October - Giles High School

Spartonian Staff
Faculty Advisor Michael Etzler
Hi there!
My name is
Kristin
Gillispie and
I’m a junior
this year!
This is my
second year
writing for
the Spartonian and I’m editor this year!
I’m just a big kid in all honesty; when I went to Disney I was more excited
to see the characters!! I don’t like today’s music; I rather just listen to jazz
and older music. So, I guess I’m not “mainstream”! My dream job would be
to be a movie producer or become a writer. Whichever happens, I’ll
Hey guys, my name is Katie
be happy! Now enough about me, check out my articles. Hope you
Wilburn and I’m a junior.
enjoy! Buh-bye
This is my first year in
journalism and I’m super
Hey! I’m Devin, and I’m
excited to be on the staff. My
currently a sophomore. This is
passion is photography which
my first year in journalism, and
is the whole reason I signed
so far, I’ve really been enjoying
up for this class. My love for
it! I love reading, I play
photography has brought me
volleyball and soccer, and I
to having a blog which you
spend most of my free time
can see at
practicing them. I’m also
www.isabellaphotography101
involved in YOVASO/SADD,
.blogspot.com. I can’t wait to
the monogram club, and the
share with you guys some of
GHS news crew. I hope
my ideas this year! Hope you
everyone likes my articles! 
enjoy my articles and
pictures!
My name is Devin Walls.
I am a sophomore and this
is my first year on the
Spartonian. I live in West
Virginia and I have
always attended school in
Giles County. I like riding
my four wheeler and
playing video games. I am
looking forward to taking
photos and sharing
stories. I hope you enjoy
my articles.
Hey, hey! My name is Kassie
Richardson. I’m a
sophomore. I’m so excited to
be part of the Spartonian
staff. I love photography,
which is why I decide to join.
Along with photography, I
enjoy soccer and colorguard.
This year I hope you enjoy
the articles I write. Have a
great year!
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Hi everybody, I’m
Brook Hale, a
sophomore here at
Giles. My little brother
Justin Hale is an eighth
grader here. This is my
first year of
journalism; I took this
class because I like to
write about different
things and to know
what is happening. I’m
a cool cat.
Hey GHS! My names Meaghan
and I’m a sophomore. This is
my first year of journalism and I
really enjoy it! I play volleyball
at GHS, and I play club
volleyball in the winter and
spring. I also swim on the swim
team in the summer. Hope you
all enjoy the Spartonian this
year!
Homecoming 2012 By Kristin Gillispie
It’s the time everyone has been waiting for, Homecoming! The students of Giles really
know how to rock a spirit week, have amped up pep rallies, and know a move or two on the
dance floor! The notorious spirit week began on October 1 st
and it lasted until October 5th, which is plenty of time to get
GHS students and teachers pumped up for the
Homecoming events that were ahead! We started off spirit
week with Monday as Tye-Dye/Hippie Day, Tuesday as
Merica’ Day, Wednesday as Superhero Day, Thursday as
Neon Day, and as always ending it on Friday with Spartan
Spirit Camo Day. At the Homecoming pep rally they
announced who showed the most spirit and the Super
Spartan award went to Senior Kacey Mann. She wasn’t the
only one who showed true school spirit though. Another
spirit award which is the spirit stick went to the loudest and
proudest group at the pep rally, the Juniors! After the
school day was over it was parade time. Floats from FBLA
to little leagues were all present. This year’s winner of the
best float went to FFA which is sponsored by Megan Jones.
Now as always there are a few princes and princesses
walking through the halls, the royalty this year would be 8th
Giles High School’s 2012
grade Princess Emily Santolla and Prince Anthony
Homecoming Queen Jessie
Meadows, 9th grade Princess Olivia Stiff and Prince Elijah
Junior Luke Munsey
Farmer and King Ian Mann
Robbins, 10th grade Princess Devin Moore and Prince Josh
and Senior Ty Journell
Scott, and 11th grade Princess Olivia Steele and Prince Cody
show off their Spartan
Rhodes. The seniors are Princess Maggie Boggess and Prince Kyle Chafin, Princess Marinna Dowdy
spirit in Merica’ Day.
and Prince Ian Mann, Princess Jessie Farmer and Prince Jared Famer. At the game Friday night the
2012 Homecoming King and Queen were announced: Queen Jessie Farmer and King Ian Mann.
That wasn’t the only thing worth celebrating though. We ended the spirit week with a win of 56-14 against Auburn! Good job boys!
On October 6th we officially ended Homecoming week with none other than the Homecoming Dance. Everyone was anxious to
get dressed up and dance the night away to the tunes of our very own Dr. J.
Overall, Giles High School had a very successful Homecoming celebration.
Junior Zachary
Croy shows off
his school spirit
at the
Homecoming
pep rally!
The Varsity Football team gets excited for the
big Homecoming game at the pep rally.
Spartan Fried Eagles
FFA float won the best
float. FFA members
Seth Croy, Gracie
Dudding, and
Savannah Stanley ride
the float to victory.
Tommy Fields, Taylor Williams and
Elizabeth Meredith show of their spirit on
Super Hero day.
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Lights, Camera, Giles!
By Devin Walls
Caty Shillinger and
Savannah Stanley
practiced “Blown Away”
the night before the show.
Monday, September 24th 2012 was the
second annual talent show held at Giles High
School. Students competed for a cash prize, and
the two top contestants would continue on to the
regional talent show, where they had the
opportunity to win up to $20,000 for the school.
The regional show was sponsored by Shelor
Motor Mile and was held at Christiansburg High
School on Saturday, October 20th. Our very own
Sydney Hawks and Diamond Meadows sang their
hearts out while competing there! The band
director Natalie Fuentes made the GHS talent
show a reality this year, as well as Erin Barnett,
the host and master of ceremonies.
Sisters Amber and Jennifer
Bradley sang “Blown Away.”
