athletics - Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

Transcription

athletics - Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
The Talon
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
May 14, 2010
Secret
Life
17301 Old Vic Blvd. Olney, MD 20832
of
Service:
Habitat
for
Vol. V Issue IV
Humanity
Habitat. He was the guy we always went
to with questions. The first day of work
was mainly outside, because the house
had been built. What was neat about
this house was that we met the future
homeowner’s boyfriend, a local tattoo
artist that was painting the children’s
rooms. He did some of the coolest
drawings for them. Also during the day
after raking the front yard to prepare it
for grass seed, we learned that we had to
dig a trench of about 100 feet for piping.
Trust me it was not pleasant learning
that. We all became “Ditch Witches.”
Tuesday:
Luckily, we were not “Ditch Witches”
forever. We were able to rent a real Ditch
Witch that finished the job in a few
hours. Otherwise, we would have been
working on it for the rest of the week.
Tuesday was mainly working at the
house from the day before doing yard
work. Afterwards, we all took showers
at Waynesburg College’s dorms which
were in walking distance. Definitely the
calmest part of the trip was when we all
basically took naps or did homework
after the showers. It was nice when
we were occasionally let off work early.
Wednesday:
Maura Fries and Sarah Petrocci help with finishing
touches during the Habitat for Humanity service trip.
By Megan Payne
Managing Editor
Sunday:
Our team of 13
arrived at our
destination of Waynesburg, Pa. around
5 o’clock. We meet a local pastor in the
small town. We got to stay at the First
Presbyterian Church. There were three
floors to the church and we girls got
the entire top floor to stay in while the
three guys we had on our team had to
stay in the youth room. The first night
was mainly settling in. We explored
the small town and went to Domino’s
for dinner. Then we went to Wal-
Photo by Megan Payne
Mart where we bought tons of food
and got some movies. Wal-Mart was a
destination mainly every night. Sadly
most of us did not realize how much
work the rest of the week would be, so
we stayed up watching “The Blind Side.”
Monday:
The team had to wake up bright and
early for breakfast and a devotional
which we had every morning. We
met Richard Long who is one of the
main contractors in charge of the
construction of the homes built by
“Hump Day” was challenging because
it seemed like the temperature scale
just kept going up. We went to a
duplex that was at the beginning of its
development. Some of the team, all
our three guys and some of the girls,
laid out the French drainage pipes.
Almost all the girls got to paint two
sheds. Thankfully that was our half day
so we left and got to go to the mall that
was about an hour away. Who knew
Habitat trips were filled with mall and
movie trips. Even Mr. Mooney enjoyed
seeing “The Last Song” with all the girls.
Thursday:
Thursday was spent at an entirely
different location. We worked on what
used to be a mining area and helped
make the warehouse a Christian Bible
camp. The man in charge had a pretty
cool story about how they got the
place. Their church had bought it for
$2 million while it was worth more
than $20 million. They were shooting
Inside this issue . . .
Spring
Check
Sports
Wrap-Up
the
out
rest
of
the
April school
Trips!
Special
Feature:
Tribute to
the Class
of 2010
The Talon
2010
to open around July but there was
a lot of work to be done. We did a
lot of sweeping and cleaning up. We
prepared a lot of the way for other
groups to come help paint and finish
up the building. It was cool when we
got to have a volleyball game inside due
to the thunderstorm raging outside.
Also this being our last night, the
board for Habitat for Humanity threw
us a dinner in the church’s kitchen. It
was interesting to meet the different
families who were involved with the
project. It was a close knit community
even though they all came from a few
different churches. The small town
mentality was nice to experience.
It was actually getting sad that we
were going to be heading home the
next day, because over the week as a
team we got to know each other and
become closer than we were before. I
was going to miss the inside jokes, the
team-made dinners and the interesting
conversations in the girls’ rooms. No
matter whether or not we got frustrated
with each other we all became closer. I’m
so glad I went on the trip. Not just for
the fun times but also for the hard work
because it gave me a huge appreciation
for what my parents gave me and for the
work that Richard Long does every day.
Friday:
It was time to go home, but not
before doing some good old work in
the freezing weather. It had gotten
to be a whole different climate in the
mountains. Our team split up into two
groups. One went and did demolition
where they got covered in serious dust.
It looked like the guys had mascara on!
The rest of us stayed at Habitat’s local
warehouse, painted and cleaned up the
fallen trees in the back. Then we said
our goodbyes and headed on the four
and half hours drive home. We were
all tired and ready to take showers
in our own homes. It was definitely
worth going though. It is always worth
it to do service because personally
it gives me a fulfilling feeling. It is
like putting in a lot of exhausting
work to see a really good result.
Index
Student News.... p 3
Opinion....... p 7, 10
Senior Insert..... p 8
Entertainment.. p 11
Athletics........... p 10
Page 2
May 14, 2010
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Editor’s Page
Editor’s Pen
The Talon Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Stephanie Lighter
Managing Editor
Megan Payne
Advertising Manager
Shaun Medina
Layout Editor
Sean Bagnall
News Editor
Danielle Gillespie
Student Life Editor
Rebecca Shipler
Opinion Editor
Editor’s Page
By Stephanie Lighter
Editor-in-Chief
It’s no question that school is tough, especially those dreaded final exams. As the
school year of 2009-2010 winds down, we can finally rejoice as the summer of 2010 begins.
After all the hard work we have put in towards passing our classes, we can take some much
needed time off to relax and enjoy the upcoming summer.
While change can be an intimidating concept, it is a necessary phase people must
go through in their lives. Seniors are now faced with the reality that high school is officially
over. The Class of 2010 is no longer a class of high school students and is now alumni. The
time has come for us seniors to make one of the greatest transitions in life from high school
to college. As scary as it can be, this shift is an important one in growing up.
For the rest of the students, college may not seem relevant, but I can promise you
that it will one day become a reality that everyone must face. Whether you are excited to
move on to the next chapter in your life or not, it will be a change that you have to make for
yourself. High school is going to fly by unless you take advantage of every opportunity that
is available to you so enjoy it while you can.
This summer, I encourage you all to do something that matters. Earn some easy
cash at a local job, travel the world and explore life outside of America or even intern for an
organization that you are passionate about. Summer is the time when memories are made,
whether you realize it or not. As short as it may seem, the summer time is a nice break from
school for you to mature outside of the classroom setting.
Although time does move forward as the newly elected president Teju Adewole
and vice-president Inder Takhar take over Good Counsel, never forget to look back on the
memories and experiences of this past year. Remember the time when Good Counsel beat
Dematha in the great football championship game. Remember the time when the school
had a second winter break from the massive snow storm. Remember the time when the
boys of ISA rocked out to a classic ‘N Sync hit on the annual Culture Day. These are some of
the many memories that made this school year an unforgettable one.
Tara Johnson
Sports Editor
Scott Chen
Entertainment Editor
Gianna Rico
Photography Editor
Cami Garofalo
Copy Editor
Olivia Jackson
Relations Manager
Lexi Runnings
Artwork Editor
Mary Beck
Distribution Manager
Nick Wager
Staff Writers
Leigh Emig
Ana Nunez
Nora Considine
advisor
Ms. Neugebauer
The Journalism class celebrates the accomplishments of a
first successful year and says goodbye to its seniors.
Left to Right: Mary Beck, Leigh Emig, Sean Bagnall, Dani Gillespie, Becca Shipler,
Stephanie Lighter, Megan Payne, Nick Wager, Scott Chen, Nora Consadine, Lexi
Runnings, Olivia Jackson, Ana nunez, Shaun Medina, Gianna Rico, and Tara Johnson.
Publication Goals:
•To provide staff members with an experience of teamwork where they learn the need for
commitment, cooperation, communication and respect for the varied talents of others.
•To improve the writing skills of the staff by teaching proper journalistic format.
•To teach staff members computer skills in word processing, desktop publishing and
graphic design.
•To introduce staff members to the world of Mass Communication.
•To act as a primary outlet as a student news source within the Gold Counsel Community.
•To encourage excellence in the production of photography and artwork.
The Talon
News
May 14, 2010
Page 3
Exero 01, 5555 BLA BLA BLA 3
NEWS
A day of appreciation for our grandparents
On WednesBy Becca Shipler
day, March 31
Student Life Editor many students
were dropped
off by their…grandparents? Good
Counsel hosted its annual Grandparents Day, a longstanding tradition at the school. The event lasted
from 8:00 a.m.to noon. The event was
open to all grandparents that had juniors or freshmen at the school. The
event was extremely popular, with a
tremendous amount of grandparents
walking the halls of Good Counsel.
When the grandparents arrived at
school they were directed to their
parking spots by volunteers from the
National Honor Society. The weather
was frigid, so the volunteers assisted
the grandparents in entering the building as quickly as possible. Once they
made it safely into the building, they
had the option of attending mass at
7:30 a.m. before the official program.
After the mass, the program began
with a breakfast with Mr. Art Raimo
followed by tours of the school facility.
The grandfather of Riley Griffin, a
junior at Good Counsel, had an excellent time touring the building. He said
the facility was nice and he had a great
time spending the day with Riley. The
grandparents were given an opportunity to spend time in the classroom
setting through attending one class
with their grandchildren. During this
period the grandparents saw what the
classes are like at Good Counsel and
many were impressed with the teachers. One grandparent was so impressed
that she took the time to compliment
Mr. Bob Handler on his teaching style
when her time in the classroom ended.
After the grandparents finished a
class with their grandchildren, they
attended a program of the fine arts
in the Litton Gym. The program included a collection of songs from the
school’s chorus program, as well as
a scene from the recent theatre production musical, “Into the Woods.”
Next, the grandparents enjoyed a specially catered lunch with their grandchildren, with background music that
included some of the grandparents’
old favorites. This was an excellent
opportunity for the grandparents and
the students to catch up with friends
and to mingle with new acquaintances.
Junior Riley Griffin enjoyed Grandparents Day. She said, “This was a
really fun way for me to be able to spend
time with my grandpa and to show him
what my life during the school day is
Junior Allison Manucchia enjoys lunch with her grandmother.
Photo Credit: Mr. Joe Cabigas
like on a daily basis. The fine arts
program was extremely well-done and
I had a great time watching a segment
of the spring musical. This was a really
nice day to spend with my grandpa!”
After lunch, it was time for the
grandparents to say goodbye to their
grandchildren and the program
came to a close. There was a
large turnout of grandparents,
which made the event an immense success! Grandparents
Day will continue to be a lively tradition at Good Counsel.
