Casey lips - Red Bank Catholic High School

VOL. 33 No. 2
C
Red Bank Catholic High School - Red Bank, New Jersey 07701
asey
lips
By Shayne McNally
March 18, Red Bank Catholic’s Make a Wish Club
broke the world record for
most tie-dye shirts worn in
a room. The club sold the
shirts for $10, and the money
they made went to the Make
a Wish Foundation.
March 12-15, Red Bank
Catholic’s Performing Arts
presented Shrek the Musical.
The show sold out three out
of four nights, but drew a
crowd every night.
March 11, the freshmen won
their Battle of the Classes against the sophomores.
March 13, the seniors won
their Battle of the Classes
against the juniors. The winning classes got a free dressdown day on March 16.
Once a month, juniors and
seniors will be able to attend
the “Introduction to Wall
Street” seminar hosted by
Mr. Tom Walsh, Managing
Director of Fundamental
Credit Research at Barclays
Bank in New York City.
Also in this Issue:
Anti-Vaccination...........Page 2
Je Suis Charlie.................Page 2
Who’s That Casey?..........Page 3
TV Show Review............Page 3
Choir at Carnegie...........Page 3
Winter Sports..................Page 4
March 2015
Red Bank Catholic Marches for Life in Washington DC
By Amy Dowden & Sam Gaudio
On Thursday, January 22,
2015, seventy Red Bank Catholic students and faculty members, Mrs. Flego, Mr. Gates,
Mrs. Guarillio, Mr. Booth,
Father Mark, and Father Ariel joined the 500,000 people
marching through Washington,
DC united in the cause of promoting life.
The Caseys slept over at RBC
on Wednesday, partaking in a
night of spiritual preparation
and reflection. Then, at 4am,
they departed for Washington,
DC. The Caseys for Life have
been attending the March for
Life for many years, but due to
inclement weather, were unable to attend the last two years.
They were happy to return to
the march this year, with a large
turnout of students full of energy and excitement.
By rallying together in the
fight against abortion, the death
penalty, and assisted suicide,
the students who enthusiastically marched reflected what it
means to be a Casey. At Red
Bank Catholic, students are
taught to love and respect life.
They are also taught to be proud
of their beliefs and share them
with others, and the March for
Life is one of the many great
ways that Caseys do this. RBC’s
participation in the march
would not be possible without
Mrs. Flego, who runs the Caseys for Life, and the student
officers Don Califano, Trevon
James, Todd Goehring, Annie
Flego, and Kirsten Saleh. Overall, the march was a massive
success.
Mrs. Flego expressed her
complete happiness with this
year’s march, saying, “I love
seeing kids come together for
something so important, and
they still manage to have fun
and build relationships while
doing it.”
The beginning of the March for Life in
Washington, DC where over 500,000
people participated. Photo courtesy of
Marchforlife.com.
Seniors Go Beyond a Classroom with Their Capstones
By Mary Clare Foley
A capstone project is a student-run research project with
the goal of a final presentation.
Projects such as this work on
skills like critical thinking and
problem solving, along with
demanding skills involving
teamwork, communication, research, and planning.
This year Red Bank Catholic
has brought Capstone projects
to three of its Advanced Placement classes: AP Psychology,
AP Physics, and AP Biology.
In the AP Psychology Capstone, separate teams research Brenda Cabrera (left) and Isabell Linde
their own separate hypotheses. (right) with their bluebird Biology CapTo test their hypotheses, they
stone. Photo by Isabell Linde.
gathered data by testing random classes of the student body. students are building robots for
The end result will be to pres- their project. When asked what
ent their findings at the Jersey their process is, Anna Colonna
said, “We are researching, deShore Science Fair.
A select group of AP Physics signing, and building a robot
that is able to perform a few
specific tasks.” She gave the example of following a path they
create as a task the robot might
perform. Their goal is to complete their robot sometime in
the spring.
The Biology Capstone includes Brenda Cabrera and Isabell Linde. They collect data at
Dorbrook Park with Mrs. Nicoletti or Mrs. Davis, who is in
her twenty-third year of working with Cornell on the project.
According to Isabell they look
for “how many eggs, what type
of bird it is, and if the nest is
completed in the nest box.” The
pair input that data into Nestwatch.com, where data is gathered about birds from all over
the world. Their main goal is to
work toward getting the bluebirds to return to New Jersey.
March 2015
Editorials
The Signpost
The Anti-Vaccination Movement
The anti-vaccination movement has existed as long as
vaccination, but in recent years
the movement has gained more
vocal support. The newest wave
of the anti-vaccination supporters was inspired by Andrew
Wakefield’s falsified medical
papers in 1998 and the practice
of building natural immunity.
