Volume 2 - Issue 2
For most of my life, I have found myself to be infatuated
with the question stem “What if?” While
it may be made up of only two of the simplest words in the English language it evokes
meaning that can be equal parts diverse and profound.
“What If” Can be a
tool of learning and discovery about the world
In the earliest days
of my childhood, “What if” was my go to question. I know I am not alone on this one, as so many
kids through the years have questioned “What if dinosaurs still existed?” “What if aliens came to our house?” or “What if I could fly?”
My wife has recounted a story in which her 3rd grade classmates asked so many “what if” questions about their homework that it prompted the teacher to instruct the class that there were to be no more what if questions. One boy in the class responded to this with “What if the world ends tomorrow, do I still have to turn in my homework?”
While these childhood “What ifs” may seem trivial and
nonsensical to an adult, they are in fact a vehicle for exploring the world and
how it works. This is most certainly
true in my experience, and I now stand on a foundation built on this powerful
question.
“What If” can be used
for reflecting on choices that have shaped our life
As I grew, my life grew and changed, but my use of “what if”
did not. At each life stage I discovered
a new application for my question, ranging from the ridiculous to the
profound. I also discovered that many of
my “what if” questions did not have an answer, but that the most important ones
always did.
As I approached high school graduation and all of the life
shaping choices that come with it, I found myself choosing between St. Vincent
College and Waynesburg College. I
eventually settled on Waynesburg.
Waynesburg was a wonderful experience and absolutely the right
choice. However, St. Vincent was in our
conference, and every time we traveled to their school for a cross country
meet, I would wonder “What if I had chosen St. Vincent?” Part of me wanted so badly to see this
alternate path, this alternate reality.
I was so curious about what my life could have been like given different
choices that I typically drove myself crazy and had my worst races at St. Vincent.
While in college, I was encouraged by some friends to apply for a summer job as a camp counselor at Pine Springs Camp. I ended up spending four summers there and had an incredible experience. The crazy thing is, I almost didn’t turn in my application and was not exactly thrilled about spending the summer away from home. I sometimes reflect back on that experience and I wonder “What if” I hadn’t applied (more on this later).
While in college, I was encouraged by some friends to apply for a summer job as a camp counselor at Pine Springs Camp. I ended up spending four summers there and had an incredible experience. The crazy thing is, I almost didn’t turn in my application and was not exactly thrilled about spending the summer away from home. I sometimes reflect back on that experience and I wonder “What if” I hadn’t applied (more on this later).
After college, I interviewed unsuccessfully for several
teaching jobs in Pennsylvania and ended up making the winding trip to McDowell
County, West Virginia. Standing where I
am now, I wonder “What if” I had gotten one of those jobs in Pennsylvania.
Fast forward several years later, and I found myself
wondering “What if” I asked this girl to marry me. This was one of those rare and significant
occasions where I did find out the answer, and thankfully the answer was
yes.
This proposal gave me an answer to my question about Pine
Springs, as it was during my time there that I met my future wife. It also gave me an answer to my question
about St. Vincent and my question about the teaching jobs in Pennsylvania.
If any of those three
things had turned out differently, it may have drastically altered the way that
my life has played out. Everything that
happens to us, every “what if” builds upon the past, for better or worse, to
shape us into the people we will become.
“What if” can be a way to try to process that which cannot be understood
More recently, I found myself once again applying “what if”
to some things I did not understand about the world, just as I had when I was a
child. Unlike when I was a child, I
found this set of questions taking on a much more serious tone based on what I
was seeing and hearing about the world.
Recent examples include “What if the parents of four
children, ages 6-13, were not killed in a car accident while driving to buy
Halloween candy and face paint for their children?” “What if the pregnant wife of an Indianapolis
pastor, and mother of a one year old, had not been killed during a home
invasion?” and “What if a three month old baby hadn’t died on his first day of
daycare?”
While I did not know the people in any of these three cases,
I found myself being very much impacted by their stories. This most recent round of “what if” proved to
challenge me more than any other “what if” question I have ever asked
myself.
I think these stories
struck such a cord because they all are tragic examples of the frailty of
life. I am sure that none of these
people woke up thinking that this would be the day that they would tragically
lose their wife/mother/husband/father/child/sibling.
I also believe they struck a chord because they transpose
the frailty of life with the resiliency of life. What if those left to pick up the pieces had
decided to be defeated? In all three stories,
this would have been a reasonable and completely understandable response, but
in all three stories those most deeply affected elected to respond.
