Collier reflects on time at GHS

Former principal departs GHS for Spotsylvania County after seven years

by: Brandy Sweigart

On October 10, 2022, Dr. Christopher Collier was appointed the Director of Human Resources for Spotsylvania County Public Schools. This new appointment led Dr. Collier to resign from his position of Goochland High School’s principal, which was effective October 27, 2022.

Before his resignation, Dr. Collier had served as GHS’s principal for six years (2016-2022), leading GHS to full accreditation, a 98% graduation rate, and many state and national awards and recognitions. During his tenure as principal, Dr. Collier was well-loved by the students and faculty, with the new interim principal, Mr. Wright, being the same way.

The Paw Print reached out to Dr. Collier for his reflection on his past position and how it influenced him.

When asked about what he enjoyed most about his time at GHS, Dr. Collier said, “That’s a tough question. There were so many wonderful times.” However, amidst the pep rallies and times when school spirit was high, some of Dr. Collier’s favorite events at the school, he ultimately said that he “really enjoyed the relationships with students and staff.”

Dr. Collier’s positive relationships with the students and staff at GHS also tied in with the next question asked of him during the interview. After being asked if there were any times that the students and staff of GHS pushed him to go out of his comfort zone or think out of the box, Collier, he stated that “it was almost a daily occurrence.” According to Collier, thinking out of the box due to the students and staff was important to him because he tried to “listen and accommodate as best he could.” As a principal, Collier believed that listening and adapting to the students and staff he serves is important, leading to his belief that, as a principal, human resources was his number one priority.

After an extended time at a location, the individuals at that location ultimately influence anyone who is there. When asked about how his time at GHS impacted him as an individual, Collier responded that it was the place where he felt like he “grew the most as a leader and a school employee.” The former principal of GHS also mentioned during the interview that a part of him will always find a home in Goochland High School as, according to him, GHS was, in a lot of ways, home. Collier’s tenure at GHS is important to him because it helped him grow and “provided an exemplar on how to do it right.” Collier’s time at GHS impacted him as an individual, it also impacted him in a positive way by preparing him for his career at Spotsylvania County Public Schools.

Oftentimes, experiences at prior jobs prepare individuals for the next steps in their careers. That statement ran true for Collier, who explicitly told the Paw Print that his time at GHS prepared him for his position as Spotsylvania County Public School’s Director of Human Resources. When asked about how specific details of his time at Goochland High School prepared him for his new job, Collier replied that his time at Goochland High School prepared him by having him “learn how to work with people through challenging situations” and “learn how to support people.” His time at Goochland High School also gave him a new perspective that he would otherwise not have, so that new perspective allowed him to bring ideas to Spotsylvania that worked in Goochland—but it also allowed Collier to sit back and listen to new ideas.

Throughout the interview, Collier looked back fondly at his time in GHS. He admitted that his career would not be the same without the influence of the students and staff at GHS. At the end of the interview, Collier asked how the students and staff at GHS were doing, showing that he still cares about the individuals that he used to work with and lead. The GHS Paw Print wishes Dr. Collier the best at his job as Spotsylvania County Public School’s Director of Human Resources—and the students and staff at GHS no doubt share those same well-wishes for their former principal.

The Power of a Student Voice

by Ava Nadolski and Savannah May

For the past three years, Goochland High School has not had a reliable source of student-run news that they can trust. Recently the Paw Print, GHS’s newspaper club, has been re-established to give Goochland’s students the student the opportunity to speak up.

Now more than ever, it is important to recognize the powerful voice of GHS students.Many people today feel they are not as equally represented or understood by their peers. As editors of Paw Print, we aim to recognize the power a student’s voice can have. Student journalism has the power to bring positive change to our community by holding all members of the GHS community — administration, faculty, and even fellow students — to account.

When given the opportunity to speak up, students see a dramatic increase in their confidence and self-worth. We asked an anonymous student at GHS how they feel voices are represented and they said “pretty badly.” and When asked why, they responded, “Only the people who are popular get much recognition in the school.” Therefore, it is only necessary that a school newspaper such as Paw Print exists. In fact, when the same student was asked if they thought bringing a school newspaper into the GHS community would increase student involvement they responded, “Yes–it would be for the people.”

The Paw Print will provide a direct source of information and the opportunity to all students who are seeking the chance to become more involved in our school community. Being involved does not simply entail being actively engaged in class, it requires students to actively and respectfully voice their opinions in order to make an ideal learning environment.

We hope to inspire those who feel they should stay silent, whether that be about the school lunches or gaining recognition for their individual impact on the Goochland community. Our voices matter, and we can not make change and become a more unified community without bringing them to light. Whether this impact stays within the school community or ventures out into the real world, we hope to contribute to the evolving and, hopefully, more positive source of information and perspectives for our peers at GHS.

