The County Chronicle June 2021

THE C OUNTY

CH RONICLE

Loudoun County High School’s Quarterly Newspaper

Vol. 66, Issue 4 - June 2021

415 Dry Mill Road, Leesburg, VA blogs.lcps.org/countychronicle/

A RETURN TO NORMAL after rollercoaster year, class of 2021 enjoys traditional, in-person graduation

June 17

Olivia Zavadil | Managing Editor Graduation is one of the most recognizable events at our school. Set to the beautiful and historic backdrop of the front lawn, students and faculty alike come together to celebrate the occasion. This year, thanks to most of the pandemic restrictions being lifted, members of the senior class and their families were able to continued on GRAD, page 4

Above: Graduates of the class of 2021 celebrate by throwing their caps in the air at the end of the ceremony on

on the front lawn. Below: graduates display their decorated caps during the ceremony. Photos by Valerie Egger.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 | OLIVIA ZAVADIL | graduation returns to normal

3 | KAREN CORTES | opinion: senior lessons from the pandemic

5 | KAREN CORTES | faculty words of wisdom

6 |

7 |

ALEXIS SHUGARS | how students returned four days per week

OLIVIA ZAVADIL | captain’s corner school store adapts

8 | OLIVIA DEWAN | reflections on four-day learning

THE COUNTY CHRONICLE

Loudoun County High School

415 Dry Mill Rd., SW Leesburg, Virginia 20175

phone: 571-252-2000

fax: 571-252-2001

Karen Cortes | Managing Editor

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MICHAELA SCOTT & MAGGIE SHERIDAN | EL students’ struggles 12 |

SUMMER ORLEDGE | arlene lewis retires

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LIBERTY HARRISO | patricia virts retires

JEVONTE HERRON | kathy brake retires

OLIVIA ZAVADIL | seniors’ end-of-year picnic

EMILY BANNER | time capsule rediscovered

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

MICHAELA SCOTT

MAGGIE SHERIDAN

MANAGING EDITORS

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SUMMER ORLEDGE | online talent show 21 |

LIBERTY HARRISON | talent show features

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LORENZO SALAS | ROTC’s year-end ceremony

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| JEVONTE HERRON | golf: nick alexander

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MATT STARCHVILLE & CASEY HUGHES | vanderloo commits

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HERRON | another successful volleyball season

OLIVIA DEWAN | track: charlotte penberthy

KAREN CORTES

OLIVIA ZAVADIL

STAFF

EMILY BANNER

OLIVIA DEWAN

LIBERTY HARRISON

JEVONTE HERRON

CASEY HUGHES

SUMMER ORLEDGE

LORENZO SALAS

ALEXIS SHUGARS

Before COVID ruined the second half of my junior year and my last year of high school, a memory stands out to me. I remember we used to have snacks during our newspaper class, whether they were brought in by our adviser or brought in by my classmates to celebrate a new publication for the quarter.

One time during my junior year on the newspaper staff we were celebrating a new publication at the end of the quarter and someone brought in Oreos. Now whenever I eat Oreos, I take the stuffing out. A friend on the newspaper staff saw me and started a discussion and soon the entire newspaper staff was part of the discussion--a group of future journalists discussing the best way to eat an Oreo. To this day, everytime Oreos come up during class, they always bring that up, and up to this day it is one of my favorite interactions. This is something that happened because we were in the same room together, interacting in a way that just isn’t possible virtually. Since COVID happened, there is no shared food in classrooms, and even there were, very few students were in the classrooms this year to interact with, as most of the newspaper staff were distance learning this year. Thinking back to our Oreo discussion, I was very lucky to have lived that moment.

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MATT STARCHVILLE | track: mckenna giannos 38 |

EMILY BANNER | tennis: lun and wildman at championships

arts and entertainment

MATTHEW STARCHVILLE

ADVISER

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OLIVIA DEWAN | guitar: caitlin robinson 42 | MICHAELA SCOTT | environmental club art gallery 44 | LORENZO SALAS | downtown leesburg returns to normal 46 |

MICHAELA SCOTT | ‘personal’ proms

50 | MAGGIE SHERIDAN | no prom? may mingle instead

end zone

52 | LIBERTY HARRISON & ALEXIS SHUGARS | summer plans

54 | SUMMER ORLEDGE | cicadas!

56 | JEVONTE HERRON | karen carr’s new book

Disclaimer: In compliance with governor’s orders, all school-sponsored activities followed physical distancing and mask requirements, but due to the nature of COVID-19 limiting school activities, the community was invited to submit pictures for the newspaper. Many of these photos occurred on private residential property and therefore may not conform to the regulations binding school-sponsored activities.

VALERIE EGGER

EDITORIAL POLICY

The County Chronicle is produced by students in Newspaper Journalism I, II, and III under the direction of an adviser. Topics are student-chosen, student-researched, and student-driven, but all content is subject to administrator review.

Letters to the editor:

The staff of The County Chronicle welcomes guest opinion pieces and letters to the editor. Pieces should be less than 400 words and must be founded on researched fact. Any student, faculty, staff, or alumni interested in contributing to the newspaper should contact the adviser, Valerie Egger, at valerie.egger@lcps.org.

Being away from school and attending classes from home has been a completely different experience for me than during any other year, and I never thought we would get to this point—graduation and a promise of returning to normal. But as much as this year has had its downs, it has also had its ups. I have had more time at home to finish more tasks or get things done, but the downside is I really haven’t talked to my friends at school unless it has to do with homework, and I feel like my social skills are not the same. I would have liked to make new friends in my class this year, and sit next to them and have a genuine conversation—maybe talk about Oreos.

I feel like the first two years of highschool are important, and I’m grateful for them, but they are not like the last two. During junior and senior years, students usually get to do more things, like the prom that was cancelled for both this year and last year. I would like to have gone to prom.

SENIOR YEAR LESSONS FROM THE PANDEMIC OPINION

As we look to next year to be normal, I feel like younger students should appreciate their time and experiences perhaps more than students have in the past. Yes, some of them may hate high school, or school in general, the way so many seem to do each year, but they should not hate the experiences because they only happen once, and as this year has proven, they are very rare and meaningful.

As the pandemic ends I am looking forward to going out more, going on more trips, attending more concerts, visiting amusement parks, having a successful college year and making new friends. Senior year in a pandemic has taught me to be more appreciative of the things that I once took for granted. •

continued from GRAD, page 1

join the faculty for a traditional graduation on the front lawn.

“We had to follow the COVID guidelines that the division sent us,” principal Michelle Luttrell said, noting that the orders changed frequently in the weeks leading to graduation.

Luckily, by the time the ceremony occurred, most major COVID restrictions had been lifted, allowing participants and spectators to attend maskless.

Each graduate received five wristbands that acted as tickets for family members to attend the ceremony. Those with a wristband were seated inside a roped-off area behind the graduates and faculty on the front lawn. Family and friends without a wristband were allowed their own seating and sat beyond the roped-off area to observe the ceremony.

faculty’s words of wisdom after the longest year ever

Karen Cortes | Managing Editor

Patricia Arnold: “If you can endure a pandemic, you can do anything.”

Phil D’Arcangelis: “Relax! You don’t have to have it all figured out! Fact is that you probably never will... The point is not to get so caught up in the “destination” that you miss the beautiful things happening around you each moment. In reality, there is no destination—it’s all journey, so keep your eyes, ears, and heart open at all times even when it’s uncomfortable.”

Kathryn Ives: “It is okay to be a slow starter or to follow a unique path. Ultimately, your goal is to be self-supporting and happy; how you do that is up to you.”

Tonya Dagstani: “Never embrace mediocrity! You are about to embark on a great adventure. You will experience ups and downs on this adven-

ture but remember, we are the sum total of our experiences. Allow all of those experiences to make you a better person. Do good and be good. It’s that simple.”

Kevin Hale: “Always be overly respectful, even when you don’t think someone deserves it. Be courageous.”

Chris Colston: “Follow your passion. Be true to yourself.”

Kyla Jenkins: “You are strong. If you can get through this, there is no limit to what you can do in life. Be proud of all your little victories-no accomplishment is too small to celebrate! You talk to yourself more than anyone else...so be kind to yourself. We only have this ONE CHANCE to live our life, so go out there and make a life that you’ll be proud of when it’s time to move on.”

Richard Ricci: “Get ready to make almost all your own decisions—how you use your time, what you eat,

when you do your laundry, what new activities you try, who you hang out with, how much sleep you get, what classes you take, etc. If and when you make a bad decision, learn from it.” •

Handicap accessible and socially distanced seating sections for families and graduates were created based on request.

The ceremony was also livestreamed for family members unable to attend the event.

Students and family were able to park at County if they arrived early enough, and shuttle busses were provided from neighboring schools to help with the need for additional event parking.

By the time the ceremony took place, masks were optional.

The ceremony was originally scheduled to be cut short, featuring pre-recorded speeches sent out to families prior to the event itself, but new guidance allowed all the speeches to happen in-person.

Luttrell welcomed everyone and then turned the event over to senior Samantha Welstead, who most

students recognize from the daily morning announcements this year.

“The SCA ran the ceremony, and members of the senior class read the names of their peers to get their diplomas,” said Luttrell. The student commencement speaker this year was graduating senior Jaxon Fox. In addition, the school got approval to host the event in its traditional venue, the front lawn; the ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in the stadium due to COVID regulations. The weather cooperated as well, with sunshine and mild temperatures. Even the cicadas, which Luttrell referenced as one of the unique attributes of the year, cooperated. They were quiet during the ceremony.

“We’re thankful that our students graduated together, that was the one thing our seniors had hoped for,” said Luttrell. •

Left page: Samantha Welstead speaks at graduation (top left). Students join the procession to the graduation ceremony (bottom left). The top students in the class are recognized (right). Right page: Harika Tuna and other members of the faculty watch as seniors enter (top left). Jaxon Fox addresses the senior class (bottom left). Michelle Luttrell speaks to the seniors (top right). After the ceremony, the lawn filled with graduates and guests, with ample opportunities for photography. Photos by Valerie Egger.

MAKING THE SWITCH

how the Captains moved to four-day hybrid learning

The Captain’s Corner

Alexis Shugars | Staff Writer

Starting April 20, 2021, Loudoun County High School made the transition to “4-days hybrid” This means that students who previously partook in in-person classes two days a week, attended four days a week. There were 625 students in the building on a daily basis.

Principal Michelle Luttrell explained that the decision to transition to four days of in person instruction was prompted by the LCPS School Board and senior staff after data related to COVID-19 cases and transmission rates were reviewed.

Although this was a large step in the direction of normalcy, Luttrell did not expect much change from this decision. “We do not anticipate much to change since we are in a pretty good rhythm with routines and expectations for instruction and

COVID mitigation practices,” Luttrell said.

As a result of the transition, 14 students moved from hybrid to distance learning and 66 students switched to hybrid learning after the announcement of four-days of in-person learning. All prior restrictions and expectations from twoday hybrid instruction remained in place, and were emailed to students and parents on the weekly outreach on Sunday evenings.

To ensure enough seating for all hybrid students in the café for lunch service, the social distancing dropped from six to three feet. For quarantining purposes, close contacts were still considered to be within six feet.

In preparation for the new fourdays hybrid schedule, April 16 was used as an asynchronous day for

the county. “We will spend time on the April 16 reducing social distancing seating in the café and in select classrooms based on room capacity and seats needed to support four days of in-person learning for all hybrid students,” Luttrell said. Students returning for fourdays of hybrid instruction seem to have staff at Loudoun County High School ecstatic. “We are excited to have more students in the building at once and the teachers are excited to have more students in their classrooms for in-person instruction,” Lutrell said. •

Olivia Zavadil | Managing Editor

For years, our school store has supplied students with merchandise and official school memorabilia. While this might seem like a simple task, the store, formerly known as the Raider Trader and recently rebranded the Captain’s Corner, has been working diligently to not only reinvent Captains merchandise but also transition the store to distance learning.

In a normal year, the school store would be open and available to visit in person, with students running the day-to-day operations. However, due to COVID regulations and school closures, the store was shut down for the first half of the school year.

“The second half of the year has been quite exciting,” said Captain’s Corner supervisor Lacey

Brooks. “Third-quarter we were approved to begin operating in person and just last week we now have all Captain’s Corner inventory available for purchase online.”

Distance learning has not been the only challenge that the Captain’s Corner has dealt with this year; the changing of the mascot also meant that the store needed to completely rebrand and start from scratch.

“Due to our exciting new mascot, we had to work with our vendors to get all new inventory into the school store,” Brooks said.

“Our Marketing and Advanced Marketing students worked with current vendors like Reston Shirt, MV Sport, Shenk Enterprises and Gear For Sports to create new designs,” she said. About seventy percent of the inventory sold in

the store was hand-selected by students.

