Vol. 77 No. 1.

Fort Hill Sentinel

Fort Hill High School, Cumberland, Maryland

October 30, 2015

Welcome Back, Fort Hill High School

In This Issue:

Wall Painting
Undefeated Volleyball
New Teachers
Band Show
Homecoming Court
Senior Signing

Dates To Remember:

November 2- Character Day

November 3- When I Grow Up
Day
November 4- Mismatch Day
November 5- Color Wars Day
Seniors- Pink

Juniors- Purple
Sophomores- Orange

Freshmen- Green
November 6- Spirit Day
November 7- Homecoming & SAT
Homecoming Game- 12:30 pm
Homecoming Dance- 8 pm- 11 pm
November 26- Thanksgiving
Break

Fort Hill Sentinel

The Truth Shall Set You Free

500 Greenway Avenue
Cumberland, Maryland 21502
301-777-2572

Editor-In-Chief..............................Abbie Stevens
Layout/Design..............................Abbie Stevens
Circulation Manager.....................Abbie Stevens
Photographers.............................Sentinel Staff
Sports Writers..............................Kylie Elliott
Briella Moon
Haylee Morton
Emma Rowley
Business Manager........................Sentinel Staff
FeatureWriters..............................Kylie Elliott
Briella Moon
Haylee Morton
Emma Rowley
Alli Dignan
Kayla Courtney

Camryn Painter
Kayla Riley
Melanie Yarnall
Rhiannon Clark
Courtney Cline
Hailee McIntosh
Kara Lashbaugh
Mallarie Thomas
Chloe DiNicola

Advisor.........................Dr. Laura Holland

Brady Barnhart
Member

Columbia Scholastic Press Association

Quill and Scroll
Maryland Scholastic Press Association

Mr. Carter
Welcome back
By Camryn Painter and Kylie
Elliott

Mr. Carter welcomes
students for the 2015-2016 school
year, and he hopes to have another
good year at Fort Hill High School.
He wishes the seniors success and
would like them take advantage of
everything Fort Hill has to offer.

He hopes that the students
understand that the administration is here to help assist them as
much as possible and is looking
forward to seeing how well they
performed on the PARCC and AP
tests. In addition, he stated that he
was excited about new changes for
the school this year which include
removing the trophy cases from the
main lobby and displaying them
throughout the school.

Mr. Carter stated that one
of his goals for this year is to sell
individual passes for twenty dollars
that will give students access to all
sporting events. He feels that this
will encourage students to participate in after school activities and
boost school spirit.

If he could change anything
about the education system, it
would be to see all students spend
more time in the academic classroom. Additionally, he believes all
seniors should be encouraged to
take a full schedule and would like
to add different courses that would
be more appealing to them.

Mr. Carter said that his
advice for students is to get everything out of high school possible,
participate in as many activities as
possible, and always be the best
students they can be. He stated

Mr. Rice
that it is an honor for him to be
the principal of such a historical
school, and he enjoys watching
students enter as freshmen and
become young adults for our future.

Mr. Carter is looking
forward to another great year with
students and staff at Fort Hill.
FH welcomes Mr. Rice

By Kylie Elliott

This year Fort Hill students,
faculty, and staff welcome Mr. Rice
as our Assistant Principal.

Mr. Rice graduated from
Frostburg State University in
1994, where he earned his degree
in elementary and middle school
education with his specialization in
math. Six years later, he went back
to Frostburg where he earned his
Masters degree in administration
and supervision.

Mr. Rice taught for a total
of fifteen years and has been in
this administration for seven years.
He has taught math, pre-algebra,
physical science, and elementary
subjects at multiple schools. He
previously taught at James Wood
Middle in Winchester, VA, South
Penn Elementary, and Washington
and Braddock Middle. Mr. Rice
has also served as a baseball and
basketball coach at Hyndman,
James Wood, Fort Hill, and Mountain Ridge.

Mr. Rice is looking forward
to working with mature, young
adults to help them reach a common goal of creating a positive
environment, good academics, and
a good athletic program. Welcome
to Fort Hill High School, Mr. Rice!

