2010 March Falcon

The Falcon
Behind the Flock
page
4
page
The Student Newspaper of St. Joseph High School
Vol. LII Number 5
Down Go the Crazies
March 2010
College Bowl Brings
Home State Title
By Nitin Srinivasan
Sports Editor
barrier twice. They won each
of their first 9 matches by over
100 points. Then, in the semifinal match against Livingston,
one of the top schools in the
country, the Falcons recovered
from a 100 point deficit to win
340-285.
By Michael Bender
Staff Writer
Photo by staff
Jay Williams, ‘99, poses with two sophomore members of the Falcon Flock.
halftime.
Senior co-captains Rennard,
who finished with 14 points,
and Andrew Morgan, who had
a game-high 18 points, led the
way offensively in the third quarter. With stellar performances on
the boards from senior Bobby
O’Grady and junior Rob Ashamole, the Falcons outscored the
Colts 18-11 in the period.
Neither team scored for the
first minute and a half of the
fourth quarter, until Contino made
a three pointer that bounced off
the back rim and high above the
backboard before falling through
the hoop. CBA tried to fight their
way back into the game, but could
never cut the lead to single digits,
as the Falcons seemed to have
an answer for every Colts basket. The Falcons received two
huge layups on consecutive plays
from senior Eric Peterson,
a jumper from the right corner from Rennard, and a three
pointer and two free throws from
Morgan, as the Falcons broke the
5
IT’S A REPEAT!
Record Crowd as
Falcons Defeat CBA
The audience was loud and
the atmosphere was electric in
the Vincent Maglio Gym, as the
Falcon basketball team prepared
to take on the CBA Colts in the
Non-Public A South quarterfinals
on Friday, March 5. Fans began
pouring into the gym a full hour
and a half before the game was
scheduled to start, in order to witness one of the most anticipated
games in St. Joe’s history.
Coming into this game, the
Falcons were winless against
CBA since the Jay Williams era
in the late 1990s, and the Colts
have ended the Falcons’ runs
at the state title during three of
the last four seasons. This year,
however, the Falcons, who were
without star sophomore Quenton
DeCosey, emerged victorious in
front of a sellout audience that
included Jay Williams.
“CBA beat us two out of the
past three years,” said senior
guard Steve Rennard. “For us,
this game was all about revenge
and heart.”
The Colts scored the first point
of the game on a free throw, giving
them their only lead of the game
at 1-0, before the Falcons ended
the quarter on a three from senior
Nick Contino, who finished the
game with 14 points, for an 8-7
lead. The Falcons got off to a hot
start in the second period with an
8-0 run, but the Colts fought back
to narrow the gap to 25-22 at
Healthcare Debate
Colts’ press defense time and time
again. Morgan hit another free
throw to seal the Falcons’ 60-49
victory.
As soon as the game was over,
one could see Brother Michael
Yerkes S.C. rushing to the Falcon’s bench to congratulate Coach
Dave Turco.
“I told Coach that I admired
how he was able to motivate and
manage his team to a great victory,” Brother Mike recounted
later.
Basketball, however, was not
the only way the Falcons were
superior to the Colts. The largest
Falcon Flock ever assembled at
a St. Joe’s basketball game was
in attendance, earning praise
even in an article on gmchoops.
com about the game.
Although the CBA student section,
deemed the “Colt Crazies” made
a respectable effort in supporting
their team, the Flock drowned out
all of the Colts’ cheers through
their sheer size, spirit, and
volume.
Top quizbowl teams from
across the state gathered at
Princeton University on February 13, to see who would
emerge victorious at the New
Jersey National Academic Quiz
Tournaments (NAQT) Championship. After 11 rounds and
several hours of tough competition, the Falcons emerged
on top, defending their state
championship title.
The team, comprised of
seniors Nitin Srinivasan,
Anthony Fontanetta, and Aaron Knowlson, and sophomore
Alex Frey, have been training
all year for the event, attending
practices over the summer and
throughout the school year.
Without exaggeration, they
have answered thousands of
questions at these practices,
not to mention the endless
hours each has invested outside of practice in preparation
for competitions. The fruits of
their time and effort speak for
themselves.
At Princeton, the team
scored over 300 points in every
match and broke the 400 point
“I’m very proud
of the college
bowl team”
—Edward Powers,
moderator
The squad then faced rival
Bergen County Academies in
the finals and once more made
an amazing comeback, correctly answering the match’s
last six questions to pull off
the victory.
“I’m very proud of the college bowl team,” commented
moderator Mr. Edward Powers. “They demonstrated their
skill and discipline in their two
comeback victories. They’ve
worked hard to get where they
are.”
The team is now preparing
for nationals, where it hopes to
maintain its tradition of excellence.
Kyleigh’s Law: Bringing Big Change to Teen Drivers
By Alex Ganescu
Associate Editor
A significant change is coming
for students who hold provisional
licenses or have yet to earn their
privilege to traverse the roads
of the Garden State. “Kyleigh’s
Law” plans to introduce reform in
the regulations of the Graduated
Driver License Program (GDL),
by modifying the present curfew,
requiring a decal on every vehicle
driven by a provisionally licensed
driver for identification purposes,
and enforcing other rules that students are already familiar with.
Kyleigh’s Law received its
name in honor of a Kyleigh
D’Allesio, 16, who died in a car
accident in West Morris in 2006.
After investigation, police officers
concluded that the cause of the
accident was distraction due to an
unlawful amount of passengers in
the vehicle. In New Jersey, passengers must be from the provisional
license holder’s household, plus
one additional person.
The law would make the use of
any electronic device while driving illegal and shorten the curfew
from 12 AM to 11 PM.
“The bad guy [drunk driver]
is traveling earlier in the night,”
commented Robert Berger when
questioned about this aspect of
Kyleigh’s Law. “There has been
a trend in recent years for intoxicated drivers to drive earlier in
the night, in order to avoid the
police. As a result, there have been
more encounters between drunk
drivers and kids who are driving
at this time.”
Kyleigh’s Law restricts the
passengers a provisional license
holder may carry to “only one passenger in the vehicle besides his or
her dependents,” unless there is a
parent or guardian in the vehicle.
The law will also remove a provisional driver’s right to plea bargain
if they violate a driving law.
The bill was passed unanimously in the New Jersey Assembly and signed by former governor
Jon Corzine on April 16, 2009.
The law is set to takes effect on
May 1, 2010. The plea bargain
amendment, however, has passed
the General Assembly pending
consideration by the Senate Transportation Committee.
Other points of Kyleigh’s Law
include a mandatory brochure to
be sent to parents of provisional
license and permit holders, as
well as a mandatory parent/teen
orientation. One pending amendment also includes an extension
of the permit holding time from
six months to a full year before a
driver is eligible for a provisional
license.
One topic of great contention
in this law is the “age decal” that
will be implemented starting May
1. Essentially, a bright colored
sticker, or other identifier, will
be required on the front and rear
license plate of any vehicle operated by a provisional license holder.
Many feel that such a measure
would allow police to discriminately target teens to pull over,
even if they are doing nothing
wrong at the time.
Unfortunately for many provisional drivers, the bill includes no
grandfather clause; that is, even if
a driver received his provisional
license before May 1, he will be
forced to abide by the new regulations until he receives his unrestricted license.
At a hearing at the Superior
Court in Morristown on March 5,
attorney Gregg Trautmann filed a
lawsuit against this new requirement. He argued that the decals
were a violation of private information, and that they are a “Scarlet Letter” that would put teens
in danger from sexual predators
and other people wishing to do
them harm.
Trautmann declared this provision unconstitutional because it
violates “equal protection” rights
of in state drivers. Judge Robert
Brennan dismissed Trautmann’s
lawsuit under the grounds that
driver licenses are a privilege
offered by the State of New Jersey,
and thus are subject to the motor
vehicle regulations and cannot be
deemed unconstitutional.
“I am opposed to this decal
law,” says Tim Dillon ‘10. “It
endangers the lives of teenage
drivers – especially girls.
Dillon’s Facebook page, ‘New
Jersey Teens Against Teen Driving
Restrictions and Kyleigh’s Law,’
has over 12,000 fans at the time
this article was written.
Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes
III, a sponsor of this law, has a
different take on the age decal
law, which he advocated.
“Statistically young drivers get
Kyle
igh’
s La
w
into
more accidents than any other
age group on the road. The age
decal does not do anything new;
it merely helps police officers
enforce the law as it stands now
[regarding limitations on passengers],” he commented.
A teen found breaking this
decal law will be forced to pay a
fine, but will not have any points
added to his or her license. If the
age decal infraction is in conjunction with a moving violation, then
it is up to the judge’s discretion
as to whenever or not to have the
violator’s license suspended or
revoked.
Students are encouraged to
research this topic at length,
because Kyleigh’s Law will be
implemented as of the first of May,
and it will affect the lives of many
students taking to the roads.
THE FALCON 2
March 2010
brother mike’s movie review
By Ryan Langton
Associate Editor
Ey-oo-ah! Looks like it’s time
for another one of Brother Mike’s
Movie Reviews. Brother has got
little time so keep all eyes on
Brother and let’s do this.