Clubs celebrate ethnic traditions on Culture Day
On Friday,
April 23 the
annual
Good
Counsel Culture day took place in the
Kane Center. The Latino Student Association (LSA), Black Student Association (BSA), International Student
Association (ISA), and the Guitar Club
participated in the morning’s events.
These groups performed for the entire school in an hour-long assembly.
The LSA performed first, with the
girls performing a traditional dance.
They wore long skirts, and white or
black shirts. At the end of the dance,
they took off their skirts revealing
short skirts and high heels underneath.
Junior Christopher Melendez, a three-year member of the
LSA, said that this year, “we digitally mixed the music, which made
the performances different this year.”
Instead of having one
song, the LSA danced to mixes of
three songs per performance, hoping to keep up the energy level and
keep the audience entertained.
Melendez’s favorite part of the
LSA’s performance was the senior
dance between Karen Segovia, Randy Delgado and Rebecca Medina.
“The seniors worked on it by themselves. We had no idea about it until
about a week before,” Melendez related.
By Dani Gillespie
News Editor
After the LSA’s first performance came the ISA, who performed a traditional Tinikling dance.
The BSA performed next. Junior
Gabby Ventura related a brief history of
the origin of hip hop and R&B. Other
members of the club then performed a
step routine. The boys, the Soul Squad,
performed first, and were followed by
the girls, called Divas. The BSA’s performance ended with the Soul Squad
and the Divas performing as a unit.
The Guitar Club was next to perform.
Club founder Sean Bagnall said of the
club’s decision to perform on culture day,
“the opportunity arose, and we felt that
there is a lot of cultural history behind
the guitar.” The club gave a rendition of
the Spanish song “Guantanamera” with
teachers Mr. Dennis Essig and Mr. Brett
Taylor. Also, sophomore Alex Galiatsatos completed a solo performance.
Next, the ISA performed again, giving
a rendition of N’Sync’s “Tearing up my
heart,” with junior Garret Taira lip-synching a solo. This performance was an especially large hit with the student body.
LSA members gave the final performance, featuring a dance with
couples. The boys’ outfits, were
all black, with white suspenders.
When asked who decide on the
costumes, Melendez stated that it
was a group decision. “Actually,” he
said, “[the decision] was much
more difficult than it seemed.”
The Culture Assembly lasted for about one hour and fifteen minutes, and was a big hit
for both students and teachers.
Above: LSA members Chris Melendez
and Julie Egocheaga performed a
traditional Latin dance.
Photo Credit: Mr. Joe Cabigas
Left: ISA members Tommy
Fortes and Angel Batto
performed a tradtional dance.
Photo Credit: Mr. Joe Cabigas
The Talon
Above: Stanley Spottswood, Stphen
Spottswood, Bobby Mitchell and Kyle
Martn represented the BSA.
Photo Credit: Mr. Joe Cabigas
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Page 4
May 14, 2010
NEWS
News
A ‘harmonius’ adventure to Ithaca
On Wednesday
By Tara Johnson
Opinion Editor April 14, 2010 at
around 10:00 p.m.,
Mr. Stan Spottswood, a group of
chaperones and the chorus hopped
on a bus to Canada. for the annual
Band and Chorus musuc competition.
The festival took place at York
University in Toronto, Ontario Canada. The Chorus performed in the
morning. The
Honors Chorus performed
first, followed
by the Gospel Choir and
then the Women’s
Choir.
Following the
performances,
all of the choirs received useful feedback from the festival judges. The
women’s choir placed first in its division, and honors placed fourth
and the gospel choir placed third.
The choir quickly got on the bus
heading down to Ithaca, New York
for a gospel festival. They arrived
in Ithaca until about 9:00 p.m.
Mr. Spottswood has
been involved with
the Ithaca gospel program
since
2006.
Spottswood says, “I got
involved with it when
it first started because
many of the choral festivals around the
country failed
to
recognize
the music of African American
composers of
being worthy of
being appropriate material for the serious portion
of the concert program.”
The next day the Good Counsel
choir, along with many other choirs
from schools and churches all
around the country gathered to perform in one voice. They represented one choir performing spiritual
and gospel songs by several artists.
Segovia says, “It was a nice experience
and I could just feel the energy of the
crowd.
It made
me want
to
sing
b e t t e r. ”
Mr. Spottswood
had
the
p r i v i l e ge
of directing one of
his own
gospel
pieces at
the concert. Seniors Katie Murray and Stanley Spottswood even had the chance
to sing the solo to Mr. Spottswood’s
original song, “Awesome and Incredible.” It was important for Spottswood
to be involved with something that honored African American composers for
their legitimist repertoire. The choir
left for Good Counsel on Sunday, but
not before long the bus broke down in
As each of music program at our school. Fine
Mary Beck
the four buses filled Arts Chair and director Dr. Slocum
Artwork Editor
with students pulls says, “The trip establishes an end
out of Good Counsel, and the stu- of year goal for our ensembles. It
dents erupt in cheers. The moment gives us the opportunity to be evalthey’ve
uated
been countby high
ing down
level
for
since
profesSeptember
sional
has arrived.
musiThey’re off
cians
to Toronto,
a n d
Canada for
c o n the annual
ductors.
Spring MuIt ensic
Trip.
courEvery
ages a
year
in
sense of
April, GC’s
teamPhoto Courtesy of Google Images Free Domain
best music
work
groups head out for a four-day trip among students and it alto compete with other schools’ mu- lows students and families to
sic groups across the USA and Can- get to know each other better.”
ada. This year, Wind Ensemble, Jazz
Students left by
Ensemble, Symphonic Band, String bus on WednesEnsemble, Women’s Chorus, Hon- day night at 10
ors Chorus and the Gospel Choir. PM and drove
On one day of the trip, each group through
the
performs for a panel of judges. Most night.
They
of the judges are music directors at arrived on the
top-notch universities. On the next Canadian side
day, the groups attend an awards cer- of Niagara Falls
emony where the scores are revealed around 9 a.m.
and trophies are handed out to the on Thursday,
groups. Since there’s a lot of time be- where
they
tween the musical performances and took in the wathe awards, the time gets filled with a terfalls. After a
lot of fun activities and sight-seeing. quick lunch in Toronto, the groups
This trip is very important for the headed to a church where each had
clinics with local music professors to get
some last-minute tips before the competition the next day. Then the groups
headed to their
hotel,
where
many enjoyed
the hotel’s indoor
pool.
On Friday,
the choirs woke
up early to perform at the
University of
Toronto before
heading off to
Ithaca College
un New York.
The instrumental groups
slept in and
performed at
the University in the early afternoon.
After the competition the students were
taken to a Blue Jays baseball game,
where they got to
watch the LA Angels earn a victory in
the last few innings.
Saturday morning, the students
headed to the CN
Tower. They rode
all the way to the
top and enjoyed taking pictures of the
view.
Later, they
weredropped off at
the Eaton Centre
Mall for a couple hours of shopping. Finally, every group from all of the schools
Pennsylvania. The choir eventually
pulled up to Good Counsel around
7:45 p.m. The trip was a time for the
Good Counsel choir to grow together
and to learn from the great conductors that were available on the trip.
It made me want to sing better.”
Mr. Spottswood had the privilege
of directing one of his own gospel
pieces at the concert. Seniors Katie Murray and Stanley Spottswood
even had the chance to sing the solo
to Mr. Spottswood’s original song,
“Awesome and Incredible.” It was
important for Spottswood to be involved with something that honored
African American composers for
their legitimist repertoire. The choir
left for Good Counsel on Sunday,
but not before long the bus broke
down in Pennsylvania. The choir
eventually pulled up to Good Counsel around 7:45 p.m.
The trip was a time for the Good
Counsel choir to grow together and
to learn from the great conductors
that were available on the trip.
The annual band trip--Oh, Canada!
The Talon
that competed went to the Medieval
Times in Toronto for the awards ceremony. When the presentation of
the awards was finished, they enjoyed
an amazing dinner and
show by the Medieval
Times performers. After an exhausting day,
the groups returned to
the hotel before waking up early to head
back to Olney, MD.
The performing
groups did an amazing
job at the competition.
The ratings that are
given at musical festivals, in order of best
to worst, are Superior, Excellent, Good,
Fair and Poor. Each
group was in a different category to be judged. For the
choirs, the Honors Chorus received
a rating of Good at 4th place, the
Gospel Choir received an Excellent
and 3rd place, and the Women’s
Choir received an Excellent and 1st
place. For the instrumental groups,
the Symphonic Band received an
Excellent and 2nd place, the Jazz Ensemble received an Excellent and 1st
place, the String Ensemble received
an Excellent and 1st place, and the
Wind Ensemble received an Excellent and 1st place.
“I think [they] played very well
and I was very pleased with the outcome,” says Dr. Slocum. “[They]
represented the school beautifully.”
News
May 14, 2010
Page 5
Exero 01, 5555 BLA BLA BLA 5
News
Carl’s cookies, more than meets the eye
He likes to
call himself
“The director of concessions” but is also known as the “hot dog
man”. Though recognized as the hot dog
man who is at all the student events,
many students wonder what the story
is behind the man at Carl’s Corner?
Carl Leverenz’s story as the hot dog
man started 12 years ago in Wheaton, Md. The old Good Counsel concession stand was shut down due to
health issues. Carl, the father of two
Good Counsel students at the time,
took it upon himself to open a concession stand in the back of his truck,
where they announced the game from
his sound system in the Good Counsel
parking lot. They raised enough money
to eventually build a brand new concession stand at the old Good Counsel.
Two years ago, Carl retired from his
full time job as an elementary school
physical education teacher. Mr. Art
Raimo asked him if he would be interested in a part time job manning
the concession stand. Carl agreed
saying, “I will work the concession
stand if you let any student organization work- not just the athletic teams”.
A variety of Good Counsel clubs
and sports volunteer with Carl to
fundraise. Half of all profits go to the
school and the other half goes to the
student organization volunteering.
“Everybody wants to work with me!
From football to cheerleaders to student’s mothers, sometimes students
come to help me just because they
feel bad for me,” Carl said with a grin.
Carl opens the concession stand
y for every athletic event, Speech
and Debate, Special Olympics
and numerous community events.
“It is important for the kids
to know that we are supportBy Camille Garofalo
Photography Editor
ing them and are open for them.”
What is categorized as a part time
job actually requires over 60 hours a
week for Carl. His goal to show support for every student requires many
overtime hours. He puts in time to
make sure he is at every event, being
present for deliveries, baking the delicious big daddy cookies and running
to Three Brothers pizza restaurant to
pick up the famous “Carl’s Italian ice.”
