March/April 2012

Page 1

preview to the issue

OPINION

Entertainment

FEATURE

DIVERSIONS

SPORTS

CENTREVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

SENTINEL

january 2012, volume 21, issue 7

Artists Win Regional Awards Winners: Certificate of Merit: Syed Ali for digital art, “Vultus” HeeJoo Hong for sculpture, “Toasted” Tobin Horst for sculpture, “Madame des Arbres” Mira Kim for sculpture, “Midnight Before Dawn” Soo Yeon Lee for mixed media, “The 4th Dimension” Yeri Park for drawing, “Together Untouched” and “Sound” Yasaman Vahdat for digital art, “They are Watching”

Silver Key: Emily Berkley for ceramics and glass, “Autotoxin” Daniel Kim for design, “Purification” Tobin Horst for art portfolio, “Je Me Deteste Et Je Veux Mourir” Joo-Young Ko for art portfolio, “Selfportrait” Mira Ko for art portfolio, “Can” Gold Key: Sara Emsley for jewelry, “Tempus Fugit” Ashely Frongello for sculpture, “Aluminum Standard”

Chung Ha Min for digital art, “Open Up My Thoughts” Kelly Hicks for sculpture, “2 Course Meal” Daniel Kim for mixed media, “Prayer” Simranjit Singh for digital art, “Human Destruction” Esther Yoon for mixed media, “Liberation of Broken Hearts” Min Kyong Han for design, “Zippity Dooda” Jamie Rondot for ceramics and glass, “Piggy Bank”

Daniel Kim (12) won a Gold Key on the Regional Level for his mixed medium piece. This piece will go on to New York for National judging. Hungriest Woman in the World by Mira Ko (12). She won a Silver Key award for her portfolio.

Esther Yoon (11) won a Gold Key award for her Liberations of Broken Hearts. Her piece will go on to New York for National Judging.

Watercolor of the Scissors by Joo Young. She won a Silver Key for her portfolio.

Aluminum Standard by Ashley Frongello. She won a Gold Key award for her sculpture.

Chase Walter Crowned Mr. Centreville by Ryan HENSON This years Mr. Centreville performance was filled with lots of dancing, singing, humor, and some questionable outfits. Each one of the contestants represented their class well as they showcased their talents and abilities. This show has been a tradition and takes lots of time and planning. Most of the work is done by Mrs. Banbury and Mr. Matthie and the rest of SGA. They all have put in a lot of time and effort after school to perfect the show. Chase Walter ended up taking home the crown for the third time. He won every year except sophomore year where he

was defeated by Adam Beaton. After the opening dance and all the introductions the freshman started off the show. Sean Culleiton put together an amazing performance despite not winning. He perfectly imitated the dance scene from Napoleon Dynamite with the right movies, body expressions, and even down to the “vote for Pedro” shirt. (Story Continued on Page 2) Left to right: Seb Echeverri, Sam Maney, Chris Simpson, Connor Coward, Evan Fuller participate in the opening dance during Mr. Centreville. (Photo Credit/ Katherine Christophe)


feature/news

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March 28, 2012

Teacher Spotlight: Return of the Alumnus BY Nashmin Behrouzi Imagine teaching at the high school you graduated from, the high school you created many fond memories at, and working with your old teachers. Jason Crosby the newest addition to the Centreville faculty is currently teaching History and working with his own high school teachers today. “I don’t think the overall environment has changed much since my days at Centreville. However, there are a lot of different people here that were not here when I was a student, but there are still some familiar faces. I work with some of my old teachers and teach in rooms where I once had class, and they still look the same” Said Crosby. Being a new teacher for high school students is not an easy feeling, “It’s a little weird working with people who used to teach me and having to call them by their first names. Teaching is very challenging, particularly the first year, but it’s getting a little easier as I

Mr. Crosby in his scuba diving gear. (Photo credit/ Jason Crosby learn and gain experience,” said Crosby. Crosby had an interest in teaching due to his passion for history. “I’ve always enjoyed history, so teaching

allows me He also to discuss t e a c h e s my favorite swim lessons topic all day. at a private When I finschool over ished grad the summer school, I was and plans to a substitute travel and and enjoyed relax. teaching, so An interI decided esting fact to pursue it that many full-time” may not said Crosby. know about But teachCrosby is ing history is before teachnot the only ing here, thing Mr. Crosby lived Crosby has a in England passion for; for awhile he enjoys Mr. Crosby by the Eiffel Tower/ (photo credit/ Jason and attendmany otherCrosby ed a graduactivities outate school; he side of teaching. “My favorite hobby also met all the Supreme Court justices is playing guitar. I also enjoy reading, while working on the Supreme Court. running, swimming, scuba diving and How many teachers can say they’ve travelling.” done that?

