Welcome Ms.Taffie!!!

Linda Taffie is a new teacher of Quantico Middle High School. She teaches a diverse variety of classes in room 104. Surprisingly, teaching wasn’t her first choice, instead she wanted to be a veternarian, but she changed her mind after “a terrible biology experience” during the beginning of her junior year in high school. Before QMHS she had worked 11 years at Lejeune High School doing seniors AP Literature, Read 180, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Also she was employed at a DoDEA school in Puerto Rico teaching almost all English, ESL and Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Ms. Taffie manages many classes throughout QMHS: Language Arts 8 and 10, Middle School Drama and Humanities. These classes may seem like too much, but not for Mrs. Taffie; she's used to managing the curriculum. “In small schools you have to be flexible,” she stated.  When asked why she wanted to teach DOD Schools she gave three reasons: because of the “relationship between teachers and students”, the “family feel of DoDEA Schools” and “shared experience of the military life," but the close relationships developed within the community were what really grabbed her attention. Students lucky enough to have Ms. Taffie as their teacher can expect a lot of project based learning. She understands that “People have different learning styles”  so she might throw in some surprises along the way.

Middle School Drama

This is the very first time Ms. Taffie has ever taught Drama class but, that doesn't mean she's any less prepared for it. Students taking her class can expect a lot of short introductions to dramatic art and presentations, and surprise performances in school.

Yearbook

                Yearbook this year is being taught by Ms. Shinaver in room 207. Even though Ms. Shinaver is new to teaching yearbook she has good intentions. She was in yearbook for two years while she was in high school. Her plans for this year’s yearbook will be a surprise theme that will be funky;).
              To help out this year Ms. Shinaver has a couple returning students; Fedjah, Naiko, and Kristen. In order to raise the money for the yearbook they have made plans to have a couple fundraisers which include pretzel pops, Thanksgiving grams, carnations for homecoming, Valentines grams, and other types of grams. There are some problems that the yearbook class faces, such as new leadership, shortened staff, and making sure that every student gets put in the book at least twice. When asked when we can expect to see the yearbook, Ms. Shinaver replied “Towards the end of the school year.”

Middle school Reading Night

                                                      Reading Night

                       

On the Thursday night of September 17th, an event occurred at Quantico Middle High School that brought students, teachers, and families together. This event was formally known as Reading Night (RN) and was held inside the cafeteria. RN was intended for middle school students and their families to participate in reading and social activities. As many as 15 staff members contributed to the event and Ms. Syarto was the sponsor for this year’s Reading Nights. Ms. Syarto provides Focus Reading, Writing, Math; Life Skills, Vocational Skills, Learning Strategies, as well as assists in teaching Algebra and Language Arts. She worked in Netzaburg Middle School in Germany before coming to QMHS and originally started teaching in 2001. RN has been going on for quite a long time, and there are two every school year during the fall and spring. The purpose of RN is to encourage students to read more and to express how great reading is and the fun that ensues. About 70 students as well as their families arrived and had a great time.The students were in a comfortable environment with their friends and family. The focus of this fall’s RN was mainly cooking, recipes, and reading in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).  When asked about how the night turned out, Ms. Syarto said, “I was really excited about how many students and families came out...impressed by all the donations from teachers… how awesome it came out in general.”  When Ms. Syarto was asked if she enjoys helping students, she responded with, “I love it, it’s my favorite.” Her advice to the students attending QMHS was “find something you enjoy and keep reading.” The most important thing that was taken away from RN was community building and having the students see a different view of each other. Next spring’s RN will hopefully be open for all students of QMHS and with your help, we could use more food as well as parent volunteers and staff. Get the word out and join us at Reading Night next spring for a family friendly experience that is both fun and educational.

Senior Night

         Last Wednesday night, the members of the senior class and their families gathered for a brief meeting on the upcoming school year, and discussed the challenges, unique to seniors, that may come with it. The first speakers were our guidance counselors, Mr. Jessup and Ms. Jackson, who offered advice on the options and opportunities for high school graduates. They went over what kind of planning seniors should be going through at this point, such as applying for colleges as well as scholarships and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) program. They also talked about options for those who may wish to go into the workforce or enter community college and provided advice and resources for all future graduates who needed to find their way through the senior year. After finishing their talk and providing materials like pamphlets and catalogs, as well as a permission slip to a college fair trip for the entire senior class, the counselors gave the floor over to Mr. Hume and Ms. Mitchell, the senior class sponsors.

         Mr. Hume and Ms. Mitchell went over the planned schedule for all the senior class events throughout the year, which included fundraisers, preparing for graduation, and the senior class trip. This schedule stretches all the way to graduation day, but only a few events are in the near future for the senior class. This Thursday, the senior class will be hosting their first senior breakfast for teachers on the teacher workday. These senior breakfasts will be recurring throughout the year, as a service to the teachers and as a fundraiser for the senior class. This Saturday, the senior class will be painting the senior rock out front. During homecoming week, the senior class will be decorating a hallway and participating in homecoming events. On October 23rd, senior night for fall sports will be held, a meeting similar to senior night to look over the rest of the season for fall sports teams. And finally, its never too soon to start preparing for graduation– the senior class will have to start preparing their senior video, as well as plan a possible after party.

