The Hillside ChronicleVolume 3, Number 2November 2013

hillsidechronicle.com 3727 Fayetteville St. Durham, N.C. 27707

In this Issue...

By Kristen MayoStaff Editor Hillside Princi-pal William Logan has been awarded the Princi-pal of the Year award for Durham Public Schools. “I felt stunned, appreciated and grate-ful,” Dr. Logan said, after almost shedding tears of joy. Dr. Logan was completely surprised

about receiving the award. “I hadn’t been nominated,” Dr. Logan said when asked if he knew about the award. According to Dr. Logan, one of his stu-dents came up to him and told him that he was doing a wonderful job as a principal and that he was greatly appreciated, which set off the begin-ning of the celebration.

Supportive Hillside Student Government mem-bers surround William Logan after the surprise

announcement of his Principal of the Year award. PHOTO CREDIT: Jasmine Webster

William Logan wins Principal of the Year

Hillside students, teachers and parents gather in front of the school for a dance party to rally for public schools. PHOTO CREDIT: Tatyana Hicks

We love public schools: Hillside hosts a rally for public schools

By Jazmine Dixon and Breana Kea Staff Writers Hillside High School Principal William Logan won Principal of the Year for the district. This is an honor for Dr. Logan, who has been nominated for be-fore. “When you don’t focus on it, you’re more appreciative of it,” he said. “It’s a great feeling;

I’m very appreciative that I can serve in this capaci-ty to represent Hillside.” Hillside Recep-tionist Amber Martinez said, “It’s an honor to work for someone who is Principal of the Year.” Hillside Assis-tant Principal Tonya Wright appeared very elated about the prin-cipal’s win, stating that it was “extraordinary, well-deserved.”

By Toy Lee and Elonzia Morrison Staff Writers On Monday, Nov. 4 Hillside joined many other schools in North Carolina in a walk-in for public edu-cation. Parents, teachers and students gathered in front of the school at 6:45 a.m. to rally. “The solution to many of our societal problems is education. I am protesting because I am sick of teachers and students being treated like the ugly stepchild,” Alec Greenwald, a Hill-side history teacher, said.

North Carolina is ranked 48th in per-stu-dent spending, and the walk-in was just the be-ginning of a campaign to raise that ranking. One of the coor-dinators of the Hillside walk-in, Nicholas Gra-ber-Grace, said support-ers “will be working to push a campaign around the entire state to make sure that North Caro-lina raises its student spending to above the national average so that all students can have a high-quality education.” In order to gen-erate excitement for that

campaign, Hillside de-cided to take a different approach to their walk-in by hosting a dance party deejayed by history teacher Bryan Proffitt. Many people gathered in front of the school, dancing and having a good time. “I thought that for it be-ing really cold that the turnout was really good,” Holly Jordan, a Hillside English teacher, said. Many held signs to show support. “Teach-ers need more money. Their budget is being cut,” Hillside Junior Jac-arri Mack said.

Principal’s award brings pride to the Hillside staff

Hillside teachers and students march into CCB Plaza in downtown Durham for a pep rally to support public education. The rally was held

on Nov. 8; it featured a speech by Hillside senior Kayla Tate and a Spoken Word piece by Hillside English teacher Jabari Sellars. Teachers, students and

parents from surrounding schools joined the rally. Participants collected signatures on a petition to raise the state’s per-student spending to above the

national average. PHOTO CREDIT: Elonzia Morrison

Guest chef visits Hill-side foods

class.See page 3.

Spoken Word

members speak out. See page 7.

Theater opens its

season with a musical. See page 8.

HILLSIDE COMMENTARY

The Hillside Chronicle is a newspaper designed to catch the interest of students, staff, parents and teachers. The Hillside Chronicle is dedicated to spreading news to the student body while inspiring students to get active in the school. Our primary goal is to inform our community about the positive things going on around Hillside, while in-forming them about the latest news. We are honored to be partnered with the Durham VOICE. For more content, please view our Facebook page!

