panther nation - Plainfield Public Schools

PANTHER
N AT I O N
Panthers Ball Up
December
Spotlights
Senior Brandon Griffin
Senior Ashley McCarthy
Freshman: Elizabeth LoPorto
Pep Rally 2015
Teacher: Ms. Bourque
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Vol. Two • Issue Three
PANTHER
N A T I O N
Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
This will be the final issue of Panther Nation for the fall semester. You
shouldn’t expect to see another until
late February or early March.
Table of Contents
Letter from the Principal
School News
3 “Next Year’s Schedule: A Done Deal,” Hunter
Lundin
4 “Pep-Pep-Hooray: Pep Rally 2015,” Abby Burdick
5 “It’s Beginning to Sound a lot like Christmas,”
Shelby Wargat
6 “NHS Brings Santa to Plainfield,” Abby Burdick
7 “Tons of Talent,” Kaitlyn Lent
Local News
8 “Drug Bust in Moosup,” Mat Laskarzewski
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10
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12
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Sport News
“Guarding the Winter,” Mat Laskarzewski
“Running to Victory,” Ryan Shippee
“The Ball Up Squad,” Nick Burlingame
“Panthers Ball Up,” Colby Greenhalgh
“Props to Second in Dancing,” Kaitlyn Lent
Feature
14 “Teen Dating Violence,” Adreanna Hannan
Columns
16 “Senior Spotlight: Griffin 29y,” Ryan Shippee
17 “Senior Spotlight: Ashley McCarthy,” Shelby
Wargat
18 “Freshman Spotlight: The Lovely Liz,” Mat
Laskarzewski
19 “Teacher Spotlight: Borque Around the World,”
Adreanna Hannan
20 “On the Big Screen,” Colby Greenhalgh
21 “Club Spotlight: Dungeons and Dragons,”
Hunter Lundin
Editorials
22 “Does Christmas Start Too Early,” Jason Sweet
23 “Say ‘Gross’ to Ugly Sweaters,” Kaitlyn Lent
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I would like to express how proud I
am of my staff this semester. They
have grown as journalists in many
ways. It has truly been an honor working with them and
guiding them to explore the news worthy events and people
in our Plainfield High School community.
This course is a chance for any upper classmen to express
their school spirit through their school work. If you are
a student who enjoys being involved and celebrating the
successes of your peers, then Journalism may be the perfect elective to add to your schedule next year. The primary
skills that we focus on are writing, photography, graphic
design, research, self-discipline, and interpersonal communication.
Happy Holidays,
Mrs. Maher
Journalism/English Teacher
Yearbook Club Advisor
December
Rotary Student
of the Month
Yvonne Laporte is the daughter of
Justin Laporte and Shirley & Jason
Bandieramonte. On top of being in
the top 3 of her class for the duration of her time in high
school, Yvonne works part-time at New York Pizza, dances
and competes with the Senior Repertory Company at Danceworks Dance Centre, and volunteers her time to various organizations with the PHS National Honor Society. In her
free time, she enjoys reading, dancing, singing, and hiking.
Yvonne plans on attending a four-year university with a major in Psychology and continuing her education to eventually stay and practice in the psychology field.
SCHOOL NEWS
Next Year’s
Schedule:
a Done Deal
Photo and Article by Hunter Lundin
One of the most anticipated and controversial decisions of the school year has been the idea of revising
and changing Plainfield High School’s schedule for the
2016-17 school year. The Board of Education, led by
chairman Douglas Smith, met on Wednesday, December 9 to decide on what the schedule would be for the
upcoming year.
The new schedule will be an eight period rotating schedule, dropping two blocks at the end of the day.
For example, one day the schedule would have periods
one through six, and the next day would begin with periods seven and eight, ending with period four. Classes
would be approximately fifty-five minutes long, roughly
half an hour shorter than the length of classes and meet
four times a week Lunch would be during fourth period
and would be longer to fit in three lunch waves, similar to third block in the current schedule. Some classes
would have double periods such as Advanced Placement (AP) classes and Advanced Foods.
Principal James Worth and the entire staff of
PHS worked incredibly hard to come up with a schedule that would, as Mr. Worth describes, “promote a continuous flow and should get students from point A to
point B fairly easily and effectively.” It is believed by a
majority of the faculty that this schedule will be beneficial to the students and will be more effective than the
four block schedule currently used.
The Board unanimously passed the schedule,
officially enforcing it for the next school year. At the
Board of Education meeting, Principal Worth stated
that the schedule is supported by “91% of the faculty,
100% of the administration, and 100% of the superin-
tendent,” to which Superintendent DiPietro humorously replied, “All of one.”
This schedule change has received criticism
from students because they believe changing to a new
system will be inconvenient and unnecessary. The same
eight classes a year may be tiresome and redundant after
having some diversity between semesters in the current
schedule. The “easy semester” will not exist anymore,
so study halls could turn into essential period-fillers for
some students with large work loads. However, shortened class times and opportunities to have an extra day
of rest from one class could prove to be popular with
the students. Time will tell whether the new schedule is
effective or causes more problems than it intended to.
The Board of Education meeting on various topics, including
the school schedule
3
Pep-Pep-Hooray, Pep Rally 2015
By: Abby Burdick
PLAINFIELD-November 25, 2015-PHS students flooded the
gym to get hyped for the annual Plainfield versus Griswold
Thanksgiving football game. Chatter filled the room accompanied
by instruments and excitement. Each class took their corners,
while the football team, band, and cheerleaders joined together
in the center set of bleachers. The event began by the sound of
hosts, Sandor Lorange and Irinel Fishlock, welcoming students
to this year’s school spirit extravaganza. Sandor exclaims, “It was
a wicked fun experience. It was wicked cool to see everyone’s
school spirit. There were some sound issues and other minor
glitches, but we thought on our feet and it all worked out alright.”
First, class attendance was taken. Irinel shouted, “Let’s
hear it freshmen.” There was little response; their pep rally inexperience was revealed. The sophomores’ claps and screams were
then outdid by the juniors. The seniors, whose volume usually tops
all was hurt by students that faced the wall in silence when it was
their turn. It was in protest to this year’s hosts being juniors rather than seniors. Liam Jacobs, senior, explains:“The seniors have
hosted every pep rally ever! I don’t even see that as a real pep rally.”
