AppomattoxCountyHighSchool
2016-2017
Volume1,Issue1
RaiderReport
FromtheDeskofthePrincipal
As we enter the fall of 2016, there are many things to look forward to. Cooler
days and nights, hoodies and hot chocolate, and spending ,me with friends and
family. There are also football and volleyball games to be enjoyed. As I write this
le1er our football team is undefeated, and our volleyball team sits atop of the
Courthouse Conference with only one blemish on their record. I encourage each
of you to come out and support all of our student athletes.
Since the school year has begun, I have had numerous conversa,ons with parents asking for advice on keeping track of their teen’s use of their smart phone.
Many of us adults are not nearly as comfortable as our teens in using new technology, but thankfully there are some apps that can help with that. Two of them
are 360, which will keep track of your teen’s loca,on, and Teensafe, which will
show you the messages that your teen is sending. I’m sure that there are others
that can do the same things. Some of these apps do charge a fee, but you may
find them to be a worthy expense.
Important dates:
October 19 – PSAT
October 22 – ACT test @ ACHS
October 24 – Na,onal Honor Society Ini,a,on Ceremony
November 5 – SAT test @ ACHS
November 9 & 10 – Senior cap and gown order dates
November 23 – 25 – Thanksgiving Break
November 29 – December 19 – Fall SOL tes,ng dates
December 8 – Band and Chorus Winter Concert 6pm in the auditorium
December 20 – 21 – Fall Final Exams (1:00 dismissal)
Insidethisissue
Kroger Rewards........................... 2
Hispanic Heritage Month ............ 2
Sciences in 303............................ 3
Performing Arts……………………...4-5
Inside Story ................................. 4
Inside Story ................................. 4
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KrogerCommunityRewardsProgram
ACHS has partnered with
the Kroger Community Rewards Program and needs
your help to raise funds
for our school. Simply go
to kroger.com, click on the
“community” tab and
choose Kroger Community
Rewards. At that point
you will need to either
sign in or complete the
enrollment process. When prompted to
“find your organiza,on,”
type in 86038, and you will
be linked to ACHS. You
will need to press the
“enroll” bu1on to link
your card to our account.
Thank you in advance for
your assistance in raising
much needed funds for
the students of ACHS.
HispanicHeritageMonth
September 15th marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage
Month and Señora Walker's Spanish classes have fully embraced the celebra,on!
It is the norm in our classroom to discuss similari,es and
differences that exist between Spanish speaking cultures
and the United States, but during this celebratory month,
we have added many things to our discussions during our
weekly "CULTURE CAFÉ" on Fridays. One of the most recent
Culture Café themes was dedicated as "Hand Flag Friday"--where students researched their adop,ve country's flag and
the importance/significance of the colors and the symbols
displayed within the coat of arms. To add a twist to the research, students were asked to create a visual representa,on of their flag using at least one traced or sketched hand.
As individual as the flags and their symbolism, the hand crea,ons were truly inspiring!
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Let's give ourselves a
"HAND"...and applaud
the cultural awareness
and growth that is
happening at ACHS
Room #320!!!
Mr. Geldmaker’s students
studying Brook Trout
TheSciencesofRoom303
As we move into the fall months, the exci,ng news for the science classes (Biology and Nuclear Energy) of Mr.
Geldmaker was the arrival of the Brook Trout eggs. The Brook Trout is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s state fish.
Each of the two biology classes have already been ac,vely engaged in the biological understandings of the trout
due to the considera,ons of living organisms and cell division.
It was a surprise, however, for the Nuclear Science class when the trout eggs arrived during their class period.
Nuclear Science is now tying in the environmental issues with the need for supplying society with reliable energies. Next semester’s Environmental Science will join in on the process of learning of how the trout so greatly
impact our community and environment in Appoma1ox.
The students’ incredible hard work and dedica,on to their studies is already seTng the ground work for the allimportant SOL’s.
I could not be more proud of how hard our students are working each day to understand just how special and
unique each student is. Science again and again proves this. As the trout grow throughout the school year, so
too will our understandings of science and how it impacts each one’s life in Appoma1ox County High School.
We are extremely thankful to the Skyline Chapter of Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited and Mr. G.W. Hall for all
their support and sponsorship of our program, as we are the only authorized hatchery in this region. This is another first for Appoma1ox.
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PerformingArts
The first quarter of the 2016-2017 school year has
been a busy one for the performing arts programs
under Mrs. Jarre1’s direc,on.
The ACHS Chorus joined the community by hos,ng
a booth at Celebrate Pamplin Day alongside former
Chorus member, Sean Murray, who has been responsible for restoring the Pamplin Playground.
The following weekend, the Chorus class joined the
Theatre class for a small group assembly with Cinco
Paul and Ken Daurio (writers of famed animated
films such as Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, The
Secret Life of Pets, The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who,
and Hop, among others) as well as the musical, Bubble Boy. The assembly was a collabora,ve effort
between Mrs. Jarre1, WolXane Produc,ons, and
high school principal, Dr. Moreno. “We are thrilled
to have such awesome support from our administrators to provide
such a wonderful
opportunity for our
performing arts students, and appreciate
Dr. Moreno’s efforts
to make it possible,”
says Jarre1. “The
students thoroughly
enjoyed mee,ng the
creators of their favorite minions and
geTng a sneak preview of what’s to
come in Despicable Me 3!” Members of the Bubble
Boy cast from WolXane Produc,ons also presented
some wonderful performances of song selec,ons
from the show and entertained further ques,ons
4
from the aspiring vocal and theatre students.