Adviser: Elizabeth DeOrnellas

Staff Editors Fall 2013: Meshia Bostic, Megan Clayton, Tatyana Hicks, Quela Knight, Kristen Mayo, Tianna Moore, Elonzia Morrison and Janny Simpson

Staff Writers Fall 2013: Chyna Briscoe, KJ Covington, Jazmine Dixon, Jada Hamlett, Jasmine Hardy, Deandre Harper, LaKuandra Johnson, Teyanna Johnson, Breana Kea, Jonathan Lafleur, Toy Lee, Travis Miller, Alaza Mims, Taylor Owens, Jalynn Parker, Taquaisha Patrick, Telajuwon Pride, Keiarah Rodgers, Kayla Tate, Jasmine Webster and Bryce Witherspoon

PAGE 2

By Jonathan LafleurStaff Writer The Hillside High School rule which was created in 2011 known as The Hillside Hall Sweep serves a good cause, but has a harsh consequences. I know that the Hill-side Hall Sweep was created to make students go to their class-es with no tardies, which is a very good idea in my opinion. The rule is that the students who are tardy to class during a hall sweep will get a two-day suspen-

By Telajuwon PrideStaff Writer I feel like the rule that forbids students from wearing hats is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing be-cause some people could be keeping dangerous or ille-gal things under their hats. It’s a bad thing because some people could be having problems with their hair or something could be in their hair that they don’t want peo-ple to see. I also feel that it’s not equal if girls can wear hats on their heads and the boys can’t. What the school could do if they don’t want to change the hat rule is just modify it a

little bit. They can make it so the teacher can ask you to take your hat off and if you don’t have anything under it then you can put your hat back on. I feel like this would be better for the students and the teachers. This would be something that the students would rather have happen in-stead of making it a big issue. I would agree if they at least let you wear some hats and not allow you to wear other hats. The hats I would be OK with allowing us to wear are beanies and skul-lies. Hats I think it would be OK if we couldn’t wear would be fitted hats (on some days). Or they can have some

Rule against wearing hats draws debate

By Chyna Briscoe and LaKuandra JohnsonStaff Writers Hillside has a new requirement, which is that students have to wear official school IDs at all times in the building. The staff believes that this rule keeps other students who don’t belong out. This rule also en-forces a sense of security. “This is a good idea because it can help administration figure out who should be here and who shouldn’t be here,” LaKuandra Johnson said This idea will help keep students safe if a dan-gerous event happens. H o w e v e r , not all students are in favor of the policy. “This is not a good idea because a lot of the students aren’t going to wear them; also, stu-dents already have neck-laces on, and this might interfere with their cloth-ing,” Chyna Briscoe said.

days where you can wear hats and some days where you can’t. If they tried to apply this change to the rule about hats then I would support this rule and actually like it. This rule would be better than how the rule it is now because more students would like and agree with this new rule about hats. But like all rules, some will like it and some will not like it. I feel like change is needed to this rule so there will be less trouble about this situation in DPS schools. It will make it easier for teachers and easier for administrators.

sion for being late to class. The two-day sus-pension part of the hall sweep rule is a bit too far. School administrators could have done something else instead of the two-day sus-pension, like after-school detention or cleaning up gum under classroom desks. They should at least add these punish-ments before giving a two-day suspension right away.

“I think it is actually helpful for security rea-

sons, but most people aren’t going to carry them because they

are already forgetful. Plus most people don’t like their pictures and would be more willing

to wear them if we were able to confirm the

pictures.”-Sophomore Avia

Dolberry

“I think for teach-ers it’s good to be able to know who

works at the school. For students, we

don’t care because we don’t actually wear our badges.”

