Photo Credit: 2014 Reflections staff[/caption]34-year-old Edmond Tyrone Curry, a beloved teacher, colleague, and friend, passed away on Friday, October 3.
Native to the Alamance and Orange County area, he was loved and cherished by many. Curry was born on July 4, 1980, at Memorial Hospital in Burlington, NC. After graduating from Hugh M. Cummings High School in 1998, he expanded his schooling at the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill and graduated in 2002 with a bachelors degree in art, majoring in management, society, and sociology.
Although he was an individual with extensive knowledge and a love for various things, the one thing he loved the most was teaching at Orange High School. Assistant Principal Will Okun said, “He really loved the kids he worked with, and the kids he taught always responded well to him and really liked him as well... He truly cared about his students, and that's the most important quality in a great teacher.”
Principal Jason Johnson said, “Edmond was very passionate about his kids, and music. He was one of the nicest and most genuine people you could ever meet... When I attended his funeral service, you really see how great of a person he was and how much everyone liked him and cared for him. This is a very tragic loss for Orange High School.”
The funeral service was held Wednesday, October 8 at the Zion United Church of God, in memorialization of Curry.
Photo Credit: Mia Frenduto[/caption]A familiar face to many former CW Stanford students has arrived in the Orange High history department, and she couldn’t be more thrilled. “Oh, I love it,” said Traci Barger, referring to her new home as one of Orange High School’s social studies teachers. Barger remarked that she much prefers teaching high school students to middle school students, as they are more mature and responsible.
Barger comes to Orange after a year of teaching at a Durham charter school and ten years of teaching at McDowell High in Marion, North Carolina, as well as many years of teaching English at CW Stanford Middle School. Barger prefers Orange to many other schools she has taught at, listing the block scheduling unique to our school as well as the absence of recess as two of her new favorite things.
Barger is now serving as an American History I teacher, a change from her previous role as an English teacher at CWS. This is an exciting prospect for Barger, who actually received a degree in History from Appalachian State University.
“I believe that the truth can be stranger than fiction,” says Barger, reflecting on how she most enjoys teaching the “crazy parts” of history that you won’t often find in a textbook. Her passion for history is only matched by her passion for teaching--Barger remarked that she loves teaching kids and watching them learn.
Outside of school, Barger is an active member of her church and enjoys running, sewing, and reading. Among the things she is most intrigued by at Orange is Ag Day. She remarked that she is “curious” to experience this Ag extravaganza for the first time, but “not quite sure of what to expect.”
All in all, Barger is thrilled to be a member of the Orange High School family this year. Her excitement to be a member of Orange High’s faculty as well as her passion for both teaching and history prove that she will soon become a favorite teacher of many Orange High students.
Jared Riley
Jared Riley was born a sports fan. He grew up a sports fan and he still is one today. He enjoys all sports, but his favorite is football. Riley is the sports editor for the Orange High School newspaper Den Echoes. He is a 16 year old, three-time-award-winning journalist, but these accolades do not matter to him yet as his goal is to one day be a journalist for ESPN. He wants to be the next Adam Schefter.
Riley has played football since he was eight, and he wants to continue to be around football even when he grows up. He is an offensive lineman on the Orange High football team.
Riley has a life outside of football as well. He is in multiple clubs. Some of these include the Society of Saint Andrews (SOSA) and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Riley enjoys hanging out with his friends. They like playing basketball and other sports outside. His favorite television shows are Sports Center and the news. Watching shows like this will definitely prepare him to work on ESPN.
Riley hopes to go to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has an advantage over other students, as he attended a journalism camp at UNC this past summer. He sure has set the bar high and should be an example to others about having high hopes for their education.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Hannah Link was born in Hillsborough, North Carolina and she has a vast family. Link’s family includes her brother, father, and mother along with two horses, two goats and six chickens. She is in her senior year at Orange High School and is the business manager for the Den Echoes newspaper this year.
