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Bunnell High School * 1 Bulldog Blvd, Stratford, CT 06614 * Thursday, March 21, 2013 * Volume LII, Issue 1
“Under the Stars”
Lizzie Cerino
Staff Reporter
The annual Junior Ring
Dance was held on Saturday,
Mar. 16 at Vazzano’s Four
Seasons in Stratford, CT. Juniors
enjoyed the night full of music
and friends.
“It’s an arduous process, but
we enjoyed helping our class and
making a memorable dance,”
class officers Billy Lang and
Syed Saud said.
The Ring Dance was entitled
“Under the Stars,” and the event
was attended by a total of 317
students. The tickets sold were
black with a white moon and
white stars.
During the day of the dance,
guests were worried about the
weather. Snow flurries accumulated during the day, but not
much was sticking to the ground.
Some groups chose to take their
pictures inside on such a cold
day, but some decided to tough
it out and still take their pictures
outside. “We were worried about
pictures at first because of the
snow, but once we ventured out
into it, it was fun, and they came
out great,” junior Kacie O’Neill
said.
The food was catered by
Vazzy’s. The dishes included
pasta marinara, chicken parmesan, pork loin, vegetable medley,
roasted potatoes, salad, and rolls.
There were ice cream rolls for
dessert. Tables were chosen at
random to be called up to the
buffet. Tables chosen first were
happy about this, but the ones
chosen last were not. “The chicken parmesan was my favorite. I
would have gotten more if the
line was not so long. Our table
was called last so we were last in
the line and very hungry,” junior
Elise Sotolongo said.
The color scheme of the entire dance was black and white,
following the tickets. Tables
were decorated with black and
white tablecloths with star cutout
confetti. Placed in the middle of
the table were the table numbers,
surrounded by candles. Each
table had three candles. The
candle votives were small, medium, and large glass jars with
black and white marbles, water,
and the candle in the center.
Some guests were disappointed with the DJ. “I wish he
had played more slow songs.
Some of the music was good
but it was all the same type
of music. It would have been
cooler if he played a variety of
good music, but also some slow
songs and oldies,” junior Priscilla Mahar said. There were
some crowd-pleasing favorites, including “Thrift Shop,”
“Shots,” “Gangnam Style,”
“Cupid Shuffle,” and “Apache.”
The nominees for Ring
Prince were Eduardo Carmelo,
Kintay Soares, and Andrick
Bernadel. The nominees for
Princess were Bria Eastman,
Kacie O’Neill, and Kayla Lombardo. Juniors voted for them in
their English classes and chose
a winner.
Guests were excited to use
the photo booth. This is a usual
Prince Kintay Soares and Princess Bria Eastman at the Junior Ring
Dance. Photo credit: Lizzie Cerino
“Under The Stars” continues on page 3
Unified Sports Unite Bunnell Athletes
Celeste Burnett
Staff Reporter
On Mar. 14, for the 10th consecutive year, BHS was the host
of the basketball portion of the
Special Olympics. The Special
Olympics, run by Connecticut
Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), is an organization
involved with all of the sports
events in Connecticut. They
work with coaches and players of
different schools to put together
schedules and articles on upcoming games and events in the area.
The Unified Sports are an
Olympic styled series of sports
events that combine children
who have an intellectual disability with some players that do
not have these disabilities all on
one team. The team divisions are
based on the skill ability of the
players and can reach high levels
of competition. The only sports
offered in this program so far
are; soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball.
“I remember going to a Special Olympics game when I was
younger. A family friend invited
my family to come to an elementary tournament to watch their
son play soccer. It was so nice to
see everyone come out to support
the athletes,” junior Jessica Bogdwicz said.
The BHS team was led by
Athletic director, David Johnson, and assisted by Mr. Gerry
Mucci, Mr. Micheal Henetz, Ms.
Kathy Metzger, and Mrs. Diane
Distefano along with a large
group of students who signed
up to volunteer. Bunnells’ team
consisted of Jeffrey Jannetty,
Alex Supernois, Patrick Prince,
CJ Enright, Josh Dudley, Kintay
Soares, Nana Asare- Kwakye,
Wyatte Goff, and Justin Wargo,
who partnered with Courtney
Rioridan, Joshua Poission, Carol
Rigoli, Erin Koletar, and Mike
Henetz.
Admission was free and the
event began with the parade of
athletes, followed by the monumental and symbolic torch
What’s Inside:
Fame preview: page. 2
Bulldog Buzz: page 3
Superintendent Lasek: page 4
Sports: page 7
Teacher Features: page 8
the team, senior Jessica Martinez, along with other helpers
Michael Jette and Michael Kelly
were seen on the sideline cheering everytime a shot was scored.
“What made the Unified
Sports so special to me was that
there were so many schools and
volunteers. I was both a volunteer and a manager for our
Unified Sports team. My favorite
part was working with the kids.
We did a really good job and I
am happy I was there and got to
be a part of this,” Martinez said.
CIAC first joined a partnership with Connecticut’s Special
Olympics in 1992 to bring
Special Olympic events to more
schools in the area.
The BHS team huddle for a group photo before the tournament begins.
Photo credit: Celeste Burnett
lighting. Eleven teams participated from local high schools
including: Jonathan Law, Foran,
Shelton, West Haven, Oxford,
Hillhouse, Wilbur Cross, East
Haven, Sheehan, Daniel Hand
High School.
“I think my two favorite parts
of my job are seeing the smiles
on the kids’ faces because they
have so much fun and the great
support from family, friends,
fans, and coaches,” Johnson said.
cialized with students from other
schools. Each team member from
each school received a medal for
partcipation.
“It was an honor being a volunteer for the Unified Sports! I
loved every minute of it. We got
awesome shirts and got to work
with so many kids. I personally
learned so much about some of
the athletes because they were
so kind and ready to talk,” junior
Valerie Sauray said.
