John I. Burton Raiders vs. Union Bears

On August 27th at J.I. Burton High School, the J.I. Burton Raiders battled against the Union Bears in a football game. JIB scheduled this game on a Thursday night, making it the first football game in our district.  As such, the parking lots, stands, and cash box were packed. Although the Raiders fought very hard, they fell short of their goal to beat Union, with a score of 52 - 6. 

The one and only touchdown the Raiders obtained was scored by Tra Adams, quarterback. Corey Mullins set this score up by running 12 yards and coming within 2 yards of the goal line. Adams ran a play called a quarterback sneak, so when the ball was hiked he ran straight and gained as many yards as possible.

I personally did not enjoy watching the Raiders get beat, but I loved to hear that we succeeded in earning a large sum of money for our school. Hopefully, our football team will strengthen throughout the season and pull some major wins out this year. I have heard many football players and coaches mention that Union will be our toughest opponent this year but with the hard work the team puts in, I believe we will go very far this year.

Weekly Announcements 8/24-8/28

Friday, August 28th, Athletic Club and Book Club will meet.

Students who wish to take the October 3rd SAT need to register online by September 3rd.  Please see Mrs. Cook if you need help.

Seniors who wish to apply for the Slemp Scholarship should see Mrs. Cook for an application.

Reminder: If you wish for your club to meet this Friday, please notify the office.

Advanced Student Football tickets may be purchased in the guidance office for $4.00. They will be $6.00 if you wait and get them at the gate.  Also, adult tickets may be purchased at school, but will still cost $6.00.

Mrs.Bias needs volunteers from the junior class to work on prom fundraising tickets. Meet in Mrs.Bias's room at 8 a.m. until this work is complete.

Reminder: Please remember Mr.LoBiondo and his family. Anthony's funeral will be held Friday, August 28th at Wise Baptist Church from 6-8 pm.

The new librarian: Mrs. Poteet

John I. Burton's library situation has been a long and winding journey these past two years. With the retirement of Mr. Terry Roop, Burton was without a full-time librarian for a whole year. However, that situation has recently changed with a new addition to our staff, Mrs. Poteet.

Poteet says that she and her husband have recently bought a house in Big Stone Gap; she was previously living and teaching in Grundy. I asked how long it takes her to get work everyday and she answered with a simple 40 minutes, and implied that she did not mind the drive.  I personally felt like this drive would seem a little too lengthy.

Mrs. Poteet said that she never really planned on using her library degree, but when she went to Grundy for a position in their school, they told her they didn't have an opening in the area she wanted. She claims to love this job and says that the students here have really impressed her. When asked what she thought about her coworkers, her eyes brightened and she gave a couple of teachers' names that she really enjoyed conversing with. She said she is trying to get everything done soon, not only is she trying to organize, order, and clean books, but she is also going to as many school events as possible. She loves the atmosphere of a small school and knowing the names of every student. She says, "Being in a small school, I think, you end up wearing a lot of hats that make you want to be more involved."

She says the only dilemma she had was the scary feeling of not having the same relationship with the students here, at JIB, as she did with her previous students. However, she is extremely happy with the response she got when she arrived. When asked about her first week of school, she replied with, "It was good, but I was also trying to fight with the image that this library had last year and even the image that it may have had the year before. I wanted to make it very active, student oriented, and a -- I hate to say this, but not just a dumping ground for students with no where else to go. This is not a detention, this is not a holding place. This is a place where I want you guys to come and  feel safe and sound enough to read - or even hang out. I have opened it up to even use during lunch."

I got to ask what advice she would give to a future librarian and she stated that the biggest thing she could think of was to not get overwhelmed because working with that many books and students can get very worrisome. Poteet continued on to say, "Sort of remaining calm and knowing that the ultimate focus is on the students; and also knowing that ultimately, I am here to make sure and push you to reconnect to reading."

She still has many plans to make the library a fun and active place for JIB students. She was very delighted to find out that I have heard many good words about her as a librarian and a person. In my opinion, every student should meet and even have a conversation with Mrs. Poteet, even if it is just between classes. She has a very fun-loving and sweet personality, and I think all of our students will be able to form a positive relationship with her.

Burton gets a new guidance counselor

Following the departure of Mrs. Julie Davis, John I. Burton has hired a new school guidance counselor: Mrs. Melissa Cook. Mrs. Cook is not new to the game, however, as she has been working in the counseling field for 24 years. She is from Castlewood, Virginia, and has been the guidance counselor for both the high school and the elementary school there. She was also a guidance counselor for Franklin County schools, J.J. Kelly High School, and Saint Paul Elementary School.

