The Mane Street Mirror - Milford Public Schools

The Mane Street Mirror
April 2016
Joseph A. Foran High School
Volume 3, Issue 5
Are You Cut Out for These Classes?
Shannon Flynn
Staff Writer
Everyone has heard
the loud banging and sounds
of machinery coming from the
walls of tech hall, but what
is actually happening behind
them? Tech hall is home to most
of the Tech classes offered at
Foran, including anything from
Photography to Robotics. There
are specific ways to narrow
down these classes branching
off, depending on the career
path that interests you. The
paths come in clusters of Wood
Technology and Construction,
Computer Sciences, Video Production and Communications,
Pre-Engineering, Computer
Aided Drawing and Design, and
Automotive and Transportation Technology, all including
several classes that Foran offers
that would be beneficial to take.
A lot of these classes
are taught by Mr. Dillon, who
began teaching here just three
years ago after teaching at middle school, East Shore as well
as Mr. Domeracki, who faces
such a want for his classes that
students are put on waiting lists
to take them. Mr. Dillon teaches
TV Studio and Production,
Video production, Engineering
Design, Architecture, Robotics, and Wood Technology 1,
and 2. Some classes like Power
Tech, taught by Mr. Domeracki
include many levels of the
class starting with Power Tech
1, learning to rebuild engines,
use hand tools, and shop safety.
Later in Power Tech 2 students
do more advanced projects with
an intro into automobiles, and
the last class Power Tech 3 is the
most advanced and independent
working on large machines or
cars, which Mr. Dillon has said
becomes a very popular class at
Foran including when a student
needs help on a part of their
own car. This class like others
including Wood Technology offers real life experience, which
is an interest for some students.
Senior Aaron Hostetler said,
“I always wanted to learn how
Eric works hard in a tech class. Photo courtesy of Khadija Ashfaq
come across to the viewer. The
to make things out of wood if noted that the kids have a lot
freedom of the classes to choose
I ever needed to build some- of freedom in what they crehow a video is shot and how
thing.” And that he took the ate and the way they create it.
the editing and production goes
class for the chance to learn Classes like Video Production
can add to the difficult aspects
specific helpful skills for time and TV Studio can be challengof the class but also the enjoyslater in life. The class offers ing and fun and according to
able aspects. Students should
the chance to build items like Mr. Dillon, “The kids plan out
look towards these classes for a
bird houses, or stools, which the their whole concept, or like the
lighter part of the day, to enjoy
class is currently working on, in theme of how their video will
themselves and be creative, and
the shop style classroom.
be.” Mr. Domeracki had added some students like sophomore
All of the tech classes this process is similar to those
Bryan Divincenzo who is takoffer a very creative aspect to taken by directors for a movie,
ing Wood Tech had said when
take them. In classes like Wood when they work out the script in
asked about why he took it said,
Tech teachers assign the project many ways to find their theme
“it just seemed like it would be
and supervise but Mr. Dillon and how they want the video to
really fun.”
The Case for Kesha: Artists and Abuse
Kesha walks out of court; photo courtesy of i2.mirror.co.uk
Katie Buckheit
Editor-in-Chief
Kesha’s name reminds
us less of the upbeat party girl
she was branded to be, and more
of an enraging story of abuse
and controlling corporations.
Kesha had been recording with her label Sony
and producer, Dr. Luke for ten
years. She says the abuse started
when she was just 18, including
rape. Kesha sued Luke in 2014,
hoping to free herself from her
producer and his record label
under Sony music. Recently, a
judge denied the artist’s request
to break a binding contract requiring her to work with Luke.
The judge stated there
was no evidence of Dr. Luke’s
abuse, which was followed up
with Dr. Luke’s lawyers stating
he invested over 60 million dollars into her career. The judge
added that this “decimated
(Kesha’s) argument”, and that
the judge’s instinct “is to do
Socialize with us:
the commercially reasonable
thing.”
Kesha fans and celebrities alike are supporting
her in any any they can. Adele
publicly showed support while
accepting her Brit Award for
best female solo artist.
“I’d like to take a
quick second just to thank my
management and my record
label for embracing the fact that
I’m a woman, and being encouraged by it. And I’d also like to
take this moment to publicly
support Kesha.”
The public is outraged
about this case because it represents anyone who’s ever been
abused before. Kesha posted
on Instagram a serene beach
picture with the caption “I have
nothing left to hide. I did this
because the truth was eating
away my soul and killing me
from the inside. this is not just
for me. this is for every woman,
every human who has ever been
abused. sexually. emotionally.
mentally. I had to tell the truth.
so the outcome will be what it
will be. there’s nothing left I can
@manestmirror on Twitter
@Manestreetmirror on Instagram
do. it’s just so scary to have zero
control in your fate. but this is
my path this life for whatever
reason....”
It’s sad to see how
a woman is treated when she
claims to be abused and hurt.
Ariana Grande even said:
“The incredible double standards that we [women] face on
a daily basis, in the industry and
just in the world, it’s shocking.
I would be so amused, and pardon me if this comes across as
sexist, but I don’t think a male
artist would be in this position
right now. Sorry… And my fellow women are definitely something that I will always be one
of the first to speak up about.”
Kesha’s case is rallying a lot of support from fellow
female artists especially, but
continues to upset the world
with the seemingly outrageous
decision made by the judge.
Why is it that when a woman
takes a stand to say someone
hurt her, even raped her, that
society lacks the urgency to put
a stop to it and get justice for
the victim?
Spring
Sports 101
Jessica Lavallee and Julia
Wargo
StaffWriters
Girls’ Lacrosse
Two years ago, girls’ lacrosse was first introduced
as a sport at Foran. Last year
was the first year of a varsity
team at Foran for the girls’
lacrosse high school level.
This year, junior captain Hannah Pouliot wishes for another successful season. Pouliot
adds, “The team as a whole
wants to improve on working
together, which could help us
make the state tournament.”
Junior captain, Julia Astram, adds to Pouliot’s remarks, “Our team goal is to
work hard and having volunteer assistant coaches will
help more with our skills and
the effort the girls put in.”
Since there are no seniors this
year on the team, Astram and
Pouliot want to contribute to
making girls’ lacrosse a better
program for the underclassmen
coming in over the next years.
Continued on page 10
Editorial ....... pages 2-3
Columns .....................pages 4-5
News.....................pages 6-7
Entertainment .........................pages 8-9
Sports ......................pages 10-12
Page 2
THE MIRROR
EDITORIAL
FORAN HS
The Mane Street Mirror
April 2016
Meet the News Crew!
Katie Buckheit
Editor-in-Chief
Front Page Editor
Entertainment Editor
Columns Editor
Reilee Barron
Gavrielle Figueiredo
Emily Harrison
Wyatt Johnson
Jess Lavallee
Victor Rosado
Julia Silvestri
Julia Wargo
Madison Whitaker
Julia Astram
Junior
Mark Duffy
Editorial Editor
Khadija Ashfaq
Seniors
Sports Editor
Jules Tuozzola
Katherine Riordan
Sophomores
News Editor
Mrs. Farrell
Advisor
Shannon FLynn
Eva Knudsen
Shea Phelan
Joseph A. Foran High School Mission Statement
Joseph A. Foran High School is a partnership comprised
of educators, parents, students and the community devoted to helping students strive to become responsible,
educated, and productive citizens who will thrive in a
changing world.
Red Carpet Fashion Slays at 2016 Grammys and Oscars
Jules Tuozzola
Staff Writer
The red carpet has
officially closed, but the critics continue to critique and
admire fashion from the 2016
award season. Foran students
have vocalized strong opinions and determined a best
and worst dressed list for celebrities at the Grammys and
the Oscars. The verdict is out;
who slayed the red carpet,
and who did not.
The red carpet was
ablaze for music’s biggest
night, the Grammys. There
were show-stopping looks
ranging from Selena Gomez
in Calvin Klein, to Lady Gaga’s outfit serving as an empowering tribute to the late
David Bowie. Junior Kyle
Cohen expresses his thoughts
upon the Grammy’s red carpet fashions, “The clothes at
the Grammy’s can be really
controversial or even hated
by the public. It was really
cool to see what all the celebrities chose to wear, but it
was awesome to see Gaga’s
David Bowie inspired outfit.