Following the competition
was the awards presentation.
“My favorite part was getting the
award,” Alex Supernois said.
“Of all the things that I do
here at Bunnell, it’s my favorite
day of the year,” Johnson stated.
Athletes, coaches, and referees then went to the cafeteria and
enjoyed refreshments and so-
Many people who came out to
support the Bunnell team were so
enthusiastic to see their players
on the court. The mananger of
“Not only do the players all
have fun, but attitude change and
transformation happens on the
playing field and the experiences
create lifelong friendships... The
concept of combining athletes
with intellectual disabilities and
those without was first introduced in the mid-1980s to provide another level of challenge
for higher ability athletes and to
promote equality and inclusion.”
according to specialolympicspa.
org.
There are hopes to involve
more schools in the future, establish a larger variety of sports, and
keep the Unified Sports tradition
alive. “The CAS/Connecticut Special Olympics Unified
Sports® program currently
boasts a participation of more
than 1300 athletes and partners,
and 120 schools throughout the
state,” according to ciacsports.
Page 2
NEWS
Upcoming
Events
March 2013
Band Marches in Local St. Patrick’s Day Parade
March 22
Dodgeball Tournament
March 23
SWC Drum Line and Color
Guard Show at BHS
March 24
5-7:30 pm
Boys Lacrosse Fundraiser
Shelton Sports Center Sunday
March 26
Blood Drive during school
March 29th
NO SCHOOL- Good Friday
Drum Major Stephen Petrahai kept the beat, as the band began to
march. Photo courtesy of Mr. Miller
Matthew Kubicsko, 2012 graduate, marched with the band. Kubicsko is
currently enlisted with the Marines. Photo courtesy of Mr. Miller
Colorguard members Nicolina Rivera, Christina Heffern (SHS), Alicia
Lentopanti (SHS), Shauna Connell, and Elise Sotolongo. Photo courtesy
of CT Post.com
Drummers Jake Silverman (SHS), Caleb Pruzinsky, and Harrison Kessing practiced before the parade began. Photo courtesy of CT Post.com
April 10
Financial Literacy Day
April 11
7pm
Faculty Talent Show
April 11
6:30-8:30pm
National College Fair in Hartford
April 12
End of Third Marking Period
April 12-20
Paris/Rome trip
April 22
Eng of MP 3- report cards issued
April 25, 26 27
Spring play: Fame
April 25
Early Dismissl for students
Apr. 29- May 2
UNLEARN assemblies
May 1
7 pm
National Honor Society
Induction Ceremony
May 4
8 am
SATs at BHS
May 9-12
Retail 101 in the gymnasium
May 9
Class Council Election
Assemblies
May 10
Hall of Fame Banquet
Vazzano’s Four Seasons
May 17
Progress Reports for MP4
S.T.A.G.E. to Perform Spring Musical
Nora Turner
Staff Reporter
The Bunnell Stage Club,
under the direction of choral
teacher Ms. Lewkewich, has
begun rehearsals for their spring
musical, Fame, a production
about a group of high school
students at a performing arts
academy.
Performance dates for the
musical are set for April 25,
26 and 27 at 7 pm in the BHS
Auditorium. Ticket costs will be
$10 for adults and $7 for students
and kids.
Fame’s backdrop is set in
New York City, at the High
School of Performing Arts, and
leads audience members into
the stories of the school’s most
talented students coming from a
vast mix of backgrounds.
Serena Katz, is the “shy”
actress, played by junior Monet
Monterroso whose love interest
is a serious classical actor
Nick Piazza, being played by
senior Richie Debiase. Schlomo
Metzenbaum is a violinist
looking to rebel from being set in
his ways and starts a band. He’s
played by junior Kevin Kiley
and silently crushes on Carmen
Diaz, played by freshman
Luanna Braganca. She’s a spitfire
Latina dancer who ends up in
Metzenbaum’s band. Silently
crushing on Carmen is Joe
Vegas, a Spanish actor who is
the comic of the production,
being played by sophmore AJ
Cordova. Tyrone Jackson is a
hip-hop dancer who has troubles
staying in school, and is played
by junior Dashon Pratt.
Staff: Celeste Burnett, Elisabeth Cerino, Ashley Pickering, Nora Turner, Autumn Wright
Advisor: Mrs. Jennifer Record
Scribbles is a bi-monthly publication of the journalism course at Bunnell High School. The Scribe, the official newspaper of Bunnell High
School, is a monthly publication. These publications welcome submissions from the student body and staff of Bunnell High School.
Students interested in signing up for journalism for the 2013-2014 academic year should contact their guidance counselor, or see
Mrs. Record in D5 for more information.
The Mission of Bunnell High School: Students will acquire content knowledge, strengthen higher order thinking, and develop
character in order to address 21st century challenges.
The story of Fame originated
from the 1980 film directed by
Alan Parker and was recently
remade in 2009. Fame- the
Musical was first performed in
1984 at Jefferson High School in
Jefferson, IN.
Lewkewich commented to
the Scribe that she is “looking
forward for the audience to see
my group of superstars.” Fame
has 41 cast members and 6
backstage crew members, who
are all eager to put their hard
work on display in April. Sets
are being designed and built by
Lewkewich, English teacher,
Miss Gould, and technology
teacher, Mr. Farrell. The
choreography director is Stefania
Braganca.
“This show deserves an
Oscar!” exclaimed Pratt after
Lewkewich spoke about
practicing. The play includes 15
main musical numbers, but sure
to be most exciting is the Finale
where Lewkewich says is where
“the whole cast [is] dancing and
singing their little hearts out.”
But audience members will have
to see the show and find out.
