The Blaze (2025)

16/06/2025

On Monday, June 16, the Class of 2025 walked across the stage, signaling the end of their Rock Ridge journeys and the start to a new chapter of their lives. Following the staff and student academic procession, Principal John Duellman gave the opening proclamation, recapping the legacy of the graduates and offering advice for their future endeavors. “Show up, always be on time, and be the most positive person in every moment,” Duellman said. After Duellman’s remarks, SCA executive president Annabelle Monte encouraged her classmates to embrace the uncertainty of the future. “I’m okay with not being able to plan everything because those unplanned moments have become the ones that matter the most,” Monte said.

Following Latin honors academic distinctions and military recognitions by Director of School Counseling Kevin Terry, the Rock Ridge High School combined chorus performed the Rock Ridge Alma Mater and “In My Life.” Then, Class President Mars Foley and senior class sponsors presented the faculty awards to Kalkidan Alayou and Niesha Karthik, who were recognized for their diligence, hard work, and passion for learning.

Assistant Principal Jennifer Cavanaugh then shared Phoenix highlights and introduced Sophie King, the winner of the Senior Showcase writing competition. Following King, Ananya Karthik delivered the commencement address, advising her senior class to keep working hard. “Even in a world that doesn’t always reward you fairly, even when things feel uncertain or out of your hands, you still get to choose your efforts,” Karthik said. Karthik then introduced Keynote Speaker Victoria Webb who encouraged the class of 2025 to stay true to their authentic self. “You all shine brightest when you’re being yourselves and enjoying the moment,” Webb said.

As the class of 2025 received their diplomas and turned their tassels, they left their legacies behind at Rock Ridge to embark on their new journeys.

Congratulations to the class of 2025!

✏️ by Sanvi Challa
📷 by Sanvi Challa, Samantha Chang, Mariia Pecherkina, and Lia Davis

15/05/2025

Psychology teacher Nicole Spage was selected as one of 20 finalists nationwide in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe “Sunshine for Teachers” contest, which honors educators who bring positivity to their classrooms and communities. She was the only teacher from Virginia to be named a finalist.

Spage was nominated by Rock Ridge social studies teacher Tori Webb. Although she did not win the grand prize — which included a tropical vacation valued at up to $10,000, free smoothies for a year, and additional rewards — Spage received $1,000 for herself, $1,000 for the school, and a school-wide smoothie party.

The smoothie celebration, which featured 1,600 smoothies provided by Tropical Smoothie Cafe, was held on May 14 during eighth block and open to the entire Rock Ridge student body and staff.

✏️ by Ananya Karthik
📷 by Lia Davis and Mariia Pecherkina

08/05/2025

From March 28 to April 28, Women Giving Back hosted their annual prom boutique, providing over 250 high school girls with free, donated prom dresses. The boutique allowed girls, regardless of circumstance or family income, to find a fitting dress and matching shoes, and to feel confident attending prom this season.

“We know that prom can be a very costly event, and oftentimes the dresses are only worn for very few hours – sometimes only for photos; this event allows students to get a dress free of charge,” program director Erica Parrago said. “I want [the girls] to feel empowered, I want them to know that they’re gonna walk into prom looking just as good as every other girl there. I want them to have that confidence they need to have a good night.”

Women Giving Back is a non-profit organization based in Sterling that supports women and children in crisis situations. Since opening in 2007, the organization has distributed three million articles of clothing, helping women rebuild their lives and support their families. The organization runs on grants from the local government, fundraising efforts, support from congress constituents, and clothes from their large donor base.

✏️ by Melissa Wass, Rachel Bhardwaj, and Samantha Chang
🖌️ by Rachel Bhardwaj

07/05/2025

On May 2, seniors pursuing a future in the military at Rock Ridge signed a certificate declaring their commitment to the U.S. Armed Forces.

To start, senior Wardah Islam sang the national anthem to commemorate the second annual iteration of this ceremony.

