Issue 4 final version.p65

The
Climate change,
page 3
moke
ignal
Monday,
1 Nov. 12, 2007
Stafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Falmouth, VA 22405
By Justin Graves
Opinion Editor
(And why you’ll probably be fine...)
In response to a well-publicized scare several weeks ago, Stafford High School is making
several changes in order to combat the potentially deadly staphylococcus, or staph, bacteria.
The superintendent sent home a letter with
all Stafford County Public Schools students
Oct. 18 detailing the situation in two schools,
Stafford High and nearby Conway Elementary.
The letter stated that there were two confirmed
cases of staph in county schools, but many interpreted this as an outbreak of the much more
deadly Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus
Aureus (or MRSA), which killed a Bedford
County football player earlier that month.
“Just to confirm, there are no reported cases
of MRSA at Stafford High School,” said school
Volume 63, Issue 4
County meeting
allows teachers
to voice opinions
Staph!
By Nick Magrino
Editor in Chief
Childhood cartoons!
page 4-5
nurse Gail DeWitt. “Many people seemed to
have gotten this idea from the letter, but it’s not
true.”
Around the same time the letter was sent
out, sophomore football player Anthony Terrini
suspected he had a staph infection.
“A nurse practitioner said it looked like
staph, but they never did a blood test,” said
Terrini. “Just to be safe, I stayed home from
school for a day and took a bunch of antibiotics.”
As a precaution at the time, the football
team cleaned and disinfected all of their gear,
and the locker rooms were all thoroughly
cleaned.
“After we found out Anthony might have
had it, we had to clean off all of our pads and
SEE STAPH, PAGE 4
A middle and high school teacher roundtable
meeting was held for Stafford County in late
October. Elementary schools have their own
meeting. Teachers are invited by the school board
to represent their respective high and middle
schools. The meeting was held at the Professional Development Building at the Bandy Complex on Oct. 25 at 6 pm.
Each school presented the teacher’s needs
and the concerns of the building. Topics
presented included whether or not
students were thriving in certain
schools, or whether all of them
were funded well enough to
maintain success for both the
students and administration.
This yearly meeting allows representatives the
schools to speak directly to
the superintendent and
school board regarding various concerns. They can be
teacher-specific, such as pay increases, or student-specific, such
as technological needs in the classroom. The suggestions can also be
building-specific, such as broken water fountains or malfunctioning restrooms.
One teacher from each middle school, and
two from each high school were present. English teachers Mrs. Theresa Storke and Mrs.
Sue Gill attended the meeting for Stafford High
School. They were asked as experienced members of the faculty, who were also interested in
helping out the schools.
“It was helpful to hear other schools describe the needs of their buildings which were
similar to ours,” said Storke.
The format of the meeting was unique, because the School Board members didn’t ask questions. It was simply a roundtable so that the
represenatives could voice their concerns.
“We were there to tell the school board what
teachers’ concerns and needs were. Each school
took a turn telling the board members their
school’s concerns,” said Gill.
The goal of the meeting was for the county
to listen to some of the pressing concerns and
problems that the teachers felt the schools had.
Stafford High School’s suggestions and concerns centered on the age of the building.
Other concerns were the number of
functioning water fountains and the
condition of the carpeting in
classrooms and some hallways.
There were also technological parity when compared
to what other schools have.
Dilapidated desks and chairs,
some of which are original to
the building in 1975, along
with faulty electrical outlets
and nonfunctioning wall
clocks were also brought up.
Physical plant concerns
aren’t all that were brought up.
“Mrs. Storke and I thanked the
board for sending us Mrs. Holder, and for the
way they handled the situation here at Stafford,”
said Gill.
Health concerns were also discussed. Storke
felt that these were most important.
“Both the middle and high school teachers
are concerned about school safety – both physical and medical, such as the recent staph infection issue,” said Storke.
“Stafford High’s concerns were about the
carpet for mold and staph infections, as well as
SEE OPINIONS, PAGE 4
Historical Society digs up
Indian Legend,
Stafford’s Time Capsule Smoke Signal, Lit
By Nina Gonzalez
Staff Writer
Thirty-two years ago the class of 1977 buried a time capsule near the pond at Stafford
High School. Nearly 25 years ago, Stafford High
School alumni Glenn Ackermann began thinking
about the time capsule on Stafford High School’s
grounds.
It was not until Ackermann was flipping
through the 1975 yearbook that he recalled a
familiar sight. A yearbook picture of the burial
of the capsule brought back familiar landmarks
that helped him trace back the burial location.
“In the picture I saw the lights for the field in
the background and from there I got an idea of
where it could be,” said Ackermann. “I had
looked before but I could never figure it out.”
After some time, the spot was found and
history teacher Eric Powell and special education teacher Tom Summers dug around the spot
and found a concrete slab in the ground.
Powell, sponsor of the Historical Club, had
the members take part in the much anticipated
digging and recovery event.
“Mr. Powell mentioned it last year and I
was really excited to do it. We talked about it a
lot last year, but weren’t able to so it since it
stuff to the reunion,” said
Newhouse.
The reunion surrounded the
whole event, “It’s great and hopefully it will bring back a lot of memories,” said Newhouse.
“I wasn’t in the group who
buried it but I remember it,” said
masonry teacher Robbie Phipps.
Before the first shovel broke
ground, Ackermann said, “I’m
pretty comfortable saying that
music, magazines, and newspapers
are probably in it.”
Photo by Tom Summers
One of the features of the time
The Historical Society and several Stafford alumni dig up a
capsule
was a picture of Gerald
time capsule placed by the Class of 1977. Unfortunately it
Ford,
the
president at the time.
sustained a considerable amount of water damage.
Ackermann had written to the
wasn’t approved. This year is great since it’s 30 President and asked him to sign a letter for the
years after it was buried,” said senior Andrew time capsule. “We got a picture and a signature.
Tonnacliff, Historical Society president.
All I did was write him a short letter addressed
The event captured the Free-Lance Star’s to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and he actually
attention as well as former students of Stafford. responded,” Ackermann said.
Robin Stefaniga Newhouse and John “Bunkey”
Photographers, teachers, current and former
Gayle of the class of 1977 came out to see the students crowded around the site as Ackermann,
unearthing of the memories they put together
along with Glenn Ackermann.
SEE TIME CAPSULE, PAGE 4
“I’m excited and I hope we can bring the
Senior class orders new
outdoor cafeteria tables
Wendy Cole
Staff Writer
Fun with chemicals, page 8
Index
Entertainment. . . . . . . . . 2-3
Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-8
News.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1, 4
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Sports.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Student Life. . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
When Cynthia Holder walked into Stafford,
on her first day of being principal, she noticed
that Stafford needed a little work done.
During her stay at Stafford, Holder plans
on doing the best she can to make Stafford a
better place for the students and staff. One
thing she has planned to do to help the students
is order tables for the courtyard. She doesn’t
want the students to have to sit outside and eat
their lunches on the ground.
“I noticed that Stafford had a beautiful courtyard,” said Holder. “I saw that the students liked
going outside during lunch and they had to sit
on the ground to do so.”
Holder decided to order six tables to be assembled in the courtyard. They will have four
benches to each table, sitting about two per
bench. Holder plans that the tables will take
care of about 48 students during each lunch shift.
The tables will be painted a royal blue, one of
Stafford’s colors. Each table will weigh about
400 pounds.
The money for the tables didn’t come from
any of the classes’ budgets. There was money
left over from the past senior classes, 2006 and
2007.
The tables have been ordered by Ms. Watts
and will be assembled as soon as they have arrived.
“I’m glad that Holder has taken an interest
in helping Stafford,” said senior Michael
Croachman. “I think there should be a couple
more out in the courtyard.”
Holder intends to keep improving the school
to the best of her abilities. She wants everyone
to enjoy her stay her at Stafford as much as
possible.
“I’m doing the best that I can to make Stafford
a better school, I want them to be the best in the
county,” said Holder. “I am very proud of the
students and teachers.”
Mag win state awards
By Dawnthea Price
Staff Writer
Stafford High’s yearbook, the Indian Legend, received a Trophy Class evaluation from
the Virginia High School League.
Each year, the VHSL evaluates yearbooks
according to six criteria. The categories for criteria include design, writing, and photography.
Each category can receive a “Superior,” “Excellent,” “Good,” or “N/I” (Needs Improvement).
There are four award categories; Trophy
Class, First Place, Second Place, and Third Place.
To qualify for a Trophy Class award,
each category had to have been
evaluated as “Superior.”
The yearbook advisor is Mrs. Linda
Keefer, and last
year’s editor was
graduated senior
Ellen Stodola.
“We put in
a lot of time and
hard effort,”
said senior
John Sharp,
this year’s editor in chief of
the yearbook.
The Indian Legend also received
a First Class rating from the Scholastic Press Association.
This year the yearbook
is creating a full-color process yearbook. “This year’s will be better because we
have made all the recommended changes from
the VHSL evaulation,” said senior editor Caitlyn
Smolinsky.
Orders for this year’s yearbook are due by
Dec. 3. After that date, there is no guaranteed
that a student will be able to get a yearbook in
the spring.
The literary magazine, The Mirage, received
a First Place evaluation from the VHSL as well.
Using materials from Mr. Andrews’ Creative
Writing classes, student-taken photos and student-made art, the magazine was put together
for evaluation by Andrews and sophomore Nina
Gonzalez, along with graduated seniors Kelcie
Carr and Katie Yohman.
“It’s like a sport,” said Andrews. “The students had to do it; the stories, the art, the graphics.”
The Mirage was entered in the magazine
category, which is evaluated under two large
categories, then divided into sub-categories like
art selection, layout/design, and general appearance.
“I started working on it at the end of the
year,” said Gonzalez. “I came during the summer and worked on it. I’m looking forward to this year, because I
know so much more.”
Gonzalez was credited as “Editor-inChief and Graphics Wizard” on
the
back
cover of the
Mirage.
Finally,
the Smoke
Signal also
received a
First Place
evaluation
from
the
VHSL. Newspapers
are
evaluated using
criteria such as
writing and editing,
content and coverage,
and layout and design.
“The judging was not a
competition against other papers,” said advisor
Sue Gill, “but against criteria.”
The Smoke Signal received four “Excellent”
and one “Good.” Graduated seniors Lindsay
Cain and Heather Bartholomew were the editors in chief.
“I think it’s cool beans,” said senior Nick
Magrino, one of this year’s editors in chief. “We
worked really hard, and I’m happy we got an
award. We’re working even harder this year, so
hopefully we’ll get a better award.”
Three issues of last year’s Smoke Signal were
sent in to show a progression in ability. Other
than the senior issue, all of last year’s Smoke
2
ntertainment
Nov
Nov. 12, 2007
Stafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Falmouth, VA 22405
Queen Elizabeth:Golden Age
movie artistic, intricate
By Jessica Scatchard
Staff Reporter
Elizabeth: The Golden Age takes
place in the 1580’s when religious turmoil and the Spanish king were threatening England.
Elizabeth, who is played by Cate
Blanchett, had fallen for the charming
Sir Walter Raleigh, played by Clive
Owen.
Sir Walter Raleigh showed up at the
beginning, back from the New World
with gifts for Queen Elizabeth.
Elizabeth immediately fell for him
after he laid down his cloak in the street
over a puddle so she doesn’t get her
feet wet.
Elizabeth struggled against herself
and against a country bound for change.
Elizabeth had bound herself “body
and soul” to her country and the unexpected love had come at a bad time.
The Spanish king, Philip II (Jordi
Molla), was planning on using his armada to restore England to Catholicism,
while Elizabeth’s treacherous cousin
Mary Stuart or Mary, Queen of Scots
(Samantha Morton) was plotting to
have Elizabeth killed.
Queen Elizabeth dodged not only
assassination attempts but the passes
Sir Walter Raleigh made to her all at the
same time.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age shows
one of the greatest monarchs of all time
in a more human light.
We watch her suffer as she realizes
she can never be with the man she loves
and struggles with beheading her cousin
Mary.
This movie puts more emphasis on
art more than actual history. The costumes and sets are extremely intricate
and illustrate the grandness of her
world.
There is a lot of material in a movie
that is less then two hours long.