Wakefield’s “research” claimed
that the measles, mumps, and
rubella (MMR) vaccine caused
autism in children, which it does
not. In 2010 the medical community realized that all of his
data was falsified, and promptly
revoked his medical license and
retracted his paper.
Those that practice natural
immunity expose themselves,
their children, and any unvaccinated person to a plethora of
deadly diseases that are 100%
preventable, to gain an immunity naturally rather than through
a vaccine. These people ignore
medical advances that saved and
will continue to save millions of
lives. It is crucial for young children to receive their vaccinations
because they have the highest
mortality rate when faced with
diseases like polio, measles, and
smallpox.
Prior to 2014, measles was
considered totally eradicated
in the United States. However,
since more people are refusing
to vaccinate their children, there
were six hundred cases of the
measles in 2014. Since so many
people are refusing to give their
children proper medical care,
the nation has lost its herd immunity toward deadly diseases
like smallpox, polio, and influenza. This means that with fewer
vaccinated people to protect the
unvaccinated from these diseases, a deadly outbreak becomes
more and more likely.
From ethics to religion,
people are coming up with any
excuse to prevent their children from getting vaccinated.
Religious objections have come
from a wide range of people, but
do not hold much bearing versus
science. It is very hard to find a
religion that is opposed to vaccines; the world’s major religions
have no objections to preventing
the spread of disease. Many
oppose vaccinations on the basis
of their philosophical grounds.
People are grabbing at any
excuse they can so that they
can ignore the advice of medical professionals. The facts
prove that vaccines do not cause
autism, they have saved over one
hundred million lives since their
invention, and remaining ignorant to the benefits of vaccines is
dangerous.
Page 2
Free Speech-Je Suis Charlie
By Maggie Jenkins
In Paris, France on the
morning of January 7, 2015,
two brothers forced their way
into the offices of satirical
magazine Charlie Hebdo. The
men, Cherif and Said Kouachi,
burst into the offices and killed
eleven people inside the building, including editor Stephane
Charbonnier.
Cherif Kouachi had been
jailed in 2008 and was known
for his military-type involvement. The attack was in
retaliation of the magazine’s
editorials depicting the prophet
Muhammad. It was reported
by witnesses that the brothers
shouted, “We have avenged
the Prophet Muhammed” and
“God is great.” French police confirmed a connection
between this shooting and an
attack in Montrogue, France
that happened on the same day.
In traditional Muslim
culture, it is not considered respectful to represent Muhammad in real life. Charlie Hebdo
has written about and poked
fun of many religions. It is
understandable to have respect
for all religions, and certainly
not everyone will be happy
about what the press prints.
There have been jokes made
about the Pope and leaders of
other religions. However, it is
in no way acceptable for any
group or religion to lash out by
killing. Charlie Hebdo deserves
the right to print whatever it
pleases. Charlie Hebdo printed
their first magazine shortly
after the attack featuring Muhammad on the cover holding
a sign that said “Je Suis Charlie,” which translates as “We are
Charlie.”
It is important that journalists and reporters be able to
discuss any topic that is going
on in the world. We all should
have the right to free speech;
we are Charlie.
Image from the Je Suis Charlie App.
The Signpost
Volume 33 No. 2
“Opinions stated are not necessarily the voice of
the Signpost.”
American Scholastic Press Association - First Place
Red Bank Catholic High School
112 Broad Street
Red Bank, NJ, 07701
Published Quarterly
“Using this [Project Tyco’s] database, we estimate that more than 100 million
cases of serious childhood contagious diseases have been prevented, thanks to
the introduction of vaccines, but we also are able to see a resurgence of some of
these diseases in the past several decades as people forget how devastating they
can be and start refusing vaccines,” says Willem van Panhuis, MD, PhD, of the
University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, leader of the research
team. (source: Public Health Watch)
Editor-in-Chief................................Abigail L. Boriotti
Assistant Editor-in-Chief....................Maggie Jenkins
News Editor.......................................Mary Clare Foley
Features Editor....................................Julia Cangialosi
Arts & Entertainment Editor................Amy Dowden
Sports Editor............................Mary Kate McNamara
Photography Editor.................................Sabrina Caci
Copy Editor..........................................Maeve O’Brien
Moderators.....Ms. Mary King & Mr. Richard Beltle
March 2015
The Signpost
Page 3
Features/Arts & Entertainment
Who’s that Casey? A Star Among Us with Devlin Stark Better Call Saul!
By Amy Dowden
Review
Freshman Devlin Stark pos- can Christmas Carol. Both the
sesses a talent and passion for
performing that has earned her
distinguished success.