In addition to a new look, the store has also begun to offer both Under Armour and Champion branded merchandise.

“Staff and hybrid students can come see us Tuesday through Friday, from 8:50 – 9:15 am for in-store purchases in room 101,” said Brooks. Staff, parents, hybrid and distance learning students can go to https://www.lcps.org/ domain/2848 to purchase Captains gear.

Hybrid students interested in the store should also keep an eye out for pop-up stores during lunch. •

Teachers Christopher Wolfgang, Crystal Wolfgang and Lacey Brooks meet in the school store to try on merchandise.

Photo by Valerie Egger.

Jana Wagoner teaches her English class using the concurrent model, with some students logging on from home while the rest learn from the classroom. Photo by Valerie Egger.

FOUR DAY-LEARNING

TEACHERS, HYBRID STUDENTS RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM

Olivia DeWan | Staff Writer

Earlier in the year, students who had selected the hybrid learning option would go into school physically for two days a week. Following the development of the COVID vaccine, they returned to school for all four days.

“Going back to school four days a week has been a good experience for me,” freshmen Ashley Conner said. “It’s kind of nice to get back into it.”

Previously, students alternated going to school and staying

home. Half of hybrid students would go in the building on Tuesday and Wednesday and the other half would attend Thursday and Friday.

“I was looking forward to seeing County a little closer to normal with so many students in the building,” junior K enly Howerter said.

Many students were anxious to get back into the building, but when COVID put a bump in the road that was their daily lives, they weren’t sure what to expect. In fact, many freshmen

However, the change from hybrid learning to in-person didn’t happen overnight. Many steps were taken to set up the classrooms, cafeteria, and bus schedules.

“To prepare for the students’ return, the classrooms had to be reconfigured to accommodate the required distancing,” Voketaitis said. “Due to the different learning styles, I am providing students with hard copies of notes, something that was not possible earlier this year.”

In addition to changes in the classroom, the entire school underwent a new series of rules so that the COVID guidelines were followed.

stay six feet apart,” Kirk said. “I do my best and back up if someone comes too close, but sometimes others don’t even try, which I find frustrating, along with when people don’t wear masks correctly.”

On another note, some students were concerned about adjusting back to a full day of school.

to my students who are in-person,” Boeing said. “But there are many activities that we are still unable to do.”

While a handful of students are in-person and are reacquainting themselves with what school is normally like, others chose to remain home and continue school using the distance learning program.

had never seen the inside of the building.

“The four days a week scared me at first,” Howerter said. “I was so used to online classes or having it half in school and half distance.”

While the students may have been unsure of the sudden change, teachers were over-themoon excited.

“Before the students returned the school was like a ghost town,” math teacher Elaine Voketaitis said. “Students bring great energy into the building.”

“I really enjoyed walking around school in the morning,” sophomore Lauren Kirk said, speaking of her freshman year. “But we can’t do that now because of COVID.” Instead, students are expected to go right to class upon entering the building. Similarly, students are required to fill out a mandatory symptom checker questionnaire before they enter the school building. The questionnaire asks if students have had any COVID symptoms such as a cough, fever, or loss of taste or smell, or if they came in contact with anyone who caught COVID. Once the form is completed, students can proceed with their day.

In addition to the COVID questionnaire, temperature scanners were installed. The scanners act as a giant thermometer by checking the temperature of every person who enters the building.

Of course such advancements came with some challenges.

“I think it can be difficult to

“I think finding time to relax will be difficult because you are in school seven hours a day and then go home and do homework,” Howerter said. “Junior year is known to be difficult and so far the workload has been bearable because I was able to complete the assignments from the comfort of my own bed.”

Conner agreed, saying she thought it would be difficult to return to her original schedule.

Regardless of all the changes, teachers and students are happy to be back in school.

“It’s been really great having an (almost) full classroom again,” Spanish teacher Bryan Boeing said. “The classroom dynamic with 10 or 12 students is way better than only three or four.”

Asides from bringing a missed energy and busy environment back, in-person learning made several aspects of school much simpler.

“I like that I can communicate with my teachers easier,” Kirk said. “I am also able to talk to my friends in the hallways, which was something I didn’t realize I missed a lot in in-person school.”

It also gave teachers a chance to reconnect with their students.

“I can definitely provide more detailed and personal feedback

The distance learning model was familiar, as students had been using it for a solid few months. In-person leaning was a totally new adjustment to a lifestyle that had already undergone a series of intense changes.

“I would not go back to distance learning,” Kirk said. “I actually switched to hybrid after November by emailing my counselor. While I did like some aspect of distance learning, I definitely prefer being in-person and not seeing people through a screen.”

Conner agreed.

“Being in school gives me more motivation to do things,” she said.

A burst of motivation is just what many students are searching for as the school year is rapidly coming to an end. Many people, students and teachers alike, are looking forward to the summer vacation, and are ready for a break.

“Keep up the great work and be proud of yourselves for making it through all the challenges this school year had to throw at you,” Boeing said.

To finish out the year strong regardless of COVID, students will need to continue working hard.

“Keep moving forward,” Voketaitis advised. “The best is yet to come.”•

Spanish teacher Bryan Boeing poses in his classroom. To prepare for in-school learning, plastic shields were attached to the desk to prevent the spread of COVID, and teachers were given moveable carts for their laptops, which they will use to teach both in-person and distance students at once. Photo by Olivia DeWan.

EL STUDENTS STRUGGLE WITH OBSTACLES IN ONLINE LEARNING

Michaela Scott and Maggie Sheridan Editors-in-Chief

During the distance/hybrid school year, to say students have had obstacles to overcome would be an understatement, especially for English Language Learners. Many of these students are brand new to the country, so having to go straight to online school has introduced several challenges unique to these specific students.

Many teachers have seen firsthand the effect of distance learning on their students and have made it known that it is not easy for the students to comfortably navigate a brand new way of learning.

“The technology piece is definitely the most significant,” English Language teacher Erin McLaughlin said. “From a teacher perspective we are all new to this so we’re learning while teaching. From a student perspective, they had to learn a totally new system of learning for the first time in their homes with zero help, plus Schoology is in English.”

Several of the English Language Learner teachers emphasized the amount of class time that was consumed by each problem they ran into trying to help out the EL students. On the other hand, general education teachers couldn’t always find the time during class to instruct their EL students individually while teaching dozens of general education students.

“I think the stress for GenEd teachers is very high this year. General Education teachers have

to manage so many components of teaching that as an EL teacher, we're only focusing specifically on EL students, instead of a mixture,” McLaughlin said. “Whereas in an all EL class we would have to go through each individual student to walk them through their assignments, and so if you have 10 students in a classroom, you’re taking away the first 30 minutes for weeks because they don’t remember right away.”

Overall, the GenEd and EL teachers have explained that the technology aspect is the most crucial part of this learning experience, and it had an impact on the school year involving things like attendance, access to assignments, and testing.

“During distance learning I have struggled with making sure these students have equitable access to technology,” Biology teacher Kayla Urban said. “Attendance has also been a struggle. Many of my students have many responsibilities such as working a job, looking after others, and also having access to reliable internet and a private place to work.”

Urban has worked with these students for eight years and has grown familiar to them. This will be her fourth year teaching some EL students in a separate, self-contained course. She said participation was a struggle for these students at the start of the year.

“It’s harder to reach those students at home because they do not have their cameras on and

I can’t see what they’re doing or what’s happening at their house, even if they’re at their computer. You have students that just log in and never give any responses, so it’s hard to tell if they’re struggling because they don’t understand the material or if they’re just playing a video game, or if they’ve just been going through a hard time due to the pandemic,” Urban said. English Language teacher Sarah Loredo explained that students are used to one-on-one contact, or small group instruction to understand the material given to them. Although break out rooms are an option, it isn’t the same as when students are physically present to ask for help from teachers or use class resources.

“Students learn a lot visually, so technology is good for that, but it is not as organic as the need happens immediately and you can easily pick up a book or a piece of paper,” Loredo said. “Learning can be so much quicker and more efficient when all the resources are available to the students.”

Urban was concerned with the fact that students appeared hesitant to speak up when they were confused or had a question over the Google Meets. “They are scared to comment or ask questions online because they feel as though the spotlight is totally on them in the meeting and it is recorded. We have told them they can always ask us through Remind as well as emails or breakout rooms so it’s private,”

Urban said. In order to help the adjustment with distance learning, Urban has used new programs and incorporated them into her classes, such as Desmos. “It is very helpful in order to control the pacing. It also makes everything more interactive and I can see everyone’s participation. I can also make it anonymous so I can talk about certain student’s responses without them being embarrassed by their wrong answers in front of the class,” said Urban.

Additionally, Loredo explained the challenges specifically for students who are on a level one in EL and are not participating or speaking up during class time. There are six levels to becoming fluent, and English is usually nonexistent for students on level one. “The students who just started, and are on level one, I cannot even imagine them being new to the country and learning how to navigate the technology, testing, copying something from Google, writing an email, completing assignments,” Loredo

said. “Due to this learning curve, we have worked even harder to give them the support they need because we want them to be successful.”

Over the course of the year, EL students have been gradually coming back; beginning in October, LCHS was only allowed to bring the level one students back, which was 15 students. “We would have students that didn’t qualify as level one coming to the front of the building and asking to be let in,” McLaughlin said. “We had a lot of our students who wanted to be here, but they couldn’t.”

Since the switch to hybrid was implemented in February, over 80% of EL students were brought back into the building. “All of my students are here except for two and that is amazing, I am so happy about that,” Loredo said. “In-person school makes things a lot easier and better for the students.”

Although learning at home was a challenge, Urban agrees that having students back in the

building has helped their learning and understanding. “I think it definitely helps now that we are back in the building and we are able to support more students. I have had more students return to school in my self-contained ELL biology than I have had in any of my other classes,” Urban said. She has also been able to use more resources in order to help them and make them more comfortable in the classroom. “It has been really good for students to come back because I am able to provide more hands-on manipulative resources for them, which are important when you come to a place where you do not understand the language,” Urban said. Although distance learning has introduced a variety of obstacles for EL students, EL and GenEd teachers have developed strategies and new ways of teaching to make learning a better experience for these students. “We want to do what is best for our students, and I’m happy I was able to support them throughout this year.” •

EL teacher Sarah Loredo teaches hybrid students during first block. Since the switch to in-school learning in February, over 80% of EL students returned to the classroom. Photo courtesy of Sarah Loredo.

LEWIS RETIRES, REFLECTS ON CAREER AS ENGLISH TEACHER

Summer Orledge | Staff Writer

After almost half a century teaching English, lifelong educator Arlene Lewis is retiring at the end of this academic year.

Lewis earned a master’s degree in English Education and a Specialist’s degree in Education from Rutgers University. After completing her studies, she worked as an English teacher for 45 years, periodically switching between junior high, high school, and community college.

Having aspired to work as a teacher since elementary school, Lewis was elated to have achieved her dream career and would eagerly discuss it whenever possible. “If I could fit my profession into the conversation, I would!” Lewis said.

She considers attending the Excellence in Education banquet, an exclusive celebration of students in the top 5% of their class, a highlight of her career.

“I felt very honored,” Lewis explained. “I have also enjoyed receiving emails from students who have updated me on their lives after LCHS. It is always rewarding to think that I may have made a difference in someone’s life.”

Lewis is perhaps best known throughout LCHS for teaching AP English Language and Composition, but her abilities as a teacher extend beyond that. “I really like teaching any kind of composition course, but I also enjoyed working with the freshmen when I taught English 9. It is exciting to see students when they are just starting

their academic careers.”

Outside of the English classroom, Lewis sponsored both the Signet and Anorak clubs. Signet is an extension of LCPS’s gifted program that participates in community service, and Anorak is a club for students interested in video games and anime. “They have both been fun clubs to sponsor,” she said. “Both were pretty big at one point.”

Lewis was also involved with High School 101, an orientation for rising freshman at LCHS, and Odyssey of the Mind, a program where students collaborate to creatively solve intellectual challenges.

She plans to take advantage of her free time by traveling both domestically and internationally. This upcoming summer, she intends to hike in Sedona, Arizona, and vacation in Rehoboth, Delaware. She enjoys traveling internationally and next year she plans to attend a wedding in Wales and hike in Scotland

and Northern Ireland.

Despite Lewis’s cosmopolitan aspirations, she “will also be volunteering at LCHS” and “would be happy to help students with their application essays.”

Although she is undoubtedly experienced in academics, Lewis admits to being uncomfortable with this year’s reliance on technology, describing her teaching style as lowtech. Still, she praises the assistance and fortitude of her students in handling these novel challenges. “[They] have been both kind and patient. They still let me know that I am not presenting.”

“Teaching is so much more than the content,” Lewis said. “The joy has been in getting to know students and watching them grow in so many ways. It seems cliché to say that teaching is rewarding, but it is so true. I have been lucky to be in a profession that I love for so many years.”

