generals save the day!

The General Idea
A Publication of Washington School
•
Greenville, Mississippi
•
November 8, 2013 •
The 2013 Homecoming Court poses with their proud escorts for the evening: Mr. Lawson Fiser with his sister, senior maid Kendall Fiser; Generals' Lady Brinkley Henry with her father Mr. Lewis Henry;
senior maid Amira Abbas with her father Dr. Hamed Abbas; (back row) Mr. Robert Loper and his daughter, freshman maid Julianne Loper; Mr. Rick Shepherd and his daughter, sophomore maid Callie
Shepherd; Mr. Russell Morris and his daughter, junior maid Hannah Morris; Mr. Mark King and his daughter PatMarie King; Mr. Mike Francis and his daughter, sophomore maid Mason Francis; and
Mr. Barry Fontenot and his daughter, freshman maid Molly Fontenot.
GENERALS SAVE THE DAY!
Homecoming is an annual tradition of welcoming back alumni and former students and faculty of
a school. Washington School held our 43rd Annual
Homecoming game on October 18, 2013 against
Hillcrest Christian School. However, the entire spirit week was packed full of immense competition and
creative dress up days.
Float work was taken much more seriously this
year with classes beginning their main components
two weeks prior to homecoming week! Our theme
this year was “Superheroes,” and while every high
school grade contributed much dedication, time,
Varsity and JV cheerleaders combined to lend their support for the parade.
and effort, the Freshmen were announced as the
winners with their “Believe in the Gens” Batman
theme.
The Washington School Student Council sponsored a new addition to boost our school spirit to
an extreme— an Instagram photo competition. Students in grades 9-12 were competing for their choice
of a pizza, doughnut, or breakfast party. Seniors
redeemed themselves by beating the freshmen by
merely two photos with a total of nearly 2,000 photos. If you’re curious to see what our school spirit is
like, go on Instagram and search the hashtags: #wshcblue for Freshmen, #wshcgold for Sophomores,
#wshcwhite for Juniors, and #wshcpink for Seniors.
Of course, we can’t forget to mention our dress up
days—Monday was Columbus Day so we were out
of school, but Tuesday’s theme was “Favorite Movie
Rob Van Namen's little nephew had an eagle's eye view of the parade!
Character,” Wednesday was Homecoming T-shirt
and blue jeans day, Thursday was “Superheroes,”
and Friday was a campus-wide pink-out in honor of
those whose lives have been affected by breast cancer.
As our week was finally coming to an end, the
big day was only getting started. The atmosphere at
Washington School was packed with ongoing excitement left to right. Sometime around noon-ish, General Drive was lined with our entire student body,
eager to watch the parade (and more eager to have
lunch!) The parade was led by our lovely homecoming maids: Seniors Brinkley Henry, Amira Abbas,
and Kendall Fiser, Juniors Hannah Morris and Pat
Marie King, Sophomores Callie Shepherd and Mason Francis, and Freshmen Julianne Loper and MolWS Board of Directors' President Stephen Jernigan congratulates Mr. Lewis
Henry and his daughter Brinkley after the presentation of the saber to the ly Fontenot. Following the maids were the Varsity
Generals' Lady.
Photos by Nat Phan and JV Cheerleaders and Drill Team, band mem-
bers, the Generals’ football team, and of course, the
senior class. Once the parade ended, students posed
for a pink-out photo and then scurried into the
bleachers for the pep rally and daytime presentation
of the court, where the young ladies were escorted by
members of the football team.
At six o’clock that evening on Huddleston Field,
the bleachers were jam-packed with family, friends,
faculty, and alumni ready to admire the nine beautiful girls and the highly anticipated football game. The 2013 Homecoming Presentation began at
6:30 with Mr. Dave Clarke as the Master of Ceremonies. An invocation was given by FCS President,
Michaela Kelly and the court was ready to take their
places on the field. Mr. Clarke, who is a former President of the WS Board of Directors, also presented
the court. Brinkley Henry was announced as the
2013 Generals’ Lady and Abigail Jernigan, President
of WS Student Council, with her father Mr. Stephen
Jernigan, current President of WS Board of Directors, presented Brinkley with the tradition sabre and
gift.
