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Viking Voice By: Breanna Parker and Jacey Cartwright

A few years ago, Community

High was introduced to a new

“modified block” daily class sched-

ule, and it was a twist for many

students and teachers. New proto-

cols were introduced, and eventual-

ly, it became a routine schedule.

Effective on August 3, 2015, Dr.

Robert Ralston, Community High’s

Principal, established a newly mod-

ified schedule. This time, the

school’s daily schedule has a total

of eight periods, consisting of a

new “enrichment” period in which

students are assigned to classes

with areas of studies needing im-

provement.

Dr. Rob-

ert Ralston

made the

decision to

alter the

schedule

from years

past for

multiple

reasons. He

believes

that the

schedule

“allows for

more class time structure and helps

the students incline academically.”

Also, Ralston described the new

schedule as one that “benefits the

overall school day by making room

for more nec-

essary altera-

tions and

gets positive

feedback

from much of

the school’s

staff.” Mrs.

Holly King,

Algebra I

and II teach-

er, provides

positive

feedback when she reveals to the

Viking Voice staff, “The built in RTI

is a great plan because I be-

lieve that student scores will

improve. I love that the Eng-

lish classes are reading

books. It makes me want to

take the class myself!”

There are also a few

teachers who are indifferent

and don’t prefer a specific

daily schedule. Mrs. Amanda

Lemmons, English III teach-

er, explains, “I don’t really

have a preference. I have

worked with many different

schedules, and I have found some-

thing I liked in each situation.” Mr.

Mark Gregory also does not have a

preference. This becomes evi-

dent when the chemistry teach-

er adds, “There is nothing that

I specifically like or dislike

about the new schedule. I liked

flex, but it was only a twenty

minute period.”

There is no longer a twenty

minute “flex” period, a short

break in between morning

classes for the students, and it

seems apparent that this altera-

tion has become a problem

when senior Colton Hargrove

utters, “Honestly, I believe the

old schedule worked best for

many people. I feel that flex was

a needed part of the schedule

because it allowed kids to get

help, finish work, and it also

allowed for clubs to meet.” The

disapproval of the removal

seems to be a consistent opinion

of many students. It is evident

that sophomore Taylor Hand

does not support the removal of

flex when she admits, “I liked

last year’s [schedule] better be-

cause flex gave me the chance to

make up tests or work that I

missed, and now I don’t have

that opportunity. The old sched-

ule was better academically, al-

so.”

New Days, New Ways

1

Colton Hargrove is

found sleeping in his

enrichment class.

Students hurry to get to

class on time.

Notable Athletes

By: Sydney Segroves, Sydney Gregory, and Grayson Garrette

10

A great coach once said, “In student athlete, student

comes first.” Being a student athlete takes a lot of

dedication and responsibility. There are many

nights that homework lasts until two in the morn-

ing. Being a notable student athlete is even more

difficult. You not only have to have skill, but you

have to achieve in academics, have a good work

ethic, and have good character. We asked each

coach of the in-season sports to choose a notable

athlete from their team. Here is who they chose.

Coach Grooms says, “Braden has

great work ethic, is an all-around

player, and is a leader of the team.”

“Braden is a key player on the

team,” reveals Lucas Hill. “He is a

great team leader and helps us out

a lot on the field. When the team is

struggling, he will get us back up. I

think his biggest advantage is his

height.”

“Lindsay Melton was named notable ath-

lete of the month for having team spirit,

cooperation, and dedication. She is a hard-

working, dedicated team player, who

strives for excellence,” proclaims Coach

Allison Martin. Teammates Anna Katherine

Lemmons and Haley Bobo agree saying,

“She is very encouraging, helpful, and posi-

tive.”

Coach Brothers says, “Gracie has

a great attitude and is always

very positive, and she works very

hard.” Teammate Haley Reed

adds, “She is a very reliable

teammate. Even if she is going

through tough times and notices

that you are, too, she will put

her problems aside to help you

with yours. Gracie’s greatest

strength on the soccer field is

that she can see the whole field,

and her passes are accurate.”

