Skyline Fall 2018 Edition

Skyline Volume 3, Issue 1

Fall 2018

Farming at Saint Saviour By: Grace Rosen This September, St. Saviour High School, with the help of New York Sunworks, set up its very own hydroponic farm. Located on the second floor of the school, in Room 208, the farm is open to students, faculty, and visitors alike, in hopes that it will teach the observers about hydroponic farming. In order to learn more, I interviewed the Sunworks representative who helped put our farm together- Caroline M.

A Summer at NYU Tandon School of Engineering By: Meaghan DelleCave Getting students and faculty members to stay after school on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend is no easy feat, but on October 5th, junior, Mina May was not only able to get people to stay, but she also managed to pack the classroom to the point that there was only standing room. What was Mina doing after school, you ask? She was presenting research she had done on Chromosome Inheritance at a summer program at New York University. During the presentation, Mina answered questions about her research from students from Ms. Casey, Ms. Bove, Mr. Tricarico, Ms. Draghi, Ms. Darcy and even Dr. McKeown!

Interview with Mina continued on Page 8

Plants at Saviour are blooming rapidly!

Farming continued on Page 7

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New Teacher Interviews By: Olivia Medina This year Saint Saviour has been blessed with new additions to the faculty. In order to become better acquainted with them, we asked Mr. Gunter and Ms. Sanchez various questions.

Mr. Gunter Why did you come to St. Saviour?

I’ve been teaching in French for ten years and lived in Park Slope for fourteen years and heard about the job and applied.

What was your first impression of the school and the girls?

The curriculum is demanding and I wanted to teach in a school with high standards. The students here are genuine, motivated, and eager to learn.

What’s your favorite part about teaching here?

I get to share what I love: French language and culture.

Why do you do what you do?

I was born in Louisiana, started French in high school in Texas. I lived in France for two years, one year in Aix-enProvence, one year in Rennes, and did undergrad and graduate school in French.

Mr. Gunter - camera-ready in the French room.

Ms. Sanchez smiling after finishing three rounds of planks.

Ms. Sanchez Why did you come to St. Saviour?

St. Saviour provided an opportunity that I have been working towards in my career. I have a great passion for athletics and wellness. I wanted to be part of this school community and contribute.

What was your first impression of the school and the girls?

It was different. A good different. I was accustomed to schools with over 1000 students. It was nice to be in a smaller school where everyone is so attentive.

The girls were very friendly and helpful during my first week.

What is your favorite part about teaching here?

I like how engaged all the girls are. I love that I can introduce a different style of PE class and put a great emphasis on self-care. I'm hoping I can help make your high school experience a fun positive one. "Be your best you"

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Cultural Harmony Day By: Meaghan DelleCave

absolutely incredible in their outfits, it made wish I owned some cultural garb.

With the fashion show over, there was only one thing left to do: eat!

Students clamored at the tables, all wanting to try something new. I, for one, tried tres leches cake for the first time, and it was amazing, maybe even the best thing I’ve ever had, so thank you to the sophomore that brought it in.

Cultural Harmony Day is my favorite day of the school year, and yes, it is in part due to all the food, but, as much as I love to eat, I love the meaning of the celebration even more. It is a tradition unique to Saint Saviour, something you can’t experience anywhere else. I love sharing traditions with my friends, and more importantly, spending time with them. Cultural Harmony Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate each other, our backgrounds, and our families, and in a world and time where there is so much hate, that’s important. We create memories and have conversations that we will remember forever; we learn new things and share laughs; we eat so much, we nearly pass out, and that’s what makes Cultural Harmony Day ours; we spend it as a school community- no, we spend it as a family.

I’ve been attending Saint Saviour for over a year now, and while a lot of events have been fun, I don’t think any are quite as amazing as Cultural Harmony Day. I mean, when else do you get to eat plate after plate filled with foods you’ve never tried before and not be judged for it? I, for one, ate so much that I passed out at home and was still so full on Thanksgiving, I could hardly eat!

My own eating habits aside, Cultural Harmony Day, this year, was awesome, as usual. Eileen Kelly, the school Cultural Harmony Representative, kicked off the celebration with a prayer. Then, students of all grades recited prayers in different languages and the Shalom Club held a candle lighting ceremony. After opening greetings, we were treated to numerous performances by the Gospel Choir, the Spanish and French classes, History Matters, Cultural Awareness Club, and Gaelic Society. Students also shared traditional dances and songs from their cultures. Personally, I loved watching Irish Step Dancers and the traditional Greek dance, probably because I could never do it myself.

Before I was allowed to stuff my face with all those delicious foods, we all enjoyed the fashion show. Let me be the first to say, New York Fashion Week does not compare to Saint Saviour’s Cultural Harmony Day Fashion Show.

Students, future students, and teachers strutted down the “runway” in traditional fashions from their respective cultures and finished with dramatic poses and twirls in the middle of the gym.

