June - TheTigersRoar

June Issue 2008
Volume III Number 6
The Voice of Ridgefield High School
Diversity
Day
Senior Prom
Junior Prom
2
The Tiger’s Roar
Contents
3
4
6
8
10
12
13
14
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Calendar
Diversity Day
News Round Up
Senior Prom
Junior Prom
Fairfield County Battle of the Best
Scheduling
SAT vs. ACT
New Driving Laws
Late Bus
Mock Car Crash
Kids in the Hall: Summer Vacation
Movie Review: Fugue
Boy’s Lacrosse
Varsity Tennis
Varsity Baseball and Softball
Boys Volleyball
Outdoor Track
Art Show
June 2008 Issue
The Tiger’s Roar
Artistic Director
Assistant Opinion Editors
Amy Abloni
Tony Blum
Features Editor
Dana Droller
Antonya Gonzalez
Senior Photographer
Assistant Features Editors
Lauren O’Neill
Jessica Harriton
Associate Photographer
Kadie Maher
Tom Bruno
News Editor
Sports Editor
Alyssa Grossbard
Jake O’Brien
Associate News Editor
Adversting & Business
Kaitlyn Gerber
Coordinator
Opinion Editor
Tom Bruno
Alexa Pugh
Advisor: Mr. Tom Mattausch
On the Cover: Olivia Kohari ‘08, Julia Corso ‘08, Sarah Haughney
‘08 on Diversity Day Photo by Alejandra Giler
June 2008 Issue
June 2008 Events Calendar
The Tiger’s Roar is the student magazine of
Ridgefield High School
700 North Salem Road
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Co-Editors:
Amy Ablondi, Tara Formisano,
Victoria Shih
News
By Tara Formisano
Sunday
1
8
Race Unity
Day
15
Father’s Day
Monday
2
Meet the 2009
Candidates
Class Council
9
16
Tuesday
3
Wednesday Thursday
4
5
Senior
Recognition
Ceremony
National
Gingerbread
Day
Friday
6
Saturday
7
SATs
10
11
12
13
14
Last day of
Internships
Senior
Internship Fair
17
18
Budget Vote
Class Council
Voting
Senior
Banquet
Per. 5 & 7
Make-Ups for
Finals
Last Day of
School
22
23
24
Finals Begin
Per. 1 & 3
Per. 8 & 4
Per. 6 & 2
ACT’s
Relay for Life
19
20
Senior
Graduation
5 p.m
21
SUMMER VACATION
25
26
27
28
SUMMER VACATION
29
30
SUMMER VACATION
3
4
The Tiger’s Roar
News
June 2008 Issue
The Tiger’s Roar
News
June 2008 Issue
Diversity Day
By Greg Jones
Friday, May 2, was the Diversity
Club’s second annual Diversity Day,
and it was, once again, a huge success.
Diversity Day gives students at RHS a
chance to experience and educate themselves further about different cultures,
backgrounds and orientations of the RHS
community. The goal of this event is to
spread tolerance and acceptance in hopes
of bettering our future.
Diversity Day this year was a hit with
two new venues, performances by RHS’s
very own Step Group and Jazz Band,
and, of course, there was food, music and
lots of fun.
The Diversity Club hopes to continue
to improve in the years to come and to
promote the importance of acceptance in
our school and our community.
Top Left: Zach Marcus, ‘08. Middle:
Nicole Varnerin ‘08. Bottom Left: Alejandra Giler, ‘10 (photo by Zach Porterfield)
Bottom Right: Kristen Varney ‘08, and
Nimi Ehr ‘08
Photos by Alejandra Giler
Top Left: John Borden,‘10, Dan Pin ,‘09, Matthew Bellagamba ‘09, Drew Mazur, ‘08, Kevin Haines, ‘09, Tommy
Weeks, ‘09. Top Right: Soo In Ji, ‘10. Middle: Safiya
Samms, ‘08, Samantha Taddonio, ‘08, Garensha Sanon,
‘10, Jessica Adomako, ‘09. Bottom Left: Jaeho Lee ,‘10,
Victoria Mayer, ‘10 Bottom Right: Claire Dunn, ‘08
Photos by Alejandra Giler
5
6
The Tiger’s Roar
Junior
Book Awards
News
News Round Up
By Alyssa Grossbard
The annual Junior Recognition Ceremony was held in the RHS auditorium
at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.
This ceremony differed from those in
the freshman and sophomore years of
the class of 2009 because book awards
were granted to many students. According to the RHS history teachers, the book
awards are a way to recognize deserving students beyond the usual academic
awards, with books from many different
colleges, as well as special prizes, given.
Books came from a variety of colleges, including, for example, well-known
Harvard University, Williams College,
University of Michigan, and University
of Connecticut. As indicated by history
teacher Mr. Friedman, all teachers of
junior history classes collected surveys
from students in February and March
of this year and matched a student’s
academic interests and extracurricular
pursuits with a specific book from a
certain college.
In addition to the book awards,
several special accolades were given.
These included awards for service to
school clubs and programs and performances on national language exams, but
also juniors-only awards in the scientific fields. According to the ceremony
brochure, the University of Rochester
sponsored several science awards which
make the recipient eligible for a scholarship. These include the Bausch and Lomb
Honorary Science Award, the Frederick
Douglas and Susan B. Anthony Award,
George Eastman Young Leaders Award,
and Xerox Award for Innovation and
Information Technology. Although not
sponsored by the same university, the
RIT Computing Medal and Rensselaer
Medal for Mathematics and Sciences
were also given.
June 2008 Issue
The Tiger’s Roar
News
June 2008 Issue
7
Flocking Flamingos
By Tom Bruno
The Day of Silence
By Tom Bruno
The Straight and Gay Alliance (SAGA) sponsored the RHS Day of Silence 2008
on April 30. The Day of Silence is a silent protest of the bullying of gays, lesbians,
bisexuals, transsexuals and their allies as well as the use of rude and offensive terms
used to describe these people. The protestors work to increase awareness so that
schools and other public places can be safer for those being harmed. The National
Day of Silence took place April 25, but at RHS the date was changed so as not to
conflict with Youth to Youth’s Mock Car Crash. This year’s Day of Silence was held
in memory of Lawrence King, a California eighth grader who was shot and killed in
class for his sexual orientation and gender expression. Next year’s National Day of
Silence will be held on April 17. Those interested in more information can attend the
next SAGA meeting at RHS or visit dayofsilence.org.
Sophia Stoop, ‘11, and many
other students remained silent
April 30 throughout the Day of
Silence.
Photo By Tom Bruno
Debate Team Sucess
By Anna Blum
The Ridgefield High School Debate Team finished its season with huge successes.
Almost all of the novice members of the team received trophies and will be moving
on to compete at the varsity level next year. Two members of the team received trophies at the state championships as well. Tyler Webb, ‘11, won Best Novice Speaker,
and he and Anna Blum, also ‘11, won the award for Best Novice Team.
