SENTINELC E N T R E V I L L E H I G H S C H O O L

October 3, 2012, volume 22, issue 2

Every October, CVHS dedi-cates one night to shining and shimmering. It’s called the Homecoming Dance. Students brainstorm ways to ask out dates (which dates graciously accept), get dressed up, and send out flurries of last minute texts. It’s the weekend that students can get excited for, a break from the square, white- walled classrooms.

Of course, hundreds of kids having homecoming fun can mean only one thing: Memories. Ranging from fun, but semi-awk-ward dance circles to poor taste

Homecoming: The Best and the Worstin music, many students share that “oh, I remember that night” moment.

Some students experience minor hiccups even before the big event. Senior Matthew Rice remembers being the time he al-most ruined senior Connor Cril-ly’s plans for a romantic home-coming proposal. “He was asking his girlfriend out with a car that said homecoming, and I pulled up at the wrong time twice,” said Rice.

Then there’s the strange be-havior high schoolers often ex-hibit that can lead to embarrass-ment. “Every girl has their shoes

off after five minutes. So I slipped in water that was on the tarp on the gym floor, and face-planted on my boyfriend’s back,” recalled junior Fallon Ramos.

On the other hand, a lot of stu-dents have more positive memo-ries. “I had a lot of fun dancing with friends, and a picture of us ended up in the yearbook,” said Gabby Dagata (12). Senior Sa-meen Siddique remembered a classic homecoming-night plan: “I hung out with friends, and went to IHOP after.” Also hit-ting IHOP after the dance, junior Maureen Thoensen went through great lengths to join in the fun.

By: Brenda Nguonly

“Girls can’t do that.” Most girls hear this when they

attempt to compete with boys or participate in a predominantly male sport, event, or activity. However, one very bright girl has changed those standards and de-fined them in her own way.

Nastasia Tiangco, a freshman girl who is popular among her friends for being outgoing, funny, and very caring seems like every other girl at Centreville High School. The thing that people find shocking about Tiangco is that she is a member of the freshman football team.

“I wanted to be different. I was hoping to try something new this school year than my regular rou-tine of school, homework, soccer, sleep. I’ve played soccer my whole life and thought football would be fun and keep me in great shape for the high school season!”

Tiangco chose to be the kicker of the freshman football feam in January 2011. Her 8th grade gym teacher and the Head Coach of the team, Brian Scherer, ap-proached her to see if she would like to join the team. Her deci-

sion to join the squad meant she would have to work very hard in the coming months in prepara-tion for the fall season.

Tiangco participated in every aspect of the preseason just as the boys did. She had workouts at Liberty Middle School every day after school where she had to lift weights, run miles, strength and agility exercises, and practice plays. Now that the season has started she has realized it has be-come progressively easier for her to keep up with the boys; some-times she even leads in warm up runs.

But how does Tiangco get ready for games and practices, listen to team talks, considering everything is in the boys locker room? Tiangco is let into the girls’ locker room every day af-ter school to change for practice where she puts on her pads, gets pumped for games, and sits. All by herself.

Tiangco says it gets very lonely in the locker room before games and she has to get ready for the game by listening to music or by just simply relaxing, whereas the boys can feed off each other’s en-ergy and listen to pump-up music

Girls Kick GrassBy: Katie Blumer

As the team warms up for the 2nd half of the Centreville-Herndon game, Natasia Tiangco practices for the next field goal opportunity.

together. “I have to come into the boys

locker room for talks before games, during halftime, and after games. I have gotten used to the stench and hygiene of the football players by now,” Tiangco said.

Being called the “water girl” by opposing players is very common when Tiangco comes on the field to kick a field goal or at the end of the game when players must shake hands. According to Tiang-co, “The boys make fun of me but it’s just like any other one of my teammates on any of my other girl’s teams. You get used to it and learn not to be bothered by it.”

The many second glances by players, coaches, and even parents encourages Tiangco to get better and makes her feel privileged to be playing football.

So far, Tiangco says playing for the Wildcats has been a great experience. She truly appreciates the help and advice of her peers, teammates, coaches, friends, and family, and hopes to make them proud this season.

“I think I am finally a part of the football brotherhood, or sisterhood as I like to say,” said Tiangco.

Natasia Tiangco practices field goal kicks with Coach Cam Culp during halftime.

Thoensen said, “We had to cram everyone in one van. But it was fun. They should play a variety of music, but the lights were cool.”

High school is about mak-ing memories, whether it’s at the dances, on the fields, courts, or classes. And another perfect op-portunity is at this year’s Home-coming Dance, on Saturday, Oc-tober 20 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. The theme is Night in the Islands, so go crazy with the tropical colors (that super bright outfit you’ve always wanted to wear in public). Tickets will be sold for $20 during lunch in the cafeteria from October 15-19.