Carl always adds new and exciting
items to the menu. Carl also feels it is
important to make sure healthy food is
sold at the stand such as bananas, apples
and oranges. His newest addition to the
menu, the “Tom Arnold burger,” is described by Carl as “Lean and mean on the
outside, sweet and tender on the inside”.
Carl also thinks of innovative ideas
to improve Good Counsel. His newest idea of building a picnic pavilion
for the students was originally shot
down by the administration, saying
there was no money in the budget.
When Carl told the administration
he would sell Big Daddies to raise money, he was laughed at and told it could
not be done. As of May 1st Carl will
have raised $7,000. Construction starts
by this summer and it will be ready by
the start of the 2010-2011 school year.
The amount of time, energy and
charisma Carl brings to work with him
each day is more than most people put
into their jobs over the course of a year.
He lives by the quote; “The purpose of life is a life of purpose”. He
explains “Working as the hot dog
man gives my life a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning”.
Carl touches the lives of students, as
well as the Good Counsel community
as a whole each and every day by his actions. When he takes the money out of
his own pocket to make sure a student is
not left hungry staring at someone else’s
food, he’s donating more than an amount
of money in the life of that student. He’s
demonstrating the values of compassion and generosity through example.
“I can’t stand it when I see a student coming up with ones of their friends who are
buying food and who can’t buy anything”.
Carl describes his job at Good
Counsel as teaching him how
to live to be a better person.
He describes his goal as “I just try to
give each and every student undivided
attention even if just for a moment.”
Carl shows us that if you have an
idea and work hard you can achieve
you goals. “We’ve come a long way
from my old truck with no tail lights,
to the indoor and outdoor concession stands as well as the plans of
a picnic pavilion we have today.”
In October 2008 Carl was injured
by a chainsaw. It severely injured the
left side of his face and led him to
many realizations about life and how
to live it. He described the experience as teaching him that life could
be over any second and you have to
make a difference when you still can.
“It’s all about the present, past is history.”
Carl lives his life day by day. He says;
“I try not to take life too seriously”. He
does not worry about the future and
what may potentially go wrong, but
instead lives the moments that come
to him. He gives his job as “the hot
dog man” everything he has, not ever
asking what’s in it for him, only what
he can give and teach the community.
He believes values and enthusiasm
cannot be taught, only learned through
demonstration. Carl is a man that brings
character and life to the Good Counsel
community. He uses his personality,
and a few big daddy cookies to teach
the values of humility, simplicity, compassion, trust and zeal that are the foundation of Good Counsel High School.
A new type of religion class
There’s a
By Gianna Rico
senior
Entertainment Editor new
religion class
this year at
Good Counsel that’s quite different than the other senior classes.
This class is called Service Learning and is different types of service.
“Service Learning is not just a religion class. It teaches you valuable
life lessons and Christian character” says senior Christina Metallinos.
This class does teach you life lessons. In the beginning of the year students had to research and personally
contact an agency to set up a volunteer
appointment. As their end of the year
project the class had to create, organize, and go through with their own
service project. This required several
hours of planning outside of class to
make sure everything was perfect.
A few years back Mrs. Weidner had
the idea to start a senior religion class
focused solely on social justice. Fr.
Gross, Mr. Dalphonse, Mrs. Cabigas
and Mrs. Weidner had several discussions on adding this class, carefully
weighing the pros and cons of starting a brand new class. Their main
goal was for the students in this class
to become more familiar with the
Catholic Social Teaching on service.
Weidner says, “As the last Religion
course seniors take at Good Counsel,
we wanted the experience to transform
their behavior as well as inform their
thinking about Social Justice issues.”
Weidner reflects on the pressure of
writing an impressive course proposal
as to convince administration to allow
the new course. In this proposal Weidner outlined specific ways to “teach
the principles of Catholic social teaching through specific local, national,
and international social injustice issues”. Eventually, with excitement, administration approved the course and
Mrs. Weidner and Mrs. Cabigas set out
writing a curriculum and class outline.
As the student’s in the class final
project they had to design and execute their own service project. The
different projects covered a range of
topics all benefiting an array of organizations. Many students in the class
agree that overall this was a great experience and are excited that it will be offered next year for the lower classmen.
The Talon
Carl Leverenz at his concession stand.
Photo courtesy of Cami Garofalo
GC hosts
annual
College fair
Ask any high
school student about
college and
most of them will run away screaming. College is a whole new world
from high school. That is why it is
good that Good Counsel hosted a college fair. This helped students learn
what they are looking for in a college.
The college fair at Good Counsel
was held on Monday, March 29 at
6:00 pm. Many Good Counsel students showed up for the fair as well as
students from other high schools like
Holy Cross and St. John’s. There were
also many underclassmen that showed
up to get a head start with figuring out
what they are looking for in a college.
The college fair had a fair number
of colleges that showed up. Some big
names were Syracuse, Penn State, High
Point, Catholic University, LaSalle,
Mount Saint Mary’s, Towson, Purdue,
Villa Nova, Dayton, University of Florida, Ohio State and Miami University.
100 colleges were scheduled to show
up. Some students felt it could have
been improved if there were more mainstream colleges that attended. But it was
still great for information and allowed
for many students to better understand.
Crystal Acuna, a college bound junior, was asked how the college fair
helped her. “I feel that it helped me to
see a lot of colleges and that there a
many options for me out there. I also
thought that it was good that there were
a lot of small colleges out there so they
can get their name out to students.”
The vast majority of the colleges present gave a plethora of information to the
students. But if you still need more information, there are many places to find
it. A great place to go is collegeboard.
com, where you can look up and research colleges and even take a college
match-maker. Also college counselors
are very helpful in making a decision.
By Shaun Medina
Advertising Manager
Page 6
6 BLA BLA BLA Exero 01, 5555
May 14, 2010
News
News
Nights in Italia
New SGA
By Leigh Emig, Pasta,
hisThey didn’t actually go to
By Olivia Jackson, They have given
Staff Writer
tory, archithe “Narnia” in the world
Copy Editor
their
speechtecture, beaufamous books, but went to
es already and
ty. So many things come to
Narni which inspired Nareven started the routine of Monmind when one thinks of Italy.
nia in C. S. Lewis’s novels.
day morning meetings. Here is
During this year’s spring break,
Here, along with actually
a look at the newly elected Stua group of students and faculty
seeing a wardrobe, the group
dent Government Association
members from Good Councelebrated Easter Mass.
and what its leaders had to say.
sel, traveled to Italy for a vaLater that day, they also visQuestion
1:
What
changcation of fun and intrigue in
ited Assisi, the home of St.
es do you hope to introduce?
a country with much to see.
Francis of Assisi and saw
Question 2: What are some of the
Students seemed to enthe Bacilica of St. Francis.
challenges of your position and how
joy the trip. There was so
Florence and Venice were
are you qualified to meet them?
much for them to see and
big cities for shopping. VenQuestion 3: How do you and your
experience. Senior Amanda
ice was especially popular
partner make an effective team?
Nyikos said, “I loved Italy.
among students, with KahQuestion 4: What ultimate imIt’s the most colorful and culwaty praising it as her fapression do you want to leave?
tured country I’ve ever seen.”
vorite spot. The students
Student Body President TejuAlthough the eight hour
spent much of their time
made “Teju” Adewole and
flight was tedious it was worth
here shopping and found
Vice President Inder Takhar:
it when the students arrived
everything from tacky souQ1: (Teju) Next year, the first
in some of the most culturvenirs to one-of-a- kind piecthing we plan to do is [set up] feedally rich places on earth. They
es to remember their trip.
back boxes around the school, so
spent their week traveling
Wholesome Italian food
others can put their suggestions
through six of Italy’s most fawas also a staple on this trip.
for improvements to the school.
mous cities: Rome, Vatican
Everything from pasta and
Q2: (Inder) There are many chalCity (which in itself is considpizza to gelato and fresh
lenges. We have to get everything
ered its own country), Narni,
Photo courtesy of Amanda Nyikos. mozzarella were devoured.
Caroline Iciek and Aaron
passed by administration which
Assisi, Florence and Venice. Rome
The time spent in ItKramer in front of the Coliseum.
can be tough. Also we must make
was the first stop on their tour,
aly, however, was not only a vacation for
the student body more enthusiastic.
where they spent three days to shop and enjoy the sights. these students but a learning experience. “Seeing how
Q3: (Teju) Inder and I work togethSuch sights included the world famous Coliseum, the Ro- other cultures live allowed me to change perspectives
er like “Mario and Luigi.” We conman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain and Vatican City. on my own life,” said senior Richard Blake. Spain…Itstantly bounce ideas off of each oth“We went to Narnia!” exclaimed senior Margaret Kahwaty. aly...where will Good Counsel send its .students next?
er and know when it’s time to work,
and when it’s time to play. We will
bring this same vitality to the team.
Q4: (Inder) Make 2010-2011
the best high school year ever.
Does
remaining
premiums.
Medicaid,
a
program
that
procans
in
the
House
desperately
fought
Junior Class Representatives
By Sean Bagnall,
on
your
parent’s
vides
health
insurance
for
the
extremely
against
the
legislation,
at
one
point
Erin Kelley and Sarah Schoch
Staff Writer
health
insur- poor, was expanded. Another provision holding up signs reading “Kill the Bill”. Q1: We hope to improve school
ance until age 26 sound appealing? requires chain restuants and food vendRepresentatives who opposed the spirit and student involvement
How about everyone being able to ing machines to display the amount of bill disagreed with the high cost of the in events. We also want to incorpurchase affordable health care, re- calories in their food. Also, dependent health care overhaul: close to $1 trillion. porate our class’s suggestions.
gardless of economic standing? The children will be allowed to stay on their Taxes would be increased and new tax- Q2: It can be challenging to lisnew bill recently passed by Con- parents’ plans until they turn 26 years old. es would be introduced to pay for this. ten to everyone’s opinions but we
gress strives to do this and more, but
In order to pay for the bill, taxes would Many representatives disagreed with plan to use new strategies to do so.
many people wonder, at what cost? be placed on pharmaceutical companies, this since many citizens’ taxes are high Q3: We’ve both been friends for
On March 23, 2010 President indoor tanning services, and health in- already. Another issue that was brought a while and we can work together
Obama signed the Patient Protection surance companies. Revenue would up was the mandate that everyone must well in planning and organizing.
and Affordable Care Act into law. In also be brought in through fines gath- purchase health insurance. There were Q4: We hope to leave a good imthe bill were various provisions to re- ered from employers that don’t provide claims that forcing the people to purchase pression and that we will leave
form health care over a ten year period. health insurance and fines gathered from health insurance is unconstitutional. Good Counsel with a lasting impact.
