October 2015

A new year brings new faces Inside this Issue:

• Changes

• Current Events

• Homecoming

• New Faces

OCT. 2015 VOL. XXV ISSUE I

Pirates' Hookok

The editorials, unless signed, are the consensus opinion of the editorial staff and do not necessarily reflect the views of the adviser or the school administration. The newspaper welcomes letters to the editor. The newspaper reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity.

HeadEditors: Editors:Tim TimDuke, Duke,Ben BenHuffman, Huffman,Morgan MorganWhithaus Whithaus••Staff: Staff:Ray Ray ••Head Starn,Sara SaraFalcon, Falcon,Maya MayaGacina, Gacina,Naomi NaomiVan VanHorn, Horn,Dalia DaliaBelmouloud, Belmouloud,Cy Cy Starn, Neff,Tristan TristanAsuncion, Asuncion,Jac JacChapman, Chapman,Laura LauraSalazar, Salazar,Caitlyn CaitlynPatton, Patton,Molly Molly Neff, Sobb,Gillian GillianWensell, Wensell,Yoshii YoshiiHernandez, Hernandez,Parker ParkerKlinck, Klinck,Lena LenaGeller, Geller,Jose Jose Sobb, LeonardoGaleas, Galeas,Jose JoseRicardo RicardoGaleas, Galeas,Emmanuel EmmanuelTobe, Tobe,Norstarsha NorstarshaSmith, Smith, Leonardo MargotGersing, Gersing,Ellen EllenMcAdams, McAdams,Zach ZachKrause, Krause,Connor ConnorMoore, Moore,Michelle Michelle Margot Moss,Sheenah SheenahNela Nela• • Photo Photo Editor: Editor: Anna Anna James James Moss,

www.riverside.dpsnc.net www.riverside.dpsnc.net

3218 Rose Rose of of Sharon Sharon Rd. Rd. 3218 Durham, NC NC 22712 22712 Durham,

OPINION

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High school is hard, but Riverside makes it work On the first day of school, we lost one of our own. Edward “Dominique” Waddell passed away August 24, 2015. Although it was only his first day of his freshman year, he will be remembered as a part of our Pirate family. Described by his loved ones as a happy and outgoing teenager who was full of life, Waddell enjoyed all the little things, such as sleeping and eating.

“After he would wake up from a nap, he would have the biggest smile on his face,” Multiple Handicapped (MU) teacher Roger Schultz said, “He had a really beautiful smile.”

The fourteen-year-old’s smile, upbeat spirit and radiant personality immediately lit up the room. These are only a fraction of the many amazing qualities that Waddell owned. He will be missed immensely.

Rest in peace, Dominique.

As we welcome a new school year, we also meet a mountain of obstacles, thrilling experiences and a fresh start. It is no secret that Riverside is a family, home to countless students. Our diverse and growing population is one so accepting, anyone could find their place.

At Riverside, we encourage one another to celebrate their individualities. The campus is adorned by a multitude of self-expression, whether it be the art proudly presented in our hallways, the voice of the school paper, or even the graffiti that accompanies the gazebos.

We are a school that, like any good one, has its fair share of ups and downs. While none of us may like the infamous 7:15 traffic line, or the endless amounts of lockdowns, we have plenty of events and happenings that remind us all how great our school can be.

Years from now, all the suffering will have been worth it when we remember the crowds' roar at our first homecoming game, or that one class we had that, surprisingly, did not make us want to take a sick day and the sea of happy and excited faces we saw during spirit week.

On behalf of The Pirates' Hook newspaper staff, we would all like to give a our faculty memebers a huge round of applause. Riverside has made a lot of changes since last year. This school year brought us new teachers, new students, new classes, and even new stairs.

In all seriousness, this building would not be the same without the teachers. We are very fortunate to have such amazing and talented educators working on the campus. Over the summer alone, we recieved over 25 new teachers. Although it was hard letting go of many amazing individuals, we cannot begin to thank all of the marvelous people that are working with us today.

We still have a long way to go. We may never be perfect, but we are forming into the place we are destined to be. Riverside is a community and everyone is a Pirate.

"He had a really beautiful smile"

Roger Shultz, Multiple Handicapped (MU) teacher

In this Issue Page 6- Macedonian sage hails from Page 16- Homecoming deeply rooted in Riverside

American cluture

Page 8- Durham Public Schools to Page 17- Families and students unite after change to later start time

supreme court ruling

Page 10- New grading scale to help Page 21- New teachers fill Riverside's underclassmen

halls

October 2015 Nine is fine

By Laura Salazar The new school schedule for high schools in Durham Public Schools (DPS) is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m For years, teens have complained that they have to wake up too early in the morning for school. I can almost hear the complaints, “Just five more minutes!” as teenagers lay there in bed thinking about how they can make themselves fall asleep once more. Finally falling asleep and waking up 20 minutes later, students rush to get ready, eat breakfast, and run to the bus stop, hoping the bus is late that day.

Now, students don’t have to worry about that anymore.

If school starts at 9 a.m., they can sleep in and not be late for school. It will be a huge change for people who ride the school bus. Some students’ stop times are currently as early as 5:30 a.m.

With the change, their stop time would be 90 minutes later. Or in some cases, they won’t even have to ride the bus because their parents could take them!

But let’s focus on the facts for a moment. The main reason why the School Board ended up changing the start times was because of how lack of sleep negatively affects students’ performance in school. Yes, it is true! The School Board actually did something that would help us! We actually got them to change it! We should be happy! It wasn’t just a change in phone use policy that everyone was violating anyway and that would not have stopped if they hadn’t changed it! Now we’ll have a better sleep schedule thanks to this change. Be happy!

Let’s also enjoy the fact that we don’t have to wake up when it is still dark outside.

School start times

Face-Off Away with the delay

For people who have already first period, and hopefully ev- By Norstarsha Smith trained their bodies to wake up eryone will learn to accept that I would rather wake up early automatically around 7 a.m. ev- this change is for the better. than spend the rest of my afery day, they can spend the new ternoon in hour and school. a half doDurham ing other Public activities.

Schools’ Te e n a g Board of ers could Education go buy doesn’t breakfast, agree. spend On Aug. s o m e 27,the more time board votwith their ed to move friends, the high finish school homeday from work they 9 a.m. to could not 4 p.m. I complete think that the day the Board before, is wrong and so on. because Theothe new reticalschedule l y, b y affects the time teachers, school students, starts family, and students our money. will have Not had time only is to fully $454,000 wake up of the and get s c h o o l ’s ready for budget school getting without thrown having to out of the rush. Perwindow formance for new in school busses will imand transprove, portation students home, but will acnow some tually be students awake • GRAPHIC BY MARGOT GERSING who have during

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siblings in middle or elementary school will not be able to get them off the bus. This places stress on parents because now they have to move their schedule around or throw a few dollars at a babysitter.

It’s really frustrating because the parents have a perfect babysitter at home, their high school student, but now they have to pay for outside children care.

The Board needs to realize how defective the change will really be. Students who have jobs in the afternoon and are under the age of eighteen are going to have fewer hours at work. Curfews will be shortened, and it will destroy everyone’s year, for instance having to be home before the sun sets which is about 7 p.m. that’s three hours to go out with friends not to mention homework. and the time it takes to get home.

The biggest questions about the time change involves sports.

Are is the practices going to run late into the night? Is the school going to allow the athletes to leave school early to participate in games?

The coaches and players feel irritated because they’re going to play at night when it’s dark and cold.

Teachers that have a second job outside of school to support their families and now they have to change shifts to accommodate the change. Also teachers have plans, children, or after school activities will struggle with how to balance their time.

Sure, you get ‘more’ sleep, but who’s to say that students are not just going to go to sleep even later and still be tired when they get to school? Taking two hours from our leisure time that we can spend running errands hanging with our family and friends is too much.

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Pirates' Hookok

Columns

By Ben Huffman

Applying to college: Crazed and confused

I’ve been staring at this beast in the face for months. The piano has been placed squarely on my back and the elephant is playing its tune.

For almost a year now, I’ve had to answer “Where do you want to go for college?” and each time it is the same answer. The truth is I still have no clue what I’m looking for and time is starting to run short.

Many seniors are currently stuck in limbo as far as what the next four years will hold.

For the average student it is “College or Bust.” For student-athletes, the decision is much harder. My life would not end if I played my last game this coming May, but it would feel like a waste if I didn’t continue on with my “career.”

My one true goal in life is to

By Morgan Whithaus While most seniors wrestle with the question of what they will do with the rest of their lives after high school, I was able to find direction about my future through working at a camp in Pennsylvania this summer.

Towards the end of my junior year, I was plagued with questions such as, “what will I do after high school?”, “Will I go to college? If so, where do I go?”, and “What do I want to major in? What do I want to be when I grow up?”

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my future, other than knowing that I wanted to attend some college somewhere, and this totally freaked me out. But, luckily for me, while I worked as a camp counselor and completed

become a professional athlete and compete in the major leagues. My uncle played and won a World Series in 1979 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Every time I sat down and watched baseball as a kid, I couldn’t help but get sucked into the culture.

While I sat wide-eyed in front of the television as a young kid, my focus might not be the same as it was ten years ago. What was once a childhood dream might not be in the cards after all. Every kid dreams of playing on the big stage, and, while I still dream of it, I realize the odds are not in my favor.

To add another level of confusion to the puzzle, I have to decide whether my education is more important, or if playing baseball at the next level is what I really want. On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer. I would jump at the opportunity to play for a

division-I school in a heartbeat.

The only problem with that is if I get some offer to a college in the middle of nowhere with nothing going for it, I would rather go to a known division-I school, even if I couldn’t play.

I had to opportunity to go to a baseball camp at UNC-Asheville in late August, and I felt it was perfect for me. The school is in a good location with a small student body, and the baseball team is good, too. While we were there, my mother tasked me with answering this question, “If you could go to Asheville, but couldn’t play baseball, would you go?” I didn’t hesitate to answer with a resounding yes. Based on the school alone, it felt like I would be able to fit in great.

What is making my decision even harder is how hard my family and my coaches are pushing to help ensure that I reach my

full potential on the field. I am not one to shy away from anything on the baseball field, and am willing to do whatever it takes to make myself and the team better. I’m even playing for a new team in the hopes that I’ll be seen in front of some big time baseball schools.

