April/May 2018 Volume 12 Issue 4
Word of Mouth Inside this issue: Boys’ Tennis
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Spring Formal
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Spring Soccer — Season Overview By Eddy Kayouloud & K’Juan Williams
Spring Drama
Spring Warrior Night
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The soccer team played well as a whole this year. The players worked on communicating more effectively to improve their game performance. The games against the WV Kings and Rural Retreat had some good
highlights. Players particularly remembered longrange goals by Kalab Haimanot and Charles Amo-Yartey and when Bolu Salami crossed up opposing players as top moments. Charles Amo-Yartey was the top scorer with five
Special point of Interest
Ladies’ Tennis — Season Overview
Noonkester Social was a fun night of picnicking with swimming, golf, an obstacle course, and a bonfire! Pics on page 11!
By Hannah Stowe & Sarah Smith Ms. Brooks was the girl’s tennis coach this year. She believes that they did well this year, considering several girls had never played tennis before. The practice sessions were limited since the weather was not very cooperative. One day it would be 70 degrees;
the next day it would be snowing. Due to inclement weather, the girls were only able to play one match. They lost the match 0-9, but a couple of the players won individual games. Ms. Brooks said that, “Individually, I was pleased. Each girl put
goals to his credit. Bolu Salami led in assists, and Kalab Haimanot, Lou Bricker, and Kneiko Brimmer were also dynamic players who added a lot of (Continued on page 5)
forth an effort to win their match and even though they did not, I believe their skill level improved.” This year, there are several seniors graduating from the team: Hannah Stowe, (Continued on page 3)
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Boys’ Tennis — Season Overview By Christen Reeves & Anber Chen Every player tried their best in their matches, but the team had a late start to the season. They didn’t have much time to train and learn strategy, so playing doubles was tricky. Coach Duranko said every player did well during practice, but he
thought they were nervous during games since half of the players were playing on the team for the first time. Charlie Wang said, “Even though I have played tennis for a long time, this is my first year to play on a real team, so I couldn’t make use of my
strength in the game; I think I can be better next time.”
two daughters. One is married and lives in Germany; the other is in graduate school at Boston University. As this is his first year at Oak Hill, he said he went into the season with an openmind for the team. He said the
team was competitive but didn’t have enough time to build a strong rhythm together.
also the Gold Team manager. He loves chicken and his favorite music is rap. As a senior, he plans to attend Radford University in the fall.
China and has been at Oak Hill for one year. His favorite classes are English and geography and he loves to listen to Joker Xue.
Guobin Huang is from Shenzhen, China and has been on the tennis team for two years. His favorite music is by Lively Rhythm, and he loves to eat fried fish. Guobin also enjoys English class with Ms. Tobin.
Zihao Fu has been at Oak Hill since 2014 and lives in Shangrao, Jiangxi, China. His favorite classes are Advanced Fitness and Painting. His favorite foods are Chinesestyle hot pots and stir fry, as well as chicken tenders and pasta bar. Zihao likes music by Alan Walker.
Coach Duranko The boys’ tennis team coach is Mr. Gary Duranko; this is his first year at Oak Hill Academy. He focuses on consistency while coaching, and he has been a coach since 2006. He and his wife Gail, both from Pennsylvania, have
Meet the Team Sven Patzer is from Norfolk, Virginia. This is his second year at Oak Hill Academy where his favorite class is AP Calculus. His favorite musician is TNT Tez and his favorite food is lobster. Connor Cummings, from Virginia Beach, has been a student at Oak Hill for three years. He has been on the tennis team for two years, and is
Chao Chen is from Fuzhou,
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Boys Tennis — Meet the Team This is Easton Branch’s first year, and he is from Virginia Beach. He is a senior and will be attending the University of South Carolina. His favorite
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foods are fries and mac and cheese. He likes his music and film theory classes and listens to all types of music. Andre Loveland, a junior on the tennis team, is from Raleigh, North Carolina and loves to listen to 70s and rap music. Andre loves weight training and math and his favorite food is mac and cheese.
Ladies’ Tennis — Season Overview
Ty Franzus is a senior from Tennessee, and this is his second year. His favorite food is pepperoni pizza, and he loves to listen to rap music. Ty loves his weight training class and any class with Mr. Pease.
