Pharcyde, 44.5

Skits,

Speeches,

Sobresalientes

Bucs Win 3rd Place at Conferencia

Haley Roth Staff Writer

Conferencia is an annual Spanish-speaking and fluency competition held in Orlando; this year 16 estudiantes participated in the event which took place at The Wyndham Resort on Mar. 9-11.

“The FSSC is a state competition that invites schools from all over Florida, and they bring up to 16 students to compete. There are two major divisions: One is called A and B, which is for kids that are non-native speakers. The other one is called C and D, which is for kids who are native or heritage speakers,” said Sra. Gonzalez-Lopez.

This competition tests students’ Spanish abilities through a variety of challenging and rewarding disciplines.

“The students get to compete for two days in two different types of competitions. One is called Impromptu Speeches. You are given three of the 16 topics randomly and you choose whichever one of those three that you want to do. In the second competition, you have to either recite a declamation or be a part of a play,” added Sra. Gonzalez Lopez.

The students who went to Conferencia enjoyed all the different events they had to prepare for. There were group and individual competitions, which allowed everyone to participate for both themselves and the school.

“In Conferencia, we went and we performed a play with the entire group. We also performed, individually, either impromptu speeches or poems that we had to memorize,” said sophomore Jonathan Vidal.

Conferencia teaches students more about Hispanic culture and helps them perfect their language skills.

“I thought it was a great experience to help enrich my Spanish understanding and overall connect more to the culture,” shared Vidal, “I learned many new things at Conferencia and was able to practice my Spanish in a positive environment.”

Those on the Conferencia team were very happy with their performance, as they improved from last year and received many “sobresalientes,” or perfect scores.

Vidal was thrilled, “I got a perfect score, or a 40 out of 40, and on the play, we got a 37 out of 40. That is

a sobresaliente, which is the highest award. Overall, our play improved from last year. We won third in our division.”

This year’s Conferencia was a success; everyone on the trip enjoyed bonding with their classmates and going somewhere new. ¡Felicitaciones al equipo!

“Nous avons gagnè”

French Takes First at Congrès

Sage Ponchock Staff Writer

From March 9-11, an eclectic collection of young French enthusiasts traveled to Orlando for the annual Congrès de la culture Française en Floride (CCFF). Congrès is a competition during which students can take tests, recite poems, sing songs, perform a drama, and showcase their speaking skills, all in French.

Spring Break Begins

Amanda Duguay Staff Writer

Spring break is finally here! Whether going skiing, taking a cruise, or just enjoying the luxury of staying home, this break is sure to be relaxing and rejuvenating for all.

The Benjamin community has a very large range of plans this March. Some students are going on school trips to Europe and the Grenadines. Others are planning on staying in Florida and going to the beach.

Florida, one of the nation’s most popular spring break destinations, has sand, sun, and sea. This makes students and teachers compelled to stay home and enjoy the warm weather.

“Mrs. Kane and I are having a staycation, we’ll be in Tequesta for the break. We plan on doing some day trips going up to Stuart, and we may take a ride up to St. Augustine as well. If I see a good game on the schedule down in Miami, I may jump on the Brightline and go to a baseball game or basketball game,” said English teacher Mr. Ronald Kane.

Many students and their families are visiting college campuses. This will give them an idea of what their coming year could be like as well as show them new places.

Freshman Liam Duffy shared, “I am going to Georgia to visit a college with my brother.”

Chauncey Bowens is also going to explore some colleges: Georgia, Flor-ida, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Other students, dedicated to their extracurriculars, have packed schedules with sports practices and tournaments. Many Benjamin athletes have spring break events and important games.

“I play Varsity Lacrosse this year. I’m going to practices and a tournament over spring break. I am going to Tampa for a tournament and I’m very excited. I am looking forward to spending time with my teammates during the break,” said Freshman Eric Nutter.

The entire Benjamin community is ecstatic just thinking about spring break as it makes many think of the upcoming summer vacation.

This year’s team was composed of twelve students from various French classes. They all did exceptionally well. Congrès’s grading system has four levels: mention honorable, bon, excellent, and supérieur Benjamin returned home with nine supérieur ribbons and six excellent.

Benjamin also took home the first-place trophy for Division A (Small Group).

Competitions are intimidating and high intensity, but Benjamin students came to Congrès confident due to their months of practice. Mlle. Donnelly headed the trip and made sure everyone was well prepared.