Katie Whitehead
sang “Skyscraper.”
Jacob Vierling
sang “You
Raise Me Up.”
The following are winners of the Giles talent show: fifth place
and fan favorite Katie Whitehead, fourth place Marti Williams,
third place Gina Modica, second place Diamond Meadows,
and first place winner Sydney Hawks.
When asked how she thought her experience
with the regional talent show was, Diamond
Meadows replied, “I had a great experience at
the talent show! The atmosphere was friendly
and I met so many different people.”
When asked how she thought her experience
with the regional talent show was, Sydney
Hawks replied, “I loved the experience! It was
so much fun and I got to meet great people who
share my love for music.”
Marti Williams
danced to
“Blessings.”
Gina Modica
played
“Cristoforis”
on the piano.
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Marching to a Win!
By Kassie Richardson
Every home game you
see the mighty Marching
Spartans on the field
performing their show. With
57 members, 2 drum majors,
and 13 color guard members,
this year has been exciting,
and the band has worked hard
to perform the best show they
can. Their show is entitled
Aliens. This includes
“Funkathustra” by Dave
Mills, “E.T.” by Katy Perry,
Drum Major Amber
“Independence Day End
Stump leads the
Titles” by David Arnold and
Marching Spartans
“Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya
in the Homecoming
Head)” by Will Smith. On
Parade.
Homecoming
they
performed
The Band plays during the pep rally before the Narrows game.
“Open Arms” by Journey
specially done for the homecoming court. They have been working hard to complete and perfect their show, with practice every day
during 4th period, every Tuesday and Thursday after school, and practices over the summer, including fundamentals and band camp.
During these practices, the band has memorized all four songs as well as where all their sets are on the field. In addition to the half
time show for the fans, the Marching Spartans also go to competitions. This year they have gone to Glenvar High School on
September the 29th, Southern Thunder in Princeton, West Virginia on October 13 th, and Patrick County High school on October 21 st.
When I asked Ms. Fuentes how the
band was doing she said, “We have
scored excellent at all, at the Southern
Thunder competition we got 1st place
in all the categories and overall, and at
the last competition we got 2nd in
music, march, and overall in our class.
Along with performing during the fall;
the band also has concerts during the
winter and spring. In the spring they
go on an annual band trip; this year’s
location is still being determined.
Good luck to the Marching Spartans
as the season comes to an end.
The Drum line pumps up the crowd before the football team comes out during half time.
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Smile, You’re on the Field
By Kassie Richardson
Picture from Facebook
Alazay Smith, Courtney Riggs, Brittany Robertson, Bailee Brewster,
Karina Hernandez, and Cierra Riggs (front) Elizabeth Meredith,
Kaitlynn Harless, Ashley Estep, Brianna Boone, Kassie Richardson,
and Leah Perdue (back) before their competition on September 29th
When you see
the Marching
Spartans marching
onto the field for half
time, Color Guard
always accompanies
them. Guard may
look easy, but behind
all the pretty flags
and moves, there is a
lot of work. The
ladies work with the
band every day
during 4th period, on
Tuesdays and
Thursdays after
school, and over the
summer they had 3
camps, fundamentals,
band camp, and guard
camp. During these practices it’s not all fun and games. The guard members work very hard to learn
all the routines and places on the field, along with where to place their flags. Captain Brianna Boone
remarked, “The practice is going great; the girls work hard. We added a lot of new girls this year, and
each of them have improved so much since we first started. They can throw doubles!” When Cierra
Riggs was asked about practice she said, “Some days practice is very hard but it is worth it when we
are out there on the field. It’s not all hard work though, there are times when the girls like to have fun
and just hang out. Elizabeth Jones commented, “We are a very dysfunctional family, but we always
pull together when we need to in the end. When Karina Hernandez was asked why she joined Color
Guard she replied “I wanted to experience something new that was very challenging.” Along with
hanging out during practice and performing during half time and competitions, Color Guard enjoys
dancing and having fun in the stands. Since the girls don’t play instruments, they dance to songs
when the band plays. Some of the songs are just random dance routines that the girls come up with on
the spot, others like the “Fight Song,” “7 Nation Army,” “Bird Land,” and “Right Round” have
dances that have been around for years. Along with the crazy dances in the stands, Brianna also
comes up with the routines Color Guard does. Brianna said, “The inspiration for the dances and
routines comes from however
hyper we are in the stands. For
routines I get inspiration from
other guards and the music.”
When I talked to Kaitlynn
Harless about how she felt
about this being the last year
she has with the seniors she
said, “I’m going to miss them
all because they have been
with me the whole time I have
done Color Guard.” When I
Picture taken by
Taylor McCroskey
Elizabeth Meredith, Bailee Brewster, Leah Perdue, Kaitlynn
Harless, Taylor Watson (Honorary Guard Member), Kassie
Richardson, Brianna Boone, Ashley Estep, Cierra Riggs,
Karina Hernandez, Brittany Robertson, and Alazay Smith
during the Homecoming
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Seniors
Brianna Boone-Captain
Bailee Brewster
Ashley Estep
Elizabeth Jones
Elizabeth Meredith
Cierra Riggs
Sophomores
Kaitlynn Harless
Karina Hernandez
Leah Perdue
Kassie Richardson
Freshman
Brittany Robertson
8th Graders
Courtney Riggs
Alazay Smith
Kaitlynn Harless performs
“E.T” by Katy Perry in the
half time show during the
game against Tazewell.
Picture by Diana Estep
asked Brianna if she would be
Captain Brianna Boone
coming back next year to help
leads the way of the
out she replied, “I do plan on
Homecoming Parade with
coming back next year. I love it
seniors Bailee Brewster
and the girls. I plan on doing
and Elizabeth Meredith
whatever I can to help, write
following close behind.
routines, or do make-up or hair.
Pretty much same thing I do
now.” The guard season has ended for the year, but I wish them
luck for their season next year.
