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USKY EADLINE
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TUSCARORA HIGH SCHOOL LEESBURG, VA VOLUME 9, EDITION 2
Inside This Edition: NHL: The Drop Of The Puck Is Upon Us The NBA Season Has Officially Tipped Off Michael Brennan: Golf State Champion Pages 2 & 3 Behind The Scenes Of The PEER Program Page 4 Reading and Leading Page 5 A Tribute To Mrs. Dombrowski Pages 6 & 7 Applying For The Next Step Page 8 The Link Between Athletic And Academic Performance Holiday Season Page 9 Riding The Waves Don’t Bee A Hater Sounding The Trumpet Page 10
SPORTS
The Drop of the Puck is Upon Us
The NHL season has just begun and the Washington Capitals look to repeat their championship glory BY CHANDLER TUTEN The National Hockey League (NHL) season started on October 3 with the Toranto Maple Leafs defeating the Montreal Canadians 3-2. Last season ended in a good way for D.C. sports fans when the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin brought home their first ever Stanley Cup victory, defeating the Vegas Knights in six games. The 2018-2019 will be exciting to watch with the Capitals trying to repeat, the Vegas Knights trying to get back to the Stanley Cup after a historic season, and the talent of the teams getting better each year. Last season, the Capitals brought home the Stanley Cup trophy; something that D.C. sports fans thought would never happen. Before this victory, year after year the Capitals
were claimed favorites to win the Cup for many seasons and each of those seasons ended in disappointment. The Capitals had a long trend of losing in the first round or losing to Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs, but that finally ended last year and this year D.C. sports fans are expect the streak to continue. They are ready to become repeat champions with Ovechkin, Oshie, Backstrom, and Kuznetsov returning, the all-star goal scorers for the Caps. Most of the defense will also be returning this year with Carlson, Orpik, Niskanen, and Orlov. With nearly the exact same team as last year, the Capitals look ready to become repeat champions. However, the Capitals still have to face a familiar foe in the Penguins, as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Leafs, who
can give the Capitals troubles when postseason time hits.
The Vegas Knights had one of the most successful opening seasons as an expansion team. Throughout sports history, expansion teams usually struggle to have winning seasons and almost never make the playoffs. However, the Vegas Knights not only had a winning season, they made it all the way Stanley Cup finals. Even though they were unable to make history and become the first ever expansion team to win the championship in their opening season, this season has a lot of high hopes for Knights fans. Just like the Capitals, the Knights will have just about the same roster as last year. Therefore, getting back to the Stanley Cup and winning this year
is something that the Knights are hoping to accomplish. However, the Western Conference is full of teams, that are loaded with talent that will be going after the Knights. For instance the San Jose Sharks, Vancover Canucks, and Nashville Predators. The journey to the Stanley Cup finals for Western Conference teams will be interesting to watch since the west is loaded with so much talent.
The NHL will be very exciting to watch this season because of how much talent there is in this league. Unlike the NBA, the public can usually guess who will make it to the finals, but in the NHL no one can certainly know which team will be holding up the Stanley Cup trophy at the end of the season.
The NBA Season has Officially Tipped off
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to play eight games last season, and Demar Derozan was a proven guard who helped the Raptors go to three straight Eastern Conference Finals while also becoming the Raptors all time leading scorer. This trade shifted both conferences and made the Raptors a real threat in the East with LeBron now in the West. LeBron James is no longer on the Cleveland Cavaliers and after starting the season with an 0-6 record, they fired Head Coach Tyronn Lue. Lue had a record of 128 wins and 83 losses as head coach, but most would say those wins only came because James was on the team. The Cavs are in an interesting position because they have a team full of veterans who have been to multiple NBA Finals, but with no James on the
The Varsity Football team defeated rival Stone Bridge on October 19, 2018. This has been the biggest win of the season so far for the team, and with only a few weeks left until playoffs this may be a shift in momentum for the team.
team it may be hard for them to get back to the playoffs, so a rebuilding situation may happen in the near future. Finally, the Lakers acquired role players Lance Stephenson, Javale McGee, Michael Beasley, and Rajon Rondo this offseason who will help out LeBron James in his first year with the team. Other young players such as Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart will also help James out this season and in future seasons. James has started what may be the final stretch of his career, and he will be doing it in the purple and gold. To read more about the NBA season, check out thehuskyheadline.com
Photo Courtesy of Bill Vocke
news of Demarcus Cousins signing with the back to back champion Warriors quickly took the headlines away from LeBron and company. The Warriors will most likely be the dynasty of the century of none of the star players leave the team, and with the acquisition of one of the best big man in the league they may never be stopped. The Warriors have had average centers these past few seasons, but with Boogie Cousins now in the Bay Area the Warriors have kept themselves as favorites to win their third straight championship. The biggest trade of the offseason had to be the swap of star players between the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs. Kawhi Leonard was a top tier superstar in the league before a leg injury forced him only Photo Courtesy of @ERhodesReads
BY SULLY CARR “The Golden State Warriors have swept the Cleveland Cavaliers to win their second straight NBA Championship� were the last words said of the 2017-18 NBA season, and little did fans know how much would change over the summer. Star players such as LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Demarcus Cousins, and Demar Derozan all switched teams this offseason and have caused ruckus in the league. FREE AGENT TRANSACTIONS AND TRADES: The Western conference reigned supreme over the Eastern conference for the past few years, and it may not change for a long time. LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers was one of the biggest offseason moves of the summer, but
BY SULLY CARR
SPORTS TWEETS
After an offseason that was full of surprises, the NBA regular season has finally begun
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Michael Brennan; The Iron Man
SPORTS
Junior, Michael Brennan, has worked his way to the top of the leaderboard as a state champion BY SULLY CARR AND CHANDLER TUTEN
In terms of the overall atmosphere of the school, Brennan said that, “It was a little bit of everything at Wake Forest [and] I was able to connect really well with the coaching staff. The training facilities and what they had to offer with academics was really impressive. The driving range range and practice facility is top notch.” This year, Brennen spends his
Congradulations to the Varsity Cheer squad on a fantastic season that went down to just a few points. Now it is time to get back on the mat and start to work towards next year.
