smoke signal issue 5, nov. 19, 2012

smokesignaltheSta� ord High School www.sta� ordsmokesignal.comIssue 12, March 23, 2011

1the

Miss Virginia Teen

Competes in MarchSee page 6

THANKSGIVING

What’s Cookingthis fall?

See page 8

smokesignalNov. 9, 2011Volume 67. Issue 5

Sta� ord High School 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405 www.sta� ordsmokesignal.com

� e drama students won second place at the Virginia � eatre Asso-ciation One-Act festival for their 45 minute long performance called “A Fa-ble”. � e drama students also took home a total of 11 awards for both indi-vidual and team achieve-ments.

A new light will greet Sta� ord drivers on the way to school. VDOT is placing the light on U.S. route 1 to give a warning in case of tra� c conges-tion on the le� turning lane that runs into Staf-ford High School.

� e light is being placed because of too many rear end accidents that have happened near the school.

Sta� and students

Many students have yet to pay the $75 fee for a parking pass. Cars with-out a pass risk getting a ticket, but that doesn’t dissuade many drivers.

“If it was up to me, I’d boot all of the cars a� er the � rst warning,” secu-rity o� cer Rodney Red-mon said. “� ey were given weeks to buy them.”

Security booted three

Placing second over 38 participating schools, the students will go on to represent the state of Vir-ginia at the Southeastern � eatre Conference held in Chattanooga, Tennes-see in March. Only two schools are selected to participate in the � nals.

Earning a score of 100 out of 100 in the prelimi-nary rounds, they scored above 18 other school

plays. At the preliminary rounds, the students were awarded their achieve-ments including runner up for outstanding play, � ve all-star cast awards, outstanding ensemble, outstanding music en-semble, outstanding mu-sician, outstanding tech-nical achievement, and outstanding costumes.

� e cast of “A Fable” won 6 team achieve-

ment awards including outstanding acting en-semble awarded to Erin Lottes Michael Musatow, � eron Duitsman, Jo-seph Levesque, Kendall Khan, Lindsay Earnhardt, Ragon Dickard, and Chrissy Johnson. � e six individual awards went to Ragon Dickard, Chrissy Johnson, Kendall Khan, Lindsay Earnhardt Joseph Levesque, and Michael

Musatow for the all star cast.

Jessica Schue, Xaviar Jenerette, Olivia Haynes, and Joe Eveler were awarded for outstanding music ensemble.

Jessica Schue was also awarded outstanding musician of the entire Virginia � eatre Associa-tion one act festival.

BY AARON MCDADESta� Writer

Drama moves on to Southeast Region

make the point that the light is placed too close to the school, not giving drivers enough notice of the new light. � e light will be placed a quarter mile from the intersec-tion.

When tra� c is backed up, the � ashing light will warn drivers to slow down to avoid collision over the hill.

� e light works based on a sensor in the pave-ment. � e sensor is ac-tivated by weight, and if a car has stopped on the

speci� c spot, then the sensor will activate the � ashing light on the hill.

� e light has cost state taxpayers $60,000 in state funding to get the light operational.

� e tra� c from 7-9 a.m. has been congested with cars trying to get to work, or for some cases, school.

From May 2007, through June 2010, there have been 5 rear end ac-cidents because of drivers not being aware of tra� c congestion on U.S. route

1. One accident in par-

ticular had a truck that was going northbound hit a car and then by the end of the wreck, the truck had appeared on top of the car.

A� er this incident, the school had requested for a warning system on the hill to aware people of congestion for the turn-ing lane, and backed up tra� c.

� e light is not for Sta� ord commuters ex-clusively. “We hope that

people not aware of the area will have a warning of congestion as well,” VDOT director, Kelly Hannon said.

Sta� ord security guards have been deal-ing with accidents on the turning lane for several years.

While placing the light, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., the intersection tra� c light has allowed as many cars in the le� turning lane, to

BY BRAD ELMORE Sta� Writer

VDOT installs light, signals congestion

BY TAYLOR WESTSta� Writer BY LUCI BRAUN

Sta� Writer

Chasing the Golden Days: The cast performs “A Fable” for Sta� ord students in preparation for the Virginia Theater Association One-ActFestival. They went on to claim second place over 38 other schools. Winning 11 team achievement and individual awards, the cast will travel to Tennessee in March to represent the state of Virginia. Photo by Laura Swites

Students avoid paying for parking pass

Admin takes away passes due to tardies

Calendar Nov. 11 Veteran’s DayNO SCHOOL

Nov. 11Choir Districts

Nov. 23-25 Thanksgiving

Break

countdown

days until Veteran’s Day

days until Thanksgiving

days until First Basketball Game

days until Winter Break

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

News......................1-2

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

Sports........................7

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

Student Life.............6

what’s hotThanksgiving

New Traffic Light

College Applications

New Sports

NHS

Boys Cross Country

20

152

42

weatherNov. 9-11

High: 69 FLow: 42 F

Nov. 13-19

High: 60 FLow: 36 F

Nov. 20-26

High: 58 FLow: 34 F

See A Fable on page

See LIGHT on page 2

For all student drivers, being on time to school is a must. � ough many student driv-ers may not know it, being tardy to school a� ects the privilege of having a parking pass.

With a � rst and second tardy, the

driver receives a warning. � e third tardy draws

a two-hour detention with an addition of a � ve-day loss of the parking permit.

