Windsock

Senior Tributes: Clark Driver, Kevin Chico, and Dustin Crummett

Clark Driver

1)  How many years have you been at EMHS?  Six.

2)  What are your plans for next year?  I’m going to Bridgewater College and majoring in Biology/ Environmental Science.

3)  What is your favorite memory from EMHS?  Hiding from Mrs. Miller with Austin behind the electrical box.

4)  Where do you expect to be in ten years? Recording my first record in Hawaii.

Kevin Chico

1)  How many years have you been at EMHS?  Six.

2)  What are your plans for next year?  I’ll be going to Longwood University.

3)  What is your favorite memory from EMHS?  Winning the State Soccer Championship.

4)  Where do you expect to be in ten years? Protecting Gotham City, hopefully.

Dustin Crummett

1)  How many years have you been at EMHS?  Seven.

2)  What are your plans for next year?  I’m planning on attending William & Mary

3)  What is your favorite memory from EMHS?  The trips to Smith Mountain Lake with the Nerd Herd.

4)  Where do you expect to be in ten years? Ruling the world.

Eagle Scouts, Girl Scouts and all Things Scout-like

This year two EMHS students became Eagle Scouts. Senior Clark Driver (left, with Amy Leap) and Junior Colin Green both received the highest rank available from the Boy Scouts. The scout level system goes Cub Scout, Webelos Scout, and finally Boy Scout. In the Boy Scouts though there are more ranks to be achieved. The order is Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and the best of all being the Eagle Scout. Boy Scouts must work exceptionally hard to become an Eagle Scout. Scouts must organize a large project and have over 100 hours of volunteer work. The volunteer project is one of the most grueling tasks for becoming an Eagle. Other requirements include getting 13 required merit badges and an additional 8 badges. The Scouts must exhibit leadership, participation and must be part of the Scout Master Conference.

Clark has been part of the Scouts since he was 6 years old. He said that the process “took a ton of work,” but was a great experience. His father was an Eagle Scout so he was following in his father’s footsteps. He actually received 28 merit badges in his scouting. For his large volunteer project he helped build a water garden for Camp Still Meadows. He also helped with their landscaping. One of the hardest parts is that the whole project must be organized solely by the scout. The water garden cost over 2000 dollars. While the project was a lot of work in Clark’s opinion it was well worth it. He is still scouting and will continue to work with the Scouts program.

Colin (pictured right) also received the award. He started as a Cub Scout in kindergarten. In many aspects his process was much like that of Clark’s. They both received the merit badges, but their projects differed. Colin worked on creating and landscaping a garden behind his church. His experience was excellent and he has enjoyed the Scouts greatly.

Amy Leap has worked with the Girl Scouts and received the highest honors possible as a Senior. The Girl Scouts are an organization for girls of all ages. They emphasize service and working with the environment, much like the Boy Scouts. Amy has been with the Scouts for 10 years now. The levels in Girl Scouts are Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadet and Senior. She is a Senior and part of the Adventurers. She has received a career exploration pin, a senior leadership pin and numerous other badges along the way. One of her crowning achievements was the Golden Award. She received the award last year for designing and implementing a three and a half week long camp for children at Camp Massanetta about Native Americans. She also did many side projects.

- Freeman Bendfeldt

They Said It!

[Ed. note: Strange, out-of-context quotations have long been a staple of the print edition of the Windsock. Most of us [meaning teachers] wince when see some of these malapropisms in the light of day. Just remember, faithful reader, that there was a context [hopefully] to the following statements...]

“Just kiss me, you fool!”
-Mr. Leonard

“Don’t what if me!”
-Ms. Young

“When I hear the word acute, I think of a hot chick.”
-Mr. Marlin Yoder

“Hoover hands.”
-Mr. Blosser

“Oh no, I think I’ll stick a pencil in my eye.”
-Mr. Blosser

“Have you ever gotten goose pimples?”
-Mr. Leonard

That's 10 seconds we'll never get back! Worse yet, that's 10 seconds I'll never get back...!"
-Ted Swartz

“...And then Abram saw that Sarai was one hot mama.”
-Mr. Steve Yoder

"They need to come up with a sexier name for the meat and cheese wrap...."
-Mr. Hoover

“They must have been thinking about a sexagon.”
-Mr. Marlin Yoder

"Would people be interested by a potato party?"
-Mr. Elwood Yoder

"He's adorable in a sort of ugly baby kind of way..."
-Mrs. Yutzy

- Compiled by Freeman Bendfeldt

Bible Quizzing: The Awesomest Activity Ever!

