stu-dents would be more alert on the road or in the classroom, leading to a more fo-cused and successful school environment.

Geri Charles ‘17Cheryl Kwapong ‘17

Staff Writers

ACADEMICS6 Volume 3, Issue 2

The desire for advancing academic ex-cellence compels students to seek out any educational help that they can find. Fortunately, a free tutoring program run by fellow students has been cre-ated to aid students ranging from failing to those who just want extra practice.

Tutors use a variety of meth-ods to reinforce the select material.

“Most of all, I try to explain [the mate-rial] to them in a way that they can un-derstand because sometimes when you are in class, you don’t really understand what the teacher is saying, and you’re just like, ‘OK, I’ll write it down, but I don’t really know what she’s saying’. So I try to sim-plify it mostly for them so they can un-derstand it in a way that is suited for a stu-dent perspective,” said junior Sofia Garcia.

Junior tutor Becky Lockwood uses her

experiences from previously taken classes to teach in a simpler manner.

“When I tutor them, I use the tips and tricks that I learned from my vari-

ous math teachers over my high school career to help them because some teach-ers teach differently,” said Lockwood.

Program advisor Andrew Dean encour-ages tutors to teach in a way that best suits the particular student that they tutor.

“My goal for the tutors is for them to figure out ways to help people because we have such different types of learners throughout the school. It becomes a little tricky for the tutors to figure out what each specific student needs,” said Dean.

Tutors explain the material in a va-riety of ways because they value the learning of those they tutor and de-sire the improvement of their skills.

“I want them to accomplish the best that they can because they don’t real-ize that they have a lot of potential; sometimes the teacher doesn’t really ex-ploit that,” said junior Nicolas Plaza.

Whether attending one tutoring session or one hundred, the sessions’ success hing-es on the amount of learning taking place.

HOW TO SIGN UP:

1) Go to mvhstutoring.acuityscheduling.com

2) Choose what class you would like to be tutored in

3) Choose desired date

4) Choose desired time

5) Enter in some personal student informa-tion

New, free in-school tutoring program helps students excelAshley Montgomery ‘16

Staff Writer

PHOTO BY A. MONTGOMERY

Math made easy Sophomore Logan Randall receives the trigonometry tips that senior tutor Russell Land acquired over his four year high school career. “Math is fun when you understand it. First, I’ll start by teaching the material to the student, and then I’ll do a few problems in front of them, and then after that, I’ll let them do problems, and if they don’t get it, I’ll do some more problems. But I focus on letting them do the problems so they can apply it. Tutoring is really relaxed, you just sign up and come in, and they’ll find a tutor for you,” said Land.

Martin breaks out of the comfort zone after introducing APUSH Enterprises

Jordan Stallworth ‘16

Staff Writer

New reform to allow complete student creativity begins with a positive outlook, as well as cause concerns

PHOTO BY JORDAN STALLWORTH

AP United States history students last week submitted their companies’ unit four projects for a grade that will not be derived from a traditional rubric. In fact, the students themselves have written the rubrics for their own assignments.

APUSH Enterprises was launched Oct. 1. Within the document given to the class, the mission of the new reform allows the use of advanced technologies available to students to build and create anything they wish to show they have mastered the content taught.

“I thought something needed to be changed in order to break up the mo-notony of me lecturing to the class each day. Some kids feel this is beneficial, but the vast majority of students like the new proposal,” said Richard Martin. “I’m try-ing to be more 21st-century. Being a huge

advocate for gifted, I know these students will have more buy-in if it’s something they’ve created.”

Martin previously ran APUSH ENT. by his students before finalizing it with the administrative board. He believed kids should have some control over their learning.

“It lets us each express our own indi-viduality through our social studies class,” said junior Victoria Botts.

The plan has not completely drawn in junior APUSH student Collin Kemper. “I don’t see why it [APUSH ENT.] is necessary. Grade wise, it’s just an extra grade because we still are required to take unit tests. It’s something else I have to worry about, plus studying for tests,” said Kemper.

Other students expressed the desire for freedom in other classes like language arts and math.

Carla Youmans is the local school

technology coordinator and has worked in education for 23 years. She shines light on why some students are resisting this new system.

“One thing I realized when I became an educator is that kids and parents want to know exactly what a teacher needs them

to give him or her in order to get an A, so I tried to challenge teachers because that’s not what you do in the real world. They expect you to figure it out.”

Martin has taught for more than 20 years and came up with this idea watching Donald Trump’s, “The Apprentice.”

Teaching with style Richard Martin teaches his AP United States History students about early American government. “What prompted me to change my teaching style was at the time we had such large classes [due to schedule changes]. I wanted to have more intimate classes and really get to know my students, their talents, their likes and dislikes. You can reach students better if you have an understanding of who they are,” said Martin

FOLLOW US, tag us in your IG pics and tweets,

or DM story ideas

@MVHSnews

November 2014 ACADEMICS 7

Georgia StateUniversity

Population: 32,000 studentsLocation: Atlanta, GAEstablished: 1913Status: Public research universityFall 2013 Acceptance rate: 53.9%Tuition & Fees (in-state resident):

$5,120.00

Athletics: - Mascot: Pounce the panther- Georgia State’s fifteen varsity teams

compete in NCAA Division I events.- School colors: Blue and white- All GSU sports joined the Sun Belt

Conference in July 2013.- The football team plays in the Georgia

Dome.

