Once a month at Lord Botetourt High School, students have the opportunity to attend the “Principal’s Cafe,” a lunch for the staff to get to know the students better. Illustration by Claire Gross, Lord Botetourt High School

By Jessica Wiegandt, Lord Botetourt High School

Once a month at Lord Botetourt High School, students have a unique opportunity.

Principal Janet Womack , and other various staff host a lunch for students interested in attending “The Principal’s Café.”

The activity began last year, when Womack began working at LBHS as the new principal. She originally provided a home-cooked breakfast for a few staff members at a time.

“The café was a means to learn more about the people I work with and get to know them better,” Womack said.

Now, the lunch has grown into a larger activity involving students. Little Caesars pizza provides food for the event and the administration plans the rest of the meal.

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Illustration by Marta Kodin, Hidden Valley High School

Article by Roshni Lalchandani, Cave Spring High School

For quite some time now, frozen yogurt has been a sensation that appeals to Americans in every way. More specifically, the Roanoke Valley, which currently hosts a Menchie’s, Bloop, Frogurt, Sweet Frog, plus more and counting. What started as a trend has evolved into the perfect dessert option.

Coldstone Creamery, one of America’s most popular ice cream parlors, left its prime location on Valley View Boulevard. Katie’s Ice Cream is a favorite to many, but recent revelations in the frozen desserts industry have led them to add frozen yogurt to their menu.

We have to wonder what it is about “froyo” that makes us go gaga. For many, it’s the nutritional perks, which play well with health-conscious America through the so-called obesity epidemic. There’s less fat in frozen yogurt. Also, frozen yogurt is easier to digest — great for those with lactose intolerance. Frozen-yogurt shops are also self-serve and usually include a great variety of toppings. These range from tasty Kit-Kats and Skittles to healthy granola and fresh fruit. Not to mention the hot fudge and caramel liquid toppings many places offer.

In the end, I’ll continue to make weekly rounds to my favorite of parlors – both ice cream and frozen yogurt. Nothing can hold me back from the many locations of frozen deliciousness that Roanoke has to offer.

Lord Botetourt High School junior Piper Gaul has her sights set on becoming a movie director or screen play writer. Illustration by McKinley Saunders, Lord Botetourt High School

Piper Gaul

By Jessica Wiegandt, Lord Botetourt High School

Young children often dream about what they will become: a firefighter, teacher, veterinarian, lawyer; and the list goes on and on. They change their minds frequently, switching their dream career from one to the next in no time at all.

But for Lord Botetourt junior Piper Gaul, this was not the case. She had, and still does have, her sights set on becoming a movie director or screen play writer.

Gaul said she discovered her dream career when she was in seventh-grade with the help of her parents. She had a school project in which she had to plan a future career, and Gaul wasn’t sure what she wanted to be when she grew up. So she asked her parents what they thought. They remembered that when she was younger, Gaul was captivated by movies and films.

“They suggested I do something with film. I thought it would be kind of cool, and after the project I continued to think about it for a while,” Gaul said.

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Text and Illustrations by Alexis Holland, William Byrd High School

During my childhood, Winnie the Pooh was always a comforting television show. Even though each character had their own problems, they all seemed to accept each other in an acquiescent manner.

As I have gotten older, however, I have had different ideas of who Winnie actually is.

My artwork reflects the various qualities I view Winnie as possessing. I wanted to portray him in my completely different perspectives.

I created the pastel colored piece because I viewed Winnie as a figure of innocence and purity when I was younger.

As I got a tiny bit older, I saw Winnie from a more mature perspective, taking in the themes of the show and the behavior of different characters. In this set of images, I created a more established and detailed piece to represent a more polished analysis of Winnie.

I added more details to my last piece to illustrate the view I currently have about Winnie the Pooh, which is a variety of my previous perceptions. As a result, I utilized various mediums to portray my vision: colored pencils, acrylic paint and oil pastels.

Essentially, Winnie the Pooh inspires me because of how he can be interpreted based on personal experiences.

Regardless, I think Winnie’s familiar face is a good refresher at the beginning of 2013, to let us forget any hardships that may have been encountered during 2012.

Illustration by Lina Habazi, Cave Spring High School

By Jessica Wiegandt, Lord Botetourt High School

Ever hear of “coning?” This is a trend among local high school students that involves the McDonald’s fast food chain.

A customer orders an ice cream cone at the drive through. When they receive the dessert, they take it by the actual ice cream — not by the cone.

The point is to watch the reaction of the server.

I conducted the experiment myself and some friends. As I ordered my ice cream cone, I waited in the car line. I paid for the cone at the first window, and as I drove up to the food window, the server was waiting for me with his arm out the window. I pulled to a stop, and he handed the ice cream to me. I took it by the ice cream.

“That works too,” the server said. He laughed as we drove away with the ice cream melting in the palm of my hand.

Illustration by Marta Kodin, Hidden Valley High School

Written by Roshni S. Lalchandani, Cave Spring High School

The hallways of Cave Spring High School are like a  jungle. And I have the opportunity to witness the wildness of it all on a regular basis.

There are small and sneaky snakes, slithering quickly by fellow pupils, yet they’re only noticeable when they make a sound.

There are the giant elephants. These are represented by the proud significant students who seem to tower over others.

There are bears roaring at their cubs – teachers shouting at their students – warning them to hurry up and get to class before the bell, or should I say, get to shelter before the storm?

High school is crazy and has many similarities to the wild. I can’t really assign myself as an animal of the jungle. Somebody else, like me, who observes others more than themselves could do it. It’s just a part of my nature, the nature of Cave Spring High School.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle accidents are the biggest cause of death for teens in the U.S.

-Alexis Holland, William Byrd High School