S C R I B E - Frank Scott Bunnell High School

Frank Scott Bunnell
SCRIBE
Bunnell High School * 1 Bulldog Blvd, Stratford, CT 06614 * Wednesday, October 30, 2013 * Volume LIII, Issue 2
Senior Assemblies Teach Lessons to Last a Lifetime
Senior Girls at the Breast Cancer Assembly. Photo Credit: Nora Turner
Nora Turner
Staff Reporter
On Fri. Oct. 18, BHS seniors
had the opportunity to hear from
local experts about serious life
topics. Male seniors met with
Stratford Police Department
officers to discuss the dangers of
texting and driving, and female
students learned about breast
cancer awareness.
These assemblies are held
every year at BHS and are exclusive to seniors. This year, School
Resource Officer Patricia Tesla
organized the boys’ assembly,
and health teacher Melissa Signor
arranged the girl’s assembly.
“There is a need to hold these
assemblies because each one
provides both groups information that could impact any of our
loved ones at any moment,” said
Tesla. She stated that she chose
the topic of distracted driving
because of its prevalence in teens
and adults alike, and because
tragedies occur too often because
of it.
The boys’ assembly began with
a short film that depicted the
effects of texting while driving.
Robert Burroughs, a Stratford
PD officer, presented a Power
Point slideshow filled with statistics about teen driving. Some
statistics include: 1.6 million
accidents a year are caused by
“Pink-Out” at BHS
Monet Monterroso
Staff Reporter
October is designated as
Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Breast cancer is preventable if
found early and then treated. It is
the second most common cancer
after skin cancer in the country,
and CT holds the second highest
rate of breast cancer.
Women aren’t the only ones
that should be concerned about
breast cancer; it has been proven
that 1 in every 100 men can get
breast cancer. “I wasn’t aware
that men could get breast cancer.
I thought it was only possible in
women. But now that I’m aware
that men could get it too I’ll take
better steps to avoid getting it,”
junior Ricardo Belizaire said.
To raise breast cancer awareness at BHS, there are Pink
Out days for sports teams. The
Volleyball team also sells pink
t-shirts as a fundraiser.
“About four years ago, a
close friend of one of the players
on the Volleyball team, Rachel
Bivona, was diagnosed with the
disease and we started the T-shirt
drive more in her memory and it
just took off from there. Then we
started having Pink Out games
and other teams took the idea,
like soccer and football. It’s good
to have all of Bunnell informed
and aware, “ said coach Garrett
Covivo.
On Pink Out Days, cheerleaders and Dance Team both wear
breast cancer bows to show their
support during their games.
In the past there has been a
Pink Club at BHS, advised by
Ms. Record, but when members graduated, the club did not
continue. “It’s not the schools
fault that the club died. Nobody
wanted to pick it up,” senior
Eldine Lazarre said.
Health teacher Ms. Signor
organizes an asembly for senior
girls about breast cancer. When
asked why, she states “The face of
breast cancer is changing, younger ands younger women are being
diagnosed and it’s important to
know the facts.”
A big inspiration for ribbons,
which symbolize awareness and
represent hope and support,
comes from the hit song “Tie
Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole
Oak Tree” in 1979 and with that
song, the Foundation for the
Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon was
established.
The first breast cancer ribbon
was peach, not pink. “Pink is the
quintessential female color,” says
Margaret Welch, director of the
Color Association of the United
States. “The profile on pink is
playful, life-affirming. We have
studies as to its calming effect;
it’s quieting effect, its lessening
of stress. [Pastel pink] is a shade
known to be health-giving; that’s
why we have expressions like
‘in the pink.’ You can’t say a bad
thing about it. Pink is, in other
words, everything cancer notably
is not.”
texting and driving, and 71
percent of teenage passengers say
their friends text and drive. In
addition, texting and driving is
six times more likely to result in
an accident than drunk driving
and, and is the number one killer
of teens in the US.
“We’re taking an interest for
texting and driving for teens
because there have been far too
many tragedies. We’re raising
awareness for protecting their
loved ones and themselves,” Burroughs stated.
Female seniors had the opportunity to hear a speech by breast
cancer patient and advocate,
Mary Ann Wasil, founder of the
“Get in Touch” Foundation in
Milford, CT. Wasil was the recipient of the 2010 Oprah Magazine
CoverGirl Giving Back Beautiful Award and her “Our Girls’”
Program is being featured in 23
countries.
In an interview, Signor noted
that October is Breast Cancer
Awareness month and that over
the past 10 years, diagnosis of
breast cancer have appeared in
younger and younger women.
Treatment is most effective when
it is detected early.
“Knowledge is power… students understanding more [will]
lead them to advocate for them-
selves and with their doctors and
be aware of their own health,”
Signor said.
Wasil’s personal mission is to
teach young girl’s about “breast
health,” choosing those words
over “cancer awareness”.
Wasil started her foundation
in 2004, and after seven years
of being cancer-free, she is now
in remission with metastatic
breast cancer, meaning it spread
throughout her body to her hips
and ribs.
During her lecture, she
mentioned the importance of
self-examinations, mammograms
and how a perfectly healthy girl
like herself could develop this
terrible disease. When asked why
she feels the need to share her
story, Wasil explained, “Because
all girls are my daughters. It’s important for my daughters and all
girls to learn all they can about
good health practice.”
Senior Lindsay Fraedrich
said, “It hit home listening to a
personal friend talk about her
journey with cancer. It was also
informing because when I was
younger my mom had breast
cancer as well.”
Breast cancer has the highest
in the country for diagnoses rates
and only number two in deaths
from cancer.
“We are hoping both assemblies provide information… and
resources to make better choices
when it comes to our bodies
and our choices in the world out
driving.” Tesla noted.
Stratford Police Officer Robert Burroughs presents a Power Point to the
senior boys on distracted driving. Photo Credit: Nora Turner
Students compete in Physics Olympics
Monika Hlinka
Staff Reporter
On Saturday, Oct 19, seniors
Kacie O’Neill, Andrew Mahabee, Tara Doherty, and Kaleigh
Dillon, accompanied by advisor
Ms. Kristen Record competed at
the Yale Physics Olympics at Yale
University from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
They competed against 52
different teams from RI, NY, and
CT in five different physics events
including: “A Nobel Pursuit”
where students were challenged
to find the Yale-themed “Yiggs
Boson” by analyzing graphs generated by a particle detector.
In “Vector Sedition,” students
were asked to travel at certain
pre-determined speeds around
a four-leg relay course without
access to timing devices in order
to demonstrate the principle of
vector addition. “Horseshoes,
Hand Grenades and Golf Balls,”
had students experimenting to
determine the coefficient of restitution of a golf ball and use this
to bounce the ball to hit a target a
predetermined distance away,.