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Sarah Smith, Kristina Kennedy, K'Juan Williams and Morrissa Chandler. Ms. Brooks concluded that, “It was a short season, but,
overall, I believe we had fun and everyone learned some valuable tennis skills.”
Coach Brooks Ms. Ann Brooks has been the tennis coach for the past five years, for as long as she has been a resident manager at Oak Hill. She attended Emory and Henry College, where she double-majored in Mass Communications and Recreation. Ms. Brooks played tennis in college. She enjoys listening to music in her freetime, specifically jazz, and loves being outdoors. She recently began teaching ESOL
for international students who speak English as a second language. Before she became a permanent teacher, she was a substitute who could frequently be found in the school building when she wasn’t on duty in Hough Dorm. Like most, Ms. Brooks plays games on her phone when she is bored. Candy Crush is especially one of her favorite games. Of the 2018 season, she said: “Tennis this year was a great experience.
Everyone who participated learned something new and had fun doing it.”
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Ladies’ Tennis — Meet the Team K’Juan Williams is from San Salvador, Bahamas and has been at Oak Hill for two years. Her favorite classes are Physical Science and 21st Century Communication. Her favorite foods are conch salad, crab and rice, jerk chicken, and curry chicken. Her favorite song is “Nice For What” by Drake. Hannah Stowe is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and she has been at Oak Hill for two years. Her favorite classes are Writing for College and U.S. Government. Her favorite food is chicken tenders, and her favorite type of music is jazz. A fun fact about her is that she is a big fan of paper airplanes. Sarah Smith is from Williamsburg, Virginia, and has attended Oak Hill for three years. She has been playing tennis since she was a child. She enjoys watching Netflix and making art. Sarah is going to attend Virginia
Commonwealth University in Richmond in the fall. Her favorite food is burnt marshmallows. She likes to put her marshmallow in the fire and wait until it is completely charred before she eats it. Sarah listens to KPOP and alternative music. Her favorite song at the moment is “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood. Aarina Varpilah has been at Oak Hill for one year. She decided to play tennis because she wanted to learn more about it and have fun with her friends. Her favorite food is chicken. Aarina enjoys sleeping almost as much as she does drawing (which is a lot). Her favorite class is art. She loves music, especially hip hop, and her favorite song is “Grand Piano” by Nicki Minaj. Morrissa Chandler is from Virginia Beach, Virginia and has been at Oak Hill for one year. She joined the tennis team because she wanted to try something new. Her favorite class is math. Morrissa enjoys listening to R&B and hip
hop. She wants to go into criminal justice. Her favorite food is Caesar salad. Morrissa likes to shop and hang out with her family and friends. Currently, her favorite song is “Nice for What” by Drake. Kristina Kennedy is from Long Island, New York. She has been at Oak Hill for three years. She joined the tennis team because she wanted to have fun with friends and has been playing tennis since she was young. Her favorite lunch at Oak Hill is chicken tenders. Her favorite class is English. Kristina is excited for graduation. Betele Ambaye started at Oak Hill this semester. She is from Ethiopia and has played tennis for many years. Her favorite song is “Kontrol” by Maleek Berry. Her favorite class is 21st Century Communication. She likes to hang out with her friends and watch movies. A movie she likes is Obsessed.
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Spring Soccer — Season Overview
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energy on the field. Players agreed that Bolu was the best
player on the team because he was an excellent captain and leader. He executed plays the coach called and not what he wanted to do. Overall, the team had five wins. “The team put in good efforts all season and it got us good wins,” said Mikun Adewole.
Coach Doan Coach Doan, from Niagara Falls, Canada, is a resident manager in Ingram Dorm. This is his second year working here. He has a younger brother, and his parents still live in Canada. He is engaged to a lovely lady and expects to get married this
summer. In his free time he likes to broadcast podcasts, read, play video games and listen to different types of music. His favorite band is The Killers and his favorite video game of all time is Final Fantasy Tactics. His favorite
food is real Japanese ramen and sushi. Coach Doan said of the season, “We had a pretty good team; they came out confident that they would have a good season and they did.”
against the Kings when Kalab Haimanot scored a long-range goal after seeing that the goalkeeper wasn’t in his goal. The Grey is Bolu’s favorite movie.
juice. He likes Afrobeat; his favorite rapper is A-Boogie. His preferred moment of the season was when Bolu crossed a player up, defeating him one-on-one. Black Panther is his favorite movie: “Wakanda forever.”
