Spreading Holiday Cheer

Julia Fouts   

On Thursday, December 6, the Homer High School band performed songs to get into the holiday spirit. The concert started at 7:30 pm and lasted for over an hour. The jazz ensemble, directed by Mr. David Shiffman, went first and played five songs. Mr. David DiGennaro, the high school instrumental teacher, directed the concert band, which performed four songs.

The jazz ensemble featured saxophones, trumpets, guitars, bass guitars, trombones, and a piano. The musicians played five songs, “In the Stone,” “It’s the Holiday Season,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Flashback,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” There were several solos, and the songs got everyone into the Christmas spirit.

        Mr. DiGennaro directed the concert band, which played after the jazz ensemble. The instruments in the concert band included piccolos, flutes, oboes, bassoons, clarinets, bass clarinets, saxophones, and trumpets, french horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, and percussion.  The band performed, “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” “Pillars of the Earth,” “Prelude and Fugue in G Minor,” “The Spirit of Orpheus,” and “Sleigh Ride.” Jordan Laundry, a freshman who plays clarinet, said, “Our band worked very hard for this concert, and our time and effort invested really showed in our performance.”

Great job to all the instrumentalists!

Holiday Volleyball Tournament

Chase Davis

The Holiday Volleyball Tournament is in full swing, as semifinals and finals are quickly approaching. The tournament had a good turnout this year, as several teams registered. “Beast from the East” and “Eight Maids a Milkin’” are the two team finalists for this year’s tournament. Their game will be held on Friday, December 14.

For those who do not know much about volleyball, here is what it entails. Only six players can be on the court at a time, and there must be three girls and three guys. The team with the higher seed gets to serve first. The three basic kinds of shots in volleyball are the bump, the set, and the serve. The first hit after the serve must be a bump. After that, players can use almost any hit to get the ball over the net. The goal is to have the volleyball land on the court on the other side of the net. Each game is played to 15 points, and in the tournament, the match goes to the team that wins two out of the three games.

Ian Heath, from the “Arctic Aces,” said, “I thought they did a good job, but they need to play to a higher score during the seeding rounds.” During the tournament, games were played to 15; however, during the seeding rounds, games were only played to 11.

Nick Cinquanti, from the “Silent Knights,” said, “It was a lot of fun!” He also added the quotation, “Oh, in the face,” as a few of the shots resulted in hits to the face.

Overall, the tournament was a huge success. Show your support by watching the championship game on Friday, December 14th. Also, be sure to sign up next year, if you are interested in participating.

Canned Food Drive

Coming Up...
THANCS is hosting a can food drive for the hungry. Bring in a non-perishable food items to your homeroom teachers from November 13th to 20th and November 26th to December 7th. All donations will be going to the Spafford Food Pantry. The homeroom with the most food will win candy for all of the students!

Blood Drive

Coming up...
Student Government is having a blood drive through the American Red Cross. Sign up in your homeroom to come to the Auditorium on Wednesday, November 21st between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM to donate. You must be at least 16 years old to donate and have a signed permission slip.