October - Giles High School

Oct / Nov 2007
GILES HIGH SCHOOL
Volume One
Above: Queen Danielle Martin and King Billy Cook Left: Sophomore class. Right: Senior Class.
Randall Weddle
By Lauren Thompson
Giles High School would like to welcome our newest Social Studies 8 and World
History 1 teacher, Randall Weddle. He is originally from Troutville, Virginia
(Botetourt County) and graduated from Lord Botetourt High School and James
Madison University. He has four years of full-time, in class teaching experience at
Franklin County High School and has also been an Admissions Counselor at the
National Business College and an After School Grant Site Coordinator at James
Monroe High School. Mr. Weddle said, “I’m excited to be teaching here. So far my
experience has exceeded my expectations!” He is one of the few teachers that “Floats”
from room to room. He said it’s tough not knowing what each room offers and not
having all of his resources when he needs them, but that each teacher has been helpful
and giving. Outside of school he enjoys attending church and spending time with his
wife, Missy and son, Josh.
Kristen Smith
By Lauren Thompson
Kristen Smith is our new guidance counselor for eighth, ninth, and tenth grades.
She is originally from Virginia Beach and graduated from Ocean Lakes High School.
She attended college locally, Virginia Tech, for both her undergraduate and graduate
degrees. This is her first year as a guidance counselor and says the faculty at Giles has
been very welcoming and friendly. She also loves the nature of Giles County,
especially the Cascades. Outside of school, she enjoys a variety of activities including
hiking, cooking, reading, spending time with friends and family, traveling, and she
occasionally competes in half-marathons (which is a 13 mile run).
Alicia Johnson
By Abby Johnson
Eighth and eleventh grade English teacher Alicia Johnson is new to our school.
She was born in Hawaii but grew up in California, Texas, North Carolina, Florida,
Germany, and Virginia because her father was in the Marine Corps. She attended two
high schools and graduated from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. Ms. Johnson confessed that she did
not always want to become an English teacher,
Spartonian Staff
originally going to school to be an Art teacher.
Tanner Bivens
She did finish school majoring in English
Clay Bowles
because she felt a great need in that area. Ms.
Gelsina
Ceritano
Johnson also coached the varsity swim team at
Kelsey
Frazier
Prince William County Public Schools. She,
Lindsay
Honosky
her husband, Bryant and her son, Christopher
Abby Johnson
moved to Blacksburg to be located between
Andrea Neice
her parents of northern Virginia and her
Bryan
Stafford
husband’s parents in South Carolina. In her
Lauren
Thompson
spare time, she enjoys reading, sewing, listening to music, writing, and spending time with
Faculty Advisor
her family. She quotes, “As we drove around the state- we fell in love with the New River
Michael Etzler
and the mountains. I believe the beauty of Giles and its people have won me over.” We are
Artwork
Katelyn Osborne
excited to have Alicia Johnson in our school, so if you get a chance, pop into her room and
welcome her!
2
Corey Mawby
By Gelsina Ceritano
Ms. Corey Mawby is a fresh new face at Giles High School. She is a Special Ed
teacher and loves the new environment. Because her father worked for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Corey was born on the Zuni Reservation in New Mexico. Ms. Mawby
moved every year of her life growing up. When asked why she did not settle in one
place, she simply responded, “My mother just wanted
to travel.” She has lived in Central America, Florida,
New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and
Germany. Corey originally wanted to be a Speech
Pathologist and received her bachelor’s degree in
Speech Pathology and Audiology. She soon fell into
teaching and realized that was the career for her. This
is her eleventh year teaching, and she still loves it.
Corey is really interested in photography and is excited
to watch her young children, Ryder and Sky, who are
six and three years old, grow up in such a beautiful
place. We are all thrilled to have Ms. Mawby here
teaching at Giles High School.
Brandon Webb
By Andrea Neice
Mr. Brandon Webb is an Algebra 1A and an Algebra 1B teacher. He graduated
from Giles High in 2001 and then attended the University of Virginia at Wise,
graduating from the university in 2006 with a Bachelors Degree of Science in
Mathematics and a minor in Secondary Education. He says, “I am glad that the
atmosphere hasn’t changed since I graduated in 2001. Meaning, that the students still
have as much school spirit if not more than when I was a student.” The transition
was easier for him than most would have thought because he knows what the students
and Mr. Brown, along with other faculty members, expect from him. Outside of
teaching Mr. Webb
loves to be with his
friends and family.
He also enjoys doing
activities such as
hunting, fishing, playing golf, and doing any other activities that
involve the outdoors. He is married to his high school sweetheart,
Olivia, and they have been together for almost 8 years, and have been
married for a little over a year.
Kristen Radford
By Andrea Neice
Kristen Radford is one of our new English teachers here at Giles, teaching
English 8, English 12CP, and NRCC English. She graduated from Giles High in 1999
and continued her education at Radford University with two bachelor degrees in
English and Social Sciences and a master’s degree in English. In her spare time she
loves to work out at the gym, write, sing, play piano, watch classic films, and spend
time with her friends and family. In the past she has taught one semester at Radford
University and spent two years teaching eighth grade at Bedford Middle School. She
has three different classes and that gives her an organizational challenge which, after
two years of only eighth grade, she loves the variation. “There is never a dull
moment” she states referring to Giles.