The debate team is divided up into two levels: novice and varsity. Varsity competition is for more advanced and experienced debaters. Each debate, the team members are given a packet of articles and a topic about which to debate. They come up
with their contentions, or main points, for both sides, and then debate three rounds
in teams of two. Teams will have to argue both sides of an issue. Issues range from
euthanasia, to funding for NASA, to universal health care, and are mostly political.
At meetings, members go over technique and debate format, as well as discuss current political issues.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s really fun,” said Anashya Srinivasan, a member of the
debate team. “It’s a great way to meet people.”
“Debate is a fun way to improve important skills such as public speaking,” said
public representative officer Alec Kessler. “Anyone who wants to improve or is
interested in politics should definitely join debate next year.”
Tom Bruno, ‘10, is puzzled by the appearance of pink flamingos
at the Community Entrance.
Photo by Alejandra Giler
A flock of pink flamingos appeared in the outside
planter at the Community Entrance of RHS sometime
on the eve of Tuesday, April 29. The colorful birds were
placed by members of Ridgefield’s Philanthropic Youth
Council (PYC) as part of a town-wide fundraising effort,
from April 28 through May 11. For a donation of $25,
the PYC assembled a flock of flamingos for two days
at any location in Ridgefield that a donor designated.
Proceeds from the activity are directly benefiting local
charities, such as Founders Hall, Meals on Wheels and
the Latchkey Kids Foundation. “The donor responsible
for the Community Entrance flocking chooses to remain
anonymous,” explained Anna Hastings, ‘09, PYC copresident, elect.
Sichuan Earthquake Relief Benefit Concert
By Sophie Cai
Stanley Cai and his piano teacher, Dr.
Tatiana Pikayzen, will perform piano
works from 4 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June
14, at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church during a benefit concert to
raise money for the Sichuan earthquake
relief efforts.
The concert is free and open to the
public, but donations will be collected
for the earthquake victims.
Stanley, a seventh-grader at East
Ridge Middle School, has played piano
since the age of four. Among his credits
are: semifinalist in the prestigious 2008
Tureck International Bach Competition;
first-place winner in the 2008 Renee B.
Fischer Piano Competition; first runnerup in the 2007 New Haven Symphony
Orchestra Concerto Competition; winner of the 2006 Greenwich Symphony
Orchestra Concerto Competition; 2006
American Fine Arts Festival Carnegie
Hall performer, and first-place winner
of the Schubert Club Bach, French, and
Chopin piano competitions. Stanley has
performed extensively over the past several years and is eager to share his music
with the Ridgefield community.
Dr. Tatiana Pikayzen is a resident of
Westport, Conn., who graduated with
honors from the famous Moscow Conservatory in her native Russia and was
a winner of the Eleventh International
Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in
Warsaw, Poland. A faculty member of the
Manhattan School of Music in New York,
she continues to perform with worldclass orchestras and give master classes
throughout Europe and Asia.
In the words of acclaimed violinist Igor
Oistrakh, Dr. Pikayzen’s playing is marked
by “mastery of all the virtuosic challenges
of the instrument…[and] subtleties in
interpretation [which] show the depth of
her classical style.”
All are invited for an afternoon of
beautiful music to commemorate the vic-
tims of the Sichuan earthquake and show
support for those who have survived.
Amidst the sorrow that has enveloped
the millions affected by this tragedy,
donations collected during the concert
can help the people of Sichuan to emerge
from the rubble and rebuild.
(Editor’s Note: The author is a 2007
Ridgefield High School graduate and has
returned home to Ridgefield after completing her freshman year at Harvard
College.)
Student Government Election Results
By Alyssa Grossbard
Elections for the Student Government
Executive Board and Class Councils
were held at RHS on May 22 and June
3. Executive Board elections were held
first, and subsequently, elections for class
council positions were held, for the classes
of 2009, 2010 and 2011. The candidates
for student body positions campaigned
in the Black Box Theater the day prior to
elections.
Executive Board Officers
President, Brianna Jordan; VP Rights &
Responsibilities, Katie Hurley; VP Activities, Jessica Adomako; Secretary, Shannon
Galowski; Treasurer, Robert Johnson;
Public Relations, Kadie Maher.
Class Council 2009
President, Lauren Manno; VP, Daniel
Pin; Secretary, Lauren Peterson; Treasurer,
Patrick Lobb. Senators: Sara Bodner;
Tara Formisano; Alyssa Grossbard; Anna
Hastings; Kayla Mantegazza; Annie
Untied
Class Council of 2010
President, Carter Wilkinson; VP, Chris
McKeown; Secretary,
Melissa Simonelli, Treasurer; Mark Miller. Senators:
Jon Borden; Rebecca Corso; Cristina
Fernandez; Jordan Hewett; Mary Shaw;
Kelleigh Whelan.
Class Council of 2011
President, Andy Suslavich; VP, Amy
Weaton, Secretary, Emily Rella; Treasurer, Cara LaMotta. Senators: Kim Cohen;
Patrick Ford-Matz; Michaela Giovannoli; Mary Kate Nyland; Leah Petrucelli;
Aruja Vashi.
8
The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
Senior Prom
June 2008 Issue
The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
By Tara Formisano
The annual Senior Prom took place at
The Waterview in Monroe, CT on May
30, 2008, . The theme of the magical
night was “Sail Away.” The seniors and
their dates danced the night away under
the glistening chandelier in the grand
ballroom that overlooks the moonlight
water. As the prom went on, the Senior
Prom King and Queen were announced to
be Katherine Jacox, ’08, and Matt Oakes,
’08. It was a perfect night and a perfect way to end the seniors’ high school
experience.
Top Right: Amrita Sankar, Michell Huey, Nimi Ehr, Tara
Sullivan, Cailey Budlong, Moira Magni, Sarah Carideo
(all ‘08) Middle: Kim Amrod, Meghan Dowling, Kendall Byl, Shannon Belfanti, Allison Miyashita, Brenna
Meagher, Sarah Perlman, Taylor Lee, Leslie Dickson,
Fulvia Vargas, Safiya Samms, Katie Barrett (all ‘08)
Bottom Left: Jordan Tiger, ‘08, Kelly Jorgensen, ‘09,
Ciara Brinkmann, ‘09, Brad DePrimma, ‘08 Bottom
Right: Alison Merrill, ‘09 and Justin Mazzamaro, ‘08
Photos Courtesy of facebook.com
Top Left: Katie Barrett, ‘08 and Bobby Dunphy, ‘08 Top Right:
Ali Arcoleo, ‘09, Holly DeBartolo, ‘08, Luciana Solano, ‘08,
Olivia Tracey, ‘08, Sandy Garrett, 08 , Middle Left: Matt
Fallon, ‘08 and Sam Dighton, ‘08 Middle Right: Isaac Fine, ‘08,
Danielle Cofini, ‘09, Allie Cavalea, 09, Jason Lavardera, ‘08
Bottom Right: Annie Wendel, ‘09, Tim Griffin, ‘08
Photos Courtesy of facebook.com
June 2008 Issue
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10
The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
Junior Prom
June 2008 Issue
The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
By Tara Formisano
The annual Junior Prom took place in the
Ridgefield High School student center
on Saturday, May 17, 2008, . The theme
for the dance was “When the Stars Go
Blue”. Planned by the Class of 2009
student council, the student center was
decorated beautifully with blue and
silver stars and white lights. After filing
through the Black Box Theater where
pictures were taken, the students entered
the dance floor in the student center
through a huge blue star archway. The
Prom King and Queen were announced
about half way through the dance and
ecstatic Prom Queen, Annie Untied, ’09,
and her Prom King, Jon Mirra, ’09, delicately glided down the circling student
center stairs and made a grand appearance. It was a night every girl and guy
there will remember for a lifetime.