“A Salt and Battery” was a
project where students had to use
pennies, aluminum foil, coffee
filters and salt water to build a
battery. Finally, in “Fermi Quiz”
students estimate the value of
“odd quantities” using powers
of ten. For example, “how long
of a line can an average pencil
make?”
“It was really nice to see the
[Yale] campus,” Doherty stated,
as the competition was held
Kacie O’Neill, Tara Doherty, Andrew Mahabee, & Kaleigh Dillon work
out a problem at the Yale Physics Olympics. Photo Credit: Ms. Record
throughout the campus. Mahabee said, “My favorite part was
an event called The Fermi Quiz.”
This event is similar to a game
show setup, where students’ answers must be in the form of 10
to a certain power.
“One of the tasks was we had
to teach each other to walk at
specific speeds. It was interesting
to try and figure out and it was
really fun,” said Dillon.
“I really like The Demos,
which were demonstrations of
experiments and it was really
cool,” stated O’Neill.
Although the BHS team didn’t
place in any of the events, they
had a lot of fun and all agreed
that they liked competing,
working together and learning
different ways to accomplish
different tasks.
Record stated the best part of
the Physics Olympics is, “seeing
all the creative ways that students
approached the same challenge
and the different costumes that
all of the teams wore was definitely entertaining.”
The BHS team costume theme
was “Catch a Wave”, where they
all dressed up in swim suits and
had beach towels to look as if
they were going to the beach. “I
liked dressing up. I wore a swim
tube as part of my outfit… we
should’ve won best costume,”
O’Neill stated.
Record said, “This was the
eighth time Bunnell had a team
go to the event and I can’t wait to
do it again next year.”
Page 2
NEWS AND BRIEFS
Upcoming Darcy Ready For Bunnell
Events
Celeste Burnett
Editor
Nov. 2
SAT Administration at BHS
Cavalcade of Bands
*Sponsored by BHS/SHS Band and
Color Guard
Nov. 5
Election Day - No School for Students
Nov. 8
End of First Marking Period
Health and Medical Careers Expo
at Housatonic College all day
Nov. 9
Homecoming Dance
Oronoque Country Club
7-11 p.m.
Nov. 11
Veterans Day Assembly/Guest Speakers
Nov. 13
Electives Fair
Parent Conferences
Early Closing - 12:25 Dismissal
Nov. 15- Nov. 17
Retail 101 in the gym
Nov. 18
First Marking Period Report Cards
Issued
Nov. 18
23rd Senior Girls Flag Football Game
BHS Turf Field
7 p.m.
Nov. 20
Hypnotist Show
*Sponsored by HOSA
7 p.m.
Nov. 27
Early Closing - 12:25 pm Dismissal for
Thanksgiving Recess
Thanksgiving Pep Rally
11 a.m.
Nov. 28- Nov. 29
Thanksgiving Recess- No School
Thanksgiving Football Game vs
Stratford HS
10 a.m. at Pender’s Field
Calling All Artists!
The Scribe is in need of a new
logo. We invite all artists to
submit their original designs
electronically to the Scribe. The
winner will be selected by the
editors and will receive a $25 gift
card to 16 Handles. The winner
will relinquish the rights of the
logo to the Scribe staff.
On Oct. 18th, BHS welcomed
former Wolcott business department head, Mr. Bryan Darcy as
the new assistant principal and
administrator of the sophomore
and part of the junior class.
Darcy has eight years of
prior experience in education.
He spent two years at Bethel
High School and the five years
at Wolcott High School, as the
business department head. This
past school year, he was Wolcott’s
athletic director.
He is no stranger to the Stratford community. He is familiar
with some staff at Bunnell already
due to his time in high school
in 1998, when his team played
Bunnell in the state play-offs.
“I [have been] looking for an
open assistant principal position
for about a year. When I was in
high school, I met Dave Johnson on a few occasions. I knew
Mr. Berkowitz and I know the
new superintendent. They had
nothing but great things to say
and they shared great things
about the students. They were all
welcoming. I can’t wait to get this
year started,” Darcy explained.
“I would describe Bunnell
as passionate. They seem very
passionate. It has come across in
every interview so far. They all
have one common goal to make
Bunnell great. My first [personal] goal is building trusting and
long lasting relationships with
students and staff so that they
Mr. Darcy poses in colleague Dr. Dowling’s office. Photo Credit: Celeste Burnett
know that I will have the same
passion as they do. Nobody is really going to know me, so I think
it’s very important for people to
get to know me. I’m here to be a
part of the team here at Bunnell.
Anything I can do, I will,” Darcy
said.
While his primary focus is to
come in and work on building a
relationship with the staff, he also
wants to student improve test
scores t
“I think it’s also important
to look ahead at career paths as
well. They [students] can’t wait
until senior year to start focusing. They have to build up to it,”
Darcy explained.
His colleagues have positive
words for their new colleague
and can’t wait to see him in
action
“I think Mr. Darcy is the kind
of person who will establish
strong relationships with our
students and will help our teachers in focusing on instructional
improvement,” Dr. Dudley Orr
stated.
“I expect that he will throw
himself into the flow of Bunnell and I sense his enthusiasm
will be contagious. I truly look
forward to working with him as
soon as possible. I believe that his
background both as an athlete
and as an athletic director really
suits the position,” Dr. Nancy
Dowling said.
“I think he’s going to bring
a positive outlook and develop
a solid rapport with the kids. I
think [he also will be] working
with students in extracurricular
activities [which relates] to his
work as an athletic director. This
will provide our team with a
great perspective,” Mr. Christopher Koch said.
October 2013
He is planning on doing
small renovations to his office
such as changing wall colors to
the schools colors, hanging up
anything of importance to the
school, and of course some of his
New York Yankee memorabilia.
He also explained how much of a
sports fanatic he is.
During his free time, he enjoys
watching high school football
and basketball, and college
baseball. He has also been the
CT Bomber travel baseball coach
for the last seven years. He also
enjoys his time with his family
and friends. Darcy recently got
married this April and is going
through the process of moving
into a new home.
Mr. Darcy has done his best to
make his way around the school
and greet students and his fellow
staff.
“I think this year will be great
with Darcy. Everytime I see him
in the hallway I see him interacting well with other students
and making it known that he is
ready to get started. I think the
sophomore class is lucky to have
a new asisstant principal,” senior
Marissa Delvecchio said.
So far Darcy has shown that
he is ready for all that Bunnell
has to offer, is looking forward to
getting to know everyone, and is
excited for a great first year.
“I have mixed feelings about a
new administrator, but we needed one so I am glad that [Darcy]
is here. He seems cool, “ senior
Desiree Davis.
Bulldog Briefs: From All Four Corners
Monika Hlinka
Staff Reporter
On Oct. 26 2013, the BHS
Marching Band competed in the
CT State and New England State
Championships and won Best
Music, Guard and Percussion in
their category, Group 6A. The
Marching Band was also honrors with the “Esprit de Corps”
Award, given by the US Marine
Corps for the most entertaining
and spirited performance out
of all the other 24 bands that
competed. Their total score was
an 87.05 out of 100, their highest
score this season.
