Photo by Rachel Lamb
Photo by Rachel Lamb
Corvette. Photo by Delaney Smith
Heritage celebration takes over Lanesville
Photo by Rachel Lamb
Photo by Rachel Lamb
Corvette. Photo by Delaney Smith
Category Archives: News
Photo by Rachel Lamb
Photo by Rachel Lamb
Corvette. Photo by Delaney Smith
FC alumni board gives back to the community
By Patrick Prifogle
One of the three major Alumni Board events of the year is coming up quickly. It is the annual Alumni Tailgating Event. It takes place on Friday, Sep. 13 at the football game. The Alumni board will be in a large tent, located beside the bleachers. Here, food and games will be offered to past Alumni graduates, and currently enrolled students. They also offer a place for all FC graduates to meet up and reminisce about their high school careers.
“It’s a good place to see old friends, and eat good food from several vendors.When students graduate this let’s them keep in touch with the school ,” said Alumni Board Secretary Vicki Snow-Hayes.
Athletic Director Jeff Cerqueira explained the reasoning behind this event.
[Our goal] is to rekindle that excitement they used to have,”
The Alumni Board is especially excited about the new scholarship program.
“We started last year with two scholarships, to qualify you need a 3.0 GPA or higher, you must be an active community helper, and the son or daughter of a FC alumni,” said Hayes.
Last year one scholarship was given each to a boy and girl, worth 500 dollars.
The original purpose for the tailgate was to show off FC talent.
“We made alumni night to honor a certain group, this year it is the tennis team. We are honoring the boys tennis team, and last year’s state runner-up girl’s Tennis team,” said Hayes.
This is just one of three major events the Alumni board has each year. The other two, being the newly minted Winter Basketball Alumni night, and their biggest event of the year, the Hall of Fame Banquet.
“Our biggest annual event is the Hall of Fame banquet, in the spring, and we pick four or five people to add to the wall of fame,” said Hayes.
Cerqueira explained that most of the money is made at the Hall of Fame banquet through the silent auction and community sponsors.
The alumni board’s purpose is to bring the school, and its graduates together in order to benefit the community.
“The fact that they are giving back to the community is what I’m most proud of,” said Alumni Board Officer Kristi Lomond. “We are just trying to set up a connection between students and alumni.”
To find out more about the Alumni Board, come out to the football game and talk to one of the board members.
Hayes had one last thing to say.
“Once you go to college you will understand what a wonderful school this is.”
School security provides for safe environment
By Rachel Lamb and Sydney Sears
It is 3:30 p.m. and only a few students remain inside the school doors. They may be at sports practice, participating in a club, running their lines for theatre, or just waiting until their parents pick them up. These students most likely do not think about how safe they really are.
Around this time of season, a lot of sports including wrestling and volleyball meet at FC after school.
“I have never not felt safe being here after school,” said senior wrestler Cory Troutman.
Senior wrestler Christian Overbey agreed.
“I feel very safe after school hours. There are always plenty of coaches and staff that stay after.”
Most sports have long practices after school. Volleyball usually runs till about 6 p.m. or longer on weekdays. If there is a game, then the volleyball players are here later than normal.
“I’m normally here ’til 6-6:30 or 7 on a average night school night,” said freshman Nicole Hartman.
Many students say if or when they are here after school hours they feel safe. Students may feel that way for a number of reasons.
After school all the doors are now being locked, except for the far right entrance into the rotunda. Administration, teachers, and coaches are working to keep the students here after school hours safe.
“We are just trying to keep them safe, even with the kids that are coming and going,” said FC wrestling coach Brandon Sisson.
Sisson said that it is difficult to maintain security with kids, parents, and staff going in and out so much because it is hard to determine who should be let in the school
With having a police officer at school, it makes everyone feel a little more secure. Having an officer on duty during the day allows for a sense of security that provides for a safe environment throughout FC.
“I think being safe is very important because without security we wouldn’t be able to practice and get better.” said Overbey.
Officer Brad Scott is at FC during the school day and one of his many responsibilities is spot checks around the building.
If there were to be an emergency after school, Scott said that anyone still in the building would have to listen staff members for instruction, because there is not enough personnel left after school to organize an actual procedure plan.
Scott explained that school security is especially important at sporting events because the large number of people at rival games can get out of control.
One thing students do not have to worry about is feeling safe at school.
Student secularists find one another
By Will Huston
It is a little after the end of the school day. Biology teacher Lisa Lee’s classroom buzzes with students chit-chatting and munching on cookies. SSA President senior Elaine Colomb asks for everyone’s attention and proceeds to ask about their beliefs. There are 12 atheists, a few agnostics, a Christian, and one devout Pastafarian attending the meeting.
The Secular Student Alliance, or (SSA), is a nationwide organization that has been around since 2001; FC students have recently started a chapter here.
“We didn’t have our first meeting until January,” said Lee.
The meetings last about a half-hour to an hour, where the students move the desks into a misshapen circle and proceed to discuss everything from politics, to religion, to personal stories.
Of course, one might ask what the purpose of the group is.
“It’s to create a place where like-minded people can get together and talk about different issues without fear of persecution,” said senior Alex Queen.
The first meeting was more of an introduction for the members. The junior and senior members told stories about their lives as nonreligious people.
“I’d like to spread awareness for what an atheist is,” said Colomb.
“[They’re] really open and accepting,” added senior Sarah Henry, the vice president of the SSA.
In addition to being vice president of the SSA, Henry is also president of the National Art Honor Society, a member of the National Honor Society and has taken part in Dance Marathon.
Out of the group, each and every member has his own hobbies, including Queen, who said he is into “everything band.”
Past that, the group also expressed interest in doing volunteer work and relief efforts for organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
“It’s a great thing to do whether you’re religious or nonreligious,” said Queen.
Members are occasionally questioned about their beliefs, one of the main reasons why some choose rather to stay quiet.
“I get told I’m going to hell constantly,” said Henry.
During the meeting, Colomb also mentioned how she’s had objects thrown at her.
Lee said, “Some people have experienced verbal abuse.”
Even still, some people, like Colomb see the importance of participating in the group.
“It upset me at first, but I’ve learned to deal with being different,” said Colomb.
Over a decade has passed since the founding of the SSA nationwide, and FC members hope that will go even farther in the future.
“I’d like to be a leader in the secular movement,” said Henry.
NJROTC wraps up the year at the annual banquet
By Ashley Vance