No ordinary alumni - Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

The Talon
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
December 9, 2011
17301 Old Vic Blvd. Olney, MD 20832
Breaking Dawn
Review Pg.4
Opinion Pg.6
Cross Country
Championship
Athletics - Pg. 8
Mass confusion
By Bernadette Launi
Opinion Editor
Change is imminent for the Catholic Church. The publication of Roman
Missal, Third Edition marks the beginning of a new Mass, with revised
responses, music, and prayers for the
English-speaking world. The new
Missal will be implemented at the beginning of the liturgical year, the first
Sunday of Advent on November 27.
According to Our Lady of Good
Counsel Campus Ministry Director
Tony Tamberino, the reasoning behind the change is to “return to a closer adherence to the original Latin.”
Since the original switch from Latin after Vatican II, there has been dissatisfaction amongst Catholics who
feel some of the English translations
are too ‘common’ and ‘loose’ for the
holy celebration of the Eucharist.
The new Missal aims at restoring the
original meaning of the Latin Mass.
“The entire Church in the United
States has been blessed with this opportunity to deepen its understanding
of the Sacred Liturgy, and to appreciate its meaning and importance in our
lives,” pronounces the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The process to change the Missal
began with Pope John Paul II during the Jubilee Year in 2000. Decisions and debates have filled the
last eleven years, but now the final
publication is being put into action.
One of the effects of the new
Missal will be the atmosphere of
the Mass. The new translations
give off a more formal and intellectual feel, a change from the Mass
Catholics have practiced for over
40 years. The laity will receive response aids to help them adjust.
The Good Counsel community will
follow the new Missal as well. The
students will use the new responses
and prayers in the school-wide Masses on December 2 and December 8.
Only with time will the new Missal become more familiar to people.
“Change
is
always
difficult,” remarks Tamberino, “but
as a Catholic community we
must band together in unity.”
Index
1
6
2
3
4
Vol. 7 Issue 2
Top Ten
Must Haves Pg. 4
What do you
want for Christmas?
5
9
7
10
8
13
11
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
Pictures courtesy of Good Counsel Yearbook. Collage courtesy of Abel Gonsalves.
No ordinary alumni
By Abel Gonsalves
Website Director
In the last 53 years, Our Lady of
Good Counsel High School has experienced many changes regarding its students, faculty, education,
and even its own building. One significant change that the school has
seen, however, is in its employees.
In its evolving community, the
school has seen many teachers come
and go. Due to those teachersinvolvement in their students, many
of their students have even come
back to work at Good Counsel.
Who better to teach new students then the people that
have
experienced
what
it
means go to Good Counsel? Ms. Collen McNamara, Social
Studies, ’02, is one alumnus whose
experience at GC has brought her
back to teach. She teaches in the
same department in which her favorite subjects led, and is one of the moderators for the Good Counsel speech
and debate team, both department
and club she enjoyed as a student.
She states, “I like the students, the
teachers, it’s just a relaxed surrounding, that’s why I love teaching here.”
With the balance of the old and
new, this school has evolved into
what it is today, an institution which
strives for excellency. Many of the
staff have turned out to be prominent
figures in the school and have been
responsible for shaping its students.
These figures include, Mr. Patrick
Bates, Principal ‘70, who has been
the Principal and Athletic Director
for the school for 38 years. Mr. Andrew Collins, IB Coordinator ‘82,
has been the English and Theory of
continued on page 7
Face the Change!
Find out
who’s who
on page 7
“I like the students,
the teachers; it’s
just a relaxed surrounding. That’s
why I love teaching
here.”
Student News - 2 | Entertainment - 4 | Opinion - 6 | Athletics - 8
The Talon
Page 2
December 9, 2011
Student News
Let’s get ready to rumble
By Andrew Tarquinio
News Editor
Penn State University is experiencing turbulent times. With the
Sandusky scandal and the administrative “cleaning house,” the Penn
State community has been living in
a constant state of disappointment
and frustration. However, these emotions have been under scrutiny and
students have been left without an
outlet. With the firing of Joe Paterno,
students finally found their release.
The Board of Trustees called a
meeting Wednesday, November 9 to
discuss the future of the legendary
coach. This meeting ended in a press
conference, where it was announced
that Joe Paterno was no longer a part
of the Penn State community. The
46th seasoned coach made a statement shortly thereafter to CBS.
“I am disappointed with the Board
of Trustees’ decision, but I have to
accept it. A tragedy occurred, and we
all have to have patience to let the
legal process proceed. I appreciate
the outpouring of support but want
to emphasize that everyone should
remain calm and please respect the
university, its property and all that
we value.”
For someone so allegedly lacking
in foresight, Paterno surely guessed
the reaction of the students. Shortly
after the announcement, Penn State
students flooded the streets, claiming
the wool had been pulled from over
their eyes. They were enflamed with
displaced passions and emotions.