After graduating, her goal is to major in International Development studies at either Alabama University or NC State. Another one of her goals is to travel to and learn about the culture of Europe.
When Link is not in school, she is often found on the tennis courts because she loves to play tennis. She is also a big fan of the NFL, and specifically enjoys watching the Patriots. She attends Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hillsborough and is frequently involved in activities involving the youth group and serving her community.
Photo Credit: Carley Overman[/caption]"Don't be scared, get involved,” 17-year-old Amanda Tavares wants to say to her freshman self. She was born in New York with one younger brother and one older brother. She moved to Hillsborough when she was five. Tavares is now a senior with many responsibilities and dreams.
She has been playing soccer for four years, and she is also a Link Crew member. Not only is she photo editor for the school newspaper, but she is also the copy editor for the yearbook. Typically, copy editing involves correcting spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc, so she spends a lot of her time editing other people’s words.
Just like the average senior, Tavares is ready to graduate and get out of high school. She hopes to attend the University of South Carolina in June. Her goal is to become a pediatric nurse. Tavares works well with others and makes many new friends in the process.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Dakota McDade is what many people would call “a good ol’ boy.” This country boy is a junior at OHS this year.
McDade enjoys many different classes at Orange that will hopefully help him in his profession. He especially likes agriculture classes (like construction, welding, and animal sciences) and history classes. With one more year until graduation, he has an idea of what he wants to do with his life. McDade wants to go to Alamance Community College and get a degree in Criminal Justice. After college, he wants to become a game warden for North Carolina.
His love to hunt has fueled a lifelong passion. He likes any game season, but deer season is his favorite. The biggest deer he has ever shot is a six pointer. A game warden saves deer and other animals for people to hunt in the future and upholds game laws. McDade wants to do exactly that and definitely has a passion for it.
Growing up on a farm made McDade who he is today. He has many chances to be outdoors and enjoys every minute of it. He loves to fish, hunt, go to the lake, and ride four-wheelers with his brother in his spare time. Overall, he is a fun-loving person. But when he is not out living “loca la vida,” he works in his family's tobacco fields. Look for him in the halls, but once deer season starts, you know where he’ll be on the weekends!
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]14-year-old Lucy Taylor is a new addition to the Panther family. “Being new to high school can be a little overwhelming,” said Taylor, “but that’s also the best thing… with all of the new experiences that high school offers.”
In her free time, Taylor likes to read books that have been made into major motion pictures. The Fault In Our Stars is her favorite so far. But when Taylor doesn’t have her nose in a book, she loves shopping and being a fashionista. Some of her favorite stores to shop at are Forever 21, American Eagle, and Belk. Not only does Taylor enjoy reading and shopping, but she adores photography as well. She has a passion for taking pictures of her pets, especially her two cats. Taylor says photography may be a possible career option for her in the future.
With Taylor having high hopes for her high school and future career path, she keeps her options open and tries to have new experiences, like joining the Den Echoes newspaper staff. She hopes that this academic opportunity will help her define what she may want to pursue as a career in the future. Newspaper not only benefits her decision making, but also helps Taylor “express her inner feelings without having to directly voice it to audiences.”
Before Taylor plans to settle for her career, she strives to travel. Taylor says, ”I plan to visit all of the 50 states and then the Seven Wonders of the World.” Though Taylor’s life endeavors may take her to wonderful places and inconvenient places, she will always take her mother’s words of wisdom--“always follow your dreams”--with her.
Megan Joyner, a senior and returning member of the Den Echoes staff, spends most of her free time on the soccer field. Joyner has played soccer for 13 consecutive years, and she has already committed to playing college-level soccer at Western Carolina University (WCU).
[caption id="attachment_4879" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Athletics come naturally to Joyner, but she hopes to improve her overall strength and technical skills before joining the Western Catamounts in Fall 2015. “I have done a few athletic labs and training sessions that will help to prepare me for soccer in college,” Joyner stated. In addition to preparing for WCU soccer, Joyner anxiously awaits stepping onto the college’s field. “I am excited to be a part of the team and travel as a whole,” Joyner said. This future WCU Catamount has big plans ahead of her.