Brooklyn’s Finest— Ooh,
this was a good one. This movie
was about three Brooklyn cops
and problems that come with
being a police officer. It was full
of action and suspense, and of
course my man Richard Gere.
Wesley Snipes also did a terrific
job in this film. Brother thought
it was intense. HHH
Cop Out— Hey look! Another
cop movie! Brother doesn’t even
remember what this movie was
about because it was so ridicu-
www.fandango.com
lous. There was some action, but
most of the time it was a bunch
of cops trying to act funny and
coming off as stupid. Bruce Willis is in it, which makes it a little
more bearable. HH
The Wolfman— Now this
movie was interesting, creepy,
but interesting. Brother liked this
one because it was a lot like the
original, only much more gruesome. You have some crazy halfman, half-wolf being mauling a
bunch of villagers, and people
shooting guns with silver bullets.
It’s insane! Anthony Hopkins
is excellent in this movie too.
HHHH
She’s Out of My League—
Oh boy. Okay, to put it simply,
it’s a terrible movie. I would
tell you about the plot, but there
was none. The movie was supposed to be a comedy, except it
wasn’t funny! The knucklehead
responsible for putting this movie
together should be drawn and
quartered. Brother would give it
no stars, but I’ll give them credit
for trying. H
EDITORIAL
Published by the students of
St. Joseph High School
145 Plainfield Ave.,
Metuchen, NJ 08840
732-549-7600 ext 261
www.stjoes.org
Volume LII, No. 5
March 2010
Editor-in-Chief:
Alfonse Muglia
Managing Editors:
Martin Pico
Edward Zukowski
Associate Editors:
Michael Cash
Alexander Ganescu
Ryan Langton
Mark Lee
Sports Editor:
Nitin Srinivasan
Staff Writers:
Michael Bender
James Bogdanowicz
Charlie Bruno
Mike D’Ambrosio
Leonel Delgadillo
Michael Henton
Sean Finan
Christian Goldy
Michael Henton
Daniel Kozub
Himanshu Patel
William Scarano
Alex Schiffer
Mike Syslo
Jonathan Teters
Brian Whiteside
James Ziemba
Photographer:
William Scarano
James Ziemba
Comic Editor:
Rob Luceri
The Power of Social Networking
By Alfonse Muglia
Editor-in-Chief
The world is constantly changing. Mind-boggling, I know. But
here’s another idea that might
make you think a little more.
What it took to survive in the
world of our parents is not what
will lead us to success in life. One
of the greatest challenges we will
face in our immediate futures is
figuring out how to put ourselves
on the path toward success.
Over the past few months, I
have made my own observations
regarding differences between
our society and past ones. The
most obvious distinction I have
noticed thus far is the power of
networking and what it will mean
to getting ahead in society. Facebook is the premier example. As
much as every teenager hates to
hear it, social networking websites
are no longer places for people
to post pictures of themselves
from a good angle (not that it
was ever meant for that purpose,
anyway).
The creators of Facebook,
MySpace, Twitter, etc. knew
exactly what they were doing
– becoming rich by using the
Internet to help other people use
the Internet more effectively. No
one, however, could have predicted the magnitude by which
these networking groups have
expanded.
My realization came this fall as
I watched countless peers change
their “profile names” on Facebook,
claiming that they did not want
colleges knowing things about
their personal life. I couldn’t help
but wonder, why not? What’s the
point of social networking groups
if you’re not allowing yourself to
be networked? Isn’t the reason
people make accounts is so that
others know who they are? Do
they have something to hide?
Whenever anything is published about Facebook, teenagers cringe, because we want to
keep our favorite website to ourselves. It is our little secret, on
which we’re pretty much free to
do whatever we want, and I’m
guilty of that idea too. I wish we
could keep Facebook our little
secret.
As more adults use Facebook
and more news stations talk about
the site, it has become obvious to
me that we can’t. I’m here to tell
you that this transition could be
a good thing – if we know how
to take advantage.
Regardless of how much society may change, I like to believe
that one key to success will remain
constant: it’s all about who you
know. With Facebook, millions
of people could know who you
are instantly.
That’s the power of networking! Your path toward reaching
success in life can start today with
a click of the mouse. There are
people our age and only a few
years older who are already using
social networking sites to make
a name for themselves. Some
students are creating groups on
Facebook to speak on behalf of
a cause, while others are posting
blogs that express their opinions
on various issues. The opportunity
to network yourself is out there.
I’m also here to encourage you
to take this idea of networking one
step further. Use the approaching summer months to do some
self-networking the old-fashion
way – get a job, volunteer locally,
join a summer program, travel
the world. Go out and meet the
people who could someday put
you on the path toward success,
while having some pretty cool
experiences, making countless
friendships, and enjoying life
along the way. Now, that’s the
beauty of networking.
Comic Relief
The Recession
Hurts Leprechauns
Too!!
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Associate Comic Editor:
Joseph Graham
Faculty Moderator:
Dr. Robert Longhi, ‘81
Principal:
Mr. John Anderson, ‘70
By Rob Luceri
President:
Mr. Lawrence Walsh, ‘68
The Falcon welcomes articles
from students, parents and faculty members for consideration for
publication. All articles are subject
to editing. The opinions expressed
in The Falcon do not necessarily
represent the opinions of faculty or
administration. Opinions expressed
in any column except those of the
editors are not necessarily those
of the editors.
Graphics and Printing by
Media Trends, Metuchen, NJ
(732) 548-7088
’
but the best part
of this year was
beating CBA
THE FALCON
March 2010
MSG Varsity Comes to St. Joe’s
3
Simple Steps to Help End Hunger
By Himanshu Patel
Staff Writer
By Leonel Delgadillo
Staff Writer
Local sports broadcasting
network MSG launched a new
program this school year in order
to broadcast high school sporting events throughout the Metropolitan area. The new network,
appropriately called MSG Varsity,
is available to Optimum subscribers and provides 24/7 coverage
and analysis of various games on
television and its website.
As a perennial state power in
many sports, St. Joe’s signed up
for the program and developed a
new club in charge of organizing
the broadcasting of events. In
order for highlights of a game to
appear on the network, a St. Joe’s
student must tape the game and
send the footage to the network.
For bigger contests, however, like
the basketball games against St.
Anthony’s or CBA, MSG Varsity
sent their own crew members
to the Vincent Maglio Gymnasium.
These crew members interviewed players and coaches,
After a long hard day, most
Americans come home and wonder whether they should make
something to eat or go out to a
restaurant. There are, however,
millions of Americans who live
in hunger and are unsure how
they will get their next meal.
Globally, over 1 billion people live in a state of poverty
and hunger. Campus Ministry
recently hosted an event called
“Simple Meal” in order to raise
awareness for this important
issue and collect donations to
help feed those in need.
The “Simple Meal” consisted
of a glass of water, a slice of
bread, and a bowl of soup that
was served in the cafeteria on
Tuesday, March 23. One of the
night’s main goals was for the
individuals taking part to reflect
upon the issue of hunger in the
world. Ms. Marion Dellatacoma, who organized the event,
remarked that she felt the night
was a way to “truly unite ourselves with the poor.”
while breaking down game film
for analysis. The network covers
most of the major sports on the
high school agenda, including
basketball, hockey, swimming,
football, and soccer.
The program, however, is
about more than showcasing local
athletes. It also aims to teach high
school students interested in technology or sports broadcasting
about what it takes to televise
an event.
Kevin Waters is the school’s
liaison with MSG Varsity. “My
favorite part is working with
the students and watching them
grow,” he commented. “When we
first started, many of the schools
we worked with had never used
a camera, MAC, or Final Cut
Express. To see them go from
www.msgvarsity.com
novices to shooting, editing, and
uploading their own pieces of content is very rewarding. This learning experience is what the MSG
Varsity program is all about!”
Mr. Peter Miniscalco, moderator of SJTV, is in charge of this
exciting new opportunity for the
Falcons.
“The program is a great learning experience and a fantastic way
to promote our school spirit and
community through the country
and beyond,” he remarked.
The MSG team is growing
quickly, as a multitude of activities already have been filmed and
sent to the network. With more
sports to be played this year, the
school’s participation is expected
to grow. Every Falcon team now
has a place to share its story.
Mothers Club Basket Raffle
Tricky Tray Fever Hits St. Joe’s Moms
By Christian Goldy
Staff Writer
Many of you may be wondering why a storage trailer
suddenly appeared in the
parking lot by the cafeteria.
After asking several people
who could not provide me
an answer, I finally received
one from, of all people, my
mother. The time had come
for the Mother’s Club Annual
Basket Raffle and the storage
trailer was holding many of
the 300 baskets raffled on Friday, March 26, in the Vincent
Maglio Gymnasium.
The theme of this year’s
event, which was sold out
weeks beforehand, was Mardi
Gras. Doors opened at 5:00
PM, and many student volunteers served refreshments,
ran baskets to the winners, and
helped transport baskets to the
winners’ cars.
