Teamwork can be both journey and destination
Teamwork is the action of multiple people, especially when done efficiently and effectively.
Teamwork is needed in the classroom, on the court and on the field. Students and players need to work as a team in order to prepare for their future, especially in occupations, which may include the understanding of different perspectives, encourage productivity, communication and the ability to build relationships.
For the first time in NCS history, our girls’ cross country team won the VISAA state championships for the first time in NCS history. Kerrigan Chaney ‘25, an exceptional and lifelong runner, has been running solo until enough girls were registered to make a full team. She has never had a full team until her senior year. The championship team consisted of many 8th grade runners with extreme potential.
“It felt really good to win [as a team],” Chaney admitted, “I cried when I found out we won. And that’s unusual.”
Our boys’ soccer, football, and cross country teams may have lost the state championships- but what victory is most important?
whether it’s with 8th graders or seniors. We had some big wins. We played great in the semis 48-0 against Fredericksburg Christian. We all felt good about states; we just got down at half when it seemed like nobody really wanted to fight back. It was a great season, though and even if we lose, it’
Nate Bonds ‘25 said, “it’s the chemistry as a team. It’s so we can all be on the same page. We all want the same result. If our team is winning, I’m winning. Mentally and physically.”
On Nov. 7 in northern Virginia, our boys’ soccer team lost to Seton School 4-2.
Boys’ football, which had won the past two years of state championships, succumbed after a hard uphill battle against Blue Ridge’s team 14-12 on Nov. 16. The Raiders had beaten the Knights last year, not to mention winning the BRAC the last two years.
“Not only is it fun to work with the guys, it’s beneficial,” said Walker Reel ‘27. “We are learning how to work together. Everyone matters on the football team and we have to look out for each other. Teamwork is listening to your coaches and other members. To me it’s a whole team working together
Founded in 2010 and based in the Journalism elective, The Willis Hall Herald is the official student-led publication of the Upper School at North Cross School. The Herald may be published in magazine form three or more times per year. Founded in 2017 and produced by the Herald staff, GeoPrism: A Global Studies Journal may be published in magazine form once or twice per year. The Herald welcomes letters, commentary and submissions of original content that adhere to the Herald’s dedication to factual journalism. Letters and other content must be signed and may be edited for length and Herald style. The Herald does not guarantee publication of outside submissions. Submit letters to willishallherald@northcross.org. The Herald won Gold Medals from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2012 and 2015. The Herald is also a member of the National Student Press Association.
Even feeling the loss of states, senior midfielder, Hunter Basile ‘25, still broke and reset a record for goals scored in a game. Dean Cote ‘25 said “Being a senior gave me a sense of leadership and duty as I knew I was a role model and my actions would shape the behaviors of others. Teamwork was crucial as we had lost about 8 starting seniors from the previous season, we had to come together and figure out how we were gonna fill this large hole and it was really a team effort to do that.”
Teamwork is needed in the classroom as well. Students need to work as a team in order to prepare for their future, especially in occupations, which may include the understanding of different perspectives, encourage productivity, communication and the ability to build relationships.
As a team, we have been able to publish two issues this year for the Herald. One being published only three weeks after the last. Our special issue was made to honor the championship teams whether they had won the last game of their season or not; teamwork is the real accomplishment.
TEAM HERALD: Anna Ciccozzi created this chart of how editing works from her summer camp.
Give thanks to veterans
By Mason Bibby
Benjamin Franklin, then the delegate for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, was reportedly asked: “So what’ll it be, Mr. Franklin? An empire or a monarchy?” Franklin, a seasoned patriot and established intellectual on the heels of the Enlightenment, simply responded with “A republic, if you can keep it.”
It seems those words have been heeded–and the call answered by the few who revered the government “by the people, for the people” that Franklin and his fellow delegates conceived. On November 11 of each year–Veterans’ Day–we commemorate those who did.
It is an honor and a privilege to devote an entire day of our lives to the service, commitment, and sacrifice of members of our Armed Forces–brave Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coastguardsmen, and Guardians. I was fortunate enough to be selected to demonstrate that premise this Veterans’ Day. Furthermore, we should ensure that every day is some iteration of Veterans’ Day, and we should live each day knowing that the nation we are so fortunate to live, work, play, and protest in freely is, in fact, not free.
I will reiterate what I said on the 11th: all gave some, and some gave all. We should forever extol and venerate those who left their homes to defend an ideal–a promise–greater than themselves.
Because America is not a land where despots, kings, or tyrants rule. It is a land of freedom. Democracy. Liberty. It is a land of dreamers, doers, thinkers, and believers. America is a nation that never shrinks back from a challenge. One that picks itself back up when it gets knocked down. And one that knows it is better to die on its feet than live on its knees.
We have not ourselves to thank for this. A country so honorable, so noble, so moral, was not simply the will of those who govern it. It was the will of the people—specifically, those who answered the call of duty.
So this November, reflect. Reflect on the freedoms you hold dear. Reflect on the sacrifices that your forefathers made to create the America we all hold dear. And thank a veteran, for they are often inconspicuous, but they have made contributions that the nation would never be the same without.
Caption Contest
Caption Contest Winner
“Revengegiving” -- Noah Shorey ‘26
Commander Kuyper shares more of his Army experience
By Fiona Parnell
Chris Kuyper, director of security operations, former Roanoke county police officer and Army veteran gave remarks at the Veterans Day assembly on Nov. 11. Along with active duty Sergeant Trevor Poulin, they spoke about the national holiday including its history and importance. They discussed their personal experiences, and commemorated the brave men and women who have served and lost their lives fighting for our country.
In an interview, Kuyper described himself growing up as a quiet, reserved, smaller kid who wanted to pursue a field that would challenge him both mentally and physically to prepare him for future endeavors of life. Kuyper had no interest in joining the military until an Army recruiter visted his high school in his junior year. After multiple discussions with the recruiter, Kuyper ultimately decided that serving his country was the correct path. The decision to serve did not just come from
VETERAN: Commander Chris Kuyper speaks at this year’s Veteran’s Day assembly. Photo by Monica Koene
his own personal goals, but also from his admiration for the individuals who serve and have served our nation.
Kuyper began his military career stationed at Ft.
