Seahawk Scoop

JROTC Hosting Orienteering Camp

By: Matt K., Michaela E.

Navy JROTC will be hosting an orienteering camp on the 4th of December and a meet on the 11th of December. Participants are organized into teams and sent out to look for checkpoints, which are marked on a topographic map. The fun comes from the teams having to race, so it is a test of physical endurance as well as map-reading skills. Cmdr. Pheiffer (organizer of the orienteering team) noted that the most difficult challenge to overcome is not physical but mental fatigue. To track time and progress, participants wear special finger sticks which connect to the markers, and at the end the teams are ranked using a computer. Though hosted by Navy JROTC, these events are extracurricular. Later races will take place at Jarvis Creek Park and Pinckney Island. The largest event will be held on the 5th of February, on the property of Ed Durst. Participants will race in one large group over a six-mile area with 25 checkpoints. Contact Commander Pheiffer for more information on these events.

Humble Beginnings to Winning Tournaments

By: Alyssa Spurling

The HHIHS NJ Drill team were champions at their first drill meet of the season.

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Q: What is the drill team, why did it start, and how does it connect to ROTC?

Sergeant Wyatt: "The drill team is a traditional part of all the ROTCs regardless of the size. The drill team has been here at the school since ROTC started at the school in 1993. I started five years ago, it was already here; unfortunately, there were not many members throughout the last five years. This year, we have built it up to 14-20 cadets showing up Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the standard drill practice and Tuesdays and Thursdays color guard practice "

Q:What do you do on the Drill team/ What is the purpose?

Sergeant Wyatt: " it is synchronized marching and rifle movement. The cadet carries the exact same way, moves at the exact same time on command from another cadet. So for instance, if we are in a unit together , you are marching us, you call a command. For example, column left march, we would know what to do just based on your command. "

Q:Who are some of the main students who helped shape the team into who they are today?

Sergeant Wyatt: "Michelle Watson, without a doubt. For the past two years she has been the drill team commander. She runs the practices, I don't. I give pointers, teach them how to do things, but she runs the practices. She is the reason for the success on the team, no doubt."

Q: What is your impression of the drill team so far?

Cadet #1: "I joined the drill team because I had heard good things about it from my friends, and I have friends on the team. I don't know what to expect, but it is not as serious or scary as strict as I thought it would be. I also feel like people get the impression it is so uniform, that is scary. Honestly, you get to hangout with your friends, and you execute these cards, it is actually not even that hard. If you want to rank up in ROTC you need to know how to do drills. The competitions are really scary, we had our first one last week and another one this week. We won so that was cool"

Cadet #2: "You get to be with friends and get free food. You get to go out of school, anf go places."

Q: What does the awards actually mean?

Sergeant Wyatt: "There are eight teams, with nine events. Trophies are given to first and second place teams only. We got five trophies, and we won first over all, we were the champions over the event, because we got the majority of the trophies. ."

Q: HOw many years has it been since we brought home this many trophies?

Sergeant Wyatt: "Not in recent memory, over a decade ago. We have gotten a couple of trophies in the past couple of years, but nothing like this. We got more trophies on Saturday than we have since I have been here."

Q: Any words to those who are scared or interested in the drill team?

Sergeant Wyatt: "Don't be scared, I don't run the practice, they(cadets) do. They goof off, and I let them run practice.”

Cadet #1: “ We still won, even after all that goofing off! I wouldn’t say that the goofing off is a good thing, but our commander, Michelle, is pretty fun but she runs us with an iron fist.

ROTC Takes 1 For The Team: Food Drive

By: Saraya G

ROTC hosted a food drive for the local food bank and Hilton Head Island “We are planning to deliver it on Monday so they will have the food in time for Thanksgiving.” Since the start of the food drive “we collected over 1200 items.” Both students and teachers contributed and participated in this food drive Mr. Adam Lucas with 319 items and Alex Coley with 182 items won the spot of donation for the food drive. Commander stated that “For the winners they will get a Pizza Party for their class to celebrate and to show not only them, but everyone who donated something that we appreciate what they did.” They have some lovely foods for the local food bank. “We have soap, meats, pasta, veggies, sloppy joes and more. They showed their appreciation for all those who donated something. Did not have to be a lot but HHIHS did what they could to make sure this variety of people enjoyed their Thanksgiving with a feast that could possibly last for a lifetime.