Academics:- Average GPA: 3.2-3.7- Average SAT (Verbal & Math only):

970-1190- Average ACT (Composite): 21-27- Student faculty ratio: 21 to 1- 100 fields of study with 250 degree

programs offered through eight colleges- Georgia State has a full-time faculty of

1,144.

Highlights: - The university offers 18 exchange pro-

grams in 10 countries.- The student population at GSU is 41.7

percent male and 58.3 percent female.- Georgia State economically impacts

Atlanta with an annual 1.5 billion dollar endowment.- Atlanta is home to more than a dozen

headquarters of Fortune 500 companies where GSU students have the opportu-nity to intern. - 4,100 students live in university hous-

ing. Since Georgia State is located in an urban area, the majority (83 percent) of students live off campus.

Collegeof themonthSIDEBAR BY JORDAN STALLWORTH

Teacher vs. StudentBilly JonesHayat

Ramzi, 12

Trivia

Facts obtained from: http://www.gsu.edu/

What is the largest state in America?

Jones comes out swinging and takes the lead.

Ramzi gets a point, but Jones is still ahead.

Struck by the goddess, Jones correct answer streak ends.

In the end, Jones and Ramzi both shine like diamonds in a tie.

A disturbing fact, but another point to both Jones and Ramzi.

Using their deduction skills, Jones and Ramzi find the answer.

AlaskaAlaska

George, Ringo, John, Paul

Ringo, John, Paul

Ringo, John, Paul

Aphrodite

Eats her mate

Eats her mate

Diamond

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Name three of the Beatles.

What Greek Goddess was born from the ocean?

What does the female praying mantis do after she’s mated?

What is the hardest rock?

What famous detective only existed in a fic-tional book?

Texas

Aphrodite

Minerva

Eats her mate

Diamond

Diamond

Sherlock Holmes

Question AnswerRamziJones

Jones: 5 / Ramzi: 5

Jones: 1 / Ramzi: 0

Jones: 2 / Ramzi: 1

Jones: 4 / Ramzi: 4

Jones: 4 / Ramzi: 3

Jones: 3 / Ramzi: 2

Jones: 5 / Ramzi: 5

Score Tie SIBEBAR BY LESLIE WYATT

PHOTO BY LESLIE WYATTPHOTO BY BAILEY DROUANT

Congratulations to Marilyn Como on her third anniversary

of being cancer-free! The counseling department and teachers

celebrated this wonderful milestone of Ms. Como beating breast cancer three years

ago on Fri. Oct. 17.

We’re in it togetherBuy your yearbook today at

www.YearbookOrderCenter.com

We just completed our 2nd of 6 deadlines, and a quarter of the school is already in the book!

FALL FESTIVITIES8 Volume 3, Issue 2

While the teacher parking lot was a frenzy of candy-hunting, mini Olafs, Batmans, and other char-acters, a chili cook off took place

at the school’s front entrance. As I walked onto the quiet scene, the smell

hit me immediately. Savory spices poured out of the crockpots as more commu-nity members lifted the tops and chowed down. For a small $10, students, chil-

dren, and adults had the opportunity to try out twelve different recipes from nine MVHS student organizations and three individual students. “My favorite recipe, so far, has been crockpot #5 (PTSA). It has excellent consistency and fantas-tic flavor,” said teacher Deborah White.

This is the first year the Trunk or Treat event has had the chili cook off.

“The goal was to start raising money for Relay for Life earlier, so we can raise money throughout the year,” said event planner and teacher Jaime Claymore. PHOTO BY JORDAN STALLWORTH


Staff Writer

Let’s play dress-up!

Relay for Life’s chili cook off raises funds

Batman Superwoman Olaf from “Frozen”PHOTOS BY JOSH GILBERT

Student groups put on a show

Three days before the student body dressed out in costumes for the Hallow-een football showdown between the Bears and the Duluth Wildcats, kids from the community dressed up for this year’s an-nual Trunk or Treat event. The event in-cluded a food drive, a chili cook off, and a lot full of students handing out candy.

Mountain View teacher Casey Em-manuel and student body president Noah Barnes collected canned, as well as boxed and bagged, foods from local elementary students. The food item was a child’s tick-et into the event. With less than an hour into the event, Emmanuel and Barnes had received near hundreds of items, and needed more boxes to fill up. The turnout was better than expected, and Lawrencev-ille Co-op, a local Christian organization that seeks to care for those in need in the Lawrenceville and Dacula communi-ties, will help Mountain View by provid-ing the collected cans to families in need.

“I’m sure some of our [Moun-tain View] kids will benefit from the can drive as well,” said Emmanuel.

A Trunk or Treat is an event where groups of people dress up and decorate to a specific theme and hand out treats. Each year, student organizations, in-cluding Junior Cabinet, TSA, and Span-ish Honor Society, work together to set up the best trunk at Mountain View.

This season, the overall theme was Disney. Frozen, Emperor’s New Groove, and 101 Dalmations were all represented. Along with other trunks, FCCLA and Summit Yearbook had the complete pack-

age in characters, decorations, and games. Family Career and Communi-

ty Leaders of America chose to por-tray the movie “Despicable Me.”