Hood Texas, recently renamed Ft Cavazos. Upon joining the military, Kuper’s family was shocked at his decision and swift transition to training camp. On the other hand his friends were not surprised as many of them had also enlisted.
“We would usually take leave at the same time,” Kuyper said, “so it was not only great to see and hang out with them when we were home, but to also see the positive change in them. Literally, we felt we left for basic training as boys, but returned as men.”
Kuyper served in the Army as a Signal Intelligence Specialist in the 504th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade. When asked about the purpose of his role, Kuyper said, “The mission of the brigade was to conduct multi-disciplined intelligence collection, exploitation, and analysis operations during contingency missions worldwide.” Kuyper served for three years until his enlistment period ended. Kuyper spent a few months back home in Buffalo, NY as he struggled with the
Illustration by Anna Ciccozzi
Taylor Swift is ‘The
Man’
By Fiona Parnell
Singer and songwriter, Taylor Swift, is a globally renowned star within the music industry. Swift is arguably the most successful artist in history due to her countless rewards, music versatility, and influence on society. Swift is the most streamed artist on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and Amazon Music making her the most streamed artist of all time. Swift is constantly topping the charts and regularly breaks records she sets. Swift has been hitting No.1 and having world tours since her second album “Fearless” was released back in 2008. Swift’s current world tour “The Eras Tour” has sold out every one of the whopping 149 shows; estimated 12 million attendees spanning across five continents, and was recently named the highest grossing tour in history. The Eras Tour movie is the highest grossing box office concert film of all time and sold 2.2 billion tickets in North America alone. Swift is also the first artist to reach billionaire status solely from music. Not only is Swift widely recognized for her music, but also her actions within advocacy, philanthropy and shaping of pop culture.
Taylor Swift’s fans, often called Swifties, are known for their unconditional love and loyalty to Swift and her music. Although Swifties are technically just a fanbase, their passion for Swift goes way beyond that. Swifties have essentially created their own community through her music. Swifties use Swift’s music to spread ideals of positivity and kindness, to not only each other but also the general public. Swifties create a safe space to relate their experiences described in Swift’s discography. The relationship between Swifties comes from the emotional and personal aspects of Swift’s music. Swift dives deep into her insecurities and describes her emotions through descriptive imagery in storytelling lyrics, making her music relatable and healing for many.
Despite Swift’s unmatched success and prosperity within the entertainment industry (and perhaps because of it), she and Swifties face
large amounts of criticism on a regular basis. By some, Swifties are viewed as “dramatic,” “insane,” “annoying,” “obsessive” and “crazy teenage girls” to name a few. These types of comments have been especially circulating recently because of her current record breaking world tour. The large amount of media attention surrounding the tour has sparked negativity on all social media platforms and political news channels.
Concertgoers often post videos either at the concert or in support of Swift. Many of these videos are of the emotional whiplash many fans feel when Taylor first appears or when hearing their favorite song. These types of videos have provoked certain groups of people to lecture both Swift and her fans using the deemed stereotypes as an attempt to question the validity of the impact of Swift and her influence on fans, specifically females. The majority of Swift’s fans are women and majority of her “haters” are men.
The most interesting part about this is not only failure to recognize Swift’s success and impact, but also the disregard of other fan bases’ behavior, whether that be sports, music, or influencers, especially predominantly male ones. No one bats an eye when it comes to half-naked men who have painted their whole body their favorite team’s colors to attend a game, but Swifties do when they plan themed outfits and put glitter on their face for a concert: it’s “stupid” Absolutely no concern about men repeatedly checking and
“Concertgoers often post videos either at the concert or in support of Swift. . . . Many of these videos are of the emotional whiplash many fans feel when Taylor first appears or when hearing their favorite song. These types of videos have provoked certain groups of people to lecture both Swift and her fans.”
memorizing their favorite players’ names, numbers, positions, performance, and stats, but when you know every lyric to her song it’s “insane” There’s no problem when men camp outside hours before games to tailgate and get drunk, but getting to the Eras tour early to gather outside the stadium to trade friendship bracelets and sing is. It’s fine when a grown man throws a temper tantrum because a player doesn’t catch the ball, he is just “passionate.” Or when their team loses, they throw something at the TV or punch a wall. When they shout derogatory terms at the opposing team or fans, that’s just loyalty right?
There’s no problem because they are just “passionate” about their team and having fun, but when Swifties do it not only passionately but positively, unlike some men, they are cruelly ridiculed and put in a bad light.
The truth is the problem does not involve the so-called “extremism” and obsessiveness of Swifties, but lies within the internalized sexism and toxic masculinty deeply integrated into society. Swift’s domination of the music industry is not acknowledged by the vast majority of males and they refuse to accept her achievements. They deflect their internalized misogyny onto Swift by undermining her achievements and diverting media attention using her “crazy” fans, dating life for character assassin. From a young age, women are taught to accept male behavior as normalized in all aspects of life. Whether explicitly stated or not, sexism is integrated into the way society thinks about and views women, especially successful women, which is the reason why the “Swifties” face so much criticism.
As Taylor Swift said in her 2019 album Lover: “If I was a man, then I’d be THE man”
FEARLESS: Taylor Swift sings songs from her early “Era” during a concert in May of 2023. Photo by Ryan Hunt
Studies find that students need more sleep
By Kaitlyn Perkins
OShould the school day start later?
n Nov. 12 during morning assembly, Upper School students had the privilege of having Dr. Shannon Farris, Assistant Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, speak about what neuroscience is and what she and her team do. Somewhere in the middle of her speech, I remember hearing her mention the importance of sleep and its connection to both learning and retaining information effectively. This got me thinking; would I do better in school if I slept more?
As highschool students, we often face the dilemma of having too much to do and not enough hours in the day. Many students at North Cross participate in sports and other extracurricular activities on top of all their school work. Between going from school to sports or to extracurriculars and then home to do homework, scarf down a meal and take a shower, time can be scarce. This can lead to getting to bed at an ungodly hour, which will only make such a busy daily routine even more difficult for students to maintain.
The article “Nightly Sleep is Key to Student Success” from Carnegie Mellon University talked about a study done at CMU which looked at the connection between sleep and academic performance among college students. The study found that the students on average “sleep 6.5 hours per night, but negative outcomes accumulate when students received less than six hours.” However, the article states that “sleep guidelines recommend teenagers get eight to10 hours of sleep every night.” The Center for Disease Control recommends that teenagers get eight to ten hours of sleep per night. Contrary to that information, the CDC states that a nation-wide study on high school students found that “about 7 out of 10 (72.7%) did not get enough sleep on school nights.” The CDC states that “children and adolescents who do not get enough sleep have a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, and problems with attention and behavior.”