If graduation were to happen today, I know I would be in a good place academically to be able to get into almost anywhere I wanted. But, at most of my top choices, baseball would be out

•PHOTO TAKEN BY JILL RHEW

of the question. Luckily, I still have a few more months before Signing Day and I will be able to make the right choice, even if I don’t sign anywhere.

Finding direction in Girl Scouts

my Girl Scout Gold Award this summer, the highest award in Girl Scouts, I found answers to some of these questions.

For my Girl Scout Gold Award, I did a project to benefit Camp Penuel East, a Christian summer camp in Eldred, PA that I have volunteered at for the past three summers. This camp serves inner-city children in the surrounding Pennsylvania and New York area and provides a free week of camp to each camper.

To earn the Gold Award, I was required to spend at least 80 hours on my project, although I ended up spending almost 90 hours of my summer on it. I chose to hold a supply drive for Camp Penuel East to collect needed supplies and I held a workshop for the female campers about what good

character looks like and what God says about them. I was able to collect over 237 outdoor toys, craft materials, medical supplies, and cleaning products for the camp through the generosity of members of my church. Additionally, 29 girls and 8 counselors attended the workshop I hosted and were able to take part in fun games, songs, and crafts while they learned valuable lessons.

As I worked on my project throughout the summer, I found that I enjoyed creating lesson plans for the workshop and I liked finding fun ways to convey important values to kids. During my time at Camp Penuel East, I was a counselor in my usual cabin, Cabin 4, for seven girls between the ages of 10 and 11,

Continued on the next page.

•PHOTO COURTESY OF MORGAN WHITHAUS

October 2015

Columns

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Nineties: What is the big deal?

By Timothy Duke I find the 1990s reverence rather odd and misplaced. The very mention of the era on twitter results in mass retweets of pictures and videos of old technology, junk food, or television shows that “only nineties kids will remember” Funnily enough, even though most of the people who retweet these posts are classmates of mine, I have no memory of the 1990s. To me, it seems like only people who actually grew up in the 1990s can experience this nostalgia, not kids who were born in 1997.

Many people often think of the 1990s as a time of technological innovation and discovery. Sure, Apple brought computers into households in the nineties—a feat technology teachers praise to this day.

Bringing computers to the general consumer is great, but it was slow, bulky and primitive. Just like cave drawings are no more monumental than James Joyce’s Ulysses, bringing the Apple IIe to American households is not more significant the my current usb drive, which has more storage than a thousand Apple II’s.

While these accomplishments are spectacular, dogmatically holding the early developments into modern day technology with such a high esteem is totally unfair.

Nostalgia is perfectly acceptable, but letting it overpower our view of modern day tech creates a shroud of pessimism and disappointment. No new device will be able to completely recreate the feeling

of awe when we first pressed a button on a remote control, and watching how that action affected a moving picture. Now we use our phones for nearly everything, and as a result of this, new developments naturally seem less monumental.While we may view it as boring, a 5-year-old kid may see it as the most spectacular invention ever created. How someone perceives the magnitude of new technology entirely depends on the user’s own familiarity with innovation.

Microsoft is currently developing an augmented reality hologram, called the Hololens. Yeah, we’re soon gonna be able to put on some glasses and a chess set will magically appear on a tabletop.

It’s incredible and shows how far technology has come. That being said, in 2030 I won’t cover my ears and yell when some kid brings up that his hologram is better.

I also often see people debate how much better music was in the 1990’s than now.

Artists like Nas saw huge fame and prosperity because of their broad creativity and because they were breaking new ground.

Interviewers frequently pose to musicians the question of inspiration for their music.

Kanye West says himself that he is, “Just a Chi-town ***** with a Nas flow.” Kanye West clearly has been inspired by the rap artists he grew up listening to, but past rap artists did not have other rap artists to use for inspiration.

While modern rap has been heavily inspired by the nineties, the blanket

statements many people use in regards to comparing past hip-hop to modern day hip-hop are flawed.

Though the 1990s did bring about rap as we know it t o d a y, t h e new genre was a spawning ground for copious amounts of heinous music. Just like today, a plethora of PHOTOCOURTESY COURTESYOF OFTIMOTHY TIMOTHYDUKE DUKE horrible hip- ••PHOTO hop and R&B artist found their start in even Kanye West (depending on whom the nineties. Not many people have heard you ask) for people to have nostalgia fits of Snow’s song “Informer” because Snow about in 2030. was a white rapper trying to reap in the The nineties was a different era, but not Vanilla Ice hype train for all it was worth. necessarily a better one. While computers, History tends to forget about the bad hip-hop and neon prints may have been songs of an era, so people only consider cool and interesting then, current day the nineties superior because they have standards for innovation in technology and forgotten about the atrocities produced. music has steadily increased. Discrediting While today’s music may be crowded with the modern day world for being less exverses from rappers who deserve no fame, citing is, at least in my mind, completely we still have Kendrick Lamar, J Cole or idiotic.

“Finding direction in Girl Scouts” continued from pg.4

further deepened my love for working with children. And finally, when it was time for me to present my workshop to the kids, I realized the immense passion I had for education and I knew that this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

One of my campers, Grace, struggled with basic reading and writing skills. As we read Bible verses aloud, she struggled to read fluently, and as she wrote down her contact information for me so that I

could write letters to her after camp, she needed help spelling basic information like her city, state, and address. As I saw this, I did my best to help her learn how to be confident in her reading and I worked hard to be patient with her as I spelled out words.

When I helped Grace, I enjoyed seeing her become excited and proud as she learned to spell words throughout the week. This was one of the moments when I knew that I wanted to be a teacher so that I can help more students, who are just like Grace, to

better understand important material and to succeed in every aspect of life.

When I first began working at Camp Penuel East and on my Girl Scout Gold Award, I had no idea that through the camp and my project, I would be able to more clearly define the goals that I now have for my life. Although I still need to answer the question of where I will attend school next year, I now know that I want to most likely pursue a career in elementary education. I am relieved from a lot of stress knowing

where I want to be in ten years, but now I need to work backwards from there and plan what I want to do next year.

I am so glad that I chose to spend so many hours of my summer in the way that I did, and now I look forward to seeing where my love for children and my passion for helping them succeed in every aspect of life will take me. I am thankful that I now have more direction about my future than most seniors typically do, and now I am ready to focus on enjoying my senior year!

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Columns

Pirates' Hookok

Lessons learned in Macedonia

Riverside senior shares his experiences studying abroad for 10 months, people foam at the mouth to give you advice. Lots of it. Some of Hey, so I’m that kid that used to pop up it’s really genuinely helpful, but there’s a in just about every issue of The Pirates’ whole lot of stuff left out, such as…

Hook to write fake stories that’d make • Know the bus routes. Unless you’re fun of Mr. County. superbly rich and have secured a private But even though it’s my senior year, driver, you’ll have to use public transI’m not at Riverside anymore. I’m about port. Cabs aren’t cheap if you use them 5,000 miles away in Macedonia, a small consistently, and you probably shouldn’t country above Greece that’s about the trust strangers who offer you rides in their size of Vermont and has a population unmarked white vans free of charge. I somewhere around Oregon’s. was kind of hazy about the bus schedule I’m here on a scholarship from the U.S upon arrival. That’s why I’ve been lost at State Department with the Kennedy-Lugar least 10 times since I’ve been here, in a YES Abroad program. I’ve been given a city where just about everyone speaks a dangerously open-ended column to write different language. in every issue of the Hook.. And that’s • Trust the strangers, kind of. During one how we find ourselves here. of the times when I was just about lost as You, likely bored in advisory without a hell, my friend and I decided to consult a phone charstranger, who ended up ger, which being supremely cool. She apparently asked us about our lives Riverside (side note: when people has taken ask you how your day was to calling or something like that in FLEX periMacedonia, they actually Cy Neff, Senior od in a descare), and then offered us perate effort a ride in a cab with her to make it look like less of a colossal waste free of charge since she was going in the of time. Me, trying to convince you that same direction. Admittedly, this sounds yeah, Macedonia’s an actual place, and remarkably sketchy, but she was cool and that reading another 600 words of my I’m still alive and continuing to get lost, musings is a better use of time than said sooo sometimes trust strangers, ‘cause school-mandated boredom hour. there’s a chance you’ll meet a saint.

When you’re leaving to study abroad • Don’t put a wallet in a loose back pocket

By Cy Neff

There's beauty out in the world. It's your job to go and experience it.

on a public bus. Especially when you’re new to a country, and look like a tourist.

This is how you get pickpocketed. This is how you lose a debit card 5,000 miles

your curfew, but those are a rarity. Since everything is within walking distance, you don’t worry about gas money or getting a ride, or having to go twenty minutes out of your way to pick up that one friend who lives in American Village.

• Eat the food.

Odds are, you haven’t had it before. Odds are, it’s so so so sooooooooo good.

• If you’re in a city, go for trips in Senior Cy Neff (middle) is studying abroad in Macedonia under the coun a scholarship from the U.S. senate. tryside. If you’re in the countryside, • PHOTO COURTESY OF CY NEFF go into the city every once in awhile. away from home. That debit card won’t I’m living in Skopje, which is a little come as fast as you think it will due to over twice the population of Durham, in international shipping. Actually, if you one of the only flat spots in Macedonia, lost it on around August 17 it probably which is one of the most mountainous won’t come until about a month later. countries on the planet.

• Go out at night. It’s not uncommon I took a five hour drive through the at around 9 PM for the majority of mountains with my host family a few Americans to be in their homes watching weeks ago and was absolutely floored by Netflix, Or eating chipotle or putting way the beauty. The drive concluded at Lake too much up on their snapchat stories. In Ohrid, which is rimmed by mountains and Macedonia, unless you have work to do or has water as clear as glass. This is all in you’re over the age of 50, odds are you’ll a country the size of Vermont. be out on the town till the wee hours of the There’s beauty out in the world, it’s morning at cafes or live music. Or until your job to go and experience it.

