February 2013

NORTH STARTHE

STUDENT NEWS MAGAZINE OF NSHSVOLUME 31 ISSUE 3

A TEAM EFFORT School rallies in support of sick students

D.C.’s new addition, pg. 4 Meet the Challege, pg. 2 Going ‘Psycho,’ pg. 13

pg. 8

photo by Kenan Hierwarter

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work with the leader

2 • the north star • february 2013

student life

EDITORS IN CHIEFZack Preston

and Darnell Parker

SPORTS EDITORJacob Phillabaum

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORJay Woodson

LAYOUT EDITORTyler Hank

ADVISORBen Sellers

The North Star is an open forum for student expression of the student body of North Stafford High School. Editorials represent the opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of North Stafford High School, its admin-istration or staff. Signed letters to the editor may be submitted to room 213 or e-mailed to [email protected]. The North Star reserves the right to refuse any advertise-ments or to edit any submis-sions at our editorial discretion.

STAFF WRITERS Arissa Alley, Dhantly AndersonBrianna Brown, Shawn Hank,

Salinna Lor, J.D. Meyers, Kyle Ripper, Emily Setser,

Alex Sosik, Siona Peterous, Ian Butler, Nathan Parkhurst

THENORTH STAR

February 2013Volume XXXI Issue III

North Stafford High School839 Garrisonville Road

Stafford, VA 22554540-658-6150

Challenge Day

Over the past few decades, the organiza-tion called Challenge Day has gained an increasingly positive amount of atten-tion throughout the nation. In more recent years, it has aired as a television program on MTV called If You Really Knew Me. On Feb. 14 and 15, Chal-lenge Day will return to North Stafford High School for the third time. Many fellow Wolverines have participated in the daylong activity in which they gained a better understanding of their peers. Junior Karlie Byrd was a participant her freshman year at North Stafford. “It was a really cool experi-ence,” Byrd said. “My volleyball coach was

in my group, and it really showed a side of her that I never expected to see.” Throughout the day, stu-dents and adult volunteers participate in a series of ice-breakers. During the middle of the session, the Challenge Day leaders split everyone up in groups of five or six, in which each member is given two to three minutes to complete the sentence “If you really knew me, you would know ... ” Toward the end of the day, participants are given the opportunity to speak before their peers and share something about them-selves, thank or apologize to somebody, or say what they are going to do to “Keep the Change.” “It was really interest-ing, but in a good way,” said senior Jamie Homan. “I was skeptical at first,

but I’ve gained new friend-ships from the whole thing.” Working profession-als within the North Staf-ford community also have devoted time and effort in order to ensure that students have a great experience at Challenge Day. “It’s not problem-solving, it’s not group therapy, but an event looking for leaders,” said Mr. Hornick, the as-sistant principal in charge of coordinating Challenge Day. Student leader Harry Bacordo encouraged the stu-dent body to step forward and sign up to partake in the event. “These past years, Chal-lenge Day has shown its power by opening the eyes of the school,” he said. “This year, Challenge Day should be nothing less than amaz-ing. It has always carried the potential to change an individual’s perspective. This year should be nothing dif-ferent.” Needless to say, Challenge Day is not just for those who seem troubled or want to change the world. Anyone and everyone who partici-pates will not necessarily be completely transformed; however a new perspective on how people view the world will be gained.Staff writer Ethan Betts contributed to this story.

By Alex SosikStaff Writer

Changes Lives

courtesy of ChallengeDay.orgStudents at Challenge Day use the American Sign Language symbol for ‘I love you’ to express support for one another.

CONTRIBUTORSTorie Schranz, Kenan Hierwarter, Jack Uffer, Jake Pryor, Ethan Betts


region

In 1619, the first known Africans were brought over from West Africa as indentured servants. Two and a half centuries years later, in 1861, the nation split up because the South wanted to keep slavery and the North wanted to abolish it. Then, in 1863, President Abraham Lin-coln wrote the Emancipation Procla-mation, a document freeing all slaves. In 1926 Carter G. Woodson and Association for the study of Negro Life and History declared the second week of February as “Negro History Week.” In 1976 President Gerald Ford an-nounced that he was changing it to “Black History Month.”