        Senior night kicks off a senior year of not only academics, but class activities, applications, and planning for the future. Let’s get started.

High School Drama

        High school drama at Quantico is a course designed to teach about the history of the theater and its cultural influences and impacts. Students will study theatrical genres, major playwrights, and how to create dramatic texts for production, in using characterization and self-expression to perform in a variety of roles. 

        I had the privilege to interview Ryan Furiak, a student in drama this year. Ryan has been here since he was in the fourth grade. He plays football, basketball and baseball at the school. Ryan says that he had never considered being an actor when he grows up; he has always wanted to be a Marine. He admires Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Jack Black. Ryan enjoys drama and says he is an astonishing actor. He wants to learn how to work the stage lights during the drama plays and the history of who directed the first plays of early theater. Although he thinks of himself as a great actor, he says that Richard Chalk, a senior in his class, is the best actor. 

Lady Warriors Volleyball Win First Home Game!

         Lady Warrior Volleyball hosted their first home game against Christ Chapel on Tuesday, September 15 and came out victorious! They played a total of four games, the Warriors winning three and Christ Chapel winning one. Before the game, most of the volleyball team, along with some of the coaches, thought that the game would end in another loss, but with good technique and determination throughout the entire game, the team pulled it off to win the game. Although they came out with a win against a considerably tough team, the ladies still have to work on their techniques. According to player Danielle Hall, "a lot of the players this year are new, and we only have like two returning players. What we need to work on the most is passing the ball and passing it to the right people." She stated that she, along with most of the team, was surprised they won this game, and that this game was purely a gut check to see who could play.
        Because of this win, the team has gained a new sense of motivation that should carry them through their season and practices. This should help them improve on their techniques and hopefully win more games.  Even though there are many new, generally inexperienced players, through practice and determination, the volleyball Lady Warriors should go on to have a great season this year and years to come. Lady Warriors, You Know!!

Welcome MGySgt Santivasci!!!

     

 Michael Santivasci is the new Marine Instructor of MJROTC.  After 30 years of service in the Marine Corps, he taught the ROTC unit at UVA. He joined us from Afghanistan where he instructed Afghan soldiers about warfare. He replaced the retired Sgt. Major Diaz. Santivasci’s goal for the students is to help set them up for success in their future. He plans to do this with discipline, drill, and by teaching the cadets everything he knows. He wants to help them develop into future leaders and productive citizens in the community. He has wanted to teach ROTC since he was at UVA. He said that he would like to pass his knowledge down to others for them to learn and transfer to others.  When asked why he chose to teach at QMHS he replied, “Because I like the great community; it is small and I get to know everyone personally”. 

Cracking the Dress Code; Dress for Respect

“Dress Code mirrors the Community ” - Mr. Johnson  

     To say that Mr. Johnson, our principal, considers and cares for everybody’s opinions would be an understatement. Every year before he writes a new dress code he gladly takes the opinions of staff, parents, and students. Although he does keep in mind the fact that we are military kids and the things we do and even wear mirror our community. Mr. Johnson calls the dress code “the frame” and feels that it gives a lot of attention, with the mind set that “You dress for respect.” We also had an extensive conversation about his reasons for the rules given, such as holes in the pants, sagging pants, and baggy pants. He also thinks that “holes in jeans are a distraction” and that “baggy pants are so disrespectful." Mr. Johnson stated, “I should be able to walk into a class room and choose random kids to take on a trip to the White House.” Having gone to a Catholic school himself, he mentioned that they had to wear uniforms. 
Basically, he concluded by saying that he wants to leave an impression that we are a conservative military school. A familiar question asked was on the idea of uniforms and he gave me two different sides of an answer: “great idea saves money” and "it takes away kids individuality.” He talks about “the frame” with parents and kids, understanding the fact that “kids have opinions.” He tries hard to be flexible with the things that the students can do, considering that we already have to move from school to school. When asked about how often he had seen dress code regulations being broken, he proudly stated “not too often." But on those off days that he does notice “the frame” being broken, he reminds students of the rules. He sees dress code being broken most when students first walk into the school or during 1st block, adding that the dress code is “not just paper” and should be taken seriously. “If I don’t address it, it sends another message,” he explained and ended with the knowledge that he will continue to enforce dress code everyday.

Quantico Football

        The start of the season was in June, with summer practices. All of the motivated players couldn't wait to start hitting and running plays. For the month of June, they were learning the formations and getting conditioned. After the players' break for the month of July, the 3rd of August came around and the players were ready. From then on, the players were practicing and getting ready for the first game. Every day, more hype would build up for the first game. When the time came, they unleashed havoc on Massanutten Military Academy. The Quantico warriors football team has been dominating this year. The warriors have started the year out  2-0. Each game was won by a fair amount of points. The first game was away and against Massanutten Military Academy. The final score of that game was an astounding 43-0! With the hype among all the players, they went out to take the "W" again. The second game was home and against Norther Virginia Centurions. With the final score of that game being 43-8, the warriors are showing their talent early in the season.  Next Saturday, the warriors will be traveling to Hampton Roads Academy to play the Generals. In both games, the entire team performed amazingly, but Caleb Hall has been a valuable member to our team. Caleb has had seven touchdowns, with most being more than 40 yards out from the inzone.