Riverside by the Numbers 1864- Number of students at Riverside now

during the Italy Trip sponsered by Ms. Lido

141- Number of days left in the school year

68- Number of points Riverside football scored

576- Size of freshman class

against their opponents this season so far

7- New National Honor Society inductees

8- Season-high shots on goal for field hockey

13- Wins by the Riverside tennis team

this season, more than the past three seasons

185- Pounds of pasta students plan on consuming

combined so far

October 2015

BRIEFS

Briefs

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ONCE UPON A REPUBLIC TRIP has run against teacher Melissa Lido MATTRESS Eight students from Riverside says students will explore Pearson, NorthOctober 22 through 24, Riv- went to the Dominican Republic Rome, Florence, Assiern and Hillside. erside will be hosting this year's this past July. They were paired si, Pompeii, Capri, and Although a first musical, Once Upon a Mat- with two other schools from New each destination's culture. difficult schedtress. The productions director is York and Indiana, totalling to 28 They will visit the biggest ule awaits the Monique Taylor, the vocal leader students. The students arrived on church in Italy, and of team, junior is Jill Boliek, and the choreogra- July 13 and left on July 20.

Alex Gerondelcourse, eat amazing food. phy is by Kristen Taylor. “[The Dominicans] are such is looks forward “It’s in the ballpark of “The numbers were low this welcoming people, they would $4000,” Lido said. to see how the year, probably because we are give you the shirt off their back,” freshman hanThey will explore the doing the play in the fall. Kids Spanish teacher Ellen Holmes Sistine Chapel, Ancient dle the pressure. have other extracurricular activi- said.

“We’re a betRoman cities, and go on ties along with sports and the play The students helped renovate boat rides down rivers. ter team than is usually held in the spring. But a local elementary school. They last year with the

By Sheenah Nela and we wanted to change it,” Kristen also planted over 50 banana trees Dalia Belmouloud freshmen, but Taylor said. in the Dominican Republic. they still have This year the play retells the Students traveled to the Doto prove themMEN'S SOCCER tale of the Princess and the Pea. minican Republic to participate in selves. Last year The men’s varsity socCasting took one week and cast community service, but they also cer team started off slowwe didn’t lose members also had to pass a vocal learned how to marimba. many seniors, ly, but has rebounded. and dance audition. Additionally, Holmes is arranging a trip to so we have a “This season didn’t they had to have a monologue Nicaragua with tentative dates start as we wanted it to, solid team,” ready to perform. Because there of July 10-18, 2016.

Gerondelis but we are improving. I • PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HELM is no technical theater teacher, The students who go will work think there’s going to be Sophomore Amanda Lopez competes in an earlysaid. the cast has to help build the set with Free the Children, a volun- a turning point,” senior season race. The Cross country teams have benefited The team for the stage. teer organization. t r a vels to Blake Berry said. from an influx of young talent.

Monique Durham AcadThis has the field.

Taylor emy on Friday, helped the The Pirates had an intense Oct 26 for the PAC-6 tournament. wants to team work harder recognize Hopes are extemely high as and become better game with Riverside's rival, the Christina competitors with the Northern Knights, and won 2-1. Riverside looks to bring back

By Molly Sobb Rice-Corfirst place. teams that they play. si, Elena

By Ray Starn “Our biggest opCROSS COUNTRY Storelli, ponent is ourselves.

The Riverside cross country A b b e y The team has im team’s success this season Thompproved, we’re start• PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLEN HOLMES NATIONAL HONOR son, and Ellen Holmes and Riverside students visited the Dominican ing to play with is dependent on the team’s SOCIETY FALL Va n a y a Republic this past summer where they renovated a school. heart and meaning,” seniors ability to lead and how

INDUCTEES the young and inexperienced H e n d e rBerry said.

Lisbeth Galo son as the This can help the underclassmen will follow.

Tehila Rosenblatt-Farrell “The freshmen are good, essenior cast members.

They will also learn about athletes play as a team and less Maggie Perron “I’m excited to see how they Nicaraguan culture and do com- as individuals. By playing with pecially Danny McAdams. They Mayron Manfredo Cordon will perform and am thankful munity service. meaning, this helps them play are fast and skilled,” senior John Arevalo for their contribution to the

By Sheenah Nela together and hold each other Haase said.

Ben Huffman The addition of new faces has program,” Monique Taylor said. accountable for how they will Maygan Payne

By Sheenah Nela SUMMER ITALY TRIP improve as a whole and as in- been a difficult transition, but the Addison Oliver Students are invited to go on a dividuals. Now they are even overall optimism has remained DOMINICAN trip to Italy next summer. Latin more confident and ready to take high. The team is undefeated and

8

Pirates' Hookok

Changes

DPS makes significant school start time decision

By Maya Gacina

The times of exhaustion, mornings spent in utter darkness, and the race against the clock are behind students as Durham Public Schools (DPS) begins its transition from the break of dawn to morning glory for high school start times.

On Aug. 27, DPS board members made the executive decision that school times will be altered for high school students following the 2015-2016 school year.

The vote was made for many reasons, but the majority being that the extensive amounts of research proves that students will perform better academically when school begins at a later time.

“The school board approved high school start times that are later than the current schedule because there is vast, clear and compelling research that links later high school start times with

improved student achievement, transportation safety, and physical and mental health,” DPS school board Chair Heidi Carter said.

Scientific research was not persuasive enough for parents, coaches, and students to get on board. The DPS board made an effort to include the Durham community in their decision by administering surveys, but none of the surveys had the new school start times as an option.

High school sports coaches feel as though they were tugged at opposite ends of the spectrum when the final vote to push back high school start times was released.

“I coach baseball and I’m used to starting practice at 2:45 and getting out around 5. It allows me to get home at six, spend time with my family and tuck my children in at night,” baseball coach Doug Simmons

said.“It’s going to have to make me decide whether I want to coach or be a father, so it’s a big obstacle for me.”

While Simmons will not be able to enjoy valuable time spent with family, high school student athletes will have little leeway for lives outside of school, as practices will begin at around 4 p.m. and end at around 7 p.m.

With hours stretching into late evening, high school athletes will possibly not be able to uphold a part-time job or any other responsibilities and leisure activities outside of sports.

“When you’re making public policies you have to do your best to look at the national data,” DPS board member Leigh Bordley said. “When I’m making my decision, I think a lot about how this will affect all of our students, and make the decision based on the majority.”

DPS board members made an

effort to consider responsibilities outside of school and how these new start times would affect them.

The task was not an easy one to make as there are thousands of students, each with different off-campus priorities.

“I’m happy about it because in order to function I need to wake up later,” junior Emily Turkington said. “We will mostly do [chorus] rehearsals before school, but it wouldn’t make a difference because I would still be waking up later than I do now.”

Although the new bell schedule seems out of the ordinary, the DPS school board has been planning the change for several years now. The board gradually gathered information and input from the community to make the final decision.

“We have talked about it in our community meetings for six or seven years. We held these meetings and we took surveys from

parents and faculty members,” Bordley said. “The meetings were open to the public since 2008.”

According to the National Sleep Foundation, there are several advantages to delayed school start times—reduced likelihood of tardies, reduced absences, better grades, reduced risk of drowsy driving, and reduced risk of illnesses caused by sleep depravity, such as obesity.

“The board believes it is important to align our bell schedules with the biological sleep patterns of adolescents,” Carter said.

“Sleep science is very conclusive that teenagers need nine hours of sleep, and their sleep/wake cycles are shifted to later times than adults or younger children.”

Students, coaches, and DPS school board members either agree or disagree with delayed high school start times, something that affects all aspects of the student body.

DPS toma significante decision sobre horario escolar Por Maya Gacina Los tiempos de agotamiento, mañanas pasadas en la absoluta oscuridad, y la carrera contra el reloj están detrás de los estudiantes. Las secundarias en Escuelas Públicas de Durham (DPS) comienza su transición desde amanecer en la madrugada a amanecer cuando salga el sol.

El 27 de agosto, miembros de DPS tomaron la decisión ejecutiva para que los tiempos escolares sean alterados para los estudiantes de secundaria a partir del año escolar 2016-2017.

La votación se hizo por muchas razones, pero la mayoría de estos es que grandes cantidades

de investigación demuestra que los estudiantes se desempeñan mejor académicamente cuando la escuela comienza más tarde.

“El consejo escolar aprobó que el inicio de la escuela secundaria sean más tarde que el horario actual, porque los estudios son claros y convincente que las horas de inicio corrige con un mejor rendimiento de los estudiantes, la seguridad del transporte y la salud física y mental”, junta escolar DPS dijo Heidi Carter.

La investigación científica no fue suficiente para convencer los padres, entrenadores y estudiantes para que estén a bordo. La junta hizo un esfuerzo para incluir a la comunidad de Durham en su

decisión por haciendo encuestas, pero ninguna de las encuestas tenían las nuevas horas de inicio de la escuela como una opción.

Entrenadores deportivos de la escuela secundaria se sienten como si estuvieran en extremos opuestos del espectro cuando la votación final para cambiar el horario de las escuelas secundarias fue publicado.

“Yo entreno béisbol y estoy acostumbrado a empezar práctica a las dos cuarenta y cinco y salir alrededor de las cinco. Me permite llegar a casa a las seis, pasar tiempo con mi familia y meter a mis hijos a dormir”, dijo el entrenador de béisbol Doug Simmons . “Va hacerme decidir

si quiero entrenar o ser padre, así que es un gran obstáculo para mí.”

Mientras Simmons no será capaz de disfrutar tiempo con la familia, los estudiantes atletas tendrán poco tiempo para la vida fuera de la escuela. Las prácticas comenzarán alrededor de las cuatro en la tarde y terminará alrededor de las siete de la noche.

Atletas de la escuela, posiblemente, no será capaz de mantener un trabajo a tiempo parcial o de cualquier otra responsabilidad fuera de los deportes.

“Cuando estás haciendo polícas tienes que hacer su mejor esfuerzo para mirar a los datos nacionales”, dijo el miembro del consejo escolar de DPS

Leigh Bordley. “Cuando estoy haciendo mi decisión, pienso mucho sobre cómo esto afectará a todos nuestros estudiantes, y tomó la decisión sobre la base de la mayoría”.

Miembros de consejo escolar de DPS hizo un esfuerzo para tomar en cuenta las responsabilidades afuera de la escuela y cómo estos nuevos tiempos de inicio afectarían a ellos. La tarea no fue fácil de hacer, ya que hay miles de estudiantes, cada uno con diferentes prioridades afuera del campus.