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around his finger. “I will keep putting in work over the Summer to stay sharp for next year, there is always room for improvement in golf, and being able to defend my title will be a challenge but it is a challenge that I will be ready to face.” According to the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Michael is 540th among the best golfers in the world. Brennan also participated in the 2017 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier
“I try to play every day after school until dark. However, this offseason I plan to work on my putting, technique, and distance control.” - Junior, Michael Brennan
where he was the youngest contestant in the nation. Last year he was named the VSGA Junior Boys’ Golfer of the Year. However, Michael still puts time away from golf to explore other hobbies. Brennan has been a member of the boys basketball team playing on the freshman and junior varsity levels. “I have always enjoyed playing basketball and being apart of this team, plus it is too cold to play golf in the winter.” With the activities Brennan participates in with golf and basketball, and with the addition of school work, it can be long tiring days for Brennan. “I usually go to bed around one
A.M. everyday during the week; I look forward to the weekends because I can actually sleep in.” Brennan is well on his way to becoming a pro golfer with his ability to win four amateur golf championships as well as many top 10 finishes in other golf tournaments. With his commitment to Wake Forest it makes his goal more achievable. “I can’t help but to look into my future for the game of golf, in 10 years I hope to be playing playing professionally on the PGA tour; it has been a dream of mine since I was in kindergarten.” Brennan has a chance of being one of the biggest names to come out of the school, and with multiple championships at the young age of 17, he has a great shot of doing so.
Brennan was the first to win the Mid-Atlantic Amateur Championship in back to back years since 1962. Which makes it the first time in 56 years. Photo Courtesy of Michael Brennan He is only a junior as well, so with the constant hours practicing and improving his game Brennan may be even better before graduating and will be a name to watch out for in years to come.
Photo Courtesy of Lifetouch
Brennan lines up his put on the way to championship glory. Photo Courtesy of Lifetouch
school week at practice and working on school work, with additional practices or tournaments almost every weekend. His most noticeable accomplishments individually are the: Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship, the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship, and he won the Middle Atlantic Amateur championship back-to-back which hasn’t been done since 1962. Brennan has been playing golf since he was five years old, and has been playing in tournaments since he was 10 years old. Therefore, he tries to practice everyday and work on his game. “I try to play everyday after school until dark. However, this offseason I plan to work on my putting technique and distance control; my putting in my opinion is pretty good, but it can always get better.” For the school, Brennen helped his team during tournaments in the regular season. Individually on the team, Brennen won districts and states but got 3rd place in regionals. Brennan only won states by one stroke and he really felt the pressure when he was on the 18th green. “[At states], all the other kids playing were around the green watching me finish. If I three putted I knew I would have to go into a playoff. My first shot was difficult, it was about 40’ up a ridge on the green. I read [the shot] really well and I hit it with good speed, it ended up being my best shot of the day. Then all I had was an easy tap in for the win.” This was Brennan’s first state championship win after coming in fourth place last year. However, Brennan wants to defend his title and end his high school career with another state championship ring
Photo Courtesy of Bill Vocke
Michael Brennan, Wake Forest class of 2024 commit, recently won the state championship for golf, but that is not the only accomplishment Brennan has over this year. Brennan is a very accomplished golfer both for the school and individually. Brennan verbally committed to Wake Forest on June 14, 2018 for golf and as a AET student, is also focused on the education portion of the college. “I put a high priority on education and Wake is among the top 25 ranked universities in the country.” Michael Brennan spoke highly about the guys that were on the Wake Forest golf team.“The guys on the team were really accepting of me and when I was on campus they showed me around and told me about the good spots on campus, and that wasn’t really what I got at other campuses.”
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FEATURES
Behind the Scenes of the PEER Program BY NATHAN FRANCIS
PEER members gathered together to take a picture in all red. Top Row (Left to Right) Nathan Francis, Jillian Chubbuck, Kaitlyn Fletcher, Anna Chalmers, Courtland Blake, Emma Koochagian, and Kate Sulek. Middle Row (Left to Right) Ally Shaffer, Haley Smeltzer, Taylor Nodland, Randi Evans, Amber Douglas, and Iman Baig. Bottom Row (Left to Right) Renny Adjei, Chandler Tuten, Austin Frederickson, Javier Castaneda and Katherine Leza. Photo courtesy of Ms. Austin.
SCAN THE QR CODE
The “Boo Bullying” display case in the foyer, design by the students in PEER advertises their campaign as you walk into the school. “The bullying campaign is very important to our school because bullying will not be tolerated at all and we want to make sure everyone comes together to stand against it,” said Nodland. Photo courtesy of Husky Headline staffer.