Student Government will be
hosting the 6th annual Thanksgiving Food Drive from Oct. 16
through Nov. 6 to benefit Sterling
House. Students can place
canned goods in decorated boxes
in each classroom and monetary
donations are also being accepted. Student Government hopes
each basket will have about a
dozen food items, as well as money to purchase a turkey. In order
to purchase a ticket for Homecoming, students must bring in a
canned food item.
The Marching Band will host the
Cavalcade of Bands at BHS on
Nov. 2 at 3 p.m. They will perform with 13 other bands for the
performance and will play their
Beatles arrangement. General
admission is $10 and student
tickets are $8.
STAGE has chosen cast members
for the fall play, Boarding House
Reach, with senior Billy Lang as
the lead role, Lucas. Supporting
roles include: senior Kevin Kiley
as Mr. Maxwell, senior Elizabeth Ruggerio as Mrs. Maxwell,
sophomore Amanda Cavoto as
Courtney, and senior Dashon
Pratt as Hercules. Producers Mrs.
Hull and Miss Gould, and senior
Elizabeth Ruggerio, along with
the cast have been coordinating
with STAGE Crew members and
planning for the performance
which will be on Dec. 12, 13, 14.
Congratulations to seniors
Michelle Costa, Lauren Jachimczyk, Emily Mackay, Anita
Martin, and Tegh Terrell on
being accepted into the National Honor Society. They will be
formally inducted on May 1.
The Freshmen Class Student
Council is hosting its first fundraiser from Oct. 10 through Nov.
20, which includes selling food
items and holiday gifts, in order
to start saving money for upcoming dances. For more information
see Mr. Rooney in room C128 or
the class officers.
Ms. Priddle’s Entrepreneurship class went on a field trip
to People’s United Bank on Oct.
24. Students were paired with
mentors at the bank to learn
about the various stages of company development, production,
and liquidation for their created
Editors: Celeste Burnett and Lizzie Cerino
Staff: Celeny Galpin, Alex Ghajar, Katya Gonzalez, Monika Hlinka, Rebecca Marrero, Monet Monterroso,Nora Turner, Tajea Walton
Advisor: Mrs. Jennifer Record
The Scribe, the official, student run newspaper of Bunnell High School, is published on a monthly basis, as a product of the journalism course
at Bunnell High School. These publications welcome submissions from the student body and staff of Bunnell High School. However, the
views expressed in the Scribe do not necessarily reflect the views of the district, administration, students, or staff of the Scribe. Letters to the
editor are welcomed; letters must be signed but names will be withheld upon request. Students interested in enrolling in the journalism
program for the 2014-2015 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.
company, Amped. They will apply
this knowledge to their business
practices.
Juniors and seniors have until
Nov. 1 to sign up for the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude
Battery test (ASVAB), on
Thurs, Nov. 7 at 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.
in the library. The ASVAB is
a career exploration program
that includes an aptitude test,
an interest inventory and career
planning tool.
There will be a 5K run/walk in
memory of Sandy Hook Elementary School teacher, Victoria Soto, on Sat., Nov. 2, with
registration beginning at 7:30am.
Money raised from the event
will be used for the Vicki Soto
Memorial Fund, which supports
students that desire to go into
the field of education. The run
begins and ends near the Army
Engine Plant, 550 South Main
Street in Stratford.
October 2013
NEWS
Page 3
Wireless Issues Arise as BHS “Disconnects” Bulldog
Buzz:
Lizzie Cerino
Editor
Since mid- September, a new
wireless network, "SBOE" was
created for students and staff to
use. In addition, over the past
few weeks, BHS has also made
cell phone policies stricter as a
result of students abusing the
privilege of electronic device use.
The wifi “SBOE-guest” was
turned off in order to provide staff members with faster
internet access. In an interview
with Principal Dr. Dudley Orr,
Orr explained that, at the time
when the internet was very slow,
the Information Technology
(IT) Department examined the
situation. They could not find an
exact cause. However, when the
wifi was shut off, the internet ran
smoothly.
Dr. Orr also explained how
many applications that teachers
use during the school day are
web-based, such as Powerschool
and emails. Teachers need internet access throughout the school
day to complete attendance,
grades, and send emails.
There was a noticeable slowness on the network in all Stratford Schools. Stratford Board of
Education’s Director of Technology Ed Molloy explained, "The
sixteen Stratford Public Schools
buildings are on one wide-area-network (WAN). This means
that any one building could have
an impact on the other buildings.
During mid-September, there
was a noticeable slowness on the
WAN. Our reports showed 1,600
devices connected to the wireless
network. This is in addition to
the typical 3,000+ wired devices.
It seems we were overloaded. I
decided to shut down the "SBOEguest" to see if the speed would
return to normal and it did." He
compared the slowness due to an
increase in number of devices using the network to a "traffic-jam."
To solve this problem,
Molloy states that ". . . we need
to increase our bandwidth and
work with users to limit high
bandwidth usage, such as video
streaming." Recently, a second
these would be to create separate
networks for the school business
and students. This would prevent
slow internet service. Another
solution would be to limit the
amount of data on the school
network, what Orr calls “throttling.” This process would give all
students a certain amount of time
to use the internet.
In the process of “throttling,”
students are given a username
and password, and the use of the
internet would be limited. Students would experience a pause
“Internet-based tools can be used to significantly
enhance learning and improve productivity. A student
who utilizes the appropriate tool for a designated task has
an advantage.”- Stratford Board of Education’s
Technology Director Ed Molloy
internet connection was added
to BHS and SHS to increase
bandwidth, and the Technology
Department will most likely develop and purchase monitoring
tools to observe usage patterns at
the high schools.
Although students and staff
are using the “SBOE” network,
Molloy explained that the
network can be easily shutdown
by changing the password and
announcing a new password.
"Internet-based tools can be
used to significantly enhance
learning and improve productivity. A student who utilizes the
appropriate tool for a designated
task has an advantage," Molloy
said.
Dr. Orr also described some
possible solutions BHS would
take in the nearby future. One of
in internet use when data is not
available, and when enough data
is available to support more use,
their internet will resume.
When the wifi for students,
"SBOE-guest," was shut off,
students had no internet on their
electronic devices. There was not
a new network to sign on to for
a couple of days. However, a few
days after the "SBOE-guest" network was deleted, the new network, "SBOE" was created. The
password was not fully released
to students, since Orr figured the
students already found out the
password from someone else.
Due to social media websites,
particularly Twitter, and word
of mouth, the password, "access2013," was leaked quickly.
Many students currently have
the password and are on the
"SBOE" wifi as a result of the
news spreading so fast. BHS has
not yet experienced any seriously
slow internet issues.