Coach Edwards explains

that he admires Brayden’s

dedication to his academ-

ics and the game of golf.

Stephenson’s teammate

Grayson Garrette agrees

with their coach saying,

“He is very encouraging,

helpful, and positive. He

will always pick you up no

matter how you are play-

ing.”

“Dalton is a hard worker, and he

succeeds academically, too. He is

at all of the practices and is always

respectful,” reveals Coach Stitzel.

Dalton has been on the cross coun-

try team for the past three years.

He explains that the main reason

he competes is to stay in shape for

soccer.

Soccer

Golf

Volleyball

Fo

otb

all

Cro

ss Co

un

try

3

Deathtrap: A Review in Three Columns By: Joel Powell and Grayson Garrette

The Smokestack Theatre

Group gives alumni the oppor-

tunity to return for a summer

production every year. Director

Tony Davis notes that he “love[s]

to do summer shows.” He tells us

that summer shows are a “unique

theatrical experience,”

and are a “better oppor-

tunity [for small cast

shows and theatre in

the round].” This year,

five alumni returned to

be in the production of

Deathtrap by Ira Levin.

When you walked

through the door, a sin-

gle desk sat center

stage. Up right, there

were guns, knives, and axes

hanging above the stone-

embedded fireplace. As the lights

faded in, the play began.

Act one begins with a big time

play writer named Sidney Bruhl,

played by Cody Baxter, sitting at

his desk. He reads a play that

Clifford Anderson, played by

Cameron Richardson, sent to

him as Bruhl’s wife, Myra, played

by Constance Seagraves, is pour-

ing drinks in the kitchen.

“Deathtrap,” Bruhl says. “A

thriller in two acts.” He is ecstat-

ic because he has not had a hit

play in years. Bruhl invites in-

spiring play writer Anderson to

his home in hopes of working on

the play script with him. Bruhl

tricks Anderson to try on a pair

of Houdini’s handcuffs, which

were hanging on the wall. What

Anderson did not know is that

those particular handcuffs were

not Houdini’s. Bruhl viciously

strangled Anderson while he is

captivated by the handcuffs.

While Bruhl conceals the body in

the carpet, Myra is in awe of the

murder she had just witnessed.

Later, psychic Helga Ten Dorp,

played by Lety Pena, inspects the

room, feeling a sense of pain

coming from Myra. Ten Dorp’s

vision holds true when Myra dies

of a heart attack when Anderson

kills Bruhl. As the lights fade out,

the tension in the room was

mounting while the non-

deceased Bruhl was “saddened”

by the loss of Myra to the police.

As the plot thickens at the be-

ginning of Act Two, Bruhl

and Anderson sit diligently

at the desk. Anderson is

hard at work to finish Death-

trap, while Bruhl is contem-

plating a way to steal it. Por-

ter Milgrim, Bruhl’s attor-

ney, played by Luis Pedraza,

notifies Bruhl that Anderson

is keeping his play in a

locked drawer. Once Bruhl

gets his hands on Deathtrap,

Bruhl finds out the play An-

derson has been writing is about

events that just occurred, includ-

ing the death of Myra. Anderson

and Bruhl end up having a feud,

resulting in them killing each

other. Later in the play, Porter

and Ten Dorp examine the room

where the murders happened.

They think that the death of My-

ra and the murders of Anderson

and Bruhl would make a great

play idea. They get in an argu-

ment over the idea, which they

call… Deathtrap.

Anderson (left) threatens Bruhl (right)

while holding him at gun point.

Up-Close and Personal By: Jacey Cartwright

Photo of the Month By: Sarah Pierce and Breanna Parker

4

It’s time for the

first Up-Close and

Personal of the

year! How well do

you observe your

school’s surround-

ings? Now is the

time to find out.

Happy guessing!

This month’s Photo Fanatic goes to Alex Milliken with her picture of

Nashville’s skyline. Go follow Alex on Instagram for more beautiful

pictures like this @milliken_alex.