3
GOT SPIRIT?
Josh Stump and Justin Farmer sign a football
for coach Ragsdale before the winning game
Photo by Kelsey Frazier
against Narrows.
Madison Metro and Courtney
Swetnam show their school spirit
by helping students connect the
chains, held at George Wythe.
By Kelsey Frazier
One of the most exciting things about starting off
the new school year is the starting of football games.
Students gather for pep rallies, tail gate parties and
dances to show their true support of the team. Each year
Giles High School has spirit week for some of the
bigger games. Spirit week is a full week of certain
displays of Spartan pride. The GHS cheerleaders decide
for each spirit week, what the special display will be.
One of the familiar spirit displays is TWIN day.
Another of the most popular spirit displays is locker
tags encouraging athletes or band members to strive for
perfection in upcoming meets or matches. This year
Giles High School decided to have a face off with
George Wythe to see which school could make a chain
of people’s names who donated money. Who ever had
the longest chain received both school’s money and chose a charity to donate it
to. Giles being the winner, decided to donate it to the Giles High Relay for Life
Team. Giles raised over $2400 for the chain event. Giles High School may not
have the best teams in all sports, but it definitely has enough spirit for all sports
to go around!
Danielle Wilson, Ciara Davis, Danielle Martin and
Cody Griffith show their Spartan pride at the George
Wyth game.
Briana Colle stands strong
with her Spartan spirit at
the game pep rally
Photo by Barbara Scheid
“Small Enough to Know You, Big Enough to Serve You”
Photo by Kelsey Frazier
A Dreadful Day
By Clay Bowles
It was a dreadful day when you went away,
And all the things that I never got to say,
All the love and kindness that was in your heart,
Though in all the passion and compassion, you had to part.
“ Let the work I’ve done, speak for me,” summarizes you in one,
The battle you fought on earth was certainly won,
Yes, it was certainly a dreadful day when you went away,
But the people you have touched and loved will always say,
That being around you was never a dreadful day.
4
First United Methodist Church
1101 Valleyview Drive
PO Box 400
Pearisburg, VA 24134
540-921-1021
Sunday Activities
Sunday School 9:45 am
Worship Service 10:50 am
UMYF (youth group) 5:30 pm
Children’s group 5:30 pm
Journalism On A Higher Level
By Bryan Stafford
Journalism class… It can get very stressful producing the school
newspaper, Spartonian. With only four publications a year it would seem
that it would be easy, but anyone that has ever been involved with it knows
otherwise. Well, what would happen if you produced not just four a year,
but one paper every day, non-stop? That is exactly what the Roanoke
Times does. Our Journalism class took a field trip to the Roanoke Times
building in Roanoke, Virginia to tour their facility and learn a little about
what they do. You would be surprised into how much work goes into a
single paper. I know that I personally have much more appreciation for
newspaper publications after seeing what all they do. As well as the
process, we also learned a brief history about how the paper started and
progressed to where it is today. One of the most interesting points of the
trip was getting to sit in on the morning editors’ meeting and listen to the
discussion of what will go into the paper and what the cover story will be.
The editors have two meetings a day to discuss the paper, one in the
morning and one at night, to get in last minute stories. The editors’ meeting
have all of the
The Journalism students with Roanoketimes.com
different editors
editor John Jackson, managing editor Michael
from
their
Stowe, and senior editor for Enterprise Dan Casey
departments,
after their morning editors’ meeting
have the New
River Valley representative on a phone, and they can see the meeting on a
video feed. The newspaper building produces 80,000 newspapers a day and
in 2005 an online news program was added called Timecast, where the
news is broadcasted on online videos. About 75-80% of their budget comes
from advertising and the online program has attracted more advertisers.
A lot of time, effort, and materials go in to producing the Roanoke
Times. We learned about where they order their paper from and how it is
moved about the building on special tracks, because each roll weighs
roughly a ton and stretches eight miles long! We saw the ink room where
four large tanks, hold yellow, pink, and blue soy based ink and one tank of
black petroleum ink. The soy ink is in 2000-gallon tanks and the black ink
The Spartonian staff with Patrick McKee, John
is in a 4000Carlin, Juliet Bickford, and Jeff Haniewich of the
gallon tank. A
Photos by Michael Etzler.
WSLS news channel 10 crew
new shipment
of ink arrives every 5 to 6 weeks and it takes 70 gallons to produce one
news release. A four-plate process produces the pictures that you see in
the newspaper, where images are burned to different plates to get the
colors and then put in the paper. The printing press is a German made
invention and is one of the only printing presses that have six towers, the
Times are very fortunate to have such a thing. When the tour was over,
we all came away with much appreciation of what all goes into a
professional newspaper. We then headed to our next destination.
The second place we visited was the WSLS News Channel 10 building
where they hold their news broadcasts everyday. We were able to see
how the weather is displayed to the public using green screen technology.