“When
the Stars
Go Blue”
Top Left: Jake Hyatt, ‘09, Ali
Arcoleo, ‘09, Kyle Lockwood, ‘09,
kayla Mantagazza. ‘09, David
Fuchs, ‘09, Kendal Peterson, ‘10
Top Right: Max Johnson, ‘09 and
Vivan Tsou, ‘09 Bottom Left: Anna
Gluck, ‘09 and Zach Marcus, ‘08
Middle: Sarah Fisher, ‘09, Tim
McPhee, ‘09, Grace Hardin, ‘09,
Courtney Peckham ‘09, Max Peters, ‘08 Bottom Right: Alexa Pugh,
‘09, Alycia Hudson, ‘09, Rachel
Beal ‘09, Katie Tregurtha, ‘09,
Heather Devane, ‘09.
Photos Courtesy of facebook.com
Top Left: Teresa Giovannoli, ‘08, Tara Formisano, ‘09, Annie
Untied, ‘09, Ebeth Ninnavagi, ‘09, Kristi Casey, ‘09, Laurelle
Giovannoli, ‘09 Midddle: Lisa Girolametti, ‘09 and Steve
Coulter, ‘09 Bottom Left: Jenna Kaplan, ‘09, Lauren Bonistalli,
‘09 Bottom Right: Kim Dashefsky, ‘09, Brianne Reedy, ‘09,
Kelsey Caviola, ‘09, Taylor Pazer, ‘09, Danielle Dietsek, ‘09
Photos Courtesy of facebook.com
June 2008 Issue
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The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
June 2008 Issue
Fairfield County
Battle of the Best 2008
By Tom Bruno
Beat Influence and Kidzaid sponsored
and organized the Fairfield Battle of the
Best High School Bands of Fairfield
County on Saturday, May 10. A total of
nine of Fairfield County’s best student
bands performed their various unique
styles. They were judged by three celebrity judges as well as by audience members
who texted their votes.
The judges were: Scott Sylvester, who
has spent 13 years as a nationally touring singer-songwriter and has been with
many music and recording firms; Yu-Ting
Lin, who is head of operations for A&M/
Octane Records and has worked with
Gavin DeGraw, Maroon 5, and many
other famous artists; and Kevin Briody, a
famous singer-songwriter who has been
on stage with several other famous artists
and has received an Emmy nomination.
To start off the night, Where’s Gino,
from Danbury’s Immaculate High
School, performed. Next was Brookfield’s own Alf Landon, a band inspired
by the Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters,
Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, and others.
Third in the lineup from Southbury came
Down 2 Earth, a band that says it is “a
little jazz, a little funk, and all rock!”.
Fourth came Ridgefield’s own, Cast
INSINU Members: Jon Borden, ‘10, and
Richie Hume, ‘10
Photo By Tom Bruno
No Shadow, which had placed second
at RHS’s Battle of the Bands, performing Rage Against The Machine, H.I.M.,
and Linkin Park-inspired hard rock. The
members of Cast No Shadow are Anashya
Srinivasan, ’11, on vocals, Doug Heiser,
’09, on guitar, Logan Schier, ’09, playing
bass, and Cameron Bell, ’10, in back bashing away at the drums.
Next came the Poster Boys from
Weston, a power trio inspired by the works
of The Clash, The Who, and The Kinks.
Cast No Shadow Members: Logan Schier, ‘09, Anashya SrinivasN, ‘11, Cameron Bell,
‘10, Doug Heiser, ‘09
Photo By Tom Bruno
Nestor, an alternative-sounding band of
many collaborative eclectic styles from
New Canaan, rolled in following the
Poster Boys. From New Fairfield, the
four-piece group Turbulent performed its
unique sounds to the crowd.
A crowd favorite, and first place
winner of RHS’s Battle of the Bands,
was the hard rock/metal band INSINU.
INSINU is made up of Drew Arcoleo,
’10, on lead guitar and vocals, Richie
Hume, ’10, singing lead vocals and
guitar, Stephen Budlong, ’10, on drums,
and Jon Borden, ’10, playing bass.
To end the night, Party On The 3rd
Floor played their rock, alternative, and
punk-styled works.
The individual decisions of the three
judges were:
Scott Sylvester—The Poster Boys,
first; Down 2 Earth, second; INSINU,
third;
Yu-Ting Lin—The Poster Boys, first;
INSINU, second; Cast No Shadow,
third;
Kevin Briody—The Poster Boys,
first; Down 2 Earth, second; and INSINU, third.
All proceeds of the event went to
support Kidzaid, a non-profit organization that assists children facing unusual
adversity, deadly illnesses, handicap,
trauma, homelessness, orphaning, and
other life challengers.
As of now, Kidzaid mainly supports
Paul Newman’s Hole In The Wall Gang
Camp, a summer camp for children who
face unusual life challenges.
The RHS group, Beat Influence, also
partnered up with Kidzaid to organize
the event. Beat Influence is a student-run
music club that promotes the straightedge lifestyle of healthy alternatives
to drinking, smoking, and drug abuse.
The club’s members participate in the
use of mixers, turn tables, and recording equipment, and engage in musical
discussions.
The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
April 2007 Issue
13
Scheduling Process: Revealed
By Victoria Shih
“Paper, paper, paper!” is how Ms.
Juanita Hall, RHS counseling department chair, describes the scheduling
process—one which is frustratingly
ambiguous to those students who are
impatient to discover who their teachers
and classmates will be for the upcoming
school year.
Some aggravated students wonder
why it takes so long for schedules to be
created and distributed, and why their
conflicts are not so easily resolved.
From the time we drop off our Pupil
Course Request forms (PCRs) in a box
in the counseling center in early March,
until we receive our eagerly-anticipated
completed schedules in the middle or
towards the end of the summer, it often
feels that all communication with the
scheduling process is lost into some
distant administrative outer space.
While it may seem that the schedules
which will dictate the course of our daily
lives for nine months vanish irretrievably between March and July, this is far
from the truth. Deciphering the scheduling process reveals it to be a very timeconsuming task that requires the extreme
dedication to detail of all who are
involved in this multi-step procedure.