While athletics are a big part of Joyner’s life, her academics take top priority. Joyner is in the top 10 of the senior class, and she looks forward to expanding her educational career. When asked about future college studies, Joyner replied, “I have a few interests, but the medical field seems to interest me most. I will most likely choose my major after freshman or sophomore year.” Although undecided on her major, Joyner fully believes that Western is the perfect environment for college courses.
Joyner still makes time for family, friends, and adventurous activities; she especially loves to try new Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects. “My mom and I are really crafty and love to experiment with new room decorations. Pinterest is my go-to website for making gifts or amping my bedroom,” Joyner explained. With a crafty hand and plenty of DIY’s in mind, Joyner is confident that her Western dorm will be a stylish place to store her cleats.
With Joyner’s knowledge of sports and educational background, she will be a large contributor for the Den Echoes during her senior year.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Sami Dickerson, a junior and the junior editor of the Den Echoes, is a Netflix-obsessed journalism lover. She likes to spend her free time watching movies and says that taking this journalism class has helped her follow the plots of her favorite movies.
Since moving from Lumberton, NC to Hillsborough, NC, Dickerson has been a part of multiple school newspapers. Before writing for the Den Echoes here at Orange, she wrote for the Stanford Post at C.W. Stanford Middle School. She was lucky enough to be one of the last people to write for the school paper at Stanford before they stopped the program. She is very dedicated to the newspaper and finds it to be the most interesting class at Orange.
When Dickerson graduates with the class of 2016, she plans to major in business at UNC. Studying at UNC won’t change her decision to be a Duke fan, however. Here at Orange, she is involved in two clubs--SGA and FCA. She recommends everyone try and come out to support FCA.
Dickerson is a book fanatic and loves all genres. She enjoys taking history classes and reminiscing on past episodes of the hit show Friends. She loves spending time with her four cats and two dogs. When asked what five words Dickerson thinks describe her, she replied with intelligent, nice overall, funny, quiet, and introverted.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Jared Riley was born a sports fan. He grew up a sports fan and he still is one today. He enjoys all sports, but his favorite is football. Riley is the sports editor for the Orange High School newspaper Den Echoes. He is a 16 year old, three-time-award-winning journalist, but these accolades do not matter to him yet as his goal is to one day be a journalist for ESPN. He wants to be the next Adam Schefter.
Riley has played football since he was eight, and he wants to continue to be around football even when he grows up. He is an offensive lineman on the Orange High football team.
Riley has a life outside of football as well. He is in multiple clubs. Some of these include the Society of Saint Andrews (SOSA) and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Riley enjoys hanging out with his friends. They like playing basketball and other sports outside. His favorite television shows are Sports Center and the news. Watching shows like this will definitely prepare him to work on ESPN.
Riley hopes to go to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has an advantage over other students, as he attended a journalism camp at UNC this past summer. He sure has set the bar high and should be an example to others about having high hopes for their education.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Morgan Michos, a senior at Orange High School, is a new addition to the Den Echoes newspaper staff. She plans to be a staff writer and share her passion for writing with the school. Michos brings a new style to Orange High School, with her big personality and knack for fashion.
Michos is a determined individual with a bright future ahead of her. She is interested in attending college in New York at FIT, the Fashion Institute of Technology. She hopes to enter the field of marketing there, with aspirations of becoming an advertiser/marketer for a pop culture clothing store, such as American Eagle or Madewell. After earning her degree, she plans to stay in New York or travel to London, one of the two fashion capitals of the world.
Since she was a little girl, Michos has always had a love for fashion. Her favorite things to do include shopping, watching YouTube videos on the latest trends, and reading magazines, her favorites being Seventeen Magazine and Vogue. She has developed her own unique style and continues to diverge into the increasingly popular world of fashion.