News anchor John Carlin gave us a tour of the newsroom and told us how
they keep
Weatherman Jeff Haniewich shows Lauren
track of
Thompson how green screen technology works.
what is
going on
in the news. He explained how the reporters go out and get
information for the news and showed us the control room. We then
got to sit on the side while a live broadcast was shown to viewers,
complete with commercial breaks and all. It is amazing to see just
how stressful it looks, but when they are on air they are ready to
deliver the news. The entire field trip was a learning experience for
us all and we will continue to strive and work harder on the
Spartonian for the students of Giles High School.
5
Jantana Ruayrinsaowarot
By Gelsina Ceritano
Jantana Ruayrinsaowarot is our new exchange student for 2007! She is sixteen
years old and was originally born in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. When I asked
Jantana what she thought of the USA she responded by saying, “I think there is more
freedom with schools in America. In my old school in Thailand, we couldn’t wear
makeup and we had a school uniform, so
everyone had the same shoes, the same socks,
and all that.” Another major difference
Jantana pointed out to me was the food, “We
eat a lot of rice in Thailand, but people here
eat a lot of cheese and salad. I’m not used to
eating raw vegetables either. There are also
more types of cakes, cookies, chocolate, and
brownies here; I love that because I really
enjoy sweets.” When sitting down with
Jantana she explained that people in Asia
respect their elders more than people here do. In her free time in America, Jantana loves to
go for walks and read. Her favorite books are the Harry Potter series. I found it amazing
when she told me she reads the books in 3 different languages. Unfortunely, Jantana will
only be staying in America for 1 year. Then, she will return to Thailand and finish high
school where she was born. After high school she is interested in going to college outside
Thailand, maybe China, Japan, Taiwan or even back to America. Because Jantana is
interested in different languages she wants to become a translator when she gets older. If you
see her around, be sure to introduce yourself and welcome Jantana!
Is the New ALS Better?
By R. Tanner Bivens
Junior Clay Bowles logged on to the
new version of the ALS System.
Photos by R Tanner Bivens
6
The Advanced Learning System we have all come to know has changed this year
into a more updated edition. Some people think that change is good and that this more
updated version will be an even better learning tool than its predecessor. However,
others feel that the new ALS is a bit troublesome and complex.
Mr. Michael Etzler feels that the new ALS has great potential and can help students
with their grammatical problems; however, it is very time consuming and complex for
teachers and students to use. Mrs. Babette Martin likes the new ALS and feels that it is
much more user friendly, but it does have limited material and does not cover all the
subjects that she would like. Mr. Jack Ellison feels that the new ALS has great
potential as well and that after people adjust to the more advanced format, it will be
even more helpful than the old ALS.
Even though the new ALS comes with mixed reviews, it has shown that GHS is
moving towards the future to ensure the best for its students.
Giles Marching Spartans
By Bryan Stafford
This is a big year for the school band. They have 71 members, with 60 marchers, 9
color guard, and 2 drum majors. The marching season is in full effect for the band and
has been since the summer months. The Marching Spartans began their new season in
the week of June, with a fundamentals camp to introduce eighth graders to what they
are expected to know and review for former band members. During July, a normal
band camp week occurred when the drills are learned and the music is put to the show.
During the month of August band camp occurred on every Tuesday and Thursday to
learn the marching show in full detail. In addition to all of this practice the percussion
section has an additional week of practice and the drum majors attended a Mid Atlantic
The Marching Spartans take the field for
Band Front Camp at Ferrum College for training and instruction to be a good leader
competition at Glenvar’s 4th Annual
and director.
Photo by Bryan Stafford
Celtic Classic.
The band kept themselves busy during the summer with a number of events,
including Pearisburg’s festival around town, an event for Relay for Life, a reunion
football game at the community center, a performance for family and friends during the parent’s night cookout, and the first football
game against Blacksburg.
Their marching show this year consists of inspiration music such as
“Amazing Grace”, “It Is Well With My Soul”, “O Be Joyful In The Lord”,
“Joyful Praise”, and a solo piece “Come, Thou Font” by xylophonist Alexis
Ayers. “Amazing Grace” also offers solos by Gary Fields, Kemper Fox,
Rachel Lang, Logan Lowry, and Devan Vest. They have competed in 3
competitions at Glenvar, Staunton, and Stuarts Draft, all of which they have
received an excellent rating. In the Glenvar competition, which is titled the
Celtic Classic, the color guard was awarded the honor of first place. At the
Stuarts Draft competition the drum majors were awarded second overall out
of ten bands and the color guard was awarded third in visual performance.
They received a superior rating at the George Wythe competition and third in
music and will finish competitions with the Pulaski State Marching Festival.
The band also will perform and march in the homecoming parade and the
Will Moses, Kees Luyendijk, and Todd
Giles and Narrows Christmas parade. They performed at five of the home
McCracken of the drum line kept the crowd
games and
entertained at a Giles home game.
Photo by Gelsina Ceritano
the George
Wythe and
Radford away games. The band has had a successful marching
season for this year and will begin concert band at the end of the
season.