The competition included a banquet in which several more French-related talents were showcased, and competitors were able to meet. Students had a fantastic time competing and forming new friendships with their fellow French speakers.

Students were ecstatic about the win and are excited to return next year.

Album

Keane Adam: supérieur

Art Project

Evelyn Peyovich: excellent

Declamation

Keane Adam: supérieur

Jia Guan:excellent

Easley Hughes: supérieur

Lucy Molnar: excellent

RJ Pierman: supérieur

Sage Ponchock: excellent

Angie Townsend: supérieur

Play: excellent

Ishe Makoni

Lucy Molnar

RJ Pierman

Angie Townsend

Nicole Walsh

Written Exam

Ishe Makoni: supérieur

Hailey McCabe: supérieur

Evelyn Peyovich: supérieur

Lauren Slyh: excellent

Nicole Walsh: supérieur

Top: Team members hang out on the hotel grounds before attending an evening social.

Bottom: The Conferencia team performed the play Los Fantoches, earning a sobresaliente for their efforts. Photos courtesy of Sra. Gonzalez-Lopez.

Members of the team gather for a quick photo before heading off to compete. The group earned several awards throughout the compettition, including a firstplace team trophy.

French students performed act three of Cyrano de Bergerac as their entry in the play category this year. The group earned an excellent for their efforts.

Career Day

The first day of Chillin’ N Grillin’ week featured Upper School Students dressing as their dream jobs. From a soldier to a football player, upper school students made sure to showcase their future goals. Featured above, junior Luciano Curioni aspires to be an enviormental scientist when he grows up, “I want to be an environmental scientist. Most of my inspiration comes from Mrs. Solomon. She is an amazing teacher, and has taught me a lot about how important it is to take good care of our planet, and how our generation has to act now,” exclaimed Curioni.

Holiday Day

Sophomores Bella Marx, Elinor Samarias, Ella Bailey, and Lulu Swank pose with their best Christmas spirit for their winter holiday theme. “Dressing up for spirit week has been amazing because it makes me so much more excited to go to school, and I especially loved hol day day because it made me feel like it was Christmas time again!” Swank said.

On Tuesday, the theme was holidays. The freshmen dressed up in their best leprechaun green for St. Patrick’s day, the sophomores got out their menorah’s and Christmas spirit for winter holiday attire, juniors showed their patriotic pride with fourth of July, and the seniors showed the love through their Valentine’s day outits. Pictured are Julian Janin, Adam Mahmoud, George Straub, J.P Walsh, Matthew Marasco, and Christian Smith

Tuesday’s photos are courtesy of Eclaire Solano, Photography Editor

and junior Andrew Lappin pose for a picture in their sports themed dream jobs. Lappin hopes to intern for Barstool Sports in Boston, “ think it would be cool to intern for Barstool. I like sports and follow football and basketball closely, so it would be fun to work with them” said Lappin.

Senior Cal

Junior Maggie Smith dresses up on Monday as a nurse and a mom for career day. “I wore scrubs and brought a baby doll in because really want to be a NICU Nurse,” said Smith, “A NICU nurse is a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which means that I would take care of babies all day! have dreamed of being a NICU nurse for a while.”

Freshman Liam Duffy dresses up as a king for his dream job, “ I enjoy being the group leader and always being in charge,” said Duffy.

(Photo by Eclaire Solano)

Juniors Luciano Curioni, Charlie Noble, Jacob He lpern, Abraham Rittgers, Shaun Umar, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and sophomore Matthew Pfaff all get together in their red, white, and blue clothes for their fourth of July and winter holiday theme. “I loved dressing up for the fourth of July theme because had an awesome outfit and was able to express my pride for America,’’ said Umar.

Freshmen Makenna Bristow and Olivia Lenard go all out for St. Patrick’s Day with their leprechaun and St. Patrick outfits filled with green and ginger beards.

“I always go all out for spirit weeks so St. Patricks Day was no exception. love an excuse to dress out of uniform and so dressing up as St. Patrick seemed like the perfect outfit for the theme day,” said Bristow.

Freshmen Piper Tuohey, Caroline Smith, Izzy Casey, Sienna Barboni, and Cassidy Walsh hold the Irish flag with pride in their best green for their St. Patrick’s day theme. “I love dressing up for Spirit Week because it brings a ton of spirit and makes such a nice, fun school environment. Dressing up for holiday day was awesome because had a great outfit for it and was excited to get in the St. Patrick’s mood,” said Smith.

