smokesignaltheStafford High School www.staffordsmokesignal.comIssue 12, March 23, 2011

1the

9 / 11

JROTC & Trey Whiting raise flag

See page 2

INTERACT

Officers start club with laughs

See page 2

DUES & DONUTS

Key Club start with goodies

See page 2

smokesignalSept. 28, 2011Volume 67. Issue 2

Stafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405 www.staffordsmokesignal.com

BY LELAND BROOKS AND ANA NOSAL

Section Editors

calendar

STOP program prevents disruptions

Cell phone policy changed BY TAYLOR

SUTHERLANDStaff Writer

The cell phone policy has been recently changed at the July School Board meeting for the new school year.

“Last year the policy was you had to keep your phone in your locker turned completely off,” assistant principal Felix Addo said.

The old policy was changed because the committee felt that it was too difficult to enforce.

“The vast majority of

students were not follow-ing the policy to begin with so the committee de-cided to revise the policy so it would be easier to en-force,” said Meg Bohmke, school board member.

The Stafford County School Board changed the policy this year so stu-dents could have their cell phones on them but it still has to stay turned off and hidden.

“I think that this new policy gives us a bigger opportunity to text dur-ing and in between class-es,” sophomore Elizabeth

Brownell said.The Policy was

changed at the ten mem-ber committee meeting made up of high school, middle school, and two elementary school prin-cipals and central office staff.

“The committee cho-seto amend the policy be-cause it was evident that students were continuing to carry their cell phones on them in spite of the new policy to keep the cell phone in the locker,” Bohmke said.

According to the Code

gives students the time to take a ‘chill pill’ and gives them the chance to calm down.”

Many teachers around the school are also antici-pating this program will have a positive result in the school atmosphere.

“We are hoping that if a student needs a few minutes to gather their composure that it will be effective,” math teacher Wendy Meyer said. “If someone is acting out, it is keeping other students from learning.”

Since the STOP pro-gram is new to Stafford, the effectiveness of the program has yet to be determined. However, according to Garcia, the program is working out-standingly well so far.

“Like every program, we go into it with the no-tion that it is effective, and after a few weeks we can assess it and decide if modifications need to be made or whether to drop the progam all together,” Addo said.

Many students, how-

ever, are expressing strong opinions towards the pro-gram whether they agree or disagree.

“We are in high school now and I really do not think it is necessary to send us to time out like we are in kindergarten,” senior Alisha Bhagat said. “If a student is truly mis-behaving just give them a referral.”

While some students believe that this program seems unfair and childish, others believe that it will be worth it.

“I think it will be very effective because I know that I wouldn’t want to waste my time in a STOP classroom alone doing class work,” freshman Kenly Belman said.

“There are always one or two students who are holding the whole class back from learning,” English teacher Autumn Dalton said. “When you have a misbehaving child, you have to correct the action right then, not two days after with ISS or de-tention.

This year Stafford has adopted a Student Time Out Program (STOP) to cut down on disruptions in the classroom and give students a chance to cool off. Certain classrooms are designated for STOP

outline for teachers that provided them with key ideas and steps in order to improve a child’s dis-ruptive behavior within the school environment. Some of these key ideas included being persistent, excepting no excuses, and stressing student respon-sibility.

“The main criteria for being an interruption is disrupting another stu-dent’s learning, walking around the classroom, and talking out of turn,” administrative intern Donna Garcia said.

Once the student is sent to the STOP class-room, the student must fill out a behavior modi-fication sheet, explaining what the student did and how that student could improve the specific be-havior that was frowned upon.

“The reason for this program is to eliminate students being put in the hallways when a disrup-tion does not elevate to a referral,” assistant prin-cipal Felix Addo said. “It

of Conduct, if the policy is not followed, there is a minimum of long-term suspension of 10 days.

“I don’t think it was a good or bad decision,” principal Joseph Lewis said. “I think the kids will make the right choices.”

SNEAKY: Some students try to use their cell under the desk but usually get caught. Photo by Eric Stapleton

STOP! Think before acting out in class because there’s a new sheriff in town. Photo by Kaitlin Shacklette

and teachers are told to send their students there with their classwork if they are disrupting class-room instruction.

The program was cre-ated based off an article called The Glasser Model of Discipline by William Glasser, a behaviorial psychologist. In this ar-ticle, Glasser provided an

HomecomingOct. 24-28spirit week

DAYSSalad

DressingFeudalism

Color Spirit

Decades

countdown

days until Spirit Week

days until Homecoming

days until Halloween

days until Thanksgiving

indexFeature.......................4-5

News...............................1

Opinion..........................3

Sports..........................6-7

Spotlight........................8

Student Life..................2

what’s hotschool unity

cookies

fall weather

scarves

rain boots

Friday nights

“REMEMBER”

bracelets

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weatherSept. 28- Oct. 1

High: 76 FLow: 56 F

Oct. 2-8

High: 73 FLow: 49 F

Oct. 9-15

High: 70 FLow: 47 F

Stafford remembers

Spirit with a meaning: Left to right: seniors Dan Jobrack, Richard Gong, Tanner Woodard, Matt Yelverton, Shane Haley, Derek McCoy and junior Ryan Jones cheer at the football game. When the boys played Orange the fans painted themselves all black. They also wore Ali Wahdan’s number, 71, on their chests. Photo submitted by Harper Lovegrove.