“We were told to do ‘Despicable Me’ because it’s kid friendly, and who doesn’t love the yellow minions?” said FCCLA senior member Kayla Morris.

Along with filling their bags of candy, the children had a chance to play games at nearly every trunk.

“The most challenging part was think-ing of what game to do. We decided on cornhole because it’s challenging but also easy for smaller kids to play,” said FC-CLA senior member Alaina Daugherty.

Summit Yearbook included a game for their “Toy Story” trunk as well. Se-nior design Zee Doehling was hap-py that they chose “Toy Story” be-cause it allowed him to be Woody.

“We have so much candy, like six pieces of candy per kid, but here you have to earn your candy by making buckets and balling out,” said Doeh-ling, “Do I like giving away candy? Not really, but it makes the kids happy.”

The Summit Yearbook had three buck-ets, a small, medium, and a large one. If the kid was able to score in the small-est bucket, positioned farthest from the child, then the child recieved more candy.

“I actually had a lot more fun dress-ing up as Woody. It was my first time acting as a character,” said Doehling

Student organization members like Morris would like the Trunk or Treat Halloween tradition to continue.

“We should keep doing this becasue it’s a fun family experience and brings the community together,” she said.

Top trunks from annual Trunk or Treat event share the tricks up their sleevesJordan Stallworth ‘16

Staff Writer

Little kids, big smiles Top. Juniors Nathan Jenkins and Maddie Mousseau meet their “Frozen” counterparts. “Once we added music and started the dancing, that’s when it really got fun,” said Jenkins. “The line dances were definitely the best part.” Bottom Left. Senior Alex Keller entertains with bubbles. Bottom Right. Senior Jessi Rasaphone hands out candy.

November 2014 FALL FESTIVITIES 9

Community events calendar: November edition


Staff Writer


SIDEBAR BY JORDAN STALLWORTH

Tips

Netherworld Never say againStudents visit the popular and terrifying haunted house this Halloween season

Are you up for the 2015Netherworld experience?

Why you should feel chicken... Why you should totally go...

Sophomore E.J. Thompson, vis-ited Netherworld three weeks ago with a group of theater friends. Junior Bailey Ingram went with a close group of friends to the haunted house two weeks ago. Here is what they had to say.

Scared silly or just silly? Junior Bailey Ingram & sophomore E.J. Thompson give their best impersonation of the Netherworld characters.

PHOTOS BY JORDAN STALLWORTH

- Nationally ranked as one of the top haunts in the country by Yahoo Travel and Huffington Post.

- Quality: the haunts have a theme, include real actors, and special effects.

- Less than 40 minutes away from MVHS, it’s nearly right around the corner.

- The professional actors really get into character. Seeing the difference between a good actor and a lunatic can be difficult.

- This year’s two haunted house themes were Season of the Witches and Spliced.

- There’s no turning back once the show begins, and each twist and turn is sure to give a scare you won’t forget.

actor there. I’d probably scare my-self. My dream would be to play a really tall, winged character with claws and red eyes. I’d be really powerful and buff. I would have a thick Russian accent and walk like Jack Sparrow.

Bailey IngramQ: When did you scream the loudest?A: One time. I turned the corner and a woman with pigtails and a baby doll screamed really loud. I’m so scared of dolls from scary mov-ies, I screamed, too.

Q: What were you feeling when standing in the entrance line? A: I think that before I was so anticipating and anxious. But it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be, and I ended up having a lot of fun.

E. J. Thompson

Q: Have you ever been to Neth-erworld before this year? A: My parents took me when I was five-years-old. I still have night-mares and can still remember it.

Q: When you first walked what did you hear, smell, see, feel, & think? A: I heard a lot of screaming. It smelled really sweaty and stinky. I saw bloody things everywhere. I felt frightened, and I was thinking, ‘I’m gonna die.’

Q: Since you’re taking theater, would you ever want to work at Netherworld?A: It would be awesome to be an

PHOTOS BY SARA ROUNER

BUFORD CORN MAZENov. 7-9 Fri. 6 p.m. to midnight; Sat. 10 a.m. to midnight; Sun. noon to 10 p.m.Nov. 14-16 Fri. 6 to 10 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun. noon to 10 p.m.4470 Bennett Road, Buford

GWINNETT GLADIATORSNov. 8 vs. Florida @ 7:05 p.m.Nov. 16 vs. Florida @ 2:05 p.m.6400 Sugarloaf Pkwy, Duluth

ATLANTA HAWKSNov. 8 vs. Knicks @ 7:30 p.m.Nov. 12 vs. Jazz @ 7:30 p.m.Nov. 14 vs. Heat @ 7:30 p.m.1 Phillips Drive, Atlanta

ATLANTA FALCONSNov. 23 vs. Browns @ 1:00 p.m.Nov. 30 vs. Cardinals @ 4:05 p.m.Georgia Dome Drive NW, Atlanta

MALL OF GA - DALLAS MARTIN BANDNov. 21 9 p.m.3333 Buford Drive, Buford

MALL OF GA - RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVENov. 28-30 begins at 12 p.m.3333 Buford Drive, Buford

LAKE LANIER SNOW WORLDNov. 21 - Dec. 31 5 to 10 p.m. nightlyBest deal - $30 per carload7000 Lanier Islands Pkwy, Buford

