Giant Word

Drawing by Lauren Mello

By Joseph Bryant, Editor-in-Chief

Food, fun, and family summarize the way that most of America would say that they spend Thanksgiving. Those three basic F’s are the general happy responses to the festive fall feast, but what about the other big F that isn’t so pleasant?

Frustration could be the way that a real Thanksgiving day is spent. From early morning preparations to late night dishes, Thanksgiving does not always give a spirit of thanks.

“Thanksgiving is fun but at other times it can be stressful,” said junior Jeremy Shipman.

Stresses of Thanksgiving often include preparation for family visits and the perfect turkey.

“Dad has a short fuse every now and again,” said Shipman, whose father does all of the Thanksgiving preparation.

In some situations, the preparations aren’t for family coming to your house, but for you traveling to their house. This can be difficult when there are many Thanksgiving events to go to and an opposing side of the family.

Having family disagreements can add to the holiday stress. Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks and spending time with those you love.

“My family has a tendency to go against anything I say,” said sophomore Philip Ryman. “We don’t agree on anything.”

While most families’ day is filled with stress, sophomore Katherine McLean said that she has a picture perfect Thanksgiving Day.

“We have yummy food and I get to be with my family,” said McLean. “We are an extremely close family.”

Regardless of how the day is spent, Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy life. Many people enjoy their Thanksgiving day with family traditions.

“We always watch A Muppets Christmas Carol to get in the mood for Christmas,” said McLean.

“I go to my grandparents’ house and eat a bunch of food,” said Ryman.

“We always have a crowded house and watch football,” said Shipman.

Thanksgiving is a fun yet stressful time. It is a day for fun, food, and family. Unfortunately it can be a frustrating day but it can also be a great holiday with wonderful memories.

By Kay Spencer, Reporter

Nathan Crumley, junior at WHS, has lived in Virginia since he was six years old, but before he moved to the United States he and his older sister lived in Nicaragua. Nicaragua is located in Central America.

Crumley says, “It was terrible living in Nicaragua. It was not a fun time in my life.”

Crumley came from a city named Managua. When he left Managua he was taken to an orphanage. He spent three years there.

“There were probably about 50 some kids while I was there,” said Nathan, “There was always a decent amount.”

When Crumley and his sister were adopted by their parents he was excited to leave and they were brought to Virginia.

“It was a long flight. We stopped in Texas then went to DC, and from there we drove to Waynesboro.” He said, “I was shocked how different things were.”

“I’ve had to adapt to the language spoken here, the different manners, and the money system,” he said.

Being from Nicaragua, Crumley spoke Spanish.

“I picked up English within two months, but before I learned to speak it I just pointed at things,” he said, “after speaking English for so long I’ve forgotten most of my Spanish.”

Nicaragua and the United states have a lot of differences, but Crumley says it has similarities too.

In Managua, Crumley did have the chance to start at an elementary school.

“The schools weren’t much different than they are here. They had classrooms just like schools in the US does,” said Crumley, “The only difference is when you walked out of the school building you were surrounded by forests.”

Crumley said he is happy in Waynesboro and doesn’t want to go back to Nicaragua even to visit.

“Nothing there draws my attention back,” he said, “I’m happy in America.”

     By: Lauren Mello      

              Everyone has been one, but few have been one recently. For some it’s exciting, for others it’s nerve-wracking. Being a new student can be a challenge, especially the later you get through school.

            “There can be a lot of social changes, and a lot of friendships and cliques have already been established,” said Ms. Heather Haney, guidance counselor.

            Every person has a different experience with being a new student.

            “A lot of new students have moved before,” said Ms. Helen Schurz, guidance counselor. “Some are even moving back.”

            Life can change dramatically for new students. For Senior Joe Pilot it was a big and sudden change.

            “My house and town were destroyed by Hurricane Irene. There was nothing left,” said Pilot, while explaining why his family moved to Waynesboro, and what his old life was like. “This school is very different from my old school. My old school was small. We had about 215 students middle and high school combined.”

            “It was difficult being a new student. There are new people, new styles, and new differences,” said Pilot.

            “We try to give new students a tour, and introduce them to students that might have common interests,” said counselor Mrs. Deborah Watson. “We also introduce them to their teachers.”

            Others have a different experience. Freshman Trevor Iseman, recently moved from a small town outside of Houston, Texas. Iseman was home-schooled up until this year when he started at Waynesboro High School.

            “I was very nervous before I started here,” said Iseman .

“Everyone kinda knows everyone else from Kate Collins Middle School, and I don’t know any of them.”

            That didn’t stop Iseman from being optimistic and outgoing.