The Mother’s Club has been
very busy since September putting this event together. Paula
Roselli was the Canvassing
Coordinator, while publicity
This event would not
be successful without
all the volunteers in
both the present
St. Joe’s community
and alumni.
—Ms. Joan Caravano,
co-president
was handled by Diane St. John
Weindl. Denise Addona was
in charge of the decorations,
which were then used for the
Freshman/Sophomore SemiFormal the night after the raffle. Co-Chairpersons Michelle
Buccigrossi and Catherine
Hoagland took care of entrance
tickets and tables. All of these
women, and countless more,
have worked hard to make the
event successful.
Tammy Leonard, as Basket
Chairperson, handled the most
coveted job of all moms. She
is the one who did most of the
shopping for basket items. It
is reported that Ms. Leonard’s
shopping extravaganza started
on “Black Friday,” and she has
worked her way through every
one-day sale, outlet mall, and
coupon event in the Northeast.
“This event would not be
successful without all the volunteers in both the present St.
Joe’s community and alumni,”
commented Ms. Joan Caravano,
the club’s co-president.
Proceeds from the event will
be used to finance projects or
purchases to benefit St. Joseph
High School. In the past, the
Mother ’s Club has funded
scholarships, the renewal of
the messaging system, library
upkeep, and other items.
Another significant aspect of
the event was its Lenten theme,
with the colors purple and white
clearly visible. The entire religious season of Lent is generally
associated with self-sacrifice and
service to others.
The donations obtained went
to Catholic Relief Services, an
organization whose mission is
to end global poverty and hunger. The group not only uses
donations to help those in far
off places, but a portion of the
money remains in New Jersey to
help those in our local Diocese
of Metuchen.
“It was such a privilege to
be able to help out and know
that my efforts were helping to
end a serious social issue that
affects millions in our country,”
commented senior volunteer
Matt Luciola.
This act of solidarity served
as a connection to an entirely
different way of life. “Simple
Meal” served to demonstrate
that although global hunger is
a problem, everyone can make
a small contribution towards its
alleviation.
Semi-Formal: A Tradition Continued
By Mike D’Ambrosio
Staff Writer
The Semi-Formal, an annual
affair, provides freshmen and
sophomores with the opportunity
to enjoy a night of food and dancing with their dates and friends.
This event has been going on for
over fourteen years, and it has
become a respected tradition at
St. Joe’s.
This dance gives underclassmen a chance to experience how
to dress up and behave in a formal
environment. In a way, it is preparation for the junior and senior
proms in their futures.
In the past, the dance has typically attracted more freshmen
than sophomores. In hopes of
improving sophomore attendance,
Mr. Brian Jenkins, ’98, Student
Council Moderator, approached
the sophomore Class President,
Santino Cozza. Many meetings
were held with the sophomore
and freshmen class representatives in an effort to come up with
some ideas to increase sophomore
participation.
One suggestion, from Santino,
was to make the event an informal
dance instead of a semi-formal.
“As Class President, it is my
job to represent the majority of
the sophomore’s desires. Since the
people wanted change, I had to do
everything in my power to make
the people happy,” he explained.
Unfortunately, the response from
the student body and the administration was mixed.
In an effort to overcome the
stalemate, freshmen and sophomore class officers had a meeting
with Principal John Anderson,
’70, to obtain some guidance.
Mr. Anderson suggested that each
representative and officer of these
classes cast a secret vote. This
vote was not supposed to be based
upon their personal opinions or
preferences but rather what they
thought their class wanted.
The outcome of the voting
process was to continue with the
tradition of a semi-formal. As a
result, the semi-formal took place
on March 27 as scheduled with
some improvements. For example,
the sophomore class was allowed
to select the caterer and the DJ for
this year’s event. In addition, the
price for the dance decreased ten
dollars from the original price of
sixty dollars.
Despite the conflicts leading
up to the night, the event proved
to be a success, like countless
years before.
Seniors of the Month
Students Rewarded for Community Outreach
By Brian Whiteside
Staff Writer
Everyone is required to do
community service at least once
during their high school experience. As one gets older one realizes that community service is
an amazing opportunity. Every
year seniors are selected by the
Rotary Club for recognition of
their hard work and dedication
to their community.
Twenty seniors have received
the award for the current school
year. These people exemplify
the definition of a well-rounded
student.
They are Patrick Keenan,
Brian Whiteside, Nicholas Bevi-
lacqua, Matthew Pagano, Leonel
Delgadillo, Richard Ortegon,
Ed w ar d G o r man , Ed w ar d
Zukowski, Ryan Downey, Anthony Muscio, Zachary Riti, Spencer Thielmann, Justin Chung,
Robert Luceri, Matthew Lester,
Andrew Vajtay, Matthew Knepper, Matthew Galinski, Paul Nyitray and Vincent SanMiguel
Justin Chung, the winner for
the month of March, for example, has been a very dedicated
student not only in his studies
and swimming, but helping out
in the community as well. One
of the main organizations he
is involved with is the Elijah’s
Promise program. This well
known charity is involved with
soup kitchens, clothing donations, and even its own catering service. Justin has been
deeply involved with the soup
kitchen.
“Working in the soup kitchen
has been such a rewarding expe-
“Overall, I’m just
extremely happy and
honored for being
recognized by the
Rotary Club”
—Justin Chung, senior
rience,” he said. “It really
is amazing to see that I
am truly helping others.”
In addition to working in
the soup kitchen, Justin
has also done computer
work for Elijah’s Promise
and helped them plan their
first-ever walkathon.
With recognition from
Photo by Alfonse Muglia
the Rotary Club, Justin, March winners Rob Luceri (L) and Justin
and several other award Chung (R)
recipients were treated to
an award breakfast at the
happy and honored for being
Crowne Plaza in Edison. Each
recognized by the Rotary Club,”
student had to prepare a speech,
commented Justin. “It was just
which they delivered before the
great to be around people that
recipients from other schools and
like to partake in the community
their guests.
just as much as I do.”
“Overall I’m just extremely
THE FALCON 4
An Interview with
By Ryan Langton
Associate Editor
In 1960, Brother Michael
Yerkes took his vows and became
a member of the Brothers of the
Sacred Heart. Fifty years and
countless Revolutionary War reenactments later, he is still going
strong. Brother Mike sat down
to talk about his beginning as a
Brother and to reflect on his 50th
anniversary of brotherhood.
RL: When did you know you
wanted to become a Brother? How
did you know?
BMY: I knew that I wanted to
be a Brother around the end of
high school, probably my senior
year. There were many Brothers at
my high school, Cardinal Hayes,
over in the Bronx, and I really
admired and respected them. They
were my inspiration for going into
the brotherhood.
RL: Where did you go to
school while you were training
to become a Brother?
BMY: I went to school down
in Mobile, Alabama at Springhill
College. After two years in Alabama, I came here to Metuchen,
and I took what they call my First
Vows at the chapel in 1960. Then,
March 2010
50 Years of Brotherhood:
Computers Highlight
Need for Technological
Improvements
Brother
Mike
Yerkes
S.C.
I went back to Mobile and finished up studying history. After I
graduated from Springhill, I came
back to Metuchen and started
teaching fifth graders at St. Francis. Then I worked in New York
and taught grammar school at St.
Joseph’s in the Bronx. Those days
were interesting because that was
back when I taught all subjects
the whole day, not just history:
English, math, science, and the
whole nine yards.
RL: When did you make
the transition to teaching high
school?
BMY: In 1964, I went to
Bishop Reilly High School in
Queens, and I was there for seven
years. I actually taught Mr. Andy
O’Reilly, the track coach here,
at that school. I then traveled
back to St. Joseph’s in Metuchen,
which was now a high school, in
1971 and I have been teaching
history ever since.
RL: Why did you want to
By E.J. Zukowski
Managing Editor
Photo by Ryan Langton
Brother Mike has been teaching history for 48 years.
teach history over all the other
subjects?
BMY: I always liked history
throughout high school and college. English was good as well,
but I enjoyed history the most
because it was so interesting. I
have been teaching all different
kinds of history for 48 years,
including American, Ancient,
European, and even Russian history. It never gets old!
RL: How does St. Joe’s compare to the other schools you have
taught at?
BMY: Oh, I love it here.
I continue to teach because the
students here are the best. If you
cannot teach here, then you cannot teach anywhere, because this
school is like heaven in regards to
its students. Now those kids from
the Bronx, they were a handful.
RL: How has your life changed
since becoming a Brother?
BMY: Well back in the day
brotherhood was much stricter,
but since then the rules have been
relaxed. Personally, I like to think
that over time and through experience I have become a more faithful person and a better teacher.
RL: Now that you have been
a Brother for fifty years, what
do you like most about being a
Brother?
BMY: The community life that
comes with being part of an Order
is excellent. I have met some
great men that have helped me
throughout my years as a Brother. When I was in formation, the
older Brothers would give me tips
and help me, and even today I
still learn from the other Brothers
around campus.