-Sophomore Michera Gentry

“They don’t en-force it, and that makes it point-

less.-Senior

Dominique Francis

“I feel that if you see people on a day-to-day ba-sis, you should know if they go to the school or

not.”-Sophomore

Karnessa Hillard

Word on the street: Students speak out about new ID policy

Hillside students have six minutes to get from class to class. During a hall sweep, students who are late to class receive a two-day suspension. PHOTO CREDIT: Tatyana Hicks

Consequences of hall sweeps seen as harsh; students seek alternatives

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

By Kayla TateStaff Writer The Hillside High School foreign language department is continuously growing; it now has a new Chi-nese language course, as well as a new faculty member: Yuan Wang, the Chinese teacher. “I want to learn about America and share about China. I want to gain more experience in my life and teaching,” Ms. Wang said. “The students show great enthusiasm when learning Chinese, my colleagues and friends are so nice and helpful.” Ms. Wang has been teaching for a total of 10 years and she has taught grades 10 through 12 in China, but she is now teaching a Chi-nese I course at Hillside.“I like the sharing part, learning from us and teaching us,” Alexan-der Aguilar, the as-sistant principal in charge of the foreign

language department, said. Mr. Aguilar wanted stu-dents to see first-hand how dif-ferent America is from other countries and how different oth-er cultures are, so he has teamed up with programs like Teach for America, N.C. State Fellows and Visiting International Fac-ulty (VIF) to hire these teach-ers for up to at least three years. “After their three years they will be sent back to share with their home country,” Mr. Aguilar said. Brianna Byrd, who is a junior in Ms. Wang’s Chinese class, seems to be enjoying her fourth period class, “I think the environment is more laid back and mistakes don’t make you as embarrassed because we are all at the same place in learning.” “I feel like this class is very beneficial because I feel like it will help me and I can also teach others,” freshman Tahj Hall said. Mr. Aguilar also feels like learning this language will be ben-eficial as well, “We are making our children more marketable. Chi-nese is the language of business and Hillside has many affluent folks.”

By Keiarah Rodgers Staff Writer Joy Daniel, a sophomore at Johnson & Wales who is majoring in culinary arts, served as a guest chef for the Pro-Start One and ProStart Two classes on Oct. 16. “ I chose to major in Culinary Arts because I would watch my grand-mothers cook when I was younger,” Ms. Daniel said. Ms. Dan-iel taught the classes how to make kale soup. Jonathan Har-grove, a junior, was asked to be one of the assistant chefs to help make the soup. “It was a fun experience learning to make kale soup,” he said. Hargrove was in charge of cutting up pieces of bacon.

Ms. Daniel chose Sybil Robinson, a sophomore, as her second chef ’s assistant. Robinson was in charge of cooking the bacon and also making the actual soup. “It was a good experience for Joy to come so we could see how to make the soup in a certain amount of time,” Robinson said. The foods classes are plan-ning other unique experiences for their students. For example, they will hold a cake baking contest in which students will experiment with butter and oil to see what different textures they can create. “I like helping peo-ple learn how to eat healthy, and food also brings people to-gether,” Tonya McMillan-Reed, the foods instructor, said.

By Breana Kea and Kristen MayoStaff Writers During Hillside’s annu-al school blood drive, 48 people presented to donate; 28 were first-time donors, and 26 pro-ductive units were collected. Hillside junior Brianna Byrd participat-ed in the blood drive. “I wanted to help, so it was cool,” Byrd said. This was her first year donating, and she plans to do it again next year.

“I was of age and the fact that they are going to use it for re-search is cool,” Byrd said. Nelda Caddell, who coordinated the drive, said she was disappointed in the number of students who could not give blood because they had low iron or were underweight. She said the school needs to work to improve stu-dents’ nutrition, starting by highlighting healthier choices in the cafeteria.

Brianna Byrd was among 28 first-time donors who partic-ipated in the school’s annual blood drive.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kristen Mayo

Annual blood drive allows students to contribute to Red Cross donation efforts

Joy Daniel, a visiting chef, works with Sybil Robinson to make kale soup. PHOTO CREDIT: Keiarah Rodgers

Guest chefs share their culinary expertise with eager students

TOP: Yuan Wang and her fourth

period Chinese I class play a review

game.

LEFT: Brianna Byrd and Kendell Ely hold a conver-sation in Chinese.