7
New Speed Limit on Route 460
By Lauren Thompson
The speed limit on route 460 was recently changed. In some areas, the increase went from 55mph to 65mph; in other areas it only
increased to 60mph. I have heard a lot of debate about this speed increase, and I personally think there is nothing wrong with it as long
as people drive responsibly. However, I know that not all people view the increase as a good thing, so I have polled about 50 GHS
students to see what other people around the high school think. Here are the questions I asked and the responses I received followed
by a few comments from students.
1) Do you ever drive on Route 460?
Yes: 48 students No: 4 students
2) Were you surprised by the new speed limit on 460?
Yes: 24 students No: 28 students
3) Do you think raising the speed limit was a good or bad idea?
Good: 37 students Bad: 14 students
4) Do you think the new speed limit makes the road more dangerous to drive on?
Yes: 24 students No: 28 students
5) Do you know anyone who has had an accident on 460 since the speed limit increase?
Yes: 5 students No: 47 students
Other comments from students:
-Some said that the raised speed limit helped them arrive to school and other places on time.
-Others said that it needs to be more consistent and wondered why it stops at Newport.
-Some students said that they need to lower it again.
-A few said that they thought it would cause more accidents.
School Notes
By Abby Johnson
Schoolnotes.com is a website designed to help communication between
teachers, students, and parents. Parents and students can find out about class
homework. You can get to the site by going to the Giles High School official
website and clicking on teacher assignments. Teachers post what homework needs
to be completed and the material learned in class. Some classes, such as chorale, list
what activities they are involved in over the next few weeks. This information can
help students stay organized and not forget to do their homework. Teachers are
required to at least put up what homework is due, but certain teachers like to go out
of their way to write down all the lesson plans for the whole class period. Some
problems have occurred concerning this website. Several complained that not all
their teachers are using the site, so it does not help them when they need their work.
Students were asked to comment about schoolnotes.com. Some mentioned that they
do not use the website because their teachers do not put homework assignments on
there. Others said that the site was very helpful and that they use it when they miss
school. All in all, several students simply stated that they did not care about the site.
A short survey was conducted for all grade levels and here are the results:
Gelsina Ceritano
searches on the school
notes website to find
what homework she
has for her classes.
1. Do you know about schoolnotes.com?
8th grade students: Yes 5 No 1
9th grade students Yes 4 No 0
10th grade students Yes 10 No 3
11th grade students Yes 16 No 10
12th grade students Yes 3 No 2
3. If you did not know about the site before,
do you plan to use it now?
th
8 grade students Yes 4 No 2
9th grade students Yes 1 No 3
10th grade students Yes 3 No 6
11th grade students Yes 4 No 21
12th grade students Yes 2 No 2
8
2. If so, do you use the website often?
8th grade students Yes 2 No 4
9th grade students Yes 0 No 4
10th grade students Yes 1 No 12
11th grade students Yes 2 No 22
12th grade students Yes 1 No 4
4. Do you think the site is helpful?
8th grade students Yes 6 No 0
9th grade students Yes 3 No 1
10th grade students Yes 9 No 3
11th grade students Yes 9 No 14
12th grade students Yes 2 No 3
Giles High School Concessions
By Lindsay R. Honosky
It’s Friday night, and there’s a home game at Giles tonight. You
go with friends and family, watch the game, cheer with the
cheerleaders, and laugh with your friends, all the while growing
hungrier and hungrier. Who do you go to? Why, your friendly
neighborhood concession stand, run by the Giles Spartans Chorale!
I sat down with the head of this fine group, Mr. Larry Marion, and
asked him about the concessions. I learned that we run quite the little
business inside that tiny room. The system works in that we are loaned
what we need from local companies, sell the items at a reasonable and
low price, then pay back our bill to the company.
On the question as to how much time he spends working on the
concession, he responded, “On game days I’m up there (the
concession) for about six to ten hours, not to mention clean-up
afterward.” Mr. Marion, along with many other members of Chorale
Alexis Cox, Abby Johnson, and Hannah Ruark stand
and their family, take time out of their own schedules to prepare and
smiling as they wait to serve loyal football fans.
work the concession stands, working to make the customer happy.
Next I asked him, “Is it hard to find help?” He just smiled and
answered, “The Chorale is always willing to help out whenever they can.” Being a Chorale member myself, I can testify to this
statement. The concession is full of eager young faces cooking and preparing food, taking orders, and serving the loyal fans of Giles
Spartan football.
So finally I asked, “Do you enjoy it?” He just slowly nodded,
“Yes, it’s a challenge, but it’s also a great time to get to know and
socialize with the Chorale members while working together for a
common cause. In other words, we have a lot of fun, working hard
together.”
So the next time you’re at a football game and you start to hear
your stomach rumbling, just stop by and say hello to the friendly
faces behind the concession stand counters. There is good food,
drinks, and smiles to be had at every event, and the money goes to a
good cause, so come along and have some fun!
Amelia Tyler mans the cash register while Gary Fields
Photo by Lindsay Honosky
prepares pretzels for the football game.
Generations of Care
Carilion Giles Memorial Hospital (CGMH) in Pearisburg offers families excellent patient care, close to home. From medical care and surgery to outpatient diagnostic services and rehabilitation… CGMH promises the
Right Care, Right Here, Right Now.