Trump trumps the polls

By Alli Dignan
The Sentinel staff conducted a
survey to determine which candidate would win the 2016 Presidential Election at Fort Hill. The survey included all 15 Republican and
3 Democratic candidates running in
the 2016 election. After the votes
were tallied, Trump dominated the
republican nomination with 192
votes. Following Donald Trump,
was Republican candidate, Dr. Ben
Carson, with 62 votes, followed
closely by the Democratic winner, Hillary Clinton with 53 votes.
Coming in second for the Democratic Party and fourth overall, was
Bernie Sanders. Seventy-three of
the school voted Republican while
only 27% of the students voted for
the Democratic party.

SportS

Sentinel Football
By Alli Dignan

Under the direction of
Coach Todd Appel, the Fort Hill
Varsity Football Team kicked off
the season taking on Clearfield,
ending the game in a score of 4914. The Sentinels then faced off
against the Keyser Golden Tornado
and suffered with a close score of
41-48, losing to Keyser. Fort Hill
then dominated Chestnut Ridge
with a victory of 63-19. After the
Chestnut Ridge victory, the Sentinels secured a win over Silver Oak
with a score of 50-0.
Lady Sentinels Soccer
By Melanie Yarnall

Fort Hill Girls varsity soccer has a record of 4-1-4. During
the soccer classic, the Sentinels defeated Bishop Walsh. On September 24, 2015, the Lady Sentinels
played Keyser in an away game.
Megan Lewis had the only goal for
the Sentinels which was a header
on a corner kick by Danielle Flinn.

On September 30, 2015,
the Lady Sentinels played the Lady
Rams. The Rams scored in the
first half, but the Lady Sentinels
won the game with 2 goals in the
second half. Megan Lewis gave
the Lady Sentinels a win against
the Lady Rams. On October 7,
2015, the Lady Sentinels competed
against the Bishop Walsh Spartans.
Elizabeth Graves scored the only
goal of the night, and the Lady
Sentinels were victorious with a
score of 1-0.

On October 1, the varsity
team dedicated their game against
Southern to the Haley House
Foundation. They fell behind in
the first half 1-0, but the Sentinels
came back in the second half and
won 2-1. The team sold Forever
Haley shirts to benefit the foundation.

Pictured above are the Sentinels celebrating another victory.

Undefeated Lady Sentinels
Foreth in the state
By Kayla Riley
By Emma Rowley

Fort Hill JV and varsity

Under the direction of
volleyball teams are having treCoach Thad Burner, freshman
mendous seasons. At the time of
Trevor Rice represented Fort Hills
print, the JV team was 6-0 and the
Golf Team at Regionals where he
varsity team was 7-0.
played 18 holes for a total of 104

JV setter Kayla Riley
strokes. Trevors best score locally
assisted in over 63 kills. JV liwas at the Cumberland Country
bero and sophomore Savannah
Club, where he earned a total of 48
Barbe has had over 28 digs and
strokes. His average, 54, allowed
79 passes. Shelby Smith attacked
him to finish 4th in the State. Conover 60 balls and killed 29. Britgratulations on a job well done,
tany Tressler has acheived over 6
Trevor!
attacks and 2 kills.

The varsity team comprised
of four seniors, three sophomores,
and two juniors, had an undefeated
score of 7-0. Bailey Godlove,
hitter, has attacked over 110 and
killed 75. Skylar Barbe, also a
hitter, has had over 63 attacks and
over 17 kills. LaKiah Powell is
a junior hitter, and has attacked
Pictured above is golf member,
over 38 balls and killed 10. FurTrevor Rice.
thermore, Nyzaria McGraw and
Sydney Wilson are sophomores on
varsity, and serve as main hitters.
Nyzaria has over 20 kills and 48 attacks, and Sydney has over 18 kills
and 22 attacks.

Both teams are having a
great season so far and are expected to succeed in their upcoming
The Varsity Lady Soccer team dedicated their game to the Holding
matches this year.
Hands for Haley Foundation.

Pictured above is the 2015 JV and Freshmen Sentinel Football teams watch the cheerleaders perform.