To return the
favor and help
WolXane kick off
their educa,onal
programs the
following day,
members from
the Appoma1ox
County High
School and Middle School Chorus
represented the
Choral program
with showcase
performances at WolXane’s Family Day. The Chorus performers included 6th grader, Natalie Fitzgerald, ACHS Freshman, Kelsey Boyd, and Senior,
Bri1any Klein.
The Choral performers were later followed by performances from members represen,ng the first
semester Theatre Class including Freshman, Claudia
Hamlet, Sophomore, Josh Dickerson, Junior, Morrigan Thomas, Junior, Autumn Frankart, Senior, Krishon Preston, and once again, Senior, Bri1any Klein. These students performed a brief skit
called, “Angel and Demon”, an original script
wri1en by Autumn Frankart. They concluded with
improvised performances using suggested seTng
and situa,on from the audience in the style of
“Whose Line Is It Anyway,” garnering a lot of laughter and applause from the audience.
The Theatre Class also rounded out a unit on Greek Theatre by a1ending Randolph College’s performance of “The Frogs” by Aristophanes. Students were
able to experience first-hand what a Greek theatron may have felt like and
what Greek masks may have looked like. They concluded their visit with a
tour of the campus, theatre facili,es, and art installa,ons.
Finally, Senior Chorus members, Bri1any
Klein, Kiera Walker, Laura Boye1, and
Calysta Tichenor worked hard throughout
the month of September preparing for the
VMEA Honors Choir audi,on at Longwood
University, a select Choir open to high school
Seniors only. Students were required to sing
Henry Purcell’s, “I A1empt from Love’s Sickness to Fly” and eight measures of music
they had never before seen or heard (singing
it from sight aYer only 20 seconds to look at
it.) “The progress these four young ladies
made as vocalists in a mere month’s ,me is
simply astounding,” said Mrs. Jarre1, “And
they have a lot to be proud of for the effort
they put in preparing for this audi,on.”
These same four Chorus students were also selected
to represent Appoma1ox at the 2016 Longwood Honors Choir event in late October along with their peers,
Makayla Trent, Kelsey Boyd, Haley Miller, and Kierra
Turner. This event is intended to highlight students
from several coun,es who show not only excep,onal
skills in Chorus, but also leadership, support, and encouragement of their peers in the Choral classroom.
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ACHSFFAinFullSwing
AYer a record-seTng year last year, the Appoma1ox Sr. FFA chapter is poised to do it again. At the 2016 State FFA Conven,on, FFA members collected a host of coveted ,tles. Members placed in the State Extemporaneous Public Speaking,
Veterinary Science, Agricultural Mechanics, Job Interview, and Computer Applica,on Career Development Events. Four
members earned their State FFA Degree and two won a State Proficiency Award for their Supervised Agricultural Experience program. Senior Jordan Moore, was crowned the State Star in Agribusiness, a first for an ACHS student.
In early summer, the newly elected officer team met for two different Chapter Officer
Leadership Training conferences and developed a comprehensive vision for the FFA
chapter this year. With a renewed focus on public awareness and service, the chapter
coordinated a visit from Na,onal FFA Secretary, Nick Baker, in August. He delivered a
mo,va,onal keynote to the student body. During the same week, the chapter helped
coordinate the “Souper Bowl,” a school-wide
canned food drive. Mrs. Ma1hews’s class won the
interschool compe,,on and earned a free breakfast, prepared by the culinary arts classes. ACHS competed against Buckingham
High School to raise the most food for area food banks. During the football game
against the Knights, ACHS was declared the winner, boas,ng over $1800 worth of
food collected in 5 days.
During September and October, students honed their
skills by par,cipa,ng in a variety of Career Development Events. Andrew Sams and Frankie
Hoffman represented our school at the State Tractor Troubleshoo,ng Championship. They
narrowly placed 2nd in the state and earned scholarships. Dylan Geesaman, Stephen McCormick, Anthony Tronco and Christopher Wilkerson
competed in the State Fair Crops Judging contest.
Dylan was the 9th high individual and the team
th
placed 4 . Lastly, Kaleb Board, John Knight, Cody Mewborn, and Josh Walker
placed first in the Piedmont Federa,on Forestry Contest, advancing to the
Southeast area event.
During late October, 20 FFA members a1ended the 89th Na,onal FFA Conven,on and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana. The chapter was recognized at a special
banquet as a Two-Star chapter in the Na,onal Chapter Award contest. While at the conven,on, students toured the Chip
-Gnassi Indy-car garage, met with a variety of employers and colleges at the Career Show, and heard mo,va,onal
speeches from Diana Nyad, an Olympic long distance swimmer and author.
The annual FFA chapter Citrus and Sausage sale has started. Orders must be placed by
November 8th. All pre-ordered fruit and sausage should be picked up and paid for in the
ACHS Agriculture Department November 28-30, 3:30-6:00 PM. See and FFA member to
place your order today, or call 434-352-7146 extension 4139.
Upcoming chapter events include:
October 28: Opera,on Christmas Child Shoebox Drive and State FFA Officer Visit
November 3: Pumpkin Chunking and Bonfire
November 8: Citrus Fruit Orders Due, Piedmont Federa,on Tractor Operator’s CDE
November 28-30: Fruit and Sausage Pick-Up, 3:30-6:00