With third quarter ending March 22 and spring sports only beginning their seasons, Yorktown has slowed back into the normal pace of school life. The flurry of activity throughout the last weeks ended as seniors now hear from college admissions offices and join the rest of the students in finishing out the final months of the school year.
Spring break, the week of March 25-29, has been the subject of much excitement. AP European History teacher Mike Pallermo is taking a group of about 65 students on a tour of both Italy and France. One hundred twenty-one band students, with band teacher Timothy Niebergall, will travel to Atlanta, Ga., to compete with students from all over the country in a festival. Similarly, English 11 teacher Diana Russell will be taking about 20 of her students to Savannah, Ga., to see the sites they studied while reading John Berendt’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
As students return to school on April 1, fourth quarter will begin a new rush of events. Spring Spirit Week will last from April 15-19, ending with an International Bazaar Picnic on Friday afternoon. The SGA, which teamed up with the Diversity Committee, will create this event to include international foods, entertainment and other student favorites.
The Debate Team, coached by Kevin Briscoe, has had a successful season and will be continuing this success. Seniors Scott Kuhagen, Katie Spatz and Patrick Rainey will be going to nationals to compete in the Student Congress. Next year, this contest and 3,000 students from around the area will come to Arlington to participate.
Although there was much debate as to the purpose early on, the new traffic devices on the Yorktown Boulevard hill were added not as speed traps but as safety precautions for crossing pedestrians. However, there are still concerns about the speeds of cars coming over the hill during school hours.
As students return from spring break, seniors will also be hearing of their acceptance or denial into the Senior Experience Program. Around 70 seniors applied to participate in the interning program, which allows them to miss the last three weeks of school and engage in an internship with a mentor. On June 14, the seniors will return to school and present their accomplishments over that period of time.