Then, counselor Ashlee Erestain, sponsor for the Oscar Mike Military Connect Club, facilitated the event, alphabetically introducing these seniors with the branch they planned to serve in, starting with Ricardo Diaz going to the U.S. Air Force, Lily Hammadi going to the George Washington University ROTC, John Lunn going to the Virginia Army National Guard, Ethan Peralta going to the George Washington University ROTC, Tso Rakatoarivony going to the U.S. Air Force, and finally Lee Wadman going to the U.S. Army.

There were also students committed to the military who did not attend the ceremony.

Diaz, despite his own personal choice, also had other reasons for joining the Air Force. “[I realized] I wanted to join the Air Force when I was little. It has been my family’s expectation for me,” Diaz said. “I believe I can make an impact for my community and help serve others by doing this role.”

Diaz found himself anxious at the beginning of the ceremony. “I was a little nervous at first [signing the certificate], but I eventually came over it at the end. I am very ready for the next step of life.”

✏️ and 📷 by Aline Gonzalez and Nidhi Manchala

07/05/2025

On Monday, April 25, the Phoenix boys tennis team faced off against the Tuscarora Huskies and came out with a commanding victory of 5-0. Despite being down their top seed player, the Phoenix prevailed.

With their top seed being out, junior Akash Vangala moved up to play the top seed, followed by freshman Chiristian Bhide at number two and junior Harsha Antham at number three. All three players secured their wins through each of their matches.”It was pretty calm and easy,” Vangala said. “We won 9-0. But they were out a bunch of starters, so we can’t really use this win [to justify] anything.

For Christian Bhide, a freshman who plays in the three position, it was the sense of focus that was priority, even with this mismatch.“We just went out to win and compete, and do our best,” Bhide said. His biggest take away from the match was to stay focused regardless of the level of the team they are facing.

A lot of the starters took this match as an opportunity to test a few new strategies. “I won 8-0, everyone else also went 8-0,” Antham said. “It wasn’t the match you were expecting-since a lot of their players were either sick or injured, but we learned what we could, and moved on.”

✏️ and 📷 by Abhinav Jammula and Saketh Nandam

05/05/2025

On April 29, the Phoenix varsity baseball team competed against the Dominion Titans. Ultimately, the Phoenix boys fell short as the Titans secured a decisive victory.

During the first inning, the Titans took a lead, causing the Phoenix to struggle catching up. “We did not hit well,” junior Taylor Woody said. “I think we did not get one hit throughout the whole game.” The first inning ended with a score of 10-0, but the Phoenix continued to fight.

Still, the team found small wins amidst the challenge. “We did do pretty good in the outfield. They did better than usual,” Woody said. The Phoenix defense gave it their all. While the Titans maintained the lead, Phoenix continued to fight hard as the match continued, with the same score of 12-0 throughout the second and third innings.

The fourth inning proved difficult as the Titans extended their lead to 24-0. During the fifth inning, the Phoenix continued to give it their all, despite the pressure. “We’ve got to train harder, practice more, and start working out and doing cardio,” junior Alex Alkhal said.

The fifth inning ended with Dominion making six runs, with the final score of 30-0. Though this game was not in the Phoenix’s favor, the team is focused on moving forward. “We were not in the right mindset,” Alkhal said.

There are still a few more weeks in the spring season, giving the team time to reset and practice. “I try to forget about it whenever I have a bad game,” Woody said. “I just go to practice and act like it’s a new day. The team [tries] to improve and strive to get better from the experience.”

✏️ by Lia Davis and Mariia Pecherkina
📷 by Mariia Pecherkina

02/05/2025

On Friday, May 2, the Class of 2025 gathered in the main gym to celebrate the last senior breakfast of the year and participate in a long-standing tradition known as Decision Day.