Hosts: Sandor Lorange and Irinel Fishlock
This year’s pep rally was almost a no-go due to disorganization in the beginning of the school year, so the students
of Broadcasting with Mr. Nichols took over the event. Hosts
were presented at a news desk, like in morning announcements. Lorange put the team on his back and wrote the script
and kept the rally rolling. The event was also produced by
Mrs. Noble, Mrs. Voland, Ryan Burns, Irinel Fishlock, Rachel Patterson, Emma Beaver, and the PHS cheer coaches.
After the juniors took the “W” for being the loudest, the
Chamber Choir took the cheerleading mat center court to sing
the national anthem. This was followed by the honoring of seniors
participating in fall athletics and arts including: football, volleyball, soccer, cross country, cheer, color guard, and marching band.
The wave took over the crowd to transition into a live lip
sync battle. Every friday on the morning announcements, teachers compete in a prerecorded battle broadcasted to PHS students.
The student body then votes for the winner to compete the fol-
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lowing week. The live lip sync battle incorporated both students
and faculty at our school. Freshmen battled sophomores, while
juniors battled seniors. Winners from those battle then competed against each other in order to compete against the teachers.
Freshmen, Kat Lorange led her group with series
of whipping and bobbing to “Watch Me” by Silentó. Sophomores came out on top in the first round with a rendition of
“Bye Bye Bye” by ‘Nsync complete with an aerial from Kyle
Vallee. Sophomores beat the Freshmen by a mere four points.
Juniors were faced with technical sound issues but they
powered through. Dancing and lip syncing to “Umbrella” by
Rihanna, Irinel Fishlock became a star on the mat, while Jack
Gobel threw in a roll for style points. Seniors were happy to
perform “Hello” by Adele. Maddy came out in a fur coat over
her sweats. Xavier Gonzales, Hunter Lundin, and Lorange beat
the juniors by 11 points with their emotional performance.
The annual football cheerleading broke up the battle.
This year’s playlist was a pile up of “Barbie Girl”, “Dear Future
Husband”, and “Single Ladies”. They did a routine filled with cartwheels, basket tosses, and couples’ dancing. The PHS cheer team
after assisting the football players, performed their own cheer
and dance routine. Both routines were entertaining for the audience, although the practice behind the girls’ shined through.
Seniors with the highest score competed against the
faculty. This performance was to “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor. Faculty took the mat from all different directions to lip sync
“Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. Students were amused by Mr.
Farrish’s dance moves and enthused by Mrs. Carignan’s backflip.
Despite their impressive showing, seniors took all the marbles.
The pep rally was then abruptly cut off due to dismissal.
Being the first production put on by Block 2 Broadcasting, the
organization and timing was flawed. The rally was supposed to
also feature a comedy segment by Lorange and PHS journalism
pieing Mr. Worth in the face for winning this year’s door decorating contest. Although not seen this Wednesday afternoon, the pie
being smacked in Mr. Worth’s face was recorded and broadcasted
on announcements the following week. Senior, Mackenzie Pompeii said “I thought it was pretty boring because we didn’t do anything exciting. The audience wasn’t involved as much as in previous pep rallies.” Though some students criticized the pep rally,
it was nevertheless a successful learning experience for next year.
PHS cheerleaders take the mat
SCHOOL NEWS
It's Beginning To sound
a lot like christmas
During the Christmas season, the PHS Music Department enjoys expressing their love of this season by performing at the annual Winter Concert and this year
singing at the Governor’s Residence in Connecticut. On
the morning of the fourth of December, the students in
chamber choir and Mr. Stevenson dressed up in black
dresses and suits, and took a bus trip to West Hartford,
Connecticut to share the joy of song. The Connecticut
Governor’s Residence was beautifully decorated with
Christmas trees and the visitors were surprised by meeting Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and many helpful elves.
This annual event encourages all that choose to visit to
bring a toy to the residence to be donated to the Toys for
Tots program. The Governor’s Residence in Connecticut organized this event to be able to give those in need
a fun toy just in time for Christmas and for the public
to have a great day touring the beautiful Connecticut
Governor’s Residence. Hannah St. Jean is a member
of the chamber choir and had a great time during the
trip, and thought that the Governor’s Residence decorations were ¨very festive.¨ A senior, Jackson Carleson,
enjoyed singing to the public and seeing “the smiles we
put on the faces of children who took the day off of
school to tour the mansion.” The chamber choir group
was the live entertainment at this event for an hour in
the afternoon as the tours of many people walked past.
After their time at the Connecticut Governor’s Residence, the students and their teacher went out to eat for
lunch at Bertucci’s together. Everyone had a great Friday singing to the public at the Governor’s Residence.
Almost a week after, the talents of Plainfield
High School’s band, concert choir, chorale, chamber
choir, and the Griswold High School’s chamber choir
were all showcased on the night of December 10. The
auditorium was filled with proud parents, families, and
peers eager to see and hear the amazing progress of
the students on stage. First, the band performed many
beautiful melodies and their teamwork was absolutely amazing. Everyone in the auditorium could see how
much dedication those students put in to perform as
well as they did. Carly Sebastian, a band member, loved
“being able to show people what we have been working
towards everyday for months. I always enjoy the concerts because we are able to show everyone what we have
Written by: Shelby wargat
accomplished.” At the end of the band’s performance,
Mrs. Howard, the band director, proudly stated to the
audience ¨I have the best job in the world.¨ She is very
proud of her students, and is so thankful to the parents
for all of their support. Mr. Stevenson is the choir director at Plainfield High School and he directed the exquisite voices of the concert choir, chorale, and chamber
choir. These groups performed splendidly on Thursday
night and the whole crowd gave a standing ovation to
the chamber choir’s rendition of “White Winter Hymnal.” The chamber choir all moved to the front of the
stage, sitting side by side, and excellently sung while at
the same time using the method of all body percussion.
Chamber Choir
The wow-factor solos were performed by Alyssa Wood, Hailey Bingham, Logan Fowler, and Jackson
Carleson performed two solos throughout the night.