Behind the Falcon Flock
The behind-the-scene fanatics that helped
make the basketball season one to remember
the Class of ‘09 that together they
helped me lead the revolution.”
In 2006, Nolan created a MySFan buses. Seven Nation Army
pace page (now a Facebook group)
Chant. The Rollercoaster. Green
for the Falcon Flock, on which
Man. Gatorade Clap. Welcome
events for approaching games are
to the world of the Falcon Flock,
publicized. As a junior, Ohnmeiss
where sports-loving stuassumed the role of
dents demonstrate their
orchestrating chants. The
enormous school pride by
transformation didn’t
giving their classmates an
happen overnight, but
edge on the court through
by the 2008-09 season,
the power of the “6th
attendance at games had
man.”
significantly increased.
The 2009-2010 season
With increased passion
witnessed the Falcons soar
as well, the rejuvenated
to new heights, recapturFlock began to create its
ing the GMC crown and
identity as the epitome
defeating archrival CBA on
of school pride.
their way to a 23-4 record.
Photo by staff Passing the Crown
The season also saw what Sophomore
The Class of 2009
should mark the permanent Mike Syslo
had elevated the Flock to
establishment of the Falcon proudly wore the new heights, and when
Flock – the school’s student Falcon costume the time came to pass
section – as the most dedi- throughout
control at the beginning
cated and spirited fan base the year.
of the current school
in the area.
year, senior Tim MocFriday, March 5, 2010 is a day
zula was given the nod to lead,
the true Falcon faithful will not
with senior Alfonse Muglia given
soon forget. As the team took care
control of the Facebook group.
of business on the court against
“Leading the Flock meant a
CBA, the Flock’s season-long
lot to me,” commented Moczula.
effort to create an electric atmo“I can remember in grade school
sphere in “The Mag” reached its
going to watch my brother’s volculmination.
leyball game and hearing the ‘Can
Several individuals, whose
you beat this Falcon team?’ chant
examples of school pride should
and thinking it was awesome.”
never die, made this journey posThe Flock’s news leaders were
sible. Are the contributions of
eager to assume their positions;
some of these people exaggerhowever, they couldn’t do it
ated a bit? I don’t think so. If you
alone. Other leaders would have to
stood in the Flock on March 5,
emerge if the Flock was to mainyou understand this excitement.
tain the high precedent established
Recent History (2006-2009)
by the Class of 2009.
Sean Ohnmeiss ’09 and John
Senior Leadership in the Class of 2010
Nolan ’09 are hailed as the foundThe Class of 2010 embraced
ers of the present-day Flock. “I
the challenge with open arms, and
remember as an underclassmen
when the Falcons opened their
shaking my head,” Nolan said.
season at home against Wood“There was basically no school
bridge High School on December
spirit at St. Joe’s, and little-to21, the Flock was in full force. As
no organization of a student secthe year progressed, the section
tion, even for big-time games.
developed a core of dedicated
As someone with a strong love
seniors who attended every home
for both basketball and St. Joe’s,
game. Jonny Tam inherited from
I wanted to change that. It took
Jon Langton ‘09 the position of
a lot of sweat equity, but luckily
“conductor” of the arm-waving,
there were so many great guys in
feet-stomping, oohing-and-ahhBy Alfonse Muglia
Editor-in-Chief
Photo by staff
The Flock gears up for “The Rollercoaster,” led by senior Jonny
Tam, under the opponent’s basket.
ing “Roller Coaster,” which has
distracted many opponents at
the free throw line. Meanwhile,
Colin Harrity led the Flock at
all hockey games throughout the
winter. Some senior members
even traveled to Mount St. Mary’s
Academy to support our sister
school’s basketball team, earning
the nickname “Mount Flock.”
There are too many seniors to
list here who gave the Flock its
identity as a group of passionate,
outrageous fans whose commitment to being a part of the Flock
came before all other social commitments.
Underclassmen Pride – The
Body Painters
The Flock viewed body paint
as an essential addition to help
the crowd appear intimidating.
Thanks to the generous donation of the Athletic Department
and Finance Office, buying paint
proved to be no problem. The difficulty lied in finding the bodies
interested in painting. With the
majority of seniors preferring to
yell and jump from their seats a
few rows higher, the responsibility
fell upon the underclassmen, who
enjoyed grabbing the attention of
photographers at important games
throughout the year. With “F-AL-C-O-N-S” spelled across their
chests, these painters made an
appearance at every game, making their own contribution to the
Flock’s identity.
The Mascot (and Green Man)
What’s any legitimate student
section without a mascot? Well,
the Falcon Flock had two and
gradually learned that few opponent could claim to have a single
mascot.
Prior to the home opener,
sophomore Mike Syslo reluctantly agreed to wear the heavy,
Falcon mascot costume, yet, by
the game’s completion, he eagerly
embraced the responsibility for
the balance of the year. Wherever
the Flock traveled, the mascot
followed.
“Being the Falcon was awesome because I really got to go
crazy at games,” commented
Mike. “I think the fact that we
were the only school in the GMC
to have a mascot was quite an
accomplishment.”
Finding a permanent home
for the Green Man costume, graciously lent by senior David Ortiz,
proved to be more challenging.
With sophomores Eddy Lubowicki, Tim Dunn, and Bryan Prohaska trying the costume, senior
Matt Pagano emerged as the suit’s
most frequent bearer.
“Being the Green Man was
pretty amazing. The Falcon Flock
is the best student section in NJ
and to be a key contributor is a
great feeling,” remarked Matt, who
added that the ridicule received
from other fans only made him
prouder to wear the suit.
The Future
Basketball games this season
gave students the opportunity
to let loose, while respectfully
cheering for their classmates. The
determination of the recent senior
classes to create an electric atmosphere at basketball games have
carried over into day to day school
life, where at times school spirit
was at all-time highs.
With the 2009-2010 season
in the past, however, the Flock’s
perpetuity depends upon the continued commitment of the student
body to create a special “6th man”
advantage. Are future St. Joe’s
classes up for the challenge?
Edited by John Nolan ‘09
Keeping up with the latest
innovations in technology is a
constant struggle for all schools,
especially with the economic
recession. Although some
improvements have been made
in the past few years at St. Joe’s,
there is still much that needs to
be brought up-to-date. The library, in addition to
housing the school’s vast collection of books, also serves as
a media center for many students
who rely on it to do research,
type papers, and do homework.
The school provides students
access to such databases as
Encyclopedia Britannica and
The Discovery Collection on
the library computers. Despite
these resources, some students
find that there just aren’t enough
computers available for use during heavy-traffic times like break
and lunch. Even on the best days,
they find that at least a few of the
computers aren’t working.
“Louis [Haber], our tech
expert, usually corrects the
computers quickly and very
efficiently,” commented librarian Patricia Brennan, who also
acknowledged that “he is working on older computers. New
computers are a needed purchase
to keep up with the current technology.”
Some of the computers in
the school, like those in the
library, are nearly eight years
old. Haber, the school’s System
Administrator, explained, “other
than the ones in the three computer labs, all of the computers
in other rooms are reused ones
which the leases have run out
on.” This means that almost
all of the teachers are using
computers that are nearly four
years old.
Mr. Haber’s top priority, however, is upgrading the school’s
faculty and student network.
“We really need the entire network infrastructure revamped.
The switches in it are too old”
he said. “A new infrastructure
would last for ten years.”
Some teachers have chosen to
supply their own technology for
use in the classroom. Dr. Robert
Longhi, ’81, for example, has
purchased a laptop, three desktops, a projector, and even a large
TV himself. “I use these various
technologies to some extent in
all of the subjects I teach,” he
explained. “For example, using
the desktops and the projector
can be instructional for introducing students to the proper way to
research information.”
Although much of the
school’s hardware is out of date,
it has made some strides forward
in purchasing software licenses
for students. Starting this year,
math students have had access to
Acellus, an online program that
teaches students through videos
and practice problems.
The program has proven so
successful, in fact, that there are
plans to expand it. “Next year,
the whole school might have
access,” remarked Math Department Chair Linda Muratore.
Technology is an integral part
of a modern education and needs
to be emphasized. Hopefully, the
school will be able to best serve
the students by being able to
balance adopting new programs
with keeping the hardware up
to date.
March 2010
THE FALCON
Health Care Debate
Hits St. Joe’s
Teachers Weigh in on the
Fiasco in Washington, D.C.
The Health Care Reform Fiasco
By Mr. Tom Scarano
AP Government &
Politics Teacher
The health care reform
fiasco continues to dominate
politics at all levels of government. President Barack
Hussein Obama labeled health
care coverage a crisis in need
of immediate action. The
President’s words were an
attempt to rally us to action
and, of course, to stop those
evil insurance companies.
If the crisis is so severe,
why it is that almost all of the
provisions of the 2000 plus
page bill do not take effect
until after 2012? That is the
year that the President would
be up for reelection. So why
the massive bill now? The
answer lies with a socialist
radical named Saul Alinsky
and his rulebook “Rules for
Radicals.” The answer is, of
course, never waste a crisis,
even if you have to create one.