October 30, 2015

The Sentinel

Senior Timmy Friend blocks off

the edge.
One Team One Dream
By Hailee McIntosh and Courtney Cline

The boys kicked off the
season with a win against Hampshire, and finished the game with
a 6-1 victory. Daniel Hott, Nathan
Kidd, Wyatt Creamer, Michael
Smith, and Seth Trimble all contributed to the win against the
Trojans. The Sentinels went on to
defeat Keyser, and then play in a
tournament where they beat Northern and Calvary Christian Academy, and remained undefeated.

A more difficult game for
the Sentinels came when they traveled to play the Miners. They overcame the 2A School with a goal
from Daniel Hott in overtime. The
Sentinels then took on their rival,
the Allegany Campers with a score
of 2-1. The team later tied against
Bishop Walsh in double overtime.
The teams winning streak ended
when they traveled to Boonsboro
and lost 0-2. They redeemed themselves by defeating Frankfort, BW,
and Southern. The Sentinels played
against Allegany, once again, in
the Homecoming game and were
defeated 2-1. The Sentinels then
plsyed South Hagerstown and
suffered a loss of 3-1. The regular
soccer season ended with a 2-0 win
against Willliamsport.

Playoffs will begin Tuesday at 6 pm against the Northern
Huskies. Come out and support the
Sentinel Soccer Team!

Junior Daniel Hott dribbles past

Bishop Walsh.

October 30, 2015

The Sentinel

Mrs. ORouke
By Briella Moon

Joining us this year after
nineteen years at Washington Middle, Mrs. ORourke takes the position as the Fort Hill Library Media
Specialist and French 1, 2, 3 and 4
teacher. Mrs. ORourke attended
multiple universities, including
West Virginia, Frostburg State,
and Clarion University, where she
earned her French, Reading, ELA,
and Library Science degrees. Her
primary goal for this school year is
to make the library a fun and safe
environment where students can
express their love for reading and
learn new skills.
We welcome you, Mrs. ORourke!

Mrs. Bagley
By Kayla Courtney

Mrs. Bagley joins the Fort
Hill teaching staff in the Special
Education Department. She was
born and raised in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania and then moved to
Cumberland a few years ago. She
went to Millersville University to
major in Special Education. She is
qualified for students ages birth to
21. Mrs. Bagley also has a minor
certification in athletic coaching.

This year is Mrs. Bagleys
fifth year teaching. Prior to teaching at Fort Hill, she taught at Garden Spot High School in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania. When Mrs. Bagley
isnt teaching, she enjoys spending
time with her kids and watching
them participate in different activities such as wrestling and track.

This year, Mrs. Bagley
looks forward to experiencing
homecoming and learning all of the
ins and outs of Fort Hill. We hope
you have a wonderful first year as a
Sentinel, Mrs. Bagley!

NewS
Ms. Kucharczyk
By Kayla Courtney

Fort Hill welcomes Ms.
Kucharczyk to the science department. Ms. Kucharczyk is from
Frostburg and attended Beall High
School. After high school, she attended Frostburg State University
and earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry with a
minor in Biology and her Masters
of Arts in Teaching Degree in Secondary Science Education.

This year will be Ms.
Kucharczyks seventh year of
teaching in Allegany County. For
the previous six years, she has
taught at the Center for Career and
Technical Education. In addition,
she teaches as an adjunct professor for the Chemistry Department
at Frostburg State University. Ms.
Kucharczyk is looking forward to
working with students and teaching
new subjects this year.

Although she spends a lot
of her time teaching, Ms. Kucharczyk also enjoys spending time with
her daughter and attending baseball
and hockey games. We hope you
enjoy your first year at Fort Hill!

Mrs. Skidmore
By Haylee Morton

We would like to welcome
back Mrs. Lorna Skidmore to Fort
Hill as one of our special education teaching aides. She attended
Allegany College and has been
teaching for sixteen years.
Mrs. Skidmore has taught at Mount
Savage, Mountain Ridge, and John
Humbird over the past years. She
graduated from Beall High school
and participated on the drill team.
She loves Fort Hill and is excited
to return.

Mr. Bambara
By Alli Dignan

Mr. Bambara is a Special
Education teacher who joined the
staff this year. He was born and
raised in Brooklyn, New York.
He left Brooklyn when he was 17
years old and attended Cornell
University where he received this
under graduate degree in theater.
He also attended Old Dominion
University in Norfolk, Virginia and
graduated with a Masters of Science and Education.