Mr. Centreville Performances (continued)

by Ryan HENSON The freshman class winner Landon Egbers provided some background information about him and revealed a personal secret of his. He choose to perform some precision ballet and dance moves. To end the freshman Evan Wollins hit is high pitched notes as he sang Pussycats Dolls and danced around stage with some friends. A l t h o u g h the sophomores were short a man as a contestant dropped out a few weeks before the show they both still put on a show and gave the crowd some humor. Josh Smith came out dancing and playing the crowd to a classic song. To earn some extra points he went out to the judges and tried to wake them up. This could have given him enough points to win. Scotty Walter sang along with David Democker as they performed California Girls. Scott strutted around stage in his wig and very little clothing. With only two contestants it made the judges jobs much easier and Josh Smith ended up winning the sophomore class. The junior class performances were

filled with surprises and hilarious moments. Nathan Covert gave Centreville a piece of an average day for him. He started in class playing on his phone during a Mr. Small lesson and ended having a dance off which re-energized the crowd to see who would get the phone. Mr. Small won the dance off according to crowd applause. C.J Evans put together a slide show of the other contestants and some memorable moments as he sang A Thousand Miles. It was a great performance as he sang and was on the piano. David Weisbrodt sang a duet from High School Musical. Perhaps the defining moment of his show was when he stopped the music went into the crowd and ask a girl out. Because of this the judges may have bumped up his score enough for him to win the junior class. The very highly anticipated senior performances came through and everyone put on a great show. Adam Beaton got his meat squad together and rapped. Despite his slideshow being messed up he didn’t

Upcoming Events

• March 30: 3rd Quarter Grading Period Ends • April 2-6: Spring Break • April 9: Teacher Workday • April 13: 3rd Quarter Report Cards • April 14: ACT Test • April 17: PTSA Meeting/PTSA Hosted College Workshop • April 18: Varsity Track vs. Herndon • April 18: All Night Graduation Party Meeting • April 25: Teen Traffic Safety Program

let it phase him and he went on with his show. Connor Coward danced to a mix starting off with a remake from Mean Girls. His mix consisted of many different dances as he and his group used up all of the stage. Seb Echeverri may have had the most lively performance with his dubstep mix and had the whole theater on their feet. He had many other contestants on stage dancing along and walking by. Evan Fuller tricked everyone in the beginning as he pulled a recorder out of a cello case. After his amazing recorder solo he brought out Jordan Brusick and sang Roxanne. Sam Maney went up to the stage with a group of friends and was one of the only performances to sing live. Despite not lip singing Sam did not get the attention deserved.

Manny Smith once again showed off his athletic ability while performing cheer stunts and moves. Chris Simpson and a small group performed the Yes Dance part 2. He started the routine off with Brett Martin and some stretching and slow dance movements and then the song picked up and had everyone “yessing”. Chris’s dance caused the whole crowd to erupt in laughter. Chase Walter showcased his performance ability’s. He sang You’re the One That I Want from Grease with Sage Coury. Even though her mic did not work the judges and people up close could hear and knew that this was one of the best of the night. Chase won the brand new T.V and bragging rights for Mr. Centreville.

Science Fair Winners 1st Place: Sarah Albertstein Anna Stone Kevin Nguyen & Christopher Sokol Trisha Sinha Michael Ahn, Matthew Kim, And Daniel Lee Matt Severance Kristen Hoffman Maureen Thoensen Sahana Rao Samuel Ahmed & Arpit Rupakhetee Michael Bollman Adam Summers Connor Crilly, Raghav Atluri, & Liban Hashi Alex Dwornik, Adhiraaj Sethi & Noah Yona Ben Sando Rachel Hollenbach 2nd Place: Joy Kim, Danny Song, Pj Wilkerson Catherine Weidman Praveena Logeswaran & Jolie Nguyen Kamaldeep Kaur Sabrine Ahmed-Iqbal & Sabetta Singh Elias Seraj Will Rimer Bria Coleman Paul Varghese Linda Kim & Sunjoo Lee Mike Wallace Jordan Deang, Woo Jin Han, Jihun Yom Thomas Scheider & Steven Yu Ryan Kim, Jiyun Lee Sarah Farooqi & Thomas Le Imani Carpenter & Kylie Cuomo

Mahek Nigam Juzer Nomani & Richard Yu Honorable Mention: Dela Anthonio Daniel Weisz Ian Hargreaves Hannah Woodruff Fernando Muzo Christopher Winans Ashley Forbes & Mckenzie Islin Teresa Lu Carl Ehinger & Jacob Hyde Riya Simon Ryan Barnes Sung Do Kim, Chan Young Lee & Chris Song Jordan Jenkins & Kyle Nelson Isabel Kigo & Neha Sharma Laura Hwangpo, Jennifer Kim & Sae Lee Allison Winkeler & Amber Winkeler Kynat Akram, Donmonique Hopkins, & Sabina Yim Ashley Winkeler Marvel Onga Nana Sean Kelly Jenna Gugliuzza, Jooyeong Hwangbo & Ellen Shin Margad-Erdene Davaajargal & Sarah Nawad Leilani Boren & Cassandra Cottone Andrew Younan Kara Perdue Andy Fang & Shaan Kologi Megan Kruse, Adrienne Lewis & Katrina Wright Miranda Grilli & Anya Khalid