The Office of Neuroscience Research at Washington University in St. Louis published the article “More sleep leads to better grades and well-being.” The article notes that in a study by Tim Bono, PhD, lecturer in psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, found that, “students who get a good night’s sleep night in and night out earn higher marks and feel a stronger sense of well-being than those with fluctuating sleep schedules.” Another study he did found that “the students who reported the most stable, consistent sleep patterns earned a GPA of 3.66, on average, while the students with the most variable sleep earned a GPA of 3.21. Students with regular sleep patterns also reported higher levels of well-being. These effects held even when controlling for SAT scores and baseline happiness.”
Dr. Farris shared her knowledge of the connection between sleep and performance through an email she sent me.“Sleep is required for our brains to function, although the exact reasons for this are not entirely clear. There are some recent studies in rodents that give us hints as to why sleep is important for central nervous system function. Firstly, during sleep (or when under anesthesia), the fluid flow in the brain and spinal cord increases, and it’s been proposed that this increase in flow cleans the cellular debris generated throughout the day from our brains. This is consistent with why brain disorders (anxiety, depression, dementia) can be caused or exacerbated by a lack of sleep (without sleep, junk and debris build up and make brain functioning more difficult). Secondly, a very recent study showed that the more synaptic plasticity that occurs (changes in the strength of synaptic connections that is the molecular basis of memory) the more delta oscillations are generated, which are low frequency waves that promote restful sleep. Thus, the more you learn, the more your brain is driven to sleep! So, I would argue that quality and length of sleep should correlate with learning performance. However, learning has to occur—so sleep alone will not make you smarter, but sleeping after learning certainly will. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 8-10 hours of sleep for every 24 hours for teenagers.”
A possible solution to help students improve the amount of sleep they get could be by starting the school day off later. If the school day started at 8:30 or 8:45, perhaps students would do better in class having gotten more sleep. I was fortunate enough to spend a year in New Zealand and experience going to a school there. I attended New Plymouth Girls’ High. It was very different, but a huge difference was that school started at 8:40 a.m. and ended at 3:20 p.m. I not only got to sleep more, but I felt more energetic throughout the day. Perhaps if NCS followed a similar schedule, students would have better concentration and participation in class, on the sports fields and in their extracurriculars throughout the day.
I understand that transportation is something to consider when revising school start times. However, if parents or caregivers had to drop off students earlier in the day, the students would be able to complete their assignments in the time before school starts and catch up on sleep the night before, saving 30 minutes or so of work to do before class starts in the morning. A concern teachers might have due to the later start in the school day might be having to shorten classes. However, having experienced going to a school that started later, I can safely say that the 30 or so start time difference does not have a sizable impact on class at all. After all, it is a seven hour school day and I don’t think cutting out 1/14 of the school day is really going to affect the amount students learn a day. I honestly believe that a well rested student will learn more in a shorter amount of time then a tired one would learn in a longer amount of time.
Finally, the question that may be pressing a critic’s mind; how do we know that students are using the extra time to sleep instead of scrolling the internet or goofing off. The answer; you don’t.
Kemp subs for Sledd’s classes
Morgan Kemp sits at graphic design and yearbook teacher Sarah Sledd’s desk, who is on maternity leave for the remainder of the school year. An email to the Upper School faculty instroduced Kemp as “coming from the YMCA Youth and Family Department. She has two beautiful daughters and is from a military family. Roanoke is the 16th place she has lived!” She said her husband works at a local BMW business, so we might expect to see her riding in style. Photo by Nola Daninger
Commander Kuyper
Continued from page 3
choice to either reenlist or enroll in college. After careful consideration, in August of 1991 Kuyper decided that he would continue his military career and aspired to be a part of the Army’s Special Forces. Kuyper began filling out enlistment papers and taking tests to prepare for his next Army journey when a tragedy happened that would change his life path forever.
On October 16, 1991, a mass casualty incident occurred at Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, TX. Luby’s Cafeteria was a restaurant that Kuyper frequently ate at while stationed at Ft. Hood. As a result of this horrific incident, Twenty-three people were killed and as a result Kuyper withdrew his enlistment papers.
Subsequently, Kuyper began to search for a career in law enforcement to help prevent incidents like the one at Luby’s Cafeteria from ever happening again. In 1994 Kuyper moved to Roanoke County and was hired as a police officer and became a team leader on the Roanoke County SWAT. Upon returning home from service, many veterans experience various mental illnesses like PTSD, depression, anxiety, addiction, etc. due to the high levels of stress and traumatic events experienced during instances such as combat.
“I have been fortunate enough not to have struggled with mental health challenges throughout my military and law enforcement career,” he said. “I give full credit to ??? help me get through the daily challenges and life as a police officer to my wife who is my rock and a great support system when I needed her. Not everyone can be a law enforcement and/or military spouse and navigate the challenges that come with those jobs successfully. A study found that 65-70% of first responders’ first marriages end in divorce. We’ve been married for almost 25 years now”
New student from New Jersey
PEACEFUL TRANSITION: Sharmithaa Maheswaran ‘26 poses for the camera after starting on some classwork, collaborating with her new student ambassador, Maggie Bibby ‘26. Although only arriving recently, Sharmithaa has already proven herself to be an industrious worker, citing her love for both science and history. When asked about her favorite subjects, she lit up and said, “Anything science related, probably specifically like biology and I also do like history classes a lot.” She mentioned her hometown of Edison, New Jersey, and this piqued my interest. Why did her family decide to leave in the first place? “My parents, their jobs, moved here. So I guess that’s what brought me to the school,” she explained. “And my parents were researching for high schools in the area, and they found this high school, so let’s go. And they basically said it’s, like, really academic, and it’s known for a lot of things.” Photo and caption by Mason Bibby
many high profile incidents. An incident that haunts our community forever, the 2007 Virginia Tech school shooting, was one of Kuyper’s most significant endeavors while a part of the Roanoke County police force. As a result of the active threat phenomenon and Kuyper’s work in our community to prevent and respond to the threat, the FBI provided him with an Executive Fellowship position with their Active Shooter and Violence Reduction Unit in Washington, DC. Kuyper filled that position for two years until he retired on May 1, 2022.
