Volume 45 Issue 1

CEREALLY PEPPY Teams exhibit spirit, homecoming theme announced at pep rally 3

WOOTTON RYZE-ING League of Legends team clinches national championship SeungKoo Cho ‘15

VM-KANYES Social media reacts to Miley, Nicki and Kanye

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Dean Spitz ‘17

FIRIN’ UP THE GRIDIRON Football burns Kennedy in season opener 16

Thomas S. Wootton High School | 2100 Wootton Parkway | Rockville, MD woottonnews.com

Volume 45, Issue 1 | September 18, 2015

Photo courtesy Wootton Football

Doran’s Army stands ‘Wootton Strong’

The student section, composed of members of the BBQ Club and Poms, decorated in red, white and blue, rampantly cheers the football team on against Kennedy. “Doran’s Army,” lovingly named after the school’s late principal, was organized to try to fill one of the largest voids left by Michael Doran’s passing. He was renowned for being at every sporting event he could attend and often outcheered even the most vociferous and spirited of students. The Patriots defeated Kennedy 30-7, after a lengthy lightning delay.

Students, faculty adapt to staffing changes Alex Klugerman editor-in-chief The death of Principal Michael Doran has left a ripple effect in its wake, leaving openings in several departments to be filled by interim staff members. Former 12th grade administrator Kimberly Boldon took over as acting principal with former English department head Jaclynn Rozansky stepping into her role as acting assistant school administrator.

English teacher Michael Dickel will take over Rozansky’s role as English department resource teacher with a new English teacher being hired in the coming weeks to fill his vacancy.

Rozansky was approached by Boldon shortly after Doran’s death to take over the position. “Ms. Boldon wanted someone who already knew the students and knew Doran and what he thought was important so the students and faculty can have come continuity,” Rozansky said. “I’m looking forward to learning a lot more about this side of being an educator and teacher.”

Although Rozansky will be working closely with the senior class, Boldon said she still intends to stay “up-to-date” on the goings-on of Senior Planning and the class of 2016.

As an AP Literature teacher, Rozansky is

already familiar with members of the senior class and said she looks forward to being a part of their last year. “The class [of 2016] is dynamic and excited and they have a lot of big plans. Senior year is such a memorable time and it’s an honor to be a part of that,’’ Rozansky said.

Members of the administration, which include three staff members hired in “acting”

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new positions. Currently, Dickel teaches two sections of AP Lit, two sections of Honors English 9 and debate.

In addition to changes in administration and the English department, arts department Resource Teacher Carla Ingram will be filling the vacancy in the ESOL department left by Andrew Won while photography and cooking teacher Stephanie Labbe will step in as the acting arts resource teacher. Ingram will continue to teach one period of AP Music Theory and the school plans to hire alumni Keith Schwartz to take over her chorus and chamber singers classes.

“When we found out, we were sad, shocked, but happy for [Ingram] because she is moving up in her career. Plus, a capella is more studentrun so our daily class routine shouldn’t change,” senior and Acabella’s member Nia Dingle said.

Despite all these changes, Rozansky is confident that this school year will be a good one. “We usually have a smooth start to the school year but this year there is going to be adjusting the first few weeks but I’m appreciative that everyone is so understanding and supportive. It’s asking a lot for all these changes but once everything settles down, we’ll have a successful year as we always do,” Rozansky said.

“I’m looking forward to learning a lot more about this side of being an educator and teacher. ”

- Jaclynn Rozansky, acting administrator positions, are currently in the process of filling the vacancy left by Rozansky. While speed is a factor in the hiring process the importance of finding someone who is wellqualified is of no less significance.

Students are not expressing too much worry or anxiety over the process. “Luckily, it’s not that far into the year so I don’t expect it’s going to be a big change and AP Lit is AP Lit. All the teachers do the same thing anyway,” senior Anna Boring said.

Boring is enrolled in Rozansky’s AP Lit class but will soon have Dickel as a teacher for the school year as both settle into their

@woottonnews

Remembering proud legacies, not choices

Rachel Altman news editor It was just before midnight on June 25 when Class of 2015 alumni Alexander Murk and Calvin Li died in a car crash on Dufief Mill Road after leaving a party.

The Acura TSX carrying Murk, Li, a teenaged driver and another passenger was flying rapidly down the street until the driver lost control. “It veered into a driveway, vaulting into the air and thudded into a tree,” according to The Washington Post. “It struck another tree and a fence and overturned by the time it came to rest in a homeowner’s side driveway, according to authorities.”

Upon police investigation, both alcohol and the car’s speed were found to be factors in the accident. Cans of cold beer rested in the wrecked car, a relic of the victims’ final night out.

In the months since the tragedy, the community has dedicated itself to memorializing the raw and exuberant humanity of Li and Murk rather than reducing them to mere statistics or cautionary ghosts. The two boys were not the wild, unrestrained teens of health class lore. They were ambitious, charismatic and beloved young men who lit up every room they entered. The community has refused to characterize them by their final mistakesfleeting moments in their full lives.

“They were the most hilarious people,” Class of 2015 alum Jack Wright said. “They loved their families more than anything.

They kept a small circle of best friends and both of them would have our backs no matter what. Calvin was very hardworking and loved to make people laugh. Murk was great. He dressed the way he wanted. He loved his brothers so much.”

Li was invested in his duty in the classroom and on the turf, and savored an opportunity to make a friend smile. “Calvin was a really funny dude,” Class of 2015 alum Adwait Shukla said. “He lived life in a way very few of us could. He was beyond loyal. He had a really different sense of humor that so many people appreciated. He was the person who would reach out to you if you were having a bad day. When I first moved here, he was one of my first friends because he just reached out to me.”

Murk was a fashionable and compelling young man, loving and family-oriented to his core. “I cannot stress how much he loved his family,” senior Gabi Bianchi said. “His brothers and mom and dad were his number one priority, always. He talked about them with pride nonstop. He lived with amazing perspective- always in the moment and treating people right. He was a great friend to his friends. He was very vocal about his ambitions for the future and anticipated a very happy and prosperous one. It was a privilege to know him, to spend time with him, to love him. I am so lucky to have a piece of him with me forever.”

see LEGACIES, page 2

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News

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Students revel in Elizabethan festivities Matt Silverman managing editor

BOE Eliminates Final Exams The Montgomery County Board of Education voted on Sept. 8 to eliminate semester exams from the high school curriculum. Starting next year, quarterly exams will be implemented into the curriculum as a new way to assess student progress. The exams can take a traditional form, such as tests, or be given as projects to evaluate students in a new, more creative manner as opposed to the traditional two hour exams, which are criticized for not always aligning with the school curriculum.

According to wtop.com, three out of four students failed the Algebra 1 semester exam, which was an improvement compared to stats from previous years. Students are looking forward to the new change because it will eliminate the long, tedious hours they spend studying an abundance of material and the test taking anxiety that comes with it. However, some parents are not in favor of removing finals. A common criticism is that not requiring semester exams will not prepare students for college or other higher levels of education where final exams are required. There is also concern about how the grading system will work.

The Board of Education has a comment section on its website and is interested in hearing the public’s opinion on the new changes.

Freddie Gray Trials Ensue The defense trial of Freddie Gray, an African American man who was killed by six police officers in Baltimore, is to continue in Baltimore, despite complaints that the jury will fail to deliver an impartial decision. Gray’s defense team claims that potential members of the jury have all been personally affected by the case and therefore will be biased toward the verdict. The implementation of a city wide curfew and public displays of violent protests and riots are thought to have affected the impartiality of the jury pool.

The city also decided to settle potential civil claims by giving $6.4 million to Gray’s family. However according to cnn.com, defense attorney Ivan Bates is stating that this will also hinder the open-mindedness of the case because Baltimore taxpayers are paying for these claims. Local officers are continuing to assure the public that the settlement will not affect the criminal proceedings.

- Maria Hafeez, managing editor Photo by Kevin Schroeder Students attending the protests in Baltimore witnessed the strong emotions tied to the alleged racial profiling involved in Gray’s death.

Marking its 39th year of merriment and mirth, the Maryland Renaissance Festival made its annual return to Crownsville on August 29.

The fair takes place in a replica 16th Century English village called “Revel Grove.” When it began in 1977, it was a ramshackle assembly of just a few buildings, but the festival has since grown into the second largest of its kind in the country, with more than 280,000 guests and 1,300 performers and participants per year.

Revel Grove is a 25-acre complex, smattered with shops, stages, taverns and even a jousting arena. Boasting more than 130 storefronts selling everything from period clothing to artisan glasswork to handmade books, the fair attracts a massive variety of small businesses, local and otherwise.

The fair’s wide variety of shops provides an interesting and entertaining background for patrons. There are live glass-blowing demonstrations in which the craftsmen make everything from colorful, festive pumpkins to elegant pitchers and glasses. Woodcarvers sell hand-carved mugs, and leatherworkers will make and cut a custom belt for patrons while they watch.

As well as these modern businesses,

which have adapted their craft to the fair, there are certain stores that cater solely to the period of the festival. Wooden swords are abundant, ranging from small pine daggers to 6’ handcarved claymores fashioned expertly out of rare African hardwoods. Blacksmiths also display their wares, the most interesting of which this year was a one-of-a-kind exact replica of a 12th Century Crusader’s sword that sold for $12,000.

The food is arguably the most remarkable part of the fair. Of course, there is the iconic and delicious turkey leg, but there are a variety of other foods on sticks as well. Fresh pressed juices, warm funnel cake fries (yes, you read that right) and other delectable sweets are available all throughout the fair, but are mostly concentrated in one main area. Later in the season, on chillier days, there are hot chocolate and coffee stands to warm up with.

Yet Revel Grove is not just a Renaissance-themed assortment of shops and food. The true heart of the fair lies in the live performances. The “cast” of the fair interacts with the patrons and with each other in character and, rather humorously, will drop everything and hail the “King” if he happens to stroll by.

“My favorite thing about the fair is how much passion the actors have for their craft, and their skill is equally incredible,” senior

Ethan Crookshank said. There is also a jousting tournament hosted by the king in the main arena that takes place a few times each day, which provides a chance to witness the entire cast in addition to a rare and fun opportunity to see Maryland’s official state sport in action.

In addition to the cast of the festival, there is also a large number and variety of acts that perform on stages throughout the grove. The improvisational comedy troupe, The Bloody Drama (Comedy Show), entertains audiences with re-tellings of popular tales acted by members of the audience and other off-the-cuff bits (stick around for the two-headed “Soothsayer,” who comedically answers all manner of questions posed by audience members).

Other acts include Johnny Fox (a sword swallower who has been performing at the fair for 35 consecutive years), an impressive three-man juggling team called The London Broil and Ichibod Wainwright’s “Wheel of Death.” “I love the dedication of everyone there,” said senior Nathaniel Rosov. “It’s clear everyone really loves what they’re doing.”

The Maryland Renaissance Festival runs weekends through October 25 and is located on Crownsville Road. Tickets can be purchased both on-site and through rennfest.com.

Ashley Madison leak exposes extramarital affairs

Smriti Gupta commons editor

Ashley Madison, an online dating website for married individuals, was hacked by a group of cybercriminals who call themselves “the Impact Team.”

People can access the names of the individuals registered for the Ashley Madison on the internet.

Ashley Madison is owned by the Canadian firm “Avid Life Media” and has been accessible on the internet since 2001.

According to the official Ashley Madison website, there are over 40 million people signed up for the “dating service for discreet

encounters.”

