Jul 14, 2016
by Lillian Khemmanyvong
This year Mr. Spruill is sponsoring the physics club “Club TACWACA” (The Awesome Club Without A Cool Acronym). The club is open to anyone who is interested, although there is one requirement: you have to be approved by either Mr. Spruill himself or your current science teacher. Club TACWACA, as Mr. Spruill explains it, is more about allowing students to be themselves and letting them to feel like they can do anything. “It’s sort of like everybody’s ‘ok’ zone. It’s ok to come and be super nerdy, and no one is ever going to make fun of you. We want people to feel that they can do whatever and that’s ok, and that’s what they do.” The club helps students explore science. It allows them to explore ideas and concepts they cannot learn in a regular science classes. The students have the opportunity to have a hands on experience like taking apart a dishwasher, washing machine, programming computers, and electric circuits. It helps the students understand how things work and how they are used; the skills learned and used in the club help give them an edge and more of an understanding about science for college if they want to go into Science Engineering.
Although this is a physics club, it seems as though it is more about making student feel like they fit in and are not left out. It is clear that Club TACAWACA encourages students to be themselves, and do whatever they do best or want to try. A message from Mr. Spruill to students who might want to join the club, “Just come. We are that no bully zone kind of thing. What the students will tell you is, just come and do whatever it is you do. If you draw, we have something for that, if you work on physics stuff, we have something for that. This is your chance to be you, don’t be afraid, just show up and we will find something for you.” Club TACAWACA meets every Thursday from 2:30-4:30 and is open to anyone who is willing to show off who they are and what they can do.
Jul 14, 2016
by Alexis Martin
Cross Country is a mentally tough sport. It includes a lot of running and hard work. It may not seem as complicated as most sports; we do not have any equipment other than running shoes and clothes. However, the races consist of hard work and dedication. Effort is needed because being able to run the entire three mile race over hills is difficult. Determination is needed because you must have more guts than any runner around you, and you must continue running even when you are extremely tired.
Woodlawn High School’s cross country team includes Coach Wallace and a total of thirty runners. The runners work hard Monday through Thursday to hopefully obtain a new personal record each race; races are normally held on Saturdays. The varsity races are three miles long. On a long day at practice, the runners will run up to eight miles around the school. They do this so when they run a three mile race, it does not seem as long. On a shorter day of practice, runners have speed days. The cross country runners will do up to twelve laps around the track, but it does not stop there. Not only do we have to run twelve laps, but the runners need to be at every fifty meters in a certain amount of time. Group 1 normally has to be there in ten seconds, while group 2 has to be there in twelve seconds. We have had many achievements this year: the girl’s record for Woodlawn High School was broken by Alexis Martin, and now the best three mile time is 21:23 minutes. Khidhr Al-Mustafa is also very close to the boy’s record. It is clear that the Cross Country runners put in a lot of hard work into both their practices and races.
Jul 14, 2016
by Mya Kremin
The haunted house directed by theater teacher Ms. Morton is awaited by students each year. Ms. Morton selects a theme that the house will be based on, and the students dress up as characters from the theme. This year’s theme was ‘Scary Movies.’ Students dressed up as Jason, the Woman in Black, zombies, and Insidious characters. The house is constructed on the stage and is built by students and Ms. Morton. Props such as Halloween decorations, strobe lights, and a fog machine are used. The admission to get in is three dollars and students are able to go during their lunch shift.
The actors and runners say they enjoy scaring people and participating in the haunted house. “It’s a lot of fun; I look forward to doing this every year!” says Antwuane Benton, a runner. Some underestimate the house saying it cannot be that scary since it is at school, but they are quickly proven wrong when they leave trembling. The haunted house is feared by many, but no one can resist stepping inside.
Jul 6, 2016
By Sierra Johnson
Red Stick Rumble is an off season robotics event that gives schools from all over another chance to compete with last season’s robots; it also provides a way to introduce rookie members into the organization. This is the third year we have held Red Stick Rumble at Woodlawn; it shows what robotics is about, as opposed to just explaining. Red Stick Rumble is the biggest school event as far as the number of people it takes to run. Students are assigned different jobs, such as field managers (leaders), directing crowds, and touring important guests (other members), which helps develop working and management skills.
There are three levels for schools to compete in: FRC (high school), FTC (some high, mostly middle), and FLL (elementary). FTC has smaller, kid friendly challenges and takes place on a 10 x 10 table. FLL shows elementary students how to build robots and helps them get ready for the new season. FRC takes place on a basketball sized arena, where high schools compete against each other at the same time, on the same field. They are put into groups of three, which are randomly selected, and work together for the fastest time, using preprogramed robots. This is one of the slower games, but what makes it interesting is that in one match a student could be working with another team, then competing against them in the next.
This year’s Red Stick Rumble was held September 12th 2015. The drivers representing Panthrobotics were: Seryna White, Chrishan Legeune, Alisa Wess, and Brennan Burleish. Panthrobotic’s success in the Red Stick Rumble was not winning, but instead managing to raise approximately $200 for a cure for Leukemia. They also had 25 people to donate blood, almost 2 times more than expected! The choir sang the national anthem at the beginning of Red Stick Rumble, and the JROTC managed to raise over $1000 for their program through concessions. Danielle Massey was the announcer for FRC, which had 15 groups participate, while FTC had 18 groups participate, and FLL had over 190 participates. That was the largest in the state! Mr. Eiland, the Panthrobotics sponsor, counts this as the most successful Red Stick Rumble to date, and the team hopes to have many more in the future.
Jul 6, 2016
By Alexis Martin
Yearbook is getting ready for another year of documenting the school year’s memories. As of right now the staff has decided a price for the yearbook and has acquired a new format for this year. According to Ms. Getter, the yearbook is $50, and the staff has learned their format from their trip to Southeastern University. During their trip, they not only learned about formats but also this year’s trends, layouts, designs, how to cover the entire school, and different ways to take pictures for the yearbook. The Echo should be ready by August of next year. Inside of the yearbook the staff plans to have clubs and organizations recognized from Woodlawn High School. This is a great way for the entire school to get noticed for what they are accomplishing. Something else that will be in The Echo will be this year’s senior ads. A senior ad is a picture and message featured in the yearbook. It will let the child know how proud their parents are of them, and it will help them go back and remember what they accomplished throughout high school. In order to get a senior ad, the senior must talk to either the sponsor, Ms. Getter, or the staff. Start paying for a yearbook really soon because after November the price will rise. Be sure to thank all of the people involved with the yearbook because they work their hardest to make sure Woodlawn’s memories are documented.