To be featured in

next month’s issue,

use the hashtag

#VVPhotoFanatic

with a picture on

Facebook, Insta-

gram, or Twitter.

All Around the World

5

By: Sydney Segroves and Jessica Hesson

As we walked down the halls on the first day of school, there were a lot of new faces. Three of those faces were extra interesting because they are each from a different country. You have probably already met Jakub, Bow, and Mariana, but do you know their sto-ries?

Jakub Kocalka comes from Slovakia, a country in central Europe. It is about 5,069 miles from Tennessee. He tells us that his involvement in the foreign ex-change program was originally his moth-er’s idea. Jakub says that he was “curious” about how the U.S government works. He says that there are a lot of differences in the school system. Jakub’s school at home is not very big, and he was surprised that we only had one floor to our school yet so much land. When we asked about any new experiences he has had since coming here, he explained, “The animals are really different. All the ani-mals I’ve seen, I mean, I’ve heard of them, I know what they are, but I was like, ‘Oh, this is so exotic. I’ve never seen buzzards.’” He told us that he on-ly found where he was going a week before he got on the plane. He packed his things and flew from Vietnam to Washington, D.C. He spent five hours stuck in the airport in Washington be-fore finally flying to Nashville. He says that it is hard to speak to people at home because of the time differences. “At three in the afternoon here, it’s like ten o’clock at night there. So, that’s really the only time you get to talk to them.” He assured us that people in Unionville have been very friendly and welcoming, and he said that he would come back to visit.

Thamonwan ‘Bow’ Luangdomrong is here from Thailand, which is 8,846

miles from Tennessee. Bow tells us that she wanted to be an exchange student to improve her English. The opportunity was actually unexpected for her, but because she passed an exam, she was eligible to enter the program. She says that her mother was upset at seeing her go, but she is enjoying the independence. Bow is

hoping she will be happy living in America. She likes the school system much better here than the one in Thailand and admits, “I have a lot of friends. Here I can choose what sub-jects I want to study, but in Thailand I can’t...Here [there are] good teachers and friends to help me, and thank you so much.” Bow says that she also has a lot of friends in Thailand, and they even threw her a going away party before she left. “I like Tennessee be-cause it’s beautiful. Everyone here is kind [and] friendly, and the school is so big. I like the teachers; they help me and tell me everything when I ask them.” She apologized several times for her English because in Thailand they only learn English grammar. Bow’s favorite class is pre-calculus because she never studied calculus before she went to America. Bow’s least favorite class is U.S History be-cause she never learned about Ameri-

can history before and has to study in Eng-lish, so it is quite hard for her. Bow says that she stands out mainly because she is 18, when all of her friends and classmates are 15 or 16. About feeling different she states, “That makes me quiet instead of talking.” Bow says, “Thank you, Sydney; she is the first American friend, and thank you Colton and Stephanie for help and teach me, and finally, thank you Karla and Mariana to have at lunch together!”

Mariana Tornos Vereterra is origi-nally from Spain, which is 4,349 miles from Tennessee. She said that first she had to go to the American embassy to get her visa to visit for ten months. She ended her school year in Spain in June and had to be here to start school in August. As soon as she got home from her summer vacation in Madrid, she packed her belongings and spent her last day with her parents. She says that her mother was very sad, but Mariana was so stressed about being alone in the airport that she didn’t even cry. She got on the plane and flew eight hours to Philadelphia. She was supposed to wait

in the airport for three hours, but the plane was late, so she got on the plane to Nash-ville about six hours later. Mariana uses FaceTime to talk to her family at home once a week. She says that she is having a blast with her foster family here. “They have loads of horses, and in Spain I do horse riding. I mean, I love them.” In Spain, Mariana goes to a “nun school.” They have to be there at 9:15 AM, and, after a prayer, they begin lessons at 9:30. School ends at 5:30 PM. It is a girl’s only school, and they have a very strict uniform. She went to school in England for a whole school year as well. Community is the first school she has attended where there are boys and girls. Her favorite thing about this school is that everyone is so nice and friendly.