� e fourth tardy adds a one-day In School Sus-pension in addition to a 10 days loss of the parking

See TARDIES on page 2

car on Nov. 3.S t u d e n t s

are allowed two warnings until their car is booted. Once the car gets booted. Students will have to go to the front o� ce and pay to get the boot

See PASSES on page 2

smokesignaltheSta� ord High School www.sta� ordsmokesignal.comIssue 12, March 23, 2011

2 newssmokesignaltheSta� ord High School www.sta� ordsmokesignal.comIssue 12, March 23, 2011

2

“A Fable” was also awarded honors for the design and technical com-ponents of the play. It won outstanding costumes, out-standing technical achieve-ment,

Individual awards go to Ragon Dickard who was named best actress and Lindsay Earnhardt

In addition to Joe Eveler, who began coaching the ac-tors in July, Chad Johnson would like to acknowledge the contributions of Mo-setta Stone and Seth Bixler, who helped to make this awesome weekend possible for our students by o� ering both creative input and lo-gistical support to the show.

A Fable” is a play writ-ten in the 1960’s that touches on both social and political viewpoints in the world society. “ Being an educational institution we want the plays to have a rel-evance for students to relate to,” said drama teacher Mi-chael D’Addario.

“ I feel like the whole cast worked equally. Every-one worked hard and pro-gressed with each practice we did,” said senior Michael Musatow, the king and the dreamer in “A Fable”. For three years straight the Staf-ford high drama students have attended the one act festival at the Virginia � e-atre Association.

“I like “A Fable” more than the others we’ve done in the past because since we have a smaller cast, there’s more of a connection be-tween cast members. Its kind of like a huge family,” said Musatow.

� e students put in two and a half hours a� er school everyday to prepare for the release of the play as well as � ve Saturday rehearsals. � ey also attended work-shop sessions during the summer spending 10 hours for two days practicing and working on set design.

� e drama students will continue to Georgia where they will compete on a na-tional level.

get into the school in one signal.

Sta� ord’s security

A Fable: Drama wins second at VTA competitionDefeating

the monster: The cast

uses netting repeatedly

throughout the 45 min-

ute long play, simulating a

dream-like atmosphere.

They were awarded for

the play’s su-perior design and technical components.

They won second over

all at the state compe-tition. Photo

by Laura Svites

VDOT: light for safety concerns, many accidents

Stafford teachers met with architects to discuss new building plans. They met on Monday, Oct. 31, and Tuesday, Nov. 1 in the conference room to make sure teachers got what they wanted. Most teacher attendees were from the math, English, and world language de-partments.

“It was great to have an opportunity to have input,” said Karen Free-man, English department chair.

By 2015, the new Staf-ford High School will be

BY MARTA PERRINESta� Writer

built. “The architects want-

ed out-of-the-box ideas,” math teacher Wendy My-ers said.

Teachers wanted to foster school spirit with blue and gold every-where. They also were suggesting a warmer at-mosphere in the halls and classrooms of the new school building by paint-ing the walls warmer tones.

“The atmosphere should be conducive to learning by decorating rooms like elementary school’s rooms,” Eng-lish teacher Jim Andrews said.

Classrooms will have a bulletin board or other type of display window to put outside the classroom door.

“We talked about pre-serving current artwork such as murals and old bricks for the new build-ing,” said Meghan Cast-ner, world language de-partment chair.

Teachers came to an agreement on saving memorabilia to bring some old Stafford to new Stafford.

“Architects talked about building a mural with photos from old yearbooks,” journalism teacher Sue Gill.

Teachers discuss Stafford plans

team has waited for the light for years.

“I think the light is pretty unnecessary,” se-

Areas in the class-rooms for couches and upholstered chairs were talked about as comfort zones to make students feel cozy and relaxed. The “comfort zones” are hoped to induce a laid-back and comfortable feeling

Issues came up at the meeting as well. Class-room capacity for each room will be built to hold 21 to 28 students.

“We’re hoping they will actually take our ideas into consideration,” said Andrews. Maggie Howell also contributed to this story.

permit. A� er � ve tardies, the

driver only gets a one day Out School Suspension but experiences a loss of the parking permit for 30 days, and any tardies af-ter that, students earn an OSS for every time and the parking pass taken away inde� nitely.

“When you drive to school without a permit, we will boot your car, make you pay your class dues and buy a parking pass,” said o� ce recep-tionist Anna Ellis. “� en if you don’t do that, we

will have your car towed and you have to pay a towing fee.”

Just this school year, Nancy Perrone, the out-side security guard, has booted at least 16 cars, and just six this past week. � ree vehicles were boot-ed on the day this article was written.

� ough once the car has been booted, the driv-er must have it removed before the car can be driv-en.

� e school has eight boots and is diligent about checking the park-ing lot for violations.

nior, Austin Kuiper said. Some students also argue that the light is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Kuiper’s opinions are not exclusive to students.

English teacher Jimmy Andrews has been driving

to the school for over 40 years and sees no purpose for the warning signal.

� e community has

posted several comments and opinions on their open forum on VDOT’s website.

Patrick Oliver also contributed to this story.

