Knight Writers

ISSUE 1: Light As A Feather, Tough As Nails

Robinson’s color guard, the Starlets, speak on the challenges they face as a team.

Heather Parker and Vikram Sambasivan

October 13, 2023

Gabby Toranzo (’25) preforming with the Starlets during the Marching Knights halftime show.

Flags spinning, batons thrown, the roar of the students as the performers in shimmering outfits energize the crowd with highly choreographed dance moves. That’s right, with another fall sports season, the Starlets are back.

The Starlets is Robinson’s Colorguard team and is one of the few sports that extends throughout the entire school year. During their fall season, they mainly act as the visual feature for the band and perform during football half-time shows, however, when the winter season rolls around, the Starlets compete independently.

“As busy and chaotic as the season is, there’s something so thrilling about going out onto the field and performing for the stadium,” said Jada Lupher (’24), Starlets Co-Captain.

The Starlets will compete in the Florida Marching Band Championships (FMBC) and Music Performance Assessment (MPA) alongside marching band during the fall season.

“There is a theme we pick each year that can tell a story or depict a mood or time period and build a show from musical selections Mr. Revett chooses,” said Sara Espejo, the veteran coach of Starlets.

Following their marching band competitive season, Starlets participate independently in the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit (FFCC).

However, being a part of the Starlets is more than just winning competitions. While everyone loves being able to win and bring home awards, they created more than just that, they created a family.

“These competitions are extremely important to our growth as a team, as they make our bond stronger,” said Gabriella Toranzo (’24), Starlets C0-Captain.

Although the bond forged between the group is strong, being a Starlet is anything but easy. From the mental difficulties of memorizing choreography to the sheer danger of performing while throwing a giant metal pole into the air, being a Starlet makes you grow not only as a group, but as a person.

“It is not easy, and it takes a lot from you physically, but once you start to get it I feel like you discover a whole new level of confidence within yourself,” Lupher said.

As is with all sports at the beginning of a new season, there is uncertainty regarding how the team will perform without the graduated senior class.

“My goal is to not only retain those new members but gain more. Continue the momentum of growth we have built during marching band into Winterguard season,” Espejo said. “Our goal is to take home another Superior rating at MPA for sure and hopefully maintain our streak of four years of placing top three in Colorguard at shows and hopefully help the band gain a first place win in the caption of visuals.”

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About the Contributors

Heather Parker, Staff Writer

Heather Parker is a sophomore at Robinson and a staff writer for Knight Writers. This is her first year on staff. Parker joined journalism because she wanted to be able to showcase her artistic abilities in photography and writing. She's most excited to write opinion pieces because she believes she has unique perspectives on different topics. However, she is least excited to write sports stories because she doesn't consider herself to be particularly sporty, but she's willing to try anything. "I'm the least athletic person; honestly walking up the stairs leaves me out of breath sometimes," Parker said. " But I'm up for any kind of story, including sports." Her current favorite book being, "They Both Die at The End," Parker adores the romance genre because of the warm feeling it gives her. However, her love for romance isn't limited to just books, she also loves watching Rom-Coms while snuggled up with her many cats, whom she adores. After a good rom-com or two, Parker loves to listen to her favorite pop musicians- the most important to her being Taylor Swift. Her favorite albums are "Speak Now" and "Midnight." She loves how all the eras and aesthetics Taylor creates are so different from each other. "I didn't go to the eras tour, but I wanted to [go] so bad. I would've dressed up for either Lover or Speak Now," she said. Parker doesn't have a set plan for after high school, but she's excited to see if journalism inspires her down a certain path. "I don't really know what I want to be yet, but I've always loved taking pictures and photography in general," she said." I'll see where the next few years take me." (Profile by Grace Shafer)

Vikram Sambasivan, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Vikram Sambasivan is a senior at Robinson and the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Knight Writers. This is his third year on staff and his third year as an editor. A passionate storyteller, Sambasivan's writing varies across a variety of sections, but he finds his comfort most in news stories, where he delves mostly into current events. "My favorite is perhaps news writing. Some may say it’s plain, and a bit boring, but I find the simplicity to be elegant and a reprieve from the frilly writing that is sometimes preferred in a typical high school English class," Sambasivan said. Outside of the journalism room, you can see Sambasivan serving as the president of Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society, rowing down the Hillsborough River for Team Tampa or even conducting research at the Clean Energy Research Center at the University of South Florida. Despite his demanding schedule, Sambasivan likes to wind down and relax by indulging in a number of movies or TV shows. "Rowing is probably tied with tennis as my favorite activity (although it’s not as fun to watch). The feeling of the cool morning breeze on your face while rowing in the calm, quiet waters isn’t something I’ll soon forget," Sambasivan said. "Watching TV and movies are some of the other things I enjoy. My favorite show changes every day depending on how I’m feeling. Most movies that I watch speak to a different part of me, so I don’t think I could choose a favorite." Sambasivan has set multiple goals for this year's staff. He is looking forward to being in charge and being able to recreate the fun experience of journalism for new staff members. His biggest goal, though, is to be able to help everyone reach their greatest potential by making them stronger writers. "I would like to make them better than me. That’s the hallmark of a good teacher: having your students exceed you. If I can create an environment where people are excited to come in and produce content every day, where they are excited to learn, then I will be happy," Sambasivan added. Although his future is unclear at the moment, Sambasivan hopes to be able to combine his love for STEM and journalism in his future career. "I’m a little sad to be leaving high school. I’ll miss the friends and connections which I have made once I go to college, but this year, for me, is mainly about the future," Sambasivan said. (Profile by Cecilia Cheng)

Keirra McGoldrick, Opinion Editor

Keirra McGoldrick is senior at Robinson and the Opinion Editor of Knight Writers. This is her third year on staff and her second year as an editor. McGoldrick, as an editor, must provide a sense of direction and help for those coming into newspaper who may not quite know what they need to be doing. She must also make sure that all stories written by staff writers are up to par with that of the standard for the newspaper. “I edit all the opinion stories and make spreadsheets for opinion writers," McGoldrick said. McGoldrick may like writing in journalism, though nothing trumps her love of photography. She lists photography as one of her favorite hobbies and pass times outside of journalism. “I like photography," McGoldrick said. "I take pictures of anything I find interesting." Though McGoldrick has to keep up a balance of her academics and the needs of newspaper, she hopes to have enough time to join the photography club. She wishes to do this in order to interact and convey her love of photography with other like-minded students at Robinson. Being the academic achiever that she is, McGoldrick keeps up with all of her classes. The two of these classes that she holds closest to her heart are journalism and history. However, she probably favors journalism a little more because it has her favorite teacher, Ms. Webster, who leads her to improve herself in all manner of things, especially photography. Outside of journalism, one of McGoldrick’s pastimes is to listen to music. As we know everyone needs a little bit of music to pull them through a slow school day, or just a slow day in general. “I like R&B and pop," McGoldrick said. “Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, etc." High school isn't all McGoldrick has mapped out to do. Seeing as she is an academic achiever, McGoldrick already has plans for her future. She plans to keep her academic streak going through college. “I plan on going to university and majoring in criminal psychology and then after I graduate from normal college, I’m going to go get a PhD,” McGoldrick said. (Profile by Coleton Rone)

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ISSUE 1: Light As A Feather, Tough As Nails

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