It’s only 114 minutes long, but it
covers a lot of ground, so it can be hard
to follow. If you lose track of what
you’re watching, just sit back and enjoy the backdrop of this semi-historical love story.
O
m
Baseball meets comedy on DVD
By Mandy Sullivan
Staff Reporter
The movie “Benchwarmers,” directed by Dennis Dugan, is a comedy
great for everyday sports fans.
“Benchwarmers” is about a group
of three friends who grew up in the
shadow of bullies. After being sick of
it, they decide to play baseball against
some of the toughest teams in honor of
all the kids that have been made fun of.
“Benchwarmers is one of my favorite movies of all time,” said junior
Ashleigh Ward.
“Benchwarmers” stars Rob
Schneider “Tommy Boy,” and Jon
Heder from “Napoleon Dynamite” and
“Blades of Glory.” These actors have
worked together in at least one movie
before “Benchwarmers.”
Th
an
ba
firs
alb
Famous Transformers made
into movie, 1.8 million sold
The summer of 2007 was supposed
to be the summer of the sequels. “Spider-man 3”, “Pirates of the Caribbean:
At World’s End”, and “Shrek 3” were
all expected to be the most popular
movies of the year.
But one movie blew all of those others out of the water. “Transformers”
grossed over $155 million in its opening weekend, setting the record for the
biggest non-sequel release of a movie
ever.
The movie revolves around the
Allspark Cube, an alien power source
capable of creating life. There is a war
between the good Autobots and the evil
Decepticons, both of whom are battling
for the cube.
The Autobots flee their home world
Cybertron after launching the Allspark
into space to keep it out of the hands of
the evil Megatron. Optimus Prime and
the rest of the Autobots discover the
Allspark on Earth and go after it. But
they are followed by the Decepticons
who are also after the cube.
The “Transformers” DVD was re-
Accepted brings fun
to college decisions
The movie release “Accepted”, directed by Steve Pink, is a comedy focused directly on
high school students.
“Accepted”
is about a high
school senior
named Bartleby
who has been rejected from every
possible college
he wanted to attend. He invents
a fake college
with the help of
some friends so
he doesn’t let his
family down.
It turns out
more college
bound students
find out about the fake college and
Bartleby and his friends are stuck with
a whole campus of people with tuition
checks! Instead of not letting all the
students down, he tries his best to set a
curriculum, while keeping everyone
happy.
“When I heard of “Accepted,” I really wanted to see it,” said senior Matthew Sullivan. “It turned out to be a
Sta
rec
By Ben Dunbar
Opinion editor
By Mandy Sullivan
Staff reporter
“After watching this movie on TV,
I went out and bought it,” said junior
Adam Brown. “It was just that good.”
Throughout the movie, the humor
kept increasing and kept the audience
laughing.
“Benchwarmers” received five
nominations, for its comedy and chemistry.
pretty funny movie.”
This movie stars Justin Long, from
the recent movie Dodgeball, Jonah Hill,
Lewis Black, Maria Thayler, and Blake
Lively who plays in
Sisterhood of the
Traveling Pants.
“This movie was
pretty funny,” said
critic Mark Simms.
“I loved the acting
and the storyline was
pretty good. Overall, it’s just good for
pure humor that can
be compared to Old
School, Waiting, Orange County and all
those other teenage
comedy flicks.”
The main thing a
viewer is supposed
to get out of this
movie is the concept
of “Reject Rejection.”
“I like to watch it all the time,” said
junior Adam Brown. “I laugh harder
each time!”
“Accepted” is a good movie, filled
with hilarious scenes one right after another. Justin Long steps up his game
and shows it through his acting skills.
“Accepted” was also given four
stars by various critics.
leased on Oct. 16 on both regular and
HD DVD format. The DVD sold 1.8
million copies, making it the fastest selling DVD this year. The HD DVD version also sold 190,000 copies, making
it the biggest debut for that particular
format.
The DVD version is offered in both
single and two disc versions and comes
with feature commentary from “Transformers” director Michael Bay.
The Wal-Mart edition comes with
an animated prequel comic book called
“Transformers Beginnings,” which goes
into greater detail surrounding
Cybertron and the war between
Autobots and Decepticons.
The HD DVD format offers much
more in the way of special features and
bonus content than the regular DVD
versions. They include multiple documentaries on things ranging from how
they brought the giants robots to the
screen, to the type of cars General Motors allowed them to use.
But the “Transformers” is highly
recommended regardless of which format you purchase. It is an amazing film
and the special features and commentary from the director make the DVD a
must own.
Ne
Staff r
i 15 makes new CD
By Rafael Dueno
Staff reporter
Musical groups are a dime a dozen, but i15 proves to be differ-
ent. R&B is a difficult music to get into with bands such as B5 and
Pretty Ricky receiving the most recognition, but the up and coming
i15 is aiming for the spotlight.
They strive to bring something that has been missing in R&B for
a while now. This is content.
The group consists of a lead singer, Castro; a backup singer, Das;
a rapper, Flash. i15 sings on the hook of Soulja Boy’s latest single‘Soulja Girl’.
The LA born trio released their single, ‘Lost in Love’ while continuing to work on their self-titled freshman album.
‘Lost in Love’ shows how they choose to respect the women
they talk about. It is a story about a girl who isn’t sure about who she
truly loves. The song compliments and glorifies the girl,
giving each member his point
of view.
Their style is reminiscent
of mid-nineties R&B with a
contemporary feel. The group
makes good with the addition
of Flash, allowing for a wider audience.
“I think they’re awesome.” said junior Corey McAllister.
The group doesn’t exactly fall into the R&B genre. Production is
done be label mates under Zone 4 inc. owned by super-producer,
Polow Da Don, who gives it the Pop/Hip Hop element.
But no matter the genre, their look is as important as their sound.
“I think they’re trying to be hardcore but I bet they’re not.” said
junior Kate Dryden. The group gives its own style and feel to the
music, but fans are unsure if they are a hit.
“They’re all right but unpopular and need to work on their stuff,”
said junior David Washington. It’s hard to earn the approval of listeners with so much diversity in musical tastes, but with i15’s range
from upbeat R&B, ‘Lost in Love’ to the soft sounds of ‘Soulja Girl,’
they’re destined to get fans.
N
ntertainment
Nov. 12, 2007
3
Stafford High School
33 Stafford
Falmouth,
VALane,
22405Falmouth, VA 22405
Stafford
HighIndian
SchoolLane,
33 Stafford
Indian
Inglesias shows Spanish culture
through new CD
By Hailey Eutsler
Staff Reporter
Insomniac- the state of mind where
one becomes addicted to the deprivation of sleep caused by an epic revelation of joy. Enrique Inglesias just released his new CD, Insomniac, and that
is exactly how he feels, with sleepless
nights and an obsessive artistic persona.
Inglesias is a Madrid born, Miami
raised boy who has sold over 40 million CDs in less than 10 years. He is
one of the most successful artists in the
history of pop music. It took Inglesias
a little over three years to produce Insomniac.
“I wasn’t really sure of the specific
sound that I was looking for, with other
records I would always start with a
dozen ideas,” said Inglesias in an interview in Beverly Hills. “This time, I
wrote between 40 and 50 new tunes,”
said Inglesias.
It took him three years of writing,
recording, traveling, and trying to find
that certain tune he was looking for. This
is one of the reasons it took him so long
to produce Inmix.
Insomniac has catchy beats with a
little bit of Spanish lyrics. The last three
songs on the CD are actually full Spanish translation songs. One of his songs
even has rap superstar Lil’ Wayne singing with him for a catchy slow song
with rap in some parts.
Most of the songs on the CD are
love songs. The songs go from breakup to seduction to hurt to obsession
songs, all in some way connected to
love. The CD has a perfect mix of fast,
catchy songs and slow, mellow songs.
The only down fall with this album is
understanding some of the lyrics in a
couple of the songs, but only due to his
accent and spanish heritage.
Inglesias started selling albums in
Spanish under an alias name, but then
his second album, Vivir, was under his
real name. After he enjoyed 16 number
one Billboard Latin hits, he officially
made an English album which went
platinum.
Inglesias has either a gold or plati-
Jelen expresses
emotion with CD
num status in 32 countries. He is the best selling international artist of all time in India and has a number one album in
the U.K.
With several honors on his shoulder, Inglesias sure has
stress to create top chart songs. Insomniac was just released,
therefore it hasn’t had a chance to crawl up to the top like
many other albums recorded by Inglesias.
“I’m not gonna claim that this is my best album ever, or
the one with the best production or the best songs. One thing
is for sure, though, I gave myself completely into the making
of this one record—heart and soul,” said Inglesias.
One man produces upbeat, energetic
music that keep listeners happy
By Christina Sullivan
Staff Reporter
“Do You Feel,” the new album from
The Rocket Summer, is a definite hit.
Bryce Avary, the songwriter, vocalist,
and multi-instrumentalist of this one-man
band from Dallas, shows his talent in his
first major label release and third full-length
album.
“There’s a common theme on this
record,” said Avary, “Wanting to do greater
things for the world and not just trying to
be a rock’n’roll star. I think we all have that
desire but our issues and daily life get in the
way. These songs are about trying to overcome that.”
This theme of wanting to make a difference is visible in Avary’s lyrics in the
first track, “Break It Out.”
“I’m done with ignorance is bliss and
for this/I’m going to hurry and get up, get
out/Make this be for something/Or else it’s
just for nothing.”
Avary wrote and performed “Do You
Feel” by himself. This record is energetic
and extremely upbeat, with a mix of guitars
and pianos, in a feel-good, pop-rock sense.
The first single from Avary’s record,
“So Much Love,” has a happy, upbeat
sound and catchy lyrics, such as, “You got
so much love in you/I’m amazed that I’m
talking to you/You look like the songs that
I’ve heard my whole life coming true.”
One track on this album, “Run To You,”
is a slower, more personal song with lyrics
that many listeners will be able to relate to,
such as, “Do you see me?/Because I think I
see you/I’ve been some other place/the wind
that I chase/it all just leads back to you.”
While “Do You Feel” has a very similar
sound to Avary’s previous albums, “Calendar Days,” and “Hello, Good Friend,”
it’s a sound that makes the listener feel good
and want to sing along.
Avary himself listens to all types of
music.
“Originally, all I listened to was bands
like Superchunk and Built to Spill, indie
rock,” he said. “Over time, I found myself
just loving anything that’s a well-written
song, anything that touched my soul. It
could be indie, Brit-rock, country, it didn’t
matter.”
Avary expresses his want for making a
difference through his music and also his
participation in the charities Invisible Children and To Write Love On Her Arms.
This record was co-produced by Jim
Wirt, who has also worked with popular
artists such as Incubus and Jack’s Mannequin.
With inspirational, original lyrics and
catchy, energetic beats, the album, “Do You
Feel,” from The Rocket Summer is a mustlisten.
New music icon becomes very popular
By Rafael Dueno
Staff reporter
Most producers hide behind the scenes
but Timbaland is more than just famous;
he’s an icon. His current success with Justin Timberlake on his albums and Nelly
Furtado is testament to his standing as a
producer today. He’s worked with a variety of artists such as Jay-Z to Mary J Blige,
and came back from a short break to release
his newest project, Shock Value.
The album was created under the label
Timbaland made himself, Mosley Music
Group, in Virginia Beach. Shock Value was
released March 27.
The album starts off fast paced with
the only song with no collaborations, Oh
Timbaland. Timbaland released two singles,
‘Give It to Me’ and ‘The way I Are’, both
songs doing well on Billboard charts.
Timbaland collaborates with many on the
album, most notably Justin Timberlake,
Keri Hilson, Nelly Furtado and Elton John.
He gives the listener his trademark style
on Release and Bounce, both upbeat dance
songs. ‘Come and Get Me’ shows how
Timbaland can change his style with a darker
sound complementing the voices of G-Unit.
Board meeting reveals how well Timbaland
and Magoo work together with this
smoothly synthesized piece. Fantasy is
dominated by Money’s vocals, and both
Scream and Miscommunication show
Timbaland’s romantic side.
With the songs Bombay, Throw it on
Me, Time, One and Only and Apologize,
Timbaland proves his
versatility by collaborating with rock bands
such as The Hives, One
Republic and Fall Out
Boy. He ends the album
with 2 man show with
Elton John on the piano and Timbaland on
the drums.