The state trooper sent to the family home, and greeted by
four children in full costume, responded by treating the children to dinner,
movies, and Halloween candy, along with a sleepover at the state patrol
post.
The husband who tragically discovered his wife responded with his words, saying “Though everything inside of me wants to hate, be angry, and slip into despair, I choose the route of forgiveness, grace, and hope. If there is one thing I’ve learned from Amanda in the 10 years, it’s this: Choosing to let my emotions drive my decisions is recipe for a hopeless and fruitless life. Today I am deciding to love, not hate.”
The mother who dropped her happy three month old at day care
and returned to find his lifeless body has responded by sharing her story, forming the website forkarl.com, and lobbying
for better parental leave policies.
Most importantly, these stories struck a chord because they
all show the importance of living life with a fullness, an urgency, an
appreciation that every moment matters.
“What if” is not a
question, it is a way of life, a calling, a purpose
All of this time, I thought that “what if” was a question to be asked, but I now see that “what if” is so much more. “What if” is the difference between success and failure, between victory and defeat, between excellence and apathy.
What if we decided as a school, as a community, to rise up
and show the world just what a small rural school in a small rural community
can be?
What if we made it our mission to equip our students with the best resources, the best teachers, the best school possible?
What if we lived out the belief that students in rural
Appalachia deserved the same quality of opportunity as students at larger, wealthier,
suburban communities?
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| What if we stop simply sitting and wait for "Something Magical" to happen, and instead develop the Inability to Do Nothing and the desire to do Whatever it Takes |
What if every single one of us as stakeholders decided that
this seemingly impossible goal was within our grasp, that if we all pulled
together we could reach heights others never could have even imagined?
What if at this exact moment in time we all could agree that
it’s a great day to be a Hornet?
I don’t know about you, but what this picture looks like in
my mind is what drives me to work harder and do better with each passing
day.
Staff News
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| The incredibly talented Mrs. Greathouse |
A huge congratulation is owed to Mrs. Jessica Greathouse. She
has elected to leave her position as our art teacher in order to spend time
with her wonderful new son. We are very
happy for her family. We will very much
miss the dedication and excellence she brought to the classroom on a daily
basis. While we will miss her as one of
our teachers, we are thrilled that she will continue serving as our girls track
coach and will also be continuing to help us with the ever popular "Plates and Palettes".
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| Thank you Mr. White for serving our students |
We also say congratulations and farewell to choir director Mr. James White as he has had the
opportunity to take a position as a music teacher much closer to his
family. Thank you Mr. White for your
service to the students of Hundred High School and Long Drain School, your
commitment to your students was much appreciated and will be missed.
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| Welcome to HHS Mrs. Hayes! |
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| Mrs. Hayes in the first of many concerts |
On the flip side, we have had the opportunity to welcome Mrs. Melissa Hayes to our staff as our
new choir director. Since taking over as
director just before the end of the first semester, it is evident that Mrs.
Hayes will do incredible things with our choir program and we are very excited
to have her as part of our staff.
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| Our counselor Mrs. Van Scyoc |
October was a busy month, as we recognized both “College
Exploration Week” in an effort to encourage college application and enrollment
and “Red Ribbon Week” in an effort to raise awareness about drug abuse and
educate our students. School counselor Mrs. Beverly Van Scyoc was instrumental
in the organization and planning of both of these important weeks. Thank you Mrs. Van Scyoc for all of your hard
work!
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| Mrs. Moore and Mr. Sapp made our blood drive a success |
The end of October also marked our fall student council
blood drive. We are very fortunate to
have Mrs. Janet Moore and Mr. Kasey Sapp
as our student council advisers and they did a great job organizing the
blood drive.
Mrs. Bonnie McGlumphy
put her creative powers to good use and turned some of our old textbooks
into a vibrant book tree
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| Our new book tree |
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Ms. Watson leading her band |
It is not hard to know where to find Ms. Jeanine Watson, she is always here at the school working in her numerous capacities as our band director and music teacher. In the recent months, she has organized our Christmas concert, which was a resounding success, and also put together fall plays performed by our theatre class, which were performed to rave reviews.
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| Coaches Wilkins and Bartlett |
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| Coaches Dakan and Allen |
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| Mr. Rush mans the ticket table |
Our winter sports seasons would not be possible without the
coaches and staff that help make them a success. Our boys basketball team is led by head coach
Mr. Virgil Wilkins and assistant
coach Mr. Brian Bartlett, our girls
basketball is led by head coach Mr.
Steve Dakan and assistant coach Mrs.