The girls (and Mr. Huie) who walked the runway looked The Fashion Show features many different cultures and blows the student body away.

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Awards Ceremony By: Shannon McLoughlin The Saint Saviour awards ceremony is a time of great excitement for students. All of their hard work in every subject is recognized in front of the entire school, creating a sense of validation and community as students cheer each other on for their achievements. This wonderful event would not be possible without the hard work of many teachers, including Ms. Cush, Ms. Bellettiere, and Ms. Bove.

Ms. Cush has been an integral part of organizing the awards ceremony for a long time. A few years back, two teachers who had worked hard to run the awards ceremony and asked for volunteers to assist them. Ms. Cush decided to aid them and was granted the task of running the entire ceremony. It is not an easy job: planning starts in June

as Ms. Cush and Ms. Bellettiere gather data from teachers about their five nominees in each class. Then, in September, medals are ordered, colleges and other institutions are contacted by guidance, and Ms. Bove sets up scholarships, such as the Strength and Vitality Scholarship, given by the Molini family.

While there may be a lot of work behind the scenes, Ms. Cush enjoys co-running the award ceremony. When I asked her what her favorite part of the award ceremony was, she said, “How all of the students support of the winners, and to see how happy people are for their friends.� While the award itself may be nice to some students, the support in our community is Ms. Cush’s, and my, favorite part of the Saint Saviour awards ceremony.

The Molini Family created the Strength and Vitality Scholarship for students at Saviour.

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New Volunteer Program By: Alexandra Natale Saint Saviour High School has launched a new initiative to encourage students to take part in community service and volunteer opportunities. While there have been a few occasions of service within our school, there is now a push for regular volunteering. The program is being directed under the leadership of Ms. Sucich, our director of Campus Ministry. Ms. Sucich has been speaking to all of her classes about this program in efforts to get as many students involved as possible. She is not only doing this for the benefit of the community and those that we will serve,

but also for us, the students. Our service will be rewarding emotionally and spiritually, of course, but will also have tangible benefits. Through Naviance, a student organizational system that we all have access to, students will be logging their service hours. This program, dubbed “x2VOL,” allows students to find service opportunities and log service hours for each organization that they offer their time to. Doing this will create a service transcript, which can be sent to colleges as part of a student’s application. Ms. Sucich has encouraged every student to set up their “x2VOL” account for their benefit and the benefit of the community.

Savourities come together to create colorful drawings for the elderly at Bishop Boardman.

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The Great Irish Fair By: Shannon McLoughlin The hub for Irish step dancing, bagpiping, and fairly priced claddagh rings was the Ford Amphitheater on September 22, 2018. The Great Irish Fair is a great place to sample Irish food and to interact with other people in the mostly Irish community. Gaelic Society goes annually to sell 50/50s, cupcakes, and shamrock-covered headpieces.

Saviour students get to interact with everyone in attendance, hailing from County Mayo to County Kerry, as they sell tickets and hear people’s stories.

The Great Irish fair starts with mass, as ten priests say prayers and

everyone present reflects peacefully.

Then, stations are set up, including the Saint Saviour table, which sells everything from Irish soda bread to traditional woolen sweaters. This goes on from ten till 6, and while at the same time, the stage is filled with performers.

Popular bands such as the Canny Brothers go on stage, sharing their festive music. Irish step dancers of all ages share their talents as they treble across the stage. Saviour students go to sell raffles, but leave with a richer knowledge of Irish culture and a stronger sense of community.

Gaelic Society is all smiles at the Great Irish Fair as they pose with our mascot with their bright green sweatshirts and bright pink shirts.

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Farming at Saint Saviour Rosen (cont. from page 1) New York Sunworks, founded by two concerned mothers, has always been focused on education. “They noticed the science programs in their children’s schools weren’t as in-depth as they wanted them to be-” explained Caroline in response to my question. “They (the mothers) thought the programs could be more hands-on and productive.” With that goal in mind, the two mothers sought ways to teach science to their children and eventually found a place to put up a greenhouse where they would teach children about different facets of agriculture.

Now, years into their work, Sunworks is aiding in the building of hydroponic labs inside of schools, hoping to educate people about the benefits of this type of farming.

“Ideally, we would like to teach both students and teachers about hydroponic farming,” said Caroline, “as well as spread the message to the community.” There are many educational ties to the hydroponic farms. As explained by Ms. Caroline herself, “You can tie hydroponics into (other) school subjects- such as learning the history of hydroponic farming.”

Working with hydroponics in schools is not only beneficial for students, but for the workers behind the scenes as well. When asked if she enjoyed introducing hydroponic farms to children in schools, Caroline said yes. “I like to see the impact it [hydroponic farming] can have on students,” she added,

Vibrant green leaves are sprouting from several new plants in the lab. “as well as how it connects your school to the larger community.” Hydroponic farming can also be very beneficial for people of the newer generation to know since it is an efficient and clean type of farming, which will be useful in the future. I asked Ms. Caroline her opinion of this and she agreed that it was important, even going on to say: “not only is this beneficial but is it necessary, your generation is going to change a lot of things.”