Saul Alinsky and his community organizing tactics have
served as a guidebook for Mr.
Obama.
The answer also lies with
the socialist and Marxist ties
that President Obama has
engendered and his association to known Marxists.
There is documented evidence
to show that his long-time
mentor and father figure
in Hawaii, Frank Marshall
Davis, was an enthusiastic and
active member of the Communist Party. After coming
to Chicago, Obama for 20
years attended the church of
the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an
ardent and vocal advocate of
Black Liberation Theology.
Black Theology is a movement with its roots planted
firmly in Marxism. Obama
also had extensively documented contact in Chicago
with Bill Ayers, former member of the Marxist-influenced
Weather Underground, and
a self-identified Marxist.
The nationalization of health
care is simply a fulfillment of
Marxist goals.
The question is relatively
simple; who should control
your health care decisions
– the federal government or
you? Our government does
not give us rights. Our Founding Fathers wrote our Constitution to protect us from the
government. Any government
that gives us rights can take
them away.
Lastly, we know from
experience that nationalized
health care will not work.
Massachusetts and Tennessee
are states that have attempted universal health care. “It
would reduce costs” was their
rallying cry. In reality, costs
have increased dramatically.
Nationalized health care has
been a disaster in European
countries and Canada. Recently, the Premier of Vancouver
flew to the United States to
undergo heart surgery because
of the failure of the Canadian
health care system.
Although over 85% of
Americans are happy with
their health care, most of us
realize that there are issues
which we need to address.
Health care costs need to be
addressed. However, does
anyone really believe that
our Federal Government can
control costs? We have trillion
dollar deficits. That fact alone
should frighten any American.
The deficit in the first year of
the Obama administration has
tripled. We agree that action
must be taken to control costs.
The current plan just won’t
do it.
Why America Needs Universal Health Care
By Eugene J. Tyrrell
English Teacher
To say that I support the
current health care reform
bill would be inaccurate. The
truth is the current bill is timid
and doesn’t go far enough.
The American people, and I
mean all the American people,
deserve nothing less than a
single payer health care system, the same sort of system
that other democratic industrialized nations enjoy.
A single payer health care
system is one where the government pools medical and
financial resources in order
to insure the medical needs
of its citizens. Norway, Japan,
The United Kingdom, Sweden, Iceland, Spain, Kuwait,
Denmark, Portugal, Finland,
Italy, Hong Kong, and The
Netherlands are among the
countries that currently have
a single payer health care
system. Australia, Germany,
Ireland, Belgium, Israel,
Switzerland, and France, are
among the countries with universal health care.
All of these countries have
one thing in common – their
citizens enjoy greater longevity than the citizens of The
United States.
As the rest of the United
States struggles in The Great
Recession, health insurance
companies enjoy record
profits while they burden the
American people with higher
premiums, higher deductibles
and higher co-pays. Most
employers are cutting their
contributions to employee
health care plans, which is
creating an enormous burden
on the American people. Yet
all too often, when Americans
attempt to use their health
care insurance, these same
companies will either turn
them down claiming some
small print shadow reason
such as a pre-existing condition, or they will nickel and
dime the consumer making
the individual clear several
hurdles of bureaucratic paper
work and jargon or sit through
countless hours of computer
generated virtual menus that
force the exasperated consumer to endure mind numbing hours of wasted time that
only lead to a low level gate
keeper who will then deny
their claim. Often policy holders will surrender to the will
of the insurance corporation
and sink further into financial
hardship believing that they
cannot beat a system that is
rigged against them.
One place that the insurance industry is more than
willing to spend a massive
amount of money is with its’
nefarious propaganda campaign. Here, the industry has
been quite effective through
advertising relentlessly
through right wing extremist outlets such as talk radio
and the Fox News Network
to hypnotize poor misled
souls such as those attending
the “Tea Parties” that their
freedoms are at risk. What
freedoms? I didn’t know that
going into bankruptcy has to
do with the Pursuit of Happiness. Another place that the
insurance industry is willing
to pay millions for is lobbying government officials, here
they corrupt both the Democrats and the Republicans to
sabotage the interest of the
people.
Currently the United States
has two health care systems
that approach universal health
care; Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare, which provides
health insurance to citizens
over 65 years old has been an
effective system, while Medicaid has been a disaster. It has
created a system where the
poor of this country flood the
emergency rooms of hospitals
for all of their coverage and
thus create a painful backlog
to those citizens with standard
health insurance, causing us to
wait several hours for minimal
services and then be billed an
astronomical sum when those
serves are rendered.
Without a doubt the United States of America is the
greatest nation in the world,
providing its citizens with a
great standard of living; but
the American dream may be
slipping away with its shrinking middle class. Universal
health care is a key to securing the middle class of this
nation. President Obama and
Congress must look out for the
needs of the many instead of
the few. The American people
deserve nothing less.
5
I’m just saying...
Kyleigh’s Law Protection
or Discrimination?
“Kyleigh’s Law” certainly sounds
good at first glance. After all, it supposedly protects young people on the roads.
Why would anyone be opposed to this
bill? Well, they wouldn’t if it worked.
Not only does this bill not make the
roads any safer, it allows teenagers to be
targeted and discriminated against.
The orange hang tags that teen
drivers will be forced to use will do
absolutely nothing to make them safer.
A significant portion of the affected
population will altogether disregard
them and will only be affected if they
are unlucky enough to be pulled over.
The other portion who do abide by the
new policies won’t change their driving
habits because of a little piece of plastic.
The tags will only lead to an increased
rate of teenagers being pulled over. Even
if a teen with extra passengers is driving perfectly, all a police officer has to
do is spot that orange eyesore and the
driver could potentially lose his license.
Aren’t laws supposed to exist to prevent
harm? Is this bill really going to protect
anyone or is the purpose of following
it just for the law’s sake?
One of the effects of the bill would
be to rename provisional licenses “probationary licenses.” I find this seemingly minor change quite revealing;
teen drivers are essentially being treated
like criminals. Why do beginner drivers
have to be more clearly exposed on the
road than convicted drunk drivers do?
First-year drivers are more likely to
make a few mistakes, but should they
really only be treated with the same
leniency that people convicted of DUI
are? What have they done to deserve
these infringements on their ability to
drive? Should an entire portion of the
population face unreasonable restrictions because a few of its members
died accidentally? Statistically, teens
are more likely to get into crashes, but
is that reason to discriminate against
them? The entire method of reasoning
is flawed and to apply it to any group
violates their constitutional rights.
To be frank, I’m not surprised the bill
passed unanimously. Voting against any
sort of legislation with the word “children” in it is political suicide. People’s
brains shut down when anything pertaining to protecting minors comes up.
“He doesn’t care about our children”
is right up there with “soft on crime”
on the list of most damning things a
candidate can be called. Even if the
allegation is completely unfounded, the
accusation alone is often enough to sink
a campaign. Despite all that, however,
I’m not above pointing out the irony
of former Governor Jon “Who needs
a seatbelt?” Corzine signing a bill to
Commentary
By E.J. Zukowski
Managing Editor
regulate teen’s driving habits.
Finally, calling the bill “Kyleigh’s
Law” is in itself disingenuous. The
eponymous Kyleigh D’Alessio freely
chose to enter the car with three other
teens. Had she been following the current law and been hit by a car containing
an illegal amount of passengers, that
would be one thing, but I somehow
doubt, were she alive, she would sponsor a bill designed to restrict an activity that she chose to engage in. I can
understand that the idea of protecting
children is comforting to Kyleigh’s
grieving parents, but it’s naïve to think
that even she would have supported
such extreme measures.
Hopefully, Mr. Trautmann’s appeal
will put an end to these discriminatory
new policies, but it could take months
or even years. While it’s not that much
of an inconvenience to put up the tag,
we shouldn’t have to. It’s really a matter
of principle; should we be treated like
criminals because a group of woefully
out-of-touch legislators think they know
our driving habits better than we do?
Olympics Exceed Expectations
Over 2,000 athletes met in the city
of Vancouver, Canada to participate in
the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. These
games turned out to be everything that
the Olympics should be. Records were
made and then broken, America had an
excellent showing, and the host country
Canada finally ended its own curse
Commentary
By Ryan Langton
Associate Editor
of not winning any gold medals at a
Canadian Olympics. In retrospect, this
international contest in British Columbia was one to remember.
The fact that the games turned out to
be such a success is impressive, considering the tragic accident that happened
just hours before the opening ceremony.
Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili
crashed during a warm up run on the
newly built track, which resulted in his
untimely death. Many believed that the
games would be overshadowed by this
tragic event.
As the Olympics continued, however,
the excitement of the games, especially
for Americans and Canadians, quickly
changed the mood. This change of disposition was originally caused by the
first ever Canadian gold medal won on
Canadian soil. Our northern neighbor
went on to win the most gold medals
overall, fourteen.