By Molly PodlesnyPage Editor

Communities often come together in times of tragedy, and the Indi-ans are no exception.

Friday, Sept. 9, senior and former football play-er Ali Wahdan passed away due to complica-tions from a surgery.

Besides his brother and sister, Wahdan left behind many friends at school.

One of his best friends, senior Brandon Murphy had an idea to commemorate him.

“I sent a message to everyone in my phone on Sunday,” Murphy said. He talked about the at-

tacks on 9/11 and then broke the news. “…Tomorrow, get every-one you know to dress up in black, appropriate clothes.”

Murphy is not on any social network, so after receiving the mes-sage, his friends, seniors Rivesh Chalise and Aar-on Mays helped spread

the word using Facebook and Twitter.

“I thought it was a great idea and I wanted to make sure more peo-ple found out about it,” Chalise said.

What began as the football team and Wah-dan’s close friends spread to the whole school. Even freshmen and sopho-

mores who never knew Wahdan wore black to show their support.

“I saw it on Face-book,” sophomore Steph Lambertson said. “I just thought it would be the right thing to do, to show respect.”

The whole field hockey team wore black, spread-ing the word to its young-er members.

“I didn’t know him, but I still felt it was mean-ingful,” freshman Shan-non Fenwick said.

Murphy did not real-ize the word had spread so much.

“More than anything, I was happy to see how many people did dress up,” he said.

Thursday night, a group of about 150 peo-ple in 50 cars got together at Dixon-Smith Middle School to drive to Busch stadium to put a banner up. Deputy Coffey ar-ranged a police escort for the precession.

They were not allowed inside the stadium, but they gathered outside to remember Wahdan.

“Ali was definitely one See Wahdan on page 2

smokesignaltheStafford High School www.staffordsmokesignal.comIssue 2, Sept. 28, 2011

2 student lifeFEA

By Emily GriffinAssistant Editor-in-Chief

The start of a fresh year brings on many new features to Stafford, one of which is the Future Educators Association.

The FEA is an organization made to bring forward the educators of America and pro-vide an opportunity for students to learn more about the educational process of our society.

The FEA was first created in 1937, but was recently brought to Stafford this year by Sue Gill. Gill first thought of starting a FEA chapter at Stafford when students began showing interest in teaching as a career dur-ing the last school year.

“I had to research the process of how to get the FEA approved, so I had to email the headquarters, who told me the steps neces-sary, advisor Sue Gill said. “I went to Mr. Lewis and proposed the idea of the new club. It was easy to get it approved because it was an extension of a class that Stafford used to offer.”

Like every other club, the FEA will hold monthly meetings, the first informational meeting will be held on Sept. 28 in room W206.

Unlike other clubs though, the FEA is an organization that brings forth potential that students can carry on with them for the rest of their careers.

International ClubBy Karri ChestnutBusiness Manager

As the year begins the International Club organizes and plans a schedule for the year. At their first meeting on Sept. 21, the stu-dents picked their officers and began plan-ning their schedule.

“I have a lot of students interested in In-ternational Club this year,” adviser Myriam Lorenzo said. “At the meeting, we talked about what activities we want to do and what countries we want to study. I got a lot of good feedback like I hoped to.”

The only definite plans that the Interna-tional Club has for this year is to travel to Europe during the summer. They have not decided where in Europe to travel but it is one of their goals for the year.

The International Club also hopes to adopt soldiers again. They are planning to adopt soldiers from Afghanistan because there are so many troops there currently.

“Adopting soldiers was a beautiful project last year,” Lorenzo said. “At future meetings we plan to discuss what other projects we want to be involved in.”

The club holds meetings once a month that vary in length depending on the activi-ties that occur at the meetings. They learn about different countries at their meetings and often have food from that culture and a presenter that talks about the country.

Lorenzo’s main goal for the school year is to have students be aware of many differ-ent cultures. She also plans to have the club members incorporate language into their learning. She wants them to learn different words from different languages that corre-spond with the country that they are study-ing.

“There are so many different cultures here in school sitting in every classroom,” Lorenzo said. “I want students to be able to appreciate different cultures and be aware of them since we have such a diverse school.”

Interact ClubBy Cody Beacorn

Staff Writer

The Interact Club had its first meeting Tuesday, Sept. 20. It was an introduction to the club and the activities they will be partici-pating in throughout the course of this school year.

During the meeting they also discussed the changes made to the club rules.

“This year we’re cracking down on atten-dance and activity with a new point system,” treasurer and junior Chloe Karlovich said. “However, it’s going to be easy enough so that members should have no trouble staying ac-tive.”

On Sept. 27, the club collected dues from all the participating club members at an event called Dough for Domino’s. Whoever turned in their money by this date received free Domino’s pizza.

In the next couple of months the Interact Club will be holding several events such as the Halloween Festival and the North Stafford Faculty vs. Stafford Faculty basketball game.