Sunworks is a New York-based operation, but since the whole point behind their organization is a beneficial one, I asked Ms. Caroline if they had any intention to move to other states- a thing she did not know for sure. “We have a few farms in New Jersey,” she added, “though it would be nice to spread this to a national level.”

St. Saviour’s hydroponics lab is a public attempt to help people learn about this amazing and innovative type of farming, and at the same time to do more for the community.

The Hydroponic Lab has been running since the start of the school year.

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A Summer at NYU Tandon School of Engineering DelleCave (cont. from page 1) I got to speak with Mina and ask her a few of my own questions about her research and experience at the program after the lecture ended.

Q: Can you tell us about the science program you participated in this summer?

How, for instance, did you learn about this program and what led you to apply and join?

MM: So it was a seven-week program in the summer about STEM at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. The program was for students interested in science, math. We learned a lot about science history- how science developed.

There were also a few courses on how to prepare for college essays Five weeks into the program; we started the lab from ten to six o’clock with our mentor, a PhD student.

My lab was about cells, meiosis and which proteins help cells to carry out meiosis.

Q: What led you to want to apply?

MM: I actually applied to a lot of programs.

Also, I’m very interested in the subject, biology- I want to do work in that field.

NYU is one of my favorite colleges, so I was very excited to see that they had this program.

Q: What was the nature of your own project or course of study?

MM: It was very relax because the mentors gave us a lot of help and if there was anything you didn’t know you could just ask. It was a little more stressful toward the end when we were putting the final parts together. It was a lot a practice.

Q: What was the most satisfying aspect of your project or experience? The most challenging?

Mina ’18 presents what she learned at NYU to teachers and students.

MM: Getting to improve my public communication skills, we had classes once a week that helped us to gain confidence and push yourself a little more to speak in public. It was crazy; at our first class there was a man there who wanted us to yell, to speak louder in front of people. I’m a very shy person and this helped me improve my English skills and myself a lot. I think the most challenging part was communicating with the professors. My professor was very nice; you just had to push yourself to talk to them. There were also some experiments when your mentor wasn't there, so you had to remember the steps and do everything very carefully, because if one thing was wrong, the whole experiment failed, and you’d have to start over.

Q: Was the experience at all intimidating?

[Since you were working with students who were older/maybe more experienced?]

MM: I actually enjoyed that. They [the older students] were so nice, they knew a lot and would actually teach us and are very patient. If you asked them a question, they were happy to explain it to you. And it wasn’t even just about the classes, if you asked about life, they would explain it to

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you because they’re more experienced. It also inspired me to push myself further.

Q: Were there a lot of students who participated? Tell me about them? All from New York? The U.S.? International? What was that experience like?

Q: I was one of fifty-six students. They were really nice. Some were from Brooklyn Tech, Stuyvesant, and Staten Island Techthose are some tough schools. I think I was the only one from a Catholic school. It was a big challenge to with them. There were a few instances when we were talking about our schools, and no one had ever heard of Saint Saviour, so i felt really good to get to represent the school. They were all very smart too; one took an SAT and did really well. You know the total score is 1600 and she got a 1560 and said it wasn’t good enough and I was like ‘oh my gosh.’ Many had also done programs like this before and had work with doctors and done like fiveyear internships. The program was for tenth through twelfth graders, so I was one of the youngest.

Q: Has this experience shaped your future goals in anyway? If so, how?

MM: Yeah actually, after having experience in the lab, I’m not sure if I want to be a lab researcher, because I originally wanted to be a doctor. I found it really fun to work in the lab looking at the cells. This program really opened my eyes so I know more about the science field and how the scientist work.

This project related a little to human infertility and birth defects, but I don’t think it was related a lot to the medicine field.

Q: Would you recommend this program to other students/Saint Saviour students? Why or why not?

MM: I would highly recommend it because the program and kids that attended were awesome! And you can get chances to make friends and increase your network, you can get contact information for professors.

Saviour girls should definitely do this program, if they applied I’m sure they would be accepted, there are girls here smarter than me and I got in and we (Saviour girls) are very well prepared for programs like this one.

Q: Did you at any point regret giving up part your summer break?

MM: In June it was kind of like ‘yay I’m done with school work… oh wait there’s more work with the program.’ But it actually felt good because I didn’t feel empty in the summer, you actually learn a lot from your mentor and professor, not just for the classes, just in general, you learned a lot from them.

Mina concluded our interview by saying, “It was my honor to be accepted in the program and to represent Saint Saviour. After this program I actually learned a lot and I know what I’ve learned so far is not enough and that there are more things I need to know for the world. I know I need to work harder to become a better person and push myself harder in order to be ready for college.”