STONE MOUNTAIN CHRISTMASNov. 8 - Jan. 4 select nightsTicket deals online1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd. Stone Mountain

LAKE LANIER UNDER THE LIGHTS 5KNov. 15-16 5:45 p.m.Registration ends Nov. 97000 Lanier Islands Pkwy, Buford

LITTLE MULBERRY PARK 5 & 10K TRAIL RUNNov. 15 8:30 a.m.3855 Fence Road, Dacula

AURORA THEATER PRESENTS“CHRISTMAS CANTEEN”Nov. 20 - Dec. 21 Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m.; Sat. - Sun. 2:30 p.m.Tickets $30 - 50No performances Nov. 26-27128 East Pike Street, LawrencevilleSUWANEE CLASSIC CAR SHOW

Nov. 9 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Public admission is FREE330 Town Center Avenue, Suwanee

THANKSGIVING HALF MARATHONNov. 23 8 a.m.Half-marathon ($55), 10K $40), 5K ($30)4515 Lenora Church Rd. SW, Snellville

REPTICON @ GWINNETT FAIRGROUNDSNov. 8 - 9 Sat. 10 to 5 p.m.; Sun. 10 to 4 p.m.2405 Sugarloaf Pkwy, Lawrenceville

Little kids, big smiles Top. Juniors Nathan Jenkins and Maddie Mousseau meet their “Frozen” counterparts. “Once we added music and started the dancing, that’s when it really got fun,” said Jenkins. “The line dances were definitely the best part.” Bottom Left. Senior Alex Keller entertains with bubbles. Bottom Right. Senior Jessi Rasaphone hands out candy.

Tips1. Carpool with friends to protect your wallet and the environment.

2. Try something unique, and go see a play or a hockey game.

3. BYOF: Bring your own food. If you can, you’ll save yourself from

pricey concessions.

Fall Festivities a memorableexperience

FEATURES10 Volume 3, Issue 2

Spotlight shines on student singerJunior Rachel Wiggins’ talent and accom-plishments make her singing career one to watch

Ashley Montgomery ‘16

Staff Writer

Rachel Wiggins: not only a name to know, but also a voice to listen to. At age 15, her first album “A Hundred Places” came out, allowing her ideas and sound to be felt and heard by those around the country.

Her family’s involvement in the music industry en-couraged her start in music.

“My dad has been singing, playing guitar, and writing songs since he was my age. At night, he’ll come in my room at like two in the morning and wake me up and say, ‘Hey, listen to this song!’ And since I have to listen to it so often, I picked up on it and start-ed in his footsteps,” said Wiggins.

Ever since the beginning of her singing career, Wiggins sang songs that captured her personal identity.

“I like that she writes her own songs and that she can just be herself and she doesn’t do lots of covers. All of her songs

are original,” said junior Trey Vanderpool. Wiggins’

music spans over different catego-ries: soulful blues, rock, and pop.

“I like that it’s not like any-one else’s. It’s a mix between the genres,” said junior Lauren Lee.

Her performances capture the audiences’ emotions, lead-ing to an inspired crowd.

“She sang at H12 Got Tal-ent, my church’s talent show, and it was right then and there - I was like this girl’s really tal-ented. Emotions overcame the room. I think one of the judg-

es teared up. It was just one of those wow moments where ev-

eryone knew this girl had a real talent,” said junior Michael Smith.Wiggins is currently work-

ing on her next album, which will come out in the next few years.

Student band casts large shadowLocal band White Prenumbra sets sights on fame and stardom

Bailey Drouant ‘15

Editor

Children all over the world dream of the life of a rockstar: the fame,

the money, and, of course, the ador-ing fans. The dream has become a real-ity for local band White Prenumbra.

The band started as a group of friends just jamming out. Together they in-corporated a variety of skills: seniors Yousef Jeddi and Kyle Gyenes play gui-tar, senior Jacob Wasserman plays the drums, senior Moosh Alize plays bass, alumnus Matthew Carmichael plays keyboard, and senior Mason Baxter sings vocals. Finally, the band was born.

“A prenumbra is like a shadow, and you can’t have a white shadow, so it didn’t make much sense. At first, we were going to do black prenumbra, but then we were like, uh, black, everyone has black in their name. Let’s do white instead,” said Alize.

The band got to work with its first song, “What I Did Last Night Part II: Electric Boogaloo.” Recently, they wrote a new song, “Shadow Blister.”

“It’s probably the most technical song we have. A lot of bass fingerpicking, and there are so many time changes. It’s just great, and everyone loves it. But

they’re all so fun to hear,” said Alize.The process of making music is a com-

plex process and involves multiple steps. “Yousef lays down a guitar riff, and I’ll

put drums to it, then he gives guys chords to play and what not,” said Wasserman.

The band’s first song was recorded in a small room with a laptop and a mic.

“[Our first recording session] was in Carmichael’s garage and room. It was just a computer and an equal-izer, so though it was kind of crappy, we were still happy with it,” Jeddi said.

Baxter is the newest member to White Prenumbra and uses his sing-ing skills to enhance the songs.

“I have been on stage doing theater stuff for a long time, but I’ve got to say that doing stuff for a band is com-pletely different. With a live show, anything can happen,” Baxter said.