Tardies: Loss of passContinued from page 1

Continued from page 1

smokesignaltheStafford High School www.staffordsmokesignal.comIssue 5, Nov. 9, 2011

3 opinion

smoke signal staff2011-2012

Editors-in-ChiefElexxus Brown

Emily Griffin

Photography EditorAssistant Editor-in-Chief

Shannon Cooke

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

Design Editor Page Editors Bridget Phillips Katie Brandon

Megan Corsano Ana Nosal

Kirstin Whiteside

Copy Editors Business Managers Emily Byers Karri Chestnut Kathryn Lenox Georgia Felopulos

Ashleigh Powell

Staff WritersCody Beacorn, Natalie Bohmke, Luci Braun,

Moriah Briscoe, Megan Corsano, Erin Cunning-ham, Amber Donald, Bradley Elmore,Ryan Hazel-gren, Hannah Haugen, Megan Humphrey, Russ Kaus, India Kithcart, Taylor Lisco, Erin McGraw,

Chris McMillen, Caelynn Miller-Keyes, Patrick Oli-ver, David Pearson, Abbie Pennington, Jack Ray-

mond, Hannah Rowlette, Tori Santiago-Troutman, Cara Skeer, Ryan Thompson, Kristina Varela

Travis Byram, Megan Ebeling, Billy Howell, Ellie Pare, Shannon Fenwick, Courtney Mears, Eliza-beth Puckerin, Brendan Sherman, Jillian Weis-

beck, Alexis Bush, Austin Enfinger, Kirsten Mitch-ell, B.H. Kim, Maggie Howell, Patrick Oliver,

Marta Perrine

PhotographersKerstin Felton, Amber Griffith, Muhamad Khalid, Emily Pearce, Austing Pearson, Kaitlin Shacklette,

Eric Stapleton, Keana Young

VideographersAlisa Posey Jordan Reed Taylor Sutherland

Advisor Sue Gill, CJE

The Smoke Signal is an open forum for student expres-sion of the student body of Stafford High School. Unsigned editorials reflect the collective opinion of the Smoke Signal staff. Signed editorials represent the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions 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 content and to refuse advertisements.

EDITORIAL: Spirit...? Stafford needs you!

EDITORIAL: Earn it or lose it

Making the Grade

A++

B-

F

A+ A Fable &Drama awards

XC RegionalChamps

Fall Weather

Workload &Homework

Coming in second place out of 38 schools from across Virginia is a great job, but to top it off with 11 additional awards is fantastic!

For the second year in a row, the boys cross country team took first place at regionals and moves on to the state meet next week. Ian MacLeod, Greg Bohmke and Joey Abbatiello did a great job.

Everyone enjoys a warm, sunny day. Everyone understands we need rain to keep things growing but does it have to rain so much? or snow? during Homecoming? Better to have those Indian summer days and nights. Keep it up.

Students will always have homework and such but did it have to be due during Homecoming week? And do we really have to have so many projects, papers, presentations, worksheets, labs, and research papers due at the same time?

A Band Togetherfor Homeless

All five Stafford County high schools participated in the “Band Together for the Homeless” on Thursday. Price was a can of food which was donated. Even the concession profits were donated to help the homeless.

What does it mean to be a Stafford Indian? How would you describe Staf-ford High School? Unfor-tunately, these seemingly simple questions have been eliciting increas-ingly negative responses. Preoccupied only with the school’s lack of win-dows or crowdedness, many students can’t see the positives that hold the tribe together.

Many see high school only as a seven-hour ob-ligation. Stafford is only a place to check out, but as Link Crew and Inter-act Club sponsor Ryan Middleton puts it, “to be constantly surrounded by negativity can be taxing.”

As a first year teacher last year, Middleton no-ticed a definite lack of enthusiasm among the student body last year. “It was like a gray cloud of negativity, and it was a downer,” Middleton said. “But I’m starting to see a real difference this year. Hopefully it will stick around.”

Unfortunately there can be a widespread

mindset of the adversarial relationship between staff and students.

“Sometimes when students get angry, they blame a ‘they,’ with a capi-tal T, ” said NHS sponsor Deborah Kresho. “But I say no, it’s ‘us’ with a capi-tal U. That’s what spirit is. It gets us involved, it keeps us going.”

Students and teachers should have open lines of communication, sharing ideas and beliefs on what’s going on in the classroom.

“Let us know what’s important enough to you,” Middleton said. “If you say things enough, you get heard. A lot of students feel muted and shutdown, when that’s not the case, and that’s unfor-tunate.”

Instead of taking a negative stance of opposi-tion to Stafford, students should maximize their time in high school by taking part in the activi-ties that will build their interests and in turn cre-ate a positive high school experience.

“The more you feel

connected to school, the higher you achieve,” Mid-dleton said. “And I don’t mean achieve in terms of test scores, I mean it in terms of reaching your full potential.”

Schools are often seen as test-score-producing factories, but that’s not

Super Sponsor

Gyst & Mrs. Jeremiah M. JohnsonT. Mark Johnson, MD

Tracey ChestnutTeresa Sedlacek

Millie StadelmyerBetty & Rusty Dodd

Theresa PuckerinGold Patron

Katherine DrummPaula Chestnut

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Silver Patron

Mark & Tracey Woodyard

Jennette LockKimberly Vaughn

Mike & Kathy BakerThomas & Lisa SkeerCoker Orthodontics

Dana StonesiferCathy Pearce

Austin EnfingerLinda Hazelgren

Marie CunninghamHeidi Kamei

Ashleigh PowellDoreen Brindise

Nancy SorrentinoThe UPS Store

Mariah EricksonStephen Lisco

Steven MitchellCindy KnutsonAngela Donald

Soon KimEllie Pare

Nick HudsonKirstin Whiteside

Scott LarsonDr. Gregory Kauffman

Beverly ByramBarbara Lampert

Don & Linda ThomasAlyssa Sims

Adam & Jeri BrownMorgan Silver

Elisabeta FerrukuJillian WeisbeckPatty Fenwick

Shannon CocheBarbara Humphrey

Todd NosalJohn Romarello

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Nancy SorrentinoKay Braun

Emily ByersJim Green

Sonja & Blair ScottJudy Mears

Austin PearsonRachel PerrineAnnette Seal

Bruce PhillipsJessica Turner

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Ryan SmithKaylene AhlmCraig HayesSue Sherman