Following the lecture, Ms. Ramkellowan approached Mina saying, “Now Mina, I just want you to know, that you did an amazing job your project is so good and no other student can get this many faculty members here after school to come and see your work.

So we are all so, so proud of you. I was honestly listening to you up there thinking ‘it’s like my baby up there.’ I felt so proudlike a proud mama.” She also noted that during her presentation, Mina said, “I will become a doctor.” Rather than “I want to be a doctor.”

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Judge Kavanaugh v. Dr. Ford By: Alexandra Natale The Supreme Court of the United States, often referred to as SCOTUS, is the highest court in our country. They hold ultimate jurisdiction over the law, deciding which laws uphold the constitution. Though the constitution does not explicitly state how many judges should hold a seat on this court, in 1896 Congress decided that nine justices should hold this power, and it has remained this way ever since. These justices are appointed to the high court for life. The nine accomplished judges typically rule on cases that will have a national effect, rather than those that only provide a resolution for the plaintiff and the defendant. SCOTUS has shaped our nation in ways that no other branch of government has, deciding laws regarding segregation, abortion, property, and civil rights. When the court loses a justice, the president has the job of appointing a new one, who will have to participate in a hearing and be approved by a majority vote in the Senate. When it is time to appoint a new justice, it is always a source of tension between Democrats and Republicans. When President Trump was faced with this task for the second time, it caused both sides of the aisle to engage in one of the most partisan battles in United States history.

When Chief Justice Kennedy retired in late June, many Republicans saw this as an opportunity to gain a conservative majority on the court, since Justice Kennedy had served as a swing vote on many issues.

President Trump’s first SCOTUS nominee, Neil Gorsuch, has served as a reliable conservative justice, therefore, the political right was excited about the opportunity to do this again. On the other hand, many Democrats feared a shift in the court, because they felt there would an underrepresentation liberal opinions. The stakes were high as Trump released a short list of potential nominees. Many Republicans approved of the list, while most Democrats disapproved of almost every possible nominee.

As President Trump was about to announce his nominee on July 9th, there were supporters and protesters waiting outside, no matter who he nominated. He then announced that Brett Kavanaugh, a Yale Law School Graduate, who was working as a Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. There were many expressions of support and outcries of disapproval following the announcement, along with research being done on his previous rulings.

The Senate Judiciary hearing to confirm Judge Kavanaugh began on September 3rd, once the Senate had a chance to look over documents regarding his previous rulings. The hearing began with typical questions regarding his opinion on controversial issues. He responded saying he would honor “settled law”, and that he would be “on a team of nine,” rather than take a partisan approach. Though tensions were high between both parties, the hearing proceeded as normal.

As the hearing was nearing its end, many assumed Judge Kavanaugh would be confirmed speedily. However, a letter was leaked in which Dr.Christine Blasey Ford accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during a high school party while inebriated. Many Republicans accused Senator Dianne Feinstein of releasing the letter, seemingly in the eleventh hour, as a low political maneuver, being that she received the letter on July 30th. Diane Feinstein has denied these accusations.

An investigation was launched into the accusations of Dr. Ford, preceding a trial between her and Judge Kavanaugh. Both made their statements, Dr. Ford standing behind her claims, and Judge Kavanaugh denying them. Since there was no concrete evidence or proof of the assault, Judge Kavanaugh was presumed innocent. Of course, this decision had mixed reactions.

Many on the left saw this as a sexual assault victim being ignored, while many on the right viewed it as justice for an innocent man. Nonetheless, The Senate confirmed Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on October 6th, 2018.

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Kavanaugh v. Dr. Ford: Highlighting Sexual Harassment By: Samantha Hughes “I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me.” (Dr. Christine Blasey’s testimony) In Dr. Ford’s testimony, it is evident that there is a larger issue at stake than just the credibility of Brett Kavanaugh. Dr. Ford is presenting the Senate floor, as well as Americans watching at home, that sexual harassment is a commonly overlooked and underestimated problem in the United States. Dr. Ford’s words can send a chill down any one woman’s spine, even of one who has not been sexually assaulted, which is a smaller number than the number of women who have been. A recent survey done by Stop Street Harassment stated that eighty-one percent of women had been sexually harassed at some point during their lifetime. This statistic is alarming and cannot go unnoticed any longer.

Nonetheless, on September 27th, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford boldly testified that Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, had sexually harassed her during the summer of 1982 in Maryland when they were both teenagers in high school. As to why Dr. Ford decided to come forward, she stated, “I thought it was my civic duty to relay the information I had about Mr. Kavanaugh’s conduct so that those considering his nomination would know about this assault.” Dr. Ford vocalized her traumatic experience for women and men everywhere who have been sexually assaulted. She emphasizes how difficult it is to speak up about sexual harassment, Dr. Ford states that she believed it was her civic

duty -- she did not want to come forward, she believed she had to for the betterment of our nation.