The GHS chamber choir has performed at the Plainfield Winter Concert for eight years now, and at this
year’s they impressively performed two songs. Elijah
Fontenault exclaimed that “the Winter Concert is a
monumental experience for the young member of the
music program here at Plainfield High School. It’s a
great experience for them crossing between schools, as
we welcome Griswold, to come perform with us and for
us. That part of the experience breaks the egos of both
the young and the veteran music program members.”
At the very end, the beautiful song of “Hallelujah” by Handel was performed by the concert choir,
chorale, chamber choir, and the Griswold’s chamber choir. After every song, the room was filled with
loud clapping, whistling, and proud parents yelling
for their children. The Winter Concert was a great
experience and all those who attended were incredibly proud and awed at the students’ performances.
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N H S Brings Santa to Plainfield
By: Abby Burdick
PLAINFIELD-December 12, 2015-National Honor Society (NHS) students and advisors, Mrs. Noble and Mr.
Digiacomo woke up bright and early Saturday morning to get into the holiday spirit. Members hung Christmas lights and garland, while others created center
pieces out of ornaments and beads. Santa’s chair was set
up with a tree and presents, along with a white “snow”
backdrop. Mr. Clair, PHS Science teacher, slapped on
a Santa suit. Breakfast with Santa at PHS was ready.
At Breakfast with Santa, families enjoyed pancakes, french
toast sticks, sausage, eggs, and homefries. For the kids, a
crafts table was set up with coloring and popsicle stick reindeer making. Kids made their way over to Santa. Clair gave
a “Ho Ho Ho” and asked what they wanted for Christmas. A
picture was then snapped by Mr. Nichols to either be emailed
or printed for purchase. Yvonne Laporte quotes, “It was a really good atmosphere especially for the kids with the decorations and music and the turnout was better than expected.”
The event was eight dollars for adults and four dollars for children under 12. All the proceeds were donated to
the community. For example, a portion of the money went
to the Toys for Tots Foundation, a Marine Corps non-profit
charity to raise money to provide hope for children during
the holiday season. The other portion of the money went to
a homeless shelter, a charity group NHS donates to annually.
Breakfast with Santa was a success. Not only did
NHS raise over $1000 to donate to charity, children of
the community were able to spend quality time with family and friends and see Santa. NHS members also had
fun wearing reindeer antlers and interacting with people
in our community. Seeing local children light up while
sitting on Clair’s lap was a reward within itself. Santa
quotes, “It was enjoyable to see smiles on the kids’ faces.”
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Little Noble and Santa (Mr. Clair)
NHS members smile for the camera
SCHOOL NEWS
Tons Of Talent
Written By:
Kaitlyn Lent
PLAINFIELD -December 4, 2015 Our school had done
a coffeehouse last year, however it was just among the
students that go here, and it wasn’t for other schools to
attend. This year, the people in charge decided to do
something different, clearly, and chose to invite multiple schools to come and show their students talent to
other people and not just the ones they hang out with.
Anyone could clearly tell after the coffeehouse that
there was tons of talent in the cafeteria. Everyone that
participated in the event did extremely well, and it was
amazing. There were five different schools that came to
show their talent at the ECC coffeehouse on the third of
December; and these students did extremely well. The
students were from the following schools: Plainfield
High School, Norwich Free Academy (NFA), Griswold
High School, Woodstock Academy, and lastly Bacon
Academy. Even with all of the acts doing fairly well,
There were two standout performances. One of them
was a poem performed by a student from NFA, and it
was an original piece of work. My second favorite was a
girl who played ukulele, who was from Bacon Academy.
“It was cool that there had been different talents
coming together,” says Guanda Mary Benoit. She continues with, “It was great, I liked the other acts.” Benoit
did fairly well herself, with a guitar mashup -starting
with the classic ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ and going into
multiple songs, and ending with the song she began
with. The Coffeehouse was a cool way to have different talents come together from different places. Most
of the acts were musical, with the exception of two poetry readings. One of the acts said that it’s important to
make eye contact with the audience, so they have some
sort of connection, so that way it doesn’t feel like they’re
just singing and then they’re done without warning.
It’s a great idea to have students from different
schools come together to show their talents to people
they don’t exactly know and to meet new people. With
the fact that most people favor athletics and showing
off their talent with that, it’s great that this event gave
non-athletic students a chance to show what they can
do, whether it’s musically, dramatically, or poetically.
There’s not necessarily anything wrong with favoring
one over the other, it’s just a good idea to show what other students can do with other things besides a football,
baseball, etc. Tons of students are super talented, and a
large amount of the students that attend PHS don’t know
anything about what they can do with that talent. It was a
cool experience and they should do something like this
next year, just with more acts than they had this year.
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Name:
Panther Nation Crossword
Complete the crossword below
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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14
Created on TheTeachersCorner.net Crossword Maker
Across
Down
3. panther_____
5. school mascot
6. computers on wheels
13. senior class president
14. hello
1. teacher of the year
2. football rival
4. name of the school newspaper
7. teaches digital design and media
8. debate team adviser
9. shape of most desks
10. what plays have we done so far
11. Natalia Rickey's Nickname
12. what some seniors get
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By:RyanShippee
SPORT NEWS
Guarding
The Winter
Photo By Chestnut Hills Studios
As a non-profit youth organization, Winter Guard International serves as the leading body of the indoor Winter Guard,
Percussion and Winds activities. It is called the Sport of the
Arts because it brings music to life through performance in a
competitive format. According to WGI.org “the Winter Guard
is now entering its 39th year in 2016, the sport continues to
evolve and grow. There were more than 36,000 participants
at the regional level, and more than 12,000 participants at
the Sport of the Arts World Championships this past April.”
Winter Guard is a form of entertainment similar to dance
theater. Winter Guard is found in most high schools. Winter
Guard uses props, along with movement, to express dynamic passages in the music Chosen by the Winter Guard members. At competitions the Winter Guard is judged in a category called Visual Performance. Mr.Nichols reports “ I love
seeing the team win, but I also enjoy seeing the progression
of the team and how far they have come.”
