Giant Word

Mr. Derek McDaniel, Ms. Sandy Hall, and Ms Lisa Blacka work at the ticket stand. Tickets for basketball games were $5. Picture taken by Vinny Armpriester

Alex Graves, reporter

“Do you want go to the game tonight?”

“No, I can’t, I don’t have enough money.”

This is a conversation that commonly takes place between students at WHS.  The admission price to school athletic events is five dollars.  So if students want to go to three games a week that is $15 dollars for the week that they have spent on sporting events.  Over the course of a season this could get expensive, especially in this tough economic time.

The ticket price for district games is set by the district, according to Ms. Becki Teerlink, the athletic secretary.  The athletic directors meet and discuss what the price should be and make a decision.  Once this decision on the price is made it becomes a rule for all district schools.

Clearly expenses have to be covered and try to make a profit, but more people would come to more games if the admission price was decreased.  This would draw more students to the games and the students are the one that make the atmosphere of the game better.  Students get rowdy during the game and could have an impact on the outcome of the game.  Having a lot of support during the game can be the extra boost a team needs to win the game.

Senior Johnny Garcia who has played football, basketball, and is currently running track said, “It gets me hyped with the intensity that we have to win for the fans.”

There is also the fact that parents come to games and have to pay.  Over the course of the season that could become very expensive.  Then if they bring any other kids they have, that will cost even more.  The ticket prices should be lowered to bring in more fans and help parents save money but still get to watch their children play.

By Aysha Adrees, Editor-in-Chief     

In the girl’s bathroom, words are written on the wall in pencil and pen; some are capitalized, underlined, or written significantly bigger. The sentences or phrases are going “downhill” from left to right. Certain words are scribbled out or erased. Hearts or smiley faces are drawn at the end of some phrases. A couple end with a large exclamation point.

Vandalism, according to assistant principal Ms. Candace Kimmett, can simply be defined as “destruction of property.”  Vandalism includes the bathroom graffiti seen in WHS bathrooms. This is against the law.

Kimmett, who is in charge of maintenance, is in her first year as assistant principal, so has had only a couple of vandalism cases directly reported to her.  One was several weeks ago on the third floor, men’s bathroom. Offensive language was involved, she said.  Another was when the towel dispenser in the boy’s bathroom was broken.

Examples of graffiti in the girls’ bathrooms include one sexual reference, one hateful comment about an individual, three involving offensive language (curse words), and two that are neutral – neither offensive nor amiable. No graffiti was found in any of the girls’ bathrooms on the third (freshman) floor.

According to Kimmett, generally the custodians or teachers/administrators themselves physically take care of the graffiti or defacement of property.  However, she said, “Our building is all of our responsibility. We all have to take ownership.”

Sophomore Andrew Bihl said that the bathroom graffiti doesn’t bother him.

“I just don’t care. There is not that much of it, and there’s nothing extremely profane.”

Sophomore Angela Harris said, “I’m using the bathroom and I don’t want to see provocative language on the wall.”

Some other particular messages from the girl’s bathrooms were notable:

     when you feel alone just smile be nice to others and enjoy life. I promise it gets better <3

       so right giving your enemies love is the best you can do 4 them

     It’s easy to pretend, takes a really brave person to be themselves in this place. Good Luck!

     Everyone IS equal! Stop judging

     You’re BEAUTIFUL! Don’t forget it <3

     No matter what people may think of you, only YOU decide who you are!  

However, according to Kimmett, this is still wrong because the walls of the bathroom are not designated for writing.

“While it’s positive, it’s still vandalism,” she said.

This does not mean students cannot show appropriate individual expression. Kimmett said that there are other areas where students can write, such as the large chalkboard in the cafeteria or bulletin boards around the school.

“If a person is identified, and there is no doubt, then an administrator will contact their parents to notify them. They will be required to clean, replace, or repair what was defaced. We provide the materials…There could be legal consequences, depending on the circumstances,” she said.

Kimmett said each case varies. Punishment will be assigned according to the student’s record. For example, the punishment is different for a student who did this for the first time and a student who continuously vandalized.

The ten-minute rule of not leaving class was not specifically made for vandalizing students, Kimmett said.

“It is more about keeping halls clear, so we know which students are tardy,” she said.

Other cases of vandalism at WHS included outside on the school’s brick walls last year and an exit door at one point.

