Volume 1 – Issue 5
The holiday movie season of
1995 marked one of the most highly anticipated films in a long time. This film, Toy Story, marked a couple of
significant firsts for the movie industry that have since become the norm. Toy Story was both the first full length
computer animated film and was also the first major film produced by the
animation studio Pixar.
As a ten year old, this film
seemed larger than life. When Toy Story
finally opened in theatres, it was an impossible ticket to come by, as it was
sold out in every single location. When
I finally managed to secure a ticket during early December of 1995, the theatre
was so packed that the only seats available were in the very front row, all the
way on the left side of the theatre.
The central theme to this
instant classic revolved around Andy’s toys and their interactions, trials, and
adventures. One of these toys, the
classic cowboy action figure Sheriff Woody, was clearly Andy’s favorite toy and
held this prominent position proudly, at least until the arrival of Andy’s new
favorite toy, space ranger Buzz Lightyear, showed up. All of the other toys are quickly enamored by
Buzz’s flashing lights and cool features, and the icing on the cake is that
Buzz claims he can fly.
A very jealous Woody refutes
this claim and challenges Buzz to prove it.
The two argue whether he can or cannot fly until Buzz climbs to the
bedpost and closes his eyes, preparing to leap.
After he leaps, a series of very fortunate occurrences take place,
allowing Buzz to “fly” around the room and land safely back on the bed. Upon his landing, Buzz proudly proclaims that
he can fly and all of the toys are impressed, except Woody of course, who
proclaims the famous line “That’s not flying, that’s falling with style.”
As the film progresses, the
mounting tension between Buzz and Woody as they vie for the position of Andy’s
favorite is one of the primary storylines.
They battle back and forth, often to the detriment of themselves and all
of the other toys. Eventually, their
personal differences result in them both being trapped at the house of Andy’s
evil neighbor Sid.
While at Sid’s house, Buzz
sees a commercial for the Buzz Lightyear toy and becomes depressed at the fact
that he is not actually a space ranger.
Complicating this situation is the fact that all of the other toys have
begun to believe Woody is out to destroy Buzz and the fact that Andy’s family
is in the process of moving to a new house.
Eventually, Sid’s misfit toys
help free Buzz and Woody just as Andy and his family pulls out of the
driveway. Woody and Buzz initially make
it onto the back of the moving truck, but through a series of events, the two
of them, along with the toy Race Car RC, end up on the ground far behind as the
moving truck speeds away.
It is at this moment that all
hope seems lost.
However, Buzz realizes that
he has a rocket strapped to his back and Woody has a match in his pocket, both
compliments of Sid. They strike the
match, but it quickly is blown out by a passing vehicle.
Again, all hope seems
lost.
Then, Woody realizes that the
reflection of the sun through Buzz’s helmet will be able to light the wick of
the rocket. Once the rocket is lit, they
go shooting through the air towards the moving truck. Woody then proclaims “This is the part where
we blow up,” and Buzz replies “not today” before pushing the button to activate
his wings, breaking free from the rocket.
As they continue towards
Andy, Woody notes that Buzz is flying, and in the single greatest moment of the
movie, Buzz proclaims “this isn’t flying, this is falling with style!”
Shortly after this, Woody
notices that they have overshot the moving truck. When he mentions this to Buzz, Buzz responds
that they are not going for the moving truck, they are aiming for the back seat
of the car next to Andy. The scene ends
with Andy finding both toys in the box next to him on the seat.
While most of the film
focuses on the conflict and tension between Buzz and Woody, it is only in coming together as a team that
they can pull off such a feat. When Buzz
is depressed, it is Woody that convinces him he can have value as Andy’s toy –
whether or not he is a real space ranger.
When they are trapped behind the truck, it is Buzz who first comes up
with the idea of using the rocket. When
the match blows out, it is Woody’s turn to come up with the solution of using
the sunlight reflecting through the helmet.
When they end up in the air with the rocket about to explode, it is Buzz
who takes the lead.
If Woody and Buzz had insisted
on allowing their differences to come to the forefront, it would have resulted
in tragic consequences for Andy, for the rest of the toys, and for the two of
them. By coming together, they are able
to form a force much greater than either of them could be individually.
By the end of the movie, the
two toys once vying for supremacy emerge as the two toys working together to
lead all of Andy’s other toys.
Aside from getting to talk
about one of my favorite childhood movies, there are several reasons why
Falling with Style applies to the Flight of the Hornet. In a lot of ways, Falling with Style might
even be a more appropriate name for our blog.
Like the toys in Toy Story,
we are all dependent on each other. When
we struggle, we are dependent on those around us to pick us up. When we are in conflict or disagreement with
each other, it impacts everyone in our school community. On the flip side of this, when we are working
in cohesion, we are able to produce something much greater than we could with
only our individual skill sets. When all
hope seems lost and we are facing a desperate situation or impossible task, it
is through the skills and ingenuity of all of us that we are able to accomplish
great things.