March 2013
NEWS
Bulldog Briefs:
From All
4 Corners
Nora Turner
Staff Reporter
Advisory Troop Collections:
Donations have been pouring
in! Twelve boxes going to the
troops through the Adopt A
Platoon foundation are filled
with snacks like Pop- Tarts,
granola bars, candy, hot cocoa
packets, drink mixes and pasta.
Toiletries like soap, razors and
deodorant were also brought
in. Collection for juniors and
seniors has ended, but freshman
and sophomores will have the
opportunity to donate starting
in April.
Senior Scholarship Information: Seniors who received
scholarship packets should
have already handed them in.
The scholarship committee
will meet on April 4th to decide
scholarship recipients. Senior
Awards Night is scheduled
for June 3rd at 6:30 pm in the
Bunnell auditorium. The Class
of 2012 received $87,000 in
scholarships and awards, which
were awarded to 50 percent of
the class. The same amount of
money is expected to be given
to the class of 2013.
Indoor Track Mattress Fundraiser: Approximately 75- 100
people attended the sale. Twen-
ty-five mattresses were sold
in total, a decrease from last
year’s forty six, but sales were
still good.
Boys Lacrosse Fundraiser
at Shelton Sports Center:
The boys lacrosse team will be
holding a fundraiser on March
24, 2013 at the Shelton Sports
Center from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.
Cost is $20 per person and
includes a night of golf, mini
golf, batting cages, lazer tag
and fun bowling. A form is due
with payment by March 18,
2013. The form information
is available online at the BHS
website under calendar events.
Page 3
“Under
the Stars”
cont. from page 1
feature at the Junior Prom.
Many people created memories
using funny props. Every guest
using the photo booth received a
copy of their photos. “The photo
booth was so much fun. I think
we should have one at every
dance,” junior Lindsay Fraedrich
said.
“It was nice (winning) because
it was also my birthday, so it
was kind of like I was the birthday princess.”
The dance lasted from 7 p.m.
to 11 p.m. After socialzing with
friends and checking our fashions, guests sat at assigned tables
for dinner and speeches. Class
President Billy Lang welcomed
everyone and Treasurer Syed
Saud announced the Prince and
Princess, Kintay Soares and Bria
Eastman.
Previous Junior Ring dances
were held at Fantasia in Wallingford, CT. Some students
were upset about the change in
venue this year. Many looked
forward to renting a limo or
party bus, and since it was so
close, they did not think renting
one was worth it. “I was hoping
it would be farther away so my
friends and I could get a party
bus,” junior Michelle Costa
said. However, the location
did not impact the fun evening
everyone had.
“I was very happy for Kintay.
He definitely deserved it,” junior
Jeffrey Daniel Flores said.
Kintay and Bria enjoyed dancing
together throughout the night.
“The class officers did a
great job planning, and it turned
out to be a beautiful night,”
junior class advisor Mrs. Karagiannis said.
Marching Band in St. Patrick’s Day Parade: The BHS
marching band, led by Mr.
Miller, performed at the 30th
Greater Bridgeport St. Patrick’s
Day Parade on March 15, 2013.
Spring SAT Registration:
Registration dates for the May
4th SAT testing is April 5th for
the regular and April 19th for
late registration. Registration
for the June 1st testing is May
2nd for regular and May 17th
for late. The test fee is $50 and
students can register online at
www.collegeboard.com. For
more information about SAT’s,
see your guidance counselor.
Staff Reporter
Extrasensory Perception
(ESP) is often mistaken for
psychics and mediums. Although
they all deal with the paranormal, ESP plays a huge role with
both psychics and mediums. ESP
involves receiving knowledge
and information through the nonphysical senses such as touching,
feeling, smelling, hearing, or
seeing. ESP is often referred to
as a sixth sense or a hunch.
“There are a lot of
movies that sort of show these
techniques being used and stuff.
With the new increase
of people being diagnosed with
having ESP, there was also a new
outbreak of skeptics of the perception. People began conducting tests to prove that ESP was
nonsense or that it was not what
everyone thought it was.
Photo courtesy of http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1189996/Twitter-test-psychic-powers-scientific-study.html
Scientists used to test people for ESP qualities by using
flash cards; if the patient could
predict the symbol on the other
side, then they would be further
kinda prepared for CAPT.
My teachers really helped
me out a lot... I did study...I
got a lot of sleep and made
sure I ate breakfast everyday and I was good to go!”
Jeanie Cameron: “Yeah, I
tell me stories about how he had
experienced many accounts of
precognition but I guess in a
more milder form. He would say
that he dreamt about something
one night and then within the
near future it would happen but
something would be different
than he dreamt,” junior Tamarya
Thompson said.
I like scary movies and I find that
a lot of the scarier ones are the
ones that are about paranormal
activities and usually have mediums or psychics who come in to
help the families communicate
with the other side! It’s crazy,”
senior Tyree Blackwell said.
Gio Marie-Roper: “I was
Juniors Erin Koletar and Daniel Ghajar with Prince Kintay Soares at
the Junior Ring Dance. Photo credit: Lizzie Cerino
Celeste Burnett
The term ESP was
adopted by a psychologist J.B.
Rhine. He studied at Duke
University trying to decipher the
unknown facts about psychic
abilities like telepathy, clairvoyance, retrocognition and precognition. In the 30s, it was more
common to hear of scientists
testing people to diagnose them
with having the abilities.
Were you prepared for
CAPT testing?
Lucas Mola: “I felt prepared. Teachers gave us
CAPT review packets and
stuff like that a few weeks
in advanced so it was good
overall.”
The Truth About: ESP
“I used to think that
ESP was like another name for
a psychic! I didn’t know that it
was like an actual diagnosis. I
thought that people were ESP,”
junior April Meadows laughed.