Finally, in the spring of 2015, the Smithsonian Institute has announced plans for a National Museum of Afri-can American History and Culture. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is to be built on the National Mall next to the Washington Monument. The groundbreaking ceremony for the NMAAHC came on Feb. 22, 2012, four months after the Martin Luther King Memorial was built. The cer-emony included speeches by President Barack Obama and museum director Lonnie G. Bunch III. Until the museum is built, The National Museum of African Ameri-can History and Culture occupy the second floor of the National Museum

of American History. Students and teachers at North Staf-ford expressed their excitement about the arrival of the NMAAHC. “I think it’s great. Really it’s about time. It’s been a long time coming,” junior Tabria Cochran said. English teacher Mrs. Benton had a similar reaction: “I am excited. I think it’s time America acknowledged all parts of its history, good and bad,” Benton said. “It speaks volumes to our country because not every country is sunshine and roses and this will show that.” Many people of all races and ethnic-ities are very excited about the opening of The National Museum of American History and Culture.

By Darnell ParkerEditor-in-Chief

courtesy of Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup

Newest Smithsonian museum marks a historic milestone

The Smithsonian’s newest offering, the National Museum of Acrican American History and Culture broke ground last year. As seen in this graphic, the museum, set to open in 2015, will be located on the National Mall by the Washington Monument.


region

The state of D.C. sports is good

Thanks to unexpected surprises and newfound success, 2012 will be a year to remember for area sports fans. Traditionally, our nation’s capital has had only one really good team every year. Last year, however, Wash-ington D.C. had three: the Capitals, Nationals and Redskins. The year started out with the Caps falling just short in their quest of win-ning a fifth straight NHL Southeast Division title by getting eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Yet, come April, it was old news as the Savior of Washington Football had landed, automatically becoming a local and national figure. If you didn’t know who he was then, you do now. That man is Robert Grif-fin III, or RG3, the Redskins’ Heisman Trophy-winning, No. 2 overall draft pick quarterback.

During the preseason, predictions were of a .500 record, or eight wins and eight losses. After upsetting the pow-erhouse New Orleans Saints, however, RGIII had fans marveling that a rookie quarterback was not lying on his back wondering what happened but instead putting up stats that would make Pey-ton Manning or Tom Brady jealous. Before the bye week, during week 10 of the season, the ’Skins had slipped to three wins and six losses (including three losses in a row). Then news broke that the whole team had elected RG3 captain as a rookie because of his lead-ership on and off the field. After that, he led the ’Skins on a seven-game win-ning streak en route to the team’s first NFC East Division title since 1999. With that came a home playoff game, which the ’Skins lost to the Seahawks 24-14. But the real loss was that RG3 had to get surgery on his knee to fix some torn ligaments. RG3 was not the only rookie to

captivate the District. Bryce Harper, the Nationals’ young phenom gave the area “natitude” for his lightning-quick speed and bad-boy persona. Harper’s attitude, which some other MLB players might call “arrogant,” came to a climax in a nationally tele-vised game against the Phillies, dur-ing which Philadelphia pitcher Cole Hamels purposefully hit Harper in the lower back with an inside ball. Once Harper got to third base, Hamels threw to first base trying to pick off Jayson Werth, but Harper stole home and scored for the Nats. Harper was so good he got voted into the all-star game and won NL rookie of the year, helping the Nation-als to their first NL East title before getting knocked out of the playoffs in a nailbitting five-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals. Overall 2012 was one of the best years to date for D.C. sports. Let’s see what 2013 has in store.