It is crucial to note that Dr. Ford is not the first woman to come forward who has accused a Supreme Court nominee of sexual misconduct. On October 11, 1991, Anita Hill testified that Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, sexually harassed her at their workplace years prior.

Unlike Dr. Ford, Ms. Hill faced verbal sexual harassment; Thomas made repeated inappropriate comments about sex and continuously asked her to go out with him after she rejected his advances on numerous occasions. Hill bravely presented her testimony and answered questions to and from an all male Senate Judiciary Committee; ultimately, Thomas was appointed narrowly by 52-48 vote. He is still serving as a Supreme Court Justice today.

When sexual harassment comes into the question, it is crucial that it is presented to men and women for the chance of a different perspective to be heard. Although Hill could not stop Thomas from being appointed, she did set the stage for the year of the woman in 1992, in which a wave of women ran for positions in Congress.

Moreover, the Hill vs. Thomas hearings laid the foundation for Ford vs.

Kavanaugh. Belief in Dr. Ford’s testimony relied heavily on her credibility, which became uncertain for many. Dr. Ford had emotional moments due to her recollection of her traumatic experience, but impressively remained strong throughout.

Judge Kavanaugh expressed his emotions vividly; he teared-up and appeared very frustrated. Dr. Ford relied heavily on her memory of the events and records from her therapist from 2012 in which she mentions the incident while Kavanaugh attempted to utilize calendars that he oddly kept from his

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years in high school to state his innocence as well as additional claims that this was an attack on his character and family.

Ultimately, the hearings led to a puzzled Senate, which pushed to have an FBI investigation. Dr. Ford’s testimony was deemed insufficient, as her accusations were believed to have lacked enough supporting evidence, Kavanaugh was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice by a vote of 50-48 in early October.

Furthermore, the effects of Kavanaugh’s appointment are still looming over the country and will for years to come.

Recently, Yale was vandalized with graffiti by quotes from Dr. Ford’s testimony. But more importantly, looking towards the future, Justice Kavanaugh will be in office for decades to come. He will weigh-in on crucial decisions based on his values.

Aspects of our lives now partially rest in Kavanaugh’s hands. In order to prevent voices from continuously being silenced and risen only under extraordinary circumstances, such as in the case of Dr. Ford, it is essential to stay focused on the Me Too Movement to continue to make progress against sexual harassment for women and men around the world.

Regardless if you find Dr. Ford’s testimony believable or illegitimate, it is of the utmost importance to remember those who are

sexually harassed daily and do not have a voice, who can not say “me, too.” By refusing to be treated as if we and others are objects, by standing up for what we believe is right and pointing out the injustices we see, and above all by voting for politicians who believe in aiding victims of sexual harassment, we can give them a voice.

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Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford preparing their testimonies before the Senate floor.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-room-key-exchanges-in-the-fordkavanaugh-hearing-1538098324 Works Cited: http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/2018-national-sexual-abuse-report/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-hearingtranscript/?utm_term=.def3be9be961 https://www.npr.org/2018/09/27/651913481/kavanaugh-and-ford-will-testify-today-heres-whatyou-need-to-know https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/us/politics/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/09/18/no-women-served-senate-judiciarycommittee-ugly-anita-hill-hearings-changed-that/?utm_term=.a62a1f9c4217 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/politics/anita-hill-testimony-clarence-thomas.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/06/us/politics/kavanaugh-live-vote-senateconfirmation.html https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/yale-vandalized-with-christine-blaseyford-quotes https://www.axios.com/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford-hearing-senate-23acd532-e7bc42a9-965f-7af41bea2fc6.html

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Song Contest By: Julia Canny, Ariana Quintana, and Sydney Harilal

What makes Saint Saviour unique are the traditions, in particular, Song Contest. For decades, Song Contest has been a special time. At the beginning of the year, students come together, make lyrics in some fashion corresponding to popular songs and create a dance to make an impressive performance presented on the final day. Students take Song Contest very seriously, which in the end, has a positive impact on the school itself. All the students prepare themselves coming into the new school year with the start of song contest mayhem. The preparation for Song Contest is stressful and can be challenging. Students are expected to work, perform, and communicate with one another to help the grade present an impressive performance in a short amount of time.

That said, Song Contest, is clearly not a one-person effort. It requires group work and different committees to get things done. Every grade, has a dance committee, which involves the making of movements to correspond to the songs; lyric committee, which requires students to create lyrics to the songs they

Juniors getting ready for their performance in their Michael Jackson hat and gloves.

Seniors show off their shiny cuffs and headbands.

have chosen; banner committee, which involves artistic skills put together a banner to display the grades mascot.

From the first day of school, sophomores had chosen their Song Contest theme of “Show Tune Sophs,” and were absolutely determined to come up with the most theatrical songs and dances for their performance. The class of 2021’s Song Contest leader was Jacqueline Avignone. Her ideas for the sophomore’s show were very well liked and are now proudly a piece of Song Contest history.