Bulldog
Buzz
examined. The next step was to
take dice and test for psychokinesis. If the patient’s results were
higher than chance, then ESP
was supposedly present. Other
scientists in Britain conducted
experiments using automated target selection and data recording
and if the patient could predict
when and where the next light
would appear then ESP was said
to be highly present.
“My grandpa used to
“Personally, I think that
ESP is not as legit as everyone
thinks. I think it’s just chance. If
you can guess things, I think that
you’re just a very good guesser,
or just really lucky. I don’t know
if being a good guesser makes
you the carrier of some extraordinary gift,” junior Neyra Benoit
said.
Although ESP is
viewed as an uncommon and
rare ability, it is actually found in
many people. Many people who
experience a déjà vu moment are
experiencing the mildest form of
Extrasensory Perception.
was ready. I studied...asked
a lot of questions before
we took the CAPT test ...I
think I did pretty well on
it.”
Kevin Campbell: “I was
prepared...the first couple
aren’t really that hard...the
math one, I’m not sure how
I did on that and I don’t
think I did too well.”
Adrian Cordova: “Yes I was
prepared for CAPT because
my teachers taught me everything I needed to know.”
Page 4
IN THE NEWS
NRA Fights New Gun Laws
Celeste Burnett
Obama, 11.
Staff Reporter
“Are the president’s kids
more important than yours?
Then why is he skeptical about
putting armed security in our
schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their
school?” the NRA ad asked.
People all over the nation
still find the Newtown Tragedy to be an emotional subject.
President Barack Obama has
spoken a great deal on the matter. He proposes a newly refined
gun reform and submitted it to
Congress to be implemented but
the National Rifle Association
(NRA) has used their resources to keep the law from being
passed.
President Obama’s gun control policy ensures that “requiring background checks for more
gun purchases could help, but
also could lead to more illicit
weapons sales. It says banning
assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines produced in the future but exempting those already owned by the
public, as President Obama has
proposed, would have limited
impact because people now own
so many of those items,” according to newyork.newsday.com.
The NRA released a web
address on Jan. 16, attacking the
president and his two daughters
Malia Obama, 14, and Sasha
and executive vice president
Wayne LaPierre said. “The
Second Amendment is one of
our most basic freedoms and so
we’re going to stand up for this
freedom in every way possible.
Whether it’s fighting the legislative fight, whether it’s fighting in
the courts.”
The address sparked many
to defend the girls. Among the
supporters were other influential politicians who thought that
the ad unnecessarily targeted
the children. “To talk about
the president’s children, or
any public officer’s children,
who have -not by their own
choice, but by requirement -to
have protection, and to use
that somehow to try to make a
political point is reprehensible,”
said Republican New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie.
Although the NRA claims
to be fighting for the people of
the United States’ rights to bear
arms, people feel as though
they have ulterior motives. The
decisions of the NRA are being
questioned and are leaving some
skeptic.
The NRA has threatened to
take matters to court in order
to ensure the law is not passed.
They claim that allowing this
gun reform to be implemented
would jeopardize the American
Second Amendment right to
bear arms.
Many want to see the NRA
and Obama’s administration
agree on the law without arguing as much. Many points in
President Obama’s policy have
already been implemented but
there are still other points that
have to be approved.
“There definitely will be
legal challenges,” NRA CEO
“I don’t think the NRA really
cares about our rights! They
seem like they are only worrying
about themselves and keeping
their money,” junior Sherice
Mayne said.
March 2013
Elementary School To Be
Named After Victoria Soto
Autumn Wright
Staff Reporter
On December 14, 2012
Victoria (Vicki) Leigh Soto,
27-year-old Stratford native and
first grade teacher, was one of
26 people killed in what is now
being recognized as the second
deadliest school shooting in the
country.
Soto was described by family
members as “loving, sweet,
and just a very good person,”
so among other reasons—she
was raised in Stratford and she
dedicated herself to teaching-Town council member John
Dempsey referred to the petition
of the Honeyspot Elementary
School being renamed as
Victoria Soto Elementary School
as a “no brainer.”
The resolution—put forth
by residents of Stratford—
described Soto as someone
who “exemplified the very best
qualities of an elementary school
educator and whose passion for
teaching was evident in every
moment of her professional life.”
Soto’s younger sister, Jillian
Soto, expressed to the New York
Times that she got word of the
shootimg while up at a Vermont
ski slope. Her mom had called
her to say that the school that
Sandy Hook had been evacuated,
but Vicki had not come out,
which prompted Jillian to take
the seven-hour drive back to her
family’s home in Stratford.
Soto’s brother Carlos Soto
shared to Today on NBC the
little things he would miss about
his sister, saying, “I would hear
her running the coffee machine
every morning, and then running
down the stairs, slamming the
door on her way out…”
The Town Council met on
Jan. 14, 2013 at 8 p.m. to discuss
whether or not Honeyspot
would be changed to Victoria
Soto and on the same night, the
vote to rename Honeyspot was
unanimous. Jim Wiltsie, one
of Soto’s cousins, shares his
excitement about the school’s
name change with Fox News
Latina, saying “Her entire
life revolved around being an
educator…and now she has a
school named after her, so that’s
great.”
Lasek Appointed Interim Superintendent
Lizzie Cerino
Staff Reporter
Mrs. Margaret Lasek,
Interim Superintendent of
Schools, has worked in the
Stratford School District for 40
years. Having so many years
of experience in the education
field, Lasek is having a smooth
transition into her position. “I
couldn’t be prouder to be the
Interim, Superintendent because
of the hard work and dedication
of our schools. It is noted and
appreciated,” Lasek said.
Lasek did not know she wanted to be in the education field
until she went to college in Burlington, Vermont. She decided
her profession when she was able
to work with special education
children in an observation room
while in college.