In June 2023, North Cross Head of School Armistead Lemon asked Kuyper to apply for the Director of Security position following several conversations with her about campus security. “I feel blessed every single day that I get to spend time building a robust safety and security program at the school and to engage and build relationships with our North Cross community” Kuyper said, as he reflected on his time at North Cross.
“We would usually take leave at the same time, so it was not only great to see and hang out with them when we were home, but to also see the positive change in them. Literally, we felt we left for basic training as boys, but returned as men.” - Chris Kuyper
For Kuyper, he sees Veteran’s Day as “a formal day that we, as a country, can honor our military veterans and make them feel as special as they are. To me, every day is Veterans Day and I find myself seeking those who have served no matter where I am, so I can take a moment from my day to thank them for their service.”
A favorite memory of Kuyper’s from the military is when he was in Army Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, SC. One of Kuyper’s fellow platoon soldiers received a care package from his parents back in New Jersey. Once training day ended, he opened the package to find a Whopper from Burger King amongst the other goodies from home in the box. The soldier ended up cutting the burger into 12 slices and everyone in the room were able to take a bite. “I think I held that little piece of Whopper in my mouth for about ten minutes before I swallowed it. After being removed from the civilian world for months, you really learn to appreciate the little things in life.”
During his time of duty as a member of SWAT, Kuyper was involved in
“When I come across a veteran of a foreign war, I love taking the time to speak with them about their service and sacrifice,” he said. “Every veteran has a story (or three), and I feel honored to have them share their story with me and to build a bond with them. We live in an amazing country and I am beyond thankful we have people who would lay it all on the line to defend our Nation and for people they don’t even know”
Although Officer Kuyper has only been at North Cross for a short period of time, he has made a substantial and lasting impact already. Kuyper’s dedication to keeping the student body, faculty, and campus protected while also bringing light and perspective to our curriculum and student life is admirable and truly amazing to see. The North Cross community thanks Officer Kuyper for his unwavering commitment to not only keep our school safe, but his fight for the safety of all Americans.
North Cross blood helps Red Cross save lives
What does kindness mean?
On
World
Kindness Day, students and teachers offer a variety of answers.
By Mia Esposito
If you Google kindness, it is a noun that is “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.”
However, in reality kindness can mean different things to different people. That’s why I decided to ask our students and staff what it means to them. As you read their answers, think of the commonalities and differences. What do your peers think kindness is?
“Kindness to me honestly means standing up for what you believe in,” Spanish teacher Zoe Mullins said, “and giving other people the kind of treatment that you would like yourself.” Mullins seems to think of the Golden Rule.
Who better to ask about kindness than our beloved Director of Student Life Stephen Belderes?
“The first thing that pops in my head has got to be the golden rule.” Hmm, this sounds familiar does it? “That’s what overall kindness is. . . . The golden rule. Period. That’s what it is.”
Well, it seems that some people have made up their mind: The golden rule, no question about it, but some students found different ways to define its meaning.
Freshman class treasurer George Lugar ‘28 “Kindness means respecting others and treating people how you want to be treated.”
Maggie Bibby ‘27 says, “Kindness is being honest and thoughtful.”
Huw Wente ‘28 thinks kindness is: “Greatness, because I think it brings all the world together.”
So kindness is a way we can all connect? A way for us to be unified in trying times?
Kindness and unity go hand in hand.
Touching on this fact, DEI Director Debbie Taylor thinks it’s important to celebrate World Kindness Day, “Because the world we live in right now, we’re so self-absorbed, and so many people are doing so many unkind things. It’s just one day everyone can stop all around the world and just focus on kindness.”
So, how have these people that shared with us their definition of kindness see it around them?
Well, let’s see. Wente thinks “It’s huge when people open the door for other people at this school.”
“Recognizing that people exist. The smile, the wave,” she said. Acknowledgement is key for Mullins, and it seems like she agrees with Wente. It’s “the simple things.”
“People here, cause I just moved
“A
major act of kindness . . . is when there is a student sitting by themselves, or all alone, and another student goes up to them and invites them to join in the activity.”
BE KIND: Naiel Ferron ‘28 writes a kind qoute outside math teacher Jennifer Sprouce’s room. This shows North Cross School’s students embracing World Kindess Day.
Photo by Mia Esposito and caption by Shree Patel here,” Sharmithaa Bhaani Maheswaran ‘26, “and people have been really nice to me.” This ties in with Mullins’ idea of acknowledgement, so is that the real act of kindness?
Echoing Mullins is Dr. Daniel Hood.
“A major act of kindness I like to see is when there is a student sitting by themselves,” he said, “or all alone,
and another student goes up to them and invites them to join in the activity.”
Now we have a picture of what kindness means, treating others how you would want to be treated and a sense of unity. And a picture of acts of kindness, acknowledging others and the little things that let them know you care.
BLOODY GOOD CAUSE: Juniors Brandon Carey and Carter Krzeminski man the reception table on Nov. 20. They organized the event along with Leyton Sturm ‘25 (right), who won some Christmas socks. Ava Dalaski ‘26 smiles while recovering from giving her blood. She said her arm went numb initially. Photos by Tracy Schaefer
SPLATTER: As the forensics class tests the splattering of blood, Indira Weed ‘25 poses with a bloody knife. During their fourth period class, the students within the forensics class were led outside to conduct an experiment on the splattering of blood with teacher Jennifer Landry piloting the experiment by attempting an example. “It was really fun to go outside and test the different blood splatter techniques,” Anna Ciccozzi ‘26 said, “and my favorite part was the cast-off spatter where we pretended to stab somebody.” Through further questioning, it was mutually agreed throughout the members of the group that Fiona Parnell ‘26 had the best stab and splatter. “This was one of the most exciting experiments that we have done in this class,” said Lauren Boone ‘25, “and I think that Forensics is one of the most interesting classes.” Photo and caption by Akali Koeda
Thor Construction wishes the Class of 2025
SPLAT! Forensics students display blood castoff. STEM director Jennifer Landry’s fourth period Forensic Science students conducted a blood spatter lab on a 76-degree warm day in November. Junior and senior students analyzed the way splatters of blood can differ on sheets of paper, cardboard, plastic and other materials. Students displayed how certain movements can change the shape of how blood drops appear and wrote lab reports with the information they gathered. Photo by Akali Koeda
Forensics students enjoy study of blood splatter Robotics team prepares for competitions in early 2025
Hello Human: Zuhair Mirza and Luke Daniel work hard to try to attach an extendable arm to the base platform of the robotics’ teams robot. The team of 13 has been working for over two months now, and have run into a few problems along the way, but they have slowly overcome them. They will have a competition in early 2025 using their robot to collect small samples and use them to score. “I think it’s really good so far this year, and we got a good head start because we had the base already kind of built,” said Dr. Timothy Naginey, one of the leaders of the robotics team. As he said, the team did have a head start using a pre-built base from last year’s competition, however the arm has been the major problem so far, as it is currently being held on by “a wish and a prayer,” as some might say, or as the rest of the group calls it “some zip ties and duct tape.” Despite this, the team still has high hopes and continues to work as the deadline for the competition nears, with the first on Jan. 18 in Harrisonburg and the second on Jan. 26 in Bassett. Photo and caption by Joaquin Downey
GIRLS WIN!