PHOTO CREDITS: Kayla Tate

Hillside hosts visiting instructor from China

PAGE 3

“ I chose to major in Culinary Arts because I would watch my grand-

mothers cook when I was younger.”

-Joy Daniel, Johnson & Wales

student

PAGE 4

HILLSIDE STUDENT LIFE

Kappa Leadership Development League Adviser Name: Austin HoganOfficers ( if elected): President: Kamal Simpson; 1st Vice: Luther Holman; 2nd Vice: Brandon Frederick; 3rd Vice: Joel Chalk; Sec. John Carter; Tres. Shiree MitchellNumber of members: 16 Active at Hillside: 8 yearsClub’s objective: Building leadership and helping the com-munityGoals for 2013-14: To have a great impact on Durham com-munity as well as Hillside High School and to also have more than five community service projects completed. “You learn how to work with others who you don’t normally

hang around,” Travis Miller said.

Lambda Zeta Chi

Adviser: Ms. Jackson

Officers: (to be decided)

Number of members: 7

How long has it been active at Hillside: Two semesters

Chi Omega LambdaAdviser: Crasten DavisOfficers: President: Keith Beasley; Vice Pres.: Aaron Johnson; Step Master: Trevion ThompsonNumber of Members: 11 Active at Hillside: 1 yearClub’s objective: Excitement. CQ wants to bring something different to the table and to inspire young gentlemen who desire to become a Que in college.Goals for 2013-14: Have more gentlemen involved in CQ.

“I wanted to be in CQ because it was something different. And this is the perfect preparation for my desire to be a Que

in college. I also wanted to be in this fraternity because it was something new and exciting,” Trevion Thompson said.

Theta Phi Delta

Advisers: Jokyra Bullock-Scott, Rhea Scott

Officers: President: Daria Robinson; Vice Pres.: Imari Mc-Clean; Sec. Lyndsey Hannah; Dean Circle of Pledges: Arie’ya-na Easterling, Jalyha Giles, Da-lia Espinal, Kiara Thorpe, Imani Hawley and Taylor Owens

Number of members: 35

How long has it been active at Hillside: 10 years

Club’s objective: Enhancing young women to become better leaders and individuals in our community through communi-ty services and sisterly bonding.

Ladies of Kappa League

Adviser: Rontika Redden

Officers: Not yet determined

Number of members: 30

How long has it been active at Hillside: 5 years

Club’s objective: LKL is a com-munity service and fundraiser organization that focuses on developing leadership skills.

Theta Phi PsiAdviser: Lavonte LeakOfficers: President: Stephon Mack, Vice Pres.: Ryan Wright, Sec.: Desmond Woods, Assistant Sec.: Kyle Rhoden, Historian: Aaron Bishop; Dean of Pledges: Desmond Woods; Step Mas-ter: Desmond Marsh; Asst. Step Master: Stephon Mack; Hop Master: Tyree Clark Number of members: 10 Active at Hillside: 13 yearsClub’s objective: To enhance the education of the members, get them college ready, and give them the tools to prepare for manhood. Goals for 2013-14: As a whole, 50 service hours by the end of the year.

Goals for 2013-14: Raise aware-ness of breast cancer, HIV and AIDS; complete at least six community service projects and fundraisers with the intent to dis-tribute funds to the community.

Goals for 2013-14: Create a step show to raise money for the Sickle Cell Society; volunteer at group homes and rest home.; start a SGB (Sisters Giving Back), where former and current Theta members start mentoring in the community.

What students like about the club: “I like the fact that no matter what, you have a group of girls there to support and that we are in-volved in the community” Kayla Tate said.

Club’s objective: “Only the strong prevail.”

Goals for 20123-14: To have a lot of girls interested and to have a better relationship with the girls around school as well as the community.