The outfit played a huge part
in the Grammy’s overall tribute to him.”
Lady Gaga performed a compilation of David Bowie songs at the Grammys to honor the legend who
recently passed. Her outfit
was inspired by Bowie's
“Ziggy Stardust.” Junior Julia Brunson elaborates upon
the special meaning behind
this outfit. “Lady Gaga was
best dressed at the Grammy’s
because her outfit actually
had meaning behind it and
it was true to Bowie’s Ziggy
Stardust. That made me so
happy because I’m a really
big fan of him.”
Fashion Police expressed appreciation towards
Selena Gomez’s Calvin Klein
gown. Co-star Giuliana Rancic said, “This look was
amazing on her. It serves just
the right amount of elegancy
with fun.” Sophomore Maddie Buckley commented on
Gomez’s sequin blue gown
saying, “I love it, I think it’s
one of her best looks.” Lady
Gaga’s David Bowie inspired
suit and fiery red hair, along
with Selena Gomez dazzling
dress were both absolute hits
at this year's Grammy awards.
Fashion Police costar Melissa Rivers argued
that Leonardo Dicaprio led
the fashion pack at this year’s
Oscars. Junior, Kyra Angileri provides the inside scoop
on Dicaprio’s success at the
Oscars along with his outfit.
“Leo Dicaprio won and I’m
so happy for him, he’s so de-
Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga dazzle in stunning runway looks.
Selena’s Calvin Klein gown and Lady Gaga’s David Bowie inspired outfit were both among critics top picks. Photos courtesy
of The Mirror and E! Online.
serving of an Oscar. Also, his
acceptance speech about conserving the environment was
awesome and a great utilization of his fame to communicate a critical message to the
world.” Angileri commented
on his appearance saying,
“He looked classy in an all
black suit.” Both fashion experts and Angileri agreed that
Leonardo Dicaprio was truly
stunning at this year’s Oscars.
To Junior Kyle Cohen’s belief, it was Margot
Robbie who shined the most
at the Oscars. “It’s hard to
say who looked the coolest,
but I think Margot Robbie
was definitely best dressed
at the Oscars.” When asked
who was the worst, Cohen responded, “Worst dressed out
of everyone had to be Heidi
Klum. Her dress was pink and
purple with a huge unnecessary puffy sleeve and random
flowers. This look just did not
make any sense or look good
in my opinion.”
Although the red
carpet has closed, fashion
will always be a part of conversation.
Page 3
THE MIRROR
EDITORIAL
FORAN HS
April 2016
Club Spotlight: Don’t be Sad, Just Join Foran SADD
Julia Wargo
Staff Writer
A new club joining the Foran community is
SADD, and it is not as sad as
it sounds.
The
acronym
“SADD” stands for Students
Against Destructive Decisions. SADD is a school
club that promotes younger
citizens to make positive decisions and to benefit their
communities in their lifetime.
Math teacher at Foran, Mrs. DiCapua, is the adviser for this club, and helped
to get the club off the ground
running. DiCapua adds, “This
club wants to help younger
citizens confront social risks
and overcome peer pressure
(drinking, smoking, etc.) that
challenge them in their daily
lives in a productive way.”
Although SADD is
fairly new and has not been at
Foran as long as other clubs
have, it is still looking for active members and to make its
name common to the school
community. This organization
was introduced at the beginning of this school year and
was founded by junior Hannah Pouliot.
Pouliot adds about
the association, “My goal for
creating this club was to improve the school climate. As
the years go by, I hope more
students hear about the club
and becoming active members of it.”
Club members meet every
other Thursday after school.
Because the club is still in
its transitional phase, the affiliates have not yet started
their community service project. With many more years in
the running of this club, they
wish to pursue their goal of
helping as much as they can.
When junior Kyle
Cohen heard about the SADD
club, he opted to join it. Seeing the harsh realities of the
world, like all of the car accidents that were caused by a
teenager abusing alcohol or
other drugs, influenced Cohen
to join SADD.
Cohen adds, “It is a
really important club for me. I
see a lot of kids driving drunk
and what-not, which is very
concerning. To be a part of
a club that is so open against
decisions made by teens like
those are really cool.” Along
with the ideas from DiCapua
and Pouliot, Cohen wishes to
be a positive influence over
others to make good decisions
that will not hurt their community.
In the next few years,
DiCapua and the rest of the
crew hope that their club
continues to grow with more
members who are ready to actively participate.
Ms. DiCapua, the advisor of
Foran’s SADD chapter. Photo
courtesy of Julia Wargo.
“Humans of New York” Puts a Face to Human Struggle
Emily Harrison
Staff Writer
In the summer of
2010, photographer Brandon
Stanton began an amazing
and ambitious project – to
single-handedly create a photographic census of New York
City. The photos he took and
the accompanying interviews
became the blog, “Humans
of New York.” His audience
surely and steadily grew from
a few hundred followers to,
at present count, over 12 million.
In 2013, his book
“Humans of New York”,
based on that blog, was published and immediately catapulted to the top of The New
York Times Bestseller List,
where it has appeared for over
45 weeks.
The bestselling HONY novel cover. Photo courtesy of Tangents
Phootgraphy Blog.
Now, Stanton is back began interviewing people on
with the Humans of New the streets of New York, the
York book that his loyal fol- dialogue he’s had with them
lowers have been waiting for: has increasingly become as in
“Humans of New York: Sto- depth, intriguing, and moving
ries.”
as the photos themselves.
Ever since Stanton “Humans of New
York: Stories” has presented
a whole new group of people
in stunning photographs, with
a rich design and, most importantly, longer stories that
delve deeper and surprise the
reader with greater meaning.
Humans of New York
(HONY) has inarguably been
“the best thing to appear on
the bookstands,” says senior
Katherine Riordan. “The
content of the book is interesting, intriguing, meaningful, sad, happy and all sorts
of other things. You are put in
the position of realizing that
each person photographed
has been through so many different things, they have lived
such different lives than what
we know. As a reader we read
their experiences, and some
are so in depth we feel as if
we were in the situation with
them. I couldn’t put it down.”
In the past two years,
Stanton has travelled to various countries in the Middle
East and Central Africa to
continue his engrossing and
endearing adventure of learning different experiences
from even more people.
In HONY, there are
photos and stories that connect us all. In Stanton’s first
book, he gave us first the photos, the portraits.
Having read both, I would
whole-heartedly recommend
both. However, the one crucial element missing from
the collection of photos was
the personal stories. With the
follow up book, “Humans of
New York: Stories”, Stanton
completed the collection.
Role Reversal: Should Students Be Able to Assess Their Teachers?
Khadija Ashfaq
Editor
There are many people who believe that they should
have the ability to grade their
teachers. Others believe that
students should not have that
privilege because their teachers
have already gone through accredited teacher programs and
shouldn’t be subjected to another survey. Besides those who
want to grade teachers and those
who don’t, there are also some
who would prefer to assess their
teachers. This will ensure that
the teachers are aware of their
teaching style and whether or
not they are effectively educating their students versus giving
them a simple letter grade.
At the surface, this
may seem to be a risky idea
as everyone may not take this
seriously. There are students
all over this school who would
honestly assess their teachers to ensure that the teachers
are aware of how the style in
which they teach affects the
students, as well as whether or
not their teaching methods are
the best for their students. Sam
Kliff, a sophomore on the Fo-
ran cheer team, says,“Yes,I do
believe students should be able
to assess their teachers because
teachers are supposed to be our
leaders and throughout the day
students are supposed to be
in contact with them the most
therefore we have the best insight on them.”
Giving students the
ability to assess their teachers
can be very beneficial. For one,
the teachers will be aware of
how their teaching style affects
their students as mentioned
before. Allowing the teacher
to attain this piece of information will enable them to create
changes to their teaching style
accordingly. There are many
cases where a teacher will ask
the class how they learn best.
