![Held up by a group of cheerleaders, flyer sophomore Leyu Yonas poses as part of a stunt, also supported by flyer junior Shayne Mitchell behind her. (Left) Prior to the pink out football game on Oct. 13, the athletes practiced in the aux gym from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Right) On Oct. 19, the cheerleaders competed in their District Championships at Woodgrove High School. “We definitely put all our effort on the mat [at Districts], and it showed,” Mitchell said. Left: Photo by Nadia Shirr. Right: Photo by Steve Prakope via Victor O’Neill Studios.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/feature-image-1200x823.png)
![Sophomore Xavier Smith (6), the Phoenix quarterback, runs the ball as his teammates help hold up the defense. “My [offensive] line collapses, so I just [have to run], and its a good way to get first downs because [Tuscarora’s] defense was really good,” Smith said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5383-1200x897.jpg)
![As the referee throws the ball up for the tip-off, freshman Simone Diby leaps towards the ball to get it in Phoenix possession. Diby is a new member of the Phoenix girls basketball team, and despite it being a change, she finds it enjoyable. “It’s definitely a different experience if you’ve never played on a team, [but] I think it’s still fun.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0057-1200x662.jpg)
![With the energy and effort the Bolts were bringing to the game, the Phoenix had to step up and match them to make it through their first game of the season. Many of the girls on the team, including freshman Nazly Rostom, have been playing soccer since their childhood and have grown a love for the sport as a result. “It was fun to see how we actually played in a [real] game,” Rostom said. “Even though the outcome was not what we were hoping for, I’m still happy we got to play together.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0154-1200x800.jpg)
![After waiting, planning, and preparing for two years, Rock Ridge Performing Arts (RPPA) finally performed “Frozen,” a musical about two sisters — one human and one with powers –who face adversity together in order to protect each other. The first show was performed on Friday, April 26.
“Frozen” was highly anticipated by students, and for good reason. The “Frozen” movie was one of the most successful animated Disney films and had a lasting impact on younger audiences when it came out.
Due to its sheer popularity, the rights to perform “Frozen” as a musical are extremely difficult to attain, and only one school in each state gets the chance to do so per year. “There was a competition called ‘Fifty States of Frozen,’ and we submitted an application two years ago,” Anthony Cimino-Johnson, the director of RRPA, said. “We were accepted as the only school in Virginia to do the musical. [We had to include] set design, how many students, how many performances, [and] photos from previous productions. It was a competitive process.”
The cast and crew of “Frozen” acknowledged the privilege they had to be able to perform the musical. “It’s actually pretty cool to have permission for ‘Frozen,’” freshman Divitha Mathe, a background actress in the musical, said. “We have [one of] the biggest theater programs and we have been preparing for ‘Frozen’ for a long time. There is a really beautiful set and the costumes are so pretty. The actors and tech crew are doing an amazing job. If I would want to shout out to anyone, it would be Mr. CJ and Mrs. Hess because they are really pulling the show together, and I am glad to have them as my teachers.”
“Frozen” is still being performed today and tomorrow at Rock Ridge!
Click the link in our bio to learn more about RRPA’s “Frozen” production!
✏️ & 📷 by Ria Athreya, Rachel Bhardwaj, and Aline Gonzalez](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
On Friday, Sept. 15, Rock Ridge held their annual Club Expo to give students a chance to seek out extracurricular activities that allow them to get volunteer experience and make new connections outside of school. There were 87 clubs at the expo, all run by students. Tables filled both the main and auxiliary gyms, and students cycled through for a 15-minute window to visit as many clubs as they could, signing up for the ones they found interesting.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes:
Sophomore Abby Knick is one of the four leaders of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) club. They work to help spread Christianity, while also having fun together as a club.
Q: How did you get into FCA?
A: My sister and Joshua McPlamer’s sister did it before us and they graduated and passed it on to us. We’ve grown the club since then.
Q: What do you love about FCA?
A: I love the sense of community and I feel like I’m doing something that helps. I love meeting all the new people that are coming.
Q: What does your club do?
A: We have guest speakers come in and speak, then do a 10-15 minute lesson. Then we will play games the rest of the time.
Girls Who Code:
Senior Ofelia Goldberg is the vice president of Girls Who Code. She makes the lessons to teach those who are a part of the club. Goldberg also does a lot of outreach to find more people for the club.
Q: How did you get into Girls Who Code?
A: It was mostly my friend. She was in it, and I saw that she was in it, and I was like, I might as well join, I’ll see what it’s all about and I really liked it. I think it’s especially fun when you have friends in a club.
Q: What do you love about the club?
A: The community. Everyone is so supportive of one another. Everyone is on different levels of experience, but that’s ok, and so everyone is just super supportive no matter where you are.
Generation Ratify:
Senior Emily Gruessing is one of the leaders of the new Generation Ratify club. She hopes to bring awareness to the Equal Rights Act and its ratification status in the constitution.
Q: How did you get into this club?
A: I learned about Generation Ratify from Ms. Berg, and we met some people from Generation Ratify at the Women’s Summit. Basically, it is this [national] program to get the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) ratified in the Constitution.
Q: What is something that you have enjoyed as being part of this club?
A: We just started, but the thing I have enjoyed the most is [the day] we all got together and worked on making forms, planning events, and making the trifold for the club expo. We had a really good time, and we were talking and getting closer doing that.
Q: What are your future events or plans in this club?
A: We don’t have set dates yet, but we are planning to do some open mic nights with feminist poetry, cultural potlucks, Socratic seminars, movie nights — [specifically] Barbie night — and more, along with volunteer opportunities.
DECA:
Senior Varsha Korumilli is a member of DECA and is the vice president of Professional Relations. She helps to organize events, volunteer opportunities, and competition prep.
Q: How did you get into the club?
A: Through marketing classes. The previous officers came to our class and told us what it was about, I was interested, so I joined. Also, my friends that already graduated were like “you should join,” so I joined.
Q: What do you love about DECA?
A: How much it helped me through public speaking and networking. It helped me get a bunch of new friends from not just our school, but from [other] countries and states.
Q: Why do you think other people should join DECA?
A: Because it helps, not just if you’re a business major, but also with the social aspect. If you’re not that keen on being more extroverted, you can try DECA, because we are all here for the same reason –we are all here to make new friends, collaborate with each other, and expand our perspectives.
Educators Rising:
Senior Isabella Lopez is the president of Educators Rising. She works to delegate tasks and work alongside the club sponsor to help run the club smoothly.
Q: How did you get into Educators Rising?
A: I’ve known I wanted to be a teacher since sophomore year, and so I started looking for more chances to explore the education field. I found classes like Teacher Cadet, Early Childhood Education, and especially Ed Rising. I just really got into it.
Q: What do you love about Educators Rising?
A: I love the fact that it’s so specific to what I want to do in the future. Rock Ridge is very diverse, but not in fields of different studies. You don’t see much for education around here. I love that we can bring more awareness.
Q: What does your club do?
A: The main component of it is going to Rosa Lee [Carter Elementary] in the mornings and volunteering with the kids. We are going to run teacher appreciation week, and we have conferences we are going to compete at.
