The walk for Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. On Friday, October 7, a special event will be held in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness, prior to the home football game. Fighters, survivors, and friends and family members of those who have lost someone to breast cancer will be walking onto the football field in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness.  Families in the Norton community are encouraged to come Friday night to support those that have been affected by breast cancer.

Karli U., a cheerleader at John I. Burton, will be walking Friday night in honor of her Great Aunt, Joyce Mills, who was diagnosed with Breast cancer 12 years ago. Karli thinks that it is important to show love and support to those who have fought against breast cancer.  She believes that it is courteous to honor those who have fought this battle because, "They're fighting for their life. It is important to show respect and support because you never know if it could be your family next."

John I. Burton's guidance counselor, Melissa Cook, appreciates the idea of recognizing women that have had their life altered by cancer. Mrs. Cook has had six family members diagnosed with breast cancer.  Her mother was diagnosed 11 years ago and her aunt was diagnosed five years ago. She thinks the idea of a walk for breast cancer is inspiring and may open people's minds to the importance of awareness as well as early detection.

David LoBiondo, an English teacher at Burton, recently lost his mother to breast cancer.  Mr. LoBiondo shared her story:

Mr. Lobiondo's mother lived in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mr. LoBiondo called to ask his mom if she would be able to visit his grandfather who was not doing well. While she was in Norton, she started to feel sick and decided that she needed to go to the hospital. David Lobiondo stated, "They basically told her that she had Stage 4 Breast Cancer and there was not a lot that they could do." Mr. Lobiondo's mother had emergency surgery and had a tumor removed from her neck. "It was breast cancer but it had moved to her back and was now on her neck." said Mr Lobiondo. His mother told him that if anything ever happened to her and she would need to be resuscitated, that she did not want him to do it. He stated that his family had time to mentally prepare for the death of his mother. Although the passing of his mom was very difficult for the family, he is very grateful that she had the chance to meet his daughter, Lilly.

To support those who have been affected by breast cancer, come out to Friday night's game as Burton promotes Breast Cancer Awareness.

Written by: Alex C. and Tiffany A.

A new year for the Key Club

In 2016, Burton's Key Club has been assigned a new club leader, Mr. Lawson; a new president, Madison C.; and a new vice president, Bailey J.  This club currently has 25 members, and it seems as if they are all ready to go to work for their community. Mr. Lawson, the club sponsor, seems very excited about getting the young adults in his club to make a difference for their community this year.

Burton's Key Club frequently does a lot of community service including raking leaves and wrapping gifts for families in need. Lawson plans for members to complete similar activities this year.  Key Club is the perfect club to join for students looking for community service hours or for students who want to better their community.

Mr. Lawson is currently considering what kind of field trip the Key Club may take this year; last year students traveled to Dollywood, as a reward for their community service.  Lawson is considering taking students to the same destination, but it remains unclear at this time if this will be an option with scheduling.

Written by: Michael M.

Vocabulary projects in the English classroom

Brooke Bias, an English teacher at John I. Burton High School, challenged her English students to complete and present vocabulary projects each week, as opposed to completing a vocabulary packet and taking a traditional quiz.  She added vocabulary projects to her English courses after NCS began to implement Project Based Learning. Mrs. Bias's English 12 and English 11 students were assigned 10 vocabulary words each week during the first six weeks period. Some project options from the first six weeks period included creating a rap, a short story, or a PowerPoint slide containing all ten of the vocabulary words. The second six weeks project options now include creating a recipe booklet, writing and performing a skit, or writing a paragraph about another subject of study; each of these projects also has to contain all ten assigned vocabulary words. 

Mrs. Bias's English 11 class has the same project options as the 12th grade class, but the classes do not have the same vocabulary terms. Juniors have vocabulary practice sheets that they work on every Monday, and then on Tuesday they pick a project to complete.  Juniors present their projects every Friday.  The 12th grade vocabulary assignment was originally structured the same way; however, testing completed by Mrs. Bias's students at the end of the first six weeks revealed that most of the seniors struggled to recall a significant number of  vocabulary words and their meanings. Mrs. Bias has since altered the work her seniors must complete; the seniors are now assigned 10 vocabulary words for every two week period.  During that time period, they complete an extended practice packet, which lets students continuously see these words used in context.  Then, they complete a project which is presented every other Thursday.  Finally, on Friday of the second week they complete a more traditional 10 question quiz. Mrs. Bias said she believed implementing projects would help her students tremendously, but pointed out that it seemed to help her juniors more than the seniors.  Mrs. Bias attributes this difference in success to the more reserved nature of the students in her senior class, as well as a student tendency to rely on synonyms. 

Nonetheless, Mrs. Bias feels that implementing these projects can enhance the soft skills of students.  Students focus on presentation skills and their social skills as they work closely with their peers. Mazzy T., and J.T., juniors, said they have enjoyed doing projects because they enjoy seeing what other groups have completed throughout the week.  Mazzy said her favorite project was the rap her group prepared and performed because they had the chance to relate their vocabulary words to their life.J.T.'s favorite part was the art project where he got to cut out pictures from a magazine that related to the words and glue them onto computer paper. Both of these students hope to continue with these projects because it helps them learn the words better than taking quizzes.

Written by: Tori F.

Dancing Halloween away

Most schools host a multitude of dances annually. Unfortunately, John I. Burton's usually only hosts one annual dance: prom.  Recently, Burton High School's student council has undertaken hosting a Halloween Dance, but at least fifty people have to sign up stating they will attend.  If attendance reaches an appropriate level, the dance will be on Saturday, November 5, 2016 from 8-11 p.m. in the gym at John I. Burton.  For each individual the price will be five dollars; this fee must be turned in by October 21st.  Food and drink will also be sold at the Halloween dance.