“We hope to see everyone at these events so that we can raise money for different chari-ties and programs the Interact Club fundrais-es for,” president and senior Kristina Varela said.

Aspiring comedians audition for improv

By Molly PodlesnyPage Editor

Fall is one of the busi-est times for the drama department. Aside from the competition play and preparing for the winter production, the improv team must be selected.

Auditions for the “Awkward Pause” were held Tuesday Sept. 20, af-ter school.

Though improv is a part of the drama de-partment, it is a little dif-ferent from the plays. It requires quick thinking and response time.

“Memorizing is not my forte,” freshman Maddie Ammons said.

She was glad to try out for improv, because it involves her with drama, but she did not have to learn a script for a play.

Ammons heard about improv from a friend’s mom, and attended a show last year.

Between 50 and 60 people came to try out.

Among those were returning team members senior Michael Musatow and junior Patrick Sieg-mund.

“We were not guaran-teed a spot on the team,” Siegmund said.

Musatow backed up his statement.

“It was a real audi-tion,” he said. “There were a lot of really good

people there who were new.”

The 60 were evenly distributed across the grades, with around 13 students from each.

“It was a bit over-whelming,” said Chad Johnson, improv advisor, drama and English teach-er. “But it was amazing. It shows that we’re doing something good in the drama department, and people want to be a part of it.”

Those auditioning were split into groups, with each group taking turns playing a “game.”

“My favorite part was when we did transitions,” freshman Will Garnett said.

Johnson had the stu-dents walk across stage, going from one extreme to another.

For example, one stu-dent went from very con-fused to very certain of himself. -Another went from very emotional to completely unemotional.

The challenge was to “transition” smoothly from each thing.

Another game the stu-dents played was “Freeze Tag,” a staple of the team’s repertoire in past years.

“I think it was a little hard with all of the peo-ple that came,” Siegmund said. “We had to split into groups, and there were less opportunities to im-press Mr. Johnson, so if you blew it once, that was it. However, since there are more people here that means more publicity for the team, which is always good.”

This will be Sieg-mund’s third year on the team.

It is sophomore Eddie Smith’s second.

“I think the most im-portant thing to remem-ber is, be yourself,” he said. “Do not fear judg-ment.”

There will be five shows this year. The first one is on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Kung Fu fighting: Sohpo-mores Sarah Rochte and Hunter Kaiser play an improv game. “Freeze Tag” was part of audi-tions. That was one of their only chances to impress Mr. Johnson. Photo by Toni Sor-rentino.

Rising freshmen gath-ered in the cafeteria on Aug. 26 for the second annual freshman tailgate, sponsored by the SCA. This year however, the event took place indoors, rather than out, due the early downpour and in-termittent rain through-out the day.

“Unfortunately we had to change the loca-tion this year, but next year we want to hold it outdoors again so we can incorporate more games and activities,” said Ryan

Middleton, freshmen class sponsor.

The tailgate combines two of the typical tail-gate elements, food and games, in a school setting and allows the freshmen to socialize with their friends and make new ones before the first home football game.

“I had a lot of fun hanging out with my friends and playing the games that were set up. The only thing I would change would be to make it shorter or have mu-sic playing,” freshman Amanda Roberts said.

Games played at the

tailgate included ladder golf, scooter races and a football toss.

“I really thought the tailgate was fun and a great way to get to know the school and other peo-ple,” freshman Kendrik Icenhour said. “It was also nice to have it before the football game so we could just go with our friends from there.”

Pizza and beverages were provided by the SCA and Key Club and were served by both faculty members and SCA offi-cers.

“It was exhausting standing there for an hour

straight just pouring soda after soda, but it was defi-nitely worth it in the end,” said Amy Quantrille, SCA senior vice-president.

The administration and SCA are hoping to organize more tailgates in the future and include both freshmen and up-perclassmen.

“The freshmen tail-gate is successful because there is great organization and fantastic leaders, both SCA and Link Crew,” as-sistant principal Wes Ber-gazzi said. “It increases school spirit among the freshmen and it’s reflected at the football game later.”

Freshmen tail gateBY KATIE BRANDON

Section Editor

of kind,” senior Joey Sorrentino said. “He was really funny and didn’t have issues starting a con-versation up with any-body. But when it came time to work, he got seri-ous and did whatever he needed to do. There’s no way anybody could ever replace him and I’m go-ing to miss seeing him around.”

His parents were pres-ent, and graduated senior Michael Beaton, a close friend of Wahdan’s, spoke a few words then invited others to come forward and share memories.

“He was the most hardworking person I’ve ever met in my life,” se-nior Mitchell Clark said. “I’ve never known an-

other 17-year-old who worked 40 hours a week like he did. I’ve also nev-er seen a high school kid driving a luxury car he bought himself.”

At the football game Friday, instead of paint-ing up in blue and yellow, there was a “blackout” by the cheering section.

The players wore his initials on the side of their helmets and will continue to do so for the rest of the year.

“Ali’s guidance through football has motivated me in life, and his memory will live in our hearts for-ever,” junior Thomas Rad-datz said.

Wahdan’s brother Shadee was made an hon-orary captain. He wore

Ali’s jersey and participat-ed in the coin toss.