Natasia Tiangco talks with a teammate Hunar Berzangi during the 2nd half of the game on September 20.

Natasia Tiangco listens with the team as Coach Gordon Person celebrates after the team’s 14-7 win over Herndon High School.

Michael Bollman

Michael Bollman

Shine Kang

Chris Kervina

Page 2: Blackboard Cville clubs Page 3: The PSAT Page 4: Senior presidential polls Page 5: Cabaret Page 6: Online textbooks Crowded halls Students & media Page 7: Dance Team Volleyball Page 8: New varsity foot- ball players

In This Issue

News/Analysis2 October 3, 2012

Layout Editors: Erin Shin,

Stephanie Wiggins Staff Writers:Katie Blumer,

Michael Bollman, Nathanael Kim, Soo Lim,

Brenda Nguonly, Erin Shin, Stephanie Wiggins

Adviser: Chris KervinaQuestions?

CVHSnews@gmail.com

Editors-in-Chief:Michael Bollman

Soo Lim

Business &Advertising Manager:

Michael Bollman

Section Editors: Brenda Nguonly (News)

Stephanie Wiggins (Feature)Erin Shin (Op-Ed)

Katie Blumer (Sports)

2012-2013 STAFFThe Sentinel, a student written and

edited publication of Centreville High School, serves the CVHS community. We accept all advertising relevant to the students, parents, and CVHS staff. We reserve the right to decline any advertising deemed in violation of the Students Rights and Responsibilities or inappropriate for a school setting. All comments or complaints should be addressed to the editorial staff.

Prospective advertisers should contact the Business and Advertising Manager at cvhsnews@gmail.com for rates and deadlines.

The objective of The Sentinel’s Staff is to provide a student forum where information is provided and voices can be heard. Our mission is to provide the student body of Centreville High School an honest and accurate paper produced by the students, for the students.

Our editorials represent the opinions of The Sentinel’s editors and always promote the opportu-nity for critique and response. Our opinion pieces reflect the view of the writer and the writer only,

and are not printed to offend. This is a publication that maintains high standards and proper ethical conduct, per the guidelines of pro-fesssional and scholastic journalism organizations.

All letters to the editor must be typed and signed. They can be dropped off at room 116 or in the main office in Mrs. Kervina’s mail-box. We reserve the right to edit the responses for length, grammatical correctness, and spelling.

Advertising PolicyEditorial Policy

By: Michael Bollman

In a perfect world a teacher would find his or herself obligated to establish a regular rhythm of Blackboard updating. But as close as Centreville High School is to a perfect world, it falls short. Black-board is a website devoted to ef-ficient communication of assign-ments from teacher to student, but are teachers at Centreville High School using it thoroughly enough for its purpose to be ful-filled in school and at home?

Students are given individu-ally tailored Blackboard accounts at the beginning of each school year. Each account has a link to the class blackboard page of each particular teacher he or she has that year. Teachers have the ability to update these listed class pages with information relating to the classes.

Currently, FCPS requires teachers to post their @fcps.edu email address and a syllabus sum-

marizing their class. As useful as this information may be, this minimum requirement does not help studnets electronically track their assignments from home. The optional status of Blackboard undermines its intended use, and there are still many teachers who leave their class pages as barren as they are allowed.

This is not to say that an alarmingly large number of teach-ers do not use Blackboard. Most teachers make efforts to regularly update their pages with detailed calendars on upcoming assign-ments, class plans, and dated homework assignments complete with download links.

John O’Rourke, an AP United States History teacher, is one of those taking it upon himself to give his students the gift of a de-pendable and in-depth Black-board experience. He keeps his Blackboard page updated with calendars showing when assign-

Getting Teachers Back in Black...boardments are due and the dates of tests and quizzes.

Should the school raise the requirements in terms of teach-er Blackboard use to meet an O’Rourke-esque level? Would grades rise? Would teacher, stu-dent, and parental stress all de-cline?

Perhaps. Students might agree that teachers should be forced to keep their Blackboards perfect on pain of death, but is it really right to put that strain on teachers, would it even be fair?

Many teachers do what Mr. O’Rourke does; they make an honest effort to dependably and accurately fill out their Black-boards on a daily basis. As he ad-mits himself, “It’s good, but it’s not perfect.”

It’s okay Mr. O’Rourke, we only ask that you try.

Centreville’s Cornucopia of Clubs:

A new year of school has started, and so has a new year of student ac-tivities. One of Centreville’s proudest features is a diverse list of clubs, orga-nizations, and meet-ups, all organized by students wishing to share their in-terests and passions with one another. Faculty sponsors support clubs by pro-viding advice and meeting space.

• On page 2 of the Summer Special Issue, there was a slight mistakae in a photo caption for the article “Obama Gives Centreville Vote of Confidence.” The photo in question depicted a woman holding up a sign about Obamacare. The caption described the woman as an “Obama Supporter” when in fact; the woman was actually protesting against Obama’s health care initiative.