The Symphonic Chorale
By Katie Wilburn
The Symphonic Chorale is a tradition at Giles High
School. It’s a group of about 40 students who all share their
love for singing. The chorale has winter and spring concerts
every year. The chorale members run the bandana bar during football season. Every April they
go on their annual “Chorale Tour” where they compete against other schools. They have gone
to places such as, Orlando, Florida, Chicago, Illinois and the Bahamas. Last year the group
went to Orlando, Florida and won best overall Chorale group. The chorale has daily rehearsal
during 6th period. The members start out stretching and then go straight to warm ups, and then
they practice their music pieces. The Chorale has a new director this year! His name is Tim
Woolwine, who was formally band and choir director at Narrows High School.
Sophomore Afton Scott works
the concession stand by
wrapping hot dogs at an 8th
grade football game.
Q: What made you want to apply for Mr.
Marion’s position?
A: I had several reasons for applying for the choir
director job at GHS. Mostly, I prefer to teach
choir. Since I graduated college, I have only ever
taught both band and choir, and it’s nice to be able
to focus solely on choir.
Q: What is a tradition you want to keep in the
Chorale?
A: The Bandanna Bar…it’s a tremendous asset to
the choral program here at GHS, and I love that it is
student run. We have one of the only student run
football concession stands around.
Q: What’s something people ask you frequently
about being the new chorale director?
A: “Do you know what you’re getting into?”
Q: What’s your favorite part about the chorale’s daily rehearsal?
A: The students…I have wonderful, talented students! I also like how cohesive the
group is. Chorale is and has always been a various close-kit group. The students
work well together, and that’s one of the reasons they are so successful.
New Chorale Director
Tim Woolwine
Q: Do you have an idea about where you want to take the chorale on their trip this year?
A: Yes…but that’s classified information.
I asked the chorale some questions about how they are doing in chorale this year and my results turned out great. Everyone is
loving chorale and having a ton of fun. Most everyone likes it because they enjoy singing and being in such a close- knit group. Junior
Parker Fields says chorale is “amazing” and that it has made her realize her strong passion for music. The majority of the group loves
to sing “Amazing Grace” because of the harmony and how beautiful the arrangement sounds. It makes the piece perfect for the
Chorale to sing at any event!
Freshman Elise Chafin comments that
the atmosphere is so lively in class!
Vice President Tanner Martin says his
favorite part about the chorale’s daily
rehearsal is the warm ups! He adds,
“We do some crazy stuff before we
sing!” No one knows where we are
going this year on our trip in April,
except Mr. Woolwine and Mrs.
Noble, of course. The place everyone
wants to go this year is the Bahamas!
But unfortunately, Mr. Woolwine has
insured us that going out of the
country is out of the question!
The chorale sang the National Anthem at the homecoming pep rally.
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Too Close For Comfort
By Kristin Gillispie
Kevin Bacon, Patrick Swayze, and now Giles High School? A debate has been going on
throughout the school. In the past few weeks the student body has had debates over the “grinding”
form of dancing. Some of the students however enjoy the type of dancing, while others do not. There
was a rule change before our annual Homecoming dance, that “grinding” will not be allowed. Like
everything else you’re going to have some who support the rule, while others, eh not so much.
Although, you must keep in mind that other schools have completely done away with the
“grinding” but not only that some of the music also. Some schools hire certain DJs so they won’t play
the upbeat rap and or hip hop music. As for Giles we have the privilege to have our own DJ, Dr. J. Not
only do we have the privilege of having our own DJ but he also gets the music that the student body
likes. So, in reality we are lucky enough to have that privilege unlike others.
Another privilege we have about our dances is we can wear what we wish to wear. Meaning they
have to wear certain dance attire. According to some schools’ handbooks they have to be to the knee,
no shorter. You also cannot have certain types of jewelry; this includes “spikes” in ears. What happens
if you don’t meet the dress code requirements? You simply don’t attend the dance.
There are also some schools that require you to take dance lessons before prom. They have these
lessons
during PE classes. It’s not over yet, in order to go to prom you must take a test on appropriate
Jennifer Grey and the
dancing.
If you pass the test, you can go to prom and well if you don’t pass, no prom night for you
late Patrick Swayze
sadly. So in a way we are lucky to not have to take a test like that! It would also be kind of
dancing in the 1987
embarrassing if you failed and couldn’t make it to prom…
movie Dirty Dancing.
At some schools parents have
to get involved with your dances.
Why you may ask? Well, it’s not chaperoning. You and your
parents must sign a “dance contract.” This dance contract states
that your dress wear is acceptable and you will obey all rules at all
times. The question is what happens when you break the contract?
Your parents have to come and pick you up from the dance, which
is kind of embarrassing…
So all in all, it’s okay in the end. I ensure you, that no matter
what rules are or however else things may change, you will have
fun at dances.
Kevin Bacon in the memorable scene from the 1984
movie Footloose
8
Sophomore Taylor Watson says
“Personally, I have no problem
with the school’s sudden
prevention of grinding. In my
opinion, grinding is an
unnecessary form of dance or
expression.” Watson continued
on saying, “This type of dance is
also highly inappropriate,
especially for students of our
age.”
Sophomore John Teats says, “If
grinding is granted, then more
people will attend Giles High
School Boogies!” He continued
on, “When a larger amount of
student body shows up for the
dance, Giles makes more money.
I have very strong feelings for
this problem and the whole
student body also.”
Sophomore Louis Thomas
believes, “Grinding can get any
or all involved people sent into
school suspension, make all
dances for the year canceled,
and kids banned from school
dances.” He continued on
saying, “All in all, the best way
to support this is not to do it.”
Sophomore Cheyenne White
says, “If other teens feel
uncomfortable by their peers
dancing, they don’t have to pay
them any attention.” She
continues, “Also, by not allowing
us to express ourselves, we will
not want to participate or go and
enjoy the school dances.”