A poster that was made by PEER students to advertise the October campaign. PEER students make posters for most of their campaigns. Photo courtesy of Husky Headline staffer.
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PEER, or Positive Experiences in Educational Relationships, is a program that supports and mentors’ students. It operates county wide and is open to junior and senior applicants. According to LCPS.org, “As positive role models, PEER helpers develop and implement educational and awareness programs which address issues facing today’s students.” “I think the biggest impact PEER has on the school is the openness we offer to everyone. We go the extra mile to show that everyone is welcome to talk with us whenever,” said senior Taylor Nodland. PEER helpers have confidential one-on-one meetings with students during the school day, about their live Throughout the year, PEER leads many campaigns from Bullying Prevention, Suicide and Depression awareness, and Human Trafficking. These campaigns are student led and are supported by the PEER sponsor, Mrs. Valeria Austin. Senior Haley Smeltzer has been a part of the PEER program for two years and says, “I enjoy the independence we get in the PEER program and how it is all student led. We make up all the campaigns ourselves and truly get to voice our own ideas into everything we do.” According to the American Society for The Positive Care of Students, “20% of students between the grades of 9 and 12 are bullied.” During the month of October, the PEER program’s campaign was “Stop Bullying.” Starting in October first, PEER helpers put up posters advertising the campaign. “The bullying campaign was very
important because this is something that happens, and we need to bring awareness and try to prevent it as much as possible,” said senior Austin Frederickson. On every Wednesday in October, PEER helpers, as well as Tuscarora students, wore red in recognition of bully prevention. As a reward for students wearing red, students received candy during their lunch and could sign up to be entered into a $10 Chick-Fil-A gift card raffle. “This campaign is very important to our school, especially now. Bullying is not okay and will not be tolerated and we need to emphasize that throughout this campaign,” said Smeltzer. PEER also held a Halloween Party on October 31st during all lunch shifts. The Halloween party consisted of a costume contest, trick or treating as students left the cafeteria, and lots of Halloween decorations in the cafeteria. This party was the big event for their October campaign. The next campaign that PEER will be doing will focus on human trafficking, so be on the lookout for information about it. If you think your friend needs someone to talk to, you can put in a request for someone to have a PEER buddy on the website home page. If you ever have any questions about the program you can visit Mrs. Austin in room 209 or email her at Valeria.Austin@lcps.org
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FEATURES
Reading and Leading
A look into how the varsity football team is getting involved and giving back to their community BY COURTLAND BLAKE
Senior Sam Galleta reads with his reading buddy. Photo coutesy of Beth Rhodes The football program has started visiting Frances Hazel Reid Elementary school on Wednesday and Friday mornings to participate in the Readers are Leaders program, which is a non-profit organization that works to partner high school athletes with elementary schoolers. The team was interested in getting involved in their community and knew that they wanted to work with children. “We wanted to do something in the children’s hospital because that’s touched our program. That didn’t quite work out, but we’re still trying
“It’s really nice to get
to know them and to create a relationship and watch them learn and become better readers,” said Noah Gick to do that in the future,” said head coach Mr. Brandon Wheelbarger. Instead, they got inspiration from the baseball team, who did a similar program at FHR in the spring. When they visit FHR, each player has a student that they work with and try to help improve their reading skills. “The athletes motivate reluctant readers through one-on-one sessions. Each session works on reading, sight words and decoding through some fast paced, fun
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Senior Duncan Schenk, freshman Bryce Duke, and senior Trevor Palmer participate in an activity with the elementary schoolers. Photo courtesy of Beth Rhodes
Senior Cristophe Atkinson reads with his buddy. Photo courtesy of Beth Rhodes
The football players read with their assigned elementary schoolers in the Frances Hazel Reid Cafeteria. Photo courtesy of Brandon Wheelbarger activities,” said Mrs. Beth Rhodes, a reading specialist at FHR. The football players commented that it felt really good to help and work with the students. “My favorite part of helping with the kids is that all the kids look forward to reading with us, which shows that they are enthusiastic about learning and reading which is great,” said senior Yusuf Rafiqzad. The players also appreciate the relationships that are forged. “It feels really good to volunteer time to help these kids. It’s really nice to get to know them and to create a relationship and watch them learn and become better readers,” said junior Noah Gick. Senior Duncan Schenk’s favorite part of participating in the program is when it clicks for the students. “My favorite part is seeing how happy the kids look when they finally get a hard word or a new high score for words per minute,” he said. Wheelbarger has noticed that
through the program, his players have been learning how to teach and how that can facilitate their own learning. “I think they’ve developed patience [and] communication skills from having that shoe on the other foot. For them to step back and be the teacher, I think that makes them a better learner in that respect,” he said. The children at FHR are getting a lot out of the program as well. “They eat it up. They love it. We’ve only been there a few times and I get emails from over at the elementary school asking when the kids are coming back. I think their kids are already look forward to it just as much as our kids do,” said Wheelbarger. Rhodes commented on how much the elementary school students enjoy it as well. “Our students love it! They feel special. The football team gets to be a bright spot in someone’s day, role
models, mentors, and “encouragers” to little people,” she said. One thing that stands out to Wheelbarger is how one of his players, Trevor Palmer, interacted with the hard of hearing class. “They were doing a song and dance and Trevor was just enthralled by it. They called him in and they were signing this song and for the rest of the day and next couple days, the parents kept reaching out because those kids went home and they loved it so much that they kept asking, ‘Is that gonna be a normal Friday thing, is that gonna be something that the kids can come back?’” he said. Although the program was not mandatory for the team, Wheelbarger was happy with how many of the players have been participating. “We probably have close to forty or fifty players that are attending either Wednesday or Friday. It was something that was opened up to the entire team and I wasn’t going to require it because so much is required of these kids already, but it was awesome to see that the majority of them wanted to do it even though they weren’t being told to,” he said. The main motivation for the team to help at Frances Hazel Reid is to give back to the community that supports them and to be positive role models for future huskies. “As a football team, we also need to give back to the community that supports and comes to our games. [It] shows the community that we’re bigger than just [our] football team,” said freshman Bryce Duke.