She will be making her film
debut in The Button Girl, which
was filmed this past summer.
Stark is starring as the daughter, Elizabeth, alongside many
notable names, including Dick
Van Dyke, Charles Shaughnessy, Kate Winslet, and Jane
Seymour.
The movie, which will be released December 2015 on PBS,
is a heartwarming Christmas
classic. Stark became involved
in the movie through Tim Janis,
with whom she began taking
voice lessons two years ago.
Stark, who says that she has
always loved performing, also
experienced the extraordinary
honor of singing a solo at Carnegie Hall twice for An Ameri-
By Logan Roddy
movie and this organization
benefit Kate Winslet’s charity,
The Golden Hat Foundation,
which helps change negative
views of autistic children. Before the release of the movie,
the Red Bank Catholic community had the opportunity to see
Stark display her talent on its
own stage as she starred as Fiona in the Casey Players’ production of Shrek the Musical.
Red Bank Catholic is privileged to have Devlin Stark as a
part of our school community, and we wish her continued
success in her acting career and
other future artistic endeavors.
Devlin Stark (right) as Elizabeth in
her debut film The Button Girl, premiering December 2015 on the Public
Broadcasting Station (PBS).
Photo from The Button Girl trailer.
Red Bank Catholic Choir Takes Carnegie Hall by Storm
By Daniela Rodriguez-Luna
On November 24, 2015, the
Red Bank Catholic Choir had
the amazing opportunity to
perform, for a second time, at
the world-renowned Carnegie
Hall. The RBC Choir was the
only high school choir invited
to be part of the American Festival Choir. In 2014 the choir
sang “The Song of Christmas,”
and being invited back this year
to sing “The Heart of Christmas” was an honor.
“It was a thrill to be on the
stage where I have seen Yo-Yo
Ma and Kathleen Battle, among
others. Our RBC students were
the mainstay of a very diverse
group of choristers,” stated English teacher, Mrs. Barbara Jacomme.
Both times the choir per-
formed the world premiere of
songs written by Dr. Phil Barfoot and Rebecca J. Peck. This
year, vocalists Travis Cottrell
and Marcia Ware, along with
pianist Jeff Bennett and Evangelist Beth Moore joined the
American Festival Choir to
bring the spirit of Christmas to
New York City.
In October, composer Dr.
Phil Barfoot visited the students
and worked with them to make
the songs sound spectacular. As
the performance approached,
the choir went to New York City
to practice with the performers
and meet the others.
Finally, the big day arrived
and the choir hopped on a
coach bus headed to Carnegie
Hall. Choir member Helen
Ann Scheetz expressed, “Performing at Carnegie Hall was
definitely an experience I’ll
never forget, especially a second time. The people were so
nice and the whole night was
magical, but we really missed
Kevin Jonas this year!”
It was a once in a lifetime experience, because the choir got
its own dressing room and the
opportunity to go behind the
scenes. Mr. Mack stated, “It was
an amazing opportunity for our
students. To perform on that
stage where so many legendary
performers have appeared is
truly awe-inspiring.”
Performing at Carnegie Hall
was a truly unbelievable experience the choir will never forget.
After their performance at
Carnegie Hall, the Red Bank
Catholic Choir has not stopped
working. They are currently
preparing their musical composition for Disney World’s Disney Sings this spring. Like Carnegie, this is their second year
performing at this event.
Red Bank Catholic Choir Director
Mr. Shawn Mack (center left) conducting the American Festival Choir
at Carnegie Hall. Photo courtesy of
Red Bank Catholic.
On February 8, 2015, Better
Call Saul! (the prequel series to
the award-winning show Breaking
Bad) aired its pilot episode. Since
the thrilling end of Breaking Bad
in September 2013, creator Vince
Gilligan’s devoted fans have been
anxiously waiting for more from
him. The show is set in 2002, six
years before the events of Breaking Bad. This time, however, the
main character is James McGill,
or his criminal defense lawyer
name, Saul Goodman. McGill
is struggling to make ends meet
while defending juvenile criminals, and working through family
troubles.
Better Call Saul! is particularly
grim, and showcases how pathetic
McGill’s life is. From hyping himself up in the court’s bathroom
mirror, to arguing with the parking lot turnstile security guard,
McGill’s life needs to change.
With lingering debt, he finds himself trapped, until one day he discovers (what he thinks will be) relief from his trying lifestyle. This
leads to a signature Vince Gilligan
cliffhanger that leaves the viewers
breathless.
This premiere episode gives
returning Breaking Bad viewers
hope for a great prequel series.