Kimmett said that students probably choose the bathrooms more because “while the bathroom isn’t a hiding place, it’s not in the open, and not often supervised.”

She said that the “majority of info, we get from our students about vandalizing. Students need to be accountable for their behavior. I wish I did have an answer. Students are responsible for fostering a sense of school pride.”

By Vinny Armpriester, Reporter

For the past seven or eight years, Mr. Timothy Wion has been dreaming about developing a travel club at Waynesboro High School. Wion, who teaches earth science, thinks that it’s important to see what it means to be immersed in a different culture.

“Traveling is transformative,” says Wion. “People change when they travel.”

One of Wion’s goals is to create a customized elective course that allows students to study an area for the first half of the semester, visit that area during spring break, and then spend the last two months of the class reviewing and analyzing their trip.

Wion and fellow science teacher Ms. Desiree Henriksen have planned a trip to Costa Rica during spring break of 2013. The trip is open to all students, but it’s particularly focused on juniors. Wion states that while he hasn’t had anyone commit to going, he has met with several students who are interested. Anyone who thinks that they would like to participate should contact Wion or Henriksen as soon as possible. The trip is nine days long. The cost includes round-trip airfare and three meals a day.

According to Wion, it will cost about $2400, or $200 per month, for the next 12 months. Students will stay in tourist-class hotels and work on projects within the community. Some activities include planting trees, visiting and helping an elementary school, taking a canopy tour, and enjoying a visit to La Fortuna waterfall.

Wion said to think of this as a “mission trip for the environment.”

The bleachers of the football field must be replaced or football will no longer have any home games. (photo by Chelsea Truxell)

By Chelsea Truxell, Reporter

Problems are easy to see in Waynesboro athletic facilities it would be nice to have the money to fix all of them but here are the main five.

• Locker Room:  “The biggest problem is the football locker rooms,” Coach C Jay Dewitt said about improvements that need to be made to the school athletic facilities.  The football locker room doesn’t even come close to fitting the needs for a team of 70 players.

There are 75 lockers altogether; 16 are half lockers.  Fitting a player’s cleats, shoulder pads, knee pads, butt pads, thigh pads, practice pants, and helmet is almost impossible in the half lockers.

• Gym Floors:  Gym floors are another huge issue at Waynesboro High.

“They’re slippery.  Mostly they need to be re-painted or just re-done all together,” said sophomore basketball player Keishla Garcia.

Before, during, and after school many activities are going on in the big gym.   The floors are only done twice a year.

“They are terrible.  They are way too slick. Someone needs to step up and re-do them,” Sidney “Pops” Diggs, assistant coach of the boy’s varsity basketball team.

• Bleachers:  The same bleachers have been there over 30 years “We can’t have football games unless we get new bleachers.” Said football coach and athletic director Coach Derek McDaniel.

The school’s insurance company will not allow a crowd on the bleachers due to people getting hurt while watching Waynesboro football on the bleachers.

• “If we had a field house anyone could use it. We could have more space and the locker rooms wouldn’t be so crowded,” Said McDaniel.  The field house would cost around $900,000. McDaniel said all sports could use it and the space would be a tremendous to addition to the school.  “We’re running out of space and having to crowd the school with equipment and other materials,” said Coach Dewitt.

• Softball Lights:  Softball fields need lights.   McDaniel says, “We would like to add them but the possibility is something I couldn’t even tell you.”  The softball team has to cut practice early and games because of darkness.  The baseball team plays on a field with lights. Most competitors in softball have lights.  To help raise money for lights to the field WHS could host a tournament with teams from other districts and make them pay to get in, according to McDaniel.

It all adds up to a lot of needs, the longer we go without addressing these needs the farther behind the athletes will fall.

By Sidney Duff, Reporter
As a child, Sidney “Popsicle” Diggs always knew he wanted to play basketball. He aspired to play up through junior high, high school, and college. To the average person, a small child thinking so big was just a cute kid thought. But Pops was set on proving he could do it.
    Diggs managed to keep his grades up throughout school in order to keep playing. By the time he neared graduating from Waynesboro High school in 1981, he had received a full athletic scholarship to Oklahoma Panhandle State. He played point guard for his college team and later graduated from Oklahoma Panhandle in 1985.
    After graduating from college, Diggs started his career teaching after first working in a factory. He began working at Waynesboro High in 2003. He also became assistant head coach for boys’ varsity basketball.  
     “Being a coach lets me help kids to do better,” Diggs said.
     Any of Diggs’s previous players will tell you he’s an amazing coach.
    He also advises study hall and In-School Suspension. Diggs said that he tries to help the kids he sees do better and to be successful. He said he enjoys his job and hopes to stay in teaching.