Shock Value may
have been heavily collaborated, but success
depends on the fans;
faithful fans of Timbaland are pleased with
the compilation.
“Timbaland is a good beat-maker, has
a lot of good songs and works with a lot of
talented artists,” said junior, Morris Chu.
“His entire album sounds like the great music he always makes.”
Despite his widespread fame, large
number of successful hits and influence on
producers, Timbaland still has critical views
about his album.
“I think it’s crappy,” said junior,
Patrick Silsbee. “It’s just too repetitive.”
The album received
mediocre success, but
the students reflect a
different take on how
well the album was
crafted.
“Timbaland is a
good producer but when
it comes to putting together his own CD, everything ends up sounding the same,” said junior Anna Gatewood.
“Plus he doesn’t speak
with proper English.”
Still, some believe Shock Value is an
exceptional album, repetitive or not. “I like
the whole album,” said junior Jessica
Plummer.
New Rivals burst onto music scene
By Sierra Abaie
Features Editor
Singer and songwriter, Ben Jelen, has
just released his second album, ‘Ex-Sensitive.’ This new album is about the love of
the planet and
the people on it,
rather than a girl
like his first released album.
Jelen traveled to India, the
UK, and the
American South
to re-discover
himself and his
talents as a musical artist. He
hoped to catch
up with the
changes in his
life since the release of his first
album.
Jelen inspiration for “Ex-Sensitive” not
only came from huge bands like Jet, Pink
Floyd, and the Beatles, but also from sounds
and physics of nature.
The first track of his album is called,
“Pulse,” which urges the listener to “feel
the rhythm pulsing in them,” said Jelen.
The first lyrics in the track tell the listener
to “recreate new beginnings” and “from the
static comes new meaning.” It gives this
listener an upbeat feeling. Also at the end
of the song, it gives the listener more of an
optimistic look on life by saying, “We’ll
learn to curve before we break.”
The whole album has an uplifting sound
with a different emotion and care into ev-
ery track making the Ex-sensitive relatable
to anyone.
He was influenced to record this album
during the times he spent working on humanitarian causes.
He said, “I can’t ignore what goes on
around me. World
events affect me as
much as personal
ones do.” He has
also donated charity
tracks too. He protests war and participated in the
march against global
warming.
Jelen uses his
music to express
things that happen
within his own life,
which helps the listener relate more to his sound. For example,
the song Vulnerable is dealing with his personal struggles with his demons, face-toface.
Wreckage is another song that Jelen
puts his emotions into. Even though Jelen
wrote the song based on global warming, it
is the most romantic song on his CD.
Jelen has preformed at many charity
events, and has shared the stage with other
popular musicians like Wyclef Jean, Marc
Anthony, and Maroon 5.
His music can affect the listener both
physically and emotionally. The new album represents the beginning for this new,
talented artist.
Rue Melo rises in popularity,
new CD shows Latin tastes
By Tamika Williams
Staff Reporter
Rue Melo. Sounds like a fruit, but in reality it is a new self-titled Latin based album
new to the music scene. Rue Melo was the
first artist signed to Fighter Records, which
is distributed by Universal Music Group’s
premier independent company, Fontana Distribution.
Rue was born and raised as a child in
Paris, but ended up in California. She comes
from a vast, artistic, and multi-cultural family. Her mother is a dancer
from French descent and
her father who is an accomplished singer and guitarist is from Uruguay. Her
brother Manny also produced “Thank You”, one
of three songs tracks on her
album that she collaborated on with her family.
Experiencing music at
a young age, she found
singing and dancing a natural way to express herself.
Rue writes her own lyrics
and melodies, as well as
making her own beats.
Her music reflects her taste for many
genres and artists from Bob Marley, Lauryn
Hill, and Edith Plaf, to Sublime and Biggie.
As she worked hard with her producer
and co-writer Bernd Burgdorf, 2005 paid off
to be a good year. With the chemistry of
guitarist Martin Estrada, bassist Bryan Bush,
and drummer Idris al-Mutaz Tate, their rehearsals became natural. Each before joining the band, they all had their music experiences. Estrada graduated with a Bachelor
degree from the Berklee school of Music,
Tate was a producer and a DJ, and Bryan
has played with legends such as Stevie
Wonder, John Legend, and many others.
On the self-titled album “Rue Melo”,
the CD has 13 tracks of a wide variety of
songs from Latin taste to a Reggae vibe.
The song “This is
My House”, has a
nice beat, sounds like
Nelly Furtado meets
Joss Stone. On the
other hand, “Check
It”, has a calypso
beat intertwined
with a pop vibe. The
three bonus tracks,
“Tomber”, “Esta Es
Mi Casa”, and
“Cayendo” are written and sung in
Spanish. In the track
“Enamorada”, Rue
is singing in French,
Spanish, and English, which shows her diversity and bright customs.
With the overall acceptance from the
Billboard charts and the Top 40 charts, Rue
Melo has done exceptionally well with a
newfound popularity and fans. Fans continue to tune into them because they feel
that this new artist is the next big thing.
By
On their popular Myspace, The
New Rivals want everyone to know that
they are out to “screw all that wistful
emo crap”. They are known for their
aggressive, hard-hitting sound that is
constantly fast paced, and never loses
the listener’s attention.
Three guys, Toby Bevis, Johnny
Husdon, and Kenny Anderson, randomly decided to start up a band in
their home town of Long Island. The
three had been friends since middle
school, and after adding bassist Paul
McEvoy, the band began to tour the
city.
It didn’t take much time for the band
to get signed to their first major record
label, SoBe Entrtainment, which is the
home to many other newcomers, such
as Brooke Hogan and Lola.
Students have quickly picked up
this new sound. It’s on the personal
play lists of many, and some students
were eagerly awaiting their self-titled
debut, which hit stores on Oct. 23.
“I like them. I’d probably download a copy of their CD if I could,” said
senior Billy Petre. “It’s definitely worth
adding to my music collection.”
Many students feel the same way.
The different tempos that are throughout their new CD also keeps their listeners interested.
Senior Rita Daniel said, “I think
they’re pretty sweet. Their songs
aren’t all just fast paced or slow, there’s
a good variety.”
The New Rivals’ popularity on
social networking sites such as
Myspace and YouTube has made it
easy for high-school students to find
out about them. They can introduce
new music quickly, and are also spread
my word of mouth.
Senior Katie Latendress said, “I like
the band because they’re different. I’ve
seen them online a lot, but I haven’t
really heard a lot about them. I probably will in the near future.”
More recently, the band has added
a new drummer, Joe Merrione. With
this addition, the band’s sound is
slightly different than it was in their
first independent label release “Fire for
Effect,” which only had four tracks.
Their new twelve-track full-length album is sure to delight all of their current fans, and maybe even round up
new ones.
4
ews
CAPSULE: ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY FOR CLASS OF 77 REUNION
FROM PAGE 1
Kids spend too much
time on computer, web
By Emily Smith
Staff writer
The capsule was encased in cement to prevent damage, but all the artifacts were water damaged.
Gayle, Powell, Phipps and Historical Society
members dug up the ground around the concrete
and brick box built by shop class students at the
school in 1977.
After digging, prying and chiseling, the top
of the sealed box was soon lifted to reveal an
array of black plastic bags. Under the layers of
plastic was a rusted bucket half-way submerged
in water. Concern made its way around the group,
as the water damage was clearly evident.
Once the bucket was lifted out, the contents of the capsule were clearly visible and revealed a grade print out, the Guinness Book of
World Records, a cassette tape, Gerald Ford’s
picture, a 1952 Stafford High School yearbook
and several Washington Post issues dated November 2, 1974 and January 12, 1975 with headlines about Nixon’s resignation.
Thirty years took its toll on the articles situated near the lake. All the articles were warped
and wet. Some of the newspapers were still legible and every article in the capsule was identi-
Nov. 12, 2007
Stafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Falmouth, VA 22405
fied.
“It’s a little disappointing that it’s wet, but
you can still read almost everything,” said
Tonnacliff as he examined the articles. “I am
surprised that it made it,” said English teacher
Jim Andrews at the sight of the articles made
entirely of paper.
The graduates of 1977 found relief that everything was still in good enough condition, “I’m
going leave the out and see if they dry,” said
Powell. The class of 1977 was the second class
to graduate from the current Stafford High School
building. Stafford had formerly been at the current Drew Middle School. “It was big, it was so
overcrowded at the old building, it was great to
come here” recalled John “Bunkey” Gale.
The time capsule was originally a project
for English teacher Mrs. Duncan. Gayle summed
up all the work and detail put into the project in
a different matter, “Everyone knew we did it
because our class was the kind of class that would
do things like that.”
Almost everyone in America has a computer.
Everyone uses it for different reasons, whether
it is for internet, projects for school, work, documents, or pictures. That is not always a problem for kids though. Today, the problem that
kids have with computers, is the amount of time
that they spend on one.
According to the researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, as
kids grow older they are spending too much
time on the computer instead of taking part in
sports or even just going outdoors. This is becoming more of a problem every year as technology increases. It’s called “computer abuse.”
One of the biggest problems with spending
too much time on the computer is how it affects
eyesight. “The light from the computer’s screen
can cause blurred vision, irritated eyes, and even
headaches,” researchers say. Many children today are developing Computer Vision Syndrome
due to the amount of time they spend on the
computer, according to study.
The American Optometric Association researched that one out of two children in America
spend more than four hours a day in front of the
computer. They have also learned only 16 per-
cent of adults actually limit their child’s computer time.
Another problem that kids face when using
a computer for too long is obesity. If children
are sitting in front of a screen all day, they will
never get any sort of exercise. Obesity from the
computer can lead to more dangerous effects
like diabetes or even early death.
One thing kids and teens also spend too
much time doing on the computer is surfing the
web. There are many predators online on
websites like MySpace and Facebook. The
longer people stay on a computer, the more
chances they have to be found by predators.
Kids also have to stay safe and not give out
their personal information.
There are solutions to these problems.
Adults with younger children can set time limits on their child’s computer. They can talk to
their children to let them know when they can
or cannot use the computer.
Older kids and teens should know not to
stay on the computer for long as they know
spending too much time on it could hurt them.
In today’s world, the computer can be very
useful tool and common source for many of the
things people do. People should take advantage
of it but not the time spent on it.
OPINIONS: BUILDING, COMPENSATION TOPICS OF CONCERN
FROM PAGE 1
the lack of bathrooms,” said Gill. There are only
three restrooms for girls with eight stalls in each.
In the five minutes between classes, only 48
girls could actually use the restroom and only a
few would be able to wash and dry their hands.
“With the lack of proper facilities, washing
hands after using the restroom, the primary way
to avoid staph infection, is hardly possible,”
Gill said.
Many other high schools brought up the
fact that teacher’s concerns had to do with the
services that they provide for the county.
“The primary concern of teacher was compensation for teacher’s time, both in salary and
stipend for extra duties such as coaching or sponsoring clubs and activities,” said Gill. “It was
also stated that at each of the other high schools
that teachers directed morning traffic while
Stafford uses a volunteer from the police department.”
Both teachers thought that the agenda was
very well constructed, and that there was a sufficient amount of time for the board to gather
great information.
There are high hopes that the school board
will take these suggestions and make changes.
There is already evidence that the concerns were
heard as more soap dispensers were added to
the restrooms Oct. 29.
INFECTION: STUDENTS, STAFF
TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS
FROM STAPH, PAGE 1
equipment,” said junior Cody Lloyd, a varsity
football player. “I just wiped everything down
with Clorox wipes. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
DeWitt also took the time to personally
check all sports players for infections, because
athletics, particularly contact sports, are one of
the primary ways through which the staph bacteria moves from person to person.
“Typically several people in the school,
usually athletes, get staph infections every year,”
said DeWitt. “As long as it’s diagnosed relatively early, it’s really nothing to worry about.”
Other than athletics, staph can be transmitted through poor personal hygiene, like not
washing hands after using the restroom.
“The biggest way to avoid staph infections
and sickness in general is to keep your hands
clean,” said clinic assistant Audrey Harper. “The
staph bacteria naturally live on your skin and in
other parts of your body, so when you don’t
regularly wash your hands, you can help it transfer from place to place much more easily.”