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Bronze Patron

Chuck PedigoSheila GiscardJeff McClure

Blue PatronAmanda & Joseph

HuggerBruce & Mary Brown

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Norris DickardKaty BakerLeah Blake

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SHS Patron

Denise EppersonDick & Diane Williams

Paula McClureBrian WiggintonBryan MatthewsSusan Wachter

PATRONS

There is one fact that many students overlook as they enter senior year: the privileges that come with being a part of the graduating class are in-deed PRIVILEGES. A privilege is an honor that one must earn.

If the class of 2012, or any class that follows, wants senior privileges back, they must first make sure they are worthy of these benefits.

However this must happen as a whole class, the current graduating class must prove all are responsible enough to de-serve any privilege.

Many students have doubted whether seniors will really gain these ben-efits, or if the graduating class is just being strung along on an endless chase.

“I feel like we should get privileges because throughout this year

we’ve been acting pretty civilized,” senior Mar-shay Davis said. “But I know that we are prob-ably not going to get them because we have a lot of strong minded people in our class that will always bring us down.”

There have been times throughout this school year when both students and staff have referred to Stafford as a ‘family,’ but every family has its rough

patches. What the admin-istration is looking for is the consistent feel of that family-like bond.

Although the admin-istration is looking for a school-wide transforma-tion, the entire senior class must first set an ex-ample for the underclass-men, and make it known that this connection is here to stay, not only with the senior class, but with the school as a whole.

what they are. They should teach kids the leadership skills necessary for a suc-cessful future.

“I think the events that build school spirit actual-ly develop those skills and opportunities,” Middle-ton said.

For senior Qarima

Anbiya, Stafford can be a “sassy” place.

“Maybe it’s because not everybody is a morn-ing person, Anbiya said. “But I definitely did not enjoy being here.”

But Anbiya doesn’t feel that way anymore.

“After I went to the cheer district competi-tion, I realized that when it really matters, every-body comes together” Anbiya said. “It’s really a beautiful thing. I hope the positive bond continues.”

Are you the ones missing? Join in!

thesmokesignal smokesignalSta� ord High School 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405 www.sta� ordsmokesignal.com

the4 5

College Preparation Check List

Junior Year Senior YearTake the PSATs

Take SATs in the Spring

Visit Colleges

Prepare for AP testing

Plan Senior Schedule

Request Transcripts from Guidance

Decide on applying Early Action or Early DesicionFill out all applications by the cor-rect deadlines

Ask for teacher recommendations

Apply for Financial Aid

Make fi nal choice by May 1

Take the SATs a second time.

Seniors Endure the College Application Process

BY EMILY BYERSCopy Editor

While some seniors are diligent-ly scurrying to get their college ap-plications in, others are le� at ease knowing where they will be attend-ing in the fall. Early decision ap-plicants worked hard during their summer break to get their applica-tions in and are now � nding it easier to transition into their senior year.

Senior Sammy Krejdovski has already been accepted to East Caro-lina University.

“I think [applying early] shows that you are really interested in col-lege and that a person isn’t being

lazy and pushing it o� until the last second,” said Krejdovsky

� e students chose to focus in on a few places they really wanted to attend. � ey applied early in order to show their commitment to the school in an attempt to be accepted into their dream school.

Senior Erin Gallivan has already been accepted to James Madison University to play � eld hockey for the Dukes.

“Knowing where your going lets you actually enjoy senior year,”said Gallivan.

� ese applicants � nd that it’s easier to make it through their � nal

year in high school knowing where their future lies. � e stress of apply-ing to multiple schools and wonder-ing whether they will be accepted or not is no longer there a� er they make their decision.

Senior Carrie Tuthill was also ac-cepted to East Carolina University.

“I’m just excited about starting a new life practically on my own and meeting a more broad variety of people!” said Tuthill.

Early decision applicants have found time to think about campus life. Many of them are excited about their decision and cannot wait to get there.

BY CAELYNN MILLER-KEYESSta� Writer

In the fall many seniors have already begun their college applications, some have already been accepted. Many stu-dents, however, have put o� � lling out and sending in their applications.

“Senior year, spirit week, my DE pa-per, and Homecoming have been caus-ing my procrastination,” senior Tatianna Tonnacli� said.

Students have di� erent reasons for their procrastination. Some people were late getting everything ready, some were unprepared, or some wanted to get their SAT scores up.

“I’m not sure what college I want to go to yet,” senior Dan Jobrack said.

Some students choose to apply to their top choice of colleges for early de-

cision. However, many choose not to use this opportunity.

Jobrack chose not to do early deci-sion because he didn’t know what col-lege he wanted to go to yet.

“I didn’t do early decision because I wanted to get my SAT scores up,” Ton-nacli� said.