• On page 4 of the Summer Special Issue, the Football Update gave scrimmage scores when in actuality, scrimmage scores were never to be released at all.

Sentinel Corrections:

By: Michael Bollman

This table lists the sponsors and meeting locations of currently active clubs as of September 21. Jimmy Sanabria, Director of Student Activities, provided this information.

There’s Always Something Going on!

The Sentinel is committed to correcting errors found in our publication. To contact the newspaper for that purpose, email CVHSnews@gmail.com or submit a signed letter via Mrs. Kervina’s mailbox in the main office.

Clubs are available for students in-terested in a variety of activities: from learning more about colleges and the application process to playing in a lo-cal ice hockey league. There’s even a club for meeting with fellow students to play the Ukulele.

The possibilities don’t end there; if you have a school-appropriate idea and

are willing to fill out a club constitution and find a willing teacher sponsor, you can create your own club.

So scan through the list, pick a club, and meet some new friends while you do what you love.

Organization Location Sponsor(s)Muslim Student Association 301 or 302 Maliha Malik, David BausmanGay-Straight Alliance TBD Patti WelchFellowship of Christian Athletes 110B Karla Yocum GIS Club 118 Tish McKinstryCollege Partnership Program Career Center Nancy Schneider, David Bausman, Sinitra DeHavenFBLA TBD Brian BuserFrench Club 238 Jeanne KabulisKorean Club TBD Jean NoIce Hockey Club Mod 19 Cathy RuffingModel Judiciary Team Mod 19 Cathy RuffingIt’s Academic 240 David CampbellAnimal Welfare Club 204 Heather ScottJunior Math Team TBD Megan McCarthy, Eric Post , Steve MossholderKey Club TBD Jessica WallaceLiterary Magazine 213 or 116 Chris KervinaEbony Heritage Club 215 Sharon Duncan-Hudspeth, Paula SharperStep Team TBD Amanda Dorr, Tony Christ, Robert CelentanoBest Buddies 109 Vicki Hudson, Sarah PevnerChess Club Quad 4 Steve MossholderUkulele Club TBD Dawn BarhamModel United Nations 228 Jackie Kuntz

News/AnalysisOctober 3, 2012 3

Every year on October 17th, the freshman, sophomores, and juniors of Centreville High School are subjected to the Practice Stu-dent Aptitude Test, or the PSAT. The test is designed to give stu-dents across the country a good idea of what score they would achieve on the all-important SAT, a vital piece of any college appli-cation. The test is offered at Cen-treville High school to prepare students for the SAT. The SAT ad-heres to the old proverb, practice makes perfect, and administra-tors believe that students should be given every opportunity to succeed on the big test.

“The PSAT is offered to give students an opportunity to famil-iarize themselves with the test, to become more comfortable with it,” said CVHS Director of Stu-dent Services, David Paginin. “The more run-throughs, the more comfortable the student will be on the actual test.”

The test is offered free to all students in grades 9-11, but a $14 fee is charged for freshmen and juniors wishing to receive their scores. When the $14 fee is paid, College Board scores and returns a student’s test so the student can determine which categories they need to improve on. This feature is just another way student suc-cess is ensured.

The administration of Cen-treville has spared no expense ensuring the students’ success on the test, paying for the sopho-mores’ $14 fee, and buying a sub-scription to an advanced prep program. The SAT prep software is called the “Method Prep Pro-gram” and is offered for free on students’ individual blackboard accounts. The program runs stu-dents through hundreds of hours of review material, video lectures,

section practices, and even full practice versions of the SAT. The program isn’t well known by stu-dents, but administrators have made it a goal in the 2012-2013 school year to increase awareness of the comprehensive program.

Not only is the PSAT impor-tant for getting into college, but also for earning valuable schol-arships for college. Colleges and various foundations have access to the score information coming in from all PSAT-participating scores, and often make offers of scholarships and invite stud-nets to participate in academic programs and partnerships. The PSATs are a good way to discover which students are deserving of rewards for the organizations of-fering them. This reward system gives students an incentive to try as hard as they can on the PSAT, bringing them the most benefit due to both the monetary rewards and the test’s usefulness as an SAT practice.

A main concern of students in past years is the accuracy of the PSAT as a benchmark for the ac-tual SAT. The administrators and the company offering the PSAT, CollegeBoard, have both empha-sized the incredible accuracy of the test.

David Paganin put all con-cerns to rest, explaining, “Stu-dents throughout the years the PSAT has been offered at Cen-treville have acknowledged the test’s usefulness as an indicator for the SAT.”

The SAT is recognized by the school administration as the most important test in high school, and Centreville has made sure with the PSAT and free prep programs that students will achieve the highest scores possible.

