![In room 4101, Natalie Patterson ‘26, Ariana Magor ‘25 and Celina Salazar ‘25 create a poster in science teacher Kerry Reilly’s Chemistry Honors April 18. The three completed a worksheet and drawing to explain the implosion of a tank for their unit on gas laws. “At the start of class, we watched a video of the tank imploding,” Patterson said. “I think [making a drawing] is something new. I like more artsy activities.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_5019-1200x900.jpeg)
![The girls varsity soccer team walk back to their bench during halftime April 1. The Jags played against the Castle View Sabercats at the Douglas County Stadium and scored 3-0 W. “It felt really good [to beat Castle View]. I feel like that was a big win for us because knowing that we came together to beat a pretty good team has definitely given us some leverage for this season,” attacking midfielder Grace Rossner ‘24 said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_4906-1-1200x1057.jpg)
![English teacher Colleen Lamb grades College Prep English assignments during period two Nov. 10. Lamb, who has been teaching for 27 years, decorates her classroom with posters and handmade college flags from her senior students. Everything I enjoy about English happens primarily in the classroom, Lamb said. So, thankfully, the college [I worked at] had a teaching program, and I was able to do my post-grad work for free while I was working [there].”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_1158-1200x900.jpeg)
The lights dim and the music starts. The crowd goes quiet, waiting for the next performance to take place on stage.
The National Dance Team Championship was held Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 at the ESPN World Wide Sports Complex. The poms team flew out Wednesday, Jan. 29, where they practiced for five hours on Thursday and competed for the next three days.
While the team was competing, they still practiced between one to two hours each day to prepare each routine and get ready for when they would compete.
Following each routine at practice, the team would rewatch their footage and determine what needed to be fixed in preparation for Finals performances.
(media by photo courtesy of Universal Event Photography)
“We get a score each round from the judges and comments. As a team, we watch videos and look for areas we can improve in the next performance and then practice and run drills to make those corrections,” varsity head coach Christina Leone said.
Determining what routines the team competed in at Nationals, they looked at two different things: the style of dance and the number of dancers competing on the team. There were six style categories for teams to choose from, according to Inside Info: NDCT 2024, and three division sizes.
The team performed in three categories: Small Pom, where they placed sixth; Medium Game-Day, where they placed eighth; and Small Jazz, which the team did not finish in and did not receive any ranking.
“This year, our divisions were very big. We had about 70 teams in our pom and jazz divisions! So, placing sixth in pom was a huge accomplishment,” Leone said. “It has been since 2019 that we didn’t advance to the jazz finals, so that was a disappointing part of the competition this year, but also a great opportunity to learn!”
Teams compete in Preliminaries, then Semifinals, to where they eventually compete in Finals, if they make it.
“The National Championship is relentless and is a single elimination process, so 50% of the teams [are] eliminated after the first round, then another 25% cut in the second round,” Leone said.
Nationals was the last competition for the varsity poms team to compete in for the season. The team banquet took place March 5 at 7 p.m. at the Viewhouse. The team will begin tryouts for the ‘24-’25 season, starting March and going until April.
![At Prairie View High School, the winterguard team poses with their plaque after winning first place at their competition Feb. 24. This was the second time they won first place this year, this time with a score of 74.190 points. “I [love being] a witch, but my favorite [part of the show] is the trios, it’s so cool,” Heather Strickland ‘27 said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRARIE-VIEW-BY-MARGO-SANFORD-e1709531739910-1200x910.jpg)