The Knight Times » Classes & Clubs

JROTC helps student become better citizens

mfoster — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:14:14 +0000

JROTC stands for a Junior Reserve Officer Training and is a course for all young people who want to be better citizens, not just for people who want to go into the military.

JROTC teaches students about leadership, respect, and self reliance. This is good program for any student because it teaches repect and maturity as well as life skills. Students also focus on improving their writing and oral presentation skills. Another important focus for JROTC is community service.

The program first came to Spotsylvania High School in 2005. Over the past seven years, cadets from the program have participated in school events like Spotsyfest and the fall festival. They also help out the robotics team at Post Oak Middle School.

JROTC doesn’t just end in high school. Cadets can continues the program at colleges like VCU, VMI and Norwich University.

Calculators hurting students’ basic math skills

apayne — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:56:49 +0000

Walk into any math classroom in Spotsylvania High School, and students will be busy at work with a calculator in their hand. However, many teacher are concerned about the long-term affect using a calculator will have on their students’ critical thinking skills.

Spotsylvania High School math teacher Ms. Jamie Smith explained that students’ math abilities, such as reciting their times tables without a calculator, have decreased over the past years.

Students are not coming out of elementary and middle school with the basic knowledge that they need for math in high school.

Calculators help the students pass their classes and SOL tests but are hurting their ability to calculate basic math in their heads.

Rachael Sharpes, 21, just got out of college. Sharpes said, “I couldn’t do my times tables without a calculator.”

Sharpes had to take extra levels of math in college to get a degree. She was not accepted at other colleges because of her poor math skills without the calculator.

Sharpes now works at a book store, but she wanted to be a bank teller. She could not find a job at a bank because of her math ability.

“The system is broke,” said Ms. Smith.

Ms. Smith explained that the education system is teaching the students only what they need to know to pass their SOL’s but is leaving out the rest of the knowledge that they need for the real world.

Ms. Smith enjoys being a math teacher and watching her students be successful. She encourages her students to use the calculator, but she recognizes that students are not able to do things like make predictions and use number sense, without calculators.

“Some of them can’t do their times tables without the calculator,” said Ms. Smith. “Their math skills are not what they used to be.”

Seniors in calculus are even having problems without the calculator. Since students have been using the calculator, their math scores have increased, but teachers are asking if the long-term consequences are worth it.

Allen Waldo, a 14-year-old freshman, likes using the calculator because it’s easier. He admitted that he has seen his math ability drop because of using the graphing calculator.

Former Spotsylvania High School student Chris Payne, 24, said his math ability has held him back. One reason why he is not able to join the military at this time is because of his math ability. Payne is not able to do basic math like multiplication, subtraction, adding, division, and fractions, without the calculator.

He said, “In high school, the teachers forced me to use the calculator.”

He feels he now has to face the consequences of using a calculator so much.

S.A.D.D plans to give back during the holidays

jgentile — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:52:08 +0000

On Friday, December 2, Spotsylvania High School S.A.D.D discussed plans to give gifts to kids who won’t otherwise experience a typical Christmas.

The S.H.S group is continuously involved in community projects. Members volunteer to help raise money for the group. Eventually, they plan to sell items to advertise the dangers of making destructive decisions.

Originally, the S.A.D.D group planned to give toys to children at hospitals. They thought it would be nice to give a gift to someone who couldn’t have a Christmas at home.

Miranda Turner said, “It would be a good idea to do this project to give out a holiday spirit to those who need it the most.”

However, Ms. Sherri Stevens, the group’s adviser, told the members that Mary Washington Hospital wouldn’t accept toys because of sanitation issues. They said they would accept coloring books and crayons.

Freshman, Katelynn Smith said “I don’t see why they wouldn’t take toys; what kid wants to color on Christmas?”

Secretary Faith Stephens said, “I wonder why Mary Washington wouldn’t just let us bring the gifts in and let the members at the hospital hand them out instead of us interacting with the kids.”

Another member suggested going to a nursing home and adopting a grandparent. The members suggested donating supplies such as toilet paper, perfume and other toiletries.

The group also talked about going to a daycare and giving a kid a gift after Christmas break.

All the kids in the group agreed it would be a better idea to do a project over break. A freshman member, Harley Scott said, “I really hope we do something because it’s a good way to go out and give to someone that won’t get anything.”

Mrs. Stevens is still trying to find out if any other hospitals would take toys. Kirsten Haynes suggested asking Saint Jude’s Children Hospital if they would accept gifts.