The school acted by quickly installing more
soap dispensers in the bathrooms, which had
been a complaint from students long before the
current concerns about staph bacteria.
English teachers Sue Gill and Theresa Storke
recently brought attention to the bathroom situation at a roundtable meeting with the school
board Oct. 25. They discussed, among other
things, the potential addition of more hand dryers in the bathrooms. (For more information,
see “County meeting allows teachers to voice
opinions, page 1)
“I’m really happy they installed the new
soap dispensers,” said senior Lauren Irwin, a
day after mentioning that doing so would encourage people to stay cleaner. “What would be
great now is either paper towels or more hand
dryers.”
Despite the media hype surrounding the
recent rash of staph and MRSA infections in
high schools, the danger to the Stafford High
School and most other schools is extremely low.
And that very slim chance can be cut even more
by maintaining personal hygiene, and above all,
washing your hands regularly.
Mole Day Success in
Science Department
Students celebrate in chemistry
By Andy Toler
Sports Editor
“What do you get when you have a bunch
of moles acting like idiots? A bunch of moleasses
of course!”
Jokes such as this and other activities added
to the success of another Mole Day for the science department.
Mole Day, traditionally celebrated on Oct.
23, each year, is always accompanied by many
fun and quirky activities.
The reason it is celebrated on this day is
because of Avogadro’s number, a term commonly
used in chemistry to describe moles.
A mole is 6.02 times 10^23, hence Oct. 23
is the day Mole Day is celebrated. Why is such
a huge number so notable? It is very important
because it is a good way to group a tiny number
of many things such as molecules
A mole is simply a way of grouping things,
much the same as a dozen of something means
there are 12 of that material.
In order to teach this concept, the science
department has been celebrating
Mole Day for more than 10 years.
“The mole is an important concept in chemistry,” said chemistry
teacher Barbara Rankin, “Mole
Day makes students think about the
mole. Unfortunately Mole Day is
before we actually teach the mole.”
However, this method has been
proven as an effective way in teaching the concept. Many students
feel much more confident about the
term because of the activities they
do along with Mole Day.
“It really helped me to understand what a mole really is,” said
junior Bret Thompson, “I never really got just how huge a mole is.”
The activities associated with
Mole Day are each individualized
by the chemistry teachers, so not
all of the assignments were the same among the
Photo by Andy Toler
Stefan Caine working hard on some Mole Day activity while wearing his Mole Day Shirt in
Mrs.Barbara Rankin’s class. Students enjoyed Mole Day as much as the teachers did.
Photo by Andy Toler
Mrs. Rankin checks a project on Mole Day.
chemistry classrooms. Some students made
cakes or other food items in celebration of Mole
Day. For example, Ms. Dennis’ class had a
large assortment of cakes and other snacks during their class.
Other students may have been seen sporting homemade Mole Day shirts or carrying
around stuffed moles they made themselves.
“I spent a lot of time working on my t-shirt
and sewing my stuffed mole,” said junior Stefan
Caine, “but both of them turned out really well.”
Other activities for the more hardy students
included meeting at the Chatham McDonald’s
at 6:02 a.m. before school on the 23.
“It was a very exciting day,” said Thompson, “and I managed to get a lot of extra credit
points for my stuffed mole.”
Nov
pinion
Nov. 12, 2007
5
Stafford High School
33 Stafford
Falmouth,
VALane,
22405Falmouth, VA 22405
Stafford
HighIndian
SchoolLane,
33 Stafford
Indian
DRUM BEATS
By Ben Jennings
Staff cartoonist
SEND US YOUR LETTERS.
WE LOVE LETTERS.
SIGNED LETTERS OF 250 WORDS OR FEWER SHOULD BE BROUGHT
TO MRS. GILL IN THE COOKIE ROOM, W206.
Letters to the Editor:
Dear Editor:
As a reader of “The Smoke Signal,” I am impressed by its professional
quality. However, I am writing to complain about the quality of the cartoon
entitled “Drum Beat.”
The cartoon in question is printed
on page three of volume 63, dated Oct.
26, 2007. The entire cartoon is a tasteless, boring plot with an unfunny punch
line that the reader could predict from
panel two. He falls and is crushed.
I am not attacking Mr. Ben
Jennings in any way; his artwork is exceptional and looks like it came from a
major newspaper. Only his mediocre
jokes and quirky situations pale in comparison to his artwork. Honestly, being
crushed by a bookshelf and then uttering a cheap, unfunny one-liner doesn’t
make a good newspaper comic.
In conclusion, I ask the “Smoke
Signal” staff to take a look at their cartoons and try to get a chuckle from Mr.
Jennings’ tasteless cartoon dialogue and
speech bubbles.
Sincerely yours,
Patrick Clark
Grade 10
by Ben Jennings
Concern over global warming
becomes world wide issue
By Nick Magrino
Editor in Chief
“Who cares?”
“I’ll be dead by the time that happens.”
“Hey, I like warm weather anyway.”
“The more beach front property,
the better!”
“Shut up, hippie.”
Those, among other things, are common responses when environmental
concerns are brought up in society.
Contrary to popular belief, the consequences of man’s irresponsible stewardship of the planet are not hundreds
of years off. They’re not lurking off in
the distance waiting to ruin your
grandchildren’s’ lives. And even then,
is that really what we should be aiming
for?
While Americans have been paying
attention to what their celebrities are
wearing at awards shows, the position
of the scientific community on climate
change and other environmental issues
has changed drastically. It’s no longer
a question of whether or not we’re causing climate change or even when it will
happen. We’re at the “how bad is it
going to be” point and have been for a
while.
When the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
published their first report in 1990, they
stated that yes, climate change is occurring, but that it wasn’t clear how
much and what was causing it. When
they released their second report in
1996, they stated that the “evidence
suggests a discernable human influence
on global climate.” By the third report
in 2001, it was clear, and they even
threw out a prediction of sea level rise
over the next hundred years (about 0.1
to 0.9 meters, or somewhere in the
neighborhood of a foot and a half).
The authors of the fourth report,
along with Al Gore, received the Nobel
Peace Prize several weeks ago. This
report, released earlier this year, stated
that “most of the observed increase in
globally averaged temperatures since
the mid-20th century is very likely due
to the observed increase in [human]
greenhouse gas concentrations.” Very
likely is in Italics in the report, too.
This has all been worked out. Really. The people who actually have
knowledge of the subject (this group
does not include bloggers and radio talk
show hosts) have had all these meetings and worked out all the particulars.
And the reality is that we’re in for some
pretty rough times if we keep doing
things the way we’re doing them now.
The half of the country that clings
to what a few renegade meteorologists
say is literally jeopardizing the future of
the entire planet over some miniscule
lifestyle changes. There’s no dark conspiracy of scientists trying to trick all of
us chums into giving them research
grants.
Saying that you like warm weather
is not a counterargument to climate
change, because there isn’t a
counterargument. Tens of millions of
people will probably die over the next
several decades.
by Anthony Frederick
Making the Grade
The Smoke Signal
Stafford High School
33 Stafford Indian Lane
Falmouth, VA 22405
A
Phone: 540-371-7200
ACT
Fax: 540-371-2389
Newspaper Staff
Editors-in-Chief: Juli Berenotto, Alexis Cote-Coble, Nick Magrino
With college just around the corner many seniors are
taking their college admissions test. The ACT is the more
subject based test. So student better at science and
social studie should look to take this one.
C
Cold Weather
The cold weather is finally back this year after a long
drought. Although some students prefer warm weather,
some like to bust out the hoodies and “bumit” to school.
D
SAT
This is the other college admissions test. The SAT only
covers math, grammar, and writing, but is significantly
harder than the ACT.
Entertainment Editors: Juli Berenotto, Kelsey Chestnut
Sports Editors: Cara Fenwick, Andy Toler
Student Life Editors: Allison Brady, Lindsey Brady, Stacie
Gregorious
Online Editior: Nina Gonzalez
Opinion Editors: Ben Dunbar, Justin Graves
Features Editors: Sierra Abaie, Lexi Morello
News Editor: Nick Magrino
Photography Editors: Alisha Abrams,Nathan Carden
Business Manager: Ben Dunbar
Staff: Ashley Bautista, Nicole Clyde, Wendy Cole, Julia Colopy, Rafael Dueno, Connor Dunbar, Hailey
Eutsler, Kyle Falkenstern, Anthony Frederick, Olivia Garner, Kathleen Gayle, Brian Green, Amber Huffman,
Lacey Hynson, Ben Jennings, Jill Karwoski, Brandon Leatherland, Gillan Ludlow, Ian Lyons, Michelle
McConnell, Krysten McVicker, Ariana Miller-Keys, Lexi Morello, Joe Nelson, Iksu Oh, DJ Page, Jenny Pan,
Ambree Papa, Dawnthea Price, Julian Rivas, Jessica Scatchard, Mike Siner, Emily Smith, Jaqueline Stout,
Christina Sullivan, Mandy Sullivan, Kerstin Waldrop, Tamika Williams, and Kristin Wood.
Advisor: Sue Gill, CJE
The Smoke Signal is a cross-section of the news and opinions of the student body of Stafford High School. It
is published every two weeks. Editorials represent the views of the writer and are not necessarily the
opinions of Stafford High School, its administration, or staff. The Smoke Signal is an award winning,
monthly newspaper that strives to inform, educate and entertain the student body and community. Signed
letters to the editor of 250 words or fewer may be submitted to room W-206. ormailed to the school. The
Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit letters and to refuse advertisments.
THIRD PLACE
SECOND PLACE
INTERNATIONAL
FIRST PLACE
FIRST PLACE
CHILDREN’S T.V.
S
HOW S
Doug and Quailman
Sabrina, teenage witch
Dawnthea Price
Staff Writer
Green sweater vest, wispy
hair, and a nose large enough to
park a car in. All parts of the childhood classic Doug.
The show revolves around
the adventures Doug Funnie has
with his best friend Skeeter, his
dog Porkchop, and his crush
Patty Mayonnaise in their town
of Bluffington. Whether it’s
clearing his dog’s name from biting the rich Beebe Bluff or wearing a belt on his head and calling
himself “Quailman,” Doug didn’t
disappoint viewers.
“Doug was always a really
fun show to watch as a kid,” said
sophomore Christian Bulloss.
“One of those shows that you
always get home from school and
watch.”
But the channels to find
Doug have changed over the
years. Originally the first Nickelodeon Nicktoon, Doug ran on
Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1994,
and was cancelled after 52 episodes were produced.
In 1996, Disney Enterprises
bought Jumbo Pictures, which
had produced the Doug episodes, and ordered new episodes
of the show, renaming it Disney’s
Doug. These new episodes added
a new member to the Funnie family, makeovers for most of the
characters, and new adventures
in the brand new Beebe Bluff
Middle School.
“I liked how there was always a different adventure,” said
sophomore Brittany Rowlette.
“So you could understand their
problems better and relate to
them.”
Doug’s popularity created
a whole line of products for the
TV show, including toys, books,
and even clothes. In 2000, Doug’s
Big Game was released for the
Game Boy Color. There was even
a musical called “Disney’s Doug
Live!” that was performed at
Disney-MGM Studios from
1999 to 2001.
Aired by ABC’s One Saturday Morning from 1996 until
2000, Disney created 65 more
episodes and a feature length
movie, appropriately named
Doug: The Movie. In 2000,
Disney’s Doug went out of production, and was moved to Toon
Disney, where it eventually
stopped airing in 2004.
Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons Network stopped airing Doug in
2005.
Even though Doug hasn’t
been seen in two years, viewers
can still remember some of the
details that made the show fun.
“I watched Doug,” recalled
sophomore Jon Chidester. “I can
even sing the theme!”
Doug is gone, lost in the
vacuum of TV shows from childhood that haven’t been seen for
years, but students still r e member the awkward, large-nosed
preteen that they
love.
By Lindsey Brady
Student Life Editor
Sabrina Spellman, a perfectly
normal 16-year-old, is informed
by her aunts, Hilda and Zelda,
that she is a witch. She lives with
them in Massachusetts while
preparing to receive her witch’s
license. Along the way, she gets
into many scrapes while figuring
out how certain spells work. She
also has to keep the secret from
her boyfriend, Harvey, friends
Jenny and later Valerie, stuck-up
nemesis Libby, and her ever-suspicious vice-principal, Mr. Kraft
There have been many comedy witch movies and TV
shows through the years. With
little exception the witch is usually cast opposite type, going for
a beautiful actress in the role.