To close the night, the Generals’ football team
earned a victory over Hillcrest with a score of 42-6.
Students in grades 9-12 then gathered in Sykes Hall
for the annual Homecoming dance.
Nat Phan, Class of 2014
THE GENERAL IDEA
The Gems show their support with a clever pink ribbon formation.
2
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
November 8, 2013
EDITOR
Sarah Lane
Staff
Abby Driggers
Lewis Park
Brandy Truong
Headmaster
Mr. Rodney D. Brown
Secondary Principal
Mr. Alto Hilliard Ray
Elementary Principal
Dr. Nan Johnson
Academic Dean
Mrs. Kerry Sullivan
•
November 8, 2013
Put Down the Phone
Editors-at-Large
Casey Park
Natasha Phan
Adviser
Mrs. Melanie Tucker
Greenville, Mississippi
EDITORIAL
THE GENERAL IDEA
Contributing Writers
Mrs. Dorothy Burgos
Meg Giachelli
Piper Henderson
Lizzie Skelton
Emma Kate Wallace
Leanor Warrington
•
Mac Hamilton bravely volunteers to display the moldy bread experiment!
FUNKY FUNGI
We are doing a science experiment about bread.
Trust us, it smells TERRIBLE! The dry bread usually doesn't get anything [mold] but the damp bread
does. It's all yucky, gucky, and mucky!
If you actually smell it, you'll probably end up
doing double backtucks! We don't get how Mrs. Ott
can stand that smell all day. We don't know about
you but if we taught in this classroom, we would
probably throw it away. Because boy does it STINK!
P-U! You should try it sometime.
Emma Kate Wallace and Meg Giachelli, Class of 2021
Fourth grade science class is getting funky with fungi. For the last ten days,
we have been growing mold with Mrs. Ott.
First, we got two pieces of bread and put some water on one and left the
other dry. Next we labeled two Ziplock bags and put the bread in them. Then
we placed them on a cart.
Finally, we watched the bread, and now the damp has lots of mold and the
dry has none. That's how Fourth grade got funky with fungi.
Lizzie Skelton, Class of 2021
We are testing damp and dry bread and seeing which molds first. We take
notes each day to see how our breads molded. My table's damp bread has molded, but our dry bread hasn't molded yet. The experiement is only ten days long
but the bread hasn't changed since yesterday. The bread stinks. I hope we can
throw it away soon.
Piper Henderson, Class of 2021
In 4th grade science we are doing an experiment. We are growing mold. We
are doing it by table groups. I am in Group Two. There are 5 groups. So each
group will get two pieces of bread.
First we lay out two pieces of bread then we put a drop of water on one and
the other one we left dry.
Next we tore out a lab sheet. We watched the bread for ten days. It was fun!
Leanor Warrington, Class of 2021
If a super virus were killing more than 3,000 American teenagers
a year and seriously sickening more than 300,000, parents would be
screaming for something to be done to protect their children. But there’s
no super virus. What’s killing and injuring teens in such extraordinary
numbers is texting while driving. They’re now more at risk of being killed
while texting and driving than while driving drunk.
Teens are already inexperienced drivers. Combine that with taking
their eyes off the road for a few seconds to type out a message and it’s
easy to see why so many young people are becoming statistics. The number of crash-related fatalities in the U.S. had been declining in recent
years, but those numbers are on the rise yet again. While drinking and
driving has fallen among teens by 54 percent since 1991, texting has exploded in the last seven years. Almost half of teenage boys, 45 percent of
teenage girls and a staggering 58 percent of 18-year-olds admit to texting
while driving; laws against texting and driving seem to have little to no
effect on the death count.
What more can be done? Teens tend to think they are invincible,
that terrible things happen to others, not to them. When will they get it
through their heads that they can saves lives—as well as their own?
Sarah Lane, Class of 2016
THE GENERAL IDEA
When Reality Sinks In About College
The Freshman’s Perspective
What about a potential college sparks your interest? The location? The number of students attending? The food? The party scene? Whatever it is that draws
you to a school, College Night can help you achieve that feeling of being right
at home.