9
Giles County Skate
Park
By Andrea Neice
A skate park has been in the
minds of Pearisburg skaters for a
long time now and finally it has
been approved. A local group of
citizens have formed a committee
that was brought together by Missy
Lucas who is the mother of local
skater Curtis Boone.
The
committee has to come up with
30,000 dollars for the park to be built.
The Bowl in Blacksburg
The town of Blacksburg has already built a skate park for people to put their skills
to the test; although, not everyone in Pearisburg can drive about 30 minutes to skate.
The only place to skate in Pearisburg is parking lots. Missy says, “They will finally have a place to skate besides parking lots, in
which they mostly get ran out of.” This will keep a lot of kids out of trouble and give
them something better to do with their time. Many people complain about getting
fatter and being lazy because there isn’t anything to do in Pearisburg. Missy Lucas said
while talking about her son Curtis, “He always complained he was fat, but
skateboarding made him loose about 30 pounds. It is much better than sitting in front
of video games all day.”
The committee is doing all they can to work up to the 30,000 dollars they need
and even go beyond that point so they can make the park even better. They are starting
bake sales, donations, and looking into different types of fundraising that they can use.
This is a chance for kids to work up to their potential and even find some undiscovered
talents. Curtis says, “It’s the greatest feeling, an adrenaline rush.” Many people could
use this and not only for skateboarding. It can also be used for inline skating, BMX,
and riding scooters. This is something that many people will and enjoy and deserve.
The safety sign in Blacksburg
10
Are You Voting?
By Lindsay R. Honosky
The 2008 elections are right around the corner, and you are lucky enough
to be a senior at the age of eighteen. The question is, do you exercise your
right, born from our fore fathers, to choose your government leaders, or do
you stand aside and let others make the decision for you?
Voting is a right that many young people should practice, even in local
elections. The future of yourself, family, and friends could depend on
whether or not you get enough energy to walk out the door and register
yourself to vote. Of course, you shouldn’t just walk blindly into a voting
booth; you should study the candidates to better choose which one represents
your interests. You should also know what office the candidate is running for,
what it does and its significance in the political body. This is called being a
smart voter, but sadly, not many practice this art.
Mr. Reed’s government classes took a mock-poll a few weeks ago to see
Mr. Reed teaches his second period class to
who
the students would choose in the local election. While sitting in the
become smart voters for the upcoming election.
class, I learned that more than half (including myself) didn’t know who the
Photo by Lindsay Honosky
candidates were, or what office they wished to be elected in. We didn’t even
know that our own Mrs. Williams was running for an office! Of course, this has been corrected thanks to Mr. Reed’s hard work and
through independent study.
You hear people complaining about their government, yet when you ask them who they’re going to vote for, they tell you, “I’m
not voting”, well, do you think then that they have a right to complain? Don’t be one of those people; study your candidates, your
government, and get to a voting booth. Your state and country’s future is at hand, so why not use yours to help shape it?
Campaign Signs
By Lindsay R. Honosky
You see them lining the streets and highways of every town you drive through, in every house and backyard, and even some taped
to the back of cars, but do they make an impact? Campaign signs appear along the roads and sidewalks of our pleasant city of
Pearisburg, put up by the candidates’ loyal supporters or workers for their campaign; the question is, do they really make that much of
a difference?
Many students either ignore them, or are interested in them for a few weeks, or become bored and annoyed by the many different
candidates’ signs. “They’re nice to look at, but soon they grow old,” said a Giles High School student. The many signs, though they
differ from candidate to candidate, are the same things that are arranged in a monotonous way that will drive passersby insane. The
one good thing that these signs achieve is imprinting the names of candidates into your mind, yet not enough to remember what the
platform is for each candidate.
(540) 953-1513
(540) 544-7810
A-1 Heating & Cooling
______________________________
Get It Done Right…
The First Time
101 Old Newport Road
Newport, VA 24128
.
11
Halloween
By Lauren Thompson
Halloween originated from at least three different ancient festivals. The earliest is Samhain
(pronounced sow-in), an ancient Celtic festival that dates back to at least 2,000 years ago. Celtics believed
that on Samhain, celebrated on October 31, the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred.
They believed that ghosts of the dead returned to Earth and caused trouble, such as damaging crops. They
also thought that ghosts made it easier for Druids (Celtic priests) to make predictions about the future. To
celebrate this festival, Druids built bonfires and people burnt crops and animals as sacrifices to Celtic
deities. Celtics also wore costumes, mainly composed of animal heads and skins, and tried to tell each
other’s fortunes.
Two other festivals that may have had an influence on today’s
Halloween celebration were of Roman origin. One was Feralia, a day
in late October when Romans commemorated the passing of the
dead. The second festival was a day to honor Pomona (the Roman
goddess of fruit and trees). The symbol of Pomona was an apple,
which may explain the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is still
practiced today. There was a third influence when Christianity spread
to the Roman territories. Pope Boniface IV made November 1 All
Saints Day (also called All-hallows); it was a day to honor saints and
martyrs. Then the night before (traditionally Samhain) became
known as All-hallows Eve and eventually, Halloween.
