Food Drive Update: First Installment of Food Delivered

The food items collected so far in the JFHMS canned food drive and delivered to the food bank on Tuesday totaled 1,734 pounds.

The director of the food bank was amazed not only that we were able to collect so much, but also that we did so in only seven school days!

This has been a really awesome job so far. We're only a few cans away from our goal, but we have plenty of time left to completely demolish that!

Food Drive Update

PHOTOS BY ANNE C.

To date we have now collected 915 items! This is almost halfway to our goal after only one week!

The top giving team is sixth grade upstairs, with 277 cans.

Tuesday will be a hat day for students. For 3 cans, students can wear hats that day. Students, take your cans to homeroom so that your teacher can give you a pass before you take your cans to the collection point in the cafeteria.

J. Frank Hillyard Students in Broadway's Marching Machine

BY ANNIE N. and DILLON M.

Megan B. (8) and Quintas M. (8) both play in Broadway High School's marching band. Megan plays Mellophone and French horn, and Quintas plays in the pit. The Hawk Eye decided to find out more about these middle-school musical wonders.

How did you get into the BHS band?

Quintas said, "I got invited by Mr. Frenchak."

Megan said, "I came from Tucalow, Mississippi, and I play Mellophone, so since they didn't have one, they asked me to come and see how I liked it."

What is it like to play in two different schools?

Quintas replied, "It's fun, but different."

Megan said, "It's really fun 'cause I get to have friends from both schools."

What do you play? Is it hard?

"I play in the pit," said Quintas, "and yeah, it's hard."

Megan said, "I play Mellophone and French horn, and it's pretty hard 'cause I'm the only one in my grade."

Clearly, to Megan and Quintas, playing in the Marching Machine is fun.

"Yeah. It's fun because you get to go to competitions and perform," said Quintas.

"Totally. It's amazing," said Megan.

What happens if you mess up?

"Just keep playing and pretend it didn't happen and hope the judges don't notice."

We applaud Megan and Quintas thoroughly, because next year, when they are freshmen at Broadway High School, this won't be really cool for JFH.

'Tis the Season: School Food Drive for Food Bank

This year for our school-wide community service project, JFH will support the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank through the Holiday Season.

Over the course of 27 years, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network has grown to support more than 400 agencies that serve nearly 130,000 unique individuals living in nine cities and 25 counties. Last year, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network distributed more than 10.8 million pounds of food. We will be sponsoring a food drive to help this organization that helps so many in our community.

As a school, we will be holding a competition to see which team can collect the most items of food. Items to bring include nonperishable foods such as noodles, boxed foods, peanut butter, and any canned foods.

Beginning November 16th, students will find collection boxes for your team in the cafeteria. Please place your donations in your team's box. Our school goal is to collect 2,000 items for the food bank, and a contest will be held between teams to see who can collect the most. We will be counting the donations each week and awarding the team with the highest donation with special incentives.

Thank you for your help and support in this school-wide project! What an amazing way to kick off the holiday season.

Any questions may be directed to Mr. Ruliffson or Mrs. Swortzel.

Vietnam War Casualty from JFH

BY JEFF B., RYAN J., and JOE M.

William M. Pangle, a former student from the JFH building, died in Vietnam on April 23, 1968.

According to Civics teacher Mrs. Fawley, Pangle died of wounds from gunshot or small arms fire and was a ground casualty.

Before he died, Pangle was a student in the JFH building, at the time the old Broadway high school.

William died 40 years ago after being drafted to Vietnam. Now his name is displayed at the Vietnam Memorial wall.

If you get some time, go to Washington D.C. and go to the Vietnam Memorial to see William M. Pangal.

Teacher Going to White House

BY TAYLOR B., ALLISON D., and PAYTON M.

Mrs. Fawley, a seventh grade civics teacher at JFH, has been invited to the White House to decorate for Christmas! And she has a plan to meet Mr. Obama himself.

Mrs. Fawley said she is very excited and that this is “one of those once-in-a-lifetime chances.”

She will travel to D.C on Thursday, November 26. She will then work in a warehouse for three days to prepare decorations and then go to the White House for two days.

While she is there she hopes to meet the president. Apparently he likes the Duke Blue Devils, so she is going to wear her Duke Blue Devils shirt (which is also Mrs. Fawley's favorite basketball team). She is hoping that he will come over and talk to her about basketball.

“If that doesn’t work,” she said, “his right hand man [Reggie Love] likes Duke and I know he will come over and talk to me.”

Mrs. Fawley will be accompanied by two of her best friends, Mrs. Pierce, and Mrs. Didawick.

Adventurers Visit Grand Caverns

BY DAVID F.

On Thursday, October 15, the Adventurers team went on a field trip to the Grand Caverns in Grottoes. While there we saw some of the Shenandoah River's most amazing fish, macro-invertebrates, and snails. We also took a tour through the cavern.

The cavern was amazing. The average temperature in the caverns is 54 degrees, but because it was so rainy and cold outside that day it actually felt warm. On the tour, we saw an area where two of the caverns' explorers had found a new part of the caverns while exploring. There was soot on the walls throughout the caverns from where torches had been used over 100 years ago.

During the tour water coming through the ceiling fell on all of us. The tour guide said when the water fell on us it was ''a cave kiss" and we would have good luck for a whole week. At the end of the tour we saw where the teenager who discovered the caverns first went in.

Upstairs, in the main museum of the caverns, there were different items that had been found in the cave over the years. There was a light bulb from the 1800's, pennies out of the old wishing well, and pieces of stalagmites and stalactites that had been broken long ago when the caverns was being made safe for tours. There were also different types of animal furs from the woods surrounding the caves and a large, stuffed Great Horned Owl.

Overall the field trip was a great experience. Our teacher, Mrs. Maddox, planned it for us. We had guest speakers there doing stations that taught us lots of things about science. We learned a lot and had lots of fun, too.