Seniors Aditya Jasti, Jasper Wright, and Charlie Spungin, line up in their Valentines Day clothes for Holiday day. “Chillin and Grillin is a fun opportunity to express yourself creatively and also builds a sense of community and camradie among students and faculty. really liked dressing up for holiday day because it got me in the festive spirit,” said Jasti.

(Photo by Eclaire Solano)

Seniors Kelvin Rolle, Gavin Aydelotte, Luke Casper, and Brady Quinn strike a pose on Monday Aydelotte aspires to be a basketball player in the NBA and is currently committed to play division one basketball at Lincoln Memorial University. On the right, Quinn, hopes to play in the Pro Lacrosse League and is currently commit ed to play D-1 lacrosse at Loyola. (Photo by Matt Marasco)

Pirozzi

(Photo by Matt Marasco)

Sophomore Natasha Yedinak poses for a picture in her army costume. Yedinak hopes to serve the United States of America in the Army when she grows up.

Freshman Karolina Ramirez shows off her scrubs on career day. Ramirez hopes to be a doctor so she can give back to others.

(Photo by Matt Marasco)

Sophomores Leah Klein (left) and Bella Marx (right) get together to show of their dream jobs. Klein aspires to be a fashion critic in New York, but Marx hopes she can be a lifeguard. (Photo by Matt Marasco)

Seniors Skyler Malmberg, Madelyn Domnick, Arianna Ferry, Brooke Queen, Madison Sopinsky, Ingrid Corpus, Isabel Molnar, and Christina Taylor feel the love and wear their best pinks, whites, and reds for their Valentine’s day. “I really enjoy dressing up for the Chillin and Grillin weeks because it is fun to wear something other than uniform and creates a lot of great spirit around the school,” said Corpus.

On Wednesday March 15, the Upper School campus celebrated Adam Sandler Day by dressing up in clothing such as XXL-tees, oversized golf polos and Hawaiian shirts, wacky footwear and big basketball shorts.

At lunch, the campus hosted a bbq feast featuring pulled pork sandwiches paired with either a Capri Sun or Coca Cola. Many students were happy with a change up to the normal ordered lunch food. Sophomore Darrow Becker said, “I thought that the sandwiches were really good. I just wish I could have had another one”

ORANGE VERSUS BLUE Upper School

Thursday, March 16

Thursday brought forth a battle of Orange versus Blue at the Upper School, adopting a similar system that the Middle School uses for Field Day. The day included four different stations of games, including obstacle courses and tug of war, throughout campus.

Freshmen

of the Orange team and Campbell Hogan of the Blue team both lace up in front of social studies teacher and track coach Mr. Nicholas

Eight freshmen girls, four from the Orange team and four from the Blue team, line up to race on the track. The running races were one of four stations during the 75 minute Community Block period devoted to Field Day.

Full of joy and laughter, seniors (left to right) Alexa Beriro, Avery Leonard, Lexi Lower, and Eden Doner help the Orange team in tug of war on the discus field.

Owen Olbers

Cramer, who served as the official for the running races.

A group of freshmen girls from both the Blue and Orange teams pose in front of the inflatable obstacle course, which was set up right behind the gym.

Senior Carson Krul flexes after wrapping the end of the tug of war rope around his waist with hopes of propeling the Orange team seniors, which unfortunately did not happen. The Blue team won the second and third games to secure the victory.

The seniors on the Blue team tug as hard as they can during the tug of war game. They were able to overcome a 1-0 deficit by winning two straight games versus the Orange team.

Junior and newly elected Student Council President Maggie Smith came to Field Day decked out in orange. Not only did she wear an orange shirt, but she coordinated it with orange face paint and ““ORANGE” spelled out on her legs.

Sophomore boys Alex Napier (top left), Chris Tighe (top middle left), Maddox Hoffman (top middle), Darrow Becker (top middle right), Kenny Tepper (top right), Mattias Skantze (bottom left), Chase Odom (bottom middle), and Anthony Viviverito (bottom right), all on the Orange team, support their teammates competing in the running competitions on the Freshman Olivia Lenard poses in front of the inflatable obstacle course. Lenard was covered in different shades of blue from head to toe, going all out to show her school spirit in her first Chillin’ and Grillin’.