The PSAT: Skyrocketing Your SAT ScoreBy: Michael Bollman

The first month of school has already eclipsed for the 2012-2013 school year, and as Septem-ber comes to a close, October brings new opportunities and events for Centreville students. While the Homecoming football game and the dance remain the highlights of the October month, the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is one important event that has been largely overlooked by students in general. However, because students usually take the test for granted, they are in danger of missing out on some crucial opportunities for their education.

Unfortunately, a lot of students at Centreville take this exam for granted and are mostly unaware of the benefits the test gives. In Fairfax County, all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are required to take the exam each year, at no cost at all. In most school districts in other states, the test is optional and requires a fee to take. Also, Fairfax County actually pays for sophomores to receive their scores, which is unheard of in

other states. That being said, it seems that most students take the test as a minor annoyance to an otherwise perfect shortened school day. If students were re-quired to pay to actually take the exam, they would most likely put greater effort into it. While re-quiring a fee to take the test and making it optional may alienate many test takers, it will inspire those who genuinely care about the exam to achieve high marks.

Additionally, the test is actu-ally a competition for a scholar-ship, the National Merit Scholar-ship. Juniors who take the exam and receive a high score may be eligible to receive that scholar-ship and become semifinalists. The selected semifinalists then submit an application to become a finalist. The National Merit Scholarship finalists then receive a monetary award of $2500. This scholarship is extremely presti-gious and difficult to attain, but it still remains an excellent incen-tive for students to make a strong effort on the exam.

Besides the National Merit Scholarship, the exam serves as an excellent marker of where students stand on their SAT score.

The PSAT: The Test That No One Seems To Care About

Nathanael Kim Taking the PSAT sophomore year,

does give students good indica-tion of their status academically in the areas of writing, reading, and math.

With this new information in mind, students can improve in the needed areas and thus gain preparation for the more impor-tant exam, the SAT. While some students may decide to take the ACT instead of the SAT, the two tests are similar enough so that the PSAT still can serve as sub-stantial practice for the ACT.

The bottom line is, students (underclassmen especially) need to take the PSAT seriously. The exam serves as excellent prac-tice for both the SAT and ACT, the exam itself is free of charge (except for freshmen and juniors, who have to pay to get their scores), and those who score well are in contention for receiving a two thousand five hundred dollar scholarship. What’s the point of not making a good effort on the exam if so many benefits exist? If students are genuinely concerned about SAT preparation and gain-ing entrance into a college, then making an effort to excel on the PSAT is a superb way to start.

Courtesy of CollegeView

Courtesy of Method Test Prep

Courtesy of Stock.Xchng

Courtesy of ww

w.cukh.edu

Left: The Official SAT Stud Guide, the widely-recognized benchmark for SAT preperation. Right: Method Test Prep, the SAT prep program offered for free on Centreville student Blackboard accounts.

Feature/Analysis4 October 3, 2012

The clock is ticking, time is running out, and the entire planet awaits, for the 2012 US Presiden-tial Elections are coming in just a month! Incumbent Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney are in a heated race to attain the highest position of power in America.

Many issues surround this par-ticular election, many of which pertain to younger voters and the next generation of Americans. Educational, social, and economic issues will impact high school stu-dents as they transition on towards the next steps of their lives as US residents. Thus, in a recent survey, Centreville High School Seniors pitched in their opinions about the upcoming election, the candidates, and the issues.

The results of the survey re-vealed some striking trends. In general, Centreville Seniors tend to favor liberal ideologies. About two-thirds of seniors would vote for Barack Obama if they could vote this year. Only one-fifth of se-niors said the same for Mitt Rom-ney. Moreover, regardless of any political preference of any kind, sixty percent of seniors think that Obama will win the state of Vir-ginia, and over eighty percent of seniors think Obama will win the 2012 US Presidential election.

In terms of political ideology, about a third of the seniors identify themselves as liberal, whereas only fourteen percent of seniors iden-tify themselves as conservative. However, most seniors currently identify themselves as moderates, meaning that they don’t favor one political ideology over the other.

Regardless of ideology, most se-niors still would support and vote for Barack Obama as a candidate. A large reason for this is that Mitt Romney has done a lackluster job in appealing to younger voters, whereas Obama appeals to the

younger generation with his mes-sage of change and progress.

In terms of issues, the trend still remained. Seniors professed to support Obama’s positions on most issues more than that of any other candidate. For example, in terms of social issues (gay marriage, abor-tion, illegal immigration), 35% of seniors supported Obama’s posi-tion over any other candidate. On the flip side, only 12% of seniors supported Mitt Romney’s position on social issues. Once again, so-cially, most seniors are more liberal than conservative. However, a large number of seniors are unaware of these issues.

