The Cougar Newspaper

Volume 1, Issue 1, Nov. 2010
 Announcements
 The Cougar newspaper
staff would like to welcome
all readers to the debut
edition of the paper. Anyone interested in working
for the paper is encouraged
to talk to Mr. Johnson in
Room 217.
From Cop to Classroom
By Anaiise Diaz and Bilqis
Karam
 FBLA - St. John's Church
in Newark serves 300-500
people meals each day.
FBLA will be helping them
with supplies they need for
the upcoming holiday season. Please donate from
the list below: stuffing,
instant mashed potatoes,
canned vegetables, large
canned sweet
potatoes, men's white
socks, deodorant, soap.
Please bring all donations
to Room 302 by Tuesday,
November 23, 2010. Thank
you for supporting FBLA!
Mr. Robert Colley always
starts his day with a memorable
line.
Help me to help you.
To an average teenager
this may not sound like much, but
to a teacher like Mr. Colley, this
means all.
Before becoming a
teacher, Mr. Colley was a Detroit
Police Officer for 25 years, and has
hi story to pass on to his students
and the rest of the North 13th
Street world.
The Cougar newspaper
sat down with Mr. Colley to further
understand him.
 Student Council—Fasting
for the Community Food
Bank starts on Monday
and runs through Wednesday. Anyone who wants to
sponsor should see the
Student Council.
Q: What did you do before being a
cop?
A: I served in the United States
Army for three years, and was honorably discharged.
Mr. Colley (above right) is a first-year teacher here at North 13th
Street. He is a former Detroit Police Officer.
Q: What is one interesting story
you have from the Army?
(cont. On page 2)
Page 2
Why is teenage life so complicated?
Answered by: Vincent Soda III
Answered by: Keturah Latimer
Teenage life is so complicated for one sole reason — it’s life.
Part of growing up is dealing with life. Life is terrible and it is extremely unfair. In these times, your parents have way too much control,
and they abuse that control of you. You want to go out with your boys
or your girlfriends, and you can’t do so unless you tend to your parents
every demand. It gets really annoying, and the demands get more complicated as you get older. It’s something I personally hate and can’t deal
with. But it is part of going through your teenage years. So, the only
way to survive is to just accept it for what it is. With every situation you
encounter, just grab it and turn it to your advantage. Parents do what
they do because they know what is best for you. When you get older and
you have your own children, you will understand because then you experience this first hand. You will then better understand what your parents did for you. You will be happy because then you will realize your
parents were pointing you in the right direction.
Teenage life is complicated because being a teenager is in
fact complicated. That's as simple as it gets. These are the years that our
hormones and emotions have not yet balanced, and it's almost as if we
feel everything all at once. Our parents seem to get more and more
annoying by the day, the homework load is exhausting, and love is a
game that none of us have come close to perfecting. Anyone can admit
these are the years that are full of fun, and for you to make friends
you'll enjoy for a lifetime. However, teenage years are also filled with
feelings of being misunderstood, and feeling alone when you're in the
mix of the biggest swarm of people. As we get older, things will get
worse before they get better. But we will start to understand life, and
the way it works. So enjoy being a teenager, and appreciate those daily
mistakes. In the end you'll see the significance of life being filled with
so many of them.
From Cop to Classroom
(Cont. from page 1)
years, he came back to tell me
how much I helped him, and
A: Joining. I wasn’t prepared mentally nor physically for the discipline how much he was thankful. I
believe this the most memorable
it required to be in the service.
story from all my years in the
city.
Q: What do you think is the key to
Q: Why did you want to become
success?
a teacher?
A: The belief that you can do it —
which includes hard work, sacrifice, A: I wanted to get into mentoring prior to becoming a teacher.
dedication, and confidence.
And when the opportunity was
Q: How long did you serve the police able to present itself, I noticed I
could kill two birds with one
department?
A: I served for twenty-five years — stone.
Detroit’s finest.
Q: Any interesting or memorable
stories from Detroit?
A: I helped a guy early on in my first
year servicing the police department.