Left: During one of her first years as a teacher, Lewis (third, back row )poses for the yearbook with colleagues at Iselin Junior High School in New Jersey.

Photo courtesy of Arlene Lewis. Right: Arlene Lewis teaches virtually during hybrid learning in May. Photo courtesy of Valerie Egger.

Patricia Virts

beloved teacher cadet instructor retires after 15 years

Liberty Harrison | Staff Writer

Patricia Virts, an educator for nine years at Loudoun County High School, is retiring this year, after a career of 15 years in middle and high school teaching a range of classes.

Currently she teaches Teacher Cadet One and Two (both dual enrollment) and Personal Finance. In the past she had also taught classes in the realm of marketing such as Sports Marketing, Intro to Business and Marketing, and Business Management.

After her retirement she plans to pursue the popular pursuits of travel and volunteering, with plans to go to Dublin in the spring and to the West coast in the fall.

“I want to get newly involved in organizations. I’ve volunteered with the fire department here in Leesburg,” Virts said. “In the past I volunteered with 4H, Girl Scouts, and quite a few other organizations, but I think I want to try something new.”

As with most teachers this year, Virts has faced unique challenges due to COVID-19 and the subsequent virtual learning, causing this to be one of her most challenging years teaching, an almost fitting end to her time as an educator as she found her first year to be the other most challenging year of her career.

“This year has been challenging because I haven’t felt like I’ve been able to connect with the students,” Virts said. “I like to get to know my students and now I just feel like there’s a whole class first semester I never even met. So it’s just really hard, a lot of students aren’t turning

on their cameras so you can’t see them. It’s hard to judge if they’re understanding or not understanding because a lot of that is body language and we can’t see the body language. So I just feel like it’s been hard as far as being able to connect. That’s the biggest thing. I don’t think the technology has been difficult, but I know kids have struggled.”

Her first year draws parallels to this year as well in that she struggled to connect with her students, though for a different reason.

“I’m a career switcher, so my previous job was a manager,” Virts wrote. “I was a district manager of about twenty five people. So I managed people before, but I had never managed middle schoolers and that’s where I started. It was just a struggle to understand why they acted the way they did.”

Over her years of teaching, however, as she gained more experiences she learned to better empathize with her students.

“Every year I teach Teacher Cadet’s I learn something new, every class, everybody should take it, including all the teachers. You learn that every student is unique and their needs are unique and when they come into the classroom, they’re bringing things with them that you don’t necessarily know about, things that happen outside of school that affect how they learn. So you have to be able to modify the way you teach and try to connect with every single student in your classroom.”

Through her years of teaching

she has also witnessed very different school environments. Virts describes her first middle school, where she began her career in education, as strict. “We had to walk [the students] to the cafeteria like elementary school,” Virts said. “And then when I came to high school, it was great because I could actually have conversations with students and they understood what I was talking about and they were interested.”

She has also seen changes in students behavior through her years of being a County teacher and student, something she believes may have been exacerbated by COVID and virtual learning.

“I think COVID has changed things. I see more of a disconnect from school now than I used to. I don’t see the school spirit that I saw in the past,” she said. Virts attended high school here, and she notices a change from when she was a student. “When I came back, the school building itself had not changed a whole lot, and actually the hall that I taught on, which was near the school store, hadn’t changed at all in the years I’ve been gone. So I kind of expected it to be the way it was when I was in high school, but it wasn’t anywhere near that, it had changed.”

However, along with seeing changes to the school environment that saddened her she has also created many positive memories.

“I’ve had a lot [of good memories] because I’ve traveled with DECA down to Florida for Nationals, and that was really exciting,” Virts said.

“With Educators Rising, which I am the current sponsor of, we actually had a girl place first in state, and that was really exciting. Just watching the volleyball team win was exciting. I’ve had a lot of really good moments. I mean, I had one Teacher Cadet class, we did a little party at the end of the year and they got all this weird stuff from the dollar store, like we had a balloon that said Happy Baby Shower. A lot of fun stuff.”

With her memories from LCHS, Virts is leaving this year, opening a new chapter of her life, but as she leaves she finds it important to impart life advice on the students of Loudoun County.

“Do what you love,” Virts said. “Follow your heart because a job is the rest of your life, and if you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy it’s going to be a pain to work every single day, but if you love your job it’s not going to be your job it’s just going to be something that you love to do so you should follow your heart.” •

Top: Virts is pictured in Shoes Cup & Cork, a small restaurant in Leesburg.

Bottom: Patricia Virts sits with Meagan Kirk, Annabelle Smith and Katherine Starchville three graduates of Teachers Cadets during a surprise celebration for her retirement. The former students surprised her in celebration of her retirement.

46 YEARS STRONG

kathleen brake retires as a special education teacher

Kathleen Brake takes attendance at the start of class. During the 2021 school year, Brake taught concurrently, with students logging on from home as well as learning in the classroom. Photo by Valerie Egger.

North Carolina before coming to Virginia to be closer to family.

Brake finished her career at County before deciding to retire.

“We have been fortunate to work with Kathy during the final four years of her amazing career,” said Principal at Loudoun County Michelle Luttrell.

Brake does not plan to stop helping out the community after she retires as a teacher. Brake says she is interested in participating in the Meals on Wheels program to support senior citizens by providing meals and fellowship to those that cannot leave their homes.

SENIORS CELEBRATE END OF YEAR WITH ANNUAL PICNIC

kids.

Brake spent the first 30 years of her career teaching and coaching and supporting the Special Olympics in Baltimore.

After Baltimore her next stop wasn’t Virginia. She moved to

“Serving others is her calling in life,” Luttrell said in an email to the faculty announcing her retirement. “I can picture the smiles, laughter, conversation, and good company she will bring to those in need during her service outreach in retirement.”

Brake has had some good experiences as a special education teacher.

While student teaching, Brake worked with students from the Maryland School for the Blind. “That experience was so positive and rewarding for me that I knew then that this was an area of education I wanted to pursue,” Brake said.

Participating in the Special Olympics and teaching special education students has left good memories for Brake with working with her students.

“Memories that will last forever for me will be remembering my students with disabilities receiving their goal, silver, or bronze medals for their participation and hard fought wins in the Special Olympics City and State games,” said Brake. •

Olivia Zavadil | Managing Editor

The senior picnic is a beloved tradition, with students and staff coming together to celebrate. Normally held after the senior awards ceremony, the picnic features staff members grilling for students and passing out yearbooks. However, due to COVID mitigations, staff members were forced to revamp the occasion.

Principal Michelle Lutrell, math teacher Abby Schutte, math teacher Mel Hefty, and social science teacher Jamee Robinson were in charge of planning the picnic. Senior parents and PTSA members also helped set up activities and prize raffles.

“We originally had seniors sign up for a specific time slot due to safety protocol. As restrictions were lifted we were able to allow all seniors that signed up to come when they wanted and stay as long as they wanted,” Schutte said.

The picnic itself was set up on the practice field adjacent to the

football stadium, and due to the outdoor location of the event, students were able to enjoy each other's company without social distancing protocols.

Students enjoyed the use of sports equipment, in addition to a giant connect four, a giant Jenga, cornhole, and limbo.

In lieu of grilling, students were provided COVID-friendly pre-packaged lunches and enjoyed frozen treats such as ice cream and popsicles. They were also given senior goody bags and gift cards.

“Giving the seniors the chance to get together and see each other was definitely something that needed to happen,” said Schutte. “It was even more important this year when the seniors had to miss out on so many things. Once restrictions were lifted enough to allow us to do some sort of social gathering, it was a no-brainer that we were going to plan something,” she said. •

Jevonte Herron | Staff writer Special education teacher

Kathleen Brake has worked in a couple of different places while teaching special needs

Math teacher Abby Schutte looks on as Sam Pierson plays a game of life-sized Jenga. Schutte organized the senior picnic along with math teacher Mel Hefty and social science teacher Jamee Robinson with help from the PTSA. Photo courtesy of @LCHS1954.

TIME CAPSULE REDISCOVERED AT COUNTY

Emily Banner | Staff writer

In early March, teacher Tamara Tucker was outside with her students on the LCHS lawn. While looking at the flowers around the flagpole, Tucker noticed a half-buried plaque.

“As I cleaned it, I was intrigued to find what was hiding underneath… it was a time capsule!”

The capsule was buried in May 1976 by the SCA, and is set to be opened in 2076.

Becky Ottinger, co-SCA sponsor in 1976, said that the capsule took over a year to bury. The issue was that they had to find a way to protect the capsule from the elements.

Eventually, however, they figured it out and there was a day of celebration involving the whole school. Ottinger describes it as a “carnival on the lawn”, beginning with a flag-raising ceremony with everyone “dressed in colonial attire as much as possible” in celebration of the bicentennial of 1776. “It was a fun day and a wonderful experience,” she said.

While no records exist to reveal what might be buried, Tucker speculated that the capsule likely contains a newspaper, a LCHS yearbook, recordings of popular music that year or a list of popular books or magazines. Even Ottinger doesn’t remember exactly what the capsule contains, but she has a similar idea, thinking that it probably contains a yearbook, a copy of the Raider newspaper, and a copy of the local paper.

There is no fail-safe plan for remembering to open the capsule, which is not scheduled to happen until 2076, but hopefully 52 years from now, the mystery of the time capsule will be revealed. •

time capsule contemplation

Emily Banner | Staff writer 2020 has been a memorable year. If we made a time capsule to remember the 2020-21 school year, what would you put in it? We asked students their opinions via a Google form.

Many students responded with a mask, something to commemorate the outbreak of COVID-19. Several others suggested a roll of toilet paper. “In the beginning of quarantine everyone was scrambling to get toilet paper and the stores ran out; I'll never forget it,” wrote freshman Charlotte Edmunds.

Some other interesting responses included Junior Gracie Hawkins, who suggested “an iphone with no passcode, so they could go through it, see the social medias, how we took pictures”.

“I would add a copy of The Crow's Nest 2021 or a copy of the

yearbook so people living in 2120 could see the art and literacy that we were making today or see some of the people in the yearbook that buried the time capsule,” wrote junior Chris Mejia. “I would include a Raiders shirt because in 100 years from now all remnants of Raiders gear will most likely be gone and I think it would be interesting for them,” wrote sophomore Matthew Jackmore. •

Above: Matthew Murdock (left) and James Cook (right) make deliveries for student-run business Gifts and Munch Munch More. Of all responses to the time capsule question, “masks” stood out as the top item to include. Photo courtesy of Alyssa Casanova. Facing page: The plaque by the flagpole. The capsule is buried beneath, not to be opened until May of 2076. Photo by Emily Banner.

STUDENT COUNCIL HOSTS VIRTUAL TALENT SHOW

students and teachers showcase talents in first virtual talent show

Liberty Harrison | Staff Writer

Over the course of a week, students were entertained during Advisory by a variety of recorded performances in the first virtual talent show. By moving to an online venue, the virtual talent show provided a platform for both students and teachers to showcase their talents.

that are just smiling for a short time and, you know, we need those little moments to smile.”

Even with the downsides to performing virtually, Ricci confirmed he still enjoyed the experience enough to participate again.

The stories behind his talent, from how he learned it to what he uses it for in his everyday life, are much deeper than the handful of minutes when he performed in front of the camera.

“So we used to always get, you know, kind of some chuckles on our name,” Ricci said. “We rocked pretty good.”

Elaborating that the band wasn’t serious, created more for the fun of music, Ricci said, “I enjoy just playing rhythm guitar. I can't play lead and once in a while I'll sing as long as the music is loud enough and it's just fun.”

A banner welcomes Captains viewing the announcements to the virtual talent show. Because of the pandemic, this year’s talent show took place virtually. Photo courtesy of Safa Saad.

Summer Orledge | Staff Writer

LCHS’s Student Council Association hosted a virtual talent show by sharing video submissions by students and staff on the morning announcements. The event took the place of an in-person talent show this year.

“The SCA decided that having a virtual talent show would be a great way to give students and staff the opportunity to show off their unique skills so we can all appreciate and celebrate our school community, even in these unprecedented times,” said SCA secretary Safa Saad.

Unlike a traditional talent show, LCHS’s virtual adaptation will not include winners or prizes, placing emphasis on the unique talents of LCHS’s community rather than competition. Students and staff who tuned into the morning announcements in late April

were greeted with performances ranging from singing to cooking.

“We decided to let loose and be very open with talent submissions so we can admire all the diverse skills and gifts the LCHS community has to offer,” Saad, who is credited for coming up with the idea of a talent show, explains. “The varying talents from our students and staff are the best part of the talent show. Each and every submission we've received stands out in its own way, making it very enjoyable to watch.”

