Awesome Skybox Dude! Check out the golf on page 12!SmokeSmokeThe

SmokeSmokeSignal Volume 65, Issue 12| May. 20, 2010Sta  ord High School | 33 Sta  ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405 | www.shssmokesignal.com

The Student Paper of Stafford High School

CHOIR Rachel Staggs and Richard Chambers were selected for VA Music E d u -cation Assoc. Hon-ors Choir. In addi-tion, auditions for advanced choirs took place on May 6 and 7. The Cham-bers and Advanced Womens Choir are significantly larger for the 2010-2011 school year. Con-gratulations to all!

Calendar

Weather

May25 Reading SOL26 Biology SOL27 Chemistry SOL28 Retakes/Make-Up27-31 Band Field Trip29 NOT AN EARLY

OUT31 No School June1 US/VA History

2 World History II 3 World History I

4 Algebra I 7 Geometry8 Algebra II9 Earth Science10 Retakes/Make-Up16-18 Exams Early Out18 Last Day of

School19 Senior Graduation

May 1-8Hi 91 Lo 49

May 9-17Hi 90 Lo 37

May 17-21 Hi 83 Lo 53

May 24-28 Hi 81 Lo 53

May 28-31Hi 97 Lo 36

The annual senior auction is approaching. On May 17 faculty and students are able to ‘purchase’ their favorite senior. This senior can be subjected to silly antics or outlandish costumes. Bidding is anywhere from 5 dollars to 100, and all proceeds benefi t the senior class.

Senior Auction

What’s Hot

Index

Downtown diningIron Man 2

Female footballBoys vs. Girls sports

Features . . . . .8,12, 13

Media . . . . . . . . . . . 2

News . . . . . . . . .1,2,7

Sports . . . . . . . 14,15

Spotlight . . . . . . 16

Student Life . . . .8-9

The Naval Junior Reserve Offi cer Training Corps

celebrated its ‘maiden voyage’ at the Activa-tion Ceremony on April 22.

Created in 1964, the NJROTC aims to instill key skills in young people, such as leadership develop-ment and marksman-

ship training. Mem-bers of NJROTC enter drill competitions and perform community service.

NJROTC came to SHS this year and was first met with con-fusion. The sight of uniformed teenagers traveling through the halls was a susrprise at first. But support and excitement quick-ly replaced the initial confusion.

BY AUBREYSULLIVANPage Editor

Speech! Speech! Freshman Brent Lawson gives a speech at the NJROTC Activation Ceremony. Photo by Casey Burns

Attention! The NJROTC cadets stand in formation at the Activation Cere-mony. Officers are John Bratcher (left) and Alex Uribe (right). Photo by Casey Burns

NJROTC activation ceremony ends successful first year

“I was just really impressed with the whole thing,” said Principal Joe Lew-is. “I’m very proud to have a unit on our campus.”

The administration cooperated well with the NJROTC staff.

“We have a part-nership here, a very important partner-ship between myself and Mr. Lewis,” said Senior Naval Science

Instructor Martinez.Many students

joined NJROTC to get a sense of military life, naval topics, and the significance of sea power. Most materi-als were supplied by the Navy, such as text-books, but must be returned when the NJROTC ends for the school year.

“It’s a wonderful program, and if you’re looking for a challenge

this is the way to go,” said freshman Sarah Boggs.

Each platoon of stu-dent cadets has one commander and three squad leaders. There were platoons Delta, Charlie, Bravo, and Alpha. Every individ-ual comprised a work-able organism, and the

One of the most heard com-plaints from

Staff ord High School students is traffi c. For years students have been struggling to get to class on time, fi nd a parking space and the problem seems to only be gett ing worse.

In the morning and while leaving school, traffic is a major prob-lem.

“I try to always find an alternate route,” senior Emily Walz “There are too many cars.”

Though the trou-ble is more concen-trated in the morning, students and teachers

struggle of traffic also. “The two left turns cause major traffic,” history teacher Marga-ret Bridges said, “but the new traffic direc-tor is doing a good

alike have to rush in the afternoon as well.

“Drivers need to leave earlier and be more courteous to oth-ers,” security guard Rodney Redmond said “They shouldn’t have the expectations that everything is going to go perfectly. They should plan for traf-fic.” Redmond often has to deal with com-plaints about aggres-sive drivers and traffic problems.

“The extra 10 min-utes in the morning really throw me off,” junior Spencer Bopp said. Bopp travels on Truslow Road to avoid the Rt. 1 traffic, but still finds the 10 minutes hard to adapt to.

Teachers feel the

Local traffic leads to tardiness, accidents, lack of solutions frustrates students, others

BY ANNIE MONCUREStaff Writer

See TRAFFIC page 2

job at keeping the cars flowing.” Bridges usu-ally leaves later after school, to avoid the rush of students imme-diately following the bell.

The traffic causes distress early in the morning to students, teacher and faculty alike.

Beeeep! Horns often honk in the early morning traffic at Staf-ford High School. Cars back up along Enon Road and Rt 1.

Photo by John Kovalchik

As an Eagle Scout, junior Storm Rund-man knew the Boy Scout slogan “always be pre-pared.” He went above and beyond these expectations during Spanish class on May 3.

During a test, Senora Miriam Lorenzo was eat-ing while oversee-ing her Spanish IV class.

“I usually eat lunch during the lunch time,” said Lorenzo. This small twist of cir-cumstance poten-tially saved her life.

As Senora Lorenzo start-

Rundman saves LorenzoBY RACHAEL

KNICKStaff Writer

The man of the hour: Junior Storm Rundman (right) performed the Heimlich man-uever on Senora Myriam Lorenzo (left), saving her life. Photo by Brian Casey

Jamming Jewelry: SHS students ditch Claires and opt for home-made accessories.

ed to choke on a seemingly harmless piece of bread, junior Storm Rundman flew into action. He jumped from his chair to help Senora Lorenzo.

“She was coughing [and] suddenly she stood up and started legiti-mately choking,” said Rundman. “I ran behind her and started to use the Heim-lich. After three or four tries she began breathing again.”

Sra. Lorenzo was grateful for the swift aid.

“I owe Storm my life,” said

See Rundman, p. 2

See NJROTC, page 2

The Smoke Signal2 Stafford High School | 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010

ing the fami-lies their basic needs until they can get back on their feet.

“We [DECA] take read cop-ies of the Free-Lance Star, Smoke Signal, and Washington Post and bring them to SERVE,” senior Nick Lars-en said. “SERVE then takes the papers and recy-cles them for money.”

Job loss has hurt many families in Virginia. The job loss rate has i n c r e a s e d from 4 percent to 7 percent in the last year.

This leavesthe communty

BY TAYLOR WESTStaff Writer

Students visit Peru, assist schoolchildren

In April of 2010 a charitable donation was made for the

70 children that attend the school of Cuper Alto in the commu-nity of Chincheros, Peru. During this time students visited them during their Spring Break trip to Peru.

Members of the trip came bear-

ing gifts. They gave the

The Hills are Alive: The ruins of Machu Pichu are impressive. Span-ish III students visited the landmark on their

Spring Break trip. Pho-to by Matt Lans-

ford

See PERU page 16

The producer/cre-ator of the popu-lar television show Extreme Home Make-over has pitched a new program called School Pride, where schools are chosen to be reno-vated and improved.

Stafford High School is one of three schools nationwide selected to potential-

ly participate on the show.

The Aimee Build-ing, Cosmetology, Engineering Program, the Choir Room, and the outdoor Conces-sion zone are the areas requiring renovation.

Tammy Thomas, Bob Wallace, and Julie Kelsey are creating an application video illus-trating SHS pride and the various reasons the building should reap the benefits of the show.

The video needs to be completed by May 30. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to contribute to the application video with ideas or suggestions.

BY AUBREY SULLIVANPage Editor

Makeover may come to Stafford

Learn and Serve is a class that requires students to do ser-vice projects. Despite being busy with the Invisible Children pro-gram, Learn and Serve classes have also taken on another project of painting and hanging ceiling tiles.

“We are painting the tiles to brighten up the hallways and provide better direc-tion for new students,” teacher Amanda Scan-lon said.

On the tiles, stu-dents have been paint-ing visuals that repre-sent different things in the classroom. All classrooms are sup-posed to have a ceil-ing tile designed by the teacher, hanging outside their door that pertains to the subject they are teaching.

Many math teachers have been making tiles with different designs of equations, while other teachers like Mr. Roger Brown designed

an animal tile for his biology

classes. Oth-er science t e a c h e r s have been d e s i g n i n g DNA pic-tures for

their tiles, while some world his-tory teachers

BY KATHRYN LENOXStaff Writer

Learn and Serve gives back

Securing Emer-gency Resources for Volunteer Efforts, or SERVE, is helping the less fortunate by recy-cling newspapers for money.

SERVE’s mission is to assist families and individuals in need of assistance. SERVE has helped thousands of people in the Stafford and Fredericksburg area with food and financial aid, accord-ing to the SERVE pam-phlet.

DECA is collecting newspapers to give to SERVE because they recycle the newspapers to raise money to help families.

They then use the money to help less for-tunate families by buy-

Jazz band wows festival judges

BY HANNAHOLTMANStaff Writer

The Jazz Band trav-eled to King George High School to com-pete in the Jazz Festi-val on April 28.

“We call it a jazz assessment now,” sophomore Ryan Walker said. “The teachers were getting mad when we called it a festival because they thought we were just goofing off and having fun.”

At the Jazz Assess-ment, students were graded on technique and tone quality. In these areas, students received scores vary-ing from one to five, with one being the highest score. Though they have lower scores, most people do not receive below a two or three.

The band received

BY KATHRYN LENOX

Staff Writer

Tiles with a purpose: Learn and Serve have tiles displayed in every subject-themed area of the school. Photos by Brian Casey, Steffanie Garringer.

one’s across the board which is superior.

All schools with jazz bands in the dis-trict attended the Assessment. The jazz band performed three songs including “Mack the Knife,” “’Round Midnight” and “Two Seconds to Midnight.” The band tries to pick different kinds of songs.

It is important for students to know the backgrounds of the songs they are playing.

“If you know what the song is about, it changes the way you play it completely,” band teacher Chuck Hite said.

The jazz band pre-pared for the assess-ment by performing in various concerts.

“It was pretty hot,” senior Richard Cham-bers said. “We did the best we could and blew the judges away.”