After the game, the family gathered with the team at the 50-yard line and was given the banner and a poster that many students signed.

Beaton did the presen-tation.

Wahdan was recog-nized other ways, includ-ing bracelets inscribed with “Remember” on one side, and his name and “1/12/94 - 9/9/11,” the dates of his life on the other.

Seniors D.J. Wonsey and Ryan Thompson sold them for three dol-lars. Wonsey had ordered them.

“I just remembered that Ali always had a

Livestrong bracelet on and I wanted to honor the first kid that ever talked to me here,” Wonsey said. Wonsey moved in the middle of last year from Ecuador.

Hats were made with “Ali #71” and the dates embroidered on them. A limited number were or-dered, but more will be available soon.

“Ali and I played foot-ball together ever since we were kids,” junior Cody Harrell said. “He was always a hard-working player and never gave up. I’m going to remember him for the great friend and the great person he was. He’s in a better place now and I’m glad to see he’s not suffering any-more.”

SCA members conducted a 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony on Sept. 9 with a sopecial presentatiion by Harry Mack. In the past, the school has planted crepe myrtle trees which today line the front of the school. This year was the tenth anniversary. Photo by Cooke.

Wahden: SHS students celebrated his life

SCA 9-11 Ceremony remembers tragedy

smokesignaltheStafford High School www.staffordsmokesignal.comIssue 2, Sept. 28, 2011

3 opinionsmokesignalthe

Stafford High School www.staffordsmokesignal.comIssue 12, March 23, 2011

3

Editorial: READY or

NOTThree weeks into the

school year, many stu-dents are already feeling the pressures of school’s repetitive cycle. The tran-sition from sleeping in on lazy summer days to waking up before the sun-rise can be daunting and draining.

With interims well on their way, it is time for many students to pick up the slack, but getting focused is no easy task. Poor time management, procrastination, and mis-communication make it much harder to get back into the flow. Taking some defined measures towards time management can be a beneficial step towards improving students’ grades and social life.

Use your agenda: Agendas and calendars can be great tools of or-ganization. Although the idea of carrying around a school-issued notebook may seem unappealing at first, it can be a very

practical tool for remem-bering assignments. One missed homework assign-ment may seem insignifi-cant at first thought, but one zero can have a big impact on your average grade. In many classes, only three or four missed assignments in a quarter can drop a letter off your grade. Rather than rely-ing on a friend after class, write down assignments as they are given.

Finish your assign-ments on the day they are assigned: Although it may be tempting to wait till the next X or Y day to complete an assign-ment, get work done a day or two ahead of time. By leaving assignments to the last minute, many stu-dents are forced to do a week’s work in one night, making assignments un-necessarily difficult. Us-ing your time wisely promotes happiness. Ask Mrs. Pierce if you don’t believe us.

Making the Grade

B+

A

F

DDRESS CODE

SWEEPS

NEW TEACHERS

LINK CREW

HALLWAYS

The need for a dress code is debateable but surely kids know the rules by now. Dress code sweeps shouldn’t be necessary at Stafford High. Girls should wear clothes that no one gets upset about and guys should put their pants at the right place and their hats in their lockers.

When teachers retire, new teachers are hired. Stafford is lucky to have such talented teachers to add to the great group already here. Once they adjust to the new school, the new teachers should all be rated A+

This Link Crew made the transition from middle school to high school much easier. They were knowledgeable and showed freshmen the ropes of succeeding at Stafford in a friendly and fun way.

With the additional 200 students added this year, the halls are super crowded and there seems no solution in sight. Try alternate halls and stairwells. Some students actually go downstairs, cross the lobby and go back up stairs. Seems possible.

Smoke Signal Staff2011-2012

Editor-in-ChiefElexxus Brown

Assistant Editor-in-ChiefEmily Griffin

Photography EditorShannon Cooke

Online EditorsRebekah Kim, Dani Raymond

EditorsLeland Brooks

Toni Sorrentino Molly Podlesny

Design EditorBridget Phillips

Page EditorsKatie Brandon

Megan Corsano Ana Nosal

Copy EditorsEmily Byers,

Kathryn Lenox

Business ManagersKarri Chestnut

Georgia FelopulosAshleigh Powell

Staff WritersDavid Pearson,Chris McMillen, Jack Raymond, Am-ber Donald, Reid Murphy, Megan Corsano, Megan

Humphrey, Erin McGraw, Alisa Posey, Ryan Thompson, Kristina Varela, Natalie, Bohmke, Marcus Brown, Erin Cunningham, India Kithcart,

Taylor Lisco, Abbie Pennington, Russ Kaus

PhotographersKaitlin Shacklette, Kerstin Felton, Austin Pearson,

Emily Pearce, Amber Griffith, Eric Stapleton, Keana Young,

VideographersAlisa Posey, Jordan Reed, Taylor Sutherland

AdviserSue Gill, CJE

The Smoke Signal is an open forum for student ex-pression of the student body of student body of Stafford High School. Unsigened editorials reflect the collective opinion of the Smoke Signal staff. Signed editorials represent the opinion of the author and do not neces-sarily represent the opinons of Stafford HighSchool, its administration, or staff. Signed letters to the editor not exceeding 250 words may be submitted to room W206. Anonymous letters will not be printed. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and con-tent and to refuse advertisements.