On College Night at Washington School during October, a representative
from the Education Services Foundation (ESF) in Jackson presented a program
on college financial aid and scholarships. ESF is a nonprofit organization that
helps seniors get into the college of their dreams; go to http://www.esfweb.com
for more info. There are tons of scholarships and awards out there to fit almost
everyone who is willing to search.
While many seniors attended the event, the junior class was absent. What’s
up with that? I’m a freshman, and I’m already planning my path. I know that
there are certain classes that I should take, and I’m already considering a particular college.
While many representatives from in-state colleges came to College Night
at WS this year, there were few out-of-state schools present, according to one
student. Senior Casey Park commented “Even though there were a lot of Mississippi schools present at College Night, I hope to see a greater variety of colleges represented in the future for my younger brother and other students who
plan to look outside of Mississippi for higher education.” One solution to this
long-distance dilemma is to have the school contact the admissions offices at
schools such as Tulane, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, Rice,
Baylor, etc., and request materials that could be distributed at College Night.
Then the school could ask local alums from those schools to come and chat with
interested students during the College Night event. Win-win for everyone!
I’m both nervous and excited about the prospect of visiting schools and
planning for my post-high school years. And it seems like the key is to do my
“homework” and be prepared to ask the right questions as I look at college options.
Abby Driggers, Class of 2017
THE GENERAL IDEA
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
Blast from the Past!
---An interview with WS alum Andy Sanders
In this issue, I had the
chance to communicate
with alum Andy Sanders. Mr. Sanders is a native of Greenville and a
graduate of Washington
School who attended
Mississippi State University post-graduation.
He returned to Greenville after receiving his
BBA in banking and finance from Mississippi
State University. He is a
graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking
and Graduate School
of Banking at Louisiana
State University.
Andy Sanders began his WS experience as a first grader in 1981.
Sanders began his career with Planters Bank
as an intern during college and officially joined
the bank in 1999. He
has previously served the
bank as a loan officer and
as senior vice president.
Sanders is now the President of the Greenville
offices of Planters Back
and serves as an active
member on the Board
of Trustees at Washington School. Andy Sanders is the president of the
United Way of Washington County’s 2013 campaign. He currently has
two daughters attending Washington School
elementary, Wenn and
Meg.
I wonder how much his
perspective has changed
since he was a high
school senior? Read on!
Sanders as a 1994 WS graduate, pictured here with his mom Susannah,
his dad Jan, and his younger sister Anne Claire, a 2001 WS grad.
for Commissioner of Student Athletics as an independent candidate. I ultimately lost in a runoff,
but the campaign was a
valuable experience ,and
I encourage students to
step out of their comfort
zones to try to achieve
goals. I was a member
of the 1994 North AAA
Champion and State
AAA Runner-up baseball team, the 1993 State
AAA Champion soccer
team, and was a member
of the track team.
Aside from graduation,
what was the most significant event that happened during your senior year?
1994 was the year of
the last big ice storm in
Greenville. Most of the
Delta was without power, and school was closed
for a week or longer.
Did you go to college
in-state or out-of-state?
Why?
Greenville, Mississippi
I am a banker with
Planters Bank & Trust
Company in Greenville.
My title is President of
the Greenville offices of
our bank, and my daily
duties include oversight
and management for approximately 30 employees in our three locations
in Greenville.
Why did you choose
your current career?
Was it always something you dreamed of
doing?
A career in banking
was never something I
thought about when I
was in high school. I was
fortunate to have some
outstanding professors
and advisors at MSU
who opened my eyes to
career opportunities that
are available to finance
grads. A meeting with
an advisor in the MSU
business school connected me to an internship opportunity with
Chuck Jordan at Planters Bank in Greenville.
The internship experience helped confirm that
banking would be my career, and I was fortunate
that Chuck believed in
me and offered me a job
upon graduation.
What did you major in
while in college?
