The County Chronicle

The online newspaper of Loudoun County High School

Jan
12

By

Culinary students adapt to cooking classes from home

Category: Arts and Entertainment Tags: ,

Michaela Scott | editor-in-chief

Junior Kennedy Cole shares her favorite meal that she learned to prepare in Culinary Arts, PopTarts. The PopTarts were a familiar treat that culinary students cooked during the beginning of distance learning. (Photo courtesy of Kennedy Cole)

The electives Culinary Arts and Gourmet Foods have always been classes where students can bond through cooking and learning about food; however, distance learning has entirely changed the way students can participate in the two curriculums.

”It’s just a lot of inconvenience,” said sophomore Bella Whelchel. “Luckily, online culinary doesn’t limit my ability to learn, so much as my ability to comprehend, and more importantly, to practice.”

The two classes are primarily geared towards learning about basic cooking skills, the origin of food service, nutrition, and teamwork. Culinary is directly related to the exploration of Culinary Arts, whereas Gourmet Foods focuses on diet and wellness in addition to cooking techniques.

“There is no expectation that a student will come in with any prior knowledge or experience,” said Gourmet Foods teacher Andrew Policelli. “The classes are taught with the assumption that students need to learn the basics from the beginning.”

Students may be interested in enrolling in the two classes if they are planning on pursuing a career in the culinary arts field or if they want to start learning a skill that anyone could utilize, the ability to cook a delicious meal.

“Everyone needs to learn to feed themselves or their family. We learn skills that will help you for the rest of your life, and it’s fun!” said Culinary Arts teacher Dorene Kuebler. “We also learn fun things like how to make homemade pasta, piping skills for cake decorating, and all kinds of baking and cooking methods.”

In the beginning of the week in a normal, non-pandemic class session students gain an understanding of Culinary Arts; near the end of the week the class cooks a recipe in teams. Students spend time prepping ingredients, following cooking instructions, and presenting the food. However, this year has put forward several challenges and forced changes due to the online school environment.

“Classes online are very different,” Policelli said. “There is obviously no hands-on lab experience that you would normally get inside the classroom. We try to watch videos, analyze them, and discuss what issues students would run into if they were producing that particular item.”

Fortunately for students who may not have all the needed ingredients or tools, cooking is not required for either classes; it’s an optional activity, but encouraged to try each recipe to further comprehend the lesson. Kuebler and Policelli choose the lessons that they feel would be most valuable and allow students to suggest recipes for the future.

“Mr. Policelli and I are trying to pick recipes that we believe most people will be able to replicate at home,” said Kuebler. “There are so many recipes in our curriculum, so we choose what we think will be accessible to most people.”

On the other hand, students have spoken out about their feelings surrounding the at-home learning environment while cooking. Whelchel explained the inconvenience of cooking in her household due to many distractions and tasks.

“Usually it is too much of a hassle to be worth it,” said Whelchel. “I also have to deal with my entire family in the house while trying to cook, while under a strict timeline, while trying to clean the kitchen. It is just a lot of difficulty during the school day, so it’s easier to just view the video.”

In addition, several challenges have been introduced for teachers due to remote learning. Kuebler has expressed the difficulty of finding fun, interactive ways to teach without normal classroom equipment. Policelli explained how distance learning isn’t as stimulating as an in person experience because you cannot look over a students shoulder and provide needed help.

“Not being able to see my students and interact has been super challenging!” said Kuebler. “I miss their faces and their humor; I love to see my students bonding with their teammates, working through problems, and just having a great time. I really miss that.”

Despite the drastic changes students and teachers have endured due to online school, Culinary Arts and Gourmet Foods still remain as enjoyable, laid back electives for all students. Kuebler explained how the course is a good break from the loads of work and heavy content students receive in other subjects.

“I really liked the idea of having a fun class to go along with my core classes, so I chose Culinary and overall I really have enjoyed it,” said Whelchel. “I think the best part has been the relative lack of homework.”