One of the main goals of the people that choose not to be insured. In
Also, a group of pro-life legislators
Sophomore Class Representatives
bill was to cover 32 million unin- addition, there would be increases in threatened to vote no if there wasn’t Caroline Byrne and Bridgette Ryan
sured people by 2020, raising the medicare payroll taxes of individuals a clear provision to ban federal fund- Q1: (Caroline) I’d like to have a place
percentage of insured Americans to making $200,000 and families making ing of abortions. However, President on the website where you can request
95 percent. Another key provision $250,000. Over the next ten years the Obama issued an executive order clari- songs for music Friday. Bring more
was the creation of a state-run health revenue from these taxes is projected to fying this issue and the legislators de- spirit and 2nd pep [rally] maybe.
insurance exchange. This would be cover the costs of the bill, and this health cided to vote yes. Despite the opposi- Q2: (Bridgette) I think some
an organized way for the uninsured care overhaul is supposed to significantly tion to the bill the Democratic majority challenges are time manageand those whose income is under reduce the deficit due to all the reforms. pushed the bill through to its passage. ment and organization but these
four times the federal poverty line to
As the bill was worked out in the
With luck this bill will live up to its have always been my strength.
purchase health insurance that is af- House of Representatives and the Sen- expectations without harm to our cur- Q3:
(Caroline)
We
can
fordable and fitting for their needs. ate, there was much heated debate as to rent system nor increase to our deficit. bounce ideas off of each othThose with pre-existing conditions its provisions. A lucid division along par- Hopefully, Congres will try to work to- er and then [compromise].
would be placed in a high-risk pool, ty lines was vividly shown in the House’s gether next time, negotiating their differ- Q4: (Bridgette) I just want to make
and would be able to purchase health final vote of 219-212, with the Demo- ences for the prosperity of the country. an impression and have people reinsurance through the exchange. crat majority passing the bill. Along
member me and the changes I made.
The bill also provided subsidies with thirty-four Democrats, not a single
to help the poor pay for the insurance Republican voted for the bill. Republi-
Health care will never be the same
The Talon
Opinion
March 17, 2010
Page 7
Exero 01, 5555 BLA BLA BLA 7
Opinion
Behind the scenes: the training room
By Ana Nunez,
Staff Writer
Good Counsel is
known to have impressive athletic programs.
Look around and you know that at least one
person plays a sport. A lot of the sports are
recognized to do really well and are state, if
not nationally ranked. Many of the athletes
revolve their lives around a sport. This much
time spent on a sport is hard for the body.
That’s why when you walk down the athletic hallway, you see kids coming and going
from a little place called the training room.
The training room was introduced in
1992 when Mrs. Amy Prezelski arrived to
Good Counsel. She laid the foundation of
the program and wanted to show the benefits of having an athletic training room.
She was devoted to educate the athletes
about how their injuries shouldn’t be taken lightly and in order to get better; they
must take responsibility of their own bodies. Throughout the coming years, she got
help from others who shared her vision.
In 1997, Athletic Trainer, Pete Kotz,
joined the team and has been at Good
Counsel ever since. His purpose of coming to Good Counsel was to continue what
The Good Counsel Training Room.
Photo
Courtesy:
Ana
Nunez
Mrs. Prezelski started. He wanted to
have a program where the technology
and care would be equivalent of that
of a college-level training room.
From 1997-2002, Pete worked
on getting funds to get the
equipment he thought was necessary to have such as a stem machine and ultrasound machines.
The only indivduals who would
remember the old training
room are the seniors who spent
one semester at the old campus.
“It was a 75-foot long by 12-feet
wide room with 2 treatment
tables and two taping stations,”
said Athletic Trainer, Pete Kotz.
That is how small the training
room was at the old school. First
order of business for Pete was to
ask for cabinets to hold all the
supplies needed. Many of the
tables and cabinets were built
by Pete himself, who is a selfproclaimed carpenter. Along
with the limited space, there was also
a small television where the basketball team of 1998-1999 would watch
The Simpsons before their games.
That is why when the plans for
IB or not to be, that is the question
By Shaun Medina,
Staff Writer
Nearing the end
of sophomore year,
students are given
the choice to play
ball in the big leagues. Not literally but
in the sense that they get to take more
challenging courses. They have the option to take the AP path or the IB path.
These options are not as different as
one may think. An issue is that some
think that there should be a restriction
saying that AP students should not be
able to be involved in IB classes. But it
would be unfair to have this restriction.
All classes should be open to all students.
Taking either of these paths will result
in being very much challenged and will
showcase any student’s academic ability.
This is why AP students should be allowed
to take the same classes as IB students.
For example, there are the IB science courses. It would not be fair for only IB students
to be able to take these courses because
they are more interactive than the AP level
courses. In IB sciences classes, the labs are a
huge part of it and they allow the students to
take a more hands-on approach to learning.
Not only does IB offer good science
classes, it also offers, arguably, the most
challenging math class that the school
offers. The IB Higher Level Math class
is a two credit class that takes students
through a year’s worth of pre-calculus during its first semester. Then immediately
after, they take a semester of calculus. This
class is very beneficial to students, so why
should it be limited to only IB students?
Besides the fact that IB offers several
courses that should be open to all students, integrating the classes is a way of not
completely isolating the IB students.
Students in the IB program are stuck
with mostly their same peers in every class. The fact that other students
can take IB classes allows for a more
diverse class. That way, all of the IB
students aren’t completely separated
from the rest of the student body.
Also, all non-IB students do not get
college credit for taking IB classes and
cannot take the exams. Non-IB students take these classes willingly. It is
because there is much that is offered
to IB students that can help them to
get ahead of their peers. It would be
unfair to not share the opportunity
with the rest of the student body.
That is why non-IB students should
be able to take IB classes. There is so
much offered to them through the
IB style of teaching and it is a good
way to keep the IB students connected to the rest of the student body.
the new training room were beginning, many knew that in order to accommodate the athletes; it would
have to be bigger, much bigger
Later on, Dr. David Higgins came to the
team. He was a private doctor who also
offered his time to help the school. Along
with Mr. Raimo, who supported the
program, promoted health and safety by
providing the best sports medical care.
The next ones to come to the program were Skylar Saar who came to
Good Counsel in 2004 and Kelly Piazza in January of 2008. Saar has a
reputation for getting athletes back
into shape by providing workouts that
rehabilitate the athletes’ injuries. Piazza comes as an athletic trainer who
along with Pete and the others takes
a team approach in sports medicine.
Senior Katie Koenig says, “The athletic trainers are really helpful and
they are willing to help you take
care of yourself. They offer accessible treatments there that I think are
very unique to have at our school.”
Summer Plans
Enjoying a Hobby
Relaxing with friends
The Talon
Summer
Plans
Summer Jobs
Traveling
0
50
100 150
8 BLA BLA BLA Exero 01, 5555
Our Memories...
Troy Gloster – “My most memorable moment
was wining the WCAC championship. It was
a great feeling to win after being there after 6
years in a row.”
Kenny Robinson – “Florida trip with my track
team junior year.”
Falc
F
Garrett Schmidt – “Going to California for the
football team”
2
Jeff Gan – “El Salvador service trip.”
Alecia Dennis – “The football WCAC championship and winning against St. Johns’ in soccer
this year in the WCAC championship.”
Suzanne Perucci – “Being at the old GC in
Wheaton”
Jemel Sessoms – “Winning in track and breaking 2 school records”
Sarah Fitzgerald – “The pep rally freshman
year”
Kevin Nguyen – “Junior Retreat. April Army!”
John Picciano – “Football WCAC championship
win”
Julia Michaloski – “Pep rallies”
Liam Fox – “Snow days”
Hilary Freeman – “Craziness at L.I.F.E meetings”
Molly Shawhan – “Winning the lacrosse WCAC
championship for 7 years in a row”
Richard Blake – “Band concerts”
Carly Larkin – “I will miss the friends that I
made here at Good Counsel.”
Mary Beck – “My favorite memories are the
band trips that we go on every year.”
Ana Nuñez – “I will miss going to the sporting
events and just being a part of something like
Good Counsel.
Senior Advice
Where Are W
American U.
Augusta State U. Boston College
Boston U.
Brown U. Bryant U.
Capital U.
Carnegie Mellon U. Catholic U.
Clemson U.
Coastal Carolina U.
College of Charleston
Columbia U.
Cornell U.
Delaware Valley College
DePaul U.
Drexel U.
Duquesne U. U. of Dayton East Carolina U.
Elon U.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U. –FL
Franciscan U. of Steubenville
Frostburg State U.
George Mason U.
Georgetown U.
Georgia Tech
Gulf Coast Community College
High Point U.
Hofstra U.
Indiana U. of Pennsylvania
Jacksonville U.
James Madison U.
Johns Hopkins U.
Keystone College La Salle U.
Limestone Co
Loyola U. Mar
Jacksonville U
James Madiso
Loyola U. New
Marist College
Marymount U
McDaniel Col
Montgomery C
Mount Saint M
New York U.
North Carolin
Northeastern
Penn State U.
Princeton U.
Providence Co
Radford U.
Robert Morris
Saint Francis U
Salisbury U. Savannah Coll
Shepherd U. Shippensburg
St. John’s U. –
St. Joseph’s U.
St. Mary’s coll
Stanford U.
Stevenson U. SUNY Maritim
Towson U. Tri-County Te
U. of Californi
U. of Cincinna
U. of Colorado
So they’re leaving, graduating, and moving on to bigger and better things, but
the sen10rs didn’t want to leave without passing on some quality advice…
“Even if you are a freshman, your grades matter.” - Katie Dubitsky
“Senioritis stinks! It’s bad. Don’t slack off—it is hard to come back from not
doing any work and final grades count!” –Aislinn Cunningham
“Take three APs. Having two free periods make[s] it well worth it. Don’t
stress too much about college or SATs.” –Ben Mitchell
“Don’t be afraid to get involved in the school. Be open-minded and make the
most of all the opportunities Good Counsel has to offer.” –Courtney Tolson
Exero 01, 5555 BLA BLA BLA 9
cons
Fly
Away
2010
We Going?
U. of Dayton
ollege
U. of Delaware
ryland
U. of Mary Washington
U.
U. of Maryland, Baltimore County
on U.