From Veronica Lake to
Elizabeth Montgomery to Michelle
Pfeiffer beauty has worked it’s
magic spell. Lovely Melissa Joan
Hart has evolved from the cute
kid in “Clarissa” to a gorgeous
young actress with an amazing
comedic talent. Her facial expressions, delivery, and attitude
make the show very enjoyable.
In a day when most actresses
change their lives completely, this
girl next door Mellissa Joan Hart
stays a sweet young girl playing
high school witch.
In the seventh-season finale,
Sabrina tries to conceal her wedding-day jitters after waking up
with a case of cold feet - literally.
The bride-to-be receives a measure of comfort from her mother
and Aunt Hilda, who arrive unexpectedly with an unrecognizable Zelda in tow. Ultimately,
Sabrina must decide if she wants
to be with her true “soul mate.”
Many students enjoy watching
this shows reruns on
ABC family after school.
“It’s a great show to watch
after school and just lay down
for a little bit while you unwind,”
said Junior Courtney Brown.
This show has become very
popular with teenagers around
the world. According to
www.TV.com, the last time it
aired there was 3.0 million viewers.
This show is a classic for
many of the students here.
People have been watching it
since they have been in elementary school.
Junior Ally Skeer, said, “I remember watching this show
when I was in like fifth grade. I
still love watching the reruns because it brings me back to when
I was younger.”
Tanners’ Full House
By Kelsey Chestnut
Entertainment Editor
Full House, a classic TV
show, is still featured on ABC
family despite its final season
that showed on May 23, 1995.
The series is eight seasons long
with 192 episodes and features
teary eyed moments, useful life
lessons and heartwarming family interactions.
Throughout the eight seasons
of Full House, the show focuses
on a family in downtown San
Francisco. Danny Tanner (Bob
Saget) is left to raise his three
daughters when his wife dies.
D.J. (Candace Cameron),
Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and
Michelle (Mary Kate and Ashley
Olsen) star on the roller coaster
ride of life as they mature
throughout the show.
D.J. Tanner, the oldest, is
often annoyed by her younger
sisters and has to deal with every day teenager issues.
Stephanie Tanner, the middle
child, is a very talkative girl who
shadows her older sister D.J.
Michelle Tanner, the icon of the
show, portrays a young child’s
innocence with a smiling face.
“Michelle is such a good character,” said junior Tim Lively.
“She’s the reason why the show
i s so funny.”
Danny calls in his
childhood best
friend
Joey
Gladstone
(Dave
Coulier) and his brother-in-law
Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos)
to help him raise his daughters.
Joey is a comedian and Jesse is a
pretty boy who is in a rock band.
They all live in a small townhouse
and go through every day life
learning lessons and finding what
the true meaning of a family is.
As the show progresses characters come and go, but a few
new and important characters become a part of the Tanners’ life.
Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis
(Lori Loughlin) is introduced in
the second season and later becomes Jesse’s wife. In the fifth
season she gives birth to twins,
Nicky and Alex Katsopolis
(Blake and Dylan TuomyWilhoit). The new Katsopolis
family still lives under the Tanners’ roof, making the house even
more crowded.
“The large family that they
have made the show really interesting,” said junior Ashleigh
Ward. “There is always something going on.”
Another main character of
the show is the Tanners’ neighbor Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea
Barber). Kimmy
is D.J.’s best
friend and
shares her
teenage
experi-
ences and drama. She has a very
dry sense of humor and annoys
the Tanner family often with her
comments and her blunt attitude.
“My favorite was Kimmy
Gibbler because I thought she
was really funny,” said sophomore Julianne Arnold. “She always messed things up or said
the wrong thing at the wrong
time.”
Full House is a show that
keeps viewers wanting more.
The three girls learn valuable life
lessons when they go against
their father; their father learns
what it’s like to be a single parent with a job; and his two
friends learn how challenging it
is to take care of someone else.
Throughout the show, the
main characters learn the true
meaning of love and family values. Through all the hardships
and drama the family always
hangs on to one another.
“Full House bloomed into a
full blown hit when audiences fell
in love with the adorable cast of
characters,” said a review by
Rottentomatoes.com.
Full House is shown on ABC
Family at 3 pm and 3:30 pm every day.
Captain Planet
Johnny Bravo
By Nina Gonzalez
Staff Writer
By Nicole Clyde
Staff Writer
Johnny Bravo is a popular cartoon on Cartoon
Network. It has had a large audience, young and
old, for the past decade.
Johnny Bravo’s main character is Johnny
Bravo, as one may have guessed. Johnny has large
biceps, James Dean good looks, an Elvis-like voice,
and wears sunglasses regardless of whether it is
day or night. He lives in “Aaron City.”
“[I liked that] he pretended to be buff and funny
but all the girls didn’t like him,” said sophomore
Bryan Elam.
Regardless of the character’s good looks, Johnny
never gets to girl. The show portrayed him as a
“mama’s boy” and possible a “dumb blonde.
The most comedic part of the character would
probably be the fact that Johnny always found a
way to cause trouble for himself.
[I liked to watch Johnny Bravo.] I guess that
thought that it was hilarious how he got shot down
by everyone,” said sophomore Sarah Calpo.
In the show, Johnny (voiced by Jeff Bennet) is
unemployed and lives with his mother, Bunny
Bravo. Although in some episodes he acts as a janitor for his karate instructor, Master Hamma.
Little Suzy is Johnny Bravo’s neighbor, has
red hair, is about eight years old, and his “secret
admirer.” Johnny often calls her “neighbor girl.”
Little Suzy is very cunning and talkative. It
seems as if she is related to big time celebrities or
has some sort of connection with them.
Bravo Bunny is Johnny’s mother. She is an
atypical mom. She tends to have the “flower
power” of the past and always has a secret talent
of some sort. She is dedicated to her son, but takes
his conflicts lightly since she knows his nature.
Carl Chryniszzswics is a local genius and geek
who is very into studying science; although he is
also weird and timid. He seems to be Johnny’s
only friend, but Johnny also denies the fact.
Pops is the greedy owner of a local chili restaurant. He poses as Johnny’s “substitute” father. He often provokes Johnny to get into trouble
and his chili always includes questionable ingredients.
Master Hamma is Johnny’s karate instructor.
Johnny has taken classes and failed many martial
arts classes there, but he also works there as a
janitor and does several other things there as well.
Johnny Bravo was created in 1995 by
Van Partible, Jeff Bennet, Mae Whitman, and Tom
Kenny. It aired for four season, or 61 episodes.
Running time was approximately 30 minutes.
With an ever growing awareness about global warming and earth
consciousness, many teens may remember one of the first “environmentally focused” shows. Aired in the 90s Captain Planet was an
animated cartoon show aimed to educate young viewers on the effects of pollution and various environmental problems.
“I watched it when I was young and I watched all the
episodes,” said Bridgette Heughes a senior.
The hero, Captain Planet had sky-blue skin and green hair. His
body was made of crystal compound and he wore red shorts and a
red shirt. The villains on Saturday morning cartoons were called
“eco-terrorists” and they often found ways of harming the
environment such as drilling in protected animal refuges or pouring
toxic waste into the sea.
Captain Planet was formed by the powers of the Planeteer’s
rings, each representing the four classical elements; earth, fire, wind,
and water as well as the power of heart.
The Planeteer’s were every day teenagers who were all from
different continents and represented different ethnicities. The
Planeteers were Kwame with the Earth ring, Wheeler with the Fire
ring, Linka with the Wind ring, Gi with the Water ring and Ma-Ti
with the Heart ring.
At the call of the Planeteers Captain Planet would appear
saying, “By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!” after
fighting the villains and restoring the damage Captain Planet and the
Planeteers would come out and describe a simple way that the viewer
could help save the earth. Whether it was recycling, picking up trash,
or planting a tree, the show presented the topic of environmental
restoration in an easy to understand format.
When all the Planeteer’s powers were combined Captain
Planet would emerge and display an array of powers like flying,
great strength, telepathy and shape shifting. When in the presence of
pollution, smog, radiation or toxic waste Captain Planets powers
would weaken. In many situations this weakness had the ability to
kill him, almost like the relationship of Superman and kryptonite.
“I had a crush on Captain Planet, he was so cool!” said
sophomore Anna Lincoln. The show is a favorite pastime of many
who watched the show nearly a decade ago.
Fascinatingly enough Captain Planet’s whole existence was
dedicated to preserving the planet’s natural resources and protecting
the planet from intentional pollution caused by big corporation owners. The problems on the show sound like problems of today. Today
it seems as though the show really was ahead of the
trend for instilling its viewers with a sense of responsibility for the future of the Planet.
Power
Rangers
By Justin Graves
Opinon Editor
The Power Rangers was a popular show in the mid nineties, and
it has seen many variations. The original, though, is one that most
high-school students can identify with. It was a live-action television series, created for the American market, and was actually based
on a Japanese Sentai franchise, named Ky?ry? Sentai Zyuranger.
The original version was on the air waves from 1993 to 1996,
and that era concluded with Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The
Movie. The series was originially produced by MMPR Productions and distributed by Saban Entertainment. It aired on the Fox
Kids Network.
The series took place in the town of Angel Grove, California. Zordon, along with Alpha 5, were the masters of the five
teens who were chosen to defend the Earth from the attacks
of various villains. Jason was the Red Ranger, Trini was
the Yellow Ranger, Billy was the blue ranger, Kimberly
was the pink ranger, and Zack was the black ranger.
Later on, Tommy came along as both the green and white
rangers. Out of these six, many students had personal
favorites.
“I didn’t even really watch it too often, but I only
cared about the pink one,” said junior Jasmine Biggers.
When students played with their friends and re-enacted what they had just seen on the show, they wanted
to be the ranger that was their favorite.
“I only watched Power Rangers sometimes. I loved to
play it with my friends, though,” said sophomore Julianne
Arnold. “I liked pretending I was a super hero and doing
action stuff, but all the girls wanted to be the pink one so
I always ended up having to be a guy.”
Rita Repulsa was the main villain, who eventually wet
on to marry her cohort, Lord Zedd. Her attempts to overthrow the Rangers with her endless array of monsters, which
often included awkward creatures named “puddies,” were often taken out by the group of six.
The rangers did not battle alone, though. Dinozords were the
first zords that the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had access to.
Their appearance was oddly similar to dinosaurs. They often helped
the rangers go against evil villains, who had similar zords.
As time went on, the series declined in popularity just as quickly
as people discovered it. In 1996, the “Mighty Morphin” label was
retired, and the series began to change its name, cast and plot every
year. Students often kept following the show, and enjoying every
minute of it.
“It was like the best show ever,” said sophomore Matthew
Stewart.
Senior Jessie Broome favors the original series rather than many
of the new versions. “When I was little, that was my favorite show.
I always wished my name was Kimberly, because I wanted to be just
like her,” said Broome.
Other students also agree with the idea that the pink power
ranger was the best.
Sophomore Alyssa Dempster also enjoyed Kimberly, the pink
power ranger. “I loved them when I was a kid and I always wanted
to be the pink power ranger. She was my idol,” said Dempster.
“I’m all about the original Power Rangers. I thought they were
pretty sweet. The new ones are lame, though, they’re just trying to
be too hip,” agreed senior Andrew Tonnacliff.
Not all students, however, loved to watch the show as much as
their friends.
“I was never really into Power Rangers. I watched more Barney
and Sesame Street than anything else,” said senior Matt Roehl. “After that got old, I stepped it up to Mr. Rogers. I never really caught
on to random kids beating up zords and dragons.”
The original version of the series holds the honor of being the
longest-running version, with the most episodes produced, lasting
for three years and 155 episodes. The series had eventually gained so
much popularity that it spawned numerous imitators and spin-offs,
such as VR Troopers, Big Bad Beetleborgs and Beetleborgs Metallix.
Current versions of the show are titled Mystic Force, Operation
Overdrive and Jungle Fury, but it seems as if many Stafford students
believe that Mighty Morphin’ was easily the best.