Policelli’s goal for his students is to get as much out of the class as possible. Furthermore, he wants his students to fully gain an understanding of the basics of cooking, feeling comfortable testing out new recipes, and exploring the world of culinary arts to be able to determine if it is a career path that they’re passionate about.

“Gourmet Foods and Culinary Arts would benefit any student,” Policelli said. “We all need to eat and most of us enjoy eating good food; knowing how to cook will be a skill you can use for life, whether you are in the field professionally or not.”

Jan
4

By

Marching Band continues despite pandemic and lack of competitions

Category: Arts and Entertainment Tags: ,

Emily Banner | staff writer

Jazz band rehearses with masks during the first half of the school year. Photo courtesy of Anita Kau.

During most years, summer and fall are marked with drumming and music as members of the LCHS Marching Band practice on the field. At the start of this school year, however, most in-person activities were cancelled due to the pandemic. As the year continues, people are trying to return to some semblance of normalcy.

Marching band was unable to meet in the summer and fall due to school guidelines, but as of November, groups have begun to practice again. Pit and drumline began to come into school starting on November 2, and marchers started coming in on November 9. Safety precautions are being taken to prevent coronavirus from spreading among the group.

According to drum major Anita Kau, all musicians must complete a health check form. On arrival, a faculty member takes their temperature, and they are asked to use hand sanitizer upon entry. Social distancing of six feet is enforced at all times.

Weather permitting, marchers always practice outside, using masks and instrument bags. Currently there is no competition being held to work towards, but Kau says they “have our fingers crossed for a possible spring season.”

Marching band met until winter break. However, cases rose after break, and the band put their practices on hold for the time being. “As much as we enjoyed having in-person practice, we felt that it wouldn’t be responsible of us nor would it be safe to continue practice under the current circumstances,” says Kau.

Nov
11

By

With aspirations of stardom, Elisheva Desser releases her first EP

Category: Arts and Entertainment Tags:

Olivia DeWan | staff writer

Elisheva Desser (aka Caleny) poses for her photoshoot featuring her Sixteen Ep. In addition to her Ep, she also has a single.

For many people, the dream of becoming a music star seems impossible, but for junior Elisheva Desser, this dream has already become her reality.

At just sixteen years old, Desser jumped into her music career. On September 25, Desser released Sixteen, her first EP. An EP is a collection of songs that is too short to be called an album, but is more than a single song.

“I’ve been making up songs since I was four years old,” Desser said. “I used to make up lyrics and have my dad write them down in a journal for me.”

Throughout her entire life Desser has been connected to music, she would make up her own songs and tunes.

“Throughout pre-K and third grade, I didn’t have a writing pattern, I just wrote down melodies and a lot of “la la la’s,” Desser said.

She was raised in a religious household, so her parents limited the types of music she was allowed to listen to.

“When I was younger, I was only allowed to listen to Christian radio,” Desser said. “My parents got me a CD player one year, and I stole my mom’s Adele CD, which is what started my love of pop ballads.

“I didn’t have access to whatever kind of  music I wanted until my freshman year in high school, when I got my first iPhone and computer,” Desser said. “I didn’t even know certain genres existed. I got into all sorts of different music from oldies, to alternative, hip hop, R&B, and artists that don’t fit into one genre.”

Though she was introduced late to certain genres and songs, Desser didn’t let that hold her back.

“I expanded my music taste a lot that year and I learned to write songs in other genres,” she said. “But I’ve always been best at writing a catchy pop song.”

As her talents grew, she started experimenting with different songs and writing patterns. She would write love songs and songs about heartbreak, even though she herself had not yet experienced those emotions.

She took what she heard from pop songs on the radio and used that to influence her early writing.

As she got better at songwriting, she started to use music to understand herself deeper instead of writing for fun.

“Writing eventually became a way to emote and understand my own thoughts, rather than just a space to be creative,” she said. “When I create music, it makes me happy and it helps me through whatever I may be facing.”