By Jacob PhillabaumSports Editor

The Washington Capitals’ title run last year provided an early source of excitement for D.C. sports fans, but their success was eclipsed by the arrival of rookie phenoms Bryce Harper (of the Nationals) and Robert Griffin III (of the Redskins).

courtesy of the Verizon Center


student life

A helping hand for India

Ladies take lead at dance As Saturday, Feb. 23 approaches, the female population at North Staf-ford is beginning to stress. Girls must acquire a stunning dress, mind-boggling shoes, a fancy hairstyle and, most importantly, a date for the Sadie Hawkins Dance. “I never knew that boys had to undergo this much stress when they try to ask someone to a dance,” junior Savannah Godfrey said. “I am so wor-ried that the person I ask will say no!” According to online sources, the

tradition, in which girls ask out guys, began in the 1930s and is named after a character in the comic strip Li’l Abner. The North Stafford event is being hosted by the Wolverine Thunder Step Team to raise funds. The cost is $20 per ticket. “I was surprised that NSHS didn’t have a Sadie Hawkins dance, like many schools do, and the timing seemed perfect since it was in between Home-coming and Prom,” said step team coach Mrs. Benton. Although some ladies were worried about asking boys, supporting the step

team gave others the perfect excuse to make the first move. “I’m probably just going to go in order to fund the step team,” sopho-more Morgan Harris said. “If I can find a date.”

When the phrase “Christmas Break” comes to mind, most teeanagers think about sleeping in, holiday sales, vaca-tion and, of course, presents. However, two North Stafford stu-dents were busy preparing themselves mentally, physically and emotionally for the life-changing journey that they were about to embark on. Sophomores Hannah Gaston and Rachel Robinson traveled to India with members from their church, Mt. Ara-rat Baptist, and a few others to work at an orphanage with the Pawar family. “Spending time with the kids was so enjoyable,” said Gaston. “It made me realize how much we take things for granted.” Gaston and her group got to visit the site that will soon house an addi-tional 1,000 children. She said she has a newfound love for the orphanage children and wants nothing more than to help them. “Maybe one day I’ll work there or go back long-term,” she said.

Although it was hard to communi-cate with them because they spoke a different language, that didn’t stop her from enjoying every moment possible with the kids, she added. Robinson also was moved by the ex-perience. She said she was taken aback

at the sight of seeing people sleeping on the side of the road and animals such as cows, dogs and warthogs roaming freely through the streets. “It’s definitely different, but I abso-lutely loved it and I don’t feel the same.”

By Dhantly AndersonStaff Writer

By Alex SosikStaff Writer

Sophomore Hannah Gaston poses with one of the children at an orphanage that she and fellow sophomore Rachel Robinson visited in India over break.

Crea

tive C

omm

ons

courtesy of Hannah Gaston


student life

Wednesday now becoming the teacher workday. Many students took to Twitter and Facebook either to celebrate the news of no school or to help alert their friends that school was canceled. “Snow gave me extra time to study for my exams,” said fresh-man Brian Setzer after learning that school was out until Monday. “Sleeping in was the best part by far” said freshman Charles Wells after what seemed to be a weekend slumber.

On Jan. 23, a minor snowstorm caused major chaos in Stafford County as school was canceled on the worst week possible: exam week. The Thursday and Friday of exam week were both canceled due to the snow, which pushed back exams to the following week. Monday, originally scheduled to be a teacher workday where the teachers were going to put out the final grades for the fall term, became a full school day, with


Snow causes chaos, celebration

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in the hospital, “even sometimes weeks at a time.” His mother would look after him at home and his sisters would frequently visited Hill in the hospital. Hill’s faith in God was what really helped him through this trial, though. “I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through this trial without it,” he said. “Because of my faith, I knew that God loved me and that I was being put through this trial for a purpose, mainly to grow and to learn.”