Winter Guard International provides a venue for young people to achieve the extraordinary through performance and
competition. WGI was founded in 1977 to draw together the
growing winter guard activity, standardize rules, and provide
leadership and guidance. Teacher and coach of the Color
Guard and the Winter Guard, Mr. Nichols, reports that “this
year is going to go very well for Winter Guard.” Winter guard
is an indoor sport where the guard performs unaccompanied
by the Marching Band, but instead to a piece of pre-recorded music.
The Winter Guard will go to indoor competitions where they
are scored on their performance by judges. The purpose
of the Winter Guard is to interpret the music that has been
chosen by the Winter Guard members is playing by using
flags, sabres and through dance. The Winter Guard uses
different colors and styles of flags all to enhance the visual
performance of the show. There are many different types of
spins and tosses that can be done with the flag. Each spin
or toss creates a different illusion and can be used for different tempos. Flags often can be different sizes and textures.
The Winter Guard will often put small weights on the flags
to make them a bit heavier, this will make it easier for the
people in the Winter Guard to throw and spin the flags. This
year should be one of the best years yet for the Plainfield
High School Winter Guard.
Photo By Chestnut Hill Studios
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SPORT NEWS
Running to Victory
by Ryan Shippee
Indoortrackandfieldseasonhasstarted!Ifyou
arenotenrolledinasportatthistimeitisn'ttoolateto
join.Indoortrackhasmanyeventsfromsprintingwhich
canhavehurdlestomiddledistanceandlongdistance,
butifyouarenotarunnerthereareothereventssuch
asthelongjump,highjump,polevaultingaswellas
shotputsothereisprettymuchsomethingforeveryone.This year we should do pretty good just like we
haddoneinthepastyearandalmostwonbutcamein
second.SomeofourstandoutrunnersareTylerballard
andXavierGonzalezaswellasBrookeBrouillardand
IsiahFortwhowillbetryingtodoastheyhaveinthe
pastyearshelpingtheteamout.
The weight room is always open after
practicesoaftertherunningworkoutswegetinthegym
andstartournextworkoutforourday.Indoortrackisa
greatwaytostayactiveandgetfasteraswellasmake
somegreatfriendsandworktogethertogetfitandin
goodshape.Nowforthebetterathletes,keepinmind
thattheymighthavehadmoreexperienceorpractice
than you, so don't be discouraged if they outrun you
orarestrongerthanyou,becauseinafewweeksyou
couldoutrunthembybeingintrackandfield.Finally,
rememberthattheremaybeotherpeoplewholookat
youasabetterathletethanthemandthatcanmostcertainlyboostyourconfidence,right?
I hope you join indoor track and field. It's a fantastic
sporttobein.
ShouldIdotrack?Ifyoureallywanttotrytrack
thenjustjoinitanddon'tworryaboutwhatotherpeo10
plethinkofyouwhenyoudoitallyoucandoistry
yourhardestandimproveandifyouarehappyrunning
andliketoimproveonyourspeedandhealththendoit
causeit'syourhappinesstoyouthatmattersalsodon't
get intimidated by better athletes they are all human
andcanbebeaten.Onlydoitifitbenefitsyouandifit
improvesyourhealth,socialabilityandhappinessthen
thereisn'treallyareasonyoushouldn'tdoit.
Trackandfieldisagreatsporttobeinandyou
canimproveonanythingyouwouldwanttoandthat's
whatweareallourdoing:tryingtogetbetterandbetter.
Weallworktogetherinourworkoutslikeifyoulike
distant running you can go on long runs and you go
togetherasagrouptodifferentplacesinPlainfield.The
sprintersandthrowersprettymuchdothesamerunning
workoutsbutthethrowerswilldoabouthalfofthefull
workout and then will go throw and lift.The first the
meetsareon:
Sat.,12/19
VBoysIndoorTrack
ECCDevelopmentalMeet
Away-USCoastGuardAcademy
tues12/29
VBoysIndoorTrack
BaconAcademyINvite
Away-HillhouseHS
SPORT NEWS
The Ball Up Squad
By Nicholas Burlingame
It's going to be a different year for Plainfield, with
a height deficit, the Girls Basketball team lost
two stellar athletes, Morganne Collins and Adrienne Lorange.Mackenzie Pompey stated, “Adrienne could shoot three’s and get rebounds for us
and Morganne was a big help on defense and offense when we played against taller teams.” there
are many great aspects of the team: Julie Jordan,
Maddie Lorange, and freshman Madison Kelly.
This is a triple threat you have to watch. Jordan
knows her position as point guard inside and out.
Lorange's hard work and dedication during the
off-season will be realized as she shoots lights out.
Kelly is working hard as she inches her way into
the starting five. This season for Plainfield will
have to consist of nothing but the absolute best
from these girls. This will mean a low number of
mental mistakes and many hours of hard work.
After asking Julie Jordan what she expects from
this School Basketball season she said “the teams
looking pretty good.. we are small this year but that
means nothing.. we just have to box out and rebound. I'm expecting a lot out of this years team..
each and every player has a specific job and if we
can all do what we have to do I think we may be
able to go on a little run throughout the season.”
Chestnut Hill Studios
Chestnut Hill Studios. Julie Jordan
There is a constant problem being brought up
when I ask and that there aren't really that many
big defenders down low so that means the Panthers
will have to be tough and not get pushed around
by some of the bigger teams. The freshman have to
step it up if they want to play even with the small
numbers for the girls basketball team. The last thing
any of them should dodo is expect a job handed
to them. “These upcoming freshman are looking good like Madison Kelly who's already in the
starting 5 for varsity.” Mackenzie Pompey stated.
The Plainfield girls basketball team is very
close knit: They do a lot with each other on and
off the court. Julie Jordan and Mackenzie Pompey
are the closest things to sisters you can get without
actually being related. They have been friends since
the start of it. Both Julie and Mackenzie played on
the same middle school basketball team and have
carried that into their high school years.t The team
is looking pretty good this year. “We're kind of
small but we'll make it work. I expect us to be a
good contender in the ECC, it's going to be a fun
season. I like how we're all so close and we bond
on and off the court. ” Mackenize Pompey stated.