“Estoy feliz por eso, porque para que funcione tengo que des-

Cont'd. en p. 20

October 2015

Changes

9

Taking steps in the right direction

District replaces stairs on the footall field side of the building fire drill and also for the trailers and the main exits downstairs. during the day,” Lamb said.

Everyone on A, C, F, and H-Halls Safety was a huge concern and were exiting out of the building Walking out of class, a student measures were adjusted throughthrough two lower levels doors immediately turns to the right, out the process.

The fire marshall that lead to the courtyards. thinking she can walk down the “For outside stairs. Halfway down the past the hallway, she awkwardly turn t h r ee around and takes a detour to "Construction disturbed the y e a rs their next class. This was a daily classes because of the noise" of high occurrence a couple weeks ago, school but not as of Sept. 30.

Ricardo Privette, math teacher I had At the end of last year, three g o n e steps fell on the staircase outside out that of C-Hall during a weekend in approved the alternate route that door, and I still turn that way evMay due to heat and heavy usage the Riverside faculty drew out. ery day,” senior Ally Zilles said. over time. The stairs were blocked The construction crew did a lot “I wish they had fixed it during off for the rest of the 2014-2015 school year and were completed of work on the stairs during the the summer because that would day so that the whole process have been smarter. It was a fire by the end of September. hazard. If there would have been “[All outside stairs on the would be shorter.

The state budget kept being an emergency it would have not right side of the building] were pushed back which could have been as safe as when we could scheduled to be replaced this caused the construction start date use those doors.” year,” assistant principal Lisa to be later than expected.

Not only were the stairs a Lamb said. “[The right side stairs “It should have been a priority safety issue, but they are caused needed to be replaced] because on the maintenance list.

When disruptions during the school day. the football side of the building it comes to safety, the budget Students on the football field side sustains greater weather damage should not be an issue,” math of the school frequently heard the than the tennis court side.” teacher Ricardo Privette said. dreadful sounds of jack-hammerBoth sets of outdoor stairs on The faculty at Riverside care ing and drilling. the right side of Riverside were “Construction with kids in replaced. Construction began on deeply for the students’ and staff's safety, which was why they school disturbed the classes Sept. 14, this was supposed to filed all the right paperwork as because of the noise,” Privette take approximately two weeks in quickly as possible, and tried to said.

The disruption also added September, weather permitting, do all that they could to get the the time it takes students to get and the crew will primarily be staircases replaced as soon as it to class.

In the morning, seniors working on them after school. But was feasible. could no longer walk in the side some work was done during the “This was the earliest it could door, which caused more traffic day so that the process would not have been done with the state at other entrances of the school. take months to complete. budget not being passed.

They “Teachers get mad because we The A and F hall doors had had to get three estimates, costs, are late, but we have to take a holes drilled into them on Sept. and times from three different longer route,” sophomore Dawn 14 and were blocked off on Sept.

16. Because the second set of construction companies and ap- Pakes said.

Student routes between classes, stairs had been blocked off, all proval from the school board,” Lamb said. especially those with trailers, entrances on the right side of the The fire escape route had to be were changed because of the school were inaccessible. altered since all of the classes on blocked off doors.

They had to “There are two or three doors the right side of the school can no walk through the wet grass in to the courtyards downstairs that longer use the staircases upstairs the morning. were used in the case of a fire or

By Naomi Van Horn

Students were not the only Pirates that were frustrated with the situation. Teachers also had to walk all the way to the front of the school or through the courtyard grass.

“I park in the teacher lot so I had to travel around,” Privette said.

“My travel time was extended in the morning, lunch, and so on.”

Now that the stairs are completed, the students, faculty, and staff are overjoyed that Riverside life will return back to normal again.

“I am super happy [that the stairs are finished] because now I

will not have to go a weird way to class,” senior Maygan Payne said.

The stairs took a quick two weeks to complete, but to do this the construction crew did have to work a lot during the school day.

“I think the school handled [the stairs situation] great,” Lamb said. “The evacuation during the fire drill went well, everyone, students included, cooperated.”

The school was frustrated at times by the noise and longer routes, but they are glad that the stairs are finally fixed.

• PHOTO BY ANNA JAMES

The construction of the stairs on the football field side of the school lasted from September 16 to September 30. Construction workers were working on this during and after school hours.

10

Pirates' Hookok

Changes

Grading scale prompts mixed reviews

By Michelle Moss While many changes have happened this year, the one that might have the most academic impact will be the grading scale.

Durham Public schools has transitioned from a seven point scale to a ten point scale.

Teachers believe that the new ten point grading scale will make it easier for students to pass their classes.

With this new grading scale, some of the faculty believes that the students do not typically have to work as hard to obtain a passing grade.

“The seven point grading scale makes a child work harder and be more deliberate with his or her grades,” guidance counselor Renee Hango said.

On the other hand, English teacher Mira Rahili has a united view on the grading scale.

“It helps the kids who are on the line of pass and fail. It helps to encourage them,” Rahili said.

“If a student in the past has consistently gotten sixty-eight’s in classes, that is now a passing grade and it helps to motivate them because it is passing and not failing. This grading scale changes the way I think about grades overall.”

This new grading scale may affect Rahili with her grading by making her think about the way she grades differently, but engineering teacher Adam Davidson, the change will not affect his grading.

Davidson believes grades are nothing but numbers. Davidson says he does not typically care about where percentages fall, he cares more about points.

“Points are like money, a worker gets paid for doing their job so if students do their work well, they get rewarded with points,”

The seven point grading scale makes a child work harder and more deliberate with his or her grades.

Renee Hango, counselor Davidson said.

Even though the new grading scale does not affect Davidson and the way he grades, he believes that the ten point scale is really going to help the students.

“I’m conflicted that the [students] can score lower and still pass, but it’s better in the end for the [student],” Davidson said.

With students being able to score lower in their classes, the students who previously got poor grades can now still pass.

The updated grading scale allows room for improvement in students’ grades, taking a B to an A and a failing grade to passing.

mi forma de pensar acerca de las calificaciones en general.”

Esta nueva escala de calificación puede afectar a Rahili porque la forma que califica la hace pensar sobre las calificaciones de manera diferente. Pero para el maestro de ingeniería, Adam Davidson, el cambio no afectará su forma de calificar.

Davidson cree que las calificaciones no son nada más que números. Davidson dice que no importar donde caen los porcentajes, él se preocupa más por puntos.

“Los puntos son como el dinero: a un trabajador le pagan por hacer su trabajo, entonces, si los estudiantes hacen bien su trabajo, serán recompensados​​ con puntos”, dijo Davidson.

A pesar que la nueva escala de calificaciones no afecta a Davidson ni la forma en la que él califica, él cree que la escala de diez puntos realmente va a ayudar a los estudiantes.

“Estoy en conflicto con prudente con sus calificaciones”, mis opiniones porque los niños dijo la consejera, Renee Hango. pueden anotar más bajo y todavía

Por otro lado, profesora de pasar, pero al fin y al cabo es mejor inglés, Mira para ellos”, dijo Rahili, está Davidson.

Los punton son en conflicto Ahora que como el dinero. con sus opinlos estudiantes iones sobre la pueden sacar escala de calcalificaciones ificaciones. más bajas en “ Ay u d a sus clases, a los estudiaquellos que antes que espreviamente tán al borde recibieron de pasar o fallar la clase. Ayuda malas calificaciones todavía a animarlos”, dijo Rahili. “Si pueden pasar. La escala de calun estudiante ha consistament ificaciones permite una margen obtenido un sesenta y ocho en para mejora más grande en las sus clases anteriores, ahora sería calificaciones de los estudiantes, una calificación aprobatoria y cambiando una B a una A y una ayuda a motivarlos porque es- calificación reprobatoria a una tán pasando y no fallando. Esta calificación aprobatoria. escala de clasificación cambia Translation By Laura Salazar

Nueva escala de calificaciones solicita criticas Por Michelle Moss Aunque muchos cambio que podría tener el impacto académico más grande será el de la escala de calificaciones. Las Escuelas Públicas de Durham han cambiado de una escala de siete puntos a una escala de diez puntos.

Los profesores creen que la nueva escala de calificación de diez puntos hará clases más fáciles, ayudando estudiantes pasarlas. Con esta nueva escala de calificación, algunos profesores creen que los alumnos no tendrán que trabajar muy duro para obtener una calificación aprobatoria.

“La escala de calificación de siete puntos hacia que un estudiante trabajan más y fueran más

Adam Davidson, maestro

October 2015

Changes

Students argue for a "No FLEX zone"

By Parker Klinck With the new school year comes a new homeroom schedule. Created by months of planning by teachers and faculty, the FLEX period has high hopes from administrators as an improvement to last year’s homeroom schedule.

Last year, students went to their homeroom every day before their third period class. This year, the schedule is on a biweekly basis, alternating every week. Mondays and Fridays are always normal school days, and students will go to an assigned homeroom on Wednesdays.

“Like last year, we will have a regular homeroom assigned by grade level and alphabetically, which will help with the various screenings and tests we have to administer by those standards,” assistant principal Craig Carlson said. “However, this year we added some time for teachers to connect with their own students to provide more academic support.”

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the schedule gets a bit erratic.

On alternating weeks, Tuesday and Thursday will have a first or second period extension and a

third or fourth period extension, respectively.

Another change administration made was the shift from homeroom being between second and third period to between first and second period. Carlson said this

• GRAPHIC BY MARGOT GERSING

change was made due to the number of juniors and seniors who would skip out on homeroom to leave school early for lunch.

The new schedule will try to incorporate some aspects of last year’s advisory that students and teachers found useful.

English as a Second Language students will have Spanish-speaking teachers for their Wednesday homeroom, and Arabic students will have French teacher Kous-

saila Boumeridja, who speaks Arabic.

Also, the FLEX period is only 3 days out of the week instead of 5 because when 25 minutes was taken out of all 5 school days, it was found to be impractical and

ago when he started having conversations with different faculty groups about impacts on student achievement.

The main conclusion the faculty came to was that a strong student-teacher relationship helps

unnecessarily time-consuming.