Author’s Note: Three totally different people with three totally different back-grounds. Yet, they all come to spend a year in Unionville, Tennessee. What makes them special is exactly what makes us spe-cial: We are different!

Foreign exchange students, Mariana, Jakub, and Bow exhib-

it an illustration from their home countries.

6

Up-Close and Personal

Artist of the Month

By: Jacey Cartwright

By: Breanna Meyers

Viking Voice Staff

Jacey Cartwright– Co–Editor

Grayson Garrette

Sydney Gregory

Jessica Hesson

Zachary Lohn

Breanna Meyers

Breanna Parker– Co-Editor

Sarah Pierce

Joel Powell

Sydney Segroves

Carol Garrette– Advisor

The first drawing is by Austin Moody. He is in Mrs.

Struk’s Art III Class. The picture looks like a puzzle

piece, and it has a splash of color. Austin’s drawing was

done in colored pencils. It has a lot of intricate detail

within the overall design. The second drawing was de-

signed by Gabby Doyle. She is in Mrs. Struk’s enrich-

ment art class. This design was done in black and white

using a sharpie. Gabby’s name is a big part of this design.

Many intricate details are present here as well.

By: Austin Moody

By: Gabby Doyle

Here are the answers to

the very first “Up-Close

and Personal”! How

many did you get cor-

rect? Get ready for even

more fun Up-Close pic-

tures in future issues of

the Viking Voice!

7

Hot Topics of Summer 2015 By: Sarah Pierce and Zachary Lohn

sports rolling by giving Leah and

Devon Still the Jimmy V Perse-

verance Award. The best Female

athlete was awarded to Ronda

Rousey, and The Best Male Ath-

lete was awarded to Stephen

Curry. Lionel Messi took home

the award as Best International

Athlete. The best Champi-

onship performance was

given to LeBron James,

even though he lost to the

Warriors in the NBA Finals. The

best coach/manager went to Ste-

ve Kerr, and to finish off the

night, Super Bowl XLIX finished

the night by winning the best

game. To finish off the summer,

the athletes with special needs

took center stage as the 47th

Special Olympics were held in

Los Angeles. 6,500 athletes came

from 165

different coun-

tries. The

events ranged

from Aquatics

to the Triath-

lon. Most fami-

lies of the ath-

letes had emo-

tional rides in

the Special

Olympics.

The temperature wasn’t the

only thing that started off

scorching hot this summer.

Taylor Swift and Kendrick La-

mar absolutely obliterated the

charts with their new music

video “Bad Blood.” “Bad

Blood” debuted on The Bill-

board Music Awards and

reached new heights on

Youtube, receiving 20.1 mil-

lion views in only 24 hours.

OMI’s “Cheerleader” also

found its way to the top charts

this summer, but Wiz Khalifa

and Bruno Mars were the big-

gest battle of the summer.

Wiz’s “See You Again” and

Bruno’s “Uptown Funk”

brawled all summer for a spot

on Billboard’s hottest songs.

In the world of books, the

well-known Harper Lee re-

leased a new novel, titled Go

Set a Watchman. This novel

was actually written before To

Kill a Mockingbird but wasn’t

published until recently. It has

many of the same characters in

both books only at different ag-

es. This was considered a hot

book receiving a 3.5/5 rating

from Goodreads.com.

The Golden

State Warriors began the

summer with a bang by

defeating the Cleveland

Cavaliers in the NBA Finals 4

games to 2. The Golden State

Warriors brought home their

first NBA championship in 40

years. The city of Cleveland has

to wait another year before the

Cavaliers try to bring home a

title that has eluded them for

50 years.

The U.S.A. Women’s Soccer

team brought home their

first title since 1999 after a

5-2 victory.

Carli Lloyd made Women’s

World Cup History by scoring

the first ever hat trick in World

Cup Finals History.