The depressing moments segway
into how James McGill becomes
Saul Goodman, a crooked criminal defense lawyer who launders
drug money and makes his clients
disappear. Bob Odenkirk plays
the role of James McGill, and
Bryan Cranston’s character, Walter White, might make a cameo
in the show. Better Call Saul! is a
promising new series that fans of
Breaking Bad and those that have
never seen it can enjoy.
March 2015
The Signpost
Sports
Page 4
Winter Sports Boast Strength and More Titles
Red Bank Catholic Sports Program Ranked 23rd in the Nation
Ice Hockey
Boys’ Basketball
Indoor Track
By Courtney Labrecque
This year’s ice hockey team skated to win
the Shore Conference
Championship
title
for the second year in
a row. Despite losing
key starters last year,
the team was able to
dominate the Shore
Conference. The team
had an overall record
of 18-6-3 at the close
of their season. Not
only can the ice hockey team boast about
a winning record, but
they can also be proud
about their showing in
the Shore Conference
Tournament. The team
won the title in the finals against Saint John
Vianney, 8-0.
The seniors on the
team are Nick Anderson, Donny Califano,
Matt Chinnichi, Lenny
Coviello, John Gattuso,
Todd Goehring, Griffin
Hurley, Brandon Rozzi,
and Max Weber.
The team had a phenomenal season with a
promising future.
By Mary Kate McNamara & Mark Caverly
The boys’ basketball
team experienced one
of its most successful seasons, playing
in arguably the Shore
Conference’s toughest
division, B North.
Led by captains Liam
Byrne and Joe and Tom
Montano, the Caseys’
highlights were defeating Red Bank Regional twice. Referring to
the RBR wins, Assistant Coach Joe Nappo
commented that these
games were, “the best
moments of the year.”
He continued, “Beating
them twice was a great
feeling, and it was one
of the factors in keeping them from winning
the division.”
The home victory against RBR was
the best scoring game
of the season. Kevin
Fazio led the team with
17 points; Liam Byrne
had 16, Eddie Hahn 14,
Evan Madigan 11, and
Joe Montano 10.
The team reached
the semi-final round
of the Non-Public A
State
Tournament.
The ice hockey team celebrating their 2015 Shore Con- Four Caseys broke the
200 point barrier this
ference win. Photo byAndrew Mills.
season: TCNJ commit
Joe Montano, Fazio,
and juniors Madigan
and Hahn. Liam Byrne
was leading scorer and
second team B North
selectee with 329 points
and a remarkable 72
three pointers. Byrne
reaped his reward as a
great way to cap off an
impressive high school
career, chosen to represent the Caseys at
the Shore Basketball
Coaches’ Association
Senior All-Star Game.
“It’s an honor,” he noted. “A lot of guys could
have made it.”
Wrestling
By Kevin Brinson
The wrestling team continued to prove that from
the ashes a fire shall awaken. About seven years ago,
other competing wrestling
teams never expected
much from the Caseys’
wrestling team. That is,
until Coaches Joseph Gallagher and Randall Totten
decided to step up to the
plate and attempt to make
something of this team
that nobody respected.
Captain Ethan Byrne (Soph) in the 120 lb.
weight class ended the
season strong with 17 wins
and 7 losses. Captain, Topher Lamb (Junior) in
the 138 lb. weight class
represented RBC well in
the Matawan Icebreaker,
earning his 3rd place in
the tournament. Michael
Buglione (Sr) in the 145 lb.
weight class fought hard to
earn his position in the
top three of the Matawan
Icebreaker Tournament.
The team started off the
season with a great victory against their rivals at
RFH that came down to
the very last match. The
bout that had ultimate-
Joey Agius (#40) goes after Neptune’s player in the
second quarter of the Shore Conference boys’ basketly decided who would ball action at Neptune High School. Photo by Andrew
emerge victorious was the
Mills.
220 lb. weight class, where
Mathew Lamb (Sr), made
his debut and defeated his By Megan Mulhern & Megan Shanosky
opponent in overtime for
a huge team win. Later
RBC girls’ basketball be playing in the Shore
in the season, the team team finished the 2014- Conference
All-Star
fought hard against tough 15 season with a record Game and the All-State
competition and soon be- of 22-6. In Coach Joe All-Star Game.
gan dominating teams in a Montano’s 25th season
The young team’s
six match win streak, thus coaching, he is pleased biggest rival, as always,
earning a spot in the state with the improvements was St. John Vianney.
tournament.
every player has made Notre Dame was the
The Casey wrestlers from the summer to team to beat to move
ended their season 8-13. the last game of the sea- on in the state tournaGraduating seniors who son. “Off season work ment, and although it
will be missed include effort-I could easily see was tough playing them
Nicholas Asaro, Tom it,” he stated.
on the road, the team
Brady, Kevin Brinson,
Every single girl’s ball pulled through, made it
Michael Buglione, Pat handling, shooting and to the sectional semi-fiCottrell, Steve Dnistrian, defense improved. Se- nals, and was crowned
Francis Duggan, Zachary nior captain Alex Bara- B North Champions.