“The FLEX schedule is a good example of how school is not static. It is an ever-changing and adjusting community,” Carlson said. “The change concerns everyone involved in school: teachers and administrators, students and parents.”

The concept behind the FLEX period is nothing new. According to Principal Joel County, the idea for advisory began two years

students achieve more in class.

However, the need for a time to build these relationships came up.

“This isn’t the way I myself would do it, but with our limited resources this is our best option,” County said. “When asked about structure for such a time, some teachers said they wanted no particular structure, and some said they wanted a lot of it. From these diverse requests, the FLEX period morphed out.”

11

Although the administration believes the changes will be beneficial, many students from all grades seem to have spoken against it.

“If the students already don’t like their classes, there’s no point. The FLEX period will just perpetuate the situation,” sophomore Andre Nguyen said.

Even the students that have been here the longest think the FLEX period is a monumental unnecessity.

“The FLEX period is useless.

If anything, it should be at the beginning of the day,” senior Jena Brearley said. “No one does anything, and it just takes away from learning time” However these students may feel about the changes, many others feel optimistic about the new schedule.

Estudiantes alegan contra FLEX Por Parker Klinck Con un nuevo año escolar viene un nuevo horario de homeroom.

Creado por meses de planificación por maestros y facultad, el período FLEX tiene grandes esperanzas de los administradores como una mejora al horario de homeroom del año pasado.

El año pasado, los estudiantes iban a su salón de homeroom

todos los días antes de su tercer periodo. Este año, el horario es quincenal, alternando cada semana. Los lunes y los viernes siempre son días de escuela normal, y los estudiantes irán a un salón de homeroom asignado los miércoles.

“Como el año pasado, tendremos un homeroom regular asignado por nivel de grado y por orden alfabético que ayudará con los

varios exámenes y pruebas que tenemos que administrar por esas normas”, dijo el asistente director Craig Carlson. “Sin embargo, este año hemos añadido algún tiempo para que los profesores puedan conectar con sus propios estudiantes y proporcionar más apoyo académico” Los martes y jueves, el horario se pone un poco errático. En semanas alternas, los martes y

jueves tendrán una extensión en el primer o tercer período y una extensión en el segundo o cuarto período respectivamente.

Otro cambio que la administración hizo fue cambiar la colocación del homeroom entre segundo y tercer perίodo a primer y segundo período. Carlson dijo que este cambio se realizó debido a la gran cantidad de estudiantes del grado onze y doze quienes

no se reportan a homeroom y dejan la escuela temprano para ir a almorzar.

El nuevo horario intentará incorporar algunos aspectos de la asesoría del año pasado que alumnos y profesores encontraron útiles. Los estudiantes quienes el inglés es su segundo idioma tendrán

Cont. en p. 20

12

The Pirates' Hook

October 2015

SPIRIT WEEK 2015

Monday - Pajama Day Tuesday - Twin Day Wednesday - Way Back Wednesday Thursday - Superhero Day Friday - Pirate Pride Day

13

Homecoming Freshmen Prince and Princess: Varney Whitaker and Cierra Goodman Sophomore Prince and Princess: Chris Mitchell and Makena Kanyua Junior Prince and Princess: Adam Shamblin and Jaqueria Peaks Senior Homecoming Court Rachel Kallianos Addison Oliver Cassidy Leovic Drew Gore MorganWhithaus Bryce Cunningham Kamay Cummings Devon Harris Deja Harris Demetrius O'Meally Anh Duong Caleb Christie

Homecoming King and Queen: Addison Oliver and Deja Harris

14

Pirates' Hookok

HOMECOMING

Pirates-Knights rivalry divides, unites a community

By Emmanuel Tobe

Athletic Director Margratha Chambers has been teaching physical education at the school since its inception.

“When Riverside first opened up, the upperclassman at Northern stayed at Northern, while the underclassmen left to go to Riverside,” Chambers said. “Many families were split up, as you had an older brother at Northern and a younger one at Riverside.

It built the rivalry. The schools are so close that a lot of these kids grew up together. It fuels it.”

Junior baseball player Noah Mcmillan feels motivated to perform every time he takes the field against the knights.

“I think the rivalry is good for the two schools especially

in athletics,” Mcmillan said. “I love going out there and beating them.”

Junior tennis player Senith Berhane vows to continue their dominance against their rivals.

“We have a good season and will beat the Knights for a second year in a row,” Senith said.

Junior wrestler Asante Boler spoke on wrestling against opponents from Northern. Riverside has an extremely competitive wrestling program that has won seven state championships.

“I’m pretty much always motivated to go out there and win, no matter who I wrestle against,” Boler said. “Since wrestling is a sport where it is one on one it does feel more personal knowing what

school he came from, and I know a lot of people there. I also know what the other wrestlers will say if I lose to them.”

The two schools compete academically and athletically. Since 2004, the schools have played each other in varsity sports 124 times. Riverside currently has the edge with 73 total victories, compared to Northern’s 51. Based on sports, Riverside has more wins in men’s baseball, men’s lacrosse, and women’s volleyball. Northern has more wins in men’s basketball, women’s and men’s soccer, men’s football.

Both schools were ranked in the top 1000 schools in America by Newsweek, and last year had average SAT scores of over 1300.

A ten minute drive, 4.5 miles, a 90 minute walk, or a 30 minute bike ride is all that separates Northern and Riverside High Schools. The schools are heated rivals who played 22 times last year in varsity and junior varsity sports and both finished 11-11.

Northern High School is a public high school located in the northern region of Durham. It has over 150 teachers and 1400 students. The school was founded in 1955 with an enrollment of 502 students and only 17 classrooms.

By the mid 1980s, Northern had become one of North Carolina’s largest high schools with 2300 to 2500 students. This was due to the growth of the surrounding area.

To relieve the stress of the population, the community decided to build another school five miles away. That school became Riverside High School. Riverside is a four year public school that now has 1900 students enrolled.

Riverside was built and opened in 1991. The first class graduated in 1993. The school is relatively new compared to Northern, with newer appliances, textbooks and supplies.

The rivalry began almost immediately after the school was built. Riverside’s first year featured all the underclassmen students from Northern. When the sports teams first played against each other, the rivalry • PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HELM had already begun between the The varsity football teams from Riverside and Northern face off to conclude homecominng week. schools and their players.

Former coach and current Though falling in defeat to the Knights, many considered the special week to be a great success.

"I'm pretty much always motivated to go out there and win."

Asante Boler, junior In the Eno Trace Subdivision, there are eight teenagers that are in high school. Four go to Riverside and four go to Northern.

They are all friends who have played together, worked together and grown up together. Some would say they are inseparable.

“I’ve known them forever,” said Northern sophomore, Eryka McDougald. “We met in middle school and were expecting to all go the same school, but that didn’t happen for whatever reason.”

Thanks to the Project Lead the Way and Reserves Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Pathway, students are able to go to Riverside even though it’s not there district school.

These students in the Eno Trace Subdivision go to every Northern and Riverside game, and cheer for their schools. In two different schools, some might say that these students have grown even closer.

October 2015

Homecoming

15

Sports teams find success through bonds, character

By Connor Moore Blood, sweat, and tears drench the grounds of Riverside High School’s athletic facilities as the fall sports season returns. Some teams have new coaches, others have new ambitions; but all teams want to win.

Riverside’s women’s tennis team did not experience many wins during in the 2014-2015 season. They struggled to find a coach, had a slew of new players, and were only able to win four matches. But this year, new head coach Steven Rochkind entered the picture and saw the potential for improvement.

“When I came here, I knew they were having difficulty finding a permanent coach,” Rochkind said. “The team had a lot of freshmen last year, and they didn’t do as well. But I knew if they hung in there and stuck with it this year, they’d be even stronger.”

Starting the season with wins against Cedar Ridge, Voyager, and Carrboro proved Rochkind to be right. An early loss to Cardinal Gibbons affected the team very little as they stormed to five straight wins. A tough loss to East Chapel Hill was disappointing, but they are staying focused for the next chance at a monumental victory for the program.

“I think we’ll give East [Chapel Hill] a scare. It’ll be a workout for them to beat us,” Rochkind said.

The success of the young team comes as a surprise to some of the players; only sophomore Lauren Laughton and junior Sophie Bischoff had experience prior to their time at Riverside. However, bonds and friendships have been especially helpful in their growth. Senior and co-captain Molly McCullough is one of the

many team members to accept the challenge of building team chemistry in an individual sport.

This was tested in a match against Carrboro, which came down to the last point.

“We’re very supportive off the court,” McCullough said. “I think that makes us more comfortable in tight situations.”

The close wins unleashed high confidence. The Lady Pirates have recently blown out conference rival Northern High School, and beat Jordan High School in a match that ended in the dark.

Rochkind believes these standout victories should send a message to the rest of the conference.

“I hope that teams come [to Riverside] in the future scared to play us,” Rochkind said.

If this comes true, Riverside would be on a tier with East Chapel Hill and Cardinal Gibbons, the perennial powerhouses of the conference. It may not be an immediate step, but Rochkind sees the team winning every match against the rest of the PAC-6.

The Lady Pirates’ sudden turnaround can be accredited to growing chemistry and overall improvement through practice.

On the other hand, some teams are struggling to hit their stride this year.

In 2013, Riverside’s Volleyball team won its third PAC-6 Championship in four years. A loss in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Sectional Round of the playoffs ended a 25 match winning streak.

The following season resulted in a first-round playoff loss, but the Lady Pirates came into this season expecting the trend of success to continue.

Plans were quickly derailed with two straight 3-0 losses

Sophomore Rebecca Koweek lines up to hit a shot during a tennis match. Koweek is one of the many team members that did not have tennis experience prior to their time at Riverside.

• PHOTO COURTESY OF IZZY YOUNG

to Carrboro and Orange High School to start the season. Not willing to lose control of a season that early, the girl’s rebounded to win three straight games to follow. However, with many new players and the entrance of Cardinal Gibbons to the PAC6, another deep playoff run is becoming increasingly hard to accomplish this year.

“Talent comes and goes every few years,” athletic director Margratha Chambers said. “A really strong team is built, but then they all graduate. I think they’ll bounce back well.”