On July 12, Avid Life Media employees encountered a message from the Impact Team that threatened to release customer data unless Ashley Madison and Established Men (another dating website owned

by Avid Life Media), were shut down permanently. Only a few days later on July 19, the Impact Team granted Avid Life Media a 30-day window to discontinue both websites before leaking user information.

When the 30-day time span ended on Aug.18, both websites were still public.

The Impact Team released “a

torrent file containing nearly 10 gigabytes of user email addresses,” according to Digital Guardian. The second data and third dump took place only a few days afterward on Aug. 20 and 23. In the final data dump, according to Digital Guardian, user information posted include email addresses, mailing addresses, IP addresses, signup dates and total amount spent on Ashley Madison services.

Due to the hack, marital cheaters have been exposed and several lawsuits have been raised.

The effects of the leak reached their peak when New Orleans pastor and seminary professor

John Gibson committed suicide on Aug. 24 in response to his placement on the list. “What we know about him is that he poured his life into other people, and he offered grace and mercy and forgiveness to everyone else, but somehow he couldn’t extend that to himself,” Gibson’s wife, Christi Gibson, told CNN. Students have strong opinions about the website itself and on the information leak. “I feel that while adultery is unethical, it is a matter between the individuals involved, not a public issue that should be shared with everyone,” junior Burhanuddin Sabir said.

Community endures season of constant tragedy, does it for Doran from LEGACIES, page 1

Students hold on to their memories with the boys like a childhood blanket, determined to never let them disappear. “Two days before the accident [Murk and I] went to the movies late at night,” Bianchi said. “We were both exhausted and ready to go back home and sleep halfway into the movie. What he didn’t realize was that he had parked in a garage that closed at 12, so there we were, staring at his car though a sturdy gate. We had to sit on the side of the road and order an Uber to come get us. What sounds like a miserable night wasn’t because I was with him. We joked and laughed and waited until we finally… got back to our homes and beds. He had a way of turning unfavorable situations into some of the best. That was the best day of my life.”

Li and Murk were talented in all their endeavors, between academics, athletics and the friendships they fostered during their years here. Li was a successful wide receiver for the football team and was headed to the University of Maryland, College Park.

Murk had played football as a freshman and maintained friendships with those teammates through the end of high school, when he would have attended Penn State.

Their achievements and skills are impressive but they are valued even more highly for the joy and positive energy they brought to the

lives of their friends.

“There are no right words to fully describe the amazing people Alex and Calvin were,” senior Sara Keller said. “Their personalities were one-of-a-kind. Both of them could walk into a room and immediately brighten the mood. They always, always knew how to make people laugh and smile.”

It is impossible to encapsulate the identities of two boys in any amount of words. The presence of a loved one is indescribable and the emotions evoked by his or her loss are even more so. One is rendered speechless and breathless upon the realization that “kind” or “funny” and “passionate” do not begin to encompass the impact Murk and Li had. “Trying to define such beautiful and complex people in a number of sentences honestly doesn’t feel right,” senior Caitlin Kim said.

A vigil was held for Murk and Li on June 30. Their lives were memorialized in a patchwork of bittersweet memories collected by family and friends; students were encouraged to support one another and cope with this tragedy by being “Wootton Strong.”

In combination with the unexpected passing of Principal Michael Doran, the summer was ever more difficult. The community was broken, torn and shattered by the shadows of death and the end of

such extraordinary lives. “Wootton Strong” and “Do It for Doran” became emblematic cries for students and faculty alike. Blow after blow has made the school resolute in its bond and its unwavering dedication to honoring the beloved individuals it has recently lost.

“In my three years at Wootton, six people have died,” Bianchi said. “This school and community has gone through so much and us kids have been forced to grow up much faster than expected. But death and tragedy have a way of teaching you what and who is important. We love each other more, we need each other more and we will get through this.”

There is a concept called the “wounded healer,” rooted in mythology and put into words by psychologist Carl Jung. In Greek lore, a centaur called Chiron was incurably poisoned by Hercules’ arrow, rendering him eternally wounded. Despite or even because of his pain, Chiron tramped a perpetual journey to aid others.

Here and now and in every moment spent together after this summer, this is a community of wounded healers. This is a community of young people who have the power and responsibility to use their loss to bandage the cuts in the hearts of their peers.

Friends, acquaintances, wounded healersthis is our community.

News

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Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Students get excited for year at pep rally SGA announces “Cereal” as Homecoming theme at annual event

Alex Bellot staff writer

The first week of school came to a close as the school gathered at the stadium to participate in this year’s first pep rally.

Students packed the stands wearing their respective colors with freshmen wearing red, sophomores, white, juniors, blue and seniors going all out with all three colors.

On the field were all this year’s varsity fall sports teams, which included boys’ and girls’ soccer, football, field hockey, golf, girls’ tennis, and cross country.

“Getting to be on the field was an amazing experience,” junior Benson Child said.

“It feels nice to represent your team and getting to see each grade separated in different colors is quite unique.”

The pep rally began with a traditional scream competition, which consists of each grade competing against each other to be the loudest. Each class gets their turn to make the most noise and show the most school spirit. In addition, whichever class is the loudest gets awarded with $200.

The poms team performed. Each team on the field was introduced after. Captains from every team came up in front of the stands and introduced themselves in an attempt to get students excited for this year’s season.

Shortly after the teams were introduced, the cheer team stepped on the field to perform for the crowd.

Near the end of the pep rally, this year’s homecoming theme was revealed to be cereal brands. To introduce this new theme, a race between four different types of cereal

Photo courtesy Bethany Petr

Seniors cheer at the annual fall pep rally on Sept. 4 as they try to make the most noise in order to win money for their class.They won, earning them $200 for Senior Planning.

was held on the track.

The participants of the race included Captain Crunch, the Trix Rabbit, Apple and Cinnamon from Apple Jacks, and Tony the Tiger from Frosted Flakes, which represented four cereals for each class.

The race ended with Tony the Tiger in the lead, claiming his title as the superior

BBQ Club reaches 1,000 members Joey Voyta news editor BBQ Club has reached an accomplishment, gaining over 1,000 members in the Facebook group. The club will be bigger than ever when tailgating and cheering on the football team this fall.

The club is run by a small group of seniors. Every member of the club has a club shirt, either short sleeve with a nickname on it or a long sleeve with the logo and “Do it for Doran” on the back. The club goes to football games early and has a cookout before going to cheer on the football team. “My favorite part of BBQ club is the tailgate before the football games,” junior member Benson Child said.

Each year the club has two different shirts. There is always a short sleeve shirt with nicknames on the back and then there is also the alternate shirt. With the death of Principal Michael Doran, the alternate shirts have been designed to honor him.

“I really like the shirt designs this year,” junior Victor de Avila said The club currently has 1,162 members on Facebook, most likely a new record (there are no past records). People have commented on facebook that they love the shirts and love coming out to the football games. Football players like junior Geoff Pisarra like it as well, because it gives them bigger crowds at the games. “I like having big crowds, it pumps me up,” Pisarra said.

In charge of the club are seniors Brett Rudden, Cameron Siasi, Dylan Parr, and Justin O’ Daniel. They design the shirts and take care of the organization of the club. They do most of the financial accounting and also set up the tailgates before the football games including barbecuing hot dogs and burgers. “The shirt designs are awesome and the tailgates are going to be a lot of fun,” Parr said.

The football team’s next home game is on Sep. 18 against Quince Orchard. Expect a big crowd at the barbecue and in the stands, as it will be a big game for the currently 1-1 football team. The shirts have not come in yet, but they are supposed to be in sometime in the next couple weeks.

cereal brand.

“I thought the cereal race was really funny. It was a really interesting way to show everyone this year’s homecoming theme,” sophomore Max Museles said.

The Pep Rally came to a close but before it officially ended, it was time for one more noise competition. After each class tried to

make the most noise possible, to no surprise, the seniors won as usual, showing the most school spirit.

“I wasn’t surprised the seniors won,” junior Justin Pykosh said. “Seniors win every year but it would be embarrassing if they didn’t.”

Juniors start Project Mystique Club to encourage sexual consent education Gwen Klein features editor This summer, junior Daria Kerschembaum wrote an online petition advocating for affirmative consent to become a part of the health curriculum in the state of Maryland.

All counties would be required to teach it, as of right now covering rape and consent is not mandatory.

According to the National Institute of Justice, it is estimated that the percentage of completed or attempted rape victimization

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hundreds of speeches given, books written, organizations established and laws enacted and yet it seems that many still don’t understand the meanings of the elementary words “yes” and “no.”

Kerschembaum, along with fellow juniors Sophia Koval and Maria Samper, started a club here called Project Mystique to address this issue.

“Our mission is to start a conversion about gender and genderrelated issues, and to put work towards achieving gender equality in

find themselves in, and the ability to define the boundaries of all parties involved honestly and coherently is arguably the most important step in remaining comfortable and secure.”

The petition currently has 206 supporters, but the goal is to get 500 signatures.

Kerschembaum has been talking to the state superintendent, who is planning to forward it to the rest of the board members.

“Regardless of the number of signatures our message is getting out

A lot of teenagers don’t understand what consent

in romantic and sexual relationships is.”

among women in higher educational institutions may be between 20 and 25 percent over the course of their college careers. That means one in every four or five women are sexually assaulted while in college.

For hundreds of years, girls’ pleas for help and support all across the globe were ignored.

It wasn’t until the 1960s and ‘70s, coinciding with the second wave of feminism, that the anti-rape movement was introduced.

For over 40 years, there have been

-Sophia Koval, 11 our community,” Koval said.

“Consent is never covered in health class, meaning that a lot of teenagers don’t understand what consent in romantic and sexual relationships is.”

“We believe it is essential for the teenagers to learn about consent and rape culture because the world needs it.,” said junior and co-president Maria Samper.

“Everyone should feel safe in whatever sexual situations they may

there. Project Mystique intends to collaborate with the board to bring this goal to fruition,” Kerschembaum said.

“The petition is still very important because it illustrates support for the initiative. More signatures will tell the board they need to listen.”

The petition can be found on Change.org under the name “Teach Maryland public school students about consent in health education classes.”

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Common Sense | September 18, 2015

News

Students take home League of Legends trophy $10,000 in college scholarships awarded to the team along with trophy

Photo courtesy of High School Star League Facebook

Felipe Mejia photography editor

Five Patriots beat Temple City High School in the League of Legends High School Star League finals.

The winning roster included: Andy Zhang “Arsi” (top-lane as Maokai), Martin Kwan “White” (mid-lane as Viktor), Seungkoo Cho “BustiDice” (support as Janna), Matt Yang “Positivity” (ADC as Sivir) and Jonathan Yang “Yami” (jungle as Shyvana).

League of Legends is a massive online battle arena (MOBA) which boasts 123 characters (champions) and five different roles. These roles include: top, mid, jungler, attack damage carry (ADC) and support. There are three lanes and two jungles. However the only lane to have two champions is the bottom lane, while both jungles are occupied by both teams’ junglers.

Top-laners usually have more health and armor. Mid-laners most commonly deal damage in the form of ability power Wootton students hold up their trophy, as they celebrate their victory in the League of Legends Championship held in August 2015.

(AP) and sometimes attack damage (AD), possible to keep the ADC alive.

In the fourth game, the team faltered in constant healing spells. This decisive this may include spells and other ranged Though few fans could make it to the the early and mid-game as they had fewer teamfight gave the Patriots the upper hand abilities. actual event in California, many students kills and turrets than Temple City. Most in both kills and gold.