             “It was cool having a new start, and being able to make new friends,” said Iseman. “My first day went okay for the most part. They all kind of like me and think I’m pretty cool,”

            “Overall our student population is really accepting,” said Watson. “We have a diverse population, and our students are curious and friendly.”

            Regardless of where they came from or their past, being a new student has its challenges.         

            “You just have to be yourself, and make as many friends as you can,” said Iseman.

Collin Ingles holds up a new copy of Modern Warfare 3.

By: JoJo Collins, Reporter

It was dark and cold. The sounds could be heard from all directions.  Many people started to get in line, which stretched from GameStop to RadioShack. There were a few minutes left until Modern Warfare 3 came out.

The number of the people had doubled in 30 minutes. A GameStop official unlocked the door. People started to push others to the door. The doors opened and everyone started to come in. The line in the store was very long. People were still standing outside waiting to get in. The place started to size down after an hour. Everyone was gone by 2:30.

The Drop is important to gamers who like Call of Duty. It is where gamers wait to get the game. Many people like to be at the Drop early so they can be first in line. Gamers get the game that night so they can play it before anyone else. The bragging rights that come from the game are cool. They get to go to school the next day and show off the game.

Modern Warfare 3 costs $59.59 plus tax. But if the customers want all the guns and maps it’s an extra $100. In one hour on Nov 8, 169 games were sold. But after everyone was gone GameStop had sold 288 copies of MW3. Only 109 of those copies were the ones that had the maps and guns. There were 55 copies left.

“I like being at the Drop early because it makes me look likes I really want the game,” said freshman John Marks.

“I’m usually at the Drop right after school,” said sophomore Ben Hackley.

Hackley goes so he can be one of the first people to get the game.

The waiting part for the game is the hard part. Many gamers find ways to entertain themselves. Others just chill with their friends. Some just go hang out at Wal-Mart. Gamers who stay at GameStop play Xbox with their friends. Others just sleep until it’s time to get the game.

“Me and friends hook up a Xbox and a TV to entertain ourselves till the game comes out,” said Hackley.

The gamers who hooked up the Xbox and TV used the outlet in GameStop. They played NCAA Football 11 and Modern Warfare 2.  The gamers were enjoying themselves with pizza and a shopping cart full of candy.

Many people thought the Drop wasn’t important so they didn’t go. Many of the gamers who weren’t at the Drop waited until the next day to get the game.

“My dad said I could go but I fell asleep. So I didn’t feel like getting up to wait in line,” said freshman Collin Ingles.

According to freshman Brett Buchanan with the last two COD games that have came out, many more

many more people have been showing up to the Drop. With any game that comes out at midnight the gamers will always be gamers.

This is the building where Valley Vo Tech students and Governor School students go.

By Seth Jones, Reporter

“It’s a great opportunity and it’s a great chance to prepare for college,” said junior Dylan Fersner.

Fersner attends the Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School (SVGS) every morning Monday through Friday. He explained the Governor’s School is quite different from the high school.

The classes are more independent work and less group work. The teachers also have the tendency to lecture more than any other style of teaching.

The Governor’s School is very difficult to get into. Only about 200 students total get accepted. Only the kids with the best grades get in.

Students come from Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County to attend Governor’s School. Because of this many of the students don’t know each other when they start.

SVGS students can either be STEM students (science, technology, engineering, and math) or they can be AH students (art and humanities). Only juniors and seniors can attend Governor’s School.

The classes at SVGS are very different from those at the high school. Some of the classes are just for work while other classes are just for listening to a lecture and taking notes. STEM classes focuses mainly on sciences and math opposed to other areas such as literature and history.

“A lot of our work is done on the computer opposed to on paper,” said junior Nathaniel Lahn.

Classes at the Governor’s School are challenging and more work than the high school. It is a difficult transition to make.

“It’s a lot more work, intensive, more productive,” said Fersner. “It’s a different experience. You get to meet people from other schools.”

“It allows me to have more learning opportunities than the high school,” said Lahn.

Governor’s School may be challenging, but it is also rewarding. Students enrolled in the school are gifted with weighted grades for their GPA.

“Unique classes are offered at the Governor’s School that aren’t offered at WHS, such as engineering,” said Lahn.

The Governor’s School is different from the high school in the area of doing assignments.

A person who has experienced Governor’s School would agree that the high school and the Governor’s school are two totally different experiences.

The classrooms are also very different. The classrooms at SVGS are specifically designed for the particular class. For example the physics platform has all of the scientific equipment needed along with proper places for all of it.