B+

A

F

DWEATHER

NEW TEXTBOOKS

PRIDE IN THE TRIBE

S.T.O.P.

First the weather is too hot for the air conditioning to work, then it’s too rainy and games and practices need to be canceled and rescheduled. Mother Nature needs to calm down and set up some great fall weather.

There are many new textbooks this year. Math got new ones. Social Studies got new ones. English is looking to adopt new textbooks for next year. Expensive but up-to-date!

The TRIBE includes all of Stafford High School--the teachers, administration, and all the students. Take pride in Stafford High School and in being a part of such a tradition.

Say what? Time out is for little kids. Why is it needed at Stafford? Oh wait! Some kids act like little babies and maybe they do need some time to chill.

Gyst & Mrs. Jeremiah Johnson,

Chuck Pedigo, Denise Epperson,

Leah Blake, Katy Baker,

Norris Dickard, Patsy & Jason Stine,

Amy Clower,

BY TONI SORRENTINO

Bruce & Mary Brown, Amanda & Joseph Hugger,

Sheila Giscard, Barbara Lampert, Kimberly Vaughn,

Jeanette Lock, Mark & Tracey Woodyard,

Katherine Drumm, T Mark Johnson, MD,

PATRONS

thesmokesignal smokesignalStafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405 www.staffordsmokesignal.com

the4 5

Put water and dye mix into squirt bottles.

Shake until dye dissolves

Pinch t-shirt in the middle, only lifting the front of the

shirt, not the back. When you pull it up, put rub-ber bands around the t-shirt

where you would like the col-ors too be separated.

Apply dye on fabric, make sure to check that dye is going

into all folds of the shirt. If colors are applied too close together, they may become

muddy.

Once done, cover dyed fab-ric with plastic wrap to keep

damp. Let set 6-8 hours or lon-ger for most intense colors. Cut

rubber bands and put t-shirt in washer on large load on the hottest water setting possible with a small amount of deter-

gent.Dry and wear!

Tie-dye has a history dat-ing back to 552 A.D. in Japan and China.

There are many different techniques to tie-dying. The silk and hemp in China made it easy to use the resist tech-nique, where you tie some-thing around to the cloth to prevent the dye from soaking in.

Ikat is another method to tie-dye, used in Western Chi-

na, Southeast Asia, and Cen-tral America. Ikat is where the threads are tied and dyed be-fore cloth is weaved from the threads.

Tsujigahana is where tie-dying is combined with draw-ing, using the Chinese ink called sumi.

Shibori were the silk robes. These robes were prized among officers who were giv-en these shibori as gifts.

In the 1920’s, tie-dye be-came more and more popular. Pamphlets were distributed on how to decorate using tie-dye.

A movement on individu-ality started in the 1960’s. Tie-dye became more popular because of it, with the almost endless possibilities of de-signs.

Harmonyt ie-dyes .com said, “Designs are endless and always completely unique.”

Everyone has an opin-ion on Tie Dye. From the hip-pie era, to the fashion runways today, Tie Dye has proved itself as a strong fashion statement that is still made and worn to-day.

“There’s something about tie-dye that speaks to ev-eryone,” fashion designer Tory Burch said in an interview for Style.com. “It’s a little nostalgic but also feels modern.”

Tie-dye isn’t just about fashion, but self-expression.

“I like how you don’t always know what your out-come will be,” senior Abby Mueller said. “You can express yourself through different col-ors.”

Tie-dye has become highly fashionable in recent years, and is not only bringing back past fashion from the ‘70s, but also inspires the incorporation of the style into school activi-ties.

“I love tie-dye because you get to express yourself,” sci-ence teacher Jennifer Pogue said. “We tie-dye in my chem-istry class every year.”

Today, the affects of this fashion craze can still be seen. Because of its history, its bright colors, and its uniqueness, tie-dye is still gaining popularity.

“I think tie dye is awesome,” said Victoria Bennett, fashion club president. “I’m all about self expression and I think tie dye is a great way of doing that! Tie dye gets two thumbs up from me for being fashion-able and affordable.”

Despite many revisions and differing opinions, Tie Dye has become a statement that will be constantly updated, mod-ernized, and enjoyed.

“I love tie-dye,” junior Mia Romero said. “It’s fun to do with your friends and it looks so much better than a plain white tee shirt.”

Tie-Dye through timeBy Megan Humphrey

Fun colors make big statement

By Megan Corsano and Dani Raymond

Page Editors

Staff Writer

Staff gets in on the fun: Journalism students test how simple tie-dye can be, and dyed all these shirts within a class block. For more information, check out www.staffordsmokesignal.com. Photo by Austin Pearson

Smoke Signal: Why do you like tie-dye?“They always look really cool even though they are kind of hard to make.”

Haroun Kamara, 11

“I love tie dye because of the colors and my personality is really colorful. It’s like putting you feelings into the t-shirt.” Lora Koytcheva, 9

“I like tie dye because it’s colorful and colors are fun. It makes the simplest things, more interesting.” Ragon Dickard, 12

“I like them because you can make them any color you want”

Robert Galan, 10

“Tie Dye is really like because it shows a person’s creativity and originality. No Tie Dye is the same, just like people.”