The community is not the only thing ben-efiting from SERVE.

“It’s really good because it helps the environment,” soph-omore Cody Arbec said.

This process is lengthy but well

worth the trou-ble.

When newspa-pers are recycled, they are sorted and grad-ed then taken to the mill. Then the newspa-pers are soaked with water and put through a number of processes to clean and de-ink the paper.

The soaked news-paper, also known as

pulp, can b e

repro-d u c e d

into many d i f f e r e n t paper products such as card-board, news-print, packag-ing material and office items. It can take seven days for news-

papers to be changed into recycled news-print, according to the Recycle Now website.

Some students feel that this is an easy way to help the community.

“I definitely think it is a good thing because the money is going to people who need it [the money], and if it is something as easy col-lecting paper everyone can help,” sophomore Elexxus Brown said.

Other students feel it is a good way to find new uses for old news-papers.

Sophomore Ryan Leake said, “It’s a good thing especially since it helps out people who need the money, and nobody needs old newspapers.”

It’s good to be green: Newspapers were collect-ed for SERVE, and DECA’s members donated used papers. Photo by Kurt Vinnedge

Newspapers for SERVE help community

children jackets so that they wouldn’t freeze during the cold winter.

“It was a good thing to do because they don’t have the money to buy their own,” said junior Brian Kinney.

The group also made baggies for the chil-dren. Each bag had a tooth-b r u s h , c o l o r -i n g

$$$$

Freshman Temple Hammen will be play-ing in the Christian Youth Theater musi-cal “Aladdin” on June 11-13, 18, 19 and 20.

The CYT is an after-school theater arts training program for students ages 4-18.

This musical is based after the Disney mov-ie “Aladdin” which includes the characters Aladdin, Princess Jas-mine, Jafar and Iago. Hammen auditioned

Hammen acts in CYT production of ‘Aladdin’BY JENNIFER QUINTEROStaff Writer

books, pencils, can-dy, glue sticks, eras-ers, notebooks, gum, toothpaste, and many other things the kids needed.

“It feels good when you help other

people out who are

less for-

tunate than you,” said senior John Reichard.

The children were amazed at what the bags contained.

“None of them knew what the glue stick was,” said Span-ish teacher Lynne Lansford.

After handing out bags and coats the stu-dents stayed for awhile and colored with the

children.

“Just to watch the exchange of friendship between our SHS stu-dents and the Andean children was beauti-ful,” said Lansford.

News

and got the part of a main townsperson.

“The play ‘Aladdin’ is about a young man who is poor and living on the streets. He ends up falling in love with Princess Jasmine,” Hammen said. “I am so excited about being in this play. I love put-ting on a performance and entertaining an audience.”

The story takes place in Agrabah, a “City of Enchant-ment,” where the princess is try-ing to find a

future husband. How-ever she has little time to find a hus-band so she plans to run a w a y . W h i l e she is out she m e e t s A l a d d i n

and from that point on they begin to fall in

love. “This is a

great experience for students to

get involved out-side of school,” chorus teach-er Joseph Evel-

er said. “Pursu-ing a music

career is c h a l -

lenging and it’s good that she is working toward that. If she keeps working hard she can definitely make it.”

“Aladdin includes original songs like “Arabian Nights,” “Friend Like Me” and “A Whole New World.”

“Aladdin” will be showing at Spotsylva-nia High School. Tick-ets are on sale for $13 online, $15 at the door and $11 group dis-count (per ticket with a minimum of 10 tick-ets.)

suffering.

have chosen to place globes on theirs.

“It feels really good because our school is boring and know-ing that we are kind of leaving our mark, even after we graduate, is great,” junior Sydney Williams said.

Learn and Serve students have been working on painting the tiles during class and on Saturday, April 17 at Colonial Forge during the Agents of Change Service Day.

At the service day, Learn and Serve stu-dents from different high schools in the area gathered and helped each other finish their service projects.

Williams said, “We are giving back to the community that has given so much to us.”

The Smoke Signal 3Stafford High School | 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010News

Senior Nina Gon-zalez appeared on the national airing of the April 19 Good Morn-ing America Health to educate viewers about healthy lunches in schools.

Gonzalez became a vegetarian her fresh-man year. The people who sat at her lunch table her sophomore year were athletes. At the table, many agreed that healthier options were not available to students who wanted

Gonzalez brings attention to healthy lunchesthem. They also agreed that there were not options for vegetar-ians.

“The food was greasy and it made us tired before a game,” said Gonzalez. She wanted to take action. Gonzalez talked to cafeteria workers to determine who decid-ed what goes on the lunch menu.

She contacted the county nutrition direc-tor and talked about how there was no lunch option for veg-etarians. I set up a meeting with him to talk about general con-

cerns,” said Gonza-lez. The county real-ized that this needed to be addressed and a vegetarian option was made available in the lunch line.

In November, Gon-zalez went to D.C. to speak about the Healthy Lunch Act. Because of the success her persistence earned, and the attention the issue gained, Gon-zalez was invited to speak on Good Morn-ing America Health in New York City.

“I was sitting in class on Wednesday

BY KADESHIA JOHNSONStaff Reporter

entire platoon benefit-ted from the student’s effort.

“I remember us all being a motley crew of students,” said Brent Lawson.

from page 1 At the Thurs-day ceremony, Cadet Chaplain Joshua Rupp gave a moving invoca-tion. There was also an address given by Principal Lewis. The NJROTC gave special

recognition to Colonel MacLaird, Capt. Gum-pright, LCDR Marti-nez and CDR Gordon.

“The train is com-ing, so get on board,” Gordon said.

Many were happy

to be acknowledged for their hard work.

“Our program became legit,” said senior John Alberto. Alberto, like a majority of NJROTC students, does not plan to enter

the military after high school.

“[But] it was a great experience,” Alberto said.

SHS students will see the familiar black and white uniforms

again next year, as the NJROTC rings in its second round of recruits and success.

Attention!: The NJROTC stands proud and tall during the Activation Ceremony.

“The traffic always makes me late, and sometimes angry,” Walz said. There are many different ideas of how to solve the con-gestion.

“If there was a light in front of Indian Lane instead of a traffic director, traffic would

probably flow much more efficiently,” Red-mond said.

“In the afternoon, the students should be let out by grade level, since most of the soph-omores and freshmen ride the bus anyway,” Bopp said.

The traffic near Stafford in the after-noon and the morning

is a definite problem, but will be difficult to solve any time soon.

From page 1Traffic: frustrates students

NJROTC: Activation Ceremony concludes first year

Just Chilling: Students wait in the turn lane which will be length-ened soon to avoide backupon Rt. 1.

Photo by John Kovalchik

and I got an email ask-ing me to come to New York City on Monday,” said Gonzalez.

She gladly accept-ed the offer. Gonzalez took the train to New York City on Sunday night. She stayed in Times Square and they did her hair and make-up.

Many classes at SHS showed the footage of Nina on Good Morn-ing America.

Gonzalez said, “They only filmed me once and I was happy that I got all the impor-tant points.”

DECA held a break-fast to appreciate employers that have helped throughout the year and to recognize the clubs officers. The breakfast was held in the cafeteria on Friday, May 21.

The employers being recognized were the employers of the

co-op students at Staf-ford.

Some members received recognition for winning contests throughout the year, while others received their DECA letters, pins, or patches.

Students could receive letters if they had obtained a certain number of points from doing various activi-ties.

More DECA News

Employers of Co-op, Marketing Business

Partners

-CiCi’s Pizza-Applebee’s-Serve-Pro of Fredericks-burg-Wegman’s- Produce-Jimmy’s Lawn Service-Minneland-Regis Hair Salon-Hollister-Chick-Fil-A (Route 17, and Central Park)-Prince William Forest Park-Career Training Solutions-Outback

-Fredericksburg Powder Coating-Olive Garden-Cropp’s Hair Design-Hartwood Animal Hospital-Sears-Taco-Subway-College Heights Dry Clean-ers-Smith Agency Insurance & Financical Services, Inc.-Viking Enterprises-Creative Dimension Group, Inc.-The Auditors

DECA members and their parents, the co-op employ-ers, DECA volunteers, chaperones, Staffords’ administrators, and businesses that helped DECA were all wel-come to attend. DECA sponsor Lois Simms also attended.

Guests also spoke during the breakfast. Chick-Fil-A provided food for the guests.

BY DANA LEEStaff Writer

Lights, Camera, Action: Senior Nina Gonzalez gave an interview on Good Morning America. She traveled to New York City. Photo courtesy of the Gonzalez family

to him,” she said.The Free Lance-Star

covered the incident on the front page of their May 13 paper, which led to yet anoth-er fortunate event for Rundman.

“When I came into school that morning, Mrs. Allen told me that FOX was on the phone,” assistant prin-cipal Felix Addo said.

Through the work of assignment editors that comb local news-papers, local news sta-tions NBC 4, FOX 5 News and Channel 7 News set appoint-ments to meet with Rundman and Loren-zo for small news seg-ments that aired later

on May 13.“This is an amaz-

ing story that you don’t hear often,” said Matt Ackland, FOX 5 News correspondent. “We always try for a feel-good story where someone is a hero. Viewers enjoy that.”

Rundman and Lorenzo were com-pletely unaware of the news crews until that morning, and were both excited and ner-vous about the experi-ence.

Each crew inter-viewed both Lorenzo and Rundman. They also recorded re-enact-ments of the event, which Lorenzo found mildly traumatic.

In addition to seg-ments on the local news, Lorenzo has also recommended Rund-man for the Boy Scouts of America Heroism Award for saving a life with minimal risk to himself.

“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experi-enced, because I had a human life in my hands,” said Rund-man. “She could’ve died, but I saved her.”

The entire situation was tense and fright-ening for all, but with its happy conclusion, a good feeling is had by both.

“He’s a hero“ Loren-zo said. “He saved my life! He’s my angel.”

Gaggle of reporters: Junior Storm Rundman was recently recognized by local news crews who learned of his heroic actions on May 10. NBC 4, Fox 5, and Channel 7 News all recorded interviews and re-enactments with Lorenzo and Rundman on May 13 that aired later that same day.. Photo by Austin Pearson

Rundman: school hero

Photo by Casey Burns

1 The Smoke SignalSta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405

1The Smoke SignalSta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405

Feature FeatureFeature

Alyssa Hopun, 11 My boyfriend and I went downtown and we went into a few antique shops and had a lot of fun wearing and laughing at all the hideous and goofy clothes. It was really fun and we also got ice cream!