Out of all the parallels
between Toy Story and Hundred High School, the one thing that I think rings the
most true is the concept of “Falling with Style.” Early in the movie, this quote was used as a
way of mocking Buzz, but by the end of the movie, Buzz had embraced this
concept, deflecting credit and showing humility. It is equally impressive that Woody, who
began the film as a jealous and bitter naysayer ends the movie as a big
supporter of Buzz, embracing Buzz’s phrase of “To Infinity and Beyond.”
Both Buzz and Woody had to
overcome their own flaws and use their strengths to work together for the
betterment of all. The triumph at the
end of the movie would not have happened if they were not able to move beyond
their struggles: for Woody, it meant overcoming his jealousy and bitterness,
and for Buzz it meant overcoming his pride and stubborn insistence that he was
something he was not. At first, Falling
with Style was certainly not flying, it was symbolic of the tension between our
two heroes, but as the film progressed, Falling with Style became something
much better than actually Flying.
As a school, we shall
identify our own flaws to overcome, and we shall identify our individual
strengths and ingenuity that will allow us to work together for the betterment
of our school and community. It will be
when we fully move beyond our own flaws, whether they be jealousy, bitterness,
pride, stubbornness, or something in between that we can experience the same
triumph as Toy Story. I believe we are
well on our way to achieving this, and while we may not be flying, we most
certainly are falling with style.
Staff News
April 22 is national Administrative Professionals Day, and
we would like recognize Ms. Farrah
Cottrill for all that she contributes to our school. She is the first point of contact for just
about anyone entering our school or anyone calling the school and juggles the
responsibilities of her job with a smile.
We are happy to have her as part of our school staff.
May 1 is School Lunch Hero Day, and we would like to
recognize Mrs. Teresa Jones for
being a part of our school staff. She
works hard every day to ensure that our students receive a healthy and
delicious breakfast and lunch every day and has a positive outlook on her job
that is noticed by all. We never have to
worry about our school meals, because she is behind the scenes making it
happen.
Mr. Scott Ash kicked
off our spring awards season with the annual FFA banquet held on April 18. This event was well attended and he deserves
a lot of credit as the adviser for working with our students and community to
put on such a nice program. We also owe
a thank you to Mr. Paul Huston and
the staff of Long Drain School for
their willingness to let us use their facility.
Ms. Jessica
Greathouse and Mrs. Denise Huggins recently
hosted the spring edition of plates and palettes, and it was a hugely
successful follow up to the fall edition.
Their hard work in planning and putting together this event is very much
appreciated, and it was wonderful to see such a great turn out.
Ms. Jeanine Watson led
the Hundred High School and Long Drain School band in a festival at John
Marshall High School. Ms. Watson led her
students to a very impressive showing, and we are glad to have her as a band
director.
Mrs. Rebecca Spicher travelled
with our quiz bowl team to Paden City as their faculty sponsor. Her name is another one that seems to
constantly come up during extracurricular activities and events. She is certainly committed to giving academic
opportunities to our students.
Mr. Ryan May recently
completed the Fitnessgram and HEAP (Health Education Assessment Project)
assessments with his 9th and 10th grade Health and PE
students. He did an excellent job of
preparing those students and having them ready for the exams.
Mr. Rex Rush and Mrs. Beverly Van Scyoc took some of our
career minded students to be part of the Project Best trade show at the
Wesbanco Arena in Wheeling. They work
very diligently to provide our students with ample career options after
graduation.
Student Spotlight
All of our FFA
Student members and our Hundred Chapter FFA Officers celebrated the past
year with a wonderful banquet of recognition.
Our FFA students received a number of different recognitions and awards
for their accomplishments, and we are very proud to have these students as part
of our school. On a personal note, I was
very proud to be selected as an honorary recipient of an FFA Degree for the
Hundred FFA Chapter.
Caleb Singer was
a finalist for the 2015 Youth Leadership of the Year Award and is well
deserving of this recognition. He is
almost at the end of his term as student body president, and over the past year
he has made a great impact, working to bring improvements to his school and community
at every opportunity.
The HHS/LDS Band did
an excellent job in their performance at the John Marshall band festival. They received a superior rating in sight
reading and impressed all who heard them.
Danny Stewart, Lucretia Noland, Courtland Armstrong, Madeline Goff, Miranda Gray, and Brittany Tustin shined this week as they were the students who passed every category on the Fitnessgram assessment.
Meliah Umstead has been selected as a West Virginia future scholar and will be recognized at a reception on May 13th in which she will hear a keynote address from West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee.
Our Science Fair Participants just keep rolling in the accolades, as they recently collected $950 in prize money as a result of their science projects.
Community Corner
Many people in our community came together for the Donkey
Basketball event which took place on April 13th. This event was a huge success and we were
able to raise a lot of money for our prom.
A special thank you goes out to Mrs.
Janet Moore, Mr. Pariksit Spicher, and Mr. Urey Mortimore. They are as our junior class advisers, and
who worked to organize this great night.
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Another great community event involved our plates and palettes event. Much like the fall edition, this event was completely sold out, and it was a great night to see so many of our community members come together.
The FFA Banquet has been mentioned several times already, but it is worth mentioning again, as it was a great coming together of so many members of our school and community.
Alumni Connection
We were honored to have Chelsea
Kuhn, share with our students about preparing for the future and goal
setting.