Born and raised in Lordship, CT, Lasek began her career
student-teaching at Wooster
Middle School. She then taught
English at Johnson Junior High
School. At Flood Middle School,
she was asked to design an alternative program, which developed
into ALPHA. She taught this
program for 12 years. Lasek
then became Principal of Center
School, Wooster, and finally,
Stratford High School. Lasek is
finding her position more natural
than she expected because of her
previous experience.
In her letter dated January
2, 2013 to Stratford community
members posted on the Stratford
Public Schools Website, Lasek
said, “I believe that my 40 years
of experience as an educator
in Stratford at the elementary,
middle, and high school levels
will be most assistive in mov-
ing our district toward our joint
mission to develop a community
of learners in which all students
acquire the knowledge, skills and
confidence to meet the challenges of a changing and increasingly
diverse 21st century society.”
Lasek was very happy at Stratford High, and said it is home to
“fantastic students and teachers.”
“I was surprised when Mrs.
Lasek was chosen as Interim, but
while I’m sad she had to leave
us and our school that she was
so dedicated to, I know that now
all our schools and the Board of
Education are in great hands,”
Stratford High junior Tim Paprowski said.
She found it to be a difficult
decision to leave her position
as Principal, but decided she
should accept the challenge.
“I always told my students to
accept a challenge. I couldn’t
not accept a challenge myself,”
Lasek said. To take a challenge
has always been her advice to
her students. Lasek misses being
in the schools, and she tries to
visit everyone at extra-curricular
activities at each school.
Lasek has been working on
making a number of changes
for the district, some significant
and some subtle. According
to Lasek’s presentation to the
new district changes, one of
these changes is to integrate the
new Common Core Standards,
“which is a state mandate to link
teaching to successful, rigorous,
learning for students.” A second
change is a new Teacher and Administrator Evaluation, according
to student progress. Stratford
High School has been preparing
for the NEASC accreditation
process, which will occur in
April. They have been working
toward learning collaboratively
as a team. In the spring of 2014,
BHS will participate in the same
process. Also in her communication to the public, Lasek stated,
“Through all these change efforts
we are beginning to see our
district move from a focus on
individual schools to a system of
schools focused on improvement
and a school district reaching for
excellence.”
Lasek is working to continually focus on the district
goals. There are four main goals
according to the post on the
Stratford Public Schools website.
One of these is to improve the
academic achievement of every
student in the district by using
technology, challenging students,
and providing a qualified staff.
Second is to create an “educational environment based on the
Six Pillars of Character,” which
are citizenship, caring, fairness,
respect, trustworthiness and
responsibility. The third goal is
to create a partnership with the
community by students reaching
out to community organizations.
The fourth goal is for the schools
to “prioritize its resources to
support the academic goals of the
district by continuing our efforts
to contain costs and maximize
our resources.”
The year has been full of
difficult decisions concerning
snow and safety. Lasek has found
that safety and security has been
an obstacle while in her position.
Lasek has been meeting with the
Mayor’s Task Force in an effort
to strengthen security measures.
The town has also set up focus
groups for parents at every
school and schools have prac-
Superintendent Margaret Lasek in her office on East Broadway.
Photo credit: Lizzie Cerino
ticed lockdown procedures.
Lasek has also had the opportunity to meet with groups of
students at each school, and she
is happy to say that students have
been “thrilled with their teachers.”
Considering the weather this
year, Lasek believes this job
requires flexibility. As Superintendent, she has to be willing to
be creative, since snow is something no one can control. During
her time as Interim Superintendent, Lasek considers the most
rewarding thing to be meeting
with children at each school.
Lasek added that “it is exciting
to meet with children who are
so enthusiastic.” She also loves
working the unions of the district,
and the Central Office staff, where
there is an “exceptional group of
individuals.”
Lasek feels that this position
has given her an opportunity to
share her expertise with administrators and teachers. She feels she
has to be a positive role model
for the Stratford School District.
“There is nobody in the district
who knows our schools as well as
Mrs. Lasek. She brings to her job
a real sense of what is important to
students,” Principal Dr. Orr said.
As she maintains the relationships she has had in Stratford for
years, Lasek remains a prominent
member of the Stratford School
District.
March 2013
FEATURES
In the Know: Benefits of Gaggle
Ashley Pickering
Staff Reporter
Gaggle was chosen for Bunnell High School because it was
most appropriate that fit Human
moderation services. Human
moderation services are a person
that reviews everything that
gets posted on certain websites.
Freshman Alexandra Naimoli
noted “The school is trying to
help us communicate more. Students have to check every day to
see if Gaggle works though.”
Gaggle is a good way to
communicate with teachers and
other students out of school. A
freshman Olivia Bellivau states,
“I think Gaggle is a good idea,
but not many teachers use it. I
think if more teachers used it, it
would be a lot more helpful.”
Besides communication
between teachers and students,
there are many other benefits
for using gaggle such as: instant
chat, a social wall, a digital
locker that hold 7 gigga bites per
person, and an assignment drop
box. Principal Dr. Orr states,
“We looked at four or five dif-
ferent systems, but none of them
came close to how well Gaggle
works.”
Gaggle is very helpful and
will greatly aid students in com-
ity to print the notes at home and
then review the notes in class.
Students can still complete well
the math problems inside the
math note packet. Lizzy Gryznarik, a freshman, states, “Gaggle
Page 5
Quick Reference
for Gaggle Users:
1. Go to the library web page and search for the Gaggle Email icon
on the left hand side. Alternatively, go to http://www.gaggle.net
2. Type in your first name_last name (nothing should be capitalized.)
Password is your student number and click “accept.”
3. Once you are logged in, change your password to something you
will remember.
4. Click customer login. At the right side of the screen click on “other e-mail” and your e-mail is First last [email protected]
pletion of homework. As Principal Dr. Orr states, “Gaggle still
has some glitches, but we are
trying to fix them. We are also
trying to get Gaggle available for
the Android phone.”