Angry Beavers
By Sierra Abaie
Features Editor
Legends, Hidden Temple
By Juli Berenotto
Editor In Chief
Thirteen years ago a great
show started. This show combined history, physical challenges, and, of course, prizes. For
three seasons, from 1993 to 1996,
“Legends of the Hidden Temple”
thrilled viewers old and young.
“I liked it simply because it
was fun to watch and didn’t require any intellect whatsoever,”
senior Doug Warford said, thinking back.
12 kids were split into six
teams of two, one boy and one
girl to compete in challenges
themed after different ancient legends, myths, or geography in history.
The host, Kirk Fogg, introduced the teams and contestants
at the start of each show with
the help of the giant talking stone
head, Olmec.
The teams, the Red Jaguars,
the Blue Barracudas, the Green
Monkeys, Orange Iguanas, the
Purple Parrots and Silver Snakes,
then started the challenges.
First was The Moat, basically a giant pool that the teams
had to cross with only ropes or
narrow pieces of wood or such.
The first four teams to finish
went on to the next round, The
Steps of Knowledge.
This part of the challenge required the contestants to remember details from a very detailed
story that Olmec told them.
Olmec would then ask questions
and the first contestant to hit his
or her button. If they got it right,
he or she stepped down a step.
The first two teams to reach the
bottom level moved on to the
Temple Games.
This purely physical part of
the challenge involved a lot of
climbing and crossing ramps to
get an object. This was made
even more difficult by the bungee
cord pulling them back and the
soapy slippery surface of the
ramp. The Temple Games had
three challenges. The first two
were one on one, while the last
one used the full team. Each time
a team won a challenge they were
awarded a Pendant of Life that
would help them in the actual
Temple later. The team that won
the Temple Games went on to
the final round: The Temple.
“The Temple was my favorite part,” said senior Ashley
Pittman. “When I was little I really wanted to go on the show
just so I could go in to The
Temple.”
The Temple was actually a
huge, two-story structure that
the remaining team ran through
trying to find a certain item like
“Lawrence of Arabia’s Headdress,” “The Walking Stick of
Harriet Tubman,” “The JewelEncrusted Egg of Catherine the
Great,” or the “Broken Wing of
Icarus.”
There were three guards stationed somewhere in the Temple.
After the first contestant of the
team enters the vertical maze, if
he or she is caught, they can give
the guard one of the Pendants of
Life and keep on going, but if
they get caught again without a
pendant (the other contestant
usually had the second one), they
get taken out and the second team
member goes in.
This is all in a time limit of 3
minutes. If the team got the item
in question, they would win a
trip to a special place sometimes
in another country or a week at
NASA Space Camp.
“Legends of the Hidden
Temple” was a fun, engaging
children’s show on Nickelodeon.
Even though, the show was cancelled fans can still watch reruns
on a secondary Nickelodeon
channel, GAS.
Rugrats
Adventures
Digimon: Digital Monsters
By Lexi Morello
Features Editor
Digimon was an animated TV show that was on the air from
1999 to 2003. It started out with a group of kids being transported
from their summer camp to an alternate world, linked to Earth through
the Information Superhighway, called the Digiworld. In the Digiworld
the kids each got their own digital monster, or Digimon. With the
help of their Digimon, the characters attempt to save the Digiworld
and the real world from total destruction.
“I didn’t watch Digimon because Pokemon came first and it
was better,” said junior Ben Howard, “Digimon totally copied
Pokemon.”
Many people believe that Digimon is a cheap copy of
Pokemon. It is not entirely true that Digimon copied Pokemon because they both came on the air in 1999 in the United States. There
are some similarities, but once one looks past the fact that they both
have “mon” in the title and they both have creatures that are used to
battle, one can see that they are actually very different shows.
Pokemon is about catching all the Pokemon one possibly
can and battling other people with no quest for a greater good.
Digimon, on the other hand, is about saving worlds from destruction
and keeping the evil forces of the Digiworld at bay.
Some people strongly feel that the Digimon show was better
than Pokemon. “The story in Digimon was deeper than Pokemon’s,”
said junior Sunan Ahmed, “the Digimon show was awesome.”
Other people simply believe they were equal. “I liked them
about the same,” said junior Victoria Haynes, “back then they were
both super cool.”
Digimon was one of many Saturday morning cartoons that
kids enjoyed watching. “I would wake up really early every Saturday morning to watch it,” said Ahmed.
Digimon was originally aired on the Fox Network, sometime during the third season it made a switch to another network.
This switch caused many fans to quit watching the show. Another
reason for the lack of views is that the original characters were slowly
being fazed out of the show.
“I quit watching after the third season,” said Ahmed.
Digimon, like Pokemon and many other shows, is an Americanized version of a Japanese cartoon. Certain aspects of the show
were changed so that American audiences would understand it better.
“Everyone was into Japanimation so back then it was cool,” said
junior James DeFlora.
There was also a movie released in 2000. “Digimon: The
Movie” follows three subplots throughout two of the main characters’ lives. It is an enjoyable movie for people who liked the TV
show.
Digimon was a show that many people loved watching when
they were younger. “I remember watching it Saturday mornings,”
said junior Kenny Smith, “it was a good show.”
It may always be compared to Pokemon, but for many people it
will always have a special place in their heart.
The Angry Beavers was a Nickelodeon Series premiered in April
1997.
The show was based to the lives of two twin brother beavers,
Norbert and Daggert that left their home to live in the forest together.
Norb beaver was the younger and crazier brother, who was always
hyper. In comparison to his older more laid back brother Dag.
“I really like Dag because he was more chill.” Said junior Anna
Carson, “but I did really like watching Norb getting all worked up
about nothing.”
The angry beavers were a television show many students enjoyed, because many could relate to as siblings. Norb and Dag were
always arguing like siblings do. They had a fair share of there ups and
downs.
“Siblings all have their ups and downs,” Said junior Skyy Rodgers,
“but in the end of every fight, we still are related.”
The show soon became a watched television my many. With all
this publicity, it wasn’t a surprise when the show started to be
nominated for countless awards.
The Angry Beavers were nominees for the Annie Awards, Motion Picture Sound Editors, World Animation Celebration and the
most remarkable was the Daytime Emmys.
The Angry Beavers won Best Director for Daytime Series and
Best Animation Produced for Daytime in the World Animation Celebration. And also won the Best Individual Achievement: Production Design in a TV Production in the Annie Awards.
“I remember the show winning these awards.” said junior Daniel
King, “I was so excited.”
The Angry Beavers ended in controversy. It was the first Nickelodeon show to have its line changed in between airings. This controversy was started in the episode “Alley Oops!” that aired in
1998, when Norb told Dag to “Shut up.” To fix this mistake Nickelodeon beeped out the “Shut” in “Shut up” but that just called more
attention to the original mistake. Later the mistake was changed to
“Shush up” but it was already too late.
The writers worked on the final episode of the show, but that
episode was never aired, because of the controversy, and the rule
Nickelodeon had of never pointing out a shows ending.
Silently the show bowed off air in 2001.
Cowardly Dog,
Courage
By Nicole Clyde
Staff Writer
Courage the Cowardly Dog is a cartoon on Cartoon Network. It
is an award-winning cartoon.
The show features a dog named Courage and his owners Muriel
Bagge, a kind Scottish woman, and her husband Estace Bagge, an old,
grumpy farmer.
They all live together in a farmhouse in Nowhere, Kansas, which
By Allison Brady
is also referred to “the middle of no where.” Courage and his owners
Student Life Editor
do not have any neighbors.
Courage was an abandoned pink dog that was taken in by Muriel
“Rugrats was the ultimate
and Estace Bagge. Ironically enough, Courage is not the most couranickelodeon show when I was
geous dog.
growing up,” said junior Amanda
Estace Bagge is a failed farmer who lives in his old farm house
Baird.
with Muriel and Courage. His most prized possession is his old
Rugrats was an animated
truck. Estace is always sitting in front of his black and white TV and
television series that ran on Nickis continuously asking for meals to be brought to him in her favorite
elodeon and it was one of the first
red chair. Estace does not like courage.
three Nicktoons, beginning in
Muriel lives to sit in her rocking chair and watch her favorite TV
1991.
show. She also likes to cook, play her sitar (a plucked string instruThe television show was
ment), and talk to Courage.
first released on Aug. 11, 1991
Courage is not an average dog. He is afraid of almost everything.
and ran until June 8. 2004. It fell
Estace enjoys scaring Courage with a mask whenever he has the
under the genre of animation,
opportunity to.
comedy, family, fantasy and adCourage has reason to be scared as Nowhere is not the nicest
venture.
place. Courage frequently, with the help of his computer, has to
Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csupo
battle the villains that are in Nowhere to save himself and his ownand Paul Germain created the
ers.
show.
Katz is the most common villain in the show. He is known for
It ran for approximately 22
creating traps to lure people into their “doom.”
minutes and was over 172 epiCourage the Cowardly Dog was created and directed by John R.
sodes split into 12 different seaDilworth.
Rugrats’ Adventures
sons.
Rugrats was the second
Nicktoon. It is the longest lasting Nicktoon to date at thirteen
years of longevity.
The show airs in the UK on
CITV and Nickelodeon UK as
well as in Canada on YTV. In Australia, it can be seen on Nickelodeon Australia.
The show revolves around
five toddlers, Tommy Pickles,
Chuckie Finster, Angelica Pickles, the bratty older cousin, and
the twins Phillip (Phil) and
Lillian (Lil) Deville. Each episode
shows their misadventures
through the fantasy and illusion
of infancy. The show later introduced Susie Carmichael, who became the babies’ first older friend.
Also, all of the kid’s parents were
each in the show playing the roles
of their parents.
Rugrats was nominated for
five Primetime Emmys and 16
other awards such as the BMI
Cable Award and Genesis Award.
After the introduction of the
show SpongeBob SquarePants,
popularity for Rugrats declined.
The Rugrats never had a rival this
strong in popularity. In order to
keep its popularity, the studios
released several movies and specials, such as the introduction of
Dil Pickles and Kimi Finster.
Ironically, after these introductions, fans determined that
Rugrats jumped the shark.
Films that have arisen from
the television show are The
Rugrats Movie, Rugrats in Paris:
The Movie and Rugrats Go Wild.
8
eatures
Stafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Falmouth, VA 22405
Making Fitness Fun
By: Stacie Gregorius
Staff Writer
Working out is something that is not always
fun or exciting. The effects are great but it’s not
always an easy process.
Therefore, it’s necessary to find the style of
working out that appeals to your individual
personality.
There are programs designed to make a workout fun and enjoyable so going to the gym doesn’t
always seem like such a drag.
One fun way to get in shape is kickboxing.
Cardiovascular kickboxing combines boxing,
martial arts, and aerobics to shape the body while
having fun. In kickboxing classes, instructors
make the class do things like knee strikes,
punches, and kicks. Sometimes, even a punching bag is used. It has also been recognized that
kickboxing can help relieve stress, tension, or
frustration. It is possible to burn up to 450 calories per hour while kickboxing. Also, learning
simple self-defense moves is beneficial for
people of all ages.
Dancing is often overlooked as a means of
physical fitness. Any type of activity that can
raise a heart rate can be used to get in shape.
“Dancing lets me have fun while getting in shape
and lets me enjoy time with my friends too,”
said junior Savannah Stanfill. One good thing
about dancing is it can be done anywhere. Cleaning a room while listening to music would be a
great place to move to the beat and get into
shape.
With places like the YMCA and parks all
around the community, it’s easy to gather a
bunch of friends together and play a pick-up
game of basketball, soccer, or football. This gives
friends a chance to have a great time and burn
some calories all at the same time.
Instead of driving right down the street to a
friend’s house, try walking. Walking the dog,
walking to the store, or even walking around the
mall is a great opportunity to burn calories without taking extra time out of the day.
Riding a bike, scooter, or skates with friends
could be a fun way to get into shape. Gathering
friends together to go on a trail walk or even
riding throughout a neighborhood is something
that can be fun and beneficial to your health.
There are many different ways to enjoy getting back into shape. Health is very important
in this time of the obesity epidemic. Just doing
a little bit of dancing three times a week can
actually improve quality of life down the road.
Students must get in the habit now of keeping their bodies healthy. “Fitness is crucial to
having a long and healthy life,” said health/phys
ed teacher Steve Spicer. “Developing a lifetime
activity at this time is critical in developing this
healthy philosophy. It has been proven that
physical and mental health are closely related.