Though Desser admits to having a natural talent, she understood that in order to get better she would need the help of more advanced songwriters/musicians.

“ I was taught by Beckah Shae and Jack Shocklee on how to perfect the way I wrote,” Desser said. “I learned syllable count, how to better follow a storyline, and things I had never considered thinking about when writing.”

Jack Shocklee is a professional music producer, with several of his songs heard on radios across the country. He’s married to Beckah Shae who is an American Christian-pop singer/songwriter. Shocklee has a producing studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

“In 2018, Jack Shocklee made the track to Freedom’s A Fight and I flew out there in February to write the song to it with Beckah Shae,” Desser said. “ I had never collaborated with another songwriter before, and she taught me a way of writing that was so unlike anything I had heard.”

Desser is fond of the producer and songwriter and explained how they supported her throughout her entire journey.

“Jack and Beckah are close family friends and they taught me so much about the industry and about how my faith relates to my music,” Desser said.

Together, Desser, Shae, and Shocklee worked on the Sixteen EP. Desser would fly down to Nashville to Shocklee’s music studio and record and work on her songs there.

“Beckah Shae and Jack Shocklee are the co-writers and producers of the EP,” Desser said. “Not only did they do such an incredible job on the tracks, helping me get the vocals and melody’s right, but they also poured into me spiritually and emotionally.”

Desser worked on her EP for three weeks, constantly working to perfect her songs so they would be ready to be released. Her Sixteen EP consists of four songs, “Happy Anyway”, “Why Don’t U”, “Freedom’s a Fight”, and “Don’t Give Up”.

In addition to creating her EP, she also came up with her show name, deciding to go by “Caleny” instead of Ellie.

“Every version of my full name was already taken on Apple Music,” Desser explained. “We wanted something unique. My middle name is McAleny, so I thought about just doing ‘Caleny’ so that it’s a part of my name, but not something other people have used.”

When her EP was finally recorded and produced, Desser had a different job to do besides songwriting and singing. She had to start promoting her work so people would know that there was a new, talented, young artist in town.

“I mainly used social media to promote my album(which is a 4 song EP),” Desser said. “A lot of my friends put it on their Instagrams and shared it with other people.”

Desser’s best friend, Mia Deladurantaye, was a huge supporter of her and her work.

“I’ve known Ellie since we rode the same bus in sixth grade,” Deladurantaye said. “I genuinely love her music and I would still listen to it even if I wasn’t friends with her.”

Along with her best friend, Desser said that her parents also inspired her to become a songwriter and that they were some of her biggest supporters.

“I would say that my parents played a huge role in what I have accomplished so far,” she said. “From a young age my parents always encouraged my dreams and pushed me to go for what I wanted. My mom and dad believed in my potential and financially supported me in recording.”

Desser was very proud of her EP along with all of her supporters, she worked very hard on all of her songs, but was able to pick a favorite.

“‘Why Don’t U’ was very personal so I felt nervous releasing it,” Desser said. “But it’s my favorite song off of the EP.”

Deladurantaye agrees.

“My favorite song for sure is ‘Why Don’t U,’” Deladurantaye said. “I remember when Ellie walked into [the] school library after getting back from recording in Nashville, and I loved it as soon as I heard it.”

Desser’s love for music only grew throughout this entire process, she never once strayed from her goals, her path, or her faith.

“I think music has the power to impact anyone’s life,” she said. “ Music is a God given gift and I don’t know what life would be like without it. Music is something that is universal, but also personal. By listening to music, anyone can feel related to and connected. It can change the atmosphere of a room.”

When she released her Sixteen EP, she wasn’t just doing it for herself.

“I hope that the songs I released help people in some way,” she said. “Whether they just needed a song to relate to, or a happy song to sing along to, I want my music to positively impact my peers, and people I don’t know.”