The general consensus was that the
media had led to the downfall or Paterno and his subsequent firing. Penn
State student, Mike Clark, hurriedly
made a statement to Times reporters,
“I think the point people are trying
to make is the media is responsible
for Joe Paterno going down.”
He followed this statement by explaining; JoePa had fulfilled his legal
and moral duties. Meanwhile, students had invaded the college town,
tearing down lampposts, and throwing rocks and fireworks at police,
brandishing pepper spray. Police
then lost control of the crowd and
students advanced upon a defenseless news van. Before police could
act, they had toppled the vehicle. One
student, clad in a Gas mask, assaulted
a police officer with his own pepper
spray. Greg Becker, a computer science student, lamented while spectating the scene,
“This definitely looks bad for our
school…I’m sure JoePa wouldn’t
want this, but this is just an uproar
now. We’re finding a way to express
our anger.”
After the riot was put down, the
cleanup began. With rumors swarming of canceled internships, a backlash was prepared for. Jeff Garis, senior director of the placement office
posted this statement on the website,
Photo courtsey Google Free Domain
Penn State students topple a news van during the Wednesday night riot.
“This week’s events are not a result of our student body, Penn State’s
academic community or Career Services…We are exceptionally proud
of our students’ professional preparation as well as personal and professional ethics.”
However, these rumors proved
false. Garis claimed to have investigated the allegations and found no
‘hard evidence” that one of the Princeton Review’s, top ranked career
service programs was in jeopardy.
Given the fact that not all students
were involved, its vital the public eye
do not get caught in the commotion
and our own emotions. Psychologist,
Adam Galinksy, of Northwestern
University, told Scientific American,
“The social groups you belong to
become a part of the very essence
of who you feel you are…the person that symbolized the school they
go to, that’s given the school stature,
that’s made their own selves have
meaning and purpose, has now been
taken away from them in an aggressive and sullied way.”
It would be easy to associate the
immaturity of a few, to the hardworking many, however, this must
not be the case. Given the social-psychological implications of these occurrences, the Penn State community
must not be written off.
Herman Cain’s hurricane
By Haley Millstein,
Sports Editor
Herman Cain
Photo Courtesy of Google Free Domain .
The Talon Staff
Editor-in-Chief:
Mary Oakey
Student Life:
Jordan Slattery
Distribution Manager:
Ken Sanchez
Layout Editor:
Sean Bagnall
Opinion Editor:
Bernadette Launi
Website Director:
Abel Gonsalves
Copy Editor:
Amanda Johnson
Sports Editor:
Haley Millstein
Advertising Manager:
Carmen Wilson
Entertainment Editor:
Silvia Samayoa
News Editor:
Andrew Tarquinio
Photo Editor:
Lindsey Stewart
Staff Writers:
Marie MacTigue
Lexi Vipavetz
Advisor:
Ms. Neugebauer
The Talon
Former Republican presidential
frontrunner of the 2012 election,
Herman Cain, refers to himself
as the “epitome of American
spirit”. This husband, father, and
grandfather, however, has been
accused of five incidences of sexual
harassment. Prior to his plunge in
the presidential race, Cain ran the
National Restaurant Association in
the 1990s. During that time period,
he was accused of sexually harassing
women on several occasions.
Chicagoan Sharon Bialek, brought
the harassment claims to light
when she gave her own personal
accusations against him. Bialek
asserts that fourteen years ago,
after being fired from the National
Restaurant Association, she reached
out to Cain in desperation for a
job, and he sexually harrassed her.
Now, why wait fourteen years to
make an accusation against the man?
Bialek said she did not say anything
because she was not working for
the National Restaurant Association
at the time, but after seeing him at
a Tea Party Rally she approached
him with hope that he would be
“man enough to own up to what
he had done some 14 years ago”.
Were the awful assertions hurting
his chances at the presidency? Cain
denies all accusations and believes
he will be able to overcome them.
According to Iowa State University
Gazette, Cain was leading in the female
independent votes in the Republican
party. In addition, he picked up eight
endorsement politicians and reached
a major milestone of eight hundred
precinct captains in the state of Iowa.
According to the National Enquirer,
Bialek states “I just want him to
look me in the eye and deny it.”
In Atlanta, on Saturday Dec. 3,
Herman Cain announced his formal
removal from the 2012 presidential
race. The focus of his message and
campaign was put in the dark, and the
light was solely centered on the sexual
allegations. The accusations were
hurting his family life, especially
his relationship with his wife,
Gloria Cain. As Cain said, “With
a lot of prayer and soul-searching,
I am suspending my presidential
campaign because of the continued
distractions and the continued hurt
caused on me and my family.”
Student News
December 9, 2011
Too pig to fail
By Carmen Wilson
Advertising Manager
Thousands occupy the streets of
not only Wall Street, but states all
around America to spread their voices of the 99% population against Wall
Street’s elite corporations and banks.