Keeping the body in good condition can offer
many other benefits like a longer and better quality
of life.
Caffeine and sugary
snacks cause problems for
teens
By: Gillan Ludlow
Staff Writer
Feel good exercise
everyone can do
By: Alexis Cote-Coble
Editor in Chief
Students are always in need of ways to cope
with stress. After working hard in school all
day, a good way to relieve that stress is through
exercise. “Osteopaths, physiotherapists and
general practitioners are now recommending
Pilates as one of the safest forms of exercise
today,” said www.pilatesfoundation.com.
“German-born fitness innovator Joseph H.
Pilates (1881-1967) developed the Pilates exercise system in the 1920s. His interest in physical fitness stemmed from a determination to
strengthen his own body and improve his health
after a sickly childhood. With a background in
yoga, Zen meditation, martial arts and other
ancient fitness techniques plus some success as
a gymnast, diver and boxer, Joseph Pilates devised a unique sequence of movements that
worked the mind and muscle in harmony,” said
www.pilatesinsight.com.
Practicing Pilates is an effective way to stay
in shape, relax and to build confidence. It is
beneficial for general fitness and body awareness, injury prevention, remedial and rehabilitation work, improvement of technique for athletes and dancers, and people of all ages. It’s
also a great work out and stretch exercise for
student athletes.
“Pilates improves your mental and physical well-being, increases flexibility, and strengthens muscles.” It is used to improve posture and
strengthen the core.
One of the many great things about Pilates
is its convenience. This exercise can easily be
done at home with an instructional video. First
timers are encouraged to get lessons from a certified trainer to avoid hurting themselves by
doing exercises incorrectly.
Classes are available at local gyms such as
the YMCA. Also, downtown, Gerolyn
Whittmore, a certified Pilate instructor, licensed
massage therapist, post-rehab conditioning specialist, ACE personal trainer, and a national and
international exercise presenter offers a variety
of programs to keep the body in line and to
build strength.
Whittmore has twenty years of experience
Gerolyn Whittemore’s Contact Information:
Her private studio is located downtown
Fredericksburg at 1000 Charles Street
Call (540) 226-2759
practicing and teaching fitness and mind/body
exercise. Specializing in chronic back and hip
pain, she provides individual and group Pilates
instruction on the mat, as well as personal Pilates
on apparatus. Her massage practice focuses on
pain management, sport/rehab massage, and
stress relief.
“Pilates works from the inside out. It
uses concentration, centering, breath, control,
precision, flowing movement, isolation, and routine. Connecting first with the breath, then with
the deep muscles of the pelvic wall and floor,
the focus on training neural input improves neuromuscular function and posture,” said
Whittmore.
According to K Jolin’s article on
www.associatedconted.com, Pilates stretches
and tones muscles to increase metabolism and
strengthen the entire body.
“There are two ways to exercise in Pilates,”
said www.kidshealth.org. “Today, most people
focus on the mat exercises, which require only a
floor mat and training. These exercises are designed so that your body uses its own weight as
resistance. The other method of Pilates uses a
variety of machines to tone and strengthen the
body, again using the principle of resistance.”
“I tried using a tape to do Pilates because I thought it looked fun. It looks much
easier than it really is. Pilates is a great work out
and a good way to stretch tight muscles, said
senior Brittany Furrer.”
Joseph Pilates believed “mindful movement” was the key to health. Performing exercises with precise control, produces uniform
development of the body. Through the practice
of Pilates a person will gain increased strength,
stamina, flexibility, improved mental and physical coordination, increased confidence in newfound body awareness, and an invigorated energy for life.
Walking into school, work of just going somewhere, most teenagers and adults always have
their hands on something unhealthy. It ranges
from sugar and caffeine packed coffee, vending
machine snacks and sodas.
It’s alright to have sugar and caffeine now
and then but most Americans rely on it to stimulate their day. Most people don’t get the sleep
they need, which causes them to overeat.
“Americans feel the need to squeeze as
much as possible into every waking hour, and
they rely on caffeine and sugar to help them do
this,” says Herb Joiner-Bey, ND, coauthor of
The Clinician’s Handbook of Natural Medicine.
“We are stressed out, overworked and overcommitted.”
Kids also buy drinks that are loaded with
caffeine and sugar. From Starbucks to energy
drinks to sugary drinks, its no wonder kids are
wired.
Caffeine is also an addictive drug and people
won’t even know when they’re hooked on it.
Over half of the American adults consume more
than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day.
If you do cut back on your caffeine, it causes
your body to go into withdrawals and you will
become depressed, extremely tired and you start
getting splitting headaches.
According
to
http://
www.coffeeforums.com, caffeine dehydrates
people because it’s a diuretic, causing the body
to excrete extra fluids.
Not only that, but caffeine causes your
stomach to increase the production of stomach
acid which will lead to peptic ulcers, erosive
esophagus and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Most Americans have more than 3 or 4 cups
a day, which is actually enough to intoxicate
you. Intoxication occurs when you have 400
milligrams of caffeine or more. Depending on
your weight and mass, usually 80 to 100 cups
of regular coffee in a limited timeframe can kill
you but most deaths caused by caffeine usually
involved caffeine pills.
There are healthier ways to eat and great
ways to keep the body healthy. Don’t always
rely on caffeine, it’s not as healthy for the body
as people thought.
According to “Women’s Health Magazine”,
the top ten ways to boost your energy (the
healthy way) are: increase your magnesium intake, walk around the block, take a power nap,
don’t skip any meal, reduce stress and deal with
anger, drink more water, eat more whole grains
and less sugar, have a power snack, make it a
latte, Check Your Thyroid Function and Complete Blood Cell Count.
The last thing should only be if you try all
these things and you still feel sluggish. Try
talking to a doctor and see what he says. If you
do have a problem, it can easily be fixed with
medication.
Try cutting back on that caffeine and sugar.
It might be hard to do at first, but in the long
run, the body will be thankful and much happier.
Nov. 12, 2007
tudent
ports
Nov. 12, 2007
ife
9
Stafford High School
33 Stafford
Falmouth,
VALane,
22405Falmouth, VA 22405
Stafford
HighIndian
SchoolLane,
33 Stafford
Indian
The Orchestra performs under the direction of Jennifer Lukas. Stafford has a newly
formed Symphony Orchestra this year.
The Chamber
Singers and
Advanced
Women’s
Ensemble
performed in
concert with Mr.
Kevin Perry. The
chorus practices
for the “Rule
Britannia” concert.
Musical groups perform
By Julian Rivas
Staff writer
The Advanced Women’s Ensemble and
Chamber Singers performed a musical, Rule
Britania which featured choral music from
and inspired by Great Britain on Oct. 24.
From Thomas Morley to the Beatles, and
everything in between was featured in the
musical. Mr. Kevin Perry, a local professional tenor, was featured in the song Turtle
Dove, but was unavailable for comments.
“The performance went very well, and
we had fun,” said junior Madison Jefferies.
“Mr. Eveler did an excellent job preparing
us and leading us in the concert.” “Now
that we have had a successful concert, we
are now practicing for district auditions.”
“The concert went well,” said senior
Mia Vorhies. “We are improving in all aspects are vocals, are stage performance, and
were all in sync,” “I think the group did an
excellent job together, with the help of Mr.
Perry,” said Vorhies.
“They did a great job and excelled,” said
Mr. Joe Eveler, the choir teacher. “There is
always room for improvement but they did
a great job”
Overall the concert went well and the
members of both groups enjoyed the program. The groups will be performing again
for the winter concert and will try out next
week for district auditions.
Photo by Nate Carden
Varsity field hockey team entered the gym during the homecoming pep rally. The team rallied Friday to beat Mountain View in the Regional Finals after
losing regular season games in overtime duals. The team goes to States Nov. 7-9. They play single elimination for State Championship which Stafford took
in 2006 after several trips to the state competition.
Field hockey team wins
sudden death overtime,2-1
Volleyball
season finished
By Julian Rivas
Staff writer
SCA throws special party
By Ashley Bautista
Staff writer
The SCA sponsored a Halloween party
for some very special students on Oct. 31.
The party took place during seventh period and was very successful.
Students thoroughly enjoyed playing
games such as “pin the nose on the pumpkin” and relays from one spider web to the
next. John Sharp led the game of the spider
web relay while Ashley Embry and Justin
Graves cheered on the participants and
helped them place the spiders in the webs.
One of the games was led by Nick Sharp
and Ryan Brown in which students had to
play floor hockey and place the ball inside
the hula hoop for their team. Maria Colopy
entertained students with a hula hoop
throwing contest. Many laughs could be
heard in the cafeteria and teachers who
walked by had to stop to inquire about the
fun they were missing out on.
At the end of the party, prizes were
handed out and each student received their
own Halloween goodie bag. The faces of
the students lit up to see what goodies were
inside the bag and everyone compared and
shared with each other. Students discussed
their plans for the spooky holiday and told
the SCA officers what superhero or villain
they were going to be for the night. A good
time was had by all and this was obvious
by the smiles and laughter in the room.
The SCA sponsor, Margaret Bridges,
said “The party was a great success. I think
both the SCA kids and their guests had a lot
of fun.” The SCA plans to have many more
parties with the Special Education students
throughout the school year.
As the volleyball season comes to an end, the varsity volleyball team is looking good and working well together. The team has
progressed well since the beginning of the season, learning how to
work together and depending on one another to help each other
out.
“We work hard all the time, in practice we have fun, but when
it comes down to work we get serious,” said Britny Paynter,
junior volleyball player.
“I think the team has a bright future, if we continue are hard
work than I think that we will come out of this season, well prepared for next year ready to win,” said Paynter. “I love the team
we all enjoy playing together, I have made many friends on the
team and our friendship allows us to succeed on the court.”
“The season has gone well, all are mental and physical preparations have helped us a lot during the season,” said Abby Reisenfeld,
Junior volleyball player.
“We enjoy playing together and really have a lot of fun, we
enjoy the feeling of winning but we know when we lose we just
have to work harder in practice and we know in the back of our
heads we will improve and win the next game,” said Reisenfeld.
“The girls have worked well together and have really shown
great improvement,” said Mrs. Demaris Brown, varsity volleyball
coach. “The team worked hard in conditioning in the off season,
and has worked very hard in practice, all their hard work has paid
off and has led a successful campaign this season.”
“This team is great, and if they continue to practice hard they
will be prepared for the challenges that they will face next season,”
said Mrs. Brown.
Thanks for feeding
The Smoke Signal
Layout Crews
PATR
ONS
TRONS
SMOKE SIGNAL
SUPER SPONSORS
Dr
yle Cob
le
Dr.. & Mrs
Mrs.. K
Kyle
Coble
The Chestn
ut F
amil
y
Chestnut
Famil
amily
Mr
yle
Mr.. & Mrs
Mrs.. Alan Ga
Gayle
SIL
VER P
ATR
ONS
SILVER
PA
TRONS
Mr
er Sr
Mr.. & Mrs
Mrs..William C
C.. Conf
Confer
Anna & Paul Colopy
Da
vid & Theresa Ludlo
w
David
Ludlow
Charlene Norton
le Band Sa
w Mill & Custom Cuts
Carl Gibson’
sP
or
tab
Saw
ortab
table
Gibson’s
Por
Mr
oe & Linda Berenotto
Mr.. & Mrs
Mrs.. JJoe
Mr
atr
icia Toler
Mr.. & Mrs
Mrs.. Jim and P
Patr
atricia
Photo by Nate Carden
Stafford’s freshman and JV home games are done for season, but this tackle shows
they know how to stop a team from scoring.
JV, freshman teams home
games over for season
By Ambree Papa
Staff writer
This year the Stafford Indian’s junior
varsity football has a record of two wins
and seven losses.
Coach Williams pointed out several defensive players as outstanding. Sophomore
Matthew Padgett, no.12, plays safety on
defense. Sophomore Cody Richardson, no.
25, plays linebacker on defense and sophomore Howard Johnson, no. 5plays defensive back on defense.
Williams also named outstanding offensive players to include Padgett, who also
plays quarterback. Richardson is also a
wide receiver. Sophomore Clay Bennett,
no. 80, plays wide receiver and Johnson
plays quarterback on offense.