Senior and Student Council President Owen Nutter came to Orange versus Blue day repping his Blue colors, even dying his hair blue. Coordinating Chillin’ and Grillin’ marked his final task as President of the Upper School.

Freshman Cassidy Walsh and Makenna Bristow pose for a photo near the obsticale course. Showing the bond between orange and blue.

The freshmen girls take off during the running race. Riley McCaughey was able to pull off the victory for the blue team. The blue team was also able to win the freshman boys sprint as Griffin Miller was victorious.

Seniors Skylar Jones, Alexandra Barkauskas, and Grace Tighe enjoy their last Chillin And Grillin Spirit Week with the Benjamin community.

Newly elected Student Council President, Maggie Smith shows her spirit by wearing an Adam Sandler outift and hanging out with our mascot.

Sophomore Baron Ryba, in his Adam Sandler fit, spends time with the Buccaneer Mascot near the outside picnic tables.

Sophomores Eliza Ashley and Leana Spada pose with the TBS Mascot in the gym.

Seniors Brooke Queen and Arianna Ferry pose with their Adam Sandler like outifts nearby the school bell.

Seniors Izzy Molnar, Owen Nutter, and Skyler Malmberg could not wait to celebrate this day and greet the Benjamin Buccaneer.

The

Freshmen Piper Tuohey and Isabella Casey dress up as up and coming female rapper Ice Spice with her iconic orange hair. Today the freshmen’s class theme was freestyle freshmen and the ninth graders were given oppurtunities to rep their favorites artists.

Best of Chillin n’ Grillin

FRIDAY

Founded in 1980 as The Spectator

17 March 2023 Volume 44, Issue 5

The Benjamin School 4875 Grandiflora Road Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33418

Contact Information Phone: 561-472-5998, ext. 2119

Fax: 561-691-8823

Advisor Dr. John Peruggia

john.peruggia@thebenjaminschool.org

Advisor Emeritus Mr. Kendall Didsbury

Media Consultants Mr. and Mrs. Tim Burke

EDITORIAL BOARD

Charlie Spungin, Editor-in-Chief Joey Tomassetti, Managing Editor

Eclaire Solano, Photography Editor Matt Marasco, Sports Editor

STAFF WRITERS

Cameron Bitove

Lila Brodner

Duguay Atticus Fasnakis-Nosal

Groffman

ADVERTISEMENTS

The price of a quarter-page advertisement is $30/issue. The price of a business card advertisement is $15/issue.

If you or anyone you know would like to place an advertisement in The Pharcyde please contact Joey Tomassetti, joey. tomassetti24@thebenjaminschool.org.

OPINION

The opinion articles in this paper are the opinion of the writer or the majority opinion of The Pharcyde Editorial Board. They are not the opinion of The Benjamin School or our advertisers.

QUOTATION POLICY

Anyone interviewed by The Pharcyde will have the chance to correct and edit their quotations before the paper goes to press. If they would like to change their interview before the quote confirmations get sent out, they can contact the student who interviewed them and ask to redo the interview.

MEMBERSHIP

The Pharcyde is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, American Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.

(Photo Courtesy of Eclaire Solano)

Coach Ream, Mr. Peck, Sra. Gonzalez-Lopez, and Ms. Perretta collaborate to come up with an answer to a question

game was students versus teachers in a Family Feud-styled competition. (Photo Courtesy of Eclaire Solano)

Kelvin Rolle poses for a picture with Tristan Mack dressed in the iconic Benjamin Buccaneer mascot costume. Mack dressed up multiple times to bring spirit and laughter to the Benjamin Community. (Photo Courtesy of Eclaire Solano)

Juniors Ella Womble (right) and Talia Miller (left) pose on the football field during Capture the Flag on Thursday.

Freshmen (from left to right) Iris Hoffman, Lily Thomas, and Kate Quinlivan show their St. Patrick’s Day spirit on Tuesday.

Junior Jacob Cosby-Mosley (left) and senior Taylor Blackshear (right) pose with their attire for that day.

Sophomores Johnathan Vidal (left) and Scott Noble (right) showed off their class theme, Sandy Sophomores on Friday. “I loved our theme today since it was unique from other grades,” Noble said. “I feel like our theme was the best and our grade represented it well.”

Freshmen Karolina Ramirez (right), Bella Contacessa (left middle), Liam Duffy (middle right), and Nickie Walsh (right) pose together on Friday. “I liked that there was a lot of different variety in what everybody was wearing,” said Duffy. “I was inspired by Tupac because have the socks and wanted to dress like him. Today was fun because everybody had school spirit at the pep rally and especially with their fits.”