Hundreds of young protesters first set up their tents on Sep 17,
in New York, New York and since
then, the fight against Capitalism has
flooded the streets of cities across
America. Close to home, protesters
have marched for the past month
and a half in Washington D.C. and
Baltimore. Hand-made signs read
anti-corporation slogans like ‘Human needs not corporate greed’,
‘We are the 99%’, and ‘The people
are too big to fail’. What fueled the
99% population (which consists of
the low and middle class citizens)
to start The Occupy Wall Street
Movement was their anger towards
the overpaid and greedy corporate,
financial, and political elite. Protesters argue against the faults in
America’s current economic system
of Capitalism, shouting libels stating that Wall Street bankers have become corrupt, greedy, and overpaid.
The movement has attracted a lot
attention from the media and celebrities, like Kanye West, but have not
apparently attracted the attention of
the government or big corporations.
Nor, are they successful in swaying
Page 3
Raffle ticket revolution
the economic policies of our country. Notably, officials have joined in
on the movement mainly to attract
loosely affiliated independent voters.
Whether or not the efforts of
the 99% have proven to be effective in reducing the greed of
the corporate, financial, and political elite is up for discussion.
Ms. Laura Fess, a social studies
teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, feels that “As a
country, we have lost a sense of how
to properly express our opinions in
looking for compromise.” According to Time Magazine, over fifty
percent of citizens are in favor of the
protesters and their ultimate goal in
changing Capitalism. Many have no
opinion on the matter and similar
to Ms. Fess, feel that the movement
will be ineffective in fulfilling the
aim at changing the corporate world.
Other staff members at Good
Counsel who oppose the occupation protests include Ms. Georgia Chaconas, English teacher,
“What has happened with the
young people who started to protest with a legitimate cause has
snowballed into a weird youth protest with no clear motivation.”
The outcries of the 99% are still
heard, by those who choose to listen, two months later since the
start of this American Revolution.
By Lexi Vipavetz
Staff Writer
Teachers took students by surprise Friday, October 14, 2011, when
a flash mob appeared during large
community. Mrs. McNamara, a supposedly unprepared speaker, fooled
the Good Counsel student body during her lecture on raffle tickets. That
is when the music and dancing started and the students realized that they
were in the middle of a flash mob.
Afterward, Mrs. McNamara began to show her enthusiasm for
the raffle ticket season by giving
the students a passionate briefing. However, this speech was
somewhat more of a pep rally.
Mrs. McNamara has been working
with raffle tickets for ten years. From
when the raffle tickets were $100 each,
up to now when they are $10 each.
The top prize for the winner
of the raffle drawing was $5,000,
while smaller prizes awarded $2,500
to four second place winners.
Winners of the raffle:
Connie Dancel, sold by Wes
Brown- $5,000
Lucas Jones, sold by Caleb Jones$2,500
Denny Dolan, sold by Conor
Ahearn- $2,500
Tana Cormier, sold by Ellen Hoy-
son- $2,500
Shannon Cirovsky, sold by Karli
Cirovsky- $2,500
All of the remaining raffle money is going toward financial aid for
the Good Counsel students. Other
non-cash prizes that encouraged
the students to sell more tickets
were the two weeks of dress-down
days and the extra days off before
Thanksgiving break. By successfully meeting the goal this year, of
$100,000, the school has received
the whole week of Thanksgiving off.
The Good Counsel dress-down
bracelet proves that you sold your
raffle tickets and allows you to
dress-down. This year, the bracelet took the shape of a falcon.
“It’s the coolest bracelet EVER.
The students get really excited over
this,” McNamara says. The sales
have gone very well in the previous years and the school has always
met the goal of $100,000, and Good
Counsel has been able to do it again
when we met our goal this year.
Extensions to extend lives
By Mary Oakey
Editor in Chief
Kathryn Brown is your average
14 year old. She is very involved in
sports and participates in lacrosse,
softball and cheerleading. This fall
she even won James Hubert Blake
High School’s title of homecoming
princess. On the outside Kathryn
seems like your average high school
student but unlike the rest of the
student body at Blake High School,
Kathryn did not have a chance to experience those freshman moments
that everyone else her age has had.
In fact Kathryn never even
got a chance to attend any of her
classes on the first day of school.
Kathryn was diagnosed with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC); a form
of liver cancer that is most commonly found in adults, according to the
U.S. National Library of Medicine,
and can be treated effectively with
chemotherapy and a liver transplant.
Since the beginning of September,
Kathryn has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments and will continue to be home schooled until she
is well enough to return to school.
While Kathryn has been battling cancer, her friends, Good
Counsel’s Gracie and Mackenzie
Crow and Blake High School’s
Kayla Dantley have been helping
her fight the battle on the outside.
It started first with bracelets to
help raise awareness and support.
Kayla began wearing pink bracelets
to school that held the words I support KTB (Kathryn’s initials) and was
selling them to fellow classmates.
When October rolled around, Gracie Crow and older sister Mackenzie
Crow decided to stop at Hypnotic’s
Salon and Spa in Olney to have pink
hair extensions put in. The hair extensions were meant to raise money and support for Breast Cancer.