Gaggle is also available on
Apple products such as: Iphones,
Ipads, and Ipods as an app in the
Apple store.
Mihaela Tunaru, an algebra
teacher, has recently switched
from using paper to copy down
notes for students or from posting them on the front board to
e-mailing notes to the students.
This allows the students the abil-
is a great way to get notes, but it
is sometimes very hard printing
out because you have to have
the powerpoint program on your
computer to be able to print presentation a teacher e-mails you
on Gaggle.”
8. Click ADD FILE- this will allow you to save any work to want to
save.
Not all students have utilize Gaggle yet. Florence Opoku
a freshman states “ I have not
used gaggle yet, but it is a great
idea because it is a great way to
communicate with other people.”
10. To talk with your classmates, click on class discussion boards
and/or chat rooms.
Even if some students
are not using it yet, they can use
it for future classes. Erin McCleod, a freshman states, “ I did
7. Click digital locker, where you can attach and save files.
9. To e-mail a teacher or another student press inbox. At the top of
the page it says compose. Type in the person you want to e-mail’s
e-mail. After press send.
11. To change the theme or color of your gaggle, right click the gaggle icon on the top of the left screen.
not use Gaggle yet, but I will
use it in the future.”
Definitely Not in Kansas Anymore...
Nora Turner
Staff Reporter
Last time the big screen
traveled to the Land of Oz
successfully was in 1939, but now
lovers of L. Frank Baum’s classic
adventure will be treated to a
whole new modernized spectacle.
Oz: The Great and Powerful, in
theaters now, is the prequel to
the well-loved iconic film that
reinvents the land not seen in
over 70 years.
Oscar Diggs, played by James
Franco, is a carnival trickster and
con artist, finding himself going
town-to-town trying to scrape up
money doing his deceiving magic
tricks, that are really just a joke.
When he ends up swept away in
the circus’ hot-air balloon and
arriving in Oz, he is greeted with
the unexpected task to save the
crumbling land from the evil
forces of the Wicked Witch and is
named the Wizard of Oz.
Along his journey, audiences
are reminded of familiar faces,
along with some new characters
and scenes. Playing Glinda the
Good Witch is Michelle Williams
(“Shutter Island”), who is still
a kind and caring mother-like
figure, looking out for the interest
of her good people and unsure of
what to make of Diggs. Williams
spoke to Los Angeles Times
about how she read almost all of
Baum’s 14 “Oz” stories and kept
a “Glinda notebook” to help keep
herself as true to the original
character as possible. She does
this very successfully, and takes
this new Oz to greater heights. New sister witches, Theodora
(Mila Kunis) and Evanora
(Racheal Weisz), are unveiled as
dueling siblings, not knowing
whether to believe in Diggs’
supposed powers.
Supporting character Finley,
voiced by Zach Braff (“Scrubs”),
is a tiny flying monkey dedicated
to help Diggs in whatever way
he can. Also there to back him
up along the way is China Girl,
voiced by 13-year old Joey King
(“Ramona and Beezus”) who
is a miniature girl made out of
china, left behind and separated
from her family after the Wicked
Witch destroyed her home The introduction of the new
characters is fun and appealing
to audiences who wonder what
more the story of Oz has to
offer. While the story is similar
to Dorothy’s original quest in
trying to return to Kansas, it
allows viewers to see the basis
of Dorothy’s adventures come
together before she even arrives. Some similarities
between the two films are that
both Dorothy and Diggs are
transported to Oz through a
tornado, and Oz arrives there
in the hot air balloon that will
eventually return Dorothy
home. The yellow brick road
still leads the way down to
Emerald City, and the horses of
a different color that seemed so
ground-breaking for its time,
also return, but look picturesque
in their vibrancy. Oz: The Great and Powerful
is lush with beautiful special
effects and cinematography. The
scenery is vivid and bright, with
lots of color and attention to
details, like the puffiness of the
big cotton candy clouds in the
sky. The update of the setting
to 21st century technology is
exciting and also breathtaking.
The backdrop to the story is
one of the best things about the
film. This is thanks to Greg
Nicotero, known for his makeup work on AMC’s The Walking
Dead, and is co-executive
producer and special effects
and makeup supervisor for the
Photo courtesy of moviecarpet.com
film. Nicotero played a key role
in the production of the film’s
astounding visuals. He led over
70 make-up artists on the set,
whose jobs include making
prosthetics for the wings on the
Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys,
to making 3-D structures out
from the images produced by
concept artists. Director Sam Raimi, previously
known for his directing roles in
“Spiderman 2” and “Spiderman
3”, produced the magic of Oz
well, but it was lacking some
of the old school charm that
the original film shares. That
childhood enchantment given by
the original is something people
are reminded of whenever The
Wizard of Oz is mentioned, but
that feeling isn’t reciprocated
from this new film. It may be that
Oz: The Great and Powerful hasn’t
had time to develop a history like
the original, but it might not ever
reach the legacy that the classic
Oscar-winning musical has on
society.
the Rainbow” and “Follow the
Yellow Brick Road”, are known to
many, but this new film doesn’t
deliver musically, which may be
disappointing to lovers of the
original film.
The story behind Oz:
The Great and Powerful was
unique. It wasn’t a remake from
The Wizard of Oz, but a new
exploration of what was behind
that film. Franco is excellent as
a fooling, but playful character
and all three witches delivered on
the screen, especially Kunis, who
character is dynamic and plays a
key role in the story developing.
Braff ’s character of Finley is
loveable and very entertaining,
and while China Girl’s character
at first seemed bizarre, she
works herself into the movie
successfully.
And while the movie is
rated PG, it is definitely scarier
for an audience younger than
eight. Some images are creepy
and terrorizing and may not be
appropriate for all lovers of Oz.