Aside from fashion, Michos enjoys reading, spending time with friends, and watching movies. This past summer she has read a total of 35 books, her favorite being The Fault in Our Stars. She is also a TV connoisseur and watches Project Runway, What Not to Wear, and Gossip Girl. When she is not tuned into the fashion world, she supports her favorite sports teams. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Michos has a heartfelt love for her hometown and chooses to cheer for the Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers whenever they are playing.
Michos is a skilled writer and hopes to find a job with marketing through journalism. This new fashionista is bringing a new style to the Den Echoes and the rest of the student body at Orange High School.
Apart from writing, Norwood is interested in political science, and hopes to study it and journalism in England. Studying abroad has always been a dream of hers, and she hopes to achieve this goal at Oxford University. Norwood is passionate about government and politics and hopes to be able to effect social change both in the stories she writes and the news she reports. An education at Oxford, she believes, will assist her in achieving these goals.
Norwood is also involved in several clubs--Student Government Association, Key Club, Latin Club, and Beta Club. Her dedicated involvement and participation in school activities, as well as her commitment to ensuring that this year will be the best one yet for the Den Echoes, both promise that our new editor is more than up to the task.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Mitchell Askew, a 14-year-old freshman, is the newest addition to the Orange High School newspaper Den Echoes. Askew is an avid sports fan and joined the newspaper to write about Panther sports and to “learn how to interview people and learn how to write.” Askew hopes that the journalism class can propel him to an eventual career as a sports broadcaster. Along the way to his future stardom, Askew has aspirations of attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Askew not only watches and writes about sports, but he also competes in multiple ones. Askew is a member of the Panther cross country and wrestling teams. Askew is not a slouch either, as he took third place at the Appalachian State Wrestling camp in his weight division. Askew’s brother Jamison (16), a junior, also competes on both the cross country and wrestling teams and, despite the age difference, the younger Askew says, “I'm better than [Jamison].”
Be prepared for many ESPN-quality articles from Askew this year, along with some possible athletic articles featuring him.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]The lights dim in the theater, the curtains open, and audience members’ gazes turn to the actress standing on the stage. For Meghan O’Shaughnessy, a 16-year-old junior at Orange, this is her dream. The rush she gets from performing live in front of an audience first attracted her when she was a child, and she still enjoys it today.
O’Shaughnessy has been involved in theatre since she was eight or nine years old. She acted in elementary school plays at Pathways, playing Wendy in Peter Pan at one point. She continued participating in theatre at C.W. Stanford Middle School, where she acted in every play the school put on, from La Belle et la Bête to Watch Your Back for Stingy Jack! At OHS, she’s in Theatre Proficient, the equivalent of Theatre III and IV. She has been in OHS plays like Hairapy Sessions and The Taming of the Shrew, and plans to audition for future plays if she has time.
Broadway musicals are one of O’Shaughnessy’s obsessions. She would “love to be on Broadway,” but she “can’t sing or dance,” she said. As ambitious as her plans are, she knows that it is difficult to make it as an actor, so she plans to double major in theatre and business. She expects to go to UNC-Chapel Hill, although she dreams of going to Ithaca College in New York. O’Shaughnessy works at the Maple View Country Store, so she has been hard-pressed to find time to act in school plays this year.
As an actress, O’Shaughnessy has many other actresses whom she admires. When asked to name one, she couldn’t help but name two--Samantha Barks and Sutton Foster. She had no trouble thinking of her favorite Broadway show---Newsies, which recently closed.
O’Shaughnessy loves theatre for more than just the rush. She also loves the theatre community at OHS. Plus, it’s “nice to not be you” for a while, O’Shaughnessy added.
C. A. Cabaniss said, “I would rather go out to eat because I am at the stage of my life after I always cooked.” Her tradition has been going on for eight years. She did not plan this tradition out it just happened one year and she enjoyed it. Cabaniss and her husband will be going on a trip to Cherokee, NC to spend their time watching entertainers and singers at the Indian reservation for Thanksgiving.