All students at SVGS must have a free period so there are many places in the school with computers and work equipment that are student resources only and not used for classes. The school has enough space to allow the juniors and the seniors each their own lounge.

Based on the reactions from the SVGS students one could infer it is definitely a worthwhile experience.

By Emma Parolisi, Reporter

Actors and actresses are everywhere. They may not be the kind that go to Governors School, or star in a ShenanArts play, but they’re the ones that stay in the comfort of Mrs. Dianne Truslow’s theater class. A few of them do other things, but many of them stick to Waynesboro High productions.

“I started taking theater my freshman year,” said senior Derek Carter. “I don’t do it outside of school yet, but I will.”

Theater III and IV are sometimes referred to as Advanced Theater. The kids in this class have learned all the basic mechanics of performing and theatrics, and now work on perfecting what they know and trying new styles.

“There’s more independence and maturity from everyone in Theater III. It’s like a family,” said senior Brittany Kirkman.

“They’re the coolest people in the school,” added sophomore TJ Matteson. “It’s like my other family.”

At the beginning of the year they worked on a one act play called “Rapunzel, Uncut” for the one-act competition at Lee. Now that it’s done, they’re taking some time to observe other styles of acting. Watching movies and looking at scripts for other plays take up the majority of their time. According to several of the students, their next big project will be working on a children’s play.

“My favorite part of theater is getting to work on the different productions,” said Kirkman. “Every play is unique.”

The actors all have different experiences with theater, and they have different aspirations.

“I’m not sure if I plan to continue theater,” said junior Kim Fulks, but Matteson said, “I plan to go to college to major in it.”

They all agree that they appreciate Truslow, their teacher and director, more than anything.

“Mrs. Truslow is the greatest director on the planet,” said Carter.

“I love theater,” said Kirkman. “I can be more myself, but I can also be anyone I want to be.”

On Wednesday, November 16, a group of Journalism students went to different areas of the school. Their mission was to observe the area for 10 minutes and write about what they saw. Here are the accounts from those students. Collectively they created an illustration of what happens at WHS in a given 10 minute period.

At 9 am the cafeteria is not a lunch room, but a study hall. Three people sit at the lunch table giggling at each other. They are discussing sports and other random things. One of them wears a Duke Blue Devils jersey and he is paying close attention to the TV because ESPN is on. A boy sits by himself drawing comic book characters. Another boy sits by himself studying and trying to stay focused on his work. Nobody appeared to be in ISS. Several sat at one table in the very back. –Calen Dexter

Three students sit and wait to talk to an administrator, their scared and upset faces fill the room. Two worried kids are taken for questioning at 9 am Wednesday morning. Ms. Kimmett escorts them into her office. One girl remains for questioning with a blushed face and watery eyes. Mrs. Hall sits at her desk waiting for calls and late students to arrive. Mrs. McNorton leaves the office on a mission, with quick hellos. The silence of the main office was almost deafening. The only sound that could be heard was the whispers of the students in trouble and the quaint sound of Ms. Hall typing. –Hannah Dillard

The art hall on the first floor is a lonely place to be at 9 am. Only a few teachers and one or two students pass down that way, leaving it wide open. But it’s certainly not a quiet place to be. Teachers down the hall yell assignments to their students, and a group of about nine kids gather around the corner near Mr. Krzastek’s room to observe a push-up contest between before Coach Cox breaks it up. Everyone scatters, but none head down to the art hall. Mrs. Kimmett leaves Guidance to return to her office, and she is the last person on the hall for five minutes afterward.–Emma Parolisi

Few students are on the second floor hallway at 9 am. One boy sits on the floor working, the other just quietly making their way down the hallway. Mr. Sati comes out of his classroom and his shoes squeak against the floor. Talking and coughing repeatedly echoes from Mr. Tyler’s classroom. A girl climbs slowly up the stairs, stops to look in her purse, and then continues walking. Another girl exits her class; she walks to her locker and slams it when she is done searching through it. A third girl walks down the hallway with a late pass and enters the World History room. The boy in the hallway who was working is now lying down on the hard floor. A bunch of students from one class all spill into the hallway. They are getting drinks of water and chatting with each other. Ms. Rudolph comes out and says, “One more minute.” A boy from Mr. Tyler’s room comes out of the classroom and sits by the door and moans loudly out of anger. All the students who were on break go back into their classroom.
–Kay Spencer

The freshman side of the third floor hallway is a quiet place. In one room, two teachers are talking about their days and how they are planning for their next classes. Students are taking tests in another room and other students are making jokes and being loud with their friends in another. One male student is working on assignments from his class, trying to focus. Suddenly someone walks out of their classroom and playfully punches him as he calls out for help. Ms. Biggs walks out of her room, standing with attitude. “That’s it, go sit down,” said Biggs. The student replies, “What the heck?” At the other end of the hallway chemistry and biology classes are focusing on their work, individually or in groups.
–Brentley Carter