The American team had several
excellent performances as well. The
major event that attracted the attention of most of America was the men’s
hockey team. They stormed through
the tournament beating powers like
Finland and even upsetting Canada,
the team highly favored to get gold, in
the preliminary rounds. It looked like a
possible gold medal was in America’s
future. This, coupled with the fact that
this year is the 30th anniversary of the
U.S Men’s Hockey Team’s “Miracle
on Ice,” led to even more of a buzz
surrounding the American team.
Unfortunately, America lost to
Canada in the finals, but one can still
find many good things to look at in
America’s Olympic performances. This
year was full of American athletes who
defied expectations and serve as excellent role models. Whether it is Apolo
Anton Ohno in speed skating or Sean
White in the halfpipe, one need not look
far to see an example of Olympic excellence. The 2010 Olympics exceeded all
expectations and was truly a beacon of
hope in less than hopeful times.
The Olympic experience continues to be about more than just medal
counts and victories. It is about quality
entertainment, individual sacrifice, and
national pride. This Olympic tradition will live on as we look forward
to the Summer Olympics in London
in 2012.
THE FALCON 6
academic teams Update
chess team
Chess Season Comes to Close
By Michael Bender
Staff Writer
The chess team was deep in
thought on March 5-6, as they
attempted to out-think and outmaneuver their opponents at
the NJ States Chess Tournament. This two day long, five
round event marked the end of
the 2009-2010 chess season.
The team had a successful season, winning seven of
its ten matches and defeating
perennial rivals, like North
Brunswick. This remarkable
performance qualified the team
for the Shore League Playoffs. Unfortunately, they were
paired against the skilled and
highly ranked High Tech team,
which eliminated the Falcons
before they could qualify for
the second round.
Not deterred by this loss,
the team – comprised of senior
Anthony Fontanetta, juniors
Michael Bender, Evan Tardosky, and Patrick O’Connor,
and sophomore Jason Hill – set
their sight on the state tournament.
The squad began the tour-
nament a little shakily, losing
their first two matches. They
were able to recover, however,
securing wins in the next two
matches and losing the third
match by only one game. This
performance earned the team
two points out of a possible
five, an improvement upon
last year’s total.
“We played well during
the regular season,” remarked
moderator Wayne Fischer. “I
would have liked the team to
have done a little better at the
Shore League Playoffs and at
States, but we have a young
team and can look forward
to an even more successful
season next year.”
With the season now over,
the team will begin to prepare
for next year. They hope to use
the remainder of the school
year, as well as the summer,
to hone their skills and master
new tactics so they can outplay
their opponents in the future.
With four of the five members
of the varsity team returning,
the team should be well prepared to put these skills into
use.
Computer league
Challenging Year Concludes
By Alex Ganescu
Associate Editor
The Computer League
recently finished their season for the 2009-2010 school
year. Although the programs
and computer science topics
posed a significant challenge
for the team, the foundation
for a strong 2010-2011 year
has been firmly planted in all
of its younger members.
Senior Nitin Srinivasan,
co-captain, was able to secure
the first and only perfect ten on
the third contest in February, a
personal best in his two years
in Computer League.
Junior members Anthony
Zsamba, George Ozga, Alex
Ganescu, Dennis Connors, and
Jack Naughton and sophomore
Vincent Saulys hope to take
the experience they gained
this year to new heights when
they take on a fresh set of challenges in the upcoming school
year.
The team participated in
their fourth and final contest on
March 29 with praise-worthy
results across the board.
Math League
Falcons Lead Region in
Catholic Conference
By Charlie Bruno
Staff Writer
Not to be outshone by the
success of the winter athletics,
the Math League continues to
prove itself a viable force in
the state of New Jersey. The
squad continues to perform
well in a variety of mathematics competitions.
The team scored 70 out
of a possible 75 points in
the Catholic Advanced Math
Contest on February 4. Led
by seniors Nitin Srinivasan,
Matthew Galinsky, and Aaron
Knowlson, the team maintains
a first place standing in the
Northeast Catholic Conference.
The team followed up the
effort by scoring 23 out of a
possible 30 points in the New
Jersey Math League Competition. This test was forced
to be rescheduled to March
1, following a snow day on
February 25. The team is tied
for third in Middlesex County
and continues to be one of the
top 25 teams in the state.
Moderator Ms. Linda Muratore is pleased with this year’s
results. “The team continues to
perform well, year after year,”
she commented. “I’m very
proud of the students and all of
their hard work.” The success
of Math League is a testament
to the strong math program at
St. Joe’s. Rooms 119 and 118
(junior varsity) are filled every
Thursday with students eager
to compete.
The students are even being
recognized on a national level.
On February 9, thirty students
took the prestigious American Mathematics Competition. Seniors Alfonse Muglia
and Nitin Srinivasan, along
with junior standouts Craig
Barretto and Michael Valdez,
scored well enough to continue in the competition and
test their mathematic prowess
in the American Invitational on
March 16.
The Math League continues
to prove that excellence is not
only a habit on the court or
on the field, but also in the
classroom.
March 2010
‘A’ Team shines at
National Science Bowl
By Mark Lee
Associate Editor
Two teams consisting of members of the Science NHS and Science League represented St. Joe’s
in the annual National Science
Bowl held on February 27 at the
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
The competition used rules
similar to those of Jeopardy, utilizing buzzers and a unique scoring
system. A range of science-related
questions were asked, including General Science, Biology,
Astronomy, Earth Science, Math,
Physics, Chemistry, and Computer
Science. Over 32 teams participated, with the winners earning
the privilege of competing in the
national tournament in Washington, D.C. later in the year.
The “A” Team consisted of
Shahil Patel, Martin Pico, Michael
Bender, and captain Mark Lee.
Performing superbly, the team
made it to the sixth round, defeating Bensalem and Sayreville.
They also outperformed the other
Catholic school teams, besting the
likes of CBA and Notre Dame
High School. The “B” Team, consisting of Ryan McCadden, Hermandeep Dhmai, Ryan Langton,
Photo by Ms. McNamara
The 2010 Science Bowl team met great success at the annual contest held in Princeton, NJ.
and captain Gabriel
Blanco, performed
admirably as well.
“All things considered, I think [both of
our teams] improved
on last year’s performance,” commented
moderator Ms, Jeanne
Photo by Ms. McNamara
McNamara. “Our “A” Team members ready to buzz in.
Team lost to the eventual 1st and 3rd place
the current members will continue
winners of the tournament. It’s a
to participate and take us further
tough competition, but I hope that
in the competition.”
Middle School Science Bowl
Contest Honors Talented Youth
By Sean Finan
Staff Writer
For the second year in a row,
the members of the Science
National Honor Society hosted the
Middle School Science Bowl for
sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. This year, over 129 students
competed in the event, a significant improvement upon last year’s
turnout of 97 contestants.
The first round consisted of a
written test made up of 75 multiple choice questions and an
optional essay question (used as a
tie breaker). All students who took
part in the competition received a
certificate of participation and a
T-shirt. The top three individual
test scores were awarded a plaque.
The first, second, and third place
winners also received $100, $50,
and $25, respectively.
The top five teams advanced
to the championship round, utilizing buzzers in a Jeopardy-like
competition. Topics included
biology, physics, chemistry,
astronomy, earth science, math,
and computer science. The top
three teams received plaques for
their schools.
Throughout the day, the guests
were treated to scientific experiments carried out by members of
the Science NHS. Additionally,
the Science NHS gave tours of
the labs and science wing.
Ms. Jeanne McNamara, the
NHS advisor and primary organizer of this event, commented, “The
competition is a great way for
prospective St. Joe’s students to
see the labs here at the school and
have a fun day with science.”
The competition was a huge
success, thanks to the efforts of
Ms. McNamara and the student
volunteers.
Photo by Ms. McNamara
Local students had their knowledge put to the test on March 13 at
the annual Middle School Science Bowl. Schools competed against
each other for prizes and bragging rights.
Photo by Ms. McNamara
Proud participants of St. Joe’s Middle School Science Bowl.
Photo by Ms. McNamara
Top students of 2010 in the St. Joe’s Middle School Science Bowl.
THE FALCON
March 2010
7
St. Joseph High School
Falcon Sports
Basketball Wins County Championship
By Nitin Srinivasan
Sports Editor
After a season filled with many
successes and a few bumps in the
road, the Falcon basketball team
earned the Greater Middlesex
Conference (GMC) Championship for the first time since the
Jay Williams era. After two previous heartbreaking losses in the
championship game, the Falcons
handily defeated Monroe to bring
home the county title.
The Falcons opened up their
season on December 19 with an
impressive victory over Union
at the Hoop Group Showcase.
The team then headed down to
Georgia, where they fought well
and achieved a 1-2 record at the
St. Pius X Christmas Classic,
while gaining valuable experience
against high-level competition
from around the country.
After they returned, the Falcons rolled to a Red Division
title and earned the number one
seed entering the GMC Tournament with a perfect 15-0 record
against county foes, including an
especially commanding 83-39
victory over Piscataway, avenging
last year’s defeat in the county
championship. Other Red Division opponents who fell prey to
the Falcons’ dominance included
Old Bridge, South Brunswick,
Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, and
J.P. Stevens.