By Kaitlyn Perkins
Raiders Girls Cross Country was ready. We trained all season for the moment, our moment to shine at the VISAA state championship race.
This was a big race for the girls, especially for senior team captain, the great Kerrigan Chaney. Chaney had already won this race the past two years. On Nov. 8 she set out successfully for her three-peat, winning her final NCS cross country race, but for the first time, with a team.
“For Kerrigan, for Kerrigan, for Kerrigan.” Ainsley Myles‘27, me, Kaitlyn Perkins ‘28, Lizzie Carter ‘29, Lilian Philips ‘29, Madison Ball ‘29, and Olivia Ball ‘29 chanted and fist-bumped as we waited anxiously to start the race.
“Olivia and Lizzie had to make a big move in the last two kilometers to close down the points on Trinity Christian,” Coach Ed Dickenson said “while Kaitlyn and Lillian both finished inside the top-20 for All-State distinction.”
It was Chaney’s last cross country race with the NCS girls. She deserved a team win to solidify her legacy. She doesn’t need another gold medal to add to her too-many-to-count collection. What she needed was the memory of leading her team of girls to their first ever state championship, and she did.
“It felt really good to win [as a team],” Chaney admitted, “I cried when I found out we won.”
(Jacob Johnson contributed reporting.)
Virginia Milesplit Report www.va.milesplit.com
“In the girls race, the North Cross girls came on strong late in the season and even though they moved up a division from a year ago, they were able to score a solid victory. The girls form Trinity Christian put up a valiant effort led by three all-state finishers . . . . But North Cross also had three all state runners in Kerrigan Chaney, Kaitlyn Perkins, and Lillian Phillips, who were able to outpace the Trinity girls to victory.
“Kerrigan Chaney rose to the occasion now running in a higher division and continued her VISAA domination. She was able to drop runner-up Isabella Curtis of Peninsula Catholic early on and win her third straight VISAA championship. Her finishing time of 18:38 was the second fastest girls time of the day.”
READY: Above left to right: Kerrigan Chaney, Lizzie Carter, Madison Ball, Kaitlyn Perkins and Lillian Phillips prepare to race. Behind Ball aim to place high in case of tiebreakers. Below left in the chart, see times, placings and points for all seven girls. Photos by Karen Perkins
CHAMPS Six runners earn all-state honors
It runs in the family Multiple sibling sets help XC flourish
By Jacob Johnson
While the entire team celebrated the success of the girls first state championship, four sibling sets filled the roster.
Kerrigan ‘25 and Finton ‘27 Chaney, Josh ‘25 and Caleb ‘28
Miao, Harry ‘25 and Peter ‘27 Anderson, twins Madison and Olivia Ball ‘29, all ran for the varsity this year. The Ball’s ran with younger brother Gavin ‘30 on the Middle School team. Last year Alex ‘24 and Gabe Dickenson ‘29 shared workouts on the cross country team spanning seven years, the boys and girls team.
Not many people were aware of the coincidence of the amount of siblings that inhabit the team. Kerrigan and Finn’s mom, Darcy McGrath, suggested that someone in the newspaper should talk about the amount of siblings on the team. This opened not only my and the team’s eyes but fellow journalist and cross country teammate, Kaitlyn Perkins ‘28.
“I don’t really notice because on the team like siblings would,” Perkins said. “We push each other and compete to get better.”
The wave of eighth graders got to shine on the varsity and assisted on the first ever win for girls cross country in the history of NCS.”It was a team effort from beginning to end,” Head Coach Ed Dickenson said, “reflecting the character and heart that our girls’ team has shown all season. Amazing performance!”
Twin troubles: Olivia Ball ran a 21:51, the fourth fastest time among the Raider girls and cementing the championship with her 24th-place finish. In only her second varsity race, her sister Madison came in at 23:33, putting her at 63rd overall. More than 150 girls ran in the Div. II race.
Another sibling duo that seems to fly under the radar is Josh ‘25
and Caleb ‘28 Miao.
“It’s been pretty fun to be able to run with Caleb this year because even though we’ve been on the same team before . . . we haven’t, you know, both like been varsity, like running together, so that’s been a pretty cool thing,” Josh said. “It’s also been cool to see how much progress he’s made, because the last couple of years he’s been in middle school, and I’ve been in high school, so we’ve been running together in practices but never in a race.”
Caleb finished his season at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, running a very solid 21:27. Running a sub-20 minute top-five time for the team, Josh has not finished his season and high school career yet. He and his teammates are eager to go out with a bang at the Foot Locker meet, Nov. 30 in Charlotte, NC, with the majority of his fellow senior runners.
Finishing third overall in the race, the boys were paced by Spencer Britton ‘27, who placed second overall, and Finn Chaney, who placed 10th overall. Meanwhile, Justus Horner ‘28, whose sister Lydia ‘24 ran with the team for many years, placed 20th. Those three Raiders earned all-state honors. Five seconds after Justus, Harry placed 21st.
“It was a team effort from beginning to end,” Head Coach Ed Dickenson said, “reflecting the character and heart that our girls’ team has shown all season. Amazing performance!”