The Kappas aim to complete more than five service projects. Photo courtesy of Lifetouch Photography

The Ladies of Kappa League aim to complete at least six service projects. They also plan to distribute any funds

raised to the local community. Photo courtesy of Lifetouch Photography

All Theta Phi Psi members aim to take the SAT this year. Photo courtesy of Lifetouch Photography

Theta Phi Delta aims to host a step show and start a men-toring organization called Sisters Giving Back, as well as to

volunteer at local group and rest homes. Photo courtesy of Lifetouch Photography

Lambda Zeta Chi aim to increase their group member-ship. Photo courtesy of Lifetouch Photography

Chi Omega Lambda aims to grow its membership. Photo courtesy of Lifetouch Photography

What students like about the club: “I like being in LKL because of the bond that I am able to have with my sisters,” Quela Knight said.

GSA promotes opennessClub’s objective: To create a safe place for LGBTQ students and their allies

Advisers: Holly Jordan and Jabari Sellars

Number of members:16

How long has it been active at Hillside: 4 years

Goals for club for this year 2013-14: March in the Pride Parade, have new members,and have good discussions about our lives

What students like about the club: “I like how open-mind-ed people are and the judge-free zone,” Michelle Armas said.

HILLSIDE STUDENT LIFE

JROTC strives to make Hillsidestudents into better citizensClub’s objective: To prepare people who want to go to the military

Advisers: Master Sergeant Holmes and Chief Hester

Officers (if elected): Briana Lindsay

Number of members: 100

How long has it been active at Hillside: More than 10 years

Goals for club for this year 2013-14: Bring more members and direct people to be better citizens

What students like about the club: “It gets you in shape,” Jabryl Parker said.

College and Career Club helps students get preparedClub’s objective: To help students with the application process

Advisers: Elizabeth DeOrnellas, Vanessa Price, and Leslie Street

Number of members: 15

How long has it been active at Hillside: 2 years

Goals for 2013-14: Raise the amount of scholarship mon-ey awarded to Hillside students and make applications less intimidating

What students like about the club: “I like being in the Col-lege and Career Club because it helps you with applying to college and scholarships; it also helps with writing essays. But it’s great for career planning,” Meshia Bostic said.

Multicultural Club is deter-mined to break stereotypesClub’s objective: To represent diverse groups of Hillside student with an interest in exploring other cultures, breaking stereotypes and rais-ing awareness of the cultural events and activities around the world.

Advisers: Kathy Chapman, Maureen Legaria, Jenny White, Alec Gre-enwald

Number of members: 10

How long it’s been active at Hillside: 5 years

Goals for 2013-14: Multicultural Club is planning to celebrate Peace Week during the spring and participate in an international charity event.

What students like about the club: “It helps us experience diverse culture,” Chris Frye said.

Students who are in JROTC are trained to be ready for the military. PHOTO CREDIT: Jasmine Hardy

Students and participants enjoy the Fiesta Night celebra-tion, organized by the Multicultural Club and the school’s

new Latino outreach organization, Latinos Unidos. PHOTO CREDIT: Jada Hamlett

Teachers and students come together on Sept. 28 to participate in the Durham Pride Parade. PHOTO CREDIT: Holly Jordan

The club meets every Wednes-

day in room 122 from 2:45 to

4:15.

From Nov. 18-22, students can

participate in N.C. College Ap-plication Week.

The GSA has meetings every Wednesday in

room 230 from 2:45 to 3:45.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

La-Deidre Matthews is Hillside’s college adviser; she helps students prepare college applications. PHOTO CREDIT: Taquaisha Patrick

The club meets every other

Tuesday in the Media Center lab from 2:45

to 3:45.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

To enroll in JROTC for

next semester, go to Student Services and

sign up for the course for first

or third period.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

PAGE 5

By Quela KnightStaff Writer Brianna Dun-ovant, a Hillside soph-omore, made All-Con-ference this year. She helped the tennis team win one of their first victories in 15 years. This season they took home a win against Northern and won a doubles game against Riverside.

