|
ACE!: Milica Andjelkovic ‘26, a 6-foot tall outside and opposite player arriving from Serbia, has contributed to our girls’ volleyball team a great deal.
She is ranked No. 1 in the state of Virginia for serving aces according to maxpreps.com. As of the BRAC playoffs, Andjelkovic served 116 aces. Andjelkovic was named player of the match against Craig County on Aug. 27. As of late October, Andjelkovic has spiked 141 kills throughout the season. She went to a public school in Serbia, where her days were full of people and 17 class periods. Andjelkovic’s Serbian school did not have uniforms or team sports. She was only able to play club volleyball. Andjelkovic enjoyed a few seasons of basketball before beginning her volleyball career. “I love everything about volleyball, but my favorite part is obvious; most definitely hitting,” Andjelkovic said enthusiastically, “I would love it if there were more girls on the team, though.” Her teammates appreciate what she brings to the team as a powerhouse player. “Milica is a strong offensive player with several kills and blocks. Her serving is what helps the team the most,” said Captain Julia Corliss ‘25, “Milica is always super cheerful on the court and gets excited when we do well.” “Milica is such a talented player,” senior teammate Indira Weed ‘25 said. “She is a great attacker, she's great at putting the ball where it needs to go. I think she's such a leader on the court. She has a great work ethic, always trying to figure out what she can do better and figure out where she needs to be as a player. Her work ethic really shows through her stats, and her stats are well deserved.” Not only is she talented, Andjelkovic has a passion for the game, she has size and athleticism, an encouraging demeanor and the ability to work with a team. Along with hitters Scout Kappes ‘26 and Corliss, Andjelkovic has been able to change the atmosphere of the game gym during any volleyball game, with back-to-back “ACE’s,” and “WHOOSHES.” Andjelkovic was recruited for volleyball and strives in her academics as well. “I didn't expect North Cross to be so full of rules, to be honest,” she said. "So, I think the school looks really good. Not only is there a great community, I think, there is great teaching. The lessons here are better than the lessons at my old school.” US History and AP Comparative Government teacher Ryan. Demarco said, “Milica is a hard worker in class. She participates actively in class discussions, and she also asks great questions about American history.” She is an outgoing person who wants to travel the world in the future, especially Asia and Africa. As soon as she stepped foot in the NCS community, Andjelkovic was able to become friends with a number of students aside from her volleyball team and make a great impression on her teachers. Andjelkovic describes the people at NCS as all welcoming and nice. Additionally, she loves that there are so many opportunities, especially in sports. She is so far a STEM-driven scholar. “Milica is always very engaged in class,” AP Biology teacher Mrs. Dickenson said, “she seems genuinely interested in learning about science and biology. Milica is fun to work with. She can learn and get through math really well.” Andjelkovic wants to attend college and live here in the States. She is often found speaking to her coach from back in Serbia on the phone. In Serbia, Andjelkovic would be going out with her friends on most weekdays, she says, “but in the U.S. here I usually finish all my work and fall asleep early.”
0 Comments
How often do high school students reflect on or think of politics?
The daily life of a student at NCS: wake up, get ready for school, attend four block periods, have an assembly, a break and lunch in between, then head to extracurriculars, athletic practices or home. But what do we think about throughout the day? Should students be more educated on politics? How do I look? My shoes don’t really match my uniform. Is my homework done? I can't wait to watch YouTube when I'm home. Is Mrs. Sprouse here? What time do we go back to class? What are we eating for lunch? I’m sick of chicken tenders. I wonder if I should get a Celsius or Frappuccino from the snack shack. I’m afraid my best friend won’t be able to hang out with me this weekend. What about the world outside? Politics are always mentioned in Government classes. But are we actually informed on what's going on in the world aside from what we are taught in school? Do we know which side we favor in politics, and do we know who to vote for if possible? AP Comparative Government and regular Government classes are only taught in the later years of high school. We don’t have a class for politics. Political education defines our politics. Students need to be educated in order to build democracy. We need to be learning, especially at a young age. “The history department aims to produce engaged American citizens,” History Department Chair Ryan Demarco said, “by not only teaching students about the contents of American history and the principles of American government, but also by fostering skills needed by active citizens including critical thinking, digital media literacy, engaging diverse perspectives, and active listening.” Some students clearly get the message. “Learning about the structures of government and the different roles that everybody plays helps me become more active in politics, " Valeria Dancea ‘25 said, "and I have also learned from government class about the importance of voting in smaller, more local elections.” Politically active Mason Bibby ‘27, sophomore class president said, “I think of politics at least once every couple minutes. I'll be sitting in class, and my mind wanders to something political. What does the electoral map look like? What states are going to flip or stay the same?” “Sometimes I think about what all I need to get done. If the people who I wanted to email have responded,” Bibby said. “I’m genuinely a busy person, whether on campus or off. When not focused in class, which is often, I'm thinking of things I need to get done. But like everyone else, I do think about random things like what's for dinner and which parent is going to pick me up from school. I think about whether I will mess up on the script I have to read on stage or for volleyball games as well,” he said. “As a student close to the age of 18,” I said, "I only think about politics when it is mentioned. I think about it in Government, when I'm watching the news or talking to my parents. It is not something that I'm too passionate about or interested in unless elections are coming up. I'm sure that I can speak for other high school students too.” my response to the New Yorker article "Can We Get Kids Off Smartphones?" by Jessica winter4/23/2024 I strongly agree with the article’s findings that smartphones are dangerous for teens.
N.Y.U professor Jonathan Haidt wrote “People born in and after 1996 were different, psychologically, from those who had been born just a few years earlier.” From childhood, Haidt suggests, they suffer from a weak “psychological immune system—the ability of a child to handle, process, and get past frustrations, minor accidents, teasing, exclusion, perceived injustices, and normal conflicts without falling prey to hours or days of inner turmoil.” This is only the introduction of the text. By the late 2000s and early 2010s, people began to notice that children were gradually spending less time engaged in outdoor or unstructured activities. Parents have found new concerns for their children’s safety, which can be referred to as “safetyism.” Parents have been led to protect their children, maybe more than needed. Those who have childhoods insufficient of free play are proven to take less risks, are worse at reading social cues, resolving conflicts, and making friends. Free play that is unmonitored or improvisational serves as exposure therapy for every child. “The suburban or small-town nine-year-old who, a generation before, would have been running around outside with the other neighborhood kids all afternoon is now indoors, staring at her phone.” The generation that grew up with access to smartphones is now called the “Anxious Generation.” The immunosuppression caused by the use of them has increased proportions of teens and young adults who are more avoidant and nervous. There are studies that show the use of social media may influence both anxiety and depression, especially among girls, people of color, and LGBTQ+. “Prevalence inflation,” two University of Oxford researchers describe, is when people mistake normal discomfort and stress as signs of a serious disorder. Through the use of social media, children interpret their levels of anxiousness as a symptom of mental illness. What most of these adolescents are experiencing, which comes natural, is exacerbated much further. These children have become behaviorally avoidant. The list could go on. The early access to smartphones and social media has been proven to lead children to suffer from a weaker psychological immune system. Children are spending too much time indoors on their cellphones and their parents have begun to guard them exceedingly. Exposure therapy is becoming absent in the younger generation. It is a fact that smartphones are destructively changing our generation and those to come.
|
Lauren BooneCo-Editor-in-Chief Archives
November 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed