Giant Word

By Allison Graves, Technology Manager

Like the Black Plague in 14^th century Europe a new disease is sweeping across the nation.  Unfortunately, this disease is affecting many students here at Waynesboro High School and is very contagious—senioritis.  Senioritis is a common sickness felt by seniors in many high schools.  The disease has many symptoms including increased laziness and an impatience for graduation. Although senioritis was said to only affect students who are close to graduation, it is now spreading to juniors and even some sophomores.

As a junior, I know firsthand that senioritis has evolved into junioritis.  As the fourth quarter takes full swing, I feel like completing homework assignments is becoming my last priority.  The weather is warming up and the last thing I want to do is think about school.

The worst part about junioritis is that it takes it affect when it is most important to focus and “buckle down” on studies. This is because the last quarter of high school is filled with assessments, exams, and other major grades which are deciding factors in a cumulative GPA.  Also, other end-of-the-year activities such as Prom seem to consume time rather than homework.

If my feelings of laziness are already affecting me as a junior, I cannot imagine what it is like for seniors.  Seniors are even closer to ending their high school journey.  Not to mention, many seniors have been accepted into colleges, so they feel secured.   As a result they lose their drive and motivation to study.

I’m sorry to report that the only known cure for this disease is summer, which is far too late for those wanting to keep their GPAs high.  As the year comes to a close it is important to focus on what’s important and avoid the contagious Senioritis, and now Junioritis, no matter how hard the task.

With this year coming to an end soon, it is hard to treat any cases of Senioritis or Junioritis but next year, as a school, we can avoid it some of its effects.   If we remember that we are at school to better our knowledge regarding core subjects perhaps seniors and juniors next year will not suffer from the ever growing disease. I think stressing the reason we attend school on a daily basis is one way we can make Waynesboro High School a better place that achieves more.

By Aysha Adrees, Publicity Manager

I can hear the cars whizzing by on the damp road. The wind is blowing in through the classroom’s windows. Everyone is being strangely quiet today.

I am hearing the keys of the keyboards clicking away on either side of me as my fellow Journalism classmates concentrate on their work.

The gloomy weather seems like it has affected the mood of everyone. I don’t hear people laughing, or the faint sound of pop and rap music playing through the ear buds of iPods.

It’s hard to believe it’s almost Spring Break. Even though spring rains have kicked in, students and teachers aren’t excitedly chatting about what plans they have for the week off.

Perhaps people have just become too exhausted. Maybe the regular routine of listening to lectures and doing homework has become so unbearably repetitive that hopes for a relaxing break sound almost surreal.

Everybody is leaning on the knuckles of their fist, their weight on the elbow that is propping them up.

For a minute, there’s no sound. The printer isn’t making noise; no one is talking, typing, or giggling, as people usually do. There is not even any bustle in the hallway.

All the commotion is outside. A day of beautiful weather is just calling us to the joy, energy, and vivaciousness of its ruckus. That day seems quite far away.

Katie Mullin
Toddler Observation\Blog
Toddlers, they teeter they totter, they weeble and wobble, they smell good and bad, they are sticky, and high energy, but most of all they spread happiness and make you laugh and smile.
Jumping: Joseph is about a year and two months. He tries to jump. His eyes meets every one else’s in the room as he continues to shout, “ee-ee-ee-ee!” He does this with a smile on his face, while he manages to get one of his feet off the ground, but only stands on his toes on the other foot.
Music: No matter how he is feeling or what he is doing, Joseph seems to always fit in a dance if music is playing. He whines as he hates getting dressed. A sibling decides to hit a button on his toy making it play music. Joseph shakes his hips and bobbles his head for a moment and then continues to whine.
Wrestling: Joseph bends his knees blows some spit bubbles and walks his way towards his brother who was expecting Joseph to jump on top of him as they play wrestle. Instead Joseph simply makes his way around to his brother’s stomach facing the other way, and plops down on his butt. Joseph then stands, grabs his brother by the hair and tries to drag him, as if his own personal bean bag chair.
Toddlers can be a lot of hard work, because they love to explore and learn, but they make up for it with their cuteness and the way they make you laugh and smile.

By Kaylyn Riddle, Reporter

I may wear glass slippers, but my hero wears combat boots. Having a dad being in the military is a lot harder then it seems. Being a military child is hard also; we would do anything to spend time with my dad. In my situation, my dad has been overseas twice, both times for eight months. But with electronics these days, I am able and fortunate to be able to Skype and call him.

A civilian child kisses her parents goodnight, a military child kisses a picture of them goodnight. A civilian child talks on the phone for fun, a military child would do anything for a 15- minute phone call. Even though we keep in touch sometimes, he misses out on those moments that most families take for granted. But for my dad, he’d do anything to see his kids grow up. From my brother’s first baseball game, to my sister’s last horseshow, these are the moments that matter.

Most military kids move six to nine times while growing up: they have to be great at making friends quickly, carry a lot of responsibilities, and have to deal with the deployments and carry a sense of worry that many kids will never know. My family will be moving for the third time this summer.