          Niklas Lofgren is a captain this year on the Quantico football team. He has attended Quantico for all four years of his high school experience. Nik also enjoys playing basketball when its not football season.  On offense he plays right tackle and on defense he plays defensive end. Nik has played since he moved to Quantico almost 8 years ago. He practices everyday from 3:00 to 5:00 at Butler stadium. In the future he does not see himself  playing college football, but does want to play with friends in his free time. He started playing so he could play a sport with his older brother and friends, and also, it shows off brute strength. To him, the sport is competitive because it involves knowing how to play and knowing your assignments. He believes that the team will have a winning season this year. To improve himself, he likes to look for errors while watching film, ask others what he needs to improve, evaluate himself based on what he thinks he is doing wrong and right, and imagine himself succeeding.

Quantico Cross Country

        The time has come around once again for our Quantico runners to shine. The Quantico Cross Country team has been training since a week before school started on August 18th, and they will be starting their season this Saturday at the Chancellor Invitational. Through interviewing with the co-captain of  the cross-country girls, Clarabel Smith, and newcomer James Russ, I have the true definition of cross-country, the motivation behind the sport, why people do it, and how the season is projected to pan out.

        Clarabel Smith has been at Quantico Middle/High School (QMHS) for a total of 4 years and has been a part of cross-country for 3 of those years. She is currently 17 years old, is a senior, and she participates in many programs around the school and has many responsibilities. She describes cross-country as a different sport that isn’t necessarily as competitive as other sports, such as football and soccer, but still has the same pride and motivation that any athlete feels when they are playing their sport. Clarabel defines the main purpose of cross-country as a mean of self and team improvement, as you strive to assist your fellow runners to keep pursuing through the hardships and keep running until the finish line.

         Now, in order to develop this motivation and teamwork to be able to run efficiently throughout the season, the team had to prepare. They started practice before school started with some newcomers and veteran runners. For Quantico sports especially, since all students are military children, they don’t stay long. This means that many people leave Quantico even though they may have only been here for a year. The upside of this situation is that Quantico gains a lot of new people too, and the number of new people coming to QMHS is usually similar to the number of students lost. This year for cross-country,  they came in with 12 people total; half veteran runners and the other half newcomers.  One newcomer in particular, James Russ, is very motivated to enjoy a great season with the Quantico Cross-Country team. James Russ is 12 years old, is in eighth grade, and, along with about 5 others,  is experiencing his first year of cross-country.

        James explains that practice started on August 12th and that the practices are filled with conditioning, interval runs, 4-5 mile runs through the trails of Quantico, and learning about different techniques to keep a good pace and stay on your feet. Outside of their team practices, most of the runners take it upon themselves to improve their running techniques in jogging around base or working out their legs and core at the gym. “It all depends on an individual’s drive,” says Clarabel Smith. She goes onto explain that a runner’s determination will ultimately affect the overall feeling of enjoyment for the runner or if the individual will improve or not when racing. Fortunately for the team, all the runners and coaches are equally motivated, and it is projected for the cross country team  to do well this season.

        Through teamwork, self-determination, and motivation, the Quantico Cross Country team will once again prevail and fill their season with many wins. We all wish them luck and hope that they will race their hearts out and have a great time running.

The Next Generation of Student Council

Last Thursday, we were called into the gymnasium for a common event– an assembly for a speech made to the student body. Usually it would be difficult to keep one’s eyes open. However, these speeches were made by the candidates for SCA officer positions, so it was a somewhat different matter. Some candidates endorsed their accomplishments, some spoke of what they wanted to accomplish, and some were honest enough to admit they just wanted to put the title on  their resume. But all these speeches were confident professions of students who wanted to give back to their school and knew they could. Anyone who heard the speeches could have said it was anybody’s race.

The next day, when the ballots were counted, recounted, and the votes were tallied, the winners of the election were announced over the intercom. However, this announcement was missed by most of the student population and many of us remained ignorant of who was representing us in student government. So to clear up the matter, we’re printing the names of our new SCA officers here.

President– Niklas Lofgren

Vice President– Will Neil

Treasurer– Skye Callen

Secretary– Jack Kelley

These student leaders will be in charge of planning at least one event every month, according to SCA coordinator Ms. Moretti, and will actually be organizing four events in the month of October alone. For those who are wondering, we can look forward to the Homecoming dance, the Homecoming wall decoration contest, the crowning of Homecoming court at the football game, and the events of Homecoming week in October. The heavy responsibility of all these events is definitely in the right hands but more help will be needed. “We want to encourage everyone to help out and contribute to SCA,” says Ms. Moretti, “especially homeroom representatives and those who ran for office but weren’t elected.”

We should acknowledge everyone who campaigned, and those who won, but remember that student government is a community effort that requires all of our support in the upcoming year.