U. of Maryland, College Park
w Orleans
U. of Miami
e
U. of New Hampshire
U.
U. of Notre Dame
llege
U. of Pennsylvania
College, Rockville
U. of Pittsburgh
Mary’s U.
U. of Richmond
U. of Rochester
na State U.
U. of Scranton
U.
U. of South Carolina
U. of Tennessee, Knoxville
U. of Virginia
ollege
U. of Wisconsin, Madison
UNC – Greensboro
s U. United States Air Force Academy
U.
Villanova U.
Virginia Military Institute
lege of Arts and Design
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest U.
U. of Pennsylvania
Washington College
Queens
West Liberty State College
West Virginia U.
lege of Maryland
Xavier U.
York College of Pennsylvania
me College
echnical College
ia at Berkeley
ati
o at Boulder
“Take advantage of the IB program and don’t feel threatened by the upperclassmen.” – Kaitlin Mills
“Try to attend as many Good Counsel events as possible, including games,
plays and afterschool activities.” – Stephanie Lighter
A Letter From Mr. Graham
Dear Students,
As a high school student, I had no idea of what career I wanted to pursue. In college, I decided to become a teacher and it turned out to be the right profession for
me. I have loved being an educator. I still love what I do and that made my decision
to retire so difficult. In addition to that, of all the places in which I’ve served, Good
Counsel is my favorite.
It has been a lot of fun and very rewarding to see Good Counsel grow in enrollment
and status during these past eight years. It was taxing but exciting planning for, and
moving into, a new building. It’s been challenging, but gratifying as we improved
our academic offerings and increased our program opportunities for our students.
All these things happened because Our Lady of Good Counsel has a strong president who has set high expectations, a Board of Directors which has been extremely
supportive and, most importantly, a group of dedicated and talented teachers and
staff.
Of course, the most important part of any school is the students. I have found that
Good Counsel students understand and embrace the sense of community that is
so important to a Xaverian Brothers sponsored school. From my first day at GC, I
noticed how everyone seemed to be accepted and welcomed. Students are generally positive, friendly, engaging and polite. Visitors are always commenting on how
well they are treated by our students. It has been my perception that Good Counsel
students enjoy school and really want to be here. Each day I look forward to seeing
you, interacting with as many of you as possible, and in general, just enjoying the
smiling faces. I will miss that.
While I look forward to my retirement and having the time to engage in and enjoy a
number of planned and unplanned leisure activities, I will certainly miss the energy
and excitement that I have experienced at Our Lady of Good Counsel. I plan to
be a frequent visitor at GC events and look forward to seeing current students and
alumni alike during these occasions.
I know that I have been blessed by having the opportunity to serve as the principal
of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. I could not have found a better place
and experience to conclude my career. Of all the highlights, getting to know so
many Good Counsel students and alumni has been the best. Thank you for being a
part of my life and allowing me to be a part of yours. I will miss all of you.
Sincerely,
John P. Graham, Principal
End-of-Year Calendar
Last Day of School For Seniors.......May 14
Senior Exams...............................May 17-20
Prom/Post Prom.........................May 21-22
Senior Breakfast & Awards..............May 24
Graduation Rehearsal......................May 25
Graduation.........................................May 27
Beach Week!.....................Starting May 29!
“Don’t be afraid to make new friends.” – Gianna Rico
“Watch out for Mr. Arnold!” & “Challenge yourself and take advanced classes—colleges like that.” - Nick Wager
10 BLA BLA BLA Page
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May 14, 2010
Exero 01, 5555
OPINION
OPINION
The Kane Show
It calls
out cheaters on the
radio, gives
updates on celebrity gossip every
30 minutes and discusses pop culture issues. These are just three elements that blend together to create
the experience that is the Kane Show.
The Kane Show is a radio
show on Hot 99.5 FM every weekday
By: Dani Gillespie
News Editor
Photo Courtsey of Google Images
morning from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. The
host, known to listeners as Kane, is
supported by cast members Sarah,
Sammy, and Eric. Sarah is the token girl on the show, who is spunky
enough to voice her opinion. Sammy
is always up to some new antics, like
when he tried to park a car blindfolded and placed a snake in Sarah’s bed.
The best part of the Kane Show
is the group dynamic. Each cast
member adds his or her own personality to create a show that
appeals to a broad audience.
Besides having his conract extended for three more years,
Kane has taken on a nationwide radio broadcast on Sunday nights. His
show is broadcast not only in the
Washington Metropolitcan area , but
in Florida and Tennessee as well.
The most infamous part of the
show is the War of the Roses. People
who suspect their significant other of
cheating on them call or email Kane
describing their situation. Kane then
calls the potential cheater pretending to be an employee of a flower
company who is offering a dozen
free roses. He asks the person to
whom they would like to send the
roses, and oftentimes the people do
not choose their significant others.
The cheaters reveal themselves.
Another unique part of
the show is the audience interaction. Kane welcomes listener input for topics of discussion and encourages them to call
in to share their experiences.
A huge contingency of
Good Counsel listens to the Kane
Show regularly. When asked what
part of the show she likes best,
junior Allegra Johnston said “I
really like the issues that Kane
discusses. This morning he was
talking about people who accidentally got locked inside of stores at
night. It was amazing how many
people this had happened to!”
As summer vacation arrives, and students are no longer
required to wake up at the crack of
dawn for school, how many students
will be awake early enough to listen to the Kane Show? Here’s hoping that this journalist will not be.
But come the fall, it will be nice to
have something to look forward to.
Top 10 Things
To Do During
Summer
Photo Courtsey of Google Images
By Nora Considine
Staff Writer
1.
Show the world your toes!
Break out the flip-flops you’ve
stashed away all winter.
2..
Take a road trip with some
friends.
3.
Falcon 5K raises money for endowment fund
Jump whole-heartedly into
the ocean (who cares if the water is
cold!)
4. Lay low at home-drink lemonade and read a book.
By Sean Bagnall
Layout Editor
Good Counsel held its third
annual Falcon 5K run/walk and
kids’ fun run on Saturday, April
24. This event raised money for
the school’s financial aid Endowment Fund. One-third of the
school’s student body relies on
this aid to attend Good Counsel.
“The Alumni and Development
offices founded the tournament,
one, to raise funds for the enFalcon 5K runners warm up.
dowment for financial aid and,
two, to provide a new commuCounsel’s Kline Stadium, where
nity event for alumni, parents,
it ended. There were 230 students,
students, faculty/staff, and the
faculty, staff, family, and alumni
Olney community at-large. It ofthat attended the event. Also, the
fers a different option than a lot
weather was cool and clear: perof our other events and is a great
fect for a nice run.
family or group outing,” said
Of the men who tackled the FalMs. Costello, Alumni director at
con 5K, Michael Fitzgerald came
Good Counsel.
in first place, with a time of 17:53,
Those who participated in the
Jack Riely came in second with a
run received 2 service hours if
time of 18:25, and Allen Merinthey registered individually. If
golo placed third with a time
they registered as a team, they
of 18:49. For the women, Katie
received 3 service hours. The 5
Koenig finished first, with a time
kilometer course started at Good
of 21:40, Carravit Pape-Calabrese
Counsel, and snaked down along
came in second with a time of
Route 108. Runners then entered
22:07 and Erin Britt finished third
into the Hallowell Development
with a time of 22:08.
and ran along those footpaths,
“I ran last year and came in third.
and back up 108 into Good
5.
So you wanna be tan? Catch
some rays at the local pool.
6.
Remember the money you’ve
been working for all winter? Spend
it!
7. Run, walk, bike, talk-do whatever you can to be outside!
Photo Courtesy of GC Advancement Office
During the race this year I was
trying to pull away from all the
other guys who are on the track
team with me. The 5K was a
hard race and hurt a lot, but it
felt good when I finished,” said
Michael Fitzgerald. “I decided
to run in the race because, one,
everything goes to a good cause.
Two, many of my friends were
running and it was fun. Three, it
was a good workout doing a 5K,
and I love to run.”
Apparently, school spirit and
pride are still high at Our Lady
of Good Counsel. As long as
there is spirit, people thrive and
bond as a community.
The Talon
8.
9.
Hang out and bond with your
family.
Bring out the chef in you and
make homemade popsicles!
10. Most importantly, have fun
and be SAFE!
Congrats, Falcons!
We made it to
Summer
2 0 1 0 !
Entertainment
May 14, 2010
Entertainment
Nickleback
Makes
A
On April 14, the crowd for being so attentive. Shine2010 the Veri- down finished with the famous popzon Center was rock chart-topper “Second Chance.”
jam packed, the
The set change was brief as Breaking
seats were filled and a huge crowd of Benjamin got ready to take the stage.
people stood in front of the stage. The They started out their set list with the
lights began to dim,
s o n g
the room filled with
“I Will
evil jack-in-the-box
B o w ”
music and the stage
with such
filled with fire as
strong
Nickleback made
energy it
its first appearance.
blew the
The show started
crowd
out with the band
away. A
Sick Puppies, an
few minAustralian pop punk
utes into
band who until now
its set the
hasn’t really gained
band exmuch fame. Their
perienced
energy was great as
a
brief
they a played a few
technical
songs, their most
difficulty
popular song called
when the
“Going
Down.”
speakers
The next band up
blew out,
Frontman
of
Breaking
Benjamin,
was
Shinedown. Benjamin Burnly. Photo courtseyof Google Images w h i c h
The band came out
happened
dressed from head to toe in black cloth- twice more throughout the rest of its set.
ing. They worked hard to get the crowd That did not phase them though. Ben
pumped up and excited for their set. They Burnley, the lead singer, continuously
began strong with their hit “If You Only made jokes about “knowing you’re
Knew”.”The lead singer Brent Smith took at a real rock show when the speakers
frequent breaks to thank the fans and blow out.” Although the set was abBy Lexi Runnings
Relations Manager
Burried
With
L i f e jobs to raise money for their trip, the
By Stephanie Lighter moves fast boys started completing their list in
Editor in Cheif
and it is easy British Columbia. They were able to
to lose focus accomplish 24 items on their list while
on
what also helping 28 strangers with theirs.
is most important in life. Given the MTV first offered them a show in
ultimate deadline, people are forced to November 2006, but to stay true to the
submit to
grassroots
the daymission,
to-day
the boys
trivialities
decided to
t h a t
keep going
sometimes
alone.
“bury”
However,
their lives.
they went
R ecently,
ahead with
MTV aired
the offer
a
show
in 2010 as
cal led
season one
“ T h e
of
“The
Buried
Buried
L i f e ”.