Meet the Team Bolu Salami is a senior who will graduate this year after two years at Oak Hill Academy. He comes from Lagos, Nigeria and played central defense for the team, as well as serving as a captain. Bolu’s favorite classes are CC English and Honors World Religions. He likes orange chicken and indomie noodles, and his favorite drink is Faygo cream. His favorite singer is Brad Paisley, an American country singer. His favorite moment of the spring season was during the last game at home
Reggie Ekong is also a senior from Lagos, Nigeria. In his second year at “The Hill,” he decided to become the manager of the soccer team. His favorite class is CC English with Mr. Pease. Reggie likes fettuccine Alfredo chicken and his favorite drink is watermelon
Kalab Haimanot is a junior from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Like last year, he played mid-field this season. He enjoys engineering, and loves to eat pizza; his favorite drink is Gatorade. Kalab likes listening to African music; (Continued on page 6)
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Meet the Team (Soccer)
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his favorite artist is Davido. His favorite moment was when Bolu crossed up everyone on the opposing team and scored. Pape Faye is also a junior; he comes from the capital of Senegal, Dakar. Like Kalab, he played soccer last year as a midfielder. Pape’s favorite class is Advanced Fitness. He loves chicken Alfredo, and his favorite drink is Tropicana guava. French rap is the kind of music he listens to; his favorite rapper is Niska, and his favorite movie is The Transporter. A good moment for Pape was when Kalab scored a remarkable goal after his assist. Connor Cummings is a senior who only played one game this year with the soccer team. Returning for his third year at Oak Hill Academy, he played defender. He likes his English class and his religion course. His favorite foods are crab and chicken tenders; his favorite drink is pineapple coconut water. Drake is his favorite singer. Connor’s favorite movie is We Are the Millers. Shiryu Kataoka is a junior from Kobe, Japan. Like Connor, this is his third year here. He played the right wing position. He
enjoys Coach Meagher’s class. BBQ is his favorite food; Shiryu listens to rap and hip-hop. He likes the Chainsmokers, and Fast and Furious is his preferred movie. Domenick Berger is a freshman from San Salvador. He lives in West Islip, NewYork. This year, he was a center mid and a striker. He also enjoys Advanced Fitness and World History. Macaroni and cheese is his favorite food; his favorite drink is Gatorade. Domenick’s favorite movie is Thor Ragnarok, and he likes hiphop music. His best moment of the soccer season was when he played during the game against Rural Retreat. Edson Knapp comes from Tampa, Florida and lives in Alaska. For his first year on “The Hill,” he was a defender. His favorite classes are biology and English. Edson likes chicken tenders and tacos; his favorite drink is pink lemonade. His favorite singer is Drake, and he listens to rap. Edson’s best memory is the overnight trip in the fall soccer season. The Avengers is his favorite movie. Mikun Adewole, like Bolu and Reggie, is a senior from Lagos. Returning for
his second year at Oak Hill, he played defender and was a captain of the soccer team. His favorite classes are AP Physics and Honors World Religions. Mikun’s favorite food is orange chicken, and his favorite drink is water. He like R&B music and his favorite singer is Kanye West. Whiplash is his favorite movie. His best moments were the moment spent with the guys in the van. Lou Bricker is a senior from Richmond, Virginia. This is his first year at Oak Hill Academy. He played mainly center and occasionally center back. Art and English are his favorite classes at OHA. Lou likes pasta and sweet tea. He enjoys CCR, The Rolling Stones, and Queen. His favorite movie is Lone Survivor. Lou’s best moment was watching the whole team scream when Bolu dribbled the entire opposing team. Sebastian Rojas Castelblanco is a junior coming from Anchorage, Alaska. For his first year at “The Hill,” he played center mid and striker. His favorite classes are AP Physics and AP Calculus. He enjoys fried bread snacks with coconut rice and, like Mikun, likes water. Forrest Gump is his favorite movie; his
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Meet the Team (Soccer)
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favorite singer is Frank Ocean. Sebastian’s best moment was when he scored a hat-trick.
favorite song is “Dogged Up” by Q da Fool. He had fun this season helping out the team.
Andrew Baker is from Cleveland, Ohio and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. This is his first year here; he played mainly left back. Like Lou, his favorite classes are art and English. He really likes burritos and rap music. Future is his favorite artist, and his favorite movie is The Incredibles. His best moment of the soccer season was when the team played Rural Retreat and beat them by many goals.