In a recent interview with Mrs. Cook, she explained a little bit more of her background and her experience so far here at Burton. When asked when and why she decided to become a guidance counselor, she had this to say: "I thought of myself at an early age as a natural- born helper, and I decided in high school that being a guidance counselor was the best path to take in being that helper." As for her education, she received her B.A. (Bachelor of the Arts) degree in K-4 teaching at UVA-Wise and later her M.A. (Master of the Arts) degree in counseling for K-12 at Virginia Tech. Despite what sounds like a very difficult course load, Mrs. Cook said that it "...was not very difficult at all...," consisting of "...mainly papers, small group counseling practices, one on one counseling, and interviews; overall, it was just busy work."

When asked how she got this job, her response was simple: "Mr.Williams called and asked if I would like to apply for the new guidance counselor position that just opened up, and then I applied through Norton City Schools and got the job." As for why she chose to work at Burton, she said that ". . . the school has a smaller enrollment, assistance in the guidance office (Mrs. Marshia), and most importantly, a contract that will allow me to spend more time with my family, which was the major selling point for me." Mrs. Marshia's assistance in guidance was also one of her reasons why Burton is different from other places Mrs. Cook has worked at, along with the block schedule structure and the dual enrollment program. She has said that it "has been very stressful coming into Norton City Schools so early, but I believe that there are always doors that open for a reason and students that need some assistance." Mrs. Cook said, "Mrs. Marshia has been the biggest help in getting through this stressful time as she has been very patient with me and has taught me the software and curriculum of the school, which is different from the other schools I have worked at."

Mrs.Cook describes her typical workday at Burton as "...answering the phone, sending transcripts to colleges, dealing with dual-enrollment and high school course scheduling issues, reminding and preparing students for SOL and SAT/ACT testing, reminding seniors of scholarships, and providing individual counseling."

Lastly,  Mrs. cook discussed how she deals with individual student problems. She said that she deals with each problem in a compassionate and non-judgmental way. Our new counselor wants "...each and every student to feel that I am a trustworthy person to come to in times of trouble." Mrs. Cook's advice for anyone who aspires to become a guidance counselor is to be prepared to wear many hats; you must be able to handle problems outside of talking to students. Mrs. Cook would like to thank the students and staff for being helpful, caring, and inviting to her in her first year at John I. Burton.

Mrs.Sharpe takes on yet another course!

For many years now at John I. Burton teachers have taken on differing courses each semester, with some teachers teaching up to four different courses in a semester. I recently had a chance to sit down and interview one of the teachers participating in this experience: Mrs.Tracy Sharpe. One of the most outstanding math teachers at John I. Burton, Mrs. Sharpe teaches Algebra 1, Algebra 2, math analysis, pre-calculus, and calculus. This year is her first time ever teaching Algebra 2. I asked her how she feels about teaching the subject. She then replied, with excitement,  "My favorite subject to teach is Algebra 2. It is very fun, and I never get bored! "

Teachers at John I. Burton are required to meet certain substantial goals each year. In relation to her new Algebra 2 course, Mrs. Sharpe said she has make sure there is or close to one hundred percent pass rates in the Algebra 2 SOL and she has to show up to school on time as much as possible. I then asked Mrs. Sharpe about the difficulties of teaching the Algebra 2 course.   Mrs. Sharpe then replied that she had no difficulties with teaching this course; she said,"It just comes naturally." In response to what she has to do to prepare for the class, she said she has to "...study,create lessons and tests, grade papers and do homework assignments before the class does." 

To wrap up the interview with Mrs. Sharpe, I asked her a few opinion questions. I asked Mrs. Sharpe that if she only taught Algebra 2 as opposed to more than one course, would she be a stronger, more skilled teacher in that subject area . In response, Mrs. Sharpe said  "No, having more than one course makes you work harder. I absolutely love a challenge and I love having the chance to teach a new subject. "  When asked how she felt about giving homework assignments, Mrs. Sharpe  replied "I think it helps to see what they know and what they do not know and in some cases it can help them by giving them extra practice." To conclude my interview with Mrs. Sharpe I asked her, what is one thing she feels she could do to improve herself as a Algebra 2 teacher. She then replied "I reflect my teaching on every day classes and try to figure out what I can do better and what I need to change." She then added with humor "I also look at their faces to see if they are confused, seem to  know what I am talking about, or if they know the material very well."