While the Lady Pirates may not view this year as a complete success, they can expect to rebuild and compete for championships again soon due to the nature of their program. Some teams, however, have unique goals and parameters for achievement.

On paper, Riverside’s field hockey team does not appear to be among the finest. Several

winless and scoreless seasons, which can demoralize programs, have had no effect on the resilient effort the girls give on the field each day. In fact, many are considering the start to this season as a breakthrough for the team.

Another young and eager team, field hockey welcomed a pack of new freshmen and a new sophomore this season. None of them had played before, but the girls came in with a knowledge of athletic concepts through other sports, such as soccer or lacrosse.

In five games alone, the girls have recorded more shots on goal than in all of the last season combined.

Head coach Su Stone believes that these recent accomplishments have boosted morale among the Lady Pirates.

“They’ve been really excited and motivated this year,” Stone said.

One of the main difficulties in building a prominent field hockey program is the inability to find

recreational leagues to develop skills. Most schools that Riverside competes with are outside of the PAC-6, including East Chapel Hill, Cardinal Gibbons, and Carrboro, their usual opponents.

Chapel Hill has a large capacity of elementary level developmental leagues, similar to those of youth basketball, soccer, and baseball.

Winning is difficult, but to Stone, field hockey is an opportunity to build character.

“As long as they leave here as better people, I’m satisfied,” Stone said. “I want them to set and reach personal, obtainable goals.”

The desire to prove doubters of the program wrong is what keeps the girls motivated during practice. While practicing has helped the physical aspect of their game, some feel that mental strength, as

Cont. on pg. 20

Pirates' Hookok

16 Homecoming

Homecoming tradition rolls on

By Zach Krause Returning alumni, football, school spirit; these are just a few of the traits that homecoming has had ever since it started over 100 years ago.

“Homecoming is a great opportunity to raise school spirit and bring students together so we’ll be trying to get everyone involved and excited for the game,” senior Evan Iacono said.

Homecoming is a popular event in colleges, universities, and high schools all over the country. Typically, homecoming takes place at a football game with a dance afterwards, though some also host parades, rallies, and other school spirit events.

Homecoming began with the goal of unifying and motivating former and current staff and students and raising school spirit.

“Homecoming makes everyone crazy and brings everyone together,” freshman Kordell Weaver said.

Multiple colleges and universities have taken credit for being the first to have a homecoming like Baylor, Illinois, and Missouri. Some say that the annual Harvard University versus Yale University football game, which has been inviting alumni back since the 1870s, is the original homecoming. Regardless of all the controversy over who did it first, all schools have similar traditions at their homecomings including a football game, dancing, and celebrating the school.

Over time, more colleges and universities started having homecoming games. The spread and success of homecoming is largely attributed to the success

of the first few original homecomings. Thousands of alumni and current students came together and celebrated their school.

Naturally, many schools wanted a homecoming and within 15 to 20 years all the major universities and some smaller colleges hosted a homecoming or a similar school spirited event.

Riverside’s homecoming has always had a football game followed by a dance, although this year, the dance was cancelled.

Some faculty members may remember when Riverside had floats and a parade, but that has since been removed.

“I do remember lawn mowers being driven to school during the week and floats on the track.

That changed for safety reasons,” history teacher Joye Cordell said.

A parade could have a great effect on school spirit and the community, however as of now there are not any plans of bringing the parade back.

“Anything is possible,” athletic director Margratha Chambers said. “You’d have to go through the administrators and safety could still be an issue.”

Homecoming has been full of spirit and pride for the past few years however school spirit varies from year to year depending on the juniors’ and seniors’ enthusiasm about it.

“I’d say a lot of the hype comes from the juniors and seniors. I’m going to the game and participating in spirit week because it’s fun and raises school spirit,” junior Chloe Hogan said.

As Riverside celebrates its twenty-fifth year many pirates have high spirits, and are looking forward to homecoming.

• GRAPHIC BY MARGOT GERSING

Riverside alumni relive homecoming as teachers

By Pam Gonzalez

Senior students at Riverside are frantically working on college applications, figuring out what to do with their futures and planning their lives after graduation. Many plan for college, work, or the military, but many do not plan on returning to Riverside.

This school year, seven Riverside alumni have come back to teach at the school. These teachers are Brandon Palmer, Christina Yarborough, Andrew Markham, Kristian Taylor, Broc Dickerson, Gabriella Faria, and Gabrielle Tucker.

“I really love Riverside. My teachers were really supportive of me as a student and I wanted to come back and be a part of that too,” Spanish teacher Gabriella Faria said.

The connection with teachers and students, and the support

available influenced alumni to teach at their alma mater. As these alumni talk about reasons they returned to Riverside, school spirit comes up in conversation.

Homecoming is a big difference between their times here, and now.

In the past, student organizations would create floats and parade through the nearby neighborhoods and down to the track.

Although students really enjoyed this activity, certain permits are required to make it possible.

“The homecoming parade was a big event for all students,” athletic director Margratha Chambers said. “It would start in the back side near the tennis courts and went down to the track.”

Teachers believe that students are not as involved with the Riverside community as they used to be. Faria believes that the new generation is too focused

on social media, and not focused enough on each other.

“Riverside is definitely different. The kids are not as involved with things and I constantly encourage them to get out there and be apart of the community,” Faria said.

Gym teacher and wrestling coah Broc Dickerson, believes that students do not come together as a whole anymore.

“The strong bond that brought students together and made them excited is not there anymore,” Broc Dickerson said. “Students are excited but not across the board because the priority that was on athletics is not as big anymore.”

Homecoming is a way for students to be involved in the school and encourage school spirit. Alumni hope that school spirit can once again thrive at Riverside.

October 2015

17

CURRENT EVENTS Marriage equality brings legal benefits, acceptance

By Lena Geller Kirsten Westcott married her current wife, Amanda Hughes, twenty years ago.

The ceremony was unofficial, spontaneous, and composed solely of the women and their two kids.

Though many regard marriage equality as a recent phenomenon, the deed has long been performed and interpreted in different ways.

“To us, [marriage] was an action to make it clear that we are not taking this lightly, we are doing this forever,” Westcott, junior Margie Westcott’s aunt, said. “Part of what needs to happen now is this realization that there are gay people who have been married for a long time. It’s just that now, we have all the legal benefits.”

Two years ago, Westcott and Hughes officiated their marriage in New York.

Since then, they have gained access to a number of useful medical, employment, and tax benefits.

“My wife works for the state, so when I got sick, she couldn’t carry me on her health insurance as other married couples can,” Westcott said, “Until the Supreme Court decision, we had to pay three times as much just so I could have it. And she wasn’t able to get the same tax benefits as others, because I wasn’t working.”

Westcott taught photography at Northern High School from 1993 to 2005, which provided her with firsthand insight into students’ methods of harassment to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students.

“Hate speech has to stop. We have to stop thinking that it’s a normative way to interact with other human beings,” Westcott said.

According to Bullying Statistics, 30 percent of all completed suicides have been related to sexual identity crisis, and 90 percent of LGBTQ teens get bullied

at school because of their sexuality. For- dirty looks, actually physically trying to tunately, these numbers have improved keep themselves away. But there were othover the last few years. er people saying, ‘you’re so brave to come “Things have gotten so much better in out, especially to your church,’ giving me my lifetime,” Westcott said, “I was outted kudos for my bravery,” Coleman said. at my high school when I was in tenth Junior Emily Turkington, also an active grade. There was nowhere for me to turn, member of her Methodist church, is frusno phone lines to call; no websites, period. trated by misconceptions of the Christian And now, depending on where they live, a view of marriage equality. queer kid can grow up like any other kid.”

“Hopefully, soon we can officially beTo Westcott, students identifying as come a ‘reconciling’ church,” Turkington transgender are presently in most imme- said. “A lot of people think that we all hate diate need of acceptance. Junior Kelly gays, but it’s not like that at all.”

Heffley seconded this opinion.

Reconciling Ministries Network “Trans people need to be able to feel safe (RMN) is an organization dedicated to to be themselves in society,” Heffley said. helping communities actively welcome “I also think there should be more represen- people of all sexual orientations and tation in the media of asexual, pansexual, gender identities. bisexual, and transgender people.”

Junior Drayton Coleman began publicly identifying as bisexual during his freshman year. Though he has experienced minimal bullying from fellow students, verbal abuse has been targeted towards him on GSA students Margie Westcott and Maya Gacina show their multiple occasupport at Durham's annual Gay Pride Parade on Sept. 26. sions.

“Last year, I was walking down the After much contemplation, Coleman has hallway and someone screamed, ‘Walk made peace with his internal struggle to like a man.’ It made me feel bad about balance sexuality with religion. myself for a little bit, but I tried not to “In Leviticus chapter 18, [the Bible] says take it to heart,” Coleman said. not to lie with another man, because it’s Coleman added that coming out to his an abomination. Well, the Bible also says Methodist youth group was a much harder not to drink in excess, or to eat pork, or feat than high school. a bunch of other stuff that people ignore.

“I definitely had some people giving me I take comfort in the fact that God made

me the way He wanted me.”

According to Coleman, several members of his church are uncomfortable because they have never received any education on sexuality or gender identity.

“I think that we should include education on [sexuality and gender identity] in health class,” junior Nick Pattishall said, “It might make some people uneasy, but it’s necessary for understanding, especially for people with families who don’t really teach it.”

The current health curriculum labels basic sex-ed as ‘family planning.’ This title poses several problems, mainly because it suggests that all families consist of a husband, wife, and children.

While several aspects of public education remain traditional, many students and teachers are succeeding in making schools more progressive.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), also referred to as Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), is one of Riverside’s most active clubs.

“We voted to change our name to QSA, because it’s more inclusive, but some people still consider ‘queer’ to be a slur, so we also go by GSA,” junior Kelsey Trollinger said.

GSA’s main goal is to make Riverside a more inviting and tolerant community.

They plan on working with Inside Out, a youth led organization by and for LGBTQ youth, and attending events such as Queernival and Queer Prom.

“GSA is just here to help anyone out who needs it,” junior Margie Westcott said. “As a nation, we’re making huge strides to become more accepted and more understood, and Riverside should mirror that. I think that soon, two women getting married will be so normal that it won’t be considered ‘gay marriage.’ It will just be, well, marriage."