Victoria Bennet, 12

smokesignaltheSta� ord High School www.sta� ordsmokesignal.comIssue 2, Sept. 28, 2011

6 sports

Pride for a team is o� en at its best when competing against a long-term rival. For the var-sity football team, this rivalry is strongest with North Sta� ord High School.

“We always get hyped for North games because we know we need to keep the bell,” said Ryan Sompayrac senior, varsity football player.

Each game against North Sta� ord High School, the team ­ ghts to keep the bell. � e team that wins the bell gets to keep it at their school for the rest of the year.

“Playing for the bell is very important in a North game,” said Chad Lewis, varsity foot-ball coach. “It’s especially im-portant to parents who used to go here and have kids that are on the team.”

� e football team prepares for the rivlary game by ring-ing the bell before they go out to play. � e football team also wears their black uniforms and

the students in the stands dress and paint themselves in all black, also known as a “black-out”.

“I think the students here need to come out and show more support, especially dur-ing games against North,” se-nior Aaron Mays said. “I go to every game painted up in blue and gold and once basketball season starts we want to see the same thing. It’s a way for you to show your school spirit and have a good time.”

To some students, the foot-ball games against North set the standards for the other sports that occur throughout the year.

“Once baseball season rolls around, we’ve had the chance to defeat or lose to North in several other sports,” senior Matt Yelverton said. “� e prior games get us pumped for our games against them, so football de­ nitely sets the intensity of the rivalry for other seasons.”

� is year, the team plays North Sta� ord at their home-coming game, making the game that much more intense.

Other school competitors are starting to be recognized as rivals with Sta� ord, such as James Monroe. Most people are unaware that this intense competition dates back a few decades.

“When we would go to games at James Monroe you could cross over the bridge an immediately see signs that say ‘TCB’ and telling us to go back home,” said Janet Barham, P.E. teacher and cheerleading coach. “It was actually a little intimidating.”

� e acronym “TCB” used to stand for “tough city boys” for James Monroe and “tough country boys” for Sta� ord. Now, only James Monroe uses “TCB” and Sta� ord uses “SSB”, which is short for “south side boys”.

“We always expect the play-ers to play hard, have a lot of sportsmanship and enthusi-asm,” Lewis said. “With a rival-ry game these things are de­ -nitely magni­ ed.”

Blue and Gold pride runs through Sta� ord’s cheerleaders. Every competition they partici-pate in the intensity between rivals increases.

“� e cheer team’s rival is de­ nitely North Sta� ord,” said Olivia Sha� er senior, varsity cheerleader. “Sometimes the rivalry gets blown out of pro-portion and also goes outside of the competition. We try to make sure it doesn’t.”

In the past competitons Staf-ford and North Sta� ord have been some of the top competi-tors.

Most people are unaware that the rivalry with North Staf-ford dates back to the 70’s.

“Back then it was always just Sta� ord and North Sta� ord,” said Janet Barham P.E.  teach-er, cheerleading coach. “� at’s when the bell was started. � e bell was on a pedestal and on one side was Sta� ord colors and the other side was North Staf-ford colors.”

Sometimes having a rivalry can be good for competition.

 “Having a team that doubts

us gives our team a reason to prove them wrong,” said Sam-my Krejdovsky senior, varisty cheerleader.

North is not the only rival-ry Sta� ord has, the team also expects Mountain View High School and Riverbend High School to be tough competitors this year.

“We’ve noticed that we have more than just one competi-tor,” said Alyssa Guthrie sopho-more, varsity cheerleader. “We know we have to step it up this year, and do what we have to do to get another district champi-onship.”

To discourage the rivalry from leaving the competition, the cheerleading coaches have initiated a policy that prevents them from bashing other teams on Facebook or other online sites.

For competitions, the Staf-ford cheerleaders do numerous team rituals to prepare them-selves for the competition.

“ We do mental routines, and also blast music in the room and dance,” said Melissa Babin junior, varsity cheerlead-er. “In the rooms the cheerlead-er write on the white boards,

and take turns praying with Barham’s shamrock, and we rub it all over us for good luck.”

� e team also helps one an-other with their nerves, by put-ting encouraging words and quotes on the white board.

“When we are in the room before a competition, we usu-ally write believe or something else that relates to our team,” said Madison Ritchey senior, varsity cheerleader.

� e team has also grown over the years now that many of the girls have been on the team since they were freshman.

“Four years ago, as a fresh-man I was talking with Olivia and I looked at her and asked her to never change,” said Bar-ham. “And she never has. She is only stronger.”

With Districts coming up in October, the girls have been preparing to face all their rivals and attempt to dominate the competition. � ere is also extra pressure with Regionals being hosted at Sta� ord.