The jungler’s job is to kill the neutral actually watched it live through “Twitch. teamfights were lost and individual players The finals were played in a best of five monsters in the jungles and assist (gank) tv”, an online game-streaming service. kept getting picked off by multiple enemies. game series. the team won three of the any lane which may be behind on kills and/ Thousands of people were watching the “We were definitely the underdogs,” five games. $10,000 in college scholarships or gold. The ADC’s job is to kill many five hour-long broadcast on the HS Star Andy Zhang “Arsi said.” were given to the team and so was the title minions (farm). Lastly, the support’s job League channel which has over 4,000 Later in the game, “Yami” and “Arsi” of “Best High School League of Legends is to keep vision (ward) and do anything followers. turned the tides with a synergized combo. Team in America.”

The enemy champions were knocked back “The most important teamfight to me and could not use their abilities. was the last teamfight of the fourth game “Positivity” utilized his high damage of the Finals, because we knew we won the to single out the priority targets while series and it was exciting,” said Matt Yang “BustiDice” kept the team alive with

Proposal could signal end of Rockshire parking

Alex Bellot staff writer A construction proposal for the Rockshire parking lot may leave student drivers scrambling in search of a new place to park.

In June, Lerch, Early & Brewer, the entity that owns the property located at 2401 Wootton Parkway, better known as the “Giant parking lot,” sent a letter to local residents. This letter informed residents that the company is submitting a proposal to the City of Rockville in attempt to obtain approval to convert the shopping center into a neighborhood filled with high-end townhouses.

If this proposal is accepted and approved by the City of Rockville, construction of the new neighborhood could begin in as little as two years creating changes for area residents. This new construction will have its pros and cons and leaves residents both excited and concerned.

Wootton Parkway is the stretch of road that connects Darnestown Road and Rockville Pike. This road already experiences heavy traffic, especially during school mornings when it is flooded with students trying to get to school, people getting to work and parents dropping off their kids. The construction of almost 100 new homes could add close to 200 more cars to the two- lane road, which will make traffic even worse for everyone.

“I hate the morning traffic on Wootton Parkway,” senior Ben Museles said. “It gets so crowded in the morning that I usually have to take a different route.”

Another problem with the potential new construction is the addition of more students to the school. As of last school

year, 2,190 students attended the school in a building with a capacity of about 1,500.

Through the years, portable classrooms have been added to try to accommodate the growing number of students, but the new neighborhood would send even more students to a school that is already over crowed. Additionally, plans to rezone homes on the outer edge of the school zone have failed.

“There are a lot of kids who come to this school, which is easy to see when the hall ways are always crowded,” junior Isabella Oliva said.

But another question remains, regarding what students will do about parking since the commonly used parking lot will be removed. The school’ parking lot is already filled with drivers and the Giant parking was helpful for students who had nowhere else to park. Currently, more than 50 seniors are issued parking permits to park in the Rockshire lot each semester. When the parking lot is taken away, there would be no more overflow parking, which could result in students parking in nearby neighborhoods, and in turn lead to towings. This would increase traffic in the neighborhoods and will likely leave residents upset about having many cars parked in front of their homes during the school day as well as having to deal with teenage drivers entering and exiting their neighborhood on a daily basis.

“I think it would really suck if the parking is removed,” junior Joey Roach said.

“That parking lot was really helpful for people who couldn’t park at Wootton.’’

The only thing students can do now is wait and see if the proposal is approved or denied.

Arts

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Common Sense | September 18, 2015

photo courtesy by Ian Rolfes

Musicians band together to drum up excellence

The marching band practices on the turf field every day after school. At football games, they are required to wear their uniforms, which consist of feathered hats, suits, gloves and special shoes. The hats are called shakos and the shoes are called dinkles.

Band blows (instruments), smacks (drums) and shakes (tail feathers) Julia Gastwirth arts editor When I walked into the band room to conduct an interview after school, I just had a surprise quiz in math class, I was running late to soccer practice and I had failed a homework assignment for AP World. It was one of those days.

So as people bustled around me, I stood in the center of the room like an idiot trying to figure out how to un-awkwardly insert myself into one of their conversations so I could ask for an interview. Suddenly a friendly face came up to me, and then four more sat down with us, and quickly the interview devolved into me asking questions between our fits of laughter and joking around.

That friendly face was senior Jerry Yang, who plays in the marching band along with 70 or so other musicians and 10 members of color guard, or flag team, making it the

largest team in the school.

The band officially begins their season in mid-August but they prepare for weeks beforehand. The group holds practices during the summer, commonly referred to as “Band Camp.” These practices go from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for two weeks straight. Let me do the math for you; that’s 126 hours of practicing. “We should be considered a sport. Marching can be hard work, and we even have a physical therapist who meets with the band often,” senior Ian Rolfes said.

In addition to these hours, the members of the band are required to take a band class in school and also practice with the team and in their free time. We’ve all seen and heard the band practicing at lunch and throughout the school day inside and outside. “Pretty much whenever we play outside on the turf field, a P.E. class or team sport comes on and interrupts us.”

Marching band members are taught to march when they join the team. Imagine

carrying a heavy instrument while keeping good posture, staying in time with 70 or so other people, playing that instrument in tune to the right melody, remembering where you have to be and when, knowing how to get there quickly and doing this perfectly for five to ten minutes straight. How easy does it sound? Not to mention, if a flag goes astray while in the air, you better watch out, or that thing could poke out an eye or break a nose.

Regardless of all these factors, the marching band does it well. Better than well, really, considering that they won best music in states last year and are up a division this year. “Competitions are basically football games with a lot more screaming and excitement,” Rolfes said.

Also like the football team, uniforms are an essential aspect of marching band. “We have to wear Dinkles,” senior Vivien Ling said.

Confused, I asked what Dinkles even were, which caused the group to laugh.

Ling then magically pulled a shoebox out of nowhere, with the word “Dinkles” on the front, along with a cartoon conductor pictured on the lid. Inside the box were a pair of black, leather shoes.

“And the hats we wear are called shakos,” junior Kaylee Mina said.

Shakos are the formal-looking hats that marching band members wear with the feathery poof in the front.

When asked what marching band means to them, the room went quiet for the first time since I’d been in there. “Everything,” “I wrote my college essay about it,” Ling said.

“Wait, man, you too?” said Rolfes.

The two laughed and shared the moment.

“Sorry, we’re nerds.”

“Cool nerds, though.”

6

Opinion

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Editorial Staff Editors-in-Chief Alex Klugerman Alessandra Lowy Catherine Yang Managing Editors Maria Hafeez Zach Lowy Matt Silverman Arts Editor Julia Gastwirth Commons Editors Smriti Gupta Chanta’l Nomen Shelby Ting Features Editors Rachel Clair Max Jordan Gwen Klein

Opinion Editors Brent London Kyle Perel Editorial Cartoonist Sarah Fagan Sports Editors Charlie Eichberg Drew Lind Max Shapiro Zach Smith Photo Editor Felipe Mejia Online Editor Sarah Fagan Business Manager Maddie Reiter Adviser Evva Starr

Thomas S. Wootton High School 2100 Wootton Parkway Rockville, MD 20850 301-279-8550

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No,

Yes,

On Feb. 10, the MCPS Board of Education voted to move the start time of high school 20 minutes later.

The MCPS Board of Education moved the start time back in order to allow students more sleep and time in the morning. So far, it seems like the decision was a smart one.

“It helps give me the perfect extra snooze before I have to start my day,” sophomore Michael Pisarra said.

The extra few minutes to snooze in the morning can make all the difference.

“The extra 10 minutes you get can actually help to gently awaken the mind, rather than jolt it back to wakefulness,” Dr. David Ginges said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Regardless of the positive effects on the body and mind the decision led to, some can argue that moving the time back only created more traffic and a false sense of hope that it would work.

“I don’t feel any different in the morning and I’m upset about it,” junior Maddy Scholz said.

The ride to school this year has been worse than ever before. “The traffic going to school is way worse this year, every day on the loud speaker, I hear, ‘Please excuse bus 5407’,” said Rosenblatt.

Adding on time to one’s morning also helps to allow students to make breakfast before school or get to school early to talk to their teachers or counselor.

“It used to be way too early to get help before school,” junior Joey Roach said, “Now I can get here early and it doesn’t feel like I lost sleep or energy. In the mornings now I have time to make eggs or waffles before school, which helps to get

me going,” senior Patrick Bernardo said.

Moving the time back also pushes back practice for sports teams later, which usually means it is cooler outside.

“Having practice at 4 instead of 3 is a good amount of time for it to get a little bit cooler outside,” said junior Darren Feldman, “Especially when I have to walk outside carrying golf clubs.”

With the school year underway, MCPS has implemented a new school start time.

Staff and students have another change to get comfortable with, in addition to a new schedule, new teachers and a new grade level.

Some may think that the time change benefits them because they can get more sleep in the morning and it is crucial to them that they sleep in. They believe that sleeping an extra 20 minutes can make a difference. However some students feel that it’s not a huge difference in time after sports or clubs to do their homework.

Twenty more minutes in the morning

Then

Now

People believe that starting later will allow students to get more sleep, however, this is not the case. School starts later and therefore ends later, which makes starting and ending times for sports teams and other extracurricular activities later.

Students will have less time at home to do their homework and eventually they’ll end up going to sleep later.

With the new start time being at 7:45, the ride to school can be miserable, especially with students coming from a wide range of different areas. Students are driving during the busiest part of rush hour. Thousands of other people are headed to work at the same time students go to school, forcing students to leave earlier to be on time.

“With the new start time being later, I only get 10 more minutes in the morning especially because of the increased traffic this year, I used to leave at 7:10 now I leave for school at 7:20,” junior Will Quam said.

Not only does the time change affect the students but the parents as well.

Parents are responsible for getting their children to school and with many of the parents working, they must stay home later in the morning with their child as opposed to sending them off earlier and getting to work quicker. Those few minutes can make all the difference in traffic especially when traveling to the D.C. area. A number of elementary schools start at 9:25 a.m. so parents won’t theoretically arrive at work until 10 to 10:30 depending on the area in which they work and traffic conditions. The additional time in the school day, “will require the district to fund 37.7 additional lunch hour aide positions at a cost of $1.07 million,” according to the MCPS website. By simply adding 10 minutes to the day, they must update their positions and their budget.

An affordable solution should be that school should end 20 minutes early or even more. By simply shortening each class by five minutes, the school day shrinks by getting out 40 minutes earlier.

The earlier the better as students will have more time after school while still managing to get enough sleep.

Cartoon by Sarah Fagan

News Editors Rachel Altman Sarah Greenberg Joey Voyta

Later start time finally here; Is it beneficial?

Moving the start time back 20 minutes makes everything a little bit later for the students and teachers.

Although there are a few kinks to workout, the positives outweigh the negative.

—Dean Spitz, staff writer

is not going to help much and students often don’t even get a more significant amount of sleep.

“I don’t get to sleep in a lot more than last year, I wake up 10 minutes later now,” junior Michael Kolodin said.

The new start time is not an appropriate solution to the general sleeping and scheduling issue and it is not convenient for students and staff.

—Nic Band, staff writer

World language classes should not be vital for college Josh Friedman staff writer As students advance from freshman to senior year, the topic of college application requirements becomes more and more important. The number of language credits should not be one of those criteria when applying to college.

Every day students struggle through the regular, honors, and AP language courses required of them to graduate. Most students already know that they are not interested in pursuing a career or degree that directly involves a fluency in a world language.

