By Amber Habron
Category Archives: News
Day of Silence raises awareness of bullying issues
by Lindsay Sparrow and Raquel Renton
As sophomore Kelsey Skeens sits in Tim Dench’s second-period class, she has said nothing today.
“The day of silence is a way to pay respects to those who have committed suicide because of bullying,” said Skeens. This day will not only touch the students involved, but the entire school.
Although many students aren’t speaking today, hundreds of messages are being sent by this commitment.
“I think a message of courage and respect is being sent be acknowledging those we have lost because of bullying,” said health teacher Juli Hutson. The students seem to be recognized more for their silence then when their voices are heard.
“People will wonder what is happening and try to get us all to talk, and that will create dialogue about the alliance, possibly leading to more members and people involved,” said sophomore Zach Thomerson. Thomerson hopes the attention will bring more attention to the club.
Students wonder about how the teachers and staff will handle not being answered when spoken to. The purpose is not to ignore the teachers, but to commit to the message and the cause.
Freshman Colleen Bryant said, “Some teachers could get mad or frustrated, but hopefully they will respect what we are doing. Especially since everyone knows what is going on ahead of time.”
Some teachers are very understanding on the subject. Dench has many students involved in the day of silence in his classes, and he has pre-planned how he will handle the situation.
“I plan to have alternative way to get the students involved. I am not going to make them speak in class, but I still expect them to work on their assignments and get work done. That way the students are participating silently instead of not participating at all.
Dench doesn’t mind student remaining silent for a good cause, but he is concerned that students genuinely care about the cause.
“There are rumors that people that aren’t associated with the alliance are staying silent for the wrong reasons. They are just trying to get out of participating in class,” said junior Ramsey Hafling. Members of the club have their eye out and won’t let anyone get away with mocking the meaning of the Day of Silence.
The club is also participating in other activities. There is another meeting after school starting at 3:45 in Hutson’s health classroom. The alliance accepts all members and is still looking for other members to join.
Message to Our Readers
To Our Readers:
As we clarified via our Twitter account on Wednesday, April 9 The Bagpiper Online website was compromised and inappropriate content was briefly posted and tweeted out. Once readers made editors aware of the situation the content was removed.
We want to assure our readers that the content posted yesterday was not Bagpiper coverage, nor was it approved or posted by the editorial board. We value the opportunity each day to cover the events and activities at Floyd Central High School and want to use technology to positively serve our readers and school community.
We are thankful to have the chance to serve Floyd Central High School and its students and faculty. We are proud of our publication and our school. We pledge to continue to strive to publish stories and content that are of the highest quality.
Thank you for your continued support.
The Floyd Central Bagpiper Staff
Constitutional government team places first in nationals
By Brooke McAfee
The constitutional government team experienced both a successful competition and an educational trip on their recent visit to Washington, D.C. for the We the People National Invitational. The team placed first in the high school division on April 7.
Constitutional government is a class offered first semester, but the students continued competing after the class had ended. Government teacher Suzanne Moss explained that when students take this elective, they become constitutional experts and compete at district and state level, and then they may earn the opportunity to go on to national level. Moss expressed her happiness at her students’ ranking first.
“I was just so proud of my students. Most of them I don’t even have this semester in class, and they put so much work into their opening statements and were prepared to compete,” she said.
The team, which is broken up into units of two or three students, requires extensive knowledge of the constitution and American government.
“What the students do is they prepare an opening statement that addresses a constitutional question, and then they do tons of background research to not only prepare their opening statement, but then be able to defend it,” said Moss.
The students are questioned on a variety of subjects, such as political philosophy’s impact on the founding of the United States, Lincoln’s role in the Civil War, and many others.
Senior Savannah Wormley participated in with the constitutional government team, and expressed her excitement at winning the national invitational.
“I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t. It was really exciting because all of the hard work paid off…we had such a difficult time at state… we didn’t win at state, and we were upset because we thought we had a really good team, so going up to Washington and winning was just like the ultimate satisfaction. It was the best thing that could happen.”
Wormley said it has been an inspirational experience for her, because it has given her a love for civic education and has made her think about possibly pursuing a career in politics or law. She said she also enjoyed the friendships she formed with the group.
“There was something about our team. Everyone got along. We worked so well together, and there was something about being part of a team that was really nice as well.”
Involvement with this team creates challenges such as working hard to become an expert on certain topics, according to senior Jennifer Martin.
“You need to do a lot of research. You need to read a lot of things. You really need to dig deep into stuff… you can’t just read something- you really need to think about it and be able to present it effectively.”
Additionally, this trip provided the opportunity for the students to explore Washington, D.C. and other major sites in the area.
“We saw so many things. We got a private tour from our congressman of the Capitol, we went to Mount Vernon and saw the Smithsonian…so it really was a chance to experience living history,” said Moss.
Senior Jerry Lacross said he enjoyed visiting Washington D.C. for the first time.
“I had never been before, so it was really cool to see the monuments and museums,” he said.
Martin, who had been to Washington, D.C. before, said visiting it was particularly enlightening after becoming more informed about politics and the government.
“It was awesome, because whenever I went again I knew so much about the Constitution and American politics… I knew a lot more than when I previously visited D.C.- it was a good experience,” she said.
Moss stated that this group gives students valuable skills and knowledge.
“I think it’s beneficial because students really have to know their constitutional studies and they have to not only understand it, but explain it and defend it, and pull current events that are basically pertaining to their area of study,” she said.
Martin said she loved everything about her involvement with the constitutional government team, and said it has given her knowledge that will be useful as an American citizen.
“I think the best part was that I learned so much about the Constitution and American politics and our constitutional rights, and it helped me really educate myself as a voter and a citizen.”
Upcoming events arouse excitement in the Senior Class
By Delaney Smith and Rachel Lamb
As the school year is starting to come to a close, annual events for seniors are coming up quickly. Some upcoming events are:
May 1- Senior Class Day 8:30 a.m. : Day in which seniors are honored with awards, not including scholarships. “My favorite senior event is senior day, because we get to dress up,” said senior Alex Kennedy.
May 12-16 Senior Week : Week of events for seniors, such as Baccalaureate and Senior Class Night. Special lunches from outside venders are also brought in. “Senior Week is my favorite week of the year, since I don’t have to eat the school food,” said senior Ashley Apple.
May 12- Baccalaureate 7 p.m. : An end of the year ceremony that honors seniors. “We have have the choir perform and an inspirational speaker that gives them a look back and a look forward into the future. It can be emotional, since it is the last time they are together, except graduation,” said principal Janie Whaley.
May 14- Senior Class Night 7 p.m. : Night in which seniors are honored with scholarships. ” I am enlisted in the marines and not going to college right away, so this event will not affect me as much as others,” said senior Alyson Gill.
May 17- Prom 7 p.m. : School dance for juniors and seniors only. “I am most looking forward to prom considering it is my senior year,” said senior Scott Schuchardt.
June 8- Graduation Commencement Ceremony 2 p.m. : Ceremony where graduates are given diplomas, class president and faculty speak. “Saying goodbye to all the friends that I have made over the years is going to be tough,” said senior Timon Stermer.