Since the "Bring Your Own
Device" policy and students connecting to wifi are still fairly new,
Dr. Orr described these technical
issues as "growing pains" that
every district encounters. He
stated that this is a "new thing for
all of us," and that "it is hard to
manage a couple thousand kids
and a business." Although the
wifi seems to bring negative outcomes right now, he believes it
will bring some positive changes
as well.
In addition to wifi changing
at BHS, cell phone policies have
also become stricter. Administrators are continually making
announcements reminding students to keep their cell phones in
their bags and to not use them at
any time, unless instructed by a
teacher to do so. Administrators,
security guards, and teachers are
able to take phones away at any
time.
"A big chunk of our day
is spent on issues associated
with inappropriate usage of the
internet," Assistant Principal Mr.
Koch stated about the cell phone
misuse issue.
Dr. Orr explains this stricter
policy is intended ". . . to really
make sure education is the only
thing we focus on for the sixand-a-half hours we're here."
Should teenagers still
go trick or treating?
Katya Gonzalez
Staff Reporter
Kadian Morgan: “ I feel like
we are too grown up to
trick or treat.”
Joel Lopez : “Yes, everyone
should go trick or treating
no matter what the age.”
The Truth About: The Stratford Ghost
The Stratford Devil is one of the few books published about Bassett written by Claude Clayton Smith. Photo Credit: Celeste Burnett
not take no for an answer. They
believed that they had enough
Celeste Burnett
information to prosecute Bassett.
Editor
“I live in the historical district
There are many myths relating
of Stratford and I feel like I want
to the Town of Stratford and its
to know more on this topic. My
history with ghosts. The most
parents have heard stories of the
infamous case ever reported
old Goody Bassett rumors and
involved a town resident named
so on but like many other things
Goodwife Bassett, born Ruth
I can’t be sure which is true. I
Paine. She was also referred to as
heard that she was on trial but I
“The Stratford Devil.”
Goody Bassett was a new
didn’t know that she literally told
them herself that she was guilty.
resident of the Stratford Colony,
I thought they had assumed
which was known as “Cupheag”
the whole time,” senior Sherice
during the early 1600’s. She was
Mayne said.
accused of witchcraft and hung
Bassett was accused of witchin the spring of 1651, almost a
craft, which was known at the
century before the Salem witch
time the name of lycanthropy,
trials in the 1800s. Bassett was
only twenty-three years old at the and other satanic crimes. The
Puritans had reason to believe
time of her trial. She was forced
that Bassett was the culprit when
to admit her involvement with
her family had been the last to
witchcraft even if it were not the
migrate from the New Haven
truth. The Puritans, who occuColony.
pied the land at that time, would
In a book titled, In Pursuit
of Paradise by Lewis G. Knapp,
it states, “It was only since the
Bassetts moved into town that
the people had been overcome
by this scourge of sickness,
hallucinations, and death. Since
their arrival, the winter has been
cold and bitter; since then the
familiars masquerading as a pack
of wolves have become more
bold. Goody Bassett must be the
witch. Goody Bassett must be put
to death.”
Bassett’s neighbors even
claimed that she had placed
curses on them, saw strange
objects flying near her home, and
reported new aches and pains
due to her presence.
There were other ways to determine whether or not a person
was a witch. One way was to tie
the accused up and place them in
the water. If they sank then they
were innocent, but if they floated,
then they were guilty.
In honor of the witch, Stratford has an ice cream shoppe
on Main Street, dedicated in
her memory, and appropriately
named Goody Bassett Ice Cream.
“I am obsessed with that shop!
When I was younger, I remember
going to the store and being so
fascinated by the little things in
there that makes it look so old
fashioned,” senior Hunter Mitchell-Adams said.
“I always pass by Goody
Bassett’s but I never get to stop.
it’s been so long since I’ve been
there. My favorite flavor used to
be the mint ice cream on a cone,”
senior Jessica Bogdwicz said.
Goody Bassett Ice Cream is
located at 2404 Main St., in the
Stratford Town Shopping Center.
They serve old fashioned ice
cream and have a signature ice
cream cone in Bassett’s honor.
In Pursuit of Paradise, a copy that the BHS library holds. Photo Credit:
Celeste Burnett
Roshedra Palmer:“No, they
need to be in church now a
days. It’s very dangerous to
be on the streets.”
Nicole DeFazio: “No , maybe in middle school but we
are in high school now.”
Mr. Dylan Connor: “Yes, I
love seeing the creative
costumes .”
Page 4 ELECTIONS 2013
October 2013
Elections 2013: Harkins for Re-Election vs. Paul
Celeste Burnett and Lizzie Cerino
Editors
Incumbent John Harkins
Mayor John Harkins. Photo Credit: Town of Stratford website.
Serving Stratford since 1995,
present Mayor John Harkins is
running for re-election against
Joseph Paul for another 4-year
term. Already seeing improvements made in Stratford during
his past term, Harkins says he is
"doing it for Stratford."
Harkins claims that "... four
years ago our town was in
turmoi..." since improvements
were not being made where they
needed to be. Harkins has seen
the improvements made to Stratford throughout his term, such as
improvements to town parks and
bringing business. He said that
Stratford has"great professionals"
who understand the town and
what needs to be done.
This year, Stratford and
Bridgeport made a historic agreement to create a safety zone at
the end of the runway at Sikorsky
Memorial Airport. Although the
airport is located in Lordship,
it is owned by Bridgeport. "This
airport is an asset to the region
and to Stratford, and this is a
reasonable agreement," Harkins
told CT Post.
In addition to the historic
Sikorsky Airport agreement,
Stratford's parks have been improving. Honeywell also completed 10 million dollars worth
of improvements in energy efficiency. Harkins is also happy to
say that a new economic development office was created, which
is bringing business to Stratford.
Harkins continued to say ". . . we
are making things happen. . . "
To Harkins, Stratford is
"home." The Harkins Appraisal
Service was created in Stratford
in 1986. Harkins has also lived
in Stratford for his entire life,
and has enjoyed living here. "It's
why I chose to raise my family
here,"Harkins said. He describes
Stratford as a strong community.
"It's a rewarding experience to
give back to the community,"
Harkins said.
If re-elected, Harkins hopes to
improve economic development
even further to help relieve taxpayers, maintain strong education and hopefully open a new
elementary school (not yet finalized,) and ensure public safety,
such as ambulance service.
Nov. 5, 2013
Voting Centers:
1st District:
Lordship School
254 Crown Street
2nd District:
Stratford High School
45 North Parade
3rd District:
Johnson House
719 Birdseye Street
4th District:
Franklin School
1895 Barnum Avenue
5th District:
Nichols School
396 Nichols Avenue
6th District:
Wooster Middle School
150 Lincoln Street
7th District:
Wilcoxson School
600 Wilcoxson Avenue
8th District:
Chapel School
380 Chapel Street
9th District:
Bunnell High School
1 Bulldog Avenue
10th District:
Second Hill Lane School
65 Second Hill Lane
Who’s Voting on Election Day?