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SPORT NEWS
Panthers Ball Up
By: Colby Greenhalgh
PLAINFIELD. Dec. 10, 2015. One
of the most anticipated sport seasons of the year is upon us. Basketball season is one of the most hype
seasons of the year, between the student sections and the crazy events
that can occur in a game, any game
can be one crazy experience. The seniors this season have been counting
down the days for tryouts, and now
that it is finally here, senior Liam Jacobs thinks
that this year the team “has potential to be great
and the sky is the limit as they say.” After losing
the last two seasons to Notre-Dame Fairfield in
States, the boys look to overcome their history
and make it farther than the second game of the
state tournament this year.
This year the Panthers open up against
Ellis Tech on December 19th. The boys look to
come out with a win at the Eagles in Danielson
to build some momentum before playing against
the Whalers of New London in Plainfield’s first
home game. The Panthers have a plethora of ex-
Panthers Liam Jacobs dunks on a fast break
12
Panthers “Orange Team” poses for picture after practice
perience with eight seniors and six of those
seniors are returning Varsity players which is
an advantage “because the team chemistry is
there” says Dylan Horn a senior point guard.
Height is a huge weapon in the game of basketball and the Panthers have maybe the “biggest in the ECC (Eastern Connecticut Conference)” Jacob says. The boys look to dominate
the boards and maybe even make some teams
catch some bodies. Jacobs and fellow senior
teammates look to make a huge statement in
the ECC by bringing home the Medium division championship.
Although the season has been highly
anticipated, it will come to an end eventually. The boys look to overcome the challenges
that will occur and make this year a memorable season. Most teams look at the “Plainfield Panthers” on their schedule and say that
the team will be an easy win or a close game
but not this year. Jacobs looks to “take care of
business” this year and prove all those teams
wrong. He will miss “Panther Nation and the
experience” as his high school basketball career comes to an end as will most of his teammates’. Horn looks to put on for his town as he
will “miss the sense of pride when you put on
the Plainfield jersey”. If there is one thing to
remember this year “don't sleep on the Panthers,” says Jacobs.
SPORT NEWS
Props To Second In Dancing
Written By: Kaitlyn Lent
PLAINFIELD -December 7, 2015 As it was
covered in Issue #1 in the Junior Spotlight
for this year’s newspaper, Ailiegh Galante is
a highly competitive dancer. Galante recently
travelled to Germany for a world championship against 32 other major competitive teams.
The entire competition had been tap, which
is, ‘The IDO Tap World Championships.
Ailiegh recently returned and the two groups
she is a part of had received both silver and
bronze medals. One of the groups was awarded with ‘Adult group “Fire & Flames” -21st.”
The team as a majority won 1st runner up in
the Battle of the Feet, which is also pretty cool.
Ailiegh’s teammates received different awards
and placements, ranging from 6th to 20th
place. “I am so proud of the team!” Galante comments. There were tons of different
countries competing against her team, which
seems pretty intense; and also incredible for
them getting an amazing score the team received in the end. Galante describes Germany as “unbelievable! I can’t even explain what
it was like! You’d have to see it for yourself!”
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FEATURE
Teen Dating Violence
Written By: Adreanna Hannan
Did you know that every .9 seconds in the United
States a woman is assaulted or beaten. As you go
through your high school years, dating comes along.
You hear who’s dating who and along the way you may
find somebody you are interested in enough to date.
In school, you learn all the normal high school topics
and then you learn about certain things in health, like
pregnancy, drugs and sometimes, if you have a good
teacher, you learn the risks of sexual activity and how
to protect yourself. One topic you do not learn about
is toxic relationships.
By definition, a toxic relationship is a relationship
characterized by behaviors on the part of the toxic
partner that are emotionally and, not infrequently,
physically damaging to their partner. Nearly 1.5 million high schoolers experience physical abuse every
year. A leading cause of violence in boys is that most
boys who have witnessed domestic violence growing
up are two times more likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults. 9.4% of
high school students report being being hit, punched,
etc,by boyfriends and girlfriends in the past year.
A healthy relationship contributes to a person’s self-esteem and emotional energy, a toxic relationship damages self-esteem and drains energy. A healthy relationship involves mutual caring, respect, and compassion,
an interest in your partner’s welfare and growth, an
ability to share control and decision-making, in turn,
a shared desire for each other’s happiness. A healthy
relationship is a safe relationship, a relationship where
you can be yourself without fear, where we feel comfortable and secure. A toxic relationship, on the other
hand, is not as safe, it can be pretty scary. A toxic relationship is characterized by insecurity, self-centeredness, dominance, and control. We risk our very being,
mentally, physically and emotionally, by staying in
such a dangerous relationship. In turn, saying a toxic
relationship is dysfunctional is, at best, an immaculate
understatement.
There are many different types of toxic relationships.
These include:The Possessive Toxic Controller, The
Independant Toxic Controller, The Deprecator , The
Over14 Dependant Toxic Controller, The Over Reactor,
Pic Credit: Google Images
The Guilter , and The “Bad-Temper” Toxic Partner.
Each and every type of partner will put you in a place
you would not like to be, make you think less of yourself and wonder what you did wrong, but the answer
is you simply didn’t do anything wrong, their actions
are in the wrong. They will try and convince you it’s
your fault, that you can’t do better than them, but you
can do so much better. Never let anybody who you’re
dating continuously put you down. They’re supposed
to be the one that lifts you up, makes you feel better,
makes you happy. Sure every relationship has their
arguments and every relationship has their downfalls, but there are times when you must know when
enough is enough. You can not change your partner
for who they are, but you can change the outcome
for yourself. So you may be asking yourself, why do
people behave in such toxic ways and why does their
significant other put up with such behaviors? The answer is the simply the same for both individuals: poor
self-esteem that comes from insecurity.
Pic Credit: Google Images
FEATURE
There are many things you can do to fix a toxic relationship, depending of the situation therapy is always
in option. Sometimes, people don’t realise how they
act, don’t realise they have a problem until addressed
by more than one person. The more you allow them
to say and do what they want, the more you’re affecting yourself in the long run. You may think it’s okay,
you may not even realise how your significant other
is acting because maybe it’s the way you two have
always acted. If you or somebody you know is in a
toxic relationship, you or the person you know must
get out. The sooner you get out, the better you will
feel. Without the constant put downs and the letdown
from your partner, you will open your eyes to see the
beauty of what’s right in front of you. Many people are
scared to even say anything because they are scared
of what their significant other might do. There are
many people out there that are willing to help you,
and if somebody says your relationship is toxic, listen
to them. You may be scared of the outcome, but the
outcome can be something you would never imagine,
something needed. Don’t let a man, or woman ever
put you down, don’t let a toxic relationship go too far.