During her journey, Desser solidified what she already knew; she wanted music to be her career in her future. She’s aware that the music industry is tough, and oftentimes shows no mercy.

“Singing and Songwriting has always been viewed as a career for me,” Desser said. “As I’ve gotten older, a part of me hoped that I would find another career that I found interesting because of how hard it is to make it in the music industry. As a junior in high school, my goals haven’t changed, and I would like to be a singer/songwriter, and write songs for other people. Recording in the studio throughout the past few years has only reassured my dreams and helped me realize that music is something I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Desser intends to keep working on her music and improving her skills, she plans to hopefully release another EP, or maybe even a full album.

“We haven’t discussed what the next plan of action is for recording, I think that we’ll see how the EPp does and put more small EPs out until hopefully, something blows up,” she said. “ In the next EP, I would expect to see more originals. I’ve been doing a lot of writing and I have a lot of songs that could potentially be recorded.”

On September 28, 2020, Desser attended her Sixteen EP release party, officially making her first debut as an upcoming artist.

“Congrats @calenymusic on your #sixteen EP release,” Shocklee commented on one of his Instagram posts. “Super proud of you!”

Deladurantaye was also ecstatic for her friend.

Ellie Sheva’s Sixteen Ep album cover. Her Ep was released on September 25, 2020.

“I was extremely proud of her because she had been working so hard for so long,” Deladurantaye said.

Desser herself could hardly believe that she had successfully produced her first EP.

“Releasing the album was exciting and relieving because we had been waiting to release it for so long,” Desser said.

Her music can be found on Spotify and Apple Music under her show name, Caleny.

“Being in the studio, I learned a lot about professionalism and I’ve gotten better at recording as time has gone on,” Desser said. “Some of my favorite memories are in the studio and creating the EP felt like a dream come true.”

 

Nov
11

By

Theater department transforms online challenges into unique opportunity

Category: Arts and Entertainment Tags: , ,

Liberty Harrison | staff writer

As distance learning continues, all LCHS classes have been affected, but many elective courses have faced unique challenges because of the content of their courses’. One such elective is Drama class, which has dealt not only with the problem of transitioning to online classes but also the retirement of the LCHS theater art teacher of 42 years.

These pictures feature a sculpture entitled “regret” made by Sophia Hylton for a technical theater project. Even as learning has had to be transferred to a virtual setting students have been able to work physically with props and materials they have access to at home.

Drama students and William Staggs, the new drama department teacher, agree that technology can lead to difficulties during class.

“There are many differences because of online learning,” said sophomore and Drama II student Kathryn Blackwood. “Our warmups feel a little more awkward happening in front of our families, and the physical space that we’re working in is different.”

“We definitely aren’t able to be as physical as last year, and it’s kind of awkward doing a two-person scene when you’re the only one in the room and looking at a camera,” said junior Sophia Hylton, Technical Theater II student, and assistant director and stage manager for the first play of the year.

Online learning may also affect new theater students more significantly than experienced ones.

“Since I’ve been doing drama for so long it’s muscle memory to me, but I can imagine being a new student in the department and feeling absolutely lost,” Hylton said.  “There’s definitely a lot to learn, and in this case the best way to learn it is in person. You can mimic what you see and listen to directions, but without being there you miss a lot of the process that goes into learning how to act.”

Not only does the virtual setting put up barriers for interactions, but it also can malfunction, disrupting communication.

“When Schoology or Google isn’t cooperating, we have to get creative,” said Staggs. “On the flip side, theatre is an active class and, as such, the virtual environment makes that somewhat difficult.”

The way students take part in class has also been affected by the online setting.

Staggs admits that the county’s prohibition on requiring that students use their camera can cause some problems. “It does, particularly in theatre,” he said, noting that most students in his classes keep their cameras on and engage. “I think they participate ‘differently.’ The virtual environment calls for different types of participation.”

Hylton misses using the tools available at school, as well as the ability to build physical sets. However, even with new problems created in an online environment, students agree that they are still enjoying drama class, and even enjoy some of the challenges online learning presents.