I entered MSU as an
engineering major but
found that I enjoyed the
business classes much
more. After taking a
financial management
class, I changed my ma- You’re on the Board of
jor to Banking and Fi- Trustees of Washington
School. What are some
nance.
of the changes and/
How did WS prepare or improvements you
you for college classes? would like to see before
WS prepared me for your children reach high
college in several ways. school? What do you
The WS curriculum think of this new tech-
For Mr. Sanders, there is no greater blessing than raising a healthy, happy
family. He is pictured here with his daughters Wenn and Meg, and his wife
Celeste, a 1995 Washington School graduate.
When did you graduate from Washington
School?
1994
While you were a student, what types of
activities were you involved in at school?
I was involved in student
council as a homeroom
representative, and ran
I attended college instate at Mississippi State
University for two reasons. First, I planned
to be an engineer and
knew that MSU has an
outstanding engineering school. Second, I
was comfortable with
the campus after spending many weekends with
friends at football games
or at Dudy Noble with
my father watching baseball.
•
Sanders has admirably extended
his WS track career by participating in the many competitive 5K and
10K events in our area.
prepared me to do well
on the ACT and earn
scholarships at MSU.
Furthermore, teachers at
WS challenged me and
taught me how to prepare myself for classes
and exams.
nology era? Are we moving in the right direction
with the iPad initiative?
Why or why not?
I think WS is moving in
the right direction with
the Academic Dean position and the iPad initiative. I hope to see a
What is your current continued proactive approach by the Board of
occupation?
•
November 8, 2013
3
Directors and the Board
of Trustees to provide
the resources needed to
keep the teachers at WS
supplied with the latest
technology to teach our
students.
I am most satisfied in
life when I see the successes of my children. It
is satisfying to know that
Celeste and I can use the
gifts God has given us to
provide for and raise our
children and see them
When have you been grow both spiritually and
most satisfied in your academically.
life?
Brandy Truong, Class of 2017
THE GENERAL IDEA
Words as Art
--- The Teacher's Perspective
When I was in school, there was no greater assignment a teacher could give than an art project. From
creating African masks in eighth-grade history to
Shakespeare-in-a-box for my senior project in English, there was nothing like those “easy A” projects to
boost your GPA and show off your creativity for the
whole class. Now maybe I’m a bit biased and just a
little boastful, but my projects usually won the awe
and admiration of my teacher above the rest of my
classmates’ projects. Those creative projects gave me
a freedom of expression about the material covered
in class. It wouldn’t occur to me until later that my
feelings for my “creative” assignment on someone
else’s work was how the original author must have
felt about their own creativity through their word
choice. Art wasn’t just about how well you colored
in the lines or which color bead was put next to that
color bead. Art could be anything. Most importantly art could be in words. The writer is an artist who
uses a pen as his paint brush and the words as his
brush strokes to paint his idea. The words painted
pictures of places unimagined before by anyone except the author. Slowly I realized that the words of
the author were more artistic than the literal interpretation.
I was excited when I became a teacher because I
knew teaching English wasn’t about constantly looking at the words on a page; I want those words to
come alive. I want to assign those “easy A” projects
that actually teach more about the subject than any
hour’s worth of reading from the text can do. I want
my students to be more hands-on in a subject that
is traditionally not thought of as a hands-on class. A
project they have worked on is creating a character
solely out of words. They have built characters from
the ground up, from what foundation the characters
stand on to the virtues and vices that carry them to
their desires they carry in their hearts and the knowledge they have in their head. My students have also
had the opportunity to choose a class-voted quote
from the works we are reading and put that quote on
the wall in our classroom. My hope is that by the end
of the year my walls will be filled with not only their
artwork but the word art
of the author as well, and
that the wall will be full
of memories and a new,
active relation with the
written word as art.
Sophomore English students are pleased with their word art!
Mrs. Dorothy Burgos, English Instructor
THE GENERAL IDEA
4
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
•
Greenville, Mississippi
•
November 8, 2013
Turning the Tables on a Journalist
Sarah Kramer is a reporter for the Delta Democrat-Times, but we're the ones asking the questions this time!
Sarah Kramer is a native of Memphis, Tennessee
and a graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal School. Sarah
graduated from Southern Methodist University in
2012 with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Art
History with a Journalism GPA at 3.844
and an Art
History GPA at 3.929.