Outstanding newcomers are two freshmen. Reggie Kitchens,no. 27, plays running back, and Pierre Foreman, no. 6, plays
safety on defense.
This year, Stafford’s freshmen football team has a better record than its junior
varsity. With six wins and only two losses,
the newcomers to high school football have
reason to be proud.
“We’re really excited about doing so
well this season,” said freshman Matthew
Lansford.
Although the newcomers are doing better than the more seasoned JV team, the JV
team isn’t at all jealous.
“We will never be jealous,” said sophomore Kris Trowbridge.
On Halloween, both the JV and freshmen teams are giving up their holiday for
an away game against Albemarle High
School.
Within a few weeks, the high school
football season will be drawing to a close.
There are no remaining home games for JV
and freshmen football.
Pumpkin man carves masterpieces
MR. JOHN PROWETT WITH
JUST A FEW OF HIS
BR
ONZE P
ATR
ONS
BRONZE
PA
TRONS
Kath
y & Mik
e Bak
er
Kathy
Mike
Baker
Dallas & Gloria Chestnut
Paula Chestnut
Mr
Mr.. & Mrs
Mrs.. Morello
Ste
ven Wood
Stev
Shirle
y Wood
Shirley
Kathleen Williams
BLUE P
ATR
ONS
PA
TRONS
Candice Bautista
Keith & Deanna Lee
CARVED PUMPKINS.
Mr. John Provett from Auto Mechanics carves plastic pumpkins in to fantastic shapes and faces. He has been carving for
several years as a hobby. His creations are extremely intricate and
require hours of concentration. And he does all this for fun! And
free for teachers and friends. The most detailed one he ever carved
was a monster parting the corn in a corn field. Each pumpkin uses
a battery operated light to shine in the dark, similar to a flickering
candle. Prowett is just one of the many talented staff members at
SHS.
10
Stafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Falmouth, VA 22405
Nov. 12, 2007
TROPHY CLASS
THE INDIAN LEGEND
NOW PLAYING
PREORDER YOUR YEARBOOK
BY DECEMBER 3
ORDER BY MAIL, ONLINE OR PHONE
PHONE: 1-866-287-3096
ONLINE: WWW.YEARBOOKORDERCENTER.COM
ENTER ORDER NUMER 4516
MAIL ORDER FORM TO:
YEARBOOK ORDER CENTER
PO BOX 29
EDWARDSVILLE, KANSAS 66113-9029
FORMS AVAILABLE ONLINE, IN MAIN OFFICE OR OUTSIDE E103
AVAILABILITY
CANNOT BE GUARANTEED
AFTER PREORDER
SALE ENDS DEC. 3
SENIORS,
IF YOU HAVE NOT PREORDERED BY DEC. 3
YOU CANNOT ATTEND
SENIOR YEARBOOK BREAKFAST!
ORDER
NOW
tudent
Nov. 12, 2007
Stafford High School
33 Stafford
Falmouth,
VALane,
22405Falmouth, VA 22405
Stafford
HighIndian
SchoolLane,
33 Stafford
Indian
ife
11
Best teenfriendly places
to eat
Downtown
By Ashley Bautista
Staff Writer
Photo by Nate Carden
Interact club members hosted all the exchange students in the county school for a
Halloween party. Students wore costumes, carved pumpkins and went trick or treating
in the halls.
Decisons closer
than many think Interact Club hosts
By Kelsey Chestnut
Staff Writer
High school is a very important part of a student’s life. What
students accomplish in high school sets a path for the rest of their
lives. It is up to the individual whether this path is a good or a bad
one.
Many students don’t realize the work they need to put into
their education in high school. Students realize this when it becomes too late to change their grades or go back and finish their
work.
Colleges are ultimately very competitive. Advanced Placement, Honors, and Dual Enrollment classes are all looked at very
highly. According to the James Madison University booklet, there
were 18,665 freshmen applications for the year 2007-2008. Only
3,758 freshmen were enrolled in JMU for the 2007-2008 school
year.
“All of the work you do in high school determines what colleges accept you,” said junior Jesse Willard.
Students need to realize that if they do not get good grades,
they will not be accepted into the college they want, and this will
hinder their future. People who slack off in high school don’t
realize that this is the path to their futures.
When students are accepted into colleges, they are starting a
new adult life. In college people will decide what they want to do
for the rest of their lives and what their profession will be.
Colleges have different acceptance requirements. Students
should meet with guidance counselors many times throughout their
high school years to determine that they have all of the credits that
they need for their preferred college.
According to collegebound.com, colleges look for three general
things that students have accomplished in high school. They look
for eligibility, which is determined by SAT scores and the student’s
grade point average (GPA). Colleges also look for at least one
distinguishing characteristic, like being a member of a sports team
or a club president, and the appropriate courses in high school.
Students need to realize that as soon as they enter high school
they need to buckle down and strive for good grades. Sophomore
and junior year are critical years of high school that colleges look
at. However, junior year is the most important year in high school.
Juniors need to strive for the best grades and work as hard as they
can. Hard work pays off in real life when they get accepted to the
college of his or her choice and goes into a well paying profession.
Colleges don’t only look for intelligent people with a high
GPA. They look for well-rounded students who are involved in
other activities such as sports teams and clubs. Students want to
fill up their college applications with many different activities as
well as a good GPA.
According to the official website of Old Dominion University,
students should start researching different colleges online and visiting college campuses when they are freshmen and sophomores.
If they have not already begun to take Advanced Placement, Honors, or Dual Enrollment classes, they should by junior year.
Students are expected to have fun in high school. However,
they must always think about their future, and strive for the best.
What students accomplish in high school will follow them the rest
of their lives.
“College is what really matters,” said junior Sunan Ahmed.
“Even if you don’t go to some phenomenal university, as long as
you do well, you’ll have very little trouble in your future.”
Halloween party for
exchange students
By Wendy Cole
Staff writer
Interact club showed local area foreign
exchange students the how Halloween is
traditional celebrated in the United States.
Foreign change students had the chance
to experience the celebration of Halloween
from Stafford High School students. The
Interact club on Oct 27, had the out of country students come and dress up in their
costumes and experience American customs. Activities they did were trick-ortreating, pin the nose on the Witch,
Mummy Wrap, carved pumpkins, and interacted with other teens from other countries.
Interact club is sponsored by Mike
Miller. The club does community service
activities in the Stafford County area.
“This was my third year doing the
Halloween celebration for the foreign exchange kids,” said Mike. “It is a great way
for the students from this area to interact
and social with other students from other
countries.”
Foreign exchange students from
Stafford County, Fredericksburg City,
Spotsylvania County, and King George all
came to Stafford High. The students were
told to dress up in costumes. Name tags
helped students identify one another.
Names and the country of origin were featured on the tags.
Most foreign exchange students had
heard about but never saw or experienced
them in their life. They never had the chance
to go door to door and say, “trick-or-treat”,
it was a new experience for them to walk
down the halls of Stafford High, going door
to door of each classroom and knocking.
The carving of the pumpkins was also
a new experience for the students. Some
have never seen a pumpkin in their life, let
alone carved one. It was a fun and new experience for them to have.
The main point of the celebration was
to get the students interacting and socializing with others from this area. It was to
make them feel more welcomed here and
know a little about our culture.
Photo by Nate Carden
Table decorations with jack o’lanterns, black cats and food, lots and lots of food.
Think Pink Day raises
money for Avon Walk
Key Club stays
busy this year
By Ashley Bautista
Staff Writer
The Key Club has been very busy in the past few weeks. On
October 29 there was a meeting in which the club’s vice-president,
John Sharp, discussed with fellow members the upcoming events
that the club will be participating in.
One of the most popular things that Key Club does is TrickOr-Treat for UNICEF. Key
Club members signed up to
receive a little orange box
that they collect money in
for the UNICEF organization. Participants can either
go door to door asking for
money or just have family
members and friends donate. All proceeds go to the
United Nations Children’s
Fund and underprivileged
children in Swaziland.
Other
upcoming
projects of Key Club include a joint project with National Honor Society for SPCA and
Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for struggling families during
the holidays. Members of Key Club can bring in food, preferably
canned goods, for the families. The club is also working on making
a tree for the “Festival of Trees” in which proceeds for the tree will
go to the Battered Women’s Shelter.
International Key Club Week is November 5-9. The club will
have two meetings that week. Members will be able to wear their
Key Club t-shirts November 9.
Photo by Nate Carden
Heather Rochol and Jasmine Biggers wore pink to raise
awareness and money for breast cancer research. Over 800
students and staff wore pink on Tuesday.
By Gillan Ludlow
Staff writer
Bright pink posters with pink paint adorned the school walls. They advertised
“Think Pink,” a campaign for Breast Cancer. For every person who wears pink, 25 cents
was donated towards the fund for Breast Cancer Reasearch.
Some wore pink to support the Breast Cancer campaign while others wore pink as
a deeper symbol of how breast cancer has affected their lives. Such as experience, or
having someone close to them experience it.
“I wore pink because my grandmother died because of breast cancer,” said math
teacher Mrs. Deborah Kresho, “I also wore pink for general support.”
For two days and 39 miles, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer gives individuals the
opportunity to dramatically impact the lives of millions affected by breast cancer worldwide. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is a two day event in Washington D.C. and begins
on May 3 and continues on to the next day. The large event that takes place in nine
different cities around the United States. Avon, the beauty supply company, has been
supporting the walk since 2003.
“It’s nice wearing pink and participating in the walk because money will be donated,” said junior Sierra Martin, “and it feels great to know that you’re helping someone
in need.”
“We made about $200 for “Think Pink,” said SCA and Key Club sponsor Mrs.
Margaret Bridges. “We didn’t make as much as I hoped.”
When you are looking for a great place to eat in downtown
Fredericksburg, many places come to mind. Among the top choices
of teenagers are Fortune Gourmet, La Petite Auberge and Hyperion.
If you are looking for some great Chinese food and a lovely
ambiance, you can go to Fortune Gourmet on Caroline Street. The
convenient location provides a great place to stop on an afternoon
stroll or even to meet up with friends for dinner. If you do visit
Fortune Gourmet,
you should be prepared for very large
servings and awesome food! The
menu is so overwhelming it might
take you a while to
figure out what you
want.
Another popular place to visit for
dinner, lunch or
even for coffee is La
Petite Auberge.
This restaurant is a
little fancier than
most downtown so
it would be a great place to go on a date or even after a movie. The
blue awning and tables outside provide a nice ambiance for a French
dinner downtown. The waiting staff is very nice and punctual
about getting your food to you in a timely manner.
Probably the most popular hang-out spot for teens in downtown Fredericksburg is Hyperion Espresso. This quaint coffee
shop is located on the corner of William Street and is a host to
many college and high school kids on the weekends and even after
school. Junior Tyler Northrup said, “Hyperion is a really fun
place to just chill at. Everyone goes there on the weekends.” They
offer a variety of different coffees as well as iced beverages such as
Italian sodas and iced lemonade.
potlight
12
Nov. 12, 2007
Stafford High School 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Falmouth, VA 22405
Students filled balloons
with hydrogen then set
them on fire which
showed a bright red
flame.
Students mixed two seperate
liquid chemicals to create a
solid that grew out of cups.
Lance Herbert and Kyle Rauch prepare a pumpkin experiment.
Laura Irwin, Nick Magrino, Brian Green and Aaron Bowers play with Carbon dioxide bubbles.
Mrs. Kathy Dennis
demonstrates with
dry ice and other fun
things in her AP
Chemistry class.
Puking pumpkins in AP
chemistry highlight
Halloween festivities
All photos by Alisha Abrams
Photography editor
Students created carbon dioxide bubbles.
Students created a makeshift witch’s caldron with dry ice and water.
Lauren Irwin breaks the CO2 bubble which released fog.
Brian Green uses his hand to cause the CO2 to flow out the beaker.
Students held the bubbles in their hands before popping them,
which caused a dusty white fog.
Claire Kaus creates pink elepant toothpaste foam.
Chemistry students enjoyed using dry ice to create a fog in the sink..
Mixing Chemicals created an eerie Halloween
appearance for the Chemistry Lab.
Kyle Reese pops his bubbles releasing CO2 fog.
Chemistry students performed festive
experiments.
Students created red bubbles by adding food coloring into the solution.