Thanksgiving Break

As the school year goes on, November offers many opportunities for students to have some time off. Election Day and multiple ISE days are a few times students have a break. The main break, though, comes at Thanksgiving Break. Students get a week off to travel, see family, or even just relax and watch some football. The best part of the break is getting to eat at Thanksgiving dinner. ‘I love Thanksgiving because I get to spend time with my family and eat great food,” said Junior Olivia Lopez. Many students may go on vacation over break to see family. “This year my family is going to the beach to spend Thanksgiving there,” said Freshman Logan Faris. As break gets closer and closer, students are getting more and more excited. Although school is out, some classes will still give homework and have projects due after break. If students can balance their homework, along with activities over break, they should have a great Thanksgiving Break! Chelsea Faris

Swimming For the Gold

With the beginning of a new season, the swim team is hard at work on their road to the State Swim Meet. The team, along with the usual mix of returning swimmers, was greeted with a large number of new swimmers, eager to join the team. “This is probably the largest team we’ve had in a long time. I think our team is going to be great this year.” stated Senior Chelsea Faris. In her second year of coaching, Christy Fubio is doing a few different things, much to the benefit of their swimmers. One such change is the addition of a meet in Charleston, which took place on December 1^st. This meet was important for the swimmers not only because it was a large meet, which had a lot of competition, but it gave them a chance to swim teams that ordinarily they wouldn’t see until the State Meet. With the second half of the season in front of them, the swim team is excited as they continue towards their goal. –Hunter Cutlip

SOAR-ing with the Eagles

     The SOAR program was recognized students of the month. This is the first year that Robert C Byrd has used the “Students of the month”. Every month teachers from each grade and subject meet to vote on a student who has achieved or performed high quality in a class that has been noticed. Students say that it is a great achievement to be chosen for the program. If teachers feel that a certain student has worked harder or shown more effort in class than any other student, then they can have the opportunity to be nominated for this award. Assistant principal, Donna Hage, said, “This program is a good idea because it recognizes a wide variety of students who have accomplished something.”  Hage thinks that anything that recognizes student achievement is a good idea. Shallyn Cochran

Holiday Shopping

    With winter weater settling in, it's reminding people that the holidays are approaching quickly. Some people already have their handy dandy lists made, complete with all of the names of the people they have to get presents for. Stores help make it easier on people by sending out flyers to advertise the deals they have. Based on the deals displayed in the flyers, people will map out what stores to hit on what days and when to go.

     Contrary to belief, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not the busiest shopping days of the holiday season. These always take place during the last weekend before Christmas Day. Each year the number of shoppers out on Black Friday increases and for those not brave or crazy enough to storm the stores wait until Cyber Monday to do their shopping online. Either way holiday shopping is still a great tradition that most people partake in.  Shannon Cunningham

Happy Halloween

People know Halloween as the time of year where everyone dresses up in costumes and goes trick or treating for candy. But what people don’t know is the meaning of Halloween. Halloween is thought to have originated with the ancient Goethic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. Around the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known has All Hollow’s Eve and later Halloween. As the time went on, Halloween evolved into community organized events put on by child-friendly activities such as trick or treating and dressing up as their favorite characters.

This year, Halloween, October 31, falls on Wednesday. The children in the Clarksburg area will get to go trick or treating on Tuesday evening October 30. RCB students had the opportunity to dress up in their costumes on the 26^th of October as a reward for a community service project.

Lady Eagles Socer

    The girl’s soccer team’s season has drawn to a close. The team suffered through several hardships during the season such as injuries and suspensions, but battled through with an ending record of 5-2-12. Coached by Todd Kiger and Andrew Kiger, the team began the season with 18 members, but ended with only 14. But Junior Stacie Welling has high hopes for next year’s season. “I think we can only improve and continue to work hard on off season. We’re still building, but we can only go up from here!”  Kyndra Lantz

Lady Eagles Basketball

          After having a successful season last year, the Lady Eagles Basketball team is back and ready to begin the season. Several girls worked hard to stay conditioned throughout the off-season. Their conditioning varied between playing on travel teams to lifting weights and working with personal trainers. The girls are ready to enter the new season with determination to make it to the State Tournament once again this year. As of now the Lady Eagles are scheduled to play 22 games. Their season will kick off against Grafton High School on November 30 at 7:30pm.  Early in December they will play against Nicholas County and Liberty. “This is my last year of basketball and I can’t wait to see what this season has in store!” stated Senior Laken Kiddy. Come out to support the Lady Eagles this winter as they strive for a successful season! Allison Carvelli

Marching to the Beat of Things

The marching season began with a bang! The band showed off their music and marching abilities at a number of football games and in several parades, however, they weren’t really tested until much later when they competed in their first competition of the year. On October 6, the band traveled to Elkins to compete in the Mountain State Forest Festival parade and field show competitions. Proving that hard work pays off, they brought home three trophies in the following categories: Best Drum Major, Best Drumline, and Best Auxiliary. Representing the school to accept the awards were the senior section leaders, dance team members, and the band director. Upcoming band activities include the Clarksburg Veteran’s Day Parade on November 12, the Nutter Fort Christmas Parade on November 16, and the Clarksburg Christmas Parade on November 30. The band is also scheduled to perform at Washington-Irving Middle School, Norwood Elementary, and Nutter Fort Primary and Intermediate Schools on December 14. Financing the band costs a lot of money, however, and they had to sponsor many fundraisers in order to remain operational. Some fundraisers the band has planned for the holiday season include a Sarris Candy sale that is on until November 7, a holiday craft show that will take place on November 10, a Vera Bradley purse bingo that will take place on November 24, and a holiday pie sale scheduled for sometime before winter break. With a Christmas concert scheduled for December 4 and the fast approach of concert season, the band has began to focus more on concert band music and a symphonic sound in preparation for the spring concert and Band Festival, where they will be judged on two concert pieces.