Levi Bey, 11 My girlfriend and I were hanging out, but we got bored, so we went to Wal-Mart and got chalk and Silly String. We drew in the parking lot and had a Silly String fi ght. It was really fun, besides having to pick up all the Silly String.

Alyssa Bornshein, 11 On my birthday last year, my boyfriend and I went to the beach and just hung out all day and got ice cream. I also got a tan!day and got ice cream. I also got a tan!

The dating pro-cess is different for both guys and girls. Girls often focus on acts of kindness made towards them by their date, while guys focus more on the appear-ance and behavior of their date.

When going on a date, many girls often have certain expec-tations of courteous things a guy should do.

“I would expect the guy that asked me on a date to open the doors for me and complimenting what I’m wearing would be nice,” junior Brandi Wick said. “It was nice one time when a guy brought me flowers and paid for corn dogs and everything at the state fair.”

Guys also expect girls to behave a par-ticular way.

“I expect her to not be shy or quiet and to stay off her cell phone,” senior Kul-len Adams said. “One of my favorite things

Students expect good manners and kindnessBY AMBER HUFFMAN

Staff WriterWhen dealing with

the excess of tests and last-minute work that face students at the end of the year, some-times it’s wise to make time for a break, if only to maintain one’s san-ity. Dating is one way to do this.

Taking advantage of the weekend to go on a date creates lim-itless possibilities for fun. However, a few aspects should be tak-en into consideration when it comes to going on a date.

Girls usually hold some expectations when guys ask them out. Junior Tori Kitch-ens keeps her stan-dards high describing her ideal date. She expects him to meet her parents, walk her to the door, open doors for her and others who are with them, pay, and make conversation.

Kitchens considers acts of chivalry such as these natural on a date and she has had

Dating expectations vary among different studentsBY LEAH JENNINGS

Staff Writera girl did on a date was actually eating her food instead of trying to look all healthy by not eating.”

With these come expectations of what guys should never do.

“Well, if he’s eating, he should never chew with his mouth open because that’s gross,” junior Christi Newton said. “One of the worst things he can do it talk about other girls. That’s really bad.”

As with girls, guys also expect girls to avoid doing or saying certain things on dates.

Junior Shawn Alley said. “The worst thing a girl has ever done on a date with me is imme-diately demand that I pay for everything. I already planned on it anyway, and she didn’t need to do that.”

It may seem like there are a lot of unwritten ruless, but it really all boils down to the fact that both just expect their date to be well-mannered and to not try to act like someone else.

experience dating guys who meet these expectations. One of the best dates Kitchens has been on is when she was picked up, grabbed some food, met up with friends for bowling, and hung out afterward.

“I had a great time because he was lots of fun and it wasn’t awk-ward at all,” Kitchens said. “It was relaxed and there was a lot going on.”

Sophomore Rachel Streib has similar prospects in the dat-ing scheme, in that she expects the boy to pay for dinner when he takes her out.

“I expect him to make me feel includ-ed, not pushed to the edge [when we’re with a group],” Streib said.

While some dates require some amount of planning, others can be organized sponta-neously depending on the activity.

“I usually ask the day before, sometimes hours before,” junior

Castiglia’s, located in the heart of downtown Freder-icksburg, offers a variety of Italian food. It offers pas-ta, pizza, and chick-en, as well as burgers and fries for those less fond of Ital-ian food.

The wait-ers and waitresses are very kind and w e l c o m -ing to their customers. The Four Cheese Ravioli has six large ravioli filled with provolone, ricotta, mozzarella and par-mesan topped with Alfredo sauce. The Chicken Cac-ciatore had chicken breast, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions sautéed in red wine with their special home-

Castiglia’s known for authentic Italian mood

BY PATRICIA SUTHERLANDStaff Writer

Sammy T’s is a cute place to go on a date. The atmo-sphere is original, the food is good and the service is quick.

Sammy T’s is designed to give off a romantic vibe, so it is perfect for a date. The inside of the restaurant has dimmed lighting, and the seating is arranged so that couples seem alone. The seating outside is not as romantic and does not give as much privacy.

As with most restaurants, Sammy T’s has a smoking and non-smoking section. The smoking section was a lot nicer than the non-smok-ing section.

The non-smoking section is cramped and dirty, and did not give off the same vibe as in the front. The atmosphere would be much

GIRL VS. BOY Staffers differ on thoughts of Sammy T’s atmosphere

BY CAELYNN MILLER-KEYESStaff Writer

Sammy’s T’s is a mediocre place to go for a date, because of the limited choice of food and the “unique” atmosphere.

When fi rst looking at

the menu, a guy t h a t l o v e s m e a t s e e s

o n l y u s e l e s s

vegan and v e g e t a r i a n

entrées. The back non-smoking

section was very small and was not clean.

The smoking section

BY CAMDEN SOWERSStaff Writer

Allie Leake, 12Once, I was picked up to go on a date to

dinner and a movie. My date brought a girl with him when he came over, claiming it was his “sister”. He ended up ditching the plans we made to go to the mall with the other girl. At the end of the “date”, he said it was really his ex-girlfriend and they’re gett ing back together.

Robert Hunter, 12Once I had a date with a girl at her house, we

rented some movies and went into her basement. Five minutes into the movie, her brother and his friend came downstairs and started working out and playing ping pong. Finally, my date’s brother left , but then her mom came downstairs to watch the movies with us.

Allie Payne, 11I was going on a date with my boyfriend Jeff .

We weren’t doing anything fancy just Dairy Queen for ice cream. I off ered to pay, but when my card was swiped it was declined. I told the worker to try again since I knew I had money on the card. It was declined again, so we had to cancel the order. I rode to another ATM but it said I only had $6 left when I had $86 this morning.

BY ASHLEY REEDStaff Writer

BY EMILY CHURCHILLPage Editor

Stephen Bell said. On one date he planned, he and his date walked around downtown Fredericksburg on Christmas in the eve-ning. Most of the stores were closed but they enjoyed seeing all the lights.

Many guys do make a special effort to cater to the interests of the girls they take on dates. Junior Michael Austin comes up with a few ideas, which he runs by his date to see what she’s most inter-ested in doing.

“My best date was when I took this girl to a concert for her birth-day,” he said. “Her favorite singer was performing and we had so much fun.”

That is one of the main things to remem-ber when going on a date: to have a good time. Being in the mindset to have fun will disperse any potential awkward-ness and result in more high school memories.

located in the front of building section was decorated nicely with paintings, a television for the sports bar, and other decorations to give off a bett er appearance.

The food was not terrible, but there was not a lot to choose from for a carnivore.

The club sandwich was one of the only entrees that included meat, however it was very tasty because of the fresh ingredients and the wonderful aroma.

Overall, this restaurant did not fi t the high standards one would expect on a date.

There are three ice cream shops downtown; Carl’s, Lee’s and Scoops.

Carl’s is a state landmark and is open from Valentine’s Day to Thanksgiving. It has three flavors, strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla, along with sundaes and floats.

At Carl’s, customers wait in the line and after getting ice cream from the window, then can either stand or sit on the seats around the perim-eter or take the ice cream home.

Ice-cream lov-ers should get there early though, because the line can stretch around the building.

Lee’s has more choices, along with the tradition-al flavors. They serve hard ice cream and are open year round.

One trademark flavor

BY ELIZABETH MCMILLENStaff Writer

Shops battle for best ‘Burg ice cream

they have is called Arbuckle, which is vanilla ice cream mixed with swiss hot choco-late.

Lee’s is on Caroline Street and it is set up with an old time feel infused with a mod-ern vibe. The board that lists the ice cream flavors and other products they sell is very pretty and artistic with pictures drawn on the dry erase board advertising the ice cream.

Scoops is located near the Fudge Factory on Caroline

Street. They also

serve hard ice cream. They also serve the traditional fla-vors and a few more.

Like Lee’s, they have more selection of cones than Carl’s, such as chocolate dipped and some have sprinkles and

nuts.

then can either stand or sit on the seats around the perim-eter or take the ice

Ice-cream lov-ers should get there early though, because the line can stretch around

Lee’s has more choices, along

serve hard ice cream and are open

Street. They also

serve hard ice cream. They also serve the traditional fla-vors and a few more.

they have more selection of cones than Carl’s, such as chocolate dipped and some have sprinkles and

better if the non-smoking sec-tion was in the front dining area.

The service was very quick in both sections. The black bean quesadilla was very good, but it fell apart and it was messy. It is not a good choice to order on a date and r e m a i n clean.

T h e food at S a m m y T’s is not e x p e n -sive, but it’s not cheap either. The black bean quesadilla is $8.65, but with an appetizer, another entrée, and two drinks, it adds up. The quesadilla also has other options to go with it, such as chicken or crab meat.

Overall, Sammy T’s was a good place to go on date.

made sauce and a side of pas-ta. Though they only served chocolate cake and cannolli for dessert. It was very tasty.

The atmosphere was very Italian. The paintings on the walls reflected scenes from

Italy giving it an authen-tic feeling and the music that played through-out the restau-rant wasn’t overwhelming. It was a pleas-ant background.

Diners had a choice of seating inside or out-side. The out-side sitting area was in the shade with tables for two. The tables were too small

for larger groups. On a nice day, many people seem to pre-fer outside.

From an Italian food lover, this restaurant gets five stars. From the food to the warm environment, Castiglia’s comes highly recommended.

Photos by John Kovalchik and Brian Casey, Cartoons by Jennie Morgan

located in the front of

was very tasty because of

Photos by John Kovalchik and Brian Casey, Cartoons by Jennie Morgan

end of the “date”, he said it was really his ex-girlfriend and they’re gett ing back together.

to watch the movies with us.

Hav

e you ever been on a disaster date?

Describe a great date you’ve been on

Students expect good manners good manners

When dealing with the excess of tests and last-minute work that face students at the end of the year, some-times it’s wise to make time for a break, if only to maintain one’s san-ity. Dating is one way to do this.

Taking advantage of the weekend to go on a date creates lim-itless possibilities for fun. However, a few aspects should be tak-en into consideration when it comes to going on a date.

Girls usually hold some expectations when guys ask them out. Junior Tori Kitch-ens keeps her stan-dards high describing her ideal date. She expects him to meet her parents, walk her to the door, open doors for her and others who are with them, pay, and make conversation.