Candidate Joe Paul
Candidate Joseph Paul. Photo
Credit: Celeste Burnett
Mayoral candidate Joe Paul
has been a resident of Stratford
all throughout his childhood and
he attended both BHS and SHS.
“I was a former bank executive
for 39 years, and when I came
to Stratford, I wasn’t happy with
what I saw in the government. It
was no longer a government for
the people by the people... Most
of my responsibility is focused
on making the government more
efficient,” Paul said.
Paul is “very, very confident” with his standings in the
elections so far, and is looking
forward to making the governernment more efficient. Paul
hopes to lower taxes, stay visible
as mayor, focus on economic
development, work on education,
and help to create jobs through
the Army Engine Plant.
“... Why can’t we improve the
town’s performance by introducing innovation that will reduce
expenses and increase revenue?
Stratford has huge opportunities
for savings by further exploring
regional practices between towns.
..I will work with mayors of
municipalities and other elected
officials willing to take advantage
of these untapped areas of cost
savings,” Paul explained on his
website, joepaulforstratford.com.
“I’d like them [voters] to
know that I was born and raised
in Stratford. I was a freshmen
at Bunnell and then finished
my schooling at Stratford High
School. I was the captain of the
basketball team and a starting
football player,” Paul added.
He has had a lot of support
from all parts of the town of
Stratford, his personal campaign
election staff, and campaign
manager, Terry Masters, has
supported his from the beginning
of his campaign.
“They are very helpful and 90
percent of them are volunteers.
They all work very hard and
are dedicated. I couldn’t ask for
more, they’ve been out knocking
on doors with me, covering all of
Stratford,” Paul said.
If elected, Joe Paul wants
people to know that he hopes to
focus on making the government
as efficient as it can be.
Tips for Voting Day
If you are 18 years of age, you are eligible to vote on
Election Day.
1. Be sure to get in line before polls are scheduled to close.
2. Focus on your own ballot.
What to Bring:
1. Voter Registration card
2. Proper ID
For more information, visit www.townofstratford.com
Senior Cayla Eaddy: “I can’t wait
to vote. I am really excited to
do it. But I don’t know how to
register.”
Senior Izzah Ali: “I’m not voting
because I’m not sure who to pick,
but I will next year.”
Senior Cameron McQuade: “I’m
not registered yet. I just turned
18.”
Board of Education Candidates
Democrats
Senior Tamarya Thompson:
“Voting has been something that
my parents have stressed to me
for years. I can’t wait to finally get
to vote this year.”
Senior Tavis Smiling: “I’m
pepped about it. I just can’t wait
to vote. Both candidates make
good points.”
Senior Katya Gonzalez:“I am
going to vote this year. I am
ecstatic to get this oppurtunity.
I get to make a change in my
community.”
Senior April Meadows: “Yes, I’m
going to vote. I’m excited to do it
for the first time. It should be a
fun experience.”
Senior Jonathan Pizzaro: "The
reason why I'm not voting is
because I don't know who's running or anything about them.”
Senior Joey Valentin: “No, I’m
not voting. I don’t feel like I’m
ready yet.”
Republicans
Wali Kadeem
James Vigliotti
Len Petruccelli
Flo Langdon
Jim Feehan
Theresa Feehy
Christian Barnaby
Math teacher Mr. James Ginand:
“I am voting for Harkins, I think
that in the last four years he has
done a good job. He cares about
education and he is family
oriented.”
Social Studies teacher Mr. Luke
Roberts: “It’s important to vote
because you’re actually picking
someone to make decisions for
you so it is important to make an
informed choice.”
October 2013
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 5
TV Review: The Voice Vs. American Idol
Tajea Walton Staff Reporter
American Idol has been
airing on FOX since June 11,
2002. The show was created by
Simon Cowell as a counterpart
to its British series, Pop Idol.
It has since dominated American television, often being
the number one ranked show.
Although there is some true
talent being displayed on the
show, most people only watch it
to see the humorous auditions in
the beginning with hopefuls. The
show is also famously known
for Simon Cowell’s demeaning
comments towards the shows
contestants. The current judges
are Keith Urban, Harry Connick
Jr., and pop icon, Jennifer Lopez.
American Idol auditions are organized where the contestants sing
in front of the three judges. If the
contestant receives a “yes” from
two out of the three judges, then
they get to continue to the next
round of auditions. After that, the
voting is completely up to the
public. American Idol viewers
can either text and/or call to vote
for their favorite contestant. Each
week, the contestant with the
least amount of votes gets booted
off the show until there is only
one left. Famous winners from
American Idol include Kelly
Clarkson (Season One), Fantasia
Barrino (Season Three), Carrie
Underwood (Season Four), and
Jordin Sparks (Season Six). People have since drifted from the
show because the fact that Simon
Cowell is no longer apart of the
show. “I don’t like the judges
[now] I follow [old] the judges,
especially Simon Cowell who
is now on the X Factor.” says
junior Marisa Decker.
The Voice began to dominate
the singing talent scene on April
26, 2011. Although it has only
been on the air for two years, it
has won over the hearts of many
Americans, having 11.78 million
viewers on it’s very first episode
in 2011. The shows judges, who
are known as coaches, include
stars such as Christina Aguilera,
Blake Shelton, CeeLo Green,
and Adam Levine. “Christina
Aguilera is why I watch The
Review: Divergent Trilogy
Rebecca Marrero
Staff Reporter
“What if your whole world
was a lie? What if a single revelation—like a single choice—
changed everything? What if love
and loyalty made you do things
you never expected?” (Allegiant).
On Oct. 22, Veronica Roth
finally released Allegiant, the conclusion to the Divergent trilogy,
which will reveal the secrets of
the dystopian world that takes
place in the series.
This science fiction, jaw dropping, action packed series has
sold over one million copies and
has made the New York Times’
Bestsellers List.
The main character, Beatrice
“Tris” Prior, and her friends are
doing what is forbidden: going
beyond the fence. What they
discover in this new world will
cause the characters to make life
threatening choices. Tris and her
friends hope to start a new life in
this new and strange world.
This book is a perfect combination of action and romance
that many teen readers will enjoy.
The conclusion of the series will
be nerve wrecking and heart
breaking to all its readers.
In Divergent, Tris, has to make
Voice.” says junior Charlene
Plavnicky. The coaches make
their own teams and each team
uses an advisor. Advisors include
famous singers, such as Cher,
Miguel, Ryan Tedder, and Ed
Sheeran. The way that The Voice
presented is quite different from
American Idol. The preliminary
auditions are called “blind auditions,” where the coaches’ backs
are turned while the potential
contestant sings to the audience.