Origin of other Halloween traditions
Jack-o-lanterns- This tradition originated in Ireland. They originally
used a turnip, carved it, and placed a candle inside. The story says
that the carved turnip was used by an Irish soul named Jack to light
his path as he wandered for eternity. He wandered because he was
denied entrance to both Heaven( because of his stinginess in life) and Hell( because he made a pact with the devil while he was living
that prevented him from ever going to Hell). The Irish brought this tradition to the United States
in the 1840’s, and began using pumpkins instead of the traditional turnip.
Trick-or-treating- This may have been derived from two different activities. The first was
called “going-a-souling” on All Soul’s Day. In this tradition, poor people would beg door-todoor for soulcakes and promised that in return they would say a prayer for the dead. Or this
tradition may have simply originated in the United States in the twentieth century when children
would threaten a trick if they didn’t receive a treat.
Costumes- Wearing costumes possibly originated from a Celtic tradition when Celts disguised
themselves from the spirits during Samhain.
This information is from two websites. www.history.com and www.answers.com/topic/halloween
12
Halloween Treats
By Lauren Thompson
Have you ever wanted to cook some delicious, spooky, Halloween treats? Here are some great ideas that I got from www.history.com.
Severed Finger Cookies
Recipe by: CulinArt
Servings: 48
Ingredients: 1 batch of basic sugar cookies
1 cup of blanched almonds
1 tablespoon of red food coloring
-Preheat oven to 325
-Put almonds in a bowl, drizzle red food coloring to coat almonds. Stir the almonds so they are evenly colored, put almonds on papertowel lined platter to dry.
-Work with ½ of the dough at a time, keep the rest refrigerated
-Scoop dough into tablespoonful sized balls. Roll each piece of dough into a finger shape.
-Press 1 almond, pointy-end out, into the end of the “finger” for a fingernail.
-Press the lines of a fork below fingernail and in the center of finger to form knuckles.
-Place cookies about 1-inch apart on parchment lined cookie sheets; bake 10 to 15 minutes or until pale golden.
-Let cool- 3 minutes
-Remove to platter to cool completely
-Repeat with remaining dough and almonds.
Halloween Cupcakes
Recipe by: CulinArt
Servings: 24
Ingredients: ½ pound of unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups of cake flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
¾ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
-Preheat oven to 350
-Place butter in a bowl and beat with mixer until light and fluffy (3 to 4 minutes), add sugar, and vanilla, and beat until well combined,
add eggs one at a time until well combined
-Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add ½ of the flour mixture to butter, mix until combined, add ½ milk, mix until
combined, add remaining flour, mix until combined, finally add remaining milk and mix.
-Line muffin or cupcake tins with paper cupcake liners. Fill each liner ¾ full of batter. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until cooked
through and top begins to turn golden brown.
-Decorate as you want.
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Pearisburg Punk Rock
By Bryan Stafford
There is something happening in Pearisburg, Virginia that you might not have
known about. A small punk rock scene has started to develop. Nearby Blacksburg,
Virginia has been familiar with the punk scene for about two years now with many
venues and local bands. It was brought to Pearisburg by former Giles High School
students Matthew Conley, Bobby Jarrett, and senior students Andrew Frazier and
Taylor Suydam when they began a band called Half-Sane. Andrew’s brothers Steven
and Joel Frazier, also former students Giles High School, created a band several years
ago called The Misled. The Misled has grown quite famous around Virginia expanding
to Harrisonburg and is one of the leading bands in Blacksburg. The Misled have been a
big help in getting shows going in Pearisburg. The venue that the bands play in is
known as “The Meathouse.” This title
comes from Matthew Conley’s
The Meathouse logo that is painted on
nickname
through
high school,
the wall of the basement.
Photos from myspace.com.
Meatball. “The Meathouse” is located
in the basement of Conley’s home and
has been designed in a way to accommodate punk rock type shows. Much of the
basement has been painted or styled to fit the theme. Giles senior Gary Fields painted
“The Meathouse” logo and it can be seen on the back wall of where the bands play.
They have held four shows so far at “The Meathouse,” and long as people keep good
behavior and nothing gets damaged or no one gets hurt, they will have more.
Bringing something like this to Pearisburg attracts new fans and is easier for people
living here to go to than the Blacksburg shows. A typical show usually features about
three to four bands, and they average three-hour show time with breaks in between
bands. “The Meathouse” shows have brought in bands from other areas, such as
Couchboy, The Roscoe, At Large, and The Makeout. These shows usually have small
mosh pits and circle pits in the area in front of the band and even some crowd surfing.
This punk scene is small right now, but the encouragement for more bands is there.
The members of Half Sane in one of
Already two others bands have been formed in the area in hopes of playing a
their pictures on myspace.com
“Meathouse” show. Half Sane has even recorded an EP for a show that they will play
later this year. This may encourage more people to form bands and the music scene can really grow in this area. If you enjoy punk
rock type music, this is definitely something you should check out. It is one of the more interesting things happening in our area.
