WHS NEWS LINK Volume 19, Issue 4

Dec/Jan 2015-16

Important Dates:

Jazz Cabaret By Mrs. Tami Brush

On Tuesday, November 17, 2015, members of the Watervliet High School Jazz Choir presented the fourth annual Jazz Cabaret Show in the Middle School cafeteria. This 12/4: 2 HR Early Release

concert raises funds for the Watervliet Jazz Programs. Delicious homemade des-

12/8: Sophomores VB Tech

serts, coffee and tea were prepared and served by wonderful parent and family vol-

Center Visit 12/14: Winter Band Concert—7 pm 12/17: Winter Choir Con-

unteers. The evening began with the WHS Jazz Choir singing Kirby Shaw’s arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” with soloist Aliea Chapin. Several classics followed, in-

cert—7 pm

cluding an arrangement of “Imagine” by John Lennon with soloist Jessica

12/21-1/2: No School—

Flagel. This piece was dedicated to victims of the recent acts of terrorism in our

Holiday Break

world. Another favorite, “Satin Doll” was performed with soloists Felicia Villarreal

1/4: Students Return

and Derrick Davidson, as well as a wonderful a cappella arrangement of “The Way

1/16: Miss Watervliet—7

You Look Tonight”. The WHS Jazz Band performed next with several selections in-

pm

cluding “Caravan, “Cantaloupe Island” and “The Incredibles”.

1/18: No School for Students—MLK Day/Teacher PD 1/20, 21: 1/2 days for students 1/22: 1/2 day for students & staff– End of 1st Semester

This year a special guest performance was given by the SMC Jazz Choir, conducted by Dave Carew, as well as soloist Andrew Fisher accompanied by Bruce Anderson on keys. WHS Jazz Choir Alumnae were invited back to participate in this special night, and Jessica Admave, Kelsey Andres, Melissa Bradsher, Stephanie Pollard, and Joey Schmalfeldt were able to join us. It was an amazing night of music and a great time was had by all!

School Closings When inclement weather conditions occur or are predicted, please listen to local radio or television stations for school closing information; however, you should receive an instant alert message from our automated system regarding school closings. Depending on conditions, school will either be cancelled or the start time delayed 2 hours. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE SCHOOL. Lines must be open for emergency messages. Breakfast will not be served on delayed start days.

Senior Choir Members From left is Maggie Leaf, Derrick Davidson, Aliea Chapin, Cameron Bourlier, Felicia Villarreal, and Dakota Tatro.

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VOLU ME 19, ISSUE 4

A Season to Remember By Mrs. Jennifer Hollandsworth

This year, the Watervliet Marching Band took an introspective look into their own existence with their show Remember Me. The music included Funeral for a Friend by Elton John, Centuries by Fall Out Boy, Titan Spirit from the movie Remember the Titans, I Will Remember You by Sarah MacLachlan, and Letters from a Prisoner of War: Battlefront & Last Letters. The show featured soloists Cameron Bourlier, Jordan Finch, Kiya Hudson, Jaclyn Litaker, Emily Fellows, Caylie Harden, and Caleb Kibby. The band is under the instruction of Mrs. Jennifer Hollandsworth, who is in her 18th year as Director of Bands in Watervliet. Drum Majors this year are Brody Roland, LaCross Baginske, and Ellie Troyer. The Colorguard is under the student leadership of Kiya Hudson, Caylie Harden, and Jaclyn Litaker. The Percussion Section is under the student leadership of Caleb Kibby, Zoey Howard, and Branden Bodfish. On Wednesday, October 7th, the band traveled to Niles for the MSBOA District VI Marching Band Festival. At festival, the band performs their show for a panel of three judges and is given a rating from 1 to 5, 1 being the best. Watervliet received a Division 1 rating! On October 10th, they began their MCBA (Michigan Competing Bands Association) season with a trip to Grant High School. Watervliet took 2nd Place behind Godwin Heights with a score of 81.95. MCBA is a competitive organization that hosts competitions throughout the state and culminates the season with a Championship Contest at the conclusion of the season. It is an organization that requires membership. MCBA has strict rules governing the shows that are extensive and must be strictly adhered to. For example, a band must compete in at least two shows to qualify for State and only the top twelve bands in each flight are invited to the Championship Contest. Championship Average Scores (CAS) are numbers that are averaged after every show and set the state ranking going into Championships. This is also the number used to determine the top twelve bands in each flight. There are four flights in MCBA: I, II, III, & IV. Flights are based on school enrollment and change yearly depending on membership. We are solidly in Flight IV (school enrollment < 770). There are six judges at each competition, two of which are on the field critiquing individuals during the performance. The Marching Band continued their competitive season with a trip to Jenison on October 24th. Watervliet scored 82.375 and placed 6th. The band then traveled to Rockford the following Saturday to compete in the Reeths-Puffer West Shore Invitational. Despite the torrential rain, Watervliet had an amazing performance and finished 4th out of 11 and improved to a score of 86.225. The season wrapped up with a trip to Detroit. For the 12th consecutive year, the Watervliet Marching Band ranked in the top twelve in Flight IV and qualified to go to the MCBA State Championship Contest. The event was held at Ford Field on November 7th . Entering into finals in 7th place, the band had an outstanding performance and received a final placement of 6th in the State with a score of 87.55! Congratulations, Marching Band members, on a season worth remembering!