The University of Delaware expects its applicants to take no less than three years of world language in high school and recommends four. Most students here receive two to four years of world language. However, many schools allow acceptees to test out of the language course requirement in college.

Junior Jared Fishman is currently taking

his fifth year of Spanish and has no interest in continuing his studies in the field in college. “I’m not even considering the pursuit of a degree in Spanish or any world language when I get to college,” Fishman said.

It would be nice for students to possess a legitimate passion for taking a world language but a recurring truth is that students are often only taking the course to reach the bare minimum requirement. With a tough workload in junior year, world language puts one more obstacle between juniors and application-worthy grades.

Students here are mandated to take at least two years of world language, yet a portion of them have not been able to retain a majority of the information taught to them in that span of time.

“I have been taking Spanish for a really long time now and even though I have invested so much time into it, I’m still not even close to fluent.

I don’t want to take it in college but I know that some colleges make you take it,” junior Darren

Bogart said.

Most liberal arts schools don’t allow a student to test out of a world language course.

It is expected of them to continue their language studies well into their time in college. Many schools, however, look for the number of years of world language to represent commitment to a task, and once admitted, students are not required to take a world language in college.

Students who take more advanced levels of a language may not be viewed as any more desirable for acceptance if a school does not see this as one of its criterion.

Students here should not be required to take these courses if the result of their efforts is not directly related to the continued enrollment in a world language course. Schools should represent the exemplary efforts of their students in more relevant ways and colleges should make those efforts more relevant in their search for specific criteria.

Opinion

7

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Code of conduct should keep kids in school

it’s kind of shifted away from r ules and regulations being punitive always in nature, tr yThe Montgomer y County students who spent time out ing to change the philosophy, Council’s Education Com- of school on suspensions being corrective in nature. It’s mittee (MCCEC) met with or expulsions this year was meant to be a teaching learnMontgomer y County Public half that of the 2009-2010 ing tool to change people’s Schools (MCPS) on July 27 school year. I recognize that behavior. That philosophical to discuss the new Code of many will see that as: kids thing is probably the big gest Conduct. The major policy haven’t matured, the county’s change,” 10th grade adminischange, implemented in the just made looser r ules. Even trator Joseph DuBoyce said.

2014-15 school year, focus- Board of Education PresiSchool system officials es on keeping students in dent Patricia O’Neill, one of have already clarified durthe classroom and reducing the officials who spearheading the Board’s review of out-of-school suspensions ed the new policy, recognized the policy that violent beto narrow the achievement those sentiments in a May havior, posgap.

MCPS session of a should keep weapon or acts this policy and that threaten even extend its others still reWe saw a significant reduction in some measures due sult in harsher to the positive of the racial disparities around school punishments results reaped including sussuspensions.” last year. pensions and “We are expulsions.

Craig Rice, MCCEC member ver y happy P r e v i o u s l y, to hear from nonviolent MCPS … we students, who saw a signifiwere posing no cant reduction in some of board meeting. “There are direct threat to the school’s the racial disparities around r umblings out there in the safety or functionality, could school suspensions,” MC- community that kids can’t be be suspended, resulting in CEC Chair and Montgom- suspended, that the schools lost class time and an iner y County Councilmember are r unning amok,” O’Neill creased gap in learning. Now, Craig Rice said. “What we said. they will continue to sit in want to do is to make sure The Code of Conduct class and learn. they do suffer consequences sug gests that instead of sus“Our children are learnbased on serious actions that pending students for fairly ing and growing and children they’ve had, but at the same minor infractions like insubmake mistakes,” O’Neill said. time make sure that we con- ordination or tr uancy, stu“Adults make mistakes.” tinue their educational prog- dents be forced to perfor m Rather than being arbiress. Because that’s impor- community ser vice, peer trarily punished, kids need tant. We’re still going to have mediation and issue written to learn from their mistakes, to educate that child.” apologies. and they can’t learn when In the 2014-15 school “What’s new is philosothey’re out of school. year, the number of MCPS phy. Over the last two years

Common Sense Editorial

“

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What is your opinion on the “I agree, it is not like you Code of Conduct can prove that they did or didn’t have intention.” changes?

Ryan Tchanga, freshman

“I believe that it is a good idea to not get suspended because people have the right to carry what they want.”

“That’s stupid. How are you going to prove if the person had intention to do anything?”

“I think it’s a really bad idea because you don’t have any evidence for malicious intent other than your own word.”

“I think it puts too much responsibility on the school to have to decide the intent of the student.”

Daniela Casas, senior

William Memmott, junior

Daniel Pecroraro, English Teacher

Aditya Ravi, sophomore

School bathroom stalls in desperate need of serious duty

Kyle Perel opinion editor

Let’s be real here for a second. The bathrooms here are disgusting and it is time for a change.

You can basically start anywhere, but let’s start with the locks on the door.

Throughout my day, I have enough things to worry about including homework, sports, and college. I do not need someone barging into the stall, while I am trying to dispose of bodily waste.

Regardless of whether people are polite enough to look under the door to see a pair of feet, a metal lock would be nice to prevent future intruders. And I say metal

because I am tired of those pencils that are broken in half and stuck in the lock hole.

Moving onto the blow dryers. Look I am all for the environment and the saving of it, but if I come back to class one more time and get my paper wet, I will be forced to replace all of the air dryers in the school with paper towels. \ Last year, I had to schedule my daily bathroom break during science or math class simply because the science hallway bathroom has paper towels. It is like driving by the Travilah Square Burger King going to the Quince Orchard McDonalds.

Sure, I could go to BK, but McDonalds is the move. Bathrooms with paper towels are

the move. I don’t know who came up with the idea of air dryers for the school, but they certainly didn’t buy the right brand. I need some industrial level fan that’s going to cool the earth down, not some cut rate dorm room fan that can’t move water off my hand.

Next is the smell of all these bathrooms.

I can stand a lot of smells, but some of these school bathrooms make football locker rooms feel really good. I should not have to wear protective clothing in order to navigate my way through the bathroom.

Put some Febreeze in these rooms of hell.

In addition we are going to need some better toilet paper. Please, some Charmin

Ultrasoft would be incredibly appreciated, My last statement is a call to action to the student body. Can we please have proper bathroom etiquette? There is no need to stuff toilet paper in the sink so that it floods no matter how bad the paper might be.

Do not throw paper clips in the urinal that just serves no purpose. Stop leaving toilet paper strewn about the stalls. It is disgusting and no one wants to clean up after you.

Do not do anything that you wouldn’t do in your own bathroom. And lastly… aim carefully, we aren’t all snipers, but I think almost all of us can hit the target.

Follow up: The story of the security guard’s day, actions revealed

Geoff Pisarra staff writer

Last year, an article published as the Common Sense editorial, (representing the newspaper staff as a whole) about the security team stated that security stereotyped based on gender and race. The article said security looks at the students as “Asians, Indians, and girls are ‘sweet’ and ‘docile’ while African Americans and males are the ‘troublemakers’.” (“Stereotypes determine how people treat others,” May 8 2015) I followed around security guard Chris Pucciarell on Sept. 4, and after a day in his shoes, I can confirm that the article previously mentioned is inaccurate. It may not be the most exciting job in the world, but the security guards at school come to work everyday looking out for the best interest in each and every student and try to help the school run as smoothly as possible.

The day started outside in the school parking lot at 7:30 a.m. Students of all ethnicities, male and female, walk through the doors in the morning, and even though most

people come to school tired and unenergetic, Pucciarell greets each student with a joke, trying to start their mornings with a smile.

After Pucciarelli and I made sure that everyone got to class in a timely manner, we scanned the halls around the school for any stragglers who lost their way and any kids trying to cut class.

The security team is able to track if kids are hanging in the hallways or not by the cameras that they watch 24/7 in the security office. This helps the security team stay on track of things, and it seems that because of this they are able to be on top of things before they even happen.

At 9:30a.m, we ran into our first mini altercation with a student, as he refused to give his phone up to his teacher. At most schools, the security team would have confiscated the student’s phone and given them an after school detention, but not Pucciarell. His goal was to make sure the student got back to class, not to get him in trouble, and was even able to convince the teacher to give the student his phone

back after class after he apologized.

It wasn’t until 10:30 a.m that I realized we had been on our feet continuously, and I asked Pucciarell, “Don’t your feet ever get tired?” to which he replied with a hardy laugh, “Try doing this everyday, all year.”

The duties of the security team range from traffic control and lunch/hallway monitoring to answering calls on the radio and helping solve problems for all students and it became clear to me that the job of a security guard isn’t what people would imagine. It takes hard work, and a desire to help out the student body and each student become a better person, not concerning him or herself with ethnicity, religion or gender.

Although the rest of the time I spent with Pucciarell was easy going, I was glad to be able to clear the air between security and newspaper.

The security team is not racist nor do they hate the students, but they look at each individual student and give the best assistance they can to make sure this school runs as smoothly as possible

Investigation:

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Suspect: Jeannette Kemp Occupation: Main office secretary Statement: “One word to describe Wootton is awesome. All the students and staff are dedicated to making Wootton a great school.”

Suspect: Jennifer Hicks Occupation: Main office secretary Statement: “If I could describe Wootton in one word I would say it is energetic. There is so much wonderful energy here.”

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sense of “family” and “unity” is what I have felt since I have walked through the front doors.”

Design by Chantal Nomen, Shelby Ting, Smriti Gupta commons editor

Photos by Felipe Mejia photography editor

Art by Sarah Fagan and Chantal Nomen online editor and commons editor

10 Snapchat geofilters submitted by senior David Auth.

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Proposed Snapchat geofilters turned down

Sydney Cohen staff writer As I entered the school for the first day of the year last Monday, I eagerly scrolled through various filters on Snapchat, past the black and white, the time and the temperature in hopes of finally seeing the school’s geotag (also known as a geofilter). I was very disappointed to find out that the only Snapchat-related progress made since June was the addition of a “Rockville, Maryland” geotag. Really?

Geotags were initially launched in July 2014, at which point they were only in major cities such as New York City and Los Angeles. Beginning in December, users were allowed to submit geotags for cities, neighborhoods, schools, etc. They quickly began popping up everywhere around the world, from places as (relatively) small as Bethesda and Rockville to major cities among the likes of London and Paris. Geotags can be found at just about every other high

school and city in Montgomery County. Besides promoting school spirit and pride, they also are fantastic for an overload of selfies.

The Snapchat website includes geotag guidelines, one that it be “a public place, neighborhood, landmark, venue or other location where people are likely to gather and send Snaps,” and that “it is relevant to the location and something that people will want to use.” The school fits all of this criteria.

To submit a geotag, the user must submit the image as a transparent Portable Networks Graphics (PNG), being sure to leave space at the top and bottom of the image. Snapchat provides strict guidelines for the size and design of the geotag. “You have to download programs and draw it on ones, save it to the other and then submit it through a special file,” sophomore Emily Miles, who submitted a design, said.

Before uploading an image, Snapchat shows you a map and asks that you select where in the world your filter will

Features

be available.

Senior Jake Johnston also submitted a design, which was turned down. After getting the school logo from Google and turning it into a PNG with Photoshop, he submitted his image. “I got an email a couple weeks after submitting it,” Johnston said. In the email, Snapchat cited reasons for rejecting it as not having original content or being visually appealing, having an “insufficient” description and an incorrect format.