Student teacher Mr. Ben Shifflet works on a lesson plan for his work with Mrs. Angela Loan's world history class. (Photo by Faith AIlsworth)

By Faith Ailsworth, Reporter

Growing up on a farm in Orange County, Virginia, Mr. Ben Shifflet was one of the kids in high school who was always getting in trouble. He ate lunch with the principal at least once a week and had ISS often. He says now, as a student teacher, it’s nice to have students look up to him because he knows they can achieve through rough times because he did.

            “You don’t have to cut yourself short,” said Shifflet.

He said that when he was done with high school he wanted to be a biology major, but soon figured out he wanted to teach history because it came more naturally to him.

Shifflet went to James Madison University to pursue his teaching career. Since then he has been here at Waynesboro High School as a student teacher for Ms. Angela Loan’s world history classes.

Being here, Shifflet said he has learned that there are different varieties of people, and that the environment is different because he was raised in a small rural area rather than here in the city streets of Waynesboro.

“You can tell that Mr. Shifflet has been a big help to Ms. Loan and he’s helped us out a lot too,” says Sierra Haynes, a student.

His experience has been getting him prepared for next fall, when he will probably be going to Loudoun County to start his teaching.

 Not only is he a teacher, he is also a wrestling coach at Harrisonburg High School. Wrestling has been one of Shifflet’s passions and he says that it is just a fun sport that he grew up involved in.     

 Shifflet says that he has been enjoying his experience here and that it has helped him rise as a teacher.

By Calen Dexter, Reporter

Exam time, time to cram all that information into your head! Or not?

Sophomore Ana Sotelo prepares for her exam.

 “I don’t think you have to study for exams,” said junior Dillon Herron. “Your teachers should teach you all that you need to know.”

 While some students cram, others don’t.

 “I think it’s a personal preference,” said Herron.

 For some students, they don’t even have to come to take their exam!

 “I think if you are exempt you deserve it. You have to have an A average and miss less than three days. That is pretty hard,” said sophomore J.c. Nodine.

 What do teachers recommend? According to government teacher Mr. Tim Dennis, exams give students a chance to show their knowledge. They also let the teacher know if their teaching really helped the students pass. 

 “I also believe that exams prepare you for college because in college exams are a regular thing,” said Dennis.

Ms. Iris Carter helps a student with her work.

By Lisandro Fernandez Reporter

Does Ms Iris Carter like what she does?

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” she said.

Carter, from DC, has been in Waynesboro since 2004. She has worked as a teacher’s aide in William Perry, substituted at KCMS and is now in Waynesboro High School. Carter said she likes what she does, teaching and helping, because she has never had problems. All her students are nice and respectful, she said.

“If you want respect, you have to give it,” said Carter.

Even though Carter has been busy with the two clubs that she helped bring back to WHS, the Interact Club and the Step Team, she plans to retire in about eight years. Carter does feel like she makes a change in school.

She said, “Education is the key to success.”

Carter says that the Waynesboro public school system has some of the best teachers.

“Our administrative team is a class act,”

In other words she likes the way they run things. However, she wishes the school was cleaner, but she likes the school climate. She also wishes the school had security cameras.

Carter said she helps with college applications she teaches girls to be young ladies, teaches boys how to be young men, provides advice when asked, and provides discipline.

“Every child should have a caring adult in their life,” said Carter.

By Lisandro Fernandez, Reporter

“I taught myself how to paint when my parents grounded me for two months,” says Waynesboro High school art teacher Ms. Bridget Roberts, who lives in Verona but has been driving down to Waynesboro for the past nine years to teach about art.

Even though she considers herself a good art teacher, Roberts thinks she has much to learn. Roberts hopes to go back to college to get her master’s degree after her daughter Delilah Walker graduates.

“My favorite kind of art is painting and charcoal,” explains Roberts, who also thinks that art is something you are not born to do or be good at, but something you have to practice and learn.

Sophomore art student Megan Harner can best relate to this. Harner says that she was not so good at art the first year she took it. Harner, now in art II thinks she’s good enough to win an award “I love Mrs. Roberts she’s the best teacher ever,” said Harner.