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October 4, 2018 1. Prayer service held for Mrs. Andrea Dombrowski October 8, 2018 2. “We Play For Andrea” varsity volleyball game versus Heritage “We dedicated our game to her to support her family and support the community that Mrs. Dombrowski had created around herself. We made a sign for her that we could look at and hung it up in the most visible spot in our gym. We dedicated one of the toughest games that we were going to play to her and seeing that sign before every play was just motivation,” said junior Megan Dunnigan. 3. Junior Michael Brennan #PlayedForHer and won the Class 5 VHSL Golf State Championship “The yellow ribbon was to remember Mrs. Dombrowski and everything she has done for Tuscarora. She was the Tuscarora family mom,” said Brennan.
October 9, 2018 4. #WePlayForHer cheer competition at Broad Run County wide “White Out” for Mrs. Dombrowski Cheer team placed 2nd “Her symbol is a butterfly, so we put butterflies on our cheeks and butterfly jewels on our bows. Every routine we practice or compete is all her, everything we do is for her because of how much she impacted our lives,” said senior Taylor Nodland.
October 11, 2018 5. #WePlayForHer varsity field hockey game versus Heritage “Dedicating our field hockey game to Mrs. Dombrowski was our way of supporting her family and friends, and letting them know that we are here for them. As a team, we came together to show our love for Mrs. Dombrowski, emphasizing the love and generosity that she always radiated,” said junior Maya Tunador.
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October 12, 2018 6. #WePlayForHer varsity football game at Freedom October 27, 2018 7. Mrs. Andrea Dombrowski’s Celebration of Life Friends and family gathered to celebrate the life of Mrs. Dombrowski
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Photos courtesy of the Dombrowski family and Tuscarora Community
NOVEMBER 2018
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The #WePlayForHer Movement Why We Play For Her As the cheerleaders prepare to perform, there is a new routine to remember, one where they adorn their bows with jewel-shaped butterflies, wear sparkly stars on their faces, and write a special name on their shoes and wrists: Andrea Dombrowski. “I want to make sure that it’s very clear that she wasn’t just a team mom. She was the heart and soul of the Tuscarora cheer program and a second mom and best friend to so many of us,” said senior Bree Puterio. “Andrea is the best women I’ve ever met in my entire life. Everything we do is in her honor. We feel her love and passion everyday on the mat when we practice and compete. She is with us always and forever, the most beautiful butterfly, I love & miss you everyday Andrea,” said senior Taylor Nodland. Andrea Dombrowski, a loved mother and avid supporter of the cheer and football teams, passed away this October. Prayers and support quickly came rolling in from members of the Tuscarora community, broadening to include all types of Loudoun County schools and activities. Mrs. Dombrowski went out of her way for the kids she worked with and was more than
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simply a parent of the cheer team. “She was our team mom. She was at every game/competition with her sparkly Party City stars, taking pictures of us and giving us gifts. From hosting pool parties and team sleepovers, to checking us into two different hotels at 3:00 A.M., she always went above and beyond to make sure we were happy,” added Puterio. “She was a parent who took over multiple roles. She was always there to photograph kids with great action shots. She was always there for the kids. She was there for the teams. She always made sure that if they were getting their pictures done that they had the right lighting. She paid special attention to instances that would just be a one time thing. She just made sure that she always got it right, not just for her kids, but for all the kids,” said athletic director Mr. Tallent. As the cheerleaders and football players continue their season, they are dedicating their season to Mrs. Dombrowski. Every tweet before every game is written with #weplayforher. The cheerleaders kiss their right wrists, where they wrote her name in ink, before putting their all into what Mrs. Dombrowski loved most.
“It has definitely brought our team closer, and we are all there to support each other and push each other to do our best and remind each other it’s all for Andrea. We tell each other that it doesn’t matter how far we go this season, as long as we fight our hardest because that’s all Andrea would have wanted,” said senior Emily Larrick. Tuscarora has worked with other schools and held white out themes in honor of Mrs. Dombrowski. As the current heart and soul of the cheer team, she will continue to be their biggest cheerleader, pushing the team on and reminding them what they’re playing for.
Photos courtesy of the Dombrowski family and Tuscarora Community
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STUDENT LIFE
Applying for the Next Step
A look into the first semester of senior year with balancing high school and completing college applications BY MARIA SCHENSE Senior year. A time for final memories and events, but it is also time for taking the next step. For many, that step is thinking about applying to a college of their choice. Most high school students choose between 3-5 colleges to apply to: some being safety schools, intermediate schools, and the others being reach schools.