ALL-STATE METAL: Lillian Phillips ‘29, Kaitlyn Perkins ‘28, Kerrigan Chaney ‘25, Spencer Britton ‘27, Finn Chaney ‘27 and Justus Horner ‘28 wear their VISAA Div.II All-State medals. Photo by Jacob Johnson
Behind them, Ainsley Myles and Olivia Perkins
Valeria rehearses for Alice
By
Caroline Welfare Valeria Dancea, ‘25, walks our halls and the stage with a huge smile on her face.
She has been gracing North Cross’s theater productions for four years. Her favorite character that she has portrayed was Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, and her favorite production was The Crucible. She says that her favorite play that she hasn’t been in is Beetlejuice the Musical. Via said that her sister Ruxi ‘19 got her interested in the stage, and that if she has time, she will continue ‘breaking a leg’ in college productions.
To students on the fence about participating in theater, “It’s less scary than you think!” Via said, “And it gets easier as you get on stage more, so you should definitely give it a shot even if you don’t think you’d be good at it.”
Meanwhile, she is excited to be the lead in the winter play: Alice in Wonderland. ” It is going to be super interesting and fun,” she said.
Dancea played Eliza Doolittle last year.
Photo by Sarah Sledd
Band members prepare for all-disrtict/concert
By Joaquin Downey
As the tryouts for all-district band approach, Charlie Jackson ‘28, Maggie Bibby ‘27, Hue Wente ‘28 and Finton Channey ‘27, have signed up and are working tirelessly to improve upon their scales, both Chromatic and their 12 major scales, and the prepared piece they have been given.
To dive into the specifics of these requirements, let’s start with scales. Each instrument has 12 major scales, from which, two will be chosen randomly.
“I encourage studentss to audition for all district band, because, first of all, the actual audtion itself and preparing the scales and the prepared piece and preparing themselves for sight reading is good for all musicians.”
-- Jimmie
Students must demonstrate a full understanding of these scales, being able to go up and down them every single note tongued and in a sixteenth note style, with preferably two, or in some cases three octaves.
Each student must play a chromatic scale, which is a scale of every single note, lowest to highest, of their instrument, which must be slurred on the way up and they tonged on the way down, both directions in a sixteenth note style. Lastly, the students must play a specifically prepared piece of music, being careful of dynamics, tone, notes, tempo.
Donnini
“So when you get to the auditions, you get an audition number, and you go to a table of all the different instruments, and they give you a number, and then they start calling [the] numbers,” said Jimmie Donnini, Band Director when asked to sum up the audition experience. “and if your number is called, you follow a guide to a warm up room, and you warm up. Then you follow [them] on down to the actual audition room, and you play your scales, and then [the] chromatic scale, and then [the] prepared etude, and then you sight read something.” The entire actual audition process only takes about five minutes, and then you’re done.
“I think the most important part of All-District is probably when, it just has to be the time you take, like when you actually get into all district, it’s the time that you spend practicing with the actual band, with students from multiple other schools, that’s the most important part of it,” said Bibby.
In conclusion, all of the students are hard at work with the requirements, with Donnini there to help them along the way.
FLAUTING IT: From left, Maggie Bibby, Taahir Imam, Catherine Jackson and Shree Patel play flutes. Photo by Joaquin Downey
Work behind the audience, in the hallways and backstage
By Margaret Bass
Lower School actors in Peter Pan Jr. embraced their mischievous characters with dramatic lighting provided by Evie Eagan ‘25.
The students who provided backstage assistance were Suvi Hansen ‘26, Samantha Belderes ‘28, Evie Eagan ‘25, Noah Shorey ‘26, Taahir Iman ‘27 and Caroline Welfare ‘27. Lightboard Operator, Eagan, has been helping out with tech for North Cross’s theatre since 2022 with the production of Little Shop of Horrors. She has primarily helped out with lighting and sound through the years but has done a bit of everything. The lightboard can be a stressful and difficult position to manage, but Belderes ‘28 said, “She really kept it together the whole time. We are going to miss her a lot.”
Eagan also helped out with getting the rowdy kids into their mics backstage before each performance. This was tricky because often the younger kids would misplace their mic belts
which were used to secure the mics onto the actors. There was also some trouble backstage keeping the budding actors quiet and behaved. One such event was when the kids would roll around in their Heelys and say, “I’m flying!” They used these shoes onstage to imitate “flying” across the sky to Neverland and it was difficult to limit this to only onstage. Eagan’s favorite memory of the production was opening night.
“The theatre was completely packed,” she said, “and it was amazing to see all the actors get so much love from the audience!”
Thomas Costello, Director and Choreographer, has worked with Evie in every production since he arrived two and a half years ago. She was a part of the tech crew for Costello with the productions of Tuck Everlasting, Annie Jr., The Addams Family, and Peter Pan Jr.
“She is very easy going, always ready to help with whatever we need.”
Photo by Sarah Sledd
Be thankful for what you have
By Dara Kerman
“Jordan!! Come down stairs now!
Everyone is waiting for you,” my mom screams at the top of her lungs.
“Ughhhh, I hate Thanksgiving,” I mutter quietly to myself, as I force myself out of bed and down the steps to our dining room, which is filled with relatives I haven’t seen in months. I managed to fake a, “Nice to see you!” along with a joyful “Hi!” when I greeted each of my relatives, none of whom I was happy to be spending time with.
Every Thanksgiving in my family ends the same way every year: Someone ends up mentioning politics, which then results in an all out screaming match between aunts and grandfathers. On top of that, the food isn’t even worth all of the arguing! The turkey is dryer than the Sahara and the stuffing has an odd mushy texture to it. Thanksgiving sucks!
After about 30 minutes of dinner, things start to go south when my grandfather Papa brings up the election. When I see my aunt’s
By Evelynn Palmer
As the Christmas season approaches, so does the company’s annual Secret Santa that Ms. Evelynn Palmer has been dreading for so long. With her lack of connection to most of her colleagues, she has never been the best gift giver. However, because Secret Santa is anonymous, this gives her space to breathe as she ponders who will be her next horrid gift recipient. Last year it was her worst enemy, Amanda Sawyers, which worked out perfectly as Amanda ended up receiving a holiday candle and a few pencils from “yours truly.”