Although some students will
gladly respond, others may be
hesitant. Asking students for
“There are students all
over this school who
would honestly assess
their teachers to ensure
that the teachers are
aware of how their teaching methods affect the students.”
their input will open the door for
an understanding of how engaging the classroom and curriculum may be, or how involved
they feel in the classroom itself.
Another benefit of allowing students to assess their
teachers is that the teachers will
be mindful of how effective
they are in educating, engaging,
and providing curriculum for
their students. There are many
teachers who are confident in
their teaching abilities; though
this may only be true for a few
students. As stated before, not
every student learns the same
way. There are some teachers that have been teaching the
same way for many years and
their methods may not change
to adapt to students who don’t
learn that specific way.
Although there are
benefits to allowing students
to assess their teacher, there
are also some negatives to it
as well. There are some stu-
dents who won’t take assessing
their teachers seriously and that
could have a negative impact
on the teacher, as well as the
environment as a whole. Assessing teachers from a biased
standpoint, such as popularity,
isn’t credible or helpful. At this
point, the positives may just
outweigh the negatives. It is important for the students to participate in this on a serious note.
The teachers must be assessed
on how they engage their students in the classroom and how
well the students understand the
actual curriculum they are being taught, not based upon how
popular a teacher is among the
student body because at that
point the assessment loses all
credibility.
Page 4
THE MIRROR
COLUMNS
FORAN HS
April 2016
Coach’s Corner : Mr. Pascarella What’s Appening?
Reilee Barron
Staff Writer
Mr. Pascarella, a new
member of the Foran High community, was recently named
the new assistant track coach.
Mr. Pascarella said
he has been involved in
sports since he was a child.
“I became interested
in coaching at a young age,”
he said. “Growing up, I always
participated in sports. Once I
reached the high school and college levels, I started working and
volunteering at different sports
camps and for different teams.
I always thought coaching was
a great way to stay connected
with the games that you love,
after you finish competing.”
He graduated from
Foran High School in 2010,
and then attended Roger Williams University in Bristol,
Rhode Island. He double majored in history and secondary education. Mr. Pascarella
played for the RWU Hawks
baseball team during his four
years at Roger Williams.
He has had other
coaching experiences outside
of Foran. He said, “I have been
coaching AAU baseball for the
past 4 years.” He has always
had a great experience with
coaching and he said he is excited for the upcoming season.
“I look forward to my
first season as assistant track
Mr. Pascarella, the new assistant track coach. Photo provided
by Mr. Pascarella.
coach and working with the long
distance runners,” he said. “It is
my first time coaching track
and I am eager to get started.”
The season is quickly approaching so Mr. Pascarella is getting ready for
any challenges he may face.
“The most difficult
part of the job, at points, is
getting an athlete to believe in
themselves,” he said. “Once
they believe in themselves, they
realize the sky is the limit.”
With the difficulties
of coaching also comes joy.
When asked what the best
part of the job is, he could
not choose just one. He said,
“Watching your players (win or
lose) mature and grow into the
best people that they can be,”
and then added, “the thrill of
watching a young athlete succeed after all their hard work.”
Aside from coaching, Mr. Pascarella stays
active within and outside of Foran’s community.
“I am constantly outside with friends,” he said. “I
enjoy playing sports, along with
taking hikes. I am also a big
movie fanatic. I especially love
comedies and action movies.”
Wi t h i n t h e F o r a n
High Community, Mr. Pascarella helps Mrs. Shearer
with the band, volunteers to
chaperone school activities, and
will help out with graduation.
Gavrielle Figueiredo
Staff Writer
Spring is upon most
of us with the warming weather
and many are beginning driving classes or have just gotten
their license. What other season
is better to start driving than
the spring? Some of you new
drivers might need some help
getting around, so why not use
a new navigation app?
Waze is a great new
app that can be found in the
ITunes app store for Androids
and IPhones. The app is free
and was created with multiple
language settings along with
requiring the IOS 7.0 update.
The app is much better
than other navigation apps for
multiple reasons. For one, it’s
a community based app that
allows other Waze users to comment and put warnings about
where police are along with
areas to avoid because of traffic.
The apps are constantly updated with new live feed
information from others using
the app.
If you’re getting off
the highway you can find the
cheapest gas stations and tell
friends your ETA – estimated
time of arrival. When you contribute your own information
to the app for others to use you
gain points towards your status
in the community boards. While
you’re using the app, you can
easily see other drivers on the
map who are using the Waze
app too.
Another one of the
perks of the app is that if you’re
stuck in an area you don’t know
you can chat other people using
Waze to get where you need to
be along with getting around
accidents and road blocks.
Sick of that monotone
Siri voice telling you where to
go? How about Morgan Freeman telling you where to go
instead? That’s right, you can
customize who gives you directions as well, and one of those
voices is the voice of Morgan
Freeman.
Other voices include
multiple original voices along
with a boy band setting, a Colonel Sanders from KFC setting,
and plenty of others according
to your language setting.
The user can add favorites to their locations along
with adding their home address
and work address. You can connect to Facebook to add event
locations for later dates. The
app is community based and is a
fun and easy way to get around.
Avoid traffic and construction
while watching out for police.
Download the app and
maybe the next time you go
somewhere Morgan Freeman
will be the one telling you to
turn right.
Up and Away; The Real World is Out There, Seniors
Emily Harrison
Staff Writer
Seniors, think two:
Two more months of high
school left. Two months until
you leave the life you’ve grown
so accustomed to for the last 12
years of your life.
For some, that may
be the best news they’ve ever
heard in the past 12 years. But
for others, it’s a scary realization that they are in for an
entirely new lifestyle.
You start college with
a clean academic slate, along
with a lot of independence and
a myriad of critical decisions as
you begin the transitions into
adulthood. The decisions that
you make and the actions that
you take during this first year
of college will have a major
impact on the rest of your college experience.
While you are on your
own, you take on an entirely
new aspect of responsibility.
Homework, tests, deadlines,
and communication between
you and your professors are all
things incoming freshmen need
to stay on top of. Transitioning
to college life is something nobody does easily. High school
success (or lack of it) does not
always carry over completely
to college. Your campus gives
an entirely new atmosphere,
socially and academically. Adjusting is going to be hard for
all of us, and it may be months
into the semester before we
grow completely accustomed
to the school, the people, and
the location.
High school and college differ slightly, and in some
cases, drastically. Obviously,
you have homework to complete, tests to study for, classes
to attend. But the grading policy
is completely different, and
professors will not remind you
day to day about handing in
your assignments. The weight
of your success lies completely
in your hands.
Moving forward, let’s
talk social. You’ve had 12 years
to grow close to people you get
along with, and that’s been easy
considering you see them in
school almost every day.
However, not everyone is going off to college with
you.
Meeting new people
in college is exciting, yet scary
at the same time. There will
be so many people pouring
into this giant school, you’ll
be skeptical of where to look.
You’ll meet people of different
backgrounds, cities, states and
every single person has a different story.
Not everybody will
get along with you, not everybody will have the same
interests as you, and that’s okay.
Finding your people takes time
and a bit of exploring.
Terrance Thomas, a
Foran class of 2013 graduate
and a junior at Southern CT
State University, says, “I definitely had a hard time adjusting to finding new friends in
college. It took a while to find
out if my roommate and I got
along as well as we expected,
and I had to go through a couple
of classes to find out who I
gravitated towards. It gets easier
as the semester continues, and
looking back on it, I would tell
all incoming freshmen to not
worry too much. Just go through
and be friendly to everyone you
encounter. You’ll be surprised at
how open some people can be.”
Mental and physical
health are very important while
you’re on your own. Physically,
you have to remind yourself to
eat well, despite the buffet at the
dining hall three meals a day.
Your parents are not there to
remind you to eat healthy, and
the kitchen staff is not required
to give you healthy meals as
they do in high school. Your
eating habits are up to you (and
I know the Freshman 15 is a
fear for all).
Mental health is a
completely different subject.
College students are whammed
with an immense amount of
freedom, and as stated before,
a lot of responsibility. It’s very
important to take care of yourself mentally.