Twenty-two years later, I got a call
from the department saying I had a
visitor. Woe and behold, it was the
same young man I helped. I didn’t
even recognize him at first. After 22
Q: Was it hard leaving the
police force?
A: : No! Twenty-five years of
that is enough (Laughs).
Q: What was the hardest part
about being a cop?
A: Being a cop was tough in
itself. You have to be a social
Principal: Mrs. Patricia Clark-Jeter
300 North 13th Street, Newark, NJ, 07107
worker, doctor, and priest.
All of these aspects are involved in the life of a cop. No
one really likes the police.
People only like you in situations when they need you.
It’s hard and not rewarding.
That’s the hardest part of
being a cop.
Q: Anything you want to
leave the readers with?
A: “That without a struggle,
there is no progress.” –
Frederick Douglas.
Cougar Staff
Advisor: Mr. Johnson
Designers:
Kennedy Affram
Shairaliz Melendez
Contributors:
Stephon Fields
Vincent Soda III
MR. COLLEY’S EXHORTATION TO STUDENTS:
Believe that you can succeed, nothing is easy. You
must be able to commit and
sacrifice in order to receive
achievement. It isn’t rocket
science. You must have good
work and study habits.
Keturah Latimer
Bilqis Karam
Anaiise Diaz
Luis Matos
Shairaliz Melendez
Miguel Duran
Vice Principal: Richard D. McNanna
Page 3
Boys of Fall: Boys Soccer Team Makes Strides in Season
Would you have taken this butt
kicking without a fight? We didIt’s not the size of the of n't.
the dog in the fight, but the size of
We lost both games to
the fight in the dog -- or better yet, Newark Tech, but we fought, and
the cougar. This sentence defines
even to this day, game two should
your 2010 cougar varsity soccer
have been won in our minds
team.
(score: N13st vs. NT = 2-3).
Some may look at the
Other notable opponents
wins and loses and assume this
were Passaic Tech (in the Tech
season was a failure. These people Tournament), North Bergen (a
didn’t play right-back for the cou- game that went into overtime),
gars.
and Franklin. All of these teams
As part of the team, I
were well respected programs -know better than most that this
and all one point losses.
team had a chip on its shoulder
These are all games that
from day one.
we shined as a team, and although
Knowing so, we set
we came short of a victory all four
goals. Making states was one of our times, all these teams happened to
goals, as well as defeating crossbe David and Goliath type battles,
town rival Newark Tech.
fought again and again.
Have you ever been exThis is why although we
pected to get your butt kicked?
didn’t have a .500 record as reBy Miguel Duran
quired to enter the states tournament, we still got invited.
We believed in our
talents as individuals and as a
team and came together as one
to play world class soccer, for
the first time in four seasons
the cougar soccer team was
playing in the states. We can
say that we never gave up.
Never.
Your 2010 cougar
soccer finished with a record 8
-10 and got eliminated in the
first round of states -- 18 victories in our eyes because we
dared to play the beautiful
game.
Nets Move on from Forgettable Season
By Stephon Fields
I know, I know the Nets stink. I
mean come on, they finished 12-70 last season
with team lows in points per game, steals, etc.
But don't laugh when I say that they
might push for an eighth seed this year. Okay
you can stop laughing now! Now you may
think the Nets stink.
But the key acquisitions they got
during the off season will help them greatly.
These players are Troy Murphy, who is a great
three point shooter and rebounder, and Jordan
Farmar, a great sixth man who provides great
energy off the bench. I call him the energizer
bunny.
Travis Outlaw is a good small forward who never got the opportunity to show
his talents because of his former teammate
Brandon Roy. Finally, Anthony Morrow ,
Derrick Favors, and Quinton Ross are great
scoring options and good defenders. And let's
not forget the three main players they still
have.
These players are Devin Harris,
Brook Lopez, and Terrence Williams. These
three players were the leading scorers for last
year’s disastrous season. But one player
blossomed during that season.
This player is my *Player To
Watch Out For.* This player is Brook
Lopez. He had an astounding and yet
shocking breakout season. His stats were
18.8 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per
game and a 50 percent field goal percentage.