In the survey, approximately 42% of seniors on average pro-fessed to not know enough about issues to decide who they actually support. Sadly, many young voters are oblivious to the complex issues of the presidential election, and as issues become more and more complex, it will be increasingly dif-ficult for younger voters to make an educated decision on which candi-date to vote for. In an age where information can be easily traced online, it is alarming that so many young voters simply don’t know enough about the major concerns the presidential election holds.

Although the majority of Cen-treville seniors will be unable to take part in the upcoming election, their input is still valuable in that it gives a preliminary snapshot of the political trends and opinions of the next generation of US voters. These seniors will have the great power of selecting the few to lead America into the future. It is vital for high school students to educate them-selves about the issues that face America today, in order for them to choose the best people to guide our nation.

Note: The survey in question was given to four Government classes. The sample size was approximately 100-120 students.

2012 US Presidential Election Update: Centreville Seniors Offer Opinion on CandidatesBY: NATHANAEL KIM

1. If you were eligible to vote this year, who would you vote for?

2. Regardless of your own opinions towards each candi-date, who do you think will win the state of Virginia?

3. Which political ideology do you associate yourself with?

4. Regardless of your own opinions towards each candi-date, who do you think will become the 2012 US Presi-dent?

Obama (69%)

Romney (22%)

Goode (2%)Johnson (4%) Stein (3%)

Obama (60%)

Romney (35%)

Goode (2%) Stein (3%)

Liberal (33%)

Conservative (14%)Moderate (40%)

Other (13%)Stein (2%)Johnson (1%)

Romney (15%)

Obama (82%)

Senior Opinion Polls Reveal Slice of Centreville Politics

EntertainmentOctober 3, 2012 5

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Our High School MusicalBy: Brenda Nguonly

Binta Berry (12) rehearses a scene in her role as Sally Bowles. Bree Verrill (10) reads her lines in as Fraulein Schneider.

Binta Barry (12) and Josh Ewalt (10) laugh between scenes.

Bree Verrill (10) and Josh Ewalt (10) react to Maddie Helms (11) as they play their parts.

Maddie Helms (11) and Emilio Canals (10) stand as they wait for their lines.

Bree Verrill (10) and Josh Ewalt (10) read their lines in a September rehearsal for the Cabaret.

Yes, we’re having a musical. You know, like that one Zac Efron was in. Ok, well, this one isn’t quite the same.

The Theatre Centreville will soon delight us with their lat-est project, Cabaret. The musical draws from Christopher Isher-wood’s short novel Goodbye to Berlin (1939). This novel was later adapted to John Van Druten’s play I Am A Camera (1951). It debuted out on Broadway in 1966 and was an instant hit. Since, it has enjoyed several Broadway and London re-vivals. and was made into a a film in 1972.

Just like it was a hit with the Broadway-goers of the 1960s, Mr. Hudson and his theatre students are sure our school will too. After all, all those remakes and adap-tions must mean a great story right?

Cabaret is set in a terrified Na-zi-taken Germany in the 1930s. It revolves around the quick love

19-year-old cabaret singer Sally Bowles shares with American writer Clifford Bradshaw. Look-ing for inspiration, Cliff goes to Berlin, where he meets Sally in the sleazy Kit Kat Club.

Amidst Sally and Cliff ’s grow-ing love, the situation in Germany grows worse. One subplot involves their landlord Fraulein Schneider, who becomes engaged to Jewish grocer, Herr Schultz. Taking in ac-count a growingly hostile Nazi re-gime (the dangers Jews faced), this was a major decision.

The cast and crew of Cabaret have been rehersing since school started in both the theater and the Atrium (didn’t you wonder what all that tape on the floor was for?). Theatre Centreville will premiere Cabaret in the Roy A. “Skip” Mad-den Theater on November 19.

Share the experience with Cliff and Sally and keep reading our pa-per for more updates!

Nick Dell’OmoNick Dell’Omo

Nick Dell’OmoNick Dell’Omo

Nick Dell’Omo

OP-ED6 October 3, 2012

There is nothing more agitat-ing and exhausting than the trek through the hallways and stairs at Centreville High School. Packed with students standing shoulder to shoulder, the main stair case is almost impossible to get through, with the exception of huge foot-ball players who tend to be fol-lowed as they push and make a path for those who fail to get through without getting crushed.

These crowds pose problems for students’ attendance. “It makes me late to class. It’s frustrating,” said Maha Khalid (12). “I already have two tardies because of it,” Sean Park (12) stated. Attendance is obviously a big problem. Get-ting through that sea of people takes quite a bit of time.

Now, why does this even hap-pen? “I hate people who just stand in the hallway,” said Livian Le (11). There are groups of stu-dents who decide to stand right by the main stairs to chit chat for a bit which adds to the slow traf-

fic. Why stand in the middle of the pushing crowd when there’s so much room elsewhere on the floor? Eliminating the number of people who just stand by the stairs would make traffic move smoother.

