Fork Union Military Academy Middle School Volume 19, Issue 2 October / November 2013

Headmaster’s Message By LTC Feathers “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercies endureth forever (1 Chron. 16:34).” I pray that all of you enjoy the upcoming Thanksgiving break with your family. Take time during this season to reflect on all of the blessings that God has given you. All of us are blessed beyond measure. Over the holiday break, make an effort to share these blessings. Begin by sharing kindness with those around you, especially to your family. Offer to babysit your little brother or sister. Be a help around the house. Offer to rake the leaves. Set the table. Clean up after meals. Keep your room clean. Take one day and do some volunteer work in your community. Spend quality time with your family. Go out of your way to express gratitude to those who have done so much to support you through your F.U.M.A. experience so far. And remember to take time to thank God for the many ways He shows His love to you every day. Enjoy your vacation!

Canned Food Drive

Inside this issue:

Eagle Eyrie Trip

2

Resource Tip Miamie Lewis Remem- 3 brance Exploratory Spotlight: Juggling

4

Drama

5

Operation Christmas Child Parents’ Weekend

6-7

Soccer

8

Swimming

9

Basketball

10

Wrestling

11

Word Search

12

FUMA Middle School cadets and faculty are accepting donations for our annual Alpha Co. vs. Beta Co. canned food drive. The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is in dire need of food, including: Cereal

Peanut Butter (all sizes)

Jelly

Rice

Dried beans

Peas

Muffin mix

Spaghetti and spaghetti sauce

Canned tomatoes

Canned tuna

Canned fruit

Canned beans (all kinds)

Canned corn Please donate. Help your son’s company win this competition while helping those in need in our community.

Did you know? Hatcher Hall was built in 1916.

Page 2

Volume 19 Issue 2

Middle School Students Attend “Ignite” Weekend

During the weekend of October 11-13, sixteen of our Middle School cadets, chaperoned by COL Todd Giszack and LTC Rob Feathers, enjoyed a fun, Spirit-filled weekend retreat at the Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Retreat Center, close to Lynchburg, VA. The program, attended by over 500 middle school students and their leaders from across the state of Virginia, focused on the theme "Ignite". The pastor for the weekend was Jeff Walker, a Christian author, evangelist, and the youth minister at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, GA. He inspired the middle school students with his energetic and challenging messages. The students were also inspired by "Declared", a Christian band, that had the crowd on its feet during the praise and worship sessions. Several of our cadets made decisions during the weekend to commit to a deeper relationship with God and to have a greater witness to their fellow cadets on campus.

Ms. Payne’s Resource Tip: Learn from your mistakes. Keep your old test/quiz papers and review them for future exams.

Volume 19, Issue 2

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Miamie Lewis By Brennan Stone, Bayonet Reporter In remembrance of Miamie Lewis, Captain Butt’s 6th grade English class planted a weeping cherry tree in front of the infirmary. Miamie Lewis was a nurse at FUMA for a great number of years. To remember her, we bought a 10 gallon weeping cherry tree at the local Lowes Hardware Store. There are five jobs related to caring for the tree: planting the tree, facts

about the tree, where to buy the tree, proposal to maintenance, and interviews about Mrs. Lewis. My partner, Justice Tyler, and I worked on where to buy the tree. So whenever you walk by the Infirmary stop and look at the beautiful weeping cherry tree.

The beautiful weeping cherry tree planted in remembrance of Mrs. Lewis.

CPT Butt’s 6th grade class pictured with relatives of Miamie Lewis.

The Bayonet

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Exploratory Spotlight: Juggling Interview by Brennan Stone Exploratory periods are designed to give cadets the opportunity to choose what they want to learn. Typically, they feature an activity that is outside the scope of a normal school day, such as archery, gardening, weight lifting, robotics, and juggling. Juggling? Staff reporter Brennan Stone interviewed CPT Butt, FUMA’s own resident juggling expert, to see what juggling is all about. Why do you like to juggle? CPT Butt: “I enjoy juggling because it allows me to escape from thinking about the rest of life, and focus on keeping some balls in the air. It gives me good hand-eye coordination, and I love the challenge of learning a new trick.” How did you become interested in juggling? CPT Butt: “When I was in middle school I had a friend who was interested in juggling, so we both learned together. We spent hours outside endlessly throwing balls in the air, and dropping them most of the time.” How do you teach others to do it? CPT Butt: “I start with a video put out by a professional juggler, who walks through some of the fundamental steps in juggling. We talk about stance, eye focus, hand placement, and breaking down the steps into smaller chunks. It is important to master each step before moving on to more complicated throws.” What is the hardest part of juggling? CPT Butt: “The hardest part of juggling is breaking bad habits, and retraining your mind to throw the balls with correct form. It is also hard to learn to control the throws, and not move around in a constant state of panic.”