Eyoab Knapp is a freshman, and this is also his first year joining Oak Hill. He was born in Addis, Ethiopia but currently lives in Alaska. He plays the striker on the team. His favorite food is pizza rolls. He relishes Coach Meagher’s class. Eyoab’s favorite movie is The Lion King. His favorite song is “Nice for What” by Drake.
Andre Loveland is a junior from Raleigh, North Carolina. This is also his first year at Oak Hill Academy. He played midfielder this season. His favorite classes are Advanced Fitness and Algebra. Andre likes mac and cheese, Wolf of Wall Street and 70s music. His best moment of the year was when the team was up by 10, and players were megging people (kicking the ball through the opponent’s legs), which he finds funny to see. Jay Young is a sophomore, and this is his first year attending Oak Hill. He was born and raised in Washington, DC. His favorite food is pizza. He enjoys weight lifting class the most. This year he was responsible for managing the team. Jay’s
Wes Needelman is a junior; this is his first year attending Oak Hill, coming from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wes’s favorite food is sushi. He favors Film Theory over other classes. His favorite song is “Pineapple” by Ty Dolla $ign featuring Quavo and Gucci Mane. On the team he plays center or back on the field. He loves the movie Sand Lot. Kevin Kennedy is also a junior, and this is his second year showing out on the soccer team playing defense. He is from Verona, Virginia. Kevin’s favorite food is a big juicy steak. He truly loves U.S. History class because he is a movie buff. His favorite movie is Captain America: The First Avenger. He really likes the song “Lost Battalion.”
Kneiko Brimmer, a senior, is in his second year here at Oak Hill. He plays center and mid striker on the team. His hometown is Pembroke, Bermuda. His favorite food is filet mignon. He most enjoys attending English class. Kneiko’s favorite song is “King’s Dead” by Kendrick Lamar and his favorite movie is Black Panther: “Wakanda Forever.” Promise Sam is also a senior, and this is also his second year attending Oak Hill. His position on the team is playing right wing on the field. He is from Abuja, Nigeria. His favorite song is “Superman” by Eminem; his favorite maxim is also from Eminem: “You don’t get another chance; life is no Nintendo game.” His favorite food is lamb chops with garlic and olive oil with fries. Promise’s favorite movie is the Pirates of the Caribbean series. John Devine, a freshman, is in his first year at Oak Hill. His hometown is Springfield, Virginia. He plays the role of the striker on the team. His favorite food is pizza. John’s favorite song is “Take Me Away” by Shy Glizzy. His favorite movie is Black Panther.
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Shanghi Sunset By Ishaan Jagiasi This year’s spring formal transformed the cafeteria and patio into a red and gold landscape with a theme of “Shanghai Sunset.” Boys picked up their dates from Hough Dorm at 7:00, and the formal lasted until 11:30. There was a great variety of foods served, starting with a pre-set salad and appetizers of spring rolls and chicken on a stick. The main dinner included wonton soup, vegetable lo mien, beef and broccoli, black beans with rice, green beans, shrimp, and red soy chicken. The dessert sections included sorbet and white chocolate macadamia cookies. The Spring Formal Court, a prestigious honor made up of a king, queen, and class representatives, was chosen by a student vote. The king was Bolu Salami and the queen was Jingyi “Carritah” Cai. Class representatives were Promise Sam, Eddy Kayouloud, Bailey Madison, and Lydia Haimanot. CiCi Wang said, “It had a comfortable vibe because the decorations were really fun. The food was my favorite thing; the dumpling soup was really good.”
Many students worked diligently in order to make, put up, and take down the gorgeous decorations, including Chase Vincent, Anna Spencer, Lauren Oberman, Bridget Hoffman, Timi Tolu, Bailey Madison, Katelyn Bogart, Christen Reeves, Reggie Ekong, Sarah Smith, Mikun Adewole, Kevin Kennedy, Wendy Hu, Kalab Haimanot, Bolu Salami, Alice Wang, Jackson Ritter, K’Juan Williams, Kneiko Brimmer, Sofia Xu, Cecilia Zhang, Wendy Hu, and Brynn Pate. This event would not be possible without the immense planning and preparation of Ms. Sargent, the primary sponsor of the Spring Formal. She has been teaching at Oak Hill for 27 years, on the Spring Formal Committee for 22 years, and the Spring Formal sponsor for 15 years!