“I was impressed with how many students and teachers were willing to submit a video,” SCA sponsor Matthew Prince said. “In my first block classes, I noticed that when the talent videos were showing, students were interested. I really hope we can do this in person next year.” •

One of these participants was math teacher Richard Ricci. He performed in the talent show both singing and playing guitar to a song he wrote about Trigonometry.

When first approached by the talent show organizer, Matt Prince, about participating in the talent show Ricci didn’t say yes immediately, feeling some apprehension about performing, but he agreed eventually.

“I realized that I have to think outside myself and that you know, it's in the spirit of the talent show and I just felt like people just need to smile.``

Once Ricci made the decision to perform, he knew he needed to prepare.

“I practiced ahead of time because my fingers don't always do what I want them to do because I'm not a great guitarist,” Ricci said. “So I have to practice a lot to make sure that it comes out right. And then I actually did it on the first take. I just had my cell phone on the tripod and I had my music in front of me.”

His practice paid off as he received positive, though sometimes joking,

comments from his fellow staff members.

“One of the social studies teachers said, ‘I can't believe they put you and Ellie back to back, oh man, that must have been rough,’ since she has a really pretty voice and she has her own channel,” said Ricci. “We were just laughing about it. Then I think Mr. Alexander said, ’Man, it takes a lot to do that.’”

He clarified that although he was grateful for the praise, caring less about what people thought of him was what allowed him to participate in the talent show at all.

“I think I'm old enough that I just don't care what people think. So I'm more willing to do that now than maybe when I was younger,” Ricci said.

Having performed in person before Ricci found his experience virtually had one big difference.

“As you can imagine if you've ever performed before, you always get energy from the audience and when you're in your basement, just videotaping and you get to the end of it, and then you just shut the camera off. Then even later while it's being played in class, you're still not getting any energy back,” said Ricci. “So it's night and day. You have to just have faith that there are a lot of people

“I've never learned to sing, I've never taken a singing lesson and I joked that I think Mr. Rosenfeld should teach me,” Ricci said, then told the story of learning to play guitar, taught by a member of the church music group his wife sang in, when he was 39 years old. “I wasn't doing anything, and he asked me if I wanted to play guitar and I said well yeah, I’ll give it a shot.”

After learning guitar Ricci continuously used his talent in the LCHS community, helping to unite teachers and students alike.

Ricci said, “After I stayed in church for a few years, then we formed a teacher rock band and I bought an electric guitar.”

Ricci spoke of putting together a rock band with three other teachers in the early 2000’s. “We would have a battle of the bands where the students would set up in the cafeteria. And it was so cool. I mean that was like living just a tiny bit of a rock and roll dream. That lasted a few years, believe it or not, and a couple of talent shows.”

That band evolved into a newer one, created with Ricci, Philip D'Arcangelis, a Social Science & Global Studies Teacher and Robin Duncan, the Drama teacher previous to William Rosenfeld. They called their band STAFF Infection, a pun on the bacterial disease of a Staph Infection.

As well as using his talent for fun he also uses it to assist him as a teacher by making more personal bonds with his students.

Ricci created a tradition of playing a parody of ‘Summer of 69’, a song by Bryan Adams, that he called ‘Higher than 89’ on the first day of school. By playing this song he strives to send a specific message to his students.

“I'm sending my students the message that, I know that I'm probably going to make a mistake and I know I'm not going to be the best, but I'm getting up in front of all of you, and I don't even know you, and I'm doing it anyway,” Ricci said.

He hopes they relate this message to their actions in class, and their math in general.

“I want them to take a chance while they're doing their math,” Ricci said. “I don't want them to shy away from taking that chance that you might mess up. I'm trying to set a tone so that they will open up to me, right from the start, and I can get a lot out of a student.”

Another teacher who participated in the talent show was long term Substitute Lisa Fiorilli, who shared not only her talent, but also that of her dog, Dino’s. In her talent show video, Fiorilli plays the guitar while her dog accompanies her with rhythmic barks and howls.

“I am a musician and I thought about playing my own instrument,

In this screenshot, math teacher Richard Ricci smiles in the video he created for the talent show.

but then I thought it would just be more fun to have Dino represent, and he does like to sing when I play the guitar,” Fiorilli said. Her submission was created organically as she began to practice her guitar only to have Dino come over to accompany her.

“I just thought it would be fun to share,” Fiorilli said. “I think people enjoyed it very much,” Fiorilli wrote. “A few teacher friends stopped me in the hallway and said how much they enjoyed it. Most people find it amusing and say that it made them laugh or made them smile, which is what I was going for.”

Like many others, Fiorilli had performed in person before, at both a Loudoun County High School talent show around five years ago with a saxophone quartet consisting of herself and three other students, and at a talent show at her previous school, Stonebridge. With these prior performances Fiorilli compared performing in person to in a virtual setting.

“One fun thing about the virtual performance is that you can review your recording, so if there's something you wanted to change, you

Fiorilli is pictured playing guitar while her dog, Dino, accompanies her with his form of singing. Her dog has an instagram that can be found at: @dino_thesingingdog. Photo courtesy of Lisa Fiorilli.

the energy of the audience that you feed off of. I prefer to play with other people. Even singing with Dino is a little bit live because I react to him. Music is just much more fun when you have other people or beings.”

Middle School.

Of course, it was not only teachers who participated in the talent show. One student duo brought smiles to the school population.

Junior Kirsten Ponticelli performed a comedy skit with a privately schooled friend Tess Lattanzi.

can change that,” Fiorilli said. “So in a way it's more fun because you can really make it how you want it now.”

Despite the opportunity to re-record a performance, she and Dino recorded their song in one take.

Fiorilli also described another benefit of performing music virtually during the pandemic.

“One positive as a musician that has come out of COVID is recording ourselves a lot and sharing music that way,” Fiorilli said. “You learn a lot by recording yourself and listening back.”

One of the main groups Fiorilli shared her recorded music with was a band she is a member of that performs mostly jazz and pop standards. Her band hasn’t played during the pandemic, but has plans to start performing again soon, and with those plans have continuously shared their individual work to maintain their performance quality.

Despite the positives that Fiorilli acknowledged in virtual performances, she also had aspects of non-virtual performing she missed.

“That said, it's [performing virtually] not as fun as live performances,” Fiorilli. “You're there, you feel

Even with the downsides however, Fiorilli would choose to participate again in a virtual talent show, as she said “Absolutely!” to whether she would submit a video again if the opportunity was offered.

Fiorilli’s journey with the guitar dates from long before she joined the talent show.

“I was a music major and we were encouraged as music majors to explore different instruments,” Fiorilli said. “So I got my first guitar when I was in college. I played a little bit, but then I really didn't play until two years ago. I started playing again, just for fun, to do, like, campfire songs.”

When beginning to play again Fiorilli found special ways to help her focus on her practice.

“Two summer years ago I did 30 days of guitar playing when I was kind of learning and Dino accompanied me for most of those 30 days,” said Fiorilli. “So we did everything from original blues that we wrote to some patriotic songs.”

After beginning to play guitar again Foirilli began to sub for the guitar and strings teacher, providing her more opportunities to practice. And, she has signed up for a workshop this summer to help her further hone her skill, partially in preparation for her job next year as a guitar and orchestra teacher at Willard

Due to her extroverted personality Ponticelli was excited for an opportunity to share her talent for comedy, acting, and editing, especially in a virtual setting, something she has found many positives in.

“I think with virtual learning, I love any opportunity to speak or be weird because I'm like a fairly extroverted sort of person,” said Ponticelli. “With online school it's so much more funny to literally do anything at all because no one talks.”

When Ponticelli found out about the virtual talent show her immediate thought was that not many students would participate and if they did they would include non-comedic talents.

“So I was like, let's add something fun,” Ponticelli said.

The guidelines for submission were simple, ensuring the content was school appropriate, and because of this Ponticelli and her friend were able to follow a formula for their videos they had created and perfected through their prior work.

“It always starts out very unplanned and we just kind of go with it and it always ends up very strange. I guess that's what we're going for.”

Ponticelli finds importance in several smaller aspects of her videos that help to add to the comedic strangeness of her creations.

“A really important part to us is

the vocabulary, like ‘wholly guacamole’ is something I'm currently working on adding into my videos,” Ponticelli said. “Also a big part of it is the music. There wasn't music until the end [in Pontecelli’s submission for the talent show], but I love using the funniest songs I can find - like Weezer, it's always good.”

Beyond the mechanics of filming their videos Ponticelli also treasures the unique experience in the filming itself.

“We have fun no matter what we do. But there is something so hilarious about filming yourself doing the most obscure things in public. So it's always like an unnecessary amount of fun.”

Ponticelli's talent stood out as markedly different from the majority of other talents submitted, due to its genre and production. This led to a fairly polarized response to her submission.

“I did get some comments,” wrote Pontecelli. “Some random people DM’d me and asked me how many takes it took me to shoot [the video]. A lot of my friends texted me and they were like, ‘What did I just watch?’ I never got any in the middle neutral replies. It was always either they hated it or they loved it, which is definitely like my goal. I want a reaction.”

Overall, participating in the virtual talent show was something Ponticelli valued.

“Definitely one hundred percent,” said Ponticelli on whether she'd participate again. “I think there's only going up.”

Ponticelli’s sharing of her talent goes beyond this talent show however, as she sometimes shares her comedy skits as a form of social commentary, hoping to create a conversation around modern social norms.

“I sometimes post them [her comedy skit videos] on my personal Instagram,” Ponticelli said. “I think that's really funny because social media is taken so seriously and I’ll put a sarcastic caption, like, ‘Working on my portfolio, let me know what you think,’ because I just love the idea of like, ‘incredibly pretentious film bro.’ I literally use imovie. Like, these are in no way serious.”

Whether simply playing guitar, or dancing absurdly on a sidewalk, the participants in the virtual talent show all had one thing in commonthey wanted to make people smile. Their different performances highlighted the unique stories behind the performers’ talents and motivations for participation, and remind us all of the many talents and personalities that make up Loudoun County High School’s community. •

In this screenshot, Ponticelli poses for one of the scenes in her comedy skit.

CLOSING THOUGHTS rotc

Lorenzo Salas | Staff Writer

finishes strong with end of year ceremony

Top: Cadet Kaitlin Vasquez was recognized and won the reserve officer awards for her participation in supply. This was the third award she has won with ROTC.

Middle: Captain Bill Johns and Master Chief Deanna Foust conducted the ceremony virtually this year. Below: ROTC cadets participate in a battle group exercise, a fun activity most cadets look forward to. This year, cadets experienced the added difficulty of lack of in-person students.

For ROTC or cadets, June usually provides them time to reflect and look back on their accomplishments for the year. This usually comes in the form of the End of Year ceremony, meant for students to reflect on their accomplishments throughout the school year and recognize them for their achievements.

“The ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate all their accomplishments and contribute to the unit,” Captain Bill Johns, instructor of ROTC, said. “One of the big differences this year is there were less opportunities to do extracurricular activities where we would consider them for awards.”

The end of the school year also leads people to think about the next year. Cadet Kaitlin Vasquez who won the reserve officer reservation award, provided some input on how she feels next year will go.

“I believe the transition into next year might be rough, although I believe everything will eventually return to normal,” Vasquez said. She also believes that next year more people will be invested in ROTC events as most cadets are itching to get back to practice.

Vasquez looks forward to in-person interactions as well. “I’ve missed talking to my friends in ROTC and socializing in general,” Vasquez said.

“I enjoy the ROTC events because of that and next year I definitely plan to attend more ROTC events next year.” Although the end of the school year might raise questions for how next year will be. For now, students should relax and look back on their accomplishments for a rough school year.

Here is the link for the event https://www.wevideo.com/ view/2227525126

New year, new school

teachers look forward to new school year with fewer restrictions

Lorenzo Salas | Staff Writer

With an increase of vaccinations among teachers and students, Dr. Scott Ziegler, interim superintendent, committed to opening five days of weekly in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year in May and allow students to return to a normal way of life next school year.

In a Google survey sent to faculty, many teachers have expressed optimism for the coming year, with most expressing that overall, they simply miss the students.

Science teacher Felicity Francis believes that the most difficult thing about distance learning was the lack of interaction with students and the lack of discussion. Francais also believes attendance at school events

will increase next year. “I am excited for students to come to school next year as I miss seeing their faces and expressions while learning,” Francis said.

Librarian Tonya Dagstani agrees. “I am looking forward to seeing more face to face interactions as that was something I missed the most,” she said.

Math teacher Nicole Kezmarsky listed not seeing her students’ faces as a primary challenge of this school year. “Next year I am excited to get to know my students better,” Kezmarsky said.

Many teachers seemed to miss building teacher and student relationships. “The biggest challenge I faced this year was the lack of

interacting with students and the absence of a teacher-student relationship,” said Melinda Shingler, an English teacher at County. “I am excited to interact more with students and have more discussions as I missed that the most with distance learning.”