We are also excited to feature Mitch Moore as our alumni spotlight. Mitch is a 2012 Hundred High School
graduate. While in high school, Mitch
served as president of the FFA, president of the class of 2012, and president
of the student body. Mitch was a
multi-sport athlete and was a member of the Mason Dixon all-conference team in
both basketball and baseball. Mitch also
collected a number of academic honors and recognitions. He was the runner up in the West Virginia
state public speaking contest, represented Hundred High School at the HOBY
seminar, and was a Wetzel County representative to the Governor’s Honors
Academy. Mitch was a member of the drama
club and RAZE, and was inducted into the National Honor Society. Upon high school graduation, Mitch chose to
enroll at Fairmont State University (FSU) and has a double major in accounting
and finance. He has benefitted from
several scholarships, including recognition as a Promise Scholar. He is a member of the Fairmont State honors
program, is a founding member of the FSU College Republicans, and is a member
of the honorary business society Delta Mu Delta. Mitch currently is serving his second term as
student body president. Mitch has been
preparing for his future by interning at Tetrick and Bartlett, PLLC. He is scheduled to graduate in May of
2016. We were honored to have Mitch
address our student body this past December and we are very proud of what he
has accomplished in a short amount of time since high school graduation.
Upcoming Events
For up to date baseball, softball, and track schedules and scores:
May 5 – National Honor Society Induction Ceremony – 1:30 – HHS Auditorium
May 7 - All Sports Banquet - 6:00 - HHS Commons Area
May 7 - All Sports Banquet - 6:00 - HHS Commons Area
May 8 – Sophomore Class Field Trip to Wheeling Civil War Museum
May 8 – Senior Class Trip to Hershey Park
May 8 - Band Banquet and Rock-A-Thon - Commons area and band room - 6:00 PM
May 10 - Spring Concert in Auditorium - 2:00 PM
May 14 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 16 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 8 - Band Banquet and Rock-A-Thon - Commons area and band room - 6:00 PM
May 10 - Spring Concert in Auditorium - 2:00 PM
May 14 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 16 - Spring Play in Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 15 – Spring Arts Show – 6:00 PM
May 17 – Baccalaureate in Hundred High School Auditorium – 2:00 PM
May 21 – Spring Choir Concert – 7:00 PM
May 22 – Graduation in Hundred High School Gym – 7:00 PM
June 27 – Hundred High School Golf Outing
July 1 – 7 on 7 Football at Clay Battelle High – 6:00 PM
August 2 – Fall Sports Pre-Season Meeting – 2:00 PM
August 17 – First Day of School for Students
August 22 – Hundred High School Block Party, Car Show, and 5-K Run
– All Day
August 31 – Football Home Versus West Greene – 6:00 PM
September 14 – Football @ North Marion – 6:00 PM
September 18 – Homecoming Football Game Versus Cameron – 7:00 PM
September 22 – Football Home Versus Valley – 6:00 PM
September 28 – Football @ Clay Battelle – 6:30 PM
October 9 – Football Senior Night Versus Bishop Donahue – 7:00 PM
October 19 – Football @ Lincoln – 6:00 PM
October 26 – Football @ Trinity – 6:00 PM
Classroom Strategy of the Week
The use of writing as a classroom strategy is something that
can extend far beyond the traditional English class and is something that can
be used in any content area. We often
mistake writing as an end result, an evaluation of what has been learned, or an
essay to show that we understand a concept.
While this is certainly one purpose of writing, it can also be used as
part of the actual learning process. As
the article Incorporating Writing into the Content Area Classroom shows, writing can be used to prompt thinking and discussion, for developing
journals or learning logs, and for informal response activities. These are just a few of the many ways we can
incorporate writing into all classes.
Article of the Week
This New York Times article features several leaders in
education discussing the topic: Is Testing Students the Answer to America’sEducation Woes?
Video of the Week
In honor of lunch lady appreciation week, this video looks at why lunch ladies are heroes:
In honor of lunch lady appreciation week, this video looks at why lunch ladies are heroes:
Quote of the Week
"This isn't flying, this is falling... with style" -- Buzz Lightyear
"This isn't flying, this is falling... with style" -- Buzz Lightyear
The Road Ahead
Join us next time as
we recap a busy start to the month of May and discuss what teachers make
Remember to follow our school on Twitter @HundredHornets
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
"ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES." Incorporating
Writing into the Content Area Classroom. Public Schools of North Carolina. Web.
5 May 2015.
<http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/languagearts/secondary/writing/014writinghaven>.
Krosoczka, Jarrett. "Why Lunch Ladies Are Heroes."
Ted.com. TED, 1 July 2014. Web. 5 May 2015.
<https://www.ted.com/talks/jarrett_krosoczka_why_lunch_ladies_are_heroes>.
Levesque, Patricia, and Kevin Kevin Welner. "Is Testing
Students the Answer to America's Education Woes?" The New York Times. The
New York Times, 4 May 2015. Web. 5 May 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/05/04/is-testing-students-the-answer-to-americas-education-woes>.
"Toy Story." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web.
5 May 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story>.
"Toy Story." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 5 May 2015.
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