But the film was eye-catching,
funny and a great movie for
anyone whose childhood
memories have been touched by
the Wizard before.
The only drawback to
this film is the lack of music.
The songs of The Wizard of
Oz, like “Somewhere Over
Genre: Fantasy/Science
Available in 3D
Running Time: 2 hr. 7 min.
Rating: PG
Page 6
ADVERTISEMENTS
March 2013
March 2013
SPORTS
Page 7
Spring Sports Seniors Anticipate the Season
The Scribe interviewed six senior spring sport players
about their upcoming seasons. All of them were asked the
same three questions:
1) What game/meet/match are you most excited to play?
2) How do you feel about your team for this season?
3) What are you looking for your team to improve on from
last season?
Spring sports begin competing on April 3rd.
Winter Accolades:
Lindsay Szuch:
Girl’s Tennis
Tim White:
Baseball
Lauryn Kostopoulos:
Softball
Bowling Team members, coached by Mr. Pagliarella, Ian Smith and
Tom Vallus both placed 3rd in the singles tournament. Smith also
placed 6th overall, out of a total of 72 players. The entire team placed
7th overall in the tournament game on March 14th. The team will
attend the State Open on Saturday, March 23rd
Q 1: Probably the Stratford High
match because that’s our senior
night.
Q 2: I feel like we’ll do pretty
well. We only lost three seniors
from last year so we’re coming in
very strong.
Q 3: We just need to stay focused
and positive when the matches
turn against us and we need to
just fight through it.
Q1: The Stratford High game.
Q2: I’m pretty confident that
we’re going to go pretty far.
Q3: We need to focus more on
finishing games. And we need to
win the games we’re supposed to.
Q 1: The Stratford High game
because it’s senior night and our
cross town rival.
Q 2: I’m confident that we’ll have
a fun and winning season.
Q 3: Our team needs to focus
on out 5th inning consistency
because we always fall apart. We
also need to focus on finishing
games strong.
Kat Halchak:
Girl’s Lacrosse
Isabelle Semon:
Girl’s Outdoor Track
Ryan Farrell:
Boy’s Lacrosse
Q 1: I definitely think the Stratford High game, just because
it’s the cross town rival and it’s
a traditional contest to see who
takes home the title.
Q 2: I love my girls. I think we
have a great group of girls and
the incoming freshman definitely have a lot of potential, but we
make each other laugh and just
have a fun time.
Q 3: Definitely stick work and
just more bonding and team
work and really growing as a
team.
Q 1: I would have to say Stratford
High. We’ve never lost to them in
the history of Bunnell in outdoor
track.
Q 2: We have to work on things
because we’re a young team and
not many people know the sport
well.
Q 3: We have to work on staying
focused and serious throughout
the season, especially at meets.
Q 1: The Stratford High game
because its the biggest rivalry
game we have.
Q 2: I think its gonna be a good
year. Hopefully the best year
we’ve had in Bunnell’s history.
Q 3: To advance farther in the
playoffs.
Cheerleading placed 3rd at sectionals, qualifying them for regionals.
However, the team chose not to compete.
Unified Sports
Tournament
Above: players in action at the Unified Sports tournament.
Above, bottom: the Unfied Sports Jersey.
Boys Basketball: SWC Champions
Congratulations to the Boys Basketaball team, SWC
Champions, who made it to the semi-finals of the CIAC
State Tournament. Pictured: at left, the Dawg Pound encourages the team; and above, Coach Yerina goes over an
important play.
Photos courtesy of The Laurel
Page 8
TEACHER FEATURE
March 2013
Teacher Feature: Mr. Navara
Lizzie Cerino
Staff Reporter
Mr. Ken Navara, of the Physical Education Department, has
been teaching at BHS since 2009.
As a teacher, he enjoys helping
his students mature and grow into
adults.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed
working with Mr. Navara as a
colleague in the P.E. Department.
I am extremely grateful as the
athletic director for all that he has
done working with our athletes
in strength and conditioning,”
Athletic Director and fellow P.E.
teacher, Mr. Johnson said.
Navara attended Kingston High
School in Kingston New York,
and then attended the University of Virginia. He received his
graduate assistance at Cortland
State University in New York,
and his master’s degree at the
University of Bridgeport.
Navara did not always want
to be a P.E. teacher. He was
originally studying exercise science. However, he moved to CT
to be with his girlfriend and “sort
of fell into P.E.,” as he puts it.
Navara has worked in education for 17 years. He was a
computer teacher at New Canaan
High School for two years, and
also taught P.E. at West Shore
Middle School in Devon, CT for
10 years.
Navara’s favorite unit to
teach is square dancing. “It’s the
neatest unit to teach because it
lets kids get out of their comfort
zones and it levels the playing
field,” Navara said. He also
enjoys giving his online assignments since it is bringing his
students into the 21st Century.
“The assignments allow them to
use skills and enter the digital
world,” Navara said.
At West Shore, Navara won
Teacher of the Year in 2004. “It
was a rewarding experience to
be acknowledged by my colleagues,” Navara said.
Other than teaching P.E.,
Navara also works with many
sports teams. He volunteers
his time for the girls volleyball
team, the boys baseball team,
Fun Facts about Navara:
Favorite food: egg whites
Favorite restaurant: Red Brick Tavern in New York
Favorite movie: “North Shore,” (similar to today’s
“Chasing Mavericks”)
and afterschool conditioning.
Fellow P.E. teachers Mrs.
Poisson and Mrs. Starkey feel
that because Navara offers so
much of his time to students, he
is a “huge humanitarian.” They
said he is available everyday
afterschool training kids for
free. “He’s a barrel of laughs. It
is a true joy in life to work with
someone like him, “ Poisson and
Starkey said.