Hazley, Cornelius Hughes, zotti, the leader of this “Every single girl has
Mat Lamb, Mike Pace, Bri- young team, averaged the work ethic, attitude,
an Riccio, Nick Roy, An- 13 points per game. and confidence of a
drew Sita, and Ryan Wade. She ended her high champion, which real“The program has been school career with 980 ly showed throughout
getting strong. We have points and will contin- this entire successful
been doing well over the ue her basketball career season,” according to
last five years. This year at Loyola, Maryland. Coach Montano.
“I
we lost so many starters Alex is one of the best am looking forward
due to injuries, but the 3 point shooters Coach to next season,” he obkids were always eager to Montano has ever had, served. “We’re such a
learn,” stated Coach Gal- with a 48% accuracy young team, that we
lagher.
from the arc. She will will grow.”
Girls’ Basketball
Seniors Byrne, Fazio,
Joe and Tom Montano,
and Mike Travers will
be graduating, but several key players, such
as Hahn, Evan Madigan and Colin Shaughnessy will return next
year. Byrne observed,
“We had high expectations; as the season
progressed we grew as
a team. The future is
bright for the team.”
Coach James Cattelano, in his second year,
led the Caseys to a 1612 record.
Swimming
By Mary Clare Foley
The Casey girls’ swim
team churned through
the water this season with
their usual strong showing, racking up a record
of 10-2. This was a season
that belonged to individual performances. Senior
Jackie Van Lew, noted for
the 200 freestyle, the 200
IM, the 500 freestyle, and
the 100 backstroke, garnered numerous awards
this season, holding 8 out
of 11 records.
Van Lew won the 200
IM at Shore Conference
Championships, and the
200 Free Relay with Sara
Nichols, Morgan Belforti,
and Corey Belforti. She
also holds the Monmouth
County Championship record in the 200 IM.
Seniors leaving the team
are Corey Belforti, Morgan Belforti, Annalee Flaherty, Mary Clare Foley,
Kaitlin Rogers, Van Lew,
and Julia Whitacre.
The boys’ swim team
streaked through the pool
this winter in a valiant effort, despite only posting
By Mary Kate McNamara
The girls’ and boys’
track teams showed
strong performances on
the county, conference
and state levels. The girls’
4x800m relay team of
Emily Rienzo, Mary Kate
McNamara, Gi Ferrigine
and Megan Cronk placed
5th in the New York City
Armory Invitational. The
team ran 9:19, the 6th
fastest time in the US at
the time, and qualified for
the Penn Relays in April.
At the Yale Invitational, the aforementioned
Caseys competed in a distance medley relay, and a
4x800m with teammates
Grace Eckstein, Caitlin
O’Hare, Julia Cangialosi and Shayne McNally.
The girls, joined by senior
Brett Doyle and junior
Louise Guminski, raced
3000m, mile and 800m
races the next day. Doyle
placed 3rd in the Shore
Conference 800m race,
running 2:01.
In the Group Meet,
McNamara placed 1st
in the 800m (2:18) followed by Ferrigine in 3rd
(2:20) and Rienzo in 5th
(2:22). Cronk and Eckstein placed 3rd and 4th
in the Group mile respectively, both running 5:18,
and senior Eryn Mills
placed 6th in the two mile
(11:50). On the throwing team, Fidele Jules led
the way with a 2nd place
Group
Championship
shot-put performance,
throwing 38-4.75 feet.
The next week, Jules
threw 38 feet again and
placed 13th in the entire
state. Joe Tamburri threw
the shot for a personal
best of 45-1 feet, good
enough for 12th place
at NPA Groups. Senior
Eric Indelicato placed
14th in the Group 55m
hurdle
preliminaries.
Abby Collins placed 3rd
in the county and 4th
in the Group 55m dash.
After a solid winter, the
team is ready for warm
spring training.
eight swimmers.
Nick Markwell stood out
as all-around best swimmer, and always won the
500 yard freestyle. Bryan
Andrew was the team’s freestyle specialist, and Chris
Bender mastered the breaststroke for the team.
Seniors Chris Bender,
Nick Markwell and Byran
Andrew will be missed.