Sleep is the number
one tip to staying on top of your
health. College get-togethers
are always tempting, but it
won’t help your 8 a.m. class the
next morning.
Another tip is to find
a studying method so that you
don’t freak out over every exam
that comes your way. Take
whatever method that helped
you in high school and try to
apply it as best you can. Also,
do not be afraid to ask your
professors questions after class,
and don’t be ashamed of getting
a tutor. It’s better to have help
and pass your classes than fail
because you’re too proud.
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April 2016
THE MIRROR
COLUMNS
FORAN HS
Page 5
Teacher Spotlight: Mr. DeRosa Helps Students Grow
Reilee Barron
Staff Writer
Many may remember
Mr. DeRosa from East Shore
or West Shore middle school,
but he has now come to join the
Foran High community.
Mr. DeRosa graduated from Miami University
of Ohio with a major in Social
Studies Education and a minor
in Political Science and History. Afterwards, he attended
the University of Connecticut
for his Masters in Spanish. At
UConn, he was a graduate as- Mr. DeRosa teaching his AP
sistant in the joint program with
Spanish students.
the University of Salamanca Photo courtesy of Lindsay Brodin Spain. He has his 6th year
erick.
degree in “The Teaching of
English as a Second Language”: what gave him an interest in
(TESOL) from Fairfield Uni- teaching, he said, “There really
isn’t a specific person, moment,
versity.
After a lot of school- or event that inspired me to
ing, Mr. DeRosa began his become a teacher. Rather, it
teaching career. When asked was a decision that I thought
would best honor and thank all
those that selflessly helped me
and had a positive impact on
my life. I simply decided to
become a teacher to return the
favor.”
After making his decision sophomore year that he
would teach, and graduating
with the mindset of being a
teacher, Mr. DeRosa started off
teaching in Region 10, including the towns of Burlington and
Harwington. He then moved on
to teach in Region 15, including
the towns of Southbury and
Middlebury. This is his tenth
year teaching, and his second
year teaching at Foran.
Mr. DeRosa currently
teaches AP Spanish, Spanish 4,
and a mixture of Spanish 1 &
2 students.
Senior Lindsay Broderick, AP student, shares her
thoughts about Mr. DeRosa,
saying, “He is a great teacher.
You can tell that he really cares
about his students and what they
learn. He always makes himself
available for extra help and he
always puts his students before
himself.”
There are many enjoyable aspects of teaching, along
with some difficult aspects, he
said.
“One difficulty is remembering that not all students
have the same passion for Spanish as I do,” he said. “Students
have a variety of emotions,
some possibly strong, about
learning a second language.
They enter the classroom with
different motivations, beliefs,
and anxiety levels.”
Mr. DeRosa also highlights the best parts about teaching Spanish, saying, “Learning
to communicate proficiently in
another language can be both
fun and exciting. It can also
be one of the most gratifying
experiences. I, simply, enjoy
sharing my knowledge of the
Spanish language with the
students because I believe it is
a skill that will serve to enrich
their life.”
Outside of the classroom, Mr. DeRosa is a Crossfit
athlete, recently starting his
participation in Spartan Races.
He also enjoys ice skating,
spending time with his family,
and exploring different genres
of music.
Inside of the Foran
community, he is also the supervisor of the Habitat for
Humanity club. Although he
is the supervisor, he gives tremendous credit to junior, Olivia
Steigbigel, for her presidency
and massive dedication and
contribution.
Student Spotlight: Umer Khan Fig Food and Fitness
Katherine Riordan
News Editor
Umer Kahn is making his mark at Foran High
School. As a freshman, he
balances all honors classes
and a wide variety of challenging elective classes with
no study halls. While keeping a near spotless academic
record, Umer participates in
sports such as football and
wrestling. Umer’s impressive
feats have made him stand
out in the Foran community.
With his many academic classes, it might seem
hard to choose a favorite,
but not for Umar. “My favorite (class) would be Language Arts because I like to
write and I like my teacher,
Mrs. Cassel, because she’s
nice.” He also added that
writing and reading is fun.
Outside of school,
Umer likes to relax and does
what any normal kid likes
to do. “I like to play video
games, hang out with friends,
and, of course, do homework.”
Gavrielle Figueiredo
Staff Writer
Now that the clocks
have sprung forward, birds are
chirping in the morning, and
you’re tempted to wear shorts
and a sweatshirt, I think it’s
safe to say it’s spring. Since last
issue was about getting healthy
physically, let’s talk about some
fresh foods and snacks that can
make you feel even better and
some foods that can actually
boost your mood.
Let’s start with some
foods that can actually reduce
or boost some emotions to make
Umer Khan being announced the winner of a match on January 9, your spring even more enjoy2016. Photo provided by Foran Wrestling Flickr account.
able. First, chocolate, if you like
“Umar is a won- know what he wants to major it or not, can actually reduce
derful student and is very in specifically, but he’s very stress levels. Dark chocolate has
good at football,” com- interested in the engineering been shown to reduce the stress
mented
Max
Tavitan. field. He is taking a few classes hormone cortisol: the Nestle
Another of Umar’s related to engineering this year. Research Center in Switzerland
friends,
Ryan
Tran, With his impressive did a study on people who ate
added, “Umar is smart accomplishments in and out- about an ounce of dark chocoand a great friend; he is side of school, his friends say late a day for two weeks.
Something a little
such a personable guy.” there is no doubt that Umar is healthier
is whole foods such
College is a definite going to strive and thrive for the
as
fruits
and
vegetables. Studies
plan for Umar. He doesn’t rest of his high school career.
done on 3,500 men and women
published by British Journal
of Psychiatry have shown that
people who eat more whole
foods like more fruits and vegetables instead of eating fried,
high-processed, and dairy rich
foods are happier. This is because fruits, vegetables, and
fish that are high in omega-3’s
are associated with lower risk
of depression.
Do you have a fuzzy
brain? If you want to be more
focused and clear minded researches say if you drink “caffeinated black, green or oolong
tea it may elicit a more alert
state of mind,” says The Journal
of Nutrition.
Now that we know a
few things about these helpful foods, why not make them
into a healthy, mood boosting
snack? How about some fruit
lady bugs?
All you’ll need is
strawberries, blueberries, dark
chocolate chips, and wax paper.
Taking the strawberries, cut the
tops off and then cut the berry
in half. Melt a small amount of
dark chocolate, but not all of
the chips.
Now smear a small
amount of melted chocolate
onto the top on the strawberry
and place a single blue berry to
the top. Next place that onto the
wax paper and place some of the
melted chocolate on the back
to create spots and make a line
down the center of the back to
create wings. You can add legs
on the sides of the strawberry,
drawing the melted chocolate
onto the wax paper -- same with
the antennas.
Now freeze them on
the wax paper until the chocolate becomes hard. And now
you have a delicious snack that
can boost your mood. Be happy
and stay golden Foran.
Page 6
THE MIRROR
NEWS
FORAN HS
April 2016
Super Tuesday Results in Favor of Trump and Clinton
Victor Rosado
Staff Writer
March 1, 2016. This
was the date of the infamous
“Super Tuesday.” If you’re
not familiar with the term, Super Tuesday is the day that 12
states held their primaries. At
a primary, people vote for the
candidate they want their party
to run in an upcoming election. In this case, the super
primary, Super Tuesday,
refers to the primaries that
choose the candidates for
the presidential election.
The 12 states
participating in Super
Tuesday are Alabama,
Georgia, Vermont, Virginia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas,
Arkansas,
Minnesota,
Colorado and Alaska. The
American Samoa also held
a primary, where 12 delegates were up for grabs.
Even though he
lost Texas, Donald Trump
was the clear winner for
the Republican Party on
Tuesday, ending the day
as the unrivaled favorite for the nomination.
On
the
Democratic side, Hillary Clinton
strengthened her momentum,
helped in part by a sweep of
Southern states with large
black voting populations.
Trump and Clinton were the big winners the
morning after Super Tuesday, each of them taking
seven of the 13 states in play
and adding to their leads.
