Spring 2021 York Band and Chorus Showcases Award Winners
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THE TALON SPRING 2021 YORK BAND AND CHORUS SHOWCASES AWARD WINNERS On June 1, the York band had its last performance for the 2021 school year. Following the performance, the band also held an awards ceremony, mainly to recognize its graduating seniors. The concert started off with a performance from the York High School chorus and featured many different types of songs under the direction of the chorus instructor Beth Davis. Because Davis is new (she replaced Courtney Weber), she only had eight weeks to select music and work with students to prepare for the concert. Davis and her students were able to put together a fantastic performance despite the obstacles. Once the chorus finished, the band played four songs in a concert setting: Broadway in the 90’s, Redemption, You Can’t Stop the Beat, and God Bless the USA. After the concert, the pep-band and its drumline were featured. The drumline played a solo feature, and then the band played Get Ready, That’s the Way I Like it, and Cold Hearted. Directly after the performances, the stage was cleared for awards. Recognition was awarded to multiple students, such as the ability to play multiple instruments. Two scholarships were awarded to seniors after writing an essay. Troy Williamson, who won a $500 scholarship said, “It was a breath of fresh air to finally be able to play in a full ensemble setting. It was a great experience to finally play together again.” The final award was the John Phillips Sousa award. It is the most prestigious award a student can receive in band; this year’s recipient was Isabel Kosnar (Sr.). Richard Purvis, the band director, said, “It was good to perform a live concert after all of the challenges experienced. The students did a fantastic job, considering we only did one rehearsal. I’m very proud of all of their efforts.” Many seniors in the band shared Williamson’s sentiments. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the band will not be playing at graduation, making this performance the last for the 2020-2021 academic year. GRAFTON FIRE/RESTART PLAN NEEDS FURTHER RESEARCH In February 2020, Grafton High School was forced to close after an electrical fire that damaged most of the building. As a result, York and Grafton students both attended York’s campus and went to school three days a week. On April 27th, students had a similar scare. On the morning of the 27th, the fire alarm system was triggered at the Grafton Complex, sending high school students to York’s campus once again. This time around, Grafton caught a break. The alarms were set off by an overheated HVAC belt, but there was no fire, and more importantly no damage done to the school. Unlike a year before, students returned later that day, and school returned to normal. One Grafton sophomore said, “I definitely had some flashbacks to last year. I wasn’t even that shocked when I heard there might be another fire.” Despite the rarity of a school being completely unusable, Grafton has shown that it is very possible. Students and parents should not be left out to dry in a situation like this, and there should be a plan to resume learning as seamlessly as possible. There was no plan in place for an alternate site of learning after the disaster. The school system, and other school systems in the state, should consider adding an emergency site for schools to resume learning within a few days of an emergency. Instead of scrambling to find a plan, which ends up inhibiting student’s ability to learn from two different schools, there should already be a plan in place. With the recent use of online learning as a failsafe for the COVID-19 lockdown, that is a good candidate for emergency learning. However, if the 1:1 student to technology program does not continue after this year, that plan would not be certain. The more feasible plan is establishing a universal emergency site for learning. Whether it be a completely different building or using an existing school at a different time frame, there should be a plan that doesn’t inhibit any students from learning. Rather than the two weeks of haggling only to find a plan that hurts not only Grafton, but York and Tabb students as well, it should be considered in the future that some site should be in place to fill in for emergencies. YORK LADY FALCONS TRAVERSE ROAD TO REGIONALS With one game left of in-season play, the York Soccer Lady Falcons are on a hot winning streak. They have won a total of seven games, six consecutively. They are quickly on their way to regional play in the upcoming weeks and are looking to put another regional championship banner in the York gym. The York Lady Falcons have played some intense matchups this season, most notably their redemption game against Smithfield in which they came back and defeated the Packers after their 2-1 loss. Most recently, the Lady Falcons played an intense, rainy match against their long-time rivals Tabb. It was York’s senior night and the pressure to give the seniors a win against their rival was immense. York’s Krista Anderson (Sr.) scored the first goal of the game against Tabb, making the score 1-0. The score remained 1-0 until the last ten minutes of the match, when Tabb fouled York in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for York. York’s Anna Tornatore (Sr.) scored the penalty and York won the match 2-0. It was a big win for York, pushing them further towards regionals and the championship. Tornatore says after the win, “It meant a lot to us seniors to defeat Tabb on our senior night. Especially since both goals were scored by seniors.” The York Lady Falcons have a lot to prove in upcoming regional play. Their last regional championship win was in 2018. Before that, they had not had a regional title in decades. Current senior Emma Brooks recalls the regional win in 2018, “I was just a freshman, but it meant a lot to be able to put a regional banner up in the gym for York. Coach Atwell put a lot into the team, and it showed. Now, we’ve just got to do it again.” The York Lady Falcons will enter regional play after their final game against Lafayette on June 10th. They have been dominating play this season, but regionals will challenge them beyond the teams they have faced so far. LADY FALCONS SOCCER TEAM BEATS TABB Last Wednesday, the York High Lady Falcons beat the Tabb High Tigers at home on Senior Night with a 2-0 win. It was an historic and exciting win for the Falcons. Before the game, the Lady Falcons held Senior Night to help honor the graduating seniors of the class of 2021: Emma Brooks (Sr.), Krista Anderson (Sr.), Anna Tornatore (Sr.), and Abby Brown (Sr.). Each senior had her family walk them down the field, give a hug to the coaches, and then take lots of pictures. Immediately after the festivities ended, both teams began warming up for the rivalry game. As the referee blew the whistle to commence the beginning of the first half, the York High Lady Falcons and Tabb High Tigers faced off. After many defensive and offensive plays by both teams, Krista Anderson (Sr.) scored a goal that was assisted by Audrey Atwell (So.). Half-time soon arrived and passed and the second half commenced with a downpour of rain that continued for a large part of the game. Towards the end of the second half with less than 10 minutes to spare, the referee called penalty and it gave the Lady Falcons an opportunity to score. Anna Tornatore (Sr.) took the kick adding another goal to the Falcons’ score. Ultimately, the team beat the Tabb High Tigers 2-0. Sophomore Jenny Calderon said, “During the game, it was extremely hard to stay focused because of the downpour and the flood of emotions from the spectators and the players. Yet we finished our chances and worked as a team to win.” With a 2-0 win at home, the York Lady Falcons are currently 7-1-1, putting them in the Top 3 ranking for the 3A Bay Rivers District. The Lady Falcons will be playing the Lafayette Rams in their last in-season conference game. KAIA BRUCE OBTAINS MEDICAL ASSISTANT CERTIFICATION Earning a Medical Assistant certification has been a goal for many years, and this spring, senior Kaia Bruce finally earned her certification from New Horizons Career and Technical Education Center. Bruce attended New Horizons Career and Technical Education Center at the Butler Farms campus as part of her senior year of high school. Bruce took the certification test May 28, 2021 and passed with an 84% overall. “The test was really hard, but with the support of everyone around me, I was confident I would do well,” said Bruce. Bruce has now graduated from the New Horizons Career and Technical Education Center and plans to apply for jobs as a Medical Assistant in the upcoming months. York’s Art Honor Society Draws to Honor Frontline Workers In December, York High School’s Art Honor Society went to Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital to write messages with sidewalk chalk to encourage its hardworking and exhausted medical staff. COVID-19 has been devastating to all affected, but nurses, doctors, and scientists were flagging by December. In response to these hardships, York High’s art students worked together to thank frontline workers.