Once the PCRs are received in the
counseling center, an intensive process
begins. First, these forms are distributed to the students’ individual school
counselors. These counselors look over
the forms for about two weeks, rooting
out any major problems, such as missing credits or an improper sequence of
course levels, before the process gets
further underway.
From the school counselors’ offices,
the forms are then routed to Mrs. Evelyn
Wool in the Data Center. In this small
room containing little more than a computer keyboard and screen and a shelf
filled end to end with thick binders, our
course requests are converted to billions
of bytes of digital data. Here, Mrs. Wool
spends three or four hours a day for
several weeks entering students’ requests
into the database stored on the school’s
computer, individually adding each course
to each student’s request list until the 1800
students’ course requests have all been
inputted.
Mrs. Wool, who began working this
job full-time only this past January, enters
about 40 students’ course data per hour.
Working non-stop, this would take 45
hours, but since Mrs. Wool is the caretaker
of multiple school databases, from schedules to locker combinations, this task takes
several weeks. Once this task is complete,
the lists are passed on to Mrs. Stephanie
Parker, assistant principal.
Drawing on her prior experience and
Photo Courtesy of jupiterimages.com
knowledge about the combinations of
courses that students tend to request in
each grade, Mrs. Parker is responsible
for creating a master schedule of courses
that coordinates with as many students’
requests and needs as possible. To accomplish this, she creates a large grid on
which every single class meeting on every
day of the week is represented. This step
takes hours, days, and weeks of calculation and reconfiguring. Making 1800 high
school students’ schedules mesh is not
exactly a simple, straightforward task.
Once a master schedule—that is, one
which incorporates every section of every
class of every day of the week—has been
created, student schedules are run through
Schoolmaster, the district-wide computer
program that is also responsible for attendance, computing grades, and keeping
track of various other types of student
records. Using the schedule provided to
it by Ms. Parker, Schoolmaster is quite
successful at producing conflict-free
schedules. Out of approximately 1,800
schedules, generally, only 30 to 40
schedules cannot be completely accommodated.
The two percent of course requests
which Schoolmaster is unable to handle
are then returned to the individual school
counselors to be resolved. The most
common problems at this point involve
scheduling conflicts, including issues
with class times or sizes. To solve these
conflicts, counselors work with each
individual schedule to determine whether
any manipulations can be made before
notifying the student by around mid-June
and working with him or her to make any
further necessary changes or sacrifices.
When schedules have been completed
to the best of the counseling center’s
ability, “clean schedules,” or those which
are conflict-free, are mailed out to students in July or August.
Ms. Hall stresses the need to notify
one’s school counselor if a conflict arises
before the last minute, as changing
schedules becomes progressively more
difficult as the summer continues. She
also reminds us that it is important to
keep in mind that initial requests—those
made on the PCR—will be processed
before later changes in preference for
electives or specific preferences about
teachers.
This preference about teachers should
be limited to requests about those with
whom the student or a sibling has had a
direct conflict in order to minimize any
discomfort that may come from such an
interaction.
As the 2007-08 school year comes to
a close and the 2008-09 year appears to
be approaching faster and faster, before
complaining about the time it takes for
schedules to hit mailboxes, we should all
think about what a journey our schedules
have been through between February and
August.
14
The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
June 2008 Issue
SAT Tests: What Are They Good For?
By Alyssa Grossbard
SAT… it’s a seemingly simple acronym consisting of merely three letters.
Yet, the mention of anything related
to the SAT evokes annoyance and fear
in the minds of high school students
nationwide. The test, created by Educational Testing Services (ETS) and
administered by the College Board, consists of only three areas of content and
lasts for less than four hours. Yet, scores
on this exam are seen by many students,
Photo Courtesy of books4u.in/book_detail.
php?book_id=1534
parents, and guidance counselors as
valuable entry tickets into college.
According to the College Board
website, more than two million students
take the SAT Reasoning Test every year.
While the test is grueling for some and
considered a waste of time by others,
its overarching popularity as the test
of choice for East Coast students is
undeniable—and for good reason.
The SAT, although no longer an
acronym for “Scholastic Aptitude Test”
but a word in itself, is used by colleges to
measure academic potential of applicants.
While grade-point average is obviously the
most useful indicator of a student’s college
grades, high school grading systems vary
widely across the nation. Discrepancies in
grading scale, weighting of AP and honors
courses and rigor of courses abound. For
example, Ridgefield considers any grade
from a 90-94 percent to be an “A” and 95
percent and up to be an “A+”. According
to the district website of Fairfax County
public schools, this school system in Virginia considers 94 percent and up to be an
“A” grade, and 90-93 percent only a “B+”.
Clearly, the meaning of an “A” is ambiguous. SAT scores are considered the great
equalizer because students in Connecticut
sit for the same exam as do students in
Colorado and California.
In addition, SAT scores can indicate
potential in bright students in the same
manner as an IQ test. While special testprep companies and tutoring services
abound, it becomes more difficult to raise
a student’s scores as his or her baseline
score increases.
Therefore, while according to their
handbook, the Princeton Review class
guarantees a score increase or will allow
you to take more classes for free, the guarantee applies only to what they consider a
substantial increase in scores.
In other words, they might be able
to raise a student’s overall score on the
2400-point scale from a 1550 to an 1850,
but they don’t make the same promise for
a student who scores 2100 at first. Instead,
a student scoring a 2100 might work just
as hard as the 1550 student and raise his
24 Prospect Street
Ridgefield, CT 06877-4510
203-438-8200
www.Jazzeria.com
or her score to 2200—one-third the increase in the first student’s score. This is
because the SAT measures aptitude and
it is very difficult to score highly on an
aptitude test unless one really possesses
the natural ability to do so.
Some studies have claimed that SAT
scores correlate to a person’s background and parental income. In their
book, The Bell Curve: Class Structure
and the Future of America, authors
Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray discuss a famous example of such a
correlation, the oarsman-regatta analogy.
A question on an old SAT test from the
analogy section (which has since been
removed) asked students to choose the
best analogy for runner:marathon. The
correct answer was oarsman:regatta.
While the answer choice is clear for
those who know what both a marathon
and a regatta are, the authors argue that
inner-city minority students are much
less likely to have heard of or attended a
regatta than white students from wealthy
public or private schools.
Clearly, no test is perfect, as shown
by the example above. But the SAT continues to be the only measure short of an
IQ test that can be used to measure aptitude, and so colleges will likely continue
to use SAT scores in their admissions
processes for the foreseeable future.
The Tiger’s Roar
Feature
June 2008 Issue
15
ACT Tests: A Resonable Alternative?
By Antonya Gonzalez
The ACT is often seen as a supplemental test to the notorious SAT, and it
commonly falls by the wayside when
students score well on the latter. However, most colleges now accept the ACT
in lieu of the SAT. Often considered the
more content based of the two tests, the
ACT can be used as a substitute for students who struggle with the SAT. Unlike
the SAT, the ACT is measured on a scale
from 1-36. Each section is evaluated by
this standard, and the grades are averaged to give a composite score.