On a day with the
largest delegate total of this
election season, Trump had
319 delegates to 226 for Ted
Cruz and 110 for Marco Rubio. In the Democratic race,
Clinton had won 595 delegates
to Sanders' 405. When super
delegates are added to the tally,
her lead grew to 1,000-371.
"Clinton racked up
early wins in Alabama, Geor-
publicans handed Rubio his only victory in any state
so far this campaign season.
He'd been fighting for traction
since his strong showing in the
Iowa caucuses a month ago.
Rubio made a big, late push
in Minnesota as he struggled
to stay relevant in the Republican candidate mix with
businessman Donald Trump
fighting hard against Hillary, trying to get traction
again. "Sanders hosted two
rallies in Oklahoma in the
weeks before Super Tuesday.
Joann Bennett said she thinks
campaign stops by Sanders
and other candidates helped
fuel voter turnout. "Colorado's results are nonbinding.
But Sanders' win gives him
An advert of Super Tuesday 2016. Photo courtesy of whlt.com
gia, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas and Texas, but the
close race in Massachusetts
wasn't decided until late Tuesday. Clinton edged Sanders
by less than two percentage points. "Sanders carried
the western part of the state,
many rural areas, the Cape
and the Islands, but Clinton
beat him in the cities, including Boston and most of its suburbs," stated Anthony Brooks
As for Rubio, "Re-
and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. That
included a rally Tuesday afternoon in Anoka County where
he ripped Trump as a "con
artist" unfit to be president.
As for Sen. Cruz,
"Cruz ended up second.
Trump, who came out on top in
most of the GOP Super Tuesday states, landed in third place
in Minnesota — the first time
he's run third in any state,"
said reporter Tim Pugmire.
Senator Sanders is
an important boost in a battleground state in his quest for
the Democratic nomination.
Ben Carson and John Kasich did not win any states
so far and did not win any
super Tuesday either. This
marks the hinting question
of whether the two candidates will drop out of the race.
In conclusion, the
Republicans need to think of
a plan fast if they do not want
Trump to be a nominee. Math-
ematically, it should be pointed
out, Trump can still be denied.
If Cruz or Rubio dropped out
today and the non-Trump forces united behind the remaining
one of those two candidates,
there are enough delegates left
in Florida, Ohio, New York,
and California for someone
else to win the Republican
nomination—or,
at
least, to force a floor
fight at the Party convention, in Cleveland.
But, given the scale
of Trump’s
victories
during the past few
weeks, and given the
fact that Cruz and Rubio
both seem certain to keep
going for a while; he is
close to becoming the
presumptive nominee.
As for the Democrats
Bernie needs to get friction in the next primary
to even out the playing field. Hilary has
more than 150 delegates
over his 405 delegates.
Mr. Tupka, one of
our amazing social studies department teachers
states “I think that the
record voter turnout shows
a new level of engagement
among American people and
I’m excited to see first time
voters at the polls”. What
goes to show the new excitement of this presidential race.
The race is still heated after Super Tuesday: let's
see what happens in the coming months. May the best candidate win his/her nomination.
EDITORIAL SECTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
Khadija Ashfaq
Editor
Social Media: Does It Do More Harm than Good?
Technology has progressed in many ways throughout the years. There have been
advances made in medicine
and science, and now there are
also new career opportunities
due to this progress. Although
there have been many beneficial improvements, some argue
that this advancement hasn't
been a beneficial one to others, more specifically kids who
have any form of social media.
Social media has become a very prominent part
of almost everyone’s life.
It is very rare to find someone who isn’t connected to
the internet through Instagram, Twitter, and even the
occasional Facebook user.
Many believe that social media is a great platform
to connect with people from
anywhere in the world. While
some commonly use it to connect with their friends from
school, others might use it to
communicate with their family
from across the globe. Navneet
Kaur, a
sophom o r e ,
says
“I
use social
media to
connect
with family in California.”
That
is
the great
t h i n g
about social media; anyone can
contact
people
they
may
care about
even if there is a large distance
in between them that may seem
to be a slight interference.
Social media is also
a great platform to gain exposure. Many businesses and
even people use it as a way
to broaden the reach of their
brand or company. While
some companies and people
desk in hopes of getting some
Photo courtesy of thenextweb.com
use it expand what they already have worked and started
on, others use it as the stepping stones to something big.
Yes, there are great
things about social media, but
with the good comes the bad.
Social media can serve as a distraction to many individuals.
People will sit down at their
work done ending up with
one question answered in a
matter of two hours. This is
an all too common scenario
in the lives of many. Lindsey Brooks, a sophomore,
stated “I can’t speak for myself and social media but my
phone gets me distracted from
work so I can only imagine
what social media can do.”
Besides the issue
that social media is a somewhat waste of time, there is
also a privacy concern. Many
people are concerned about
their privacy as well as the
privacy of others when using
social media. Although there is
a privacy setting on any form
of social media to lock any
information from the public
world, many believe that their
information is still not safe.
Like said before, with
the good comes the bad, but
that rule can work the other
way too. There are definitely
some aspects that aren’t so
great about social media with it
being a distraction and privacy
hazard to some, but the fact that
it works as a platform to launch
new ideas and allow to expand
old ones gives it a different
light. Social media has good
and bad like any other thing in
this world, but the good may
just outweigh the bad this time.
NEWS
Batman Versus Superman, A Favorite
April 2016
THE MIRROR
Shea Phelan
Staff Writer
The wait for the so called
best movie of the year is finally here. The Batman Versus
Superman Dawn of Justice
Movie was released last month
on March 25 and has an insane
kind of momentum – momentum which could easily result
in its standing as one of the
highest-grossing motion pictures of all-time.
Ben Affleck, also known as
Batman, was practically made
for the role. It only took the
writers about a month to figure
out that they wanted him as one
of the lead roles in the movie.
On the other hand, Henry Cavill
was picked for the role of Superman who is determined to
keep fighting against Batman.
Mr. Vrooman, a new Spanish
teacher at Foran, is a huge fan
of Marvel comics and movies
and went to go see the movie
on opening night. When asked
during an interview who was
some of his superheroes of all
time, he said, “I am a long time
Superman and Batman fan, but
I am disappointed by the some
of the movies because they
didn’t follow the story lines
as well as they should have.
Other than that, I was excited
to see the development of the
characterization behind the
two characters.” Vrooman also
added how it is fascinating how
Superman chooses to be good
all the time when he can easily be a darker character, like
Batman.
The story line to this movie
is that Batman fears the actions of Superman which are
left unchecked, Batman takes
on the man of steel, while the
world wrestles with what kind
of a hero it really needs. With
Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat,
Doomsday, is created by Lex
Luthor. It’s up to Superman
and Batman to set aside their
differences along with Wonder
Woman to stop Lex Luthor and
Doomsday from destroying
Metropolis.
David Payne, a junior, is
also a huge fan of Batman.
When asked what is looking
forward to the most, he said,
“I’m pumped to see how Batman is reinvented and separated
from the other recent unrelated
Batman movies. As you could
probably tell, I’m behind Bat-
man all the way.”
In this movie, mankind
faces a new threat as Batman
(Ben Affleck) embarks on a
personal vendetta against Superman (Henry Cavill).
Besides the two main superheroes in this movie, there were
many more to be seen such as
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman,
Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and
Ray Fisher as Cyborg. These
are just some of the several
characters that are starring in
this movie.
Brian Flanagan, a sophomore and a die-hard Superman
fan, loves the story lines of
most of the marvel movies and
is more excited for this movie
than any other superhero movie
out there. When asked why he
was so excited to see this movie,
he said, “I am such a die-hard
fan of Superman and he has
always been my favorite. But,
I’m not really a fan of Wonder
Woman and I don’t think she is
the nicest person. But Superman
has all the power I look for in a
superhero.” Flanagan adds how
Superman is a better guy rather
than Batman who is a much
darker character.
People definitely think this
is the best movie yet and one
to go see.
Pictures from Tech Ed- see article onpage 1
Tech ed students working on machines. Photos courtesy of Khadija Ashfaq.