Speak out, be heard. Don’t sit in silence, speak out for
what’s right.
Many hotlines are available for people who have gone
through dating violence, consisting of:
National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline: 866-331-9474 or
at www.loveisrespect.org
National Domestic Hotline: 800-799-SAFE (7233)
National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE
(4673)
Nat’l Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center:
www.safeyouth.org
Choose Respect Initiative: www.cdc.gov/chooserespect
Also, don't forget that February 6-10 is Teen Dating
Violence Prevention Week.
Pic Credit: Google Images
Pic Credit: Google Images
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COLUMNS
Senior Spotlight: Griffin 29y
written by Ryan Shippee
Brandon Griffin’s life is consumed by racing
dirtbikesalmost24/7andmostlyallyearlong.Griffin
hasbeenridingsincehewasthreeyearsoldandracing since he was thirteen. His dad and uncle used to
ridewhentheywereyounger,butheisthefirstinhis
family to actually race. Everyone begins at beginner
and you move your way up to novice then amateur.
Theultimategoalisonestepaboveamateurwhichis
pro.Griffinhashiseyessetonproby2017andwilldo
whateverhecantobeablereachhisgoal.
G r i f f i n
trains during
the
winter for
a portion
of time in
the south,
mostly in
F l o r i d a .
He trains
attheCentral Cycle
Club as
wellasThe
T h o m a
t r a i n i n g
facility locatedinCanterburywhichisonlyopentofamilyand
friendsandhasbeenrecentlymadeintoafulltrackbut
hasbeenthereforawhile.
Thisyearhehasracedinthirtytofortyraces;
nextyearhewillcompeteinatleastanotherthirty.GriffinracesonaKTM250sxfandanotherpracticebike;
heislookingtogetathirdbeforegoingdownsouth.
Griffinwonhisfirstraceoverallin2013inMaine.In
the past Griffin has traveled to Maine, Pennsylvania,
New Hampshire and even Florida. There are one to
tworaceseveryweekendduringtheseasonandsometimesyouhavetogoimmediatelyfromoneracetothe
next.Griffinhassevenoverallwinsunderhisbeltand
istrainingtogetasmanyashecanintheupcoming
years.
Oneofhisfavoritemomentsinracingwasan
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amazingcomeback.AtthegateGriffinhadbiketroublesandhisbikewouldn’trun.Hestartedoutinfortyfifthplaceandrodehiswayallthewaybackuptothird.
Griffin’splanistomovedownsouthoncehegraduates
andkeeponriding.Hewouldlovetogetafactorycontractandbeabletoraceforhiscareer.Ifheaccomplishesthisgoalhewouldultimatelyliketomoveoutwest.
SofarhedoeshaveafewsponsorssuchasBJzcycle
shop,ShiftRacingaswellas100%andalltogetherhas
fourteensponsorswhich supporthimracinginwhich
hereceivessomegearfromthem.
If racing
wasn't to
work out,
he would
like
to
take over
his dad's
b u s i ness once
he can.
Which would be doing home improvements with his
dad and still working on racing like he has been doing.InschoolhisfavoriteteacherhastobeMr.Jordan
becauseof“Howlaidbackheisandhecanjustrelate
tohim.”Outsideofschoolheisobviouslyridingconstantlybutbesidesthathelikestohangoutwithallhis
friendsandspendsalotoftimehuntingaswell.
Griffin says “To be a champ is a lot of hard
work, a lot of years of preparation, you have to have
asolidfoundationandagreatgroupofpeoplearound
youtosucceed!”
COLUMNS
Senior Spotlight: Ashley McCarthy
Written By: Shelby Wargat
Who is Ashley McCarthy? She is a kind, creative, and
intelligent 17 year old senior at Plainfield High School.
Ashley has an older sister named Kaileigh and a younger brother, Ryan, who now attends Plainfield High
School as a freshman. Her mother is a paraprofessional
at Plainfield High School and her father served in the
United States military. Ashley won senior superlatives
for the ´most dramatic´ and ´class flirt.´ Ashley enjoys
being active by taking part in multiple sports, such as
volleyball, cheerleading, and she has boxed in the past.
This past fall Ashley was a part of the varsity volleyball
team for the season. Ashley has enjoyed her high school
experience but is very excited for her future endeavors.
Ashley’s Drawings
For the year to come, she hopes to attend the
New Hampshire Institute of Art to further her education in the arts. By attending this university, Ashley
will be able to become a fun and helpful art teacher,
yet she is not positive on the grade she wants to teach.
Ever since she started in eighth grade, Ashley has been
teaching herself how to create magnificent art pieces.
“After being bullied for a really long time, that is when
I started drawing.” Ashley has enjoyed taking the classes of 2-D Art, 3-D Art, and Pottery. She was a teacher
assistant her junior year and now is in an independent
study for an advanced placement art class. In addition,
Ashley was a member of the school’s pottery club for
two years. She enjoys painting whenever she has the
chance and also loves learning and playing the ukulele.
Ashley McCarthy
Ashley loves to paint and draw because it is a
way to relieve personal stress and express her feelings
and perspectives of her surroundings. ¨Each girl that I
draw has a little bit of me, and they aren’t meant to be
perfect.¨ Every girl that Ashley draws has an imperfect
feature, such as crossed-eyes and scars, to show that
they are human. Ashley stated that she ¨portrays many
girls in one drawing,¨ and that some are close friends
and others are just passing by strangers. One of her favorite quotes is that ¨even after a flower is stepped on,
it returns to grow and so will I.¨ Ashley Mccarthy is a
beautiful person inside and out, and will have a successful future in college and becoming an art teacher.
Ashley McCarthy
Ashley’s Drawings
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COLUMNS
The Lovely Liz
Liz Loporto is a freshmen at Plainfield High
School, you better watch out Liz will make
her presence well known within the next four
years. She is into very cool hobbies that she
does. Some of the hobbies that she does with
her family include roller-skating and geocaching. She has been roller-skating with for quite a
while and she says “ we started roller-skating as
a joke and we would just do it on weekends, but
then we kept going back to do it every weekend
and it grew on me and my family.”