Throughout the season, the Falcons also played extremely well
against non-county opponents.
In addition to their victories over
Union in the season opener and
Sandy Creek during their Christmas tournament, the Falcons also
handily defeated Moore Catholic
on January 18. In fact, the team’s
only losses during the regular
season came in closely contested
games to state powerhouses St.
Anthony’s on January 20 and
Plainfield on February 12.
“We knew it was
our year. We had
the experience
to go far.”
—Steve Rennard, senior
The Falcons entered the GMC
tournament with the top seed and
handily defeated Old Bridge in
their first round matchup, led by
a 30-point performance by senior
guard Steve Rennard. The team
then faced some resistance while
playing Cardinal McCarrick and
Spotswood in the quarterfinals and
semifinals, respectively, but the
Falcons came away with doubledigit victories nonetheless.
The championship game took
place on Sunday, February 28,
after being rescheduled due to
inclement weather. St. Joe’s, led
by Rennard, sophomore Quenton DeCosey, and senior captain
Andrew Morgan, got off to a hot
10-0 start and never looked back.
DeCosey led the way with 18
points, while Morgan and Rennard had 17 and 14, respectively,
en route to a 65-45 St. Joe’s victory. Rennard and DeCosey were
both named to the All-Conference
team after the game, and Rennard
also took home the GMCT MVP
trophy. The University of Pennsylvania-bound guard finished
his high school career with 1,478
points, good for third highest in
St. Joe’s history.
“We knew it was our year,”
commented Rennard. “We had
the experience to go far: a lot of
veterans and seniors, as well as a
good group of juniors.”
The Falcons’ strong performance throughout the season
earned them the fourth place seed
in the Non-Public A South division
in the state tournament. In their
quarterfinal matchup, the Falcons
defeated the CBA Colts 60-49 in
front of a sellout crowd at home.
The Falcons’ season ended on
March 8 in a heartbreaking 62-59
semifinal loss against top-ranked
Camden Catholic, who went on to
win the state championship.
Although the team’s run at
a state title was cut short in its
semifinal matchup, the Falcons
enjoyed a successful season in
which they finished with a 23-4
record, including a perfect 19-0
against GMC opponents. The
team looks forward to next year
with high hopes, where they will
strive to defend the county title
and win the state championship.
Falcons Continue GMC Swimming Dominance
Come Up Just Short in State Title Run
By Charlie Bruno
Staff Writer
Not even consecutive
Nor’easters could stop the Falcons from extending their state
record to 32 consecutive Greater
Middlesex Conference (GMC)
titles. In a meet that was rescheduled four times and moved from
the prestigious Denunzio Pool at
Princeton to the Gregg Anderson Recreation complex at North
Brunswick, St. Joe’s took care of
business and recorded the 32nd
notch in their championship belt
on February 13.
The Falcons dominated from
start to finish, taking home onethird of the possible 66 medals.
Contributing to four of those medals was junior Shane Tonery, who
became the sixth St. Joe’s swimmer
in the last ten years to win two individual medals by taking home gold
in both the 100-yard breaststroke
and 200 individual medley.
“I went in knowing the breast
stroke would be close, and the
I.M was mine for the taking. We
did what we had to do.” Tonery
commented. “Maybe next year we
can redecorate the county record
board.”
St. Joe’s dominating 596-332.5
point win over second place East
Brunswick was due in large part
to a sweep of the relays. Senior
John Wieczorek did his part with
a first place finish in the 50-yard
freestyle, and played a key role
in the 200 freestyle and medley
winning relays.
With the county title all
wrapped up, it was time to focus
on the state tournament. Facing a
three-year drought for state tournament titles, this senior class was
especially thirsty for victory. After
a win against St. Peter’s Prep, the
Falcons suffered a heart-wrenching loss at the hands of longtime
rival, and eventual state champion, Christian Brothers Academy
on February 22.
Nonetheless, Coach Steve
Whittington, ’92, had to put it all
in perspective.
“Our guys really rose to the
occasion and nearly pulled off
an incredible upset. We had some
great swims, and the guys swam
their hearts out,” he commented
on the 87-83 loss. “To see the
squad pull together like that shows
what this team is all about.”
hockey wrap-up
Solid Season Overshadows Late Season Loses
By Alex Schiffer
Staff Writer
The Falcon hockey team had
high hopes entering the season,
although they knew that the road
to success would not be easy.
“We came out this year as a
young team, but a hard-working
one, with the determination to
succeed,” said junior defenseman
Oni Sutich.
The Falcons’ hard work ended
up paying off in the long run, finishing the season with an overall
record of 15-7-2 and a conference
record of 11-2-1. The Falcons
were runners up in the NJIHL
Southern Conference as well as
the county conference.
The team opened their season
in dramatic fashion, going 7-1
through their first 8 games. The
Falcons blew out Old Bridge 8-0
in the first round of the division
playoffs before losing an intense
game to Paul IV 3-2 in the conference championship. The Falcons’
run at a state title ended with a
heartbreaking 6-1 loss to Glouc-
ester Catholic on March 3.
Although the Falcons did
not bring home a championship
this year, they did redeem themselves from last year’s disappointing 4-15-4 season. With a
strong group of underclassmen,
including the returning varsity
members and members of the
JV team that won the Skyland
Conference Championship, the
team hopes to improve even more
for next year and perhaps bring
home a title or two.
Hurdlers Go National
Photo by Mrs. Moczula
By Alfonse Muglia
Editor-in-Chief
The winter track team’s Shuttle
Hurdle Relay squad traveled to
Boston on Saturday, March 13,
to participate in the Nike Indoor
Championship. The Falcons, who
qualified for this national meet by
posting what was at the time the
nation’s 3rd fastest time, brought
home a 9th place finish.
(Pictured from left to right)
Juniors Chris Troche and John
Matera and seniors Tim Moczula
and Zach Sikanowicz made the
trip. The trip was the culmination
of a season of great success for the
team, who earned gold in every
race against state competition:
New Jersey Catholic Track Conference Relays, Greater Middlesex Conference Relays, and NonPublic A State Relays. Senior Rob
Luceri and Andrew Cinko served
as alternates throughout the year.
Individually, Troche earned a 5th
place finish at the Non-Public A
State Championships, qualifying
for the Meet of Champions.
bowling wrap-up
By Daniel Kozub
Staff Writer
The Falcon bowling team’s season may have ended abruptly after
the team began the year with a hot
start, but their hard work helped
them turn around last year’s disappointing season.
Led by seniors Brandon Cotroneo, Matt Snyder, and Paul St.
Marie, and junior Joe Campos,
the team got off to a hot start and
was even ranked as high as 7th in
the state in late January, en route
to an 11-4-2 regular season record.
The team performed quite well in
games against GMC opponents
during the regular season, before
losing to Piscataway in the first
round of the GMC tournament.
“Although we did not do well
in GMC’s, it was a good year
overall,” commented head coach
Wayne Fischer.
The team also performed well
in several tournaments in which
they competed over the course
of the season. The highlight of
the team’s season came with a
first-place finish at the Joe Romer
Tournament on February 1.
The Falcons received some
strong individual performances
that, coupled with their strong
bond both inside and outside the
lanes, were key to their improvement this year. Campos finished
the year with a 215.6 average and
was selected to the All-GMC Red
Division team and the All-Conference team. Cotroneo closely
followed with a 212 average and
was also selected to the All-GMC
Red Division team.
winter track & field wrap-up
By Christian Goldy
Staff Writer
The Falcon Winter Track and
Field team began the season seeking to defend its state championship title. Although the Falcons
were unsuccessful in this goal after
graduating several key members
of last year’s team and suffering
some injuries to rising stars, they
certainly enjoyed successes and
performed well as a team.
The Falcons finished 4th in
the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Relays and went on
to take 6th in the Non-Public A
Relays at the Bennett Center in
Toms River. The team concluded
their county competitions at the
end of January with a 7th place
finish at the GMC championship
held at the Bennett Center.
Senior Jonathan Marques
defended his GMC title in the
400. Marques, along with fellow
senior Ryan Maccie and junior
Chris Troche represented St. Joe’s
at the Meet of Champions in late
February.
The successful Shuttle Hurdle
Team also performed well throughout the year and has proven itself
to be one of the best in the state.
Comprised of various combinations of seniors Tim Moczula,
Zachary Sikanowicz, and Rob
Luceri and juniors Chris Troche,
John Matera, and Andrew Cinko,
the team won the Non-Public A
Relay Championship and posted
the ninth best time in the country
at the Nike Indoor Championships.
“The team had a good season
and performed to their level of
ability,” commented Coach Gary
Trojanowski, ’72.
The keys to the team’s success
were strong leadership from senior
members, stellar performances
from returning members, and large
improvements in runners. According to Coach Trojanowski, Sikanowicz was the most improved runner, contributing in hurdles and
high jump. Coach Trojanowski
went on to say that senior distance
runner Alfonse Muglia’s leadership was invaluable to the team’s
success.
The Falcons look forward to
the spring season with high hopes,
as the experience gained through
the winter will help in their quest
for the county and state titles.