Kitchens considers acts of chivalry such as these natural on a date and she has had

Dating expectations vary Dating expectations vary among different studentsBY LEAH JENNINGS

Staff Writera girl did on a date was actually eating her food instead of trying to look all healthy by

With these come expectations of what guys should never do.

“Well, if he’s eating, he should never chew with his mouth open because that’s gross,” junior Christi Newton said. “One of the worst things he can do it talk about other girls. That’s really bad.”

As with girls, guys also expect girls to avoid doing or saying certain things on dates.

Junior Shawn Alley said. “The worst thing a girl has ever done on a date with me is imme-diately demand that I pay for everything. I already planned on it anyway, and she didn’t need to do that.”

It may seem like there are a lot of unwritten ruless, but it really all boils down to the fact that both just expect their date to be well-mannered and to not try to act like

Fredericksburg offers quality, variety of dating experiences

Soup & Taco serves variety of Mexican dishes with smilesBY TAYLOR HOVEY

Staff Writer

For a Mexican food crav-ing, Soup & Taco is the place to go.

The menu doesn’t consist of just soup and tacos, but a variety of Mexican foods that are all homemade.

The cheese quesadillas are filled with hot melted cheese and the cus-tomer’s choice of meat.

One cheese q u e s a d i l l a meal costs around $6. Adding meat

adds about a dollar. Soup & Taco’s trademark

Tortilla soup is made fresh dai-ly with chicken and cheese in a light broth.

The prices, all around, are extremely afford-able.

Soup & Taco has great service that is quite fast. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant is casual and bright. The people are always nice, which makes the meal taste even better than it already is.

Overall, Soup & Taco is one of the best restaurants one could visit in downtown Freder-icksburg.

The Smoke Signal6 Stafford High School | 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010

With the largest team in a decade of the program’s histo-ry, the lacrosse team has improved with a record of four wins and seven losses.

Stressing the impor-tance of teamwork, unselfish play and communication in practices, head coach Chris Adams’ expec-

tations for players are high.

“Lacrosse is a hard sport both mental-ly and physically,” Adams said. “[I expect them to] learn some-thing new every day. You can never learn enough.”

Two girls are on the varsity team this year, Nadya Fedun on var-sity and freshman Kae-lin Evans on JV.

“The boys are my

best friends,” Fedun said. “They joke around and pick on me, but it’s all in a chill way.”

Even though the team graduated six players last year, with half of them playing in college, the team has not seemed to suffer without them. Already, at least five seniors on this year’s team have signed to play lacrosse in college.

Playing the sport for five years, junior Alex Daniel is a key player on the team according to Adams.

“I think the key to having a success-ful season is to have a strong group of guys with good fundamen-tal skills,” Daniel said.

The team has dis-played these skills in games against Potomac, Colonial Forge, Mountain View,

winning with a margin of one point in each game. The team hopes to continue this trend for a winning season.

“It’s hard to say about the rest of the season, but I’m going to work hard and com-pete,” senior Randy Gregorius said. “It’s my last year of lacrosse in high school.”

The District tourna-ment starts on May 15.

KATRINA ZURASKYPage Editor

Adams leads team in new direction, best season ever

Theresa DeSantis, senior, field hockey

“All of the condition-ing over the summer was my favorite part.

We got to know all of the new, upcom-

ing players.”

Anthony Terrini, senior, football

“My favorite thing is the companionship I have with my team

mates.”

Nick Morton, senior, football

“My favorite memo-ry was winning the

Homecoming game.”

Tory Babin, senior, cheer

“My favorite memory was winning districts for the second time in

a row”

Michelle Mancari, senior, volleyball

“My favorite thing about this season is

that it was our best so far!”

Ashley Chenoweth, junior, softball

“One of my favor-ite things about the season is our good

energy at the district games”

Lyndsey Jones, senior, tennis

“Everyone of the team has a really close con-nection with each oth-

er.”

Alex Daniel, junior, lacrosse

“My favorite memory was winning two dis-

trict games.”

GRACE MICKStaff Writer

0

20

40

60

80

100 94.5%

5.5%

YESN O110 TOTAL RESPONSES compiled by : Ryan Thompson and

Lindsey Lysher

Do you watch the sports you play on television

Baseball 4-11 Soccer 4-7 Tennis 11-2

Boys versus girls

Adams has been the coach of the lacrosse team for four years now, changing the program and its reputation at the same time. Photo by Chloe Karlovich

Sports

Softball 6-5 Soccer 2-11-1 Tennis 8-6

“basketball” Christopher elliott

“football” Clancy Zimbro

“basketball,football”Deondre Butler

“socccer”Erin Smith

“soccer,baseball,football,olympics” Hannah Lewis

“football” Joe Hudson

“baseball,football”Mitchell Clark“basketball,football,ice hock-

ey” Brooke Scruggs

Do you watch the sports you play on TV?

The Smoke Signal 7Stafford High School | 33 Stafford Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010Sports

Sports

Zumba is an aero-bic dance class that features Latin and other international music combined with an upbeat environ-ment. Zumba, found at the Rappahannock YMCA, is offered to all ages and genders.

The Zumba class-room is packed with moving bodies who have had it recom-mended by their friends.

“I would invite oth-er people because its fun and I know my friends would like it too,” sophomore Ally-son Belman said.

In one song, the same steps are repeat-ed to make it easier for the dancers to fol-low along. With easy to follow steps, most of the participants in the class don’t realize that they are actually burn-ing calories and toning their muscles.

“I prefer Zum-ba over working out because I love dancing and you don’t realize you’re actually getting a work out,” sopho-more Sarah Shearer said.

There are sever-al different instruc-tors that teach Zumba. Each instructor must have a Group Exercise certificate and under-

go an eight hour train-ing class. During the eight hour training, they learn all the dif-ferent steps that they use to teach their class. The instructors inter-act with their class as much as they can, encouraging them to keep moving.

“Interacting with the class members is my favorite part,” said Zumba instructor Cheryl Martinez. “As long as I can get on my feet I’ll be teaching Zumba.

People wanting to engage in Zumba can check the Rappahan-nock YMCA website for specific dates and times.

ASHLEIGH POWELLStaff Writer

Students rock out to Zumba, get workout

ERIN GALVINStaff Writer

Meet some track Stars

Kendall Wilker-son, freshman,

swimming“The spaghetti

dinners before the meets were really

fun.”

Courtney Collier, senior, volleyball“The competitive-ness of the team

was such a rush.”

Matthew Tolley, sophomore, wres-

tling“My favorite thing about the season

was the overnight stays in the hotel.”

Ben Trimmer, senior, baseball

“Our comeback against Garfield was one of my favorite

memories.”

Jacob Lysher, senior,

cross country“After each meet, the bus rides back and the celebra-tions after were

really fun.”

“A funny mem-ory was when a friend couldn’t

make weight so he cried and peed it all out and we all took bets to see if he would do it or not.” David Lee, junior, wrestling

Randy Gregorius, senior, lacrosse“Just playing lacrosse is my favorite thing. I have done it

forever, and I can’t imagine not doing

it.”

Tana Cropp, junior, softball

“Our team is different then

the other schools because we are like

a family.”

1. Drinking Water

2. Proper Equiptment

3. Stretching

4. Conditioning

Four ways to prevent sports injuries Date: Jun 10thTime: 5 to 7:30 pmCost: $10Place: CFHS gym

ANOUNCEMENT FOR SPORTS PHYSICALS

The field hock-ey season never ends for the Stafford field hockey girls. Most of the team practices in the off season by par-ticipating in a spring league.

The spring league was started by for-mer head coach and state champion, now assistant coach, Robin Woodie in 2001.

“The girls on our team wanted an opportunity to play on the weekends,” said Woodie.

The league allows players to play in tour-

naments, seven on seven, increasing their skill set and build-ing a stronger team bond. A $50 dollar fee is required to and a team must have 10 girls. The tournaments run through weekends in April and May and ends on May 15.

The league is a fundraiser for the Staf-ford field hockey team, so they can buy new equipment during the regular season.

“There isn’t a huge competitive thing about it,” said fresh-man Hannah Lowery. “It is to go out there and have fun while

doing your best.”The program also

helps better the skills of all players in the dis-trict.

“It’s an opportuni-ty for the local girls to play each other and grow as players and people,” said head coach Dani Woodie. “They can also elevat-ing their level of play in the process.”

There are seven schools participating in spring league, includ-ing Colonial Forge, who has a JV and var-sity team, Mountain View with two teams, Brooke Point with two teams, Massaponax

with one team, River-bend with one team and Forest Park with one team. Any schools are welcome to join the league as long as they have 10 girls on the team.

“I like playing against the other schools,” said sopho-more Sarah French. “We can learn what they are good and bad at before the regular season starts.”

Spring league helps the girls stay in shape and keeps their skills crisp and clean.

“It’s good because it keeps a stick in your hand,” said sopho-

more Christa Hern-don. “We also get to learn how to play with our teammates better and get closer.”

The regular season coaches are prohibit-ed by VHSL rules to coach in the off season so volunteers are need-ed. Mrs. Betty French and Mrs. Carol Lysh-er have stepped up to help.

The team’s hard work has been pay-ing off. They have won many of their games and are learning many skills to improve their game, getting ready for the approaching regular season.

Girl’s spring league field hockey prepares for upcoming season

Move your body!: Allyson Belman moves to the beat with the rest of her Zumba class. Photo by Ashleigh Powell

Freshman Hannah Low-ery runs the mile and two mile events. Her personal record for the mile is five minutes flat and in the two mile event ten min-utes and 54 seconds.

“I feel the season is going really well. I have been able to get my personal record early in the season and I hope to keep up the progress,” Lowery said. “By the end of the season, I hope to be able to improve all of my times as much as possible and learn how to run consis-tently.”

Senior Kiah Zaremba runs the 100 and 300 meter hurdles. Her personal best for the 100 meter hurdles is 15.64. Her goal for the season is to “have the girls’ team get a high place at districts.”

“I have been doing okay in my opinion. But you might want someone else’s on that. And I definitely think I’m going to con-tinue with it,” said sophomore Brooke Scruggs. She is a throw-er for the field half of track and field. Her personal record is an impressive 35 feet and 11 inches.

The Smoke Signal8 Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010 Feature

With the economy in its current state, money is tight.