Loporto is involved in geocaching which is basically a huge scavenger hunt. You use a GPS to
find containers called geocaches that are hidden all over the world. The typical geocache is
a small container that holds a log and usually
a pen or pencil, the geocacher that discovers
it writes the date they found the log and then
they sign the log with their code name, then
you place the cache back exactly where they
found it.
Liz Loporto
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Written by: Mathew Laskarzewski
Loporto has been in the gifted and talented
program since she was very young. The initial
test to be enrolled in the program is a test that
you can take in the first grade. If the child had
passed the test they would be sent to another
school to be with other gifted and talented children and Liz was sent to a gifted and talented
school in the second grade. In the gifted and
talented school the subjects are different from
a regular school, the children were always being given challenges and tests to see how their
brains were working. She moved when she was
in fourth grade, and then again when she was
in fifth grade, and she was not put back into
the gifted and talented program until she was
late in her fifth grade year. Loporto was put
into special classes for her sixth and seventh
grade because she had to be in gifted and talented classes. In the eighth grade loporto reports that she did not have the opportunity to
be in the gifted and talented classes because the
eighth grade did not offer those types of classes. Loporto moved to Connecticut about a year
and a half ago and she has taken another test
to be able to stay in the program and if she did
well enough she will continue with the program
if the school offers it. Loporto says to me that “
being in the program is basically like being an
all honors student but a little more”. Being in
the program will look very good on job applications and college applications. Loporto says
that being in the classes she is in now is not really a challenge at all for her and she picks up
on what the class is learning very quickly.
COLUMNS
Teacher SPotlight: Bourque around the
world
Written By: Adreanna Hannan
She may be a Spanish Teacher, but you'd never guess
that she actually taught in Mexico. In the town of Oaxaca, Mexico she taught at a school that was right in the
middle of the jungle. In 2012, Bourque decided she
was going to go for a teaching job in Mexico teaching
English, moving herself and her daughter with only
two suitcases to a whole other country. A place where
you didn't even need to travel by car, a place where it
took only three pesos to get somewhere. The stores
are all very small and the closest Walmart is about six
hours away from the town she lived in. “I lived right
near the beach and the whole town contained sustainable buildings as it was an eco-friendly tourist area,
they didn't have high rise buildings, everything was
very small and isolated. The school was right in the
middle of the jungle, you could see iguanas outside
my window. It was very in tuned with nature,” Bourque proclaimed, adding in that there were many tarantulas there, huge ones at that. “It's very different, you
learn what you need and what you don't, you really
don't need as much as you think.” Moving to Mexico
seemed to teach her a lot about the importance of life
and necessities in life.
Pic Credit: Google Images
Pic Credit: Adreanna Hannan
“It was very different, it was warm all the time.
Everybody was really laid back and friendly, it was
a tourist town so everybody was motivated to learn
English. They learned English on scholarship, so they
had to take eight semesters of English and take a TOEFL test which determines if somebody knows English
well enough to study in United States.” With the
miraculous teaching of Bourque, many students were
able to study English in the United States. Bourque
goes on to say what a wonderful experience she had
and how she enjoyed being in Mexico a lot. During
the summer vacation at the school in Oaxaca, Mexico;
she decided to come back to the United States for a
visit In turn, she recieved a call from Mr. Bitgood who
said there was an opening for a Spanish teacher at
Plainfield High School. Bourque had originally done
her student teaching here at Plainfield High School.
Two days after being in the United States she interviewed for the job of a Spanish Teacher, and the rest is
history. If she didn't get the job, she goes on to say that
she would have moved to Mérida, Mexico and taken
a new job as an English teacher at the school there.
Luckily for the students of Plainfield High School, she
got the job and continues to teach us the wonderful
language of Spanish. Working hard everyday to come
up with new games to help us learn the language
easier, and make it much more fun to come to class.
Bourque goes on to say that she misses her students in
Mexico, but the students here have a special place in
her heart.
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COLUMNS
On the Big Screen
By: Colby Grreenhalgh
LA To Philly; A Fighters Life
PLAINFIELD. Dec. 10th, 2015. The highly anticipated boxing movie has finally come out, it will
have you at the edge of your seat throughout the
movie. Early in Adonis Creed’s life he was just
known as a number going in and out of juvie,
fighting many times more than the average kid.
Soon after his last fight in juvie, Creed meets his
savior, Mary Anne. She turns his life around and
leads him in the right direction, but Creed still
This movie is
an attention grabber,
thrill seeking, and interesting.. Although
the movie is long, it
will not disappoint
and you are in for a
great time.
Movies in Theaters is
follows:
In the Heart of the Sea (Also
in 3D)
Krampus
The Letters
loved to fight. Creed’s passion to fight ran through
his blood, his father Apollo Creed was a pro fighter and was known as a champion in the boxing
world. Early in Creed’s career, he dominates fights
in Mexico leading to finding his “Unc” in Rocky
Balboa as his trainer. From there Creed does well
in his first American fight which then leads to the
biggest fight of his life….
Creed is an inspirational story that any
sport or action lover would want to see. It is in
theaters in Lisbon right now and would not disappoint.
Agent
007
James Bond a secret agent determined to do everything he can to take down Terrorists, along
Bond’s journey he overcomes several obstacles
and looks to take down his so called “step brother” that has aimed to kill him for quite sometime.
Bond escapes these attempts, and it leads to one
final showdown, Bond could either save his girlfriend that he took under his wing or stop his
“step brother” from taking over England. Watch
see what happens.
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Creed
The Good Dinosaur (Also in
3D)
Victor Frankenstein
Secret in Their Eyes
The Night Before
Love the Coopers
Spectre
The Peanuts Movie
COLUMNS
Club Spotlight:
Dungeons and Dragons
By Hunter Lundin
Picture credits to the internet
Even the Beatles played D&D!
“It’s such a bummer that we can’t travel off to a place
filled with adventure and magic where we can get away
from reality.” That’s what someone would say if Dungeons and Dragons was never invented. Invented in the
1970’s, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is an extremely popular game and has been an essential part in the
formation of role playing games throughout the years.