If the coach likes the way that
the singer sounds, they press
a button that turns their chair
around to face the contestant. If
more than one coach turns their
chair, the contestant then gets
to choose what team they want
to be on. Then comes the battle
rounds. The singers are paired
up and battle each other out to
remain on their team. However,
if booted off their team during
the battle rounds, another coach
is able to “steal” them and add
them to their own team. From
that moment on, the teams still
compete until one singer is left
standing. America starts voting
in the final live performance
stage of the show.
“I watch The Voice. The judges on The Voice can actually sing
and perform, so they know what
a performer should or should not
do. Plus, they’re actual celebrities that are still relevant to
music today,” says senior Tavis
Smiling.
Whose Bread is Better?
Kayta Gonzalez
Staff Reporter
Panera Bread has been the talk
of the school since it opened on
July 18, 2012, but for a month
there have been whispers about a
new eatery called Focaccias Café.
Many people have been conflicted about which restuarant is
better and which one is healthier.
The Divergent Trilogy. Photo Credit: Google Images
a choice that will change her life
forever. The dystopian Chicago society is divided into five
factions, each based on a certain
virtue: Candor (the honest),
Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the
peace), Abnegation (the selfless),
and Erudite (the intelligent).
Tris must decide whether she
wants to stay with her family
or leave her loved ones forever.
Throughout the book, there are
many characters that assist Tris
on her journey in discovering
what it means to be Divergent.
The sequel, Insurgent, focuses
on Tris and her friends escaping from danger while on an
expedition to end the war that
is starting to brew amongst all
the factions which is resulting
in many lives being lost. Tris
and her friends are also trying to
figure out why so many people
want the video that many Abnegation leaders died for and what
they find in the end will be very
shocking.
The book that is captivating
many young readers is coming
out with a movie. Directed by
Neil Burger, Divergent is scheduled to be released in theaters on
March 21, 2014. The main characters, Beatrice “Tris” Prior, is to
be played by Shailene Woodley
(The Spectacular Now), Jeanine
Matthews will be played by Kate
Winslet (Titanic), and Tobias
“Four” Eaton will be portrayed
by Theo James (Underworld:
Awakening).
This book is recommended
to fans of The Hunger Games
because of its similar themes and
targeted audience.
At Panera they offer many
choices for meals and the variety
is great. “I love Panera Bread. I
go there all the time and I just
can’t get enough of it,” says senior
Mary-Kate Early.
However, some people may
say that Panera is impersonal
because there is no wait staff,
which, for some people, is a deal
breaker. “When I go to Panera, I
would love it if they had people
to serve me. It would make it so
much better I would go there
a lot more often.” says senior
Eldine Lazarre.
At Focaccia’s, someone greets
patrons with an enthusiastic
“Ciao”, and then the food is
brought to the patrons at a table.
“I love the service at Focaccia
the people there are nice and
friendly,” says senior Courtney
Riordan.
Both places are not overly
fattening nor do they offer junk
food. Both establishments
are known for trying to help
people healthier “fast food.”
Panera Bread is famous for their
Cinnamon Crunch Bagel “It has
crystalized cinnamon on the top
and it has cinnamon swirls in it,
best thing ever,” said sophomore
Zack Pickering. Focaccia’s has
a lot to offer, their “Crepes are
amazingly delicious. They’re thin
pancakes with nutella or bananas
in them there different dessert
ones and lunch or dinner ones
and they’re heavenly,” said senior
Michelle Costa.
“I could never choose between the two; that would be
unfair, cruel almost.” senior
Brittany Riordan says.
The Bullpod: Top 5 Songs On Your iPod
Adrian Cordova
Junior
1.Treasure-Bruno Mars
2.Get Lucky-Daft Punk
3.Clarity-Zedd
4.Better Left Unsaid
Ariana Grande
5.And We Danced
Macklemore
Kaytlyn Trower
Sophomore
1. It Wasn’t Me – Shaggy
2. Work (Remix)
A$AP/Ferg
3. Tom Ford- Jay-Z
4. Somebody Else- Mario
5. Half on a Baby
Vybz Kartel
Ava Blashke
Freshman
1. Roar-Katy Perry
2. Wrecking BallMiley Cyrus
3. Shaken the Water
VV Brown
4. Wonderful World- Israel
5. Making Bird-Eminem
Sean Hayden
Senior
Empty SpaceThe Story So Far
Passing Through a ScreenThe Wonder Years
3. Reflection
Balance and Compose
End of The World- Sehaven
Figure You Out- Citizen
Mr. Stein
1. Freebird-Lynard Skinard
2. Bridge over Troubled Water-Simon and Garfunkel
3. Just the Way You AreBilly Joel
4. Born to Run-Bruce
Springsteen
5. Yesterday- The Beatles
Page 6
ADVERTISEMENT
October 2013
October 2013
SPORTS
Page 7
Girls Soccer ‘Kicking’ Their Way to a Winning Season
Varsity girls share a huddle with their coach. Photo Credit: Alex Ghajar
current record of 5-4-4, but a loss
on Mon., Oct. 14 against New
Alex Ghajar
Milford on our home turf at 7:00
Staff Reporter
p.m. with a final score of 2-1.
Varsity girls celebrated their
On Sat. Oct. 12, the girls tied
senior night at their game against
their game 0-0 away at 10:00 a.m.
Brookfield on Oct. 22, and came
on the field of Lauralton hall.
out with a win scoring 2-1. This
This was their fourth tie of the
was their final regular season
season, bringing their record to
game, bringing their final record
5-3-4.
to 7-5-4. JV also played their
The girls played four home
last game of the season against
games in a row against NoBrookfield, but lost 0-1. They
tre-Dame Fairfield, Foran,
only won one game this season.
Weston, and Newtown, and went
BHS varsity girls won their
with a streak of 2-1-1 over the
game on Sat., Oct. 19 away at
games, bringing their record to
New Fairfield’s home, 1-0. and
5-3-3. They played Joel Barlow at
JV lost their game 0-4. They lost
their game against Immaculate at their field on Sat., 9/28, but lost
their field on Thurs., Oct. 17 2-0.
that game.
Girls varsity soccer pushed
JV played four games, 3
through their season with a
being at home against Newtown,
Weston, at Lauralton, and New
Milford. They lost all four games
with scores in order of 0-6, 0-7,
0-4, and 0-5. JV played them, but
lost 0-4.
The team’s third home game
was on Thursday 9/26 at 7:00
p.m. against Bethel, and they
were able to tie the game with a
score of 2-2. JV played their team
and lost 0-5.
The girls lost their first game
on Monday 9/23 against Masuk
at their field at 7:00 p.m. with a
score of 3-1. This brought their
record to 3-1-1. JV played, but
lost 0-6.