Cadets Cainon Miles and Andrew Estes practice juggling.

CPT Butt juggling pins.

Volume 19 Issue 2

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Drama

By Dave Walker Drama is fun. We make the script come alive with our actions, and how we carry out our scenes. The 8th grade drama class is rehearsing a play called Area 51. Area 51 is about two FBI agents named Deacon and Brock that solve crimes and protect the planet. Slade is a geologist. Ernie is a nerd. Through all the hard work that everybody put into this play, we actors have formed a bond that can’t be explained by words. We don't complain about whatever we have to do; we just go out there and say our lines. When somebody forgets his line or lines, we help him remember them. I play Brock and the alien of Area 51. Come see our play! Cast: Brock-Dave Walker

Deacon-J.D. Yescas

Slade-Nathaniel Strickland

Ernie-Elie Shaw

Walker, Shaw, and Yescas in a scene from Area 51.

Operation Christmas Child FUMA Middle School cadets are once again participatong in Operation Christmas Child. This is a program through which needy children around the globe can experience God’s love and magic of Christmas. For more information on the program, visit http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operationchristmas-child/ . Our students are still collecting items to stuff the shoeboxes. An update, including number of boxes, completed will appear in the Christmas edition of The Bayonet. Thanks to all who have contributed to this worthy cause.

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The Bayonet Parents’ Weekend 2013

FUMA’s annual Parents’ Weekend was held October 18-21. Over the course of the weekend, most parents of Middle School cadets were on campus meeting with teachers, watching a football or soccer game, enjoying the Parents Association dinner, or watching the parade. highlight for the cadets was going on leave from Saturday afternoon through Monday evening. For some, this was the first leave since Opening Weekend, and they were excited to have some “civilian” time out of uniform with the Xbox.

s’ s t en ure r a ct P i e p m d So ken ee W

Volume 19 Issue 2

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What did you do while you were on leave Parents’ Weekend? I went home on leave after the parade on Parents’ Weekend. I visited my old school to talk about FUMA. I told them about the uniforms we wear every day and all about my classes. While I was at my home, I played with my little brother, played the Xbox all day, and played basketball with my friends. I had to come back to FUMA Monday afternoon so I could get prepared for study hall. It was a good weekend. ~Elie Bracy I went to the movies. ~Eli Shaw

I played on the farm and on my iPod. ~Hunter Johnson I went to the UVA football game. ~Chase Kaufman I went to the river with my family. ~Nick Johnson All of my friends came over and stayed at my house. ~Irie Little I spent the weekend at home getting ready for hunting season. ~Hardy Pemberton

I didn’t really do much, but I did go visit my old teachers at my old school.

I spent time with my family and relaxed.

~Trevor Lee

~Scott Boyd

My grandparents came down from New York and spent the weekend with us. ~Blake Chiovaro

My family came down from New York and Nashville and we went go-cart riding.

On Parents’ Weekend, I went to North Carolina to see some cousins that we hadn't seen in a long time. We also went to the state fair and went on lots of roller coasters. After that, we ate. I had a big chili cheese dog, and boy, was it good. We went back to the hotel and watched a movie. The movie was called “Pacific Rim.” It was really confusing, but really cool. After that we went to bed. My parents were really glad to see me. They had missed me. It was good to see them. The next day we went back to Fork Union. That was what I did for Parents’ Weekend. ~Corey Lawrence We had my sister’s birthday party. ~Brennan Stone My brother came in from LA to see me, we went out to eat, and then I just messed around.

~Cainon Miles

~Joseph Pham

I went to see my grandpa in the hospital.

Watched TV and relaxed.

Absolutely nothing.

~Zach Vance

~Ben Gary

~Nathaniel Strickland

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The Bayonet

Soccer: Collegiate vs. FUMA By Brennan Stone, Bayonet Reporter On Tuesday, November 22, FUMA Middle School team beat Collegiate 5-0. Julian Yescas scored three goals, and Justice Tyler and Alec Durr each scored once. The whole team played well. Peter Cagnina had some beautiful centers and crosses. Steven Tidman and Hunter Johnson had some nice touches. Alec Durr made an awesome sliding shot but missed the goal just slightly. Over all it was a good game for everybody, especially Julian Yescas, the MVP of the game. Bring it on! Graves-Marchand is ready for action!