What is it? By Devin Moore
Nina Adkins-Fisher and Afton Scott
consider what an antique might have
been used for in the past.
At the front of the library in the display
case this month, there were many unusual
antiques. There was a "What is it?" contest
to see who could guess the correct name of
the objects or describe how the objects are
used. Whoever had the most correct guesses
would win free admission to a GHS sporting
event. The winners were Shane Wooten and
William Robertson. When I asked Shane
how he figured out what the objects were he
replied, “I recognized a lot of the antiques
from home.”
New Face at GHS
Winners Shane Wooten and
William Robertson
By Devin Walls
New teacher Ms. Sarah Harman has joined our Giles High School family. She grew up and went
to school in the small town of Oakwood in Buchanan County. She got her undergraduate degree at
Virginia Tech and her graduate degree at Radford University. She enjoys singing, playing the piano
and drums, writing songs, playing sports, and her favorite activity is sitting down and reading a good
book. When asked what made her become an English teacher she said, “I enjoy working with students
and making a difference, whether it’s big or small in their lives.”
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10
Who Will Win?
By Brook Hale
The presidential election is coming up in
November between President Obama, who is a
democrat, and former Governor of Massachusetts
Romney, who is a republican. Out of twenty-two
Giles High School students four would vote for
Obama and eighteen would vote for Romney. Out of
twenty-one students three claim to be democrat,
nine say they are republican and nine are
independent. Candidate pictures from Google
Q: Why would you vote for that candidate?
A: “Mitt has the only clear plan to get
America working again, to grow the economy, and
lead. He also has a proven successful track record as
a businessman and governed,” replied Aiden
Williams.
Q: If you were President of the United States,
how would you run the country differently?
A: Amber Bradley remarked, “I would change
the definition of middle class and bear down on
some advantage taking Americans.”
Q: If you were president of the United States of
America, how would you run the country
differently?
A: “I would try to save some of the tax money
that is sent out and try to pay off some of the debt,”
replied Houston Humphreys.
Q: Would you like to be President of the United
States? Why or why not?
A: “Absolutely, being President would be a hard
job that would make me lose my hair but have the
opportunity to change people’s lives,” exclaimed
Gunar Frazier.
11
Hoax or Reality By Kristin Gillispie
Halloween is here along with the ghouls, goblins,
and other monsters coming out during the night. It’s only
natural for people to immediately think of those creatures
when it comes around. Although, when it isn’t
Halloween, do things still go bump in the night? Do the
slightest sounds give people a slight chill or goose
bumps? While the Halloween monsters are taking a
break, what are the others up too and who are they
exactly?
One of the most famous of these cryptid creatures would most likely be the notorious Bigfoot also
known as Skunk Ape, Sasquatch and many other names. The name varies between countries and
people. Whatever you may call it, Bigfoot is most likely the most questioned cryptid of them all. The
Syfy’s Destination
question is, why though? Sightings of this alleged creature have been going on for years and years. The
Truth host Josh Gates
first documented sighting of Bigfoot was in 1811, where a trader had found foot prints. However, the
presents a Yeti
most famous Bigfoot sighting would be the Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin film which was at Bluff
footprint he found
Creek, California. Although the shot is very short it shows an ape like creature walking upright. The
film has not yet been proven to be Bigfoot and it hasn’t been proved as anything else. He’s also famous
during an expedition
in the media. Nowadays there are plenty of shows trying to prove his existence such as Syfy’s
in the Himalayas.
Destination Truthand Fact or Faked, while Animal Planet has Finding Bigfoot. As for now, nobody
knows where this elusive creature may be, whether he exists or not, the debate continues on.
Now other than Bigfoot, there are other cryptids, some that you may not have heard of, or you may
never think that one may be near our area. However, I do recall one that is near our neck of the woods
and this would be Mothman. This cryptid resides in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It’s a bit far from us,
but still somehow seems a bit too close for comfort. The name itself may not be “menacing” but his
story is quite chilling. According to sightings this cryptid has deep red eyes; first thing they happen to
notice. Some people believed that Mothman was actually an alien. On December 15, 1967 the Silver
Bridge in Point Pleasant collapsed. Oddly enough, there were many Mothman sightings the days before.
Some of the sightings claimed that they saw a “huge bird like creature” flying back and forth across the
bridge. Could Mothman be the reason that the Silver Bridge collapsed or just faulty equipment? Could
Mothman be real or just a large snowy owl? Once again, the debate continues.
As for another debatable concept would be the paranormal. As in ghosts, the real things that go
bump in the night. Paranormal investigations are pretty common everywhere. Not too long ago a Syfy
show The Haunted Collector was doing an investigation at Saint Albans, so not too far from us. It
seems like everything we don’t know about, just intrigues us more and more. The media has taken the
paranormal for ride it will never forget; once again Syfy has many shows like Ghost Hunters, Fact or
Faked, Destination Truth, The Haunted Collector, Haunted Highway, and other shows. Although,
A Mothman statue in
television shows aren’t the only ones taking the paranormal to a whole new level, so are movies. The
Point Pleasant, West
box office hits lately have been movies about paranormal experiences. Are ghosts really unrested? Are
Virginia
we imagining all these things?
There’s more cryptids and unknowns out there, but recently some of the students of Giles have
found out about a new being, Slenderman. Just like Mothman the name doesn’t sound very menacing,
but again his story is quite interesting. He is very tall in stature with long arms, and he wears a black
suit with a tie. One more thing about this Slenderman, he doesn’t have a face. Junior Hunter Carbaugh
says “I found out about Slenderman through the Marble Hornets YouTube series. I enjoyed watching
them, I even watched ten hours’ worth of Slenderman
encounters” Carbaugh and some of his friends have played the
game “Slender” which is a horror game about Slenderman. I
myself have attempted to play Slender, but it’s quite scary.