L i f e ”
Cameras
premiered
follow
on MTV
Photo
courtsey
of
Google
Images
four young
on January
men,
Dave
18,
2010
Lingwood,
around the
Ben Nemtin, Jonnie Penn and Duncan world, crossing off the item 53 on
Penn, as they go on a journey to their list by having their own TV show.
complete 100 things on a list to do Many questioned why the
before they die. As they complete show was called “The Buried Life”. The
each item on their list, they help a saying comes from a poem, written by
stranger achieve one of their dreams. Matthew Arnold in 1852. The idea is that
The four boys came together in 2006 and day-to-day things can sometimes bury
realized that they all felt like something people and make them forget about
was missing in their lives. They decide what they are passionate about in life.
to do something about this by creating For every item the boys complete on
a list of their shared life goals. After their list, they help a stranger achieve
fundraising and working at various one of their dreams. They help and
Page 11
Exero 01, 5555 BLA BLA BLA 11
Comeback
solutely amazing, there was a downside: the instruments were so loud
that the actual singing was muffled.
It took awhile for Nickleback to
take the stage. As the crowd waited,
they watched the stage transform.
Equipment was moved and another
half of the stage was revealed. Risers
with steps were set up on each side
of the stage. The evil jack-in-the-box
music began to play and Nickleback
came out with a burst of flames. The
band opened with “Burn It To The
Ground” to go with the fire filled stage.
Their entire set was phenomenal
with several big screen TV’s hanging in the center of the stage. As
the show played on different videos
were played on the screens. During
the song “Photograph” pictures of
the band throughout the years were
shown. This added a personal touch,
connecting the band and crowd. Towards the middle of its set the band
switched gears completely, moved
down the stage towards the crowd and
began to play softer acoustic songs.
Before its set completely ended, the
crowd got a special treat. While the
rest of the band went backstage for a
break, the focus turned to drummer
Daniel Adair. His drum set raised into
the air a few feet and rotated in a circle
while he beat out an intense solo. The
Curiosity
encourage others to go after their own
lists. The purpose of the show isn’t just
to go after goals while having a great
time and sharing memories. It also
forces people to evaluate their own
lives and question whether they are
going after their goals as well or not.
What do you want to do before
you die? It is universally the most
important question to ask. As filming
for the second season of “The Buried
Life” begins, people across the world
are now more excited to achieve the
impossible. The show opens people’s
eyes and is truly an inspiration.
Photo
courtsey
The Talon
of
Google
Images
band came back out to finish their set
with a strong ending. They finished
with a show-stopping rendition of
“Rockstar”. All in all the show was well
done, all bands played their best and
really showed what they’re made of.
So
You
Wanna
Train Your Dragon?
“How to Train
Your Dragon”: the
title just sounds
awesome. Let’s be
honest, it seems like a children’s
movie and although it is, it’s enjoyable
for all ages. DreamWorks Pixar certainly did not fall short with this one.
The movie focuses on a character
named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), a young Viking boy who
wants to grow up to be just like his
tough dragon hunting dad, Stoick
(voiced by Gerard Butler). Hiccup decides to show the older,
rougher dragon hunters that he too
can be just like them by hunting
down a powerful, dangerous dragon called a Nightfury.
Disappointed that his elders
don’t believe him he goes to find
the wounded dragon. To Hiccup’s surprise he learns that dragons aren’t aggressive or mean animals like the other Vikings had
taught him, but that they’re actually quite gentle and friendly.
Hiccup bonds with his new pet
and names him Toothless because his teeth can disappear into
his gums. The rest of the movie
is just as charming as the beginning. It chronicles Hiccup teaching Toothless how to fly again.
With the new-found friendship between Hiccup and Toothless, Hiccup learns all about dragons and moves to the top of his
dragon hunting class. With this
new knowledge, Hiccup also decides to never hurt another dragon.
As Hiccup and Toothless bond
and grow in their relationship,
Hiccup and his father’s, relationship starts to break a little. Stoick
takes a strong stand against Hiccup keeping Toothless as his pet.
“How to Train Your Dragon” is
chock full of visually, stunning images and clever, witty lines. The
star filled cast just adds to this
films charisma. This movie has
something for everyone and of all
ages. “How to Train Your Dragon” is sure to please everyone!
By Giaana Rico
Entertainment
Editor
Page 12
May 14, 2010
12 BLA BLA BLA Exero 01, 5555
entertainment
entertainment
A book you can sink your teeth into!
By Mary Beck
Ever since the
Art Work Editor rise of “Twilight”’s
fame, there’s been
a battle between “Twilight” and “Harry Potter”. But why choose when you
don’t have to? Author Richelle Mead
has offered a series that has the best
of both worlds: “Vampire Academy”.
In “Vampire Academy”, there are
schools devoted specifically to vampires so that they can receive not only
a normal education, but also an education in magic (for Moroi students).
These schools also train students in
physical combat (for dhampirs) so
that the dhampirs can act as guardians to the Moroi and take down the
undead Strigoi vampires who are a
threat to vampires and humans alike.
The series focuses on the lives of
Rose Hathaway, a dhampir promising
to be an amazing guardian, and her best
friend Lissa Dragomir, a royal Moroi.
Their days at St. Vladimir’s Academy
are usually spent trying to uncover the
secrets behind Lissa’s mysterious magic and trying to hide Rose’s romance
with her instructor Dimitri from
the world. However, danger always
seems to be following the girls, and
in the series’ latest installment, the
stakes are higher than ever before.
“Blood Promise,” the fourth novel in the series, finds Rose searching Russia for Dimitri to fulfill a
promise she made to him. The
emotional pain Rose is experiences
coupled with her intense run-ins
with both mysterious humans and
vampires makes for an exciting
ride for both her and the reader.
Richelle Mead is the master of
suspense; every moment from the
first page to the last keeps readers turning the pages, anxious to
find out what happens next. And,
for the first time since the first
book, the ending contains a glimmer of hope for Rose’s future.
Vampire Academy is the perfect series for anyone looking for
a vampire fix, a magical story fix,
a combination of both, or just
something really good to read.
Mead’s story is unique and gripping, so it should definitely find a
way onto your summer reading list.
Book to fill your break!
By:Olivia Jackson Summer is approaching quickCopy Editor
ly, and Good
Counsel students are on the cusp of
a long vacation. Why not use some
of this free time to do personal reading and relax with a book outside
the curriculum? Mrs. Marybeth Milcetich, the school’s Media Center
Specialist, shared a few recommendations for enjoyable summer reads.
1
“Carbon
Diaries
2015”
and sequel “Carbon Diaries 2017,” by Saci Lloyd
—These stories jolt the reader into
quite an unfamiliar setting—London
five years from now. The first diary
captures teenager Laura Brown’s insights into a society that just began
a program of carbon-rationing. This
anti-global warming campaign takes a
toll on Laura as she tackles the combined challenge of growing up and
dealing with the ecological frenzy. The
sequel introduces another unique scenario; this time, Laura’s band is planning a tour in Europe just as a neoNazi group and an extremist “save the
planet” organization begin to stir commotion. Milcetich cautions that “you
have to get used to the language supposedly used in the future” because
it is “more like text message talking.”
2
“Caught,” by Harlan Coben
—This suspenseful story follows
the search for a missing collegebound girl. Tension abounds as a
reporter from the girl’s hometown
launches a sting operation to expose
the criminal responsible for her disappearance. Milcetich says that this
is “an adult book for the ‘mature’
reader,” but praises the story for its
action and excitement. “I have never read an author before who is so
unpredictable with his plot twists.
Just when you think you know
what is going on, he surprises you.”
3
“Going Bovine,” by Libba Bray
—Milcetich says this book “is
supposed to be very funny about
a 16-year-old teen boy suffering
from ‘mad cow’ disease.” Cameron, the afflicted boy, embarks
on a journey similar to the one
he had been reading about Don
Quixote. As he seeks a missing
Doctor X to rescue the world and
cure his disease, Cameron encounters a Dark Wizard, fire giants and
many other fantastical elements.
A trip “Into the Woods”
Cinderella wishes
to attend the
King’s festival, Jack wishes that
his cow, Milky-White, would
give him some milk, Rapunzel
wants to escape from the tower, the Baker and his wife wish
to have a child and the Witch
wishes for both youth and power.
These characters from the timeless tales of the Grimm Brothers
find themselves in an interesting
plotline in Stephen Sondheim’s
musical, “Into the Woods.”
Good Counsel’s theatre department did six productions of “Into
the Woods” between Saturday
March 6 and Sunday March 14.
The Good Counsel production
of “Into the Woods” was performed at the historic Olney Theatre. It was directed by Mr. Hilary
Rinke and the musical band was
directed by Dr. Richard Slocum.
There were a great number of talented cast members with stand
out performances from Kate
Williams, Sara Petrocci, Craig
Vincent, Tendo Nsubuga, Katie Murray, and Will Redmond.
The musical included familiar characters from classic fairy tales and fused them
with a very original, though
sometimes complicated, plot.
Through various twists and
turns the characters interact with
each other and most of them
find their “happily ever after.”
By:Becca Shipler
Student Life editor
One highlight of the production was the closing number,
“Ever After,” in which all of
the cast participated. The music in the production was very
well-done and entertaining. The
dancing was fine and the costumes were excellent, especially
Cinderella’s ballroom gown.
The Talon
What really made the production
stand out was the energy of the cast
and the beautiful set design. The students created backgrounds, a tree, and
a very realistic looking tower, which
housed some of the most dramatic
parts of the musical. The energy of the
cast was apparent throughout the entire play, which spread to the audience,
who laughed throughout the musical.
Junior Sarah Ruppert, who was on the
technical crew, exclaimed “The cast
performed very well. They deserved
the success they received. It was very
entertaining and while I was backstage
the music kept me fully entertained.”
The musical was very successful and there were numerous performances with a full house. The theatre
department was very dedicated to the
production and a few of the graduating seniors plan to continue their
love of theatre by pursuing it as a
major in college. The audiences enjoyed the performances, making it
one of the most successful productions Good Counsel has done recently.
ATHLETICS
May 14, 2010
Page 13
Exero 01, 5555 BLA BLA BLA 13
ATHLETICS
GC’s On The Right Track
By Ana Nunez
Staff Writer
It’s been a
long and grueling season for the
Good Counsel track team, but everyone’s hard work is finally paying off.