“People need to learn about the back hallways,” added Laura Foronda (12). Teachers and staff have reminded students count-less times to use the back hall stairways. So why are barely any students using them? “Students don’t know which hallways their classes are in,” said Maha Kha-lid (12). Students find it easier to take the main stairs and then figure out from there where their next class is located. Taking the main stairs has also probably be-come a habit for most students and is more familiar to them than the back hallway stairs.

Safety issues come into play as well. Students are pushing and shoving their ways through the crowd. Some students get pushed so close to the edge of the

Online textbooks. Where does one even begin to describe online textbooks?

“I hate them so much,” said Esther Yoo (12). “They suck. They’re hard to use,” said Jessie Summers (9). “They’re complicated,” said Michael Daniel (9).

Online textbooks have received an overwhelming negative response. Sure, they conserve paper but how much do they benefit students? Many students seem to prefer hardcover textbooks over online textbooks, so shouldn’t the students’ preferences for studying and doing homework be considered?

Online textbooks require students to have access to computers and register an ID and password. Logging on opens up another screen to the student’s online textbook.

Accessibility was a problem in some classes. The majority of a math class could not open the online textbook due to subscription issues (not enough textbook subscriptions were made). Others have problems accessing it because

floor that they could fall over the wall. Pushing and shoving near the stairs could cause students to trip over people or fall down the stairs. Crutches would only fur-ther contribute to the crowd and tripping students.

A solution to this hallway fren-zy isn’t easy to come up with. How does anyone control 2400 people, teenage students at that, fighting to get through the same place? “I always use the back hallway, be-cause I’m smart,” Ryan Kim (11) said confidently. This seems to be the only plausible solution. Of course, this will only work if stu-dents actually use the back hall-ways. And reading about it most likely won’t make people change their ways. But, once again, it is strongly advised to use the back hallway stairs and it is also sug-gested that students don’t just stand in the middle of the hall-way. Move those feet!

We do it all the time. We take it for granted, but the majority of us use media, especially social media, incessantly. Whether it’s a quick behind the desk text to a friend (or your mom), or adding last minute details to your research project five minutes to midnight, it’s always there. However, the question is how much is too much? Doesn’t it all just distract us? All those tumblr or facebook visits that were only supposed to be five minutes that somehow, evolved into an hour? After that hour has passed, we experience these feelings of guilt and worry, because the work is

Two’s Company, 2400’s a Crowd By: Erin Shin

of slow internet connection or because of power outages from recent storms. Students without computers at home have to find ways to access computers all of the time to use textbooks from most of their classes. So, not only are

Textbooks Without the Books? Shouldn’t Students Have a Choice?By: Erin Shin

online textbooks time consuming, but are also inconvenient and inaccessible at times.

They also seem to fuel a bit (or a lot) of procrastination as well. “You can’t concentrate on your work,” Remi James (10) said.

An online textbook obviously requires a computer. And what else is on the computer? The internet: a major source of procrastination. It’s tempting to open up Facebook and YouTube while using online textbooks.

This, of course, is a matter of self-control but nevertheless the easy availability tempts students to stray from their work.

“They (online textbooks) hurt my eyes,” said Bianca Byrd (12), “But they’re convenient because you can’t lose them”. Not having the option of losing a textbook is an up-side to the notorious online textbooks. Students who fail to turn in their textbooks at the end of the year are required to pay a debt; something students won’t have to worry about.

“That’s a terrible idea,” Alexandra Frigerio (12) stated about online textbooks, “I learn better with a paper textbook”. “I can’t understand them. What happened to old-fashioned textbooks?” Kristen Anderson (10) asked. This agreed upon preference for hardback textbooks makes the change to online textbooks seem illogical.

Hardcover textbooks should be an option for all students. But more importantly, both online and hardcover textbooks should be available to accommodate the preference of each individual student.

Student and Social Media: Frenemies?By: Brenda Nguonly still not done. Does the scale of

pros and cons even out?“I spend too much time on

the internet, it lowers my grades,” said Jennifer Andino Cruz (9). Senior Madison Hoffpauir agrees, “It brings grades down, because you’re more focused on that (internet) than your work.”

Not only does the internet and texting distract us, but they can even lead to false information ending up on our latest history report. Teachers have been warning us about Wikipedia since what seems like forever, yet Wikipedia seems to know everything. Along with distractions and terrible sources of information, social media

makes us to be too dependent on friends to text us the homework directions, or not having to pay attention to the lectures (because we can always look it up later). Even though it seems like the cons are pulling a lot of weight, we still can’t seem to stop.

