JIB news report: November 30, 2015

National Honor Society

On Tuesday, November 24th, Mrs. Poteet, who is the adviser of the National Honors Society, and many underclassmen were busy setting up for the NHS induction ceremony. The NHS is for juniors and seniors that have at least a 3.5 GPA. In addition to the GPA requirements, these students have to have strong leadership, scholarship qualities, and a strong character.  There are currently 26 members in the society. This is the first year that John I. Burton has offered the program and the school hopes to continue it many more years.

The induction started at 6:30 and lasted around 30 to 45 minutes. There was a candle lighting ceremony where the four officers lit a candle and spoke. During this ceremony, Dylan Dockery led the members into the pledge of allegiance.  After the ceremony, members and their families gathered in the schools cafeteria for the reception, where barbecue and nachos were served.  The ceremony was very formal and everyone looked their very best for the event.  The officers looked especially good, wearing suits or nice dresses.

The NHS has decided to adopt a nursing home for Christmas, which is located at Heritage Hall in Wise, VA. By adopting the nursing home, the members are providing community service. The nursing home is sponsoring an "Angel Tree" this Christmas.  The angel tree has cards on it which have peoples names on them that are not as fortunate and the cards have the presents they wish to receive.

Mrs. Poteet stated that "I previously worked at a nursing home when I was in college, and while I was there, I learned a lot about the different generations and about people in general. The elderly really want to feel attention and love just like anyone else, and I think that is why my heart led me towards this for community service."

Honor Society members are pictured above, and the officers, pictured left, are:

President: Dylan Dockery

Vice President: Evan West

Secretary: Robert Beauchamp

Treasurer: Conner Wharton

Written By: Mazzy

Field trip to Natural Tunnel with Mrs. Wampler

On Friday, November 23,  Mrs. Wampler, a math teacher at John I. Burton, took her students on a trip to Natural Tunnel. Mrs. Wampler has a trip every year for students with perfect attendance. This year, thirteen students went on the trip. The students that attended were: Kira S., Candice C., Emily S., Mazzy T., Hannah P., Aiden W., Austin Q., Derrick A., Nima P., Kaitlin I., Payton W., Caleb W.,  and Madison S. On the way to Natural Tunnel, the students stopped for breakfast at McDonald's; While there, they received a booklet full of questions that they had to answer based off the trip and the places that they went to.

To begin this trip, the students visited the gazebo, which had  very beautiful scenery. While at the gazebo, the students had to solve a few geometry questions by using its shape. A few of the questions had to be answered by using the circumference, radius, and the diameter. The next place visited was the Block House. The Block House had a lot of historical background because it was used as a rest stop for any travelers that wanted to be safe back in the days of war. The house aided travelers with food and shelter. The building had a lot of history built into it, such as solid wood floors and small open windows,which the settlers would use to look and see if people were approaching.

In the middle of this big day, the students stopped by the Natural Tunnel's office and had lunch. The students had the choice of pizza or McDonald's, accompanied by a soda of their choice. After lunch, the students went to an area with chairlifts. While riding the chairlifts, they had to answer questions in their book that pertained to the speed and velocity of the chairlift. The chairlifts lead down to the big tunnel. The big tunnel had train tracks running throughout it and was also very wide and tall. This tunnel was formed over the years by water erosion. In the past, the tunnel was predicted to have been full of water. The students used their feet and a measuring device to measure the length of the tunnel. The trip went very well, and the students had a great time. Some students even said,"I would love to go again any chance I get; the trip was very informative and fun!"

Written by : Kira Sturgill

Funds for a resource officer

*Incorrect information was previously published in regards to a school resource officer.  Please read this article for a correction.

John I. Burton High School is currently attempting to allocate funds for a school resource officer through grant funding.   A resource officer is a police officer that works for a department but is stationed at a school. A future school resource officer would most likely be employed through a local department, like Norton P.D or the Sheriff's Department.

The officer would be at the school during school hours. While working at the school, the officer would be given their own office space. They would have access to typical police equipment and to the school's camera system. The officer would look for defects/gaps in security and they would also maintain order in the school.