Looking for ways to cut back? How about making accessories out of things from around the house?

Most people know friendship bracelets can be made with only a little thread, but many aren’t aware of the other materials that can be used to create unique “bling.” Just walking down the hall-

way, the resourceful-ness and creativity of the student population can be seen displayed on many cleverly deco-rated wrists.

Sophomore Trejon Smith wears a rubber b a n d chain, and h a s m a d e f o u r o t h -e r s that h e has

given away to friends. “Nobody else real-

ly wears them,” Smith said. “I consider them my trademark.”

Bullheads, a brand of jeans sold at Pac Sun, come with pins attached to them. However, freshman

Brooke Wal-t e r s

doesn’t wear them as pins.

“I just thought they looked cooler as ear-rings,” Walters said.

Some of these acces-sories serve a purpose. Sophomore JC Baron makes rings out of dol-lar bills, which he can unfold and spend if he needs an extra buck.

“But if I’ve had one for a

BY MOLLY PODLESNYPage Editor

while, I feel kind of bad if I spend it,” Bar-on said.

Others make bags out of household items. Senior Lauren Pettera has a pencil case made out of soda tabs.

“I got it in New York City at a street fair in Times Square,” Pettera said. She also bought a bracelet made out of cereal boxes.

Senior Sarah Calpo made her own lunch-box. She used a tira-misu container from Costco and covered it with cereal box card-board.

“It’s lasted me the whole year,” Calpo said. “It didn’t cost me anything.”

Other accessories made from every-day items include bags made from juice pouches, belt buckles made from cassette tapes, toothbrush bracelets, duct tape wallets, or even brace-lets from old chip bags.

Check out the directions on how to make some of these fun accessories, or search online for oth-ers.

Check this bling: Rings can be made

out of dollar bills, for a funky and han-

dy accessory. Photo by Stef-

fanie Garringer.

What’s in your wallet?: Duct tape wallets can be

found in every stule. Photo by Steffanie Garringer.

Wait...are those rubber bands?: Trejon Smith shows his

homemade necklace. Photo by Steffanie Garringer.

Lunchtime!: Sarah Calpo models her homemade lunch-

box, complete with pictures. Photo by Steffanie Garringer.

Photo by Steffanie Garringer.

Photo by Steffanie Garringer.

Photo by Steffanie Garringer.

Photo by Steffanie Garringer.

Homemade Bling sweeping the nation

HOW TO . . .Materials:-20-25 soda can tabs -2 lengths of ribbon (18 to 20 inches)-clear tape (optional)What to do:*Taping the ends of the ribbons will make them easier to thread through the tabs.

1.) Choose the ribbon you want for the top of the tabs, and which you want on the bott om.

2.) Thread the end of the ribbons –the top and bott om- through the back of the fi rst tab (the back is the side with the folds

next to the third tab. Then put the ribbons up through the tab that is on top of this tab.

5.) At this point, one end of the ribbon will be hanging out of the top tab. Thread this through the face of a new tab, and slide it next to the one from step four. Then weave the ribbons back through the last bott om tab.

6.) Repeat the process of adding tabs to the bott om and then the top. If a tab goes on the bott om, weave through the back; if it goes on top, weave through the

and ridges on it). Then go through the “face” of the second tab (the smooth, fl at side). Slide both tabs to the middle of the ribbons.

3.) Fold the ribbons in half. Put both ends of the top ribbon through the top hole on the face of another tab, and both ends of the bott om ribbon through the bott om hole of the face. Slide the tab to the middle and unfold the ribbon. The tab you just threaded will be behind the fi rst two.

4.) Thread the ribbons through the back of a new tab, and slide that

face.

7.) About four or fi ve inches from the end of the ribbon, stop threading and tie the ends of the ribbon shut to wear.

Materials:-30 large metal paper clips

-wrapping paper

-glue

1.) Link all the clips together in a circular chain.

2.) Cut out 30 one inch-by-one inch squares of wrapping paper.3.) Fold the squares around each clip and glue. Hang up to dry.

Fork Bracelet

Materials:

-fork (silver forks are easier to bend)

-pliers

-vise

-heating gun or torch

-tape

1.) Tape the ends of the pliers so they can’t scratch the fork. Clamp the fork into the vise.

2.) Heat the fork so it is easier to bend.

3.) Bend the tines of the fork into which-ever fun shapes you wish.

4.) Bend the handle of the fork so that it fits around your wrist.

5.) Let the fork cool, and it is ready to wear.

The Smoke Signal 9Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010

When the Nintendo Wii hit store shelves in 2006, the console spread into family liv-ing rooms everywhere.

Nintendo users were hoping that a new Nintendo Wii console would be released, were crushed by a recent interview with a Nintendo repre-sentative.

Although popular among teens, the Xbox 360 design-ers are well aware of the flaws presented in the cur-rent model and plan on fix-ing them with the upcoming 360 Slim.

Expectations are held high by Xbox players for Microsoft creators.

Significant improvements are expected to promote the Xbox as more appealing than the Play Station 3.

The deadly, specula-tive heart-attack-causing, “red ring of death” used to make the Xbox unusable and unplayable; however with the new Slim console, the “RROD” will be a distant memory for 360 users.

Optimistically, the improved console will be better at controlling heat dissipation and have better quality control due to the Red Ring.

With lots of scratches and damages to games and DVDs due to the disk drive, Micro-soft may consider automat-ic slot loading the Ninten-do, Wii and PlayStation 3

The next Wii console needs more hardcore games that include increased action and gore.

The Wii is now known as more of a family gaming sys-tem based around the Wii fit and Wii sports type games, unlike the Xbox that is primarily a “Call of Duty” and “Halo” type game sys-tem.

to make use of the technol-ogy. Many believe it’s time Microsoft got involved.

This next Xbox 360 needs to operate much more qui-etly than before. Of course newer 360s have quieted down, but if the next mod-el can match the PS3’s low hum, users will be more con-tent.

If Microsoft was somehow able to incorporate a Blu-Ray drive in the Xbox 360 Slim, it would certainly make for a significant purchase due to customer demand.

Also, with the advance in technology, the new 360 is expected to be small-er and thinner.

Details or release date and updated features haven’t been confirmed by Microsoft yet, but 360 users will know more in June when the c o m p a n y hits the stage for its annu-al press confer-ence.

DSI XL: upgrade for Nintendo

Xbox slim improves from former Xbox 360

The Wii also lacks online set up and sol-id gamer tags with a microphone so the player can commu-nicate with other Wii friends instead of just messaging.

In July 2009, Nin-tendo released the Wii Motion Plus with improved motion gaming.

It seems Ninten-do isn’t in a hurry to

“The 360 is pretty good but it could be better by having Xbox Live free, like the Playstation.”

Kyle Roberson, 11

“I want the internet connecting with wire-less to be better, the lagging connection is pretty bad.”

“The Wii could have a lot more variety in games. Also the Wii games need better graphics.” Hunter Scott, 12

Arik Fox, 12

New Wii expectations crushedrelease a new system.

The creation of the Nintendo Wii raised console expectations from the Wii owners.

As long as Micro-soft or Play Station does not offer a moti-om sensor gaming box, no one is there to take Nintendo’s place.

A new console is not considered neces-sary as there is no com-petion.

By Rachael KnickStaff Writer

By Rachael KnickStaff Writer

By Rachael KnickStaff Writer

Released by Nintendo in early March, the DSi XL has few adjustments compared to the pre-vious DSi.

The larger size will also come with a bigger battery. The DSi XL gets 4-5 hours of battery life on the brightest screen set-ting. On the lowest setting, users can get 13-17 hours from the XL versus DSi’s 9-14.

Luckily, XL comes pre-loaded with Brain Age Express: Math and Brain Age Express: Arts & Let-ters.

The XL is much bulkier then the DSi, and both wider and longer. It also weighs a little more, making it not as portable as the DSi.

The serious perk is that the “XL” screen is 90 percent bigger than the previous Nintendo handhelds.

With the new advances in size and technology, Nintendo chose to make the XL in only three colors: brown, white and red.

Should you buy a DSi XL? Sure, if you don’t already have a DSi. Check it out at your local GameStop first to be sure that the size won’t be an issue.

It is a rea-s o n a b l e u p g r a d e from the DS and DS Lite, but buying a new XL compared to the DSi does not seem to be worth the $220.

HOW COULD THE XBOX OR WII`` IMPROVE IN A

NEW MODEL?

Feature

The Smoke Signal10 Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010 Student Life

The players sprint down the field. Wind tugs at their jerseys as the quarterback throws the ball. The receiver snags the ball and rac-es to the end zone as the crowd cheers. The player performs a vic-tory dance, tugging off the helmet. Hair tum-bles down. The crowd gasps. The player is a girl. This is Amber Trivett’s dream.

When Trivett was 11, she played football for the first time. From that point on, she want-ed to play for a team. Now, at the end of her freshman year, she plans to fulfill that dream by trying out for the football team.

F e m a l e f o o t b a l l p l a y e r s frequently face oppo-sition from their peers. Many are con-cerned that girls could get hurt or the player could nega-tively affect the team’s success.

One such individu-al is freshman football player Wesley Reyn-olds. When hearing that Trivett planned to try out, he said “It’s dumb to even try.”

For others, the idea of a female football player is unusual, but not necessarily bad.

“You would usu-ally imagine a girl playing certain sports like soft-ball, bas-ketball, f i e l d

hockey and lacrosse,” said freshman football

player Rhett Teaster. “To have a girl on the team would be real-ly different for me to

imagine.” However, Trivett

thinks that a female football player would be able to keep up with the team.

“All girls play sports and guys

underestimate us,” Trivett said. “They

think we’re all weak and are only good

for shopping, but in reali-

ty, we can do just

t h e

same as any guy can.”According to foot-

ball coach Chad Lewis, there have been girls on the SHS football team before,

“There have been cases where girls have played football at Staf-ford County, even in Stafford High School,” Lewis said. “When I coached up at Wash-ington & Lee in Arling-ton, we had a girl on our team; played kick-er.”

Trivett plans to pre-pare for tryouts by using the Parks & Rec-reation facilities.

“I’m going to see what they have there [Parks & Rec] and try to get in as much prac-

tice as I can,” Trivett said.

Trivett also keeps up with

national foot-ball.

“I don’t look up to anyone in

particular,” she said. “But

I love the Red-skins.” Trivett will be

able to try out for the football team this sum-mer.