FORAN HS
Page 7
Prominent Supreme
Court Judge Dies
Victor Rosado
Staff Writer
After the sudden
death of conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, President Obama
has the opportunity to move
the country’s highest court
toward the left by tapping a
more liberal-leaning successor.
Reagan appointee Antonin Scalia died suddenly of
natural causes on Saturday, Feb.
13, 2016 at a West Texas ranch.
will make every effort to block
the nomination," Stephen
Wermiel, Professor of Law at
American University Washington College of Law told the
Daily News, "even to the point
of shedding blood in the aisles
of the Senate if they have to.”
Obama said Saturday Feb. 13
that he intends to be the one to
choose Scalia's replacement.
And
here’s
who
is
nominee
is:
Merrick Garland-Garland is
the Chief Judge of the United
Justice Antonin Scalia. Photo courtesy of cnn.com
Immediately
after
news of Scalia's death broke,
diverse options for the top job
were being floated along with
a debate online among Senate
leaders about whether lame
duck Obama should be the one
to nominate the next justice.
"The American people should have a voice in the
selection of their next Supreme
Court justice," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.) said Saturday Feb. 13
in a statement. "Therefore this
vacancy should not be filled
until we have a new president.”
Senate
Minority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
quickly fired back saying that
"it would be unprecedented
in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with
a vacant seat. Failing to fill this
vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the
Senate's most essential Constitutional
responsibilities."
Legal experts think
Republicans might block
an Obama appointee until he's out of office, leaving
the court with a gaping vacant seat for nearly a year.
"I think Republicans
States Court of Appeals for
the D.C. Circuit, and is known
for having lead prosecutions
in the Oklahoma City bombing and "Unabomber" Ted
Kaczynski cases while he
was the Associate Deputy Attorney General from 1994 to
2013. "His name has been
kicking around for a while.
He's not an extremely liberal
Democrat, he's sort of centrist," Wermiel, the American
University law professor, said.
President Obama on
Wednesday March, 16 nominated Merrick B. Garland to
be the nation’s 113th Supreme
Court justice, choosing a centrist appellate judge who could
reshape the court for a generation and become the face of a
bitter election-year confirmation struggle. In selecting Judge
Garland, 63, a well-known
figure in Washington legal
circles who has drawn praise
from members of both parties,
Mr. Obama dared Republican
senators to ignore public pressure and make good on their
promise to block consideration
of any nominee until after
the next president is chosen.
Page 8
THE MIRROR
Entertainment
FORAN HS
April 2016
Mane Street Mirror: Senior
Edition
Coming in June
Parents/Guardians: Submit a
farwell to your senior student
to [email protected] by
April 11.
Send your senior off with the
warmest wishes!
Farewells are free of charge, but
donations to the Foran journalism program are appreciated!
Checks can be made out to Foran High School and delivered
to Lisa Farrell.
Page 9
THE MIRROR
Ariana Grande Premieres
New Style
Mark Duffy
Staff Writer
Fresh off a global
world tour in support of her
sophomore, platinum-selling
album My Everything, Ariana
Grande is already back on
the scene with new music and
primetime television appearances. The last time we saw
Ariana was in October when she
dropped her long-awaited new
single, “Focus.” Although it
was crazy catchy, “Focus” was
a commercial and critical bust
for Ariana, who normally experiences overwhelming success.
Since then, she’s abandoned
“Focus,” citing a desire to move
away from her traditional pop
sound, and as such, the lead
single off her new forthcoming
album was changed to the title
track, “Dangerous Woman.”
During the gap between October and February,
Ariana moved her focus from
her music to other ventures,
such as a lipstick line with Viva
Glam for the MAC AIDS fund,
and a clothing line for the British brand Lipsy. After months
of waiting, Ariana finally announced on a website dedicated
to her new album that she would
be releasing new music and
performing on “Saturday Night
Live” in coming weeks.
On March 11, Ariana
dropped “Dangerous Woman,”
and immediately following
its release, it received acclaim
from fans and everyday listeners alike. The song shows off
Ariana’s incredible range while
moving her musical style in
a new, jazzier direction, and
speaks of empowering women
Entertainment
April 2016
FORAN HS
The Bachelor: Ben Gives Away Final Rose
to make their own decisions.
“Ariana Grande is really
stepping it up. She’s come a long
way and I’m really impressed with
her new style. ‘Dangerous Woman’
is so different from her previous
work and I’m honestly blown
away,” said senior Julia Mahroos.
Less than a week after her single
hit the airwaves, Ariana made a
highly-publicized appearance
as both the host and guest on
“SNL.” Celebrities and fans
took to Twitter to laud Ariana’s
appearance,
commending
her for being able to laugh at
herself and giving some great
celebrity impressions. Ariana’s
impressions of vocal legends
such as Celine, Shakira, and
Whitney went viral across the
internet.
Along with the first
live performance of “Dangerous Woman,” Ariana took to the
“SNL” stage to debut her hot new
promotional single, “Be Alright.”
Let me tell you first hand, it is the
addictive. Ariana served up some
electric choreography as she once
again gave an outstanding performance. All in all, the show went
off without a hitch, and Ariana
demonstrated her versatility as an
artist, actor, and performer.
Much like Justin Bieber,
who redefined his public image
with his new album, Purpose,
Ariana’s has worked hard to put
the infamous donut-gate incident
behind her. Thanks to the positive
press she’s received in the past
few weeks, and her new, highlyanticipated album dropping May
20, maybe 2016 will be the year
we all become Arianators.
Jules Tuozzola
Staff Writer
American heartthrob, the bachelor Ben Higgins, has finally found love.
After months of viewers anxiously awaiting as Higgins
love-life unfolded, fans are
now delighted to know that
he is happily in love with his
bride to be. Higgins left Lauren Bushnell in tears of joy as
he got down on one knee to
propose- despite having admitting that he was also in love
with her rival, Jojo Fletcher.
Higgins’ quest for
a soulmate was one that was
not at all smooth-sailing.
Throughout the entire season, the bachelor endured a
slew of conflicted emotions
to decipher based upon his
romantic feelings. Higgins
was one of the only bachelor’s
in all of The Bachelor history
to declare that he was in love
with two women simultaneously- and better yet, say the
extremely meaningful “I love
you,” phrase to each of them.
Fans were outraged
and conflicted. Twitter was
filled with tweets about Ben’s
decision to express his love
for two contestants. Prior to
the final rose and proposal in
Jamaica, the entire fan base
pondered, if Higgins has openly expressed and confessed his
love for both Lauren Bushnell
and Jojo Fletcher, who will he
end up proposing to?
Junior Sarah
Fitzgerald discussed her reaction. “This season was so
intense. He was in love with
Jojo and Lauren at the same
time, while he knew that he
would have to break up with
one of them in the end.” “Ben should have
picked Jojo,” she added. “She
is more authentic and real
than Lauren. I have to admit
though, towards the end, it
became obvious that Ben’s
connection with Lauren was
stronger.”
Sophomore Catie
Stiffler said she didn’t like the
way things worked out.
“I don’t think Ben
truly loves Lauren. I’m sad
he didn’t pick Jojo, but I
am so excited that she is the
bachelorette and I can’t wait
to watch it.”
Junior Steve Lynch
echoed those thoughts.
“I’m mad that Ben
didn’t choose Jojo. Her family,
personality, and her overall
character was better than
Lauren’s.”
The vast number
of Jojo Fletcher fans should
ensure lots of viewing next
season of the bachelorette as
Jojo searches for a potential
husband.
Ben
Higgins
and
Lauren
Bushnell’s
engagement was one that
was, “perfect,” said senior
Erica Hanson. Bushnell
approached Ben awaiting
news that would change
her life forever. Higgins
established his true feelings
for Bushnell saying, “I came
into this honestly feeling
unlovable- that I couldn’t
be loved or that I was never
going to find that person to
love. Then we go through
this experience that is full of
goodbyes. Lauren, I never
want to say goodbye to you.”
He continued, “I
want to go to bed at night
and know that in the morning
I’m going to wake up to the
most beautiful woman that
I’ve ever laid eyes on.” The
bachelor then got down on
one knee, and asked Bushnell
for her hand in marriage.