There are some things that you never think will happen to you. You will never get a speeding ticket, you will never not graduate, you will never miss your family when go away to col-lege, or you will never get cancer. But these things do happen. Kurt Hill, a senior at North Staf-ford, was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in the middle of October 2012. This is very rare for teens and young adults. Hill, however, did not react as one would think to this news. “I always tried my best to keep a positive attitude,” he said. “I just simply never saw any reason to do otherwise.” Due to the intensity of Hill’s chemo-therapy and spinal taps, and the amount of time he would be gone from school, Hill dropped several of his more demanding classes in the fall. Even with his less strenuous sched-ule, though, he was not able to keep up with his fellow classmates. He would undergo a week of chemotherapy and then have two weeks to recover from the treatments, “which never seemed enough”, he said. He then would return to the hospital to receive more treatment and get sick again. Hill did not go through these trials alone, though. He received the love and support friends, teachers, class-mates and his fellow percussionists of the North Stafford Big Blue drum line. Hill’s family also played a very impor-tant part in his recovery. “They were with me every step of the way,” he said. His father would ac-company him whenever Hill was

By Torie SchranzContributing Writer

photo by Mr. SellersAfter going through an intense bout of chemotherapy treatments, senior Kurt Hill has once again become a regular fixture around the halls of North Stafford.

FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE

‘Because of my faith, I knew that God loved

me and that I was being put through this trial for a purpose, mainly to grow and to learn.’

- Kurt Hill, senior


Hill was officially declared in remis-sion in the middle of January 2013 and has resumed school. He was even able to take some of his former classes and is working hard to catch up. Hill also plans to attend the Brigham Young University in Idaho next fall. Despite his illness, Hill still enjoys many things that any teenager loves. His drumming, which he has been involved in for five years now, is some-thing that is really important to him,

cover story

and has become more of a love than a like to him. He also enjoys music, weight lifting, getting good grades, hanging out with friends, funny mov-ies, Adventure Time, The Regular Show, listening to music loud in his car and going to Moe’s every Monday. “There aren’t many things that I don’t like, actually,” said Hill. “But to name a few, I don’t like Twitter, smok-ing, Burger King, and when clothes are expensive.”

A.J. Slye, North Stafford High alum-nus was hit with unexpected news he was diagnosed with Leukemia just a few weeks before the holiday break. Slye was on the North Stafford football team and is well-loved by the student body. His brother, Joey, a junior was also on the football team. His mother is a teacher in the Freshman Academy The school has supported Slye in any way possible, from filming skits to writ-ing stories, giving him something to do while he is on bed rest. Mr. Donahoe, a senior English teacher, had each of his first semester classes do some activity to give him to help cheer him up. “It’s pretty cool to think that students would come together to support my brother. It really makes it feel like we are a family,” said Joey Slye. Joey has decided to shave his head to show support for his brother. Along with cooperating with school specialist Pam Smith to make t-shirts. All pro-ceeds from the shirts will directly be used to help A.J. If you would like to purchase a shirt for $10 see Mrs. Smith in room 225.

FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE Slye Nation shows its support for recent alum

photo by Kenan HierwarterMembers of the boys basketball team express their support for alumnus A.J. Slye. Slye, a star athlete who graduated last spring, was diagnosed with leukemia recently.

Students maintain a positive outlook despite illnesses

By Arissa AlleyStaff Writer

While A.J. Slye’s situation is well-known, many students at North Staf-ford are fighting critical illnesses such as cancer, sickle cell anemia, heart and kidney problems and diabetes while still participating in school. The FERPA and HIPAA acts protect student privacy, meaning the clinic and school officials are often the only ones able to know anything about student’s health conditions. “We have many kids who come to school with multiple illnesses, both life threatening and chronic that must be accommodated,” said school nurse Co-lette Hokana. “These students want to be in school just like their peers and have medical concerns to deal with every day too.”

