![Junior Diya Arun stares out a window. For Arun, the winter season brings out the holiday blues. “ I think [the winter] has a negative effect on my mental health because I feel like the cold weather and people around me are also sadder [and] that affects me,” Arun said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_8047-1200x800.jpg)
![The Phoenix varsity volleyball team lines up for the national anthem. “We were more communicative [with each other] during this game, and I feel like we kept our energy up, especially after the first set,” senior Jessica Valdov said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DSC_0202-1200x800.jpg)
Phoenix Commanded by the Captains
On May 11, the Phoenix varsity boys soccer team faced the #1 ranked Loudoun County Captains in one of their last games of the regular season. The matchup resulted in a hard fought Phoenix loss of 5-0.
Junior Carter Divalerio dribbles the ball to keep it away from Captains. “It was a rough season, there were some ups and downs, we took some L’s, but we’ll bounce back next season,” Divalerio said.
May 22, 2023
On Thursday, May 11, the Phoenix varsity boys soccer team played the top-ranked lineup in the Dulles district, the Loudoun County Captains. After putting up a solid effort to close out their season, the Phoenix fell to the Captains 5-0.
The game started out with a strong defensive front from the Phoenix, but the Captains began to take hold of offensive zone time, scoring twice early in the first half. The first half ended with a score of 3-0.
After the halftime break, the Phoenix took the chance to make some adjustments in their game plan. Attacking more on offense, key players, such as junior captain Ibrahim Rostom, kept the team’s communication high, voicing updates from across the field. While they maintained their intensity and had a few close shots on goal, the game ended with a Phoenix loss of 5-0. “I don’t think we were ready to go in that game, I think we were ready to lose going into the match, because we all know County is one of the best teams,” junior Keyaan Bashir said.
On Wednesday, May 17, the Phoenix varsity boys played their first playoff game against the Heritage Pride and took the win 2-0, moving onto the next round on May 18 against the Loudoun County Captains, again. The phoenix took a loss of 3-0, ending the soccer season as a whole. ¨[This season] was interesting, there were barely any seniors on our team, so we were just carried by a bunch of sophomores and juniors and this season didn’t really go as planned overall,¨ freshman Arjav Iyer said.
![On Friday, Dec. 19, seniors filled the library for the winter senior breakfast event, put together with the help of administrators and parent volunteers. Excitement and joy filled the atmosphere as the Class of 2025 filed into the school library to celebrate their four years of accomplishment as students.
The menu for this breakfast was an assortment of sweet treats: donuts, apple and orange juice, coffee, hot chocolate, and gingerbread cookies. Students were able to decorate their own gingerbread cookies with a variety of different icing and sprinkles to choose from. The tables were decorated with blue tablecloths to celebrate the winter season. Plates and napkins also followed the holiday theme.
Senior Blessing Amuga attended the event for her friends and the food. “This time [the breakfast was better because] there were many activities,” Amuga said.
In the midst of the festivities, students were provided with the opportunity to vote on one of four designs on the front and two designs on the back for their senior class shirt design. They are able to submit their designs by Dec. 18 for a chance to be selected as the winning design.
✏️ and 📷 by Ryan Desiderio, Rachel Bhardwaj, Sitwat Mian](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)