Volume 19 Issue 2

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Swimming By Benjamin Gary, Bayonet Reporter Swimming is one of the sports that is available to cadets during the winter season. When we first get to the pool, we do thirty minutes of dry land exercises which include stretching, jumping jacks, and medicine ball exercises. Once we are in the water, some of us do 25 free swim laps, then we do a lot more water exercising. Twenty-five free is just doing any stroke two times around the pool. Our pool is 25 meters long, quite a distance to swim from end to end. When you join the team, you are telling the coach that you won’t quit, and it is on your honor that you are on the team.

Fork Union 4-Miler The Fork Union 4-Miler was run the morning of Nov. 2. Approximately 70 runners of all different ages participated in the event. FUMA Middle School students did very well, and our very own J.D. Yescas won. Brennan Stone sat down with J.D. to find out how he was feeling about such a big victory. Why did you want to participate in the 4-Miler? J.D.: “ I participated because I like to run and I was trying to get ready for states in Cross Country.” What was your 4-Miler goal? J.D.: “I was just trying to get under 26 minutes.” What was it like to win the 4-Miler? J.D.: “I was tired and very relieved I finished 1st.” Other Middle School finishers: 5. CPT Butt 26. Blake Chiovaro

8. Scott Robel

13. Jared Giszack

38. David Muench 40. Zac Miller

Congratulations to all who participated in this event.

21. Thomas Snow

The Bayonet

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Basketball Try-Outs Winter means it’s basketball season, and our cadets love to play basketball! Practice and conditioning kicked off on Nov. 4th. Coach Payne was excited by the number of potential players who came out, and the great work she has seen in practice. Twenty-two cadets showed up for try-outs, but the team had to be pared down to twelve. Competition was fierce as each young man gave his all in hopes of securing one of those coveted spots on the team roster. Several cadets returned from last year’s team. They are expected to provide leadership and direction to the less experienced members. Congratulations to all who made the team! Members of the 2013-14 FUMA Middle School Basketball Team are:

Elie Bracy Larry Elder Jonathan Ilori Tyson Marlow Zac Miller Cameron Smith Justice Tyler

Blake Chiovaro Thai Greer Chase Kaufman John Meheen David Scher

Middle School Basketball Schedule Date

Title

Tue, 12/10/2013 - 4:30pm

Home: Middle School Basketball vs. Prospect Heights Middle School

Thu, 12/12/2013 - 5:30pm

Away: Middle School Basketball vs. Goochland Middle School

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 4:00pm

Away: Middle School Basketball vs. Prospect Heights Middle School

Fri, 01/10/2014 - 4:30pm

Away: Middle School Basketball vs. Fluvanna Middle School

Thu, 01/16/2014 - 4:30pm

Home: Middle School Basketball vs. St. Christopher's School

Thu, 01/23/2014 - 5:00pm

Home: Middle School Basketball vs. Goochland Middle School

Tue, 01/28/2014 - 4:00pm

Home: Middle School Basketball vs. Collegiate School

Fri, 02/07/2014 (All day)

Away: Middle School Basketball vs. St. Christopher's School

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 6:00pm

Away: Middle School Basketball vs. Collegiate School

Volume 19 Issue 2

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Wrestling Try-Outs The wrestling season kicked off Monday, Nov. 4. Practice and conditioning started with twelve hopeful cadets vying for ten spots. Each cadet worked hard to set himself apart from the others. With three strong returning members, Scott Boyd, James McMurtrie, and Steven Tidman expected to lead the team, Coach Greenspon is optimistic about the season. Congratulations to members of the 2013-14 FUMA Middle School Wrestling team:

Peter Cagnina John Graves-Marchand Trevor Lee Irie Little David Middleton

Joshua Henriques James McMurtrie

Work out with Upper School team: Scott Boyd Joseph Pham Nick Johnson

Strong abs are essential for wresting. These leg lifts are brutal.

Middle School Wrestling Schedule DATE

OPPONENT

SITE

TIME

Thur. 9 Jan.

St. Christopher's

Richmond, VA

4:00 PM

Tues. 14 Jan.

Prospect Heights MS

Fork Union

4:00 PM

Fri. 17 Jan.

New Kent MS

New Kent, VA

5:00 PM

Fri. 24 Jan.

Collegiate School

Richmond, VA

Tues. 4 Feb.

St. Christopher's

Fork Union

4:00 PM

The Bayonet

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Thanksgiving Word Search R

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“Give thanks to the Lord. Call on him. Make known among the nations what he has done.” Psalm 105:1