Spotsy’s Dedicated DECA

Taylor Dunavant — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:24:46 +0000

At Spotsy High, the DECA program is a perfect gateway into the marketing community. All the marketing classes are preparing their students for a career in marketing education. DECA itself is an association of marketing students that prepares emerging high school/college leaders and entrepreneurs in finance, hospitality and management fields.
DECA has made a huge impact on college and career choices. More than 70 percent of DECA members at the 2009 International Career Development Conference indicated that DECA has influenced their future career plans. Likewise, more than 65 percent indicated that DECA has influenced their future college plans.

Junior Devin Kraft is a returning three-year member of the DECA program at Spotsy and is looking forward to majoring as a marketing executive. Devin said, “My favorite part about DECA is meeting knew people that are interested in the same career path I am. It makes me aware of more opportunities in the marketing business.”
To be prepared for both college and careers, DECA members are taking advantage of the new programs of study in Marketing, Business Administration, Finance, and Hospitality. Beginning in 2008, the DECA program undertook a significant multi-year effort to align the competitive events program with these career clusters, enabling teachers to better incorporate DECA into their curriculum and courses.

DECA conferences are targeted, highly focused learning experiences for students and advisors. DECA conferences bring our members into the larger DECA community while providing unique opportunities to extend classroom learning. Each of DECA’s conferences connect with corporate professionals to engage students in learning industry-related trends and content. Each year Spotsy attends one of these meetings to make sure our marketing students are receiving the best they can to achieve their career goals.

At Spotsy, seven officer positions are offered including: April Jett – President, Cody Saunders – Vice President, Deryll Minor – Historian, Bekah Crosby – Secretary, Nia Hodge – Treasurer, Eddie Waller – Reporter, and Sierra Stewart – Parliamentary. These seven officers are more than happy to represent Spotsylvania DECA and are looking forward to a new year.

Mr. Holt’s students write vignettes

Deborah Cerrillo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:17:32 +0000

As students in Mr. Holt’s English 10 class read the novella The House on Mango Street, they composed their own autobiographical vignettes based on the subjects and themes in the book.

Mr. Holt said, “These vignettes were highly descriptive, using Show, Not Tell style. When we were done with the reading and writing, students put together their own book, the House on ____my____ street. Students revised for style and voice, and were given the opportunity to express the conflicts and complications of their daily lives by responding to topics like: My name, my neighborhood, Flex-Time!, and more.”

The students shared their stories with their classmates. Cheering and clapping was heard in surrounding classrooms as Mr. Holt’s students praised each others’ work.

Ms. Robinson’s class seeks reform

Deborah Cerrillo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:09:30 +0000

Ms. Robinson’s World History class is studying the Protestant reformation and discussing Luther’s 95 Theses, which was a list of the things that he wanted to “reform” in the Catholic Church. Last week, her students wrote down something they wanted to “reform” in the school and posted them on her “cathedral” doors.

“I think the cathedral doors are pretty cool because they state our opinions on the school, whether it’s from lunch to how the teachers grade our papers,” said Dennis Gill, a tenth-grade student in Ms. Robinson’s class.

In Mr. Davis’ weekly principal notes, he noted that there was a “common theme of lunch detention and better food.”

FFA: Should You Join?

Deborah Cerrillo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:16:37 +0000

Many students in an agriculture or business class know about the FFA, a club offered at Spotsylvania High School. This club is run by Mr. Robert Orrock and Mrs. Valerie Webb, the agricultural and career and tech teachers.
“First thing [is] to help the confusion between FFA and the student organization of agriculture students. It is not the Future Farmers of America. It was until 1985 when the name was changed to the National FFA Organization,” said Mr. Orrock, who explained the difference.
The purpose of FFA, according to Mr. Orrock, is to “provide competitive, recreational, and leadership opportunities for students.”
“To join FFA, you must enroll in an agricultural class like Small Animal Care and pay your dues to your agricultural teacher. Dues are just twenty dollars and are optional to pay. We recommend you do sign up for FFA,” said Mr. Orrock.
The FFA sponsors several activities and events for its members. Most recently, members of the FFA went to the state fair, where several students entered into various competitions.
“When you do sign up for FFA, you get to participate in activities that support the school and the surrounding community – like the upcoming road-side clean-up and the forestry judging event. You don’t have to attend each one, but at least attend one of the events. Every month, we try to put in two fun activities a month. The activities can range from a local fishing trip to a day-trip to Busch Gardens. When we have meetings, we meet in room 163,” Mr. Orrock said.
Tyler Proffit, a 16-year-old sophomore, joined FFA on Sept. 16, 2011, and said, “I joined FFA because I heard of the cool stuff they do like going to Busch Gardens or other exciting activities. I recommend people to join because the activities are pretty cool. ”
“I’ve been a member of FFA for almost two years now, and there has not been one event I’ve attended that has been boring so far. Each event has been cool or amazing in its own way. I really recommend people to join it no matter what class you have,” said Josh Stone, a sophomore.
Besides Mr. Orrock and Mrs. Webb, students can also see Mr. Sizeman if they have questions on FFA.