The band has currently played four gigs at different popular venues such as Swayze’s Venue and the Blasthouse. They also performed at the Southern Asso-ciation of Student Councils conference.

“[Our music] is exponentially grow-ing. More and more people like us. So, hopefully, one day we’ll get big,” said Wasserman. “I want us to get huge, just like any other band.”

Best Performance Top. White Prenumbra performs at SASC on Oct. 11. “[I was nervous] as usual,” Wasserman said. Bottom Left. Alize and Baxter sing vocals together. “I’ve performed before with other bands, and I’ve done like three gigs, and I felt fine, but at [SASC], I was about to throw up I was so nervous,”

said Alize. Bottom Right. Jeddi and Carmichael play through the mistakes after the PA blew out. “Between the one hour we had between the first two covers be-fore we were going to play our original song, we went and got a crate amp for [Baxter and Carmichael] to use, so we could actually hear them,” said Jeddi.


PHOTO BY ASHLEY MONTGOMERY

Q&A with drummer Amelia Langford

Explain your band. My band consists of my good friend Lily Williamson and me. She sings and plays the guitar and piano. I play the drums. We play gigs in Athens at places like Boarshead, Road House, and Terrapin. We pick up guitarist and bass players at big gigs if we need an extra hand. We play shows at places in Atlanta as well such as Smiths Olde Bar.

How long have you been playing in the band? How did it start?We’ve been playing together since March. Lily and I met through mutual friends and started playing acoustically together when we were just playing around with music one day and loved the sound, ever since then, we have been getting gigs and shows left and right.

Do you plan on playing throughout college as well?Yes, I am actually moving to Athens next year, where Lily lives, to keep on pursuing the gigs. I plan on attending UNG before transferring to UGA, and I hope once I am living up there, we can play even more.

How long have you been playing the drums? What got you interested?I have been playing the drums since the fourth grade; I got interested because when-ever I would listen to music, I was always solely listening to the drums and the beat only.

SIDEBAR BY ALEXIS POGGI

November 2014 FEATURES 11

What’s... BearsBuzzwith theth

eRSI

r a n d o m

s t u d e n t

in ter v iew

Q: If someone gave you the power to save one animal species on earth what would it be?A: I would save the fish because since fish are at the bottom, if they get polluted, it’s bad for us too.

Q: If you had three wishes from a genie what would they be?A: My first wish would be to save the fish. My second wish would be to have super powers. And my third wish would probably be to be successful and for my friends and family to be successful.

Q: Why do we park on driveways, but drive on parkways?A: Because we cool like that.

Q: You can only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what is it?A: Fish. Just kidding. Probably cheese.

Q: What’s something you wish every-one knew about you?A: People think I’m dumb, but I’m actually smart, and I’m the president of FBLA.

Q: Celeb crush?A: Christiana. It’s just Christiana.

Q: Do you sing in the shower?A: Yeah. My favorite song to sing is “Let Me Love You” by Mario.

Q: Gulity pleasure?A: Chocolate.

Q: What character from Spongebob are you?A: Definetly Patrick. Oh, and Mr. Krabs combined.

Q: Weird talent?A: I get buckets on the court and in life. I’m just good at everything I do, and it’s weird.

Q: What’s the most money you’ve ever given away?A: I gave my brother $40 because he got good grades.

Q: If someone were to make a movie about your life, who would you hope to play you?A: Maybe August Alsainia if he could act or Chris Brown because of the strong resemblance.

Saluten Oladipo, 12

FALL

phot

ogra

phy

- Jessica James, 11 -

- Taylor Mayo, 12 -

- Nicole Chavarria, 10 -

- Bri Greenspan, 12 -

- Deneige Moua, 11 -

- Kimberly Santillan, 10 -

- Karna Thakkar, 10 -

- Emma Hickey, 12 -

Pumpking patches Left. Paige Taylor, 10 and Taylor Gimbert, 10. Middle. Dare Peery, 12, Bailey Ingram, 11, Kaley Smith, 11, and Han-nah Towe, 10. Right. Alexandria Anderson, 12.

GRIZZLY GAZETTE12 Volume 3, Issue 2

November 2014 SPORTS 13

12th Man


The second annual football and cheerleading camp for students with special needs occurred Sat. Oct. 25. The proceeds benefit Mountain View’s home living center which allows the special education students to learn to live on their own by doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, and more.The camp reaches outside MV’s four walls. “We open it up to all Gwinnett County special needs students. It is so humbling, I think, to our student athletes - a true eye opener. We are hoping to get the word out to make the camp big-ger next year. We want as many campers as pos-sible,” said event coordinator Julie Woodson.

Camp benefits participants and home living center

JV S

OFTBALL

V. FOO

TBALL

JORDAN SCREEN, 12

STUDENTSECTION

KIELA

N WHIT

NER, 129

THVO

LLEYBALL

12TH MAN

CAMP

“I verbally committed to Appalachian State for football and am very excited about being a part of the athletic program there. I worked hard to get to where I am, I stayed dedicated, and it paid off. My family and friends have supported me in my com-

mitment. I can’t wait till next fall.”