March,30, 2012

OP-ED

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Marijuana: A Growing Problem

BY Joe Dell Most are aware that there is a new drug of choice for rebellious teens; marijuana is in and alcohol is out. According to the youth survey conducted by Fairfax County, although marijuana use has decreased slightly over the past 5 years, use among students hovers around 20%. Nobody seems all that worried that 2 out of 10 students admit to smoking dope, least of all writers for the Annandale High school newspaper “The ABlast”. In a December issue of their paper, writers at AHS put out an article that claims marijuana isn’t as popular as it used to be. While the resources that they used do back up this claim, the writers used quotes from students that lead the reader to believe that marijuana use is okay. It isn’t. The fact that marijuana hasn’t been proven to kill brain cells in no way makes it safe. There is four times more tar in a marijuana cigarette than a tobacco one.

A water-pipe (commonly reffered to as a “Bong”

Photo Credit: TinyURL4.info

Some say that is okay because when you use marijuana you only smoke a couple joints a day whereas regular cigarette smokers can inhale anywhere from 10-40 cigarettes in a day. After a week of smoking just “a couple joints per day” you would have taken in as much tar as you would from almost 60 cigarettes. If you aren’t worried about coating your lungs with tar, you may be concerned that Marijuana smoke contains roughly 60% more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Over 400 different chemicals are released when marijuana is burned, including most of the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. Many marijuana users or “stoners” try to argue, claiming that running the smoke through water (commonly referred to as using a bong) filters out carcinogens. While this is true, not all of the cancer causing chemicals found in marijuana react with water. This means that is it impossible to completely fil-

ter out the harmful chemicals. Some very clever stoners may still claim that marijuana isn’t harmful if it is baked into edibles or vaporized at a temperature which doesn’t activate the carcinogens. While these methods will prevent the entry of cancer causing chemicals into the body, there is no getting around the fact that marijuana use has been linked to schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. So to put it simply, yes you can get high without putting yourself at risk for cancer, but no matter what method you use to get delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) into your brain, you’re taking an unnecessary.

Tensions Build as Seniors Wait

BY Matt Darling Most Centreville seniors have been waiting for months to hear back from school and finally have their fate sealed for next year. At this point many just want to know and it’s beginning to not matter whether it’s good news or bad news they’re just getting tired of waiting. “I’ve already been waiting for months and of course I want to get in to all my schools but at this point I just want to hear a decision” Said senior Cailey

Powell. Others have begun to slack off as they feel their performance in high school no longer matters because they already have their future set. “I’ve known I’m going to tech for a while now since I applied early and now I struggle reminding myself that all this work still matters, however I am doing better than most.” Said senior Mark Piatkowski. It appears that apathy rests on none more greatly than it does

on seniors such as Drew Peterson who commented “Since I’m going to NOVA next year the grades I get now don’t really matter at all, except to my parents and I.” Most colleges won’t send out decisions until April 1st and until then seniors will be stuck in limbo and once they do hear seniors will have to make the personal decision to coast along or to continue to try. There are pros and cons to both philosophies. Those who try will be more

prepared for college in which there will be no parents standing by to hold your hand and force you to get your work done therefore the second semester for seniors can be good practice for this. On the other hand if one wanted to they can just slack off and coast through the last half the year with ease and hope that their colleges don’t notice them slacking off or at least don’t care, after all nothing bad ever happens if you hope hard enough.

BY Jesse Mccormack Roaming through the halls at Centreville is like walking through a graveyard. Almost every student is borderline sleepwalking, and in classes it’s even worse. All these students need is one thing: Sleep. It’s something that the average Centreville student isn’t familiar with for their four years of high school. Experts say that teens need about 8.5-9 hours of sleep per night, yet most students generally get about 6 or 7, and some (usually those are actually excel in school) even less due to ridiculous amounts of homework. This could be easily solved if the administration removed one thing: Cats time. Cats time is that period in the morning where the majority of the school goes to the cafeteria do absolutely nothing for 30 minutes. Those that have failing grades are assigned to

This way, students would be able to classes, where they do little more than come into school at 10:00 one day each those in the cafeteria. Yet, almost every student in the week, gaining valuable sleep time. Getting students more sleep is not school is sleep deprived while the

on students’ academic achievement and physical and mental health”. Not only will this have a positive effects on students health, but it will also cut down on the amount of students that have their parents write them notes to sleep in and come later anyways. Senior Sai Thota, who is taking 5 AP classes says, “If we could come in at 10:00 and not have Cats time it would be such a relief because I pretty much get no sleep at night because I have so much homework. Sometimes I even have to go to sleep and wake up before school at 5 or 6 o’clock just to finish my homework”. Students are sleep deprived. Whether the administration chooses to eliminate Cats time and come in at 10:00 once a week to help students is up to them, but one thing is clear: Something needs to be done.