When looking at the makeup of a typical application, it includes a profile, one’s standardized test scores, essays and recommendation letters. Each application submitted can take hours to complete, adding an extra level of homework to a typical high school students’ daily agenda. Before starting the applications, students must also make a choice: whether they wish to apply only instate, or apply to out-of-state schools, as well. While each choice has its benefits and downsides
Early Decision
-Early November Deadline -Binding -Early Response -Apply to only one as Early Decision School
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including costs and location, the decision marks an important turning point in the process. “I applied instate and out-of-state in order to meet new people outside of Virgina,” said senior Brecan Saul. For others going in decided, it also depends on the offered majors. “I applied to out-of-state as well because even though Virginia does have some solid contenders for Musical Theatre, there are a lot of strong programs which exist outside of the state,” said senior Kelly De Angiolleti. For each student it is different, but most seniors have their eyes set on one school where they hope to start the new chapter of their lives. There are a variety of factors that can sway this decision including the atmosphere of the campus, the location, the academics, and the athletics offered. “Princeton is my top choice because of the unparalleled education I can receive there along with the financial aid they provide,” said senior Jack Maschler. Maschler commented that he also enjoyed the New Jersey atmosphere that accompanies the prestigious college. An extra factor for a small group of students is choosing a college that fits their athletic commitment,
VS.
Early Action
-Early November and Early December Deadline -Not Binding -Early Response -Apply to Multiple
and for an even smaller select few, a college that grants them an offer to play at their school. “My top choice is NYU because of the internship opportunities, the ability to live in NYC and the wrestling program,” said Saul. While they may receive an offer to be a part of the school’s athletic program, the stress level is not any less for these students. “It’s stressful just trying to talk to a bunch of coaches and [also] make sure all of my applications are in on time,” said Saul. With the time commitment necessary for college applications, finding the balance of separating high school from college is proven to be quite the challenge for many seniors. “Everytime I settle down to work on applications I find myself distracted by schoolwork and end up not getting any college work done,” said senior Spencer Anderson.
“[I am excited] to just start the next chapter of my life!”-senior, Arran Ponte
Many seniors upon starting their applications, realized that the known difficulty of junior year carried into senior year. Some seniors continue the stressors of junior year into senior year including spending weekends taking standardized tests, as well as loading their schedule with multiple rigorous AP or DE classes. “This year is definitely more stressful because this year deadlines are solidly fixed and most everything
VS.
Regular Decision -January Deadline -Not Binding -Most Common Application -Response in March -Apply to Mulitple
Easy Ways to Apply to College:
1. Through CommonApp 2. Through Coalition 3. Directly through the school
I do will have an impact upon my future,” said De Angiolleti. Anderson agreed with De Angiolleti saying that, “Senior year feels more stressful [because] I’m not only balancing academics, and sports, but [also] additional honor societies, clubs, and leadership positions.” In addition to completing general questions in applications, seniors are also constantly plagued with the question, continually asked for years, which is: what do you want to major in or be when you’re old? For some, like senior Arran Ponte who plans to major in marketing and exercise science, the answer is clear, but for others the option of going in undecided is more of a fit. “An undecided major allows me to try different things and learn more about myself,” said Anderson. Once college application deadlines are met and the application process comes to a close, seniors set their focus on a new deadlines, including acceptance letters and scholarship applications. However, following the close of this second set of deadlines, seniors’ eyes begin to shift towards the actuality of the future ahead of them. “[I am excited] to just start the next chapter of my life and to be able to focus on what I want to do with my life!” said Ponte.
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STUDENT LIFE
The Link Between Athletics and Academic Performance
Are extracurriculars holding back students from unlocking their full academic potential, or are they just a harmless pastime? BY MATTHEW SUTHERLAND Most teenagers’ daily lives provide them with more than enough stress and worry, and being involved in sports helps students to forget about their academic lives, but is the amount of time spent mastering performance on the field starting to interfere with performance in the classroom? One would think that having less time to be able to focus on school would result in poor grades, but according to some students, that isn’t always the case. Andrew Szebalskie is a sophomore and plays ice hockey for both the Tuscarora team and the Ashburn Xtreme Hockey Club. Even with three days of practice every week, starting at 8:50pm and not getting home until 10:30pm, Szebalskie said, “I feel like my grades are consistent
throughout the year, I just don’t have as much free time when I’m playing hockey.”
Andrew Szebalskie (left) celebrates with a teammate after connecting on an assist to score a goal. Photo courtesy of Andrew Szebalskie
Holiday is season underway
Another athlete at Tuscarora, sophomore Alex Hernandez, was on the JV baseball team last year as a freshman and currently attends baseball practice four days a week, leading up to tryouts for the baseball team in the spring. Hernandez goes to practice right after school and gets home around 6pm; he says this schedule has bettered his time management. “I’ve started to get homework done earlier since I don’t have as much time outside of school,” Hernandez said. The expectations put upon student athletes are present outside of just the athletics department too. Jack Dobscha, a sophomore, plays bass drum for the Tuscarora Marching Huskies and practices four days a week. Dobscha normally gets
home around 7:30pm, and when asked about his grades during the season he said, “They’re normally better during marching band season because I get assigned grade checks, and that motivates to do better in class so I can perform in competitions.” Several students are forced to manage both the obligations of their craft, and the already heavy burden of high school. This can either set up students for academic failure, or urge them to develop improved wokring habits. When the latter takes effect, extracurriculars become less of a hardship, and more of a method to motivate students to perform better in school than without the additional activities.