Crystal Allen, and our cheerleading squad is led by head coach Mrs. Diana Wheeler and assisted by Mrs. Crystal Allen. Additionally, our sports could not be a
success without the involvement of our athletic director Mr. Rex Rush and our winter events coordinator Mr. Jeremy Kelch, who take care of making sure our coaches,
players, and fans can have a positive game experience.
Student Spotlight
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| Our state champions and national silver award winners |
It seems that our FFA program is constantly in the
spotlight, and our FFA Parliamentary Procedures made waves at the national
convention where the team of Hailey
Eastham, Taylor Fetty, Annie Fox, Holden Moore, Valerie Soles, and Meliah
Umstead scored the 10th highest on the placement test out of 45
participating teams and brought home a silver recognition.
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| Andrew and Emily at the Wetzel County PAC |
Our Red Ribbon Week poster contest saw Logan Moore, Victoria Hawkins, and Airadeea Williams claim the
three prizes for the top poster designs.
As two of our outstanding seniors, Andrew King and Emily Rine got to represent our school at a Wetzel
County Parents Advisory Council meeting.
Andrew also had the
opportunity to represent our school at the 21st annual First
Exchange Groundhog Day breakfast in his role as student body president.
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| First Place essay: Tyler Simms |
Tyler Simms was recognized as the first place winner for our Veteran’s Day essay contest this year with Annie Fox recognized as the runner up. Their essays were selected from a pool of more than ninety submissions.
Brandon Rine was
recognized as Hundred High School’s first place winner and Jasmine Patterson as the runner up in the annual Attendance Matters
Poster contest held across all of the schools in West Virginia.
Additionally, Brandon Rine was the second highest scoring 9th grader for the annual Wetzel County math field day
Kaitlyn Kuhn was
recognized by Fairmont Regional Medical Center for her commitment to
volunteering and community service through her volunteer work at FRMC
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| Long Tall Lester |
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| Rolling in the Dough in Mistletoe |
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| The talented cast and crew |
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| Honors band students ready for their concert |
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| Awaiting the audition results |
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| Honors choir students at West Liberty |
Additionally, three of our choir members, Macy LeMasters, Madysen Wheeler, and Airadeea Williams had the opportunity to participate in the Tri-State Honors Choir at West Liberty University, and band members Katherine Henderson, Macy LeMasters, Emily Metz, Rachel Watson, and Amber Yoho had the opportunity to travel to Marshall University to participate in the Marshall University Honors Band.
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| Celebrating a great milestone |
In sports news, our boys basketball, girls basketball, and winter cheerleading seasons are in full swing. Each of our three winter teams have brought a lot of excitement and a lot to celebrate; most notably our boys basketball team receiving a positive sportsmanship commendation from the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Comission, and senior Holden Moore reachingthe 1,000 point plateau. Over the past three years I have seen all of our sports programs take on a new mentality that reflects the direction our school is going, establishing an attitude of excellence, sportsmanship, and never giving up that I believe will bring us much athletic success over the coming seasons.
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| Proud Parents |
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| Students Featured in the Chronicle |
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| So Much to Celebrate |
We recently celebrated our student achievements during the fall 2015 semester with an academic awards assembly. This assembly served as an opportunity to recognize students for a variety of accomplishments. It is always wonderful to get our student body together and reflect on all of the things they are accomplishing. Check out the full article: Hundred High School Students Lauded in the Wetzel Chronicle
Alumni Connection
We were happy to welcome West Virginia State Trooper Sgt. Jeff Shriver (1989) to our school to
discuss the perils of drug addiction and abuse as part of our Red Ribbon Week. Additionally, we welcomed Wetzel County
Sheriff candidate, Chief Deputy Mike
Koontz who brought some recovering drug addicts to address our student
body.
The month of November allowed us to honor a number of our
alumni, as well as so many other members of our community, who served as veterans of the United States Armed Forces. We owe a great debt of gratitude to all of
those who served our country and allow us to have the freedoms we enjoy
today.
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| We owe a great debt of gratitude for those who have served our Nation |
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| Thank you Henderson Farms for your generosity! |
In just one of their many examples of extreme generosity in
support of our school and students, Howard
and Linda Henderson (1973, 1981) purchased the fall sports banners for our senior
athletes and will be doing the same for our winter athletes. We are very fortunate to have them as alumni
and as part of our school community.
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| HHS Alumni Shelly Brown |
We are always thrilled when we are able to add a new partner
to our school. It is even more special
when that partner is a Hundred High School alumni. We have recently begun working with Mrs. Shelly Brown (1979) and her
company Direct Results on several school initiatives. There is more information about our
partnership with Direct Results in the community corner.