THE FALCON 8
March 2010
St. Joseph High School
Falcon Sports
Volleyball Preview
Eyes on the Record Books
Photos by Nick Yip
The senior-dominated volleyball team looks to combine experience
with talent to make this season one to remember.
By Michael Cash
Associate Editor
With the end of the winter season, the Vincent Maglio Gymnasium
becomes the home of the volleyball
team in the spring. Graduating only
three seniors and returning nine varsity players from last year’s squad,
which finished the season with a
record of 36-10, the Falcons eagerly
plan to attack this season and be the
last team standing.
“Our goal is to win it all. We
want to bring the state championship
title back to St. Joe’s this year,” said
senior captain Bobby O’Grady, who
won a state championship with the
2008 team his sophomore year.
For the first time, the Falcons
received national recognition for
their efforts. ESPN RISE ranked
this year’s team 16th nationally in
the preseason rankings. With such
high hopes and expectations this
year, the team began to defend its
hype by easily defeating Hunterdon
Central in their first scrimmage of
the season. The Falcons also traveled to Marlboro High School and
St. Peters Prep for preseason scrimmages.
Between all of the hype, skill
level, and desire to win, this year’s
team has the opportunity to rival
the success of the 2008 team, which
broke a NJ state record for most
wins in a season and also culminated
their dominant season with a state
championship.
This year’s squad has the opportunity to break that record, as they
will be competing in over 50 matches this season. They hope to emerge
victorious when competing against
rivals and powerhouses such as St
Peter’s Prep, East Brunswick, and
Southern Regional, as well as when
they travel out of state to Rhode
Island to compete in a tournament
with teams from New England.
“As long as they stay focused
on their goal and continue to work
hard, a new banner will be going up
in the gym, as well as a new state
record,” commented head coach
Miguel Cabrita, ’91.
The regular season begins on
April 1, with a quad match in the
morning, followed by a trip to East
Brunswick to challenge their GMC
rivals later that afternoon.
Baseball Preview
‘Family’ Strives for State Title
By Alfonse Muglia
Editor-in-Chief
The Falcon baseball team is gearing up for a run at its third consecutive Greater Middlesex Conference
(GMC) championship, and, with
twelve seniors on the varsity roster,
the squad looks to combine talent,
experience, and camaraderie to find
success come late May.
“St. Joe’s has been a part of two
county championships the past two
years, and now it’s time to strive for
a state championship,” commented
senior Phil Gianakos, a three-year
starter.
The Falcons will be led by a
deep pitching staff, anchored by
four seniors who will continue their
baseball careers at the next level:
Gianakos (Temple), Victor Diaz
(Mississippi State), Anthony Parenti (Naval Academy), and Jared
DeBrizzi (Kean).
Centerfielder Shane Alvarez
(Kean) and infielders Paul Nyitray
(Caldwell) and Austin Tomaszewicz
(Fairleigh Dickinson) have also committed to play at the college level.
These senior leaders, along with
fellow seniors Alec Gonzalez, Jimmy Lindsay, Alfonse Muglia, Eric
Peterson, and Rob Sammarco, will
bring great experience and steadiness
to the Falcons. Meanwhile, Juniors
Matt Hratko and Tom Antuofermo
highlight a talented underclassmen
group that will be called upon for
much needed contributions throughout the season.
“The only thing that can stop our
team from winning a championship
is ourselves,” remarked Diaz, who
added that the experience the team
has gained from playing together the
past four years will be invaluable.
“We’re a family.”
In order for the Falcons to find success come May, all members of this
family will have to come together.
Spring Track Preview
Runners Begin Fresh Season
By Ryan Langton
Associate Editor
After getting off to a slow start in
the winter, the Falcon spring track
and field team hopes to regain the
glory of last year and start the season
off on the right foot.
The team will look for outstanding performances from all events to
put together a solid season. After
an impressive showing at the Nike
Indoor Championships, senior hurdlers Tim Moczula and Zach Sikanowicz and junior Chris Troche hope
for repeat performances during the
season.
The sprint team returns with the
same lineup from the winter season,
with senior Jon Marques and sophomores Allen Smith, Evan Marques,
and Tim Dunn looking to lead in the
400 and 200 meter sprints. Marques
will look to defend his 400 meter
county title, while making a run of
his own at the school record.
Juniors Mike Fernandes and Tom
Cunningham will head the distance
squad in the 1600 and 3200 meter
runs, while junior Vince Buccigrossi
will be the major contributor in the
800 meter. The Falcons will also
look to many sophomores, including
Luke Sprenger, Santino Cozza, and
Mike von Ohlen to contribute in the
distance events.
The field team hopes to be successful in all events, with senior
Mark Bauer leading the way in the
javelin, senior Leonel Delgadillo
and junior George Ozga throwing
discus, and senior Ryan Maccie in
Lacrosse Preview
Falcons Go for Third Consecutive
By Michael Syslo
Staff Writer
The Falcon lacrosse team
will open its season on April
1 against Rutgers Prep, with
Coach Marc Moreau and company hoping to repeat last year’s
success.
“I felt last year was a huge
step in the right direction for the
program,” commented Coach
Moreau. “We fell just short of
our ultimate goal: a state championship.”
This season’s goals include
winning the Greater Middlesex
Conference (GMC) regular season title, defending the GMC
Tournament crown for a second
time, and capturing the NonPublic A state championship.
Considering the tough schedule
the Falcons will face, this will
prove no easy task.
The Falcons will face top instate talent in perennial powers
Peddie, Bergen Catholic, Seton
Hall Prep, Don Bosco Prep, and
Immaculata. The squad is also
tennis Preview
Experience Key to Successful Season
By Martin Pico
Managing Editor
Returning with faster shots,
smarter play, and another year
of experience, the Falcon tennis team looks to start off the
season with a spirit of determination.
Coming off a 7-15 season,
the team is hungry to perform
well in the Greater Middlesex
Conference Tournament and
qualify for states, something
the team hasn’t done in the last
three years.
With six returning varsity
members, the team has the
experience necessary to perform well this season. Led by
senior Frank Osolnick, who has
the chance to be one of the top
players in the county this year,
the Falcons hope to soar to new
heights and make this season a
competitive one.
The key to the team’s success lies in the players’ abilities
to play each point individually.
“In a match, which is as much a
mental battle as a physical one,
wining a game can be a daunting task. But, if you concentrate
on each point, making a solid
stroke each time, match wins
will come,” commented Coach
Jarrett Dewelde, ’96.
Opening their season on
April 1, the Falcons plan to start
off on the right foot and become
a dominating force in the White
Division. In the meantime, the
team looks to refine their skills
and build the team chemistry
necessary to push each other
to new levels of play.
Golf Preview
Waitikowich Leads Young Golfers
By Michael Henton
Staff Writer
shot put.
“This season, a combination of
dedication, perseverance, hard work,
and a sense of camaraderie are paramount to the success of the team,”
commented Fernandes. “The results
will serve as a testament to how well
we managed to do those things.”
The Falcons schedule will be a
tough one, with many competitive
meets throughout the year, highlighted by a meet against perennial power
Old Bridge on April 8 in preparation
for the Greater Middlesex County
Championship.
“We have always been a competitive team within the GMC,” stated
Coach Gary Trojanowski, ‘72. “We
have plenty of talent and hopefully
we will have another good season.”
set to take on four out-of-state
opponents: Bishop Guertin of
New Hampshire (a Brothers
of the Sacred Heart School),
Palos Verdes of California,
Central Bucks East of Pennsylvania, and Boston College
High School.
“All of these out-of-state
teams are top teams in the
areas where they come from,”
said Moreau. “Every single
one of these games will be an
enormous challenge. Playing
teams like these is how we will
prepare for a run at the state
championship.”
With returning Rutgersbound seniors Andrew
D’Ambrosio and Nick Contino,
as well as the county’s leading
scorer in Kevin Cernuto (St.
John’s University), the Falcons
are up for the task. Juniors Slay
Sudah, A.J. Proulx, and Ryan
Loughlin and sophomore Eddy
Lubowicki bring special skills
necessary to attain the team’s
championship goals.
With spring fast approaching, the golf team is diligently
preparing to defend their title
as White Division Champions.
Coming off an impressive season that ended with a record
of 20-1, the team is looking to
redeem itself after falling just
short of the Greater Middlesex
Conference Championship.
Led by standout junior
Kevin Waitikowich, the team
will look for leadership from
captain Ryan Downey and fellow-seniors Tom Herring and
Mike Dauigoy after losing six
members to graduation.
The Falcons look to start the
season off with a win at home
against Sayreville on April 1,
before competing in the Cherry
Valley Invitational two weeks
later.
“A lot of schools will probably underestimate us because
of the 6 lost seniors, but in my
opinion we are a lot deeper than
they realize,” remarked Coach
Ryan Lechner.
The squad, consisting of 15
golfers from all grade levels,
truly possesses the depth and
combination of leadership and
talent necessary to surpass last
year’s success.
Check out page 7 for
Winter Sports Wrap-up