Don’t worry though, because Slenderman was created during a
paranormal photo shopping contest back in 2009 and he is now
Slenderman
a well-known meme amongst many. Somehow, someway
Slenderman made his way to Giles County.
Whether we like it or not there still
“The true mystery of the world is
remain mysteries throughout our
Investigators Jael De Pardo and
the visible, not the invisible.”
world, if it’s unknown creatures or
Devin Marble from Haunted Highway
just unexplored areas of our world.
― Oscar Wilde
prepare for their night time
Every day we continue our search for
investigation for their search of the
the odd things that amaze us and continue to question what’s myth and what’s not.
Ozark Howler in Jasper, Arkansas.
All images were taken from Google.
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15
He Said-She Said
By Kassie Richardson
Promise me you'll always
remember: You're braver
than you believe, and
stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you
think.
― A.A. Milne
unger Games
Friendship is born at
that moment when one
person says to another:
"What! You too? I
thought I was the only
one.”
― C.S. Lewis
Everything will be
okay in the end; if
it’s not okay it’s
not the end
-Unknown
There are some things you
can't share without ending
up liking each other, and
knocking out a twelve-foot
mountain troll is one of
them.
― J.K. Rowling, Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone
A friend is someone
who knows all about
you and still loves you.
― Elbert Hubbard
Life is what
happens to you
while you’re busy
making other
plans.
-John Lennon
Shoot for
the moon.
Even if
you miss it
you will
land
among the
stars.
-Les Brown
Friends are like
stars-you can’t
always see them,
but they are
always there.
-Old Saying
Quotes from: goodreads.com and funnyquotes4u.net.
Pictures from: Google
Don’t cry
because it’s
over, be happy
because it
happened
-Dr. Seuss
16
Twitter VS. Facebook
By Katie Wilburn
Social networks are taking over the internet. People all over the world use them to catch up
with friends and family. Some people use them because they are curious about who said what
or what people are talking about. The current popular social networks are Facebook and
Twitter. Facebook is more for friends and family. You can share pictures, videos and status
updates. Twitter is more for status updates. Even celebrity’s are on twitter. Sometimes that’s
why people join twitter, so they can follow their favorite music artist or movie star and see
what they are up to. Some people love twitter so much they stay up late just to ‘tweet’ about
how they are feeling or what they did that day. If someone likes what you tweet, they retweet
it and it shows up on their page. On Facebook, you can like pictures,
status updates, videos and links. Or you can share them and it will go
on your page. Social networks are exciting because you can
Image from Google
communicate with people from all over the world. It’s nice when
friends move away and you can keep in touch with them by sharing your favorite pictures of each other or
just messaging them and seeing how they are doing. Social networks are also bad because people focus
more on them than their studies or sports. Sometimes it even makes them do poorly.
I interviewed 25 students about social networks. Surprisingly, the average time spent on a social
network a day is 3 hours. Senior Ben Allamong says, “I like social networks because they keep me from
doing my homework but I dislike them because they keep me from doing my homework.” Out of 25
students, 11 say they prefer Facebook and nine say they prefer Twitter. Senior Marti Williams says having an easy connection to her
friends is important. Which is true; social networks can be so convenient sometimes! It comes in handy when you forget your
homework. All you do is message a friend in that class and get the page numbers. Also, if you want to catch up with old friends, you
can chat with them and set up a time to hang out. Some people prefer no social network at all like juniors and twins Susanne and
Amelia Whittaker! Susanne says, “Even though I don’t have
a social network, I seem to stay pretty busy with other
activities. On a regular evening after doing homework,
studying, eating, watching TV, and talking with my family, I
have a full evening and have no time to be on a social
network.” Amelia adds, “I don’t want one because I think
it’s a waste of time. I feel that the people who matter to me
in life can communicate with me without having to go
through a social network.”
Twins Susanne and Amelia Whittaker don’t prefer a social
network at all.
Junior Shannon Ferguson says, “My
favorite part about having a social network
is keeping in touch with friends who live far
away.”
17
Haunted Adventures!
By Devin Moore
Haunted houses are a popular attraction at this time
of the year. There is nothing compared to the feeling of
being scared out of your mind! There are a wide variety
of haunted houses to attend, beginning with the annual
Wolfcreek Haunted House. The actors are phenomenal
and love picking on the guests who are the most afraid!
Keep in mind you might also be chased to your vehicle.
Another haunted house is Spookywoods, located in
High Point, North Carolina. Featured on the Travel
channel as being one of America’s scariest haunted
attractions, the actors are practically on a professional
Two actors from the Wolfcreek
level with makeup and costumes similar to those in
Haunted House take a break
Hollywood. Spookywoods has a variety of haunted
after a night full of fright.
attractions. It begins in the Nightmare Haunted House,
and afterwards you take a terrifying ride on the Terror
Devin Moore, Kelsey Vaught,
Trams to the Clown Town. The night ends in Deadly Harvest, where you walk through a corn
Jessie Farmer, and Danielle
maze with live scarecrows and other creatures! Major Graham’s Haunted Mansion in Max
Vaught pose with Beetlejuice
Meadows is also a great place for thrillseekers. There’s a legend that it’s haunted by slaves
while at Spookywoods.
who used to work the land. The paranormal investigators from Ghost Hunters even visited this
house in 2012 and held an investigation! As you go through the haunted attraction, you learn the horror story between Twitch and Dr.
Octothorpe. The last haunted house on our list is St. Albans Scream-A-Torium in Radford, Virginia. This long abandoned hospital is
rumored to be haunted by old patients. It has two separate themed nights, one being Reign of Terrors, which is full of zombies, snakes,
spiders and other creepy things. The other attraction is Carnival of Cadavers, which is filled with clowns and terrifying circus acts.