In the past, Sarah Kramer has been acknowledged
and awarded the Dorothy Amann award, SMU's
Outstanding Achievement in Print Journalism, and
the Criteria Award for Distinction. She is affiliated
with Kappa Tau Alpha, Alpha Lambda Delta, Golden Key Chapter at SMU, National Beta Club, and
The National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Sarah
served as staff writer at the Dallas Morning News,
managing editor at GenWhy Press, intern at Dallas
Observor, and editor-in-chief of the Daily Campus
prior to attaining her current job as accent editor at
the Delta Democrat-Times.
As Sarah states on her LinkedIn account, “From
tackling breaking news, features or event previews,
I pay attention to detail and deliver well-reported
stories, often on extremely tight deadlines.”
Sarah was kind enough to visit with our journalism class in the computer lab this fall, and we subjected her to our nosy questions!
Book Fair
Brandy carefully records Sarah's responses to questions from the staff of
The General Idea.
vate school with girls that were very competitive academically and had high expectations for themselves.
If I slacked off a little, they were there to remind me
to step it up! Getting less than your best grades was
definitely not cool. And for fun, I did play soccer!
Do you have any suggestions for students who are
preparing for college?
If you could be any superhero, who would you I would have to say to study very hard. You don’t
be?
have to go to every party or sleepover on the weekI guess I would just have to choose Batman. I don’t ends. Miss some, if needed. Colleges now are more
really know any others!
focused on overall GPA, not just ACT/SAT scores.
The Scholastic book fair was held on the WS
campus during the week of November 4-8. A clever theme of"Oasis: A Cool Place to Discover Hot
Books" made it especially fun to visit the two school
libraries and shop for books.
Special early morning shopping events included
Donuts in the Desert with Dads on Tuesday, Muffins with Mummies on Wednesday, and Goodies at
Giza with Grands on Thursday.
All purchases will benefit special projects at our
school. The online portion of the book fair will continue through November 15th, so be sure to visit:
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/wsgenerals. WS
Have you been on any dangerous assignments as
a journalist?
I have! I covered a sniper while working on the Dallas Morning News. I was sent to knock on all of the
neighborhood doors and ask questions.
What is a normal work day like at the DDT?
We have to get to work at 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM.
During those times, we’re on lockdown. We cannot
leave the office to go anywhere. I’m the Accent Editor and am writing and putting the pages together.
Every day is definitely different. No two days on the
If you could go back in time and meet any per- DDT staff is the same! Currently, I write about six
son you wanted to, who would that person be and stories a week.
why?
I would probably want to meet Martin Luther King, Who do you miss the most at this moment?
Jr. I grew up living in Memphis and Dallas, so I had Probably my little sister. She is in Dallas right now! I
his influences all around me.
actually get to see her very soon. She attended fashion school and transferred to SMU after I graduated.
What is the weirdest topic you have covered?
I have covered things such as “this dog can lick the What are three words that describe you? Why?
coldest window in the house.” That is probably the Discipline, motivated, and determined. If I put my
weirdest. OH! This girl wanted to interview her tur- mind to something, it’s going to be done in some
tle for the newspaper and had all these quotes for it. way, shape, or form. If I can’t handle it, I really put
Pictures, too.
myself on it.
How did you happen to end up in Greenville as
opposed to somewhere else?
I actually had a job lined up in New York when there
was an opening in Greenville. I had a friend call and
say there was an opening to work on the Delta Democrat-Times, so I took it, and here I am!
By any chance, do you happen to know the Engel
sisters who attended Washington School and also
went to SMU?
I do! Alexa and I were in the same graduating class
at SMU. I actually spent last Thanksgiving with the
Engels.
Who is your biggest inspiration, and why?
My mother, definitely. She raised us in a single family home. She has always said to be happy and to
follow your dreams. She is also a writer who told the
best stories.
What were your high school years like?
I took my school seriously. I went to an all girls pri-
Did you enter SMU knowing you wanted to major in Journalism?
I was an art history major at first. My roommate
(best friend to this day) suggested that I take a writing class that she was taking as an elective, and I fell
in love with it on Day One.
Brandy Truong, Class of 2017
THE GENERAL IDEA
Please
consider joining
the yearbook staff
next year!
