SCHOOL SPIRIT: Upper School, Middle School, and Lower School will gather together for an epic series of events in the CAC Game Gym on Feb. 27 A dance off, basketball game and mattress surfing are all things that will be witnessed by the lucky Raiders who attend. Pep rallies date all the way back to the early 20th century, which were started to encourage school spirit and show support for athletic teams. 
“ I love the Pep Rallies at North Cross School,” Susan. Wenk, the SCA advisor, says, “because the lower, middle, and upper school are all together, cheering for each other whether it's a dance competition or a basketball game. It's the spirit that encompasses our entire school.” 
Upper School students were given the opportunity to participate in a themed dance off. The freshmen have chosen Scooby-Doo as their theme, with aliens, a car chase, and a mystery machine costume. “I think the freshmen have the best dance,” Kemper Prilliaman ‘28 said boldly.
The sophomores are ready to compete with their Trolls dance; they have the characters and striking choreography. 
“The SCA and many others have put in a lot of work,” Thomas Frieben said, “and I am looking forward to it.” 
"I think the dance looks great,” Anabelle Coles ‘27 said. Shout-out to Finley Dalton ‘27 and Dara Kerman ‘27, my fellow choreographers.”
Some say the juniors are overlooked but others think their minions theme is perfect to get the crowd riled up. 

In the United States of America 117 million individuals are considered physically unheathly. Everyone can benefit from the efforts of exercising.Staying physically active can help the way people look and can prevent mental pain. For example, playing a sport like volleyball can increase your mental and physical health by forcing your body to move, but not to an extreme extent unless you play the sport professionally. Many people can prevent deaths and have more longevity of life if they exercise. It can limit pain in many ways as well. 
Exercising is known to improve your immune system and helps boost blood flow to your brain. According to MedlinePlus.gov, exercising is beneficial for reducing stress levels, lessening chronic pain, and lowering high blood pressure. Those with type two diabetes can benefit from exercising to maintain their blood sugar, it can keep their levels regular. If done right, exercising can lengthen a person's life longevity. Smokers also use exercise as a distraction to quit smoking, it is a proven method that has worked. There are countless other positive benefits from exercising, but these are some main ones that are normalized. 
 There are many sources who provide to say these claims  can be proven. Cartlen athletics.org says  

“Exercising increases the number of endorphins that are released into your body and increases productivity.” This shows how being physical can affect your mental stability. Another site called mayoclinic.org says, ”being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol, and it decreases unhealthy triglycerides.” This is why many people with high blood pressure or any other controllable disease diagnoses’ exercise daily. They need to do this to keep their body from producing too much of something and controlling their levels of intensity. 
    Not only is exercising the best way to reduce stress and control high blood sugar, it betters many people's life longevity by maybe decreasing the aging process. Health.com says “exercise doesn't just make you feel younger. Regular physical activity may decrease the aging process in your chromosomes.” That's right, exercising can make you look younger! There are specific workout routines in place to slow your aging process. For example riding a stationary bike can actually slow down the process while still boosting positive endorphins. This site also mentioned how physical movement can help deeper sleep and overall better sleep. They noted “regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster, get better sleep and deepen your sleep.” These are many reasons why working out is a good idea. 
     Working out can not only help controlling levels for diseases, preventing premature deaths, boosting life longevity, reducing stress, and improving your mental health. There are many proven ways to promote physical movement. For example, playing sports is a good starting point. Many starters begin a low intensity sport like pickleball or volleyball. This can help you ease into exercising. Any movement in general is beneficial for a human. If you are a smoker, have chronic pains, or are just looking to improve your life, working out can help you see the results you would like.  In all, the human body needs the positive benefits that exercising produces. 

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GET A STRIKE!!: Mercedes Herrera ‘27 hypes up Charlotte Marilla ‘28 to get a strike at Lee-Hi Lanes on Dec. 6. Charlotte said, “Ok, I'll try.” Though Charlotte did not  get a strike she got many pins down. Bowling night is an event hosted by the North Cross SCA. It raises funds for the school and allows students to have fun. Charlotte's group decided to go with a theme of pajama pants in hopes to win best costume.  Maidah Ahmad ‘27 and her group dressed up as Scooby Doo, and Scout Kappes’s ‘26  group dressed in inflatable costumes. There were three prize opportunities: best bowler, best costume and best worst bowler. Over half the lanes were occupied by North Cross students. This event gave everyone a chance to escape the stress of school work in the weeks before exams. 

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​Noah Shorey ‘26, a computer science and robotics fanatic, brings new excitement to North Cross School. 
He has been a boy scout since he was 2 years old, but has not been able to progress with it due to being busy at school. 
Shorey came from Roanoke Catholic, where he swam for two years and played soccer for a year. He and his mom made the switch to North Cross because they noticed that NCS has a more stable administration and faculty. 
When asked whether he likes NCS, he said, “So far yes, there is a good amount of friendly people and it is a small school like my last one.” He thinks there is a lot more freedom at the school. Additionally, he says the facilities are more modern. He describes the people as “really friendly.”
In school his two favorite athletes are football and track athlete Jase Rhodes ‘26 and runner Spencer Britton ‘27. His peer, Taahir Imam ‘27, described him as someone who is “good at computer science.” 
He enjoys gaming, as he especially enjoys Valorant and Roblox. He is on the school’s Robotics team and participates in a recreational team called FRC, or the First Robotics Competition. He has excelled in it even though he has only been taking part in it for a couple months. One of his main interests is working with software and hardware and wants to pursue a career in computer science. 

As Christian Lang ‘25 vigorously spits apples out of the bucket, the crowd goes wild. He victoriously chucked four apples out of his bucket before his opponents, gaining him the apple bobbing champion of 2024. This year the SCA hosted Fall Festivus during and after the yearly powderpuff game, which the senior and junior girls won. There were many events, some included pumpkin throwing and donut eating.  Apple bobbing took place during halftime of the game. Four students were called up from the stands to compete for a chick-fil-A gift card. Lang managed to beat his opponents in seconds, winning him this prize. Though some thought Carter Levan ‘27 was going to win, he just was not quite fast enough. Elizabeth Jackson ‘28 said, “Wow and I thought Carter was going fast.” They were all moving fast, but Lang went faster, proving himself the winner. 

Deuce: Izzy Snyder ‘26 plays No. 5 singles on the girls’ tennis team as an active and dedicated hard worker, managing school work well along with this extra curricular. She is a multi-season sport player who is on the Indoor Track and Field team in winter and the Lacrosse team in spring. She considers tennis a fun team sport with a great coach. She said, “Though everyone complains about the running, it's really not that bad.” She looks forward to next season since this season just came to an end with a long road trip to Cape Henry Collegiate on Nov. 5 for the quarterfinals of the state tournament where they unfortunately lost 0-5. She likes how everyone is supportive towards each other and how close knit they are. She admires her coach, Coach Ryan Schlachter saying, "He is a good coach and even lets us stop at Crumbl sometimes.” She loves her time on the tennis team and is ready to play again next season. One of her teammates, Akali Koeda ‘28 No. 2 on the tennis team says, “She is always so positive and cheery, and she always makes practices so fun while making you feel included.” Snyder plays No. 3 doubles with Nikitha Sherigar ‘29. She is known to all her teammates as a great person who puts in the work and someone who loves their sport.