Juniors Ollie White (left) and Eleanor Rooney (right) get together for a picture on Wednesday’s Dress like Adam Sandler day.

Juniors Julian Janin (left), Adam Mahmoud, George Straub, JP Walsh, Matthew Marasco, and Christian Smith (right) gather on Tuesday’s Holiday-themed day. The Juniors class theme was Fourth of July.

Senior Owen Nutter (left) and junior Jacob Bounds (right) pose for Wednesday’s Adam Sandler Day. Nutter not only participated in the Chillin n’ Grillin themes, but he also helped orgainze all of the activities because of his role in Student Council as class president.

Senior Owen Nutter poses with his friends while he is dressed up as the host of Family Feud. Freshman Erik Nutter explains: “My brother is very enthuastic about student council and he always makes sure to dress up for spirit days.” (Photo Courtesy of Eclaire Solano)

the PHLIPCYDE

Run Student Council

“I used to run Middle School Student Council, so when I was hired for the Upper School, I was asked if I could do Upper School Student Council. Last year, I spent a year training under Mr. Hoy, and now, I’m in charge of it. I love empowering student leadership and getting students to advocate for themselves. It’s important for students to be leaders on campus because it’s a practice for life. We all have leadership opportunites, and the more we can practice, the better we will be at it.”

- Mrs. Franzen

The Pharcyde’s Stupendous Spring Songlist

Whether you’re traveling or staying at home over spring break, you may want some music to listen to in your free-time. The Pharcyde’s spring music playlist will provide you just that: enjoyable, peaceful music that evokes the feeling of spring. Scan the code to get access to the playlist, and enjoy!

Epcot

Epcot is a popular theme park at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida. It is focused on culture, with themed rides relating to different countries and ideas. Epcot is twice the size of Magic Kingdom and is split into four neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are World Nature, World Discovery, World Celebration, and World Showcase. Along with rollercoasters, Epcot also has experiences like car shows, garden tours, and more. Many fun rides are in Epcot, including, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Mission: Space. With different restaurants and activities, Epcot is an accessible and enjoyable park that would be perfect to visit this summer or spring break.

200 Epcot Center Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 (407) 939-5277

OWEN NUTTER

Senior Owen Nutter was appointed Student Council President at the end of last school year, the culmination of a three-year long journey over his high school career.

For Chillin and Grillin, and to celebrate the week before spring break, the Student Council catered barbecue sandwiches from Taylor’s Barbeque. The pulled beef sandwich served with barbeque chips and a choice of water, Capri Sun or Coke was simply amazing. The meat was so tender and full of flavor, with just the right amount of smokiness and spices. The bread was fresh and soft, and it held the meat perfectly. The chips were crispy and provided a nice contrast to the juicy and savory sandwich. As for the drink, I opted for a refreshing Capri Sun, which complemented the sandwich well. Overall, I highly recommend this pulled meat sandwich to anyone looking for a satisfying and delicious meal.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, releasing March 17, is the sequel to 2019’s Shazam!, which made over $350M at the box office

Cinepolis

Friday: 6:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.

“I wanted to do Student Council because I kind of felt it was a way to impact my community for the better, and I wanted to be the leader of the school and become a role model and figure that people looked up to. I enjoy working hard and making sure that I have the best possible effect on the things that Student Council holds like Spirit Weeks, Chillin’ and Grillin,’ Homecoming Week, and pep rallies. I wanted to have influence on those things so I could provide my assistance on making those events the best possible way that they could be.

During my three prior years on Student Council, I learned a lot from the other presidents that has made me the best possible president. I learned that I need to be one with my audience and represent the student population in the best possible way so people could be comfortable looking up to me.

I decided to run for President because I felt that I had learned good qualities from the past presidents, being very active in my duties and being very humble. I really just wanted to make a positive impact on the school and lead it to a fantastic year as a rebound from COVID.

I think that Student Council, under my reign, has improved a lot, and that’s not a pat on my own shoulder but more so a pat on my fellow Student Council members on how we reacted to seize the moment to be a better Student Council. We’ve put in place new functions and traditions that will lead future Student Council generations to a new future.”

Humans

The Bullis School (Potomac, MD) Tuesday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. Be sure to come out and support!