Throughout the weeks leading up to the big nights in October, lyric, banner, dance, and cheer dedicated themselves to rewriting the words of “Good Morning” from Singin in the Rain and “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from Annie, creating a fabulous banner, and composing a great dance and step number for the class and cheer.

Though we dreaded the early Wednesday mornings where we had to be in the gym on time to practice, our 14

pieces slowly came together toward the performed their various Song Contest end of the practice period. Of course, songs from previous years, including “A during those rehearsals, revisions to the Hard Day’s Night,” “We Go Together,” songs and dances were made countless and “Let it Go.” This year, however, times which may have led to some Song Contest was especially challenging confusion amongst the sophomore class, due to the efforts toward preparing for but as the dress rehearsal date came closer, our performance was pulling itself together.

As time grew closer to the big week, we began practicing during second homerooms, during gym class, even after the PSAT! When the week of Song Contest finally came, we patched up our sweaters, put on our pink scarves, and took off our shoes for dress rehearsal. When the real nights came, sophomores sang and dance their hearts out and still came in fourth place.

Freshmen begin their first ever Song Contest Nevertheless, we still show our performance. love for our incredible leader Jacqueline, amazing cheer college. Song Contest can be tiring, as captain Mary, and our most spirited there are numerous responsibilities Quyn. students face during this time, including The senior theme this year was Song Contest cheerleading, banner the Empowered Seniors. Their walk-in committee, dance committee, and lyric song was “Wannabe” and their class committee, while also balancing song was “Wings.” Additionally, they academics and extracurricular activities.

Senior Song Contest leader Brianna Kenny, as well as the other grades’ Song Contest leaders, put much appreciated effort into making Song Contest possible. Ultimately, the camaraderie strengthened during this process is fundamentally what is important, as this was the last Song Contest performance for the seniors.

Sophomore cheerleaders lead their grade.

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Pandas Take Over UCA Pine Forest By: Ariana Quintana Saint Saviour High School's cheerleading squad marched while chanting ‘’Let’s go, Saviour. Let's go.’’ all the way to their decorated cabin, which was going to be their home for four days. On Monday, August 23rd, Saint Saviour cheerleaders drove up to Pine Forest Cheerleading Camp in the heart of Greeley, Pennsylvania for the Space Jam Rally. During their four-day stay at Pine Forest, the Saviour squad experienced the rich tradition of cheerleading and explored spirit building ideas, exclusively found in UCA cheer camps across the country. Since 1974, UCA has been dedicated to providing careful instruction, competitive opportunities, and memorable experiences for squads all while putting an emphasis on leadership and safety.

Danielle Federico, head coach of Saviour’s cheer team, had cheerleading in her heart ever since she was young.

Ms. Federico says ‘’I chose UCA camp was because they have some of the best instructors in the country. They employ College cheerleaders who are trained to teach athletes the best techniques and best ways to succeed in cheer. The UCA staff is always willing to go out of their way to help the teams perform at their highest capabilities’’. She believes that the Saint Saviour High school cheerleading squad benefited from the camp, which created an increase in confidence throughout the team.

Federico expressed that ‘’winning a trophy is never my main goal of the season. What is important for our team is to make memories and experiences that my athletes will remember for years and

Cheerleaders filled with Panda Pride at camp.

years after their days at St. Saviour are over.’’

The staff of UCA was highly experienced in all fields of cheerleading ensuring safety throughout the camp.

Each staff member was trained to help with all aspects of learning. Likewise, the staff was able to present new skills in a way that was most appropriate for each squad. Our days were filled with team building, private coaching, dance class, stunt class, and preparation for game day and pep rally routines. On the first day at Pine Forest each squad was introduced to a big brother or big sister UCA staff member. With the staff, each team individually worked on team goals and priorities for game day and the pep rally at the end of camp. Even though our squad was small, we were sure mighty and able to achieve anything thrown at us.

Senior captains, Briann Abruzzese and Amanda Arrata, worked with Danielle Federico and the assistant coach, Kim Mullings, graduated cheerleader, to ensure an eventful, productive, and memorable time at camp.

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Opening Liturgy By: Madison Garrett As St. Saviour High School came together for the first time this school year of 2018-2019 in church service, we were blessed with such marvelous experiences. We received the experience to witness the beautiful gathering of both St Saviour Catholic Academy as well as St Saviour High School, witnessing the gifts being presented to Father Kevin and the

assisting priests, and lastly the divine message that was offered to the congregation. We also enjoyed the harmonic sounds of gospel music presented by the choir and Mr. Huie.

This first church service was a wondrous blessing at which we united with our immediate school family and our lower school family together.

Saviourites and students from Saint Saviour Catholic Academy attend the first liturgy of the year at the beautiful Saint Saviour Church.