A look into Halloween and Thanksgiving and people can express their creativity BY DOLHAN MOHAMMADI
Halloween is an annual holiday regularly celebrated by children and teenagers who dress in costumes and trick-or-treat door to door. Many Tuscarora high school students and teachers celebrate the tradition of Halloween by dressing in costumes and giving each other candy. “I’m going to the parade this year and will be wearing the mascot costume as well as passing out candy to the kids for Science National Honor Society. We are trying to promote Walking For Water, where we will try to build wells in third world countries,” said senior Kaushiki Valluri. The time has come for costumes, spooky stories and candy. “I would have to say the best costume I have seen was a unicorn costume. It’s hard to make a fantasy animal look so real in school. The person had made the costume look like it was meant to be a modern unicorn, which is a difficult challenge, hence the fact there isn’t enough information or details of how the was costume so good,” said junior Jasmeet Kaur
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Students like going with their friends while for others, the most joyful part of Halloween is trick-ortreating. Trick-or-treating is a Halloween ritual custom for children to go house to house with the phrase ‘trick-or- treat’ and people give them candy. The candy stash is good for two or three months, and sometimes even more depending on how much candy you get and how much you consume. In some cultures, money is given instead of candy. This is what makes Halloween, Halloween! “My favorite part of Halloween is trick-or-treating. It is the perfect opportunity to get out and meet my neighbors and get some candy. Mostly, I go with my sisters and I really enjoy my time with them. We wear our costumes and go to our neighbor’s house and ring the door bell and say ‘trick-or-treat.’ People give giant candy, marshmallows, and even money. Others give more practical things like pencils, pens and erasers. We collect whatever we get and when we got home, my sisters and I share what we got,” said sophomore Helen Varghese.
Every year, Tuscarora staff dress up in fancy costumes and wear make-up, which makes the Halloween tradition more special. PEER also plans to have a Halloween party in the cafeteria the day before Halloween. “This year, I was considering being a FBI agent or a police officer. The reason why I would like to be an officer is because it makes me passionate about my career and allows me to dress and act like the character,” added Kour. The spite of focusing on candy not every student eat that, Kaushiki one of the Tuscarora high school student. “I do still eat Halloween candy, however, last year I donated all my candy to a homeless veteran shelter, so that might be a possibility again this year,” said kaushiki Valluri. “Last year, Halloween was great. A majority of the school dressed up and were in the spirit of the Halloween. I think this year Halloween is going to be better than last year’s because more people will be inspired to dress up and share the holiday with their classmates,”
Thanksgiving one of the national holiday which bring all people toghther. Thanksgiving is always celebrted the fourth Thursday of November.it is a wonderful time of year to remember to be grateful for what we have. “Thanks giving is a just a good time of the year where you get to catch up with all your family members as she hadn’t seen in a while and you got to make with my Marie’s I know and talk about old memories so that’s my favorite part about things giving is this the bond and the smiles and laughter that just keeps on giving in the joy that you experience during that time of the year”,said junior Divine Mbuyi. “Thanksgiving is the day we start making the harder meals during the evening everyone kind of get gathers around together and we all eat our Thanksgiving meal which consists of huge proportions of food everyone gets stuffed just like our Turkey”,said Sumaiya Tasnim.
NOVEMBER 2018 9
ENTERTAINMENT
Riding The Waves
Anna Kasun shares details of the creation of her new EP, Waves
BY ABIGAIL SCHLITZER On October 3, junior Anna Kasun and her brother John Kasun released their first EP, Waves. The EP features six songs, all of which are entirely written and performed by the Kasuns, and has been about two years in the making. The title song of the EP, Waves, was the first that the siblings wrote, and it set the theme for the rest of their songs. “It was the summer before my Freshman year,” said Kasun. “My brother and I were at our beach house and had nothing to do because it was raining. We figured why not write a song? My dad urged us to do it and we ended up writing our first song, which is ‘Waves’, and also the title of the EP in two hours.” After performing “Waves” together locally, the Kasuns decided to write an EP with the support and encouragement of their parents. They wanted to have a tangible collection of songs that they could share with people. They used “Waves” as an example for how they wrote their songs. “Basically what we would do is [John] would get some notes that he thought were cool and he’d show them to me. Then I’d hear a melody
in [his music] and then we would start on lyrics. We always did music first, and then lyrics.” As they soon found out, most songs were not as inspired and smooth to write as “Waves” was. “John and I had been working on lyrics for “Settle for More” for like three weeks. The lyrics that we had originally written were not very good, but we were just trying to get the song written because we really wanted to get an EP done. Then John said he wanted to start over and I agreed, so we started over completely. That’s where one of the lines in the song comes from, ‘right back where we started, another rhyme and a verse.’ It was definitely the hardest and most rewarding song for us to write,” said Kasun. While the songs can be classified as ‘pop,’ they are undoubtedly influenced by the Kasuns’ personal music taste. “I grew up listening to classic rock with my dad. That became John’s music taste too. I liked rock, but I tried to stay away from it because I didn’t want to be the same as John. As I grew up, I realized that some of the songs he listens to have way
Don’t Bee a Hater
Come see The 25th Annual Putnam County going on and how he feels about the atmosphere of it all. His thoughts on Spelling Bee!