No matter who the tough competitors are, the cheer team is prepared to give it their all and make it as far as they can in this year’s competitions.Jessie Riley and Tori Light rally the bleachers during the Orange County

game which Sta� ord won 46-7. It was Orange County’s � rst time in the District. Photo by Amber Gri� th

Cheerleaders reflect on past rival, JM, North

Football sets standards for rivalsBY ASHLEIGH POWELL

Section Editor/Business Manager

BY MARCUS BROWNSta� Writer

VS.

Athletic Honor Roll

Chapin Baxter, Cross Country“He did o� season work and

came back matured,” said coach Pete Augrom

Darrian Johnson, Football“Darrian’s an extremely hard

worker and a great teammate,”said coach Chad Lewis.

Katelyn Gudyka, Volleyball“Katelyn is very consistent

in her hitting, which is hard to ­ nd., said coach Rebecca Al-bert.

Olivia Sha� er, Cheer“Olivia is an outstanding

senior leader who has a strong work ethic and character,” said coach Janet Barham.

Sam He­ in, Field Hockey“Sam’s stepped up as a Se-

nior captain and has improved and helped the younger ones out., said coach Dani Woodie.

Graphic by Nick Hudson

DOUBLE THREAT:Quarterback Billy Bolinsky shows he’s a threat at passing and running the ball. Bolinsky has thrown at least three passes for touchdowns in recent games.Photos by Emily Pearce

smokesignaltheStafford High School www.staffordsmokesignal.comIssue 2, Sept. 28, 2011

7 sports

The field hockey team faces new changes this year, by over-comimg the challenge of the protective goggles. The gog-gles are a new rule enforced by Virginia High School League to prevent girls from injuring themselves.

The VHSL requires the team to wear goggles because of last year’s many injuries.

The goggles can disrupt the flow of the game.

“I dislike the goggles,” coach Robin Woodie said. “It takes away from the skill of the game which makes the game slower pace.”

The players find that wear-ing the goggles disrupts them during game time.

“At first, the goggles would get in the way and hurt my nose,” freshman Brooke Har-mon said. “Now I’ve gotten used to them.”

Fogging up is another prob-lem the goggles because they have to stop what they are do-ing to fix them.

“Wiping off my goggles completely takes away from my game time and distracts me,” junior Cassie Hooghouse said.

The girls find the goggles are disrupting in more than one way.

“The goggles are distracting while you’re playing,” Bowler said. “They cut off your pe-ripheral vision so you have to take your eyes off the ball to see what’s around you.”

The goggles can also be ben-eficial.

“You can be really deceptive about where you’re going with the ball with the tinted goggles,” Bowler said.

Despite the setbacks the goggles bring to the team, the varsity field hockey girls are prepared to give it their all to go far this season.

Sweat dripped off of the face of freshman Jillian Weis-beck as she prepared to race in her cross country meet. Weis-beck is starting on varsity cross country for her freshman year which is very unusual.

Some upperclassmen on the team have not experienced freshmen competing and prac-ticing on their level before.

“I think it is really cool hav-ing a freshman on varsity be-cause it shows that our team will have depth for a while just as long as we stay consistent,” junior Hannah Lowery said. “Jillian is adorable and I love her. She is reserved at times but is getting more comfortable with the team as we go along.”

Being on a cross country team takes a lot of dedication and hard work. The team prac-tices every day after school and

attends meets on the weekends. During practice the team

does a variety of different ex-ercises and running to help im-prove for the meets.

“Jillian has definitely put in a lot of hard work to get here and I am excited to see what we can do this year,” said cross country coach Pete Augrom. “She has already exceeded the freshman expectations and will most definitely help us scoring wise.”

Weisbeck practices for the meets with the older girls on varsity to improve her basic running skills and endurance. It gives her motivation to do bet-ter by trying to follow the lead of the other girls.

“I think that being on a team with older girls is a lot of fun,” Weisbeck said. “At our first race I was really nervous but I am getting better by trying to keep up with the girls in front

of me.”The team has not compet-

ed in regionals for the past 10 years. The team is working on improving Weisbeck’s form in hopes of making it to regionals based on her lower scores.

“Jillian will be one of the keys to our girls making it to regionals,” Augrom said.

Having good leaders on the team is vital to their progress throughout the season. Lead-ers are crucial to a team in or-der to motivate the girls and set examples for future runners as well as keeping everyone in line.

“I think that having Jillian on the team is admirable and will help future generations on our team,” said cross country coach Kristen Brady. “She will have that prior experience and will be a good leader on our team for upcoming freshman.”

Field hockey wears gogglesBY ERIN CUNNINGHAM

Staff Writer

Weisbeck earns spot on varsity cross countryBY ABBIE PENNINGTON

Staff Writer

Sept. 30@Riverbend

Oct. 7vs. Ablemarle

Oct. 14@ Mountain View

Oct. 21@ North Stafford

Oct. 28vs. Brooke Point Homecoming!

Remaining Football Games:

Jillian Weisbeck practices on the track daily. Freshmen rarely earn a varsity spot, but Weisbeck is the exception. She joins standout Hannah Lowery to make the team competitive. Photo by Eric Stapleton

The varsity volleyball team has hired a new head coach. Rich Maley began his coaching position by helping the varsity team win their first game of the season with a match that went to a tie-breaking five  sets, be-tween the team losing four se-niors and gaining a sophomore, they rebuild their team in hopes of improving and competing in districts.