Several of our young alumni have proven to give us a lot to
celebrate in the recent months. Ethan Umstead (2014) was recently named
second chair in the West Virginia University concert band, and Mitch Moore (2012) found out during
Christmas break that he has officially been accepted into the West Virginia
University College of Law where he will be a member of the class of 2019.
Community Corner
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| Mrs. Lazan speaking about her life and triumph |
Our entire school was very fortunate to hear Holocaust Survivor and Award Winning Author of “Four Perfect Pebbles” Marion Blumenthal Lazan share some of her story. All in attendance were moved by her story.
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| Mrs. Lazan poses for a picture |
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| Mrs. Lazan with some of the HHS Staff |
We also owe a special thank you to Cameron High School teacher Mrs. Brittany Springer for coordinating this moving assembly.
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| Captain Brown gives his address |
We were honored to have Captain John Brown give the keynote address for our Veterans Day program.
Mrs. Lauren Matthews, reporter for the Wetzel Chronicle, has been a great supporter of Hundred High School and our students over the past several years, frequently writing articles and feature stories showcasing our students and their accomplishments. She has recently received the much deserved position of interim editor at the Chronicle, with the prospects of taking over as full time editor in the near future.
The unexpected passing of Magnolia High School teacher Mr. Mark Lemasters saddened all of the
Wetzel County community. He was a great
example of dedication to his school and students and will be greatly missed by
all who had the opportunity to know him.
Our FFA program welcomed West Virginia FFA representative Miss Samantha DeBolt to share some of
her expertise on leadership with our FFA chapter members. It was a great experience that benefitted our
students immensely.
We welcomed Grammy nominated trumpet player Mr. David Wells into our auditorium
where he spoke with our students about the importance of desire, determination,
and discipline. He even challenged four
of our students to try their own hand at the trumpet.
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| David Wells discussed desire, determination, and discipline |
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| One of the screen presses at Direct Results |
We are proud to welcome Direct Results as our newest school partner. They are a company with the ability to do a vast array of graphic, multimedia, and print design to develop and promote the positive brand of the organizations with whom they partner. In the past several months, we have already seen the “direct results” of working with them as a partner in the form of our Alma Mater and Fight Song banners hanging in the school gym, the new decals on the front of the scoring table, and the senior sports banners hanging on the wall in the gym. It will be very exciting in the days and weeks ahead to work with the team at Direct Results as we continue to build a school brand that matches the educational excellence we strive to provide to our students. In addition to the opportunity to continue building our school brand, they will serve as a great partner as we work to build our own graphic, multimedia, and print design curriculum. The fact that one of their owners is a proud Hundred High School graduate makes it even more exciting to add them to our growing stable of amazing community partners.
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| Learning how to make a t-shirt |
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| Direct Results, 185 Wade St. Waynesburg PA 15370 |
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| The Hundred table at the Groundhog Breakfast |
Additionally, the Green Acres Exxon-Mobil Station has chosen to partner with Hundred High School as part of the Exxon-Mobil Math and Science Educational Alliance.
Mrs. Trina Fetty has recently come on board as our community advisor for the West Virginia RAZE program, an anti-tobacco program that aims to educate high school students and involve them in tobacco free initiatives.
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| RAZE students presenting information at a basketball game |
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| Mr. Cisar poses with students who have perfect attendance |
One thing that has recently been a huge encouragement to me has been the community involvement in our winter sports season. It seems that every single game night we have had a packed gym full of our community members. In addition to coming out and supporting our student athletes, I have been humbled by the generosity of our fans, who game after game support our students through donations to our half court contest and 50-50 raffle. On so many occasions the winner of the 50-50 raffle has turned right back around and donated their split back to the school. A special thank you is owed to those generous 50-50 winners: Kathy Moore (Twice!), Rick Kolat (Twice!), Charlie Miller, Jeanie Long, and Paul Huston. I am reminded with every game that it is agreat day to be a Hornet!
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| One of many packed houses this season |
Hundred in the News
In our newest section, we will look at “Hundred in the News”
in which we feature any news stories that feature our school or students.
Wetzel Chronicle, January 20th 2016, by Lauren Matthews: Hundred High School Students Lauded
Wetzel Chronicle, January 20th 2016, Editorial: Hail Hundred High
Wetzel Chronicle, February 10th 2016, by Bruce Crawford: Moore Scores 1,000th
Classroom Strategy of the Week
In the world in which our students will soon enter, they
will be expected to synthesize and utilize skills from multiple disciplines
together. To be successful, they will
need to understand and apply how each of the different concentrations they
studied in school is interrelated in the complex world we live in. The inability to successfully put these
pieces together is a real struggle for our students as they enter the
workforce, and a rigid school day in which each of the content areas exists as
its own island serves to further this struggle.