By Quela KnightStaff Writer Varsity volley-ball senior start Arie’ya-na Easterling said she was pleased with this season’s results. “Being able to win more games than my freshman year” was a victory, Easterling said. This year she felt that “becoming a center” was her chal-lenge. She described the

By Quela KnightStaff Writer C h a r l o t t e George, a junior at Hillside, was a star cross country runner this season. She runs 3.1 miles every meet. “I’ve worked re-ally hard to get to where I’ve got,” George said. George placed within the top 10-15

HORNET ATHLETICSDunovant brings the first win for tennis in 15 years

Dunovant described herself as an “achiever.” “Each match I tried to improve myself, and I did. I learned more about my compe-tition the more I played,” Dun-ovant said. Her goals for next season are to win more match-es and be better than she is now.

Easterling gets recognized as the star volleyball player

season as “refurbished” simply because they got a new coach and had to get used to her style. This year the volley-ball team pushed to win more games, and they did exactly that. “Although we didn’t make it to playoffs, I feel the team has a bond,” Easterling said.

George stood out on the cross country course

every meet, adding points to her team’s score. George de-scribed her season as “suc-cessful” because “I worked re-ally hard to get good results”.

Brianna Dunovant focused on personal growth this season.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jasmine Webster

Arie’yana Easterling accom-plished her goals for her senior

season. PHOTO CREDIT: Jasmine Webster

Charlotte George never gives up and continues to put forth

hard work. PHOTO CREDIT: Jasmine Webster

Forte-Ferguson’s passion for football leads to wins

Nas Forte-Ferguson has put forth good effort that has led his team to a successful season.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jasmine Webster

By Bryce WitherspoonStaff Writer Head Coaches Ovester Grays, girls basketball, and Crasten Davis, boys basket-ball, plan on having quali-ty seasons this school year. “My goal is a State Cham-pionship this year and nothing less than a Conference Cham-pionship,” Coach Davis said. “I want to encourage my players to work hard on and off the floor.” In his second season with the team, Coach Davis reminds the team about the importance of hard work and dedication. “We started some guys who weren’t on the football team to run cross country to help with their en-durance, and we also had 6 a.m. and afternoon workouts,” he said. Coach Davis said the team had a great season last year. “I think we will win a State Championship, but we know how hard that is.” Coach Davis feels that the team’s individual players will step up. “There will be many different leaders. I expect us to go deep this year to about 12 guys, and I expect everybody to contribute.” Coach Davis has certain expectations of his players. “You have to be able to show a willing-ness to work, be coachable, and a team player,” he said. “I wanna see great academics to separate talent; we have great talent , but we need great academics to sepa-rate the two.” He also said that he wants fast players with structure. For the players who gets cut, he gives them the Jim-my V quote, “Don’t give up, never give up,” adding, “Just be-cause you don’t make the team doesn’t mean you can’t play.” Coach Davis said that there are always things that he can improve on as a coach. “I

Basketball coaches stress hard work and preparation

try to maximize our tal-ent to put them in the best situation; I watch film and try to learn crit-ical game situations and study my own situation.” Coach Ovester Grays said his goal is “the same every year: influ-ence players to be better students. We want to fin-ish the school year with the highest GPA on cam-pus and win Conference and State Championship.” “I want to set the structure: study hall and cross country. I want them to have mindset prepara-tions,” Coach Grays said. Every team is dif-ferent, and there’s room for improvement, Coach Grays said. “Every season is different; we’ve gone to States 18 straight seasons, and a championship ev-ery year. This group has a chance to go all the way.” Coach Grays said strong leadership, athletic skills and the mindset to achieve are all necessary to make the team. “Our selection process goes beyond athletic ability,” he said. “Not being se-lected is not always bad; sometimes it helps people realize their real strength. I want to encourage them that not being selected is not their true value.” Coach Grays said he has worked to make himself a better coach. “There’s no such thing as a master. I spent the summer at UNC learn-ing and staying focused. I improved my leader-ship skills as a coach.”