According to the American College
Testing website, the ACT is a three-hour
exam with an optional half hour essay
question. The test is divided into four
sections: English, math, reading and science. According to Kaplan test prep, the
ACT is based on a regular high school
curriculum.
A huge difference between the ACT
and SAT is the science reasoning section
found on the ACT. The very idea of science testing is an immediate turn off for
some students, but everyone should take
into consideration the section format.
The science section does not require any
outside knowledge of scientific facts,
but instead tests students’ abilities to
interpret diagrams and draw conclusions
from the data given to them.
The other three sections are generally
straightforward. The English section
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simply tests grammar skills acquired in
school. The math found on the ACT can
be categorized into algebra and geometry,
with a small amount of trigonometry
included. One negative of the ACT Math
is the lack of a formula sheet. Students are
expected to know basic geometric formulas, as well as use them correctly within
the problems. The reading section is based
on interpretation of the given passages.
Four passages are given on the test in different subject areas: Prose Fiction, Social
Science, Humanities and Natural Science.
It is recommended that students take
the writing portion of the ACT if applying to more competitive colleges. The
majority of top tier schools require the
ACT writing as an additional measure of
ability. If your colleges do not require
the writing section, and composing timed
persuasive essays is not your strong suit, it
is advisable that you do not take the writing section. The writing section factors
into your English score, and if you do not
receive a good grade on your essay, it can
bring down your overall score.
Timing is a huge issue associated with
the ACT. This is particularly exemplified in the English and Reading sections,
where your reading speed greatly contributes to whether or not you will score well.
As explained on the American College
Testing website, the English section asks
75 grammar questions (which are incorporated into passages) in 45 minutes. This
can be a challenge for many students of all
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different academic levels. The Reading
Test requires you to read four passages
and answer 40 questions in 35 minutes.
The Math section only allots 60 minutes
for 60 math questions and the Science
section 35 minutes for 40. These time
constraints can often make students
feel overwhelmed by the test. Students
who are looking to take this test should
be able to pace themselves through the
entire three and a half hour exam.
Conversely, a major benefit of the
ACT is its grading system. No points are
deducted for wrong answers, and therefore guessing is encouraged. Another
positive is the lack of an “experimental”
section. Nothing on the ACT is superfluous, therefore keeping students focused
solely on questions that contribute to
their grade.
Test-taking decisions should only be
made after seriously weighing the pros
and cons of each test as well as doing
practice problems to evaluate your ability. Practice tests for the ACT can be
found on www.act.org. Courses are offered for the ACT, but they can be harder
to find in the Northeast than SAT classes.
In the end, it is best to take whichever
test feels more comfortable for you.
Standardized tests are another measure
of your potential, and by choosing the
right test, you can better succeed in demonstrating who you are as a student.
16
The Tiger’s Roar
Opinion
June 2008 Issue
The Tiger’s Roar
New Teen Driving Laws
By Tony Blum
Of all of rewards and honors high
school students strive for, it seems
strange that one of the most coveted
accolades is none other than a 2¼ by
3¾-inch piece of plastic: a driver’s
license. However, this small certificate
seems to represent the first taste of true
independence for teenagers. So naturally,
when new, stricter driving laws were
signed by the Connecticut legislature,
there was a collective groan from teenage
drivers. But, is this knee-jerk reaction
premature? While it is easy to write off
these new laws as an attempt to stifle
teenage freedom and self-reliance, this
subjective point of view should be open
to reconsideration. Are these laws really
in our best interest?
The phrase, “You’ll understand when
you’re older,” leaves teens world-wide
seething. Often times, it seems that
parents, and in this case lawmakers,
simply cannot relate to the adolescent
frame of mind. To someone who, for so
long, looked forward to breaking free
from rides in Mom’s minivan, these new
laws are over-protective and impractical. One of the first complaints concerns
the extended road-training involved with
driver’s education, which has doubled
from 20 to 40 hours. Teenagers, who play
sports, juggle numerous clubs and other
activities, and have homework to finish
barely have time to eat, let alone schedule these added hours. Even parents have
expressed frustration over the mandatory
two hours they will have to spend learning about proper driving instruction. The
new 11 o’clock curfew will further limit
the amount of time that a young driver
can be on the road, even if she or he is
just heading home from a late movie. Additionally, the new one-year restriction
on having other teens in the car eliminates the possibility of carpooling. With
gas prices so high, this can put a serious
dent in someone’s savings, let alone
put a black spot on someone’s record as
an environmentalist. Some would even
argue that teen drivers ignore passenger
restrictions despite the current laws,
and that increasing the time from six
Ridgefield High School prides itself
in having a large number of extra curricular activities. Unfortunately, many
of these clubs do not last more than half
an hour after school, and even when it
arrives on time, the earliest late bus does
not come until around 4:30 p.m., or two
hours and 15 minutes after school ends.
For students with lots of homework and
whose parents are not able to pick them
up, this can make it almost impossible to
participate in any clubs or sports teams,
for in the time between the end of one’s
activity and the arrival of the late bus, it
is very difficult to get any work done.
The library closes on most days at
either 3 or 3:30 p.m., so often by the time
one’s club meeting is done the library
is already closed. Then, one is either
faced with the dilemma of working in the
cafeteria or working at one of the desks
where hall monitors sit during the school
day. As the cafeteria is where most kids
who are waiting to be picked up hang
out, it is very noisy and people are usually running around or playing hacky sack
by the tables. Working at the upstairs
desks is just as bad because there is the
distraction of the custodians cleaning as
well as that of the track team running by
every few minutes in the winter.
Thus, when I get on the late bus at
4:30 p.m., I find I am exhausted and have
gotten little work done. The bus does not
reach my house until close to 5:30 p.m.
(and I am not even the last stop!) because
the bus drops off each person who takes
it at his or her own house. So, in order
to go to a 30-minute meeting, I waste
two and a half hours just waiting to get
home. Instead of being finished with my
homework and having the evening free, I
now have to stay up late in order to finish
all of my school work.
The late bus situation could easily
be improved, and I am sure that if the
late bus experience were more pleasant,
many more students would get involved
in clubs and sports at the high school.
The best solution to the late bus problem
would be to have the bus come at 3 p.m.,
when most of the clubs are over. I see
months to a year wouldn’t improve matters. What’s more interesting, it seems that
those who are most bitter are those who
can’t get their licenses until Aug. 1, when
these laws go into effect. While some of
their friends and older siblings happily
accept the grandfather clauses exempting
them from the new passenger restrictions,
curfew rollback, and driver’s education
requirements, these younger drivers have
to abide by the new set of rules. When the
group with the majority of complaints is
the group that is affected by the new laws,
it is important to consider a bias. In reality,
their say on the matter is more likely born
of resentment than of a well thought out
opinion.
These new driving laws have also
increased the penalties for defying restrictions; speeding, driving other passengers
illegally, and other violations can earn a
teenager far more than the basic 48-hour
license suspension, as well as hundreds of
dollars in fees and fines—and this is only
for the first offense. With this barrage of
new and stricter limitations, it’s hard to
see the benefit. However, some research
provides evidence that these laws weren’t
just concocted as revenge for late papers
and loud music; they were intended to do
some good.