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Parents’ Days Drama Performance By Rachael Agidee The Spring Play consisted of two one-act plays that took place over Parents’ Days. The two plays were a breath of fresh air to the waiting audience who could be seen laughing and singing the praises of the actors throughout the production. It was clear that the audience had a great time and the vision of the director, Mr. Matt Pease was realized. The two plays were Super Hero Support Group and Big Nose, both by D.M. Larson. Super Hero Support Group was performed before in a production and consists of jokes and a quite unserious attitude throughout the duration of the play. It is about a group of super heroes who have to deal with an evil doctor who is trying to take their powers away. Essentially the play is about overcoming adversity in a funny and light-hearted way. Promise Sam played the doctor, and Sven Patzer (Smash), Bailey Madison (Shade), Reggie Ekong
(Dogboy), Maria Lovett (Catchick), Bridget Hoffman (Caper), and Andrew Cafiero (Speedo) had roles as superheroes. In the audience that night, Jalin Dillard thought Reggie was really funny, “especially when he kept pronouncing ‘job’ wrong.” Big Nose, on the other hand, is about a musician, Wolfgang Willard as Cyril, who comes to a certain play every night to harass the star because he wants the affection of the leading actress Roxy, played by Carittah Cai. This was also a comedic masterpiece and was very well received by the audience. Meanwhile, the actors looked as though they were having a wonderful time on stage as well. Rounding out the cast were Wes Needelman (Captain), Kevin
Kennedy (Soldier), Gloria Lan (Kelly), and Ty Franzus and Easton Branch as two friends. Anna Spencer was the assistant to the director for both plays. Mr. Pease always does a casting call for auditions and decides who is best suited for the roles. Casting calls usually start in January and then play preparation begins. The play is always during the spring Parents’ Days. He looks for actors who are responsible yet comedic and able to think on their feet. Hannah Stowe and Mikun Adewole, two members of the stage crew, found running (Continued on page 10)
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the spotlight challenging because “the actors were very spontaneous; there was a lot of improvisation, so it was hard to keep up with who was going to speak next.” Hannah went on to say, Mikun and I had a lot of fun working together. Mr. Pease says that he always wants to take a comedic approach and always has a lighthearted subject matter. “My main goal is that the audience always has fun,” he said with a smile. Kevin Kennedy said he auditioned because, “I like being on stage; it’s fun. I got to know a lot more people by acting with them.” This is Mr. Pease’s sixth year at Oak Hill. He is originally from Elmhurst, Illinois,
which is about 15 minutes from Chicago. “I think of all the Oak Hill students as being my children,” he has been heard saying as he ushers students into their classrooms after morning assembly. His uncle was a theater critic, so he grew up going to plays and setting things up backstage. He plans to do two productions next year as he has done in the past.
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Spring Warrior Night By Ishaan Jagiasi Warrior Nights offer fun and exciting trips off campus on Saturdays. The Spring Warrior Night took place on April 14 and offered two trips, the Barter trip and a “Fast Food Rodeo.” The Barter trip took students to the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. The students went to the play In the Heat of the Night, which is about crime and racism in the south. Hannah Stowe, one
Nonnkester Social
of the students that went on this trip, said “I had a great time watching the play. The cast was outstanding and the plot was riveting. It was probably one of my favorite trips I have been on this year.” For the next trip, students were taken to fast food restaurants in West Jefferson, North Carolina. Students were asked what kinds of foods they wanted and had their choice of
restaurants such as McDonalds, Bojangle’s, and Taco Bell. Matt Bajorek, one of the students on this trip, said “I loved the trip; being able hang out with friends and eating good tasting food was a great experience.” Spring Warrior Night allowed the students some freedom and time to bond with friends outside of the campus.
Word of Mouth Student Newspaper
Reporters Rachael Agidee
Christen Reeves
Anber Chen
Sarah Smith
Ishaan Jagiasi
Hannah Stowe
Eddy Kayouloud
K’Juan Williams
Layout & Design Team Erin Bunn
Will Richardson
Edson Knapp
Sebastian Rojas Castelblanco
Faculty Advisors
Proofreaders
Mikki Haas
Lisa Finklea
Chris Tobin
Cyndie Richardson