A common condition


sports

Putting it down on paper:Athletes attend Signing Day

Signing Day 2013 was a big day for North Stafford some student athletes, who finally decided where they are go-ing to play college sports. Football players Anthony Shegog, Brandon Ravenel and Darnell Parker, soccer player Caitlin Hite and track athlete Kenya Williams all signed their national letters of intent at a ceremony in the library last week. Ravenel signed with the Dukes of James Madison. “It feels great, and the feeling is unexplainable,” he said. “I want to contribute to the best of my ability and keep my grades up,” he added. But going pro is not out of the question, “If that’s God’s plan then I am all for it.” Brandon’s dad said he sees big things in store for the JMU team. “With the new quarterback coming in with a strong arm, they are getting a real deep threat.” Meanwhile, Brandon’s friend and teammate Anthony Shegog signed his letter to Virginia Tech right next to him. Shegog said Virginia Tech was

always going to be his choice, hav-ing verbally committed to the Hokies before the season. “I feel relieved that I finally signed to play football there” he said, adding that his goal is to “win the National Championship or BCS Bowls.” Anthony’s dad agreed that a na-tional title was not out of the question. “Tech is one of the most if not the most consistent teams in the nation,” he said. But Tech’s solid football reputation wasn’t the only lure. “Education is key, and he will get a good one at Tech,” Mr. Shegog said. Football coach Joe Mangano who led North to back-to-back district and regional titles said of his players: “All three are going to do very well and are all going to contribute to the future teams very well.” Mangano also said that with the loss of several key athletes, next year’s foot-ball team has big shoes to fill. But they are coming in with the “same expecta-tions we had last year,” he said. Football was not the only sport represented at Signing Day. Soccer star Caitlin Hite signed with East Carolina

University, saying that it’s a “big relief to finally sign and it feels great.” She also had some high goals for the spring season. “With the incoming class of new players, we can really win it all,” she said. Furthermore, Hite added, she “wants to bring fun to soccer because soccer is not always that fun and it can be very serious.” For the outgoing athletes, including Abby Rosa and Christine Jackson (who were both there announcing where they are going to play volleyball but cannot sign until April), it will be a day they will not forget.



Athletes pose at the Signing Day event last week in the library. Schools seniors committed to included Virginia Tech and JMU.

Anthony Shegog prepares to sign.

photos by J.D. Meyers

entertainment

On Oct. 30, 2012, it was announced that the Walt Disney Company would claim ownership of Lucasfilm. Since 1971, Lucasfilm has been privately held by George Lucas. Now going in for retirement, Lucas has ap-pointed co-chair Kathleen Kennedy as president of the company. Kennedy will also serve as brand manager of the lucrative Star Wars franchise. Following the announcement of the acquisition, Disney declared that the first thing on their agenda for Lucas-film was the development of Star Wars: Episode VII. Disney has come up with a plan to develop Star Wars Episode VII, VIII, and IX starting with the release of Episode VII in 2015. In addition, several standalone spinoffs are planned that will focus on different characters from the Star Wars universe, with the first spinoff rumored

to center around Yoda. According the the Atlantic Wire, the list of directors approached for the new films included Joss Whedon (The Avengers), Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction), Steven Spielberg (E.T: Extra Terrestrial, Lincoln) and Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class). But as of late January, reports were that J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) would assume the helm of that other intergallactic series for at least the first new episode. Even before Abrams’ name was attached, key members of the origi-nal trilogy’s cast Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Or-gana) all expressed their excitement for the revival of the franchise and their desire to reprise their roles. From the prequel trilogy, Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) both expressed their optimism and reported

to be open to involvement. But quite possibly the biggest name in Hollywood to express his willing-ness to be involved is none other than Robert Pattinson. Undoubtedly, Pat-tinson would make a good addition to the franchise now that the Twilight saga has been put to bed. The revival of the Star Wars movie franchise was all made possible by Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm. George Lucas left the company he built from the ground up in good hands. But it remains to be seen how success-ful the new Star Wars revival will be. Many mixed reviews of the acquisition questioned whether Disney could pos-sibly deliver on films that wuld surpass the previous two trilogies. Lucasfilm has entertained the world for many years on end. Our only hope now is that George Lucas putting the brand in the hands of Disney ensures that Star Wars will continue entertain-ing for generations to come.

