The Vanlue Villager

The Vanlue Villager P rodu ce d by M rs . B ra tt ’ s Me d ia & Comm un i ca t ion s c l a s s

Inside this issue:

Feature Story: Syria 2

Entertainment 3

Sports 5

Senior Spotlights 6

“Paws” for Reflection 8

Pictures 11

“Dear Media…” 14

Fall 2013

Volume 1, Issue 1

Villager Staff

Brandon Hunt:

Feature Writer

Grace Gregory:

Special Events Reporter

Haley Tong:

Sports/Entertainment

Reporter

Troy Ritter:

Entertainment Reporter

The Syrian Civil War At a Glance

Brandon Hunt: Feature Writer

The conflict in Syria has affected many people in the past few years. This conflict was due to the uprising of the people against their government which caused a civil war. Many people believe the war was started in 2000 when Bashar Al-Assad took power after his father died. Some believe that it started in 2005 after the conflict with Lebanon ended. Others believe that it started in 2007 with the Israeli strike, but most believe it started in 2011 with the uprising and protests against Bashar and his government. No matter when it started, there was still a set series of events that happened to trigger the conflict that we have today.

After further investigation, I believe that the crisis started in 2000 when Bashar Al-Assad took office from his father. I believe that his transition into power made the conflict worse. The Israeli strike in 2007 almost ignited a civil war. By 2011, the war was completely inflamed and uncontrollably bar-reling towards United States political involvement, due to the irreversible up-rising of the people against their government. In my opinion none of this con-flict was necessary. According to BBC News, the conflict would have started in June of 2000 when Bashar Al-Assad took over the position of leader of Syria. Later that year, Bashar had started off on a good note when he released approxi-mately 600 political prisoners. The United States had high hopes that Assad would be a better leader than his father based on his actions early on.

The events that took place in 2001 were indicators that Syria may not have been left in the right hands after all. BBC News states that in April of that year, “the Muslim Brotherhood said they would continue activity after twenty years without leaders.” One particular event that was interesting, occurred in May of 2001, when the Pope visited Syria. Many people looked down upon the Pope for this action, while others thought that it was a good idea that the Pope was trying to reach out to countries with high levels of religious conflict.

Continued on page 2...

Between February and April of 2005, the tensions with the United States escalated after the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Hariri in Beirut. Washington says there was Syrian influence in Lebanon. Damascus was urged to withdraw its forces from Lebanon. In October, the interior minister and Syria's for-mer head of intelligence in Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, died in what officials say was a suicide.

In February of 2006, the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus were set on fire during a demonstration against cartoons drawn in a Danish newspaper portraying the Muslim prophet, Muham-mad. Later that September, there was an attack on the U.S. embassy in Damascus. Four gunmen open fire and throw grenades, but failed to detonate a car bomb. Three of them were killed, one was captured. At the end of the year in November, Iraq and Syria restored diplomatic relations after nearly a quarter century.

A large series of events changed how many people viewed the Syrian Civil War. By the end of 2010, many events had taken place to change how many countries would act militarily and politically for the rest of the war. Starting in March of 2011, the protests in Damascus and the southern city of Deraa demanded the release of political prisoners. Security forces killed a number of people in Deraa, triggering days of vio-lent unrest that quickly spread nationwide over the months following. Two months later, the Army tanks entered Deraa, Banyas, Homs and suburbs of Damascus in an effort to stop anti-regime protests. The United States and European Union tightened sanctions. President Assad announced pardons for the political prison-ers actions against Syria. In June, the government said that 120 members of the security forces had been killed by "armed gangs" in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour. Troops attacked the town and more than 10,000 people fled to Turkey. President Assad pledged to start a "national dialogue" on reform. In De-cember, Syria agreed to an Arab League initiative allowing Arab observers into the country. Thousands of protesters gathered in Homs to greet them, but the League suspended its mission in January because of in-creased violence. Twin suicide bombs outside security buildings in Damascus killed forty-four people, the first in a series of large blasts in the the capital that continued into the following summer. Opposition ac-cused the government of staging these and other attacks.