It was on that day that Gracie
Crow got the idea of just how exactly
to raise support for Kathryn Brown.
“She started talking about it and then
she started talking about Kathryn and
got the idea of “why don’t we do this
for Kathryn?” says Mackenzie Crow.
Gracie and Mackenzie went
home that day and looked up the
color for liver cancer. After discussing the idea with Kayla, the girls
were able to set up an appointment
to see if a fundraiser with emerald green hair extensions to represent liver cancer would be possible.
“She said she was totally willing to do it,” says Gracie Crow, “We
choose the color green we wanted and
then discussed putting up a framed
picture of Kathryn with her story in
the store so you can read about it
and know who you’re supporting.”
From the first until the thirty
first of December, Hypnotics Salon
and Spa in Olney will be supporting Kathryn Brown by selling green
hair extensions. These hair extensions are quick, thirty second glue
in extensions that will last about
two months and then fall out naturally. There is no hair dye involved.
“Seeing people with the green
hair extensions and green bracelets, knowing they are supporting
me, makes me feel so loved and
gives me strength,” say Kathryn.
Strength and support are the things
that Kathryn will need through the
continuation of her chemotherapy
and liver transplant. She may be
only 14 years old but she expresses
a very mature outlook on her situation, carrying on a positive attitude
and staying strong through it all.
“You never know how strong
you are until being strong is
the only choice you have.”
To continue supporting Kathryn Brown and to check on the
progress of her treatment, readers can go to www.caringbridge.
org/visit/kathrynbrown1.
The new Hynotic Salon offers liver cancer “green” hair extensions to raise money.
Photo Cortsey Google Free Domain
The Talon
Page 4
December 9, 2011
Entertainment
Not all fairy tales have happy Breaking Dawn Part 1
endings
By Abel Gonsalves
Website Director
By Amanda Johnson
Copy Editor
After the Royal Wedding, the
world thought they had already
seen the greatest, most extravagant wedding yet. However, then
came another over the top marriage.
TV’s most beloved Kim Kardashian wed NBA player Kris
Humphries on August 20, 2011. Although it may not be comparable to
William and Kate’s special day in
royalty standards, it definitely comes
close in expenses. Kim dazzled in
three separate Vera Wang dresses as
her wedding stole the night, becoming one of the most watched TV
events in 2011 with over 4 million
viewers. All this air time and publicity just about paid for the wedding
itself, earning Kim over $17 million.
Unfortunately, the fairytale marriage did not last as long as Kim or
Kris had hoped. After only 72 days,
they called it quits, and filed for divorce on account of “irreconcilable differences”. This short lived
romance now has fans asking the
question: was it real or just another
instance of “good reality television”.
Senior Libby Copeland comments
“The wedding was really special, but
we all know she belongs with Reggie.”
This year’s most anticipated film,
Breaking Dawn Part 1, brought
with it genuine new meaning to
romantic genre. The film’s staring actors, Kristen Stewart, Robert
Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner,
worked together to create a surprising nuance to this series.
As the series has grown from its
rudimentarily acted actors, it has progressed into a film that has stunned
the audience, whom it gave constant praise throughout the theatre.
Though the film continued to give
its usual “cheesy lines,” its sense of
romantic feel remained intact and
gave the film its raging acclamation.
In the film, Bella Swan, played by
the captivating Kristen Stewart, is
awaiting the moment to which she is
to wed her loving boo, Edward Cullen played by the strikingly handsome
Robert Pattinson. As the film shows
true love between the two, the films
main conflict between Edward and
Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner, continued to play out. This all
changes when they find out that Bella
is pregnant with the said impossible
vampire baby. They all fight together
to protect the miracle child from outside evil of both their worlds; were-
Newlyweds Kardashian and Humphries on their wedding day.
Photo courtesy of Google Images free domain.
TOP 10 MUST HAVES
By Lindsey Stewart
Photography Editor
1. iPhone 4s
8 megapixels, Face time,
comes in black or white
2. Kindle Reader
Beginning at $250, multiple
colors, tons of books
3. Beats Pro
Over the ear or in the ear,
multiple colors and designs
4. iPad 2
8.8mm, battery life is 10
hours, comes in black or
white, and it is fingerprint
resistant
5. North Face attire
Comfortable, popular, fashionable
6. Modern War Fare 3
$59.99, addicting, top seller
7. Just Dance 3 for Wii
The title says it all, prior dancing skills do not matter, guaranteed party favorite
8. Long Champ
Many styles and colors, multipurpose bags
9. Polo half zips
Boys or girls, comfy yet
dressy, many colors
10. Gift card to favorite store
This way you can get whatever you want!
The Talon
wolf and soon to be vampire world.
Fans await the coming for its sequel, Part 2. It will be the longest
wait for fans that have fallen in love
and are waiting to see the finale to
this four part book series turned five
part film series. Breaking Dawn Part
2 comes out November 16, 2012.