One thing is for sure. With whatever complications we may have next year, teachers are just happy to be back in person and teaching. •

Junior John Cramer sits alone in a classroom waiting for his teacher to arrive. While many classes were fairly full this year, others had only a handful of students attending in-person learning.

Photo by Lorenzo Salas.

seniors reach their goals through Outreach

choose from. “At home, we have kids making cards for frontline workers, those in nursing homes, and military members. We also have a group of students making a school tour for future freshmen. Several students have been very helpful making Schoology tutorial videos in English and Spanish,” Curtin said.

One activity which has interested a variety of students is helping with the fine arts. “I chose to organize sheet music for the choir department for Outreach this year,” said senior Mira Warren.

Warren would show up at the school during a selected time and go to the choir room. She would then receive instructions on her job for the day. “The purpose of my particular job is to help Mr. Rosenfeld know what music he has so students are able to sing fun and interesting songs,” Warren said.

Her job was to go through specific choir folders and make sure the songs were filed in the database. Then she would put them away. “My job generally included a lot of double checking and making sure information was correct which was monotonous,” Warren said.

ect with fellow seniors Lee Magee and Abby Berard. “Every A Day, during the time I would usually have art class, I come into the school and sign in, socialize with a few teachers, and make my way toward the art room,” Myers Payne said.

They worked hard in order to make the process fun and enjoyable. “Being an art teacher can be a messy job, so my friends and I rearranged each shelf to hold a specific art medium and created labels for each section.” Myers Payne said, “Also, since Ms. Jenkins loves Harry Potter, my friends and I are turning it into the “Room of Requirement.” Myers Payne went into the school two times a week for about two hours a day for three weeks. During this time, she has been sure

to make the most of it. “Aside from being able to see my school friends and teachers, my favorite part of my senior outreach experience has been becoming closer with Mrs. Jenkins.” Myers Payne said, “It has been so fun goofing around with her during the day.”

Outreach has also given seniors a break from all of the school work they endured during the year.

“Being able to take a break from classwork has helped my senioritis majorly,” Myers Payne said.

“Overall, Outreach has benefitted me individually because I am able to reconnect with old friends, talk to teachers that I have had all 4 years at County, and work on a project to stay productive,” Myers Payne said. •

boxes full of plants created during Outreach. Suttie assembled the boxes and Curtin was one of the Outreach committee members. Photos courtesy of math teacher Mel Hefty, one of several teachers involved in Outreach.

Maggie Sheridan | Editor-in-Chief

For many years, Outreach has been a tradition for the senior class. Before leaving the school for college, they have one last chance to give back to the community and lend a helping hand. The project usually involves seniors spending the last three weeks of school going out into the community to complete service projects, usually in partnership with other schools and local businesses.

With the closure of schools in March of last year, seniors were unable to complete Outreach last year, but this year, the tradition has continued. “Overall, students were

incredibly happy to have been given this opportunity,” said senior Caroline Curtin, one of the student organizers in charge of the program.

The Outreach process has been relatively easy for the school. “As far as challenges go, we haven't had that many. Some students were disappointed that COVID regulations meant that we couldn't involve outside businesses like in usual years, but the response to most activities has been really positive,” said math teacher Mel Hefty.

This year, about 226 seniors participated, averaging about 62% of the class. Students got to choose

what projects they completed. “We had projects that lasted the full three weeks and projects that students could complete on a day-to-day basis,” Hefty said. “Some projects were in-person and some were online. There were lots of options.”

Seniors had a large number of different projects available to them. These included landscaping, bulletin boards, art clean-up, thank you notes, Schoology videos, letters to freshmen, football/baseball clean-up, fine arts organizing, and German class helpers.

For students that wanted to stay virtual, they had other options to

She would go in for two days each week, averaging about three hours of work a week. She started her job on May 19 and ended on June 2.

“I enjoyed it because I liked getting to help the choir department and I generally enjoy organizing. It was also a really nice change of pace from normal school.” Warren said, “My favorite part was getting to see people I hadn’t seen in forever, since I did online school it was fun just to see people again.”

Besides working with the fine arts, other students, such as senior Annie Myers Payne worked on organizing Ms. Jenkin’s art closet.

Myers Payne worked on this proj-

Left: Seniors (left to right) Billy Quinn, Dominic Federico, Nalin Taterway, Antonio Tarrega, Nate Brown, Nick Coughlin, and Humza Saleem pose in the courtyard. They worked together to complete landscaping for Outreach and make the courtyard “outdoor classroom ready.” Below: Seniors Cameron Suttie and Caroline Curtin pose in front of window

students reflect on the 2020-21 school year, distance learning, and vaccinations

The Weird Year

Olivia DeWan | Staff Writer

2021 didn’t go as anyone expected to. We dealt with the pandemic, rapid and constant changes to the school year, and even quarantines. Now, the school year is coming to an end and regardless of all the challenges faced, students persevered through it all. Students were given a survey during the last month of school and asked to share their thoughts and opinions.

“The mix (of distance learning and hybrid learning) has been weird,” freshman Ashley Conner said. “I noticed now even though I used to hate going in person my grades are doing a lot better and it makes it easier for me to meet people.”

Students were given a choice to either participate in distance learning, which included finishing up the year from home, or hybrid learning, where students actually returned to the building.

“I have performed better in person due to less distractions and more oversight,” senior Connor Fondaw said.

Out of 1492 students, 629 students picked the hybrid option, hoping that being in school would return a sense of normalcy, but many students chose to stay home.

“Distance learning gave me more free time,” sophomore Elijah Johnson said. “I could practice drums in lunch or study hall.”

Students who stayed home had more freedom in their daily activities. For example they could complete school outside on a nice day or even go for walks in between classes. Most students didn’t seem to have a prob-

lem with being at home.

“Distance learning hasn't really affected me much,” freshmen Emma Pearson said. “I'm an introvert so I don't mind being by myself at home all the time.”

Students didn’t just have to get the hang of distance and hybrid learning, they also had to do it through a pandemic and quarantine.

“I haven't had much trouble being at home all the time, but it has gotten to me sometimes,” Pearson said. “When that happens I find that listening to music, playing an instrument, or really doing anything related to music helps me calm down and not feel as stuck.”

Several students reported in a survey that music helped them get through the lonely periods of isolation.

Many students also picked up new hobbies and turned their attention towards things that made them happy.

“ I would keep a goal in sight and work towards it,” senior Nathan Fikes said. “ I would also keep myself engaged through programming, Blender, TTL, and Distance martial arts.”

Regardless, they pushed through, determined to make it to the end of the school year.

“In order to stay motivated, I just keep reminding myself that I need to keep my grades up for graduation and college,” senior Julia Townsend said.

Many seniors are anxious to get out of high school and begin their new lives in college, but the fresh-

men, sophomores, and juniors needed some other source of motivation to get through the year.

“I just keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason and that it's almost over,” junior Carly Wolfgang said.

While there are both positives and negatives to distance and hybrid learning, both sides faced difficulties.

Online learning was new to every student and that came with wifi issues. It wasn’t uncommon for students to show up late to class because their wifi shorted.

“The internet seemed to crash at the worst time possible,” sophomore Ethan Brun said.

Students were also introduced to a new learning management system called “Schoology”. Before this year, teachers used both Google Classroom and Vision for posting online assignments, moving entirely to Google Classroom when schools closed suddenly last March. Many students felt they needed to teach themselves how to navigate Schoology and were provided little instruction on how to do so.

Another change in the students’ lives was the introduction of the COVID vaccine, released on December 11. The vaccine brought along hope that life would return to normal. It was offered to teachers in late winter and to people of ages 12 and up on May 10.

The vaccine also brought relief to the students, helping them feel more safe.

“I feel confident that the vaccine I took will keep others safe and help

mitigate the spread of the virus,” Fikes said. “I will still take whatever measures necessary, like social distancing, mask, washing hands, changing clothes, washing groceries, etc.”

With the vaccine came a burst of energy.

“I got my first shot a few days ago,” freshman Cat Pizzarello said. “I honestly was pretty excited! It's my golden ticket out of COVID!”

However the excitement and rush of the school year is coming to a close. With only two more weeks in school at the time the survey was conducted, students are looking forward to their summer break more than ever.

“I can’t wait to see my friends since they're vaccinated as well,” sophomore Iman Toumi said. “I’m excited to be able to do what I enjoy without the stress of school ruining my fun.”

Many students can’t wait to have no homework, unlimited hours of sleep, and the opportunity to get jobs.

“The biggest thing I look for this summer is my vacation and making lots of money with a summer job,” junior Chris Mejia said.

Students are desperate for a break from the hard work that school demands. This year was especially hard on them, and many students struggle with mental health issues.

“This year led to me having an identity crisis and I completely lost sight of who I was,” Mejia said. “I never had my grades drop so low, I went through a depressive episode during the second and third quarter.”

But no matter what struggles they faced they did everything they could to get through it. Many students recognized that others were all in the same boat with them, and view summer as a reset for next year.

And with summer also comes hopes that next year will go back to normal.

“I am getting sick of Distance, even though it isn't terrible,” Pizzarello said. “I really just want things back to normal & to start living my high school years!”

While students want to return to school with all of their friends and teachers, many enjoyed the asynchronous Mondays.

“I want to keep the in person but stay with Mondays off. It not only helps students catch up, but also

the teachers,” freshmen Sophie Bourgeois said. “It also keeps A and B days even and you always know what day it is. It’s just helpful for everyone.”

Throughout the entire year, the good times and the bad, students stood their ground and never gave into the pressures of the pandemic.

“My hopes for next year is to finally see all of my friends once again,” Mejia said. “I have missed them so much. If the guidelines are gone by then, I'll make sure to give them a long, good hug.” •

Sophomore Melinna Wightman and freshmen Ashley Connor head to soccer practice. Due to COVID, all sports suffered from a shortened season. Photo by Olivia DeWan.

Nick Alexander sophomore finishes second year of high school golf with outstanding season

Jevonte Herron | Sports Writer

Sophomore Nick Alexander had an outstanding golf season this year and contributed to his team ranking number three in the state tournament. The accomplishment comes during an unusual golf season, which began February 15 and ended with states on April 19.

Alexander plays two sports for the Captains, basketball and golf, and he’s been playing both for a while.

“I have been playing golf for about four years,” Alexander said. He has been playing basketball since he was little, and he takes both sports seriously.

Alexander got into golf because of his grandparents and was introduced to basketball because of his dad, who coaches high school and travel basketball.

This season, Alexander thinks he played very well and was a contributor to the golf team’s success.

“My best score this year was the district championship when I shot a 69 and helped our team win by 5 over Loudoun Valley,” said Alexander.

According to Alexander, golf is a team effort. A team can’t win

with only one star player.

“Although we have our better players like Matthew Monastero , we can’t just win with just him,” Alexander said. A team needs at least four out of the six players to contribute, he said, noting that if someone is off, the team needs someone to step up since golf is calculated taking the best four scores from the team.

Alexander said the team’s goal at the beginning of the season was to make it to states, and they did it even with the pandemic providing several challenges.

“We played pretty well, the teams we played were very good, but I think we could have played better and had a chance to win,” said Alexander of the team’s performance at states. But according to Alexander, the good thing about golf is that you really don't have to stay in shape physically, just game wise, which helped since the season was understandably unique, especially with students playing in cold weather.

“Our team played great,” Alexander said. “Making it to states was our goal and we did it.” •

Nick Alexander displays the Dulles District title on April 5 after the Captains took first place. Photo courtesy of Nick Alexander.

Senior Swimmer Lexi Vanderloo makes her final push towards the finish line. Photo Credit: Caroline Layne, LoCo Sports.

Matt Starchville | Sports Writer

Casey Hughes | Sports Writer

Senior swimmer Lexi Vanderloo has been preparing and working towards swimming in college throughout her high school career. Now, the record-breaking senior has committed to Cornell University and credits her time at County for her success.

“Swimming on my high school team has helped me become a great leader,” Vanderloo said. “When I was an underclassman, I learned so much from the upperclassmen on how to lead and encourage everyone on the team at every meet and practice. Being captain this last year has been a great experience, and I hope my impact on the younger swimmers helps them become leaders in the future.”

Vanderloo credits the coaches at Loudoun County for helping her through the process of becoming a high level swimmer and allowing her to earn a scholarship.

“Coach Jessica Mack of Nation’s Capital Swim Club has been my coach since middle school and she has really helped me

Lexi Vanderloo

commits to Cornell University

Another strong finish

Jevonte Herron | Sports Writer

With nine state wins in the last 13 years, almost everyone has heard of County's volleyball team. “Everyone who does NOT play for County Volleyball expects our team to repeat as state champions,” head coach John Senchak said. But the team still has to work hard.

girls volleyball wins nine years in a row

take swimming to the next level," Vanderloo said.