“I’ve enjoyed how creative we have had to be to get the message across, like using props around the house and pushing your limits physically to catch audience attention,” Hylton said. “As for tech, I’ve learned so much about the world of online tools to help tech theater people like me.” “I’m glad I got to see this part of theater from a different perspective.”

Although prevented from doing certain activities, everyday theater classes have found ways around the challenges presented by online learning.

“In a normal drama class we all get on Google Meet and turn our cameras on since acting is physical and vocal,” Blackwood said. “We do a warmup question to get creativity flowing and also an actor’s warm up, which involves physical movement, vocal warmup, and mental preparedness. Then we go into whatever activity we are currently doing.”

“In theater we really jumped right into things again right away, with a few little projects like a group commercial and some two person scenes with a vague prompt, similar to what you would see during an in-person theater class,” Hylton said.

Drama class has already covered several topics through online learning, including general improvisation activities, Shakespearean monologues, and open-ended dialogues, while technical theater has worked on safety protocols, elements of design, and sculpture creation.

Both Drama and Technical Theater classes have incorporated a variety of online resources to aid in transferring in-person classroom activities to a virtual setting.

“Right before this interview I had to design a small stage environment on some modeling software that will be presented in class,” Hylton said. “…We’re about to turn some of our virtual designs into augmented reality so that we can project them on things like a hologram when we can finally get into hybrid learning again.”

Drama class has found ways to create a virtual theatrical production, an original mashup of Edgar Allan Poe’s works, allowing students the opportunity to practice their skills.

“We started off with an idea,” Hylton said. “Since all of our officers really love Edgar Allan Poe, we have been wanting to do something with his works for a very long time.

The drama officers then brought this idea to Staggs, who found a script for the play, entitled “Midnight Dreary,” written by one of his theater associates. Since then auditions, callbacks, and the creation of a cast list have been finished.

After confirming the cast list contained several drama officers, students who assist in the running of the drama department, the director and assistant director decided to modify the script, by adding several other of Poe’s works to produce a unique play.

“Staggs and I decided to make this an opportunity for us to all work together to create a story,” Hylton said.

Given the original creation and adapted content, the play will have a multifaceted atmosphere.

“It will be a little scary– Poe’s work is scary!– but it will be fun,” Staggs said.

The play will be created by different actors, filming separate parts of the play which will then be edited together. This method of production will maintain county safety protocols while allowing for multiple people to participate together in the production.

“We have no choice but to record the performance and post it online, but if the county agrees we might be able to have in-person rehearsals with some of our smaller groups,” Hylton said.

The virtual play is already underway, with auditions completed and students having received their roles, but a date for the release of the production has not yet been set.

Blackwood, who auditioned for the play earlier this month, confirmed she was chosen to participate.

Although technological issues have already been dealt with in rehearsals and new issues may arise with this novel method of production, the play’s participants are confident that they will be able to work around them.

“I don’t think there should be too many issues since we have some pretty smart people in the tech crew,” Blackwood said.

“We have been using Google Meets for the rehearsals so far, and there’s always an issue with lag or delay, and of course bad wifi,” Hylton said. “Cameras freeze, audio cuts out, whatever you think could go wrong already has. We’ve all been really patient during this time, and decided to take things slowly.”

The theater department will be charging money to watch the production, using a digital payment method.

This picture, taken by A. J. Jelonek, former LCHS student, shows the LCHS auditorium’s empty seating. Because of social distancing protocols, in person viewings of plays aren’t possible at this time. The theater department has found a way around this by working to create a recording of a play, viewable online.

“We haven’t decided what the fee will be, but it will be minimal,” Staggs said.

As the year has progressed, much of the theater department have looked at this adapted form of class as a learning experience.

“This has possibly only taught us something more about acting though, because now we have experience working around situations and finding creative solutions,” Blackwood said.