Today was the day of the fretted name drawing, and as she and her colleagues crowded around the hat of names, Evelynn closed her eyes and hoped for someone she truly knew, like her best friend Marcy. However, as she grabbed a piece of paper from the hat, she instantly felt that something was wrong. As she slowly opened the fate-determining scrap, her eyes
face start to turn more annoyed and angry, I know that she is going to blow soon. That’s how I know it’s the perfect time to get away.
“Excuse me, I just have to use the restroom. I’ll be back in a minute,” I say knowing full well I will not be back anytime soon. I’ve started a sort of tradition every year on Thanksgiving of leaving dinner early to get away from the chaos.
This year, to distract myself from the family drama, I took the family dog Daisy for a walk.
“Daisy! Come here, let’s go for a walk!” Soon after my calls for her, Daisy comes rushing towards me excited for her walk. Daisy and I walk all the way up our hill, and we circle around the neighborhood. After around an hour of walking around, I can tell Daisy is ready to go home, as she looks exhausted and she’s panting almost like she is pleading for some water. I’m also getting a little tired, so we start heading back home.
As we start approaching my house, I notice that things seem different. The closer we get,
Anonymously yours
widened. It read, “Jackson,” as in, her ex-best friend, Jackson Graves, who Evelynn has known since her childhood and long ago had stopped being friends. As she pondered ideas, she silently groaned at the notion of having to choose a thoughtful gift for him.
After consulting Marcy about her dilemma, she finally decided on a snowglobe based on his favorite movie and a box of Rolos, which she remembered he liked when they were kids. Putting the presents into a bag and signing it, “from your Secret Santa,” Evelynn sighed, reminiscing about their childhood memories before life had become complicated. She and Jackson had been like two peas in a pod, always sticking together from the moment they met at the beach. As they grew older, Evelynn even started to catch feelings for him. However, as they entered high school, Jackson slowly started to drift apart from her and became the quarterback for their football team, skyrocketing his popularity and leaving her
the more I notice that something is wrong. There aren’t any cars filling up my driveway or even any parked in front of the house. I start running towards my house. I’m concerned and wonder if everyone left.
“Did we really walk for that long, Daisy?” I ask myself.
After a couple knocks on my front door, I resort to screaming “Mom!!” through our mail slot. I finally see her coming down the stairs to come let me in. As soon as she opens the door I ask “Where’d everyone go?” She says, “Jordan honey, they all left, the dinner ended hours ago.” All I can think about is how I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my family members I won’t see until next year. My mom notices my worried expression, so she tells me, “Jordan, you should have stayed for dinner. You missed the best part, dessert!” I guess I should have stayed. Maybe I should have been more grateful to see my relatives… maybe Thanksgiving doesn’t suck after all.
in the dust. As heartbroken as she was, she accepted that she would have to move on. After high school, they went to separate colleges and hadn’t contacted each other for years when they ended up joining the same corporation.
The day of the gift exchange came by quickly, and Evelynn was trembling with anticipation. She arrived at work extra early, looked to make sure there was no one around, and slipped the gift onto Jackson’s desk. Exhaling a deep breath, she went to the bathroom to refresh her mind.
When she came back, she was surprised to see a package on her desk, signed, “anonymously yours.” Feeling her face flushing, she gently picked up the package and slowly unwrapped it. Inside lay a CD of “The Polar Express,” her favorite Christmas movie when she was a child, and a scarf in her favorite color, lavender. She glanced around and saw Jackson staring right at her. He quickly blushed and looked away, and although she wasn’t sure, Evelynn
had a gut feeling that he had given her the gift.
Knowing that this was a chance for reconciliation, she put her pride aside and walked up to him, tapping on his shoulder. Handing him the CD, she nervously said, “If I’m right, you’re my Secret Santa. So I’m hoping I’m right when I ask you if you maybe want to watch this with me this weekend?” Closing her eyes and bracing herself for the worst, she was surprised when she felt a hand on her shoulder and a voice that she had grown to deeply miss.
“You are right, Evelynn, and I would love to. I’m so glad you asked. You were my Secret Santa too, weren’t you? Only you would know to get me a Paddington themed snow globe.” Jackson joked. Evelynn laughed softly, a faint blush tainting her cheeks. As they finalized their plans together, their coworkers watched from around the corner, silently applauding themselves on the success of their scheme to unite the two lovers together at last.
My Life as a Pumpkin
By Sir Jack O. Lantern
In the beginning I was merely a little seed waiting for my time to shine. As I was planted one early morning in May the ideas of my life to come began to form. Finally, one brisk morning 5 months laterI was spotted by a young boy in a large pumpkin patch in the town of Transylvania called Spooky Nook. I was sitting in my bed of leaves when the little boy wearing a red and black flannel shirt and blue jeans came and sat right on my head. As he posed for a picture, I wished I had a face to smile alongside him, but I knew that day would come eventually. When he stood up he turned around and said, “Can we take this one home?” His parents looked at each other, communicating silently with each other, then turned to the boy and said, “Looks like the perfect pumpkin to us!” It was at that moment that my life truly began.
Finally I was sitting on a warm seat cushion of a red truck with the young boy, whose name I learned was James. He was in a booster seat
with one arm wrapped around my stem. Later, the truck pulled into a driveway of a gorgeous brick house. The little boy was unbuckled by his father, and his mother came around the other side of the truck to lift me out. I was placed on the front stoop and he and his parents walked inside and shut the door.
The next morning I woke to the sound of the truck pulling out of the driveway. I watched the sights of the street for a while until James came out with an excited grin and asked, “Ready to have a face?” His mom came out and brought me into the house. We walked through
a dining room, kitchen, and bedroom until I was set down on a tarp on the back porch. There were knives next to me and a big wooden spoon. I began to sense a new feeling inside of me that felt a little like butterflies in my stomach. The carving went like this: James’s mom did most of the cutting since James wasn’t strong enough. He used the wooden spoon to scoop out my seeds and place them in a pile on the tarp. He got very messy and I even saw some seeds in his hair. When that was done, his mother asked him to draw out my face so that she would know where to guide the knife. Finally, hours later I was completed. They returned me to my front step and lit a candle inside me. It felt warm and comfy.
“So what have you named him honey?” James’s mom asked.
“His name is Jack!” James replied, jumping up and down in pride.