Once a week a few teams will gather. Each team can only have six quizzers in a match at a time. Four players are active while two sit out as substitutes. There are 15 questions asked by the quizmaster. For each right answer the player’s team receive 10 points. By end of the round a winning team is found. Players need to have good memories to remember small details involving several chapters in the chosen book of the Bible.

This year the book of Acts was chosen, specifically chapters 10 through 28. This weekend two teams traveled to Richmond from Harrisonburg. One team was from Crossroads/Trissels while the other was from Mount Clinton Mennonite Church. Several EMS students participate in the Bible quizzing. They include me, Freeman Bendfeldt in 12th, Joseph Bender in 11th, Maria Martin in 11th, Jenny Hartzler in 10th, John Gullman in 10th, Malinda Bender in 9th, and Jared Giel in 7th. We traveled to meet two teams half way from Chesapeake. We had lunch and then had seven quiz matches. The first five matches were just over the two chapters that all the teams had studied that week, while the last two matches covered the first half of Acts.

All of the teams are preparing for the big Bible Quizzing Tournament up in Lancaster Pennsylvania, where hundreds of Bible Quizzers will gather to compete and half out.

- Freeman Bendfeldt

Doused by Luray

A large crowd gathered at EMS to watch the girls’ basketball game and participate in “Pack the Gym”. Many students at EMS had been waiting anxiously for this game. The SCO went on a campaign to get students to attend the game and cheer on their schoolmates. They even created an ad for the game in chapel. Afterwards students were encouraged to watch Cool Running with their friends. According to Katy Bergey, a sophomore, it was one of the largest crowds that she has ever seen at a girls’ game. Many were drawn to the school to see their friends play and show school spirit, while others went to avoid getting rocks packed into their lockers. Large rocks mind you.

It was a disappointing night for the Girls’ varsity basketball team. They played against Luray, which was a fairly strong team, according to Katy Bergey. The game was fairly close due to the strong defense on the part of both teams. Senior Erica Lehman ran into some foul trouble, which was detrimental to the team. The game was full of emotion as the girls played and their friends cheered for them. In the end the score was 43 to 31 in Luray’s favor. If EMHS had won they would have gone up in ranking, but it was a tough game.

Before the varsity team played, the JV team also played against a Luray team. Olivia Deputy, a freshman, said that the game started with confidence, but that confidence was hard to maintain when Luray went on a 12 to nothing run. They had played Luray before and were hoping to have a better foothold this time in the struggle. Olivia said that the team could have been more aggressive, because as the rest of the game proved, that 12 to nothing run cost them the game. In the end the score was 11 to 26 in Luray’s favor. It was disappointing, but taught lessons that could be used for future games.

- Freeman Bendfeldt

Girl’s Basketball: It IS a Sport!

The girl's basketball season started in the first week of November. The Varsity team lost a lot of seniors that had played key roles from last season, which could have created an obstacle. The team is still doing well with a team of eight. This year there were only six home games planned, and so far three have taken place. According to junior Jennifer Leaman there is a possibility of going to states in the future. Before that there are eight BRC games.

The Junior Varsity team is very hopeful, according to freshman Olivia Deputy. The JV team has one more player than the Varsity team, which brings their number to nine. They have worked very well together and share the ball a lot, which is very beneficial for team sports. Overall the team has displayed a lot of potential. Olivia says that the team wants to focus building on each team member’s contributions. They are also looking forward to the BRC games.

Varsity Scores:                                                

EMHS 54, North Cross 13                                 

Page County 56, EMHS 53                                

EMHS 82, Brunswick Academy 57                       

VES 74, EMHS 46                                             

Rappahannock County 55, EMHS 26

Junior Varsity Scores:

EMHS 64, North Cross 11

EMHS 27, Covenant 22

Page County 28, EMHS 14

EMHS 29, Rappahannock Co. 16

- Freeman Bendfeldt

   

Transformers: A Children's Movie?

For a long time Transformers were thought of as toys for children and nothing more, but this past summer that all changed. Previews started to appear for a Transformers movie that left many people puzzled. How could anyone make a full-length, PG-13 movie about plastic action figures?

Obviously Michael Bay, director of Pearl Harbor, could. With the help of Steven Spielberg he created an action movie that seemed appealing to all audiences. Intrigued by the entire buzz surrounding the movie, I rented it for my family. When we finally got around to watching it, we were in for quite a surprise.