It has influenced massive multiplayer online role play
games (MMORGP’s) that are played today, like World
of Warcraft.
A game of D&D, as it is popularly stylized,
consists of a group of players and a “dungeon master”
who runs the game. The dungeon master makes a campaign that has certain scenarios, and the roll of a die
determines the outcome of the scenario. Some characters may die along the adventure due to the various
outcomes of the story, and the game is played until the
dungeon master’s adventure is completed.
The greatness of D&D is that you have the ability
to create any character you want. You choose a certain
class that you want the character to be, and that particular class has special character traits and abilities such as
magic or strength. After choosing a class, you can cus-
The boss D&D logo
tomize your character into anything you could possibly
want them to be. It could be your alter ego, which is why
so much time is invested in the game by some people.
Here at Plainfield, there is a club run by Mr.
Ewan that meets every Monday to exclusively play
Dungeons and Dragons. Ryan Lajeunesse, an avid D&D
player and beloved Plainfield student, is a member of
Plainfield’s club. Lajeunesse loves Dungeons and Dragons not only for the fun he has playing it, but how he
learns how to understand people’s “individual playing
styles” more. “One person likes to help out, and other
people like to take for themselves. It’s kind of like learning to adjust and adapt to other people,” Lajeunesse explained. It helps him understand people more, which
could be a helpful skill in life. “It’s a learning experience
if you really think about it,” he added.
The club currently has one game that is full, but
there is another game that has a few empty spots that
could be taken. If you are interested in getting involved,
stop by Mr. Ewan’s classroom in the senior hallway on a
Monday and embark on a Dungeons and Dragons journey.
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EDITORIAL
Does Christmas Start TOO EARLY?
By: Jason Sweet
Don’t take this the wrong way. Don’t call me Scrooge
or anything. I love the Christmas spirit, don’t get me
wrong. But I think, as much as a lot of other people,
that it starts way too early. Every year it also seems
like it starts earlier and earlier. This year I saw Christmas commercials as early as Halloween. In about 10
years from now you will see Christmas commercials during your Easter gatherings. The ratio of people that think Christmas starts too early opposed to
the people who like Christmas in October or before
Thanksgiving is about 5 to 1. The poll I took included 100 students. Seventy-nine people believe it starts
too early and nineteen love Christmas spirit and they
think it should start before Thanksgiving. Many of
the comments I received were about the anticipation
of Christmas. “I don’t to get too hyped for it [Christmas] early or I’ll start slacking.” I totally agree with
this statement. If something big is coming I will start
slacking because I’m busy planning for the holidays or
too excited thinking of what the event will bring.
I believe there should be no mention of
Christmas until after Thanksgiving because it takes
away from the true meaning of Thanksgiving, which
is giving thanks to anything or anyone you have in
your life. Then when you're eating all the great food
for lunch or dinner and you're talking about what
you want for Christmas just isn't right when you
should be giving thanks for the things you do have.
These commercials that play a month earlier than they
should also don’t promote the true meaning of Christmas. Instead it is usually the same old Target, Walmart,
or Gamestop commercial talking about a sale that’s
going on to get the children all the toys they want
when the real meaning of Christmas is giving back,
ComING
SOON!!
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not getting more toys that they may never use again.
I believe Christmas starts about one month earlier
than it should. It takes away from a very important
holiday in Thanksgiving. The reason it starts too early is for advertisements that have no true meaning
to Christmas just advertisements for toys and special Black Friday sales. Speaking of Black Friday who
wants to wake up super early after eating a huge meal
to risk getting trampled but that's a whole different
debate. And lastly Christmas starts too early because
there is not much christmas music in the world and
the repetition of hearing some of the songs over and
over again gets very tiring. And don’t argue that because there is only so many times one person can handle hearing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”.
How the Holidays feel nowadays.
Credit: The Cagle Post
PHS
Baseball
Madden
Tournament
EDITORIAL
Say “Gross” To
Ugly Sweaters
Written By: Kaitlyn Lent
PLAINFIELD -December 3, 2015 What’s the point of ugly sweaters for one of the prettiest holidays of thence a
year? All you do for one time a year is get a sweater and design it in the ugliest way possible, and then wear it around
like it’s some type of trophy. Yes, I understand that it’s for fun and what not;, however, I feel that ugly sweaters don’t
go with the pretty lights of this time of year. Christmas is supposed to be filled with laughter -which ugly sweaters
give tons of people, butand it’s also supposed to be filled with be joy and everything pretty. Now I’m not saying it
harms people by wearing these sweaters (just my eyes);, however, I think it’s just not right for people to wear these
and be proud of it. They aren’t a trophy someone has won,they’re it’sjust for wearing a hideous article of clothing.
Ugly sweaters have no purpose besides to annoy and disgust those around them that wear these hideous creations. It’s not wrong to want to get a good laugh- and they certainly give people a laugh with how
ugly these sweaters can get, but maybe people should get a good laugh another way, or just be happy that
it’s Christmas time and ‘Santa is coming to town.’ With this being said, try to persuade those around you to
not bother with wearing these things around because it’s a waste of time and it’s not very Christmasy to go
around looking like a fool with a bizarre outfitclothing item on. Like I said.when said in the above paragraph,
Christmas is a time for pretty lights and more, and ugly sweaters are anything and everything but pretty.
In addition to this, I feel that companies should stop making ugly sweaters, and if they do, maybe not price them as high as they are currently. On one website, it had said their ugly christmas sweaters were priced at around $35. Why would anyone want to waste money on a sweater to wear once for a holiday, and then wear a different one the following year? If anything, make your own ugly sweater for around
$10, or less because they shouldn’t be worth more than that. There are’s hundreds of different kinds of ugly
sweaters, from weird looking snowmen to gross looking Santas, that people go and prance around in because it’s ‘fun.’ This, in my opinion does not exactly seem like fun, especially when you’re forced to wear one
that someone made because it’s ‘fun.’ Ugly sweaters do not add to the Christmas cheer, and if you don’t care
about looking weird and you want to wear these hideous articles of clothing, then go ahead and wear them.
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