BY JULIE CISCERNOSStaff Writer

Trivett to try out for football team this summer, hopes to keep up with boys

Every year on April 24, freshman Noah Bey’s mother hosts a walk to raise aware-ness for cystic fibro-sis. The walk is held downtown, and it rais-es money to buy medi-cal supplies for other cystic fibrosis patients.

“We have been doing this for years now, and I always par-ticipate,” Noah said.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. It

For treatment of the disease, Noah must go to Bethesda Hos-pital every month to have regular x-rays and breathing tests to check lung capacity and strength. He also must take enzymes every time he eats, about seven pills.

Despite the num-ber of treatments, Bey stays in high spirits about it.

“Sure, it’s irritating, but it’s just something I have to do,” Bey said.

Bey’s disease does not overly affect his daily life.

BY ROBBIE BOCZONStaff Writer

Noah Bey lives with cystic fibrosis, hosts walk to raise money, awareness

53% Unknowing 29%

Americans who have

Cystic Fibrosis

18%People

who die from

Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic FibrosisBetween 1999-2006

By Sarah Olsen

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000107.htm

http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/heart/cystic_�brosis.html

http://www.chp.edu/CHP/Cystic+Fibrosis

Spring is finally here! After that very long, cold winter stu-dents and faculty alike are grateful for the warmer weather.

However, warm-er weather means less clothing, which is lead-ing to frequent prob-lems with the dress code.

“I think it is more of a problem with girls than guys,” junior Storm Rundman said. “I always see girls walking around the hallways in shorts and skirts that are obvious-ly too short and shirts that are really low cut.”

Most students are more concerned with inconsistency when it comes to teacher enforcement of the dress code.

While some teach-ers are known for mak-ing sure students fol-low the dress code, it is evident by the number of students seen in the hallways in violation that other teachers let inappropriate clothing slide by.

“For a dress code to work, you need every-one to agree that it should be followed,” said French teach-er Jerry Hunsberger. “The administration believes it should be set in place, but some of the teachers choose not to always enforce it and that’s the prob-lem.”

Such irregulari-ty when it comes to enforcing the dress code sends mixed sig-nals throughout the school about what is and what is not appro-priate to wear.

Certain students feel victimized because some students get away with skimpy clothing. Their ward-robes are cut in half because they don’t want to get in trou-ble for wearing certain clothes.

“It is not fair that a lot of people get away with breaking the dress code, while oth-ers do not,” said soph-omore Erin Smith. “I see people come to

Spring’s weather causes new issues over dress code

The First Annual Publications Banquet was held on April 21, featuring 2004 alum-nus Andre Jones, who spoke before the Quill & Scroll induction cer-emony, distribution of senior cords and awards for publication students.

Jones, a Smoke Sig-nal reporter, majored in journalism and received his master’s degree in public rela-tions at Marshall Uni-versity in West Virgin-ia.

“Stafford’s [publica-tions] program is very set,” Jones said. “All

the tools that I learned set me up for life.”

Quill and Scroll members are select-ed for their work on the school yearbook, newspaper and litera-try magazines.

“I’m pretty proud of myself,” said Molly Podlesny, page editor and inductee. “There have only been five other freshman induct-ed besides me.”

“Young journalists need to be recognized for all the hard work they are putting in,” yearbook adviser Lin-da Keefer said.

The banquet was catered by Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

“The food was great,” parent Marion Kaus said. “It’s a nice group of students.”

Mary Podlesny, a member of Parents of Publications Students (POPS), volunteered to chair the parent com-mittee for the banquet.

“I think [the ban-quet] was a really great idea,” POPS member Rosa Gonzalez said. “I like the fact that they catered.”

“Previously, induc-tions and senior cords were held at a small reception with some finger food,” Gill said. “But we just wanted to do something more this year.”

BY ARIANNA MILLER-KEYES

Staff Writer

Speech: Stafford alumni Jones speaks to the assembled audience. He majored in journalism from Marshall University. Photo by Justin Toney

Photo illustration by Sarah Olsen

BY KRISTEN COLBERTStaff Writer

Andre Jones speaks at First Annual Publications Banquet

SCA 2010 SHS

SCA OfficersPresident: Annie MoncureSenior VP: Kathleen GayleJunior VP: B.H. KimSecretary: Julia ColopyCorresponding Secretary: Amy QuantrilleTreasurer: Julie FengParliamentarian: Will JanneyHistorian: Morgan BrooksReporter: Chloe Karlovich

James Adams, Fay Cowper and Matt Yelverton were selected as Cabinet Members

Annie Moncure is the 2010-2011 Vice President and Kathleen Gayle is Region 3 Representative for the Virginia Student Council Associa-tion.

SEE CODE: page 6

weakens the patient’s immune system, forc-ing the affected person to go through many treatments.

In the United States alone, it affects about 30, 000 people, but in SHS today, there is only one: Noah Bey.

Like everyone who has it, Bey was born with this disease.

“I was diagnosed with it when I was about 3 years old,” Bey said. “I got it because one of my parents was a carrier and it was a recessive gene that dominated in me.”

“The only thing I can really think of that it affects is my athletic ability,” he said.

He plays defense in JV soccer and he also participates in cross country and swim-ming.

All in all, Noah is just a normal teenager who happens to have something different about him.

“I completely appre-ciate that my mom holds this walk,” Bey said. “It really shows people what it is, and helps them understand it more.”

Infographic by Muhammad Khalid

The Smoke Signal 11Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010Student Life

Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405

LEGO grows with networking sites

Amy Bogardus has come full circle. She was really involved in the Key Club Blood Drives while she was at Stafford and now she’s back running the blood drive for the American Red Cross.

During her high school career she was the treasurer, presi-dent, and lieutenant governor for the Key Club service organiza-tion. She graduated in 2000

After being so involved in Key Club, she knew that she wanted to go into a field where she was helping people. After teaching for about two years, she found her-self applying for a job at a Red Cross Blood Drive. She now helps with the annual Key Club blood drive, which takes place at Stafford High School.

“It’s pretty cool to

be back. To be hon-est with you, there are lots of similarities from when I went here—like walking through the halls,” Bogardus said. “They are the same. And there are a lot of the same teachers.”

Originally, Bogar-dus wanted to be a teacher. She went to Mary Baldwin College and majored in history, and had two minors in elementary education and music.

Soon after being downsized out of her job, Bogardus found herself applying for a job at the Ameri-can Red Cross. She is now Tech 2, or a trained phlebotomist. She is certified to draw blood, draw tubes, and take health histories.

According to her, a typical day as a blood drive worker is long and busy, yet satisfy-ing.

“At the Blood Drive, you never know what

to expect. You could have a lot of reactions all over the place, and you can have a lot of mean people.” Bog-ardus said. “But for the most part, it is a really good time since the people who are there really want to be there.”

While she was involved in Key Club as a student, she also worked the blood drive. But instead of drawing blood and taking health histo-ries, she was working the canteen. She has worked the two main important jobs at a blood drive—drawing the blood and serv-ing food to the blood donors.

“While I was in high school I enjoyed being in Key Club, and I real-ly enjoyed helping oth-ers.” Bogardus said. “Even in high school I felt that I had been given a lot, and I just wanted to give back.”

BY GRACE MICKStaff Writer

Where did all the tomatoes go? Some students asked after the cafeteria removed them from the luch line.

The answer is traced back to the historic icy weather this past winter and the harsh effects it has had in pro-duce growing areas. Due the extremes in weather fresh produce has become scarce and expensive.

“Fresh tomatoes were taken off the menu in early March because the price per case went approxi-mately from $18-$20 per case to over $50 a case,” said Chapman Slye, Director of School Nutrition for Staf-ford County Schools. “At the same time, the quality and size went down.”

Although when produce is available for public there are a variety of sources that supply for public school lunches.

“Stafford does par-ticipate in some local produce purchas-ing. We request local-

ly grown produce through our supplier who has warehouses in Richmond, Tidewa-

BY CATHERINE KIMBALLCASEY BURNSStaff Writers

illustration by Jennie Morgan

ter and Roanoke,” said Slye. “The Virginia produce season peaks mainly over the sum-mer and early fall so it is a short season for the school system. We do get locally grown tomatoes, apples, spin-ach, watermelons and strawberries when they are available.”

A few faculty mem-bers believe that the loss of tomatoes does not have an effect on student’s dietary hab-its.

“The lunch ladies do try their best to make

the food at Stafford as healthy as possible,” said Audrey Harper the school nurse.

Some students agreed that the lack of produce had little effect on their meals.

“I did hear that tomatoes were gone for a while and I could not sleep the same with-out them because they complete my lunch,” said sophomore Jor-dan Marshall.

The change in sea-son has brought back fresh tomato options to the lunch menu again.

Brief tomato disappearance leads to questions, worry from students

Former student runs blood drive after participating at SHS

BY ELIZABETH CHASEStaff Writer

This won’t hurt a bit: Former student Amy Bogardus prepares to draw blood from senior Megan Estes. Bogardus was involved with the Blood Drive when she went to SHS and was a Key Club officer. Photo by Kerstin Felton.

Cartoon by Jennie Morgan

Clubs try to end to bullyingAfter the suicide of

Phoebe Prince, a stu-dent at South Hadley High School in Mas-sachusetts, bullying has been launched into the spotlight again. Prince’s family claims that her suicide was caused by bullying. Numerous other cas-es of bullying are now coming to light, as stu-dents are beginning to take action.

Programs like Link Crew attempt to pre-vent bullying at SHS. Julie Kelsey, Link Crew sponsor and techni-cal resource teacher said that Link Crew is working to prevent bullying by removing stereotypes.

Bullying is defined

by the Stafford Coun-ty Code of Conduct as “a pattern of aggres-sive, intentional, and or deliberately hostile behavior and/or hurt-ful acts, words, or oth-er behavior toward another person.”

“I tend to see bul-lies as people with lower self-esteem, who need to push on other people,” Susan Biggs, head guidance coun-selor said.

Not only does bul-lying hurt the victim, it can also hurt the bul-lies themselves and other people.

Cyber-bullying is a new problem emerg-ing with the rise of networking sites such as MySpace and Face-book. Part of the prob-

lem with cyber-bul-lying is that tracking down the bully can be much harder.