Cats Time, Counter Productive The majority of the school goes to the cafeteria to do absolutely nothing for 30 minutes.

administration continues to promote something that they know isn’t really all that effective. What would be smart and best for students is to do away with Cats time all together.

something that those in the FCPS community are strangers to. In fact, there is an entire website dedicated to the topic, sleepinfairfax.org. The site says that getting students more sleep “will have a positive effect

2011-2012 STAFF

Editor-In-Chief: Mac Cassells Staff Writers: Business & Advertising Nashmin Behrouzi, Courtney Manager: Burke, Mac Cassells, Philip ChrisCourtney Burke tophe, Matt Darling, Joe Dell, Section Editors: Elaine Edwards, Candie He, Ryan Courtney Burke (Feature) Henson, Erika Hubbard, Soo Lim, Nashmin Behrouzi (Diversions) Jesse McCormack, Erin Shin Ryan Henson (News) Joe Dell (Op-Ed) Advisor: Kathleen Willmann Phil Christophe (Sports) Layout Editors: Phil Christophe Courtney Burke

Advertising Policy

Sentinel, a student written and edited publication of Centreville High School, serves the CVHS community. We accept all advertising relevant to the students, parents, and CVHS staff. We reserve the right to decline any advertising deemed in violation of the Students Rights and Responsibilities or inappropriate for a school setting. All comments or complaints should be addressed to the editorial staff.

The objective of Sentinel’s Staff is to provide a student forum where information is provided and voices can be heard. Our mission is to provide the student body of Centreville High School an honest and accurate

paper produced by the students, for the students. Our editorials represent the opinions of Sentinel’s Editors and always promote the opportunity for critique and response. Our opinion pieces reflect the view of the writer and the writer only, and are not printed to offend. This is a publication that maintains high standards and proper ethical conduct. All letters to the editor must be typed and signed. They can be dropped off at room 116 or placed in Mrs. Willmann’s mailbox. We reserve the right to edit the responses.

CVHSnews@gmail.com


Breaking news

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March 30, 2012

Longer School Days to Come by Stephanie Wiggins

Imagine waking up 6 a.m. on a school day. Most of you already do. Next year, those who wake up at this time will miss the bus by 10 minutes. On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the school board decided to extend school hours after hearing complaints about the short class periods. Throughout the year, students and teachers agreed that it has been hard managing time. The class has been unable to fully discuss both the lesson and the homework to help students understand in time before the next bell rings. Next year, all Fairfax county high schools will start at 6:30 a.m..until students are dismissed at 3 p.m. extending 50 minutes before and after school. Students are already having a fit about it as Kathryn Stevens (10) said, “Great, now I have even less time to do my homework and no time to study. How will I be able to finish it all

on game days?” In exchange, winter break will be two weeks long to please the students who requested it last week. This might be the only time people in the school will have a true break. “The school board might as well allow pillow, blankets, and coffee machines in class,” said Matt Hartley (12). Not only will class time be extended, l u n c h periods will only last 20 minutes. Students will be allowed to eat in class during the first twenty minutes of fifth and sixth

period. For those who buy lunch, food carts filled with packaged lunches will be placed in every classroom at that time. There will be a different lunch for each day of the week available in every cart. Rather than extending the lunch period students requested, the school board chose to cut five minutes and add catering in the classrooms compromise. “This gives me no time to socialize because I usually see my friends during lunch.” said Savannah Riley (11). Even teachers use this time to socialize and take the chance to leave the classroom. History teacher Jennifer Powell said, “Teachers need to have a break, too. I wouldn’t want to supervise students

“ Great, now I have even less time to do my homework and no time to study. How will I be able to finish it all on game days?” -Kathryn Stevens

as I eat my lunch.” As for the longer school day, not all teachers are ecstatic for it. “As much as I love to take advantage of the time to teach my students as much as I possibly can, I would like to use my spare time to be with my family than grading papers,” said physics teacher John Mclaren. For every problem, there is a solution. Some teachers have considered using the extra time not only for lessons, but the chance to get a head start on homework. Students can also be assigned class work instead and spend their time after school studying. No matter when the work is assigned, the workload and teachers having to grade assignments doesn’t change. It doesn’t help that they usually get to school earlier and leave later than students. Both the faculty and students have learned their lesson to “be grateful for what they got before they wish for something more.”

Ekanem’s New Decision Shocks Centreville by Avery Rocke On Feb 1, 2012, National Signing Day, many were impressed when Wildcat football star Ken Ekanem announced he would be taking his talents to the Virginia Tech football team. Ekanem led the Wildcats to the Northern Region championship, and all the way to the state finals against Oscar Smith. Ekanem is one of the best football players this school has ever seen, receiving offers from all over, including Notre Dame and Oregon. He was a two-time member of the All-Met defensive team, a prestigious honor. Apparently the sports star has another interest. Many were simply blown out of the water on February 7, when Ekanem announced he would not be attending Tech, but rather Blue Mountain State University, on a tennis scholarship. “The decision to go to Tech was eating me alive. I couldn’t sleep or eat anything, I greatly regretted it. I do feel a little guilty for passing up the opportunity Coach Beamer gave me, but I just have to follow my

Ken Ekanem holding a football, representing the Wildcats (Photo Credit/Shamus Ian Fatzinger) heart. Besides, football was getting too that if I went to Tech I might get caught physical, I don’t really like tackling up in the party scene.” Ekanem said. guys. Plus Blue Mountain State has Apparently Ken Ekanem has been first- class academics, I’m concerned training for tennis since his childhood.