Marching band gets new director

Deborah Cerrillo — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:16:04 +0000

The award-winning Spotsylvania Knights Marching Band started off the 2011-2012 school year with a bang.
The marching band has a new band director, Mr. Brian Jacobs. Jacobs replaced Mr. Robert Pomerleau, who retired last year.
Jacobs is trying to change the expectations of the band members and push them harder for success because he knows what they are capable of. He also wants them to feel like they fit in with the other band members to make this season as fun and exciting as possible.
The band members all agree that Mr. Jacobs is an “awesome” band director, teaches well, and is easy to get along with.
Before Mr. Jacobs came to Spotsylvania High he worked at Courthouse Rd. Elementary School for two years, and he taught students how to play guitar at Freedom Middle and Battlefield Middle schools for one year. This is his first year being a band director, but he knew that he absolutely wanted to be a band director while in the seventh grade at Chancellor Middle School. He was also in band every year in high school.
“I wanted to be a band director because being in band gave me a place to meet new friends,” said Mr. Jacobs. “I love the competiveness of band.”
Mr. Jacobs tells his students that being in band requires responsibility and that they should be proud to be a part of it.
Band members have to pay to participate. The money goes towards band equipment, food, trips, and competition. Band is a non-profit organization, all the money the students give are used to their benefit. This year, some of the money will be used to purchase new uniforms.

“So Many Books, So Little Time”

Taylor Dunavant — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:11:49 +0000

Members of Spotsylvania High School’s DECA had an outstanding showing at the recent District Competition held at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre. Four students received first place medals overall and one student received a second place medal. Medalists are automatically qualified for the state competitions in Norfolk in March.

The overall medalists were:

Bryn Huxoll- 1st place in sports entertainment marketing; Molly Malloy- 1st place in quick service restaurant management; Darrien Bland- 1st place in principles of business management; Kevin Rhodes- 1st place in principles of marketing; Cody Saunders- 2nd place in selling:

The individual event winners were:

Kelsey Link- 1st in retail merchandising role play; Devin Kraft- 3rd place in automotive services role play; Patrick Wells- 3rd place in automotive services testing; Molly Malloy- 2nd place in quick service restaurant role play and 3rd place in testing; Darien Bland- 1st place in principles of business management testing and 1st place in role play;

Bryn Huxoll- 1st place in sports entertainment role play, 2nd place in role place, and 3rd place in testing; Kevin Rhoades- 2nd place in principles of marketing testing and role play.

New Teachers:Ms. Vandenbos

Deborah Cerrillo — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:16:50 +0000

Ms. Sara Vandenbos, Agricultural Science Instructor

1. What was your favorite subject in high school?

My favorite subject was Agricultural Economics as it satisfied the place of my Senior Economics credit and held real world applications. It was also taught by my favorite teacher – Mr. Wilder.

2. What do you teach and what made you become a teacher in your field?

I teach Introduction to Plant, Animal and Mechanical Science. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of youth by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success as my agriculture teacher instilled in me.

3. If you could teach any other subject what would it be?

It would have to be biology (Ms. Leich would like this comment I’m sure…)

4. Where did you go to college?

University of Idaho and then Utah State University where I am currently working on my Masters.

5. What made you come to Spotsylvania?

My husband is in the Marine Corps and that moved us here to VA. Spotsy High is where I student taught and I love the students and faculty.

6. If you could change something about this school what would it be?

I would put in chocolate milk drinking fountains (what? I can dream!). Seriously, I wish that there was not so much discrimination and that people would see each other without a tainted lens.

7. What do you do when you’re not teaching?

Grade papers, plan for my next lesson, think about the next fun activity I could do… as a first year teacher, I think about school way too much right now. When I can, I play my piano, read, and cook. I LOVE to cook! If I was in Utah or Idaho this fall, I would definitely be hunting with my family.

8. What is your dream vacation?

Italy for sure. I would eat food, see the sights, eat food, explore, did I mention eat food?

9. What is your favorite book?

So many books - I can’t just pick one! I love the authors Nicholas Sparks, John Maxwell, Ted Dekker, and Sean & Stephen Covey. However, the Bible does have some very good advice in it as well.

10. Who would play you in a movie about your life and why?

ummm… That is really difficult. Probably Anne Hathaway because we look the most similar. However, by the time this said movie comes out, I will be long gone and it will be some young girl I have never met or probably heard of.