GSA meets most Tuesdays after school in room 102.

Pirates' Hookok

18 Current Events

Cardinal Gibbons High School Joins PAC-6

By Caitlyn Patton

A chorus of cheers from Cardinal Gibbons High School fans fill the stadium as they play their new conference opponents. The new addition to the Piedmont Athletic Conference (PAC-6) has been welcomed with mixed reactions from Riverside’s students, staff, and coaches.

Cardinal Gibbons is a private Catholic school in Raleigh with a famous athletic program, winning 58 state championships in the last ten years in 2-A and 3-A divisions. While these divisions are less competitive and have fewer schools, this number is a spectacle among athletic programs. In comparison, all of the PAC-6 schools in the last ten years have won 12 state championships. The entrance of this private school has raised many questions about North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) conference laws and expectations.

Non-boarding parochial schools, religious schools, that are members of the NCHSAA are allowed into conferences based on school population. With Cardinal Gibbons experiencing an increase in enrollment, they looked to move to a 4-A conference. The school follows the same rules as other NCHSAA member schools and also follow extra restrictions.

There are rumors regarding Cardinal Gibbons' recruitment of students to the school for athletic purposes, but recruiting according to the NCHSAA handbook, is not allowed. Also, any student who transfers to an NCHSAA school is required to sit out for 365 days before participating in athletics.

“In most public schools, trans-

fers can appeal saying it is not for athletic purposes. There is no appeal at Gibbons from what I understand, the transferring student is automatically ineligible for 365 days,” Northern athletic director Alan Rigsbee II said.

“Durham Public Schools (DPS) basically has open enrollment for schools with specialization, so recruiting would be more likely in our schools than it is in theirs. It is hard to say a school is ‘recruiting’ when all of their students pay some sort of tuition.”

While students who transfer to Cardinal Gibbons must wait 365 days to be eligible for athletics,

students, the tuition is $14,200.

This expense for some students is paid by scholarships. Any student receiving a scholarship to attend Cardinal Gibbons is ineligible to participate in athletics for the school.

With this expensive tuition, Cardinal Gibbons has more money to spend on every aspect of its school. Athletes from the school often have better access to more resources and better facilities.

“They have more resources which creates unfair competition,” senior men’s tennis player Andrew Wynkoop said. “It will be interesting to play with people

that work hard as well as good coaches. We’re looking forward to the challenge,” men’s soccer coach Jose Santibanez said. “If you want to be the best, you have to play the best.”

Not all members of the Riverside community feel the same way about the new addition to the PAC-6. With the entrance of this dominating school into the conference, many students feel they should never have been admitted into the conference.

“I don’t like that [Cardinal Gibbons] has joined the conference,” sophomore women’s tennis player Janae Andrews said.

“The reaction kids have now is the same reaction they used to have for Hillside,” Riverside athletic director Margretha Chambers said. “In the past I’ve told the kids I’ve coached that it’s just something in your head, you can play anyone.”

The realignment process for NCHSAA conferences occurs around every four years, and through this process the PAC-6 has changed over the years. At one point, the conference had 11 members, the farthest two schools being East Henderson High School and Person High School. The level of competition has changed whenever the conference changes.

“The PAC-6 is known for having a really competitive conference, and with the kids we have today it is less competitive than it used to be,” Chambers said. “[Cardinal] Gibbons makes it more competitive again.”

While questions still remain about Cardinal Gibbons and if they should be a member of the PAC-6, the competition for sports in the PAC-6 has been raised to another level.

• PHOTO COURTESY OF CARDNIAL GIBBONS VOLLEYBALL

Riverside anticipates the ball while playing Cardnial Gibbons in a heated match. Although Gibbons joining the PAC-6 has ignited controversy, athletes are ready for the challenge of facing Gibbons.

students at DPS can transfer between schools and be automatically eligible for participation in athletics if the student transferred for non-athletic reasons. Local Education Agencies (LEAs) can override the NCHSAA policy while Cardinal Gibbons cannot.

As a private school, Cardinal Gibbons students must pay a tuition. For Catholics, the tuition is $10,400, and for non-affiliated

at that skill level. I think it will bring the best out of our players.”

Coaches and students welcome the new competition as a chance to have a challenge. Cardinal Gibbons as a whole brings a new wave of competitiveness to the PAC-6 and all of its athletic programs.

“I think it will make our conference better. They’ve got a good group of kids out there

“They should be independent.

Now original [PAC-6] schools are fighting for second and third in the conference.”

The competition for playoff spots is more intense with another athletically skilled school joining the conference. With Cardinal Gibbons having a reputation as one of the best in the state, it is easy for athletes to be intimidated when playing them.

Please

recycle

this paper!

October 2015

By Ellen McAdams

Current

events

Removal of Driver's Ed drains wallets, increases state budget, eases teachers

On Aug. 30, after the last student drivers finished the driving portion of the course, the cars dedicated to Driver’s Education put on their brakes for the rest of the summer.

State funding for Driver’s Education had ended on June 30, but Durham Public Schools was able to provide one class over the summer for students who were eager to learn. Driver’s Education was officially suspended in the fall until a decision on the budget could be made.

Driver’s Education teaches students valuable lessons. Book work and notes taken during the class portion of this course teaches students essential background knowledge before they attempt to drive. Most students who take Driver’s Education do not receive this knowledge at home so taking away this course adds pressure on parents to personally teach their kids how to drive.

“They took [Driver’s Education] away and now my parents and I have to take time out of my day to learn,” freshman Varyssa Henderson said.

Not only does the removal of this course take time away from students and parents, but it could potentially drain families’ wallets. Without the option of public Driver’s Education programs, families may have to rely on private programs to teach their students.

“There were lots of rumors about the cost of a private Driver’s Education program. The rumored cost seemed really high,” Scott Laird, father of freshman Joe Laird, said.

The higher cost of private courses could be too much for some families to afford.

Michael Whitfield, a Driver’s Education and physical education teacher, expressed his concern with this high price by saying that it could possibly lead to more illegal driving. Students who need to drive but can not afford to pay for Driver’s Educa-

• PHOTO BY GILLIAN WENSELL

Lenny eagerly jumps into an unoccupied parking space. Driver's Education was on a hold this summer due to a delay in the state budget, but now students will have the oppurtunity to take the class and learn to drive through the school.

tion classes might rely on driving without a license.

These concerns weighed heavily on families’ minds as they anxiously waited to hear the decision about the state budget. Finally on Sept. 18, the decision to continue to fund Driver’s Education was announced.

“We were very happy to hear this and will definitely take advantage of the classes that are offered,” Laird said.

19

Not only do families agree with this decision, but it also offers relief to the many Driver’s Education teachers who can keep their job teaching teenagers how to drive.

“It is a win win situation for everyone; a win for the students and a win for the teachers,” Whitfield said.

This budget change has been viewed as beneficial and necessary. Now families can only hope that this budget will remain permanent for the future.

20 Current Events

Pirates' Hookok

Start time

cont. de pagina 8

para que funcione tengo que despertar más tarde”, dijo estudiante del tercer año Emily Turkington. “Vamos a hacer la mayoría de los ensayos [de coro] antes de la escuela, pero no será una grand diferencia porque yo todavía estuviera depertandome mas tarde que ahora”.

Aunque el nuevo horario parece fuera de lo normal, el consejo escolar de DPS ha estado planeando el cambio desde hace varios años. La junta colecciono poco a poco información y impuestas de la comunidad para tomar la decisión final.

“Hemos hablado de eso en nuestras reuniones comunitarias durante seis o siete años. Llevamos a cabo estas reuniones y tomamos las encuestas de los padres y miembros de la facultad “, dijo Bordley. “Las reuniones fueron abiertas al público desde el año 2008”.

Según la Fundación Nacional del Sueño, hay varias ventajas de empezando la escuela más tarde- reduce la probabilidad de tardanzas, reduce ausencias, mejora calificaciones, menor riesgo de conducir con sueño, y reduce el riesgo de enfermedades causadas por la depravación del sueño, como la obesidad.

“La junta cree que es importante para alinear nuestros horarios con los patrones de sueño biológicos de los adolescentes”, dijo Carter. “La ciencia del sueño es muy concluyente que los adolescentes necesitan nueve horas de sueño, y que sus ciclos de sueño sean movidos a tiempos más tardes que los de adultos o los de niños más pequeños”.

Los estudiantes, entrenadores y miembros del consejo escolar de DPS están de acuerdo o no con el nuevo inicio de las escuelas secundarias, algo que afecta a todos los aspectos del grupo estudiantil.

Translation by Pam Gonzalez

FLEX

cont. de pagina 11

maestros hispanohablantes para los días miércoles y estudiantes árabes tendrán al profesor de francés Koussaila Boumeridja, que habla árabe. También, el período FLEX es sólo tres días a la semana en vez de cinco. Esto es porque fue encontrado que cuando sacan veinticinco minutos de todo los días de escuela, es innecesariamente lento y poco práctico.

“El período FLEX es un buen ejemplo de cómo la escuela no es estática. Es una comunidad cambiante y ajustable”, dijo Carlson. “El cambio preocupa a todos los que están involucrados en la escuela: profesores y administradores, alumnos y padres.”

El concepto detrás del periodo FLEX no es nada nuevo.

Según el director Joel county, la idea de homeroom comenzó hace dos años cuando él comenzó a tener conversaciones con grupos de

• PHOTO BY MARK DOLEJS

Junior field hockey player Madison Nichting dodges an opposing player to get to the goal.

Riverside field hockey strives to win and succeed in their fall season. diferentes profesores sobre los impactos en el logro de los estudiantes. La conclusión principal a la que la facultad llegó fue que una relación de estudiante y maestro fuerte ayuda a los estudiantes a lograr más en sus estudios. La necesidad de un tiempo para construir estas relaciones surgió.

“Esta no es la forma que yo lo haría, pero con nuestros recursos limitados esta es nuestra mejor opción”, dijo County. “Cuando se le preguntó acerca de la estructura para un tiempo, algunos maestros dijeron que no querían ninguna estructura en particular, y algunos dijeron que querían mucha estructura. De estas diversas solicitudes el período FLEX fue construido.”