Courtesy of Google free domain
Entertainment
December 9, 2011
Bieber baby
By Jordan Slattery
Student Life Editor
The early unfolding of November
traditionally brings in a plethora of
anticipation for us students at Good
Counsel, the nippy autumn weather, the controversial yet unavoidable Christmas music on the radio,
and demolishing in football, again.
We’ve all come to expect and even
look forward to Fall’s Last Hurrah, eager for the same olds it will
bring. What we generally do not expect are paternity allegations from
women we have never met. But I
suppose November is different for
everyone, especially pop sensation
and multi-millionaire Justin Bieber.
This November, Mariah Yeater,
age 20, filed a lawsuit against Justin
Bieber, claiming that he is the father
of her child. Think about that one
for a while. This woman is 20. Her
baby, Tristyn Anthony Markhouse
Yeater is four months old. And, if
what she’s saying is true, 13 months
ago she was impregnated by a 16
year old Justin Bieber, and has just
now decided to start talking about it.
Just
wait
it
actually does get more ridiculous.
According to her story, Yeater attended Bieber’s concert at the Los
Angeles Staples Center, where she
was taken by Bieber’s “people” and
escorted backstage, where she proceeded to have sex with Justin Bieber.
No world, this isn’t an excerpt from
a fourteen-year-old girl’s diary entry about her dream last night, this
is the basis for a court case. Despite
dropping the charges shortly after
Page 5
Want more energy for all the
stuff you gotta do in a day?
Made from the noni
(“no-nee”) tropical fruit,
Tahitian Noni®
Photo Courtsey of Google Free Domain
making them, Yeater still insists that
Bieber is the father of her child and
is seeking to reach an “out-of-court
settlement”. Which is basically legal terminology for: “My case is
bogus. But if you give me money
I promise to shut up and stop spilling Crazy Juice all over the place.”
But the real kicker of it is that
if she is telling the truth, and she
did in fact have sex with Justin Bieber, her own claim would
make her liable for statutory rape.
Despite the obvious stupidity that
seems to be oozing out of this woman,
there is another driving force at work
here, and it’s called greed. During a
month when we are all supposed to be
thankful for the things that we have,
it’s unfortunate that people like Mariah Yeater choose instead to lie and
cheat to try and get more, compromising their integrity and destroying
the reputation of others in the process.
While Justin Bieber has millions of dollars, fame and plenty of
other nice things, we can be sure
that what he is most thankful for is
a possible end to this nightmare.
Good Counsel Band and Choir
Christmas Concert
What: Festive music to get
you in the mood for the
Christmas season.
can give you an allday energy boost, and
decrease fatigue. Great
for athletes to increase
endurance naturally.
Visit http://AskLisa.BeBioactive.com, or call Lisa Evans, Tahitian Noni Independent Product Consultant at
(301) 537-3708.
Tahitian Noni® is a trademark of Tahitian Noni International, Inc. ©Tahitian
Noni International, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Royal baby
bump
By Silvia Samayoa
Entertainment Editor
After an extravagant wedding last
April to Prince William, Kate Middleton has been rumored to be pregnant.
Many tabloid photographers have
claimed to have spotted a baby bump.
InTouch magazine’s inside palace source reveals telltale information that only support the rumors. According to this source,
The Duchess of Cambridge is six
weeks pregnant and the couple is already beginning to consider names
for the baby. Supposedly, the baby
is to be given a traditional name.
The couple’s recent move
out of their two-bedroom London apartment has done nothing but encourage the rumor mill.
The royal palace has yet to
confirm or deny any of these rumors. Good Counsel sophomore, Oumou Traore believes,
“When it comes to bringing a
new child into the world, I believe,
it is the couple’s decision whether
or not they would like to expose
their private lives to the pupils outside of their elite inner circles.”
The tabloids are itching to gain
access to this precious information,
but are the readers anxious to know?
The real question is not whether
Kate is pregnant, but why should
we care? “I’ve only seen it on tabloid covers, but to be honest I
don’t even really care.” Says Good
Counsel senior Kristen Heintz,
“It’s not really relevant. This is
America. You know what’s relevant? Kim Kardashian’s marriage.”
Regardless of whether or not
Kate is pregnant, nobody will care
much. Hopefully, the royal palace will soon make an announcement so we can go back to worrying about Kim’s disaster marriage.
When: Friday, December
9 at 7:30pm
Where: Good Counsel’s
Kane Center
Photo Courtesy of Google Free Domain
Princess Kate and Prince William are expecting.
The Talon
Page 6 December 9, 2011
Opinion
Breaking Dawn, it’s time to break up
By Carmen Wilson
Advertising Manager
*SPOILER ALERT*
As many die hard Twilighters can
tell, Thursday November 18 was
the midnight premiere of ‘Breaking
Dawn – Part 1’, the fourth movie in
the Twilight series inspired by the
novels written by Stephanie Meyer.
