Photo Credit: Jordan Cox[/caption]Orange High School has many new teachers for the 2014-2015 school year. One addition to the English Department is Meredith Newlin, who teaches English I and II.
Newlin came to teach at Orange after teaching summer school here this past summer. “I love all the other teachers and the overall atmosphere,” says Newlin. She said she loves all of the students here, their ability to work hard, and their willingness to learn. “I’ve missed teaching high school, and I’m glad to be back,” said Newlin.
This year marks Newlin’s 10th year of teaching. She is very fond of writing and reading. She used to work for a magazine before she began teaching. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys participating in activities outdoors. She likes hiking or running, or just any outdoors-related activity. Along with exploring the great outdoors, Newlin loves spending time with her one-year-old daughter, Lola.
What encouraging do students here at OHS need? According to Newlin, they don’t need any encouragement! She believes that all the students here are doing fantastic and don’t need any advice. “Don’t sweat the small stuff and believe in yourself,” is the advice she gives the students if they really needed it.
Newlin decided to be an English teacher because she loves to build the confidence of her students as readers and writers. She is excited to be here for her 10th anniversary of teaching, and we’re lucky to have her!
would be very interesting. That I wouldn’t relate to anything I asked her or it wouldn’t be relevant to my article. Then I asked my first question.
Ms.White was a graduate of UNC Greensboro. She is now in her thirteenth year of teaching. Not only has she taught in North Carolina, or in the United States; But for two years, Ms.White worked as a teacher in Busan, South Korea. “ The ages varied from ages 5 to 17” White told me. That is 7,208 miles from North Carolina to South Korea. That is a big change to Orange High School.
When I asked her why she chose OHS and Hillsborough, as it turns out, she is engaged! Ms.White is getting married on September 27, 2014. Her fiance is a teacher as well. White says she also loves the community. She sees herself teaching the rest of her career. Not just because she loves doing it, but it is also a great balance between family and work.
OHS recently gave out all of the laptops for the ‘14-’15 school year. Since this is Ms.Whites’ first year here, I asked her for her opinion on the laptops. In South Korea, they didn’t have laptops; or in any of her other schools she has taught in. She says she personally likes them. She thinks that they are very useful in the classroom. “ I notice the other side though, with the students and how difficult that they are to work with.” White explains. Most of the other new teachers are not familiar with the laptops or how difficult they are, so I am glad there is someone to help.
For my last question, I asked, “If you weren't teaching, what you be doing?” Ms.White replies, “Traveling and Writing.” For myself, that relates to me. I am in journalism because I love to write. When I get out of college, the first thing I want to do is travel. When I told Ms.White this, she replied very simply, “Do it while you're young, you’ll love it. “ I think that shows how caring of a teacher she is. I can not wait to see what Orange High School has in store for Ms.White.
Photo Credit: Brianna Hales. On Court 1 Jaden Vines plays against the number 1 seed from Northwood.[/caption]Men’s tennis here at Orange High School has started and is running strong early in the season. With a new head coach, Justin Webb, the team has experienced some major changes this season. Nonetheless the returning players, and even the new talent, are back and ready to compete. Coach Webb remains optimistic, “We will probably finish in the middle of the pack but we play in one of the best tennis conferences in the state of NC,” he says about his team. Webb also says he is feeling good about his returning players and his starting players. “ This is a group of competitors who want to win and go out and compete in every match,” he says about his starting players who include seniors Jaden Vines, first seed, and Corey Johnson, fourth seed, as well as a few sophomores.
Vines and Johnson are returning players but not the only seniors. Matt McLaughlin is a senior new to the team this year, but Webb remains optimistic about his contribution to the team. Vines and Johnson are returning for their fourth season at Orange and Coach Webb says he is looking forward to working with them as head coach.
When asked about his new position as head coach, Webb’s main worry, he says, is rebuilding the team. Webb says his big focus this year is building up some of the younger talent on the team and trying to recruit new players in coming years to keep the team strong and dependable.
As the season is off to a good start in practice, the big concern for the team now is their first match against local team Eastern Alamance. “I'm feeling pretty good about our first match” Webb says, “I think if our players come ready to challenge them we will be up to it and could get an early season win.”
Orange won the match overall 9-0 with a clear win against the Eastern Alamance Eagles. After the match Webb was very pleased with the win and is looking forward to a strong season with his players. As of now, the line up is strong and the rest of the season looks promising for the men’s tennis team.
Although fall is well underway and the school year will soon be almost halfway over, the motif of this year was obvious to me almost immediately. New. New beginnings, new changes, new responsibilities. While perhaps unoriginal, it is without a doubt the best representation of my experiences so far this school year.
Clearly, a change that impacted all Orange County students was the implementation of the 1:1 Initiative program. The program not only allowed students and teachers to use laptops for the school year, but it also allowed for the expansion of ideas, both technological and otherwise. This initiative is progressing towards the future which is exactly what we as a student body are doing.This is evident in our shift to an online newspaper. Den Echoes, the official newspaper of Orange High School, in print since 1964. We understand that the digital age is here to stay and we want to keep with the times (and not just the New York Times). This new beginning for our newspaper has been exciting as we’ve marveled at the infinite possibilities that we have to make our small town paper become something much more.
We also have experienced a shift in leadership. Longtime Editor-in-Chief Timothy Sheridan graduated last year, bringing with him to college the many experiences and lessons gained from this position. Now, it is my turn to be the voice of Orange High School. Mr. Sheridan’s shoes are quite large to fill, not only because he is so tall, but because he was outstanding at editorship. However, I hope to bring a fresh, new voice to the public as we move forward and cover what matters most to you, the students and faculty.
As I write this, I find myself wondering what next year will be like. As a student who has been desperately trying to get her college applications done, I am well aware that change is inevitable. Change is new and exciting, and, as we have seen already from this year, it happens regardless of expectations. With that being said, I hope that you all are carpeing that diem and exploring all of the opportunities offered. Just as we have done with our paper, we want you to live your life with no regrets and take control of the new.
Amongst all of these changes, perhaps now is the perfect time.