Although many miss in-person classes, and do feel some anxiety about the uncertain duration of the distance learning environment, mostly they have continued to enjoy the online theater department experience.

“I believe it will get boring and repetitive, but theater students tend to be really good at staying engaged and working hard,” Hylton said. “After all, we have a passion for it and work together to come up with new ideas and ways to stay interested. Although we all are itching to go back, I believe that together as a group we can last in this kind of learning for at least a little while. As long as we have the promise of going back, we can keep our hopes up.”

May
20

By

Treasure into trash: artist Summer Orledge expresses beliefs through art

Category: Arts and Entertainment

Lorenzo Salas | Guest Writer

Summer Orledge, a junior at LCHS, has recently been coming into the art scene. Her art mainly includes drawing and painting. One of her recent works, “Chokehold,” is a mixed media project.

painting by summe r

Summer Orledge’s painting “Chokehold” earned honorable mention in the Scholastic Gold Key contest.

“The face was done with colored pencils, the hands were watercolor, and the background is a mixture of watercolor and colored pencils,” said Orledge.

The mixed media project was entered into the Scholastic Gold Key contest on December 2, and the results came out on January 31.

“The mixed media project received an honorable mention from Scholastic. The mixed media has a deeper meaning,” Orledge explained. “The painting is about how children are very creative and how school molds them and changes them.”

Despite believing that the school system is hurting the students’ creativity, Summer is excited for senior year so she can work on her community service project.

“Senior year I definitely want to do a community service project at Tolbert,” she said. “I would probably paint a mural…something cheerful with a little bit of depth.”

Whether it be murals or a colored pencil project one thing is for certain this artist is going places when it comes to sending message through her art.

May
15

By

One Acts Create A Roller Coaster of Emotions

Category: Arts and Entertainment

Maggie Sheridan | Managing Editor

Editor’s note: this story was written prior to the March 2020 school closing. We are publishing third-quarter articles online as well as featuring them in a “print” PDF at www.issuu.com/theloudounraider.

students acting in the one act plays

Sophomores Madison Walley, Phyllis Schaefer, and Anna Diem act in “Questions,” a one-act play directed by senior Cristin Fries. The One Acts were performed in February.

This February, the drama department performed their annual one act plays. The tradition has been going on for roughly ten years. They are all student directed and are a fun break from the normal work that drama creates.

There are exactly six One Acts that are ten to fifteen minutes long. They range from comedies to dramas to real world problems.

The One Acts are completely student run and they choose their groups as well as what they perform. “It’s a really unique experience and I hope that students gain an appreciation for responsibility,” said Theater Arts teacher John Wells.

The first one is called “Philadelphia.” It is about learning the ways of being in Philadelphia, how to talk to people, get what you want, and get by in life.

“Drugs are Bad” is about two parents that use reverse physiology to make their son a perfect kid. “Bagels and Donuts” shows a couple having a hard time figuring out what to eat for breakfast and leads to a harsh realization that they both want different lives but need each other.

Sophomores Jessica Kemon and Lily Takemoto starred in “La Mouche” with freshman Kat Blackwood. It’s about two French waiters that work at a restaurant where a customer finds a fly in her soup. All of the waiters are trying to kill the fly and the person who placed the fly in the soup.

Kemon is playing the role of a customer and Takemoto is playing Pierre, a waiter. “Our One Act is just a funny skit that we hope the audience will enjoy,” said Kemon. “Since there’s not a lot of people in it, you get really close with everyone.”

The students started preparing at the start of January. One struggle Takemoto faces when acting is keeping a straight face during the performance. Also, they have to make sure to be very loud so the audience can hear them throughout the auditorium.

Another One Act, “Unintended Video,” is about a woman who takes a video of a burn victim in the park and doesn’t realize his condition. She thinks he is hurt and goes back to have a conversation with him and learn more.

Sophomore Brighton Lieu plays Samuel, the burn victim, and sophomore Avery Abramson plays Clarissa, the woman.