Applying to a college causes worry-ing and stress for many students.

“I’m most worried about not getting in to the school I want,” senior Bailey Mixon said.

Applying a� er other students has given them an advantage according to some students.

“If I do decide to go to a di� erent school I won’t be tied down to just one,” Tonnacli� said. “It also gives me more time to get my application together.”

Seniors apply early, get a jump start on college

Seniors give admission advice to underclassmen

BY KATHRYN LENNOXCopy Editor

Preparing for college and deciding which school to attend is an exciting time in one’s high school career, however many seniors are � nding the college applica-tion process to be long and di� erent than they expected.

“I was surprised by how much it cost,” senior Elizabeth McMillen said. “It’s expensive to apply and takes more time than I ex-pected.”

Some seniors are � nding that writing their essays is more di� cult than

they anticipated. “� e hardest part

about the whole thing for me is talking about myself in the essay,” senior Natasha Johnson said. “I don’t nor-mally talk about myself and it’s weird writing 500 words about yourself.”

Although the se-niors are facing many chal-lenges while applying to colleges, they are learning many lessons that they can pass down to underclass-men for when it is their turn to start the application pro-cess.

“Something under-

classmen need to realize is they need to work hard in school,” senior Paige Bugg said. “When you look at the requirements of the di� erent colleges you see that there is a lot of competition when applying. Underclassmen need to push themselves and take challenging classes and make every grade count. ”

Not all advice is about ac-ademics. Seniors are � nding that being punctual when submitting applications is bene� cial.

“Get it done as soon as possible,” senior Amber Hildebrand said. “It’s really

easy to keep putting it o� and miss deadlines.”

Application fees are re-minding applicants of just how expensive college is and the importance of � nding ways to pay for it.

“Start saving your money for your applications over the summer,” McMillen said. “Senior year is more expensive than you think. Also, look for scholarships.”

Although the application process is not fun, seniors are learning many lessons that may be useful to under-classmen.

Students procrastinate, rush to get applications � nished

What prompt did you get for your college application?

“Describe a histori-cal � gure that in¡ u-

enced your life.”Rachel Haynes,

Senior

“� e most in¡ uen-tial experience of

your life.”Casey Burns, Senior

“Describe an experi-ence that was unique

or in¡ uential on your life.”

Kelly Greeson, Senior

“My favorite place to get lost.”

Katelyn Gudyka, Senior

“Your favorite place to get lost.”

Stephanie Le, Senior

University of Virginia

James Madison University

William & Mary

Virginia Commonwealth University

George Mason University

Other

What college or university is your top choice?

Virginia Tech

Radford

Issue 5, Nov. 9, 2011


6

Stafford hosts bands

Happy Helpers: Rebecca Raines, EMT teacher, helps out with preparation for band competition. Stafford band did not compete, as they were hostingthe event. Photo by Hannah Haugen

student life

BY HANNAH HAUGENStaff Reporter

The marching band hosted their twelfth annu-al marching band compe-tition on Saturday, Oct. 8. This year 20 bands from around the state compet-ed at Lloyd A. Busch Me-morial Stadium.

The event was held as a fundraiser for the band. Band members and vol-unteers sold programs, concessions, tickets and shirts. Others helped cars and buses park, chauffeur bands, set up and take down the pit and scenery and run messages to and from judges.

“It was a lot of hard work and was completely exhausting,” said flag girl

Emily Leinenbach.Bands came to com-

pete from as far away as Louisa County. The 20 bands ranged from size A, the smallest, to AAAAA, the largest. In the sepa-rate classes, bands per-formed and were judged with a 15 minute break in between each class.

“Months of work go into planning an event like this,” band director Chuck Hite said. “You have to plan everything from parking, to conces-sions, to judges, to invita-tions, to programs...water for the bands, the field and getting the field ready for competition.”

On top of planning for the competition, each band spent months learn-

ing and perfecting their show for competitions. Some of them did not quite make the cut, while others took home all the awards.

Each band was judged on music, marching, gen-eral effect, percussion, auxiliary (or flags) and drum majors. Also first, second, and third place in each class, best “pit crew” and Grand Champion.

The band that won first place over-all, no matter the class, won the Grand Champion trophy. AAAAA Battlefield High School took home the gold this year with their show’s theme “Journey Through the Classics.”

By the end of the night, over 5,000 people

filled the stands. After all bands finished compet-ing, and while the judges prepared for the awards ceremony, the SHS Tribe of Pride Marching band preformed an exhibition of their show, “Baseball: America’s Favorite Pas-time.”

“Most of the bands who had competed were sitting in the stands watching us preform,” Said band member Beth Reynolds. “It really fueled our performance and was on of our best shows.”

After the final note was played cheers erupted from the crowd and the band proudly marched off the field.

The National Honor Society has been in-volved in activities in and outside of school by helping other clubs and elementary schools with their Halloween events.

“We have been really busy this school year,” said NHS president Danny Strock. “Our advisors, Mrs. Kresho and Mrs. Jack-son, have been really good at setting up point opportunities this year.”

The NHS has been contacting local com-munity service centers and schools to volun-teer the club to help with any possible events or services.

“I think the new point system is similar to last years, but has been modified to create more service opportunities,” said NHS sec-retary Will Janney. “And NHS is undergo-ing a major revamp this year with two new sponsors, but I think what has been done so far is really beneficial to the society.”

There is a meeting on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss new point activities and other events the NHS will be involved with for the upcoming month.