Both the girls’ and boys’ teams
ended the indoor season on a good
note with high expectations for the
spring. Their times in the relays were
in the top of the leaderboards for
both Montgomery County and the
WCAC. But these times were expected to drop during the spring season.
At the beginning of the spring
season, it was pure work and seeing what
the coaches would be working with. A
few athletes went up to Boston, Mass. to
participate in the Nike Indoor Nationals.
The following week was the 1st
Annual Falcon Invitational which was
held at the Kline Stadium. This was a successful meet
where most of the Good Counsel
athletes worked the majority of the
meet rather than running in it. The
next weekend, the Falcons ran at Cougar Relays where the boys won overall and the girls placed third overall.
That following Wednesday,
the track team headed down to compete in the Florida Relays where the
warm weather was nice weather and it
would definitely help some of the times.
Both the relays and individual times were amazing. Senior Kyle
Graves broke his personal and school
record by running a 4:13.34 in the
1600m run. Junior Thomas Tallerico,
who had broken the school record before, broke it again with a 1:55.13 in the
800m run. The boys’ 4x200m relay ran
a 1:28.58 taking the top time in area’s
leaderboard. Junior Teju Adewole gave
a time of 14.37 in the 100m hurdles.
One of the track team’s most
long awaited meets each year is the Penn
Relays. This is one of the biggest meets
of the year due to the large amount of
teams and athletic competition as well
as the talented athletes who come
the Penn Relays’ Championship of
to run. From high school to colleAmerica. Relay team included Tallerigiate, and even the world teams run
co running the 1200m, Harris in the
during this three day meet. One of
400m, junior Fola Shokunbi in the
the most anticipated athletes that
800m and Graves in the 1600m. This
would showed up this year was
was the first Championship of AmerUsain Bolt, who would anchored
ica won in Good Counsel’s history.
for the Jamaican team in the USA
Saturday would be a day of
vs. the World 4x100m on Saturday.
pure excitement and accomplishment
Maybe it was the atmofor the Good Counsel Falcons. The
sphere, or just the will to win, but
boys’ 4x400m would run a 3:16.87
the Good Counsel boys and girls
coming second in the heat and ahead
performed
of Deamazingly.
matha.
On ThursSutton,
day,
the
Shokunfirst day,
bi, Tallthe girls
erico and
ran their
Harris
4x100m
ran their
w h i c h
race flawclocked at
lessly
a 49.35.
with all
Junior Jade
r unner s
Whitar unning
ker led the
less than
baton to
a 50 secfellow juPhoto Courtesy of Ana Nunez ond split.
nior Taylor The 4x100m relay, Jade Whitaker, Taylor Prend- Also sePrendergast ergast, Adrienne Crutchfield and Teju Adewole. nior Thor
then passed
Serefenas
off to sethrew the
nior Adrienne Crutchfield with
discus and got 4th overall with 173-1
Adewole anchoring the win in their
The track team’s success in the Penn
heat. Later on the day was the 4x400
Relays has made it clear it can accomwhere junior Maria Docal led off
plish whatever it puts its mind to. They
then passed it on to Whitaker. The
can run with the big dogs and now is
last two legs featured freshman Ashthe time to reward their hard work.
ley Enweze and anchored by junior
There is only one more meet,
Colleen Phillips clocking at 4:10.88.
Draper Relays, before the WCAC
On Friday, the 4x100 would
Championship which will be held on
start the day with a 43.75 which inMay 14-15 at Kline Stadium. These
cluded senior Jemel Sessoms leadchampionships will be interesting to
ing off to other senior Cortlandt
see because there is no definite anHarris then finishing it off with juswer on who will win. The top compeniors Mike Jefferson and Sean Suttition will be Dematha and Gonzaga
ton. Nearing the end of the day, the
on the boys’ side and Seton and McGood Counsel boy’s Distance MedNamara on the girls’ side. Here’s wishley Relay (DMR) ran an impressive
ing good luck to our fellow Falcons!
Golf Roundup
By Nick Wager
Distribution Editor
When
some
people think about
golf, they sometimes misunderstand the effort that is
put into it. There are a lot of technicalities behind this difficult and challenging sport. With only two seniors, Bobby
Kessler and Adam Mitchell, the team
appears to be young and without experience, but that is not the case. They
have been leaders to the younger ones
and have shown them the way with their
experience and knowledge. With wins
over Bullis and St. John’s, the Good
Counsel team made themselves noticed.
Sometimes the Golf team does
not get enough attention but now is
the time to notice. With players like Jason Horsley, Kevin Phelan and Andrew
Shirdon on the Varsity team, the Good
Counsel Golf team looks promising for future seasons. The Golf team will rise again
to make a name for themselves as a team
that continues to improve on the green.
Rugby: Building Moments
Photos Courtesy of Gazette.net
The Good Counsel Distance Medley Relay team, Cortlandt Harris, Thomas Tallerico, Fola Shokunbi, and Kyle Graves, hold up their Championship of America plaque.
By Leigh Emig Good Counsel has its fair share of high profile
Staff Writer
sports throughout the year: football, basketball and soccer to name a few. A diverse number of sports have
been in these halls for years, but one has been missing. For two years
now, rugby has made its mark as part of GC’s athletics department.
Last year Mr. John Sullivan introduced a new team to Good Counsel: the rugby team. For those who do not know much about rugby, it is
similar to football in that tackling is involved. This year, with Mr. Sean
Hanel joining the coaching squad, the team is ready to make an impact.
The season is still early. At the time of printing, three games have
occurred with one win and two losses. Practice takes place on Monday’s
and Thursday’s with games happening throughout the week. Like the football team, Dematha is seen as their biggest competitor. So far this season the leading players are seniors Joe Custead, Adam Buran, RJ Arthur,
Kyle Brincefield, and Jason Bobrow, along with junior Felix de Rosa.
Hanel is optimistic about the team’s potential. He says, “It’s a new
team with only 20 to 30 guys so it’s hard to be seen as an established team.
We get better and better each game and I’m looking forward to the future.”
The Talon
Page 14
May 14, 2010
14 BLA BLA BLA Exero 01, 5555
By Scott Chen
Sports Editor
ATHLETICS
ATHLETICS
Senior night blowout
It was Senior
Night on Thursday, April 22 for
the Good Counsel
girls’ varsity lacrosse team and the Lady
Falcons really put on a show as they
dominated their Washington Catholic Athletic Conference rivals, the St.
John’s Cadets, in a 21-0 blowout victory.
This was a very special game as
Good Counsel high school recognized
the senior players on the Lady Falcon’s
varsity lacrosse team on Senior Night.
The seniors were introduced one by one,
with their parents, onto the field before
the game started. Each of the fourteen
seniors on the team was recognized for
their merits on and off the field. To
make this game memorable, in honor of
Senior Night, Lady Falcon head coach,
Michael Haight, played only the Lady
Falcon seniors for the whole game.
“The game was different because it
was senior night because all of the
seniors got to play which made
it really special,” said Lady Falcon goalkeeper, Chelsey Hipp,
commenting on the game. “Also
everyone got to play different positions that they normally don’t
play so everyone got an opportunity to score which was really cool.”
Led by senior captains, Shannon Lechner and Christina Sheridan, the Lady Falcon’s roared out
of the gate strong. The Lady Falcon’s took the lead with a goal in
the first thirty-five seconds of the
game from senior midfielder/attacker, Kelsey Conway, and never
looked back. They were up by ten
goals before the game was half
mark of the first half of the game.
The Lady Falcon’s ended the first
half with a commanding 16-0 lead
over St. John’s. Kelsey Conway,
Top: Senior Brea Dabbs goes for the goal
Brea Dabbs, Sara Fitzgerald, Rachel
Forman, Shannon Lechner and Molly
Shawhan each had two goals and Jamie
D’ Arco had one goal in the first half.
Both goalkeepers, Christina Sheridan
and Chelsey Hipp, played well in net.
In the second half, the Lady Falcon’s continued to put the pressure
on the struggling Cadets. Katelyn
Sheridan and Pauline Peacock scored
in the first four minutes of the second half. Shannon Lechner and Brea
Dabbs added the next three goals
to give the Lady Falcon’s a 21 goal
lead. The game ended with a score
of 21-0 in favor of the Lady Falcon’s.
The Lady Falcons were in total
control of the game from start to finish. They were all over St. John’s as
they put the pressure on the Cadets
not only offensively, but defensively as
well. Good Counsel’s defense gave St.
John’s a real hard time as they limited
the Cadet’s ball possession time, causing
the Cadets to have very few shots on goal.
The Lady Falcon’s have moved
a 13 win and 2 loss record and are currently in first place in WCAC’s. Their
remarkable performance this year has
given the team a great opportunity to
claim yet another WCAC championship
title. The Lady Falcons have one more
home game left versus the McDonough
Eagles on May 1 before the WCAC
playoffs begin on May 3. Goalkeeper,
Hipp, remarked that the team needs to
work on beating McDonough because
they are one of the Lady Falcon’s rivals.
A great night for the Lady Falcon seniors a s they played exceptionally
throughout the whole game. Two weeks
later on May 7, the Lady Falcons would
become WCAC champions with a 21-8
victory over the Holy Cross Tartans at
the University of Maryland, College Park.
Good Counsel led the entire game starting with a goal by junior, Maggie Mirkin,
within the first two minutes into the game.
They had a commanding lead of
15-5 in the first half and outscored the
Tartans, 6-3 in the second half. Shannon Lechner and Brigid Smith each had
four goals, Breanne Dabbs and Kelly
Lechner each had three goals, Morgan
Stephens had two goals, and Kelsey Conway, Sarah Fitzgerald, Caroline Peters
and Molly Shawhan each had one goal.
Both goalkeepers, Christina Sheridan
and Chelsey Hipp played well in net.
The Lady Falcons defeated the
Tartans earlier in the season with a 17-6
victory. This would be the seventh straight
WCAC title for the Good Counsel varsity
girls’ lacrosse team. Just another thing
that makes the Good Counsel community proud and enthusiastic for next season.
Photos Courtesy of Mr. Cabigas
Falcons fly past the cadets
By Tara Johnson On
Saturday
Staff Writer
April 24, 2010
the Good Counsel Falcons took on the St. John’s
College High School Cadets. The
overcast sky indicated a fret of rain,
but the falcons fought on. Patrick
Townsend (#9), a senior at Good
Counsel scored the first goal leading
the falcons to victory. The first quarter
ended with the score 3-1 with Good
Counsel in the lead. Mr. Matthew
Dirkin, Head coach as well as an English teacher at Good Counsel says,
“St. John’s always produces
strong athletes I think if we try
to match our athletics with theirs
then we will have a close match.”