Seniors Deserve Privileges by charles opoku-amoako Oh yes, the Senior Class. After enduring three years of those dreadfully long classes, after taking time out of their own lives to do require “volunteer work”, it goes without saying that the senior class is the pride and glory of CVHS. They have worked extremely hard and deserve to have extra privileges. As a reward for all of their “hard work”, the senior class has been rewarded with its very own lunch line. Seniors can just cut through those long lines of hungry underclassmen to get a victory meal for all their hard work. Fortunately, the privileges don’t stop there. Not only do they have their very own lunch line which prolongs the hunger of underclassmen, the seniors are allowed to vandalize school walls with significant world events that occurred that year. Oh, I’m sorry, it’s only vandalizing if any other class does it. It’s called art if it is by the senior

class. This way, the seniors will be able to express their feelings and opinions in a nonviolent way. However, last and certainly not least, the best privilege any senior gets to enjoy for being a student is that seniors get to leave school 5 minutes before other student are allowed. Now they have just enough time to go to their cars and honk at each other for some 5 minutes. There is no doubt that seniors have more responsibility than the other class levels. However seniors seem to get special privileges for doing things that every student is expected to do. Fortunately for the other grade levels the “privileges” seniors get are less than appealing. I mean seriously, leaving at 2:05 versus 2:10, there is really no difference. So while it is unfair for seniors to get special treatment for simply being in their fourth year of high school, the other grade levels must get satisfaction in the fact that the seniors’ special treatment really isn’t anything special.

“I used to slave over the courts for 8 hours at a time” he said. He received training from professionals who worked with champions like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. They always pushed him to improve. Ekanem did want to keep his skills on the low however. “I never joined the tennis team because the other guys are big and intimidating, but I always played at my local courts and sports clubs” he said.” Football was just a side distraction. I started freshman year and it was fun. I’m pretty good and I figured it was good physical training for tennis, so I kept playing. Tennis however has always been my number one passion. When I got the offer to play tennis, I was ecstatic! I had always dreamed this day would come” said Ken. Ekanem is looking forward to joining the prestigious men’s tennis team at Blue Mountain state this year. “I have a mean backhand, and I’m ready to do big things in the tennis world” Ekanem said excitedly. “I hope I can continue to play after college, and maybe go pro someday”.

March 30, 2012

breaking news

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Sperry’s, Plaids, and Skirts Coming to CVHS by Katie Blumer Beginning on February 15, and continuing until administrators and county officials decide otherwise, all Fairfax County students and staff members are required by law to wear uniforms to school. These uniforms will be similar to those of private schools around the area including Paul VI High School and Bishop O’Connell High School. Catholic schools have sworn by the uniform rule ever since establishment. They preach that this rule helps avoid the constant nagging of inappropriate wardrobe problems with girls, and also boy hat warnings, saggy, and baggy pants.

that they are not only representing themselves and their families but their schools additionally,” Campbell said.

to figure out what the Centreville community had to say about the matter at hand. As members of Parents

that parents were more than happy to buy uniforms while students were in an outrage as they had expected. However, Campbell and fellow administrators do not make the final decision; the County Board does. “Students have to understand that life is not always fair,” Campbell said. “I think I look good in my skinny jeans and tank top, even though it’s winter I don’t see the problems in wearing my ‘booty shorts.’” Avery Rocke (10) said.

Centreville has had repeated issues with the wardrobe policy and has frankly become tired of having to badger their students. Principal Mike Campbell, trustees, and staff members have decided officially that this would be the best route to ensure their school and students of self respect and personal Example of new uniforms for Centreville High School. (Photo Credit/ google.com) representation. “I want my school to look their best and to On January 31st which was a Teacher Against Improper Clothing (PAIC) always present themselves respectfully Workday, CVHS faculty discussed the surfed the internet, primarily articles unto others and to keep in mind uniforms and checked online resources on Centreville Patch, they discovered

Later during the week, a final release of the Fairfax County bill will be released and a verdict will be reached among the school superiors. Regarding the faculty members, they will also have to dress in the proper attire for school and must meet all requirements that children must. This including having men’s shirts tucked all the way around the waist, no sagging, and tie must be knotted properly. For girls, skirts cannot come about three quarters length of your thigh, dress shirts must be buttoned all the way to the neckline, and socks always pulled up to kneecaps. If this special wardrobe criteria may not be enough for some young girls, the FCPS School Board is also putting an extra burden on high school girls. No make-up! This may be shocking to many but recent studies among private high schools with uniforms conducted by FCPS show that in schools with girls who wear no makeup, girls begin to care less about appearance and more about schoolwork. Those schools also