May the force be with DisneyBy Jay Woodson

Entertainment Editor

Creative Commons

Merger of two entertainment giants spells bright future for Star Wars franchise


entertainment

Steven Spielberg has done it again. His latest motion picture creation, Lin-coln, which hit theaters on Nov. 16, has gotten more than just a few optimistic reviews. An overwhelming amount of people who have seen the movie claim that they love it according to polls and online reveiws. When watching the movie, viewers can expect to see phenomenal acting and historically accurate scenes. The cast was selected with extraordinary care, and each actor was perfect for his or her role. It has even been nominated for 12 Academy Awards. Already, Daniel Day-Lewis won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the 16th presi-dent along with seven Golden Globes awards. Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones (as slavery opponent Thaddeus Ste-vens) won Screen Actors Guild awards. The actors portrayed their roles

accurately according to our current historic knowledge. Lewis went to incredible lengths depict his charac-ter precisely. He read more than 100 books on Lincoln before the filming of the movie and managed to por-tray everything right from Abraham’s slumped posture to his abnormally high voice. The plot of this movie, which is takes place during the Civil War, con-centrates on Lincoln’s boisterous final months in office. The fate of millions of people falls on Lincoln’s shoulders as he attempts to follow a strategy that he believes will lead to the extinction of the current war, the abolishment of slavery, and the uniting of the country once more. The cast seemed to make their char-acters come alive. Whatever emotion the actor was depicting in a particular scene, the audience appeared to be overcome with a similar emotion.

Lincoln brings old history to lifeBy Emily Setser

Staff Writer

Daniel Day-Lewis stars in Lincoln.

Zombie fans ‘warm’ to romance

Nicholas Hoult as ‘R’ in Warm Bodies

Hollywood has butchered the monster genre through the years. They’ve taken our favorite monsters and twisted them up into a clichéd romantic-drama-comedy hybrid. Generally, it doesn’t work. But Warm Bodies seems avoid all the problems caused by those mov-ies. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (with zombies), it creates a whole new monster genre through its very good comedy. Unlike the unintentional comedy in movies like Twilight, Warm Bodies packs in comedy but still appeals to the tween-girl audience. Set during the Zombie Apoca-lypse, the movie stars Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) as a

By Jack Uffer Contributing Writer

charming and very funny zombie named R, who is different from the other zombies. He seems to show a capacity for love when he meets Julie, played by Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four). Another zombie, M, played by Rob Corddry (Children’s Hospital), pro-vides the comic relief. General Grigio, played by John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich), although a minor charac-ter also steals the show. The script feels clunky at first when we get introduced to R, but audience members will get sucked in by the performances. Throughout the movie, we see R grow into a real human again as he falls in love. As he falls in love his heart repairs itself (no doubt pay-ing homage to How the Grinch Stole Christmas).

Most zombie fans might be wor-ried that this film creates its own universe of zombies by making them feel more very human when they fall in love. But, that’s not the case for me. This movie has to be the best film so far in January. It’s a relief to see some-thing that could’ve been generic defy all expectations.