On Thursday Oct. 19, the
varsity team played Pomperaug
in their second home game at
7:00 p.m., but only came out with
a 1-1 tie. JV played Pomperaug
also, but lost 0-5.
Varsity girls played their town
rivals at Stratford’s field on Tuesday 9/17 at 5:00 p.m. and came
out with their 3rd win in a row
scoring 7 points to 0. They are
undefeated at 3-0-0.
The girls played their first
home game on Friday 9/13
against Oxford at 3:45 p.m. and
won the game 3-0. JV also played
Oxford, but lost 0-4.
The Varsity girls kicked off
their season with a win, 8-0, on
Wednesday 9/11, at Kolbe Cathedral. JV played their first game
against Harding and won 7-0.
Mr. Wojdaszka stated, “Our
both captains Anita Martin
and Kacie O’Neill have done a
tremendous job giving us an
opportunity to win every game
we play. Their experience and
leadership contributes to our success.” He also stated, “I do enjoy
coaching this particular group of
girls. It’s a nice combination of
senior girls with lots of playing
time experience and younger
group still trying to find their
way around. It’s challenging and
requires patience, but it’s definitely rewarding.”
JV coach, Stephanie Norell,
said, “Despite the numbers on
the scoreboard, the girls worked
extremely hard throughout the
entire season. We were left with
very few to no substitutes for
the majority of our season, but
the girls united and played with
heart for 80 minutes every game.
We progressed, which was our
goal, and I am very proud of all
of them.”
“All of their [varsity’s] wins
and team work inspires me to
make varsity next season,” Jess
Guerrucci stated.
“We finished the regular
season and now we are waiting
for States to start. Just being apart
of the team and just having good
people around you...We know
that they will always be there
for you,” senior Captain Anita
Martin said.
The girls didn’t make SWC’s
by only a few game margin, but
the state championship starts on
Nov. 4.
Anita Martin passing the ball to her team members. Photo Credit: Alex
Ghajar
Dancing to Victory
Spreading Cheer
Monet Monterroso
Staff Reporter
Tajea Walton
Staff Reporter
Competition season is fast
approaching for the Dance Team
and the entire 15 member squad
is working very hard to perfect
their hip-hop and jazz dances in
preperation for competitions in
January and February.
“This season we have a group
of very talented individuals in all
grades. We have improved a lot
from last season. The music and
choreography both picked and
designed by coach Liza Hanson.
We have started the competition
dances (hip-hop/Jazz) and it is
very eye catching and interesting.
The girls are very excited as am
I,” Senior manager Samantha
Vera states. The hip- hop dance, which is
senior Sabrina Burgos favorite,
is a mix of five different songs
including “Turn Up the Music”
by Chris Brown,”Out of My
Mind” by B.O.B, “Buck in Here”
by Akon featuring Diddy and
Ludacris, and “Express Yourself ”
by Diplo. Liza Hanson states,
“Every year I learn more and
more about coaching so not necessarily anything I would change
this year more just learning about
coaching and dance as each year
gets better and better! I tried to
make this dance more difficult to
keep up with the competition...
Each year the dances are more
intricate and I do not want my
girls to “miss the mark” for what
is expected of them at competitions.”
Varsity cheerleaders are not
only Bunnell’s biggest supporters
but very important support on
the sidelines during the football
and basketball games, and will
begin to compete at their competition on January 18th.
“I really enjoy being on the
team because there’s a great
camaraderie between everyone
and we get better and better each
practice,” said senior Brittany
Lawson. The Bunnell cheerleading team is led by three captains
Katie Gloeckner [senior], Molly
Halper and Julianna Boras [seniors].”
The team cheers at the football
games each Friday. Although
they cannot attend every away
game, they try to make it to the
challenging away games.
“Overall, this is the best team
that Bunnell has seen in 6 years
and we’re working so hard to
prove it to the judges and our
peers.” Katie stated.
Not only are the cheerleaders
athletes themselves, they are also
supporters. They have a pasta
party each night before the games
where they create the banner that
the football players run through.
They also make candy bags to
throw out to the crowd during
the football games.
Not many people in Bunnell
have caught the infamous candy
bags from the football games
because it is stated that “. . . it’s
mainly thrown to little kids,”
Bunnell High Schools Dance Team. Photo Credit: Samantha Vera
The team states that this year
the dances have been the most
difficult this year but everyone
is determined to keep up the
hard work. Sophomore Gianna
Salce says, “Dance team is the
best thing that happened to me
at Bunnell when I walked into
freshman year. Now as a sophomore, things have become harder,
but I am for the challenge.”
The team will work extra hard
this year. “I am most looking
forward to competition season
by far my favorite part of the
year to show off my team’s hard
work and also my own. Last year
we were second at states competition I would love to get a win
this year. My goal always is for
the girls to have fun and enjoy
being a member of such a great
team.. But I know we would all
love to win this year!” said Coach
Hanson. Captain Bria Eastman,
senior, said she is very optimis-
tic, “I can’t wait for competition
season to come. As one of the
captains this year I’m excited to
watch the team grow and hopefully place first.”
“One of the best qualities of
Dance Team is their amazing
uniforms,” Stephanie Kaesmann
said.
Dance team will be holding
several fundraisers in the near
future to pay for new uniforms.
At the moment they are having
two fundraisers: One is a Zumba
activity to be held at The Edge
and the other fundraiser consists
of Yankee Candle’s. All fundraisers will go straight back to the
Dance Team and will help them
with their expenses.
“It’s a good thing to see everybody having so much fun and
getting something good out of it,”
Mr. Herman said.
sophomore Sami Velazquez said.
When asked about kids getting
the candy bags Senior Julia
Serrano stated, “the cheerleaders
never throw it high enough for us
to catch it.”
Also, sophomore Erin MacLeod said, “When I was little I
caught a candy bag but ever since
I’ve been a student here I haven’t
ever caught one.”
Fortunately, senior Jeremy
Proto has caught one and he
stated, “I had to jump over somebody to get one. I caught about
three the last game. One of the
kids that had caught one dropped
it and when they went around the
bleacheres to get it I went under
and got it first.”
The cheerleaders are currenty
preparing to compete in January.
They just received their competition routine, and practice it at
each practice. However, they are
focusing primarily on perfecting
the stunts and the dance at the
moment. “People always say that
cheerleading isn’t a sport but
can’t even do half of the things
that we do.” Says junior Sylvia Piwowarczyk. The cheerleaders also
just finished their Yankee Candle
fundraiser and are now selling
cookie dough. They also fundraise by selling different things at
the gate at every football game.
“I’m really proud of my team
this year and I hope we do really
well this season. We’re all really
close and I’m excited to spend my
last year with these girls,” senior
captain Molly Halper said.