Maybe, just maybe there’s a bright side to all this. As students, we are responsible not only for completing the large work load, but to ensuring its quality too (sad right?). All these forms of social media help us with that quality portion. “I get pretty good grades, so they help me more than they distract me,” said Kara Waddell (10). History and English reign as favorites among students for

online research, including senior Jay Warajuntano. “I use the internet all the time for history,” he said. In a more positive light, it seems like social media does have some value in our lives. “Social media is how we communicate now. A lot of us can’t live without it,” said Alexandra Frigerio (12). If the information we look up, hear, or watch is accurate, then the lessons we learn in school have a better chance of being absorbed. These outlets allow for reinforcement.

“It’s a negative thing, but it’s about self-control,” said Jessie Healy. Self control is hard to master. It’s so hard, that in fact you’re using a form of media

right now reading this newspaper. But it’s a school newspaper. So that’s a good thing right? Yes, but it just proves all media, not just the internet, is unavoidable. Although the internet is most popular amongst students, all forms of media circle around us every day. It has become so deeply embedded in us, that official verbs like “google” and “tweet” appear in our every day conversation.

So does it really matter if media is a “good” or “bad” thing? This is the same media that provides us with information (true or false) but also distracts us. Who’s to decide? We make the best of it. No matter what the general opinion is, it’ll always be there.

Connect ED is the site used by Centreville High School’s students to access many of their textbooks. Logging in leads to a vir-tual book identical to the hardback book.

The entrance of the second floor main stairway crowds with students before every period.

Maryn Wood

SportsOctober 3, 2012 7

Led by captains Amanda White (12), Gabby Woods (11), and Sarah Freitag (11), the dance team has made a huge step to-wards becom-ing a better team this year.

“We im-proved a lot and we have become more confident in our team and ourselves,” said Sarah Beth Se-idel (11).

New coach, Katie Betson, has improved on the team’s cho-reography and dancing. Coach Betson previ-ously danced at George Mason for four years. The dance team has a short bud-get, but Betson has been work-ing very hard to get the team what they desire such as new uni-forms.

“I love our new coach. She is the best coach we’ve ever had because she has had a lot of expe-rience and can relate to us,” said Gabby Woods (11).

The team will be entering heir first competition at George Ma-son in February (exact date TBD). They will be performing a pom style dance at the competition, which is a regular dance routine

with the use of pom poms. “I believe that we will do pretty

well as long as our team works hard and puts a lot of effort into practicing,” said Gabby Woods (11).

Practicing only twice a week and on Fridays for home games, the team has just enough time to learn a new routine each week. The dance team takes the field for the half time show right after the marching band.

“We put in a lot of effort and it pays off on the field,” said Gabby Woods (11).

Dance Team Takes on CompetitionThis year, the dance team has

been learning new dance routines each week so that they don’t re-peat the same choreography every home game. The team performs a variety of dances such as jazz and

pom. “It is very difficult, and most people don’t see how hard we work,” said Sarah Beth Seidel (11).

The dance team will also be performing during boy’s basketball games on Friday nights this winter. This will be a new, additional enter-tainment show for the audience during half time games. The team will be extend-ing their season from fall to win-ter and continue to practice.

“We have only done it one time so it should be a fun expe-rience for the team,” said Gab-by Woods (11).

The CVHS Dance team continues to improve and strives to earn a winning spot at the competition. They hopes to meet their goals, have an out-standing performence, and build upon their reputation. They have a lot to prove at the competition this winter with the new coach and a positive attitude.

BY: SOO LIM

Dance team on picture day. Top row from left to right: Sara Beth Seidel, Gabrielle Woods, Sarah Schneider, Tyra Baptiste, Alexa Kehl. Middle row left to right: Sara Freitag, Jamie Condon, Alexandra Busenitz, Madison Van. Front row left to right: Claire Har, Amanda White, Yevin Kim.

Courtesty of CVHS dance team

Led by Senior Captains Haley Spencer, Haley Santimire, Yas-emin Atalay, and Grace Sim-mons the Centreville High School Varsity Volleyball Team begins a great start to their year with two easy wins over Jeb Stuart and Washington and Lee. On Thurs-day, September 13, the Lady cats took on the Madison Warhawks and ended up losing their first regular season game three games to one. The team has been prepar-ing during the offseason in the summer to stay in shape and be prepared for the tough Concorde District teams. The girls had early morning conditioning during the summer from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. Per-forming warm up mile runs, sta-diums, medicine ball lifts, weight room workouts, and strenuous abs work, the team seems more than ready to regain a Concorde District Title last won in the 2000 season.

In an attempt to pump them-selves up for the game, prior to game time the team meets in the wrestling room of the high school where they usually blast music and act silly together. “We act like idiots and that helps up lighten the mood and relieve some of the pressure mounting before the start of the game,” Junior Janine Simmons said of their pre-game antics. “We do this one dance to-gether as a team called the ‘jiggilo’, this helps us become more com-

fortable with each other and we just have a lot of fun doing it.”

Janine believes the team has “a long road but a lot of potential,” and also thinks that the Concorde District Title is easily in their reach. With the help of the fans, community, parents, and team-mates, the whole volleyball team hopes that this year will be their year! The time has finally come for the Cats to show what they re-ally have to show!