This piece is very emotional and one of the deeper One Acts. “It has a lot of messages in it and it’s trying to express that you shouldn’t judge others based on how they look and as a person being judged, don’t judge other people harshly,” said Lieu.

The role was pretty emotionally taxing for Lieu compared to previous roles. “It’s definitely more of an acting challenge because this is actually someone’s life and so it’s hard to tap into that,” said Lieu. “Everyone experiences moments where they have to have awkward conversations about a deep topic that they don’t want to have, but are necessary.”

“Questions” was about three women who are friends. One of them did something bad and through the course of the play we figure out that she killed a man and stole from another girl.

Sandra and Mia were played by sophomores Phyllis Schaefer and Madi Walley and sophomore Anna Diem played the role of Rosie.

“The message I wanted to spread through this play was that you never know what someone is going through and it’s important to keep that in mind,” said senior Cristin Fries.

The tech theater class creates all the props used in the One Acts.

We have a costume collection that has been rapidly growing over the years, so we use those for our performances,” said Takemoto.

If students wish to direct a One Act, they can go to Wells and he chooses them. Students pick what play they would like and hold auditions after it has been approved. Most of them are in Theater Arts 3 or Theater Arts 4, while the actors are in Theater Arts 2 or Theater Arts 1.

The directors are in charge of prep including the set, lighting and props. “Directing is different from acting because you have to have a concept for the entire show,” said Fries. “With acting, you only have to focus on your character. [In directing,] you have to tell the actors where to move and how you want them to develop through the course of the show.”

Scheduling presented a challenge. “The whole process took less than two months,” said Fries, meaning students had to meet frequently to prepare their work. The directors are a key part of the One Acts because it’s their vision and actors are a component of their vision.

“The students take an idea and see it from start to finish and get to work with different people. “I think the students really appreciate these performances and once it’s over some will tell me it was their favorite experience in theater that they’ve ever had,” said Wells.

 

Apr
29

By

New dance club springs into action: Phyllis Schaefer and Madi Robbs believe dance club brings positive change

Category: Arts and Entertainment

Lorenzo Salas | Guest Writer

Dance club co-founder Madi Robbs dances at her house.

Editor’s Note: this story was originally set to be published in our third-quarter issue. After schools closed down with the COVID-19 crisis, quarter 3 articles are now being published online. We will continue to publish online until we are back in school.

“It gives me something to enjoy and prepares me for a long day of school,” sophomore Madi Robbs said of the dance club she restarted after founder Taryn Smithson graduated.

Robbs describes Dance Club as “a good start to your day.” The duo is not limited to dance club; they dance a lot during the week.

“I used to dance six days a week, around seven hours a day,” said sophomore Phyliss Schaefer. “But since I’m swinging into things again I only do four days a week, an hour or so a day.”

Schaefer does not currently dance professionally, but she hopes that changes. “I do aspire to be a professional dancer one day,” she said. “I freaking love it.”

Phyllis also commented on her favorite music. “My favorite is rap and my least favorite is opera.”

Inspired by their love of dancing and music these two have decided to start a club to help give people a good start to their day with dancing.

For anyone wanting to join Dance Club, they meet every Thursday morning at 8:15 and are open to new members.

One question remains: where will you be Thursday morning?

Jan
30

By

ARTIST OF THE ISSUE: STUDENT ARTIST EMERGES IN LOCAL COMMUNITY

Category: Arts and Entertainment

Maggie Sheridan | Managing Editor

Mallory Little displays one of her favorite drawings, an original piece entitled “Bullseye.” She created it using acrylics. The detail reflects the amount of time she spends on her artwork, earning her sales at King Street Coffee. Photo courtesy of Mallory Little.

For Mallory Little, art has been a passion for as long as she can remember. Her interest in art began when she was only four years old. “I started out drawing little stick figures and my mom started to notice and thought they were good,” said Little.