The Teen Driving Foundation reported
that approximately 5,000 teens are killed
each year in automobile accidents,
and the National Safety Council cites
speeding as the main factor in these fatal
crashes. Additionally, the Connecticut
Teen Driving Safety Partnership concluded that 40 percent of fatal accidents
involving teens occurred between 9 p.m.
and 3 a.m. and that 71.5 percent of fatal
crashes with 16-year-old drivers involve
one or more passengers. As it turns out,
these lawmakers have statistics to back
up their legislation. Maybe the penalties
and fines weren’t designed to be cruel,
but to make sure that teens exercise
more caution on the road. Maybe the
increased passenger restrictions and earlier curfew weren’t designed to destroy
free-will, but to decrease the amount of
tragic stories surrounding teenage car
wrecks. Coming home one hour earlier
doesn’t even compare to coming home
in a wheelchair, or maybe not even
coming home at all. It may be difficult
to get over the aggravation these laws
present, but it is important to look at the
bigger picture as well as Ridgefield High
School’s recent past.
These laws are annoying. These laws
are a hassle. However, these laws have
the potential to save lives. So for now,
we’ll just have to grit our teeth and bear
it, in hopes that one day, when we’re
older, we’ll understand.
June 2008 Issue
that it may be difficult to have a 3 p.m.
late bus, though, because the people who
drive the late bus also drive another school
bus route immediately after school and
it would be difficult for them to make it
from their last stop back to the high school
by 3 p.m. The next best way to solve this
problem would be to have the library
remain open until 4:30 p.m., when the late
bus comes. This also may be impossible,
though, because the librarians would have
to work much longer hours. Perhaps the
most practical solution would be to have
the library open after school only two days
a week, but to have it open until 4:30 p.m.
This way the librarians would not have to
work more hours and people who participate in clubs would have a place to do
their school work.
While it is granted that the inconvenience of taking the late bus is not the
school’s most pressing problem, and I
could probably just try to concentrate a
little harder and do my homework while
waiting for the bus, it would be very easy
to make the late bus more accessible.
Most people in Ridgefield High School
who are too young to drive are picked up
by their parents after attending a club
or sports practice, and thus the late bus
almost never has more than 10 people
on it. This is a huge waste because if the
late bus came a couple of hours earlier or
the library were open a couple of hours
later, the late bus would be a great option
for kids with lots of homework and a big
help for busy parents rather than being a
last resort for students who cannot find a
ride home.
Late Bus Fuss
By Alexa Pugh
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Opinion
17
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18
The Tiger’s Roar
News
June 2008 Issue
Mock Car Crash earns high marks
By Kadie Maher
Traffic patrol officers led drivers
through a detour around RHS on April
23 to leave Ridgebury Road clear for
a Mock Car Crash. After a year of preparation conducted by the town and Youth
to Youth, the Wednesday after April
vacation arrived. A Mock Car Crash had
not been done in nine years, so aside
from warnings in a letter sent out two
weeks before the event, most students
did not know quite what to expect.
Ms. Maggie Meriwether, health
education teacher and advisor of Youth
to Youth, had led a committee through
the process. The committee, composed
of RHS staff, police and fire department
officers, three Youth to Youth members,
and others, began planning the event
in May of 2007. At the start of the new
school year, Youth to Youth started to
take a more active role in the planning
as well. The group aimed to communicate a proactive message to the school,
so that in turn, students would think
before driving under the influence of
alcohol. As April 2008 approached, the
demonstration was cast and the makeup crew was sought with the assistance
of Sherry Cox, an English and theater
teacher at RHS.
Confusion and anticipation swept
through the school that Wednesday
morning as a fake 9-1-1 call was played
over the loudspeakers. Jordan Tiger
explained that he had seen two vehicles
crash in front of his house, and there was
a possibility that there were sufficiently
injured individuals inside. Classes of
every grade quickly filed out and gathered on the grassy knoll near the junior
parking lot to watch the demonstration.
Jaws dropped as students and staff came
down the hill and saw two smashed cars
and a student lying facedown on the
pavement.
A narrator began by explaining that
of the two cars involved in the crash,
one was filled with drunken teens
returning from a party. The students of
the other car were returning home from
hanging out at a friend’s house and were
sober. The narrator then read a familiar
and emotional poem for many, “I Went
to a Party, Mom.”
Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars
pulled in within minutes. Walking wounded students Sarah Boyce, ’10, Elizabeth
Harris, ’10, and Greg Newman, ’10, were
taken into the ambulance after a student,
later recognized as Dylan Manderlink, ’10,
was pronounced dead and covered with a
sheet. Officer Fernando Luis tested Mike
Kaslauskas, ’08, for signs of intoxication
and hand-cuffed him, while simultaneously, the Jaws of Life were used for rapid
extrications of Heather Watts, ’09, and a
trapped person, Colleen Courtney, ’09.
Other elements of the demonstration
included having Amy Jonsson, an East
Ridge Middle School counselor, acting as
Dylan’s mother, on the scene, as well as
Pastor Bill Pfohl of Jesse Lee Methodist
Church. The generators were turned off
and silence choked the scene as the hearse
rolled down the hill, picked up Dylan,
and drove away. Narrators Kara Coleman, ’10, and Clare Bozso, ’09, closed the
demonstration with Dylan’s obituary, and
a reminder of the dramatic statistic that
every fifteen minutes someone dies of an
alcohol-related car crash.
The students were dismissed back to
their classes, many experiencing emotions
they were neither expecting nor prepared for. Reactions ranged among anger, tears, confusion, and for some, lack
of emotion. Hannah Basile, ’10, shared
the opinion of many, that the experience was “eye-opening.” Teachers were
encouraged to speak with their students
after the event, counselors were available throughout the day, and tables were
set up in the student center to answer
any questions.
The officers of the Ridgefield Police
and Fire Departments, who offered their
time and energy to the cause, stayed for
a debriefing session with the members
of Youth to Youth and other students and
staff involved.
The committee was pleased by the
positive feedback from the staff and
students, and many students found
themselves making the choice to spread
the drug-free message through supporting or joining Youth to Youth. Youth to
Youth hopes for similar demonstrations
in future years due to the overall positive response of the student body.
The Tiger’s Roar
Opinion
June 2008 Issue
Kids in the Hall: Summer Vacation
By Lindsay Clouse
You know the rest! It’s summertime,
RHS, and many of your classmates will
be doing a lot of interesting things over
vacation. Whether they are traveling to
amazing places, seeing relatives, chilling
with friends, trying out different activities, or just goofing off, one thing’s for
sure, Ridgefield High School students
will be busy.
While we all love boatloads of
homework, tests, getting up at 6 a.m,
and staying up until 12 midnight doing
projects, the countdown is on! The last
day of school is on June 17, 2008. So
vacation, here we come. And whatever
you decide to do, have a safe, fun-filled,
enjoyable 70 days away from school.