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Senior Retreat By: Samantha Hughes Senior Retreat is an event that is highly treasured by the senior class as they wait four years to embark on this journey. A journey it was! From October 16th to the 18th the seniors stayed overnight at the Don Bosco Retreat Center. After introductions from the staff, we went to performing our first task: building a bridge out of newspapers and tape.

Unbelievably, one group of seniors, who initially could not get their bridge off the table, were able to tie the record for most weight held on the bridge, 165 pounds.

That night we walked into the woods to dance and sing campfire songs, a bizarre

The “blind” and the “mute” guided each other through the Trust Walk.

heart of candles. By far one of the most memorable and touching moments of retreat was the pearl activity. We went around the room and spoke about which person we would give our pearl to (this person was considered to be a rock in our life, someone who kept us strong and steady.) Ultimately, senior retreat was an amazing bonding experience that helped us to understand and grow closer to each other, God, and ourselves.

A proud group of seniors smile at their recordtying bridge. experience but one we will never forget.

We also completed other fun tasks to help build trust between each other and to grow closer. For example, each senior had to pair up with another for a trust walk. One was blind, the other was mute, together they had to get through an obstacle course filled with twists and turns. Although we were only supposed to have one partner, some had up to five!

Besides the laughs, there were also many emotional moments as well.

One night we gathered in the chapel to pray a decade of the rosary while we lit a

Seniors present a sketch they made during one of the activities at retreat.

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Movie Review: The Grinch By: Lauren Rivera I went to watch the movie The Grinch in theaters with my family. The movie overall was very cute and enjoyable, but there were a few things here and there at I didn’t quite enjoy or weren’t up to standards. This movie was quite different from the version with Jim Carey. Certain things were similar but most of it was different. Throughout the movie there isn’t much character development, the Grinch is sweet to begin with and gets even sweeter as the movie continues. There are a lot of new characters added to it, which isn’t a problem, but I would have enjoyed it more if it was heavily based on the original. Beside that, I feel that the plot was very rushed and it developed too fast. On the positive side, the animation and soundtrack for the movie was good.

They made the characters look very cute

and soft. The soundtrack was nice and I would even listen to it on my own time. I would recommend it if you are in the holiday spirit or a fan of the story.

Though, if you wanted something like the original or Jim Carey version, I would not recommend it.

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Sophomore Retreat By: Sydney Harilal Sophomore Retreat came. as always, in October! Retreat is a time for prayer, reflection, (really, really great refreshments), and bonding.

Unfortunately, if you aren’t a sophomore, you missed out. Lucky for you, I’m here to reflect and tell you all about our day.

Our day started at 8AM at Visitation Monastery in Bay Ridge. We all gathered in a small, beautiful chapel, where we took part in a very personal and intimate mass with only a few parishioners and some sisters from the convent. Following the Mass, we were treated to refreshments, and homemade Italian cookies and cake pops, courtesy of the sisters from the Church. We then sat down to a presentation by two women, Nicole and Holly, from an organization called Life Net. They shared an empowering message with us about being women in the church, and told us how much power we, as women, havenot just in our beauty, but also in our minds, and in our faith. They told us we were “Daughters of the King,”- Godwhich makes each and every one of us (even you reading this) a princess. Holly, Nicole, and Ms. Sucich then took time to individually place tiaras on our heads.

Let me tell you, nothing makes one feel more pampered than being crowned and called a princess; it’s really very exciting. The women shared personal stories, and directed activities that brought us together. We heard opinions that differed from our own, and were

challenged to listen and speak about them (these opinions).

Following the presentation, we were allowed to meditate in the chapel while the Body of Christ was exposed on the Altar, something very few people get to experience so intimately. As the Body of Christ was exposed, we prayed and sang (or rather attempted to sing) Here I Am, Lord.

We ended our retreat at noon, closing with everyone’s favorite song: Our God Is an Awesome God, complete with the Gospel Choir hand movements.

Afterwards, we went our separate ways, some of us to strengthen bonds over lunch at local diners.

My Sophomore Retreat was an experience I know my classmates and I will not soon forget. We were given the opportunity to have our voices heard, and we learned of our value within the Church and to God.

Sophomores listening to an enlightening presentation during Retreat.

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Review: Atypical By: Olivia Medina Netflix’s Atypical has wowed audiences for two whole seasons. The show focuses on the main character, Sam, who has autism. Even though Sam has autism, he is still a regular senior in high school. He loves biology and illustrating in his notebook, and he has relationship problems, like any other teen. The fact that Sam has autism brings to society the idea of normalizing the condition. When viewers watch this show, they can see that people with autism are not need not be feared. Though autism is a main focus in the show, there are other aspects such as Sam’s mother, Elsa, cheating on her husband, Doug, because she isn’t sure of her place within her own family. There is also Casey, Sam’s sister, who tries to navigate her way through the transition of attending a private school.