The ESPY’s kept the summer of

Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar

showed everyone this summer that

band-aids, in fact, do not fix bullet

holes.

The Special

Olympics pro-

vided many

families with

nothing but

smiling faces.

8

Fresh and New By: Sydney Gregory and Breanna Meyers

everyone talks about high

school like it is a night-

mare, but so far I just do

not see it.”

One of the biggest

differences between high

school and middle school

is opportunities. Many

freshmen commented on

all of the new clubs and

sports options, one saying,

“I think the options are

great. You can find some-

where you fit in and make

friends with similar inter-

ests.”

High school may be

different than middle

school, but our freshmen

seem to enjoy it more. Alt-

hough there is more pres-

sure, students were, for

the most part, prepared,

and they enjoy it. From

their comments it seems

they can finally figure out

where they belong and

find somewhere to fit in.

school feel more pressure

because they understand

that they are not kids any-

more, and this stuff mat-

ters.

We also asked if high

school was different than

what they expected. We

expected the polls to lean

unanimously one way.

However, what we soon re-

alized was that for some

people it is exactly what

they expected. For others,

it is nothing at all like what

they expected. One stu-

dent said, “I thought it

would be different because

Freedom is described in

Webster’s dictionary as the

absence of necessity, coer-

cion, or constraint in

choice or action. This

means there is nothing

stopping you from doing

one thing rather than an-

other. So, why do we feel

more pressure when we

have more freedom? Pres-

sure is one of the toughest

parts of high school. For

freshmen, this is even

tougher because going

from middle school, where

things didn’t matter to-

wards your future, to eve-

rything counting for your

future is overwhelming

and scary.

We asked some of the

new freshmen what their

thoughts were on the

differences. When asked

how they felt high school

was different than middle

school, the most common

answer was related to pres-

sure. Students in high

Freshman, Brookelynne Meyers

exhibits her survey from the Vi-

king Voice Staff.

Dear Cleatus,

I am fourteen, and there is this boy I like. I

know he likes me, but I am not very good at hold-

ing a conversation. What should I do?

-Fourteen and Afraid

Dear Fourteen and Afraid,

Find out what he is interested in! Act interest-

ed by asking him questions about things you

know he likes. That should make the conversa-

tion flow much easier.

-Cleatus

9

Ask Cleatus By: ????? Melissa Lambert?

Riddles/Jokes By: Joel Powell

Dear Cleatus,

How do you become more responsible at a

job you’ve never worked before?

-Worried at Work

Dear Worried at Work,

Ask questions! Ask your manager or super-

visor how to do something if you aren’t sure.

See if someone can train you before you begin

work. Doing so will also show that you care

about your job and want to do a good job.

-Cleatus

Q: What do you

call a seagull

that flies over

the bay?

A: A bagel!

Q: Why did

the bull wear

a bell

around his

neck?

A: Because his

horns didn't

work!

Q: What do

frogs like to

drink on a

hot summer

day?

A: Croak-o-

cola!

Winning Clay Creations As clay is to a sculptor, words are to a writer By: Breanna Parker

11

To study the writing

process, Mrs. Garrette’s

senior English class was

given the task of sculpt-

ing a pencil holder out of

Play-Doh. Here are the

winners! 1st place, Rebecca Bobo

Catch of the Day!

2nd place (tie), Kimberly Villanueva

Unakitty Holding the Holy Pencil

2nd place (tie), Connor Harris

Flower Power!

3rd place (tie), Jeremy Waller

Dragon Slayer

3rd place (tie),

Zach Nobbman

Turbo Holder (AKA Stash)

3rd place (tie), Melissa Lambert

Get a Grip on It

3rd place (tie), Ethan Huskey

Words Can Give You Hope Honorable Mention, Lauren Reeves

Words are Music to My Ears

Honorable Mention, Darian Pride

Words are My Cup of Tea

Honorable Mention, Blake Newsom

Sheriff Bobbie

Honorable Mention, Brandon

Mooneyham

It’s All About Tonight