“She is always engaged on the pool deck and during every practice, whether it is reading out times or giving me technique on my strokes,” Vanderloo said. “She also introduced me to Open Water swimming, which is now one of my favorite things, and she helped me qualify and swim at Open Water Nationals.”

Apart from swimming for th Captains throughout high school, Vanderloo also swam for the Nation’s Capital Swim Club. This experience has taught her important life lessons that will help her succeed in swimming and in life.

“Nation’s Capital Swim Club has helped me prepare to swim in college because it has taught me a lot about hard work and having a strong work ethic to achieve my goals,” Vanderloo said.

Although Vanderloo’s work ethic has gotten her to where she is today, the coaches around her have helped her along this journey improving her skills, work ethic, and leadership.

“My coaches have helped me become a better swimmer by always holding me accountable in practice, reminding me of my goals, and encouraging me during hard practices,” Vanderloosaid.

Throughout all of this hardwork and dedication in and out of the pool Vanderloo has received offers from Cornell University, California Institute of Technology, William and Mary, Carnegie Mellon University, and Washington University in St Louis. In the end Vanderloo chose to continue her academic and athletic career at Cornell University.

“I chose Cornell because of the amazing combination of Ivy League academics and athletics,” Vanderloo said. “Cornell also has an amazing business school that I am excited to be a part of. The other reasons are it is an Ivy League institution, I could swim D1, I really like the location and campus (plus it is close to a lot of family), the business school is super small and tight knit, and there is an ROTC program right on campus. All of these factors sealed the deal on my decision.” •

This year, the Captains were ready for the tough games, especially knowing that rival teams want bragging rights in beating, or even scoring, against the championship team.

“The competition was as intense as we expected it to be,” Senchak said.

Each year, varsity volleyball has a different mix of skills, but in the last nine years they have found a way to win states.

“Every team is different, and they compete and win in different way,” Senchak said.

Even with a different kind of season due to COVID resulting in them playing fewer games, they still were able to win the state championship against Grafton on April 23.

“Our regular season was shortened quite a bit,” Senchak said. While they normally play 18 to 20 matches, this year VHSL regulations cut down the season. “This year we had only 12 on the schedule, one of which was cancelled for COVID protocols,” Senchak said. But with making it to the state game they still were able to play more than most teams.

This year, even practices were different due to COVID.

According to Senchak, the team had to get used to wearing masks, wiping down the equipment, and

other safety measures that often changed throughout the year. These requirements were easy to adjust to, according to the coach.

“The only real impact from a different time of year was the unusual conflicts with other activities which don’t usually interfere with our season,” said Senchak. Whereas the team normally plays during winter, their season this year did not start until spring, following VHSL policy. The schedule competed with club volleyball.

“For a lot of our games, we didn’t have our full team,” said Ella Solomon. Depending on the day, it was different players on the floor.

Another noticeable difference was the limitations on spectators this year. While the team normally enjoys packed stands and loud crowds, this year attendance was limited due to governor’s orders, but it still did not bring them down.

“The county volleyball players always get a lift from their home fans, but they always put in the work,” said Senchak.

Player Audrey Luhr thinks next

year's team should have a good season. “This year’s team built a great starting point for the players to come after us,” said Luhr. •

Above: Ella Solomon hits the ball during the Region Championship game vs. Valley. Photo courtesy of Jeff Scudder from Viva Loudoun. Below: Audrey Luhr serves against John Handley. Photo by Debbie Senchak. Solomon and Luhr regularly contributed to the Captains’ wins.

Charlotte penberthY

track star makes county’s all time records list

Olivia DeWan | Staff Writer

Loudoun County’s All Time records list is infamous for being a great source of motivation for track runners. On April 28, junior Charlotte Penberthy took the third place spot for the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.9 seconds.

“Just breaking 13 seconds was amazing!” Penberthy said. “So moving to number three on the All Time list was the cherry on top. After the race I felt very confident that it was a personal record, but waiting for the real time was nerve racking.”

Penberthy started her track career her freshman year of high school.

“I got cut from the soccer team,” Penberthy said. “I figured I would give [track] a shot!”

In addition to track, Penberthy was an active athlete and played a number of different sports. Those sports include field hockey, basketball, and soccer.

“I’ve always been complimented on my speed since I was little playing sports,” she said. “I thought racing would work well for me.”

Penberthy worked hard to make the All Time list, and she achieved her goal, but she didn’t just stop there.

“Last meet I also moved up to number eight for the 200 meters, which was exciting,” Penberthy said. “For indoor track I’m number one for the 55 meter, number two for the 300 meter, and number one for the 4 by 400 meter.”

Penberthy’s time for the 200

meter is 27.22 seconds, and while Penberthy runs a variety of events, she was able to pick a favorite.

“My favorite event is the 100 meter,” Penberthy said. “It gives me enough time to reach my maximum speed, and it’s the race I’m best at!”

During meets, Penberthy is always in the first heat, which is the fastest. With her times she consistently takes first or second place.

“I love being able to see the improvements in my times!” she said.

Penberthy didn’t get where she is now without the hard work. Track practices every day of the week, and most of those practices are hard workouts.

“The most difficult part of track is the workouts,” Penberthy said. “They really push you to your max, but that’s how we improve.”

She showed up to nearly all of the practices and pushed through minor injuries.

“My shins are always hurting,” Penberthy said. “It is a common problem for runners, but sometimes I want to do the workout but my body just won’t allow it.”

In addition to aching shins, Penberthy also had to persist through the pandemic.

“It was so sad to have the spring season cut short for everyone, especially seniors,” Penberthy said. “I had set all my goals and was disappointed I wouldn't be able to reach them.”

Regardless of COVID, Penberthy kept her eyes on the prize.

“I worked to get to the All Time list by showing up in the workouts and staying motivated!” she said.

While Penberthy has already achieved several impressive times for the 100M and 200M, she isn’t done yet. Third place is not enough for this ambitious sprinter.

“My next goal is to get #2 on the All Time list!” she said.

It’s no surprise that Penberthy fell in love with track and is considering it to be a part of her future.

“I’m thinking about running track in college,” Penberthy said. “But I’m not sure yet.”

The sprint coaches also played a big role in Penberthy’s accomplishments, and she had only good things to say about them.

“The sprint coaches encourage me by running beside me in the workouts and reminding me of proper form,” Penberthy said. “They are very encouraging and supportive.”

When she’s not dominating the track, Penberthy likes to roller skate, write letters to her pen pal, play the guitar, and read. But while she has other hobbies, track remains one of her favorite activities.

“I love finishing difficult workouts with my friends,” Penberthy said. “It’s always such a great feeling!” •

Junior Charlotte Penberthy sprints to

finish line. She finished with a time of 12.9 seconds, taking third place

the

on the All Time records list.

Photo courtesy of John Klimavicz.

Track and Field

mckenna giannos on her high school experience and the people who contributed to a great career

Matt Starchville | Staff Writer

Senior runner Mckenna Giannos

has been a part of Loudoun County winter and spring track team throughout her high school career.

She has had the support of her family and teammates to help her always get better.

“When I look back on my track experience, I won't remember all

of the times I ran or distances I've jumped, but I will definitely remember the teammates and coaches,” Giannos said. “My teammates have become a family to me, and everyone

is so incredibly supportive. Everyone checks in with each other and gets really excited over PRs and wins, and they're very inspiring when losses or blocks in the road appear.”

Along with the support of her family and teammates, one of her biggest supporters has been the coaching staff of the Loudoun County track and field team. Coach Courtney Campbell, Coach Chris Hefty, and Coach Steven Graham have all been a part of her track experience and have helped her along the way.

“Day to day I don't work too much

with Coach Campbell, but during meets he's always motivating the entire team whether it's calling out splits or telling us that we had a great race,” Giannos said. “He’s an amazing coach, there's a reason our distance team is strong!”

Giannos credits Hefty with motivating the runners. Hefty is in charge of the weight room and writes plans for each workout and group. “Coach Hefty is a really motivating coach during practice,” Giannos said. “I have vivid memories of running the hill workouts with him running right behind us telling us to drive our knees and push through the finish. I also took up hurdles this year as a fun passion project, so I get to work with him there as well. He always pushes us to do better and encourages us through the hurdle races and workouts.”

Coach Graham is fully invested with all of his athletes as he will do anything to put them in a position to succeed. Whether it is watching videos on technique, spending extra time with his athletes, and being a leader for his athletes.

“I've worked with Coach Graham the most out of the three. I have no idea how he does it, but he tailors each workout to several groups and is able to coach and monitor them all,” Giannos said. “It's hard to find a coach who genuinely cares about all of his athletes no matter the skill level, but he does just that.”

Giannos competes in several events but in her opinion her best event is the high jump. She also competes in the girls 4 by 100 meter. Her career includes being fourth in the state sophomore year, sixth in indoor track junior year, and third in Indoor this year. She hopes to add another state placement in the coming weeks. The girls 4 by 100 meter of Giannos, Charlotte Penberthy, Olivia Dewann, and Cara Scalia, is

also currently 3rd in the region. “We are hoping to make an appearance at states,” Giannos said.

Giannos participates in winter track which prepares her for the spring season, which she credits for helping her both physically and mentally. .

“Physically it helps us as athletes get in physical shape before the spring even starts,” Giannos said. “This year we ran a longer warm up which was not the most fun but, in the moment but 100% helped me later down the line. Indoor also helps with the team's morale, we create bonds with our team and coaches and it's a great time. I can't think of a better bonding experience than running on a track in the snow. It also helps athletes get confidence in themselves for the outdoor season.”

Giannos has had many memorable experiences throughout her high school career but by far the most memorable for her was when she was a Sophomore and went to the State Meet.

“My best experience from high school track would be my Sophomore year State meet. Our meet was in Lynchburg at Liberty University,” Giannos said. “I remember having such a good time with my teammates the night before at the hotel, and everyone did so well at the actual meet. Another great time was Indoor states this year. I had finally got back in the groove of things, and I remember standing on top of the bleachers just thinking about how much fun I had had and how grateful I was for my amazing teammates.” •

Senior Mckenna Giannos soars through the air in the high jump event. Photo courtesy of John Klimavicz.

4C TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

lun and wildman win

Lun and Wildman pose in celebration after winning the 2021 Region 4C Doubles Championship.

Emily Banner | Staff writer

During the May 26 Region 4C Tennis Championship, freshman Vivian Lun won the 2021 Region 4C Singles Tennis Championship in straight sets. The next day, Lun and her partner Cora Wildman won the 2021 Region 4C Doubles Championship in three sets.

“It's a major stress reliever for me,” Lun said. “When academics get stressful and overwhelming, tennis is the perfect outlet for me to have fun and mentally relax.”

The pair will be moving on to

play in the 4C State Single/Doubles Tournament in Newport News on June 10-12.

“4C regionals was a very exciting and memorable experience,” Lun said. “I definitely didn't expect to win going into regionals, but told myself to try my hardest and not give up. Cora and I have been playing as a doubles pair since the start of this season! I think what makes us a strong pair is our ability to lift each other up and stay positive, even in extremely stressful situations.”

Photo courtesy of Maggie Darby

Arts & Entertainment

MEET CAITLIN ROBINSON award-winning guitarist

Robinson said. “This is an annual competition that I had previously participated in and after over six months of work, I ended up not placing.”

Regardless of her temporary failure, Robinson didn’t let that stop her.

“After that difficult loss, I promised myself that I was going to win next year,” she said. “I started preparing and by the next year I felt ready and confident. I was extremely nervous sitting before the panel of judges and after announcing my name and pieces I had prepared, I began to play my most difficult song.”

In order to prepare for competitions such as the Marlow Guitar Beatty Competition, the musician has to work for several months on a number of different pieces.

Competition, and was awarded first place in her age group.

“I worked extremely hard and achieved a long term goal I had set for myself,” Robinson said.

In addition to the Marlow Guitar Beatty Competition, Robinson achieved a number of different awards and accomplishments with guitar.

“I was accepted two times into the PAVAN Governor’s School for Guitar, and have won or placed in many competitions such as the Aguado Guitar Competition and Eastern Music Festival Guitar Competition,” Robinson said. “I was also accepted into both the All Virginia Guitar and National Guitar Ensemble for 2020.”

After years of hard work and winning competitions, Robinson decided to switch it up.

love for guitar into me. My first teacher Patrick Fritz helped me develop key foundational skills that set me up for success in my later years,” Robinson explained.

“My most recent teacher, Dr. JB Taylor, taught me that beauty in a performance is not how many of the notes were ‘correct’, but actually how gracefully and effortlessly the notes as a whole were woven together to make music.”

Robinson has collected several treasured memories along her journey with guitar.

Award winning guitarist Caitlin Robinson practices in her backyard in June 2019. When getting ready for competitions, Robinson will practice from four to six hours a day. Photo courtesy of Caitlin Robinson.