In this vampire crazed society,
more and more television shows
and movies are competing to be the
best. Breaking Dawn has not only
lost the race to win the holy grail of
blood, but it has simultaneously embarrassed people around the world
who actually spent $11 for a ticket.
The first three movies were acceptable by any teenage girl’s standards.
Each included a blend of hot shirtless men, violence, furry, adorable
wolves, and creepy music. Breaking Dawn Part 1 included all of the
above with an added bonus of suck.
To start, the acting was soapoperatic and closely resembled that
of a low-budget Lifetime movie.
While watching it, many viewers
found it difficult to take any part of
it seriously. The lines were poorly
written, cheesy, and banal. Not to
say that the movie was not entertaining, but it was definitely more
hilarious than it was dramatic.
Highlights of the movie include the infamous Breaking Dawn
birthing scene which, according to the LA Times online blog,
has caused photosensitive epileptic seizures due to its “gory con-
A new rule to measure by
By Amanda Johnson
Copy Editor
There is a new fear traveling
around the halls of the Our Lady
of Good Counsel campus. No, it
is not stink bug attacks in classrooms or rumors of more Freedom Fridays, but instead this new
terror takes the shape of none
other than disciplinarian Ms.
Ana Lopez and an index card.
After years of getting away with
short or fitted skirts, the administration is cracking down on the
girls of Good Counsel. Just months
after the start of the new school
year, Ms. Lopez and Mr. Bates introduced the stricter policy on the
length of uniform skirts: no more
than three inches above the knee.
For girls, it has now become routine to either avoid the first floor
hallways whenever possible, or
attempt to tug skirts down when
passing the disciplinary offices to
compensate for the extra inches.
Ms. Lopez does not seem to
be fooling around this time, as
she has been busy pulling girls
from the hallway, left and right.
The punishments for this uniform violation are not to be taken
lightly either; first warning comes
with demerits, if the skirt hem is
not taken out and re-hemmed to
appropriate length, then detention.
In some cases, if the skirt
continues to not meet uniform requirements, a suspension should be expected.
Many of the girls are angry
about the new enforcement of
this rule, complaining that skirt
length varies on girls of different heights and proportions.
Senior Maggie Craig comments, “Three inches is kind of
long, especially because a lot of
girls’ skirts are hand-me-downs.”
When asked “why now?” Ms.
Ana Lopez responds, “Several
young ladies, I’d say about fifteen
percent, have gone too far with their
skirts. As the year went on, more and
more girls began to join that group.
We just needed a clean sweep.”
She also added suggestions
to fix the growing problem, saying, “It’s not always just about
the length, sometimes girls can
even move the buttons over to
wear it lower on their hips.”
Among girls that have been reprimanded for their skirts, Ms. Lopez
recalls an ‘extreme’ case of a skirt
that measured nine inches too short.
Sophomore Julia Quinn admits, “Some girl’s skirts are just
too short, but I don’t think it’s
fair that everyone is getting in
trouble. What am I supposed to
do, carry a ruler in my sock?”
Photo Courtesy of Google Free Domain
tent and sudden bursts of light”.
Die-hard Twilight fans with Edward Cullen t-shirts and Taylor Lautner life-size cardboard cutouts were
somewhat disappointed that they waited a year for a cheesy script and lowbudget, seizure inducing graphics.
Nevertheless, fans are still head
over heels in love with the books
and movies. Well, get excited for
yet another Twilight movie coming
out fall of 2012. Will it ever end?
Photo Courtesy of Google Free Domain
A night of milk,
speedos, and guitars
Marie MacTigue
speedo, and Bobby in flippers. The
Staff Writer
third category was talent, where Alex
On Thursday, December 1, Our showed off his crazy electric guitar
Lady of Good Counsel High School skills, Tommy juggled, and Dwayne
held an utterly entertaining event in rapped his own creative lyrics.
the dining hall to raise money for the
Later the boys walked the runway
annual El Salvador trip this Janu- in their formal dress attire. Last on the
ary. The occasion,
evening’s plan was
titled “Mr. Good
an interview with
Counsel” was baeach senior. The
sically a beauty
audience
loved
pageant…but
when Ken Sanfor senior male
chez went on about
contestants only.
compassionately
Campus minister
wanting
world
Sean Hanel who
peace. Among the
was in charge of
many
hilarious
the whole show,
moments, Tommy
commented
on
answered his questhe event right
tion, “what’s the
before it started.
one thing you look
“I’m just really
for in a friend,”
proud that people
with “nice abs.”
have come out to
The
judges,
watch the show
consisting of five
and support a good
faculty members
cause and that
Photo Courtesy of Marie MacTigue and three students,
Winner
Alex
Galiatsatos struting down the eisle seemed to be thorthese seven willing
gentlemen are ready
oughly enjoying
to make themselves look foolish.” every bit of the boys’ performances.