“The team has changed a lot since last season,” junior Cara Skeer said. “Some of us are still trying to get used to playing with each other. However, with Maley coaching and mentoring us, there is no doubt that we will improve this season.”

The team has already sur-passed their last season with a running start by winning their first match against Hylton High School.

“Everything just fell into place that day, but it definitely lit the fire under us to keep the  improvement trend going.” junior Taylor Sutherland said.

Maley has even higher hopes for the team this season and thinks the girls have the potential to compete at a state level.

“All I can do is coach them,” Maley said. “They are the ones who are going to have to dig

BY INDIA KITHCARTStaff Writer

Volleyball gets new coach, shows new skills

Unlike seasons in the past there is only one girl on the golf team, junior Amber Griffith. Though the sport is not gender specific there are still differenc-es within the team.

Being the only girl Griffith has to work hard to stand out among the rest. It is important for her to work and push her-self that much harder so she won’t be looked at differently and can be treated like a mem-ber of the team.

“I have a closer relationship with coach Dye, he treats me

like a member of the team and not just one of the guys,” said Griffith.

Compared to the last few years there are less girls than before and this had made a dif-ference.

“This year the girls do not make up a majority they are more of a minority,” junior Cory Miller said.

The boys on the team treat her like she is just another member of the team. It is im-portant they treat her this way in order to work together suc-cessfully and get along.

“Having a girl on the team doesn’t feel different, its just

another team,” freshman Colby D’Lugos said.

Griffith is considered one of the guys and apart of he team.

“I feel apart of the team and at the same time I have learned to be more independent,” Griffith said.

Girls in golf have advan-tages compared to boys. One major advantage would be be-ing able to tee off closer to the hole.

Griffith has learn to be more independent because of her sit-uation. The team makes her feel like a teammate and a friend and have also had no trouble adapting to a new situation.

BY NATALIE BOHMKEStaff Writer

Griffith only girl on golf team, earns respect

Field hockey team huddles around Brooke Scruggs, the goalie, at a recent game. The girls have lost only one game so far this season, aiming for the district championship as well as hopes to heading to state. Photo by Eric Stapleton

FORE: Junior Amber Griffith practices on the driving range at The Gauntlet. Griffith is the only female golfer on the team this year. Several girls have played in the past. Photo by Emily Pearce

deep and  slay the competition which is exactly what we are planning on doing.”

Over this past season the team has been introduced to new drills and work ethics in an attempt to improve their game skills.

“The drills whipped us into shape for both a mental and physical game,” junior Alex Thompson said. “It’s like he took everything we knew about volleyball, threw it out the win-

dow and re-taught us from scratch.”

Maley wasted no time in pushing the girls to their limit and started on the first day of practice.

“The first day of practice he told us flat out that we can make it to states based on what he has seen,” junior Jessie Gata-nis said. “After that we went right into drills, drills and more drills, transforming us into a team ready for districts.”

www.staffordsmokesignal.com

smokesignaltheStafford High School www.staffordsmokesignal.comIssue 2, Sept. 28, 2011

8

Story, pyhotos by Shannon Cooke

Photo EditorFans and students

alike shared looks of surprise as the march-ing band took the field at the halftime show at the football game on Fri-day, Sept. 16. Instead of the typical blue and gold band uniforms, the band members were wearing baseball uniforms.

This year, the show’s theme is baseball, an unlikely choice by Band Director, Kenneth Hite, who usually choses mov-ie or Broadway show themes.

“I decided to have a baseball themed show af-ter we took a field trip to Boston a few years ago,” Hite said. “We went to a baseball themed Boston Pops performance,” Hite said.

The initial reaction to the decision was mixed. Senior Samantha Trice was hesitant.

“I was unsure about the baseball theme at first, but it’s been a lot

more fun than I thought it would be,” Trice said.

Hite understood the initial skepticism. How-ever, he says that the band members have learned to trust his good judgment.

The band’s original theme and unique use of props in their show will give them a leg up in their first ever double competition on Sept. 24, in which they participate in two marching compe-titions in one day.

“We go to North Staf-ford and Hermitage High School in Richmond on the same day and we aren’t going to be get-ting home until almost 1:30am,” senior Saman-tha Guagliardo said.

Although the double competition will be a new experience for the band, Hite says that he is confident that they will do well.

“I don’t know if we will win, but that isn’t the point,” said Hite. “We will gain experience in the first competition that

we will hopefully show in the second one.”

The band mem-bers are motivated and pushed by their appoint-ed leaders. Drum majors Antoinette Tortorici and Destiny Dobbins are in-spiring the band to be the best they can be.

“It is our job to con-duct the band, keep or-der and call commands,” Tortorici said.

It is Tortorici’s second year as drum major and Dobbins’ first.

“So far, she’s done very well. She’s learned quickly and our styles compliment each other well,” Tortorici said.

Along with the drum majors, the section lead-ers add to the strength of the band. An upperclass-man is chosen to lead their section of instru-ments.

Hite said, “They have been taking it very seri-ously and it makes my job a lot easier when they take ownership of their section.”

Marching band hits it out of park

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