Students of the Week
By Jamen Dudley
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends,” said Walt Disney. This week’s Students of the Week do what they do so well that it not only attracted the attention of their friends but also the attention of the TCHS staff.
The two students who have gone above and beyond academic or behavior expectations are Kristen Hicks and Erin Chambers.
Kristen Hicks, a sophomore, was selected for consistently going above and beyond academically and for taking the initiative with school projects and assuming a leadership role.
Erin Chambers, a freshman, was chosen for volunteering to do all the cast members’ hair for this month’s theater production.
These students are to be commended for exemplifying the principles of the Mountain Lion CARE initiative: courtesy, attitude, responsibility, and engagement.
TCHS Chinese Class
By Anna Louk and Jessi Daniels
“Hěn hǎo,” which means very good, is an encouraging phrase that the high school’s Chinese class hears daily. Anna Louk and Jessi Daniels recently interviewed their Chinese teacher, Mr. Du, for TCTV. Mr. Du started teaching at the high school in 2018. He uses a variety of activities to keep the class fun and interesting such as worksheets, videos, and songs.
The Chinese class also took a field trip to Morgantown, West Virginia on October 24th. They visited the Confucius Institute on West Virginia University’s campus where they toured the building and participated in multiple activities. They read various Chinese books, and they practiced using their new speaking skills in a restaurant, too.
Mr. Du expressed that he’s enjoying his time in Tucker County. He remains excited and eager to see his students every day and appreciates the kind faculty at the high school.
TCHS Principal’s “I See You” Award
By Jamen Dudley
Alex Keller is the winner of this week’s “I See You” award. Principal Steve Cosner selected Alex for displaying a caring manner toward another student. Mr. Cosner commended Alex for being kind to every student and for serving as a role model for other students at TCHS.
TCHS Eastern College Classes
By Jordan Teter
Eastern Community and Technical College has offered online classes available to juniors and seniors attending TCHS for about ten years. The classes offered vary by semester, but the main ones offered through TCHS are English 101 and 102; History 104, 240, and 241; Art 100; Psychology 200; Sociology 203; and Medical Terminology 108.
When asked what type of student is better suited for these courses, Lindsay Maus, current Eastern instructor, responded with “Students who want to go to college and want to get a head start, students who aren’t sure about college and want to get an idea of what college would be like, or excelling students who want more of a challenge would all be great candidates for the program.” She added “If your scores qualify for these courses, you should take full advantage of them because you have a lot of class time for your work each week, which you are not afforded once you’re on campus.”
Eastern Community and Technical College also offers other online classes that are not offered through TCHS.
TCHS Football
By Wesley Strawderman and Haden Wamsley
Recently we had a chance to interview Coach AJ Rapp of the TCHS football team about this year’s team and his predictions for next year’s season. Coach Rapp said, “Even though the season didn’t go the way the team wanted, the team should have a decent future as it is a young team.” He added that this year’s players have gained much experience since some of them started on both offense and defense. Also, the middle school had an impressive season going 9-1 and won the PVL championship which will further strengthen the team during the next couple of years.
When asked what makes good football players, Coach Rapp replied, “How smart they are, how fast they are, and how strong they are – in that order. A smart player can beat a fast player, and a fast player can beat a strong player.”
Coach Rapp said that he plans on getting the returning players into a weight-lifting program during the off season to make the players faster and stronger. Also, he mentioned starting a weightlifting class taught by Coach Josh Evans and him. The weightlifting class would be for all athletes – not just football players.
Automotive Technology Class
By Jake Phillips
Automotive Technology is a semester CTE (Career and Technical Education) class. In this class, students learn about brake repair, electrical repairs, motor and transmission repair, car maintenance, and suspension repairs.
Mr. Michael Lamb is the current instructor of the class. This is his first year of teaching. Previously, Mr. Lamb worked at a dealership in Moorefield and has seven years automotive experience in training lower-level auto technicians.
When asked what he enjoyed about teaching, Mr. Lamb responded, “Everything at the dealership or in the field is flat rate. That’s where you race against the clock. Flat rate is a set amount to do a repair regardless of the experience. So, working normal hours with a chance to learn something new every day is great.”
According to Mr. Lamb, anyone interested in learning about cars -whether to learn how to fix a car or to help prepare for an automotive career – should take this class.
Currently there are 33 students in the class, and by the end of the school year, there should be 16 completers.
TCHS invites the community to visit the Automotive Technology class and observe firsthand what the class is doing during the school’s Open House in the spring.
Cortland Acres Stories Program
By Clay Poling
Tucker County high schoolers drove into Cortland Acres on November 20th, 2019. No, they didn’t get lost on their way to school. Forty-one students are visiting and interviewing the residents to make life books for the residents that tell the stories of their lives.
To break the ice and to act as an ambassador, Dan Bucher, Director of Development at Cortland Acres, helped the students transition into the new environment. Dan was polite enough to let me interview him about this new program that combines people just beginning their journey and those who have walked their path.
Dan said it all started with an article he read about a nursing home in Ontario, Canada that engaged students much like at Cortland. The residents volunteered for this program, and who can blame them? They have very interesting lives.
At the end of my interview with Dan, he said his goal is to “increase communication through the generations.” He also hopes this program becomes a tradition for years to come. At the end of their visit, the students hopped back onto the bus excited to be a part of this program.