Page 8
TEACHER FEATURE
Teacher Feature: Ms. Magdon
Celeny Galpin, Staff Reporter
Lizzie Cerino, Editor
History teacher Ms. Peggy
Magdon has been teaching at
BHS for 21 years. Although BHS
has changed while she has been
here, her passion for positively
influencing her students has
remained constant.
“I liked her as teacher. She
was funny and always had funny
comments. She was a good teacher and I learned from her. I took
World History honors freshmen
year. I have her for study hall now
and she’s always funny and me
and my friends always helped her
with her work,” senior Jeremy
Proto said.
After graduating from Central
High School, in Bridgeport,
Connecticut, she loved the
thought of being a teacher for
many reasons. She had teachers
in her family and also two of her
favorite teachers, history teacher
Mr. Trapasso and English teacher
Mr. McGrath, helped her decide
to become a teacher. If she had
to describe her teaching career
in one word it would be “interesting.”
Teaching is special to her
because she finds it important to
have an influence on the students
and hopefully “ignite the kids’
imagination.” She believes teachers can expose something to the
kids that the kids are passionate
about.
Magdon also thinks Bunnell
High School has changed since
she began teaching here in 1994.
In her opinion, there are more
people and a lot less room. She
also thinks the students’ clothes
have changed as years have
passed. She says “kids are the
same but they are different in
different ways.”
She believes the struggles of
teaching are “not having enough
time to do what you have to do,”
having to complete a lot of paper
work or e-work that sometimes
she does not always have enough
time for, since she would rather
focus her time on teaching.
She thinks she connects with
her students because they all
repeat her bad jokes back to her.
One joke in particular is “what
did the strawberry say to the
other? If you weren’t so fresh we
wouldn’t be in this jam.” Another
one of Magdon’s signature jokes
is,” Why did Mickey Mouse run
away from home? Because his
father was a rat.” One of her
Fun Facts about Ms. Magdon
Favorite artist: Bruce Springsteen
Favorite restaurant: Biagio’s
Favorite food: Linguine with clam sauce
Favorite movie: Breaking Away
Senior Girls Take the Flag
Celeste Burnett, Lizzie Cerino
Editors
While senior girls are
preparing for the annual Senior
Girls Flag Football Game against
Stratford High on Mon, Nov. 1,
the team is getting along well
with each other, but practices
have brought numerous injuries
to players.
In addition to injuries, there
has also been a lot of “drama”
over jersey numbers. The
practices began on Monday,
Oct. 9th. Coaches for the team
include Mr. Mucci, Mr. Parisi,
Ms. Metzger, and both Ms.
DeStefano and Mr. Navara assist
with the coaching.
“The girls are extremely
dedicated which is really pulling
together a fine-oiled machine,”
Coach Ms. Kathy Metzger said.
Practices and conditioning
has brought many injuries to
players. At one of the early
practices, Jocelyn Berrios’s
head made contact with another
player’s knee. She was unable
to practice for a short amount of
time and then returned. Senior
Celeste Burnett sprained her foot
at a practice. Burnett walked in a
boot and crutches for a few days,
but the sprain was not too severe
and she was able to get back to
practicing. Senior Neyra Benoit
fractured her pinky finger due to
practicing. Her finger is wrapped
and splinted and she is hoping
for a quick recovery.
“It’s frustrating to be injured
so early into the practices but
it could be better instead of it
being closer to the game date. I
love football, so it’s sad to just
sit back and watch everyone else
play on the field. I’m hoping for
a speedy recovery,” senior Neyra
Benoit explained.
On Thursday, Oct. 24th,
many senior girls waited in a
long line to order uniforms in
the cafeteria. The jersey cost
$20 while the pants, which were
optional, cost $10. The jerseys
are expected to be Bunnell blue
and the numbers are to be white
and the pants are a light grey.
Controversey arose when
there was news that the jersey
number selection would occur
soon. The entire team began
thinking of their numbers and
ways to get the cafeteria first in
order to fight for their number.
The entire process of the jerseys
were on a first come first serve
basis. Ordering jerseys during
lunch even caused seniors girls
to not eat lunch.
“It was so chaotic. I literally
had to get into the cafeteria as
soon as the fourth period bell
rang. When I got there the line
was already so long. You could
tell that the people at the end of
the line were so upset,” senior
April Meadows said.
Ms. Magdon, supervising cafeteria study hall. Photo Credit: Lizzie Cerino
favorite puns that she uses frequently in the classroom is “You
lie like a rug.”
She thinks she has a good relationship with her students and
has accepted that “not everyone’s
going to love you.”
“She’s a good teacher and she
moves with you, and stays with
your pace. If you do fall behind,
she definitely helps you catch
up with the class and the other
students,” sophomore Brooke
Shannon said.
One thing she would change
about BHS is to have a “zapper”
in her class for the student’s cellphones so that they would have
one less thing distracting them
and would pay more attention to
what she is teaching.
She believes the perfect student is “someone with an open
mind willing to take a risk and
give themselves credit when they
do a good job.”
Her greatest challenge in
teaching is working with students that have the ability but do
not accept the challenges to be
successful in and out of school.
Something that she would change
about the school is “longer
lunches!” and she believes a lot of
people would agree.
Magdon does not think she
could say a specific favorite moment of her time at BHS because
she has so many. If she had to
choose one, she explains that her
favorite thing about BHS is her
colleagues.
One of her favorite memories
of BHS is making her debut on
the Bunnell stage in a production
of South Pacific as a nurse and
being the only teacher in the play.
She loves Broadway and loved
being in the play.
Magdon is also very busy outside of school. She loves to listen
to music and has very eclectic
October 2013
taste in music. She also enjoys
reading, traveling, riding her
bike, bird watching, and going
to New York City for a day. One
of her favorite things to do is go
see Broadway plays and musicals.
Her favorite musical in particular
is Wicked, presently on Broadway. Sometimes students will
see her singing the music from
the musical in her classroom or
hallway.
“I think Ms. Magdon is
awesome because she’s a Yankee
fan. She can do no wrong in my
eyes because of it,” colleague Mr.
Mignone said.
If she would give advice to any
of the students she states “don’t
wish your life away when they
say, I wish I was a senior, live in
the moment and don’t waste your
times.”
“She’s a funny teacher and she
knows what she’s talking about,”
senior Darion Clark said.
“I think I have learned a
life lesson from her but just don’t
know it yet. I think that in time
I might realize what I’ve learned
a lot especially teaching wise,”
sophomore Nick Dahr said. Most
of her students say she is a good
teacher and definitely loves to
crack jokes with them.
“She’s a fun teacher. She tells
corny jokes. Overall I think she’s
a great teacher,” freshman Christian Moroy said.
Visit the
Dawg House
for all of your school needs:
School Apparel
School supplies
School spirit items
Water
Located at Four Corners
Opened before and after school
and during most periods
Be sure to wear your BHS apparel on
Friday for a chance to win a gift certificate