So there you have it! That is the story of my successful life as a jack-o-lantern and how I came to be named Jack O. Lantern.
The perfect pumpkin prediction
By Isla Whittle
As I went to the pumpkin patch with my friends, we decided we’d get the best pumpkin we could and have a pumpkin carving competition. They all picked out their pumpkins rather quickly, but I couldn’t find one that I wanted. Finally, after a while of them telling me to hurry up and pick one, I finally found one. It was the perfect pumpkin, perfect shape and just big enough. We went back to my house and started to carve it. My friends all decided to do scary faces, but I tried to make mine more funny. We had my mom and dad judge them without knowing who carved which. They both decided on mine. I was so happy that I won, even though it’s just a silly competition. I begged my mom to let me keep it in my room for now, before it started to rot. She reluctantly
agreed, but only for a few days. The next day, I woke up and saw that my pumpkin’s carving seemed to have changed. It looked like a piece of paper that had an A+ on it. I was confused but decided to let it go. I went back upstairs after breakfast and it changed again! Now it had a basketball on it. Even more confused, I shook my head and went to brush my teeth. I went into my room one last time, and saw one final image on it, a pizza. I thought I was going crazy, but ran to catch the bus.
I tried to tell my friends about the changing pumpkin, but no one believed me. They laughed and thought I was joking. I decided to just stay quiet and not talk about it anymore.
In first period, our teacher
announces that we are going to be getting our very important tests back. I’m nervous, since I’m not very good at math. That’s why I’m shocked when I get my test back, and it has an A+ on it. My mind flashed back to the pumpkin’s first carving. I quickly tell myself it must just be a coincidence and continue throughout my day.
After school I have basketball tryouts. I don’t think that I’ll make the team, since our school’s really good at this sport and I’m not very good. All my friends are definitely going to make it, and I really want to play with them. After tryouts, they announce all the numbers that made it. 22, 5, 17, are all called. 20, 19, 6, are called next. I get nervous as they continue down
the list. And then the coach says, “And lastly, 11.”
I look down at my shirt that reads 11. I can’t believe it! I ran over to my friends to celebrate. My mind briefly shows me the second carving, a basketball. Another coincidence, right? Later that night, I told my parents about my math test and basketball triumph. My mom is so happy, and tells me that we’re going to order pizza for dinner, my favorite. I thank her, but then think about the pumpkin’s third and final image, a pizza. I couldn’t ignore it anymore, the pumpkin was predicting the future!
I immediately ran upstairs to look at it, but it only showed the face that I carved on it.
The next morning, I checked, but it still remains unchanged. Every day that I was allowed to keep it in my room, I looked, but it never changed again.
Image generated using Photoshop AI.
Falling for the sport of indoor bouldering
By Caroline Welfare
My sport is indoor bouldering. The climb in the right photo was a V1, but I had been having trouble reaching beyond the ledge to get the final few holds. In this particular photo, I am smearing (using the wall) to even out my weight distribution in order to make the final shift. In the other photo, I had just made a swing to get my left hand to the other wall, and I am moving to get my left leg on that wall too.
At the competition on Nov. 9, there were 100 competetors, not counting the spectators who showed up to watch us. We were at an indoor gym in Richmond, called SCOR. The routes were numbered, and the label only read who needed to climb it. I am classified as a U17-F climber, so I could only climb U17-F routes, all of which were V3s and above. I am on the River Rock Climbing team, competing during the first season they have had since COVID-19 hit. There are 10 teammates, including me, five boys and five girls. Our coach, his first name is Heath, teaches science for another school in the area, and my teammates are from many different schools. Coach often tells us to “send hard,” meaning give a route our all.
My favorite part of the climb is letting go. I lower myself a few holds down, take a deep breath, raise my eyes to the wall, and then let go, usually curling my arms into my chest. Falling the ‘right’ way is important in climbing, because a bad fall can cause injury, even death in extreme circumstances. Weeks ago, I landed wrong after one of my favorite climbs. It was a green and white route set as a V1, and I had done it many times before. (for reference, VBs are the easiest route, then V0s, V1s, and so on). But that time, I had landed on the mat on my hand, with
Falling the right way is important in climbing, because a bad fall can cause injury, even death in extreme circumstances.
a locked elbow under my shoulder, not on either of the climbs in the photo, and I can still feel the injury on bad days. But the joy of reaching the top is worth the pain of an injured shoulder. The holds are often rough on your hands, forming calluses and then breaking them off. The climbing chalk you use for your
hands is supposed to help with this. Climbing is a sport that takes your whole body. The wall isn’t always vertical, and there are many types of holds. There are crimps, pockets, slopers, jugs, pinches, blocks that aren’t holds but you can use anyway, and sometimes you just have to use the wall itself, known as a smear.
Millie Chopski 1st
Julia Cephas 1st
Mercedes Herrera 1st
Penelope Lampros 1st
Sophia Camp HM Tennis
Anna Ciccozzi 2nd
Nikitha Sherigar HR Soccer
Hunter Basile 1st
Bob Alemenas 1st
Mario Mitzkewitz 1st
Cesar Cuenca 2nd
Leyton Sturm HR
Volleyball
Scout Kappes 1st
Peyton Greer 1st
Milica Anjelkovic 2nd
Julia Corliss 2nd
Faith Johnson 2nd
CHAMPIONSHIP
HANDOFF: Quarterback Brock Miles ‘25 hands off the ball to running back Tristan Lange ‘26, the backup quarterback the last few years, who will get his chance to lead the team next season. After a succesful season, the Raiders reached the state finals, losing to Blue Ridge 14-12, finishing with a 9-2 record. Right: Jesiah Hines ‘27 keeps the Baron offense off the field with one of his two interceptions. Below right: Normally a wide receiver, Jaziel Hart ‘26 runs for a gain from the backfield. He scored the first touchdown to give the Raiders an early lead. Below, fans like Head of School Armistead Lemon, assistant dorm director Annie Elwell ‘14 (holding the cutout of Austrian player Jonas Koegl-Wallner ’27) and SCA Advisor Susan Wenk never failed to support and cheer for the players. Bottom: Spanish teacher Zoe Mullins joins Elwell, dorm director Kate Branciforte and Upper School Director Allie Kier watch the game. Bottom right: Trace Pickard ‘27 leads the team onto the field with the school flag. Photos by Monica Koene
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