>>Key ClubKey Club is preparing to count up the

money donated from UNICEF boxes. Boxes were given out at the last Key Cub meeting to collect money for infants with a rare dis-ease in third world countries.

“A lot more people attended and helped out this year so I’m hoping we collected a lot of money,” editor Taylor Sumner said.

Key Club is also about to start selling Air Head to students and have a workshop to make trail mix for Teacher Appreciation Week.

“Thanksgiving is out busiest time of the year,” said Margaret Bridges, Key Club ad-viser.

In the spring, Key Club is also hoping to participate in Relay for Life.

“We would really like to do Relay for Life since we were not able to last year,” Sumner said.

>>Interact Club

Interact Club has had a great start to the year.

They are hard at work with two big events underway.

“Right now we are beginning to plan a canned food drive for SERVE of Fredericks-burg in cooperation with the Stafford Rotary,” club sponsor Ryan Middleton said. “We are going to plan to compile our efforts with oth-er schools in an event at Colonial Forge.”

This year the Interact club is planning their events and activities around helping children who are ill.

“We are planning on doing an event for the Nothing But Nets Campaign, “ Middleton said.

Nothing But Nets is a campaign that helps children across Africa with malaria.

Interact is also trying to increase family activity at the school.

“We are planning to hold a movie night for students and their families.” Middleton said.

Interact is focusing on improving what they can from the previous years and increas-ing the bonds between student and staff

“We are having a Staff vs. Student basket-ball game and we are planning on having a faculty game vs. Brooke Point in near future,” vice president Kirsten Felton said.

This year looks like a very active year for them.

Miller-Keyes to compete for pageant crown in nationwide contest in March

Pageant Per-fect Smile:

Junior Caelynn Miller-Keyes is

competing in a nationwide pag-

eant. She and the 51 other competitors

will be working with elementary

schools to pre-vent bullying.

Miller-Keyes hopes to some-

day be Miss Universe.

Photo submit-ted by Caelynn

Miller-Keyes

>>NHS

BY HANNAH HAUGENStaff Writer

After last year’s prom-ising run that left the Staf-ford Scholastic Bowl in the middle of the pack, this year’s team has high hopes with new players and a new plan for ending up on top.

“Right now we’re most-ly just meeting four times a week after school to practice answering ques-tions from past years,” junior Elizabeth Chase said. “One of us will teach a short lecture on some-thing we’re really good.”

All their hard work has paid off. In their first meet at Albemarle they beat Massaponax High School but lost to North Stafford.

“We beat North Staf-ford last year by a lot so hopefully we will get bet-ter over the year so we

can beat them and other schools that are better,” ju-nior Amy Wood said.

After finishing in the middle of the pack last year, many members have set their sights on top. “We want to make it to region-als—that and to try not to embarrass ourselves,” ju-nior Allie Ahlm said.

Many members were apprehensive after losing seniors from last year like their captain Matt Lans-ford, but after this initial meet many of these con-cerns were dissolved.

“The new people com-ing up are doing really well this year,” said Su-zanne Battista, Scholastic Bowl advisor.

Along with the new members on the team is a new confidence in the members.

“I see more focus and less hesitancy with the kids,” Battista said.

This was reflected in the meet. Kids were much more willing to buzz in, a fact that was reflected in the overall scores. In their first match of Staf-ford against Massaponax, Stafford scored 180 points while Massaponax had only 145. In their sec-ond match against North Stafford, they scored 155 points while North Staf-ford had 210.

“The new people did fantastic,” Chase said. “Katherine did really well and so did Nate. Everyone was doing amazing.”

Other players recog-nized by fellow members and Battista were John Sylvester, Amy Wood, Toni Sorrentino, and Catherine Hill.

Kids join Scholastic Bowl for many different reasons.

“Its something to do afterschool that’s pretty

fun,” senior Elizabeth Piersall said. “You end up learning a bunch of stuff you didn’t know.”

This sentiment was echoed among several other members as well.

“It’s a whole bunch of slightly quirky people that really want to know stuff,” Chase said. “Plus, you’re in this situation where it is okay to shout answers to as many questions as possible.”

Scholastic Bowl is optimistic

BY B.H. KIMStaff Writer

BY KIM KNUTSONStaff Writer

BY DEREK HAYESStaff Writer

Elizabeth M. Attreed, DDS, PC

2832 Jeff Davis Highway

Stafford, VA 22554(540)-659-5161

Band Buds: Band director Chuck Hite poses with a fellow band director. Hite’s band did not compete as it hosted the event.Photo by Hannah Haugen

BY BRIDGET PHILLIPSDesign Editor

Junior Caelynn Miller-Keyes aspires to one day be Miss Universe, and she is well on her way to ful-filling her dream. Miller-Keyes participated in and won Miss High School Virginia in September, and is preparing for Miss High School America which takes place March

6-10.Miller-Keyes has been

doing pageants since April of last year and they have grown to be a big part of her life, claiming much of her time and at-tention.

“I’m really excited for this next pageant,” Miller-Keyes said. “I got a coach and I’ve started buying a lot of clothes.”

The platform for this particular pageant is called “The Crown that Cares.” The girls will be working with the anti-bullying movement by addressing bully preven-tion, talking to elementa-ry schools in the area and selling the book “Sticks, Stones, and Stumped.”

“I think it’s very im-portant for kids to get

help and for the help to be available for them if they are being bullied,” Miller-Keyes said.