The opening scene was of an army base in the Middle East. An attack helicopter was allowed into the base, but was under suspicion. Suddenly, the helicopter started to change. It transformed into a huge robot that decimated the camp and started hacking into the Department of Defense computer files. All the while guns are blaring and people are getting injured. Blood was never shown, though, which could be positive. The rest of the movie followed a similar pattern.

The violence was to be expected, but there was more objectionable content than that.

The main character in the movie was Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LeBeouf. His parents are completely oblivious to most of the world and are mainly just a source of comedy, which was disappointing.  the love interest in his life is a scantily clad girl named Mikaela Banes. I was surprised that a movie geared toward a younger audience would portray females in such a way, since the reasons for his attractions are almost all physical.

The movie also contained a fair amount of language and crude humor. Some crude humor and language should be expected from a PG-13 movie, but I was not expecting it from a "children's movie."

The story line was interesting, though, especially for me since I had no past experience with Transformers. Apparently there had been a battle going on between Transformers for years and it had come to earth in an attempt to find the Allspark (a source of life for mechanical beings). The humans are dragged into the conflict in an attempt to save their world from the evil Transformers, otherwise known as the Decepticons, led by Megatron. Some good Transformers join the struggle and a war ensues.

In the end it seems like Transformers was not for children, but an older audience. While the storyline and acting were decent, the objectionable content made the movie not appropriate for all ages. The ultimate choice is for parents and kids with good judgment. Transformers was rated PG-13 for a reason and should be avoided by parents with younger children.

- Freeman Bendfeldt

Heritage, not Hate?

You might have heard the phrase a few times in your life. It is one of the most commonly used phrases in defense of the Confederate flag. Many people, especially here in the South, seem to the believe that the Confederacy is a part of our heritage that should be venerated in numerous ways, from flying the flag from rooftops to Confederate bumper stickers.
 
As I travel around the Shenandoah Valley there are many people "honoring their heritage" with the Confederate flag. I see a sign of racism that has endured since the Civil War era. People claim that it is a symbol of a way of life that has disappeared with Northern influences, but that way of life was only possible through the oppression of thousands of people.

It seems almost illogical that anyone would really believe that the Confederacy was a glorious part of our heritage. The Confederacy was a failure in every sense of the word. They broke away from the Union, created their own money and started a war. None of those things worked out in their favor. They lost the war and were accepted back into the Union. During the war they lost valuable history in their foolish attempt to create their own government.

Once the war was finally over the South's economy was in pieces and their money was worthless. Gee, what a great thing to celebrate. It's taken the better part of century for the South to recover at all. The South still has the highest poverty rates and unemployment rates.

In Germany the Swastika is unacceptable and illegal in many places, yet the Nazi era was part of their heritage. I don't see people flying the Nazi flag over their homes proudly and saying witty phrases like "it's heritage not hate," or "hate the deed not the breed." That would be a terrible choice and would have serious consequences. People should not be able to honor oppressive systems or times in history without some kind of repercussions.

For me it seems like an issue of decency and consideration. People should understand that it is a symbol of racism and a poor way to represent their heritage. In the end people need to think about others before they show their "Southern Pride."

- Freeman Bendfeldt

The Club That Tastes Good

This year, for the first time ever, pie making will serve as a club option. Together, seniors Ellie Fisher and Laura Anderson planned to bring about the formation of the Pie Making Club, an idea that was very successful. Mrs. LuAnn Bender agreed to sponsor them in their pursuit of making pies. In chapel, the club commissioner announced that the club would be open to anyone and that it would meet once a month.

Interest in the Pie Club was enormous. The number of people who originally signed up surpassed even that of the LARPing Club. Their numbers were so large that a Middle School Pie Club emerged to make room for everyone involved.

When the first meeting came around ten to fifteen people went to make pies, which was only a fraction of those who had signed up. They made key lime pie as one of their first projects. They then went on and made their own peanut butter pie recipes. According to senior Josh Kanagy, the first meeting seemed entirely successful. Hopefully, many pies will flow from the skilled culinary experts into the mouths of the anticipating student body.

- Freeman Bendfelt

Class Officers Chosen

Every year students are elected to hold positions as Class Officers or SCO Representatives in high school. These students are expected to make decisions involving anything from socials to graduation invitations. Traditionally, five students are chosen from each class by their classmates to hold office.