The events that have taken place in 2013 have helped shape our present political and military posi-tions. They also created the current conflicts within our own country, and are still shaping how we handle the situation right now. In April, United States and Britain demanded the investigation of reports of govern-ment forces using chemical weapons. Prime Minister Wael Nader Al-Halqi narrowly escapes death in a bomb attack in the centre of Damascus. The Opposition National Coalition chairman (Moaz al-Khatib) resigned, accusing foreign backers of trying to manipulate the group. Later that month the Rebels said they captured Khan al-Assal, the last major government-held town in the west of the Aleppo Province, after two months of successful government offensives. That August, the rebels and western governments accused pro-Assad forces of using chemical weapons in an attack that killed more than 300 people near Damascus. The Syrian government blamed the rebels. The most recently confirmed event took place in September. The United Nations weapons inspectors concluded that chemical weapons were used in the attack on the Ghouta area of Damascus in August, but do not explicitly allocate responsibility for the attack. President Assad said that Syria accepted a plan drafted by Russia and the United States to put his country's chemical weapons stock under international control, but that it could take a year for the weapons to be destroyed. More infor-mation has been coming in, but none of it has become officially confirmed.

Drake and The Game Give Back

Rappers Drake and The Game recently decided to give back. The rappers heard of a tragic fire in Tif-fin, Ohio, that took the lives of 6 innocent people. The victims were; 5 children and one adult male. The fire broke out early on Septem-

ber 15th, 2013. The mother of the children, Ana Angle, was working at Burger King when all of this occurred. Her manager, Pat Boes had to inform her that her house had burnt down with her family inside and no one

survived. This story broke the hearts of the rappers, be-cause of this the rappers decided to donate twenty-two thousands dollars to Ana Angel to pay for the funerals of her children and boy-

friend.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

October

November

Cartoons

Sports

JH Boys Football Roster

7th Grade

Logan Current

Austin Desgranges

Alexander Dahms

8th Grade

Troy Ward

Caleb Bonham

Treg Price

Jacob Kloepfer

Ricky Reed

J.J. Miller

Trenton Pahl

Braydan Saltzman

Junior High Roster- cheer-

leading

8th Grade

Amanda Clymer

Jordyn Frazier

7th Grade

Bethany Smith

Thank you to everyone who participated in the

Seniors vs. Staff Volleyball game! It was a close

game, but at the end the staff pulled off the

win!!

Congratulations to the High School Volleyball team on a great season. The following are

the games that were won:

8/21 @Lima Perry

9/14 @Bettsville

9/14 @Bettsville Vs. Monclova

10/2 @Van Buren

Shout out to the Vanlue Foot-

ball team this year. They

worked hard to make it a

great season. Also thank you

to everyone who came out on

Friday nights to support them.

Senior

Spotlights

1. What is your favorite movie?

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

3. If you could have any superpower what would it be?

4. What’s your favorite class?

5. What’s your favorite type of food?

6. What do you do in your free time?

7. What’s your favorite singer/band?

8. What are your plans after High school?

9. How long have you been at Vanlue?

10. What’s your advice for the underclassmen?

11. What’s your favorite memory?

How much do you know about the

Class of 2014? Read on to find out!

JACOB COLDREN

1. Hot Tub Time Machine

2. Key West, Florida

3. Mind Control

4. History

5. Clam strips

6. Playing sports, hanging out with friends

7. Avenged Sevenfold

8. Attend West Virginia University of Akron; Major in athletic Coaching

Education

9. Since Kindergarten

10. Don’t get on a teacher’s bad side.

11. When Nick danced to ‘All I Ever Wanted’ in Mr. Boswell’s class.

Troy Ritter 1. Hesher

2. Norway

3. To be invisible

4. English

5. Tacos

6. Playing the drums, listening to music

7. Slayer, Children Of Bodom, Megadeth

8. Workforce


10. Get your work done on time

11. Mr. Boswell

Haley Tong

1. The Notebook

2. France

3. To be invisible

4. Yearbook

5. Italian

6. Listening to music, and hanging out with friends

7. Luke Bryan

8. Ohio State School of Cosmetology


10. Do your work, study hard, and have fun

11. When Courtney fell in Mr. Boswell’s class.

Mariah Reed

1. Inception

2. Ancient Mayan ruins of Machu

3. Telekinesis

4. Science

5. Tie between New York Style Cheesecake and Medium rare

steak.

6. Drawing, singing, playing piano, and writing

7. Indie/alternative rock and electro-swing

8. Plans to go into graphic design or illustration after high school.

9. About 3 months

10. Don’t procrastinate!

Brandon Hunt

1. Corpse Bride

2. Eastern Australia

3. The ability to grant other peoples wishes

4. Media And Communications

5. Subway

6. Reading, listening to music and skateboarding

7. A Day to Remember, Bring Me the Horizon, For All Those Sleeping

8. Aerospace engineering and Florida Institute of technology

9. 6 years

10. Never Procrastinate anything and never be nervous about anything

11. When I watched a couple members of Troy’s band attempt the ‘breathing

challenge.