“Prepping to spike the ball down on the girls, I position myself to hit the ball correctly. I

like interacting with my teammates because they encourage me to do my best and push

me to strive for more.” Tia Bentley, 9

“My favorite part was seeing the kids have a

good time.” Andrew Pettit, 11

“We had a rough start, and I was hurt, but towards the

end of the season, we won 11-2, which was our first win. I think we’ve improved a lot since the

beginning. I’ve come from travel and seeing girls from REC teams improve so much is amazing.”

Madison Holzmeister, 9

“It’s been a little up-and-down this season. We’ve experienced both good and

bad times, but we’re right on the verge of being great and pursuing greatness in all things we do. Eventually we’re going to be what we wanted to

be, and that’s around the top.” Patrick Walker, 12

“I would have to say since my grandmother passed away, I play for

her. Every match, every game, I like to think that

she’s watching from above cheering me on, and when I committed to Georgia

State, I honestly felt relieved. Anyone that has gone through the recruiting process knows

how stressful it is. I love Georgia State so much, and I can’t wait

to be a Panther.”

“I feel like the student section is the best this year

since the school was built.”Whitney Wood, 11

“I attend Buford, but I go to [MVHS’s] athletic events be-

cause the spirit here is so live. I feel more at home. It’s more of a

family vibe.” Mernyse Bruce“[This year] has been the

most turnt student sec-tion.” Zaid Obafemi, 11

A Helping Hand With MV staff and fellow football player volunteers, junior Richie Ramos helped at the camp. “I wanted to help the kids get the experience of going out there and play-ing football. My favorite part of the camp was getting to hang out with Jared and hopefully making an impact in his life,” said Ramos.


Missing state by two points last year pushed the softball team that much harder to achieve its goal of making state this year.

“Everyone worked really hard on and off the field, so I was super happy with the outcome,” said senior Courtney Cofino.

It was a mixture of hard work and de-termination that brought these girls to their ultimate goal for this year’s season.

“Making it to the playoffs this year was my main goal, which we accom-plished. Also, beating Mill Creek was a big team goal this year,” said Cofino.

“One of our motivations this year was to be in the top four of Region 7-AAAAAA which we achieved. By doing this, we achieved another goal, and a first for our softball program of making the state play-offs for the first time. We had our first ever

winning record in region play, beating Mill Creek for the first time in school his-tory for softball,” said Coach Matt Raettig.

Sports teams possess strengths and weaknesses and develop vari-ous skills to cope with them.

“As as team, we worked really well together, and that had to be our strength. We didn’t have any weak-nesses as a team this year,” said Cofino.

“Our main strength right now is unity. We win together and lose together. In this sport, if everyone is not on the same page, it can get ugly quick,” said Coach Raettig.

Repeated traditions or rituals are a small part of the softball team. Every time the girls win a game or accomplish another one of the team’s goals, they gather in a circle and yell “MVOD.” “They worked their tails off all summer. That is a hard thing to understand - that if you put the work in now, it will pay off later. This year was proof of that,” said Coach Raettig.

Brittany Johnson ‘17

Staff Writer

Varsity softball team makes state playoffs for first time

Fast Pitch Senior Kayla Morris pitches the softball to the opposing hitter at the game against Norcross.

SPORTS14 Volume 3, Issue 2

Comp: Not for weak of heart or body

The word ‘sport’ brings to mind foot-ball or soccer where there is a ball, score zones, and points, but competition cheer-leading, with tumbling, back handsprings, and flips, proves a formidable sport.

Some people may even argue com-petition cheerleading is more physi-cally demanding than some other sports because of the skill needed to execute all the different stunts that the cheer-leaders do, and the fact that they also need to remember an entire routine.

The squad’s regional competition* was held on Nov. 1 at Dacula High School.

Cheer has been in teacher Kayla Canel-la’s life for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve been cheering since I was in kindergarten, so I didn’t know there was any other option out there. I wouldn’t teach if I couldn’t coach. I just fell in love with competition and the sport of it,” said Canella

Competition cheerleading is one of the most involved sports, and junior Hannah Joslin gives testimony of that first-hand.

“Someone was coming down from a stunt and smacked me in the face. I got blood everywhere,” said Joslin. This minor setback didn’t serve as a hindrance for Jos-lin’s 10 year walk with competition cheer.

The cheer veteranTough Love Canella continues to give back to the sport she grew up with.

So close to senior year, Joslin doesn’t let her injuries stop her now.

Parent finds a new love in competi-ton cheer.

Freshman Alanna Parent walked into school oblivious to the fact that soon she would become a part of the competition cheerleading team.

“I did spirit cheer for three years, and my friend told me to try out for comp cheer because they needed more people, and I ended up loving it,” said Parent.

Unexpected arrival

PHOTOS BY T. MONN

Placing top four in team times at rac-es is impressive, but without competing as a team, this year’s cross country team would not be at the point it is today.

“In cross country, you see your team-mates at their best and worst, from hit-ting a new PR [personal record] at a race to just collapsing on the ground after a six mile speed workout because they’re in so much pain. We’re there with each other through the good times and the bad times,” said senior Emma Bridger.

“We have become a family by spend-ing so much time together. For the girls’ team we do a ‘big sister/little sister thing’. My big sister [Emma] Bridger has taught me so much this season, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now with-out her,” said sophomore Alexis Carter.

Other key aspects of maintain-ing a family bond lie in motivation.