Seahawks Got Grants!

By: Hannah Dye and Martha Cordero

Five teachers at Hilton Head Island High School are rejoicing at the grants they have received from Palmetto Electric, as part of the Bright Ideas Grant. They will fund many inventive projects that are not usually funded by schools. These teachers include: Mr. Best, Mr.Stine, Ms. Spisz, Commander Pheiffer, and Sergeant Major Wyatt.

First, Mr. Best, a computer tech teacher, got a grant for 1,000 dollars that will go towards motors and radios for his robotics, specifically helping them with AI and making decisions. He explains, “In the fundamentals of computing class we introduce robotics, and we will be able to perform AI like they use in self-driving vehicles, just like a Tesla. We’re gonna be able to do that”.

Next, Mr. Stine, a science teacher, got a grant for 750 dollars, which will fund lab equipment for the new AP physics class that he is starting this spring.

Additionally, Ms. Spisz, a journalism teacher, got a grant for 1,000 dollars. It will fund a new news studio for the journalism class, called a Padcaster, which includes an iPad. She explains that it will include, “microphones, a teleprompter, so we don’t have to read from papers anymore, students will be able to create news shorts, use graphics that are more modern, it will allow us to be more mobile, and it includes LED lights so we can interview and film outside in the dark.”.

Finally, NJROTC had two teachers get grants, Commander Pheiffer and Sergeant Major Wyatt. They both got grants for 1,000 dollars, but for different purposes. Commander Pfeiffer got his grants for 8 drones for the drone team. Sergeant Major Wyatt, however, got his grants for “an electronic targeting system for air rifles”.

Finale Countdown

By: Emeli P and Nicole A

The finals and EOCs exam will take place this semester. EOCs and Finals will be taken during the last week of the semester, December 13-17. Every block will have its own testing day. Friday will be a make-up day for anyone who missed any day.

Mr. Rooney said, “the end-of-course exams are exams that are required by the state of South Carolina for students to take when they take Algebra 1, Biology 1, US History, and English II.” Students have to take the EOC in order to see whether “students have mastered the content.” Final exams are tests that students take for their classes. Ms.Spisz said, “for English, they give a skilled test to 9th, 11th, and 12th-grade students and 10th graders take an EOC the final may be different depending on the department it is in”

Final exams are an assessment of what students have learned that semester. Ms. Spisz said, “it is a measurement to see if students have learned the skills and content that they needed to learn for that course.” Finals tell teachers what students learn and things they can teach to improve students next semester and it's a good measurement of what you learned that semester.

EOCs do not have any time limitations. Mr. Rooney said, “an EOC is not timed, there is no time limit on them, it can take anywhere for a student an hour to three hours.” ”Finals take up to three hours per period usually one hour for review and two hour testing period but some classes might take all three hours to take the test depending on the teacher and subject. You can have written parts, multiple-choice, and matching. Some of them are contact-based, some of them are skill-based. It just depends on the course and subject that the test is given in,” Ms. Spisz says.

Finals are exams that teachers create and the EOC is a test that is given and created by the state of South Carolina. Teachers create their finals while the EOC is made by the Department of Education.

Mid-Year Encouragement

By: Alyssa Spurling

The Seahawk News Network worked with the teachers, to give the students at Hilton Head High School a mid-year encouragement! We at SNN realize that it may seem easy to start to lose focus mid semester, and we wanted to tell you to hang in there!

Mr. Aites: "Education is the ultimate leveling device enabling you to reach your full potential & beyond no matter where you start out in life. Education and life in general will reward you for the effort that you put forth. You can accomplish great things through a good education and in life if you are willing to put forth the extra effort. It may take time to see the rewards but the rewards will come."

Mrs. Robinson: Mrs. Robinson quotes Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it’s done. – Nelson Mandela."

Ms. Spisz: "I highly recommend that students turn in their assignments to get as high as possible. I would also recommend that students work with their teachers during SLT, or schedule an appointment outside of school hours. Even though it is the end of the semester, as teachers we know that students may feel pressured to just focus on just the holidays, but you can celebrate after finals."

Seahawks Get Grants

Photos by: Mrs. C. Robinson

ROTC Photos

Photos by: ROTC