Weather for OctoberWeather for OctoberWeather for October

SudokuSudoku

Mon 21st Tues 22nd Wed 23rd Thurs 24th Fri 25th

Scattered Showers

High-61°F Low-34°F

Precipitation 50%

Partly Cloudy


Precipitation 10%

Overcast


Precipitation 20%

Overcast


Precipitation 20%

Overcast


Precipitation 20%

Mon 28th Tues 29th Wed 30th Thurs 31st

Partly Cloudy


Precipitation 0%

Overcast


Precipitation 20%

Scattered Showers


Precipitation 70%

Scattered Showers


Precipitation 20%

Easy Medium Very Hard

Paws For Paws For ReflectionReflection New Teachers

Mrs. Wittenbrook - Music Instructor

Mrs. Wittenbrook finished her Masters in Music Education at the Universi-

ty of Akron and taught music for two years before she began teaching mu-

sic and band at Vanlue. Before she began working here, she thought that

it would be an exciting and great opportunity to be able to work with all

the grade levels. When Mrs. Wittenbrook is not teaching or grading, she

likes to relax, run, and play with her dog, Brutus.

Mrs. Johnson—Kindergarten

Before she came to teach kindergarten at Vanlue, Mrs. Johnson taught kin-dergarten at Great Expectations Elementary School in Toledo, Ohio. If she wasn’t a teacher she would be doing something that involves working with children, such as social work, or creating children’s books. Before Mrs. Johnson started working here, she thought that Vanlue would be a great place to teach. After meeting the staff, she could tell Vanlue was going to be a great teaching environment and she couldn’t wait to teach her first class. When she is not teaching, Mrs. Johnson enjoys reading and spending time with her husband and daughter.

Mrs. Russell—Third Grade

Mrs. Russell had many different teaching jobs before she came to teach the third grade here at Vanlue. She was an aide for one year, substituted for one year, taught first grade for one year, and taught second grade for three years. Mrs. Russell has always wanted to be a teacher, so she can’t see her-self doing any other job. She thought that teaching here would be

a lot like teaching at her old school, and after teaching a few days, she decided she was right. When she is not teaching, Mrs. Russell enjoys spending time with her daughter (four months old) and her husband.

Mr. Clark—Junior High

Before becoming the new junior high teacher, Mr. Clark taught at both Xenia and Toledo. As he started his new job here at Vanlue, he thought his experience would turn out to be “truly radical.” If Mr. Clark was not a teacher, he would have wanted to be a police officer. In his free time, he likes to work on around-the-house projects, relax with his family, read, get outdoors, and occasionally play X-box.

Mrs. Sandor—High School

Before Mrs. Sandor became the new high school math teacher at Vanlue, she taught high school math classes at Columbian High School in Tiffin, Ohio. She knew that the classes would be smaller than the ones at Co-lumbian, and when she did start teaching here, she said it really started to feel like she was “home.” She can’t imagine doing anything other than teaching because she feels that teaching is what she’s meant to be doing. When Mrs. Sandor is not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her seven month- old daughter. She also enjoys being out-side as much as possible and traveling to see her extended families.

Homecoming Parade

The homecoming parade was held on Thursday, October 10th. The Vanlue High School Marching Band and many oth-er groups were presented in the parade. After the parade, students went back to the school for the Powderpuff game and the bonfire. At the bonfire, there were games, music, dances, family, and friends. The homecoming court was invited to play

“Chicken on a Hill,” and the winners were Grace Wagner and Chelsea Gerschutz. After the game, seniors, cheerlead-ers, and a few members of the football team performed a dance. The dance was to a va-riety of different songs, and the crowd seemed to really enjoy watching it. This dance was also performed at the pep rally on Friday, October 11th.

Powderpuff After the homecoming parade and bonfire, the powderpuff game took place. For everyone who is not familiar with the game, powderpuff is a football game played by the high school girls. The boys on the football team help coach the girls, referee, and work in the box. This year some of the boys formed a cheerleading

squad. The teams

consisted of Freshmen/

Seniors vs. Sopho-

mores/Juniors. This

year the Sophomores/

Juniors won the

game. Thanks to eve-

ryone who made this

game one to remem-

ber!

Homecoming Court

Crown bearer

and flower girl

Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors

Jonah Peters Cadence Roszman

Garrett Cornette

Grace Wagner

Cole Keeney

Taylor Werner

Austin Smith

Tara Kohl

Jacob Coldren

Nick Hagerty

Devin Hendricks

Heather Gerschutz

Chelsea Gerschutz

Rachel Wiseley

KING AND QUEEN: DEVIN HENDRICKS AND RACHEL WISELEY

NOTES AND REMINDERS

October 25: End Of First Quarter

October 25: FB Vs. Riverside: 7 P.M.