Now this may come as a shock
but the Nets finished first as a team in
points allowed with only allowing 101.5
points per game. I know. I was shocked
when I found that out as well!
Plus they finally got a better
coach Avery Johnson. Now we as NBA
fans hardly know anybody who is a Nets
fan. Shamefully, according to basketballreference.com their fan loyalty is dead last
at 76 percent. But I think as a Irvington
native, I will support the Nets for until
they move to Brooklyn they are still representing New Jersey. They're definitely not
my favorite team, but I think we as New
Jersey natives should do the same.
The Cougar boys soccer team (above)
finished the season with a 8-10 record, but fought in many toughfought battles throughout the season.
Cougars
(Cont. from page 4)
communication.”
Barinas led the team, finishing the season with
267 kills, including an 85% serving percentage.
Barinas was one of three Cougar players to
make first-team all conference. The other two
were senior Katherine Lescano and junior Diamond Randall.
Lescano ended the season with 255 kills and
Randall finished with 103 kills.
The Cougars caught fire mid-season and won
18-straight matches topped off with five
sweeps in a row leading into the end of the
season.
When asked if there was any way the team
stayed loose through a grueling 36-match
schedule, Lescano gave a light-hearted response.
“We make our own dances and our own voice
commands,” Lescano said.
Head coach Howard Weshnak said what was
impressive is how 85 girls tried out for the
team at the beginning of the season.
Cougars Make States for Fourth-Straight Year
Junior Amelia Lema said the team
was excited to play in the state tournament
Even though it was disap- even with the loss to Whippany Park.
“It was a good season,” Lema said.
pointing the girl’s volleyball team
“We
really
got to show off our abilities, and
lost in the NJSIAA State Tournatried are very best. They worked hard and
ment, the Cougar spirit still runs
played as team. All the hard work paid off.”
high.
Senior captain Anabelle Barinas feels the
The team feels they
team played great competition year round
worked hard all year round and
which pushed the team constantly, even with
reached their goals.
The Cougars finished the constant injuries.
“This completion was up there,”
2010 season with their best record in
Barinas
said,
“I believe the team can imschool history (30-6), and made the
prove
in
the
future
by opening up and exstate tournament for the fourth
pressing
emotions
by
using and more verbal
straight season.
By Shairaliz Melendez
Knicks Try to “Heat” Up for NBA Season
By Stephon Fields
last year.
I know the Knicks haven't been a contending team in a while. In fact they haven't been
in a playoff series since 1999.
But Knick fans look for a breakout
season from this player. This player is my
*Player To Watch Out For.*
At least the Nets got to the playoffs this
past decade. But I'm not looking to down the
Knicks in this piece. I will lift up all you poor,
poor Knicks' fans.
He is Danillo Gallinari. Last season
he posted 15.1 points per game with 4.9 rebounds per game. He's a great shooter who is
developing a post game. So to my Knick fans
I know you've had some bad luck this pat few
years. You couldn't get Lebron, Tracy
Mcgrady was a waste of money, plus that
Isaiah Thomas saga. But hopefully one day
my fellow Knick fans a change will come.
You will go to playoffs one day, you will go
deep into the playoffs, and you will go to the
finals and win and get the first championship
to New York ever since the 1973 Knicks
team. One day you will, one day. In the next
century!
This offseason the Knicks signed star
power forward Amar’e Stoudemire — a very good
player who can pound the ball really well and does
everything a power forward should do and that is
rebound. He's all in all a great player a very good
pick up by the Knicks.
Another great signing by the Knicks was
Raymond Felton — an up and coming good point
guard. His career totals are 13.3 points per game,
with 6.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds. Him and Amar’e
are going to carry the load for the Knicks.
They'll have a lot have obstacles along
the way but hopefully they'll make it (hopefully)!
Along with there two star acquisitions they have
some prolific returning scorers. These players are
Danillo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. Those two
players (along with Derek Lee and Chris Duhon
where now with different teams) were the main
*Win-Loss Prediction*- 46-36
*MVP for Team*- Amar’e Stoudemire
*Rookie of the Year*- Landry Fields
(Amar’e Stoudemire (right) looks to add
winning formula in New York.)