Throughout Atypical, several topics arise that are relevant for the audience, making it a worthwhile show to watch.

In season one of Atypical, Sam realizes he wants to start dating. This shows that he is ready to be more independent as he nears his end of high school, which is scary for his mother because she thinks that she will eventually be replaced. Elsa finds herself hopeless in situations involving Sam’s love life; he often turns to his father more than to his mother.

This results in tension, as the audience knows that Sam depended on his mother his whole life, but now goes to his father for help instead. We see how Elsa eventually breaks down over the fact that Sam doesn’t need her in certain situations anymore, which leads the audience to be more sympathetic towards the drama she creates.

Additionally, Sam falls for a girl who can’t reciprocate his feelings for her.

The climax of season one occurs when this person finds out that Sam has a crush on her: she is crucial to Sam’s battle with autism; she has to part ways with Sam because of the events that have occurred. However, the ending shows that Sam will be okay, despite all of these challenges because he has support from his family and friends.

After a positive response to season one, season two continues with family struggles that have an impact on Sam’s wellbeing, particularly since he will be graduating soon. It was always assumed Sam would stay at home for college; however, when given the option, he decides to pursue his passion for art and science. Of course, there were obstaclessuch as losing his art portfolio and experiencing anxiety over having to move out for college, but with support from his mother, his father, and his sister, Sam was able to graduate by the end of the season. He even inspired his best friend, Zahid, to try and go to school for nursing, a lost passion of his.

Atypical is a show that deserves a third season. Autism was represented accurately throughout the show and shed light on the issues surrounding it. It taught the audience new lessons but at the same time had familiar tropes such as a broken family and new transitions. The show was filled with tension in serious moments, but was funny and lighthearted when it needed to be.

Season three holds a lot of promise as the plot continues to thicken for the show, and the talented creators can definitely execute another round of entertaining episodes.

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Sports WrapUp By: Alexandra Natale and Teresa Kiernan Our pandas have just wrapped up most of their fall sports, leaving the season with outstanding accomplishments and garnering many accolades, while looking forward to improving and building the teams for next season. Our Varsity Volleyball Team had an intense season, taking four wins and four losses,

The soccer team poses for a group picture in their breast cancer awareness socks.

Varsity Volleyball during a timeout being led by their coach to victory.

earning them a spot in the playoffs. At this stage, they faced St. Agnes, eventually losing in a heated five set battle. The seniors of the team, Eileen Kelly, Julie Laclide, Briana Esper, and manage Samantha Cassata were sad to end their volleyball career at Saint Saviour. The team impressively finished in third place overall. Our Junior Varsity Volleyball team had a different experience, considering they are a new, young team. Though they lost all of their games, their focus was on rebuilding the team. They were able to win their first set against Nazareth, however, which was a great accomplishment for them.

Their coach Monika is looking forward to growing the program and is excited for the future of the team.

Our Varsity Soccer team engaged in a very competitive season and performed very well. Although they lost their first season game, their momentum

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earning a spot on the “B� Division All League Team.

Our Varsity Tennis team improved greatly this season. With the addition of their new coach, Steve Carberry they were able to improve their skills and become more competitive in their league.

Even though there were only seven girls on the team, they The tennis team showing off their maroon and white uniforms in finished with a their team picture. record of four wins and eight losses, a from then on only increased. This is significant improvement from their 2018 partly due to the great new freshman season. The Senior Captains, Eva additions! Jillianna, Frita, Allie, and Sorrentino, Arianna Abdul, and Ruby all did amazing during their first Alexandra Natale loved seeing how the ever soccer season. Julianna became a team has grown in their four years. They starter and scored the majority of team were able to finish in 3rd place for the goals. Unfortunately the team lost Molly season.

Murtagh early in the season to a As our fall sports have come to a dislocated knee. They won many games close, winter sports have just begun. The in the regular season, and easily moved Varsity Swim team has already started on to the playoffs. The team advanced practicing five hours each week and won all the way to the semi-finals, losing to their first meet against Bishop Kearney.

Dominican Academy in this round. The The Varsity Basketball team has team was proud to finish at second place completed their tryouts and now has a in the league. Four players, Teresa completed roster. They started practicing Kiernan, Shannon McLoughlin, and are excited for their home opener on Alexandra Salvatierra, and Juliana Monday, November 26th.

Pecoraro were acknowledged for their amazing skills and accomplishments,

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Skyline Staff Editor-in-Chief – Samantha Hughes Assistant Editor – Alexandra Natale Contributing Writers – Julia Canny, Meaghan DelleCave, Madison Garrett, Sydney Harilal, Teresa Kiernan, Quyn McCaffrey, Shannon McLoughlin, Olivia Medina, Ariana Quintana, Lauren Rivera, Grace Rosen Art – Cristina Melian Moderator – Ms. J. Caughey 24