October 28: School Board Meeting: 6 P.M.

October 28: NHS Induction @ Van Buren: 7:30 P.M.

November 1: FB @ Arcadia 7 P.M.

November 5: Athletic Boosters Meeting: 7:30 P.M.

November 6: Winter Sports Pictures/Fall Individual Pic-

tures

November 7: Fall Sports Banquet: 6:30 P.M.

November 8: PTO Quarter Auction: 6 P.M.

November 11: Veterans Day Assembly

November 12: PTO Meeting: 6:30 P.M.

November 13: HS Quiz Bowl @ McComb: 4:30 P.M.

November 22: GBK Vs. Temple Christian: TBA

November 23: GBK Vs. New Riegal: 6 P.M.

November 25: School Board Meeting: 6:30 P.M.

November 25-26: Parent Teacher Meetings

November 26-29: NO SCHOOL: THANKSGIVING

BREAK

November 26: GBK Vs.Hopewell Loudon: 6 P.M.

November 27: GBK Vs. Arlington: 6 P.M.

November 29: BBK @ Delphos Jefferson: 6 P.M.

November 30: BBK @ Kalida: 6 P.M.

December 2: CLASSES RESUME

December 3: Athletic Boosters Meeting: 7:30 P.M.

December 4: HS Quiz Bowl @ Liberty Benton: 4:30 P.M.

December 4: Grades K-2 Winter Program

December 5: GBK @ Pandora Gilboa: 6 P.M.

December 6: BBK Vs. Arcadia: 6 P.M.

December 7: All County Band Auditions @ McComb

December 9: School Board Meeting: 6:30 P.M.

December 10: GBK @ Old Fort: 6 P.M.

December 10: PTO Meeting: 6:30 P.M.

December 11: Grades 4-6 Winter Program: 7 P.M.

December 11-13: Santa Shop For Grades K-5

December 12: GBK Vs. Liberty Benton: 6 P.M.

December 13: BBK @ McComb: 6 P.M.

December 14: BBK @ St. Wendelin: 6 P.M.

December 17: GBK Vs. Calvert: 6 P.M.

December 18: Grades 6-12 Music Department Concert: 7

P.M.

December 19: GBK @ Cory Rawson: 6 P.M.

December 20: Student Council Movie Day

December 21: GBK Vs. Ridgemont: 2:30 P.M.

December 21: BBK @ Lakota: 6 P.M.

December 23-Jan 1: NO SCHOOL - CHRISTMAS BREAK

December 27: BBK @ Carey: 6 P.M.

December 28: GBK @ North Baltimore: 2:30 P.M.

January 2: CLASSES RESUME

Page Designed by: Troy Ritter

DEAR MEDIA,

I have a problem with my boyfriend. I think he's

cheating on me. Should I break up with him?

I think that you should find out if he is

cheating before you make a final decision. If

he is, and you really don't want to be with

him, then don't. If he isn't, then I think you

might be wrong with your judgments.

I really miss the Chicken Fried Steak in the

cafeteria. What happened to it?

I miss the chicken fried steak too, but at

least we still have the cheese quesadilla!

Due to federal guidelines our lunch menus

have changed. This is unfortunate because

somebody else is ultimately determining

what we eat (that is just my opinion,

though). Some people love to eat healthier!

I just broke up with my boyfriend and unfortu-

nately we go to the same school. It is very awk-

ward in the hallways now, what do I do about

this?

If I were you, I would strongly considering

not worrying about it and not letting it get

to you. It is only awkward if you make it

awkward. If you have difficulties not get-

ting it off of your mind, try avoiding eye

contact. If that doesn’t work, you can try

avoiding the person in general. You are

still in high school, you have many years

ahead of you and I wouldn’t worry about

something so minuscule. Live your life and

have fun while you are still young!

Have a question for our Media

team? Submit your question via

Mrs. Bratt’s Moodle page. Click on

the Media & Communications link

to get to the online app. We look

forward to hearing from you!

October Issue: Final Thoughts

We hope you have enjoyed reading the first

issue of The Vanlue Villager! We have been

planning this inaugural issue since the first day

of school and we are so pleased to be able to

bring everyone some great stories and enter-

tainment this month. We would love to hear

your feedback on our first issue regarding things

you liked (and maybe didn’t like). Feel free to

email your comments to [email protected].

Keep an eye out for our next issue which will be

a special edition for the Christmas season. We

ensure our readers it will be a “jolly” good time.

- Mrs. Bratt and the

rest of the “Villager people”

The Vanlue Villager

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