She will be meet-ing up with the 51 other Miss High School Amer-ica contestants, one from each state, one from Washington D.C., and one from the Virgin Is-lands.

“I’m really excited to meet the other girls who are competing with me,” Miller-Keyes said. “There are a lot of fun events planned for us.

The girls will be trav-elling to the Alamo, Sea World, taking a riverboat tour and finally a grand banquet at the end of the pageant.

Her mom is travel-ling with her to the pag-eant and on the different planned trips.

“I’m really proud of Caelynn and can’t wait to see her onstage with all the other girls in Texas,” Jai-Leah Kamenicky said.


7 sportsAthletes determined to reach the next level

Athletes play high school sports for the love of the game, to have fun and to fulfill their dreams of playing at the next level. Playing at the next level for most high school athletes requires the long, grueling process of being recruited.

The recruiting pro-cess for all sports is fairly similar. Student athletes fill out questionnaires, go to showcase camps combines, contact college coaches at schools they wish to go to, and send in game/skills tape to those coaches.

“Yes, coaches want to be contacted and want to receive game film but the most effective way to be recognized is by hav-ing really good stats,” said Sam Heflin, varsity field hockey player.

“Great stats earn you honors and athletes with the better honors receive

the better offers.”Athletes cannot be

scared to call or email coaches. Familiarizing yourself with coaches is very important. Contact-ing coaches can help keep them aware that there are other really good athletes out there that they might have overlooked.

“I hit up coaches at schools where I think I can play and I try to find the school that is the best fit for me,” said Ty-ler Creel, varsity baseball player.

Coaches do not always appear at high school sporting events. Al-though when they do, no matter if they are there to evaluate you, your team-mate or even one of your opponents, if they see a certain athlete outplaying all the others on the field that athlete might just be their next prospect.

“Hard work beats tal-ent when talent doesn’t work hard,” said Tre Smith, varsity baseball

BY CODY BEACORNStaff Writer

One Down! Indian pride shines through as a tackle is made and coaches look from the sidelines. Football players played hard on the field in order to make themselves stand out to recruiters. photo by Taylor Sutherland

player.Getting recruited may

take athletes going out of their way to get noticed or to play with the best, but would it really matter if

in the end they got what they set out for.

“It’s so much work and it takes such a long time to match yourself up with a good school

that meets your needs academically and athleti-cally,” said Darrian John-son, varsity football play-er. “Although when it is all said and done and you

step foot on to that court or field you have been dreaming about your whole life, you realize it was all worth it.”

More than three months before tryouts, the girls soccer team is working out and perfect-ing their skills in prepa-ration for their season ahead.

They have been work-ing hard to begin their preseason, with condi-tionings and open soc-cer sessions three days a week. With the restric-tions against coaches be-ing lifted this past school year, the coaches are also able to get involved.

“It’s different to have the coaches be there and able to coach, but it’s a

good change,” junior Mary Wellman said.

In previous years, coaches had to sit on the sidelines and refrain from coaching or instructing their players. This year there are high expecta-tions for the girls with more coaching being available to them.

“I think were going to be a lot better this year,” sophomore Katie Walz said. “The conditionings and open soccer are really different this year.”

The team is also put-ting together indoor soc-cer teams to play at the Fredericksburg Field House. This gives the girls more touches and an ex-

tra opportunity to im-prove their skill.

“The indoor league gives girls a chance to get used to playing on the same team,” head coach Laura Gaesser said. “They can get more touches on the ball while getting fa-miliar with how each oth-er plays.”

With the new coach-ing rules, and the tougher preseason activities, the team is pushing hard to improve their skills and do better than their re-cord from previous years.

“I’m hopeful for this season,” senior Erin Smith said. “Were working hard for it.”

BY CARA SKEERStaff Writer

Dig it! Jennifer Quintero serves the ball in a recent volleyball match. The girls had one of the best seasons ever by making it into the playoffs. Photo by Taylor Sutherland

Boys XC wins regionals

The boy cross country team is on a roll. They finished second in the district for the second straight year. They are a mere one point behind Albemarle but are ad-vancing on to the regional meet on Nov. 3.

Greg Bohmke is their top runner. Bohmke’s biggest race was the Milestat.com Invitation-al where he finished in fifth place and broke the school record with a time of 15:45.

“Greg has put in a lot of work over the summer and through the year,”

said Augrom , cross coun-try coach. “It’s shown in his new school record and state ranking of thir-teenth.”

The girls finished in fifth for the second year in a row and missed going to regionals as a team.

“Even though they are disappointed,” Augrom said, “they are show-ing definite signs of im-provement and all of them are coming back next year since we did not have any seniors.”

The top girl runner is Hannah Lowery. Low-ery’s biggest meet was the Great American In-vitational in Cary, N.C., where she finished in

thirteenth place amongst some of the best runners on the East Coast.

“Hannah is a tireless worker who has been pushing through multiple injuries throughout the season in order to help the girls team try to qualify for Regionals and main-tain her ranking as six-thin the state,” Augrom said. The big XC meets coming up are regionals, states and the Nike South-east National Qualifier. The season has been rela-tively successful for the XC team although with the hard work they put in every day at practice their level of success is unlim-ited.