entertainment

The prequel to the popular Lord of the Rings series, there were high expec-tations for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and fans were not let down. The Hobbit is directed by Peter Jackson, who also directed the Lord of the Rings movies. As with Lord of the Rings, he plans for The Hobbit to be a trilogy. The movie features Frodo’s uncle, Bibo Baggins (played by Martin Free-man), who sets out on an “unexpected journey” with a group of dwarves, led by the wizard Gandalf (with Ian McKellen reprising his Lord of the Rings role). The dwarves’ mission is to reclaim their stolen mountain from a

dragon named Smaug. Using cameras set to capture 48 frames a second, the visual quality of this movie was vividly real. While watching, many viewers felt as if they were in Middle Earth. Students at North Stafford very much enjoyed this movie. Olivia Van Vranken, who went to the midnight premiere, said, “The movie was per-fect; I wish I could see it again!” Katie Heck Howard said, “The Hobbit was amazing. I like the Lord of the Rings more, but The Hobbit was still awesome. Everything about it was amazing!” The next movie, The Desolation of Smaug coming out in 2013. The last movie, There and Back Again, is planned to come out in 2014.

The Hobbit is expectedly good

I first noticed the trailer for “Hitch-cock” while watching TV and thought the movie looked interesting. I really like Alfred Hitchcock movies; thus, seeing the commercial for this movie piqued my interest. Hitchcock is a movie about the famed suspense movie director’s production of his masterpiece Psycho. The movie tries to detail Hitchcock’s struggle of financing and production issues that came with the making of Psycho. The movie also enlightens the viewer with his struggle with his wife, Alma Reville. Hitchcock takes place in the late 1950s and revolves around what happens at the movie studio, Hitchcock’s manor, and a beachfront shack where Alma and Whitfield Cook work on a screen-play together. Anthony Hopkins’ performance as Hitchcock was adequate. But while

Hopkins did his best to channel Hitch-cock’s voice and mannerisms, he often came across as what could be seen as a caricature of the man, often stand-ing with his arms folded and being too statuesque. Helen Mirren’s performance as Alma, Hitchcock’s wife, was some-what better. Mirren has greater range in making her character appear more interesting. The plotline was completely unclear from what was advertised in the movie trailers, focusing on several story lines. It jumped between Hitchcock’s is-sues with getting the financing for the movie, finding the right actress for the lead part, Hitchcock’s infatuation with his leading ladies and his marital issues with Alma. While watching the movie, I felt that the cinematography could have been done better. There were a lot of closeups of Hopkins, especially when he ate and drank, which made Hitch-cock appear to be a slob. Hopkins often

slurped his food and drink, which got annoying as the movie went on. I simply didn’t like the way the movie was edited, and to me it felt like a jumbled mess. Lastly, I felt the light-ing was uneven and not used to help advance the story. Hitchcock is rated PG-13 for vio-lence, sexual innuendo, mild profanity, and alcohol use. If you are planning on seeing a movie, I would recom-mend that you go and see something a little more tastefully produced.

Hitchcock is a horror of a movieBy Kyle Ripper

Staff Writer

By Salinna LorStaff Writer

Anthony Hopkins stars in Hitchcock.

Martin Freeman as Bilbo in The Hobbit


sports

Wrestling accepts challenge

The wrestling team has done very well for being much younger and less experienced than in previous years. At the beginning of the season, Coach Murphy was asked how he felt

Winter Track braves the cold

his team would do this season. He enthusiastically said, “We have over 35 wrestlers this year. I believe that we will do pretty well.” The team conditioned hard before the start of the season to ensure that they were in perfect shape for all of their matches. Now the season is approaching its

Winter track, is seeking to finish the season on a strong note. During last week’s district meet at Brooke Point High School, the boys team placed second overall while the girls team placed fourth. The team planned to compete in the regionals on Wednesday of this week before moving on to states. Winter Track provides athletes with a different experience than spring track, mainly because of the condi-tions. Although it is sometimes re-ferred to as “indoor track,” very rarely do the runners practice indoors. “In winter track, we practice in all

conditions, rain or sun,” said sopho-more Colin Lightfoot. Lightfoot said he liked the opportu-nity to compete in running events all over the state. “We have traveled all over Virginia to compete in meets, going to Virginia

By Emily SetserStaff Writer

By Salinna LorStaff Writer

Beach and Christopher Newport.”Sophomore Jenna Pryor, meanwhile, said she loved the cameraderie as well as the competition. “The whole team works hard, and it pays off. Practices are hard, but it’s definitely worth it.”