Aunque la administración cree que los cambios serán beneficiosos, muchos estudiantes de todos los grados parecen tener opiniones en contra de FLEX. “Si los estudiantes ya no les gustan sus clases, no hay ningún punto en estar en clase más tiempo. El período FLEX sólo perpetúa la situación”, dijo el estudiante del segundo año Andre Nguyen.

Incluso los estudiantes que han estado aquí más tiempo piensan que el período FLEX es un monumento innecesario.

“El período FLEX es inútil. En todo caso, debería ser al principio del día”, dijo estudiante del último año Jena de Brearley. “Nadie hace nada, y solo quita tiempo de aprendizaje.”

A partir de cómo se sienten estos estudiantes sobre los cambios, muchos otros se sienten optimistas sobre el nuevo

horario.

Translation by Ricardo Galeas and Leonardo Galeas

Sports teams cont'd from pg.15

well as belief from others, would benefit them.

“We believe in ourselves, but it would feel amazing to have others believe in us too,” junior Madison Nitching said.

Nitching also recognizes the effect that scoring the team’s elusive first goal in very many years is very important to herself and her teammates. However, patience is also a part of their mindset. Junior Olivia Rostagni knows that they must be positive in defeat and focus on the every new opportunity.

“We all know that we played well and that negativity will only bring down our chances of scoring,” Rostagni said.

In every season and every game, there are winners and losers. Coming out on the losing side, however, does not mean there is nothing to gain, as proven by the field hockey team. Goals are set by each team for the season, and if they are met, the team builds on them. The field hockey team is working to score a goal, but they do not view a scoreless game as a failure.

Win or lose, Riverside sports teams are making it possible to break their own trends.

October 2015

New Faces

NEW FACES

21

Riverside Teachers Share Their First Day Experiences

By Tristan Asuncion With a pen in hand and students to see, new teachers get ready for their first day. Students rush into classrooms, groggy from their long summer break.

For teachers, most of their holiday is spent planning for the new school year. The beginning of school can put teachers and students in stressful situations.

Math I teacher Jordan Nguyen experienced the anxiety of teaching for the first time this fall.

“I remember being extremely nervous,” Nguyen said. “I had no idea what I was doing, I was winging it.”

Nguyen knew since the tenth grade that he wanted to be a

teacher. He started as a substitute last year and now is a full time teacher.

Fortunately, his first day of teaching went smoothly. Nguyen introduced himself to the students and gave them a pre-assessment to see where his students were at academically.

However, this is not the case for every new teacher. Biology teacher Holly Byers experienced a minor obstacle in her first day teaching.

“I forgot how much energy it took to stand for seven hours a day,” Byers said. “My legs and feet hurt.”

Byers had a handful of unforgettable students she saw on the first day, particularly the students

she had last year as a teacher’s assistant.

This is Byers’ first year teaching alone, but she has done teaching programs through Duke University.

“All [students] were memorable. It was really good to see returning students from Honors Earth Science and Standard Earth Science,” Byers said.

Even when a teacher has a normal first day, their first year of teaching can be filled with many interesting experiences. For physical science teacher Timothy Brown, his first year was not as easy as he would have hoped.

“I did best with physics, but there was so much disruption and it wore me out,” Brown said. “I

wanted to quit teaching.”

Brown was dissuaded from leaving when he was informed by one of the faculty that if he quit teaching and applied to another school, it would be difficult to be hired.

Brown decided he would come everyday and teach. At the end of his long stressful year he was met with a surprise on the last day of school.

“A girl in my physical science class who had a crush on me came to find me on the last day of school,” Brown said. “She was holding an egg and she wanted to throw it at me.”

According to Brown, the student threw the egg at him, but he closed the door in time letting

the egg hit the door. Brown had to clean up the mess, but he did not mind.

Teachers are put to work everday having to teach with many obstacles in their way.

Although some teachers may be put into tough circumstances, many returning teachers are pleased to say that their first day was normal.

“First days are usually a honeymoon phase,” English III teacher Mary Foster said.

Experiences vary from teacher to teacher. Many teachers share the luxury of having a normal first day, while other teachers go through peculiar situations. Many teachers are put to the test when it comes to teaching.

Chapel Hill Violins (919) 968-8131 Mon-Fri 10am-6pm www.chapelhillviolins.com

• GRAPHIC BY MARGOT GERSING

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Pirates' Hookok

22

Riverside welcomes teachers Frank Hayes

Discrete Math and Math II, room 239 E-leaner adviser and “I have lived in Durham Spanish teacher, room for 18 years, but I was born 140 in Maryland. Riverside has “I am from Durham, NC. I a lot of students that like to previously taught at Panther learn, and I like to help them Creek High School. Last year learn math.”

I was a substitute. I had a good experience and I felt appreciated. I like to sing, and I also like anime.’’

English II, room 219 “I have been teaching for five years. I am from Ray Bradbury’s Hometown–Chi-

Jonathan Bell

Kimberly Knapp

World History teacher Alex Groff

Math, room 185 “I am from Chapel Hill, NC. I used to teach at Brogden Middle School. I have been married for 22 years and my daughter is a junior at the University of South Florida.”

Valarie James

cago, IL. Before Riverside I taught at Neal Middle School. I am excited to be a teacher at Riverside High School because I want to be encouraging to the students and help them improve their skills.’’

Allison Swaim

American History I, II, room 118 “I am from Salisbury, NC. I’ve worked at WUNC radio station and taught at Oberlin College and Oberlin High School, and as a substitute at Riverside. I am excited to be a teacher at Riverside because I really enjoy what I teach and I have great coworkers.”

Celyn Malone Biology, room 221 “I am from Pennsylvania and used to teach at Hillside New Tech. I’m excited to be a teacher at Riverside because I’m enjoying my students.

I love seeing them learn new concepts and grow.’’

Amani Owens

Civics and Economics, T5 “I’m from Henderson, NC. I enjoy teaching because I’m meeting new students. I’m excited to be a teacher at Riverside because it’s a good school and has great kids.”

Jordan Nguyen

Discrete Math, room 231 “I’m from Syracuse, NY. Before Riverside, I tutored at Mathnasium in Durham.

I am excited to be a teacher at Riverside because of the many opportunities that Riverside offers.”

Tyler Temple

Math II and Founda-

is a very refreshing change.”

Timothy O’Hara

Math III, room 233 “I am from Saint John New Barnsworth, Canada. I have been in North Carolina since 1999. Working in a public school in Durham is very exciting. It is nice to get my feet wet again.”

Sarah Straud

American History teacher Peter Glickenhaus

tions of Math, room 110 “I teach math because this is my first teaching job and it's what I was asked to do. I was born in Ohio, but I have been in North Carolina for 13 years.

I am excited to be at Riverside because it is a different environment, I am used to teaching special education. It

Earth Science and Physical Science “This semester I teach Earth Science and Physical Science. Next semester I teach Honors Biology. I'm excited to teach at Riverside because I love the students.

I taught at Saint Augustine's University, an HBCU in downtown Raleigh, for

October 2015

New Faces

for the 2015-16 school year four years. Before that I did “I was born and raised in Maryland, but I have been in research in biology.”

Durham for 20 years where I owned my own architecture business. I have received an abundance of enthusiasm TED (Technical En- from teachers, students, and gineering and Design), parents.” room 241 “I am from Eden, NC and have lived in Durham for 34 years. I teach because I believe that engineers American History influence everything in this I and World History, world besides nature. I am room 116

Rene Johnson

Peter Glickenhaus

Groff

World History and Humanities, 211 “I am from Baltimore, land of crab cake. I’m excited to be here. I have so many students from so many places, the diversity is new and exciting.”

Gabriella Faria

Spanish, room 133 “I am from Miami, FL but I graduated from Riverside...

Pirate for life! I teach Spanish because it’s important to learn more than one language ,and I like to teach more than just grammar.”

Gabrielle Tucker

TED (Technical Engineering and Design) teacher Doug Hervey

very excited to be back at Riverside. My son attended and graduated in 2007, I have been a parent volunteer since 2003.”

Doug Hervey

TED (Technical Engineering and Design) and IED (Introduction to Engineering Design), room 170

“I am from Boca Raton, FL, near Fort Lauderdale.

I have lived in North Carolina for ten years, and I have been married for one year. I am highly qualified for teaching this subject so I enjoy it. American history is definitely my favorite. ”

Alexander

Psychology and American I, T4 “Psych is fun to teach because I find it so interesting.

There are so many different subjects and skills involved in psychology that allow students to learn about the subject in many different ways.

History is my passion and

is the reason why I became a teacher. Teaching American I is fun because the founding of our country is such a dramatic and entertaining period.

I am from Durham. I am excited to be at Riverside because I actually went to Riverside so I know what it’s like to be a student here.

I went to East Carolina University and loved it.”

Holly Byers Biology, room 223

23

Earth Science, room 125 “I’m from Raleigh, NC. Teaching at Riverside is a nice change for me, and I’m excited to learn more about my students.”

Jill Groff

English I and II, room 211 “I’m from Pittsburgh, PA and love the diversity at Riverside. I’m excited to be here.”

Crystal Brown

Spanish teacher Gabriella Faria

“I used to work in a lab in Virginia and I decided that I loved people and working with people. I went to Duke University and got my masters. I did my teaching internship through Duke here at Riverside. I love the staff and the kids.”

Daniel Freeman

Art, room 210 “I am from Durham, NC. I have always heard wonderful things about Riverside, even though I worked at a different Durham Public School high school for 16 years. I help students find their niche and once they do, they really produce some amazing works of art.”

• PHOTOS BY ANNA JAMES

Pirates' Hook

24

Missing teachers: Where are they now?

Tim Balom: Consultant with Computer Sciences Corporation Lucretia Burrus: Neal Middle Lea Cory: Northern Vance High

Dan Kelly: Getting PhD at NC State Youlonda McCoy: Retired Rickie McMillan: Hillside High Angela Nofsinger: East Alamance High Pat Roeber: Chapel Hill High Alisha Sessoms: Hillside New Tech

Kelly Strickland: Voyager Academy Kee Strong: Retired Steven Unruhe: Retired Andrew Way: The Durham Performing Arts Center Hayleigh Woodyard: Leesville Road Middle

Jan Crane: Retired Kathie Davidson: Northern High Stephanie Gillingham: Alamance County