Tennis regular season record: 1-9

Volleyball regular season record: 5-7

Football regular season record: 8-2

Wrestling coach sets high expectations for the team this season, relying on his more experienced athletes

By Jasmine WebsterStaff Writer This season the team has accomplished a successful season so far, but there is still a long road ahead of them, Hill-side Quarterback Nas Forte-Ferguson said. “As a Hillside Hornet, you have to have passion for the game and the will to do whatever it takes to win the game. My team ‘The Chase’

is very dedicated,” he said. Our team goal is to win the State Championship this year, Forte-Ferguson explained. “My goal is to get a scholarship, and I would like to go to LSU and play football there. To be a Hillside football player you have to work hard, be motivated, tough-mind-ed and a baller,” he said.

By Bryce WitherspoonStaff Writer Head Coach of the Wres-tling team, Kerry Bacon, expects more from the team this year. “I expect the team to win the PAC 6 Champi-onship and finish top five.” He has been running preseason workouts and off -sea-son tournaments all over state. “I want to establish a more aggres-sive style of wrestling,” he said. Coach Bacon said that this year he will expect to have a better season, al-though last season wasn’t bad. “We have more ex-

perienced guys this year, and, yeah, we’ll have a better season.” Coach Bacon said that there will be athletes to watch out for this season: Daquan Brown, Laurence Fogg and Trevon Carraway. “We don’t have cuts, people just wind up cutting themselves,” Coach Bacon said about trying out for the team.He said his goal is “to get my kids to the top level” by setting high ex-pectations in practice.

Cross country does not keep a formal win-loss

record.

PAGE 6

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS

By Jada HamlettStaff Writer Spoken Word is a club where you get to hear people’s different points of views and perspectives on the world. It’s everything in life you can’t say; you put it down on paper. It’s a story,” Hillside sophomore George Crews said. Members gather every Thursday to share their thoughts, feelings and ideas. They collaborate, making different poems; they are bursting with creativity and innovation. This club helps them not only in poetry, but also in academics. “It helps me in school; it helps you create a sense of writing,” Hillside senior Shaheed Cure said. Everyone is able to get their pain, sadness and anger out, which helps them emotionally. “I’ve always written poet-ry. I didn’t use Spoken Word until af-ter my mom passed away,” Hillside junior Breanna Byrd said. “If I’m emo-tionally not okay I can go to a safe place.” The club is an incredibly great outlet to express your thoughts and ideas freely and connect with each oth-er, Crews said. “This is the best part of school to me. Everyone is like family.” Hillside sophomore Greg-ory Brockington said the club helps him with his creative mind-set. “That’s the time I get to be me and show who I really am and who I am as an artist and how I feel about situations and topics.”

Spoken Word pro-vides a creative outlet for students

By Jalynn ParkerStaff Writer The next perfor-mance for the Hillside Mime Team will be on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in the school’s theater. “Mime Team is a com-fortable way for students to ex-press their love for God,” Hill-side Senior QuiNeshia Graham, founder of the Mime Team, said. Graham has been mim-ing since she was 6 years old. “I expected spiritual growth with-in the school and an increase in outreach to the students.” Graham had noticed that the presence of God was de-creasing in the schools and she decided to take action and cre-ate a way for God to be praised.

“We have new people, but I won’t say it increased, maybe about 10 people in all,” Graham said about the size of the team. “It honestly has increased my spiritual connection with God,” she said. Hillside Assistant Principal and Director of Hornet Academy Jason Jow-ers said the team is “a spiritually led group that uses mime to provide a ser-vice of entertainment and upliftment.” Practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. “Everyone is able to be on the Mime Team, but you gotta have a little rhythm and be connected,” Mr. Jowers said. Mime Team has been around for three years. The performances are “electric,” with a few hundred people in the audi-ence, Mr. Jowers said. “The spirit is flow-ing, like a Sunday morning church service.”

By Keiarah RodgersStaff Writer Hillside’s chorus will partner with the theater pro-gram this year, as well as partic-ipating in All-County Chorus. Students singing in the pit for the play “In the Heights” started practice in early October. All-County Cho-rus will select students from each chorus class from every school in Durham to come to-gether and sing on Nov. 16. “Hillside’s chorus class offers many vocal classes in-cluding beginning, intermedi-ate, proficient and advanced, which I teach all,” Anthony Pierce, chorus instructor, said. Mr. Pierce has been teach-ing chorus and vocal music class-es at Hillside for six years now. The focus has been on teaching his students to read mu-sic, and Mr. Pierce has seen a pos-itive outcome from that. “Students are reading music better,” he said. The goal for chorus this year is to increase mem-bership. He said the reputation of chorus has improved in the school and in the community.

