I’ll be the first to admit that as soon as senior year began, I was waiting for it to be over. People tell you that this is the time of your life and that it passes by in the blink of an eye but I’ve caught time standing still. I counted down the days until AP testing and then waited for exams to start. I felt I had become too big for this small school.

            I presume that most seniors end up feeling more or less in the same way. Suddenly, the town we grew up in which is filled with thousands of memories is no longer enough. While that might sound like ungratefulness, it’s rather evolution. No one stays stagnant for his or her entire life and change is inevitable.

            As this year does come to a close and it seems that my wish has finally come true, I find myself feeling attached to the high school I wanted to leave so badly. It’s my niche of comfort, my safety; some would even call it a second home.

            I remember freshman orientation and how disoriented I felt through it. This so-called small school seemed so big back then. But before I could become too overwhelmed, my friends would snap me out of it. We roamed the school making too much noise and drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves. While that may not have been the best first impression, it helped calm my nerves.

            When I think back to how much we’ve grown over the past four years, I’m astonished. We went from staying out past curfew for the first time to getting our very own jobs. My girlfriends and I spent hours slaving over homework and days discussing the reasons behind male stupidity. It wasn’t always easy. While there were countless times I’d fall on the floor laughing, my skin became thicker by the times I spent crying my eyes out.

            We started out school as just kids and now we’re referred to as adults. There is much more to that than just a label. Freshman year, I felt like I was breakable, mostly because I wasn’t sure of who I was or my place in the world. As a senior who is ready to graduate from high school, my image is no longer under question. Everyone knows who I am but before they could find out, I had to prove to myself who I was.

            Even though I am more confident in whom I’ve become, I’m still discovering myself. During high school orientation, I knew my friends would help me become less overwhelmed, who will help calm me during a two day orientation at UVA? I then snap out of it and realize that when things get overwhelming, I’ve learned to rely on myself.

            I’ve learned so much at WHS and not just in the classrooms. As I say goodbye to this place, I’m grateful for all the wonderful memories, the amazing friends, and my inspiring teachers. There could not have been a better place to call high school than the one I’ve spent my last four years in.

All four years of high school at Waynesboro High School are what I’d like to call overrated. Now it might not be someone else’s opinion about the situation, but it is mine. The first day in high school was a situation I did not know how to handle at the time. I had grown an imagination from TV shows about bullies who would steal your lunch money and stuff you in lockers, or those teachers who didn’t even look at your paper they just put a big fat F on it because you forgot to write your name. I wasn’t ready for any of that.

                My first year of high school was not the best. I don’t really remember any of my classes or any of my teachers. But I do remember one thing. My first day in journalism. I thought it was going to be easy because it was a writing class. I later found out that the class would drag me down a dirt road just for the fun of it. I feel that journalism is not on how good you can write the best article, but about being timely. I didn’t turn in anything on time. I was a slacker. Plus if you add my low self esteem then it all just didn’t fit. My 9th grade year was bad. I was made fun of by my peers for the clothes I wore and my different hair styles. High school seemed to me as a bad place. I do remember one thing that I did find had an effect on my life. I was selected to go on a program called CYCLE at Virginia Tech, after the shooting, for a week to learn about leadership and how to lead my peers in the right direction. I fell in love with different people, their ways of living, and their ways to communicate. I later found that that week not only helped me with leadership but my strong communication with people. I learned more than I can image and I still have the t-shirt. That week made a big effect on my life.

                The school year ended bad and on a terrible note. I thought I had failed journalism but It turns out that I passed with C- , but I wasn’t worried because I had the idea that I wasn’t going back to journalism at all. My mother had another thing in mind.  I did fail Algebra though.  

Small details about my tenth grade year. Nothing exciting happened. I was still being made fun of but not as bad as ninth grade. I didn’t fail Math because I had a great teacher who later retired and left me hanging on a limb. I thought without her I would truly fail. I took journalism for my second year. I wasn’t happy about that choice so I slacked a little, making it hard for myself. But I did receive a B- which means I did something right.

                Now eleventh grade was when my school grades and life began to take a downward spiral. I had great teachers like Mrs. Coyner or Mrs. Moore but didn’t know how to respect them. I became bitter. I was taking Journalism for the third year. Not because of my mom but because of me. I have to admit that journalism had me wrapped around its finger. I loved to write and I loved when people read my articles. It didn’t have to be more than two people who read them, but I was happy somebody knew me as a reporter.

All I remember about eleventh grade was me being lazy. I didn’t get sent out of any classes but Spanish. I had a strong dislike for Spanish. I didn’t see why I had to learn it when I wasn’t going to speak it. So while the class did their work I would be lazy and draw an ugly picture. I would constantly argue with Mrs. Moore because at the time I wasn’t looking for a friend or a teacher to be my friend. Plus I loved to make her butter melt. I would always walk out of class when I felt it was necessary and always make a fool of myself. Then there was Mrs. Coyner’s class. I was a smart talker with her too. She put up with me and took my mouth for a ride of its life. I couldn’t out talk that lady for a second but later I learned that she cared about my education more than I did.