10 NOVEMBER 2018
SCAN THE QR CODE
BY BRADY BULLINGTON The Theatre Department has been known for the past several years to put on a show every fall and spring. This year’s fall show is the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The lead director for this fall’s musical is Mr. Justin Daniel, who is working alongside the assistant director, John Ambrose. There has been three rehearsals a week, every morning and afternoon, preparing to present the spectacle of a show. This year’s show will incorporate the audience, therefore making the show “full of unexpected humor,” said junior Nya De Shay. “A lot of work is being pushed for rehearsals and reading lines,” said De Shay when asked about what parts are being worked on the most. As far as behind the scenes are concerned, Sammy Barthel has a good insight on what’s been
the process included a discussion about how the set changes. “I get to see the set of the show change from a simple idea on paper to a complex set of structures on the stage,” said Barthel. Barthel believes that by growing relationships with the tech team “you get to work on something bigger than yourself,” which is a part he finds the most appealing while working with theatre. Luke Barbour, who plays the character Leaf Coneybear, urges all to come out to see the musical to experience “fun music and memorable characters.” You can order the tickets online for the musical that’s on the dates of the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th this upcoming November.
more substance than things like rap that I listened to my freshman year, so I’m gearing more towards [John’s] music taste now,” said Kasun. The EP is majorly an upbeat pop album. Although Kasun claims that she and John did not have any solid musical inspirations for the EP, at moments, the classic rock that the two grew up on and continue to enjoy shows its influence. Towards the end of “Settle for More,” the first track, a quick-tempoed guitar solo breaks in before a repeat of the chorus. The EP’s final track, “It Ain’t Over,” gives off a feel different to that of the others; it has a nice focus on instrumentals and is very upbeat throughout its entirety. The combination of a pop album with rock influences creates the end result: Waves. In terms of other influences, the Kasuns were inspired by their love of math and thinking, which even made its way onto their album cover. “John and I are really into things
that make you think and lyrics that go deeper than just the surface. We both knew we wanted to write songs that were poetic,” said Kasun. “We also both really love math for some reason, so we figured why not incorporate that? The fibonacci sequence, [which is on the cover], looks like a wave anyway, and we knew that Stilson Greene, [our cover artist], could make a really cool design from it.” With all of their songs written, the Kasuns began to prepare their EP to share with the world. “John wanted to re-record things and add more because he’s a perfectionist. We weren’t together when we actually released it since John is in Georgia for college, but we text all the time so we were still able to celebrate. [My dad] told me that he’d have [the EP] on Spotify and iTunes by the end of the week, and he did, which was so cool,” explained Kasun. “My mom ordered all the CDs for us. It’s so weird to see my own name in my song library now!” Creating and releasing Waves has made Kasun reconsider her future. “Growing up, I wanted to be an actress and singer,” said Kasun, “But then there was two years where I didn’t want to do that [anymore]. I’m starting to come back to it now [because of the EP] because I love singing again. But really, I’m not sure. I might do it just as a side thing, but I really do love it.”
Sounding the Trumpet Spotlight on Band and Orchestra BY MIA PARADA There are many musical programs present at school. However two are in the spotlight this edition: band and orchestra. Orchestra, run by Mrs. Pulley, and band, run by Mrs. Newmiller, have been working extremely hard these first few months of school. The band has recently participated in a competition at Colgan High School and Harrisonburg High School. At Colgan High School, they received “1st place in division with best color guard, percussion, GE, visual, and music,” said Mrs. Newmiller. Other than the most recent competitions, Mrs. Newmiller and the band have been seen quite a few times in the school building. On the first day of school, the band played to welcome students back. They have also played at every home football game as well as the pep rallies. Much more is ahead for band. On November 3 they will compete at the VMBC State Championships at
The band makes their way to the field to play at the first home game of the season. Photo courtesy of Toni Kelley. Liberty University. Orchestra has been very busy as well. This year they have been preparing for their assessment and their Winter Concert. The Winter Concert is in December and after that, they will be preparing for their assessment. The assessment is when each orchestra in Loudoun County is rated. They will also be attending the Chamber Music Concert with band and the chorus. Band and Orchestra have been working hard and plan to keep going strong to finish off the rest of their competitions.