Mr. Bambara taught for
almost 10 years in Fairfax County,
Virginia before coming to Fort
Hill. He is mostly looking forward
to spending time with freshmen
this year and watching the transition they make from freshmen to
seniors.

Mr. Bambara takes part in
many activities outside of school.
He enjoys hiking, playing piano
and singing, attending plays, and
attending sporting events. We welcome Mr. Bambara to Fort Hill!
Making Changes
By Alli Dignan

On August 27th, a group
of alumni and diehard Fort Hill
fans primed and repainted the wall
on the away side of the stadium.
These men prepared the wall to
decorate for Fort Hill.

The Fort Hill art classes are
in charge of making and painting
brand new decorations for the wall.
Senior art student Ashlee Newsham stated, It was cool being a part
of repainting the the signs because
they were painted by past art students and now our senior class has
left our mark on Fort Hill.

The decorations will represent each athletic team at the
school and will be created by Fort
Hills current art students.


Thank you to Jim Combs,
Rick Leutert, Paul Lapp, Pat Helmsteader, and the rest of the F-Club
members for volunteering their
time to help with this makeover.

3
Mrs. Shaffer
By Camryn Painter

Mrs. Donna Shaffer is a
new Special Education teacher at
Fort Hill High School. She attended Allegany Community College
in Cumberland, MD and Brigham
Young University in Provo, Utah.
Mrs. Shaffer first earned a degree
in Recreation and then attended
Frostburg State to earn a degree in
Social Work.

She has taught for 18 years,
16 in Pennsylvania and 2 in Maryland. She has taught at Bedford
County Schools, Northern High
School, Mt. Savage, South Penn,
and Cash Valley. Mrs. Shaffer
graduated from Fort Hill High
School.

What Mrs. Shaffer likes
most about Fort Hill is that, It is
more of a community, and we all
feel like a large family. The Fort
Hill newsppaper staff would like to
welcome Mrs. Shaffer to our community!

Miss Fisher

Ms. Fisher
By Alli Dignan

Ms. Fisher has been hired
as the new teacher for the Academic Village. In addition, she has
also taken on the new role as the
Sentinels head volleyball coach.
Miss Fisher grew up in Cumberland, MD and graduated from Fort
Hill. She attended Allegany College of Maryland and Frostburg
State University and earned her
degree in Physical Education and
Health. She previously served as
an assistant volleyball coach at
Fort Hill for three years. This year
Ms. Fisher is looking forward to
learning from the girls on the volleyball team and starting playoffs
with an undefeated record. The
Sentinel staff welcomes and congratulates Ms. Fisher as she begins
her career in the Academic Village
Pictured above are alumni painting the wall in the stadium. and the head volleyball coach.

Far East Fantasy

By Kayla Courtney

For the 2015-2016 school
year, the Fort Hill Marching Band
will be presenting their competitive field show titled Far East
Fantasy. The show, originally
written by Andrew Yozviak, will
take spectators on an exploration
through the Far East. The show
consists of musical motives and
visual aspects from Far East cultures. The color guard has uniform
changes throughout the show mimicking the musical aspect. These
uniforms include ninja costumes,
kimonos and vibrant rainbow
outfits. In addition, the percussion
ensemble is incorporating taiko
drums; a traditional Asian instrument.

The marching band has
won many awards over the previous 75 years and continues to
perform at games, compete in competitions and parades, as well as on
the stage. Senior Andrew Smith
returned for his his third year as
the Sentinel drum major. Andy
stated, As drum major, watching this group grow has made me
appreciate being a leader. It is
great watching the show transform
throughout the season.

The band is under the
direction of Mr. Joseph Thompson.
The band staff consists of Ray
McCoy, Dave Armbruster, Becca
Alkire, Whitney Cowgill, Shelly
Stevens, and Matt Stoops. The
marching band looks forward to
taking its audience on a journey
through the Far East this season.