Little has focused on art over the years and worked her way up to more and more detailed and challenging pieces. In fact, at this point, she will frequently get commissions for her pieces.
“I had an art show about a year ago at King Street Coffee. I sold a few pieces there,” said Little.

Little’s favorite artist is Gustav Klimt. He is known for his many paintings and sketches of women. “There’s something very ethereal and haunting about his art,” Little said. “I love his style and use of colors as well.”

Surprisingly, she doesn’t currently take any art classes at LCHS, though she has taken private lessons. Nonetheless, she plans to incorporate art into her life in the future. In an effort to continue to improve her artistic talent, she has started taking private lessons.

Little enjoys talking about her interest. “I often share that I create art with most people,” said Little. “It’s a good conversation starter.”

She has continued with art because she gets better the more she works at it. “I like art because it’s so interpretive. There’s no set definition and anyone can do it. I’ve kept doing it all these years because I feel like I can’t stop now.”

Little believes she gets her love of art from her family. Her mom was an art major and her aunt is a prop mistress, which is a person who creates prop tables for musical performances.

“Art is something that definitely runs in the family,” said Little. It looks like Little will keep the tradition alive.

Jan
30

By

“9 TO 5” DEPARTS FROM THE NORM: DRAMA DEPARTMENT DELIVERS A MESSAGE OF CHANGE

Category: Arts and Entertainment

Cara Hodge | Editor in Chief
Mackenzie Munn | Managing Editor

Sydney Barker, Kate Manson, and Sirra Faal, the three leading ladies of the musical, stand in the spotlight as they sing in unison. Many of the songs in the musical “9 to 5” portrayed a message of equality and change. Photo by Cara Hodge

Diverging from the usual romance-centered musical, the drama department chose something new for their fall musical: a play about fighting back against injustice and working for equality.
The musical “9 to 5” was initially a movie made in 1980 that became a musical in 2008. It is about the lives of three women who feel trapped by their office jobs in the oppressive social climate of the 1970’s.

The musical follows their different stories and accidental hijinx as they get revenge on their tyrannical boss.

The three women were played by seniors Kate Manson as Violet Newstead, Sirra Faal as Doralee Rhodes, and Sydney Barker as Judy Bernly. Franklin Hart, the ladies’ tyrannical boss, was played by senior Harrison Rands.

At the end of every year “the upcoming seniors usually get the majority of the say as to what the play is,” Rands said. This year’s seniors felt very strongly about their pick. Rands said they “talk a lot about relevancy” and for the seniors’ last musical performance of high school they wanted to be “more relevant to social issues.”

“It’s one of those shows where the audience is bumping in their seats,” said Manson. “They’re enjoying the music not just the production quality but also the spirit of the show.”

The spirit of the show shines through the heart-felt songs and comic dialogue. Though this musical was not only for entertainment but presented a message of “fighting back against the people in your life who do you wrong and fighting for what’s right,” said Manson.

The structure of the show is different from the way a lot of musicals are structured, according to the senior leads. Usually the romance plot is the central focus of the show, but in “9 to 5” this is not the case.

For their final performance of high school they wanted to deviate from the usual and tell the story of a bond between a united group rather than the love story between two people. “The show was all about fighting back and the sisterhood that the three girls have,” said Mason.

“I think its a message of acceptance and equality,” said Rands. “We wanted to send a message of respecting each other and treating others equally.” Rands noted that “9 to 5” accomplishes that: the story ended in the three ladies receiving the fulfillment they longed for and finally getting revenge on their “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical boss,” according to Rands.

“You see what happens when people are hateful towards each other and you can see what happens when people are loving towards each other,” said Manson. At the end of the show the message that the drama department wanted to send filled the room.

As Manson said, it was the resounding message of the importance of “love, acceptance, equality, and change.”

Nov
20

By

The Loudoun Raider thanks the Loudoun Library for its support

Category: Arts and Entertainment

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