National Decision Day is on May 1, and is the deadline for high school seniors to decide what they will be doing after graduation. For many seniors, Decision Day is also when they decide which college they will be attending. Senior Zahra Amusa will be attending the University of Toronto on a pre-law track in the fall. “I’ll miss my friends, for sure, and I’ll miss the school spirit of [Rock Ridge],” Amusa said.

With their minds made up, whether it was attending college, taking a gap year, or joining the military, seniors celebrated the end of a year full of application processes and tough choices. “I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but I’m going to the Air Force, for sure. [But] I’m going to miss all of the teachers [at Rock Ridge],” senior Tso Rakotoarivony said.

The breakfast started at 8:30 and lasted an hour. It included donuts and drinks to celebrate the Class of 2025’s milestone.

✏️ and 📷 by Samantha Chang and Rachel Bhardwaj

12/04/2025

On April 11, the Student Council Association (SCA) hosted the spring pep rally, the final pep rally of the 2024-2025 school year.

Before the activities started, SCA President senior Annabelle Monte and Spirit Director junior Nila Divakar handed the microphone to Vice Principal Mike Fitzgerald, who surprised the school with a new costume for Rock Ridge’s phoenix mascot, Rocky. The costume came as another gift for Rock Ridge’s 10-year anniversary.

After the big reveal, the spring sports athletes gave a warm welcome. Athletes from lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track, softball, and baseball entered the gym, accompanied by cheering support from students in the stands.

Once the introductions ended, the pep rally moved into the first game: bubble soccer. Two teams, the blue team —played by representatives of the sophomore and junior class — and the red team, who were played by representatives from the freshmen and senior class, faced off. The crowd was filled with energy throughout the entire game. “I feel like they took it really seriously, and we were getting really competitive which was fun to see,” senior class Vice President Maanu Karthikayan said. After a hard fight, and plenty of falls, the red team eventually secured a victory.

During a brief intermission, the Rock Ridge Performing Arts members presented one of their dances from their upcoming musical, “Tarzan.”

In the final game of the event, English teacher Johanna Ayala-Walsh, Spanish teacher Sarah Seitz, and science teachers Kyle Hayne and Mithra Marcus, participated in a balloon-popping game, in which each teacher grabbed balloons from their bag and sat on them until the bag was empty. After all of the running back and forth, Hayne won. “When I got the last balloon and turned around and saw everybody else still had balloons, I walked my way back to the chair and got some rest,” Hayne said.

To decide which grade should win the final spirit stick of the year, party streamers were thrown, with the loudest grade earning the spirit stick. After loud cheers from each grade, Hayne decided that the sophomores won the final spirit stick.

✏️ by Lia Davis
📷 by Nidhi Manchala, Lia Davis, Zahra Ahmed

02/04/2025

Wake up at 5 a.m., eat, work, go to school, come home, do some more work, eat at 7 p.m., do some more work, and stay up until two 2 a.m. Repeat this routine for 29 days.

By the end of it, it is guaranteed that practitioners of this schedule will be exhausted and weary. Indeed, many students and teachers at Rock Ridge are feeling the same way at this very moment.

March 1 marked the start of Ramadan, the holy month in the Islamic faith. During the month, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset to place themselves in the shoes of the less fortunate.

Math teacher Amina Attab practices Ramadan each year. “We have the luxury to have a meal or eat anytime we want, there are a lot of families and kids around the world who have probably one meal a day; some of them have one meal every other day,” Attab said. “It kind of humbles us to be thankful to our God that we are given all this. There is also a time when we have special prayers that we do at night, and this is the time when we get all together and we pray all together. So it is kind of a really nice month for me. I enjoy it because we get together.”

✏️ by Zahra Hameed, Sophia Dabre, Lucinda Eskandar, Sitwat Mian
🖌️ by Sitwat Mian

29/03/2025

On March 27, State Senator Kannan Srinivasan, who represents District 32 in Eastern Loudoun, visited Rock Ridge High School to speak with students about his journey in public service, the legislative process in Virginia, and the power of youth advocacy.