Their noticeable presence would serve as a good deterrent measure against illegal activities within the school.The officer would not be allowed to invade anyone's personal privacy; they would be only able to investigate if given permission or with probable cause/reason.  Principal Williams says that the number one reason that the school would hire a resource officer is for safety. Principal Williams also says that one of the other reasons that the school should hire a resource officer is that many other schools have one.

Written By: Dustin Pilkenton

Raider Football season comes to an end

On Friday, November 20th, the John I. Burton Raiders hosted the Rural Retreat Indians in the second round of the playoffs. The Raiders have won 11 straight games since losing their season opener against the Union Bears in August. The Raiders played the Covington Cougars in the first round of the playoffs, in which they were able to come out on top, 45-16.

To start the game, the Raiders kicked the ball off to the Indians. The Indians turned the ball over on their first offensive possession due to a fumble, which was recovered by the Raiders. The Raiders scored 14 points before the Indians were finally able to score. Going into halftime, the Raiders were leading in a close game, with a score of 14-6.

The second half was all about the Raiders, as they continued to score on offense and shut down the Indians on defense. Late in the game, the Indians had several personal fouls, 2 of which were on one player, who was ejected from the game. The Raiders stopped the Indians from scoring the whole second half and the game ended with the Raiders on top, 28-6. 

On Saturday, November 28th, the Raiders hosted  the Galax Maroon Tide in the third round of the playoffs.  The final score of this game was 35-12. The Raiders finished the season 11 wins and 2 losses. Congratulations to the Raiders on a successful season, and good luck to the senior football players as they move on in life!

Written By: Tia Bates

Art goes to UVA-Wise

On November 20th,2015, the art, band, and drama classes went on a trip to UVA-Wise for the day. The school event was of no cost and was very educational to any and all students involved. The trip helped many people decide what college they would like to attend in the future.

This trip to UVA-Wise included a tour around the campus, allowing  JIB students to see the construction of the library with a Starbucks inside. JIB's tour guide was very friendly and gave helpful advice about where to stay on campus.Wise Central, Union, Ridgeview and Honaker high schools all attended this event, but had different tour groups. After the tours, the students went to a class of their choice. While in class, the professors expected the classes to act like adults; they only asked to be treated with respect.

After the first class, students made their way to the cafeteria; the lunch period at the college lasted an hour and a half, instead of 30 minutes like in high school.  After lunch, the group got to choose another class to attend.  At the end of the second class, everyone went to the drama hall. While there, the students answered questions about what they learned throughout the day for the chance to win t-shirts. Afterwards, everyone walked back to the bus and headed back to school, where the students finished out the school day with only 20 minutes left.

Written by: Kaden

JIB obtains new Chromebooks

At the beginning of this semester. John I. Burton High School obtained new Chromebooks. Chromebooks are Google's version of a laptop/tablet device. The school ordered these Chromebooks because they were a new and affordable resource for students to use. The school had technical funds and decided to get a good deal with Chromebooks. The idea was brought up by JIB's I.T., Donna Owens, and, with  Dr. Perrigan's approval, the books were sent our way.

G-Mail login page

Our librarian, Mrs. Poteet, said that the Chromebooks will be available on December 1st and are going to be available for use year round. There are 40 Chromebooks available that are going to be for the teachers to check out. Although the school now has access to these Chromebooks, they will not be replacing the school's other computers. Therefore, they are mainly just additions to our technology. Although the teachers and students will not be assigned personal Chromebooks, each student will be assigned their own personal emails to use specifically for these computers. Mrs. Poteet also said that there will be several programs available on the Chromebooks, such as the software that is Google's version of Microsoft Office

Mrs. Poteet is excited and thinks that these laptops are a great opportunity and a good resource for students to use. The Chromebooks will be available in the library and are accessible to anyone that would like to use them. Just ask Mrs. Poteet to use one, and you will have access to them as long as you may need, if they are available and not checked out.

Written by: Jailen Bailey

JIB news report: November 20, 2015