!e OracleNEWS4 Friday, August 31, 2012

New Year Brings New Teachers

Megan MennesMegan Osborn

Suza Sharp

Becky Singley

Jason Karam

Karl Poetzl

Rachel Crain

Juergen Mueller

Beth Cave

Corrin WilcoxDarrell Hill

Warren Murphy

Richard Carroll

Melanie Ratza Towsley

Jamie Denton

Lauren Ewald

Kim Lynch

Tamara Humphrey Jo Arlett

Angelica Parle

Victoria Argeroplos Myrna RombadoRaquel Pomeroy

While some are brand new, oth-

ers are returning after many years. Either way, they will all

be welcome here.

Former student and substitute

Former Journalism teacher

Formerstudent

Former substitute

Photos by: Gil Sanchez, Stephen Martinez, and Ariyan Almassi

Former student

Former student

Former student teacher

New clinic assistant

Richard Graham

!e Oracle OPINIONS 7Friday, August 31, 2012

Staff EditorialStudents try to maintain tradition despite the changes

A few years ago, our school took on the new slogan of “Stratford America”. Build-ing Principal Chris Juntti and the faculty go to great lengths to assure that this school has spirit and brings true mean-ing to Stratford America. However, when a school goes through so many chang-es every year, some people may !nd it hard to be pas-sionate and have school spirit for something that has be-come somewhat unfamiliar. "e meaning of Stratford used to be “tradition of excel-lence,” the key word here be-ing tradition. In recent years, it seems that everything at Stratford has changed. We moved from the AAAAA District to 17-AAAA, and in February we discovered that we would be, yet again, mov-ing districts. "is year, rather than playing Brenham and Waller, we will play schools like Tomball Memorial and Ridgepoint. UIL cannot seem to decide what district we are in, but some students !nd it di#cult to be enthusiastic about playing opponents we haven’t competed against pri-or to this year. Students used to pile into Tully in preparation for the

annual Memorial rivalry game. A sea of red and green would appear with signs, noisemakers, and the simple excitement to watch a good rivalry take place. It took years to develop the strong rivalry that we had with Memorial High School. "at rivalry has, to some, become just another regular opponent. Although we still play Me-morial at the be-g inning of each s c h o o l y e a r , f e w e r p e o p l e take part in the school pride. Whether we win or lose is just that: a win or a loss. "is should not be the case. We should still have enor-mous amounts of pride to-wards playing our long-term rival, whether the game is !rst or last in the season. No matter what district we are in, the rivalry between Stratford and Memorial will always be strong and exciting. In addition to the constant changes in UIL activities,

Stratford America is mod-ernizing everything from its classrooms to its principles. Textbooks turn into iPads, books become Kindles, and the school song becomes a fa-mous lip dub. "ese additions of new ap-pliances to our classrooms are all in order to match the district’s new motto of being “technology friendly.” It is not

a matter of these changes b e i n g “ g o o d ” or “bad.” T h e question is: do all of these s u d d e n

changes take away from the school spirit that used to be so strong? With the new construction of the cafeteria, even our walls are changing. "e seniors will enter a cafeteria that, a$er 3 years of familiarity, is foreign to them. "e freshmen won’t know anything di%erent. "ese changes seem like they are insigni!cant, but when you add up a ton of little changes, they become big ones. "e bells, the design

of the front of the school, and our new logo are all examples are little changes that can add up to be monumental. When the school required construction due to safety is-sues in 2004, the entire school was relocated to Westchester. It doesn’t get more unfamil-iar than that, yet the students and faculty still maintained their spartan pride. If they could maintain their pride throughout the most drastic change possible, shouldn’t we be able to despite a few simple ones? Stratford should attempt to maintain some of the tra-ditions that it has spent so many years upholding. De-spite the changes that have already occurred, students should attempt to maintain their school spirit and pride whenever they support our Spartans. One of the best things about Stratford America is the school spirit that !lls these halls. "e motto has always been “Spartan pride never dies.” If that spirit goes away, students will forget what it really means to be a Spartan. No matter how many things change, we will always be Stratford America.

Newspaper Sta! Editors-in-Chief Sara Boyle Caitlin Hilton Samatha Hicks News Editors Samantha Vargas Samantha Vanston Hannah Bevers Muse Editors Chandler Callahan Layla Shahosseini Kali Venable Sports Editors Alex Newton Elaine Parizot Elyse Steiber Opinions Editors Michelle Evans Lydia Sweet Esther Jeon Reporters Andres Acosta Dua Mazhar Aldo Martinez

Photo Editors Katie Gregory Stephen Martinez Katherine Kennedy Photographers Caroline Demeris Gil Sanchez Mary Elizabeth Schnake Emily Copeland Sarah Sturgis Will Klussman Allison Rice Maggie Vickers Harper Jones Bonnie Slattery

OTHE RACLE

"e Oracle is a newspaper published every three weeks by the Journalism Department of Stratford High School, 14555 Fern, Houston, Texas 77079, 713-251-3454. Member of Columbia Scholastic Journalism Association, National Scholastic Journalism Association, Texas Association of Journalism Educators, and Interscholastic League Press Conference. "e Oracle is open to all and any contributions submitted by the readers. Any material can be submitted by e-mail to thestratfordoracle@gmail.com, brought in person to room 120, or placed in Janice Cummons’ mailbox. "e editorial board reserves the right to determine whether the submitted material will be published depending on the available space. "e submitted material may also be edited to remove libelous or defamatory statements. Any material that is submitted must be typewritten and accompanied with the writer’s full name and grade. "e opinions expressed are those of the individual writer and do not necessarily re&ect the views of the editors, the sta%, the administration, or the school district. "e Oracle sta% strives to produce a newspaper that covers the entire Strat-ford community. "ey welcome freelance submissions and are eager to hear from their readers regarding story and photo opportunities.

“..."e rivalry between Stratford and Memorial will always be strong and

exciting.

Meet the Editors

Caitlin is a senior, a track star, a Girl Scout, an optical illu-sionist and a member of Mod-el United Nations. She can be found burning ants with a magnifying glass on the side-walk. Pretty normal, right?

Caitlin HiltonSara is a senior who, when not in the newspaper room, can be seen at Raising Cane’s or Blue Willow Bookshop. She would like to give a shout out to Princess and YoYo: the best cats of all time.

Sara BoyleSamantha is a senior who par-ticipates in cheerleading at Texas Lone Star, manages the coffee shop at the Guthrie Cen-ter, and is co-captain for Strat-ford cheer. In her free time, she has a passion for babysitting.

Samantha Hicks

Next issue, look for their personal columns in the Muse, News and Opin-

ions sections

Ads Editor Mary Margaret Weaver Ads Sta! Emily Brown Jacob Cribbs Kendall Marbach Jacob Pennington Katherine Mavergeorge Design Sta! Claire Galbraith Caroline Suchman Harrison Vaporciyan Sta! Artists Molly Richter Claire Pena Online Sta! Online Editors Janelle Blackwood Isabel Deakins Samantha Stazo Online Photography Editors Jackie Mask Ariyan Almassi Online Photographers Elizabeth Pocevic Mark Co%man Daniel Cunningham Michael Martin Claire Pena Rebecca Williams Online Reporters Jackie Velarde Faith Figueroa Building Principal Christopher Juntti Advisor Janice Cummons