Olivia DeWan | Staff Writer

Many people know how to play an instrument, but few manage to master that instrument. Junior Caitlin Robinson is one of those people.

Robinson has been playing guitar since she was six years old, and it quickly became a huge part of her life.

“My older brother had been playing for a couple of years,” Robinson said. “I saw how much he enjoyed it and wanted to start taking lessons.”

Robinson did just that. She spent hours taking lessons and learning how to play. She even

takes guitar as a class at County.

“I played the classical guitar for about ten years,” Robinson said. “The main reason why I liked playing the classical guitar was because there were a lot of opportunities that came with that genre, such as competitors and the State and National ensembles.”

The State and National ensembles represent the top performing high school musicians in the United States. To make one of these ensembles requires months of practice.

With her skills in playing guitar, it was no shock when Robinson made the ensemble. She was the only musician from Loudoun County High School, and she was playing with musicians from Las Vegas, Santa Fe, and a number of other states.

“My favorite competition was the Marlow Guitar Beatty Competition in Washington DC,”

“The year before a competition I take a couple of months to choose my pieces and then spend about one to four hours every day for at least six months practicing and memorizing the set of songs,” Robinson explained.

Using that method of preparation, Robinson hoped to place first in the Marlow Guitar Beatty Competition. When playing her first song, she forgot almost half of the piece. Still, she finished her set and walked off stage devastated, for she thought she wouldn’t advance to the next round.

However, the judges informed her that she had passed and would continue on to the next round the following day.

Robinson went on and succeeded in her final performances in the Marlow Guitar Beatty

“I found that I wanted to play guitar as a way to relieve stress and find enjoyment instead of having to constantly be preparing for and playing at auditions and competitions,” Robinson said. “When I finally realized this, I decided that acoustic guitar would be the best style for me to learn and I have been playing acoustic for the past few months.”

Still, learning guitar came with a few struggles.

“One of the main struggles I faced, and I am sure many other musicians have also, is spending years trying to develop a perfect tone on their instrument,” Robinson said.

Robinson had a number of mentors and friends who helped her overcome these challenges.

“I’ve had several amazing teachers and friends that really poured themselves and their

“I used to play each week for a retirement home while they were eating dinner,” Robinson said. “Watching the residents with severe dementia or medical issues be able to hum or sing along with one of my songs as I played for them was really a wonderful thing to witness.”

Due to COVID, Robinson was unable to continue to play for the residents at retirement homes. With the extra time on her hands, she was able to focus more on college.

“I would like to attend any of the Virginia schools,” Robinson said. “I really would like to pursue a career in the medical field though I’m not quite sure what job.”

In addition to guitar, Robinson plays field hockey for the varsity team at Loudoun County, enjoys taking her dog on long walks, and she has started powerlifting. Robinson’s unfailing persistence and hard work has led her to success with guitar, and in life in general.

“The skill in being able to play an instrument well does not lie in the notes,” Robinson said. “But rather how you play them.”

ENVIRONMENTAL, ECOLOGY CLUB PROMOTES ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS IN

VIRTUAL EARTH DAY ART GALLERY

Michaela scott | Editor-in-Chief

Students who share a common passion for the environment in the school community may belong to the LCHS Environmental/Ecology Club, which is run by students and sponsored by biology teacher Tracy Webster. Over the years, the club participated in several projects to protect the Loudoun County environment, and also activities that involve hikes and bird watching; this year, the group decided to organize an online collection of environmental themed art submitted by any student in celebration and honor of Earth day.

“Environmental club takes COVID-19 incredibly seriously, so we chose

a virtual gallery opposed to an in-person gallery; this was decided so everyone could view regardless of in-person or distance learning, and can be viewed after Earth day,” club member Kirsten Ponticelli said.

The primary goal of the online gallery was to showcase the beauty of the environment and the students’ perspective on the Earth in a virtual area. The submissions expressed the artists’ interpretation of the world, the environment, or anything involving nature, and each piece shared the common theme of appreciation for the planet.

“Each one is special in their own way, everyone took a different approach to it,” club member Daniellah Etisi said. “The gallery was a good way to share the Earth inspired pieces.”

Projects organized by the Envi -

ronmental/Ecology Club encourage all LCHS students and staff to participate. In this gallery six participants submitted their work. “In total we had a lower number of submissions compared to other projects, most likely because of how hard it is to organize such events virtually,” Ponticelli said. “Each piece was beautiful and fewer piec -

es let the viewer appreciate each much more.”

The artists who submitted their pieces to the gallery were Etisi, Ponticelli, Riley Cordes, Sydney Tamsett, Allyson Zavala, and Chloe Beal. “My favorite piece had to be a digital photo by Riley Cordes of tree bark,” Ponticelli said.

“The close up view was so beautiful and really reminds the audience of how incredible nature is in even the smallest details.”

Overall, the event was meant to remind the spectators that the Earth is their only home, and prompted people to value it. “Of course we wanted everyone to enjoy the event, but at the end of the day, the Environmental Club’s primary goal is always to educate and remind everyone to love our one and only Earth,” Ponticelli said. Additionally, Ponticelli explained why she feels it is necessary to support the Earth. “The Environ -

mental Club is important because nothing would be here without our Earth,” Ponticelli said. “Every issue matters, but there wouldn’t be an issue in the first place if our Earth dies, so taking care of it is crucial.”

The Earth Day Art Gallery was a significant project for the Environmental club to promote the awareness of protecting the environment and displaying a love for nature. “We need to take care of our environment because it has always been taking care of us,” Etisi said. “We take for granted the things this Earth does for us because we don’t always see it first hand. The Earth is home to so many beautiful creatures who also help us in not so obvious ways, from bugs who fertilize the plants we eat, to animals who are a part of the cycle of life, and plants that give us the clean air we need. The planet wants to care for us, so it is our role to care for her too.” •

On April 21, the Environmental Club held a virtual art gallery to celebrate Earth Day. Active members of the club Kirsten Ponticelli and Daniellah Etisi submitted these pieces to the online collection. Artwork courtesy of Kirsten Ponticelli and Daniellah Etisi.

Returning to normal?

downtown leesburg shops open with fewer restrictions

Lorenzo Salas | staff writer

With the 2020 pandemic, businesses like stores and restaurants were greatly affected by the lack of customers and the general lifelessness of shopping areas. Governor’s orders and local restrictions changed over the course of the pandemic, impacting businesses’ ability to attract customers. Now that people are getting vaccinated and statewide restrictions are being lifted, it’s becoming safer for people to return to shopping.

With life slowly returning to normalcy, some local businesses are reopening up stores and allowing more customers inside without masks for those who have been vaccinated.

“I am very happy with restaurants opening back up and I think we as Americans should be ready to move on from this,” said Paul Zangos, owner of Tarbenders in downtown Leesburg.

“My idea for the place was to create a speakeasy that in the front looked like a bagel shop was a bar. I really liked the speakeasy and roaring 20s aesthetic,” Zangos said.

The appeal of such a restaurant is in-person dining, something that was not always possible with the pandemic. “I really missed people and having them here to throw events and parties,” Zangos said. “Business was also really bad and this was the toughest year for my business.”

With COVID, some towns have been really torn on the pandemic due to people not being able to interact and host events.

“I think the town has done a really great job though with precautions.” Zangos was referring to Virgina’s guidelines with COVID for example with Phase one opening in which only 10 people were allowed for in person dining and they could allow outdoor dining at 50% capacity. As the months went on the government slowly eased up on these restrictions.

Not all businesses were impacted equally. Lauren King, a worker at the Sunflower Shack which is a gift shop that sells a variety of food and trinkets, said “We never closed down once and our store was still pretty busy because of online orders,” King said. “We are really happy that stores are opening back up as

we missed the people who came into our shop,” King said.

With the pandemic ending it is nice for shops to have their vitality back and their people in stores shopping. It’s been so nice that Giana Ferraiolo, a patron of SHOES shared input when interviewed.

“During winter break I couldn’t come up with things to do that were Covid safe.” Ferraiolo said. “I really took hanging out with people for granted.” Ferraiolo also showed some concern about the sudden reopening of stores. “I believe more restaurants should require masks,” Ferraiolo said. “I think it’s time to open up more. If we can do it safely then we definitely should.” Whatever the future holds one thing is for sure, people are excited to go back to normal.

Top left: A couple enjoys their dinner after a year of quarantine. Downtown Leesburg closed roads on Friday evenings to facilitate outdoor dining during the pandemic. top right: Tarbenders with doors open ready to bring in customers after a year of hibernation. Bottom: Patron Giana Ferraiolo, a LCHS graduate, enjoying a nice meal at local restaurant Shoe’s Cup and Cork. Photos by Lorenzo Salas.

Personal P roms

students organize to celebrate the end of the covid-19 school year

Michaela Scott | Editor-in-Chief

Much like “foco,” where students organized a fake homecoming due to the COVID-19 restrictions, many students participated in a “fake prom” to celebrate the end of an exceptionally different year. We asked juniors and seniors to send us their group/date photos, and to share what they enjoyed most about their night.

Center top: Senior Audrey Luhr shared her group photo from prom night taken by sophomore Olivia Powers. “The pandemic took away both of my proms and I wasn’t going to let that stop me from getting dressed one last time with my girls,” Luhr said. “This night meant so much to me because I could cherish the last bit of high school before I move to Texas to start a new chapter.”

Left to right: Emily Tyler, Bri Manni, Emma Fox, Gianna Drummond, Audrey Luhr. Top right: Junior McKenzie Owens submitted a photo with her date, senior Tariq Sims at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. “I went to D.C. for prom with the seniors and I loved being able to see everyone again,” Owens said. “It was also nice to make one last memory before everyone leaves for college.”

Bottom right: Senior Jordan Dean submitted his group photo at the Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C. “It was the best night because it was our one last ride with each other.” Dean said. Left to right: Antonio Tarrega, Sean Flavin, Evan Deboard, Stuart Kyle, Charley Davis, Chase Duncan, Robert Deboard, Billy Quinn, Chris Schierholtz, Jordan Dean, Tariq Sims, Humza Saleem.

Senior Abby Toth shared her photo from prom night with her group of best friends. “My favorite part of prom was probably just being able to see people that I hadn’t seen in forever,” Toth said.

“With the pandemic, school, and work there wasn’t much time to have a great night like this until now.” Left to right: Alexa Novak, Abby Toth, Sarah Noel, Annelise Brun.

Above: Junior Gracie Hawkins (right) shared her COVID-friendly photos from prom night with senior Marissa Martin (left). “We chose to get dressed up and all because she was not going to be here next year and I am,” Hawkins said. “We wanted to at least have something like a prom together.” Top center: Junior Amanda Carkin sent in her prom photo with her friend group in Red Cedar. “This year was so crazy with virtual school and being so isolated, I am really glad we got to put together a night of some normality for our junior year,” Carkin said. “The best part was seeing everyone all dressed up.” Left to right: Caris German, Callie Shaw, Morgan Appel, Amanda Carkin, Sarah Jordan, Delaney Brosan, Hanna Mullan. Top right: Junior Kian Zahiri submitted his group’s photos taken on prom night. “The best part of prom was taking pictures, going out to eat, and getting together with my friends,” Zahiri said. “Basically, the whole night was great, it finally felt like pre-COVID days.”

Left to right: Ben Rodriguez, Brendan Boyers, Matthew Groves, Kian Zahiri. Bottom: Left to right back row: Matthew Groves, Connor Kilbey, Brendan Boyers, Michael Gillis, Jamison Maddox, Bennett Vaughen, Ben Rodriguez, Kian Zahiri. Left to right bottom row: Caris German, Delaney Brosan, Hanna Mullan, Callie Shaw, Morgan Appel, Amanda Carkin, Sarah Jordan.

May Mingle

Maggie Sheridan | Editor-in-Chief

During the 2020- 2021 school year, students were devastated to learn there would not be a prom this year. Due to COVID restrictions, the county was unable to have any. Although seniors started to sulk at the thought of not having a high school prom, several parents quickly found a solution.

One parent in particular who had a heavy hand in the planning process was Kristie Taylor, mom of senior Emily Taylor, who helped create an alternative option to prom, the May Mingle. The May Mingle was organized and run entirely outside of the school and not affiliated with the Loudoun County Public Schools.

“A parent Facebook group was formed in the beginning of the school year and some people had noted that other schools were doing activities like carnivals or drive through events for their seniors,” Taylor said. “From that Facebook group a small group of parents was formed and decided to put together some events throughout the year like the senior picnic that happened in the fall and the top golf outing a few months ago.”

That group together decided that we wanted to do something big and memorable for the seniors. “Of course the one thing the seniors would miss most from this year would be not having a prom so we figured why not try our best to give them something similar,” Taylor said.

The parents then formed a small committee and assigned different jobs to different people. Some of these jobs included fundraising, decorations, raffle prizes, and coordinators.

Taylor was the chairperson of the entire concept.