St. Albans Sanatorium before Halloween
Photo and info by stalbans-virginia.com
Major Graham’s Mansion in the moonlight
Photo and info by majorgrahammansion.com
Giles Golf Team
Gets 4 in State Tournament
th
By Katie Wilburn
The Giles High School Golf Team finished the year strong making it
all the way to the state golf tournament in Big Stone Gap and coming in 4th
place. The Spartans made it to the state finale by finishing second in the
Region C Tournament at the Draper Valley Golf Course on October 2.
Coach Johnston’s squad was anchored this year by Junior’s Gunar Frazier and Kory Wilson
who led the Spartans to another Three Rivers District Title. The team captured the title on
September 25 by blowing away regular season champion Glenvar by 24 shots. The Spartans
played their second best golf of the season, and their best golf away from home, as they shot a
326 team total at the par 72 Draper Valley course near
Wytheville. The Spartans were led by Frazier, who won the
individual title and medalist honors with a one over par 73.
Wilson came in second with a three over par 75. Junior,
Hunter Carbaugh shot 88, Junior, Jacob Hudson carded a
90, Senior, Kyle Chafin shot 96 and Freshman, Douglas
Good shot 99 to complete the scoring for the Spartans and
Senior Kyle Chafin hits his
give them a 326 team total.
second shot during his
On October 3, 2012, the Spartan golfers competed in
match at the Giles Country
th
the
Region
C Golf Tournament at Draper Valley Golf
Club on September 9 .
Course. Giles came away from the tournament with a
second place finish which qualified them for the Single a State Tournament in Big Stone Gap.
The Spartans were led by Gunar Frazier with a 73 and Kory Wilson with a74 both of whom were
named to the all region team. Other members of the team worked hard throughout the year to
improve and contribute as well. They include Sophomores David Sadler and J.C. McGuire,
freshmen Logan Croy and 8th graders Joseph Clark and Brevin Wilburn.
The G.H.S. Spartan Golf Team participated in the V.H.S.L. Single A State
Golf Championship. The tournament was played in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The
Spartans were led on the first day by Junior Kory Wilson who shot a 38, only four
shots off first place individually. When all the scores had been posted on the second
Junior Kory Wilson sizes up
day, the Spartans had finished fourth, behind William Monroe with 491, James
his putt on the 9th green in a
River with 495, and Virginia High with 498. Individually, the Spartans placed two
recent match at the Giles
players on the All-District team, Kory Wilson who had finished in 8th individually and Gunar
Country Club.
Frazier who finished 2nd individually. Coach Johnston says, “We had a very successful season
this year, achieving many of the goals we had set for ourselves. I am really proud of our team and the individual hard work that was
put forth this season and I am looking forward to building on this season’s effort next year.”
(Front) Douglas Good, Logan Croy, Joseph Clark, J.c McGuire, David Sadler and Brevin Wilburn.
(Back) Coach Johnston, Hunter Carbaugh, Gunar Frazier, Kyle Chafin, Kory Wilson, and Jacob
Hudson.
19
Friday Night Lights By Kristin Gillispie
20
Bright lights on Friday night could only mean
one thing, some Single Wing Spartan football!
Our Varsity Spartans have already made their
mark so far this season! They started off their
season with a victory against the Blacksburg
Bruins with a score of 31-16. The week after our
Spartans hosted Christiansburg which ended up
being a loss, that didn’t stop us though! Our
Spartan boys traveled to Covington and brought
back a victory of 41-29! Our rivals soon came
after, the Greenwaves! The Spartans traveled not
too far away to compete against Narrows. Once
again, our boys brought back yet another victory
of 49-6.Senior Ian Mann had three touchdowns
while Senior Hunter Mathias, Junior Tyler Perdue,
Senior Ian Mann running the ball
and Sophomore Brett Whitlow each added one
touchdown. All in all, we started off extremely
down the field during the game
well at the beginning of the season. Tazewell came
against Christiansburg
into our neck of the woods soon after the game
against Giles; our boys still remained
victorious with 50-30. In this game
Sophomore Brett Whitlow and Senior Ian
Mann each scored three touch downs four
our Spartans. A week after the Tazewell
game, we had the big game which was
Homecoming. The Spartans won the
Homecoming game which was against
Auburn with the score of 56-14.Senior Ian
Mann had three touchdowns and Junior
Dusty Boggess also added to score. Soon
after that they traveled to Glenvar and
again, brought another win of 49-28. Senior
Ian Mann had four touchdowns to this
game, while Sophomore Brett Whitlow
added
two touchdowns. The team then
Giles Captains meeting with the Tazewell
traveled to Floyd to compete against the
captains before the game
Buffaloes, and brought victory home of a
win of 63-12. “This is probably one of the
better seasons I’ve played. If we keep
playing like we are, we
will go pretty far” says
Junior Brad Lipes. So
far into the season our
boys are doing really
well and they will
continue on! With
support of the greatest
fans around, who
knows how far we can
get into this season.
Roster
3 Brett Whitlow
5 Ian Mann *
6 Tyler Perdue
10 Dusty Boggess
11 Logan Smith
12 Joseph Lucas
15 Hunter Mathias *
20 A.J. Ebright
21 Garrett Lee
22 Zach Simmons
24 Tanner Martin
25 Brian Mann
26 Dakoda Shrader
31 Devin Elliott
32 Chad Randel *
35 Kyle Holt
36 Samuel Boggess
37 Hunter Smith
42 John Teats
45 Jenson Doffin
51 Brody Dunford
53 Brandon Harless
54 Jonathan Jennelle
56 Kearsley Dillon *
57 Miller Collins
58 Chris Agud
60 Camron Perkins
61 Drew Skewes
62 Jared Cook
63 Hunter Epperley
64 Austin Cunningham
67 Chantry Pennington
68 Josh Scott
70 Brad Lipes
71 Christian Kemp
72 Andrew Searles
74 Zane Martin
75 Logan Perkins
78 Jared Farmer
79 Wesley Wright
80 Ryan Johnson
82 Michael Shillinger
87 Brandon Slusher
88 Cody Rhodes
* Captains
Giles and Narrows lined up ready for the play.