Check out what these students are doing
this summer.
Above: “This summer I’m moving
to San Diego which is going to be
a major change…Besides moving,
I’m also going to a running camp.”
— Mina Zhou, ‘11
Left: “I am going to Cape Cod for
one week.” — Alexandra Russell,
‘10
Above: “I’m going to Florida for
two weeks.” — Catherine Pin, ‘11
Above: “I’m planning to just stay
in Ridgefield and hang out with
friends, and maybe work a little.”
— Natasha Rajaratnam, ‘10
Above: “I’m going to play Frisbee with my friends.” — Corey
Lewin, ‘08
Photos By Lindsay Clouse
and Victoria Shih
Dylan Manderlink ‘10
Photo By Lauren O’Neill
19
Left: “I’ll be working on a youth
theatre production at the playhouse.” — Max Singer, ‘09
20
The Tiger’s Roar
Entertainment
June 2008 Issue
Sports
June 2008 Issue
21
Boys Varsity Lacrosse Wrap-Up
“Fugue”
Movie
Review
By Jake O’Brien
Directed by: Grant Rosenmeyer
Released: May 16, 2008
By Antonya Gonzalez
Louis Gordon, ’09, and Grant Rosenmeyer, ’09, premiered their original film,
Fugue, in the Ridgefield High School
Auditorium on May 16. The movie was
shot entirely in Ridgefield, and Ridgefield High School students engineered
every aspect of the production. The
premiere was well attended, not only by
students, but also by other members of
the Ridgefield community. By releasing
a trailer on YouTube as well as publicizing the premiere across the high school,
Fugue’s creators managed to attract
the attention of many Ridgefielders. To
viewers’ satisfaction, Fugue’s producers
and crew successfully created an engaging and entertaining film to present to the
school.
Fugue begins by introducing lonely
teenager Hal Gordon (Grant Rosenmeyer) who doubles as a paid stalker for suspicious boyfriends. It becomes clear that
Hal is a troubled individual with more
issues in his life than the average high
schooler. In the opening scene, viewers
also meet Steven Hildebrandt (Ben Bass,
‘09), a paranoid student desperate to
discover the truth about his girlfriend’s
fidelity. Reluctantly, Hal agrees to temporarily spy on Steven’s girlfriend, Adele
Julian (Sierra Hubsher, ‘08).
As he follows her, Hal finds himself
growing more and more attached to the
independent Adele. Even though he
finds nothing suspicious about her activities, he continues to watch her. After
days of trailing Adele and an unfriendly
encounter between the two, Hal puts a
halt to his stalking. He stumbles upon
a new obsession—the murder of the
character Kerri Flanagan. Kerri, who
strikingly resembles Adele, is a pretty
young high school student found dead in
The Tiger’s Roar
Photo
Courtesy
of facebook.com
the woods. After coming across Kerri’s
story in the newspaper, Hal takes it upon
himself to solve her mystery. Although he
is unsure of his own motives, Hal seeks
out Adele’s murderer without regard to
consequence. His desperate search leads
him on a path of plot twists and false accusations that ultimately lead to the shocking
conclusion.
Fugue successfully captivates the viewers, drawing them further into the plot and
keeping them enticed by the many twists
within. Thanks to a well scripted plot and
accomplished filming, Fugue is nothing
less than professional.
The characters are portrayed creatively,
with each actor bringing individuality to
his or her respective role. Grant Rosenmeyer’s characterization of Hal Gordon is
particularly arresting, and Hal’s mysterious nature is preserved throughout the
film.
The movie’s setting is well done, with
the majority of the film taking place during the winter. The creators successfully
set the atmosphere with their selections
of location as well as lighting and overall
cinematography.
Bryan Belok’s, ’08, music score perfectly sets the mood of the movie. Other
Ridgefield High School students who
contributed to the success of the film were
production designer Chantal LeBlanc,
’09, and makeup artist Clare Jennings,
‘09. Emma Huckstadt, ’09, and Conor
O’Brien, ’09, served as sound operators
during the filming of the movie. Editing and photography direction can be
attributed to Louis Gordon.
The movie was created in association
with the high school’s Company, which
provides opportunity for students with
many different talents to collaborate on
performance projects.
Grant and Louis ended the premiere
with a question and answer session—
giving the viewers opportunity to learn
more about this huge undertaking.
Member of the cast, Ben Bass and Sierra
Hubsher, also participated and answered
inquiries about the difficulties of filming.
During production, the crew had to
shoot in cold January weather, deal with
camera malfunctions, and recast crucial
characters. “We had so many headaches
and so many delays,” said Grant. After
six months of filming and six weeks of
editing, director Grant Rosenmeyer says
he is more than satisfied with the results.
Due to the success of their final product,
Grant says they hope to enter the film
into festivals. “It exceeded expectations
from beginning to end,” Grant stated.
Grant and Louis also intend to produce
more movies and new ideas are already
in the works.
The boys varsity lacrosse team’s
spectacular season is coming to a close,
but this very talented squad performed
superbly and put up numbers that will
not be forgotten in the near future. The Tigers finished the regular season
with a 14-2 record, qualifying them for
both FCIAC’s and CIAC’s. Second-year
coach Andrew Stockfisch, who played
on a Division I lacrosse team when he
was in college, was instrumental in
building on an inexperienced 2007 Tiger
team. Led by junior attack men Matt
White, Colin Scott, and Matt Baker, as
well as by defenseman Luke Mackenzie
and goalie Brad Deprima, both ‘08, the
Tigers were able to pump out some very
strong victories.
After winning nine straight games to
kick off the 2008 season, including margins of victories as wide as twenty goals
and a key 13-10 victory over nationally
ranked Greenwich High School, the Tigers
finally fell to an also-strong New Fairfield
team, 17-13.
This proved to be only a minor setback;
the Tigers proceeded to win three straight
games against Westhill, Brien McMahon
and Trumbull. Next, they went to head to
head with another nationally ranked team,
Darien High School. A strong overall performance by the Tigers and a great game
in the net by Brad Deprima proved to be
meaningless as the Tigers dropped their
second game of the year, 13-7.
Yet the Tigers were not fazed as they
finished the regular season with two
straight victories, a 9-8 triumph over New
Canaan and a 15-3 rout of Fairfield Warde.
This momentum will hopefully lead to
future successes and a possible shot at
the FCIAC and state titles.
Among the players on the Tigers’
squad are juniors Matt White and Colin
Scott. Both have already made verbal
agreements to attend Division I lacrosse
powerhouses; White has an agreement
with seventh ranked Virginia, while Scott
has agreed to play for the twenty-second
ranked team, Denver. FCIAC’s have begun for the Tigers
with a 15-9 victory over sixth-seeded
Brien McMahon. The third-seeded Tigers
hope for two more wins in order to gain
bragging rights as the FCIAC champions.
The state tournament began with qualifying rounds on May 29 and will continue
until June 7, when a winner will finally
hoist the state trophy.