The class offices are President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, SCO Representative and, in the senior class, business manager. This past election was unique due to the fact that six students were selected for positions in both the senior and junior class.

In the senior class Kendra Miller was selected as president, with Katie Sacra as her vice president. Ellie Fisher was elected to be the class secretary and Kyle Smith was chosen as the class treasurer. Martin Revercomb was chosen to be the business manager of the senior class.

The responsibilities of the senior class officers will continue even after graduation, unlike the other class officers in the younger grades. They must plan class reunions every five years and make sure that people can come, which can be a time-consuming process.

In the junior class there were actually two presidents chosen, Aaron Zook and Vincent Morra (pictured above), who are now in power as co-presidents. Brook Hostetter was chosen as vice president, Hannah Cranston as secretary, Helen Furry as treasurer and Annie Brunk as SCO representative.

The sophomore class had an average election with only one president chosen, Kara Lofton. Ashton Pease was selected as the vice president, Kaitlyn Revercomb as the secretary, Jenny Sacra as the treasurer and Emily Anderson as the SCO representative.

In the freshman class Zander Pellegrino was chosen as the president, with Malinda Bender as vice president, Keven Leaman as secretary, Olivia Deputy as treasurer and Patrick Scruggs as the SCO representative.   

– Freeman Bendfeldt (Photo by Annie Brunk)

Do the Rot Thing: Composting

Last year two seniors, David Jost and Nathan Hershberger, developed an interesting proposal. They wanted to see if the school would start composting the uneaten food from lunch, instead of throwing it away. The proposal hit several red lights and did not go through.

Nathan said that they had talked to Paul Leaman and Eunice Kratz, our food services director, about composting. Mr. Leaman was cautiously supportive, but wondered about the management, odor, and vermin. Mrs. Kratz said she could put a bin up and label it for composting. Nearing the end of the year Dustin Crummett, our SCO President, promised to get the school involved in composting.

At the beginning of this year the SCO began discussing plans for composting. Concerns had come up about vermin the management and accountability of a compost pile. According to Rose Jantzi the SCO wants to start with smaller projects first, such as recycling.

         One idea that arose as another method of food disposal was feeding a piglet with the food scraps. This would help a piglet grow and when it was older it could be butchered to possibly make some money. Composting could generate some money if it was sold, or it could be used as an alternative for mulch.

Some students, like Nathan, have decided to take their own composting measures. He has suggested using compost tumblers at EMHS, but until then he might take the food scraps home for his family’s pigs.

        Eric Bendfeldt, an Area Specialist for Community Viability, has done work in the past with composting and has agreed to help our school with the composting proposal. He said there are several concerns that could be eliminated through efficient composting and management, such as flies, odor, vermin and feral dogs.

       Each day the fruits and vegetables could be collected and added to more mature compost, which could be purchased locally. They could then be mixed in and covered by sawdust from the Tech Ed classes, which would eliminate the odor and stop animals from coming.

       We would need an appropriate site and supplies for the compost pile. Compost requires a slight slope so rainwater will not collect around it. The supplies necessary would be bins, made by wood or chicken wire, mature compost, a pitchfork and scoop, and sawdust. Once we found a site the supplies would be fairly easy to come by, according to Eric Bendfeldt.

Flames Fall Short in Menno Classic

Despite the rain and the cold many EMHS soccer fans gathered to watch the Menno Classic, an annual soccer tournament, this past weekend. The varsity team had several injuries they had been worried about earlier in the week, but by the first game all of the players were able to play.

The first game resulted in a glorious victory against Hargrave Military Academy. According to freshman Robert McConnel it was a good game despite the mildly wet weather. Austin Shank, a senior, was the first to score followed by seniors Mitchell Leap and Bryce Shank. In the end the score was four to one.

The game against Denbigh Baptist was the best game by far according to Robert and freshman Mark Mast. Senior Matt Zook sprained his ankle during the game and was unable to play in the championship game. The final score was three to nothing.

Finally the championship game rolled around. The varsity team faced St.Christopher's High School. St. Christopher's scored once during the first half, only to be met with a goal by the varsity team. No goals were scored during the second half, which resulted in overtime. Both teams fought well, but St.Christopher's came out on top with four penalty kicks. Robert McConnel seemed to believe that the referee had made some poor calls, which helped to determine the game's outcome. According to Robert and Mark, there are still things that the team can work on, but overall they played well.

- Freeman Bendfeldt (picture by Mr. Pease)