In addition, a rumor has spread that Dr. Doran was the reason why the school does not have a geotag. “I do not know about geotags but I am also confused because I have never said no to them, one reason being I do not know what they are,” Doran said on May 14 to put the rumor to rest.

Because filters for places like schools must be approved by administation, this presents a major setback.

The most recent submissions were by senior David Auth, both of which were rejected by Snapchat.

School-specific slang baffles rest of county, nation

The culture at every school has its quirks and here, students are constantly breaking ground with avant garde, artistic expressions of their lives. We declare things to be “lowkey,” ask friends to “sice” us money or class notes and voice our agreement by saying: “Truuue.”

Since the creation of language, the vernacular has been punctuated with slang words that seek to challenge norms and propel linguistic growth.

In his day, Shakespeare coined jargon like “swagger” and “eyeball,” words that have become commonplace in the English language.

The word “cool” first surfaced in the 1950s—by the ‘70s, hippie lingo replaced it with “groovy,” and today, this simple adjective can be anything from “sick” to “tight.”

Pioneering phrases like “it’s lit” and “you’re lyyying,” the teenagers of our

community baffle not only parents and teachers, but also high schoolers from across the county and nation.

Despite how trivial our words sound to the outside world, linguists claim that slang is beneficial to teenagers when building relationships with their peers.

Thus, a dialect specific to the Wootton tribe is crucial to developing individual confidence as well as engendering a communal sense of identity and belonging.

“The unique slang words we use make us feel like we are part of a little family with inside jokes,” junior Simran Baid said.

According to the Huffington

Graphic by Gwen Klein

Catherine Yang editor-in-chief

Post, one of the telltale signs of adolescence is a desire to distance oneself from older generations.

With slang derived from teenage angst and pop culture, the most obvious way to do so is though the art of language.

Globally, the phenomenon of this intergenerational gap is so eminent that

linguistics experts researched extensively on the topic of deciphering teen lingo.

Here alone, the linguistic divide is so deep and our slang so unique that recent graduates have encountered confusion from their new college classmates when they speak in Wootton-specific terms.

Class of 2015 graduate Tej Joshi has had firsthand experience with such incidents, though he has only been at the University of Miami a few short weeks.

“After leaving MoCo, I definitely realized how distinctive our slang is,” Joshi said nostalgically. “Sometimes, it is actually hard to communicate with other kids at my school because there have been times when I’ve said ‘I’m hip’ or ‘alright bet’ and people have no idea what it means. When I talk to other kids from the MoCo area it’s almost a blessing because I’m finally able to talk freely and be understood.”

But for now, within the bounds of our little community, we can speak freely.

MTV Video Music Awards exhibit fashion, artistic talent, controversy

Chanta’l Nomen commons editor

The MTV Video Music Awards caused a stir on social media due to outlandish red carpet looks, amazing performances and controversy. On Sunday, Aug. 30, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Twenty-One Pilots and A$AP Rocky performed. The VMAs trended worldwide on Twitter, with people sharing praise, humor and disapproval of the topics or events at the show. Miley Cyrus took the stage as the host and wasted no time turning heads with her revealing and colorful stage outfits and her eccentric personality.

Best Hip-Hop Video Winner Nicki Minaj kicked off the evening’s events with her new single “Trini Dem Girls,” which featured colorful and traditional festival costumes from her homeland of Trinidad. Swift joined Minaj on stage and ended the performance with “Bad Blood,” which won Video of the Year. This collaboration seemed to prove that they put their recent Twitter feud over nominations far behind them.

As soon as Cyrus stepped on the red carpet, outrage poured from Twitter with accusations of cultural appropriation for wearing faux dreads. Her stage costumes varied from an M&M-like dress to a rainbow flag in support of LGBT rights. When Minaj took the stage to accept her award for Best Hip-Hop Video, she publicly called out Cyrus for her recent comments on Minaj’s and Swift’s feud, uttering the now-infamous line, “Miley, what’s good?” Miley responded by blaming the press for twisting her words and congratulated Minaj on her award.

“I thought Miley’s response was kind of petty,” senior Naeemah Islam said.

The VMA’s became the platform for three musical comebacks: Justin Bieber, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Bieber graced the stage with “Where are U Now” and his new single “What Do You Mean.” Bieber was soon overcome with emotion and broke down at the end of his performance. Later on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Bieber explained to host Jimmy Fallon that he was overcome with emotion from all of the support he received.

Tori Kelly and The Weeknd were the crowd favorites, Kelly delivered a jaw-dropping performance of “Could’ve Been Us,” wowing the audience with her powerful vocals while The Weeknd sang “Can’t Feel My Face” to the delight of Kanye West, who danced along the entire time. There was also a high-energy mash up of “Heavy Dirty Soul,” “Message Man,” “Lane Boy,” M$ and L$D by Twenty-One Pilots and A$AP Rocky.

People on social media were waiting the moment when West, the outspoken and passionate artist, received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award.

Swift presented West with the honor and talked about how she had always being a fan of his music and his groundbreaking work in music videos.

When the time finally came for West to take the stage, he talked about the mistakes he’d made and how he had been disrespectful in the past, especially to Swift.

Everyone remembers the infamous VMA moment when West ruined Swift’s moment by implying that Beyonce should have won instead. He also touched on the importance of youth today and the importance of standing up for one’s beliefs and speaking the truth. “We not gonna control our kids with brands. We’re not gonna teach low self-esteem and hate to our kids,” West said to positive response from the audience.

Then, one of the most unforgettable moments in VMA history happened when West dropped the mic after announcing he was running for president in 2020 and immediately mock campaign posters were all over the internet. People were using the hashtags #Kanye2020 and #KanyeforPresident to express their excitement. West had stolen the show with a speech that will go down in MTV VMA history as one of the best acceptance speeches.

Common Sense | September 18, 2015 Photo courtesy Fiona Bishop

Features

11

Life lessons learned lifeguarding

Sarah Fagan online editor

Juniors Maddie Reiter, Shireen Chavoshi, Fiona Bishop, Nisha Basavappa and Lawrence Jung pose with their German friends in the Hamburg airport, as they get ready to leave Germany and come back to the States.

Students get taste of Germany through exchange program Maddie Reiter business manager It took intense lobbying on my part to convince my parents, but I had the pleasure of taking part in the Rockville-Pinneberg student exchange trip to Germany this past summer. The experience was culturally enriching for everyone involved. This trip marked my first time travelling abroad and I was amazed by all the cultural differences.

After a long flight, 11 eager and exhausted Americans arrived in Denmark at the Copenhagen airport.

We were relieved to stretch our legs and get coffee after sitting on a plane for eight hours. It hit me that I was in a foreign country when I couldn’t tell which door was for the ladies’ restroom.

We spent our first day in Copenhagen touring the city and gawking at the people. Our boat tour around the large harbor was fun and later we toured the stunning Rosenborg Castle. We had lunch in a quaint cafe where we needed to use Google Translate to figure out what we were ordering.

Later in the afternoon, we headed back to the airport to catch our 45-minute connecting flight to Hamburg.

Sitting still in our seats was nearly impossible because we couldn’t wait to meet/reunite with our hosts (five of us had hosted a German student in Fall of 2014).

The German hosts were equally as excited and welcomed us to into their homes in Pinneberg that evening.

For our first full day in Germany, our hosts brought us to their school, which began at 8:30 a.m. We sat in on English classes of different grade levels where they asked us questions and taught us a little German.

After school, we Americans and our hosts took the train to the city of Kiel for the Kieler Woche festival.

There were rides and games, lots of pubs, and so much food. Side note: did you know Germans eat French fries with toothpicks?

Sunday was allotted to spend individual time with our hosts instead of in a large group. My host family brought me to the St. Michaels’s Cathedral in Hamburg.

We went all the way to the top at 433 feet to get a breathtaking panoramic view of the city. They also showed me one of the oldest restaurants in Germany called Krameranuts-Stuben, which was established in 1718.

The morning after, we bid farewell to our host families and went to tour Berlin without them for three days.

We went on a boat tour around the city center of Berlin and learned about the structures, old and new. We also passed the remaining part of the Berlin Wall, which was completely decorated with vibrant spray paint.

After we docked, we went off on our own to enjoy

the city sights and met everyone later for dinner.

At dinner, we learned that almost everyone in Germany prefers sparkling water over flat water. We concluded that in restaurants we had to order water with “no gas” or waiters would assume we meant sparkling.

We realized another cultural difference when one of the students asked for WiFi and the waiter misunderstood her and returned with white wine (of course, we sent it back).

The next day, we explored the city center, saw the famous Brandenburg Gate, toured the Berlin Cathedral, and the Reichstag – Germany’s Parliament building.

Outside the Reichstag, there was a marked place on the sidewalk that showed where the Berlin Wall was torn down. I’ll never forget standing over that place, with one foot on the east side and one foot on the west side.

When we returned in Pinneberg, we were excited to see our host families again and to have a relaxed day.

Some of us went to the “Beach Club” (it was more like a lake but that’s the closest Germans can get to a beach).

The next day wasn’t as relaxing but it was fun because we went to Miniatur Wunderland – my favorite part! It was a combination of European cities, the Alps, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas on an extremely tiny scale.

The Fourth of July came around and it was weird for us Americans to be in a celebrating mood while the Germans were sick of hearing us sing the “StarSpangled Banner.”

On July 7, we visited a different “beach” and experienced the European way of sun bathing – half or fully naked. I can’t say that I fully adapted to the European lifestyle because I couldn’t stop laughing.

We were all feeling slightly sad that our vacation was almost over but the sorrow was soon forgotten when we reached the North Sea on July 8. It must have taken over 30 minutes to walk to the shore. It was so windy that the sand felt like needles flying into our bare legs. If you’re looking for a beach vacation don’t go to Germany.

The experience was hilarious and definitely made for a good story. We went into town and got food and played games until late afternoon when we drove back to Pinneberg.

Our last day was spent at school and then at an American-style restaurant called “Montgomery Champs” for dinner. It looked like a pretty authentic sports bar but the menu was completely in German.

A gross number of selfies and group pictures were taken.

On July 10, we reluctantly went to the Hamburg airport in the morning and said tearful ‘auf wiedersehens’ to our friends and host families. We all still keep in touch because the memories will last forever.

Summer is a beautiful time. No school, tons of time to do whatever you want: whether it yields to camps or making yourself into a human burrito with blankets as you watch Netflix for hours on end until your eyeballs feel like they are about to fall out of their sockets.

One thing that often comes up on the summer agenda, is going to the pool. While splashing around in the water there is always someone there. Watching. Not in a creepy way, but in an, “I’m getting paid to do this” kind of way.

The lifeguard.

For the last two summers I have taken on the task of being the personal babysitter of the many people who swim. Do I love it? Yes. Do I hate it? Yes. To all of the people out there who believe that lifeguarding is being paid to sit there and watch people— which admittedly 80 percent of the time it is—there is that other 20 percent that involves so much more. I have pulled mice, spiders, frogs, and species yet to be discovered out of filters, listened to nonstop crying for 30 minutes, released enough sweat to fill up a reasonably large pond, and handled an insurmountable amount of sass on a daily basis.

While staring at the pool, spinning my whistle, my only company is my thoughts. I learned seven truths about life.

1) Never sass a teacher. Please. Or anyone for that matter unless that is the relationship you have established with that person. I do not know how teachers deal with the amount of sass that they do eight periods a day, five days a week, for more than 40 weeks.

That simple eye roll that you think is hilarious when the teacher tells you not to do something? That is annoying.