This is why the use of cross curricular teaching and learning is such a
powerful tool to show students how each thing they are learning is connected to
the things they are learning in other places.
Check out the article Deeper Learning: Why Cross-Curricular Teaching is Essential
from the site Edutopia.
Article of the Week
Joshua Cowen,
professor at Michigan State University and Katharine Strunk, professor at
University of Southern California, discuss whether or not a “War on Teachers”
has contributed to the teacher shortages currently facing our school
systems.
Video of the Week
An artist placed a
giant chalkboard in the middle of New York City asking people to write their
biggest regret.
Quote of the Week
“And you ask ‘what if
I fall?’ Oh but my darling, what if you fly?”
-- Poet Erin Hanson
Upcoming Events
Link for: Boys Basketball Schedule
Link for: Girls Basketball Schedule
February 10 – LSIC Meeting – 3:30
February 10 – Academic and Athletic Boosters Meeting – 5:30
February 12 – Valentine’s Day Blood Drive – 8:30 – 2:30
February 13 – FFA Regional Competition
February 15 – Regular Board Meeting – 6:30
February 15 – Girls Basketball @ Valley JV 6:00 / Varsity
7:30
February 16 – Boys Basketball Senior Night V. Clay-Battelle
and 1,000 Point Ceremony – 7:00
February 18 – Girls Basketball Senior Night V.
Clay-Battelle – 7:00
February 19 – Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
February 22 – Boys Basketball @ Valley – JV 6:00 / Varsity
7:30
March 4 – Two Hour Early Dismissal for Students
March 5 – Travel Club Basket Bingo
March 7 – Regular Board Meeting – 6:30
March 8-11 – Class Tournaments
March 16 – LSIC Meeting 3:30
March 16 – Academic and Athletic Boosters Meeting 5:30
March 21 – Regular Board Meeting/Levy Rate Determination –
6:30
March 24-28 – Spring Break
March 30 – West Virginia Dance Assembly – 1:00
April 1-2 – County Wide Art Show
April 4 – Regular Board Meeting – 6:30
April 6 – LSIC Meeting 3:30
April 6 – Academic and Athletic Boosters Meeting – 5:30
April 8 – Hundred High School Quiz Bowl – 9:30
April 9 – FFA Spring Banquet
April 18 – Regular Board Meeting – 6:30
April 22 – Spring Semester Awards Program – 9:30
April 30 – Spring Choir Concert – 7:00
May 14 – Graduation – 7:00
May 18 – LSIC Meeting - 3:30
May 18 - Academic and Athletic Boosters Meeting – 5:30
Remember
to follow our school on Twitter @HundredHornets
Check
us out on Instagram: HundredHornets
Visit
our School Website: http://www.edline.net/pages/Hundred_High_School
Thank you for all you
do as a part of our school and community.
True flight would not be possible without the contributions of all of
us. Please let me know if you have any
suggestions or information you would like included in an upcoming edition of
the Flight of the Hornet: 304-775-5221 or dgottron@k12.wv.us
Dan Gottron,
Principal, Hundred High School
Citations/Sources
"Trooper Comforts Children after Halloween
Tragedy." 11Alive. 05 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Cowen, Joshua, and Katharine Strunk. "Did a War on
Teachers Lead to New Shortages?"Education Week.
08 Feb. 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Hanson, Erin. "Values.com." Values.com. Web. 12
Feb. 2016.
Johnson, Ben. "Deeper Learning: Why Cross-Curricular
Teaching Is Essential." Edutopia. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Mcquaid, Russ, and Amanda Rakes. "Two Men Arrested on
Murder Charges in Amanda Blackburn Investigation."
Fox 59. 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Myatt, Mike. "The Power Of “What If” | N2Growth
Blog." The Power Of “What If” | N2Growth Blog. 08 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Myatt, Mike. "The Power of "What IF""
Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 08 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2016
.
Niculae, Adi. "What If..." Adi Niculae RSS. 27
Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Scorah, Amber. "A Baby Dies at Day Care, and a Mother
Asks Why She Had to Leave Him So Soon." Motherlode
A Baby Dies at Day Care and a Mother Asks Why She Had to Leave Him So Soon. 15 Nov. 2015. Web. 12
Feb. 2016.
Venosdale, Krissy. "Venspired." Venspired. 04 Oct.
2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
