February 25, 2019 Spring Sports Spring sports officially began this week at Lee Senior and specifically, women’s soccer tryouts started up last week and now practice has begun to start warming up for the season ahead. This year, women’s soccer only has a varsity team which will be tough because the team is limited on people. I interviewed Maddy Perez to ask her questions about the upcoming season, its challenges, and how they will overcome them. Maddy stated, “This year we do not have a JV team so we struggled to put the team together. Due to the fact that there are less girls on the team, it will be harder for us when people get hurt because we will be limited on subs.” The girls will work hard and make sure that they are all practicing safe and avoiding injuries so they will have a successful season. “The best part about being on the team is the relationships you build with the other girls. I made some of my closest friends on the team last year. I would never trade these friendships or team bonds for anything.” Like all sports at LCHS, the bonds that the teammates make are very important to the players on the team, which is why playing sports is so special, and why many people partake in them. Q and A: What will be your most challenging game this season?“I would say that our biggest challenge this year will be beating Southern Lee. We beat them last year in the conference tournament after going into a shoot out. We will have to be on our game this year to maintain this winning streak.” What made you want to tryout for soccer?“I decided to tryout for soccer because I grew up playing the game. Also, I was on the team last year and I had the most fun playing I've had in a long time. I'm hoping this season will be just as fun.” What game are you most looking forward to?“The game I'm most looking forward to playing this season is Western Harnett. They aren't the best team so we dominate the whole game. Every time we play Western Harnett, we have a high scoring game.”
March 11, 2019 Spring Break Plans Spring break is only a few short weeks away for Lee County students. It starts on April 12 and end on April 22. Some of LCHS’ students have exciting vacation plans to look forward to.
Sophomore Anah Pickard is going with her whole family to Disney, so she is also looking forward to spending a lot of time with them over this week. “I’m going to Disney World for spring break this year.” Anah Pickard stated. “I am excited to go because I have the chance to get out of town and away from my everyday life. I’ll be in the sun, riding rides and swimming in the pools.”
Many of LCHS’ students are awaiting the arrival of Spring Break to de-stress and to take time towards themselves. Eliza Phillips, also a sophomore at LCHS, said, “This spring break, I’m traveling to Key West with my sister, mom, and dad. I’m very impatient to go because my cousins have been before and they said there’s all sorts of different activities for me to do. Spring break is a good time for students to relax and escape from all of the school work. I’m excited to get a break from Sanford and homework,” Eliza stated.
Nathanael Martinez is traveling to Nashau, New Hampshire over Spring Break. “I’m excited because all of my family live up there. We are planning on shopping a lot and going to the beach. School is very stressful and I love having vacations to get a break,” he stated.
Junior Angelina Bonilla is going to experience a new place she’s never been to before. She stated, “For spring break I’m going to Virginia for two days. I’m in a program called Upward Bound and we’re going there to tour two colleges. I’ve never been to Virginia before so I’m looking forward to explore a new state.”
Whether students are travelling or just staying at home over spring break, it provides a time for us to de-stress and to have free time to do activities that we enjoy.
March 25, 2019 Prepping for Prom Prom is April 26 and students are experiencing different stages of preparation. As the prom committee finalizes gold decorations (shhh -- it’s a secret), food and photo booths, other students are making plans of their own. Leading up to prom, there are many things that you have to plan for ahead of time such as, picture venue, dress and tux shopping, prom group arrangements, and for the ladies, hair, makeup, and nail appointments fill up a lot of our time for the weeks preceding prom.
Junior Anna Grace Wiltshire is looking forward to going to her first prom and she preparing beforehand to escape the hassle right before prom.“I have prepared for prom by already picking out my dress and shoes. I also made hair and makeup appointments far in advance before they’re all booked. Another thing I have done is made restaurant reservations and have planned where I would like to take pictures. Lastly, about a week before prom, I’m going to get a spray tan. Many people are stressed when making prom plans but I’m not that stressed due to the fact that I’ve made plans for the major things that to get ready for prom. Because this is my first prom, I’m looking forward to getting to hang out with my friends all day and having fun getting ready in my dress and makeup.”
For Junior Eduardo Villeda, making sure everything is bought and booked for prom is his main concern. “I have to make sure my suit is hemmed and I pick up the corsage for the girl I will be going with. So far, everything is going as planned so I’m not worried about that but, I still have to figure out where we’re going to eat and take pictures but that can be decided pretty fast. This is my first prom so I’m looking forward to seeing all of my friends and having a good time.”
Miyosha Thomas hasn’t bought her prom dress yet but she isn’t worried. “I haven’t done anything yet. I’m going to the mall this Friday though to shop for dresses though. Even though I’m not prepared, I’m not stressed about it but sadly I don’t have a date. I’m most looking forward to seeing everyone get together and we’re all going to be dressed up. I have a place to take pictures so hopefully the place is nice.”
Although prom can be stressful to prepare for, it pays off in the end because of the enjoyable memories that these students get to remember forever as their first prom, or their last.