Artemis Fowl
By Lindsay R. Honosky
Do you like tales of magic and mischief; of thieves and burglary? Not into the whole, “fairy tale” point of
view? Well, here’s the book for you. Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer, gives magic a new twist with its fresh,
original story line.
Enter Artemis Fowl, a young twelve-year-old genius with a thirst for thievery. The young prodigy begins
to grow bored with life, and starts to look for more impossible items to steal; namely gold. But he’s not
interested in just your plain, ordinary gold. No, young Artemis is looking for fairy gold, and he has the mind
and means to get it. Of course, the LEPRECON, the underground police force of The People, are doing
everything in their power to keep him from achieving his goal. Who will win out in the end; the People? Or
the young master Fowl?
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P.O. Box 361 Narrows, Virginia 24124
(540) 921-2700 or 726- 8038
www.celcofcu.org
Varsity Football 07
By Clay Bowles
The 2007 Giles Varsity football team is with an overall record (as of October 24th) of 6-1, and 2-0 in the district. The captains of
this years team is Blocking Back / Linebacker, # 6 Billy Cook, and Running Back / Defensive Back, # 26 Gavin Lee.
Blacksburg………win
Christiansburg……..loss
Narrows……………..win
George Wythe………..win
Lebanon…………………win
Glenvar (homecoming)……win
Floyd……………………….TBD
Eastern Montgomery………..TBD
Auburn………………………..TBD
15
#
5
9
11
12
15
21
22
24
25
31
35
36
43
52
53
54
55
58
59
64
68
72
73
74
76
79
84
89
Roster
Max Ratcliffe
Josh Smith
Dustin McCoy
Travis Robertson
Cody Ratcliff
Justin Gautier
Shane Trenar
Frankie Robertson
Tyler Thorne
Jake Dowdy
Blake Martin
Joey Cutler
Matt Bane
Ryan Lucas
Dalton Graham
Adam Baker
Mark “Shane” Evseichik
Michael Trenar
Eric Gadd
Zach Keffer
Curtis Robbins
Greg Ray
Robert Wilson
Nick Criner
Kyle Myers
Zach Harless
Dakota Stanley
Chris Collins
MANAGERS:
STEWART MYERS
MICHAEL BAESLER
J.V. Football
By Clay Bowles
For the first game of 2007, the J.V. football team got rained out against Auburn.
They won their second game against George Wyth, beating the maroons 36-27 and a
close win against Radford, 22-15. Though they lost their fourth game against Blacksburg,
Coach Huffman says prior to each game he is always concerned about “Whether we will
play to our potential and with the intensity that I like to see from our team. Whether we
will stay with our blocks, break down and make good tackles, and play for 4 full quarters
without relaxing. So far, in both the Wytheville and Radford games, we played pretty
well but still need to work harder in practice for the above concerns.”
JV football
captains- #43
Matt Bane, #21
Justin Gautier,
#11 Dustin
McCoy Meeting
to decide who
will receive the
ball first in the
game against
George Wyth
Matt
Bane
running
the ball
on a
reverse
play.
Coaches:
STEVE WILSON
JERRY HUFFMAN
CHRIS BALES
Above: Travis Robertson kicking the
ball off against George Wyth.
Left: The JV defense line up against
George Wyth
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Players
Danielle Bandy
Astleigh Hobbs
Danielle Martin
Stephanie Robertson
Keree Wilson
Danielle Raymond
Venessa Burnette
Kayla Stump
Kelsey Frazier
Cassie Martin
Sara Morris
Kristen Marcussen
Heather Kirk
Varsity Volleyball
#
#8
#
#24
#
#2
#9
#10
#6
#5
#14
#1
#3
#
Been There - Dug That
By Kelsey Frazier
The Lady Spartans started out the
season attending camp in June. They
have been practicing hard everyday
since then. Starting out with a record of
2/0 they looked forward to a promising
year. Later falling short against
Christiansburg and James Monroe the
lady Spartans turned it up a notch and
defeated James Monroe the second
time. “The girls really work hard on the
court, everyday they seemed to amaze
me,” says Coach Erin Burton.
JV Volleyball
By Kelsey Frazier
This years JV Volleyball team hopes to improve their record from last year by
working a little harder each practice and striving for first in district. “One of the
hardest things these girls have had to overcome this year is communication.”
“Volleyball is such a vocal sport and the team has really had to focus on talking to
each other,” says Coach Whitney Matlock. The girls look forward to a promising
year.
# Player
Player
#
Megan Fisher
Paige Metro
Alexis Evans
Becca Price
Ashley Flory
Hayley Wilburn
Tiffany Houck
Sydney Fields
Jessie Journell
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Grade
1/20Michele Martin
10
2 Amanda Byrd
9
3 Jessie Boggess
8
4 Shanda Higginbotham 10
5 Rachel Smith
10
6 Katy Griffth
10
10 Serria Johnson
10
12 Kathryn Stump
9
13 Anna Millirons
9
14 Chelsea Barnett
9
15 Sierra Janney
9
Eighth Grade Volleyball Team
By Kelsey Frazier
The 8th grade volleyball team hopes to have fun and win a few games. Their main goal is to
learn about the basics of volleyball and grow to love the game. “Captains Paige Metro and Becca
Price are big aspect of the team, they keep the spirit up,” says Coach Jessie Lucas.