Ultimately, it is important for John I. Burton to have more dances throughout the year, so students can come together more frequently to enjoy the time they have together.  Schools should focus on learning, but high schools also need to be enjoyable, for students: it is a one time experience.  Let it be applauded that John I. Burton is attempting to have another dance this year. 

For this event, students can dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes - as long as they are school appropriate.  There will be a costume contests, where students can win prizes.

This event is sure to be memorable for all the students and teachers.  Planning for it, decorating for it, and then going to the dance will create a positive environment for everyone in this school.  It would be also be ideal, if we could have a fall festival during school hours on the same day.   The students here at John I. Burton need more opportunities to be involved in positive experiences with each other.  Hopefully, this will be considered at John I. Burton.  Burton's Blog encourages everyone to sign up for the Halloween dance!

Written by: Kim H.

Fall is in the air

Everyone at John I. Burton knows

Because the weather is starting to show;

With leaves changing 

And few daylight hours remaining 

Summer tans are fading

Winter is almost near

Clowns are out spreading fear

Fall is definitely here.

Mrs. Poteet pulls boots and scarves out of the closet

While corn mazes are making a profit.

Colors fill the scenery,

With golden orange taking over the greenery

The smell of fall is in the wind

With pumpkin and spice blowing in

Ben H. knows it is true,

Things seem scarier with the word boo.

Haunted houses come to the area

Which throws people into hysteria

It is time to give thanks

and get out your rakes.

Football fans fill the stands

While Coach Adams calls commands

Scarecrows stand guard

over the crops in the farmyard. 

The smell of pumpkin is all around

Najee S rakes the leaves on the ground

Days are shorter.

Mazzy T. cheers every quarter

It is that time of year

Yes, indeed, fall is here. 

Written by: Haley Q. and Haley H.

Burton students considering their futures

Throughout one's life, as a person matures, their minds begin to change and as one career goal concludes, another begins to flourish.  Burton's Blog recently conducted a survey to analyze how Burton students of different ages change their minds about their career goals, while others remain ambivalent about what career they are going to pursue.  

Fifteen students were interviewed, three from each grade.  They answered questions about what they wished for their career and the reasoning behind their aspirations.  Most said that they have changed their plans since they were children.  Their dreams, when they were younger, varied from being police officers to architects.  Now, their knowledge is expanding while their maturity level increases, which results in new ambitions.  One student expressed that as she grew older she acquired more knowledge as to what is available to her, and that changed her viewpoint on what she wanted to pursue as a career. 

In the chart shown above, the data shows a pattern.  In this particular set of students, all of the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students interviewed stated that they know exactly what they are going to do for a future career.  The ninth and eleventh grade students, more frequently, did not know what they wanted to do as a career.  Each of the students that were surveyed wanted to pursue different careers.  Overall, the majority of Burton students surveyed think they know what they are going to do when they finish school.  Even though there is a lot of discussion and havoc involving future plans, careers play an important role in a person's life. Choosing one requires careful observation, for one's career frequently determines their lifestyle.

Written by: Paloma B. and Megan D. 

Burton reinstates homecoming parade

Homecoming week at John I. Burton is quickly approaching as it begins on Monday, October 28, 2016.  The homecoming theme this year is "There's is No Place Like Homecoming."  Last year, Burton did not have a homecoming parade, so it is being reinstated this year.  This year's homecoming parade will be on Thursday, October 27 at six o'clock. It will start at the old Bill Sturgill office and end at the high school . Mr. Robert Fultz. a math teacher at John I. Burton, will be organizing the parade this year with the help of student class officers and other teachers on the homecoming parade committee:  Mrs. Poteet, Mrs. Sharpe, Mr. Helton,  and Mr. Coffey. The class officers of each grade will be making a float for their class with the help of students in their grade. Students interested in assisting with their class' float should speak with one a class officer.

There will be various floats and a variety of performers participating in the parade.  Plans are underway to have a float for each fall sport at Burton, and one for each grade level.  Fultz is also hoping to have two decade floats; one to represent the 60s and one to represent the 70s, created by Burton alumni who graduated during the 1960s and 1970s. Ms. Cassandra Bulter. Burton's band director, is also working on coordinating an "Alumni Band" that will walk in the parade with the marching band.

"The idea of homecoming is for some people..... to reconnect, to see everyone again.... the parade gives people another chance to reconnect to their community and to be apart of something - a community event," stated Mr. Fultz. Mr. Fultz has set up an event page on Facebook, for anyone interested in the event. Come and watch John I. Burton's homecoming parade this October!


Written by: Makayla M.

Students build a pathway to Christ

On Friday, September 28th, a group of forty students from John I. Burton gathered around the flagpoles on the front lawn for Prayer at the Pole.  Prayer at the Pole is a national event in which students at schools across the country gather at their flagpoles to pray. Mrs. Fields, an instructional technology adviser and sponsor of FCS, organized this event for students.

This event was especially significant to student Corey B., who was recently elected Chaplin for FCS. A Chaplin is someone who says prayer for an organization or assembly. Mrs. Field's offered Corey B. the opportunity to lead prayer during this special event, and he enthusiastically accepted.  Mrs. Fields has high expectations for Corey B.  She said "Corey B. is very dedicated and had the strength to pray in front of his fellow classmates. I had no doubt in my mind that he could do it because I know what he is capable of and I think he did a marvelous job with his prayer." She hopes that he will remain Chaplin while he finishes his high school career here at John I. Burton.

The FCS sponsors hoped for an increase in student participation in this event.  Mrs. Fields commented that she was "hoping for a lot of students this year compared to what our attendance was last year."  This has been one of the most successful Prayer at the Pole meetings at John I. Burton yet.  Be sure to join the FCS in the library every Wednesday during both lunches to help build the pathway to Christ.

Written by: Austin Q.