Srinivasan, the first Indian American immigrant elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and now a member of the State Senate, emphasized his commitment to improving health, safety, and opportunity across Virginia.

He also spoke about the real-world impact of civic participation, referencing a former intern he was working with. “She sat in on health policy committee meetings and saw how policymaking actually happens,” Srinivasan said. “You can engage with your delegate or senator. Each delegate represents about 90,000 people; each senator, about 205,000. Whatever idea you have, we want to hear from you.”

Encouraging students to look up who represents them and even consider visiting Richmond, Srinivasan emphasized the importance of youth involvement in government and how they can reach their state leaders. “If you want a tour, I can help,” Srinivasan said. “If you have a concern, email us. I’m here to serve you.”

Students had the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about how state government directly affects their communities, reminding students that their voices matter.

✏️ by Ananya Karthik
📷 by Ananya Karthik and Bhargav Kuniki

28/03/2025

On Saturday, March 22, members of the debate team attended the Virginia High School League’s (VHSL) Regional Debate Tournament at the Rock. At the all-day tournament, many forms of the Phoenix debate team competed, like Lincoln-Douglas (LD), Student Congress, Policy, and Public Forum (PF).

Senior Nivi Mohan is the president of LD and has been a part of debate since her freshman year. In this position, she takes on the role of a coach for her peers. “[By] tutoring, in general, but especially in debate, I [can] understand how people’s brains work,” Mohan said. “Not everyone makes arguments the same way I do. When I learn [my mentees’] thought processing, I also am able to understand my opponents better. Teaching them makes me learn more at the same time.”

The competition began early in the morning and ran late into the evening, with the debate teams from schools all across Loudoun County traveling to compete. To keep things running behind the scenes, Rock Ridge enlisted volunteers from the Phoenix community. “Parents volunteer [because]they know that it helps their kids compete,” debate sponsor Rama Srinivasan said. Srinisivasan says effective communicators give back to the community. “My former students who have really been successful actually have very successful college careers,” Srinivasan said. “They’re trying to be entrepreneurs, in all of those things their effective communication actually comes [in handy] and debate really, really helps that skill. [Many times they say] ‘We’d like to come back to judge;’ that is the way they give back to our community.”

✏️ by Lia Davis and Ryan Desiderio
📷 by Ryan Desiderio

26/03/2025

From Friday, March 21 to Sunday, March 30, students from various countries (including, but not limited to: Italy, Ukraine, Bolivia, and France), traveled between Loudoun County, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia to present their country’s cultures, geographic location, and food. The students traveled here through the Loudoun International Summit (LIS). So far, participants have been to Woodgrove and Dominion High Schools in Loudoun County.

Antonio Stinco, a student from Sicily, Italy, spearheaded the presentation efforts in the Rock Ridge library. Since his arrival on Friday, he’s been staying with junior Taiga Uhing and her family, immersing himself in the American citizen lifestyle. “I think the U.S is really perfect because, apart from the American identity, you also have [a] mix of everything,” Stinco said. “It’s so great. It’s like an experiment.”

Alongside the Sicilian students, representatives from countries like France, Ukraine, and Bolivia also took part in this week. Embracing all aspects of each country’s culture is a big part of the summit. In order to present their country, students made a presentation in the form of a slideshow or a trifold and brought some items from their home country to share. The Italian students brought candies and a dessert to share. Stinco explained each part of his presentation to visitors at his table. It included common phrases in both Italian and Sicilian, traditional foods of Italy, the flag of Sicily, frequently used hand gestures, and some must-sees in Italy, including beaches and the Segesta Amphitheatre.

✏️ by Maya Coleman and Shivu Sathe
📷 Shivu Sathe

The Blaze

16/06/2025

15/05/2025

08/05/2025

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07/05/2025

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02/05/2025

12/04/2025

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