Barbara Cromar-tie, a senior at Hillside, is the vice president of cho-rus. She also has four years of chorus under her belt. “I believe our rep-utation has changed posi-tively from our concerts and also from our hard work,” Cromartie said. Cromartie also said that she has a hard-working but fun cho-rus teacher, which is why she enjoys singing and being in that class. Deshauna Dud-ley, a junior at Hillside New Tech, has been in chorus for three years. She is playing Vanessa in the play In the Heights. “I believe chorus has improved because we get new students who are fully commit-ted to chorus, and that’s refreshing to see and know,” Dudley said.

Hillside chorus im-proves its reputation

If you’d like to join Writers

Block, Hillside’s Spoken Word

team, see Jabari Sellars in room 201. The

team meets after school on

Thursdays.

Mime team is a club for students to connect spiritually with God

TOP: Chorus stu-dents practice for their next show.

LEFT: Chorus students listen to Anthony Pierce’s instructions.

PHOTO CREDITS: Alaza Mims and Keiarah Rodgers

PAGE 7

Sophomore Leoncia Gillespie performs her poem for the oth-er members of Hillside’s Spoken

Word Club. PHOTO CREDIT:

Jada Hamlett

QuiNeshia Graham and Dajanae Brooks rehearse for the Mime Team’s Dec. 5 show. PHOTO CREDIT: Kayla Tate

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS

Season opener In the Heights brings Broadway to HillsideBy Teyanna JohnsonStaff Writer In The Heights, a Tony award winning play, is a very ex-citing musical drama that was this year’s season opener at Hillside High School. Schools from all over Durham came to see the play, and left amazed by the lights, tal-ent and the production as a whole. Elementary school kids were very excited that they could see singing, dancing and rapping. Middle school and high school students as well were excited to see

the production, and they had in fact heard about the play from others in the community. Tawanda Parker, an eighth grad-er from Brogden Middle School said, “I would love to come see it again. I’ve never seen a play with Spanish in it.” In the Heights is unique because it’s narrated through rap, as a form of story-telling, by the main character Us-navi. It also allows the audience access into the different stories of characters liv-ing in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, on the northern tip of Manhattan. Seventh graders from Shepard

Middle School enjoyed the performances. Reahna Jones said, “I loved the dancing!” Jordyn Yelverton said, “The singing was great, great play.” Ayriel Hester said the play was“very musical” and she “loved it.” Within the play, you also see each individual character going through their own personal struggles. Nina Rosario, a childhood friend of Usnavi’s, has returned to the neighborhood from her first year at college with surprising news for her parents. Other characters such as Abuela Claudia, have problems of her own. She, an old lady who’s been around the neigh-

borhood longer than any of the others, happened to be the person who won the lottery for $96,000. Before the play the ac-tors were anxious to show the audience how hard they’ve been working. A couple of students from Shepard Middle School took part in the high school the-ater experience by participating as dancer and actors in the play as well. Their fellow classmates, Destiny Green and Kaitlyn Foust, both called the play “awesome.”

The cast shows off their dancing moves during the finale of In the Heights. PHOTO CREDIT: Quela Knight

In this scene, Nina Rosario, played by Taylor Owens (right), returns home from Stanford and prepares to tell her family

that she has dropped out of college.PHOTO CREDIT: Jalynn Parker Usnavi, played by Daniel Johnson, announces that he sold the winning lottery ticket at his bodega.

PHOTO CREDIT: Quela Knight

“The students did a really great job producing such a complex show. Their level of commitment to do professional theatre is second to none. It takes all of us

working together to present a Broadway show of this magnitude.”-Wendell Tabb, drama director