Jodi Riley thoroughly enjoys the Thanksgiving holiday. Riley said, “It a very nice tradition to see people happy.”At their thanksgiving they have a grand get-together where people from all over the country can come to celebrate with their family. People from New York, Wisconsin, Vermont, and Massachusetts have come to this get-together. This thanksgiving, Riley is going to host two elderly people with her husband and his friends this year. They will cook and prepare the festivities so that the guests can have a worry-free holiday. Riley and her husband plan on making extra food for the guests to take home with them. This tradition has been going on for about 10 years. Riley said “I am really used to this tradition because my husband was in the military and we didn't have family. So, we made dinner with the people that lived around us”
This year at Orange High we have a wonderful array of new faculty and staff members. One of these is KayCee Butcher, a new English II teacher who has a passion for her students and the school she works at.
Butcher is originally from Wilson, North Carolina. She went to UNC-Chapel Hill as a Teaching Fellow. Butcher knew she wanted to be a English teacher since she was in high school. For Butcher, it just “made sense” because of her love for working with students, English being her favorite subject, and her enjoyment of high school. It was her plan to teach a high school class due to her wanting to be able to hold a conversation with her students. Not only that, but she has a love for being interactive with her students. She said, “I take my students everywhere with me. They’re always with me.”
Butcher said her favorite part of teaching is “my lovely students,” and that teaching is easier than many people believe it is. When asked about her inspiration for becoming a teacher, she said that she did not have just one teacher that made her want to teach. "It’s the only thing that made sense for me to do with my life… I can’t see myself doing anything else right now.”
Butcher thinks that Orange has an exemplary student body and a wonderful faculty. She says that she has been warmly welcomed and that it’s a great way to meet all different kinds of people. She believes that Orange is a lot like her high school, and that the diversity is one of the qualities that makes it so special.
As one of the newest and youngest teachers here, and well as her bubbly personality, makes her more likely to connect on another level with students. Butcher has just graduated college at UNC, her all-time dream school. She traveled to China to teach for a couple months and said that Chinese educations are vastly different from American educations. Classes start at 9 am and end at 9 pm. For six months she lived in Spain. She also traveled to Africa for a couple months. She got a touch of all different education systems, including ours.
Butcher briefly commented on Banned Books Week, saying, “ It's awful. I think that when books are banned and expression and knowledge is limited, I think that’s dangerous.” She also mentioned student laptops, saying that she loves the fact we get to work with technology and help the environment unlike students at many other schools.
So with her new job and bright personality, we welcome Ms. KayCee Butcher with open arms here to Orange High School.
Amanda Tavares, 16, is a very helpful, caring, and grateful girl. For many years she has been volunteering at the animal shelter in Hillsborough. “It’s an uplifting experience,” said Tavares. At the shelter she gives the animals food, water, and baths plus they also play with the animals. Tavares goes there once or twice a month. She started volunteering when she was young because of her love for animals. When she isn't helping people she is riding horses in her spare time. She is planning on becoming a pediatrician. This is her third semester in journalism and is she a part of the yearbook committee.
In preparation for this career, she is doubling up in science this school year, doubling up on math in her junior year, and taking college-level classes in math and science her senior year.
For college, Maxwell wants to go to UNC-Chapel Hill because of their fantastic medical program. When asked what kind of mindset is needed to be in the medical field, she said, “I think it takes motivation. It’s a lot of work; you have to have dedication to get anywhere in the working class.”
Joining the newspaper staff was a great choice for Harper because she wants to pursue a career in journalism. If she chooses to take the path to become a journalist she said, “I would either like to become a news broadcaster because I think it would be cool to be on TV, or work at a magazine. I’ve always loved reading magazines with all the gossip and drama.”
Wanting to go to UNC Wilmington for her first choice in college for studying, Harper adds, “I know that this will be a lot of work, but in the end it will all pay off because I would get to do what I love.” Having high expectations and a dream to becoming a terrific journalist, Den Echoes is the perfect place for her to start.