They look ordinary, they lace up the same, but it’s not the boots that matter; it’s my dad in the boots that means the world to me. Every child has a hero, and mine is my dad. He’s risking his life, in Afghanistan, to serve our country. And for those kids who also have a parent or parents overseas, it’s nice to have someone to talk to once in awhile.

By Brittany Kirkman, reporter

 Commitment. Whether being involved in a job, school, or sports, commitment is a key component to success.  WHS is currently in the midst of putting together a main stage play called Bermuda Triangle Getaway. Some students have already learned all of their lines, cues, and stage directions for the upcoming show on March 31- April 2. Others, however, have not taken their role as an actor so seriously.  Some students are showing up late, leaving early, or not bothering to come at all. This becomes a problem when trying to get through rehearsals and it takes a painfully long time to get through only one scene.

 Throughout the school there is an extreme dedication to various sports and I think that is a very good thing; don’t get me wrong. I truly believe that if you start something you should finish it. See, that’s my point; these students had committed to this production before they committed to spring sports.

  A number of other students are involved in a spring sport but they still come for the first half of play practice to at least get a little practice in. These actors for the most part know their lines and cues. The problem lies with the people who are missing the majority of practices and are not taking the initiative to study lines on their own time.

 This play will only succeed if there is a group effort and we get down to business and do the best we can to work hard and diligently. I want to make the point that there are actually a lot of students who have the script down and are doing fantastic. This production is a team effort though and needs to be taken as seriously as any other sport or commitment because this is just as important.

 When people start something they should be completely devoted and committed to it. This play should be the complete priority of the actors during the next week and a half. Instead of putting the play on the back burner and prioritizing sports instead of this play, actors should really take the commitment of being in a play more seriously.

By Jorie Logan, Editor-in-Chief

While I’ve been reading about the recent devastation in Japan resulting from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, I find it increasingly difficult to prevent myself from writing about it all. What may be even more personally impacting for me are the photos of the sheer obliteration of everything there.

As a resident of Waynesboro for my entire life, “destructive” is not a word I attribute to local weather.  Thus, I find it awfully tough to imagine what’s going on in Japan right now. In fact, it’s just unfathomable; even with photo an video evidence constantly bombarding my television and computer screens, I am left utterly speechless many times because I am unable to relate to any of these events.

Planes, vehicles and other debris are submerged in a current of muddy water near Sendai airport in Japan on March 12, 2011 following the earthquake and tsunami. (Photo courtesy of New York Times)

There is one photo in particular that seemed to rise above the rest in my mind’s eye since it first appeared on the front page of the New York Times website earlier last week. Although depictions of death, lost figures among ruins, and expressions of panic have been seared in my memory; this particular image seemed to capture the tangible side of this tragedy. In the photo, an abyss of watery sludge capsizes vehicles and airplanes, tossed in a conglomeration of wreckage and debris. What is so appalling about the image is the metaphorical symbolism: because of the aerial view, these objects appear to be minuscule. They take on the manifestation of children’s toys, carelessly left behind on a mountain of sticks in a rain puddle.

Ultimately, I’m left dumbfounded by the amount of annihilation that nature can impose. Furthermore, I am incredibly thankful for the life I have and that I have led a relatively safe life thus far. However, I am somewhat disappointed that such a catastrophe had to occur for me to finally realize all of this.

But this is my time to reshape my perspective. And it’s also a time for us all to remember that just because we don’t live in Japan doesn’t mean we’re not all part of the same earth.

By Aysha Adrees, Publicity Manager

Sunday: Oh my gosh! Tomorrow’s Monday! Still gotta do my homework, still gotta shower, still gotta study for my Biology test!

Monday: I. HATE. MONDAYS. Scratch that. I. HATE. SCHOOL. Have the rest of the week to go. Great.

Tuesday: It’s 11:00 PM and I am STILL doing my homework. Why, Mr. McNett, WHY????

Wednesday: I love lunch. I can go wherever I want. I can go find a new book in the library, or have lunch in the cafeteria, or chill and eat in Ms. Biggs’ room. It’s so relaxing. Just have to take those two tests and I’ll be set for the day. AND it’s half way through the week. Yesssss.

Thursday: Ugh. I got my test score back…Thank goodness for tomorrow being Friday.

Friday: Yay! The last day of the school week is always so amazing. We had a movie/food day in World History. Even better, the day’s almost over. I can’t wait. I absolutely can’t wait. C’mon bell, ring. RING! Please? Why does she keep saying more announcements? Please, let me go home!

Saturday: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Freedom. (: Please let today feel really long. Soon, it’ll be the end of the day, then Sunday, then school. I hate this cycle.

Here’s a piece of advice, don’t procrastinate. Don’t let your plans for Saturday distract you from concentrating on your homework. Homework can be a soothing pastime IF you want it to be. Just put on some music while you carefully work. Before you know it, you’ll be done! Don’t take school too hard to the head. At least try to enjoy it…

Gravity is a subject that individuals are familiarized with at a young age.  Gravity explains why a ball comes back down after being thrown in the air and why we fall and don’t rise.  Could something that has been known and accepted for such a long time be a myth?

According to Erik Verlinde, a theorist and professor of physics at the University of Amsterdam, gravity is an illusion.  To read the full article explaining Verlinde’s theory, click here.