Bushnell and Higgins report that they are happily engaged and are enjoying each and every moment
together as an engaged couple.
Prom Preparation Begins: Students Prepare for Dance
Last year’s junior class taking pictures before prom. Photo courtesy of Jackie Barron
Madison Whitaker
Staff Writer
Everybody in their
junior year in high school get
excited because a huge event
happens for that grade. That’s
right, prom! Every teenage girl
dreams of having the best looking dress ever for it. But, the
question is: how do you even
get prepared for prom?
The first step to get
ready is to think about what type
of dress you would want. You
should look online at websites
that are gown stores, like Atia-
nas Boutique. Their store gets
a lot of great reviews because
they always have the right
dress for everybody no matter
what type of dress you plan on
getting.
Another great store
to look at is Windsor in the
Milford mall. They have a ton
of dresses that are no more than
$100.
The next step is to
look for jewelry and other accessories. For example, a lot
of girls like to get the type of
necklaces with the big circles
on them. Another accessory
that you can get are bracelets
and matching earrings that go
with your dress. For example, if
you plan on getting a dress with
sparkles in it, or sparkly shoes,
then you should get some earrings that have sparkles in them
to match the look.
Make sure you book
your appointments early at the
nail and hair salon. You should
get your nails done 24 hours before the dance so you don’t ruin
your nails while they are still
drying or while you’re dancing.
Another great tip is to
make sure you have your ticket,
money and that your phone is
fully charged before going to
the dance. That way you can
take a lot of pictures with your
friends throughout the night.
Another great tip for
the day of prom is to make plans
to go somewhere after. Whether
it’s to your friend’s house for a
sleepover or to a party, make
sure you have something to do
because you don’t want to end
your night on the dance floor. A
lot of people usually go to post
prom, which is at the Shelton
Sport’s Center, where you can
play laser tag, go ice skating,
play mini golf and hang out in
the arcade.
The very last step is
to have fun! Prom is the most
important dance in high school
that a lot of people go to and
you want to make a lot of great
memories to look back on years
from now.
If you have any interest in donating to or volunteering at Post Prom this year,
contact the One Voice PTSA.
THE MIRROR
SPORTS
Spring Sports 101 Continued...
Boys’ Lacrosse
In their final season together this year senior, captains
Bobby McGinnis, Jake Lambert, Kevin O’Connor, and
Ryan Manning are hopeful
to make it as far as they did
last season or even further.
Last year the boys’ lacrosse team made it to the
state tournament, but got
out after their second game.
Captains Lambert and Manning are excited to see the
new talent brought to the
team this year. The team lost
some crucial players but will
do just fine without them.
Senior captain McGinnis says,
“I think the entire team is excited to be on the turf. Out
of all the teams I’ve played
on I’ve never been a part of
something with so much energy and enthusiasm. We’re
eating it up. We’ve worked
really hard in the off season
and we are taking it one game
at a time. We are all hoping
states but right now we are
just focusing on which team
we have next. We are out to
make an impression this year.
I can promise you that none
of us are joking around this
year. This year is different.”
The Lions hope to make their
name remembered this year
and can’t wait to get out there
and work their offense and
score some “Gino’s”. Captain
Manning is most excited to
play their last game against
law. Come out and support
your Lions at their first home
game on April 9 at 11:00am.
Girls’ Tennis
As spring quickly approaches us students at Foran, the
excited faces spread across
students, being put toward
the nice weather and their favorite spring sport to endure.
This year, the girls’ tennis team
wants to go out and show their
strength on the courts. Senior
captain, Katelyn Stokes, says
she is excited to share the court
again, with her teammates.
“Expectations for the team
this year include not letting
any score of any match define you as a player. We have
our good days, but no one
should feel that they are not
good enough for the game.”
Fellow captain, Samantha
Giesman-Ginter adds to
Stokes’s encouragement, “All
of us want to improve on and
off the court; this includes
team bonding, which efficiently helps to make us all stronger, which is really important.”
The girls’ tennis team hopes
to improve their record from
last year, and is willing to
work hard and do their best.
Boys’ Tennis
Senior captain, Patrick LaPenna, is really excited to get
back on to the tennis court this
year and see what the boys’ tennis team will be like this year.
With the loss of really good
players from last season and
the season before, LaPenna
and the team will have to keep
up the momentum and strategies they use to help them
achieve greatness this year.
LaPenna and the rest of the upperclassmen can conclude that
there are many new freshmen
this year that will bring a lot of
talent and potential to the team.
LaPenna is hoping the
team can accomplish many
new goals this season.
He
also
states
he’s
pumped to do a sport that
doesn’t feel like a chore.
Softball
Returning back to their diamond this year is the girls’
softball team. New captains this year are Brittney
Baker, and Natalia Hart.
Baker says, “We all want to
have a successful softball
season through hard work,
and with lots of dedication.
We want to use our individual talents and strength
to come together as one.”
Hart was one of the few softball
players who went All-State last
season. Hart adds to Baker’s
comments, “I’m excited for
team bonding, and having fun
this year. I hope we all work
together to make it further in
the postseason and improve
our team chemistry overall.”
The eagerness to be back
outside in the warm weather is shown across all the
girls’ faces. We wish best
of luck to our Lady Lions
on another great season.
Baseball
Ready to hit the field again
this year, senior captains
Mike Howell, Colin Firmender, and TJ Stuart are
hyped to begin the season.
The captains are ready to
get back on the grind with
their boys and have a season that will be memorable.
There are a lot of key spots
that need to be filled but captain Howell is confident that
uprising players are ready
to step up to the challenge.
Stuart says, “When you lose
nine seniors, you’re going to
need people to step up and fill
the gaps they’ve left behind.
Lily Stiffler and Madison
Wong celebrate a victory in the 2015 spring
season.
FORAN HS
Fortunately, we return several
starters from last year but with
that we’re a relatively young
group. Whenever they’re open
positions on the field it’s going
to breed competition, and if
we have a roster of guys competing day in and day out for
spots, not only will everyone
be improving but results will
translate to the field. I think
not only will we improve on
8-12 record from 2015, but
we will be an over .500 team,”
The captain’s expectations are
high, as they expect everyone
to challenge themselves day
in and day out and to strive
to reach states and playoffs.
They are hopeful that all the
hard work in and out of the
weight room will pay off.
Come
out
and
support
your lions at their first
home game on April 5
against East Haven at 3:45.
Outdoor Track
Spring has reached
the Milford community, and
with that, students are jumping
for joy as they prepare themselves for their final sports
season of the 2016 school year.
Many students enjoy being
out in the warmth and participating in a team event.
Senior, Kyle Greenspan is
one of the many members
of the outdoor track team.
Greenspan says about his final season on this team, “I’m
Page 10
excited to see how much the
team improves throughout this
season. I believe we can have
multiple members place at the
Southern Connecticut Conference, and eventually advance
to the State competition.”
One key quality is that the
outdoor track team performs
their very best, and be very
competitive in every meet
they encounter this year.
The Lions are excited to get
back out there, and show the rest
of the school what they do best.
Golf
The boys’ golf team is excited to get back to the courses and improve this year.
The golf team lost a lot
of crucial players, but
hopes to fill in those spots.
Senior Reed Keller is hoping that the team will get at
least eight wins to make it
to states. He also states that,
“This season will be a lot
harder due to the fact that
we lost four great seniors.”
The golf team will also play
tough teams, such as Branford and Amity, multiple
times throughout the season.
Overall it’s going to be a tough
schedule for the Foran boys, but
if everyone tries their best then
the outcome will be satisfying.
Foran graduate Nick Tuozzola was a star player for
last year’s team. They look forward to this season.
Girls’ Lacrosse Competing on
Game Day.
Photo Courtesy Yearbook Staff
The softball team welcomes new coach, Ms. Dawid
JOSEPH J. MAGER JR.