By offering the opportunity to have a voice, students are able to speak up against certain actions and policies that are directly affecting them, causing students to become more engaged and motivated at GHS. Becoming more involved at GHS can only stand to only improve the school that many of us have grown up in, leading to a stronger and better community. As Paw Print editors, our goal is to constantly improve the environment through our newspaper, and we believe that through the support, readership, and feedback of our fellow peers, we can make that happen.

Ava Nadolski and Savannah May are co-editors the Paw Print

College Admissions: Where is Goochland Going?

by Samantha Stern

As winter turns to spring and end of the school year grows closer, there is a big change coming for our GHS seniors – and many have already experienced it. For the graduating class of 2023, college is just around the corner.

From submitting applications to reading letters of acceptance, the whole process can be extremely nerve-wracking. As high school ends for many and they begin to pave their own path, that may leave us wondering: Where are we all going? According to niche.com, the five most popular colleges at Goochland High School are James Madison University (JMU), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Virginia Tech, University of Virginia (UVA), and Longwood University.

On why she chose to attend VCU School of The Arts next fall, senior Abigail Nadolski, said, “I enjoy the urban environment of the university and I am familiar with many of the staff members and classes after taking a summer program there.”

Many students, like Nadolski, choose where they go based on their familiarity or comfort with the school. This is reasonable – college is a huge change for most students, so it makes sense that they would like to be somewhere with which they are familiar. Fellow senior Fisher Finck was recently accepted to his top-choice school, the College of William & Mary. When asked why he is choosing to attend this college he said, “I love the sense of community at William & Mary. My sister goes to this college, which has given me plenty of opportunities to see the campus and form connections there.”

Connections and familiarity are a big part of choosing a college. It is not uncommon for students to apply to colleges that their parents attended, and this can even boost their chances. Students who are children of an alumni of a certain university are called “legacy students,” and this status can give them up to a 45% better chance of getting into certain colleges. Students with a legacy status have a 30% acceptance rate at Harvard University, which is more than seven times the average acceptance rate of 4 percent. Due to recent controversy surrounding the inequity of legacy admissions, some schools have gotten rid of them completely, such as Texas A&M University. Some colleges in Virginia that still consider legacy status are UVA Virginia Tech, Washington & Lee, JMU, and William & Mary.

So, what makes JMU the top school for many Goochland students? Located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, JMU is less than two hours away from Goochland. With 721 acres, JMU boasts a large campus in a small city setting that sits in the Shenandoah Valley. The Wall Street Journal even calls JMU the “most recommended university in the United States,” finding that JMU students were more likely to recommend their school to others than students at any other university. JMU’s applicant pool grows every year, with the 2022 application year having the highest number of applicants so far.

Wherever you choose to go next year, college or not, we wish all of our seniors the best. Do what makes you happy, not what makes others happy. Good luck with whatever you end up doing, and stay positive!

Samantha Stern is a senior at GHS and a staff writer at the Paw Print

Getting to know Mr. Burch

Neil Burch has been Goochland High School’s theater teacher and director drama department director for twelve years.

Burch became a teacher because he was inspired by his own positive experiences with his fine arts teachers in high school. He describes theater to be one of the most enjoyable mediums for him. He also admires how theater has the ability to form a close knit community that’s built from students with different backgrounds and personalities.

In the classroom, and on stage, he describes himself to be more of a facilitator than a teacher, who aims for his student performers to take ownership of their art on and off the stage. “One of the big things that my teaching style is centered around is our mission statement which is, inspiring students to create positive relationships and take full ownership of their art while growing as a theater community,” said Burch.

“I want the kids to be able to do it on their own, to learn on their own, and let me be the scaffolding that helps guide them. That’s how I would say I run the program after school too.”

GHS Drama delights audiences with fall performance of Clue

The Goochland Drama Department capped off a busy fall production season with three showings of Clue: High School Edition, in the GHS Auditorium on October 21, 22, and 23.

Based on the 1985 movie, which is inspired by the infamous Hasbro board game, Clue: High School Edition is a madcap comedy and murder mystery. The ninety minute play begins at a mysterious mansion, where six characters — all strangers to one another — meet for an out of the ordinary dinner party where blackmail, betrayal, and murder are on the menu.

Auditions for Goochland Drama Departments production of Clue took place the last week of the 2021-2022 school year, resulting in a cast and crew of forty two students. The cast and crew promptly started rehearsals on August 8th of 2022. With only two short months to prepare for the first performance on October 21st, GHS’s hardworking student performers dedicated four days a week, and a number of their Saturdays, to rehearsing.

True to the film on which the play is based, the performance ends with a huge monologue by the mansion’s butler, Wadsworth (played by GHS Senior Max Nichols), in which he recreates the entire show in one breathless, hilarious scene. Of Nichols’ performance of Wadsworth, GHS Drama director Mr. Burch said, “I was so blown away by the energy of the students on stage that were witnessing what Max was doing. That was a really great moment for me as a director because I could physically see that the students’ hard work was paying off.”