“It’s [cyber-bully-ing] becoming bigger and bigger, because the Internet allows people to say things they wouldn’t say face to face,” Kelsey said. “When it comes to cyber-bullying, the best thing to do is ignore it and real-ize that those people are cowards because they probably would never say that to your face.”

New websites like Formspring.me, which allows members to post comments anony-mously, only make the problem worse.

“It [Formspring.me]

takes MySpace and Facebook to a whole new level... some of the comments are just disgusting,” senior Ariana Gilgenast said.

“The immaturity, the nastiness, it real-ly makes me ques-tion what we’re being taught and how we’re being raised.”

As bullying becomes more com-mon, new questions about its effects are being raised.

“I think a lot more kids get bullied than we hear about, because they’re afraid to speak up,” Biggs said. “Part of the problem with bullying, for adults, is that we view it as a normal part of life. It’s not.”

When the inter-net was just becom-ing populated, instead of social networking sites, the era of the internet forum was in full swing, and along with other niche com-munities, the LEGO scene was blooming.

The phenomena of a child’s toy becoming an adult’s hobby to the point of obsession was originally something that was a private mat-ter, shared with no one and comparable to a grown man sitting in a basement with his toy trains.

However, with the surge of LEGO enthu-siasts online, this hob-by soon became some-thing to be shared with other people, and became a communi-ty. Due to this, ideas flourished, new tech-niques were invented, and a dedicated LEGO forum was created for LEGO users all over the globe. LUGNET, stands for LEGO User Group Net.

When this site first was created, the LEGO scene, while much larger than it ever had been, was still new, relatively small, and unsure of how the internet would affect the hobby.

In the beginning, Adult Fan’s of LEGO, or AFOL’s, would

share photos of their creations and receive criticism and com-ments on their cre-ation.

Soon afterwards, AFOL’s who had met on the internet decid-ed to meet in real life, creating LEGO User Groups, or LUGs.

These LUGs would put on LEGO con-ventions, which soon became a major cul-tural attribute of the LEGO scene, with col-laborative events such as Moonbases, giant castle-esque battles, and other collabora-tions became ways to connect the LEGO community together despite the distance between them.

Later in the histo-ry of the online LEGO scene, LUGNET broke into three sites with a more narrow focus, Classic-Castle, Classic-Space, and Eurobricks.

These forums would exist for a cou-ple of years, and even-tually, with the inven-tion of Flickr, a mass exodus from all of the existing LEGO forums such as MOCpages and From Bricks To Bothans (A Star Wars related LEGO forum) took place.

On Flickr, the LEGO community expand-ed very rapidly, blogs started to pop up, and more LEGO fans became active in the community.

BY KURT VINNEDGEPage Editor

The Smoke Signal12 Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010

SUN GLASSES: “g) sunglasses

or permanently tinted glasses”

HEAD COVERING:“e)Head cover-

ing of any kind in the building (except for reli-gious or medi-cal reasons) Ban-danas may not be worn anywhere on one’s person “

UNDERWEAR:“ I ) C l o t h -

ing must cover undergarments at all times”

PROMTION:“a) clothing and accessories that promote alcohol, tobacco, or drug usage or which dislay weapons or violence and which cause or are likely to cause a disruption within the school envi-ronment”

Student Life

Century 21 and the Owen Lea Foundation held Bingo for Baskets on April 3 in the cafe-teria. All funding went to benefit children liv-ing with the rare form of a cancer called neu-roblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in your nerve tissue and affects your adrenal glands

Families quickly filled the empty seats. Of the 70 guests who attended, only 58 played bingo.

“The bingo was a tremendous success and everybody had tons of fun” said Ran-dy Lea, Director of the Owen Lea Foundation.

Chocolate and Lego baskets were some of the prizes won by par-ticipants.

Blaze Chavonelle, 5 years old, was diag-nosed with the cancer 6 months ago.

Chavonelle fin-ished his third round of treatment on April 1 and could not attend the function.

Despite his absence, bingo went on and raised money that went to Chavonelle and others living with the cancer.

“We would like to thank Stafford High for their hospitality in letting us use the school,” said Lea. “The money raised will go a long way in helping the Chavonelle family and others.”

The Owen Lea Foundation was founded by friends and family after Owen Scott Lea died of the cancer in August of

last year. The founda-tion encourages fami-lies to persevere and to always keep fighting.

Math teacher, Val-erie Wick was first to bring up the idea of fundraising at Stafford for the cause. Wick first met the Lea fam-ily after their daugh-

ters attended the same gymnastics team.

With permission from athletic coordi-nator, Wes Bergazzi, Wick was able to invite the bingo over to Staf-ford High.

Bingo for Baskets is one of the many fund-raisers that the OLF

BY SKYLIA BAILEYStaff Writer

Bingo raises money for cancer

has held to benefit families living with the cancer. The First Annu-al Owen Lea Founda-tion 5K and 1K Run will take place May 23 of this year at the Flex-Appeal and Fitness Center.

“The Owen Lea Foundation is not

your standard child-hood cancer founda-tion”, said Wendy Moore, Vice President of OLF.

“We aren’t involved in raising money for awareness or research, but our charter was established to help families LIVE with Neuroblastoma.”

Bingo for Cancer: Winning baskets is one way to raise funds for cancer research and to help Blaze Chavonelle who was diagnosed recently

CODE: Short, shorter, shortestfrom: page 11

LOCAL STUDENTS MAKE LIFELONG GIFTS FOR CHILDREN AT ORPHANAGE

Art students at Stafford Senior High School participate in Memory Project

Art students at Stafford Senior High School have joined the Memory Project, a nationwide initiative in which advanced, high school art students create original portraits for children living in orphanages around the world (www.thememoryproject.org).

Given that children who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused, or neglected often have few personal keepsakes, the purpose of the portraits is to provide them with a special memory of their youth, to honor their heritage and identity, and to help them build a positive self-image. The project also provides an opportunity for young Americans to open their hearts to children who have endured many hardships, and to promote the value of sharing kindness with others.

The Memory Project has been featured on national television several times, most notably when Katie Couric concluded her very fi rst broadcast of the CBS Evening News with a story about the project’s success at an orphanage in Nicaragua. The project has also been covered by major newspapers and magazines throughout the country, all telling the story of students who have participated. Students at SSHS are participating as part of their National Art Honor Society Chapter. To do this, the students receive pictures of children who are waiting for portraits, and then work in their art classrooms to create the portraits. Once fi nished, the Memory Project organization delivers the portraits to the children. In total, the students will make portraits for 15 children living at an orphanage in Peru The Memory Project is a program of the nonprofi t organization My Class Cares based in Madison, Wisconsin. Since the project began in 2004, more than 20,000 portraits have been produced by high school art students around the country.

school in really small Sof-fee shorts and they do not get in trouble, but, since I have long legs and long arms, if I wore stuff like that I would get noticed by teachers immediately.”

Since students are taking notice in the inconsisten-cies. All of those breaking the dress code are obvi-ously becoming a distrac-tion. The main reason for a dress code is to provide students with a distraction-free learning environment, but for that to happen, it must be regularly enforced.

Principal Joe Lewis said “Most importantly, people need to realize that it is a district policy, not just a Stafford High School thing, so it must be enforced.”

The Smoke Signal 13Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010Student Life

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The Smoke Signal14 Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010

espionage agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., at which time he is informed that his late f a t h e r a n d

predecessor, Howard Stark, had mysterious plans for his son’s future. Aft er creating a new element and

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

10 11 12 13 14

Letters to Juliet

Robin Hood

15

17 18

The Rolling Stones: Exile on

Main Street

Bo Bice

19 20 21

Shrek Forever After

MacGruber

22

24 25

All Time Low: Straight to the DVD

26 27

Sex and the City 2

28

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

29

31

JUNE 12 3 4

Killers

Marmaduke

5

Media

“Lett ers to Juliet” is a compelling movie about a young girl named Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who fi nds a long lost lett er that Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) wrote to Juliet many years ago. While in Verona, Italy she meets a group of people who write lett ers back to the ones

who wrote to Juliet.She encourages

the lady who wrote the lett er to search for her true love. They set off on a journey together and discover who they really are.

Senior Allie Leake can’t wait to see this modern day fairytale.

“I’m really exited to see it because the plot looks interesting and Seyfried was amazing in Dear John,” Leake said.

This movie was released in theaters on May 14. Other actors starring in the movie are Christopher Egan (Charlie) and Franco Nero (Lorenzo). Gary Winick directs the movie, he’s also directed “Bride Wars” and “13 Going on 30.” Seyfried, who starred in “Dear John” and “Mamma Mia” has a lot of expectations to live up to with this performance.

‘Letters to Juliet’ appeals

A new epic addition to the long string of movies, “Robin Hood”, which is to be released on May 14, is highly anticipated and it is not meant for the children due to graphic nature and gory scenes unlike older versions.

With Russell Crowe playing as Robin Hood, an expert archer and rebel who tries to free a tyrant controlled town, this movie is sure to be a heart-racing tale of triumph and justice.

This is not the fi rst time “Robin Hood” has been re-made. There have been over 70 versions of

fi lms and television series featuring the hooded hero since the 1990s, including a re-make by Disney.

Robin Hood fi rst swung into theaters in 1908 with the release of “Robin Hood and His Merry Men” but the original story has been told for over 700 years.

“Robin Hood and His Merry Men” was a silent fi lm that was based on the English folklore of a man known for robbing the rich and giving to the poor.

Many companies have hopped on the train for making adaptations of the fi lm but “Robin Hood,” has the latest and

greatest animations and graphics available. An example of the new graphics seen in this movie was the incredibly believable Navi seen in “Avatar.”

Students are excited for the new edition to the legend because this movie is going to show the background for why Robin Hood is so scorned by the village in which he resides, a feature most movies did not include.

Many cartoons, television shows and mini-series have portrayed hooded fi end in many diff erent ways. Some make Robin Hood out to be the hero we all know and love,

but some create a devilish version that causes trouble and unrest in the wealthy community. Either version may be true to his character because he does rob but it is for a justifi able reason.

This movie is sure to be worth the small fee of the local theater because of the serious view of our hero that creates an action fi lled movie.

This movie will most likely sky rocket to the top of the box offi ce and fl y past the older versions in revenue not including the release to DVD late in the summer.

