Rivalries and Battles

 

This week, Beech students have turned more diehard than ever for their teams due to the latest sensational struggle for football supremacy--the Beech High Buccaneers going up against long-time rivals, the Hendersonville High Commandos, in what is to be the biggest clash of armies this season. While it is no secret that both teams perceive each other as sworn rivals, there are probably those who are wondering, “WHY in the world are we sworn rivals to begin with?” Well the answer to that may be more relevant to all of the students of both schools than most previously thought, and is deeply rooted within the histories of both schools.

Over thirty years ago, Hendersonville High School had, at one point, reached maximum capacity. Soon after, they went over. In a dire overpopulation problem, with yet more students coming in, the decision was made that another school must be built in order to properly take care of the influx of new students and those who could not get the education they needed at Hendersonville. Thus, Beech High School was born. That’s right: Beech High is the younger brother of Hendersonville High. From then on, ever since the inception of this school, a natural “sibling” rivalry of sorts was established, and school spirit (as well as ticket sales) thrived off the rivalry.

However, this rivalry is looked upon to be a healthy dose of added competitive spirit, not at all being violent though far from friendly. It strikes just enough of a balance so that each school takes the rivalry seriously, though stray from going overboard and causing any bodily harm to each other. It makes the players play harder, the tickets sell faster, the students prouder to be students of their school, and the games fought harder. At the end of the day, the students of both schools are still neighbors and friends, and are mature enough to not let a long-standing rivalry get in the way of that. To sum it up simply in the words of Mr. Cardwell, “The rivalry is healthy, school students keep it in perspective. I don’t notice lingering hard feelings.”

- Matteen Mansoori

Ready to Get Wired?

If a Beech student ever hears mention of Wired Coffee Company, they may have heard the name, but not many are very familiar with it. Wired is a small coffee shop in Hendersonville that is slowly but surely gaining popularity as a hangout for teenagers and young adults. It is usually a fairly quaint, relaxed environment, but frequents of the shop know that every Monday night they will find live music and hours of fun.

            Every Monday local bands like Pencil Flower and The Bleating Seamen are booked to perform at Wired. A five dollar cover is all you need to stay and listen to every set while you relax with your friends and enjoy some of the shop’s amazing coffee and snacks.

            Hana Garcia, a senior at Beech and one of the managers of Wired, loves her job and hopes that the coffee shop will become more well-known around town.

            “I’d really like more people to know about this place,” Hana says. “It’s amazing. It’s not just a place for teenagers, it’s great for anyone to come and hang out.”

            Wired is open seven days a week from 4pm to 1am. It is located on 699 West Main Street in Hendersonville, only minutes away from Beech High School.

- Savannah Bent

Flashback Field Day

Students who qualified for Old School Field Day last Friday were given the opportunity to have a blast on the field and in the stands, by competing in classic field day games or cheering for their fellow classmates.

 It has been a successful few weeks for the schools magazine drive, and to say thank you for the student’s cooperation, the school hosted a field day for any student who brought in at least twenty-five dollars the previous turn-in day. Miss. Greer was in charge of the event, which was held last Friday during second and third block. There were games such as water balloon toss, sack race, football, toss, and even a pie-eating contest! Whatever the game was, it was clear the students were having a great time.

 Almost all of the participant’s opinions about the event were positive. When asked if he would like to do this again next year, sophomore Braden Sloan replied with, “I would love to do this again next year because it is a lot of fun and we have earned it.” Junior Paige Kelly could not agree more! Her favorite game was the water balloon toss and she loved the fact the students were able to hang out with friends and be outside instead of in a classroom.

 Although the activities of the day were being enjoyed, one common complaint was the food, which was cheeseburgers and hotdogs. Many students, including Junior Jaime Manning, stated that the food was “cold and bland” and the school needs to provide “more variety in the chips” because not all students may like that one brand and she hopes that is something that will be proved on in the future.

 Besides the fact that the food didn’t uphold some of the student’s wishes, they all seemed to have a day full of fun and good times as their reward for their hard work and selling skills eventually came to an end. This field day was only one of the many rewards the students have been given and there are only a couple more turn-in days left! Go out and sell as many magazines as you can in order to qualify for the next fun reward, which hopefully, will be just as exciting and exhilarating as this one turned out to be!
- Brittney Mace

Welcome to the Daily Buc

  

 “I want the blog to be something student-driven, student-written,” these were the very words of Mrs. Burton--teacher and editor-in-chief of the journalism class—when asked about The Daily Buc, Beech High’s own weekly-updated blog supervised by the journalism class. This blog is meant to serve as the reincarnation of the school newspaper and is the next level of reporting and story-telling, bringing news and information to the reader through a new and modern medium. With the use of the internet, everyone can view the blog from their laptops, iPads, and smartphones--anywhere and at anytime. Since there is relatively little printing and paper used, this blog is free! It is all of the convenience of having the school newspaper whenever you want it, with no fees or payment needed.

The idea of a blog as opposed to a traditional newspaper came to Mrs. Burton as a way to let students creatively express themselves and their concerns, as well as the concerns of the school, in a fresh, experimental way. The blog, of course, “Will depend on attitude and participation,” says Savannah Bent, a member of the journalism team. The general attitude of the class seems to be rather optimistic. When asked about how the blog will turn out, Alexis Varsakelis—another journalism member—said, “Great, we have many creative people, including me, not to brag!” While the project may still be in its infancy, The Daily Buc is up and running, with high hopes and bright folks ready to take it as far as it might go.

- Matteen Mansoori      

New Beats

 
 If you like the radio, then you will definitely enjoy the new Beech Beat!  Mr.
Hylton, the chorus teacher, has started the new Film and Music class that has never
been done at Beech High.  This class is a combination of the two classes Film
Music Study and Audio and Video Production.  At the start of the year the class
began the project (some may say), for the new ‘radio station’ called the Beech
Beat.

The class has already started broadcasting. You can listen to a small portion
of it before school on the intercom, or you can download the podcast on iTunes-
for free!  Tune in this Friday for the fourth broadcast on iTunes!

Mr. Hylton said that the project has been great for the students, and that it
has been very fun for all of them, including himself.  Most of the time the students
work on the project by themselves, and broadcast alone too.  Mr. Hylton is
counting on them to be responsible for their work, not only for the grade, but for
the students in the school.  It’s their responsibility to finish each broadcast by every
Friday. 

 The students on the Beech Beat are waiting for your participation by
listening to their station. Don’t keep them waiting, listen to the podcast on iTunes
now!

- Justin Hopkins

The Season of Success

It is that time of the year! Students at Beech break out their fall clothes and school spirit as the volleyball and golf teams achieve victory once again.

 The volleyball team has had an extraordinary season so far. The team has played 22 games and has won a total of twenty, which makes their current record 20-2. Many of the girls on the team believe playing against Portland was the most intense game; however, others included their input by stating that winning the Coyote Clash Tournament was their favorite part, even though they played for an exhausting ten hours! The team played against Wilson Central this past Friday and came back with another win.

With two to three matches a week, the golf teams dedication and hard work is paying off. The girls have won all but one of their games and have made it to regionals as a team, along with one of the boys. They placed 2^nd at districts this past Monday and hope to move to 1^st when competing at regionals this upcoming Monday. Junior Kendall Bell states that her favorite part of being on the golf team is “being with the girls and my friends and playing with other teams.”

While it seems like the Volleyball and Golf season just started, games have flown by and Beech teams have the trophies and medals to prove it! Before it is too late, get out, support the players, and help make their last few games the greatest they have ever had!

- Brittney Mace