Immediately after the start of
the second quarter the cadets fired
back with another goal making
the score 2-3 with Good Counsel
in the lead. St. Johns continued
to make goals ending the second
quarter with 5-4 with St. John’s
in the lead. Mike Bitonti (#8),
a senior at Good Counsel says,
“This season means the most
to me because I missed my entire
junior season. Coming into the
season I knew that it was really
important to prove myself, to get
a captain spot and to hopefully
leave Good Counsel with a championship. As for the playoffs we are
coming off of a four game winning
streak and a lot of intensity that
should carry into the final stretch.”
The falcons fired back
quickly into the 4th quarter tying
the score 5-5. Good Counsel scored
two more goals and St. John’s scored
one more in the 4th quarter making the final score 7-6. Dirkin says,
“Our defense played well in
the 4th quarter after SJC had the
lead in the 3rd quarter. SJC have
gotten a little better these past
few years. Anytime we can get
a Catholic win it’s a good thing.”
Goalie Patrick McEnerney shouts to his teammates
The Talon
ATHLETICS
May 14, 2010
Page 15
Exero 01, 5555 BLA BLA BLA 15
ATHLETICS
The Falcon baseball walks it off
The Boys Varsity Baseball team works together and supports each of their teammates.
By Nick Wager
Distribution
Manager
It’s an unusually
cold and windy
day for April and the sun is behind the
clouds. People cheer and clap as a runner slides into home plate and scores.
However it is not the Falcon side that
is cheering. Instead it is a score by a
St. John’s Cadet at the start of Good
Counsel’s Varsity baseball game.
Good Counsel’s home field advantage didn’t pay off Tuesday this April
27 against the St John’s Cadets. Although it was a much-desired win,
the Falcons were simply unable to
get enough points out of the game.
This win marks a four game winning
By Megan Payne
Managing Editor
The much anticipated
rematch against
the
Bishop
O’Connell Knights did not go exactly as the Good Counsel Falcons had
planned. The 8-0 loss on Monday,
April 19 was attributed mainly to the
lack of offense by the Lady Falcons.
Senior Captain Taylor Wigmore
said, “We struggled to get decent
hits in the gaps. Their pitcher
held us to four hits. We just need
to get runs on the board because
that’s how you win ball games.”
If the injury of the exceptional
freshman pitcher, Tori Finucane,
had not kept her out of the game,
the game’s outcome may have been
different. Considering the last time
the rivals met, Finucane kept the
Knights to two hits. Finucane has
made Good Counsel a real contention for the WCAC trophy. The
only thing getting in the way is the
Knights who have dominated the
league for over 15 years. With Finucane benched, Wigmore
streak for St. John’s because of
their recent wins over Ryken 125, Gonzaga 16-0, and O’Connell
7-6 over the period of three days.
The Cadets had the advantage
from the very beginning by scoring two runs. Later on in the game
it appeared like the Falcons had
hope when they also scored, but
this was not enough. Some players
struck out and many hit foul balls,
but some like number 13 Jake Taylor, were able to move the Falcons
ahead. Things looked up when
Jake struck out number 20 Justin
Korenblatt or when our Falcons ran
home twice. However, St. John’s
scored a third run and held that
score for the entirety of the game. It
ended with a lead of 3-2 by St. Johns.
It was an important game for
both teams because of the GC Varsity team’s recent upgrade to the
number one rank in the Washington
Post over the Cadets. St. John’s had
recently been demoted to second
and it proved that they were willing to fight for some revenge. Before this game Good Counsel had
only lost two games out of sixteen
to Bishop O’Connell and Mercersburg in a double header. It was disappointing that the Falcons could
not keep their streak, but they have
a few more promising games left that
will enable them redeem themselves.
A disappointing defeat
pitched. The game had a rough
O’Connell freshman Jillian Ferraro
start, with the Falcons making an
started the fourth inning with a
error which
triple which was
led to two
capitalized
by
runs scored
another
triple.
by
the
Good Counsel
Knights.
continued
The
Falstruggling to make
cons could
anything happen.
not
get
Sophomore
any thing
center-fielder
started with
Jessica
Reese
their lead
said that the
off batters.
Falcons “had a
In the
strong defense,
second
O’Connell
and third
just got hits
innings,
which
were
G o o d
u n a v o i d a b l e .”
Counsel
O’Connell
kept
O’Connell Senior Captain Taylor Wigmore continued making
from
scoring, shows her dedication.
the most of their
but only senior
3-0 lead by making
captain Marygrace Serra got a hit
it 6-0 by the end of the fifth.
against O’Connell’s junior pitcher,
Walks and an error did not help
Jilly Falle. Good Counsel hitters
the Falcons in the fifth inning.
could not find the holes and
by making it 6-0 by the end of the
were hitting towards O’Connell’s
fifth. Walks and an error did not
second baseman, Sarah Eidt..
The Talon
help the Falcons in the fifth inning.
By the end of the seventh inning
O’Connell had scored two more runs
because of a home-run by the Jillian
Ferraro who went three for four. The
Falcon line-up could only get four hits
against O’Connell’s junior pitcher
yet they never made it to third base.
This discouraging loss is going to
have to be a learning experience so
that the Falcons can continue to
become better. Hopefully this is the
year to become WCAC champions
for the five seniors last season.
Wigmore commented that “I think
that we really need to improve on our
offensive game. Against O’Connell we
always tend to [psych] ourselves out
when we are up to bat when shouldn’t.
We are a team of very talented hitters
and I think if we just focus and
relax our bats will come around.”
With this loss, the Falcons Conference
record falls to 5-2 but the season is not
over yet. With the rest of April to play,
Good Counsel is getting ready for the
playoffs that start Thursday, May 6.
Page 16
16 BLA BLA BLA Exero 01, 5555
May 14, 2010
ATHLETICS
ATHLETICS
Falcon athletics have another great season
Top Center: Kyle Graves, Courtland
Harris, Thomas Tallerico and Fola
Shokunbi making history at the Penn
Relays
Top Left: Senior, Jake Taylor, tries to
tag someone out.
Top Right: Seniors, Kelsey Conway
and Shannon Lechner, playing great
defense against their opponent.
Center: Junior, Patrick McEnerney,
playing well in net.
Bottom Left: Freshman, Jonathan
Woodward, serving the ball back to his
opponent.
Center Left: Girl’s softball made a
splash this year.
Bottom Right: A.J. Mitchell focusing
on his next shot.
Photos Courtesy of Joe Cabigas
The school year
is winding down
and Good Counsel spring sports
teams have worked very hard to
go out with a bang. From lacrosse
to baseball to track and field, each
spring sports team displayed great
efforts during the spring months.
The Falcon’s Varsity Golf team
has become a force to be reckoned
with. Led by seniors Bobby Kessler
and A.J. Mitchell, the Falcons have a
five wins and three loss record, making the Falcons a definite threat in
the Washington Catholic Athletic
Conference. “We had a solid season,”
said senior Bobby Kessler. With one
game left in the season, the Falcons
will try to finish off the year strong.
The Good Counsel Varsity
Boy’s Lacrosse team has performed
very well this season. They have played
very aggressively throughout the entire season. With senior leaders such
as Sean Wright, Mike Bitonti, Sean
Murphy and Patrick Townsend, the
boys’ lacrosse team has high chances
of doing very well in the postseason. The Falcons finished the regular season with a record of nine wins
By Scott Chen
Sports Editor
and eight losses. They had an impressive victory in the WCAC
quater-finals with a 11-1 victory
over teh St. John’s Cadets. Unfortunately their playoff run ended
with a 6-12 loss against the DeMatha Stags. The Falcon’s played
with much passion throughout the
year and should be proud of what
they accomplished.
After being crowned WCAC champions last year, the Varsity Girls’
Lacrosse team aimed to play just
as well as they did the year before.
On April 23 and April 24, the Lady
Falcons traveled up to New York
and defeated two national ranked
lacrosse teams. The girls’ varsity lacrosse team also played well in the
regular season with a record of fifteen wins and three losses in the regular season. The Lady Falcons dominated the St. John’s Cadets with a
12-0 victory in the quarter-finals; a
22-5 victory against St. Mary’s Rytken; and finally a 21-8 victory over
the Holy Cross Tartans giving the
Lady Falcon’s varsity lacrosse team
their seventh straight WCAC title.
The Varsity Men’s Baseball
team has played phenomenally this
season. With a record of nineteen
wins and five losses in the regular
season.,they have become formidable opponents in the WCAC. With
senior leaders such as Jake Taylor,
Matt Kohn and George Smith Jr.,
the Falcons will have a great chance
at claiming the WCAC championship. With the postseason coming
up, the Falcons must work hard
in order to become champions.
The Good Counsel Girls’
Varsity Softball team has been playing very well this season. After placing first in Grand Strand Softball
Classic at Myrtle Beach over Spring
Break, the Lady Falcons aimed to
do just as well in the WCAC’s. Led
by players such as Taylor Wigmore,
Marygrace Serra, Stephanie Ryan,
and Victoria Finucane, the Lady Falcons are becoming contenders in the
race to be WCAC champions. They
had an impressive 8-0 victory over
Bishop McNamara in the quarter-finals and defeated St. Mary’s Rytken
in the semi-finals 3-2. Unfortunately
the Lady Falcons lost in the championship against O’Connell 3-1.
The Boys’ Varsity Tennis team has had a very produc-
The Talon
tive season this year. Their efforts this
year have made them feared by everyone
in the WCAC’s. “It was an okay year,”
said junior tennis player, Garrett Taira.
The Falcon’s Varsity Track and
Field team is performing very well this
season. The boy’s Distance Medley Relay team took first place at Penn Relays
on April 23. They become the first team
in Maryland to win the Distance Medly
Relay in 46 years. Led by seniors, Kyle
Graves, Katherine Koenig, Cortlandt
Harris and Adrienne Crutchfield, the Falcons are expected to do very well in the
WCAC Championship. After performing very well in the Florida Relays and
the Penn Relays, the Varsity track team is
highly favored to win the WCAC championship in both the girls and boys. “My
teammates did amazing this year,” says senior distance runner Kyle Graves, “They
exceeded all expectations and I look forward to see what they can do next year.”
This year our sports have finished
off to an excellent end. Every fall, winter
and spring team performed very well this
year. So much success has come from our
students at Good Counsel High School.
This leads to a lot of anticipation for the
2010-2011 season. May next year bring
even better seasons for all the teams!