Centreville High School Welcomes Water Polo by rachel luke Next winter Centreville High School will be welcoming a new sport, water polo. Tryouts will be held November 28th 2012, for anyone who wants to join the team. It will be a tough call, since the team only holds 12 and there will be so many people dying to try out. People have been rushing to the signup sheets that are located in the office. New gear for the upcoming team has already been ordered so they can get started right away. It is the new thing to do these days and it is a lot of fun, everyone says so. “I am so nervous to tryout because I hear you need to be able to bench 250 pounds,” said Billy Bob (10), who is interested in playing water polo. “When I need something new, I tend to change things up,”

Meghana Krishna (9) said. The team will play games throughout the week, starting December 20th and will run through February 15th. A long season means a lot of hard work and dedication, so practice will be everyday at three o’clock. Everyone will need their own equipment for tryouts. The pool will be easily accessible, considering it will be installed on the fourth floor due to the fact that there is no room at the Cub Run Recreational center where swim and dive have practice. The pool will be able to hold up to 300 people, so plenty of room will be available for training and conditioning throughout the season. The team does not have a coach yet so they are bringing in Olympic gold medalists to train the team. “I will be hard on the athletes just to make them better,” said Dezső Gyarmati of Hungary, who won five medals in the Olympic Games.

CVHS Water Polo will begin in Winter 2012. (Photo Credit/google.com)


Entertainment

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Mar. 28. 2011

Let the Hunger Games Begin driven characterization, it was only a matter of time before the film rights to this dystopian series were snatched up. And now, the time has come at last for the movie to be released. On March 23, 2012, the Lionsgate studio releases The Hunger Games in what is sure to be almost as powerful a form as the original books. Starring the up and coming Jennifer Lawrence as the female lead and other notable names such as Lenny Kravitz, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, and a host of others - along with a pleasantly surprising amount of unknowns in the film world - the movie will follow the plot of the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy itself, detailing Suzanne Collins’ world in a more vivid form than ever before and creating a new universe for this stirring story to inhabit.

By Elaine Ed-

Set in a North America hundreds of years beyond the present, The Hunger Games is a book that details a nation divided into 12 Districts, each with their own special purpose - and all with the purpose of financing the Capitol and the extravagant lifestyle of its people, even in the depths of their own poverty and misery. Their powerlessness against such an authority is never more evident than in the annual Hunger Games, where two children from each District are thrown into an arena and made to fight to the death, as both a demonstration of the Capitol’s power and, of all things, a so-called amusing spectator sport. But when Katniss Everdeen, the novel’s protagonist, is thrown into the mix, she unknowingly becomes the face of a rebellion that has been a long time brewing and is only just getting started. With such a daring plot, dynamically written narrative, and

The Huinger Games offical Movie Poster (Photo Credit/ imdb.com)

“I thought it started out a little slow, but as you read further it gets way better. I actually couldn’t put it down!” said Selicia Park (11), adding, “I’m not saying I’m obsessed with this soon-

to-be franchise, but I’m actually really excited for the movie.” Nicki Cervantes (11) agreed, saying, “I enjoyed the series because it provided a good and entertaining storyline filled with heart-touching emotions, beautiful locations, and intense characters. I’m looking forward to the movie, because it’s always interesting to see how a director tries to capture the essence of a book.” With as emotional an impact as it’s had, and as brilliantly crafted as the fictional world of Panem has been, the jump from page to big screen has its risks. But it is undeniable that in any shape, the story of a young girl’s coming of age, the struggles of a downtrodden world, and the duties we all have to the world around us are relevant and present even in these modern times. It’s time for the Games, and whether you’re watching them in a theatre or reading from the pages of the book (or even better, both), this isn’t one you’re going to want to miss.

Upper 90 Rocked E.C. Lawrence Park By Pallavi Saini

Upper 90 had a successful show on March 10th which also marked the debut for new band members Sam Sulkin and Brad Nofal. Despite the chilly weather at the outdoor show, the band put on a great performance. “It was so cold, I couldn’t feel the strings!” Said Brad Nofal. “It was really fun, I just wish it was maybe a little warmer” Sulkin commented.

band member. The lead singer of Upper 90, Nick Cabrejos, a graduate from Centreville High School, was really happy with the outcome of the show. “I’m very excited to record our new songs and get them out to as many people as possible; people loved the new songs at the show.”

Upper 90 is a local NOVA band, some of the members even went to Centreville, or still go to Centreville in Seb Echeverri’s case. “I wish my fingers didn’t freeze up but I have to admit it was a great show.” Echeverri said.