Head Coach Ken Moser has in-stilled a strong volleyball program throughout the years that focuses on endurance and perseverance. With Centreville High School within the Concorde District lines the team is always expected to face some of the toughest teams in the region. With this high level of competition the Wildcats are ready for anything!

Spiked SeasonBY: KATIE BLUMER

Katie Blumer

Grace Simmons (12) gets ready to serve the ball.

After School Jobs!

“This is the biggest check I’ve ever seen!”

-Centreville Student

Hours:Monday– Friday 4-8pm Saturday— 9am-2pm

We are located 1 mile from the Costco in Springfield, VA

Tel: 571-225-1861 Ask for Mike

Earn $15-20 per hour on average.Earn HS credits through the Co-Op Program.Choose what days work for your school schedule.Work with your friends!

We have limited openings left for the marketing position.Build your resume for the future while fine tuning your communication skills.

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Attention Students

Amazing Opportunities

Sports8 October 3, 2012

The smell of smoke from grills and food out on tables, the last-ing odor of acrylic paint, and the rasp of strained voices are signs. The tumbling of leaves and the changing of colors set off a mood amongst the Centreville commu-nity that the boys of fall have ar-rived. Our football players.

With last year’s finish of State Finalists and Regional Champs, this year’s team has much to live up to and a lot of pressure to have a winning season that will lead them to a state title this year.

Beginning the early season with a home win against Lake Braddock Secondary 28-27, the Wildcats and the fans had a lot to cheer for! But, some early sea-son injuries acquired in the first game of the season kept the Cats from an undefeated streak this season. They lost 20-27 at West Potomac High School, Friday, September 7. Through a week of tough practices, the boys regained their composure and pulled through a tough home game Fri-day, September 14, defeating the Mount Vernon Majors 30-22. The 2012 season is Coach Chris Haddock’s third year as a head coach, and he has proven he

knows how to motivate his play-ers to play their best game. The team has full faith in their coach and his abilities.

“Coach is always looking to help and really knows what he’s doing. He is never nervous about the game to come and always tells us his honest opinion about our own abilities and our opponents as well,” junior Chad Wiggins said.

The many underclassmen on the varsity football team this year have shown their strengths and won the appreciation of the Centreville fans. One standout, sophomore A.J. Turner, ran for a total of 93 yards and one touch-down against Lake Braddock and ran for 168 rushing yards and another touchdown against West Potomac.

The football team believes that with practice, hard work, and strategy they can achieve a win-ning record, and hopefully secure the Concorde District Title for the first time since the 2001 sea-son. The team and coaching staff wishes to bring home that victory to players and loyal fans in the season to come.

Let’s go Cats!

Back on Top

Q: What is it like being the new player on the team?

A: “It’s a very different experience, but everyone is welcoming.”

Q: How do you like the coach?A: “He is very strict but he knows how to get the job done.”

Q: What position do you play?A: “Kicker and Rover.”

Meet the New Varsity Football Players

BY KATIE BLUMER

BY SOO LIM

Jessica Kidwell

Q: What is it like being the new player on the team?

A: “It’s different but exciting because I’ve made lots of new friends through football.”

Q: How do you like the coach?

A: “I believe he is a good coach and I respect what he does for the team.”

Q: You came to Centreville specifically for football, why?

A: The team I came from wasn’t a good team and I wanted to be a part of this team because I want to play football in college.

Jessica Kidwell

Sophomore Eric Rondeau signals the kick off team as the Wildcats get ready to kick the ball to Mount Vernon.

Centreville fans sport the red, white and blue in honor of September 11 as they cheer on the Wildcats at home.

Junior defensive back Chad Wiggins faces off against the Mount Vernon offensive line. The Wildcats defeated the Majors 30-22 in the 2nd home game of the season.

Junior kicker Andrew Ridenhour (#16), leads the Wildcats to the field to take on the Herndon Hornets. The Wildcats shut out the Hornets 14-0 in the team’s 4th regular season game.

Q: What position do you play?

A: “Defensive tackle.”

Q: What are your rituals before the game?

A: “I listen to music and get my mind right.”

Q: How do you think the team will do this season?

A: “I think we will be good and hopefully we will make it to states. We have some injuries on the team, but I don’t think that will stop us.”

Q: What is your biggest challenge?

A: “Getting a starting position on the team.”

Q: What are your rituals before the game?A: “Eat a little, relax, and I try to stay off my feet.”

Q: How do you think the team will do this season?A: “I think we will do well this season because we are focused and determined.”

Q: What is your biggest challenge?A: “My size because I am not the biggest person.”

Andrew Ridenhour (11)

Chad Wiggins (11)Jessica Kidwell

Celeste Linthicum for Centreville Patch