Head Coach: Jeff
Williams
Assistant Coaches: Bryan
Strader, Jackie Evans,
Dusty Stump, Anthony
Ratficliffe, Steve Wilson,
Sam Wright, Tim Munsey,
Randy Roe, Byron Hurley
Roster
5
9
10
12
15
21
22
23
24
25
32
36
42
43
44
45
51
54
56
57
58
60
62
64
67
70
72
78
79
Myers, Stuart
Marshall, Tyler
Boggess, Samuel
Graham, Dillon
Tawney, Timmy
Kirk, Jacob
Smith, Hunter
Shanks, Austin
Pratt, Ben
Mann, Brian
Shrader, Dakoda
Shillinger, Michael
Teats, John
Graham, Drew
Pyles, Kodie
Repasi, Steven
Sizemore, Zach
Jones, Anthony
Epperley, Hunter
Suroski, Brett
Eads, David
Perkins, Camron
Cook, Jared
Whittaker, Brandon
Pennington, Chantry
Perkins, Logan
Cumbee, Dakota
Cunningham, Austin
Scott, Josh
JV Football
By Devin Walls
The JV Football Team
worked hard this season and came
with a great 5-2 season, being led by
their coaches Tim Munsey, Samuel
Wright, and Steve Wilson. The
season began with a big win over
Blacksburg, and this continued
throughout the season with wins over
Pulaski, Narrows, Floyd, and
Glenvar! Good job, and good luck to
JV players and future Varsity players!
Dillon Graham and Brian Mann
Dillon Graham
First United Methodist Church
401 Hale Street
Pearisburg, VA 24134
540-921-1021
[email protected]
www.pfumc.net
Brian Mann, Hunter Smith, Stuart
Myers, and Zach Sizemore
FIND US ON FACEBOOK!!
Sunday School -- 9:45 am
Sunday Worship Services -- 10:55 am
Youth Group Meeting – Sundays (various times)
Pastor: Dr. Brian Burch
**Picture courtesy of Sherry Kelley
except team picture.
21
Eighth Grade Football By Meaghan Eaton
The eighth grade football team this year put in hard work and much effort and came out with a 1-7 season. The captains for the
2012 seasons are Anthony Meadows and Trent Pennington; they helped lead the team to a
win with the leadership they contained over the season. The team gained much skill that will
Roster
help them as they continue onto the JV team next year.
Anthony Meadows
5
(front) Tyler Tawney, Logan Byrd, Austin Underwood, Baily Hill, Alex Gillispie,
Dustin Meredith, and Aaron Via (middle) Coach Randy Roe, William Akers,
Chad Martin, John Collins, Zack Ratcliff, Anthony Neel, Nathan Hicks, Austin
Shrewsberry, and Assistant Coach Byron Hurley (back) Devin Wilson, Connor
Martin, Hunter Wright, Hunter Collins, Captain Anthony Meadows, Captain
Trent Pennington, and Caleb Dalton Not pictured is Logan Thompson
22
Trent Pennington
Dustin Meredith
Zack Ratcliff
Tyler Tawney
Logan Byrd
Connor Martin
Logan Thompson
Devin Wilson
Aaron Via
Anthony Neel
Alex Gillispie
Hunter Collins
Nathan Hicks
Baily Hill
Austin Underwood
Austin Shrewsberry
Chad Martin
Caleb Dalton
William Akers
Hunter Wright
John Collins
Coach Randy Roe
Asst Coach Byron Hurley
10
12
15
21
24
26
31
33
45
55
58
59
60
61
64
70
72
76
77
78
79
Lady Spartan Volleyball
By Devin Moore
The Lady Spartan Varsity Volleyball Team pushed their way to
many victories this season! The girls worked hard together through the
summer at conditioning and open gyms to get into shape, and it paid
off. With a team of three sophomores, four juniors, and five seniors,
having Marinna Dowdy and Maggie Boggess as captains, the season
started off with an exciting win over Narrows. This turned into a great
winning streak as the ladies entered the district games undefeated,
something that hasn’t happened in many years. The ladies continued to
push hard through the season and ended up with a record of 17and 2!
When asked if she knew that the team would make it this far, senior
Marinna Dowdy said, “I've had faith in my team the whole time and
we have worked hard to be where we are, so yes. We've all wanted this
for a long time. We had high hopes and I think we are very capable of
coming out on top!” Coach Matlock was also impressed with the
outcome. She said, “I am very proud of the season! I think we have
been more successful this year because the team "clicked" early on.
We didn’t have to spend time
Roster
1
getting the girls to mesh with
Alex Pennington
2
Marinna Dowdy
each other, they just did it on
3
Karli
Beechler
their own. They all have the
4
Olivia
Steele
same dream and desires for
5
Alex
Hawks
this season and they work real
6
Courtney Estep
well together to try to
7
Maggie Boggess
accomplish them. I love
8
Emily Harless
watching the girls progress
9
Beth Stump
from game to game and seeing
10
Kara Lilly
11/24
them pull together to come up
Victoria Belcher
12
Michaela Ratcliffe
with a win in a big game!”
Coach
Congratulations ladies!
Captains
Marinna
and
Maggie
Victoria
Belcher
Karli
Beechler
Whitney Matlock
Asst. Coach
Megan Epperley
Emily
Harless
Alex
Pennington
Alex
Hawks
23
Lady Spartan JV Volleyball
By Brook Hale
The Lady Spartan JV Volleyball team had an impressive
season this year! Their positions are defensive specialist Loren
Robertson and Aubrey Archer, defensive specialist and outside
hitter Lindsea Williams, middle hitter Kelsey Vaught, right side
hitters Delanie Cook and Devin Moore, libero Noell Neice,
setter and middle hitter Elise Chafin, setter Camry McCroskey, middle hitter Cheyenne White,
and outside hitters Meaghan Eaton and Rachael Flory. The ladies had extraordinary wins over
Narrows, Graham, Christiansburg, James Monroe, Glenvar, and many more.