BY CODY BEACORNStaff Writer

Girls soccer adjusts

Varsity StatsKatelyn Gudyka - 162 kills

Jessica Gutanis - 288 assists

Lindsay Lafratta - 224 digs

DOMINO’SFEEDS THE SMOKE SIGNAL

STAFF AT LAYOUT

To the Finish Line Josh Kiminiki, Miranda Shelton and others run after school for practice. Cross country didn’t bring on the wins but they have perservered. Photo by Taylor Sutherland

After more than three months of practices and games, the volleyball team wrapped up their season the last week of October.

The team had their first games beginning at the end of August, go-ing into their last game against North Stafford on October 27.

Even though the girls didn’t make it far into the playoffs, they took several key games from matches against Brooke Point, Co-lonial Forge, and Massap-onax.

Leading by example with exceptional play was senior libero Lind-sey LaFratta, junior setter Jessie Gatanis, and senior hitter Katelyn Gudyka.

Gatanis led the team in assists with a total of 235 this season. Gudyka also had an impressive num-ber of assists, with 133 this season. LaFratta held the defense with 169 digs.

Stafford battled to five games in their match against Brooke Point. The girls claimed the first two games and lost the last three. The games had long rallies and excellent play from both teams.

V Volleyball finishes seasonBY CARA SKEER

Staff writer


8 feature

With the Thanksgiving break right around the corner, a lot of students are expressing their favors toward their favor-ite Thanksgiving foods.

“I love my mom’s sweet po-tato casserole. She only makes it once a year on Thanksgiving day, and it is so good,” senior Stephanie Le said. “For Christ-mas, you make and eat Viet-namese food, but for Thanks-giving, since it’s strictly an American holiday, we celebrate it in American way and eat American Thanksgiving food.”

Some expressed their spe-cial love toward one specific type of food, or dressing.

“I love cranberry sauce so much. If I could marry a food, I would definitely marry cran-berry sauce,” sophomore Amy Wood said. “Why? Need I ex-plain? It’s really delicious and sugary. How can you not like it?”

Some students’ favorite foods were not strictly Ameri-can dishes, either: they differed from Greek salads to sweet Eu-ropean desserts.

“My family loves to have caprese salad on Thanksgiving table,” senior Erin House said. “I love it because it has a com-bination of tomato and moz-zarella.”

According to some, many

families make their own tra-ditional dishes for this special holiday every year to celebrate it in their own special way.

“My mother makes white chocolate chunk cupcakes ev-ery year,” sophomore Saman-tha Mikelson said. “They are the best.”

Even though everyone agreed that they have favorite foods, they also expressed their dislike for well-known holiday dishes.

“I do not like stuffing. To me, it doesn’t taste good, and everyone else in my family likes it except me,” senior Devin Geraghty said. “So I usually eat it just to make them happy.”

Turkey or White Chocolate Cupcakes? BY REBEKAH KIM

Online Editor

Prep time: 15 minutesCook time: 20 minutes

Ready time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: 1 can of Pills-bury Biscuits Butter-milk, cinnamon powder, chopped walnut, sugar, and maple syrup

Procedure:1. Heat oven to 340°F.2. Combine cinnamon power, chopped walnut, and sugar.3. Slice the biscuit dough into eight pieces.

4. Oil the cooking bowl and combine the combination with the dough pieces. 5. Pour about 10 table-spoons of maple syrup into the cooking bowl.

6. Add the dough pieces.7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.8. Serve after cooling it off for about 15 minutes.

How to Make

BY REBEKAH KIMOnline Editor

Theron Duitdman, junior“I love the smell of fall and the beau-tiful anbience of fall.”

Kendall Khan, senior“It’s not overly hot or cold; it’s perfect weather.”

Melanie Redd, senior“I love how one day the leaves are green and the next day you wake up and they’re yellow.”

Hannah Oltman, junior“I love the changing leaves.”

Fashionistas, start your leaf blowers! This fall has blown back in some trends from last year while combining them with new ones for some psychedelic trends that will take over your closet.

Bright colors are going to be popping up according to Style.com. Combined to-gether in color blocking, solid shirts and pants or leggings should be paired to fit this developing trend. In particular mus-tard, rust, scarlets and other reds, and teal hues are popular according to Glamour.com.

Pea coats and tall boots have been brought back from last year; combining the pea coats and bright colors is one way to bring a splash of color to any jacket. In addition to the trend of tall boots, cow-boy boots are also gracing the streets with some home girl style.

Military trends have survived spring and summer to make a reappearance this fall in the form of camouflage and military colors. Military style shirts and bags are also items to grab while shopping for this

Variety of Fall Trends Take the Stagefall’s trends.

Sweaters have also come back this fall, combining artisan style prints with knits for a warm way to stay in style. Ar-tisan style purses have also made an ap-pearance on the scene with leather and cloth bags.

Animals have also taken the stage as fur trim on coats, fur vests, and fur hats according to harpersbazaar.com. Feath-ers have taken over the accessories in-dustry as hair clips, earrings, and neck-laces in a variety of bright colors and natural tones.

Retro has also made a reappearance with psychedelic colors and retro pat-terns. 6o’s style dresses are also back in style, making vintage a must-have for this fall.

Makeup is dominated by empha-sized eyes either with smoky eye and dark shadows balanced with a clean face and neutral lips. Conversely red lips are also in with minimal eyes. Safari eyes are also popular with earth toned eyes and understated lips according to Cov-ergirl.com.

BY HANNAH ROWLETTEStaff writer

Cinna-Walnut Monkey Bread

smoke signal issue 5, nov. 19, 2012

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