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Dance Team By Ms. Erin Faultersack

The WHS Dance Team has 11 members this year who are thrilled to entertain audiences at boy’s home varsity basketball games! The team is coached by Erin Faultersack and Briana Fonseca. The season started with a performance at the homecoming pep assembly and they’re just as excited to perform at winterfest as well. Pictured at right from the bottom row left to right is Caylie Harden and Emily Fellows. Middle row from left is Annessia Reyna, Danniell Tobar, Felicia Villarreal, and Allison Beck. Top row from left is Brianna Anthony, Jada Taylor, our first male dancer ever, Octaviano Blanco, Lacross Baginske, and Kaylee Chapin. Please come out and support the WHS Dance Team; they work really hard to choreograph routines everyone will enjoy!

Mr. Coon’s Corner By Mr. Coon

Watervliet High School completed our 1st Marking Period on November 6th. The majority of our students fared well. I want to take this opportunity to share with you our semester grading procedure. Each semester in comprised of two (2) Marking Periods, each Marking Period accounts for 40% of a semester grade. The Final Exam is 20% of the semester grade. Let’s place that in an algebraic statement: SEM1 = MP1 (40%) + MP2 (40%) + Final (20%). Therefore, each and every grade matters when it comes to earning a semester grade. I strongly recommend that you continue to have discussions with your child regarding his/her school performance. When I talk with students about their daily work and the importance of it, I often begin the discussion with asking them to complete the following phrase, “Practice makes __________.” All students generally complete the phrase with “perfect”. I share that if I practice something incorrectly, it will then be perfectly incorrect, which is not the intent of practice. We discuss that maybe it should state that “practice makes permanent”. So I encourage each student to take ownership of his/her learning and become an advocate for his/her education. I would ask that this same expectation is reinforced and communicated at home. Starting November 17th, we will be offering After-School Tutoring services on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3pm to 4pm. We strongly encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity. In closing, I would like to share an opinion I possess regarding students and grades; I believe all students are capable of earning above average grades of an A or a B and students choose to earn average or below average grades based on their effort or lack of. A wise man, my father-in-law, once said to me, “In life, people have regrets…the number one regret in most people’s life, is their education.” So give it an honest effort, make the best of this opportunity! No regrets!

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VOLUME 19, ISSUE 4

Art From Sweets to Beasts By Mrs. Marcella Hunt

It is hard to believe the students are a quarter of the way through the 2015- 2016 school year already. The art department has some beautiful work to show for our time together. We have been busy with some fun new projects and some beloved classics. Sculptures/Ceramics students began with a sweet new project, which was inspired by Wayne Thiebaud’s painting of cakes, pies and doughnuts. After doing some serious/delicious research, the class made detailed drawings of the doughnuts they would eventually sculpt from clay. After building, they experimented with different glazes and underglazes to get the most mouth-watering appearances. The resulting two-dozen doughnuts were hyper-realistic. First year art students started the year learning basic shape drawing techniques. We have moved from drawing simple cylinders and squares to the sizable task of four-point perspective.  This challenging style of drawing involves all lines of the subject to pull towards one of the four vanishing points.  With rulers in hand and several days of practice behind them students began their final piece.  The assignment was to use boxes or the letters of their names to make an interlocking and intriguing composition that would be finished in colored pencil.  By the end of this two-week project students had created stunning works of art. After attending a workshop taught by Adonna Khare, the 2012 Grand Rapid Art Prize winner, I was inspired to have the Advanced Art students turn their talents towards charcoal drawing. For this new project, students created a realistic image of an animal, working from a photo reference. After toning the paper dark grey with charcoal we worked in reverse erasing away the light portions of the image. Next, more black values were added paying close attention to texture. The final step was a white charcoal pencil to bring out the highlights. The final images were so beautiful this lesson is sure to become part of the curriculum.

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Fun & Games in Spanish By Mrs. Lindsey Diebolt This year in Spanish we have been using a lot of games to learn, reinforce, and review new content information. Some games that we have played so far include ¡Seis! and Busqueda Humana (human scavenger hunt). We use ¡Seis! mainly to practice and reinforce new grammar concepts such as the difference between the verbs Ser and Estar, using the present progressive tense, and practicing the conjugation of new verbs. The game has a written component but also makes students practice using the target language as they have to say their answers out loud as they write. Busqueda Humana was used in Spanish 2 classes to help students reinforce and practice using the verbs Saber and Conocer as well as the rules that go along with using these verbs. This game also made students practice speaking in the target language as well. No English was allowed. But, this time instead of simply saying what they were writing, they had to formulate questions on their own to ask their peers while being mindful of which verb to use. The enclosed photo is Spanish 2 playing a game of Busqueda Humana (human scavenger hunt). Students were using the target language to ask each other questions using the verbs Saber and Conocer.

Fall Sports Awards Volleyball MVP: Hannah Armstrong MIP: Zoe Smith 1st Team All Conference: Hannah Armstrong Honorable Mention All Conference: Alexis Kieft Boys XC MVP: Brendan Daly MIP: Haydon Richards 1st Team All conference: Brendan Daly & Jobe Kerr Honorable Mention All Conference: Reese Jones & Brody Roland Girls XC Legacy Award: Gabby Tavolacci MVP: Allie Pazera MIP: Taylor Shafer 1st Team All Conference: Gabby Tavolacci, Allie Pazera & Taylor Shafer

Cheer MVP: Jenna Wess MIP: McKenzie Shaffer Football Offensive Player of the Year: Blake Kiekenapp Defensive Player of the Year: Eric Lane Special Teams Player of the Year: Jordan Jobe MIP: Nick Brant Co-MVP: David Curl Co-MVP: Jordan Jobe Panther Award Winner: Ian Yazel 1st Team All Conference: David Curl, Blake Kiekenapp, Kyler Kiekenapp, Darren Brink, Eric Lane, Jordan Jobe & Cameron Rendo Honorable Mention All Conference: Tyler Brant, Tyler Loomis, Brandin Legon & Alex Lefor