“Originally I didn’t plan on being the chairperson, but once I started researching some ideas for different locations the ball started rolling and I kind of just took off with it and unofficially made it my project.” Taylor said. “I did not want to do everything myself and thought the more input from other parents the better so those that were interested in volunteering and did an amazing job with their subcommittees.”

Taylor explained that many parents were a big help with the jobs required to make this night a

reality. “Parents like Jeannie Boyer and Jenn Coffman handled enough raffle and prizes for 170 students, which was a huge task.” Taylor said. “Kim Noel handled Ben and Jerry’s and was super helpful in keeping me organized and making sure we had all of our Committees in check with permits and site plans.”

“Robyn Wallace helped with the Instagram and DJ, Laurie Williams was our food coordinator, Leslie Ferguson did the lighting, Colleen van Dyke was our sign-up coordinator, Liz Daly did the decorations, and Kelly Mcknight helped as well as Tara Miller who was our budget chair,” Taylor said.

The May Mingle was held at the George C Marshall house, a historic manner in downtown Leesburg. “It was graciously donated to us and that helped with costs tremendously.” Taylor said, “We solicited donations from local businesses as well as the parents of seniors and we were able to pay for everything in full including a DJ, pizzas, raffle prizes and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Let’s just say it was in the thousands.”

They also had donations from

several sponsors including Dr. Keith, a chiropractor in Leesburg, parents, and sales of flocking signs. In order to appeal to certain COVID guidelines, the dance was held entirely outside. Students were also required to complete a COVID checker before attending. The event took a lot of planning in order to happen. “From start to finish it was almost two months in the making.” Taylor said, “It was not an easy job and required many hours of preparation and phone calls and even many Google meetings with the committees and volunteers.

The event included a DJ that played a variety of songs for students to dance to. “The DJ played a lot of pop and rap and a ton of people were dancing, which was really fun,” said senior Samantha Welstead. “There were also differ-

ent raffles and a ton of food, some from food trucks.”

Senior Sydney Ryan was also impressed by the music selection. “There was all kinds of music which was nice because everyone got a bit for themselves, like One Direction, Megan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift and then some of the classics like Sweet Caroline,” Ryan said. One of the highlights for many was the ice cream sundae bar. “I loved the Ben & Jerry’s sundae bar, the decorations were really nice, but most of all, I loved seeing friends who I hadn’t seen in awhile,” Welstead said.

Seniors were incredibly happy with the results of this idea. “I have never been to an actual prom due to covid, but May Mingle was super fun and a great experience to see people in my grade,” Welstead said.

“I prefer the may mingle to previous school proms due to the location, decorations and overall environment being super classy and elegant.The senior parents did amazing.” Ryan said, “The may mingle had food trucks, raffle prizes and a photo booth which I thought was really unique to the other proms.”

The May Mingle was the highlight of the end of senior year for many students. “It was so nice seeing people I hadn’t seen since junior year.” Ryan said. “Overall, it was a great way to end my high school experience.

“I honestly can’t believe that if we didn’t have to leave at 10 o’ clock the kids would’ve stayed all night. The DJ had everyone dancing and we couldn’t have asked for a better night, it was truly spectacular,” Taylor said. •

Seniors Samantha Welstead, Lili Williams, Stella Celentano, Miren Ahedo, and Caroline Zanetti pose in front of the George C Marshall house prior to the dance. Photo courtesy of Welstead.

with no prom, students and parents embrace the magic of this new event

AS COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS LIFT, students plan to travel over summer vacation

Liberty Harrison and Alexis Shugars Staff Writers

With less than a month of school left before summer vacation, many students’ minds have turned from academics to how they will be spending their summer days. Many will be engaging in some form of travel. Termed by popular news sources such as the Washington Post as “revenge travel,” makeup travel after the lockdown has some predicting a sudden jumpstart to the tourism industry after the economic drop it saw during the peak times of the pandemic. Still, safety procedures and certain limits remain in place for both domestic and international travel.

Information on US and Virginia COVID Travel Restrictions

In Virginia, restrictions are sparse for domestic travel, with only recommendations for wearing masks and using social distancing given by the state government. The top areas to travel in Virginia include Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, and Shenandoah National Park. Since the majority of Virginia beaches are public and Shenandoah National Park is public as well the restrictions due to COVID are the same.

Williamsburg has slightly different requirements, with several COVID mitigations still in place. Within Williamsburg, fully-vaccinated guests are not required to wear face masks indoors or outdoors, with one exception. All guests, vaccinated or not, are required to wear face masks on all Colonial Williamsburg shuttle busses, in accordance with public transportation policies. Guests

who aren’t fully-vaccinated, are required to wear a face covering indoors and encouraged to do so outdoors.

Nationally each state has its own travel requirements, and although all still recommend for CDC travel restrictions to be followed, and some discourage leisure travel, the majority have lifted domestic travel restrictions.

Hawai’i requires travelers five and older to either quarantine for 10 days or show proof either with a hard copy or uploaded copy or a negative test result within 72 hours before boarding their flight.

Kansas has certain quarantine requirements for those who have traveled to a variety of countries, states and even certain counties, although with rapidly evolving restrictions, it is best to check Kansas’ website at: https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/175/Travel-Exposure-Related-Isolation-Quaran.

Massachusetts travelers who are not fully vaccinated or have a negative test result within 72 hours before their arrival are asked to quarantine either 10 days upon arrival or until they have a negative test result.

Oregon asks travelers to self quarantine for 14 days after arrival.

Rhode Island requires unvaccinated domestic travelers coming from a hotspot (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) to quarantine for 20 days or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test from within 72 hours of arrival.

Washington DC requires unvaccinated visitors who are coming

from high risk areas or staying over a day to take a COVID-19 test.

For most Americans the majority of travel they do over summer is domestic, but according to travel statistics from both Trivago and Tripadvisor, destinations in Mexico are also very popular. Mexico’s international travel restrictions are essentially non-existent with their borders open to both leisure and business travelers. However the land border between Mexico and the US is closed for nonessential travel through June 21st and possibly longer, so travel from the US is only possible by flight. The only need for a COVID-19 test would be to return to the US, as it would need to be taken within 72 hours before returning to the US.

Many LCHS students have plans to travel this summer, for leisure, business, and to visit family. Out of thirty-eight responses to a student information form, twenty-four reported having travel plans.

Of those thirty one students, many plan on going to the beach often with friends and family, as overall US statistics on travel predict.

Freshman Sela Campbell wrote, “This summer we plan to go to the Outer Banks. We go every year with our family. It’s such a great way to end the school year.”

Other students, particularly seniors and juniors, are traveling to colleges, either to have an advanced experience of their new home or to help them evaluate which colleges they might want to apply to.

Some seniors are also taking

the popular “before college” trip, a tradition for many middle- to upper-class Americans.

“I will be traveling to Central Europe with two friends, Adin Freese and Aidan Cranfield, following graduation,” wrote Sean Rombach, a 12th grader. “We hope to visit Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest in our time there.”

Some students have summer travel plans related to their sports career.

“I have plans to travel to Las Vegas for a volleyball tournament,” wrote junior Sarah Jordan Still other students don’t have concrete plans, but report that as restrictions change they would like to travel to certain places.

Sophomore Lilly MacDonald plans to visit Canada “if they open the border.”

Some students, however, have specifically chosen not to travel due to COVID-19.

Freshman Sebastian Buryniuk does not plan to travel “since I am not vaccinated, but when I am we might go see some family.”

“No, I would not travel, if I travel it’s in response to my graduation and I wouldn’t leave the state,” wrote

This graph shows the percentage of students choosing to travel over summer. Although COVID-19 has impacted travel plans and many are still fearful of traveling during a declining pandemic many students have still chosen to go on a variety of trips, trusting in the use of advancements such as the COVID-19 vaccines to keep them safe. Out of the 38 respondents of our survey, 63.2% reported having summer travel plans.

senior Thomas Sullivan.

Even among students that are traveling, anxiety about travel remains common.

“Yes, it’s still dangerous,” wrote freshman Annie Cassidy about whether she had reservations about traveling during COVID.

Many have taken specific precautions to mitigate their risk of contracting and spreading COVID.

“By the time we leave [for his trip] we should all have the vaccine, however, we are renting a beach house so I should be safer than a hotel,” wrote freshman Alexander Lee.

Junior Hanna Mullan has reservations about travel due to COVID-19.

“We will be driving and staying at our own house so I think it will be okay,” Mullan said.

“I will start traveling after getting the second dose of my vaccine and I’ll be wearing a mask of course and not sitting too close to people, not taking my mask off in the middle of a crowd,” wrote junior Nathalia Cadena

Overall, students believe enough people are sufficiently responsible that travel will be safe.

Noting some reservations about travel due to COVID-19, freshman

Ashley Conner wrote, “Besides flying and going somewhere with lots of people without masks, no I think traveling is fine as long as everyone takes precautions.”

Senior Erik Frias is not nervous about travel. “By now people know what’s expected of them and how to avoid being contagious,” he said.

“I am still cautious of COVID-19 numbers in the countries we will be visiting, and I’ve been paying attention to headlines in those places,” Rombach wrote. “However, we will all be fully vaccinated and eager to travel after a particularly challenging past year.”

As popular as travel is, students also have many other plans for summer.

From starting their careers or earning money with a summer job, to taking care of a new puppy, to learning a new skill, to hanging out with family and friends near them, the plans students have for the long days of summer are varied and unique. No matter how students choose to spend their summer, the main consensus seems to be best summed up by Buryniuks: “I want to take some time to relax after the stressful year.” •

Summer Orledge | Staff writer

Brood X

cicadas arrive on front lawn, mildly irritate lchs community

An ancient cycle. Lifeless husks piled at the base of trees. Constant, echoing screams. This may sound like the premise of a horror film, but in reality, it’s just the benign advent of Brood X- a generation of cicadas that rises from the soil once every seventeen years. Over the span of four to six weeks, these insects emerge, mate, lay eggs, and die. At the end of this cycle, their larvae, specifically called ‘nymphs’ since they mostly resemble adults, bury themselves ten to twelve inches underground. The nymphs then feed off of the liquid in plant roots. Later, as adults, they will molt their

shells and resurface to mate and lay eggs--which is what is happening now.

Cicadas lack individualized defense from predators- they don’t sting and they are not poisonous. The survival of their species relies on sheer numbers, since predators can’t eat them all. This sheer quantity is evident in the hum emitting from the front lawn of LCHS.

Teacher Lisa Fiorilli has been taking pictures to document the vast number of cicadas at her house. “At first, they were awesomely interesting,” Fiorilli said. “I loved seeing them emerge from

the grass and then climb the tree to cast their shells. After that, there were a few days of grossness as the discarded shells started to pile up.”

The sound on the front lawn has approached 80 decibels, which can be compared to the sound of traffic, a vacuum cleaner, or loud music. But the noise isn’t all bad. “As a musician, it was super cool to hear the varying levels of noisemaking, from the far away drone to the ebb and flow of their calls coming from the trees right above me,” Fiorilli said.

The cicadas declined to comment.

CARR SIGNS BOOK CONTRACT

Jevonte Herron | Staff Writer

Algebra teacher Karen Carr is publishing a book called “Allegheny Front” on July 6.

Carr has been writing her whole life but started taking it seriously not so long ago. She didn’t plan on creating a novel, but the idea seemed to take on a life of its own.

“I was intrigued by the idea of, how well could you really get to know somebody if you knew they were hiding their identity?,” Carr said. Her question turned into is a contemporary romance where two people fall in love while one is trying to hide their true identity.

According to Carr, it was a sixyear process of writing this book and finally getting it to the stage to publish, and one of the most chal-

lenging parts about being a writer is finding time.

“Between being a full-time teacher and a full-time mom, time is a precious commodity,” Carr said.

“From when I started to the date of publication, it will be a little over six years,” Carr said. For the math teacher, it was a learn-asyou-go situation as she navigated through writing, editing, rewriting, and publishing. It took four years to polish the piece until it was ready to query publishers. Finding a publisher took an additional six months.

As for her interest in writing and her choice to teach math, Carr says she could have taught English instead.

“I actually scored higher in English on my ACT then I did in math, however in late 1990s I was told I would have a much easier time finding a job teaching math,” said Carr, who credits her math background with helping her grammar in English.

“Diagramming sentences is a lot like doing mathematical proofs, so it made the grammatical part of writing very easy for me,” said Carr.

Some advice she gives to people that might want to publish a book: don’t ever fear writing a book because it is something she did and wasted time. “Don’t let fear stand in your way,” Carr said. “I wasted a good year just sitting on the project thinking it would never be good enough.” •

A headshot photo of Karen Carr that was taken February 2020 at Clear Brook Park in Winchester, Virginia.

“Diagramming sentences is a lot like doing mathematical proofs, so it made the grammatical part of writing very easy for me.”