Loren Robertson
1
Lindsea Williams
2
Rachael Flory
4
Aubrey Archer
5
Kelsey Vaught
6
Delanie Cook
7
Devin Moore
8
Noell Neice
20
Elise Chafin
10
Camry McCroskey 11
Cheyenne White
12
Meaghan Eaton
14
Coach Mandy Havens
Devin Moore and
Meaghan Eaton
Meaghan Eaton, Camry
McCroskey, Elise Chafin
and Kelsey Vaught
Meaghan Eaton,
Cheyenne White, and
Rachael Flory
Loren Roberston
Right:
Camry
McCroskey
Kelsey Vaught serving during Dig Pink
24
Left: Lindsea
Williams
Uno, Dos, Tres, Ace! Ace! Ace! By Meaghan Eaton
This year the eighth grade volleyball team members started out rough, but after long practices combined with hard work, they
stepped it up when districts started. The team ended with a 9-5 season. The 2012 team consists of sixteen girls, fourteen being eighth
grade students at Giles and the other two from Eastern (Janna Williams and Jadan Robertson). Captain Morgan Williams thought her
team had improved over the season. She said, “We learned that we needed to communicate more and that working together really
helps us a lot!” Coach Stacy Cunningham remarked, “We practice every day and work on areas where we are weak. We talk about the
positives and negatives of the game before and work on those negatives to help us improve in that area. We always end each practice
by scrimmaging so that the girls get to play against each other and work together with the players that are on their team. I can't say
enough about how hard these girls work and prepare for their games. They stay focused in practice, ask questions, and work hard to
improve their skills every day. I can't wait to see what this group will achieve throughout their volleyball careers at GHS!”
Roster
Lauryn Marshall
Jadan Robertson
Janna Williams
Kiersten Shrader
Madison Farley
Morgan Williams
Lynnsey Johnson
Morgan Fisher
Tracey Dudding
Lyndsey Vaught
Kaitlin Weseloh
Braelyn Simpson
Taylor Morris
Micanna Snider
Sydney Hawks
Jessie Bale
Coach:
Stacy Cunningham
24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
(front) Morgan Williams, Lauryn Marshall, Madison Farley, Jadan Roberston, Janna Williams,
Kiersten Shrader, Lynnsey Johnson, and Morgan Fisher (back) Coach Stacy Cunningham, Braelyn
Simpson, Lyndsey Vaught, Kaitlin Weseloh, Jessie Bale, Tracey Dudding, Micanna Snider, Sydney
Hawks, and Taylor Morris
25
Run, Spartans, Run
By Kassie Richardson
Picture provided by
Coach Hubbard
Picture provided by
Coach Hubbard
Girls Cross Country
Boys Cross Country
Caty Shillinger, Leah Perdue, Karina Hernandez,
and Victoria Agud (front) Kacey Mann, Elizabeth
Jones, and Mallory Lucas (back) Not Pictured:
Brook Lavinder, Susan Vierling, and Taylor Watson
Jacob Stubbs, Josh Stump, Rafe Hagee, Daniel Black, Nick Carter, and
Brandon Cockram (front) Ben Dillon, Walker Woodbury, Fred Stump,
Ty Journell, Murdock Link, and Jacob Gann (back) Not Pictured: Ben
Allamong and Luke Munsey
The JV
runners take
off for the
JV race on
September
15th at the
Giles
Invitational.
Picture provided
by Coach Hubbard
Middle School
Austin Pennington, Josh Weddle, Nicholas
Agud, Luke Stubbs, and Katie Whitehead
(L) When Jacob Stubbs was
asked what motives him to run,
he replied, “Just to know every
day I can improve myself and try
to beat my time from before.”
(R) Kacey Mann said “I enjoy
the feeling of being in shape and
the feeling when I cross the
finish line, knowing that I have
accomplished something some
people will never do.”
26
Instead of running on a field you see the cross
country runners on the course behind Giles High
School; this includes the baseball field, around the
football field, and the practice fields and the hill,
which some of the runners refer to it as “heck hill.”
This year there are 14 Boy Varsity runners, 10 Girl
Varsity runners, and 5 Eighth grade runners. They
started practices on August 1st and have continued
everyday after school. The cross country teams have
worked very hard and it has started to show. Coach
Hubbard stated that the year looked pretty well so
far, and everyone is doing really well. Along with
Mark Hubbard, the coaches are also Darla Whitehead
and Colin Munsey. So far they have had 29 top ten
finishes, and they continue to win medals as the
season goes on. Good luck to our varsity boys as
they go to regions.
Varsity Cheerleading
By Meaghan Eaton
The Varsity Cheerleaders spent their summer practicing many days for many hours. To prepare themselves for games,
they spend time after school perfecting the routines and cheers that they learned over the summer. The cheerleaders went to
camp in July to learn routines and cheers for this year’s’ season. Riley Hevener says, “My favorite part of cheerleading is
being in front of the big crowds at pep rallies and games and having everything that we have worked on come together.”
Amber
Williams
The eighth grade, JV, and Varsity Cheerleaders
all show their support for the boys before the
Narrows game.
Photo by Kristin Gillispie
Allie Perkins
and Riley
Hevener pose
for a picture
before the pep
rally.
Emily Harrell
participates in a
group stunt during
the Homecoming
pep rally.
The Varsity Cheerleaders hold the banner
at the Narrows Game.
Picture by Kristen Gillispie
Sarina Sanders
cheers on her
team before the
game.
Savannah Fletcher and Becca
Stephens cheer along as the
fight song plays
27
Homecoming
2012