“During races, my favorite thing to do is just to give the younger guys as much encouragement as I can as they run. I

just help out as much as I can by yell-ing things like mile times or just tell-ing them to breathe and stay strong. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world watching a teammate pass the finish line and achieving the goal they set out or getting a new PR,” said senior Ben Yin.

“As a younger runner to the team, I definitely look up to the older guys so one day I could be one of the leaders and set an example for younger runners,” said freshman Adam Keller. “‘Do your part’ is something our coach always says. I know I have to do my part for the team and so does everyone else. All of this forms the pieces for forming a successful team.”

The girls also have a motto that they use to help motivate themselves.

“I believe, I believe that we are strong. I believe, I believe that we will carry on; ‘cause we aren’t done, no we’ve just be-gun. We’ll be climbing to the top until we’re number one,” said Bridger. “It re-minds us that we always have something to be working towards, and it’s on each of us as individuals to give it our best.”

Josh Gilbert ‘15

Staff Writer

Cheryl Kwapong ‘17Tommy Monn ‘17

Staff Writers

Top. As the Aubrae Gunderson Invita-tional commences at 8:30 on Sat., Sept. 27, seniors Emma Bridger and Alyssa O’Neill and sophomores Alexis Carter and Brielle Martelli get out of the gates fast to start off the race. Middle. The varsity boys’ team gathers before the Au-brae Gunderson Invitational to hype up everyone before the race gets underway. Bottom. Senior Nick Seecharan and ju-nior Nicholas Sandberg race side-by-side during the first stretch of the race.

PHOTOS BY JOSH GILBERTRunning to the top

*Issue went to print two days before event. No results to share at publication.

November 2014 SPORTS 15

Tyler Barber Winning Ways

After taking a first place county finish, win-ning athlete of the week, and smashing the school record, this radical runner focuses on perfecting his craft.

KS: How does it feel to be a school record holder?TB: I don’t make it a big deal because our school is new and stuff, so I just go along and try to do my best in every-thing else. Like, if it’s a course record, I try to break that instead of a school record.

KS: Do you think your record is going to be broken?TB: Hopefully not because I have an-other year to make it harder for every-one else.

KS: When did you start running, and why did you pursue the sport?TB: Well, I started running last year because everybody else told me football was my thing when running mostly was.

KS: I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people didn’t know who you were before you won this first race, what do you want people to know about you that they might not know yet?TB: That I really like to win, like that’s all it is. I’ll push myself to the limit just to win.

KS: How did it feel to win the Fans’ Choice and Mile Split athlete of the week? TB: It was really surprising to me mostly because the first few days of it. I didn’t even know I was nominated for anything. So when my friends told me it was just good for me, I guess I got my name out there.

KS: Now that you’ve been put on this pedestal, do you feel any pressure going into other meets?TB: Nah, no pressure. I’m just trying to do my best you know, just trying to win everything.

KS: How hard do you practice and how do you prepare yourself for meets?TB: I actually practice really, really hard just because I know I can push my-self to the limit so I can be out of my comfort zone before the beginning of the race.

KS: What has cross country taught you about yourself that you didn’t know about yourself before?TB: That I’m very determined.

KS: What do think the most important trait is to have as a runner in order to be successful?TB: Mostly a lot of willpower. Running is just a mind game, and if you’re on your game, then it’s done.

KS: What’s your goal this season as far as running?TB: 15:50.

KS: Who has helped you reach your success?TB: Mostly people that have graduated already like Donald Shelton, Robert Bevins ... and Coach Roy. He’s always trying to push me every single practice. He says I can even though I have that mental barrier sometimes that says I can’t.

KS: Do you have anything that moti-vates you or inspires you to do better when you run?TB: As I said, Coach Roy. He’s always there pushing me.

KS: What challenges have you had to overcome this year?TB: Well, mostly running out of air on the last straightaway of a race ...and sometimes grades.

KS: What is your favorite moment from this season so far?TB: Winning County. It was an amaz-ing feeling that I didn’t even realize till like the bus ride back to the school.

KS: What is the best compliment you have received?TB: “Tyler Barber? I thought that was a white guy!”

KS,TB: *laughs*

KS: Why did that stick out to you?TB: Because I’m not, it’s just one of those things.

KS: How important is winning to you?TB: It’s everything to me, especially when it’s something that other sports see as a punishment.

KS: What’s the next thing people are going see out of Tyler Barber?TB: Hopefully, Tyler Barber wins state.

Interview by Kaiden Smith

Growth as a family on and off the fieldThe freshman football team works on being more of a familyThomas Monn ‘17

Staff Writer

In the heat of the moment Left. Blake Carroll protects teammates after they were pushed by the Collins Hill defenders after the whistle was blown. Right. Freshman Jonathan Gipson returns the ball for a touchdown after stripping the ball from a Collins Hill player at their Sept. 11 home game.


The Freshman Football team has made great strides in an attempt at im-proving its teamwork and family ori-ented culture throughout the season.

“We are improving everyday and starting to think like a team and not as an individu-al,” said Bryan Tamalone. “We are starting to put one another in front of ourselves.”

The teammates of the freshman foot-ball team are helping each other out and encouraging one another in dif-ferent ways, ranging from helping with academic work to trying to keep their teammates in line during classes.