Senior Sydnei Foster placed second in girls high jump at last week’s district meet. photo by Jake Pryor

conclusion Coach Murphy should be proud. “We are doing all right,” senior Tyler Bunting said. “Most of our team is really young and inexperienced. I feel a lot of the new wrestlers have stepped up and accepted the challenge of varsity wrestling,” he said.

Freshman Trey Heard tries to break a hold at a wrestling match. Though young and inexperienced, the team showed heart.

photo by Ms. Lowry


sports

Boys Basketball aims for a better season

At the start of the season, the coach-es and players of the Wolverine boys basketball team already had a little insight on how they expected season would go. The general agreement among the team was that they would win districts. Sadly, those hopes were dashed on Tuesday night, when Riverbend nar-rowly defeated the team 43-37 to advance in the district finals.

Gymnastics team off to a good start with new coach

Earlier in the season, Coach Lear said the team needed to work more as a cohesive unit in order to win games. A lack of teamwork made it “a hard time to play game to game,” he said. Even so, the players and coaches had hoped the season would turn out better this year than last year, when their bid for the district championship fell just short in the playoffs. This year, the team said they had a better skill set, more people scoring and more athletes on the team. But, “there is no superstar on the team,”

This year’s North Stafford gymnas-tics team got off to a great with their new coach, Mrs. Gabris. Gabris said she feels so far that this season seems promising. All the girls are getting along great and really enjoy each other’s company, she said. This is Gabris’ first year of coaching, and she absolutely loves it, she said. Gabris enjoys seeing the girls learn new skills while also helping them achieve those skills. Gymnastics has a short three month season of December, January, and end-ing in February. They have had many competitions so far that determine where they stand in the community.

By Shawn HankStaff Writer

By Arissa AlleyStaff Writer


said senior Anthony Shegog. Without a superstar, the boys were able to have better ball movement on the court. They also had more people taking shots, a necessity to win. The negative side to the ball move-ment was that the final product wasn’t what the coach always wanted. The players had a hard time actually making the shots that wre needed. “When one player is on, another player is off,” said senior Lyndon White. The team is set to play Albemarle on Thursday for third place in the district.

Senior Usie Miller dribbles around an opponent. This year’s team had no superstars.

courtesy of the yearbook staff

entertainment

Consumer report: Android vs. iPhone

By Zack PrestonEditor-in-Chief

MOST PEOPLE probably do not pay too much attention to the details of a phone when they purchase it.

People are usually attracted to a phone if it has a unique design or if they see an interesting ad. Peer pressure is another factor that could contribute to one’s desire to have a specific phone. There is much more to phones, though, than just looks, and who has one. One of the most influential and important specifications is the type of software on the phones. IPhones have a more user-friendly interface; however their software is more limiting. On Android phones, apps on the home screens can be arranged into the grid however the user wishes to. Widgets are also available to be placed on the home screens for quick access to information such as calendars, social networks and weather.

Android also offers a wide variety of phones, each phone differing in price, power, design and more. Whereas iPhones do not come in a large variety, up-to-date models are of high quality.

Another factor is customization. Most Android phones, especially newer models, are customizable in the sense that you can purchase upgrades for the phones, such as larger memory storage units and longer lasting batteries. This cannot be done with iPhones; just opening an iPhone violates its warranty. IPhones usually have a decent amount of memory and battery life; however you can-not upgrade it. While the newer iPhones have a high processing power and nearly a gigabyte of system memory, many new Android phones, including the HTC Droid DNA, have nearly 2 gigabytes of system memory and twice as much processing power.

Overall, Android phones are superior to iPhones. They give the user more freedom and options. Users can do more with Android phones than iPhones.

images from Creative Commons

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February 2013

Documents

Transcript of February 2013