Feature

Homecoming Court
senior class and is also the secreBy Briella Moon and Kylie Elliott tary of the National Honor Soci
We would like to congratu- ety. She stated, I am so excited
to share this opportunity with the
late our 2015 Homecoming Court.
other members of the court and of
This year it consists of Abbie Stecourse the Queen! I know the upvens, Kayla Norton, Alli Dignan,
coming events will be very enjoyHannah Dawson and our queen
able and I couldnt ask for a better
Haley Marini. Each of these girls
is a member of the National Honor school to represent.
Haley Marini has been playing the
Society.
clarinet for four years for the Fort
Hannah Dawson is currently
Hill Band and is this years secserving her fourth year of cheertion leader. She is the treasurer of
leading, is a three year member
the National Honor Society and
of the Ecology Club, the senior
a member of Future Educators of
class Secretary, and is involved
America. She stated, I am honwith yearbook. She stated, Its an
honor to represent Fort Hill and its ored to have been selected as this
years Homecoming Queen and I
a great opportunity to serve as a
am very excited for this upcoming
role model for others.
Alli Dignan is captain of the Senti- year!
The Sentinel staff congratulates
nelettes. She is involved with the
this years 2015 Homecoming
school newspaper, and is a memCourt and wishes them a great
ber of the Ecology Club, Student
year.
Council, and Factions. She stated,
Senior Signing
Im excited and honored to be on By Mallarie Thomas and
court with 4 great girls.
Chloe DiNicola
Abbie Stevens will be participating
On Friday, September 25,
in tennis for her fourth year this
2015, the seniors of Fort Hill High
upcoming spring. She is currently
School gathered in the auditorium
a member of the Ecology Club and to sign a contract to continue their
Factions. She is the editor of the
educational careers after high
school newspaper and is involved
school. They all willingly agreed
with the yearbook. She is the vice to stay committed to continue their
president of the 2016 class and Na- education after high school and
tional Honors Society. She stated,
take advantage of all opportunities
I like how all of the court is well
that will assist them. Many seniors
rounded and we can even do our
expressed their opinions during
AP Calculus homework together
this event. Skylar Barbe said, Im
before homecoming events!
excited about my future and this
Kayla Norton will be starting her
solidifies my decision to go to
second year as a varsity member
college. This day helped students
of the softball team this upcoming come to the realization that their
spring. She is the treasurer of the
high school careers are ending and
decisions concerning their futures
are only months away. Dylan
Spano mentioned, This was a
great opportunity for everybody to
learn about the possibilities of their
future and to learn that there are no
boundaries.

Congratulations to all of
the seniors and good luck in your
future. We wish you the best in
furthering your education.

October 30, 2015

The Sentinel

Freshmen advice
By Kayla Courtney

Start your high school career with

the mindset that you will succeed.
If you dont believe in yourself,
you are just preparing to fail.
Kayla Courtney
Dont be afraid to challenge yourself and take harder classes, it pays
off in the end. Alli Dignan
Dont feel pressured into doing
something just because everyone
else is doing it. Kylie Elliott
WALK ON THE RIGHT SIDE
OF THE HALLWAY!!! Emma
Rowley
Sleep, social life, and good
grades. Pick two of the three and
make sure one of them is good
grades. Abbie Stevens
Take your classes seriously. In the
end, getting bad grades only hurts
you. Also, be nice to everyone; you
would be surprised how cool the
weird kid who sits next to you
is. Briella Moon
Do your homework and study for
tests even if you dont feel like it.
Work hard at everything you do.
Hard work pays off! Camryn
Painter
Dont wish your high school years
away because you can never get
them back! Make the best of every
single day! Haylee Morton

Pictured above are seniors signing to pledge to further their

educations.

Pictured above is Rusty Kunis playing the snare drum during the Allegany Band Show Competition.

Pictured above is sophomore, Carmen Fox, performing in the Color

Guard.

Pictured above is the 2015 Homecoming Court. From left to right:

Hannah Dawson, Kayla Norton, Haley Marini, Allison Dignan, and
Abbie Stevens.

NewS

October 30, 2014

The Sentinel

FeaturE

October 30, 2014

The Sentinel

FeaturE

October 30, 2014

The Sentinel

FeaturE

October 30, 2014

The Sentinel