At four o’clock the event began In the end Mr. Alex Galiatsatos was
as Ryan Edmunds, Evan Garfield, declared Mr. Good Counsel, and the
and Tommy Mullineaux competed crowd was definitely satisfied with
in a milk chugging contest. Each the choice. They were literally bowof them was to drink an entire gal- ing down to Alex as he was given his
lon of milk within the hour, taking crown. Much like the boys’ perforbreaks during the pageant to con- mances, the event definitely earned
tinue the contest. Just say that by an eleven out of ten. Everyone was
the end of the competition all three smiling and having a good time
of boys’ heads were in the trash bin. from start to finish. The successThe seven contestants in the fash- ful night paid off—because of the
ion show, Ryan Edmunds, Alex evenings’ great turn out, the El SalGaliatsatos, Evan Garfield, Bobby vador team is sure to have an excelHitte, Tommy Mullineaux, Dwayne lent trip in January. All in thanks to
Remillard, and Ken Sanchez, com- these seven enthusiastic young men!
peted in first category, casual wear.
Next was swimwear, with Ken Sanchez in a wet suit, Ryan in a blue
The Talon
Athletics December 9, 2011
Page 7
Beware the falcons
By Haley Millstein
Sports Editor
As soon as the whistle blew
at 3 o’clock in the afternoon Friday December 1, the heavily anticipated Varsity Boys Basketball
season finally arrived. The Good
Counsel Falcons faced the Wildcats of Washington Christian
Academy, right down the road.
The stands were profoundly occupied, all eager to see what the Falcons have to offer this season and
fans should be very pleased with
what they saw. Sophomore, Byron
Hawkins II, got the scoring rolling
with the first two points of the game.
Continuous hard play from Byron
throughout the remainder of the
game contributed to the win 95-55.
The strong starting lineup will of-
fer tough competition to all opposing teams this season. In addition
to Byron, is senior, Kyle Savercool,
junior, Andrew Calomeris, freshman,
Trevor Brown, and sophomore, Eton
Thomas. The Falcons are looking
forward to having their injured starting center, junior, Lucas Morley, as
well as the injured junior, Stephon
Jacob back for next week’s games
and the continuation of the season.
The team and fans cannot wait to
see what the four seniors, Scott Dawson, Justin Mills, Kyle Savercool,
and Anthony Vaglica, will contribute
to their last season at Good Counsel.
Junior, Eric Rupprecht, deserves recognition for a very well fought game.
A special congratulation to Head
Coach Blair Mills and the whole team!
The Talon’ is online! Keep up
on cutting edge news at
thegctalon.wordpress.com
Alumni
Cont. from pg 1
Photo Courtesy of Haley Millstein
Good Counsel Falcons beating the Wildcats in game.
READY TO CONQUER
the challenge of college-level courses?
ASPIRE TO LEARN
from world-renowned faculty and experience campus life?
EAGER TO EXPLORE
an exciting city with new friends from around the world?
Johns Hopkins offers two excellent programs to head you in the right direction:
summer UNIVERSITY
Two 5-week terms of immersion-style classes that let you
dig deep into fascinating subjects. Take classes alongside
college students and earn college credit.
HOPKINS PROGRAMS
Short-term, theme-based, residential programs that
expose you to the best of Hopkins and the Baltimore area.
This summer, wherever you want to go, Johns Hopkins will get you there! For more information, please visit www.jhu.edu/summer/ or call 1-800-548-0548.
The Talon
Knowledge teacher at GC for
22 years, and Tom Hilton, PE
teacher ‘64, has been the physical education and digital photography teacher for 40 years.
These people have come
back to work at Good Counsel, not because they had no
other choice, but because of
their loyalty to the community.
The educators that have taught
here for a number of years have
seen the specific faculty grow.
Ms. Ana Lopez says that she cannot name any one educator in the
school that is better than another,
whether they are alumni or not.
She goes on to say that all the
teachers in the school are intellectually qualified individuals
and are all remarkable teachers.
Though many of the older
teachers are now gone, their legacies remain in the students they
taught. With this ever changing
community, it could be a student
now who may walk the halls
of as a Good Counsel Student.
Face the Change!
1. Kelly Cunningham
2. Laura Fess
3. Patrick Bates
4. Brett Taylor
5. Kevin Collins
6. Georgia Chaconas
7. Colleen McNamara
8. Andrew Collins
9. Williamm Mooney
10. Thomas Hilton
11. Megan Dean
12. John Gray
13. Lauren Costello
14. Sarah Bechtol
15. Skylar Saar
16. Karen Egan
17. Joe Cabigas
18. Stanley Spottswood
19. Monica Augustyn
Page 8December 9, 2011 Athletics
Cross Country victorious in the final race of season
By Sean Bagnall,
Layout Editor
The Good Counsel Boys Varsity
Cross Country team came in first place
at the Maryland-DC Private School
Championships on November 12.
The 5 kilometer path wound its
way up, down, and around the Agricultural History Farm Park’s hills
and creek, making for a strenuous course. For the average person.
