Destiny Wagner
Staff Writer
Springbrook held the Inaugural Drum Line Competition and Showcase on December 2. It was the first year Springbrook hosted the showcase. Band director Wyman Jones, who came up with the idea himself, had a lot to do in preparation for the event. “Besides preparing for the show; designing routines and continual practicing, we had to go over what was appropriate and what was not. I had to talk to other schools to convince them to come out and compete. Unfortunately, no one from Montgomery County was able make it, but the schools we did have made the night fun and enjoyable,” Jones said. In addition to Springbrook’s drumline, Bowie State University and Howard University’s drumlines performed at the showcase. The judges set up camp and the competition began. Bowie performed first and got the crowd pumped up and Howard followed. Not only older students competed in the showcase; Garfield Elementary School gave a quality performance considering their young age. The crowd was head over heels for them; their adorability and skill level earned them third place. Up next was Anacostia High School from DC. They seemed to be
somewhat unorganized which may have contributed to their fourth place finish. Friendly High School, also from DC, went third, and won first place. They came out strong and delivered a solid show. Their preparation for the competition was extremely evident throughout their performance. Springbrook’s drumline performed
last. The spirit of Springbrooks drumline, students and staff filled the entire gymnasium.
The well thought out routine and up-beat music was unfortunately not enough to win first place. Even so, they played their best and were very proud of their second place finish.
“The host never really competes and if we would have won, it would
have seem rigged. I am very happy with our marching band and the performance and happy we received second,” Jones said.
As of right now, Springbrook will be hosting next year’s showcase. Hopefully there will be more high schools in the competition.
“It was a fun and great experience. I cannot wait for next year, where we will hopefully win first place,” juinor drummer James Sanders said.
Posted on: 12/16/11
Travis Bauer
Staff Writer
Coming off of a successful season last year, this year’s varsity wrestling team is looking forward to a prosperous season. The team lost many seniors from last year’s team, including wrestlers Churchill Ndonwie, Alex Campbell and Michael Robinson. However, the team also retained junior Kevin Cristobal, senior Eddie Hernandez and Vincent Galeano who were all dubbed captains for this year.
The team’s first adversary was Wheaton High School, whom they faced in enemy territory. The competition appeared tough, but the Blue Devils were staunch from beginning to end. The Devils did not cede a single loss to the opposition, and the majority of the Springbrook victories came by pins. However, a large factor in the Devil’s 78-0 victory was Wheaton’s lack of wrestlers. Because Wheaton did not have wrestlers in certain weight classes, the victory was automatically awarded to Springbrook for that match. The Devils came away with a dominant, confidence-boosting win, which was needed going into the following weekend Golden Eagle Invitational.
The Golden Eagle Invitational at Aberdeen High School was just as successful for the Devils as was their match against the Wheaton Knights. The Blue Devils had three matches against three different teams. Their first opponent was Perryville High School, which the Devils doubled in points 46-23. With this victory, the team went on to defeat Elkton High School, and tromping host Aberdeen High School by a score of 66-3. After winning all of their matches on December 9, the Devils faced Poly High School as their first Saturday match.
After a strong start, the Devils went on to another perfect win, defeating Poly 84-0. After winning two more consecutive matches, the Devils drew the championship match against Bel-Air High School. The Devils were as steady as they had been in all of their past matches, and ended their weekend undefeated, winning the Golden Eagle trophy.
Posted on: 12/16/11
Maddy Kim
Assistant Editor
Every passing year comes with a plethora of memorable events. The year 2011 brought with it a series of highs and lows in all parts of the world. From sensational international events to unforgettable moments in pop culture; any way you look at it, 2011 has been a year to remember.
To the eyes of many in the United States, the death of Osama Bin Laden stands to be the most memorable and significant moment of 2011. In many ways it brought with it a sense of closure for all of those who lost loved ones or suffered through the 9/11 attacks years ago. The death of Bin Laden served to be a major step forward in breaking down the infamous Al Qaeda.
In an international perspective, this year was a year of opportunity and courage with the great number of uprisings and riots that took place in Egypt, Libya, and other nations across the Middle East and beyond. The thirst for change was strong not just across the world but also in the United States of America. People of all ages lined the streets during the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Protesters took action across the nation against the growing change in our economic turmoil.
A string of natural disasters also made their mark on the year. Japan suffered its fair share of damage with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami back in March. The catastrophe led to fatalities and further dangers with the destruction of a major nuclear power plant.
In spring a slew of tornado outbreaks wiped out towns and neighborhoods throughout the Southern and Eastern United States. On top of all that, the nation’s capital, D.C, and bordering states suffered a major scare as a surprising 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook up what is usually known to be an inactive area for earthquakes.
The ever-changing, fickle world of pop culture managed to get by with a few of its own ups and downs of the passing year. The royal wedding took over news stations across the globe as everyone tuned in to see Prince William and newly crowned Princess Kate Middleton exchange vows amongst royalty in Great Britain.
Kim Kardashian climbed further up her ladder of fame with an impressive engagement to professional basketball player Kris Humphries; this feat could only be surpassed by a 72-day long marriage ending in divorce. But love or lack of, was not the only thing on everyone’s mind.
Self-professed wizards flocked to the movie theatres this summer in fervent anticipation of the final installment of the Harry Potter movie series, The Deathly Hollows Part 2. The film made record-breaking sales as fans eagerly watched their childhood come to life one last time. Team Edward and Team Jacob came together as one for the long-awaited release of the new Breaking Dawn movie this fall.
Though we are all awaiting for 2012,2011 is definitely a year to remember.
Posted on: 12/16/11