They mask it well but that is so very annoying. The kids who sassed me received far less leniency on my part for the remainder of the summer.

2) Be mindful of PDA. If you want to do it, fine, but consider other people around you. There were times I was in the chair and had to stare at two people canoodling in the pool and I wanted to look away but I could not because, frankly, my job is make sure that while they are canoodling they do not end up canoodledrowning.

3) Sometimes, it is good to be alone with your thoughts. While sitting up in the chair, I occasionally went insane at the inactivity, but I also came up with my best ideas. When you are doing homework and your mind is about to implode, just sit there and do nothing. Not all day, but for about five minutes, just do nothing and let all your thoughts go into the little filing cabinets in your brain.

4) Patience is an art. I think from the previous four points you can get why it is important.

5) A little bit of kindness goes a long way. After the second day of school I was in the chair, sweating as per usual, stressed about homework, and a man came up to me to simply express his gratitude for me to be working this late in the season. That small thanks made me immediately happy.

Every time a person smiled at me or asked how my day was it made all the annoying things about the job worth it and wiped my bad mood into oblivion. So be nice to employees or people in general, it actually makes their day.

6) Make the best of the situations you are in. Some days during work were not the best by any means, but being around great and awesome coworkers who knew how to find the humor and even the most miserable of tasks made the job worth doing.

Never, in a thousand years, ever leave trash again in the Commons.

Leaving trash and food is disgusting and rude.

Whenever I had to clean up a week old watermelon that someone forgot to throw away, a part of me lost respect for the human race.

12

Features

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Max Jordan features editor

As the school year begins, teachers are introducing a new way to communicate with students. You’ve most likely already heard of Google Classroom, but you probably don’t know exactly what it is.

According to the homepage, “Classroom is designed to help teachers create and collect assignments paperlessly, including timesaving features like the ability to automatically make a copy of a Google document for each student.” The main idea behind the system is to add a level of convenience to everything that happens inside a classroom, like turning in papers and communicating with teachers, which students will now be able to do from home.

There are two ways to sign up. Students enter into a Google Apps account, and teachers can add selected students into their different classes. The more common way, however, is for students to access classes by entering a code. Teachers reveal their specific code to their students, who then enter via their own accounts.

One new aspect of Classroom is that teachers are able to grade and give concise feedback quickly and efficiently, all on one page and without using any paper. The hope is that the program keeps everything extremely organized, as students don’t have to worry about misplacing assignments.

Teachers are also able to post assignments, videos and worksheets, which will then immediately be accessible to students in the class. Some

assignments are linked with Google Docs, meaning students fulfill the prompt for the work in Docs, which, once finished, they submit by clicking “Turn In” in the top right corner of the page.The work is then instantly sent to the teacher, who can see it in real time. Teachers can also enter due dates for their assignments, and if someone fails to turn in the work in a timely manner, they will be locked out from submitting that particular assignment. Although a majority of teachers have not begun to implement the use of Classroom, the teachers who have appear to be pleased with it. “I like it because it’s more interactive and easier to use than Edline,” English and yearbook teacher Rebecca Litwin said.

Students should also benefit from the communication aspect of the program. Not only can students talk to teachers, but they may also communicate with other classmates either to collaborate or ask a question.

Along with communication, students will be able to connect with their class even if they are absent a day. All the work missed would be posted, so students will never miss an assignment. “It will definitely make catching up on work a lot less painful,” sophomore Brad Wallace said.

There is even an app for the program, allowing students to always be able to use Classroom even when they’re away from a computer.

Students can even take a picture from a phone, add it to an assignment and turn it in.

Photo by Max Jordan

Google Classroom allows access to assignments away from school

Sophomore Zack Kerr checks up on his classes during lunch using Google Classroom.

Summer work causes stress outside of classroom

Kyle Perel opinion editor

My summers used to be about relaxing, going on vacation and enjoying myself. Now when the regular school year ends, a new one begins. Yes, I am talking about summer homework.

Remember in first grade when we had to read three books and write summaries of them, and if we did that we got ice cream? Well now, the number of books depends, but you can throw in a math packet, miscellaneous work for other classes, ACT/SAT prep for juniors and seniors, the school’s summer reading, and instead of an ice cream party with all you can eat toppings you just get a grade.

Ultimately, the amount of work to do over the summer

can turn kids off from taking a certain course. For example, AP Lit’s summer homework includes reading three books, all over 225 pages, two tiered journals outlining the entire book and four-page long summaries relating the book, “How to Read English Like a Professor,” to the other two books you read. If it seems like a lot, that’s because it is. Often times, kids who take college level courses are motivated enough to do summer work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they like it. “It was a lot. I had trouble doing it all with a jam-packed summer schedule, and if I had to do it over again, I would have done it exactly the same,” senior and AP Lit student Francisco Huang-Ventura said.

The math packets, however, seem to be much better than before. Remember those 20 pagers in middle school that seemed like they took an entire lifetime to do? Well now,

they are one to four pages and more course specific. This summer, I sat down for three hours and finished it. That was it done with math for the summer. “I am really happy the summer math homework has gotten lighter over the years, it gives me more time to do things and focus on sports,” senior Rachel Maizel said.

Kids who take classes with extra summer work usually enjoy the class enough to get the work done or the motivation for the “A” is so much that the work is necessary. Just like this newspaper class, where we have to sell ads over the summer. Is it a pain? Sure, it is a pain. But at the end of the day our grade in the class does depend on it. But I am happy I am still taking newspaper. It has made me a better writer and a well-rounded person. If that means I have to sell an ad or two, then so be it.

Juniors puzzled by lack of parking opportunities in lot Rachel Clair features editor So far this year many juniors seem to be puzzled about the parking situation. There have been stories about parking at Frost and the morning trek down the infamous hill, unsuccessful attempts to park at townhouses with irritated, and not so patient women still in their PJ’s and the favorite- playing the guessing game at 2:30 p.m. to see if your car won the grand prize of being towed from Rockshire.

One of the most confusing, as well as repeated points about this whole debacle is that juniors were able to park last year, whether it be in the lower lot, or in one of the 75 leased spots at Rockshire parking lot.

The sole reason for the current circumstance is that last school year, seniors complained that juniors took their spots when they went to receive parking permits later in the semester. “Juniors did park last year…however seniors who got their driver’s license later in the year couldn’t get their parking permit because juniors were parked in their spots…so the seniors were very upset about it, therefore a decision was made by administration that juniors will not be allowed to park,” Cynthia Cunningham, secretary and parking coordinator of seven years said.

The only loophole for this is if a junior plays a sport, but sometimes only captains are awarded the passes. “The only juniors that are parking this year are those that happen to be sports captains, and the coach has emailed me, then they get a seasonal pass only,” Cunningham said.

The other justifiable reasoning is that parking is an entitlement or privilege for seniors. “Parking is for seniors. It’s a privilege that the seniors look forward to in their last year of high school,” Cunningham said.

Although this may seem fair, for the juniors who have their licenses this predicament is pretty aggravating. “Just because we are younger does not mean we shouldn’t be given a parking space. We shouldn’t have to make our parents drive us even though we have our licenses and a car. We also shouldn’t have to worry about getting towed when we are at school,” junior Abby McCann said.

Irritating or not this situation does not seem to be budging. The only pass permitted parking by juniors will be after graduation, senior’s seconds. But hey juniors, you have all next year to park in the lower lot, take full advantage of your privilege as seniors, and look down on those poor juniors next year who will have to get creative with their parking you watch from the comfort of your own parking spot.

Sports

13

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

RECORDS&SCHEDULES RECORDS&SCHEDULES RECORDS&SCHEDULES RECORDS&SCHEDULESRECORDS&SCHEDULES

Fockey

Girls’ Soccer

Boys’ Soccer

3-0 1-0 2-2

Girls’ Girls’ Tennis Volleyball

1-1

2-0

Cross Country

Football

1-1

1-0

Golf

1-0

RECORDS&SCHEDULES RECORDS&SCHEDULES RECORDS&SCHEDULES RECORDS&SCHEDULESRECORDS&SCHEDULES

Boys’ Soccer

Boys playing hard with Doran in mind In honor of the late Dr. Michael Doran the boys’ soccer team plans on not stopping until they win States. “We loved Dr. Doran, and he always cheered us on so to honor him we’re going to go all out this season,” senior captain Al Mirzania said.

The boys’ journey started at home in front of a sellout against powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School, a program notorious for its success on the pitch and this year their team is ranked ninth in the country.

The boys lost 3-2 in a double overtime thriller, proving they were able to hold their own against the Stags. Goals were scored by seniors Harrison Burke and Rameen Kamazani, who both displayed skill and technique in the process.

Both goals put the Patriots ahead but with 29 seconds left the boys weren’t able to hang on to the final strand, giving up the game-ending goal on a blown assignment.

Prior to the heartbreaking DeMatha loss, the boys took on Bowie High School on Sept.

5 as a part of an invitational tournament.

The boys went off on an offensive outburst, scoring six goals. They also played well on defense, allowing only two goals. In the first half, the boys dominated the half but couldn’t

Photo courtesy Robert Browning

Brent London opinion editor

Junior Alex Bellot fights for ball possession in a 6-2 rout against Bowie High School on Sept. 5.

get a goal and went into half down 1-0.

Cristobal Corvalan scored the opening goal on an untouched cross. Corvalan’s goal was followed by five others as they would go on to win 6-2.

Goals were scored by senior captains Corvalan (who scored twice), Mirzania and Taylor Noble. Also contributing to the six

Summer does not mean stop

Dean Spitz staff writer

Summer is looked upon as most as a time to relax and hang out with friends. However, for athletes, it is non-stop work. The sports teams worked hard to perfect their craft over this summer and are ready to play.

Football The end of school does not signal the beginning of football workouts. After winter break every year, the football team begins working out again.

Yes, a mere two months after ending the season, the grind starts right back up.

Workouts are usually every week, Monday through Thursday. “This is my fourth year in the program and yes, we do workout 10 months a year,” senior linebacker Patrick Bernardo said.

Gaining weight and muscle is vital to a football player, therefore this makes the workouts fun and exciting.

“If you want to be good at football you have to be able to throw people around,” junior cornerback Michael Amobi said.

Soccer Boys and girls soccer both begin workouts following the end of the school year. Both teams worked hard over the summer to get ready for the season.

“We worked hard and ran miles on miles,” team captain senior Al Mirzania said.

The boys had workouts, “every Monday, Wednesday and Friday,” junior striker Benson Child said.

The hard work seems to have paid off thus far after the boys defeated the defending state champions, Walt Whitman, 3-0.

The girls also worked hard this summer.

goals was senior Harrison Burke and junior Sam Browning. The defense was led by stellar goalkeeping from seniors Josh Shcherbelis and Matt Waclawiw.

After the team’s 6-2 win they awaited visitors Leonardtown for their later game.

Leonardtown resulted in a 2-1 overtime loss. The scoring opened up with a quick

“We did fitness Monday and Wednesday and summer league Tuesday and Thursdays, which gave us a good opportunity to play teams like Whitman and Churchill,” junior Rachel Feldman said.

Tennis Tennis is known for being stout and winning state championships.

Over summer, despite only working out twice a week, the tennis team became close to one another by spending time together.

“We got to meet the new players and bond together. We also did a ton of fitness and foot work drills,” junior Elizabeth Band said. “It was really fun to be able to play together again.”

XC Cross country toiled through the summer hoping to have a strong fall season.

Workouts were twice a day every day, however runners were only expected to show up to one.