Talk to
Brandy Truong
for more info.
It's Savannah in the Big Apple!
Check this out! Former WS student
Savannah Engel was featured in Allure
magazine last month! You GO, girl!
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
•
Greenville, Mississippi
•
November 8, 2013
5
Twins Take Turns with Tales
replied that the best thing about having a twin is that
they do not have to worry if they miss school or forWe have more than a few sets of twins at Washington School!
get their books because the other twin would have all
For this newspaper issue, I had the opportunity
For Aditi and Anuja, I asked questions such as the information and materials. Did you have your
to get to know eight sets of twins attending Wash- What is a disadvantage of having a twin? and Do own twin language when you were younger? Many
ington School. There are currently three sets of twins you disagree with each other
of the twins replied that they
did not have a secret twin
in elementary school, four sets of twins in middle frequently? The twins replied
language at a younger age.
school, and one set of twins in high school. Through respectively, "Instead of beI guess some researchers' inthe interviews, I learned that although twins look ing called Aditi and Anuja, we
formation do not apply to all
very similar on the outside, they are very unique in are usually called ‘the twins;’"
sets of twins, although twin
their own way.
"Sometimes people get our
speech or “cryptophasia” is
Before I started asking them specific questions, I names mixed up and we have to
not unusual. What is your
was curious about who was born first. Between Ame- share a room;" "I do fight with
favorite thing to do tolia and Sloan Mischke in Pre-kindergarten, Ame- her a lot and I settle my fights
gether? Preston and Larson
lia
was
born first. by trying to reason with her;" "I
Bridge respectively replied,
As with
A n u j a fight with her a lot so I turn the
Eli and Ava Fratesi, sixth grade
"Jumping on the trampoand Aditi
T h a k a re fights into a joke and we laugh."
in fourth
grade,
With the fifth graders, I upgraded the questions line,” and “Playing basketball." Kathleen and Michael
Aditi is
older by a bit, which were along these lines: Have you tried Tucker replied, "Playing sports, such as tennis, having
two minutes. From tricking your teachers or parents, or friends to help with homework, and playing games." David and
the Park
t w i n s , think you were your other twin? If so, were you Diana Barber replied, "Playing video games." Ava and
Alex and
Erik in successful? Alex and Erik each answered respec- Eli Fratesi replied, "Playing sports with each other."
Last, but not least, I got to interview Madison Bruthe fifth Amelia and Sloan Mischke, PK4 g r a d e , tively, "Yes, but never on the teacher though;" "Yes,
Erik was
born an we were successful. We mostly tricked friends and ton on her thoughts about her twin Michael. I asked,
What is something you both
hour earlier than his brother. In sixth grade, Diana family." What is the best thing
like to do? “We like to watch
Barber is older than David by 32 minutes, and Eli about having a twin? “You
movies together.” What is the
Fratesi is older than Ava by 20 minutes. From the have someone to talk to about
best thing about having a
Tucker twins in the seventh grade, Michael is old- your problems and if you're
twin? “I get to meet different
er than Kathleen by one minute. Preston Bridge is bored;" "The best thing is if
people." How do you settle
older than her twin sister Larson by three minutes. you're bored or need help you
disputes? "We just sit down
And from the Bruton twins in eleventh grade, Madison have someone to go to instead
and talk about it."
is older than Michael by sixteen minutes.
of your parents.” What is your
It was a treat to interview
With the help of the Elementary school teachers, favorite thing to do with your
each set of twins. ThroughI was able to retrieve information about twins Ame- twin? “Play video games so we
out the interviews, I realized
lia and Sloan, Anuja and Aditi, and Alex and Erik. don't take turns;" "My favorite
Kathleen and Michael Tucker, seventh grade
how similar their reasons and
Their answers are listed alphabetically by twin (Ame- thing about having a twin is we
answers were to the other
lia before Sloan, for instance).