Getting to know Mr. Lawson

Today, I met with Mr. Lawson, a new teacher at John I. Burton this year.  I interviewed him about his new career at our high school.  Mr. Lawson is 23 and he teaches biology and anatomy. He went to Mountain Empire for two years and UVA wise for three.  His hobbies include golfing and playing video games.

Mr. Lawson was inspired to become a teacher by his fourth grade teacher.  He wanted to be a teacher to make a difference in students lives, like his fourth grade teacher did in his.  While talking to Mr. Lawson, I asked him what advice he would give to anyone who wanted to have a teaching career;  he replied with, "Teaching is not for everyone, work hard and learn the subject you want to teach well."

As we were speaking, Mr. Lawson told me that the hardest thing about teaching teenagers is getting them to take class seriously.  He also said his favorite aspect of  teaching is getting to meet new people and learning how to have an effect on their lives by teaching them.  Mr. Lawson graduated from Powell Valley, so in the future he would like to teach at Union High School, but he is still very happy with his job at John I. Burton.

In closing, I learned a lot about Lawson in my short interview with him. I can tell his personality is what sets him apart from many other  teachers in general. If you have the chance, I suggest you pay him a visit in his classroom; you definitely will not regret it!

Spanish class adopts guinea pigs

On Monday, August 24, Mrs. Beauchamp's Spanish classes obtained two class pets. A former student offered Mrs. Beauchamp two guinea pigs. Mrs. Beauchamp gladly accepted due to the fact that guinea pigs are native to South America. Mrs.Beauchamp stated, "The students are more excited than I expected." As one of her students, I can definitely confirm this observation.

Both of the guinea pigs are females. To choose the names, Mrs. Beauchamp wrote out a list of about five or six Spanish names and had a poll in all four of her classes. The two names that won were Luna and Chiqui.  Luna is the gray and white one pictured and Chiqui is the multi-colored one. Luna's breed is Abyssinian and Chiqui's is an American short-haired guinea pig. "They are called sows in Spanish," Mrs. Beauchamp noted.

Currently, each class has assembled in a circle on the floor for ten to fifteen minutes in an attempt to help the guinea pigs get use to their new surroundings. Mrs. Beauchamp plans on doing this two times a week. She also plans on letting students have individual time with them during their free time. She has asked students to volunteer on taking Luna and Chiqui home for the weekend when the weather starts to get colder. On the following Monday, the students will be required to write a paragraph on the adventures they had with Luna and Chiqui.  But, for now, the guinea pigs will stay at the school.

 The Spanish classes have also decided to do fundraisers for the guinea pigs. The classes are undecided on how to raise money thus far, but if you have a good idea, stop by Mrs. Beauchamp's classroom and let her know.  The classes plan on making Luna and Chiqui a play area in the back of the classroom. If you have any old towels or fleece blankets, please donate them to the guinea pigs. Also, if you would like to donate a bag of food, carrots, lettuce, or berries it would be greatly appreciated.

John I. Burton's 2015 jamboree

On August 22, 2015 at John I. Burton High School, the Raiders hosted a jamboree featuring the following high schools: J.I. Burton, Castlewood, Grundy, and Union. This event lasted from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. It has been a yearly tradition for Burton to host a jamboree at the beginning of the football season.  It is an excellent opportunity to bring in different schools and face off in scrimmage games. 

The starting game consisted of Union and Castlewood with Union winning the game. In the second game, J.I.B. battled Castlewood and ended the game with a victory. Union and Grundy constituted the third game and in the end, the Bears succeeded in beating the Golden Wave. The final game of the night consisted of J.I. Burton and Grundy with J.I. Burton winning the game. 

In Burton's scrimmage against Castlewood, Isaac Perrigan ran a touchdown in the first half. In the second half near the end of the game, Austin Johnson caught the last pass which resulted in a touchdown bringing the raiders the win against Castlewood with a score of 14 - 0.

In the second Burton game, which was also the last game of the jamboree, Burton dominated over Grundy. In the first half, Isaac Perrigan scored a touchdown giving the raiders their first score of the game. Isaac Davis ran in the second touchdown resulting in the score 14 - 0. In the second half, Isaac Perrigan ran the Raider's third touchdown in from the twenty five yard line resulting in a score of 21 - 0. J.I. Burton's fourth and final touchdown resulted in Jacob Branham recovering a fumble and running it in for a final score of 28 - 0.  Ultimately, this year's jamboree was eventful and enjoyable for viewers.  I personally enjoyed watching and filming the Raider's playing.