Another ‘Robin Hood’ film

By Taylor WestStaff Writer

By Fallon SchillingStaff Writer

powering up his iron armor, Tony Stark learns that Vanko is on the loose and very dangerous, building robotic drones for Hammer industries. Aft er Vanko releases the drones on innocent civilians, Stark, as well as his friend James Rhoads, geared up in his own Iron Man suit, set out on a high fl ying and explosive

chase to destroy the deadly drones

before facing Vanko himself.

It seems to be that as Americans

we are conditioned these days to instantly lend two thumbs up to any fi lm with a large budget and decent special eff ects. While hosting a modest cast, including Robert Downey Jr. returning as the snarky, snappy Tony Stark/Iron Man and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., the fi lm’s desperate faith to the Marvel comic series

Iron Man 2 fails to impress viewers By Brian Casey

Photography Editor

“Iron Man 2” blasted into theaters last weekend, leaving audiences everywhere in a dust cloud of mediocrity.

The story picks up where the fi rst movie left off , starting fresh with a new villain, Ivan Vanko, a Russian physicist out to destroy industrialist/s u p e r h e r o Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, who has revealed his secret identity to the world.

Aft er facing some fi erce business competition from Hammer Industries, and a brutal fi ght with Vanko at a Monaco race track, Stark realizes that the world no longer views him as the beloved hero that he used to be.

At this point, he is approached by the

May Calender of New Releases

is what truly holds it back. The storyline feels restricted, and tries to c o m p e n s a t e with decent att empts at witt y, fast paced dialogue.

Overall, the biggest problem with this fi lm is that it clings too closely to the fi rst Iron Man movie, and strives much too hard to be a crowd pleaser. Every line of dialogue, every convenient ly-placed plot twist and explosion leaves the taste of the fi rst fi lm in one’s mouth. Every fi lm, sequels included, needs its own artistic vision and direction, both of which were severely lacking with this movie.

Quite frankly, it

seems that the face of Tony Stark is one only a true die-hard Iron Man

fan or Michael Bay fi lm junkie could love.

The Smoke Signal 15Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010

BRACERRIFIC

Opinion

Sta� ord High School33 Sta� ord Indians Lane

Falmouth, VA 22405Phone: 540-371-7200

sta� ord.high.schoolfusion.uswww.sta� ordsmokesignal.com

The Smoke Signal

Thank you Smoke Signal patrons!

Editor in ChiefDawnthea Price

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tent and to refuse advertisements.

Only AP makeup tests remain now, but they are right on the start of this year’s SOLs. Between blasts and the almost infantile crawl of the network for the next few weeks, summer seems so far away.

It’s not every day that someone you know gives the Heimlich Maneuver to a teacher. It’s just as infre-quent as three news crews simultaneously arriving to fi lm said student and teacher. The Smoke Signal is glad Rundman has received recognition, but recognizes that the greatest part of this event is that Senora Lorenzo is still here to teach Spanish!

It is May, right? Well, the near frigid temperatures in the mornings and evenings and the perpetually gray skies sure are misleading. The saying is, “April showers bring May fl owers.” Perhaps it’s really the other way around?

AP Exams and SOLS

Storm Rundman

Making the Grade

A++

Weather

Abigail PareAlan & Wendy Gayle

Alan WestheidenAlan, Amy, & Joseph

ChurchillAlex & Lester Felton

Alice FreemanAnna & Paul Colopy

AnonymousBill & Sharron Kovalchik

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Carmen SheltonCarmen WatersChelsea JohnsonCheryl Melkun

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Christopher & Riza Garrett

Craig H.Cynthia W. Hamblin

Dallas & Gloria ChestnutDavid Gibson

David HolsingerDawn & Jeff ery

HooghouseDawn Phillips

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Dom & Barb GrassoDonna Kemper

Dr. & Mrs. John StatlerDr. Thomas Johnson

Eddie & Tsumie EnglishEdna M. SharpEmily JenningsErin E. WaltonErin Gallivan

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Gary D. QuinteroGCA Ground Services

Hannah OltmanHarry Mack

Hitt Bail BondsJ.L. Vida

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Kirk ChestnutKirstin Whiteside

Kristina VarelaLeesa Wood

Leonard & Carol TindelLisa Skeer

Lorene & Jesse BaldwinLori Van Horn

Mark & Dena MuellerMary & Doug Janney

Mary Gallivan

Maureen CardenM.C. Moncure

Michael & Cynthia Murphy

Michael PapaMichelle Giampa

Mike & Kathy BakerMike & Kim Casey

Mike DodgeMorgan & Brenda Green

Muhamad KhalidNancy & Lou Sorrentino

Nicole Hoff manPat Butler

Patrice QuinteroPatricia BriscoePatricia Fendley

Patricia LawrencePaula Chestnut

Rodriguez FamilyRosie & Lou Sorrentino

Roxanne CookRuth Clark

Ryan ThompsonSandra SheltonSara N. Fartro

Sir Snicker Doodles

Stephanie & Alan Wes-theiden

Stephanie ReamesSue Ann Oltman

Susan BiggsSusan Lee

Susan OlsenSuzanne KincaidTaiyanna Jones

Ted the DogThompson Family

Timothy PareTracey Chestnut

Vicki SowersWayne & Lydia CosnerWhite Oak Bail Bonds,

LLCWilliam & Susan Morgan

All the parents who helped bake this year

andHeidi Robison for the

scheduleMary Podlesney for the

banquetDomino’s Pizza

Traffic coming into and leaving SHS is awful. There is no oth-er word for it. It is just really bad.

Whether it’s out on Route 1 onto Enon Rd. or from Truslow Rd., there are too many people, not enough lanes and even less patience from the stu-dents, staff and com-muters all clamoring to get from A to B.

What’s the solution? A traffic light, right?

Well, no.The Virginia Depart-

ment of Transportation (VDOT) determines

where traffic signals should be installed by evaluating the number of vehicles that use the intersection and the physical characteristics of the intersection.

They also evaluate accidents that have occurred in the inter-section and activity in the intersection during peak hours.

With these quali-fications in mind, the Enon Road.-Stafford Indian Lane intersec-tion doesn’t qualify for a traffic signal. Its peak hours are only imme-diately before and

Editorialafter school, and two hours of heart wrench-ingly slow traffic out of 24 is nowhere near dire enough for a traf-fic signal.

However, despite this seeming letdown, VDOT is making an effort to lessen traffic, evident in the recent lengthening of the “slip,” or left turn lane from Rt 1 onto Enon Road and the No Turn on Red sign for south-bound Rt 1 onto Enon during peak school traffic hours.

In addition to these rather straightforward

Traffic solutions don’t make anyone happy(although underappre-ciated) moves, there is also the matter of the traffic director in front of SHS in the morn-ings. Despite his near-constant attendance and ability to keep traffic rather steadi-ly flowing, he is an underappreciated fig-ure because he sim-ply doesn’t move fast enough for all the vehi-cles.

There’s no chance for anything more than a human traffic light. So what can we do?

Wake up earlier, for starters. Even though

f

C-

:(End of the Year

Unfortunately, it’s late May and not late June. However, this is the last free issue of The Smoke Signal for the 2009-2010 school year. Have a great summer!

the 20 minutes add-ed to the school day just ended, dozens of student drivers are late everyday simply because they enjoy their beds.

In short, the inter-section in front of SHS doesn’t qualify for a traffic signal, and the ways VDOT is trying to correct traffic cur-rently are worthwhile, in the long run it’s up to you and me.

Stop whining and wake up a little ear-lier. The 20 minutes are over. Traffic isn’t a valid excuse to be late anymore.

The Smoke Signal16 Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405May 20, 2010 SpotlightThe Smoke Signal16 Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405Sta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405

The Smoke SignalSta� ord High School | 33 Sta� ord Indian Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22405The Smoke Signal

May 20, 2010 SpotlightSpotlightSpotlight

FROM PAGE 1

children was beauti-ful,” said Lansford.

The students in this group were also affected and surprised by the children.

“They were so cute,” said junior Gina Snow. “The little kids weren’t as social as I thought they would be, but it was still interest-ing to see people from a different culture.”

The group also

explored parts of Peru during the trip includ-ing Machu Picchu, Incan Ruins, Lima, Sacred Valley, Ollan-taytambo, Saqsaywa-man, art exhibits, and even a course to learn how to weave.

“For me, the school trip was [mean-ingful],” said Spanish teacher Sherry Atkin-son. “To see our SHS students interacting with Andean children from the remote region

of Chincheros is some-thing I will treasure forever.”

Students of Cuper Alto were look-ing forward to the vis-its from the American students.

“They were so exited and for several weeks had been prac-ticing a presentation in our honor,” said Atkinson.

Lansford was very happy with the presentation, and it

touched her emotion-ally.

“Boy was it emo-tional,” said Lansford. “I admit, I was crying, it was so touching,”

The Ameri-can students also got to explore new tastes. The school supplied the students with goat cheese and beans.

Students also got the opportunity to try guinea pig and alpaca during their stay in Peru.

Lansford and Atkinson are very delighted with their students.

“I am very proud of our students, they went above and beyond in their putting together the gift bags,” said Atkinson. “Even more than that, I am so proud of how they conducted themselves at the school and the respect and love they showed to the 70 stu-dents at Cuper Alto.”

Overall the group had an unfor-gettable time in Peru.

“To be privi-leged to such a per-sonal eye view of a life so different from what we know in the United States was an amazing gift,” said Atkinson.

The 70 students at Cuper Alto received a lot of things that they needed. Thanks to the group these Andean children won’t go cold this winter.

PERU: Students visit wonders of Peru for Spanish classes

Junior Levi Bey feeds an alpaca.Junior Levi Bey feeds an alpaca.Junior Levi Bey feeds an alpaca.Junior Aaron Donely uses his film

camera to capture a picture of the

Peruvian landscape.

dents at Cuper Alto.”

Junior Levi Bey feeds an alpaca.

Senora Atkinson takes a picture to capture her good times in Peru.

A Peruvian lady demon-strates one of the many cul-ture aspects to the students.

A small group of students relax and pose for a picture. While the students were sitting, alpacas were free to roam around them.

Every evening the group would go out to eat dinner

at a restaurant in Peru.

Some of the students continued to climb Mount

Machu Picchu while the rest of the students descend-

ed down the mountain.

A group of Spanish 4 and 5 students took a trip to Peru over Spring Break with Senora Atkinson and Senora Lansford. Photos submitted by students who went on the trip

Juniors Jay Carson, Aaron Donely,

and Matt Lansford bond with two

alpacas and two Peruvian boys.