ATTORNEY AT LAW
MAGER AND MAGER
87 RIVER STREET
MILFORD, CONNECTICUT
06460
TELEPHONE: (203) 874-6724
FAX: (203) 878-3993
[email protected]
THE MIRROR
April 2016
FORAN HS
SPORTS
Page 11
Girls’ Lacrosse Looking to
Attack the Scoreboard
Shea Phelan and Eva Knudsen
Staff Writers
It’s that time of year
again! Lacrosse is back and better than ever. Girls’ lacrosse has
two new assistant coaches, Brian O’Neill and Kirk Knudsen.
The team is hoping for some
new insight, seeing that the new
coaches previously coached
Milford Youth Lacrosse (MYL)
Girls’ Lacrosse.
Not only are there
new coaches, but there is a new
goalie, Samantha Pierpont.
She says she’s very excited to
being playing goalie this year
and to be getting advice from
Shea Phelan, sophomore and
Varsity goalie since her freshman year. It’s quite the position
change since she played attack
last year. Pierpont says, “I plan
to improve on my skills with
help from Coach O’Neill.” She
adds, “I love the fact that I’m
taking on a new adventure in my
life and taking my sport career
to another level.”
This season the team
is focusing on fitness more than
they have in previous years. At
tryouts they had to run the mile,
pyramids (form of conditioning), and they plan on running
sprints before every game.
Coach Blake provides input on
different styles of conditioning
to keep the girls in shape.
Coach Connors, also
known as Mr. Connors to his
chemistry students, is taking on
his third year as the Head Girls’
Lacrosse Coach at Foran High.
Despite this being only the second year as a varsity program,
Connors is confident because
many of his upperclassmen
girls have been playing since
they were freshmen. During an
interview, when asked what his
expectations are for this year,
he said, “I am really looking
forward to seeing how all my
girls have developed since
freshmen year. It is okay that we
don’t have any seniors because
the current freshmen have a
moment to shine.” He also adds
how the team better beat Law
this year. He is also looking for
more wins this year then the
team has had in the previous
seasons.
The new freshmen are
all a very good addition to the
team, because most of them
have played before in the youth
program for the city. Without
having any seniors, the underclassman are stepping up and
taking responsibility for helping
out the players and coaches.
Without having any
seniors on the team for the
2016 season, it was decided to
have two juniors as the lacrosse
captains. Hannah Pouliot and
Julia Astram are proud to be
named captains. Both of these
girls are both experienced in Foran Lacrosse as well as Milford
Youth. Astram started in eighth
grade and Pouliot since fourth
also having one year of a boys’
lacrosse season under her belt.
When asked how it felt to be
chosen as captain, Pouliot said,
“I think it feels pretty good to be
captain. Both Julia and I really
worked for it. I think it will be
different authority wise because
it’s junior captains being captains to other juniors.” Pouliot
also adds how the freshmen are
dedicated and will be the future
of Foran Girls’ Lacrosse.
With many changes
this year, it is predicted that the
players will have a successful
season. Good luck ladies.
photo courtesy of Jake Lambert
Skiing the East
Jess Lavallee
Staff Writer
The skiing and snowboard season winds down as
the weather gets nicer, leaving
behind memories of a great
ski club season for Foran High
School.
This season the Foran
Ski and Snowboard Club went
on an overnight to Jay Peak
and Smuggler’s Notch; they
also went to Bromley and Killington.
The overnight trip
was such a success this year
it will definitely happen again
in the years to come. The
trip started at 2 p.m. right
after school. All the students
boarded the bus and sat ready
to endure a five hour bus ride.
The next morning
everyone got a wake-up call at
6:30 and boarded the bus for
the first mountain, Jay Peak.
The conditions were outstand-
continued on page 12
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Page 12
THE MIRROR
SPORTS
FORAN HS
April 2016
Spring Sports To Watch
Girls’ Lacrosse
Thursday April 7 vs. Lyman Hall 6pm
Varsity Boys’ Golf - April 4, 2016 VS.
Branford at Grassy Hill Country Club at
3:00 P.M.
Varsity Boys’ Baseball - April 5, 2016
VS. East Haven on Ken Walker Field at
3:45 P.M.
Varsity Girls’ Tennis - April 4, 2016 VS.
Mercy at Foran High School at 3:45 P.M.
Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse - April 7, 2016
VS. Lyman Hall at Foran High School at
6:00 P.M.
Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse - April 9, 2016
VS. North Branford at Foran High
School at 11:00 A.M.
Varsity Girls’ Softball - April 7, 2016
VS. Sheehan at Foran High School at
3:45 P.M.
Varsity Boys’ Tennis - April 11, 2016
Boys’ Lax Has High Hopes Ski Club, A Favorite
Julia Silvestri
Staff Writer
Boy’s Lacrosse
After coming out
of a .500 (8 wins, 8 losses)
season last year, the Foran
Boys’ Lacrosse Team hopes
to do more than “just get by”
this season. In lacrosse and
few other high school sports,
6-8 regular season wins puts
you into the state tournament.
Though the boys have a tough
schedule this year facing teams
like Berlin, Cheshire, and
Shelton, senior captain Jacob
Lambert is confident that
states will be in reach for them.
Along with Lambert, other
senior captains include Ryan
Manning, Robert McGinnis,
and Kevin O’Connor. Other
seniors on the team include
Joseph Bartone, Scott Breault,
Brian Brown, Dustin Conrad,
Joseph Dellamonica, Shaun
DeMarco, Justin Dickovick
and Luke Gibbs.
Ever since this newly
developed team came about
in 2013, the boys, as well as
the coaches, have strived to
get better each and every day
to improve the program. After
talking to a few seniors, they all
seem to have common goals for
this season. Lambert stated that
having good practices as well
as a good mentality benefits
all. They plan to still keep that
up throughout the 2016 season.
Senior Gibbs stated that their
only drawback may be their
lack of aggression. He, as well
as the team, plan to work on that
this year.
Due to the loss of key
players on defense, they’re
going to need the underclassmen
to really step up. “We got some
real talent this year,” stated
insert BLAX PIC
Boys’ Lax looks to win this season. Photo Courtesy of Kelly Lambert
senior Dellamonica. He added,
“We’re just a group of guys who
have been playing lax together
for years.”
They’ll have to
prove themselves in their 17
regular season games for a
chance for an appearance in
the state tournament. Last year
the boys played a very close
game with the Masuk Panthers.
Throughout the whole game
they were neck and neck, but
Foran ended up on top by 1.
The boys enjoy playing that
team because their skill levels
are about the same. It’s always
a good game to watch. They
will be playing Masuk High
School on their turf at 3:00 p.m.
on May 7.
Other important
games to catch are their 2 games
versus our hometown rival.
They will be playing Jonathan
Law at home on May 9 at 6:30
p.m. and away on May 23 at
4:30 p.m. The boys’ opener is
on Saturday, April 9 at 11:00
a.m. against the North Branford
Thunderbirds. Good luck boys!
-Continued from page 11
ing and all the students had a blast. Sarah Moon
said, “The most chaotic part
was having four girls shower
within 30 minutes before going
out to Burlington for dinner.”
The students loved
downtown and really enjoyed
the scenery. All the students
were split into three groups for
dinner and went to three different restaurants.
Sarah highly recommends all the underclassmen
sign up for the trip in the years
to come.
“I had a blast and
wish the overnight happened
sooner so I could go on it
again,” she said. “But ending
my senior year with this trip
was really memorable.”
The other day trips
were also a success and the
students really enjoyed themselves.
Mr. Williams did yet
another astonishing job organizing and chaperoning all of
the trips.
Many of the seniors
are sad it’s over and can’t
believe after four years their
time in ski and snowboard
club is over.
The ski club lucked
out with the conditions at the
mountains; the weather was
phenomenal for nearly every
trip. Only the Bromley trip
was postponed due to the
weather.
Seniors Brian
Wydra and Bailey Wheeler
said their favorite part of the
club this season was snowboarding through the glades
and seeing Canada at the peak
of Jay during the overnight
ski trip.
The scenery at all the
mountains was impeccable
and definitely a favorite part
for many skiers and snowboarders.
“Standing at the peak
of the mountain and looking out is breathtaking,” said
senior Sarah Moon.