You know the saying, “So quiet you can hear a pin drop”? That’s how it felt in the library. All around is silence, with the exception of the librarians gossiping in the front of the room. Students wander aimlessly, read or try to cram for next period’s test. In the back of the library a few teachers walk into the copy room and come out with what looks like a hundred copies, big posters and text books. Even with so much movement in the room everything is still quiet and serene. –Angela Rossi

Senior Justin Hodgin plays the trumpet in the WHS Band. Hodgin also led the band this fall as the field conductor. Photo by Hannah Dillard

Most students at WHS are seen with headphones in their ears or seen conversing about their next band or choir show. Music is essential in schools because it helps students cope with reality, and relax. Different students depend on music in different ways. Students don’t have to have a musical talent for music to be essential in their lives.
For example, ninth graders Karly Talarico and Khristien McDaniel listen to music during school to help them concentrate. McDaniel listens to all music, while Talarico listens to mostly hip-hop, country, and rap. Neither of them plays instruments but they both use music to cope in the class school while they work and in their free time.
“Music helps me relax,” said senior Jose Argueta.
Argueta listens to music mostly in school and has a knack for the keyboard. He plays it in his spare time at home and learns most of his songs by ear.
Senior Justin Hodgin is also very musically talented. In fact, his classmates voted him best musician in the senior class. Hodgin plays the trumpet, baritone, piano, and guitar.
“Music helps me relieve stress,”said Hodgin.
He said the trumpet is his favorite instrument to play. He is fifth chair in band and also a field conductor. Hodgin doesn’t plan on doing anything further with music after high school.
Different students have different reasons for listening to music. Senior Skylar Phillips listens to music to put him in different moods for different situations.
“Usually when I’m with my mom I listen to R&B, and old school music,” says Phillips.
Phillips listens to specific artists like Trey Songz, and Lil’ Wayne on regular days. When Phillips is about to play basketball he listens to a lot of rap to get him more pumped up. He also has different artists for when he is in different moods. Phillips listens to Yo Gotti when he is angry and R&B when he is in a good mood.
Each student’s perspective and use of music is very different. Music can help someone’s mood, concentration, or just help out with relaxation. Some kind of music should be in every student’s life whether they listen to it, sing, or play an instrument.

“Silence in the library”

You know the saying “So quiet you can hear a pin drop”? That’s how it felt in the library. All around is silence, with the exception of the librarians gossiping in the front of the room. Students wander aimlessly, read or try to cram for next period’s test. In the back of the library a few teachers walk into the copy room and come out with what looks like a hundred copies, big posters and text books. Even with so much movement in the room everything is still quiet and serene

By Kelsey Hammond, technology manager

“Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee.”

The cast and directors put a lot of hard work into the play “Grease.” They had been working on this play since the second week of school and the auditorium, full of anxious people waiting to see the results, proved just that.

Sophomore Gwynne Wood and senior Taylor Hines played the roles of Sandy and Danny. Wood was an exceptional vocalist, audiences were in awe the whole time she performed. She and Hines fit the script fairly well. Wood was the stronger singer, whereas Hines was the better actor. Their first song, “Summer Nights,” was one of my favorites because it really showed their singing ability. Hines did a great job hitting that high note on the last “Summer Night.”

Everyone did a great job in filling in their roles but the couple that stood out were Frenchy and Kenickie. Played by freshman Marie Gilbert and senior Derek Carter, they were very convincing in the way they used an accent to make themselves sound like the actual characters. There was a pretty large cast and if there were any inexperienced actors, you couldn’t tell.

The play was very humorous and was similar to the movie but also very different. There were some songs that were played in the movie but not in the play, and there were songs performed in the play that weren’t in the movie. One song that should’ve been in the play was “You’re the One that I Want.” That would’ve been a better way to end it.

Even students who normally don’t get involved in high school activities were involved in the play in some way. Sophomore Charlie Gilbert and senior Blayne Brown worked together to help put the “greased lightning” car together, not to mention everyone who helped with hair, makeup, costumes, publicity, and the list could go on. Overall, their dedication paid off and “Grease” was a fantastic performance.

Grease is the word!. Senior Taylor Hines and sophomore Gwynne Wood star as Danny Zuko and Sandy Dombrowski in the school musical, which opened Wednesday. Performances continue through Saturday evening. Photo by Lauren Mello.