play, talk, and study with each
Some questions I asked the Mischke twins were other.” Can you finish each other's sentences? If twins. They also reminded me of my younger broththe following: What is your favorite food? (macaro- so, how many times have you done it? "So many er and myself, and we are far from being twins. And
ni or spaghetti); What is your favorite color? (pink times I can't count;” "Yes, I don't know how many because I had the opportunity to chat with younger
students whom I did not know, I deeply enjoyed this
or silver); What is your favorite thing to do? (sleep times we've done that."
in my own bed or swing); and What is your favorite
Now on to the middle school twins. I asked them experience very much.
story? (The Ice Cream King or Goodnight Moon). the same questions as the fourth and fifth grade
Casey Park, Class of 2014
They both answered differently to every question, twins, but I received such different answers! What is
THE GENERAL IDEA
signaling that not all twins have the same tastes.
the best about having a twin? All four sets of twins
Aditi and Anuja Thakare, fourth grade
Diana and David Barber, sixth grade
Michael and Madison Bruton, eleventh grade
According to the New York Times (January
23, 2012), more twins are being born in the
United States than ever before. From 1980 to
2009, according to a recent report by the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of
twin births rose 76 percent. Now about one in
30 babies born in the United States is a twin.
Alex and Erik Park, fifth grade
Preston and Larson Bridge, eighth grade
6
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
•
Greenville, Mississippi
Our Third Grade students presented an entertaining rendition of a tale about Country Livin' vs City
Life. Country cousins and city cousins met up in
fast-paced action to compare their lifestyles. Mrs.
Moose expertly led the little "mice" to delight us all!
•
November 8, 2013
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
•
Greenville, Mississippi
Our Fourth Grade takes an absurd delight in scaring us half to death every year! And we love it! Their
Spooktacular event is something we look forward to
and it helps us to usher in the cooler Fall weather.
•
November 8, 2013
7
8
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
•
Greenville, Mississippi
•
November 8, 2013
Five Easy Questions
Did you answer
the newspaper poll
in homeroom?
Washington School has been the “gold” of the Delta since it was founded in 1969.
Since then, the school has gathered a great deal experience on how to govern the
student body in a stately manner.
At its enrollment peak in the early 80’s, the school had about 1300 students, but
due to the fact that many families have moved away from Greenville, that number
has leveled off to about 750. However, numbers do not define the school. In fact, many of the students in different grades look forward to having an exceptional future due to the education that they receive from Washington School.
Judging from the responses from the Freshman and Sophomore classes in our newspaper poll, it appears that students in these grades particularly want to challenge
themselves both academically and athletically.
However it was difficult to tally some of the poll responses because some were
unanswered or one question had more than one answer.
Many of the students gave multiple answers. Some of the choices were quite unexpected (in a good way). However, some of the answers that the students offered
were on the silly side and were feeble attempts at humor.
For instance, one student said he could be found “in the feild” after school.
Feild? Really? Let’s work on spelling, and there’s also something called “circling the
answers;” if you've never heard of multiple choice, please see a teacher immediately.
Many of the students gave us input about the additional language courses that
they would like to see in place at Washington school. German, Latin (beyond 8th
grade), Russian, Mandarin and Japanese were among the choices that the students
suggested, which seem ambitious but impressive.
According to Fox News, a student these days should know at least two languages
in addition to his native tongue. The school should give the students an opportunity
to enroll in more language courses.
Also, several of the students requested an archery squad/team in the athletic program of the school. Others asked for a dance class and a volleyball team.
Many of the students also had an earnest desire for additional science classes and
math classes. Agricultural science, cell biology, microbiology, additional technology
classes, graphic design, pre-medicine, and Calculus 1, 2 and 3 were suggested in the
poll responses.
Other classes, such as social media, literature, home economics, Bible class, welding and self-defense were also popular responses.
To sum up the results, the poll was an excellent way to offer the students an opportunity to share their thoughts, hopes, and feelings.
Honestly, some of the classes listed above could be offered to the students because
we already have some qualified faculty in place.
Washington School is the gold of the delta, but it can become even brighter with
additional opportunities for students who have high expectations for learning. Our
school was the school of opportunity from the very beginning, and WS will continue to serve the Delta’s students very well in years to come.
Lewis Park, Class of 2017
P.S. If any of you students want a
THE GENERAL IDEA
bigger and even better band, then
please join up!