17
Golf Team 2007
By Bryan Stafford
The new school year has begun and so
have athletics here at Giles. One of the
many exciting sports being played is golf.
The Spartan golf team’s coach is Mr. W.R.
Johnston who has been coaching golf for
eleven years. I asked Mr. Johnston how he
felt about his team this year and this is what
he had to say. “This is a very young team.
We have faced the current State Champion
team Floyd in seven matches and are
working to improve. These young men
Tanner Carbaugh takes aim on the course.
Photos courtesy of W.R. Johnston.
have some great opportunities ahead of
them and if they put in a lot of hard work I
believe they will be very successful.” There are fifteen members on the golf team
this year and only four of them are seniors. The golf team plays at many different
courses such as the Giles Country Club, Lower Cascades, Great Oaks, Botetourt
Country Club, and others.
The team ended up playing eleven matches this year and played in two
tournaments. They placed third in both the District and Regional tournaments, and
they have one player, Tanner Carbaugh, competing on the state level. The golf team
finished up their season on October
eight and ninth with Tanner
Chad Robertson, Tanner Carbaugh, Cody
Carbaugh tying for 18th out of 72 in
Griffith, Trevor Myers, and Michael
the state tournament.
Carbaugh all earned First Team All
District Honors.
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Tanner Carbaugh
Trevor Myers
Michael Carbaugh
Cody Griffith
Chad Robertson
Brandon Farmer
Kelsey Snider
Caleb Tilley
Zachary Atkins
Andrew Epperley
Tyler Meredith
Kyle Yost
Blake Martin
Ben Mullins
Reed Lucas
9th
10th
10th
12th
10th
12th
11th
9th
12th
9th
9th
10th
9th
12th
8th
Runners to Your Mark…
By Abby Johnson and Gelsina Ceritano
The cross-country team started an early season on
August 1. Coach Hubbard anxiously spoke to the runners
about the upcoming year. The team captains Christopher
Carpenter, Andrew Frazier, and Lauren Scheid explained
to the new runners about their warm-up laps and stretching
patterns. The team started running easy paces to get back
into shape. Gradually longer workouts were added into
their practices. Although scorching temperatures reached
100 degrees, the team continued to progress.
After a month of strong dedication to the hard sport,
the team experienced their first meet of the season at
Galax. “Y’all pumped?” is a typical question asked by the
teammates before a race begins. The race ended and the
girls captured first place, while the boys received third.
The eighth graders also ran a great race. The next meet
was an invitational held at Giles, and the girls earned a 3rd
place trophy, as the boys placed 8th out of a field of many
schools.
Gelsina Ceritano
Senior Christopher Carpenter
While everyone else prepares for Friday football
continues to run strong at
paces himself during the Giles
games, the cross-country team sweats through miles at
the Gile’s meet.
Invitational meet in September.
practice. Whether it is running on the front lawn, pushing
Photos by Gelsina Ceritano and Abby Johnson
themselves through the course or doing 400s, the team runs their hardest. Coach Mark
Hubbard always reminds the team that the difficulty of Friday practices only makes the runners
better. On one Wednesday, the girl’s team beat Radford, one
of their long-term goals. Maybe Friday practices do make a
huge difference!
Through all the hip, ankle, knee and shin injuries, it does
not take long before the team members are back on their feet,
running over three miles. Coach Hubbard supplies the
runners with fantastic advice, “Running is not easy; you
definitely have to push yourself, mentally and physically. I
like for the team to have confidence going into a race, not
cockiness. It is easy to say you are going to do something and
how good you are at it, but it is in the end if you can prove it.”
He always tells the team it does not matter about nice
uniforms, shirts, warm up suits, and basically just “stuff”, it
matters what you accomplish during the year. Cross country
does not spend time fundraising for things they do not need;
they go out there and run their hardest
“The cross country team is like a family. We all get
along and that really makes running something to look
The girl’s team won a third trophy at the Giles Invitational.
forward to each day,” quotes senior captain, Lauren Scheid.
Pictured are Ciara Meredith, Amber McKinney, Abby Johnson
The hundreds of miles their shoes have run, we are proud of
and Grace Meier.
the Giles High School cross-country team.
State Farm
S. Lee Wheeler, D.D.S.
General Dentistry
Providing Insurance and Financial Services
Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710
Chris Turman
Agent
112 Center Street
Narrows, VA 24124
(540) 726-3904
1500 N Main Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
Off.: (540) 953-2300
Fax: (540) 953-2441
chris.turman.jw8y@statefarm.com
19
Seniors Astleigh Hobbs and Billy Cook
Seniors Sheldon Douthat and Danielle Martin
Seniors Katy Allamong and Kent Robertson
Juniors Gelsina Ceritano and Travis Scott
Sophomores Dustin McCoy and Katie Cunningham
First place float winner FFA
Freshmen Megan Woodyard and Andrew Epperley
Eight Graders Jesse Boggess and Bubba Workman