                During 11th grade I adopted a sickness call hyper active thyroid. At a young age. Yes. It’s when your thyroid becomes bigger than its normal size and spits out hormones that I didn’t need at the time. It was creating more blood cells then I needed and I was becoming weak. I was never on track with life, I was always behind and things weren’t right. I couldn’t catch up with anything; my thyroid was six times its normal size. I thought it was going to bust open while I was in class but it never did. I would cry every night because of this sickness. Operate is what they wanted to do. My mom said, “Yeah, right,” and walked out. During this time I was having difficulties with many things. It didn’t make school any better than it was. I failed Spanish, chemistry, history, geometry, and barely passed journalism. With the grades I had I was not going to graduate. Plus I had those people telling me that I never would. That was much worse. Eleventh grade was a school year of bad happenings and it felt like the end of my life. But, hey, who said I couldn’t do what I put my mind to?

                 I ended up having to take summer school for math which I received a scholarship for which was a miracle. I later moved up to the 12th grade I didn’t want to repeat the 11^th grade, so this year I went to Phoenix and worked my hardest and received the credits I needed. I had gained a mentality to not let anyone tell me what I couldn’t do. I was able to do what I put my mind to. I was able to buy my cap and gown and when I bought it I knew that my graduation was written in stone. I feel in love with myself and pressed myself to become an achiever. With the help of some of my peers telling me I couldn’t make it I felt much stronger. I feel like a champ because I made it. It took a while for me but I did it. I do thank those who told me that I could make it. I did stay in journalism and this is my forth year and I do plan to pursue journalism in college. I hope I have made a point in my column. I have learned that mothers are always right and that with the right mind anything is possible. All you need is love for yourself and your dreams. With that kind of mentality I made it by a hair and then some.

A day in theatre isn’t just a normal day. Theatre class is a fun, yet creative, way to spend some time during school.

                Dianne Truslow, the drama instructor, spends her day teaching Theatre classes. During Theatre, the students spend time playing games, getting to know everyone in the class, and they even learn about a side of them that may be interested in theatre arts.

Truslow’s day isn’t just one level of class, either. Drama classes range from Drama I to Drama IV. Each year is a higher drama skill level than the one before it.

Theatre I consists of acting, vocal sound, and group effort. Students practice to get ready for challenges such as simple classroom plays, monologue memorization, and class multi-act plays.

Ninth grader Tabby Gaylor has her opinion of theatre I: “It’s very exciting really. It expresses me in a way.”

Although theatre class isn’t as rough as a natural core class, Truslow still has expectations. Students can’t just sit around thinking the only thing they had to do was show up, but they must participate in various activities. And because of Mrs. Truslow’s expectations, students learn a lot from her lessons.

Gaylor says, “I didn’t have too much experience before the class.”

Truslow also takes time to let everyone in the class communicate with other class members. In the beginning of the year she plays games and has activities that involve every student to say something about them so everyone knows everybody.

Drama is not a laid back activity. There are some times where things are very easy, but then again some things require time, like memorization of lines, monologues, and audition practice.

“Public schools in Virginia have really been protected from the state and national recession,” said Crowder regarding any previous cuts in the school’s budget.

Waynesboro Public Schools get their funding from three main sources: the state, local, and federal governments. The biggest source, almost half of the funding, comes from the state. However, Waynesboro’s share of state revenues has fallen $2.6 million short of the projection in former Governor Kaine’s 2010-11 budget. But that isn’t all. Due to additional cuts made by Governor McDonnell, Waynesboro Public Schools will lose another $400,000 in order to balance the state’s budget.

In order to maintain the school system, cuts have to be made.

“Kids might notice higher student to teacher ratio,” said Crowder.

Waynesboro Public Schools will be losing at least 13 professional teachers and members of the support staff (bus drivers, aides, etc.). Twelve-month employees will also experience about four furlough days: days when they can’t work and don’t receive pay. There will be no supplemental pay for heads of department. No one will be getting a raise.

Another way cuts are being made is by offering the Early Retirement Incentive plan.

“It’s what I’d call a buyout,” said Crowder about the one time offer.

Some teachers are being persuaded to retire early by offering them a better package including more money. How is this possible when the budget for next year is so tight? It’s possible because the Early Retirement Incentive plan is being paid for by this year’s budget. The school system will then save money by not having to pay the higher salaries that the most experienced teachers earn.

“The most obvious thing will be that there will be a couple fewer teachers,” said Assistant Principal Matt Schult.

Waynesboro High School will be losing two teachers, one who will be retiring and one whose position will be lost due to the Reduction-In-Force (RIF) policy. The policy requires that the last person hired in a specific department will be the first person let go. The school will also lose one secretary position and two teacher’s aides will be replaced.

Dual enrollment classes will no longer be funded by WHS. Previously, students could take classes earning them college credits from Blue Ridge Community College at no cost. However, students will have to pay to take these courses in the next school year.

Rumors have been spreading about athletics being cut at Kate Collins Middle School due to budget cuts. Crowder denies this.

“We want to continue the athletic program but pay for it differently,” he said.

He said that coaches and athletes need to figure out a way to reduce costs by self-sustaining through concessions, fundraising, and tickets.

“We’re hoping that students won’t see a tremendous difference,” said Schult about cuts in other areas. “There will definitely be changes but that’s inevitable.”