“If a teammate is making a ruck-us, then I remind them that we are on a football team and that we need to set a good example,” said Vivaldo.

“I try to provide structure and

discipline for the players through football,” said Coach Tamalone.

The freshman football players not only have their own way of helping and encour-aging each other, but they all have their own reasons for wanting to play as well.

“I’ve always been a smart per-son,” said Herron “I didn’t want to be just smart. I wanted to have just as much brawn as I did brain.”

Because of the players working to-gether, they were able to win three games.

“I feel we did pretty good,” said tack-le Miguel Diaz. “A lot of players put a lot of effort into the games this year.”

As a sophomore this year at Geor-gia Southern University, 2013 alum-nus Christopher Fajemisin juggles his school, athletics and personal life to the best of his ability. He takes full time classes, plays rugby for GSU and still makes time to hang out with friends.

“People have to learn how to bal-ance their responsibilities in college be-cause no one is there to tell you how to keep a balance of tasks,” Fajemisin said.

In order to stay organized, he makes a list of duties such as school work, cooking and sports each month. “Peo-ple have to set [responsibilities] them-selves and stick to it,” Fajemisin said.

One responsibility that he knew how to handle when he entered college was his athletics. As a defensive back on the varsity football team in high school, Fa-jemisin was always involved in athletics.

“I always made time for sports and had

to make sure I maintained good grades to stay on the team,” Fajemisin said.

“Once I got to Southern, [athletic di-rectors] were inviting boys to try out for a more foreign sport called rugby.”

He had never played rugby or even watched it on TV since it does not come on American TV regularly. He knew it was a sport that involved an immense amount of physical activity.

“The coaches told me it was sport that was somewhat of a mix of football and soc-cer, both of which I love,” Fajemisin said.

He decided to take a chance and try-out. After tryouts, the coach told him he did a wonderful job and that they wanted him to be a part of the team.

“Turns out I was actually good; be-ginner’s luck plus hard work goes a long way,” Fajemisin said. He is now ranked as one of the best players on the team, start-ing every varsity game as a sophomore.

“It was scary at first, playing a new sport at a college with profession-al coaches watching,” Fajemisin said.

At the end of the season, the professional rugby team the Atlanta Rhinos contacted Fajemisin after seeing him play in a GSU rugby match his freshman year. Being so young, he could not benefit in profession-al pay, but he took the offer to play with the Rhinos in order to gain experience.

Fajemisin was offered to play with a profes-sional overseas team in Australia this summer.

“If you want to make something of yourself, you need to work beyond your best ability,” Fajemisin said. “My work ethic in school has helped my bal-ance my studies and my athletic career.”

Alexis Poggi ‘15

Editor

Alumnus plays rugby at GSU

Contact sport. Fajemisin is tacked as he runs with the ball.

PHOTO BY ALEXIS POGGI


SCARY STORY CONTEST16 Volume 3, Issue 2

Three twenty-seven

Her pale gray hands snaked around my neck, wringing it with a surprising amount of strength. Her long black nails made crescent imprints in the back of my neck, trying her hardest to draw my last breath. Her face was blurred in the darkness of the night, but I could still make out two little beady red circles, glaring at me wickedly, surrounded by nothing but black. She sat upon my chest making the process of her strangling me more effective. I thrashed violently on the bed, trying to push her off, scratch her face or some-thing, but nothing worked. My hands just faded through her... like she wasn’t even there at all...Her snake-like fingers tightened around my neck. I could feel myself slowly weak-ening. A flashing red light caught my attention. Glancing to the side, I looked at the clock on my night stand. 3:27 a.m. That was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

My body jolted forward, escaping the terrifying dream. I sat up in my bed, eyes widened in the darkness of the room. I glided my hands over my sweaty face and down my neck, gripping my fore-arms securely. “Too real...” My voice came out in a whis-per, but it echoed through the empty room like a call into a cave. I slowly relaxed, my muscles unclench-ing and my back slouching. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, trying to collect my rambled thoughts. As my feet made contact with the chilling wood floor, I looked to my side table where my alarm clock was placed. 3:26 a.m. The door creaked. Four long fingers with sharp black nails held the door open...only a crack. As I stared at the opening of the door, a beady red eye stared back at me. She cackled loudly.

by Ria Mosley, guest writer

About the writerfreshman Ria Mosley

Favorite books: Mystery and fantasyFavorite genre to write: Fantasy

On her love of writing: “Sometimes with writing you can express things that you can’t really express by talking.”

Her tip on writing: “Write when your sad, and end it when you are happy.”

STUDENT COUNCILYOUR SASC PRESIDENT SCHOOL

sends a big thank you to our hard-working custodians, administrators and teachers who volunteered their time to make SASC

2014 a great success!

National Junior Classical League

“Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito”~Virgil

“Yield not to misfortunes, but advance all the more boldly against them.”

JCL is the largest Classical organization in the world. Its purpose is to encourage an interest in and an appreciation of the language, litera-ture, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome and to impart an understanding of the debt of our own culture to that of Classical antiquity.

How has the Classics influenced your life?

Scan to visit the JCL website!mvjcl.weebly.

com

PHOTO & LAYOUT BY BRITTANY JOHNSON

page 10 photo by josh gilbert grizzly gazette...

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