Some upcoming shows includes April 7th at Jammin Java and April 13th at Empire. If you’re interested in checking out a new local band come to one of their upcoming shows. They even have a Facebook page: www. Facebook.com/upper90va

“I think this show went well. It was a great time to introduce some new material, which we can hopefully start recording soon,” said Vito, another

Upper 90 at E.C. Lawernce Park in Chantilly, Virginia (Photo Credit/ Jon Flemming)

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Sports

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Centreville Runners Tracking in Right Direction by: michael bollman The track team at Centreville has a long standing tradition of excellence. Intense work is put in daily inside William E. Trussell stadium, Wildcats constantly pushing to better epitomize the school’s athletic excellence. Athletes exercise their specialized roles during practice, creating an interesting community of athleticism within the track team. For the last several years the track team has been headed by Givon Holmes. He pushes the team hard, but manages to keep the work fun. Abdullah Omar, a sophomore, had this to say, “I very much enjoy running track under Holmes, he is a great coach who pushes me really hard. I feel great and I’m getting better grades in school because of the well structured environment track gives me.” Holmes runs the sprint team, heading intense workouts of endless 400 meters sprints, hills, and various plyometrics. He has been joined by a complement of three new coaches this year, including Coach Smalls, Thomson, and Devolites. Coach Devlin, the middistance coach, is often seen walking between the groups of different track disciplines with two of her children in tow, Maddie and Lila. The third, Elizabeth, is soon to follow, having recently taken her first steps while on the track. Devlin is well fiercely respected and looked up to by

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March 28, 2012

her team, who often credit her for their many successes over the years she has held her position at Centreville. “Coach Holmes is so much fun, but expects you to give 100% every time

having been reliant on its own athletes to teach themselves through constant trial and error. This year’s throwing captain Sara Emsley (senior) talked excitedly about it, “I’m really excited

Hawa Koroma hurdles you show up to practice,” said for this year because we Leilani Boren(10).The coach is beloved finally actually have a throwing coach; by her team, treated as a stand in and he’s making us work hard. Not mother of their warm, bustling family only that, but for once we have more of hundreds. than one or two people throwing, so Coach Smalls has joined the we have a solid team.” coaching staff this year. He is the coach Coach Thomas is the assistant coach for the throwing team, a subset of the to the sprint team. He leads alongside field portion of track. His presence Coach Holmes during workouts, is very much appreciated as the giving support to the athletes and throwing team has never had a coach, offering various pointers as he sees fit.

He monitors the warm-ups, making sure the athletes are ready for the vigor of their practices. He demonstrates abdominal workouts, following workouts to strengthen the athlete’s cores and make sure they maintain wellrounded fitness. Excellence is shown on and off the track; the track team has a higher average GPA than any other sport. Devlin works as a counselor at Centreville during the day, giving her a good perspective of what’s what in the realm of academia. She and the other coaches take a huge interest, a priority rather, in making sure their athletes maintain good grades. Low performance is met with offers of team mate tutoring and a stern but supportive push in the right direction. Good marks are recognized in front of the team to further motivate scholar athletes. The track team has performed outstandingly in competition all the way through states. The team has been able to send a handful of its top runners to the Virginia state competition meet for six years running. Holmes’ intense work ethic and natural ability to make uncomfortable work into a positive drive is what makes his team such an effective program of well-motivated and therefore well-decorated athletes.

CVHS Varsity Boys Soccer Welcomes New Coach by: erin shin The boy’s varsity soccer team opens the season with a game against Woodson with their new coach, Coach Cochran. “He’s a good guy. He’s going to help bring back the program,” Connor Coward, captain, said. Connor Cullieton, captain, also agreed, “He’s a good coach and I think he’s going to bring the program back.” With the new coach, team chemistry appears to be good. “The team gets along well. All the team members mesh well together,” Connor Coward said. “As the season progresses, our team should get along even better,” Connor Cullieton mentioned. Upcoming games include Friday March 23rd against West Springfield, Tuesday March 27th at McLean, and the following Thursday against Wakefield. The team hopes to

go to districts, regionals, and states, guided by Coach Cochran, who brings a unanimous positive opinion from the players. Players look forward to the season working together as a team and with their new coach.

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Coward charges after the ball

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sports

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March 30, 2012

Girls Soccer Setting High Goals by soo lim

The Centreville Girl’s soccer is well on their way to a great season and hopes to do the CATTRICK this season. The Centreville Girl’s Team has many new players from the previous JV team along with two new freshmen. “We get along very well and have excellent team bonding. We do a lot of funny singing, dancing, and we also have team dinners,” said Lindsey Egbers and Alex Myers (11). The team has an excellent defensive group of girls who know how to clear the ball and a fast and quick offensive group of girls that know how to take the ball up the line for a nice shot. Each player has shown great ball control, speed, and defensive tactics to make the team. The Varsity team has four division 1 scholarship

guaranteed girls to precede their soc- an outstanding game at home, wincer career in college; Alex Myers, Lind- ning it 3-1. Though, the team fell apart sey Egbers, a little at South Chloe Logs“We get along very well and County in the don, and second game Haley Yow. have excellent team bonding. We and lost, leavThese dedi- do a lot of funny singing, danc- ing the score cated girls 0-1. The team ing, and we also have team have been also had a on Varsity tough first dinners” soccer since game against their freshW o o d s o n -Lindsey Egbers men year, and lost 0-2. devoted Though the lots of time girls played into making it this far, and have been with lots of heart, they could not keep awarded as 1st Concorde All District the ball and finish their shots. The team or Honorable Mention in All Concord hopes to learn from their mistakes and District. continue to move on and have a good The girls have played two tough season. scrimmages against South County. In The Centreville Girls team is led by the first scrimmage, the girls played head coach and co-coach of the year