Wreckers of Westport. The Ridgefield
team is young, with a few freshmen
playing singles and doubles, and a brand
new coach. Next year, the team should
be in for some excitement with a more
experienced base and a coach who knows
his players. Next year’s team should be
able to pull out of those tight games that it
needs to win.
Varsity girls tennis went 9-5 this spring
with a new coach, only losing to Greenwich, New Canaan, Staples, and twice
to Darien. Unfortunately, the girls drew
Darien for a third time and the same
result occurred.
The finals consisted of Greenwich
and New Canaan as the powerhouses of
tennis in the CIAC division. Hopefully,
next year, Ridgefield will be able to
climb up into that rank.
This was also the first year with a
new coach for the second year in a row.
With a more consistent coach and lots
of young talent, the FCIAC is in for a
challenge.
Varsity Tennis Wrap-Up
By Alex Howard
The RHS varsity boys tennis team
went 10-7 this year, winning all of the
games that were expected of the Tigers.
They played close games against some
of the better programs in the FCIAC,
such as New Canaan and Darien, but
could never quite pull through.
Still, with a 10-7 season, the Tigers were able to qualify for the CIAC
LL playoffs against the tough Staples
Varsity Baseball and Varsity Softball
By Alex Howard
The RHS varsity baseball team went
an impressive 16-5 (14-4 in FCIAC) this
year. The team started off the season 9-0;
the Tigers beat Norwalk, but dropped
the next two games to Greenwich and
Ludlowe in very tight games. They then
won six out of their next seven games to
finish out the season ranked fourth in the
CIAC LL Division.
Among the departing seniors, Sam
Robertson a pitcher and third baseman
has accepted a scholarship offer to pitch
for Fairfield University. The rest of the
senior class also will be missed because
almost all of them had a batting average of
over .300.
But, next year won’t be a drop-off,
as the JV team only lost two games and
the varsity infield consisted of mostly
underclassmen. So, if the underclassmen
can bring the metal next year, then there
should be no drop in talent between this
year and next.
Varsity softball started off slow, losing
three of its first four games, but against
very good programs from New Milford,
Westhill and Trumbull. But, then the
team showed signs of brilliance, winning
12 of 16 games and ending the season at
13-7 and a winning percentage of .650.
The Tigers also qualified for the CIAC
LL playoffs. With a very clutch senior
class (a few games were decided when
a senior drove in the winning run), the
team will need its underclassmen to step
up for the next year
22
The Tiger’s Roar
Sports
June 2008 Issue
Ridgefield Boys Volleyball Team
Emerges as FCIAC Power
By Steve Coulter
The boys varsity volleyball team
achieved success often this spring season. The Tigers became the clear number
two team in the highly competitive
FCIAC. The Tigers finished 14-4 in the
regular season, which was second best
behind goliath Staples. Adam Carranza,
‘08, and Seth Brennan, ‘08, who both
earned first team all-FCIAC honors, led
Ridgefield throughout the season.
Senior Eric Robertz also earned
FCIAC honorable mention. Three other
seniors, captain Kyle Christiansen, block
specialist Greg Linder, and defensive
guru Andrew Shafer, all contributed in
every game for the Tigers. Sophomore
superstars Jeff Amorello and Doug Delbene gave the Tigers young energy and
optimism for future success. Carranza,
the team’s co-captain and leader in kills,
dominated in a May 20 triumph over rival
Darien in the FCIAC semifinals.
The Tigers earned the two seed in the
FCIAC boys volleyball tournament and
hosted Darien, which was the three seed.
Ridgefield beat Darien 3-0 on May 5, but
Darien had defeated the Tigers 3-0 on
April 17.
The FCIAC semifinals proved to be the
rubber match between two emerging FCIAC programs. Ridgefield won the game
3-1 and advanced to play Staples. Entering
The Tiger’s Roar
The Art Show
the FCIAC finals, the Ridgefield boys
knew the superiority of Staples, a team
that had lost only one match over the
whole season and had won FCIAC’s five
straight years in a row, but knew they
could play the Staples team. After all,
they were the only team to win a match
against Staples all year. Ridgefield
played its best against a superior Staples
squad, but ended up losing.
Despite losing to Staples in the
FCIAC finals, Ridgefield hosted a home
state playoff game in its first round and
won. Although the state tournament is
yet to be decided, Ridgefield is definitely
considered a frontrunner for the state
championship.
Outdoor Tracksters Show Improvement
By Jake O’Brien
As the spring season has finally
wound down, one of the many bright
spots in Tiger sports is the boys and girls
outdoor track team. The boys track team
has improved significantly from last year.
Led by senior captains John Teltsch,
Matt Oakes, Nick Nelson, and Mark Kelley, all ‘08, the team was able to post an
11-4 record.
A few records were also set this year
by the boys. The freshman 4x100 record
was set by Eric Wellers, Tom Franco,
L.J. LaPorta, and Kevin Dyson. Also,
junior prodigy Austin von Ohlsen set
the new 400-meter record by running
it in 49 seconds. Next year’s team will
be captained by Colin Thomson, Mike
Ignatowich, and Tommy Weeks, all ‘09,
all of whom expect big things from a
young team.
Geoff Stewart, ‘11, one of the many
freshman sensations on the track team,
believes the reason for the big improvement this year was that “we have a more
well rounded [team] and all of us are
really devoted runners.”
As for the girls track team, it is now
recognized as the Central Division
Champion. The girls team also had a significant improvement from last year and
broke many new records.
Heather Stephens, ‘08, a four time
All-American, broke the state record in the
two-mile and one-mile runs this year. Hannah Robbertz, ‘11, set the school record
in the long jump, and Allie Cavalea, ‘09,
broke the school triple jump record. Kelly
Jorgenson, ‘09, continued to have a great
high school track career this season by
once again excelling in the high jump.
Besides these track team standouts,
about 15 other girls made FCIAC’s as
well, showing that the girls track team is
filled with great athletes.
Although the girls track team was suc-
cessful this season, it was also plagued
by a few key injuries. Both Jaclyn Giordano, ‘11, and Monica Brown, ‘11, were
forced to sit for a portion of the season
due to torn ACL’s.
When asked about her thoughts on
this year’s season, future team captain
Colleen Manna, ‘09, said, “The team
worked really hard this season and
we’ve been lucky to have so many
great runners on the team. I really look
forward to seeing how we can do next
year.”
Although this year was a breakout
year for the girls track team, it seems as
though next year might work out to be
even better.
Photo Courtesy of angleton.isd.tenet.edu
Top Left: photo by Kate Harold, ‘10. Top Right: Erin Carroll, ‘08 Middle Left: the chalkboard, Middle Right, Photo
by Caroline Kidder, ‘10. Bottom Left: Photo by Geoff
Stewart, ‘11 Bottom Right: a photo of Nathan Csonka, ‘10
by Janessa Alverez ‘10
Photos by Tom Bruno
June 2008 Issue
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The Tiger’s Roar
June 2008 Issue