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Parents: Our Biggest Cheerleaders BY THE HUSKY HEADLINE STAFF
As athletes compete for the top spots in their district, region, and state, and students cheer in the stands, there is another prominent group working behind the scenes. Parents are the power and champions of the sports teams and school, but they receive little credit for their hard work. Parents are the force behind pasta dinners, such as those hosted by the cross country team. There are also many parent coaches, such as the assistant coach of the field hockey team, who make it possible for the students to play their best in every game. These parents spend their free time planning practices and teaching student athletes how to improve at
the activities they love. They drive athletes to their school events, even if it’s far away or early in the morning. Above all else, parents are always on our side. They are there for us whether it is cheering at a state championship or hugging us after a tough loss. They are our biggest fans and cheerleaders, and students should not forget the integral part they play in school programs. In fact, remembering the people standing behind them should make them willing to work harder. According to a study completed by Child Trends, the amount of parental involvement has increased in schools across all grades since 1996. The survey showed that 43% of students had parents who volunteered in
their schools, while this percentage was only 39% in 1996. 79% of students had a parent who attended a school or class event compared to only the 67% that was recorded in 1996. For the attendance of a simple meeting or class event, the percentage of parent involvement was 89% in 2007. In 1996, this number was only 77%. Some studies even show that having parents involved in activities can help students perform better in these activities. These statistics show that parents have only become a more important part of our school as we have become more reliant on them throughout the years. Without their support and time, many of these activities might not be as amazing as
The Stress of the Holiday Season
OP/ED
they are. As Thanksgiving approaches, students should keep their parents in mind. Say thank you to all of the adults who make your high school experiences possible. Even if parents are not directly active or present in school activities, they might be donating money that goes to your equipment, food, and other necessary items. The work these parents do is in addition to their full-time or part-time job and other responsibilities. After a long day, they give up their free time as a volunteer to make our school better. However, no matter how hard it gets, students can always count to look up and see them in the stands or on the field.
The Stress that comes in October, November and December BY SAVANNAH REGER
The months of October, November, and December are an exciting time of the year. Students know the upcoming holidays are approaching soon, and can feel the weather becoming cooler. However, after going through three years of the holiday season homework, I have discovered that the stress that comes with the extra homework can be very taxing on mental health. In October, I celebrate Halloween, and even though the haunted houses, and spooky decorations appear in stores, I still cannot forget the fact that the end of the 1st quarter is near. For me, it seems the distractions are endless. School sports are one example of stress on students in October. With school finally starting to pick up and students having to take multiple tests a week, morning practice for field hockey hurts. Football, cross country, volleyball and cheer go through it as well, and it can serve as a major distraction in October. In terms of the theater department,the fall play is also gearing up in October, which includes auditions, as well as morning and evening practices. All these activities require time management and cause stress that doesn’t help near the end of quarter one. I believe that out of all the holiday months, November is the easiest to deal with. This year, Thanksgiving break is from November 21st-23rd with clases resuming on November
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26th. The time, however, between Halloween to Thanksgiving can be difficult for students.Even though there are only a little more than two weeks of school between the two festivities, students tend to look ahead rather than focus on school, and I am guilty of it this, too. The beginning of November begins a new quarter, and the feeling changes around school. Teachers begin to expect more from their students, and put stress on them to raise the bar in their school work.The distractions of travel and hope for winter break starts to continues to stress students out before the break. Finally, December brings Winter Break, and the weeks leading up to it drag on for me. After two weeks of relief of Winter Break last year, this year’s break is 10 days, from December 21st to January 1st, which is much shorter than the previous year.. This also means there are four weeks in-between breaks which can be hard on all the students. This difficulty includes four more weeks of tests, projects and learning before the end of 2018. The stress can be overwhelming, with winter activities, school and family occasions, so students can have major time management issues. Also, for seniors, college application deadlines are approaching, and college decisions are going to be made soon. All of these things cause students major stress before the holidays, and can be hard to manage time before break. October, November and December
are the prime months of the holiday season, and can be hard on students and can hurt their mental health. School also may not help this, and I think that it hurts students’ mental health, especially with a shortened break. I think it’s important to findtime to relax and breathe, and calm down from the stresses of school. Do your homework and study whenever possible, and continue to look forward to the fun that the holiday season brings.
NOVEMBER 2018 11
CALENDAR/INFO
November Calendar SN
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5 6 NO SCHOOL NO SCHOOL Start of Winter Sports Tryouts
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Quarterly Awards
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Band Concert
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Thanksgiving
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The Husky Headline
would like to thank its generous patrons:
Michael and Laurie Adornetto Lori Core Carol Francis Galletta Family Ellen Silvent Lee and Rita Svehaug
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Cross Country 17 States @ Great Meadows
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Volleyball State Finals
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Desserts on Broadway Auditions
royal blue
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Opening Night: Fall Play
Election Day
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Medodie Baxter Margaret and Jeff Clair Thomas Ericcson George and Cathy Perry Liz Staley
Football Region Finals
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Ja ne Taylor
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Kevin and Lisa Carr Shenandoah Kitchen and Furniture
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AWARDS & ASSOCIATIONS
Co Editors-in-Chief Tori Custer Kaitlyn Fletcher
Our student journalists are members of VHSL Managing Editors Courtland Blake Activities (Publications), the National Scholastic Maria Schense Press Association, and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The Husky Headline has won various Online Editor Sully Carr awards since its establishment in 2011.
Sports Editor Chandler Tuten
CSPA Silver Medalist Critique 2016 2016 Second Class Virginia High School League Member of National Scholastic Press Association Tuscarora High School Chapter Quill and Scroll Society
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Entertainment Brady Bullington Editor Staff Writers Nathan Francis Dolhan Mohammadi Mia Parada Savannah Reger Abigail Schlitzer Matthew Sutherland
The Husky Headline is written, edited, and designed by students from Tuscarora High School. All opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual writer. The views published in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the Tuscarora High School administration, faculty, staff, or the student body. We are committed to delivering relevant, accurate news - which means we want to hear from you! Opinions may be expressed in letters to the editor an can be sent to the staff at TheHuskyHeadline@gmail.com. Please include your name and class standing in all letters to the editor.
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