With an audience of friends and family of the Goochland community, GHS Drama closed the fall performance season with a matinee performance on Sunday, October 23 handing out awards and special recognition to senior class performers, parents of the cast and crew, and to Dr. Collier, who days earlier announced his resignation as GHS principal. GHS Drama will return in the Spring with a performance of Newsies.

Once upon a tardy sweep

by Max Nichols and Fisher Finck

Once upon a tardy sweep there was a little boy named Graham-Micheal.

Graham-Micheal had brown hair and was full of angelic features. He was a good child to his divorced parents, however he was not completely innocent.

This little runt was swept up in a hurricane of discipline when he was caught by Professor Christopher Collier during a tumultuous tardy sweep. The professor immediately handed the little miscreant over to Monsieur Cup, the local juvenile corrections officer. Monsieur Cup interred Graham-Micheal in TOP as punishment for his misconduct. Never once did Graham-Micheal’s superiors ask Graham-Micheal why it was he happened to be in the hallway at the time of the infamous sweep, nor did they allow him to use his family’s attorney.

After a fortnight, Graham was brought before Judge Caesey Rogers. The People of Goochland vs. Graham-Micheal Lewis Fletcher-Mintz had begun. Judge Rogers started her inquiries. The process was grueling. Goochland High School’s lawyer, Olivia Stern, was ruthless in her accusations. After all, Graham-Micheal had not made it to class on time. The safety of every man, woman, and child was now at risk. The jury had reached its conclusion. Riley Height, the leader of the jury, now spoke his wise words; “esteemed guests, members of the jury, and Judge Rogers, my comrades have reached our long-awaited verdict. We sentence the crook before us, to a long year in Mrs. Costa-Holloway’s English class.”

Graham-Micheal began to cry in dismay. “I have not yet given my defense! Fellow students, do allow a poor orphan like myself the chance to appeal to my Goochland brethren,” Graham bellowed. It was then that Graham explained that he was only caught after those meddling kids had caught him in the act, red handed. “Who are these ‘meddling kids’ Mr. Fletcher-Mintz?” the judge asked. Graham-Micheal explained that these children were indeed Mr. Zeke Weimer and Mrs. Georgia Wensell-Wiemer.

Zeke and Georgia had discovered Graham mugging Sawyer Shorts for his hall pass collection. In his shame and utter fear, Graham evacuated the premises and was caught before his departure for English class by Professor Collier. “It all makes sense!” exclaimed Judge Rogers “this young chap wasn’t trying to skip class, he was merely delayed due to some random inconvenience.”

With that, the young lad was let free. On every November 21, the people of GHS celebrate the anniversary of the boy who escaped certain doom on that fateful day.

Fall Sports Team Competed in Challenging Jefferson District

by Malia Hickman

The fall sports have come to a conclusion at Goochland High School. The cheers and victories for all the accomplished teams have come to an end. However, the second year being in the Jefferson District has still caused some unfortunate issues and setbacks. The added complexity of higher lever teams and the unfortunate loss of injured players proved to be challenging. Setbacks aside, there is still a higher level of competition that Goochland can compete at, but lots of steps and time is needed before Goochland has a powerful athletic school again.

There’s more to say than imagined when the famed football team comes to mind. The football team did their best to utilize what they had, adjusting to a new quarterback and working around season-ending injuries. Unlike at the collegiate and professional level, you cannot recruit kids. Though, there are exceptions to this rule such as being in a private school or a powerhouse football school. It is a lot harder than most people would imagine. Working through such difficult adjustments can be hard to mentally and physically process, but the players of the GHS football team broke through. Jamason Pryor, a senior here at Goochland, rushed for over 1,000 yards.

The team even made it to the playoffs and won their first round game. Unfortunately, the team succumbed after a tough battle against Warren county in the second round. Despite these impediments, fans and students with little to no knowledge on how football works still roared with enthusiasm to support their fellow players. The student section at all sporting events has been the biggest it has been in years, according to former GHS principal, Dr Collier.

The girls volleyball team proved mildly unfazed when advancing to a new district. With a rocky start, the ladies volleyball team ended their season as regional semi-finalists. The volleyball team for consecutive years has been one of the top teams to finish in the district. There’s a bright future for the lady bulldogs and the underclassmen stepping up to the competition.

Lastly, congratulations to all the seniors that were able to participate in high school sports one last time. As for celebrating our seniors, I had the opportunity to talk to one of the captains on the varsity football team, Joshua Usry.

The majority of the success from last year’s season were seniors, for both football and volleyball, leaving numerous gaps to the future players rising up to the occasion. There is a lot of work to be done in the seasons to come, but this year proves the teams are at a great building point to continue to succeed as Goochland has had in the past.