April 1, 2019 Demanding DECA The statewide DECA competition was on March 16-18 and 23 of our LCHS students competed.
DECA helps students showcase and improve on their career, problem solving and planning skills. DECA competitions specifically allow students to experience business settings by challenging themselves by going against other students.
Maya Kovasckitz is one of Lee County’s students that was awarded for several categories. “I got a DECA Certification medal for getting above an 80 on my competition exam, which was hospitality and tourism. I also got a Series Event Finalist Winner medal for having one of the top test scores in my specific competition, which was Restaurant and Food Service Management.”
It is very impressive for Maya to win awards in different subjects because of the amount of people in her event. “In my specific event, there was maybe around 60 or so people. I’m not sure how many people overall took the hospitality and tourism exam, but probably several hundred. I was very glad to win. It made me feel like my knowledge and work was validated. Going on stage to get a medal is always a great feeling, and I knew my family and advisors would be really proud of me.”
Senior Sophie Davenport experienced her last DECA competition this year and won a state event. “I won first place in the Personal Finance Literacy event. I don’t know how many people I competed against but I was one of ten state finalist in the event.”
To close out her final competition, Sophie reflected on all of the work she has done to get to where she is today to be able to win that event. “I’m definitely happy I won. It feels really good to know all my hard work paid off and I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished. I love DECA win or lose though and the memories I’ve made at competitions are some of my most cherished moments from high school.” Below is a list of students who placed and won in their categories:
Sophie Davenport - Personal Financial Literacy - First PlaceMaya Kovasckitz - Hospitality and Tourism CertificationGraham Harris - Marketing Series Top Ten Bailey Koneski - Marketing Communications Series MedalistSophie Davenport - Personal Financial Literacy Series MedalistClarice Atkins - Principles of Business Management Administration Series MedalistMaya Kovasckitz - Restaurant and Food Service Management Medalist
April 8, 2019 Prom Closet Are you in need of a prom dress or tux but don’t want to pay full price for one? Well you’re in luck because Lee County High School has opened a prom closet for all students to have a chance to borrow a free prom dress for prom night.
The founder, Alexandra Edwards, believes that all students should have the opportunity to go to prom and not let the price of a dress or tux hold them back.
“I know there are some guys or girls that LCHS that can’t always afford to go to prom whether it’s a financial issue or any situation they are in, but I want to make sure everyone, no matter what, can experience prom.”
Alex’s goal is to make it as affordable as possible so every dress and tux is free. “The dresses are completely free but they do have to return them for future years, it’s like a free rental.”
There are a lot of dress options for students because of all of the willing people who made donations. “One hundred ninety-five formal dresses have been donated along with 9 pairs of women’s heels. For men, five tuxes have been donated along with 10 pairs of men’s dress shoes.”
If you haven’t already gotten a prom dress and didn’t plan on going to prom but want to, check out the prom closet to get a great dress!
To donate a dress to the prom closet, contact Alex at [email protected] and to shop for a dress, you can go to www.promclosetlchs.weebly.com to reserve a dress, tux, or shoes. April 29, 2019 SkillsUSA On April 9th, twenty-nine Lee County High School students travelled to Greensboro to compete in a SkillsUSA competition. Many of them placed in their respective competitions, and most importantly, the seniors created memories and friends that will last a lifetime.
Senior Sebastian Sandi Siles stated, “My friends made me want to join Skills because they talked about how fun it was, and I wanted to spend more time with them. I participated in Quiz Bowl and the best feeling is when you get questions right.”
Josh Randolph is also a senior who competed in the Skills competition. He explained why SkillsUSA made such an impact in his life. “I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could become successful in a new program with new people, plus I had a few friends already in it. I'm going to miss the laughs, both during competition and outside of it. Whether it was on the bus, at the table, or in the hotel room, we did it together,” Randolph said. He also explained that building relationships in Skills gave him, “the feeling of being able to rely on my partners at the table, having full confidence that certain members will nail a question in their expertise.”
We are very proud of all of the students who worked extremely hard to master their topics. Below is a list of LCHS students who placed.
May 7, 2019 AP Exam Prep For the next two weeks, Lee County students who have taken AP classes over the last year have AP exams. Exams will be held in the new gym in the mornings and afternoons.
Sophomore Joseph Moats prepared for the APUSH exam weeks before it started to make sure he has a grasp on the material that he will be tested on.
“I take AP exams very seriously because it could possible count as college credit if you pass them. It is also important to avoid cram-studying the night before the exam.” Joseph added, “Studying a little bit everyday before he exam is the best method for me so I’m not stressed because when I’m stressed, I do worse.”
Junior Racquel Beattie is taking two AP exams this week for AP Lang and AP Psych so she has to study for exams back to back. Racquel said that she gets stressed before exams because she strives to do well to get college credit. She stated, “I think studying for the exam and getting plenty of sleep the night before is key to doing well. My methods to do well on the exams are reviewing my notes and taking practice exams online.” Good luck to all of the students who are preparing to take AP exams this week!