“Navara is not only a great
teacher, but also a great trainer. I cannot thank him enough
for working with me in the off
season and for all the things he
has helped me with,” junior Erin
Koletar said.
Navara is married with three
kids named Killian, which
means “red-bearded warrior,”
Kai, which means “peaceful
ocean,” and Sophie. He enjoys
spending time with his family,
whether it is going to the beach,
hiking, cooking, or riding bikes.
When he is not with his family,
he enjoys playing baseball, and
plays on a baseball team with
Mr. Piroh, outside of school.
While working at BHS,
Navara has hit many obstacles. “Every teacher faces an
obstacle. Due to budget cuts,
I almost lost my job,” Navara
said. Another difficulty Navara
has experienced was in his first
year teaching at West Shore, he
struggled to fit in with the other
faculty members. “It was a new
place with new expectations,”
Navara said. Navara uses this ex-
perience to relate to his own high
school students, when they may
feel lonely or as if they do not
belong. Another obstacle Navara
has to face is because he teaches
in the gym is the isolation he
feels because he rarely gets the
chance to talk to many other
teachers throughout the building.
“I really only talk to about eight
teachers here,” Navara said.
Navara enjoys watching kids
grow into young adults and finds
it to be the most beneficial thing
about teaching. Navara enjoys
watching students mature and
seeing their personal growth after
they learn to overcome their own
obstacles. Navara’s advice for his
students is to “Never lose sight
of your dreams.”
Many of Navara’s students
tend to think he is sarcastic. He
likes to joke, as a way to engage
students and set a positive tone
Navara claims he is sarcastic because it helps him cope with his
problems. “I mask my insecurity
and I was not hugged enough as
a child,” Navara said.
“Navara is like a kid. You
can always count on him to joke
around with you,” junior Haley
Mitchell-Adams said. Indeed,
Navara is counted on as an
important member of the BHS
community.
Student Teacher Features
English Teacher
Ms. Noviello
Ashley Pickering
Staff Reporter
English teacher Mr.
Covino welcomed student teacher Michele Noviello to his classes
on Tuesday, Jan. 22. Noviello
will student teach with Covino
through early May.
Noviello graduated from
Harrison High School in Harrison, New York. She also went to
Fairfield Unversity in Fairfield,
CT. Noviello has worked at
Bassick High School, specifically
with two freshmen classes. At
Bassick High School, she helped
assist classes, worked one on one
with students, substitute teached,
and helped administration with
school related duties. She also
did field work at Norwalk High
School and at St. Anne’s in
Bridgeport. Noviello states “No
one in my family is a teacher, but
my dad wanted to teach as well
as I do.”
Noviello began her time at
BHS by assisting Covino in the
classroom him and learning the
basics of being a teacher. Covino
states “One of the nice things
of having her in my class is that
I learn what they have learned
from college, so it is also a learning experience for me.”
Business Teacher
Noviello’s dream job is to
become a freshman teacher in the
English department, since she
has had the most experience with
freshman classes. Noviello states
“Ever since I was little I have
always wanted to be a teacher
because I am organized and I like
to learn from others.”
Even though she is interested in teaching freshman classes, she still manages to help teach
Covinos class without a problem.
Noviello states “I like teaching
upper classman because I know
they are going into college soon
and they are closer to my age and
I can prepare them for college
more and I can give them advice
for classes in college.”
Noviello has taught
many different units so far during
her time at Bunnell High School.
Covino’s seniors have been
working on films in class about
the Holocaust. His sophmore
students have worked on CAPT
review and now they are on the
unit about the book To Kill A
Mockingbird.
Noviello’s favorite
book is one she recently read in
her college classes called The
Absolutely True Dairy of the
Part-Time Indian by Sherman
Alexis. Noviello states “I like this
book because it has so many ex-
Mr. Kalfayan
Ashley Pickering
Staff Reporter
cellent themes. It also has many
great conflicts. It also talks about
people with disabilities, which is
an interesting topic.”
Noviello hopes to learn
techniques on classroom organization, efective strategies on
grading papers, and ways to
plan engaging lessons. Covino
is very glad to have Noviello in
his class. Covino stated, “I hope
to help provide her classroom
experience. I also want to teach
her plan management and how to
create a lesson effectively.”
Of her experience so far,
Noviello said “It was nerve
racking in a new environment,
but everyone was welcoming. All
the staff is very welcoming and
the students made it a very easy
transition by always stopping by
in the hallways and in the classroom and saying hello.”
Mrs. Anne James, of the
business department, has welcomed a new student teacher
to her class, Garo Z. Kalfayan.
Kalfayan will student teach
with James through the end of
the school year. James states,
“I always tell him I am so glad
to have him helping out around
the class. Mr. Kalfayan has been
great; helpful, loves teaching,
and he is so enthusiastic when
he teaches. He is very intelligent
and relates his teaching to the
real world.”
Kalfayan graduated from high
school in Miami, Florida. He
was hired by Sikorsky Aircraft
Corporation in Stratford as a
subcontract administrator for 12
years. He has also worked as a
purchasing agent for the International Microwave Corporation in Norwalk.
Kalfayan then became interested
in teaching. Kalfayan states, “I
have mentored people that have
taught in the past and I have
been interested in teaching for
four or five years now.” Kalfayan
has a degree in different aspects
of business. He has a master’s
degree in Organization Communication from Fairfield University
and certification in business.
Kalfayan has volunteered in three
different schools, two schools
in Bridgeport, Connecticut
and one school in Shelton. He
has also asissted in law teaches
in New York.
Kalfayan hopes to learn from
Bunnell High School teachers
how to interact with student
techniques and classroom
management. Kalfayan states “I
was excited and thankful and it’s
been a real pleasure being able
to learn how to become a better
teacher. I hope to learn claasroom
management and interacting with
students. ”