“During workouts we did road runs or workouts and usually some core strengthening exercises,” junior Breece Parsons said.

Field Hockey After losing in regionals to BethesdaChevy-Chase last year and Severna Park in the State Finals two years, field hockey has a lot to live up to. They worked out three days a week and workouts were led by the team captains.

“Workouts usually consisted of stick work, core, and sprints,” senior Emily Krotman said.

The team believes they can do something big this year.

“Watch out for us, we have a lot of talent and team chemistry,” junior Jenny Scholz said.

counter attack goal by Leonardtown after Al Mirzania took a free kick that was redirected by junior Benson Child right off the crossbar.

The boys struggled to come back in the second half until Corvalan dribbled the length of the field, through the entire defense and scored a last second goal, forcing overtime.

Waclawiw held the Patriots in the game with numerous clutch saves.

As overtime started the game was close, then a Leonardtown forward launched a 20yard strike sneaking by Waclawiw and ending the game.

Later in the week the boys took on Richard Montgomery on Sept. 9 at home. The Patriots improved to 2-1 on the season with a 3-2 win. RM controlled the first half, however the half ended tied 1-1. Then off of a penalty in the box in the second half, RM was able to convert a penalty kick to go up 2-1.

Corvalan was able to even the score with a well-placed cross, setting up Mirzania for the equalizer. Ten minutes after the gametying goal, senior standout striker Rameen Kamazani nearly scored his second goal of the game. However he was able to draw a foul in the box and Corvalan was able to convert the eventual game-winning goal.

The boys took on Churchill at home on Tuesday, Sept. 15 which was too late to be covered in this issue.

Golf

Teeing off redemption

Josh Friedman staff writer

The golf program is kicking off its season with a roster full of new and veteran talent and an intense motivation to make the current season the third state title in the last four years.

The Sept. 1 season opener gave the players an opportunity to showcase their talent and provide a glimpse into the expectations for the rest of the fall campaign. The first match at Worthington Manor Golf Course showcased play from senior Jordan Weitz with the lowest score of the match, a five under par 31. Junior Joey Voyta and senior Delaney Shah finished the match shooting three over par 39.

Though the top three starters put on an impressive performance, they finished second to last year’s state champion, Churchill.

Churchill managed to secure a win in the next tournament as well with the six-man Patriots team trailing at a close second yet again.

The Northwest Golf Course produced one over par finishes from both Weitz and Voyta who started as a number two on Sept. 8 with Shah playing in an out-of-state tournament.

Voyta is now participating in his third year of Wootton golf and has a firm belief that the best is yet to come.

“We just need everyone to put it together for nine holes and we’ll be able to win some matches,” Voyta said.

“Yesterday was tough but were a good team and we can still compete.”

A position was left vacant as last year’s captain Justin Feldman left for the University of Maryland and its division one golf program. Feldman’s departure leaves Weitz and Shah with a responsibility to lead the team through the season. Recent actions by both team captains has led to new momentum on the course. Weitz commited to Yale last week, and has found a new comfort with his playing now that the school search is over.

“There is a lot less pressure on me now that I’ve committed. Now I can simply go out and play and just think about improving my own skills,” Weitz said.

Shah has also committed and will attend Louisville next year.

With the two captains improving on the program’s credibility, students can expect yet another season of high level play.

The biggest obstacle in the team’s way is Churchill’s powerful and commanding program.

Churchill almost tied the shot record in last year’s state finals, and has a roster of young talent.

“They have a strong team but we also have a lot of talent this year, and a lot of the returning players have gotten much better,” Voyta said.

The six man roster played September 14 at Little Bennett Golf Course, which was too late to be included in this issue.

Sports 14 It’s Madden season: Gamers rejoice over new features Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Drew Lind sports editor

For just $60 one could own the brand new football game designed to revolutionize the video game industry: Madden NFL 16.

The game has a fantastic new feature called Draft Champions mode and also succeeded in bringing back some fan favorites like Franchise Mode and Ultimate Team.

Madden 16 is by far the best Madden yet as it plays well, feels good, and, most importantly, looks good.

Starting with the cover, an NFL fan or any fan of art in its purest form, will appreciate the image on the box. The photograph is of what many experts consider to be the greatest catch of this decade made by the emerging NFL icon Odell Beckham, Jr, of the New York Giants. Beckham’s hair is so incredible that if you were to cover his face you would see something that resembles a Drumstick Ice Cream cone on top of his head. Odell clearly

believed he hadn’t impressed everyone enough with his luscious hair and incredible catches so he decided to be so good at the dance that the cool kids nowadays are calling “The Whip” that it shows OBJ performing this action multiple times as the game loads.

Come on Odell, leave some room for the rest of the NFL players getting paid over $50 million.“Having Odell Beckam Junior on the cover is definitely risky, seeing as he’s only coming off of his rookie year. But he’s such a cool guy that it works well,” senior David Greenblott said.

The game features tons of game modes in addition to a normal quick game including The Gauntlet, Franchise Mode, Ultimate Team, and the Draft Champions feature.

In The Gauntlet, players must clear various levels and advance as far as they can in the drills until they run out of “lives” for the round.

In Franchise Mode people can take control of an individual player or team and

captain them to improve their individual stats or win the Super Bowl year after year.

This sounds like the perfect opportunity for that guy who brags to everyone that he’s in the NFL and never actually plays a snap to really shine and progress as a person or for the casual fan to experience the game from a different angle.

The idea behind Ultimate Team is to earn virtual currency from winning games and use that money to buy better players and create the “ultimate team.” This game mode provides a virtual market for players to study and learn from to increase their AP Economics grade as they perfect the concept of supply and demand.

As always. gamers can go head to head against other players through Xbox Live.

One of Maddens most used features is back, though some players have complained about the loading time for online matches.

Finally, the brand new Draft Champions mode is essentially a fantasy draft of 15

rounds in which users pick random players hoping to create the best possible team and trash talk people online as these gamers insist their team is better.

“The new game mode is a lot of fun and unique. Overall, I just like Madden because `it’s trill,” said senior Teddy Carroll.

Madden NFL 16 has a lot to offer, but it does have a couple flaws. The first thing people complain about is the loading time.

It has been rumored that someone could actually finish taking notes on their entire AP NSL textbook before the game loads the main menu. Also, wide receiver Calvin Johnson is able to jump up and grab every ball with two hands, one hand, or even no hands. “When I’m not admiring the individual blades of grass on the field, I enjoy heaving the ball to Calvin Johnson from every angle,” senior Philip Ipe said.

Madden has put out another game and NFL fans can let out a sigh of relief as they are assured that this game is not deflated.

Photo courtesy Wootton Cross Country

Field Hockey

Girls set high hopes for season Radley Ellenbogen staff writer

The term “states or bust” is relevant yet again this year for the girls’ field hockey team as they look to accomplish a state championship after falling just short in the past three seasons.

Following the departure of senior Julia Lee, the team is looking for key contributions from the ten seniors returning for their final season.

The team expects to have a successful season yet again behind seniors Marisa Morakis and Rachel Maizel, committed to Bucknell and James Madison University respectively. “We have a lot of strong seniors and juniors this year and hopefully we can use our talent and strong team relationships to go to states again,” Morakis said. The team has worked hard over the summer to get ready for the upcoming season by practicing and building their relationships with one another.

The team’s first game of the season was on Friday, Sept. 4 at Rockville High School.

They started off the

season determined to win a state championship and that motivation was seen when the girls started off strong in the first half and easily defeated Rockville 3-0.

Senior leaders Emily Krotman, Rachel Maizel and Marisa Morakis started the game quickly and each scored one goal to go up 3-0 at the end of the first half. The girls didn’t score in the second half, but thanks to great goalie play from Amanda Jordan and Athena Sardelis they didn’t have to. The duo in goal played well all game and recorded their first shutout of the season.“Though playing on a grass field was not something we were used to, it proved how we could adjust and work well as a team to fight the challenge,” said senior Nicole Papadopoulos.

The second game of the season was a home game on Sept. 8, 2015 against Holy Cross.

At the end of the first half the girls were tied at the half 0-0. The girls started the second half with intensity leading to a goal by senior Lacey Rubin. Holy Cross managed to get a goal of their own off a penalty

stroke but that was all they got. Junior Marlena Barouth stepped up for the team and scored a goal with eight minutes remaining off an assist from Morakis to give the girls a 2-1 lead. Minutes later Barouth scored another goal pushing the lead to two with just minutes left, sealing field hockey’s second win of the season and a 2-0 record.

“It was very frustrating that none of our shots were going in but after we scored one goal we were able to give ourselves the reassurance we needed which helped to bring our intensity back up,” Papadopoulos said.

The third game of the season was on Sept. 11 aginst Walter Johnson. The team dominated the game winning 4-0.

Barouth scored her third goal of the season and Rubin and Krotman both scored their second goal of the season. Gabi Menconi scored her first goal of the season.

Maizel, Morakis and Krotman each had assists as the girls cruised to their third straight win and bringing them tie a record of 3-0.

Their next game is Sept.

16 at home versus Whitman.

Photo courtesy Wootton Field Hockey

Seniors Emily Krotman and Nicole Papadopoulos and junior Madeline Clark at their scrimmage against Bullis.

Cross country boys runners take off at the starting line at their meet against Poolesville on Sept. 8.

Cross Country

Team starts strong in first meet Sarah Greenberg news editor

The cross country team’s fall season officially started as they competed in their first meets of the year. After weeks of practice, their hard work paid off and they were successful in both events.

The team traveled to Poolesville on Sept.

8 to race against both Poolesville and Quince Orchard. Although athletes struggled with the intense heat, which reached temperatures above 90 degrees, the team was victorious against both schools. Also contributing to the difficulty of the meet was the course’s unusual layout that included portions on paved roads and irregular dirt trails.

“It was the hottest that it has ever been at a meet, but it was a good way to toughen everyone for the season,” senior team captain Lauren Sachs said.

Senior Grace Dellapa lead the girls’ team, coming in first place with a time of 20:56 and contributing to the team’s overall score. Other standout athletes include freshmen Jessica Trzeciak and Adna Trakic, who placed fifth and sixth respectively. The boys part of the team also performed well at the meet and had six athletes finish in the top 10 places. This group was lead by senior Colin SyBing, who finished in third place with a time of 17:19.

The success of the team is in part thanks to several talented athletes who have recently joined the team. This includes Trzeciak, Trakic, and freshmen Madeline Grainger and John Riker. Even though the season has barely started, these athletes are already racing at a varsity level.

“Right now [the freshmen’s performance is] fantastic,” head coach Kellie Redmond said.

The team competed in the Maryland Track and Trail Invitational meet on Sept.

12 in Elkton. With schools from all over the state participating in this meet, only a select few from the team were given the chance to participate. Because there were more teams involved in this race, the overall atmosphere of the event was more competitive than the regular meets that the team is involved with.

The team won 10 of the 25 individual medals awarded at the event and scored third in the boys division and fourth in the girls division, respectively.

“I think we need to get a lot of these kids in a more competitive situation to really see where they stack up and also to get them familiar with how it is to run against more kids with talent,” Redmond said.

Although reluctant to guess on how the overall season will play out, the team’s coaches are confident that this year will be a success.

“I don’t like to make predictions, but I do feel happy with where we are right now,” Redmond said.

“For September I’m happy, but we still have a lot of work to do for October and November.”