(2010-2011), Gary Malebranche. “I love him! He is very funny,” said Noelle Brown(9). “He really understands how we play and he’s definitely lots of fun,” said Alex Myers(11). He interacts very well with the girls and supports them in every way. He has helped lead the team make it very far in the seasons he has coached and led the team to a record of 12-1 last season with only one loss to Chantilly by one goal. The team played two excellent games against Hayfield and Lake Braddock last season in hopes to win the regional championship. Though the team made many improvements and made it all the way to Northern Region Semi Finals, they lost 4-2 against Mclean in a tough game. “We hope to do the “CATTRICK” this year and win districts and regional’s to advance onto states,” said Lindsey Egbers (11).

are prepared and determined to lead this team to victories. The softball team has some unique game day traditions. Before every game, they huddle up and draw the initials of the opposing school in the dirt. Then they circle around

it, cheer and chant, and then spit on it. “It’s a fun tradition we have to get ourselves pumped up” Said Lexi Hunter (10). “It’s sort of gross actually” said Luck. Another team tradition is dressing up to school on days of home games. For away games, the team wears their spirit wear. These rituals help the team unite and give a surge of confidence. They also let the student body know they are playing, encouraging them to come and support. These Lady Wildcats are focused and willing to give what it takes. They practice six days a week, with week night practices lasting up to three hours. Many of the girls play club softball in addition to playing and for the high school.

New Opportunities for Wildcat Softball BY AVERY ROCKE

“Win” That’s what the Lady Wildcats softball team plans to do this year. The girls feel confident about the prospects of their season. Fifteen strong girls make up the varsity team, which is a few more girls than a typical size team. A new head coach, Donnie Dutton brings a new level of organization to the program. He was previously the assistant coach at Westfield High School. He updated the press box, speaker system, and fencing. He also started a Wildcat softball clinic to raise funds, which was very successful. Sophomore Macy Luck says “practice is much more orderly than last year. It’s also tougher. We’re really getting in shape. We also look a lot better than last year. I’m excited to have a winning season.” Three senior captains: Lexi Murdock, Kara Love, and Courtney Burke

Kara Love (12) Lexi Hunter (10) help paint the new power cat on the press box

Wildcat Baseball Dominates Competition by Avery Rocke “Respect the game, respect the team, respect the coaches, and respect each other” is the Wildcat Varsity baseball motto. A team built on hard work and respect; Centreville baseball is looking to make it big this year. Varsity head coach Morgan Spencer has a positive outlook on the season. “We have a very good team this year and we should compete for the district championship.” Spencer said. He also said the team’s strongest point is their experience, with 15 returning varsity players. The boys are also looking forward to a great year. Sophomore Matt Sedlock says a big team goal this year is winning the Concorde District championship. This has always been a goal, but this year the boys feel like it’s a real possibility. Sedlock also talked about team bonding. “Every Sunday, we gather at Bobby San Martin’s house for some team bonding. This is a new tradition. Coach Tomme talks to us about respect, motivation, and reaching our goals.” Sedlock explained how getting along was crucial on the team. “Every time we break from a huddle we say ‘brothers’ ”. Senior Chris Simpson, who has been playing varsity baseball since he got pulled up his freshman year, says, “The team is looking much stronger than last year”. Simpson hopes not only to take the district championship,

but also compete at the Northern Region championship. “With our talented team and lots of hard work, we should be able to take down Westfield.” Simpson also mentioned favorite team rituals like listening to country music during batting practice. To Simpson and the boys, game day is best part of the whole experience. Junior Daniel Drangstveit said he was excited about the new uniforms. “They have swag,” he said. He explained a typical varsity practice consists of 3-4 hours of hitting and fielding drills, and an intersquad scrimmage. “Practice is long, hard work so it helps to drink a lot of water and get a good night’s sleep”. Senior Texas Williams who has already signed to play baseball at Temple University says that” this is definitely the strongest team we’ve had since I’ve been at Centreville. This is our first real shot at winning districts”. Sophomore Drew Brickwedde says he looks forward to the annual spring break trip to Orlando, Florida. “We get better and have fun. I’m excited to go, everyone always says its sweet”. Wildcat junior varsity baseball is also looking forward to an exciting year. The entire baseball program vigorously prepares for the season with workouts starting on the very first day of school. Sophomore Jack Tapp say “workouts are important so we get conditioned for the season. We also get stronger, which gives us an advantage on the field and helps reduce injuries.”

Sophomore pitcher Matt Ellis explains the JV team’s motto is “do work”. He says “We’re looking pretty good for this year”. With the team consisting of five sophomores and the rest freshmen, JV baseball has lots of young players who aspire to work up to the varsity level. Both teams are looking sharp this year, and the overall motto of this story is “Look out for Wildcat Baseball”

Senior catcher Bobby San Martin stands up after throwing ball


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