As the event unfolded, spectator
Ms. Lopez noticed someone wearing
a shirt that read, “Our sport is your
sport’s punishment,” a testament to the
sport’s rigor and the runners’ tenacity.
However, Coach Tom Arnold
says that Cross Country is “the simplest and most natural sport” since
the only objective is running and
“humans have been running for
survival since we came down from
the trees millions of years ago.”
As for secrets to success, “There
are no secrets, just hard work.
Cross Country requires no skill.
If you have talent that’s a bonus,
but it is not required. Kids without
talent can still become good runners.” Arnold emphasizes the fact
that Cross Country is a summer
The Bleacher
Creature
By Ken Sanchez,
Distribution Manager
In an effort to attract more people to the athletic events, cheerleading coach and alum Kristen
Michela‘06 has decided to bring
back the “bleacher creature”.
After disappearing for some time,
the creature now makes a comeback in
the Good Counsel stands. The bleacher creature is basically one or two people, specifically chosen by Michela.
His or her job is to raise the spirit and
energy of the crowd, attracting more
people to the games. The main goal is
a more organized effort to bring more
people cheering the falcons to victory.
Good Counsel’s spirit has been
greatly boosted over the years with
the music of the Marching Band, the
entertaining routines of the cheerleaders and poms, the Booster Squad,
and now the Bleacher Creature.
With this cool addition, Good
Counsel is sure to not only attract
more people to the game, but lead the
crowd in hyped up cheers. There is
no doubt that the Falcon spirit will
definitely be soaring to new levels.
and fall sport because preparation
is necessary to do well in the meets.
Compared to the sleet and freezing temperatures of the WCAC
championship in October, the
weather on November 12 was ideal, with temperatures in the 60’s.
Boys JV ran first. Junior Andrew
Smith secured his second individual win of the season with a time of
17:51, far ahead of the other runners.
Senior Nathan Rogers came in third
with a time of 18:28. Since the Good
Counsel runners ran together in a
cluster, Boys JV was able to secure
many top places in the rankings, resulting in a team win with 25 points.
This was the JV Girls’ second
meet as a full team because many
of them, including Seniors Caroline
Zottl and Ivette Candelaria, were
out early in the season dur to injuries. Consequently, they did not do
as well as they could but they put
forth an honest effort, coming in
fifth place as a team with 180 points.
Boys Varsity was a close race.
Good Counsel won as a team with
56 points, but only by a slight margin
over Loyola’s 68. Senior Jack Riely
placed sixth with a time of 16:37,
WCAC
Senior Jack Riely races towards the finish line
and Sophomore Collin Crilly came in
right behind him at 16:40. Senior Allen
Meringolo came in tenth, Jimmy Kazunas
fourteenth, and John Lynagh nineteenth.
For Girls Varsity, Junior Sophie Dean
placed fifth overall, third among the
large schools, with a time of 20:28, and
Freshman Taylor Kozam placed seventh with a time of 20:39, remarkable
for a beginning runner. As a team, Girls
Varsity placed fourth with 76 points.
To fully witness and experience a
cross country race, one must run all
Photo Courtesy of Sean Bagnall
over the field to keep up with the
action, which can be extremely fun.
Although the season is over for
Cross Country, many of the runners
continue with Winter Track. Good
Counsel’s teams work very hard,
and they deserve some recognition.
In Cross Country, every place
counts for that number of points
(first place is one point, second is two points, etc.) The team
with the fewest points wins.
Football
By Ken Sanchez,
Distribution Manager
The sound of clapsticks and the
smell of hot dogs filled the air as
people were getting pumped to witness the WCAC football championships at Naval Stadium in Annapolis,
Maryland. It was a familiar event.
Only this time, the Dematha Stags
would be out of the picture. For
the first time in years, the Gonzaga
Eagles had made it to the WCAC
Photo courtesy of Joe Cabigas
championships after defeating the
Good Counsel v. Gonzaga in the WCAC championships. Pictured: Wes Brown,
Stags in overtime 28-27. The FalBrendan Marshall, Drew Stefanelli, Sam Mustipher
cons were finally about
to face a fresh opponent.
DESIGN | MARKETING | WEBSITES | ADVERTISING | VIDEO
| RADIO
It was only fifteen seconds into the game when
a touchdown by senior
LLC
Stefon Diggs gave a clear
lead over the Gonzaga Eagles. The game consisted
of many good plays by senior Wes Brown who did
some good old fashioned
runs up the middle field.
The team also tricked the
defense by using their
play action passes to hit
main receivers Diggs and
junior Kendall Fuller.
The Falcons brought
up the heat as often as
they could so they could
put pressure on the Eagles’ pass offense. By doScan with your Smart Phone
ing this, the Falcons were
able to stop the opposing
team from scoring – at all.
The Falcons soared
in a 42-0 victory over
the Eagles and won
their
third
consecutive
championship. Tel: 301.340.7445 | 155 Gibbs St. Suite 531 | Rockville, MD | www.clarkconcepts.com
Creating positive website experiences.
The Talon