The team also competed in a meet at Sherwood against the Northwest, Poolsville, and Sherwood teams on Sept. 15, however it was too late to cover in this issue. The team’s next competition will be the DCXC invitational on Sept. 26 against numerous teams in the area.

Sports

15

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Students feel Doran’s emphasis on school athletics Max Shapiro sports editor A couple weeks before school started I stopped by Wootton to train with one of my baseball teammates. As I pulled in I noticed that the football team was having one of their first practices. From a distance I saw a small figure emerge from the stadium. It was none other than Dr. Michael Doran, who chose to spend his Saturday afternoon watching the practice.

I asked him why he was watching practice, and in his cheeky Irish voice he responded,“why wouldn’t I be watching practice? It’s not like I have work I could be doing.” That is the guy that Dr. Doran was, he was always around, always there to support his Patriots.

Just a week and a half before school began, on Aug. 19, our beloved principal died. Dr. Doran was known as a leader and friend to all, and formed a bond with nearly every student who walked in

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

the door of the school he loved.

Doran had a passion for athletics, and during his 12 years as principal, molded the athletic program into the powerhouse it is today. Doran’s predecessor, Rebecca Newman, had a reputation for focusing the school mainly on academics, and disregarding the relevance of a successful athletic program.

During her time as principal, the athletic teams were not much to boast about, but once Doran took the reins, the focus changed dramatically. While he still established academics as the school’s first priority, Doran knew both the value and importance of a successful athletic program. He strongly advocated for the development and support of the Booster Club, and brought in more experienced and knowledgeable coaches.

With his significant help and influence, the Patriots athletic program regained its status as one of the most competitive schools in the county. During the 2013-

2014 school year, Doran’s second to last year as principal, the Patriots athletic program was the most successful program in Montgomery County.

In 2012, Doran decided to take on a daunting challenge: the fund raising for the construction of the turf field that stands outside the school today.

Finding donations was a major struggle, and there was a lot of doubt that the lofty goal of $2 million would not be met. After months of uncertainty and obstacles, the money was raised and construction began in the summer of 2013.

The field was unveiled for its first home game against Whitman that fall, and since then Patriots sports teams have raved about how great the field is, and how grateful they are to Doran for making it happen. “He didn’t have to go to bat for us, but he did because that’s the guy he was. That field is truly the house that Doran built,” senior baseball player Will Jones said.

Doran not only redefined the importance of athletics and other extracurricular activities, but he constantly supported them himself. “He was famous for leaving meetings early so that he could go catch the game of whatever Wootton team was playing that day,” security guard Chris Golden said.

His attendance at sporting events was always a given, as was his voice.

He could be heard the loudest at soccer games, which was his favorite sport. “We could always hear him from the stands, yelling at referees, calling them out on bad calls and cursing them out for it.

It was awesome to have someone in his position care so much about us,” senior soccer captain Harrison Burke said.

Since Doran’s death, the phrase “Do It For Doran,” has become popular among athletes. Remembering his unrelenting support for their respective teams, the Patriots hope to do right by him, and all sports teams will play this season in Doran’s honor.

Girls rebound after tough loss to even record, stabilize season Zach Smith sports editor

After working out in the summer and prepping themselves for the coming season, girls’ volleyball couldn’t wait to take the court again. They hope to compete for the state championship this fall.

The team’s first game of the season was on Sept. 8 at Churchill High School. Led by senior captains Heather Bolze and Catherine Liu, the girls won the first two sets with relative ease, placing balls perfectly on the opponent’s side of the court.

This success would prove to be fleeting, as the team went on to lose the next three sets straight as well as the match. The loss was tough to swallow since they came so close to victory, but the team said they will not let one match define their season. “It’s obviously a very disappointing loss, but it’s a long season,” senior Sami Weissberg said.

“We will definitely rebound and still have a great year.”

Their next game was on Sept. 10 against Poolesville and the team was looking to bounce back from the previous heart-breaking loss. The game started off well again, with the girls taking the first two games of the match. They

skillfully passed and hit the ball, leading to many easy points.

The team proceeded to lose the next set, causing them to recall harrowing memories from the previous match against Churchill. Determined not to have the same result in this match, they won the next set and sealed their first victory of the season with a score of 3-1. The strong chemistry between the players prevented them from succumbing to a late match rally again.

Their next game on Sept. 15 against Rockville was too late to be covered in this issue.

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Sports

Common Sense | September 18, 2015

Boys kick off season with big win Football

The football team kicked off the season on Sept. 4 with a nonconference win over the Kennedy Cavaliers 30-7.

The game was the first start for junior quarterback Phillip Garrett, who got off to a hot start against the Cavaliers and helped the boys jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

He recorded a rushing touchdown as well as a passing touchdown to senior receiver Malcom Amobi. Garrett finished the game 12 completions for 162 yards, a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns.

In the second quarter, the offense struggled and committed multiple penalties which resulted in several short drives and kept the score at 13-0 going into the half.

“The offensive line is the heart of our team, and they dictate our offensive output. So when we have unnecessary penalties on offense, it disrupts our flow. In order for us to win, our offensive line has to keep up the good work that they have shown everyone before,” senior running back and captain Brent London said.

The boys rallied and came out with a strong third quarter, tallying 10 points, which included

Photo by Andrea Portes

Charlie Eichberg sports editor

Senior Patrick Bernardo breaks through the paper holding an American flag for the first team introduction of the season.

a field goal from junior kicker Sanjay Krishnan.

Later in the third, the game started to get chippy, as both teams were pushing and shoving after the whistle. All of the late hitting resulted in a minor fight breaking out.

Offensively, the team produced well, with 383 total yards and a whopping 15 first downs.

The team also did a great job protecting the ball with just one fumble lost and no interceptions in the game. Sophomore running back Michael Amobi led the team in rushing tallying 67 yards in just five rushing attempts.

The defense, led by senior captain Patrick Bernardo and juniors Geoff Pisarra and Dean Spitz, held Kennedy to zero

Girls’ Tennis

passing yards as well as just one rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Pisarra and Bernardo each had a sack in the win.

The next game for the boys fell on Sept. 11 against Springbrook.

The boys’ opened up the game with a 2-0 lead due to a forced safety from junior Joey Roach.

The next quarter and a

half was a battle, until finally Springbrook got by the teams’ secondary for a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion, making it 8-2 going into the half.

Springbrook pulled away in the third, putting up 16 straight points. The rest of the game was scoreless as the boys’ lost 24-2.

Springbrook quarterback Lawrence Cadet was a problem for the Patriots, especially in the second half. Cadet threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns on the boys.

Garrett took a lot of pressure during the game and was sacked several times. Garrett finished the game with 14 completions for 144 yards and one interception.

Senior Kingsley Ofori had five catches for 61 yards.

Defensively the boys’ stayed solid. Due to the lack of posession on the offensive side the defense lost some steam and let up in the second half.

Several injuries on the defensive side, including Roach and Pisarra, also deterred the defense toward the end of the game.

Over the summer the team had workout sessions to help prepare them for the season.

Along with workouts were seven on seven scrimmages where players play football not dressed in full pads.

Girls’ Soccer

Girls hit ball early, earn Hard work pays off, team rolls past Richard Montgomery big blowout in first win Geoff Pisarra staff writer

Two weeks before school started, the girls’ tennis team got back into play as they started practicing for the season.

The girls are looking to continue their success from last year, when they went undefeated, winning counties and states.

Senior captains Leah Surikov and Varna Kishore as well as junior captains Elizabeth Band, Georgia BartelsNewton and Ruchi Nanda will try to lead the team to success.

The team will also be returning their longtime head coach Fervonia Cresham, who also looks to repeat last year’s undefeated season.

Band said she’s especially excited for the upcoming season, as she enters her second year on the team.

“I think we have a really good shot at going undefeated and winning states like we did last year. The team looks even better this year than we did last year,” Band said.

With 18 players from last year’s states team returning this season, a season like last years’ is very possible.

Along with these returning players, freshman Angela Wu has worked herself all the way up to a starter in singles.

The girls started the season with two scrimmages on Sept. 1 versus Holton-Arms. Since it was a scrimmage and not an actual match, the scoring was different as they did a one game set to eight instead of the normal best two out of three sets.

Although they got off to a slow start, they were able to bounce back from down 3-0 and win 4-3. The comeback was led by Wu, who was the only singles winner, along with doubles partners and captains Bartels-Newton and Kishore.

On Sept. 3, the girls had their second scrimmage, this one against Bullis. Although all four single matches were lost and the game was lost 4-3, the doubles were able to hold their own as all three teams were able to grab a victory.

Sept. 9 marked the first official game of the regular season for the girls, as they crushed Clarksburg by winning every match, only dropping four sets the entire game.

The doubles showed out well during this game, not dropping a single game, again led by captains Bartels-Newton and Kishore.

After that the girls’ played Poolsville.

Agaiu they won in dominating fashion, not dropping a single match.

“We are looking forward to another great season. I am very happy we were able to get a win and start off our season undefeated again,” Bartels-Newton said.

The upcoming week includes two of the girls’ biggest matches against Bethesda Chevy-Chase and Whitman, two of the teams’ biggest rivals. The BCC match is on Sept. 16 and Whitman match is on Sept. 18.

“Not only are they two of our biggest rivals but may be our toughest matches all season,” Cresham said.

Nic Band staff writer

After a hard-fought season last year, the girls’ soccer team hopes to bounce back with intentions to control their division. This year’s team is led by senior co-captains Gabi Bianchi and Lauren Weiner and junior Jenna Cohen.

After losing six seniors, the girls hope to fill the opening spots and build off of their leadership. Last year’s playoff run came to halt after a heartbreaking 2-0 loss to Northwest in the playoffs.

The end of the run marked another season in the books, however, not the season they were hoping for. The team looked for new ways to lead the program to success.

The team struggled throughout the season and relieved Ratti after one disappointing season as coach.

After a long search, the administration hired Liz Seligman to be the new varsity head coach. She takes on the role in hopes of a more successful season. Seligman is brought in with high expectations to improve the program and lead the team to a winning season.

“It was a great experience playing for coach Ratti, now it is time to move on and I look forward to playing under coach Seligman,” Cohen said.

With the help of the returning players, the girls look to gain more support from underclassmen filling in their roles. The backfield remains strong with the return of junior center back Jenna Cohen and goalkeeper Jill Geline.

The off-season is crucial to the team.

Preparing for yet another successful season ahead, the girls worked hard over the summer to get into gear. The team ran conditioning and played games each twice a week.

“It is important that we work hard to get into shape and mesh well together for when the regular season starts,” senior Maddie Mays said.

The Patriots kicked off their season strong with a 3-1 victory over Richard Montgomery on Sept. 8. The scoring started with an early goal by junior Rachel Feldman with an assist from Mays.

The Rockets answered with a goal of their own later in the first half. After a competitive first half, the girls added to their lead, scoring two unanswered goals in the second half.

The second goal came from Feldman, her second of the night coming from a pass from senior Maria Harrington. Sophomore Alex Poltorak put the finishing touches on the victory with a goal late in the second half.

“It was a great start to the season. We have potential to go very far this season if we keep up what we are doing and it showed in our first game.” Feldman said.

Their first victory will set the tone for the rest of the year. The Patriots were set to face off against Archbishop Spalding on Sept. 10 but was cancelled and the rescheduled game has yet to be determined.

Their next game will be against the well-known rivals, Churchill, on Sept. 15.

The Patriots are a talented group that has the ability to be a contender as state champions. They hope to bounce back from a disappointing season and ultimately, “Do It For Doran!”