NAP ATTACK!
ZZZZzzzzzzzz
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
Harvest Fun Note
On October 1st of this year, Washington School
hosted its annual Harvest Fun Festival, a time for
people of the community to come together for a
night of enjoyment.
Ever since the formation of Harvest Fun, the
event has served as an opportunity for building
bridges throughout society. The festival hosted its
usual catfish dinner and silent auction, as well as the
Senior Showcase, put together this year by the Class
of 2014.
Harvest Fun always has a range of games for
the younger crowd, including a dunking booth, a
ring toss, a cake walk, and featured this year, Master
Jung’s Tai Kwon Do Demo; Master Jung came from
his studio by Kroger to give small demonstrations
for the children who might be interested in martial
arts. Also added to the line up of booths this year
was a cart ride, pulled though the WS parking lot by
a lawn mower.
As always, the catfish dinner put together by numerous volunteers was a hit with everyone, whether or not they were associated with WS. The silent
auction this year included special wood burn art by
high school art teacher, Mr. Jay Clifton, plus a large
selection of Ole Miss and MSU items, jewelry, and
assorted artwork.
Presented by this year’s graduating class was the
•
Greenville, Mississippi
•
November 8, 2013
9
Senior Showcase, with the theme this year of "Generals Got Talent." With a charming host (my brother),
brutal judges, both amazing and disastrous talents,
and hilarious commercials, the performance had
everyone laughing. Patrick Lane played the cheesy
show host, complete with a corny green vest; Erin
Self parodied science department chair Mrs. Jane
Stephens, weilding a ruler and a lab coat with lots
of frog comments; Colton Thomas played the part
of the Coach Palasini, engaging in many ‘unbelievable’ football stories; Ransome Bell played the role
of Coach Womack, always throwing in something
about Ole Miss; Olivia Dawkins played Mrs. Harris
and had the perfect hair for it; and Lawson Smith
played the celebrity guest, Doctor Evil, who just
wanted more evil.
With the great games and funny performances,
Harvest Fun was a blast as always, and all anyone
can do now is wait until next year to have another
exceptionally fun time on the grounds of Washington School. And for those who keep track of this
type of thing: Harvest Fun earned a record high
profit of $110,000 this year compared to last years
$103,000. On behalf of the students at Washington
School, thank you!
Sarah Lane, Class of 2016
THE GENERAL IDEA
Junior Beta Club Recognizes Fall Initiates
Washington School's chapter of Junior Beta Club initiated eight middle school
students in October. From left to right, they are B.J. Wasson, Cade Lackey, Anna
Kate Bennett, Dalton Whitt, Mollie Pinion, Caroline Haley, Jaylon Carothers,
and Maddie Parkerson. Mrs. Susan Blaine is the club's sponsor.
Photo by Nat Phan
MATH MAGIC!
Keeping Our Children Safe
Representatives from the Junior
Auxiliary of Greenville recently
spent some time with our elementary students to present a program
called "Child Lures." The students
learned about the lures used by child
molesters and abductors to confuse,
disarm, and victimize children and
young people. The program was developed by Dr. Kenneth Wooden,
a nationally recognized expert in
children's safety. He developed the
program with one goal in mind--to help insure that your child's precious days of youth and happy and
healthy ones. In the photo at left,
Mrs. Hooker and Mrs. Signa speak
to second grade students in the resource room. WS
MatheMagician Bradley Field came to Washington School on Tuesday, October 29, to entertain and engage about 800 students from all
over Washington County. By integrating math
concepts with vocabulary, geography, history,
and everyday problem-solving, students of
different interests, abilities and learning styles
were able to relate to math in new ways. The
event was sponsored by the Delta Children's
Museum.
Photo by Nat Phan
10
The General Idea
•
A Publication of Washington School
•
Greenville, Mississippi
•
November 8, 2013
Photo by Brandy Truong
Photo by Brandy Truong
Photo by Abby Driggers
Elementary
School Fun!
And learning IS fun!
Photo by Brandy Truong
Photo by Casey Park
Photo by Nat Phan
Photo by Nat Phan
Photo by Nat Phan